Using published HST Cepheid data from 25 galaxies, we have found a correlation between the P-L dispersion and host galaxy metallicity which is significant at the ~3sigma level in the V band. This result supports the suggestion that the metallicity dependence of the Cepheid P-L relation may be stronger than expected. The high observed dispersions in the HST Cepheid P-L relations have the further consequence that the bias due to incompleteness in the P-L relation at faint magnitudes is more significant than previously thought. In the HST sample, galaxies at higher distance tend to have higher metallicity. This means that when a full metallicity/incompleteness correction is made, a scale error in the published Cepheid distances is seen in the sense that the published distance moduli are increasingly underestimates at larger distances. This results in the average distance modulus to the four galaxies in the Virgo cluster core increasing from (m-M)_0=31.2+-0.19 to (m-M)_0=31.8+-0.17 with similar increases for the Fornax and Ursa Major clusters. For the 18 HST galaxies with good Tully-Fisher distances and (m-M)_0>29.5 the Cepheid-TF distance modulus average residual increases from 0.44+-0.09 mag to 0.82+-0.1mag indicating a significant scale error in TF distances and resulting in the previous Pierce & Tully TF estimate of H_0=85 reducing to H_0=58+-7. Finally, for the 8 HST galaxies with SNIa, the metallicity corrected Cepheid distances now imply a metallicity dependence of SNIa peak luminosity in the sense that metal-poor hosts have lower luminosity SNIa. Thus SNIa Hubble diagram estimates of both H_0 and q_0 may also require significant metallicity corrections.


Seismic anisotropy in the flat slab region of Mexico is compared with tectonic tremor activity. The anisotropy is observed in three separate horizontal layers using a novel technique with receiver functions. Those layers are identified as the continental crust and the subducted flat oceanic slab and a thin (∼10 km thick) remnant mantle wedge between those two layers. The tectonic tremor is located in two zones: (1) the Sweet Spot where most of the tremor is observed (∼160 km – 180 km from the coast) and (2) the Transient Zone (∼80 km – 110 km from the coast). Anisotropy within each layer is observed to be different within each of the tremor zones than just outside them. The changes are explained as due to hydration within those zones. Water releasing phase changes have previously been modelled to occur within those two zones in the subducted slab (Manea & Manea, 2011). Water rising through each of the layers should generate the observed differences in anisotropy in those zones as the fast polarization direction and split times can differ between dry and hydrated material. This observation also correlates with the many observations of high pore fluid pressure associated with tectonic tremor.


The structural scheme of mechanical elastic energy storage (MEES) system served by permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and bidirectional converters is designed. The aim of the research is to model and control the complex electromechanical system. The mechanical device of the complex system is considered as a node in generalized coordinate system, the terse nonlinear dynamic model of electromechanical coupling for the electromechanical system is constructed through Lagrange-Maxwell energy method, and the detailed deduction of the mathematical model is presented in the paper. The theory of direct feedback linearization (DFL) is applied to decouple the nonlinear dynamic model and convert the developed model from nonlinear to linear. The optimal control theory is utilized to accomplish speed tracking control for the linearized system. The simulation results in three different cases show that the proposed nonlinear dynamic model of MEES system is correct; the designed algorithm has a better control performance in contrast with the conventional PI control.


Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic suddenly affected all countries and health care systems from different perspectives including severe disruption of chronic disease services including diabetes. Diabetes is a serious condition and highly present in Bosnia and Herzegovina population, so provision of diabetes care is a important part of good control. Countries had different responses to adopt diabetes care under new circumstances as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Aim: To investigate and evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of diabetology care in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the perspective of patients and diabetologists. Methods: Online survey for diabetologists and patient organizations have been developed with adopted question for different perspectives. The survey has been conducted online early September 2020. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS software for descriptive statistics. Results: 25 diabetologists and 24 diabetes patient organizations responded. 72% of diabetologists believe that pandemic has partially altered work with patients and 56% believe that the organization of diabetes care has successfully responded to the new circumstances but 80% believe that the diabetes care system should change. 75% of patient organizations thought that the organization of diabetes care did not adequately respond and 87.5% believe system should change. Conclusion: No significant differences found between RS and FBiH when it comes to majority of questions. Both diabetologists and patients consider that system of diabetes care in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be improved in future. It has been also found that diabetologists in Bosnia and Herzegovina responded and adopted their practices similar to other countries.


Abstract
This report is a literary project which deals with five collections of poems written by writers, who are all considered as being part of the designation "Generation Ethic" (Generation Etik). The collections of poems are: det nemme og det ensomme of Asta Olivia Nordenhof, Jeg aeder mig selv som lyng of Olga Ravn, Morkhall of Rasmus Halling Nielsen, I civil of Amalie Smith and Atlanterhavet vokser of Julie Sten-Knudsen. The designation Generation Ethics has emerged in connection with an article in the newspaper Information, where among others lecturer in Literature at Lund University state that, the above-mentioned authors express a so-called ethical obligation to the world and a political consciousness, through their collections of poems. The article has contributed to a debate on, for example the literary blog Promenaden and furthermore caused a string of other articles regarding the subject to be written, whereas some of them are written by the authors themselves. It is discussed whether the so-called Generation Ethics-authors write innovatory literature, and whether or not they can be categorized as a generation. Additionally it is discussed if it is the ethical and political aspect they have in common, or if it is in fact something else, that connects the authors.
The report will through a thorough analysis of each of the collections of poems explore, what connects the authors – focus will be on the body and family as general themes and authenticity as a general stylistic device. The report is based on Hans-Georg Gadamers philosophical hermeneutics and David Perkins' book Is literary history possible?, where Perkins ideas regarding literary history is portrayed, and where he also outlines how literature can be classified. The report will in addition, with inspiration from the Danish author Soren Ulrik Thomsen and his essay Farvel til det bla rum from 1990 explore, to what extent the collections of poems can portray the society, in which they are written in. Through Wittgensteins family resemblance theory the report will explore if the body, family and authenticity can be looked at as family resemblances throughout the collections of poems, and if there are enough family resemblances in order to characterize the Generation Ethics-authors as generation. Last but not least the report contains a discussion on whether or not Generation Ethics is the right name for the authors, or if it should in fact be, based on the focus in the analysis – the body, family and authenticity – called something else.


Food safety hazards arising at the farm level affect the health of agricultural households as well as access to high value markets, which typically require that produce meets strict quality and food safety standards. Smallholder farmers face a number of barriers to improving the quality and safety of their produce, including a lack of awareness about safety and quality standards, the cost of equipment required to improve these, and the failure of premium prices to pass through to farmers. In this paper, we examine how lifting each of these barriers affects Ghanaian groundnut farmers' adoption of post-harvest practices that reduce aflatoxin contamination. Aflatoxins are carcinogenic secondary metabolites of certain molds, which cause serious health problems including liver cancer. Common in groundnuts and maize, staple foods in much of Africa, aflatoxins pose a major threat to food safety and hinder the development of local agricultural value chains and export markets. Aflatoxin contamination can be substantially reduced through low-tech, low-cost post-harvest practices. We conducted a randomized control trial in northern Ghana with 1,005 farmers over the course of two seasons to test the imapct of three interventions to improve post harvest practices and reduce aflatoxin levels: (1) farmer training on aflatoxin and its prevention, (2) distribution of free drying tarps, and (3) a price premium for groundnuts found to comply with the local aflatoxin regulation. Training farmers substantially improves post-harvest practices. Tarp receipt further improves some practices, particularly with regards to drying surface. Surprisingly, we find that the price premium had little effect on reported or observed practices, and few farmers even sold nuts at this premium despite achieving compliance. Relative to training alone, tarp distribution reduced afaltoxin contamination by approximately 50 percent in the region and year when background levels were highest. The market premium also reduced aflatoxin levels, although to a lesser extent.


The article presents a short history of development of outpatient therapy, basic principles of improvement of professional skills of outpatient clinic physicians, methods of VI grade students teaching at a therapeutic faculty.


Human identification plays an important role in our daily lives. Previous studies have successfully used characteristics such as fingerprints, irises, and facial features for identity recognition. However, these methods require the user being close to the sensing device, which may cause inconvenience to users. In this paper, we present AcousticID, a system that uses fine-grained gait information derived from acoustic signals generated by Commercial Off-The-Shelf devices to identify human beings. We demonstrate the feasibility of gait recognition by analyzing the Doppler effect of various body parts on acoustic signals while walking, and then extract fine-grained gait features that can distinguish different people from both macro and micro dimensions. Similar to an access control system in the home or office, AcousticID is a convenient, low cost, and universal solution. We evaluate AcousticID using experiments with 50 volunteers in an area of 60 m2, and the results show that it can identify different persons with an average accuracy of 96.6%.


The t(9;22)(q34;q11) translocation between bcr and abl genes plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using specific DNA probes provides a useful and accurate way for the detection of bcr/abl fusion gene in single cell. Here, we report an unusual case of a patient with no prior hematologic disease who initially manifested lymphadenopathy. The lymph node findings were suspicious for T‐lineage lymphoblastic lymphoma, however, his blood and bone marrow at that time were in chronic phase of CML. This presented difficulty for accurate discrimination between CML blast crisis (BC) and non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs). To discern where the extramedullary nodal malignancy originated from, we cytologically analyzed lymph node biopsies and bone marrow with FISH to detect bcr/abl fusion signals. Together with the morphology, immunohistochemistry, cytogenetics as well as molecular analysis, the patient was diagnosed as extramedullary T‐lymphoid BC of Ph+ CML. In conclusion, this case is unusual at three levels: first, extramedullary nodal BC as a presenting manifestation of CML is rare and the blasts are of precursor T lymphoblastic lineage, rather than the more common B‐cell lineage; second, this case suggests that extramedullary lymphoid nodal BC of CML can exist independently without the bone marrow developing into BC; and third, FISH analysis on the single neoplastic cell is an accurate way to confirm that the neoplasm is either extramedullary localized blasts of CML or genetically distinct neoplasm. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2013. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Cysteine has a wide application in pharmaceutical, foods and cosmetic industries. In the biological system, through its unique properties of sulfur and thiol, cysteine also plays important roles in stability, structure, catalytic activity, and regulation of numerous proteins. In nature, cysteine can be found in animal proteins, fruits, vegetables, legumes and cereal. Due to its wide application, the production of cysteine in large scale is in favour. At present, cysteine is produced from keratin of animal sources as well as through microbial bioconversion and fermentation. Each production method poses its own challenges and limitation; which includes low yield, high-cost and poor consumer acceptance. As such, alternative source for large-scale cysteine production is of interest. Plants are seen to be an attractive substrate for the extraction of cysteine.


In this work we compute the Chen–Ruan cohomology and the stringy Chow ring of the moduli spaces of smooth and stable n-pointed curves of genus 1. We suggest a definition for an Orbifold Tautological Ring in genus 1, which is both a subring of the Chen–Ruan cohomology and of the stringy Chow ring.


Development of scientific and engineering software is usually different and could be more challenging than the development of conventional enterprise software. The authors were involved in a technology-transfer project between academia and industry which focused on engineering, development and testing of a software for optimization of pumping energy costs for oil pipelines. Experts with different skillsets (mechanical, power and software engineers) were involved. Given the complex nature of the software (a sophisticated underlying optimization model) and having experts from different fields, there were challenges in various software engineering aspects of the software system (e.g., requirements and testing). We report our observations and experience in addressing those challenges during our technology-transfer project, and aim to add to the existing body of experience and evidence in engineering of scientific and engineering software. We believe that our observations, experience and lessons learnt could be useful for other researchers and practitioners in engineering of other scientific and engineering software systems.


A20 NGRhTNF is a vascular targeting agent (VTA) in clinical development exploiting a tumor homing peptide (CNGRCG) selectively binding angiogenic vessels in solid tumors, where NGRhTNF specific binding relies on dynamic interactions with TNF-receptors and aminopeptidase N (CD13). Recent biochemical studies (Curnis et al JBC 2006, 281:36466-76) have shown that the deamidation of N263 in the NGR sequence at the N-terminus of fibronectin gives rise to L-isoDGR, a new αvβ3-binding motif. Integrin αvβ3 binds to a variety of extracellular matrix proteins through interactions with their RGD motif. Interestingly, a cyclo-peptide containing the L-isoDGR motif is a competitive antagonist of αvβ3-ligand RGD, inhibiting endothelial cell adhesion, proliferation, and tumor growth. In contrast, no competition is observed with the cyclopeptide containing the sequence DGR, implying a precise stereospecific recognition at the basis of the L-isoDGR interaction with αvβ3 (Curnis et al JBC 2006). However, the structural determinants dictating this selectivity are still unknown.
 By NMR spectroscopy we characterized the conformation of 4 cyclo-peptides, containing respectively NGR, isoDGR, RGD, and DGR motifs. The resulting conformers have been docked with HADDOCK (Dominguez C et al J Am Chem Soc 2003, 125:1731-7) into the crystallographic structure of αvβ3 in its "RGD-bound" conformation (Xiong et al Science 2002, 296:151-5).
 The models show that both the RGD and isoDGR cyclopeptides recapitulate the relevant interactions observed in the crystallographic αvβ3-ligand complex. The nitrogen atoms of the guanidinium group of the arginine participate in salt-bridges to Asp150 and Asp218, while the aspartic and the iso-aspartic residues coordinate the divalent metal ion and make hydrogen bonds with both Asn215 and Tyr122 backbones. Remarkably, in the isoDGR peptide the higher conformational freedom of the β-linked isopeptide bond allows the formation of an additional stabilizing salt-bridge with the guanidinium group of Arg214, which might contribute to the L-isoDGR binding specificity.
 In contrast, the NGR peptide displays a different pattern of interactions: on one hand, the guanidinium group of the arginine maintains its interactions with Asp150 and Asp218, on the other hand, the partial positive charge located on the amine group of asparagine creates repulsive interactions with both the metal ion and Arg214, thus destabilizing the complex.
 In addition, the docking calculations of the DGR cyclo-peptide do not converge to low energy solutions of the complex because the relevant interactions observed in the RGD and L-isoDGR peptide are only sporadically observed, suggesting that the DGR peptide, though having the right polarity, does not have enough conformational freedom to interact with αvβ3. Finally, our structural models are consistent with experimental results obtained in cell adhesion and binding assays performed in both endothelial and tumor cells.
 In conclusion, these 3D models offer a structural rationale for the binding specificity of L-isoDGR to αvβ3, and demonstrate, at molecular level, that both NGR and DGR motifs are not able to fit into the αvβ3-binding pocket. Furthermore, our data provide support for the hypothesis that L-isoDGR is a bio-active relevant motif playing a role in angiogenesis, endothelial cell adhesion, and tumor growth.


With the vast number of fragmented, independent public safety wireless communication systems, the United States is encountering major challenges with enhancing interoperability and effectively managing costs while sharing limited availability of critical spectrum. The traditional hierarchical approach of emergency management does not always allow for needed flexibility and is not a mandate. A national system would reduce equipment needs, increase effectiveness, and enrich quality and coordination of response; however, it is dependent on integrating the commercial market. This article discusses components of an ideal national wireless public safety system consists along with key policies in regulating wireless communication and spectrum sharing for public safety and challenges for implementation.


The Pilbara pegmatite province in the Archean North Pilbara Craton contains at least 120 pegmatite deposits in over 27 pegmatite groups and fields, including the giant Mount Cassiterite tantalum orebody in the Wodgina pegmatite district. Generally, rare metal pegmatites in the province are hosted by mafic-ultramafic volcanic-dominated supracrustal sequences of predominantly greenschist facies, adjacent to, and rarely within, domal multiphase granitoid-gneiss complexes. The most fractionated pegmatites are hosted by tongues or inliers of greenstone belts protruding into or within the larger granitoid complexes. Most of these are within two of the six tectonostratigraphic domains of the East Pilbara granite-greenstone terrane of the North Pilbara Craton. They tend to be clustered along and within 5 km (at surface) of major faults and craton-scale lineaments that coincide with or are parallel to domain boundaries. All of the major tantalum deposits (Wodgina, Mount Cassiterite, Tabba Tabba, Strelley, Pilgangoora) are along a north-northeast–trending corridor that is within one tectonostratigraphic domain. Most rare element pegmatites are within 5 km (at surface) of their apparent parent pluton, and all are within 10 km where the pluton has been identified. Although granitic rocks of the North Pilbara Craton were emplaced over an 800 m.y. period (3600–2800 Ma), rare element class pegmatites can be tied to a number of post-tectonic plutons of a younger granite suite that were emplaced into most of the granitoid complexes and adjacent greenstone belts at 2890 to 2830 Ma. Subtle differences in the composition of these granites that have given rise to different petrogenetic pegmatite suites can be identified in processed radiometric data from airborne surveys. These parental younger granites are enriched in lithophile and volatile elements and have a highly fractionated character that permitted formation of significant pegmatite mineralization. They represent the culmination of the crustal evolution of the North Pilbara Craton and the onset of cratonization, as part of a global appearance of rare metal pegmatite mineralization post-3 Ga.


Media theorists have created competing normative ethical frameworks based on libertarian and communitarian philosophies, but because each approach essentially promotes different moral principles, they do not merely offer competing alternatives that essentially serve the same purpose, as some scholars have presumed. This analysis suggests that the two dominant theoretical approaches of libertarianism and communitarianism require further clarification and elaboration. The article seeks to clarify why the libertarian approach is insufficient as a basis for a news media ethic. Instead, it suggests a modified communitarian approach that advances media ethics theory by resisting a moralizing ethic, foregrounding the epistemic nature of moral philosophy as it relates to the communicative enterprise, and reconceptualizing the public sphere being served by the mass media as a population predicated on moral agency.


how sad it must be to love so many women to need so many black perfumed bodies weeping underneath you. when i remember all those nights i filled my mind with long wars between short sighted trojans & greeks while you slapped some wide hips about in your pvt dungeon, when i remember your deformity i want to do something about your makeshift manhood, i guess that is why on meeting your sixth wife, i cross myself with her confessionals.


Kepulauan Riau Province (KEPRI) which the border of the international gate is a strategic location for conducting trade activities with neighboring countries. With the vast ocean covering the land, most of the people in the KEPRI province occupy coastal areas with the profession as fishermen. The economy of the fishing community is highly dependent on the amount obtained from fishing. The large operational costs of fishing, such as fuel and selling of catches that cannot improve the family's economy and buy the need to go to sea because they still use fishing gear that is operated manually are sources of poverty in fishing communities. Base on these backgrounds, a technological innovation called smart net puller is proposed. The innovation is a result of a user-based approach that uses the Engineering Design Process approach from Stanford Design School with the Design Thinking approach. The observation was carried out in the fishing community called Kampung Bugis to find the main problem. Researchers integrate directly with fishermen. The next stage is to find an idea that is a solution to the main problem and assembling a prototype. The prototype of innovation is still simple and easy to change. The last stage of the process is the testing phase of the test. The test aims to determine the performance of the prototype and get input to improve innovation if needed later. Intelligent net pulling prototype uses Arduino Uno microcontroller technology and several supporting devices such as stepper motor. Usability testing of the physical prototypes to kelong fishermen provides information about the convenience and benefits of smart net towing.


Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of transcribed RNA molecules with the lengths exceeding 200 nucleotides, are not translated into protein. They can modulate protein-coding genes by controlling transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes. The dysregulation of lncRNAs has been related to various pathological disorders. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge of lncRNAs and their implications in the pathogenesis of three common liver diseases: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol-related liver disease, and cholestatic liver disease. Future studies to further define the role of lncRNAs and their mechanisms in various types of liver diseases should be explored. An improved understanding from these studies will provide us a useful perspective leading to mechanism-based intervention by targeting specific lncRNAs for the treatment of liver diseases.


Background: Free osteocutaneous fibula flap (FFF) is currently considered the best option for segmental mandibular reconstruction; however, there are no reports comparing secondary with primary reconstructions using FFF. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of secondary mandibular reconstruction using FFF when compared with primary mandibular reconstruction. Methods: From October 2018 to February 2020, patients who underwent mandibular reconstruction using FFF after segmental mandibulectomy were retrospectively reviewed. The size and location of the mandibular defect, the segment length and number of osteotomies in the fibula, types of the mandibular plating system, and laterality of the recipient vessels were recorded from the surgical notes. Flap survival, duration of nasogastric tube use, and implant installation after reconstruction were recorded as indices of postoperative evaluation. Results: Twelve patients underwent mandibular reconstruction using FFF during the study period. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics other than body mass index between the primary (n=8) and secondary (n=4) reconstruction groups. No significant differences were observed in the size and location of defects, the segment length and number of osteotomies in the fibula, and the types of mandibular plating system. The laterality of recipient vessels was ipsilateral in all cases of primary reconstructions and contralateral in all cases of secondary reconstructions. Three out of eight patients with primary FFF reconstruction developed partial flap necrosis. Four patients in the secondary FFF reconstruction group achieved complete flap survival. The duration of use of the nasogastric tube and implant installation after reconstruction was comparable between the two groups. Conclusion: This clinical case study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of secondary mandibular reconstructions using FFF.


Co-culture experiments between T and B cells from normal subjects and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were performed in order to assess the immunoregulatory effects of T cells on spontaneous production of IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM-RF). Cultures of normal B cells with normal, autologous or allogeneic T cells failed to synthesize IgM-RF. In contrast, RAT cells promoted IgM-RF production from normal B cells as well as from RA B cells. The 'helper' effect of T cells from RA patients for IgM-RF production was not HLA-DR4 restricted and could not be accounted for by an allogeneic effect. These observations suggest that activated T helper cells may contribute to the production of IgM-RF in RA.


In epilepsy, the most frequent surgical procedure is the resection of brain tissue in the temporal lobe, with seizure-free outcomes in approximately two-thirds of cases. However, consequences of surgery can vary strongly depending on the brain region targeted for removal, as surgical morbidity and collateral damage can lead to significant complications, particularly when bleeding and swelling are located near delicate functional cortical regions. Although focal thermal ablations are well-explored in epilepsy as a minimally invasive approach, hemorrhage and edema can be a consequence as the blood-brain barrier is still disrupted. Non-thermal irreversible electroporation (NTIRE), common in many other medical tissue ablations outside the brain, is a relatively unexplored method for the ablation of neural tissue, and has never been reported as a means for ablation of brain tissue in the context of epilepsy. Here, we present a detailed visualization of non-thermal ablation of neural tissue in mice and report that NTIRE successfully ablates epileptic foci in mice, resulting in seizure-freedom, while causing significantly less hemorrhage and edema compared to conventional thermal ablation. The NTIRE approach to ablation preserves the blood-brain barrier while pathological circuits in the same region are destroyed. Additionally, we see the reinnervation of fibers into ablated brain regions from neighboring areas as early as day 3 after ablation. Our evidence demonstrates that NTIRE could be utilized as a precise tool for the ablation of surgically challenging epileptogenic zones in patients where the risk of complications and hemorrhage is high, allowing not only reduced tissue damage but potentially accelerated recovery as vessels and extracellular matrix remain intact at the point of ablation.


IP tracking and cloaking are practices for identifying users which are used legitimately by websites to provide services and content tailored to particular users. However, it is believed that these practices are also used by malicious websites to avoid detection by anti-virus companies crawling the web to find malware. In addition, malicious websites are also believed to use IP tracking in order to deliver targeted malware based upon a history of previous visits by users. In this paper we empirically investigate these beliefs and collect a large dataset of suspicious URLs in order to identify at what level IP tracking takes place that is at the level of an individual address or at the level of their network provider or organisation (Network tracking). Our results illustrate that IP tracking is used in a small subset of domains within our dataset while no strong indication of network tracking was observed.


This paper is dealing with the old religious heritage resistance to chemical degradation due to the growth of industrial activities in the contemporary society. Air pollutants have a negative influence upon the physical and chemical properties of organic constitutive materials of old books. Influence of one of the most noxious factors – sulphur dioxide was studied by means of thermal analysis. The experimental data allowed the prediction of the dependence between the half time and the temperature at which the paper support is kept.


BACKGROUND
The prevalence rates of both skin cancers and indoor tanning among the US population are high and have increased substantially in recent years. Low compliance by indoor tanning facilities with safety regulations may place consumers at greater risk of skin and ocular damage.

OBJECTIVE
This study quantified the level of compliance by indoor tanning facilities with selected federal and state regulations and recommendations.

METHODS
Tanning facilities (N = 54) in San Diego County, California, were visited by a confederate posing as a prospective customer. Compliance with 13 regulations/recommendations were assessed by either direct query or observation of the presence/absence of signs and warning labels. Operators' responses to 5 risk-based questions also were noted.

RESULTS
No facility complied with all 13 regulations/recommendations. Compliance with 3 protective eyewear regulations was high (89%-100%). In contrast, compliance with maximum tanning frequency recommendations (approximately 6%) and parental consent regulations (approximately 43%) was disturbingly low.

CONCLUSION
The investigators recommend instituting mandatory, comprehensive training for operators, as well as systematic compliance monitoring with enforcement of penalties for noncompliance.


Time-dependent mixing is studied using about two million hadronic Z decays registered by L3 in 1994 and 1995. For this study three techniques are used. Tagging of the b-quark charge at decay time is performed by identifying leptons from semileptonic B decays. The flavour of the b quark at production time is determined from the charge of the lepton in the opposite hemisphere or by using a jet-charge technique. The proper time of the B-particle decay is obtained by reconstructing the production and decay vertices or by a measurement of the lepton impact parameter. The combined result for the frequency of meson oscillations is


 Abstract — Reliability of embedded processors is one of the major concerns in safety-critical applications. Reliability is particularly expressed within the cache memories which are the largest part of new system on chips. Cache memories are the most vulnerable parts of the embedded systems and can affect the reliability drastically especially in deep transistor scaling. Therefore, evaluating the cache vulnerability is crucial in design of a reliable system especially for safety-critical applications. It has been shown that using the same cache sizes for different applications leads to incompatible vulnerability patterns in applications. According to the literature, most of the related researches, have exploited identical cache sizes for different programs in their reliability evaluations, while the cache reliability strictly depends on the cache size and program behavior. Traditional attempts for finding an appropriate cache size for different programs would need a huge design space exploration. In this work, we have introduced a criterion for determining the Effective Cache Size (ECS) for embedded processors which considers the inherent programs' reliability and performance properties. According to the results, using the ECS for the representative benchmark applications, the reliability would be increased 43x on average with acceptable performance degradations (21% on


This paper tests a prediction of the interest-group theory of regulation which suggests that regulators generally will not force any one group to bear the full adjustment costs associated with variations in the business cycle. That is, the interest-group model predicts that regulatory agencies will redistribute cyclical gains and losses by supplying more "producer protection" regulation during contractions and more "consumer protection" regulation during expansions; i.e., regulatory activity which reduces consumer welfare will tend to be countercyclical, intensifying when aggregate demand falls and abating as demand increases.

The empirical results show a countercyclical and statistically significant ceteris paribus relationship between Federal Trade Commission enforcement efforts under the Robinson-Patman Act and several alternative measures of general business conditions. Since the Robinson-Patman Act is viewed widely as anti-consumer, the findings suggest that in cyclical downturns the Commission moves to protect producers against losses by bringing more cases which limit the tendency for prices to fall. This result may be rationalized under the view that during recessions, the Federal Trade Commission is in the business of transferring wealth from consumers either to protect small business or to bolster cartels. On the other hand, during business expansions the Commission reduces its Robinson-Patman case load, and such a change in enforcement may serve to mitigate producer gains, transferring wealth to consumers at the margin. In any case the paper offers empirical support for the interest-group model by providing evidence that the business cycle plays an important part in explaining the level and pattern of regulatory activity.


Background Hydrophobicity is an important attribute of bacteria that contributes to adhesion and biofilm formation. Hydrophobicity of Streptococcus pyogenes is primarily due to lipoteichoic acid (LTA) on the streptococcal surface but the mechanism(s) whereby LTA is retained on the surface is poorly understood. In this study, we sought to determine whether members of the M protein family consisting of Emm (M protein), Mrp (M-related protein), Enn (an M-like protein), and the streptococcal protective antigen (Spa) are involved in anchoring LTA in a manner that contributes to hydrophobicity of the streptococci and its ability to form biofilms. Methodology/Principal Findings Isogenic mutants defective in expression of emm, mrp, enn, and/or spa genes of eight different serotypes and their parental strains were tested for differences in LTA bound to surface proteins, LTA released into the culture media, and membrane-bound LTA. The effect of these mutations on the ability of streptococci to form a hydrophobic surface and to generate biofilms was also investigated. A recombinant strain overexpressing Emm1 was also engineered and similarly tested. The serotypes tested ranged from those that express only a single M protein gene to those that express two or three members of the M protein family. Overexpression of Emm1 led to enhanced hydrophobicity and biofilm formation. Inactivation of emm in those serotypes expressing only a single emm gene reduced biofilm formation, and protein-bound LTA on the surface, but did not alter the levels of membrane-bound LTA. The results were more varied in those serotypes that express two to three members of the M protein family. Conclusions/Significance Our findings suggest that the formation of complexes with members of the M protein family is a common mechanism for anchoring LTA on the surface in a manner that contributes to hydrophobicity and to biofilm formation in S. pyogenes, but these activities in some serotypes are dependent on a trypsin-sensitive protein(s) that remains to be identified. The need for interactions between LTA and M proteins may impose functional constraints that limit variations in the sequence of the M proteins, major virulence factors of S. pyogenes.


Stabilization of mechanical control systems by the method of controlled Lagrangians in an approximate version, is used to analyze asymptotic stabilization of systems whose dynamics are governed by the Euler-Lagrange equations. The method is applied to the Furata pendulum. The approximation produces controlled near conservative stable orbits that can be asymptotically stabilized introducing dissipation.


It is shown that any weakly stable Yang-Mills field of type SU(2) or SU(3) on the four-sphere must be self-dual or anti-self-dual. Any Yang-Mills field on S(n), n >/= 5, is unstable. Examples of stable fields on S(4) and S(n)/Gamma for n >/= 5 and Gamma not equal {e} are given. It is also shown that, for any Yang-Mills field R on S(4), the pointwise condition parallelR(-) parallel (2) < 3 (or parallelR(+) parallel (2) < 3) implies that R(-) = 0 (or respectively that R(+) = 0). In general, any Yang-Mills field R on S(n), n >/= 3, that satisfies the pointwise condition parallelR parallel(2) < (1/2)((2) (n)) is trivial. If n = 3 or 4, the condition parallelR parallel(2) </= (1/2)((2) (n)) implies that either R is the trivial field or it is the direct sum of a trivial field with a field of tangent spinors carrying the standard connection.


This paper presents a computer architecture developed for the instrument control unit (ICU) of the Spectrometer Infrared 2 (SIR-2) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon. Characteristic features of this architecture are its high autonomy, its high reliability, and its high performance, which are obtained by the following methods: 1) adopting state-of-the-art digital-construction techniques using one single radiation-tolerant field-programmable gate array for implementing an embedded system with a 32-bit central processing unit, commercial intellectual-property cores, and custom-specified logic; 2) implementing two independent communication buses, one for instrument commanding and instrument health monitoring and another one for transferring scientific and housekeeping data to the spacecraft; 3) implementing simple and well-arranged hardware, firmware, and software; and 4) implementing in-flight software-reconfiguration capabilities available from ground command. The SIR-2 ICU performs data acquisition, data processing, and temperature regulation. Per-spectrum averaging and per-pixel oversampling are supported to reduce measurement noise. A temperature regulator for the instrument sensor unit is also implemented, with the purpose of reducing dark current noise from the detector. The embedded real-time software is implemented as a multirate cyclic executive with interrupts. Five different tasks are maintained, running with a 10-ms base cycle time. A safe mode is implemented in the boot-loader, allowing in-flight software patching through the MIL-STD-1553B bus. The advanced features of this architecture make it an excellent choice for the control unit of the scientific SIR-2 instrument, compared with architectures from previous heritage.


In contemporary design, vehicle impact into the structures is paid great attention since they can be dominant, depending on the type of structure. The key issue in the vehicle impact analysis is the proper determination of intensity and way of action of dynamic forces on the structural element and its behavior after the imparted load. The Eurocodes, in the annexes provide recommendations for determination of force intensity depending on mass and velocity of the colliding vehicle. Equivalent static loads causing approximate effects on the structural elements are used as quite approximate and efficient methods. The paper comprises the analysis of deformation of columns having the same characteristics, exposed to impact loads via the equivalent static loads, depending on the stress state in columns, and a comparative analysis has been done.


The aerodynamic interactions of the assist gas during fusion laser cutting determine the cutting performance. Therefore, this subject has been object of multiple studies in order to surpass the drawbacks exhibited by conventional cutting heads. Utilization of off-axis De Laval nozzles to inject a supersonic gas jet has been demonstrated to be an effective option to increase performance and cut quality during fusion laser cutting. However, all attempts performed in this direction have been carried out using axisymmetric supersonic nozzles.In this work, cutting results performed by means of a novel cutting head incorporating an off-axis nozzle with rectangular cross section are presented. The results demonstrate the capability of this novel approach to laser cut difficult materials such as Al-Cu alloys for aeronautic applications.The aerodynamic interactions of the assist gas during fusion laser cutting determine the cutting performance. Therefore, this subject has been object of multiple studies in order to surpass the drawbacks exhibited by conventional cutting heads. Utilization of off-axis De Laval nozzles to inject a supersonic gas jet has been demonstrated to be an effective option to increase performance and cut quality during fusion laser cutting. However, all attempts performed in this direction have been carried out using axisymmetric supersonic nozzles.In this work, cutting results performed by means of a novel cutting head incorporating an off-axis nozzle with rectangular cross section are presented. The results demonstrate the capability of this novel approach to laser cut difficult materials such as Al-Cu alloys for aeronautic applications.


The blood leakage is a critical problem during Hemodialysis therapy. One of the preventive methods to stop the accident associated with the blood leakage is to install a blood leakage monitoring system. This monitoring system is intended for use by the hemodialysis patients with kidney disorder. The aim of this paper is to present such a design that can automatically detect the blood leakage occurrence on the atriovenous fistula and alert the patient about blood leakage by sound and warning light. This system consists of optical sensor, Microcontroller, Bluetooth Module, Alert Components (LED & buzzer) and Computer. To adsorb the blood due to venous needle dislodgement the absorbent material is used. The sensor detects the light intensity of the absorbent material and gives the output accordingly. In microcontroller, the simple algorithm that defining the sensing of Red color only is made to evaluate. Thus the system gives the result by sensing red color only. When the blood accumulates the absorbent material, the microcontroller enables the alert components and also this blood leakage occurrence is transmitted to the computer via Bluetooth module. Thus the healthcare workers can take essential action immediately to prevent the undue blood loss during Hemodialysis therapy.


In addition to heat or kinetic energy, coal can be used to produce carbon (in various forms), hydrogen and chemicals containing these elements. Coal conversion developments have recently tended to be concentrated on single products to replace those in declining supply. The apparent economics depend on cost projections of other fossil fuels but the future market balance between fuels may also be important. Proposals have been made to improve the economics of coal conversion by combining various unit processes together in 'complexes'. Some of these proposals are reviewed; frequently they are inspired by specific situations. Some existing coal processing plants have acquired breadth with maturity; this may become common. Some general considerations that may be taken into account in assessing coalplexes are discussed, including capital, flexibility and conservation. The optimization of coalplexes, however, impinges on the whole structure of energy availability and use. These relations are explored and some suggestions made, including a possibly important role for synthesis gas.


MacTel type 2 is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative condition primarily affecting the tem- poral area of the central retina. Subtle generalised increases in foveal autofluorescence are early sign of the disease. During the course of examining autofluorescence imaging at the Reading Centre of Moorfields Eye Hospital, we identified a new hitherto undescribed pattern of autofluorescence in patients with MacTel type 2. This pattern consists of focal hyperauto- fluorescent deposits (HADs). Cross-sectionally, we studied HADs prevalence and patterns of distribution in MacTel type 2 patients, family members and controls in fundus autofluorescence and fundus colour images. We carried out a detailed phenomenological description of HADs using a multimodal approach consisting of point-to-point correlative analysis of fundus auto- fluorescence, colour fundus imaging, fluorescein angiography imaging and high-definition OCT. Longitudinally, we examined HADs progression over a 5-year-period and HADs in the clinical progression of MacTel type 2. In parallel, we carried out in vivo investigations to examine our hypothesis that hyperautofluorescent deposits have an autofluorescent signature distinct from that of Bruch's membrane and the RPE and that this autofluorescent signature could mark specific pathological states. We used the microprobe synchrotron X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction analysis to examine the effect of trace metals and elements on drusen autofluorescence. We demonstrated that HADs are a newly identified pattern of autofluores- cence change in patients with MacTel type 2 by showing that HADs prevalence, topographical distribution, progression; all strongly correlate with the disease. We explored the potential of autofluorescence imaging as technique to derive specific information on deposits/drusen and RPE layer in pathological states. We discovered the presence of calcium is associated with the precipitation of hydroxyapatite, a constituent of drusen that had not been described before. Future studies are required to confirm the potential for the use of HADs as a biomarker the in clinical settings.


The Alliance for Cellular Signaling (AfCS) has chosen cultured adult mouse cardiac myocytes as a system for studying cellular signaling. We developed a reproducible protocol for the isolation and culture of large numbers of viable, rod-shaped myocytes. With this protocol, we routinely isolated 1.5to 1.7 million myocytes per heart, of which 65% to 74% were rod-shaped. After 24 hours in culture, myocytes were 80% rod-shaped, and 88% of the viable, rod-shaped myocytes originally plated were retained. Cultured myocytes demonstrated predictable ligand-induced changes in accumulation of cAMP, phosphorylation of signaling proteins, and excitation-contraction coupling (both calcium transients and contraction). By these criteria, the short-term cultured adult mouse cardiac myocytes are suitable for signaling studies. For future studies requiring the expression of exogenous proteins, protein mutants, or vector-based RNA interference (RNAi), we established a long-term culture system (72 hours) that relies on medium supplemented with 2, 3-butanedione monoxime as well as insulin, transferrin, and selenium. Myocytes cultured for 72 hours in this manner remained viable and were approximately 70% rod-shaped. Finally, using adenovirus-mediated gene transduction, we demonstrated expression of an exogenous β-galactosidase reporter gene for 72 hours in cultured myocytes.


Disease Modelling of chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma plays an important role in medical decision making. State transition models are the most frequently used method. The objective is to illustrate the elements and the most important underlying procedures for designing a decision analytic Markov model with only three-states.

METHOD
Being "healthy" can be interpreted as a norm state, being "sick" as a temporary state and "dead" as an absorbing state. Transitions with accompanying transition probabilities that allow a cohort of model objects "to flow" between the cumulative exhaustive and mutually exclusive states complete the model structure. Half-cycle correction helps in overcoming the fitting problem of the discrete time valuation of Markov models. A model with the three states healthy, sick and dead is the easiest way to define a reasonable model that covers almost all aspects of a Markov disease model. The absorbing state dead helps in terminating a model. The temporary state sick acts as an event counter and the state healthy serves as a reservoir of modelling objects. The definition of the number and length of cycles completes the definition of a simple state transition model. Additional supplementary material with a functional sample model is provided.


Objectives:to estimate the coverage of the Live Births Information System (SINASC) and the contribution of potential sources of information in a sample of municipalities in the mesoregion of Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, in 2008.Methods:the list of live births (LBs) reported to the SINASC was complemented by LBs located by an active search of registry offices, health units, social services departments, key informants in the communities, traditional midwives, churches, pharmacies and the records of municipal health departments. Coverage was calculated by comparing the number of LBs reported to the SINASC with the total after the active search.Results:the results indicate poor coverage by the SINASC of less than 60% in three of the five municipalities studied. No Live Birth Declaration (LBD) was issued in the case of almost a quarter of the underreported LBs. The main sources of information were registry offices, hospital and Basic Health Units (BHUs), representing a total of 60% of the LBs located by the active search.Conclusions:the active search for LBs identified problems regarding the quality of birth registry information in small-scale municipalities, related primarily to problems with collecting and distributing SINASC information in these areas.


Maila Sari Brebes Nugget Company is one of the companies engaged in the food industry, in that its sales of Nugget products have a fluctuating volume of sales each month due to the lack of application of scientific forecasting planning methods, so forecasting techniques need to be applied by the company. This study aims to optimize the sales plan of Maila Sari Brebes Nugget, do the calculation between the Exponential Smoothing method and the Least Square method of the error value, can be used as an appropriate and effective method in accordance with the real sales data of Maila Sari Brebes. Using the Microsoft Excel 2010 application and POM-QM for Windows 5. Based on the results of the analysis that has been done that the Exponential Smoothing method α = 0.9 has a smaller difference with an average difference of 508.892833 and an average forecast error rate of 3.44% per month, compared to the Least Square method which has an average difference of 6064,772 and an average error rate of forecasters of 41.67% per month


Despite the unprecedented success in the rapid development of several effective vaccines against the Cov-SARS-2, global vaccination rollout efforts suffer from vaccine distribution inequality and vaccine acceptance, leading to insufficient public immunity provided by the vaccine products. While a major current focus in vaccine acceptance research is how to model and inform vaccine acceptance based on social-demographic parameters, characteristics of vaccine acceptance are not well understood and in particular, it is not known whether and how information diffusion influences vaccine acceptance. This study examines how information diffusion can change vaccine acceptance by developing a comprehensive computational model with an agent-based simulation technique to overcome the modeling and quantification complexity associated with socio-demographics, vaccine types, population statistics, and information diffusion. Our analyses, calibrated by the vaccine acceptance survey data from the provinces and territories of Canada, provide clear evidence that the propagation of information can greatly influence vaccine acceptance rates. The results illustrate that spread of negative messages about the COVID-19 vaccines can cause significant vaccine hesitancy that challenges the goal of a high public immunity provided by the vaccines. Our findings might help solve the vaccine hesitancy problem by focusing more on individuals' opinions and behavior.


The increase in the number of older populations has raised concerns globally. This demographic changes is due to the increase in life expectancy and declines in fertility as well as mortality rates. Malaysia is also currently experiencing the demographic changes and these changes leads to concerns on the uncertaintiness of future family care and the need for long-term care services. Therefore, this study investigates on the level of awareness on financing long term care cost between rural and urban residential area and marital status amomg respondents in Malaysia. 452 responds were analysed using multiple linear regiression model to identify the variables that influenced the level of acceptance and awareness towards long-term care cost. Findings show that dependency towards retirement income is significant from urban-rural residents and among single respondents. Health status is also significant for both rural-urban and marital status. However, literacy towards the long term care cost is significant among respondents residing in urban areas only and also married couples. The findings are beneficial and relevant to demonstrate on the importance of financial planning to fund for future long-term care costs.


Safe and efficient provision of electrical stimulation (ES) for nerve repair and regeneration is a problem that needs to be addressed. In this study, a silk fibroin/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)/Ti3C2Tx (SF/PVDF-HFP/MXene) composite scaffold with piezoelectricity was developed by electrospinning technology. MXene was loaded to the scaffold to enhance the piezoelectric properties (Output voltage reaches up to 100 mV), mechanical properties, and antibacterial activity. Cell experiments demonstrated piezoelectric stimulation under external ultrasonication for promoting the growth and proliferation of Schwann cells (SCs) cultured on this electrospun scaffold. Further in vivo study with rat sciatic nerve injury model revealed that the SF/PVDF-HFP/MXene nerve conduit could induce the proliferation of SCs, enhance the elongation of axon, and promote axonal myelination. Under the piezoelectric effect of this nerve scaffold, the rats with regenerative nerve exhibited a favorable recovery effect of motor and sensory function, indicating a safe and feasible method of using this SF/PVDF-HFP/MXene piezoelectric scaffold for ES provision in vivo.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly malignant type of adult brain tumor with a poor prognosis. Temozolomide (TMZ), a DNA alkylating agent, has been widely used as an effective first-line chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of GBM patients. The efficacy of TMZ in GBM depends on the absence of the DNA repair protein MGMT which reverses the DNA damage induced by TMZ. The MGMT promoter is hypermethylated in about 45% of GBMs, resulting in lack of MGMT expression and increased responsiveness to TMZ. TMZ is less effective in MGMT unmethylated GBMs. We propose that EGFR inhibition downregulates MGMT and sensitizes glioma cells to TMZ and a combination of pretreatment with erlotinib followed by TMZ could be a useful therapeutic approach in MGMT expressing GBMs. As our experimental model, we used multiple MGMT unmethylated lines from the Mayo Clinic patient derived xenografts (PDXs) panel. Our data demonstrate that exposure of cells to erlotinib for 48h results in downregulation of MGMT at the mRNA and protein level. Additionally, EGFR inhibition activates the AP-1 transcription factor, and overexpression of AP-1 components Fos and Jun results in decreased MGMT expression in TMZ resistant PDXs, suggesting that AP-1 acts as a transcriptional repressor of MGMT. We further identified that the mice implanted with TMZ resistant PDXs pretreated with afatinib followed by TMZ treatment survived longer compared to those treated with TMZ alone. Thus, the use of EGFR inhibition may enhance the sensitivity of MGMT unmethylated GBMs to TMZ.


Abstract The recent urban development in Xi'an illustrates how local authorities are rebuilding an imagined and ancient capital of China which is tied to the remote Tang dynasty, a symbol of the glorious Chinese civilization. Based on instrumental uses of the past, the municipal government has implemented heritage plans to create an aesthetically pleasing and economically valuable destination for display and consumption. This study contributes to an understanding of the contested nature of heritage in the rapidly shifting urban landscape of contemporary China. Rather than fully following the official script, participants in the heritage industry have different responses to the changing social and living environment in Xi'an. Despite the nation-state's overwhelming involvement in people's daily lives, I suggest that there is still space where individuals may challenge the dominant narrative. While such challenges might not replace the existing official discourse, people adapt, negotiate and contest these heritage discourses and practices to pursue their own interests.


Hydrogen sulfide sorption activities of manganese oxide and Mn-Fe-Cu mixed oxide sorbents were examined in a fixed bed reactor. Sulfur retention capacity of Mn-O sorbent was found to be quite high at 600 °C both in the absence and presence of hydrogen gas (0.17 and 0.14 g S/g sorbent, respectively). This sorbent has a high porosity and a relatively high surface area. Best regeneration temperature of this sorbent was found as 700 °C, with a gas stream containing 6% oxygen in nitrogen. Mn-Fe-Cu mixed oxide sorbent had a lower sulfur retention capacity (0.07 g S/g sorbent). However, both of these sorbents gave quite high initial sorption rate constants, resulting very sharp breakthrough curves. Deactivation model was shown to give good agreement with the experimental H2S breakthrough curves.


BACKGROUND
Midlife cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) increase risk of dementia. Black Americans experience an elevated prevalence of CVRF and dementia. However, little is known of how CVRF prior to midlife affect late-life cognition. We examined CVRF in adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife with late-life cognition in The Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR).

METHODS
STAR assesses cognitive aging among 764 Black Americans ages ≥50 (mean age=69;SD=9;range 53-95). Participants' body mass index, blood pressure, glucose, and total cholesterol were collected during Multiphasic Health Check-ups (MHC;1964-1985). At STAR baseline (2018-2019), executive function, verbal episodic memory, and semantic memory were measured using the Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales. Linear regression models examined associations between CVRF and cognition adjusting for demographics and years since MHC.

RESULTS
At MHC, 36% of participants had 1 CVRF and 26% had ≥2. Twenty-two percent of participants were adolescents (ages:12-20), 62% young adults (ages:21-34), and 16% midlife adults (ages:35-56). Overweight/obesity was not associated with cognition. Hypertension was associated with worse executive function [β(95%CI):-0.14(-0.28,-0.0003)] and verbal episodic memory [β(95%CI):-0.22(-0.37,-0.07)] compared to normotension. Diabetes was associated with worse executive function [β(95%CI):-0.43(-0.83,-0.03)]. Having ≥2 CVRF (versus 0) was associated with worse executive function [β(95%CI):-0.19(-0.34,-0.03)] and verbal episodic memory [β(95%CI):-0.25(-0.41,-0.08)]. Adolescents with hypertension had lower late-life executive function compared to normotensive adolescents [β(95%CI):-0.39(-0.67,-0.11)]. Young adulthood hypertension [β(95%CI):-0.29(-0.49,-0.09)] and midlife hyperlipidemia [β(95%CI):-0.386(-0.70,-0.02)] were associated with lower verbal episodic memory.

CONCLUSIONS
Among Black Americans, lifecourse CVRF were associated with poorer executive function and verbal episodic memory emphasizing the importance of cardiovascular health on the aging brain.


The reflectance of nickel-pigmented anodized thin alumina films on aluminium has been measured in the infrared range between 5 and . The strong absorption of plain porous alumina, found at around for p-polarized light at an oblique angle of incidence and originating from the longitudinal optical phonons interacting with light, is reduced for pigmented alumina. Electrochemical deposition of nickel in the pores of anodic alumina starts from the bottom of the pores, forming a nickel-pigmented bottom layer as the time of pigmentation increases. It is shown from p-polarized reflectance measurements at an oblique angle of incidence that with increasing thickness of the nickel-filled bottom layer the LO mode absorption is decreasing. This is consistent with effective-medium calculations which have been performed using the Maxwell Garnett model. It is found to be an effect of the geometrical shape and orientation of the nickel particles, which for these samples appear as rods with their long axes perpendicular to the sample surface.


A feeding trial was conducted to assess the nutritional values of canola meal as a substitute for fishmeal in diets for kuruma shrimp using five isocaloric diets (190 kJ kg−1) prepared by replacing 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of fishmeal protein with canola meal protein in CM0, CM10, CM20, CM30 and CM40 diets respectively. Triplicate groups of juveniles (0.19 g) were fed the respective diets for 60 days in tanks. At the end of trial, weight gain (%) and specific growth rate (% day−1) were not significantly (P > 0.05) different among shrimp fed CM0, CM10 and CM20 diets. However, growth was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in shrimp fed CM30 and CM40 diets. As with growth performance, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were also decreased (P < 0.05) in CM30 and CM40 groups. Whole body dry matter, methionine and proline were significantly decreased with canola meal substitution levels. In general, retention efficiency of protein and indispensible amino acids were decreased as canola meal increased in diets. It may be concluded that 20% fishmeal protein can be successfully replaced with canola meal, while supplementation of amino acids or blending with complementary proteins could facilitate higher fishmeal replacements in kuruma shrimp diets.


Background: Early therapy response is currently not regarded for further treatment decisions as standard of care in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). Predictive markers for the success of a certain therapy could support the physician's choice of adequate and beneficial therapies by simultaneous reduction of unnecessary toxicity. Proliferation makers as Ki-67 seem to be a suitable tool, as dynamic changes of proliferation (as result of induction therapy) have been shown to be most important for outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy prediction in patients with pCR in distinct BC subtypes (luminal B, TNBC, HER2+). Methods: Trial design: ADAPT combines early assessment of prognosis by conventional markers (e.g. molecular classification, nodal status) with dynamic measurement of proliferation changes during a 3-week induction therapy, using baseline diagnostic core biopsy and a second biopsy after induction therapy. ADAPT consists of an umbrella trial and five different sub-trials (HR+/HER2-, HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+, HR-/HER2-, Elderly) and is set up as prospective, multi-center, controlled, non-blinded, randomized phase II/III trial. Subtype-specific treatment across the sub-trials is highly innovative and involves the following treatment strategies: • HR+/HER2-: endocrine therapy (ET) vs. chemotherapy (4xPac q2w – 4xEC q2w vs. 8xNab-Pac q1w – 4xEC q2w) + ET, depending on risk classification/early response. • HER2+/HR+: T-DM1 vs. T-DM1 + ET vs. trastuzumab + ET. • HER2+/HR-: Trastuzumab + Pertzumab ± Paclitaxel q1w. • TN: Nab-Paclitaxel + Gemcitabine vs. nab-Pac + Carboplatin. • Elderly: 2xMyocet + Cyclophosphamide q3w, depending on cPR/cCR or NC/toxicity the treatment will be continued for two more cycles or changed to 6xPac q1w. Adaptation/change in therapy regimens can be made by interim analysis after n=130 in each sub-trial. Eligibility criteria: Histologically confirmed unilateral primary invasive BC with known HR-/HER2-status (central pathology) for allocation to the respective sub-trial. Pts requiring chemo- or targeted (anti-HER2) therapy must have adequate laboratory values and organ function and must have no contraindications for the planned treatment. Primary endpoints: Evaluation of dynamic test for outcome prediction/prospective comparison of 5yr EFS in responders (intermediate risk (RS 12-25) / good response to short-term ET in HR+/HER2- or pts with pCR in HER2+/TN BC) compared to low risk HR+/HER2- (RS≤11, N0-1) pts (control group). Statistical methods: Assumption across sub-protocols: adjuvant CTx can be spared in HR+/HER2- or pCR be achieved in HER2+/TN in expected 1120 (HR+/HER2-) or 170 (HER2+/TN) pts, respectively. Outcome will be compared to the control group (expected n=640 HR+/HER2- pts: low risk (by RS), i.e. no CTx). Assuming 94% 5yr survival in control group, one-sided test of non-inferiority at 95% CI will have 80% power for survival non-inferiority margin of 3.2% (i.e. 90.8% survival). Present and target accrual: By June 2014, 73 active sites have recruited 1820 pts for ADAPT HR+/HER2-. Target accrual is 4000 pts. 190 of 380 pts were successfully randomized for ADAPT HER2+/HR+. ADAPT HER2+/HR- has included 17 of 220 pts and ADAPT Triple Negative has recruited 150 of 336 pts. Citation Format: Ulrike Nitz, Oleg Gluz, Raquel von Schumann, Daniel Hofmann, Ronald E Kates, Sherko Kuemmel, Michael Braun, Claudia Schumacher, Benno Nuding, Bahriye Aktas, Helmut Forstbauer, Nicolai Maass, Mahdi Rezai, Stefan Kraemer, Mathias Warm, Rachel Wuerstlein, Nadia Harbeck. ADAPT - Adjuvant Dynamic marker-Adjusted Personalized Therapy trial optimizing risk assessment and therapy response prediction in early breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-2-04.


Traditional methods of coal seam gas drainage rely on the use of reservoir pressure reduction to promote gas desorption from the coal matrix. Studies in coal mining gas drainage operations, particularly in coal seams that are deeply undersaturated and have low permeability, found the rate of reservoir pressure reduction was prohibitively slow. In such conditions, lengthy production delays have been experienced while additional gas drainage drilling is undertaken in an attempt to reduce seam gas content below specified threshold limits. Such drilling represents a high additional operating cost and yields low total gas production whilst adversely impacting the mine's gas drainage drilling schedule. In extreme cases known zones of difficult to drain coal are avoided resulting in a loss of potentially recoverable coal and gas reserves. An alternative method for enhancing coal seam production which does not rely on reservoir pressure reduction has been identified. This method, known as the cyclic inert gas injection method, involving the injection of nitrogen, has potential application in deeply undersaturated and low permeability coal seams enabling seam gas to be removed and permeability increased without the need to reduce reservoir pressure to the critical desorption point. The cyclic inert gas injection method is presented and discussed.


Among the many components that contribute to air pollution, airborne mineral dust plays an important role due to its biogeochemical impact on the ecosystem and its radiative-forcing effect on the climate system. In East Asia, dust storms frequently accompany the cold and dry air masses that occur as part of springtime cold front systems. China's capital, Beijing, and other large cities are on the primary pathway of these dust storm plumes, and their passage over such population centers causes flight delays, pushes grit through windows and doors, and forces peop Ie indoors. Furthermore, during the spring these anthropogenic and natural air pollutants, once generated over the source regions, can be tran sported out of the boundary layer into the free troposphere and can travel thousands of kilometers across the Pacific into the United States and beyond. In this paper, we will demonstrate the capability of a new satellite algorithm to retrieve aerosol optical thickness and single scattering albedo over brightreflecting surfaces such as urban areas and deserts. Such retrievals have been difficult to perform using previously available algorithms that use wavelengths from the mid-visible to the near IR because they have trouble separating the aerosol signal from the contribution due to the bright surface reflectance. The new algorithm, called Deep Blue, utilizes blue-wavelength measurements from instruments such as Sea WiFS and MODIS to infer the properties of aerosols, since the surface reflectance over land in the blue part of the spectrum is much lower than for longer wavelength channels. We have validated the satellite retrieved aerosol optical thickness with data from AERONET sunphotometers over desert and semi-desert regions. The comparisons show reasonable agreements between these two. These new satellite products will allow scientists to determine quantitatively the aerosol properties near sources using high spatial resolution measurements from Sea WiFS and MODISlike instruments. The multiyear satellite measurements since 1998 from SeaWiFS will be utilized to investigate the interannual variability of source, pathway, and dust loading associated with these dust outbreaks in East Asia. The monthly averaged aerosol optical thickness during the springtime from SeaWiFS will also be compared with the MODIS Deep Blue products.


Muscle fatigue can cause productivity loss, human errors, unsafe actions, injuries and work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). To compensate muscle fatigue, people adapt their working strategy, changing movement patterns, recruiting different muscles and changing kinetic or kinematic components of the movement (like joint angles and velocities). This review, according to PRISMA Statement, was performed to summarize and analyze studies concerning muscle fatigue assessment using accelerometers and motion analysis. It was based on relevant articles published in 6 databases, namely Academic Search Complete, Inspec, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science. A total of 15 articles were included in the systematic review. The following topics were analyzed: muscle groups evaluated, the tasks performed by the volunteer subjects, the assessment methods applied and the equipment and software used. Similar conclusions were obtained, regarding movement variability, muscular adaptations and changes in movement strategies, due to fatigue.


Thalamic-striatal damage of symmetric bilateral distribution was found in four severely asphyxiated neonates born at term. Two patients showed evidence of bilateral thalamic-striatal necrosis and two showed hemorrhage of the same distribution. The four patients had a common history of prolonged asphyxia in the neonatal period combined with severe acidosis and respiratory insufficiency. The outcome was lethal in all children. Three patients survived for some time and showed additional evidence of generalized brain damage including cortical necrosis and subcortical leucomalacia and one patient was found to have intravital calcification of the putamen at 14 days of age. The appearance of thalamic-striatal damage in US, CCT and NMR imaging is discussed. Thalamic-striatal damage may not be detectable by US until several days after the initial insult. US does not permit a distinction between necrosis and hemorrhage, but CCT and NMR imaging may be successful. Only five infants with a comparable pattern of brain damage due to asphyxia have been described so far. Our own studies seem to indicate that thalamic-striatal damage is the hallmark of more widespread brain damage, and that it will be found more frequently if carefully looked for in asphyxiated neonates born at term.


Organisational Memory is concept which has gained some currency in recent years. The aim of this paper is to query the conceptual underpinnings of the notion. An alternative and more social conception of the kind of phenomena 'organisational memory ' points to is offered, one which connects more thoroughly with 'remembering activities' as practical accomplishments of organisational life,


The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of eco innovation efforts and the relationships with the sustainable development in manufacturing industries particularly in the automotive industries. The outcomes of this paper attempts to describe types of eco innovation efforts from technology and non-technological dimension. Furthermore, the cutting edge of this paper presents constructs for dynamic capabilities related to the eco innovation efforts. Finally, this paper presents the new research opportunities for eco innovation research mainly in developing countries.


1 Discrete, localized elevations of myoplasmic [Ca2+], Ca2+'sparks', were readily detected using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fluo‐3 and laser scanning confocal microscopy in 'dyspedic' 1B5 myotubes, i.e. myotubes which do not express ryanodine receptors (RyRs), transduced with virions containing cDNA for RyR type 3 that were saponin permeabilized to allow dye entry. Ca2+ sparks were never observed in non‐transduced RyR null myotubes. 2 The spatial locations of sparks observed in permeabilized myotubes roughly corresponded to regions of RyR protein expression in the same myotube as detected after subsequent fixation and antibody staining. 3 Permeabilized RyR3‐transduced myotubes exhibited similar punctate peripheral RyR3 protein immunohistochemical patterns as myotubes fixed before permeabilization indicating that permeabilization did not affect the structural organization of the triad. 4 Ca2+ sparks, recorded in line scan mode, in permeabilized myotubes expressing RyR3 exhibited mean amplitudes (change in fluorescence/mean fluorescence, ΔF/F: 1.20 ± 0.04) and temporal rise times (10‐90 %; 6.31 ± 0.12 ms) similar to those of sparks recorded in permeabilized frog skeletal muscle fibres (0.98 ± 0.01; 6.11 ± 0.07, respectively) using the same confocal system. Spatial extent and temporal duration of the Ca2+ sparks were ≈40 % larger in the RyR3‐expressing myotube cultures than in frog fibres. 5 Ca2+ sparks recorded in line scan mode often occurred repetitively at the same spatial location in RyR3‐expressing myotubes. Such repetitive events were highly reproducible in amplitude and spatio‐temporal properties, as previously observed for repetitive mode sparks in frog skeletal muscle. 6 Ca2+ sparks recorded in xy mode were frequently compressed in the y (slower scan) direction compared to the x direction. This asymmetry was reproduced assuming spatially symmetric events having the time course of Ca2+ sparks recorded in line scan (xt) mode. 7 These expression studies demonstrate that the presence of RyR3 is sufficient for the production of Ca2+ sparks in a skeletal muscle system lacking the expression of any other RyR isoform.


Precise asymptotics for moderate deviation probabilities are established for open convex sets in both the finite- and infinite-dimensional settings. Our results are based on the existence of dominating points for these sets, a related representation formula, and asymptotics for the integral term in this formula.


Received: January 7, 2020 Approved: April 24, 2020 ABSTRACT In this work the topic of the training of social skills in the Bachelor in Education. Pedagogy-Psychology was approached, in order to reach a professional performance. The proposed objective was directed to the elaboration of a methodology to improve the process of training of social skills: active listening and teamwork in the students of 2nd year of the aforementioned career at the Pinar del Río University "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Methods of the theoretical level and the empirical level were used. The last, were used through its corresponding instruments for the diagnosis: Scale for social skills in pedagogical careers, Guide for the analysis of guiding documents , Guide for observation to the classes, Guide for interview to the teachers and to the students. It was followed a mixed approach which involved both a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of the results. As a result, the elaborated methodology, based on sciences related with pedagogy, was organized in four stages with its corresponding aims and actions, which allowed for the coherent organization of the training of these social skills in students. With the theoretical assessment carried out through the focus group method, the relevance of the methodology in relation to the problem encountered was highlighted as well as the internal coherence between its stages and actions.


The threading dislocations in GaN films grown on Al2O3 substrates were studied by plan view transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A pure edge dislocation and a mixed dislocation with different kinds of screw components, could be distinguished by taking the images near and far-away from the <0001> zone. The experimental results show that some pure edge dislocations form low-angle boundaries and other pure edge dislocations as well as mixed dislocations are randomly distributed in GaN films. The randomly distributed dislocations result from reactions of partial dislocations. Partial dislocations, on the other hand, is formed to eliminate the stacking disorder near the interface of GaN/Al2O3 films.


Tafsir bi al-ra'y is an interpretation of the Qur'an using al-ra'yu, which has several meanings, among them al i'tiqad (understanding, tradition), al-Ijtihad, al qiyas (analogy) as the term ahl al¬ra'y is often used to refer to the ashab al qiyas. (analogy users). As an understanding of the meaning of al ra'y in the context of hadith, considering the hadith emphasizes the meaning of al rayu as reason ansich (without based on knowledge / bil gair 'ilm). the meaning of al ra'y which is forbidden in the content of the hadith is an interpretation that is based solely on reason alone by not paying attention to the history or method or knowledge related or not by the principle of syar'i, more or less doing lies on the Qur'an. When associated with the interpretation of bi al-ra'yi is very different because the interpretation of bi al-ra'yi although dominated by reason but still also return to the basis of syar'i and the methods that apply during the interpretation, basically the interpretation of bi al ra'y that still meets the requirements of interpretation that is the study of language, rne pay attention to the history related to the situation and conditions when the verse comes down, understand nasikh mansukh and others are also by the principle of syar'iy , then it is permissible, on the contrary that only use reason alone, more arises from his lust, then the interpretation of bi al ra'y like this is forbidden.


A large area of X-ray irradiation causes some errors in measuring the residual stress of the curved surface by using sin2ƒμ method. To evaluate the true stress of the cylindrical surface, the relation between the errors of measured residual stress and sizes of X-ray irradiated areas was investigated experimentally and analytically. In the experiment masking tapes on the cylinder of tool steel were used to vary the size of the irradiated area. Bragg's X-ray diffractions in the irradiated regions of the cylinder were simulated in the analysis and the residual stresses were calculated according to sin2ƒμ method. These results show that (1) the magnitude of measured circumferential residual stress ƒÐ is smaller than true stress ƒÐƒÖ, (2) the ratio between two stresses ƒÐ/ƒÐƒÖ and the difference in those stresses ƒÌ are represented by the following approximate relations ƒÐ/ƒÐƒÖ =Mcos{1.92(ƒÄ/ƒÏ)}, ƒÌ=ƒÐ[M-1sec{1.92(ƒÄ/ƒÏ)}-1], where M=1.81(t/ƒÏ)+1, the X-ray irradiated area 2ƒÄ, the diameter of the cylinder 2ƒÏ, and the thickness of the masking tape t, and (3) the magnitude of the measured axial residual stress is hardly affected by the X-ray irradiated area or by the diameter of the cylinder.


In this paper we develop a framework for fast profiling and quality verification of datasets for language engineering and information retrieval research. The profiling steps consist of an initial tokenization of the corpus to produce a frequency list from which some basic statistics are derived. Manual sampling is carried out to detect obvious discrepancies. Two diagnostic tests are performed to check for sparseness related measures. The behaviour of the function words is traced to gauge homogeneity of their distribution in documents.


Variable digital filters are especially difficult to design when the given variable design specifications are complicated. This paper proposes a new method for designing two dimensional (2-D) variable digital filters with arbitrarily variable, magnitude characteristics and linear phase. By combining variable magnitude specification with linear phase specification, we first form a variable 2-D frequency response specification, which is complex-valued. Then we propose a method for decomposing the complex-valued variable specification into real-valued and complex-valued components. We call this decomposition the Real Complex decomposition. Finally, the resulting real-valued components are approximated by using one-dimensional (1-D) polynomials, and the complex-valued components are approximated by using constant 2-D filters. Connecting the 1-D polynomials and 2-D constant filters results in a variable 2-D filter. The significant advantage of the design method is that it can reduce the original difficult problem to a set of easier ones based on the Real-Complex decomposition.


We present a novel visual representation, called local co-occurring patterns (LCPs), which consists of characteristic local features and the statistical co-occurance relations between them. The LCPs can be discovered using an associate rule mining algorithm. Experiments show that LCPs widely exist in a large image corpus, and are more discriminant than individual local features in visual categorization tasks such as subcategory and face recognition. Furthermore, state-of-the-art categorization performance was achieved on two test data-sets.


The secondary electron emission, the Auger electron emission and the elastically reflected intensity have been measured simultaneously in a reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) beam rocking experiment with Pt(111). Secondary and Auger yield depend similarly on incident angle. In particular, both quantities exhibit maxima at primary beam orientations around the resonance maxima of the specular beam intensity. The corresponding primary wave field arising by diffraction in the crystal has been calculated using the dynamical theory of RHEED. It turns out that, in contrast to previous suppositions, at the resonances there is a minimum of primary electron density at the atomic sites. It is shown that the behaviour of both yields is rather a consequence of total primary electron intensity near the surface, which is enhanced at the resonances.


In spite of being one of the most relevant components of the biosphere, the plank- ton-benthos network is still poorly studied as such. This is partly due to the irregular occurrence of driving phenomena such as gelatinous plankton pulses in this realm. Gelatinous plankters rely on their life cycles and histories to exploit temporarily abundant resources with an undeniable, but often overlooked, impact on marine food webs. Dramatic increases of gelatinous filter-feeders and/or carnivores (both native and nonindigenous species) are frequently observed, and explana- tions of these blooms alternatively invoke ecosystem variability, climate change, unspecified anthropogenic perturbation or removal of top predators from trophic networks. Gelatinous plank- ters, however, are not anomalies in plankton dynamics: the recognition of the ecological impor- tance of their pulses, based on their life cycle patterns (often involving benthic stages), is a critical breakthrough to understand the cycling diversity of plankton in space and time. The current study focuses on the many neglected aspects of the ecology and biology of gelatinous zooplankton, describes how life cycle patterns are central in marine ecology, as are the pulses of gelatinous organisms, and highlights how such a dramatic lack of knowledge can affect our understanding of the marine ecosystem as a whole.


Laryngeal cancer commonly causes loss of bodily functions, damage to the body image, and threat to life itself. Amputation of the voice as the result of laryngectomy alters the way patients, their families, and others perceive their bodily changes of function and often results in alterations in the activities and roles that they are able to carry out. Loss of body parts can have enormous physical and emotional impact on the patient. Likewise, the surgical creation of alternative openings and passages, which are readily seen during even the most casual contact, can have a profound effect on body image.


ABSTRACT The conserved TOR (target of rapamycin) kinase is part of a TORC1 complex that regulates cellular responses to environmental stress, such as amino acid starvation and hypoxia. Dysregulation of Akt-TOR signaling has also been linked to the genesis of cancer, and thus, this pathway presents potential targets for cancer chemotherapeutics. Here we report that rapamycin-sensitive TORC1 signaling is required for the S-phase progression and viability of yeast cells in response to genotoxic stress. In the presence of the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), TOR-dependent cell survival required a functional S-phase checkpoint. Rapamycin inhibition of TORC1 signaling suppressed the Rad53 checkpoint-mediated induction of ribonucleotide reductase subunits Rnr1 and Rnr3, thereby abrogating MMS-induced mutagenesis and enhancing cell lethality. Moreover, cells deleted for RNR3 were hypersensitive to rapamycin plus MMS, providing the first demonstration that Rnr3 contributes to the survival of cells exposed to DNA damage. Our findings support a model whereby TORC1 acts as a survival pathway in response to genotoxic stress by maintaining the deoxynucleoside triphosphate pools necessary for error-prone translesion DNA polymerases. Thus, TOR-dependent cell survival in response to DNA-damaging agents coincides with increased mutation rates, which may contribute to the acquisition of chemotherapeutic drug resistance.


Purpose of review This review examines recent literature on Chagas disease in the immunosuppressed host. Recent findings Chagas disease in immunosuppressed patients may represent acute transmission in an organ recipient, or reactivation of chronic infection in an HIV-infected individual or patient receiving cardiac transplantation for Chagas cardiomyopathy. Transplantation of the kidney or liver from an infected donor resulted in transmission in 18–19 and 29%, respectively. Prospective monitoring usually detects acute infection before symptom onset; early treatment is highly effective. In heart transplant patients, reactivation symptoms include fever, myocarditis and skin lesions, and may mimic rejection. Approximately 20% of HIV- Trypanosoma cruzi infected patients experience reactivation; manifestations include meningoencephalitis and/or myocarditis. Summary Transplantation of the heart from a T. cruzi-infected donor is contraindicated; use of other organs can be considered. Guidelines recommend prospective monitoring rather than prophylactic treatment in recipients. Posttransplant monitoring for acute infection or reactivation relies on PCR, culture and microscopy of blood specimens regularly for at least 6 months. Treatment employs standard courses of benznidazole or nifurtimox, and immune reconstitution for the HIV-coinfected patient. Case reports suggest some HIV–T. cruzi-infected patients may benefit from secondary prophylaxis, but more data are needed to determine efficacy and specific regimens.


Objective: to verify whether the use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) with positive pressure predisposes to the appearance of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients. Method: prospective cohort of quantitative approach developed in intensive care unit (ICU) of a public hospital. Eligible patients were selected by convenience sampling. For data collection, a questionnaire consisting of items on clinical and laboratory variables was applied. The information was extracted from the medical records during a period of 15 days. Data analysis was descriptive and inferential. Significant results with p≤0.05 were considered significant. Results: hypertension was among the most incident comorbidities (29.1%) of the 79 patients evaluated. Among the patients analyzed, 59.5% required IMV with PEEP ≥10 cmH 2 O. Of the total number of patients, 91.1% evolved with renal dysfunction, according to the KDIGO classification. As an outcome, 34.2% of patients died. Patients who used PEEP >5 cmH 2 0 showed significant predisposition to renal dysfunction (p≤0.05). Conclusion: invasive mechanical ventilation with positive pressure (PEEP) was a factor that contributed to aggravate renal function in different gradations. It was found that patients receiving IMV with PEEP >5 cmH 2 O are more predisposed to the onset of AKI in the ICU, due to the tendency to advanced age, overweight, long time of mechanical ventilation and also hypertension.


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

The PI3K pathway plays a pivotal role in many cellular functions that include regulation of cell proliferation, survival, growth, angiogenesis, and motility. Dysregulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway is a common occurrence in cancer and could be a result of mutations in PIK3CA and PTEN, as well as loss of heterozygosity of PTEN. In endometrial cancer patients, the most frequent aberration is the activation of the PI3K/mAKT pathway with; (1) 80% loss of PTEN function and 30% PIK3CA mutations in type I endometrial cancer and (2) 20% PIK3CA mutation and 46% PIK3CA amplification in type II endometrial cancer. In this study, we investigated the functional consequences of the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors PF-04691502 and PF-05212384 in endometrial cancer cell lines for antiproliferative effects, pathway signaling inhibition and tumor growth inhibition. Both compounds had antiproliferative activity in vitro that translated to tumor growth inhibition in vivo. Moreover, in the MFE-280 xenograft model that harbors a PIK3CA mutation (P1047R), the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors showed tumor regression. These studies support the use of the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors for endometrial cancer.

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 2817. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2817


A field experiment undertaken at Suakoko in Liberia demonstrated that Xiphinema ifacolum Luc suppresses growth and yield of rice, Oryza sativa L. Nematode population reduction and yield increase were obtained with the soil application of carbofuran at the rates of 4 to 12 kg a.i.lha. Pathogenicity tests indicated that the nematode may interact with other root pathogens although a density of 10 X. ifacoluml100 ml soil alone caused about 30% reduction in the root system with respect to the control over a period of two months. The response of roots and root cells to the feeding of X. ifacolum resembles that observed for other longidorid nematodes.


The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the factors affecting long hospital stay of patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy. The analysis was based on 233 records of all patients operated on between 1995 and 1998. We have found that the main reasons of lengthened preoperative hospitalization were: insulin dependent diabetes and admission on the day excluding the chance of operation in a short time. Postoperatively, monitoring in intensive care unit and unfounded delay of discharge were the leading reasons of prolonged hospital stay.


Nowadays the problem of semantic video indexing is of great interest due to the wide diffusion of large video databases. In this paper we present a semantic video indexing algorithm based on finite-state machines that exploits the temporal dependencies of low-level descriptors extracted from the MPEG compressed bit-stream. The performance of the proposed algorithm have been evaluated considering the semantic indexing of soccer games video sequences, and the simulation results have shown the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


INTRODUCTION A 55-year-old man presented with intermittent episodes of urinary leak through the right groin following an abscess drainage at that site 2 months back. Since then, he had been suffering from recurrent urinary tract infection and urinary leak, which used to be treated symptomatically and by catherization. Intravenous urogram (IVU), voiding cystourethrogram (VCU), and cystoscopy done in our institution revealed a bladder diverticulum with benign prostate hyperplasia, which was communicating with the fistulous opening located in the right groin. Conservative management by catherization completely healed the fistula followed by transurethral resection of prostate. Patient was discharged after 14th day of TRUP and he is now regularly followed up. A long-standing fistula arising from a bladder diverticulum at relatively distant site is of extreme rarity. Vesicocutaneous fistula from an iatrogenic injury to vesical diverticulum resulting from a groin surgery has not been reported so far.