Objective To investigate the curative effect of anterior decompression, internal fixation and fusion in treatment of thoracolumbar fractures combined with spinal cord injuries. Methods Data of 537 cases with thoraeolumbar fractures combined with spinal cord injuries treated with anterior decompression, internal fixation and fusion from January 1985 to June 2002 were retrospectively analyzed and compared with the follow up result of 248 cases to observe paraplegia degree, functional recovery and spinal stability. Results No aggravation of nerve injury appeared in 537 cases. At discharge, the nerve function was excellent in 93 cases without spinal cord injury, got 1-3 grade recovery in 240 cases out of 275 cases with fresh fractures combined with incomplete paraplegia, improved at various degrees in 107 cases with old fractures. But of 62 cases with complete paraplegia, only five cases obtained mild neurological recovery. The results of follow up for 248 cases showed that, out of 26 cases with complete paralysis, there were only four cases with superficial sensory recovery and 204 cases with incomplete paralysis all got nerve function recovery at diffident extents. X-ray manifested goos fusion in all eases, of which, four cases were found with broken nails but without clinical symptomes. Conclusions The anterior decompression is an effective way for thoracolumbar fractures combined with spinal coral injuries, for it can attain complete decompression, high recovery rate of the nerve function, high rate of fixation and fusion at oue stage and good spinal stability.

Key words:
Thoracic vertebrae ;  Lumbar vertebrae ;  Fractures ;  Spinal fusion ;  Anterior decompression


Abstract Despite the existence of a vast literature reflecting hundreds of years of scholarship questioning the authorship of the works of Shakespeare, the conventional Library of Congress Name Authority File and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are unable to accurately describe this literature owing to their assumption that the author was William Shakspere of Stratford-upon-Avon. Adopting a pragmatic, philosophically realist perspective based in social epistemology, this article highlights past and current deficiencies in the authority records concerning Shakespeare and proposes changes that would better reflect the nature and purpose of this literature, as well as the historic signifiers of the named persons in question.


In this paper we present a new methodology for data accesses when solving batches of Tridiagonal and Pentadiagonal matrices that all share the same LHS matrix. By only storing one copy of this matrix there is a significant reduction in storage overheads and the authors show that there is also a performance increase in terms of compute time. These two results combined lead to an overall more efficient implementation over the current state of the art algorithms cuThomasBatch and cuPentBatch, allowing for a greater number of systems to be solved on a single GPU.


Most of the self-compatible (SC) cultivars of almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb. syn. P. amygdalus Batsch) have the S f haplotype. In this study, we cloned and characterized the S locus region of the S f haplotype of SC 'Lauranne'. The relative transcriptional orientation ofSFB f andS f -RNase and the physical distance between them are similar to those of other functional self-incompatible (SI) S haplotypes of Prunus, indicating that the genomic structure of the SC S f haplotype appears to be intact. Although there is no apparent mutation in the coding sequence of SFB f , the S f -RNase sequence in this study and previously reported S f -RNase sequences show discrepancies. First, as opposed to previous indications, the 'Lauranne' S f -RNase sequence encodes a histidine residue in place of a previously reported arginine residue in the conserved C2 region of Prunus S-RNase. Direct sequencing of the polymerase chain reaction products from theS f -RNase of 'Tuono' confirmed that 'Tuono'S f -RNase also encodes the histidine residue. We found another difference in the 'Lauranne' S f -RNase sequence and other reported S f -RNase sequences. Namely, 'Lauranne' S f -RNase encodes a phenylalanine residue in place of a previously reported leucine residue in the conserved C5 region of Prunus S-RNase. This is also the case for 'Tuono' S f -RNase. Expression analysis of S f - RNase and SFB f by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed that S f - RNase transcripts were barely detectable in pistil, whereas SFB f transcripts were accumulated at a similar level to the level that was observed with SFB of other functional SIS haplotypes of almond. We discuss the possible molecular mechanisms of SC observed with the S f haplotype with special references to the expression of S f -RNase.


This little volume is one of a series being produced and published under the direction of "The National Foundation for Education in American Citizenship." The influence on American thought and culture of the concept and undertaking of Christian Missions is far more extensive and determinative than has been realized by more than a very limited number of even Christian leaders. It is hardly taken account of at all by people generally or by leaders in most phases of American life and culture. To such as have not given thought to this heretofore this brief monograph will be awakening, to many amazing. Dr. Latourette is probably the best equipped man in America to outline this influence. He has done it with admirable skill, verifying his own encyclopedic knowledge by reference to numerous writers, including authoritative interpreters. The work is fully documented. It should have very wide reading and study, by which a better understanding can be gained of the American temper and attitude. Thereby also the American position and influence in the world of today and tomorrow can be improved and extended. Nothing is more needed today than the introduction of religious and ethical qualities into the American scene and its world projection. W. O. Carver


The present invention discloses a smartphone which is provided with: a code reading unit 12 for reading a code in the smartphone 10; an operation environment setting unit 13 for analyzing the read code and thereby acquiring first operation environment setting information needed for a setting used for establishing a Bluetooth connection with a repeater 20, and for setting the smartphone 10 with the acquired information; a setting information transmission unit 14 for causing second operation environment setting information needed for a setting used to establish a wireless Wi-Fi connection to be read out from a setting information storage unit 11 and transmitted to the repeater 20; and a second operation environment setting unit 23 for setting the repeater 20 with the received second operation environment setting information. As long as the code is read in the smartphone 10, then even if the repeater 20 is not provided with a code reader, the reading of the code will enable the Bluetooth connection to be automatically set, and the wireless Wi-Fi connection to the repeater 20 to be automatically set.


The Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government, which among others regulates the extension of authority of the Province in the maritime sector, removes the authority of the District / Municipal over the supervision of the sea and fully submitted to the Province shall come into force effective by 2017. If the original authority of the Province from 4-12 miles is now expanded to 0-12 miles. One of the implications of this policy is the increasingly difficult oversight at sea. With limited budgets and human resources, this policy is doubtful of its effectiveness, besides its application there could be the possibility of emergence of problems due to changes in authority in the marine sector whether there is an impact on the local government of the District / City and on the community. This is interesting to study, this research was conducted to see the implementation of regional authority of West Java Province in the sea in 2017. This research uses descriptive research method with qualitative approach. The results showed that with the shift of authority affairs of West Java Province in the sea, problems arose because of the limited human resources, funds, facilities and infrastructure, and the range of control that is too far so that the handling of problems that arise in exercising the authority of the province in the sea becomes longer. Based on the above exposure, it can be concluded that the implementation of regional authority of West Java Province in the sea in 2017 is not optimal. There should be a synchronization of laws and regulations that clearly regulate the authority among the implementing agencies of regional authority of West Java Province on the Sea, and on the obligation to establish zoning regulation originally based on District / City to become Province based.


Government accounting and financial reporting aims to protect and manage public money and discharge accountability. These purposes, and the nature of public goods and tax financing, give rise to differences with commercial accounting. This is not yet reflected either in government accounting standards in English-speaking developed nations or in international public sector accounting standards. All of these are heavily influenced by private sector practices, which favour the accrual basis and consolidated reporting. This article argues for a gradual symmetric approach to accruals and a combination of government-wide and fund reporting. The author also proposes some broad accounting principles to promote political and economic accountability.


In order to evaluate a methane gas productivity of methane hydrate reservoirs, it is necessary to develop a numeric simulator predicting gas production behavior. For precise assessment of longterm gas productivity, it is important to develop a mathematical model which describes mechanical behaviors of methane hydrate reservoirs in consideration of their time-dependent properties and to introduce it into the numeric simulator. In this study, based on previous experimental results of triaxial compression tests of Toyoura sand containing synthetic methane hydrate, stress-strain relationships were formulated by variable-compliance-type constitutive model. The suggested model takes into account the time-dependent property obtained from laboratory investigation that time dependency of methane hydrate bearing sediment is influenced by methane hydrate saturation and effective confining pressure. Validity of the suggested model should be verified by other laboratory experiments on time-dependent behaviors of methane hydrate bearing sediment.


OBJECTIVE To identify any potential relations between the size of an emptied plaque cavity and the remodelling pattern, plaque or vessel dimensions, lumen narrowing, and other ultrasonic lesion characteristics. DESIGN Intravascular ultrasound was used to examine prospectively 51 ruptured ulcerated coronary plaques. Cross sectional area measurements comprised lumen, vessel, plaque, and emptied plaque cavity. Lumen narrowing was calculated as 1 − (lesion lumen area/reference lumen area) × 100%. A remodelling index was calculated as lesion vessel area/reference vessel area, and plaques were divided into those with values > 1.05 (group A) and ⩽ 1.05 (group B). RESULTS Of the total of 51 plaques, 36 (71%) were assigned to group A and 15 (29%) to group B. In neither group was there a significant difference in reference dimensions and lumen narrowing. However, lesion vessel (mean (SD): 22.6 (8.1) mm2 v 17.5 (4.3) mm2; p = 0.006) and plaque areas (15.8 (6.2) mm2 v 12.8 (3.2) mm2; p = 0.03) were greater in group A than in group B. The cavity inside the plaque was larger in group A than in group B (2.8 (1.6) mm2 v 1.8 (0.9) mm2; p = 0.007) and showed a positive linear relation with lesion and reference vessel size (r = 0.58 and 0.56, respectively; p < 0.001), but not with lumen narrowing. CONCLUSIONS The size of the emptied cavity inside ruptured plaques is on average larger in lesions with adaptive vascular remodelling, and shows a linear relation with lesion plaque and vessel size and with the reference dimensions, but not with the degree of lumen narrowing.


Polycrystalline Dy-doped SrTiO3 thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on CeO2-buffered yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystal substrates showed oxygen sensing characteristics at room temperature. The oxygen gas sensing characteristics depended on the amount of Dy-doping, and 1.5 mol% Dy-doping was most effective. The oxygen gas sensing characteristics were closely related to leakage current characteristics of Dy-doped SrTiO3 thin film deposited on ZnIn2O4/YSZ/Si(001) substrates. The suppression of leakage current by Dy-doping suggests that Ti4+ is substituted by Dy3+, and the Dy3+ acts as an acceptor. Further doping of Dy3+ brought about the increase of the leakage current, and it lowered the oxygen gas sensitivity.


Objective Primary headache disorders are one of the most common pain conditions. Nutritional habits in children and adolescents with different headache types are limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate if breastfeeding, trough milk composition and its psychological characteristics, has a protective effect on development of headache. Materials and Methods Two groups of subjects, 6–18 years old, were enrolled: 155 with recurrent primary headache, diagnosed according to ICHD-II criteria (cases); 161 without recurrent primary headache, recruited at school (healthy controls; HC). A questionnaire with four sections was administered to all children to evaluate status of the family, data on infant nutrition habits, presence of sleep disorders, recurrent abdominal pain, allergies, motion sickness and malocclusion. Results 45.2% of cases were affected by migraine without aura, 17.4% by tension-type headache and 16.1% by migraine with aura. The onset of symptoms occurred at a mean age of 8.9 years (2.8 SD). 61% of cases versus 95% of HC reported breastfeeding habits (p 90° and >95° centile was more frequent for cases. Discussion Our study shows a strong negative association, duration related, between recurrent primary headache and breastfeeding. To our knowledge this is the first study on this association.


There are three types of "building blocks" in the Bogomolov decomposition [B, Th.2] of compact Kahlerian manifolds with torsion c1, namely complex tori, CalabiYau varieties, and irreducible symplectic manifolds. We are interested in the last type, i.e. simply-connected compact Kahlerian manifolds carrying a holomorphic symplectic form which spans H. (The holonomy of a Ricci-flat Kahler metric is equal to Sp(r), hence these manifolds are hyperkahler [B].) The stock of available irreducible symplectic manifolds appears to be quite scarce, expecially if we think of the many examples of CalabiYau's. Every known irreducible symplectic manifold is a deformation of one of the following varieties: the Hilbert scheme parametrizing zero-dimensional subschemes of a K3 of fixed length [B], the generalized Kummer variety parametrizing zero-dimensional subschemes of a complex torus of fixed length and whose associated 0-cycle sums up to 0 [B], the (10-dimensional) desingularization of the moduli space of rank-two semistable torsion-free sheaves on a K3 with c1 = 0, c2 = 4 constructed by the author [O1]. Briefly: all known examples are deformations of an irreducible factor in the Bogomolov decomposition of a moduli space of semistable sheaves on a surface with trivial canonical bundle or, as in the last case, of a symplectic desingularization of such a moduli space. This paper provides a new example in dimension 6: the manifold in question is an irreducible factor in the Bogomolov decomposition of a symplectic desingularization of a moduli space of sheaves on an abelian surface. To put our result in perspective we recall some results on moduli spaces of sheaves on a surface with trivial canonical bundle. Let X be such a surface and D an ample divisor on it: given a vector w ∈ H∗(X;Z), we let Mw(X,D) be the moduli space of D-semistable torsion-free sheaves F on X with Mukai vector


It is good medical practise to discuss patients with complicated medical problems with a different medical specialist to find the best treatment option. Physicians can seek advise through consultancy and patients can ask for a second opinion. The Netherlands Canter Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital is a referral centre for patients with complex oncological problems from the Netherlands and from abroad. In this article we will give some examples of this specific oncological and anesthesiological care. When anesthesiologists in other hospitals are confronted with patients with a rare disease, advice is mostly sought by telephone. We think that specific information about the best medical and anesthesiological treatment for rare diseases which is not yet available in the literature can be made easier when hospitals with referral or tertiary functions make this knowledge available to the public. This information could be made available through the website of the Netherlands Society for Anesthesiology. Complex anesthesiological problems can best be solved after advice from an expert. Finding these expert information should be made more easy.


Although nanomaterials have the potential to improve human life, their sideline effects on human health seem to be inevitable and still are unknown. Some studies have investigated the genotoxicity of alumina nanoparticles (AlNPs); however, this effect is still unclear due to insufficient evaluation and conflicting results. Using a battery of standard genotoxic assays, the present study offers evidence of the genotoxicity associated with aluminum oxide (alumina) at NP sizes of 50 and 13 nm, when compared with bulk alumina (10 μm). The genotoxicity induced by alumina at bulk and NP sizes was evaluated with Ames test, comet test, micronucleus assay and sperm deformity test. The mechanism related to the induction of reactive oxygen species was explored as well. Our results showed that AlNPs (13 and 50 nm) were able to enter cells and induced DNA damage, micronucleus in bone marrow, sperm deformation and reactive oxygen species induction in a time‐, dose‐ and size‐dependent manner. Therefore, we conclude that AlNPs (13 and 50 nm), rather than bulk alumina, induce markers of genotoxicity in mice, with oxidative stress as a potential mechanism driving these genotoxic effects. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Over wireless multihop networks, one of the most important problems is to increase the network throughput with low power consumption. This paper deals with the cross-layer approach between the physical layer and the transport layer to solve this problem. We propose a new window control algorithm in the transport layer to improve the throughput and a new power control algorithm in the physical layer to reduce power consumption. Through an equilibrium point analysis, it is explicitly shown that the proposed algorithm enhances power efficiency, compared with the constant-power scheme. Through simulation results, it is observed that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of throughput and power consumption.


The idea to build systems based on services, by reusing and combining software made available independently via different technologies and channels and dynamically organizing them into coherent processes, has a very well recognized potential. Achieving this potential stands crucially on the ability to recognize and exploit the context in which such applications operate, in terms of the available services, of the actual setup at run-time, and of the interaction with human actors. Changing contexts require run-time reaction, by adapting the ongoing overall process enacted by the service-based system to unexpected deviations. Continuous context-aware adaptation is hencefore a strong requirement in this setting. In this paper, we propose a service delivery platform designed for the continuous context-aware adaptation of service-based systems, based on the idea of monitoring the underlying context via a hierarchical model, and using the context to drive the choice and execution of adaptive pervasive flows. We describe the approach through an example from the smart cities e-mobility domain.


Frege argued that a predicate was a functional expression and the reference of it a concept, which as a predicative function had one or more empty places and was thus incomplete. Frege's view gives rise to what has been known as the paradox of the concept "horse." In order to resolve this paradox, I argue for an opposite view which retains the point that a predicate is a function, i.e. that a predicative function is complete in a sense. Specifically speaking, a predicate performing the function of a predicate has at least one empty place and has no reference, while a predicate performing the function of a subject does not have any empty place but does have a reference. Frege not only regarded a concept with one or more empty places as the reference of a predicate but also took a set of objects without any empty place to be the extension of a concept with one or more empty places. Thus, it presents a complex relationship between the reference of a predicate and its corresponding extension, leading to disharmony in his theory. I argue that this is because there is a major defect in Frege's theory of meaning, namely the neglect of common names. What he called extensions of concepts are actually extensions of common names, and the references of predicates and the extensions of common names have a substantial difference despite being closely related.


This paper presents an evaluation technique which is useful for studying both the performance and the reliability of a distributed computing system. The distributed system is evaluated the point of view of a user who submits a request for service. Our technique computes the average time to successful completion of this request, taking into account the system failures or repairs which may occur before the request is completed. Given a model of the system and its failures, the performance-reliability measures are computed in an automatic numerical fashion. The technique is computationally intensive, so it is limited to relatively small systems. However, it can produce results for many interesting cases without an inordinate amount of computation.


any emerging workloads are constrained by the high cost of data access. Innovation in the memory system may soon be the primary driver of the computing economy. The result will be a memory system that is specialized, not commoditized. This article discusses the features that can be meaningfully added to memory devices. Not only do these features execute parts of an application, they may also take care of auxiliary operations that maintain high efficiency, reliability, and security.


Taking a critical reflection approach, Learning to Teach informs pre-service teachers about the culture of the community, the school, home cultures, interests, learning styles and the abilities of their future students. Exercises within the book combine with other learning tools such as links to other chapters, web links, glossary margin notes and 'Under the Lens', 'Pause and Reflect' and 'Taking Action' sections to assist students to practice their classroom skills. The innovative Virtual Classroom encourages pre-service teachers to watch, record best practice and to draw upon sound theoretical knowledge to create engaging teaching practices.


This deliverable describes the M24 release of the End user applications for knowledge practices software v2.0.0. The deliverable includes the technical development performed until M24 (January 2008) within WP6 according to Description of Work 2.1 and D6.4 M21 specification of end-user applications. The current release is comprised of two set of tools: 1. Shared Space Tool The shared space and the accompanying support material can be found on the Internet at: http://2d.mobile.evtek.fi:8080/shared-space 2. Map-It. The installer program for Map-It v2.0.0 is available at: http://www.kp-lab.org/intranet/testable-tools/kp-lab-tools/map-it/map-it-2-0.0 Please consult the "Getting Started" Note before installing and using Map-It: http://www.kp-lab.org/intranet/testable-tools/kp-lab-tools/map-it/getting-started-with-map-it 3. Change Laboratory tools The release targeted for the end users participating in the trials planned to be conducted in the CL Working Knot can be accessed via the following link: http://2d.mobile.evtek.fi:8080/shared-space/cl.html Anyone who wishes to try the software out but is not participating in the Change Laboratory trials should use the development deployment on: http://mielikki.mobile.evtek.fi/shared-space/cl.html The M24 release of Semantic Multimedia Annotation tools is still delayed. The release of CASS Memo Client has been postponed to be included in the M28 release in DoW3.


When dealing with risk models the typical assumption of independence among claim size distributions is not always satisfied. Here we consider the case when the claim sizes are exchangeable and study the implications when constructing aggregated claims through compound Poisson-type processes. In particular, exchangeability is achieved through conditional independence, using parametric and nonparametric measures for the conditioning distribution. Bayes' theorem is employed to ensure an arbitrary but fixed marginal distribution for the claim sizes. A full Bayesian analysis of the proposed model is illustrated with a panel-type data set coming from a Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present the basic properties and potential applications of a kind of electrolyte-oxid e-semiconductor (EOS) structure, which is composed of a Si layer, a Si02 layer, and an electrolyte solution layer, from bottom to top. (t is demonstrated that the EOS structures exhibit a stable one-way electrical conductivity like a diode, and there is a threshold voltage in the ON-switching process. Moreover, it is found that the thicknesses of SiOz layers and the concentrations of electrolyte solutions affect the current density obviously. A conductive-filame nt model is proposed to analyze the conductivity mechanism of EOS structures. The EOS structures can be used for many biochemical applications. We have realized copper-ion detection and pH sensing by utilizing their basic characteristics.


Medan Belawan is one of sub-district in Medan City North Sumatera which is the coastal area. The area is particularly vulnerable to coastal hazard that of all people living near coastal line. The most influential of disaster is tidal flood. Tidal flood almost occurs every year with the total inundation area is 26,25 Km2, for example from 2010 until 2017 recorded that the tidal flood inundated around 0,5 m to 2 m in average. There were 98 113 people and 3000-4000 houses, schools, public health facility (puskesmas), highway, fishponds, and international harbor affected. The disaster is not only threatening the community life but also disturbance their sustainable livelihood especially people with low socio-economic condition. This paper provides risk index analysis of the flood and propose the disaster risk reduction measures to reduce the impact of risk. Regarding the analysis, Medan Belawan Sub-district was categorized into high-risk area to the tidal flood, so that its need disaster risk reduction measures. Disaster risk reduction aims to protect affected communities, reduce damage and losses when the disaster happens and make sure sustainable livelihood. Mitigation is one of disaster risk reduction effort that can be divided into structural and non-structural. In structural measure, one of solution is building the impervious seawall which is designed based on increasing of sea level rise due to some factors such as tidal, wave, wind, climate change, land subsidence, and flood which is caused by rainfall with the high intensity. Overall basic design of seawall can build in Medan Belawan Coastal Area is around 4,95 m for its height and will be in residential area that is directly bounded by the sea. In the other hand non-structural approach can be implemented if people permanently live in that area. They can do some adaptation activities to reduce negative impacts and if possible, for taking any advantages of its positive impacts. People can modify their settlements, public facilities and livelihood. Some area in Medan Belawan sub-district also have mangrove forest, there is around 747 hectares. Combination both of approaches aim to reduce the disaster risk.


Background: Previous approval for treatment of persistant Morell lavallee soft tissue degloving lesion has included open debridement or simple compression or serial aspiration under USG guidance or insertion of surgical vacuum or sclerodesis with tetracycline/doxycycline. None of them had proven the minimally invasive surgical technological effect of arthroscopy.
Purpose of study: This study evaluates the minimally invasive surgical effectiveness and use of radio frequency ablation under arthroscopy for treatment of persistant Morell lavallee soft tissue degloving lesion. This technique provides satisfactory cosmetic and functional effect as overall outcome.
Methods: We treated 7 cases of persistant Morell lavallee lesion between Nov 2010 to March 2013. These lesions developed in 5 male and 2 female patients (Mean age 36.57yr, Range 23-48 yrs) due to various mode of trauma. The lesion involved the thigh region in 3 patients with gluteal, distal leg, knee and forearm being other region involved. An area of palpable fluctuance was the most coherent examination finding. MRI and Ultrasonography confirmed the diagnosis with clinical evidences. Treatment was achieved by placement of arthroscope, aspiration of fluid and radio frequency ablation of inner layer of capsule and proceed with compressive elastic bandaging. Healing was defined as the loss of fluctuation with complete absence of fluid on ultrasonography (USG).
Result: The average duration of the persistence of the lesion was 3 month. All lesions were evacuated arthroscopically and found to be negative on culture. The mean follow up period was 11 month (Range 6-24 month). All patients showed complete resolution of fluid collection and no contour deformity at final follow up. All the lesions healed exclusive of any infections or other complication. No recurrences were detected during the follow up period. A persistent feeling of tightness was the most common problems faced on long term follow up.
Conclusion: The persistant closed degloving lesion can be managed easily, conveniently and effectively with radio frequency ablation under arthroscopy. Patients were satisfied with cosmetic problems like contour deformity, tightness of skin, rough scar mark, diminished sensation and skin mobility at site of lesion.


Summary The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate the usefulness of a systematic construction of ability-test distractors for cross-cultural comparisons. A vocabulary test of seven items was devised in such a way that the five distractors of each item consisted of (a) the right answer, (b 1),(B 2) words that neither resembled nor associated with the stimulus in meaning or sound, (c) a word that was similar in sound to the stimulus, and (d) a word that was similar in meaning to the stimulus. The sample consisted of 216 candidates to Haifa University, between the ages of 18 and 25. Their parents were of two different ethnic origins: North African (N = 72) and East European (N = 144). The two groups were matched on sex and general level of intelligence. It was found that Ss from the European background tended to choose type (d) distractor as their best guess when they did not know the right answer. On the other hand, Ss from North African origin preferred distractors of type (c).


We analyze the time-behaviour of the Gaussian wave packet of a quantum particle moving in the field of a linear force, undergoing a continuous nondemolition observation of its position. In particular, the time-dependence of position and momentum dispersions, as well as position-momentum uncertainty is investigated. The discussion includes the case of a free particle and initially coherent state of a harmonic oscillator. It is found that in the beginning of observation the momentum dispersion and position-momentum uncertainty always increase in contrast to the position dispersion. It is also proved that all considered functions asymptotically take the form of harmonic oscillations, decaying to finite values. For initially coherent states, the asymptotic bounds for all considered functions are given.


Recent STAR data for the directed flow of protons, antiprotons and charged pions obtained within the beam energy scan program are analyzed within the Parton-Hadron-String-Dynamics (PHSD/HSD) transport models and a 3-Fluid hydroDynamics (3FD) approach. Both versions of the kinetic approach, HSD and PHSD, are used to clarify the role of partonic degrees of freedom. The PHSD results, simulating a partonic phase and its coexistence with a hadronic one, are roughly consistent with data. The hydrodynamic results are obtained for two Equation of States (EoS), a pure hadronic EoS and an EoS with a crossover type transition. The latter case is favored by the STAR experimental data. Special attention is paid to the description of antiproton directed flow based on the balance of $p\bar{p}$ annihilation and the inverse processes for $p\bar{p}$ pair creation from multi-meson interactions. Generally, the semi-qualitative agreement between the measured data and model results supports the idea of a crossover type of quark-hadron transition which softens the nuclear EoS but shows no indication of a first-order phase transition.


The ms describes a study on the influence of changes in plant cover on the decomposition of moss (sphagnum) dominated peat at two peatlands differring in altitude and temperature. The authors investigated a large number of short cores (∼ 20 cm) for changes in peat decomposition based on C/N ratios, δ13C and changes in organic components derived from pyrolysis GC-MS analyses. The authors found out, that sedges and shrubs litter increases decomposition of moss dominated peat, especially at higher temperature. The effect of vascular plants was more pronounced that that of temperature. Peat decomposition appears to be best reflected by δ13C, although its application to distinguish source material from decomposition is seen incomplete. C/N and δ15N appear to be not specific enough to indicate the effects of vascular plants on


BACKGROUND
Recent work has supported use of blood-based biomarkers in detection of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Inclusion of neuropsychological measures has shown promise in enhancing utility of biomarkers to detect disease.

OBJECTIVE
The present study sought to develop cognitive-biomarker profiles for detection of MCI.

METHODS
Data were analyzed on 463 participants (normal control n = 378; MCI n = 85) from HABLE. Random forest analyses determined proteomic profile of MCI. Separate linear regression analyses determined variance accounted for by select biomarkers per neuropsychological measure. When neuropsychological measure with the least shared variance was identified, it was then combined with select biomarkers to create a biomarker-cognitive profile.

RESULTS
The biomarker-cognitive profile was 90% accurate in detecting MCI. Among amnestic MCI cases, the detection accuracy of the biomarker-cognitive profile was 92% and increased to 94% with demographic variables.

CONCLUSION
The biomarker-cognitive profile for MCI was highly accurate in its detection with use of only five biomarkers.


To the Editor. —I would like to ask Fantes et al1to clarify an ambiguous point about their article that appeared in the May 1990 issue of theArchives. In the "Comment" section, the authors stated that the "majority of corneas remained clear when they epithelialized by 2 weeks after surgery." This indicates to me they are distinguishing between those that epithelialized early and those that did not. Earlier in the article, however, they noted that all corneas had epithelialized by 7 days, so how can they make this distinction?


With the rapid spread of smart devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs, user authentication is becoming increasingly important because various kinds of data concerning user privacy are processed within them. At present, in the case of smart devices, password-based authentication is frequently used; however, biometric authentication has attracted more attention as a user authentication technology. A smart device is equipped with various sensors, such as cameras, microphones, and touch panels, many of which enable biometric information to be obtained. While the function of biometric authentication is available in many smart devices, there remain some problems to be addressed for more secure and convenient user authentication. In this paper, we summarize the current problems with user authentication on smart devices and propose a novel user authentication system based on the concept of context awareness to resolve these problems. We also present our evaluation of the performance of the system by using biometric information that was acquired from smart devices. The evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of our system. key words: smart device, user authentication, biometrics, context awareness, environment recognition


This award recognizes outstanding speaker excellence in research and for the significant contribution that they make to their professions, their teams and their fields through their practice, leadership or research endeavor. Please consider nominating outstanding Speaker in Medicinal Chemistry 2020 who you feel deserves to be recognized for their service and dedication to the service that has gone the extra mile to best help other. They may be a research scientist, chemistry faculties, and medicinal chemistry researchers. A speaker who played an important role in the field of chemistry and medicinal chemistry should also be considered.


The importance of anti-tumor immunity by CD8+ T cells is well defined, but antigen-specific immune monitoring for CD8+ responses across many potential tumor antigens is expensive and difficult. This difficulty is compounded by increasing evidence that every tumor has unique mutant neoepitopes. We hypothesized that new technologies in peptide printing might allow us to partially overcome this obstacle by instead characterizing antibody responses against a paired array of neoepitope and native peptides. We designed a 15-mer peptide array of mutated and native peptides from the murine mammary carcinoma 4T1 and used it to characterize the serum IgG antibody responses to vaccination with 4T1 autophagosome-enriched vaccine (DRibbles), poly-IC adjuvant, the combination of both, or naive animals across 4 independent experiments. This array was printed by JPT peptides and included 75 pairs of single-nucleotide polymorphic and native peptides identified by both our own whole exome sequencing and the current 4T1 literature. We also included other sequences of interest to 4T1 immunity such as the retrovirus fragment AH1. MHCI peptide predictions were robust and used the top NetMHCpan v2.8 score from all possible windowed 8,9,10, and 11-mers for H2-Kd,Ld, and Dd surrounding the mutation site in its native protein context. The results of this work identify a linear correlation between higher predicted peptide MHCI binding affinity and the IgG antibody signals increased in combination treated groups versus controls. Linear regression analysis demonstrates that normalized antibody responses to mutated and native 4T1 peptides are more likely to be higher in sera from autophagosome-enriched vaccine plus poly-IC treated animals than naive animals if these peptides contain higher affinity domains for MHCI (p These results identify a previously unknown link between predicted MHCI binding affinity and the anti-tumor antibody response following combination immunotherapy - suggesting some antigen-specific interaction between B cells and CD8+ T cells that might be exploited to improve the immune monitoring of cancer therapies. Citation Format: Tyler W. Hulett, Shawn Jensen, Christopher Dubay, Carlo Bifulco, Michael Afentoulis, Ashok Reddy, Larry David, Bernard A. Fox. Increased IgG antibody responses to neoepitope and native peptides containing high affinity domains for MHCI following combination cancer immunotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4900.


Hypertension imposes a major burden of morbidity and mortality and is associated with sympathetic nervous system overactivity. Renal sympathetic denervation has been shown to reduce office blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure, and sympathetic activity in patients with resistant hypertension. Therefore, the procedure has attracted a lot of attention. Beyond blood pressure, renal denervation has been shown to improve glucose tolerance, microalbuminuria, and arrhythmias in several experimental models and, in admittedly, often uncontrolled clinical studies. It has been demonstrated to reduce myocardial hypertrophy in a blood pressure-independent and blood pressure-dependent way. The first studies on heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction are ongoing. Renal sympathetic denervation holds promise for future indications in hypertension and related comorbidities and consequences, such as metabolic disease, renal failure, and heart failure. Published data in a placebo-control blinded study, however, are needed. The aim of this review is to provide a critical and comprehensive overview of heretofore generated data on renal denervation in experimental models, in human hypertension, and on early developments in new indications, which should indicate the way to powered and performed, controlled clinical studies appropriately.


Since its discovery, the expansion of HIV/AIDS epidemic has been considered an issue of great concern. Even along the advances in treatment and the increase in life expectancy of patients, there are still several implications involved in the infection and its evolutionary process which need deeper studies. One of these implications is the combination between the impact of the disease and the mental disorders. The present study aims to evaluate the levels of depression and anxiety of HIV/AIDS inpatient and also searching a combination of these levels with the degrees of T-CD4 lymphocyte. The sample included 46 HIV/AIDS in-patient admitted to the Hospital of Infectious Diseases (Hospital de Infectologia) in São Paulo. The results have indicated the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms, mainly on women, and the non-combination between the T-CD4 classification and the level of symptomatology, besides the combination between these symptomatologies. For future studies it is suggested to build simplified tracking tools, specifically designed for this population.


Dried blood spot samples have comparable diagnostic accuracy to serum collected by venipuncture when tested by an electrochemiluminescent assay for antibodies and should be considered to reliably detect seropositivity following SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination. ABSTRACT We investigate the diagnostic accuracy and predictive value of finger prick capillary dried blood spot (DBS) samples tested by a quantitative multiplex anti-immunoglobulin G (IgG) assay to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies after infection or vaccination. This cross-sectional study involved participants (n = 6,841) from several serological surveys conducted in nonhospitalized children and adults throughout 2020 and 2021 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Analysis used paired DBS and serum samples from a subset of participants (n = 642) prior to vaccination to establish signal thresholds and calculate diagnostic accuracy by logistic regression. Discrimination of the logistic regression model was assessed by receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis in an n = 2,000 bootstrap of the paired sample (n = 642). The model was cross-validated in a subset of vaccinated persons (n = 90). Unpaired DBS samples (n = 6,723) were used to evaluate anti-IgG signal distributions. In comparison to paired serum, DBS samples from an unvaccinated population possessed a sensitivity of 79% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 58 to 91%) and specificity of 97% (95% CI: 95 to 98%). ROC analysis found that DBS samples accurately classify SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion at an 88% percent rate (area under the curve [AUC] = 88% [95% CI: 80 to 95%]). In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine dose one or two recipients, the sensitivity of DBS testing increased to 97% (95% CI: 83 to 99%) and 100% (95% CI: 88 to 100%). Modeling found that DBS testing possesses a high positive predictive value (98% [95% CI: 97 to 98%]) in a population with 75% seroprevalence. We demonstrate that DBS testing should be considered to reliably detect SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity from natural infection or vaccination. IMPORTANCE Dried blood spot samples have comparable diagnostic accuracy to serum collected by venipuncture when tested by an electrochemiluminescent assay for antibodies and should be considered to reliably detect seropositivity following SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination.


AIM
To compile a complete list of risk factors from the Korean breast cancer studies to obtain relevant predictor information essential in developing a predictive model for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed female cancer in Korea. However, the breast cancer-screening rate in Korea is relatively low compared with that in other countries. In order to promote early health screening, there is a need to identify those individuals who are most likely to develop breast cancer by using an accurate predictive model.

METHODS
Thirty-four breast cancer studies were selected from MEDLINE and two Korean literature databases. Two researchers summarized the risk factors and their effects in each article using a checklist.

FINDINGS
Most of the studies were case-control studies conducted after 2000. In 34 articles, a total of 84 risk factors for breast cancer in Korean women were identified; of these, 58 factors were determined as statistically significant factors. The factors identified most often were body mass index, menarche, menopause, family history, pregnancy and delivery, breastfeeding, alcohol use, smoking habits, diet, education and use of oral contraceptives. None of 34 studies looked at stress as a risk factor of which influence on cancer has been reported in other populations.

CONCLUSION
The next steps will be to construct a questionnaire consisting of relevant variables based on these study results and to develop a predictive model. This would be used to encourage those Koreans who are more likely to develop breast cancer to have early check-ups.


We present EvDNeRF, a pipeline for generating event data and training an event-based dynamic NeRF, for the purpose of faithfully reconstructing eventstreams on scenes with rigid and non-rigid deformations that may be too fast to capture with a standard camera. Event cameras register asynchronous per-pixel brightness changes at MHz rates with high dynamic range, making them ideal for observing fast motion with almost no motion blur. Neural radiance fields (NeRFs) offer visual-quality geometric-based learnable rendering, but prior work with events has only considered reconstruction of static scenes. Our EvDNeRF can predict eventstreams of dynamic scenes from a static or moving viewpoint between any desired timestamps, thereby allowing it to be used as an event-based simulator for a given scene. We show that by training on varied batch sizes of events, we can improve test-time predictions of events at fine time resolutions, outperforming baselines that pair standard dynamic NeRFs with event simulators. We release our simulated and real datasets, as well as code for both event-based data generation and the training of event-based dynamic NeRF models (https://github.com/anish-bhattacharya/EvDNeRF).


In the emergent domain of multi-enterprise applications, existing process modelling approaches need some accomodations. Enterprises involved in such applications require privacy and autonomy considerations. It is of first importance that the know-how of each partner is preserved as much as possible : their competitiveness depends on it. Based on some practical experiments in different domains, this paper discusse some pragmatic process modelling guidelines. Each guideline is explained and illustrated thanks to an example issued from the software process domain. A relationship between this work on process modelling and current research on flexible workflow models and enginers is briefly discussed.


While implementing Cloud based platforms it is complicated to determine the adequate quantity of resources in order to satisfy variable workload with peaks. Some projects are lost because of under provisioning of Cloud resources, as well as costly resources are wasted during nonpeak periods. It is known that not all projects must be processed on time, i.e. some of them may be postponed for a certain time. Within this context, it is presumed that postponement's opportunity can reduce the probability of projects not to be executed, at the same time to determine the lower quantity of own resources by taking into account minimal costs. Such strategy of workload balancing and projects scheduling is validated by the experiment.


Some of the more pertinent engineering aspects relating to the design of magnetic film destructive readout (DRO) memories are given, together with a brief reference to nondestructive readout memories. The technical discussion centers primarily on three major areas: 1) storage element characteristics such as skew, dispersion, disturb threshold, and magnetostriction, and how these relate to element fabrication and memory design; 2) memory plane design, with reference to primary effects of eddy currents, fringing fields, and sense line arrangements; 3) special circuit considerations as they relate to film memories. Much of the information presented is general enough to apply to various design approaches. However, specific examples and results obtained with production models of the FFM-202 memory system are used for purposes of illustration. A number of these 300-ns memories are now operating in the field, and current margins obtainable have been superior to those of coincident current core memories. DRO magnetic film memories are presently used in data processing equipment mainly as scratchpads, either as internal stores or as high-speed input/output buffers. However, the real impact of thin film units will be felt when they are commercially available as relatively large building-block modules in the range of 4096 words of 74 bits, at speeds of 200 to 400 ns and at costs competitive with one μs coincident current core memories. The present low costs of semiconductors have alleviated most of the disadvantages of word organization, particularly in magnetic films where only a relatively low-power, unipolar word pulse is needed. Also, the associated low drive power reduces heat dissipation and makes simpler a more compact modular design. This is needed to reduce logic delays in large capacity, high-speed systems. In order to obtain a large capacity, low-cost film memory, primary engineering problems involving the memory stack must be solved. As an example of one desirable approach, a plane design with increased bit density (which results in reduced costs per bit and shorter delays) is described, together with some preliminary results obtained.


Disorders implicating the basal ganglia are often characterized by postural deficits, but little is known about the role of the basal ganglia in posture control. Using wireless multi‐electrode recording, we measured single unit activity from GABAergic and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra as unrestrained mice stood on an elevated platform while introducing continuous postural disturbances in the roll plane. We found two major types of neurons – those activated by tilt to the left side of the body and suppressed by tilt to the right side, and others activated by tilt to the right side and suppressed by tilt to the left side. Contrary to the prevailing view that the basal ganglia output from the substantia nigra pars reticulata either inhibits or disinhibits downstream structures in an all or none fashion, we showed that it continuously sends anti‐phase signals to their downstream targets. We also demonstrated for the first time that nigrostriatal dopaminergic transmission is modulated by postural disturbances.


Can J Plast Surg Vol 21 No 1 Spring 2013 41 Symptomatic mammary hypertrophy has a major impact on physical function and patient quality of life (1). The significant weight of hypertrophic breasts may be a cause of functional disability (1), especially during exercise in which localized pain and discomfort result from brassiere straps abrading or irritating the skin (1). Breast reduction mammoplasty, a surgical procedure performed to reduce breast size, has been used for many years to reduce these symptoms and improve associated quality of life (2). The principles of the surgery include volume reduction and skin laxity correction, where necessary, to improve symptoms while preserving breast function. This procedure has been associated with high patient satisfaction (3), improved quality of life, enhanced body perception and improvement of clinical depression symptoms. Studies evaluating patient safety and risk for cancer after reduction surgery have demonstrated no increased risk of breast cancer, and have even suggested a decreased risk in women who underwent the procedure (4-6). Breast reduction mammoplasty is performed quite frequently; however, there are several reasons why trends in breast surgery rates may have changed over time. These include variable criteria in patient selection, development of alternative therapies, and increased knowledge of the risks and benefits of the procedure. Furthermore, there has also been a focus on reducing the cost of surgery. As a result, there has been a general shift toward performing procedures in outpatient setting as opposed to an outpatient setting. Moreover, the surgical technique has been modified to reduce blood loss and treat pain, leading to expedited discharge (7,8). Although many clinical studies on breast reduction have been published, they have generally examined small patient cohorts and relatively little has been published on population-based trends in breast reduction surgery. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and performance of breast reduction surgery among women ≥15 years of age over a 17-year period in Ontario.


Transcription through chromatin by different RNA polymerases produces different biological outcomes and is accompanied by either nucleosome survival at the original location (Pol II-type mechanism) or backward nucleosome translocation along DNA (Pol III-type mechanism). It has been proposed that differences in the structure of the key intermediates formed during transcription dictate the fate of the nucleosomes. To evaluate this possibility, structure of the key intermediate formed during transcription by Pol III-type mechanism was studied by DNase I footprinting and molecular modeling. The Pol III-type mechanism is characterized by less efficient formation of the key intermediate required for nucleosome survival (Ø-loop, Pol II-type mechanism), most likely due to steric interference between the RNA polymerase and DNA in the Ø-loop. The data suggest that the lower efficiency of Ø-loop formation induces formation of a lower nucleosomal barrier and nucleosome translocation during transcription by Pol III-type mechanism.


The paper presents the results of the factor analysis of multi-electrode geoelectric data measured in the area of the Surány aquifer. The 9-variable dataset measured on the first profile was examined by factor analysis using 2, 3, 4 and 5 factors. The calculations show that the Factor profile 1 carries the effects of IP (Induced Polarization), while the Factor profile 2 shows the effect of apparent resistivity (Rho) with the greatest weight. In the Factor profile 3, the factor weight of the current (In) is the largest. Based on all this, it can be concluded that in multi-electrode geoelectric measurements, the first factor depends on the IP effect explaining the most of the variance of the observed data, the second factor on the apparent resistivity, and the third factor on the current. The obtained results confirm that the factor analysis is suitable for the correction and replenishment of noisy and erroneous data of multi-electrode measurements.


Despite the fact that most breast cancer patients have estrogen receptor (ER) a-positive tumors, up to 50% of the patients are or soon develop resistance to endocrine therapy. It is recognized that HER2 activation is one of themajormechanisms contributing to endocrine resistance. In this study,we report that theER coactivatorMED1 is a novel cross-talk point for the HER2 and ERa pathways. Tissue microarray analysis of human breast cancers revealed that MED1 expression positively correlates most strongly with HER2 status of the tumors. MED1 was highly phosphorylated, in a HER2-dependent manner, at the site known to be critical for its activation. Importantly, RNAi-mediated attenuation of MED1 sensitized HER2-overexpressing cells to tamoxifen treatment. MED1 and its phosphorylated form, but not the corepressors N-CoR and SMRT, were recruited to the ERa target gene promoter by tamoxifen in HER2-overexpressing cells. Significantly, MED1 attenuation or mutation of MED1 phosphorylation sites was sufficient to restore the promoter recruitment of N-CoR and SMRT. Notably, we found that MED1 is required for the expression of not only traditional E2-ERa target genes but also the newly described EGF-ERa target genes. Our results additionally indicated thatMED1 is recruited to theHER2 gene and required for its expression. Taken together, thesefindings support a key role forMED1 inHER2-mediated tamoxifen resistance and suggest its potential usage as a therapeutic target to simultaneously block both ERa and HER2 pathways for the treatment of this type of endocrine resistant breast cancer. Cancer Res; 72(21); 5625–34. 2012 AACR.


Cs3Bi2I9 (CBI) single crystal (SC) is a promising material for a higher-performance direct X-ray detector. However, the composition of CBI SC prepared by the solution method usually deviates from the ideal stoichiometric ratio, which limits the detector performance. In this paper, based on the finite element analysis method, the growth model of the top-seed solution method has been established, and then the influence of precursor ratio, temperature field, and other parameters on the composition of CBI SC has been simulated. The simulation results were used to guide the growth of the CBI SCs. Finally, a high-quality CBI SC with a stoichiometric ratio of Cs/Bi/I = 2.87:2:8.95 has been successfully grown, and the defect density is as low as 1.03 × 109 cm-3, the carrier lifetime is as high as 16.7 ns, and the resistivity is as high as 1.44 × 1012 Ω·cm. The X-ray detector based on this SC has a sensitivity of 29386.2 μC·Gyair-1 cm-2 at an electric field of 40 V·mm-1, and a low detection limit of 0.36 nGyair·s-1, creating a record for the all-inorganic perovskite materials.


1194 A variety of both viral (adenovirus, retroviral, lentiviral, adeno-associated virus (AAV)) and non-viral (liposomes, injection, gene gun) methods are currently available for the transfer of exogenous genes to mammalian cells. Non-viral, adenovirus, and AAV based methods offer ease-of-use and high efficiency, but these vectors are generally only transiently maintained and/or expressed. Retroviral and lentiviral vectors offer targeted delivery via binding to cell surface receptors and stable integration of a construct into the cell genome. However, the weakness of retroviral techniques has historically been relatively low efficiency of gene transfer. Takara created RetroNectin® Reagent in an effort to improve transduction efficiency. Several regions of the fibronectin molecule are known to bind cells and retrovirus. Performing transduction in the presence of fibronectin has been observed to improve transduction efficiency. RetroNectin® is a recombinant peptide consisting of a selection of fibronectin fragments which is pre-coated onto plates prior to transduction. RetroNectin® allows easy and efficient gene transduction into a variety of target cells, including difficult-to-transduce cells such as hematopoietic stem cells. Here we describe the use of Takara's RetroNectin® Reagent for retrovirus-mediated gene transfer and its ability to dramatically increase retroviral transduction efficiency with a variety of target cells.


The context of Higher Education in the UK, and more generally in Europe, is changing as to- days' Universities are increasingly being managed as business organizations (Sousa, de Nijs and Hendriks, 2010). Far from being locked in ivory towers (Barry et al., 2001), academics nowadays are expected not only to teach and make original contributions to knowledge but also to show the impact of their publications, to apply for funding or grants, to engage in knowledge exchange activities within the local or international community and to contribute to widening participation agendas or developing links with external businesses and organisations. This is considered by many in the field as going against the very 'nature of the beast', the academic way of working and managing performance (McAlpine and Akerlind, 2010). In addition, departments, and more generally Universities, have been asked to develop particular forms of accountability in reference to performance, budgets, human resources management and income generation in order to monitor efficiency and provide a quantification of the time spent on various teaching, research or administrative tasks (Anderson et al., 2002). The oversight and management of such processes, is generally left to academics in senior positions who often find themselves caged in roles they do not particularly wish to take on and are not always able to carry out effectively. Within this environment, the implementation of workload models has proven contentious as it is rejected by many as a form of control, but advocated by those who seek fair allocations of work and efficient management of resources.
Drawing from Foucauldian theories of power, this paper explores tensions and nodes of resistance to academic control through the opinions voiced by staff in a UK University with reference to the implementation of workload models. We investigate this topic through the use of thematic analysis conducted on an email trail of 54 messages, and the 117 results of a university-wide survey of staff aimed at understanding their position regarding workload models.


Developmental competence of mammalian oocytes is compromised by currently available oocyte cryopreservation protocols. Experiments were designed to examine the effect of three cryopreservation protocols on the integrity of bovine oocyte DNA. In vitro matured bovine oocytes were cryopreserved either by slow cooling, vitrification in 0.25 ml straws, or in open pulled straws. After thawing/warming, recovered oocytes were immediately subjected to morphological evaluation. Morphologically intact oocytes underwent comet assay to detect cryoinjury at DNA level. All cryopreservation protocols resulted in significant morphological damage as well as DNA damage compared to unfrozen control. Among the morphologically intact oocytes, there was no difference among protocols in the number of oocytes displaying DNA damage. However, oocytes that had been cryopreserved by slow cooling or by vitrification in open pulled straws exhibited more damage than those vitrified in 0.25 ml straws in the extent of DNA damage. If we combine the number of oocytes with morphological damage and oocytes with DNA damage, oocytes cooled by slow cooling resulted in the most damage. This experiment demonstrated that oocyte DNA is a target of cryoinjury and different protocols result in different degrees of damage. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 245–250, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Even it has been already confirmed that SMA's have high potential for robotic actuators, actuators included in space robotics, underwater robotics, robotics for logistics, safety, as well as "green robotics" (robotics for the environment, energy conservation, sustainable development or agriculture), the number of applications of SMA-based actuators is still quite small, especially in applications in which their large strains, high specific work output and structural integration potential are useful,. The paper presents a formulated mathematical model calculated for binary SMA (Ni-Ti), helpful to estimate the stress distribution along with the transformation ratio of a SMA active element.


There are an increasing number of DBMS vendors thinking of integrating XML data management into traditional relational database, with wider use of XML. In this case, a comprehensive evaluation methodology is needed to evaluate the XML engine in RDBMS correctly. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of XML engine and propose an evaluation strategy of XML engine in a RDBMS. We believe that the evaluation should include functional evaluation and performance evaluation, and cover several major aspects of DB such as storage, query and update. Then we designed an evaluation scheme for the XML engine in RDBMS according the strategy. The scheme describes an evaluation scene and contains a data set, workload and index set. The data set reflects the characteristics of both data-centric and document-centric XML data. The workload covers all of the requirements of XQuery in W3C. The index set covers the aspects of storage, indexing, query and update. In the end, we complete an experiment to test an actual computer system using the proposal. The result shows that the proposal is proper. Index Terms—DBMS; XML; W3C; XQuery; Evaluation


Acanthamoeba actophorin is a member of ADF/cofilin family that binds both actin monomers and filaments. We used fluorescence anisotropy to study the interaction of actin monomers with recombinant actophorin labeled with rhodamine on a cysteine substituted for Serine-88. Labeled actophorin retains its affinity for actin and ability to reduce the low shear viscosity of actin filaments. At physiological ionic strength, actophorin binds Mg-ADP-actin monomers (K d = 0.1 μm) 40 times stronger than Mg-ATP-actin monomers. When bound to actin monomers, actophorin has no effect on elongation at either end of actin filaments by Mg-ATP-actin and slightly increases the rate of elongation at both ends by Mg-ADP-actin. Thus actophorin does not sequester actin monomers. Sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation shows that actophorin and profilin compete for binding actin monomers. Actophorin and profilin have opposite effects on the rate of exchange of nucleotide bound to actin monomers. Despite the high affinity of actophorin for ADP-actin, physiological concentrations of profilin overcome the inhibition of ADP exchange by actophorin. Profilin rapidly recycles ADP-actin back to the profilin-ATP-actin pool ready for elongation of actin filaments.


A unique value proposition of Internet-based digital marketing is the availability of precise measures of the actual performance of individual campaigns, which makes performance-based advertising pricing schedules feasible. These pricing schemes are studied in the presence of competition, performance uncertainty and asymmetric information about the quality of the client's content and the effectiveness of the publisher's technology. The paper's findings challenge the dominant practice of CPM-based pricing for digital marketing by establishing that performance-based pricing is always profit-improving for publishers, even when publishers are constrained to offer CPM-based pricing in parallel. It is shown that performance-based pricing cannot screen out clients with lower quality content/creative quality, and describe when to choose between low-end coverage and full coverage performance-based pricing. However, publishers can use performance-based pricing to credibly signal superior technological effectiveness. These results highlight the value of risk pooling for publishers of digital advertising, and the strategic role of pricing in signalling technological quality. Managerial guidelines are also provided for how to strategically respond to varying competitive intensity, client size and changes in outcome distributions.


Background Spontaneous superior mesenteric artery (SMA) dissection is rare cause of acute abdomen. Time-dependent change of SMA dissection has not been established. Purpose To determine Sakamoto classification (SC) type of acute and chronic SMA dissection (aSMAD and cSMAD) to predict the treatment methods and outcome. Material and Methods From April 2003 to March 2017, unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT were used to diagnose acute symptomatic or chronic asymptomatic SMA dissection in 25 consecutive patients without aortic dissection. Correlations between SCs and treatment methods and outcomes were investigated. Results All 13 patients with aSMAD initially received conservative treatment. Initial SCs in aSMAD were type I = 1, type III = 9, and type IV = 3. Three of nine initial type III and two of three initial type IV changed to type I at follow-up. One of nine type III changed to type II at follow-up. Ohers did not change. One with initial type III required vascular repair, so the final SC was not available. Three patients required bowel resection. In cSMAD of 12 patients, the initial/final SC were type I and IV in ten and two patients, respectively, without change during follow-up. cSMAD was significantly older than aSMAD. The initial length of dissection of aSMAD was longer than in the cSMAD group. In aSMAD, the final length of dissection was significantly shorter than in the initial computed tomography scan. Conclusion Initial SC differed significantly between aSMAD and cSMAD. Initial SC types in aSMAD were type III and IV mainly, and changed during the observation period. In cSMAD, SC types were I and IV without change.


Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are often elderly or unfit and thus cannot tolerate standard aggressive therapy regimes. In our study, we test the efficacy of the DNA-hypomethylating agent decitabine (DAC) in combination with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), which has been shown to possess little systemic adverse effects. Screening a broad panel of 56 NSCLC cell lines uncovered a decrease in cell viability after the combination treatment in 77% of the cell lines. Transcriptomics, proteomics, proliferation and migration profiling revealed that fast proliferating and slowly migrating cell lines were more sensitive to the drug combination. The comparison of mutational profiles found oncogenic KRAS mutations only in sensitive cells. Additionally, different cell lines showed a heterogeneous gene expression response to the treatment pointing to diverse mechanisms of action. Silencing KRAS, RIG-I or RARB partially reversed the sensitivity of KRAS-mutant NCI-H460 cells. To study resistance, we generated two NCI-H460 cell populations resistant to ATRA and DAC, which migrated faster and proliferated slower than the parental sensitive cells and showed signs of senescence. In summary, this comprehensive dataset uncovers a broad sensitivity of NSCLC cells to the combinatorial treatment with DAC and ATRA and indicates that migration and proliferation capacities correlate with and could thus serve as determinants for drug sensitivity in NSCLC.


Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all life on earth. In the ocean, the most bioavailable form of phosphorus is inorganic phosphate, but in the extensive subtropical gyres, phosphate concentrations can be chronically low and limit primary productivity and nitrogen fixation. In these regions, organisms produce hydrolytic enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase (AP), that enable them to utilize the more replete dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) pool to meet their cellular phosphorus demands. In this study, we synthesized data from 14 published studies and present our own findings from two research cruises (D326 and D361) in the eastern subtropical Atlantic to explore the relationship between AP activity (APA) and nutrients, Saharan dust and trace metals. We found that below a threshold phosphate concentration of ~ 30 nM, APA increased with an inverse hyperbolic relationship with phosphate concentration. Meanwhile, DOP concentrations decreased with enhanced APA, indicating utilization of the DOP pool. We found APA rates were significantly higher in the subtropical Atlantic compared to the subtropical Pacific Ocean, even over the same low phosphate concentration range (0 to 50 nM). While the phosphate concentration may have a first order control on the APA rates, we speculate that other factors influence this basin scale contrast. Using bioassay experiments, we show that the addition of Saharan dust and zinc significantly increased the rate of APA. To our knowledge, our results are the first direct field-based evidence that APA is limited by zinc in the subtropical ocean. Further work is required to explore the relationship between trace metals such as iron and zinc, which are co-factors of phosphohydrolytic enzymes, specifically PhoX and PhoA, respectively, and APA in the ocean.


The apparel industry is one of the largest export earning industries in Sri Lanka and provides ample job opportunities for society. Despite that industry is facing a large labour deficiency which can lead to a shift in the industry in near future. It stresses that there is a less attraction of potential employees towards the industry. Employer attractiveness is the envisioned benefits that a potential employee sees in working for a specific organization consist with five dimensions, namely interest value, social value, economic value, application value and development value. The dissimilarity of potential employees can be caused to prevailed differences in employer attractiveness. Therefore this study aims to investigate what demographic differences are exist in the employer attractiveness in terms of gender (Male & Female), age (Young & Middle-aged) and previous experiences in employment (Experienced & In-experienced) of potential employees in the apparel industry. Findings revealed that the perceived level of the employer attractiveness varies according to the gender, age and previous experiences in employment. The highest attracting dimension of males was economic value while the least was application value. Females were more attracted to social value and less attractive to development and interest value. Both young and middle-age people tend to attract more towards the economic value while the young category is least attracted to development value and middle age category is to application value. Experienced employees are highly attracted to the economic value of the employer while least attractive to the application value. Inexperienced people tend to attract more towards social value and least to development value.


Objective Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been the primary therapeutic approach for treatment of prostate cancer. However,nearly all patients develop the castration-resistant disease . We evaluated real-world data with abiraterone and enzalutamide treatment. By this data, we aimed to analyze whether that prior short response to ADT could predict response to subsequent therapy with androgen receptor axis targeted agent (ARATA). Material and Method We collected data from two cancer centers, 151 consecutive patients with treated abiraterone or enzalutamide in the first line of metastatic castration resistant prostat cancer (mCRPC) setting were included. The patients who received docetaxel in castration naive setting is also included. Time to castration resistance (TTCR) was defined as the duration from the initial to failure of primary ADT. Results Patients with treated ARATA were divided into two groups according to the time to castration resistance (TTCR). Patients who became resistant to ADT up to one year had a median PFS of 6.6 months, compared to median PFS of 13.3 months for patients who responded ADT for more than 1 year. (p = 0.002). In the post-docetaxel setting, median PFS is 12.6 months of patients with treated ARATA who had TTCR for more than one year, and median PFS is 6.6 months in those who had TTCR less than one year (p = 0.007).Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the clinical factors on ARATA outcomes. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status(PS), median prostate-specific antigen(PSA) and time to CRPC were significantly predicted outcomes of ARATA on multivariate analysis. Conclusion TTCR is also a predictor for PFS of the patients who were treated ARATA both whole cohort and post-docetaxel.


The coordination of neuronal maturation and behavioral development is a vital component of survival. The degradation of excessive axonal processes and neuronal networks is a ubiquitous developmental process. In Drosophila, a great portion of axonal pruning occurs during metamorphosis and transpires within hours after pupation. In contrast, we show, using EM‐serial sectioning and 3D‐reconstructions, that axonal pruning occurs after eclosion and over the course of 60 days in Cataglyphis albicans. Using the mushroom bodies of the brains of Cataglyphis, which have well‐developed lip (olfactory integrator) and collar (visual integrator) regions, we show that axonal pruning is dependent upon the differences in the developmental trajectory of the lip and the collar brain regions and happens after eclosion. The elimination of the axonal boutons is most delayed in the collar region, where it is postponed until the ant has had extensive visual experience. We found that individual brain components within a single neuropil can develop at different rates that correlate with the behavioral ecology of these ants and suggest that glia may be mediating the axonal pruning. Our study provides evidence that adult ants may have relatively neotenous brains, and thus more flexibility, allowing them to neuronally adapt to the environment. This neoteny may, in part, explain the neural basis for age‐dependent division of labor and the amazing behavioral flexibility exhibited by ants. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009


The bovine endometrium is a natural pathogen invasion barrier of the uterine tissues' endometrial epithelial cells that can resist foreign pathogen invasion by controlling the inflammatory immune response. Some pathogens suppress the innate immune system of the endometrium, leading to prolonged systemic inflammatory response through the blood circulation or cellular degradation resulting in bovine endometritis by bacterial endotoxins. The microRNA (miRNA) typically involves gene expression in multicellular organisms in post-transcription regulation by affecting both the stability and the translation of messenger RNA. Accumulated evidence suggests that miRNAs are important regulators of genes in several cellular processes. They are a class of endogenous non-coding RNAs, which play pivotal roles in the inflammatory response of reproductive diseases. Studies confirmed that miRNAs play a key regulatory role in various inflammatory diseases by mediating the molecular mechanism of inflammatory cytokines via signal pathways. It implicates some miRNAs in the occurrence of bovine endometritis, resorting to regulating the activities of some inflammatory cytokines, chemokine, differentially expressed genes, and protein through modulating of specific cellular signal pathways functions. This review dwells on improving the knowledge of the role of miRNAs involvement in inflammatory response as to early diagnosis, control, and prevention of bovine endometritis and consequently enlighten on the molecular improvement of the genes coded by various differentially expressed miRNA through the need to adopt recent genetic technologies and the development of new pharmaceutical preparations.


Adhesions have important consequences for patients, surgeons, and health services. Peritoneal tissue injury can be prevented by using careful surgical techniques. A large number of anti-adhesion products have been used experimentally and clinically to prevent postoperative adhesions. The current author reviewed the surgical literature published about epidemiology, pathogenesis, and various prevention strategies of adhesion formation. Several preventive agents against postoperative peritoneal adhesions have been investigated. Bioresorbable membranes are site-specific anti adhesion products but may be more difficult to use laparoscopically. Liquids and gels have the advantage of more-widespread areas of action and increased ease of use, particularly during laparoscopic operations. Effective pharmacologic agents that can reduce release of pro-inflammatory cytokines or activate peritoneal fibrinolysis are under development. Their results are encouraging but most of them are contradictory. Many modalities are being studied to reduce this risk; despite initial promising results of different measures in postoperative adhesion prevention, none of them have become standard applications. With the current state of knowledge, preclinical or clinical studies are still necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the several proposed prevention strategies for avoiding postoperative peritoneal adhesions.


NHS England is to introduce a new Commissioning for Quality and Innovation to reduce delayed discharges from adult critical care to ward-level care. A delayed discharge is greater than 4 h, this occurred in 64.2% of patients in the critical care minimum data set database from Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre from the last five years; 46.3% were delayed between 4 and 24 h and 17.9% were delayed more than 24 h. For those who had a delay in their discharge of greater than 24 h, the data suggests that "sicker" patients ultimately do better, since there was a reduction in expected mortality of 5892 patients to an actual mortality of 5201 patients over the five years. More in depth analysis of this data is necessary to try to identify which patients are more likely to benefit from extending their critical care stay once the need for organ support has abated. The current Commissioning for Quality and Innovation offers a slightly perverse incentive against this cohort of patients.


Even in the absence of visible lesions like an ulcer, cancer or oesophagitis, patients with functional dyspepsia may complain of severe dyspeptic symptoms and have a poor quality of life. Characteristically, these patients also often have a low estimate of their own health and have complaints from several organ systems. The cause of the disease is not known. Both central nervous system and gastric disturbances appear to be involved, and their relative importance is controversial. There is no clear beneficial effect of acid suppression or H. pylori eradication although effects of such therapy may be seen in minor subgroups. New findings emphasise the importance of distinguishing between functional dyspepsia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, which exhibit completely different gastric accommodation patterns to a meal and have very different therapeutic potential. The effect of drugs like glyceryl trinitrate, glucagon, sumatriptan and buspirone which all concomitantly improve symptoms and gastric accommodation support the important role of abnormal gastric accommodation to meals in patients with functional dyspepsia. A hypothetical model for the pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia is presented. It incorporates four established abnormalities: various psychological abnormalities, low vagal tone, impaired gastric relaxation, and visceral hypersensitivity, in a logical interplay along the brain-gut axis.


Two fundamental notions of classical chemical kinetics—the "Chemical Equilibrium" and the "Law of Mass Action"—are re-examined here for reversible diffusion-limited reactions (DLR), on the example of association/dissociation A + AB reactions. We consider a general model with long-ranged elementary reaction rates, such that any pair of A particles, separated by distance μ, may react at a rate k+(μ), and any B may dissociate at a rate k−(λ) into a geminate pair of A's separated by distance λ. Within an exact analytical approach, we show that the state attained by reversible DLR at t = ∞ is generally not a true thermodynamic equilibrium, but rather a non-equilibrium steady state, and that the Law of Mass Action is invalid. The classical picture holds only in case when the ratio k+(μ)/k−(μ) is independent of μ for any μ.


Alaska has spent billions of dollars on various energy-related activities over the past several decades, with projects ranging from smaller utilities used to produce heat and power in rural Alaska to huge endeavors relating to exported resources. To help provide information for end users, utilities, decision makers, and the general public, the Institute of Northern Engineering at UAF established an Energy Information Clearinghouse accessible through the worldwide web in 2002. This clearinghouse contains information on energy resources, end use technologies, policies, related environmental issues, emerging technologies, efficiency, storage, demand side management, and developments in Alaska.


This paper examines the effect of unemployment on the behavior of the university graduates in Ado-Ekiti and their immediate environment. Hanging the study on strain theory of Robert K. Merton, It is observed that Nigerian society places much emphasis on goals without making adequate provision for the means of achieving them; the tendency is to resort to deviant means. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed, using simple random sampling to select four political wards out of the twelve in the study site; accidental sampling method was employed to pick 100 respondents from each of the political wards selected. Responses were solicited through questionnaire. Data gathered were analyzed with SPSS (statistical package for social sciences). Frequency tables were generated and hypotheses tested using chi-square to discuss the relationship between unemployment and criminal behavior among graduates in Ado-Ekiti. The study emphasized the urgent need for government to encourage the establishment of local firms and industries, develop agricultural sector to absorb the mass of unemployed youths and give out revolving loans to graduates to start up their own businesses. The paper concludes that there should be introduction of entrepreneurship and vocational training in to all levels of educational curriculum in Nigeria for versatility and skills acquisition.


In the present study, polyethyleneimine (PEI) coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) having the size of 15 nm in diameter with high magnetic saturation (60 emu/g) have been prepared by co-precipitation method. The synthesized PEI-Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been fully characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The free amine groups on the PEI-Fe3O4 surface has been covalently functionalized with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by the catalysis of N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) and N, N'-Dimethylpyridin-4-amine (DMAP) coupling to produce CMC-Fe3O4 nanocarriers. The prepared CMC-Fe3O4 nanocarriers have been loaded with a well-known anti-tumor drug doxorubicin (Dox) and investigated its loading and releasing profiles from the nanocarrier. The CMC acted as an excellent nanocarrier for Dox with a loading efficiency ≈ 86%. The drug releasing profile has been studied at different pH values (3.5; 5.5; and 7.4). When the pH of the release medium (phosphate buffer solution) was changed from 7.4 to 5.5 or 3.6, the drug release has been increased which indicates that the drug releasing is pH dependent.


Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the differences in anthropometric characteristics and body composition of elite soccer athletes, according to playing position and function performed.
Methods: Ninety-seven elite athletes (24.68 ± 4.21 years) from a first division team of Brazilian soccer were assessed for body mass, stature and seven skinfolds, to determine body mass index, fat percentage, as well as fat mass and fat-free mass. Differences in the anthropometric characteristics and body composition, according to playing positions and function performed were evaluated with the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).Quantitative chances of finding differences and effect sizes (ES) were also interpreted.
Results: Goalkeepers (GO) and central defenders (CD) had likely to most likely higher stature and body mass than fullbacks (FB), defensive (DM) and offensive (OM) midfielders, and forwards (FW) (ES varying between 0.92 and 2.62); DM had also higher body mass than OM (ES=1.04). GO likely to very likely had higher body fat percentage and fat-free mass than other positions (ES varying between 1.49 and 2.07). OM likely to very likely had lower fat mass than GO, CD and DM (ES varying between 1.04 to 2.06). FB likely to very likely had also lower fat mass than GO and CD (ES=1.29 and 1.73, respectively).
Conclusion: Our results provide useful information for help coaches and other soccer professionals in the planning and control of training and nutrition in elite Brazilian soccer athletes.


Abstract The presence of communities, which are groups of highly cross referenced pages together representing a single concept, is a striking feature of the World Wide Web. Quite often a group of communities, each topically coherent within itself, may be related through a common concept manifested in each of them. Motivated by this observation, we present a method for query-driven conceptual browsing for exploring concepts on the Web starting from a userspecified query. We show how this idea is related to prior work on learning concept maps and on Web Mining, and discuss the application of conceptual browsing for user-driven exploration and discovery of new concepts on the Web. Abstract The presence of communities, which are groups of highly cross referenced pages together representing a single concept, is a striking feature of the World Wide Web. Quite often a group of communities, each topically coherent within itself, may be related through a common concept manifested in each of them. Motivated by this observation, we present a method for query-driven c onceptual browsing for exploring concepts on the Web starting from a userspecified query. We show how this idea is related to prior work on learning concept maps and on Web Mining, and discuss the application of conceptual browsing for user-driven exploration and discovery of new concepts on the Web.


This study was conducted to investigate the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene(1-MCP), an inhibitor of ethylene action, on fruit quality and incidence of physiological disorders during simulated marketing period in early-season Asian pear(Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) 'Noksu'. Flesh firmness was decreased abruptly at 15 days after shelf-life in control fruits. which showed less than 10.7N, although those of 1-MCP-treated fruits were kept high value(>30.4N) during 20 days of shelf-life. 'Noksu' pears did not show any considerable differences in quality indices such as soluble solids content, titratable acidity during the shelf-life regardless of 1-MCP treatment. The reduction of ethylene production level by 1-MCP treatment did not appeared in 'Noksu' pear. Meanwhile, 1-MCP treated 'Noksu' pears showed significantly low respiration rate during shelf-life. Also, 1-MCP treatment blocked the incidence of physiological disorders including core browning, internal browning, water soaking and mealiness symptom during shelf-life. Consequently, we concluded that the 1-MCP treatment effectively inhibited the incidence of physiological disorders and extended the shelf-life for 10 days in early-season Asian pear 'Noksu'.


A novel conformational structure of bilirubin is presented which obtains maximum stabilization through a system of four intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Two hydrogen bonds link oxygen and nitrogen atoms of each end ring to the contralateral carboxyl group. The proposed structure can explain a variety of uncommon features of bilirubin, and reconciles many seemingly contradictory hypotheses by accommodating them in individual structures which are mesomeric forms of one resonance hybrid. In the light of this newly conceived structure the following characteristics of bilirubin are re-evaluated: the stability of the compound, its reaction with diazomethane, the conformational behaviour of its dimethyl ester, its spectral properties, the chirality of the compound when complexed to serum albumin, and the structure of its metal chelates.


Background: It has been shown that the pineal gland plays a fundamental role in mediating either the spiritual perception or the anticancer immunity by stimulating the endogenous production of anticancer cytokine interleukin (IL)-2. Objective: The present study was performed to evaluate the impact of a spiritual approach consisting of Kriya Yoga program alone or in association with melatonin (MLT) or low-dose IL-2 plus MLT on the survival time in a group of metastatic cancer patients with life expectancy less than 1 year. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was carried out in 240 patients (M/F: 146/94; median age: 62 years, range: 34-71, suffering from non-small-cell lung cancer or gastrointestinal tumors) who were subdivided into 6 groups of 40 patients, treated with supportive care alone as a control group, supportive care plus Yoga, MLT alone, MLT plus Yoga, inteleukin-2 plus MLT, or IL-2 plus MLT plus Yoga. Results: The best results in terms of increased survival time were obtained by the association between neuroimmunotherapy with MLT plus IL-2 and Yoga program (2 years), which was significantly longer with respect to that achieved by supportive care alone, Yoga alone, or IL-2 plus MLT alone (1 year). Conclusions: This study would suggest that a spiritual therapeutic approach may improve the survival time of untreatable metastatic solid tumor patients.


be removed. The risk entailed b~ operation can be weduced very materially by first rielieving the toxic symptoms by' connecting the divided ileum with the sligmoid or rectum, and later, when the general condition of the patient has improved in consequence of this procedure, the large bowel can be excised if the symptoms demand it. 1 do not pretend that removal of the iarge bowel is not a very serious operation in certain circumstances. Indeed, in many of these patients any ,serious operation must be regarded as being dangerous to life, the danger varying chiefly with the degree of toxicity. tl may say that in these and similar cases the risk can be very materially reduced by the subcutaneous injection of a'large quantity of normal saline solution immediately before the operation. By this means the patient appears to suffer a minimum of shock from the extensive operative procedure, and vomiting either does not follow it, or should it do so, it is trivial in character. In these cases the absence of vomiting is a matter of very great importance. It was very frequent and severe after my earlier excisions of the large intestine, and was the cause of more than one fatal result. Besides the distress and depressing influence it exerted on the patient, the constantly recurring strain on a long wound was very liable to render it insecure or to determine the development of a septic infection in it, which would probably not have occurred had the recently ¶Rcised structures been kept at rest. The risk of an infection starting in the peritoneal cavity appears to be very small. The mode in which the subcutaneous trans1usion of normal saline, employed immediately before the -operation, acts has been very clearly demonstrated by Dr. 'Crile's most interesting and valuable researches on the production of shock, of which America must be very justly proud.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of block scheduling and instructional strategies on student achievement in Algebra I. The study was conducted during the 1997-98 school year. This study was comprised of two components, a quantitative study and a qualitative study. The quantitative study focused on block and traditional scheduling and the influence identified through scores on the Texas End-of-Course exam for Algebra I. The sample for this study consisted of 59 school districts from five counties in the north Texas area. The qualitative portion of this study focused on 10 classrooms, 5 block and 5 traditional, taken from the sample of 59 districts. Data for the qualitative study included questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The End-of-Course scores were analyzed using an ANOVA at the .05 level of significance, no significant difference was identified in the achievement levels of the two groups. The qualitative data was organized by categories derived from the NCTM teaching standards. Data from this portion of the study indicated that teachers in both block and traditionally scheduled classes spend their class time in a similar manner, using similar materials, and using more traditional strategies. Additional analyses of data based upon usage of the graphing calculator and manipulatives also resulted in no significant difference. Although all comparisons between block and traditional scheduling and usage or non-usage of technology and/or manipulatives resulted in no significant difference, the block groups and those using technology and/or manipulatives had higher mean scores. This indicates that allowing teachers more time to use alternative instructional strategies would benefit the student, but this will not take place without the teacher receiving training and support.