We consider generative adversarial networks (GAN) for estimating parameters in a deep generative model. The data-generating distribution is assumed to concentrate around some low-dimensional structure, making the target distribution singular to the Lebesgue measure. Under this assumption, we obtain convergence rates of a GAN type estimator with respect to the Wasserstein metric. The convergence rate depends only on the noise level, intrinsic dimension and smoothness of the underlying structure. Furthermore, the rate is faster than that obtained by likelihood approaches, which provides insights into why GAN approaches perform better in many real problems. A lower bound of the minimax optimal rate is also investigated.


Amino acids are essential building blocks of life. However, increasing evidence suggests that elevated amino acids cause cellular toxicity associated with numerous metabolic disorders. How cells cope with elevated amino acids remains poorly understood. Here, we show that a previously identified cellular structure, the mitochondrial-derived compartment (MDC), is a dynamic, lumen-containing organelle that functions to protect cells from amino acid stress. In response to amino acid elevation, MDCs are generated from mitochondria, where they selectively sequester and remove Tom70, a surface receptor required for import of nutrient carriers of the SLC25 family. MDC formation is regulated by levels of mitochondrial carriers, and its activation by amino acids occurs simultaneously with removal of plasma membrane-localized transporters via the multi-vesicular body (MVB) pathway. Combined loss of MDC and MVB formation renders cells sensitive to elevated amino acids, suggesting these pathways operate as a coordinated network to protect cells from amino acid toxicity.


Prior studies suggest that scarcity increases delay discounting (devaluation of delayed outcomes) and disturbs other decision-making processes. Evidence on the effect of COVID-19 on delay discounting is mixed. Also, no study has examined the effect of COVID-19-related scarcity on probability discounting (devaluation of probabilistic outcomes). The goal of the study was to examine cross-sectional associations between financial impact during the COVID-19 pandemic, delay discounting, and probability discounting. During April 2020, 1012 participants with low income were recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed measures of delay and probability discounting, perceived COVID-19-related financial impacts, and food security. Regression analyses indicate that compared to those with no COVID-19-related financial impacts, those with severe COVID-19-related financial impacts had greater delay discounting of money and greater delay discounting of a grocery gift card. Also, greater food insecurity in the past month was associated with greater delay discounting of a grocery gift card but not delay discounting of money. Perceived COVID-19 related financial impact was not associated with probability discounting. Combined with laboratory experiments, this study provides additional support for the idea that feelings of scarcity may increase delay discounting. However, as this study was observational, no assumptions of causality should be made about the specific effect of COVID-19 on delay discounting.


The research is motivated by the result of the study authors showed that teachers' work motivation is still not in line with expectations. It is thought to be related to insdequate incentives that affect the motivation of the teachers' work. The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the Working Relationship with motivation Incentives teacher at SMK Negeri 1 Sintuk Toboh Gadang Padang Pariaman. The population of this research is the entire teachers SMK Negeri 1 Sintuk Toboh Gadang Padang Pariaman as many as 78 people. The number of samples is 60 people taken with simple random sampling technique. Tool collecting data in this study is the now the likert scale, the Model already tested the validity and reliability; with valid results and reliable. Technique of data analysis by performing test normality by using a formula to calculate the coefficients of quadratic and Chi correlation using the correlation formula, as well as calculate the correlation coefficient with using the formula   t-test results from the research on relationship with motivation incentives work teacher at SMK Negeri 1 Sintuk Toboh Gadang Padang Pariaman is quite good and well. Key word : Incentives, Work Motivation Teacher


Central nervous system (CNS) cancer is a devastating illness with unmet therapeutic needs. Establishing biomarkers that have the potential to guide accurate CNS cancer diagnosis or are helpful in predicting disease progression or therapy response is of great interest. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been extensively targeted for the detection of molecules that might be useful markers for cancer detection. However, so far very few of such markers have found a standardized routine clinical application. This review examines the current scientific knowledge about the biochemical elements in the CSF that have been reported in the literature as brain cancer biomarkers and highlight reasons why the role of most markers is not yet established in the managment of CNS tumors.


Vietnam's economy is rapidly expanding and the metal industry is a large and critical participant. Exposures to workers at Vietnamese foundries (where metal is formed into usable products) are at risk for a number of occupational diseases, such as respiratory disease (ie, silicosis), hearing loss, heat stress, and vibration-induced injuries. The occupational diseases related to the metal industry are so prevalent that the top two most predominant occupational diseases in Vietnam are related to this industry. For over a decade, the Vietnamese government has striven to protect the health of metal workers; however, progress has been gradual due to socioeconomic conditions. We report on the present challenges faced by the Vietnamese National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (VNIOEH) and their accomplishments in their efforts to decrease the incidence of silicosis in foundry workers. We also share a discussion about possible alternate approaches towards improving the workplace. The hierarchy of exposure control, as it applies to the prevention of worker inhalation of respirable silica, has been widely accepted in the US. The four control approaches are eliminating or substituting sand containing silicon dioxide, engineering controls on dust, administrative controls such as job rotation, and the use of personal protective equipment. These are stated in order of most to least effective. Because of a persistent lack of economic resources put towards worker protection, the Vietnamese have placed much emphasis on workers' personal responsibility and personal protective equipment. Regarding the former, the VNIOEH has studied foundry workers' knowledge of occupational health hazards and the Institute has also developed educational programs for workers. Regarding the latter, the VNIOEH has produced two mask designs and has begun to issue them to foundry staff. VNIOEH researchers have begun to dialog with US collaborators about encouraging employers to use measures more valued on the industrial hygiene hierarchy, such as improving ventilation and altering production processes to increase worker safety.


Autonomous vehicles require precise knowledge of their position and orientation in all weather and traffic conditions for path planning, perception, control, and general safe operation. Here we derive these requirements for autonomous vehicles based on first principles. We begin with the safety integrity level, defining the allowable probability of failure per hour of operation based on desired improvements on road safety today. This draws comparisons with the localization integrity levels required in aviation and rail where similar numbers are derived at 10^-8 probability of failure per hour of operation. We then define the geometry of the problem, where the aim is to maintain knowledge that the vehicle is within its lane and to determine what road level it is on. Longitudinal, lateral, and vertical localization error bounds (alert limits) and 95% accuracy requirements are derived based on US road geometry standards (lane width, curvature, and vertical clearance) and allowable vehicle dimensions. For passenger vehicles operating on freeway roads, the result is a required lateral error bound of 0.57 m (0.20 m, 95%), a longitudinal bound of 1.40 m (0.48 m, 95%), a vertical bound of 1.30 m (0.43 m, 95%), and an attitude bound in each direction of 1.50 deg (0.51 deg, 95%). On local streets, the road geometry makes requirements more stringent where lateral and longitudinal error bounds of 0.29 m (0.10 m, 95%) are needed with an orientation requirement of 0.50 deg (0.17 deg, 95%).


Foodborne disease outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh produce pose a threat to public health, decrease consumer confidence in minimally processed foods, and negatively impact the sales of these commodities. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of population size of inoculated pathogen on its inactivation by gaseous ozone treatment during vacuum cooling. Spinach leaves were spot inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 at approximate initial populations of 108, 107, and 105 CFU/g. Inoculated leaves were vacuum cooled (28.5 inHg; 4°C) in a custom-made vessel and then were subjected to a gaseous ozone treatment under the following conditions: 1.5 g of ozone per kg of gas mixture, vessel pressure at 10 lb/in2 gauge, 94 to 98% relative humidity, and 30 min of holding time at 9°C. Treatment of the leaves, having the aforementioned inocula, decreased E. coli populations by 0.2, 2.1, and 2.8 log CFU/g, respectively, compared with the inoculated untreated controls. Additionally, spinach leaves were inoculated at 1.4 × 103 CFU/g, which approximates natural contamination level, and the small populations remaining after ozone treatment were quantified using the most-probable-number (MPN) method. Vacuum and ozone sequential treatment decreased this E. coli O157:H7 population to <3 MPN/g (i.e., greater than 3-log reduction). Resulting log reductions were greater (P < 0.05) at the lower rather than the higher inoculum levels. In conclusion, treatment of spinach leaves with gaseous ozone is effective against pathogen loads comparable to those found in naturally contaminated fresh produce, but efficacy decreases as inoculum level increases.


ABSTRACT Microbial community diversity and heterogeneity in saturated and unsaturated subsurface soils from Abbott's Pit in Virginia (1.57, 3.25, and 4.05 m below surface) and Dover Air Force Base in Delaware (6.00 and 7.50 m below surface) were analyzed using a culture-independent small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene (rDNA)-based cloning approach. Four to six dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified in 33 to 100 unique SSU rDNA clones (constituting about 40 to 50% of the total number of SSU rDNA clones in the clone library) from the saturated subsurface samples, whereas no dominant OTUs were observed in the unsaturated subsurface sample. Less than 10% of the clones among samples from different depths at the same location were identical, and the proportion of overlapping OTUs was lower for the samples that were vertically far apart than for adjacent samples. In addition, no OTUs were shared between the Abbott's Pit and Dover samples. The majority of the clones (80%) had sequences that were less than 5% different from those in the current databases. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that most of the bacterial clones were affiliated with members of the Proteobacteria family (90%), gram-positive bacteria (3%), and members of the Acidobacteria family (3%). Principal component analysis revealed that samples from different geographic locations were well separated and that samples from the same location were closely grouped together. In addition, the nonsaturated subsurface samples from Abbott's Pit clustered together and were well separated from the saturated subsurface soil sample. Finally, the overall diversity of the subsurface samples was much lower than that of the corresponding surface soil samples.


Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-mediated activation of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway has an overall negative impact on T cell proliferation and down regulates or neutralizes signaling pathways of many genes. Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is an important gene expressed differentially during T cell development and functions by phosphorylating downstream effector molecules in both T and B lymphocytes. We report here that PKA inhibitors promoted, whereas cAMP analogues suppressed SYK expression. Overexpression of a catalytic subunit of PKA significantly abrogated SYK protein and mRNA expression as well as the levels of phosphorylated SYK. A complete cAMP response element (CRE) site on SYK promoter was found functional and capable of binding CREMα and CREB as detected by EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation. CREMα overexpression reduced, while disruption of the CRE site enhanced the basal promoter activity of SYK. Collectively, the cAMP-mediated PKA pathway functions as the negative regulator of SYK expression by promoting direct binding of a repressor element to the SYK promoter.


1. A series of patients with 523 anterior and posterior dislocations of the hip joint was studied, and the end results of 264 dislocations with a minimum follow-up period of two years were analyzed. Results were evaluated according to the patient's complaints and disability and the appearance of the roentgenograms of the hip at the time of follow-up.
2. Factors which appear to modify the end results and the extent of disability are discussed.
3. Recommendations concerning postreduction management of the various types of traumatic hip dislocation are submitted.
4. Although the end results in the severe types of fracture-dislocation of the hip are disappointing, symptomatic complaints and existing disability are frequently less pronounced than the roentgenographic appearance of the hip would indicate. Conservatism in the application of secondary reconstructive procedures would seem desirable.


Healthcare organizations can use two benchmarking techniques to improve their accounts receivable departments' performance: 1) studying the accounts receivable statistics of model healthcare organizations, and 2) visiting these model organizations in order to get a first-hand look at how they do business. Employing these two benchmarking techniques can help healthcare organizations reduce gross days revenue outstanding, bad debt, the length of time between the date a patient is discharged and the date a bill is mailed, the total percentage of receivables more than 90 days old, and general business office expenses related to collection.


Sliding modes impose strong robustness toward parametric plant uncertainties and disturbances and provide for accurate tracking performance in control systems. However, in physical systems the application of sliding modes may give rise to undesirable chattering of the control signal due to actuator dynamics, possible excitation of unmodelled dynamics and structural resonant modes of load systems, etc. This may be avoided by application of smoothing functions imposing boundary layers on the control constraint, or by carrying out the design in relation to the control derivative. However, such boundary layers introduce additional design parameters and actuator dynamics may not allow the desired control accuracy to be reached. In this paper continuous controllers are proposed, with the designs taking their offset in some well-known sliding controllers. The proposed controllers preserve the finite-time convergence properties known from sliding control while at the same time avoiding control chattering, however, on the cost of robustness. Experimental results confirm the announced properties when applied to a hydraulic valve-cylinder drive, and demonstrates superior performance over conventional linear controllers.


Background: Open fractures are debilitating injuries for athletes. No prior studies have investigated open fractures in National Football League (NFL) players. Purpose: To compare outcomes after open fracture in NFL players in terms of (1) time to return to sport (RTS), (2) postinjury career length and games played per season, (3) postinjury performance, and (4) postinjury performance compared with matched controls. Study Design: Retrospective comparative series; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Publicly available records were used to identify NFL players who had sustained an open fracture between 1970 and 2018. Controls were matched to injured players by age, experience, position, and preinjury performance. RTS was defined as playing in at least 1 NFL game after open fracture. Comparisons between injured and control players were made using the paired-samples Student t test. Results: Injuries in 37 players were analyzed (age, 27.2 ± 3.6 years; experience, 4.4 ± 3.6 seasons). The 3 most common locations for open fracture were the tibia/fibula (n = 16), hand/finger (n = 12), and forearm/wrist (n = 3). A total of 30 (81%) players had a mean time of RTS of 9.3 ± 8.2 months after open fracture; of these players, 4 (13.3%) who sustained hand/finger open fracture did not undergo surgical treatment. There was no difference in postinjury career length or games played per season between control and injured players. Postinjury performance was similar to preinjury performance in injured players, and postinjury performance scores were similar between injured and control players. There were significant differences between players who sustained upper extremity and lower extremity open fractures in RTS time (4.0 ± 4.8 vs 14.6 ± 7.4 months, respectively; P = .00007) and postinjury performance (6.4 ± 4.3 vs 3.3 ± 2.1, respectively; P = .03). Conclusion: RTS after open fracture among NFL players was high. Players who sustained an open fracture had similar games played per season, career length, and performance compared with matched controls. Players who sustained an upper extremity open fracture had a faster RTS time, higher RTS rate, and improved postinjury performance compared with players who sustained a lower extremity open fracture.


Traumatic acute subdural haematoma is one of the most lethal of all head injuries: the mortality rate is reported to be between 50 and 90%. We reviewed the clinical records of 1688 head injured patients admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery at C.T.O. hospital between 1982 and 1992. In 127 cases (7,5%) CTscan on admission showed acute subdural haematoma requiring surgery because the midline shift was greater than 5 mm. The overall mortality rate was 57% and 23% had functional recovery. The following variables were assessed with regard to morbidity and mortality: mechanism of injury, age, neurological presentation, time delay from injury to intervention, CTscan finding on admission. GCS and CTscan findings were found to be the most important prognostic variable. Timing of operative intervention for clot removal with regard to outcome was not statistically significant. But no conclusions regarding the importance of early haematoma evacuation can be drawn from such an oversimplifying statement, because it does not take into account factors like rapidity of haematoma development and related brain decompensation as well as additional direct brain lesions. The results of this study suggest that the extent of primary brain injury underlying the subdural haematoma is the most important factor affecting outcome.


Acoustic emission (AE) signal generated from artificial defects in rolling element bearings are investigated using experimental measurements in this paper. Rolling element bearings are crucial parts of many machines and there has been an increasing demand to find effective and reliable health monitoring technique and advanced signal processing to detect and diagnose the size and location of incipient defects. Condition monitoring of rolling element bearings, comprises four main stages which are, statistical analysis, faults diagnostics, defect size calculation, and prognostics. In this paper, the effect of defect size, operating speed, and loading conditions on statistical parameters of AE signals, using design of experiment method, have been investigated to select the most sensitive parameters for diagnosing incipient faults and defect growth on rolling element bearings.


This article summarizes findings from a randomized control trial to determine the effect of a chosen female provider on the outcome of labor in Botswana. Botswana has a long cultural tradition, according to Setwana custom, of women being present during the pregnancy and after the delivery of the first born. However, hospitals in Botswana do not permit female family members to stay with women during labor and delivery. In fact, hospitals do not allow caretakers to enter the labor ward. The trial was conducted during October 1994 and January 1995, among 109 women in their 37th-42nd week of pregnancy. None of the women had complications. The control group received the normal hospital treatment. The experimental group received the normal treatment plus the constant presence of their chosen female relative. Findings indicate that the experimental group women were more likely to have an intervention free vaginal delivery. Women in the control group had greater risk of obstetric interventions. The study did not evaluate women's perceptions of the intervention or desire for other support persons. Findings indicate that companionship during labor produces positive outcomes that would avoid costly obstetric interventions.


Desmoplastic melanoma (DM) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) can appear morphologically and immunophenotypically similar. We attempted to determine whether microarray comparative genomic hybridization could detect copy number differences between them to aid in the diagnosis. S-100 immunohistochemistry was performed on 5 cases of DM and 9 cases of MPNST using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens. Genomic DNA was extracted from microdissected cells. Whole genome amplification was performed on 5 of 5 DMs and 6 of 9 MPNST cases. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay was used to determine the quality of the DNA samples, which were run on the Spectral Chip 2600 bacterial artificial chromosome array platform. DM showed gains involving chromosomes 1p, 2p, 9q, 13q, 14q, and 20q and losses involving chromosomes 5p, 11p, 12q, 15q, and 18q. Several cancer-associated genes were involved, including gain of BCL2L1, ARTN, AMPK, NRAS, and CCNA1 and loss of IGF2, CDKN1C, PAX6, WT1, TRAF6, MAPK8IP1, and IMP3. MPNST had gains involving chromosomes 1p, 2q, and 19p and loss of chromosome 21q. Gains of MUM1, APC2, MAP2K2, JMJD2B, SP110, PTMA, GPI, and CDKN2D were detected. DM and MPNST have chromosomal alterations detected by array comparative genomic hybridization that might be useful in distinguishing these 2 tumors, although further studies with a larger sample size will be needed to test this.


We revisit the topic of optical layer protection from a motivation and deployment perspective. We first discuss the changes that have occurred in optical networking in general and the implications for protection. We then discuss scenarios where optical protection makes sense, recognizing that other fast protection schemes at the client layer provide viable alternatives in certain cases. Our conclusion is that optical protection makes sense for metro networks, as long as they are based on simple dedicated schemes. When it gets to more complex shared ring and mesh protection, we believe that OEO-based schemes are more viable, whether crossconnect-based or packet-switch-based.


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the exercise setting on perceived exertion during sustained low and high intensity cycling exercise.

METHODS
Thirteen untrained males completed 4 15-min cycling sessions at 50% VO(2peak) and at 80% VO(2peak) under each of the following conditions: control, sensory deprived, video, and music. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) from Borg's 6-20 scale and heart rate (HR) were recorded at 5 min intervals during all sessions.

RESULTS
RPE increased with exercise duration at both intensities and, as expected, was substantially higher at the harder workload. Exercising to music resulted in significantly lower RPE when compared to all other conditions at both the low and high workloads, while RPE was higher in the sensory deprived condition when compared to the other 3 conditions. However, RPE was similar for the control and video conditions at both workloads. A significant ordinal interaction existed between conditions and exercise duration during the low but not the high workload. While HR was higher for the harder workload and increased during each workload as a function of exercise duration, it was not different among the 4 conditions at either workload.

CONCLUSIONS
Varying the type of sensory information available to the exercising individual did influence perceptual responses to the exercise with the degree of influence dependent on the intensity and duration of the exercise. These results are consistent with information processing models that suggest a limited capacity to attend to the information available. The type of information available, the work intensity, and the work duration were important elements influencing perceptual responses to exercise.


To determine feelings and thoughts of parents with autistic children. This qualitative study consisted of 20 parents. 'Personal Information Form' and semi-constituted 'Guide Interview Form' with qualitative face-to-face technique were used. Thematic analysis method was used for analyses. The mean age of children was 10.80 ± 4.30 (3-16 year-olds). Expressions of parents were grouped under the following main themes: Feelings of parents when they learnt about the disease, how this condition affected the life quality of parents, problems of parents about childcare, and concerns of parents regarding the future of their children. Parents expressed their feelings upon learning about the disease: 'I felt unhappy, shocked, extremely upset and I could not accept this situation'. Their social and family life was negatively affected, and they were disturbed due to gaze of others. Needs of families and children should be met, different perspectives should be developed with a common philosophy.


Intrauterine growth retardation is an important cause of perinatal death. The etiology is predominantly renovascular-syndromes, chromosome or genetic anomalies, and idiopathic hypotrophy. The small for age baby is hypoxic and hypercapnic, with acidosis. Fetal circulation is redistributed to protect the brain. The type of retarded growth (well balanced? or not), its severity and its potential development can be evaluated by echographic examination, and means of Doppler study. The only treatment is fetal removal. The date of this removal is a compromise between the risk of fetal death or neurological consequences of prolonged hypoxia on the one hand, and of the risk of severe iatrogenic prematurity, or neonatal death, if removal is made at too young a gestational age. The only preventive treatment that has been evaluated is lowdose aspirin which, in at-risk patients, has reduced the risk by a factor of four to six.


We construct a mathematical model of antivirus protection of local area networks. The model belongs to the class of regenerative processes. To protect the network from the external attacks of viruses and the spread of viruses within the network we apply two methods: updating antivirus signatures and reinstallings of operating systems (OS). Operating systems are reinstalled in the case of failure of any of the computers (non-scheduled emergent reinstalling) or at scheduled time moments. We consider a maximization problem of an average unit income. The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the scheduled intervals between complete OS reinstallings is considered as a control. We prove that the optimal CDF has to be degenerate, i.e., it is localized at a point τ .


PURPOSE
In adults with hemiparesis amount of movement of the more-affected arm is related to its amount of use in daily life. In children, little is known about everyday arm use. This report examines the relationships between everyday movement of the more-affected arm and its (a) everyday use and (b) motor capacity in children with hemiparesis.

METHODS
Participants were 28 children with a wide range of upper-extremity hemiparesis subsequent to cerebral palsy due to pre- or peri-natal stroke. Everyday movement of the more-affected arm was assessed by putting accelerometers on the children's forearms for three days. Everyday use of that arm and its motor capacity were assessed with the Pediatric Motor Activity Log-Revised and Pediatric Arm Function Test, respectively.

RESULTS
Intensity of everyday movement of the more-affected arm was correlated with its motor capacity (rs ≥ 0.52, ps ≤ 0.003). However, everyday movement of that arm was not correlated with its everyday use (rs ≤ 0.30, ps ≥ $ 0.126).

CONCLUSIONS
In children with upper-extremity hemiparesis who meet the study intake criteria amount of movement of the more-affected arm in daily life is not related to its amount to use, suggesting that children differ from adults in this respect.


The next generation multi-cubic-kilometre water Cherenkov neutrino telescope will be build in the Mediterranean Sea. This telescope, called KM3NeT, is currently entering a first construction phase. The KM3NeT research infrastructure will comprise 690 so-called Detection Units in its final design which will be anchored to the sea bed and held upright by submerged floats. The positions of these Detection Units, several hundred metres in length, and their attached Optical Modules for the detection of Cherenkov light have to be monitored continously to provide the telescope with its desired pointing precision. A standard way to do this is the utilisation of an acoustic positioning system using emitters at fixed positions and receivers distributed along the Detection Units. The KM3NeT neutrino telescope comprises a custom-made acoustic positioning system with newly designed emitters attached to the anchors of the Detection Units and custom-designed receivers attached to the Detection Units. This article describes an approach for a receiver and its performance. The proposed Opto-Acoustical Modules combine the optical sensors for the telescope with the acoustical sensors necessary for the positioning of the module itself. This combination leads to a compact design suited for an easy deployment of the numerous Detection Units. Furthermore, the instrumented volume can be used for scientific analyses such as marine science and acoustic particle detection.


Technological regimes define the technological environment in which innovative and learning activities take place within each sector of the economy. However, in our view technological regimes must be interpreted and elaborated by each organisation operating in a specific sector in order to be rationally implemented, thus turning into perceived technological regimes. We test this argument on a sample of wine companies in the Apulia region (Italy). We find empirical evidence that the perceived technological regimes exist and that firms' perceptions tend to vary uniformly across different wine technologies. In addition, we find evidence that different firms' characteristics have a strong impact on firms' perceptions both at the aggregate level and when distinct perception groups are identified.


Traditional operating system interfaces and network protocol implementations force system state to be kept on both sides of a connection. Such state ties the connection to an endpoint, impedes transparent failover, permits denial-of-service attacks, and limits scalability. This paper introduces a novel TCP-like transport protocol and a new interface to replace sockets that together enable all state to be kept on one endpoint, allowing the other endpoint, typically the server, to operate without any per-connection state. Called Trickles, this approach enables servers to scale well with increasing numbers of clients, consume fewer resources, and better resist denial-of-service attacks. Measurements on a full implementation in Linux indicate that Trickles achieves performance comparable to TCP/IP, interacts well with other flows, and scales well. Trickles also enables qualitatively different kinds of networked services. Services can be geographically replicated and contacted through an anycast primitive for improved availability and performance. Widely-deployed practices that currently have client-observable side effects, such as periodic server reboots, connection redirection, and failover, can be made transparent, and perform well, under Trickles. The protocol is secure against tampering and replay attacks, and the client interface is backwards-compatible, requiring no changes to sockets-based client applications.


New results from inelastic two‐body scattering reactions are reviewed. Although predictions of SU(3), factorization and simple Regge theory are found to be qualitatively in agreement with the data, direct channel or absorption effects afford the simplest interpretation of the detailed features of the scattering amplitudes.


In vitro conservation of Cochlospermum regium (Schrank) Pilg.- Cochlospermaceae under minimal growth storage. Cochlospermum regium is a plant from cerrado, caatinga and pantanal areas. In popular medicine, it is known as "algodao-do-campo" and its roots are used to treat uterine and intestinal infections, gastritis, ulcers and arthritis. Nowadays, extraction activities and the destruction of natural habitats has made "algodao-do- campo" one of the major native medicinal species for ex situ conservation. The aim of this work was to develop a methodology for the in vitro conservation of "algodao-do-campo", contributing to studies on the micropropagation of this species. In vitro germination was evaluated in "algodao- do-campo" seeds subjected to scarification or not with sulfuric acid and inoculation in MS medium. For in vitro conservation, nodal segments from in vitro-germinated seedlings were evaluated for 90 days at three temperatures (10, 20 and 25oC) and three WPM medium concentrations (½, ¾ and full-strength). Scarified seeds presented 93.3% in vitro germination at 30 days of cultivation, a significantly higher value than the 13.3% observed for non-scarified seeds. The in vitro conservation of "algodao-do-campo" showed to be viable once cultures are kept in a growth chamber at 20oC in ½ WPM medium. Under such conditions, the explants presented a minimal growth and 100% survival after three evaluation months.


In (Smith et al., 1995), a proposal was made for constructing highly adaptable software based on an architecture that uses distributed agents. In this paper a case study is described which follows this approach. The important contribution lies in developing a model of the application domain, in this case the relational database domain, which is then available for a domain agent to manipulate in developing strategies for changing the application software. The application domain is modelled as a set of entities related by constraints of different types. Domain adaptability is accomplished through both the creation of new entities and new constraints between entities. Why and how this approach is different from existing approaches to adapting databases is explained. Initial results have produced a domain model which makes explicit the potential points of adaptability in the domain being modelled, making it easier to adapt software. Additionally, the use of agent interaction protocols provides a basis for research into inter-operability between separate domains.


Garoufalidis conjectured a relation between the boundary slopes of a knot and its colored Jones polynomials. More precisely, certain boundary slopes are detected by the sequence of degrees of the colored Jones polynomials. We verify this conjecture for adequate knots, a class that vastly generalizes that of alternating knots.


The oldest industry in Australia subjected to economic regulation is the gas supply industry in the state of New South Wales. In this paper the aims and motivation of the New South Wales Government in establishing the regulatory regime in 1912 and the subsequent effectiveness in achieving them are determined. Initially the regulatory regime was based on ad hoc arrangements, but eventually a more permanent structure was devised that effectively defused political controversy over gas market pricing and stabilised prices rather than substantially lowered them.


At the end of 2015, Europe faced a unique phenomenon in modern history - the explosive nature of migration processes. Mass of internally displaced persons and economic migrants from the Middle East are aggressively trying to become full residents, attracted by the image of Europe as an oasis of prosperity, democracy and human rights. As a result soft power begins to bring Europe not only political advantages but also serious challenges to its economic, social, political and even social-cultural spheres, the consequences of which are unpredictable now. It is hard to predict implications for soft power as well: will Europe remain world authority in the humanitarian field or will it suffer serious reputational loss?


Time-bin encoding has been widely used for implementing quantum key distribution (QKD) on optical fiber channels due to its robustness with respect to drifts introduced by the optical fiber. However, due to the use of interferometric structures, achieving stable and low intrinsic Quantum Bit Error rate (QBER) in time-bin systems can be challenging. A key device for decoy-state prepare&measure QKD is represented by the state encoder, that must generate low-error and stable states with different values of mean photon number. Here we propose the MacZac (Mach-Zehder-Sagnac), a time-bin encoder with ultra-low intrinsic QBER (<2e-5) and high stability. The device is based on nested Sagnac and Mach-Zehnder interferometers and uses a single phase modulator for both decoy and state preparation, greatly simplifying the optical setup. The encoder does not require any active compensation or feedback system and it can be scaled for the generation of states with arbitrary dimension. We experimentally realized and tested the device performances as a stand alone component and in a complete QKD experiments. Thanks to the capacity to combine extremely low QBER, high stability and experimental simplicity the proposed device can be used as a key building block for future high-performance, low-cost QKD systems.


Although forest tree pattern-dynamics has long been a focus for ecological theory, many aspects of basic analysis remain problematic. This paper describes, examines and illustrates an 'extreme-value' approach to clump detection. Simulations demonstrate that the approach, though simple, is sensitive and well suited to identifying aggregation, even in small data sets. The test is complementary to the χ2 approach and significantly outperforms it when high-density clusters form a relatively small fraction of the total area. This difference holds true as density declines, though the power of both tests decreases and the χ2 test eventually fails. Though powerful, the extreme-value tests are slightly conservative. The approach is adaptable to other null distributions and applications. An illustration uses tree data from a Ugandan forest plot with records from 1939 to 1992. One plausible explanation for observed stem increases in this plot is an unusually high incidence of large tree-fall events. Evidence for this is sought through spatial localization of various stem populations. Chi-square tests detect non-random density patterns in the populations that comprise 'all stems > 10 cm diameter recorded in the 1992 survey', and 'all recruits in 1976'. In the extreme-value test three populations are found to be clumped, these are 'pioneers > 10 cm diameter recorded in the 1992 survey', 'all recruits in 1992' and again 'all recruits in 1976'. These patterns, particularly the pioneer trees and stem recruitment, signal a 'gap-dynamic process' of tree regeneration. Despite this, the trends observed in the Ugandan plot appear unlikely to be caused by tree-falls alone. Various technical and ecological aspects of the extreme-value approach and tree spatial analyses are discussed.


PURPOSE
This study aims to evaluate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors of a "mother-child" coaxial dual-catheter technique for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in the treatment of central vein stenosis (CVS) or central vein occlusion (CVO).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
During September 2017 to August 2020, totally, 76 hemodialysis patients with symptomatic CVS or CVO were treated with PTA using the mother-child technique. The success rate, complications, and follow-up information were collected. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to explore the predicting factors of primary patency. Primary patency rates of different subgroups were generated with the Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test.

RESULTS
There were 31 CVS patients and 45 CVO patients who presented with 114 PTAs. The initial procedure success rate was 98.25%. By the end of the follow-up, 57 patients (75%) had maintained functioning fistula after initial or repeated PTAs. The primary patency rates were 88.75% at 3 months, 73.36% at 6 months, 55.83% at 12 months, and 50.75% at 18 months. The secondary patency rates were 97.14% at 6 months, 87.66% at 12 months, and 82.18% at 24 months. The predictors for primary patency were history diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-7.30, P = .010), abnormal white blood cell count (HR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.18-1.75, P < .001), lesion at subclavian-innominate vein (HR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.34-5.63, P = .006), and occlusion (HR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.14-0.76, P = .010). The primary patency was significantly lower in the subclavian-innominate vein subgroup, with a median primary patency of 4.5 (3-12.75) months, than in the nonsubclavian-innominate vein subgroup (8.5 [5-13] months; P = .005). The median duration of each PTA was 8 months for the first PTA, 7.5 months for the second PTA, and 5 months for the third PTA. There was no significant difference in the patency duration of repeated PTAs and the primary PTA (P = .389).

CONCLUSIONS
The mother-child coaxial dual-catheter technique has a good success rate and acceptable primary patency in the treatment of hemodialysis patients with CVS or CVO. Repeated PTA is as effective as the primary PTA.

CLINICAL IMPACT
This is the follow up report on the "Mother-Child" coaxial dual-catheter technique for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of central vein stenosis or occlusion in hemodialysis patients since we first presented it in 2019. In this paper, we can see that the long-term patency rate of this technique for central venous disease is satisfactory, and repeated use of this technique does not affect the patency time. Compared with other literature reports, the surgical success rate of this technique is significantly improved. Therefore, this technique is worth popularizing in the treatment of central venous disease.


Abstract Increased expression of Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) and Na+,K+-ATPase activity have been demonstrated in diabetic nephropathy and are implicated in the development of hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a synthetic manganese porphyrin SOD mimic and peroxynitrite scavenger, Mn(III) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin (MnTM-2-PyP) on the expression of NHE and Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the kidneys of streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. MnTM-2-PyP administration (1 mg/kg/day) started immediately after STZ and lasted 2 months. Glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels were measured in blood. NHE-1 and NHE-3 isoform expression, Na+,K+-ATPase activity, and markers of ROS/RNS-induced damage were determined in kidney homogenates. Diabetes caused lipid peroxidation, inactivation of aconitase, and increase of nitrotyrosine, which paralleled an increase in NHE-1 and NHE-3 expression and Na+,K+-ATPase activity. MnTM-2-PyP treatment had no effect on blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin, but suppressed lipid peroxidation and nitrotyrosine, protected aconitase against inactivation, and reversed the induction of NHE-1 and NHE-3 isoforms. Na+/H+ exchanger is under the control of redox-based cellular transcriptional activity, including members of the SP family of transcription factors. Mn(III) alkylpyridylporphyrins were previously found to inhibit activation of major transcription factors, including SP-1 via scavenging of signaling ROS/RNS. Therefore, our data suggest that, by reducing the levels of ROS/RNS, MnTM-2-PyP might interfere with signaling pathways responsible for NHE up-regulation.


Introduction Iatrogenic ureteric injury is a serious complication of colorectal surgery. Fluorescence image guided surgery (FIGS) is an expanding field and can potentially make operations safer for patients and prevent inadvertent ureteric injury. Intravenously administered methylene blue is excreted renally and concentrated in the urine. It is fluorescent at 660nm and can therefore be used to locate ureters intraoperatively using fluorescence enabled cameras and laparoscopes. The aim of this study is to assess the use of methylene blue under fluorescence to identify ureters during laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery. The primary objective is to compare ureter identification using white light versus fluorescence in each patient. The secondary objectives are to quantify the level of fluorescence at different time points following administration of methylene blue and to work out the optimum time to visualise the ureters. Method All adult patients undergoing either laparoscopic or open colorectal surgery were considered for inclusion into this study. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, significant renal or hepatic impairment, and patients taking SSRIs with a risk of developing serotonin syndrome. Between 0.25 – 1 mg/kg of methylene blue was administered intravenously during the operation. Background and peak fluorescence were measured at multiple time points during the procedure, using custom-made fluorescence-enabled laparoscopes and open cameras that could detect fluorescence at 660 nm. Results 8 consecutive patients undergoing colorectal surgery were recruited into this study, of which 6 were laparoscopic and 2 were open procedures. Out of 11 ureters, 10 were successfully visualised under fluorescence (example shown in image below). The mean time to peak fluorescence was 14.5 min after intravenous methylene blue injection. There was a low background signal, and the mean signal to background ratio was 2.74. Fluorescence could be detected up to 75 min after injection. This technique was considered useful in 4 patients: in one case, the ureter was more medial than initially thought, in another case, the ureter was not seen on white light but was seen under fluorescence, and in two cases, the ureters were traced from the pelvic brim all the way to the kidneys. There were no complications after administration of methylene blue.Abstract PTH-349 Figure 1 Conclusion The use of methylene blue is a safe and simple technique to identify the location of ureters under fluorescence. Larger clinical studies are required to identify which subsets of patients would benefit from this form of fluorescence image guided surgery. Disclosure of interest None Declared.


Dynamic fluctuation effects of electron-doped La2-xCexCuO4 superconducting thin films for a wide range of the Ce concentration (x=0.075 to 0.15) are studied through the microwave spectroscopic measurements in zero magnetic field. Dynamic scaling analysis of the fluctuation-induced microwave conductivity shows that the three-dimensional (3D) XY critical behavior is observed in a wide range of electron dopings, in contrast to our previous results on the hole-doped La2-xSrxCuO4 thin films where three kinds of critical charge dynamics and two kinds of dimensional crossovers were observed by hole doping. Our results clearly indicate that the critical behaviors between hole-doped and electron-doped regions in the phase diagram of high-Tc cuprates are not symmetric intrinsically. Thus, correct theories describing high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates should meet this criterion.


Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may encourage members of visitor groups to be supportive and cooperative when engaging together with exhibits. However, as participant groups explore the concepts of the exhibit, interruptions, conflicts, or disagreements may result. We collectively label this social tension as discord. This paper studies discord among family groups interacting with TuneTable, a museum exhibit designed to promote middle school students' interest in and learning of basic computing concepts (e.g. loops, conditionals) through music programming. We analyzed video recordings of each participant group and found that discord often appears alongside three markers of high engagement: a) complex physical manipulation of exhibit components; b) conversation demonstrating an in-depth understanding of how the exhibit works; and c) instances of collaboration between group members. Our findings suggest that certain types of discord could potentially be indicators of productive learning experiences at museum exhibits related to computing. In addition, when designing informal learning experiences for computing education, our findings suggest that discord is a potential trigger for deeper engagement that warrants further exploration.


Optimization of images with bad compositions has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Previous methods however seldomly consider image similarity when improving composition aesthetics. This may lead to significant content changes or bring large distortions, resulting in an unpleasant user experience. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for improving image composition aesthetics, while retaining faithful, as much as possible, to the original image content. Our method computes an improved image using a unified model of composition aesthetics and image similarity. The term of composition aesthetics obeys the rule of thirds and aims to enhance image composition. The similarity term in contrast penalizes image difference and distortion caused by composition adjustment. We use an edge‐based measure of structure similarity which nearly coincides with human visual perception to compare the optimized image with the original one. We describe an effective scheme to generate the optimized image with the objective model. Our algorithm is able to produce the recomposed images with minimal visual distortions in an elegant and user controllable manner. We show the superiority of our algorithm by comparing our results with those by previous methods.


Three benzodiazepines in equipotent doses: oxazepam 15 mg, dipotassium chlorazepate 10 mg and diazepam 5 mg, were administered in single, oral doses to seven healthy volunteers in a three-way cross-over study. The serum concentrations of oxazepam, N-desmethyldiazepam and diazepam were followed for 72 hours by gas chromatography and electron capture detection. The absorption of diazepam was most rapid and the mean time required to reach peak serum concentration was 45 minutes, followed by N-desmethyldiazepam 80 minutes and oxazepam 114 minutes. The serum concentration decay curves were biphasic with terminal mean half-lives of 48, 62 and 11 hours for diazepam, N-desmethyldiazepam and oxazepam, respectively. The mean and individual serum concentration time data were fitted to a two-compartment open model with first order absorption using a non linear least square program. The mean serum data fitted the model well. The same rank order was obtained with mean absorption half-lives as when comparing mean peak times while slightly shorter terminal half-lives were obtained in the curve fitting of mean serum data. Due to irregularities in the serum concentration time curves only five out of the 21 sets of individual data could satisfy the convergence criterion. The obtained parameters in the curve fitting were also accompanied with very large asymptotic standard deviations.


The Mongolian gerbil is a well-known animal model for induction of aural cholesteatomas. This animal model is useful for studying changes in the keratinizing epithelium. It is not known whether keratin accumulation can increase the proliferative activity of the keratinizing epithelium in tympanic membrane and meatal skin. In this study, we investigated the proliferative activity of the epidermis in induced aural cholesteatoma at various stages and in different areas of the tympanic membrane and meatal skin in normal gerbils. Anti-5-bromo-2- deoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected intraperitoneally to detect the proliferative activity of keratinizing epithelium. Immunohistochemistry with monoclonal BrdU antibody in the normal gerbil showed intense immunolabelled keratinocytes at the handle of malleus, and the superior parts of pars tensa and pars flaccida. Also, mitotic activity in the deep meatal skin was more active than in the lateral meatal skin. The induced aural cholesteatoma showed more active proliferation centre of the epithelial cell than eardrum and external ear canal of the normal gerbil. These observations suggest that the accumulation of the keratin debris might induce changes of the cellular proliferation in the external auditory meatus.


This is a research study that explores the kind of pedagogical and psychosocial possibilities that collective remembrance, mediated by practices of drama in education, might offer to the work of memory. Under study is a drama-remembrance project that explores individual and historical memory in conjunction with critical remembrance through the classroom drama praxis. Assuming the school as a terrain within which a community of memory is possible, this research is concerned with educational experiences that facilitate the understanding of the 'work of memory'. I am also situating drama praxis as an alternative performative form of remembrance. The hypothesis is that through drama framed as a performative practice of remembering, students can productively explore the work of memory; its functioning, implications and structures. I call this approach "Drama-Remembrance Praxis", as it constitutes a particular application of theatre to the memory and remembrance framework.


We report ground-based spectrophotometry of KIC 8462852, during its first dimming events since the end of the Kepler mission. The dimmings show a clear colour-signature, and are deeper in visual blue wavelengths than in red ones. The flux loss' wavelength dependency can be described with an \AA ngstr\"om absorption coefficient of $2.19\pm0.45$, which is compatible with absorption by optically thin dust with particle sizes on the order of 0.0015 to 0.15 $\mu$m. These particles would be smaller than is required to be resistant against blow-out by radiation pressure when close to the star. During occultation events, these particles must be replenished on time-scales of days. If dust is indeed the source of KIC 8462852's dimming events, deeper dimming events should show more neutral colours, as is expected from optically thick absorbers.


Odorant receptors (ORs) expressed in the antennae of parasitoid wasps are responsible for detection of various lipophilic airborne molecules. In the present study, 107 novel OR genes were identified from Microplitis mediator antennal transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analysis of the set of OR genes from M. mediator and Microplitis demolitor revealed that M. mediator OR (MmedOR) genes can be classified into different subfamilies, and the majority of MmedORs in each subfamily shared high sequence identities and clear orthologous relationships to M. demolitor ORs. Within a subfamily, six MmedOR genes, MmedOR98, 124, 125, 126, 131 and 155, shared a similar gene structure and were tightly linked in the genome. To evaluate whether the clustered MmedOR genes share common regulatory features, the transcription profile and expression characteristics of the six closely related OR genes were investigated in M. mediator. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends‐PCR experiments revealed that the OR genes within the cluster were transcribed as single mRNAs, and a bicistronic mRNA for two adjacent genes (MmedOR124 and MmedOR98) was also detected in female antennae by reverse transcription PCR. In situ hybridization experiments indicated that each OR gene within the cluster was expressed in a different number of cells. Moreover, there was no co‐expression of the two highly related OR genes, MmedOR124 and MmedOR98, which appeared to be individually expressed in a distinct population of neurons. Overall, there were distinct expression profiles of closely related MmedOR genes from the same cluster in M. mediator. These data provide a basic understanding of the olfactory coding in parasitoid wasps.


Myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia(MMM) is a progenitor cell colony disease. The mechanism is not very clean. The prognosis is poor in MMM patients of the traditional treatment with Hydroxyurea, Interferne, Prednisone, transfusion. Thalidomide is a new anti-angiogenesis drug of inhibiting the genesis of fibrosis. Some reports presented that the cure method only is stem cell transplantation includes autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Patient Sui, Man, 55 years, Chinese. He was hospitalized on Aug fifth, 2004, because he has had pale, severe weakness, for 5 months. T 36.C, HR 70, R 18/min, BP114/59 mmHg. Hb56g/L, WBC 5.7x10 9 /L, Plt 72 x10 9 /L.There were 0.66 plasma cell in bone marrow and his bone marrow aspiration with dry draw at the diagnosis,. The result of bone marrow biopsy was fibrosis. He received 4 courses of VAD regimens (VCR 0.4mg,d1–4; ADM 10mg,d1–4, DXM 40mg d1–4) before autologous peripheral stem cell (PBSCs) transplantation. The plasma cell count decreased from 0.66 before to 0.025 after the first course of VAD regimen in the bone marrow. The stem cell mobilization regimen was chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, Cy, 2g/m2), high-dose methylprednisolone (MP), and G-CSF 250 ug, bid d1–5. The nucleated cell count of collection showed the a minimum of 4.17x10 8 /kg per kg of body weight, CD34+ was 0.834x106/kg.The conditional regimen was melphalan 200mg/kg divided 2 times a day and cyclophosphamide 600mg VD. He received re-transfused PBSCs on March 25,2005. His neutrophil cell decreased 0 at +4 day after transplantation. He received platelet transfusion of single donor two times when his platelet decreased 7 x 10 9 /L. his hemotopoietic recovered at +11d. He left transplantation ward +13 d. His platelet, WBC were normal, Hb 108g/L At+d. Bone marrow draw was no dry. There was 0.07 of plasma cell in his bone marrow. The result of reticulum protein stain was degree 3 after and 4 before PBSCT at +70d. Discussion: MM is incurable tumor because the tumor cells polluted in graft of bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. Some author considered the pollution tumor cell decreases with high-dose MP mobilization. Mobilization of stem cell in advanced MMM is difficulty, so we (1) increased the 3 times of mobilization, (2) added high-dose of MP to mobilization regimen of combination of Cy and G-CSF. The patient had received pre-transplantation of four courses of VAD chemotherapy regimen and the combination of west and Traditional Chinese Medicine to manage during stem cell transplantation. The patient had chronic gastric ulcer so we afraid of the condition result in relapse of it so we given the patient intravenous melphalan. Some researchers studied 21 cases of multiple myeloma were treated by autologous bone marrow transplantation. The condition regimen was melphalan 16 mg/kg. The role of allogeneic BMT as compared with autologous BMT is not yet defined. The patient had been followed up for 4 months, the result showed his plasma cell was 0.07 in his bone marrow. The degree of myeloid metaplasia had changed from degree 4 to 2. Conclusion: Intensive treatment with marrow rescue could induce complete remission of long duration in some patients and provided the basis for increased attempts to cure myeloma by intentive chemoradiotherapy and BMT. It is effective in multiple myeloma treatment with autologous stem cell transplantation. The curable method is only allogeneic stem cell maybe.


Over an eighteen month period, 5,466 ch//dren [rom a private pedodontic practice in South Bend, Indiana were examined [or benign migratory glossitis and a//ergies. Diagnosed benign migratory glossitis cases were ~rther analyzed according to sex, race, trod age. Two-way tests o[ independence vsing cbi-sqvare analyses showed a significant relationship between benign migratory glossitis and allergy. Surket said there is a relationship between benign migratory glossitis and allergy.' This studyis directed at that hypothesis. Benign migratory glossitis has been studied under a host of synonyms: "wandering rash," lingua geographica, geographic tongue, erythema migrans, exfoliatio areata linguae, superficial migratory glossitis, lingual dystrophy, pityriases linguae, transitory benign plaques of the tongue, marginal exfoliative glossitis, and glossitis areata migrans. The frequency of occurrence, according to several investigators varies from 0.28 to 14.4%. 2 Benign migratory glossitis is seen as a tongue lesion characterized by the appearance of red patches, varying in form and extent, surrounded by collar-like hypertrophy of filiform papillae.27 The margins of the lesion are well developed and slightly raised. The involved areas enlarge and migrate by extension of the desquamation of the papillae at one margin of the lesion and regeneration by a yellow, grey, or whitish membranous margin. The patches may be single or multiple, discrete or confluent.' Less commonly, the lesions are seen on the lateral borders of the tongue and floor of the mouth2 The onset ofthelesion is considered rapid, the persistence chronic, often lasting for several months. As rapidly as they appear, they are likely to regress spontaneously, only to appear at a later date. 5.6.7 While patients seldom experience any symptoms, mild burning, irritation, and discomfort to extremes of hot, cold, or spicy foods have been reported?.6 The condition is self-limiting and is thought to be a recurring harmless change, rather than a disease.'.3.~ To date, therapeutic treatments have been unsuccessful and probably not warranted. The etiology of geographic tongue remains obscure although a number of factors have been suggested. Some authors consider the lesion a congenital anomaly, and others see it as an acute inflammatory reactionY The factor under consideration in this study is allergy. Burket has noted that individuals with an allergic background appear to be more likely to manifest this condition.' Allergies have been implicated because of a suggested high incidence of migratory glossitis among children with overt allergic manifestations. 8 Methods and Materials The children for this study came from a private pedodontic practice in South Bend, Indiana. The practice, composed of rural and urban children, serves all levels of the socioeconomic scale, as well as Negroes, Caucasians, Hispanics and Oriental races. Over an 18-month period of time 5,466 children were examined in the office. All cases of benign migratory glossitis were confirmed independently by two qualified examiners using good dental lighting. The name, age, sex, race, and presence or absence of reported allergy was recorded. Two way tests of independence using chi-square analysis were performed. The main objective was to determine the relationship between allergy, race, sex and age in patients with benign migratory glossitis in our study population.


Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common inflammatory
autoimmune disease with complex etiologies, which primarily
affects joints. RA is primarily caused by self-reactive immune
responses and involves a variety of immune cells, including (1)
innate immune cells


Summary The purpose of this study was to determine the survival of two probiotic micro-organisms ( Lac-tobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium bifidum BB-12) in a rice pudding, the impact of these bacteria on hygienic quality, and to verify the perspectives of the product with regard to con-sumer sensorial acceptance. The products were monitored for the microbial population, pH, titrat-able acidity and consistency, during storage at 4±1 °C for up to 21 days. Sensory preference was also tested. Even though the viability of the probiotic bacteria was reduced over 21 days of storage, the viable cell concentrations were still sufficient to obtain the desired therapeutic impact. The counts of yeasts-moulds and Staphylococcus spp. decreased in samples with added probiotic bacteria. The sen-sorial properties of probiotic rice pudding demonstrated similar acceptability to the control up to 14 days and declined thereafter. Rice pudding was considered suitable food for the delivery of probiotic micro-organisms, with sufficient viability and acceptable sensory characteristics.


Malonyl-coenzyme A (malonyl-CoA) decarboxylase is widely distributed in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. However, the biological function of this enzyme has not been established in any organism. To elucidate the structure and function of this enzyme, the malonyl-CoA decarboxylase gene from Saccharopolyspora erythraea (formerly Streptomyces erythreaus) was cloned and sequenced. This gene would encode a polypeptide of 417 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence matched the experimentally determined amino acid sequences of 25 N-terminal residues each of the enzyme and of an internal peptide obtained by proteolysis of the purified enzyme. This decarboxylase showed homology with aminoglycoside N6'-acetyltransferases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Northern (RNA) blot analysis revealed a single transcript. The transcription initiation site was 220 bp upstream of the start codon. When expressed in Escherichia coli, the S. erythraea malonyl-CoA decarboxylase gene yielded a protein that cross-reacted with antiserum prepared against S. erythraea malonyl-CoA decarboxylase and catalyzed decarboxylation of [3-14C]malonyl-CoA to acetyl-CoA and 14CO2. The S. erythraea malonyl-CoA decarboxylase gene was disrupted by homologous recombination using an integrating vector pWHM3. The gene-disrupted transformant did not produce immunologically cross-reacting 45-kDa decarboxylase, lacked malonyl-CoA decarboxylase activity, and could not produce erythromycin. Exogenous propionate restored the ability to produce erythromycin. These results strongly suggest that the decarboxylase provides propionyl-CoA for erythromycin synthesis probably via decarboxylation of methylmalonyl-CoA derived from succinyl-CoA, and therefore the malonyl-CoA decarboxylase gene is designated eryM. The gene disrupted mutants also did not produce pigments.


The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physical barrier that selectively prevents certain substances from entering the brain through the blood. The BBB protects the brain from germs and causes difficulty in intracranial treatment. The chemotherapy drug temozolomide (TMZ), embedded in nanobubbles (NBs) and combined with persistent luminescent nanoparticles (PLNs), has been used to treat glioblastoma (GBM) effectively through image tracking. Through ultrasound induction, NBs produce cavitation that temporarily opens the BBB. Additionally, the PLNs release near-infrared emission and afterglow, which can penetrate deep tissues and improve the signal-to-noise ratio of bioimages. In this work, the nanosystem crossed the BBB for drug delivery and image tracking over time, allowing the enhancement of the drug's therapeutic effect on GBM. We hope that this nanosystem can be applied to the treatment of different brain diseases by embedding different drugs in NBs.


Completing missing facts is a fundamental task for temporal knowledge graphs (TKGs). Recently, graph neural network (GNN) based methods, which can simultaneously explore topological and temporal information, have become the state-of-the-art (SOTA) to complete TKGs. However, these studies are based on hand-designed architectures and fail to explore the diverse topological and temporal properties of TKG. To address this issue, we propose to use neural architecture search (NAS) to design data-specific message passing architecture for TKG completion. In particular, we develop a generalized framework to explore topological and temporal information in TKGs. Based on this framework, we design an expressive search space to fully capture various properties of different TKGs. Meanwhile, we adopt a search algorithm, which trains a supernet structure by sampling single path for efficient search with less cost. We further conduct extensive experiments on three benchmark datasets. The results show that the searched architectures by our method achieve the SOTA performances. Besides, the searched models can also implicitly reveal diverse properties in different TKGs. Our code is released in https://github.com/striderdu/SPA.


When judgements are being made about two causes there are eight possible kinds of contingency information: occurrences and nonoccurrences of the outcome when both causes are present, when Cause 1 alone is present, when Cause 2 alone is present, and when neither cause is present. It is proposed that contingency information is used to some extent to judge proportionate strength, which is the proportion of occurrences of the outcome that each cause can account for. This leads to a prediction that judgements of one cause will be influenced by information about occurrences, but not nonoccurrences, of the outcome when only the other cause is present. In six experiments consistent support was found for this prediction when the cause being judged had a positive relation with the outcome, but no consistent tendency was found when the cause being judged had a negative relation with the outcome. The effects found for causes with positive contingency cannot be explained by the Rescorla–Wagner model of causal judgement nor by the hypothesis that causal judgements are based on conditional contingencies.


Two rival hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of the compact radio flux observed in radio-quiet quasars (RQQs). It has been suggested that the radio emission in these objects, typically some two or three orders of magnitude less powerful than in radio-loud quasars (RLQs), represents either emission from a circumnuclear starburst or is produced by radio jets with bulk kinetic powers 10^3 times lower than those of RLQs with similar luminosity ratios in other wavebands. We describe the results of high resolution (parsec-scale) radio-imaging observations of a sample of 12 RQQs using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We find strong evidence for jet-producing central engines in 8 members of our sample.


RNA N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) modification is an abundant modification of internal mRNAs in eukaryotes and some viruses, which is dynamically and reversibly fine-tuned during normal and pathological bioprocesses. Recent studies have shown that m6A methyltransferases, METTL3 and METTL14, play important roles in maintaining self-renewal capacity of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) and promoting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) development (Barbiori et al., Nature, 2017; Vu et al., Nature Method, 2017; Weng et al. Cell Stem Cell, 2018). The m6A demethylase, FTO, was also shown to promote leukemic cell transformation and leukemogenesis in various type of AML (Li et al., Cancer Cell, 2017). However, little is known about the functions of m6A readers in malignant hematopoiesis.
 We recently reported that Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) is an specific m6A binding protein, which recognize m6A transcripts through the K Homology (KH) domains to stabilize and promote translation of its target mRNAs (Huang et al., Nature Cell Biology, 2018). In analysis of TCGA AML dataset (n=157), we found that a higher expression level of IGF2BP3 is significantly associated with a poor prognosis in AML patients (p<0.001; Median overall survival: IGF2BP3-High vs. IGF2BP3-Low = 11 months vs. 31 months). In addition, we analyzed our in-house microarray profiling of 113 AML patient samples and found that IGF2BP3 is highly expressed in mononuclear cells (MNC) from MLL-rearranged leukemia patients as compared to those from healthy donors (p<0.05) or non-MLL-rearranged leukemic patients (p<0.001). Consistent with the overexpression of IGF2BP3 in human MLL-rearranged AML, MLL-AF9 or MLL-AF10 transformed mouse hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs; herein mouse lineage negative (Lin-) bone marrow cells) showed a >10 fold increase in expression level of Igf2bp3, compare to the non-transformed counterpart HSPCs. Furthermore, in analysis of 562 samples from adult patients with AML (GSE37642), we found that within cytogenetically normal human AML, patients carrying FLT3-ITD mutation showed a significantly higher level of IGF2BP3 expression than those without FLT3-ITD mutation (p<0.01).
 To investigate the potential oncogenic role of IGF2BP3 in AML, we cotransduced mouse Lin- BM progenitor cells with MLL-AF9 and three individual shRNAs targeting Igf2bp3 or a scrambled control shRNA and performed colony-forming/replating assays. Knockdown of Igf2bp3 significantly (p<0.05) reduced the colony-forming capacity of MLL-AF9-transduced HSPCs to 20-50% of that of the control group. Conversely, forced expression of wild-type IGF2BP3 significantly (p<0.05) promoted colony formation of MLL-AF9-transduced Lin- BM progenitor cells. Such promotion was almost completely impaired when KH3-4 domain of IGF2BP3 was mutated or when Mettl14 was depleted, suggesting that IGF2BP3 exerts its oncogenic function as an m6A reader through an m6A-dependent mechanism.
 We further used human leukemia cell lines to investigate the function of IGF2BP3 in human AML cells. Silencing of IGF2BP3 by two shRNAs significantly inhibited cell viability and proliferation and induced cell apoptosis (p<0.01) in MonoMac6 AML cell line which harbors the t(9;11) translocation. In Molm13 and MV4-11 AML cells which are heterozygous and homozygous for the FLT3-ITD mutation, respectively, a further decrease of cell viability and increase of apoptotic cells upon IGF2BP3 knockdown was observed compared to MonoMac6 with wild-type FLT3. Mechanically, through cross-linking immunoprecipitation sequencing (CLIP-seq), we showed that IGF2BP3 targets mRNAs in cell cycle, DNA replication and protein synthesis pathways. Taken together, these results demonstrated the oncogenic role of the new m6A reader protein IGF2BP3 in AML. Given the fact that expression of IGF2BP3 correlates with an overall poor prognosis in AML, IGF2BP3 is likely a promising therapeutic target for AML treatment.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The strong interference suffered by users can be a severe problem in cache-enabled networks (CENs) due to the content-centric user association mechanism. To tackle this issue, multi-antenna technology may be employed for interference management. In this paper, we consider a user-centric interference nulling (IN) scheme in two-tier multi-user multi-antenna CEN, with a hybrid most-popular and random caching policy at macro base stations (MBSs) and small base stations (SBSs) to provide file diversity. All the interfering SBSs within the IN range of a user are requested to suppress the interference at this user using zero-forcing beamforming. Using stochastic geometry analysis techniques, we derive a tractable expression for the area spectral efficiency (ASE). A lower bound on the ASE is also obtained, with which we then consider ASE maximization, by optimizing the caching policy and IN coefficient. To solve the resultant mixed integer programming problem, we design an alternating optimization algorithm to minimize the lower bound of the ASE. Our numerical results demonstrate that the proposed caching policy yields performance that is close to the optimum, and it outperforms several existing baselines.


The equilibrium structures and the electronic, spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties of small Pun (n = 2?5) molecules are systematically investigated using the methods of general gradient approximation (GGA) of density functional theory (DFT). The results show that the bond length of the lowest-energy structure of Pu2 is 2.578 ?. The ground state structure of Pu3 is a triangle with D3h symmetry, whereas for Pu4, the ground state structure is a square (D4h) and the spin polarization of 16 for molecule Pu5 with square geometry (D4h) is the most stable structure. For the ground state structures, the vibrational spectra as well as thermodynamic parameters are worked out. In addition, the values for the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) along with the energy gap of all the Pu2?5 structures are presented. The relevant structural and chemical stabilities are predicted.


Tension band wiring of simple transverse olecranon fractures results in a high reoperation rate due to hardware problems. A technique using high-strength braided polyester and polyethylene suture through a bone tunnel has been piloted. This technique is suitable for simple transverse olecranon fractures or olecranon osteotomy with stability of the ulnohumeral articulation. A transverse drill hole was made in the ulna with a 2.5-mm drill. Fracture fixation was achieved using 2 braided synthetic sutures passed through the bone tunnel and grasping the insertion of the triceps tendon. The outcome measures used were Oxford Elbow score and QuickDASH score. Ten consecutive patients with a mean age of 47 years (range, 18 to 88 y) were included. The mean follow-up was 19 months (range, 14 to 30 mo). All fractures were clinically and radiographically united by 6 weeks. One malunion occurred. The mean Oxford score was 41 (20 to 48). The mean QuickDASH Score was 9 (0 to 20). This technique provides a safe and reliable alternative to conventional tension band wiring with no reoperations required in a pilot series.


The Parliament's functional activity is subjected to restrictions set forth in the Constitution. These restrictions, serving the rule of law, may be of a procedural or substantive character. In addition to the typical legislative function, the Constitution attributes to the Parliament a controlling function, which supports the balance between powers (checks and balances), accountability and transparency. To fulfill this function, the Parliament may use various instruments, provided by the Constitution, laws and Parliament's Regulation. In this context, the parliamentary inquiry instrument has a special importance. This article highlights, in brief, constitutional standards elaborated and analyzed by constitutional jurisprudence, some controversial issues related to the meaning of these standards and the implications arising in regard to the separation and balance of powers' principle, focusing on Parliament's relations with the Prosecution and the Judiciary. In a more general overview, the article seeks to assert that the idea of parliamentary sovereignty is no longer in harmony with the Albanian Constitution.


One of the major roles of forensics in human identification is establishment of sex of the individual. In this study, a thorough anthropometric evaluation of mandibular canine width and intercanine distance was carried out on 300 apparently healthy individuals whose ages ranged between 18-30 years at a gender ratio of 1:1 so as to determine the sex of an individual and to investigate the possibility of dimorphism of the canines being used as a valid tool in the forensic and legal identification of an individual. These measurements were done with the aid of a digital vernier caliper while the mandibular indexes were derived by the division of the mandibular canine width by the intercanine distance. The values were subjected to analysis and there was great evidence of sexual dimorphism. The males have significantly greater mandibular canine width when compared to females. In males, the mean Right mandibular canine width was 7.79±0.05 and the mean Left mandibular canine width was 7.88±0.05, while in females was 6.76±0.05 and 6.75±0.05, respectively. The percentage analysis of sexual dimorphism showed that the left mandibular canine exhibited a greater degree of sexual dimorphism. The intercanine distance showed a high degree of sexual dimorphism which was found statistically significant. The mandibular intercanine distance was 34.20±0.19 in males and 32.64±0.22 in females.


The purpose of this study was to analyze domestic art-based intervention studies for autism spectrum disorder patients to observe existing trends and to determine further directions and objectives going forward. We analyzed 116 scholarly articles on music education, music therapy, arts education, arts therapy, dance education, and dance/movement therapy published between 2000 and 2017. Articles that had independent variables related to intervention theory and practice and dependent variables related to mediation were analyzed. The results were as follows:
First, when analysis was conducted with independent variables set as relationship- based interventions, assistive and adaptive technology, motor sensory interventions, applied arts interventions, or other interventions, we found that music technique- centered music education (26 articles [63.4%]), and music therapy (19 articles [76.0%]) appeared most frequently. Arts technique-centered interventions appeared most frequently within the art intervention category. There were 4 articles (40.0%) on art education and 21 articles (65.6%) on art therapy. For relationship-based intervention alone, there were two art education studies (20.0%) and six art therapy studies (18.8%). Dance/movement techniques were the most frequently practiced of dance interventions; there were three (57.0%) studies on dance education and four (100%) studies on dance therapy.
Secondly, to verify the efficacy of autism spectrum disorder art-based intervention programs/techniques, we revised evidence-based practice and capacity to include sociability, communication skills, ego, exercise, awareness, problematic behaviors, participation in activities, collective interest, competence in practicing art-based techniques, development, stress and efficiency, and mother-child interventions. As a result, within the category of music education, problematic behaviors appeared most frequently (15 studies [27.8%]). For music therapy, studies on sociability appeared most frequently (14 studies [38.9%]). With regard to art education and art therapy as dependent variables, sociability appeared most frequently (4 studies [40.0%] and 14 studies [41.2%], respectively). Sociability, awareness, problematic behaviors, and development (dependent variables for dance education and dance therapy) each appeared in one article (25.0%) as dependent variables for dance education and dance therapy. With regard to dance therapy, two (33.3%) studies on ego were identified. Further direction of the study was discussed based on this evidence.


Although the movement of Zn from the solid to the solution phase of soils is a significant process preceding plant uptake, the quantity of metal that can be solubilised through rhizosphere processes is also extremely important. Therefore, the consequences of plant-derived organic ligands, and changes in pH on the isotopically exchangeable quantity of Zn (E value) were examined in a polluted acid and calcareous soil. Variations in pH were facilitated through the use of dilute NaOH or HNO3 solutions. The organic ligands studied included 0.25–5 mM concentrations of sodium tartrate, the free acid and sodium salt of citrate, histidine, and deoxymugineic acid. As expected, the organic ligands and a reduction in pH increased the solution concentration of Zn in these soils. Furthermore, through the application of isotopic dilution techniques, it was determined that some of these organic ligands could significantly increase the quantity of isotopically exchangeable Zn. However, with the exception of the 5 mM sodium citrate treatment in the calcareous soil, pH was the overriding parameter that effected changes in the E value. Reducing the pH by approximately 2 units increased the E value by 39 and 80%, respectively, in the acid and calcareous soil. Conversely, evidence for Zn fixation (a decrease of the E value) was observed in the acid soil when pH was increased. The exudation of organic ligands and variations of pH induced by plants have the potential to significantly vary the quantity of phytoavailable Zn in these 2 polluted soils.


The Western Region of the Entergy System (USA) is limited in both generation and transmission. Past events as well as extensive steady state and dynamic voltage stability analysis have indicated that the region can be subjected to potential voltage stability problems under certain contingency conditions. In order to improve voltage stability in the area, Entergy evaluated several shunt reactive reinforcement alternatives and distributed superconducting magnetic energy storage system (D-SMES) was selected as the preferred option. This paper discusses the application of D-SMES on the Entergy System to improve voltage stability.


i/e the traditional ideals o f femininity and womanhood. For that reason, Polish women in exile searched for those opportunities that would permil them to remain "women" and thal kept alive the spirit of national motherhood. However, their experiences in exile, marked by the disruption of families, difficult living conditions, enforced intimacy between , hard manual labor, and sexual abuse, all vcd Polish women of their inherited feminine responsibility and dignity. Jolluck details how Soviet attempts to degender and denationa l ie women in this context caused female deportees to preserve their "Polishness" by lostering a sense of community that valued its religious faith and patriotic identity. Jolluck also explains how Polish women in exile articulated their Polishness by ridiculing Iheir ethnic sisters and the Soviet women. Polish women branded the deported female national minorities from eastern Poland as unpatriotic and "improper women." They considered the Central Asian women as "animal-like" and "irrelevant." Russian women were thought to be better than animals, but still not quite human. Only the Polish women supposedly deserved the supreme qualifications of mothers and nurturers of the family arid the nation. Thus, the exiled Polish women patterned their "nationalism" in tandem with the masculinized, exclusionary Poliqh national identity. Jolluck's hook is pathbreaking not only for presenting an engaging analysis of the experienceb o f Polish female deportees in the Soviet Union but also for pioneering a more dctailed investigation of the gender dimensions of Polish national identity. The work elaborates on a number of issues, including the socioeconomic backgrounds of the deportees. the process of deportation and the hardships that women encountered in exile, the differences between men's and women's reportage of their exiled experiences, and the efforts of female deportees to survive by constructing a racial image of the matku-polka (thc Holy Mother of Poland). Exile and Zdenrify is important and should be read by scholars of European history and women's studies.


Background Respiratory failure is a major cause of mortality during septic shock and is due in part to the decreased ventilatory muscles contraction. These muscles depend mainly on fatty acid oxidation as an important source of ATP. We investigated the effects of remote ischemic preconditioning and postconditioning (RpostC) on the contractile functions of the diaphragm in relation to metabolic functions during systemic inflammation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia model. Materials and methods A total of 24 adult male albino rats were divided equally into four groups: (i) the control group (group 1); (ii) LPS group (group 2), in which rats were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of LPS (0.8 mg/kg intraperitoneal single dose); (iii) preconditioned group (group 3), in which remote ischemic preconditioning was induced with three ischemia/reperfusion cycles of the right hind limbs just before LPS injection; and (iv) postconditioned group (group 4), in which remote ischemic postconditioning was induced as in group 3 just after LPS injection. The animals were killed 5 days after the treatment. Among all groups, the contractility of the diaphragm was examined and the gene expressions of the carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1β (CPT-10β), the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), and the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 ( Nrf2) - the master of antioxidant response element - by real-time reverse transcription-PCR in the rat diaphragm tissue were determined; in addition, the serum levels of inflammatory markers, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin-6, and lipids were measured. Results Both types of remote ischemic, preconditioning and postconditioning, significantly improved the contractile performance of the diaphragm ( P < 0.001) compared with rats in the LPS group. These improvements were accompanied with significant elevation in the diaphragmatic expression of PPARα, PGC-1α, and CPT-1β, together with decreased serum lipids. In addition, there was a significant improvement in Nrf2 with a reduction in serum TNFα and interleukin-6. Conclusion Our results showed that the improvement of contractile performance of the diaphragm during sepsis was related to the improvement in the expression of nuclear hormone receptors involved in fat oxidation and modulation in oxidative stress and its consequences on inflammatory response. On the basis of these findings, we can suggest that early rational postconditioning interventions may be one of the promising strategies in the management of sepsis.


Anticoagulation with heparins during hemodialysis (HD) is aimed at preventing the activation of coagulation in the extracorporeal circuit. As HD patients are exposed to unfractionated and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) for years, non-hemorrhagic effects (osteoporosis, reduction of elevated blood pressure, with lesser intra- and interdialytic hypotensive episodes, effects on brain microvascular circulation and decreasing vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and chronic and malignant diseases) require new trials with individualized doses of heparins.


The extreme optimism that shaped the nascent democracy promotion community in the 1980s and early 1990s has been strongly tempered by an increasing number of setbacks to the global expansion of democracy. Zakaria's influential 'illiberal democracies' argument was an early example of this trend towards a more uncertain outlook about democracy's prospects. His argument was useful in focusing attention on the conceptual underpinnings of these practices. Despite the promising starting point, Zakaria reached limited and conservative conclusions, essentially calling for the revival of a Whig approach: liberalism first, democracy later. Furthermore, his conceptual analysis was overly restricted: democracies are liberal or they are illiberal. This article challenges, revises, and extends Zakaria's arguments, by examining alternative models of democracy that lie both within and beyond liberalism. It is argued that in contrast to Zakaria's suggestion that democracy promotion may need to be delayed or deferred, considering different democratic models offers a more optimistic prognosis, as the way forward is not through abandoning the support of democracy, but, instead, potentially through advancing a different form of democracy, one more suitable to a precise local context.


INTRODUCTION: Fractures of the distal femur are complex injuries. They can produce
significant long term disability. They account for 7% of all femoral
fractures. If hip Fractures are excluded, 31% of femoral fractures involve
distal portion. Although open reduction and internal fixation with plate and
screws has Become a standard method of treatment for many types of
fractures, the Management of comminuted, intra articular distal femoral
fractures still remains Complex and challenging to the orthopaedic surgeon.
Many of these fractures are the result of high energy trauma which generates
severe soft tissue damage and articular and metaphyseal communition.
The incidence of malunion, nonunion and infection are relatively high
in many reported series. Coronal plane fractures and extensively
communited fractures preclude the use of commonly used devices like 95
degree condylar blade plate, the dynamic Condylar screw with 95 degree
side plate and supracondylar nails. Lateral buttress or neutralization plate
may be used, but when this device is applied in presence of Medial
comminution or bone loss, failure of fixation and varus collapse may
eventually result. Recent advances in technology for the treatment of distal femoral
fractures include the less invasive stabilization system (LISS) and the
locking compression Condylar plates. They offer multiple points of fixed
angle contact between the plate and screws in distal femur, reducing the
tendency for varus collapse and at the same time afford better stability.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
The aim of the study is to "Analyse the functional outcome of Muller's Type A and C Distal Femur Fractures treated with Locking Compression Condylar Plate" at the department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Government Royapettah Hospital, Government Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai, between July 2008 and October 2009.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study is an analysis of functional of 20 cases of displaced distal femoral fractures, internally fixed using locking
compression condylar plates, which was undertaken at the department of
orthopedics and traumatology at Government Royapettah Hospital, Chennai
from July 2008 to October 2009.The Government Royapettah Hospital, is a
multi specialty tertiary care referral and trauma centre with an average bed
strength of about 700 and 110 beds allotted for orthopaedics and is situated
in the heart of the city. We have a 24 hours emergency casualty, running all
365 days a year and fully equipped to take both medical and surgical
emergencies, with emergency operation theatre.
RESULTS: All patients were followed at regular intervals (i.e., once in a month for
the first 3 months and once every 3 months thereafter)
 The minimum follow up period was 3 months and the maximum follow
up was 15 months. The mean follow up period in this study was 8.46
months
The results were evaluated by taking into consideration the following
factors
1. Pain,
2. Function,
3. Motion,
4. Work,
5. Gross Anatomy and,
6. Roentgenograms.
CONCLUSION:
The LCP condylar plate is a valuable addition in the armamentarium
of the orthopaedician in the management of comminuted distal femoral
fractures, with questionable bone integrity. It may not completely solve the
age old problems associated with any fractures. But this technique is slowly
evolving as the best suited one replacing the fixed angle plate and the DCS
fixation. This technique is not bereft of complications like plate or screw
breakage, but careful selection of patients and strict adherence to the basic
principles of fracture fixation will go a long way in reducing the
complications of fracture fixation using locking compression plates.


OBJECTIVES
Marital support is central to couples' relationships, yet support's health implications can vary widely. Guided by attribution bias and aging theories, the current study examined whether age and marital satisfaction moderate the links of perceived and received spousal support to aging-related biomarkers.

METHOD
Couples (N=93, ages 22-77) rated marital satisfaction, overall perceived spousal support, and the quality of support received from their spouse in a lab-based discussion. Blood samples collected at baseline, immediately post-discussion, 3-hr post-discussion, and end-of-visit were assayed for proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, as well as insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1.

RESULTS
Consistent with predictions, less satisfied older couples who received lower-quality spousal support during their discussion had greater increases in TNF-α than those who received higher-quality support; highly satisfied couples of all ages and less satisfied younger couples did not show these inflammatory changes. Highly satisfied older couples with greater perceived spousal support had lower TNF-α across the day and higher IGF-1.

DISCUSSION
Marital satisfaction and age may shape spousal support's significance for healthy aging. Rose-colored lenses worn only in the most satisfying marriages may protect couples from the possible health risks of low-quality received support and enhance potential benefits of perceived support. For better or worse, these health implications may grow with older age.


It is well established that angiotensin II (AII) rapidly increases free cytosolic Ca2+ in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Several studies have indicated that the hormone also plays a role in Na+-K+ regulation of these cells. In this study, we explored the mechanism of AII effect on 22Na+ transport in cultured rat VSMCs. The 22Na+ washout from these cells was described by three exponents with exponential factors k1 greater than k2 greater than k3. In 1.8 mM Ca2+ medium, AII (10(-9)-10(-6) M) increased (in a dose response manner) the k1 value, and consequently the initial washout rate constant (kei) for the isotope. AII had no effect on kei in Ca2+-deficient medium or in the presence of ouabain. Amiloride (10(-3) M) and verapamil (10(-5) M) abolished the AII induced increase in kei. These findings are consistent with angiotensin II stimulation of an amiloride-sensitive Na+ transport, which is likely to represent the Na+/H+ antiport. In cultured VSMCs, the sustained stimulation by AII of this transport system requires the presence of extracellular Ca2+ and its influx into these cells.