The aim of this article is to show that modern linguistic approaches may be used in the analysis of characterization in Greek tragedy, specifically that of Euripides' version of Electra in the eponymous play. I analyse several of Electra's interactions with other characters in the play's early scenes, applying insights from linguistic politeness theory and conversation analysis, in order to show that Electra's linguistic 'behaviour' is driven by her situation and her preoccupations. Her interactions with the Peasant and the Chorus are marked by consistent affection from all sides, but also by a fundamental inability to communicate effectively. In her long stichomythia with Orestes, disruptions of the conversational structure mark brief flares in Electra's language at moments where issues that particularly vex her are discussed.


A fundamental problem in mathematics and network analysis is to find conditions under which a graph can be partitioned into smaller pieces. The most important tool for this partitioning is the Fiedler vector or discrete Cheeger inequality. These results relate the graph spectrum (eigenvalues of the normalized adjacency matrix) to the ability to break a graph into two pieces, with few edge deletions. An entire subfield of mathematics, called spectral graph theory, has emerged from these results. Yet these results do not say anything about the rich community structure exhibited by real-world networks, which typically have a significant fraction of edges contained in numerous densely clustered blocks. Inspired by the properties of real-world networks, we discover a new spectral condition that relates eigenvalue powers to a network decomposition into densely clustered blocks. We call this the \emph{spectral triadic decomposition}. Our relationship exactly predicts the existence of community structure, as commonly seen in real networked data. Our proof provides an efficient algorithm to produce the spectral triadic decomposition. We observe on numerous social, coauthorship, and citation network datasets that these decompositions have significant correlation with semantically meaningful communities.


The potential benefits to individuals and organisations of mentorship, why these benefits are not always exploited to the full within the health service, and new approaches to mentorship to overcome these problems are outlined by Kevin Moore.


The nearly optimal, interoperable utilization of various grid resources play an important role in the world of grids. Though well-designed, evaluated and widely used resource brokers have been developed, these existing solutions still cannot cope with the high uncertainty ruling current grid systems. To ease the simultaneous utilization of different middleware systems, researchers need to revise current solutions. In this paper we propose advanced scheduling techniques with a weighted fitness function for an adaptive Meta-Brokering Grid Service, which enables a higher level utilization of the existing grid brokers. We also set up a grid simulation environment to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed meta-level scheduling solution. The presented evaluation results show that the proposed novel scheduling technique in the meta-brokering context delivers better performance.


Radix isatidis is a famous anti-influenza virus herbal medicine traditionally taken as a water decoction. However, the chemical fingerprint analysis of Radix isatidis is dominantly based on RPLC, from which it is difficult to obtain fingerprint information of hydrophilic compounds. Here, we developed the separation of Radix isatidis by RPLC and hydrophilic interaction chromatography, comparing the traditional RPLC fingerprint with the hydrophilic interaction chromatography fingerprint. Besides, an anti-viral assay of Radix isatidis was conducted to evaluate its efficacy. The fingerprint-efficacy relationships between the fingerprints and the anti-viral activity were further investigated with principal component regression analysis. The results showed that the anti-viral activity correlated better with the hydrophilic interaction chromatography fingerprint than with the RPLC fingerprint. This study indicates that hydrophilic interaction chromatography could not only be a complementary method to increase the fingerprint coverage of conventional RPLC fingerprint, but also can better represent the efficacy and quality of Radix isatidis.


ABSTRACT. With reference to the bio-ecological approach of humam development proposed by U. Bronfenbrenner and the assumptions of the National Humanization Policy of SUS, this article aimed to investigate the practices of early intervention in public hospitals in the Rio de Janeiro city and the role of psychologists in this type of the practice in the Maternal and Child Health area. We interviewed 10 psychologists in six high-risk pregnancy hospitals and we observed these hospitals using an observation protocol and an interview guide developed by the authors. The data revealed that there are different practices of early intervention in the institutions visited and the psychologists understood the early intervention as a work focused on maternal and child bonding, recognizing it is as a technical and professional practice that would facilitate the promotion of maternal and child health. Key words : Early Intervention; maternal and child health; psychologist performance.


Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the serum ferritin level and quantitate ultrasound elastography as a marker to distinguish dogs with benign and malignant liver tumors. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight dogs were determined the serum ferritin and ultrasound elastography by using fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Results: Our results demonstrated that dogs with malignant liver tumors had significantly higher mean serum ferritin concentrations than those with benign liver tumors (p = 0.004). The mean intensity of blue and red colors from elastography was greater in the malignant than those in the benign group, especially for the blue color, meaning that lesions showed more hard tissue. Additionally, histograms of blue color in the malignant tended to be higher than the benign group. Conclusion: We suggested that quantitative ultrasound elastography and serum ferritin concentration comprise an alternative and non-invasive diagnostic method that could be used to predict the type of liver tumors in dogs.


Made use of the vibration signals of main shaft which were measured from a normal direct-driven wind turbine and a fault one, the vibration characteristics of main shaft bearing were analyzed and studied. From time domain, frequency domain and cepstrum domain, analyzed and compared the vibration signal characteristics between normal and fault units, then narrowband envelope analysis had been made. The difference of envelope spectrum for vibration signals between normal and fault units was revealed. The results show that narrowband envelope analysis can effectively identify the bearing fault state.


The phase transitions in solid materials (called solid-solid transformations) are connected with the thermo dynamical processes with hysteresis, leading to the dissipative models. Obvious, the liquid- solid transitions are governed by the reversible processes (without dissipation of internal energy). The analysis of a loop of hysteresis reveals some feature about elastic-plastic properties, like the hardening. We emphasize some retrospective results along a temperature scale. Some considerations about the phase transitions are made for a 0,8 %C steel, a cast ingot steel at 1500 0 C subject to the prescribed cooling conditions, supposing a non isotherm process. Along a large interval of temperature the steel changes some typical interne structures: volume - centered cubic, face -centered cubic, again volume- centered cubic, according to the phases followed by the steel in a cooling process: liquid - δ , austenite, perlite, martensite, so on. The microstructure is dominated by the dendrite structure, as a result between the two intimate phenomena which arise during the cooling process: the nucleation of the new phase and crystal growing of the dendrite network, the result of this competition is a dendrite structure. For a local study we extract an elementary representative volume (ver), to whom we can attribute some thermo-dynamical or geometrical parameters. During manufacturing process it is acted by a sequence of transformations which define the particular constitutive laws underlying by the ver in phase transitions of the material. The mathematical models of phase transitions are described by the nonlinear problems of the heating diffusion (the cooling of the molten metal), by the mass and heat transfer problem (solidification), by the elastic-plastic deformation with phase transition into the solid materials. Mathematics Subject Classification 2010: 74-XX, 74A15, 65-XX.


A young woman on chronic corticosteroid treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus developed a myasthenia‐like syndrome 7 weeks after starting chloroquine therapy. Discontinuation of chloroquine allowed symptomatic and immunological remission within 6 months. Ocular symptoms reappeared following a second short course of chloroquine. A motor‐point biopsy revealed a vacuolar myopathy with membranous bodies in intramuscular nerves. We discuss the possible role of chloroquine in the pathogenesis of a myasthenia‐like syndrome.


The mitigation and adaptation efforts are underway to combat climate changes. The efforts are also needed for regional cooperation to conserve glacial environment. Strategic and military conflicts have environmental consequences and implications for environmental security. The natural resources are scarce and vulnerable to human activities. Regional cooperation is needed to resolve environmental issues. The military presence at Siachen has imperilled its ecosystem. Prolonged militarisation of the glaciers would further pollute and adversely impact the glacial ecosystem. The resolution of the conflict is indispensable for environmental conservation of the glacial ecosystem. This study is an application of attitude-based negotiation strategy in the graph model to resolve the long-standing Siachen conflict between India and Pakistan by considering possible strategies for the demilitarisation. It concludes that demilitarisation would preserve a spectacular mountain, retain hydrologic balance in the region, save the tremendous resources of these economies and would add to global environmental protection efforts.


Glucose release and lactate uptake by the brain during coma is discussed. A hypothesis of autonomous gluconeogenesis in the brain is suggested. To substantiate the hypothesis use is made of the literature data on the presence in the brain of stimuli, and its provision with substrates and gluconeogenetic enzyme apparatus. Special attention is paid to the problem of gluconeogenesis energy supply during hypoxia, using proton or sodium potentials.


Forces and three-dimensional magnetic fields in high-voltage winding due to an internal short circuit in a power autotransformer are calculated with the computer package OPERA 3D. The considered damage was caused by an electric arc. The materialized deformation of the winding part confirms the simulation results.


The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) was launched on 1 January 2018. It is envisaged that the AIFC will create an attractive environment for various financial activities. To accomplish this goal, one major feature of the AIFC is that it will operate an independent legal regime based on the Common Law to regulate the legal relationships between market participants. This feature sits well with the belief under the law and finance scholarship that legal institution is essential in financial development, and the Common Law systems are capable of providing superior investor protection. The core structures of this independent regime include the establishment of the Astana Financial Services Authority as the competent regulator. Also, the AIFC Court, independent in their activity and separate from the judicial system of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is established. The AIFC Court have an exclusive jurisdiction in relation to hearing and adjudicating on any disputes between market participants within the AIFC. It is also expected that the Astana International Arbitration Centre will supplement the role of the AIFC Court to provide an alternative dispute settlement solution. This contribution seeks to explore how these institutional arrangements, believed to have drawn on a Dubai model, will serve to support the development of the AIFC.


The present volume is a collection of papers originally presented for the concluding conference of the research project The East Asian "Mediterranean" entitled "The East Asian 'Mediterranean' - Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Commerce and Human Migration" and held at Munich University from November 2?3, 2007. The papers in this volume have been arranged according to thematical sections, that is Mediterranean Seas - from East Asia to East Africa, Merchants and merchant networks, Commodities and transport, and finally Trade parameters and perceptions - each section covering a different aspect of trade, diplomacy and perceptions across and within the East Asian and Asian waters. In order to show the variety and the different qualities of interaction and exchange relations we have selected case studies with a main focus lying on Sino-Japanese, Sino-Ryukyuan, and Japanese-Korean relations as well as the involvement of Muslim merchants in the Asian waters. The volume in particular tries to draw the readers' attention to the necessity and the advantages of international cooperation and interaction investigating topics of Asian history.


We propose a new image retrieval method based on human perceptual clustering of color images. This color clustering produces for each image a small set of representative colors which captures the color properties of the image, and a small set of sizable contiguous regions which captures the spatial/geometrical properties of the image. The proposed method outperforms the traditional histogram and its improved methods not only with its richer image retrieval capabilities which cover a wider spectrum of user requirements, but also with its powerful indexing scheme which is essential to cater for large scale image databases.


In suspensions of polarizable particles the addition of polar molecules can dramatically increase the yield stress under an applied electric field, leading to a giant electrorheological (GER) effect. We report experiments on dense suspensions of strontium titanyl oxalate in silicon oil, where we find a yield stress of up to 200kPa at 5kV/mm. The magnitude of this yield stress directly correlates with the water content in the particles. In the dynamic response we observe behavior not previously reported for GER fluids and similar to sheared granular materials, including a direct proportionality between shear and normal stresses and the creation of a shear band a few particles in width. An important consequence is that the dynamic response can be varied dramatically by changing the confinement of the suspension or by imposing a normal stress.


Courts and commentators regularly analyze tort law in the functional terms of compensation and deterrence, despite the apparent shortcomings of doing so. Why is the function of compensation only furthered in cases of negligence? Why not compensate a larger number of injured plaintiffs under a rule of strict liability? Is the function of compensation instead somehow tied to the function of deterrence? If so, what determines the relation between these two functions? What is the social policy that courts rely on to answer these questions in a principled manner? As these questions suggest, the functions of compensation and deterrence do not obviously cohere into a viable theory of tort law, making the approach incoherent and unprincipled in application according to numerous critics. In contrast to this line of criticism, this article argues that the functions of injury compensation and deterrence can be unified by an abstract tort norm of compensation, one that does not limit liability to violations of conventional morality or customary practices in the community. For historical and other reasons, compensation plausibly provides the norm by which tort law defines the obligation running between dutyholders and rightholders. When risky interactions threaten the irreparable injury of physical harm, the compensatory damage remedy does not adequately protect the rightholder's interest in physical security. Consequently, the compensatory tort norm redirects the dutyholder's compensatory obligation from the payment of compensatory damages to the exercise of reasonable care, yielding a default rule of negligence liability that is formulated to deter the irreparable injury of physical harm without imposing undue hardship on the dutyholder. A compensatory tort norm justifies the manner in which negligence liability furthers the function of deterrence, unifying compensation and deterrence within a coherent rationale for tort liability.


In order to validate a mass propagation process of Coffea arabica based on the use of liquid nutrient media, the agronomic performance and trueness-to-type of regenerated trees (selected F1 hybrids) was assessed at a large scale. In a first trial representing 3,000 trees, we determined that the frequency of variants increased exponentially with age of the embryogenic suspension. For the five genotypes, somaclonal variation was low (1.3%) in trees produced from embryogenic callus or 3-month-old cell suspensions and increased in frequency with increasing suspension age (6, 10 and 25% in trees produced from cell suspensions aged 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively). Seven types of phenotypic variants were characterized. Based on vigour and productivity of the regenerated plants, it was possible to class the variants in order of severity of physiological disorders: "Colour ofjuvenile leaves", "Giant" "Dwarf' "Thick leaf ("Bullata")" "Variegata" "Angustifolia" "Multi-stem" The " , .. "Dwarf', "Angustifolia" and "Multi-stem" types were the most frequent among produced plants (lA, 4.8 and 2.9%, respectively). In a second trial, the agronomic performances of 644 trees derived from somatic embryogenesis were compared with those of normal trees produced from microcuttings for the same four clones. Somaclonal variation has never been observed with microcutting-derived trees. The variant aside (2%), for all clones, the trees had vegetative characteristics, productivity, fertility, and biochemical, mineral and beverage characteristics that were identical to those of the controls. We conclude that propagation of coffee by embryogenic callus or young cell suspensions generated few variants. Moreover, detection of 70% of variants is possible at the nursery stage. Somatic embryogenesis can therefore be considered as a possible mass-propagation technique for coffee, for rapid multiplication of heterozygous structures that should lead to substantial genetic gains compared to traditional pedigree selection schemes.


Subcapital fractures after open reduction and internal fixation of intertrochanteric hip fractures have not previously been attributed to osteomyelitis. We report a unique case of a 63-year-old man with isolated subclinical osteomyelitis of the femoral neck causing ischemic necrosis and subcapital fracture after sliding screw plate fixation of an ipsilateral intertrochanteric fracture.


An understanding of Machiavelli's assessment of Cesare Borgia in The Prince is essential for interpreting his view of politics, but the ambiguity of that assessment has led to vastly different conclusions about Machiavelli's political teaching and Cesare's significance. We approach Machiavelli's ultimate intentions through a consideration of his more immediate concern for Italy. Machiavelli's great interest in Cesare and his criticism of this potential hero stem from the historical context of an Italy divided due to the Church. Cesare possessed—yet squandered—an opportunity to rid Italy of the evils plaguing it by killing his father, Pope Alexander, and by eliminating the College of Cardinals. Machiavelli's suggested denouement to the plot of The Prince is an assault on the ecclesiastical power. He invites his reader to contemplate the vulnerability of the Church and to act where Cesare and others shrank. Machiavelli ultimately counsels us to break our reliance on God or fortune and thus create the conditions for a reinvigorated civil life.


Abstract Introduction: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a phenomenon of cutaneous ulceration with unknown etiology. About half the cases have associated extracutaneous manifestations or associated systemic diseases. The most commonly associated systemic disorders include inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hematologic malignancies, autoimmune arthritis, and vasculitis. This is a case report about giant PG with ulcerative colitis (UC), which is extremely rare. Case Presentation: A 39-year-old female farmer with UC for the past 3 years presented with multiple painful ulcers, erosion, exudation, and crusting on the right leg for 1 month. A cutaneous examination showed diffusely distributed, multiple, well-defined, deep purulent ulcers on the right medial shank measuring 6 to 20 cm and sporadic worm-eaten ulceration on the right ectocnemial, with severe oozing and erosions. The ulcerations exhibited deep undermined borders, granulated tissue and a black eschar at the base. The right shank and feet were severely swollen, restricting movement. The arteria dorsalis pedis pulse was good, with normal sensation on the skin of the right shank and feet. Laboratory examinations showed a white cell count of 11.8 × 109/L, hemoglobin was 91 g/L, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 82 mm/h, unelevated procalcitonin, serum C-reactive protein was 131.29 mg/L, and a negative tuberculin skin test. Enteroscopy demonstrated endoscopic evidence of UC. A skin lesion biopsy showed superficial erosion and scarring. Partial epidermal hyperplasia, partial epidermal atrophy and thinning, mild edema of the dermal papill. Most of the middle and lower part of the dermis, showed dense lymphocytes, histiocytes, multinucleated giant cells, and neutrophil infiltration. PG with UC was diagnosed based on clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and enteroscopy results. Interventions: She was treated with topical applications of povidone iodine and kangfuxin solution twice daily, methylprednisolone sodium succinate 40 mg and compound glycyrrhizin 60 mg via intravenous drip once a day, along with thalidomide 50 mg twice daily. The UC was controlled with mesalazine. Outcomes: She required multiple therapies to achieve PG healing 3 months later. No PG recurrence was observed during the 1-year follow-up. Conclusion: Recognizing the clinical features of PG and its pathogenic nature, ensuring timely management fundamental for preventing severe destruction and deformity, and control of associated diseases are important aspects of treatment. Combination therapy is essential for PG patients with IBD.


Antibodies that immunoprecipitate 125I-α-dendrotoxin-labelled voltage-gated potassium channels extracted from mammalian brain tissue have been identified in patients with neuromyotonia, Morvan's syndrome, limbic encephalitis and a few cases of adult-onset epilepsy. These conditions often improve following immunomodulatory therapies. However, the proportions of the different syndromes, the numbers with associated tumours and the relationships with potassium channel subunit antibody specificities have been unclear. We documented the clinical phenotype and tumour associations in 96 potassium channel antibody positive patients (titres >400 pM). Five had thymomas and one had an endometrial adenocarcinoma. To define the antibody specificities, we looked for binding of serum antibodies and their effects on potassium channel currents using human embryonic kidney cells expressing the potassium channel subunits. Surprisingly, only three of the patients had antibodies directed against the potassium channel subunits. By contrast, we found antibodies to three proteins that are complexed with 125I-α-dendrotoxin-labelled potassium channels in brain extracts: (i) contactin-associated protein-2 that is localized at the juxtaparanodes in myelinated axons; (ii) leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 protein that is most strongly expressed in the hippocampus; and (iii) Tag-1/contactin-2 that associates with contactin-associated protein-2. Antibodies to Kv1 subunits were found in three sera, to contactin-associated protein-2 in 19 sera, to leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 protein in 55 sera and to contactin-2 in five sera, four of which were also positive for the other antibodies. The remaining 18 sera were negative for potassium channel subunits and associated proteins by the methods employed. Of the 19 patients with contactin-associated protein-antibody-2, 10 had neuromyotonia or Morvan's syndrome, compared with only 3 of the 55 leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 protein-antibody positive patients (P < 0.0001), who predominantly had limbic encephalitis. The responses to immunomodulatory therapies, defined by changes in modified Rankin scores, were good except in the patients with tumours, who all had contactin-associated-2 protein antibodies. This study confirms that the majority of patients with high potassium channel antibodies have limbic encephalitis without tumours. The identification of leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 protein and contactin-associated protein-2 as the major targets of potassium channel antibodies, and their associations with different clinical features, begins to explain the diversity of these syndromes; furthermore, detection of contactin-associated protein-2 antibodies should help identify the risk of an underlying tumour and a poor prognosis in future patients.


SUMMARY This paper presents a novel system for human–robot interaction in object-grasping applications. Consisting of an RGB-D camera, a projector and a robot manipulator, the proposed system provides intuitive information to the human by analyzing the scene, detecting graspable objects and directly projecting numbers or symbols in front of objects. Objects are detected using a visual attention model that incorporates color, shape and depth information. The positions and orientations of the projected numbers are based on the shapes, positions and orientations of the corresponding objects. Users select a grasping target by indicating the corresponding number. Projected arrows are then created on the fly to guide a robotic arm to grasp the selected object using visual servoing and deliver the object to the human user. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate how the system is used in robot grasping tasks.


The RET gene codes for a transmembrane tyrosine kinase which is a subunit of a multimeric complex that acts as a receptor for four structurally related molecules: the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin, artemin and persephin. Germline mutations of RET cause a dominantly inherited dysgenesis of the enteric nervous system known as Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR; aganglionosis megacolon). The majority of HSCR mutations results either in a reduction of dosage of the RET protein or in the loss of RET function. Two novel distinct mutations of RET that led either to the deletion of codon 1059 (denoted Delta1059) or to the substitution of a Pro for Leu1061 have been identified in five HSCR families. In one large pedigree, two children born from asymptomatic consanguineous parents presented a severe form of HSCR and were found to carry the mutation at codon 1061 in the homozygous state. A tyrosine residue at position 1062 is an intracytoplasmic docking site that enables RET to recruit several signalling molecules, including the Shc adaptor protein. We now report that both HSCR mutations impair the fixation of Shc to RET and consequently prevent its phosphorylation. In addition, quantitative analysis in PC12 cells reveals that mutation Delta1059 inactivates the ability of RET to transduce a downstream signal whereas mutation L1061P only partially inhibits the signalling of RET. Finally, we provide evidence that these effects are partly mediated via the disruption of the RET/Shc interaction. Collectively, these results demonstrate that HSCR can be ascribed to mutations of RET which interfere with the binding of transduction effectors, such as Shc, and further provide a biochemical explanation for the phenotype of patients carrying a homozygous mutation at codon 1061. Finally, these data indicate that Y1062 is a multifunctional docking site that confers to RET the capacity to engage downstream signalling pathways which exert a crucial role during enteric neurogenesis.


Secondary flow is an important mechanism that can produce significant localised upwelling at headlands. Secondary flow develops in the curved flow around headlands. It flows radially outwards from the headland near the surface and radially inwards towards the headland near the bottom. The result is a helical flow pattern within the curved flow around the headland. The magnitude of secondary flow can be up to 10% of the depth average current. The driving forces behind secondary flow are the centripetal acceleration on curved stream-wise velocity and vertical shear in the stream-wise flow due to bottom friction. High resolution moving vessel ADCP measurements are made around the vicinity of Cape Saunders on the Otago Peninsula. Around the Cape the northeastward flowing Southland current is generally stronger than tidal flows. Thus the currents are northeastward at most states of the tide. New radial basis function interpolation techniques for smoothing noisy data allows the weak secondary flow to be extracted from the much stronger along shore flows. During peak floods of 100 cms-1 the measured strength of the secondary flow is 10 cms-1. A region of secondary flow approximately 1500m long and 800m wide is observed down stream of the Cape. On the inside edge of this region, areas of upwelling are observed by inferring the vertical velocity from the horizontal velocity measurements using mass continuity. The mean strength of this upwelling is 25m per hour at peak flood. A value comparable to the water depths around the Cape. Thus secondary flow induced upwelling of deep waters is significant at Cape Saunders.


New design approach for DFB lasers based on increasing effective cavity length is described. Method experimentally verified in Er/Yb codoped fibre and 37% increase in the efficiency achieved.


MAGIA (miRNA and genes integrated analysis) is a novel web tool for the integrative analysis of target predictions, miRNA and gene expression data. MAGIA is divided into two parts: the query section allows the user to retrieve and browse updated miRNA target predictions computed with a number of different algorithms (PITA, miRanda and Target Scan) and Boolean combinations thereof. The analysis section comprises a multistep procedure for (i) direct integration through different functional measures (parametric and non-parametric correlation indexes, a variational Bayesian model, mutual information and a meta-analysis approach based on P-value combination) of mRNA and miRNA expression data, (ii) construction of bipartite regulatory network of the best miRNA and mRNA putative interactions and (iii) retrieval of information available in several public databases of genes, miRNAs and diseases and via scientific literature text-mining. MAGIA is freely available for Academic users at http://gencomp.bio.unipd.it/magia.


With the presence of highly permeable pathways, such as faults and fractures zones, coal seam gases, particularly CO2, could potentially migrate upwardly from the coal deposits into the shallow subsurface and then to the atmosphere. This letter reports soil gas mapping and gamma ray survey in coal basin of Hunter River Valley, Australia. The survey facilitated the delineation of fault structures across the sampling regions, where the identified faults were confirmed by an independent drilling investigation later. Furthermore, to evaluate the gas emission fluxes from coalbeds through fault zones, the measured CO2 concentrations, coupled with an inverse modeling, enable the estimation of the width of the fault zone and associated CO2 emission flux in the range of 2 × 10−5–6 × 10−5 mol/m2/s at the study site. Our new approach provides a way to determine emissions of gases from deep formations, which may contribute considerably to the greenhouse gases cycles.


Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of RSV supplementation on the inflammatory responses of broilers during heat stress. A total of 432 28-d-old white-feathered broilers (817 crossbred chicken) with an average weight of 549 ± 4 g were randomly allotted to 4 equal groups (Half male and half female, 6 replicates/group, 18 chickens/replicate), including normal temperature (NT) group (24 ± 2°C for 24 h/d, basal diet), NT+RSV group (24 ± 2°C for 24 h/d, basal diet + RSV), heat stress (HT) group (37 ± 2°C for 8 h/d, basal diet), and HT+RSV group (37 ± 2°C for 8 h/d, basal diet + RSV). Serum samples were collected on d 7 and 14 of heat stress, and thymus, spleen, jejunum, and bursa of Fabricius samples were collected and analyzed on d14. RSV treatment decreased the feed conversion ratio, partially reversed the negative alternations in body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake caused by heat stress. RSV treatment also decreased the elevated levels of corticosterone on d 14, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and triiodothyronine in serum on d 7 caused by heat stress, and significantly increased the villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum on d 14. Dietary RSV also reduced heat stress-induced splenic pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. TUNEL assay showed that RSV significantly reduced heat stress-induced the number of apoptotic cells. Remarkably, RSV down-regulated some splenic related genes for apoptosis genes, including BCL-2, Apaf-1, and MDM2 mRNA levels induced by heat stress. According to GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, the differential genes between HT and HT + RSV groups were mainly associated with immune system process, hematopoietic or lymphoid organ development, and toll-like receptor signaling pathway. The relative mRNA expression of NF-κB, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and p38 MAPK were markedly decreased by the combination of RSV and heat stress. These findings showed that RSV might reduce the splenic inflammatory response in heat-stressed white-feather broilers by inhibiting heat stress-induced activation of NF-B, MAPK, and HSP70, as well as inhibiting the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways.


Four patients with warm type autoimmune hemolytic anemia who failed to respond to steroid therapy received high dose intravenous gammaglobulin (0.2-0.4 g/kg daily) for five days. In one patient hemolysis occurred in association with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and in the others the cause of the hemolysis was not established; two patients had prior splenectomy. A response to gammaglobulin therapy, demonstrable by a rise in or stabilisation of hemoglobin levels, a decrease in elevated serum bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase levels, or prolongation of a shortened red cell (51Cr) survival, was observed in three patients. In two of these patients the effect of gammaglobulin therapy was temporary but allowed for splenectomy to proceed in one patient, without blood transfusion. The third patient continued to improve after cessation of gammaglobulin treatment. These findings suggest that high dose intravenous gammaglobulin may temporarily ameliorate hemolysis in some individuals with warm type immune hemolytic anemia, and may be a useful adjunct to steroids immediately before splenectomy.


LncRNAs are less conserved, yet more tissue and developmental-stage specific than mRNAs and are particularly enriched in the nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster, mouse and human. The function of cytoplasmic lncRNAs and their potential translation remains poorly understood. Here we performed Poly-Ribo-Seq to understand the interaction of lncRNAs with the translation machinery and the functional consequences during neuronal differentiation of SH-SH5Y cells. We discovered 237 cytoplasmic lncRNAs upregulated during early neuronal differentiation, most of which are associated with polysome complexes. The majority are cytoplasmically enriched and are intergenic or anti-sense. In addition, we find 45 small ORFs in lncRNAs to be actively translated, 17 specifically upon differentiation. 11 of these smORFs exhibit high sequence conservation across Hominidae suggesting they are under strong selective constraint with putative function in this clade. We discover LINC01116 is induced upon differentiation and contains an 87 codon smORF, which we detect as translated, with increased ribosome profiling signal upon differentiation. The LINC01116 peptide exhibits a cytoplasmic distribution and is detected in neurites. Knockdown of LINC01116 results in significant reduction of neurite length in differentiated cells indicating it contributes to neuronal differentiation. Our findings indicate lncRNAs are a source of non-canonical peptides and contribute to neuronal function.


A simple and sensitive extractive spectrophometric method has been described for the assay of Mianserin hydrochloride (M-HCl) either in pure form or in pharmaceutical solid dosage form. The developed method involves formation of colored chloroform extractable ion-association complex ofMianserin hydrochloride (M-HCl) with Picric acid (PA), Chlorophenol red (ClPR),Bromthymol blue (BrTB),Bromcresol purple (BrCP) reagents. The extracted complexes showed absorbance maxima at optimum wavelength using visible spectrophotometer. BeerÂ's law is obeyed in the concentration range of 1-42 ig/mL. Correlation coefficient was found to be = 0.9985. In additionwe have determined the molar absorptivity, Sandell sensitivity and the optimum conditions for quantitative analysis of the investigated drugs.


OBJECTIVE
Some pentraxins, such as C-reactive protein, bind to apoptotic cells and are involved in the clearance of these cells. We undertook this study to determine whether serum amyloid P component (SAP; a pentraxin that, when deficient in mice, results in lupus-like disease) binds to apoptotic cells and to assess the functional consequences of SAP binding for their phagocytosis by macrophages.

METHODS
Human peripheral blood monocytes were isolated and cultured for 7 days to obtain monocyte-derived macrophages. Jurkat cells were irradiated with ultraviolet B to induce apoptosis. After 4 hours, a mean +/- SEM of 54.0 +/- 5.1% of these cells stained with annexin V and were propidium iodide negative (early apoptotic [EA] cells). After 24 hours, 77.3 +/- 2.7% of cells stained positive with both annexin V and propidium iodide (late apoptotic [LA] cells or secondary necrotic cells). EA and LA cells were incubated with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled SAP in the presence or absence of Ca(2+), and binding was measured by flow cytometry. Phagocytosis was tested by incubation of macrophages with EA or LA cells in the presence of normal human serum (NHS) and quantified as a phagocytosis index (PI; number of Jurkat cells internalized by 100 macrophages). Experiments were repeated with SAP-depleted serum and after reconstitution with increasing concentrations of SAP.

RESULTS
The majority of LA cells did bind SAP in the presence of Ca(2+), whereas EA cells did not. SAP depletion of NHS resulted in a 50% decrease in the PI for LA cells, and complete restoration of the PI could be demonstrated with SAP reconstitution up to 100 microg/ml. SAP depletion had no effect on phagocytosis of EA cells.

CONCLUSION
SAP binds to LA cells and is involved in the phagocytosis of these cells by human monocyte-derived macrophages. This may have consequences for diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, in which phagocytosis of apoptotic cells is decreased.


Background The transducin-like enhancer of split (TLE) proteins are a group of transcriptional corepressors. They play a crucial role in cellular homeostasis and are involved in various cancers. Compared with other TLE family members, little is known about the role and the underlying mechanism of TLE2 in human cancers. This study aimed to investigate the role of TLE2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using in silico analysis and in vitro experiments. Methods Data were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to evaluate the prognostic value of TLE2 in PDAC. The MiaPaCa-2 cell line was transfected with siRNA to inhibit endogenous TLE2 expression, and a PANC-1 cell line with stable TLE2 overexpression was constructed using lentiviral transfection, which were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. MTT assay, transwell invasion assays, and flow cytometry were carried out to assess cell viability, invasion, and apoptosis, respectively. TLE2 expression in PDAC cells was altered to evaluate their sensitivity to gemcitabine. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted to predict the biological role of TLE2. Results High expression of TLEs was significantly associated with increased overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with PDAC. Among the PDAC cell lines, TLE2 expression was lowest and highest in PANC-1 cells and MiaPaCa-2 cells, respectively. TLE2 overexpression impaired the proliferation ability of PANC-1 cells and downregulation of TLE2 promoted the proliferation of MiaPaCa-2 cells. Upregulation of TLE2 in PANC-1 cells induced S-phase accumulation and sensitivity to gemcitabine. In contrast, the downregulation of TLE2 in MiaPaCa-2 cells promoted resistance to gemcitabine. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis also revealed the potential tumor suppressor role of TLE2 and uncovered a close relationship between TLE2 expression and cell cycle regulation. Conclusions Our results suggest that TLE2 expression is correlated with prognosis in patients with PDAC and show that TLE2 plays a central role in the regulation of cell proliferation, the cell cycle, and gemcitabine sensitivity. This study provides new insights and evidence that TLE2 functions as a tumor suppressor gene and prognostic marker in PDAC.


Once viewed as physiologically insignificant by no less an authority than Homer Smith, the renal nerves have emerged as a physiologically important regulator of renal tubular sodium reabsorption. Increased renal sympathetic nerve activity contributes significantly to the renal sodium retention in edema-forming states.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
We determine the sensitivity of a new Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen assay in children with S pneumoniae bacteremia and also determine the specificity of the assay in afebrile children without apparent pneumococcal infection.

METHODS
We enrolled 2 groups of children, 3 months to 5 years of age, presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department or hospital-based clinic between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2001. The study group included patients with S pneumoniae bacteremia. The control group included patients without fever or identified focal bacterial infection (other than a urinary tract infection). We excluded from the control group patients with a recent diagnosis (prior 4 weeks) of bacteremia, pneumonia, meningitis, acute otitis media, or other suspected S pneumoniae infection.

RESULTS
Ninety-six patients were enrolled: 24 children with S pneumoniae bacteremia and 72 afebrile control patients. The assay produced a positive result in 23 of 24 patients with pneumococcal bacteremia, yielding a sensitivity of 95.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 78.9% to 99.9%). The test result was negative in 67 of 72 afebrile patients without apparent pneumococcal infection, yielding a specificity in this population of 93.0% (95% CI 83.4% to 97.5%).

CONCLUSION
This S pneumoniae assay demonstrated high sensitivity for the defined bacteremic population, as well as high specificity among afebrile children without apparent pneumococcal infection. Further study in febrile children at risk of pneumococcal bacteremia is needed before the value of the test in children at risk for invasive pneumococcal disease can be determined.


Records from near-fault earthquakes to close the distance where the wave propagation source is a special property that their behavior makes them different from other records. Mostly near-fault earthquakes have strong pulse velocity (pulsatile wave) with great period accompanied with permanent deformation of earth. Velocity pulse occurs in horizontal component perpendicular to the motion surface of fault which is resultant of directionality effect of fault rupture. The properties of pulse such as velocity record in near-fault earthquakes cause the response spectrum to show non-ordinary behavior in pulse period. Also, due to imposing much energy to structure in during short period by these pulses, most of earthquake energy is absorbed in first made hinges instead of extension of non-linear behavior and plastic hinges in height of structure and the extension of non-linear behavior is not observed. This absorption of energy causes large relative inter-story displacements. Considering today's using energy dissipation systems is current due to reducing earthquake vibrations of structures, which one of these energy dissipation systems are passive viscoelastic dampers. In these dampers which their energy dissipation mechanism depends on velocity of motion or in other words, on loading frequency and to be active these dampers there is no need to determined level of external excitation and they act in every earthquake. For this purpose, a number of structural models have been modeled in 2D form in "OpenSees" software for different damping ratios due to the added viscoelastic damper, non-linear dynamic analysis has been done under acceleration of horizontal earthquake and the amount of reduction of displacement response and base shear have been studied.


Abstract : Results from these studies showed that participation in the Winter Sports Clinic and the National Veteran s Wheelchair Games positively impacts ones life. By participating in these organized events, positive psychosocial benefits may result to veterans with disabilities. Participation in adaptive sports increases after exposure to the Winter Sports Clinic and National Veteran s wheelchair games. Exposure to adaptive sports and sporting events should occur early in a patient s rehabilitation process to increase sports participation and to reap the long term benefits of socialization, community reintegration, health promotion, self-esteem, and functional independence. Additional findings yielded that the level of lower limb amputations determined the mobility choice (prosthesis or wheelchair). Interaction between utilization of prostheses and changing needs should be determined on a long term basis. This could suggest more viable alternatives, which could not only improve participation but, in long-term, have a positive impact on quality of life of those with lower limb amputation.


Traumatic wounds of the female genitalia include accidental straddle injuries or impalement, chemical or thermal burns, insufflation injuries, blunt trauma, or crush injuries. Children and adolescents may be victims of rape, sexual abuse, and female genital mutilation. Information is provided on epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management. Treatment guidelines are offered using the best evidence available, and recommendations are provided when data are limited.


The MP4 files has become to most used video media file available, and will mostly likely remain at the top for some time to come. This makes MP4 files an interesting candidate for steganography. With its size and structure, it offers a challenge to steganography developers. While some attempts have been made to create a truly covert file, few are as successful as Martin Fiedler's TCSteg. TCSteg allows users to hide a TrueCrypt hidden volume in an MP4 file. The structure of the file makes it difficult to identify that a volume exists. In our analysis of TCSteg, we will show how Fielder's code works and how we may be able to detect the existence of steganography. We will then implement these methods in hope that other steganography analysis can use them to determine if an MP4 file is a carrier file. Finally, we will address the future of MP4 steganography.


On November 23, 2020, Dr. Michael A. Hennessy presented on the topic of Revisiting Disruptive Technology and the Innovator's Dilemma in the Age of Cybersecurity at the 2020 CASIS West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a moderated question and answer period. Key points of discussion included: the difficulties of embracing major technological change in modern military bureaucracies; how organisational culture is an impediment to change; and how leadership and management in military organisations is out of step with the pace of change.


Introduction The majority of Muslim diabetic patients are unaware of complications during fasting, therefore diabetic patients who want to fast need a pre–Ramadan assessment and education to increase their awareness of the risks of fasting. This study examined the effectiveness of Ramadan focused education aimed at increasingself-awareness and glycemic control in Muslims with type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan. Methods A pre and post experiment with a randomized controlled trail was being conducted among 212 patients at Primary Care Units of Songkhla. To be eligible, patient participants must be fasting diabetic patients during Ramadan.The study is a two-centre randomized wait-list controlled trial. Subjects were 108 patients who were allocated to the intervention group (educated about meal planning, physical activity, medications, recognizing and managing complications before Ramadan) and 104 patients were in the control group or wait list control (The control group received conventional group counseling).The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANCOVA, and t- test. Results After Ramadan, we observed no difference in FBS and HbA1c between intervention and control patients. On comparing the self-awareness score of realization of the diabetic patients between the intervention and the control groups after adjusting for baseline [adjusted difference1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI). 29, 1.71; P=0.005], the difference statistically significant (p<0.005). Conclusions The intervention significantly increased self-awareness. The role of structured education for patients is well established in the management of diabetes. This should be extended to Ramadan-focused diabetes education and drug modification program on awareness of self-care and glycemic control in Muslims with type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan in Thailand.


This article aims to theorise a storyline account of a collaborative three-year action research project into schooling re-engagement using a Bourdieusian framework. In the article we discuss how we (two teachers and a social worker) developed an alternative senior secondary school that re-engaged a sizable minority of marginalised young people back into formalised learning and consider how this school became a significant and sustainable educational alternative. Our work during this developmental period drew us into community-based activism enacting socially just curricular and pedagogical experiments. Through networked political action for schooling justice in concert with critical friends (our university partners), the marginalised young people we worked with and supportive regional youth stakeholders, we reconstructed our professional habitus as professionals into a more enabling rendering and strived to proffer through our relational, pedagogical and curricular work with students more of a transformative habitus. Our curricular and activist work inside the community extended the field of schooling relations into a more socially just orientation. This more enabling community field merged with our schooling field and enabled us to source political capital engendering secure, recurrent school funding and a purpose-built schooling facility. We claim that the market logics of schooling significantly influenced our beginning enrolment growth trajectory, and discuss how these logics compromised our ability to break through Bourdieu's notion of the 'destiny effect'. Since its inception in 2003, the Second Chance Community College has offered a comprehensive senior secondary schooling programme for more than 1000 young people. Throughout its 12-year history, the majority of students have gone on to secure work, apprenticeships and tertiary study but only 10% of students have successfully completed their final year of schooling.


We have studied the eyes of a 57 year-old man, with good visual acuity, who was found to have an unusual prepapillary vascular loop formation in both eyes. Ophthalmoscopic examination revealed that the central retinal vein ran a course beneath the retinal pigment epithelium in right eye. Fluorescein angiography showed the prepapillary vascular loops to originate from the central retinal artery in both eyes. We also noted arterial, but not arteriovenous, shunt formation in the retina of both eyes. By indocyanine green angiography we demonstrated the presence of a drainage system, the so called posterior ciliary vein, which was connected directly to the central retinal vein temporal to the optic disc in the right eye. We believe this to be a new type of chorioretinal vascular formation which is different from the chorio-vaginal vein and the optico-ciliary vein.


Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of peripheral neuropathy in newly diagnosed cases of type II diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Cross Sectional Study. Setting: Department of Medicine at Avicenna Medical & Dental College, Lahore. Period: 1st February 2020 to 31st July 2020. Material & Methods: One hundred and twenty newly diagnosed patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in this study. Patients detailed demographically recorded after getting written consent. Patients were diagnosed for the duration of 4-weeks and calculated fasting blood sugar (FBS) of ≥126mg/dl, and Random Blood Sugar (RBS) of ≥200 mg/dl or HbA1c ≤6.5. Results: Seventy (58.3%) were males and rest 50 (41.7%) were females with mean age 37.15±10.91 years. Mean body mass index of the patients was 22.48±3.66 kg/m2. Forty two (35%) patients had symptoms of peripheral neuropathy while that patient's who did not have any symptom was 78 (65%). Same symptoms were observed within 4-weeks and we noticed that 23 (19.2%) patients showed peripheral neuropathy and rest 97 (80.8%) patients did not have any symptoms. Conclusion: The frequency of peripheral neuropathy is higher in early stages of type II diabetes mellitus and its frequency can be reduced to diagnose within a month.


This work presents a real-time approach to the detection, isolation, and prediction of component failures in large-scale systems through the combination of two modules. The modules themselves are then used in conjunction with an inference engine, TEAMS-RT, which is part of Qualtech Systems integrated diagnostic toolset, to provide the end user with accurate diagnostic and prognostic information about the state of the system. The first module is a filter used to "clean" observed test results from multiple sensors from system noise. The sensors have false alarm and missed detection probabilities that are not known a-priori, and must be estimated - ideally along with the accuracies of these estimates - online, within the inference engine. Further, recognizing a practical concern in most real systems, a sparsely instantiated observation vector must not be problematic. Multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) is at the heart of the filtering algorithm and beta prior distributions are applied to the sensor errors. The second module is a prognostic engine that uses an interacting multiple model (IMM) approach to track the "trajectory" of degrading sensors. Kalman filters estimate the movement in each dimension of the sensors. The current state and trajectory of each sensor is then used to predict the time to failure value, i.e., when the component corresponding to the sensor is no longer usable. The modules are integrated together and as part of the TEAMS-RT suite; logic is presented for the cases that they disagree.


Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a phenomenon where virus-specific antibodies paradoxically cause enhanced viral replication and/or excessive immune responses, leading to infection exacerbation, tissue damage, and multiple organ failure. ADE has been observed in many viral infections and is supposed to complicate the course of COVID-19. However, the evidence is insufficient. Since no specific laboratory markers have been described, the prediction and confirmation of ADE are very challenging. The only possible predictor is the presence of already existing (after previous infection) antibodies that can bind to viral epitopes and promote the disease enhancement. At the same time, the virus-specific antibodies are also a part of immune response against a pathogen. These opposite effects of antibodies make ADE research controversial. The assignment of immunoglobulins to ADE-associated or virus neutralizing is based on their affinity, avidity, and content in blood. However, these criteria are not clearly defined. Another debatable issue (rather terminological, but no less important) is that in most publications about ADE, all immunoglobulins produced by the immune system against pathogens are qualified as pre-existing antibodies, thus ignoring the conventional use of this term for natural antibodies produced without any stimulation by pathogens. Anti-glycan antibodies (AGA) make up a significant part of the natural immunoglobulins pool, and there is some evidence of their antiviral effect, particularly in COVID-19. AGA have been shown to be involved in ADE in bacterial infections, but their role in the development of ADE in viral infections has not been studied. This review focuses on pros and cons for AGA as an ADE trigger. We also present the results of our pilot studies, suggesting that AGAs, which bind to complex epitopes (glycan plus something else in tight proximity), may be involved in the development of the ADE phenomenon.


Recent work in Barrovian metamorphic terranes has found that rocks experience peak metamorphic temperatures across several grades at similar times. This result is inconsistent with most geodynamic models of crustal over‐thickening and conductive heating, wherein rocks which reach different metamorphic grades generally reach peak temperatures at different times. Instead, the presence of additional sources of heat and/or focusing mechanisms for heat transport, such as magmatic intrusions and/or advection by metamorphic fluids, may have contributed to the contemporaneous development of several different metamorphic zones. Here, we test the hypothesis of temporally focussed heating for the Wepawaug Schist, a Barrovian terrane in Connecticut, USA, using Sm–Nd ages of prograde garnet growth and U–Pb zircon crystallization ages of associated igneous rocks. Peak temperature in the biotite–garnet zone was dated (via Sm–Nd on garnet) at 378.9 ± 1.6 Ma (2σ), whereas peak temperature in the highest grade staurolite–kyanite zone was dated (via Sm–Nd on garnet rims) at 379.9 ± 6.8 Ma (2σ). These garnet ages suggest that peak metamorphism was pene‐contemporaneous (within error) across these metamorphic grades. Ion microprobe U–Pb ages for zircon from igneous rocks hosted by the metapelites also indicate a period of syn‐metamorphic peak igneous activity at 380.6 ± 4.7 Ma (2σ), indistinguishable from the peak ages recorded by garnet. A 388.6 ± 2.1 Ma (2σ) garnet core age from the staurolite–kyanite zone indicates an earlier episode of growth (coincident with ages from texturally early zircon and a previously published monazite age) along the prograde regional metamorphic T–t path. The timing of peak metamorphism and igneous activity, as well as the occurrence of extensive syn‐metamorphic quartz vein systems and pegmatites, best supports the hypothesis that advective heating driven by magmas and fluids focussed major mineral growth into two distinct episodes: the first at c. 389 Ma, and the second, corresponding to the regionally synchronous peak metamorphism, at c. 380 Ma.


Peas are an important legume for human and animal consumption and are also being used as green manure or intermediate crops to sustain and improve soil condition. Pea production faces constraints from fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases. We investigated the virome of German pea crops over the course of three successive seasons in different regions of pea production to gain an overview of the existing viruses. Pools from 540 plants, randomly selected from symptomatic and asymptomatic peas, and non-crop plants surrounding the pea fields were used for ribosomal RNA-depleted total RNA extraction followed by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and RT-PCR confirmation. Thirty-five different viruses were detected in addition to nine associated nucleic acids. From these viruses, 25 are classified as either new viruses, novel strains or viruses that have not been reported previously from Germany. Pea enation mosaic virus 1 and 2 were the most prevalent viruses detected in the pea crops, followed by pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus (PNYDV) and turnip yellows virus which was also found also in the surrounding non-legume weeds. Moreover, a new emaravirus was detected in symptomatic peas in one region for two successive seasons. Most of the identified viruses are known to be aphid transmissible. The results revealed a high virodiversity in the German pea fields that poses new challenges to diagnosticians, researchers, risk assessors and policy makers, as the impact of the new findings are currently unknown. Graphical Abstract German pea virome.


Thick snow covering on warm and unfrozen soil in late autumn is believed to promote mould growth on the winter pastures of reindeer. Natural feed containing potential mycotoxins is suggested to affect the condition and health of the reindeer. During this kind of winter and spring 1996-97 we collected 30 samples from winter forage plants on three winter ranges in nothern Finland. We identified altogethet 12 different species or species groups of fungi in plant samples. Most microfungi were found when the soil temperatute under the snow in winter was above 0 °C and when the snow was just melted in spring. Abundant fungi wete Mortierella spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma viride. Without exception T. viride was, the most abundant when the temperature under the snow was above 0 °C and the soil was unfrozen, and Penicillium spp. when temperature was below zero and the soil was frozen. Mortierella spp. was abundant in both circumstances. These three fungi or genera were also abundant in samples just after snow melting in spring. Reindeer seemed to avoid digging in the places where fungi were the most abundant. Several Penicillium species and T. viride are known to be able to produce mycotoxins. Many symptoms observed among reindeer grazing on natural pastures were quite similar to those caused by mycotoxins. Potential mycotoxins on reindeer pastures and their effects on teindeer, should be studied in mote detail.


This article undertakes to examine the reception of Platonic theories of falsification in the contemporary philosophy of Leo Strauss and his adherents. The aim of the article is to consider the Straussian response to, and interaction with, Platonic ideas concerning deception and persuasion with an emphasis on the arguments found in the Laws. The theme of central interest in this analysis is Plato's development of paramyth in the Laws. Paramyth entails the use of rhetorical language in order to persuade the many that it is to their advantage to obey certain laws. It does so without explaining in detail why a given law is ethically correct and its use assumes that the audience, on the whole, is not capable of understanding the finer philosophical underpinnings of the law. The so-called 'noble lie' of the Republic is also considered in this context. The crucial issue, for Plato if not for Strauss, is whether or not an instance of falsification, however minor, for the purposes of persuasion contains 'truth-value', that is, whether it is morally justifiable in terms of ends and means. In terms of Strauss's reception of Plato, such issues as ancient Hebrew mysticism, Medieval Jewish and Islamic scholarship and Heideggerian Phenomenology figure in the argument. Ultimately, the article finds that Strauss and his followers have constructed a particular view of Platonic ideas that, while unique, is not compatible with their original signification.


This study on the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris observed the efficiency of using LED lights compared to traditional grow lights to add further insight into ways to optimize algal growth for biofuel production. In this study, C. vulgaris grown in culture was exposed to red LED lights at 625 nm. It was hypothesized that exposure to red LED lights would have a positive effect on the growth of C. vulgaris causing the cells to grow faster than cells grown under a traditional grow light. Additionally, the concentration of the cells grown under red LED lights would be greater than that of the cells exposed to a grow light. These hypotheses were confirmed by graphing daily average cell concentration values (cells/ml) of both experimental and control groups. After 7 days, the control culture of C. vulgaris had reached a value of 5.53 x 106 cells/mL with a rate of growth of 6.90x105 cells/mL per day, while the group exposed to the red LED lights had reached 1.10 x 107 cells/mL with a rate of growth of 1.00x106 cells/mL per day. The data suggest that using red LED lighting is a more efficient method of cultivation of C. vulgaris than traditional grow lights.


New tetrathia[7]helicene-based (7-TH-based) gold(I) complexes 6 and 7 have been readily prepared by reaction of the respective phosphine ligands 2 and 3 with Au(tht)Cl in a 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratio, respectively. These complexes have been fully characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques as well as quantum chemical calculations. The molecular structure of dinuclear complex 7 has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, showing a gold-gold interaction of 3.1825(3) Å and a significant contraction of the 7-TH total dihedral angle. Au(I) complex 7 displays luminescence emission at room and low temperature in diluted solution and in the solid state. Quantum chemical calculations show that the luminescence emission at room temperature is primarily due to slightly perturbed fluorescence emission from purely ππ* excited states of the conjugated helicene scaffold. At 77 K phosphorescence emission is displayed as well. Preliminary studies on the use of 6 and 7 as catalysts in typical Au(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerizations have demonstrated the reactivity of these systems in the intramolecular allene hydroarylations and the hydroxycarboxylation of allene-carboxylates.


Gland Surgery ( GS ) is going to publish two special issues related to endocrine surgery in early 2015. The special issue on "Current controversies in endocrine surgery" ( Table 1 ) edited by Prof. Antonio Sitges-Serra, from Hospital del Mar, Spain, will describe the most controversial and burning topics that can be found currently in the specialty of endocrine surgery. Another one is on "New technology in endocrine surgery" ( Table 2 ). Prof. Emad Kandil from Tulane University School of Medicine will serve as the guest editor, presenting a picture of current progress of new technologies in the area of endocrine surgery.


One peculiarity of the hippocampal CA3 mossy fiber terminals is the co-release of zinc and glutamate upon synaptic transmission. How these two players act on hippocampal-dependent memories is still unclear. To decipher their respective involvement in memory consolidation, a pharmacological approach was chosen. Using two hippocampal-dependent behavioral paradigms (water maze and contextual fear conditioning) we now report that glutamate at CA3 synapses is necessary and sufficient for the spatial learning consolidation process, whereas glutamate and zinc released by mossy fibers are both mandatory and exert cumulative effects on contextual fear consolidation, a form of learning with a strong emotional component.


What happens when corporate culture takes over counterculture? This book explores the contradictions present within the cannabis industry from a business and policy perspective.
 Despite the unique culture surrounding cannabis, this new industry follows the same economic principles as does any other agricultural product―that is, it would if the federal government allowed it to. Four distinct challenges prevent the cannabis industry from becoming fully legal and federally regulated in the United States, equivalent to the alcohol, pharmaceutical, or tobacco industries: federal regulations counter to state laws, an unfriendly financial system, a U.S. attorney general bent on keeping the drug war running, and Prohibition's 70-year-old legacy of distrust between legalization advocates and opponents.
 Policy, however, is changing. Already the world's most heavily consumed illicit drug is in the midst of an international transformation. Globally, a new international trade market has emerged from efforts to legalize it for medical or recreational use, and in the United States, the nascent cannabis industry has acquired lobbyists, well-financed industry kingpins, an extensive ancillary industry, and taxation. The Business of Cannabis explores these issues in depth and contextualizes U.S. drug policy at a time when lawmakers across the nation are deciding which way to lean on the issue.


The current Australian and New Zealand default guideline value of 3 µg Cl/L for total residual chlorine in freshwaters is largely based on acute data converted to chronic data using a default acute to chronic ratio of 10, without consideration of chlorine decomposition. Given the rapid decomposition of chlorine, initially as hypochlorite and then as chloramine, it is appropriate to consider a guideline value based on short‐term (acute) toxicity rather than one based on longer‐term chronic data, as has been recommended for chlorine in marine waters. The literature on the fate of chlorine in drinking water discharged to freshwaters and on the ecotoxicity of total residual chlorine has been reviewed, and on the basis of this, revised default guideline values were derived for both hypochlorite and chloramine in freshwater using a species sensitivity distribution of toxicity data. The values for 95% species protection were 7 and 9 µg Cl/L as total residual chlorine, respectively. The former would apply to any total residual chlorine‐containing effluent, but in the case of drinking water where dechlorination has been undertaken, the chloramine‐based default guideline value is likely to be more appropriate. Both are likely to be conservative because they were largely based on toxicity testing under continuous flow‐through conditions. They will apply at the edge of the mixing zone, and the variable receiving water concentration at this point might best be determined from a time‐weighted average total residual chlorine concentration. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1341–1352. © 2021 SETAC


The wavelet tree is a data structure that indexes a text over an integer alphabet for efficient rank and select queries. Using the Huffman encoding, it can be stored in zero-order entropycompressed space. We present a highly engineered open source implementation of an efficient sequential construction algorithm that makes use of bit parallelism via vector instructions. On hardware featuring ultrawide registers of up to 512 bits, it outperforms the currently fastest known practical sequential construction algorithms by a factor of up to 2.5.


This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper IPTC 20201, "Improving Completion Reliability by Integrating ESPs, Intelligent Completion, and Zonal Downhole Monitoring With a Compact Horizontal Wellhead," by Suresh Jacob, SPE, Maithem Al-Nakhli, SPE, and Muhammad Munir, SPE, Saudi Aramco. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2020 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
 The complete paper presents an oilwell completion integrating multilaterals, intelligent completions, permanent downhole monitoring systems, electric submersible pumps (ESPs), and a horizontal wellhead system. The paper discusses the completion drivers and design, individual equipment, preparation, field experience during installation, and performance of the system during production. The completion has been installed successfully and its lessons are being applied in the design of future installations.

 The well was drilled in a field comprising two main stacked reservoirs separated by a thick nonporous impermeable mudstone barrier. The two reservoirs are in an asymmetrical anticline structure sharing the same oil/water contact. The two reservoirs have a common pressure gradient and similar crude oil properties while having different petrophysical properties, with one reservoir having twice the productivity of the other. Both reservoirs were developed simultaneously using peripheral water injection with horizontal injector and producer wells. Dedicated producer and injector wells targeting individual reservoirs were drilled because of the differences in productivity and the areal extent between the reservoirs. ESPs were installed in all producers to increase rates and to transport fluid to surface facilities.
 Multilateral wells were drilled to increase production rate and to decrease pressure drawdown. These wells were drilled as TAML Level 2 wells, with openhole laterals drilled from a cemented liner. An intelligent completion allowed the production from each lateral to be controlled remotely from the surface.
 While both ESPs and intelligent completions are widely used in the industry, the integration of these technologies in the same well is rare because of the difference in operating cycles for the two systems. A well with both ESPs and intelligent completions should be designed to allow periodic ESP workovers while retaining the intelligent-completion equipment within the wellbore for the life of the well. The downhole-disconnection tool is a key enabler in the integration of ESPs and intelligent completions. However, the high level of operational planning and precision required to reconnect the control lines after ESP workover and the absence of downhole sensors in the intelligent completion prompted the design of an ESP/intelligent-completion integration without the downhole wet-connect tool.


The lack of a computerized approach to optimally size hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems leaves a glaring gap in our knowledge of their benefits when utilized in an urban environment. To address this issue, this study introduces two new, robust methodologies, one for determining optimal GSHP size as part of a hybrid system for an individual building and one for assessing the appropriateness of combining multiple buildings onto a single hybrid GSHP system. Both methodologies simultaneously consider heating and cooling and are applicable to residential, commercial and industrial buildings that are either heating or cooling dominant. Using these methodologies can result in significant reductions in initial costs of installation, payback period, and operation costs, when compared to following rules of thumb or using non-hybrid systems. In most cases, when optimization is performed, the GSHP meets very large portions of the total annual heating and cooling demand of buildings.


Background: A common mechanism for block of ion channels is current inhibition by drug binding to residues - notably in S6 - within the permeating pore. Open state block is commonly observed.

Methods and Results: In this study, we used a combination of alanine/cysteine mutagenesis, patch clamp, and homology modeling to identify a novel allosteric mechanism for drug block of the human cardiac potassium channel KCNQ1 (the α-subunit encoding IKs). The initial mutagenesis experiments studied a total of 45 amino acid residues in the S6 segment (30 residues), and the proximal C-terminus (15 residues) of KCNQ1. Residues required for drug block were identified as alanine/cysteine mutants displaying <50% block of expressed current (n=4 – 6 each) upon exposure to drug concentrations inhibiting wild-type current by ≥90% (quinidine 100 μm, clofilium 30 μm and L-7 10 μm). Among the 30 residues in S6, there were five (F332, F335, S338, A341 and G348) displaying such reduced block and in the proximal C-terminus, 5/15 were less sensitive, including F351 which was near-totally resistant (current decrease = 4±3%). Homology modeling of KCNQ1 based on the Kv1.2 structure unexpectedly suggested that F351 faces away from the permeating pore, arguing against pore block as the mechanism for drug inhibition of KCNQ1 current. In the open channel model, F351 lines a pocket that also includes L251 and V254 in S4–S5. The model allows drug access to this pocket, and alanine substitutions at both sites yielded potassium currents that were resistant to drug block (↓34±4% for L251A and ↓40±5% for V254A).

Conclusion: These data strongly support a model in which open state block of this channel occurs not via binding to a site in the pore but rather by a novel allosteric mechanism, drug access to a side pocket generated in the open channel configuration and lined by S6 and S4/S5 residues.


Ultra⁃reliable and low⁃latency communications (URLLC) has become a fundamental focus of future industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs). With the evolution of automation and process control in industrial environments, the need for increased reliability and reduced latencies in wireless communications is even pronounced. Furthermore, the 5G systems specifically target the URLLC in selected areas and industrial automation might turn into a suitable venue for future IWSNs, running 5G as a high speed inter⁃process linking technology. In this paper, a hybrid multi⁃channel scheme for performance and throughput enhancement of IWSNs is proposed. The scheme utilizes the multiple frequency channels to increase the overall throughput of the system along with the increase in reliability. A special purpose frequency channel is defined, which facilitates the failed communications by retransmissions where the retransmission slots are allocated according to the priority level of failed communications of different nodes. A scheduler is used to formulate priority based scheduling for retransmission in TDMA based communication slots of this channel. Furthermore, in carrier⁃sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) based slots, a frequency polling is introduced to limit the collisions. Mathematical modelling for performance metrics is also presented. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared with that of IEEE802.15.4e, where the performance is evaluated on the basis of throughput, reliability and the number of nodes accommodated in a cluster. The proposed scheme offers a notable increase in the reliability and throughput over the existing IEEE802.15.4e Low Latency Deterministic Networks (LLDN) standard.


Title of Thesis: APPROPRIATENESS OF LARGEMOUTH BASS AS A MODEL SPECIES FOR DETECTION OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION Christine Kim, Angela Leasca, Winston Liu, Shivani Patel, Laura Poulsen, Shefali Shah, Taylor Throwe, Renuka Tripu Thesis directed by: Dr. Lance Yonkos Department of Environmental Science & Technology Intersex in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) has been correlated with regional anthropogenic activity, but has not been causally linked to environmental factors. Four groups of hatchery-reared largemouth bass (LMB) and fathead minnows (FHM) of varying ages and sex were exposed to aqueous poultry litter mixtures, 17βestradiol (E2), and controls. Water samples were analyzed for estrogens through liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and estrogenicity through the bioluminescent yeast estrogen screen assay. Fish plasma was analyzed for the egg yolk protein vitellogenin (Vtg) using enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay and gonad tissue was examined histologically for enumeration of testicular oocytes (TO). Water chemistry revealed typical E2 conversion to Estrone with subsequent decay over the exposure periods. A modest prevalence of TO (9.4%) was detected with no apparent treatment effect. While significant Vtg induction was found in E2 exposed FHM, minimal Vtg induction was found in male LMB. Despite field findings of intersex in male LMB, this species may be poorly suited for laboratory investigations into endocrine disruption.


Summary 1. DPN injection produces toxic effects in mice similar to those described for nicotinamide analogs. 2. Toxicity of injected DPN is influenced by environmental temperatures; both cold and hot environment enhances toxicity. 3. Simultaneous cortisone potentiates the effect of heat and cold. 4. These effects are discussed as they bear on inhibition of DPN-ase activity of reserpine, promazine and nicotinamide.


— In vivo experiment was conducted to screen fifty six genotypes for resistance to early shoot borer, Chilo infuscatellus Snellen at Zonal agricultural research station, V.C farm, Mandya during 2014-2015. The per cent incidence of ESB at different days after planting was varied among fifty six screened genotypes. The highest per cent incidence was recorded at 60 DAP (0.00 to 41.29) followed by at 30 DAP (0.00 to 20.15) and the per cent incidence at 90 DAP ranged from 0.00 to 14.24 and lowest per cent incidence was recorded at 120 DAP (0.00 to 4.40). Based on the cumulative incidence, 47 genotypes were categorized as less susceptible to C. infuscatellus. Nine genotypes were found moderately susceptible to C. infuscatellus. However, among less susceptible genotypes lowest cumulative incidence of 0.00 per cent was recorded in genotypes, 09-60-06. Whereas highest cumulative incidence of 29.86 per cent was recorded in moderately susceptible genotype,


Background: Zinc given as a combination therapy to new formulation of ORS has become an efficient approach for the treatment of acute Paediatric diarrhoea. Objective of present study is to find the perception, use and awareness of zinc use in acute paediatric diarrhoea among young medical doctors.
 Subjects and Method: Present study is a descriptive prevalence study. Study population consisted of young doctors working in medical, Paediatric and surgery wards. Data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire to the study population. Questionnaire was constructed and was pre-tested by researchers.
Results: Study population consisted of 158 young doctors working in a Tertiary Care Hospital. 78.5% of them were familiar with zinc supplementation. 60% of the study participants knew role of zinc in decreasing stool volume and 63.3% knew that it reduces the stool frequency. Around 50% were aware of the role that zinc played in intestinal water reabsorption, 47% of the doctors knew the role of zinc in re-epithelisation of the intestinal mucosa. 65.8% of the participants consented to WHO protocol of giving zinc in adjunct to ORS reduces hospital stay.
Conclusion: Present study revealed that a large number of the doctors were familiar with role of zinc supplements in management of diarrhoea in young children.. But specified knowledge on role of zinc in controlling Paediatric diarrhoea was sub optimal.


In an area of handwriting recognition, many algorithms for recognition are proposed for Indian document images of Latin and Devanagari scripts. These documents generally lack in their layout organizations and low print quality. In order to overcome these drawbacks, a character segmentation algorithm is proposed for kannada handwriting recognition. In this work, a primary segmentation paths are obtained using structural property of characters, whereas overlapped and joined characters are separated using graph distance theory. Finally, segmentation results are validated using Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. Comprehensive simulation is carried out on different databases containing printed as well as handwritten texts. Benchmarking results illustrate that the proposed algorithms have better performance in terms of accuracy and sensitivity compared to other conventional approaches.


Improvements in synchrotron radiation and high-temperature black-body sources will provide a method of realizing scales of spectral radiance and irradiance with uncertainties comparable with those provided by absolute cryogenic radiometers. This paper discusses planned improvements in the synchrotron radiation facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and how these improvements can be exploited to accurately measure the temperature of a high-temperature black body developed at the All-Russian Research Institute for Optophysical Measurements (VNIIOFI), thus allowing substantial improvement in radiometric scales.


A 41-year-old man with atrial septal defect-Eisenmenger syndrome presented with progressively worsening breathlessness. The echocardiogram, computerized tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging of the thorax showed dilated pulmonary arteries and large thrombi in the right and left pulmonary arteries. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomographic scan was better than magnetic resonance imaging in picking up the thrombus. The possibility of in situ thrombus formation was considered more likely than thromboembolism, as there were none of the acute symptoms expected with the embolization of such large thrombi.


The first lecture provides an introduction to the physics of color superconductivity in cold dense quark matter. The main color superconducting phases are briefly described and their properties are listed. The second lecture covers recent developments in studies of color superconducting phases in neutral and β-equilibrated matter. The properties of gapless color superconducting phases are discussed. Lectures delivered at the IARD 2004 conference, Saas Fee, Switzerland, June 12 19, 2004, and at the Helmholtz International Summer School and Workshop on Hot points in Astrophysics and Cosmology, JINR, Dubna, Russia, August 2 13, 2004. On leave from Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, 03143, Kiev, Ukraine.


Globalization as unstoppable trend, changes all aspects of life as we know
it. In traditional way of business relations, product was brought in a new
market by a sales representative personally and if the seller would
recognize possible success, business unit would be established in form of
subsidiary, franchise or any other type of business model. If the market
was on a different geographical area, far from headquarters, new business
unit would have to have a full capacity establishment often including
middle management; this actually represents a situation where extra cost
cannot be avoided. Today though, call agent from Sarajevo can sell a
product to buyer in Adelaide in a situation where none of them saw actual
product but all information needed were obtained through websites and
phone lines. The only person that actually saw an item of sale is a
distributor in Melbourne that will get information from Sarajevo that
specific package needs to be delivered to an address in Adelaide. This form
of sales is a new trend that international companies are more than
welcoming, it lets them keep their businesses running and sales high with
significantly lower labor costs. It is already a common practice that
customer support and sales centers of American and Australian companies
are based in South Asia, the only difference that customer will notice is
agents accent but other than that they are giving them all needed
information as if they were in their local communities and they are very
familiar with issues that customer might be having with a company`s
product. So far I have mentioned sales and support being realized over the
phone, but it is just an aspect of what tele-business actually is. The one
that is mostly used is for user telephone advertising and sales in
combination. Product awareness is a stage that every product has to go
through and companies have been trying to make it as shorter as possible
and as cheaper as possible, but now it seems they finally got so long
needed solution. With extremely cheap phone costs and staff that can
locate a customer in any part of the World from one single office,telephone advertisements are absolute hit of today`s business. Not all
companies are global; there is an example of German insurance company,
selling its policies to German customers but from offices placed all across
Western Balkans. Lower labor costs are significant but not the only reason
for dislocated business operations, management control of all business
aspects is genuinely simpler and more effective. Not all aspects of
telephone marketing and sales are positive, as I have already stated,
agents are often not familiar with type of product or service they are
selling, but this is something that can be resolved with a good training.
Hence, there is another issue that cannot be so resolved in such a simple
way, different legal standards that agents have to be aware of. This will
represent important aspect of this thesis; here I will just give an example
where in Canada and most States in the USA there are laws that enable
person to start a legal process against the certain company for unwanted
calls. Telemarketing is still in a growth phase but it is a trend that helps and
encourages global market development.
Keywords: Telemarketing, Global Market Tool, Western Balkans, Sarajevo..


Purpose
Facilitation and Task Facilitation are important components of healthy supervisory/managerial relationships among higher education professionals. Juniors are guided by superiors who play a supervisory/managerial role in professional development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Interaction Facilitation and Task Facilitation on supervisory/managerial relationships among higher education professionals.

Design/methodology/approach
The Human Synergistics International Organizational Effectiveness Inventory® was used to survey faculty and administrators at public and private higher education institutions. The authors analyze Interaction Facilitation and Task Facilitation, which focuses on people-oriented and task-oriented skills, respectively.

Findings
The authors demonstrated the negativity of current organizational cultures on organizational effectiveness measures in higher education institutions. The authors analyze Interaction Facilitation and Task Facilitation, which focuses on people-oriented and task-oriented skills, respectively. Results revealed average scores for both measures fell undesirably below the Historical Averages and Constructive Benchmarks in private and public not-for-profits, private for-profits, faculty, administrators, males and females.

Practical implications
To increase follower satisfaction and improve task and contextual performance in higher education institutions, the authors recommend defining the leader's influence within supervisory/managerial relationships, increasing flexibility in contextual/situational factors, clarifying the role of supervisors, aligning individual and organizational goals in millennials, and maintaining collegiality.

Social implications
The findings suggest that organizational effectiveness in higher education institutions may benefit from thoughtful revision of leadership strategies, better alignment of individual with organizational goals, and continuous cultivation of constructive organizational cultures.

Originality/value
This study has identified the need to ameliorate the practice of Interactive Facilitation and Task Facilitation styles in higher education institutions. Ineffective supervisory/management styles in higher education have a negative impact on the organization cultures reducing the practice of constructive work behaviors.


Excess tissue temperatures of a fish in a stable thermal environment were estimated. In fish weighing 40 to 200 g, mean excess muscle temperature was 0.44 °C and brain, 0.45 °C. A significant high local excess temperature (0.80 °C) was observed in the isthmus, immediately under the skin just anterior to the pelvic girdle. Mean excess muscle temperature in fish weighing less than 40 g was 0.15 °C.The rate of thermal exchange of fish was estimated by measuring the tissue temperature after the fish was placed m a bath 5 °C cooler than ambient. The slope of a double logarithmic plot of the coefficient of cooling versus body weight was −0.3. The coefficient was 1.8 °C/min per °C difference for fish weighing 1.0 g and was 0.4 for fish weighing 100 g.


The study of domain switching and dielectric breakdown behavior of ferroelectrics together with their relations is crucial for understanding the essence of ferroelectric physics and exploring their applications. In this work, a phase-field method is developed to reveal the coupled domain structure and dielectric breakdown evolution in a ferroelectric single crystal (FSC) by employing the Ginzburg-Landau kinetic equation and Griffith type energy criterion. Results show that the domain switching mobility, symbolizing the speed of polarization evolution, has a significant influence on ferroelectric properties, namely coercive field, dielectric breakdown strength (DBS), discharge energy density (DED), and energy storage efficiency (ESE). It is found that FSC with the higher domain switching mobility always displays a lower coercive field and smaller remanent electric displacement (or polarization) together with a higher DBS, accounting for a higher DED and ESE. Such findings can provide effective guidance in understanding and designing high-DBS and high-energy-density ferroelectrics. In addition, the defect concentration has a significant influence on the DBS and the pattern of breakdown paths.


Tumor development not only destroys the homeostasis of local tissues but also the whole body, and thus the tumor cells have to face the body's defense system, a shortage of nutrition and oxygen, and chemotherapeutic drug treatment. In response to these stresses, tumor cells often alter gene expression and microRNA levels to facilitate survival. We have demonstrated that glioblastoma cells deprived of nutrition or treated with chemotherapeutics drugs expressed increased levels of miR-17. Ectopic transfection of miR-17 prolonged glioblastoma cell survival when the cells were deprived with nutrition or treated with chemotherapeutic drugs. Expression of miR-17 also promoted cell motility, invasion, and tube-like structure formation. We found that these phenotypes were the results of miR-17 targeting PTEN. As a consequence, HIF1α and VEGF were up-regulated. Ectopic expression of miR-17 was found to facilitate enrichment of stem-like tumor cells, since the cells became drug-resistant, showed increased capacity to form colonies and neurospheres, and expressed higher levels of CD133, a phenotype similar to ectopic expression of HIF1α. To further confirm the phenotypic property of stem cells, we demonstrated that glioblastoma cells transfected with miR-17 proliferated slower in different nutritional conditions by facilitating more cells staying in the G1 phase than the control cells. Finally, we demonstrated that miR-17 could repress MDM2 levels, resulting in decreased cell proliferation and drug-resistance. Our results added a new layer of functional mechanism for the well-studied miRNA miR-17.


History, when it is well taught', said Minister of Education Kader Asmal, addressing an audience on Robben Island last October, 'can encourage critical thinking, exploration of our diverse identities, reconciliation and serve as a reminder of what mistakes not to repeat'. He appointed a panel to investigate the situation of History as a discipline both at schools and at tertiary institutions and into the ways of improving that situation.


The augmented demand for medical devices devoted to tissue regeneration and possessing a controlled micro-architecture means there is a need for industrial scale-up in the production of hydrogels. A new 3D printing technique was applied to the automation of a freeze-gelation method for the preparation of chitosan scaffolds with controlled porosity. For this aim, a dedicated 3D printer was built in-house: a preliminary effort has been necessary to explore the printing parameter space to optimize the printing results in terms of geometry, tolerances and mechanical properties of the product. Analysed parameters included viscosity of the starting chitosan solution, which was measured with a Brookfield viscometer, and temperature of deposition, which was determined by filming the process with a cryocooled sensor thermal camera. Optimized parameters were applied to the production of scaffolds from solutions of chitosan alone or with the addition of raffinose as a viscosity modifier. Resulting hydrogels were characterized in terms of morphology and porosity. In vitro cell culture studies comparing 3D printed scaffolds with their homologous produced by solution casting evidenced an improvement in biocompatibility deriving from the production technique as well as from the solid state modification of chitosan stemming from the addition of the viscosity modifier.