The College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento has organized and conducted free interactive workshops for high school teachers who are interested in developing pre-engineering curricula. This year, the workshop was co-sponsored by SETRC (Sacramento Engineering and Technology Regional Consortium) and the Capital Center MESA program (Math, Engineering Science, Achievement). It consisted of "hands-on" laboratory sessions in the morning followed by discussions about curriculum and pedagogy in the afternoon. The high school teachers were divided into teams and rotated through five laboratory stations on Robotics, Digital Circuits, Signal Processing, Optical Engineering, Structures and Materials. Faculty and students from CSUS served as facilitators and worked closely with the teams. The afternoon featured three breakout sessions on the following topics: A: Objectives and Learning Outcomes for an Introduction to Engineering Course, B: Articulating your Introduction to Engineering Course Across the Spectrum, and C: Project based Learning to meet Engineering and Technology Standards. One of the unique aspects of this workshop was a take-home micro controller kit especially designed by Parallax Inc., for every participating teacher. This module introduces some simple electronic projects (up to 15 different projects) based on the BASIC Stamp 2 single board computer. With the growing popularity of intelligent electronic devices, the BASIC Stamp offers an ideal platform for initial exposure to not only computer programming and electronics, but also to subjects such as robotics, environmental monitoring, and industrial control. Also all teachers received a textbook and a comprehensive workshop manual with additional resources and ideas for lesson plans and curricula. Feedback from the workshop has been very positive. We plan to offer this workshop every year to motivate teachers to develop and offer pre-engineering curricula at the high schools.


The article describes the justification of opening a network of public catering establishments in the city of Mytishchi. There is information of the primary economic analysis, also basic indicators to calculate the efficiency of the project. The main premise for the opening of a coffeehouse with a unique concept is considered to increase the catering market. It's connected with the fact that the overall market and its individual segments in particular are still far from saturation, but they have high investment attraction, especially if we consider the economic development of regions, which include the city of Mytishchi, located in the Moscow region. Keywords: entrepreneurship, enterprise network, catering, development of a network of enterprises, consumer, networking model, performance indicators, attractiveness, investments, business idea, project, business plan.


These lectures "present the first seeds of a curative eurythmy." Though primarily intended for eurythmists concerned with therapy, they will also interest anyone concerned with the rhythmic interplay between physiology, the formative forces, and language.


Background: Different criteria regarding outcome measures in tobacco smoking research are used which can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Consensus in outcome criteria may enhance comparison of future studies. This study aims (1) to provide an overview of researchers' preferences regarding outcome criteria to be considered in randomised controlled smoking cessation trials, and (2) to identify the extent to which researchers have consensus on the importance of these outcome criteria.

Methods: A three-round online Delphi study was conducted among smoking cessation experts. In the first round the most important smoking cessation outcome measures were collected by means of open-ended questions. Experts were asked to name the outcome measure, its duration of abstinence or assessment method, and the ideal follow-up period. In the second and third rounds, experts were presented with a list of the outcome measures identified in the first round and were asked to rate the importance of the listed measures on a seven-point scale.

Results: Experts reached consensus on several items, including six-month prolonged abstinence, and seven-day point prevalence. Preferred follow-ups included six and/or 12 months. The preferred biochemical validation methods were carbon monoxide (expired air), and cotinine (saliva); although validation is not always needed.

Discussion: Findings suggest only partial compliance with the Russel standard and that more outcome measures may be important (including seven-day point-prevalence, number of cigarettes smoked, and cotinine when using biochemical validation). This study showed where there is and where there is no consensus and reflects the need to adjust/create a more comprehensive standard.


Berry et al. claimed that STRA6 binds only holo-retinol/retinol binding protein complex (holo-RBP), not apo-RBP, and that holo-RBP's binding to STRA6 causes insulin resistance (1). These claims are exactly the opposite of the conclusions from two studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology by independent groups who showed that RBP's effect on insulin resistance does not depend on STRA6 and that apo-RBP triggers insulin resistance (2, 3). Contrary to the claim by Berry et al., obesity is associated with significantly higher apo-RBP, but normal holo-RBP (4), and that the RBP-to-retinol ratio is elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes (5). The claims by Berry et al. contradict not only findings from other labs on RBP but also known properties of STRA6. Contrary to the claim by Berry et al., apo-RBP does bind to STRA6. First, both Isken and colleagues (6) and we (7) showed that apo-RBP can promote retinol efflux through STRA6. Second, it has been shown that both apo-RBP and holo-RBP bind to STRA6 (7). Third, STRA6's abilities to bind holo-RBP and apo-RBP make it possible for STRA6 to catalyze retinol release from holo-RBP and to catalyze retinol loading into apo-RBP (8). Fourth, in contrast to STRA6's role in insulin resistance, STRA6 expression is highly decreased in adipose tissues in wild-type mice and ob/ob mice fed a high-fat diet (9). Fifth, Berry et al. initially linked STRA6 to insulin resistance by purifying human STRA6 using a commercial antibody that does not recognize human STRA6, as shown by two independent studies (7, 10). Consistently, the so-called STRA6 bands never increased in intensity after STRA6 transfection (11). Surprisingly, Berry et al. did not do any experiment but solely relied on online computer software, SOSUI, to determine which STRA6 residues are intracellular or extracellular and to conclude that STRA6 has 11 transmembrane domains. A study 6 years ago experimentally determined that the 11-transmembrane domain topology is incorrect (12). Computer prediction is both unreliable and uncertain. For example, SOSUI predicts mouse STRA6 as a 10-transmembrane domain protein and zebrafish STRA6 as a 6-transmembrane domain protein. Contrary to the claim by Berry et al., STRA6 does not strictly depend on cellular retinol binding protein I (CRBP-I) for its activity. We and other investigators showed that either lecithin retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) (6, 8, 13–15) or CRBP-I (8) can stimulate STRA6's vitamin A uptake activity from holo-RBP. STRA6 also has many LRATor CRBP-I-independent activities, and many of these activities are suppressed, not enhanced, by the presence of either CRBP-I or LRAT (7, 8). For example, STRA6 catalyzes retinol release from holo-RBP independently of LRAT and CRBP-I. STRA6 also catalyzes retinol loading into apo-RBP independently of LRAT and CRBP-I. Not only does STRA6 not depend on LRAT or CRBP-I for this activity, LRAT or CRBP-I actually inhibits STRA6's activity. STRA6 also catalyzes retinol exchange between RBP molecules independently of LRAT or CRBP-I (7). Like LRAT or CRBP-I, other proteins or even small molecules like -ionone can enhance STRA6's vitamin A uptake activity (8). We have tested the STRA6 residue claimed by Berry et al. to be essential for STRA6/CRBP-I interaction and found that its mutation (L255A) does not affect STRA6's coupling to either CRBP-I or LRAT for vitamin A uptake from holo-RBP (Fig. 1).


This report aims at explaining the social patterns and cultural tradition in the Kingdom of Tonga, and how these may affect national development. Culture, even though modified by historical and colonial experience, is a salient feature in Tonga's national life, exerting profound influences on national policies. The paper analyzes three general concepts in an attempt to outline the ambiguities characterizing the social and political contexts. First, attention is given to the socio-political domain concept, where traditional ideas of rank permeate notions of political authority, and the very nature of social, political, and cultural facts shape the course of economic development. Secondly, on the socio-economic status concept, it is suggested the very tension between the four level groups, provides a socio-political dynamic, which may drive towards better amenities and higher standards of living. Finally, the report reviews the traditional enterprise concept, defined as economic activities in pursuit of material well-being, thus implying a negative view. It is this negative connotation which obscures the overall development process in Pacific island countries.


Invasive alien species impose one of the greatest biological threats on biodiversity, in addition to affecting ecosystems, native species and human health. Thus, developing accurate, fast and sensitive methods to detect harmful exotic plants is important for plant inspection and quarantine works. Lepidium bonariense L., an annual Brassicaceae plant native to South America, has naturalized in Taiwan in recent years. Its morphological characteristics are similar to L. virginicum L. and can be easily mixed at the early stage of plant growth. DNA-based molecular markers have been widely used to detect the genetic diversity of invaded alien species. In this study, we developed 18S-26S ribosomal DNA (rDNA), based on direct sequencing of the internal transcribes spacer (ITS) region, to differentiate these two weed species by the methods of allelic-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR), PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and DNA chips. The 5.8S rRNA-ITS regions of L. bonariense and L. virginicum were 620 and 621 bp, with the similarity of 98.9%. The specific primers of AS-PCR were designed from the 5.8S rRNA-ITS nucleotide polymorphism via multiplex PCR, to produce unique 365 bp and 263 bp single bands, respectively. Through PCR-RFLP method, the PCR products of 18S-26S rRNA in L. bonariense and L. virginicum were digested with the restriction of endonucleases BseY I and Rsr II. Each fragment gave unique electrophoretic profiles. DNA chips assay of amplified DNA fragments from AS-PCR products used specific oligo nucleotide probes. Visible spots could be detected on the nylon slides. Results suggest that AS-PCR markers and DNA chips are effective for management of invasive plant L. bonariense and maintaining the balance of biodiversity in agricultural ecosystem.


Background: Hypotension is one of the common complications of spinal anaesthesia. It has many detrimental effects to the mother and fetus if left untreated. Recently, phenylephrine is introduced for the treatment of hypotension in our hospital. However, its efficacy on the prevention of spinal anaesthesia induced hypotension is still under controversy. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of phenylephrine prophylaxis on spinal hypotension after caesarean section.
 Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at the University of Gondar Hospital. Patients were allocated based on treatment received; 50/100 μgm phenylephrine prophylaxis vs. no prophylaxis. PR, SBP, DBP, SPO2 and APGAR score were measured before, immediately after spinal anaesthesia, every 2 min intra operatively till the delivery of the baby and every 5 min after delivery for 20 min, and every 10 min for 1 h in postoperative period.
 Results: The incidence of hypotension was significantly lower for those participants with prophylactic phenylephrine (26% vs. 81.6%, p<0.001) compared to the non-treatment group. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures immediately after spinal anaesthesia till delivery and after delivery of the baby were significantly lower in the none treatment group at all times (p<0.05). Moreover, the number of rescue treatments and total amount of fluid given during the intraoperative period for the treatment of hypotension were more in the non-treatment group P=0.001). The APGAR scores at 1 and 5 min and postoperative vital signs were comparable between groups.
Conclusion and recommendation: The incidence of spinal anaesthesia induced hypotension was high. Prophylactic intravenous phenylephrine bolus remarkably reduced the incidence of spinal induced hypotension compared to the non-treatment group. We recommend prophylactic phenylephrine for parturients undergoing caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Moreover, other pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods need to be considered as the incidence of hypotension is still high in the treatment group.


The organic poultry production in Europe is increasing. The use of organic feed has been seen as one of the major constraint especially the protein sources, and efforts have been made to secure the future of this system. Access to outdoor area by organic chicken has been described as a means to partly compensate for their nutritional needs and the knowledge of feed items selected in the outdoor area can ease 100% transition to organic feed. An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of different feeding strategies on the foraging ability and nutrient digestibility of slow growing organic broilers with or without supplement. A total number of Seven hundred and twenty birds (RedBroja and Hubbard genotypes) have access to three different diets (Control, F1 & F2) as well as forages. The diets used were formulated such that F1 diets had a lower protein and amino acid than the standard control diet. F2 is the mixture of both control and F1 diets. A digestibility trial with 72 broilers selected from the main experiment on the outdoor area, showed that there was significant different (P<0.05) in the nitrogen retention between the treatments as higher mean values were recorded for broilers that had access to low protein diet and supplements (grass and chicory leaves). This can probably indicate that these broilers utilize the nutrient in the foraging materials as a means to partially compensate for the lower protein and amino acid contents in their diets. Moreover, broilers with access to low protein diet gained weight comparable to the control birds during the digestibility experiment, which suggest that their health and welfare are not adversely affected during this experiment. Microscopy analysis of excreta were performed to study the feed items selected by broilers and the results indicated a higher intake of plant material by broilers fed diet F1 compare to the Control. Thus, stimulating foraging activity through the use of low protein diet with slow growing genotype could be one of the strategies to achieve or ease the transition to 100% organic feed supply to organic broilers in the future.


ABSTRACT Kenya enjoys a marine coastline of about 640 km giving a total area of territorial waters of 9700 km2 while the EEZ is 142,400 km2. She further lays claim to an extended EEZ of approximately 103,320 km2 and has 13,600 km2 of inland waters. The government recognizes the potential of this maritime resource to boost the country's economic outlook and has made Blue Economy (BE) part of the economic pillar in its development blueprint. For effective development of the BE, Kenya needs, among other things, to: build human resource capacity through investing in marine education and training; boost marine scientific research; support the traditional industries of fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, blue biotechnology, ports and shipping; develop BE database; resolve outstanding boundary disputes; and reduce illegal unreported and unregulated fishing. The study posits that Kenya already has sector-wise experiences and assets as demonstrated by the numerous government institutions participating in the BE and is only lacking policy integration, coordination and coherence.


The role of the sympathetic nervous system in 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidinoxyl (tempol)-induced cardiovascular responses in urethane-anesthetized, normotensive rats was evaluated. Tempol caused dose-dependent (30-300 micromol/kg iv) decreases in renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR). Similar responses were obtained after sinoaortic denervation and cervical vagotomy. These responses were not blocked following treatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine (2.6 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1) iv for 5 min) or the alpha2-adrenergic receptor antagonist idazoxan (0.3 mg/kg iv bolus). Idazoxan blocked the effects of clonidine (10 miccrog/kg iv) on HR, MAP, and RSNA. Hexamethonium (30 mg/kg iv) inhibited RSNA, and tempol did not decrease RSNA after hexamethonium. The effects of tempol on HR and MAP were reduced by hexamethonium. In conclusion, depressor responses caused by tempol are mediated, partly, by sympathoinhibition in urethane-anesthetized, normotensive rats. Nitric oxide does not contribute to this response, and the sympathoinhibitory effect of tempol is not mediated via alpha2-adrenergic receptors. Finally, tempol directly decreases HR, which may contribute to the MAP decrease.


Abstract The main objective is to study the effects of spectral shifting in an inertial confinement system for kT/shot energy regime on the breeding performance for tritium and for high quality fissile fuel. A protective liquid droplet jet zone of 2 m thickness is used as coolant, energy carrier, and breeder. Flibe as the main constituent is mixed with increased mole-fractions of heavy metal salt (ThF4 or UF4) starting by 2 moles% up to 12 moles%. Spectrum softening within the inertial confinement system reduces the tritium production ratio (TBR) in the protective coolant to a lower level than unity. However, additional tritium production in the 6Li2DT zone of the system increases TBR to values above unity and allows a continuous operation of the power plant with a self-sustained fusion fuel supply. By modest fusion fuel burn efficiencies (40 to 60 %) and with a few mol.% of heavy metal salt in the coolant in form of ThF4 or % UF4, a satisfactory TBR of > 1.05 can be realized. In addition to that, excess fissile fuel of extremely high isotopic purity with a rate of ∼ 1000 kg/year of 233U or 239Pu can be produced. Radiation damage through atomic displacements and helium gas production after a plant operation period of 30 years is very low, namely dpa < 1 and He < 2 ppm, respectively.


Cysteine sulfonic acid (Cys-SO3H; cysteic acid) is an oxidative post-translational modification of cysteine, resulting from further oxidation from cysteine sulfinic acid (Cys-SO2H). Cysteine sulfonic acid is considered an irreversible post-translational modification, which serves as a biomarker of oxidative stress that has resulted in oxidative damage to proteins. Cysteine sulfonic acid is anionic, as a sulfonate (Cys-SO3-; cysteate), in the ionization state that is almost exclusively present at physiological pH (pKa ∼ -2). In order to understand protein structural changes that can occur upon oxidation to cysteine sulfonic acid, we analyzed its conformational preferences, using experimental methods, bioinformatics, and DFT-based computational analysis. Cysteine sulfonic acid was incorporated into model peptides for α-helix and polyproline II helix (PPII). Within peptides, oxidation of cysteine to the sulfonic acid proceeds rapidly and efficiently at room temperature in solution with methyltrioxorhenium (MeReO3) and H2O2. Peptides containing cysteine sulfonic acid were also generated on solid phase using trityl-protected cysteine and oxidation with MeReO3 and H2O2. Using methoxybenzyl (Mob)-protected cysteine, solid-phase oxidation with MeReO3 and H2O2 generated the Mob sulfone precursor to Cys-SO2- within fully synthesized peptides. These two solid-phase methods allow the synthesis of peptides containing either Cys-SO3- or Cys-SO2- in a practical manner, with no solution-phase synthesis required. Cys-SO3- had low PPII propensity for PPII propagation, despite promoting a relatively compact conformation in ϕ. In contrast, in a PPII initiation model system, Cys-SO3- promoted PPII relative to neutral Cys, with PPII initiation similar to Cys thiolate but less than Cys-SO2- or Ala. In an α-helix model system, Cys-SO3- promoted α-helix near the N-terminus, due to favorable helix dipole interactions and favorable α-helix capping via a sulfonate-amide side chain-main chain hydrogen bond. Across all peptides, the sulfonate side chain was significantly less ordered than that of the sulfinate. Analysis of Cys-SO3- in the PDB revealed a very strong propensity for local (i/i or i/i + 1) side chain-main chain sulfonate-amide hydrogen bonds for Cys-SO3-, with >80% of Cys-SO3- residues exhibiting these interactions. DFT calculations conducted to explore these conformational preferences indicated that side chain-main chain hydrogen bonds of the sulfonate with the intraresidue amide and/or with the i + 1 amide were favorable. However, hydrogen bonds to water or to amides, as well as interactions with oxophilic metals, were weaker for the sulfonate than the sulfinate, due to lower charge density on the oxygens in the sulfonate.


The multistep nature of carcinogenesis has been repeatedly demonstrated for a variety of human cancers. Concomitant mutational activation of genes that promote cellular growth (i.e., oncogenes) and inactivation of genes that normally act to restrict or otherwise regulate growth (i.e., tumor suppressor genes) are key steps leading to tumor formation. Alterations in such genes can be restricted to the site of the cancer or can be inherited, predisposing a fraction of individuals to develop certain cancers. Evidence has been by the authors and others that chromosomes 8, 10, and 16 harbor potentially novel tumor suppressor genes that are frequently altered in prostatic carcinogenesis. Deletion mapping experiments suggest that critical genes lie on the short arm of chromosome 8 (8p22) and on the long arm of chromosome 16 (16qter‐16q22). A gene in this latter area that we believe plays a critical role in determining the aggressiveness of prostate cancer is the gene for the cell‐cell adhesion molecule, E‐cadherin. Alterations of the expression of this protein or its accessory proteins, the catenins, are found in approximately one‐half of clinically localized tumors and at a higher frequency in tumors that have metastasized (or are likely to). Experimental restoration of the E‐cadherin pathway in prostate cancer cell lines results in suppression of the malignant phenotype. The authors anticipate that understanding the mechanisms by which this and other growth regulatory pathways become altered in prostate cancer will lead to better diagnostic and prognostic markers for this common disease and will possibly identify new approaches for novel therapeutic strategies. Cancer 1995;75:2004–12.


This study was conducted in Kumkale Plain of Canakkale Province. In this research, it is aimed to determine which factors the regional farmers take into consideration in their production and the costs of the products they obtain. The data of the study consisted of primary and original questionnaires provided through face-to-face interviews. The sample volume was determined by stratified sampling method and 99 questionnaires were conducted. The enterprises are ranked according to land size and divided into three layers as 1-50, 51-100, 101 decare and above. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHS) method was used to determine producer preferences as well as simple cost calculations. The criteria of the study were determined as mechanization, irrigation facilities, supply of inputs, marketing opportunities, aquaculture information, product prices, input prices and labor force. According to the results of AHS obtained from the study, wheat ranked first with 0.213 points and sunflower ranked second with 0.196 points. The remaining alternatives are paddy, tomato, corn (seed) and silage maize respectively. According to AHS results, wheat, sunflower, paddy, tomato, corn and silage maize are preferred. Product costs are calculated as follows; 0.52 TL/kg for tomatoes, 1.56 TL/kg for paddy , 1.16 TL/kg for grain corn, 0.14 TL/kg for silage maize, 0.69 TL/kg for wheat and 1.44 TL/kg for sunflower.


Classical methods of interpretation of reflection seismic data are such that interpretation and processing usually occur in the "collected" frame of reference. However, in recent times other data planes have gained increasing acceptance in seismology as a viable alternative. Through linear transformations applied to a record section, both the t—p- and p—x-planes can be produced. The r—p-domain may be obtained from the t—x-plane by a transformation known as slant stacking. Normal practice has been to do most of the data processing in the t—x-plane and then transforming to the r—p-plane. However, many of the procedures used in the t—x-domain can be modified for use in the t—p-plane to increase the coherence.

Velocity inversion may be carried out either in the r—p-domain or further transformed to the p—x-plane where the modified Herglotz-Wiechert inversion may be applied. To perform the inversion, the t—p-wavefield is converted to a p—x-representation by the use of a new linear transformation technique, the cross-stack. By a simple sampling process along a particular p—x-trajectory, the Herglotz-Wiechert method can be used to reconstruct an acceptable velocity model of the subsurface. A comparison of derived velocity structures is made between that produced by the Herglotz-Wiechert technique and that of the Dix method.


Contents: Preface Introduction: the anatomist anatomis'd 'This awful subject' 'Merit is sure of its reward': careers and courses Experimental anatomy and its sub-disciplines Human bodies: getting, keeping, picturing, publishing, arguing Animal bodies and comparative anatomy The end of old anatomy Bibliographies Index.


The Bannockburn basin map-area in the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern British Columbia is underlain by Cambrian(?) metasediments. Two folds strike NW., a tightly folded and slightly overturned anticline and, on the NE., a longitudinally faulted syncline. Reverse faults, contemporaneous with folding, were followed by a major longitudinal fault and a series of cross faults. A bed of porous quartzite in the Marsh Adams formation contains disseminated galena and minor sphalerite, forming a mineralized zone called the Shelagh vein, localized along the SW. limb and crest of the overturned anticline. The sequence of minerals, from oldest to youngest, is pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and tetrahedrite. Mineralization of the Wagner claims is localized along faults. The Bannockburn claims contain galena with some sphalerite and chalcopyrite, localized as a saddle reef in the lower member of the Mohican formation.


In the Origin of Species Darwin hypothesized that the "manufactory" of species operates at different rates in different lineages and that the richness of taxonomic units is autocorrelated across levels of the taxonomic hierarchy. We confirm the manufactory hypothesis using a database of all the world's extant avian subspecies, species and genera. The hypothesis is confirmed both in correlations across all genera and in paired comparisons controlling for phylogeny. We also find that the modern risk of extinction, as measured by "Red List" classifications, differs across the different categories of genera identified by Darwin. Specifically, species in "manufactory" genera are less likely to be threatened, endangered or recently extinct than are "weak manufactory" genera. Therefore, although Darwin used his hypothesis to investigate past evolutionary processes, we find that the hypothesis also foreshadows future changes to the evolutionary tree.


Abstract Epicenters of most of the larger earthquakes occurring off the coast of northern California and Oregon lie in two zones. One zone includes the north-facing submarine Gorda Escarpment, which extends nearly due west from Punta Gorda, and the south-facing Mendocino Escarpment as far offshore as long. 127° W. The other zone extends northwestward from the region of Cape Mendocino, indicating a linear extension of the San Andreas Rift zone as far as lat. 44° or 45° N.


The c-myc proto-oncogene is rapidly activated by serum and regulates genes involved in metabolism and cell cycle progression. This gene is thereby uniquely poised to coordinate both the metabolic and cell cycle regulatory events required for cell cycle entry. However, this function of Myc has not been evaluated. Using a rat fibroblast model of isogenic cell lines, myc-/-, myc+/-, myc+/+ and myc-/- cells with an inducible c-myc transgene (mycER), we show that the Myc protein programs cells to utilize both oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis to drive cell cycle progression. We demonstrate this coordinate regulation of metabolic networks is essential, as specific inhibitors of these pathways block Myc-induced proliferation. Metabolic events temporally correlated with cell cycle entry include increased oxygen consumption, mitochondrial function, pyruvate and lactate production, and ATP generation. Treatment of normal cells with inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation recapitulates the myc-/- phenotype, resulting in impaired cell cycle entry and reduced metabolism. Combined with a kinetic expression profiling analysis of genes linked to mitochondrial function, our study indicates that Myc's ability to coordinately regulate the mitochondrial metabolic network transcriptome is required for rapid cell cycle entry. This function of Myc may underlie the pervasive presence of Myc in many human cancers.


Background VEDOSS project relied on a specific set of inclusion criteria identifying patients in very early stage of systemic sclerosis (SSc) to be submitted to a tight follow up and unravel factors linked to the progression of the disease. The components of the ELF score (PIIINP, TIMP-1 and HA) have been shown to correlate with severity of skin and lung fibrosis in SSc. Objectives Our aim was to analyze the concentrations of ELF components in a subset of patients enrolled in the VEDOSS study and determine their potential diagnostic value. Methods Sera from 114 patients enrolled into the VEDOSS data base and 67 SSc controls fulfilling ACR/EULAR 2013 criteria (subsets: 33 diffuse; 34 limited) were obtained from 2 centres. Serum concentrations of ELF components were determined on Siemens Advia Centaur platform. Logistic regression analysis of the results was performed employing classification of SSc as state variable. Results Among the 114 patients enrolled from VEDOSS, 30 subjects had primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP); 54 had Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and at least one of the following "red flags" (risk factors) for SSc: (Puffy fingers, ANA, SSc specific autoantibodies or SSc-specific capillaroscopic pattern) without fulfilling 2013 ACR/EULAR criteria (score <9). 30 VEDOSS patients fulfilled new ACR/EULAR criteria (score >9) despite having no evidence of skin involvement nor interstitial lung disease at lung high resolution CT or pulmonary arterial hypertension, left ventricular systolic impairment or renal involvement. All serum biomarkers concentrations correlated with age (p<0.05 for all). Logistic regression analysis using the three biomarkers as variables identified a specific model (SSc score) ranging from -3.92 to 5.77. The new score showed good ability to discriminate between patients with SSc (VEDOSS patients already classified as SSc and SSc controls) versus VEDOSS patients not yet classified as SSc (AOUC under ROC curve: 0.853, 95%CI 0.797–0.910). Within the VEDOSS database, SSc score showed a fair ability to discriminate between VEDOSS patients fulfilling SSc classification criteria, despite lack of skin internal organ involvement (lung, heart and kidneys), and those not fulfilling the criteria (AOUC =0.756, 95%CI 0.646–0.865). Indeed, patients fulfilling SSc classification criteria, had average score of 0.44 vs -0.86 of patients not fulfilling the criteria and the score remained significant even after correcting for age (p=0.026). Furthermore, SSc controls had significantly higher SSc score compared to VEDOSS patients already classified as SSc, confirmed after age correction (p<0.000). No difference in SSc score has been observed between PRP and VEDOSS patients not yet classified as SSc. Conclusions Our data indicate that the SSc score is a simple serum test based model that can be used in patients with RP to aid in the very early diagnosis of SSc. Furthermore, the identification of VEDOSS patients with a high SSc score test and already classified as SSc even in the absence of internal organ involvement can be used in intervention trials aimed to prevent further disease progression. Disclosure of Interest None declared


OBJECTIVE
Despite a number of studies, the reasons for self-injurious behavior (SIB) have yet to be clearly specified. Using path analysis, we sought to test the hypothesis that exposure to adverse events produces depression and posttraumatic stress, which in turn motivate dissociation that, when at high levels, supports the use of SIB.

METHOD
A sample of 679 adults (54% female, mean age = 53 years) were recruited from the general population by a national survey company, and administered measures evaluating posttraumatic stress, depression, dissociation, and SIB.

RESULTS
A total of 4.3% of participants reported some level of SIB within the prior 6 months. Younger age, exposure to adverse events, posttraumatic stress, depression, and dissociation were all related to SIB by univariate analyses. Path analyses revealed that although adverse events predicted posttraumatic stress and depression, which were then associated with SIB, these paths to SIB were no longer significant once dissociation was entered into the model, indicating full mediation.

CONCLUSION
Rather than arising directly from posttraumatic stress or depression, SIB may occur most proximally in response to dissociation, with the pain associated with SIB potentially serving to interrupt or titrate unwanted hypoarousal and numbing. Clinicians should consider specifically targeting dissociation and its adversity-related antecedents when treating SIB. (PsycINFO Database Record


Recent state-sponsored cyber operations against private-sector entities have increasingly become prejudicial not only to the computer systems and networks of these targets, but also to the national security interests of the nations affected. While international law protects many of the state interests that go hand in hand with the national security interest, it does little to protect the immediate targets of these cybersecurity incidents, namely individuals and private-sector actors. This shared vulnerability between private-sector actors and the state has long been recognized in scholarship and practice as the problem of "reciprocal security vulnerability." This Article offers the first analysis and consideration of the reciprocal security vulnerability problem in light of a different body of law – international human rights law. This Article argues that many of the challenges arising from foreign state-sponsored cyber operations can and should be addressed through a recourse to and development of an extraterritorial application of international human rights law and the advancement of a human right to cybersecurity.


As the current government budget cuts are meaning that agencies such as (but not exclusively) criminal justice agencies are increasingly overworked, it is resulting in the need for charities and independent organisations to provide rehabilitative support for offenders (Locke, 2013). Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) are an example of one of the voluntary support systems that exist for sex offenders that return to the community after being released from prison. Due to the voluntary nature of the organisation, participation of offenders is not something which is enforced by any criminal justice agencies. Although many probation services (and parole officers in the USA) will recommend that sex offenders participate in COSA, it is a purely voluntary choice for the offender and there are no regulations put in place to ensure that offenders comply with the program. This suggests that there are factors about the offenders, the COSA program, or both which encourage legitimacy and compliance within the program. This research aims to discover what those factors are through fifteen semi-structured interviews with participants involved in COSA in Fresno, California. Through utilising Grounded Theory methods of theming and coding the interview transcripts, common factors will be discovered that may suggest the reasons behind the legitimacy and compliance of sex offenders who participate in Circles of Support and Accountability.


The reaction of R2Zn (R = Et, (t)Bu) with 3,5-diphenylpyrazole results in the formation of three structurally diverse alkylzinc pyrazolates: a novel dinuclear tetrahydrofuran solvate, an unprecedented trimeric structure, and a spiro trinuclear aggregate. Structural analysis of the resulting complexes provides a new look at the aggregation and stabilization of alkylzinc species.


Total-body levels of sodium (TBNa), chlorine (TBCl), calcium (TBCa), and potassium (TBK) were measured by neutron activation and analysis of results by whole body counting in 66 postmenopausal women. The relationship between TBNa, and TBCl, TBK, and TBCa on the one hand, and height and weight on the other, were found to compare with those previously reported. The hypothesis that TBNa and TBCl are distributed normally could not be rejected. The sodium excess (Naes) is defined as the sodium that is present in excess of that associated with the extracellular fluid (chlorine) space; the Naes approximates nonexchangeable bone sodium. In these 66 postmenopausal women, and in patients with different endocrinopathies previously described, the values of Naes did not differ from the normal values except in the thyrotoxicosis patients, where they were decreased. A close relationship between Naes and TBCa was maintained in the endocrinopathies studied. This relationship was found in conditions accompanied by either an increment or a loss of skeletal mass. It appear


The steep-spectrum radio source 4C 34.16 lies in a poor cluster of galaxies and is symmetrically bent in a wide C-shape. In order to investigate the origins of its bent shape, we have obtained X-ray, optical and radio observations of this object and its environment. Our ROSAT PSPC observation reveals the existence of substantial substructure in the intracluster gas similar to the features seen in simulations of cluster mergers. The most striking of these features is a 'wake' of X-ray emission between the radio lobes. Our data and analysis provide strong evidence that the existence of this wake is related to the mechanism responsible for the bending of the jets. Both of these phenomena can be explained by a minor merger event, in which a small infalling galaxy group or a lump of cool primordial gas has disturbed the cluster. A simple hydro dynamical description of the shape of the radio jets, which incorporates both ram pressure and buoyancy forces, places constraints on the galaxy velocity relative to the intracluster gas; we find that a galaxy velocity of ;5 300 km S-1 can account for the bending of the jets as well as explaining the density enhancement in the wake.


To improve the overall performance of time-domain synchronous (TDS) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, novel iterative decoding and channel estimation algorithm with Nordstrom-Robinson (NR) code is proposed in this paper. Compared to the non-iterative case, the system performance can be significantly improved by the proposed iterative algorithm at the cost of a little complexity and latency increase. Simulation results show that, for example, with maximum Doppler spread of 25 Hz under two typical multipath channels at bit error rate (BER) of 10-4, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) performance of the proposed iterative algorithm is only 0.2 to 0.3 dB away from the ideal case, and about 1 dB or more better than the non-iterative one.


Throughout 2006-2007 the FCC conducted six public hearings across the United States as part of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking procedure, brought about by the court's annulment of the media ownership rules enacted by the FCC in 2003. These hearings - the first of their kind in scope and quantity - drew the attention of the media, public interest groups and the public. In this study, the news reports of the hearings broadcast by the big four network affiliates (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Tampa, Florida, between February and April 2007 are critiqued using a critical framing analysis. The researchers attended the hearings and studied 40.5 hours of televised coverage (72 newscasts), and transcripts of 18 additional newscasts, broadcast right before, during and immediately after the hearings, revealing 22 segments in which the hearings were discussed. Two frames emerged from the analysis: a first-level agenda setting frame that claimed that the hearings were unimportant and a second-level agenda setting frame that suggested that media consolidation is not a problem. Taking into account that all eight affiliates assessed by this study are owned by consolidated media conglomerates, the findings of this study imply that maintaining broadcasters independent of consolidated media serves the diversity of viewpoints in a market, especially regarding issues in which media conglomerates have an invested interest.


Background: Nutrigenetics indicates that individual genetic variability results in altered health outcomes necessitating personalized nutrition adaptation. Registered dietitians are recognized as the clinical nutrition experts, but their knowledge and attitudes regarding nutrigenetics has not been delineated. Methods: This cross sectional online survey was conducted in a convenience sample of 169 national nutrition conference attendees. The survey queried demographics, knowledge, and attitudes towards nutrigenetics and information on training in nutrigenetics. Results: The majority of participants were registered dietitians and female, 45% of whom held advanced degrees. Personalized nutrition was perceived by 93.5% of participants as highly important or important; however, 94% of respondents indicated they are not sufficiently knowledgeable in personalized nutrition and only 9.5% had received training in nutrigenetics. The mean nutrigenetics knowledge score was 6.89 ± 1.67 (out of a possible 12). A multivariate regression model of knowledge score identified education as the only independent predictor of this outcome. Conclusion: Personalized nutrition is a rapidly developing field that incorporates genetic data into clinical practice. Dietitians recognize the importance of advanced studies to acquire knowledge in nutrigenetics. Only by acquiring the necessary knowledge can dietitians accurately translate this nutrigenetics into clinical practice.


This paper proposes a new H-infinity quadratic tracking control (QTC) algorithm in linear discrete-time systems. This algorithm is a counterpart of the H-infinity QTC algorithm in linear continuous-time systems based on the integral equation approach. The discrete-time state equation in this paper has the control and exogenous inputs. Theorem 1 shows that the control and exogenous inputs in the H-infinity linear QTC problem are given by solving the two-point boundary value problem (TPBVP). Based on the TPBVP, Theorem 2 presents the H-infinity linear QTC algorithm for the control and exogenous inputs. The inputs use the information of two functions, which are calculated in the reverse direction of time from their terminal conditions. The control and exogenous inputs use the information of the state. The state observer uses the output of the system to estimate the state. A numerical simulation example shows the tracking control characteristics of the output estimate to the desired value and the characteristics of the estimates of the control and exogenous inputs. For the infinite value of the constant disturbance attenuation level γ, the proposed H-infinity linear QTC algorithm reduces to the linear QTC algorithm. The problem that can be solved for the minimum value of γ is the H-infinity linear QTC problem. For smaller value than the minimum value of γ, the H-infinity linear QTC algorithm diverges.


I demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, regions of negative energy density can undergo gravitational collapse into a black hole. The resultant exterior black hole spacetimes necessarily have negative mass and non-trivial topology. A full theory of quantum gravity, in which topology-changing processes take place, could give rise to such spacetimes.


In this study, we sought to understand which protective factors Black doctoral students from predominantly White institutions (PWI) utilized to persist in their counseling psychology doctoral programs. Past research has examined the potential obstacles these students encounter and the importance of the mentor relationship in the doctoral process. In this study, we sought to explore the factors that motivate Black doctoral students to complete their respective programs, as well as important features in their relationship with their advisor. There were four males and three females with ages ranging from 22 – 41 (M = 27.57 and SD = 6.63) from various counseling psychology programs throughout the country. Within the constructivist-interpretivist research paradigm, interviews were conducted via Skype and analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The study's findings illuminate important factors that are significant in creating diverse and inclusive educational environments that will allow for more marginalized groups to contribute to the field of psychology at the doctoral level.


Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is one of the many causes of the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis, which can subsequently promote the uptake of oxLDL by macrophages and lead to inflammation in the blood vessels. In the present study, we evaluated the protective effects of ghrelin on oxLDL-induced RAW264.7 mouse macrophages. Ghrelin was able to inhibit the release of several pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6. In addition, ghrelin also inhibited the expression of Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) in oxLDL treated macrophages. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ghrelin could inhibit the expression of p-IκBα, and the inhibitory effects could be blocked by BAY 117082. Taken together, ghrelin possesses anti-inflammatory effects on oxLDL-induced inflammation in macrophages, suggesting that it can prevent or treat atherosclerosis, and deserves to be further studied and developed to be potent drug for treating atherosclerosis.


Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a rare immunodeficiency X-linked genetic disorder. It is often featured with a clinical triad of thrombocytopenia with low mean platelet volume, eczematoid dermatitis and recurrent infections. The clinical manifestation of WAS, depending on the underlying variant, shows wide heterogeneity. We present a case of a 10-month-old boy who came in with a history of recurrent fever, skin lesions since birth and episodes of bloody diarrhoea. He had severe anaemia and thrombocytopenia (with normal mean platelet volume). Genetic analysis revealed the patient to be hemizygous for a pathogenic WAS gene splice variant (NM_000377.2:c.360+1G>A). He was managed with supportive treatment and regular follow up, but died 4 months later. As it is a rare genetic disease, the diagnosis of WAS can easily be missed, especially in settings with scarce healthcare resources that do not have easy access to genetic testing. Thus, a high index of suspicion is needed when a male child presents with recurrent infections and bleeding tendencies. Plain language summary Management challenges of a rare genetic disorder in a resource-limited country: a case report of Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome in Tanzania Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a rare inherited disease that mainly affects boys. Patients will typically present with low levels of a single line of little particles of cells that clot the blood called platelets, whole-body skin rashes and recurrent infections. Nevertheless, the clinical presentation can vary between individuals. We present a case of a 10-month-old boy who came in with a history of recurrent fever, skin rash since birth and episodes of bloody diarrhoea. He had very low levels of red blood cells and platelets. Genetic analysis confirmed the patient to have WAS. He was managed with supportive treatment, followed up on a regular clinic but unfortunately died 4 months later. Being a rare genetic disease, the diagnosis of WAS can easily be missed, especially in regions with scarce healthcare resources that do not have easy access to genetic testing. Thus, doctors should suspect WAS in boys presenting with recurrent infections and bleeding problems.


Radial profiles of ion temperature and plasma flow are measured at the n/m = 1/1 magnetic island produced by external perturbation coils in the Large Helical Device. The sheared poloidal flows and sheared radial electric field are observed at the boundaries of the magnetic island, because the poloidal flow vanishes inside the static magnetic island. When the width of the magnetic island becomes large, the flow along the magnetic flux surface inside the magnetic island appears around the O point in the direction which reduces the shear of the poloidal flow at the boundary of the magnetic island.


ABSTRACT Liu Guojun was a Chinese capitalist who owned textile mills in Republican China. During the war against Japan, his enterprises survived in several cities while he wrote essays about the prospects of China's economic recovery. He developed a fine sense of the post-war world economy and participated in discussions about China's economic development. In 1949 he decided to stay in the People's Republic of China, continuing with his work in the textile business and entering the political administration of Jiangsu and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. During this transitional period, he wrote an economic plan for the development of China's textile industry, specifying how this industry should nurture other economic sectors and help to improve both the standards of living and the education of the Chinese people. This article aims to discuss China's late economic development through Liu Guojun's publications and writings that have recently been available to scholars. The article suggests that Liu Guojun anticipated some key factors that drove China's economic reform to succeed in 1978, such as the importance of light industries, given the resource endowments of the country and the situation of the post-war economic recovery.


A randomized clinical trial was utilized to compare the improvement of depression and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels between community women with and without music aerobic exercise (MAE) for 12 weeks. The MAE group involved 47 eligible participants, whereas the comparison group had 59 participants. No significant differences were recorded in the demographic characteristics between the participants in the MAE group and the comparison group. Forty-one participants in the MAE group and 26 in the comparison group completed a pre- and posttest. The MAE group displayed significant improvement in depression scores (p = 0.016), decreased depression symptoms in crying (p = 0.03), appetite (p = 0.006), and fatigue (p = 0.011). The BDNF levels of the participants significantly increased after the 12-week MAE (p = 0.042). The parallel comparison group revealed no significant changes in depression scores or BDNF levels. In summary, the 12-week MAE had a significant impact on the enhancement of BDNF levels and improvement of depression symptoms. Middle-aged community women are encouraged to exercise moderately to improve their depression symptoms and BDNF levels.


Typical attempts to improve the capability of visual place recognition techniques include the use of multi-sensor fusion and the integration of information over time from image sequences. These approaches can improve performance but have disadvantages, including the need for multiple physical sensors and calibration processes, both for multiple sensors and for tuning the image matching sequence length. In this letter, we address these shortcomings with a novel "multi-sensor" fusion approach applied to multiple image processing methods for a single visual image stream, combined with a dynamic sequence matching length technique and an automatic weighting scheme. In contrast to conventional single method approaches, our approach reduces the performance requirements of a single image processing methodology, instead requiring that within the suite of image processing methods, at least one performs well in any particular environment. In comparison to static sequence length techniques, the dynamic sequence matching technique enables reduced localization latencies through analysis of recognition quality metrics when re-entering familiar locations. We evaluate our approach on multiple challenging benchmark datasets, achieving superior performance to two state-of-the-art visual place recognition systems across environmental changes including winter to summer, afternoon to morning, and night to day. Across the four benchmark datasets our proposed approach achieves an average F1 score of 0.95, compared to 0.87 for NetVLAD and 0.46 for SeqSLAM. We provide source code for the multi-fusion method and present analysis explaining how superior performance is achieved despite the multiple, disparate, image processing methods all being applied to a single source of imagery, rather than to multiple separate sensors.


Intrusion detection systems (IDS) are increasingly a key part of system defense, often operating under a high level of privilege to achieve their purposes. Therefore, the ability of an IDS to withstand attack is important in a production system. In this paper, we address the issue of survivable IDS. We begin by categorizing potential vulnerabilities in a generic IDS and classifying methods used to enhance IDS survivability. We then propose an efficient fault tolerance based Survivable IDS (SIDS) along with a systematic way to transform an original IDS architecture into this survivable architecture. Key components of SIDS include: a dual-functionality forward-ahead (DFFA) structure, backup communication paths, component recycling, system reconfiguration, and an anomaly detector. Use of the SIDS transformation should result in an improvement in IDS survivability at low cost.


This paper presents a low-power current reuse LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with low phase noise and balanced differential outputs. A detailed analysis on different current control schemes, including various biasing techniques and the switching active core technique is conducted. A new current reuse VCO with novel current control scheme is proposed to achieve optimal phase noise and well balanced differential outputs at less power consumption. The proposed 5GHz VCO, simulated in a 0.18μm CMOS process, exhibits a phase noise of −117.7dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset while drawing only 0.88 mA current from a 1.2 V supply.


We present a methodology for computing photocurrent production in molecular semiconducting molecules. Our model combines a single-configuration interaction picture with the Schwinger-Keldysh non-equilibrium Greens function approach to compute the current response of a molecular semi-conducting wire following excitation. We give detailed analysis of the essential excitonic, charge-transfer, and dipole states for poly-(phenylenevinylene) chains of length 32 and 48 repeat units under an electric field bias and use this to develop a reduced dimensional tunneling model which accounts for chain-length and field-dependent behavior.


Two recent Phase II results show opposing outcomes for the potential of activators of mGlu2 in the treatment of schizophrenia. The first outcome revealed that Eli Lilly's mGlu2/3 agonist, pomaglumetad methionil (LY2140023), failed to meet the primary efficacy end point. The second report showed the mGlu2 positive allosteric modulator (PAM) from Addex (ADX71149) in conjunction with Janssen Research & Development met the primary objectives of safety, tolerability and demonstrated an effect on negative symptoms in patients.


This paper presents simulations on InGaN-AlGaN and ZnCdSe-ZnMgSSe quantum wire lasers having excitonic transitions. We have found that the threshold current density (Jth) in a quantum wire laser is almost temperature independent when exciton binding energies are in the range of 30-50 meV. This behavior is like quantum dot lasers having free carrier transitions.


We have investigated the improvement in the phase noise of a 10 GHz optoelectronic oscillator using all-photonic gain as compared to using an electronic amplifier in the cavity. The optoelectronic oscillator achieves the necessary RF gain for oscillation by using the carrier-suppression technique of a low-biased Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) followed by optical amplification. The measured RF gain due to this all-photonic technique is as high as 15 dB and matches well with theoretical predictions. The phase noise of the generated 10 GHz signal is at least 10 dB lower than the signal from the same oscillator using an electronic amplifier. The improvement in the phase noise is due to the lower RF noise figure of the all-photonic gain process as compared to the electronic amplifier configuration.


In modern economic and industrial realities, agricultural lands are often located next to industrial areas, which leads to soil contamination and, as a result, agricultural products with pollutants. Pollution of soils and plants by several pollutants of various nature has acquired huge proportions. There is a threat of migration of dangerous ecotoxicants, including heavy metals and benz[a]pyrene, one of the main persistent compounds, a marker of PAH soil contamination, along trophic chains that may be dangerous to public health. This study examines the use of various types of mineral sorbents (Tripoli, Brown coal, Diatomite) and mineral sorbents (Biochar, Granular activated coal) to reduce the toxic effects of pollutants on the sources of anthropogenic emissions of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adjacent to the sources. Using scanning electron microscopy, it was found that the sorbents have a high specific surface area. With the help of phytotesting in combined contaminated soils, the optimal dose of sorbent administration was determined at the level of 1% and 2% for various pollution variants. In addition, the analyzed sorbents are ordered by the effect of reducing the phytotoxicity of combined soil pollution. It was found that the introduction of sorbents into contaminated soil contributed to an increase in the morphometric parameters of the test culture - barley (Hordeum sativum distichum), which confirms the effectiveness of the sorption remediation of jointly contaminated soils with heavy metals and benz(a)pyrene.


This article is aimed at elaborating the challenge of Islamic studies in the universities of contemporary Muslim worlds and its proposed solution. This delves at the outset the Muslim intellectual tradition in the past where Muslim established their own discipline of knowledge and subsequently assimilated some concepts and theories from other civilizations. However, unlike Muslim intellectual in the past, the contemporary Muslims intellectual adopted different concepts, theories and approaches in the field of Islamic studies and modern sciences from foreign civilization without prior process of assimilation. As a result, Muslim minds are confused whether they have to employ foreign concepts and theories or hold the concepts and theories from Islamic intellectual tradition. In this predicament the researcher proposed two steps: first is that Muslims intellectual in the Islamic universities should develop Islamic studies in response to the contemporary challenge by re-conceptualizing key concepts of various field of Islamic studies. Second, Muslim intellectual should work on the process of assimilation or Islamization of modern sciences by criticizing, selecting, adapting, remolding and refining foreign concepts incompatible with Islam to form Muslim own discipline of knowledge.


Objective: To study relative preponderance of critical obstetrical emergencies with various maternal factor like quality of antenatal care during pregnancy, regular antenatal checkup during pregnancy, socioeconomic status, education and area wise distribution and to study the contribution of each emergency to maternal mortality and morbidity and fetal outcome.
Methods: The present study was conducted on a prospective basis for one year, from 1st Feb 2011 to 31st Jan 2012 in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Govt. Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.
All the cases referred as critical emergency from nearby areas during their antenatal period or within 42 days of delivery were included in the study. A detailed history including age, parity, gestational age, antenatal care during pregnancy, socioeconomic status, obstetrical history, medical or surgical disorders was taken into account.
Attention was paid on the management received by each case including blood transfusion, surgical interventions, ICU admission etc.
Results: Total deliveries during this period were 2223. Total obstetric emergencies came out to be 252. Thus the incidence of obstetric emergencies came out to be 11.3%. Various obstetric emergencies that were encountered – Hemorrhage (47.97%), Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (35.32%), obstructed labor (12.3%), P. sepsis (3.18%), Rupture uterus (2.78%). Maternal mortality came out to be 8.8% Hemorrhage was leading cause of death in 36.36% cases followed by P. sepsis (13.64%), Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (13.64%), Rupture uterus (9.09%). There were 70.2% Live births and 29.8% still births.
Conclusions: It was concluded that obstetric emergencies are more common in unbooked cases and women with low socioeconomic status with poor access to antenatal care


Metastatic choroidal carcinoma is rare and generally has a poor prognosis. The present case report describes a case of choroidal metastasis from distal cholangiocarcinoma, which was successfully managed using stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). A 67-year-old Japanese man underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for distal cholangiocarcinoma. The pathological stage was T2N0M0 stage IIA, according to the Union for International Cancer Control 8th edition. After surgery, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy with oral TS-1® for 1 month. A total of 2 months after surgery, the patient was readmitted to hospital due to decreased visual acuity. Fundoscopy revealed a macular hole in the right eye that accounted for the decreased visual acuity. Additionally, Goldmann three-mirror contact lens examination revealed a 4-mm choroidal mass with a yellowish color situated at a considerable distance from the optic nerve. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enhanced choroidal mass. Based on the findings of ophthalmologic examinations and the patient's history of cholangiocarcinoma, they were diagnosed with choroidal metastasis from distal cholangiocarcinoma. SRT was administered at a total dose of 40 Gy divided into 8 Gy fractions. A total of 1 year after SRT, the patient achieved complete remission without decreased visual acuity. The patient remains alive and in good health without recurrence, 4 years after the diagnosis of choroidal metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case of intraocular metastasis from cholangiocarcinoma. In conclusion, SRT may provide an opportunity to control metastatic choroidal carcinoma without decreasing visual acuity.


The article considers innovative directions of development of forest and agricultural machinery with intelligent control systems. The kinematics is considered on the example of a harvester with a multi-link manipulator and walking running equipment. Systems of equations describing the spatial position of working and running equipment with a large number of degrees of freedom are presented. The assessment of existing problems and development prospects is given.


A planned groundwater storage project for future drought relief has been assessed in the Fenner Gap area of the Fenner, Cadiz, and Bristol watershed region of southeastern California. Questions regarding the source and age of groundwater beneath the proposed project area were resolved using natural isotope abundances measured at LLNL. The report presents data, briefly summarizes conclusions of that data, and records correspondence with the sponsor Geosciences Support Services Inc.


Oceanic mesoscale plays a key role in modulating large-scale circulation, heat fluxes and primary production enhancement. Such hydrodynamic processes are also crucial at regional scales where the associated currents are known to significantly influence water-mass mixing and exchanges between the coastal zone and the open ocean. Nevertheless, the characterization of coastal mesoscale dynamics from along-track altimetric observations is complicated from a technical and algorithmic point of view and thus requires continuous developments (refer to the CTOH-XTRACK processor, PISTACH and COASTALT initiatives). Moreover, the high spatial/temporal variability and complexity associated with coastal mesoscale processes make them difficult to be studied with sparse in-situ observations and highly-smoothed standard altimetric products which lack the high resolution often required to correctly represent regional features. Alternative options rely on generating satellite altimetric maps specifically adapted to the coastal domain and also on developing methodologies based on the fusion of multi-sensor platforms in conjunction with numerical simulations. In this respect, optimal interpolation methods for improving the coastal circulation description have been developed over the North Western Mediterranean Sea (NWM), an area marked by a relatively low signal to noise ratio compared to the global ocean. We have also used vertical Empirical Orthogonal Functions (from a numerical model and in-situ measurements) in order to rebuild realistic coastal geostrophic currents both at surface and throughout the water column. Our approach characterizes the main coastal mesoscale features which can be confirmed by comparison with several independent in-situ measurements done by the MIO and IMEDEA laboratories (drifters, ADCP, gliders...). In particular, the developed methods are able to improve the accuracy of surface geostrophic current compared to standard AVISO product. Even better results can be obtained when complementary geophysical information (from bathymetry, sea surface temperature, tide gauges) are integrated in the optimal interpolation scheme. The high resolution 3D currents were then coupled with a Lagrangian code to simulate particle trajectories and therefore better interpret the influence of coastal mesoscale circulation on 3D exchanges between the Gulf of Lion continental shelf and the NWM open sea. Finally, the long-term statistical analysis (> 10 years) of these current fields was exploited to better characterize potential inter-annual changes in the coastal mesoscale activity of the NWM.


Thirty-three patients with desmoid tumors were treated from 1 January 1970 through 31 December 1983 at the University Hospital in Basel. Twenty-nine patients were treated primarily by surgery in an attempt to cure. Sixty percent of these patients (17 of 29) suffered a subsequent recurrence. Of these 17 patients, 12 were treated with radiotherapy after a second operation. As a result, the recurrence rate was reduced to 25% (3 of 12). Following the initial tumor resection, 4 patients were treated by radiotherapy in an effort to cure. All 4 patients remain free of recurrence, with a median follow-up time of 56 months. The postoperative recurrence rate is dependent on age. No recurrences were observed in patients older than 40. In the younger patients, an increasing recurrence rate was observed the younger the patient. Radiotherapy can contribute to improved prognosis for desmoid tumors under the following circumstances: (1) when the tumor cannot be resected with histologically clear margins, or when resection margins are questionable; (2) when the patient is 30 years old or younger; (3) when the tumor is inoperable, or resectable only by means of a mutilating operation. For patients between 30 and 40 years of age, the question of postoperative radiotherapy should be discussed with the radiation oncologist, even following a microscopically complete resection.


Ever since the enactment of the Dutreil Act on August 2, 2005, France's commercial practices oversight committee (the CEPC) has, each year, prepared a report for the French Government and…


paper presents a declarative approach to the debugging of object-oriented programs and illustrates the methodology through an extension of a novel interactive visualization system for Java developed in our previous research. Unlike traditional "procedural" debugging, we use the term "declarative debugging" to refer to a flexible set of queries on individual execution states and also over the entire history of execution (or portion of the history). Examples include queries to find all values assigned to a variable over its life-time; which variable has a certain value; the calling sequence that results in a certain outcome; whether a certain statement was executed; etc. These queries were arrived at by a systematic study of errors in object- oriented programs in our previous research. Our proposed system, JavaDD, maintains the execution history as a relational database of salient events, such as method call/return, thread start/end, variable assignment, etc. An important property of our approach is that these queries can be posed interactively (at any step of execution), and there is no need to develop a compiler to instrument the source code, as in related research projects. Furthermore, we also sketch a visual interface so that both queries and answers can be composed using inituitive object and sequence diagrams. We believe such an approach is a significant contribution to the art of program debugging. We present the architecture of JavaDD, a detailed catalog of our queries and their translation, and several examples illustrating the approach. We also compare our approach related research efforts in the area of query-based analysis of object-oriented programs.


Music is ubiquitous in contemporary societies, and criminologists are paying increasing attention to it, asserting that it takes antisocial, prosocial and anti-establishment forms regarding criminality. Established approaches provide vital ways to understand the relationship of music and crime, but criminologists have yet to theorise the fluidity of music's roles for those who have committed criminalised acts. The life-story interviews we conducted with prisoners in Latin America reveal that music's role in people's lives changes over the course of their lives in complex ways. It also frames and influences the way they talk about their own histories. Informed by repeat interviews with four prisoners, we suggest including the concepts of life courses and life stories to facilitate understanding the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the relationship between crime and music. We also demonstrate and discuss how life courses and life stories are intertwined.


This paper introduces a comprehensive information system for supporting maritime traffic and commerce and explores the information systems related research opportunities associated with this system. The paper begins by reviewing the existing dominant technologies deployed in the maritime environment: VHF Radio, Radar and GPS. Next, the paper describes a comprehensive system called the Automated Identification Systems (AIS) that is being proposed by the maritime industry, military, government, and The International Maritime Organization. A deployment scenario highlights how such a system could have unintended consequences if not carefully designed and deployed. The paper concludes by briefly examining several information systems related research opportunities surrounding the design and deployment of the AIS. Given that little research is leading the design and deployment of the AIS, and given the critical role the worldwide maritime industry plays in commerce, this paper provides a foundation for others to begin the examination of this important area.


Respiratory transmission by airborne droplets is the leading mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 spreads. Motivated by the pressing need to understand this spread, we formulate a model of the dynamics of respiratory saliva droplets, quantifying the relative contribution of key factors to the airborne lifetime of virus-carrying droplets. We consider a simple momentum balance to calculate the spread of respiratory droplets, accounting for their size evolution as they undergo vaporisation via mass and energy balances. The model shows how an increase in relative humidity leads to larger descent rates, which shorten the lifetime of droplets and therefore reduce the risk of transmission. Emulating indoor air turbulence using a stochastic process, we numerically calculate probability distributions for the lifetime of droplets, showing how an increase in the air turbulent velocity significantly enhances the range of lifetimes. The distributions reveal non-negligible probabilities for very long lifetimes, which potentially escalate the risk of transmission. The droplet model may be coupled with more detailed models for the air flow to study the lifetime and spread of saliva droplets in specific spaces.


Four stable murine hybridoma clones producing homogeneous antibodies against pig heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase have been established. All antibodies exhibit specific binding to F1-ATPase. Three of them interact with the beta subunit and one binds strongly to the alpha and barely to the beta subunit. All of them exhibit linear Scatchard plots and high binding affinities, with dissociation constants between 4.7 X 10(-8) M and 6.5 X 10(-10) M. The minimal number of moles of IgG bound at saturation per mole of immobilized F1-ATPase is 2.2 for the anti-alpha-subunit antibody and 2.5 for one anti-beta-subunit antibody. This suggests that more than two copies of the alpha and beta subunits are present in the enzyme. Two antibodies seem to recognize F1-ATPase equally before or after denaturation with sodium dodecyl sulfate. The two other antibodies exhibited a much higher affinity for the nondissociated enzyme, indicating that they are very sensitive to a specific conformation of the enzyme.


This case report is about an unusual subtype of renal cell carcinoma with distinct morphological pattern in a 24-year-old female patient with tuberous sclerosis complex. She presented with pain in the left flank and an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) upper abdomen showed a solid cystic lesion in the interpolar region of left kidney, measuring 2.8×2.8×2.8 cm. She underwent partial nephrectomy which revealed a solid cystic tumour. Microscopically, the tumour was composed of long branching tubules lined by cells with voluminous clear/ vacuolated cytoplasm. A prominent fibromyomatous stroma was seen focally, separating the tumour into nodular aggregates. Tumour cells were positive for Cytokeratin 7 (CK7) on immunohistochemical study. These features were consistent with renal cell carcinoma with leiomyomatous stroma. Genetic study showed a heterozygous nonsense variation in Tuberous Sclerosis 1 (TSC1), gene, diagnostic of tuberous sclerosis. This report exemplifies the pivotal role pathologists play in the initial identification of certain hereditary cancer syndrome. The distinct morphology and immunohistochemical profile of the tumour is described.


This thesis treats elastic wave scattering by cracks with interfacial forces. The results are of practical interest in ultrasonic testing and includes development of numerical methods used to predict such testing. First the canonical problem of two-dimensional (2-D) diffraction from a semi-infinite crack is solved. The boundary conditions on the crack are the distributed spring boundary conditions. The solution includes integral transform techniques and scalar Wiener-Hopf calculations. Both the geometrical elastodynamic and the edge diffracted body waves are computed, the latter as high frequency approximations expressed in terms of diffraction coefficients. Similarly the diffraction coefficients for body-to-surface and surface-to-body waves are computed. Some of the quantities entering the solution are calculated numerically. The 2-D diffraction coefficients for the distributed spring boundary conditions are implemented in the program PEDGE, which is a part of a program package from Nuclear Electric (Manchester, UK), formerly Central Electricity Generating Board. Several numerical calculations are performed for different realistic testing situations of finite, smooth and planar cracks. The boundary conditions allow a wide range of crack types and in particular a crack partially closed by a static background pressure is studied. A numerical comparison for the 2-D horizontally polarized transverse scattering is made for a planar and a nonplanar crack. Here a numerical exact solution for the 2-D scattering problem is obtained by use of the null field approach. The development of the null field solution also shows the importance of using the correct edge conditions. The Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD) solution includes a multiply diffracted field, due to the interaction between the two cracktips, and this multiply diffracted field is shown to be of great importance. Generally the GTD solution yields accurate results even for quite low frequencies. In the last part of the thesis the full three-dimensional (3-D) scattering problem of a plane wave from a semi-infinite crack with spring boundary conditions is solved. As in the corresponding 2-D calculation the solution is expressed as a high frequency approximation in terms of diffraction coefficients. The calculations involve matrix Wiener-Hopf techniques. Numerical examples are given.


An improved framework for the quasi-particle model is presented. Unlike the previous approach of establishing the quasi-particle model, we introduce a classical background field (it is allowed to depend on temperature) to deal with the infinity of thermal vacuum energy which exists in previous quasi-particle models. After taking into account the effect of this classical background field, the partition function of the quasi-particle system can be well defined. Based on this and following the standard ensemble theory, we construct a thermodynamically consistent quasi-particle model without the need to reformulate the statistical mechanics or the thermodynamic consistency relation. It is shown that our method is general and can be generalized to the case in which the effective mass depends not only on the temperature but also on the chemical potential.


The complete and incomplete aggregation-annihilation processes are investigated with the method of generating function, and the scale exponents are obtained exactly. We find that the scale exponents of incomplete aggregation-annihilation process are different from the previous exponents obtained by different methods. The time dependence of the total number of clusters and the total mass of clusters are analytically obtained.


In this paper, we investigated the scintillation properties of LuI3:Ce3+. Radioluminescence, light output, energy resolution, and ?-scintillation decay are reported. We find an extremely high light output of 98?000±10?000?photons/MeV. LuI3:Ce3+ also gives a very high electron-hole (e-h) pair response when it is coupled with an avalanche photodiode (APD) (92?000±9000?e?h?pairs?MeV). With an APD, a best energy resolution (full width at half maximum over the peak position) of 3.3%±0.3% for 662?keV ? quanta is observed. A combination of an extremely high light output and a good energy resolution makes LuI3:Ce3+ an ideal scintillator for radiation sensor applications. Some drawbacks due to the hygroscopicity and the difficult growth of LuI3:Ce3+ crystals are also discussed.


The mean size of seeds produced by plants at the equator is two to three orders of magnitude higher than the mean size of seeds produced by plants at 60°. We compiled data from the literature to assess the possibility that this latitudinal gradient in seed size allows species to cope with more difficult seedling establishment conditions in tropical environments. We found no relationship between latitude and seedling survival through 1 week (P = 0.27, n = 112 species). There was also no evidence that a larger seed mass is required to gain a given level of seedling survival in tropical environments (P = 0.37, n = 112 species), and no relationship between latitude and the duration of the juvenile period (P = 0.57, n = 132 species). Thus, our results are not compatible with the idea that seedling establishment is more difficult in the tropics.


In this study, a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) system for the detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies, related to TORCH [(T)oxoplasmosis, (O)ther agents, (R)ubella (also known as German Measles), (C)ytomegalovirus, and (H)erpes simplex virus infections], based on gold magnetic nanoparticles, was established. Following modification with poly(methacrylic acid), the gold magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with an anti‑human IgM antibody (μ‑chain specific) to construct a probe. A lateral flow assay device was constructed based on these conjugates. IgM antibodies to four types of pathogens, notably toxoplasmosis, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus type 2, were detected using this device. Compared with commercial colloidal gold‑based LFIA strips, our method exhibited higher sensitivity. No interference with triglycerides, hemoglobin and bilirubin occurred, and no cross‑reactivity was noted among the four pathogens. The gold magnetic nanoparticle‑LFIA strips were used to assess 41 seropositive and 121 seronegative serum samples. The sensitivity was 100% (162/162) and the specificity was 100% (162/162). This method cannot only be used for the detection of TORCH IgM-specific antibodies, but it can potentially be developed for use in the diagnosis of other acute or recently identified autoimmune diseases.


Abstract Prediction of tread wear from laboratory tests can be a valuable guide in the development of improved carbon blacks and controlling the quality of normal production. We have developed two tests which give good correlation with actual road wear data on over 100 experimental blacks. One test involves running Akron angle abrasion on a compound with only 30 phr of carbon black where differences in abrasion resistance are magnified. The other test measures surface activity towards the polymer by determining bound rubber content of a heat‐treated nonproductive mix. By using both tests together, tread wear ratings of blacks used in this study could be predicted almost as well as by a single, controlled, multisectional road test with five tires run for 8000–10,000 miles.


Mountains are the water towers of the world, particularly in Asia, where rivers all are fed from the Tibetan plateau
and adjacent mountain ranges. In this area, referred to as the Third Pole, snow and glacial melt are important hydrologic
processes, such that climate change is expected to seriously affect melt characteristics and related runoff.
The Third Pole provides water resources to nearly two billion people in Asia. However, uncertainty about key hydrological
processes at high altitudes generally precludes the assessment of the potential impact of climate change
on runoff. First we review recent geodetic and direct mass balances measurement of glaciers and we compare
observations to a regional scale analysis of corrected mass balance anomalies based on gravitation measurements
derived from the GRACE satellite. We then assess the state of the art in modeling the impacts of climate change
on the water resources of the Third Pole at different scales. Our analysis first shows the regional differentiation in
the importance of snow and glacial melt water to total runoff and how this may potentially change in the future
for five major Asian river basins. For this analysis we use a lumped degree day factor hydrological model that we
force using remote sensing data on snow cover and precipitation and which is calibrated using observed discharge
data . We then focus on a number of smaller benchmark glaciated catchments that cover all climatic zone of the
Third Pole. Using a model that explicitly simulates glacier movement in combination with major hydrological processes
at a high spatial resolution, we show the diversified response of glaciated catchment to climate change and
test whether this response is related to the west-east gradient in climate. We conclude by formulating the future
research challenges and major uncertainties related to hydrological modeling on the Third Pole.


The article is devoted to an attempt to develop and assess a measure of honesty as a personality trait. An approach to description of honesty in the framework of ethics is described as well the views on honesty and the related concepts in Russian and foreign psychology and psychodiagnostics. Since this phenomenon is not thoroughly investigated, the author has made an attempt to describe this trait through experimental identification of criteria of honesty and dishonesty (that is those characteristics and traits which are inherent to honest and dishonest individuals). The contents of the measure for assessment of personal readiness to honest or dishonest behavior are developed on the basis on the revealed criteria. Two parts of the measure that represent projective stimulus material were tested (choice of aphorisms and choice of proverbs). The results prove the existence of their significant relations with validation scales.


Photoacoustic Tomography is an emerging imaging technology mainly for medical and biological applications. A sample is illuminated by a short laser pulse. Depending on the optical properties the electromagnetic radiation is distributed and absorbed. Thereby local temperature increase generates thermal expansion and broadband ultrasonic signals, also called photoacoustic signals. Unlike conventional ultrasound in photoacoustic imaging the contrast depends on the optical properties of the sample which provides not only morphologic information but also functional information. This way photoacoustic imaging combines the advantages of optical imaging (high contrast) and ultrasonic imaging (high spatial resolution) and is particularly suited for medical applications like mammography or skin cancer detection. Our group uses integrating line detectors instead of ultrasonic point receivers. Line detectors integrate the pressure along one dimension whereby the 3D problem is reduced to a 2D problem and enables a tomography setup that requires only a single axis of rotation. Implementations of line detectors use optical interferometers, e.g. a Fabry-Perot interferometer or a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. We use free-beam interferometers as well as fiber-based interferometers for collecting photoacoustic signals. The latter are somewhat easier to handle because they require fewer optical components. Finally, the advantages of optical detection methods over piezoelectric detection methods are the better frequency response and the resistance against electrical interference from the environment. First measurements on phantoms and image reconstruction using a time reversal method demonstrated the capability of integrating line detectors for collecting broadband ultrasonic signals for photoacoustic tomography.


The theory of term rewriting systems has important applications in abstract data type specifications and functional programming languages. We begin here a study of properties of systems that are not necessarily terminating, but allow for infinite derivations that have a limit. In particular, we give conditions for the existence of a limit and for its uniqueness.


PURPOSE
The CivaSheet is a new LDR Pd-103 brachytherapy device offering directional-radiation for preferentially irradiating malignancies with healthy-tissue sparing. Observations are presented on dosimetric characterization, TPS commissioning, and evaluation of the dosesuperposition- principle for summing individual elements comprising a planar CivaSheet METHODS: The CivaSheet comprises individual sources (CivaDots, 0.05cm thick and 0.25cm diam.) inside a flexible bioabsorbable substrate with a 0.8cm center-to-center rectangular array. All non-radioactive components were measured to ensure accuracy of manufacturer-provided dimensional information. The Pd spatial distribution was gleaned from radioactive and inert samples, then modeled with the MCNP6 radiation-transport-code. A 6×6 array CivaSheet was modeled to evaluate the dose superposition principle for treatment planning. Air-kerma-strength was estimated using the NIST WAFAC geometry. Absorbed dose was estimated in water with polar sampling covering 0.05≤r≤15cm in 0.05cm increments and 0°≤θ≤180° in 1° increments. These data were entered into VariSeed9.0 and tested for the dose-superposition-principle.

RESULTS
The dose-rate-constant was 0.579 cGy/h/U with g(r) determined along the rotational-axis of symmetry (0°) instead of 90°. gP(r) values at 0.1, 0.5, 2, 5, and 10cm were 1.884, 1.344, 0.558, 0.088, and 0.0046. F(r,θ) decreased between 0° and 180° by factors of 270, 23, and 5.1 at 0.1, 1, and 10cm. The highest dose-gradient was at 92°, changing by a factor of 3 within 1° due to Au-foil shielding. TPS commissioning from 0.1≤r≤11cm and 0°≤θ≤180° demonstrated 2% reproducibility of input data except at the high-dose-gradient where interpolations caused 3% differences. Dose superposition of CivaDots replicated a multi-source CivaSheet array within 2% except where another CivaDot was present. Following implantation, the device is not perfectly planar. TPS accuracy utilizing the dose-superposition-principle through geometric repositioning of CivaDots supersedes TPS limitations of intersource shielding effects CONCLUSION: Dosimetric characterization, source commissioning, and evaluation of the dose-superposition-principle with VariSeed9.0 permits treatment planning for the CivaSheet brachytherapy device. Research supported in part by CivaTech Oncology, Inc.


Testing and verification of healthcare information systems is a challenging and important issue since faults in these critical systems may lead to loss of lives, and in the best cases, loss of money and reputations. However, due to the complexity of these systems, and the increasing demand for new products and new technologies in this domain, there are several methods and technologies being used for testing these systems. In this paper, we review the state of the art on testing and verification of healthcare information systems, and then we identify several open issues and challenges in the area. We divide the exiting methods into three categories: simulation based methods, formal methods, and other techniques such as semi-formal methods. Then, we discuss challenging and open issues in the domain.


Background Lower limb muscle strain is also a common injury in elite volleyball athletes and lead to sport absence. A proper assessment is crucial to understand injury risk and which factors we should modify to prevent it. Objective To identify the contribution of lower limb strength, range of motion (ROM), alignment and functional stability on lower limb muscle strain in elite volleyball athletes. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting One volleyball team facility. Patients (or Participants) Twenty-five male elite volleyball athletes. Interventions (or assessment of risk factors) All data were collected before the beginning of the competitive season. Athletes were aleatory selected in some stations with physiotherapists previously trained to apply the following tests: Shank-forefoot alignment, passive hip internal rotation ROM, Y-Test, hip extensors strength, knee flexors and extensors strength. Injuries were collected from the historic of past seasons. Main outcome measurements Injuries were considered when the athlete had any muscle complaint and stayed absent from the sport for at least one training or match sessions. Results 9 muscle strains were found, which represents 41% of all injuries on the team. The regression model revealed that hip extensor strength was associated with muscle strain in elite volleyball athletes (F=8.050; r=0.518; R2=0.235; p=0.010). Specifically, weakness of hip extensors increases the chance of lower limb muscle strain in elite volleyball athletes (B=-0.250). Conclusions Hip extensor weakness explains 23% of lower limb muscle strains in elite volleyball athletes. Prevention programs should include hip extensor strengthening to decrease the chance of lower limb muscle strain in elite volleyball athletes.


Research efforts have been made to design optimal sensor placement schemes. This paper focuses on balancing the energy consumption of each node by distance adjusting to maximize the lifetime of a linear wireless sensor network (WSN). A distance-based energy efficient sensor placement (DBEEP) strategy is proposed for lifetime maximization. The relations of adjusted distance, communication range, network radius and the number of nodes are studied in this paper, on which the network can be jointly optimized to satisfy different demands. In simulations, we demonstrate that the energy consumption on DBEEP strategy is much less than the other strategies. And the network lives 157% longer using the DBEEP strategy than using the equal distance placement. The relations of the adjusted distance, node density and network radius are also given in the simulations.


Abstract Background and objective: Hypertension-related knowledge and behaviour have been identified as influential factors associated with awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in urban regions. However, there were few studies on rural areas. This study aims to investigate whether hypertension related knowledge and behaviour were associated with hypertension awareness, treatment and control in Gaoyou, a rural area of Jiangsu province, China. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based survey was conducted among hypertensive individuals in rural areas of Gaoyou, the south-eastern of China in 2010. We identified 1943 subjects with hypertension among 4536 subjects participated in this study and collected information about medical history, use of medication, hypertension related knowledge and behaviour by a standardized questionnaire. Results: This study showed that 41.07% of subjects were aware of their disease, 30.01% of subjects were taking antihypertensive medication and 5.04% of subjects controlled their blood pressure. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that subjects who knew the threshold, the lifelong treatment of hypertension and measured blood pressure at least once a year had better detection, treatment or control of hypertension. Conclusion: Hypertension related knowledge and behaviour were associated with awareness, treatment and control rate of hypertension in the rural areas of south-eastern China.


Rice is the staple food for the majority of the Indonesian people. Siam unus rice  is a local rice in South borneo which has a low glycemic index is 50.1. Food with a low glycemic index, low in carbohydrates and high in fiber can help people with diabetes to control blood glucose levels.  The purpose of this study is to analyze different of carbohydrate, crude fiber and the glycemic index in the processed siam unus rice (lemper nasi, arem-arem and pepes nasi) as altternatif snack diabetes mellitus. This research is experimental. Analysis of the carbohydrate content using the gravimetric method, crude fiber using Luft schoorl, while the glycemic index levels made by examining blood glucose levels to 8 healthy respondents. Blood glucose tests performed before feeding trials and for two hours afterward with a span of 30 minutes. The results of this study found no difference in carbohydrate content lemper nasi, arem-arem and pepes nasi (p = 0.040), there are differences in crude fiber lemper nasi, arem-arem and pepes nasi (p = 0.006), and no differences in glycemic index processed siam unus rice (p = 0.958). Glycemic index of lemper nasi and pepes nasi relatively low at 53.40 and 52.87, while arem-arem had moderate glycemic index that is equal to 55.34. Lemper nasi, arem-arem and pepes nasi can be used as an alternative snack with diabetes mellitus. Keywords : Carbohydrate Content and Fiber, Glycemic Index, Diabetes Mellitus, Siam Unus Rice


Summary
The development and constitution of the inclusion bodies induced by Italian and Californian isolates of cauliflower mosaic virus was studied by light and electron microscopy. Cytochemical and enzyme-digestion tests revealed that the inclusion bodies are essentially proteinaceous, and contain RNA and some DNA. These inclusions have a matrix composed of densely packed, finely granular or fibrillar material and vacuole-like areas not bounded by a membrane. Virus particles are interspersed at random with the matrix and are not aggregated in regular crystalline arrays. The developmental sequence of the inclusions suggests that they are not merely structures for virus accumulation but, rather, that they are sites of virus synthesis and/or assembly.