Background. The problem of postoperative nausea and vomiting has attracted the attention of specialists in various fields of surgery and anesthesiology for a long time and has not lost its relevance today, being the subject of active discussion in domestic and foreign literature. It can become an independent cause of other quite serious postoperative complications. The article presents the results of our own study of the use of multimodal low-opioid general anesthesia as one of the methods for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting during anesthetic provision of laparoscopic kidney surgery. Materials and methods. The study involved 50 patients who underwent laparoscopic kidney surgery. To compare the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, patients were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (control group) used multimodal general anesthesia with standard doses of opioids; group 2 used multimodal low-opioid general anesthesia with lidocaine, and group 3 used multimodal low-opioid anesthesia with dexmedetomidine. Results. The total average dose of fentanyl used during the entire time of anesthesia in the control group was 373.3 ± 50.8 μg (4.34 μg/kg/h). The total average dose of fentanyl used during the entire time of anesthesia in group 2 was 217.39 ± ± 49.1 μg (1.76 μg/kg/h). The total average dose of fentanyl used during the entire time of anesthesia in group 3 was 308.33 ± ± 51.49 µg (2.44 µg/kg/h). In group 1, vomiting in the postoperative period occurred in 4 patients out of 15 (26.7 % of cases), in group 2 — in 4 patients out of 23 operated (17.4 % of cases), in group 3 — in 1 patient out of 12 (8.3 % of cases). Conclusions. As a result of comparing the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in the patients of the studied groups, it was found that a decrease in the dose of perioperative use of opioids helps to reduce the incidence of this complication, increases the safety of anesthesia, significantly facilitates and accelerates the rehabilitation of patients after laparoscopic surgery on the kidneys.


Synopsis. Almost all major phyla of invertebrates and lower vertebrates display a direct sensitivity of their chromatophores to light by either dispersing or?in rare cases?aggregating the pigment granules within the cell. This "primary response" of color change is an accessory component ofthe "dermal light sense" and characterizes the chromatophores as an independent receptor for light and effector of the chromomotor response. Photo? sensitivity does not seem to be restricted to certain parts of the pigment cell but is rather supposed to be a ubiquitous property of the chromatophore. Experiments on partially illuminated chromatophores show that the photopigment, whose chemical composition is still unknown, is localised within the plasma membrane or the cytoplasmic ground substance. Threshold responses for a just visible reaction are much higher than for back? ground responses and have for some pigment cells been determined to be in a range between 0.2 and 0.5 erg/sec/cm2. The physiological significance of the photosensory reaction is closely related with thermoregulation and the protection of underlying tissue against harmful radiation. The chain of events involved in photosensory transduction remains to be further studied and can at present be interpreted only on the basis of related phenomena like retinal pigment migration and the light-sensitivity of simple non-pigmented contractile systems.


The value of corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) as rotational crops for management of Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) was studied in two 3-year experiments. The experiments were conducted in a field near Headland, Alabama, and compared several rotational systems with the performance of continuous peanut. At-plant applications of ethylene dibromide (EDB) were included in some of the systems to determine the value of nematicide use in the rotations. Corn and sorghum reduced juvenile populations in soil; however, the populations recovered quickly when peanut followed either of the 2 other crops. The use of EDB to control M. arenaria in a continuous peanut system was not reliable; yield differences between fumigated and unfumigated plots under continuous peanut culture, while significant during the first year, were not so after 3 years. Highest peanut yields were obtained from plots that had been planted with corn or sorghum


The paper proposes a neural network technique to adaptively model and characterize digital satellite channels. The neural network model allows to identify each component of the channel by the use of the channel input-output signals as learning data. This technique was applied to fault detection in digital satellite links, especially those arising in on-board devices. The paper gives simulation examples of changes in the on-board filter characteristics. Our adaptive method allows to determine the origins of the changes and gives the new characteristics of the channel.


Institutional capacity is a crucial and decisive part of bureaucratic reform, playing a significant role in achieving good governance. The development of a featured regional commodity, such as superior silk, is an important effort to improve and develop a strategic commodity. The objective of this study is to analyze and describe the institutional capacity strengthening in the development of superior silk. The research method used in this study was qualitative, and the research location was in the District of Wajo, chosen because it has the potential for superior silk that needs to be developed through institutional capacity strengthening. The research findings indicate that the development of institutional capacity to harness the potential of the superior silk area needs improvement, particularly in terms of leadership and coordination, development of the featured commodity, networking and partnerships, as well as the ability to promote institutional strengthening in connection with the development of the superior silk area. These improvements aim to enhance the abilities of the actors within the institution to support the achievement of the target policy for the development of the superior silk area.
Keywords: capacity strengthening, stakeholder interaction, local featured commodity


We present a novel algorithm for transferring artistic styles of semantically meaningful local regions of an image onto local regions of a target video while preserving its photorealism. Local regions may be selected either fully automatically from an image, through using video segmentation algorithms, or from casual user guidance such as scribbles. Our method, based on a deep neural network architecture inspired by recent work in photorealistic style transfer, is real-time and works on arbitrary inputs without runtime optimization once trained on a diverse dataset of artistic styles. By augmenting our video dataset with noisy semantic labels and jointly optimizing over style, content, mask, and temporal losses, our method can cope with a variety of imperfections in the input and produce temporally coherent videos without visual artifacts. We demonstrate our method on a variety of style images and target videos, including the ability to transfer different styles onto multiple objects simultaneously, and smoothly transition between styles in time.


This paper describes the application of Hybrid Intelligent System (HIS) to extract rules from two machine learning approaches: Neural Networks (NN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The experimentation is based on the TREPAN algorithm. TREPAN, a well-known technique developed originally to extract linguistic rules from a trained Artificial Neural Network, is modified to cope with SVM models. An example related to the reliability assessment of a 21-links network and its excellent performance results is presented.


The combined use of temporal meteorological data and spatial variability in flood forecasting has not been fully explored. The distribution of meteorological variables such as rainfall, temperature, pressure, humidity and wind is of particular significance in hydrological modelling. This paper reviews the various selected climate models using meteorological data for use in the development of climate model for flood forecasting. Previous study showed that there are several different climate models used in flood forecasting but models had demonstrated different approaches in different areas. Other differences include the use of spatial model and ground gauging station for the estimation of rainfall that are significant in some areas but not in others. Only a few studies have made comparison between selected climate models with other methods of design flood forecasting. However no significant studies have been made in bridging the communication gap between meteorological data using ground gauging station and spatial model that would facilitate flood simulation for a specific range of observation. This overview provides a valuable source for the understanding of the possibility and performance of the use of climate model using both temporal and spatial variability for flood forecasting.


Little red flying foxes (Pteropus scapulatus) are seasonal breeders: they mate in late spring/early summer, and young are born the following autumn. In captivity, males housed outdoors in a normal breeding colony in natural daylight showed a single cycle of testis growth and regression each year. During reproductive quiescence, testicular volume was approximately 2 cm3; recrudescence began soon after the winter solstice; testicular volume was maximum at approximately 6.5 cm3 at the spring equinox; and regression was complete by the end of summer. To test whether photoperiod entrains or synchronizes the cycle, groups of males were housed indoors, without females, at constant temperature, and artificial lighting was timed to either mimic naturally changing daylength or provide alternating 3-month periods of short (11 h light:13 h dark) or long (16 h light:8 h dark) days (two groups, three months out of phase with each other). During 18 months, the applied photoperiod protocol had no effect on the frequency of testicular cycles (which remained at one per year), the time course of recrudescence and regression (as described above for normal outdoor control males), or the completeness of growth and regression stages. These results suggest that male P. scapulatus are not reproductively photoresponsive.


We report statistical comparisons of lasing characteristics in InAs quantum dot (QD) micro-rings directly grown on on-axis (001) GaP/Si and V-groove (001) Si substrates. CW thresholds as low as 3 mA and high temperature operation exceeding 80 °C were simultaneously achieved on the GaP/Si template template with an outer-ring radius of 50 μm and a ring width of 4 μm, while a sub-milliamp threshold of 0.6 mA was demonstrated on the V-groove Si template with a smaller cavity size of 5-μm outer-ring radius and 3-μm ring width. Evaluations were also made with devices fabricated simultaneously on native GaAs substrates over a significant sampling analysis. The overall assessment spotlights compelling insights in exploring the optimum epitaxial scheme for low-threshold lasing on industry standard Si substrates. © 2017 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (140.5960) Semiconductor lasers; (140.3948) Microcavity devices; (230.5590) Quantum-well, -wire


Bilateral lesions in the Ventromedial nucleus of hypothalamus (VMH) cause hyperphagia and a preference for high lipid, high carbohydrate diet. Reversible lesion by procaine microinfusion produces a decrease in serum glucose and immunoreactive insulin levels. In the present study the effect of procaine microinfusion on feeding behavior and taste preference was observed. 5 h and 24 h food intake, water intake and weekly body weight of the rats was measured. Three bottle preference test was used to study the diet preferences. The 24 h food intake was found to be significantly more on 1st, 2nd and 3rd day (41 ± 6.03, 38.83 ± 6.17 and 33.66 ± 5.88 g/day, respectively) of procaine injection. There was also a significant increase in food intake at 0.25 h (4.166 ± 2.04 g) and 1 h (5 ± 0 g) as compared to saline group (0 ± 0 g at 0.25 h and 0.83 ± 2.04 g at 1 h). Post procaine water intake and body weight for seven days was not statistically significantly when compared to pre-lesion values. In the three bottles preference test, after procaine microinfusion there was a significantly increased preference for 20% sucrose and 0.15% saccharin than quinine and citric acid. The results suggest that bilateral procainization of VMH produces a transient increase in food intake and enhance preference for sweet tasting substances.


Abstract:HIV-associated wasting is defined as ≥10% involuntary weight loss and includes declines in both lean and fat mass. This large (757 subjects), randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in 2 doses—0.1 mg/kg up to a maximum of 6 mg daily (DD) or alternate days (AD)—in the treatment of wasting and weight loss in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-treated HIV-infected subjects. The evaluable population for ergometry comprised 555 subjects, 87.6% of whom were receiving HAART. At 12 weeks, median maximum work output increased by 2.4 and 2.6 kJ in the AD and DD groups, respectively. The median treatment difference was 2.9 kJ for DD vs. placebo (P < 0.0001). Body weight increased by 2.2 and 2.9 kg in the AD and DD groups, respectively. Corresponding median treatment differences vs. placebo were 1.5 and 2.2 kg (P < 0.0001). Lean body mass (LBM), by bioelectric impedance spectroscopy, increased by 3.3 and 5.2 kg, respectively (P < 0.0001 vs. placebo; P = 0.0173 DD vs. AD), and fat mass, predominately truncal, decreased. Quality of life (QoL) improved significantly in both rhGH groups. Fluid-retention adverse effects and hyperglycemia were more common in the DD than in the AD group. No significant changes in HIV viral load or CD4 cell count occurred. In conclusion, over the 12-week course of therapy, rhGH, 0.1 mg/kg DD, was superior to placebo in improving physical function, body weight, body composition, and QoL and was superior to AD dosing in restoring LBM.


This SoC infrastructure core is a flexible, scalable, and highly accurate embedded time interval analyzer (ETIA), used to measure a variety of timing-related SoC characteristics, including jitter. The ETIA requires little design and area overhead and performs accurately under process and environment variation and noise.


Simple Summary A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cause of death in patients suffering from chronic liver diseases. In order to improve the prediction of outcomes in HCC patients, there is a need for new biomarkers. This pilot study aimed at identifying serum metabolites for the prediction of outcomes of HCC patients using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This analysis revealed that high serum concentrations of myo-inositol or dimethylamine were associated with an improved overall survival. In contrast, high concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and LDL particles (LDL-P) were associated with a decreased overall survival. The identification of novel biomarkers using this NMR-based technology holds promise for opening new directions in the conduction of interventional trials in HCCs. Abstract Background: This exploratory study aimed to evaluate lipidomic and metabolomic profiles in patients with early and advanced HCCs and to investigate whether certain metabolic parameters may predict the overall survival in these patients. Methods: A total of 60 patients from the prospective, randomized-controlled, multicenter phase II SORAMIC trial were included in this substudy; among them were 30 patients with an early HCC who underwent radiofrequency ablation combined with sorafenib or a placebo and 30 patients with an advanced HCC who were treated with a selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) plus sorafenib vs. sorafenib alone. The blood serum of these patients was analyzed using a standardized nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) platform. All tested metabolites were correlated with the overall survival. Results: The overall survival (OS) was significantly higher in patients with an early HCC (median OS: 34.0 months) compared with patients with an advanced HCC (median OS: 12.0 months) (p < 0.0001). Patients with high serum concentrations of myo-inositol (MI) had a higher overall survival compared with patients with low concentrations (21.6 vs. 13.8 months) with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.331 (p = 0.011). Patients with high serum concentrations of dimethylamine had a higher overall survival compared with patients with low concentrations (25.1 vs. 19.7 months) with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.279 (p = 0.034). High concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and LDL particles (LDL-P) were associated with a decreased overall survival. Conclusions: NMR-based lipidomic and metabolomic profiling has the potential to identify individual metabolite biomarkers that predict the outcome of patients with an HCC exposed to non-invasive therapeutic management.


– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether business strategy influences strategic management accounting (SMA) usage. Business strategy has been operationalized through strategic pattern, mission and positioning., – The paper is based on an internet questionnaire survey of Italian companies. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the impact of strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) on SMA usage. Company size is included as control variable., – Several SMA techniques appear to be used in Italian companies as they are in other countries investigated in different studies. Customer accounting, competitive position monitoring, competitor performance appraisal based on published financial statement and quality costing represent the most widely used SMA techniques in the Italian sample. From the regression analysis, both defender‐ and cost leader‐type of strategy are found to be more willing to use SMA techniques addressing cost information., – The issue, common in contingent research, of business strategy definition and operationalization constitutes the main limitation of the paper; in an attempt to restrict its effect, it uses three strategic typologies (pattern, mission and positioning) and employs a measurement method used in previous studies. A second issue concerns the definition of SMA techniques. There is no concurred list of SMA techniques in the literature and further discussion is expected in the future., – First, empirical evidence is provided to a field (SMA) where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with traditional management accounting techniques. Second, for the first time in SMA studies, a framework is employed that considers all of the three main strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) used in management accounting literature. As a result, the loose coupling between SMA techniques and business strategy typologies indicates (with the possible exception of cost‐related SMA techniques) that the same SMA technique can support different strategic approaches of the company.


Abstract Alternative polyadenylation (APA)-mediated 3′-untranslated region (UTR) shortening is known to increase protein expression due to the loss of miRNA regulatory sites. Yet, mRNAs with longer 3′-UTR also show enhanced protein expression. Here, we identify a mechanism by which longer transcripts generated by the distal-most APA site leads to increased protein expression compared to the shorter transcripts and the longer transcripts are positioned to regulate heart failure (HF). A Star-PAP target gene, NQO1 has three poly(A) sites (PA-sites) at the terminal exon on the pre-mRNA. Star-PAP selects the distal-most site that results in the expression of the longest isoform. We show that the NQO1 distal-specific mRNA isoform accounts for the majority of cellular NQO1 protein. Star-PAP control of the distal-specific isoform is stimulated by oxidative stress and the toxin dioxin. The longest NQO1 transcript has increased poly(A) tail (PA-tail) length that accounts for the difference in translation potentials of the three NQO1 isoforms. This mechanism is involved in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy (CH), an antecedent condition to HF where NQO1 downregulation stems from the loss of the distal-specific transcript. The loss of NQO1 during hypertrophy was rescued by ectopic expression of the distal- but not the proximal- or middle-specific NQO1 mRNA isoforms in the presence of Star-PAP expression, and reverses molecular events of hypertrophy in cardiomyocytes.


In order to reveal spatial distribution characteristics of nutrient in the surface sediments of Lake Changshouhu, contents of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and organic matter (OM) of 62 surface sediments samples were determined and compared with other urban (suburban) lakes in China. C/N and the correlation of TN, TP and OM had also been analyzed. The results showed that the average contents of TN and TP were 2 255.89 mg x kg(-1) and 622.03 mg x kg(-1) respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution were very serious all over the lake, with a significantly different spatial distribution. The average content of OM was 2.80%. So the contents of TN, TP and OM were in the middle level compared with other lakes. 87.10% of C/N was between 5 and 14 (72.58% within which was between 6 and 13) and 3.23% of C/N was between 2.8 and 3.4, which showed that OM came from algae, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Besides, a small part of OM came from aquatic organisms. OM and TN were significantly correlated (Pearson coefficient was 0.849), but with less significant correlation to TP. The spatial distribution characteristics of OM were very similar with that of TN. The content of OM in water samples collected from western and middle waterbody was higher than that in eastern waterbody, which was the same as TN. By evaluating pollution situation with organic index and organic nitrogen, the average organic index was 0.386 which was on the III level still belonged to clean category. However, the average number of organic nitrogen was up to 0.214% which was on the IV level indicated the pollution degree. This showed that the lake Changshouhu was in a serious pollution situation especially in nitrogen pollution.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Quality indicators for end-of-life care have been published; however, none have been developed specifically for nursing in the cultural and traditional context of Japan. This study aimed to develop and build a consensus of quality indicators for end-of-life care for elders in Japan from the perspective of nursing science.

METHODS
To develop the quality indicators, we used a literature review, expert panel process, and the Delphi technique among clinical nurse specialists in geriatrics.

RESULTS
Quality indicators were identified in 7 major areas: advance directives and surrogate continuity, ethical daily care, care preferences and decisions about life-sustaining treatment, assessment and management of pain and other symptoms, daily care for the dying, family care, and institutional systems for end-of-life care.

CONCLUSIONS
These quality indicators represent the first attempt to develop a best practices approach toward improving the quality of elderly end-of-life care in nursing.


The bacterial genus Mycobacterium comprises numerous pathogenic species including M. tuberculosis, the causative agent of the disease tuberculosis. Mycobacteria are obligate aerobes that generate cellular energy through oxidative phosphorylation, the combined activities of the electron transport chain (ETC) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase. This reliance on oxidative phosphorylation makes the process an attractive target for development of drugs to treat mycobacterial infections. However, targeting the ETC is complicated by the highly branched nature of the chain in mycobacteria and the ability of mycobacteria to alter the expression of ETC constituents in different growth conditions. Here, we review recent characterization of the branched and flexible ETC in mycobacteria, with an emphasis on the structural characterization of mycobacterial ETC complexes by electron cryomicroscopy.


In this research, a repetitive bending and straightening process was carried out on the Ti–3Al–4Cr–Mo alloy for 20 passes. The changes in mechanical properties of the titanium alloy before and after repetitive bending and annealing were studied. The microstructure evolution and deformation mechanism were analyzed. The results show that after the repetitive bending and straightening process, the microstructure of the Ti–3Al–4Cr–Mo alloy is obviously refined, and, simultaneously, the yield strength is significantly improved. After annealing at 850 °C, the plastic ductility of the material was improved. The combined effects of grain refinement and dislocation behavior were the main reasons for the improvement in mechanical properties of the Ti–3Al–4Cr–Mo alloy. Twinning rarely occurred during plastic deformation of the Ti–3Al–4Cr–Mo alloy. The fine grains strongly inhibited the formation of twins. In addition, a small amount of α to β phase transformation was observed during the repetitive bending and straightening process of the material, which may have been induced by strain accumulation.


Abstract Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends, a cDNA encoding a novel splice variant of the human Cα catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) was identified. The novel isoform differed only in the N-terminal part of the deduced amino acid sequence, corresponding to the part encoded by exon 1 in the previously characterized murine Cα gene. Sequence comparison revealed similarity to an ovine Cα variant characterized by protein purification and micropeptide sequencing, Cα-s, identifying the cloned human cDNA as the Cα-s isoform. The Cα-s mRNA was expressed exclusively in human testis and expression in isolated human pachytene spermatocytes was demonstrated. The Cα-s protein was present in ejaculated human sperm, and immunofluorescent labeling with a Cα-s-specific antibody indicated that Cα-s was localized in the midpiece region of the spermatozoon. The majority of Cα-s was particulate and could not be released from the sperm midpiece by cAMP treatment alone. Furthermore, detergent extraction solubilized approximately two-thirds of the Cα-s pool, indicating interaction both with detergent-resistant cytoskeletal and membrane structures. In addition, we recently identified the regulatory subunit isoforms RIα, RIIα, and an A-kinase anchoring protein, hAKAP220 in this region in sperm that could target Cα-s. This novel Cα-s splice variant appeared to have an independent anchor in the human sperm midpiece as it could not be completely solubilized even in the presence of both detergent and cAMP.


Abstract Objectives Little is known about the cardiotoxic effects of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.), a medicinal plant. This analytical cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and QTc intervals in regular kratom users compared with non-kratom-using control subjects. Methods We enrolled regular kratom users and non-kratom-using control subjects from three communities. Demographic data, clinical data, kratom use characteristics, and ECG findings were recorded. The mitragynine content of kratom juice was quantified using a validated gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method. Results A total of 200 participants (100 kratom users and 100 control subjects) participated in this study. The prevalence of ECG abnormalities in kratom users (28%) did not differ from that of control subjects (32%). Kratom use was not associated with ECG abnormalities, except for significantly higher odds of sinus tachycardia (OR = 8.61, 95% CI = 1.06–70.17, p = 0.035) among kratom users compared with control subjects. The odds of observing borderline QTc intervals were significantly higher for kratom users compared with control subjects, regardless of the age of first use, the duration of use, the daily quantity consumed, and the length of time that had elapsed between last kratom use and ECG assessment. Nevertheless, there were no differences in the odds of having prolonged QTc intervals between kratom users and controls. The estimated average daily intake of mitragynine consumed by kratom users was 434.28 mg. Conclusion We found no link between regular kratom use and electrocardiographic abnormalities with an estimated average daily intake of 434.28 mg of mitragynine.


What happens when a crisis such as COVID-19 fully occupies the political and media agenda? Do previous political concerns, such as those on migration, remain salient? Here, I propose and validate a model of issue survival during times of crisis. I argue that issues remain salient when individuals are able to cognitively link "displaced" issues with the ongoing crisis. Such connections between displaced issues and the crisis can be influenced by the media, who, through a process of networked agenda setting, help establish connections between issues. I test this model on the salience of migration during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland and Germany. Leveraging panel surveys administered before and during lockdowns, I show that the issue of migration was displaced during the crisis. Nevertheless, as proposed by the model, this decline in issue salience did not occur for individuals connecting migration to the pandemic. Combining panels with individual-level media consumption data obtained through webtracking, I provide evidence that issue survival was significantly related to the consumption of news stories linking migration to the COVID-19 crisis. The study raises questions about the flow of public opinion during moments of mass uncertainty and highlights the key role media consumption can play in understanding previous issues in new a light.


Two of our foremost poets provide here a lucid, straightforward primer that "looks squarely at some of the headaches and mysteries of poetic form": a book for readers who have always felt that an understanding of form (sonnet, ballad, villanelle, sestina, among others) would enhance their appreciation of poetry. Tracing "the exuberant history of forms," they devote one chapter to each form, offering explanation, close reading, and a rich selection of examplars that amply demonstrate the power and possibility of that form.


This letter presents an image rectification scheme that can be used by any image watermarking algorithms to provide robustness against rotation, scaling and translation (RST) transformations.


It is necessary to account for anisotropy in full waveform inversion (FWI) of wide azimuth and wide aperture seismic data in most geological environments, for correct depth positioning of reflectors, and for reliable estimations of wavespeeds as a function of the direction of propagation. In this framework, choosing a suitable anisotropic subsurface parameterization is a central issue in mono-parameter and multi-parameter FWI. This is because this parameterization defines the influence of each physical parameter class on the data as a function of the scattering angle, and hence the resolution of the parameter reconstruction, and on the potential trade-off between different parameter classes. We apply mono-parameter and multi-parameter frequency-domain acoustic vertical transverse isotropic FWI to synthetic and real wide-aperture data, representative of the Valhall oil field. We first show that reliable mono-parameter FWI can be performed to build a high-resolution velocity model (for the vertical, the horizontal or normal move-out velocity), provided that the background models of two Thomsen parameters describe the long wavelengths of the subsurface sufficiently accurately. Alternatively, we show the feasibility of the joint reconstruction of two wavespeeds (e.g., the vertical and horizontal wavespeeds) with limited trade-off effects, while Thomsen parameter δ is kept fixed during the inversion. The influence of the wavespeeds on the data for a limited range of scattering angles when combined each other can however significantly hamper the resolution with which the two wavespeeds are imaged. These conclusions inferred from the application to the real data are fully consistent with those inferred from the theoretical parameterization analysis of acoustic vertical transverse isotropic FWI performed in the companion report.


Latent Semantic Indexing is a classical method to produce optimal low-rank approximations of a term-document matrix. However, in the context of a particular query distribution, the approximation thus produced need not be optimal. We propose VLSI, a new query-dependent (or "variable") low-rank approximation that minimizes approximation error for any specified query distribution. With this tool, it is possible to tailor the LSI technique to particular settings, often resulting in vastly improved approximations at much lower dimensionality. We validate this method via a series of experiments on classical corpora, showing that VLSI typically performs similarly to LSI with an order of magnitude fewer dimensions.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Objective: Growing evidence indicates that cancer cell-derived microparticles (MPs) play important regulatory roles on cellular and system levels. These activities are attributed to protein factors inside MPs. It has been known that contents in MPs are not a passive representation of the host cell, but a collection of factors packaged in a selective fashion. In the current study, we hypothesize that membrane phospholipid dynamics promotes the selective packaging of protein factors by modulating the electrostatic density inside MPs.

Methods: The dynamics of phospholipid species across the membrane bilayer, including phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositides (PIs) are characterized using specific molecular probes. We used exogenous probes, Duramycin and bovine lactadherin, to stain the presence of PE and PS, respectively, on the outer surface of MP membrane. Endogenously expressed probes include GFP-tagged C2 domain of lactadherin (LacC2-GFP), and GFP-tagged 2PH-PLCdelta, are used to assess the relative density of PS and PI, respectively, in the inner leaflet of MP membranes. We examined the distribution of small Rho GTPases, including RhoA, Cdc42 and Rac1, using GFP-labeled reporters. To further examine the electrostatic interactions, we used RhoA mutants with the polybasic amino acids mutated to Gln. Additionally, we constructed a GFP-PBR to validate the electrostatic-dependent packaging mechanism.

Results: PE is externalized to the outer surface of MPs. This is correlated with a greater density of negatively charged phospholipids, particularly PS, in the inner leaflet. The process is independent of apoptosis or the generation of apoptotic bodies. The redistribution of PE to the MP surface is correlated with an elevated presence of small GTPases in a PBR-dependent manner. Mutation of PBR abolished RhoA uptake in MPs. The incorporation of PBR to GFP significantly enhanced GFP localization in MPs. Conclusion: PE externalization to MP surface likely results in a greater density of negatively charged phospholipids, including PS, and to a lesser extent, PIs. An elevated density of anionic phospholipids provides an electrostatic attraction for membrane-associated proteins to MPs. This may provide a general mechanism for the selective sequestration of signal transduction factors in cancer cell-derived MPs.

Citation Format: Songwang Hou, Carol Williams, Ming Zhao. Membrane phospholipid asymmetry mediates the selective packaging of protein factors in cancer microparticles. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5166. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5166


This paper is devoted to the extension to the full $3\times3$ Euler system of the basic analytical properties of the equations governing a fluid flowing in a duct with varying section. First, we consider the Cauchy problem for a pipeline consisting of 2 ducts joined at a junction. Then, this result is extended to more complex pipes. A key assumption in these theorems is the boundedness of the total variation of the pipe's section. We provide explicit examples to show that this bound is necessary.


Purpose: Financial inclusion can considerably promote cocoa production and provide a buffer for the escape from poverty traps for cocoa-growing economies like Cameroon. However, the Southwest region of Cameroon still experiences a low level of cocoa production and poverty primarily due to financial exclusion. This article explores the drivers of financial inclusion in the region.
Method: A stratified multistage sampling technique was used to survey 380 cocoa producers in the main cocoa-producing areas in the region through semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic variables and the probit model to analyze the drivers of financial inclusion, subject to the three major dimensions of financial inclusion; access to, use, and quality of financial services.
Results: On average, the long distance of financial institutions (9.3 km), intermediate farm sizes (2.6 ha), and low annual income (1,125,863 FCFA) negatively influenced financial inclusion resulting in just 16.6% of farmers being financially included. The findings also revealed that financial inclusion is significantly enhanced by an increase in income, farm training, the closeness of formal financial institutions (FFIs), larger household size, and small-scale production at a 1% significance level, and more years of farming experience at 5%. Moreover, 51.3% of the major constraints to financial inclusion were accounted for by lack of collateral security, distant FFIs, and low income.
Implications: Reducing the distance of FFIs by establishing more institutions with considerations on collateral, increasing income through extension services like farm training, and sound agronomic practices will enhance financial inclusion.
Originality: The uniqueness of this study lies in the context of the socio-political crisis during which cocoa producers were interviewed and exploring how the crisis influenced financial inclusion through a host of factors. Moreover, besides just access to credit as considered by most studies in Cameroon, the current study considers the use and quality of formal financial services as well.


The enhanced recovery pathway is an evidence-based surgical care pathway that includes preoperative, perioperative and postoperative care and results in fewer complications and a shorter length of stay in hospital. There are a variety of elements associated with this pathway and one is the use of a preoperative carbohydrate-loading drink. The consumption of this drink, which is specifically designed to be safely consumed a few hours before surgery, is discussed with a review of the literature on the topic.


GMW sequences and families of No sequences are generalized. Generalized GMW sequences have ideal autocorrelation and balance properties and generalized No sequences also have optimal correlation properties in terms of Welch's lower bound. The linear spans of the generalized GMW and No sequences appear to be large although there is not at present a closed-form expression for the linear span. A count of the numbers of cyclically distinct generalized GMW sequences and generalized No sequences that can be constructed is provided. Generalized GMW sequences have also been found in the literature by Klapper et al. (1993) under the name "cascaded GMW sequences".


Arylalkylsulfonamides, identified as Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324, combine pharmacological properties of the Ca2+ entry blocker verapamil and the calmodulin antagonist W-7. These agents directly inhibit arterial actin-myosin interactions via inhibition of myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation in actomyosin. Potencies of both Wy-46,622 (IC50 = 26 μM) and Wy-47,324 (IC50 = 18 μM) are greater than W-7 (IC50 = 35 μM); verapamil is inactive at 100 μM. Both Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324 are less potent than verapamil, but more potent than W-7, at inhibiting K+ -depolarized force development in paced rabbit atria. At higher concentrations (30 μM) which inhibit MLC phosphorylation, Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324 are either equal to or more efficacious than verapamil in inhibiting receptor-mediated contractions in intact porcine coronary (histamine. serotonin, prostaglandin F2a, carbocyclic thromboxane A2) or guinea pig aortic (leukotriene C4) smooth muscle. Both Wy-47,324 (IC50 = 16 μM) and Wy-46,622 (IC50 = 23 μM) are inhibitors of the second phase of epinephrine-induced human platelet aggregation; Wy-47,324 is more potent than verapamil or W-7 (IC50 for each = 29 μM). These results suggest that these agents possess combined Ca2+ entry blocker/MLC phosphorylation inhibitory mechanisms. Furthermore, they are more vascular specific than verapamil, and are effective inhibitors of intra-cellular Ca2+ -mediated events in vascular smooth muscle and platelets.


Hepatitis virus identification plays a key role in clinical diagnosis and is one of the difficulties and hot research fields for the researchers related. The paper takes hepatitis B virus for example and presents a newmodel for hepatitis virus identification based on BP neural network and ant colony algorithm. First, the flow chart of hepatitis virus identification is designed based on the hepatitis virus image processing; Second, aiming at the shortages of the existing BP neural network algorithm of data-mining for hepatitis virus identification, ant colony and BP neural network algorithm are integrated and some improvements are advanced to speed up the convergence and simplify the structure and to improve identification accuracy of the original BPmodel. Finally, themodel is realized by the data fromthree hospitals to carry out comprehensive hepatitis virus identification and the experimental results indicate that the model has favorable hepatitis virus identification results.


Synchrotron x-ray microradiographic imaging is a routine and indeed essential prerequisite for the collection of diffraction data from a particular single small crystallite embedded within a mat containing thousands of similarly small-sized individuals when that particular small crystallite has been earmarked for a diffraction study, by reason of its special morphological features or optical properties, for example. The combination of optical microscopic, microradiographic and microdiffraction topographic techniques is proving fruitful in studies of CVD diamond crystallites. The simplest radiographic contrast mechanism applying in the case of negligibly-absorbing objects is refractive deviation of the transmitted beams. However, the optimization of experimental parameters for microradiography brings in factors such as Fresnel diffraction effects and incident-beam uniformity. When faceted objects are radiographed, re-entrants between facets produce the x-ray analogue of the Fresnel biprism. Radiographic experiments are illustrated that plausibly demonstrate biprism interference, on the evidence of the fringe patterns observed.


Vulnerability analysis is concerned with the problem of identifying weaknesses in computer systems that can be exploited to compromise their security. Most vulnerabilities arise from unexpected interactions between di erent system components such as server processes, lesystem permissions and content, and other operating system services. Existing vulnerability techniques (such as those used in COPS and SATAN) are based on enumerating the known causes of vulnerabilities in the system and capturing these causes in the form of rules, e.g., a worldor group-writable .login le is a well known vulnerability that enables one user to gain all access privileges of another user. However, the generation of the rules relies on expert knowledge about interactions among many components of the system. Issues such as system complexity, race conditions, many possible interleavings, hidden assumptions etc. make it very hard even for experts to come up with all such rules. In contrast, we propose a new model-based approach where the security-related behavior of each system component is modeled in a high-level speci cation language such as CSP or CCS. These component models can then be composed to obtain all possible behaviors of the entire system. Finding system vulnerabilities can now be accomplished by analyzing these behaviors using automated veri cation techniques (model checking in particular) to identify scenarios where security-related properties (such as maintaining integrity of password les) are violated. In contrast to previous approaches that mainly address well-known vulnerabilities, our model-based approach has the potential to automatically seek out and identify known and as-yet-unknown vulnerabilities.


The feelings of appetite and satiety involve complex interactions between hormones from the gastrointestinal tract to the hypothalamus and subsequent feedback. Within the hypothalamus are specific regions where hormones interact in producing sensations of appetite and satiety, leading to food consumption or a feeling of fullness. Through the interactions of ghrelin and leptin, the hypothalamus can regulate the sensation of hunger and satiety, leading to energy homeostasis. Ghrelin termed the "hunger hormone," was initially discovered through its receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) before first explaining its role as a growth-hormone-releasing peptide. Leptin was discovered primarily as a signal in regulating body weight. However, the roles of these hormones in regulating appetite and satiety were not explicitly known until research showed that there was a correlation between a rise in plasma levels of ghrelin before meals and a subsequent decrease in plasma levels of ghrelin after meals and a subsequent change in plasma leptin levels. Together, ghrelin and leptin signals regulate our sensations of hunger and satiety by sending signals to different nuclei within the hypothalamus for food intake. Imbalance and dysregulation of these hormones can have drastic effects on the body's energy homeostasis.


Abstract In this study, we assessed arm coordination in the backstroke over increasing speeds by adapting the index of coordination originally used in the front crawl. Fourteen elite male backstroke swimmers swam four trials of 25 m at the speeds corresponding to the 400-m, 200-m, 100-m, and 50-m events. The six phases of the arm stroke were identified by video analysis and then used to calculate the index of coordination, which corresponded to the time between the propulsive phases of the two arms. With increases in speed, the elite swimmers increased the stroke rate, the relative duration of their arm pull, and their index of coordination, and decreased the distance per stroke (P < 0.05). Arm coordination was always in catch-up (index of coordination of −12.9%) because the alternating body-roll and the small shoulder flexibility did not allow the opposition or superposition coordination seen in the front crawl. This new method also quantified the relative duration of the hand's lag time at the thigh, which did not change (∼2%) with increasing speed for the elite swimmers. The index of coordination enables coaches to assess mistakes in backstroke coordination, particularly in the hand's lag time at the thigh.


As the de facto memory technology, DRAM has enjoyed continuous scaling over the past decades to keep performance growth and capacity enhancement. However, DRAM further scaling into deep sub-micron regime faces significant challenges. Among the induced issues, prolonged restore time is expected to be one of the major concerns, but it has been paid little attention. Aiming at restore issue, this thesis performs pioneering studies to characterize the problems, and presents techniques from different perspectives to overcome them.

First, our experimental studies quantify the significant restore process variations, causing serious degradations on yield and/or performance. To solve the problem, we propose schemes to expose the variations to the architectural levels. Fast restore chunks can thus be constructed utilizing DRAM organization, and they can be exposed to the memory controller to effectively compensate the performance loss. Further, we maximize the improvement by applying restore-time-aware rank construction and hotness-aware page allocation schemes to fully utilize the fast regions.

Second, in addition to simply expose the variations to higher levels, we investigate DRAM cell structures and behaviors finding that refresh and restore are two strongly correlated operations. Whereas are being fully restored after each read or write access, DRAM cells are always being fully charged by periodical refresh operations, providing an opportunity to early terminate restore. With the insight, we first propose to truncate a restore using the time distance to next refresh. Further, to provide more truncation opportunities, we integrate the multirate-refresh concepts to shorten the distance by increasing the refresh rate of recently accessed regions.

Lastly, we explore higher to the application level with the inspiration that a large set of applications can well tolerate output accuracy loss and runtime errors, enabling us to exploit approximate computing to mitigate prolonged restore. By utilizing the variance in restore timing exhibited at different row segments, we reduce the restore time such that only partial segments are fully reliable. We then map the critical data onto the reliable segments to keep the application-level errors low. Atop of the approximation-aware technique, we further generalize it to support precise computing as well.


Purpose: This study examined the relationships among intermediary determinants, structural determinants, and adult smoking status and quit attempts. Design: Secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data. Setting: Data come from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Social Context module. A national, representative sample from 12 US states (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Utah). Participants: A total of 64 053 noninstitutionalized US adults aged ≥18 years. Measures: Smoking status and quit attempts were outcome variables. Individual-level structural determinants (age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, and employment status) and intermediary determinants (housing insecurity, food insecurity, health insurance, binge drinking, and general health mental health) from BRFSS. Analysis: Weighted multivariate, multinomial logistic regression. Results: Current smoking was greater among men, respondents aged between 35 to 64 and 55 to 64, adults who reported food insecurity, housing insecurity, frequent mental distress, binge drinking, and who were unemployed. Current smokers had higher odds of making quit attempts in the past 12 months if they were non-Hispanic Black, graduated college, and reported food and housing insecurity. Conclusion: Multifaceted smoking cessation interventions that address food and housing needs also incorporate screening for potential comorbidities such as mental distress and/or hazardous alcohol use and may be needed to enhance smoking cessation rates among racially diverse adults.


In the last few years, there has been active research on aggregating advanced statistical measures in multidimensional data cubes from partitioned subsets of data. In this paper, we propose an online compression and aggregation scheme to support Bayesian estimations in data cubes based on the asymptotic properties of Bayesian statistics. In the proposed approach, we compress each data segment by retaining only the model parameters and a small amount of auxiliary measures. We then develop an aggregation formula that allows us to reconstruct the Bayesian estimation from partitioned segments with a small approximation error. We show that the Bayesian estimates and the aggregated Bayesian estimates are asymptotically equivalent. Type of Report: Other Department of Computer Science & Engineering Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1045 St. Louis, MO 63130 ph: (314) 935-6160 Online Bayesian Analysis Ruibin Xi Department of Mathematics Washington University email@example.com Youngjin Kim Department of Computer Science Washington University firstname.lastname@example.com Nan Lin Department of Mathematics Washington University firstname.lastname@example.com Yixin Chen Department of Computer Science Washington University email@example.com


Two open-air sites in the northern half of the Netherlands are described: Oudehaske in the valley of the Boome (Friesland) and Gramsbergen in the valley of the Vecht (Overijssel). The sites are ascribed to the 'Epi-Ahrensburgian' (after Gob, 1988), a transitional group between the Ahrensburgian and the Mesolithic, which can be dated to the first half of the Preboreal. Sites of this group are characterized by a predominance of simple microliths among the points while tanged points are scarce ar absent, and by a 'Late Palaeolithic' blade technology aiming at the production of quite large blades. At both sites, several blades longer than 10 cm are present (but no 'bruised blades'). A refitting analysis of the flint material from both sites was performed by the first author, the results ofwhich are discussed extensively.


The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally intended to assure that high-income people paid at least some tax, but the AMT was poorly designed and affects more middle-income people every year. The AMT raises a lot of tax revenue, however: reforming or eliminating it could cost $500 billion over the next decade. Some suggest that the best option would be to make the AMT the regular tax system. This paper examines the implications of basing a reformed tax system on AMT rules. (A shorter version of this paper is forthcoming in the 97th Annual Conference NTA Papers and Proceedings.)


Abstract This article concerns Burger–Mozes universal groups acting on regular trees locally like a given permutation group of finite degree. We also consider locally isomorphic generalizations of the former due to Le Boudec and Lederle. For a large class of such permutation groups and primes p we determine their local p-Sylow subgroups as well as subgroups of their p-localization, which is identified as a group of the same type in certain cases.


The separation of ownership rights and management rights on shares of a Joint-stock company leads to agency conflicts between shareholders and managers. With the separation of ownership and management of financing funds making the interests of shareholders contradict the interests of its creditors, the company's agency costs come into being as a result. Through an empirical research on agency costs of 79 non-financial listed companies who issued convertible bonds during the year 2002-2013 in China, whether the issuance of the convertible bond is beneficial to reduce agency cost of listed companies is examined. The empirical results show that the issuance of convertible bonds contributes to the reduction of agency costs, which supports the assumption concluded from the theoretical researches conducted by foreign researchers that convertible bonds can reduce agency costs in some extent.


Caregivers of children with ASD reported more negative impact and poor psychological wellbeing. They appear to be at great risk for depression, stress, anxiety and distress; and many caregivers have managed to overcome the constant challenge by using their patience and take the consequences to adapt well in the face of adversity. The researcher highlights the family role to find themselves dealing with additional challenges to cope and accept modification, and minimizing the impact of ASD on caregivers by helping them to adjust their expectation to their children. A descriptive cross-sectional study was to determine the burden of ASD on the caregivers and to identify the level of psychosocial burden in dealing with the impact of raising a child with ASD. A non-probability purposive sample of (152) children with ASD and (152) caregivers at AL-Najaf province. The results of the study revealed that caregivers of children with ASD experienced moderate level of psychosocial burden; there were significant differences between the level of psychosocial burden among caregivers and childhood autism rating scale, whereas there is a significant difference between psychosocial burden and some of socio-demographic characteristics of Child's caregivers (gender and monthly income and GHQ). The current study recommends providing family support for families with autistic children, especially a psychological one, and educational about clinical behaviors of ASD for early detection and Family to Family Education Programs to the existing services in community mental health programs.


Abstract Purpose: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have shown clinical benefit for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), yet approximately 60% of patients do not respond or eventually relapse. We investigated the safety and feasibility of the CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) in combination with the 4–1BB agonist antibody utomilumab as an approach to improve efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy. Patients and Methods: In phase 1 of the single-arm ZUMA-11 trial, patients with R/R LBCL received a single axi-cel infusion (target dose, 2 × 106 cells/kg) plus utomilumab 10 to 200 mg intravenously every 4 weeks for up to 6 months in a dose-escalation design. The primary endpoint was incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) with utomilumab. Key secondary endpoints were safety, antitumor activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. Results: No DLTs were observed among patients treated with axi-cel and utomilumab (n = 12). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 10 patients (83%); none were Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome or neurologic events. The objective response rate was 75% and seven patients (58%) had a complete response. Peak CAR T-cell levels increased in a utomilumab dose-dependent manner up to 100 mg. Patients who received utomilumab 100 mg had persistently increased CAR T cells on days 57 to 168 compared with other dose levels. Utomilumab was associated with dose-dependent increases in IL2, IFNγ, and IL10. Conclusions: Utomilumab-mediated 4–1BB agonism combined with axi-cel therapy had a manageable safety profile. Dual 4–1BB and CD28 costimulation is a feasible therapeutic approach that may enhance CAR T-cell expansion in patients with LBCL.


Although the dystopian and utopian academic literature on technology present either a pessimistic or optimistic picture of its societal impact, people's everyday uses of technology often counter such views. This paper examines the selective uses of technology, and particularly communications technology, in the everyday practices of homesteaders, or members of the 'back to the land' movement in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Using an ethnographic approach, this study analyzes how homesteaders' ideology of voluntary simplicity informs their complex, everyday engagement with technology.


Higher education institutions in the United States sponsor alternative breaks to give students an opportunity to assist underserved communities during spring and fall/winter breaks. As students address social issues during alternative breaks, many are likely to commit themselves to long-term involvement in community service. This article is based on research conducted at a public, comprehensive university in Western North Carolina. Case study methods were used to explore the learning/development outcomes of the university's alternative break program and the influence of alternative break experiences on students' continued involvement in civic activities. The research revealed that, despite the limitations of short-term service projects, students who participated in alternative breaks became sensitive to social issues and seemed committed to community causes. Three specific recommendations are offered. Among them, reflection is highlighted as a process designed to help students derive meaning from their experiences and develop positive attitudes to civic engagement.


This study examined whether social exchanges and relationships among young children and with teachers in early care and education are associated with prosocial behavior of children from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds. Social and relational factors including closeness of the teacher-child relationship, emotional tone of teacher-child interaction, engagement in social pretend play, competency in pretend play with peers, and positive social interaction among peers were explored in relation to children's prosocial action. White, African American, and Latino boys and girls who participated in the National Evaluation of Early Head Start were selected for this study just prior to entering kindergarten (N = 1,078). Results indicated that children's engagement in social pretend play and teacher ratings of children's competency in pretend play with peers were associated with the prosocial behavior of children in the three ethnocultural groups. The association of the other social and relational factors with children's prosocial behavior varied across racial or ethnic background. Implications for future research are discussed.


C-reactive protein (CRP) is a unique serum pentraxin and the prototype acute phase reactant. CRP is a ligand for specific receptors on phagocytic leukocytes, and mediates activation reactions of monocytes/macrophages, but inhibits the respiratory burst of neutrophils (PMN). Since CRP selectively accumulates at inflammatory sites in which IL-8 is also produced, we tested the effects of CRP on the responsiveness of PMN to IL-8 and the bacterial chemotactic peptide, FMLP-phenylalanine (FMLPP). Purified human CRP inhibited the chemotactic response of PMN to IL-8 and FMLPP. A mouse IgM mAb that was generated against the leukocyte CRP receptor (CRP-R) also inhibited the chemotactic response. Incubation of purified CRP with activated PMN generated CRP-derived peptides that also inhibited chemotaxis. A synthetic CRP peptide (residues 27-38) that binds to the CRP-R had weak chemotactic activity, whereas two other CRP synthetic peptides (residues 174-185 and 191-205) inhibited chemotaxis of PMNs to both IL-8 and FMLPP. CRP did not alter receptor-specific binding of IL-8, but exerted its effect at the level of signaling. CRP augmented both IL-8- and FMLPP-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (extracellular signal-regulated kinase-2) activity. CRP at acute phase levels increased both agonist-induced and noninduced phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase activity. The results suggest a role for CRP as a regulator of leukocyte infiltration at inflammatory sites.


Not only total solar irradiance (TSI) but also spectral solar irradiance (SSI) matter for our climate. Different surfaces can have different reflectivity for the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR). The recent NASA Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1) mission has provided more accurate SSI observations than before. The TSI observed by TSIS-1 differs from the counterpart used by climate models by no more than 1 W m−2. However, the SSI difference in a given VIS (e.g., 0.44–0.63 μm) and NIR (e.g., 0.78–1.24 μm) band can be as large as 4 W m−2 with opposite signs. Using the NCAR CESM2, we study to what extent such different VIS and NIR SSI partitions can affect the simulated climate. Two sets of simulations with identical TSI are carried out, one with SSI partitioning as observed by the TSIS-1 mission and the other with what has been used in the current climate models. Due to different VIS-NIR spectral reflectance contrasts between icy (or snowy) surfaces and open water, the simulation with more SSI in the VIS has less solar absorption by the high-latitude surfaces, ending up with colder polar surface temperature and larger sea ice coverage. The difference is more prominent over the Antarctic than over the Arctic. Our results suggest that, even for the identical TSI, the surface albedo feedback can be triggered by different SSI partition between the VIS and NIR. The results underscore the importance of continuously monitoring SSI and the use of correct SSI in climate simulations.


We have designed and constructed a Real-Time Tracking Gradiometer (RTG) to be placed in an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to detect and locate buried underwater mines. This system has been assembled and is now being tested by the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, FL (NSWC-PC). The UUV-RTG consists of fluxgate magnetic sensors that measure the magnetic field gradients caused by the presence of the target in the Earth's magnetic field. These magnetic gradients can then be used to detect and locate a target with the UUV in motion. The UUV-RTG control electronics is fully digital and is computer controlled. The data acquisition is also fully digital and provides 36 channels of data at 20-bit resolution per channel. The system is controlled by an embedded low-power processor platform. We will describe the system hardware, software, and provide details of the interface with the embedded platform. The integration of the RTG with the UUV and UUV-RTG performance details will be provided by NSWC-PC in a separate paper also to be presented at this conference (Allen et al., 2005).


Extensive, long-term exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) was recently suggested to be a risk factor for pulmonary hypertension, although further validation is required. The vascular effects of CS share similarities with the etiology of pulmonary hypertension, including vascular inflammation and remodeling. Thus, we examined the influence of CS exposure on the pathogenesis of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension, hypothesizing that smoking might accelerate the development of primed pulmonary hypertension. CS was generated from 3R4F reference cigarettes, and rats were exposed to CS by inhalation at total particulate matter concentrations of 100-300 μg/L for 4 h/day, 7 days/week for 4 weeks. Following 1 week of initial exposure, rats received 60 mg/kg MCT and were sacrificed and analyzed after an additional 3 weeks of exposure. MCT induced hypertrophy in pulmonary arterioles and increased the Fulton index, a measure of right ventricular hypertrophy. Additional CS exposure exacerbated arteriolar hypertrophy but did not further elevate the Fulton index. No significant alterations were observed in levels of endothelin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor, or in hematological and serum biochemical parameters. Short-term inhalation exposure to CS exacerbated arteriolar hypertrophy in the lung, although this effect did not directly aggravate the overworked heart under the current experimental conditions.


In this paper, the influence of guide mechanism on the contouring errors of circular interpolation motion in the NC machine tools is analyzed theoretically. In order to analyze the errors at the quadrant changes, a dynamical model of a feed drive is proposed. The model can deal with linear rolling guide way, sliding guide way and sliding guide way with influence of wiper seal. By using the model the equations that describe motion of ballscrew or motion of slide table after the quadrant changing position are derived. Calculating the motion, the relation between characteristics of guide mechanism and contouring errors such as stick motion or lost motion is clarified. Some motion tests are conducted, and the measured motions coincide with the calculated motions fairly well.


Video recommendation is used all over the world. Websites like Netflix and IMDb use this to recommend movies to their visitors. In video recommendation, collaborative filtering algorithms are used. Collaborative filtering algorithms find patterns in datasets. These patterns can be used to make predictions. There are different kinds of collaborative filtering algorithms. In this document we will look into the model-based and memory-based collaborative filtering algorithms. The minimum distance classifier it used as memory-base collaborative filtering algorithm. Classic neural networks and dynamic neural networks are used as model-based collaborative filtering algorithms. How well do these different algorithms perform compared to each other? And what is the difference between a classic and a dynamic neural network?


We consider the formulas used by Julia Robinson in her proof that number fields are first order undecidable. We extend the result of [1]. We prove that it defines subrings in some infinite algebraic extensions of the rationals. As an application we discuss undecidablities of those infinite algebraic extensions.


Activity‐based costing (ABC) has received considerable attention in recent years. In fact, some have portrayed it as a cure‐all for all kinds of problems. Presents a father‐son debate on this issue (the father as the consultant and the son as the entrepreneur). Argues that ABC may not apply in many situations, and that common costs remain common, no matter how meticulously we attribute them to certain cost drivers for allocation purposes. Furthermore, if considerable facility and capacity costs remain unidentifiable with individual cost objects, the problem of not knowing the true product cost remains unresolved. The non‐accountant son wins most of the arguments in this real debate. Laments our getting on someone's bandwagon too quickly in confirming or rejecting a concept or an approach to doing things. Aims to shed some light on this interesting issue.


Human immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus on chromosome 14 includes more than 40 functional copies of the variable gene (IGHV), which, together with the joining genes (IGHJ), diversity genes (IGHD), constant genes (IGHC) and immunoglobulin light chains, code for antibodies that identify and neutralize pathogenic invaders as a part of the adaptive immune system. Because of its highly repetitive sequence composition, the IGH locus has been particularly difficult to assemble or genotype through the use of standard short read sequencing technologies. Here we introduce ImmunoTyper-SR, an algorithmic method for genotype and CNV analysis of the germline IGHV genes using Illumina whole genome sequencing (WGS) data. ImmunoTyper-SR is based on a novel combinatorial optimization formulation that aims to minimize the total edit distance between reads and their assigned IGHV alleles from a given database, with constraints on the number and distribution of reads across each called allele. We have validated ImmunoTyper-SR on 12 individuals with Illumina WGS data from the 1000 Genomes Project, whose IGHV allele composition have been studied extensively through the use of long read and targeted sequencing platforms, as well as nine individuals from the NIAID COVID Consortium who have been subjected to WGS twice. We have then applied ImmunoTyper-SR on 585 samples from the NIAID COVID Consortium to investigate associations between distinct IGHV alleles and anti-type I IFN autoantibodies which have been linked to COVID-19 severity.


Abstract Mammalian ovarian G-protein-coupled receptor 1 (OGR1) is activated by some metals in addition to extracellular protons and coupling to multiple intracellular signaling pathways. In the present study, we examined whether zebrafish OGR1, zebrafish GPR4, and human GPR4 (zOGR1, zGPR4, and hGPR4, respectively) could sense the metals and activate the intracellular signaling pathways. On one hand, we found that only manganese and cobalt of the tested metals stimulated SRE-promoter activities in zOGR1-overexpressed HEK293T cells. On the other hand, none of the metals tested stimulated the promoter activities in zGPR4- and hGPR4-overexpressed cells. The OGR1 mutant (H4F), which is lost to activation by extracellular protons, did not stimulate metal-induced SRE-promoter activities. These results suggest that zOGR1, but not GPR4, is also a metal-sensing G-protein-coupled receptor in addition to a proton-sensing G-protein-coupled receptor, although not all metals that activate hOGR1 activated zOGR1.


Introduction: Telemedicine has the potential to improve abortion access disparities in Canada. We aimed to explore the provision of telemedicine for first-trimester medical abortion and related barriers in 2019. Methods: We conducted a national, cross-sectional, anonymized, web-based survey of clinicians who provided abortion care in 2019 in Canada. We distributed our survey through professional health organizations to maximize identification of possible eligible respondents and used a modified Dillman technique to foster responses. Questions elicited provider demographics, clinical characteristics, including telemedicine first-trimester medical abortion and perceived related barriers. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using R software. Results: Among 465 respondents, 388 reported providing first-trimester medical abortion across Canada; 44.0% reported experience using telemedicine for some components of care: 49.3% of primary care clinicians and 28.7% of specialists. Telemedicine was used for initial consultation (86.0%), prescription (82.2%), or follow-up (92.2%). The median percentage of telemedicine providers' patients who underwent a dating ultrasound was 90.0. The majority usually followed up with patients through quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (84.2%). Seventy-eight percent perceived barriers to telemedicine; the most common being inability to confirm gestational age with ultrasound (43.0%), and lack of provincial telemedicine abortion fee code to pay practitioners (30.2%), timely access to serum hCG testing (24.6%), and nearby emergency services (23.3%). Discussion: In 2019, fewer than half of respondents reported providing some aspects of first-trimester medical abortion through telemedicine and the majority perceived barriers. Our results can inform knowledge translation activities to reduce barriers and increase telemedicine abortion care in Canada.


This paper contributes to arguments for the potential of Giddens' structuration theory in educational research. It illustrates how 'conceptual schemes' from structuration theory were applied to the author's empirical research on a type of alternative educational practice in India, 'private school outreach'. It shows how Giddens' concepts of 'social system', 'structure' and 'agency' helped to conceptualize private school outreach, and how 'constraint' and 'ontological security' offered explanations of apparent contradictions in private school outreach practice within the context of the reasons and motivations of actors. It also argues that when schools attempt to do things differently, contradictions may occur because the same 'rules and resources' that are drawn on in the production of alternative practice are drawn on in the reproduction of practice. Finally, acknowledging the debates around structuration theory, some of its key criticisms are addressed in relation to the empirical application.


High-throughput omic data sets like genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, glycomics, lipitomics, metabolomics, and modified forms of the biological molecules have been generated to investigate biological mechanisms. Accordingly, bioinformatic methods and tools have been developed and applied to analyze the omics data for different purposes. However, a lack of comparison and integration tools impedes the deep exploration of multi-omics data. OmicsX is a user-friendly web server for integration and comparison of different omic datasets with optional sample annotation information. The tool includes modules for gene-wise correlation, sample-wise correlation, subtype clustering, and differential expression. OmicsX provides researchers the analysis results with visualization, searching, and data downloading, and help to suggest the biological indications from the comparison of different omic data. Availability and implementation http://bioinfo.wilmer.jhu.edu/OmicsX/


The present work is a sequel of our previous work [Phys. Rev. D 93, 084018 (2016)] which depicted a simple version of an inflationary quintessential model whose inflationary stage was described by a Higgs-type potential and the quintessential phase was responsible due to an exponential potential. Additionally, the model predicted a nonsingular universe in past which was geodesically past incomplete. Further, it was also found that the model is in agreement with the Planck 2013 data when running is allowed. But, this model provides a theoretical value of the running which is far smaller than the central value of the best fit in ns, r, as=dns/dlnk parameter space where ns, r, as respectively denote the spectral index, tensor-to-scalar ratio and the running of the spectral index associated with any inflationary model, and consequently to analyze the viability of the model one has to focus in the two-dimensional marginalized confidence level in the allowed domain of the plane (ns,r) without taking into account the running. Unfortunately, such analysis shows that this model does not pass this test. However, in this sequel we propose a family of models runs by a single parameter a?[0,1] which proposes another "inflationary quintessential model" where the inflation and the quintessence regimes are respectively described by a power law potential and a cosmological constant. The model is also nonsingular although geodesically past incomplete as in the cited model. Moreover, the present one is found to be more simple compared to the previous model and it is in excellent agreement with the observational data. In fact, we note that, unlike the previous model, a large number of the models of this family with a?[0,12) match with both Planck 2013 and Planck 2015 data without allowing the running. Thus, the properties in the current family of models compared to its past companion justify its need for a better cosmological model with the successive improvement of the observational data.


Based on a functional-structural plant model - GreenLab, the source-sink relationships were investigated in order to analyze the impact of fruit sink strenght on the plant biomass production and partition for an optimal yield in the case of maize. the fruit sink strength optimization comes from the fact that there is competition between the and the leaves in demand of biomass according to the results of GreenLab model calibration. A theorically optimal fruit sink strangth value was therefore acquired by solving a bound-constrained optimization problem to act as an evaluation criterion for the species of maize growing in the field, and we name the optimal value fruit sink reference. The optimization results hold with fruit weight serving as the objective function for the bound-constrained optimization problem. According to the fruit sink reference we can tell the maize in the field is the optimal one or not in the sense of GreeLab plant functional-structural characteristics, and possible instructions for hybridization were drawn.


Parity-time (𝒫𝒯) symmetric structures have exhibited potential applications in developing various robust quantum devices. In an optical trimer with balanced loss and gain, we analytically study the 𝒫𝒯 symmetric phase transition by investigating the spontaneous symmetric breaking. We also illustrate the asymmetric photonic transmission behaviors in both of the 𝒫𝒯 symmetric and 𝒫𝒯 symmetry broken phases. We find (i) the non-periodical dynamics of photonic transmission in the 𝒫𝒯 symmetry broken phase instead of 𝒫𝒯 symmetric phase can be regarded as a signature of phase transition; and (ii) it shows asymmetric photonic transmission behavior in both of the phases but comes from different underlying physical mechanisms. The obtained results may be useful to implement the photonic devices based on coupled-cavity system.


The most common approach in the finite‐element modelling of continuum systems over space and time is to employ the finite‐element discretization over the spatial domain to reduce the problem to a system of ordinary differential equations in time. The desired time integration scheme can then be used to step across the so‐called time slabs, mesh configurations in which every element shares the same degree of time refinement. These techniques may become inefficient when the nature of the initial boundary value problem is such that a high degree of time refinement is required only in specific spatial regions of the mesh. Ideally one would be able to increase the time refinement only in those necessary regions. We achieve this flexibility by employing space–time elements with independent interpolation functions in both space and time. Our method is used to examine the classic contact problem of Signorini and allows us to increase the time refinement only in the spatial region adjacent to the contact interface. We also develop an interface‐tracking algorithm that tracks the contact boundary through the space–time mesh and compare our results with those of Hertz contact theory. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper examines a model of sequential cost-saving innovations financed by venture capital. Successful firms in research can enter the market with a cost advantage over older firms and acquire market power. Innovators have the technical knowledge to conduct R&D but lack the necessary financial resources. Their projects are financed by venture capitalists in exchange for a share of future profits. Venture capitalists can also provide advice and support to innovators, which increases the likelihood of success. Moral hazard between innovators and venture capitalists and rent-seeking behavior introduce various distortions in the level of effort provided by venture capitalists, the size of innovations, and the timing of R&D activities. The system of taxes and subsidies on R&D expenditures, capital gains, and capital investment required to induce the social optimum is characterized. Surprisingly, such a tax system must increase the cost of R&D and lower the return to capital.


Seed management has until recently been neglected in agrobiodiversity research. Gender dimensions in seed selection, processing, storage and exchange embody critical task areas in the human management of diverse crop species and varieties. This paper focuses on women's roles in seed management in field and homegarden crops in Bangladesh and reports on the findings of a study in two villages in Tangail District. Seventy-five women were surveyed with a questionnaire and subsets interviewed in-depth; focus groups conducted for women and men provided a means of cross-checking responses. Three distinct areas of agrobiodiversity were addressed: the gendered divisions of labour among agricultural tasks; the pervasiveness of seed saving among respondents; and seed management practices and techniques. The results indicate that while men have greater authority over field activities, homegarden production is the exclusive domain of women. Seed management is seen as an extension of women's domestic duties: women are responsible for all seed processing, storage and exchange for field as well as homegarden crops. The vast majority of seeds sown are saved on-farm by women, revealing important cultural, economic and environmental implications for agrobiodiversity conservation and local differences.


A computerized numerical database on electrical, thermal, mechanical, degradation and other properties of electrical insulating materials for overhead and underground electric power transmission and distribution has been developed. The database is continuously updated and upgraded following new developments in insulating materials for transmission and distribution systems. As a central source of technical and applications data on electrical insulating materials directly accessible online, this database is a valuable tool in developing, designing, and manufacturing insulating systems for electric utility equipment. The database is interactive, menu-driven, and user-friendly. It permits the direct mode of search/retrieval of data for specified materials, properties, and independent variables, and the inverted mode of search/retrieval of qualified materials that meet a set of specified property requirements (which is the computer-aided materials selection). It also enables units conversion, variable transformation, and interactive graphical display and manipulation of the retrieved data. The methodology for data compilation, evaluation, analysis, and correlation and the database development, content, and operation are presented and discussed.<<ETX>>


In humans, sweating is one of the most variable routes of water loss. This thesis investigates
sweat volumes and sweat composition during single training sessions. Chapter 4 investigates the
variability of sweat losses and sweat composition between four training sessions. Forty-five able-bodied
individuals (twenty males and twenty-five females) volunteered for the study and ranged in age from 18–65
years. Data was collected during the participants normal training sessions, consisting of various
recreational pursuits. Sweat losses were determined by changes in body mass over the training
session, and corrected for any fluid intake and urine losses during training. A sample of
participants' sweat was obtained via adhesive gauze patches and analysed for sodium, potassium
and chloride concentrations. Sweat samples were obtained from the shoulder, chest, forearm and
thigh. The 95% confidence intervals determined from this study demonstrated the reliability of
a single training session to estimate an individual's future hydration to within 2% of initial body
mass. [Continues.]


A method and apparatus for efficient processing a page description language (''PDL'') data stream lacking page independence is described. The method and apparatus includes applying a single parsing pass for a PDL job and detecting PDL job producers by creator sniffer (83). Shared resources in the PDL job are detected by resource sniffer (85). Page boundaries in the PDL job are detected by page data sniffer (84) and an organized representation (63) is produced without rearranging data and resources in the PDL job. The system efficiently organizes PDL stream into pages, data and resources without rearranging the stream. The organized data can be efficiently submitted to plurality of PDL processors (65).


Collaboratively edited articles such as in Wikipedia suffer from well-identified problems regarding their quality, e.g., information accuracy, reputability of third-party sources, vandalism. Due to the huge number of articles and the intensive edit rate, the manual evaluation of article content quality is inconceivable. In this paper, we tackle the problem of automatically establishing the quality of Wikipedia articles. Evidences are shown to consider the interactions between authors and articles to assess the quality score. Collaborations between authors and reviewers are also considered to reinforce the discriminative process. This work gives a generic formulation of the Mutual Reinforcement principle held between articles quality and authors authority and take explicitly advantage of the co-edits graph generated by individuals. Experiments conducted on a set of representative data from Wikipedia show the effectiveness of our approach.


In light of ongoing discussions around sustainable development, the study examines how sustainable agriculture, as a global concern, is defined in local communities. Drawing on the experiences of a farming community in the Philippines, I investigate why conventional agriculture persists despite its environmental and social consequences. I also explore how local initiatives to promote sustainable farming practices are transforming social structures and beliefs that maintain conventional agriculture. By highlighting context-specific needs and aspirations, my research offers a local perspective to conversations on what needs to be considered in the quest for sustainability in the farming sector.


Objectives. To investigate the prognostic factors for bladder recurrence after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC). Methods. From 1994 to 2012, 695 patients with UUT-UC treated with RNU were enrolled in National Taiwan University Medical Center. Among them, 532 patients with no prior bladder UC history were recruited for analysis. We assessed the impact of potentially prognostic factors on bladder recurrence after RNU. Results. The median follow-up period was 47.8 months. In the Cox model, ureteral involvement and diabetes mellitus (DM) were significantly associated with a higher bladder recurrence rate in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.838; P = 0.003 and HR: 1.821; P = 0.010, resp.). In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, DM patients with concomitant ureteral UC experienced about a threefold increased risk of bladder recurrence as compared to those without both factors (HR: 3.222; P < 0.001). Patients with either of the two risk factors experienced about a twofold increased risk as compared to those without both factors (with DM, HR: 2.184, P = 0.024; with ureteral involvement, HR: 2.006, P = 0.003). Conclusions. Ureteral involvement and DM are significantly related to bladder recurrence after RNU in patients with UUT-UC.


The morphology and the crystallography of η-zinc crystals electrodeposited on a steel substrate have been examined mainly by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray Laue back reflection technique. The morphology of η-crystals varies with increasing the current density from thin layered plates to dendrite structures. The layered crystals form directly on the steel substrate with a specific variant of the Burgers' orientation relationship described as {110}α//(0001)η and α// η. The average size of these layered crystals increases with decreasing the angle between the α// η close-packed direction and the substrate surface. These crystallographic features can be explained in terms of the η-crystal nucleation at the steps on the substrate surface.


Research aims to develop a novel technique for segmental beam fabrication using plain concrete blocks and externally bonded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers Laminates (CFRP) as a main flexural reinforcement. Six beams designed an experimentally tested under two-point loadings. Several parameters included in the fabrication of segmental beam studied such as; bonding length of carbon fiber reinforced polymers, the surface-to-surface condition of concrete segments, interface condition of the bonding surface, and thickness of epoxy resin layers. Test results of the segmental beams specimens compared with that gained from testing reinforced concrete beam have similar dimensions for validations. The results show the effectiveness of the developed fabrication method of segmental beams. The modified design procedure for externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymers ACI 440.2R-17 developed for designing segmental beams. The experimental test values also compared with design values and it was 93.3% and 105.8% of the design values which indicates the effectiveness of the developed procedure.


The regulation of energy balance involves an intricate interplay between neural mechanisms that respond to internal and external cues of energy demand and food availability. Compelling data have implicated the neurotransmitter dopamine as an important part of body weight regulation. However, the precise mechanisms through which dopamine regulates energy homeostasis remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate mechanisms through which dopamine modulates energy storage. We showed that dopamine signaling regulates fat reservoirs in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that the fat reducing effects of dopamine were dependent on dopaminergic receptors and a set of fat oxidation enzymes. Our findings reveal an ancient role for dopaminergic regulation of fat and suggest that dopamine signaling elicits this outcome through cascades that ultimately mobilize peripheral fat depots.


In wireless communications, smart antenna systems that employ antenna arrays coupled with adaptive signal-processing techniques at the basestation improve capacity, coverage, and trunking efficiency. However, design and performance analysis of smart antenna systems strongly depend on channel propagation characteristics of signals present at the antenna array, the so-called vector channels. Here, variation of narrow-band vector channels (spatial signatures) due to a moving terminal is studied in typical suburban settings. Vector channel measurements are taken using a real-time smart antenna system with a uniform circular array at the basestation and a mobile transmitter at several locations. Two different wireless scenarios, namely, pedestrian and car mobile, are implemented to emulate the random movement of the mobile user. In each scenario, the mobile transmitter locations are chosen so that there exists line-of-sight (LOS), nonline-of-sight (NOLOS), or both LOS and NOLOS (mixed) propagation to the basestation. We find that in all cases, the Beta distribution can be used to empirically represent the spatial signature correlations and that large spatial diversity exists in NOLOS cases compared to LOS cases. Also, direction-of-arrivals mostly do not change much with movement in a suburban environment.


Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease which is characterized by absolute or relative deficiencies in insulin secretion and/or insulin action. The key roles of oxidative stress and inflammation in the progression of vascular complications of this disease are well recognized. Accumulating epidemiologic evidence confirms that physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance and type II diabetes. This paper briefly reviews the pathophysiological pathways associated with oxidative stress and inflammation in diabetes mellitus and then discusses the impact of exercise on these systems. In this regard, we discuss exercise induced activation of cellular antioxidant systems through "nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor." We also discuss anti-inflammatory myokines, which are produced and released by contracting muscle fibers. Antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory and chaperon effects of exercise-induced heat shock proteins are also reviewed.


The effects of in vivo diethylstilbosterol phosphate (DES-P) on lymphoid cells were studied in six patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The administration of 500 mg DES-P intravenously caused increased numbers of circulating granulocytes, monocytes, and non-T lymphocytes lasting for 24-48 hours. The natural killer activity, as measured in a three-hours 51Cr-release assay with K562 cells as targets, was transiently depressed four hours after drug injection. Parallel variations were found in the fraction of lymphocytes bearing receptors for the Fc part of IgG. In mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) the responding capacity of the T cells and the stimulatory capacity of the non-T cells were unaffected. In vitro preincubation with DES-P overnight was not toxic to the lymphocytes. To be suppressive in MLC DES-P had to be added in concentrations one thousand times higher than those of hydrocortisone. It is concluded that a single dose of DES-P in vivo modulates the kinetics of recirculating lymphoid cells.


Obesity prevalence and body image consciousness are on the rise, and women often try to lose eight using a variety of methods. This paper reports the knowledge on body weight management amongst working women aged 30 – 45 years in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents comprised 131 school teachers and 122 civil servants. Anthropometric measurements included body weight and height; while knowledge on weight management was assessed using a questionnaire. The respondents were Malay (64%), Chinese (26%) and Indian women (10%) with mean age of 38.3 ± 4.6 years old. The respondents were grouped into two weight categories based on body mass index (BMI): normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m 2 ). Mean body weight and BMI were significantly different (p < 0.001) between the two weight categories. Overweight and normal weight groups had mean body weight of 69.0 ± 9.5 kg and 53.5 ± 5.3 kg; while mean BMI were 29.2 ± 3.6 kg/m 2 dan 21.9 ± 1.7 kg/m 2 ; respectively. Mean scores for knowledge on weight management were similar for both weight categories, 62.4 ± 13.7 and 61.8 ± 13.4 for overweight and normal weight, respectively. A majority of overweight (71%) and normal weight (73%) women had moderate level (scores 50–74%) of weight management knowledge. However, it was interesting to note that there were more overweight women (20%) who had high knowledge level (scores ≥ 75%) as compared to normal weight women (15%). Only 9% of overweight and 12% of normal weight women demonstrated low knowledge level (scores <50%). School teachers were significantly (p < 0.001) more knowledgeable than civil servants in weight management matters with mean knowledge scores of 65.5 ± 12.3 and 58.4 ± 13.9, respectively. On the whole, the results indicated that women were fairly knowledgeable in healthy body weight management. Knowledge on body weight management is essential for preventing comorbidity risks related to overweight problem. The study also revealed that there was a need for nutrition education related to body image and effective weight management.