BACKGROUND
We recently demonstrated that hypophysectomy profoundly inhibits metastatic behavior in the MGH-OGS murine osteosarcoma model and speculated that this effect is related at least in part to ablation of the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis.

PURPOSE
In this study, we determined whether the administration of GH to animals rendered GH and IGF-I deficient by hypophysectomy attenuates the inhibitory effects of hypophysectomy on metastatic behavior.

METHODS
Metastatic behavior was assayed by counting visible metastases in lungs 3 weeks after tail vein injection of RIF-I fibrosarcoma cells to control mice (n = 29), hypophysectomized mice (n = 19), and hypophysectomized mice administered 0.05 microgram/g body weight recombinant human GH twice daily (n = 21).

RESULTS
Twenty of 21 hypophysectomized mice receiving GH, eight of 19 hypophysectomized mice not receiving GH, and 26 of 29 controls had grossly visible pulmonary metastases 3 weeks after intravenous injection of 5 x 10(5) cells; mean numbers +/- SD of gross metastases were 38.4 +/- 11.3, 6.4 +/- 2.2, and 13.1 +/- 2.8 in the three groups, respectively. The presence (P < .005, chi-square test) and number (P = .0003, Mann-Whitney U test) of metastases were significantly reduced in hypophysectomized hosts compared with control hosts and were significantly higher in hypophysectomized, GH-replaced hosts compared with hypophysectomized hosts (P < .001, chi-square test; P = .011, Mann-Whitney U test), while the difference in presence and extent of metastases between control and hypophysectomized, GH-replaced hosts was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS
These data support the hypothesis that the status of the host with respect to GH and/or GH-dependent factors such as IGF-I influences the metastatic behavior of certain neoplasms.

IMPLICATIONS
Our results raise the possibility that compounds that reduce GH output or interfere with GH action, such as somatostatin analogues, GH antagonists, IGF antagonists, and GH-releasing hormone antagonists, may suppress metastatic behavior of certain neoplasms.


A central goal of systems neuroscience is to characterize the transformation of sensory input to spiking output in single neurons. This problem is complicated by the large dimensionality of the inputs. To cope with this problem, previous methods have estimated simplified versions of a generic linear-nonlinear (LN) model and required, in most cases, stimuli with constrained statistics. Here we develop the extended Projection Pursuit Regression (ePPR) algorithm that allows the estimation of all of the parameters, in space and time, of a generic LN model using arbitrary stimuli. We first prove that ePPR models can uniformly approximate, to an arbitrary degree of precision, any continuous function. To test this generality empirically, we use ePPR to recover the parameters of models of cortical cells that cannot be represented exactly with an ePPR model. Next we evaluate ePPR with physiological data from primary visual cortex, and show that it can characterize both simple and complex cells, from their responses to both natural and random stimuli. For both simulated and physiological data, we show that ePPR compares favorably to spike-triggered and information-theoretic techniques. To the best of our knowledge, this article contains the first demonstration of a method that allows the estimation of an LN model of visual cells, containing multiple spatio-temporal filters, from their responses to natural stimuli.


Fungi relieve nitrogen limitation Rising concentrations of atmospheric CO2 stimulate plant growth; an effect that could reduce the pace of anthropogenic climate change. But plants also need nitrogen for growth. So far, experimental nitrogen addition has had equivocal effects on the magnitude of CO2 fertilization. Terrer et al. explain that the impact of nitrogen on plant growth depends on the relationship between nitrogen availability and symbioses with mycorrhizal soil fungi. Only plants with ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with their roots can overcome nitrogen limitation. Science, this issue p. 72 Ectomycorrhizal fungi control the carbon dioxide fertilization effects of nitrogen. Plants buffer increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations through enhanced growth, but the question whether nitrogen availability constrains the magnitude of this ecosystem service remains unresolved. Synthesizing experiments from around the world, we show that CO2 fertilization is best explained by a simple interaction between nitrogen availability and mycorrhizal association. Plant species that associate with ectomycorrhizal fungi show a strong biomass increase (30 ± 3%, P < 0.001) in response to elevated CO2 regardless of nitrogen availability, whereas low nitrogen availability limits CO2 fertilization (0 ± 5%, P = 0.946) in plants that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The incorporation of mycorrhizae in global carbon cycle models is feasible, and crucial if we are to accurately project ecosystem responses and feedbacks to climate change.


Background: Pain is a major problem for patients with cancer and it is often perceived and regarded as inevitable. Cancer pain is treatable, however. Its undertreatment has been a major problem and this is well documented. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of undertreatment of cancer pain in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving adult cancer patients, who were hospitalized in surgical wards of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria in the month of June 2009. The outcome of treatment and the position of the patient's clinical pain status were weighted using the pain management scale. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS 11.5 version. Results: A total of 67 cancer patients were admitted in both male and female surgical wards. There were 27 (40.3%) males and 40 (59.7%) females. The age range was 17-75 years with a mean of 44.9 years. The study showed 33 (49.3%) patients had negative scores, 4 (6.0%) had positive scores, while 30 (44.8%) had zero score using the pain management scale score. Therefore, the prevalence of undertreatment, which is equivalent to the patients with negative score, in our center was 49.3%. Conclusion: The prevalence of undertreatment of cancer pain is high in our environment and several factors may be responsible for this high rate. There is the need for training of medical personnel and all health professionals on cancer pain management.


During a period of three months, 400 patients with normal kidneys were examined by ultrasound. An evaluation of 14 parameters was made including renal volume (RV), the correlation RV-weight, RV-height, and RV-age of the patients, the quantitative measurement of the renal parenchyma, and the influence of hydration and bladder distension on the sonographic diagnosis of hydronephrosis. In 40 cases, comparison with an additional contrast urography study permitted us to obtain the radiographic magnification index. We present 10 figures including measurement of the absolute parenchymal thickness, parenchymo-sinusal ratio, pyelocalyceal distension and we illustrate the four grades of our hydronephrosis classification.


We have studied the quadrupole degree of freedom in a typical vibrational nucleus, looRu. From inelastic neutron scattering at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the University of Kentucky, lifetimes of states in looRu were determined. Absolute transition rates or limits thereon were extracted and compared to the theoretical description of this nucleus.


Heterosis has been widely used in agriculture, but the molecular mechanism for this remains largely elusive. In Arabidopsis hybrids and allopolyploids, increased photosynthetic and metabolic activities are linked to altered expression of circadian clock regulators, including CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1). It is unknown whether a similar mechanism mediates heterosis in maize hybrids. Here we report that higher levels of carbon fixation and starch accumulation in the maize hybrids are associated with altered temporal gene expression. Two maize CCA1 homologs, ZmCCA1a and ZmCCA1b, are diurnally up-regulated in the hybrids. Expressing ZmCCA1 complements the cca1 mutant phenotype in Arabidopsis, and overexpressing ZmCCA1b disrupts circadian rhythms and biomass heterosis. Furthermore, overexpressing ZmCCA1b in maize reduced chlorophyll content and plant height. Reduced height stems from reduced node elongation but not total node number in both greenhouse and field conditions. Phenotypes are less severe in the field than in the greenhouse, suggesting that enhanced light and/or metabolic activities in the field can compensate for altered circadian regulation in growth vigor. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis reveals a temporal shift of ZmCCA1-binding targets to the early morning in the hybrids, suggesting that activation of morning-phased genes in the hybrids promotes photosynthesis and growth vigor. This temporal shift of ZmCCA1-binding targets correlated with nonadditive and additive gene expression in early and late stages of seedling development. These results could guide breeding better hybrid crops to meet the growing demand in food and bioenergy.


The African genus Chorisia Princis contains a single species which was originally described as Blatta reducta Walker, and was later placed in Symploce by Princis . The following 4 species are synonyms of reducta; Phyllodromia trivirgata Werner, Ph. arundicola Werner, Ph. concolor Werner, and Chorisia fulvotestacea Princis. Chorisia is probably the closest genus to Blattella.


Adherence to medication is critical to achieving effectiveness of any treatment. Poor adherence often results in lack of treatment effects, worsening of diseases and increased health care costs. Therefore, it has significant public health importance. However, determining factors that influence adherence behavior is complicated because adherence is often measured on multiple drugs over a long period of time, resulting in multivariate ordinal longitudinal outcome. In the first part of this dissertation, we present a joint model which assumes ordered outcomes arose from a partitioned latent multivariate normal process. This joint model provides a framework for analyzing multivariate ordered longitudinal data with a general multilevel association structure, covering both between and within outcome correlation within each individual. Simulation studies show that the estimators of regression parameters are more efficient than those obtained through fitting separate standard GEE for each outcome, though estimators from each method are unbiased. The proposed method also yields unbiased estimators for correlation parameters given the correct correlation structure. However, standard GEE estimators are biased when missing data are present and data are not missing completely at random (MCAR). In the second part of this dissertation, we apply inverse probability weighted (IPW) estimating equations to the proposed joint model to obtain consistent estimators when data are missing at random (MAR). Simulation studies show that IPW estimators are consistent when the missing model is correctly specified. Furthermore, we observe that fitting with correct correlation structures can also help reduce bias for standard GEE estimators. This demonstrates both a better correlation structure and a better missing model will reduce bias in the analysis of missing at random longitudinal data using IPW GEE. We illustrate application of the proposed joint model to the Virahep-C data.


Osteocartilaginous exostosis (osteochondroma) is a benign lesion that occurs in the epiphyses of the long bones, primarily in the femur and tibia. It is cartilage capped bony growth protruding from the surface of the affected bone. Osteocartilaginous exostosis of the mandibular condyle is rare, and only a few cases have been reported in literature.In this paper, we report on a case of osteocartilaginous exostosis occurring in the left mandibular condyle. The patient, a 33-year-old woman whose complaint was a facial asymmetry and malocclusion, was examined on May, 8, 1986. She had first noticed a painless swelling at the left temple 3 years previously. Palpation revealed that the left mandibular condyle was swollen and dislocated from the fossa. Trismus was not found, suggesting that the cartilaginous cap had functioned as an articular cartilage. The radiologic views demonstrated the presence of a large bony mass protruding from the medial aspect of the mandibular condyle. The surgically excised tumor showed osseous tissue covered with a hyaline cartilage of varying thickness. The patient was followed without evidence of recurrence for 7 months after the surgical operation.


The paper sets out to explore the link existing between the entrepreneurial interventions and human capital development in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. In order to address the major problem of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, many successive governments in Nigeria have embarked on one entrepreneurship developmental program or the other. Unfortunately, all these government efforts have failed to yield a fruitful sustainable entrepreneurial development particularly among the Niger Delta region that are mainly the target of the programs. Past studies have attributed such failure to a range of factors such as infrastructure decay and deficiency leading to poor human development, lack of proper implementation of the master plan, lack of funds, inadequacy of the master plan etc. Although, the efforts of the past studies as well as that of the developmental agencies are commendable, however, they have failed to address one important issue which is the human capability aspect of the developmental program. Therefore, this paper explores the role of human capability approach on the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship development programs within the Niger Delta region context and the political influence with a view to proposing a framework to examine the relationship between human capability and effective entrepreneurship development programs.


Based on the Diakoptic Equation, an algorithm is developed for block diagonalizing and solving any given set of linear simultaneous equations. This algorithm is then applied to block diagonalize and solve the Jacobian matrix and hence the load flow problem. The algorithm is perfectly general and can be appliedto any set of linear simultaneous equations, symmetrical or asymmetrical and hence can be applied to other fields as well. Applied to the load flow problem, it requires to consider a few more additional right hand side vectors to the Jacobian, and further an inter-subdivision matrix is to be formed and solved. No matrix inversion is required in this method and hence sparsity can be exploited to the maximum extent. Practical steps are given, so that the algorithm can be implimented by others.


The capability of SPT, CPT, Shear Wave Velocity and Electrical methods to evaluate earthquake induced liquefaction susceptibility of soil deposits consisting of sensitive clayey silts and silty clays, saturated with pore fluids of low and high salt concentrations is examined. Five liquefied and one non-liquefied sites in Ying Kou City, affected by the Haicheng earthquake of 1975, were selected for the study. The SPT method predicted that all sites would liquefy. The CPT method utilizing the SPT-CPT correlation provided similar predictions. The currently available shear wave velocity correlation for liquefaction for stiff site is shown to be inadequate to predict the observed behavior. The threshold shear strain approach predicted that all sites are susceptible to liquefaction. The predictions made by the electrical method from consideration of the stress ratio required to cause liquefaction and the pore pressures developed during earthquake are shown to be in accordance with the observed behavior in all cases.


Over the past few years, the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ) has become the standard-of-care therapy for patients with glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor. Recent large-scale cancer genome sequencing efforts have identified a hypermutation phenotype and inactivating MSH6 mismatch repair gene mutations in recurrent, post-TMZ glioblastomas, particularly those growing more rapidly during TMZ treatment. MSH6 sequence and microsatellite instability (MSI) status were determined in matched pre- and post-chemotherapy glioblastomas identified by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as having post-treatment MSH6 mutations. These were confirmed in post-treatment TCGA glioblastomas but absent in matched pre-treatment tumors. The post-treatment hypermutation phenotype was biased toward CpC transitions and was not associated with MSI. This is consistent with development of MSH6 mutations as an escape mechanism during alkylator therapy in vivo . Next, we sought to explore the role of MSH6 mutations in mediating TMZ cytotoxicity in vitro . We derived TMZ-resistant clones in vitro via selective growth under TMZ exposure and the MSH6 gene was sequenced in resistant clones. One clone (A172TR3) showed an MSH6 mutation (T1219I) that was not present in the parental line but that had been noted in two treated TCGA glioblastomas. The role of MSH6 inactivation in mediating resistance to TMZ exposure was further explored using lentiviral shRNA knockdown of MSH6 in the human glioblastoma line U251. Clones with suppressed MSH6 expression demonstrated increased resistance to TMZ cytotoxicity. Previously, we have shown that MSH6 mutations are selected for in glioblastomas during TMZ therapy in vivo . Recently, additional cases are reported by TCGA in large-scale profiling of glioblastomas. In this study, we showed that somatic MSH6 mutations in TCGA post-treatment tumors with hypermutation are not present in matched pre-treatment tumors. Additionally, both in vitro genetic approaches -sequencing of TMZ- resistant clones and lentiviral knockdown of MSH6 in glioblastoma cells- have further confirmed the importance of MSH6 in mediating TMZ resistance. In summary, our in vitro data support the in vivo observation of MSH6 in TMZ treatment failure in recurrent glioblastomas. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 5526.


There is little doubt that the most helpful treatment for persons with hearing impairment are personal amplification instruments – better known as hearing aids. For more than 40 years I have marveled at the evolution of hearing aids and the concurrent development of various fitting procedures. The advances in personal amplification to help those with hearing loss have been nothing less than amazing. During these four decades, we have moved from simple basic analog hearing aids fit through subjective behavioral assessments to fitting today's advanced digital devices through computerized and automated protocols. Reflective of those early years, there were substantial differences between the various manufacturers' hearing aid products and it was, accordingly, necessary for patients to listen and judge between a number of hearing aid choices to select the device that sounded best to them. In more recent years, however, all digital hearing aids generally provide appropriate output, gain and frequency responses to fit nearly any person's hearing loss regardless of degree or threshold configuration. In fact, the numerous specialized features of today's modern hearing aids have expanded utilization of personal amplification far beyond anyone's expectations. Unfortunately, the technologies of new hearing aids always arrive far earlier and faster than our abilities to develop accurate fitting methods for our patients – a statement that is true even today...


UTILIZATION OF FISH AS BIOLOGICAL MONITORS IN CONTINENTAL AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FROM RADIATION. The present work revisits methodologies to evaluate radiation absorbed dose in fi sh, while presenting parameters on which a methodology for evaluating environmental radiological impact based on the amount of absorbed dose of the biota can be mounted, herein focusing on continental fi shes. This approach is recent and subsided by national and international organisations. A general review of biota dose calculation methods is given. From these data we listed formulas for calculating the conversion factors from activity concentration to dose rate, and to calculate derived water and sediment limits. Herein is also presented a new model to calculate the absorbed dose per year based on the model designed by the US Department of Energy, and a dose limit is proposed based on this model. We tried to point out new perspectives for the development of environmental radiological evaluation methods by suggesting a way of managing the absorbed dose by the biota based on the methods to quantify environmental damage.


Lovastatin is a potent drug for lowering the blood cholesterol. It is a competitive inhibitor of 3-hyroxy3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, which is a key enzyme in the cholesterol production pathway. Lovastatin increases the good cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins to prevent the formation of plaque inside the blood vessels. This study aims to develop a process model of lovastatin production, produced by Monascus purpureus under solid-state fermentation using oil palm frond. SuperPro Design V9.5 software was used to develop and simulate the process model. Three parameters which are initial moisture content, composition of peptone and potassium, were varied to investigate their effects on lovastatin production. The optimum condition simulated using the process model at pH 7 with 60% initial moisture content, 0.0075 kg/hr of potassium, and 0.0075 kg/hr of peptone was able to produce 0.0288 kg/kg of lovastatin. The simulated results show good agreement with experimental work, with low percentage error of 5.77%, and provide a good approximation on the production of lovastatin under various process operating conditions.


Current knowledge on the practice of earthquake engineering for oil and gas pipeline systems is presented. Such systems typically consist of buried oil, gas, or product pipelines and aboveground facilities, including pumping and compressor stations, storage tanks for hydrocarbon products, and miscellaneous terminal facilities. Topics covered include: Description of seismic hazards; quantification of seismic hazards; design criteria considerations for pipeline systems; differential ground movement effects on buried pipes; wave propagation effects on buried pipelines; seismic response and design of liquid storage tanks; seismic response analysis of structures, equipment, and aboveground pipelines; and operations and maintenance considerations.


In this paper, we present Lyapunov-based {\color{black}time varying} controllers for {\color{black}fast} stabilization of a perturbed chain of integrators with bounded uncertainties. We refer to such controllers as {\color{black}time varying} higher order sliding mode controllers since they are designed for nonlinear Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) systems with bounded uncertainties such that the uncertainty bounds are unknown. %{\color{blue} OLD: Our main result states that, given any neighborhood $\varepsilon$ of the origin, we determine a controller insuring, for every uncertainty bounds, that every trajectory of the corresponding closed loop system enters $\varepsilon$ and eventually remains there. Furthermore, based on the homogeneity property, a new asymptotic accuracy, which depends on the size of $\varepsilon$, is presented.} We provide a time varying control feedback law insuring verifying the following: there exists a family $(D(t))_{t\geq 0}$ of time varying open sets decreasing to the origin as $t$ tends to infinity, such that, for any unknown uncertainty bounds and trajectory $z(\cdot)$ of the corresponding system, there exists a positive positve $t_z$ for which $z(t_z)\in D(t_z)$ and $z(t)\in D(t)$ for $t\geq t_z$. %enters convergence in finite time of all the trajectories to a time varying domain $D(t)$ shrinking to the origin and their maintenance there. Hence, since the function $\eta(t)$ tends to zero, this leads the asymptotic convergence of all the trajectories to zero. The effectiveness of these controllers is illustrated through simulations.


Introduction With synchrony of ventricular contraction already restored by cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), optimisation of atrioventricular (AV) delay relies on improving filling. Although when AV delay is improved blood pressure immediately rises, there is a subsequent partial decline. Is this secondary decline because (1) non-invasive measurements are unreliable, (2) cardiac function increment is short-lived or (3) peripheral vasodilatation occurs? We conducted invasive experiments to distinguish between these hypotheses. Methods Nine patients with heart failure and CRT underwent changes in programmed AV delay from 40 ms to 120 ms. We simultaneously measured beat-by-beat invasive aortic pressure and flow, and non-invasive pressure (Finometer). Triplicate sets of experiments were performed and averaged to minimise the impact of noise. Results There was an immediate increment in invasive blood pressure of +14.7±2.0 mm Hg (p=0.0001), but after ∼10 beats there was a secondary progressive decline to a lower plateau of +8.0±1.8 mm Hg (p=0.004), Abstract 004 figure 1. The initial increment was caused by an immediate rise in flow by +9.1±2.4% (p=0.007) which did not drop later. The secondary decline in pressure was caused by a delayed gradual decline in total peripheral resistance. Finometer-derived non-invasive blood pressure tracked invasive pressure closely (r=0.97).Abstract 004 Figure 1 Conclusion When AV delay is made more favourable, only the instant pressure increment is caused by increase in stroke volume. The secondary pressure decline is caused by systemic vasodilatation. Design of AV optimisation protocols, which face severe challenge of signal vs noise, might benefit from recognition that not all beats are equally informative: the first few after a transition are most signal-rich.


The far-infrared spectra of the aromatic hydrocarbons tetracene and pentacene have been calculated using a perturbational-variational method coupled with potential truncation. This shortening of the potential enabled accurate vibration calculations for these large molecules and their respective dimers. Thus, it was possible to identify all IR bands obtained experimentally in the far-IR range by Michaelian et al., as well as to differentiate bands resulting from intermolecular and intramolecular modes of vibration separately, and combined intermolecular + intramolecular vibration modes. Far-IR spectra for smaller acene family members, naphthalene and anthracene, were also computed, and trends in intermolecular vibrations, for the acene family as a whole, were identified. The results obtained illustrate the quality and the detail of the insights realized by interrogating experimental spectra using high-precision, unscaled quantum mechanics computational approaches, and provide a benchmark for future work ta...


Drs Goh and Hutson are to be complimented on their bravery in approaching the difficult subject of the definition and significance of the retractile testis.' Unfortunately having pointed out that much day-to-day decision-making is based upon individual experience and not even well-collected empirical evidence, much less good scientific data, they then proceed to fall into the same trap themselves. Their first confusion is to use the term 'retractile testis' in two different ways in the same article. The first use is to classify a patient on the basis of a single examination, in which the testis can be brought into the scrotum with a variable amount of force. The label under those circumstances simply means that the clinician is not prepared to diagnose this as definitely undescended. Later in the article, however, they use the term to mean that which they are condemning, namely, a testis which is by definition a testis whose position is normal but which undergoes periodic retraction by the cremaster muscle. Their next error is to make an assumption and then take the assumption as fact. In paragraph 3 they state 'it is likely that most of these retractile testes spend most of the time in the suprascrotal position' without any evidence to support this. Perhaps they have a secret lightweight video camera mountable in the child's underclothes that they are yet to disclose to the world, but without that sort of evidence such a statement is pure conjecture. Nevertheless, in the next sentence this probability has ended and it becomes certain: 'these testes spend most of the time in the same hostile non-scrota1 environment'. The third problem is that they produce no evidence to demonstrate that this type of testis (about which we all have so much difficulty making decisions) goes on to become functionally inferior, and that this functional impairment is a result of the position in which the testis lies and not an intrinsic dysplasia of the testis. While there is a lot of evidence as to the functional impairment of the untreated undescended testis once the individual gets to adult life, I know of no evidence that clearly separates this 'borderline' group and examines it separately. There is, furthermore, no evidence that operation reduces the risk of malignancy in undescended testis so to presume that patients are 'slipping through the net' and being exposed to an increased risk of malignancy is without foundation. Finally, an examination of some of their references shows them to be weak on scientific method. A century ago, the medical profession believed that anaemia was a single disease. This is now regarded as a ludicrously simplistic view. t suspect that the underlying assumption that undescended testis is a single disease will be similarly viewed in the future. Testicular dysplasia can occur in descended as well as undescended testes. It can occur in the normally descended partner of a unilaterally undescended testis. Experimentally we can induce histological changes by tethering the testis up out of the scrotum, and there is evidence that early operation for undescended testis prevents some of the histological abnormalities that would occur if the testis were untreated. This does not, however, mean that all testicular dysplasia is due to abnormalities of position, nor that all dysplastic testes can be made normal by tethering them in the bottom of the scrotum. Undescended testis would seem more likely to be a group of diseases in which testicular dysplasia and lack of scrota1 position are involved in various degrees and that at present placement of the testis in the bottom of the scrotum either pharmacologically or surgically is the best we can offer in terms of treatment. For this reason one could not possibly disagree with the authors' final conclusion: any testis not convincingly in the bottom of the scrotum should be followed up regularly by someone experienced with the technique of examination, and intervention offered once a definite trend towards malposition is detected.


It is well known that most odorants stimulate both the olfactory system and the trigeminal system. However, the overlap between the brain processes involved in each of these sensorial perceptions is still poorly documented. This study aims to compare fMRI brain activations while smelling two odorants of a similar perceived intensity and pleasantness: phenyl ethyl alcohol (a pure olfactory stimulus) and iso‐amyl‐acetate (a bimodal olfactory‐trigeminal stimulus) in a homogeneous sample of 15 healthy, right‐handed female subjects. The analysis deals with the contrasts of brain activation patterns between these two odorant conditions. The results showed a significant recruitment of the right insular cortex, and bilaterally in the cingulate in response to the trigeminal component. These findings are discussed in relation to the characteristics of these odorants compared with those tested in previous studies. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A masonry chimney 50 meters high, severely damaged by the May 2012 Emilia-Romagna (Italy) seismic sequence is numerically analyzed by means of non linear static and dynamic FE techniques. The state of damage on the upper part of the structure led to take the decision to shorten the chimney for security reasons, with a reduction of the height up to 37 meters. A modal pushover analysis (MPA) where force distributions based on the principal vibration modes is used to analyze the structure, finding for the 50 meters case crack patterns consistent with the observed ones. In addition, it is shown how, before and after shortening, the behavior factor to be used in modal response spectrum analyses, estimated directly from the MPA results, is slightly higher than unity, indicating a very low dissipative capacity. To validate static approach results, non-linear dynamic analyses are carried out using natural accelerograms and for the masonry material a damage-plasticity model. The residual deformations obtained and the crack patterns found exhibit convincing similarities with the real behaviour and address how the shortening may be beneficial to improve stability.


Electric Geology is considered the study of rocks generated or altered by past or ongoing electrical processes resulting in present day rock formations with telltale signs of very strong electrical processes at work. Since 1950 with the publishing of the controversial book, Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky, proponents of his theories have conducted field investigations for evidence in opposition to what is considered the more standard or conventional geophysical processes with a slower electrical valence transfer of charge considered in normal crystallization and weathering processes. Michael Steinbacher, a most excellent photographer, was an electric universe devotee during the early formation of the Thunderbolts team. He is credited as an original investigator of the Arc Blast phenomena, who first began a series of extensive field investigations first posting to the Thunderbolts forum in 2008. Arc Blast is generally considered an extreme event of the Electric Geological process whereby Interplanetary Lightning or Static Electricity is considered the causal agent of large i.e. planetary-scale Electric Geological processes. Hypotheses on what triggers an Arc Blast vary, but may include wandering interstellar objects that transfer charge directly in passing, a plasma event triggered from the Sun, shifting orbits changing electro-magnetic potentials, discharge during impacts or collisions, increase charge density of surrounding interstellar space etc. The end result is a planet scarred by electric carveouts during extreme Plasma Tectonic events.


Abstract During frying, fat degrade and many reactions occur resulting in numerous altered fatty acid products. This would lead to the formation of Tran's fatty acids and changes in nutritional qualities. Hence, this study was aimed to determine the changes during frying on fatty acid composition of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) fish muscle from local fish market of Hawassa, Ethiopia. Fish fryers reported that they usually use palm oil for frying. They also indicated that the oil is kept for days and reused for frying at different cycle. In fried fish, 35 types of fatty acids were identified and 27 in raw fish muscle. Palmitic, stearic, heptadecanoic, and tetradecenoic acids were the abundant saturated fatty acids in both fried and raw fish muscle. Oleic, Docosahexaenoic, Eicosapentaenoic, and Linoleic acid were the major unsaturated fatty acids. The percentages of total saturated fatty acids (SFA) of raw fish muscle (47.4%) were found to be lower compared with fried fish muscle (51.8%). The n‐6/n‐3 ratio (7.83), index of atherogenicity (0.85), and thrombogenicity (1.71) in the fried fish muscle were in the undesirable values. The hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio was relatively similar in the fried (1.09) and raw (1.02) fish muscles. The total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) level of raw fish muscle (52.2%) was higher than the fried fish muscle (47.2%). Higher percentage of Tran's fatty acid was identified in the fried fish muscle compared with raw. Frying considerably altered fatty acid composition of fish muscle. It increased saturated fatty acid concentration and decreased unsaturated. Hence, frying noticeably decreases the nutritional quality of fish muscle. Therefore, it is suggested that further analysis on fatty acid composition of oil usually used for frying and the nutritional quality index across frying cycles.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the frequency of different blood phenotypes and to predict the risk of Rh D alloimmunization and maternal-fetal incompatibility in a Brazilian population living in the West zone of the city of São Paulo-Brazil.

METHODS
This descriptive study evaluated 2,372 post-delivery women and their liveborn during one year. Blood types were analyzed by means of tube agglutination tests.

RESULTS
The blood type frequencies were: 50.67 O, 32.17 A, 13.45 B, 3.75 AB, 90.34 Rh D(+) and 9.66 Rh D(-). ABO maternal-fetal incompatibility was detected in 18.4% and Rh D incompatibility in 7%.

CONCLUSION
The fraction of Rh D(-) population at high risk for Rh D alloimmunization was 82%, emphasizing the importance of Rh D alloimmunization profilaxis.


Four iminopyridines (N-N') differing in the nature of the substituents on the iminic carbon and on the ortho positions of the aryl ring (H or CH3) on the iminic nitrogen were used for the synthesis of neutral and monocationic palladium(ii) complexes of general formulae [Pd(CH3)Cl(N-N')] and [Pd(CH3)(NCCH3)(N-N')][PF6]. The detailed NMR characterization in solution highlighted that: (i) for both series of complexes, the Pd-CH3 signal is progressively shifted to a lower frequency on increasing the number of methyl groups on the ligand skeleton; (ii) for the neutral derivatives, the chemical shift of the (15)N NMR signals, determined through {(1)H,(15)N}-HMBC spectra, is significantly affected by the coordination to palladium; (iii) the coordination induced shift (CIS) of the nitrogen atom trans to the CH3 ligand is smaller than the other. The structure in the solid state for the neutral derivatives with all the four ligands was solved, pointing out that: (iv) the Pd-C bond distance increases with the basicity of the nitrogen-donor ligand; (v) the Pd-N bond distance correlates well with the CIS value. The combining of the solution and solid state structural features allows stating that: (vi) the Pd-CH3 singlet is a good probe for the electron donor capability of the ligand; (vii) the CIS value might be used as a probe for the strength of the Pd-N bond. All monocationic complexes generated active catalysts for the CO/vinyl arene copolymerization, leading to prevailingly syndiotactic polyketones. The catalyst performances, both in terms of catalyst productivity and polymer molecular weight, correlate well with the precatalyst structural features.


Absorption (AB) spectra of dichloro(l-tetrahydrogenpropylenediaminetetraacetato)platinum-(II) and palladium(II) and dichloro(d-hydrogendiaminopropionato)platinum(II) and palladium(II) were interpreted on the basis of a comparison of their circular dichroism (CD) spectra with those of dichloro(l-propylenediamine)platinum(II) and palladium(II). The d-d bands of edtaH4 and l-pdtaH4 complexes shifted to longer wavelength as compared with those of l-pn complexes. The shift was discussed, based on the effects of the weaker ligand field strength and apical interaction of the acetato groups of these ligands.


Six different triterpenoids (known iridals) extracted from Iris germanica L. were purified and bioassayed on two cultured human tumor cell lines: A2780 and K562 (and for each one a drug-sensitive and a drug-resistant cell line). All of the tested iridals had an IC50 in the 0.1 to 5.3 microg/ml range. Some of them were shown to be more effective than doxorubicine. Toxicity of iridals on multi-drug resistance (MDR) expressing cell lines seemed to indicate that the effects of these triterpenoids are less affected by MDR than those of doxorubicine or taxol.


Despite its long-established use in business assessment, the 'value chain model' has only recently been applied to the motion-picture industry. Although this research has proved useful in opening the 'film value' discourse, the timing of its arrival and the nature in which it has been used highlight inherent framework-design limitations when attempting pure 'Porteresque' analysis on certain areas of the feature-film industry. These limitations relate to using the model in industry-wide analysis, measuring customer value and the non-monetary priorities of particular filmmakers. Bearing in mind that the original purpose and design of the value chain model is to facilitate corporate strategy selection through the identification of competitive advantages, these limitations suggest that certain film industry sectors might be better served through the use of other process-assessment models, such as a 'supply chain' framework. Therefore, this study weighs up the suitability of the value chain model in film industry analysis by first contextualising the contributing factors that have led to its recent use, how it is designed, what is its purpose and previous film value chain research. The limitations of value chain are then described through a comparison of the United Kingdom's lowbudget film sector with other US-studio financed and independent film sectors. The study ends with a number of conclusions and suggestions for further media-business academic research.


Purpose of review This review focuses on oral cancer disease mechanisms and discusses ongoing research to identify molecular signatures or biomarkers for oral cancer. Other areas covered include the analysis, validation, and predictive value of these markers. Recent findings During the past years, progress has been made in the oral cancer genetic markers field, which includes alterations of the p53 tumor suppressor protein, the inactivation of cyclin dependant kinase inhibitors (e.g. p16) and the overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor. Many of these markers are thought to have potential clinical interest, yet few of them are being used in a clinical setting for oral cancer management. The particular modifications that characterize each step of oral cancer progression can now be profiled by several high throughput discovery techniques. Genomic and proteomic studies of oral cancer tissues, plasma, and saliva of oral cancer patients, have allowed the identification of several promising cancer signatures. Summary Important progress has been made in the molecular understanding of oral cancer and its application for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The increased efforts in translational research will result in earlier diagnosis of oral cancer, better knowledge of prognostic factors, and the development of targeted treatment regimens based on patients' clinical and biological characteristics at presentation.


On November 27, 2021, a 67-year-old male returning from Canada via airplane was transferred to the central isolation hotel in Shanghai. During the quarantine, his 1st, 4th, 7th, and 14th days of specimens returned negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). On December 11, he completed 14 days of centralized isolation and returned to Guangzhou from Shanghai via airplane, then he was closed-loop transferred to Yuexiu District for a 7-day home isolation. On December 12, the local Community Health Service Center routinely collected his throat swab and the result returned to COVID-19 positive on December 13, 2021. He was transported to the Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital for isolated treatment by negative pressure ambulance on the same day. The patient had two inflamed lungs according to the chest computed tomography (CT) examination, but his most recently updated condition was stable. An estimated 600 close contacts were identified and were placed in centralized isolation. On December 16, one of the close contacts, a 70-year-old female also tested positive for COVID-19. She lived on the lower floor of the same type of apartment as the imported case and spent 19 hours in the same building. On December 13, 2021, the nasal swab was sequenced using both Nanopore GridION by Guangzhou CDC and Illumina MiniSeq by Guangdong CDC. The viral RNA was reverse transcribed and amplified using ULSEN® 2019-nCoV Whole Genome Capture Kit (Beijing MicroFuture Technology Co., Ltd, Beijing, China, V-090418). Then, the sequencing libraries were prepared using the Illumina Nextera® XT Library Prep Kit (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, USA, FC-131-1001) and were conducted by Illumina sequencing. On December 14, 2021, the sequencing analysis concluded that the virus genome belonged to lineage B.1.1.529, VOC/Omicron. The Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant was reportedly first discovered on November 9, 2021, in Botswana in southern Africa (1), and then gradually spread in South Africa, becoming the dominant strain in South Africa. On November 26, 2021, it was listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Variant of Concern (VOC) (2). The Omicron variant is a highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations, including position 26–32 in the spike protein, some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential and higher transmissibility. As of December 9, 2021, human infections with this variant have been identified in 63 countries (3). Compared with the Wuhan reference sequence (EPI_ISL_402119) (4), the strain from the case displayed 59 nucleotide variation sites. The sequence reported on the evolutionary branch is most similar to those reported in England on December 4, 2021 (Figure 1). Furthermore, 48 amino acid mutation sites and 16 amino acid deletions were detected in the protein that corresponded to the features of the VOC/Omicron variant (B.1.1.529.1). Researchers have established the existence of 2 variants of Omicron. The 'standard' variant is now referred to as BA.1/B.1.1.529.1, and a second variant of Omicron known as BA.2/B.1.1.529.2. BA.2 has been nicknamed 'Stealth Omicron' because it differs from the 'standard' variety by not having the characteristic SGTF-causing deletion (Δ69–70) (5). In this study, the variant has deletion (Δ69–70) and belongs to sublineage BA.1/B.1.1.529.1.


ONTOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL SEARCH FOR 'EL HOMBRE NUEVO': JULIO CORTÁZAR'S RAYUELA AND LIBRO DE MANUEL Jaime Román Brenes Reyes Advisor: University of Guelph, 2011 Prof. Gordana Yovanovich Despite the wide range of publications about Julio Cortázar, there is no study that specifically addresses the question: what does Cortázar mean by 'el hombre nuevo'? Based on a careful reading of two of his novels, Rayuela / Hopscotch and Libro de Manuel / A Manual for Manuel, my thesis defines 'el hombre nuevo' as Cortázar's attempt to establish a dialogue with the reader in order to invent together a new understanding of the human being. 'El hombre nuevo' involves an extended ontological search which is continued outside of the text, and the relationship author-reader goes beyond a dyadic model into the construction of a new community of new men and new women.


In this paper we present the extension of WOLF, a freely available, automatically creat- ed wordnet for French, the biggest drawback of which has until now been the lack of general concepts that are typically expressed with highly polysemous vocabulary that is on the one hand the most valuable for applications in human language technologies but also the most difficult to add to wordnet accurately with automatic methods on the other. Using a set of features, we train a Maximum Entropy classifier on the existing core wordnet to be able to assign appropriate synset ids to new words, extracted from multiple, multilingual sources of lexical knowledge, such as Wik- tionaries, Wikipedias and corpora. Automatic and manual evaluation shows high coverage as well as high quality of the resulting lexico-semantic repository of. Another important ad- vantage of the approach is that it is fully au- tomatic and language-independent and could therefore be applied to any other language still lacking a wordnet.


Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIVs) play a key role in a wide range of engineering applications including the extraction of renewable energy. In this paper, numerical studies of the phenomenon of VIV were conducted to investigate the flow behaviour around two identical circular cylinders. The upstream cylinder was located in the vicinity of a rigid wall and downstream one was mounted on an elastic support with one degree of freedom. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder's diameter was kept constant at 8700, while the separation between the upstream cylinder and the wall was varied. The results show that this separation distance known as the gap ratio has a significant effect on the dynamic behaviour of the upstream and downstream cylinders. Accordingly, the interaction of shear layers between the upstream cylinder and the rigid wall has a strong influence on the vortex dynamics of both cylinders, in particular, when the upstream cylinder was mounted close to the wall. In this arrangement, a jet flow produced in the wake of the upstream cylinder significantly affects the vortex shedding frequency, and the lift and drag coefficients of both cylinders. This can alter the dynamic response of the downstream cylinder and theoretical efficiency of the VIV power.


Many application areas that rely on truly interactive 3D computer graphics, need a 6 degree-of-freedom (DoF) input device for object manipulation and for navigation. Although there are methods for utilising devices with less DoF, they are less than ideal. Such devices with more than 2 DoF that exist are often expensive and do not satisfy the need to closely match the user's mental model. Our development, 3DGyro, is for a low-cost 3D input device with as close to 6 DoF as we can get; and that can readily be used in 3D user interface applications. We intend it to be used by the non-dominant hand allowing the other to be used in fine grain control of another input device such as 2D mouse or keyboard. This would better match the cognitive dimension of the user's mental model.


PURPOSE
This paper is concerned with the impact of an international health promotion experience on the understanding of culture among university students. Such immersion experiences are often cited as a strategy to prepare nurses for culturally appropriate practice. We describe students' epistemic movements over time with respect to cultural perspectives prior to, during and after a field study in Malawi.

DESIGN
Data were collected at three time points from students in undergraduate nursing (n = 14) and non-nursing (n = 8) programs at a Canadian university. Two essays narrating participants' understanding of culture were submitted by consenting class members. A subgroup of nine participants (four nursing students, five from other disciplines) completed a third narrative following a subsequent field study course in Malawi.

METHOD
Using narrative analysis, themes and structures in the participants' writing were identified and located within a constructivist or essentialist paradigm of cultural understanding.

FINDINGS
Overwhelmingly, students' narratives were initially portrayed and informed by an essentialist understanding of culture. Later narratives demonstrated varying degrees of epistemic movement towards more constructivist viewpoints. Narratives that initially exhibited constructivist characteristics tended to display strengthened convictions in that paradigm.

CONCLUSION
We challenge the claim that an international immersion experience immediately transforms participants into cultural experts; our evidence suggests that students experienced existential growth, but their understanding of culture did not change as a result of their brief stay in a different cultural context. Cultural immersion is a phenomenon that requires more critical analysis and systematic investigation to determine how such experiences contribute to learning about culture among nursing students.


This research was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 17-29-09136\20 "Multilingualism in the Era of Post-literacy: Philosophical and Cultural Studies and Methodological and Pedagogical Development of a Multilingual Education Model").


SummaryImmature seeds of Garcinia indica Choiss, were exeised from immature fruits and cultured on Lloyd and McCown (1980), woody plant medium (WPM) with different combinations of auxins and cytokinins. Somatic embryos were obtained on the media supplemented with 6-benzy laminopurine (BA; 2.2–22.1 μM) alone or in combination with α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA; 2.6 μM) with 80% frequency within a period of 2–3 wk. Subculture of embryos on medium containing BA (16.0 μM) supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA: 2.8–5.7 μM) and/or kinetin (4.6 μM) gave rise to clusters of secondary somatic embryos along with maturation of primary embryos. In subsequent subculture on hormone-free half-strength WPM, the embryo clusters germinated with an increase in the number of secondary somatic embryos. About 70% of somatic embryos germinated into complete plantlets, which were successfully established under greenhouse conditions.


A new HPTLC densitometric method for the assay of griseofulvin tablets was developed and validated according to ICH guidelines and USP specifications. The method was developed using a mobile phase prepared with an environmentally friendly solvent system, diethyl ether: toluene (4:1) on pre-coated TLC silica gel 60F254 glass plates with a saturation time of 25 min. Development time of 10 min was required for a migration distance of 70 mm. The best detection wavelength was 299 nm. The R f value was 0.22 and there were no interferences from the excipients or solvents. With regard to repeatability and intermediate precision, the RSD values were 1.43 and 1.58, respectively. Linearity testing gave the polynomial R 2 values, calculated on three consecutive days, of 0.9910, 0.9801 and 0.9840, respectively. The accuracy values tested at 80 %, 100 % and 120 % concentrations were between 98.11-102.66 %. The developed HPTLC densitometric method for the assay of griseofulvin tablets is simple, selective, accurate, reproducible, high throughput, cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Keywords: High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), griseofulvin, densitometry, validation


On the catalyst surface, crystal facets with different surface atom arrangements and diverse physicochemical properties lead to distinct catalytic activity. Acquiring a highly reactive facet through surface regulation is an efficient strategy to promote the oxidative decomposition of wastewater organic pollutants via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. However, the mechanism through which crystal facets affect PMS activation is still unclear. In this study, three facet-engineered α-MnO2 with different exposed facets were prepared via a facile hydrothermal route. The prepared 310-MnO2 exhibited superior PMS activation performance to 100-MnO2 and 110-MnO2. Moreover, the 310-MnO2/PMS oxidative system was active over a wide pH range and highly resistant to interfering substances from wastewater. These advantages of the 310-MnO2/PMS system make it highly promising for practical wastewater treatment. Based on quenching experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis, solvent exchange, and electrochemical measurements, mediated electron transfer was found to be the dominant nonradical pathway for p-chloroaniline (PCA) degradation. A sulfhydryl group (-SH) masking experiment showed that the highly exposed Mn atoms on the 310-MnO2 surface were sites of PMS activation. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the dominant {310} facet promoted adsorption/activation of PMS, which favored the formation of more metastable complexes on the α-MnO2 surface. The reaction mechanism obtained here clarifies the relationship between PMS activation and crystal facets. This study provides significant insights into the rational design of high-performance catalysts for efficient water remediation.


We report a clear cell type of primary purely epithelial malignant mesothelioma with focal deciduoid features in the para-testis of a 75 year old man. This variant requires ancillary studies like immunohistochemistry for confirmation. Awareness of this variant is required to avoid misdiagnosis and treatment as either metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma or as a germ cell tumor. A diagnosis of mesothelioma must be ruled out in elderly patients with epithelial-looking tumor especially if the serum germ cell tumor markers are within normal range.


One of the main tools of the Geometry Computing is triangulations both for a cloud of points and for polygons. This article will deal with the most outstanding subjects of such structures.


The introduction of object-oriented modelling techniques into the development of hardware seems to open a promising way for mastering the increasing complexity of today's hardware systems. Furthermore it provides the possibility of transferring well known and approved object-oriented modelling techniques from software development to hardware development. Since there is a major difference between the nature of software and the nature of hardware the direct adaptation of common object-oriented programming languages to describing hardware is not possible in general. SystemC is a C++ class library and a methodology that introduces some of the missing typical hardware features in C/C++. This paper describes an extended SystemC based methodology and synthesis techniques allowing the use of object-oriented concepts like classes, polymorphism and inheritance for the description of synthesisable hardware models.


This paper centers on the design of highly robust observer sliding mode (HROSM)-based load frequency and tie-power control to compensate for primary frequency control of multi-area interconnected power systems integrated with renewable power generation. At first, the power system with external disturbance is model in the state space form. Then the state observer is used to estimate the system states which are difficult or expensive to measure. Secondly, the sliding mode control (SMC) is designed with a new single phase sliding surface (SPSS). In addition, the whole system asymptotic stability is proven with Lyapunov stability theory based on the linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique. The new SPSS without reaching time guarantees rapid convergence of high transient frequency, tie-power change as well as reduces chattering without loss of accuracies. Therefore, the superiority of modern state-of-the-art SMC-based frequency controllers relies on good practical application. The experimental simulation results on large interconnected power systems show good performance and high robustness against external disturbances when compared with some modern state of art controllers in terms of overshoots and settling time.


Abstract : The Santa Margarita Lagoon (SML) is a water body that forms where the Santa Margarita River and its tributaries meet the Pacific Ocean. The lagoon and lower part of the river are within Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (Camp Pendleton). The Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego listed the lagoon as an impaired water body for eutrophication with excessive nutrients and issued an Investigative Order (R9-2006-076) in 2007 to evaluate the extent of impairment. A watershed stakeholder group, including Camp Pendleton, was established to develop and implement a water quality monitoring effort to evaluate the impairment in 2008. Those data along with measurements made by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) in 2009 provided the first relatively comprehensive evaluation of lagoon water quality. We have identified multiple sources of uncertainties and data gaps. For example, the p-load obtained by calibration could be attributed to uncertainty associated with watershed groundwater load or benthic flux (or other sources) between Stuart Mesa Bridge and the model upstream boundary. However, no existing data could support either assumed sources. Despite these uncertainties in the data and the model, overall calibration of the linked Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) hydrodynamic model was selected and linked with the Water Quality Analysis Simulation ProgramEutrophication (WASP-Eutro) models provided a sufficiently reasonable match to field datasets collected between 2008 and 2009. The model should be able to simulate and compare the relative water quality responses among different scenarios, such as load reduction and effect of different benthic flux scenarios and others. To fully characterize and evaluate model performance, a sensitivity analysis should be conducted. In this analysis, key processes that govern the dynamics of the water quality parameters can be identified, which should help design and plan load management scenarios.


Site‐ and structure‐specific quantitative N‐glycoproteomics characterization of differentially expressed N‐glycosylation at the intact N‐glycopeptide level with distinct chromatographic separation and structure‐specific fragment ions has become possible with the recent development of RPLC‐pentaHILIC 2DLC separation and use of the intact N‐glycopeptide search engine GPSeeker. Here we provide a detailed protocol for this GPSeeker‐centered structure‐specific isotopic‐labeling quantitative N‐glycoproteomics pipeline. The protocols include sample preparation of a 1:1 mixture of light (‐CH3)2 and heavy (‐13CD2H)2 dimethylated intact N‐glycopeptides from LO2 and HepG2 cells, RPLC‐pentaHILIC 2DLC separation of the mixture, intact N‐glycopeptide database search and identification using GPSeeker, and quantitation of differentially expressed intact N‐glycopeptides using the quantitation module GPSeekerQuan. © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The energy is the most critical resource in wireless sensor networks. Many energy efficient techniques have been studied especially in communication protocol. Among these protocols, PEGASIS proposed by Lindsey is the most superior interms of energy efficiency. In PEGASIS, all sensor nodes aggregate and transmit data along the single chain. However, this single chain causes some problems such as delay, unexpected long transmission and non-directional transmission to the sink. To resolve delay problem, PEGASIS cuts the chain into several chains. In this way, the delay can be decreased but there is new problem, wireless interference. In this paper, we propose a new chain construction algorithm to resolve above problems. The proposed algorithm minimizes the delay without the wireless interferences and maximizes the energy efficiency by removing the non-directional transmission when transmitting packets to the sink node on wireless sensor networks. Our simulation results show that our proposed algorithm can minimize the delay without expense of energy consumption.


SYNTHESIS 2004, No. 4, pp 0558–0567xx.xx.2004 Advanced online publication: 26.02.2004 DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-815987; Art ID: Z15103SS © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York Abstract: Tetralin-based a-amino acid (AAA) is a constrained analogue of phenylalanine (Phe) and is used extensively in the design and synthesis of a variety of bioactive peptides. Due to the nonavailability of simple synthetic methods to deliver complex cyclic AAAs, only simplest members of this class have been used in the peptide area. In this regard, we have developed a new method to prepare various highly functionalized tetralin-based unusual AAA derivatives 22, 37–43 by trapping o-xylylene (or o-quinodimethane) intermediate with methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate (12). In addition, we have also modified the diidotetralin derivative 40 by the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction.


The influence of precursor medium was investigated on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of spray pyrolysis deposited nanostructured ZnO thin films. Three batches of ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates using three different solvents (water, water-ethanol [ratio of 1:1] and ethanol) based precursor solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate. The substrate temperature was fixed at 523 K. The variation in film thickness from 150 to 875 nm was observed as the effect of changing solvent medium. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirmed the formation of polycrystalline ZnO thin films with hexagonal wurtzite crystallite structure and the estimated crystallite size was found to be ranging from 31 to 55 nm. Scanning electron micrographs revealed the formation of water-hyacinth shaped nanostructures when water-ethanol mixture was used as the solvent medium. Interestingly, UV-vis spectrophotometer revealed the formation of ZnO film with twin optical band gap of 3.15 eV and 3.56 eV when ethanol was used as the solvent medium. The modulation of film thickness and grain size by solvent medium has strongly influenced the electrical conductivity of ZnO thin films. The homogenous nano-spherical grains with uniform grain boundaries showed a good response towards 100 ppm of ammonia at room temperature.


Summary

How can educators work together to enhance work on democracy and citizenship? This paper analyses the trajectory and dynamics of the Teaching and Learning (T&L) group, an initiative that brought together educators from seven countries to address the challenges of developing and delivering courses on citizenship and democratising teaching and learning environments. Part of the Citizenship DRC, a wider research consortium that examined the dynamics of citizen participation in diverse contexts, the T&L group centred on peer-to-peer reflection, learning and support. Its innovative ways of working and success in developing a wide range of courses and trainings challenge expert-driven models of pedagogical development. They also point to the importance of transnational collaborations in enhancing curricula, courses and teaching methods that effectively support both learning about democracy and citizenship, and democratic teaching capacities.


Prisoners constitute a high risk group for acquisition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection compared to the general population. The living settings of prisons are very condusive for tuberculosis (TB) transmission. This poses serious danger as the spread may involve drug resistant strains. No studies investigating the factors associated with MTB in prisons have been carried out in Kenya. This study aimed at establishing the modifiable factors associated with active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) disease among prisoners at the Nakuru prison, in Kenya.An age-sex matched case-control study was carried out between August and December, 2007. A PTB case was defined as "any adult prisoner who had at least two initial sputum positive acid-fast bacilli (AFB+) smear. Prisoners possessing no history of chronic cough and not treated for PTB in the previous six (6) months were enrolled as controls. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Study subjects were checked for a typical BCG scar and their weight (in kg) and height (in meters) measurements taken. Data entry and analyses were done using Epi-Info software. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant prison authorities and research bodies. A total of 144 subjects (Case = 48, Controls = 96) were recruited. Statistically significant factors independently associated with active PTB disease were: HIV positive {P = 0.0018}, evidence of BCG vaccination (P = 0.0059}, contact with PTB case while in incarceration {P = 0.0329}, unemployment status prior to incarceration {P = 0.0067}. A strong dose-response relationship between active PTB disease and the number of cigarettes smoked daily, frequency of sexually transmitted infection (STI) episodes, frequency of prison transfer (p<0.0001) was found.Factors associated with active PTB disease amongst adult prisoners are multifaceted and modifiable. A comprehensive multidisciplinary control and preventive approach involvingprisoners, health officials and prison authorities should be adopted. The team will implement screening for TB upon prison entry, isolation of suspected cases, routine cross-matching of incoming inmates with local TB registry, HIV counseling and testing of all patients diagnosed of PTB, educating jail staff on sign and symptoms of PTB and encouraging prisoners to quit smoking. Further studies on the role of BCG vaccination in adults, STI agent associated with PTB and molecular epidemiological studies to determine any epidemiological-linkage of tuberculosis spread amongst prisoners are warranted.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are the leading cause of ESRD in children, but the proportion of patients with individual CAKUT entities progressing to ESRD during adulthood and their long-term clinical outcomes are unknown. This study assessed the age at onset of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and patient and renal graft survival in patients with CAKUT across the entire age range.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Patients with CAKUT were compared with age-matched patients who were undergoing RRT for other renal disorders on the basis of data from the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry. Competing risk and Cox regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS
Of 212,930 patients commencing RRT from 1990 to 2009, 4765 (2.2%) had renal diagnoses consistent with CAKUT. The proportion of incident RRT patients with CAKUT decreased from infancy to childhood and then increased until age 15-19 years, followed by a gradual decline throughout adulthood. Median age at RRT start was 31 years in the CAKUT cohort and 61 years in the non-CAKUT cohort (P<0.001). RRT was started earlier (median, 16 years) in patients with isolated renal dysplasia than in those with renal hypoplasia and associated urinary tract disorders (median, 29.5-39.5 years). Patients with CAKUT survived longer than age- and sex-matched non-CAKUT controls because of lower cardiovascular mortality (10-year survival rate, 76.4% versus 70.7%; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
CAKUT leads to ESRD more often at adult than pediatric age. Treatment outcomes differ from those of acquired kidney diseases and vary within CAKUT subcategories.


The accumulation of smooth muscle and endothelial cells is essential for remodeling and repair of injured blood vessel walls. Bone marrow–derived progenitor cells have been implicated in vascular repair and remodeling; however, the mechanisms underlying their recruitment to the site of injury remain elusive. Here, using real-time in vivo fluorescence microscopy, we show that platelets provide the critical signal that recruits CD34+ bone marrow cells and c-Kit+ Sca-1+ Lin− bone marrow–derived progenitor cells to sites of vascular injury. Correspondingly, specific inhibition of platelet adhesion virtually abrogated the accumulation of both CD34+ and c-Kit+ Sca-1+ Lin− bone marrow–derived progenitor cells at sites of endothelial disruption. Binding of bone marrow cells to platelets involves both P-selectin and GPIIb integrin on platelets. Unexpectedly, we found that activated platelets secrete the chemokine SDF-1α, thereby supporting further primary adhesion and migration of progenitor cells. These findings establish the platelet as a major player in the initiation of vascular remodeling, a process of fundamental importance for vascular repair and pathological remodeling after vascular injury.


In this article we examine an inverse heat convection problem of estimating unknown parameters of a parameterized variable boundary heat flux. The physical problem is a hydrodynamically developed, thermally developing, three-dimensional steady state laminar flow of a Newtonian fluid inside a circular sector duct, insulated in the flat walls and subject to unknown wall heat flux at the curved wall. Results are presented for polynomial and sinusoidal trial functions, and the unknown parameters as well as surface heat fluxes are determined. Depending on the nature of the flow, on the position of experimental points the inverse problem sometimes could not be solved. Therefore, an identification condition is defined to specify a condition under which the inverse problem can be solved. Once the parameters have been computed it is possible to obtain the statistical significance of the inverse problem solution. Therefore, approximate confidence bounds based on standard statistical linear procedure, for the estimated parameters, are analyzed and presented.


Until quite recently it was common practice to think of, or to work with, virus-induced cancers, or radiation-induced cancers, or genetically-determined cancers. There has, however, been a growing realisation that to consider any one of the aetiological factors in isolation is to ignore the most important fact ofall, namely, that cells acquire the properties that we call malignant as the result of a relatively complex series of events which can be influenced by a great many interacting factors. The title ofthis book should, therefore, be the 'Role of Radiation in the Biology of Carcinogenesis'. Not only would that fit better with current concepts, it would also describe more accurately the contents of the book. It is not confined to 'radiation carcinogenesis'-indeed the editors make it quite clear in their introduction that the intention of the Gatlinburg conference in April 1975 on which this volume is based was to try to examine the role of radiation in relation to other factors, and they claim, quite justifiably, that this is an 'up to date summary of carcinogenesis in general'. Its broad base and manner of presentation-a mixture of background and detail in a rather large number of short chapters-makes it a most useful book even for those with only a passing interest in carcinogenesis. Chapters by Ormerod, Cerutti, and Remson, Regan and Setlow, Robbins et al., and Maher and McCormick, provide an excellent review of current work on the significance ofDNA damage and its repair in the initiation of carcinogenesis. Not only are the molecular mechanisms considered but in Robbins' chapter we have a clear indication that in xeroderma pigmentosum the severity of the neurological symptoms of the disease is related to the extent of the insufficiency of the cells at the molecular level. The interaction of the environmental factors with the genome of the cell is emphasised. In the case of chemicals Miller and Miller, and Greenberger and Weinstein point out that interaction with DNA, especially conformational changes in the DNA as a result of carcinogen binding, are of particular importance. In a series of beautiful chapters, Lilly, Lowry, and others show how virus genome, either exogeneous or endogeneous in origin, may have a specific chromosomal localisation and in some cases at least respond to cellular regulatory mechanisms. The role of radiation in the expression of virus information is also explored. Though it has been published before I still find the claim by Carmia Borek that cells can be transformed in vitro by doses of X-rays as low as one rad quitc extraordinary, as is the report in this paper that 0.1 rad of neutron irradiation will transform cells. This is potentially of such importance I would like more information about the properties of the transformed cells. Vague statements about tumorigenicity like 'the ability to produce Book retiews


ABSTRACT: Grumixama (Eugenia brasiliensis Lam.) is a Brazilian berry native to the Atlantic Rainforest. Information on nutritional and bioactive profiles of the fruit cultivated in the Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado) is not available in literature. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical and proximate composition; mineral, total phenolics, total tannins and total carotenoids contents; and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP assays) of the dark purple grumixama cultivated in the Cerrado area (Goiás State). Results showed a similar physical and proximate composition to those of grumixama native to the Atlantic Rainforest. However, grumixama from Cerrado presented the highest dietary fiber and magnesium contents. In addition, the Cerrado grumixama showed higher content of total phenolics (with a large amount of tannins), carotenoids and antioxidant capacity than those of grumixama native to the Atlantic Rainforest, cherry, blueberry, and fruits native to the Cerrado. Thus, the consumption of whole fruit (peel, pulp and seed) in healthy diets and its use as an ingredient for functional food products should be encouraged.


Background Overcrowding of emergency departments (EDs) adversely affects the delivery of emergency care and results in increased patient mortality. Objective and methods To examine what contributes to the ED crowd and to specifically examine the patient associated population. The ED in which the research was performed is consistently one of the most overcrowded in Ireland. Results On average 66.7% of the patients in the ED during the study period were boarded awaiting a hospital bed following full processing by the ED staff and agreement by the on-call team that admission was required. The most overcrowded part of the department was the majors area. In this area 55.5% of those present were patients, visitors accounted for 16.6% of occupants, nursing staff 11%, on-call teams 7% and the ED doctors 6.3%. Conclusions Knowing who the people in the crowd are helps to guide management decisions about how the crowd might be reduced. Our department now has a strict accompanying person/visitor policy that limits the number of visitors to patients and limits visiting times for those relatives with a patient who is experiencing a prolonged stay in the ED.


We introduce the innovative technologies, based on the concept of "sensory substitution", we are developing in the fields of biomedical engineering and human disability. Precisely, our goal is to design, develop and validate practical assistive biomedical and/or technical devices and/or rehabilitating procedures for persons with disabilities, using artificial tongue-placed tactile biofeedback systems. This paper proposes an application for pressure sores prevention in case of spinal cord injuries (persons with paraplegia, or tetraplegia).


This paper is an exploratory investigation into the relationship between a PEO's capabilities, its client's ability to assess these accurately, and the decision to outsource HRM in a multinational context. The literature review highlights that while the capabilities of a PEO are a known factor in successful outsourcing decisions, there has been little discussion of an organisations ability to identify such capabilities. Thus it is argued that not all PEOs possess the 'full spectrum' of HRM capabilities, and furthermore, that a contracting firm is more unlikely to be aware of this when the relationship is transacted across international boarders. This hypothesis is supported by case study investigations of two international PEOs and six of their clients, carried out during 2006. The paper discusses significant ramifications for organisations, which are in growing numbers, deciding to outsource some or all of their HR function.

Keywords: Outsourcing, Human Resource Management, Multinational Corporations, Case Study


Two members of the bromovirus group, brome mosaic virus (BMV) and cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV), selectively infect barley and cowpea, respectively, and also differ in their ability to systemically infect a common permissive host, Chenopodium quinoa. CCMV is confined to inoculated leaves of C. quinoa, whereas BMV causes rapid systemic mottling. To examine whether host-specific determinants for systemic movement of BMV and CCMV in each of these hosts are localized in the coat protein (CP), sequences encoding this gene were exchanged between biologically active clones of BMV RNA3 (B3) and CCMV RNA3 (C3) to create chimera expressing heterologous CP genes (B3/CCP and C3/BCP). Inoculation of each chimera with its respective wild-type (wt) RNAs 1 and 2 to barley or cowpea or C. quinoa plants resulted in symptom phenotype and long distance movement characteristics similar to those of the parental virus donating RNAs 1 and 2. These observations suggest that neither BMV CP nor CCMV CP has host-specific determinants for long distance movement. Inoculation of additional recombinant viruses, constructed by reassorting wt genomic RNAs 1 and 2 of BMV and CCMV with either heterologous wt RNA3 (i.e., B1 + B2 + C3 and C1 + C2 + B3) or heterologous chimeric RNA3 (i.e., B1 + B2 + C3/BCP and C1 + C2 + B3/CCP), to susceptible hosts resulted only in localized infections. The significance of these observations in relation to bromovirus movement is discussed.


A criticism which may be offered against the book is that its view of EBW is too optimistic. Disadvantages of the process and materials problems are mentioned but the enthusiasm of the contributors tends to minimise these problems. For example, out-of-vacuum welding offers few advantages over plasma-arc welding and is finding very little application, and yet the process is presented as an important field for EBW. Cracking problems in EB welds are discussed and the importance of using high quality materials is emphasised. However, if EBW is to be widely applied it must be able to weld standard commercial steels, so that the cracking problem must be approached from a different aspect. The joining of dissimilar metals is covered in some detail, since this field is likely to be important for the future of EBW, but little mention is made of the severe cracking that occurs in many combinations and the further extensive work that is required to define and solve these problems.


Background: The current discrepancies in maternal mortality and near miss cases of high and low income countries are usually due to the differences in timely management of obstetric complications and the differences in time management comes up with idea of delay in receiving obstetric care. For each maternal death there will be 20 others that suffer as maternal near miss cases worldwide. This study aimed to assess delay of maternal near miss (MNM) and associated factors among women in Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (FHCSH), Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Cross sectional facility based study was conducted among 287 women who were managed as MNM from May 2018 to September 30, 2018. A checklist and structured questionnaire was used to retrieve information from the patient and her medical document. The collected data was cleaned, coded and entered for analysis. The results were presented in tables. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis were calculated at 95 % CI.Results: There were 2694 patients admitted in wards in the study period and proportion of maternal near miss was 10.65% with maternal near miss mortality ratio of 31.9 and mortality index of 3%. From all maternal near misses studied 44.3% had first delay and 35% had second delay with 51.2% had third delay. Seventy four percent of them had at least one delay. Determinant factors identified were rural residence [AOR, 3.2 P = 0.001], distance more than 10 Kms away from hospital [AOR, 2.18, p =0.025], lack of ambulance [AOR, 3.9 P= 0.009] and lack of awareness on obstetric complications [AOR,27.9, p = 0.001] which were statistically associated with any maternal delay. Conclusion: Maternal near miss proportion is still high in study site and majority of them had at least one delay in receiving care which needs an intervention at community and low level health institutions.


To achieve the efficient performance within a mobile grid considering the intermittent network connectivity and non-dedicated heterogeneous mobile devices, this paper suggests the scheduling algorithm of job allocation as a viable solution. The suggested scheduling algorithm has two core functions, the prediction of response time for task processing and the identification of the optimal number of mobile devices to process the mobile grid applications. This scheduling algorithm suggests the numerical formulas to calculate the network latency considering the effects of heterogeneous non-dedicated mobile system in wireless network environments. Also we evaluate the performance of mobile grid system using the processing the distributed applications in implemented mobile grid environments.


This paper aims to investigate the impact of subliminal messages through music in Hyper stores in Punjab, Pakistan and their effect on consumer behavior. Researcher used the music to test the participants of this research with three different conditions; to match the suggestions and subliminal message; the use of suggestion as mismatched with subliminal message; No suggestions for subliminal message. The aim of study was to find out the impact of variables (subliminal messages and the effect of age) on consumer behavior. The study explores the methodology with focuses on evidence from previous literature and empirical studies. Researcher will use explanatory approach with quantitative methods (Regression analyses) to collect and analyze the data. Researcher used questionnaire and survey to measure the participants and to know about subliminal messages, and how they believe on subliminal messages. Population of this study was the consumers of Hyper Stores in Punjab, Pakistan. Major limitations of this study were its context, because it only lies between consumers of Hyper Stores. Progress towards this area has been started, and remains it's a limited factor to describe the findings from this research. In education it's noted to include the Subliminal Messages, consciously or unconsciously, and may use to hinder the originality of students. To induce this type of messages provides the opportunities of redirecting or moving the design and process towards necessary direction. Public realized about the products which contain this types of messages are likely to impact and public try to manipulate by the claims of advertising. The paper extends the new way of manipulating the consumers and divert their mind to enhance the marketing, and previous reviews by its induction of results from a series of empirical studies that have worked in past.


Prostate malignancy represents the second leading cause of cancer-specific death among the male population worldwide. Herein, enhanced intracellular magnetic fluid hyperthermia is applied in vitro to treat prostate cancer (PCa) cells with minimum invasiveness and toxicity and highly specific targeting. We designed and optimized novel shape-anisotropic magnetic core–shell–shell nanoparticles (i.e., trimagnetic nanoparticles - TMNPs) with significant magnetothermal conversion following an exchange coupling effect to an external alternating magnetic field (AMF). The functional properties of the best candidate in terms of heating efficiency (i.e., email@example.com@CoFe2O4) were exploited following surface decoration with PCa cell membranes (CM) and/or LN1 cell-penetrating peptide (CPP). We demonstrated that the combination of biomimetic dual CM-CPP targeting and AMF responsiveness significantly induces caspase 9-mediated apoptosis of PCa cells. Furthermore, a downregulation of the cell cycle progression markers and a decrease of the migration rate in surviving cells were observed in response to the TMNP-assisted magnetic hyperthermia, suggesting a reduction in cancer cell aggressiveness.


In this paper, we investigate the problem of supersonic convection caused by the application of the usual Mixing Length Theory (MLT), and give a modification to the original expression of the MLT. In the case of the usual MLT, a zone of supersonic convection exists when the stellar model goes into yellow red supergiant phase. When the modification is applied, the models of late type supergiants possess shallower convective envelopes for a given temperature compared with the normal formalism of the MLT. Therefore the stellar models made with our new formalism move to lower effective temperature by 100-400 K depending on the luminosity of the star. Such a modification does not affect the convective envelope structure of lower luminosity late type stars, as both expressions of the MLT give the same results m these stars.


We have recently isolated stem cells deriving from the olfactory bulbs of adult patients undergoing particularly invasive neurosurgery. After improving our experimental conditions, we have now obtained neural stem cells according to clonal analysis. The cells can be expanded, established in continuous cell lines and differentiated into the three classical neuronal phenotypes (neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes). Also, after exposition to leukemia inhibitory factor, we are able to improve the number of neurons, an ideal biological source for transplantation in various neurodegenerative disorders.


This paper uses actor-network theory (ANT) to study a grassroots' ecological rehabilitation project in a marginalized area of Cape Town. By tracing the stabilization of relations between residents, authorities, plants and green areas, the paper demonstrates how ANT can be enfolded into the study of African cities as an attentive way to rethink agency, empowerment and collective action. It also shows how ANT allows for the study of epistemological and ontological politics inherent to all collective action—here demonstrating how plants participated in giving voice to memories of oppression while undermining expert-based practices that separate Nature and Culture.


Proposes to treat social law contracts by covering the two most important aspects of the contract of employment, and also the collective agreement. Covers the contract of employment in full with all the integral laws explained as required, including its characteristics, written particulars, sources or regulations, with regard to employers, are also covered. Lengthy coverage of the collective agreement is also included, showing legal as well as moral (!) requirements, also included are cases in law that are covered in depth.


In this project, we implemented an end-to-end system that takes in combined visual features of video frames from a normal camera and depth information from a cloud points scanner, and predicts driving policies (vehicle speed and steering angle). We verified the safety of our system by comparing the predicted results with standard behaviors by real-world experienced drivers. Our test results show that the predictions can be considered as accurate in at lease half of the testing cases (50% 80%, depending on the model), and using combined features improved the performance in most cases than using video frames only.


This paper presents a new approach for the design synthesis of continuous inhomogeneous structures with an goal of mimicking the growth of biological structures in nature. The results presented here provide interesting insights into the concept of structural growth in biology, and motivate the combination of evolutionary techniques in future research, such that might provide the ability to explore a wide range of design configurations. In order to model biological growth an artificial model has been created composed of an external environment and a collection of cells. The environment represents the engineering requirements (loads and boundary conditions), while the cells represent small elements of volume of the structure. Each cell contains an artificial DNA sequence which serves as a set of rules that execute during the growth procedure. These rules form a recipe for the structure and are relatively simple. During the growth procedure, cells will be deformed, adhere to other cells, divide, and differentiate. The differentiating rule may cause a cell to change its mechanical properties (σy, ν, E), and by doing so introduce inhomogeneous properties in the structure. The rules form an alphabetic sequence and therefore are well-suited to be used in an evolutionary algorithm, where rules governing the growth and development of individuals are evolved instead of the more traditional evolution of parameters describing the complete individuals.


Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a kind of prion disease caused by proteinase K-resistant prion protein (PrPSc ) in cattle. Although BSE has been reported worldwide, BSE-infected cases have never been reported in Korea. In a previous study, we identified BSE-related somatic mutation E211K in 3 Korean Holstein cattle. In Korea, the BSE surveillance system has been established. However, several genetic factors have not been controlled simultaneously thus far. In the present study, we performed enhanced surveillance of prion disease-related factors in Korean cattle, including Holstein cattle and Hanwoo (Korean native cattle), which is widely raised for meat. We investigated the germline mutation E211K at codon 211 of the PRNP gene and analyzed genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies of the 23-bp and 12-bp insertion/deletion polymorphisms of the PRNP gene using direct DNA sequencing. In addition, we investigated linkage disequilibrium (LD) and compared haplotype distributions of polymorphisms among cattle breeds. Furthermore, we carried out BSE diagnosis in the medulla oblongata (MO) of Korean cattle including 3 Korean Holstein cattle carrying somatic mutation E211K using western blotting analysis. We did not find the E211K mutation in the PRNP gene in any of the Korean cattle and found significantly different genotype, allele and haplotype distributions of the 23-bp and 12-bp insertion/deletion polymorphisms of the PRNP gene in male Holstein compared to male Hanwoo, female Hanwoo and total Hanwoo. In addition, only male Holstein showed weak LD between 23-bp and 12-bp insertion/deletion polymorphisms. Furthermore, the PrPSc bands were not detected in all Korean cattle tested. To the best of our knowledge, the enhanced surveillance system of BSE was conducted for the first time in Korean cattle.


This article examines how the Renaissance English understood and responded to the land of Cathay. It argues that although Cathay is technically just another name for China it represented a separate conceptual realm in this period. In other words, Cathay must be considered as being, in many ways, a distinct discursive construct. Viewed as the 'glittering prize' of the East India Company, Cathay, which fuelled countless (doomed) attempts at discovery, possessed characteristics both Chinese and Tartar. Descriptions of it converged and diverged simultaneously with descriptions of China and Tartary. As well as being a culturally liminal entity, Cathay was also a temporally liminal construct as accounts of it often placed it in the past and the present, that is, as both continuing under the rule of Kublai Khan, its thirteenth-century Mongol ruler, and as self-governing.
Cathay's cultural, spatial, and temporal liminality means that it constitutes, in effect, an 'unreal(istic)' space in the early modern imagination; it transcends the established limits of the actual, material world. As such, 'Cathay' evades representational containment, which explains why contemporary critics have been frustrated in their attempts at explaining Shakespeare's incongruent uses of the term. This paper, however, fully acknowledges from the outset the impossibility of establishing a single definition of 'Cathayans' and proffers instead an interpretation of the term that allows for its elusiveness. Indeed, its elusiveness and almost nonsensicalness are its distinguishing features, features uniting Shakespeare's seemingly disparate uses with deployments in the plays of William Davenant and Thomas Dekker.


Despite the proven efficacy of hyperspectral imaging in many computer vision tasks, its widespread use is hindered by its low spatial resolution, resulting from hardware limitations. We propose a hyperspectral image super resolution approach that fuses a high resolution image with the low resolution hyperspectral image using non-parametric Bayesian sparse representation. The proposed approach first infers probability distributions for the material spectra in the scene and their proportions. The distributions are then used to compute sparse codes of the high resolution image. To that end, we propose a generic Bayesian sparse coding strategy to be used with Bayesian dictionaries learned with the Beta process. We theoretically analyze the proposed strategy for its accurate performance. The computed codes are used with the estimated scene spectra to construct the super resolution hyperspectral image. Exhaustive experiments on two public databases of ground based hyperspectral images and a remotely sensed image show that the proposed approach outperforms the existing state of the art.


BACKGROUND
Even after the availability of many different surgical options, most surgeons still prefer the classical lay open technique (fistulotomy) as the gold standard for the treatment of anal fistula. This study analyzes the procedure and outcome of radiofrequency fistulotomy over the conventional scalpel method.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Fifty patients with low fistula in ano were analyzed in a prospective study. They were randomized into conventional and radiofrequency fistulotomy groups. Parameters measured included time taken for the procedure, amount of blood loss, postoperative pain, period taken for return to work and recurrence rate. The patients were followed over a period of 30 months.

RESULTS
The average time for complete wound healing was 49 days. The patients took a mean period of 7 days to return to their routine. In 7 patients the wounds took more than 80 days to heal and were labeled as delay in wound healing. Two patients developed a recurrence. The comparative study between conventional and radiofrequency fistulotomy showed that procedure time was shorter (p= 0.001); intra operative bleeding was much less (p=0.0004), return to work was earlier (p= 0.029) and wound-healing time was shorter (p=0.0017) in radiofrequency procedure.

CONCLUSION
In terms of parameters set for the study, the radiofrequency technique was found to have significant advantages over conventional fistulotomy procedure with regard to operation time, blood loss, return to normal activity and healing of the wounds.