We provide conceptual and mathematical foundations for near-term quantum natural language processing (QNLP), and do so in quantum computer scientist friendly terms. We opted for an expository presentation style, and provide references for supporting empirical evidence and formal statements concerning mathematical generality.
We recall how the quantum model for natural language that we employ canonically combines linguistic meanings with rich linguistic structure, most notably grammar. In particular, the fact that it takes a quantum-like model to combine meaning and structure, establishes QNLP as quantum-native, on par with simulation of quantum systems. Moreover, the now leading Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) paradigm for encoding classical data on quantum hardware, variational quantum circuits, makes NISQ exceptionally QNLP-friendly: linguistic structure can be encoded as a free lunch, in contrast to the apparently exponentially expensive classical encoding of grammar.
Quantum speed-up for QNLP tasks has already been established in previous work with Will Zeng. Here we provide a broader range of tasks which all enjoy the same advantage.
Diagrammatic reasoning is at the heart of QNLP. Firstly, the quantum model interprets language as quantum processes via the diagrammatic formalism of categorical quantum mechanics. Secondly, these diagrams are via ZX-calculus translated into quantum circuits. Parameterisations of meanings then become the circuit variables to be learned.
Our encoding of linguistic structure within quantum circuits also embodies a novel approach for establishing word-meanings that goes beyond the current standards in mainstream AI, by placing linguistic structure at the heart of Wittgenstein's meaning-is-context.


Abstract Background While there is increasing literature on the health effects of work–life interference, few studies have investigated the relationship between a direct measure of work–life interference and objective sickness absence measures. The aim of this study is to investigate whether work–life interference is a risk factor for subsequent long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Methods Data were derived from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. Data were linked to register data on LTSA (having at least one continuous period of medically certified sick leave exceeding 14 days) the following 2 years after each data collection wave. We applied generalized estimating equations, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The sample included 15 244 individuals (43.1% men and 56.9% women). Nearly a fifth of the sample (18.7%, n = 1110) started at least one period of LTSA at any point between 2010 and 2018. Results Work–life interference was found to be a risk factor for subsequent LTSA (OR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.44–1.67) even when adjusting for relevant factors including general health (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.29–1.51). We found no significant moderating effect of gender. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that work–life interference is a risk factor for subsequent LTSA for working men and women in Sweden.


A 5-year study was conducted to evaluate the influences of rest-rotation, deferred-rotation, and season-long grazing systems on cattle diet botanical composition and quality and weight gains on mountain rangeland in northeastern Oregon. The grazing season in each year lasted from 20 June to 10 October. Esophageally fistulated animals were used to evaluate diet quality and botanical composition. All study pastures included forest, grassland, and meadow vegetation types. Each pasture had a north and southfacing slope divided by a riparian zone and creek. The grazing pressure for each system was similar. Grazing intensity was the same as National Forest Allotments in the area. There were no differences (P>.05) in weight gains among the 3 systems when data were pooled across years. Crude protein, in vitro organic matter digestibility, and acid detergent fiber percentages in fistula samples did not differ (P>.05) among systems for any year of study or for data pooled across years. Mid-season movements of cattle under the rest-rotation system had little influence on their diet and performance compared with cattle under the season-long system. Key forages in cattle diets were Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum), and common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus). Cattle diet botanical composition under the 3 grazing systems did not differ (P>.05).


There is substantial research about the importance of identifying problems early, before they become entrenched. Intervening early in the course of a condition or problem increases the chance of there being a positive outcome; the earlier intervention is commenced, the more likely it is to be effective and less expensive.  Since early childhood is a time of rapid development in many domains (especially cognition, language, and social-emotional development), delay or dysfunction in these domains at this age is a strong predictor of problems at school and beyond. While significant developmental delay and serious health problems are usually detected in the first years of life, more subtle problems, especially of development and behaviour, are often not detected until the child is entering preschool, or until he/she begins school.  -------------------------- Feeding young children a healthy diet can be a challenge. Common problems may emerge later in the second year even in children who ate well previously. The developmental progress of the child will influence eating behaviours, with increasing independence and control played out at the dinner table. A decrease in growth velocity after the first year also means the quantity of food required relative to the child's body size is reduced. To ensure enjoyable and healthy long term eating patterns, parents of toddlers need to make adjustments for the physical, social and emotional needs of their child. Many toddlers are picky eaters and food often becomes a source of conflict. Some commonly expressed concerns about toddler eating include: Multiple food dislikes, even when they have previously enjoyed a food A refusal to try new foods – 'food neophobia' A refusal to increase the texture of foods and gagging or lack of chewing. A preference for fluids and minimal solids Eating little at some meals Meal time tantrums  Getting up and down from the table frequently Needing to be bribed or distracted to eat It is uncommon for these behaviours to result in growth faltering or nutritional deficiencies in the short term. The recognition that early development of poor eating habits may progress and impact on the incidence of diet related lifestyle diseases means parents should manage these behaviours in a positive and effective way early on.


ABSTRACT Background Suboptimal stent delivery and deployment in calcified coronary lesions are associated with a poor clinical outcome. Methods Using the National Inpatient Sample database, we identified patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Comparison between procedural and hospital outcomes between patients who underwent atherectomy and those who did not. Results A total of 2,035,039 patients underwent PCI, of which 50,095 (2.4%) underwent lesion modification using atherectomy. After adjustment for baseline differences, patients who underwent atherectomy were found to have higher rates of in-hospital mortality (3.3% vs 2.2% adjusted Odds Ratio, aOR, 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31–1.46, P < 0.001), coronary artery dissection (1.7% vs 1.1%, aOR, 1.56; 95%, 1.45–1.67, P < 0.001) vascular complications (1.6% vs 1.0%, aOR, 1.52; 95%, 1.42–1.64, P < 0.001), major bleeding (6.3% vs 4.7%, aOR, 1.24; 95%, 1.18–1.28, P < 0.001), and acute kidney injury (AKI) (10.9%vs 9.1%, aOR, 1.07; 95%, 1.04–1.11, P < 0.001) when compared with non-atherectomy patients. Concomitant intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging improved mortality, while other complication rates were not affected by imaging. Conclusion Coronary atherectomy was performed in patients with multiple comorbidities and was associated with higher in-hospital mortality and complications than the non-atherectomy group.


We describe the recent advances in studying biological systems via multiscale simulations. Our scheme is based on a coarse-grained representation of the macromolecules and a mesoscopic description of the solvent. The dual technique handles particles, the aqueous solvent and their mutual exchange of forces resulting in a stable and accurate methodology allowing biosystems of unprecedented size to be simulated. This article is part of the themed issue 'Multiscale modelling at the physics–chemistry–biology interface'.


Reported presence or absence of night cough was compared with tape recorded cough in 15 children with perennial asthma (median age, 9 years; range, 7–14) who reported troublesome nocturnal symptoms. Measurements were made and diaries kept for 7 consecutive nights. Cough was reported on 66 of 105 (66%) and recorded on 93 (90%) available nights with poor overall agreement (Cohen's coefficient of assessment, kappa +0.30, range −0.17 to +l). The poor agreement between subjective and objective assessment of an important symptom of nocturnal asthma raises questions on the validity of symptom reporting and may in part explain the not infrequent disagreement between medical and patient assessment of disease severity. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


It is a matter of considerable importance to inquire into the physiologic and pharmacologic reactions of the retinal blood vessels. As Mylius 1 pointed out, these reactions are complicated, and the correlation of certain experimental findings with clinical therapy depends on a clear understanding of these responses. The primary concern of this study of the retinal blood vessels is with the underlying forces which produce vasodilatation. This assumes therapeutic importance, as the treatment for spasm 2 and closure of the central blood vessels relates to measures which will produce immediate vasodilatation. Of the chemical agents available, acetylcholine and the nitrites have been the drugs most frequently employed. In general, these drugs produce marked relaxation of the vascular musculature with an associated drop in the systemic blood pressure. The favorable influence of these therapeutic measures has been recorded repeatedly in the literature. Many of these accounts appear convincing, but within recent


Aims: To compare derived time in range (dTIR) with insulin degludec/liraglutide (IDegLira) and insulin glargine 100 units/mL (IGlar U100) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: Data from DUAL V, a trial of patients with T2D uncontrolled on IGlar U100 randomized to switch to IDegLira or up-titration of IGlar U100 (+metformin; n=557), and DUAL VIII, a durability trial of insulin-naive patients with T2D randomized to either IDegLira or IGlar U100 (+ oral antidiabetic drugs; n=1012), were evaluated post hoc. Self-monitored blood glucose profiles (weeks 0, 12, and 26 [DUAL V] or weeks 0, 26, and 104 [DUAL VIII]) were used to derive the proportion of available readings within (dTIR: 70-180 mg/dL [3.9-10 mmol/L]), below (dTBR: 180 mg/dL [>10 mmol/L]) target range. Results: Estimated treatment differences (IDegLira− IGlar U100) for change from baseline to end of treatment (EOT) in dTIR were significantly greater with IDegLira vs. IGlar U100 (Figure). The proportion of patients achieving ≥70% dTIR at EOT with IDegLira and IGlar U100, respectively, was 62% and 60% in DUAL V, and 50% and 26% in DUAL VIII; the proportion achieving a ≥5% increase in dTIR from baseline to EOT was 63% in both groups in DUAL V, and 44% and 25%, respectively, in DUAL VIII. Conclusion: IDegLira was associated with significantly greater dTIR vs. IGlar U100 in insulin-experienced and insulin-naive patients with T2D. Disclosure A. Philis-tsimikas: Advisory Panel; Self; Bayer Inc., Lilly Diabetes, Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, Consultant; Self; Sanofi-Aventis, Employee; Spouse/Partner; Ionis, Other Relationship; Self; Merck & Co., Inc., Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Lilly Diabetes, Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi-Aventis. V. R. Aroda: Consultant; Self; Applied Therapeutics, Duke, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Employee; Spouse/Partner; Janssen , Merck , Research Support; Self; Applied Therapeutics, Eli Lilly and Company, Fractyl , Medpace, Medpace, Novo Nordisk, Premier , Sanofi, Stock/Shareholder; Spouse/Partner; Janssen, Merck. C. De block: Advisory Panel; Self; A. Menarini Diagnostics, Abbott Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim , Eli Lilly and Company, MSD, Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi, Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Speaker9s Bureau; Self; A. Menarini Diagnostics, Abbott Diagnostics, Boehringer Ingelheim , Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi. L. K. Billings: Advisory Panel; Self; Bayer Inc., Lilly Diabetes, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi. E. Hachmann-nielsen: Employee; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. A. Liebl: Advisory Panel; Self; AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, MSD, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Speaker9s Bureau; Self; AstraZeneca, Bayer, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Bristol Myers Squibb , Dexcom, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Medtronic, MSD, Novo Nordisk, OmniaMed, Roche, Sanofi. R. Sivarathinasami: Employee; Self; Novo Nordisk Service Centre India Private Ltd. J. M. D9cruz: Employee; Self; NovoNordisk GBS. I. Lingvay: Advisory Panel; Self; Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Lilly Diabetes, Consultant; Self; TARGET PharmaSolutions, Other Relationship; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc., Zealand Pharma A/S, Research Support; Self; Mylan N. V., Sanofi. Funding Novo Nordisk A/S


As the largest Muslim community in the world, Indonesia is optimist on implementing Islamic economy as one of the system. The previous global financial turmoil has made the attention turn on the Islamic financial model, and in particular the Islamic banking system. This model offers a microfinance system that allows poor people to meet their financial needs. Most banking systems are less concern about the difficulties affecting poor people since they usually have no collateral, making them a riskier investment. Knowing the 98.9% micro industries of Indonesia, it is an urgent need on facilitating their financial intermediaries. The Islamic microfinance system manages this demand by providing small-scale financial services to the lower and poor markets by giving them banking facility. Hence Islamic microfinance helps to sustain financial inclusion as attempt for that mostly poor society who has lack access to financial institution. The motivation for this research is to meet the knowledge gap of acceptance on the Islamic banking system implementation in the Indonesian micro economy development. The research questions is how micro industries perception and acceptance towards the existence of Islamic rural banks. The methodologies used are survey as primary data collection of 60 both Islamic and common rural banks for thorough analysis also secondary data collection from its financial reports. The research finding is the positive perception and acceptance of Islamic rural banks as micro industries' financial intermediaries. This research concludes that Islamic rural bank has become the part of micro banking services and contributes on building ideal Indonesia development.


The progressive course of most clinical &ancer has led to the assumption that the growth of malignant tumours is usually continuous and uninterrupted from beginning to end. Though this may be the general rule, there are certainly many exceptions, as is well known to all who have watched the course of the disease in either treated or untreated patients. Exceptional cases are often of exceptional interest, and that is certainly true of those rare cases in which cancer seems to have remained in a latent condition for many years. Hitherto the word " latent " has been generally used to describe this phenomenon, but Professor Geoffrey Hadfield, in the Kettle Memorial Lecture which we publish in our opening pages this week, has chosen the more expressive word " dormant " to describe " malignant cells which, although remaining alive in the tissues for relatively long periods, show no evidence of multiplication during this time, yet retain all their former and vigorous capacity to multiply." Is the use of the word " dormant " justified in the present state of our knowledge? "Latent" is non-committal: it implies only the concealment or absence of a tumour's clinical manifestation. Dormancy, on the other hand, is apt to suggest a resting phase, or, more fancifully, almost as though the cancer cells were in some kind of sleep. Professor Hadfield's object, however, is to recall the longattested phenomenon of latency in human cancer and then to describe some interesting new experiments recently carried out by Dr. James Craigie. These prove that cancer cells in some animal tumours may survive for long periods when frozen solid and stored at low temperatures such as 70° C. The astonishing capacity of survival of tumour cells at very low temperature has been known for many years, and a closer study of this remarkable phenomenon has shown that the survival rate of frozen tumour cells is higher if the tumour is frozen slowly. This is explained on the supposition that slow freezing enables tumour cells to effect certain physicochemical and structural adjustments which seem to be essential if they are to resist anoxia and dehydration. Investigating this phenomenon, Craigie found that when tumour tissue had been maintained at 700 C. for many months and was rapidly thawed and then quickly examined he could recognize a variable number of small, highly refractile cells which had a higher capacity than others to resist and survive anoxia, dehydration, and metabolic arrest. He has named these more resistant cells " paramorphic," and he asserts that the tumour-inducing activity of a thawed-out malignant tumour after a long period of anoxia is directly related to the number of paramorphic cells present in it. These experiments on the dehydration and freezing of transplantable tumour tissue suggest that a case can be made out for the existence in such material of particular cells with exceptional powers of resistance which, during adverse conditions, remain in what may be called a "dormant" state. Whether or not Craigie's paramorphic cells occur in normal tissue, or in human tumours, still remains to be proved, and further information on these points will certainly be awaited with interest. Until this has been established, it does not seem likely that any close comparison can be made between the first phenomenon to which Professor Hadfield drew attention-namely, the arrested growth of a human tumour-and the survival of cancer cells in animal tumour tissue frozen at 70° C. None the less, the closer study of paramorphic cells of transplantable animal cancer may eventually throw some light on the obscure problem of the biological state of apparently dormant cells which persist in human tumours. As Professor Hadfield says, "The fact that malignant cells can be induced to survive long periods of experimental metabolic arrest would appear to offer an explanation of their in vivo ability to withstand separation from their parent growth until a capillary circulation is provided for them." He suggests that this may apply to microscopic foci of isolated cells which form the nucleus of a metastasis, or to groups of cells of comparable size which become completely detached from their parent growth during the process of malignant infiltration.


ABSTRACT Research on human service organizations and managers is essential and is needed to support both practice and scholarship. In response to a proposed imbalance between the two (between what we do and what we know), this special issue presents 10 commentaries that identify longstanding practice dilemmas and suggest new avenues for practice and research in social work and related helping professions and disciplines. Review of the commentaries supports three interrelated themes: (1) increasing complexity facing the environment of practice; leading to (2) proposed approaches to managing complexity across levels of practice; resulting in (3) implications for the future of macro practice, research, and education. The introduction concludes with a brief reflection on the future of human service organizational and management research. The overall aim of our analysis and the special issue is to illuminate that which is often hidden in plain view.


Acute suppurative thyroiditis is an extremely rare non-viral infectious disorder, mostly of bacterial origin. The treatment typically consists of antibiotics and surgical drainage. However, recent reports have suggested that conservative management may suffice in selected cases. We present a case of acute suppurative thyroiditis managed with non-invasive therapy only.


In quiescent fibroblasts, low-level transcription of the beta-actin gene occurs, and it is rapidly induced by growth factors in serum. Deletion analysis of the 5' upstream region of the human beta-actin gene using a CAT assay showed that the region between +765 and +783 downstream from the cap site, which had enhancer activity in growing NIH3T3 cells, also acted as a serum-response element in quiescent cells. The data suggest that the 19-bp element acts positively as a serum response element. This sequence contains a CC(A/T)6GG sequence which is found in the promoter region of many cytoskeletal and muscle-specific actin genes.


We have characterized microsomal and nuclear histamine sites, designated H(IC), through which this amine acts as an intracellular mediator of platelet aggregation and lymphocyte mitogenesis. A major proportion, at least, of the microsomal H(IC) sites are on cytochromes P450, an important family of microsomal enzymes that are present in all cells, but most abundant in the liver. These enzymes are involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and natural substrates, including lipid hormones that modulate gene function and cell growth. We have shown that polyamines, hormones (including estrogen, testosterone and progesterone), antihormones (including tamoxifen and flutamide) and various antidepressants and antihistamines, all inhibit histamine binding to P450; we have postulated that, through binding to the heme moiety, intracellular histamine regulates cell function by modulating the catalytic activity of P450 enzymes, an action that may be perturbed by endogenous and exogenous substances. We now demonstrate that, in addition to histamine, melatonin and the biogenic amines dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline bind to P450 isozymes and to cytochrome C. Thus, heme enzymes in general may represent common targets where multiple bioamines, hormones and drugs interact to influence cell function and growth.


Abstract Impaired insulin secretion and action are important for development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Despite recognized heterogeneity of these glucometabolic disorders, few data are available of biological variation in insulin secretion and action among individuals with T2D and MetS. The aim of this study was to explore the inter-individual variations using gold standard methods in a cross-sectional study of two independent cohorts of phenotypically well-characterized subjects. Cohort I included 486 subjects with MetS, and cohort II 62 subjects with established T2D. First phase insulin secretion was defined as the incremental area under the curve 0–8 min (iAUC0–8 min) during an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). Insulin sensitivity was measured as the insulin sensitivity index (SI) modelled from IVGTT in cohort I, and in II as total glucose disposal (TGD) estimated from a euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp. Variation is given as total range and, fold-variation between 5%- and 95%-percentile. The iAUC0–8 min ranged from −60 to 3397 mUL−1min−1 among subjects with MetS and from −263 to 1194 mUL−1min−1 in subjects with T2D, representing a more than 10-fold variation. Insulin sensitivity ranged from SI 0.19 to 15.29 (mU/L)−1min−1 among subjects with MetS and TGD 12.9–101.6 μmolkgFFM−1min−1 in subjects with T2D, representing a 6.8 and 5.5-fold variation, respectively. The other components of MetS; BMI, waist-hip ratio, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure (BP), showed a 1.4–4.7-fold variation. In conclusion, our data demonstrated extensive inter-individual variations in insulin secretion and sensitivity. These variations may be essential to take into account when planning clinical research and treatment in subjects with T2D and MetS.


In this study, a novel functionalized material for selective recognition of Sudan III was synthesized by a molecular imprinting technique in combination with a sol-gel process on the activated silica gel surface. The imprinted polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and adsorption experiments. The results showed that this material exhibited a high adsorption capacity with selective ability toward Sudan III. Its saturated binding capacity was 12.16 mg/g. It offered a fast kinetics for the adsorption of Sudan III; 71.67% of the saturated adsorption capacity was obtained within a shaking period of 5 min, and the adsorption equilibrium was almost reached within 120 min. With good performance, this functionalized polymer was suitable as a new selective sorbent for application in solid phase extraction.


A simple and unified approach is described to stabilize FE on unstructured meshes for a large panel of problems. A variational multiscale approach may be used as a guideline to obtain stability. The simple P1 continuous approximation is systematically augmented with a bubble function inside elements. The bubble is condensed giving rise to supplementary terms in the varitional formulation. Bubble addition comes from the mixed formulation of incompressible flow problem. It is also introduced to retrieve the SUPG method for convective equation, giving rise also in a more general framework to the RFB methods. Different applications are proposed: the incompressible Navier Stokes equation, the interface capturing by Level set method and also a space time continuous P1 Finite Element method working with a full unstructured mesh both in space and time.


Alcohol addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder that presents a substantial public health problem, and is frequently co‐morbid with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Craving for alcohol is a predictor of relapse to alcohol use, and is triggered by cues associated with alcohol and trauma. Identification of reliable and valid laboratory methods for craving induction is an important objective for alcoholism and PTSD research. The present study compares two methods for induction of craving via stress and alcohol cues in individuals with co‐morbid alcohol dependence (AD) and PTSD: the combined Trier social stress test and cue reactivity paradigm (Trier/CR), and a guided imagery (Scripts) paradigm. Outcomes include self‐reported measures of craving, stress and anxiety as well as endocrine measures. Subjects were 52 individuals diagnosed with co‐morbid AD and PTSD seeking treatment at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism inpatient research facility. They participated in a 4‐week inpatient study of the efficacy of a neurokinin 1 antagonist to treat co‐morbid AD and PTSD, and which included the two challenge procedures. Both the Trier/CR and Scripts induced craving for alcohol, as well as elevated levels of subjective distress and anxiety. The Trier/CR yielded significant increases in adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol, while the Scripts did not. Both paradigms are effective laboratory means of inducing craving for alcohol. Further research is warranted to better understand the mechanisms behind craving induced by stress versus alcohol cues, as well as to understand the impact of co‐morbid PTSD and AD on craving.


The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between repeated-sprint sets (RSS) performance indices and anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) in young soccer players of different maturity status. One hundred and seventy nine young male soccer players (11.1 to 17.8 years) classified as pre- (n=50), circum- (n=60), or post- (n=69) peak height velocity (PHV) performed multi-stage shuttle run test (MRST) to measure maximal aerobic speed (MAS), 30-m sprint with 10-m splits to estimate maximal anaerobic speed (MAnS), and RSS test. ASR was calculated as the difference between MAS and MAnS. The RSS indices, MAS, MAnS and ASR were significantly different in the three maturity groups (p< 0.001; ES =0.12-0.64). Correlations between RSS performance indices and ASR varied considerably depending on maturity status. Very large correlations between ASR and RSS indices expressed as sum sprint time (SST) and best sprint time (BST) were found for pre- and circum-PHV groups (r=-0.76, -0.79 and r=-0.82, -0.86, respectively). In the post-PHV group, ASR was moderately associated with both SST (r=-0.45) and BST (r=-0.46). To sum up, these results highlighted that the ASR is more related to factors of RSS performance in pre- and circum-PHV male soccer players compared with post-PHV ones. These findings could help coaches and strength and conditioning professionals to better understand how the relationship between ASR and RSS evolve across the maturity and may be considered, therefore, useful in youth soccer selection/training process.


The lens of 6‐day‐old normal mouse was implanted into the lentectomized eye of adult mouse to examine the effect of retina upon the growth of the implanted lens in vivo. The implanted lens grew normally and its transparency was kept for more than 5 months after implantation. The connection between the implanted lens and the ciliary part of the recipient iris was well established with the regeneration of zonular fibers from the recipient. In young lenses implanted reversely into adult eyes, the epithelial cells facing the retina elongated and a new epithelium was formed on the corneal side of the lens within 5 days. Young lenses implanted either in normal or reverse orientation into eyes from which the retina was previously removed did not grow. The cells of the original lens epithelium of these lenses were randomly accumulated beneath the posterior lens capsule, while the anterior portion of the implanted lenses became an epithelial structure without cell elongation. These results suggest that the growth of the implanted lens may be dependent on the retina of the adult eye.


The bacteriological examination of skin grafts prepared by V. N. Yanov's method, has confirmed a sufficient efficiency of such treatment of transplants for burried plasty.


Anecdotal evidence suggests that today's students (Generation Y members) do well with the internet, but struggle with applied software. Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Malhotra (2000) developed service quality measures for service encounters in an electronic environment (e.g.SITEQUAL). This preliminary study measures the gap between GenY students' expectation of and satisfaction with SPSS software. Altogether, n=43 students participated in the experiment. The results suggest that GenY students seek functionality and not fancy gimmicks in application software. While overall reporting satisfaction with SPSS, some criteria do not meet very high expectations and companies should note and address these gaps.


Correlation scales have been used in the traditional scheme of three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) to estimate the background (or first guess) error covariance matrix (the B matrix in brief) for the numerical forecast and reanalysis of ocean for decades. However, it is challenging to implement this scheme. On the one hand, determining the correlation scales accurately can be difficult. On the other hand, the positive definite of the B matrix cannot be guaranteed unless the correlation scales are sufficiently small. Xie et al. indicated that a traditional 3DVAR only corrects certain wavelength errors, and its accuracy depends on the accuracy of the B matrix. Generally speaking, the shortwave error cannot be sufficiently corrected until the longwave error is corrected. An inaccurate B matrix may mistake longwave errors as shortwave ones, resulting in erroneous analyses. A new 3DVAR data assimilation scheme, called a multigrid data assimilation scheme, is proposed in this paper for quickly minimizing longwave and shortwave errors successively. By assimilating the sea surface temperature and temperature profile observations into a numerical model of the China Seas, this scheme is applied to a retroactive real-time forecast experiment and favorable results are obtained. Compared to the traditional scheme of 3DVAR, this new scheme has higher forecast accuracy and lower root-meansquare errors. Note that the new scheme demonstrates greatly improved numerical efficiency in the analysis procedure.


Local systematic differences between scatterometer and global numerical weather prediction (NWP) model stress equivalent winds (SEW) are due to unresolved geophysical processes by the model, e.g., ocean currents and moist convection. A scatterometer-based correction, which contains the mesoscale informationpresent in the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) observations, sets the grounds for a high-resolution ocean forcing product. To assess the effectiveness of such correction, a Monte Carlo simulation procedure is applied to NWP SEW. It allows for a thorough evaluation of the NWP error reduction, which depends on the scatterometer sampling. The local NWP biases are reduced at the cost of a somewhat increased variance, and the total error mitigation is constrained to regions covered by the scatterometer at least 3 times over 5 days. Despite the limited sampling in the tropics, the real NWP corrected SEW over the West African coast show areas of increased wind variability associated to moist convection.


ForkJoin framework is a widely used parallel programming framework upon which both core concurrency libraries and real-world applications are built. Beneath its simple and user-friendly APIs, ForkJoin is a sophisticated managed parallel runtime unfamiliar to many application programmers: the framework core is a work-stealing scheduler, handles fine-grained tasks, and sustains the pressure from automatic memory management. ForkJoin poses a unique gap in the compute stack between high-level software engineering and low-level system optimization. Understanding and bridging this gap is crucial for the future of parallelism support in JVM-supported applications. This paper describes a comprehensive study on parallelism bottlenecks in ForkJoin applications, with a unique focus on how they interact with underlying system-level features, such as work stealing and memory management. We identify 6 bottlenecks, and found that refactoring them can significantly improve performance and energy efficiency. Our field study includes an in-depth analysis of Akka — a real-world actor framework — and 30 additional open-source ForkJoin projects. We sent our patches to the developers of 15 projects, and 7 out of the 9 projects that replied to our patches have accepted them.


The switching of a molecular length of azobenzene between its trans and cis forms by photoirradiation originates various photoresponsive systems in the molecular level and/or nanolevel. Recently, we and another group separately reported that some azobenzene-modified mesoporous silicas remarkably promote the release of molecules from the inside of the mesopore to the outside, when the lights, both UV and visible lights, were irradiated simultaneously. In these cases, the release rates of molecules were enhanced by the impeller-like effect of molecular motion of azobenzene moiety attributed to the continuous photoisomerization between the trans and cis isomers. This paper presents that azobenzene-substituent-tethered amorphous silica gel could promote the development of solvents in chromatography systems by photoirradiation. In column chromatography system where azobenzene-tethered silica gel was packed, the irradiation of both UV and visible lights increased the effluent rate of the developing solvents. The single irradiation of UV light scarcely enhanced the rate, while the visible light irradiation longer than 400 nm in wavelength also accelerated the development of the solvent moderately. The same kinds of phenomena were observed when this photopromoted chromatography system was applied to thin layer chromatography (TLC). Hydrocarbon developing solvents in the regions, where UV and visible lights were irradiated, moved up the TLC plate higher than those without photoirradiation. When the pyrene solution in the developing solvent was utilized in the chromatography systems, the similar photoacceleration of pyrene development was observed at the same level as the developing solvents.


Purpose
Cyclohexanone-formaldehyde resin (CFR) was in situ modified with olive pomace (OP) in the presence of sodium hydroxide. The purpose of this study is to produce eco-friendly OP modified cyclohexanone composite resins (OPCFCR) with a one-step method that has higher condensation reaction temperature than CFR. The water absorption properties, gloss value and cross-cut adhesion properties of the product were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach
Cyclohexanone, formalin (37% aqueous solution) and tannin were mixed and 20% aqueous NaOH solution was added to produce the resin. OP has environmentally friendly bio-based lignin, cellulose and phenolic compounds and the OP structure has been incorporated into the structure of the CFR resin during the in situ modification, such as resole resin and polysaccharide. The weights of pomace were used as 5% and 10% of the weight of cyclohexanone in cyclohexanone-formaldehyde composite resins, respectively.

Findings
There is an improvement in the properties of the OPCFCR produced from an agricultural waste that is very abundant in Gulf of Edremit region of Balikesir. The OPCFCRs were soluble in common organic solvents. The product OPCFCR has a dark red-brown color.

Research limitations/implications
The reaction mixture must be stirred continuously. Subsequently, 37% formalin was added dropwise in total while refluxing. The amount of aqueous NaOH solution is limited as the formed resin may become insoluble in common organic solvents. At the end of the reaction, a water-insoluble resin is obtained.

Practical implications
This study provides the application of ketonic resins. The OPCFCR containing phenolic groups may also promote the adhesive strength of a coating.

Social implications
These resins may be used for the preparation of adhesive. OP, with a large amount of catechol groups, was considered for reducing the formaldehyde emission level on the adhesive system.

Originality/value
OPCFCR has been synthesized in the presence of a base catalyst. Environmental and ecological concerns have increased the attention paid by chemical industry to renewable raw materials.


This study represents the first report on sediment accretion rates using137Cs dating for a southern California salt marsh. Vertical accretion rates ranged from 0.7 to 1.2 cm yr−1, which is at the high end of sediment accretion values for coastal wetlands. This has lead to increases in elevation within the estuary from 18 to 35 cm over the last 35 years. Depth profiles of metal concentrations were converted to time-based profiles using vertical accretion rates. Chronologies for most cores indicate a consistent peak in sediment lead (Pb) concentrations in the early to mid 1980s, corresponding to the historic decline in Pb use, which was completed in the U.S. by the early 1980s, but not begun in Mexico until 1991. Sediment Pb levels ranged from about 6–56 μg g−1. Other metals did not show any consistent trends in sediment chronology, except for a single core from a mid-marsh site (east-mid 2), which showed a 2–3-fold increase in levels of Cu, Ni, and Zn during the past two decades. Sediment levels of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) ranged from 6–34 μg g−1, 11–27 μg g−1, and 42–122 μg g−1, respectively. Despite rapid industrial development of the watershed, a comparison of the sediment metal concentrations in the Tijuana Estuary to other anthropogenically-impacted estuaries in the United States and Europe, shows that metal levels in sediments of the north arm of the estuary are relatively low.


Alpha-amylase genes often form multigene families in living organisms. In Diptera, a remote paralog, Amyrel, had been discovered in Drosophila, where this gene is currently used as a population and phylogenetic marker. The putative encoded protein has about 40% divergence with the classical amylases. We have searched the presence of the paralog in other families of Diptera to track its origin and understand its evolution. Amyrel was detected in a number of families of Muscomorpha (Brachycera-Cyclorrapha), suggesting an origin much older than previously thought. It has not been found elsewhere to date, and it is absent from the Anopheles gambiae genome. The intron-exon structures of the genes found so far suggest that the ancestral gene (before the duplication which gave rise to Amyrel) had two introns, and that subsequent, repeated and independent loss of one or both introns occurred in some Muscomorpha families. It seems that the Amyrel protein has experienced specific amino acid substitutions in regions generally well conserved in amylases, raising the possibility of peculiar, functional adaptations of this protein.


Background:
 Immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a rare, life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) occurring due to an acquired deficiency in ADAMTS13. Mortality due to iTTP is estimated at 10% with current standard treatment that consists of plasma exchange (PLEX) and corticosteroids. The United States TMA (USTMA) registry incorporates 15 large US referral centers across the nation, and includes patients diagnosed with iTTP between 1985 and 2019. We sought to perform a descriptive analysis on the patients with fatal outcomes attributable to acute iTTP episodes in the registry.
 Methods:
 We utilized the USTMA registry (n=771) and analyzed twenty-two baseline patient demographics, presenting symptoms, and laboratory findings. The study cohort included participants with iTTP diagnosis based on the presence of thrombocytopenia (platelet count <100 /µL), microangiopathic hemolyic anemia (hemoglobin less than the lower limit of normal with schistocytes on the peripheral blood smear), and either ADAMTS13 activity <10% or ADAMTS13 activity <20% with an anti-ADAMTS13 inhibitor or antibody. For participants diagnosed before the ADAMTS13 assay was developed (2006), the iTTP diagnosis was based on the clinical course and absence of alternative causes. iTTP exacerbation was defined as clinical disease recurrence within 30 days of PLEX discontinuation, and clinical relapse was defined as disease recurrence after 30 days of last PLEX, as per the international working group definitions 1.
 Results:
 A total of 33 patients (4.28%) in the USTMA cohort died during acute iTTP episodes. The patient demographics and initial presenting lab values are summarized in Table 1.
 Time of death (Figure 1):
 22 patients (66.7%) died during the initial iTTP episode, and within 30 days of presentation.
 3 patients (9.0%) died during disease exacerbation of the initial episode.
 8 patients (24.2%) died due to disease relapse.
 Median time to death at initial presentation/exacerbation (n=25) = 8 days [IQR: 4-19]
 Median time to death due to relapse = 1.6 years [IQR: 1.1-5.7]
 Patient demographics and presenting features (Table 1):
 Median age = 51 years [IQR: 27.8-60]
 Sex = 54.5% female, 45.5% male
 Presence of neurologic symptoms on presentation: 22 (66.7%)
 Presence of any symptoms on presentation: 32 (97%)
 Conclusion:
 Patients with fatal outcomes due to acute iTTP episodes presented with variable symptoms and baseline characteristics. While the vast majority of deaths occurred during the initial acute episode, death also occurred during exacerbation of the initial episode or subsequent disease relapse. Vigilant laboratory and clinical monitoring both after achieving initial remission and during long-term follow-up are necessary, to allow detection of disease exacerbation and relapse, and potentially prevent iTTP-related deaths.
 1. Cuker A, Cataland SR, Coppo P, et al. Redefining outcomes in immune TTP: an international working group consensus report. Blood. 2021;137(14):1855-1861.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Mazepa: Answering TTP Foundation: Research Funding; Sanofi Aventis: Other. Lim: Hema Biologics: Honoraria; Sanofi Genzyme: Honoraria; Dova Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria.


The transformation of lignin with natural aromatic structure into value-added carbon dots (CDs) achieves a win-win situation for low-cost production of novel nanomaterials and reasonable disposal of biomass waste. However, it remains challenging to produce multi-emission CDs from biomass for advanced applications. Herein, a green and facile approach to preparing multi-emission CDs from alkali lignin via N and B co-doping is developed. The obtained N and B co-doped CDs (NB-CDs) show multi-emission fluorescence centers at 346, 428 and 514 nm under different excitations. As the doping amount of N and B increases, the fluorescence emission band gradually shifts to 428 and 514 nm, while that at 346 nm decreases. The fluorescence mechanism is explored through the research of the structure, composition and optical performance of NB-CDs in combination with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It demonstrates that the effect of doping with B-containing functional groups on the fluorescence emission behavior is multivariate, which may be the crucial contribution to the unique multi-emission fluorescence of CDs. The multi-emission NB-CDs with prominent stability are applied for multilevel anti-counterfeiting printing. It provides a promising direction for the sustainable and advanced application of biomass-derived CDs, and the theoretical results highlight a new insight into the deep understanding of the multi-emission fluorescence mechanism.


The present invention provides an electrolytic hard gold plating solution substitution inhibitor characterized by containing at least one compound selected from the group consisting of an imidazole compound having a mercapto group, a triazole compound having a mercapto group, and an aliphatic compound having a sulfonic acid group and a mercapto group, and further provides an electrolytic hard goldplating solution containing said electrolytic hard gold plating solution substitution inhibitor, a gold salt, a soluble cobalt salt and/or a soluble nickel salt, an organic acid conducting salt, anda chelating agent.


In this paper, a displaced dipole model for two infinitely long dielectric cylinders in an applied uniform field is proposed. The displaced dipole moment and its displacement can be approximately obtained from the applied field values at the two poles of a cylinder. The electric potential distributions near the surface of cylinder calculated using the displaced dipole method are compared with those obtained with the finite-element method. The electric field distributions around the surfaces of cylinder calculated using the displaced dipole method are compared with those obtained with the finite-element method and the dipole-at-the-center approximation. The displaced dipole method is a good approximation, especially in the area between two cylinders when the displacement is less than 0.2 R.


A parametric study of the influence of material property, geometric, and waste form parameters on temperatures and stresses was performed. The results of parametric analysis (in this report) are preliminary, utilizing the best available assumptions and data; however, they are not intended to accurately reflect actual conditions that may be encountered in the environment surrounding a repository. The base case studied is for a conventional repository with a 5-year retrievability period.


SUMMARY: Data on 249 children with rheumatic heart disease visiting the NICVD during the period 1980 • 1985 is presented. Acute rheumatic fever was diagnosed in 95 patients. In 136 patients there was evidence of carditis but no valvulitis ESR and ASOT within normal limits. In 20 patients there was evidence of valvulitis with normal ESR and ASOT. Recurrent acute rheumatic fever was noted in 5.3% and bacterial endocarditis in 4.8%. Of these 249 1' 17 died giving a total known mortality of 6.8%. In our study, the prognosis of a child with Rheumatic carditis remains guarded for many reasons.


Seasonal migration to cities is a common livelihood strategy for forest-fringe households in central India. Based on a previously collected household survey of 5000 villages across 500 forest-fringe villages in 32 dis-tricts of central India, we identify migration patterns over the last 5 years. Villages with seasonal workers are widely dispersed (75% of surveyed villages) and 81% of destination cities had reported COVID-19 cas-es at the beginning of the lockdown. Using a disease spread model to assess distancing strategies if return-ing migrants carry the virus to villages, we find that lenient restrictions for people within a village com-bined with maximal restrictions between villages could reduce the number of people exposed compared with moderate restrictions both within and between villages. Such a 'village bubble' strategy could reduce the risk of spread among vulnerable populations and requires that essential goods reach villages.


Background Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in immune responses to virus infection. The cell population consists of CD56 bright (bright-subset) and CD56 dim (dim-subset) subsets that possess armed functions of cytokine production and cytolysis, respectively. How these subsets are involved in chronic hepatitis C virus infection (CHC) remains obscure. Methods We investigated the frequency, phenotype, and cytokine response of these subsets in blood from CHC patients and healthy subjects (HS). Results Dim-subset, but not bright-subset, showed lower frequency in the patients than in HS. Bright-subset from the patients more frequently expressed the NKG2A/CD94 inhibitory receptor than that from HS, while both subsets from the patients expressed lower levels of the NKG2D activating receptor. Both subsets from the patients displayed a significantly higher level of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1, compared with the HS. Upon stimulation with interferon-a, bright-subset activated less STAT4, required for interferon-c production, and dim-subset activated more STAT1, required for cytolysis, in the patients than in HS. Conclusions These results indicate alterations of NK cell subsets in frequency, phenotype, and cytokine response in CHC, which might be associated with the immune pathogenesis of CHC.


Our greenhouse tomatoes have suffered from attacks by viruliferous whiteflies Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) over the last 10 years. The fundamental countermeasure was the application of an electric field screen to the greenhouse windows to prevent their entry. However, while the protection was effective, it was incomplete, because of the lack of a guard at the greenhouse entrance area; in fact, the pests entered from the entrance door when workers entered and exited. To address this, we developed a portable electrostatic insect sweeper as a supplementary technique to the screen. In this sweeper, eight insulated conductor wires (ICWs) were arranged at constant intervals along a polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipe and covered with a cylindrical stainless net. The ICWs and metal net were linked to a DC voltage generator (operated by 3-V alkaline batteries) inside the grip and oppositely electrified to generate an electric field between them. Whiteflies on the plants were attracted to the sweeper that was gently slid along the leaves. This apparatus was easy to operate on-site in a greenhouse and enabled capture of the whiteflies detected during the routine care of the tomato plants. Using this apparatus, we caught all whiteflies that invaded the non-guarded entrance door and minimized the appearance and spread of the viral disease in tomato plants in the greenhouse.


Abstract Elevated mixed layers (EMLs) are an important factor in the development of springtime thunderstorms over the United States. EMLs can be considered a subset of a larger class, called residual layers, since the mean state variables are the same, at least initially, as those of the boundary layers in which EMLs a formed. It is possible, however, for boundary or residual layers that are not necessarily well mixed to be advected off regions of elevated terrain and overrun boundary layers forming over lower terrain. These layers are called elevated residual layers (ERLs); ERLs may form frequently in regions near mountains where terrain gradients exist. A simple slab mixed-layer model is used to examine how idealized ERL potential temperature profiles influence surface boundary-layer development. In addition, several regionally generated ERLs were observed over Phoenix, Arizona, during the Southwest Area Monsoon Project. These ERLs appear to have produced a change from moistening to entrainment-drying s...


The enantiomeric excess (ee) of organic amine compounds has been determined using fast-atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry based on the chiral host–guest complexation systems. The method uses a 1:1 mixture of the given chiral crown ether hosts (HRRRR and HSSSS-dn), one of whose enantiomers is isotopically labeled, for the ee-determination of a given amine salt guest (G+). The peak intensity ratio {I[(HRRRR + G)+] / I[(HSSSS-dn + G)+] = IRIS} of the two diastereomeric host–guest complex ions clearly changes with the change in the ee of the guest. The intensity excess (Ie) of the two complex ion peaks is newly defined as Ie = (IRIS −1) / (IRIS + 1). The two sets of mass spectrometrically obtained Ie values vs a set of ee values of phenylalanine methyl ester and leucine methyl ester hydrochlorides show excellent linear relationships through the zero point (R2 = 0.9989 and R2 = 0.9970, respectively). This indicates the potential utility of the present ee-determination method to within ± 3% ee. Furthermore, based on the solution equilibrium distributions of the complex ions, the linearity is mathematically justified. Therefore, the ee-determination can be simplified as ee (%) = (|Ie| / |Ie(100)|) × 100: here, Ie(100) is the corresponding Ie value obtained using an enantiomerically pure (100% ee) guest as a reference. The present chiral dimethoxyphenyl crown ether host pairs employed are effective (IRIS ≥ 1.5) for the ee-determination of most α-amino acid esters, but not effective (IRIS ≈ 1.0) for most simple alkylamines.


5G networks are being tested today. 5G networks are capable of improving existing services and delivering new quality of service through low latency, such as tactile internet. Existing technologies do not meet the requirements of 5G, which necessitates the development of new technologies. These include new connectivity methods that depend on the quality of the network's functioning. One of the most famous D2D communications. 5G networks use millimeter-band technologies. As the radio signal energy of the millimeter range is strongly absorbed by the environment, this range has a short communication range, so a large number of base stations must be installed in the network. But this is not always effective as their use decreases. D2D device-to-device technology is used to solve this problem. In order to ensure a high quality of network service, attention must be paid to the structure of the D2D organization. The basic structural parameters are the communication distance, the communication radius and the number of repeaters. This can be solved by selecting the relay node correctly. For this purpose it is necessary to take into account the change of the allowed data rate in the channel due to the allocation of its resources by the network node, used as a repeater. In order for the route to provide the necessary bandwidth, it is necessary to change the distance between the network nodes. This ensures network connectivity and the required level of quality of service. This is achieved by choosing the optimal algorithm that is considered in the article.


Cognitive Tutors have been shown to lead to impressive improvement in student learning in a range of domains, including middle school mathematics. Most Cognitive Tutors focus on providing learning support for tasks involving problem solving. They typically emphasize facilitating the acquisition of procedural knowledge, on the assumption that the acquisition of conceptual knowledge will be supported outside the tutor through classroom activities or an accompanying textbook. Many researchers agree that expertise in a domain involves not just procedural knowledge, but also conceptual knowledge, as well as tight interconnections between the two. In order to provide two types of knowledge instruction within the same Intelligent Tutoring System, we are now building a novel type of Cognitive Tutor to bridge the existing gap between teaching conceptual and procedural instruction with the same educational software.


Background: One of the main obstacles to malaria control in the world has been the emergence of resistance in Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine and other anti-malarial drugs. This study aimed to review studies in Iran on resistance in P. falciparum and P. vivax to drugs, and to reveal the mechanisms and molecular markers of resistance of these two species. Methods: The databases of PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Magiran, and reputable Iranian journals were searched to find published studies on the resistance in P. falciparum and P. vivax to antimalarial drugs in Iran. Results: There is a significant relationship between resistance to chloroquine in P. falciparum and the emergence of K76T mutation in the P. falciparum chloroquine-resistance transporter gene in Iran. Resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in P. falciparum is also significantly associated with the development of mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthase genes. Resistance to chloroquine in P. vivax has not been reported in Iran and it is used as a first-line treatment for P. vivax malaria. Conclusion: P. falciparum has become resistant to chloroquine in different regions of Iran and is not currently used to treat malaria. Besides, cases have emerged of P. falciparum resistance to SP in different parts of southern Iran, and SP is not administered alone for treating P. falciparum.


Background: Cirrhosis can cause various cardiac complications and severely affect the prognosis of the patient suffering from cirrhosis. Anatomical, morphological variations in the heart of patients with liver cirrhosis in the absence of known cardiac disease has not been well described. There is a paucity of studies in the literature on cardiac alterations in cirrhosis. Early detection of known cardiac alterations can further help in improving the quality of life. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the departments of pathology and forensic medicine of our institution. An autopsy-based prospective study of forty consecutive patients with final diagnosis of liver cirrhosis were included. Patients with a known history of cardiac disease/anomaly were excluded from the study. Macroscopic and microscopic changes in the heart and coronaries were noted and statistically analyzed. Results: Analysis of the hearts on gross examination showed cardiomegaly in 31 patients (77.5%). All cases had left ventricular hypertrophy. Endocardial thickening was seen in 22 patients (55%). Calcified mitral valve was seen in 9 patients (22.5%). On microscopy, apart from hypertrophy, the pathological changes like interstitial oedema (47.5%), fibrosis (45%), cardiac muscle disarray (87.5%), fatty infiltrate (10%), pericarditis (5%), and severe coronary artery atherosclerosis (17.5%) were seen in the patients. Conclusion: Knowledge about the involvement of the heart in liver cirrhosis is essential for both the physician and the surgeons to prevent adverse outcomes during liver transplantation and can further help in improving the quality of life of the patient.


A modified form of ferrous sulphate dosemeter is described, which retains the accepted advantages of the Fricke dosemeter and possesses the following additional properties: (a) it determines the dose in water; (b) the response is independent (to within +or-1.5%) of effective photon energy over the range 24 keV to 50 MeV and, therefore, independent of the shape of X-ray spectrum; (c) the low concentration of sulphuric acid reduces the possibility of introducing impurities from the source.


In many remote sensing studies it is desired to quantify the functional relationship between images of a given target that were acquired by different sensors. Such comparisons are problematic because when the pixel values of one image are plotted versus the other, the 'cross-noise' is quite high. Typically, the correlation coefficient is quite low, even when the compared images look alike. Nevertheless, we can try to quantify the functional relationship between two images by a suitable regression model function Y = f ( X ), while choosing one of them as 'the reference' Y and using the other one as a 'predictor' X . The underlying assumption of classical regression is that Y is absolutely correct while X is erroneous. Thus, the objective is to fit X to Y by choosing the parameters of Y = f ( X ), which minimize the 'residuals' ( " - Y ). When comparing images in remote sensing this objective is not valid because Y itself is error prone. The alternative FFT regression method presented herein comprises a two-stage sensor fusion approach, whereby the initially low correlation between X and Y is increased and the residuals are dramatically decreased. First, pairwise image transforms are applied to X and Y whereby the correlation coefficient is increased, e.g. from roughly 0.4 to about 0.8-0.85. A predicted image Y fft is then derived by least squares minimization between the amplitude matrices of X and Y, via the 2D FFT. In the second stage, there are two options: For one time predictions, the phase matrix of Y is combined with the amplitude matrix of Y fft, whereby an improved predicted image Y plock is formed. Usually, the residuals of Y plock versus Y are about half of the values of Y fft versus Y . For long term predictions, the phase matrix of a 'field mask' is combined with the amplitude matrices of the reference image Y and the predicted image Y fft . The field mask is a binary image of a pre-selected region of interest in X and Y . The resultant images Y pref and Y pred are modified versions of Y and Y fft respectively. The residuals of Y pred versus Y pref are even lower than the residuals of Y plock versus Y . Images Y pref and Y pred represent a close consensus of two independent imaging methods which view the same target. The practical utility of FFT regression is demonstrated by examples wherein remotely sensed NDVI images X are used for predicting yield distributions in agricultural fields. Reference yield maps Y were derived by yield monitors which measure the flow rate of the crop while it is being harvested. The 2D FFT transforms, as well as other mathematical operations in this paper were performed in the 'MATLAB' environment.


Background Low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is a ubiquitously expressed multi-ligand endocytosis receptor implicated in a wide range of signalling, among others in tumour biology. Tumour-associated genomic mutations of the LRP1 gene are described, but nothing is known about cancer-associated expression of LRP1 splice variants Therefore, the focus of this study was on an annotated truncated LRP1 splice variant (BC072015.1; NCBI GenBank), referred to as smLRP1, which was initially identified in prostate and lung carcinoma. Methods Using PCR and quantitative PCR, the expression of LRP1 and smLRP1 in different human tissues and tumour cell lines was screened and compared on tumour biopsies of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Using a recently developed anti-smLRP1 antibody, the expression of the putative LRP1 protein isoform in tumour cell lines in Western blot and immunofluorescence staining was further investigated. Results The alternative transcript smLRP1 is ubiquitously expressed in 12 human cell lines of different origin and 22 tissues which is similar to LRP1. A shift in expression of smLRP1 relative to LRP1 towards smLRP1 was observed in most tumour cell lines compared to healthy tissue. The expression of LRP1 as well as smLRP1 is decreased in HNSCC cell lines in comparison to healthy mucosa. In vitro results were checked using primary HNSCC. Furthermore, the expression of the protein isoform smLRP1 (32 kDa) was confirmed in human tumour cell lines. Conclusions Similar to LRP1, the truncated splice variant smLRP1 is ubiquitously expressed in healthy human tissues, but altered in tumours pointing to a potential role of smLRP1 in cancer. Comparative results suggest a shift in expression in favour of smLRP1 in tumour cells that warrant further evaluation. The protein isoform is suggested to be secreted.


Consider a closed 2-form that is degenerate at the points of a hypersurface and is non-degenerate outside it. In the neighbourhood of a singularity (which is called contact under certain natural conditions) the limit behaviour of Hamiltonian fields is investigated and a canonical form of the 2-form is found (Darboux's theorem). Connections with regular Lie structures are established. Properties of integrable structures on Liouville tori containing contact degeneracies are studied.Bibliography: 16 titles.


The twin‐arginine protein transport (Tat pathway) is found in prokaryotes and plant organelles and transports folded proteins across membranes. Targeting of substrates to the Tat system is mediated by the presence of an N‐terminal signal sequence containing a highly conserved twin‐arginine motif. The Tat machinery comprises membrane proteins from the TatA and TatC families. Assembly of the Tat translocon is dynamic and is triggered by the interaction of a Tat substrate with the Tat receptor complex. This review will summarise recent advances in our understanding of Tat transport, focusing in particular on the roles played by Tat signal peptides in protein targeting and translocation.


We apply propensity score matching to the estimation of the disparity in school effectiveness between the privately owned, privately funded school sector and the public one in a sample of 25 countries in Europe, America and Asia. This technique allows us to distinguish between school choice and school effectiveness processes and thus, to account for selectivity induced variation in school effectiveness. We find two broad patterns of private independent school choice: the choice as a social class reproduction choice; and the choice of an outsider's for a good-equipped school . As regards school effectiveness, our results show that, after controlling for selectivity and school choice processes, the initial higher reading scores of students in private-independent schools become comparable to those public schools students in a majority of countries. However, in a few countries average reading scores remain higher in the private independent sector even after introducing controls for school choice induced selectivity. The opposite pattern, namely of higher average reading scores in the public sector has also been found in four countries.


Recently, the research and development activities for replacing Pb-containing solders with Pb-free solders have been intensified due to both competitive market pressures and environmental issues. As a result of these activities, a few promising candidate solder alloys have been identified, mainly, Sn-based alloys. A key issue affecting the integrity and reliability of solder joints is the interfacial reactions between a molten solder and surface finishes in the solder joint structures. In this paper, a fundamental study of the interfacial reactions between several Pb-free candidate solders and surface finishes commonly used in printed-circuit cards is reported. The Pb-free solders investigated include Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu, and Sn-3.5Ag-3.0Bi. The surface finishes investigated include Cu, Au/Ni(P), Au/Pd/Ni(P), and Au/Ni (electroplated). The reaction kinetics of the dissolution of surface finishes and intermetallic compound growth have been measured as a function of reflow temperature and time. The intermetallic compounds formed during reflow reactions have been identified by SEM with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy.


Reproductive biology of the bagrid catfish, Auchenoglanis biscutatus was studied in River Orogodo, Delta State, Nigeria from January, 2006 to December, 2007. Gonad maturation was determined macroscopically and microscopically, fecundity by gravimetric method and gonadosomatic indices (GSI) calculated. Six gonad maturity stages occurred in the species in the river. The sex ratio differ significantly (X2 =5.73, p< 0.05) from the expected male to female ratio with the female constituting about 55.73% of the entire population of the species (436). The mean size at maturity for the male was 15.09 cm ±1.44 (S.L) and 46.75 g ± 15.3 (body weight) while that of the female was 15.63 cm ± 2.3 and 57.8 g ± 10.3. The species bred throughout the year as marked by the presence of ripening (stage iii) and ripe (stage IV) ovaries throughout the period of study. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) ranged from 1.76 to 3.70% with maximum values between August and December each year. Fecundity of A. biscutatus in the river ranged from 420 to 2720 for fish with a standard length of 9.3 to 27.6 cm. Fecundity was positively correlated (p< 0.05) to both standard length (r = 0.691) and body weight (r =0.7797). The GSI values increased as both standard length and body weight increases. Key words: Auchenoglanis biscutatus , Gonadosomatic index, fecundity, River Orogodo.


Global circulation models predict an increase in mean annual temperature between 2.1 and 4.6 °C by 2080 in the northern temperate zone. The associated changes in the ratio of extinctions and colonizations at the boundaries of species ranges are expected to result in northward range shifts for a lot of species. However, net species colonization at northern boundary ranges, necessary for a northward shift and for range conservation, may be hampered because of habitat fragmentation. We report the results of two forest plant colonization studies in two fragmented landscapes in central Belgium. Almost all forest plant species (85%) had an extremely low success of colonizing spatially segregated new suitable forest habitats after c. 40 years. In a landscape with higher forest connectivity, colonization success was higher but still insufficient to ensure large-scale colonization. Under the hypothesis of net extinction at southern range boundaries, forest plant species dispersal limitation will prevent net colonization at northern range boundaries required for range conservation.


We examine how extreme market risks are priced in the cross-section of asset returns at various horizons. Based on the decomposition of covariance between indicator functions capturing fluctuations of different parts of return distributions over various frequencies, we define a \textit{quantile spectral} beta representation that characterizes asset's risk generally. Nesting the traditional frameworks, the new representation explains \textit{tail}-specific as well as horizon-, or frequency-specific \textit{spectral} risks. Further, we work with two notions of frequency-specific extreme market risks. First, we define tail market risk that captures dependence between extremely low market and asset returns. Second, extreme market volatility risk is characterized by dependence between extremely high increments of market volatility and extremely low asset return. Empirical findings based on the datasets with long enough history, 30 Fama-French Industry portfolios, and 25 Fama-French portfolios sorted on size and book-to-market support our intuition. We reach the same conclusion using stock-level data as well as daily data. These results suggest that both frequency-specific tail market risk and extreme volatility risk are priced and our final model provides significant improvement over specifications considered by previous literature.


Toleration and civility are commonly treated as synonyms. This paper elaborates a novel distinction between the concepts and suggests that the relatively neglected idea of civility may provide a more promising basis for the accommodation of normative diversity in a liberal polity. It argues that liberal regimes of toleration depend for their success on a form of fraternal solidarity among citizens that is unlikely to flourish in conditions of liberal freedom. Regimes of civility, by contrast, depend on a form of liberal friendship that is more congruent with the wider tendencies of a liberal culture.


We consider federated learning in a wireless edge network, where multiple power-limited mobile devices collaboratively train a global model, using their local data with the assistance of an edge server. Exploiting over-the-air computation, the edge server updates the global model via analog aggregation of the local models over noisy wireless fading channels. Unlike existing works that separately optimize computation and communication at each step of the learning algorithm, in this work, we jointly optimize the training of the global model and the analog aggregation of local models over time. Our objective is to minimize the accumulated training loss at the edge server, subject to individual long-term transmit power constraints at the mobile devices. We propose an efficient algorithm, termed Online Model Updating with Analog Aggregation (OMUAA), to adaptively update the local and global models based on the time-varying communication environment. The trained model of OMUAA is channel- and power-aware, and it is in closed form with low computational complexity. We study the mutual impact between model training and analog aggregation over time, to derive performance bounds on the computation and communication performance metrics. Simulation results based on real-world image classification datasets and typical Long-Term Evolution network settings demonstrate substantial performance gain of OMUAA over the known best alternatives.


The quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the main determinant of survival in cardiac arrest, so high-quality CPR (HQ-CPR) from bystanders is essential. The best instructional model for HQ-CPR performed by bystanders remains under investigation, and an instructional model's effect on various learner types is unknown. This study examined the immediate effect of a brief, blended instructional design that combines deliberate practice (DP) with real-time feedback (RTF) on the booster training of intern doctors (IDs) and acute care providers (ACPs) as well as on the skills acquisition training of lay rescuers (LRs). This cohort crossover study was conducted in a university-affiliated hospital in January 2020. Just-in-time training on HQ-CPR that featured a popular song was provided to IDs (n = 24), ACPs (n = 29), LRs (n = 25); groups performed one-minute cardiac compressions twice, without RTF and with verbal coaching, followed by debriefing, and then with only RTF. The impact of RTF on depth, rate, compression quality (CQ), and recoil was assessed. RTF significantly improved depth, rate, CQ, and recoil (p < 0.001). Among the LRs, the depth was 0.2 millimeters below the lower cutoff. Without RTF, the previously trained IDs and ACPs tended to perform inadequately faster and deeper compressions, while the untrained LRs performed slower, shallow compressions. DP combined with RTF yielded a significant immediate effect on the HQ-CPR training outcomes of all learner types.


Cherries contain significant amounts of important nutrients and bioactive food components including fibre, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium. They are also good source of tryptophan, serotonin, and melatonin. Beside the fact that cherries are considered as an excellent source of numerous nutrients and they also present a low caloric content. These facts lead to their increasing popularity in the human diet. Numerous studies suggest that their regular consumption has a positive effect on health and the well-being of individuals. Another bioactive food components found in cherries are enzymes. The interest in research about enzymes in cherries is not so significant as for other compounds like polyphenols or vitamins. However, number of studies were carried out to characterise enzymes and their function in cherries especially with relation to extending their shelf life. The aim of this work is to give a brief overview of latest research on browning enzymes, softening enzymes and glutathione S-transferase.


Abstract: A data acquisition system for the Angra antineutrino detector is under development. The system is able to digitize, to process and to store the analog signals coming from photomultiplier tubes (PMT), after the front-end electronics. We present here the design of a VME-based data acquisition module which is part of the Angra DAQ as well as the Muon Electronics in the Double Chooz experiment. This module features eight analog-to-digital channels, running at 125 MHz sampling frequency. In order to measure time between PMT pulses, an 82 ps time-to-digital converter is included. A Field Programmable Gate Array is used to implement digital signal processing algorithms on the digitized data, where a FIR filter for optimal pulse amplitude estimation has been implemented. The design and preliminary results with single-photoelectron measurements are presented. Keywords: Neutrino Detection; Online Signal Processing; Optimal Filtering.


Notching of rhino ears is a common method for distinguishing free-ranging individuals, as the species often lacks unique marks or patterns. However, there are no data available on the reliability of rhino identification using this method. We conducted a field study with 107 participants at the Southern African Wildlife College to test the visibility of different ear notch positions from five distance points in bush and open habitats. Results show that correct identification rates at 20 m between observer and rhino were only 6 % in the bush and 23 % in the open habitat. Without the use of binoculars, no correct identification was seen at 30 m distance in the bush and at 65 m in the open habitat. The notching positions we tested differed in terms of accuracy of detection. This allowed us to draw conclusions about which positions should be favoured to optimise identification. Relationships between recorded observer skills, environmental factors, the use of binoculars, and rate of successful identification of ear notches were tested by using generalized linear models. The outcomes of this study suggest that ear notching alone does not allow for reliable identification of rhino individuals from even relatively short distances. We recommend that other artificial marking methods and natural distinguishing marks should be investigated further and could be combined with modern tracking technologies.


In the implementation of products marketing, a company is usually bound to use marketing concept of product, price, place, and promotion to achieve marketing goal. Promotion supports marketing activities in order that the marketing programs will be able to proceed as expected. The purpose of this study is to determine which types of discount programs implemented by the company, to find out the factors influencing purchase decision by consumers, and to know the effect of discount program on purchasing decision at PT Ramayana Bogor Trade Mall. Data analysis technique used by the author is statistical analysis , i.e. simple linear regression analysis, simple linear correlation coefficient, and hypothesis test. Based on the analysis, it's gotten simple linear regression equaty. Contant 30,451 states that if there is no discount program, the purchasing decision will be 30,451. Coefficient regression 0,148 states that any additional increase/decrease in discount program for a unit will result an increase/decrease of dependent variable (Y) as high as 0,148, with constant as high as 30,451. The correlation between discount variable and purchasing decision variable counted by using correlation coefficient is o,161 or 1,6%. This shows that there is a very low correlation between discount program and purchasing decision. Based on hypothesis test,  t-statistics obtained from  t-table is 1,695, while t-table is 1,645. Therefore, t-statistics > t-table (1,695 > 1,645 at α = 0,05), with the result that Ho is refused and H1 is accepted. Thereby discount program influences purchasing decision insignificantly. Significance level of correlation coefficient yields figure 0,110. Because of probability is above 0,05, the correlation between discount program and purchasing decision is not significant. It's found out that r-square coefficient is 0,026 or 2,6%, the rest is 97,4%, due to other causes which are not observed by the author. It shows that there is low correlation between discount variable and purchasing decision. Based on this analysis it can be concluded that discount program has no significant correlation toward purchasing decision.


The use of assertions for monitoring the designer's intention in hardware description language (HDL) model is gaining popularity as it helps the designer to observe internal errors at the output ports of the device under verification. During verification assertions are synthesised and the generated data are represented in a tabular forms. The amount of data generated can be enormous depending on the size of the code and the number of modules that constitute the code. Furthermore, to manually inspect these data and diagnose the module with functional violation is a time consuming process which negatively affects the overall product development time. To locate the module with functional violation within acceptable diagnostic time, the data processing and analysis procedure must be accelerated. In this paper a multi-array processor (hardware accelerator) was designed and implemented in Virtex6 field programmable gate array (FPGA) and it can be integrated into verification environment. The design was captured in very high speed integrated circuit HDL (VHDL). The design was synthesised with Xilinx design suite ISE 13.1 and simulated with Xilinx ISIM. The multi-array processor (MAP) executes three logical operations (AND, OR, XOR) and a one's compaction operation on array of data in parallel. An improvement in processing and analysis time was recorded as compared to the manual procedure after the multi-array processor was integrated into the verification environment. It was also found that the multi-array processor which was developed as an Intellectual Property (IP) core can also be used in applications where output responses and golden model that are represented in the form of matrices can be compared for searching, recognition and decision-making.


Article history: Received 26 August, 2017 Accepted 9 December 2017 Available online 9 December 2017 Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a relatively new solid state joining technique which is used not only for joining the aluminum and its alloys but also has potential for joining dissimilar materials with very different physical and mechanical properties which are hard to weld using conventional fusion welding processes. Tensile shear testing is used to determine the Mechanical strength of friction stir lap (FSL) welds under static loading, fracture strength (σLap) corresponding to the maximum load in a test over the sample width is widely used as the strength value. During friction stir lap welding (FSLW) of dissimilar metals with large differences in melting temperatures, a metallurgical bond is established through the formation of interfacial intermetallic compounds. However, as these intermetallic compounds are generally believed to be brittle with little ductility, they are generally considered to have detrimental effect on fracture strength. The aim of the present research is to study how the interface structure is affected by FSW parameters and how the formation of interface structure affects fracture of Al-Steel and Al-Ti FSL welds. © 2018 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Purpose Health systems around the world are struggling to meet the needs of aging populations and increasing numbers of clients with complex health conditions. Faced with multiple health system challenges, governments are advocating for team-based approaches to health care. Key descriptors used to describe health care teams include "interprofessional," "multiprofessional," "interdisciplinary," and "multidisciplinary." Until now there has been no review of the use of terminology relating to health care teams. The purpose of this integrative review is to provide a descriptive analysis of terminology used to describe health care teams. Methods An integrative review of the literature was conducted because it allows for the inclusion of literature related to studies using diverse methodologies. The authors searched the literature using the terms interprofessional, multiprofessional, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary combined with "health teams" and "health care teams." Refining strategies included a requirement that journal articles define the term used to describe health care teams and include a list of health care team members. The literature selection process resulted in the inclusion of 17 journal articles in this review. Results: Multidisciplinary is more frequently used than other terminology to describe health care teams. The findings in this review relate to frequency of terminology usage, justifications for use of specific terminology, commonalities and patterns related to country of origin of research studies and health care areas, ways in which terminology is used, structure of team membership, and perspectives of definitions used. Conclusion: Stakeholders across the health care continuum share responsibility for developing and consistently using terminology that is both common and meaningful. Notwithstanding some congruence in terminology usage, this review highlights inconsistencies in the literature and suggests that broad debate among policy makers, clinicians, educators, researchers, and consumers is still required to reach useful consensus.


Previously we described a BRCA1 carrier with a neuronal migration defect and postulated that the brain abnormality was caused by functional nullisomy for BRCA1.1 We now describe another family in which a similar type of neuronal migration defect has occurred in one of female identical twins with a BRCA1 gene mutation (MIM 113705). One twin developed unusually early onset multiple primary breast cancers while the second twin remains cancer free over a decade later. The second twin had long standing epilepsy and focal subcortical heterotopia. We hypothesise that the neuronal migration defect is due to focal nullisomy of the BRCA1 and that the modified breast cancer risk is due to the anti-oestrogenic effects of long term anticonvulsant therapy.

Thirty three year old identical twins were referred for genetic counselling. Twin 1 had developed breast cancer aged 29 years and a second primary breast cancer aged 33 years. The early onset of high grade oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer plus the family history (fig 1) suggested an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 gene.

 Figure 1
 Family history. The early onset, high grade, oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer with multiple new primaries in the index case are typical for BRCA1. The young onset breast and ovarian cancer cases in immediate relatives in the previous generation are also typical.

Full mutation analysis on a DNA sample from twin 1 using the protein truncation test and denaturing high performance liquid chromatography failed to reveal any abnormality in BRCA1 or BRCA2. A set of 22 polymorphic markers spread across chromosomes …


The Bayou Blue field is on an intermediate-depth salt dome, where shallow oil in Pliocene and Miocene sands was discovered in September, 1929. The initial productive area, located on the apex of the dome, was considered depleted in 1932. First significant production from Miocene sands on the west flank was established in February, 1940. This led to active development of the northwest, west, and southwest flanks of the dome and re-establishment of shallow production on the crest. East-flank production from lower Miocene sands was first obtained in 1941. Deep Oligocene sand oil was discovered in 1954 on the northeast flank, but appears to be non-commercial. Through December, 1955, 13,108,421 barrels of oil had been produced. The dome is elliptical in outline and is characterized by peripheral faulting, which generally parallels the elongate axis of the dome. These faults, which are downthrown away from the salt plug, change direction, producing an arcuate or sinuous trace on any particular datum. They may join the salt face with depth or along strike of the salt mass. The dominant peripheral fault of Bayou Blue offsets lowermost Miocene beds, which are present on the apex of the dome, to a position 4,600 feet structurally lower on the northwest flank of the dome. The major producing area of the structure is located southwest of the dome's crest on the downthrown side of this peripheral fault zone in beds of Miocene age which terminate abruptly against the steep salt face. A system of complex radial and co plementary faulting is present in the shallow beds above the apex of the plug. Contoured fault maps are included of all important radial and peripheral faults. The over-all structural aspects of the dome are illustrated by an upper Miocene (Bigenerina 3) map and a lower Miocene (Siphonina davisi) map and six electric-log structural cross sections. Nineteen typical reservoirs encountered in the Bayou Blue field are included, to illustrate the local structural conditions and productive areas.


Primary renal inorganic phosphate (Pi) wasting leads to hypophosphatemia, which is associated with skeletal mineralization defects. In humans, mutations in the gene encoding the type IIc sodium-dependent phosphate transporter lead to hereditary hypophophatemic rickets with hypercalciuria, but whether Pi wasting directly causes the bone disorder is unknown. Here, we generated Npt2c-null mice to define the contribution of Npt2c to Pi homeostasis and to bone abnormalities. Homozygous mutants (Npt2c(-/-)) exhibited hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and elevated plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) levels, but they did not develop hypophosphatemia, hyperphosphaturia, renal calcification, rickets, or osteomalacia. The increased levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) in Npt2c(-/-) mice compared with age-matched Npt2c(+/+) mice may be the result of reduced catabolism, because we observed significantly reduced expression of renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D-24-hydroxylase mRNA but no change in 1alpha-hydroxylase mRNA levels. Enhanced intestinal absorption of calcium (Ca) contributed to the hypercalcemia and increased urinary Ca excretion. Furthermore, plasma levels of the phosphaturic protein fibroblast growth factor 23 were significantly decreased in Npt2c(-/-) mice. Sodium-dependent Pi co-transport at the renal brush border membrane, however, was not different among Npt2c(+/+), Npt2c(+/-), and Npt2c(-/-) mice. In summary, these data suggest that Npt2c maintains normal Ca metabolism, in part by modulating the vitamin D/fibroblast growth factor 23 axis.


The organizational and operational characteristics of 140 private Florida hospitals with sustained high profitability and sustained low profitability were compared using pretax operating margin (PTOM) and pretax return on assets (PROA) measures. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of hospitals were defined as PTOM or PROA high-profit or low-profit for the years 1990, 1991, and 1992. The PTOM or PROA high-profit groups had a lower adjusted average length of stay and debt utilization, and a higher labor yield, occupancy rate, and percent with high hospital accreditation ratings (p < .05). In addition, the PROA high-profit group had a higher case-mix index and Medicare mix (p < .05). Characteristics that were different for high-profit and low-profit groups were within the scope of management.


This is a scoping review of literature on human resource management (HRM) and management practice that impacts on workers with physical, mental health and intellectual disabilities, employed or entering paid employment. The aim is to illuminate the use of HRM practices, managerial attitudes and employee outcomes in the disability literature. The methodological research framework commenced with seven databases and was supported with evidenced-based literature to find three main themes. Themes highlight the management and employer support for workers with disabilities, discrimination and attitudes towards employment of this cohort of workers, and performance and employment outcomes. As governments around the world seek to reduce welfare costs and increase the employment of people with disabilities this paper is timely. Overall, the paper contributes to a dearth of literature on the management of people with disabilities at the workplace to unpack the key barriers, challenges and trends, and develop a comprehensive research agenda.


The purpose of this article it to outline the legal nature of limitations of the amount of compensation stipulated in international carriage conventions. The paper tries to answer the question whether these limitations in an array of cases of carrier liability allow a conclusion that the principle of limited compensation applies here or whether perhaps the principle of full compensation remains valid and limitation of the amount of compensation is still an exception. Having analysed the legal character of limits to the amount of compensation, having demonstrated derogations from the application of provisions that limit the sum of the compensation and having taken into account the incomplete regulation under international carriage conventions and its lack of autonomy (falling under the civil law), the author points out that limiting the sum of compensation, despite being applied in the majority of cases of carrier liability, is not a rule but an exception from the full compensation principle. An answer to the fundamental question allows appropriate interpretation of provisions on establishing the amount of compensation due from the carrier. If one were to assume that these regulations maintain their exceptional nature, they will need to be interpreted in a restrictive manner, according to the exceptiones non sunt extendendae principle, and any doubts will have to be settled according to the full compensation principle.


Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment by shifting the focus from the tumor to the immune system of the host. Despite durable response to ICIs, only a small proportion of non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) patients respond to this treatment. Thus, great effort is currently focused on uncovering mechanisms of resistance and identifying predictive biomarkers for outcome.Blood plasma was obtained from 143 NSCLC patients treated with ICI-based therapy at baseline and early on-treatment (following the first treatment), and the levels of approximately 800 proteins were determined using ELISA-based arrays. Bioinformatic analysis was performed in order to detect novel patterns of resistance to ICI-based therapy. To identify a signature that predicts clinical outcome, a machine learning algorithm was applied.Unsupervised bioinformatic analysis of the plasma proteomic profiles classified the patients into 3 clusters with distinct clinical and biological features. Patients in cluster #1 exhibited resistance to therapy, bone metastasis and high TNM (tumors, nodes and metastasis) staging; this cluster displayed high levels of proteins related to glycan and pyrimidine metabolism and cell-adhesion. Cluster #2 was enriched with responders, males, and patients with low TNM staging; this cluster displayed a strong representation of desmoglein proteins. Cluster #3 was enriched with female patients while the proteome of these patients displayed high levels of MAPK signaling related proteins. Patient clusters were largely unchanged when comparing baseline and on-treatment data, suggesting pre-existing rather than acquired resistance to therapy. A further comparison between responders and non-responders identified six significantly differentially expressed proteins comprised of both host- and tumor-related proteins, with non-responders displaying a significant enrichment of neutrophil proteins at baseline and early-on-treatment. Notably, there was no significant difference in the neutrophil count between responders and non-responders, suggesting a functional shift in neutrophils upon treatment in non-responders. Lastly, we identified a predictive signature for response comprised of two proteins and two clinical features. The performance of the predictive signature reached an area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) plot of 0.8 in an independent validation subset of the cohort, indicating a high predictive power.Here we performed a deep bioinformatic analysis of plasma proteome profiles of 143 NSCLC patients undergoing ICI-based therapy. Our study sheds light on underlying mechanisms of resistance to ICI-based therapy and reveals a predictive signature for response in NSCLC patients.Data and study specimens were purchased from Indivumed and Sheba medical center, approval number 0226-13-SMC (institutional review board). Participants gave informed consent before taking part.