A female baby was born prematurely to a pre-eclampsic mother at our hospital. The mother had received fifty grams of magnesium sulfate intravenously within the forty-six hours prior to the delivery. This neonate suffered from severe respiratory distress, hypotonia, and hyporeflexia immediately after birth. She recovered completely after receiving low setting ventilatory support for twelve hours and intravenous calcium gluconate supply. All laboratory data were within normal limits except transient metabolic acidosis and elevated serum magnesium level to 2.28 mmol/L of the cord blood. The serum magnesium level dropped to 1.17 mmol/L at 12 hours of age. She tolerated oral feeding within the first day with no obervable neurological sequelae at the follow-up examination. Hypermagnesemia was judged to be the cause of the newborn's clinical presentation.


The dogma of abortive axonal regrowth set by Cajal (1914) is now broken since the demonstration by Aguayo (1982) that severed axons can regrow in an appropriate environment. Over the last decade, the impediments to such a regrowth in the central nervous system of higher vertebrates have been identified, or, at least, some of them. On the one hand, the inhibitory molecules synthesized and secreted by oligodendrocytes have been counteracted by appropriate antibodies (Schnell & Schwab, 1990), which have permitted some regrowth of severed cortico-spinal axons in the rat spinal cord. On the other hand, the reduction by a pharmacological treatment of hypertrophy and hyperplasia of astrocytes has permitted some regrowth of monoaminergic axons in an hemisected cord (Gimenez y Ribotta et al. 1995). Finally, the identification of a subcategory of astrocytes, the tanycytes of the basal hypothalamus, as a permissive substrate for axonal regeneration opens a new avenue for future research.


This collection contains a significant portion of the life's work of two prolific researchers. Volume 1 is appropriate for the reader with mathematical expertise; Volume 2 concentrates on the empirical uses of asset-pricing models.


This paper presents the results of the effects of electrode materials on tree initiation under switching surge conditions. Four kinds of electrode materials were used. Also, the effects of oxidized Al on the tree initiation was investigated. When a positive switching surge is applied to the needle in a point-to-plane test, little difference is found to exist among the four electrode materials with respect to the stress at the tip of the needle, Emax required to produce a tree. When a negative switching surge is applied, it is found that there are large differences of Emax. The value of Emax increases with the work function of the electrode materials. In addition with negative polarity, Emax increases with the rise time of the impulse wave in a manner which is related to the interaction of work function and space charge effects. It is noted that oxidized Al has a higher Emax than non-oxidized Al. When a positive half cycle wave follows a negative half cycle the value of Emax for the positive pulse is reduced from the value for a unipolar positive pulse by an amount which correlates with the work functio of the electrode.


A 74-year-old woman with primary hyperparathyroidism and ischemic heart disease was treated with percutaneous ethanol injection into a single parathyroid adenoma which was confirmed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy. The changes in intact parathyroid hormone (int-PTH), serum calcium, serum phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase after percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT), and also ultrasonic findings of the injected adenoma were examined before and after PEIT. The values of int-PTH and serum calcium remained high for a few hours after the ethanol injection. About 24 hrs later, however, rapid lowering of the serum concentrations of int-PTH and serum calcium was observed, reaching normal levels about 36 hrs later. Although these parameters recurred once, the patient received another three ethanol injections within three months, which normalized these values. In ultrasonic findings, the parathyroid adenoma was well demarcated and hypoechoic before PEIT. Twenty-four hours after the ethanol injection, the adenoma became hyperechoic with a small hypoechoic lesion as viable tissue. Then the tumor shrank gradually and no apparent side-effects was observed in a total of four PEIT. Since in Japan, PEIT for primary hyperparathyroidism has not been widely performed, we propose that this therapy could be a useful alternative treatment in patients in whom parathyroid surgery would not be indicated such as the elderly, patients with high surgical risks, hypercalcemic crisis and patients who refuse surgery.


Operating systems support autoscroll to allow users to scroll a view while in dragging mode: the user moves the pointer near the window's edge to trigger an "automatic" scrolling whose rate is typically proportional to the distance between the pointer and the window's edge. This approach suffers from several problems, especially when the window is maximized, resulting in a very limited space around it. Another problem is that for some operations, such as object drag-and-drop, the source and destination might be located in different windows, making it complicated for the computer to understand user's intention. In this paper, we present ForceEdge, a novel autoscroll technique relying on touch surfaces with force-sensing capabilities to alleviate the problems related to autoscroll. We report on the results of three controlled experiments showing that it improves over macOS and iOS systems baselines for top-to-bottom select and move tasks.


Spin-transfer-driven switching is investigated by micromagnetic simulation in perpendicular spin valve nanopillars with a free layer structure which contains two in-film-plane regions: a main perpendicularly magnetized hard region and a soft nanocore with intrinsic in-plane anisotropy. The temporal magnetization snapshots demonstrate that the current-induced magnetization rotation starts from the nanocore, followed by an incoherent switching process mediated by domain nucleation and expansion. The initial magnetization rotation of nanocore to in-plane direction generates driving force acting on the hard region via exchange coupling, together with locally enhanced spin torque, leading to considerable reduction in both critical current and switching time.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the efficacy of trabeculectomy in the patients with juvenile glaucoma in the long-term follow-up.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In 22 of 37 patients--41 trabeculectomies with basal iridectomy were performed. The age of children ranged from 6 to 18 years, mean 12.4 years. In one eye of 15-year-old boy we used Mitomycin C during reoperation. The follow-up period ranged from 2 to 14 years, mean 8 years. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on the follow-up: I group (19 eyes) was observed 2-6 years, mean 5.1 years, II group (18 eyes) 7-14 years, mean 11.1 years. In the I group 57.9% and in the II group 61% of children were myopic.

RESULTS
Intraocular pressure lower or equal to 21 mmHg with no glaucoma medication was obtained in 79% of eyes in the I group and 66.7% of eyes in the II group. The difference was not statistically significant. In other eye local application of B-blockers and dorzolamid decreased intraocular pressure to values safe for the optic nerve, what was monitored by visual acuity and laser scanning tomography.

CONCLUSION
Prognosis of juvenile glaucoma patients treated with trabeculectomy is satisfactory but the effectiveness of this procedure decreases together with the elongation of the follow-up period.


RNA transcripts are generally identical to the underlying DNA sequences. Nevertheless, RNA–DNA differences (RDDs) were found in the nuclear human genome and in plants and animals but not in human mitochondria. Here, by deep sequencing of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and RNA, we identified three RDD sites at mtDNA positions 295 (C-to-U), 13710 (A-to-U, A-to-G), and 2617 (A-to-U, A-to-G). Position 2617, within the 16S rRNA, harbored the most prevalent RDDs (>30% A-to-U and ∼15% A-to-G of the reads in all tested samples). The 2617 RDDs appeared already at the precursor polycistrone mitochondrial transcript. By using traditional Sanger sequencing, we identified the A-to-U RDD in six different cell lines and representative primates (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pigmaeus, and Macaca mulatta), suggesting conservation of the mechanism generating such RDD. Phylogenetic analysis of more than 1700 vertebrate mtDNA sequences supported a thymine as the primate ancestral allele at position 2617, suggesting that the 2617 RDD recapitulates the ancestral 16S rRNA. Modeling U or G (the RDDs) at position 2617 stabilized the large ribosomal subunit structure in contrast to destabilization by an A (the pre-RDDs). Hence, these mitochondrial RDDs are likely functional.


Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has dramatically increased the survival rate of hypoxemic neonates who are unresponsive to maximum conventional medical therapy. Because ECMO involves multiple risks, including ligation of the right common carotid artery and right internal jugular vein, ECMO candidates should be neurologically intact neonates with a high probability of death despite maximum conventional ventilatory support. Currently, criteria based on the calculated alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient (A-aDO2) have replaced the neonatal pulmonary insufficiency index for predicting mortality and, thus, ECMO eligibility. A retrospective review of death prediction for the 26 months prior to the initiation of an ECMO program revealed a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 96% using the criterion of a PaO2 of less than 50 mm Hg for four hours. An equivalent A-aDO2 criterion of greater than or equal to 630 for four hours produced a sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 96%. Prediction of mortality in neonates with sepsis was poor regardless of the criteria used. Excluding the deaths due to sepsis increased the sensitivity to 86% and 79% using criteria based on PaO2 and A-aDO2, respectively. It is concluded that the use of criteria based on PaO2 is equivalent to criteria based on A-aDO2 for predicting mortality. Criteria based on PaO2 may, however, decrease both the false-negative rate (patients with an elevated PCO2) and the false-positive rate (patients with intentionally induced hypocarbia secondary to hyperventilation alkalosis).


We have extended the Philips large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system towards Chinese On the way from our existing Western language technology to Mandarin the rst step was to build a suitable phonetic model This paper describes the development of our phonetic model excluding tones for Mandarin Chinese We will present a systematic comparison of three forms of sub syllabic units for Chinese phonemes initials nals and a non tonal form of preme toneme models as well as whole syllable models for reference We include experiments on bottom up and decision tree based top down state clustering and modelling of cross syllable contexts All forms of sub syllabic units are represented in the Philips Mandarin phone set SAMPA C SAMPA C is based on the European SAMPA standard and introduced in this paper Our studies show that traditional half syllable approaches slightly outperform Western style triphones Modelling of right context dependency gives greater improvement than left context dependency and cross syllable modelling yields a performance gain In a free syllable decoding task we achieve syllable error rate for telephone speech and for microphone dictations


A new method has been demonstrated to synthesize highly oriented mesostructured coatings of tungsten oxide/surfactant composites on amorphous substrates by a shear-flow-induced deposition mechanism. The applied flow field provides convective transport of film precursors and orients the domains of the mesostructure, resulting in its macroscopic alignment. Two-dimensional X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy suggest a hexagonal-close-packed channel structure with periodicity along the c-axis generated by a sequence of tungsten oxide polyanions. The mesostructure has been indexed with a hexagonal unit cell with lattice constants a = b = 46.45 A, c = 12.93 A, α = β = 90°, and γ = 120°. The channels have no preferred rotational orientation about the c-axis and are oriented in the direction of the applied flow field with an order parameter of 0.95. The high degree of orientation renders the films optically anisotropic and results in preferential scattering of lig...


Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is one of the worlds' most successful and sophisticated pathogens. It is estimated that over 2 billion people today harbour latent M. tuberculosis infection without any clinical symptoms. Since most new cases of active tuberculosis (TB) arise from this (growing) number of latently infected individuals, urgent measures to control TB reactivation are required, including more effective drugs and new TB vaccines. The currently widely used BCG vaccines, as well as most new generation TB-vaccines that are being developed are designed as prophylactic or as BCG-booster vaccines. Unfortunately, many of these vaccines are unlikely to be effective in individuals already latently infected with M. tuberculosis. Here we argue that detailed analysis of M. tuberculosis genes that are switched on predominantly during the latent stage of infection may lead to the identification of new M. tuberculosis targets for drug and vaccine development. First, we will describe essential host-pathogen interactions in TB with particular emphasis on TB latency and persistent infection. Subsequently, we will focus on a novel group of late-stage specific genes, encoded by the M. tuberculosis dormancy (dosR) regulon, and summarize recent studies describing human T-cell recognition of these dormancy antigens in relation to (latent) M. tuberculosis infection. We will discuss the possible relevance of these new classes of antigens for new TB intervention strategies.


Interannual changes in the shoot density, biomass and leaf length of the seagrassCymodocea nodosa and two descriptors of the associated fish communities (total fish abundance and species richness) were evaluated at Playa Blanca (Lanzarote, Canary Islands) from March 2001 to April 2002 to provide evidence for responses to the impact of a marina construction. The seagrass bed under influence, as well as a control location, were sampled using an experimental design which consisted of three sites nested within each of these two locations. We tested the null hypothesis that these parameters would not change over time as a result of this construction.A three-way mixed and symmetrical ANOVA detected significant 'Time of sampling × Control vs Impact' interactions for the shoot density, biomass and leaf length. The same interactions were observed for the descriptors of the fish communities using a two way orthogonal ANOVA. We detected an initial fast increase in the mean leaf length as a possible morphological response to a reduction in the amount of light at the bottom. Furthermore, a significant decrease was obtained for the penetration of light into the water column in the perturbed bed. Therefore, we obtained significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis offered by our study.


Symbiosis generally causes an expansion of the niche of each partner along the axis for which a service is mutually provided. However, for other axes, the niche can be restricted to the intersection of each partner's niche and can thus be constrained rather than expanded by mutualism. We explore this phenomenon using Artemia as a model system. This crustacean is able to survive at very high salinities but not at low salinities, although its hemolymph's salinity is close to freshwater. We hypothesized that this low-salinity paradox results from poor performance of its associated microbiota at low salinity. We showed that, in sterile conditions, Artemia had low survival at all salinities when algae were the only source of carbon. In contrast, survival was high at all salinities when fed with yeast. We also demonstrated that bacteria isolated from Artemia's gut reached higher densities at high salinities than at low salinities, including when grown on algae. Taken together, our results show that Artemia can survive at low salinities, but their gut microbiota, which are required for algae digestion, have reduced fitness. Widespread facultative symbiosis may thus be an important determinant of niche limits along axes not specific to the mutualistic interaction.


This article is devoted to the study of the Na-CMC structuring process under various conditions: structuring with polyvalent metal ions, structuring with polyvalent metal ions in the presence of polybasic acids. Structuring in a Na-CMC solution was investigated by adding polyvalent metal ions to it at various ratios Me+p / COO-, pH, which allowed us to characterize the structuring process as a reaction of macromolecules with low molecular weight compounds.It was found that the probability of intermacromolecular crosslinking, responsible for gelation, increases with an increase in the initial concentration of Na-CMC solution and with the additional presence of polybasic acids. When salts of polyvalent metals interact with solutions of polybasic acids in the presence of a 2N NaOH solution, their complex salts are formed.Titration calculations and IR spectra of dried salts confirmed the conclusion made about the formation of salts of structure I, II, III, IV. Crosslinking of Na-CMC has been shown to occur via compounds of the M2+ (3+) - OOS-R-type. It has been established that strong, transparent jellies are formed by trivalent metal ions, divalent metal ions also form brittle, cloudy jellies that stratify during a day.A suggestion has been made that the main reaction during gelation of the Na-CMC solution is the interaction of -COOH groups along the chain of the Na-CMC macromolecule with the Al+3 salt and citric acid of structure III. The role of citric acid is that it is a transverse bridge in the binding of Na-CMC macromolecules. During the process of chemical crosslinking, the system turns from a fluid state into a non-fluid one, and the dynamic viscosity of the system increases from 3.548 Pa·s to 1585 Pa·s.


We develop a new formalism for the bosonic sector of low-energy heterotic string theory toroidally compactified to three dimensions. This formalism is based on the use of some single non-quadratic real matrix potential which transforms linearly under the action of subgroup of the three-dimensional charging symmetries. We formulate a new charging symmetry invariant approach for the symmetry generation and straightforward construction of asymptotically flat solutions. Finally, using the developed approach and the established formal analogy between the heterotic and Einstein-Maxwell theories, we construct a general class of the heterotic string theory extremal solutions of the Israel-Wilson-Perjes type. This class is asymptotically flat and charging symmetry complete; it includes the extremal solutions constructed before and possesses the non-trivial bosonic string theory limit. PACS numbers: 04.20.gb, 03.65.Ca


The purpose of this study is to reduce the total process time (Makespan) and to increase the machines working time, in a job shop environment, using a heuristic based on ant colony optimization. This work is developed in two phases: The first stage describes the identification and definition of heuristics for the sequential processes in the job shop. The second stage shows the effectiveness of the system in the traditional programming of production. A good solution, with 99% efficiency is found using this technique.


By means of biotyping we have investigated 150 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from people with dermatologic complaints. We have used six main and three additional biotyping tests. The strains under investigation did not form a closed biotype, on the contrary, they showed a certain biotype plurality. The determination of protein A in 150 strains of S. aureus isolated from dermatologic process of men, 15 strains of S. aureus of bovine origin and 50 strains of Staphylococcus with negative coagulase activity have brought the following results: all strains of S. aureus of skin origin (human strains) contain protein A in various quantities keeping within 2-64 U. Only 2 from 15 s. aureus strains of bovine origin contain protein A and there were none in 50 strains of Staphylococcus with a negative coagulase reaction.


Background Human African trypanosomiasis is one of the neglected and re-emerging infectious diseases in Africa with over 60 million people being at risk of contracting the disease. Objective To investigate the effects of Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection on secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and histology of the pituitary gland and paraventricular nucleus in rats. Methods Rats were randomly divided into two groups, control and experimental. Experimental rats were injected intraperitonially with 0.2ml of blood containing 1.0 × 104 live T.b.brucei parasites. Tail blood samples were collected weekly for the determination of plasma concentration of ACTH. The pituitary gland and coronal section of brain were processed histologically and observed microscopically. Results There was a significant difference (p = 0.0190) in plasma ACTH concentration between the control and experimental rats. Histological alterations were observed in both the pituitary and paraventricular nucleus of experimental rats. Conclusion T.b.brucei infection causes histological changes in both the paraventricular nucleus and pituitary gland in rats. These histological changes could account for the decrease in corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and ACTH production in the infected rats.


Wunderlich syndrome (WS) refers to spontaneous renal or perinephric hemorrhage occurring in the absence of known trauma. WS is much less common than hemorrhage occurring after iatrogenic or traumatic conditions. Lenk's triad of acute onset flank pain, flank mass, and hypovolemic shock is a classic presentation of WS but seen in less than a quarter of patients. The majority of patients present only with isolated flank pain and often imaged with an unenhanced CT in the emergency department. The underlying etiology is varied with most cases attributed to neoplasms, vascular disease, cystic renal disease and anticoagulation induced; the etiology is often occult on the initial exam and further evaluation is necessary. Urologists are familiar with this unique entity but radiologists, who are more likely to be the first to diagnose WS, may not be familiar with the imaging work up and management options. In the last decade or so, there has been a conspicuous shift in the approach to WS and thus it will be worthwhile to revisit WS in detail. In our review, we will review the multimodality imaging approach to WS, describe optimal follow up and elaborate on management.


The tight confinement possible with photonic crystals can reduce the threshold and increase the speed of nanocavity lasers, opening the door to new devices for applications from optical interconnects to quantum computing.


Abstract BAARLI, B.G.; SANTOS, A.; DA SILVA, C.M.; LEDESMA-VÁZQUEZ, J.; MAYORAL, E.; CACHÃO, M., and JOHNSON, M.E., 2012. Diverse macroids and rhodoliths from the Upper Pleistocene of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Small multitaxonomical nodules, characterized as rhodoliths, balanuliths, coralliths, bryoliths, and nodules composed of vermetids "vermetuliths," are described from one horizon in carbonate sand from the Upper Pleistocene Mulegé Formation at Playa La Palmita, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Such a diversity of fossil, free-rolling biota is seldom described in the literature. This is the first time vermetuliths are reported in the fossil record; in addition, the coral Astrangia has not been reported to constitute coralliths before. These nodules and their associated firm-ground were generated in a shallow bay near rocky shores. Break up of a firm-ground during a sedimentary hiatus provided fragments of loosely consolidated, carbonate sandstone for organic nucleation. Fast growers, like balanids, vermetids, and bryozoans, settled on these sandstone fragments or on bioclasts. Initial rapid growth of pioneer organisms was succeeded by a period of bioerosion, and finally, encrustation with a thin, crustose to lumpy cover of coralline red algae in the climax stage of succession. These were insipient rhodoliths, where the thin cover of coralline red algae reflects a short residence time. Also evident is a rich crypto- and endofauna that lived within and an epifauna that lived on the nodules.


This paper proposed the line-commutated converter based multi-terminal HVDC(LCC-MTDC) combining with the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) for doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind farms integration in the context of Northwest Grid (NG) in China. The control strategies design was approached from two aspects. One was aimed to the ac system on the rectifier side. To coordinate the wind farm, STATCOM and rectifier, the inverse system method was introduced to design the controller in view of the nonlinear characteristic of STATCOM. Meanwhile, the control strategy for the rectifier was proposed to balance the active power in the subsystem and ensure the dc link voltage of STATCOM constant. On the other hand, the single-point voltage control strategy suitable for LCC-MTDC was conceived to guarantee the stable operation of the system by considering the control characteristics of both rectifiers and inverters Simulations carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC have proven that the proposed control strategies possess favorable control performance and fast response speed.


The treatment for dehydration and acidosis plays an important role in the practice of all branches of medicine, and in this paper we describe a solution suitable for subcutaneous injection in these conditions. The type of fluid injected subcutaneously in the treatment for dehydration will vary with one's conception of what is taking place, and it does not seem out of place to discuss the pathologic physiology of dehydration as it seems to concern the methods of treatment. The conception of Marriott 1 that anhydremia plays the chief role in producing the symptoms of dehydration is well founded. Darrow and Buckman 2 found that about one third of the volume of plasma is lost in severe dehydration; this loss of volume is greater proportionately than the loss of body weight. This observation seems to point to the fact that water is not lost equally from all parts of the body,


Noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) has emerged as a highly accurate method of screening for fetal Down syndrome, with a detection rate and specificity approaching 100%. Challenging the widespread use of this technology are cost and the paradigm shift in counseling that accompanies any emerging technology. The expense of the test is expected to decrease with increased utilization, and well beyond the current NIPS technology, its components (fetal genome measurements, sequencing technology, and bioinformatics) will be utilized alone or in combinations to interrogate the fetal genome. The end goal is simple: to offer patients information early in pregnancy about fetal genomes without incurring procedural risks. This will allow patients an opportunity to make informed reproductive and pregnancy management decisions based on precise fetal genomic information.


Abstract Taking recent events in Ukraine as central, the article examines Russian identity as a reaction against its own construction of Western identity. In the process the piece argues that Russia and the West have fundamentally different ideas of law. In the West, power is constrained by law, but in Russia power is superior to it.


In this paper, both linear and nonlinear features have been reviewed with linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier for neural seizure detection. The work introduced in the paper includes performance measurement through different metrics: accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of multiple linear and nonlinear features with linear support vector machine (SVM). A comparison is performed between the performance of different combinations between 11 linear features and 9 nonlinear features to conclude the best set of features. It is found that some features enhance the detection performance greatly. Using a combination of 3 features of them, a linear SVM classifier detects seizures with sensitivity of 96.78%, specificity of 97.9%, and accuracy of 97.9%.


ML-estimation based on mixtures of Normal distributions is a widely used tool for cluster analysis. However, a single outlier can make the parameter estimation of at least one of the mixture components break down. Among others, the estimation of mixtures of t-distributions by McLachlan and Peel [Finite Mixture Models (2000) Wiley, New York] and the addition of a further mixture component accounting for ?noise? by Fraley and Raftery [The Computer J. 41 (1998) 578?588] were suggested as more robust alternatives. In this paper, the definition of an adequate robustness measure for cluster analysis is discussed and bounds for the breakdown points of the mentioned methods are given. It turns out that the two alternatives, while adding stability in the presence of outliers of moderate size, do not possess a substantially better breakdown behavior than estimation based on Normal mixtures. If the number of clusters s is treated as fixed, r additional points suffice for all three methods to let the parameters of r clusters explode. Only in the case of r=s is this not possible for t-mixtures. The ability to estimate the number of mixture components, for example, by use of the Bayesian information criterion of Schwarz [Ann. Statist. 6 (1978) 461?464], and to isolate gross outliers as clusters of one point, is crucial for an improved breakdown behavior of all three techniques. Furthermore, a mixture of Normals with an improper uniform distribution is proposed to achieve more robustness in the case of a fixed number of components.


While previous works have discussed the network delay upper bound that guarantees the consistency of Nakamoto consensus, measuring the actual network latencies and evaluating their impact on miners/pools in Bitcoin remain open questions. This paper fills this gap by: (1) defining metrics that quantify the impact of network latency on the mining network; (2) developing a tool, named miner entanglement (ME), to experimentally evaluate these metrics with a focus on the network latency of the top mining pools; and (3) quantifying the impact of the current network delays on Bitcoin's mining network. For example, we evaluated that Poolin, a Bitcoin mining pool, was able to gain between 0.5% and 1.9% of blocks in addition (i.e., from 36.27 BTC to 137.83 BTC) per week thanks to its low network latency. Moreover, as pools are rational in Bitcoin, we model the strategy a pool would follow to improve its network latency (e.g., by leveraging our ME tool) as a two party game. We show that a Bitcoin mining pool could improve its effective hash rate by up to 4.5%. For a multi-party game, we use a state-of-the-art Bitcoin mining simulator to study the situation where all pools attempt to improve their network latency and show that the largest mining pools would improve their revenue and reach a Nash equilibrium while the smaller mining pools would suffer from a decreased access to the network, and therefore a decreased revenue. These conclusions further incentivize the centralisation of the mining network in Bitcoin, and provide an empirical explanation for the observed tendency of pools to design and rely on low latency private networks.


The rapid emergence of Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) concepts is enabling the innovation of cloud infrastructures for supporting real time services and applications. Interconnecting Service Functions (SFs) in a specific ordered way to support applications' requirements is defining the concept of Service Function Chaining (SFC). SFC uses those evolved technologies, SDN and NFV, to provide SFCs in cloud environments in a rapid and cost-effective way. This paper proposes an extension to the current ETSI NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO) Architecture in order to improve the overall service quality of SFC in cloud environments and securely control their lifecycle. Specifically, are proposed a SFC Orchestrator and a token-based Access Control for providing management and provisioning of SFCs, as well as efficient usage of resources, enhancing the overall network Quality of Service (QoS). In addition, it is presented an open source implementation based on the the Open Baton project, and its integration with existing open source tools. Finally, an evaluation use case is introduced to validate the proposed work. Keywords—Service Function Chaining; Orchestration; NFV; SDN; MANO


Scholars have explained how people in Japan feel ashamed when elderly members of the family are cared for by formal services such as day care or government/commercial-based nursing homes due to the cultural norms of the consciousness of social appearance. However, this consciousness of social appearance plays a minimum role when it comes to elderly Japanese immigrant women's preference to utilize formal care services in the United States. They see receiving family based care as a burden on their middle-aged children (or grandchildren) and they prefer purchasing formal long-term care services when they can no longer feel confident about maintaining their independent lives. Elderly Japanese immigrant women hold rather positive views on formal care in the United States, including nursing homes. This chapter suggests that elderly Japanese immigrant women may not consider it shameful to utilize formal care as many previous scholars have suggested.


We have developed an alkaline barrier slurry (named FA/O slurry) for barrier removal and evaluated its chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) performance through comparison with a commercially developed barrier slurry. The FA/O slurry consists of colloidal silica, which is a complexing and an oxidizing agent, and does not have any inhibitors. It was found that the surface roughness of copper blanket wafers polished by the FA/O slurry was lower than the commercial barrier slurry, demonstrating that it leads to a better surface quality. In addition, the dishing and electrical tests also showed that the patterned wafers have a lower dishing value and sheet resistance as compared to the commercial barrier slurry. By comparison, the FA/O slurry demonstrates good planarization performance and can be used for barrier CMP.


Catheter-directed, transarterial internal brachytherapy, using 90Y radioactive microspheres is gaining acceptance as a valuable treatment option in selected patients with liver malignancies. Knowledge of the radiological anatomy of the visceral arteries, including the variant anatomy of celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery and end branches as well as technique and catheter skills for careful vessel occlusion prior to 90Y delivery are of major importance to safely and efficiently treat patients with radioembolization. In this review article, normal vascular anatomy, common variants and influence of tumors on the feeding arteries will be discussed. Finally, techniques of pre-treatment vessel occlusion, technique of 90Y-administration and the added value of C-arm computed tomography during work-up and administration of radioactive microspheres will be described.


Ontologies are knowledge representation structures supporting the development of effective and usable software systems. However, the manual construction of ontologies is expensive and error prone. Therefore, this task should be conducted in an automated way. Various techniques and tools for learning the different components of an ontology from textual sources have been developed. These components are classes, hierarchies, non taxonomic relationships, instances, properties and axioms. However, there is a lack of techniques to undertake the learning of all these components together in a common process. This article proposes Apponto-Pro, an incremental process for learning and populating all the elements of an ontology automatically. The process is been evaluated with a case study on the automatic construction of a Family Law application ontology.


Exfoliation (pseudoexfoliation; PEX) syndrome is the single most common identifiable cause of open-angle glaucoma, however, very few investigators are engaged in basic research on this disease. To stimulate the field, the First International Think Tank on Exfoliation Syndrome was held in New York in July 1999, comprising clinicians and scientists. This report is a summary of the proceedings of this meeting.


The peptide human beta-endorphinyl-thiolglycine (I) has been synthesized by the solid-phase method. The citraconyl derivative of peptide I was coupled to aminohexyl-Sepharose by reaction with silver nitrate/N-hydroxysuccinimide in water. The citraconyl groups were removed in aqueous acetic acid and the resulting resin was used in affinity chromatography for the purification of antisera to beta-lipotropin and beta-endorphin.


Scientific and technological schedule makes the products' life cycles be becoming shorter. The companies should make product research and putting into the market more rapidly. Product rapid development and popularization depends on project management, and project schedule optimization is the core of project management. The structure of the project schedule optimization was detailed analysis and mobile agent was import in project schedule optimization system. The event model of mobile agent, the moving process, the model of aglet and the implement method of mobile agent in project schedule optimization system were introduced. This analysis shows the mobile agent the internal structure and negotiation algorithm abundantly. It will play a guiding role for the development of the whole project schedule optimization system and the application of the mobile agent in the project schedule optimization system.


In Pakistan, the conventional banks start their functions after the independence of Pakistan and followed by the introduction of the Islamic banking's. In this study, four Conventional and four Islamic banks were selected. The different types of ratios will be used to check the performance of banking sector these ratios are profitability, liquidity, investment and solvency ratios. The different types of ratios were used to check the performance of banking sector and to evaluate the trends of Islamic and commercial banks. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the trend of performance of conventional and Islamic banks and analyses the key performance indicators of the banking systems. The SPSS version 20 was used and the t-test was applied to the data. The findings revealed that the conventional banks were more efficient than the Islamic banks.


We encountered a patient with the overlapping disorders of migraine with aura, migraine-triggered seizures and recurrent transient hemiparesis caused by atypical hemiplegic migraines with motor weakness during headache attacks, but not during the aura period, or paradoxical cerebral embolism. The patient displayed a giant Eustachian valve and patent foramen ovale, through which a spontaneous right-to-left shunt was revealed on transesophageal echocardiography. We considered that the overlapping disorders in the present case were closely related to the spontaneous right-to-left shunt caused by the giant Eustachian valve.


Drosophila antonietae belongs to the D. buzzatti cluster (D. repleta group), and its populations are always associated with the cactus Cereus hildmaniannus. It differs from the other D. buzzatii cluster species by showing a higher genetic homogeneity among its populations for different markers despite the wide geographic distribution of this species. Gene flow restriction by distance, along with a relatively recent fragmentation maintenance of ancient polymorphism, has been used as the most likely explanations for this pattern. All previous analyses were, however, realized with populations located in the high and low portions of the Parana-Uruguay rivers basin. No population located in the middle portion was analyzed so far. Thus, this work aimed to analyze two D. antonietae populations located in the middle portion of Parana-Uruguay rivers basin, Rio do PocoGuarapuava/PR and Cantagalo/PR, not yet sampled, using 10 allozymic loci, to try to correlate our findings with previously published data for this species. Our results showed that the allozymic genetic variabilities of both D. antonietae populations are in agreement with that expected for the species, and the most likely factors responsible for the high within population diversity (Cantagalo – Ho = 0.2337; Rio do Poco – Ho = 0.3425) and low among population differentiation (D = 0.0307; I = 0.9698; Fst = 0.0081) must be gene flow restricted by distance with recent fragmentation and maintenance of ancient polymorphism.


The objective of this study is to identify the failures in the administrative control processes that favor risky behaviors in the operators of motor vehicles. Through the analysis of the context of the northern border of Tamaulipas and the most recent accident rate statistics, complementing it with an exploratory study done with a sample of 535 subjects, identifying issues associated with the deficiencies of said processes, and having as limitation the fact that the variables are inherent to the geographic context, it was found that the main causes of road accidents in the municipality are the risky behaviors of the vehicle operators; moreover, there are failures in the administrative control processes, which favor these behaviors. Information is provided to carry out interventions regarding public health and, to conclude, evidence is provided on the existence of differences in the administrative control processes on road safety that favor the risky behaviors of the drivers.


Abstract : To transfer cargo successfully between ships at sea, or between ships and platforms offshore requires the capability of managing relative motion. Relative motion is motion of one body relative to another. The relative motion is what must be overcome to effectively move cargo from one vessel, or platform to another in an open seaway. The problem ranges from insignificant in a protected harbor to virtually impossible in a gale at sea. Concepts for military logistic bases offshore require solutions be developed to the relative motion problem for cargo transfer in many different sea and wind conditions. This annotated bibliography is an attempt to identify in one place much of the work that has been done to date by the military and commercial industry to overcome the problems causes by relative motion. This bibliography documents solutions developed by the Navy and the offshore oil industry, and some patented concepts not fully developed. This bibliography is organized into two sections: 1. Alphabetical list of tiles referencing the citation sequence number. 2. Citation list in numerical sequence organized alphabetically by author's name, followed by an abstract where available. Relative Motion, Logistics Over The Shore (LOTS) , Cargo Handling, Motion Compensation, Logistics, Offshore Oil Industry.


To transfer a satellite or a spacecraft from a low parking orbit to a geosynchronous orbit, one of the many transition methods is used. All these methods need to identify some orbital elements of the initial and final orbits as perigee and apogee distances. These methods compete to achieve the transition with minimal consumption of energy, transfer time and mass ratio consumed ), as well as highest accuracy of transition. The ten methods of transition used in this project required designing programs to perform the calculations and comparisons among them. The results showed that the evaluation must depend on the initial conditions of the initial orbit and the satellite mechanical exception as well as the target orbit. The most efficient methods of transition in terms of energy required were, sequentially, methods 10, 1, 8, 9, and 2, whereas the least efficient in terms of energy consumption, fuel and transition time were, sequentially, methods 5,6, and 7. Method 3 was the most efficient when the orbit needed to change the inclination with the transition. The first phase of multi-stage transition is the most energy consuming.


This article is interested in understanding how an aesthetics shaped by postcoloniality both draws on and reveals anew the uncanny relation of sound to the image in cinema. If postcoloniality is structured by a desire for synchronicity, and technology is viewed as a means to this end, synchronization has typically been the ideal of film sound. Thus an examination of some postcolonial uses of film sound affords us the uncanny pleasures of exploring the reality of one phenomenon through the technology of another. Two examples are taken from Indian cinema—first, how Satyajit Ray's internationally renowned Pather Panchali (1955) conceives of technology as development by embracing a mode of sonic realism unprecedented in Indian cinema. In so doing, he not only proposes an alternative to the uncanny assembling of technology and representation that characterizes Indian cinema but also suggests that the aesthetic of realism can mitigate anxieties of postcolonial doubling. The second instance is taken from Ashim Ahluwalia's self-described science-fiction documentary John and Jane (2005), an exploration of Indian call centers. Once again, the relation of sound and image in this film allows us to intuit how the postcolonial uncanny mutates in the era of global electronic technology.


Abstract Introduction: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale L.) has been commonly used in traditional and contemporary medicine due to its diuretic and hepatoprotective properties. It contains polyphenols, vitamins and terpenes – i.e. compounds with antioxidant potential. Natural antioxidants protect organisms against oxidative stress, an important factor in the ageing process and in the pathogenesis of neoplastic, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and some other diseases. Materials and methods: Raw dandelion plant material consisted of fresh and dried leaves, flowers and roots, harvested from a natural site. The extracts for analysis were prepared using an ultrasonic bath (extraction time 15, 30 and 60 min) in water, and 40% (v/v), 70% (v/v) and 96% (v/v) ethanol mixtures used as solvents. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing anti-oxidant power (FRAP) methods. Results: The antioxidant activity of dandelion depended on the type of raw material used, as well as the type of solvent and extraction time. The highest DPPH activity was found for dried flower extracts prepared in 70% ethanol for 30 min. With FRAP method, the highest reduction capacity was observed for dried leaf extracts in 40% ethanol for 30 min. Conclusions: The antioxidant potential of ethanolic and aqueous dandelion extracts was observed. This finding suggests the usefulness of this plant as a source of antioxidants to be used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.


To the Editor: We have previously reported increasing rates of gonorrhoea in a suburban sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic population in Sydney,1 with prevalence of heterosexual gonorrhoea rising from 1.1% in 2008 to 3.0% in 2012, a similar time period to that of the study by Chow et al.2 The majority of Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG) cases (82%) were positive on culture. The remaining 18% of NG cases, positive by nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT), were confirmed by supplementary assays targeting porA and opa genes as required by the National Testing Guidelines.3 We identified pharyngeal NG as a potentially important reservoir in heterosexual transmission, particularly with commercial sex worker exposure. Culturing NG also enabled detection of decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone (MIC ≥ 0.03 mg/L) in 2.5% NG isolates from men who have sex with men (MSM) in this population over the same period. We concur with Chow et al2 that screening asymptomatic women in low prevalence populations may be associated with a higher false positive NG NAAT rates. However, this concern should be mitigated by guidelinerecommended confirmatory supplemental testing for positive NG PCRs,3 with general practitioners being aware of these PCR test limitations. With NG prevalence continuing to increase in New South Wales,4 we advocate continued vigilance and screening of high-risk men and women, including pharyngeal swabs, where indicated, with confirmatory supplemental testing and culture ideally, for NAAT-positive NG results.


Objective: Previous studies suggest a positive association between history of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and risk of subsequent cancer development. We prospectively investigate this association in both men and women. Methods: In two large cohorts in the US, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) and the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), we prospectively examined the risks of primary cancer according to history of NMSC. In the HPFS, 876,094 person-years were followed up from June 1986 to June 2008. In the NHS, 2,358,185 person-years were followed up from June 1984 to June 2008. We documented 30,636 cancer cases after ongoing NMSC diagnosis. The median time (and range) of diagnosis between NMSC and subsequent cancer was 156 (3 - 342) months in the NHS, and 116 (3 - 259) months in the HPFS. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for major cancer risk factors (e.g. age, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, etc). Results: A history of NMSC was associated with a higher risk of other primary cancers in men (RR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.21; P Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 636. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-636


other organisms and usually do not require antibiotics. These patients are isolated in our hospital according to whether or not they are likely to disseminate MRSA. However, we do not have the resources, nor do we see the need to launch a full-scale investigation of patients and staff with each new finding of MRSA in a patient. We question whether the yield of 20 carriers from 3449 swabs at St George is cost-effective, and whether the discovery of these people had any significant impact on the numbers of patients infected with MRSA in the hospital. Serious infections are, however, likely to occur in areas of intensive nursing of severely ill patients, particularly if they are immunosuppressed and on antibiotics. We concentrate our energy in trying to prevent infection occurring in such patients for example, intensive care, bone marrow transplant, and cardiothoracic unit patients. A significant number of these patients are referred from other hospitals, and some are found to carry MRSA on admission. If unrecognized this can lead to cross-infection, with serious consequences such as septicaemia or sternal wound infections. Our policy in summary is as follows: (a) emphasis in all areas is on thorough handwashing and good ward cleaning; (b) staff with sore hands, dermatitis or paronychia are educated to have cultures taken; (c) staff and patients in selected high-risk areas are screened for MRSA; (d) a register of past MRSA patients is kept and these patients are reassessed on readmission; (e) patients that we feel are likely to disseminate MRSA (eg, MRSA in sputum, or a discharging wound) are isolated; and (0 staff carriers are sent to work in low-risk areas or given bacitracin ointment and chlorhexidine to remove MRSA. We feel that this policy has been successful in preventing outbreaks of serious infection amongst large numbers of very susceptible patients. Our overall attack rate of MRSA (assuming 47% infected versus colonized') in 1984 is 116/22833 admissions (0.5%), a rate only slightly higher than the 0.33% at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for 1984.' It is possible that the case mix of patients in these two hospitals is different from that at St George Hospital. J.L. Harkness, FRCPA L.M. Brady, BSc Microbiology Department St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst, NSW 20 I0


In Russia, in the conditions of ongoing demographic crisis and socioeconomic transformations, the reproduction of population, including indigenous minorities, is the urgent problem. The analysis of dynamics of the age structure and reproductive parameters of women of three generations was carried out in order to determine the characteristics of reproduction of the Shors, the indigenous minority of the Kemerovo Region. The statistical data of population censuses (1970-2015), questionnaire materials, records of household books were used as sources of information. The average indices of the main parameters of reproduction of the Shors were calculated and their comparative analysis was carried out. The analysis of the reproductive characteristics of Shor women: the average age of the onset of menopause and menarche (climacterium is from 46.9±1.95 to 46.5±0.70 years, menarche from 14.5±0.65 to 13.9±0, 21 years old, p>0,05), the duration of the physiological reproductive period and the age of the woman at birth of the first child (22.5±0.42 years, 21.02±0.41 years, p>0,05) in a number of generations varied not statistically significant. There had been tendency of acceleration of rate of of process of puberty in female representatives of the "young" generation. The reproductive-active period reduced in 3 generations by 2 times (from 14.0 to 6.7 years). The age of woman at birth of the last child decreased from 36.5±0.65 to 27.7±1.09 years. The number of live-born infants decreased from 5.8±0.33 to 2.4±0.16 children. In women of all generations, there was high frequency of induced abortions (3.4±0.35 abortions). The negative dynamics of reproduction of the indigenous Shor population was established. The number of the Shors decreased from 14,059 people in 1970 to 10,672 people in 2010. The disproportion in gender ratio increased and absolute and relative volumes of pre-reproductive and reproductive contingents decreased. The Shors are characterized by narrowed mode of reproduction and regressive type of population age structure.


In this paper, we design lightweight graph convolutional networks (GCNs) using a particular class of regularizers, dubbed as phase-field models (PFMs). PFMs exhibit a bi-phase behavior using a particular ultra-local term that allows training both the topology and the weight parameters of GCNs as a part of a single"end-to-end"optimization problem. Our proposed solution also relies on a reparametrization that pushes the mask of the topology towards binary values leading to effective topology selection and high generalization while implementing any targeted pruning rate. Both masks and weights share the same set of latent variables and this further enhances the generalization power of the resulting lightweight GCNs. Extensive experiments conducted on the challenging task of skeleton-based recognition show the outperformance of PFMs against other staple regularizers as well as related lightweight design methods.


Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) play a pivotal role in the provision of services to the financially excluded population , particularly the poor and the informal sector. The study investigated the reasons behind the collapse and under- performance of MFIs in a dollarized regime. A survey research design was adopted targeting all 17 MFIs in Bulawayo inclusive of those that collapsed. The major finding was that MFIs are facing funding challenges. Most of them use limited personal funds to finance their businesses. In addition, the study also revealed that MFIs have poor corporate governance structures. Management Information Systems (MIS) have not been fully exploited. The major conclusion drawn from the study was that lack of funding is the major factor hindering the growth and development of MFIs in Zimbabwe. The main recommendation was that MFIs must be adequately regulated and be encouraged to have suitable governance structures in order to attract funding.


Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a high-end research and diagnostic technology that helps in obtaining pure cell populations for the purpose of cell- or lesion-specific genomic and proteomic analysis. Literature search on the application of LCM in oral tissues was made through PubMed. There is ample evidence to substantiate the utility of LCM in understanding the underlying molecular mechanism involving an array of oral physiological and pathological processes, including odontogenesis, taste perception, eruptive tooth movement, oral microbes, and cancers of the mouth and jaw tumors. This review is aimed at exploring the potential application of LCM in oral tissues as a high-throughput tool for integrated oral sciences. The indispensable application of LCM in the construction of lesion-specific genomic libraries with emphasis on some of the novel molecular markers thus discovered is also highlighted.


This review summarizes the results of a series of recent papers, where a microscopic model underlying the physics of elementary particles has been proposed. The 'tetron model' relies on the existence of an internal isospin space, in which an independent physical dynamics takes place. This idea is critically re-considered in the present work. As becomes evident in the course of discussion, the model not only describes electroweak phenomena but also modifies our understanding of other physical topics, like gravity, the big bang cosmology and the nature of the strong interactions.


Used alone, Lefort I procedures and surgical mandibular reduction and de-rotation do not always restore facial symmetry; but by first correcting mesiodistal disharmonies, the orthodontist makes it possible for the surgeon to achieve the best results. Sometimes, long term stability of these improvements is jeopardized when the occlusal plane gradually begins to tilt again and asymmetry reappears in the mandible. By using electromyographic analysis in a series of patients with severe transverse facial disharmony she has treated, the author shows the important role played by the muscles of mastication in such relapses.


Abstract:Public address scholars trained in U.S. communication departments have tended not to study rhetoric created by people with disabilities as much as they do other social movements. Here I attribute this relative lack to two ableist assumptions associated with communication's emphasis on winning arguments: the presumed disqualification of people with disabilities from public argument itself and the normalization of this disqualification based on biases related to rhetorical performance and capability. Overall, I argue this disqualification is the product of how communication scholars have understood and reconstructed the role of the ideal arguer in public affairs and call for more expansive views.


Media content analysis studies have historically focused on the portrayal of librarians on television and film. However, with the recent popularity of YouTube, there is an emerging, end‐user created media that has not been thoroughly analyzed for its treatment of our profession.  It is discovered that portrayals of libraries and librarians on YouTube are almost exclusively negative, raising the question whether efforts to combat negative librarian stereotypes have been effective.


Experiment or laboratory work is an essential part of physics and other science courses. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face classes have had to be transformed into remote classes. Because laboratory access has become very limited, technology must be utilized to substitute for hands-on activity in laboratory-based courses. Additionally, maintaining students' motivation during remote classes is also challenging. In this paper, we report on the implementation of modeling activities using Tracker in our online Advanced Physics Experiment course. We examine the effectiveness of Tracker-assisted modeling activity in improving students' graph interpretation skills on the topic of Fraunhofer-Diffraction. The results show that 20 out of 21 participants demonstrated an increase in graph interpretation skills. The average normalized gain is 0.74, which can be seen as a high degree of improvement. Although the activity did not allow students to practice hands-on skills, this activity can encourage students to practice other science-related skills. Moreover, according to the survey, students feel more motivated to learn physics online after being exposed to the modeling activity. © 2021 by the authors;licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group


High-pressure injection injuries to the hand are work-related injuries that can take a devastating toll on the functionality of the affected extremity. Chemical injections are a surgical emergency. Injuries involving only water injection are rarer and have variable management strategies. We report a case of high-pressure injection hand injury due to water only. The patient was managed non-operatively with parenteral antibiotics, narcotics and elevation, with good outcome. We present a review of the literature on high-pressure injection injury.


There have been many recent media reports about the online harassment of women journalists working in technology, particularly the video gaming industry. However, little research has focused on this aspect, by looking at specific occupations, or analysing the implications for women and society. This paper is a feminist study of the experiences of sexist abuse of a sample of women journalists writing about technology. It is a commentary on the results of a questionnaire-based study of 102 women (and their approximately 300 comments) that work in what has emerged as one of the frontlines of the struggle for gender equality. The research looks at the extent of the abuse, the harm it causes and how women are reacting to it. Most of the participants have experienced abuse, many have changed their working practices and some have disguised their identity to avoid it. An examination of their comments suggests that sexist abuse is now often normalised, alongside a new kind of "invisible" feminism. It also reveals a mood of defiance and an appetite for radical change to address the problems of exclusion and loss of identity. Overall, results indicate that the abuse is damaging women's lives and impacting journalism and society in a negative way.


AIM
To determine the clinical and genetic predictors of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor treatment response in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

PATIENTS & METHODS
DPP4, WFS1 and KCNJ11 gene polymorphisms were genotyped in a cohort study of 662 T2DM patients treated with DPP-4 inhibitors sitagliptin, vildagliptin or linagliptin. Genotyping was performed by Applied Biosystems TaqMan SNP genotyping assay.

RESULTS
Patients with triglyceride levels less than 1.7 mmol/l (odds ratio [OR]: 2.2.; 95% CI: 1.031-4.723), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) less than 90 mmHg (OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.009-2.892) and KCNJ11 rs2285676 (genotype CC) (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.025-3.767) were more likely to response to DPP-4 inhibitor treatment compared with other patients, as measured by HbA1c levels.

CONCLUSION
Triglycerides, DBP and KCNJ11 rs2285676 are predictors of the DPP-4 inhibitor treatment response in T2DM patients.


Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii The Editors xix The Authors xxiii PART ONE Foundations of Academic Advising Practice 1 Advising Strategies to Support Student Learning Success: Linking Theory and Philosophy With Intentional Practice 3 Ezekiel Kimball and Susan M. Campbell 2 Advising as Teaching and the Advisor as Teacher in Theory and in Practice 17 Jayne K. Drake (Advising-as-teaching student scenario authored by Marsha A. Miller) 3 Learning-Centered Advising 33 Maura M. Reynolds 4 Developmental Academic Advising 45 Thomas J. Grites Voices From the Field: So I ve Been Thinking ...O Banion in Reverse 61 Patrick Cate PART TWO A New Light: Viewing the Practice of Academic Advising From Different Perspectives 5 Motivational Interviewing: Helping Advisors Initiate Change in Student Behaviors 67 Judy Hughey and Robert Pettay 6 Appreciative Advising 83 Jennifer L. Bloom, Bryant L. Hutson, and Ye He Voices From the Field: Applying Appreciative Advising 101 Joseph Murray 7 Strengths-Based Advising 105 Laurie A. Schreiner 8 Academic Advising Informed by Self-authorship Theory 121 Janet K. Schulenberg 9 Proactive Advising 137 Jennifer Varney Voices From the Field: Increasing First-Year Student Engagement Through Mid-year Self-reflections 155 Holly E. Martin 10 Advising as Coaching 159 Jeffrey McClellan PART THREE A New Lens: Applying Theories From Other Disciplines to the Practice of Academic Advising 11 The Application of Constructivism and Systems Theory to Academic Advising 179 Terry Musser and Frank Yoder 12 Socratic Advising 197 Janet M. Spence and Nora A. Scobie 13 Understanding and Interpretation: A Hermeneutic Approach to Advising 223 Sarah Champlin-Scharff and Peter L. Hagen PART FOUR A New Path: Envisioning the Future of Academic Advising 14 Envisioning the Future 243 Marc Lowenstein Name Index 259 Subject Index 265


As a primary imaging modality, ultrasonography (US) can provide diagnostic information for evaluating ovarian masses. Using a pattern recognition approach through gray-scale transvaginal US, ovarian masses can be diagnosed with high specificity and sensitivity. Doppler US may allow ovarian masses to be diagnosed as benign or malignant with even greater confidence. In order to differentiate benign and malignant ovarian masses, it is necessary to categorize ovarian masses into unilocular cyst, unilocular solid cyst, multilocular cyst, multilocular solid cyst, and solid tumor, and then to detect typical US features that demonstrate malignancy based on pattern recognition approach.


Concerns about intellectual property for nursing are becoming increasingly acute as information becomes highly accessible in the digital age. Nurse faculty members need to check policies of the agencies that they work for to evaluate explicit written policies for their protection and full understanding of the agency's rights.


ABSTRACT β-1,2-Linked mannosides (β-Mans) are believed to contribute to Candida albicans virulence. The presence of β-Mans has been chemically established for two molecules (phosphopeptidomannan [PPM] and phospholipomannan) that are noncovalently linked to the cell wall, where they correspond to specific epitopes. However, a large number of cell wall mannoproteins (CWMPs) also express β-Man epitopes, although their nature and mode of β-mannosylation are unknown. We therefore used Western blotting to map β-Man epitopes for the different families of mannoproteins gradually released from the cell wall according to their mode of anchorage (soluble, released by dithiothreitol, β-1,3 glucan linked, and β-1,6 glucan linked). Reduction of β-Man epitope expression occurred after chemical and enzymatic deglycosylation of the different cell wall fractions, as well as in a secreted form of Hwp1, a representative of the CWMPs linked by glycosylphosphatidylinositol remnants. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay inhibition tests were performed to assess the presence of β-Man epitopes in released oligomannosides. A comparison of the results obtained with CWMPs to the results obtained with PPM and the use of mutants with mutations affecting O and N glycosylation demonstrated that both O glycosylation and N glycosylation participate in the association of β-Mans with the protein moieties of CWMPs. This process, which can alter the function of cell wall molecules and their recognition by the host, is therefore more important and more complex than originally thought, since it differs from the model established previously with PPM.


Purpose About 8 years ago, we approached an intraoperative transluminal angioplasty (ITA) performed during the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation, to treat arterial or venous stenosis diagnosed by a preliminary ultrasound examination. Objective of this study is to validate the efficacy of ITA. Methods Early failure (EF) and failure to mature (FTM) were evaluated in 69 AVFs with ITA created in 58 patients in the last 3 years. In the same period, 160 patients received 188 AVFs without ITA and were considered control group. Of the two groups, age, comorbid factors, sex, primary and secondary patency rate (PR) were also analysed. Results The two groups were homogeneous for gender and age (70.4 + 11.1 years of ITA group vs. 66.3 + 14.4, p = 0.059). The incidence of diabetes, heart disease and peripheral artery disease was higher in the ITA group (43% vs. 17%, p<0.0001, 35% vs. 6%, p<0.0001 and 56% vs. 15%, p<0.0001, respectively). EF and FTM occurred in seven and eight cases in the ITA group and in 15 and 13 cases in the controls, respectively. Total failure occurred in 24% of ITA group and 14% of the controls (p = 0.2). The primary PR at 6, 12 and 24 months was 78%, 72% and 59% for ITA group and 85%, 78% and 78 % for control group (p<0.01). The secondary PR at 6, 12 and 24 months was 91%, 86% and 80% for ITA group and 95%, 95% and 92% for the controls (p<0.01). Conclusions Our ITA approach has allowed satisfactory results in patients at a high risk of AVF failure.


The testis-specific poly(A) polymerase beta (PAPOLB) gene was first identified as the intronless gene TPAP in mice. In TPAP-deficient mice, spermiogenesis is arrested due to altered post-transcriptional gene regulation, including translational activation via the cytoplasmic polyadenylation of mRNAs. To investigate the possible association between variations in PAPOLB and impaired spermatogenesis in Japanese males, we screened for genetic variations in PAPOLB using DNA from 282 sterile male patients and 96 proven-fertile male volunteers using direct sequencing methods on blood samples. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding sequence and one DNA insertion in the 5' untranslated region of PAPOLB were found. These genetic variations were not present at statistically significant levels; however, the results of this study may be useful in future large-scale analyses of the association between PAPOLB and male infertility.


In this paper, we propose a novel and simple approach for dealing with the exaggerated extrinsic information produced by the soft-output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA). We first identify the reason behind these exaggerated values and then propose a simple remedy for it. We argue that what leads to this optimistic extrinsic information is the inherent strong correlation between the intrinsic information (input to the SOVA) and extrinsic information (output of the SOVA). Our proposed remedy is based on mathematical analysis, and it involves using two attenuators, one applied to the immediate output of the SOVA and another applied to the extrinsic information before it is passed to the other decoder (assuming iterative decoding). We examine the modified SOVA (MSOVA) on idealized partial response (PR) channels and the Lorentzian channel equalized to a PR target. We consider both parallel concatenated codes (PCCs) and serial concatenated codes (SCCs). We show that the MSOVA provides substantial performance improvements over both channels. For example, it provides improvements of about 0.8 to 1.6 dB at P/sub b/=10/sup -5/. Finally, we note that the proposed modifications, while they provide considerable performance improvements, introduce only two additional multipliers to the complexity of the SOVA algorithm, which is remarkable.


The Souris River formation is a Devonian subsurface formation, presently tilted southwestward, which is encountered in southern and central Saskatchewan in wells drilled for oil, potash, and helium at depths ranging from a maximum of 6,142 feet below sea-level near the international boundary to a minimum of 821 feet below sea-level near the Souris River subcrop edge in central Saskatchewan. Stromatoporoids were recovered from cores 2-4 inches in diameter in fragmental dolomitic limestone of the lower Souris River formation. The wells are widely spaced over a belt more than 250 miles long in southern Saskatchewan. The stromatoporoid faunas are represented by Atelodictyon and Stictostroma of the family Clathrodictyidae; Actinostroma and Trupetostroma of the Actinostromatidae; Amphipora, Idiostroma, and Stachyodes of the Idiostromatidae; and Ferestromatopora, Stromatopora, Parallelopora, and Synthetostroma of the Stromatoporidae. The faunas most closely resemble those described from the lower Upper Devonian Moberly member of the Waterways formation of northeastern Alberta. Members of the family Idiostromatidae are the most common in numbers of specimens if not bulk. The Stromatoporidae is the second most important family. Trupetostroma stands out among the Actinostromatidae. Most of the stromatoporoid coenostea are whole, especially the massive forms. Thin bands of matrix material around most specimens are dark brown organic lutitic limestone. The hemispherical coenostea appear to have been rolled around and show no preferred orientation. These coenostea may have been transported a short distance and deposited outside of their normal habitat. The elongate coenostea of members of the Idiostromatidae are oriented parallel with bedding surfaces and show a slight but inconclusive suggestion of polarity. The lithologic character of the described matrix material is common in association with Amphipora and Stachyodes wherever they are found. These genera are likely not oriented in their position of growth. The absence of any suggestion of a base of attachment in Amphipora is puzzling. The internal preservation of the stromatoporoid coenostea is good considering the nature of the over-all lithologic character of the stratigraphic unit. Gallery spaces are mostly infiltrated by calcium carbonate. End_of_Article - Last_Page 526------------


Optical modulation with a bandwidth of about 3 GHz centered at 5.75 GHz was observed in a thin film of [BiLu]3Fe5O12 using the magneto-optical interaction. A microstrip transducer was placed in contact with the film and TM polarized optical guided modes were excited beneath and parallel to the transducer. The TM→TE mode conversion was measured as a function of the angle between an in-plane field, of up to 100 Oe, and the optical beam. The bandwidth of the modulation was limited by the microwave components used in the external circuit. The experiments qualitatively agree with a simple model that describes a modulation of the optical beam by a nonresonant precession of the magnetization about an equilibrium.


X-ray tube is the most commonly used equipment in X-ray fluorescence spectrum analysis as excitation source whose primary spectrum has become a major source of the background of X-ray fluorescence spectrum. Background subtraction should go before further analysis of this spectrum. The accuracy of the estimation of the background directly affect the results of subsequent processing steps. In this paper, the tube excitation component of X fluorescence spectrum is analyzed with an estimation method of background intensity against their background characteristics, and structuring theoretical spectral lines based on the measured spectral lines in order to evaluate the effect of spectral processing algorithms. The method utilizes the measured X-ray fluorescence spectrum which does not contain the characteristic peak of the spectrum, In order to estimate the composition of the original spectrum of the X-ray tube. It uses the spectrum that contains the continuous background for interpolating the entire measured spectrum, thereby avoiding overlapping the spectral characteristic peaks or improperly estimating full width at half maximum. This paper compared SNIP, Fourier transform method and the background subtraction method using the measured spectral lines. Using this method to estimate the background is closer to the theoretical background. The results showe that the method for X-ray fluorescence spectrum by X-ray tube excitation is accurate in this article, this method can be used to deduct continuous background, and good applied effectiveness has been achieved in the background subtraction of the actually measured X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.


A 27-year-old man who had been diagnosed as having chronic hepatitis B suffered disease exacerbation with marked reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Treatment with interferon (IFN) did not improve his condition, and his serum HBV DNA level increased to over 10 000 pg/ml during IFN administration. Following replacement with lamivudine, there was a substantial reduction in HBV DNA to an undetectable level, and liver function parameters subsequently improved to within the normal range. Quantitative analysis of the precore mutant HBV DNA, which is a variant that cannot express hepatitis B e antigen due to a G-to-A point mutation in the precore region of the viral genome, revealed that the amount present was greater than for the precore wild-type HBV DNA in the serum taken before IFN treatment. This case suggests that lamivudine would be an appropriate alternative to IFN, particularly in patients infected with HBV containing an excess of precore mutants resistant to IFN therapy.


Fragility is a key property of liquids - in particular glass-forming liquids - characterizing the rapidity of change of their dynamical properties when cooled near the glass transition. Given the diversity of glass-forming substances and their properties, fragility serves as an important organizing principle. Since the time the concept was introduced and extensively studied by C. Austen Angell, a leading authority on many aspects of liquid-state science in the mid 1980s, thousands of papers have been published analysing fragility in a variety of liquids, extending and probing the basic concept. The current volume contains reviews by leading experts, and reprints of key articles on fragility. It thus contains material that is essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in liquids and glasses. This collection of articles, dedicated to Austen Angell on the occasion of his 80th birthday, accompanies the Symposium on Fragility held at JNCASR, Bengaluru, India, January 5 - 8, 2014.


Understanding Cultural Taste updates and critiques established theoretical and empirical accounts of cultural taste. It takes account of the role of cultural industries and cultural policies in shaping cultural tastes and of the contemporary technologies through which cultural goods are produced, circulated and consumed. It weaves together a story of taste as bound up with sensation, skill and sensibility. Taking a historical and theoretical perspective which complicates an understanding of taste as either a matter of personal preference or a simple weapon in social struggles, the book argues that taste remains a significant and complex concept in the sociology of culture, media and cultural studies, cultural policy studies and in their applied sub-disciplines. Such disciplines have come to appreciate and accept the relation between taste and individual and group identities but have been less attentive to other social and political dimensions of this important component of cultural life


For better management of the use of insecticide in public health against Culex quinquefasciatus , an arboviral and filarial vector, a study was conducted at Natitingou, a town located in northern Benin, from October 2015 to March 2016, to evaluate the susceptible of this mosquito to insecticides and the mechanisms of resistance developed. The protocol was based on mosquito collection during both dry and rainy seasons across the four areas selected in northern Benin. Bioassays were performed on adult mosquitoes collected from the field to assess the susceptibility of filarial vectors to insecticide-impregnated papers (permethrin 0.75%, delthamethrin 0.05%, DDT 4%, and bendiocarb 0.1%) following WHOPES guidelines. Moreover, mosquitoes from the susceptible tests were used to search for the presence of the knock down resistance ( Kdr ) and the Acethylcholinesterase ( Ace-1R ) mutations. Finally, F1 generation of the wild population of Cx. quinquefasciatus were used for biochemical analysis to target Mixed Function Oxidase (MFO), non-specific esterase (NSE) and glutathione-S-transferases (GST) enzymes. This research showed: 1)- A wide spread of resistance to permethrin, delthamethrin and DDT was found in samples of Cx. quinquefasciatus despite the collection areas with 4%; 7% ; 19% and 60% as average of mortality respectively with DDT, permethrin, deltamethrin and bendiocarb; 2)- The kdr mutation was detected in all areas at various frequencies (0.8 to 0.88) whereas the Ace-1 mutation was found at a very low frequency (≤ 5%); 3)- Enzymes activities (oxidase, esterase and glutathion-S-transferases) were detected in all mosquito populations despite the areas of collection. This work has highlighted the high resistance of Cx. quinquefascitus to the 3 classes of insecticides used in public health. Moreover, the high frequency of kdr and the presence of enzyme activity in Cx. quinquefasciatus will augment the existing data on the insecticide resistance of filariasis vectors and will be useful for making decision to control this mosquito.


Air transportation service is to transport passenger, luggage and freight by an aircraft between two points so as to provide place and time benefit. This service is the combination of the service processes from more than one business field complementary to each other. In order to be able to design the new service process steps and improve the airline services, the current airline processes need to be analyzedand the relationships of the companies that are involved in airline servicesneed to be understood. The study has been carried out to define the service process steps available at Istanbul Ataturk Airport and to develop the process network diagram. In the first section of the study, the basic operations constituting the airline service process are provided through a literature review, and in the second section, the operations constituting the airline service process and the companies responsible for providing these operations and the service process steps have been determined through semi-structured interviews. In the last part of the study, operation-based network diagram of Ataturk Airport service process has been developed via assessment of the study data.


Histone deacetylases (HDAC) may have a prominent role in the development of cancer and the response to anticancer therapy. However, the therapeutic relevance and tissue specificity of individual HDAC enzymes remain largely unknown. HDAC inhibitors may function as sensitizing agents to chemotherapies that target DNA through their effects on chromatin structure and plasticity. Here, we report a new role for HDAC2 as a regulator of chromatin compaction status and the mediator of HDAC inhibitor-induced sensitization to chemotherapy. The selective depletion of HDAC2 by small interfering RNA led to reduced expression of heterochromatin maintenance proteins and morphologic changes indicative of chromatin decondensation. Furthermore, depletion of HDAC2 but not HDAC1 or HDAC6 was sufficient to sensitize breast cancer cells to topoisomerase inhibitor-induced apoptosis. The levels of HDAC2 expression appear to correlate with the degree of HDAC inhibitor-induced histone acetylation in a surrogate tissue in patients. These data suggest that HDAC2 may be a relevant pharmacologic and biological target for combination therapy involving drugs that target DNA.[Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(4):794–801]


A matrix of 19 WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting model) members was created using different combinations of physical schemes and run for eight IHOP (International H2O Project) convective cases. Cases were purposely selected to have significant rainfall observed and/or forecasted in the IHOP domain over the central United States. For each case, three different treatments of convection were used: the KainFritsch (KF) scheme (Kain and Fritsch 1992), the Betts-Miller-Janjic (BMJ) scheme (Betts 1986, Betts and Miller, 1986, Janjic 1994), and the use of no convective parameterization. For each of these three choices, three different microphysical schemes were used, Lin et al. (1983), NCEP-5 class, and Ferrier (Ferrier et al., 2002). Within these nine configurations, two different planetary boundary layer schemes were used, MRF (Troen and Mahrt, 1986) and Eta (Janjic 1994). This 18member matrix was supplemented with one additional member using the thermal diffusion surface physics scheme instead of the OSU scheme used for the full 18-member matrix. The 'control' run used the KF convective scheme, MRF PBL and NCEP class-5 microphysics.


Reliability of completion equipment and rig time are becoming more and more critical for subsea completions because of continually increasing water depths in which operators are being required to complete wells. In addition, completion designs must reflect the more stringent economic requirements of today`s oil and gas industry. This paper describes the use of a single-trip completion system that has been successfully and economically installed in the offshore Marimba and Bonito fields of South America. This new completion system has the capability to land the tubing hanger and install it in the wellhead before setting the packer and compensating for subsequent tubing movement. The new system also can employ pre-job calculations--based on initial well conditions and anticipated conditions during production--that help determine appropriate completion configurations and bottomhole equipment compatibility. Many failures in offshore wells, whether platform or subsea, can be attributed to inappropriate application of downhole completion tools or methods. Use of pre-job calculations during the equipment design stage can facilitate proper selection of design criteria and can help ensure operational safety and cost efficiency. The development of this new completion system is discussed in detail. Three case histories that document successful test completions is reviewed along with the economicmore » gains and advantages that the reduction in rig time generated.« less


In vitro grown plant materials of jojoba plant (Simmondsia chinensis L.) were used to study the effect of medium strength and activated charcoal (AC) on shoot multiplication and growth. Reduction in shoot multiplication was detected when explants were cultured on half strength MS medium. The highest shoot multiplication was obtained on the full strength MS medium containing 3.0 mg/l BAP and 0.1 mg/l NAA. Increase the osmotic pressure of the medium by increasing the concentrations up to double strength MS medium resulted in an increase of the growth parameters. Jojoba multiplication and in vitro growth was improved using activated charcoal; the best results were obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1 gm/l activated charcoal, 3 mg/l BAP and 0.1 mg/l NAA. While gene expression was stable under the influence of activated charcoal, it expressed some variation under the influence of medium strength. On the other hand, full medium strength resulted in maximum shoot multiplication and expressed several polypeptides with different molecular weights (150, 102.6, 65 and 42 KDa) and new peroxidase isoform (POX-1). Double strength MS medium expressed one polypeptide (8.6 KDa). Increased staining intensity of peroxidases and stimulate shoot growth.


Abstract In the paper the topic of Building Information Technology BIM is investigated. It is new in Polish circumstances technology for construction and for building product industry, which contribute to change and develop level of industrialization. Especially challenge raising from the information and introducing IT technology into daily practice is considered to provide changes in construction branch of economy. In Poland there is the hot need of start to introduce BIM as the common technology for owners of assets, facility management, construction entities, design offices, administration officers and many other players relative to construction data and processes. BIM technology introduction, basing on foreign case studies, results in cost savings, control and time reduction of investment processes and some more advantages. The perspective of digital buildings, digital infrastructure, digital roads, digital railways and digital cities is outlined at the perspective of technology challenge, but simply transfiguration of many fields of personal everyday life, where digitalization is already present and with the question when it will be common in professional activity, particularly in civil engineering.


BACKGROUND
Traditional primary care practice change approaches have not led to full implementation of national asthma guidelines.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of 2 asthma care improvement strategies in primary care.

DESIGN
Two-year randomized controlled clinical trial.

SETTING
Forty-two primary care pediatric practices affiliated with 4 managed care organizations.

PARTICIPANTS
Children aged 3 to 17 years with mild to moderate persistent asthma enrolled in primary care practices affiliated with managed care organizations.

INTERVENTIONS
Peer leader education consisted of training 1 physician per practice in asthma guidelines and peer teaching methods. Planned care combined the peer leader program with nurse-mediated organizational change through planned visits with assessments, care planning, and self-management support, in collaboration with physicians. Analyses compared each intervention with usual care.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Annualized asthma symptom days, asthma-specific functional health status (Children's Health Survey for Asthma), and frequency of brief oral steroid courses (bursts).

RESULTS
Six hundred thirty-eight children completed baseline evaluations, representing 64% of those screened and eligible. Mean +/- SD age was 9.4 +/- 3.5 years; 60% were boys. Three hundred fifty (55%) were taking controller medication. Mean +/- SD annualized asthma symptom days was 107.4 +/- 122 days. Children in the peer leader arm had 6.5 fewer symptom days per year (95% confidence interval [CI], - 16.9 to 3.6), a nonsignificant difference, but had a 36% (95% CI, 11% to 54%) lower oral steroid burst rate per year compared with children receiving usual care. Children in the planned care arm had 13.3 (95% CI, - 24.7 to -2.1) fewer symptom days annually (-12% from baseline; P =.02) and a 39% (95% CI, 11% to 58%) lower oral steroid burst rate per year relative to usual care. Both interventions showed small, statistically significant effects for 2 of 5 Children's Health Survey for Asthma scales. Planned care subjects had greater controller adherence (parent report) compared with usual care subjects (rate ratio, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.09]).

CONCLUSIONS
Planned care (nurse-mediated organizational change plus peer leader education) is an effective model for improving asthma care in the primary care setting. Peer leader education on its own may also serve as a useful model for improving asthma care, although it is less comprehensive and the treatment effect less pronounced.


Neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington's disease (HD), the spinocerebellar ataxias and C9orf72 associated Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD) do not present and progress in the same way in all patients. Instead there is phenotypic variability in age at onset, progression and symptoms. Understanding this variability is not only clinically valuable, but identification of the genetic factors underpinning this variability has the potential to highlight genes and pathways which may be amenable to therapeutic manipulation, hence help find drugs for these devastating and currently incurable diseases. Identification of genetic modifiers of neurodegenerative diseases is the overarching aim of this thesis. To identify genetic variants which modify disease progression it is first necessary to have a detailed characterization of the disease and its trajectory over time. In this thesis clinical data from the TRACK-HD studies, for which I collected data as a clinical fellow, was used to study disease progression over time in HD, and give subjects a progression score for subsequent analysis. In this thesis I show blood transcriptomic signatures of HD status and stage which parallel HD brain and overlap with Alzheimer's disease brain. Using the Huntington's disease progression score in a genome wide association study, both a locus on chromosome 5 tagging MSH3, and DNA handling pathways more broadly, are shown to modify HD progression: these results are explored. Transcriptomic signatures associated with HD progression rate are also investigated. In this thesis I show that DNA repair variants also modify age at onset in spinocerebellar ataxias (1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 17), which are, like HD, caused by triplet repeat expansions, suggesting a common mechanism. Extending this thesis' examination of the relationship between phenotype and genotype I show that the C9orf72 expansion, normally associated with ALS/FTD, is also the commonest cause of HD phenocopy presentations.


Consideration is given to the problem of minimizing the effect of uncertainty in the sampling times of analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion in the linear-quadratic Gaussian (LQG) digital regulation of a linear continuous-time system. The overall controller scheme consists of a nominal LQG controller in parallel (as in the class of all stabilizing controllers) with a finite-impulse-response sensitivity-reduction controller. The parameters of the sensitivity controller are selected so as to minimize a performance index which is quadratic in the state, the control, the state sensitivity and the control sensitivity.<<ETX>>


A fiber‐optic probe was interfaced to an analytical spectrofluorophotometeru and used to measure NAD(P)H fluorescence of hybridoma cells in a bioreactor. NAD(P)H fluorescence was found to qualitatively represent metabolic state during various induced metabolic transitions. NAD(P)H fluorescence increased immediately following aerobic–anaerobic transitions, and decreased immediately upon transition back to aerobic metabolism. Pulsing of glucose to glucose‐depleted cultures caused NAD(P)H fluorescence to first increase immediately after the pulse, and then decrease gradually before reaching a constant level. Pulsing of glutamine to glutamine‐depleted cultures resulted in a gradual increase in NAD(P)H fluorescence which lagged a simultaneous increase in oxygen uptake. ATP production and oxygen uptake also varied with metabolic state. The decrease in oxidative phosphorylation following transition from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism was found to be only partially compensated by the concomitant increase in substrate‐level phosphorylation, as shown by decreases of 35–52% in calculated total specific ATP production rates. The specific oxygen uptake rate decreased by 6–38% following glucose pulses of between 0.2 and 0.5 g/L, respectively, and by 50% following glutamine depletion. Subsequent pulsing of glutamine after depletion caused oxygen uptake to increase by 50%.


This paper describes an ultrasonic analysis of thin epoxy resin samples using normal incidence radially polarized shear wave electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs). The adhesive thickness in the experiments was approximately 0.5 mm, which is slightly higher than would be expected in an ideal bond, but is the optimum thickness for experimental measurement using shear waves at megahertz frequencies. The epoxy resins examined were supplied in a two-part cartridge form, mixed by injection through a special mixing nozzle. The technique gives an accurate measurement of the shear wave velocity in the thin adhesive layer to within 1.5% error. Indeed the accuracy was high enough to reveal unexpected variations in the elastic properties of the cast resin from a single cartridge, which appear to depend on the order in which the adhesive was extruded from the cartridge.


In the silkworm, Bombyx mori, the W chromosome plays a dominant role in female determination. However, neither protein-coding genes nor transcripts have so far been isolated from the W chromosome. Instead, a large amount of functional transposable elements and their remnants are accumulated on the W chromosome. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are 23-30-nt-long small RNAs that potentially act as sequence-specific guides for PIWI proteins to silence transposon activity in animal gonads. In this study, by comparing ovary- and testis-derived piRNAs, we identified numerous female-enriched piRNAs. Our data indicated that female-enriched piRNAs are derived from the W chromosome. Moreover, comparative analyses on piRNA profiles from a series of W chromosome mutant strains revealed a striking enrichment of a specific set of transposon-derived piRNAs in the putative sex-determining region. Collectively, we revealed the nature of the silkworm W chromosome as a source of piRNAs.