Mutations of the tumor suppressor p53 and elevated levels of polyamines are known to play key roles in urothelial tumorigenesis. We investigated the inhibition of polyamines biosynthesis and the restoration of p53 signaling as a possible means of preventing muscle invasive urothelial tumors using DFMO, an ODC-inhibiting agent, and CP-31398 (CP), a p53 stabilizing agent. Transgenic UPII-SV40T male mice at 6weeks age (n=15/group) were fed control diet (AIN-76A) or experimental diets containing DFMO (1000 and 2000 ppm) or 150 ppm CP or both. At 40 weeks of age, all mice were euthanized and urinary bladders were evaluated to determine tumor weight and histopathology. Low-dose DFMO had a moderate significant inhibitory effect on tumor growth (38%, P<0.02) and tumor invasion (23%). High-dose DFMO had a 47% tumor inhibition (P<0.0001) and 40% inhibition tumor invasion. There was no significant difference between 1000 and 2000 ppm doses of DFMO (P>0.05). CP at 150 ppm alone had a strong inhibitory effect on tumor growth by 80% (P<0.0001); however, no effect on tumor invasion was observed. Interestingly, the combination of DFMO (1000 ppm) and CP (150 ppm) led to significant decrease in tumor weight (70%, P<0.0001) and tumor invasion (62.5%; P<0.005). Molecular analysis of the urothelial tumors suggested a modulation of polyamine biosynthesis, proliferation, cell cycle regulators resulting from the use of these agents. These results suggest that targeting two or more pathways could be an effective approach for chemoprevention. A combination of CP and DFMO appears to be a promising strategy for urothelial TCC prevention.


Unlike the past when cathode-ray tube (CRT) dominated display industry, many different types of flat panel displays (FPDs) are now leading the industry. Of these, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display has recently become a next-generation display since this display is recognised as having advantages over other competing technologies in picture quality and form factor. With major attributes of picture quality considered, a series of evaluations based on objective measures was performed with an OLED TV compared to an LCD TV. OLED TV outperformed LCD TV 100 times in black, 20 times in colour contrast, 30% in dynamic range coverage, 50 times in local contrast and 20 times in viewing angle. In addition, sound quality of the OLED TV was assessed using both objective and subjective evaluation methods compared to conventional TV speakers since OLED panel speaker technology was recently commercialised. The OLED panel speaker showed better performance both in objective and subjective methods.


In the study, the A. analyse the pharmacological properties of Flumazenil and describe their experience with 96 patients hospitalized in I Policlinico. Moreover, they confirm the efficacy of this drug, as a specific antagonist of benzodiazepines.


This research examines the heavy metal concentrations in crude-oil impacted soil (site 1) and un-impacted soils (site 2), in Olomoro, an oil producing community in Delta state. It also examines heavy metal concentrations in cassava tubers (cortex) and in plantain fruits (mesocarp) grown and harvested at both sites and the health implications of consuming these food crops. Heavy metal concentrations of soils pooled from both sites were compared. Results showed higher values of Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn at site 1 than site 2, indicating that there is significant difference between both soils (p<0.05). Food crops grown and harvested from both sites were also compared, and results showed higher values in crops harvested at site 1 than those harvested at site 2, indicating a significant difference between food crops grown and harvested from both sites (p<0.05). Crops harvested from site 1 were compared with WHO acceptable limits for food and results showed that only Pb was above permissible limits (0.30mg/kg). Zn and Pb showed high accumulation in both food crops suggesting that there is a likely possibility of Zn and Pb poisoning if contaminated food crops are ingested. Research methods also involved the use of two structured questionnaire. The first questionnaire examined 130 households with 10 numbers of items to identify the common diseases experienced in households among others, while the second questionnaire administered to medical personnel showed the degree of prevalence of these common diseases. Common ailments experienced by household members were acute headache, body pain, stomach disorder, nausea/ vomiting and dizziness (acute symptoms of Pb and Zn poisoning) which were reported to be prevalently high among the people, while cancer, bone malformation in children, mental illness and depression (chronic symptoms) were not as prevalent as the acute symptoms of Pb and Zn toxicity mentioned earlier. The paper recommends among others that agricultural activities be carried out 5km away from petroleum activities/ oil spill sites and that public awareness and enlightenment be done in rural areas to warn the people about the dangers of consuming contaminated food crops and the associated health implications, since most of the populace are illiterates.


It is in the context of race and revolution during china's long twentieth century that we can best understand the many implications of Ferdinand Oyono's Une vie de boy (1956) in China, where it was translated into the standard Sinitic script as ("The Life of a Boy Servant") in 1984. The cycle that had begun as a national strengthening movement in the 1890s achieved some kind of completion or vindication with the early-twenty-first-century rise of China on the world stage. Chinese sovereignty was not only achieved during this century but flaunted; revolutions were not only won but largely put aside. Throughout this process, racial thinking played a crucial role, but its significance has been largely ignored because of an all-consuming nationalism that justified itself through a discourse of wounding: China was the victim of Western imperialism and the object of racism. Racism was and is supposed to be a problem for other, principally Western nations, with tainted histories of slavery and imperialism—hence the failure to acknowledge that Chinese nationalism actually has a distinct, though shifting, racial character. Chinese racial nationalism, and, for a time, racial internationalism under Mao, was a major undercurrent in China's revolutionary sequence in the long twentieth century: the late Qing reform and the ensuing republican revolution of 1911, which overthrew the Manchu Qing dynasty; the communist revolution of 1949, which drove out Western and Japanese imperialism and overthrew the republican government; and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, the end of which started China on the path to postsocialism, or "socialism with Chinese characteristics."


OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of puberty onset and menarche in girls in Bratislava region in the years 2006-2007 and 2011-2013.

DESIGN
Regional retrospective epidemiological study.

SETTING
1st Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, School of Medicine, Comenius University and University Hospital Bratislava, Slovenské republika.

METHODS
A study in two periods was performed. The first was in the years 2006-2007 and the second in 2011-2013. Together 217 girls aged 7-16 were enrolled. Secondary sexual characteristics according to Tanner were evaluated. Ultrasound examination of the uterus and ovaries was performed. The results were statistically evaluated by software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) by age, and compared to results of Slovak study held in the years 1976-1980.

RESULTS
The mean age of menarche onset of girls in the group was 12.37. Pubarche and adrenarche onset were at 10.7 and 11.7 year respectively. Thelarche onset was at 10.9 year. Development of secondary sexual characteristics significantly correlated with ultrasound parameters of internal genitalia and with age of menarche. Average ultrasound parameters increases with age to 15 years. Significant changes were for average anteroposterior uterine size in 11 and 13 years old girls, for proportion corpus/cervix of the uterus in 9 and 11 years old girls and for average ovarian volume in 9, 11, 14 and 15 years old girls.

CONCLUSION
The results from our study comparing to those from study held in 1976-1980 shows continuous secular trend in Bratislava region.

KEYWORDS
age of menarche, secular trend, puberty, secondary sexual characteristics.


A rapid electrochemical analysis of sulfadiazine (SFZ) has been carried out by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods by employing a sensitive single walled carbon nanotube-molybdenum disulfide nanocomposite/poly ethylene glycol modified carbon paste electrode (SWCNT-MoS2/PEG/CPE). The SFZ shows anodic peak potential at 0.94 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in 0.1 M PBS of pH 7.0. The SFZ has been examined at different scan rate from 50 to 300 mVs-1 in 0.1 M PBS of pH 7.0 and the nature of mass transfer route is diffusion-controlled process. The different pH from 5.6 to 8.0 was analyzed at SFZ and obtained the slope value 0.063 proves the equal number of electrons and protons were involved in the reaction. In DPV mode LOD of SFZ in the linear range of 2-90 μM was found to be 1.69 μM. The prepared electrode was examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) using 5 mM K3[Fe(CN)6] in 0.1 M KCl. The effective surface area of SWCNT-MoS2/PEG/CPE was found to be 0.262 cm2. This method could be successfully employed to determine the concentration of SFZ in biological fluids.


This paper is designed to demonstrate the efficacy of different massage modalities used to decrease the biological age in relatively healthy subjects between 30 and 69 years of life. The study involved 78 subjects (67 women and 11 men). Each of them underwent a course of 10 sessions of massage of the collar and upper back regions for the prevention of premature ageing and the reduction of the biological age. Cryomassage was performed with the use of cryocare packs and vacuum massage on the Cerri apparatus (Italy). The control group was comprised of the subjects given no treatment. The main characteristics measured before and after therapy included biomarkers of ageing and biological age. The results of the study indicate that both cryogenic and vacuum massage effectively improves certain biomarkers of ageing; namely, such treatment reduces systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressure, increase pulmonary vital capacity and breath holding time in expiration, improves the sense of equilibrium, self-assessment of health condition, and concentration of attention. Taken together, these effects contribute to the reduction of the biological age of the subjects and prevent their premature ageing to a greater extent than in the untreated persons.


The years of the British Civil War and Interregnum constituted a turning point not only in the political, social, and religious history of seventeenth-century England but also in the use and meaning of English language and literature. Smith examines literary output from the age from Milton's Paradise Lost to epics and romances, to psalms and hymns. This highly original book explores the effect of politics on the practice of writing and the impact of literature on patterns of historical change. "Whether dealing with gallant love-lyrics by Herrick or Lovelace or with a major work of the order of Hobbes's Leviathan or Paradise Lost, Smith shows the same sensitivity to inner tensions and topical resonances. He has done a signal service to all students of this watershed period."-Anthony Curtis, Financial Times "A valuable new study...[This] well-researched book provides an impressive survey of the period's varied literature and shows how its generic innovations were a creative response to the crises of the 1640s and 50s...Thanks to Smith, we now have a richer, more complete account of the ways literature and political culture interacted during this unsettled age of civil war, reformation and revolution. "-David Loewenstein, Times Literary Supplement "Cogently and with a daunting range of examples, Smith demonstrates how "Smith takes a relatively overlooked period in England's literary history ...and reminds us of its vitality and centrality. His theory, which is solid if not profound, asserts a peculiar correspondence between art and society. Smith's work is important simply because of its intense focus on this tumultuous period in literary and social history."-Virginia Quarterly Review "An impressive and gracefully written book which cannot help but enlighten its readers."-D. R. Woolf, Canadian Journal of History Nigel Smith is Fellow and Tutor in English at Keble College, Oxford.


A multi-component system is being build. Three main components are: backend server (Spring application), mobile applications (iOS, Android), customer service web portals. Our main concern is the backend server, because it is the destination of the majority of requests from customer service web portals and mobile applications. It is a multi-module project where all modules communicate to each other. The system is going to be used potentially by hundreds thousands of users with tens thousands of simultaneous usages. Therefore, extensive stress-testing must be conducted. Unfortunately, stress-testing frameworks in the original state are not suitable for the given system. Thus a stress-testing framework must be configured and extended to the point it supports the system's specific protocols and can test all the system's components together. There are numerous of stresstesting frameworks available. Some examples are: Locust, Apache JMeter, Gatling Project. These frameworks differ in terms of coding language, features and core logic. As it is a commercial project, the chosen stress-testing framework must also comply with client's functional and non-functional requirements. Due to stress-testing being conducted only on the backend server component, the selected stress-testing framework must be configured/extended to simulate other components and the required server protocols. The thesis provides a brief comparison of the available stress-testing frameworks based on their features and written code language and define the one which is going to be adapted to conduct the stress-testing within the project and how the adaptation is done. The thesis also points out some of stress-testing frameworks' limitations with techniques to overcome them. Finally, the system is tested using the selected testing framework and the results are presented and validated.


Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) has a nonspecific presentation. We report a patient with ASC who presented with fever and epigastric pain. Computed tomographic findings and clinical features were suggestive of a liver abscess, while ultrasonography showed a complex space-occupying lesion. Biopsy revealed a lesion with malignant glandular and squamous components, a finding that was compatible with ASC. Complex space-occupying lesions should raise the suspicion of a mass lesion. Subtle imaging clues of a metastatic disease were reviewed retrospectively.


The enzymic catabolism of adenylic acid has been studied in rat heart. AMP may be degraded by two routes, one involving dephosphorylation to adenosine followed by deamination to inosine, the other involving deamination to inosinic acid followed by dephosphorylation to inosine. The data are consistent with the role of adenosine as a regulator of coronary flow. The 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase have been isolated and partially purified from rat heart acetone powder. The deaminase has also been partially purified from red blood cells. ATP is a potent competitive inhibitor of 5'-nucleotidase and could function as a regulator for the production of adenosine. The substrate specificity of adenosine deaminase has been examined. Several adenosine analogs function as competitive inhibitors of both the heart and red cell enzyme. The most potent inhibitors tested were N6-methyladenosine and 6-methoxypurine ribonucleoside. The coronary dilator, Persantin, does not inhibit cardiac adenosine deaminase at concentrations as high as 4 x 10-4 M.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada.


CTGF (connective tissue growth factor) is widely regarded as an important amplifier of the profibrogenic action of TGF-β (transforming growth factor β) in a variety of tissues, although the precise mechanism of how the TGF-β signalling pathways modulate CTGF expression remains unclear. In the present study, the role of PKCδ (protein kinase Cδ) in TGF-β1-mediated CTGF expression was investigated using HepG2 cells. TGF-β1 treatment specifically elevated PKCδ activation and CTGF expression. In contrast, blockade of PKCδ by the selective inhibitor Rottlerin or by siRNA knockdown significantly reduced TGF-β1-induced CTGF production. The regulatory mechanism was further demonstrated in HepG2 cells whereby TGF-β1-induced PKCδ activation negatively regulated the nuclear levels of PPM1A (protein phosphatase, Mg2+/Mn2+ dependent, 1A) through the RhoA/ROCK (Rho-associated kinase) pathway. Moreover, we showed that both Smad signalling and the PKCδ pathway appeared to be stimulated by TGF-β1 in parallel. Time course assessments indicated that PKCδ signalling may have a function in maintaining nuclear phospho-Smads at a maximal level. The collective results of the present study demonstrated that PKCδ-stimulated RhoA/ROCK activation resulted in a reduction in PPM1A, thereby up-regulating Smad-dependent gene induction for extended periods. These findings indicated that PKCδ plays a critical role in TGF-β1-induced CTGF production in HepG2 cells.


TiO_2-Al_2O_3 binary oxides were prepared by precipitation from TiCl_4 solution withaqueous ammonia; impregnation, using evaporation from titanium isoproxide in iso-propanol; and grafting, using reaction of TiCl_4 vapour with OH~- group on Al_2O_3surface. AEM was used to examine the morphology of TiO_2 on Al_2O_3. The results showthat relative homogeneous distribution of TiO_2 on Al_2O_3 could be formed for im-pregnated samples when TiO_2 loading was not beyond one monolayer. A quite homo-geneous coverage of TiO_2 was obtained for grafting samples through anchoring ofTiCl_4 molecule on OH~- group of Al_2O_3 surface. As for precipitated samples thedistribution of TiO_2 was rather poor. TiO_2 covered only a part of Al_2O_3 surface.


The hybrid finite element-boundary integral-multilevel fast multipole algorithm (FE-BI-MLFMA) is a powerful method for calculating scattering by inhomogeneous objects. However, the conventional FE-BI-MLFMA often suffers from iterative convergence problems. A non-overlapping domain decomposition method (DDM) is applied to FE-BI-MLFMA to speed up the iterative convergence. Furthermore, a preconditioner based on absorbing boundary condition and symmetric successive over relaxation (ABC-SSOR) is constructed to further accelerate convergence of the DDM-FE-BI-MLFMA. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed preconditioned DDM-FE-BI-MLFMA.


Historically, different solutions have been developed for power system control and telecommunication network management environments. The former was characterized by proprietary solutions, while the latter has been involved for years in a strong standardization process guided by criteria of openness. Today, power system control standardization is in progress, but it is at an early stage compared to the telecommunications management area, especially in terms of information modeling. Today, control equipment tends to exhibit more computational power, and communication lines have increased their performance. These trends hint at some conceptual convergence between power systems and telecommunications networks from a management perspective. This convergence leads us to suggest the application of well-established telecommunications management standards for power systems control. This paper shows that this is a real medium-to-long term possibility.


Experimental and clinical studies in sepsis indicate that antibiotic therapy may induce the release of endotoxin (LPS) from the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and therefore may affect the physiologic response and survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate if antibiotics commonly used to treat secondary peritonitis are capable of changing survival rates, proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine concentrations, and the release of endotoxin in a murine model of sepsis. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in Swiss mice using an 18-gauge needle. The animals received injections of saline solution or imipenem or a combination of ciprofloxacin plus clindamycin every 8 h for 3 days. Antibiotic treatment induced an increase in survival rate and decreased plasma and peritoneal fluid levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 at 6 and 24 h after CLP as compared with saline-treated animals. Antibiotic-treated animals also showed an early (6 h) decrease and a late (24 h) increase in IL-10 concentration in the peritoneal fluid. LPS concentrations were elevated in all groups, but imipenem-treated animals showed higher levels (2.2 EU/mL) than ciprofloxacin plus clindamycin (1.3 EU/mL) and saline-treated (1.5 EU/mL) groups. We conclude that antibiotic-induced endotoxin release is not a major determinant in the inflammatory response and prognosis in murine models of sepsis.


In this work, we explore the links between the Borda voting rule and belief merging operators. More precisely, we define two families of merging operators inspired by the definition of the Borda voting rule. We also introduce a notion of cancellation in belief merging, inspired by the axiomatization of the Borda voting rule proposed by Young. This allows us to provide a characterization of the drastic merging operator.


This paper discusses tolerances of impairment factors in a proposed co-channel interference canceller that is applied to a point-to-point (P-P) wireless system using quasi-millimeter frequency band (22 GHz and 26 GHz). The interference canceller can double a data rate of the system using two P-P wireless links. which are deployed in parallel. The two links use the same frequency band and the same polarization. We analytically estimate the proposed canceller performance when a replica of an interfering signal has static phase and amplitude errors. The calculation results show that the proposed canceller could improve an error rate performance in the presence of the errors.


This paper introduces an approximate solution for Liouville‐Caputo variable order fractional differential equations with order 0 < α(t) ≤ 1. The solution is adapted using a family of fractional‐order Chebyshev functions with unknown coefficients. These coefficients have been obtained by using an optimization approach based on minimax technique and the least pth optimization function. Several linear and nonlinear fractional‐order differential equations are discussed using the proposed technique for fixed and variable order fractional‐order derivatives. Moreover, the response of RC charging circuit with variable order fractional capacitor is studied for different cases. Several comparisons with related published techniques have been added to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed approach.


Semi-natural grasslands such as pastures and meadows are decreasing worldwide, mainly due to land use changes and intensifications in agriculture, a decrease which is negatively affecting many herb and pollinator species. Meanwhile, lawns are becoming more abundant and occupy larger areas than ever before, since lawns are seen as important features around human settlements. In this study, the potential for private lawns to provide flower resources for pollinators is studied. The survey was performed in twelve private gardens in the rural area north-west of Uppsala, Sweden. In order to get a comprehensive picture of what the lawn-flora and pollinators are affected by, three aspects were considered; 1) different mowing regimes on three 3 m x 3 m plots; I, conventional mowing (mowed as often as the lawn-owners usually mow their lawn), II, mowing once a month and III, mowing once per season, 2) the level of nitrogen on the lawn and 3) social norms regarding lawn management and lawn-weeds. It was found that less mowed private lawns can become flower-rich areas, used by more pollinators. Additionally, lawns with low nitrogen levels attracted more pollinators. However, the lawn-owners need to have a positive attitude towards the look of a less mown and tall-grown lawn in order to be willing to adopt a less intensive management, which most of them did not have. The social aspect shows that the aesthetic look of a less managed lawn need to be considered, advising less intensive mowing frequencies and low nitrogen levels in the lawn alone are not enough to affect the public. Debating the lawns' short-cut norm and creatively improving the look of a less managed lawn are suggestions which could change the public view of less intensively managed lawns.


Field experiment was conducted at the Lake Chad Research Institute Farm Maiduguri (11o 54' N, 13o 05' E, 336m above mean sea level) in 1997 and 1998 cropping seasons to determine the productivity of Sorghum/Millet intercrop. Four sorghum cultivars (ICSV111, NR71182, NR71176 and ICSV400) and three crop proportions (1:1, 2:1 and 1:2 Sorghum/Millet) were compared in factorial combinations using a randomized complete block design. The study revealed that sorghum cultivar had no significant effect on millet plant height but significantly influenced sorghum plant height. Sorghum genotype ICSV111 matured significantly earlier than other cultivars in the mixture. Intercropping reduced sorghum and millet grain yield in both years. Sorghum cultivar ICSV111 produced the highest mean grain yield in the mixture. Crop proportion (1:2) Sorghum/Millet out yielded 1:1 and 2:1 Sorghum/Millet in terms of millet grain yield in both seasons. Both sorghum and millet grain yields increased significantly as their proportion in the mixture increased. The combination of sorghum cultivar NR71176 with millet produced the highest mean grain yield of millet. This is ideal for Sudan Savanna where the growing season is about 90 days. The highest land equivalent ratio of 49 and 60 percent were obtained at 2:1 and 1:2 crop proportions in 1997 and 1998, respectively.


Intersectionality has become a significant intellectual approach for those thinking about the ways that race, gender, and other social identities converge in order to create unique forms of oppression. Although the initial work on intersectionality addressed the unique position of black women relative to both black men and white women, the concept has since been expanded to address a range of social identities. Here we consider how to apply some of the theoretical tools provided by intersectionality to the clinical context. We begin with a brief discussion of intersectionality and how it might be useful in a clinical context. We then discuss two clinical scenarios that highlight how we think considering intersectionality could lead to more successful patient–clinician interactions. Finally, we extrapolate general strategies for applying intersectionality to the clinical context before considering objections and replies.


We present a simple model for self-pulsation instability in passively phased high power optical fiber amplifier arrays with external feedback. Its key features are, first, the feedback level's sensitivity, and thus that of the cavity Q-value, to small phase changes of the array fields, and, second, the effect of refractive index nonlinearity in the amplifiers. The model's prediction of an instability threshold for arrays of at least two amplifiers is confirmed by a linearized stability analysis of a system in ring-cavity geometry, and the magnitudes of predicted power levels are well within the domain of recent experiments.


Identifying the factors that influence nest survival insympatric species is important for the proper and effective management of their breeding populations. We used logistic-exposure models to estimate the daily survival rate and evaluate habitat traits, such as characteristics of trees supporting nests, position of nest in a tree, nesting micro- and macrohabitat, nest timing and weather, that may affect nest survival in Date Palm plantations in Biskra, Algeria. We monitored 68 Laughing Doves Spilopelia senegalensis, 65 Eurasian Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto and 92 European Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur nests during the 2019 breeding season. Our results showed that daily survival rate was positively associated with nest age for Laughing Dove and Eurasian Collared Dove, whereas a cubic trend was found for European Turtle Dove. Furthermore, daily survival rate of Laughing Doves was associated negatively with nest height and positively with distance to cereal crops. The beginning of the incubation phase is a critical period for nest survival in the three sympatric Columbidae species. However, in the European Turtle Dove, a second period of vulnerability was recorded between the end of the incubation phase and the beginning of the nestling phase, i.e. between day 11 and 18 of the 30-day nesting cycle. Overall, the highest daily survival rates were recorded for Laughing Doves (0.970 ± 0.006 SE) and European Turtle Doves (0.960 ± 0.005), whereas the lowest (0.937 ± 0.004) was found for Eurasian Collared Doves. Laughing doves and, to a lesser degree, European Turtle Doves are better adapted to conditions prevailing in North African Date Palm plantations. Nevertheless, to enhance dove reproduction, management focusing on ensuring the availability of food, water and suitable nesting trees should be undertaken.


Three types of Pt counter electrodes were prepared on FTO conductive glass respectively by magnetron sputtering, thermal decompositing the precursor of H2 PtC l6·6H2O solution at high temperature and chemical reduction of H2 PtC l6·6H2O solution at low temperature. The Pt loading on FTO glass was adjusted by changing the magnetron sputtering time or the cycles of spin coating and annealing treatment. The crystal structure, surface morphology and light transmittance of Pt counter electrodes prepared by different methods are analyzed. Based on these Pt counter electrodes, a set of dye-sensitized solar cells were assembled with Ti O2 nanotube arrays. The photovoltaic performance of assembled dye-sensitized solar cells under front-side illumination and back-side illumination were measured. The influence of prepared method on the microstructure and morphology of Pt counter electrode, as well as the corresponding photovoltaic performance of assembled cells are investigated. The applicability, advantages and disadvantages of Pt counter electrodes prepared by different methods are also compared and analyzed in this paper.


A number of languages have independently developed a pattern of vowel-length neutralisation according to which a vowel after a vocoid must be long. It is proposed that this pattern arises from the inherent acoustic ambiguity of such sequences, which are realised with a diphthongal transition from one formant pattern to the next, with no clear boundary between the two. Neutralisation in vocoid sequences originates from listeners' difficulties in determining the duration of vowels in this context. Lengthening of the second vocoid arises when listeners attribute some of the transition duration to that segment. The phonetic bases of this account are supported by three experiments with Finnish speakers. A production study shows that speakers treat the transition as belonging in part to the realisation of the postvocoid vowel. Two perception studies show that increasing the duration of the transition increases the probability of such a vowel being identified as long.


Wireless mobile Ad-hoc network is a special network that all nodes can self-organize and work together. It is flexible to form a network and extend the coverage area dynamically without infrastructure, so Ad-hoc network is envisioned as cornerstones of future generation networking technologies (B3G or 4G). However, the dynamic network topology makes the communication cost not only the energy of source/destination nodes, but also the relay nodes. Another problem of the Ad-hoc network is it is hard to provide a stable and persistent quality of service (QoS), which is strongly required by the beyond 3rd generation (B3G) system. In this article, the authors establish a scenario that contains B3G cellular base station and Ad-hoc mobile nodes, and propose two algorithms minimum incremental rate algorithm and power feed-back rate allocation algorithm in multipath routing. The algorithms can maintain a constant total transmission rate and bit error ratio (BER) to provide the QoS guarantee and reach the minimum power consumption of the relay nodes by adjusting the rate of each path in the multipath routing.


Objective: This study was designed to evaluate N-acetyl cysteine with Nano-hydroxyapatite bone graft for preservation of alveolar ridge after teeth extraction clinically and radiographically. Subjects and methods: Nano-hydroxyapatite bone graft and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) were used to preserve sockets after extraction of badly decayed lower molars. To assess alveolar bone height, width and density, preoperative panorama and CBCT were done, immediately after extraction at 3 and at 6 months. Results: Regarding alveolar bone height and width, NAC showed the least decrease in lingual height, Nano-hydroxyapatite +NAC and NAC alone showed the higher increase in bottom and the least decrease in width measurements. Density measurements showed that Nano-hydroxyapatite + NAC and NAC alone showed the highest increase in density measurements. Conclusion: The use of NAC was safe and there were no complications and addition of NAC to Nano-hydroxyapatite resulted in marked enhancement of bone width.


The United States spends more on programs for the elderly than it does on programs that enhance child development and improve child welfare. Why has public policy neglected the development phase of young Americans' lives not only in substantive dollars spent, but also in program design and implementation? Noted child care and education policy expert William Gormley highlights the portrayal of children's issues in both the mass media and in public policymaking to explain why children have gotten short shrift. A key explanation is the limited mass media coverage of strong arguments in support of children's programs. After documenting changes in rhetoric on children and public policy over time and variations across policy domains and government venues, Gormley demonstrates that some ""issue frames"" are more effective than others in persuading voters. In two randomized experiments, he finds that ""economic"" frames are more effective than ""moralistic"" frames in generating public support for children's programs. Independent voters are especially responsive to economic frames. In several illuminating case studies, in Connecticut, Utah, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, he finds that strong rhetoric makes a difference but that it is sometimes eclipsed by even stronger political and economic constraints. Voices for Children offers a fresh perspective on raging debates over child health, child poverty, child welfare, and education programs at the federal and state levels. It finds some hopeful examples that could transform how we think about children's issues and the kinds of public policies we adopt.


BC01 (P99) A split-scalp study to compare the effects of platelet-rich plasma prepared and activated by two different methods in androgenetic alopecia Anil Budania and Saptarshi Mandal All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, India Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous preparation derived from whole blood with concentrated platelets in a small fraction of plasma. PRP has recently shown efficacy in managing androgenetic alopecia (AGA). However, there is a lack of good-quality studies regarding standard techniques of PRP preparation and its efficacy in AGA. Conventionally, PRP is prepared with a double-spin method and activated by calcium. We found a novel method of PRP preparation by single spin and low temperature activation and hypothesize that it may prove as effective as the conventional PRP. This prospective double-blind split-scalp comparative study aimed to compare conventional and novel methods of PRP in AGA. Twenty-two male patients [mean (SD) modified Norwood–Hamilton grade 3 26 (0 65)] were recruited after obtaining informed consent. Conventional PRP was prepared by double-spin centrifugation of 16 mL venous blood in sterile 3 2% sodium citrate vials at 160 g and 400 g for 10 min. The preparation was injected on one-half of scalp after activating it with calcium. Novel PRP was prepared by single-spin centrifugation at 100 g for 10 min. The lower two-thirds of supernatant PRP were collected and activated by chilling and injected on the other half of the scalp. A total of three injections of PRP were given at 4-week intervals. Final assessment was done at week 12 on the basis of platelet count in PRP, 7-point investigator's assessment on digital photography and terminal to vellus hair (T/ V) ratio. Average whole blood platelet count was 1 92 0 30 lacs lL. The average platelet count in the conventional and novel groups was 7 64 (1 75) lacs lL and 6 92 (1 27) lacs lL (P = 0 091) The mean investigator assessment scores in the conventional and novel groups were 2 29 (0 77) and 2 33 (0 78), with a paired difference of the mean of –0 30 (0 21) (95% confidence interval –0 46 to 0 38) and a P-value of 0 862. T/V ratio changed from 2 53 (1 20) at baseline to 3 38 (0 92) in the conventional group and from 2 51 (1 12) at baseline to 4 50 (1 60) in the novel method group at the end of the study. The change in T/V ratio was statistically significant in both the groups (P = 0 00), but the comparison between the groups was not significant. PRP helps in AGA by the proliferation of stem cells in the bulge area of hair follicle. In this split-scalp study, we tested novel PRP with conventional PRP and found good improvement in all patients in both groups, with no statistically significant difference. BC02 A systematic review of skin resurfacing techniques used to enhance transepidermal delivery of topical biostimulants in the management of atrophic acne scarring Rebecca Hellen and Bav Shergill Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Acne affects up to 90% of adolescents and approximately half of those with acne will develop atrophic, hypertrophic or keloidal scarring. Both acne and acne scarring are associated with significant psychosocial impairment. Atrophic acne scars are classified as ice-pick (V-shaped), rolling (M-shaped) or boxcar (U-shaped) scars. Owing to the variable scar subtypes in individual patients, a combination approach is often used, including subcision, fractional CO2 (FCO2) laser, microneedling, filler injection and chemical peels. The choice of treatment depends on the scar morphology and patient factors; however, there is a lack of high-quality data assessing treatment response. Resurfacing techniques are frequently used and, in recent years, these have been combined with the topical application of biologically active agents such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), growth factors, stem cell products, poly-L-lactic acid and chemical peels. The enhanced transepidermal delivery of these agents may theoretically produce a synergistic response during epidermal and dermal remodelling, and improve acne scarring outcomes. This aim of this review was to critically appraise the evidence for novel combination approaches in the context of scar morphology and provide an updated algorithm for the treatment of atrophic acne scarring. We performed a systematic literature search in MEDLINE and Embase for studies on atrophic scar management and checked reference lists for further relevant studies. A total of 20 studies were included in this review. The resurfacing techniques used were FCO2 laser (n = 11), microneedling (n = 8) and microneedling fractional radiofrequency (n = 1). The topical adjuncts were platelet-derived products (n = 13), stem cell products (n = 5), chemical peels (n = 5) and poly-L-lactic acid (n = 1). Combining resurfacing treatments with topical biostimulants appears to be superior to monotherapy with the greatest response seen in rolling and boxcar scars. Owing to the quality of included studies and variety of outcome measures used, meaningful comparisons are limited. A single comparative split-face study reported superior results from FCO2 laser combined with topical PRP vs. topical stem cell therapy (Abdel-Maguid EM, Awad SM, Hassan YS et al. Efficacy of stem cell-conditioned medium vs. platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant to ablative fractional CO2 laser resurfacing for atrophic post-acne scars: a split-face clinical trial. J Dermatolog Treat 2021; 32: 242–9). Further head-to-head studies are required to establish the relative efficacy of these treatments in acne scar subtypes. From the limited evidence to date, we recommend a practical approach to using novel combination treatments in the management of atrophic acne scarring.


The tradition and particular pride for the institutions of
residential care roots go back to mid-nineteenth century, when
the public discourse on the children at risk in the Czech lands
exposed the capacity of the society to provide help for the
handicapped children as the measure of civilisation and the
philanthropists as the enlightened patriots, while constructing
discursively the needs of the handicapped children in the way,
which favoured the residential care. This paper attempts to
explain this trend by analysing the nineteenth-century public
discourse on the children at risk in Brno and interlinking the
needs of elites for prestigious publicity with the specific
discursive presentation of the needs of the children, whom they
intended to help.


Phylloides tumor constitutes less than 1% of all breast tumors and 2 - 3% of fibroepithelial breast tumors. Several histological parameters should be evaluated, including stromal cellularity, atypia, mitoses, stromal overgrowth, infiltrative borders, and presence or absence of necrosis. Here we report a case of a 60 years- old female who presented with left breast lump. Fine needle aspiration cytology was done which suggested epithelial hyperplasia with fibrocystic changes. Biopsy was performed which showed predominance of stromal hypercellularity with proliferation of spindle cells (no atypia, mitosis and stromal overgrowth were noticed). However, a focus showed proliferation of discohesive tumor cells arranged singly and in single file. A diagnosis of benign phylloides tumor with foci of invasive lobular carcinoma was made. The diagnosis was confirmed with IHC which showed intense 80%positivity for estrogen and progesterone receptor and spindle cells showing positivity for bcl-2. In situ lobular carcinoma component was not observed. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v4i7.10321 Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2014) Vol. 4 , 597-599


Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common blood cancer in the United States. Recent breakthroughs in immunotherapy have the potential to transform MM treatment. An immunotherapy target that shows considerable promise in myeloma is the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). BCMA is specifically expressed in myeloma cells and plasma cells, making it an ideal target in myeloma. Results from two early-phase clinical trials using anti-BCMA therapy, showed remarkable response in most patients. Although immunotherapy has been promising, recent findings suggest that patients can develop resistance to such therapies by lowering the levels of the target. Here we employ our innovative CRISPR-interference/activation (CRISPRi/a)-based functional genomics platform to identify mechanisms that regulate BCMA expression, which would enable us to design strategies to improve the efficacy of available BCMA immunotherapy agents.
 Methods: The CRISPRi/a platform utilizes a catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) fused to a transcriptional repressor domain to silence genes (CRISPRi) or to activator domains to activate transcription (CRISPRa). The CRISPR machinery is targeted to specific genes using single guide-RNAs (sgRNA). We have engineered a panel of myeloma cell lines to express components of the CRISPRi system. Here we transduced CRISPRi-AMO1 cell line with sgRNAs targeting the human genome. The sgRNA expressing cells were stained with a fluorescent-tagged BCMA antibody and FACS sorted into cells expressing high and low levels of BCMA. The cells were processed for next generation sequencing to determine the frequency of sgRNA in each of these populations. To develop BCMA chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cells, CD8+ T cells were transduced with BCMA CAR construct specifically recognizing BCMA. To examine the anti-myeloma activity of the BCMA CAR-T cells, CAR-T cells were co-cultured with MM cell lines at a ratio of 1:2 (Effector:Target) for 24hrs. The cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for expression of CD69, an activation marker on T cells and for apoptosis of cancer cells using propidium iodide.
 Results: Our FACS-based genome-wide CRISPRi screen identified several genes and pathways regulating BCMA cell surface expression. In addition to previously reported gamma-secretase complex and transcription factor POU2AF1 we identified genes involved in peroxisome biogenesis, subunits of the proteasome, transcription factors and a few druggable targets regulating cell surface expression of BCMA. We are currently validating the novel genes identified from our primary genome-wide screen in a panel of MM cell lines and developing MM cell lines expressing CRISPRa machinery to perform gain-of-function screens that will complement our CRISPRi screen. Furthermore, we have developed active CAR-T cells targeting BCMA and demonstrated its efficacy in MM cell lines expressing different levels of BCMA. We are currently testing the novel genes identified from our CRISPRi screen in combination with BCMA CAR-T cells to identify genes that alter sensitivity to BCMA immunotherapy.
 Conclusions: Our studies have identified several novel genes and pathways regulating BCMA expression including some druggable targets. Through these studies, we expect to uncover mechanisms regulating expression of BCMA and its impact on sensitivity to BCMA immunotherapy, and pinpoint potential combination therapy targets that pre-empt resistance to BCMA immunotherapy.

 Wiita: Sutro Biopharma: Research Funding; TeneoBio: Research Funding.


We consider continuous time random interlacements on Zd, d≥3, and characterize the distribution of the corresponding stationary random field of occupation times. When d=3, we relate this random field to the two-dimensional Gaussian free field pinned at the origin by looking at scaled differences of occupation times of long rods by random interlacements at appropriately tuned levels. In the main asymptotic regime, a scaling factor appears in the limit, which is independent of the free field, and distributed as the time-marginal of a zero-dimensional Bessel process. For arbitrary d≥3, we also relate the field of occupation times at a level tending to infinity, to the d-dimensional Gaussian free field.


Enhancing the electron mobility of organic conjugated materials without tedious modification or synthesis is highly desirable and practical. In this research, we demonstrated that the electron mobility of naphthalene diimide (NDI) in thin film transistors (TFTs) under ambient conditions can be dramatically enhanced through a simple step reaction by replacing oxygen atoms with sulfur atoms. The electron mobilities of the as-prepared compounds range from non-detectable (parent NDI), to 3.0 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1 (NDI-1S), 3.0 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1 (NDI-3S), 3.7 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1 (NDI-2S-cis), and 0.01 cm2 V−1 s−1 (NDI-2S-trans) with on/off ratios as high as 4 × 105. Our primary result suggests that thionation could be a promising method to tune the band position and bandgap of organic semiconductors for high performance TFTs.


Surfactant molecules in dilute solution may aggregate reversibly into extended structures. For suitably chosen molecules, the preferred packing involves a locally flat bilayer which tends to wander entropically at large distances. At low temperatures (and/or high concentrations) the system forms a stack of flat sheets with one-dimensional quasi-long range order (a smectic liquid crystal), but at high temperatures or low concentrations, the stack can melt into a random surface structure that resembles a multiply connected labyrinth or 'sponge' of bilayer in a sea of solvent. Recent theoretical and experimental progress in understanding the properties of the sponge is reviewed. The authors argue that the sponge phase may provide a good system for the study of various liquid-state critical phenomena.


To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, in patients with acute myocardial infarction, a dose-finding, angiography study was carried out. After a pilot phase in 10 patients treated with a bolus of 0.1 mg.kg-1 and a continuous infusion of 0.06 mg.kg-1.h-1 (dose group I), two doses of hirudin, bolus 0.2 mg.kg-1.h-1 (DG II), and bolus 0.4 mg.kg-1 with 0.15 mg.kg-1.h-1 (DG III) were tested and compared with heparin as an adjunct to streptokinase and aspirin. This interim analysis was mandatory due to puncture-site related bleedings. Early and complete patency was achieved in 30% of 35 heparin patients, in 40% of 10 DG I, in 47% of 58 DG II and in 62% of 14 DG III patients. A dose-response relationship particularly between DG I and DG II, was also observed in the anti-thrombotic activity monitored by the aPTT. Apart from the catheter-related bleedings, there were low rates of serious adverse events.


In order to examine the subunit structure of membrane-associated spectrin, human erythrocyte membranes were cross-linked with a variety of photosensitive heterobifunctional reagents by flash photolysis millisecond cross-linking (Kiehm, D.J., and Ji, T.H. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 8524-8531). Cross-linking of ghosts produced a series of new bands with apparent molecular weights of approximately 420,000, 710,000, and 910,000, as well as a band at the top of the gels. Evidence is presented that these three bands represent spectrin dimer, trimer, and tetramer, respectively. We propose that spectrin tetramer exists on the membrane as the predominant structural unit and that dimer is not a repeating structural unit.


Title of dissertation: ESSAYS ON EXCHANGE-RATE-BASED STABILIZATION UNDER FISCAL CONSTRAINTS Nikolay Kirov Gueorguiev, Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 Dissertation directed by: Professor Guillermo A. Calvo Department of Economics Exchange-rate-based inflation stabilization programs cause a sizable loss of inflation tax revenue and thus open a fiscal gap. The stabilization literature usually assumes that this gap can be closed by raising lump-sum (nondistortionary) taxes and/or cutting lumpsum transfers. As such policies are difficult to implement in practice, these two essays analyze two alternatives. The first essay explores the implications of raising a conventional income tax to make up for the loss of inflation tax revenue in the context of an exchange-rate-based stabilization program in an open economy with sticky prices and monopolistic competition. The combination of smaller monetary and larger tax distortion in the low-inflation steady state results in lower consumption and output of nontradable goods than in the high-inflation equilibrium. In addition, the recession accompanying the transition to the low-inflation steady state produces welfare losses. Nevertheless, the net welfare result is a gain, as larger money balances and more leisure time outweigh the cost of lower consumption. The essay also explores the sensitivity of this welfare trade-off to various structural characteristics of the economy and exogenous factors. The second essay assumes that both tax and spending policies are inflexible and looks instead at the role of monetary policy in closing the emerging fiscal gap. It shows that in a closed economy a monetary expansion can lower the real interest rate. This benefits the budget both by generating a money demand boom, which expands the base of the inflation tax, and by lowering the budget's interest payments. These effects are, however, dependent on the credibility of the stabilization program, as the same-size monetary expansion fails to achieve fiscal sustainability when credibility is lacking. ESSAYS ON EXCHANGE-RATE-BASED STABILIZATION UNDER FISCAL CONSTRAINTS


Richmond Fed Economist Yash P. Mehra and Research Associate Jon D. Petersen present evidence of a nonlinear relation between oil price changes and consumer spending. They assert that oil price increases have a negative effect on spending whereas oil price declines have no effect: The estimated negative effect of an oil price increase on spending is larger if one focuses on oil price increases occurring after a period of stable oil prices (net oil price increases) or if spending includes durables, the latter suggesting the possible negative influence of energy prices on the purchase of big-ticket consumption goods. Furthermore, the estimated oil price coefficients in the consumption equation do not show parameter instability during the 1980s when oil prices moved widely for the first time in both directions.


Deterministic dynamic models with delayed feedback and state constraints arise in a variety of applications in science and engineering. There is interest in understanding what effect noise has on the behavior of such models. Here we consider a multidimensional stochastic delay differential equation with normal reflection as a noisy analogue of a deterministic system with delayed feedback and positivity constraints. We obtain sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of stationary distributions for such equations. The results are applied to an example from Internet rate control and a simple biochemical reaction system.


Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) have significantly improved the outcome for patients with cancer by effectively overcoming cancer resistance by allowing the host immune system to recognize and eliminate tumor cells. Immune checkpoints are regulatory receptors and ligands that allow immune-mediated destruction of foreign antigens while at the same time prevent autoimmune host organ injury. CPIs remove these breaks on the immune system and, not unexpectedly, are associated with the development of immune-related adverse events (IRAEs). IRAEs are common with grade 3/4 toxicities developing in approximately 20% of patients. Skin, gastrointestinal tract, and endocrine IRAEs are most frequent; whereas IRAEs affecting the kidney are less common: 1%–2% with monotherapy and 5% with combined immune CPIs (1), although this is likely an underestimate (2). Various types of kidney injury have been described including acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (ATIN), acute tubular injury, glomerular diseases, and thrombotic microangiopathy (3). The 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guideline on the treatment of IRAEs describes the expert consensus on the approach of organ-specific events (4). The guidelines recommend that if causes of AKI other than IRAEs have been eliminated, the physician should forego the need for biopsy and proceed with immunosuppressive therapy. According to this guideline, no other urinalysis is indicated but the nephrologist may consider further investigation. As far as kidney IRAEs are concerned, clinical findings and laboratory tests are suboptimal in predicting the precise underlying kidney lesion, making kidney biopsy necessary in the majority of cases to definitely diagnose the precise lesion, to guide therapy, and—possibly—to improve the overall outcome in patients treated with CPIs.


Two new types of Salen-porphyrin ligand and metal complexes with π-conjugate configurations were synthesized. The mono- and bi-nuclear nickel Salen-porphyrin complexes were synthesized from half Salen-porphyrin ligands and the corresponding aldehyde by metal templating. Based on the mononuclear nickel Salen-porphyrin complexes, the heterobinuclear nickel, zinc Salen-porphyrin complexes were synthesized. All the compounds were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, electron spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and fluorescence spectroscopy. These results indicate that the nickel ion is located in the cavity of the Salen part, while the zinc ion is located in the center of the porphyrin part of the mononuclear nickel and heterobinuclear nickel-zinc Salen-porphyrin complexes. The circumfluent effect of the porphyrin and the π-conjugate configuration resulted in the chemical shifts of the hydrogen atoms moving to a higher or lower field. The positions of the Soret and Q bands in the UV-Vis spectrum of the porphyrin change after the metal ion coordinated. Furthermore, the fluorescence quenched due to the metal ion.


Through the analysis on the Tunisian case by adopting the Political Process Theory, this article tries to discuss about generalize able rules about Takfirist movements. In doing so, I would examine the context and process of the Tunisian Takfirist movement rising after the Jasmine Revolution by focusing on three variables: political opportunities, organizational strength, and framing process. I argue that the Tunisian Takfirist movement developed through two stages: A. During the first two years after the revolution, elite divisions and sudden political openness provided favourable opportunities for Tunisian Takfirist to recover and reorganize existent resources, set up Ansar al-Sharia, and achieve small-scale mobilization through their religious-dogmatic framing efforts. B. In the second stage, whereas political elites gradually bridged their divergences and the state enhanced national supervision over religion related activities, Ansar al-Sharia managed to expand its organizational strength by establishing linkage networks with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, leading forces of two international Takfirist movements, and arouse resonance among radical young revolutionaries by building the "revolutionary frame", a combination of both processes enabled the movement to expand its supporting base.


To characterize the dynamics of the control of respiratory I-beta neurons by slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors, the neuronal discharge responses to lung inflation and electrically induced vagal input patterns were analyzed. Unitary recordings from single medullary I-beta neurons and whole phrenic nerve activity were recorded in chloralose-urethan-anesthetized paralyzed cats. Neuronal discharge patterns were quantified in terms of cycle-triggered histograms. The net response to a test afferent input pattern generated during neural inspiration was expressed as the difference between the central component of I-beta activity and the total response. The central component was obtained during control respiratory cycles in which lung inflation occurred during neural expiration and no vagal feedback occurred during neural inspiration. For a set of test inflations with different ramp rates, the net responses, measured at fixed times with respect to the onset of neural inspiration, were linearly related to transpulmonary pressure. However, the slopes of these relationships increased as a function of time during neural inspiration. Neuronal responses to electrically induced ramp vagal input patterns were similar to those produced by ramp inflation. The net response due to electrically induced ipsilateral step patterns consisted of a rapid excitatory and a slow inhibitory component, whereas only the slow inhibitory component was observed for contralateral patterns. The implications of these findings with respect to the modes of neural processing and effects on phrenic output patterns are discussed.


We report the development of two methods of incorporating optical systems into typical polymerreplica microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, focusing on devices for flow cytometry.


Background: Recent developments have made it possible to accelerate neural networks training significantly using large batch sizes and data parallelism. Training in an asynchronous fashion, where delay occurs, can make training even more scalable. However, asynchronous training has its pitfalls, mainly a degradation in generalization, even after convergence of the algorithm. This gap remains not well understood, as theoretical analysis so far mainly focused on the convergence rate of asynchronous methods. Contributions: We examine asynchronous training from the perspective of dynamical stability. We find that the degree of delay interacts with the learning rate, to change the set of minima accessible by an asynchronous stochastic gradient descent algorithm. We derive closed-form rules on how the learning rate could be changed, while keeping the accessible set the same. Specifically, for high delay values, we find that the learning rate should be kept inversely proportional to the delay. We then extend this analysis to include momentum. We find momentum should be either turned off, or modified to improve training stability. We provide empirical experiments to validate our theoretical findings.


Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for ~835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of ~30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al2O3 15.9 wt%; FeO 12.3 wt%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield 207Pb/206Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as ~4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at ~3850 Ma.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether antiribosomal P protein antibodies (anti-P) are present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and if presence of anti-P in CSF is more strongly related to the appearance of neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) than anti-P in serum.

METHODS
CSF and serum samples from 70 patients with SLE were used. Patients were divided into 4 groups: 21 patients with neurologic syndromes of the central nervous system (CNS); 19 patients with diffuse psychiatric/neuropsychological syndromes; 10 patients with complex presentations (neurologic syndromes of the CNS plus diffuse psychiatric/neuropsychological syndromes); and 20 patients without NPSLE based on diagnostic criteria for 19 NPSLE syndromes proposed by the American College of Rheumatology. IgG anti-P in CSF and serum samples were detected by Western blotting using rat liver ribosomes. Inhibition assay was performed using 5 anti-P-positive CSF samples preincubated with synthetic ribosomal P peptide. Western blotting results were compared with those from ELISA with synthetic ribosomal P peptide as antigen. The association of CSF and serum anti-P with NPSLE was analyzed.

RESULTS
CSF and serum IgG anti-P by Western blotting were detected, respectively, in 20 (28.6%) and 32 (45.7%) of 70 patients. The presence of IgG anti-P by Western blotting in the CSF was supported by positive results in the inhibition assay and significant association with CSF IgG anti-P titers by ELISA. The frequency of CSF anti-P by Western blotting in SLE patients with serum anti-P was significantly higher than in SLE patients without serum anti-P (18/32 vs 2/38; p < 0.001). The frequency of CSF anti-P by Western blotting in patients with NPSLE was significantly higher than in patients without NPSLE (19/50 vs 1/20; p < 0.01). The frequency of CSF anti-P by Western blotting in the group with complex presentations (10/10) was significantly higher than in the other 3 groups [neurologic syndromes of CNS (5/21); diffuse psychiatric/neuropsychological syndromes (4/19); and patients without NPSLE (1/20)] (p < 0.001). The frequency of serum anti-P by Western blotting in patients with NPSLE was not significantly higher than in patients without NPSLE (25/50 vs 7/20; p = 0.192).

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that the presence of IgG anti-P in CSF of SLE patients may be involved in the appearance of NPSLE, especially in complex presentations. Measurement of IgG anti-P in CSF by Western blotting may be more useful for diagnosis of NPSLE than measurements in serum.


Introduction: Now days many drug resistant bacteria has been isolated from bacteraemia cases. And these bacteria threaten the patient's life with associated biofilm production around the implants like Intravenous catheters, Venflons, etc. Aim: to identify the prevalence of drug resistance among GNB (Gram Negative Bacteria) isolated from blood culture and to check their ability to produce biofilm by invitro method. Materials and Methods: A total of 365 blood samples were collected and processed from clinically diagnosed septicaemia patients. These samples were processed to isolate the bacteria with ABST by using standard CLSI guidelines. Biofilm production was identified by Tube method, Congo red agar method and Tissue culture plate method. Result: Out of 365, 62 (17%) blood samples were isolated with gram negative bacilli. Out of 62 isolates, 17 (27.4%) were identified as Escherichia coli, 13 (21%) were identified to be Acinetobacter spp, 12 (19.3%) were Pseudomonas spp, 08 (13%) were Salmonella spp, 06 (9.6%) were isolated as Klebsiella spp. Citobacter spp and Enterobacter spp were isolated with 03 (4.8%) each. Among these 62 isolates, 28 (45.2%) were identified to be either ESBL or MDR isolates, 18 (29%) isolates produces biofilm by all three methods. Among the biofilm producers, (55.55%) were found to be the drug resistance bacteria. Conclusion: Result of this Blood culture reveals the increased rates of drug resistance bacteria which were due to improper use of antibiotics. And the major drug resistant bacteria are associated to produce Biofilm which makes the treatment to be more challenging.


We investigated sleep patterns in 20 patients with multiple vague but persistent somatic complaints, not due to any identifiable medical or neurologic disorder, and in whom psychiatric consultations had failed to identify a psychiatric diagnosis. Afternoon naps were recorded in 20 patients and in 10 controls without medical or psychiatric problems. Three-hour postprandial nap recordings were made of submental electromyogram, electrooculogram, and EEG with drowsiness, stages 1-4 NREM, and REM sleep, sleep latency (minutes), sleep efficiency (percent), and number of arousals with return of alpha activity compared in patients and controls by one-tailed t-test. No stage IV or REM sleep occurred in naps. Patients with multiple somatic complaints had less stage III and stage II sleep, and more wakefulness. Arousals were more frequent in the patient group; sleep latency was shorter but sleep efficiency was reduced in patients with multiple somatic complaints compared with controls. The findings suggest that patients with multiple somatic complaints not otherwise explicable by medical or psychiatric problems may have disturbed sleep, improvement of which may ameliorate somatic complaints. Sleep histories should be elicited in such patients, and sleep recordings may be of value in their evaluation; afternoon naps may be a cost-effective way of screening for remediable sleep disturbances in patients with persistent physical complaints of undeterminable cause.


AIMS
The aim of this study was to determine whether fixation, as opposed to revision arthroplasty, can be safely used to treat reducible Vancouver B type fractures in association with a cemented collarless polished tapered femoral stem (the Exeter).

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study assessed 152 operatively managed consecutive unilateral Vancouver B fractures involving Exeter stems; 130 were managed with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and 22 with revision arthroplasty. Mean follow-up was 6.5 years (SD 2.6; 3.2 to 12.1). The primary outcome measure was revision of at least one component. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. Regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for revision following ORIF. Secondary outcomes included any reoperation, complications, blood transfusion, length of hospital stay, and mortality.

RESULTS
Fractures (B1 n = 74 (49%); B2 n = 50 (33%); and B3 n = 28 (18%)) occurred at median of 4.2 years (interquartile range (IQR) 1.2 to 9.2) after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) (n = 138) or hemiarthroplasty (n = 14). Rates of revision and reoperation were significantly higher following revision arthroplasty compared to ORIF for B2 (p = 0.001) and B3 fractures (p = 0.050). Five-year survival was significantly better following ORIF: 92% (95% confidence interval (CI) 86.4% to 97.4%) versus 63% (95% CI 41.7% to 83.3%), p < 0.001. ORIF was associated with reduced blood transfusion requirement and reoperations, but there were no differences in medical complications, hospital stay, or mortality between surgical groups. No independent predictors of revision following ORIF were identified: where the bone-cement interface was intact, fixation of B2 or B3 fractures was not associated with an increased risk of revision.

CONCLUSION
When the bone-cement interface was intact and the fracture was anatomically reducible, all Vancouver B fractures around Exeter stems could be managed with fixation as opposed to revision arthroplasty. Fixation was associated with reduced need for blood transfusion and lower risk of revision surgery compared with revision arthroplasty. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(2):309-320.


. Branching bisimulation is a relation on states of a labelled transition system, closely connected to Hennessy-Milner Logic with Until (HMLU): two states are branching bisimilar if they validate the same HMLU formulas. In this paper, we introduce a directed notion of branching bisimulation, and show that for a particular class of good , positive HMLU formulas, a state p is directed branching bisimilar to a state q if and only if every good, positive HMLU formula true in p is also true in q . We also introduce a novel logic, Positive Hennessy-Milner Logic with Until (PHMLU), and show that PHMLU formulas can play the role of good, positive HMLU formulas in the above construction. As part of these constructions, we make extensive use of notions of branching apartness, the complement of branching bisimilarity. We introduce a notion of directed branching apartness, and present a novel proof that if two states are distinguished by a HMLU formula then they are branching apart. This proof proceeds by induction on the distinguishing formula.


With the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web, the amount of information available and the use of Web servers are growing exponentially. In order to reduce the overhead induced by frequent requests to the same documents by local users, client caching and, more generally, proxy-caching have been proposed and are now widely used. Most implementations use traditional memory paging policies , like the Least Recently Used (LRU) policy. However, due to the heterogeneity of the requests of Web traac, both in the size of the documents and in the network transfer delays, such caching policies are not very eecient. In this work, we propose a new caching policy which takes into account the network latency, the size of the documents, their access frequencies, and the time elapsed since the last reference to documents in the cache. Through trace-driven simulations and for various standard cost criteria (request hit rate, byte hit rate and latency ratio) we show that our policy performs better than several policies proposed in the literature.


Pasifika students (students of Pacific nation descent) are participating more in tertiary education in New Zealand, but this is not being matched by necessary increases in retention, academic achievement or course and qualification completion. Moreover, while there is an emerging base of research literature on Pasifika student success in higher education, the relationship between this research and everyday university practice is less clear. This paper documents the 'research in action' undertaken at Victoria University of Wellington in order to listen to, understand, and actively respond to the real experiences of its Pasifika learners and their families, and to cultivate a whole of university response to widening Pasifika participation, retention and degree completion. The paper documents some of the most significant findings of the research, the collaborative process of developing and implementing the pan-university strategy it informed, and some of the modest but heartening outcomes at year three. In documenting this, the authors wish to encourage continued efforts to engage in 'research in action' by, with, for and through non-traditional student groups, such as Pasifika, at universities.


Columns subjected to pure axial load rarely exist in practice. Reinforced concrete columns are usually subjected to combination of axial and lateral actions and  deformations, caused by  spatially‐complex loading patterns as during earthquakes causes lateral deflection that in turn affects the horizontal stiffness. In this study, a numerical model was developed in threedimensional nonlinear finite element and then validated against experimental results reported in the literatures,to investigate the behavior of conventionally RC columns subjected to axial load and  . lateral reversal cyclic loading. To achieve this goal, numerical analysis was conducted by using finite element program ABAQUS/Explicit. The variables considered in this study were axial load index, concrete compressive strength, column aspect ratio, longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ratios. According to numerical case studies, the results revealed that axial load index and longitudinal reinforcement ratio have the most impact on the column response. Also, increasing concrete compressive strength and reducing column aspect ratio resulted in increasing strength capacity of the column. Moreover, increasing lateral confinement by transverse reinforcement at the column ends increases the flexural strength of a flexure-controlled RC columns.


We study the valuation impact on 148 insurance stocks caused by 25 of the largest catastrophic events that occurred in recent history. Because of their exceptional severity and the consequent high attention they experience in the media we expect to find significant overreactions of insurance stocks relative to the market, which would be in-line with an availability bias known from the behavioral finance literature. However, we have to realize that insurance stock investors behave not less rational than the market does under these conditions. A clear exception to this are the 9/11 terror attacks. In general we find that insurance stocks adjust gradually to a new valuation level.


BACKGROUND
Minimising the concentration of active ingredient in rodenticide bait is desirable economically and for the protection of the agroecosystem. This study aimed to identify a zinc phosphide concentration that balances palatability and efficacy for common vole (Microtus arvalis Pall.) management and to compare the attractiveness of two bait carriers.

RESULTS
Bait uptake of voles was reduced by 87-98% compared with plain bait when bait contained 0.4-3.2% zinc phosphide. There was an almost 50% decrease in the uptake of zinc phosphide when the zinc phosphide concentration of bait was doubled. Red dye used in commercially available bait decreased bait consumption by 10%. Daily consumption of zinc phosphide bait on days 2 to 5 was half the consumption on the first day of exposure. In bait choice tests, wheat kernels were preferred initially, but within 12 h similar amounts of wheat-based pellets and wheat kernels were eaten.

CONCLUSIONS
According to the results from the laboratory trial, a zinc phosphide concentration of 2.1% seemed to balance uptake/efficacy best and may be most appropriate for the management of common vole populations. This concentration is substantially lower than the concentration used in many registered products. A reduced concentration of active ingredient and the use of pellet bait instead of wheat which is highly attractive for birds may have advantages for agroecosystem health when applying zinc phosphide for rodent control.


Background and Objective: Asthma is one of the chronic diseases of childhood that affects patients' quality of life. Planned education is considered as an important factor in management of sufferers from chronic diseases. Subsequent implementation of such programs leads to almost 70% decrease in chronic diseases and reduction of the confined- to- bed individuals. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of group vs. computer education on the quality of life in 8-12 year old children suffering from asthma in Zanjan Vali-e Asr Hospital. Materials and Methods: This quasi- experimental study was conducted in 80 children aged 8-12 years who were suffering from moderate to mild asthma. Data collection tool was a questionnaire in which 11 items were about individual characteristics and 25 items were about quality of life concerning physical, psychological, mental and social dimensions. Samples were selected by a non- random method and then they were randomly divided into two categories group and computer education. The questionnaires were completed by the researcher before and after the intervention. After one month the data were collected and then analyzed statistically. Results: According to the analyses, mean and ranking of the quality of life in our study, regarding WHO standards, indicated an increase in the quality of life and there was a significant increase after the intervention in the quality of life in both groups (p less-than 0/05). Conclusion: The findings showed that not only education in both ways was helpful in the improvement of the quality of life, but the computer based education had an outstanding impact on it. Therefore, perseverance and promotion of the quality of life by means of continuous computer education for these patients are recommended.


Carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is a ubiquitous sensory cue that plays multiple roles in insect behavior. In recent years understanding of the well-known role of CO(2) in foraging by hematophagous insects (e.g., mosquitoes) has grown, and research on the roles of CO(2) cues in the foraging and oviposition behavior of phytophagous insects and in behavior of social insects has stimulated interest in this area of insect sensory biology. This review considers those advances, as well as some of the mechanistic bases of the modulation of behavior by CO(2) and important progress in our understanding of the detection and CNS processing of CO(2) information in insects. Finally, this review briefly addresses how the ongoing increase in atmospheric CO(2) levels may affect insect life.


This commentary elaborates on the paper by Barnett, Long, and Marler wherein they conceptualize the relationships between family involvement, family vision, exchange systems, and procedural justice climate among nonfamily managers. My elaboration places their conceptual model within the wider context of the affect theory of social exchange and offers two directions for extension based on social identity theory and a longitudinal perspective.


we have not been able to prove this thesis, the fact that the children frequently are viable and go on living for quite a time constitutes a sufficient reason for strongly discouraging a couple from having additional children if they have had a child with kidneys belonging to this group. In our opinion a legal abortion is strongly indicated if a mother in such a family again becomes pregnant. The other groups were not characterized by any clinical or pathoanatoniical peculiarities. Our investigation has shown that the histological relationships must be carefully charted before a proper clinical evaluation of a case of cystic kidneys can be made. A simple diagnosis such as ,typical cystic kidneyso is in the individual case meaningless, and cannot be made the basis of a prognosis for subsequent siblings.


A unified description is given for the kinetics of transitions, including capture and thermal and optical emission, for a deep centre with an excited state. Simplifications appropriate to various experimental situations, especially junction space-charge measurements, are presented. A procedure for constructing a configuration coordinate diagram for correlating results of different experiments is illustrated by the example of GaP:Ni d9 with excitation and ionization.


and to an analysis of the protectionist elements in British monetary policy. Mr. Benham succeeds very well in presenting an integrated picture of this government activity on many fronts but he is skeptical about the social utility of all this expenditure of political energy in trade regulation. The operation of protectionist devices in agriculture and in the iron and steel industry are singled out for special consideration, and these two chapters are among the most illuminating of the book. Mr. Benham concludes with an estimate of the part played by protectionism in British economic recovery of the thirties. He finds this part to have been distinctly minor; in fact he confronts us with this anomalous situation: British recovery was made possible by cheap imports, which freed consumer purchasing power for other expenditures, particularly in housing. It might have been supposed, according to good protectionist doctrine, that England's resort to protection had been employed to help turn the terms of trade in England's favor; yet, says Mr. Benham (and it is but one of many "sad thoughts" on his part), English statesmen professed to be interested in raising wholesale prices, and quota restrictions on imports were, more frequently than not, so administered as to permit the foreigner to charge more per unit for a smaller quantity.


The influence of the orientation of Ti-Al interphase boundary on the intensity of mutual diffusion at solid-phase and solid-liquid-phase contacts was studied by the method of molecular dynamics. Four orientations of the boundary with respect to the Ti (hcp) and Al (fcc) lattices were considered: (0001) : (111), (0001) : (001), (1010) : (111), (1011) : (001). At solid-phase contact, an important phenomenon influencing the intensity of mutual diffusion was the formation, due to the mismatch of the lattices of Ti and Al, of grain boundaries in Al parallel to the interphase boundary. This boundary was both the main source and sink of structural defects, including vacancies required for diffusion to proceed. In the case of solid-liquid-phase contact, after melting of aluminium, part of it near the interphase boundary remained in the crystalline state, repeating the titanium lattice. That is, the boundary between the crystal and the liquid metal was shifted by two or three atomic planes deep into the aluminium. For the considered orientations, concentration curves were obtained after simulating mutual diffusion at different temperatures. The flatter parts of the curves, which are responsible for the diffusion of Ti atoms deep into liquid Al, turned out to be similar for all orientations. However, the parts related to the diffusion of Al atoms into crystalline Ti were different: diffusion of Al atoms in Ti proceeded more intensively with the orientation of the boundary (0001) and more slowly with the orientations (1010) and (1011). Keywords: molecular dynamics, diffusion, interphase boundary, titan, aluminum.


Avoidance of instability and congestion of task-oriented distributed sensor networks require a resource management scheme that is robust against time-varying network-induced delays caused by, for example, frequent and abrupt changes in the observed 'scene' in a highly dynamic environment. A convenient tool for its implementation is the so-called virtual per-flow framework which essentially decouples each incoming data link of a decision node. In this paper, the time-varying delays in each loop are accounted for by incorporating them as a time-varying F-norm bounded uncertainty. After converting the resulting uncertain discrete-time system into an equivalent scaled model without uncertainty, an LMI based static output feedback controller that establishes and maintains the allocated local resources uffer set-point and bandwidth at each processing/decision node - is presented. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.


The in vitro effects of extremely low frequency (ELF)-electromagnetic field (EMF) (frequencies of 50, 100, 217 Hz, induction 300 µT) on the structure and activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was investigated. AChE activity was measured with UV-vis spectroscopy. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy were used for investigating the secondary and tertiary structure of enzyme. The results demonstrated that the ELF-EMF decreased enzyme activity and the main inactivation took place in 217 Hz (p<0.05). It can be concluded that increasing the frequencies of ELF-EMF caused an increase in the helicity of AChE; therefore, under ELF-EMF, the α-helix structure can induce the secondary structure of AChE. Also, the intrinsic fluorescence decreased by increasing the frequency of field. In conclusion, according to changes observed in the secondary and tertiary structure of enzyme, it is proposed that these fields are able to affect the structure and dynamics of the active site gorge of AChE.

 Key words: Acetylcholinestrase, circular dichroism spectroscopy, extremely low frequency electromagnetic field, fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy.


Hydrogeomorphic processes within alluvial river systems create, maintain and degrade riparian habitat. The dynamic interactions between water, sediment, aquatic–terrestrial landforms and biotic elements control the functional processes and biodiversity patterns within the riparian zone and, thus, contribute directly to their ecological integrity and societal value. Numerous researchers from different disciplines publish work on the physical, biological, economic and societal functions of the riparian zone within various physiographic areas. The present paper aims to review the hydrogeomorphic processes of unconfined alluvial channel–floodplain rivers within the temperate zone. These processes and their interactions with the biotic environment provide the basis for understanding the physical as well as the ecological functioning of fluvial hydrosystems. The review focuses mainly on the European context, but major advances in riparian research from other continents are also considered. Rehabilitation and management strategies for the riparian zone are summarized and recommendations for further research conclude this review. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background Data from observational studies showed that the effects of long-term anti-TNF-α therapy on arterial stiffness and intima-media thickness (IMT) progression in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were inconsistent. Objectives To ascertain the efficacy of with golimumab compared to placebo in the prevention of atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in patients with AS. Methods A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which AS patients with active disease were treated with golimumab 50mg daily (n=20) and placebo (n=21) for 12 months. Patients were assessed every 3 monthly. Patients from the placebo group who failed to achieve ASAS20 response at 6 months were permitted to escape to receive open-label golimumab. IMT, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. We hereby report the results of the first 6 months. Results At 6 months, 11/20 (55%) and 3/21 (14%) patients from the golimumab and placebo groups respectively achieved an ASAS 20 response (p = 0.006). There was no significant difference in the change of the vascular parameters between the two groups. Nonetheless, within group comparison showed that in the placebo group, significantly greater progression of the mean IMT (from 0.51 ± 0.07 mm at baseline to 0.53 ± 0.08 mm at 6 months, p = 0.044) and PWV (from 12.2± 1.6 m/s at baseline to 12.6 ± 1.3m/s, p = 0.028) were observed in the placebo group, while the maximum IMT (from 0.54 ± 0.08 mm at baseline to 0.56 ± 0.10 mm at 6 months, p = 0.085) and AIx (12.4 ± 10.3% at baseline to 11.6 ± 10.9%, p=0.7) remained unchanged. The vascular parameters of the golimumab group remained unchanged (mean IMT from 0.52 ± 0.07 mm at baseline to 0.54 ± 0.09 mm at 6 months, p = 0.099; maximum IMT from 0.56 ± 0.09 mm at baseline to 0.56 ± 0.10 mm at 6 months, p = 0.852; AIx from 11.4 ± 11.8 % at baseline to 13.1 ± 10.9 %, p=0.454; and PWV from 12.4 ± 1.5m/s at baseline to 12.4 ± 1.6 m/s, p = 0.855). Compared with the placebo group, there was a significantly greater reduction in the laboratory parameters of inflammation (ESR and CRP), accompanied by significantly greater reduction in the physician's global assessment, pain and BASDAI in the golimumab group. Significantly greater increase in the total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were observed in the golimumab group, nonetheless, no significant differences in the changes of the TC/HDL or other cardiovascular risk factors were observed between the two groups Conclusions Uncontrolled inflammation may result in a significant progression in IMT and PWV in patients with AS, which may be prevented by golimumab over a period of 6-month, suggesting that effective suppression of inflammation may prevent progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and improving vascular function. Acknowledgements This study is supported by an educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutical (Hong Kong). The study drugs were provided by Janssen Pharmaceutical (Hong Kong). Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) may exist before or occur early in the course of pulmonary embolism (PE). We determined the PE outcomes based on the presence and timing of AF. Methods and Results Using the data from a multicenter PE registry, we identified 3 groups: (1) those with preexisting AF, (2) patients with new AF within 2 days from acute PE (incident AF), and (3) patients without AF. We assessed the 90‐day and 1‐year risk of mortality and stroke in patients with AF, compared with those without AF (reference group). Among 16 497 patients with PE, 792 had preexisting AF. These patients had increased odds of 90‐day all‐cause (odds ratio [OR], 2.81; 95% CI, 2.33–3.38) and PE‐related mortality (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.37–4.14) and increased 1‐year hazard for ischemic stroke (hazard ratio, 5.48; 95% CI, 3.10–9.69) compared with those without AF. After multivariable adjustment, preexisting AF was associated with significantly increased odds of all‐cause mortality (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.57–2.32) but not PE‐related mortality (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.85–2.66). Among 16 497 patients with PE, 445 developed new incident AF within 2 days of acute PE. Incident AF was associated with increased odds of 90‐day all‐cause (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.75–2.97) and PE‐related (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 2.01–6.59) mortality but not stroke. Findings were similar in multivariable analyses. Conclusions In patients with acute symptomatic PE, both preexisting AF and incident AF predict adverse clinical outcomes. The type of adverse outcomes may differ depending on the timing of AF onset.


Numerous use cases exist in industrial practice in which data availability, up-to-dateness, accessibility and volume are insufficient to solve time-critical problems optimally. One example is bottleneck management (BM) in the automotive industry, where information is often time-delayed and incomplete. Time-critical volume coverage for supply risks leads to the question of how and where to obtain the information. Improved data accuracy therefore enables faster and more precise decisions. The literature offers approaches for the use of social media (SM) for risk assessment, which are reviewed regarding their suitability for transfer to BM in the automotive industry. Adapted from a multiple-cases study, this paper presents the first application of using external data generated by SM formats and develops a new, obstacle mitigated method of SM-knowledge-based BM. The goal of this study is to apply SM in the BM of the automotive industry and, hence, to enhance the typical current BM process.


A patient with dermatitis herpetiformis, proteinuria and reduced renal function is described. A renal biopsy studied by light and immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a glomerulonephritis with deposits of predominantly IgA and complement C3. Deposits of IgA and C3 were also demonstrated in a biopsy from normal skin, and a common pathway for the skin and renal lesions is suggested.


Steel concrete composite construction has gained wide acceptance world wide as an alternative to pure steel and pure concrete construction. The use of steel in construction industry is very low in India compared to many developing countries. There is a great potential for increasing the volume of steel in construction, especially in the current development needs India and not using steel as an alternative construction material and not using it where it is economical is a heavy loss for the country. In this paper study of Four various multistoried commercial buildings i.e. G+12, G+16, G+20, G+24 are analysed by using STAAD-Pro software. Where design and cost estimation is carried out using MS-Excel programming and from obtained result comparison can be made between R.C.C and composite structure.


Emotional Intelligence (EI) developed through the 1990s and into this century as a model of enquiry in psychology and management and has been applied extensively in the field of leadership training. This theory describes emotions as a form of information that can be utilised by leaders to help them make better decisions. This paper describes the development of an experiential training program that employed the Ability Model of EI (Salovey and Mayer, 1990,1997) combined with tools from the performing arts and drama therapy to create a workshop program. The aim of the workshops was to increase awareness of the role of emotions in working life, and provided interactive learning opportunities to engage with complicated emotional dilemmas arising from their leadership roles.


With the rapid expansion of the information on the Internet, recommender systems play an important role in filtering insignificant information and recommend satisfactory items to users. Accurately predicting the preference of users is the first priority of recommendation. Diversity is also an important objective in recommendation, which is achieved by recommending items from the so-called long tail of goods. Traditional recommendation techniques lay more emphasis on accuracy and overlook diversity. Simultaneously optimizing the accuracy and diversity is a multiobjective optimization problem, in which the two objectives are contradictory. In this paper, a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition is proposed for recommendation, which maximizes the predicted score and the popularity of items simultaneously. This algorithm returns lots of non-dominated solutions and each solution is a trade-off between the accuracy and diversity. The experiment shows that our algorithm can provide a series of recommendation results with different precision and diversity to a user.


This paper examines the reaction of the Palestine Solidarity Movement in Ireland and the UK to the recent Israeli war on Gaza. It studies how the major solidarity groups used Twitter in their endeavour to show online audiences the Palestinian narrative, along with providing information on local solidarity activities. The paper suggests that the Twitter platform was used by major solidarity groups during the war as a tool to connect with Palestinian activists, to inform online followers about human stories of the Palestinian victims and to organise local supporting activities. Results suggest that the text and images used, support the movement's emphasis on human rights discourse.