Environmental DNA (eDNA) studies have burgeoned over the last two decades and the application of eDNA has increased exponentially since 2010, albeit at a slower pace in the marine system. We provide a literature overview on marine metazoan eDNA studies and assess recent achievements in answering questions related to species distributions, biodiversity and biomass. We investigate which are the better studied taxonomic groups, geographic regions and the genetic markers used. We evaluate the use of eDNA for addressing ecological and environmental issues through food web, ecotoxicological, surveillance and management studies. Based on this state of the art, we highlight exciting prospects of eDNA for marine time series, population genetic studies, the use of natural sampler DNA, and eDNA data for building trophic networks and ecosystem models. We discuss the current limitations, in terms of marker choice and incompleteness of reference databases. We also present recent advances using experiments and modeling to better understand persistence, decay and dispersal of eDNA in coastal and oceanic systems. Finally, we explore promising avenues for marine eDNA research, including autonomous or passive eDNA sampling, as well as the combined applications of eDNA with different surveillance methods and further molecular advances.
Keywords: environmental DNA, DNA metabarcoding, marine metazoa, biodiversity, population genetics, natural sampler DNA, diet analysis.


ABSTRACT The objective was to estimate the growth indexes of elephant grass cv. Roxo managed under rainfed conditions in different growing seasons. Seven growth ages (9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, and 63 days) were evaluated in three growing seasons (rainy, transition and dry). A completely randomised design was adopted, with split-plot arrangement with time repeated measures, with the ages being the plots and the seasons the subplots. Interaction of age x season was observed. The specific leaf area mean was 0.0286 ± 0.0039 during the rainy season. In the transition season, it adjusted to a third-degree polynomial model; in the dry season it declined linearly (0.0003 m2 g-1). The leaf weight ratio adjusted to the third-degree polynomial model in the rainy and dry seasons, and in the transition season it was maximised at 28 DAC (0.694 g g-1). The leaf area ratio continuously declined in the rainy season. In the transition and dry seasons, it adjusted to the third-degree polynomial model. The net assimilation rate presented averages of 3.73 ± 2.50 and 3.63 ± 1.48 g m-2 day-1 in the rainy and transition seasons, respectively. In the dry season, it was minimised at 48.4 days. The relative growth rate mean was 0.0075 ± 0.0037 during the rainy season. In the transition and dry seasons, it adjusted to the third-degree polynomial model. The growth index rates of elephant grass cv. Roxo are modified by growing seasons, and the pattern and magnitude of the response varies throughout the growth cycle.


We discuss the renormalization-group formalism for calculating the electronic structure of surfaces. To illustrate operatively the features of the method, we consider the ideal and reconstructed Si (100)-(2 × 1) surface, because of the interest of this prototype cleavage face from an experimental and theoretical point of view. The renormalization-group method is shown to be computationally efficient and conceptually simple; it provides a convenient description of the electronic structure of surfaces, as well as other multilayer systems.


How to provide low energy consumption and high packet delivery ratio are considered the major issues in the protocol design for the wireless multihop networks. The main focus of this paper is to reduce the number of data transmissions such that the energy consumption can be decreased. In the wired networks, the Steiner-Tree is regarded as an optimal approach to construct the multicast structure for specific senders and receivers. However, it is considered an NP-hard problem for achieving the minimum cost multicast tree under the wireless broadcast environment. In this paper, an energy-conserving multicast routing (ECMR) protocol is proposed as a heuristic scheme to reduce the number of relaying nodes for the construction of the multicast mesh. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is implemented on an ARM-based embedded platform for performance evaluation. Comparing with the existing multicast routing protocol, the experimental results show that the proposed ECMR scheme can provide better energy conservation while the packet delivery ratio is still preserved.


Delamination crack growth behavior under mode II cyclic loading was investigated with interlayer-toughened CFRP laminate, T800H/3900-2. Fatigue tests under a constant maximum energy release rate showed that the growth rate was independent of the crack length. Then, load-shedding tests were carried out under various stress ratios. The fatigue crack growth resistance of the interlayer-toughened CFRP was higher than that of conventional CF/epoxy. The crack growth rate under various stress ratios was well correlated to the stress intensity range near the threshold region. Thus, the mechanism of fatigue fracture under mode II loading is completely different from that under mode I loading. Fractographic observation showed that the fatigue fracture occurred on the principal shear stress plane. Large hackle patterns which are typical for static mode II tests were not observed under fatigue loading. A mesoscopic fracture model was proposed to explain the microscopic observation and the stress ratio dependence.


Because of its multifactorial origin, andropause is usually considered as a clinical entity whose diagnosis is difficult. Practitioners sometimes distrust the symptoms and the diagnostic tools. The clinical manifestations are however the reflection of a lack of anabolism commonly associated with a decreased production of testosterone which is translated in decreased serum values of total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone and calculated values of testosterone. Because of the similarity between the age of the control group and of andropausal men in this study, the Sex Hormone Binding Globulin dogma postulating a modest increase of the glycoprotein with age is evacuated from the argument and therefore it is proposed to rely on total testosterone as a first line assay to support the diagnosis of andropause; however the presence of confounding factors to the diagnosis sometimes require an easy access to calculated values of free or bioavailable testosterone.


The aim of the study is to characterize the type of immune response in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue. BPH tissue–derived T cells (n = 10) were isolated, activated (PMA + ionomycin), and analyzed for intracellular reactivity with anti–IFN-γ and IL-2, -4, -5, -6, -10, and -13, as well as TNF-α and -β by four-color flow cytometry. Lymphokine release was tested using Th1/Th2 cytokine bead arrays. The amount of IFN-γ and IL-2, -4, -13, and TGF-β mRNA expressed in normal prostate (n = 5) was compared with that in BPH tissue separated into segments with normal histology (n = 5), BPH histology with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) lymphocytic infiltration, and BPH nodules (n = 10). Expression of lymphokine receptors was analyzed by immunohistology, flow cytometry, and RT-PCR. We found that 28 ± 18% of BPH T helper cells were IFN-γ+/IL-4− Th1 cells, 10 ± 2% were IFN-γ−/IL-4+ Th2, and 12 ± 6% were IFN-γ+/IL-4+ Th0 cells. In relation, cytotoxic and double-negative BPH T lymphocytes showed a slight decrease in Th1 and Th0 in favor of Th2. In double-positive BPH T lymphocytes, the trend toward Th2 (35 ± 15%) was significant (Th1: 12 ± 7%; Th0: 5 ± 4%). Lymphokine release upon stimulation was found in the case of IL-2, IL-5, IFN-γ, and TNF-α > 4 μg; of IL-4 > 2 μg; and of IL-10 > 1 μg/ml. Expression of lymphokine mRNA in tissue was increased (2- to 10-fold) in infiltrated BPH specimens with and without BPH histology. The infiltrated BPH specimens with normal histology differed from those with BPH histology, most evident by the significant decrease in IFN-γ and the increase in TGF-β mRNA expression. Infiltrated BPH specimens with BPH histology expressed significantly more IFN-γ (5-fold), IL-2 (10-fold), and IL-13 (2.8-fold) when compared with noninfiltrated BPH specimens. BPH nodules, however, showed the highest level of expression of IL-4 and IL-13, with only intermediate levels of IFN-γ and very low levels of IL-2 mRNA. Immune response in histologically less transformed BPH specimens is primarily of type 1, whereas in chronically infiltrated nodular BPH and especially within BPH nodules, it is predominantly of type 0 or type 2.


Introduction This study aims to develop the Child Neglect and Abuse Awareness Scale for Parents (CNAASP) as well as examine their awareness of the children who attend preschools according to age, gender, educational status, and income status. First, the validity and reliability studies were conducted with 595 parents through the random sampling method. Then, the validity and reliability of the study were completed by using CNAASP to determine whether there was a difference in parental awareness according to the variables of gender, age, education, and income. In this study carried out with 144 parents determined by convenience sampling method, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used in the analysis according to gender variable; Scheffe Test was performed to determine the source of the differences. It was found that there was a significant difference in the mothers' awareness of child neglect and abuse. As a result of the analysis of the income status of the parents, a difference was found in favor of the parents with high-income status in the emotional abuse subscale. As a result of the analysis of the educational status variable of the parents, it was concluded that there was no statistically significant difference.


Grafting the antigen-binding loops onto a human antibody scaffold is a widely used technique to humanise murine antibodies. The success of this approach depends largely on the observation that the antigen-binding loops adopt only a limited number of canonical structures. Identification of the correct canonical structure is therefore essential. Algorithms that predict the main-chain conformation of the hypervariable loops using only the amino acid sequence often provide this information. Here, we describe new canonical loop conformations for the hypervariable regions H1 and H2 as found in single-domain antibody fragments of dromedaries or llama. Although the occurrence of these new loop conformations was not predicted by the algorithms used, it seems that they could occur in human or mouse antigen-binding loops. Their discovery indicates that the currently used set of canonical structures is incomplete and that the prediction algorithms should be extended to include these new structures.


- In this paper, we propose the method of segmentation only for touching characters for Handwritten Marathi Text that is the Devanagari script. There may be some touching characters in the word. Sometimes, interline space and noise makes line segmentation a difficult task. The main pur-pose of this paper is to provide the new segmentation technique based on joint point algorithm. Foreground and background information are used here for accurate segmentation. Our method can take care of this situation accurately. Segmentation is one of the important step of character recognition systems. . It is an important step because inaccurately segmented text lines will cause errors in the recognition stage.


Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has a high potential in the manipulation of low concentration microparticles in microsystem, which is an urgent project. The complex DEP expression was induced based on the basic DEP theory. The main factor of the conventional DEP force and the traveling wave DEP force was analyzed and 2D analytical model with star electrodes as well as parallel electrodes were founded in order to act as the manipulation construction of them. Boundary conditions were set and the real part and imaginary part were coupled to compute the DEP force. The DEP distribution of the two electrodes was simulated numerically in order to obtain the parameters for the experiment. Based on the conventional DEP force, the star electrodes were used to collect microparticles and based on the travelling wave DEP force, the parallel electrodes were used for microparticles lift and directional driving, respectively. Comparing the experimental results with theoretical and simulation analysis, they had a good agreement. The results show that DEP force can be used to manipulate microparticles effectively in microsystem.


The building and construction industry makes a major contribution to the New South Wales (NSW) economy, with an annual input of 7.6% during 2010 that is projected to rise to 8.4% in 2020. Irrespective of the sector's growth potential, it is experiencing a severe skills shortage across a range of professions including building certification. Interestingly, the certification sector and the regulatory environment in which it operates is yet to receive rigorous attention in academia and industry. In the context of NSW, the role of the accredited certifier is multifaceted and involves confirming that building work complies with environmental planning controls and the National Construction Code. The Building Professionals Board (BPB) is the statutory body responsible for accrediting these professionals. The BPB is partnering with the University of Newcastle to ameliorate the current skills shortage through the development of an evaluation instrument regarding: certifiers seeking to upgrade to a higher level of accreditation but who do not have a recognised qualification and/or are unable to obtain the practical experience relevant to progression; and associated professionals who, although not accredited, wish to become a certifier but lack the recognised qualifications and/or experience. The proposed evaluation instrument will incorporate a mix of current technologies and approaches to address the current and likely future demographics of certifiers, and their preparedness to engage with and access novel IT technologies. This paper introduces the current certification environment and the technologies proposed to structure the evaluation instrument. Keywords : Key Words: construction, building surveying, accreditation, education, assessment.


This author answers the question he poses in the negative, then cautions that in a return to the basics administrators must take care to discern what the true basics are.


Increasing evidence supports the significance of long non-coding RNA in cancer development. Several recent studies suggest the oncogenic activity of long non-coding RNA metastasis–associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) in hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we explored the molecular mechanisms by which MALAT1 modulates hepatocellular carcinoma biological behaviors. We found that microRNA-204 was significantly downregulated in sh-MALAT1 HepG2 cell and 15 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Through bioinformatic screening, luciferase reporter assay, RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down assay, we identified microRNA-204 as a potential interacting partner for MALAT1. Functionally, wound-healing and transwell assays revealed that microRNA-204 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Notably, sirtuin 1 was recognized as a direct downstream target of microRNA-204 in HepG2 cells. Moreover, si-SIRT1 significantly inhibited cell invasion and migration process. These data elucidated, by sponging and competitive binding to microRNA-204, MALAT1 releases the suppression on sirtuin 1, which in turn promotes hepatocellular carcinoma migration and invasion. This study reveals a novel mechanism by which MALAT1 stimulates hepatocellular carcinoma progression and justifies targeting metastasis–associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 as a potential therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.


study demonstrateda difference betweenthe numbersof abnormal fetal heart rate recordings in the control and monitored groups suggeststhis possibility cannotbe excluded. 3. Better clinical care of the control group was thought possible in the American study, although it was unlikely to have influenced the Australian study. 4. Differencesbetweenthe two studiesexisted in the criteria for judging abnormal fetal heart rate and the action taken subsequent to this. The Australianstudy had theadvantageof scalpblood pH measurements. 5. The general health and/or obstetric care of the control group in the Americanstudy may have beenbetterthan that of the control group in the Australian study. Four infants sufferedbrain damage in the Australiancontrol group. Nevertheless,using other neonatal indices, the numberof unhealthybabiesin both control groupswere similar. Despite the limitations of each study, they probably still indicate the conditionsunderwhich fetal intensivecareis valuable. When a controlled trial producesa positive result, it is important to know that the fetal condition both of control and of monitored group is comparableas judged by an equal incidenceof fetal heart rate abnormalities. This information was not available in the Australian study, as clinicians consideredthat the results of fetal heart rate recordingsin the control group may becommunicatedto the doctorin chargeof the patient'smanagement by nursesor residents or technicians, either overtly or subconsciously. However, the Americanstudy overcamethis problem by hiding the fetal heart rate recordingsfrom all personnel; the exact mechanismby which this was achievedis not clear, but this is animportantconsiderationfor any future study as leakageof information concerning fetal heart rate recordingswould spoil the validity of the study. If a controlled trial producesa negative result, there being no differencesbetween the monitoredand control groups,then it is important to determine whetherthe conditionof the fetuses in the twogroupswascomparable at the commencement of the trial (fetal heart rate, scalp blood pH), whether the diagnostictests have been properly done and properly interpreted,and whetherappropriateclinical action has beentaken. It is important for further control studiesto be done to define the conditions under which fetal intensive care is effective. The trials need to takeinto accountthe methodologicaldifficulties of the current trials. It seems feasible insome population samples,in which the general health of the patient is good, few obstetric complications occur, generalobstetricclinical standardsare high and the obstetric servicesarewell organized,thata negativeresultmay occur. However, it seemsequally likely that, in the absenceof any of thesefavourable circumstances,a positive result may occur. In order to aid administratorsof healthcare to decidewhereto place fetalintensive care units and how to run obstetric services economically, the conditionsunderwhich monitoring is effective have to bedetermined in more detail. The different results of the two controlled trials suggestthat the coincidenceof the reduction in perinatal mortality and the introduction of fetal monitoring is insufficient evidenceto base theintroductionof fetal monitoring to all patients. Departmentof Obstetricsand Gynaecology, CARL WOOD, The QueenVictoria Memorial Hospital, Chairman, Melbourne,Vic. 3000. PETER RENOU, SeniorLecturer.


Physicians require a screening instrument to detect psychiatric disorders in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Different threshold scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD) and the mental health scale of the Medical Outcome Survey (MOS) were compared with two gold standards for the presence or absence of psychiatric disorder, standard diagnostic criteria (DSM-III-R) and a threshold score for the number of psychiatric symptoms at a standardized psychiatric interview (Revised Clinical Interview Schedule total cut-off score of 11/12). They were compared by use of validating coefficients and receiver operating characteristics in 136 consecutive CFS medical outpatients. The HAD scale at cut-off of 9/10 was a valid and efficient screening instrument for anxiety and depression by comparison with both gold standards. The MOS mental health scale at its recommended cut-off score of 67/68 yielded too many false-positives to be recommended as a psychiatric screening instrument in CFS patients.


Service Learning concept shows the positive impacts on the active engagement of English language teachers as well as learners in creating appropriate scope for making a learning community both inside and outside the classroom. The students are perfectly connected to community service with the direct use of their integrated language skills unlike the traditional classroom teaching. Considering that fact, learners are put in real life situations to experience language skills so that instead of learning English, the learners have the scope for language acquisition. With a view to ensuring that principle, BRAC University has incorporated Starboard activity, English Week observance etc. as parts of integration between two academic courses: English and Ethics. This paper shows the impacts of these service-learning activities in improving the skills of language learners through investigating as well as carrying a message: "Serve to Learn". After gathering data, SPSS copyright version 14 computer packages and Microsoft Office Excel 2007 version have been used to assess them.


Introduction
The aim of our study was to examine whether
outdoor activity influences the prevalence of myopia in schoolchildren.

Materials and methods
5601 Polish students of elementary
and secondary schools (2688 boys and 2913 girls), 6–18 years
of age (mean 11.9 ±3.2 years) were examined. In every student
cycloplegia after 1% tropicamide was performed. The mean
spherical equivalent (SE) was calculated after examination of
both eyes. Time spent on outdoor activity was evaluated based
on a questionnaire. The obtained results were typed into an
Excel spreadsheet and analyzed statistically using Statistica
10 software. Non-parametric tests were used due to the SE
distribution being significantly different from normal distribution
in the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The Spearman rank
correlation coefficient (Rs) was used to evaluate the strength
of the correlation between these variables. A p-value less than
0.05 was considered significant.

Results
It has been established that with the increase in time
spent on outdoor activity, the spherical equivalent of the examined
students significantly increases, but the correlation is very
weak (Rs = +0.036, p = 0.007).

Conclusion
Outdoor activity slightly reduces the prevalence of myopia in schoolchildren.


On January 5th, 1953, the authors found the skull and some vertebrae of a beaked whale on the beach at Sena Bay, Balandra. It was identified as Mesoplodon gervaisi , an exceedingly rare species which is represented in the British Museum only by this specimen and one other.


It is frequently stated that Turkey's trade orientation has shifted in the last decade away from Europe and more towards the East, specifically Arab countries and Middle East. However, comprehensive presentation of the situation is lacking, causing concern over the validity of the statement. This paper examines the foreign trade of Turkey for years 1995 to 2012. The analysis focuses on a number of country groups and product categories. The analysis confirms the shift away from EU and towards not only Arab countries but Asia as a whole, primarily due to gas imports from Russia. It is observed that Turkey's exports are becoming more focused towards manufactured goods and increasing in technological complexity. An interesting observation is the increase in the share of "commodities and transactions not elsewhere classified", especially with the Arab countries.


We propose a novel geometric Rao-Blackwellized particle filtering framework for monocular SLAM with locally planar landmarks. We represent the states for the camera pose and the landmark plane normal as SE(3) and SO(3), respectively, which are both Lie groups. The measurement error is also represented as another Lie group SL(3) corresponding to the space of homography matrices. We then formulate the unscented transformation on Lie groups for optimal importance sampling and landmark estimation via unscented Kalman filter. The feasibility of our framework is demonstrated via various experiments.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO

INTRODUCTION: Despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the 14.6 month median survival of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients reflects several important challenges including infiltrative malignant cells, natural resistance to apoptosis, and morphologic and genetic differences. Combination therapy may inhibit several disease processes simultaneously by preventing the development of acquired resistance, while minimizing toxicity to normal brain. Various anti-angiogenic therapies are currently under clinical investigation to assess their added benefit to standard of care therapy. These efforts are supported by preclinical evidence whereby anti-angiogenic agents can selectively prune tumor vasculature and enhance the anti-proliferative properties of chemotherapy agents. We tested BMS-844203 (CT-322; Adnexus, a BMS R&D Co), a novel neutralizing AdnectinTM directed specifically against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, in combination with temozolomide (TMZ) in an established glioma in vivo model. METHODS: Fifty thousand U87vIII-ffluc cells (human GBM cell line expressing firefly luciferase) were intracranially implanted in 24 adult NOD SCID mice. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was used at randomization and biweekly timepoints to follow tumor size. Mice were randomized into vehicle control (Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS)), TMZ (34mg/kg QD x 5 days), CT-322 (60mg/kg x 3 times per week) and Combination (CT-322 + TMZ) groups of 6 mice. MR imaging was used to characterize treatment effects in select mice. Animals were followed for survival and sacrificed at the first sign of morbidity. A second set of 24 mice were sacrificed for histological analysis at day 7 or 14. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining against CD31, Ki67 or cleaved-caspase 3 was performed on paraffin-embedded brain tissue sections. RESULTS: Day 13 mean BLI values (photons/sec x 106) increased by 36,400 (PBS), 178.80 (CT-322), 61.75 (TMZ), and 6.46 (CT-322 + TMZ) fold per group. T1 post-contrast MR volumes correlated with BLI. Mean survival was 19, 29, 32, and 47 days for PBS, CT-322, TMZ, and (CT-322 + TMZ) respectively. Day 14 IHC analysis demonstrated strongly reduced blood vessel formation in CT-322 and (CT-322 + TMZ) compared to TMZ or PBS groups as demonstrated by CD31 staining. Ki67 expression was significantly reduced under CT-322, TMZ, and (CT-322 + TMZ) treatments compared to PBS control. Enhanced detection of cleaved-caspase 3 was observed in all treatment groups compared to control. Day 14 IHC results were representative of Day 7. CONCLUSIONS: The survival benefit of a combinatorial treatment using CT-322 and TMZ was superior to that of either agent alone. Tumor burden (BLI, MRI) and IHC analysis suggest that tumor growth suppression plus antiangiogenic effects may underlie the observed enhanced survival of the combo treatment.

Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr LB-286.


Abstract : The goal of this research is to study association of the estrogen receptor (ER) with the nuclear matrix, and to identify nuclear matrix acceptor sites for ER. We constructed an ER fusion protein (GFP-ER) with a His6 tag, HA tag, and the green fluorescent protein. Using fluorescent imaging techniques we studied the cellular localization of GFP-ER in the presence of various ER ligands in human breast cancer cell lines transiently transfected to express the GFP-ER protein. Striking differences in the patterns of distribution were observed. Isolation of GFP-ER associated proteins requires a large number of cells expressing GFP-ER. Therefore, three stable cell lines expressing GFP-ER under the control of an inducible promoter were constructed. Characterization of GFP-ER expression in one of the stable cell lines demonstrated that we can control levels of GFP-ER expression. We characterized the effect of expressing different levels of GFP-ER on regulation of the endogenous c-myc gene, to determine what levels of expression caused aberrant effects. We demonstrated that GFP-ER association with nuclear matrix increases with the length of exposure to estrogen, and that ER associated to the nuclear matrix is also binding to DNA, suggesting that nuclear matrix bound ER is transcriptionally active.


Acetaminophen (paracetamol) continues to be one of the leading, international over-the-counter analgesics. Unlike the COX-2 inhibitors, no adverse cardiovascular effects have been associated with acetaminophen usage in safe, therapeutic dosages. There are few rigorous physiological investigations of its actions/mechanisms of action. Several investigations, in recent years, have questioned its potential activity in the mammalian cardiovascular system. Our laboratory has found some positive salutary effects in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and during myocardial infarction. In addition, another laboratory found concomitant cardioprotective effects during the acute phase of myocardial infarction. They report similar effects of the ability of acetaminophen to reduce the severity of myocardial infarction and ultimately result in improved mortality rates. They also postulate that this attenuation in myocardial damage is mediated through antioxidant means. Others have not found similar results but have reported no detrimental cardiovascular actions of acetaminophen in experimental animals. The inconsistency in results probably reflects multiple differences in experimental approaches, including use of different species, different experimental preparations, different drug concentrations, and different routes/modes of administering/preparing the drug. The current review focuses on this recent research and tries to provide new perspectives for future investigations. In particular, we have identified new cellular/subcellular targets at which acetaminophen might be acting. These include matrix metalloproteinases and the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Future work will help identify additional tissue/organ actions of acetaminophen and its as-yet-unknown mechanisms of action.


MicroRNA polymorphisms may be associated with carcinogenesis or immunopathogenesis of infection. We evaluated whether the mircoRNA-604 (miR-604) polymorphism can affect the persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and the development to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic HBV infection. A total of 1,439 subjects, who have either past or present HBV infection, were enrolled and divided into four groups (spontaneous recovery, chronic HBV carrier without cirrhosis, liver cirrhosis and HCC). We genotyped the precursor miR-604 genome region polymorphism. The CC genotype of miR-604 rs2368392 was most frequently observed and T allele frequency was 0.326 in all study subjects. The HBV persistence after infection was higher in those subjects with miR-604 T allele (P=0.05 in a co-dominant and dominant model), which implied that the patients with miR-604 T allele may have a higher risk for HBV chronicity. In contrast, there was a higher rate of the miR-604 T allele in the chronic carrier without HCC patients, compared to those of the HCC patients (P=0.03 in a co-dominant model, P=0.02 in a recessive model). The T allele at miR-604 rs2368392 may be a risk allele for the chronicity of HBV infection, but may be a protective allele for the progression to HCC in chronic HBV carriers. Graphical Abstract


Most breast cancer (BrCa) mortality results from distant metastases. Current evidence strongly suggests that in some instances these disseminated cells remain dormant for long periods of time. Both the non-proliferative state and protective microenvironment of the metastatic niche likely contribute to the observed resistance of metastases to chemotherapies that are otherwise effective against the primary tumor. Although significant interventional progress has been made on primary tumors, the lack of relevant accessible model systems for metastases has hindered the development of therapies against this stage. To address this gap, we developed an innovative all-human 3D ex vivo hepatic microphysiological system (MPS) to faithfully reproduce human physiology and thereby facilitate the investigation of BrCa behavior in a micrometastatic niche. The liver is a major site of metastasis for carcinomas and is also the primary site of drug metabolism (activation and/or detoxification), which is a significant factor in determining efficacy and limiting toxicities of cancer therapies. The MPS incorporates hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells (NPC) isolated from fresh human liver resections. BrCa cells (RFP+) are seeded on day 3 and afforded time to intercalate into the hepatic tissue until treatment with chemotherapy on day 7 for 72h. Surviving BrCa cells are stimulated on day 13 with LPS/EGF and cultured through day 15. Proliferation is monitored by RFP quantification, Ki67 staining and EdU incorporation. Physiological function of the hepatic tissue is monitored throughout the experiment by protein catabolism (urea), active metabolism (glucose, CYP P450) and injury markers (AST, ALT, A1AT, fibrinogen). Luminex assays (55 analytes) were used to provide insights into the communication networks in the hepatic metastatic milieu during different stages of dormancy and progression, and identify potential metastatic biomarkers via computational approaches. The MPS maintains the physiologic function of the hepatic niche through 15 days and BrCa cells effectively integrate into the established niche. Spontaneous dormancy is observed amongst a subpopulation of BrCa cells, indicated by the absence of Ki67 staining and EdU incorporation after 12 days of culture. Further, we demonstrate that the BrCa cells surviving chemotherapy (doxorubicin) are non-proliferating (Ki67-/EdU-). Notably, 're-awakening' of the surviving non-proliferating cancer cells is observed in the presence of physiological inflammatory stressors (LPS/EGF). Luminex analyses of the milieu effluent identified signaling molecules from NPC influenced the metastatic cell fraction entering dormancy. This MPS provides unprecedented insights into the tumor biology of dormant micrometastases. We demonstrate the recreation of spontaneous, rather than engineered, BrCa dormancy in an all-human ex vivo hepatic MPS. Mimicking the dormancy and outgrowth observed in patients, we found that dormant breast cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy can be stimulated to re-emerge following an inflammatory insult. Ultimately, this MPS provides an accessible tool to identify new therapeutic strategies for metastasis during initial seeding, dormancy and re-emergence, while concurrently evaluating agent efficacy for metastasis, metabolism and dose-limiting toxicity. Citation Format: Amanda M Clark, Sarah E Wheeler, Donald P Taylor, Carissa L Young, Venkateswaran C Pillai, Donna B Stolz, Raman Venkataramanan, Douglas A Lauffenburger, Linda G Griffith, Alan Wells. Modeling breast cancer dormancy and re-emergence [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-07-01.


A new design to reduce the overhead required for fully testable programmable logic arrays (PLAs) is proposed. This design exploits the fact that product lines in a PLA can be rearranged and grouped into few partitions. Then, some extra outputs are added, one per partition, to make the whole PLA testable. Compared with the previous PLA design-for-testability techniques, the algorithm presented is very feasible, and its implementation is straightforward. Furthermore, this algorithm significantly lowers overhead and provides substantially higher fault coverage than some existing schemes.<<ETX>>


Identifying the underlying dynamics of physical systems can be challenging when only provided with observational data. In this work, we consider systems that can be modelled as first-order ordinary differential equations. By assuming a certain pseudo-Hamiltonian formulation, we are able to learn the analytic terms of internal dynamics even if the model is trained on data where the system is affected by unknown damping and external disturbances. In cases where it is difficult to find analytic terms for the disturbances, a hybrid model that uses a neural network to learn these can still accurately identify the dynamics of the system as if under ideal conditions. This makes the models applicable in situations where other system identification models fail. Furthermore, we propose to use a fourth-order symmetric integration scheme in the loss function and avoid actual integration in the training, and demonstrate on varied examples how this leads to increased performance on noisy data.


Maize cobs with grains were harvested at a relatively high moisture content (23%) from the field in northern New South Wales, Australia. The cobs were divided into four categories and dried in the sun or artificially in a forced draft oven at 80, 90 or 100 °C for 24 h. The samples were subjected to proximate and detailed nutrient analyses. In vitro nutrient digestibility and ultra structure of samples were also assessed. Proximate analysis of maize revealed that dry matter (DM, 980 g/kg) and ash (1.32 g/kg) content were highest in the 100 °C samples, but crude protein (98.4 g/kg), ether extract (45.0 g/kg) and phytate‐P (1.8 g/kg) content were the highest in the sundried samples. Gross energy was little affected by heat treatment but the metabolizable energy value increased with rising temperature. The concentrations of most of the amino acids but not lysine were increased in samples dried at 80, 90 and 100 °C in comparison to sun drying. Total starch, resistant starch (RS) and amylose content were slightly increased by artificial drying while amylopectin was reduced under the same conditions. Starch content (691 g/kg) was highest at 80 °C while RS (363 g/kg) and amylose (304 g/k) were lowest in the same batch. The mineral concentration of samples decreased with increasing temperature except copper, which was slightly increased. The soluble non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content was increased while the insoluble NSP decreased with increasing temperature. The morphological structure of maize observed under a scanning electron microscope showed some shrinkage of starch granules as a consequence of artificial drying temperature. In vitro digestibility of DM was improved as a result of artificial drying of high moisture maize but starch digestibility was reduced. It may be inferred that the nutritive value of maize grain varies with drying temperature and drying process. These differences may explain changes in nutritive value of the grain when fed to chickens.


The following article considers cyber security as an integral part of security sector reform (SSR), trying to identify some of the lessons learned from Serbia that can help when establishing a credible cyber security system. Serbia represents a telling example, as it is a country that has been undergoing significant SSR, implemented in both post-conflict and developmental context. Having in mind that Serbia is at the beginning of building its cyber security system, the article provides guidance on how to best integrate lessons learned from other SSR processes. The first part discusses the inter-linkage between SSR and cyber security institution building. The second part offers examples of initiatives implemented in Serbia during 2015, with an aim to illustrate the importance and benefits of the holistic approach to cyber security institutions building in line with the core principles of SSR. Examples present a point into an OSCE Mission project which demonstrates the importance of synergies and of a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach for effective building of functional cross-sectoral networks that can contribute to building national cyber security capacity. For its part, the cyber security capacity building initiative of government witnesses how SSR processes and actors promoting accountability can positively influence the efficiency of cyber security capacity building efforts. Another example presents how the first ever public hearing on cyber security in the Serbian Parliament was organised. It illustrates that the Parliament can be an effective starting point for a national debate on cyber security and a very efficient awareness raising tool.


Abstract. Although the fossil record of pipoid frogs is more extensive than for other anuran clades, crown-group genera are poorly documented throughout the Cenozoic. We report an isolated neurocranium from the Nsungwe Formation (∼25 million years ago; Oligocene) in southwestern Tanzania, providing the earliest evidence for the genus Xenopus in sub-Saharan Africa. The specimen is well preserved, allowing us to use three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to compare the shape of this neurocranium to those of all extant species of Xenopus based on microcomputed tomography scans. Analyses revealed that this small fossil resembles diminutive extant species of Xenopus such as X. longipes. The fossil neurocranium preserves well-ossified tectum nasi and septum nasi, the latter separating large ovoid olfactory foramina, contributing to a more-ossified region surrounding the prootic foramen than observed in extant species of similar size. The Nsungwe Formation pipoid fossil contributes new information to the early biogeography and body-size diversification within the genus Xenopus.


Biology is well known for its use of linear polymers to perform sophisticated functions. Nucleic acids store and process genetic information, while proteins perform recognition, transport, and catalytic functions. Biology also employs polymers (especially proteins and polysaccharides) to perform mechanical functions and there are several examples in which biology covalently crosslinks polymers to confer elasticity and strength. In some cases, the crosslinking enzymes have attracted attention as a simple and safe means for macromolecular processing in vitro. Here, we review recent research with two enzymes, tyrosinase and microbial transglutaminase, that are being examined for a variety of applications.


In 2001, Murray Low pointed out that the demand for entrepreneurship courses continued to grow unabated. Yet, he also pointed out that, "Business schools have met student demand for entrepreneurship courses by using adjunct faculty" (Low, 2001). The use of adjunct faculty presents a real challenge to universities, especially those programs accredited by AACSB International. AACSB International allows instructors to be professionals, but they are required to be professionally qualified (AACSB, 2011). This research highlights a unique situation in which adjunct faculty were used to teach courses in a graduate entrepreneurship program at Seattle University. We address the issues associated with using adjunct faculty while ensuring they maintain their professional qualifications. We use a typical human resource management framework (Allen, et al., 2010) to highlight how the adjunct instructors were trained, assigned, and evaluated. We conclude with observations on the practical implications of this study as well as a commentary on future research issues.


This manual provides specific fabrication, installation, and operation guidance for the sonar scour monitor. A companion document (NCHRP Report 396) reports the findings of a study in which this device for measuring maximum scour depth was developed, tested, and evaluated. This manual will be of immediate interest to hydraulics engineers, bridge management engineers, and bridge maintenance engineers.


Different from traditional reflection-only reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), simultaneously transmitting and reflecting RISs (STAR-RISs) represent a novel technology, which extends the half-space coverage to full-space coverage by simultaneously transmitting and reflecting incident signals. STAR-RISs provide new degrees-of-freedom (DoF) for manipulating signal propagation. Motivated by the above, a novel STAR-RIS assisted non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) (STAR-RIS-NOMA) system is proposed in this paper. Our objective is to maximize the achievable sum rate by jointly optimizing the decoding order, power allocation coefficients, active beamforming, and transmission and reflection beamforming. However, the formulated problem is non-convex with intricately coupled variables. To tackle this challenge, a suboptimal two-layer iterative algorithm is proposed. Specifically, in the inner-layer iteration, for a given decoding order, the power allocation coefficients, active beamforming, transmission and reflection beamforming are optimized alternatingly. For the outer-layer iteration, the decoding order of NOMA users in each cluster is updated with the solutions obtained from the inner-layer iteration. Moreover, an efficient decoding order determination scheme is proposed based on the equivalent-combined channel gains. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate that the proposed STAR-RIS-NOMA system, aided by our proposed algorithm, outperforms conventional RIS-NOMA and RIS assisted orthogonal multiple access (RIS-OMA) systems.


Location-based services, navigation applications, emergency services, management of equipment in the field, and other locationdependent services need geographic location information about a Target (such as a user, resource or other entity). There is a need to securely gather and transfer location information for location services, while at the same time protecting the privacy of the individuals involved.


Introduction. The aim of our study was to analyze the number and structure of patients diagnosed and treated due to cancers of lips, mouth and throat in Poland between 2008 and 2015. Material and methods. Secondary statistical analysis of data obtained from the Polish National Cancer Registry (KRN) and Polish National Health Fund (NFZ), concerning patients diagnosed for the first time between 2008 and 2015. Results. Based on the available data, in total there were 30 800 new cases of cancers in population of Poland, and 29 800 people starting their treatment financed from the National Health Fund. Discussion. Cancers of the discussed locations, considered individually, are often rare diseases, with the incidence counted in hundreds of people per year in the entire Polish population. Due to the etiology and course, however, they should be analyzed together, which means that they become a significant group. Conclusions. In recent years, the annual incidence of these tumours was about 4000 cases, 70% of them were men. There is an approximately 10% difference in the number of registered cases of these cancers in NFZ databases. The creation of a medical register, including administrative, epidemiological and clinical data, would significantly improve the observation of the population of patients with these tumours.


Extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in demyelinating multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions may impede axonal regeneration and modify immune responses. RGC-32 plays an important role in mediation of TGF-β downstream effects, but its role in ECM deposition and gliosis has not been investigated. To gain more insight into the role played by RGC-32 in gliosis, we examined the role of RGC-32 in mediation of ECM production and reactive astrocyte marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression. In MS lesions, collagen I, IV and V were found to be expressed by astrocytes which were also expressing RGC-32. In cultured astrocytes, α-SMA, collagens I, IV, V and fibronectin were significantly induced at 18 h of stimulation with TGF-β. Next, we silenced RGC-32 expression by transfecting astrocytes with siRGC-32 and compared the effect of this treatment to that of control siRNA. The RGC-32 siRNA effectively decreased the mRNA and protein RGC-32 expression by 90% when compared to astrocytes transfected with control siRNA. RGC-32 silencing resulted in a significant reduction in TGF-β- induced collagens I, IV, V and fibronectin expression. Using astrocytes isolated from RGC-32 knockout (KO) mice, we found that TGF-β- induced collagen IV and α-SMA expression were significantly reduced in RGC-32 KO when compared with wild type mice. Our data also indicate that RGC-32 plays an important role in the TGF-β-mediated induction of ECM and is also required for the transition of astrocytes to a reactive state. Therefore, RGC-32 may represent a new target for therapeutic intervention in MS.


The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a procedure that permits, starting from a sufficiently long database of time series, the construction of a Reference Year (RY) of hourly weather data according to the rules of ISO 15927-4 standard. In order to facilitate the management of the weather database and to allow the users to easily generate the file, an algorithm has been implemented in Microsoft Visual Basic for Application (VBA). By this way, the application of the ISO 15927-4 is possible even using a popular software tool such as Microsoft Excel or Access without any other expensive specialized software. Such tool allows to fulfil all the procedures mentioned in ISO 15927-4 giving as result a time series of 8760 values of several weather variables, ready to be used in any software for energy simulation of buildings.


Two singular links are cobordant if one can be obtained from the other by singular link isotopy together with a combination of births or deaths of simple unknotted curves, and saddle point transformations. A movie description of a singular link cobordism in 4-space is a sequence of singular link diagrams obtained from a projection of the cobordism into 3-space by taking 2-dimensional cross sections perpendicular to a fixed direction. We present a set of movie moves that are sufficient to connect any two movies of isotopic singular link cobordisms.


Photobiomodulation with 808 nm laser light electively stimulates Complexes III and IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, while Complexes I and II are not affected. At the wavelength of 1064 nm, Complexes I, III, and IV are excited, while Complex II and some mitochondrial matrix enzymes seem to be not receptive to photons at that wavelength. Complex IV was also activated by 633 nm. The mechanism of action of wavelengths in the range 900–1000 nm on mitochondria is less understood or not described. Oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by mitochondrial activity is an inescapable consequence of aerobic metabolism. The antioxidant enzyme system for ROS scavenging can keep them under control. However, alterations in mitochondrial activity can cause an increment of ROS production. ROS and ATP can play a role in cell death, cell proliferation, and cell cycle arrest. In our work, bovine liver isolated mitochondria were irradiated for 60 sec, in continuous wave mode with 980 nm and powers from 0.1 to 1.4 W (0.1 W increment at every step) to generate energies from 6 to 84 J, fluences from 7.7 to 107.7 J/cm2, power densities from 0.13 to 1.79 W/cm2, and spot size 0.78 cm2. The control was equal to 0 W. The activity of the mitochondria's complexes, Krebs cycle enzymes, ATP production, oxygen consumption, generation of ROS, and oxidative stress were detected. Lower powers (0.1–0.2 W) showed an inhibitory effect; those that were intermediate (0.3–0.7 W) did not display an effect, and the higher powers (0.8–1.1 W) induced an increment of ATP synthesis. Increasing the power (1.2–1.4 W) recovered the ATP production to the control level. The interaction occurred on Complexes III and IV, as well as ATP production and oxygen consumption. Results showed that 0.1 W uncoupled the respiratory chain and induced higher oxidative stress and drastic inhibition of ATP production. Conversely, 0.8 W kept mitochondria coupled and induced an increase of ATP production by increments of Complex III and IV activities. An augmentation of oxidative stress was also observed, probably as a consequence of the increased oxygen consumption and mitochondrial isolation experimental conditions. No effect was observed using 0.5 W, and no effect was observed on the enzymes of the Krebs cycle.


Children commonly use mobile devices at pediatric office visits. This practice may affect patient-provider interaction and undermine accuracy of developmental surveillance. A randomized, provider-blinded, controlled trial examined whether a policy prohibiting mobile device use in a pediatric clinic improved accuracy of pediatricians' developmental surveillance. Children, aged 18 to 36 months, were randomized to device-prohibited (intervention; n = 58) or device-allowed (control; n = 54) groups. After a 30-minute well-visit, development was evaluated as "normal," "borderline," or "delayed" in 5 categories using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). ASQ-3 results were compared with providers' clinical assessment in each category. Provider-ASQ discrepancies were more common for intervention participants (P = .025). Providers "missed" more ASQ-3 "delayed" scores (P = .005) in the intervention group, particularly in the fine motor domain (P = .018). Prohibiting mobile device use at well-visits did not improve accuracy of providers' developmental surveillance. Mobile devices may entertain children at well-visits, allowing opportunities for parent-provider discussion, or observation of fine motor skills.


Abstract Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the gender dimensions of population control and land tenure policies in a rural village in Northeast China. Gender bias was explicit in the implementation of both policies in the village between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Since that time, explicit gender bias has been reduced and both policies have stressed market incentives more, reflecting China's modernization goals and accession to the WTO. Yet the policies are not gender neutral in their implementation, effects, and interactions. Women remain the target of the eased population policy, and they are more likely to become "landless" at marriage. The policies work together to reinforce traditional and emerging forms of gender bias, though at times they offset each other. They impact women's bargaining power within the home, status in the community, and social security. Together they provide a richer view of the gendered experience of living in the village.


Despite the awareness that climate change is an increasingly urgent issue to manage, little is being done to adequately achieve mitigation targets and ambitions. It has been suggested that this is due to ill-equipped normative frameworks and that common concepts, such as responsibility, harm, and justice, collapse when applied to climate change. One perspective has however been missing from this debate – the deep ecological perspective. The paper will investigate the deep ecological view and will argue that it can provide a valuable contribution to normative issues pertaining to climate change.


Abstract It is known that the grid pattern characterizing the city layout of Teotihuacan incorporates two slightly different groups of alignments, skewed approximately 15.5° and 16.5° clockwise from cardinal directions. I argue that these alignments were dictated by deliberate and astronomically functional orientations of the Pyramid of the Sun and the Ciudadela. The two structures recorded sunrises and sunsets on two different sets of dates, allowing the use of an observational calendar composed of intervals that included multiples of 20 days and a 260-day period. The evidence presented suggests also that the location of the Sun Pyramid was not determined by the cave that is now underneath the structure and is probably human-made, but rather by a combination of astronomical and topographic criteria: the place allowed the temple built there to be oriented both to sunrises and sunsets on significant dates and, in the perpendicular direction, to Cerro Gordo to the north; furthermore, sunrises on the so-called quarter-days of the year could be observed from the same spot over a prominent mountain on the eastern horizon. The dates corresponding to the Teotihuacan alignments are attested also at other central Mexican archaeological sites and must have been employed, primarily, for scheduling agricultural and associated ritual activities in the yearly cycle.


Amavata is a disease in which vitiation of Vata Dosha and accumulation of Ama take place in joint(s), and it simulates rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at modern parlance. Shamana (conservative) and Shodhana (biological purification of the body) treatments are advised in Ayurveda whereas anti-inflammatory, analgesics, steroids, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are required for its management as per modern medicine, which are not free from side effects. A female was suffering from multiple joints pain with swelling, severe morning stiffness, restricted movements, malaise, and Mandagni (poor appetite) for the past 1½ year, which was classified as Amavata/RA (having 7/10 score as per the RA classification criteria, 2010). After Deepana-Pachana and Snehapana, Virechanakarma was done by the administration of Trivrita Avaleha and castor oil. The assessment was made on the basis of relief in signs and symptoms and serological findings of RA factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), immunoglobulin E (IgE), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. After Virechanakarma, RA factor reduced from 94.0 IU/ml to 50.0 IU/ml, CRP reduced from 22.7 mg/L to 1.8 mg/L, and IgE was reduced from 680 kU/L to 53.7 kU/L, with remarkable reduction in joints pain and swelling. Further, by avoiding specific Nidanas, i.e., known allergens for food, drugs, and inhalants, the patient has relief in almost all signs and symptoms for the past 1 year of follow-up with least medications. This single case report highlights that Amavata/RA can be managed with appropriate diet regimen, Virechanakarma and can be managed effectively with minimum requirement of medicines.


Article History ABSTRACT English education in public primary schools in Japan started in 2011 not as a subject but as an area of foreign language activities in Japan. However, the preparation was poor and homeroom teachers without proper training were required to teach English. Since then, the issue has become highly controversial in Japan. To clarify the actual situation, we conducted surveys three times between 2012 and 2017 and found many problems. Nevertheless, English will become a compulsory subject from April, 2020, but before we see any major improvements by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), more careful study on the problems is an urgent need and therefore, we would like to utilize the results of our research. This paper attempts to study the changing situation and to point out the necessary conditions for possible reforms by comparing and analyzing the results of the latter two surveys. Received: December 18, 2019 Accepted: February 02, 2020 Published: March 30, 2020


The mainstay therapeutic strategy for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) continues to be androgen deprivation therapy usually in combination with chemotherapy or androgen receptor targeting therapy in either sequence, or recently approved novel agents such as Radium 223. However, immunotherapy has also emerged as an option for the treatment of this disease following the approval of sipuleucel-T by the FDA in 2010. Immunotherapy is a rational approach for prostate cancer based on a body of evidence suggesting these cancers are inherently immunogenic and, most importantly, that immunological interventions can induce protective antitumour responses. Various forms of immunotherapy are currently being explored clinically, with the most common being cancer vaccines (dendritic-cell, viral, and whole tumour cell-based) and immune checkpoint inhibition. This review will discuss recent clinical developments of immune-based therapies for prostate cancer that have reached the phase III clinical trial stage. A perspective of how immunotherapy could be best employed within current treatment regimes to achieve most clinical benefits is also provided.


The twist-bend nematic phase, N_{TB}, may be viewed as a heliconical molecular arrangement in which the director n precesses uniformly about an extra director field, t. It corresponds to a nematic ground state exhibiting nanoscale periodic modulation. To demonstrate the stability of this phase from the elastic point of view, a natural extension of the Frank elastic energy density is proposed. The elastic energy density is built in terms of the elements of symmetry of the new phase in which intervene the components of these director fields together with the usual Cartesian tensors. It is shown that the ground state corresponds to a deformed state for which K_{22}>K_{33}. In the framework of the model, the phase transition between the usual and the twist-bend nematic phase is of second order with a finite wave vector. The model does not require a negative K_{33} in agreement with recent experimental data that yield K_{33}>0. A threshold is predicted for the molecular twist power below which no transition to a twist-bend nematic may occur.


It is shown by a quantum-mechanical treatment that the emission times of photoelectrons at different points illuminated by a plane wave of light are partially correlated, and identical results are obtained by a classical theory in which the photocathode is regarded as a square-law detector of suitable conversion efficiency. It is argued that the phenomenon exemplifies the wave rather than the particle aspect of light and that it may most easily be interpreted as a correlation between the intensity fluctuations at different points on a wavefront which arise because of interference between different frequency components of the light. From the point of view of the corpuscular picture the interpretation is much less straightforward but it is shown that the correlation is directly related to the so-called bunching of photons which arises because light quanta are mutually indistinguishable and obey Bose-Einstein statistics. However, it is stressed that the use of the photon concept before the light energy is actually detected is highly misleading since, in an interference experiment, the electromagnetic field behaves in a manner which cannot be explained in terms of classical particles. The quantitative predictions of the theory have been confirmed by laboratory experiments and the phenomenon has been used, in an interferometer, to measure the apparent angular diameter of Sirius: these results, together with further applications to astronomy, will be discussed in detail in later papers. It is shown that the classical and quantum treatments give identical results when applied to find the fluctuations in the photoemission current produced by a single light beam, and the connexion between these fluctuations and the correlation between photons in coherent beams is pointed out. The results given here are in full agreement with those obtained by Kahn from an analysis based on quantum statistics: however, they differ from those derived on thermodynamical grounds by Fellgett and by Clark Jones and the reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.


Performance improvement and energy conservation are two conflicting objectives in large scale parallel storage systems. In this paper, we propose a novel solution to achieve the twin objectives of maximizing performance and minimizing energy consumption of parallel storage systems. Specifically, a buffer-disk based architecture (BUD for short) is designed to conserve energy. A heat-based dynamic data caching strategy is developed to improve performance. The BUD architecture strives to allocate as many requests as possible to buffer disks, thereby keeping a large number of idle data disks in low-power states. This can provide significant opportunities for energy conservation while making buffer disks a potential performance bottleneck. The heat-based data caching strategy aims to achieve good load balancing in buffer disks and alleviate overall performance degradation caused by unbalanced workload. Our experimental results have shown that the proposed BUD framework and dynamic data caching strategy are able to conserve energy by 84.4% for small reads and 78.8% for large reads with slightly degraded response time.


SbBiTe alloys have been some of the most efficient thermoelectric materials near room temperature. Here we synthesized a complete nanocomposite using γ‐ray irradiation, in which Au/AuTe2 nanoparticles are dispersed uniformly without aggregation in the Sb1.6Bi0.4Te3 matrix. The lattice thermal conductivity was significantly reduced mainly due to the increased number of interfaces for phonon scattering between the nanoparticles and the matrix phase, thereby resulting in clear enhancement of dimensionless figure of merit (ZT). The maximum ZT value of the Au/AuTe2 nanoparticle‐supported Sb1.6Bi0.4Te3 nanocomposite was 1.01 at 423 K, which is about 18% higher than the maximum ZT value of Sb1.6Bi0.4Te3.


The occurrence of substantial quantities of black carbon (BC) in urban soil due to local dispersal following incomplete combustion of fossil fuel complicates the determination of labile soil organic carbon (SOC). Estimates of SOC content were made from loss on ignition (LOI) analyses undertaken on samples (0–15 cm depth) from comprehensive soil geochemical surveys of three UK urban areas. We randomly selected 10 samples from each decile of the LOI distribution for each of the surveys of Coventry (n = 808), Stoke‐on‐Trent (n = 737) and Glasgow (n = 1382) to investigate the proportions of labile SOC and BC. We determined their total organic carbon (TOC) and BC contents, and by difference the labile SOC content, and investigated the linear relationship of the latter with SOC estimates based on LOI analyses. There was no evidence for a difference in the slope of the regression for the three urban areas. We then used a linear regression of labile SOC based on LOI analyses (r2 = 0.81) to predict labile SOC for all survey samples from the three urban areas. We attribute the significantly higher median BC concentrations in Glasgow (1.77%, compared with 0.46 and 0.59% in Coventry and Stoke‐on‐Trent) to greater dispersal of coal ash across the former. An analysis of the 30 samples showed that LOI at 450 °C accounts for a consistent proportion of BC in each sample (r2 = 0.97). Differences between TOC (combustion at 1050 °C after removal of inorganic carbon) and an LOI estimate of SOC may be a cost‐effective method for estimation of BC. Previous approaches to estimation of urban SOC contents based on half the mean SOC content of the equivalent associations under pasture, underestimate the empirical mean value.


Pulse wave velocity measurements confined to a 6–9-cm segment of the femoral artery in eight anesthetized dogs gave an average value of 7.8 m/sec. The velocity varies with the diastolic blood pressure. This was particularly noticeable in one dog which showed marked spontaneous variations of diastolic blood pressure from beat to beat. The response to Adrenalin was diphasic showing first an increase in pulse wave velocity and then a marked decrease without a corresponding decrease in diastolic blood pressure. This observation suggests a physical change in the artery compatible with relaxation of the smooth muscle, rather than contraction.


In this paper, we first introduce a generalized concept of Berge strong equilibrium for a generalized game G = (Xi; Ti, fi)i∈I of normal form, and using a fixed point theorem for compact acyclic maps in admissible convex sets, we establish the existence theorem of generalized Berge strong equilibrium for the game G with acyclic values. Also, we have demonstrated by examples that our new approach is useful to produce generalized Berge strong equilibria.


Doxorubicin (DOX) is currently the preferred chemotherapeutic agent for breast cancer, and hydroxyl safflower yellow B (HSYB) has a tumor growth-inhibiting activity. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of HSYB combined with DOX on the proliferation of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and explore the underlying mechanism. MTT and cell colony formation assays revealed that the proliferation rate of MCF-7 cells was signifiscantly decreased after HSYB and DOX treatment. Combined HSYB and DOX treatment significantly decreased the expression levels of BCL-2 in MCF-7 cells, while the expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins, including cleaved caspase-9, BAX and cleaved caspase-3, were markedly increased. Furthermore, flow cytometry and western blot analysis demonstrated that combined HSYB and DOX treatment stimulated an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species and promoted the release of cytochrome c, leading to apoptosis. The current data suggested that the combination of HSYB and DOX may have marked antitumor activity.


In a large-scale control system, the health monitoring subsystem could produce hundreds to thousands of system inputs. Using Matlab's Stateflow to implement supervisory logic that could interpret sensor or actuator failures allows for a hybrid control system to be developed and simulated. The manual creation of a Stateflow chart for use in a Simulink simulation of a large-scale guidance and control system is a tedious and time-consuming process. The Stateflow Autocoder is a Matlab based software tool for the automatic generation of a Stateflow chart from information contained in a database. Managing the parameters and elements of a simulation via a database presents an opportunity to efficiently create or modify a simulation model by only changing information that is contained within the database. This paper describes the auto-generation of a Stateflow chart that is required to manage a simulation from a database.


The objective of this work was to determine the effect of incorporation timing of the velvet bean (Stizolobium cinereum) (GM) on both organic broccoli yield and N status. Mineral N content in the soil, biologically fixed N recovery by broccoli, GM biomass decomposition and N release kinetics were also determined. Plots were fertilized with 12 Mg ha -1 of organic compost and received GM either at 0, 15, 30 or 45 days after transplant. Other treatments were compost (12 or 25 Mg ha -1 ), GM, mineral fertilizers and control (no fertilizer). The data were collected in four completely randomized blocks. GM decomposition increased mineral N content in soil as rapidly as mineral fertilizer or the supply of 25 Mg ha -1 of compost. The N half-life in GM (24 days) is smaller than the mass half-life (35 days) and the biological fixation contributed with 23.6% of N present in the aboveground biomass of broccoli. The result suggests a higher synchrony between the crop relative growth rate and N release from the GM when incorporated at crop early growth stage. The incorporation of GM until 15 days after transplanting replaces 50% of the highest compost dose, without yield loss.


Abstract The metabolism of the herbicide 14C-glufosinate (GA) was studied in excised shoots and leaves of 20 weed and nonweed species; GA was fed through the xylem. After 24 or 48 h of incubation, the plant material was examined for phytotoxic symptoms, analyzed by autoradiography, and extracted. The extract was cleaned up and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. GA and its metabolites were identified by cochromatography with authentic 14C-labelled reference compounds. 14C-GA was rapidly absorbed by the excised plant parts. Most of the radioactivity (91.3 to 99.7%) in the shoots and leaves was extractable. The main metabolite observed with all species was 3-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)propionic acid (MPP); lower amounts of 2-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)butanoic acid (MHB) were also found in 14 species. Metabolic rates of GA varied considerably ranging between 13.1 and 2,836.5 ng GA h−1 mg−1 protein. The species with the highest rates of metabolism of GA were Galium verum (2,836.5 ng GA h−1 mg−1 protein), Lythrum hyssopifolia (846.0 ng GA h−1 mg−1 protein), and Digitalis purpurea (494.8 ng GA h−1 mg−1 protein). The mean value across all species was 275.9 ng GA h−1 mg−1 protein. Nomenclature: GA, glufosinate (racemic mixture); DGA, D-glufosinate; LGA, L-glufosinate; MHB, 2-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)butanoic acid (racemic mixture); MPA, 2-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)acetic acid; MPB, 4-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)butanoic acid; MPP, 3-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)propionic acid; PPO, 2-oxo-4-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl) butanoic acid; Agrostemma githago L. AGOGI, corn cockle; Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. ALOMY, blackgrass; Amaranthus retroflexus L. AMARE, redroot pigweed; Avena fatua L. AVEFA, wild oat; Camelina alyssum Mill. Hegi + Schmid CMAAL, flatseed falseflax; Chelidonium majus L. CHQMA, greater celandine; Chenopodium album L. CHEAL, common lambsquarters; Digitalis purpurea L. DIKPU, foxglove; Fumaria officinalis L. FUMOF, fumitory; Galium aparine L. GALAP, catchweed bedstraw; Galium verum L. GALVE, yellow bedstraw; Geum urbanum L. GEUUR, common avens; Geranium robertianum L. GERRO, herb-robert; Lolium perenne L. LOLPE, perennial ryegrass; Lythrum hyssopifolia L. LYTHY, hyssop loosestrife; Malva sylvestris L. MALSI, high mallow; Matricaria chamomilla L. MATCH, wild chamomile; Poa pratensis L. POAPR, Kentucky bluegrass; Brassica kaber (DC.) L. C. Wheeler SINAR, wild mustard; Daucus carota L. DAUCA, wild carrot, 'Maxima.'


Previous studies carried out in our laboratory have shown that myofibers formed by fusion of muscle satellite cells from donors with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type I or II undergo a characteristic degeneration 1.5-3 weeks after innervation with rat embryonic spinal cord explants. The only cells responsible for degeneration of innervated cocultures are SMA muscle satellite cells. In order to study the kinetics of nerve and muscle cell degeneration in nerve-muscle cocultures implicating SMA muscle cells, we attempted to simplify the nervous component of the coculture and identify the nerve cell types necessary for a successful innervation. We demonstrate here that motoneurons alone were unable to innervate myotubes. However, when three cell types (motoneurons, sensory neurons, and Schwann cells) were added onto a reconstituted muscular component consisting of cloned muscle satellite cells and cloned muscular fibroblasts, myotubes contracted, indicating that functional neuromuscular junctions were formed. We concluded that the three cell types were required for a successful innervation. Moreover, we studied the effects of culture medium conditioned by different combinations of nerve cells on innervation; we observed that physical contacts among sensory neurons, motoneurons, and myotubes are required for a successful innervation; in contrast Schwann cells can be replaced by a Schwann-cell-conditioned medium, indicating that these cells produce a putative soluble "innervation-promoting factor." Obviously such a reconstituted system does not reflect the in vivo situation but it allows the formation of functional motor synapses and could therefore allow us to elucidate neuromuscular disease pathogenesis, especially that of spinal muscular atrophy.


Inflammatory destruction of cartilages, presumably on an autoimmune basis, characterizes relapsing polychondritis, a disease of varying severity and outcome. The otolaryngologist–head and neck surgeon is often the first physician contact, because the preponderance of signs and symptoms are in the head and neck, ie, auricular and nasal chondritis, ocular and auditory manifestations, and laryngotracheobronchial involvement.


Recently the intravenous enzyme replacement therapy with modified beta-glucocerebrosidase has become available for patients with M. Gaucher. We report here the considerable improvement of activity and vigor in a 5 year old girl with type 1 M. Gaucher administering 60 IU/kg every two weeks for 6 months. The platelet count increased from 82-96/nl to more than 150/nl and hemoglobin from 10.8 to more than 12 g/dl. Serum acid phosphatase decreased from 14.6 U/l to 5.9. U/l and angiotensin-converting enzyme from 327 to 102 U/l. The estimation of splenic volume by MRT showed a decrease by 40%, while liver size was not reduced within 6 months of therapy. MRT proved to be useful to demonstrate the bone marrow infiltration by Gaucher cells. The enzyme replacement therapy resulted in an objective response. No side effects have been observed so far. The extreme high treatment costs enforce a considerable dose reduction for maintenance therapy.


We report an ab initio study of the effect of rippling on the structural and electronic properties of the hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) and graphene two-dimensional (2D) layers and heterostructures created by placing these layers on the Hydrogen-terminated (H-) diamond (100) surface. Surprisingly, in graphene, rippling does not open a band gap at the Dirac point but does cause the Dirac cone to be shifted and distorted. For the 2D/H-diamond (100) heterostructures, a combined sampling and a clustering approach were used to find the most favorable alignment of the 2D layers. Heterostructures with rippled layers were found to be the most stable. A larger charge transfer was observed in the heterostructures with rippled hBN (graphene) than their planner counterparts. Band offset analysis indicates a Type-II band alignment for both the wavy and planar heterostructures, with the corrugated structure having stronger hole confinement due to the larger valence band offset between the hBN layer and the H-diamond (100) surface.


Rarely, primary carcinomas can metastasize to the pituitary. Mostly the posterior lobe is affected and diabetes insipidus can develop. We report a 47-year-old woman who was on follow-up for metastatic breast carcinoma and admitted to the endocrinology unit for polyuria and polydypsia, which had worsened gradually. Her laboratory findings were compatible with diabetes insipidus. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge mass involving the suprasellar cistern, surrounding the cavernous sinus and compressing the optic chiasm and infundibulum. Radiotherapy for the sellar region and chemotherapy were performed and desmopressin was started. The symptoms were controlled with desmopressin. Increased amounts of urine output and oral fluid intake in a patient with a diagnosis of carcinoma should alert the physicians of a possibility of pituitary metastasis, and the hormonal insufficiency should be corrected to increase the patient's quality of life.


Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based quantitative proteomics has proven to be an invaluable tool to globally characterize proteins or peptides from complex biological systems. However, the methodology employed for mass spectrometry-based protein quantification remains an area of research interest. This chapter will provide an overview of LC-MS-based label-free quantification approaches, with a focus on a technical overview of the existing experimental practices in both spectral counting and ion intensity-based strategies. As both of these strategies are heavily dependent on informatics manipulation of the acquired data to extract the relevant quantitative information, a brief overview of current software solutions will be also discussed. The final portion of this overview will include a description of best-practice standard operating protocols and experimental design considerations when employing a label-free study. These general practices have been partially developed in our own laboratory over the course of several large-scale clinical studies and their routine incorporation into all of our quantitative workflows have resulted in a quantitatively robust and reproducible label-free platform.


Chiral amines are valuable building blocks for the production of a variety of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and other specialty chemicals. Only recently, imine reductases (IREDs) were discovered which catalyze the stereoselective reduction of imines to chiral amines. Although several IREDs were biochemically characterized in the last few years, knowledge of the reaction mechanism and the molecular basis of substrate specificity and stereoselectivity is limited. To gain further insights into the sequence‐function relationships, the Imine Reductase Engineering Database (www.IRED.BioCatNet.de) was established and a systematic analysis of 530 putative IREDs was performed. A standard numbering scheme based on R‐IRED‐Sk was introduced to facilitate the identification and communication of structurally equivalent positions in different proteins. A conservation analysis revealed a highly conserved cofactor binding region and a predominantly hydrophobic substrate binding cleft. Two IRED‐specific motifs were identified, the cofactor binding motif GLGxMGx5[ATS]x4Gx4[VIL]WNR[TS]x2[KR] and the active site motif Gx[DE]x[GDA]x[APS]x3{K}x[ASL]x[LMVIAG]. Our results indicate a preference toward NADPH for all IREDs and explain why, despite their sequence similarity to β‐hydroxyacid dehydrogenases (β‐HADs), no conversion of β‐hydroxyacids has been observed. Superfamily‐specific conservations were investigated to explore the molecular basis of their stereopreference. Based on our analysis and previous experimental results on IRED mutants, an exclusive role of standard position 187 for stereoselectivity is excluded. Alternatively, two standard positions 139 and 194 were identified which are superfamily‐specifically conserved and differ in R‐ and S‐selective enzymes. Proteins 2016; 84:600–610. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


A new method for testing materials under simulated fire conditions is introduced. The fundamentally new approach relies on the movement of the sample through zones with a spatially increasing temperature. Adjusting the velocity profile with which the sample is moved makes it possible to expose it to practically any temperature–time curve defined in fire safety standards, from extremely rapid hydrocarbon to more gradual cellulosic fire conditions. This manuscript presents a prototype named CoaST‐Fire that capitalises on this concept by combining a vertical tube furnace with a vertical motion system. The methodology to calibrate the furnace temperature profile, as well as to calculate the velocity profiles are discussed. The velocity profiles are then used to replicate a range of temperature–time curves with exceptional accuracy and reproducibility. A numerical model is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics to study heat fluxes towards the steel substrate as a function of time and thermal insulation. Finally, proof‐of‐concept experiments with two commercial intumescent coatings are presented. The experiments are shown to be highly repeatable while images of the coatings during the experiments can provide additional insights into the occurring reaction steps. Furthermore, CoaST‐Fire makes it possible to conduct experiments under various O2 concentrations and could later be extended with a gas outlet analysis system. The study is in line with recent efforts to develop cheaper and more rapid testing methods for early research and development of intumescent coatings and the setup could potentially also be used to test other types of materials.


A patient with gallstone pancreatitis was managed by endoscopic sphincterotomy followed by a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. At the time of surgery, an intraoperative cholangiogram disclosed the presence of a residual calculus, which was erroneously thought to be in the common bile duct. A repeat ERCP showed that the stone was, in fact, in a long cystic duct stump which was fortunately accessible to endoscopic extraction.


Transmission anomalies sometimes create AVO effects by focusing the reflected seismic wavefields, which impedes AVO analysis. The AVO anomalies caused by focusing are distinguishable by surface consistent patterns. We analyze the previous efforts to define, describe and eliminate spurious AVO anomalies. We also propose using wave equation migration velocity analysis to build an accurate velocity model. The transmission-related AVO can then be eliminated by downward continuation through this velocity model.


The first goal of architecture is to build a proper space for human activities. Having sufficient knowledge about human beings and their relationships with others can be effective in creating an environment that is appropriate for certain types of activities. On the other hand , as social creatures, humans have various qualitative and quantitative levels of social interactions; while many of the existing buildings have created a deeper gap in human relations by solely responding to the functional needs and failing to give focused attention to human factors. In fact, the subject of the current research indicates that, due to the shortage of cultural facilities and healthy urban hangouts, as well as the unacceptable quality of the existing cultural spaces especially the cinemas, the recommended design can be a multifunctional complex and have spaces with official and unofficial sociable spaces. Also, it can make creation and promotion of social interactions possible. The current research is a descriptive-analytical research in terms of nature and it is a survey, in terms of method. In addition, it is an applied research in terms of its objective, a quantitative research based on the research data and a field study based on its procedure. In this respect, some human and environmental variables that affect social interactions have been extracted from documents and library studies. Among them,  five of the most important factors were selected as the basis of this research based on the prioritization done by specialized environmental psychologists among faculty members of some of the most well-known and valid universities in Iran. The statistical community of this research is the city of Anzali harbor and places related to active cinemas of the city. Therefore, by specifying the community, sample and tools of the research, the roles played by the selected variables in association with the confirmation and rejection of the research hypotheses were tested. After analyzing the data using SPSS software, the selected variables were prioritized as follows: capabilities of the environment, attraction, visual beauty and aesthetic dimensions, natural landscape, view and adjacency, accessibility, continuity and legibility. Then, the most effective solutions for fulfilling the research objectives were developed.


We have investigated the ability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected cells to kill uninfected CD4+ lymphocytes. Infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cocultured with autologous 51Cr-labeled uninfected cells. Rapid death of the normal CD4-expressing target population was observed following a brief incubation. Death of blood CD4+ lymphocytes occurred before syncytium formation could be detected or productive viral infection established in the normal target cells. Cytolysis could not be induced by free virus, was dependent on gp120-CD4 binding, and occurred in resting, as well as activated, lymphocytes. CD8+ cells were not involved in this phenomenon, since HIV-infected CEMT4 cells (CD4+, CD8- cells) mediated the cytolysis of uninfected targets. Reciprocal isotope-labeling experiments demonstrated that infected CEMT4 cells did not die in parallel with their targets. The uninfected target cells manifested DNA fragmentation, followed by the release of the 51Cr label. Thus, in HIV patients, infected lymphocytes may cause the depletion of the much larger population of uninfected CD4+ cells without actually infecting them, by triggering an apoptotic death.


During last year's MILCOM event (MILCOM 2011), McLain et al [1] presented a paper that provided a comprehensive comparison of Ku, commercial Ka and military Ka-band efficiencies against a number of parameters; including terminal size, regulatory restrictions, and performance in the presence of rain. This comparison showed that each band has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on the application for which it is being used (aeronautical, maritime, land based), terminal size, and operational environment (mobile and fixed). This paper provides an expanded comparison of Ku and Ka-band, focusing on operational aspects and other key considerations; including coverage resilience, operational flexibility, regulatory impacts and potential regulatory changes that would improve commercial Ka-band performance, as well as the use of hybrid (multi-band) systems to further improve performance when operating in adverse weather conditions.


The recent efforts in exploiting semiconductor nanowires (NWs) for high-performance macroelectronics are reviewed. In brief, a new concept of NW thin-film transistors (NW-TFTs) has been proposed and demonstrated from oriented semiconductor NW thin films. In NW-TFTs, the source and drain electrodes are bridged by multiple single-crystal NWs in parallel. Therefore, charges travel from source to drain within single crystals, ensuring high carrier mobility. Recent studies have shown that high-performance NW-TFTs and high-frequency circuits can be produced from silicon NWs on a variety of substrates, including glass and plastics, using a solution assembly process. The device performance of these NW-TFTs not only greatly surpasses that of solution-processed organic TFTs but is also significantly better than that of conventional amorphous or polycrystalline silicon TFTs, approaching single-crystal silicon-based devices. Furthermore, with a similar framework, group III-V or II-VI NW or nanoribbon materials of high intrinsic carrier mobility or optical functionality can be assembled into thin films on flexible substrates to enable new multifunctional electronics/optoelectronics that are not possible with traditional macroelectronics. This approach thus opens a new avenue to high-performance flexible macroelectronics and will not only impact existing applications but also enable a whole new generation of flexible, wearable, or disposable electronics for computing, storage, and wireless communication.


In this paper, an exact reanalysis algorithm based on an incremental Cholesky factorization is presented, which can solve a linear system of equations when a small portion of the coefficient matrix is modified. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by modeling quasi‐static crack growth in the extended finite element method. The example presented shows that a 60% to 70% reduction in computational time is achievable by using the reanalysis approach for solving crack growth problems. It is shown that the reanalysis approach has increasing benefits as the mesh density increases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This article draws lessons from the experiences of international involvement in Haiti from 1990 to the present day. It argues that if the model of liberal, responsible government championed by the international community is to provide a resolution to the ongoing violence and instability in Haiti, then Haitian society will first have to be wooed away from coercive 'protection' by local and transnational organized crime. However, it argues that peace operations as they are currently conceived and deployed are ill-equipped for this task, given their limited territorial ambit and traditional focus on military response rather than political economy. However, the article concludes that experiences in Haiti may also offer lessons about how peace operations could win 'protection competitions' by serving as the leading edge of a unified international strategy for the transformation of local political economies.


Policy-makers, as well as scholars, are often positing the life science industry in general, and biotechnology in specific, as a future engine of economic growth. It is stipulated that growth in the industry ultimately will result in a major boost in national employment numbers. However, in the paper we primarily find that the Swedish life science industry (encompassing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technology firms) only stands for a small share of the total employment in Sweden. In the paper we argue that a focus on employment is not necessarily the most appropriate policy approach to assess the impacts of the life science industry on the overall economy. In the paper, the scope, structure and geography of the life science industry and its labour force in Sweden is mapped and analysed by using a unique set of data of about 1 200 firms and 54 000 employees. We find that the labour force in the industry have significantly higher education and income levels compared to national averages, as well as being heavily concentrated to larger metropolitan areas and major university cities. Although employing relatively few people and being more or less dependant on the inclusion and success of a small number of major pharmaceutical firms, we find that the industry may still have an important impact on the national economy. This is manifested by high levels of education, income, and export revenues, particularly in specific regions. As such, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on 'jobless growth'.


As known, there are changes in the biomechanical properties of the fibrous tunic in glaucoma. This is also due to the imbalance between the formation and loss of collagen fibers. The cornea is a highly sensitive tunic of the eyeball, endothelium is one of the target organs in the formation of pathological changes in primary open-angle glaucoma, and endothelial dysfunction, according to many authors, plays a significant role in its pathogenesis. The unintended consequences of glaucoma surgery lead to a progressive loss of corneal endothelial cells, which can lead to corneal decompensation. In the proposed literature review, we analyzed more than 30 publications by authors representing the results of multicenter studies of the pathological effects of antiglaucoma operations on the corneal endothelium in patients with various types of uncompensated glaucoma. The analysis of both classic fistulizing type operations and modern, so-called micro-invasive techniques (MIGS), including the use of various drains and devices, is presented. Thus, the smallest decrease in the density of endothelial cells was noted during deep sclerectomy and trabeculectomy. The use of mitomycin C in glaucoma surgery significantly improving the prognosis, but increases the loss of endothelial cells in both high and low concentrations. The highest rates of loss of corneal endothelial cells are noted during using valves and shunts. Ex-PRESS shunt implantation is associated with a significant loss of corneal endothelial cell density in the immediate area to the drainage tube, and therefore, shunt implantation should not be considered as an option for eyes with corneal dysfunction. In addition, the authors prove that the drainage device changes its position in the anterior chamber, especially when performing massage and self-massage of filtration bleb, which leads to a greater loss of density of corneal endothelial cells.


In patients receiving circulatory assistance by intra-aortic counter-pulsion for myocardial infarction, angiography may be carried out by the retrograde femoral route. It should include left ventriculography makes it possible to assess the number of segments which contract and to draw a correlation between the kinetics of a segment and its vascularisation. Vascular studies should be carried out at the time of maximum effect of the pump, i.e. from the 18th hour onwards. Indications for angiography are as follows: isolated or mechanical cardiogenic shock, early recurrence of infarction, refractory left ventricular failure and persistent arrhythmias. In cardiogenic shock and refractory left ventricular failure, the coronary lesions are diffuse. All our patients died. By contrast, in the group with early recurrence of infarction or persistent arrhythmias surgical treatment is often possible.


The genital self-mutilation is not rare in women. Risk factors found in these cases are: mood disorders, food behavior anomalies and antecedents of sexual aggression. However, surgical repair is not done in emergency: we find no similar report to our clinical case describing an added up bilateral reduction nymphoplasty carried out in emergency after hemorrhagic genital self-mutilation. We discuss psychological risk factors, psychiatric diagnosis and optimal treatment, studied from medico-ethical point of view, for this surgical emergency.


This paper presents measurement and analysis results for millimeter-wave (mmWave) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) performance in different real-life scenarios with moderate user equipment (UE) mobility. For the measurement campaign, the developed massive MIMO testbed operating at 28GHz called LuMaMi28GHz is employed. In this testbed, the base station has 16 transceiver chains with a fully digital beamforming architecture (with different pre-coding algorithms) and simultaneously supports multiple users with spatial multiplexing. The UEs are equipped with a beam-switchable antenna array for real-time antenna selection where the one with the highest channel magnitude, out of four pre-defined beams, is selected. We explore the potential benefit and features of mmWave massive MIMO systems with antenna selection based on both measured (and recorded) channel data and real-time system performance evaluation.