Objective To determine whether treatment of borderline hypertension reverses the cardiac 'amplifier' effect associated with increased left ventricular mass. Design Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving treatment for 6 months. Setting Ambulant outpatients in a teaching hospital. Participants Recruited by local doctor referral or worksite screening. Average of two readings of entry blood pressures taken 1 week apart 140–160 mmHg (systolic) or 90–95 mmHg diastolic, or both. Twenty-six previously untreated males, mean±SD age 33±9.2 years with mean±SD blood pressure 138±7.4/ 90 7.0 mmHg entered and completed the study. Interventions Twelve subjects received captopril, average dose 72 mg/day for 24 weeks, the remainder receiving placebo. Main outcome measures: Echocardiographic left ventricular dimensions, mass and transmitral Doppler flow, as well as office, ambulatory and exercise blood pressure. Results In the captopril group blood pressure was reduced significantly. Left ventricular mass decreased significantly from 205 to 195 g at 8 weeks and to 202 g at 24 weeks, returning to 232g 4 weeks after treatment. Interventricular septum thickness fell significantly at 24 weeks. Doppler parameters did not alter. Baseline 8-h ambulatory blood pressure did not change with treatment. The reduction in peak exercise systolic blood pressure in the captopril group was not different from the change in the placebo group. Conclusion Blood pressure can be effectively lowered using captopril in young subjects with borderline hypertension. Treatment is well tolerated and leads to regression of left ventricular wall thickness and mass, suggesting that treatment of blood pressure elevations may be advisable at lower levels than currently recommended.


We develop a real-options approach to evaluate energy assets and potential investment projects under transition scenario uncertainty. Dynamic scenario uncertainty is modelled by assuming that the economic agent acquires the information about the scenario progressively by observing a signal. The problem of valuing an investment is formulated as an American option pricing problem, where the optimal exercise time corresponds to the time of entering into a potential investment project or the time of selling a potentially stranded asset. We illustrate our approach applying representative scenarios from different integrated assessment models to the examples of a coal-fired power plant without Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and potential investment into a biomass power plant with CCS.


The article considers change of 1917 October Revolution Image in educational texts for sociohistorical disciplines that were published in Russia. A necessity to investigate the source studying potential of students' publishing and students' magazines, published in the period between the thirties and forties of the twentieth century is emphasised. The following categories are used to find the image of the revolution: character of the revolution; issue of property, author's attitude to violence; results of the revolution; importance of revolution. The role of the state in formation of content, language, structural, logical and physical properties of the educational text in different historical epochs is analysed. Standardization of educational texts is defined and its types are marked. Results of educational texts analysis allowed us to form out the following stages of the 1917 October Revolution Image in educational texts of 1918-2017 years: mythmaking, rationalisation, anomy, unification.


MEMS device fabrication can benefit from accurate front- to backwafer alignment (FTBA) using wafersteppers. To characterize FTBA an electrical overlay test structure is designed and fabricated to measure front- to backwafer overlay in a bulk micromachining process. The measurement results not only show that the front- to backwafer overlay accuracy in bulk micromachining is limited by non-lithographic process errors but also give an insight into the locations and size of the defects in wet anisotropic silicon etching.


Matthew Moorhead received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 2014. He is currently pursuing a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, where he is a teaching fellow in their GK-12 program. Matthew also conducts research in the Mechatronics and Controls Laboratory with an interest in robotics and controls.


This paper presents the findings of the Training Working Group (TWG), a sub-panel to the joint DoD and industry Non-Government Standards-Integrated Product Team (NGSIPT). The TWG was tasked to develop a training strategy for the aeronautical community to fully implement and achieve maximum benefit from major policy changes in DoD contracting. The paper presents the results of 5 specific tasks undertaken by the TWG. Those tasks were to: 1) Identify the training requirements; 2) Consolidate training requirements into candidate training topics; 3) Develop an integrated training strategy with other DoD acquisition reform initiatives; 4) Make recommendations for course/module development; 5) Make recommendations for training media/delivery. The paper outlines the recommended training strategy for the acquisition community that resulted from the TWG analysis. It covers the key training topics, and factors associated with each of the integrated processes (focus group areas) embodied in the NGS-IPT results. Fundamental acquisition reform initiatives and the process initiatives addressed by each of the NGS-IPT panels, along with their suggested recommendations, were also addressed in this paper. However, development of an effective DoD training strategy to implement a Non-Government standards approach to contracting was the primary focus. This paper covers the TWG effort as of the completion of the IPT's activities. Subsequent implementation is dependent upon final acquisition reform decisions, but the basic training strategy should remain valid.


This study examines the effect of self-determination on time perspectives and child-care anxiety from a viewpoint of life course. A total of 1,726 mothers with small children participated in a questionnaire survey. They were classified into four groups based on their planned life courses: mothers who work; mothers who stopped working, but plan on returning to work; mothers who don't want to work and plan to stay at home; and mothers who stopped working, but plan on returning to work when their children grow up. Child-care anxiety was classified into four categories: (a) sense of stagnation and sacrifice, (b) fatigue, (c) diffidence, (d) feeling disaffection. The results show that fulfillment associated with child-care anxiety exists for all groups and factors of child-care anxiety, and that fulfillment was influenced by differences between self-determination and self-determination desires. The effect of self-determination on time perspectives and child-care anxiety differed between groups. It is suggested that society should provide different support to mothers with small children and child-care anxiety related to their different planned life courses.


The use of methylprednisolone in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requiring intensive care hospitalization: a longitudinal observational study.

Background : For a long time, the use of corticosteroids in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a controversial treatment. How- ever, given the conflicting evidence on this topic, we studied the effects of methylprednisolone on critically ill patients and - share here our experience on laboratory findings and the Pa02/FiO2 ratio (ratio of partial oxygen concentration on arterial blood gas sample to fraction of inspired oxygen).

Methods : In a population of 68 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit due because of COVID-19 infection, 28 patients with severe respiratory failure received methylprednisolone on a fixed 12-day regimen (125 mg IV for 2 days, followed by 2x0.5 mg/kg IV twice daily for 5 days, and then a decreasing regimen for 4 days until discontinuation). After day 5 and day 10, we analyzed the levels of CRP (C-reactive protein), lymphocytosis, D-dimer, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) and PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio of our patients.

Results : We observed a significant decrease in median CRP levels between day 0 (start of methylprednisolone treatment) and day 5 (p=0.001), and between day 0 and day 10 (p=0.005). No decrease was seen between day 5 and 10 (p=0.352). The same increase in PaO 2 /FiO 2 was recorded between day 0 and day 5 (p=0.009), and between 0 and day 10 (p=0.019). For D-dimer, only a significant difference was found between day 0 and day 10 (p=0.018). No significant difference could be observed for lymphocytosis and LDH levels between the beginning of the treatment and day 5 or day 10.

Conclusion : There is a strong and sustained significant decrease in CRP levels and a tilt in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio after starting methylprednisolone. A slower, but also significant decrease was found for D-dimer. Further research and control group analyses are needed to confirm that this effect is due to corticostreoid treatment. However, this indicates that methylprednisolone may play a very important role in the treatment of the severely ill COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission.


Attracting and retaining international students has been widely discussed in higher education settings. Increasing the number of international students has become an indispensable strategy for national and global competition. This study focuses on effective strategies and international students' issues regarding satisfaction in the most popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. We designed a structural equation modeling (SEM) method to determine the effect of institutional mediation between push factors and satisfaction factors for the development of better strategies by which to attract and retain international students. Taking Taiwan as an example, this study employed a self-designed questionnaire to collect data: 485 degree-seeking international students in STEM programs were invited and successfully participated in this study during spring 2021. IBM SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 (Analysis of Moment Structure) were used to carry out the data analysis. We employed reliability, factor, and SEM analyses. This study assumed that the impact of push factors can be modified by institutional situations and result in international students' satisfaction with their learning and environment and regarding migration policy. The results revealed that the predictors, mediation, and criteria were significant at the 0.05 or 0.01 levels. The findings suggest that push factors impact international students' satisfaction when using institutional leadership and international strategy. The results of the bootstrap with a generalized least square method showed that the SEM model fit in 2000 bootstrap samples. The effect of institutional mediation can provide useful information for STEM programs to boost their future recruitment and retention strategies. This study provides an innovative approach to the detection of issues among international students in specific programs. These findings can enrich our knowledge regarding attracting and retaining global students in higher education settings.


How has globalisation affected employment and wages in the United States? Existing studies largely ignore the intersector labour movement between the manufacturing and service sectors by focusing only on the intrasector movement within the manufacturing sector. However, by decomposing the aggregate labour demand in the United States, we find that the intersector movement is more substantial than intrasector movement. Motivated by the decomposition results, this study presents a three‐sector model that includes a manufacturing sector and two service sectors at varying skill intensities. The model shows that offshoring might translate into smaller‐than‐expected wage changes because of the intersector labour movement. In line with the theoretical predictions, two notable empirical results are presented. First, an occupation's exposure to offshoring has non‐significant, albeit negative, effects on wages. Second, the more an occupation is exposed to offshoring, the lower its employment in the manufacturing sector as a share of its total employment. Furthermore, these effects are larger for more routine occupations or those requiring less education.


OBJECTIVE
To identify and recombine a protein of the human dermal microvascular endothelial cell (HDMEC) that specifically reacts with anti-endothelial cell antibody (AECA) in the serum of patients with Behçet's disease (BD), and to evaluate the usefulness of this protein in BD.

METHODS
The proteomics technique, with 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, was used to identify and recombine HDMEC antigen. Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of recombinant protein isolated by gene cloning were performed on serum from healthy controls, patients with BD, and patients with other rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Wegener's granulomatosis).

RESULTS
Eighteen of 40 BD patients had serum IgM antibody to HDMEC antigen. The purified protein that reacted with AECA in BD patient sera was found to be alpha-enolase by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Recombinant alpha-enolase protein was isolated and refined by gene cloning. On Western blots, AECA-positive IgM from the sera of patients with active BD reacted strongly with recombinant human alpha-enolase. BD patient sera positive for anti-alpha-enolase did not react with human gamma-enolase. On dot-blotting, reactivity to human alpha-enolase was detected only in the IgM-positive group. Fifteen of the 18 AECA-positive sera that were positive for the HDMEC antigen showed reactivity to recombinant alpha-enolase IgM antibody by ELISA.

CONCLUSION
The alpha-enolase protein is the target protein of serum AECA in BD patients. This is the first report of the presence of IgM antibodies to alpha-enolase in endothelial cells from the serum of BD patients. Although further studies relating this protein to the pathogenesis of BD will be necessary, alpha-enolase and its antibody may prove useful in the development of new diagnostic and treatment modalities in BD.


Reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHSs) are special Hilbert spaces in one-to-one correspondence with positive definite maps called kernels. They are widely employed in machine learning to reconstruct unknown functions from sparse and noisy data. In the last two decades, a subclass known as stable RKHSs has been also introduced in the setting of linear system identification. Stable RKHSs contain only absolutely integrable impulse responses over the positive real line. Hence, they can be adopted as hypothesis spaces to estimate linear, time-invariant and BIBO stable dynamic systems from input-output data. Necessary and sufficient conditions for RKHS stability are available in the literature and it is known that kernel absolute integrability implies stability. Working in discrete-time, in a recent work we have proved that this latter condition is only sufficient. Working in continuous-time, it is the purpose of this note to prove that the same result holds also for Mercer kernels.


Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a collection of motor disorders caused by brain damage that occur before, during or after birth which can be caused by many factors such as, congenital, genetic, inflation, infection and poisoning during pregnancy, trauma and metabolic disorders. Children with cerebral palsy will mostly have problems with posture. Muscular spasticity found in CP children is not only found in the muscles of the limbs but also the muscles forming posture (body posture), the condition of the body shape of children with CP will be exacerbated by the omission of postures that are not functional. Taping provides convenience in initiating motion, to help people with CP be able to move easily. The objectives of this study is to determine the effect of giving correction posture taping to the ability of motion of cerebral palsy children. Methods:  The design in this study is a quasi experiment with a pretest and posttest design. The research will be conducted on the CP community in Yogyakarta, namely the Wahana Cerebral Palsy Family (WKCP) for 8 weeks. The research instrument used in this study was  a blank check on the basic functional ability of GMFM. Results: After getting treatment in the form of Correction Posture Taping for 8 consecutive weeks, there was an increase in the functional ability of motion during sleep by 5.1385 with P = 0.000 (α <0.05), when seated by 1.0254 with P = 0.000 (α<0.05), when crawling by 0.44 with P = 0.000 (α <0.05), when standing and walking by 0.6523 with  P= 0.000 (α <0.05), when crawling by 0.32 with P = 0.000 (α <0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results of research and the results of data processing, there is the effect of posture taping correction on the functional ability of children with cerebral palsy.


We examined the differentiation-inducing effects of extracts of 49 wild plants, 25 types of seaweed and 26 mushrooms in Akita on the human leukemia cell line HL60 and a B16 mouse melanoma-derived sub-clone with high differentiation capability (B16 2F2). Differentiation inducers of HL60 cells such as retinoic acid, showed no effects on the differentiation of B16 2F2 cells. Furthermore, chemical compounds known to be inducers of B16 cells, did not induce differentiation of HL60 cells. Screening tests showed that the differentiation of HL60 cells was induced by extracts of 28 wild plants, 10 types of seaweed and 2 mushrooms, and melanogenesis of B16 2F2 cells was increased by extracts of 21 wild plants, 8 types of seaweed and 7 mushrooms. All of the alcoholic extracts of plants belonging to the subfamily Cichorioideae of the family Compositae caused cell differentiation of the melanoma cell line. The extracts of Chinese dandelion root, also inhibited cell growth and induced melanogenesis of B16 2F2 cells. We isolated the active compound from ethanol extracts of the crude drug. Chemical and physical data for the active compound were identical with those for lupeol, a lupane-type triterpene.


In a model of financial networks that admits both debt and equity interdependencies, we show that financial organizations have incentives to choose excessively risky portfolios, and overly correlate their portfolios with those of their counterparties. We show how optimal regulation depends on specific measures of financial centrality that capture how a given organization's portfolio affects the values and defaults of other organizations. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the multiplicity of equilibrium values for banks, which increases the fragility of the financial network. Multiplicity arises if and only if there exists a certain type of dependency cycle in the network and that those cycles admit self-fulfilling default cascades. We fully characterize the minimum bailouts needed to ensure systemic solvency. We show that the bailouts needed to eliminate self-fulfilling cycles of defaults are fully recoverable, while those needed to prevent cascading defaults in the best equilibrium are not.


Beginning teachers, who graduated from a credential program focused on preparing advocates for equity and with attention to teaching English language learners (ELLs), had reported in surveys being well prepared to teach ELLs and promote equity. Focus groups illuminated teachers' reports of ways they advocated for ELLs. Reported classroom acts included creating and maintaining safe environments for English language use and development, differentiating instruction and designing interventions for ELLs, and responding to sociopolitical issues related to race, language, and class. Reported advocacy beyond the classroom included seeing inequity and addressing it with lunchtime and after-school tutorials and clubs, and with family contacts and home visits. Sometimes, such advocacy also included critiquing institutional practices or policy, and proposing or building alternatives. Three cases illustrate accounts of school challenges in meeting needs of ELLs, and document possibilities for how advocacy for ELLs, even in the first years of teaching, can be pursued.


The versatile synthons 2-chloro-N-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)acetamides la,b were used as a key intermediates for the synthesis of sulfonamide derivatives with adamantyl 2, indene 3, morpholinophenyl 4, pipronyl 5, benzothiazole 6-8, pyrazole 9, thiadiazole 10,11, quinoline 12, isoquinoline 13, thiazoles 14-19, acrylamides 20-24 and benzochromene 25 moieties via reaction with several nitrogen nucleophiles. The newly synthesized compounds were screened in vitro for their anticancer activity against breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) and colon cancer (HT-29) cell lines. Compound 17 was found to be the most potent against breast cancer cell lines with IC55 value 66.6 μM compared with the reference drug 5-fluorouracil with IC50 value 77.28 μM.


Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber latex with two sorts of sensitizers, trimethylol propane tri-methacrylate (TMPTMA) and diethylene glycol di-acrylate (DEGDA), was irradiated with γ-rays and electron beams in various conditions.The radiation crosslinking reaction of PDMS occurs in the inner phase of the latex and is relatively isolated from the water phase. Therefore the oxygen and the radicals produced by the radiolysis reaction of water almost have no effect on the crosslinking reaction of polymer. The experimental data correspond with the Charlesby-Pinner relationship in the main. The gelation doses, degree of crosslinking and degradation as well as G values of crosslinking were calculated. From them, the sensitization coefficients were derived to offer a quantitative measurement of the enhancing effect of sensitizer on the radiation crosslinking.


This study analyzed the relationship among anxiety, depression, and anger (or ADA) of Filipinas with substance addiction. Further, it also seeks to investigate a preliminary trial of an intervention program that gears towards resolving these conflicts. In Study 1, a descriptive correlation research design was conducted in sample of 100 participants in order to test the relationship of the three constructs. Study 2 is a pre-experimental research design to test preliminarily the efficacy of an intervention program in a sample of 15 participants geared towards addressing ADA among female substance abusers. At the correlation level, findings revealed that the level of depression, anxiety and anger among respondents are positively significant with each other supporting the construct relation of ADA (Fernandez & Kerns, 2008). Interestingly, after controlling for the family structure, analysis revealed the non-significant relation between aggression and depression. Contrary to common notions that intact families are normal and functional families, the result revealed that women substance abusers' intact family maybe a source of dysfunction and disruption. However, only anxiety and depression were shown to be decrease after employing the treatment. Implication of the findings is discussed in addressing issues on substance abuse intervention among women.


We study {\it non-holonomic} overideals of a left differential ideal $J\subset F[\partial_x, \partial_y]$ in two variables where $F$ is a differentially closed field of characteristic zero. The main result states that a principal ideal $J= $ generated by an operator $P$ with a separable {\it symbol} $symb(P)$, which is a homogeneous polynomial in two variables, has a finite number of maximal non-holonomic overideals. This statement is extended to non-holonomic ideals $J$ with a separable symbol. As an application we show that in case of a second-order operator $P$ the ideal $ $ has an infinite number of maximal non-holonomic overideals iff $P$ is essentially ordinary. In case of a third-order operator $P$ we give few sufficient conditions on $ $ to have a finite number of maximal non-holonomic overideals.


Stealthy hyperuniform point patterns are characterized by a vanishing spatial Fourier transform around the origin of the reciprocal vector space. The long-range point density fluctuations are suppressed as well in materials consisting of such distribution of scatterers, opening up opportunities to control waves. Beside wave transport in such structured materials are driven by several elements, such as the acoustic properties of the host material, the scatterer characteristics, i.e., dimensions or resonant features, and the scatterer distribution patterns. The effects of these three basic elements on the wave transport properties are usually hard to discriminate. In this work, we analyze the transport properties of acoustic waves in one-dimensional phononic materials constituted of either non-resonant or resonant scatterers distributed along stealthy hyperuniform patterns in air. The pattern is controlled by the stealthiness, allowing us to continuously vary from random phononic materials to phononic crystals. The properties of the scatterers are controlled by their size and/or the resonant frequencies. The properties of the host material are controlled by the viscothermal losses. Transport properties of stealthy hyperuniform materials are found to be robust to both the scatterer dimensions and inherent viscothermal losses, while strongly affected by the scatterer resonances, which introduce sharp dips in the transmission coefficient.


Title: Alternative Solutions to Control Heat Radiation in Commercial Building Design; Case Study: Commercial Buildings In Bukit Keminting, Palangka Raya City

A building envelope is a component that protects against environmental influences outside the building that are not expected to be a solution in controlling heat radiation and sunlight. However, the shops in Bukit Keminting, Palangka Raya, have challenges. In addition to its function as a commercial building with essential criteria like visibility aspect, the position of the storefront along the road also directly faces the sunset. This causes the store to receive heat and glare from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Using web-based software development from AndrewMarsh.com. This study focuses on effective shading devices for stores in Bukit Keminting Palangka Raya in controlling heat radiation without eliminating the vital aspect of visibility for commercial buildings. The software analysis shows that a highly flexible device is the most suitable solution. The type of shading device with these properties is the type of external Venetian blind, which can be adjusted according to the direction of the incoming light, which changes every month.


Though intensity-hue-saturation (IHS) approaches for image fusion are very fast and easy to implement, they have the intrinsic problem of spectral distortion. To reduce colour distortion in IHS methods, a maximum a posteriori estimator is proposed that minimises colour distance between estimated intensity image and panchromatic image, which preserves spectral information and sharpens the reconstructed images. The simulation demonstrates that the proposed method reconstructs clearer colour images and yields good results, both subjectively and quantitatively.


OBJECTIVES
This paper aims to determine whether disease activity, systemic inflammation and metabolic syndrome are potential determinants of circulating leptin and visfatin levels in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients undergoing TNF-α antagonist therapy. We also assessed whether the infusion of infliximab may alter circulating leptin and visfatin concentrations in these patients.

METHODS
We investigated leptin and visfatin serum concentrations in a series of 30 non-diabetic AS patients without history of cardiovascular (CV) events that were treated with the TNF-α antagonist infliximab, immediately prior to an infliximab infusion. Leptin and visfatin levels were also determined immediately after administration of an infliximab dose.

RESULTS
Significant differences in leptin concentrations between men (8.85±5.31 ng/ml) and women (18.96±9.72 ng/ml) were observed (p=0.001). A significant correlation between visfatin concentrations and insulin resistance (HOMA at the time of the study) was found (r= 0.493; p=0.009). Circulating leptin and visfatin concentrations did not correlate with disease duration, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, BASDAI and VAS at the time of the study and adiponectin and resistin levels prior to infliximab infusion. Likewise, no differences in leptin and visfatin concentrations were observed when patients with a history of anterior uveitis or presence of syndesmophytes were compared with the remaining patients who did not exhibit these features. Leptin and visfatin levels did not change upon infliximab administration.

CONCLUSIONS
The present study indicates that in non-diabetic patients with AS on treatment with infliximab leptin and visfatin serum levels do not correlate with disease activity or systemic inflammation. Nevertheless, visfatin concentration correlates with insulin resistance.


Elections in Indonesia since independence until now have experienced many  changes and dynamics, starting from the existence of guided democracy, Pancasila democracy, to the emergence of reforms showing how dominant the role (government) of the State is in giving color to the democratic system in Indonesia. Various electoral systems have implications for increasing state officials involved in corruption. The correlation between the electoral system and the eradication of corruption is closely related, because the stages and processes that are passed by the participants of this election require very high funding. Corruption that occurs is inseparable from the influence of factors, namely corruption by greed, corruption by need, corruption by opportunities, corruption by Exposus.  Efforts to eradicate corruption have been carried out with various efforts and instruments of legislation, but there are still many regional officials involved in corruption, it needs improvement through political education for the community, an information center on election participants, professional and neutral law enforcement. efforts to prevent corruption from an early age, one of the methods used is Applied Neuroscience, because as well as and as much as legislation if people do not have integrity and an anti-corruption attitude, corruption will always be there.


The ability to make a prenatal diagnosis of Meckel syndrome (encephalocele, polydactyly, and polycystic kidney) by ultrasound is described. Three cases are detailed; in 2 of these the diagnosis was made at 18 and 36 weeks' gestation, respectively. In case 1 Meckel syndrome was identified by the presence of oligohydramnios, microcephaly, and enlarged cerebral ventricles. In case 2 oligohydramnios was associated with an encephalocele, bilateral renal enlargement, and a polydactyly. In case 3 the diagnosis was excluded in a fetus at risk. The usefulness of ultrasound in making this diagnosis is discussed for cases in which the amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein value is normal, inconclusive, or unobtainable.


The importance of authenticity characterization is an increasing and pressing requirement for all foods. Vegetable oil is one of the most studied foods because of its nutritional and medicinal properties in a correct diet. In this study, a total of 53 Camelina sativa samples, from all known growing areas, were chemically and isotopically characterized. The fatty acid content of camelina oil was determined by gas chromatography (GC), and the ratios of stable carbon isotopes ((13)C/(12)C) of individual fatty acids and seed/bulk oil were determined by gas chromatography-combustion-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) and elemental analysis-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). A total of 17 different fatty acids were detected by GC, with omega3 R-linolenic acid (C(18:3n3)) being the most abundant (29.7-40.0 wt %). Oleic acid (C(18:1n9)), linoleic acid (C(18:2n6)) and eicosenoic acid (C(20:1n9)) all belong to the second group of major fatty acids. The stable carbon isotopic values (delta(13)C) fell into a range typical for C(3) plants. The use of delta(13)C(18:2n6) vs delta(13)C(18:3n3) correlation could show cases where impurity or adulteration is suspected, whereas principal component analysis clearly separates oil samples from different continents. Preliminary results on the camelina oil authentication procedure provide a basis for the investigation of geographical origin and the further distinction between camelina and camelina refined or other, less expensive oils.


The article describes the largest operating processing plants for lowgrade copper sulphide ores of our time: 10 plants using the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) technology and 10 plants using high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), with the output of 18 to 100 Mtpa. The unfavorable natural and economic factors are balanced by improved ore preparation and concentration technologies and high-capacity equipment units, combined with cost-saving layout solutions. The ore preparation sector is currently divided between the competing technologies of semi-autogenous grinding and HPGR. The article contains an overview of their advantages and disadvantages. The world's largest monosection with the capacity of 55.5 Mtpa, that uses the SAG technology, is described. The role of the Drop Weght Test JKSimMet (A×b) parameter in the selection of the ore preparation method and the trend for using HPGR in the processing of strong ores are shown. Examples are provided for the consequences of an inadequate assessment of the feed strength in SAG-based plant designs. Examples of ore preparation process intensification through the use of HPGR in semi-autogenous grinding circuits are also given. The volume of impeller flotation cells installed has reached 600 m3. An overview of the two largest processing plants of our time with the output of 88 and 100 Mtpa of ore is presented. The innovative technical solutions of a newest low-capacity copper plant are highlighted. Based on the results of the overview, a future processing plant is predicted to use ∅12.8–13 m SAG mills, HPGRs with the roll diameter of 3 m, vertical VTM-7000 mills in ore grinding cycles, large fine screens, large-scale impeller flotation cells, and staged SFR and DFR flotation reactors.


Glutamine deamidating enzyme from Penicillium politans NRC510 catalyzed deamidation of glutamine to glutamic acid and ammonia. The enzyme was partially purified by a simple method of heating and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. This procedure yields the partially purified enzyme with a 25% recovery of the activity in crude extracts. Specific activity of this partially purified enzyme is 133 U/mg. The partially purified enzyme hydrolyzes L-glutamine, D-glutamine L-asparagine and D-asparagine, while it cannot hydrolyze the other amide such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, nicotinamide and acetamide under the same experimental conditions. The purified enzyme showed the maximal activity against L-glutamine at pH 7.5-8.5 and 60°C. The enzyme has a high salt tolerance, that shows high activity (75% of the original activity) in the presence of 15-30% NaCl. Exposure of the partially purified enzyme to 60°C for 30 min in the absence of the substrate, has no effect on its activity. While it was inhibited to a variable extent by addition of some substances such as HgCl 2 , NaF, CaCl 2 , BaCl 2 and CuSO 4 but was not affected by 2-merceptoethanol and iodoacetate. Product inhibition was recorded by addition of glutamic acid or NH, to the reaction mixture. Glutamic acid inhibition was a competitive type and the k m and the k i values were found to be 7.5 and 39.0 mol/L, respectively.


Reading comprehension is based on the efficient accomplishment of several cognitive processes at the word, sentence, and text level. To the extent that each of these processes contributes to reading comprehension, it can cause reading difficulties if it is deficient. To identify individual sources of reading difficulties, tools are required that allow for a reliable and valid assessment of individual differences in specific cognitive processes of reading comprehension. The present study demonstrates the usefulness of this process-oriented approach to assessing reading comprehension skills using the example of a test for assessing syntactic skills in German primary school children. The test comprises a grammaticality-judgment task that contains items with carefully varied features which are known to facilitate or impede syntactic processes. By means of explanatory item-response models, we demonstrate that empirical item difficulties vary as a function of experimentally varied item features, indicating that the test indeed assesses syntactic skills. Moreover, the test measures individual differences in syntactic skills across the whole range of skill levels and is sensitive to developmental changes. We conclude that the test is a valid tool to assess individual differences and to detect deficits in this component process of reading comprehension.


PBL is a method in which learners are progressively given more responsibility for their own education,based on real world problems to stimulate learning,and to integrate and organize learned information.In clinical practice teaching of respiratory medicine,PBL,which is helpful to improving the students' learning enthusiasm and the study effect,and to training their clinical thinking,has been proved to be an effective tool.


The article is an overview of Sami literature, past and present, with a specific emphasis on the connection between tradition and innovation, in which literature is regarded in a broader sense than only limited to the written word. Thus the relationship between the traditional epic yoik songs and contemporary poetry is being dealt with, as is the multimedia approach that several Sami artists have chosen for their creative expression. It is almost more the rule than an exemption that Sami artists express themselves through the use of more than only one medium. Through the introduction to Sami literature, the reader also gets acquainted with the history and the culture of the Sami, who are the indigenous people of the northern regions of Scandinavia, Finland and the Kola peninsula in Russia.


The toxicity of four quinones, 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMONQ), 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (MNQ), 1,4-naphthoquinone (NQ), and 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ), which redox cycle or arlyate in mammalian cells, was determined in isolated trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes. More than 70% of cells died in 3 h when exposed to BQ or NQ; 50% died in 7 h when exposed to MNQ, with no mortality compared to controls after 7 h DMONQ exposure. A suite of biochemical parameters was assessed for ability to discriminate these reactivity pathways in fish. Rapid depletion of glutathione (GSH) with appearance of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and increased dichlorofluoroscein fluorescence were used as indicators of redox cycling, noted with DMONQ, MNQ, and NQ. Depletion of GSH with no GSSG accumulation, and loss of free protein thiol (PrSH) groups (nonreducible) indicated direct arylation by BQ. All toxicants rapidly oxidized NADH, with changes in NADPH noted later (BQ, NQ, MNQ) or not at all (DMONQ). Biochemical measures including cellular energy status, cytotoxicity, and measures of reactive oxygen species, along with the key parameters of GSH and PrSH redox status, allowed differentiation of responses associated with lethality. Chemicals that arylate were more potent than redox cyclers. Toxic pathway discrimination is needed to group chemicals for potency predictions and identification of structural parameters associated with distinct types of reactive toxicity, a necessary step for development of mechanistically based quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) to predict chemical toxic potential. The commonality of reactivity mechanisms between rodents and fish was also demonstrated, a step essential for species extrapolations.


Executive scholarship is a novel and promising avenue for addressing the gap between academic research and practice. To advance the objective of publishing the findings of executive scholarship, we propose the concept of pragmatic rigor. Pragmatic rigor consists of principles and criteria for conducting and evaluating research with respect to its practical value. Pragmatic rigor includes criteria for evaluation, so that research may be judged on pragmatic merits, in addition to scientific criteria. We propose four principles of pragmatic rigor, along with associated criteria for evaluation: relevance, actionability, comprehensibility, and ethical reasoning. The principles suggest a range of variation for pragmatic rigor rather than a critical threshold. The criteria may be incorporated into journal review processes to ensure that studies considered for publication meet standards for both scientific and pragmatic rigor.


Background: Hypomagnesaemia is common in adult patients with both Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and Type 2 Diabetes MellitusT2DM, especially in poorlycontrolled and chronically treated adults. However, to our knowledge, little research has addressed the relationship between serum magnesium levels and diabetes in children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate magnesium levels and examine their possible association with glycemic control in children with T1DM. Methods: In all, 150 children with T1DM aged between 2 and 16 years and 100 apparently healthy children aged between 2.5 and 16 years were recruited to the study. Using a cross-sectional design, we measured anthropometric parameters, HbA1c, serum magnesium, serum calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and urinary albumin (UA). Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), based on serum creatinine concentrations was also calculated. Results: Lower levels of magnesium were found in subjects with poor versus good glycemic control (0.81 ± 0.23 vs 0.96 ± 0.19 mmol/L, respectively; P = 0.001). Serum magnesium levels were negatively correlated with HbA1c (P = 0.002). Conclusions: The present study shows that serum magnesium levels were lowered in children and adolescents with T1DM and that low serum magnesium levels were associated with an increased risk of poor glycemic control, potentially contributing to the early development of diabetic complications.


Disruption occurrences in liner shipping operations affect schedule reliability and may increase the total cost of delivering cargoes at ports. If a vessel experiences disruption occurrences either at ports of call or in sea, the liner shipping company is required to decide on the schedule recovery action to execute in order to recover the resulting delays. This study formulates a novel mathematical model for the vessel schedule recovery problem (VSRP) in liner shipping. The objective aims to minimize the total profit loss, suffered by the liner shipping company due to disruption occurrences at a given liner shipping route. A total of four recovery strategies are considered in the model, which include: (1) vessel sailing speed adjustment; (2) vessel handling rate adjustment; (3) port skipping without container diversion; and (4) port skipping with container diversion. The proposed mathematical formulation for the nonlinear VSRP model is solved to the global optimality using BARON. A set of computational experiments are further performed for the Middle East/Pakistan/India-West Mediterranean (WM3) route, which is served by the OOCL liner shipping company, for various scenarios of disruption occurrences in sea and at ports. The results from the performed analyses demonstrate potential benefits for liner shipping companies from using the proposed methodology for various realistic scenarios of disruptions.


The question 'What is art?' is frequently debated, but 'What is science?' appears to be discussed less often - though the answers could reveal far more about us. Is science a public good? Does science mean progress? Or is science something more exploitative - driven by profit, promoted by businesses and institutions looking for economic and political power? In this ground-breaking study in the tradition of Richard Dawkins and Jared Diamond, Terence Kealey shows how an understanding of sexual and natural selection can transform our view of progress in economics, business and technology. Richly multi-disciplinary, witty, brilliant and thought-provoking, it is an important and controversial book.


During the last decade, interest in anorectal disorders has increased continuously. This review presents the results of Hungarian authors' contributions to a better understanding of anorectal physiology over the last 10 years. It has been demonstrated that the surgical technique of pelvic floor reconstruction can be refined and surgical complication rates reduced through the analysis of anal basal pressure components and exploration of internal anal sphincter function. Objective assessment of anal continence (distinguishing continent from incontinent patients) is a consistent problem in clinical practice. The balloon-retaining test, a special application of manometry, facilitates evaluation of anorectal function in incontinent patients. Constipation is an extremely common symptom. Surgical treatment of these ailments should not be regarded as a first-choice therapy. Disordered defecation due to anismus can be identified by defecometry, and can eventually be treated by biofeedback training. The data presented here demonstrate the enormous impact of sophisticated diagnostic techniques on the therapeutic options in treatment of anorectal diseases.


A conceptually simple method is presented for determining the system transfer function matrix of linear multivariable systems described by their state-space equations. The polynomial coefficients of the transfer function matrix are computed directly by using the controllability matrix method and the transformation to canonical (phase-variable) form matrices, even if the transformation matrices are singular. The method does not require matrix inversion and calculation of eigenvalues, and requires only O(n/sup 3/) operations. >


BACKGROUND
The lack of hourly Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) documentation in trauma patients while in the emergency department (ED) is frequently cited by American College of Surgeons (ACS) Trauma Center Verification Review Committee site visitors. The basis for this requirement is unclear. We suspected that hourly recording of GCS has no impact on patient outcome.

METHODS
The trauma registry of a 300-bed ACS-verified, state-designated Level II trauma center was reviewed retrospectively for head trauma patients over 16 years of age. Demographic data, field and ED GCS, presence or absence of hourly GCS in the ED, objective injury scores, complications, discharge status, and hospital length of stay were determined.

RESULTS
A total of 463 patients were identified. Hourly GCS was recorded in the ED in 244 (53%) patients. No significant difference was found in the Trauma and Injury Severity Score or the Abbreviated Injury Score of the head between those who had hourly GCS recorded and those who did not. Patients who had hourly GCS recorded were significantly younger, 42.3 +/- 19.7 years vs 53.9 +/- 24.9 years for those who did not have hourly GCS recorded (P < 0.001). Seventy percent (126/179) of patients involved in a motorcycle or motor vehicle crash had hourly GCS recorded while only 39% (69/175) of patients admitted for falls had hourly GCS (P < 0.001). There were no differences in mortality or complication rates between the groups.

CONCLUSION
The recording of hourly GCS on head injured patients is reflective of the initial presentation of the patient and not an objective evaluation of the patient. The presence or absence of hourly GCS in the ED was not associated with any increase in complications or mortality. The ACS should reevaluate the requirement for hourly recording of GCS in trauma patients.


Sarcolipin (SLN) is a small integral membrane protein that regulates the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) pump. When bound to SERCA, SLN reduces the apparent Ca2+ affinity of SERCA and uncouples SERCA Ca2+ transport from its ATP consumption. As such, SLN plays a direct role in altering skeletal muscle relaxation and energy expenditure. Interestingly, the expression of SLN is dynamic during times of muscle adaptation, where large increases in SLN content are found in response to development, atrophy, overload and disease. Several groups have suggested that increases in SLN, especially in dystrophic muscle, are deleterious to muscle function and exacerbate already abhorrent intracellular Ca2+ levels. However, there is also significant evidence to show that increased SLN content is a beneficial adaptive mechanism which protects the SERCA pump and activates Ca2+ signaling and adaptive remodeling during times of cell stress. In this review, we first discuss the role for SLN in healthy muscle during both development and overload, where SLN has been shown to activate Ca2+ signaling to promote mitochondrial biogenesis, fibre type shifts and muscle hypertrophy. Then, with respect to muscle disease, we summarize the discrepancies in the literature as to whether SLN upregulation is adaptive or maladaptive in nature. This review is the first to offer the concept of SLN hormesis in muscle disease, wherein both too much and too little SLN are detrimental to muscle health. Finally, the underlying mechanisms which activate SLN upregulation are discussed, specifically acknowledging a potential positive feedback loop between SLN and Ca2+ signaling molecules.


The focus of this paper is to improve the self-sensing performance of an interior permanent-magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) by modifying the rotor configurations. A field-intensified IPMSM (FIIPMSM) is designed by adding flux barriers in the rotor of an IPMSM. In comparison with IPMSMs, FIIPMSMs have the advantage of decoupling saturation-induced saliency, cross-coupling effects, and also secondary saliencies, which reduce the estimation accuracy of self-sensing control for IPMSMs. A finite element analysis is used to design the FIIPMSM and assess the performance of the machine for self-sensing. The self-sensing capabilities of IPMSMs and FIIPMSMs are presented and compared. The results demonstrate the improved self-sensing performance of the new field-intensified machine.


In most existing reliability evaluation techniques, the stopping rules applied for contingency enumeration are either a given number of states with the highest probabilities or the states up to a specified failure order. However, the probability of a high order outage state may be larger than that of a low order outage state due to different reliabilities of the failed components. On the other hand, a low probability state with high outage capacity may have larger impact on system reliability than a high probability state with low outage capacity. These effects have not been considered in the existing techniques for contingency filtering or screening. A fast contingency screening technique (FCST) for generation system reliability evaluation is proposed in this paper. In this technique, contingency states are searched and ranked based on the severity coefficients determined by both state probabilities and outage capacities of the failed units. Several severity coefficients for a unit are defined and examined based on reliability and capacity factors. The replaceable neighboring states of a state and the minimum set of the neighboring states are defined to further reduce computation time. The merits of the proposed techniques and severity coefficients are validated by evaluating the East-China Power Grid.


Literature is an essential platform for socio-political, cultural and economic struggles among other things. This creative art called literature is a source of dialogue, debate, exchange and innovation. A form of creativity which enhances transfer of culture and knowledge that are useful for coping with societal tasks In other words, it paints life with a view to share human experiences, feelings, imaginations, observations, findings, predictions and suggestions for prevailing social realities. However, as open and flexible literature is, practitioners; writers and critics alike are advised to desist from arbitrariness. We conceive literature as something more than art for art sake not because such stance is wrong but because literature has other potent roles to play in human society. In this paper, we attempt to decode SembA¨ne Ousmane's Le Mandat with a view to unmasking the representations of a society in literary work. In other words, we demonstrate the relationships between Literature and Society, using faction as our theoretical back-up. The paper concludes that literature is a functional weapon for social criticism which will bring about sustainable developments in various human societies.


Background: Nowadays, many commercial kits allow the detection of Cryptosporidium sp. in stool samples after deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction. Protocols of stool pretreatment have been proposed to optimize oocysts' DNA extraction. Among them, mechanical grinding was reported to improve the performance of Cryptosporidium oocysts' DNA extraction. Methods: A multicenter comparative study was conducted within the framework of the French National Reference Center-Expert Laboratory for Cryptosporidiosis. Six extraction systems (i.e., manual or automated) associated with various mechanical pretreatment protocols, were compared for the Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst' DNA extraction, before amplification using the same real-time PCR method targeting. Results: The sensitivity of real-time PCR assay was unequally impacted by the pretreatment/extraction protocol. We observed significant differences for the lowest concentrations of C. parvum oocysts (i.e., 0–94.4% and 33.3–100% respectively for 10 and 50 oocysts/mL). All in all, the protocol using Quick DNA Fecal/Soil Microbe-Miniprep® manual kit showed the best performances. In addition, optimal performances of mechanical pretreatment were obtained by combining a grinding duration of 60 s with a speed of 4 m/s using Fastprep24® with Lysing Matrix E®. Conclusions: Sample pretreatment, as well as the extraction method, needs to be properly adapted to improve the diagnostic performances of the C. parvum DNA amplification methods.


Management of HCWs with "sharps" injuries and other workplace exposures is a growing concern in this era of multiple, blood-borne, potentially fatal infectious diseases. HCWs and institutions are advised to become knowledgeable about exposure risks and mechanisms for decreasing them.


Rhabdomyoma is a rare neoplasm of striated muscle that occurs predominantly in the myocardium. In animals, cardiac rhabdomyoma are observed as incidental lesions in slaughter pigs and have been rarely described in other species, such as cattle, dogs, and deer. This report describes a case of cardiac rhabdomyoma in a male pig at slaughter age that died suddenly in the pre-slaughter period. At necropsy, multiple nodules were observed in the right and left ventricular walls and the interventricular septum. Histopathological examination showed neoplastic proliferation composed of polyhedral cells, with vacuolated cytoplasm that sometimes presented a "spider cell" appearance. Histochemical staining with Schiff's periodic acid revealed glycogen granules in the cytoplasm of neoplastic cells. The neoplastic cells were positive for desmin, neuron-specific enolase, atrial natriuretic peptide, and vimentin by immunohistochemistry, to varying degrees. The anatomopathological and immunohistochemical findings observed in this case confirmed the diagnosis of cardiac rhabdomyoma, possibly originating from the Purkinje fibers.


The release of important intracellular ions has been widely modeled using two approaches, namely, (1) Fickian diffusion, in which sometimes tensorial diffusion coefficients are used to fit observed temporally varying concentrations of calcium, and (2) cellular automata, which produce a set of localized finite difference equations that result in complex global behavior. Here, we take a different approach, employing some assumed, a priori, distribution of ion-binding proteins in the cell, and some assumed biochemical capture and release characteristics to explain ionic motion, and ultimately, distribution. We study several scenarios for ion distribution, based on differences in binder action and distribution. The numbers and strengths of ion binders, spatial variation in inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate concentration, together with the escalating distribution of ionic diffusion speed, are found to be key factors leading to concavity in the Ca2+ wave shape. We also offer an explanation for geometrical effects on previously observed ion diffusion speeds in the cellular cortex of the Xenopus laevis egg during fertilization, based on an angle-of-view correction.


Introduction: Post-menopausal health issues has always been given attention, while only few people are aware the health issues associated with peri-menopause. Symptoms include tremendous fluctuations in hormone levels, irregularities in the menstrual cycle, vasomotor and psychological issues. Aim: The present study is aimed to assess the utility of Belief, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Enabling Factors (BASNEF) model to improve quality of life among perimenopausal women in the rural community setting and to compare the quality of life before and after intervention, the association between the selected demographic variables and the quality of life in the experimental and control groups will be assessed. Materials and Methods: The present interventional analytical quasi-experimental study will be conducted on study population from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. In this study, two stage cluster sampling technique will be used to select the study participants. Age group of perimenopausal women will be 40-55 years. Study participants will be screened as per inclusion/exclusion criteria and divided into two groups. One group will receive intervention of BASNEF model while another group will be control group. The BASNEF intervention will be divided into five phases for five days, follow-up visits will be conducted at first and third month of phase four. During intervention period and further up to three months, an educational pamphlet based on care during menopause will be provided to the participants and contact number will be provided to ask any doubts during this period. Primary outcome includes assessment of the utility of BASNEF model on quality of life among perimenopausal women. Secondary outcome includes increase in knowledge, change in belief and attitude, to know participation of subjective norms and to make aware about enabling factors. Conclusion: The conclusion will be drawn from the result will be published in peer reviewed journal.


Background—Recent clinical trials have shifted attention away from estrogens and toward androgens and sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) as potential mediators of increasing cardiovascular (CV) risk in women at midlife. Methods and Results—The correlation between reproductive hormones and CV risk factors was evaluated in a multiethnic (white, black, Hispanic, Chinese, and Japanese) sample of 3297 premenopausal and perimenopausal women. Testosterone and estradiol (E2) were evaluated along with SHBG and the free androgen index (FAI), the amount of testosterone not bound by SHBG. Low SHBG and high FAI were strongly and consistently related to elevated CV risk factors (higher insulin, glucose, and hemostatic and inflammatory markers and adverse lipids) even after controlling for body mass index (P<0.001 for all). Low levels of E2 were associated with elevated CV risk factors to a lesser degree. These observations were consistent across the 5 ethnic groups. Compared with whites, blacks had higher levels of SHBG and lower levels of FAI, and Chinese had lower levels of SHBG and higher levels of FAI. Conclusions—Low SHBG and high FAI are strongly associated with CV risk factors in racially diverse women, and thus, androgens likely play a role in the CV risk profile of perimenopausal women.


Mesoscale structures (communities) are used to understand the macroscale properties of complex networks, such as their functionality and formation mechanisms. Microscale structures are known to exist in most complex networks (e.g., large number of triangles or motifs), but they are absent in the simple random-graph models considered (e.g., as null models) in community-detection algorithms. In this paper we investigate the effect of microstructures on the appearance of communities in networks. We find that alone the presence of triangles leads to the appearance of communities even in methods designed to avoid the detection of communities in random networks. This shows that communities can emerge spontaneously from simple processes of motiff generation happening at a microlevel. Our results are based on four widely used community-detection approaches (stochastic block model, spectral method, modularity maximization, and the Infomap algorithm) and three different generative network models (triadic closure, generalized configuration model, and random graphs with triangles).


Abstracts: AACR Special Conference: Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; June 25-28, 2016; Boston, MA

Disseminated tumors are poorly accessible to nanoscale drug delivery systems due to the vascular barrier, which attenuates extravasation at the tumor site. We investigated P-selectin, a molecule expressed on activated vasculature that facilitates metastasis by arresting tumor cells at the endothelium, for its potential to target metastases using this property. We found unexpectedly that P-selectin is expressed on cancer cells in many human tumors. To develop a targeted drug delivery platform, we employed a polysaccharide with nanomolar affinity to P-selectin. The nanoparticles targeted the tumor microenvironment to localize chemotherapeutics and a targeted MEK inhibitor at tumor sites in both primary and metastatic models, resulting in superior anti-tumor efficacy. On non-expressing tumors, we found that ionizing radiation guided the nanoparticles to the disease site by inducing P-selectin expression. Radiation concomitantly produced an abscopal-like phenomenon in unirradiated tumors, suggesting a potential strategy to target disparate drug classes to almost any tumor.

Citation Format: Daniel A. Heller. P-selectin is a nanotherapeutic delivery target to the tumor microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; 2016 Jun 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B40.


Motivated by the structure of the uniform posets we introduce the notion of an augmented down-up (or ADU) algebra. We discuss how ADU algebras are related to the down-up algebras defined by Benkart and Roby. For each ADU algebra we give two presentations by generators and relations. We also display a Z -grading and a linear basis. In addition we show that the center is isomorphic to a polynomial algebra in two variables. We display seven families of uniform posets and show that each gives an ADU algebra module in a natural way. The main inspiration for the ADU algebra concept comes from the second author's thesis concerning a type of uniform poset constructed using a dual polar graph.


This study aims at showing if and to what extent injury severity in frontal car crashes increases with the age of front seat occupants. Data on 2658 belted drivers and front seat passengers in Volvo private car series 140, 240 and 740/760, involved in frontal crashes were extracted from the Volvo Car Crash Register. The results show that the risk of injury resulting in "medical observation" does not increase systematically with age. However, the risk of fracture with any localization is more than three times higher among those aged 65-74 than in those aged 18-24, and the risk of fracture in the rib cage is nearly eleven times higher among the older than in the younger age group. It can be concluded that the incidence of specific types of injuries—as exemplified with fractures of any localization and fractures in the rib cage—increases with advancing age.


The restoration of two early eighteenth-century marble statues by Antonio Corradini is described. Methylene chloride was used to remove plant stains. Sepiolite (magnesium silicate) and water drew out the dirt, and thick incrustations were removed with an ultrasonic dental tool. Incorrectly restored parts were remodelled according to contemporary prints, not in marble but using a casting procedure.


Objective
Recent research has documented psychological distress in advanced breast cancer (ABC) patients, but few studies have examined how death anxiety is affected by the symptom burden. Therefore, this study aims to explore the association among symptom burden, death anxiety and psychological distress (depression and anxiety) in ABC patients.

Methods
This cross-sectional study used the Death and Dying Anxiety Scale (DADDS), 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) to assess death anxiety, depression, anxiety, and symptom burden, respectively. Bias-corrected bootstrapping methods were used to estimate indirect effects and 95% confidence intervals.

Results
Two hundred ABC patients completed the questionnaires. All of the respondents were females, with a mean age of 50±10 years. Initial correlation analyses revealed significant associations of death anxiety with depression (r=0.57, P<0.001), anxiety (r=0.60, P<0.001) and symptom burden (r=0.43, P<0.001). Moreover, depression (r=0.53, P<0.001) and anxiety (r=0.45, P<0.001) were significantly correlated with symptom burden. An analysis using Hayes' PROCESS macro revealed the partial effecting role of death anxiety in the relationship between depression and symptom burden, and between anxiety and symptom burden (contributions to the total effect of 0.247 and 0.469, respectively).

Conclusions
This study provides insight into the relationship between death anxiety and symptom burden. The results suggest that interventions addressing death anxiety may be more effective for alleviating the depression and anxiety experienced by ABC patients with a symptom burden.


During the course of investigation of the bands at λλ 5622, 5211 and 4845, emitted by the magnesium arc in hydrogen at low pressures, Prof. A. Fowler observed that they were always accompanied by a further band at λ 2430 and by series of double lines in the region λ 2940 to λ 3100. These features of this spectrum seemed to merit further study in view of the important part played by the spectra of other molecules with 13 electrons (CN, BO, BeF, CO+, N2+) in the classification of molecular energy levels. Further, MgH is one of the interesting series of hydrides (BeH, MgH, CaH, ZnH, CdH, HgH) which show a pair of excited P states, with doublet separation increasing with molecular weight, closely resembling the lowest 2P state of the preceding monovalent atoms (Li, Na, K, Cu, Ag, Au). An account of an analysis of the band at λ 2430 was given in a previous paper; the present paper deals with the series of double lines. For convenience the system in the visible region is referred to as the α-system, the one represented by the band at λ 2430 as the β-system, and that about to be described as the γ-system.


Large sets of biological samples are commonly encountered in biomedical research, and a rigorous, reliable top-down quantification method for proteins from multiple samples is required. With differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE), Cy3 and Cy5 dyes are used to fluorescently label two different protein samples prior to running them on the same 2D gel. Often, Cy2 dye is used as an internal standard as well. This approach permits analysis of two to three samples under identical conditions, eliminating the need to register and match the images as in traditional 2D gels. Though conceptually seductive, problems plague DIGE, especially when attempting to perform complex quantitative proteomics studies. Since the DIGE images are generated with two to three different dyes of differing molar extinction coefficients, quantum yields, and physicochemical properties, absolute quantification of small intensity differences is challenging. Also, DIGE is overly simplistic in its basic assumption that all information required in an experiment can be obtained from a single 2D gel using an easy control-vs.-perturbed state experimental design. Multi-point time-course experiments and drug dose-response experiments require many more than the two to three sample capacity of DIGE. An isobaric mass tagging strategy is presented wherein seven different samples are simultaneously fractionated on a single 2D gel and protein abundances subsequently quantified by mass spectrometry. Workflows that replace or alternatively augment DIGE are described. Reproducibility of conventional DIGE vs. the isobaric mass tagging strategy demonstrates higher accuracy quantification obtained with the latter approach.


Green financing is a term which is trending these days. Significant evidence was traced in 2007 when business week reportedly said that a fifteen-fold rise was there in sustainable mutual fund investment. There is a shift from capital formation to energy efficiency in investments. In 1980s and 1990s the focus of investments was mostly on economically viable projects. But this is the era when the focus has been shifted to environmentally viable projects. There are many companies which are following green finance concept so as to sustain in long run. A report on "Measures for ensuring sustained growth of Indian manufacturing sector" or Prime Minister's group headed by V Krishnamurthy recommended for promotion of clean technologies to achieve the aim of sustainable growth. The major objective of this paper is to study several aspects of green financing with respect to Indian scenario and it would also verify the practicability of green financing in Indian Banking sector. Green financing is now becoming a trending concept in the industry. Besides all the facts, the public is also demanding a company to be environmentally sensitive. Due to this reason many business houses have already started green financing. But this is indeed a crucial time for the companies to cope up with standards and norms of Green financing. Environmental improvements and economic growth should go hand in hand specially in countries like India so as to sustain and develop in long run.


It is observed in EAST that the non-axisymmetric helical currents induced by lower hybrid waves (LHWs) in the scrape-off layer (SOL) can produce resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs), hence mitigate edge-localized modes (ELMs) significantly and cause the strike points splitting. In this work, the non-axisymmetric SOL current driven by an alternative method, i.e. biased electrode, is shown to influence the plasma boundary, especially the strike points, in the divertor configuration on J-TEXT. With positive bias to the electrode, the upper strike points on the divertor target plate is observed to split as captured by the visible camera. Such splitting is usually observed with the RMPs. In addition, the SOL plasma parameters measured by the reciprocating probe, such as floating potential (V f), electron temperature (T e), and ion saturation current (I s), are significantly altered by applying modulation bias, which is closely related to the SOL current. A SOL current model has been extended from the limiter configuration version to the poloidal divertor configuration, and the magnetic field generated by SOL current and the change of magnetic topological structure of plasma boundary can be simulated. The simulation results shows that the magnetic perturbation generated by the SOL current can induce the lobes near the X-point, which is three-dimensional asymmetric structure, and shows good agreement with the experimental observation. The active control of the boundary magnetic topology indicates that the SOL current is capable of generating strong magnetic perturbations, and hence might be sufficient for the control of ELMs.


The spacing of layers in a sputtered, multilayer structure was rapidly and permanently increased by heating with a nanosecond laser pulse. During laser heating, the Bragg angle decreased and the peak reflectivity increased for diffraction of soft x‐ray radiation at 4.4 nm. Measurements were made using a time and space resolving x‐ray streak camera detector.


Ultrasonography was performed using the full-bladder technique in 58 patients with intrauterine gestations. Postvoiding scans were then obtained to assess changes in placental position and determine the optimal window for amniocentesis. Twenty-two of the 41 patients with gestations between 13 and 21 weeks and 4 of the 17 with gestations between 24 and 34 weeks had changes in placental position after voiding, presumably due to the effect of the distended bladder on uterine position. These findings should be considered when using ultrasound to locate a suitable window for amniocentesis.


The Onion Router (Tor) is a good way to have privacy and anonymity while using the Internet. However there are several problems it has to deal with, because it is also possible to bypass governmental censorship, which also became goal of the Tor network. By different techniques several governments and other parties who have the capability to, try to block the network completely. One technique is to overwhelm the distribution strategies for bridges – which are an essential part of the Tor network, especially for censored users. Hereby a possible approach for distributing bridges via online social networks (OSN) is presented. It is based on the Proximax distribution but has also the capability to separate and exclude possible adversaries who managed to join the social group. Moreover trustful users get rewarded by a better status and less waiting time for bridges.


To create a digital model of the surface of some object from a setof points, representing positions on the surface of this object, requiresinformation about the relationship between the points. This informa-tion is not immediatly accessible. Thus, for creating such a model itis necessary to establish relationsships between the points of the set.In addition, it should be possible to render the resulting modelas efficiently as possible. Modern graphics cards offer to send vertexinformations as triangle strips; by using triangle strips the informationabout the triangles can be compressed.This work is about a method for retrieving information about therelations between points in an unstructered spatial point set and trans-forming this information into triangle strips. It is based on the convexlayers of a planar point set and an algorithm for triangulating theannuli of the convex layers, which uses the Rotating Calipers.


Abstract. In socio-hydrology, human-water interactions are simulated by mathematical models. Although the integration of these socio-hydrologic models and observation data is necessary to improve the understanding of the human-water interactions, the methodological development of the model-data integration in socio-hydrology is in its infancy. Here we propose to apply sequential data assimilation, which has been widely used in geoscience, to a socio-hydrological model. We developed particle filtering for a widely adopted flood risk model and performed an idealized observation system simulation experiment to demonstrate the potential of the sequential data assimilation in socio-hydrology. In this experiment, the flood risk model's parameters, the input forcing data, and empirical social data were assumed to be somewhat imperfect. We tested if data assimilation can contribute to accurately reconstructing the historical human-flood interactions by integrating these imperfect models and imperfect and sparsely distributed data. Our results highlight that it is important to sequentially constrain both state variables and parameters when the input forcing is uncertain. Our proposed method can accurately estimate the model's unknown parameters even if the true model parameter temporally varies. The small amount of empirical data can significantly improve the simulation skill of the flood risk model. Therefore, sequential data assimilation is useful to reconstruct historical socio-hydrological processes by the synergistic effect of models and data.


Staphylococcus epidermidis is a leading cause of foreign body-associated infections. This is related to the bacterium's ability to form biofilms on synthetic materials. Bacteria within a biofilm may be exposed to subinhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of antibiotics because of an agent's limited penetration into the biofilm core. Here, we investigated the effect of sub-MICs of tigecycline and ciprofloxacin on the expression of biofilm-associated genes, i.e. icaA, altE and sigB, and the biofilm structure of five clinical isolates of S. epidermidis. For most tested isolates, the expression of these genes increased after exposure to 0.25 MIC and 0.5 MIC tigecycline. A slight decrease in icaAmRNA levels was observed only in two isolates in the presence of 0.25 MIC tigecycline. The effect of ciprofloxacin exposure was isolate-dependent. At 0.5 MIC, ciprofloxacin induced an increase of sigB and icaAmRNA levels in three of the five tested isolates. At the same time, expression of the altE gene increased in all isolates (from 1.3-fold to 42-fold, depending on the strain). Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis indicated that sub-MIC ciprofloxacin decreased biofilm formation, whereas tigecycline stimulated this process. Our data suggest that sub-MIC tigecycline may have bearing on the outcome of infections.


Choice experiments (CE – otherwise known as Choice Modelling) have become widespread as an approach to environmental valuation in Australia. There are, however, limited applications that have focused on the estimation of estuary values. Furthermore, none of the existing valuation studies have addressed catchment management changes in Tasmania. The CE study described in this report aims to elicit community preferences for natural resource management options in the George catchment in north-eastern Tasmania. The survey was administered in different sub-sample locations in Tasmania to assess the trade-offs respondents are willing to make between environmental attributes and costs. Catchment health attributes were the length of native riverside vegetation and the number of rare animal and plant species in the George catchment. The area of healthy seagrass beds in the Georges Bay was used as a measure of estuary condition. Results from mixed logit models show that respondents are, on average, willing to pay between $3.47 and $5.11 for a km increase in native riverside vegetation and between $7.10 and $12.42 per species for the protection of rare native plants and animals, ceteris paribus. The results are ambiguous about respondents' preferences for estuary seagrass area. This study further shows significant differences between logit models when accounting for unobserved preference heterogeneity and repeated choices made by the same individual.


Stack filters are a class of nonlinear spatial operators used for noise suppression. Their design is formulated as an optimisation problem and genetic algorithms (GAs) are used to perform the configuration. Applying the mean absolute error (MAE) as the basis of an objective function, the stack filter is used to restore magnetic resonance (MR) images corrupted with uncorrelated additive noise from 10% and 50%. The filter is trained on corresponding patches of the original and noisy image and then applied to the whole image. The outcomes are compared with the median filter and return a smaller MAE for all noise levels. The dependency of MAE on training window size and GA early termination is examined, showing that a reduction of 75% in computational complexity can be achieved by a 10% relaxation in MAE. The design is then extended from 9-point to 13-point filters and by training on Poisson noise, the filter is applied to nuclear medicine bone scans where no absolute truth exists. Surface topology, image profiles and the measurement of relative contrast show its value in reducing noise whilst preserving contrast. Because of its computational complexity the process has been implemented as a distributed GA using the parallel virtual machine (PVM) software.


In this paper, the influence of coherent and incoherent boundary conditions for quantum transport through silicon nanowires is studied. An iteration scheme to compute an approximate self-energy in the contacts is proposed. The focus lies on the impact on the self-consistent electrostatics and the current computation. In addition, the scaling behavior with increasing device lengths is shown.


Various multilayers of Cd stearate were prepared by means of the Langmuir-Blodgett technique and investigated at T = Ts - ΔT (Ts, melting point of LB film). The x-ray scattering spectrum was recorded in several time intervals using an energy dispersive set up. For ΔT = 3 ... 9 K the observed intensity reduction of Bragg peaks, which corresponds to the multilayer periodicity, is recorded as a function of time. In addition new peaks appear. This is interpreted in terms of a kinetically driven phase separation of the metastable LB-phase. The time needed for phase disorder and the nucleation of the new phase decreases for smaller ΔT. The measured layer spacing of the new phase is larger than the length of a molecule but smaller than a LB bilayer. We suggest the new phase to be interpreted as a two dimensional array of cylindrical structure elements as known from bulk material. Obviously this phase transition needs the existence of an intermediate disordered state and is kinetically restricted at lower temperature.


Computational Models of Cognitive Processes collects refereed versions of papers presented at the 13th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop (NCPW13) that took place July 2012, in San Sebastian (Spain). This workshop series is a well-established and unique forum that brings together researchers from such diverse disciplines as artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, neurobiology, philosophy and psychology to discuss their latest work on models of cognitive processes.


An underwater telemeter system has been developed for the White Fish Authority which can provide the fishing trawler skipper with information concerning various features of the trawl he is towing, e.g., mouth opening, ambient conditions, etc. The system employs time-division multiplexing to provide four channels with the information being transmitted by modulating the PRF of pulses of 40 kHz carrier. The measurements made in the prototype system are 1) water temperature at the sea bed, 2) strain in the cables on the trawl, 3) height of the trawl opening, and 4) width of the trawl opening. The equipment described is: 1) A cylindrical shaped transmitter floated in the center of the trawl head-line, housing a thermistor for sensing temperature, and a pulsed echo sounder operating at 200 kHz for measuring the height of the trawl opening. 2) Two transponder units mounted on the wing ends of the trawl, measuring the width of the opening and carrying sensors for the strain in the towing cable. 3) Either a ship mounted or towed receiver followed by signal decoding circuitry and display.


In this paper we report meiotic behaviour in 28 accessions of the tetraploid (2n = 4x = 104 or 112) Leucaena confertiflora, L. diversifolia, L. involucrata, L. leucocephala, L. x spontanea and the diploid (2n = 2x = 52 or 56) L. shannonii and L. macrophylla. We compare and discuss our data with that on literature about polyploidy in the genus. Despite the general predominance of bivalent formation, quadrivalents and other associations were found in all the taxa analysed. In the diploid species. multiple associations were found in up to 62% of the cells in L. shannonii and 97.6% in L. macrophylla. In the tetraploid taxa irregularities such as univalents, trivalents and other multivalents were observed in varying proportions, up to 55% in L. involucrata. Mean meiotic indexes per accession in the diploids and tetraploids were over or near 90%, but pollen fertility varied from 54.2% to 87.3%. The rather frequent presence of quadrivalents in the diploid species supports a paleopolyploid origin. For the tetraploid taxa, the presence of quadrivalents reflect chromosomal homology due to polyploid origin. Even if an autotetraploid origin cannot be ruled out by cytological data alone, considering other existing evidence, it is probable that L. confertiflora, L. pallida, L. leucocephala and L. involucrata are segmental allopolyploids. However, an autopolyploid origin for L. diversifolia cannot be ruled out nor cytologically nor by other existing data.


Background/Objective: Individuals with a family history of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) are at increased genetic risk for T1D. Previous studies identified the presence of β-cell dysfunction before clinical onset and diagnosis of T1D. However, it is unclear if β-cell dysfunction predates islet autoimmunity in individuals at high genetic risk. Our objective was to test β-cell function in islet antibody negative adults who have a first-degree relative with T1D. We hypothesized that individuals at genetic risk for T1D would exhibit β-cell dysfunction even without detectable islet autoimmunity.Methods: We used ordinary one-way and Brown-Forsythe ANOVA to compare the repeated mixed meal tolerance test (MMTT) and hyperglycemic clamp glucose-stimulated β-cell response and function measures between three groups of individuals: normoglycemic adults without T1D family history age, sex, and BMI-matched islet antibody negative first-degree relatives of individuals with T1D, and islet antibody positive first-degree relatives of individuals with T1D.Results: Neither the MMTT first-phase insulin secretion measures (c-peptide0-15 minutes, c-peptide0-30 minutes, insulin0-15 minutes, insulin0-30 minutes), nor second-phase measures (c-peptide0-120 minutes, insulin0-120 minutes, and glucose0-120 minutes) showed a statistically significant difference between groups. The clamp acute c-peptide response to glucose, insulin sensitivity, c-peptide steady state, first-phase β-cell function, and second-phase β-cell function were similar between subject groups in both visits. Fasting proinsulin:c-peptide ratios, a biomarker of β-cell stress, were also similar between participant groups.Conclusion and Impact: Our data suggest that genetically at-risk autoantibody negative adult relatives of individuals with T1D do not demonstrate β-cell dysfunction compared to controls. Studies show that β-cell ER dysfunction preceding T1D onset is more striking in younger children. Thus, our findings may reflect the use of an adult study population. Alternatively, β-cell dysfunction in T1D may require initial autoimmune activation. This study will contribute to the growing understanding of risk factors contributing to T1D development.This project was funded, in part, with support from the Research Training Program in Diabetes and Obesity funded, in part by grant 3T32DK064466 from the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Funding also provided by JDRF grant 2-SRA-2017-498-M-B.


This paper shows the difference between an effective worker and an efficient worker. The following are seven ways on how to keep one's job: 1) be unique, 2) be smarter, 3) be valuable, 4) be humble, 5) be proactive, be effective and lastly 7) be prepared. Also, this paper discusses how outsourcing is a vital alternative to a certain business once the given steps fail.


The failure criterion represented by matric suction is proposed on unsaturated soils. Although there is plenty of unsaturated ground under low confining pressure (lower than 100 kPa) near the surface of the earth, the application of the failure criterion under low confining pressure has not been confirmed. To achieve this objective, strength and deformation characteristics of an unsaturated cohesive soil were studied, with close attention paid to tensile stress using a hollow cylinder torsional shear apparatus. Experimentation was carried out under the conditions of constant suction, where it is easy to estimate the effect of matric suction. The difference between the failure mechanism under compressive stress and under tensile stress is investigated in this study. Then, the application range of the existing failure criterion is discussed with a focus on low confining stress range. Finally, new failure criterion on unsaturated soil considering tensile stress is proposed on the basis of the experimental results.


The distortion field defined by the ellipticities of galaxy shapes as projected on the sky can be uniquely decomposed into a gradient and a curl component. If the observed ellipticities are induced by weak gravitational lensing, then the distortion field is curl-free. Here we show that, in contrast, the distortion field resulting from intrinsic spin alignments is not curl-free. This provides a powerful discriminant between lensing and intrinsic contributions to observed ellipticity correlations. We also show how these contributions can be disentangled statistically from the ellipticity correlations or computed locally from circular integrals of the ellipticity field. This allows for an unambiguous detection of intrinsic galaxy alignments in the data. When the distortions are dominated by lensing, as occurs at high redshifts, the decomposition provides a valuable tool for understanding properties of the noise and systematic errors. These techniques can be applied equally well to the polarization of the microwave background, where it can be used to separate curl-free scalar perturbations from those produced by gravity waves or defects.


With the seventh largest GDP in the world, California has the economic heft of a country. One of the largest drivers of economic growth in California is the life science industry. In fact, it is a cornerstone of California's innovation ecosystem, and is characterized by three distinct geographical clusters. There's San Diego's entrepreneurial energy, Los Angeles' emerging incubators and the Bay Area's unique tech influence. All of these clusters drive growth and distinct opportunities for institutes, universities, businesses and entrepreneurs.
This article focuses on: how did California become a life science powerhouse, and what do each of these regions have to offer to the industry?


Wind industry experiences a tremendous growth during the last few decades. As of the end of 2016, the worldwide total installed electricity generation capacity from wind power amounted to 486,790 MW, presenting an increase of 12.5% compared to the previous year. Nowadays wind turbine manufacturers tend to adopt new business models proposing total health monitoring services and solutions, using regular inspections or even embedding sensors and health monitoring systems within each unit. Regularly planned or permanent monitoring ensures a continuous power generation and reduce maintenance costs, prompting specific actions when necessary. The core of wind turbine drivetrain is usually a complicated planetary gearbox. One of the main gearbox components which are commonly responsible for the machinery breakdowns are rolling element bearings. The failure signs of an early bearing damage are usually weak compared to other sources of excitation (e.g. gears). Focusing towards the accurate and early bearing fault detection, a plethora of signal processing methods have been proposed including spectral analysis, synchronous averaging and enveloping. Envelope analysis is based on the extraction of the envelope of the signal, after filtering around a frequency band excited by impacts due to the bearing faults. Kurtogram has been proposed and widely used as an automatic methodology for the selection of the filtering band, being on the other hand sensible in outliers. Recently an emerging interest has been focused on modelling rotating machinery signals as cyclostationary, which is a particular class of non-stationary stochastic processes. Cyclic Spectral Correlation and Cyclic Spectral Coherence have been presented as powerful tools for condition monitoring of rolling element bearings, exploiting their cyclostationary behaviour. In this work a new diagnostic tool is introduced based on the integration of the Cyclic Spectral Coherence along a frequency band that contains the diagnostic information. A special procedure is proposed in order to automatically select the filtering band, maximizing the corresponding fault indicators. The effectiveness of the methodology is validated using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) wind turbine gearbox vibration condition monitoring benchmarking dataset which includes various faults with different levels of diagnostic complexity.


This work was undertaken to investigate the switching performance of Super GTO's (SGTO) under conditions of fast rise times up to 25 kA/us, high peak current up to 80 kA, blocking voltage of 7 kV and pulse width of 100 us. The device under test is a switch that is made of two 3.5 kV modules placed in series; each containing eight SGTO die in parallel. The SGTO die developed by Silicon Power Corporation (SPCO) have a very small gate structure of approximately 10 mum. The benefit of this small gate structure is that it allows the device to reach full conduction faster than a conventional thyristor and is therefore optimized for fast turn-on (high di/dt). The SGTO die is a very efficient device having a current density of 29.7 A/mm2 at 10 kA. Each SGTO die can hold of 3.5 kV and can conduct 10 kA. The efficiency of the SGTO die warrants evaluation of this dual module SGTO switch that is rated at 7 kV and 80 kA. The evaluation of the dual module will also determine its overall ability to be used in other voltage and current configurations for various applications by determining its safe operating area (SOA). We have evaluated the switch at 6 kV at a maximum current of 86 kA over a 120 mus pulse width and with a di/dt of 25 kA/mus.


It is well established that a variety of growth factors influence the differentiation of oligodendroglial lineage cells in culture, although little information is available concerning the role and source of these factors in vivo. Developing oligodendroglia are almost constantly in a neuronal environment and would be expected to respond to a variety of signals from neurons that affect their survival, migration, division, maturation and myelin production. However, very little is known about the specific interactions that occur between these two cell types. Here we review the experimental evidence for the influence of neurons on oligodendroglial differentiation, including studies on the effects of both soluble factors and contact dependent events. We also propose a scheme for the control of myelinogenesis via both internal and external signals. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We demo an online system that tracks the availability of over four-hundred public SPARQL endpoints and makes up-to-date results available to the public. Our demo currently focuses on how often an endpoint is online/offline, but we plan to extend the system to collect metrics about available meta-data descriptions, SPARQL features supported, and performance for generic queries.


Henoch-Schönlein purpura is one of the most common types of systemic vasculitis in children. Although recurrence is frequent, most cases are benign and self-limited. Standard treatment consists of supportive care and nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs and/or steroid. Here we report 2 cases of Henoch-Schönlein purpura, both of which had a prolonged and corticosteroid-dependent disease course. After treatment with cyclosporin A, the symptoms and signs subsided gradually in both cases with no recurrence after tapering of corticosteroid and cyclosporin A.


The authors conclude that the no-till + cover crop system improves soil water storage (and presumably also the supply of water to the crop). However, this conclusion does not seem too well supported by the data as many of the differences between the treatments appear to be small. Many times in the paper, the authors report p values >0.05 as being statistically significant, which is not standard practice. I am speculating now, but I can imagine the authors may have been worried that negative results and conclusions would not be considered publishable. In fact, I think that this kind of publication bias may be quite common. If so, it would be unfortunate because it would mean that our consensus view on the efficacy of different management practices to improve soil health could be somewhat biased.


The Runx3 transcription factor is a key regulator of lineage-specific gene expression in several developmental pathways and could also be involved in autoimmunity. We report that, in dendritic cells (DC), Runx3 regulates TGFbeta-mediated transcriptional attenuation of the chemokine receptor CCR7. When Runx3 is lost, i.e., in Runx3 knockout mice, expression of CCR7 is enhanced, resulting in increased migration of alveolar DC to the lung-draining lymph nodes. This increased DC migration and the consequent accumulation of activated DC in draining lymph nodes is associated with the development of asthma-like features, including increased serum IgE, hypersensitivity to inhaled bacterial lipopolysaccharide, and methacholine-induced airway hyperresponsiveness. The enhanced migration of DC in the knockout mice could be blocked in vivo by anti-CCR7 antibodies and by the drug Ciglitazone, known to inhibit CCR7 expression. The data indicate that Runx3 transcriptionally regulates CCR7 and that, when absent, the dysregulated expression of CCR7 in DC plays a role in the etiology of asthmatic conditions that recapitulate clinical symptoms of the human disease. Interestingly, human RUNX3 resides in a region of chromosome 1p36 that contains susceptibility genes for asthma and hypersensitivity against environmental antigens. Thus, mutations in RUNX3 may be associated with increased sensitivity to asthma development.