—The Ca 2 (cid:1) - and voltage-dependent K (cid:1) (maxi-K) channel (cid:1) 1 -subunit mRNA is particularly abundant in cardiomyocytes but its functional role is unknown. This is intriguing because functional maxi-K channels are not found in cardiomyocyte plasmalemma, although they have been suggested to be in the inner mitochondrial membrane and participate in cardioprotection. We report here that (cid:1) 1 protein may interact with mitochondrial proteins and that the (cid:1) 1 -subunit gene (KCNMB1) is repressed by sustained hypoxia in dispersed cardiomyocytes as well as in heart intact tissue. The effect of hypoxia is time- and dose-dependent, is mimicked by addition of reactive oxygen species, and selectively requires hypoxia inducible factor-2 (cid:2) (Hif-2 (cid:2) ) stabilization. We have observed that adaptation to hypoxia exerts a protective role on cardiomyocytes subjected to ischemia and that, unexpectedly, this form of preconditioning absolutely depends on Hif-2 (cid:2) . Interference of the (cid:1) 1 -subunit mRNA increases cardiomyocyte resistance to ischemia. Therefore, Hif-2 (cid:2) –mediated (cid:1) 1 -subunit gene repression is a previously unknown mechanism that could participate in the gene expression program triggered by sustained hypoxia to prevent deleterious mitochondrial depolarization and ATP deficiency in cardiac cells. Our work provides new perspectives for research on cardiac preconditioning. ( Circ Res . 2009;104:1364-1372.) OD), fire-polished on an MF-830 microforge (Narishige). Voltage clamp recordings were obtained with an EPC-8 patch clamp amplifier (Heka Elektronik) using standard voltage clamp protocols designed with Pulse software (Heka Elektronik). Unless otherwise noted, holding potential was -80 mV. Data were filtered at 10 kHz, digitized at a sampling interval of 20 µ s with an ITC-16 A/D converter (Instrutech), and stored on a Macintosh computer. Off-line analysis of data was performed using Pulse Fit (Heka Elektronik). All experiments were conducted at room temperature, 22–24 °C. For whole cell patch recordings, the internal solution contained 150 mM KCl, 1.5 CaCl 2 , 2 mM HEDTA, 10 mM HEPES, 4 mM Mg-ATP resulting in 11 µ M free Ca 2+ (calculated with PPT software); pH was adjusted to 7.2, and osmolality was 293 mOsM/kg. The standard bath solution contained 140 mM NaCl, 3.6 mM KCl, 1.2 mM MgSO 4 , 2 mM CaCl 2 , 20 mM HEPES, and 5 mM glucose; pH was adjusted to 7.4, and osmolality was 300 mOsM/kg. In some experiments NaCl was substituted equimolarly with the impermeant N -methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG).


Conjunctiva associated lymphoid tissue (CALT) is histologically very similar to other mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) like gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and bronchus associated lymphoid tissue (BALT), and forms an integral part of the mucosal immune system. Several studies have shown that antigens encountered by GALT and BALT, induce a state of tolerance rather than sensitization. This MALT induced suppression of immune responses against antigen is manifest in both the humoral and cell mediated components of the immune system. The phenomenon of mucosa induced tolerance to a variety of antigens, including retinal antigens, has been well documented with regard to GALT and BALT. However, similar information concerning CALT is not available. In this preliminary study, using retinal antigens and the experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model, we were able to demonstrate that antigen specific tolerance to two retinal antigens, S-antigen and interphotoreceptor retinol-binding protein (IRBP), could be effectively induced by instillation of the antigens into the conjunctival sac for ten days prior to challenge with the respective antigen. It is likely that tolerance induction by this mode involves CALT.


This study aims to comprehend the bistable and multi-stable behaviour of flexible straws with the intention of utilising it for future engineering applications. This behaviour is achieved by the multiple inversions of conical frustum shells within the corrugation of a flexible straw. This study examined the effects of various material models, geometry variables and loading methods on the inversion of close-top and open-top conical frustum shells via experiments and FEM simulations. This thesis consists of three main parts, and the second and the third parts are complementary to each other: First, we investigated the effects of applying a uniform vertical load to the upper rim of open-top frustum shells via FEM simulations. A reference model was simulated based on the measurements of an ordinary polypropylene flexible straw specimen, using two material models - linear elastic and elastically perfectly plastic. The effects of the interactions between frusta of the corrugated segment of a flexible straw were also studied by evaluating the difference in responses between an individual frustum and conjugated models of two or three frusta. It was found that by constraining the rotation of its bottom rim, an individual frustum can fairly reproduce the complex bistable behaviour of the shorter frustum within the corrugated part of a flexible straw. Furthermore, detailed parametric studies that focused on the effects of various geometric parameters were conducted and generalised formulas that predicted the critical force were derived. A comparison between the simulated results and the analytical model in predicting progressive inversion was made to distinguish the geometric boundaries that separate the one-off snap-through to the progressive inversion of frustum shells. Next, the behaviour of close-top frustum shells in response to vertical point loading at various locations on the top surface was evaluated. A hyperelastic material was used to fabricate the physical specimens. During the experiments, the corresponding deformed shapes were recorded by 3D scanning in addition to measurements of the displacement and reaction force. We observed a close resemblance between the experimental and FEM simulated results, which validated the FEM models. Two local peaks were observed before the structure was fully inverted into its secondary stable state and the overall critical force of the structure was defined by the higher one of the two. The relationship between their magnitudes and the loading locations was analysed and an optimal loading location which gave the minimum critical force was proposed and verified by additional simulations. Furthermore, generalised formulas in predicting critical force were also acquired based on parametric studies. The optimal loading location was found to be constant in spite of variations in height and thickness. The third part of this thesis discussed the effects of lateral point loading on both close-top and open-top frustum shells at various locations on the side surface and supplemented the second part. It is found that the removal of the top surface could cause the critical force to decrease if a point load was applied laterally. Moreover, we were able to fully invert the structure with a lower critical force through lateral loading in comparison to vertical loading.


We estimated the genetic diversity and population structure of Persian Sturgeon across
six regions of Caspian Sea along the coast of Iran using eight DNA microsatellite loci.
Full genotypes were obtained for 195 individuals of Persian Sturgeon. Significant
differences were detected between A. persicus specimens collected from Sefidrud River
(P≤0.0001) and those collected from the southern fishery zones. According to the
neighbor-joining tree A. persicus specimens collected from the Sefidrud River nested in
one cluster and all other specimens placed in the second cluster. Mean diversity was
greatest in the Sefidrud River (14 alleles per locus) collections, and lowest in the
Kiashahr-Chaboksar (Zone 2) (8 alleles per locus). The average observed and expected
heterozygosity indicated a high level of genetic variability in where regions. Pairwise FST
values revealed genetic differentiation among the populations. Based on the results it
might be concluded that two independent populations of A. persicus exist in the south
coast of Caspian Sea which include the Sefidrud River population and zone 3 in which
this calls for additional investigations on the genetic structure. These results and
significant FST of genotypic differences between these pairs of collections support the
existence of genetic structuring in this species along the south coast of Caspian Sea.


This article is to investigate the role of outpatient informationization and the SAFE-CARE system in raising the level of outpatient high-quality medical service. It summarizes combination application experiences of outpatient informationization and the SAFE-CARE system to improve the level of outpatient medical service during the past year. Outpatient informationization has provided an efficient operational tool to improve the treatment efficiency; the SAFE-CARE system has guaranteed medical safety and quality, and enhanced the level of hospital management. Therefore, the combination application of outpatient informationization and the SAFE-CARE system is one of important measures to alleviate the difficulties of the masses medical treatment.


In Reply. —Dr Snowdon and colleagues, 1 in their report of silent dementia among elderly Catholic sisters of European descent, provide important corroboration of our findings in Japanese-American men living in Hawaii. In both studies, 21% to 22% of caregivers failed to recognize signs of dementia among subjects with clinically diagnosed dementia. These nearly identical results are striking considering the many differences between the populations and the fact that the informants in the Nun Study were professional caregivers. This suggests that difficulty in recognizing dementia in elderly people is a common problem that crosses cultural and gender boundaries. Equally interesting is their observation that caregivers labeled 16% of the participants as demented when dementia was not present. Similarly, we found 15 (13%) of 116 nondemented elderly Japanese-American men had family informants who said they had a definite problem with thinking or memory. We appreciate Dr Antonelli Incalzi and colleagues bringing to our


How does one summarize the work of such an accomplished naturalist as Dr. Victor Clement Quesnel? While it would be perfectly acceptable to speak solely of his personal life, given the choice, Victor would probably most like to be remembered by his academic and Club life.


In response to widespread and increasing criticism, the mining industry has started to pay serious attention to its environmental and social impacts. This has recently manifested itself in the formulation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and strategies and a proliferation of CSR, environmental, sustainability and community reporting. Several brief case studies are used to illustrate the issues and conflicts that arise between mining company operations and the environment and community, and how these have led to the development of corporate strategies to deal with environment and community issues. The paper then examines mining company reports, revealing the language and constructs used by the mining industry to frame its responsibility to the environment and community and role in possible conflicts. Companies need to better understand the complex nature of the communities in which they operate in order that suitably tailored strategies are developed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.


Distal biceps tendon ruptures are uncommon events in the adult population and exceedingly rare in the adolescent population. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first and only report of a distal biceps tendon rupture in an adolescent with a history of chronic corticosteroid suppression. We present a case of a 17-year-old male on chronic corticosteroid suppression who underwent a successful distal biceps tendon repair after an acute rupture following weightlifting. At the 1-year follow-up, the patient reports full range of motion and strength, and is able to return to his preinjury activity level with sports and weightlifting. Acute distal biceps ruptures are uncommon injuries in the pediatric population, but may occur in conjunction with chronic corticosteroid use. Anatomic repair, when possible, can restore function and strength. Level of Evidence: level IV, case report


This paper examines social transitions in forms of ethnographic representation from seductive play to productive force in Industry. With a focus on the hi-tech consulting and marketing fields, I examine the eight strategies of ethnographic representation include, (1) informal conversations, (2) designed printed materials, (3) video, (4) electronic presentations, (5) personas and scenarios, (6) experience models and diagrams, (7) opportunity matrices, (8) and experience metrics. It addresses the use of these strategies within modal degrees of symbolic seduction and productive force as shaped by the theories of Baudrillard and Taoist philosophy. I propose that the combination of the concepts of Seductive Play and Productive Force and Yin Yang provide a way out of several challenges in ethnography's engagement with business decision-making, especially related to its role, mission, and power. I attempt to seduce ethnographers into seeing themselves as Taoist "scholar/warriors" able to maintain the human-centered balance in any Industry context.


Data on injuries sustained by child occupants in motor vehicles occurring in noncrash events are generally unrecorded. This study was undertaken to ascertain the occurrence of medically confirmed injuries sustained by child occupants in motor vehicles as a result of noncrash events. Seventy-nine children were seen in the emergency room for evaluation of injuries that they incurred as occupants in motor vehicle incidents over a period of 18 months. The majority of injuries occurred in crash events. However, 18 (23%) were injured in noncrash events. These events included sudden stops, swerves, turns, and movement of an unrestrained child within the vehicle. The mechanism of injury was either ejection from the vehicle or impact with an interior area of the vehicle. In five of the 18 cases safety restraint use could not be established. Of the 13 cases in which information was obtained, no child was restrained. Although the injuries were predominantly minor (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 1), two children sustained moderate injury (AIS 2), and one child sustained severe injury (AIS 3). These results need to be confirmed by a larger study and if confirmed, the additional hazard of injury from noncrash events should be incorporated into health education messages that currently place primary emphasis on the potential for injury in crash events.


This paper presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date panel data set of invoicing currencies in global trade. It provides data on the shares of exports and imports invoiced in US dollars, euros, and other currencies for more than 100 countries since 1990. The evidence from these data confirms findings from earlier research regarding the globally dominant role of the US dollar in invoicing – despite the comparatively smaller role of the US in global trade – and the overall stability of invoicing currency patterns. The evidence also points to several novel facts. First, both the US dollar and the euro have been increasingly used for invoicing even as the share of global trade accounted for by the US and the euro area has declined. Second, the euro is used as a vehicle currency in parts of Africa, and some European countries have seen significant shifts toward euro invoicing. Third, as suggested by the dominant currency paradigm, countries invoicing more in US dollars (euros) tend to experience greater US dollar (euro) exchange rate pass-through to their import prices; also, their trade volumes are more sensitive to fluctuations in these exchange rates. JEL Classification Numbers: F14, F31, F44


The present study concerns an effort to present historic data on the evolution of the medicines used by the ancient Greeks from the prehippocratic period until the greco-roman times. In addition, information is given for the influence of this accumulated knowledge based on the greek traditional herbal medicines in the first editions of the Hellenic Pharmacopoeia (19th century) through the byzantin manuscripts.


Many advanced therapeutics possess cytostatic properties that suppress cancer cell growth without directly inducing death. Treatment-induced cytostatic cancer cells can persist and constitute a reservoir from which recurrent growth and resistant clones can develop. Current management approaches primarily comprise maintenance and monitoring because strategies for targeting non-proliferating cancer cells have been elusive. Here, we utilized targeted therapy paradigms and engineered cytostatic states to explore therapeutic opportunities for depleting treatment-mediated cytostatic cancer cells. Sustained oncogenic AKT signaling was common, while non-essential, in treatment-mediated cytostatic cancer cells harboring PI3K-pathway mutations, which are associated with cancer recurrence. Engineering oncogenic signals in quiescent mammary organotypic models showed that sustained, aberrant activation of AKT sensitized cytostatic epithelial cells to proteasome inhibition. Mechanistically, sustained AKT signaling altered cytostatic state homeostasis and promoted an oxidative and proteotoxic environment, which imposed an increased proteasome dependency for maintaining cell viability. Under cytostatic conditions, inhibition of the proteasome selectively induced apoptosis in the population with aberrant AKT activation compared to normal cells. Therapeutically exploiting this AKT-driven proteasome vulnerability was effective in depleting treatment-mediated cytostatic cancer cells independent of breast cancer subtype, epithelial origin, and cytostatic agent. Moreover, transient targeting during cytostatic treatment conditions was sufficient to reduce recurrent tumor growth in spheroid and mouse models. This work identified an AKT-driven proteasome-vulnerability that enables depletion of persistent cytostatic cancer cells harboring PTEN/PI3K pathway mutations, revealing a viable strategy for targeting non-proliferating persistent cancer cell populations before drug resistance emerges.


SPS Technologies MP35N is a multiphase cobalt-nickel alloy that possesses a unique combination of ultra-high strength, good ductility and toughness, outstanding corrosion resistance, and excellent cryogenic properties. It was the first fastener superalloy developed by SPS Technologies. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, elasticity, and tensile properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as heat treating, machining, and joining. Filing Code: Co-140. Producer or source: SPS Technologies, Inc.


The subject of the research is a substantive study of the modern realities of commercialization of public finance management and the possibility of its organizational and legal modernization.The purpose of the research is to establish the current state of commercialization of public finance management and to identify emerging problems in managing the liquidity and debt of the state, together with the possibilities and ways of leveling them and hedging risks through the organizational and legal modernization of public finance management.The relevance of scientific research and its scientific novelty are based on the absence in the Russian Federation of fundamental research on the current state of public finance management and its commercialization factors. The domestic scientific and practical literature touches on certain aspects of the issue under study, which does not allow us to establish cause-and-effect relationships of problems arising in the course of public finance management.The research is based on general scientific and special methods containing elements of comparative jurisprudence, system analysis, structural and functional approach, as well as a comprehensive and complete study and critical analysis of domestic and foreign fundamental scientific research, containing a number of studies in the field of legal regulation, public administration, econometrics, and macroeconomic forecasting. The collection and analysis of the material for the preparation of scientific research was carried out by a scientific group taking into account the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the authors' citations, as well as the significance of their individual research.The authors conclude about the need to hedge risks when exercising the authority to manage liquidity and debt as integral elements of macroeconomic policy, with the elimination of the fragmented organizational structure of the authorities. Based on international experience, a number of authors' recommendations have been developed to create, within the framework of organizational and legal modernization, a unified effective commercialized public finance management system with the establishment of promising potential development options to ensure the achievement of the state's sustainable development goals stipulated by national projects.


This paper describes a case study involving two primary school age children and their sexual experience together. The young girl interpreted the experience as abuse, and the young boy defined the experience as exploration. The cultural, environmental and structural factors which may have contributed to this difference of interpretation are presented. The author discusses the criterion used to distinguish between sexual exploration and sexual abuse between two children and addresses the difficulty in applying these standards to the normal sexual behavior of children. A case study is presented using the constructionist paradigm to mediate the conflicting interpretation of events, so that both definitions of the situation are recognized as authentic. The case study presents a situation where it may be in the best interest of all involved to validate both childrens' perceptions of reality. Finally, the author concludes with a detailed discussion of the mediation methods used to resolve the intractable conflict and the ethical issues raised by their use.


Background Patient reported outcomes (PROs) are important for the evaluation of treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The degree of pain catastrophizing (conceptualized as a negative cognitive–affective response to anticipated or actual pain) may influence the patient's scoring of disease activity. Ultrasound (US) is a sensitive method for assessing inflammation, including grey scale synovitis (GS) and vascularization (power Doppler (PD)). Objectives To explore the impact of pain catastrophizing on subjective outcomes and composite scores in comparison with objective outcomes, such as US-defined synovitis, during one-year follow-up of patients with RA starting treatment with biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs). Methods A total of 209 patients with RA (mean (SD) age 53 (13) years, disease duration 10 (9) years, 81% women, 79% anti-CCP positive) were included when starting bDMARD. The patients were assessed at baseline and after 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months with PROs (joint pain VAS, patient's global disease activity VAS, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Impact of Disease (RAID) score, MHAQ), clinical examination (assessor's disease activity VAS, tender and swollen joint counts (SJC) of 32 joints, performed by a study nurse) and laboratory variables (ESR and CRP). DAS28(ESR) and CDAI were calculated. Pain catastrophizing was assessed by the mean of two questions (each score 0–6) from the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ); "When I have pain, it's terrible and I think it's never going to get any better" and "When I have pain, I feel I can't stand it anymore". All US examinations (semi-quantitative scoring (0–3)) of GS and PD (PIP 2–3, MCP 1–5, wrist (RC, IC, RU), elbow, knee, talo-crural, MTP 1–5 and extensor carpi ulnaris/tibialis posterior tendons bilaterally) were performed by one rheumatologist (HBH) (Siemens Acuson Antares, excellence version, 5–13 MHz probe). Correlations were explored by use of Spearman's, Wilcoxon explored changes from baseline and Mann-Whitney examined for differences between two independent groups. Results 209 patients were included and 152 patients (72.7%) continued their bDMARD for the whole 12 months study. All variables, including pain catastrophizing, decreased significantly (p<0.001) during follow-up. Pain catastrophizing was highly correlated with patient reported outcomes (r=0.51–0.65, p<0.001), moderate with DAS28/CDAI (0.43/0.32, p<0.001) but not with CRP (r=0.1), SJC (r=-0.01) or GS (r=–0.06)/PD (r=-0.04) scores. All the subjective and composite scores were much higher (p<0.001) in patients with higher levels of pain catastrophizing (cut-off 1.5) (4 time points shown below), while there were no differences for CRP, SJC or US scores. All subjective and composite scores had increasing levels with increased quintiles of pain catastrophizing (p<0.001), while this was not found for CRP, SJC or US (some variables illustrated). Conclusions It is generally assumed that the tendency to catastrophize plays a causal role in the pain experience which may influence the PROs. Pain catastrophizing was presently found to have a major impact on all the subjective as well as composite scores, but not on inflammatory variables like CRP, SJC or US assessments. This emphasises the importance of taking into account the degree of pain catastrophizing when evaluating disease activity in RA patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Recent clinical examination of 140 British patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) showed both autosomal and recessive inheritance. Fifty-seven recessive families were studied and showed two disease patterns. Patients with type 1 recessive PXE had flexurally distributed rash, moderately severe retinal disease, and a particular predisposition to gastrointestinal bleeding. Type 2 recessive disease is much rarer and affects the entire skin which is loose-fitting, lax, and extensively infiltrated with degenerated elastic fibers. Pooled data for these two groups clearly support an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance.


Candida albicans is a microbial fungus that exists as a commensal member of the human microbiome and an opportunistic pathogen. Cell surface-associated adhesin proteins play a crucial role in C. albicans' ability to undergo cellular morphogenesis, develop robust biofilms, colonize, and cause infection in a host. However, a comprehensive analysis of the role and relationships between these adhesins has not been explored. We previously established a CRISPR-based platform for efficient generation of single- and double-gene deletions in C. albicans, which was used to construct a library of 144 mutants, comprising 12 unique adhesin genes deleted singly, and every possible combination of double deletions. Here, we exploit this adhesin mutant library to explore the role of adhesin proteins in C. albicans virulence. We perform a comprehensive, high-throughput screen of this library, using Caenorhabditis elegans as a simplified model host system, which identified mutants critical for virulence and significant genetic interactions. We perform follow-up analysis to assess the ability of high- and low-virulence strains to undergo cellular morphogenesis and form biofilms in vitro, as well as to colonize the C. elegans host. We further perform genetic interaction analysis to identify novel significant negative genetic interactions between adhesin mutants, whereby combinatorial perturbation of these genes significantly impairs virulence, more than expected based on virulence of the single mutant constituent strains. Together, this study yields important new insight into the role of adhesins, singly and in combinations, in mediating diverse facets of virulence of this critical fungal pathogen.


Dynamic time warping is a well-established technique for time alignment and comparison of speech and image patterns. This paper decribes the architecture, algorithms, and design of a CMOS integrated processing array used for computing the dynamic time warp algorithm. Emphasis is placed on speech recognition applications because of the real-time constraints imposed by isolated and continuous speech recognition.


Wrong economic growth doctrine based, primarily, on social consumption, did not give a positive expected effect from the implemented reforms in the recent years. In this paper it is proposed a real change of the doctrine of economic development, perspectively, and namely: the main emphasis is put on the priority development of agro-industrial exporter system by strengthening of research activity and development of this field by innovation and technology transfer oriented toward deep processing of the competitive and efficient agricultural production for export. The achievement of these priorities will significantly increase the local economic potential and will bring out economy from decline, creating a solid financial and economic basis for reduction of the poverty and increasion of the standard of living of the population.


Parentification refers to parent-child role reversal wherein the child adopts the parent's role instrumentally or emotionally. This role reversal practice between the parent and the child is not uncommon in certain cultures. The cultural dynamics and familial obligations at play have positive and negative outlooks with varying effects. This study focused on the effects of instrumental parentification experiences on psychological resilience and interpersonal relationships among selected Filipino young professional daughters during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Using purposive sampling, 19 Filipino young professional daughters from Metro Manila, Philippines, were selected for the study. Online interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was employed to process the data. Findings showed that most of the daughters, with "utang na loob" (indebtedness) value system, wholeheartedly accepted instrumental parentification. Thus, more tasks and responsibilities were shouldered by them due to the COVID-19 lockdown wherein older parents need to stay at home due to the fear of contracting the disease. Almost all shared that the COVID-19 pandemic tested their parent-child relationship. A few expressed that it made them let go of personal growth opportunities and experienced problems with their parents' relationship, given the uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, they shared that they could not leave their ageing parents in this time of COVID-19 pandemic and that with proper balancing of tasks and responsibilities at home and at work, parentification made them to become more self-reliant, mature faster, and responsible daughters.


Cetaceans have varied their anatomical structure, physiology and metabolism to adapt to the challenges of aquatic life. Key to this change is the deposition of blubber. This adipose tissue plays a significant regulatory and signaling role in mammalian metabolism. As foraging disruption by human activities is emerging as a key conservation threat for cetaceans, we need to understand how selection for aquatic life might have altered key nutrient sensing pathways associated with adipose signaling. We compared selection pressure on those energy metabolism biological pathways by contrasting the rate of substitution observed in genes associated with them in cetacean and artiodactyl genomes. We then estimated the likely consequence of these selection pressures for pathway functions. Here we show that genes involved in the insulin, mTOR, SIRT and NF-κB pathways were under significant positive selection in cetaceans compared to their terrestrial sister taxon. Our results suggest these genes may have been positively selected to adapt to a glucose-poor diet and it is unlikely that fat depots signaling function in the same manner as in terrestrial mammals. Secondary adaptation to life in water significantly affected functions in nutrient sensing pathways in cetaceans. Insulin is not likely to play the same role in energy balance as it does in terrestrial mammals and adiposity is not likely to have the deleterious health consequences it has in terrestrial mammals. The physiological ecology of cetacean fat deposition, and therefore its value as a condition index, needs to be interpreted in this evolutionary context.


The Doi Moi (reform) program enacted by the Vietnam Communist Party in 1986 marked the country's transition from a subsidy to a market economy and signalled profound changes in life experiences for Vietnamese youth. The government-owned media that once indoctrinated youth into the communist ideologies became increasingly dominated by private corporations and opened the door for the rapid influx of Western cultural influences. Through analysis of newspapers directed at Vietnamese youth between 1995 and 2005, this article traces the historical emergence of teen Viet and teen culture. The concept teen broke the continuous life trajectory into discrete stages and marked the shift from an ideologically grounded youth under the Vietnam Communist Party to a market-oriented youth whose individual identities are cultivated through capitalist consumption.


Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) was first identified in high-health herds of domestic swine and was associated with a debilitating disease called postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). Most subsequent studies have indicated that PCV2 infects only swine but there is little information on porcids other than improved breeds of domestic swine. Multisystemic disease was reported in a group of Eurasian wild boars raised under free-range conditions. Affected young pigs had pneumonia and enteritis and were cachectic. Porcine circovirus 2 was identified in affected tissue by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, and a PCV2-like virus was isolated from pooled organs. The open reading frame (ORF2) of the isolated PCV2 had a 98.7% homology with the ORF2 of a reference PCV2 isolate. These diagnostic data indicate that PCV2 can infect and cause disease in Sus scrofa subspecies other than domestic swine.


An extensive numerical study is reported on the disorder effect in two-dimensional d-wave superconductors with random impurities in the unitary limit. It is found that a sharp resonant peak shows up in the density of states at zero energy and correspondingly the finite-size spin conductance is strongly enhanced which results in a nonuniversal feature in one-parameter scaling. However, all quasiparticle states remain localized, indicating that the resonant density peak alone is not sufficient to induce delocalization. In the weak disorder limit, the localization length is so long that the spin conductance at small sample size is close to the universal value predicted by Lee [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1887 (1993)].


Accumulation characteristics of radioactivity in organs and tissues were investigated after oral administration of [3H]-enprostil ((+/-)-11a,15a-dihydroxy-9-oxo-16-phenoxy-17,18,19,20-tetranorp r osta-4,5,13(t)- trienoic acid methyl ester, TA-84135) to male rats once a day (20 micrograms/kg/d) for 1, 7 or 14 days. [3H]-Enprostil was found to be partially metabolized in vivo to volatile tritium (3H2O). The ratios of volatile tritium to total radioactivity in plasma increased with repeated administration of [3H]-enprostil and the levels of volatile tritium were almost equilibrated within 7 days of drug administration. The formation rate of volatile tritium was estimated to be 1-2% of the single dose. The blood levels of non-volatile radioactivity at 1 h after each daily dosing were nearly constant. The levels at 24 h, however, increased with repeated dosing. The levels of non-volatile radioactivity in most tissues at 1 h after the multiple administration (7 and 14 times) were higher than those after the single dose. At 24 h, levels were noticeable after multiple dosing even in the tissues in which levels below the detection limit were found after the single dose. From the comparison of the multiple-dose groups, the levels in most tissues attained steady state within 7 times dosing. The daily excretions of radioactivity in the urine, feces and expired air were constant throughout the period of consecutive administration. The total recovery of administered dose was 92%, which was similar to that achieved in the single-dosing group. As described above, the retention of non-volatile radioactivity was observed in most tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We present two years of Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray observations of three energetic rotation-powered millisecond pulsars (MSPs): PSRs B1937+21, B1821−24, and J0218+4232. We fit Gaussians and Lorentzians to the pulse profiles for different energy sub-bands of the soft X-ray regime to measure the energy dependence of pulse separation and width. We find that the separation between pulse components of PSR J0218+4232 decreases with increasing energy at >3σ confidence. The 95% upper limit on pulse separation evolution for PSRs B1937+21 and B1821−24 is less than 2 milliperiods per keV. Our phase-resolved spectral results provide updated constraints on the non-thermal X-ray emission of these three pulsars. The photon indices of the modeled X-ray emission spectra for each pulse component of PSR B1937+21 are inconsistent with each other at the 90% confidence level, suggesting different emission origins for each pulse. We find that the PSR B1821−24 and PSR J0218+4232 emission spectra are invariant with phase at the 90% confidence level. We describe the implications of our profile and spectral results in the context of equatorial current sheet emission models for these three MSPs with non-thermal, magnetospheric X-ray emission.


The distribution of estrogen receptors (ER) in the urinary system in the male rabbit were investigated in 18 mature and healthy rabbits by immunohistochemical examination of tissue samples taken from renal pelvis, mid-ureter, bladder-top, posterior urethra and the prostate. ER were detected in 17 out of 18 cases in the urothelial lining and the subepithelial stromal cells of the posterior urethra; and in 15 out of 18 cases in prostatic stromal cells. ER was not found in bladder-top, mid-ureter or renal pelvis. Receptor determination in the isolated cytosolic and nuclear fraction, showed that the mean prostatic receptor density were 151.5 f mol/mg protein in the nuclear and 51.4 in the cytosolic fraction. The corresponding mean values obtained from the posterior urethra were 128.2 and 88.9 f mol/mg protein. We conclude, that ER can be demonstrated in the urinary system of the male rabbit, and these are restricted to the posterior urethra and the prostatic stromal tissue.


The nerve fiber membrane potential is determined by the permeability to sodium relative to that of potassium. An increase in the permeability to sodium or a decrease in the permeability to potassium or a combination of the two gives a decrease in the membrane potential. This has a double effect on the irritability of the nervous system. A moderate decrease in the potential gives an increase in irritability because it becomes easier to start a nerve impulse. A more pronounced decrease in the permeability, that is, in the membrane potential, gives a decrease in irritability. It is because the depolarization, which starts the nerve impulse, must not only be to a certain level but also of a certain size. The change in the irritability of the nervous system, which results from a change in membrane potential due to a change in the permeability of the nervous membrane for ions, can lead to mental diseases and shows that the disease is a membrane disease as, for example, the manic-depressive disease (1) and epilepsy (2, 3). By testing the effect of sodium channel blockers, potassium channel activators and a combination of the two on mental disorders, it is possible to learn whether there is an increase in the permeability of the nerve membrane to sodium. A decrease in potassium or both can thus learn us whether there is a change in the membrane potential and whether there is a change in the irritability of the nerve system and thus can give a diagnosis of the disease. A test on the effect of sodium channel blockers on mental disorders has shown that the bipolar manic-depressive disease and epilepsy respond positive to the test, indicating that the two diseases are due to an increase in the nerve membrane to sodium and thus to a decrease in the nerve membrane potential, and that they are membrane diseases. At a low increase in the permeability to sodium, a low effect on the membrane potential, the irritability of the nerve system is increased—that is, there is an increase in the level of manic-depressive disease and there is spontaneous firing of the motor nerves in epilepsy—while at a more pronounced increase in the permeability to sodium of the nerve fiber, a more pronounced decrease in the membrane potential, the irritability is decreased—that is, there is a decrease in the level of manic-depressive disease and there is no firing in epilepsy: a bipolar effect. It seems worthwhile with a systematic test of all mental disorders for an effect of sodium channel blockers, potassium channel activators and a combination by those who have access to patients with mental disorders in an attempt to find an explanation of the diseases.


The Pliocene and Pleistocene, embracing only 5.5 m.y., were times of very rapid sedimentation on the continental shelf and slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. During this period the center of maximum deposition shifted over 200 mi (320 km) southwestward from just west of the present mouth of the Mississippi River to 100 mi (160 km) south of the present shoreline at the Louisiana-Texas border. This shifting of the center of maximum deposition was accompanied by 50 mi (80 km) of southward progradation of the continental shelf edge to its present position near the 600-ft (200 m) isobath. Hydrocarbon productive trends follow the shifting path of the depocenter. Rapid sedimentation took place upon substrata which included several thousand feet of mobile salt, plus a comparable thickness of mobile prodelta clay. The weight of the accumulating sediments has caused movement of the underlying mobile material, with the result that the structural configuration of the strata in the Plio-Pleistocene depocenters is complicated by large piercement salt and diapiric shale massifs, which are estimated to occupy about 20 percent of the total area at a depth of 12,000 ft (3,657 m) in the Pleistocene depocenter.


Thirty-one full-term newborn babies were investigated in order to establish reference values for ionized calcium. Only children fulfilling certain optimality criteria (with best possible maternal and infant conditions and uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery) were included. All infants were breast fed. Capillary blood for analysis of ionized calcium was collected by heel puncture on day 1 (6-36 h post partum, p.p.), day 3 (60-84 h p.p.) and day 5 (108-132 h p.p.). Ionized calcium was measured with a semi-automatic electrode system ICA 1 (Radiometer A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark). The reference ranges (mean +/- 2 SD) for days 1, 3 and 5 were 1.05-1.37, 1.10-1.42 and 1.20-1.48 mmol/l, respectively. The mean ionized calcium concentration on day 1 was significantly lower than on days 3 and 5. Reference values are also given for total calcium, magnesium and phosphate. We emphasize that it is impossible to calculate ionized calcium from total calcium or vice versa.


Ristolainen, Leena Hannele Sports injuries in Finnish elite cross-country skiers, swimmers, long-distance runners and soccer players Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2012, 91 p. (Publications of the ORTON Research Institute, A:32) ISSN 1455-1330 ISBN 978-952-9657-60-5 (paperback) Finnish summary Diss. In sports with different exercise-loading characteristics, acute and overuse injury profiles and gender differences in injuries were investigated. In addition, trainingrelated risk factors for overuse injuries in endurance athletes were studied. This twelve-month retrospective questionnaire study comprised Finnish elite crosscountry skiers (n=149), swimmers (n=154), long-distance runners (n=143) and soccer players (n=128) aged 15–35 years. Questionnaires were sent to the athletes in each sports at the end of the 2006 competition season. Athletes who ended their sports career because of injury were studied in more detail by means of a telephone interview (n=20) 7-11 months after the questionnaire. Over 70% of soccer players and one-third of endurance athletes had sustained at least one acute injury during the past twelve months. In soccer players and cross-country skiers the most common acute injury site was the ankle. In skiers, acute and overuse injuries occurred mainly in sports other than their own sports and the same was true for acute injuries in swimmers. However, overuse injuries in swimmers mainly originated from swimming, with the shoulder region as the most common anatomical site. Nearly every second athlete reported at least one overuse injury, with the highest injury frequency, most commonly in the foot, occurring among long-distance runners. Soccer players and runners reported absences of nearly two months on average from training and competitions owing to acute or overuse injury. Male athletes had higher prevalence of at least one acute injury, and among runners males had more commonly at least one overuse injury than females. Among endurance athletes, vigorous training, defined as more than 700 hours/year, and rest and recovery time of less than two days a week in the training season predisposed to overuse injury. Older athletes had higher risk for overuse injury, and especially tendon overuse injury. Female athletes (13%) ended their career more often because of injury than male athletes (5%). The most prevalent injury was in the knee, shoulder or ankle. Most sports career terminators (70%) reported injury-related mild or moderate permanent disability. In conclusion, type of loading was strongly associated with the anatomical location of an overuse injury. In cross-country skiing and swimming a significant proportion of acute injuries occurred in other than the athlete's main sports. Vigorous athletic training without sufficient rest and recovery time may be a risk factor for an injury, especially an overuse injury. Severe injuries may terminate an athlete s sports career and cause permanent disability.


Termitomyces albuminosus, also known as termite mushroom, is a palatable mushroom with therapeutic effects that has been used as a food and folk medicinal ingredient. Recent studies revealed that T. albuminosus contains pharmacologically active factors that exert anti-inflammatory, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and neuritogenic activities, leading to its increasing popularity as a supplement among the general public. Despite the increase in its use, however, lack of knowledge on the toxicity of T. albuminosus has raised safety concerns. In this study, we systemically evaluated the genotoxicity of T. albuminosus powder (TAP) by testing its potential in generating bacterial reverse mutation, in vitro chromosome aberration, and in vivo micronuclei. TAP did not increase revertant colonies in the bacterial reverse mutation test nor the number of cells with aberrant chromosomes at 5000 μg/plate and micronucleus-containing polychromatic erythrocytes at 2000 mg/kg body weight in mice, indicating that TAP is not mutagenic nor clastogenic. Our results, together with the previous data from the general toxicity studies, indicate that TAP is safe for human consumption.


1 Clive DM, Stoff JS. Renal syndromes associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflanmmatory drugs. N Engl J Med 1984;310: 563-72. 2 Lifschitz MD. Prostaglandins and renal blood flow: in vivo studies. Kidney Int 1981;19:781-5. 3 Stokes JB. Effect ofprostaglandin E2 on chloride transport across the thick ascending limb of Henle: selective inhibition of the medullary portion. J7 Clin Invest 1979;64:495-502. 4 Anderson RJ, Berl T, McDonald KM, Schrier RW. Evidence for an in vivo antagonism between vasopressin and prostaglandin in the mammalian kidney.J Clin Invest 1975;56:420-6. 5 Blum M, Aviram A. Ibuprofen induced hyponatraenia. RheuwnaolRehabil 1980;19:258-9. 6 Sunderam SG, Manhikar GD. Hyponatraemia in the elderly. Age Ageing 1983;12:77-80.


Aim and Objectives
This study has been undertaken to determine and compare the levels of serum uric acid in cases with and without coronary artery disease (CAD), to study association between serum uric acid (SUA) level with presence and severity of coronary artery disease.

Methods
Total 80 cases more than 13 years of age who presented to hospital with symptoms related to CAD were included in the study and divided into two groups based on coronary angiography reports. Serum uric acid level was measured in all patients by Uricase method. Presence and severity of CAD was assessed by coronary angiography. Association of SUA level with presence and severity of CAD were assessed by statistical analysis.

Results
In total, 39 (48.75%) of the patients were diagnosed with CAD having mean age of 56.71 ± 10.36 years. The CAD patients had significantly higher SUA levels than those without CAD, (7.35 ± 1.61mg/dl vs. 4.08 ± 0.83 mg/dl, p=<0.001).There was statistically significant association between SUA and severity of CAD. Serum uric acid levels were increased in cases with CAD with increase in severity of CAD (p < 0.001).

Conclusion
Serum uric acid was significantly associated with the presence and severity of CAD and can be used for assessing severity of CAD.


As computer systems become distributed and heterogeneous, there is strong movement in the commercial sector to ease the problems of interoperability and security. Many standards have been proposed for these problems. However, the commercial sector has not shown strong interest in providing cost effective high assurance multilevel security (MLS) solutions to the relatively small communities (e.g., intelligence, military) that require them. We introduce a practical, cost effective, and high assurance secure solution for multilevel distributed and heterogeneous environments using COTS components. The solution is based on an MLS architecture that consists of commercial single level hardware and software, and a few specialized security devices. We show how an MLS CORBA can be constructed from single level CORBAs and two security devices; the NRL Pump and the Starlight Interactive Link. We also introduce the concept of MLS cooperative computing which is a way to semi automate distributed computing among organizations at different security levels.


A mathematical technique for detecting fault section(s) and affected area(s) on radial distribution networks is proposed in this paper. Minimum voltage sensors are installed at various locations at the customer ends. The novel method uses messages obtained from operated voltage sensors and topological information of distribution networks to detect accurately fault section(s) and fault affected area(s) due to single as well as multiple faults. A mathematics algorithm using C++ is developed which suggests that the technique is efficient and effective.


Abstract Selective labeling of intravitreal Procion yellow dye by presumed blue-sensitive cone photoreceptors has been demonstrated in primate retina. To determine whether Procion yellow is selective for this cone type in an unrelated vertebrate species, labeling by this dye was studied in goldfish retina, where cone pigment type can be directly inferred from photoreceptor morphology. At low vitreal concentrations of the dye (<0.4%), only cone outer segments were labeled. At vitreal concentrations of 0.4–0.5%, the inner segments of short-double cones and a subset of long single cones (presumed green-sensitive cones) were selectively stained. At still higher vitreal concentrations (0.6–0.7%), the inner segments of short-single cones and miniature short-single cones (presumed blue-sensitive cones) showed evidence of Procion label, but were not as heavily labeled. The inner segments of long-double cones and a subset of long-single cones (presumed red-sensitive cones) did not label at any of these concentrations. These results show that Procion yellow is not a selective marker for blue-sensitive cones in the goldfish retina. In addition, stained rod and cone nuclei were observed at each dye concentration, including those concentrations at which no inner segments were labeled.


Earlier operation of a microwave proton source exhibited an approximate 1-MHz modulation in the beam current. This oscillation could cause instabilities at higher energies in the linac, as the low-level RF control for linac operation rolls off at 200 kHz. Tests on a dummy load show the modulation is created by the magnetron itself: at a typical power level required for the source operation (680W), the 1-MHz sideband level was as high as {minus}4 dB from carrier. Since the magnetron exhibited better behavior at higher levels, a RF power attenuator is inserted to force the magnetron to run at a 50% higher power level for the same final power in the load. This attenuator is made of two antennas plunged in the waveguide and connected to dummy loads by a coaxial line. As the antenna are separated by a quarter of the guided wavelength, mismatching effects approximately cancel each other. The antenna length is experimentally adjusted to obtain the {minus}1.8 dB attenuation required. Magnetron operation at the higher power level gives a beam current spectrum free of the 1-MHz modulation, showing the coherent beam noise is not generated by plasma chamber phenomena.


This part of a three-part paper deals first with the performance objectives of power system stabilizers in terms of the type of oscillations for which they are intended to provide damping, the operating conditions for which the requirement for stabilization is greatest, the need to accommodate multiple modes of oscillation, and the significance of interplant modes of oscillation. It next treats stabilizer tuning. General tuning guidelines are developed as well as variations required for different input signals. The operating conditions under which each type of stabilizer should be tuned are identified. The relationship between phase compensation tuning and root locus analysis is presented. Finally, the relative performance characteristics of the three types of stabilizers are examined for both small perturbations and large disturbances.


To pave the way towards using adapted wide scale telco technologies within dedicated networks environment, there is a dire need to increase the reliability of the end-to-end communication beyond what is currently offered to individual subscribers towards the levels previously available in operations technology. This can be achieved by adding a new dynamic Software Defined Networks (SDN) routing overlay on top of the existing point-to-point forwarding technologies. This article introduces an SDN-based solution for dedicated industrial environments, aiming at providing a new level of flexibility and adaptability in case of network or service failure. A gap analysis of the existing infrastructures gives the basis for the network evolution, especially addressing the control of the routing within the given deployment. Furthermore, a new set of functional features are proposed to be added to the existing wired and to the emerging wireless infrastructure in order to further increase the network flexibility and reliability from network availability and optimal data paths perspective. The different features are then exemplified as existing and further to be implemented extensions of the Fraunhofer FOKUS OpenSDNCore toolkit, assessing the effectiveness of the approach for different deployments and use cases.


The research work carried out so far in the field of solar desalination is related to the single basin type solar still only. The effect of changes in design, climatic and operational parameters on the distillate yield has been studied but limited to the single basin type solar still. The increase in productivity by connecting a flat plate collector which is called as active solar desalination has also been studied but limited to the single basin type solar still. Present study deals with a stepped type solar still to improve the performance of single basin type solar still by increasing the production rate of distilled water. The modifications in the design of single basin type solar still are introduced by replacing the flat basin by a stepwise structure. The stepped type solar still selected in this case has 8 number of steps of size 620 mm(L) x 100 mm(W) and total absorber area equal to 0.5093 m 2 . The characteristic feature of stepped type solar still is that it provides an additional 40% absorber area as compared to the single basin type solar still. In this work, three number of stepped type solar stills with varying depth of water and other design parameters like thickness of glass cover, insulation thickness, condensing cover material, shape of the absorber surface, absorbing material provided over the basin surface, angle of inclination of the still etc. being fixed have been selected for experimentation. The depth of water provided in solar stills A, B and C was 5 mm, 7.5 mm and 10 mm respectively. After conducting experiments for the varying depths of water, it has been observed that the distillate yield of solar still A is greater than solar still B and C by 14.15% and 22.64% respectively. Thus, as depth of water goes on increasing, the distillate yield produced per unit area of absorber surface goes on decreasing. Also, an economic analysis was made. The payback period of solar still A, B and C is 823 days, 958 days and 1064 days respectively. Thus, the solar still A with 5 mm depth of water gives the returns within the least possible time as compared to other two types of stepped solar stills.


Sufficient experience has been gained over the last decade in simulation model validation, verification, and testing (VV&T) to establish basic principles and its characteristics. This paper presents 15 principles of simulation model VV&T. These principles help the researchers, practitioners, and manaagers better understand what model VV&T is all about. They serve to provide the underpinnings for the VV&T techniques that can be used throughout the life cycle of a simulation study. Understanding and applying these principles is crucially important for the success of a simulation study.


This paper presents portions of a ten-year self-reporting case study relative to movement, based on my book, "The Ghost In My Brain." As an artificial intelligence and cognitive science professor I took 1200 pages of detailed notes over the course of eight years, of the effects of mTBI, with no expectation of recovery. Symptoms included many deficits in movement: significant and varied balance difficulties; loss of where the body ends yielding, e.g., difficulty passing through doorways; loss of spatial relationships; catatonia, including progressive inability to initiate motion under brain stress; ability to dance but not walk; visually guiding the hands toward objects; seizures; loss of concepts such as "center" making it hard, e.g., to put keys in locks; inability to turn right; the "dolly zoom effect" when walking toward a distant goal; and so on. A clear pattern arises: when the mind cannot conceive spatial relationships, the body will not move. During eight years that included MRI, CT scan, neurocognitive testing, etc., medical science was consistent in the opinion that I would never improve and should learn to live with my symptoms. After neuro-developmental optometric treatment via retinal stimulation and cognitive restructuring using visual puzzles, all cognitive and movement abnormalities were resolved within two years. The bulk of the improvement was in the first few months.


Interferometry methods in exploration geophysics are premised on a powerful theoretical foundation in which the ambient noise observed at discrete locations can be manipulated through either crosscorrelation or convolution to yield the response of a virtual "active source" experiment (i.e., the empirical Green's function, abbreviated as EGF) without the actual deployment of physical sources. Sources of the ambient background may be either naturally occurring or engineered. Regardless, the theory for diffusive systems requires them to be volumetrically distributed over an infinite domain. The central question is then, "What region for the ambient sources matters most for good EGF estimation?" Here, we build on previous work in frequency domain EGF estimation by extending the analysis to the time domain where the broadband response is driven by the continuum of diffusive length scales therein. Analysis of the double half-space diffusion model (simulating a lithologic contact) demonstrates that sources between the two receiver locations have the most impact on EGF accuracy, and that when either of the receivers is close to the lithologic contact, the sources must also extend more deeply, into the high-diffusivity side to maintain accuracy. We further examine the suitability for inversion of EGF signals built with the limited and finite ambient source distributions expected in actual exploration scenarios. One-dimensional Bayesian inversion of singlewell and crosswell configurations of a three-layered system simulating a reservoir layer between two impermeable layers revealed that transient EGF signals were reliably invertible when sources were constrained to the middle reservoir layer. In production monitoring settings, natural sources originating from pumping and subsequent flow-related physics (pressure diffusion, electrochemical and seismoelectric effects, etc.), this result suggests that EGF signals may be a useful measure of reservoir properties.


The aim of the present work is to explain the causes of the observed deviations from sector and helicity rules to determine the absolute configuration of optically active α,β-unsaturated ketones by means of electronic circular dichroism (ECD). To this end, a series of model compounds with a common decahydronaphthalene skeleton representing both cisoid and transoid enones were synthesized. In the framework of this work, detailed dichroic studies supported by single crystal X-ray analysis were performed where possible. To assist the achievement of the desired objectives the conformational flexibility of the selected cis-enones through the dependence of solvent and temperature on the ECD spectra were examined. All experimental studies were supplemented by detailed DFT calculations. A notable result of the study is assessing the applicability of the enone sector and helicity rules in dichroic studies and potential restrictions. To this end, a number of factors that could determine the signs of the individual Cotton effects has been considered. Among these nonminimum structure effects, i.e., twisting of the enone chromophore and nonplanarity of the enone double bond can be mentioned.


If the presentation of the negative לא lō) in contemporary text versions of the Hebrew Bible are considered and evaluated, it is clear that the exact scope of the negative לא lō) is not always properly presented. The purpose of this research was to determine the distribution and scope of the negative לא lō). This endeavour rests largely on a syntactic account of the distribution of the negative לא lō).


Autism spectrum disorder is a common syndrome in many countries around the world. According to the General Statistics Office (2018), Vietnam has about one million autistic people (out of a total of 6.2 million people with disabilities aged two years and over). The estimated prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorder is 1% of all newborns. To meet the need for assisting families and children with an autistic spectrum disorder, social work services have been established. However, these services are in the process of being built and are affected by many different factors. The following article presents research results on the status of social work service providers for families and children with an autism spectrum disorder in Vietnam. Service providers are important players in the service supply chain for any group of customers. They will contribute decisively to the quality and efficiency of service. The staff relies on their capabilities to create quality services suitable for each customer group. The study's results provide important suggestions for improving the quality of human resources in implementing social work service models for families and children with autism spectrum disorder.


A study was conducted at outreach sites of Horticulture Research Station, Dailekh with the objective of understanding effects of variety selection and spacing under rain-fed condition, during two rainy seasons of 2016 and 2017. Experiment was conducted in two factorial Randomized Complete Block Design where the research sites were replication itself. First factor was variety, including Khumal-10 and farmer's variety. The second factor was spacings at (20x20) cm, (20x15) cm, (15x15) cm, and farmer's practice. Effect of Khumal-10 was significantly superior in each of the parameters studied, except days to heading and maturity. Khumal-10, alone contributed 21.6% more yield compared to the farmer's variety and also had the tallest plant (127.5 cm) and longest panicle (23.4 cm). Similarly, transplantation at spacing of (15x15) cm was significantly outstanding with 28.6% more grain yield, unlike in transplantation with farmer's practice. Furthermore, integrated management of rice with Khumal-10 transplanted at spacing of (15x15) cm is recommended for Dailekh condition, since it resulted significantly promising grain yield of 5.5 t/ha, which is 71.9% more in comparison to grain yield from farmer's variety transplanted in farmers´ practice.  Also, the economic benefit was highest with 75.8% more B:C ratio in case of improved variety Khumal-10 transplanted at (15x15) cm spacing.


ABSTRACTThe study objective was to examine how the changes in outdoor concentration of traffic-related aerosol at schools occurring due to an anti-idling campaign affect the indoor aerosol concentration. Four urban public schools featuring different average numbers of school buses and cars and located at different distances from major urban traffic arteries were selected in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA). For each school, the indoor and outdoor air monitoring was conducted before and after the implementation of anti-idling campaign. Additionally, the ambient air was monitored at four "community" sites representing the background aerosol. The PM2.5 samples were collected and subjected to gravimetric, carbon and elemental analysis. The outdoor concentrations of PM2.5 and its relevant elemental constituents were consistent with the data reported in previous studies. Following the anti-idling campaign, the outdoor concentration of most elements decreased at two schools although only a fraction showed statistically significant changes. After accounting for the background aerosol changes, the positive impact of the anti-idling campaign was demonstrated only for one school – with the most intense local traffic. For this school, reduction of the outdoor elemental concentrations was followed by a decrease in the corresponding indoor concentrations (R2 = 0.47, p < 0.05). The data suggests that in cases when traffic emission is the dominant pollution source in the school vicinity, the changes in outdoor air quality associated with the anti-idling campaign are capable of reducing the children exposure to traffic aerosols inside the schools.


Phishing often deceives users due to the relative similarity to the true pages on a layout and leads to considerable losses for the society. Consequently, detecting phishing sites has been an urgent activity. By researching phishing web pages using web page screenshots, we discover that this kind of web pages use numerous web page screenshots to achieve the close similarity to the true page and avoid the text and structure similarity detection. This study introduces a new similarity matching algorithm based on visual blocks. First, the RenderLayer tree of the web page is obtained to extract the visual block. Second, an algorithm that will settle the jumbled visual blocks, including the deletion of the small visual blocks and the emergence of the overlapping visual blocks, is designed. Finally, the similarity between the two web pages is assessed. The proposed algorithm sets different thresholds to achieve the optimal missing and false alarm rates.


Objective: It was the aim of this study to observe the effects of sequential hemoperfusion (HP) and continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) on patients with severe tetramine poisoning and to evaluate the ability of these modalities to remove tetramine. Methods: Eighteen patients diagnosed as having severe tetramine poisoning were treated by blood purification, additional to routine medical therapy. Blood purification procedures included HP using activated charcoal for 3–5 h and consecutive CVVH for 24–36 h. Patients' clinical conditions, blood routine tests and serum chemical tests were evaluated every day after admission. Plasma tetramine concentrations were determined before and after HP. During CVVH, tetramine concentrations in plasma before and after passing through the filter and ultrafiltration at 2 and 12 h were also determined. Results: Eight patients received blood purification within 12 h after onset of poisoning, and 10 patients received blood purification more than 12 h later. Early-treated patients showed a higher cure rate (100 vs. 60.0%; p < 0.05, χ2 test) and shorter coma time than late-treated patients (26.0 ± 23.2 h, range 5–70, vs. 59.7 ± 27.7 h, range 20–96; p < 0.01, rank test). The mean plasma tetramine concentrations in early- and late-treated patients were comparable (0.095 ± 0.036 vs. 0.134 ± 0.110 mg/l; p > 0.05). Mean plasma tetramine concentration was reduced from 0.124 ± 0.082 to 0.080 ± 0.055 mg/l after HP. At 2 h of CVVH, mean plasma tetramine concentration was 0.078 ± 0.064 mg/l, at 12 h of CVVH, 0.074 ± 0.059 mg/l, and the ultrafiltration sieving coefficient at 2 and 12 h was 0.839 ± 0.409 and 0.686 ± 0.253 mg/l, respectively. Conclusion: Early sequential HP and CVVH therapy may significantly improve the outcome of patients with severe tetramine intoxication. HP can rapidly reduce the plasma concentration of tetramine, and CVVH can attenuate the plasma tetramine concentration rebound after HP by continuously removing tetramine from the plasma.


This paper proposes a joint selective encryption and data hiding scheme based on compressed sensing (CS), with a focus to its application in secure imaging. Specifically, working with a semantic-secure stream cipher, we suggest to selectively encrypt the sign bits of the CS measurements during its quantization stage and insert the authentication information using a nonseparable histogram-shifting based data hiding scheme. The rationale behind the sign encryption is that CS measurements, when measured by random subspace projection, is random in nature and thus, from both theoretical and experimental points of view, the mean squared errors associated with authorized users and attackers are significant. Due to the indistinguishability of the output ciphertext and the nonlinearity of the CS decoder, it is robust, when comparing with the existing selective encryption system of multimedia data, against known error concealment attacks. When applied in imaging, we demonstrate that it could effectively degrade the visual quality level while saving the computation load by at least $90\%$. Moreover, we further show that a state-of-the-art data hiding system can be seamlessly incorporated into the sign encryption, thus allowing soft data authentication without heavy computation. The proposed scheme is expected to strengthen the security of applications in the field where both energy and privacy are the concerns, such as sensitive information protection for multimedia data in wireless sensor networks.


Informed by a feminist analysis, the author examines a new development in the legal responses to workplace sexual harassment in Quebec. Sexual harassment has been recognized as a psychological injury, compensable through the province's Commission des accidents de travail. This classification was confirmed in the B?liveau-St-Jacques case, in which an alleged victim of workplace sexual harassment filed a civil suit seeking damages from her employer based on both the civil liability regime and the antidiscrimination and anti-harassment clauses of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada found that Quebec's Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases (AIAOD)extinguishes the right to all civil remedies for workplace injuries, including punitive damages in cases of intentional and illegal violations of a protected right. This approach was subsequently entrenched in the new psychological harassment provisions of the Labour Standards Act. The author discusses the implications of B?liveau-St-Jacques for victims of sexual harassment, particularly women. While the decision goes far in recognizing the systemic nature of sexual harassment in the workplace, it also somewhat illogically includes violations of fundamental rights within the ambit of occupational hazards. Responding to sexual harassment through the no-fault workplace compensation scheme causes the distress and anguish experienced by sexual harassment victims to be assessed as a medical condition. Women become the objects of an administrative regime that causes them to suffer further affronts to their dignity. The author contrasts the legal treatment of sexual harassment with that of a different harm to dignity defamation, which constitutes a narrow exception to the exclusion of civil remedies under the AIAOD.


Based on the reliability theory of power communication network,reliability analytic methods are proposed for Ethernet passive optical network(EPON) protection networking of the power distribution communication access layer.By using the system availability theory,the reliability and cost of EPON protection networking are quantitatively analyzed for the access layer of four kinds of power distribution communication network,i.e.,tree-type network of single power supply redundancy protection,hand-in-hand network of whole chain protection,dual-power dual-T network of full link protection,and ring-type protection network.The optimal networking solutions are discussed and summed up for the EPON protection networking schemes of power distribution communication network in current operation.


: This article provides an overview of popular digital tools and apps to foster engagement in the Portuguese as an Additional Language (PLA) classroom which was originally presented at the 1 o Congresso Brasileiro de Jogos Pedagógicos (First Brazilian Conference on Pedagogical Games). From theoretical foundations in multimedia learning, flow theory, and second language acquisition, this article provides comparisons and considerations for integrating technology. Furthermore, this article also provides a number of practical tips and strategies for integrating digital tools and apps effectively into the PLA classroom. Additionally, it illuminates the use of such tools in the language classroom by providing learner perspectives.


Project Solutions. Increasing responsiveness is often dealt against decreasing another valuable resource. As responsiveness is a quality, the most significant resources in a software project to trade off are scope, cost, time, and other quality aspects. In many systems, namely embedded systems, software is an integral part, but only one part of the system. Here trade-offs against hardware resources are a common approach.


This paper presents a novel manifold learning method, namely Directional two-dimensional neighborhood preserving embedding (Dir-2DNPE), for feature extraction. In contrast to standard NPE, Dir-2DNPE directly seeks the optimal projective vectors from the directional images without image-to-vector transformation. Moreover, Dir-2DNPE can well reserve the spatial correlations between variations of rows and those of columns of images. Experiments on the ORL and Yale databases show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Keywords-Neighborhood preserving embedding (NPE), Directional-image, 2-Dimensional NPE, Dir-2DNPE, face recognition


Recently, the clinical reality of intestinal, combined liver-intestinal, and multivisceral transplantation qualified the procedure by the American Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) as the standard of care for patients with irreversible intestinal failure. The decision was supported by a decade of clinical experience with cumulative improvement in survival. Prior to tacrolimus, the worldwide experience was plagued with uncontrolled rejection, graft versus host disease (GVHD), and fatal infection. These undefeated barriers stemmed from the large gut lymphoid mass and heavy microbial load contained in the intestinal lumen with the absence of an effective immunosuppressive and antimicrobial therapy. With the emerge of small bowel and multivisceral transplantation in 1990, multiple factors, in addition to the clinical introduction of tacrolimus, have sustained and increased these efforts including evolution in surgical techniques and improvements in postoperative care. The most valuable achievement, however, has been the effective control of rejection and treatment of life threatening opportunistic infections. This chapter outlines the common current practice, surgical techniques and postoperative management of the three different types of intestinal transplantation. In addition, new strategies to overcome some of the current immunologic and biologic challenges are defined with the aim of raising the level of such a creative surgery to be a better therapy for TPN dependent patients.


Bridge collapse risk can be evaluated more rigorously if the hydrologic characteristics of bridge collapse sites are demystified, particularly for peak flows. In this study, forty-two bridge collapse sites were analyzed to find any trend in the peak flows. Flood frequency and other statistical analyses were used to derive peak flow distribution parameters, identify trends linked to flood magnitude and flood behavior (how extreme), quantify the return periods of peak flows, and compare different approaches of flood frequency in deriving the return periods. The results indicate that most of the bridge collapse sites exhibit heavy tail distribution and flood magnitudes that are well consistent when regressed over the drainage area. A comparison of different flood frequency analyses reveals that there is no single approach that is best generally for the dataset studied. These results indicate a commonality in flood behavior (outliers are expected, not random; heavy-tail property) for the collapse dataset studied and provides some basis for extending the findings obtained for the 42 collapsed bridges to other sites to assess the risk of future collapses.


Circulating immune complex levels were measured in patients with molar pregnancy to investigate the relationship between circulating immune complex and trophoblastic tumor burden. When 27 (87%) of 31 patients with molar pregnancy were first seen, circulating immune complex values were in the normal range. Three of the 4 patients with elevated levels had concurrent medical illness. Eighteen patients were followed with serial measurements until gonadotropin remission was achieved and all 18 patients developed increased levels as they entered remission (P<.001). Circulating immune complex values remained elevated during gonadotropin remission from 6 to 16 weeks and then declined to initial levels. Further investigation should be undertaken to evaluate possible interactions between circulating immune complex and host immune defenses.


Despite increasing interest for the carbon footprint of higher education institutions, little is known about the carbon footprint associated to research activities. Air travel and attendance to conferences concentrate recent data and debates but purchases have attracted little attention. Here we develop a hybrid method to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated to research purchases. To do so, we combine macroe-conomic databases, research-centered companies footprints and life-cycle assesments to construct a public database of monetary emission factors (EF) for research purchases. We apply it to estimate the purchases emissions of a hundred of research laboratories in France, belonging to the Labos 1point5 network and gathering more than 20000 staff, from all disciplines. We find that purchases dominate laboratory emissions, accounting for more than 50% of emissions, with a median of 2.7 t CO2e/pers, which is 3 to 4-fold the separate contribution from travel, commutes and heating. Median electricity emissions are 5-fold lower in our dataset of laboratories using low carbon electricity but they become preponderant for high carbon electricity mixes (3.5 t CO2e/pers). Purchases emissions are very heterogeneous among laboratories and are linearly correlated with budget, with an average carbon intensity of 0.31 ± 0.07 kg CO2e/€ and differences between research domains. Finally, we quantify the effect of a series of demand-driven mitigation strategies obtaining up to −20 % in total emissions (−40 % in purchases emissions), suggesting that effectively reducing the carbon footprint of research activities calls for systemic changes. Significance statement Research activities are recently interrogating their contribution to global warming, mainly through the impact of air travel but neglecting the emissions embodied in scientific purchases. However, goods and services used in a research laboratory emit greenhouse gases when they are produced. Here we construct a public and robust database of emission factors to quantify purchases emissions in a laboratory and we use it to assess emissions from a hundred of laboratories in France, from all disciplines. We find that purchases emissions represent half of the of the 6.3 t CO2e/pers per year emitted on average per laboratory. Emissions, however, vary greatly between laboratories and disciplines and an analysis of mitigation strategies shows that decreasing demand may significantly reduce purchases emissions.


The demographic changes in Germany are leading to a decrease in labour supply. At the same time, costs of sick leave amount to billions of Euro per year. Against this background, it is particularly important for SMEs with notoriously low staffing level and high demand of skilled workers, to promote the health of their employees. The "healthy at work" project aims at determining concrete support needs for SME and in particular for micro-enterprises (< 10 employees) in order to develop tailored prevention measures. We focus on occupational skin diseases (OSD). We develop training courses for the prevention of occupational skin diseases to the specific needs of SME. We select five industrial branches identified as particularly affected by OSD. We evaluate the training by performing a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). Within the framework of a cost utility analysis (CUA) costs and effects of the training are measured. For assessing costs and utility we survey employers and employees of around 70 SME in the region of North-East Lower Saxony. One third pertains to a randomized intervention group. This group receives a training course on the prevention of work-related skin diseases. Defined parameters are: healthy skin, quality of life and job satisfaction. Utility parameters are measured at baseline, at 2-months and 6-months follow-up. Finally we measure the resources used for planning and implementing the intervention. We will present the practical experiences gained from conceptualization and implementation of the training courses for the prevention of OSD in SME and show the results of the CUA. The knowledge gained by the project contributes to conceptualize and implement targeted intervention measures to improve and promote employees' health in SME. In order to develop sustainable prevention concepts they need to be adapted to the size of the enterprise by taking into account the industrial branch, and be continuously scientifically accompanied and evaluated.


The gap in life expectancy between eastern and western Europe is 12 years for men and eight years for women, and it is greater today for men than it was four decades ago. Whereas life expectancy has continuously improved in the west over that time, patterns have been inconsistent in the east. The rise in the west is thought to be linked with economic growth and improvements in healthcare and policy. Success was seen in relation to perinatal and maternal health, immunisations, detection and treatment of hypertension, screening for cancer, and more effective treatment of many diseases. Policies such as tobacco control, road traffic safety, and reductions in air pollution have also contributed to better health, although success has varied between countries. In the east—in this study, central and eastern Europe as well as the whole of the former Soviet Union—economic problems coupled with the lack of effective health policies have led to poorer health. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, tobacco and alcohol control were almost non-existent in large parts of the region, as was awareness of the role of nutrition in prevention of chronic diseases. Smoking rates are still high, especially in young women. In some countries surrogate alcohols—sold as aftershaves and medicinal tinctures and containing 70-90% ethanol—are consumed widely. Control of infectious diseases broke down in some countries, with re-emergence of diphtheria and tuberculosis. Care may have improved in central and eastern Europe since the fall of communism, but it has worsened in the former Soviet Union, where the newly introduced formal and informal payments now mean many people don't get the care they need. Also of concern are rising health inequalities within countries, and common challenges remain in both eastern and western Europe, such as policies on food and alcohol. This is the first time the Lancet has published a series of papers on health in Europe (www.thelancet.com/series/health-ineurope).


Observations of river inundation areas, water levels, and flow variability from orbital sensors have the potential to directly measure the runoff component of the Earth's hydrologic cycle [Birkett et al., 2002; Brakenridge et al., 1998; Sippel et al., 1994, 1998; Townsend, 2001]. A remote-sensing-based measurement strategy for rivers and streams is emerging: Surface water data can be collected, their accuracy evaluated, and the results disseminated without regard to political boundaries. The results can be used to address a wide variety of applications.

In this article, the needs for such measurements, a river reach-based methodology for their collection, and some sample results are presented. Because the international observational capability is increasing, some future opportunities for improving this strategy are also described.


Developmental genetics of single neuron populations can reveal how cortical circuits are built and how neuropsychiatric diseases arise. Neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia and autism, likely involve dysfunction in cerebral cortical microcircuits. Although some of this dysfunction probably results from disruptions near the time of symptom onset, some also likely evolves from abnormalities that occurred earlier during cortical neuron development. However, a major challenge has been to link microcircuitry dysfunction to a disruption in the developmental trajectories of constituent neuronal subtypes. A recent paper in Science by Taniguchi et al. (1) lays crucial groundwork for meeting this challenge. They describe a method for reliably labeling a distinct subtype of cortical neuron, the chandelier interneuron, from its genesis through postnatal development. Their work advances understanding of cortical microcircuitry development, and highlights the potential challenges of using the current genetic armamentarium to label increasingly specific subsets of cortical neurons.


We use Chandra data to derive a detailed gas temperature map of the nearby, hot, merging galaxy cluster A754. Combined with the X-ray and optical images, the map reveals a more complex merger geometry than previously thought, possibly involving more than two subclusters or a cool gas cloud sloshing independently from its former host subcluster. In the cluster central region, we detect spatial variations of the gas temperature on all linear scales, from 100 kpc (the map resolution) and up, which likely remain from a merger shock passage. The existence of these variations indicates that effective thermal conductivity on a 100 kpc scale is reduced by at least an order of magnitude from its full Spitzer value. This constraint pertains to the bulk of the intracluster gas, as compared to the previously reported estimates for cold fronts (which are rather peculiar sites). If the conductivity in a tangled magnetic field is at the recently predicted higher values (i.e., about 1/5 of the Spitzer value), the observed suppression can be achieved, for example, if the intracluster gas consists of magnetically isolated domains.


Background: Wheeze is a common symptom in preschool children. Currently, it is difficult to predict whether wheezing symptoms will pass or will persist and develop into asthma in later childhood.

Aim: To prospectively study whether inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and pre- and post-bronchodilator interrupter resistance (Rint) assessed at preschool age, are able to predict wheezing phenotypes at five years of age.

Methods: Children (N=227) from the ADEM study [1] were included. At preschool age (median (IQR): 3.3 (2.8-3.8) years), pre- and post bronchodilator Rint was assessed. EBC was collected using a closed-glass condenser system. Inflammatory markers ((Interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, sICAM) were measured using multiplex immunoassay. Wheezing phenotypes were determined at five years of age via annual questionnaires.

Results: Children were classified as; never- (n=47), early-transient- (n=89), intermittent- (n=46), and persistent wheezers (n=45) [2,3]. Children with persistent- and intermittent wheeze had elevated levels of all interleukins compared with never wheezers (p<0.05). Moreover, children in the never- and transient wheeze group had slightly lower levels of baseline Rint compared with persistent wheezers (Median (IQR) 1.3 (1.1-1.7) and 1.4 (1.2-1.6) vs. 1.5 (1.3-1.9) kPa·s/L, p<0.10).

Conclusions: Children of the intermittent- and persistent wheeze group at age 5 years already had elevated inflammatory markers at preschool age, indicating augmented airway inflammation in these children.

References:

* 1. van de Kant et al. BMC Public Health 2009; 9:210.

* 2. Martinez FD et al. N Engl J Med 1995; 332:133-8.

* 3. Sears MR et al. N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1414-22.


Abstract Temperature is a core component of a species' fundamental niche. At the fine scale over which most organisms experience climate (mm to ha), temperature depends upon the amount of radiation reaching the Earth's surface, which is principally governed by vegetation. Tropical regions have undergone widespread and extreme changes to vegetation, particularly through the degradation and conversion of rainforests. As most terrestrial biodiversity is in the tropics, and many of these species possess narrow thermal limits, it is important to identify local thermal impacts of rainforest degradation and conversion. We collected pantropical, site‐level (<1 ha) temperature data from the literature to quantify impacts of land‐use change on local temperatures, and to examine whether this relationship differed aboveground relative to belowground and between wet and dry seasons. We found that local temperature in our sample sites was higher than primary forest in all human‐impacted land‐use types (N = 113,894 daytime temperature measurements from 25 studies). Warming was pronounced following conversion of forest to agricultural land (minimum +1.6°C, maximum +13.6°C), but minimal and nonsignificant when compared to forest degradation (e.g., by selective logging; minimum +1°C, maximum +1.1°C). The effect was buffered belowground (minimum buffering 0°C, maximum buffering 11.4°C), whereas seasonality had minimal impact (maximum buffering 1.9°C). We conclude that forest‐dependent species that persist following conversion of rainforest have experienced substantial local warming. Deforestation pushes these species closer to their thermal limits, making it more likely that compounding effects of future perturbations, such as severe droughts and global warming, will exceed species' tolerances. By contrast, degraded forests and belowground habitats may provide important refugia for thermally restricted species in landscapes dominated by agricultural land.


The definition of the term 'security' is critical to the scope and application of the federal securities laws. Unfortunately, courts have failed to develop a coherent approach to the statutory definition of a security that can be applied in a consistent manner. Judicial construction of the definition of a security is particularly inconsistent as it applies to certain types of instruments or interests that are listed in the statutory definition. The United States Supreme Court furthered this inconsistency recently when it rejected the sale of business doctrine in Landreth Timber Company v. Landreth and Gould v. Ruefenacht. The issue at the heart of this judicial failure is to what extent, or under what circumstances, instruments and interests that are specifically named in section 2(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 may be excluded from the definition of a security. Commercial notes and general partnership interests are generally excluded from the definition of a security based on the underlying economic transaction in which the instrument or interest is purchased or sold. The Supreme Court, however, in rejecting the sale of business doctrine, held that common stock is a security regardless of the economic transaction in which it is transferred. The purpose of this Article is to outline the history of the sale of business doctrine and to illustrate the problems created for both the bar and the courts by its rejection.