This thesis addresses a significant lack in existing research into the lived experience of contemporary, transnational yoga practice. It starts from two premises: that what long-term practitioners are actually doing in their practice is important; and that the communities in which yoga is taught are vital sites for the production of subcultural knowledge.

The thesis has three major outputs. Firstly, it sets out an innovative methodology of co-practice, notation, and method as experiment that is newly fit for the purpose of studying bodily religious practice. Secondly, it provides a vivid portrait of a specific understudied subculture which inherits aspects of British counterculture previously declared defunct. And lastly, it demonstrates the intra- and interpersonal processes at the heart of the subculture's negotiations with identity, ecology, and authority.

These processes may well be applicable to many more yogic subcultures than presently suspected. As such this thesis includes new models for understanding such subcultures, as well as a new term to describe them that is already being debated beyond the spaces of this research: post-lineage yoga. This thesis therefore holds significant implications for the wider and future study of yoga, bodies and religion.


Significant research effort is regularly applied to the goal of reducing the size of radiofrequency antennas while maintaining the entire set of positive attributes of proven, but relatively large, antennas. Such parameters as frequency response (multiple or single), bandwidth, and complexity of the antenna-driver balun structures require iterative optimization. The direct-write processes now available enable the insertion of reactive-loading elements as integral parts of the antenna structure, especially into new conformal designs. These reactive-loading elements are used in conjunction with modern design techniques to achieve antenna devices that are reduced in size to as much as half that of traditional counterparts. The performances of the miniaturized antennas constructed by direct write methods are evaluated and compared to those of traditional antenna structures.


The Russian education modernization policy is considered in connection with the processes of formation of the united European educational space. The authors understanding of the problems of Russias education system joining the Bologna Process is presented.


Purpose: To evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI), and microleakage of low-shrinking and conventional composites used as an orthodontic bracket bonding adhesive. Materials and Methods: A hundred twenty non-caries human premolars, extracted for orthodontic purposes, were used in this study. Sixty of them were separated into two groups. Brackets were bonded to the teeth in the test group with Silorane (3M-Espe) and control group with Transbond-XT (3M-Unitek). SBS values of these brackets were recorded in MPa using a universal testing machine. ARI scores were determined after the failure of brackets. The remaining 60 teeth were divided into two groups and microleakage was evaluated by the dye penetration method. Statistical analyses were performed by Wilcoxon, Pearson Chi-square, and Mann-Whitney U tests at P < 0.05 level. Results: The mean SBS for Transbond XT was significantly greater than low-shrinking composite (P < 0.001). Significant differences (χ2 =29.60, P < 0.001) were present between the two groups for the ARI scores. Microleakage values were lower in low-shrinking composite than in the control group, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Although low-shrinking composite produced insufficient SBS and ARI scores, microleakage values were lower in low-shrinking composite than in the control group on the etched enamel surfaces, when used as a bracket bonding composite.


We present optical shadowgraph flow visualization and heat transport measurements of Rayleigh–Bénard convection with rotation about a vertical axis. The fluid, water with Prandtl number 6.4, is confined in a cylindrical convection cell with radius-to-height ratio Γ = 1. For dimensionless rotation rates 150 < Ω < 8800, the onset of convection occurs at critical Rayleigh numbers Rc(Ω) much less than those predicted by linear stability analysis for a laterally infinite system and qualitatively consistent with finite-aspect-ratio, linear-stability calculations of Buell & Catton (1983). As in the calculations, the forward bifurcation at onset is to states of localized flow near the lateral walls with azimuthal periodicity of 3 < m < 8. These states precess in the rotating frame, contrary to the assumptions of Buell & Catton (1983) but in quantitative agreement with recent calculations of Goldstein et al. (1992), with a frequency that is finite at onset but goes to zero as Ω goes to zero. At Ω = 2145 we find primary and secondary stability boundaries for states with m = 4, 5, 6, and 7. Further, we show that at higher Rayleigh number, there is a transition to a vortex state where the vortices form with the symmetry of the existing azimuthal periodicity of the sidewall state. Aperiodic, time-dependent heat transport begins for Rayleigh numbers at or slightly above the first appearance of vortices. Visualization of the formation and interactions of thermal vortices is presented, and the behaviour of the Nusselt number at high Rayleigh numbers is discussed.


A total of 222 urogenital specimens were investigated with a commercially available polymerase chain reaction (Amplicor test) for the direct detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. The results were compared with those yielded by the conventional cell culture technique. Using cell culture a urogenital C. trachomatis infection could be detected in 72 of 222 patients. The Amplicor test yielded a positive result in 83. Referred to the detection rate of the Amplicor test and that of the cell culture, sensitivity was 91.2% for the test sensitivity and 79.1% for the cell culture. The specificity of both techniques was 100% when the specimens for which neither both nor either one of the tests gave positive results were considered. In accordance with other studies, this study suggests that tests based on nucleic acid amplification will supersede cell cultures as the gold standard for the detection of C. trachomatis and also become the method of choice in routine diagnosis of urogenital chamydial infections.


Background Animal data suggest that Toll-like receptors (TLR) may play an important role in colon carcinogenesis. Studies in humans to support that hypothesis are scarce. Aim To evaluate the expression of TLR2, TLR4 and TLR5, and the expression of several other related molecules, in different human colonic lesions. Methods Colon biopsy samples from normal mucosa, normal mucosa adjacent to lesion, adenoma or sporadic carcinoma were obtained from 35 consecutive patients undergoing colonoscopy. Quantification of TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ), nuclear factor κB, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α, cyclooxygenase (COX) 1 and 2 mRNA was performed by real-time reverse transcription PCR. TLR2, TLR4 and TLR5 protein expression was quantified by immunohistochemistry. Results When compared with normal mucosa (1.0 arbitrary unit (AU)), adjacent normal mucosa presented higher expression of COX-2 (1.86±0.3 AU, p=0.01) and TNFα (1.44±0.18 AU, p=0.04) and lower TOLLIP expression (0.75±0.05 AU, p=0.004). Adenomas and carcinomas presented higher expression of COX-2 (1.63±0.27 and 1.38±0.14 AU, p=0.03 and p=0.05, respectively) and lower expression of TOLLIP (0.44±0.04 AU, p<0.001), with diffuse and higher TLR protein expression (p<0.001). Carcinomas also expressed higher TLR2 (2.31±0.32 AU, p=0.006) and lower PPAR-γ (0.56±0.12 AU, p=0.003). There was a trend towards decreased TOLLIP (p<0.001) and PPAR-γ (p=0.05) from normal mucosa to adenoma/carcinoma. Conclusions Persistently positive TLR expression and lower expression of TLR inhibitors was associated with higher TLR protein levels throughout the spectrum of lesions of colon carcinogenesis. Increasing activation of these receptors by bacteria may play a crucial role in colon carcinogenesis and tumour progression.


The clinical material on which this presentation is based is derived from patients who developed unexpected difficulties in the course of psychoanalytic therapy. Some of these patients had undergone one or more analyses with other analysts; others were patients of mine who returned for further analysis. In this group there were patients who were unable to get beyond the preliminary phases of analysis. Even after several years of analysis they were not really "in analysis." Others seemed interminable; there was a marked discrepancy between the copiousness of insight and the paucity of change. The clinical syndromes these cases manifested were heterogeneous in diagnostic category, ego functions, or dynamics of personality. The key to understanding the essential pathology as well as the therapeutic stalemate was in the failure of the patient to develop a reliable working relation with the analyst. In each case the patient was either unable to establish or maintain a durable working alliance with the analyst and the analyst neglected this fact, pursuing instead the analysis of other transference phenomena. This error in technique was observable in psychoanalysts with a wide range of clinical experience and I recognized the same shortcoming in myself when I resumed analysis with patients previously treated.


After a decade of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education, many teachers still use only a minimum of its affordances. This study looked at how academic staff interacted with a new and unknown VLE in order to understand how technology acceptance and support materials influence (perceived and actual) task performance. In an experimental design, 36 participants were split into a control (online help) and experimental (instructor video) condition and completed five common teaching tasks in a new VLE. In contrast to most technology acceptance model research, this study found that perceived usefulness of the VLE was not related to (perceived) task performance. Perceived ease of use was related to intentions and actual behaviour in the VLE. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the two conditions, although the experimental condition led to a (marginal) increase in time to complete the tasks.


In this paper, the cyclic plasticity and fatigue crack initiation behaviour of a tempered martensitic ferritic steel under thermo-mechanical fatigue conditions is examined by means of micromechanical finite element modelling. The crystal plasticity based model explicitly reflects the microstructure of the material, measured by electronic backscatter diffraction. The predicted cyclic thermo-mechanical response agrees well with experiments under both in-phase and out-of-phase conditions. A thermo-mechanical fatigue indicator parameter, with stress triaxiality and temperature taken into account, is developed to predict fatigue crack initiation. In the fatigue crack initiation simulation, the out-of-phase thermomechanical response is identified to be more dangerous than in-phase response, which is consistent with experimental failure data. It is shown that the behaviour of thermo-mechanical fatigue can be effectively predicted at the microstructural level and this can lead to a more accurate assessment procedure for power plant components.


Solutions to specific challenges within software engineering activities can greatly benefit from human creativity. For example, evidence of trust derived from creative virtual evaluation scenarios can support the trust assurance of fast-paced runtime adaptation of intelligent behavior. Following this vision, in this paper, we introduce a methodological and architectural concept that interplays creative and social aspects of gaming into software engineering activities, more precisely into a virtual evaluation of system behavior. A particular trait of the introduced concept is that it reinforces cooperation between technological and social intelligence. Title: Goals within Trust-based Digital Ecosystems Authors: Emilia Cioroaica, Akanksha Purohit, Barbora Buhnova, and Daniel Schneider Abstract: Within a digital ecosystem, systems and actors form coalitions for achieving common and individual goals. In a constant motion of collaborative and competitive forces and faced with the risk of malicious attacks, ecosystem participants require strong guarantees of their collaborators' trustworthiness. Evidence of trustworthy behavior derived from runtime executions can provide these trust guarantees, given that clear definition and delimitation of trust concerns exist. Without them, a base for negotiating expectations, quantifying achievements and identifying strategical attacks cannot be established and attainment of strategic benefits relies solely on vulnerable collaborations. In this paper we examine the relationship between goals and trust and we introduce a formalism for goal representation. We delimit the trust concerns with antigoals. The anti-goals set the boundaries within which we structure the trust analysis and build up evidence for motivated attacks. Within a digital ecosystem, systems and actors form coalitions for achieving common and individual goals. In a constant motion of collaborative and competitive forces and faced with the risk of malicious attacks, ecosystem participants require strong guarantees of their collaborators' trustworthiness. Evidence of trustworthy behavior derived from runtime executions can provide these trust guarantees, given that clear definition and delimitation of trust concerns exist. Without them, a base for negotiating expectations, quantifying achievements and identifying strategical attacks cannot be established and attainment of strategic benefits relies solely on vulnerable collaborations. In this paper we examine the relationship between goals and trust and we introduce a formalism for goal representation. We delimit the trust concerns with antigoals. The anti-goals set the boundaries within which we structure the trust analysis and build up evidence for motivated attacks. Title: BIECO Runtime Auditing Framework Authors: Antonello Calabro, Emilia Cioroaica, Said Daoudagh, and Eda Marchetti Abstract: Context: Within digital ecosystems avoiding the propagation of security and trust violations among interconnected parties is a mandatory requirement, especially when a new device, a software component, or a system component is integrated within the ecosystem. Objective: The aim is to define an auditing framework able to assess and evaluate the specific functional and non-functional properties of the ecosystems and their components. Method: In this paper, we present the concept of predictive simulation and runtime monitoring for detecting malicious behavior of ecosystem components. Results and Conclusion: We defined a reference architecture allowing the automation of the auditing process for the runtime behavior verification of ecosystems and their components. Validation of the proposal with real use-cases is part of the future BIECO's activities. Context: Within digital ecosystems avoiding the propagation of security and trust violations among interconnected parties is a mandatory requirement, especially when a new device, a software component, or a system component is integrated within the ecosystem. Objective: The aim is to define an auditing framework able to assess and evaluate the specific functional and non-functional properties of the ecosystems and their components. Method: In this paper, we present the concept of predictive simulation and runtime monitoring for detecting malicious behavior of ecosystem components. Results and Conclusion: We defined a reference architecture allowing the automation of the auditing process for the runtime behavior verification of ecosystems and their components. Validation of the proposal with real use-cases is part of the future BIECO's activities. Title: Comparison of Safety and Security analysis techniques Authors: Emilia Cioroaica, Smruti Ranjan Kar, and Ioannis Sorokos Abstract: Growing adoption of new technological advancements within the automotive domain is highlighting multiple safety and security concerns. Aiming at reducing the errors humans make on the roads, deployment of novel and intelligent technological solutions are likely to introduce multiple vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. In automated driving scenarios, in particular, vehicles communicating with each other using ad-hoc networks are becoming vulnerable to specialized cyber-physical attacks. A single compromised vehicle will provide an attack entry point for all linked vehicles, putting lives of passengers at risk. In this paper, we present an overview and evaluation of safety and security analysis methods applied on a use case from the automotive domain. Title: A comparative study of the most important methods for forecasting the ICT systems vulnerabilities Authors: Ovidiu Cosma, Mara Hajdu-Macelaru, Petrica Pop-Sitar, Cosmin Sabo, Ioana Zelina Abstract: Nowadays, companies are facing plenty of IT secure attacks and to guarantee safe, untroubled, and continuous functioning of their business, they should detect and forecast the volume of IT security vulnerabilities and be prepared for future threats. The aim of this paper is to present a comparative study of the most important and promising methods for forecasting the ICT systems vulnerabilities. Nowadays, companies are facing plenty of IT secure attacks and to guarantee safe, untroubled, and continuous functioning of their business, they should detect and forecast the volume of IT security vulnerabilities and be prepared for future threats. The aim of this paper is to present a comparative study of the most important and promising methods for forecasting the ICT systems vulnerabilities. Title: Data Based Message Validation as a Security Cornerstone in Loose Coupling Software Architecture Authors: Oliviu Matei, Rudolf Erdei, Daniela Delinschi, Laura Andreica Abstract: Far from being a hype, cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of our daily lives. Gaining trust in a cyber system is not an easy task, as problems and security hazards can be willingly or unwillingly introduced in it. This paper describes a security-centric architecture of the communication bus in loosely coupled heterogeneous systems. The concept is modular and designed having in mind the fulfillment of the principles of Service Oriented Architecture as well as the common functional and non-functional requirements regarding such communications. Publications Far from being a hype, cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of our daily lives. Gaining trust in a cyber system is not an easy task, as problems and security hazards can be willingly or unwillingly introduced in it. This paper describes a security-centric architecture of the communication bus in loosely coupled heterogeneous systems. The concept is modular and designed having in mind the fulfillment of the principles of Service Oriented Architecture as well as the common functional and non-functional requirements regarding such communications. Publications


We have developed a new heterologous expression system for mammalian glucose transporters. The system is based on a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain completely deleted for all its endogenous hexose transporters and unable to take up and to grow on hexoses. To target the heterologous glucose transporters into the yeast plasma membrane in a fully active form, additional mutations had to be introduced into the hexose transport-deficient strain. Although GLUT1 was localized at the cell surface already in the parent strain, it supported uptake of glucose only in an Δhxt fgy1-1 mutant strain. Moreover, various mutations within the first half of the second predicted transmembrane helix converted GLUT1 into a form able to support uptake of glucose into yeast cells. GLUT4 was trapped in intracellular structures but became functionally expressed in the plasma membrane in Δhxt fgy1-1 fgy4X mutant strains. Glucose transport kinetics were determined with intact yeast cells by zero-trans influx measurements with a Km of 3.2 mM for human GLUT1 and of 12.6 mM for human GLUT4. Cytochalasin B inhibited these activities. Growth tests revealed that both transporter proteins are able to mediate uptake of glucose, mannose and galactose, but not of fructose. The new heterologous expression system should be a valuable tool to develop cell based high-throughput screening assays for identifying pharmaceutical compounds influencing the transporters.


The functionalization of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) by viologen dications (VGDs) is reported in this work as well as their applications in the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). VGDs are able to form intermolecular cavities at interparticle junctions (SERS hot spots) where the analyte can be allocated. This leads to a giant intensification of the Raman emission of the target molecule. This effect was applied in the detection of PAHs, one of the most widespread and dangerous group of pollutants existing in the atmosphere and waters. A comparison between sensing-systems based on different VGDs (lucigenin, diquat, and paraquat) was done for the detection of two PAHs (pyrene and benzo[c]phenanthrene). The functionalization with lucigenin (LG) provided the most powerful and stable VGD-NPs sensor, which allowed the SERS detection of pyrene (PYR) down to 10(-9) M in the macro setup and in the zeptomole range for spectra obtained by single NPs aggregates (micro setup). Besides, SERS spectra afforded important structural information about the interaction mechanism of VGD and PAHs, revealing the formation of a CT complex between the VGD and PYR and changes in the host conformation. The position of the nu(Ag-Cl) band and the plasmon resonance contribution assigned to Ag dimers were also used as spectral markers to monitor the host-guest interaction.


The methylation-demethylation processes in sediments of the Deûle River were determined using well-established isotope experiments. For this purpose, species-specific isotopically enriched tracers in the form of inorganic mercury IHg ((199)Hg) and methylmercury MeHg (Me(201)Hg) were used to determine Hg dynamics in the Deûle River. Sediment cores were collected at two sampling locations chosen in the most polluted zone of the Deûle River (Northern France) in proximity of a Zn, Pb, Cu, and Ni smelter called "Metaleurop" that had closed in 2003. Site I was chosen in the vicinity of the historic smelter site and site II upstream of the Deûle River. The incubation was realized directly in the sediment cores during the 24 hour experiment under environmental conditions close to the real natural systems (the same temperature, pH, humidity, light/dark conditions, oxygen levels…). The enriched isotopes were injected by needle into different sections of the core. After incubation, the core was sliced and the concentration of Hg species was determined in each section. The highest methylation potentials were found at sediment depths away from the sediment-water-interface. At site I, the methylation potential varied between 0.02-0.9% and at site II between 0.001-0.2%. The demethylation potentials fluctuated between 0.001-60% at site I and between 4-53% at site II. In both sites, negative net methylation potentials were obtained in several sediment depths, representing a net sink for MeHg. The average net methylation potential in site I demonstrated a negative value of 1919 ng g(-1) day(-1). It seems that in site I the demethylation process predominates methylation. Whereas, in site II, the average net methylation potential was a positive value of 138 ng g(-1) day(-1), demonstrating the dominance of methylation over demethylation.


Photovoltaics(PV) is considered as one of the most expected renewable energy sources to be developed more economically and superconducting magnetic energy storage(SMES) is also expected to be put into power grid in the near future. To get a reliable and easily controlled power source using PV, the hybrid system with SMES is desired because of the high efficiency, reliability and quick response characteristics of SMES as a power storage equipment. In this paper, we propose a conceptional configuration and operating algorithm of PV-SMES system on the assumption that it would be connected to the power grid for commercial use. Considering the load leveling function of PV-SMES system, an optimum daily operation scheduling method of power systems which includes unit commitment and economic load dispatch is presented. The various features of PV-SMES system, such as, load leveling , operating cost reduction effect, smoothing effect of PV output, etc., are demonstrated and confirmed through simulation results for a model power system.


We investigate the pricing of sovereign credit risk over the period 2008-2010 for selected advanced economies by examining two widely-used indicators: sovereign credit default swap (CDS) and relative asset swap (RAS) spreads. Cointegration analysis suggests the existence of an imperfect market arbitrage relationship between the cash (RAS) and the derivatives (CDS) markets, with price discovery taking place in the latter. Likewise, panel regressions aimed at uncovering the fundamental drivers of the two indicators show that the CDS market, although less liquid, has provided a better signal for sovereign credit risk during the period of the recent financial crisis.


Increasing breastfeeding prevalence is essential to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for all mothers and babies. Evidence-based services need to be commissioned and developed in line with UNICEF's Baby Friendly Initiative Seven Point Plan, to ensure positive outcomes for breastfeeding. Support services offered early in the neonatal period can increase prevalence at 6-8 weeks of age and encourage longer-term breastfeeding, recommended by the World Health Organization and Department of Health. This article describes how an early intervention infant feeding service successfully supported mothers to continue breastfeeding and increased prevalence.


A simulation of the interaction between atomic force microscope tips and protein surfaces employing the concept of the Connolly molecular surface with a carbon probe has been investigated. A methodology has been developed to allow the computation of the Connolly surface for a protein, where numerous atoms are simultaneously interacting with each other. The van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between the probe and the relevant Connolly surface elements are integrated to obtain the total interaction, resulting in precise theoretical accounts for a variety of interaction components.


The MPhil utilises the redevelopment of Houldsworth Village as a case study by which to explore the plurality of stakeholder interests which place marketers must address to deliver the ambitions of an urban village.The applied methodology of participative action-case allowed the researcher to consider, over time, the complex phenomena being studied in to Houldsworth Village with respect to understanding stakeholder interactions therein in the urban village.From this context, the thesis advocates the application of services marketing as a framework through which to explore and conceptualise stakeholder interactions. It outlines the thematic influences of the three Ps, processes, participants and physical evidence and their impact on stakeholder interactions.The exploration of the thematic influences within the three Ps, informs the development of a typology of stakeholder interactions, according to the extent to which the entity was supportive in implementing processes and achieving participant satisfaction and the degree to which it contributed to the physical environment.Such insight is vital to place marketing practitioners, and can be used to inform the future management of stakeholder relationships within the urban village.


Youth who are obese or overweight demonstrate evidence of poor lower extremity joint health and alterations in gait characteristics compared with youth who are healthy weight. However, there is no consensus if altered movement patterns are still present during high‐impact activities. The purpose of this review was to determine if spatiotemporal and kinematic and kinetic variables during high‐impact activities were significantly different between youth who are overweight and obese compared with youth who are healthy weight. An electronic search of five databases was conducted, and a meta‐analysis and qualitative evidence synthesis was performed to determine the level of evidence, analyzing three tasks: running, jumping, and hopping. The findings of this review include the following: (1) overweight/obese (OW/OB) had higher stance phase time during running, (2) OW/OB had decreased hip flexion angles during running and stationary running, (3) OW/OB had decreased knee flexion angles during landing phase of jumping and hopping, and (4) OW/OB had increased hip abduction moments during running and jumping. These altered kinematic and kinetic variables at the hip and knee may result in mechanical inefficiency with high‐impact activities, as well as potentially increased risk of joint degradation and poor joint health into adulthood.


Five hundred people coming from the country-side, where a large number of cattle is bredeed, and 500 people coming from the city, were examined for the presence of humoral and cellular immunity to brucellosis with the standard agglutination test (Sat), anti-human globulin test (AHGT), Elisa test (Enzyme-Linked Immunoadsorbent Test) and IFN-gamma release in vitro. We found that Elisa test showed a higher sensitivity respect to the Sat and the AHGT test. In fact, with the Elisa test the seroprevalence was 10% for IgG, 9,4% for IgM and 1% for IgA in the rural country compared with that of the urban country which was 8,2%, 8,3% and 0,4% respectively. The Sat test and AHGT test, instead, showed a percentage of 91% and 87% with a titre < 20 from the rural country and a percentage of 96% and 98% from the urban area. Morover we noticed that the test based on the production of IFN gamma which appears to be an important mediator of cell-mediated immune response, agreed with serological tests


Alan Milburn was well received at RCN Congress a year ago and a clear majority said they had more confidence in the Labour Party than any other when the future of the NHS was debated.


In this paper, we investigate the bandwidth and power allocation problem in remote radio head cluster (RRHC)-based millimeter wave (mm-wave) massive MIMO heterogeneous cloud radio access networks with limited fronthaul capacity. The coordinated multipoint transmission is applied in each RRHC for cancelling the intra-cluster interference. To avoid the inter-tier interference, distinct bandwidths are allocated to macro base station and RRHs. Following this, we formulate a bandwidth and power allocation optimization problem to maximize the downlink weighted sum rate of the system subject to per-RRHC power and fronthaul capacity constraints, which is a non-convex optimization problem and is difficult to directly solve. Next, we fix the bandwidth allocation and the original problem can be divided into two independent optimization problems, i.e., the weighted sum rate maximization problems of MUs and RRH users, respectively. For the former, the convex optimization technique can be used to solve it. As for the latter, a two-loop iterative algorithm is proposed to deal with it. Specifically, we propose the price-based outer iteration to control the fronthaul capacity and the weighted minimum mean square error-based inner iteration to obtain the power allocation. To this end, a 1-D search method is adopted to find the optimal bandwidth allocation. Finally, numerical results are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms under different parameters.


A DC steady state voltage is decomposed into two waves traveling in opposite directions of a lossless, nonuniform transmission line. Such a two-traveling-wave representation for a DC charged line is employed to modify the time-domain-scattering-parameter formulation of a lossless, nonuniform transmission line having nonzero initial condition as well as nonlinear terminations.<<ETX>>


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Breast cancer affects an estimated 1.3 million women worldwide annually (Breast Cancer Res Tr 127(2): 541-7, 2011). Certain breast cancer cell types are resistant or become resistant to conventional chemotherapy (Cancer Sci 94: 15-21, 2003). The use of targeted therapy for the controlled killing of cancer cells has become clinically desirable to sensitize breast cancer to anti-cancer drugs. TRA-8, a death receptor 5 (DR5) agonistic antibody, has been shown to be effective in activating apoptosis in breast cancer cells (Molecular Cancer Res 9(4): 403-17, 2011). However, sensitivity to TRA-8 induced apoptosis is dependent on the breast cancer subtype (Clin Cancer Res 9: 3731-41, 2003). Tamoxifen (TMX) is known for its potency in the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers, but some ER-positive breast cancers have developed resistance to TMX treatment (J. Natl. Cancer Inst, 96(12):926-35, 2004). TMX is an inhibitor of the ER-mediated cell growth pathway and TMX is also a calmodulin (CaM) antagonist. The goal of this study is to understand the effect of the combined treatment of TRA-8 and TMX on breast cancer cell apoptosis. We hypothesize that the combination treatment of TMX and TRA-8 will sensitize the ER-positive breast cancer cells to apoptosis. The ER-positive breast cancer cell lines: MCF-7 and T47D were treated with and without estradiol, and then treated with TRA-8 only, TMX only and combined TRA-8 and TMX. Results showed that both MCF-7 and T47D cells showed synergism between TMX and TRA-8 for the cells treated with estradiol, but showed antagonism for the cells without estradiol treatment. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments using a DR5 antibody demonstrated the interactions of CaM with DR5 in MCF-7 and T47D cell lines. The results suggested that TMX inhibited the estradiol activated ER cell growth pathway and the cross-talk between DR5-mediated apoptosis pathway and ER-mediated cell growth pathway contributed to the observed synergism between TMX and TRA-8 treatment for ER activated MCF-7 and T47D cells. The observed antagonism between TMX and TRA-8 treatment for ER inactivated MCF-7 and T47D cells could have resulted from TMX serving as a CaM antagonist to inhibit CaM-DR5 interactions and thus inhibit DR5-induced apoptosis. Results from this study provide the basis for further investigations of the role of CaM/DR5 binding in mediating breast cancer apoptosis and the cross-talk between DR5-mediated apoptosis and ER-mediated cell growth pathways, which may lead to the novel therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.

Citation Format: Tiara Napier, Romone Fancy, Tong Zhou, John Mountz, Yuhua Song. Effect of the combined treatment of TRA-8, an agonistic DR5 antibody, and tamoxifen on breast cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2955. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2955


Colletotrichum brevisporum is an important causal pathogen of anthracnose that seriously affects the fruit quality and yield of papaya (Carica papaya L.). Although many genes and biological processes involved in anthracnose resistance have been reported in other species, the molecular mechanisms involved in the response or resistance to anthracnose in post-harvest papaya fruits remain unclear. In this study, we compared transcriptome changes in the post-harvest fruits of the anthracnose-susceptible papaya cultivar Y61 and the anthracnose-resistant cultivar G20 following C. brevisporum inoculation. More differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElnRNAs) were identified in G20 than in Y61, especially at 24 h post-inoculation (hpi), suggesting a prompt activation of defense responses in G20 in the first 24 h after C. brevisporum inoculation. These DEGs were mainly enriched in plant-pathogen interaction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis/metabolism, and peroxisome and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways in both cultivars. However, in the first 24 hpi, the number of DEGs related to anthracnose resistance was greater in G20 than in Y61, and changes in their expression levels were faster in G20 than in Y61. We also identified a candidate anthracnose-resistant gene cluster, which consisted of 12 genes, 11 in G20 and Y61, in response to C. brevisporum inoculation. Moreover, 529 resistance gene analogs were identified in papaya genome, most of which responded to C. brevisporum inoculation and were genetically different between papaya cultivars and wild-type populations. The total expression dose of the resistance gene analogs may help papaya resist C. brevisporum infection. This study revealed the mechanisms underlying different anthracnose resistance between the anthracnose-resistant and anthracnose-susceptible cultivars based on gene expression, and identified some potential anthracnose resistance-related candidate genes/major regulatory factors. Our findings provided potential targets for developing novel genetic strategies to overcome anthracnose in papaya.


Background—Prior studies evaluating the efficacy of catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) among patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) have reported varied outcomes. More recently, studies have suggested that an epicardial ablation is necessary for improved outcomes after catheter ablation of VT. The overall objective of the present study was to assess the efficacy of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) of VT in ARVD/C, with particular focus on newer ablation strategies, including epicardial catheter ablation. Methods and Results—The study population included 87 patients with ARVD/C who underwent a total of 175 RFA procedures between 1992 and 2011 at 80 different electrophysiology centers. Recurrence of VT following RFA and effect of RFA on the burden of VT were assessed. The mean age of the cohort was 38 ± 13 years. Over a mean follow-up of 88.3 ± 66 months, the overall freedom from VT of the 175 procedures was 47%, 21%, and 15%, at 1, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The cumulative freedom from VT following epicardial RFA was 64% and 45% at 1 and 5 years, respectively, which was significantly longer than endocardial RFA (P=0.021). Survival free of VT among procedures with 3D electroanatomic mapping was significantly longer compared to those without (P=0.016). Burden of VT was reduced irrespective of the ablation strategy (P<0.001). Conclusions—Although VT recurrences are common, RFA results in a significant reduction in the burden of VT in patients with ARVD/C. Further, although the use of 3D electroanatomic mapping systems and epicardial ablation strategies are associated with longer survival free of VT, recurrence rates remain considerable.


The UK seems set to follow the increasingly abolitionist trend that is taking hold in Europe in response to the issue of prostitution. While some argue that an abolitionist approach signals a serious attempt to tackle the injustices and gendered aspects of commercial sex, we are less optimistic. Drawing upon the findings of the first study to evaluate Engagement and Support Orders, we argue that any focus on women's needs is distorted by the continued zero tolerance approach to street sex work and the criminal justice setting it takes place in. New revolving doors have been created for those involved in the most visible sectors of the industry and support agencies have been made to take on an increased policing role. This narrow focus individualises the causes of poverty and prostitution, elides the wider structural factors that shape sex work and does little to address the real needs of this vulnerable group. In conclusion, we argue that future policy should engage more productively with the rich cultural study of sex work. This will enable the development of ground-up responses and allow for a more effective role for the criminal law.


We evaluate the van der Waals (vdW) interaction energy at zero temperature between two undoped strained graphene layers separated by a finite distance. We consider the following three models for the anisotropic case: (a) where one of the two layers is uniaxially strained, (b) the two layers are strained in the same direction, and (c) one of the layers is strained in the perpendicular direction with respect to the other. We find that for all three models and given value of the electron-electron interaction coupling, the vdW interaction energy increases with increasing anisotropy. The effect is most striking for the case when both layers are strained in the same direction where we observe up to an order of magnitude increase in the strained relative to the unstrained case. We also investigate the effect of electron electron interaction renormalization in the region of large separation between the strained graphene layers. We find that the many-body renormalization contributions to the correlation energy are non negligible and the vdW interaction energy decreases as a function of increasing distance between the layers due to renormalization of the Fermi velocity, the anisotropy, and the effective interaction. Our analysis can be useful in designing novel graphene-based vdW heterostructures which, in recent times, has seen an upsurge in research activity.


To evaluate analytically the performance of a discrete time single server queue where the input process has a general marginal distribution, its index of dispersion for counts (IDC) may be infinite, and where the tail of the unfinished work distribution is not necessarily dominant, we use the following two principles. Firstly, we use the observation that only a finite duration of time is required for consideration of the effect of correlation on queueing performance. Secondly, by a certain transformation, queueing performance results for a queue with correlated input having arbitrary marginal distribution can be evaluated using that of its noncorrelated counterpart. We confirm the results by simulation using real traffic measurements from a high speed data network.


The Mila formation from late Early Cambrain to Early Ordovician age is well exposed in the Shahmirzad section consists of 5 lithological members. Several biozones of conodonts have been identified in this section, several taxa of body and trace fossils have been collected from members 2 – 5 of this section. Member 1, consisting of stromotolitic dolomite, indicates at least one paleosol in the middle part. The second lithological member which includes several beds of salt peseudomorphs does not indicate any condont, while trilobites as well as trace fossils such as Rusophycus sp. and Cruziana sp. have been found frequently. These trace fossils, characteristic of cruziana ichnofacies, occur only in shallow marine environments. Eocrinoids debris and epirelief of the root of this fossil strongly supports this fact. In addition, presence of storm beds and oriented deposition of Hyolithids indicate high degree of water agitation in environment of deposition. Biozones of Conodont have been identified from members 3-5.


As the storage density of 3D NAND flash memory increases, reliability issues have been the bottleneck. Among all reliability issues, decreased retention time is the dominant one. To extend the retention time, data refresh is a straightforward approach. However, refresh operations will introduce redundant operations, which hurt the performance of the 3D NAND flash system. With the observation that retention time can be extended by WL interference, this paper first proposes to extend retention time with WL interference practically, and then presents a refresh scheme, which refreshes only one-third of pages in a block and postpones the refresh operations on the remaining two-thirds of pages with WL interference. Finally, the evaluation results show that the refresh operations are reduced by 35.1% with 7-day refresh period. Compared with previous work, as a result of refresh reduction, the read and write response time are decreased by 34.2% and 46.5% respectively.


The liquid chemical permeation properties and water vapour transmission properties of temperature sensitive poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) grafted N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM) (NIPAAM-g-PVDF) copolymer membranes as a smart barrier layer in chemical protective clothing are studied in this research. Both modified thermally induced method and modified plasma induced method are employed to oxidise PVDF polymer for its copolymerisation with NIPAAM monomers. In the thermal induced method, NIPAAM-g-PVDF polymer materials are synthesised via the copolymerisation of ozone activated PVDF polymer with NIPAAM monomers below a lower critical solution temperature of NIPAAM (30°C). An effective supercritical carbon dioxide drying method is used as an alternative drying method to remove the solvent from the ozone activated PVDF polymer in conventionally copolymerisation is successfully applied and a new direct copolymerisation route by adding NIPAAM polymer into ozone activated PVDF in solutions without the drying process of the activated PVDF polymers. The NIPAAM-g-PVDF made by the new copolymerisation process is much simpler than the conventional method and the processing time needed is much shorter. In the oxygen plasma induced copolymerisation method, the porous PVDF membranes produced from the phase inversion method are treated oxygen plasma before they were copolymerised with NIPAAM monomer in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent aqueous solution below the lower critical solution temperature of NIPAAM (30°C). The structural characteristics of heat-pressed NIPAAM-g-PVDF nanoporous membranes produced from the above two methods are investigated. The influence of the microstructure of the nanoporous copolymer membranes on both their water vapour transfer properties and dynamic permeation rate has been studied. The mechanisms of liquid/vapour permeation through the thermal sensitive copolymer nanoporous membranes are analysed and investigated. In this study, it is found that the breakthrough time and permeation rate of nanoporous NIPAAM-g-PVDF membranes are influenced by the proportion of NIPAAM components, the membrane thickness, the crystallinity and the porous structure of the NIPAAM-g-PVDF membranes. It is also found that the water vapour permeability of the heat-pressed NIPAAM-g-PVDF membranes at both 20°C and 40°C are influenced by the membrane thickness, the total pore volume and the porosity of the membranes. The water vapour permeability coefficient of the NIPAAM-g-PVDF nanoporous membranes is determined by both the proportion of thermal sensitive NIPAAM components and associated porous structure of the copolymer membranes.


This paper reviews the international rules for the protection of geographical indications, the EU-US conflict in the WTO, the WIPO, and regional trade agreements. It further examines the features of the EU, the U.S., and Japanese protection systems, as well as the recent change in the Japanese system. The EU system differs from the US system in two ways: the notion of terroir and the quality assurance system with official compliance controls. The Japanese system is similar to the EU system. Japan has made many efforts to respond to the EU-US conflict and to enhance measures to increase the effectiveness of the protection of geographical indications.


In this Letter, we investigate spin dynamics of a two-component Bose gas with spin-orbit coupling realized in cold atom experiments. We derive coupled hydrodynamic equations for number and spin densities as well as their associated currents. Specializing to the quasi-one-dimensional situation, we obtain analytic solutions of the spin helix structure and its dynamics in both adiabatic and diabatic regimes. In the adiabatic regime, the transverse spin decays parabolically in the short-time limit and exponentially in the long-time limit, depending on initial polarization. In contrast, in the diabatic regime, transverse spin density and current oscillate in a way similar to the charge-current oscillation in an undamped LC circuit. The effects of Rabi coupling on the short-time spin dynamics is also discussed. Finally, using realistic experimental parameters for ^{87}Rb, we show that the timescales for spin dynamics is of the order of milliseconds to a few seconds and can be observed experimentally.


Striking task‐dependent fluctuations were observed in the cerebral blood flow pattern of a patient with a left posterior hemispheric arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Two‐dimensional measures of regional cerebral flwo in the resting state, using the xenon 133 inhalation technique, revealed a region of high flow coincident with the AVM seen on the patient's arteriograms. In subsequent studies, the AVM stood out as a region of high blood flow during a relaxed state, while it approached normal levels of flow when there was attentional demand. These observations suggest that focal regulatory mechanisms exist at the AVM or else that very substantial redistributions of blood flow are taking place which the flow rate in the AVM reflects only passively. Patients considered for embolic treatment of an AVM would benefit from an assessment of behavioral influences on flow in the AVM.


Genistein is one of the numerous recognized isoflavones that may be found in a variety of soybeans and soy products, including tofu and tofu products. The chemical name for genistein is 4′, 5, 7-trihydroxyisoflavone, and it is found in plants. In recent years, the scientific world has become more interested in genistein because of its possible therapeutic effects on many forms of cancer. It has been widely investigated for its anticancer properties. The discovery of genistein's mechanism of action indicates its potential for apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest in gastrointestinal cancer, especially gastric and colorectal cancer. Genistein's pharmacological activities as determined by the experimental studies presented in this review lend support to its use in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer; however, additional research is needed in the future to determine its efficacy, safety, and the potential for using nanotechnology to increase bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy.


In color flow imaging, it is a challenging work to accurately extract blood flow information from ultrasound Doppler echoes dominated by the strong clutter components. In this paper, we provide an in-depth analysis of ridge ensemble empirical mode decomposition (R-EEMD) and compare it with the conventional empirical mode decomposition (EMD) framework. R-EEMD facilitates nonuniform and trial-dependent weights obtained by an optimization procedure during ensemble combination and results in less decomposition errors when compared with the conventional ensemble empirical mode decomposition techniques. A theoretic result is then extended to demonstrate that R-EEMD has an ability to solve the mode mixing problem frequently encountered in EMD and improve the decomposition performance with adequate noise strength when separating a composite two-tone signal. Based on the proposed R-EEMD framework, a novel clutter rejection filter for ultrasound color flow imaging is designed. In a series of simulations, the R-EEMD-based filter achieves a significant improvement on blood flow velocity estimation over the state-of-the-art regression filters and decomposition-based filters, such as eigen-based and EMD filters. An experiment on human carotid artery data also verifies that the R-EEMD algorithm achieves minimum clutter energy and maximum blood-to-clutter energy ratio among all the tested techniques.


Eight home health nurses from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York participated in a focus group discussion after their initial experiences using wireless, pen-based computing in the inner-city, home care environment. Transcripts of the nurses' responses to open-ended questions were analyzed and central themes were found, following the method of concept analysis described by Strauss and Corbin (1990). The central concepts were "Readiness," "A thousand pounds on my back," "Call for support," "Problems with transmission," "Using the computer as an assistant," "Nurses discovered glitches," and "Everybody has to have a computer." These themes reflected the nurses' initial experiences with the wireless computers and also revealed their concerns. This article will describe these themes and will discuss the implications of current improvements in wireless computing for health care. The focus group themes aided in understanding how this group of experienced home health nurses began to transition from handwriting on several different forms to checking-off items on a small, hand-held computer screen, from innovating methods to communicate when telephones were not available, to using a wireless computer to send and receive data involved in the patient admission process


Despite the fact that the fundamental period appears to be one of the most critical parameters for the seismic design of structures according to the modal superposition method, the so far available in the literature proposals for its estimation are often conflicting with each other making their use uncertain. Furthermore, the majority of these proposals do not take into account the presence of infills walls into the structure despite the fact that infill walls increase the stiffness and mass of structure leading to significant changes in the fundamental period numerical value. Toward this end, this paper presents a detailed and in-depth analytical investigation on the parameters that affect the fundamental period of reinforce concrete structure. The calculated values of the fundamental period are compared against those obtained from the seismic code and equations proposed by various researchers in the literature. From the analysis of the results it has been found that the number of storeys, the span length, the stiffness of the infill wall panels, the location of the soft storeys and the soil type are crucial parameters that influence the fundamental period of RC buildings.


Signage is a kind of graphic design, which can be in the form of symbols and words, especially for conveying directions or warning information. Malaysia will become an ageing country by year 2030. The difference between ageing and diseases lies in its ubiquity. Diseases may be deterred, cured and removed but ageing is a natural process that everyone goes through. It can not be avoided by anyone. As people age, they succumb more easily to illness and diseases. Therefore, the elderly tend to go to hospitals more often than other age groups. Hospitals have a complex setting and environment which may cause confusion for visitors with a 30 to 40 per cent rate of visitors getting lost. At present, Malaysia has carried out a large number of research related to the elderly but the information related to the use of healthcare signage in Kota Kinabalu and the perception of the elderly is limited, so it will be very important to study ways to improve the level of healthcare signage. This paper discusses the physiological characteristics of the elderly by consulting existing literatures, provides suggestions to improve the designs causing an effective display of healthcare signage and also analyses the existing healthcare signage in Kota Kinabalu. The data collection qualitative research method used in this study is walkthrough observation and semi-structured interviews from the main, public and private, hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Making it helpful to upgrade the existing construction of healthcare way-finding signage for the elderly and help the elderly to obtain safe, smooth and independent medical services.


In cosmological first-order phase transitions, the microscopic interaction of the phase transition fronts with non-equilibrium plasma particles manifests itself macroscopically as friction forces. In general, it is a nontrivial problem to compute these forces, and only two limits have been studied, namely, that of very slow walls and, more recently, ultra-relativistic walls which run away. In this paper we consider ultra-relativistic velocities and show that stationary solutions still exist when the parameters allow the existence of runaway walls. Hence, we discuss the necessary and sufficient conditions for the fronts to actually run away. We also propose a phenomenological model for the friction, which interpolates between the non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic values. Thus, the friction depends on two friction coefficients which can be calculated for specific models. We then study the velocity of phase transition fronts as a function of the friction parameters, the thermodynamic parameters, and the amount of supercooling.


The Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) shares many structural and functional similarities to synapses in other animals, including humans. These include the basic feature of synaptic transmission, as well as the molecular mechanisms regulating the synaptic vesicle cycle. Because of its large size, easy accessibility, and the well-characterized genetics, the fly NMJ remains an excellent model system for dissecting the cellular and molecular mechanisms of synaptic transmission. This article describes the components of an electrophysiology setup, commonly referred to as an electrophysiology rig. The rig described here is based on equipment and software used in the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) course "Neurobiology of Drosophila."


Summary Imaginal discs from Drosophila larvae infected with sigma virus by paternal inheritance were implanted in adult hosts to measure their infectivity. The number of infective imaginal discs was lower than the number of infected adults after imaginal emergency.


Defining appropriate null expectations for species distribution hypotheses is important because sampling bias and spatial autocorrelation can produce realistic, but ecologically meaningless, geographic patterns. Generating null species occurrences with similar spatial structure to observed data can help overcome these problems, but existing methods focus on single or pairs of species and do not incorporate between-species spatial structure that may occlude comparative biogeographic analyses. Here, we describe an algorithm for generating randomised species occurrence points that mimic the within- and between-species spatial structure of real datasets and implement it in a new R package - fauxcurrence. The algorithm can be implemented on any geographic domain for any number of species, limited only by computing power. To demonstrate its utility, we apply the algorithm to two common analysis-types: testing the fit of species distribution models (SDMs) and evaluating niche-overlap. The method works well on all tested datasets within reasonable timescales. We found that many SDMs, despite a good fit to the data, were not significantly better than null expectations and identified only two cases (out of a possible 32) of significantly higher niche divergence than expected by chance. The package is user-friendly, flexible and has many potential applications beyond those tested here, such as joint SDM evaluation and species co-occurrence analysis, spanning the areas of ecology, evolutionary biology and biogeography.


In this paper we propose a new architecture of digital vision chip, in which photo detectors and parallel processing elements designed in digital circuits are integrated together. In this architecture, the function to join several PEs is introduced and summation is calculated at high speed. Also, some sample algorithms and a 64/spl times/64 pixels prototype chip we developed will be described.


This article studies « a discursive battle » between two chronicles from the late Middle Ages which inform us about the Bruges rebellion of 1488. In their tale, two famous chroniclers, Jean Molinet and Nicolas Despars, want to convince their audience of the illegality of Maximilian of Austria's captivity in the city, due to the fact that the Habsburg prince did not adequately manage the affairs of his minor son (Philip the Fair). Jean Molinet would like, above all, to justify the repression of urban revolts and the authority of the Habsburg dynasty and intends to encourage his audience (the sovereign and his advisors) not to indulge in the excess of power. Nicolas Despars, for his part, defends the political traditions of the urban elite, i.e. the constitutionalism, the opinion according to which the sovereign must justify his politics vis-a-vis his subjects. In conclusion, the chronicles of Molinet and Despars deliver two completely opposed political ideals: their chronicles are also mirrors of reality – or rather a double-sided mirror. Thus, this article shows how the two chroniclers tried to influence the memory of urban revolts with a certain political goal.


Abstract Hermione Granger, the only female protagonist in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, is a favourite with fan fiction writers. This character is described in far less detail than the other two main characters: in terms of Wolfgang Iser's reader response theory, she is a blank to be filled in by the reader. Her popularity among fan writers is due both to her portrayal as a strong, likeable young woman who invites reader identification, and to this quality of inviting the reader's cooperation in the creation of meaning, and by extension, in recreating her character in the form of fan fiction.


Results from external studies often play an important role in many aspects of a clinical trial. Their incorporation into the decision making process of a trial, however, is rarely conducted in a formal manner. This conference will address what formal role, if any, meta-analytic summaries of external results should have in the design and monitoring of an ongoing trial. This introductory presentation describes in detail the example from obstetric research which motivated the conference topic, and, in a Bayesian framework, summarizes the general implications of formally incorporating meta-analytic results into the design and analysis of a new trial.


We extend the ab initio multiple spawning method to include both field-free and field-induced nonadiabatic transitions. We apply this method to describe ultrafast pump-probe experiments of the photoinduced ring-opening of gas phase 1,3-cyclohexadiene. In the absence of a control field, nonadiabatic transitions mediated by a conical intersection (CoIn) lead to rapid ground state recovery with both 1,3-cyclohexadiene and ring-opened hexatriene products. However, application of a control field within the first 200 fs after photoexcitation results in suppression of the hexatriene product. We demonstrate that this is a consequence of population dumping prior to reaching the CoIn and further interpret this in terms of light-induced CoIns created by the control field.


Background: Navitoclax (Nav) is a small-molecule inhibitor of several antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) family proteins, including BCL-xL, BCL2, and BCL-W. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that when administered alone, Nav can effectively induce apoptosis in various types of cancerous cells, including those isolated from patients (pts) with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Ruxolitinib (Rux), a potent Janus kinase 1/2 inhibitor, can durably improve symptoms, splenomegaly, and overall survival in pts with myelofibrosis (MF) and is approved for the treatment of pts with primary MF in many countries, including Japan and Taiwan. However, pts can develop resistance to Rux, which may be overcome by the addition of Nav to a combination therapy regimen. An ongoing phase 2 study (NCT03222609) is assessing the safety and efficacy of Nav + Rux combination therapy in pts with MF, and a phase 1 study (NCT04041050) is evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of Nav monotherapy in Japanese pts with MPNs in part 1 and Nav + Rux combination therapy in Japanese and Taiwanese pts with MF in part 2. Herein we report the currently available results of this phase 1 study, the first to assess Nav treatment in Japanese and Taiwanese pts with MPNs including MF, polycythemia vera (PV), or essential thrombocythemia (ET).
 Methods: This phase 1, multicenter, open-label study enrolled pts ≥20 years of age with diagnosis of MPNs: MF, PV, or ET per World Health Organization classification. Eligible pts for part 1 of this study had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 and were unable to tolerate/declined standard therapy or had MPNs that were unresponsive to standard therapy. Pts received Nav monotherapy at a starting dose of 50 mg orally once per day (QD) with a stepwise dose increase every ≥7 days to a maximum of 300 mg QD on the basis of tolerability. Per protocol, pts could receive treatment until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or the end of clinical benefit. Primary safety objectives included assessing the number of pts with dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) within 28 days of Nav initiation and the number of pts with adverse events (AEs) throughout the study. DLTs included: grade (G)≥2 bleeding associated with low platelet counts of any G; bleeding requiring platelet transfusion; unexpected G≥2 toxicity requiring dose modification or delay of ≥1 week attributable to Nav; and all other G≥3 AEs considered related to Nav (exceptions: G3/4 leukopenia, G3 neutropenia, G4 neutropenia <7 days, G3/4 lymphopenia, G3 thrombocytopenia, G4 thrombocytopenia <7 days, or G3 nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea unless unresponsive to treatment).
 Results: As of May 2020, 6 female Japanese pts (median age: 62.5 years [range 41-79]) were enrolled in part 1 of this phase 1 study and diagnosed with the following: post-PV MF (n=1), post-ET MF (n=1), PV (n=2), and ET (n=2). All pts had received ≥1 prior therapy. Safety data are presented in the Table. The treatment duration for all 6 pts was between 4.6-24.7 weeks as of this cutoff, and all 6 pts were able to receive the maximum 300-mg dose of Nav, with no DLTs reported in any pts. No pts experienced a G≥4 AE during this period. Only 1 of 6 pts experienced a serious AE (SAE); this pt was discontinued and removed from the study on day 52 due to an SAE of epilepsy considered unrelated to Nav treatment. Five of 6 pts experienced a drug-related AE that led to study drug interruption and dose reduction, and all 5 pts remained on study and continued treatment. The current/most recent dose of Nav for all pts (excluding the pt who discontinued) was between 200-300 mg QD. No deaths were reported.
 Conclusions: Nav monotherapy had a tolerable safety profile in Japanese pts with MPNs enrolled in part 1 of this phase 1 study, with no DLTs reported. No clinically meaningful differences in safety were detected in this study compared with previous Nav monotherapy studies for hematologic malignancies. Preliminary PK and efficacy analyses for Part 1 are in progress, and Part 2 is ongoing with results to be reported in the presentation.

 Shibayama: Celgene, Chugai, Eisai, AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Celgene, Ono, Takeda, AbbVie, Eisai, Novartis, Janssen, Chugai, Astellas, Teijin, MSD, Shionogi, Sumitomo Dainippon, Taiho, Nippon Shinyaku: Research Funding; Takeda, Novartis, Janssen, Ono, Chugai, Eisai, Kyowa Kirin, Sumitomo Dainippon, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Daiichi Sankyo, Fujimoto, Nippon Shinyaku, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Otsuka, Mundipharma: Honoraria. Tanaka:Novartis Pharma KK, Celgene K.K: Speakers Bureau. Yeh:Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Hsiao:AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Nuthalapati:AbbVie: Current Employment, Other: may own stock. Ono:AbbVie: Current Employment, Other: may own stock. Uehara:AbbVie: Current Employment, Other: may own stock. Okubo:AbbVie: Current Employment, Other: may own stock. Komatsu:Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., PharmaEssentia Japan KK, AbbVie GK, Celgene KK, Novartis Pharma KK, Shire Japan KK, Japan Tobacco Inc: Consultancy; Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Novartis Pharma KK, Shire Japan KK: Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Other: member of safety assessment committee in M13-834 clinical trial.; PPMX: Consultancy, Research Funding; Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd.: Patents & Royalties: PCT/JP2020/008434, Research Funding; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shire Japan KK, Novartis Pharma KK, PharmaEssentia Japan KK, Fuso Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutica: Research Funding.


We present some new results on third Engel groups which are motivated by computer calculations but are not dependent on them. They include: • for n > 2 every n-generator third Engel group is nilpotent of class at most 2n 1; • the fifth term of the lower central series of a third Engel group has exponent dividing 20; • the subgroup generated by fifth powers of elements in a third Engel group is nearly centre-by-melabeliair, and a normal form theorem for freest third Engel groups without elements of order 2.


In a retrospective analysis of 50 patients with segmental or lobar atelectasis of the lung, chest radiographs and CT studies were compared for their abilities to distinguish whether a centrally obstructing tumor was the cause. This was done to help define the role of CT in evaluating patients with atelectasis. Atelectasis was caused by an obstructing tumor in 27 cases and a variety of other conditions in 23. The chest radiograph correctly identified an obstructing tumor as the cause of atelectasis in 24 of 27 patients on the basis of the presence of a central hilar mass or obvious bronchial abnormality; there was 89% sensitivity and 96% specificity with a 12% false-negative rate and a 4% false-positive rate. CT correctly identified all 27 obstructing carcinomas on the basis of the presence of either a central bronchial abnormality or a central hilar mass; there was 100% sensitivity and 87% specificity with a 0% false-negative rate and a 10% false-positive rate. Absence of air bronchograms or the presence of mucus-filled bronchi within the atelectatic lung were secondary CT findings that also favored the presence of an obstructing tumor. Although the chest radiograph was more specific than CT for tumor as the cause of atelectasis (96% vs 87%, respectively), it was less sensitive than CT for tumor (89% vs 100%, respectively) resulting in missed tumor diagnoses. CT identified all cases caused by obstructing tumor and successfully excluded obstructing tumor in most of the remaining cases, with an acceptable number of false-positive tumor diagnoses (10%). CT should be performed when the cause of segmental or lobar atelectasis cannot be established with certainty on the basis of the chest radiograph.


PURPOSE
To show how triangulation with qualitative and quantitative methods can help confirm a theory to a greater degree than can either method alone. CONSTRUCT: Coherence view of theory structure and confirmation. Evidence helps confirm a theory if the theory is the most coherent way of accounting for the evidence, and one theory is more coherent than another insofar as it leaves fewer unanswered questions (and fewer unquestioned answers).

METHODS
The method of this theoretical essay is analytic. Analysis of the debate over methodological triangulation reveals presuppositions about theory structure and confirmation. Well-known arguments in the philosophy of science are presented to show that the presuppositions are false. The arguments provide evidence for the construction of an alternative, coherence model of theory structure and confirmation.

FINDINGS
Three consequences of the analysis are: (a) qualitative and quantitative methods do not produce theories with different structures; (b) qualitative and quantitative methods help to confirm theory in the same ways; and (c) used together, qualitative and quantitative methods can confirm a theory to a greater degree than the use of either method alone.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
A coherence of model of theory structure and confirmation supports a version of the blending view of methodological triangulation. Triangulation can provide completeness, abductive inspiration, and confirmation. This version of blending provides principles for resolving issues of methodological dominance and order, and it indicates how different methods can disconfirm theory.


Gene expression profiling has had a significant impact on breast cancer by providing important biological information regarding mechanisms of carcinogenesis, development, and metastasis. In addition, genomic profiling has also resulted in the development and use of new clinical assays for prognostication and prediction. Most genomic profiling has been accomplished using some type of DNA microarray, which is a robust and validated technology where oligonucleotide probes of predetermined sequence are placed/immobilized on known locations on solid surfaces; next, labeled RNAs coming from tumors, cell lines, or animal model tissues are placed onto the array, allowed to hybridize via base complementarity, and then excess probe washed away and intensity scored for each immobilized starting probe. In this way, thousands to millions of probes can be used to interrogate the transcriptome, and in essence, all mRNA genes/transcripts can be interrogated at once. Technological advances are rapidly occurring and new sequencing-based approaches are gaining use because they offer the ability to gather much more information than conventional DNA microarrays. These sequencing-based approaches are essentially to take all mRNA (or all microRNAs, or some selected fraction of RNA transcripts), make cDNA and sequence everything, thus providing millions of short sequence reads from a given sample/tumor. These sequence reads are then mapped to predetermined transcript libraries of sequences, and the number of reads that map to a given gene/transcript are added up. Finally, computational analyses are used to derive an expression value for each transcript/gene (i.e. RPKM for example). In this way, the number of reads for a given gene are turned into an expression value that is highly reproducible and likely more quantitative than DNA microarrays or possibly qRT-PCR. There are also many other advantages of the RNA-sequencing approach to the study of gene expression that include 1) mRNA splicing information is obtained and can be used to define transcripts, 2) sequence variation is also obtained so that mutations and/or germline variants can be detected, 3) the presence of fusion genes/proteins can be detected, and 4) the data appears more quantitative and has a larger dynamic range than conventional DNA microarrays. In addition, a number of alternative library preparation protocols can be used. For example, Ribo-depletion or Cot hybridization kinetics allows the removal of highly abundant rRNA transcripts, thus leaving behind all other RNA transcripts and not limiting the detection to PolyA containing transcripts. Another great advantage of sequencing-based approaches is that no prior knowledge of sequence is needed, thus providing a highly objective and complete means of identifying and quantitating transcripts from any species. However, the only limiting features are the number of reads obtained and the costs for a given experiment. In summary, it is likely that, in the long run, sequencing-based approaches may dominate the discovery focused profiling world; however, smaller gene/transcript sets of known composition may still predominate on the many robust gene expression platforms that exist today. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr ES7-2.


Facial paralysis in a newborn is called congenital facial paralysis (CFP). The major role of the physician is to differentiate the etiology of the facial paralysis whether it is traumatic or developmental. This can be achieved by history and physical examination in some cases, however diagnosis may remain uncertain despite all efforts. We herein report a case of CFP, having a normal computed tomography (CT) of the temporal bone whereas a severely hypoplasic facial nerve was seen on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which helps to determine the congenital etiology.


Three-dimensional seismic data have been used to construct a series of scaled analogue models simulating the structural evolution of the Shah hydrocarbon Field. Models consisted of a set of layers of loose sand on two basal plates whose contact simulated a basement fault. Depositional history of the Shah structure was simulated in the model by producing syn-kinematic deposition and erosion. Deformation of the model was achieved by moving one of the basement plates in a way that it initiated an oblique slip along the basement fault. This oblique movement induced both a strike slip movement in and shortening of the cover sand layers, which resulted in formation of an open anticline (box fold) along the strike of the fault similar to the Shah structure.The 3D seismic mapping of the Shah hydrocarbon Field reveals carbonates dominating lithological units from the Pre Khuff Fm (Permian) to the Dammam Fm (Eocene). A major unconformity in the stratigraphy indicates uplift, exhumation and erosion at Simsima level (U. Cretaceous) with onlapping of the younger units (Eocene-Miocene Formations). The Shah structure is an open SW-NE striking anticline, which changes symmetry along strike; asymmetric in the SW, more symmetric in the middle, and asymmetric open anticline in the NE. Model results indicate that the structure is a basement related cover anticline formed due to the oblique movement along a basement fault, which was reactivated during the obduction of Semail Ophiolite and later collision of Arabia with Iranian plate. These results show that this anticline formed without the need for a shortening component perpendicular to the strike of the structure. An oblique slip along a basement fault, with a relatively small degree of shortening could equally well result in the formation of such open and low-amplitude anticline.The modelling results presented here provides an alternative scenario for the formation of Shah structure (low-amplitude, and open) and addresses some of the key questions about its structural constraints (e.g. geometry, timing and evolution history) by linking it with basement structures. Our modelling results are of high significance for understanding entrapment mechanism, migration pathways, and fracture development. This newly proposed mechanism impacts the exploration and development of the Onshore Fields in Abu Dhabi, at the vicinity of Shah Structure.


Four of 5 meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) captured had in their feces a previously undescribed species of Eimeria which is named Eimeria zapi sp. n. The sporulated oocysts measured 21.7 (19.5-24.0) x 20.3 (17.5-23.0) micrometer. The single-layered oocyst wall was 1.5 micrometer thick, rough, pitted and appeared clear-to-amber. Usually 2 polar granules could be seen. An oocyst residuum was not observed. Each sporocyst averaged 16.0 (12.5-18.0) x 9.7 (7.5-11.5)micrometer. A substiedal body was present. The sporocyst residuum consisted of a membrane-enclosed packet of 15 to 20 granules. This is the first species of Eimeria to be described from the genus Zapus.


Digital spaces have the potential to enhance the engagement of spectators, and the evolving digital interaction is making a tremendous change in art marketing. But this digital sphere requires comprehension of the new codes that have emerged, to lead to innovative synergies between the online and the offline world. Which only can be enhanced with bi-directional interaction, setting to interlock, involve and cause the spectator's attention. The arrival of Covid-19 to Ecuador has been a big opportunity to advance in ICT dissemination and digital mediation techniques, even though it's not enough to replace collective experience. This research is oriented to analyze the digital marketing strategies for artists and artistic products during the Covid-19 pandemic. It's an inductive quanti-qualitative approach, with a micro-ethnographic design, and we applied semi-structured interviews. We interviewed seventeen artists, producers, cultural managers, and cultural promotors from several fields of cultural activity in Cuenca, Ecuador. We looked for persons implicated in art projects during the sanitary emergency in the country. We've analyzed about nineteen projects in total, with a twenty questions questionary. The procedure of this research is to collect, systematize, and analyze all data we 're using with MAXQDA software. This study showed us that the arts and cultural sector are complex. Artists use to manage and promote events too, in other cases must generate formative processes like a sustainable source of income. This scenario turned out more complex, although, a part of the projects held on the pandemic and have created new kinds of entertaining and interactive content. Also, there is a thin line between entertaining and building community content. Finally, we found out that giving priority to customer loyalty is an indicator of high levels of cultural marketing practices.


Studies show that programs contain much similar code, commonly known as clones. One of the main reasons for introducing clones is programmers' tendency to copy and paste code to quickly duplicate functionality. We commonly believe that clones can make programs difficult to maintain and introduce subtle bugs. Although much research has proposed techniques for detecting and removing clones to improve software maintainability, little has considered how to detect latent bugs introduced by clones. In this paper, we introduce a general notion of context-based inconsistencies among clones and develop an efficient algorithm to detect such inconsistencies for locating bugs. We have implemented our algorithm and evaluated it on large open source projects including the latest versions of the Linux kernel and Eclipse. We have discovered many previously unknown bugs and programming style issues in both projects (with 57 for the Linux kernel and 38 for Eclipse). We have also categorized the bugs and style issues and noticed that they exhibit diverse characteristics and are difficult to detect with any single existing bug detection technique. We believe that our approach complements well these existing techniques.


We are following with great interest the increasing generally favorable impressions of the long‐term results of the MILD (minimally invasive lumbar decompression) procedure for treating spinal stenosis due to hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (LF). We are also influenced by the cautionary surgical observations and opinions of Tumialan et al and publications about the lack of efficacy or placebo effect. The impression indeed has been virtual safety of the MILD procedure, but Tumialan et al describe some major complications resulting from the procedure. An algorithm for clinical use is needed.


It has been recognized that dysfunction of CB immune system is in part due to the immaturity of CB cellular immunity (Cairo, Blood ,1997). The molecular mechanisms associated with the immaturity of CB cellular immunity including DC subset remain to be defined. The maturation status of DC greatly influences its antigen presentation capacity. Recently, we have utilized oligonucleotide microarray to demonstrate differential gene expression profiles of CB vs APB Mo (Jiang/Cairo, JI , 2004). In the current study, differential expressed genes and proteins were examined in Mo-derived CB vs. APB DC during DC developmental stages: Mo, immature DC (iDC) and mDC, by utilizing oligonucleotide microarray and proteomics. Briefly, Mo isolated from CB or APB and cultured for 8 days with GM-CSF/IL-4 (iDC) and further stimulated with LPS (mDC). Oligonucleotide microarray was carried out using U133A gene chip (Affymetrix). The representative differentially expressed genes resulted from microarray analysis were selected and analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR (Roche). The proteomic technique was conducted by liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) (Lim, Mol Cell Proteomics , 2006). The differentially expressed proteins were compared in CB vs. APB for iDC and mDC. We identified different gene expression patterns that were significantly lower in CB vs. APB in different stages during DC differentiation: Mo, iDC and mDC. These differentially expressed genes included RELA (5F), JUNB (6F), IRF-1 (3F) in Mo; CREB5 (3F), MAP7 (5F), IL1R2 (6F) in iDC; and HLA-DQA1 (4F), CD80 (3F), IRF-5 (3F) in mDC. The proteomic studies demonstrated Tyrosine Kinase Fer (12.5F), Actin regulator 3 (2.5F), Rap guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 (2.4F) and Myeloid cell nuclear differentiation antigen (1.5F) were expressed higher in APB vs.CB iDC, while MAX binding protein MNT (5.5F), IRS2 (2.2F) and Zinc-Finger Proteins (514, 212, 462) (3–14F) were expressed higher in CB vs. APB iDC. Further, the proteomic results also indicated other Zinc-Finger Proteins (292, 221, 474) (2–5F), Fibrillin 1 precursor (2.5F) and interleukin-4 (7.7F) were expressed higher in APB vs. CB mDC. In contrast, cyclin I (3F), Rb-like protein 2 (4.35 F) and PKC theta (2F) were significantly lower in APB vs. CB DC. Moreover, the comparison of CB vs. APB DC antigen presenting activity by ELISPOT was performed and the influenza-peptide loaded CB-mDC demonstrated weaker ability to induce T cells to produce IFNg compared with APB-mDC. In summary, these differentially expressed genes in Mo (RELA, JUN) may play key roles in initiating Mo differentiation toward DC. The increased expression of genes in APB vs. CB iDC, like CREB5, IL1R2, may be involved in mediating maturation process of iDC to mDC. Lastly, the elevated expression of genes in APB vs. CB mDC, such as HLA-DQA1, CD80, IRF5 among others, may be likely to control mDC functionality as demonstrated by weaker antigen presenting activity of CB vs. APB mDC. We postulate that decreased expression of specific genes in CB vs. APB DC during DC developmental stages may in part be responsible for the lack of maturity of CB, and ultimately may partially be responsible for differential CB vs. APB innate and adaptive immunity.


The statistics of large-scale structure in the Universe can be used to probe non-Gaussianity of the primordial density field, complementary to existing constraints from the cosmic microwave background. In particular, the scale dependence of halo bias, which affects the halo distribution at large scales, represents a promising tool for analyzing primordial non-Gaussianity of local form. Future observations, for example, may be able to constrain the trispectrum parameter gNL that is difficult to study and constrain using the CMB alone. We investigate how galaxy and matter bispectra can distinguish between the two non-Gaussian parameters fNL and gNL, whose effects give nearly degenerate contributions to the power spectra. We use a generalization of the univariate bias approach, making the hypothesis that the number density of halos forming at a given position is a function of the local matter density contrast and of its local higher-order statistics. Using this approach, we calculate the halo-matter bispectra and analyze their properties. We determine a connection between the sign of the halo bispectrum on large scales and the parameter gNL. We also construct a combination of halo and matter bispectra that is sensitive to fNL, with little contamination from gNL. We study both the case of single and multiple sources to the primordial gravitational potential, discussing how to extend the concept of stochastic halo bias to the case of bispectra. We use a specific halo mass-function to calculate numerically the bispectra in appropriate squeezed limits, confirming our theoretical findings.


Recently, many cities are facing challenging mobility and safety issues. The former is commonly related to traffic congestion, as a consequence of uncontrolled population growth and accelerated urbanization. The latter regards to elevated number of city-wide criminal incidents. Several Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) were proposed to overcome mobility issues; meanwhile, some safety- based systems were proposed to guide pedestrians and drivers toward safest paths. However, most of these systems tackle only one of the issues. Hence, an ITS can guide vehicles toward risky areas, in order to avoid traffic congestion, while a safety-based system can guide them toward congested roads, focusing on the safety of drivers and passengers. This paper introduces itsSAFE (Intelligent Transportation Systems for improving SAfety and traFfic Efficiency), an ITS which employs accurate knowledge about traffic conditions and unsafety levels on roads for improving the safety of drivers and passengers at the same time it deals with traffic congestion. Simulation results under a realistic scenario have shown that itsSAFE outperformed state-of-the-art approaches that deal with mobility or safety issues, by effectively dealing with traffic efficiency and safety.


The McClellan transformation is widely used to design the 2-D FIR filters. It is an essential task to determine the transform coefficients so that the square errors are minimized. This issue can be viewed as a nonlinear optimization problem with constraint conditions. This brief proposed the interval analysis (IA) to solve this nonlinear optimization problem. There are two distinguishing features of the proposed method when compared with conventional methods, such as quadratic programming, eigenfilter approach or Lagrange multiplier method, etc. First, the transform parameters are obtained by minimizing the integral of the squared errors along the desired contour, instead of discrete sampling. Second, the IA guarantees that the constraint conditions could be always satisfied, thus ensuring the reliability of the optimization. A 2-D fan filter and a diamond-shaped filter are designed, which demonstrate the feasibility of the presented method; images are processed to verify the effectiveness of the designed 2-D fan filter.


PURPOSE
Congenital cataract is a significant cause of blindness worldwide. Many genes are known to cause the disorder. A large multigenerational pedigree was investigated for the genetic cause of a posterior polar autosomal dominant congenital cataract.

METHODS
A genome wide scan was conducted in a large multigenerational family with autosomal dominant cataract to identify the linked region of the genome. The PITX3 gene was investigated through direct sequencing and detection of fluorescently labeled PCR products.

RESULTS
Linkage was detected to a region of chromosome 10q23-26 which contains the candidate gene PITX3. A segregating 17 bp insertion mutation was identified. This mutation was not identified in 100 additional unrelated sporadic and familial congenital cataract patients. No mutations of the PITX3 gene were identified in 9 families with posterior polar congenital cataract.

CONCLUSIONS
The 657ins17bp duplication of the PITX3 gene is the cause of the cataract phenotype in the large pedigree, however, this gene appears responsible for only a small proportion of congenital cataract in Australia.


Rupture of sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA) is a fatal complication, and early detection and immediate surgical correction is critical for lifesaving. However, achieving its definite diagnosis is challenging. Computed tomography (CT) can provide excellent diagnostic value for SVA rupture and other combined anomalies with better spatial resolution of cardiac structure. Herein, we described a case of a young woman with ruptured SVA. SVA rupture was suggested by transthoracic echocardiography and confirmed by cardiac CT. CT scan confirmed SVA rupture by revealing a ring-like structure originating from the right coronary sinus of the aortic valve protruding to the right ventricle with extravasation of the radiocontrast agent. This finding was not clearly defined by transthoracic echocardiography. Cardiac CT may be useful for the diagnosis of ruptured SVA by providing more detailed visualization of adjacent structures and additional information on combined cardiac pathology.


The sustainability of industrial business depends on the ability of organizations to manage the needs and desires of consumers so that the products produced become part of consumer life. The radio broadcast industry in the era of digital technology is threatened no longer able to meet the needs of its listeners because social media has changed the behavior of audiences in consuming radio media. on that basis the radio broadcast industry must adapt to managing radio broadcasts by synergizing the behavior of the use of digital media with radio characters that are personal to the audience so that the radio broadcast industry continues to survive. The purpose of this study was to determine the management of social media and identify the added value it generates to maintain the business continuity of radio broadcast programs, especially Iradio 89.6 FM. The related concept is digital media management, product added value for business continuity. The research method used is a case study with a qualitative approach with the support of data triangulation so that the analysis can meet the validity aspects of the data. The results showed that the management was carried out with a strategy to build emotional bounding audiences through social media by synergizing digital technology with broadcast radio-based programming content. This helps the business continuity of IRadio 89.6 FM significantly. The existence of digital media for the radio industry is as a complement rather than as a competitor and digital media makes radio easier to access from various areas