The use of stakes in yam production poses environmental hazards due to its effect on rapid deforestation of the forest ecology. The practice is cumbersome, labour intensive and it is a major cost input that makes yam production expensive and less profitable. To discourage this practice, fourteen hybrid lines and four local cultivars of white Guinea yam varieties were screened (2002-2004) for yield performance under staked and unstaked production practices. The experiment was carried out in the rain forest research substation of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, located in Orin-Ekiti. The results showed that seven of the the eight hybrid varieties evaluated in 2002 except TDr 89/02565 showed no significant yield difference between staked and unstaked practice. In 2003 and 2004, 87-89% of the eighteen lines/cultivars evaluated gave similar yields (P 1.0 in 2002 and 2004 in TDr 89/02665 and TDr 89/02565 while other varieties had <1.0 in all the three years of the trial. This indicated that the highest yielding varieties gave highest net returns under staked and unstaked systems. The results suggest that breeding for increased tuber yield potential in yam is essential for profitable yam production under unstaked production system.


Plasma Membrane-derived Vesicles (PMVs) are membrane-coated vesicles of diameter 0.1 to 1 µm, carrying various proteins inherent in their parental cells. PMVs are released when cells undergo activation/apoptosis via blebbing and shedding. Exposition of phosphotidylserine (PS) on the outer membrane leaflet could explain a role for PMVs in phagocytosis and thrombosis. Increased PMV release, although controlled, is a sign of cellular dysfunction and indicator of cell injury or stress. Patients with inflammatory disease such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) show increased PMV levels in plasma, accompanied by persistent apoptosis and defective clearance which correlates with disease activity. Although still unclear, impaired clearance of apoptotic cells (ACs) may represent a mechanism for the development or enhancement of SLE. Both PMVs and ACs express PS on the outer leaflet of the lipid bilayer as a marker for phagocytosis. We found that PMVs dose dependently inhibit the phagocytosis of ACs by competing for the PS receptor on macrophages. Phosphotidylserine is directly involved as annexin V-labelled PMVs reversed the PMV-mediated inhibition of phagocytosis. We further confirmed elevated PMV levels in SLE patient plasma and showed that the aPL antibodies from the plasma of such patients induced the release of PMVs. These findings show that PMVs can modulate phagocytosis of ACs and suggest an alternative mechanism for PMV enhancement of inflammatory responses.


Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors are one of the most effective treatment options for lung cancer, they frequently cause cutaneous toxicity that can lead to treatment discontinuation. Dryness, which is a common form of cutaneous toxicity, is usually treated using medical moisturizing agents. We aimed to investigate the treatment of cutaneous toxicity caused by EGFR inhibitors by comparing patients who used a cosmetic moisturizer with those who used conventional medical moisturizers. This study included 12 patients with lung cancer, who were receiving EGFR inhibitors and using topical medical moisturizers. The participants were assigned to a group that continued using medical moisturizers or a group that began using NOV® skin cream D. The study's findings showed that like conventional medical moisturizers, NOV®skin cream D improved the cutaneous dryness caused by EGFR inhibitors and that it might additionally improve patients' quality of life. Also, we obtained novel findings that NOV® skin cream D normalized keratinization, which is a component of normal skin cell differentiation impeded by EGFR inhibitors. Hence, the cosmetic moisturizer may help to prevent the discontinuation of EGFR inhibitors, thereby ensuring their continuous therapeutic effects.


Background : Bronchoscopy fails to establish a diagnosis in up to 30% of patients with centrally located lung cancer. EUS-guided FNA has been used for the diagnosis of suspected lung cancer near or adjacent to the esophagus in patients who had undergone a non-diagnostic bronchoscopy. Aim: To prospectively assess the feasibility and yield of EUS-FNA as first diagnostic step in the diagnosis of intrapulmonary tumours located near or adjacent to the esophagus. Study design: Patients with a CT-scan of the chest revealing an intrapulmonary tumour located near or adjacent to the esophagus were enrolled. They underwent EUS-FNA (Olympus, GF UCT 160) under deep sedation. Results: Fourteen patients were included, and EUS-FNA diagnosed lung cancer in all cases (12 NSCLC, 2 SCLC) (yield=100%). No complications occurred. The subtyping of (N)SCLC was allowed by cytological specimens in 9 cases (65%), by cell blocks in 3 cases (21%), whereas NSCLC could not be subtyped in 2 cases (14%). Conclusions: EUS-guided FNA might represent the first diagnostic step in patients with intrapulmonary tumours located near or adjacent to the esophagus.


The study had focused on aspects of sustainable economic growth in connection with the emergence of Industry 4.0, a new concept of the economy, which is oriented to the digitization and sharing of processes in the economy as well as to the growth of smart enterprises. This concept will greatly influence changes in the labor market. Slovak economy is focused on industrial production and the exploitation of cheap workforce. As a result of digitization, the need for this workforce will be minimal in the future. Employers' interest focuses on specialists and people with digital competences already. Attention needs to be focused on the education and digital literacy in the labor market to ensure the sustainable growth of the economy, the social development of the country and the individual regions. The aim of the present study has been using the analysis to identify and describe the opportunities and threats to the sustainable economic growth in the context of the digital economy and Industry 4.0 concept in Slovakia. Basic mathematical and statistical methods (timelines, comparative statistics, etc.), analysis of materials, publications, governmental concepts and EU decisions for the area under consideration have been used. The basic sources were data from the Statistical Office of Slovak republic, the Ministry of Economy, the OECD and the EUROSTAT. The findings identify new opportunities to secure the long-term competitiveness of the Slovak economy and sustainable social development. The recommendations have directed mainly to the education and the necessary innovations in the sector, which will become crucial to ensure the successful implementation of innovative processes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.30.1.20776


Picralima nitida is an important African medicinal plant species used in pharmaceutical industries and traditional medicine to treat several diseases. Despite its importance, the species faces conservation problem. This study evaluated the effect of climate and habitat on morphological characteristics and fruit production of P. nitida. A total of 132 fruiting trees was randomly sampled from three habitat types (home gardens, botanical garden and natural forest) and three soils (Nitisols, Arenosols and Acrisols) in Dahomey Gap and Guineo-Congolese zone. A total of 5 morphological traits and fruit production were recorded per tree to describe the relationship between morphological determinism of the species and climate. Pearson correlation was performed to identify the suitable habitat type in each climatic zone. Harmonized World Soil Database was used to determine physicochemical characteristics of the soil types on which the species occurred. Results revealed that the climatic zones (p < 0.001) and habitat types (p < 0.0001) influenced significantly the morphological characteristics and fruit production of P. nitida. High trees with more number of fruits were observed in home gardens on acid soils (Nitisols (pH: 5) and Arenosols (pH: 5.3)) in Dahomey Gap. In Guineo-Congolese zone, the species was more present in natural forest on acid Acrisols (pH: 5).


The SP3 approximation of the neutron transport equation allows improving the accuracy for both static and transient simulations for reactor core analysis compared with the neutron diffusion theory. Besides, the SP3 calculation costs are much less than higher order transport methods (SN or PN). Another advantage of the SP3 approximation is a similar structure of equations that is used in the diffusion method. Therefore, there is no difficulty to implement the SP3 solution option to the multi-group neutron diffusion codes. In this work, the application of the SP3 methodology based on solution of the {\lambda}- and {\alpha}-spectral problems has been tested for the IAEA-2D and HWR reactor benchmark tests. The FEM is chosen to achieve the 3D geometrical generality, using GMSH as a generic mesh generator. The results calculated with the diffusion and SP3 methods are compared with the reference transport calculation results. It was found for the HWR reactor test that some eigenvalues are complex when calculating using both diffusion and SP3 options.


This is a summary in question and answer format of a panel discussion on re-emerging and esoteric asset classes. Most esoteric asset-backed securities (ABS) asset classes continued to perform well through the financial crisis. There has been a massive return of liquidity to the esoteric ABS sector. The absence of monolines has required investors to do their own homework on deals and has generally translated into relatively smaller deal sizes, although deals in the $750 million to $1 billion range are still possible. Many deals are getting done without an initial rating but with a provision for a rating post-closing. Ratings are still required for larger deals with wider distribution requirements. The time to market is somewhat longer than prior to meltdown. Esoteric ABS are becoming the gold standard for ABS best practices. The bespoke nature of esoteric ABS has proven a strength rather than a weakness by requiring close scrutiny by the rating agencies and investors.


The object of our study is the set of -words, that is, (bi)infinite sequences of alphabetic symbols indexed by integers. We consider an ordered family of subsets of the set of all the cube-free -words in a two-letter alphabet. The construction of this family is based on the notion of the local exponent of a -word. The problem of existence of cube-free -words which are -words of local exponent 2 (the minimum possible) is described. An important distinction is drawn between strongly cube-free -words and -words of greater local exponent.


There currently exists much debate as to the active state related to the "long afterglow" effect in europium doped oxide materials. Redox couples that consist of Eu(+/2+) and Eu(2+/3+) are discussed, but no common answer is currently accepted. Here, we present a comparison of the optical properties of a commercially available SrAl(2)O(4):Eu, Dy phosphor, as a function of nanoparticle size reduction via dry mechanical milling. X-ray and optical spectroscopic data indicate a significant decrease in phosphorescence efficiency and an increase in laser stimulated emission efficiency as near surface Eu(2+) ions are oxidized to Eu(3+) as a consequence of increased exposure during the milling process. These results show evidence only for Eu(2+/3+) oxidation states, suggesting the mechanism related to long afterglow effect does not arise from Eu(+) species. We also suggest that size reduction, as a rule, cannot be universally applied to improve optical properties of nanostructures.


Producing reliable in-cylinder simulations for quick-turnaround engine development for industrial purposes is a challenging task for modern computational fluid dynamics, mostly because of the tuning effort required for the sub-models used in the various frameworks (the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and large eddy simulation). Tuning is required because of the need for modern engines to operate under a wider range of conditions and fuels. In this article, we suggest a novel methodology based on automated simulation parameter optimisation that is capable of delivering a priori a coefficient matrix for each operating condition. This approach produces excellent results for multiple comparison metrics like liquid and vapour penetration lengths, radial and axial mass fraction and temperature distributions. In this article, we also show for the first time that input model coefficients can potentially be linked to ambient boundary conditions in a physically consistent manner. Changes in injection pressure, charge pressure and charge density are considered. This paves the way for the tabulation of the constants in order to eliminate lengthy tuning iterations between operating conditions and move towards adaptive simulations as the piston moves changing the in-cylinder conditions. An additional discussion is performed for the validity range of existent models given that in recent years there has been a shift towards more extreme thermodynamic conditions in the injection stage (reaching the limits of transcritical flows). Although in this work the framework was implemented in the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes context because this is the tool of preference of digital engineering currently by automotive industries, the approach can be easily extended in large eddy simulation.


This paper looks at the gendered possibilities for participating in agricultural intensification in seven regions in Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, using a longitudinal, regional, mixed methods approach combining household level data on land, labour and use of agricultural techniques for male and female farm managers as well as qualitative data collected from within male-headed households and community level data. The analysis is based on a quantitative dataset covering 1070 small scale farmers covering the period 2002 to 2017/18, as well as around roughly 350 qualitative interviews collected over the course of a decade. The results point to great variation between the regions as well as the countries in terms of access to land, but also suggest that gender relations around land are changing as a result both of deliberate policies as well as the emergence of rental markets for land. Indeed, gender-based gaps in cultivated area have fallen in some regions, but are persistent in others. Surprisingly, neither tenure security nor formalisation of tenure is differentiated between male and female respondents, in any of the regions. Access to family labour is however smaller on female managed farms and labour shortages are generally higher on these farms in most regions. Capital and labour intensive technologies add to gender based differentiation in cultivated area in regions where commercial opportunities are driving intensification, whereas gender based gaps in the use of these technologies have narrowed in poor regions as a result of deteriorating conditions for male farmers.


We examine the determinants of the spread between c orporate and sovereign debt yields to maturity. We us corporate bond data from 13 Latin American and Asian issuers to ca lcul te the spread between their yields and the res pective sovereign debt yields. We found the determinants of such spread, c ontrolling for debt term structure, and other varia bles. Additionally, we found industry and country effects not explained by variables at firm, issue, country, or internationa l levels. The contribution of this paper consists in that industry effects, as well as country effects, are important explaining spreads after controlling for country and index specific factors.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Our previous studies have shown the role of radiation-induced urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) expression in meningioma tumor progression. In the present study, we investigated whether modulation of DNA methylation profiles could regulate uPA expression. Radiation treatment induced hypomethylation in meningioma cells with a decrease in DNMT1 and MBD expression. However, oxidative damage by H2O2 or pretreatment of irradiated cells with NAC did not show any influence on these proteins, thereby indicating a radiation-specific change in the methylation patterns among meningioma cells. Further, we identified that hypomethylation is coupled to an increase in uPA expression in these cells. Azacytidine treatment induced a dose-dependent surge of uPA expression while pretreatment with Sodium butyrate inhibited the radiation-induced uPA expression; these results complement our prior findings. Methylation-specific PCR on bisulfite treated genomic DNA revealed a diminished methylation of uPA promoter in irradiated cells, which supports the role of epigenetics in uPA gene regulation. Transfection with shRNA expressing plasmids targeting CpG islands of the uPA promoter showed a marked decline in uPA expression with subsequent decreases in invasion and proliferation of meningioma cells. Further, radiation treatment is coupled to the recruitment of SP1 transcription into the nuclear extracts, which was abrogated by shRNA treatment. Our experiments to study the signaling events demonstrated the activation of MEK-ERK in radiation treated cells while U0126 (MEK/ERK inhibitor) blocked hypomethylation, recruitment of SP1, and uPA expression. In agreement with our in vitro data, low DNMT1 levels and high uPA were found in intracranial tumors given radiation treatment as compared to untreated tumors. In conclusion, our data suggest radiation-mediated hypomethylation triggers uPA expression in meningioma cells.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2218. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2218


Pseudouridine is the most prevalent modified nucleoside excreted in urine, mainly as a degradation product of t-RNA. The level of pseudouridine excretion was analyzed in 71 patients with renal cell carcinoma prior to treatment. An increased excretion was demonstrated in 27 of 48 patients (56%) in stage II-IV, compared to 2 of 23 patients (9%) in stage I. Survival time was significantly reduced in patients with increased excretion. The level of pseudouridine correlated to tumor grade and tumor size. Using Cox's proportional hazard model, only clinical stage and level of pseudouridine excretion were independent predictors of prognosis.


The role of interventional radiology for soft tissue sarcomas is only occasionally addressed in the literature. However, different techniques such as embolization, selective chemotherapy, chemoembolization, and acrylic cement osteoplasty can be helpful with the primary tumor, recurrences, and metastases. This article discusses these techniques and their complications in treatment of soft tissue sarcomas.


Well-defined organic/inorganic hybrid fluorinated star polymers were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl methacrylate (HFBMA) using octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane (OAPS) nano-cage as initiator. For this purpose, OAPS was transformed into ATRP initiator by reacting with 2-bromoisobutyrylbromide. ATR polymerization of HFBMA was carried out in trifluorotoluene at 75 degrees C using CuCl/2,2-bipyridine or N,N,N',N",N"-pentamethyldi-ethylenetriamine as catalyst system. GPC and H-1 NMR data confirmed the synthesis of OAPS/PHFBMA hybrid star polymer. Kinetics of the ATR polymerization of HFBMA using OAPS nano-cage initiator was also investigated. The OAPS/PHFBMA hybrid stars were found to be molecularly dispersed in solution (THF); however, TEM micrographs revealed the formation of spherical particles of similar to 120-180 nm by the OAPS/PHFBMA hybrid star polymer after solvent evaporation. Thermal characterization of the nanocomposites by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed a slightly higher glass transition temperature (T-g) (when compared with the linear PRFBMA) of higher molecular weight OAPS/PHFBMA hybrid star polymers. In contrast, lower T-g than the linear PHFBMA was observed for OAPS/PHFBMA of relatively lower molecular weight (but higher than the linear PHFBMA). Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed a significant retardation (by similar to 60 degrees C) in thermal decomposition of nanocomposites when compared with the linear PHFBMA. Additionally, surface properties were evaluated by measuring the contact angles of water on polymer surfaces. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym, Chem 46: 7287-7298, 2008


There is the widespread opinion within the research community of hydrogen storage materials, that their nanocrystalline structure is a precondition for enhancement of the kinetics of hydrogen absorbtion/desorption, by means of enhanced diffusion of H2 along the grain boundaries. Examples for this behavior are presented, including ball milled, filed and/or SPD processed Mg, Mg- and Fe-alloys. SPD (Severe Plastic Deformation) represents a new method processing method to achieve bulk nanocrystalline materials. Considering more than one storage cycles in pure Mg, the kinetics and even the storage capacity is drastically decreased. One may find the reason in the strongly increased grain size because of the comparably high absorption/desorption temperature of 350°C. However, in the SPD processed Mg-alloys like ZK60, the kinetics and the storage capacity do not decrease with repeated absorption/desorption cycles, although the average grain size significantly increases. Thus it is concluded that the grain size effect beneficial to storage kinetics during the first cycles must have a reason other than hydrogen grain boundary diffusion. Recent DFT calculations within a research project of the authors suggest that the dissocation of H2 to H - which is a precondition of successful absorption of hydrogen by the host material - occurs more easily at the surface and especially in the wake of crystal defects being present at the surface. Experiments by the authors done in Mg-alloys and Fe-Ti having various initial ball milling particle sizes and/or grain sizes confirm this conclusion. Furthermore, recent experiments both from literature and from the authors showed that application of SPD can save the pulverization and/or filing of the H2 storage materials, by providing not only high densities of grain boundaries but also those of microcracks at the surface.


BACKGROUND
A long-acting analgesic may be particularly desirable in patients suffering from long-lasting pain. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antinociceptive effect of a novel depot of buprenorphine decanoate and its metabolic profiles in human and animal blood.

METHODS
Following their intramuscular injections in guinea pigs, the antinociceptive effects of the novel depot of buprenorphine decanoate (in oil) and the traditional dosage form of buprenorphine HCl (in saline) were evaluated. An in vitro metabolic study of buprenorphine decanoate in human and animal blood was also carried out. The antinociception of drugs was evaluated using the plantar test. The blood concentrations of drugs were assayed using a high performance liquid chromatography.

RESULTS
We found that both the buprenorphine HCl (in saline) and buprenorphine decanoate (in oil) produced dose-related antinociceptive effect but of different duration of action. Under an equi-mole basis of 0.6 micromol/kg, the durations of action of buprenorphine HCl and decanoate were 4 and 72 h, respectively. In in vitro metabolic study in human and animal bloods, buprenorphine decanoate was totally converted to buprenorphine. Buprenorphine decanoate is a prodrug of buprenorphine.

CONCLUSIONS
Intramuscular injection of the depot of buprenorphine decanoate in guinea pigs produced a dose-related long-lasting antinociceptive effect which was much longer than that of the traditional dosage form of buprenorphine HCl. Moreover, buprenorphine decanoate is a prodrug of buprenorphine.


A new approach to fuzzy rule-based systems structure identification in on-line (possibly real-time) mode is described in this paper. It expands the so called evolving Takagi-Sugeno (eTS) approach by introducing self-learning aspects not only to the number of fuzzy rules and system parameters but also to the number of antecedent part variables (inputs). The approach can be seen as online sensitivity analysis or online feature extraction (if in a classification application, e.g. in eClass which is the classification version of eTS). This adds to the flexibility and self-learning capabilities of the proposed system. In this paper the mechanism of formation of new fuzzy sets as well as of new fuzzy rules is analyzed from the point of view of on-line (recursive) data density estimation. Fuzzy system structure simplification is also analyzed in on-line context. Utility- and age-based mechanisms to address this problem are proposed. The rule-base structure evolves based on a gradual update driven by; i) information coming from the new data samples; ii) on-line monitoring and analysis of the existing rules in terms of their utility, age, and variables that form them. The theoretical theses are supported by experimental results from a range of real industrial data from chemical, petro-chemical and car industries. The proposed methodology is applicable to a wide range of fault detection, prediction, and control problems when the input or feature channels are too many.


Reconstruction of Emile Durkheim's views on collective memory is the focus of the article. Durkheim had not created the completed concept of collective memory and his main attention was concentrated on its concrete form, that is to say the commemorative ritual. Thereby he laid the methodological foundations for further development of the concept of collective memory and influenced on later memory studies. Durkheim's sociology leads with the necessity for a conclusion that for the support of stability of a community, its members have to remember certain things in a certain way and to forget, in an orderly way, other things. The general theme of Durkheim's sociology is that a community needs a certain degree of intellectual, moral and emotional conformism of its members. This provision results in a more particular conclusion about the social necessity of the "memorial conformism". The paper explores Durkheim's work The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life which takes a special position in the logic of Durkheim's research program. This book demonstrates the way to development of the general cultural theory of social, constructed on the basis of the category of sacred. However, for a long time this work, on the contrary, has been considered as less significant, almost marginal, written on a secondary ethnographic material. Only recently, in the context of the general cultural and anthropological movement in modern sociology, the "later Durkheim" was read anew.


A cross-sectional prospective cohort study including 1026 heifers administered tulathromycin due to high risk of clinical signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), measured poor association between BRD clinical outcomes and results of bacterial culture and tulathromycin susceptibility from BRD isolates of deep nasopharyngeal swabs (DNS) and adequate association with viral polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results from nasal swabs. Isolation rates from DNS collected on day-0 and at 1st BRD-treatment respectively were: Mannheimia haemolytica (10.9% & 34.1%); Pasteurella multocida (10.4% & 7.4%); Mycoplasma bovis (1.0% & 36.6%); and Histophilus somni (0.7% & 6.3%). Prevalence of BRD viral nucleic acid on nasal swabs collected exclusively at 1st BRD-treatment were: bovine parainfluenza virus type-3 (bPIV-3) 34.1%; bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) 26.3%; bovine herpes virus type-1 (BHV-1) 10.8%; and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) 54.1%. Increased relative risk, at 95% confidence intervals, of 1st BRD-treatment failure was associated with positive viral PCR results: BVDV 1.39 (1.17–1.66), bPIV-3 1.26 (1.06–1.51), BHV-1 1.52 (1.25–1.83), and BRSV 1.35 (1.11–1.63) from nasal swabs collected at 1st BRD-treatment and culture of M. haemolytica 1.23 (1.00–1.51) from DNS collected at day-0. However, in this population of high-risk feeder heifers, the predictive values of susceptible and resistant isolates had inadequate association with BRD clinical outcome. These results indicate, that using tulathromycin susceptibility testing of isolates of M. haemolytica or P. multocida from DNS collected on arrival or at 1st BRD-treatment to evaluate tulathromycin clinical efficacy, is unreliable.


Blue shark (Prionace glauca) is a major bycatch species in the long-line and gill-net Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries, and the population structure is critical for fishery management. We employed generalized additive models to analyze the fork lengths of blue sharks and biological data (i.e., feeding level, sex, and genetic data), as well as environmental and spatial variables (i.e., sea surface temperature, month, longitude, and latitude) collected from 2011 to 2014 by the Chinese Thunnus alalunga long-line tuna fishery observer program. Fork length was significantly affected (p < 0.05) with location (latitude and longitude) and sex, and positively effected with sea surface temperature. No relationships were found between fork length and feeding level, month, and genetic data. We detected fork length differences among blue sharks over the range of the observed data, but the genetic data implied a panmictic population. Thus, we hypothesize that the genetic similarity was so close that it could not be well separated. Based on the precautionary principle, we recommend that the blue shark in the Pacific Ocean should be managed as two independent populations to ensure its sustainable use.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of sodium ferulate on the hemodynamics of hepatic cirrhosis patients.

METHODS
Eighty-two hepatic cirrhosis patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the 27 patients in the control group were treated by conventional liver protecting therapy, and the 55 patients in the treated group were treated with sodium ferulate besides the conventional therapy. The therapeutic course for both groups was two weeks. The following indexes were measured before treatment and two weeks after treatment respectively: inner diameter of portal vein (PV), inner diameter of splenic vein (SPV), maximum portal vein flow rate (PVX), maximum splenic vein flow rate (SPVX), portal vein blood flow (QPV) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentration. The adverse effect was observed meanwhile.

RESULTS
In the treated group after treatment, levels of PV, SPV and ET-1 decreased (P < 0.01), PVX and SPVX increased significantly (P < 0.01), but QPV was unchanged; while no significant change of all the indexes was found in the control group (P > 0.05). Further analysis showed that in the treated group, PV, SPV and ET-1 decreased significantly in patients of Child grade A and B (P <0. 01), but QPV changed insignificantly (P > 0.05, and all indexes were unchanged in patients of Child grade C (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Sodium ferulate can effectively lower the pressure of portal vein in hepatic cirrhosis patients without any influence on the blood flow of portal vein, the effect is more significant on patients of Child grade A and B.


In the economic literature on bankruptcy, the standard methodology is to model the individual's bankruptcy decision as a binary choice between "bankruptcy" and "no bankruptcy." We define an additional choice - non-repayment without seeking the formal protection of the bankruptcy - as informal bankruptcy. Using data from a large credit card issuer, we find evidence that while both lenient exemption laws and garnishment laws increase bankruptcies in the standard model, loose garnishment discourages default in our expanded model, while at the same time more pronouncedly shifting individuals from informal to formal bankruptcy. This result suggests that previous research may substantially understate the degree to which garnishment laws drive defaulting individuals to choose bankruptcy. Moreover, lenient exemption laws increase both formal and informal bankruptcy. We also find that borrowers living in majority black neighborhoods are more likely to choose informal bankruptcy, and less likely to choose formal bankruptcy, than other borrowers.


Utilization of modified atmosphere packaging, can extend the shelf life of fruit. The research was done to evaluate the synergism between the delay of the ripening of tamarillo (Chiphomandra betaceae) through modified atmosphere and to be continued with the application of ripening stimulant material. The packaging treatment using a low density poliethylen plastic consists of an active modified atmosphere packaging with adsorben materials such as O2, CO2 and ethylene and also passive modified atmosphere packaging, then the packaged fruits were stored in two weeks. The application of ripening stimulant was done on the fruit that had been taken out from the packaging after 2 weeks storage. The materials of the ripening stimulant were ethepon 250 ppm, ethylene gas 250 ppm, acetylene gas 250 ppm and calcium carbide 0,3% (w/w). The results showed that there was a synergisme effect between the delay of a fruit ripening by a modified atmosphere packaging for two weeks storage that can be seen from the color score of a fruit skin, namely: 2 (yellowish green), and after treatment by the ripening stimulant, it was followed by a normal fruit ripening that was shown by a changing of skin colour to red and softening of the pulp.


The term fusion barrier distribution provides a clear method to test the effect of nuclear structure on the behavior of nuclear matter and dynamics of nuclear reactions, especially for energies where penetrability effects are considered. It presents an unexpected enhancement, as compared with conventional models of tunneling through a one-dimensional penetration model. The quantum mechanical barrier penetration effects play a central role, where the fusion cross section has been vanished suddenly as the bombarding energy becomes less than the barrier. We concluded that Wong form is the more exact and acceptable form to deduce the excitation functions as well as the barrier distribution for heavy ion fusion when concerning channel coupling and tunneling effects in comparison with the one dimension barrier penetration function


This article examines the thoughts of Imam Malik on the masalahat problems in Islamic law. In using al-mashlahat al-mursalah, Imam Malik genuienly provided three limitations or conditions, namely: the existence of a match between the concerns that are considered with maqashid al-shari'ah; the mashlahat relates to matters which are ma'qulat (rational) which according to syara are based on the maintenance of the mashlahat; and the results of al-mashlahat al-mursalah are returned to the maintenance of the dzharuriy (primary) case according to syara and negate the narrowness in religion. The laws contained in Islamic law are oriented towards maintaining the benefit of the mukallaf and rejecting obedience, in order to realize a harmonious life that brings peace and happiness to humans.


Human host and pathogen interaction is dynamic in nature and often modulated by co-pathogens with a functional role in delineating the physiological outcome of infection. Co-infection may present either as a pre-existing pathogen which is accentuated by the introduction of a new pathogen or may appear in the form of new infection acquired secondarily due to a compromised immune system. Using diverse examples of co-infecting pathogens such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Hepatitis C Virus, we have highlighted the role of co-infections in modulating disease severity and clinical outcome. This interaction happens at multiple hierarchies, which are inclusive of stress and immunological responses and together modulate the disease severity. Already published literature provides much evidence in favor of the occurrence of co-infections during SARS-CoV-2 infection, which eventually impacts the Coronavirus disease-19 outcome. The availability of biological models like 3D organoids, mice, cell lines and mathematical models provide us with an opportunity to understand the role and mechanism of specific co-infections. Exploration of multi-omics-based interactions across co-infecting pathogens may provide deeper insights into their role in disease modulation.


With the development of the computer technology, people try to use the camera to obtain the visual information from environment and convert it into the digital signals. The whole process of acquiring, processing, analyzing, and understanding of visual information by computer system is then developed as a new research field - Computer Vision. More and more mobile applications are equipped with camera for vision perception, environment analysis, decision making and localization. The motion of the camera system can be estimated by comparing the current frame with the previous frame. Feature based image matching approaches detect distinctive and robust features from images, find the best match between the image pair based on the similarity of features. Because of the high efficiency, robustness and noise-resistibility, image matching based on the local point features has become a widely accepted and utilized method in the recent past. A wide range of feature detectors and feature descriptors have been proposed, the performance comparison between the most known and newly proposed feature descriptors is the purpose of this thesis. A systematic comparison program is implemented to evaluate the performance of different feature descriptors under varying image deformations. The evaluation is preformed by comparing the number of keypoints, quality measures, time consumption and position error. After evaluation on the static image pairs, a real-time application is implemented for comparing the real-time performance. The results obtained in this thesis can help to choose the most suitable feature descriptors according to the application environment.


BACKGROUND
Reduction in smoking prevalence does not necessarily reduce the costs of smoking as evidence shows in developed countries. We provide up-to-date estimates for direct and indirect costs attributable to smoking in Hong Kong in 2011 and compare with our 1998 estimates.

METHODS
We took a societal perspective to include lives and life years lost, health care costs and time lost from work in the costing. We followed guidelines on estimating costs of active smoking for those aged 35 years or above (35+) and costs due to second-hand smoking (SHS) exposure for 35+, infants aged 12 months and under and children aged 15 and below. All costs are in US dollars.

RESULTS
We estimated that 6154 deaths among 35+ in Hong Kong in 2011 were attributable to active smoking, an increase of 10% from 1998. Besides, 672 deaths were attributable to SHS exposure, that is, 10% of the total 6826 smoking-attributable deaths. The estimate of productive life lost due to deaths from active smoking by those aged under 65 years in 2011 was $166 million, an increase of about 4% over the estimate in 1998. Our conservative estimate of the annual tobacco-related disease cost in 2011 was $716 million which accounted for 0.3% of GDP. If we added the value of attributable lives lost, the annual cost would be $4.7 billion.

CONCLUSION
Despite the reduction in smoking prevalence, smoking-attributable disease still imposes a substantial economic burden on Hong Kong society. These findings support more stringent and effective tobacco control legislation, policies, and measures.

IMPLICATIONS
Current evidence shows reduction in smoking prevalence does not necessarily reduce the economic costs of smoking. Most studies in developed countries employed a societal perspective, including costs of productivity loss and indirect costs, but not all studies estimated costs associated with second-hand smoking (SHS). The present study estimated the total costs of smoking in Hong Kong including direct and indirect costs attributable to active smoking and to SHS exposure. Our study confirms the pattern of smoking epidemic in developed countries, forewarns the increasing economic burdens from tobacco, and provides East Asian countries with a prediction of their own future costs.


Starting in 1987 with 6 students the Postgraduate Programme Renewable Energy (PPRE) has developed to an accredited master program with almost 400 actively networking alumni from more than 80 countries. Fields of study are wind energy, solar electric and solar thermal, energy meteorology, hydropower, storage technology, biomass and economics of Renewable Energy. The Programme1 aims at engineers and natural scientists. Apart from lecturing, emphasis is put on an eight-week internship in research institutes or companies and intensive hands-on lab courses. Furthermore, we establish contacts to companies, research institutes, consultants and organisations for international development for students within excursions and master thesis. A case study on a real-life project visited by the students allows the comparison of students' research results with the experience of the system's operator. This paper will present 24 years of experience in operation and development of an international master's program on Renewable Energy.


Soil temperature is an important component of crop simulation models, because it affects crop growth and development, nutrient cycling, and, in some cases, water infiltration. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of the EPIC (Erosion/Productivity Impact Calculator) mean soil temperature model and to evaluate the Parton mean surface temperature model developed for a shortgrass steppe in an agricultural simulation model. Simulated mean daily 0.05-m soil temperatures were compared with measured mean daily 0.05-m soil temperatures from three locations (Bushland, TX; Boone, IA; and Mandan, ND) for a range of residue management practices. The EPIC model simulated mean 0.05-m soil temperature trends, although the predicted temperature lagged measured temperatures by 3 to 5 d, and the predicted temperature oscillations were dampened compared with the measured temperatures. The Parton model followed the mean daily temperature oscillations, but generally overestimated early spring mean soil temperatures. Simple adjustments to both models greatly enhanced temperature predictions


The expression of E74-like factor 5 (ELF5) in epithelial ovarian carcinoma tissues and its effects on biological behavior in ovarian carcinoma cells were assessed in search for a new approach for gene treatment of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. RT-PCR technology was applied to detect the expression of ELF5 mRNA in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (n=49), borderline ovarian epithelial tumor (n=19), benign ovarian epithelial tumor (n=31) and normal ovarian tissues (n=40). Then, we transfected recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-ELF5+EGFP into human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells (recombinant plasmid group) in vitro and screened out stably transfected cells to conduct multiplication culture. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of ELF5 protein in the different groups. Flow cytometry was employed to detect cell apoptosis and cycles. ELF5 mRNA in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and borderline ovarian epithelial tumor tissues were significantly lower (P<0.05) than those in benign ovarian epithelial tumor and normal ovarian tissues. ELF5 protein expression in the cells of recombinant plasmid group was significantly higher compared with empty plasmid and blank control groups. The capacity of cell reproductive recombinant plasmid group at each time point decreased (P<0.05). Flow cytometry detection showed that 67.03% of cells in recombinant plasmid group was blocked in G0/G1 phase (P<0.05), compared with empty plasmid group (37.17%) and blank control group (38.24%). Apoptotic rate of recombinant plasmid group was significantly lower (31.4±1.9%; P<0.05), compared with that of empty plasmid group (9.1±2.2%) and blank control group (8.7±1.5%), and the differences were statistically significant. In conclusion, ELF5 interfered with cell cycle of human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells and promoted apoptosis of human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells inhibiting their growth and invasive capacity; and thus providing a new approach to gene treatment of ovarian carcinoma.


A general method of finding the optimal volumes, temperatures and bypass rates for a sequence of stirred tank reactors is developed. After a discussion of the method of dynamic programming, the example of a sequence of adiabatic reactors of equal volume with a single reaction is used as an illustration. A simple graphical construction for determining the optimal bypass rates is given for this case. The limiting cases of the optimal control of a batch reaction by addition of cold feed is also solved.


For modern cars, antennas are required for AM reception, FM and TV diversity reception, weatherband reception (USA), terrestrial digital radio, remote control functions, keyless entry, mobile phone for all worldwide used systems, GPS, and in the future, satellite broadcast radio services. Those services cover the frequency range from 150 kHz up to 2.4 GHz. Such kind of a multiantenna system developed for station wagons is presented in this paper. The obtainable FM and TV diversity effectiveness is discussed for several types of antenna arrangements in detail. This value is the number of fictitious completely decorrelated antenna signals and is obtained by virtual test drives. The characteristic of the respective antennas under test is introduced in the software as antenna pattern, measured or calculated with respect to amplitude and phase. During the computer analysis the car with the antennas is driven virtually through a Rayleigh field scenario with desired and undesired signals.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the development of candidosis in rat's tongue after intraepithelial injections of Candida albicans. Fifty rats (Rattus norvegicus, Albinus, Wistar), originally negative for the Candida spp. received ten intraepithelial injections of C. albicans on the dorsal tongue. Groups of five animals were killed after 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 hours and 1, 2, 7, and 15 days after the injection. The rat's tongues were surgically removed and then macroscopic and microscopic analyses were performed. The development of candidosis lesions was observed in all the rats studied. One hour after the injection, the development of germ tubes from the yeast cells could be observed. After 4 hours, Candida spp. pseudohyphae penetrated the epithelial cells with the formation of microabscesses. After 24 to 48 hours, the epithelial areas with pseudohyphae invasion presented desquamation, hyperplasia of the basal layer and discrete inflammation of the connective tissue. After seven days, few pseudohyphae could be observed. The epithelium presented acanthosis, hyperkeratosis and loss of filiform papillae. After 15 days, neither yeasts nor pseudohyphae were found. In some areas, the epithelium presented acanthosis and loss of filiform papillae. It can be concluded that the intraepithelial injection of Candida albicans on the dorsal rat tongue caused candidosis lesions in all the animals studied. C. albicans was present until seven days after the injections.


The first goal of this article is to explain the social and psychological mechanisms inherent in reaching an agreement within groups with highly divergent initial opinions. The second goal is to diagnose possible antagonistic processes in such groups. The empirical data used were obtained from recordings of focus group interviews, conducted with parents of school age children discussing the issue of sexual education in schools. The results suggest that revealing world views that justify claims made in the debate can foster agreement when the following conditions are met: (1) There exists at least some common ground in the group to serve as a starting point for agreement in other areas; (2) The articulation of different world views is not negatively evaluated or diminished by others in the group; (3) Disputants argue in their opponents' way of thinking. Another result observed is that processes other than rational analyses of the controversy can take place and can lead to agreement.


1. In an attempt to investigate calcium absorption in the rat during the postprandial period, with the least alteration of the physical environment, the undisturbed small intestine was ligated in situ 2·5 or 3·0 h after ingestion of a diet containing 200 g casein/kg or an equivalent amino acid mixture, or 925 g casein/kg. Estimation of Ca absorption was made by comparing the amount of soluble 40Ca or 45Ca in the contents of segments from the rats receiving 45Ca by intubation 30 min after withdrawal of food, ligated after a further 30 min, then killed after 0 or 30 min. 2. Under conditions such that the estimated amount of a marker, polyethylene glycol, in segments ligated in a defined position was little changed in rats killed 30 min apart, the difference in the amount of soluble 40Ca was much higher in the rats fed on the basal diet containing 200 g casein/kg than in other groups. 3. This specific effect on Ca absorption, particularly in the distal portion of the small intestine, could be seen also after 45Ca was directly injected into ligated segments in situ. The amount of 45Ca in the portal blood 15 min after injection of the label was also highest in the rats given the basal diet. 4. The results were in agreement with our previous findings that the formation and accumulation of casein phosphopeptides causes an increase in the amount of soluble Ca in the distal small intestine.


Research subject. The Novo-Akhmirovskoe lithium-bearing deposit in the East Kazakhstan region, which is represented by an intrusive layer of topaz-zinnwaldite granites, is located within of the Kalba-Narym-Koktogai lithium-tantalum raremetal-granite belt. Being part of the Altai collision system, this belt is considered unique in terms of its length (more than 1000 km). Ores in the Novo-Akhmirovskoe deposit are represented by massive to low porphyry leucocratic granites composed of quartz (30–40%), albite (25–40%), microcline (15–35%), lithium mica varying in composition from zinnwal dite to lepidolite (up to 10%) and topaz (up to 5%). According preliminary estimates, the Novo-Akhmirov deposit is factually a poor lithium deposit with the Li2O content of 0.2–0.4 wt % and the estimated Li2O reserves of 110 thousand tones. Despite the favourable infrastructure and close proximity of this stock to Ust-Kamenogorsk mining and chemical-metallurgical enterprises, its ore-generating potential has not been sufficiently studied. Materials and Methods. In this research, we obtained new data on the geological structure, age, mineral composition and formation conditions of topaz-zinnwaldite granites in the Novo-Akhmirovskoe deposit. In addition, a comparative analysis of these ores with the topaz-biotite granites of the Black Sopka massif (0.6–0.7 wt % Li2O in protolitionite) and spodumene granite porphyries of the Alakha stock (Li2O = 0.9–1.1 wt %) was conducted. Results and Discussion . It is concluded that the development of this unique nonpegmatite lithium-bearing deposit requires deep exploratory drilling, mineralogical and technological research of core samples and reconsideration of economic efficiency parameters.


This paper attempts a contrastive analysis of derivational prefixation of verbs in Arabic and English. It assumes a possibility of similar derivational mechanism applicable to some verbs in the two languages. The derivational systems of the two languages are at extremes, creating challenges to interested learners and researchers from both languages. The contrastive analysis method is adopted to carry out this study. A general contrast of the morphological system of the two language is provided focusing on the category of verbs in the two languages. The paper narrows its scope to one area derivational morphology, namely prefixation. A set of six prefixes from the two languages ( three from each) are used the examine the derivational processing of verbs from the two languages. These are the English prefixes; a-, enand i and their Arabic counterparts humazat alqatae (ʔ-), inand humazat wasal (i-) respectfully. The morphological properties of these prefixes and verbs have been contrasted to reveal and identify the areas of difference and similarity of the derivation system in the two languages. Some of these prefixes affixes are found have similar function and form and have the similar morphological behavior that might set them as identical cognates .


Two word-spotting experiments are reported that examine whether the Possible-Word Constraint (PWC) is a language-specific or language-universal strategy for the segmentation of continuous speech. The PWC disfavours parses which leave an impossible residue between the end of a candidate word and any likely location of a word boundary, as cued in the speech signal. The experiments examined cases where the residue was either a CVC syllable with a schwa, or a CV syllable with a lax vowel. Although neither of these syllable contexts is a possible lexical word in English, word-spotting in both contexts was easier than in a context consisting of a single consonant. Two control lexical-decision experiments showed that the word-spotting results reflected the relative segmentation difficulty of the words in different contexts. The PWC appears to be language-universal rather than language-specific.


The major purpose of the study was to develop an instrument to assess the organizational environment at university level in Pakistan. The data were collected from 336 teachers working at four public sector universities in the province of the Punjab. Items were derived from the relevant literature. The Organizational Environment Scale (OES) includes major components as internal environment, professional development, team work, guidance and support, facilitations, participation and coordination, and rewards and benefits. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using Asymptotic Covariance Matrix, Polychoric Correlation Matrix, and Weighted Least Squares Estimation was employed to validate the OES instrument. LISREL 8.3 was used to conduct Confirmatory Factor Analyses. Fit indices for Organizational Environment Scale indicated an adequate model. Factor loadings for each item had the thresholds value of 0.35. Correlation values among the latent factors were significant at 5%.


Twenty-six cases of Mesangial Proliferative Glomerulonephritis and diffuse IgM deposits were studied. Nine had nephrotic syndrome; 8 minimal urinary abnormalities; 7 asymptomatic proteinuria; 2 recurrent haematuria. Immunofluorescence revealed granular mesangial deposits in 14 cases and interrupted linear deposits in the others, chiefly along the capillary walls. In the latter group the clinical picture was mainly nephrotic syndrome or asymptomatic proteinuria. The clinical course is favourable: 7 cases recovered; 12 improved; 7 did not show any change. No progression of renal lesions was observed. Despite uniform histological features, this nephropathy is unlikely to be a unique disease, but in our opinion it should be considered separately from other glomerulopathies.


Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the Western world. Owing to a lack of specific symptoms and no accessible precursor lesions, primary diagnosis is commonly delayed, resulting in only 15%-20% of patients with potentially curable disease. The standard of care in advanced pancreatic cancer has improved. Apart from gemcitabine (plus erlotinib), FOLFIRINOX and the combination of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel are novel and promising therapeutic options for patients with metastatic PDAC. A better molecular understanding of pancreatic cancer has led to the identification of a variety of potential molecular therapeutic targets. Many targeted therapies are currently under clinical evaluation in combination with standard therapies for PDAC. This review highlights the current status of targeted therapies and their potential benefit for the treatment of advanced PDAC.


This study investigates the dynamic interplay between bullying relationships and friendships in a sample of 481 students in 19 elementary school classrooms (age 8–12 years; 50% boys). Based on a relational framework, it is to be expected that friendships would be formed when two children bullied the same person and that children would start to bully the victims of their friends. Similarly, it is to be expected that friendships would be formed when two children were victimized by the same bully and that children would become victimized by the bullies of their friends. Longitudinal bivariate social network analysis supported the first two hypotheses but not the latter two. This study provides evidence for group processes in bullying networks in childhood.


Background: The scientific papers deal with it reporting different treatment technologies for distal tibia metaepiphysis fractures; meanwhile the complication and failure rates remain high. Material and methods: 265 patients were examined. Their average age was 45.15±15.98 years (from 18 to 86). The patients were distributed into clinical groups according to the type of surgery performed. Clinical group I included patients who underwent mini-invasive osteosynthesis with K-wires and screws (113 patients, 42.64% from general group); Clinical group ІІ included patients with external fixation osteosynthesis (36 patients, 13.58%); and Clinical group ІІІ included patients who underwent osteosynthesis with plates (116 patients, 43.77%). Results: The technology of mini-invasive osteosynthesis of distal metaepiphysis fractures of the lower leg is improved. Reposition is performed under general or conduction anaesthesia under C-arm control. Ligamentotaxis principle is applied pulling fragments by means of distractor. In case separate bone fragments are not repositioned a pricker, single-toothed tenaculum are used through separate pricks of the skin. Every step is controlled by imagic intensifier. After subluxation is eliminated and reposition completed, trans-articular fixation of fragments is performed inserting 2-3 K-wires 2 mm in diameter from the sole in the direction of the tibia middle part. Conclusions: The analysis of implementation of the improved mini-invasive osteosynthesis technology for fractures of the distal lower limb compared with the traditional methods of surgical treatment of these injuries in 265 patients from the three clinical groups demonstrated that the use of closed reposition and improved technique results in improved results and considerable reduction of costs for treatment in comparison with traditional osteosynthesis.


Interactive methods are a good resource for making students reason and think. This is because they favor open analysis and hypotheses and develop divergent thinking in STEMC subjects. The objectives: students need to build knowledge from intersubjective relationships by studying and working autonomously; develop the ability for self-learning, and publicize trends of perspective development with new methodologies in order to allow teachers and students enrich themselves with these experiences. Applying these methodologies the conclusion is that they are another means for teachers to improve their level of work with their students. In addition, serves to discover the attitudes of the students, their willingness to work and curiosity for research. At the same time, students are able to work in a more practical way the contents and to acquire training and information for their later use in STEMC subjects. Although it is early for results, the ratio of students which have passed the first call exams has beed improved about 10%.


1654 The expression patterns of genes involved in cancer can be used to differentiate between normal and malignant tissues. Expression profiles from small gene sets can be highly effective in the detection and prognosis of cancers. Such small gene sets allow for higher throughput, reduced cost per sample and more practical implementation in a routine testing environment. Two novel multiplex gene expression assays were developed to identify potential cancer biomarkers. The multiplexes contain primers for 37 genes that are associated with tumor progression including cell cycle, differentiation, apoptosis, DNA repair, angiogenesis and modulation of extracellular matrix. Primers for three reference genes plus an internal control gene were also included. RNA samples included in this study were derived from normal breast tissue, invasive ductal carcinoma tumor and tumor cell lines. The RNA samples were analyzed using the multiplex assays and the reaction products were separated by capillary electrophoresis. Both assays demonstrate superb linearity for relative quantitation. The gene-expression-profile results display the capability of these multiplex assays to differentiate normal from tumor samples. A subset of the genes, including KNTC2, PRC1, Col4A2 and RAB6B were identified as potential biomarkers of ductal carcinoma tumors. Multiplex gene expression profiling is a powerful new tool that can be used for disease research, pathway study, microarray data validation and biomarker evaluation.


The evolution of the structure of bronze containing 7.4 wt. % Sn under severe plastic deformation by high pressure torsion has been studied by transmission electron microscopy and microhardness measurements. The thermal stability of the structures obtained has been investigated in subsequent annealing. It is demonstrated that the presence of an enhanced amount of impurities considerably retards the relaxation processes. It is shown that, along with an enhanced thermal stability of the nanostructures obtained, the transition from the overall growth of crystallite sizes at heating to the dramatic development of recrystallization processes in the alloy under study is much smoother than in pure metals.


This paper presents how to implement TOGAF Framework for designing E-Government Master plan. TOGAF is usually used to design Application or Information System, with several audit based on TOGAF in small number of Master plan. The challenge is to use which kind or version of TOGAF that is suitable and try not to trap on the detail design as if is implement on the Application or Information System design. TOGAF ADM is chosen to guide the Business, Data, Information System, and Technology Architecture Design, while the Proposed Method is proposed to accomplish solution domains. This proposed method is planned to be submitted to Open Group Organization as enrichment for Enterprises Continuum in TOGAF Framework. The Proposed Method for E-Government Master plan Design is to cover the Solution, Migration Plan, Implementation Governance, and Change Management Domains. The method contains guideline solution for those domains include the artifacts that are suitable for E-Government Master plan solution. The Case Study is perform for Local Payakumbuh City Government, the additional challenge is to interpret non TOGAF-wise guidelines from Central Government and effective and economic solution required. Although the case study is perform for local government but the method or tools itself is to make in generals which can be customized as tool for any central government.


The number of mental health referrals in children and adolescents is rising sharply, and the referrals are becoming more complex and more acute, psychiatrists have told MPs. One expert witness also claimed that health professionals were seeing an unprecedented degree of "social disintegration" and a remarkable level of insecurity among young people.

MPs on the parliamentary health select committee questioned several psychiatrist witnesses on 10 June as part of their inquiry into child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). When asked by MPs how demand on these services had changed in recent years, all of the witnesses said that it had risen sharply.

Liz Myers, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist for CAMHS at Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, …


In this paper, the wear in layers of articular cartilage was calculated, parameters effective on elastic deformation were studied in normal and diseased knee joints, and relations between elastic deformation and squeeze film characteristics under lubrication condition were discussed with using a mathematical model. Conferring to the results obtained, elastic deformation effects on the performance of synovial human knee joint were analyzed from medical and dynamics perspectives. Relationships between elastic deformation and wear of layers were also discussed.


With growing use of internet and its services, a large number of organizations are making use of password to provide security. A password is a secret word or combination of alphabet used for user authentication. Authentication to user account to access internet services on-line is achieved victimization password. The password is most convenient means of authentication. But now a day's password becomes hacked by the attacker. To provide more security, we are using Kerberos and the video CAPTCHA as authentication technique. Kerberos is an authentication protocol and CAPTCHA is a (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computer and Human Apart) test which provide a way to differentiate user into a human and malicious program. CAPTCHA become the most widely used standard security technique to prevent automated computer program attack. Our aim is to proposed a system which can be a better than existing CAPTCHA and provide higher level of authentication.


Analysis of available RNA crystal structures has allowed us to identify a new family of RNA arrangements that we call double twist-joints, or DTJs. Each DTJ is composed of a double helix that contains two bulges incorporated into different strands and separated from each other by 2 or 3 bp. At each bulge, the double helix is over-twisted, while the unpaired nucleotides of both bulges form a complex network of stacking and hydrogen-bonding with nucleotides of helical regions. In total, we identified 14 DTJ cases, which can be combined in three groups based on common structural characteristics. One DTJ is found in a functional center of the ribosome, another DTJ mediates binding of the pre-tRNA to the RNase P, and two more DTJs form the sensing domains in the glycine riboswitch.


We have given a detailed investigation of the energy spectrum and the electrical properties of a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by a general form of one-dimensional periodic magnetic field along the x direction, by generalizing the theory of Peeters and Vasilopoulos and that of Xue and Xiao on the magnetic modulation in the lowest order of approximation of Fourier transformation. The presence of the magnetic modulation lifts the degeneracy of the Landau levels, which are broadened into bands, and leads to Weiss-like oscillations in the magnetoresistance. The oscillations in (and the modulation correction ) and (and ) are out of phase, while oscillates in phase with . The amplitude of oscillation of the modulation correction is much larger than those of and . We also find the surprising result that, while the Hall resistance displays quantized plateaux, the transport across the magnetic barriers can be nearly dissipationless. The contribution of high-frequency components of Fourier transformation is obvious at high fields and is negligible at low fields.


We consider a notion of non-interference for timed automata (TAs) that allows to quantify the frequency of an attack; that is, we infer values of the minimal time between two consecutive actions of the attacker, so that (s)he disturbs the set of reachable locations. We also synthesize valuations for the timing constants of the TA (seen as parameters) guaranteeing non-interference. We show that this can reduce to reachability synthesis in parametric timed automata. We apply our method to a model of the Fischer mutual exclusion protocol and obtain preliminary results.


Of pre-harvest peanut seeds (folded seeds), on two isolation media (1 % glucose and 1 % cellulose Czapeck's agar), the gross fungal counts on glucose (325 colonies) was higher than on cellulose (272 colonies) per 20 samples (each, 10 seeds). Where, the average number of colonies per 10 seeds was higher on glucose (7-32 colonies) than on cellulose (3-21 colonies). Also, 6 % and 7.5 % of the seeds were free of filamentous fungi on the two isolation media, respectively. Using seed-plate method and without surface disinfection, 7 species of 5 genera were isolated and identified from peanut seeds on glucose (6 species of 5 genera) and cellulose (7 of 5) Czapeck's agar at 18 ± 10 C. Of isolated genera, Aspergillus was superior in count (56 % and 53.3 % of fungal count, respectively) and frequency (85 % and 90 % of samples, respectively) on the isolation media. Of the genus, A. flavus had the highest count (34.5 % and 29.4 %) and frequency (each, 80 %). A. niger was less in count (21 % and 17.4 %) and in occurrence (each, 55 %) on the two media. Two species (Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium citrinum) were detected in moderate frequencies (40 % and 30 % of the samples on the two media, respectively). F. oxysporum had the higher count (14.2 % and 16.2 % on the two media) compared with P. citrinum (each, 11.4 %). Cladosporium cladosporioides was low in occurrence (each, 20% of the samples) with counts 12 % and 11.4 %. A. fumigatus appeared on cellulose medium only whereas, Nectria haematococca on glucose only. Based on biological assay (brine shrimp test) and chemical detection (TLC and UV spectra), the ethyl acetate extracts of pre-harvest peanut seeds (approx. 15-20 days before harvest) proved to be non-toxic and mycotoxin free.


Composite indicators convert information about different facets of a given phenomenon into a single figure. Unavoidably, the "conversion process" involves a high level of arbitrariness, which, in general, makes the results not robust. The approach to composite indicators used in this paper aims at mitigating this problem and makes final users more aware of the unavoidable uncertainty of the results (e.g. rankings) based on a given composite. We illustrate our approach by applying it to the Human Development Index.


abstract:Despite its explicit allusion to Virginia Woolf, British choreographer Wayne McGregor's modern ballet Woolf Works has not interested Woolf and modern scholars. Zeroing in on the final act ("Tuesday") of McGregor's Woolf Works, this article offers a revisionary reading of death, dance, and debilitation in The Waves by harnessing McGregor's concurrent classical and avant-garde energies. Whereas interpretations of The Waves habitually lapse into the hackneyed invocation of its lyricism, I draw on its undercurrent and argue that both "Tuesday" and The Waves stage a break with this surface fluidity and the benign rhythm of the mundane. If McGregor's "Tuesday" celebrates sinking with its antigravitational movements, The Waves condemns its characters, who are reluctant to relax their muscularity of control into a compulsive desire to stay afloat. As McGregor's "Tuesday" suggests, there is an expedient labor in sinking, which Woolf configures as a movement toward truth. I thus read the inertness of sinking not as a failure to dance to what Lewis calls the "central rhythm" but an opposite energy that counters the military veneration of control and its mechanical adhesion to order in classical aesthetics.


The electricity meter installed in all household utilities is the instrument used to measure the electricity consumed byusers. The energy consumed is displayed on the screen in each instrument. In addition to performing the measuringfunction it is also used for sending the power consumption data remotely, for the subsequent issuance of the energybill. This latter function of the electricity meter (sending data remotely) creates many problems of both technical andlegal nature as the consumption shown in the display are not considered in the process of setting energy bills. Theseproblems affect public faith and the presence of estimated data in the bill is an indicator of unreliability of the billingsystem. The subject is dealt with the support of the decision of the supreme judges of the European High Court in asimilar case and a solution to this legal vacuum is proposed.


Understanding a user's motivations provides valuable information beyond the ability to recommend items. Quite often this can be accomplished by perusing both ratings and review texts, since it is the latter where the reasoning for specific preferences is explicitly expressed. Unfortunately matrix factorization approaches to recommendation result in large, complex models that are difficult to interpret and give recommendations that are hard to clearly explain to users. In contrast, in this paper, we attack this problem through succinct additive co-clustering. We devise a novel Bayesian technique for summing co-clusterings of joint Gaussian and Poisson distributions. With this novel technique we propose a new Bayesian model for joint collaborative filtering of ratings and text reviews through a sum of simple co-clusterings. Our model is non-parametric in the size of the co-clusterings and we offer a novel efficient sampling algorithm for learning the sum of Poisson distributions and the sum of Gaussian distributions. The simple structure of our model yields easily interpretable recommendations. Even with a simple, succinct structure, our model outperforms competitors in terms of predicting both ratings and reviews.


This study includes the direct influence of (single & multi) dose of Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) on the no. of platelets for mice for different exposure time (15, 30, 60, and 120) sec. the influence of CAP on mice was measured after 1, 2, 3, 7, and 14 day from exposure.The results obtained in this study indicate that the effect of low doses of CAP on platelets was stimulatory effect in the first few hours from exposure (1day) but the high dose was inhibitory, It was found that after two weeks of exposure that the number of platelets became normal comparable to the control one, and this indicates that plasma effect was removed after this period.


The Bounded-Diameter Minimum Spanning Tree (BDMST) problem is a hard combinatorial optimization problem with applications in network design. In this thesis, I present two Lagrangian relaxation approaches for the BDMST problem with even diameter bound in order to obtain lower bounds as well as heuristic solutions. The rst Lagrangian relaxation approach is based on the so called Predecessor-Depth model. In this model a solution is formulated by predecessor variables and depth variables. The relaxed constraints of this model can be listed explicitly. To solve the Lagrangian duals, Subgradient Optimization is employed. The second Lagrangian relaxation approach is based on the so called Predecessor-Jump model. In this model a solution is formulated by predecessor variables and jump constraints. There are exponentially many relaxed constraints in this model. Therefore they cannot be listed explicitly but are separated dynamically. Two different strategies to separate jump constraints are presented. To solve the Lagrangian duals a Relax-and-Cut approach is developed and Subgradient Optimization is employed. A set of benchmark instances used in the literature serve as input for computational experiments. The Lagrangian relaxation approach based on the Predecessor-Jump model produces signi cantly better lower bounds than the approach based on the Predecessor-Depth model. Subsequently, I compare the computed lower bounds to results from Gruber 2006. The lower bounds produced with the Lagrangian relaxation approach on the Predecessor-Jump model are, with one exception, always better than the values of the LP relaxation with cuts from Gruber 2006 but require substantially more time to compute. For two of the instances the optimal objective value is reached.


Current recommendations to consider initiation of palliative care (PC) in COPD patients are often based on an expected poor prognosis. However, this approach is not evidence-based, and which and when COPD patients should start PC is controversial. We aimed to assess whether current suggested recommendations for initiating PC were sufficiently reliable. We identified prognostic variables proposed in the literature for initiating PC; then, we ascertained their relationship with 1-year mortality, and finally, we validated their utility in our cohort of 697 patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation. From 24 articles of 499 screened, we selected 20 variables and retrieved 48 original articles in which we were able to calculate the relationship between each of them and 1-year mortality. The number of studies where 1-year mortality was detailed for these variables ranged from 9 for previous hospitalizations or FEV1 ≤30% to none for albumin ≤25 mg/dL. The percentage of 1-year mortality in the literature for these variables ranged from 5% to 60%. In the validation cohort study, the prevalence of these proposed variables ranged from 8% to 64%; only 10 of the 18 variables analyzed in our cohort reached statistical significance with Cox regression analysis, and none overcame an area under the curve ≥0.7. We conclude that none of the suggested criteria for initiating PC based on an expected poor vital prognosis in COPD patients in the short or medium term offers sufficient reliability, and consequently, they should be avoided as exclusive criteria for considering PC or at least critically appraised.


A study was conducted to determine the status and distribution of extractable Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in Haplustults in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area (LGA) of Gombe State, Nigeria. Composite soil samples representative of the soils in the LGA were collected from 0 - 15 and 15 - 30 cm depths of five locations (Hinna, Kanti, Jangargari, Gidan Waya and Dadin Kowa) and analyzed. Results indicate that the soils were dominantly sandy loam, very strongly to moderately acidic (pH = 4.7 - 5.9) and low in CEC (mean = 7.21 cmolkg-1), exchangeable bases (Means for Ca = 3.34, Mg = 0.71, K = 0.21, Na = 0.10 cmolkg-1) and organic carbon (mean = 7.27 g kg-1). Extractable Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn (in mgkg-1) were 0.48 - 0.75 (mean = 0.58), 0.18 - 0.26 (mean = 0.21), 18.40 - 21.91 (mean = 19.96), and 30. 54 - 38.58 (mean = 33.00), respectively. The micronutrients were neither significantly (P = 0.05) influenced by the depths nor locations. The Fe and Mn contents were above the critical limits for crop production in all the locations. Copper was low in soils from Hinna and Jangargari and will consequently benefit from its application. Zinc was, however, generally low and its application in all the locations are recommended for successful crop production in the area.

 Key words: Haplustults, micronutrients, distribution.


Healthcare is one of the largest and most important industries in the United States because it affects every individual in the nation. Numerous parties are stakeholders in healthcare, which contributes to the complexity of change efforts. Physicians and administrators play a significant role by providing direct care and influencing other decisions that impact the delivery of patient care. Success in the healthcare industry is influenced by numerous factors, some of which are controllable and others that are not. Understanding leadership and change management will be increasingly important to overcome resistance to change and to improve relationships, the core of leadership in an environment that will become more challenging. In what follows, different approaches to understanding leadership and change management are presented along with other leadership strategies to enhance the effectiveness of leaders. Raising leader awareness regarding transformational leadership behaviors and developing strategies to increase the use of these behaviors may be helpful to enhance organizational performance.


The Monterrey Salient formed as a result of uplift in the Mesa Central of Mexico and consequent gravitational sliding of the detached cover to the northeast during the Laramide orogeny. The salient is located south of Monterrey where the Sierra Madre Oriental orogenic belt arcs abruptly from an east-west to a north-south direction. It is composed of a series of arced, doubly plunging, en echelon anticlines, most of which are overturned to the north. Exposed in the area are Upper Jurassic carbonates and terrigenous rocks, and Lower Cretaceous carbonates. The salient also contains a few outcrops of Upper Jurassic evaporites which have flowed to the surface along fault planes. These evaporites, recognized as the Minas Viejas Group, are believed to be the decollement above wh ch the deformation occurred. A crustal shortening of 50% is calculated in the Monterrey Salient. Most of the shortening is attributed to folding, in as much as surprisingly few major thrust faults have been observed. Field work also demonstrates that structural trends are directly related to buttressing effects of paleohighs and thick sedimentary basins. On the basis of these structural trends and recent stratigraphic studies, the Mesozoic Coahuila peninsula is found to extend in the subsurface farther to the south than has previously been assumed. Both the stratigraphy and structural style make the Monterrey Salient a classic example of a gravity-induced orogenic belt. End_of_Article - Last_Page 544------------


The quantum localization in the quantum Hall regime is revisited using Graphene monolayers with accurate measurements of the longitudinal resistivity as a function of temperature and current. We experimentally show for the first time a cross-over from Efros-Shklovskii Variable Range Hopping (VRH) conduction regime with Coulomb interactions to a Mott VRH regime without interaction. This occurs at Hall plateau transitions for localization lengths larger than the interaction screening length set by the nearby gate. Measurements of the scaling exponents of the conductance peak widths with both temperature and current give the first validation of the Polyakov-Shklovskii scenario that VRH alone is sufficient to describe conductance in the Quantum Hall regime and that the usual assumption of a metallic conduction regime on conductance peaks is unnecessary.


Geo-replicated data platforms are the backbone of several large-scale online services. Transactional Causal Consistency (TCC) is an attractive consistency level for building such platforms. TCC avoids many anomalies of eventual consistency, eschews the synchronization costs of strong consistency, and supports interactive read-write transactions. Partial replication is another attractive design choice for building geo-replicated platforms, as it reduces storage requirements and update propagation costs. This paper presents PaRiS, the first TCC system that supports partial replication and implements non-blocking parallel read operations. The latter reduce read latency which is of paramount importance for the performance of read-intensive applications. PaRiS relies on a novel protocol to track dependencies, called Universal Stable Time (UST). By means of a lightweight background gossip process, UST identifies a snapshot of the data that has been installed by every data center (DC) in the system. Hence, transactions can consistently read from such a snapshot on any server in any replication site without having to block. Moreover, PaRiS requires only one timestamp to track dependencies and define transactional snapshots, thereby achieving resource efficiency and scalability. We evaluate PaRiS on an AWS deployment composed of up to 10 replication sites. We demonstrate a performance gain of non-blocking reads vs. a blocking alternative (up to 1.47x higher throughput with 5.91x lower latency for read-dominated workloads and up to 1.46x higher throughput with 20.56x lower latency for write-heavy workloads). We also show that the throughput penalty incurred to implement causal consistency, compared to variant without the causal consistency guarantees, is as low as 20% for read-heavy workloads and 37% for write-heavy workloads. We furthermore show that PaRiS scales well with the number of DCs and partitions, while being able to handle larger datasets than existing solutions that assume full replication.


Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are known for their capability to produce a wide range of natural compounds and some of them possess interesting bioactivities relevant for clinical application like antibiotics, anticancer, and immunosuppressive drugs. The diverse bioactivity of non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs) originates from their structural diversity, which results not only from the incorporation of non-proteinogenic amino acids into the growing peptide chain, but also the formation of heterocycles or further peptide modifications like methylation, hydroxylation and acetylation. The biosynthesis of NRPs is achieved via the orchestrated interplay of distinct catalytic domains, which are grouped to modules that are located on one or more polypeptide chains. Each cycle starts with the selection and activation of a specific amino acid by the adenylation (A) domain, which catalyzes the aminoacyl adenylate formation under ATP consumption. This activated amino acid is then bound via a thioester bond to the 4'-phosphopantetheine cofactor (PPant-arm) of the following thiolation (T) domain. Before substrate loading, the PPant-arm is post-translationally added to the T domain by a phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPTase), which converts the inactive apo-T domain in its active holo-form. In the last step of the catalytic cycle, two T domain bound peptide building blocks are connected by the condensation (C) domain, resulting in peptide bond formation and transfer of the nascent peptide chain to the following module. Each catalytic cycle is performed by a C-A-T elongation module until the termination module with a C-terminal thioesterase (TE) domain is reached. Here, the peptide product is released by hydrolysis or intramolecular cyclisation. In comparison to single-protein NRPSs, where all modules are encoded on a single polypeptide chain, multi-protein NRPS systems must also maintain a specific module order during the peptide biosynthesis. Therefore, small C-terminal and N-terminal communication-mediating (COM) domains/docking domains (DD) were identified in the C- and N-terminal regions of multi-protein NRPSs. It was shown that these domains mediate specific and selective non-covalent protein-protein interaction, even though DD interactions are generally characterized by low affinities. The first publication of this work focuses on the Peptide-Antimicrobial-Xenorhabdus peptide-producing NRPS called PaxS, which consists of the three proteins PaxA, PaxB and PaxC. Here, in particular the trans DD interface between the C-terminal attached DD of PaxB and N-terminal attached DD of PaxC was structurally investigated and thermodynamically characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), yielding a dissociation constant (KD) of ~25 µM, which is a DD typical affinity known from further characterized DD pairs. The artificial linking of the PaxB/C C/NDD pair via a glycine-serine (GS) linker facilitated the structure determination of the DD complex by solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In comparison to known docking domain structures, this DD complex assembles in a completely new fold which is characterized by a central α-helix of PaxC NDD wrapped in two V-shaped α-helices of PaxB CDD. The first manuscript of this work focuses on the application of synthetic zippers (SZ) to mimic natural docking domains, enabling the easy assembly of NRPS building blocks encoded on different plasmids in a functional way. Here, the high-affinity interaction of SZs unambiguously defines the order of the synthetases derived from single-protein NRPSs in the engineered NRPS system and allows the recombination in a plug-and-play manner. Notably, the SZ engineering strategy even facilitates the functional assembly of NRPSs derived from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, the functional incorporation of SZs into NRPS modules is not limited to a specific linker region, so we could introduce them within all native NRPS linker regions (A-T, T-C, C-A). The second publication and the second manuscript of this thesis again focus on the multi-protein PaxS, in particular on the trans interface between the proteins PaxA and PaxB on a molecular level by solution NMR. Therefore, the PaxA CDD adjacent T domain was included into the structural investigation besides the native interaction partner PaxB NDD. Before a three-dimensional structure could be obtained from NMR data, the NH groups located in the peptide bonds had to be assigned to the respective amino acids of the proteins (backbone assignment). Based on these backbone assignments, the secondary structure of PaxA T1-CDD and PaxB NDD in the absence and presence of the respective interaction partner were predicted. The structural and functional characterization of the PaxA T1-CDD:PaxB NDD complex is summarized in manuscript two. The thermodynamic analysis of this complex by ITC determined a KD value of ~250 nM, whereas the discrete DDs did not interact at all. The high-affinity interaction allowed to determine the solution NMR structure of the PaxA T1-CDD:PaxB NDD complex without the covalent linkage of the interaction partners and an extended docking domain interface could be determined. This interface comprises on the one hand α-helix 4 of the PaxA T1 domain together with the α-helical CDD, and on the other hand the PaxB NDD, which is composed of two α-helices separated by a sharp bend. ...


FTY720 has been used to control inflammatory lesions, but the mechanisms by which the drug acts in vivo are poorly understood. Such mechanisms may result primarily from effects on lymphocyte and dendritic cell homing to lymphoid and inflammatory sites. We demonstrate that FTY720 may also act by causing the conversion of TCR-stimulated nonregulatory CD4+ T cells to Foxp3+CD4+ regulatory T cells and by enhancing their suppressive activity. In a model in which mice were ocularly infected with HSV, daily treatment with FTY720 resulted in significantly diminished ocular lesions. The treated animals showed increased frequencies of Foxp3+ T cells in lymphoid organs and at two inflammatory sites, namely cornea and trigeminal ganglia. In a second series of experiments, immunized DO11.10RAG2−/− animals, normally lacking endogenous Foxp3+ T cells, that were given FTY720 treatment developed high frequencies of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in lymph nodes. Some converted cells persisted in treated animals for several weeks after drug administration was discontinued. Finally, FTY720 could effectively induce Foxp3-expressing cells from Foxp3− cells in vitro, an effect inhibited by anti-TGF-β or the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6. Accordingly, the anti-inflammatory effects of FTY720 could be mediated at least in part by its ability to cause the conversion of Ag-stimulated conventional T cells to become Foxp3+ regulators. The use of FTY720 along with Ag administration could represent a useful therapeutic means to selectively expand Ag-specific regulators, which could be valuable in many clinical situations such as allotransplants, some autoimmunities, as well as with some chronic infections.


This paper describes a Shuttle Derived Vehicle (SDV) launch system presently being studied for the NASA by Martin Marietta Aerospace which capitalizes on existing Shuttle hardware elements to provide increased accommodations for payload weight, payload volume, or both. The SDV configuration utilizes the existing solid rocket boosters, external tank and the Space Shuttle main engines but replaces the manned orbiter with an unmanned, remotely controlled cargo carrier. This cargo carrier substitution more than doubles the performance capability of the orbiter system and is realistically achievable for minimal cost. The advantages of the SDV are presented in terms of performance and economics. Based on these considerations, it is concluded that an unmanned SDV offers a most attractive complement to the present Space Transportation System.


In this study, the term 'World-Class Universities per capita' or 'WCUs per capita' is created and defined as the number of world-class universities available in a country divided by its population. To date, it is known that global university rankings are solely the numerical measures of world-class universities. ARWU is chosen as the benchmark of wold-class universities (WCUs) among the university ranking methodologies available based on the assumption that universities listed under Top 500 are WCUs. Simple regression analysis is carried out to determine the correlation between WCUs per capita and GDP per capita as well as GDP growth. The results show that WCUs per capita is strongly correlated to the nation's GDP per capita. However, the WCUs per capita has an insignificant effect on GDP growth. There is a pronounced increase in significance level when the ranking lists are expanded from the Top 100 to Top 500. This suggests that it is crucial for a nation to increase the number of WCUs (listed in the Top 500) in order to attain a higher GDP per capita, rather than having a few elite WCUs in the Top 100. In addition, 'freedom from corruption' is the most significant institutional factor when institutional factors are added into the regression model, followed by 'property rights', 'business freedom' and 'investment freedom'.


Trifoliate orange seed extracts (TSEs) were prepared from different solvents, water (TW), ethanol (TE), and n-hexane (TH), and assessed for their antimicrobial activities against six gram-negative food-borne pathogens (Escherichia coli KCTC 1039, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43895, Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 3311, Salmonella Typhimurium KCCM 11862, Shigella sonnei KCTC 2518, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802). Among the tested TSEs, TE and TH showed a slight inhibition activity on V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802, but a good growth inhibition activity on Sal. Typhimurium KCCM 11862. TH and TE showed steady growth inhibition activity with increasing growth time after 6 hr when compared to the control (p<0.05). From these results, we confirmed the possibility of TH and TE as antimicrobial materials.


Genetic and epigenetic changes drive carcinogenesis, and their integrated analysis provides insights into mechanisms of cancer development. Computational methods have been developed to measure copy number variation (CNV) from methylation array data, including ChAMP-CNV, CN450K, and, introduced here, Epicopy. Using paired single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and methylation array data from the public The Cancer Genome Atlas repository, we optimized CNV calling and benchmarked the performance of these methods. We optimized the thresholds of all three methods and showed comparable performance across methods. Using Epicopy as a representative analysis of Illumina450K array, we show that Illumina450K-derived CNV methods achieve a sensitivity of 0.7 and a positive predictive value of 0.75 in identifying CNVs, which is similar to results achieved when comparing competing SNP microarray platforms with each other.


Artificial Immune System (AIS) is relatively naive paradigm for intelligent computations. The inspiration for AIS is derived from natural Immune System (IS). Classically it is believed that IS strives to discriminate between self and non-self. Most of the existing AIS research is based on this approach. Danger Theory (DT) argues this approach and proposes that IS fights against danger producing elements and tolerates others. We, the computational researchers, are not concerned with the arguments among immunologists but try to extract from it novel abstractions for intelligent computation. This paper aims to follow DT inspiration for intelligent data processing. The approach may introduce new avenue in intelligent processing. The data used is system calls data that is potentially significant in intrusion detection applications. Keywords—artificial immune system, danger theory, intelligent processing, system calls


ABSTRACT The present study had the objective to investigate the equilibrium, kinetics, thermodynamic viability and system optimization of methylene blue (MB) and eriochrome black T (ET) biosorption onto Fucus vesiculosus (F. vesiculosus). A comprehensive bioadsorbent characterization was carried out. The infrared spectra suggested a physical biosorption mechanism that was later proven by the enthalpy change and the isotherms models. Furthermore, the process was best described by Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models, indicating the monolayer formation and the linear reduction of the heat of biosorption with the coverage degree. F. vesiculosus presented a maximum biosorption capacity of 698.477 mg·g−1 for MB, and 24.306 mg·g−1 for ET. Regarding kinetics, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the best fitted model. In addition, the film diffusion was confirmed as the process limiting step. The model's optimization was achieved in order to maximize the removal efficiency, corresponding to 99.28% for MB and 99.44% for ET. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT