The adhesion of circulating cancer cells to vascular endothelium is an important step in the hematogenous metastasis of cancer. Until recently, it has been believed that carbohydrate antigens are expressed on cancer cells, and E-selectin is expressed on endothelial cells to effect this adhesion. We investigated the gene expression of fucosyl-transferase (Fuc-T) and sialyltransferase (ST), which are involved in the synthesis of sialyl Lewisx (s-Lex) in breast cancer by using Northern blot analysis. The concentration of s-Lex in the cancerous portion was increased, compared to that in the adjacent non-cancerous portion. A correlation was found between the concentration of s-Lex and the amount of Fuc-T VI message in 9 cases of breast cancer tissue. Expression of the Fuc-T III message was found in only one case who expressed s-Lea. No expression of the Fuc-T V or VII message was observed. There was no relationship between the concentration of s-Lex and the amount of ST3N and ST4 transcripts. Similar findings were obtained from an analysis using cell lines derived from human breast cancer. When Fuc-T VI gene was transfected to MCF-7 cells, the expression of s-Lex was markedly induced on MCF-7 cells, and the attachment of cancer cells to endothelial cells was enhanced. These findings suggest that Fuc-T VI is chiefly involved in the synthesis of s-Lex on breast cancer cells.


CMS has a two level trigger system. The first stage is hardware based and provides fast trigger decisions up to a rate 100 kHz. The second stage, known as the High-Level Trigger, is entirely software based and required to provide a trigger decision within 40 ms and a rejection factor of a thousand to achieve a write-to-disk rate of 100 Hz. One of the most CPU-intensive tasks within the High-Level Trigger is the reconstruction of tracking hits using raw data from the strip tracker. This study profiles the performance of these reconstruction algorithms. Even at low luminosities, the average processing time is 5.5 s, which already exceeds the HLT budget. A new schema, optimised for speed and performance, has been developed to reconstruct hits within regions-of-interest only. For the entire sub-detector, hit reconstruction times are reduced to 140 ms. Since only 10 % of High-Level Trigger events are expected to require track reconstruction, the average contribution per event is then ∼14 ms i.e. 30 % of the full budget. Regional reconstruction is tested over Z0 → e+e− events, by unpacking in η-ϕ windows of 0.16 × 0.16 around seeds identified in the calorimeter. In this case, only 2 ± 1 % of the silicon strip tracker raw data is reconstructed in 5 ± 3 ms (or an average contribution per event of 0.5 ms) whilst maintaining 99 % of the original dielectron trigger efficiency.


| 93 from its birthplace. Navigating through the demonization and politicization of Black hair in America, Tharps also highlights Black hair's resilience as well as the continued strength and creativity of the Black community. Dr. Ingrid Banks, author of Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women's Consciousness, examines the painting "Internal Battle" by artist and illustrator Keturah Ariel. In this analysis, Dr. Banks references a number of notable figures including W. E. B. Du Bois, Anita Hill, Dr. Willie Morrow, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Madame C.J. Walker, and Angela Davis. Ariel's painting presents a young woman whose hair, parted down the middle, is stylized straight with blue highlights on the left and in a natural, mid-size afro on the right. The woman wears a pink tank top, gold chain necklace, and a look of indecision on her face. Banks describes how Ariel's portrait of a young woman captures the all-too-familiar fear around Black hair stylization. Since enslavement, Black hair has been historically subjected to and policed by Eurocentric standards of beauty. This perpetual discrimination, in turn, has challenged the Black community's freedom to wear any coiffure as they so choose. While Banks goes into greater detail in her essay, "Internal Battle" presents a snapshot of the complex dynamics connected to hair texture and grooming. Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka, a hairstylist, therapist, and assistant professor of psychology at the University of the District of Columbia, begins by providing an explanation for hair texture variation. She then transitions to the traditional care, rituals, and varied significance hair embodied in African societies. During and after colonization and enslavement, Black hair was often manipulated to achieve unnatural textures in order to meet new societal standards. These efforts resulted not only in damaged hair, scalp, and skin but also psychological injury. Mbilishaka advocates that what is needed now are texture-positive counter-narratives and conjoined efforts by psychologists and hair care providers. While Mbilishaka celebrates the larger Black is Beautiful and #TeamNatural movements, it is also encouraging to see the existence of groups like "My Black is Beautiful," their support of TEXTURES, and the presence of P&G and L'Oréal as sponsors. The "New World" societal standards discussed in Dr. Mbilishaka's essay are developed further by Zoé Samudzi. She argues that one of the reasons Western standards of beauty took on global power was because Western society feigned ignorance and explicitly rejected the idea that Africa possessed any signs of development. This mentality both justified the damage of imperialism and chattel slavery and labeled textured hair as ugly and unruly. Hair that was stylized and prized in Africa was now forcibly removed and criminalized abroad. While hair strands are dead entities, they have always been alive in cultural connotations and meaning-making. Samudzi takes pride that today, as different as her closely cropped hair may be from that of the Himba woman's indigenous expression, "we both understand our respective presentation as the pinnacle of feminine beauty to different degrees" (p. 42). Black hair is resilient, diverse, and something to be admired. Dr. Joseph L. Underwood, co-curator of TEXTURES, finishes the collection of essays with a reflection on Black hair and photography. Dr. Underwood recounts the tendency by White photographers during colonial and postcolonial eras to capture Black individuals on film without their permission and in ways that served personal agendas. But Dr. Underwood follows this preface with the reminder that artists from Africa and its Diaspora have worked behind the lens too. His essay proceeds to introduce three Black photographers: British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor, Senegalese artist Ibrahima Thiam, and Cleveland-based American artist Amber N. Ford. In "The Massacre of the Innocents... No. XXIV" by Lina Iris Viktor, Viktor both grieves and reclaims agency over the Black bodies once photographed against their will by European ethnologists. Ibrahima Thiam brings newfound life and attention to the work of early West African photographers in his "Vintage Portrait" series. Amber N. Ford documents the intimate, imperfect layers (tracks) of synthetic hair in her photos "Pronto" and "Feeders" as a nod to the way these accessories weave into identity. While the practice and past of photography will always have its flaws, the work and inclusion of diverse Black photographers will continue reframing fraught narratives and envisioning brighter futures. While the subject of Black hair is hard to exhaust, the work of TEXTURES establishes a strong framework and gives Black hair the attention it deserves. For those without much familiarity on the topic, the succinct string of essays and categorized objects provide a substantial survey introduction. The essays from contributing content specialists strategically build on one another and the inclusion of new work created specifically for the show guarantees something new for everyone. Should a reader desire to dive deeper, most featured artists have additional work involving Black hair and there is a seven-page bibliography at the close of the book, not to mention source notes at the end of each essay.


CONTENTS I. Introduction 346 II. What is the Faraday effect? 346 III. Experimental arrangement and accuracy of measurements 347 IV. The Faraday effect and the additive properties of matter 348 V. Magneto-optical investigation of conjugation phenomena 351 VI. The Faraday effect and three-dimensional conjugation 356 VII. Donor–acceptor σ bonds 357 VIII. Donor–acceptor (σ + π) bonds 359 IX. The Faraday effect and conformational analysis 362 X. The Faraday effect and the study of non-isolated complexes in solution 363 XI. The Faraday effect and Van Vleck ferromagnetism 363


Abstract. To quantitatively reconstruct the kinematic evolution of Central and Eastern Anatolia within the framework of Neotethyan subduction accommodating Africa–Eurasia convergence, we paleomagnetically assess the timing and amount of vertical axis rotations across the Ulukisla and Sivas regions. We show paleomagnetic results from ∼ 30 localities identifying a coherent rotation of a SE Anatolian rotating block comprised of the southern Kirsehir Block, the Ulukisla Basin, the Central and Eastern Taurides, and the southern part of the Sivas Basin. Using our new and published results, we compute an apparent polar wander path (APWP) for this block since the Late Cretaceous, showing that it experienced a ∼ 30–35° counterclockwise vertical axis rotation since the Oligocene time relative to Eurasia. Sediments in the northern Sivas region show clockwise rotations. We use the rotation patterns together with known fault zones to argue that the counterclockwise-rotating domain of south-central Anatolia was bounded by the Savcili Thrust Zone and Deliler–Tecer Fault Zone in the north and by the African–Arabian trench in the south, the western boundary of which is poorly constrained and requires future study. Our new paleomagnetic constraints provide a key ingredient for future kinematic restorations of the Anatolian tectonic collage.


SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY Department for Evaluation and Internal Audit Address: SE-105 25 Stockholm, Sweden. Visiting address: Sveavagen 20, Stockholm. Tel: +46 8 698 50 00. Fax: +46 8 20 88 64. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com www.sida.se Looking at Swedish development cooperation with three countries in East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, this study tries to find out how a longstanding Swedish policy of facilitating and promoting partner country ownership of development aid has been translated into practice. In each country, half a dozen projects and programs are examined in depth.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is now dominated by variant lineages; the resulting impact on disease severity remains unclear. Using a retrospective cohort study, we assessed the risk of hospitalization following infection with nine variants of concern or interest (VOC/VOI). Methods: Our study includes individuals with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR in the Washington Disease Reporting System and with available viral genome data, from December 1, 2020 to July 30, 2021. The main analysis was restricted to cases with specimens collected through sentinel surveillance. Using a Cox proportional hazards model with mixed effects, we estimated hazard ratios (HR) for the risk of hospitalization following infection with a VOC/VOI, adjusting for age, sex, and vaccination status. Findings: Of the 27,814 cases, 23,170 (83.3%) were sequenced through sentinel surveillance, of which 726 (3.1%) were hospitalized due to COVID-19. Higher hospitalization risk was found for infections with Gamma (HR 3.17, 95% CI 2.15-4.67), Beta (HR: 2.97, 95% CI 1.65-5.35), Delta (HR: 2.30, 95% CI 1.69-3.15), and Alpha (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.26-1.99) compared to infections with an ancestral lineage. Following VOC infection, unvaccinated patients show a similar higher hospitalization risk, while vaccinated patients show no significant difference in risk, both when compared to unvaccinated, ancestral lineage cases. Interpretation: Infection with a VOC results in a higher hospitalization risk, with an active vaccination attenuating that risk. Our findings support promoting hospital preparedness, vaccination, and robust genomic surveillance.


Anet is a network of scientific libraries located in
 Antwerp, Belgium. Among the connected institutions are research, higher
 education and museum libraries. In 2014 was decided to adopt a new subject
 heading system for cataloging the library collections with an art or heritage
 scope. The Art & Architecture Thesaurus® (maintained by the Getty Research
 Institute) was eventually selected, under the express condition that it can be
 used in a flexible way by the libraries. The local subject heading systems
 (terminologies) were converted to the new authority environment (Anet-AAT).
 Manual mapping was performed because of the different application as subject
 heading system and the opportunity to acquaint the librarians with AAT. Future
 challenges for the Anet-AAT vocabulary consist of staying updated with changes
 that occur in the 'Mother AAT' (Getty Vocabularies) and adding to its content to
 create more library specific subjects - AAT is presently quite focused on the
 description of (museum) objects. The content pf ATT is quite well suited for
 indexing the special libraries. Nevertheless, the usage by the network did bring
 to light issues in the structure of AAT, particularly some concerning the Dutch
 translation. The necessity to address these issues has resulted in regular
 contacts between Anet and the RKD-Netherlands Institute for Art History that
 manages the Dutch translation of the AAT. The adaptation of AAT by Anet has
 proven to be a promising showcase for the potential of this 'museum thesaurus'
 as a subject heading system for libraries as well.


Abstract Agile transformation is identified as a facilitator to keep pace with frequent changes within product development. Although initial research exists, the empirical literature on the implementation process of the agile approach, specifically using pilot projects as a change strategy, is scarce. The purpose of this article is to contribute to closing this gap by investigating into effects of piloting agile change projects. To shed light on agile pilots a project within the context of mechatronic system development in the high-tech industry was accompanied over six months. After the initiation of the members and a period of practicing agile a survey was performed. The interviewed team members are bringing up interesting findings, as although they had a different understanding of agile at the beginning of the pilot, they recognized agile values, principles and methods as supportive to the products cycle and specifically development time. Further findings are indicating that professional third-party support is a key success factor. Also piloting, as a change strategy for agile adoption, is proven to be supportive. Although piloting is proven a supportive strategy, the downsides, such as limited scalability caused by extraordinary setups, are identified and analyzed. The limiting factor of this single-case study is the small sample size of data due to the intention of the pilot project to limit impact and risk on the organization.


The human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes possesses a chromosomal region, the mga regulon, that contains co-regulated genes important to the virulence of these bacteria. A novel gene located in the mga regulon of a S. pyogenes strain of serotype M1 was cloned and sequenced. It translates into a protein of 305 amino acid residues, including a signal sequence of 32 amino acids and a central region consisting of three tandem repeats. The sequence represents a novel structure with no significant homology to any previously published sequence. The protein was purified from the streptococcal culture media where it is present in substantial amounts. Affinity chromatography of human plasma on Sepharose coupled with the protein specifically adsorbed two plasma proteins which were identified as clusterin and histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG). The interactions between the streptococcal protein and the plasma proteins were further characterized using purified clusterin and HRG. Inhibition experiments indicated that they have affinity for overlapping or closely located sites in the streptococcal protein. Both clusterin and HRG are regulators of the membrane attack complex (C5b-C9) of complement. When the streptococcal protein was added to serum, complement-mediated lysis of sensitized sheep erythrocytes and guinea pig erythrocytes was inhibited. In addition, the streptococcal protein was incorporated into C5b-C9 in serum, indicating the location of its action. The name, protein SIC, streptococcal inhibitor of complement-mediated lysis, is therefore suggested for this novel protein. The occurrence of protein SIC and its gene was investigated in a collection of S. pyogenes strains comprising 55 different M serotypes. Only M1 and M57 strains were positive in this screening, indicating that protein SIC could be a virulence determinant. Thus, during recent years, the M1 serotype has been connected with a world-wide increase of severe and toxic S. pyogenes infections.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA

3345

The cytosolic and mitochondrial deoxynucleoside kinases (dNK) as well as 5'deoxynucleotidases (5'-dNT): CN I, CN II and dNT1 in cytosol and dNT2 in mitochondria, are enzyme that control rate- limiting steps in intracellular and intra mitochondrial phosphorylation of natural nucleotides as well as nucleoside analogues used in antiviral and cancer chemotherapy. In order to clarify the enzymes distribution profiles in two commonly used animal models in cytostatic drug studies, the activity of 5'-dNTs were determined in 14 different mouse and rat tissues using selective measurement method by HPLC. The activity of 5'NTs (CN I, CNII and dNT1) were detected with 2-4 fold variation between mouse and rat. Mouse dNT1 activity was 2-4 fold higher than rat in all tissues except spleen and cardiac. The highest dNT1 activity was found in brain tissue of mouse which was 4 fold higher than in rat and the most active tissue in rat was spleen which was 2 fold higher than in mouse. In case of CN II also mouse tissues activity was 2-3 fold higher than rat in testis, spleen, pancreas and diaphragm, but rat lung CN II activity was 2 fold higher than mouse. Testis had the highest CN II activity but was detected 2.5 folds higher in mouse. The variation of CN I activity was negligible between rat and mouse. The result suggest that a major difference in 5'-nucleotidases activity profiles between mouse and rat may account for discrepancies in pharmacological response of the two animals to certain nucleoside compounds.


Despite recent advances in our understanding of chromatin ultrastructure, little is known of the arrangement of chromosomes during interphase, the portion of the cell cycle associated with somatic gene transcription. An experimental procedure is described which has allowed the determination of the nature of the relative arrangement during interphase of chromosomes in a specific diploid cell type of Drosophila, the salivary gland anlage of the 10–14-h-old embryo. At this stage of development the salivary gland cells have ceased mitotic divisions. Embryos of 10–14 h in age were irradiated with 12000 rads of gamma radiation and then allowed to develop into third instar larvae. The polytene chromosomes of these larvae were examined for radiation-induced interchanges. From the distribution of observed interchanges, three major features of interphase chromosome arrangement were inferred. (1) Each euchromatic chromosomal arm occupies a specific domain within the interphase nucleus which does not appreciably overlap with those of other arms. (2) Within these chromosomal domains DNA folding is very extensive. (3) The heterochromatic regions of each chromosomal arm are sequestered from the euchromatic regions. An additional point of interest concerns the nature of the interchanges observed. No reciprocal interchanges were observed – all appeared to be partial exchanges, possibly subchromatid interchanges involving only one DNA strand from each of the two exchange sites.


Several subsidiary control problems have turned out to be important for improving driveability and fuel consumption in modern spark ignition (SI) engine cars. Among these are idle speed control and cruise control. In this paper the idle speed and cruise control problems will be treated as one: accurately tracking of a desired engine speed in the presence of model uncertainties and severe load disturbances. This is accomplished by using advanced nonlinear control techniques such as input/output-linearization and sliding mode control. These techniques take advantage of a nonlinear model of the engine dynamics, a mean value engine model.


In this paper we analyse the role of government in relation to the development of entrepreneurship in countries where private business activity was illegal until the beginning of the 1990s. By focusing on Estonia and Belarus we are concerned with countries with an ostensibly similar political heritage, yet with contrasting experiences during the post-Soviet period. Various authors have argued the need for entrepreneurship research to acknowledge the heterogeneity of environmental conditions, outcomes, and behaviours that exist with respect to entrepreneurship. Government policies and actions are a key element contributing to the heterogeneity of external conditions in which entrepreneurship occurs and are thus part of social embeddedness. The findings have implications for policy makers in transition and developing countries by emphasising the variety of ways in which the state can influence the nature and pace of private business development and the central role of institutional behaviour in this process. The findings also have implications for researchers interested in extending analysis of entrepreneurship into a wide range of business environments.


Long-term care work is known for its difficult working conditions, with potential implications
for workers' well being. In England, long-term care policies are moving progressively towards
marketisation, while public social care funding is under considerable strain. Little evidence exists
on the job demand and control of long-term care workers who provide personal and direct care
to adults and older people. The article uses survey data from long-term care workers in England (n
= 991) to examine the levels of, and differentials in, job strain among long-term care workers. The
findings highlight the vulnerability of certain groups of workers, with potential negative impacts
on their well being.


Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search (ANNS) plays a critical role in various disciplines spanning data mining and artificial intelligence, from information retrieval and computer vision to natural language processing and recommender systems. Data volumes have soared in recent years and the computational cost of an exhaustive exact nearest neighbor search is often prohibitive, necessitating the adoption of approximate techniques. The balanced performance and recall of graph-based approaches have more recently garnered significant attention in ANNS algorithms, however, only a few studies have explored harnessing the power of GPUs and multi-core processors despite the widespread use of massively parallel and general-purpose computing. To bridge this gap, we introduce a novel parallel computing hardware-based proximity graph and search algorithm. By leveraging the high-performance capabilities of modern hardware, our approach achieves remarkable efficiency gains. In particular, our method surpasses existing CPU and GPU-based methods in constructing the proximity graph, demonstrating higher throughput in both large- and small-batch searches while maintaining compatible accuracy. In graph construction time, our method, CAGRA, is 2.2~27x faster than HNSW, which is one of the CPU SOTA implementations. In large-batch query throughput in the 90% to 95% recall range, our method is 33~77x faster than HNSW, and is 3.8~8.8x faster than the SOTA implementations for GPU. For a single query, our method is 3.4~53x faster than HNSW at 95% recall.


Myofascial pain is a regional neuromuscular dysfunction of multifactorial etiology that is characterized by the presence of trigger points. It is a common cause of chronic pain and a frequent finding in clinical medicine. The proposed therapeutic procedures aim to reduce pain intensity, inactivate trigger points, rehabilitate muscles and preventively eliminate perpetuating factors. The search for effective treatments and non-invasive options is a topic of ongoing study and, among the proposed therapeutic modalities, laser therapy remains controversial. Objective: To analyze the history of laser therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain, the evolution of research on its effectiveness and the establishment of treatment protocols. Methodology: Analytical study of randomized and controlled clinical trials, double-blinded or single-blinded, describing the effects of laser therapy for myofascial pain or myofascial trigger points, published between 2009 and 2013, and available in the databases PUBMED, MEDLINE, LILACS, IBECS, Cochrane Library, KSCI and SciELO. Results: Regarding the effectiveness of laser therapy for the treatment in question, both positive results and results at the same level as the placebo were observed in the studies. The heterogeneity of the trials does not allow the determination of optimal laser parameters for treatment. Conclusion: According to the data from clinical trials conducted in the last five years, it is still not possible to provide definitive conclusions about the effects of laser therapy for myofascial pain or to establish correlations between the observed results and the parameters employed.


In their default state, a Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) operates in the ISM band. There exist idle durations, also referred to as white spaces, in many licensed bands which could be taken advantage of by a WMN for better spectral efficiency. Use of cognitive radio in a WMN would enable Mesh Routers (MRs) that experience bad channel conditions, to shift operation to a licensed spectrum. This opportunistic sharing of white spaces results in higher spectral efficiency as well as reduced traffic volume in the ISM band. Recent research only considers using omni-directional antenna at each Mesh Client (MC). This can be inefficient, especially in case of a Cognitive WMN (CWMN) when it shifts operation to the licensed band and imposes inadmissible interference on licensed users. We study the performance improvement of a CWMN by employing smart antenna in each MC. In other words, our proposed architectural design with spatial selectivity encourages load sharing among numerous MRs in the ISM band, as well as increases throughput. Through extensive simulations, our research work analyzes the interference caused to licensed users while using omni-directional antenna. Finally, we compare scenarios where each MC in a WMN is equipped with omni-directional, directional, and smart antenna.


Case-based learning has drawn a lot of attention in medical education because it is a student-centered teaching model that exposes students to real-world situations that they must answer using their reasoning abilities and prior theoretical knowledge. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to see how successful case-based learning is in medical and pharmacy education. For that purpose, the PubMed and Medline databases were searched for related research through April 2023, and the qualifying papers were chosen using a thorough selection procedure based on PRISMA technique. 21 randomized controlled trials comparing case-based learning to other teaching methodologies used to educate medical and pharmacy students were found as a result of the current search. The highest percentage of selected studies has been conducted in USA (33%) followed by China (24%). The comprehensive analysis of each parameter from chosen studies revealed a high level of heterogeneity (I2=93%, p<0.00001). Between case-based learning and traditional learning, random effects models revealed a significant difference in academic performance. Case-based learning, when compared to other techniques, can increase medical and pharmacy undergraduate students' academic performance as well as their capacity to analyze cases. It can be concluded that case-based learning is an active teaching method.


To support the emerging next era of mobile wireless networks, researchers have made a great deal of efforts in promising techniques in multimedia services — the statistical quality of service (QoS) technique, which has been proved to be effective in statistically guaranteeing delay-bounded video transmissions over the time-varying wireless channels. On the other hand, as the 5G-promising techniques, the device-to-device (D2D) assisted mobile traffic offloading and caching techniques have also been proposed to significantly improve the overall system capacity as well as mitigate the traffic congestion at the base stations for the real-time traffic over 5G wireless networks. However, how to efficiently integrate these advanced techniques in supporting the statistical QoS requirements have imposed many new challenges not met before. To effectively overcome the aforementioned problems, in this paper we propose the statistical QoS-driven power adaptation scheme for the distributed caching assisted mobile offloading scheme over 5G wireless networks. In particular, under the Nakagami-m fading model, we establish the system models for the D2D assisted caching and the partial in-network transcoding. Given the statistical QoS constraints, we derive and analyze the effective capacity under our developed optimal adaptation policies for cache-enabled D2D assisted mobile offloading system under 5G wireless networks. Also conducted is a set of simulations which show that our proposed scheme outperforms the other existing schemes to efficiently implement the statistical QoS requirements over cache-enabled 5G wireless networks.


At present, Nation, which is a perfluorinated polymer, is one of the few materials that deliver the set of chemical and mechanical properties required to perform as a good electrolyte in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, Nation presents some disadvantages, such as limiting the operational temperature of the fuel system (So°C), because of its inability to retain water at higher temperatures and also suffers chemical crossover. In addition to these restrictions, Nation membranes are very expensive. Reducing costs and using environmentally friendly materials are good reasons to make a research effort in this field in order to achieve similar or even better fuel-cell performances. Glass materials of the ternary system SiO2-ZrO2-P2O5, hybrid materials based on Nation, and nanopore ceramic membranes based on SiO2 TiO2, Al2O3, etc. are considered at present, as promising candidates to replace Nation as the electrolyte in PEMFCs. These types of materials are generally prepared by sol-gel processes in order to tailor their channel-porous structure and pore size. In this communication, the possible candidates in the near future as electrolytes (including other polymers different than Nation) in PEMFCs are briefly reviewed. Their preparation methods, their electrical transport properties and conduction mechanisms are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of these materials with respect to Nation are also discussed.


We analyze the resolved stellar populations of 473 massive star-forming galaxies at 0.7 < z < 1.5, with multiwavelength broadband imaging from CANDELS andHalpha surface brightness profiles at the same kiloparsec resolution from 3D-HST. Together, this unique data set sheds light on how the assembled stellar mass is distributed within galaxies, and where new stars are being formed. We find the Halpha morphologies to resemble more closely those observed in the ACS I band than in the WFC3 H band, especially for the larger systems. We next derive a novel prescription for Halpha dust corrections, which accounts for extra extinction toward H II regions. The prescription leads to consistent star formation rate (SFR) estimates and reproduces the observed relation between the Halpha/UV luminosity ratio and visual extinction, on both a pixel-by-pixel and a galaxy-integrated level. We find the surface density of star formation to correlate with the surface density of assembled stellar mass for spatially resolved regions within galaxies, akin to the so-called "main sequence of star formation" established on a galaxy-integrated level. Deviations from this relation toward lower equivalent widths are found in the inner regions of galaxies. Clumps and spiral features, on the other hand, are associated with enhanced H alpha equivalent widths, bluer colors, and higher specific SFRs compared to the underlying disk. Their Halpha/UV luminosity ratio is lower than that of the underlying disk, suggesting that the ACS clump selection preferentially picks up those regions of elevated star formation activity that are the least obscured by dust. Our analysis emphasizes that monochromatic studies of galaxy structure can be severely limited by mass-to-light ratio variations due to dust and spatially inhomogeneous star formation histories.


This study aims to assess patterns, variability, and trends of rainfall and meteorological drought and identify the different climatic zones using 42-year monthly TerraClimate gridded precipitation data at 23 sites distributed to cover the entire Congo River Basin. The spatial distribution of seasonal rainfall and the Köppen climate classifications indicated that the Congo River Basin has three main climatic zones. Where the highest rainfall is received in zone A (north of 2.5°N) during June–August (JJA), in zone B (3.5°S–2.5°N) during March–May (MAM) and September–November (SON), and in zone C (south of 3.5°S) during December–February (DJF). The Mann–Kendall (M–K) trend analysis of seasonal and annual patterns of rainfall and standardized precipitation drought index (SPI) revealed that there were significant negative trends in most of the three climatic Congo zones except for slight positive trends in small parts within zone C, especially during JJA, which are found sometimes in zone B. Finally, the three Congo climatic zones are characterized by negative trends for seasonal and annual data of both rainfall and the SPI, indicating increased drought risks in the Congo Basin except for small parts in zone C which have positive (wet) trends, especially during JJA followed by DJF.


The growing interest of several industrial fields (biomedical, medical, electronic, defence, aerospace, etc) on miniaturized components leads to an increased interest on micro cutting processes. When approaching these processes, phenomena that can be neglected in macro scale become predominant. For this reason material microstructure, material and geometry of the tool, machine-tool and process parameters must be correctly defined. Another aspect of interest in micro scale cutting is the definition of tests for qualifying the process performance. The present paper aims to propose a testing procedure for evaluating the performance of a micromilling process considering the machine-tool, tool-holder, tool and workpiece fixtures chain. This procedure is based on a series of micro channels realized by consecutive steps. A case of study is reported. The results allows to better understand the performances of the process and of the chain composed by the machine-tool, the tool-holder and the tool.


Over-expression of RNA-binding protein Pum2 supports maintenance and suppresses mutilineage differentiation of murine HSC-like cell line EML. Analysis of HSC markers on wild type EML cells and EML cells over-expressing Pum2 (Pum2-EML cells) has revealed that almost all wt EML cells are Sca-1+c-kit+ Flk2−, but exhibit heterogeneous expression of CD34, with ~20% of cells being CD34−, and ~80% being CD34+. Similarly, almost all Pum2-EML cells are Sca-1+c-kit+Flk2−, but the vast majority of Pum2-EML cells are CD34− (80–95%). Functional analysis has revealed that purified CD34+ subpopulation of wt EML and Pum2-EML cells repeatedly contained almost all of the cells capable of mutilineage differentiation in response to cytokines. In contrast, the CD34− subpopulations of wt EML and Pum2-EML cells differentiated poorly or not at all. Previous studies have shown that mouse HSC can alternate between "activated" CD34+ and CD34− "inactive" state. Thus, we testedwhether CD34− EML cells are more primitive and give rise to CD34+ cells, orwhether EML cells alternate between CD34− inactive (differentiation inhibited) and CD34+ active (differentiation ready) state.
 Culture and flow cytometry analysis of purified CD34− and CD34+ wt EML cells has revealed that both CD34− and CD34+ EML cells reproducibly generate each other, and that the "secondary" CD34− and CD34+ EML cells exhibit the same properties. Identical experiments have revealed that Pum2-EML cells are maintained predominantly in an inactive CD34-state. These results support the notion that Pum2 protein supports proliferation and suppresses differentiation (two critical components of self-renewal) of multipotent hematopoietic cells by maintaining them in inactive CD34− state.


Abstract DxNb2O5 is thermodynamically unstable. Therefore, neutron diffraction measurements were performed in the electrochemical cell used for the intercalation of deuterium into sintered Nb2O5 powder samples. Diffraction patterns were recorded at equilibrium potentials of -443, -428, -332 and -197 mV vs. NHE (corresponding to x = 0.232, x = 0.23, x = 0.21 and x = 0.06). The structural changes in Nb2O5 caused by the deuterium insertion are small but could be determined reproducibly. The lattice parameters of the host lattice exhibit a characteristic dependence on the deuterium content of the bronze. A model has been developed for the partially inhomogeneous distribution of the deuterium in the Nb2O5 unit cell, which explains the changes of the peak intensities observed in the low angle region (6° ≤ 2θ ≤ 18°) .


The purpose of this study was to obtain students' attitudes and opinions at Samford University regarding plagiarism and academic misconduct by means of an internetbased survey system composed of yes/no questions and Likert-type rating scales. Data from 681 of approximately 4,500 Samford University students (15% return rate) were analysed. Research indicates that plagiarism and other incidents of academic misconduct are on the rise for a variety of reasons. Students seemingly have the notion that internet information is public knowledge and is thus free from intellectual property rights; therefore, they do not seem to think internet information needs to be cited for academic purposes. The vast majority of Samford students agreed that if one submits a paper written by someone else, this would constitute plagiarism; and that it was unacceptable to copy/paste information from the internet without proper citations. Slightly less than a majority of students disagreed that cheating was widespread at Samford; and a majority indicated that faculty should clarify their expectations regarding academic integrity. The results are somewhat similar to other plagiarism and academic misconduct studies.


Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in women, with nearly half a million new cases diagnosed each year worldwide. The authors' recent studies have suggested an association of the cancer testis antigen sperm‐associated antigen 9 (SPAG9) in ovarian carcinomas. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the clinical utility of SPAG9 expression and humoral immune response in cervical carcinomas.


This thesis analyzes Eudora Welty's short story collection, A Curtain of Green, and the interactions between its characters and the Mississippi economy. The paper takes into account Eudora Welty's work with the WPA during the Great Depression and her experiences photographing Mississippians throughout the state. Additionally, this thesis uses Welty's terminology when describing her experience of shopping as a child, specifically the "enchantment" of goods. This material is used to argue that Eudora Welty does address economic elements in her early short stories. Furthermore, this collection demonstrates a difference between gender participation in the economy, particularly among salesmen and female consumers. The male figures who transport goods across the state become disenchanted by their constant interaction with the economy, whereas female characters use their enchantment with the economy as an opportunity to exploit it. These women fulfill their hopes for economic security and social equality through consumerism. They use goods, entertainment, and travel to satisfy their desires for independence or marital stability. In A Curtain of Green, Welty presents a perspective on the Mississippi economy in which gender participation takes divergent routes for men and women.


Abstract The postmortem of suddenly deceased younger adults sometimes reveals that they experienced manifest coronary arteriosclerosis. We looked at 21 cases where stenosis of the coronary arteries was at least 50%. We supplemented our postmortem findings and the results from the postmortem identification of the lipid metabolism parameters with anamnestic details. We also conducted a genetic analysis. The risk factors such as smoking and family history were relatively frequent. In most of our cases, the postmortems showed significantly deviating lipid metabolism parameters. Compared to these findings, the genetic analyses only showed a clearly increased presence of APOE genotypes 3/4, whereas we observed no abnormalities in relation to the LDL receptor. The study results illustrate the multifactor genesis of premature coronary arteriosclerosis. Despite these limitations, the unexpected finding of juvenile coronary arteriosclerosis should entail an effort to establish the individual risk factors involved as this can provide vital information for medically advising other members of the family on their hereditary risks.


The current work describes an instructional module which emphasizes integrative design using the six simple machines of the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the screw, and gear. The emphasis of this module is on having the students investigate the underlying scientific and mathematical properties of the 'machines', and then integrating this knowledge to design creative solutions to problems. This simple machines module makes use of an original web-based multimedia learning environment as well as off-line hands-on building activities with the LEGO Technic I set.


Dendritic macromolecules with random branch-on-branch topology, termed hyperbranched polymers in the late 1980s, have a decided advantage over symmetrical dendrimers by virtue of typically being accessible in a one-step synthesis. Saving this synthetic effort once had an unfortunate consequence, though: hyperbranching polymerization used to result in a broad distribution of molecular weights (that is, very high polydispersities, often M(w)/M(n) > 5). By contrast, a typical dendrimer synthesis yields a single molecule (in other words, M(w)/M(n) = 1.0), albeit by a labor-intensive, multistep process. But 10 years ago, Sunder and colleagues reported the controlled synthesis of well-defined hyperbranched polyglycerol (PG) via ring-opening multibranching polymerization (ROMBP) of glycidol. Since then, hyperbranched and polyfunctional polyethers with controlled molar mass and low polydispersities (M(w)/M(n) = 1.2-1.9) have been prepared, through various monomer addition protocols, by ROMBP. In this Account, we review the progress in the preparation and application of these uniquely versatile polyether polyols over the past decade. Hyperbranched PGs combine several remarkable features, including a highly flexible aliphatic polyether backbone, multiple hydrophilic groups, and excellent biocompatibility. Within the past decade, intense efforts have been directed at the optimization of synthetic procedures affording PG homo- and copolymers with different molecular weight characteristics and topology. Fundamental parameters of hyperbranched polymers include molar mass, polydispersity, degree of branching, and end-group functionality. Selected approaches for optimizing and tailoring these characteristics are presented and classified with respect to their application potential. Specific functionalization in the core and at the periphery of hyperbranched PG has been pursued to meet the growing demand for novel specialty materials in academia and industry. A variety of fascinating synthetic approaches now provide access to well-defined, complex macromolecular architectures based on polyether polyols with low polydispersity. For instance, a variety of linear-hyperbranched block copolymers has been reported. The inherent attributes of PG-based materials are useful for a number of individual implementation concepts, such as drug encapsulation or surface modification. The excellent biocompatibility of PG has also led to rapidly growing significance in biomedical applications, for example, bioconjugation with peptides, as well as surface attachment for the creation of protein-resistant surfaces.

acs-specific: authorchoice/editors choice usage agreement


MLL5 is an MLL family protein and a candidate tumor suppressor located within the human chromosome band 7q22 that is frequently deleted in myeloid malignancies. In this issue of Blood, 3 independent studies report the first genetic analysis of MLL5 deficiency in mice. All 3 strains of MLL5 knockout mice exhibited defects in hematopoiesis, highlighting the critical role of MLL5 in hematopoietic stem cell functions.


In order to monitor continuously moving phenomena such as wile fire and hazardous bio-chemical material in wireless sensor network, boundary tracking approach has been widely used by reason of its huge scale and extensive diffusion property. With the boundary tracking scheme, the energy efficiency is expected to improve if only sensor nodes near the boundary of continuous object actively participate in tracking process, while other sensor nodes stay in sleep mode for energy saving. In this paper, we propose a predictive continuous object tracking scheme, which uses minimum set of active sensing nodes to reduce energy consumption. The proposed scheme predicts the future boundary line, which provides the knowledge for a wake-up mechanism to decide which sleeping nodes need to be activated for future tracking. The proposed algorithm is verified with simulation results that total energy consumption can be dramatically reduced under acceptable boundary detection accuracy.


Introduction: The open source revolution has enabled the development of open educational resources (OER) and the potential for sharing lessons learned. We present a potential model for publishing OER in public health to inform workforce development. Methods: As part of the PHORUS (Public Health Open Resources for the University Sector) Project, a review of the literature relating to the development of OER was followed by an online search for OER resources relating specifically to public health. Furthermore, a Delphi study was conducted to identify and prioritize barriers and enablers to the production and use of public health OER. Results: A wide array of OER literature was identified, although there were a limited Number of public health-related papers. The key concepts influencing public health OER release found in the literature were identified as quality, ethics and values, rewards, risks and practical aspects, such as technological developments. These concepts were then further developed through the PHORUS project research findings to produce the basis of a potential model for OER development in public health. Discussion/Conclusion: The synthesis of a literature review and Delphi study has produced a potential model to guide the development of OER in public health. The model provides a matrix where the questions about whether and how an academic can produce and publish OER are answered, according to various risks and benefits to them and their institution. We hope that this will provide practical assistance and encouragement for the academic public health community to create and share OER.


This paper presents an exact analytical approach to the calculation of the mutual impedance between two coplanar loop antennas located in close proximity to a conducting medium. Evaluation of the integral representation for the impedance is carried out by replacing the square of the first-order Bessel function of the integrand with its power series expansion. Then, Bessel's differential equation is used to convert the powers of the radial wave number, resulting from the expansion, into linear differential operators with respect to the spacing between the loops. This makes it possible to perform term-by-term integration and obtain a series representation for the impedance. The proposed formula is tested by comparison with the outcomes from the small-loop approximation for the impedance and those provided by the finite-difference time-domain simulations. What emerges is that the new solution is far more accurate than the small-loop approximation, and that, at the same time, it is significantly less time consuming than purely numerical techniques.


Mechanical metamaterials inspired by the Japanese art of paper folding have gained considerable attention because of their potential to yield deployable and highly tunable assemblies. The inherent foldability of origami structures enlarges the material design space with remarkable properties such as auxeticity and high deformation recoverability and deployability, the latter being key in applications where spatial constraints are pivotal. This work integrates the results of the design, 3D direct laser writing fabrication, and in situ scanning electron microscopic mechanical characterization of microscale origami metamaterials, based on the multimodal assembly of Miura-Ori tubes. The origami-architected metamaterials, achieved by means of microfabrication, display remarkable mechanical properties: stiffness and Poisson's ratio tunable anisotropy, large degree of shape recoverability, multistability, and even reversible auxeticity whereby the metamaterial switches Poisson's ratio sign during deformation. The findings here reported underscore the scalable and multifunctional nature of origami designs, and pave the way toward harnessing the power of origami engineering at small scales.


BACKGROUND
We investigated time use of Russian children residing in Baby Homes to document their opportunities and experiences during institutional care.

METHODS
Time use of 138 non-special needs, randomly selected children (65 female vs. 73 male, age 1 month to 4 years) in Baby Homes in Murmansk, Russia, was analysed. Baby Home specialists were trained in time-use spot observation methodology. Each child was observed every 10 min for 5 h (31 observations/child; >4000 data points). At each observation, we coded: who the child was with, adult role, what the child was doing, location and vocalizations.

RESULTS
Children spent 50% of their time alone, 27% with a caregiver, 15% with another adult, and 7% with another child. Infants spent significantly more time alone (65%) than toddlers (43%) or pre-schoolers (46%) [F(2,133) = 13.05, P < 0.0001]. Caregivers supervised children (58%), led group activities (16%), cared for individuals (14%), or were absent from the room (12%). Children spent the most time (32%) in activities of daily living; remaining time was spent in meaningful play (27%), non-purposeful activity (16%) or sleep (18%). The percentage of time spent in meaningful play significantly increased across age groups [infants 10%, toddlers 25%, pre-schoolers 36%, F(2,133) = 26.9, P < 0.001]. Infants (23%) and toddlers (20%) spent significantly more time than the older group (10%) in non-purposeful activity [F(2,133) = 26.9, P < 0.001]. In 12% of observations, an adult was speaking to the child, in 10% to the group, and <1% to another adult. Child vocalizations varied by age: infants 42% of observations, toddlers 56%, and pre-schoolers 59%. Older children directed more vocalizations to adults than younger children [F(2,133) = 24.47, P < 0.001].

CONCLUSION
Time use of children residing in Baby Homes is limited by routinized schedules and care, at the expense of child-directed or interactive play with adults. Despite close proximity and living in group care, children's vocalizations and interactions with others are limited.


research in Saudi Arabia has been published investigating organizational citizenship behavior among nurses. In addition, job satisfaction has been identified as the main solution to the high turnover rate among nurses in Saudi Arabia and one of the factors that could affect organizational citizenship behavior.
Aim: The current study aimed to determine the level of organizational citizenship behavior, assess the level of job satisfaction, and identify the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviors and job satisfaction from the nurses' perspective.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional correlational study was conducted at the two largest government hospitals in Medina City, Saudi Arabia. A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit 315 nurses. The study used an electronic self-reporting questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, an organizational citizenship behavior scale, and a nurse job satisfaction scale.
Results: In this study, the overall level of organizational citizenship behavior among nurses was high (3.86±0.35). The overall level of nurses' job satisfaction was medium (2.88±0.76). There was a statistically significant positive relationship between overall organizational citizenship behavior and overall job satisfaction among nurses (r = 0.354, p-value <0.01).
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that increasing the level of job satisfaction among nurses will increase their levels of organizational citizenship behavior. Therefore, healthcare organizations must focus on certain interventions that could increase nurses' jobs satisfaction, such as providing adequate remuneration, increasing the capacity of nursing schools, emphasizing psychological support and participative leadership, and improving the community's perception of the nursing profession.


Background Osteoarthritis (OA), a common disabling condition, is the commonest type of arthritis worldwide. Knee OA is the 4th leading cause of disability in women. Pain is the leading symptom and is often chronic in nature leading to significant morbidity and decreased quality of life. Synovitis is prevalent in knee OA and treatment to relieve this synovitis may reduce pain. Objectives A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted to assess whether 6 weeks of daily low dose oral prednisolone would improve pain, mobility and systemic low-grade inflammation, in the short term and to determine if it sustained long term at 12 weeks in older adults with moderate to severe knee OA. Methods 125 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and above with primary knee OA diagnosed according to the ACR criteria for diagnosis of primary OA of the knee were randomized 1:1. Sixty three received 7.5 mg/day of prednisolone and 62 received placebo together with their usual therapy for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was pain reduction. Secondary outcome measures included reduction in systemic inflammation and improvements in physical functioning scores. Alterations in dosage of analgesic/NSAID drugs used were recorded. Safety and tolerability were also assessed. Data was collected at baseline, 6 weeks and at 12 weeks to determine any change in results from those obtained at 6 weeks. Exclusion criteria included any inflammatory or serious medical condition. Knee OA was documented by radiographic examination using the Kellgren-Lawrence scale. Symptomatic OA was defined as the need to take NSAIDs daily and LequesneAlgofunctional Index (LFI)score >4. Clinical assessment included: Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS, 0-100), self-reported physical function as measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), WOMAC pain and stiffness scores, and six-minute walk distance (6MWD). All patients underwent a physical examination and were questioned about the number of flares, pain and analgesic use. Blood samples were collected and serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha and hsCRP were measured in all patients. Results A total of 118 of the 125 patients completed the study. There was a statistically significant reduction in knee pain in the intervention group compared to the placebo group, p<0.001 at 6 weeks which was sutained to the 12th week. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in physical function and 6MWD together with significant reductions in the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha and hsCRP at 6 weeks and at 12 weeks in the intervention group when compared to the placebo group. NSAID use was significantly less in the intervention group compared to the placebo group, p<0.05. No serious side effects were reported. Conclusions The findings of the present study provide evidence that low dose oral glucocorticoids have both a short term and a longer sustained effect resulting in less knee pain, better physical function, and attenuation of systemic inflammation in older patients with knee osteoarthritis. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


In order to ensure the quality of analytical results, clinical laboratories shall have a perfect control of process and equipments of measurement. Therefore is recommended individualisation of metrological function, generally entrusted the quality manager. This quality manager will draw up a metrological traceability, verifications and confirmations, control of non conformities, follow-up and evaluation of metrological function.


How a particular threat influences extinction risk may depend on biological traits. Empirical studies relating threats and traits are needed, but data are scarce, making simulations useful. We implemented an eco-evolutionary model to analyse how five threat types influence the extinction risk of virtual organisms differing in body size, maturity age, fecundity, and dispersal ability. Results show that direct killing mostly affected slow-living and low dispersal organisms. Habitat loss and fragmentation both affected larger and less fecund organisms, but drove contrasting responses according to dispersal ability. Habitat degradation and the introduction of invasive competitors had similar effects, mostly affecting large, fast-living, and highly fecund organisms. Many of the reported results confirm previous studies, while others were never tested, creating new hypotheses for future empirical work. Statement of authorship FC, LC and PC designed the study, FC implemented the model and ran the statistical analyses. FC and PC wrote the first draft, and all authors contributed substantially to further revisions.


Blastomyces dermatitidis, a dimorphic broad-based budding yeast endemic to the Mississippi River Valley region, is responsible for morbidity in humans via inhalation and dissemination. The response of acute lung injury, which produces an illness with serious morbidity and an approximately 50% mortality, uncommonly occurs. Diagnosis can be difficult, and a high index of suspicion should be maintained in endemic regions for patients with acute lung injury of uncertain etiology, especially if their condition deteriorates on broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antitubercular therapy and they have a previous insidious respiratory complaint and constitutional symptoms. Diagnosis should be aggressively pursued and treatment with amphotericin B (0.6 to 0.8 mg/kg/day) initiated as early as possible.


Low-rank approximations of data matrices are an important dimensionality reduction tool in machine learning and regression analysis. We consider the case of categorical variables, where it can be formulated as the problem of finding low-rank approximations to Boolean matrices. In this paper we give what is to the best of our knowledge the first integer programming formulation that relies on only polynomially many variables and constraints, we discuss how to solve it computationally and report numerical tests on synthetic and real-world data.


A RECENTLY MODIFIED CONCEPT: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by dyspnea on exertion, diffuse radiological infiltrates and alterations in respiratory function. The approach to IPF has recently changed with a more precise definition of the histological diagnostic criteria (hence excluding other disorders such as non-specific interstitial pneumonia), and with the hypothesis that fibro-proliferation and abnormalities in epithelial repair may have a greater physiopathological role than inflammation. DEBATABLE RESULTS FOR CORTICOSTEROIDS: To date, no treatment has demonstrated its efficacy in this disorder and few randomised studies are available. Although early observations showed some benefit of corticosteroids, it is now well established that these studies in fact included a proportion of other corticosteroid-sensitive diseases, such as non-specific interstitial pneumonia. In more recent studies, in which the diagnosis of IPF was made more rigorously, no convincing demonstration of the efficacy of corticosteroids or of immunosuppressive treatments (cyclophosphamide, azathioprine) was made. A trial of corticosteroid therapy for a period of 3 to 6 months (possibly combined with immunosuppressors) is still recommended in the absence of contraindications, but with rigorous and objective assessment of the efficacy, and careful monitoring of the side effects. TREATMENTS UNDER STUDY: Treatments aimed at limiting fibrogenesis have also been proposed. However, clinical studies have not confirmed the initial results obtained with colchicine. Nevertheless, encouraging results have been obtained with other "anti-fibrosing" agents (such as pirfenidone) or immunomodulators (interferon-gamma-1b); such treatment should be further evaluated by larger, randomised, controlled trials in order to know whether these results are applicable to a less selected population. BETWEEN SYMPTOMATIC CARE AND TRANSPLANTATION: In the absence of effective treatment, the management of IPF, the diagnosis of which has been confirmed by rigorous criteria (ideally lung biopsy) is primarily symptomatic. Young patients should be assessed with a view of pulmonary transplantation.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence and major risk factors of fatty liver among adult residents in Shanghai.

METHODS
A cross-sectional survey with multiple-stage stratified cluster and random sampling was performed. All residents aged 16 and above were invited to participate in the survey; they came from four communities of Yangpu District and Pudong New District. Questionnaire, physical examination, serum lipid-profile, and 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test and ultrasonographic examination of liver were undertaken. Analysis of data was performed through SPSS 11.0 for Windows statistical package.

RESULTS
A total of 3175 residents took part in the survey, which was 75% of adult residents of the investigated communities and 2.26/10 000 of Shanghai municipal residents. Of the 3175, 1218 were males and 1957 were females. The mean age of the participants was 52.4+/-15.1 years and ranged from 16 to 88 years. Fatty liver was detected with ultrasound examination in 661 participants (20.82%), among which 3.48% had alcoholic fatty liver, 4.08% had suspected alcoholic fatty liver, and 92.43% had nonalcoholic fatty liver. The age-adjusted, sex-adjusted prevalence of fatty liver in Shanghai adult residents was 17.29%, the prevalence of alcoholic fatty liver, suspicious alcoholic fatty liver, and nonalcoholic fatty liver in Shanghai adult residents were 0.79%, 1.15%, and 15.35%, respectively. The prevalence of fatty liver was increased with aging in males and in females. Among participants younger than 50 years old, the prevalence of fatty liver in males was significantly higher than that in females, but in participants older than 50 years the case was just the opposite, higher in females. The mean age (years), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting and two hour serum glucose level, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and the presence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and gallstones in the fatty liver group was significantly higher than those in the group without fatty liver, but the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level and the educational level were both lower in the fatty liver group. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the prevalence of fatty liver was only positively correlated to nine risk factors, including male sex, educational level, waist circumference, BMI, fasting glucose level, HDL-C, TG, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. In heavy drinkers, obesity increased the risk for fatty liver by 4.8-fold, but heavy drinking only increased the risk for fatty liver 1.5-fold (95% CI 0.9-2.6, P=0.1685).

CONCLUSION
There is a high prevalence of fatty liver among adult residents in Shanghai, and nonalcoholic fatty liver is the major type. Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidemia are more closely associated with fatty liver than heavy drinking in Shanghai.


OBJECTIVE
The sub-Tenon's space is a potential space between the capsule and the sclera. This study evaluated complications from sub-Tenon's anaesthesia in different corneal and anterior chamber ophthalmic surgical procedures.

METHODS
The prospective cross-sectional study was carried out at the Baqai Medical University, Karachi, from March 2010 to August 2011, and comprised 149 patients for various minor and major intraocular surgeries. All the patients were operated under sub-Tenon's anaesthesia, administered in the inferio-nasal quadrant with a 19G cannula.Their complications were noted on a specific proforma. Data was analysed for frequencies of complications. SPSS 13 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS
There were 82 (55%) males and 67 (45%) females who underwent surgery. There were 89 (59.7%) right eyes and 60 (40%) left eyes. The commonest surgery was phaco-emulsification (n = 79; 53%), followed by extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation (n = 33; 22.1%). Subconjuctival haemorrhage (n = 75; 50.3%) was the commonest complication, and the least common was pain during injection (n = 9; 6%).

CONCLUSION
There was no incidence of life-threatening or sight-threatening complications. The procedure was almost pain free and can be simply, safely and effectively given by the beginners with due precautions.


Detection of flavivirus seroconversions in sentinel chicken flocks located throughout Australia is used to provide an early warning of increased levels of Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) and Kunjin (KUN) virus activity in the region. During the 2002-2003 season low levels of flavivirus activity were detected in northern Australia compared to previous years. MVE and KUN virus activity was detected in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory but not in north Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria. This is similar to the previous season. There were no reported cases of disease caused by either virus.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the relationship between commonly used final needle-tip positions and subsequent contrast flow and patient-reported pain relief in transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESIs).

DESIGN
Retrospective cross-sectional study.

METHODS
Medical records of subjects (N = 83) having undergone a TFESI between January 2008 and January 2009 were reviewed to compare TFESIs using the superior-anterior (SA) vs. the superior-posterior (SP) quadrant.

OUTCOME MEASURES
Outcome measures included ventral and dorsal epidural contrast flow as well as near-to-complete pain relief as measured by numerical rating scale pain score pre- and post-procedure.

RESULTS
SA TFESIs were associated with greater ventral epidural contrast flow as compared with SP TFESIs (100% vs 61.4%, P < 0.001). SA TFESIs with ventral epidural contrast flow were also associated with flow to a greater number of vertebral levels than SP TFESIs with ventral epidural contrast flow (41% vs 14.8%, P < 0.001). SP TFESIs were associated with greater dorsal epidural contrast flow than SA TFESIs (95.5% vs 43.6%, P < 0.05). SA TFESIs were also associated with a larger proportion of patients who achieved near-to-complete pain relief (P < 0.05) and greater reduction than SP TFESIs in post-procedure pain score relative to pre-procedure (3.3 vs 1.5, P < 0.01).

DISCUSSION
The evolution of TFESIs must balance both safety and efficacy. The efficacy of SA TFESIs is demonstrated to be superior to that of SP TFESIs with regards to ventral epidural flow and patient-reported pain relief. Further efforts should focus on demonstrating efficacy while optimizing safety.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of the pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) toward the surgical management and complications of otitis media.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, and clinicaltrial.gov.

REVIEW METHODS
A systematic search was performed using a combination of keywords and standardized terms about PCV and surgical management or complications of otitis media. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, studies were screened by 3 independent reviewers. Risk of bias assessment, followed by meta-analysis in only randomized-controlled trials was conducted. Vaccine efficacy (VE) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported.

RESULTS
Of the 2649 abstracts reviewed, 27 studies were included in the qualitative analysis and were categorized into 6 outcomes: tympanostomy tube insertion, otitis media with effusion (OME), mastoiditis, spontaneous tympanic membrane (TM) perforation, recurrent acute otitis media (AOM), and severe AOM. Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis to evaluate the rate of tympanostomy tube insertion, OME, and recurrent AOM. PCV was significantly more effective in lowering the rate of tympanostomy tube insertion (VE, 22.2%; 95% CI, 14.6-29.8) and recurrent AOM (VE, 10.06%; 95% CI, 7.46-12.65) when compared with the control group, with no significant difference in reducing the incidence of OME. The qualitative analysis revealed that PCV had efficacy in preventing severe AOM and spontaneous TM perforation but the effect on mastoiditis remained unclear.

CONCLUSION
The PCV was effective in reducing the rate of tympanostomy tube insertion and the incidence of recurrent AOM with a nonsignificant effect in preventing OME in children.


Background

This is a 1-year post-intervention study following an initiative to provide orientation to female community health volunteers (FCHVs) on postpartum family planning (PPFP) in Nepal implemented in December 2018. Despite positive results in the earlier post-intervention study, this study was designed to provide a more long-term perspective on sustainability by assessing the effect at 1-year post-intervention.
Methods

This mixed-methods study was conducted in January 2020 in Morang district, Nepal. We collected quantitative data from a knowledge assessment of FCHVs who had participated in the intervention on PPFP; data on their community-based counseling coverage and through interviews with postpartum mothers in two selected hospitals. Qualitative data was collected through six key informant interviews with health providers working on PPFP and four focus group discussions with FCHVs involved in the intervention. We performed descriptive and multivariable analyses for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results of 1-year post-intervention were compared with pre-intervention and earlier evaluation study results.
Results

In total, 206 FCHVs participated in the 1-year post-intervention knowledge assessment with a 15-fold [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 14.9, p < 0.001] increase in knowledge when compared with the pre-intervention phase. A 20-fold increase in knowledge (AOR = 20.4, P < 0.001) had been reported in the post-test conducted immediately after the orientation. The FCHVs counseled 71% of the pregnant women within their communities at 1-year post-intervention. The postpartum mothers in hospitals had 2 times higher odds than in pre-intervention phase of being counseled by FCHVs during their pregnancy at 1-year post-intervention (AOR = 1.9, P = 0.036) as compared to a 3-fold higher odds of being counseled at 2-months post-intervention (AOR = 2.9, P < 0.001). The qualitative findings suggested a positive impression regarding the FCHV's involvement in PPFP counseling in the communities, however, supervision and monitoring over the longer term was identified as a key challenge and may influence sustainability of community-based and hospital-based PPFP services.
Conclusion

The FCHVs' knowledge and community-based activities on PPFP remained higher than in the pre-intervention phase. They had however declined when compared to the 2-months post-intervention period. We propose regular supervision and monitoring of the work of the FCHVs in order to sustain progress.


The Vadstena Memorial Book tells us about travelling birgittine brothers and sisters when a new monastery was to be established. In their luggage they had books and other things they needed for the daily life at the new place. Some of the Vadstena manuscripts bear witness of these journeys of people, books etc. The contacts with the Norwegian birgittine house seem for example to have inspired to the development of a certain kind of marginal decoration in Vadstena, and the contacts with the Flemish and German sister houses becomes apparent when facing the pasted in wood-prints in the nuns manuscripts. Evident is also that as the sent out nuns taught the sisters at the new convents to write, they also transmitted the textile traditions established in Vadstena.


Sets with atoms serve as an alternative to ZFC foundations for mathematics, where some infinite, though highly symmetric sets, behave in a finitistic way. Therefore, one can try to carry over analysis of the classical algorithms from finite structures to some infinite structures. Recent results show that this is indeed possible and leads to many practical applications. In this paper we shall take another route to finite analysis of infinite sets, which extends and sheds more light on sets with atoms. As an application of our theory we give a characterisation of languages recognized by automata definable in fragments of first-order logic.


Interpreting and describing mobile applications' privacy behaviors to ensure creating consistent and accurate privacy notices is a challenging task for developers. Traditional approaches to creating privacy notices are based on predefined templates or questionnaires and do not rely on any traceable behaviors in code which may result in inconsistent and inaccurate notices. In this paper, we present an automated approach to detect privacy behaviors in code of Android applications. We develop Privacy Action Taxonomy (PAcT), which includes labels for Practice (i.e. how applications use personal information) and Purpose (i.e. why). We annotate ~5,200 code segments based on the labels and create a multi-label multi-class dataset with ~14,000 labels. We develop and train deep learning models to classify code segments. We achieve the highest F-1 scores across all label types of 79.62% and 79.02% for Practice and Purpose.


In this paper, metric complexities of certain classes of continuous-time systems are studied, using the time-domain sampling approach and the concepts of Kolmogorov, Gel'fand and sampling n-widths for certain classes of Sobolev space. A sampling theorem is obtained which extends Shannon's sampling theorem to systems with possibly non-band-limited spectra. The theorem demonstrates that continuoustime systems in certain Sobolev spaces can be approximately reconstructed causally from their sampled systems. The Kolmogorov, Gel'fand and sampling n-widths of various uncertainty sets in the Sobolev spaces are derived. The results show that the sampling approach is in fact asymptotically optimal, when the sampling interval is selected to minimize the loss of information in the sampling process, for the modelling of systems in such Sobolev spaces.


References l.html#ref-list-1 http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1965/1912.ful This article cites 10 articles Subject collections (52 articles) mechanical engineering  • (100 articles) materials science  • collections Articles on similar topics can be found in the following Email alerting service here in the box at the top right-hand corner of the article or click Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article sign up


Traditional flicker detection method to accurately extract the amplitude envelope as the premise, the complexity of large amount of computation. This paper presents a new real-time detection of voltage flicker method, analysis method with recursive frequency carrier signal frequency; use of the adjacent three-point sampling data, the frequency carrier signal frequency, sampling frequency voltage flicker waveform obtained by the current envelope size. Of harmonic pollution by noise or flicker between the signals, the low-pass filtering results are not affected. Simulation results show that: The method to directly detect flicker signal, the process is simple, computational load and real time, tracking performance, with a certain anti-noise and inter-harmonic interference suppression capability, suitable for real-time detection of voltage flicker.


The sample myriad and the weighted myriad filter are normally computed using the batch processing fixed-point algorithm. Since a block of input samples has to be gathered first before the algorithm can perform estimation, significant delay may arise if the block size is large. In this correspondence, we derive the sequential sample myriad and sequential weighted myriad that compute the estimate in real-time by updating the current estimate whenever a new input sample becomes available. Simulation results show that the proposed sequential techniques which have a lower computational complexity, achieve almost the same convergence speed and accuracy as the fixed-point algorithm.


Purpose
The dynamics of tourism as both an activity and an industry, combined with the growing concerns about the environment, call for continuous efforts in seeking new approaches, tools and perspectives for the acquisition of environmental knowledge by organisations in the hospitality sector. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between environmental knowledge, organisational learning and business performance in the context of the tourism industry. Emphasis is made on understanding the process of updating the environmental knowledge base of an organisation through appropriate learning processes within the business.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 87 companies from the Spanish hospitality sector in a longitudinal study consisting of two distinct phases in 2008 and 2014 was studied.

Findings
The results of the analysis indicate that environmental knowledge has a positive impact on business performance. Also, the study found that a review of the levels of awareness about environmental problems across the organisation is required at regular intervals (in this research, six years after the initial analysis).

Practical implications
The focus on the hospitality sector makes this research relevant for a significant number of hotels and their supply chains around the world.

Originality/value
The research has addressed the challenges of sustainability and environmental performance from a perspective not previously covered in the extant literature, an approach further improved by the longitudinal nature of this study, performed over a period of six years.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. N6−methyladenosine (m6A) plays an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation. METTL3 and IGF2BP2 are key genes in the m6A signal pathway and have recently been shown to play important roles in cancer development and progression. In our work, higher METTL3 and IGF2BP2 expression were found in HCC tissues and were associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, IGF2BP2 overexpression promoted HCC proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, IGF2BP2 directly recognized and bound to the m6A site on FEN1 mRNA and enhanced FEN1 mRNA stability. Overall, our study revealed that METTL3 and IGF2BP2, acting as an oncogene, maintained FEN1 expression through an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent mechanism in HCC cells, and indicated a potential biomarker panel for prognostic prediction in liver cancer.


The propagation of magnetostatic forward volume waves excited by a constricted coplanar waveg-uide is studied via inductive spectroscopy techniques. A series of devices consisting of pairs of sub-micrometer size antennae is used to perform a discrete mapping of the spin wave amplitude in the plane of a 30-nm thin YIG film. We found that the spin wave propagation remains well focused in a beam shape of width comparable to the constriction length and that the amplitude within the constriction displays oscillations, two features which are explained in terms of near-field Fresnel diffraction theory.


Calcium is an essential requirement for the successful growth and development of gastropod molluscs. Data for British freshwater gastropods were used to examine the relationship between environmental calcium requirements and British and European range sizes. At both spatial scales calciphile species, which require a high level of environmental calcium, had significantly smaller range sizes than species able to exploit a wide range of environmental calcium levels. However, at least in Britain, range size may also be influenced by the availability of suitable habitat. British and European range sizes were significantly correlated. This study provides evidence for niche-based explanations of range size variation, and suggests that both niche breadth and niche availability are important in determining range size.


The use of wind energy can be traced back thousands of years to many ancient times. Among the tools used for converting wind energy was the vertical-axis wind turbine (vawt). Investigating the performance of this type of turbine is an interesting topic for researchers. The appropriate correlation between the Double Multiple Stream Tube (DMST) model and the experimental results has led researchers to pay distinct attention to this model for vawt simulation. In this study, using the aforementioned model, the appropriate range of important wind turbine design parameters was determined. First, the model outcome was validated based on experimental results and then, the performances of 144 different turbine types were simulated with respect to chord length, number of blades, H/D ratio and airfoil type. Chord length was evaluated at three levels, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 m, number of blades 2, 3 and 4, Height to Diameters (H/D) ratio of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2, and four types of airfoils, NACA0012, NACA0018, NACA4412 and NACA4418. Simulation was performed at a low Reynolds number (Re ≤ 105) and at four TSRs, 1, 2, 3 and 4. The results show that wind turbines perform best at low TSRs when they have longer chords, more blades, and a higher H/D ratio, but this trend reverses at high TSRs. Among the four types of airfoils evaluated, the NACA4412 airfoils showed a better performance at TSRs 1 to 3.


To the Editor:— The most common cause of fever and splenomegaly in the world at large is malaria, but this diagnosis is not routinely entertained for children who present with such symptoms in the United States. In Connecticut, malaria developed in an infant after two exchange transfusions for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of infantile malaria secondary to exchange transfusion which has been reported in the United States. Report of a Case:— During the first 36 hours of life, the full-term product of an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery received two exchange transfusions because of hyperbilirubinemia secondary to Rh incompatibility. The child was discharged from the hospital at five days of age and was well until two months at which time recurrent low-grade fevers developed. The patient was treated symptomatically during the next few months with antipyretics, but by 61/2 months of age


We report a case of posttuberculosis (TB) tracheobronchial stenoses presented with progressive exertional dyspnea during the course of anti-TB treatment. An 83-year-old Japanese man was admitted for progressive dyspnea; chest X-ray and CT showed stenosis of distal trachea and left main bronchus. Pulmonary function test revealed reduction of FEV1. Balloon dilatation without stent insertion was the choice for this patient for multiple reasons with marked improvement of symptoms.


Pentecostal denominations in Brazil are recognized for their promotion of conservative norms and punitive sanctions related to the sexual behavior of their young members. Moreover, they have created unique space for their followers to actively participate in a religious environment. Using data from the PNDS-2006 (National Survey on the Demography and Health of Children and Women, Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saude da Crianca e da Mulher de 2006), we examine the associations, in Brazil between religion, as measured by religious affiliation and attendance at religious services, and premarital adolescent sexual initiation. Our main results confirm a strong association between delay in sexual initiation and Pentecostalism in Brazil and suggest that this association be related to frequent attendance at religious services. These findings are intriguing, especially because Pentecostalism has emerged and concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, including the least-educated women, with lower income, and residents of urban areas. We conclude by suggesting that religion may be taking the place of family and school in communication on adolescent sexual behavior in Brazil. This hypothesis should be carefully investigated, since the religious teachings may sometimes be in favor of what families and the state see as beneficial for adolescents and youth in general, but sometimes in disaccord.


The neurosurgeon relies on the expertise of the neurologist, electoencephalographer and neuroradiologist to determine the extent of resection of brain tissue in the treatment of medically refractive childhood seizures. Electroencephalographic telemetry (EEG), intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) and MRI are effective in the localization of epileptic structural foci associated with cortical dysplasias and other brain anomalies. Neuropathologists at the Alberta Children's Hospital and University of Calgary have demonstrated a novel immunocytochemical tissue marker of epileptic foci in a study of 45 surgical patients, ages 16 months to 23 years, the majority having histological diagnoses of focal cortical dysplasia or tuberous sclerosis. Balloon cells and giant atypical cells in tuberous sclerosis were intensely reactive. In every surgical resection, the heat shock protein, a-B-crystallin was isolated and upregulated at or near to the epileptic focus identified by preoperative EEG monitoring and intraoperative ECoG. In some cases with extensive resections that involved mesial temporal sclerosis, absence of epileptiform activity on ECoG correlated with negative crystalline reactivity. a-B-crystallin reactivity involved glial cells of white matter underlying epileptogenic cortex, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, including some cases with no demonstrable histological lesion. Presence or absence of histological structural lesions was independent of a-B-crystallin expression. A gradient of reactivity occurred over a 3cm diameter in some cases, with highest intensity at center of the EEG- and ECoG-identified foci. No correlation was noted with microglial activation, inflammation or gliosis. Hippocampal gliosis and focal neuronal loss in Ammon's horn and dentate gyrus did not predict a more intense immunoreactivity of a-B-crystallin. Autopsy brain tissue of children with no epilepsy or neurological disease and fetal brain tissue as controls were nonreactive. Immunoreactive a-B-crystallin is considered a reliable tissue marker of epileptic


Abstract To provide information and a basis for improved hepatitis C prevention and treatment, we aimed to determine the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes among patients with hepatitis C from 4 ethnic minorities in Liaoning Province of China over the past 8 years and analyze and explore the virus' genotype evolution and possible clinical significance. For gene-sequencing, we collected peripheral blood samples of HCV-infected patients belonging to the Korean, Hui, Mongol, and Manchu ethnic minorities in Liaoning Province who were diagnosed at the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Anshan Central Hospital, and the Second People's Hospital of Fuxin City between November 2011 and November 2019. To analyze genotype evolution and possible influencing factors, we determined the ratio of various genotypes. Among the 102 HCV-infected patients from 4 ethnic minorities in Liaoning Province, 46 had gene typing (GT)1b (45.10%), 15 had GT2a (14.71%), 14 had GT3a (13.73%), 13 had GT6a (12.75%), 3 had GT1a (2.94%), and 11 had an unclassified genotype (10.78%). The distribution of various genotypes in the Korean, Mongol, and Manchu ethnic minorities was significantly different (χ2 = 10.788, P = .029; χ2 = 7.846, P = .049; and χ2 = 22.400, P = .000, respectively). All ethnic minorities exhibited >40% of GT1b. In the Korean (14/33) and Manchu (14/30) ethnic minorities, the proportion of GT1b was significantly higher than those of other genotypes (P < .05). The ethnic Koreans had a high proportion of GT3a (18.18%, 6/33), whereas the ethnic Mongolians had a high proportion of GT6a (23.08%, 6/26). GT1a was only found in the Korean (6.06%, 2/33) and Manchu (3.33%, 1/30) ethnic minorities; in the Hui ethnic minority, only 3 genotypes were prevalent: GT1b, GT2, and GT3a. The ethnic minorities in Liaoning Province currently have diverse HCV genotypes; the most prevalent genotype is GT1b, followed by GT2a and GT3a, and the prevalence of GT3 and GT6 has increased. The distribution of HCV genotypes varies across different ethnic minorities. The Korean and Manchu ethnic minorities have the most prevalent genotypes, whereas the Hui ethnic minority has a relatively single distribution of the HCV genotype.


A painting bearing the signature "Picasso" was investigated and its components – pigments and binders – were characterised using micro-Raman spectroscopy (mRS) combined with other analytical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX), Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). We identified the pigments in order to assess chronological inconsistency (anachronistic pigments) with the work of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) by means of in situ and cross-section analyses by mRS. Using mRS we identified the pigments 'phthalocyanine blue', 'phthalocyanine green', 'pyrazolone orange', 'anatase' and 'rutile' (titanium dioxide). These results were corroborated by SEM/EDX elemental analysis, which detected Ba, S and Zn among others, so prompting discussion about the use of ready-mixed house paints (Ripolin®). The ground layer was also investigated by mRS, which confirmed the use of rutile (titanium dioxide), calcite and phyllosilicates (Al, Fe). mRS on the white area identified the binding media as beeswax, the most important wax used in art. ATR-FTIR and GC-MS analysis support the presence of a wax and an oil–resin mixture as the binder, described in previous research as being used by Picasso. All the artist materials identified were widely used in art at the beginning of the twentieth century according to the available bibliography and are therefore consistent with the Picasso era. To the best of our knowledge this is the first attempt to investigate a painting related to Picasso using the combination of analytical techniques proposed here.


Statecharts have been used as a means to communicate behaviors in a precise manner between system engineers and software engineers. Hand-translating a statechart to code, as done on some previous space missions, introduces the possibility of errors in the transformation from chart to code. To improve auto-coding, we have developed a process that generates flight code from UML statecharts. Our process is being used for the flight software on the Space Interferometer Mission (SIM)


This is a study of the Robert Hall Society (RHS), the Baptist Students' Society in the University of Cambridge, from the 1950s to the 1980s. There is a particular focus on spiritual dynamics. There were transitions through the period examined, related to the members' spiritual commitment and the sense of denominational belonging. In the early 1950s the RHS tried to find a place in university life in relation to pan-denominational student groups. In the 1960s, a decade marked by confident RHS student spiritual leadership, the Society had as a principal aim preparing Baptist students for future service. The emphasis on witness in the university was also stressed, as was wider mission. A considerable number of RHS students of this period went on to take up significant roles in Baptist life and elsewhere. In the 1970s decline in denominational loyalty began to have an impact, and as a consequence the Society struggled. New spiritual dynamics were evident in the 1980s, but the Society came to an end. The article indicates that the RHS contributed in significant ways to the Baptist denomination.


These days, is there a topic more significant and provocative than the protection of privacy in the private sector? The importance of this topic has been highlighted since the Canadian Parliament adopted the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act which came into full force on 1 January 2004 and which is scheduled for review in 2006. Although it seems that everywhere we turn, the word "privacy" and its companion PIPEDA are at centre stage, many say that this attention is unwarranted and a knee-jerk reaction to the information age where one can run but cannot hide. Like it or not, we are subject to the prying eyes of cameras in public places, the tracking and trailing of Internet activities, the selling of address lists and other such listings, and the synthesizing by marketers of frightful amounts of personal information that, when pulled together, reveals a lot about our personal life, our ancestry, our relationships, our interests and our spending habits.


INTRODUCTION
Young adulthood is a critical period for the adoption of risk behaviors like tobacco use. Protective factors in adolescence may promote a tobacco-free transition to young adulthood. We examine associations between the frequency of parental anti-smoking encouragement in adolescence and cigarette and e-cigarette use in young adulthood.

METHODS
We analyzed data from Waves 1 (2009-10, 10 th grade, mean age=16.2 years) and 5 (2013-14 mean age=20.3 years) of the U.S. nationally representative NEXT Generation Health Study (n=1,718). At Wave 1, participants reported how often their parents/guardians encourage them to not smoke cigarettes (1=Rarely/never, 7=Frequently). We used separate weighted multiple logistic regressions to model Wave 5 past-30-day cigarette and e-cigarette use as functions of the frequency of parental anti-smoking encouragement at Wave 1, adjusting for sociodemographic and parenting factors, initial substance use, and peer tobacco use.

RESULTS
The average frequency of parental encouragement to not smoke cigarettes was fairly high (mean=5.35). At Wave 5, 24.7% and 14.2% of respondents reported cigarette e-cigarette use in the past 30 days, respectively. Greater frequency of parental anti-smoking encouragement was associated with lower odds of subsequent cigarette smoking (AOR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83, 0.99) but its association with e-cigarette use was not significant (AOR 0.93, 95% CI 0.84, 1.04).

CONCLUSIONS
The longitudinal negative association between anti-smoking encouragement and cigarette use suggests that parental anti-tobacco communication could be a long-term protective factor against young adult tobacco use. Our findings may also suggest the importance of product-specific messages in the evolving tobacco use landscape.

IMPLICATIONS
This study builds upon prior investigations of parenting in adolescence as a protective factor against young adult risk behavior. We isolate the frequency of anti-smoking encouragement during adolescence as an actionable factor distinct from other parenting variables. Our findings also suggest that message specificity may be an important factor in parental anti-tobacco communication as youth and young adult tobacco use becomes increasingly dominated by e-cigarettes.


Many of electronics applications, the continuous reliability measurement of the circuit may be important. It is enough to consider certain industrial applications (collaborative robot control), biomedical electronics (patient monitoring applications), passenger safety circuits (air bag control, brake control). With the application of embedded microcontrollers, we can continuously analyze the digital circuit, so we can measure its status. In this case, the supervised circuit together with the supervised analog and/or hybrid circuit also operates a microcontroller simulation and continuously compares the operation of the digital simulation and the test circuit. In the case of system identification methods, the quality parameter of a test system or the test equipment itself or its change in the test object itself shall be followed or evaluated. In this article we present a circuit with typizable failures and failures options that can be used to test and improve the tester itself.