Abstract Study Objectives Idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness unexplained by another disorder or drug/medication use. Although the orexin system plays a role in sleep-wake regulation, orexin A levels in the cerebrospinal fluid are normal in people with IH. This phase 1b, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study aimed to investigate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of danavorexton, a small-molecule orexin-2 receptor agonist, in adults with IH. Methods Adults with IH aged 18–75 years were randomized to one of two treatment sequences of single intravenous infusions of danavorexton 112 mg and placebo. Pharmacodynamic endpoints included the maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT), the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), and the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Adverse events were monitored throughout the study period. Results Of 28 randomized participants, 12 (44.4%) had a treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) and 10 (37.0%) had a TEAE considered related to study drug, most of which were mild or moderate. Four participants (18.2%) had urinary TEAEs while receiving danavorexton, all of which were mild in severity. There were no deaths or TEAEs leading to discontinuation. Improvements in MWT, KSS, and PVT scores were observed with danavorexton compared to placebo. Following drug administration, a mean sleep latency of 40 min (maximum value) was observed during the MWT within 2 h of danavorexton infusion in most participants. Conclusions A single infusion of danavorexton improves subjective and objective excessive daytime sleepiness in people with IH with no serious TEAEs, indicating orexin-2 receptor agonists are promising treatments for IH. Clinical Trial: Clinicaltrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04091438


The degree bound for primitive generators and relations of the canonical ring of a minimal surface of general type are studied via Green's Koszul cohomology, assuming that the fixed part of the canonical linear system does not contain any Francia cycles. Slight refinements of the results due to Ciliberto and Reid are given.


Daily consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, and soft drinks has gained wide and plentiful public and scientific attention over the past few decades. The concentration of caffeine in vivo is a crucial indicator of some disorders—for example, kidney malfunction, heart disease, increase of blood pressure and alertness—and can cause some severe diseases including type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), stroke risk, liver disease, and some cancers. In the present study, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) coupled with partial least-squares regression (PLSR) was proposed as an alternative method for the quantification of caffeine in 25 commercially available tea samples consumed in Oman. This method is a fast, complementary technique to wet chemistry procedures as well as to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the quantitative analysis of caffeine in tea samples because it is reagent-less and needs little or no pre-treatment of samples. In the current study, the partial least-squares (PLS) algorithm was built by using the near-infrared NIR spectra of caffeine standards prepared in tea samples scanned by a Frontier NIR spectrophotometer (L1280034) by PerkinElmer. Spectra were collected in the absorption mode in the wavenumber range of 10,000–4000 cm−1, using a 0.2 mm path length and CaF2 sealed cells with a resolution of 2 cm−1. The NIR results for the contents of caffeine in tea samples were also compared with results obtained by HPLC analysis. Both techniques provided good results for predicting the caffeine contents in commercially available tea samples. The results of the proposed study show that the suggested FT-NIRS coupled with PLS regression algorithun has a high potential to be routinely used for the quick and reproducible analysis of caffeine contents in tea samples. For the NIR method, the limit of quantification (LOQ) was estimated as 10 times the error of calibration (root mean square error of calibration (RMSECV)) of the model; thus, RMSEC was calculated as 0.03 ppm and the LOQ as 0.3 ppm.


Recent reports have suggested that schizophrenics show brain abnormalities as reflected on computed tomography (CT Scan). We present data on three groups of schizophrenic patients which replicate our original report of this phenomenon with associated neuropsychological test results. The over-all evidence for an increased rate of neuropsychological abnormalities and related CT structural anomalies in groups of schizophrenics in several studies is robust. The biological dynamics, cause-effect relationships, and clinical applicability of this phenomenon in the individual case, however, are far from clear. Diagnostic agreements between behavioral and structural abnormalities should simultaneously sound a note of clinical caution and stimulate further study.


We report on the experimental realization of flat mirrors enabling the broadband generation of optical vortices upon reflection. The effect is based on the geometric Berry phase associated with the circular Bragg reflection phenomenon from chiral uniaxial media. We show the reflective optical vortex generation from both diffractive and nondiffractive paraxial light beams using spatially patterned chiral liquid crystal films. The intrinsic spectrally broadband character of spin-orbit generation of optical phase singularities is demonstrated over the full visible domain. Our results do not rely on any birefringent retardation requirement and, consequently, foster the development of a novel generation of robust optical elements for spin-orbit photonic technologies.


Since the eighties, social history in France, as in many other countries, slipped from a macro-social to a micro-social viewpoint. Today, questions about the evolution of social history are becoming more radical still: the reduction of the objects has often led to the disappearance of their social dimension. The definition of social history as such has lost its coherence, whether because French social history has opted for prospects borrowed from other national historiographies (for example social history of politics, social history of the State, gender history), or because social history has been contested by other types of history which denied the primary role of social factors: history of representations, cultural history, anthropological history.It is too easy to interpret these evolutions as a "crisis" or a critical turning point. In fact a critical evaluation of recent works shows more a great fecondity of new approaches and new themes: portraits of groups forgotten by standard works (professions, outsiders, aristocracies, and so on), investigations on social relations until now neglected (gender, generations, private life), cross-fertilization of social history with ethnological, cultural, political, linguistic approaches. Competing paradigms borrowed from different social sciences or dividing sociology lead to an impossibility of synthesis as dreamed by Labrousse or Braudel. Nevertheless, it is possible to imagine new ways of cumulating all this analytical new stuff as different inquiries show on mobilities, polemics on gender history in France, proposals of a cultural history of society (R. Chartier), of a socio-history (G. Noiriel), or of a comparative social history (C. Charle). The main issue is to forget the unquestioned framework of traditional periodization or national scale to invent new prospects adapted to the specificity of the chosen theme organizing this global synthesis. The enduring reflection over the crises of nation and phenomena of memories, dominant in French recent scholarship—which has emulated similar researches in neighboring countries—might be also used as a preliminary travail du deuil, to challenge disciplinary borders and the national unconscious which are the eternal and principal brakes on historical imagination, today and yesterday.


Several clinical studies have demonstrated that the humanized anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) improves clinical symptoms and prevents progression of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the precise mechanism by which IL-6 blockade leads to the improvement of RA is not well understood. IL-6 promotes synovitis by inducing neovascularization, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and synovial hyperplasia. IL-6 causes bone resorption by inducing osteoclast formation via the induction of RANKL in synovial cells, and cartilage degeneration by producing matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in synovial cells and chondrocytes. Moreover, IL-6 is involved in autoimmunity by altering the balance between Th17 cells and Treg. IL-6 also acts on changing lipid concentrations in blood and on inducing the production of hepcidin which causes iron-deficient anemia. In conclusion, IL-6 is a major player in the pathogenesis of RA, and current evidence indicates that the blockade of IL-6 is a beneficial therapy for RA patients.


The renewable energy sources like wind and solar energies are combined to increase the total power generation and thereby increase the efficiency of the system. The combination also provides a means to overcome the intermittent nature of the solar and wind renewable energy sources, since one source can be used for power generation when other is not available. AC-DC converters are used convert the Alternating voltage of the wind generator to a constant DC value which can be used to charge the batteries or later converted to AC voltage to drive AC loads. A Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) system using boost converter is designed to extract maximum possible power from the sun when it is available. An inverter stage is implemented using Sinusoidal Pulse width Modulation (SPWM).This method provides better harmonic reduction since Harmonic content is detrimental for the generator lifespan, heating issues, and efficiency. Simulations are carried out in PSIM software and results in the form of graphs are provided to highlight the merits of the system under consideration. Key words— AC-DC converters, Maximum Power PointTracking(MPPT),Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation(SPWM), Powersim(PSIM).


We use a simple iterative perturbation theory to study the singlet-triplet (ST) transition in lateral and vertical quantum dots, modeled by the non-equilibrium two-level Anderson model. To a great surprise, the region of stable perturbation theory extends to relatively strong interactions, and this simple approach is able to reproduce all experimentally-observed features of the ST transition, including the formation of a dip in the differential conductance of a lateral dot indicative of the two-stage Kondo effect, or the maximum in the linear conductance around the transition point. Choosing the right starting point to the perturbation theory is, however, crucial to obtain reliable and meaningful results.


Argo Industrial (Pty) Ltd, the supplier of Landini and McCormick tractors in South Africa, is also the distributor of an extensive range of Fella and Gallignani haymaking equipment. Fella is represented locally by mowers, swathers and tedders, while Gallignani is known locally for their round and square balers.


In this article we develop an algorithm to detect parallel texts in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The results are presented online and chapters in the Hebrew Bible containing parallel passages can be inspected synoptically. Differences between parallel passages are highlighted. In a similar way the MT of Isaiah is presented synoptically with 1QIsaa. We also investigate how one can investigate the degree of similarity between parallel passages with the help of a case study of 2 Kings 19-25 and its parallels in Isaiah, Jeremiah and 2 Chronicles.


The phenomenon of heterosis has fascinated plant breeders ever since it was first described by Charles Darwin in 1876 in the vegetable kingdom and later elaborated by George H Shull and Edward M East in maize during 1908. Heterosis is the phenotypic and functional superiority manifested in the F1 crosses over the parents. Various classical complementation mechanisms gave way to the study of the underlying potential cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for heterosis. In cereals, such as maize, heterosis has been exploited very well, with the development of many single-cross hybrids that revolutionized the yield and productivity enhancements. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is one of the important cereal crops with nutritious grains and lower water and energy footprints in addition to the capability of growing in some of the harshest and most marginal environments of the world. In this highly cross-pollinating crop, heterosis was exploited by the development of a commercially viable cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS) system involving a three-lines breeding system (A-, B- and R-lines). The first set of male-sterile lines, i.e., Tift 23A and Tift18A, were developed in the early 1960s in Tifton, Georgia, USA. These provided a breakthrough in the development of hybrids worldwide, e.g., Tift 23A was extensively used by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India, for the development of the first single-cross pearl millet hybrid, named Hybrid Bajra 1 (HB 1), in 1965. Over the past five decades, the pearl millet community has shown tremendous improvement in terms of cytoplasmic and nuclear diversification of the hybrid parental lines, which led to a progressive increase in the yield and adaptability of the hybrids that were developed, resulting in significant genetic gains. Lately, the whole genome sequencing of Tift 23D2B1 and re-sequencing of circa 1000 genomes by a consortium led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been a significant milestone in the development of cutting-edge genetic and genomic resources in pearl millet. Recently, the application of genomics and molecular technologies has provided better insights into genetic architecture and patterns of heterotic gene pools. Development of whole-genome prediction models incorporating heterotic gene pool models, mapped traits and markers have the potential to take heterosis breeding to a new level in pearl millet. This review discusses advances and prospects in various fronts of heterosis for pearl millet.


OBJECTIVES
We analyse whether the relationship between net household income and mortality form a continuous linear gradient or is curvilinear, assess the attenuation of this association after adjusting for confounding and reverse causality, and assess the strength of the association by age and cause of death.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Prospective study of mortality in Finland among all men and women over 30 years old. Information on household income and sociodemographic factors was from the records of the Finnish tax authorities and the 1990 census. Income data were available for more than 95% of the cohort. Follow-up was by record linkage to death certificates in 1991-1996; altogether about 261 000 deaths.

RESULTS
The all-cause mortality ratio between the lowest and the highest household income decile is 2.37 (95% CI : 2.30-2.44) among men and 1.73 (95% CI : 1.67-1.80) among women. Adjusting for household structure, spouse's economic activity, social class, education and own economic activity attenuates the relationship by 61% among men and 52% among women. The association between income and mortality is mainly linear before and after adjusting for confounding, and the association is strong for all 5-year age groups below 60-64 years, after which it declines rapidly in strength.

CONCLUSIONS
The mainly linear nature of the relationship and the strong attenuation after adjustment for other socioeconomic factors and economic activity status, and the age pattern of the relationship indicate that a large part of the relationship is unlikely to be due to direct causal effects of poverty and material hardship. Rather, income seems to be related to accumulation of factors that increase mortality over the whole range of incomes.


This paper explores how certain Tobelo and Galela communities in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku have dealt with the dead in the aftermath of the ethnic and religious violence that swept the region in 1999-2001. It focuses on the issue of martyrdom and the construction of memorials to those who died during the conflict. I argue that these memorials have a dual purpose. First and foremost they are about mourning and martyrdom. They serve local needs to respect and remember those who were lost in the conflict and to recognize the sacrifices made in the name of religion. This notion of martyrdom directly relates to another aspect of these monuments, attempts by local communities in North Maluku, particularly the Christian communities I focus on in this paper, to solidify their version of events in the public narrative. As the local government encourages people to put the conflict behind them and to forget about the violence, the construction of these memorials maintains the focus on the religious framing of past events. In building these monuments and martyr cemeteries, people are publicly staking a claim on their interpretation of history and literally putting their version in stone. They seek to do so before official accounts (or denials) of what happened become hegemonic and pave over the nature of the violence and suffering that occurred. I also explore how the construction and placement of Christian memorials in churchyards contradicts previous church burial practices.


Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) have been introduced on a global scale for sport fishing but represent a conservation concern given their documented negative impacts on native faunal diversity and abundance. Recent research using molecular data to characterize invasive Largemouth Bass populations elsewhere has demonstrated that populations are typically characterized by limited genetic diversity, or represent a combination of Largemouth Bass and Florida Bass (Micropterus floridanus). To test whether these traits were consistent with invasive populations in Brazil, we generated mitochondrial sequence data from four established populations of Largemouth Bass collected in southern Brazil as well as a local aquaculture facility to confirm species identity and quantify levels of genetic diversity. We identified the exclusive presence of Largemouth Bass in the region and observed limited levels of haplotype (haplotype diversity = 0.0684, SE = 0.038) and nucleotide diversity (0.0003, SE = 0.0002) which suggested the presence of a founder effect associated with introduction. Each of the four populations were dominated by a single haplotype that was identical to one recovered from a nearby aquaculture facility, which identified this facility as a potential introduction source.


Purpose: To compare surgical and functional outcomes, safety, efficacy and cost of silicone plate vs. autogenous auricular cartilage (AAC) as alternate material to tarsal plate for upper eyelid reconstruction after excision of malignant tumor. Methods: A prospective, comparative, interventional study of over 3 years was conducted on two groups of twenty patients each. All the patients had undergone the Modified Cutler Beard procedure with AAC being used as tarsal substitute in one group and a novel silicone plate in the other. Post-operative MRD 1, LPS action, Central Lid Thickness, and Lid contour were recorded at one week, one month and six months follow-up. Results: The pre-operative MRD 1 in the silicone plate and AAC group was -2.95 ± 1.19 mm and -3.05 ± 1(1).05 mm, post-operative in the silicone plate group 3.8 ± 0.4 mm, and in the AAC group, 3.8 ± 0.41 mm. The pre-operative LPS action in the silicone plate and AAC group was 1.2 ± 1.1 mm and 1.0 ± 0.9 mm and post-operative it was 13.8 ± 0.4 mm for the silicone plate group and 13.7 ± 0.4 mm for the AAC group. The post-operative lid thickness for the silicone plate group was 4.4 ± 0.17 mm and for the AAC group it was 4.4 ± 0.08 mm. Conclusion: The cosmetic outcome in terms of lid contour maintenance is better in the silicone plate group, in which it markedly reduces the surgical time, provides earlier rehabilitation, and eliminates disease transmission. Harvesting of AAC is a skillful and time-consuming procedure and adds to the post-operative morbidity due to the presence of a second surgical site. The low manufacturing cost of silicone plate as opposed to other allogenic and synthetic tarsal substitutes makes it readily available to resource limited populations. The silicone plate is reckoned to become the material of choice as tarsal substitute in the future. Abbreviations: AAC = Autogenous auricular cartilage, MRD-1 = Margin reflex distance-1, LPS = levator palpebrae superioris, PFH = palpebral fissure height


Trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica adhere to several components of the extracellular matrix. Binding is mediated by specific receptors identified in the parasite surface. Interaction of trophozoites with FN induces the formation of special adhesion structures that are dynamic cytoskeleton membrane complexes and facilitate both adhesion and substrate degradation. The process requires activation of signaling pathways in which PLC, IP3, Ca2-, and PKC participate. These observations, and recent experiments showing increments in cAMP in the trophozoites during the interaction with FN, suggest that FN receptors in the amebic surface could be coupled to G-proteins. We report here that trophozoite plasma membrane peptides of 92, 49, 42, 37, and 21 kDa are ADP-ribosylated by Vibrio cholerae and Bordetella pertussis toxins. Three of them are also recognized by antibodies prepared against the alpha-subunit of Gs-and Gi-proteins. Adenylyl cyclase activity detected in isolated membranes was strongly stimulated by treatment with the toxins. Forskolin (an agonist of the enzyme) and FN also induced increments in the enzymatic activity. Live amebas incubated with the toxins showed enhanced adhesion to FN substrates and a striking reorganization of polymerized actin. The actin rearrangement is reminiscent of the one induced by either forskolin or dibutyril cyclic AMP treatment. Our present data show the presence and the functionality of Gs- and Gi-like proteins and their apparent activation during in vitro interaction of amebas with FN and complement previous observations indicating the operation of signal transduction mechanisms in E. histolytica.


Background: Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncologic emergency which has been extensively documented in patients with hematological malignancies, but rarely described in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of TLS, a rare but life-threatening complication in RCC. Methods: Retrospective literature review and pooled analysis. Results: Ten cases of TLS were identified in patients with metastatic RCC (eight cases in published literature and two cases from our tumor registry). The median age of patients was 60 years (45-88). Seven cases (70%) of TLS were associated with a variety of treatment regimens, include sunitinib (42%), pazopanib (14.2%), nivolumab (14.2%), nivolumab and Ipilimumab (14.2%), and temsirolimus (14.2%). The median time to TLS from treatment 16 days (14-28). Three (33%) patients had spontaneous TLS. All patients had extensive metastatic disease at the time of presentation, with visceral metastases documented in 100% of TLS cases. The majority of cases were clear renal carcinoma (one case of sarcomatoid, and another with extensive rhabdoid feature). All cases were treated with aggressive supportive measures, and four patients received rasburicase. The mortality rate was 57% among seven cases of treatment related TLS. The mortality rate was 100% in the three patients with spontaneous TLS. Conclusions: TLS in RCC can occur both after treatment and spontaneously, and is associated with very high mortality. Our findings underscore the importance of heightened awareness, risk assessment, and early prevention of this previously underdiagnosed oncologic emergency.


Abstract Purpose The number of people with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI) is growing but our knowledge about their successful functioning is still limited. The goal of this study was to investigate the correlations between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and wisdom in people with long-term paraplegia, exploring the mediating effect of disability appraisals, and participation/autonomy (P/A). Methods One-hundred and sixty-six persons with paraplegia completed a set of questionnaires, which included: The three-dimensional Wisdom Scale; The Post–traumatic Growth Inventory; Appraisals of Disability Primary and Secondary Scale; Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire. Mediation was tested using bootstrapping and a multiple mediation model with two mediators. Results Positive and significant correlations between PTG, disability appraisals (as determined resilience), P/A, and wisdom were found. PTG is associated with wisdom when disability appraisals and P/A are mediators. Higher PTG was related to higher determined resilience and smaller restrictions in participation, both of which were associated with higher wisdom. Conclusions The relationship between PTG and wisdom is complex and indirect in people with long-term paraplegia. The mediating variables of disability appraisals and P/A explained the variance in PTG, with P/A playing a more significant role. Findings suggest that long-term SCI may correlate with experiencing high levels of PTG and wisdom, and more positive disability appraisals. Implications for rehabilitation PTG is associated with life wisdom in people with long-term SCI, with a significant contribution of disability appraisal and P/A. Therapists can increase these people's awareness about the possibility of experiencing PTG and maintaining positive changes, despite long-term SCI. Therapists can support people with long-term SCI in maintaining or extending the possibilities of participation and autonomous decision-making about their daily activities, which in consequence may be important for increasing their life wisdom.


This paper refers to an imaging problem in the presence of nonlinear materials. Specifically, the problem we address falls within the framework of Electrical Resistance Tomography and involves two different materials, one or both of which are nonlinear. Tomography with nonlinear materials in the early stages of developments, although breakthroughs are expected in the not-too-distant future. The original contribution this work makes is that the nonlinear problem can be approximated by a weighted $p_0$-Laplace problem. From the perspective of tomography, this is a significant result because it highlights the central role played by the $p_0$-Laplacian in inverse problems with nonlinear materials. Moreover, when $p_0=2$, this result allows all the imaging methods and algorithms developed for linear materials to be brought into the arena of problems with nonlinear materials. The main result of this work is that for"small"Dirichlet data, (i) one material can be replaced by a perfect electric conductor and (ii) the other material can be replaced by a material giving rise to a weighted $p_0$-Laplace problem.


Background People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other chronic diseases adjust their lifestyle to accommodate symptoms and limitations. Objectives The aim of the current analysis was to assess the utilization of aids/devices or help over time and to determine whether development of self-management behavior is responsible for HAQ improvement in RA patients on anti-TNF treatment in a real-world clinical practice setting. Methods BioTRAC is an ongoing, prospective registry of patients initiating treatment for RA, AS, or PsA with IFX or GLM. Data were used from RA patients treated with infliximab (IFX) between 2002-2014 or with golimumab (GLM) between 2010-2014. The correlation between the standard HAQ disability index (HAQ-DI) and the alternative disability index (HAQ-ADI), incorporating or not the use of aids/devices/help, respectively, was assessed with the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Changes in HAQ-DI, HAQ-ADI, the individual HAQ domain scores, or the difference between HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI over time, were assessed with general linear models. The slope of HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI improvement in each patient was assessed with the paired-samples t-test. Results 1030 RA patients were included with a mean (SD) age of 56.1 (13.5) years and time since diagnosis of 8.5 (9.1) years. Mean (SD) DAS28, CDAI, HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI scores at baseline were 5.6 (1.5), 34.3 (16.6), 1.59 (0.71), 1.47 (0.73), respectively. At baseline, highest HAQ domain scores included "Activities", "Reach", "Hygiene", and "Grip". The use of aids/devices/help was highest for these activities (49.2%, 47.5%, 38.0%, 73.1% of patients, respectively), with females requesting significantly more aids/devices/help than males. Treatment for 60 months resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI, and in significantly lower utilization of aids/devices/help. A statistically significant difference (P=0.001) was observed in the slope of HAQ-DI (Δ=-0.034/month) and HAQ-ADI (Δ=-0.038/month) improvement over time which could be attributed to the differential rate of use of aids/devices/help over time resulting in the inflation of HAQ-DI. The duration of follow-up was significantly (P<0.001) associated with a greater difference between HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI changing from 0.12 at baseline to 0.18 at 60 months. Conclusions Our results have shown that problems with "Activities", "Reaching", "Hygiene", and "Gripping" represent primary challenges in RA. Anti-TNF treatment resulted in significant improvements in all HAQ domains. Significant differences were observed over time, however, between HAQ-DI and HAQ-ADI suggesting that RA patients may also adjust their lifestyle to accommodate their symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of educational programs focused on self-management behaviors in RA. Disclosure of Interest D. Sholter Consultant for: Janssen, W. Olszynski Consultant for: Janssen, P. Baer Consultant for: Janssen, M. Sheriff Consultant for: Janssen, S. Dixit Consultant for: Janssen, A. Chow: None declared, B. Haraoui Consultant for: Janssen, D. Choquette Consultant for: Janssen, J. Kelsall Consultant for: Janssen, J. Sampalis: None declared, E. Rampakakis: None declared, F. Nantel Employee of: Janssen, C. Tkaczyk Employee of: Janssen, A. Lehman Employee of: Janssen


Entity Resolution (ER) concerns identifying logically equivalent entity pairs across databases. To avoid quadratic pairwise comparisons of entities, blocking methods are used. Sorted Neighborhood is an established blocking method for relational databases. It has not been applied on graph-based data models such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF). This poster presents a modular workflow for applying Sorted Neighborhood to RDF. Real-world evaluations demonstrate the workflow's utility against a popular baseline.


Scholars and laypeople have become concerned that American religion and politics has increasingly divided between conservatives and liberals, resulting in a "culture war" that leaves little common ground on salient social issues. Drawing on archival and periodical sources and a comparative-historical research design, I seek to understand the causes and consequences of the shifting relationship between religion and politics by examining how large, moderate and mainstream Protestant institutions have struggled to maintain cohesion and prestige throughout the increasingly contentious politics of abortion. In the early-1960s, no Mainline Protestant institutions supported expanding abortion access. Over 1966-1972, all the same institutions released official pronouncements in support of expanding abortion access. Since this time, particularly from 1987-1992, all these institutions faced increased internal debate over the issue and shifted in conservative directions to varying degrees. I find that the debate around abortion among Mainline Protestant institutions was not generally characterized by polarization around two sides but rather by much consensus, change over time, ambiguity, and often ambivalence toward the issue. These stances have often emerged not out of existing worldview and attitudes, but rather out of existing social networks, awareness of stances by others in the religious field, and institutional self-interest. Protestant clergy who put in significant time, energy and personal risk into expanding abortion access for women in the late-1960s and early-1970s were pulled into the movement through existing activist social networks, particularly from the Civil Rights Movement, and attitudes towards other issues such as civil rights, social injustice, and civil disobedience. During the 1960s and 1970s, Mainline Protestant institutions mobilized around support for expanding abortion rights as a way of challenging the political power of Catholic institutions, which were the primary opponent to expanding abortion access. Over the 1980s, as Evangelical Protestants became increasingly engaged in pro-life politics, Mainline Protestants began to see them as the primary opponent to expanding abortion access. Those denominations that sought to create greater ties with Evangelical Protestants backed away from their support of choice, while those denominations that sought to distinguish themselves from Evangelicals remained support of choice despite strong pro-life grassroots movements within them. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Sociology First Advisor Melissa Wilde


The quasibiennial oscillation (QBO) of stratospheric winds is the most striking example of mean-flow generation and reversal by the nonlinear interactions of internal waves. Previous studies have used an idealized monochromatic forcing to investigate the QBO. Here we instead force a more realistic continuous wave spectrum. Unexpectedly, spreading the wave energy across a wide frequency range leads to more regular oscillations. We also find that different forcing spectra can yield the same QBO. Multimodal wave forcing is thus essential for understanding wave-mean-flow interactions in nature.


The article reveals the essence of the value-oriented approach in psychology, the methodology of its application in the practical work of a psychologist, as well as the need to form the position of a "student" at the client At present, when the whole world is experiencing a state of instability, the work of psychologists in society is more important than ever. The psychological community tries to find, synthesize methods and tools that will show high efficiency in working with clients and will have a long-term effect. The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to the value-oriented approach (VOP) in psychology, which is the latest psychological direction that summarizes the achievements of psychological science and formulates universal principles of psychological practice. The VOP methodology represents a conceptually new approach to solving psychological problems. The psychological problem is seen not as a hindrance that needs to be addressed, but as a positive feedback from life. In the philosophy of this approach, life is seen as a sentient, supportive force for the existence of man, and man as a part of the whole associated with reality through many physical, mental and spiritual connections. In the case when a person violates harmony in relations with reality by his actions, he receives a signal about this in the form of various problematic circumstances and psychological difficulties. The work also uses the results of a study of the use of a VOP - approach among young people (100 people) aged 19 to 30 years. It seems to the authors of this article that the method of effective psychological assistance to people at the present time, which helps and teaches to cope with problems, is the method of value-oriented psychology. There is one wise popular statement: "If you want to feed a person - give him fish, and if you want him to be full all your life - teach him to fish."


The simmer package brings discrete-event simulation to R. It is designed as a generic yet powerful process-oriented framework. The architecture encloses a robust and fast simulation core written in C++ with automatic monitoring capabilities. It provides a rich and flexible R API that revolves around the concept of trajectory, a common path in the simulation model for entities of the same type.


This study considers an analytical method to detect the damage location from the moment diagram calculated by the external forces and the forces required for obtaining the same deflections as the measurement deflections. The measured deflections must be a part of displacements to restrict the static behavior of the damaged beam. The constraint forces acting at measurement points are derived by minimizing the cost function of the displacement change between the undamaged and damaged beams. It is shown that the damage exists near the location that the moment ratio to be ex- pressed by the moment values of the undamaged and damaged beams increases abruptly. However, closely neighboring damages can be found by increasing the number of finite elements and measurement points. The validity of the proposed method is illustrated in an application.


High and persistent unemployment was experienced by most developed countries during the 1980s and inflationary pressures emerged at rates of unemployment far higher than those experienced in the 1960s and 1970s. This suggests that there was an increase in the natural rate of unemployment. Many researchers have sought to explain this development in terms of 'mismatch', arguing that the economies that have suffered most from persistently high unemployment are those that have been least flexible in matching their unemployed with the available employment opportunities. The contributors to this volume examine the evidence on sectoral wage differentials, labour mobility and the ratio of unemployment to job vacancies, in detailed studies of seven countries with a wide variety of labour market and macro-economic structures. They analyse the variations in unemployment rates across regions, occupations and demographic groups and investigate whether these help to explain the growth and persistence of unemployment. The volume also includes a cross-country study of skills mismatch in relation to the effectiveness of training programmes.


We take extreme pleasure to uphold that Journal of Clinical Trials had a promising journey since its inception and is being hailed as a revolutionary in the industry of open access journals. We appreciatively give thanks to all our marvelous Authors, Reviewers, teamed with the assistance of our honorable Editorial board members has played a major role in our success for creating Clinical Trails 2019 the simplest ever!


In our review article, Rob Nunn considers the disparate goals of three anthologies: canonizing Canadian drama (Wasserman), collecting dramatic scenes (Hamill), and promoting regional drama (Johnston Lewis and Warren). From the Greek words anthos, meaning "flower" and legein, "to gather", "anthology" describes a collection of the "flowers" of Greek verse, the gathering up of small choice poems. Of course, gathering implies judging, selecting, and rejecting. And in the age of post-modern drama, Canadian and otherwise, these activities are permeated with ideological agendas. "Choice" becomes exceedingly problematic when we recognize that principles of judgement and selection are no longer "natural", no longer unscrutinized. What do anthologists reject, exclude, make standard? What is "standard"? CTR considers three anthologies here because the impulse to anthologize, it seems, is as old as the Greeks. But, given the increasing difficulty to justify "judgement", does the anthology have a future? JTG


Carbon nanotube (CNT) and perovskite composite materials possessing the combined advantages of CNTs and perovskites have drawn substantial attention due to their promising applications in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. Understanding the band alignment of heterojunctions is crucial for further performance improvement. Here, we systematically investigated the interfacial electronic structure and optical absorption of a semiconducting CNT/CH3NH3PbI3 heterojunction via density functional theory calculations. It was found that the CNT/PbI2-terminated CH3NH3PbI3 (001) surface heterojunction is a type-I band alignment, while the CNT/CH3NH3I-terminated CH3NH3PbI3 (001) surface heterojunction is a type-II band alignment, suggesting the different charge carrier transfer processes as well as termination dependence of band alignment in the CNT/CH3NH3PbI3 heterojunction. Further investigation indicated that applying electric fields can modify the band alignment type in the CNT/CH3NH3PbI3 heterojunction. Our results provide the first insight into the interfacial electronic structure of the CNT/CH3NH3PbI3 heterojunction, which may give a new route for designing optoelectronic devices.


Objective It is unclear whether established risk factors for pre-eclampsia are related to blood pressure (BP) changes across pregnancy in women who do not develop pre-eclampsia. We investigated these associations. Methods We studied routine antenatal BP measurements for 11 789 women (median 14 per woman) in ALSPAC who had a live term birth without pre-eclampsia or previous hypertension. Linear spline random effects models with knots at 18, 30 and 36 weeks gestation described changes in BP with gestational age. Results On average systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) decreased until 18 weeks and then rose, with increasing rate at 30 and then again at 36 weeks. BP was higher at 8 weeks for obese women compared with normal weight women, nulliparas compared with multiparas, and for never-smokers compared with women who smoked throughout pregnancy or in the first trimester only. Women who smoked throughout pregnancy had consistently lower BP while women who smoked only in the first trimester attained a similar BP trajectory to never-smokers in late pregnancy. BP rose more slowly between 18 and 30 weeks and more rapidly between 30 and 36 weeks in obese women than in normal weight women. Nulliparous women had faster rises in DBP from 30 weeks and SBP from 36 weeks than multiparous women and twin pregnancies were associated with faster rises in BP from 30 weeks. Conclusion Established pre-eclampsia risk factors are associated with the pattern of BP changes in healthy pregnancy, suggesting that they affect BP change across the whole distribution.


Background Tocilizumab (TCZ) is an effective treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) inducing modifications of B cell subsets in vivo.1–3 Objectives To define whether the study of circulating B cell subsets could represent a possible tool to understand the pharmacological action of TCZ, helping the clinician to identify the best responders to IL6R blockade. Methods 70 RA patients (age 52.3±15.2 years, disease duration 8.5±10.1 years, 74.3% female) not responder to previous cDMARDs (n=39) and/or bDMARDS (n=31) were enrolled in the study, of which 19 (27.1%) with early RA (ERA) and 51 (72.9%) with a long-standing disease (LSRA). All patients were treated with TCZ at a dose of 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks. At each visit remission was evaluated according to ACR/EULAR criteria4 and peripheral blood (PB) derived B cells were collected for the analysis of B-cell subsets distribution by FACS using IgD-CD27 classification5. Among them, PB-derived B cells from 13 bDMARDs naïve RA patients were analyzed for specific genes expression through RT-PCR. Results In RA cohort, 16.7% and 19.3% of TCZ-treated RA patients reached ACR/EULAR remission (SDAI≤3.3) at 6th and 12th months FU. At TCZ baseline, a higher percentage of post-switched memory B-cells (p=0.005) together with plasmablasts (p<0.001) and a lower percentage of pre-switched memory B cells (p=0.01) were observed in RA patients compared to Healthy Controls (HC, n=45) mainly in bDMARDs naïve patients. After TCZ treatment, we showed an increase of pre-switched memory and a reduction of post-switched memory and double negative (DN) B cells in responders, more evident in patients reaching remission. In particular, patients reaching SDAI remission at 6 and 12 months of TCZ-treatment had a higher reduction of DN B cell subsets already after 3 months reaching a comparable value as in HC (p<0.05). At the multivariate analysis, a disease duration less than 12 months [OR (95%CI): 18.0 (1.6–203.9)], a moderate disease activity (SDAI≤26) at baseline [OR (95%CI): 20 (1.7–250)] and a higher reduction of DN B cells at 3 months of FU [OR (95%CI): 1.05 (1.01–1.08)] arose as significant independent predictors of ACR/EULAR remission (SDAI≤3.3) at 6th months of TCZ treatment. Finally, TCZ-treatment seems to influence B-cell genes expression inducing an up-regulation of proinflammatory molecules (TNF-alpha, IL6) genes, together with the related STAT3, SYK and ZAP-70 genes, in the earlier treatment phases (3 and 6 months respectively) and the subsequent down-regulation of their receptors (TNF-RII and IL6R). Interestingly, the expression of JAK1 decreased significantly at the 12th month, whereas that of JAK3 did not change at the different time points. Conclusions In our cohort of TCZ-treated RA patients, a significant reduction of DN memory B cells at the 3th month of FU has emerged as an early biomarker of remission afterwards. At the same time, profound effects at the JAK1 gene level occurred in B cells after TCZ treatment, even if an increase of Syk and ZAP-70 genes expression was observed, suggesting that B cells are not fully deactivated even after 6–12 months of treatment. References Roll P et al. Arthritis Rheum 2011; Muhammad K et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2011; Mahmood Z et al. Arth Res Ther 2015; Felson DT et al. Arthritis Rheum 2011; Sanz I et al. Semin Immunol 2008. Disclosure of Interest None declared


For pt.I see ibid., vol.13, no.2, p.316-22 (1998). This paper presents the results of laboratory aging tests on polymeric cable terminations. The goals of the laboratory aging were two-fold: (1) develop an accelerated aging test that can simulate the changes produced in the field, and (2) provide an assessment on the magnitude of aging induced changes on the electrical performance of terminations. Monitoring leakage current and material changes during laboratory tests were useful for assessing the variations possible in aging due to experimental parameters used. It has been shown that a laboratory aging test that is based on evaluating the termination's leakage current suppression capability and the ability to withstand a moderate level of discharge activity is suitable not only for assessing the long term performance, but also for ranking the electrical performance in accordance with field exposure.


In this paper we examine the relationship between public policy, legitimacy and organizational identity in the context of a societal controversy. Public policy is theorized as a mode for effecting discourse transformations which offer new possibilities and rules for organizational legitimacy and societal relations. Our study highlights the legitimating function of public policy formation processes and possible legitimacy-appreciating and-depreciating identity attributes for organizations at the centre of controversy. We develop a macro-level understanding of discursive legitimacy and organizational identity, examining the broader societal context and associated democratic implications of power/knowledge and truth claims.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To determine (1) whether a modified monocanalicular silicone stent fixated to the peripunctal tissues by a 6-0 polypropylene suture is a practical alternative to bicanalicular intubation for canalicular reconstruction, and (2) whether this technique is superior to previously described methods of monocanalicular intubation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The charts of patients from the Oculoplastics Division of the Ophthalmology Department at the UMDNJ Medical School who had undergone insertion of a modified canalicular stent were retrospectively reviewed from April 1, 1991, to April 1, 1995.

RESULTS
The technique was used successfully in 33 eyelids (32 patients) for the following conditions: (1) unicanalicular (17 eyelids) and bicanalicular lacerations (1 eyelid), (2) reconstruction of a single canaliculus after eyelid tumor resection (5 eyelids), (3) after canaliculotomy for canaliculitis refractory to medical treatment (3 eyelids), and (4) after punctal plasty for congenital punctal agenesis and after a three-snip procedure for acquired punctal stenosis (6 eyelids). Tubes were maintained in position for a median of 11.5 weeks. Complications included erosion of the anterior aspect on the lid margin (1 eyelid) and premature tube extrusion (1 eyelid) that required reinsertion of another monocanalicular stent. All patients had normal results on dye disappearance tests after surgery and no patients experienced postoperative tearing.

CONCLUSIONS
The monocanalicular silicone stent is technically simple to perform and is an effective method of monocanalicular intubation that may avoid the need for bicanalicular intubation in certain circumstances.


Context and setting At the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, we designed a luncheon where the families of anatomy donors are invited to meet the students who will dissect the bodies of their relatives before the anatomy course begins. The luncheon was specifically designed so that the families of donors lunched with and became acquainted with the very students assigned to dissect their family member. Why the idea was necessary It is well documented that a certain dark humour is associated with gross anatomy classes in medical schools. We felt that meeting the families of donors and hearing their life narratives before beginning dissection would increase the level of professionalism in the anatomy laboratory. We also felt it would increase student empathy for the diseased donor's suffering during life as the students went about the dissection. What was done A freshman class of medical students was randomised into groups of students who participated in the donor luncheon experience and students who did not. Families of donors to the anatomy programme were invited to a luncheon sponsored by the College of Medicine. They were asked to bring pictures and the life stories of the donors to share with the students. This luncheon took place during orientation in Year 1 of medical school. The idea was to personalise the donor so that the first patient the students encountered would have a name, a life story and thus a psychosocial history. We hypothesised that the experience of meeting the donor's family and learning the donor's life story would create empathy for the donor and his or her family. It was also hypothesised that less dark humour and cadaver tricks would be used by students who met with the families of donors. The students and families became acquainted and the families shared stories about their donor members over lunch. Evaluation of results and impact Evaluation was carried out using questionnaires in order to compare the 2 groups of students. Those exposed to the families of anatomy donors were more likely to think about the donor's family during the gross anatomy course (a measure of empathic understanding) and were less likely to quit thinking of the donor as a human being and detach from the process. Both these findings were statistically significant. Interestingly, the group exposed to donor families approached the gross anatomy experience more intellectually than emotionally, compared with the non-exposed group. One student who participated in a cadaver trick was exposed for this behaviour in a 360-degree professionalism evaluation used during the course. This behaviour was seen as unprofessional by fellow students. In summary, we believe our results affirm that a programme such as the anatomy donor luncheon offered at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine provides an ideal opportunity to teach and encourage humanistic qualities of respect, empathy and compassion.


A 2-year maize-wheat rotation experiment was conducted to clarify the characteristics of soil bacterial community under reduced fertiliser-N application rate on the North China Plain. Treatments were conventional fertilisation (CF), 80% fertiliser-N input (80%N) and 80% fertiliser-N plus manure input (80%NM) in the wheat season, while the fertilisation regimes of previous maize were consistent. Results showed that 80%NM increased wheat ear·m-2 and 1,000-grain weight by 5.1% and 7.5%, and it also increased soil C/N ratio (by 29.1%) and dissolved organic N content (by 41.6%), compared with CF, although the difference in crop yields between treatments was not significant. Values of soil bacterial α-diversity parameters (observed species, chao1 estimator, evenness and Shannon's diversity index) were improved under 80%NM, but not under 80%N. Compared with CF, 80%NM increased the abundance of phyla Firmicutes and Gemmatimonadetes but decreased the abundance of phylum Acidobacteria. Redundancy analysis indicated that organic C, dissolved organic N and C/N ratio were major environment variables affecting the distribution of bacterial phyla. These results suggest that manure application can improve soil fertility and productivity under reduced fertiliser-N application rate.


This paper proposes an improved auto-correlation method for extracting fundamental frequency (pitch) from noisy speech. By transforming the auto-correlation function in the time domain to a synthetic wave consisting of the sum of cosine functions in the frequency domain, we improve the performance of pitch extraction from female speech. For male speech, the performance of the proposed method is competitive with that of the conventional method.


This paper investigates a service level agreements (SLAs)-based resource allocation problem in a server cluster. The objective is to maximise the total profit, which is the total revenue minus the operational cost of the server cluster. The total revenue depends on the average request response time, whereas the operating cost depends on the total energy consumption of the server cluster. A joint optimisation framework is proposed, comprised of request dispatching, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) for individual cores of the servers, as well as server- and core-level consolidations. Each DVFS-enabled core in the server cluster is modelled by using a continuous-time Markov decision process (CTMDP). A near-optimal solution comprised of a central manager and distributed local agents is presented. Each local agent employs linear programming-based CTMDP solving method to solve the DVFS problem for the corresponding core. On the other hand, the central manager solves the request dispatch problem and finds the optimal number of ON cores and servers, thereby achieving a desirable tradeoff between service response time and power consumption. To reduce the computational overhead, a two-tier hierarchical solution is utilized. Experimental results demonstrate the outstanding performance of the proposed algorithm over the baseline algorithms.


The hypothesis that the combination of two known antiangiogenic agents TNP‐470 and interferon (IFN)‐α exerts synergistic effects has been investigated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, TNP‐470 and recombinant human IFN‐α2a (rhIFN‐α2a) resulted in a dose‐dependent inhibition of proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Compared with the two agents used singly at their lowest or ineffective doses, combined treatment with the same doses inhibited more intensely in the absence of cytotoxicity and displayed similar behaviour on cell chemotaxis and capillary morphogenesis on Matrigel. However, the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP‐2) and MMP‐9 was not influenced by the two agents, either alone or in combination, even when they were applied at their lowest efficacious doses or at higher cytotoxic doses. Experiments in vivo with the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM)–sponge assay revealed the same dose‐dependent inhibition and synergy. As the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)‐induced angiogenesis in the CAM–sponge model was strongly inhibited by the combined treatment, TNP‐470 and rhIFN‐α2a would appear to exert antiangiogenesis synergistically, perhaps by interfering with the bFGF‐mediated pathway.


Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important constituent of the atmosphere where SOA particles are formed chiefly by the condensation or reactive uptake of oxidation products of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The mass yield in SOA particle formation, as well as the chemical composition and volatility of the particles are determined by the identity of the VOC precursor(s) and the oxidation conditions they experience. In this study, we used an oxidation flow reactor to generate biogenic SOA from the oxidation of Scots pine emissions. Mass yields, chemical composition, and volatility of the 20 SOA particles were characterized and compared with SOA particles formed from oxidation of α-pinene and of a mixture of acyclic/monocyclic sesquiterpenes (farnesenes and bisabolenes), which are significant components of the Scots pine emissions. SOA mass yields for Scots pine emissions dominated by farnesenes were lower than for α-pinene, but higher than for the artificial mixture of farnesenes and bisabolenes. The reduction in the SOA yield in the farnesenes and bisabolenes dominated mixtures is due to C=C bond scission in these acyclic/monocyclic sesquiterpenes during ozonolysis leading to 25 smaller and generally more volatile products. SOA particles from the oxidation of Scots pine emission had similar or lower volatility than SOA particles formed from either of single precursor. Applying physical stress to the Scots pine plants increased monoterpene emissions, which further decreased SOA particle volatility and increased SOA mass yield. Our results highlight the need to account for the chemical complexity and structure of real-world biogenic VOC emissions and stress-induced changes to plant emissions when modelling SOA production and properties in the atmosphere. These results 30 emphasize that simple increase or decrease of relative monoterpene and sesquiterpene emissions should not be used as indicator of SOA particle volatility. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-939 Preprint. Discussion started: 22 October 2019 c © Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 License.


The importance of C/EBP proteins in B cell biology is suggested by the occurrence of functionally important C/EBP binding sites in Ig gene enhancers and promoters, and the knowledge that family member NF-IL-6 is induced in other systems in response to regulators of B cell differentiation. We have studied the expression pattern and activity of C/EBP family transcriptional regulators in B cells at different developmental stages by using B cell lines and normal splenic B cells. Two family members, Ig/EBP and NF-IL-6, seem to be the major regulators of C/EBP site-dependent transcriptional activity in B cells. Negative regulator Ig/EBP is predominantly present in early B cells; activator NF-IL-6 increases in more mature B cells and is induced by LPS activation of splenic B cells. LIP, an N-terminally truncated form of NF-IL-6, was found in most B cell lines tested; LIP can act as a weak transcriptional activator in B cell lines. Partly as a result of the differential amounts of C/EBP family proteins, C/EBP sites do not function as activator sites in early B cells but are activator sites in terminally differentiated B cells.


Statkraft is presently implementing a new control centre system that will replace the five existing control centre solutions by one new multi site solution. The existing control centres are characterized by five independent and different systems, they have different functionality, and communication is carried out by serial solutions based on proprietary protocols. The new control centre solution will be one integrated system with common t tools and functionality. It will be a flexible system that allows redesigning the control centre structure and dispatch of the operation tasks when needed The new control system is presently under installation, and the full functionality should be in place by the end of 2006. The new system will give a much better flexibility in defining, dispatching and organizing the process control and the power plant and hydro system operations than the present system. It is of a great benefit that all users now will use the same type of functionality, and that they have access to the same type and quality audited information. The operators will be more integrated into the same working processes, and exchange of information, experiences and view points in between regions will be far easier than before. Since all operators are using the same system, it will also be easier to maintain, develop and exchange the competence between the regions. Hence, an even more professional and efficient process control may be achieved.


The optical spectrum of Si2+ is presented. The two electronic band systems observed near 430 and 270 nm correspond to the two lowest optically allowed transitions of Si2+ assigned to 4Σu-(I) ← X4Σg- and 4Σu-(II) ← X4Σg-. The spectra were measured via photodissociation spectroscopy of mass-selected ions at the level of vibrational resolution, and the determined spectroscopic constants provide detailed information about the geometric and electronic structure, establishing molecular constants of this fundamental diatomic cation that enable astrophysical detection on, for example, hot rocky super-Earth-like exoplanets.


The aim of this study is to analyze whether Institutional Development Plans (IDP) are strategic documents or simply a response to seeking legitimacy in the face of regulatory pressures. This is a qualitative study based on information from 20 IDPs of Brazilian universities, categorized as private, public, community, or confessional. To analyze the IDPs, the content analysis methodology was used. As a result, it was found that most IDPs are much more descriptive documents, with operational goals and plans, than documents with strategic characteristics. On the other hand, in most of the documents analyzed, there was evidence of the importance and relevance of constructing an IDP as a benefit for the management and the university organization as a whole. It was concluded that IDPs tend to be documents that seek to provide universities with legitimacy in relation to the actors involved. In other words, they converge towards institutional isomorphism. Thus, they are not prepared, and used only due to institutional demands, but mainly due to legal impositions.


Preventive medicine and anti-aging medicine have received much attention recently due to an increase in the proportion of elderly people in the population, and to an increase in patients with lifestyle diseases. Oxidative stress is involved in the onset of lifestyle diseases, and various antioxidant supplements and antioxidant-fortified functional foods have recently become available. Many epidemiological studies have shown relationships between the consumption of polyphenol and carotenoid-rich foods and the prevention of lifestyle diseases. We have focused on the absorption mechanism of these food components that show low bioavailability, and have made efforts to improve their poor absorption based on their pharmacokinetic properties. In this report, as examples, we describe the enhancement of the absorption of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and lutein. To improve the absorption of CoQ10, we focused on the component of emulsion. We found that a higher plasma concentration of CoQ10 could be obtained by creating an emulsion containing a surfactant with a higher hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value. For the improvement of lutein absorption, we prepared a solid dispersion and self-emulsifying drug delivery system. It was shown that the plasma concentrations of lutein in these two formulation groups were increased compared with that in the powder group. The absorption of lutein was also evaluated by its cumulative amount in the lymph system. Our data showed that lutein is transferred from the small intestine into the lymph stream, rather than into the blood stream. Further investigations to improve the absorption of these components are in progress.


Dear Editor,

I read with interest the published article by Chung et al.1 recently in your journal. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection continues to be a major health problem worldwide. Prevalence of HAV infection differs greatly in various parts of the world according to the geographic area, sanitary conditions and socioeconomic levels.2 As the authors presented the prevalence rate for anti-HAV Ab increased significantly, studies in various communities have shown that HAV prevalence rises with age.3 It will emphasize the need anti HAV vaccine during childhood in Korea especially when the symptomatic HAV infections have remarkably reported in Korea been increased during recent years.4 But there are some points that can help the readers for better understanding the issue. The living place of study group was urban and it may under-estimate the real prevalence of anti-HAV Ab in general population in Korea. In changing the developing countries to developed countries, the improvement in health status in not uniform and there are heterogeneity in distribution in every country.5 These limitation prevent for final conclusion regarding all of country in Korea, however the result is very important for health policy makers for any decision in future.


A theory for the current and light pulses of positive glow corona from a point in air is presented; this phenomenon was first observed as an apparently continuous glow by Michael Faraday. Results are obtained, in concentric sphere geometry, for air at atmospheric pressure, by solving the continuity equations for electrons, positive ions, negative ions and metastable oxygen molecules, coupled with Poisson's equation. A series of `saw-toothed' current pulses of period about is predicted with a DC current level. Accompanying the current peaks are discrete pulses of light 30 ns wide. Successive `shells' of positive ions, from successive current pulses, carry 96% of the mean current. The mean current - voltage relationship has the classic square-law form. The seed electrons required for successive pulses are detached from negative ions by metastable oxygen molecules. Photo-ionization is crucial for the discharge at the anode and for the formation of negative ions throughout the gap. The pulse frequency varies with applied voltage and is found to be approximately proportional to the positive-ion mobility. The surface electric field at the central electrode remains close to Peek's onset field. The origin of onset streamers is explained and sub-microsecond voltage pulses are found to produce streamers. The results for concentric-cylinder electrodes are described briefly.


Structural, electronic and optical properties of MgxCd1−xSe (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1) are calculated for the first time using density functional theory. Our results show that these properties are strongly dependent on molar fraction of particular components — x. The bond between Cd and Se is partially covalent and the covalent nature of the bond decreases as the concentration of Mg increases from 0 % to 100 %. It is found that MgxCd1−xSe has a direct band gap in the entire range of x and the band gap of the alloy increases from 0.43 to 2.46 eV with the increase in Mg concentration. Frequency dependent dielectric constants ɛ1(ω), ɛ2(ω) refractive index n(ω) are also calculated and discussed in detail. The peak value of refractive indices shifts to higher energy regions with the increase in Mg. The larger value of the extraordinary refractive index confirms that the material is a positive birefringence crystal. The present comprehensive theoretical study of the optoelectronic properties of the material predicts that it can be effectively used in optoelectronic applications in the wide range of spectra: IR, visible and UV. In addition, we have also predicted the heat capacities (CV), the entropy (S), the internal energy (U) and the Helmholtz free energy (F) of MgxCd1−xSe ternary alloys.


Abstract : There is no question the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 changed our national security environment. The operational tempo of the United States military as a result of the Global War on Terrorism and other international contingencies and deployments is at an all-time high. At the same time drug trafficking and use inside our borders continue to have an extreme negative impact on our communities and neighborhoods. Although some experts argue the United States has made progress in the war on drugs illegal drugs continue to be a threat to our national security. In fact there are those throughout our country that believe drug trafficking and addictions pose a greater threat to national security than terrorists do. More importantly the two threats become closely related or integrated when terrorists become involved in drug trafficking both to gain addicts to raise profits to fund their terrorist network and to weaken our will to resist them. What more can our federal government do to combat this cancer to our society? Should the Department of Defense (DoD) increase its support to the domestic counterdrug mission or is DoD stretched to the point in which it cannot provide more support to this vital mission as it has done in the past? This analysis considers the alternatives and risks of whether or not the U.S. military should provide more support to the domestic counterdrug mission. It will also review the current U.S. national drug policy objectives as they pertain to DoD involvement and the employment of the U.S. military. It considers the methods the military can use in the domestic war on drugs.


This paper systematically identifies, maps and evaluates specific types of provision for autistic students published on university websites at 120 institutions throughout the UK. Within these data we identify trends in relation to geographical region, university group, and the Teaching Excellence Framework rating. We employ Nancy Fraser's theory of social justice to unpack the reasons that underlie the differentials in provision across UK higher education institutions. Findings identify eight categories of provision tailored specifically for autistic students from 'supporting transition to university' to 'social groups' and suggest that there are institutions across the UK with evidence of more developed provision. Our data show, however, that resources and provision are not distributed equitably, raising implications for autistic students' parity of participation in higher education.


In discussing the development of evaluation and evaluation research in this article the distinction is made between an initial and a consolidation phase. The former setting off in the late 1960s is linked with the expansion of reform policies in which, under the conceptual infl uence of the related development in the USA, evaluation has been introduced as a procedure of analysis and "feedback" on goal attainment and on the effects of political programmes and measures, in part connected with the claim of a 'scientifi cation' of policymaking ('experimental policies'). Due to the emergence of evaluation research as (external) 'contractual research' the traditional research 'landscape' shaped by university-based 'basic' research, and the relation between the political world and the 'scientifi c community' have been profoundly changed. In the 'consolidation phase' the further development has been signifi cantly impacted by New Public Management-inspired political and administrative modernisation and the systematic evaluation required by the European Union for its structural funds. The progressive institutionalisation and professionalisation of evaluation research is evidenced by the foundation of the (German) Evaluation Society (DeGEval) in 1997 and of the (German language) Journal of Evaluation (Zeitschrift für Evaluation) in 2002.


Technical specifications for nuclear power plants limit both the annual quantity and the maximum release rate of activity to the environment. Demonstration of compliance, therefore, requires the measurement of long-term emissions as well as the capability of detecting changes in the release rate. At the same time, some effluents can only be monitored if they are concentrated on some sort of filter and the simplest way of satisfying both the sensitivity and response requirements is to use a monitor capable of continuous collecting and counting. In this paper, the ability of this type of monitor to perform the long and short term monitoring functions is analyzed. The long term emissions are shown to be directly related to the total number of counts obtained during the monitoring period. The short term function requires that the activity released be determined over short intervals. This results in significant statistical errors because the activity collected during the last interval has to be determined against a much larger background, consisting of the undecayed portion of all the activity previously collected. We have analyzed the statistical error resulting from this type of measurement for three methods of processing the data, including the commonly used differentiator circuit. The analysis shows that a method which is the digital analogue of the diff erentiator is preferred because it gives satisfactory statistical accuracy and it provides the greatest flexibility in the types of changes it can detect. The differentiator approach provides comparable statistical accuracy but is less flexible. A third method, in which the activity releases are determined for each separate interval, produces much poorer statistical accuracy than the other two.


Correlation of sharp indentation problems is examined theoretically and numerically. The analysis focuses on elastic-plastic pressure-sensitive materials and especially the case when the local plastic zone is so large that elastic effects on the mean contact pressure will be small or negligible as is the case for engineering metals and alloys. The results from the theoretical analysis indicate that the effect from pressure-sensitivity and plastic strain-hardening are separable at correlation of hardness values. This is confirmed using finite element methods and closed-form formulas are presented representing a pressure-sensitive counterpart to the Tabor formula at von Mises plasticity. The situation for the relative contact area is more complicated as also discussed.


Abstract Soil with the spores of fungi in dormant stage from previous years infections belonging to the genus Fusarium caused significant loss of onion yield in Poland. The most important form of Fusarium inoculum in the field are chlamydospores, which may survive in soil for many years. There are no available methods to eradicate chlamydospores from soil environment. Inspired by data from the literature and own prelimi–nary observation, we evaluated the effect of application of Brassicaceae plant material to the soil infested with F. oxysporum and F. solani isolates, which are pathogenic to onion. Obtained results showed that addition of fresh plant material from B. juncea and B. alba had no effect on amount of Fusarium propagules in the soil. Moreover amendment of infested soil with dry plants or milled seeds of B. juncea or B. nigra significantly stimulated the population of Fusarium in the soil.


A correlation analysis of data on four fertility variables viz. closed birth interval, open birth interval, age and parity, collected in a survey of about 2,000 married women in the reproductive ages in rural India, is carried out in order to study the interrelationships among these variables. Two hypotheses are formulated governing the relationship of the closed and open birth intervals with the fecundability distribution of fertile women, and Parity Progression Ratios which are largely influenced by the proportion of women becoming sterile after each parity. The data lend support to the hypothesis that while the closed intervals are influenced mainly by the distribution of fecundability of women of non-zero fecundability, the open birth intervals are influenced mainly by Parity Progression Ratios or the proportion of women becoming secondarily sterile after each parity. The analysis suggests that we can use the mean open intervals of women classified by parity as indices of fertility, and such an index is comparable to the index of average age of women of given parity. In areas where it is difficult to ascertain the correct age of women this might be of practical value.


Syncope accounts for 1-3% of emergency department (ED) visits and 1-6% of hospital admissions. There are numerous etiologies, ranging from relatively benign vasovagal syncope to dangerous dysrhythmias. The ED evaluation and management of syncope is comprised of history, examination, and typically an electrocardiogram, with further investigation dependent upon clinical decision-making and suspected conditions. Previously, pulmonary embolism (PE) was thought to account for a small minority of patients with syncope. However, a recent study by Prandoni and colleagues reported a high prevalence of PE in admitted patients with syncope (3.8% of ED patients and 17.3% of hospitalized patients). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The article is a study based on ten semi-structured interviews to show how mut'a, known as temporary, pleasure marriage, is practised in seven different ways in present-day Denmark. Continuous conversations with Danish Shi'i women provide a rare insight into the discourses and emotions behind making sense of a world of love, relationships and social norms formulated as divine intentions. The practices vary from relationships, dating and online relations, to tools in therapeutic settings. Mut'a is articulated as a formalised tool to navigate a highly gender segregated world and is only practised by individuals who hold rigid views regarding gender regulations. The study demonstrates noticeable differences between cultural interpretations of related concepts such as mahr and 'idda, thus leading to a conversation about what constitutes Muslim law and practices. The findings contribute to a wider study of how contextual settings, such as individual experience, world-making and cognitions, aid inductive productions of social norms within Muslim law.


Catholic social teaching is more than a static body of ethical conclusions regarding matters of public policy, but rather a distinctive way of viewing reality, discerning the signs of the times and moving believers to action for the promotion of social justice. This is the refreshing perspective presented by O'Neill in this slim yet highly informative overview of the Church's tradition of social doctrine. The author's evident high regard for practitioners of social justice (including Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, and the Israelite prophets, among other agents of reform) underlines the agenda of this volume: encouraging readers to appreciate how the principles, values, and virtues promoted by Church teachings on proper social order can never be reduced to mere abstractions, but rather absolutely require vivid narratives and flesh-and-blood instantiation in order to be effective. O. is nevertheless eager to suggest avenues of fruitful dialogue between Christian voices and a wide range of secular ideologies, including liberalism, socialism, utilitarianism, and other schools of thought in which the author is so well versed that he can supply reliable thumbnail sketches of both shortcomings and merits that hold out the promise of mutual learning. The reader emerges with a deep appreciation for how much hard work toward promoting the vision of justice espoused by papal and other church teachings remains to be done, even on the part of recognizably Roman Catholic agents. Further strengths of the book include a consistently global perspective (transcending the customary Eurocentrism of many such accounts), the inclusion of highly creative discussion questions accompanying each of the fourteen brief chapters, and especially thorough documentation in endnotes and bibliography. While the general reader will discover here an approachable and inspiring treatment of the broad outlines of the Catholic social teaching tradition, the theological specialist will also find in this volume a highly insightful synthesis of the increasingly critical guidance that Church voices offer to a world of widespread suffering and injustice.


We developed an adjoint version of a process‐based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM). The adjoint model of TEM was then used to: (1) conduct sensitivity studies of net ecosystem production (NEP) for three terrestrial ecosystems: grassland, deciduous broadleaf forest and evergreen needle‐leaf forest; (2) rank the importance of parameters in controlling NEP; (3) optimize the model parameters by assimilating eddy flux data of NEP; and (4) evaluate parameterization by extrapolating optimal parameters to other sites that have the same plant functional type as the calibration sites. We found that: (1) the maximum rate of photosynthesis (CMAX) was the most important parameter in determining NEP, while the importance of the remaining parameters varied depending on plant functional type, suggesting that the same ecosystem process has different degrees of importance in modeling carbon fluxes; (2) the sensitivity of NEP to CMAX had a significant seasonal variability and the control of CMAX on NEP was much larger in growing season (defined as from April to October) than that in nongrowing season (defined as from December to March); and (3) after parameterization, TEM could reasonably reproduce carbon fluxes observed at eddy flux tower sites. This study provided an effective model‐data fusion framework of TEM, which could improve the future quantification of terrestrial ecosystem carbon fluxes at both site and regional levels.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Lung cancer is a major cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Whereas the vast majority of these neoplasms are directly attributable to cigarette abuse, the molecular mechanisms contributing to tobacco- associated pulmonary carcinogenesis are not well understood. In the present study, we utilized microarray techniques and systems biology analysis to investigate global mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles during lung cancer progression using an in-vitro model. Four sets of cell lines were chosen to examine miRNA/mRNA signatures during lung cancer progression, including primary normal human bronchial epithelia (NHBE) as well as small airway epithelial cells (SAEC), immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC), a lung cancer line (H1975) derived from a non-smoker, and three lung cancer lines (H1299, Calu-6 and A549) derived from smokers. Cells were cultured in normal media (NM) with or without cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), the DNA demethylating agent, 5 aza-2' deoxycytidine (DAC), and the histone deacetylase inhibitor Depsipeptide (DP) to examine how cigarette smoke and epigenetic events may affect global mRNA and miRNA expression during pulmonary carcinogenesis. Based on global mRNA/miRNA expression clustering, primary respiratory epithelial cells, immortalized HBEC, and smoker as well as non-smoker derived lung cancer lines were readily distinguished from one another. Each cell group exhibited its own special set of miRNAs /mRNAs, which were over or under-expressed relative to primary cells. Comparison of miRNA profiles in CSC-treated vs untreated NHBE, SAEC, HBEC, A549 and Calu-6 cells revealed that cigarette smoke induces over-expression of miR-21 and miR-31. MiR-21 and miR-31 were also significantly over-expressed in smoker-derived A549 and Calu-6 lung cancer cells relative to non-smoker-derived H1975. In addition, differential gene expression profiles were observed in smoker-derived vs non-smoker derived lung cancer cells. A group of miRNAs/ mRNA were preferentially modulated by sequential DAC/DP treatment in these cultured cells. Further analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs/mRNAs observed in this model system may provide new insight regarding molecular mechanisms associated with pulmonary carcinogenesis, and reveal novel biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2013.


The origin of the observed steep rotation curves of blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs) remains largely unexplained by theoretical models of BCD formation. We therefore investigate the rotation curves in BCDs formed from mergers between gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxies based on the results of numerical simulations for BCD formation. The principal results are as follows. The dark matter of merging dwarf irregulars undergoes a central concentration so that the central density can become up to six times higher than those of the initial dwarf irregulars. However, the more compact dark matter halo alone can not reproduce the gradient differences observed between dwarf irregulars and BCDs. We provide further support that the central concentration of gas due to rapid gas-transfer to the central regions of dwarf--dwarf mergers is responsible for the observed difference in rotation curve gradients. The BCDs with central gas concentration formed from merging can thus show steeply rising rotation curves in their central regions. Such gas concentration is also responsible for central starbursts of BCDs and the high central surface brightness and is consistent with previous BCD studies. We discuss the relationship between rotational velocity gradient and surface brightness, the dependence of BCD rotation curves on star formation threshold density, progenitor initial profile, interaction type and merger mass ratio, as well as potential evolutionary links between dwarf irregulars, BCDs and compact dwarf irregulars.


Even 35 years after the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) much remains to be learned about the phenomenon.(1-3) Despite broad consensus on the mechanism of SERS, many features remain poorly understood and in particular much less effort has been put into understanding the continuum emission called the "background" observed in SERS spectra. Here the SERS background is studied systematically on sphere segment void (SSV) plasmonic substrates. We establish the physicochemical dependence of the background on plasmons, the identity of the adsorbate, adsorbate coverage and electrochemical potential. In particular, by exchanging electron-donating and electron-withdrawing adsorbates, we demonstrate predictable modulation of the SERS background. Using these observations, we propose a model for the origin of the SERS background. Finally, we test the proposed model against its predictions for anti-Stokes SERS spectra.


Hair and nail disorders are quite common in childhood. A great number of these disorders are congenital, attributed to inherited diseases or to defects of the ectoderm formation. The acquired disorders may be chronic or indicative of systemic disease. Important for both dermatologists and pediatricians is the knowledge of clinical pictures that, although seem to be pathological, are normally present at infancy or childhood. Studying this wide spectrum of diseases, one realizes that it is easier to diagnose than to treat. We comment on this difficulty because most hair and nail disorders in childhood consist mainly of a cosmetic problem with psychological implications for both parents and children.


This report discusses the WIN-T communications program and network used by the Army for distributing information to the whole Army while in the field. There are two main stages of development and implementation the first being stationary command posts communication networks which is fully implemented and the second is equipping combat vehicles with mobile real-time communication devices to improve situational awareness and providing combat commanders with the same type of mobile communication abilities. The second stage is partially implemented and continues to be added to units each year. Related DOD reports and Congressional concerns are also addressed.


A wireless communication system with a closed-loop power control function for bio-implantable applications is described which keeps the power dissipation of implantable unit at the allowable level for human body. The function is controlled by monitoring an excessive current at the implantable unit and limiting the power transmission at the external interrogator unit. The implantable unit with the closed-loop power control function has been fabricated in a standard 0.18 mum CMOS technology, achieved less than 530 muW with a 1.8 V and the chip core size of 0.14 mm2. The system uses inductive coupling at 13.56 MHz with internal and external coils. Experimental results confirm its stable power supply to the implantable unit over a coil distance of 0.5 to 10 mm.


A matching parameter estimation method with subpixel accuracy is derived by using the radial basis function (RBF) interpolation. This method reconstructs two analogue images from two given digital images by the RBF, and then minimises a non-linear cost function by the steepest-descent algorithm to estimate translation, rotation, scaling factor and intensity change between the two analogue images. The RBF provides accurate interpolation, resulting in accurate estimation. A Gaussian weighting function is introduced into the cost function to provide a local estimate within a region of interest (ROC). Then double integrals included in the cost function are analytically computed and the computational complexity is significantly reduced by exploiting the property that the Gaussian function decays rapidly. When the matching parameters are not constant over the whole image, or equivalently, the ROC is set to be small, the proposed method is better than the conventional phase correlation method in estimation accuracy.


been studied. From the temperature dependence of the zero-field splitting, the Debye temperature is found as a function of temperature in all the four systems. We find that the temperature dependence of the g-values arises from the dynamical interaction between the paramagnetic electrons and the phonons. The Debye temperature found from the zerofield splitting agrees with that found from the g-value. We have thus studied the interaction of paramagnetic electrons with lattice vibrations by a new method.


In a longitudinal study the contribution of mothers' attachment concerns to the infant negative emotionality was examined. Ninety-three mothers described their child's temperament at 3 and 9 months. The results revealed that increased negative emotionality at 9 months was related not only to high levels of fussiness at 3 months but also to mothers' concerns and worries about their personal relationships. It was found that infants of mothers who tended to be avoidant in their close adult relationships showed increased levels of negative emotionality during the latter part of the first year. Further, infants of mothers who appeared secure (not avoidant) in their adult close relationships showed decreased levels of negative emotionality. The findings of the present study give some support to a directional link between caregivers' characteristics and the regulation of negative emotionality in infancy.


We investigate three-dimensional transfer functions in order to understand image formation in the recently proposed 4Pi confocal microscope [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A9, 2159 ( 1992);Opt. Commun.93, 277 ( 1992)]. Both nonfluorescence and fluorescence imaging methods are considered, and the effects of apodization functions are taken into account. It is shown that for a 4Pi confocal system of finite-sized aperture the cutoff spatial frequency in the axial direction is larger than that in the transverse direction; this behavior is opposite that of conventional confocal systems, explaining the observation of high axial resolution in 4Pi confocal systems. In addition, the three-dimensional optical transfer function for a conventional confocal fluorescence microscope of high aperture is presented.


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

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in males and, despite its high incidence, only limited data are available on which genes or chromosome regions are specifically involved in its initiation and progression. We studied 72 prostate tumor samples by array-CGH, using a platform containing 60.000 oligonucleotides spread over the whole genome (60K Agilent Technologies). No chromosome alterations (CNA) were detected in 13 samples. The array-CGH profiles of the remaining samples showed losses at 8p and gains on 8q, often with narrow peaks of amplification, in ∼50% of the tumors. Additionally, losses at 6q, 13q and 16q were observed in ∼25% of the samples. Although these results are in general agreement with the location of alterations described earlier, the altered chromosome segments are often several megabases long. Mapping of minimum regions altered in several tumors, or pronounced copy number changes in smaller segments, permits a more precise definition of the relevant chromosome regions that are relevant for tumor development and progression. Current prognostic variables include prostatic specific antigen (PSA), the pathologically defined Gleason score (GS) and T-category (of the TNM staging). There is a great heterogeneity within the intermediate risk group and further genetic markers are needed to refine disease diagnosis and prognosis. So, we analyzed the copy number alteration signatures for the intermediate risk group, Gleason 7. In the comparison between samples related as GS 6 versus GS 7, we found that losses on 5q21.1 and gains on 7q11.21 are more frequent in GS 7. In other hand, losses on 22q13.33 are more frequent in GS 7 than in GS 8 and 9, while losses on 6q21 and 18q21 are correlated with GS 8 and 9. Additionally, we have medical follow-up of only 46 of the 72 samples. Fifteen of these patients had present recurrence after treatment. We analyzed this group versus the group with no recurrence. Losses at 2p21, 6q12, 7q36.3 and 16q13 are more frequent in the group of patients in which there is recurrence of the tumor. This suggests that these alterations could also be hallmarks for recurrence. Further studies with array-CGH of prostate tumors samples will ultimately lead to defining much smaller regions of overlap than at present, which in turn will indicate which specific individual genes and/or combinations of genes are the real "drivers" in prostate cancer or could act as hallmarks for prognosis and recurrence.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1168. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1168


Background: Hematological parameters are major indicator of ischemic stroke. Hematological parameters and stroke incidence have not been investigated in local population. Objective: The present study was designed to assess whether hematological parameters play an important role in ischemic stroke patients. Methodology: For this purpose a cross-sectional study was done at Services hospital, Lahore from January 2013 to August 2013. A total of 150subjects were enrolled and divided into two groups, control (n=50) and ischemic stroke subjects (n=100). Data regarding risk factors was collected through questionnaire. Their hematological parameters such as WBCs count, RBCs count, haemoglobin concentration, HCT, MCV, MCH and PLT count were assessed by hematology analyzer. Statstical analysis was done by using SPSS (version 13). Result: Mean age of control and ischemic stroke group was 61.40y±1.33 and 63.8y±1.36 respectively with non-significant difference between the groups. Among the ischemic stroke subjects, 73% of the subjects were suffering from hypertension, 53% reported diabetes, 41% had heart disease, 39% had family history of stroke, 32% were smokers and 46% use high cholesterol food. The WBCs count, MCV, MCH and HCT were found significantly higher in ischemic stroke subjects when compared with control group while the significant decrease was observed in RBCs count and hemoglobin concentration. PLT count increased in ischemic stroke subjects as compared to control group. Conclusion: It was concluded that in ischemic stroke patients hematological parmeters were greately altered.