The subject of research in the article is the process of ranking objects in the lists of recommender systems. The goal of the work is to increase the efficiency of recommender systems by improving the method of determining preferences between objects in lists using the theory of multi-criteria decision-making. The following tasks are solved in the article: review and analysis of the current state of the problem of identifying advantages between objects and their ranking in the lists of recommender systems; analysis of filtering methods used in recommendation systems; decomposition of the decision support problem for selection of objects; development of a combined method for ranking objects in the lists of recommender systems, combining the procedures for selecting a subset of Pareto-optimal objects, structural-parametric synthesis of a scalar multi-criteria estimation model, and evaluating the entire set of selected objects. The following methods are used: mathematical modeling, systems theory, utility theory, decision theory, optimization and operations research. Results. Based on the results of the analysis of the modern methodology for ranking objects in the lists of recommendation systems, the possibility of increasing their efficiency has been established. To take into account factors difficult to formalize, the knowledge and experience of users, it is proposed to implement the determination of preferences between objects using the theory of multi-criteria decision making. The problem of forming lists of recommendation systems is decomposed into the tasks of selecting a subset of Pareto-optimal objects, structural-parametric synthesis of a scalar multi-criteria estimation model, and evaluating a set of selected objects. A combined method for ranking options has been developed that combines the procedures of ordinalistic and cardinalistic ordering technologies and allows one to correctly reduce the subsets of objects included in the lists of recommendations. Conclusions. The developed method for determining preferences expands the methodological foundations for automating the development and operation of recommendation systems, other multi-criteria decision support systems, allows for the correct reduction of the set of non-dominated objects for the final choice, taking into account factors that are difficult to formalize, knowledge and user experience. The practical use of the obtained results due to more economical method of forming lists when adding new objects will allow to decrease the time and capacity complexity of the procedures for providing recommendations, and due to taking into account of set of weighted local indexes and allocation of set of non-dominated objects - to increase quality of given recommendations.


The electrical properties of proton ion beam irradiated glass samples are carried out by impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 32 MHz. The ion beam of energy 3 MeV and fluence of of 10 particles cm was chosen for irradiation. The conductivity of the super ionic glass samples increases after irradiation and other electrical parameters like dielectric constant, dielectric loss and modulus of the proton irradiated glass samples as a function of glass composition and temperature are observed to change. The dielectric constant and the dielectric losses are increased after irradiation and the modulus parameters confirm the non-Debye nature for irradiated samples also.


Hermite methods, as introduced by Goodrich et al., combine Hermite interpolation and staggered (dual) grids to produce stable high order accurate schemes for the solution of hyperbolic PDEs. We introduce three variations of this Hermite method which do not involve time evolution on dual grids. Computational evidence is presented regarding stability, high order convergence, and dispersion/dissipation properties for each new method. Hermite methods may also be coupled to discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods for additional geometric flexibility. An example illustrates the simplification of this coupling of this coupling for the Hermite methods.


The objective of this experiment was to study the development of vital organs and gastrointestinal tract of culling crossbred cows from the second (G2: 3/4Charolais (C) Nellore (N) and 3/4NC) and third (G3: 5/8CN and 5/8NC) generations of C x N rotational crossbreeding. Animals were feedlot finished and slaughtered with 465 (T465), 507 (T507), and 566 kg (T566) of body weight (BW). At the beginning of the trial, age, BW, and body condition averaged respectively, 8.5 years, 388.6 kg and, 2.35 points. Animals were fed a 48:52 forage:concentrate ratio diet containing 12.5% crude protein and 2.99 Mcal of digestible energy per kg of dry matter. Liver showed the greatest development among the studied organs. Lungs and spleen showed high development until animals reached 507 kg BW (T507) but reduced at 566 kg BW (T566). Increasing slaughter weight reduced the proportion of internal organs and gastrointestinal tract in the total BW and empty body weight (EBW). G3 animals had heavier reticulum-rumen and stomach (reticulum-rumen+omasum+abomasum) (14.29 vs. 12.30 kg and 24.43 vs. 22.28 kg, respectively) compared to G2 cows. However, when expressed as proportion of BW and EBW only the reticulum-rumen weight differed between G2 and G3 cows. The greater contribution of C in the genotype resulted in increased volume of blood and development of lungs and all vital organs together when expressed as proportions of EBW.


Critical theory is important in live-client clinical teaching as a means to achieve the pedagogical goals of clinical education. Feminist legal theory, critical race theory, and poverty law theory serve as useful frameworks to enable students to deconstruct assumptions they, persons within institutions, and broader society make about the students' clients and their lives. Critical theory highlights the importance of looking for both the "obvious and non-obvious relationships of domination." Thus, critical theory informs students of the presence and importance of alternative voices that challenge the dominant discourse. When student attorneys ignore or are unaware of such voices, other voices invisibly influence the lawyer-client relationship and lawyering activities, such as interviewing, case theory generation, fact investigation, strategic planning, counseling, and problem-solving. Critical theory also has a value in transmitting a structured and systemic critique "of law, legal institutions, and lawyering."This Article discusses the way in which the Women and the Law Clinic and the Domestic Violence Clinic at the Washington College of Law at American University have attempted to incorporate feminist legal theory, critical race theory, and poverty law theory into our jointly-run seminar in order to further the clinics' pedagogical goals. Our effort began with identifying feminist and other critical legal theories that resonate with the lives of our clinics' clients, their legal and non-legal issues, and the lawyering skills and values we teach. Next, we created a simulated fact pattern that is intended to highlight the theoretical issues we want to teach. Finally, we selected scholarly readings that discuss the theoretical concepts, and assign them to be read in preparation for the lecture and simulation exercise classes that we believe provide the best context in which to discuss the theory. This Article sets forth details of this ongoing project and explores the impact that infusion of critical theory in every aspect of the clinic has had on achievement of our pedagogical goals.


Driver's distraction has become an important and growing safety concern with the increasing use of the so-called In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS), such as cell-phones, navigation systems, etc. A very promising way to overcome this problem is to detect driver's distraction and thus to adopt in-vehicle systems accordingly, in order to avoid or mitigate the negative effects. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a method for the non-intrusive detection of visual distraction, based on the vehicle dynamic data; in particular, we present and compare two models, applying Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) which are well-known data-mining methods.

Despite of what already done in literature, our method does not use eye-tracker data in the final classifier. With respect to other similar works, we regard distraction identification as a classification problem and, moreover, we extend the datasets, both in terms of data-points and of scenarios.

Data for training the models were collected using a static driving simulator, with real human subjects performing a specific secondary task (SURT) while driving. Different training methods, model characteristics and features selection criteria have been compared.

Potential applications of this research include the design of adaptive IVIS and of "smarter" Partially Autonomous Driving Assistance Systems (PADAS), as well as the evaluation of driver's distraction.


Food and water are fundamental environmental health determinants. They are necessities of life, such that shortfalls in ready access in sufficient quality and quantity precipitate poor health, failure to thrive, susceptibility to disease, and if not rectified, ultimately lead to death. Archeological and historical records testify that large scale interruptions to food and water supplies trigger widespread social upheaval and when driven by systematic inequities in distribution, can overthrow governments.
 The desperation to secure survival is deep-seated. Competition for scarce resources, mass migration and conflict further generate environmental damage, disruptions to social cohesion, and can also herald novel challenges to health and wellbeing. Climate change is accelerating and with it, increasing intensity of extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, fires, storms and floods. These interrupt food and water supplies and income generation. Unless transformative and rapid reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved, and achieved promptly, the global population will be forced to confront escalation in shortfalls.
 Will wealthy nations accommodate the needs of the global disadvantaged?
 Exposure of agricultural sectors to climate extremes is already reversing gains made towards ending malnutrition and achieving SDG1: Reducing global hunger and malnutrition. Global water insecurity is also intensifying. A perfect storm is looming with accelerated global warming against a backdrop of rapid population growth and existing challenges in ensuring water and food security for all. The combination of lethal heat extremes and intensifying insecurities in these basic human needs threatens to make many homelands uninhabitable.
 Humanity is creating a Climate Change Emergency, which translates to a Global Public Health Emergency. It is thus incumbent upon the world's public health community to move beyond engagement in this climate change crisis. We must step up and take leadership to protect the health of all. Is the PPRR risk management model: Prevent, Prepare, Respond and Recover, the way forward?
 Workshop participants will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of three public health experts from the World Federation of Public Health Association to gain a deep understanding of the relationship pathways between climate change and these accelerating health threats. Recent global disasters events will illustrate the diversity and extent of this unfolding crisis. Examples of promising Public Health Response solutions will highlight what can be achieved by applying a coordinated public health lens.
 This interactive session elicits audience involvement through facilitated Question and Answer discussion. Following the panel presentations, the Q&A session will enable workshop participants to explore how better engagement of the public health sector can serve to help ameliorate the risks, and build resilience through Climate Change PPRR.

 Interruptions to food and water security generate disease, famine, conflict and in severe circumstances mass migration, disproportionately harming the global disadvantaged, and ultimately everyone. Climate change risks food & water security and thus threatens human wellbeing. Observed effects will dramatically escalate. The global public health community must engage to protect health.


Today metaliterature encompasses the picture book but there are not specifics studies about it. This paper explores picture-book publishing in Italy and analyses the work by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston A Child of Books (2016), recipient of the 2017 Bologna Ragazzi Award. This picture book epitomises the aesthetic and literary features of the various types of picture book. Metaphorically speaking, the book's multi-layering recalls the bildungsroman as well as the distinction between imagination and the creative power of invention. The iconic code accompanies readers on their journey into the imagination that is at the heart of the reading process. The use of the calligram is both an integral part of the picture and a metatext referring to a multiplicity of other literary works sometimes only touched upon. The paper explains that the best metaliterary pictures enable readers to access the polysemous world evoked by pictures and images while also nurturing the spirit and assisting in the formation of the self. Although their intended audience is children, who are shown how pictures and images are able to generate new thoughts, these books also address adult educators, inviting them to think critically about reading and develop new educational paths to help future readers to grow.


Klebsiella pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis coinfection is one of the most lethal combinations with high mortality specially if there is delay in diagnosis and proper management. Patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus are prone to develop this type of serious infection.There is a considerable overlap in the clinical presentation of these critical pulmonary infections hence there is need for a high index of clinical suspicion, appropriate judicious investigations, and promt management to improve survivality. Here, we have presented Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Klebsiella pneumonia co-infection presenting as cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath in an elderly male with multiple co-morbidities, like uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, hypertension, prosthetic aortic valve in situ (for aortic stenosis)& previous history of ishchaemic stroke. This combination is rare and to the best of our knowledge not reported in the literature from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh J Medicine 2022; 33: 52-57


Epigenetic mechanisms, including post-translational modifications of DNA and histones that influence chromatin structure, regulate gene expression during normal development and are also involved in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. The histone methyltransferase G9a (euchromatic histone lysine methyltransferase 2, EHMT2), which mostly mediates mono- and dimethylation by histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9), influences gene expression involved in embryonic development and tissue differentiation. Overexpression of G9a has been observed in several cancer types, and different classes of G9a inhibitors have been developed as potential anticancer agents. Here, we review the emerging evidence suggesting the involvement of changes in G9a activity in brain tumors, namely glioblastoma (GBM), the main type of primary malignant brain cancer in adults, and medulloblastoma (MB), the most common type of malignant brain cancer in children. We also discuss the role of G9a in neuroblastoma (NB) and the drug development of G9a inhibitors.


Indeterminate bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) production in Central America under protected agriculture has steadily increased over the last 10 years. The Protected Agriculture Information Network (PAINet) was created in 2009 as a free-of-charge network to assist on research, education, and information exchange among protected agriculture growers in seven countries in Central America and the Caribbean. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of diverse plant densities and pruning practices on the performance of indeterminate bell pepper in commercial greenhouses in Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. In Costa Rica and Dominican Republic, treatments were combinations of planting densities and pruning practices. In Honduras, only the pruning practices were compared. The results indicated that pruning has little effect on total marketable yields for indeterminate bell pepper, regardless of the cultivars and planting densities. Similarly, the effects of planting densities on bell pepper total marketable yield were barely measured in all locations, which indicated that the lowest planting densities (26,000 and 27,500 plants/ha) have the lowest investment among all tested densities. Therefore, producing colored bell peppers in Central America and the Caribbean under protective structures may not need pruning for sustainable production, which may save major labor costs.


This paper addresses the hospitalization admission control policies of patients from an emergency department that should be admitted shortly or transferred. When an emergency patient arrives, depending on his/her health condition, a physician may decide to hospitalize him/her in a specific department. Patient admission depends on the availability of beds, the length of stay (LOS) and the reward of hospitalization which are both patient-class specific. The problem consists in determining patient admission policies in order to maximize the overall gain. We first propose a Markov Decision Process (MDP) Model for determination of the optimal patient admission policy under some restrictive and necessary assumptions such as exponentially distributed LOS. A simulation model is then built to assess MDP admission policies under realistic conditions. We show that MDP policies significantly improve the overall gain for different types of facilities.


New ideas for low-mass dark matter direct detection suggest that narrow band gap materials, such as Dirac semiconductors, are sensitive to the absorption of meV dark matter or the scattering of keV dark matter. Here we propose spin-orbit semiconductors - materials whose band gap arises due to spin-orbit coupling - as low-mass dark matter targets owing to their ~10 meV band gaps. We present three material families that are predicted to be spin-orbit semiconductors using Density Functional Theory (DFT), assess their electronic and topological features, and evaluate their use as low-mass dark matter targets. In particular, we find that that the tin pnictide compounds are especially suitable having a tunable range of meV-scale band gaps with anisotropic Fermi velocities allowing directional detection. Finally, we address the pitfalls in the DFT methods that must be considered in the ab initio prediction of narrow-gapped materials, including those close to the topological critical point.


This paper on "Asouzu's Complementary Ontology as a foundation for a viable Ethic of the Environment", posits that an ethic of the environment can be seen as viable if it considers the whole of reality as ontologically relevant. This point of view would free environmental ethics of anthropocentric bias and its attendant consequences while at the same time ensuring the protection and preservation of all being and species, not from sympathy, but as members of a holistic picture of reality. This position is inherent in Asouzu's complementary ontology and Ibuanyidanda philosophy, hence the need to adopt it as a viable foundation for an ethic of the environment. This conclusion is arrived at by a critical analysis of diverse environmental and ethical positions. Keywords : Ibuanyidanda, complementary ontology, environmental ethics.


Quantum master equations are common tools to describe the dynamics of many-body systems open to an environment. Due to the interaction with the latter, even for the case of noninteracting electrons, the computational cost to solve these equations increases exponentially with the particle number. We propose a simple scheme, which allows to study the dynamics of N noninteracting electrons taking into account both dissipation effects and Fermi statistics, with a computational cost that scales linearly with N. Our method is based on a mapping of the many-body system to a specific set of effective single-particle systems. We provide detailed numerical results showing excellent agreement between the effective single-particle scheme and the exact many-body one, as obtained from studying the dynamics of two different systems. In the first, we study optically-induced currents in quantum rings at zero temperature, and in the second we study a linear chain coupled at its ends to two thermal baths with different finite temperatures. In addition, we give an analytical justification for our method, based on an exact averaging over the many-body states of the original master equations.


Fc and iC3b receptors are involved in various biological functions of phagocytic cells, such as immune adherence and phagocytosis of opsonized particles, degranulation and superoxide generation. In the present study we examined the expression of specific receptors for the Fc portion of IgG (FcR) and for iC3b (CR3), a cleavage product of the third complement component, on human monocytes following in vitro treatment with polymeric and monomeric IgG. Interaction of polymeric IgG (fluid phase) with the monocyte membrane led to a concomitant modulation of both Fc and iC3b receptors. Monomeric IgG, however, down modulated Fc receptor expression only if surface bound. Under these conditions, no concomitant modulation of the iC3b receptor could be observed. The down modulation of Fc and iC3b receptors induced by fluid-phase IgG polymers was also accompanied by a decrease in monocyte functions as expressed by reduced Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis, decreased release of oxygen metabolites following stimulation by aggregated IgG and opsonized zymosan, as well as in impaired killing of bacteria. These data suggest that a down modulation of Fc and iC3b receptors might have important implications for host defense mechanisms, since interaction with these receptors is required for the proper elimination of many pathogens.


In this paper we consider the influence maximization problem in social networks, and propose an Int-Div heuristic to solve it. Motivated by the concepts of intensification and diversification in optimization problems, Int-Div accounts for both of these two concepts to estimate the social influence, and selects nodes based on marginal influence increment. It is applicable to the two widely used diffusion models, namely, the Linear Threshold Model and the Independent Cascade Model. The proposed strategy is evaluated through experiments on a collaboration network and a who-trust-whom online social network, respectively, and compared with several existing heuristics, namely, the pure greedy algorithm, the centrality-based scheme, the single discount and the degree discount heuristics. We find that our proposed strategy offers better performance than the centrality-based scheme, the single discount and the degree discount heuristics, while achieving approximately the same performance as the greedy algorithm. The computational load is dramatically lower than the greedy heuristic.


Consider a source coding problem in presence of two dependent with memory sources (X, Y), for which only X is available at the encoder (referred to Alice). We first study the design of vector quantization for the situation where one of the source outputs, i.e., X, must be transmitted to the receiver (referred to Bob) within a prescribed distortion tolerance as in ordinary source coding. On the other hand, the other source, i.e., Y, has to be kept as secret as possible from the receiver or wiretappers. We next consider the opposite case where Y represents a relevant utility sequence to be reconstructed at Bob while trying to keep information about X secret from an eventual eavesdropper. A practical application involving electric consumption data measured from real houses is finally investigated.


Document-level text simplification often deletes some sentences besides performing lexical, grammatical or structural simplification to reduce text complexity. In this work, we focus on sentence deletions for text simplification and use a news genre-specific functional discourse structure, which categorizes sentences based on their contents and their function roles in telling a news story, for predicting sentence deletion. We incorporate sentence categories into a neural net model in two ways for predicting sentence deletions, either as additional features or by jointly predicting sentence deletions and sentence categories. Experimental results using human-annotated data show that incorporating the functional structure improves the recall of sentence deletion prediction by 6.5% and 10.7% respectively using the two methods, and improves the overall F1-score by 3.6% and 4.3% respectively.


Women are underrepresented in political and business decision-making bodies across the world. To investigate the causal effect of gender representation on multilateral negotiations, we experimentally manipulate the composition of triads in a majoritarian, divide-the-dollar game. First, we find that inclusive splits and unanimous agreement rates are highest in all-female groups and lowest in all-male groups suggesting that female representation increases fairness. Second, we document a robust gender gap in earnings, driven largely by the exclusion of women from coalitions rather than differential shares within coalitions. Interestingly, we find that dis-tinct bargaining dynamics can underlie the same inequitable outcomes: While gender-biased outcomes are sometimes caused by outright discrimination, they can also be driven by more complex dynamics related to gender differences in bargaining strategies. These different dynamics man-ifest in mixed-gender coalitions being less stable when the excluded party is male rather than female.


The speed of change, high complexity and risk in the semiconductor industry increases the importance of decision making in manufacturing. In particular, a growing need for faster and better decisions on factory design and operation demands more complexity and higher fidelity in factory simulation models. Two requirements to realize such models economically are: (1) reuse of existing simulation model information and (2) integrating a wide range of factory, product, and process information from numerous data sources to create specific instance simulation models. In this paper, we describe how a new systems modeling language, SysML, can support creating complex semiconductor factory simulation models that satisfy these two requirements. In particular, we show how to deal with very large complex instance models in terms of information integration across a range of information and engineering tools. As a demonstration, we show how the factory layout, or geometric model, created in a CAD package, can be integrated with a SysML instance model, created using a SysML modeling tool, to achieve bidirectional data exchange between the two, and thus provide key support to the simulation process.


For embedded systems quality requirements are equally if not even more important than functional requirements. The foundation for the fulfillment of these quality requirements has to be set in the architecture design phase. However, finding a suitable architecture design is a difficult task for software and system architects. Some of the reasons for this are an ever-increasing complexity of today's systems, strict design constraints and conflicting quality requirements. To simplify the task, this paper presents an extendable Eclipse-based tool, called ArcheOpterix, which provides a framework to implement evaluation techniques and optimization heuristics for AADL specifications. Currently, evolutionary strategies have been implemented to identify optimized deployment architectures with respect to multiple quality objectives and design constraints. Experiments with a set of initial deployment architectures provide evidence that the tool can successfully find architecture specifications with better quality.


End-to-end training of deep learning-based models allows for implicit learning of intermediate representations based on the final task loss. However, the end-to-end approach ignores the useful domain knowledge encoded in explicit intermediate-level supervision. We hypothesize that using intermediate representations as auxiliary supervision at lower levels of deep networks may be a good way of combining the advantages of end-to-end training and more traditional pipeline approaches. We present experiments on conversational speech recognition where we use lower-level tasks, such as phoneme recognition, in a multitask training approach with an encoder-decoder model for direct character transcription. We compare multiple types of lower-level tasks and analyze the effects of the auxiliary tasks. Our results on the Switchboard corpus show that this approach improves recognition accuracy over a standard encoder-decoder model on the Eval2000 test set.


Most content based spam filters are rule based or trained off-line. Handling new spam tactics is difficult and prone to high misclassification rate. This paper proposes an incremental adaptive spam mail filtering using Naïve Bayesian classification which gives good performance, simplicity and adaptability. We model an incremental scheme that receives a stream of emails, and applies the concept of sliding window to train only the last w emails for testing new incoming messages. Subsequently, the new features of tested messages are added to the existing features so that the model will be adaptive to future incoming emails. The proposed model is tested on two corpora: Trec05p-1 [11] and Trec06p [12]. The parameters are the window size and the number of features, and the evaluation metrics are the processing time per message, and the ham and spam misclassification rates. The experimental results show that the number of features has little impact whereas the window size has significant effects on misclassification rates and the processing time. In addition, the overall accuracy is even better than that obtained from the batch off-line training and the processing time is reduced significantly.


We present a conceptual framework for validating reusable behavioral models. The setting for this work is a modern product development environment in which design is performed by teams of specialists that collaborate through model reuse. The various modes of model reuse separate validation-relevant knowledge from the tasks for which it is needed. To enable efficient and effective transfer of this knowledge to the tasks for which it is needed, we propose a framework for validating reusable behavioral models based on formal representations of validation-relevant knowledge. The framework defines the abstract knowledge representation as well as an abstract process for applying this knowledge to validate reusable behavioral models. Although this framework is not a complete solution to the validation problem in design, it forms a foundation for understanding and solving the problem and represents a starting point for future investigation.


The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (the Act) places a heavy emphasis on electronic filing (or e‐filing). Here we focus on the IRS's strategy, in response to the Act, for reaching an 80‐percent level of e‐filing by the year 2007. In this paper we ask the question: Given the current level of acceptance, is this is a realistic goal for individual taxpayers? We address this question through a discussion of the current elements of the electronic‐filing process. Additionally, we apply technology‐adoption literature to map out the current progress and techniques required to facilitate the adoption of e‐filing. We conclude that, given the nonmandatory nature of the change, it is unlikely the 80‐percent‐adoption level will be reached for individuals by the year 2007. However, it appears that there are some avenues available to the IRS and Congress to further increase the usage of electronic filing.


Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common and complex endocrine disorder affecting women in the reproductive age. The etiology of this syndrome is not completely known, so there is a developing proof that supports genetic basis, PCOS has a strong familial preference. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on ovarian hormones in women with PCOS and healthy women. Eighty-three women aged (17-40) years were divided into two groups for testing (BMI less than 25 and more than 25). Hormonal study of Luteinizing hormone (LH), Androgen, Estradiol (E2) was done for each patient, the results of these hormones in patients compared with controls in both BMI groups with E2/T ratio showed a significant increase in patients women compared to controls in (p<0.05), While the results of Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and Total Testosterone (TT) showed an increase with not statistically significant. it has been concluded that the  increase in BMI doesn't show to have an opposite effect on FSH, Androgen, E2, and TT levels but the result of LH shows a highly significant increase in PCOS groups compared to controls when BMI˃25.


In this study, failure characteristics of laminated composites loaded by means of a single fastener were investigated. The development and evaluation of joint capability for both failure mode and ultimate load are the major aims. Tests have been carried out on single pinned joints in multi-directional glassfiber reinforced epoxy for a range of laminate configurationsand specimen geometry. For [90/0]2s and [45]2s laminates with single-hole joints the strengths have been measured; the effects of variables such as ply orientation, laminate edge and side distances were discussed in the light of the results. In addition, by using finite element code PDNLPIN, a static progressive failure analysis was performed. Comparisons were made between the test data and the results of the model. The effect of material nonlinearity on the prediction of the failure loadswas studied. Good agreement was found between numerical predictions and the experimental data.


Long-term use of paracetamol (at therapeutic doses) can cause the accumulation of endogenous organic pyroglutamate, resulting in metabolic acidosis with an elevated anion gap. This occurs in the presence of malnutrition, infection, antibiotic use, renal failure and pregnancy. Given the prevalence of these risk factors, this condition is thought to be relatively common in a hospitalised population but is probably significantly underdiagnosed. Prompt recognition is essential because the condition is entirely reversible if the causative agents are withdrawn.Here we describe five cases of pyroglutamic acidosis that we have encountered in a tertiary referral hospital. Together they illustrate the common clinical risk factors and the excellent prognosis, once a diagnosis is made. We describe how a rudimentary acid-base analysis (calculation of the anion gap) usually leads to the diagnosis but how a more nuanced approach may be required in the presence of mixed acid-base disorders.


Obesity in childhood and adolescence is an alarming and rising public health issue, as its prevalence has increased substantially in recent decades. Parallel to the increase of the body mass index (BMI), there is also a rise of medical and psychosocial comorbidities, which carries a lower quality of life. Modification of lifestyle in order to revert obesity is considered the cornerstone of treatment. However, its efficiency is limited, whereat bariatric surgery has become increasingly an option of treatment. Unlike adult bariatric sur - gery, adolescent bariatric surgery lacks reflexion. Our goal is discuss actual recommendations (assessment, selection, surgery treatment and monitoring).


The residential area of Jemur Wonosari is one of the densely populated regions in Surabaya City. This condition is not always in line with adequate environmental management, resulting in several ecological problems. This research was conducted to plan environmental management in this area. The research method collected primary data through planning area observation, survey and interview, and secondary data about the description of region and literature. The initial survey result shows that fifty percent of residents used groundwater as the water source. Its area has, in fact, a communal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), but is no longer in operation, which led the majority of residents (eighty-nine percent) to drain wastewater directly into the river. A total of ninety-four percent of residents disposed of solid waste without processing. The green area in this region has been less than ten percent. The result for clean water, are rainwater harvesting and bio pore. The communal WWTP is considered to be built under the existing road. The solid waste management in this area was processed through composting using takakura, bio pore, and reoperating waste bank. The concept of outdoor space optimization as the green area is divided into public and private space. Mitigation planning in the form of sanitation and green areas needs to be supported by all stakeholders to create a better and adapted environment against climate change.


This paper firstly raises actual problems arising from the ERP system (enterprise-level information integration plat form) building in the implementation of the SG 186 Project of SGCC, such as how to connect with the historicaldataofthecurrentlyoperatingspecificapplicationprograms;howtorealizethetransformationofthemanagement mode;howtooptimize the existing management system and business process; how to deal with the adjustment brought about by the management reform; how to guarantee the safety of the network; and how to ensure the successful execution of the next phase of the ERP system, and the necessary operation and maintenance and applications, and then it proposes the corresponding solutions. Implementation of the ERP system serves to strengthen the horizontal integration of different business processes in Hebei Electric Power Company, streamline interfaces of different business nodes, and optimize the longitudinal deployment and intensified control of various resources.


Event logs of software systems are used to analyze their behaviour and inter-component interaction. Artificial event logs with desirable specifics are needed to test algorithms supporting this type of analysis. Recent methods allow to generate artificial event logs by simulating ordinary Petri nets. In this paper we present the algorithm generating event logs for Petri nets with inhibitor and reset arcs. Nets with inhibitor arcs are more expressive than ordinary Petri nets, and allow to conveniently model conditions in real-life software. Resets are common in real-life systems as well. This paper describes the net simulation algorithm, and shows how it can be applied for event log generation.


Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105818787529 Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare 2018, Vol. 27(3) 220 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/20101 58 8787529 journals.sagepub.com/home/psh


A three-dimensional model for the propagation of finite acoustic waves in nonlinear media is developed. This model implicitly includes the effects of acoustic attenuation and divergence due to diffraction. The generation of intermodulation products in the case of a two-tone input signal is numerically analyzed. It is found that acoustic diffraction can have a significant effect on the dynamic range of a Bragg cell if the acoustic field extends well into the Fraunhofer region. Inclusion of the effect of diffraction in the model predicts a dynamic range that can be considerably larger than the value obtained by using the infinite plane wave assumption. It is shown that acoustic attenuation significantly reduces the level of the acoustic intermodulation products relative to the level of the fundamental modes. This also increases the dynamic range. The influence of these effects on design considerations for Bragg cells is discussed.<<ETX>>


This paper considers the implications of the destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT) for three common ways of shifting taxable profits between countries: through manipulation of transfer prices, the use of debt, and locating intangible assets in low taxed jurisdictions. It shows that none of these planning devices would be available under a DBCFT, if adopted universally. This is because intra-group payments between two countries do not affect tax liabilities in either country. If adopted unilaterally, however, there would be an incentive to shift profit to the adopting country, at the expense of non-adopting countries.


Objective Menopause and the changes it brings to a woman's life necessitate a comprehensive approach to face and experience the transition. This paper aims at synthesizing results from qualitative studies of menopausal experiences among Chinese and other women of similar ethnicity and culture. Design and method A comprehensive search strategy of multiple databases along with bibliographic hand searches was employed to identify qualitative studies published in English peer-reviewed journals between 2008 and 2022 focused on the menopausal experiences (peri and post-menopause) of Chinese and other women of similar ethnic backgrounds. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. The final sample consisted of 238 women aged between 40 to 60 years who had experienced menopausal symptoms. This qualitative systematic literature review adopted Noblit and Hare's seven-stage theoretical meta-ethnographic approach to construct an inductive and interpretive form of synthesis and subsequent analysis. Syntheses of findings The synthesis of primary data identified four key concepts that entitle women's menopausal experiences: being menopausal, ramifications on well-being, family and social support around menopause, and healthcare throughout menopause. The subsequent second-order interpretation revealed that women accepted the inevitability of the natural aging process in the decline of sexual drive, reinvented relationships with partners, and expressed the significance of a supportive environment in order to successfully navigate the transition. Third-order interpretations sought to establish a link between physiological complications, loss of femininity, patriarchal-dominated societal norms, and a support system that spans the entire menopause experience. Healthcare's contribution has also been deemed to be insufficient due to a lack of information and empathy from health experts. Negligence or reluctance to seek healthcare and skepticism toward hormone replacement therapy (HRT) had also been a source of concern, as they have had the potential to exacerbate medical difficulties and emotional turmoil. Conclusions and implications for practice A comprehensive approach that considers women's physiological and psychological well-being and major attempts to change cultural beliefs and norms about women's sexual health may be effective in aiding menopausal women during their transition. Additionally, appropriate guidelines and management should be in place to enable women to address menopause difficulties effectively with the assistance of healthcare experts and the support of their families and community.


Successive french governments have shown a marked reluctance to relinquish control of the country's companies or give outsiders access to the market on equal terms. Even EU directives are often tailored to suit the french.


Effectively controlled dynamic windows can substantially reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Unfortunately, modular and extensible frameworks for testing and evaluating window system control algorithms that include the effects of thermal mass are missing in the research community. This paper describes a modular and extensible simulation-based framework that uses different simulation tools such as EnergyPlus, Modelica, Radiance, and the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) to develop and evaluate the performance of integrated façade control strategies. We present a simulation framework and a proof-of concept application using the framework to control a venetian blind in a physical test cell in order to reduce its zone thermal load based on solar inputs and internal gains measured at the test cell.


Immune cell-based cancer therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T)-cell immunotherapy, have demonstrated impressive potency against hematological tumors. However, the efficacy of CAR-T cells against solid tumors remains limited. Herein, we designed tumor-targeting molecule-sialidase conjugates that potently and selectively stripped different sialoglycans from a variety of cancer cells. Desialylation enhanced induced pluripotent stem cell-derived chimeric antigen receptor-macrophage (CAR-iMac) infiltration and activation. Furthermore, the combination of cancer cell desialylation and CAR-iMac adoptive cellular therapy exerted a dramatic therapeutic effect on solid tumors and significantly prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice; these effects were mainly dependent on blockade of the checkpoint composed of sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec)-5 and Siglec-10 on the macrophages, and knockout of the glycoimmune checkpoint receptors could construct a CAR-iMac cell with stronger anticancer activity. This strategy that reverts the immune escape state ("cold tumor") to a sensitive recognition state ("hot tumor") has great significance for enhancing the effect of cellular immunotherapy on solid tumors. Therefore, desialylation combined with CAR-iMac cellular immunotherapy is a promising approach to enhance treatment with cellular immunotherapy and expand the valid indications among solid tumors, which provides inspiration for the development of cellular immunotherapies with glycoimmune checkpoint inhibition for the treatment of human cancer.


The path following control of an AUV considering arrival times at waypoints is proposed in this paper. The temporal constraint is considered by adding the surge velocity and the nominal thrust force as reference trajectory in the objective function of the nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC). The proposed control strategy uses fewer reference variables than conventional trajectory tracking problems. The simulated results of the proposed control strategy are compared to the NMRI Cruising AUV#4 actual dive data. The simulated arrival times of waypoints were matched well to the measured data. Two guidance laws, the line of sight with lookahead-based steering law and the pure pursuit guidance law, are also applied to NMPC to determine reference yaw angle.


This paper reviews the role of language in addressing issues of instruction and diversity towards the achievement of the aims of basic education in Botswana. It also examines the role of the mother tongue in instruction in promoting and sustaining national educational and social goals. It further reviews the Botswana language in education policy and its implementation. The failures, inconsistencies between policy and practice, and other obstacles are discussed. The need for compromise in the implementation of mother tongue instruction in bilingual education model and its implications for literacy are discussed. Finally, suggestions for implementation of mother tongue instruction and model are outlined to ensure that government responds to the needs of her citizens, in the continuous efforts at mobilizing the people for national unity and sustainable development.


Tran Minh Thanh, Nguyen Thuy Linh, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc TNU University of Information and Communication Technology TNU School of Foreign Languages ABSTRACT In English as a foreign language teaching, coursebook evaluation is an indispensable ongoing task to ensure training quality. In this study, we evaluate the coursebook "Life Elementary" which has been used as the official material for students at TNU-University of Information and Communication Technology (ICTU). The study aims at enhancing the effectiveness of using the coursebook to meet the English requirements for students from related stakeholders. 14 English teachers from TNU-University of Information and Communication Technology took part in a survey. The research results reveal that although there are some weaknesses in terms of the boredom of writing activities, inadequate pronunciation practice, and unfamiliar cultural contents, the coursebook "Life Elementary" essentially is relevant to the training objectives and the university's teaching-learning context. Implications for better use of the coursebook are proposed. This study is a useful source of reference for English teachers who are interested in coursebook evaluation in particular and training institutions with similar contexts.


Biloto villagers who are living nearby Nasinoah forest have strong interaction with the environment. The interaction brings about skills in managing the natural resource to be useful for life particularly making use of any plants as traditional medicine done by mnanet (traditional medical experts). This study aimed at: 1) Identifying and documenting the species of medicinal plants in Nasinoah forest; 2). Creating material and other teaching and learning instruments of biological variety and the use of natural resource based on identification and documentation result; 3) Testing validity and legibility of the material and instruments. The data gathered were the species of medicinal plants and local skills in managing the plants. Interview, survey, and literature were the instruments used to gather data. The study revealed that there were 33 kinds of plant identified as medicinal plants classified into 25 different familys which were used by Biloto villagers. Then, learning material about medicinal plants was arranged as contextual material based on the data. The study concluded that there were variety of medicinal plants used by Biloto villagers as medicine and the contextual teaching and learning instruments were valid and applicable.


Biliary tract resistance was measured in 142 patients at the time of cholecystectomy, using a simple technique in which contrast media is infused through the cystic duct at a fixed flow rate. A sharp demarcation exists between the resistance of patients with normal and abnormal common bile ducts. A resistance of less than 2.5 units was found in only one patient with a common duct abnormality, and the test was improperly performed in that case. Two patients with normal common ducts had resistance values of greater than 2.5 units, for a false-positive rate of 1.63%. Overall, the technique gave accurate results in 97.9% of the cases studied.


Allegations of slavery are not normally the stuff of Australian law and politics in the latter half of the twentieth century.However, on 30 August 1972, the majority of Australians were first made aware that Australian territory included the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, mere crumbs on the map of the Indian Ocean, where what appeared to be a feudal kingdom of Malay slaves was run by a barefoot Caucasion monarch replete with a dagger at his waist. The media seized upon this exotic scenario about which most Australians were totally ignorant. A little less than fourteen years later, on 6 April 1984, in what was described by Australian and United Nations officials as an act of self-determination, the Cocos Islanders voted for integration of the islands with Australia. The events of the intervening period shed some light on the Australian approach to self-determination and on the content and reality of any rules of self-determination, including the conjunction and disjunction between them and human rights generally. This is despite the salutory warning of Judge Dillard in the Western Sahara Case (It is for the people to determine the destiny of the territory and not the territory the destiny of the people'), since the approach to self-determination in the Cocos Islands and its result cannot be properly understood outside the historical (and lego-historical) context. Moreover, these events illuminate the broader issues of the auto-interpretative aspect of international law and the effect of the latter on Australian law.


We study the level-spacing statistics for non-interacting Hamiltonians defined on the two-dimensional quasiperiodic Ammann--Beenker (AB) tiling. When applying the numerical procedure of"unfolding", these spectral properties in each irreducible sector are known to be well-described by the universal Gaussian orthogonal random matrix ensemble. However, the validity and numerical stability of the unfolding procedure has occasionally been questioned due to the fractal self-similarity in the density of states for such quasiperiodic systems. Here, using the so-called $r$-value statistics for random matrices, $P(r)$, for which no unfolding is needed, we show that the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble again emerges as the most convincing level statistics for each irreducible sector. The results are extended to random-AB tilings where random flips of vertex connections lead to the irreducibility.


The response to botulinum toxin type A was compared after two injection techniques in 45 patients with blepharospasm. Initially, patients were treated according to a triple injection technique; two injections into the upper eyelid and one injection into the lower eyelid. Subsequently, without altering the dose, the same patient group received two further injections into the pretarsal portion of the orbicularis oculi muscle of the upper lid. Triple injections were given in 227 treatments, of which 81% were successful. Mean duration of benefit was 8.5 weeks. Additional pretarsal injections were given in 183 treatment sessions. The number of successful treatments significantly increased, to 95% (P < 0.001), and the mean duration of benefit increased to 12.5 weeks (P < 0.001). Ptosis occurred significantly less often after pretarsal injections (P < 0.01). Patients with combined blepharospasm and involuntary levator palpebrae inhibition responded better to the pretarsal injection technique.


In a study of 68 cases of prolonged salmonella bacteremia (patientes with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni and bacteremia due to a Salmonella sp), 28 of them (41,2%j showed proteinuria and alterations of the urinary sediment (hematuria, leucocyturia and casts). Three of these patientes presented with a nephrotic syndrome and 4 of them had high blood urea leveis. Kidney histology was obtained in nine cases, showing membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis in 5, a focal glomerular sclerosis in 2, in some a mesangio-proliferative glomerulonephritis and, in one, minimal histologic changes. Urinary tract infection due to Salmonella organisms (the same isolated from blood) was observed in 3 cases. The ocorrurence of a similar histologic pattern of glomerular pathology in cases of prolonged septicemic salmonellosis when compared to just hepatosplenic schistosomiasis with glomerulonephritis suggested that S. mansoni infection was probahly the major determinant of the glomerular pathology. However, the high rate of urinary tract im/olvement and the disappearence of some of the alterations following effective therapy of the Salmonella bacteremia suggests an additional role of the bacterial agent as a determinant of the glomerular pathology. Also, the kidney intersticial mononuclear infiltration, more conspicuous and intense in cases of septicemic salmonellosis accompanied by bacteriuria, also suggested an immuno logical damage to the kidneys probably mediated by the salmonella infection.


One of the main challenges of Industry 4.0 is how advanced sensors and sensing technologies can be applied through the Internet of Things layers of existing manufacturing. This is the so-called Brownfield Industry 4.0, where the different types and ages of machines and processes need to be digitalized. Smart retrofitting is the umbrella term for solutions to show how we can digitalize manufacturing machines. This problem is critical in the case of solutions to support human workers. The Operator 4.0 concept shows how we can efficiently support workers on the shop floor. The key indicator is the readiness level of a company, and the main bottleneck is the technical knowledge of the employees. This study proposes an education framework and a related Operator 4.0 laboratory that prepares students for the development and application of Industry 5.0 technologies. The concept of intelligent space is proposed as a basis of the educational framework, which can solve the problem of monitoring the stochastic nature of operators in production processes. The components of the intelligent space are detailed through the layers of the IoT in the form of a case study conducted at the laboratory. The applicability of indoor positioning systems is described with the integration of machine-, operator- and environment-based sensor data to obtain real-time information from the shop floor. The digital twin of the laboratory is developed in a discrete event simulator, which integrates the data from the shop floor and can control the production based on the simulation results. The presented framework can be utilized to design education for the generation of Industry 5.0.


OBJECTIVES
This report presents estimates of HIV prevalence, the association of HIV status with key risk factors, and the prevalence of antiretroviral drug use among HIV-infected adults, based on the 2007–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

METHODS
HIV prevalence was estimated based on 10,466 NHANES respondents aged 18–59 during 2007–2012. Starting in 2009, the NHANES age range for HIV antibody testing was expanded from age group 18–49 to age group 18–59. HIV prevalence for 2007–2012 was estimated using 6 years of data and corresponding weights for participants aged 18–49 from NHANES 2007–2012, and 4 years of data and corresponding weights for participants aged 50–59 from NHANES 2009–2012. This HIV prevalence calculation assumes that HIV prevalence, and the relationship between prevalence and levels of all relevant cofactors, were the same between survey periods 2007–2008 and 2009–2012 for adults aged 50–59. HIV antibody status was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibody to HIV, followed by confirmatory Western blot for those with a positive ELISA test.

RESULTS
During 2007–2012, the overall HIV prevalence among adults aged 18–59 residing in U.S. households was 0.39%. Men were more likely to be HIV-infected than women, and non-Hispanic black persons were more likely to be HIV-infected than all other race and Hispanic origin subgroups combined. HIV infection was associated with high-risk populations, including those with herpes simplex virus type 2 infection, 10 or more lifetime sexual partners, a history of prior sexually transmitted infection, or a history of same-sex sexual contact among men. One-half of HIV-infected adults were on antiretroviral therapy (51.9%). Among HIV-infected adults, 86.1% reported any lifetime history of HIV testing outside of blood donations.


There are several interesting controversies in the history of glaucoma. The first corresponds to the origin of its name. It was argued that the ancient Greek word glaukos meant: 1. ''to glow'' or ''to shine''; 2. ''blue-white'' or ''blue-green''; 3. dull sheen or [bdquo]glaze" of blindness; 4. owl: ''glaucomati'' meaning ''having the eyes of an owl''; 5. a mortal fisherman who was transformed into a sea-god after eating a magical herb. The second controversy corresponds to the meaning of the word glaucoma. Several ancient authors, including Celsus, Roufos of Ephesus and Galen, described glaucoma as a disease of the crystalline, which was transformed to glaucos because of moisture. This understanding was continued in the 18th century by Banister, Platner and Boerhaave, who argued that glaucoma was a malignant form of cataract that begins with acute pain and terminates in amaurosis. The third controversy corresponds to the different concepts of glaucoma etiology in the 19th century, including gouty iritis, serous choroiditis, thickening of the sclera, irritation of the secretory nerves of the eye, a disease of the vitreous, and [bdquo]secretory neurosis" (the primary cause of is the rise in pressure).


This paper proposes a new reinforcement learning with hyperbolic discounting. Combining a new temporal difference error with the hyperbolic discounting in recursive manner and reward-punishment framework, a new scheme to learn the optimal policy is derived. In simulations, it is found that the proposal outperforms the standard reinforcement learning, although the performance depends on the design of reward and punishment. In addition, the averages of discount factors w.r.t. reward and punishment are different from each other, like a sign effect in animal behaviors.


Homeownership is touted as the "American Dream." It is credited with enhancing wealth; increasing civic pride; and improving self‐esteem, crime prevention, child development and educational outcomes, among other benefits. This article does not dispute any of these claims. Instead, this study hypothesizes that crowding toward homeownership raises the price of homes above their fundamental value resulting in the purchase of a home becoming a contraindicative action. After setting the holding period to the average American's tenure in a residence, renting (not buying) proves to be the superior investment strategy over most of the study period.


The use of technology to address educational reforms has contributed largely to increasing the academic performance. The study was conducted to determine the utilization and equivalence of the DTI PCPS project Batch 4to the academic performance of the recipient schools of Zamboanga del Sur. It employed the descriptive design. A validated research survey questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count, percentages, and weighted mean were used. The results revealed that both teachers and students "rarely" used Microsoft Office applications, educational games, and Internet applications. In terms of ICT knowledge level, both teachers and students manifested "advanced" in the PC basics, MS Word, and Internet applications and "intermediate" in MS Excel and MS PowerPoint. The academic performance of the recipient schools, as manifested in the MPS, revealed that there was an increase within the three school years of implementation (2010-2013). The study concludes that utilization of the computers granted from the DTI PCPS Batch 4 project facilitates learning positively. The computers granted were inadequate, and computer education was integrated with the curriculum. Hence, the study theorizes that academic performance of students at the secondary levels can be optimized by integrating ICT into the curriculum. Keywords - Educational management, utilization, equivalence, academic performance,IPO model, descriptive design, Philippines


The prevalence of the insulin resistance syndrome in a non diabetic population had been estimated to be about 25% whilst the prevalence of the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype is thought to be about 30%. There are some evidence to suggest that there may be a close relationship between these two syndrome and that relationship was explored in this thesis. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease often show clustering that cannot be accounted for by chance occurrence. This has led to the hypothesis that clustering of risk factors such as insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia, may be an indication of an underlying metabolic disorder which increases the risk for premature atherosclerosis. Plasma triglyceride was found to be the most important determinant of LDL subfraction distribution in a group of normal individuals. The least dense species, LDL-I, decreased as the level of this plasma lipid rose. LDL-II in both men and women exhibited a positive association with plasma triglyceride in the range 0.5 to 1.3 mmol/L; it increased from about 100 to 200 mg/dL. In contrast, within this triglyceride range the LDL-III concentration was low (about 30 mg/dL) and changed little. As plasma triglyceride rose from 1.3 mmol/L to 3.0 mmol/L there was a significant fall in LDL-II concentration in males but not in females. Conversely, above the triglyceride "threshold" of 1.3 mmol/L there was a steeper rise in LDL-III concentration in males than females; 42% of men had an LDL-III in the range associated with high risk of heart disease (> 100 mg lipoprotein/dL plasma) compared with only 17% of women. In a group of young Singaporean males, the relationship of plasma triglyceride with LDL-II failed to show a biphasic pattern but rather, increasing levels of plasma triglyceride was associated with decreasing levels of LDL-II. The LDL-I showed a similar negative relationship and the LDL-III a positive relationship with plasma triglyceride. Other influences of the LDL subfraction profile were the activities of lipases and parameters indicative of the presence of insulin resistance. Males on the average had twice the hepatic lipase activity of females. This enzyme in males was not strongly associated with variation in the LDL subfraction profile whereas in the females it was correlated with LDL-III and remained a significant predictor in multivariate analysis. Increased WHR, fasting insulin and glucose were shown to be correlated with LDL-I (negatively) and LDL-III (positively), primarily, at least in the case of LDL-III, through raising plasma triglyceride. Subjects with proven coronary artery disease were also found to have impaired triglyceride metabolic capacity during the administration of an oral fat tolerance test. The triglyceride rose to a higher level when compared to age matched controls. The exaggerated hypertriglyceridaemia may be related to the preheparin lipoprotein lipase activity, which was demonstrated to be significantly lower in CAD patients compared to age matched controls. The CAD patients also demonstrated some features of insulin resistance, such as hyperinsulinaemic and hyperglycaemic response, both after the standardised fat meal as well as after a modified glucose meal carried in almost fat free yoghurt. Lipoprotein lipase activity is believed to be modulated by hormonal influence such as insulin and resistance of LPL to insulin may be responsible for the lower preheparin LPL documented in CAD patients. The metabolic implications of impaired preheparin LPL during alimentary lipaemia is presently unclear as there is no correlation with adipose tissue and skeletal muscle LPL. The prevalence of insulin resistance and the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype in Singapore may be higher than other population because of the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus. A group of normal Singaporean male, aged 30 to 45 years old were studied and found to have a high prevalence of both syndromes. More than half of this sampled group had LDL-III concentraton that was above 100 mg lipoprotein/dL plasma and this may be related to the higher mean plasma triglyceride levels (1.8 mmol/L). Ethnic differences were noted and men with predominantly Asian ancestry had higher mean LDL-III concentrations and plasma triglyceride, while those with some European descent (Eurasians) had levels of LDL-III and plasma triglyceride similar to age matched Scottish cohort. There were also ethnic differences in markers of insulin resistance such as fasting insulin and fasting glucose and these difference paralleled that seen in LDL-III concentration. Ethnic differences suggest that genetic factors may determine manifestation of both the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and the insulin resistance syndrome, as socio-economic factors are similar between the various ethnic groups. The data presented in this thesis suggest a strong relationship between the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and the insulin resistance syndrome. The clustering of coronary risk factors such as dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance in patients with premature atherosclerosis may be an indication of an underlying metabolic dyslipidaemic syndrome.


Treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) is the first-line strategy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR-activating mutations. Acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs is inevitable in patients receiving EGFR-TKI therapy. Treatment with bevacizumab can induce a marked improvement in the overall and progression-free survival of patients with NSCLC; however, the effect of bevacizumab on TKI resistance in patients with NSCLC with an activating EGFR mutation is largely unknown. The present study reports the case of a patient with advanced, metastatic lung adenocarcinoma harboring 19 Del mutations, and who developed resistance to afatinib. The addition of bevacizumab to afatinib treatment was shown to overcome the acquired TKI resistance in the patient, as well as to promote an improved outcome for her brain metastases.


The results of studies of indicators of nitrogen metabolism in the blood serum of the descendants of four bulls at the age of 12-13 months are presented. The studies were conducted in the South of Western Siberia at Vaganovo OJSC on the livestock population of Holstein breed. The creatinine concentration in the blood serum samples of the sons was determined using a set of reagents from Vector-Best (Russia). In the regions of animal breeding, constant monitoring of water, soil, feed, animal organs and tissues is carried out. It was established that in the areas in which the studied breeds were bred, the content of macro- and microelements did not exceed the MPC. The level of serum creatinine in the examined animals on average for all groups of sons was 308.2 ± 24.1 μmol / L, which exceeds the generally accepted values   of this indicator. However, taking into account age and sex and breed characteristics, taking into account data on the overall health of the animals examined, information on the ecological well-being of the breeding zone, the results can be considered as reference values   for healthy Holstein bulls in Western Siberia. It was shown that in the blood serum of the sons of some fathers, the creatinine content was 1.7 times higher (364.2 ± 52.7 μmol / L) than in the descendants of other manufacturers (p> 0.95). A group of half-siblings was found, which were characterized by a low hereditary predisposition to creatinine content. Discovered differences in the creatinine content in the blood serum of sons reflect the differentiation of bulls and indicate genetically determined features of the functioning of the homeostasis system. In this case, most likely, there is a different ability of descendants to adapt to environmental and climatic conditions.


ABSTRACT The case of a 61-year-old woman with Whipple's disease-associated sicca complex is reported. Tropheryma whipplei infection was diagnosed by histological and ultrastructural examination of the jejunal mucosa and sequence analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA. The role of vitamin A malabsorption in sicca complex secondary to Whipple's disease is discussed.


Background Sjogren's syndrome (SjS) is characterised by chronic autoimmune inflammation primarily affects the salivary and lacrimal glands. Recently, ultrasonography (USG) of major salivary glands (SG-USG) has been used to evaluate salivary glands in primary and secondary SjS. Objectives We aimed to investigate the association between the ultrasonographic scoring of major salivary glands and disease activity indexes in patientswith primary SjS. Methods Forty-two primary SjS patients fulfilling ACR-EULAR classification criteria (2002) were included. Disease activity indexes (Sjögren's Syndrome Patients Reported Index (ESSPRI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI)] were recorded. Major salivary glands (bilateral parotis and submandibular glands) were scored according to two different scoring system [Hocevar A. (0–48) ve Milic VD. (0–12)]. Results Demographics, clinical characteristics, disease activity indexes and SG-USG scores were summarised in table 1 and table 2.Table 1. Demographics and Clinical Characteristics of SjS patients (n=42) Age (year) 54±11 Gender (F/M) 41/1 Duration of follow-up (month) 55±51 Siccasymptoms 39 (93%) Arthralgia/arthritis 37 (88%) Parotitis 9 (21%) RaynaudPhenomenon 5 (12%) Leucocytoclasticvasculitis 5 (12%) Peripheralneuropathy 2 (5%) Interstitiallungdisease 2 (5%) Lymphadenopathy 6 (14%) ANA 34 (81%) Anti-Ro/La 19 (45%) Twenty-four (57%) and25 (60%) patients had the cut-offvalues of ≥17 (Hocevar) and ≥6 (Milic USG).The patients with the scores of ≥17 (Hocevar)were found to have higher scores of ESSPRI-total (18±5 vs 14±5, p=0,01). Hocevar and Milic USG scores were shown to be higher in anti-Ro(+) SjS patients (25±10vs14±7and7±3vs4±2, p=0,01).USG scores were not found to be associated with the scores of ESSDAI, VAS and ESSPRI items. Conclusions Hocevar scoring system of major salivary glands was found to be related to patient reported activity in SjS. USG scores were associated with anti-Ro positivity. Evaluation of SG-USG might promote the diagnosis and follow-up of the SjS patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The dose delivered to the planning target volume by proton beams is highly conformal, sparing organs at risk and normal tissues. New treatment planning systems adapted to spot scanning techniques have been recently proposed to simultaneously optimize several fields and thus improve dose delivery. In this paper, we investigate a new optimization framework based on a genetic algorithm approach. This tool is intended to make it possible to explore new schemes of treatment delivery, possibly with future enhanced technologies. The optimization framework is designed to be versatile and to account for many degrees of freedom, without any {\it a priori} technological constraint. To test the behavior of our algorithm, we propose in this paper, as an example, to optimize beam fluences, target points and irradiation directions at the same time. The proposed optimization routine takes typically into account several thousands of spots of fixed size. The evolution is carried out by the three standard genetic operators: mutation, crossover and selection. The figure-of-merit (or fitness) is based on an objective function relative to the dose prescription to the tumor and to the limits set for organs at risk and normal tissues. Fluence optimization is carried out via a specific scheme based on a plain gradient with analytical solution. Several specific genetic algorithm issues are addressed: (i) the mutation rate is tuned to balance the search and selection forces, (ii) the initial population is selected using a bootstrap technique and (iii) to scale down the computation time, dose calculations are carried out with a fast analytical ray tracing method and are multi-threaded. In this paper implementation issues of the optimization framework are thoroughly described. The behavior of the proposed genetic algorithm is illustrated in both elementary and clinically-realistic test cases.


The fundamental metabolic deviation by which
carbon tetrachloride administration results in
fatty degeneration of liver is not yet clear. In recent
reports on the changes in composition and function
of the fatty liver cell particular attention has been
paid to the mitochondria. A damage to mitochondrial
integrity is accompanied by major biochemical
alterations (Dianzani, 1954, 1955, 1956;
Dianzani & Viti, 1955; Kasbekar, Lavate, Rego &
Sreenivasan, 1959). Inhibition of certain enzymes
(Dianzani, 1953) and activation of others (Lehn.-
inger, 1951; Berthet & de Duve, 1951; Schneider
& Hogeboom, 1952a, b; Hogeboom & Schneider,
1953) latent in fresh mitochondria, especially of
adenosine triphosphatase (Kielley & Kielley, 1951;
SREENIVASAN
Potter & Recknagel, 1951; Copenhaver & Lardy,
1952; Lardy & Wellman, 1952, 1953) have been
reported.
Dianzani & Viti (1955) have observed decreases
in both cytochrome c and pyridine nucleotides in
fatty livers. Work in this Laboratory (Nadkarni,
Wagle & Sreenivasan, 1957) has further shown that
the biosynthesis in vivo of pyridine nucleotides
from intraperitoneally administered nicotinamide
is less in the carbon tetrachloride-treated animals.
A decrease in hepatic coenzyme A has also been
reported in fatty degeneration (Severi & Fonnesu,
1956; Heim, Leuschner & Ott, 1956). In view of
the changes in cytochrome c and pyridine nucleotides,
and in coenzyme A, which is known to be necessary for the biosynthesis of ubiquinone (cf.
A iyar, Sulebele, Rege & Sreenivasan, 1959; Aiyar &
Sreenivasan, 1961), a study of the alterations in
ubiquinone levels in fatty livers is of interest.
In this paper we present data on the intracellular
distribution of ubiquinone and on its
biosynthesis in vitro by liver slices from labelled
precursors. Ubiquinone in the liver slices was isolated by chromatography
(Festenstein at al. 1955), and the counts were read
in a Tracerlab SC-16 windowless gas-flow counter in conjunction
with a Tracerlab SC-51 autoscaler. The ubiquinone
was later determined spectrophotometrically
(Crane et al. 1959).
Nitrogen was estimated by a micro-Kjeldahl method
(Umbreit, Burris & Stauffer, 1946).


Miss A. K. F., a 56 year old white American, a graduate and practicing nurse, was examined on Jan. 7, 1944, on account of a persistent dermatitis which affected the flexor surfaces of all the fingers and both thumbs. This had persisted in spite of treatment for over two years and, on account of the particular areas involved, had greatly handicapped the patient in the pursuit of her occupation. The inflammation had caused some thickening and cracking of the skin of the tips of her fingers and thumbs. At several points the fissures extended through the entire thickness of the skin and thus rendered the phalanges painful and tender. The process was sharply limited to the cutaneous surface of the distal phalanges only. Topical applications of an ointment, low voltage roentgen ray treatments, ultraviolet irradiations, injections of vitamins and/or foreign protein, use of sulfonamide compounds and a wide


Summary
The effects of aerial microclimate and edaphic conditions on the growth of young vegetative tillers of Phleum alpinum L. from contrasting habitats on South Georgia have been investigated using growth analysis concepts. Relative growth rate (Rw) was found to be negatively correlated with habitat severity, there being a strong relationship between Rw and the amount of lateral production per tiller. Unit leaf rate (EA) was depressed at the highest altitude. Specific leaf area increased with habitat favourability but no simple relationship was apparent between leaf area ratio (FA) and site conditions. Native soils were shown to be severely limiting, although there was considerable variation in edaphic conditions between the various sites.

There was striking uniformity in Rw values between plants from different populations when grown under similar conditions, this stabilization effect being produced by compensatory mechanisms involving the contributory growth parameters, EA and FA the specific leaf areas of the different populations when grown at one site were also very similar.


A method for the manufacture of a fiber reinforced thermosetting resin molding material, which comprises feeding a liquid thermosetting resin composition to the surface of at least one transfer roller in rotation, causing the resin composition adhering to the surface to be spread in the form of particles by a spreading roller opposed across a gap to the transfer roller and rotated in the same direction as the transfer roller, allowing the spread said resin composition to be piled up in a state mixed with reinforcing fibers separately spread, and subsequently removing the entrapped air from the resultant pile thereby enabling the resin composition to wet out the reinforcing fibers in said pile.


UNLABELLED
Adolescents and young women are at the greatest risk of unintended pregnancy because they are unlikely to see a family planning provider before or immediately after the sexual activity. Therefore, preventing unintended pregnancy among them is the important concern. Sexually active young women are clients with special needs for contraception. They are eligible to use a variety of the available contraceptives. Introduction of emergency contraception (EC) in the recent past can help them avoid such unintended pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the awareness of emergency contraception in female college students.

STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted among college-going undergraduate and graduate female students of Punjab University, Chandigarh. Systematic random sampling was used to select the respondents.

RESULTS
Of the 1,017 college students included in the study, 507 (49.9%) knew about different contraceptive methods. Maximum awareness was regarding oral contraceptive pills (239, 47.1%). Only 74 (7.3%) had knowledge about emergency contraceptive pills (ECP). Of them, 10 (14.7%) students knew the correct time for use of ECP and the side effects of ECP were known to 48 (88.9%) respondents.

CONCLUSIONS
Awareness about ECP was very low among female college students of Chandigarh, especially regarding correct timing of its use and its side effects. Appropriate awareness programs on EC are needed for them.


We show empirically that banks' exposure to interest rate risk, or income gap, plays a crucial role in monetary policy transmission. In a first step, we show that banks typically retain a large exposure to interest rates that can be predicted with income gap. Secondly, we show that income gap also predicts the sensitivity of bank lending to interest rates. Quantitatively, a 100 basis point increase in the Fed funds rate leads a bank at the 75th percentile of the income gap distribution to increase lending by about 1.6 percentage points annually relative to a bank at the 25th percentile.


Glue joint strengths of laminated timber decking made from three Malaysian hardwood species i.e.
Kempas (Koompassia malaccensis), Nemesu (Shorea pauciflora) and Seraya (Shorea curtisii) were evaluated.
Single and mixed species laminations were produced using a phenolresorcinol formaldehyde adhesive at
room temperature. Shear block tests were performed according to the ANSI/ASTM D 905-49(76)
specification. All specimens except one exhibited high glueline shear strength values with each combination,
exceeding the minimum industrial requirements of 5515 kilopascal (kPa) and 4137 kilopascal (kPa) for dry
and wet specimens, respectively. A comparison between laboratory and factory-made assemblies and
various factors affecting the glueline shear strength of these assemblies are discussed.


The local coordination environment of catalytical moieties directly determines the performance of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices, such as Li-O2 batteries (LOBs) cathode. However, understanding how the coordinative structure affects the performance, especially for non-metal system, is still insufficient. Herein, a strategy that introduces S-anion to tailor the electronic structure of nitrogen-carbon catalyst (SNC) is proposed to improve the LOBs performance. This study unveils that the introduced S-anion effectively manipulates the p-band center of pyridinic-N moiety, substantially reducing the battery overpotential by accelerating the generation and decomposition of intermediate products Li1-3 O4 . The lower adsorption energy of discharging product Li2 O2 on NS pair accounts for the long-term cyclic stability by exposing the high active area under operation condition. This work demonstrates an encouraging strategy to enhance LOBs performance by modulating the p-band center on non-metal active sites.


Diesel engines are used as prime movers and independent power sources in many applications
because of their advantages in terms of fuel e�ciency, robustness and reliability. This paper
presents the results of isochronous speed controller design and experimental analysis of robustness
and e�ciency of a turbocharged diesel generator set (genset). The steady state performance and
transient response of the genset speed utilizing second-order sliding mode techniques with a super
twisting sliding mode control algorithm are assessed. The algorithm does not require the time derivative
of the sliding variable. It only uses the measured genset speed and does not require the use of
an observer. A modi�cation made to the algorithm shows improvement of the genset performance
over a wide operating envelope. The in�uence of this methodology and modi�cation of the algorithm
on overall generator performance, in particular in the presence of large load changes and in terms
of fuel e�ciency, exhaust emissions, starting speed transient response and steady speed variation, are
assessed. An algorithm for tuning the higher-order sliding mode (HOSM) controller for the genset
is established and presented. The robustness of the controller is investigated and the performance is
compared with that obtained by a commercial genset controller and a classical proportional-integral
controller.


C. Park was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2012R1A1A2004299), and D. Y. Shin was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2010-0021792)


Abstract Patients who suffer from cancer are at a higher risk of complications when they experience malnutrition. Evidence shows that oral nutritional supplements favor the healing process. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative oral nutritional intervention in oncological patients undergoing surgery. This study assessed retrospectively 55 cancer patients who previously had undergone abdominal surgery and did not have receive pre-surgical nutritional support (control group), and prospectively 30 oncological patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery and received pre-surgical high-protein nutritional support (experimental group). All patients had to have a NRS 2002 score ≥ 3. Analytical and clinical parameters were analyzed and the NRS 2002 screening test was performed. Post-operative assessments of surgical wound complications were also carried out to determine the impact of nutrition support. Pre-surgical nutritional interventions reduced the incidence and severity of wound complications as well as the length of hospital stays. Only 26.7% of patients in the experimental group had complications compared to 60% of the control group (P = 0.003). We conclude that pre-surgical nutritional interventions of patients undergoing surgery can improve post-surgical patient outcomes of malnourished patients.


This introduction is from the 16th World Conference of SID in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 1979, which addressed the theme of development choices for the 1980's and beyond. Choices may refer to different political, ideological or social systems. Choices may refer to strategies and technical issues, e.g. agriculture vs. industry. A third meaning of choice is implicit in the idea of a Third World, or alternative, method of development. The third meaning implies a rejection of Western institutions, values, and standards. In the past, the transfer of Western or in this case Northern, institutions and standards has disappointed and created obstacles to development. The rapid rate of population growth forces choices of population control and resource management. Common themes of development have emerged from conference discussions: the need to build development efforts on indigenous values; the need for new institutions both at the sub-national and at the super-national level; and, the need to adjust to inevitable changes rationally and with foresight. The nation state is too large for many functions that are better decentralized and left to village or district administrations, yet it is too small to respond to global challenges and environmental risks like harvest failure, credit risks, marketing risks, failure of supplies. The interests of the state are not identical with those of society or particular groups in society.


An ongoing European project on customization of electromagnetic simulation tool is ready to present significantly improved performance of parallel version of a professional FDTD simulator. The first stage of the work is concentrated on solution for computers with the shared memory architecture. The relevance and feasibility study of the solution for contemporary computers is shown. Possible ways to reach further performance improvements as well as solutions for distributed memory machines are discussed.


Background The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common in some societies among patients with chronic diseases such as inflammatory polyarthritis (IP). The use of CAM may increase delay to rheumatologist assessment and initiation of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy. Objectives To examine the use of CAM in a multi-ethnic, Asian inception cohort of patients with early IP and to determine its association with time to initiation of first DMARD (TIFD). Methods We prospectively recruited all adult patients with IP arthritis affecting ≥2 peripheral joints and symptom onset after September 1, 2012 from the only two hospitals serving Western Singapore. Baseline data on demographics, CAM use, education level, language spoken, smoking, time of symptom onset and DMARD prescription, disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) and physical function (modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, mHAQ) were collected by face to face interview, chart review and assessment by a trained nurse. Predictors of CAM use were determined by multivariate logistic regression. The association of CAM use and TIFD (≤12 weeks, 12-24 weeks, >24 weeks) was determined by ordinal logistic regression. Missing values (<2%) were ignored. Results are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Of the 130 included patients (median (IQR) age 51.3 (41, 59.9) years, 71.5% women), 112 (86%) had physician-diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. 61.5% were Chinese, 18.5% Malay and 13.1% were Indian. Median (IQR) disease duration from diagnosis was 3.6 (0, 20.7) weeks and median (IQR) delay from symptom onset to first rheumatologist review was 16.1 (9, 24.7) weeks. Patients had moderately active disease, with median (IQR) DAS28 at baseline of 4.1 (2.6, 5.4), but low functional disability with median (IQR) mHAQ score of 0.25 (0, 0.75). Fifty-three (41.4%) of 128 patients with available data admitted to either former or current use of CAM. Oral tablets or powder (55.1% of CAM users) and acupuncture (46.9%) were the most common types of CAM. In univariate logistic regression, Chinese race, being non-English speaking, smoking and high disease activity were significantly associated with CAM use. In a multivariate model, Chinese race, being non-English speaking, smoking and additionally education level were independent predictors of CAM use (Figure). TIFD was increased in CAM users (median 20.6 weeks vs. 15.3 weeks in non-users, p=0.01, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney). In multivariable analysis adjusted for age, gender, race, DAS28 and mHAQ, CAM use (along with mHAQ) was an independent predictor of TIFD. CAM use was significantly associated with increased TIFD (OR 2.77 vs. non-users, 95% CI 1.24-6.19, p=0.01) while the converse was seen with mHAQ (OR 0.2 for mHAQ ≥1 vs. <1, 95% CI 0.07-0.6). Conclusions CAM use is common, especially in older, non-English speaking Chinese smokers with high disease activity and may lead to a delay in presentation and initiation of DMARD therapy. Healthcare professionals should be aware of these unique challenges in treating patients with early arthritis in Asia. Acknowledgements The Chapter of Rheumatologists, College of Physicians, Academy of Medicine, Singapore. Disclosure of Interest None declared


By means of morphological methods dynamics of the spinal cord development in 14-day-old rat embryos implanted into the sciatic nerve of mature rats have been studied. The implants preserve their viability during 5 months after the operation and their cells continue to differentiate beginning from neuroepithelial cells and neuroblasts up to young and mature neurons with histotypical signs of motoneurons. In 6 h and 1 day after transplantation the neuroepithelial cells continue their mitotic division. In 3 days, however, their mitotic activity decreases essentially and differentiation of neuroblasts begins. In 7 days the implants consist mainly of differentiated neuroblasts and glial cells. As demonstrates electron microscopy, in 30 days after the operation in the implants there is a well developed neuropil, where mature neurons, myelinated axons are situated and synaptic contacts are present.


Even within the evolution of the discipline of strategic management, its core concepts and their respective importance remain unchanged. Amongst these practical instruments, that of situation analysis stands out as dominant, for it pertains to the first step towards the materiality of any venture. Only if our environment is taken under consideration can our venture hope to be viable and this exactly is the promise of effective situation analysis, that through the accurate representation of our strengths and weaknesses can we grasp opportunities and walk away from threats. A resilient technique for situation analysis is the consolidation of strategic factors among four particular groups that is known as SWOT analysis; to this day its origin remains obscure, though its prevalence has remained uncontested for more than fifty years. Though the utility of the SWOT inventory is indisputable, the instrument does hold two main limitations, that of arbitrary selection of strategic factors and their relative ranking. To mitigate these issues, several quantitative methodologies have been proposed over the years. This work proposes the extraction of a methodological instrument utilized extensively within epidemiology and its fusion with a quantitative SWOT inventory that has rendered a numeric result for each particular attribute. Through this fusion, a novel analytical perspective is introduced, that assists the extension of our analytical insight.


The immunophilin-like protein TWISTED DWARF1 (TWD1/FKBP42) has been shown to physically interact with the multidrug resistance/P-glycoprotein (PGP) ATP-binding cassette transporters PGP1 and PGP19 (MDR1). Overlapping phenotypes of pgp1/pgp19 and twd1 mutant plants suggested a positive regulatory role of TWD1 in PGP-mediated export of the plant hormone auxin, which controls plant development. Here, we provide evidence at the cellular and plant levels that TWD1 controls PGP-mediated auxin transport. twd1 and pgp1/pgp19 cells showed greatly reduced export of the native auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Constitutive overexpression of PGP1 and PGP19, but not TWD1, enhanced auxin export. Coexpression of TWD1 and PGP1 in yeast and mammalian cells verified the specificity of the regulatory effect. Employing an IAA-specific microelectrode demonstrated that IAA influx in the root elongation zone was perturbed and apically shifted in pgp1/pgp19 and twd1 roots. Mature roots of pgp1/pgp19 and twd1 plants revealed elevated levels of free IAA, which seemed to account for agravitropic root behavior. Our data suggest a novel mode of PGP regulation via FK506-binding protein-like immunophilins, implicating possible alternative strategies to overcome multidrug resistance.


Too often, I feel as though I live in two worlds. One is populated by scientists working on advanced tools, such as big data, sequencing, and data-based disease surveillance. The other is populated by public health professionals working on the demanding challenges of combating infectious diseases, empowering women and girls, and ensuring that more children survive and thrive. If we want to achieve the ambitions set out by the United Nations for global health and development by 2030, we need to bring these two worlds closer together through a new concept—precision public health.


The paper proposes a building equipment communications network based on a federation of existing standards and communications protocols. The proposed network concept provides a viable model for control manufacturers to provide advanced digital control of most building equipment.