Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), which is adenosine A2A receptor agonist, facilitates healing and inhibits inflammation and apoptosis. The effect of PDRN on alcoholic liver injury (ALI) was evaluated focusing on the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway. The mice were given daily oral administration of 50% ethanol at a dose of 4 g/kg during 8 weeks. After 4 weeks of alcohol intake, 200 μL of normal saline containing 8-mg/kg PDRN was intraperitoneally administered 3 times a week for 4 weeks. To determine whether the action of PDRN occurs through the adenosine A2A receptor, 8-mg/kg 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine (DMPX) with PDRN was treated. The concentration of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was detected. For liver histopathological score, hematoxylin and eosin staining was conducted. Enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to measure cyclic adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) concentration. PI3K and Akt expression was determined using Western blot analysis. In the results, PDRN treatment suppressed AST and ALT level in serum and liver tissue, and improved damaged liver tissue and decreased histological score. PDRN application inhibited the expression of phosphorylated PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The increasing effect of PDRN on cAMP level ats as a mechanism for ALI treatment. Co-treatment of DMPX with PDRN did not reduce apoptosis, causing no improvement in liver function. As a result of this experiment, PDRN has the potential to be selected as a therapeutic agent for ALI.


The educational system in China's Yanbian Prefecture presents a relatively successful model for Korean ethnic education. Koreans in China have a much higher percentage of literacy and middle school and college graduation than the national average or any other minority nationality. Despite the integrationist impulses of the Chinese nationality policy during the Rectification Movement and the Cultural Revolution, the Korean minority has successfully sustained its ethnic identity. Central to the well-being of the Korean minority in China is its continuing achievement of the highest level of educational attainment. Within the moderate nationality policy currently enunciated by Beijing, the ethnically based education system of the Korean minority in Northeast China presents a program to be studied and emulated by other minority nationalities.


Visual impairment is a condition that causes one cannot access visual information clearly. Most of people with visual impairment access visual information through the sense of hearing and touch. One of activity which accessing visual information is indispensable is learning activities. Learning activities can affect one's ability to understand and master what they learn. Moreover, in order to make learning activities more interesting, fun learning activities need to be created, such as learning while playing. The activities of learning while playing can be implemented by developing game based learning. This study was conducted to develop a game based learning that can help people with visual impairment to do learning activities for arithmetic subject. The interactivity in the game is a combination of touch and swipe interaction tehniques. From the user acceptance testing, result shows that the game is ease to use and to learn, and has a simple and intuitive interface. The next improvement for this game can be adding other interaction techniques such as hold, double click, multitouch, et cetera.


Deflection angle for a light ray travelling in the equatorial plane of a rotating Kerr mass has been already calculated by various investigators. Considering the light ray to be travelling only slightly above the equatorial plane, calculations have been made for such a ray for its deflection angle. In this paper, we calculate deflection angles for the light ray at various heights, which are small compared to the impact parameter and derive corresponding analytical expressions for deflection angle.


There is growing incentive to integrate quantum communication technologies into our high-bandwidth communication networks. However, for a realistic and practical large-scale deployment, drastic reductions of the size, cost and power consumption of current quantum cryptographic systems are necessary. We show how this goal can be achieved using photonic integration. We demonstrate quantum communication chips capable of record performances including quantum key distribution at 250kb/s over a 20dB-loss channel and quantum random number generation at 8Gb/s. The scalability and affordability of these new devices will allow the deployment of quantum cryptography in high connectivity networks.


Recent failures of newly designed, poorly evaluated and widely released implants have become a major concern demanding changes in the decision-making process of implant approval and implementation. Moreover, a systematic review summarizing the current state of research on comparative studies of total hip arthroplasties (THA) concludes that (1) there is a lack of studies and evidence on the comparative effectiveness of THAs and (2) the overall quality of reporting in the few available studies is less than adequate. In this context, the objective of this work was to highlight the importance of a hospital-based registry for comparative effectiveness research in the field of THA. The work includes (1) an overview of different types of registries in THA; (2) an assessment of methodological particularities in registry (observational) research; (3) an illustration of the practical usefulness of a registry by research conducted in the Geneva University Hospitals Hip Arthroplasty Registry; and (4) a reflection on future development needs. The research conducted has been useful in identifying both well-functioning and unsafe implants, in assessing ways to decrease the risk of prosthesis dislocation, in advancing the epidemiology of less common causes of arthroplasty infections, and in elucidating the influence of obesity, very old age, and intensive physical activity on THA outcomes. It has been innovative by combining classical orthopaedic research with other disciplines such as patient education, rheumatology, and obesity research; in systematically evaluating a variety of outcomes including those that are patient-reported; and in using advanced epidemiological and statistical methods. As for the future, we need a more widespread implementation of registries of all sizes focusing on a combination of clinically relevant data, patient-centered outcomes and cost evaluation. We urgently need to work on methodological improvement and innovation, and to adopt valuable approaches from other fields. The data gathered have to efficiently assess implant safety, be useful and accessible for the orthopaedic surgeon, and relevant to the patient and the society.


BACKGROUND
More than 50% of the elderly population has not received pneumococcal vaccination. Uncertainty regarding the benefits of immunization, particularly for noninvasive disease, may contribute to the underuse of pneumococcal vaccine.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the health and economic benefits associated with pneumococcal vaccination.

METHODS
We conducted a 2-year retrospective cohort study among all elderly members of a staff-model managed care organization who had a baseline diagnosis of chronic lung disease. The study outcomes were assessed over 2 years, from November 15, 1993, through November 14, 1995, and included hospitalizations for pneumonia and influenza, death, and hospitalization costs. Using administrative data, we compared these outcomes for vaccinated and unvaccinated subjects using multivariate models to control for subjects' baseline demographic and health characteristics. The additive benefits of combined influenza and pneumococcal vaccination were also assessed for the 2 influenza seasons included in the study.

RESULTS
There were 1898 subjects. Pneumococcal vaccination was associated with significantly lower risks for pneumonia hospitalizations (adjusted risk ratio [RR], 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-0.84; P=.005) and for death (adjusted RR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56-0.91; P = .008). For the control outcome of all nonpneumonia hospitalizations, rates did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (adjusted RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.77-1.07; P= .24). During the influenza seasons included in the study, the benefits of pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations were additive, with an adjusted RR of 0.28 (95% CI, 0.14-0.58; P<.001) for the number of hospitalizations for pneumonia and influenza among persons who had received both vaccinations compared with those who had received neither and an adjusted odds ratio of 0.18 (95% CI, 0.11-0.31; P<.001) for death. Over the 2-year outcome period, pneumococcal vaccination was also associated with direct medical care cost savings.

CONCLUSIONS
Pneumococcal vaccination of elderly persons with chronic lung disease was associated with fewer hospitalizations for pneumonia, fewer deaths, and direct medical care cost savings.


save13 provides a consistent command to save datasets in Stata 13 format, which facilitates collaboration between computers using different versions of Stata. Stata 13 and later versions of Stata can produce datasets in Stata 13 format, but not using the same command. save13 assures that the same code shared across multiple computers will save datasets in Stata 13 format, regardless of the host computer's version of Stata.


Single-nucleotide variations in RNA (hereafter referred to simply as SNVs), arising from co- and post-transcriptional phenomena including transcription errors and RNA editing, are well studied in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, stage-specific and non-specific gene-expression variations are known to accompany the parasite's array of developmental and morphological phenotypes over the course of its complex life cycle. However, the extent, rate and effect of sequence-level variation in the parasite's transcriptome are unknown. Here, we report the presence of pervasive, non-specific SNVs in the transcriptome of the P. falciparum. We show that these SNVs cover most of the parasite's transcriptome. SNV rates for the P. falciparum lines we assayed, as well as for publicly available P. vivax and P. falciparum clinical isolate datasets were of the order of 10−3 per base, about tenfold higher than rates we calculated for bacterial datasets. These SNVs may reflect an intrinsic transcriptional error rate in the parasite, and RNA editing may be responsible for a subset of them. This seemingly characteristic property of the parasite may have implications for clinical outcomes and the basic biology and evolution of P. falciparum and parasite biology more broadly, and we anticipate that our study will prompt further investigations into the exact sources, consequences and possible adaptive roles of these SNVs.


This article explains for a general philosophical audience the central issues and strategies in the contemporary moral realism debate. It critically surveys the contribution of some recent scholarship, representing expressivist and pragmatist nondescriptivism (Mark Timmons, Hilary Putnam), subjectivist and nonsubjectivist naturalism (Michael Smith, Paul Bloomfield, Philippa Foot), nonnaturalism (Russ Shafer-Landau, T. M. Scanlon) and error theory (Richard Joyce). Four different faces of 'moral realism' are distinguished: semantic, ontological, metaphysical and normative. The debate is presented as taking shape under dialectical pressure from the demands of (i) capturing the moral appearances; and (ii) reconciling morality with our understanding of the mind and world.


Marshall's abstract theory of spaces of orderings is a powerful tool in the algebraic theory of quadratic forms. We develop an abstract theory for semiorderings, developing a notion of a space of semiorderings which is a prespace of orderings. It is shown how to construct all finitely generated spaces of semiorderings. The morphisms between such spaces are studied, generalising the extension of valuations for fields into this context. An important invariant for studying Witt rings is the covering number of a preordering. Covering numbers are defined for abstract preorderings and related to other invariants of the Witt ring.


Based on forest inventory data and field survey information, and by using GIS spatial analysis technique and landscape indices, this paper studied the spatial distribution of three categories of human activities (settlement, roads, and other sources of disturbances) and their impacts on landscape patterns in three sub-divided regions, i. e., the west, central and east regions of the Daqingshan Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia. Results showed that the impacts of human activities were stronger in the east and west regions and weaker in the central region. Among the three subdivided regions, the landscape pattern in the west region was predominantly affected by other sources of disturbances, making the landscape patterns of coniferous forests, broadleaf forests and shrubs tended to be of aggregated distribution; the central region was mainly affected by roads, resulting in reduced landscape patch aggregation of broadleaf forests and shrubs; the east region was mostly affected by settlement, resulting in increased fragmentation of coniferous forests and broadleaf forests and apparent increases in landscape patch aggregation of shrubs and grasslands.


OBJECTIVE
To construct DNA vaccine (pIRES-Sj97-Sj14-Sj26) and study its immunogenicity and protective immunity against Schistosoma japonicum.

METHODS
The plasmid pIRES-Sj97-Sj14-Sj26 containing fatty binding protein (Sj14), GST (Sj26) and paramyosin (Sj97) was constructed and expressed on the membrane. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Sj14 mRNA, Sj26 mRNA and Sj97 mRNA in the Hela cells, and IFA for detecting the expression of trans-membrane Sj14, Sj26 and Sj97. Sixty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 3 groups. Mice in each group respectively received normal saline, pIRES blank vector and pIRES-Sj97-Sj14-Sj26 by intramuscular injection. Two weeks after the 3rd immunization, 10 mice from each group were sacrificed and total IgG in serum and the level of IFN-y were detected by ELISA and lymphocyte stimulating index (SI) by MTt. FCM was used to analyze the subgroups of splenocytes. The level of NO secreted by peritoneal macrophages was determined by nitrate reductase approaches. The left 10 mice in each group were challenged with (40 +/- 1) cercariae of S. japonicum by abdominal skin penetration. Forty-five days after challenge, mice were sacrificed, and numbers of recovered worms and hepatic eggs were counted.

RESULTS
RT-PCR showed the expression of Sj14 mRNA, Sj26 mRNA and Sj97 mRNA. IFA proved the expression of Sj26, Sj14 and Sj97 protein. Level of total IgG in the vaccination group, saline group and pIRES blank vector group was (5.62 +/- 0.64), (1.22 +/- 0.20) and (1.48 +/- 0.36) mg/ml respectively, showing a statistical significance (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The NO level in macrophages was (321.19 +/- 18.03), (184.12 +/- 11.05) and (213.51 +/- 15.93) nmol/ml in the 3 groups respectively (P < 0.05), and the lymphocyte stimulating index in the 3 groups was (2.25 +/- 0.29), (1.18 +/- 0.07) and(1.22 +/- 0.09) respectively (P < 0.01). The INF-gamma level was higher in the vaccination group than others (P < 0.01). The percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells increased considerably (P < 0.01). The vaccination group showed a worm reduction rate of 39.9% (P < 0.01) and an egg reduction rate of 43.9% (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
The vaccine candidate pIRES-Sj97-Sj14-Sj26 induces an immune protection in BALB/c mice against Schistosoma japonicum.


Edge computing can provide many key functions without connecting to centralized servers, which enables remote areas to obtain real-time medical diagnoses. The combination of edge computing and Internet of things (IoT) devices can send remote patient data to the hospital, which will help to more effectively address long-term or chronic diseases. CT images are widely used in the diagnosis of clinical diseases, and their characteristics are an important basis for pathological diagnosis. In the CT imaging process, speckle noise is caused by the interference of ultrasound on human tissues, and its component information is complex. To solve these problems, we propose a 3D reconstruction method for noisy CT images in the IoT using edge computing. First, we propose a multi-stage feature extraction generative adversarial network (MF-GAN) denoising algorithm. The generator of MF-GAN adopts the multi-stage feature extraction, which can ensure the reconstruction of the image texture and edges. Second, we apply the denoised images generated from the MF-GAN method to perform the 3D reconstruction. A marching cube (MC) algorithm based on regional growth and trilinear interpolation (RGT-MC) is proposed. With the idea of regional growth, all voxels containing iso-surfaces are selected and calculated, which accelerates the reconstruction efficiency. The intersection point of the voxel and iso-surface is calculated by the trilinear interpolation algorithm, which effectively improves the reconstruction accuracy. The experimental results show that MF-GAN has a better denoising effect than other algorithms. Compared to other representative 3D algorithms, the RGT-MC algorithm greatly improves the efficiency and precision.


This note accounts for optimal control techniques applied to marine navigation for seismic acquisition. More precisely, the goal is to gain time in turns and alignment maneuvers. A model for the kinematics of the marine vessel and sea current is proposed, then extended to include the evolution of the shape of the towed underwater cables during the maneuver. Two minimum time problems are stated, depending on whether the shape of the streamers is in the model or not. The simpler case is the so-called Zermelo-Markov-Dubins problem, recently studied in the literature. It generalizes the classical Dubins problem. The complete model is not standard, and preliminary analysis of controllability and of properties of minimum time trajectories are given.


Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) provides valuable metabolic information regarding arteriosclerotic lesions and may be applied for the detection of vulnerable plaque. When FDG, as a glucose analog, is phosphorylated in the intracytoplasmic area, its metabolism stops and remains, so-called intracellular metabolic trapping, and images are made utilizing this characteristic. Pathological examination of extirpated plaque confirmed that FDG accumulation was strongly correlated with the distribution and density of inflammatory cells, especially macrophages. Images suggestive of plaque inflammation and therefore its vulnerability were obtained. Even in patients with relatively slight stenosis, FDG accumulation was often observed; it was not always correlated with the percent stenosis, but quantitative values of FDG uptake or its changes may reflect the progression of arteriosclerosis. FDG is also utilized as a surrogate marker of drug efficacy, such as statin. Some studies indicated its association with vascular events, but no long-term, large-scale, prospective study excluding cancer-bearing patients has been conducted. In the future, data must be further accumulated. Concerning carotid artery lesions, there are no data on the onset of asymptomatic lesions or prediction of treatment-related risks, and future studies may provide promising information.


Familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis (FHHNC) is a rare autosomal recessive tubulopathy caused by mutations in either the CLDN16 or CLDN19 genes. Two children from a consanguineous family of Chinese presented with enuresis, polyuria, polydipsia, and failure to thrive. Laboratory studies revealed hypomagnesemia, hypercalciuria, sterile leukocyturia, microscopic hematuria, and renal insufficiency. Renal ultrasound showed bilateral medullary nephrocalcinosis and urolithiasis. Gene sequencing showed compound heterozygous, missense mutations c.416C>T (p.Ala139Val) and c.320T>C (p.Leu107Pro) within CLDN16 gene in both patients, and the mutation c.320T>C (p.Leu107Pro) had never been described before. The genetic findings will expand the understanding of FHHNC.
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To investigate the incidence and correlates of childhood depression in a family practice clinic, Kovacs Childhood Depression Inventory (CDI) was administered to 64 patients, aged 6 to 12 years. Accompanying parents completed the short form of Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and reported on the children's behavior problems. One half of the children studied scored within the depressed range on the CDI. Thirty-nine percent of the parents scored at least mildly depressed on the BDI. Depression appeared to cluster in families. Every parent who scored in the severe depression range was accompanying a child who rated himself or herself as depressed. All parents who scored above the cutoff for mild depression rated their children as having behavior problems. Children's self-reported depression was also related to negative parental rating of the children's behavior.


Heavy quark observables are applied to probe the initial energy density distribution with violation of longitudinal boost invariance produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Using an improved Langevin model coupled to a (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model, we study the nuclear modification factor (

 ) and directed flow (

 ) and elliptic flow (

 ) coefficients of heavy mesons and their decayed electrons at an RHIC energy. We find that the counter-clockwise tilt of nuclear matter in the reaction plane results in a positive (negative) heavy flavor

 in the backward (forward) rapidity region, whose magnitude increases with the heavy quark transverse momentum. The difference in the heavy flavor

 between different angular regions is also proposed as a complementary tool to characterize the asymmetry of the medium profile. Our model results are consistent with currently available data at the RHIC and provide predictions that can be tested by future measurements.


Two Tb o-aminobenzolate complexes with different second ligands (phenanthroline and triphenyl phasphine oxide) were synthesized. Their structures and fluorescent properties were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that the second ligand affected on the complexes luminescence by changing its structure.


Summary Policy and financing arrangements for long-term care are important themes in each country and/or region, and Taiwan, with its unique historic and politico-economic background, can be regarded as a bridge between well-developed and under-developed countries. Policy formulation about long-term care in Taiwan involves several agencies in the government, including Ministry of Health, Interior Affairs, Education, Insurance Bureau, and Economic Council, and formulation of policy objectives has progressed considerably in the last five years. Financing arrangements are less well-developed because the National Health Insurance Program began only in 1995, and most long-term care is not yet covered. As demand for long-term care exceeds supply, and this gap will grow in future, current resource allocation measures are concerned to facilitate the expansion of community care rather than allowing institutional care to absorb more resources. Developing future financing options is now a central task for policymaking, and government must continue to take a leading role in consolidating financing and integrating the service systems.


OBJECTIVE
To determine which clinicopathological factors influence the prognosis of cervical adenocarcinoma.

METHODS
Three hundred and two cases of primary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix, treated between 1977 and 1994, were studied retrospectively. Clinical data and pathological findings with respect to primary therapy were reviewed and evaluated.

RESULTS
The 5-year survival rates for stages I, II, and III/IV were 75.9, 62.9, and 25.1%, respectively. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (P < 0. 0001), cell type (P = 0.0176), tumor grade (P = 0.023), lymph node status (P = 0.018), and bulky tumor (P = 0.007) were found to be independent factors using the stepwise Cox proportional hazards model. Old age (P = 0.0581), presence of hypertension (P = 0.46), diabetes mellitus (P = 0.18), obesity (P = 0.15), and oral contraceptive use (P = 0.42) were not found to adversely influence survival rates for cervical adenocarcinoma after adjusting for other covariates. Adenosquamous adenocarcinoma had a better prognosis than endocervical columnar cell adenocarcinoma in stages I and II (P = 0. 0235). Also, in cervical adenocarcinoma's early stages, multivariate modeling revealed that chances of survival were significantly better for patients treated by radical surgery than for patients treated by radiation therapy (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Survival rates for cervical adenocarcinoma were significantly influenced by stage, histologic subtype, tumor grade, the presence of a positive lymph node, and tumor size. Although a randomized prospective study is needed, our data imply that radical surgery may be considered a better primary modality of treatment than radiation therapy for the early stages of cervical adenocarcinoma. Further, the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or obesity may not adversely influence survival rates.


To review the reported neurodevelopmental outcome of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors, identify important predictors of developmental disabilities, and describe the pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to adverse outcome. A Medline search was performed for English-language articles cross-referencing CDH with pertinent search terms. Retrospective, prospective, and longitudinal follow-up studies were examined. The reference lists of identified articles were also searched. Neurodevelopmental dysfunction has been recognized as one of most common and potentially most disabling outcome of CDH. Intelligence appears to be in the low normal to mildly delayed range. Neuromotor dysfunction is common during early childhood. Behavioral problems, hearing impairment, and quality of life related issues are frequently encountered in older children and adolescence. Disease severity correlates with the degree of neurological dysfunction. Neurodevelopmental follow-up in CDH children should become standard of care to identify those who would benefit from early intervention services and improve neurological outcomes.


The determination of the absolute configuration of deoxyribonucleoside cyclic N-acylphosphoramidites at phosphorus toward the synthesis of P-stereodifined phosphorothioated oligodeoxyribonucleotides is easily accomplished with computer-assisted molecular modeling and M-GOESY NMR spectroscopy. Specifically, computer-modeling diasteromeric phosphoramidite 3 has identifed a proximal (2.55 A) through-space interaction between benzylic H-5 and sugar H-2' ', which can predictably be detected by M-GOESY NMR in SP-3 but not in RP-3 because of being too distant (5.85 A). Consistent with computer-assisted modeling predictions, M-GOESY NMR spectra of SP-3 and RP-3 revealed NOE signals generated from nuclei near the selectively excited H-2' ' that are common to both SP-3 and RP-3, namely those of H-2', H-4', H-3', and H-1'. In addition, a diagnostic NOE signal at 5.5 ppm (benzylic H-5) is, as predicted, only detected in SP-3 and thus provides an unequivocal assessment of the configuration of the diastereomer at phosphorus. M-GOESY NMR data also confirm that the condensation of deoxyribonucleoside cyclic N-acylphosphoramidites with base-activated nucleosidic or nucleotidic 5'-hydroxyls proceeds via a single nucleophilic event.


The most widely implanted prosthetic valve is the mechanical bileaflet. Recent clinical experiences suggest that some designs are more prone to thromboembolic episodes than others. This study evaluated the hinge flow and near-field forward flow of the new St. Jude Medical Regent bileaflet mechanical heart valve. Laser Doppler velocimetry measurements were conducted within the hinge and near-field forward flow regions of the Regent valve. These pulsatile flow velocity measurements were animated in time to visualize the flow fields throughout the cardiac cycle. During forward flow, a recirculation region developed in the inflow pocket of the Regent hinge but was subsequently abolished by strong backflow during valve closure. Leakage velocities in the hinge region reached 0.72 m/s and Reynolds shear stresses reached 2,600 dyn/cm2. Velocities in the near-field region were highest in the lateral orifice jet, reaching 2.1 m/s. Small regions of separated flow were observed adjacent to the hinge region. Leaflet motion through the Regent hinge creates a washout pattern which restricts the persistence of stagnation zones in its hinge. Based upon the results of these studies, the hematological performance of the Regent series should be at least equivalent to the performance of the Standard series.


The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of some specific biochemical indicators in discriminating between Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis and H. pylori-associated stomach cancer (serum gastrin level, serum soluble E-cadherin and tissue COX-2 activity, as well as serodiagnostic markers for H. pylori infection) in order to find a simple diagnostic test that can reasonably predict the development of gastric cancer. The study participants comprised 20 patients with gastric carcinoma, 20 patients with positive H. pylori-associated gastritis and 20 individuals as the control group. Standard procedures and quality control measures were followed. Using cut-off values and ROC analysis to assess the diagnostic abilities of the biochemical indicators, E-cadherin showed the highest sensitivity (100%). We suggest that close follow-up together with periodic endoscopic examination for all patients with persistent H. pylori infection and serum soluble E-cadherin level above 5 microg/mL is essential.


In order to obtain strains of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus that can be cultivated in pine wood shavings, 36 monosporic cultures were isolated and propagated in vitro, selecting 6 cultures of rapid mycelial growth in order to obtain interspecimen crosses and dikaryonmonokaryon mating. Eleven of the crosses obtained and their 6 parental strains were cultured in vitro in order to determine their growth in pine shavings and barley straw (control), selecting 6 strains (3 crosses, 3 parental strains) for sporome production in the two growth substrates. At in vitro level, significant differences were found between the mycelial areas of monokaryons and dikaryons in the treatments (time, substrate) evaluated. In terms of sporome productivity, the cultures in barley straw presented higher biological efficiency (22.6%46.4%) and production rate (0.31%-0.77%) values than those in the pine shavings (3.3%-12% and 0.03%-0.11%, respectively). Sporome pileus diameters of 5 cm to 9.9 cm were the most frequent in both substrates. In general, the crosses surpassed their parents in both mycelial growth and sporome production, although further study is required in order to facilitate increased productivity of the strains in this potentially useful agroforestry residue.


Under achiever pupils were found to have low motivation level in learning mathematics. Pupils avoid Trigonometry and consider this topic as tough for them to master. The objective of this research is to measure under achievers motivation level towards Teaching and Learning (T&L) Trigonometry II topic using GeoGebra Learning Module (GLM). This research has used explanatory mixed methods which is survey and interview to answer the research questions. Pupils were exposed to GLM in Trigonometry II topics for a duration of two weeks. Motivation level are measured using questionnaire adapted from Instructional Material Motivational Scale (IMMS). Five pupils then were interviewed by the researcher to gauge pupils motivation towards GLM. Respondents are 21 under achiever pupils from one intact class in Muar, Johor. Data analysis showed overall pupils' motivation level are high (M = 4.16, SD = .279). The level of motivation of pupils for each subscale in ascending order is the Confidence (M = 3.92, SD = .268), Relevant (M = 4.07, SD = .357), Attention (M = 4.25, SD = .320), and Satisfaction (M = 4.50, SD = .436). Girls are significantly motivated [t (19) = 2,401, p <0.05, r = 1.07] compared to boys in using GLM. Result from the interviews were found similar to the surveys result. Pupils were found to be attracted to self access learning concept and slider function in the learning process. It is recommended that mathematics teachers should use GeoGebra by developing learning module that combine mathematics dynamic software and written module to help under achiever pupils further improve their motivation in T&L.Under achiever pupils were found to have low motivation level in learning mathematics. Pupils avoid Trigonometry and consider this topic as tough for them to master. The objective of this research is to measure under achievers motivation level towards Teaching and Learning (T&L) Trigonometry II topic using GeoGebra Learning Module (GLM). This research has used explanatory mixed methods which is survey and interview to answer the research questions. Pupils were exposed to GLM in Trigonometry II topics for a duration of two weeks. Motivation level are measured using questionnaire adapted from Instructional Material Motivational Scale (IMMS). Five pupils then were interviewed by the researcher to gauge pupils motivation towards GLM. Respondents are 21 under achiever pupils from one intact class in Muar, Johor. Data analysis showed overall pupils' motivation level are high (M = 4.16, SD = .279). The level of motivation of pupils for each subscale in ascending order is the Confidence (M = 3.92, SD = .268), Rel...


Both plasma FVII and FVIIa are cleared relatively fast from circulation with a half-life of 3 to 6 h in humans [1,2]. The mechanism(s) responsible for the clearance of FVII/FVIIa from circulation are unknown. Pharmacokinetic studies in mice have shown that FVII, FVIIa, active-site blocked FVIIa and pre-formed FVIIa-antithrombin complexes are cleared with similar rates, indicating that plasma elimination kinetics for FVII were independent of its activation and subsequent inactivation by plasma inhibitors [3]. Nonetheless, recent studies have implicated that a substantial fraction of pharmacologically administered FVIIa activity is inactivated by AT in humans and dogs, which could explain differences observed in FVIIa activity and antigen clearance curves in these studies [4,5]. Recent studies from our laboratory and others showed that endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) acts as a true cellular receptor for FVII or FVIIa [6–8] and promotes FVIIa endocytosis in cell model systems [7,9]. Administration of murine EPCR blocking antibodies was shown to reduce FVIIa clearance from circulation, particularly in the initial phase (α-phase) of clearance, indicating that EPCR may play a role in FVII clearance in vivo [9]. However, EPCR blocking antibodies that could fully block FVIIa binding to murine EPCR prolonged the circulatory half-time of FVIIa only modestly and did not block the clearance of FVIIa from circulation [9]. Together these data suggest EPCR may play a role in the initial, rapid phase of FVIIa clearance but other mechanism(s) may be responsible for its clearance in the terminal phase. To further investigate the potential role of EPCR in FVIIa clearance in a more stringent model system, in the present study we evaluated plasma elimination kinetics of FVIIa in wild-type, EPCR-deficient and EPCR-over expressing mice. Given that human FVIIa interacts well with murine EPCR whereas murine FVIIa binds only negligibly [10,11], we have used human FVIIa in this study.

Wild-type littermate controls, EPCR-deficient mice [12] or EPCR-over expressing mice [13] were injected with 125I-labeled human FVIIa (5 µg/kg) as a single intravenous bolus via tail vein. The low concentration of FVIIa dosing was chosen to reflect elimination kinetics of FVII at its plasma concentration. All mice were bled retroorbitally at 3 min following FVIIa administration and thereafter at one or two pre-set time points. Mice were anesthetized by isoflurane gas for tail vein injection and blood sampling, and experiments were conducted in accordance with the animal welfare guidelines set forth in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and approved by the Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee. Except in a rare instance, 3 or more mice were used per time point. Blood (45 µl) was collected into citrate anticoagulant (5 µl of 0.13 M tri-sodium citrate) and plasma was obtained by centrifugation at 4,000 × g for 5 min using a table-top Eppendorf centrifuge. FVIIa concentration in plasma was quantified by measuring radioactivity. Pharmacokinetics were evaluated by a standard non-compartmental method or fitting the data to a two-compartmental model using NONMEM modeling program (GloboMax/ICON, Ellicott City, MD, USA).

As shown in Fig. 1A, relatively large differences were observed among the genotypes at the first sampling time point (3 min). At this point, approximately 20% more FVIIa was recovered in the circulation of EPCR-deficient mice compared to the wild-type littermates. In contrast, FVIIa recovery in plasma of EPCR-over expressing mice was reduced by 30% compared to wild-type mice. These data indicate that a fraction of FVIIa administered to wild-type and more so to EPCR-over expressing mice was removed from circulation almost instantaneously after dosing. This indicates that FVIIa administered to mice readily associates with EPCR on the vascular endothelium. These data also suggest that a substantial fraction of EPCR on the vascular endothelium is left unoccupied by protein C/APC at their plasma concentrations and exogenously administered FVIIa is capable of binding to unoccupied EPCR in vivo. Interestingly, when FVIIa elimination kinetics in plasma were normalized to the mean maximum concentration of FVIIa in plasma measured at 3 min, the pharmacokinetic curves were almost identical among all 3 genotypes (Fig. 1B). Analysis of the data using the standard non-compartmental method showed a very similar half-life of FVIIa, between 2.2 to 2.4 h, in all 3 genotypes but relatively large differences in the Cmax (wild-type, 60 ng/ml; EPCR-deficient, 78 ng/ml; EPCR-overexpressors, 45 ng/ml).

Fig. 1

In vivo elimination of FVIIa in wild-type littermates, EPCR-deficient and EPCR-over expressing mice. 125I-labeled human FVIIa (5 µg/kg body weight, ~125 ng/mice) was administered to mice as a single dose intravenously via tail vein. FVIIa levels ...

When the data were fitted to a two compartmental model using Nonmem modeling, it confirmed the variation in bioavailability of FVIIa among the wild-type, EPCR-deficient and EPCR-over expressing mice. The bioavailability of FVIIa in plasma was increased by about 30% in EPCR-deficient mice, compared to wild-type mice, suggesting that less FVIIa was sequestered in these mice. In EPCR-over expressing mice, the bioavailability of FVIIa in plasma was decreased by 30%, indicating that a larger fraction of FVIIa was bound to EPCR immediately after its administration. Only minor differences were found in the CL values among the wild-type (0.018 ml/min), EPCR-deficient (0.017 ml/min) and EPCR-over expressing mice (0.014 ml/min), indicating that FVIIa is cleared in a similar profile in these mice. Following the initial disparate sequestration trends in EPCR transgenic mice, FVIIa was eliminated from circulation thereafter in all three genotypes essentially with a similar half-life, t1/2α, 0.12 h and t1/2s, 2.2 to 2.8 h. Other pharmacokinetics values, such as Q, V1 and V2, were identical among the three genotypes. Taken as a whole these data indicate that EPCR may play a role in modulation of FVII(a) levels in the circulation by sequestering it on the vascular endothelium but it is unlikely to influence the rate of FVII(a) clearance.

Overall, FVIIa pharmacokinetics observed in the present study were similar to that reported earlier [3]. Any minor variation in CL, V1 and V2 values reported in the present study and the earlier study could reflect variation in the methods for measuring FVIIa concentration in plasma (radioactivity versus clotting activity) and a difference in the dosage levels (5 µg/kg vs. 10 mg/kg). In an earlier study, we found that blockade of EPCR with EPCR-blocking antibody prolonged the t1/2α of FVIIa clearance from 19 min to 31 min [9]. These data were interpreted as EPCR serving a role in FVIIa clearance. However, based on the present observation that showed no significant differences in FVIIa clearance rates among wild-type, EPCR-deficient and EPCR-over expressing mice, it is unlikely that EPCR-mediated FVIIa internalization plays a significant role in FVII(a) clearance in vivo, at least at concentrations close to the endogenous plasma concentration of FVII. In our earlier study [9], the reversible nature of antibody binding to the receptor which could allow the exchange between antibody and ligand binding to EPCR coupled with potential differences in the bioavailability of FVIIa in control and EPCR blocking antibody-treated mice, might have given the impression that blockade of EPCR prolonged the initial phase of FVIIa clearance modestly but statistically significantly. Although the present data suggest that EPCR does not appear to play a significant role in the rate of FVIIa clearance from plasma, we can not completely rule out the possibility of EPCR influencing FVII clearance in humans as human EPCR may behave differently than murine EPCR. Irrespective of its role (or lack there of) in FVII clearance from plasma, EPCR still could play an important role in the continual, prolonged transport of a small but physiologically meaningful amount of FVIIa from circulation into extravascular compartments. Studies investigating this possibility are in progress within the authors' laboratories.


This study trials the Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) approach to conservation planning on a wide‐ranging marine species. We used marine turtle nesting data to test the global thresholds and criteria devised for terrestrial systems and adapted to the marine environment. Data were collated for the Melanesian region and used in the first region‐wide marine application of the KBA approach. Using the standard criteria, we tested a range of population thresholds to identify and delineate KBAs for five marine turtle species. A series of decision rules were devised during this analysis specific to marine turtles. The study showed that the standard KBA thresholds could be applied to marine turtles in Melanesia, with some modifications. Using the threshold of 10 breeding females, 54 preliminary marine turtle KBAs were identified and delineated for six Melanesian nations. A threshold of 1% of a species genetic stock aggregating at a site was trialled and showed that it made no difference to the identification of KBAs, with the exception of Lepidochelys olivacea. The study demonstrates that this approach to conservation planning, which is most suited to site‐associated species, can also be applied to wide‐ranging species displaying seasonal congregatory behaviour, such as marine turtles.


Introduction: Vascular calcification (VC) is a complex, regulated process involved in many disease entities. So far, there are no treatments to reverse it. Exploring novel strategies to prevent VC is important and necessary for VC-related disease intervention. Objective: In this study, we evaluated whether MOTS-c, a novel mitochondria-related 16-aa peptide, can reduce vitamin D3 and nicotine-induced VC in rats. Methods: Vitamin D3 plus nicotine-treated rats were injected with MOTS-c at a dose of 5 mg/kg once a day for 4 weeks. Blood pressure, heart rate, and body weight were measured, and echocardiography was performed. The expression of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the angiotensin II type 1 (AT-1) and endothelin B (ET-B) receptors was determined by Western blot analysis. Results: Our results showed that MOTS-c treatment significantly attenuated VC. Furthermore, we found that the level of phosphorylated AMPK was increased and the expression levels of the AT-1 and ET-B receptors were decreased after MOTS-c treatment. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that MOTS-c may act as an inhibitor of VC by activating the AMPK signaling pathway and suppressing the expression of the AT-1 and ET-B receptors.


The case is reported of an 18 year old patient who developed a peripheral neuropathy after being given 1.5 g ornidazole daily for 6 days and 2 g daily for 16 days (total dose: 41 g). Bilateral radial paralysis was noted clinically, whilst electrical investigations showed diffuse motor and sensitive anomalies. Three months after the drug had been stopped, all symptoms and signs had disappeared. The pathogenesis of this complication is discussed. The part played by ornidazole is suggested but cannot be proved because of the multiple disorders presented by the patient.


Purpose
The proportion of remote workers in America continues to increase every year. Research has demonstrated that feeling appreciated in the workplace increases employee engagement, reduces turnover and increases profitability. The current study aims to determine if remote workers differ in the manner they prefer to be shown appreciation.

Design/methodology/approach
From 2014 to 2018, workers completed the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory (White, 2011a), opting for either the general version designed for face-to-face work settings (N = 86,393) or the version designed for long-distance work relationships (N = 2,640).

Findings
Employees in a long-distance work relationship chose quality time ("hanging out" with coworkers, working together on a project, someone taking time to listen to them) as their preferred means to be shown appreciation more frequently (35 per cent) than workers on site (25 per cent). Words of affirmation (oral or written praise) remain high for both groups, but the long-distance group did not value it as much (long-distance: 38 per cent, general: 48 per cent).

Practical implications
The results suggest that supervisors and staff members working in long-distance work relationships must be more proactive than in face-to-face relationships to incorporate meaningful interactions that speak to long-distance colleagues.

Originality/value
This is the first study to assess the differences in preferred ways to be shown appreciation in the workplace with respect to long-distance vs face-to-face work environments.


Goals of care discussions typically focus on decision maker preference and underemphasize prognosis and outcomes related to frailty, resulting in poorly informed decisions. Our objective was to determine whether navigated care planning with nursing home residents or their decision makers changed care plans during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The MED-LTC virtual consultation service, led by internal medicine specialists, conducted care planning conversations that balanced information-giving/physician guidance with resident autonomy. Consultation included (1) the assessment of co-morbidities, frailty, health trajectory, and capacity; (2) in-depth discussion with decision makers about health status and expected outcomes; and (3) co-development of a care plan. Non-parametric tests and logistic regression determined the significance and factors associated with a change in care plan. Sixty-three residents received virtual consultations to review care goals. Consultation resulted in less aggressive care decisions for 52 residents (83%), while 10 (16%) remained the same. One resident escalated their care plan after a mistaken diagnosis of dementia was corrected. Pre-consultation, 50 residents would have accepted intubation compared to 9 post-consultation. The de-escalation of care plans was associated with dementia, COVID-19 positive status, and advanced frailty. We conclude that during the COVID-19 pandemic, a specialist-led consultation service for frail nursing home residents significantly influenced decisions towards less aggressive care.


The following precis of decisions taken at the meeting of General Council held in Melbourne on 2–3 October 1999 has been prepared for the information of Fellows. For further details contact your Branch or Faculty Councillor.


Sweden's shortage of affordable housing has been evolving into a major in recent years. A 2021 report by the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building, and Planning (Boverket) stated a need for 60,000 new homes by 2030. In addition, the Swedish building stock is responsible for 39% of the country's total energy consumption and 21% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, solutions to address the housing crisis should go hand in hand with the need for increased building retrofits to meet Sweden's 2045 energy and climate targets. In this context, re-densification of the existing building stock is a possible option. This study examines possible space- and energy-efficient options for densifying the housing supply in Sweden's existing single-family home (SFH) segment. Using a case study in Kronoberg, Sweden, occupied by an elderly household, options for converting the unused space into new additional dwelling units (ADUs) and reducing per capita living space are explored. Most SFHs in Sweden are old, in poor condition, and in urgent need of structural and energy retrofits. In addition, about one- third of homeowners are over 60 years old and report living in homes that are too large compared to their needs - an excellent environment to study the proposed intervention. Revenues from renting the newly created ADUs suggest that the proposal is financially attractive because it capitalizes on the high initial investment costs of energy retrofits. In addition, spatial interventions combined with energy-efficient measures result in a 40 percent lower energy use and environmental impact per capita compared to energy retrofits alone due to a reduction in per capita living space. Finally, the study aims to initiate a discussion on sufficiency, innovative energy regulations, and housing policy tools needed to transition to the low-energy single-family housing stock.


The Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change is funded by the U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Science under grants DE-FG02-94ER61937, DE-FG02-93ER61677, DEFG02-
08ER64597, and DE-FG02-06ER64320; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under
grants XA-83344601-0, XA-83240101, XA-83042801-0, PI-83412601-0, RD-83096001, and RD-
83427901-0; the U.S. National Science Foundation under grants SES-0825915, EFRI-0835414,
ATM-0120468, BCS-0410344, ATM-0329759, and DMS-0426845; the U.S. National Aeronautics
and Space Administration under grants NNX07AI49G, NNX08AY59A, NNX06AC30A,
NNX09AK26G, NNX08AL73G, NNX09AI26G, NNG04GJ80G, NNG04GP30G, and
NNA06CN09A; the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under grants
DG1330-05-CN-1308, NA070AR4310050, and NA16GP2290; the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration under grant 06-C-NE-MIT; the Electric Power Research Institute under grant EPP32616/
C15124; and a consortium of 40 industrial and foundation sponsors (for the complete list
see http://globalchange.mit.edu/sponsors/current.html).


Joseph Califano, Jr, has been an administrator, attorney, and seasoned Democratic federal bureaucrat. His latest entry into the health care reform contest begins to make penance for the decades of liberal federalist policies to which Mr Califano himself has contributed heavily since he assisted the Johnson administration in spawning Medicare in 1965 and, as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Carter administration, helped create the Health Care Financing Administration in 1977. His broad perspective provides a valuable historical lesson and some insight into why centrally controlled programs are fraught with hazard: Homo bureaucraticus has an amoral agenda. A recurring analogy to the nuclear arms race reminds us that we have developed the technology but not the philosophy. A relatively easy read, this volume is amusing and enlightening in its recitation of indictments and listing of criticisms of the corruption of health care delivery as it has evolved


This study aims to determine the role of the operational audit of the effectiveness of the provision of credit to the PT. Pegadaian (Persero) Branch Sukabumi, the variables used in this study is the operational audit and effectiveness of credit. The method used in this research is descriptive and associative. The scale used is ordinal scale. The population in this study were all employees at PT. Pegadaian (Persero) Branch Sukabumi. The data used are primary data and secondary data. Data were collected and analyzed using validity and reliability test, test the classical assumption of normality test, simple linear regression, hypothesis testing using t test, and test the coefficient of determination. Validity test results showed that all the questions for the independent variables and the dependent variable is declared invalid. Reliability test results unreliable. The result of the classical assumption of normality test showed that the role of the operational audit of the effectiveness of the credit granting normal distribution. The results of hypothesis testing (t-test) showed that t = 9.898> t table = 2.048. It can be concluded that the operational audits contribute significantly to the effectiveness of the loan. Results from test determination coefficient obtained the role of operational audit of the effectiveness of credit amounted to 77.8%. While the remaining 22.2% is influenced by other factors.


The anti-obesity effects of fermented black bean were tested with mice fed a high fat diet for seven weeks. Body weight gain and feed efficiency ratio (FER) in the high fat diet control (HC) group were markedly higher, compared with those of the normal control (NC) group, but were significantly lower in the 2% black bean powder supplemented high fat diet (BB) group and 2% black bean powder fermented by M. pilosus supplemented high fat diet (BBM) group, compared with those of the HC group. Food intake in the HC and BB groups was significantly lower than that of the NC and BBM groups. Water intake in the HC group was significantly lower than that of the NC group, but was higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. On the other hand, relative liver and kidney weight in the HC group was lower than that of the NC group, but was higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. In addition, whereas epididymal fat weight in the HC group was markedly higher than that of the NC group, it was significantly lower in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. Meanwhile, hepatic GSH in the HC group was significantly lower than that of the NC group, but was slightly higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. Although hepatic LPO in the HC group was dramatically higher than that of the NC group, it was significantly lower in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. In addition, serum TG, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol in the HC group was significantly higher than that of the NC group, but was significantly lower in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. On the contrary, HDL-cholesterol in the HC group was significantly lower than that of the NC group, but was higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. In addition, activity of XOR D type in the HC group was lower than that of the NC group, but was slightly higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the NC group. Activities of ROS scavenging enzymes, such as SOD, GPX, and GST in the HC group were significantly lower than those of the NC group, but were significantly higher in the BB and BBM groups, compared with those of the HC group. In addition, serum ALT activity in the HC and BB groups was higher than that of the NC group, but was significantly lower in the BB and BBM groups, compared with that of the HC group. In histopathological findings, hepatic fat accumulation in the HC group was higher than that of the NC group, but was lower in the BBM group, compared with that of the HC and BB groups. In particular, antiobese, hypolipidemic, and antifatty liver effect of black bean powder fermented by M. pilosus was specifically higher than that of non-fermented steamed black bean. In conclusion, the constituents of black bean fermented by Monascus pilosus have been proven to not only inhibit obesity and hyperlipidemia but also decrease hepatic fat accumulation in high fat diet-induced obese mice. (Korean J Nutr 2013; 46(1): 5 ~ 14)


Background and Objectives: The increasing environmental pollution by heavy metals has caused serious concerns due to the carcinogenicity, non biodegradability, and   biological accumulation properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the removal of copper as a heavy metal by using camel bone powder from wastewater. Method: The process of copper absorption by powdered camel bone was performed in laboratory and batch mode. Effects of various parameters such as pH, contact time, adsorbent amount of copper concentration on the adsorption efficiency were studied. In order to better understand of the equilibrium adsorption, isotherms of Freundlich and Langmuir were assessed. All experiments were repeated three times and mean values reported. Results: The specific surface area, total pores volume, and mean pore diameter of adsorbent were determined as 89.8 m 2 /g, 0.41 m 3 /g, and 1.1-2 mm, respectively . The results showed that camel bone powder had the best performance of copper removal (99%) at a dose of 0.3 mg/L, pH 8, and contact time of 20 min. The equilibrium data fitted well with the Freundlich model (R 2 = 0.985).  The results revealed that copper absorption was affected by factors such as initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, and pH. The maximum adsorption was obtained at pH 8. Conclusions: Accordingly, the camel bone powder is an efficient, low cost, and promising option adsorbent for removal of different concentrations of copper from water and wastewater.


Prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthases (PGHSs), also called cyclooxygenases (COXs), convert arachidonic acid (AA) to PGH2. PGHS-1 and PGHS-2 are conformational heterodimers, each composed of an (Eallo) and a catalytic (Ecat) monomer. Previous studies suggested that the binding to Eallo of saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids (FAs) that are not COX substrates differentially regulate PGHS-1 versus PGHS-2. Here, we substantiate and expand this concept to include polyunsaturated FAs known to modulate COX activities. Non-substrate FAs like palmitic acid bind Eallo of PGHSs stimulating human (hu) PGHS-2 but inhibiting huPGHS-1. We find the maximal effects of non-substrate FAs on both huPGHSs occurring at the same physiologically relevant FA/AA ratio of ∼20. This inverse allosteric regulation likely underlies the ability of PGHS-2 to operate at low AA concentrations, when PGHS-1 is effectively latent. Unlike FAs tested previously, we observe that C-22 FAs, including ω-3 fish oil FAs, have higher affinities for Ecat than Eallo subunits of PGHSs. Curiously, C-20 ω-3 eicosapentaenoate preferentially binds Ecat of huPGHS-1 but Eallo of huPGHS-2. PGE2 production decreases 50% when fish oil consumption produces tissue EPA/AA ratios of ≥0.2. However, 50% inhibition of huPGHS-1 itself is only seen with ω-3 FA/AA ratios of ≥5.0. This suggests that fish oil-enriched diets disfavor AA oxygenation by altering the composition of the FA pool in which PGHS-1 functions. The distinctive binding specificities of PGHS subunits permit different combinations of non-esterified FAs, which can be manipulated dietarily, to regulate AA binding to Eallo and/or Ecat thereby controlling COX activities.


The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection among HIV positive patients, to identify most relevant risk factors of co-infection and develop preventive interventions. Study participants were voluntary individuals 18 years of age or older recruited from AIDS Center VCT unit in Tbilisi, Georgia. Eligibility criteria of participants were: HIV positive result confirmed by western blot; age; and voluntary participation. Total 175 patients undergo interview with specially designed questionnaires. Most of the participants were male (71.4%), age range of HIV positives varied from 20 to 77 years old. Prevalence of HCV among HIV positive patients is high. Almost half (48.57%) HIV positive patients are co-infected with HCV. Men were more likely than women co-infected with HCV (60.80% and 18% accordingly). Major risk factor of male co-infection was related to drug use, needle and injection equipment sharing. Prevalence of HCV among injecting drug users was (73.40%). Drug users had 3.25 times more risk (PR 3.25; 95%CI; CL--1.89-5.26; p<0.01) to be infected with HCV compare non IDUs. Prevalence of being infected with HBV (Anti-HBc) among HIV positives was 43.42% (76/175) and the prevalence of Chronic HBV (HBsAg positive) was 6.86% (12/175). Prevalence rate of HBsAg among IDUs was 8.51% and among non IDU participants 5.26%. Triple infection (HIV, Hepatitis C and chronic form of Hepatitis B--HBsAg) was among 9 patients (5.14%). Infections were associated with injection drug use (88.88%) and mostly were related to share of needles/syringes and other injecting medical equipment. Transmission of HBV and HCV by sexual contact was not observed among those 9 participants. High risk behavior among HIV positive participants mostly related to drug use and unprotected sex with non regular partners. Other risk factors for Hepatitis transmission were associated with invasive medical manipulations, blood transfusion, surgery, abortions and etc. None of cases of HIV, or Hepatitis (B, C) transmission through medical manipulations can be documentary proved based on those research data.


Background The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) deficiency during angiogenesis of pulmonary alveolar capillaries in mice and to determine the molecular mechanisms involved. Material/Methods The expressions of MTA1, CD34, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and HIF-1α were analyzed in the lungs of MTA1-knockout (KO) and wild-type mice at embryonic day 18.5 and 2 months by quantitative PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. The morphological changes were investigated during pulmonary alveolar capillary formation. The heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) ratio and the size of the right ventricular wall cardiomyocytes were also measured. Regulation of MTA1 on HIF-1α was determined in vitro. Results MTA1 deficiency reduced the number of pulmonary alveolar capillaries compared to the wild-type mice. MTA1-KO mice exhibited a decreased expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the lungs. The retarded growth of the MTA1-KO mice was also noticed during the first week after birth. Accordingly, MTA1 deficiency resulted in increased infant mortality. In surviving adult mice, MTA1 deficiency induced myocardial hypertrophy, highlighted by an increased heart weight/body weight ratio and larger cardiomyocytes. In cultured cells, HIF-1α and VEGF levels were significantly upregulated upon MTA1 overexpression, suggesting a close relationship between all 3 molecules. Conclusions MTA1 participates in the formation of pulmonary capillaries via stabilization of HIF-1α. This finding sheds new light on the function of MTA1 in lung development, opening new avenues for the diagnosis/treatment of related pulmonary diseases.


Isolation, stratification, fixation, regimentation, standardization, militarization--one or more of these attributes enter into the conception of the utopian city, as expounded by the Greeks. And these same features remain, in open or disguised form, even in the supposedly more democratic utopias of the nineteenth century, such as Bellamy's Looking Backward. In the end, utopia merges into the dystopia of the twentieth century; and one suddenly realizes that the distance between the positive ideal and the negative one was never so great as the advocates or admirers of utopia had professed. --Lewis Mumford, "Utopia, the City and the Machine" Sit where the light corrupts your face. Mies Van der Rohe retires from grace. And the fair fables fall.--Gwendolyn Brooks, In the Mecca As Lewis Mumford explains, urban utopias of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries "merge" into the dystopia of the twentieth century because urban utopias rely on a specific way of ordering space, usually maintaining the established order by subtle and less subtle strategies of compulsion. In other words, to achieve an ideal urban society, urban utopias promote the sense that people are a chaotic mass that needs to be ordered through the control of space. In the twentieth century, the negative idealism of urban planning present in ancient urban utopias resurfaces as a response to the sense that the modern city is a dystopia that can only be redeemed by violent reshaping. One of the most extreme cases of reforming undesirable, unbeautiful, and poverty-stricken segments of urban space involves urban planners' response to the "urban decline" of American cities. In response to this decline, mid-twentieth-century planners proposed the "urban renewal" that erased entire neighborhoods and further deepened residential segregation, urban poverty, and racism. Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, in their landmark study on residential segregation, American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass, explain the growing racist response to inner cities in the twentieth century by illuminating the facts of residential segregation. The authors unambiguously indict white public institutions for the construction of racially segregated areas within cities: "The evolution of segregated, all-black neighborhoods.., was not the result of impersonal market forces .... On the contrary, [they were] constructed through a series of well-defined institutional practices, private behaviors, and public policies by which whites sought to contain growing urban black populations" (Massey and Denton 10). In the 1950s in particular, housing segregation reached its peak deepening the decline of inner city neighborhoods. (1) As the above quotation shows, urban planners and ideologues reinforced the ancient idea of "regimentation" and "stratification" that Mumford mentions, but also translated it into a modern version of urban idealism called "residential segregation" to achieve and protect upper- and middle-class white urban utopias. The discourses with which the planners, designers, architects, and ideologues justified these racially exclusive modern urban utopias, however, did not always contain the word "segregation." These particular positions in urban discourse used terms such as "urban decline" and "urban renewal" instead to raze whole neighborhoods and erect housing projects in the same racially segregated areas. The discourse on "urban decline" and "urban renewal" therefore not only used the neglected areas of the cities as a metaphor for everything that was wrong with them. Furthermore, it effectively disguised housing segregarion and racial discrimination. Displaced residents of the declining urban areas, however, began challenging "urban decline" as an appropriate representation of their lives. As Robert Beauregard notes, the term "urban renewal" was parodied among blacks as "Negro removal" in the 1960s because the urban discourse that disguised acute racial discrimination culminated at this time (164-65). …


Introduction: A palpable thyroid swelling is a very common finding and is seen in almost 12% of Asian Indian population. Thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) can be used as a risk stratification system to determine malignant or benign thyroid nodules and necessity of further intervention. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the positive predictive value (PPV) of TI-RADS category/ultrasound using TI-RADS categories in the diagnosis of malignancy in clinically suspected thyroid nodule and necessity for further intervention in the case of malignant thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective study evaluating 110 patients (140 thyroid nodules) from March 2018 to April 2020 including patients with thyroid swelling. Ultrasound was performed by a radiologist on the patients, and targeted fine-needle aspiration cytology from thyroid nodules was interpreted by an experienced pathologist. Ultrasound features and TI-RADS category were compared with cytology and surgical histopathology. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and positive likelihood ratio in different categories of TI-RADS nodules were calculated. Results: A total of 113 thyroid nodules were assessed. Out of 113 nodules (right lobe – 64, isthmus – 6, and left lobe – 43), 84 nodules were benign and 29 nodules were malignant. Eleven (10%) patients were found to have metastatic cervical lymphadenopathy. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of malignant nodules according to gender, location of the nodule, or size of the nodule. The mean anteroposterior and transverse diameter of benign nodule was 14.1 ± 6.9 mm and 20.9 ± 9.9 mm, respectively, whereas in the case of malignant nodules, it was 15.6 ± 7.1 mm and 19.5 ± 9.0 mm, respectively. A TI-RADS score of ≥4 had 84% PPV for malignancy. The PPV for malignancy was 32.2%, 49.1%, and 100% for TI-RADS 2, 3, and 5 categories. Conclusion: TI-RADS is a simple, practical, and cost-effective tool for assessing the malignancy rates of thyroid nodules. TI-RADS categories 4 and 5 have high PPV for malignancy in thyroid nodules.


This paper focuses on studying Noether symmetries and conservation laws of the discrete mechanico-electrical systems with the nonconservative and the dissipative forces. Based on the invariance of discrete Hamilton action of the systems under the infinitesimal transformation with respect to the generalized coordinates, the generalized electrical quantities and time, it presents the discrete analogue of variational principle, the discrete analogue of Lagrange–Maxwell equations, the discrete analogue of Noether theorems for Lagrange–Maxwell and Lagrange mechanico-electrical systems. Also, the discrete Noether operator identity and the discrete Noether-type conservation laws are obtained for these systems. An actual example is given to illustrate these results.


Abstract:Definitional work has authorized vaguely articulated, unending, US-led terror wars, constituting amorphous, violent, global terrain, spatially, temporally, and discursively. Mapping the terrain in which this violence is enacted helps us examine re-emergences of violence, including entangling Indigenous communities inside the United States—particularly as they engage acts of protest—within the same colonial machines of terror deployed in the name of war outside those boundaries. This essay maps these circulations as they coalesce at one point: the use of battle grade military equipment and former special operations teams against Indigenous protesters at the Standing Rock #NoDAPL resistance fight in 2016 and 2017. As Native protestors were transformed into jihadists and assaulted at Standing Rock, frames of savage indigeneity permeated boundaries from the terror wars' battle sites of Pakistan and Afghanistan back to the United States. In this cartography, conditions of possibility for governing global communities are remapped. The inter/national crossroads expand and are weaponized into new necropolitical tools of colonization. Examining this violent landscape and engaging with histories of settler colonialism as well as the spatial, temporal, and discursive power of definition, this essay explores rhetorical cartography as the ground for mapping new rhetorical terrains and inter/national coalition against ongoing materializations of colonialism.


CONTEXT
Recent clinical trials have demonstrated a decrease in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated with a protective ventilatory strategy.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the hypothesis that an injurious ventilatory strategy may lead to end-organ epithelial cell apoptosis and organ dysfunction.

DESIGN AND SETTING
In vivo animals: 24 rabbits with acid-aspiration lung injury were ventilated with injurious or noninjurious ventilatory strategies. In vitro: rabbit epithelial cells were exposed to plasma from in vivo rabbit studies. In vivo human: plasma samples from patients included in a previous randomized controlled trial examining a lung protective strategy were analyzed (lung protection group, n = 9 and controls, n = 11).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
In vivo animals: biochemical markers of liver and renal dysfunction; apoptosis in end organs. In vitro: induction of apoptosis in LLC-RK1 renal tubular epithelial cells. In vivo human: correlation of plasma creatinine and soluble Fas ligand.

RESULTS
The injurious ventilatory strategy led to increased rates of epithelial cell apoptosis in the kidney (mean [SE]: injurious, 10.9% [0.88%]; noninjurious, 1.86% [0.17%]; P<.001) and small intestine villi (injurious, 6.7% [0.66%]; noninjurious, 0.97% [0.14%]; P<.001), and led to the elevation of biochemical markers indicating renal dysfunction in vivo. Induction of apoptosis was increased in LLC-RK1 cells incubated with plasma from rabbits ventilated with injurious ventilatory strategy at 4 hours (P =.03) and 8 hours (P =.002). The Fas:Ig, a fusion protein that blocks soluble Fas ligand, attenuated induction of apoptosis in vitro. There was a significant correlation between changes in soluble Fas ligand and changes in creatinine in patients with ARDS (R = 0.64, P =.002).

CONCLUSIONS
Mechanical ventilation can lead to epithelial cell apoptosis in the kidney and small intestine, accompanied by biochemical evidence of organ dysfunction. This may partially explain the high rate of MODS observed in patients with ARDS and the decrease in morbidity and mortality in patients treated with a lung protective strategy.


The use of space by sympatric lizards was assessed in a protected area in south central Chile that was affected by a wildfire three years prior. Through systematic monitoring in plots with varying degrees of severity, the abundance of species was counted in each treatment (low severity, medium severity, high severity and unburned control), and were, in turn, subdivided into different microhabitats (ground, trunks and trees). The microhabitats were differentiated by the level of damage suffered by the vegetation as a consequence of the wildfire. Of the three species recorded, it was observed that the presence of Liolaemus tenuis was linked to sites with less fire damage, disappearing in high severity sites. In contrast, L. pictus displayed a more generalist use of microhabitats, with its presence being similar in the different treatments. On the other hand, L. lemniscatus showed a predominant use of the ground, which became more evident in the most severe sites. The pattern found are discussed, as well the influence of fire in reshaping environments.


The maintenance of rats and dogs on a choline- or potassium-free diet for periods of 1–4 weeks after weaning results in the development of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The rapidity with which hypertension develops and its severity is determined by the length of the period during which they are maintained on such diets and may be accentuated by unilateral nephrectomy, the substitution of 1% sodium chloride for the animal9s drinking water, the administration of alcohol (in conjunction with choline deficiency) or by a combination of these procedures.


This study, based largely on Chinese journals rarely available to Western scholars, explores the abrupt turnabout of Chinese views of the Soviet Union from condemnations of revisionism" to appreciation for problems common to both countries.Originally published in 1987.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


The Viterbi algorithm (1967) and conventional serial concatenated codes (CSCC) have been widely applied in digital communication systems over the last 30 years. We show that the Shannon capacity of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels can be approached by CSCCs and the iterative VA (IVA). We firstly study the algebraic properties of CSCCs. We then present the IVA to decode these codes. We also analyze the performance of the IVA and conclude that a better performance can be achieved if we replace the powerful block codes by some simple parity codes. One of the key results in this paper shows that by using a proper design for the decoding method, codes with small loops can be very efficiently decoded using a min-sum type algorithm. The numerical results show that the IVA can closely approach the Shannon sphere-packing lower bound and the Shannon limit. For block sizes ranging from 56 information bits to 11970 information bits, the IVA can perform to within about 1 dB of the Shannon sphere-packing lower bound at a block error rate of 10/sup -4/. We show that the IVA has a very low complexity and can be applied to many current standard systems, for example, the Qualcomm code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system and the NASA concatenated system, with very little modification or, for some cases, without any modification.


The aim of this study was to develop and test the reliability of an instrument to evaluate the quality of clinical teaching among dental school faculty. Fourth-year dental students' perspectives on effective clinical teaching were first collected in focus group meetings. An 11-item questionnaire to assess seven domains of clinical teaching was developed based on the collected student perspectives and a medical model. All 374 third- and fourth-year dental students at one U.S. dental school in 2015 were invited to evaluate four clinical instructors whom they felt were strong role models and four clinical instructors whom they felt would benefit from constructive criticism. The survey was completed by 139 students (37.2% response rate); they evaluated 96 dental instructors. The results showed that the survey demonstrated strong internal reliability, with Cronbach's alpha values of >0.95 for each of the seven domains. In addition, there was significant agreement between groups: the interclass correlation (ICC) ranged from 0.97 to 0.99. These results suggest that the clinical faculty evaluation instrument developed in this study is a reliable method that can be used to evaluate dental faculty members. This system can be a valuable guide for clinical faculty members and administrators in assessing and improving clinical teaching effectiveness.


Formulation of nature reserves groups is one of important approach for optimizing the spatial patterns of nature reserves , and improving the effect of nature reserves network. In this study , based on habitat evaluation and connectivity analysis , the approach and method for optimizing spatial patterns and function zoning of reserves was analyzed using the case study of giant pandas ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) reserves in Qinling mountains range. Results showed that , 17 panda nature reserves were established or in establishment , which almost formed a reserves group and covered 50% of panda habitat. But 3 reserves in the east were isolated from the others , and core zones of the 17 reserves were isolated into 20 parts. This pattern will reduce the effect of reserves systems in protecting pandas and other endangered species. For optimizing the spatial patterns of the nature reserves , new reserves including Xushui River and Jingjiliang were proposed , and the number of core zones was suggested to 4 parts according to the spatial distribution of panda population. Besides , three linkage areas were proposed for facilitating the pandas exchange and movement among different populations. The study is expected to provide a scientific basis for nature reserves construction in this mountain range , and to benefit the establishment of nature reserves group in other places and the optimization of entire nature reserves systems in China.


This article examines the issues of hydraulic resistance of solar air heaters with concave tubes and
reduction of pressure losses, as well as the determination of the air flow in concave tubes installed in the working
chamber of the solar air heater and discusses the reduction of the number of common tubes to reduce pressure
losses in the solar air heater and the installation of concave pipes to give air a swirling motion to eliminate a
sharp decrease in the heat transfer process .


This paper presents development of the distributed ontology management system (DOMS). The objective of DOMS was to provide a framework for handling the sharing, storage, versioning, and security of ontologies in a repository. The ontologies are represented by a generic object-oriented class hierarchy, which can be translated into an XML (extensible markup language) representation. To share ontologies, DOMS uses a distributed client-server architecture using TCP (transmission control protocol). A relational database is used for storing the ontologies in DOMS. A mapping from relational to the generic representation, which is object-oriented, can transfer data in and out of the database. Ontology versioning is performed by using the ontology's versioning information that is modeled in the database. To enhance system security, communication between the client and server is encrypted with SSL (secure socket layer). Additionally, DOMS uses an individual-based model to control access to the ontologies. An ontology editor has also been integrated with DOMS. This paper shows that DOMS provides some improvements upon existing ontology management systems, and discusses ways for further extension of the system


A temperature-programmed gas chromatographic technique was devised for quantitative determination of higher alcohols in neutral grape spirits. A comparison of results with standard colorimetric results showed large discrepancies. When the colorimetric standard was changed to include n-propyl, iso-butyl, n-butyl, and isoamyl alcohols in the ratio 775:225:25:25, the results were found to be more comparable. This ratio was found to be about the average for the higher alcohols found by the gas chromatographic method.


An analysis of long-term results of surgical treatment of 609 patients with degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the hip-joint was made. Choice of the optimum methods of surgical treatment of such patients must be based on the prognosis of effectiveness of the operative intervention taking into account general regularities associated with the degree of the arthrosis alterations, dyscongruence of the articulation surfaces and duration of the disease, the degree of disturbances of the femur head blood supply, the disturbed supporting ability and severity of the trauma. When choosing the method of surgical treatment of young patients with coxarthrosis the operative interventions aimed at saving the hip joint should be considered.


The aim of this study was to evaluate clinically, histologically, and histometrically the use of autogenous bone combined with porous hydroxyapatite (Interpore 200) as a grafting material for maxillary sinus augmentation procedures. In 4 adult male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) the 1st, 2nd and 3rd maxillary molars on one side of the jaws were extracted. After a healing period of 3 months, maxillary sinus augmentation procedures were performed in each monkey, and the sinuses were grafted with autogenous bone from the monkeys' tibia mixed in a 3:1 ratio with porous hydroxyapatite. At the same time, 2 pure titanium plasma-sprayed IMZ cylinder implants were immediately placed into the augmented sinuses (i.e. simultaneous implants-loaded group). After 4 months, 2 additional similar implants were placed into the previously augmented sinuses (i.e. delayed implants-loaded group). Four months later, the abutment connection was performed and all 4 implants were loaded with a gold-alloy bridge for 6 months (i.e. until sacrifice of the animals). The contralateral side of each monkey received similar treatment with the exception that the extractions were performed 7 months after those in the opposite side and that the implants were not loaded. Thus, 2 additional study groups (i.e. simultaneous implants unloaded group and delayed implants unloaded group) were obtained. Clinically, all loaded implants were stable at the day of sacrifice. Histologically, the grafted sinuses exhibited a significant amount of new bone formation. The porous hydroxyapatite granules appeared integrated with the newly formed bone. Histometric analyses revealed that delayed implant placement resulted in a greater amount of direct mineralized bone-to-implant contact in the augmented area than the simultaneous implant placement. Furthermore, the percentage of direct mineralized bone-to-implant contact was far more significant in the residual bone than in the augmented area. It was concluded that the autogenous bone/porous hydroxyapatite graft combination enhanced bone formation and mineralized bone-to-implant contact in the augmented sinuses and that the delayed implant placement may be favorable for sinus augmentation procedures.


Two uniaxial spin transfer oscillators with field coupling and RLC loads are considered. This system can demonstrate synchronized as well as non-synchronized oscillations. There is an area of bistability in the parameter space where these two regimes coexist. The mechanism of the bistability control is suggested. It is shown that if the RLC circuits are tuned in such a way that after the start their currents slowly and monotonically decay from high negative magnitudes to zero the oscillators forget their initial states and arrive at the vicinities of their fixed points. It provides the controllable start of the oscillations so that the bistability is suppressed in favor of either synchronous or non-synchronous regimes. Keywords: magnetic moment precession, coupled oscillators, dipole interaction, bistability, controllable initial conditions.


This study aimed to develop a semiochemical‐baited trapping system to monitor the populations of small banded pine weevil, Pissodes castaneus, a serious pest in Pinus sylvestris young stands that are weakened by biotic and abiotic factors. The scope of the work included the development of a dispenser for compounds (ethanol and α‐pinene) emitted by P. sylvestris and the pheromones of P. castaneus: grandisol and grandisal. Additionally, the effectiveness of beetle catches in different types of traps (unitrap, cross‐unitrap and long and short pipe traps) baited with a dispenser was assessed. The olfactometric studies showed that most of the newly hatched beetles that had not fed were attracted by a mixture of grandisol and grandisal. However, in the group of feeding beetles, half were attracted by a mixture of ethanol and α‐pinene. These results indicated that both pheromones and α‐pinene plus ethanol should be useful for capturing P. castaneus beetles. In the field trials, the highest efficiency was found in baited unitraps that caught up to several hundred P. castaneus beetles, while the baited cross‐unitraps caught up to a few dozen beetles. No insects were found in either type of baited pipe trap or in any of the unbaited control traps. The baited unitraps and cross‐unitraps also collected, with varied intensity, Hylobius abietis beetles, a serious pest of reforestations. These results indicate the possibility of using a unitrap baited with a 4‐component attractant for monitoring P. castaneus in integrated pest management for the protection of young forests.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical utility of wide-field fundus autofluorescence (FAF) in patients with cone dystrophy and cone-rod dystrophy.

METHODS
Sixteen patients with cone dystrophy (CD) and 41 patients with cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) were recruited at one institution. The right eye of each patient was included for analysis. We obtained wide-field FAF images using a ultra-widefield retinal imaging device and measured the area of abnormal FAF. The association between the area of abnormal FAF and the results of visual acuity measurements, kinetic perimetry, and electroretinography (ERG) were investigated.

RESULTS
The mean age of the participants was 51.4 ± 17.4 years, and the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution was 1.00 ± 0.57. The area of abnormal FAF correlated with the scotoma measured by the Goldman perimetry I/4e isopter (ρ = 0.79, P < 0.001). The area also correlated with amplitudes of the rod ERG (ρ = -0.63, P < 0.001), combined ERG a-wave (ρ = -0.72, P < 0.001), combined ERG b-wave (ρ = -0.66, P < 0.001), cone ERG (ρ = -0.44, P = 0.001), and flicker ERG (ρ = -0.47, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
The extent of abnormal FAF reflects the severity of functional impairment in patients with cone-dominant retinal dystrophies. Fundus autofluorescence measurements are useful for predicting retinal function in these patients.


The .lig files are comma separated time stamped ASCII data files where each time-stamped record is on a separate line. The header line of each file contains a three-variable string. Its meaning is unclear. The header lines are removed before data analysis. The .lig files can be opened by any text editors. The original data analysis is read into R using a package called "BAStag". The descriptions (e.g. CM05) next to the files represent the individual Golden-winged Warbler from which the data are collected.


The effects of spatial distribution of the scattering elements on microwave emission from random media have been investigated using an experimental model composed of long, thin vertical dielectric cylinders on a reflecting screen. The measurements have been carried out at 10 and 37 GHz, H, V polarizations and different nadir and azimuth angles. Random "uniform" and "cluster" distributions as well as periodic "row" configurations with different volume fractions have been studied. When the cylinders are distributed in nearly circular clusters or in parallel rows significant emission enhancement with respect to uniform distribution is detected at 10 GHz and incidence angle lower than 50°, whereas, at 37 GHz the emission is lower for clusters and strongly dependent on azimuth angle for the "row" configuration.


Many countries implement mandatory technology classes in the secondary education curriculum in the hope of stimulating students' interest and career aspirations in the field of technology However, there is still a need for empirical studies on how teachers and their classroom activities could enhance interest in technological vocations. This paper focusses on the different effects of classroom activities on boys' and girls' interest and career aspirations towards technology. Students (n = 2228) from 20 different schools participated in this study. The effects of different classroom activities were explored: interaction, hands-on activities, student investigations, and applications in technology. A factor analysis of the items enhanced the composition of the four factors. The results of the multi-level analyses indicate that some activities are more effective than others, and this effect is different for boys and girls.


This study examines the intercultural communication of the Madurese people through the song "Tanduk Majang." The song reflects the characteristics of a popular tribe in Indonesia, the Madura tribe. The data were taken from the well-known folk song entitled "Tanduk Majang." The data are in the form of words, phrases, and sentences. This research employed a descriptive qualitative approach proposed by Hubberman, Mail, and Saldana. The results of this study show that the song communicates the characteristics of the Madurese people. They are represented as friendly people , resourceful, and able to overcome every challenge they face. They are also energetic, happy, incredibly resilient and optimistic. It is concluded that the song can become a medium of communication, representing certain identifications to be shared with others. This study implies that folk songs may function as a resourceful medium to maintain cohesive relations among tribes in a country like Indonesia.


Owing to its superior durability, good biocompatibility, and high recycling capability, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) has been widely applied into making prosthetic implants, liquid permeable membranes, corrosion-resistant pipes, etc., and gains its popularity in packaging, consumer goods, and chemical industries. Injection molding and blow molding are two most common conventional processes of making HDPE products. These conventional processes, however, are considered time-consuming and labor-intensive since molds are usually needed prior to fabricating parts. Moreover, manufacturing complex-structured parts (such as lattice and cellular structures) is a challenge for these conventional manufacturing processes. Facing these problems, it is crucial to find a time- and labor-saving process, which can be used to manufacture complicated structures in a cost-effective way. Additive manufacturing (AM) is such a process that needs no mold and is more affordable to create complex and highly customized parts. Among all types of AM processes, fused deposition modeling (FDM), which is primarily designed for thermoplastic materials, seemed to be a benevolent process for fabricating HDPE parts. Based on reported publications, however, it is difficult to print HDPE materials using FDM due to the problems of warping, shrinking, and weak bonding between printed HDPE parts and the substrate. In addition, the FDM-printed HDPE parts can demonstrate defects of porosities and delamination. To improve the printability of FDM, we conducted preliminary experiments and optimized processing parameters. For the first time, we added carbon fiber (CF) into HDPE to make CF-reinforced HDPE composites (CF-HDPE) using FDM and investigated the effects of CF on part quality, microstructure characteristics, and mechanical properties (including tensile properties and dynamic mechanical properties) of CF-reinforced HDPE composites. Experimental results show that the addition of CF was beneficial for not only improving the printability of FDM and quality of printed composite parts, but also for enhancing mechanical properties (such as Young's Modulus and ultimate tensile strength) of the parts.


INTRODUCTION: The term extinction refers to the phenomenon in which a patient with a lesion of the central nervous system ignores one of two stimuli in conditions of simultaneous bilateral stimuli. Various studies observe this phenomenon as the expression of a deficit in the process of selective attention, but there are few studies with potentials related to events (PRE). OBJECTIVES: To find the possible electrical correlation of the extinction phenomenon and the stage of processing at which this occurs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied a patient with a right parieto occipital lesion and a control person of the same race, age, sex and educational level. We carried out two experiments. The first of these was to determine the direction of movement of two surfaces with red and green spots situated on both sides of a central fixation point. In the second experiment, the same task was carried out, but the two surfaces were superimposed, in the same place. In both cases the first movement occurred in the surface which was being attended to and the second might be this surface or the other. The proportion of correct answers were recorded for both movements. The PRE showed an attention disorder which affected the spatial distribution of attention with conservation of the attention to objects. CONCLUSIONS: The suppression of the P1 N1 components are the electrical correlate of the phenomenon of extinction which should occur during early stages of processing. Further investigations are necessary in a larger number of cases.


Measurements of temperature dependence of linear electrooptic coefficients defined in terms of the electric field r22 and the induced polarization m22 were made for LiNbO3 within the temperature range 25°C–200°C. After annealing, the coefficient r22 in samples with xc » 49.3% is found to be nearly temperature independent, increasing at 125°C only 0.6%. Contrary to the commonly observed temperature behaviour of intrinsic coefficients, m22 instead of r22, changes significantly with temperature.


We introduce a new family of Godunov-type semi-discrete central schemes for multidimensional Hamilton-Jacobi equations. These schemes are a less dissipative generalization of the central-upwind schemes that have been recently proposed in Kurganov, Noelle and Petrova (2001, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 23, pp. 707-740). We provide the details of the new family of methods in one, two, and three space dimensions, and then verify their expected low-dissipative property in a variety of examples.