Initiatives for the sustainable development of aquaculture have so far focused on the production of codes of conduct, of best management practices, of standards etc., most of which have been developed by international organ- isations, the industrial sector and non governmental organisations. They were, to a large extent, produced using a "top down" process and inspired by models from intensive industrial shrimp and sea fish farming (mainly salmon). How- ever, most of global aquaculture production comes from small- and medium-sized farms, essentially in Asia which con- tributes 92% of the total world aquaculture production volume. The objective of this article is to define the contours of systemic typologies that are able to express the sustainability conditions of aquaculture systems. The proposed approach builds on surveys of aquaculture systems which differ in terms of their biogeographical nature (temperate/tropical and north/south countries) or their farming techniques and their governance systems. This work is a prerequisite to any attempt at an individualised and comparative evaluation of specific aquaculture systems from either global or territorial viewpoints. In order to go beyond the cleavage of a typology based on the differentiation between developed and devel- oping countries, three typologies were produced. These typologies allow for discriminatory variables to be identified such as for example the marketing methods or the pace of innovation: a structural typology, a functional typology and a systemic typology. Finally, the representations of aquaculture activity and of its sustainability that producers have of the 4 different types that emerge from the systemic typology were recorded and analyzed.


Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that affects 13 of Caucasian populations and may be persistent, disfiguring and stigmatising. There is a range of severity, but even when the affected body surface area is relatively limited the impact on day-to-day activities and social interactions may be significant. An understanding of the psychological burden and an appreciation that many patients are currently dissatisfied with their management has driven the development of more effective treatment. In recent years psoriasis has been the focus of intense investigation resulting in an improved understanding of the immunopathogenesis, and the development of new, targeted biological treatments.


A three‐parameter sigmoidal 'local' model (climate‐specific) and a 'regional' model (common for all climates) have been developed for measuring the monthly average diffuse solar radiation fraction from atmospheric transmissivity by using large, 21‐year datasets (1973–1993) over four stations (Jodhpur, New Delhi, Nagpur and Kolkata). These stations represent the four 'prime' climates (arid, semi‐arid, sub‐humid and humid) over the Indian sub‐tropics. The models have been validated with the longer time‐series (10 years) of independent datasets (1994–2003) of 4 'prime' climates as well as datasets from 16 stations using one‐year datasets (termed as secondary stations) of the Indian region. The monthly diffuse fraction estimates were also compared with seven globally existing models. The 'regional' model showed more accurate estimates than 'local' models over three (semi‐arid, sub‐humid and humid) of the four 'prime' climates. However, the different error statistics showed that the 'regional' model outperformed the globally existing models which failed to capture diffuse fraction variability over the Indian sub‐tropics. The extendibility of the 'regional' model over 'secondary' stations in India showed an overall good performance with R2: 0.78–0.96 and RMSE: 0.017–0.125, except for two stations. These models are unique for Indian sub‐tropics and can undoubtedly be used for predicting future diffuse solar radiation fraction from transmissivity datasets of climate simulations, and also for other meteorological, climatological, solar energy‐based applications. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society


It is suggested that the means to analyse illustration would be of great benefit to students, illustrators, publishers and others, and a model is presented identifying 12 elements which the author believes contribute to the comprehensibility of pictures, particularly those intended to be in support of text.


Advanced thermoacoustic analysis is now routinely used in gas turbine combustor development. A thermoacoustic approach based on a combination of numerical analysis (CFD and three-dimensional acoustics), acoustic network models and dedicated measurements of acoustic flame response is well accepted across the industry. However, its application to specific combustor upgrade or development programs in "prediction mode" as opposed to "analysis mode" remains a challenge. This is mainly due to the large sensitivity of the complex methodology to key inputs, such as flame transfer functions, that can be only predicted in the burner design phase. This paper discusses an example where we made an effort to apply the thermoacoustic approach in predictive mode. The example refers to the upgrade of a first generation diffusion burner with a partially premix burner to achieve low emissions. Thermoacoustic instabilities were predicted as a limiting factor for combustor operation and thus a design parameter was identified to perform the thermoacoustic combustor tuning at engine level. A particular challenge of this development program was that no test rig was available. Therefore, the new premix burner was directly installed into a field engine where it was successfully tested.Copyright © 2007 by ALSTOM


The Orthodox Church consists historically of the local Churches of the Eastern Roman empire, including Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, as well as the Churches that came into being as a result of their missions. During the first millennium of Christianity, this communion included the Church of Rome. It is important to remember that the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as Rome's Protestant offshoots, all share a common ancestry in the one, universal Christian communion of the early centuries. The Christian mission, as it is described by Luke in Acts and in Paul's Epistles, spread rapidly through the territories of the Roman empire. Orthodox tradition holds that it spread beyond the Roman world even in the apostolic period, with St Thomas travelling as far as southern India, converting many people along the way. Most of the more distant missions, such as Georgia, Armenia and Ethiopia, however, were probably achieved in the fourth or fifth centuries after the Roman empire had finally adopted Christianity as its state religion, following the conversion of Constantine I. By this time, the Church, which had earlier been an illegal, minority organisation within a predominantly pagan society, was slowly becoming the dominant force in shaping government laws and social traditions. The Roman empire, consisting of its Eastern and Western halves, became a fully Christian state: it was believed to be sanctioned by God, with its emperors or kings fulfilling special duties as God's representatives in the secular realm.


Consequences of brachial plexus injuries (BPI) would likely impact participation, but outcomes are not well understood. This exploratory study aimed to report the participation in productive, leisure and social roles for individuals following BPI. Fourteen male participants were diagnosed with a traumatic, BPI. Descriptive data reported included demographic, injury, surgical, and participation measures. Two-sample t-tests were conducted for comparative analysis with other studies following life altering conditions.Just over two-thirds reported feeling satisfied to very satisfied with their participation in everyday life. This long-term follow up study found on-going and profound impact on participation in a range of life situations for this diagnostic group. Participation in productive roles, home duties, and physical exercise were particularly impacted and need to be prioritized during rehabilitation.


Climate change will deeply modify the ecophysiological functioning of plants, by creating a set of conditions which could be more favourable (in the sense of biomass production) or not. Among the first, the increase of atmospheric CO2 will stimulate the photosynthesis (with levels depending upon plants and conditions), with a result of a potential increase in biomass up to 20 % in some cases. Warmer temperatures will also generally be favourable to most of the physiological processes, up to an optimum above which the risk of detrimental or lethal values exists. The (almost) generalized advance in phenology (calendar of development stages) will also have various effects: sometimes increase the risk of spring frost or bad setting for fruit trees, a reduced duration cycle for annual plants but an increased active vegetation season for perennial species (advance in spring occurrence, delay for autumn), positive or negative feedback in terms of the active temperature for the vegetal. Above all, the availability of water will be the key factor for modulating the changes in potential production. The changes in individual behaviour will evidently affect plant communities, which however will also to face changes in their geographical zones of potentialities. They can be approached in terms of potential shift by considering their bioclimatic envelope, but there is a large controversy on this approach in regard of possible biotic interactions. It would be also necessary to consider other components of continental ecosystems like insects and pests, or animals in the case of natural ecosystems, as well as future interactions with human intervention. These general notions will be mainly illustrated by examples in crop and forestry productions, with some complementary details about natural ecosystems.


Heliox improves ventilation by reducing density dependent resistance due to high kinematic viscosity and high diffusivity. Objective: To present our experience and evaluate feasibility to maintain adequate ventilation using Heliox through small size endotracheal tubes during the initial period of operations for STS until the trachea is divided below the stenosis. Methods: 4 patients with postintubational STS were intubated spontaneously breathing He-O2 (70/30) after topicalization and light sedation. In 3 of them (high stenoses) we used microlaryngeal tubes; for one (low stenosis) we designed double-size tubes. Anesthesia was deepened with propofol, relaxants and opioids. He and O2 were mixed via recalibrated rotameters at 75/25 ratio, controlled paramagnetically and delivered with a bellow ventilator. Monitoring: side stream spirometry, recalibrated mechanical volumeters, pulse oxymetry, invasive pressure, ABGs. Results: for the period of Heliox ventilation. Conclusions: Heliox through small size tubes may be an alternative ventilation for securing free airways during the initial period of operations for STS.


Recent studies about liquefaction initiation are widely encountered in the literature in terms of utilizing the dynamic triaxial tests under harmonic loading and site response of liquefied zones. Sandy-like or clayey-like behavior is important for estimating the liquefaction susceptibility but there are other factors related to cyclic loading characteristics such as frequency content and stress level. Besides, 1-D ground response analyses are employed to understand the behavioral transmission through the soil column in liquefiable areas. The study here focuses on two main aspects of the liquefaction. The first part consists of the estimating of the pore pressure generation under irregular excitations, whereas the second part aims to assess the efficiency of the building codes predicting the nonlinear site response in liquefied prone areas. The laboratory results show that the frequency content has big influence on the liquefaction at varying stress levels. Moreover, literature models have discrepancies to estimate the pore pressure generation under different types of loading. Regarding the site response, it was indicated that equivalent linear approach is incapable of predicting the seismic behavior of soil column; therefore, nonlinear ground response must be run instead, and the IBC is the most effective one to match the nonlinear analysis results.


The authors propose a method to detect and study the non-linear dynamic Lorentz shift in an atomic vapour by applying a controlled intense fixed frequency optical field detuned from resonance and then measuring the spectral reflectivity of a weak excitation which is scanned through the atomic resonance. Even though the nearby pump is intense the reflectivity response is not power broadened, has a Lorentzian response and exhibits a non-linear shift from which the dynamic Lorentz shift can be extracted.


The relevance of study is specified of the problem of psycho-emotional state restoration for internally displaced persons as a consequence of military conflict in the East of Ukraine. Current studies of psychological problems and features of psychological assistance to internally displaced persons (IDP) are analyzed. The spectrum is identified of commonly encountered socio-economic and psychological problems that require psychological assistance. It is revealed that the problems such as: acceptance of the "friend-or-foe" situation; loss of identity; adaptation to a new place; loss of sense of stability and safety; family conflicts, etc., remain as major ones. Psychological methods of the psychological assistance provision are determined, as well as directions of further work are defined: socialization and integration of children and adolescents; vocational guidance; organization of support groups; thematic women's club (women's health, family conflicts, age-related crises, etc.); organization of psycho educational groups (educational groups: how to help to oneself and others, learn self-regulation skills); involvement of displaced psychologists in support groups; organization of recreational and developmental programs for children and adolescents; conducting studies of the issue "What and how has changed in relation to IDPs in 5 years?" Recommendations are given on organization of the psychological assistance to internally displaced persons in the recovery of their psycho-emotional state. The barriers to social adaptation of individual in crisis situations are analyzed. Means are substantiated of techniques application for reduction of emotional stress of individual and restoration of psycho-emotional state, aimed at health promotion, assistance in further employment, personal development, psychological well-being and full integration into society.


We introduce the use of majority voting circuits for increasing yield, reliability, and life cycle of VLSI processor arrays while reducing the overall area and manufacturing cost of the resultant defect and fault tolerant device. Usually, for a redundant fault tolerance, one redundant processing element is used for every faulty processing element. In our method, the majority voting circuits are used to combine defective/faulty processing elements into compensating failure groups such that fewer redundant processing elements are required for fault tolerance. By using these compensating failure groups, we artificially enhance the reliability of the processor array by tolerating more faults. In addition, yield and life cycle enhancements are higher than that of previously proposed approaches. We compare our results to actual VLSI processor array yield data.


Valgus slips of the epiphysis are rare, making radiological diagnosis difficult. A high degree of clinical suspicion is required to diagnose the condition. The patient was a 13-year, 7-month-old girl who had been suffering from pain in the left thigh for ten days. She had a limp and a positive Trendelenburg sign. Menstrual function had started when she was 12 years and 10 months old. Pain occurred with getting up from a chair. Hip radiographs revealed symmetrical, bilateral caput valgum, which was a potential cause of confusion given the valgus displacement of the proximal femoral epiphysis. Axial view showed an almost imperceptible posterior slip. The patient was diagnosed as having a valgus slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). Surgical treatment was performed using in-situ fixation with a cannulated, fully threaded percutaneous screw placed through the external cortex of the femoral neck. Non-weight-bearing for six weeks was prescribed. Although a medial approach is usually used for screw insertion using a more medial entry-point, preventing neurovascular risks, in-situ fixation (through a lateral approach) was performed more safely and distally. This was done through the outer cortex of the femoral neck (and centered in the axial view), to achieve fixation of the femoral head in the center of the femoral neck and head.


A growing number of information technology systems and services are being developed to change users' attitudes or behavior or both. Despite the fact that attitudinal theories from social psychology have been quite extensively applied to the study of user intentions and behavior, these theories have been developed for predicting user acceptance of the information technology rather than for providing systematic analysis and design methods for developing persuasive software solutions. This article is conceptual and theory-creating by its nature, suggesting a framework for Persuasive Systems Design (PSD). It discusses the process of designing and evaluating persuasive systems and describes what kind of content and software functionality may be found in the final product. It also highlights seven underlying postulates behind persuasive systems and ways to analyze the persuasion context (the intent, the event, and the strategy). The article further lists 28 design principles for persuasive system content and functionality, describing example software requirements and implementations. Some of the design principles are novel. Moreover, a new categorization of these principles is proposed, consisting of the primary task, dialogue, system credibility, and social support categories.


of thesewe must rest contentat present. The first is that no comprehensivehealth service would be complete without adequate control of dental diseases, and that the inaugurationof a national dental service should form part of the complete plan. The second is that such a service covering the problems of research,prevention, treatment and personnelshould be plannedby representativesof. the dental profession and the public, and be administeredby the professionitself. The third conclusion is that uniform registration of dentists throughout Australia will be a necessarystep before such a service can be satisfactorily established. •


This research aims to describe how the realization of ' Balance ' in the Consumer Protection Act, describes how the responsibility of the parties (consumers, businessmen and the Government) so that it can realize the value of the balance in the protection of consumer, Research conducted in the framework of the preparation of this dissertation is to type the socio-juridical, in addition to researching the secondary legal materials in the form of legal regulations, manual and electronic law library, relevant research results in the field of law of particular problems in the field of consumer protection and other written materials, as well as researching various legal facts about consumer protection which occur in the field as well as its impact on the general public. The results showed that: 1) a form of value balance in consumer protection legislation lies in the synergy between the rights and obligations the rights and obligations of consumers, businessmen, as well as the duties and responsibilities of the Government, the supporters of both public institutions and private consumers are dispute resolution Efforts, and the use of contract oversight) of overall indicators are assessed if merged between the assessment of consumers and businessmen, as well as assessment of the Government then obtained 32 indicators of where the total number of indicators corresponding to the value of the balance of a total of 10 indicators, while the total number of which is not in accordance with the value of the balance as much as 21 indicators and only one indicator that his judgment balanced. So that the efforts made in the framework of the fulfilment of the rights and obligations of consumers and businessmen as well as maximize the task and responsibility of the Government is still having a lot of obstacles or not be able to realize the value of balance


ackground: Rhinitis is a common worldwide problem that is still under-diagnosed and under-treated in many countries. Most epidemiological studies use only questionnaire surveys to gauge the severity of symptoms and lack objective diagnostic criteria to quantify the severity of symptoms such as nasal obstruction. The incidence of rhinitis was examined with the use of the Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow (PNIF), the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22), and the visual analogue score (VAS) with the intention to determine the efficacy of PNIF as an objective diagnostic tool for rhinitis and to establish normal reference values for PNIF and SNOT-22 in a normal population.

Materials and Methods: PNIF, SNOT-22, and VAS of 256 subjects with and without rhinitis from the general population were evaluated.

Results: The incidence of rhinitis was 51% with PNIF, SNOT-22, and VAS scores being significantly better (p<0.01) in subjects without rhinitis compared to subjects with rhinitis. Median PNIF for the population with rhinitis and without was 90 L/minute and 110 L/minute, respectively. Median SNOT-22 for the population with rhinitis and without was 41 over 110 and 4 over 110, respectively. Fifty-three percent of subjects with rhinitis were unaware of the severity of their symptoms until they completed the assessments. At a PNIF cut-off point of 95 L or less per minute, there was a moderate to good diagnostic potential for rhinitis. At a SNOT-22 cut-off point of 21 or less over 110, there was an excellent diagnostic potential for rhinitis. When PNIF and SNOT-22 are used together, the diagnostic accuracy for rhinitis is 97.6%.

Conclusion: The incidence of rhinitis is high and it is an unrecognized problem. PNIF is a cheap, simple, and useful objective diagnostic tool to assess changes in nasal patency and to discriminate between patients with moderate to severe rhinitis.

Keywords: Rhinitis, Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow, SNOT-22, Nasal obstruction, Epidemiology


Abstract Rail disruption management is central to operational continuity and customer satisfaction. Disruption is not a unitary phenomenon – it varies by time, cause, location and complexity of coordination. Effective, user-centred technology for rail disruption must reflect this variety. A repertory grid study was conducted to elicit disruption characteristics. Construct elicitation with a group of experts (n = 7) captured 26 characteristics relevant to rail disruption. A larger group of operational staff (n = 28) rated 10 types of rail incident against the 26 characteristics. The results revealed distinctions such as business impact and public perception, and the importance of management of the disruption over initial detection. There were clear differences between those events that stop the traffic, as opposed to those that only slow the traffic. The results also demonstrate the utility of repertory grid for capturing the characteristics of complex work domains. Practitioner Summary: The aim of the paper is to understand how variety in rail disruption influences socio-technical design. It uses repertory grid to identify and prioritise 26 constructs, and group 10 disruption types, identifying critical factors such as whether an incident stops or merely slows the service, and business reputation.


This paper was prepared for the fourth annual Vietnam Executive Leadership Program (VELP), held at the Harvard Kennedy School from August 26 to 30, 2013. This paper aimed to provide participants, including Vietnamese government officials, scholars, and corporate executives, with a concise assessment of some of the key public policy challenges confronting Vietnam today. This paper is by no means comprehensive; it is not possible to offer an exhaustive analysis of every policy area in a brief study. In selecting which issues to address, the authors were guided by the priorities articulated by the Vietnamese government in policy statements promulgated over the past year. By design, the paper was delivered as a work in progress, which the authors encouraged the participants to challenge and strengthen through rigorous debate over the five days of VELP. It is hoped that the paper also will serve as a catalyst for informed discussion and debate among the larger policy community in Vietnam.


This guide provides copyright information which is relevant to students. Please note that the information is for your guidance only – it is not legal advice.


Predicting the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on species interactions and ecosystem processes is among the primary aims of community ecologists. The composition of saprotrophic fungal communities is a consequence of competitive mycelial interactions, and a major determinant of woodland decomposition and nutrient cycling rates. Elevation of atmospheric temperature is predicted to drive changes in fungal community development. Top-down regulation of mycelial growth is an important determinant of, and moderator of temperature-driven changes to, two-species interaction outcomes. This study explores the interactive effects of a 4 °C temperature increase and soil invertebrate (collembola or woodlice) grazing on multispecies interactions between cord-forming basidiomycete fungi emerging from colonised beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood blocks. The fungal dominance hierarchy at ambient temperature (16 °C; Phanerochaete velutina > Resinicium bicolor > Hypholoma fasciculare) was altered by elevated temperature (20 °C; R. bicolor > P. velutina > H. fasciculare) in ungrazed systems. Warming promoted the competitive ability of the fungal species (R. bicolor) that was preferentially grazed by all invertebrate species. As a consequence, grazing prevented the effect of temperature on fungal community development and maintained a multispecies assemblage. Decomposition of fungal-colonised wood was stimulated by warming, with implications for increased CO2 efflux from woodland soil. Analogous to aboveground plant communities, increasing complexity of biotic and abiotic interactions appears to be important in buffering climate change effects on soil decomposers.


Abstract Background Duodenal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) remains technically challenging, with a high risk of severe adverse events. Because exposure of the duodenal post-ESD mucosal defect to pancreatic juice and bile acid reportedly induces delayed perforation and bleeding, we examined whether defect closure using an over-the-scope clip (OTSC) system was useful for preventing postoperative adverse events. Methods From April 2016 to February 2017, a total of 50 consecutive patients with superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors (SNADETs) larger than 10 mm, with no more than semi-circumferential spread, were prospectively enrolled in this study. All of the lesions were treated by experienced ESD operators and the post-ESD mucosal defect was closed using OTSCs. Results All of the SNADETs were completely removed by ESD, with an R0 resection rate of 88.0 %. The mean procedure and closure times were 67.3 ± 58.8 minutes and 9.8 ± 7.2 minutes, respectively. Although complete defect closure was achieved in 94.0 % of the patients (47/50), two patients required surgical conversion. Delayed perforation occurred in only one patient (2.1 %), who did not have successful closure of the defect, as misplacement of the OTSC exposed the muscle layer. Meanwhile, delayed bleeding occurred in three patients (6.3 %); however, the bleeding was easily controlled using endoscopic coagulation. The mean duration of postoperative hospitalization was 5.5 ± 7.2 days. Conclusions Prophylactic defect closure using OTSCs may be effective in reducing severe adverse events after duodenal ESD.


The aim of this study was to evaluate a commercial tube prepared with boric acid, sodium formate and sorbitol (Hemogard Vacutainer tubes, BectonDickinson, HG tubes). Fourteen bacterial strains were incubated in urine in HG tubes and conventional tubes. During a 24-h period, most of the microorganisms grew readily in conventional tubes at room temperature, whereas the bacterial counts were comparatively unchanged when chilled or kept in HG tubes. The bacterial counts of Alcaligenes faecalis and lactobacilli decreased by two 10 logarithms in the HG tubes, at room temperature. Experiments were also performed with the addition of various antibiotics. Ciprofloxacin caused a decrease in E. coli counts regardless of type of tube used, while the HG tubes and the conventional tubes kept chilled conserved bacterial counts upon challenge with fosfomycin, trimethoprim or mecillinam. Bedside cultures from 154 outpatients were sampled and divided into three tubes. One conventional tube was sent to our laboratory by ordinary chilled transport. Another conventional tube and one HG tube were transported to the laboratory without chilling. Cultures were performed upon arrival at the laboratory and then 24, 48 and 72 h after primary sampling. Within 24 h of sampling, no significant differences in bacterial counts were observed between chilled conventional tubes and the HG tubes at room temperature. However, in the HG tubes a significant change in enterococcal counts was noted within 48 h.


Person re-identification (re-ID) is of great importance to video surveillance systems by estimating the similarity between a pair of cross-camera person shorts. Current methods for estimating such similarity require a large number of labeled samples for supervised training. In this paper, we present a pseudo-pair based self-similarity learning approach for unsupervised person re-ID without human annotations. Unlike conventional unsupervised re-ID methods that use pseudo labels based on global clustering, we construct patch surrogate classes as initial supervision, and propose to assign pseudo labels to images through the pairwise gradient-guided similarity separation. This can cluster images in pseudo pairs, and the pseudos can be updated during training. Based on pseudo pairs, we propose to improve the generalization of similarity function via a novel self-similarity learning:it learns local discriminative features from individual images via intra-similarity, and discovers the patch correspondence across images via inter-similarity. The intra-similarity learning is based on channel attention to detect diverse local features from an image. The inter-similarity learning employs a deformable convolution with a non-local block to align patches for cross-image similarity. Experimental results on several re-ID benchmark datasets demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the state-of-the-arts.


To the Editor: —In an article on "The Coagulation Time in Ethylene Anesthesia" (The Journal, January 29), we said, "In a search of the literature we were unable to find any reports in regard to the action of ethylene anesthesia on coagulation time or bleeding time." J. S. Horsley, Jr., M.D., of Richmond, Va., has called our attention to his article "Further Observations on Ethylene-Oxygen Anesthesia—A Report of Four Hundred and Fifty Cases" ( Virginia M. Monthly 51 :502 [Nov.] 1924) in which, among other facts recorded, he reports studies on twenty patients before, during and after ethylene anesthesia showing that the coagulation time was not prolonged in any instance either when the patient was fully saturated with ethylene or at seventy-two hours after operation. We regret not having found this and desire that Dr. Horsley be given priority for this observation, which our findings, undertaken without any knowledge of his


Amylase of RhiZopus.-HARTER'6 has made a study of the amylase of Rhizopus tritici, particularly the effect of various factors on its secretion and action. The best growth of the fungus, and also secretion of amylase, as indicated by the amount of hydrolysis of starch, was obtained with CZAPECK'S nutrient solution, when ammonium nitrate was the source of the nitrogen, and starch the source of the carbon. Poorer results were obtained when sodium nitrate was used as the source of the nitrogen, and either cane sugar or glucose as the carbon source. Sweet potato bouillon, however, which contained both glucose and starch, gave the best results of all. The nutrient solution best for the growth of the fungus was also best for the secretion of the enzyme. The best temperature for the action of the enzyme was 450 C., and its action was practically nil at 600. The secretion of the enzyme, as measured by the hydrolytic power of a unit weight of the enzyme powder, was much less when the fungus was grown at 400 C., the maximum temperature for its growth, than when it was grown at 90 C., which represents about the minimum temperature for its growth. While most of the experiments, the data from which are recorded in this paper, have been tried out by other workers, using other species of fungi, this seems to be the first time that Rhizopus tritici has been used for such an investigation.-S. V. EATON.


ABSTRACT Background Forensic science has become increasingly relevant to health professionals' roles in preserving trace evidence when crimes have been committed. Objective The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of a structured intervention to improve nursing students' knowledge of forensic nursing practices. Methods A pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study, without a control group, was conducted. A nonprobabilistic sample of students from the third and fourth years of a nursing degree program took part in the study. The General Questionnaire on Forensic Nursing and the Questionnaire on Knowledge of Forensic Nursing Practices were administered before and after a structured intervention. Results Eighty-seven students (mean age of 22.8 ± 3.9 years) took part in the study. Of the participants, 85.7% were female, 98.8% claimed they had not received training in forensic nursing during their degree, and 97.6% reported that they did not have contact with situations that involved the collection and preservation of forensic evidence during their internships. As for their knowledge of forensic practices, out of a total of 74 questions, the number of right answers after the course (69.15 ± 3.05) was higher than the result obtained previously (62.95 ± 4.47). The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01), leading to the conclusion that the structured intervention was effective in improving knowledge of forensic nursing practices. Conclusion The results demonstrated the importance of specific training in forensic nursing and support the conclusion that a curricular unit in this area should be developed for inclusion in nursing degree curricula.


Abstract Background Establishing bladder reflex arcs only with the efferent pathway to induce micturition after spinal cord injury (SCI) has been successful. However, the absence of sensory function and micturition desires can lead to serious complications. Objectives To reconstruct a bladder reflex arc with both afferent and efferent pathways to achieve atonic bladder innervation after SCI. Methods A reflex arc was established by microanastomosis of the S2 dorsal root to the peripheral process of the L5 dorsal ganglion and the L5 ventral root to the S2 ventral root. The functions of the reflex arc were evaluated using electrophysiology, wheat germ agglutinin–horseradish peroxidase (WGA–HRP) tracing, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunocytochemistry analysis. Hind-paw motion was evaluated by CatWalk gait. Results Compound action potentials and compound muscle action potentials were recorded at the right L5 dorsal root following electrical stimulation of right S2 dorsal root. Similar to the control side, these were not significantly different before or after the spinal cord destruction between L6 and S4. WGA–HRP tracing and CGRP immunocytochemistry showed that construction of the afferent and efferent pathways of the bladder reflex arc encouraged axonal regeneration of motor and sensory nerves, which then made contact with the anterior and posterior horns of the spinal cord, ultimately reestablishing axoplasmic transportation. Gait analysis showed that at 3 months following the operation, only the regularity index was significantly different as compared with 1 day before the operation, other parameters showing no difference. Conclusion Bladder reflex arc with the afferent and efferent pathways reconstructs the micturition function without great influence on the motion of leg.


It is of prime importance to develop dual-functional electrocatalysts with good activity for overall water splitting, which remains a great challenge. Herein, we report the synthesis of a Co-doped nickel selenide (a mixture of NiSe2 and Ni3Se4)/C hybrid nanostructure supported on Ni foam using a metal–organic framework as the precursor. The resulting catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which only requires an overpotential of 275 mV to drive a current density of 30 mA cm−2. This overpotential is much lower than those reported for precious metal free OER catalysts. The hybrid is also capable of catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) efficiently. A current density of −10 mA cm−2 can be achieved at 90 mV. In addition, such a hybrid nanostructure can achieve 10 and 30 mA cm−2 at potentials of 1.6 and 1.71 V, respectively, along with good durability when functioning as both the cathode and the anode for overall water splitting in basic media.


Total elbow arthroplasty using a hinged prosthesis was performed on 17 elbows in 12 patients. Clinical follow up ranged from 18 to 85 months, and averaged 56 months. Indications for surgery included disabling pain, restricted motion of the elbow, and roentgenographic evidence of joint destruction. We did not use this prosthesis in patients with restricted shoulder motion or in those with demanding occupational or recreational activities. Fifteen elbows showed good results; one elbow was complicated by ectopic ossification, and one prosthesis was removed for a deep wound infection. No other instances of symptomatic loosening were found, although radiographs demonstrated a lucent line around the cement in four elbows and a cement fracture in one elbow. All patients were relieved of their pain. The low incidence of loosening may be explained by the selective use of the hinged prosthesis. Index Terms: elbow, arthroplasty, hinged prosthesis.


Abstract. The occurrence of typhoon Herb in 1996 caused massive landslides in the Shenmu area of Taiwan. Many people died and stream and river beds were covered by meters of debris. Debris flows almost always take place in the Shenmu area during the flood season, especially in the catchment areas around Tsushui river and Aiyuzih river. Anthropogenic and natural factors that cause debris flow occurrences are complex and numerous. The precise conditions of initiation are difficult to be identified, but three factors are generally considered to be the most important ones, i.e. rainfall characteristics, geologic conditions and topography. This study proposes a simple and feasible process that combines remote sensing technology and multi-stage high-precision DTMs from aerial orthoimages and airborne LiDAR with field surveys to establish a connection between three major occurrence factors that trigger debris flows in the Shenmu area.


The ideas and practice of community-led design, participatory design or co-design have a long-standing tradition, especially in the context of urban design, planning and architecture. Community-led design goes beyond the one-dimensional process of consultation, helping involve people in decision-making throughout the design process, from visioning to implementation. There are many benefits from this approach, from improving civic participation and ensuring more democratic outcomes, to creating a strong sense of community and strengthening people's attachment to their place and to each other, to producing more sustainable solutions.
However, despite this tradition, community-led design is not a mainstream practice. An essential part of this issue is that the benefits of the approach are not thoroughly understood, measured or disseminated.
The project aimed to grapple with this issue, and explore how a better case for community-led design can be made. The objective was to collate, articulate and disseminate evidence about the value of community-led design and bring the relevant stakeholders together to share good practice and form a research agenda for the future.
The project team delivered a series of focus groups and creative workshops with multiple stakeholders. It also created Community Design Exchange a bespoke social network site for sharing stories and showcasing achievements of community-led design.


The thermodynamic free energy F is calculated for a gas whose particles are the quantum excitations of a piecewise uniform bosonic string. The string consists of two parts of length and , endowed with different tensions and mass densities, adjusted in such a way that the velocity of sound always equals the velocity of light. The explicit calculation is done under the restrictive condition that the tension ratio approaches zero. Also, the length ratio is assumed to be an integer. The expression for F is given in an integral form, in which s is present as a parameter. For large values of s, the Hagedorn temperature becomes proportional to the square root of s.


A unified statistical methodology of sample size determination is developed for hierarchical designs that are frequently used in many areas, particularly in medical and health research studies. The solid foundation of the proposed methodology opens a new horizon for power analysis in presence of various conditions. Important features such as joint significance testing, unequal allocations of clusters across intervention groups, and differential attrition rates over follow up time points are integrated to address some useful questions that investigators often encounter while conducting such studies. Proposed methodology is shown to perform well in terms of maintaining type I error rates and achieving the target power under various conditions. Proposed method is also shown to be robust with respect to violation of distributional assumptions of random‐effects.


UNLABELLED
The cytotoxic ability of T-cells against tumor cells may be increased by interleukin (IL)-2. The infiltration of tumors by these cytotoxic T-cells may be enhanced by low-dose cyclophosphamide, which may also serve to deplete regulatory T-cells. Famotidine may increase IL-2 internalization by the IL-2 receptor on T-lymphocytes. We have treated 14 patients with either metastatic melanoma or kidney cancer, using CY 350 mg/M(2) intravenously (i.v.) over 1 hour followed by a continuous infusion IL-2 9 MIU/M(2)/24 hours for 72 hours and famotidine 20 mg i.v. twice per day. All patients had received prior systemic therapy. Cycles were repeated every 4 weeks until disease progression.

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS
8 with melanoma, 8 males, median age, 64, median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, 1; most common metastatic sites: lungs, lymph nodes, bone, and liver. Median number of cycles received=2 (range, 2-4). Most common toxicities were fever, nausea/emesis, hypomagnesemia, hypophosphatemia, hyponatremia, and rigors. All patients were treated on an oncology inpatient unit. One (1) patient with kidney cancer has had a partial response in lung and lymph nodes for 5 months, while 1 patient with melanoma had a partial response in pulmonary metastases. Cyclophosphamide and IL-2 with famotidine has evidence of antitumor activity in previously treated kidney cancer and melanoma.


The avionics of current-day aircraft is termed as modular integrated full glass cockpit. Unlike lots of dials and gauges, the pilot will interact with Multi-Function Displays (MYD). This means that the systems are coupled with multi-function displays, communication and navigation radios with control units, multi-mode interactive instruments for control and navigation, recording and fault management systems, airframes and health monitoring diagnostic capabilities. Pilot Vehicle Interface (PVI) is an important measure of good avionics and cockpit layout, which implies the optimization of man-machine interface, enhancement of the economy, and safety of flight operations. This presents the avionics architecture of a 14-seat Light Transport Aircraft (LTA) for general aviation, which has multi-role commuter capabilities. LTA is a twin turbo-prop, multi-role aircraft, with air taxi and commuter services as its primary roles. The avionics is built on the digital communication mode for both command and control with current requirements of TCAS, digital Autopilot, and AMLCD multi-purpose glass displays. The LTA Avionics suite is grouped into six major groups based on functionality: Display System, Communication System, Navigation System, Recording System, Radar System, and Engine instruments and other cockpit displays. This paper also covers details about the extensive tests carried out to prove the avionics design in terms of functionality, inter-operability, interference, and compatibility. Various practical integration and flight-test issues, methodologies, and details of the scenarios is presented herein.


Excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) plays an important role in biological systems and has also recently found applications in electronic devices such as transducers, switches etc. In this paper we report the synthesis and solid state photochromic behavior of 2-(2-(3-nitrophenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-1-yloxy)-1-phenylethanone (II) due to ESIPT. Compound II exhibits yellow color in dark and red color in light, with the yellow form attributed to the keto derivative and the red form assigned to its enol derivative The color change in the presence of light is thus attributed to the keto–enol tautomerism through ESIPT. The color change from yellow to red is a photochemical process which thermally decays to the yellow form in the dark. The solid state stability of the enol form upon phototautomerization of the keto form is a noteworthy phenomenon, and its stability has been substantiated by our experimental findings. In the solution state, the yellow form (keto) is stable in chloroform while the red form (enol) is stable in DMSO. Theoretical calculations have been performed to understand the geometries and electronic transitions of the keto and enol forms. In addition, ground and excited state equilibrium constants for the keto–enol tautomerism were calculated.


Lightweight components with low wall thickness continue to gain technological and economic importance in aerospace and other industries. Thereby, the low wall thickness and thus high compliance of such workpieces may cause the occurrence of undesired vibrations under the characteristic load of machining operations. The suppression of dynamic effects such as regenerative chatter represents a central requirement for milling operations with regard to the achievable component qualities and process efficiency. Certain approaches base on the application of support structures or damping elements, which are attached to the workpiece. After processing the thin-walled components, however, the added structures have to be removed in elaborate processes. In this paper, a new approach is presented which is focusing on an optimised process stabilisation method using cryogenic solidified coolant. By injecting coolant emulsion into the CO2 snow jet and applying it specifically to thin-walled workpieces, stiffening support structures were generated and damping elements attached. The ice layer melts off after machining and returns into the lubricant circuit with no need for conditioning or additional filtering. Modal tests and machining experiments demonstrated the applicability of the presented approach and a significant decrease of the dynamic compliance and deflection of the workpiece during milling operations.


The European Research Conundrum may be described thus: In the interest of the European Research Dream, the structure and culture of the research organization should be adapted to the mission of achieving scientific and technological breakthroughs but, alas, this mission is first overwhelmed and then deformed by the existing structure and culture of the organization. The conundrum has been highlighted publicly by the high-level review of the European Research Council (ERC), which "found fundamental problems related to rules and practices regarding the governance, administration and operations of the ERC that are not adapted to the nature of modern 'frontier' science management.�? The organization threatens to defeat the mission, even though the ERC is new, corresponds to targets, and is well funded. This paper advances three arguments. Firstly, the prevalent focus on targets, money and policy is criticized because it does little to bring about the required organizational restructuring while allowing the organization to overwhelm the mission, thus threatening a lock-in of ERA as second rate. Secondly, it is shown that it is known what kind of organizational design is conducive to scientific and technological breakthroughs and that this knowledge could be utilized to drive forward organizational restructuring. Thirdly, some practical suggestions are made how to gather empirical evidence about barriers and challenges in the European Research Area by tracking the experience of grantees of European flagship programmes in a multiple case-study design, which may be extended to innovation systems. To also speak to those who think that targets, money and policy should remain the focus, the research may be designed in a fashion that accommodates alternative and competing hypotheses as to what is conducive to or impedes scientific and technological breakthroughs and innovations systems. Summary of key concepts and topics and institutions discussed: - Organizational factors fostering breakthroughs Organizational autonomy, scientific leadership, mission-oriented flexibility, personalized recruitment, intellectual diversity, communicative integration, cognitive complexity - Organizational factors impeding breakthroughs Strong institutional environment, departmental differentiation, bureaucratic coordination, filling positions, uniformity of intellect, compartmentalized communication, specialization of mind - Institutions mentioned European Research Area (ERA), European Research Council (ERC), European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), European Research Advisory Board (ERAB), European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) - Expert Groups covered Lisbon Expert Group, Knowledge for Growth, Community Research Policy - Topics discussed Researchers in ERA, Research Infrastructure, Joint Programming


We estimate a model of route-level competition between airlines who choose whether to offer nonstop or connecting service before setting prices. Airlines have full information about all quality, marginal cost, and fixed cost unobservables throughout the game, so that service choices will be selected on these residuals. We conduct merger simulations that allow for repositioning and account for the selection implied by the model and the data. Accounting for selection materially affects the predicted likelihood of repositioning and the predicted magnitude of post-merger price changes, and it allows us to match what has been observed after consummated mergers.


Is there a common aetiologic element in the VACTERL syndrome and the caudal regression syndrome? We report a boy who fulfilled three criteria of the VACTERL association (he had thoracic hemivertebra, high anal atresia and tracheo-oesophageal fistula) but also could be classified as caudal regression syndrome on the basis of the anal atresia and total sacral agenesis. We discuss the arguments in favour of both diagnosis.


It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the Partners in Cancer Care column in this issue of Journal of Oncology Practice. Participating in this edition of JOP gives us an opportunity to express our gratitude for the work the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) members do and for member support of the mission of the ASCO Cancer Foundation (TACF), to reflect on our partnership, and to share some of our accomplishments and plans to improve the lives of people with cancer.

First, I would to acknowledge the leadership of the ASCO Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) in supporting the ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Program by funding a Young Investigator Award (YIA). In 2007, the CPC made ASCO history by funding the first-ever committee-supported YIA. They repeated their generosity and funded another YIA awarded in June. Dr Richard T. Lee from the University of Chicago became the recipient of the 2008 CPC YIA for his abstract titled "Cancer Patients Use of and Communication Patterns about Complementary and Alternative Medicines During Clinical Trials."

The grants program celebrated its 25th anniversary at the 2008 ASCO Annual Meeting recognizing more than $48 million that has been awarded in grant funding since 1984. This year, more than $7.6 million was awarded to support clinical and translational research designed to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and care. Several new grants were awarded this year including three Clinical Oncology Research Awards (CORA), three Advanced Clinical Research Awards (ACRA), and two Translational Research Professorships.

Dr Nancy Davidson, Immediate Past President of ASCO, announced TACF's establishment of a mission endowment at the 2008 Annual Meeting. This fund will enhance our ability to continue ASCO's important work. The endowment will ensure that the extraordinary promise of the ever-increasing lifesaving advances of new research be made available to oncologists, and ultimately to patients around the world. Our mission endowment was established to provide a long-term base of support in five key areas: research, patient education, physician education, international outreach, and access to care. The mission endowment's founding supporters are: Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline Oncology, Novartis Oncology, and sanofi-aventis US. There are several ways individuals, groups, corporations, and foundations can participate. One way is to establish a named endowed fund. Please contact the development office to talk about leaving a legacy through TACF.

TACF has hosted several events to educate patients and the public about important developments and progress in cancer medicine. Inaugural Public Forums were held in conjunction with the 2007 Breast Cancer Symposium and the 2008 Genitourinary Cancer Symposiums. Other critical expanded patient education offerings are being supported through the foundation including Cancer.Net, print materials, and advocate scholarships.

The new TACF brand and name were officially introduced April 1, 2008, as was the Foundation's new Web site: www.ascocancerfoundation.org. Our name has changed slightly, but our charitable mission continues to be founded on four core tenets: research is at the heart of progress against cancer; cutting-edge knowledge is essential when to comes to treating people with cancer; getting good cancer care starts with getting good cancer information; and all patients with cancer deserve access to the best possible care.

Thank you ASCO members for your role in making ASCO the world's authoritative body on cancer. You provide the inspiration, knowledge, and hope for those who are teaching, researching, and providing patients with the highest stand of care worldwide. TACF raises funds that help make those achievements possible. Collaborating with TACF will ensure that today's achievements reach those who need them, as quickly as possible. Together we are making a world of difference in cancer care.

Figure 1


Latest manufacturing technologies enhance cross-functional interaction between manufacturing and marketing. In spite of increasingly emphasizing on the aspect of end user's demand, many production decision-making processes do not take into account only the dynamic nature of the marketer. Here, an attempt has been made to bridge the gap between marketing and partially integrated production problem, with the objective of developing mathematical model that can act as an optimizer in an add-on advanced planning system within an enterprise. Basic idea of this research is the integration of work on determining production and raw material batch sizes under different ordering and delivery assumptions for heuristically evaluating the two-stage batch production problem. Production rate is considered to be a decision variable. Integrated unit production cost function is formulated by considering the various pertinent factors. Proposed model is developed simultaneously by formulating constrained maximization problem for marketing division and minimization problem for production division. Considering the complexities for highly non-linear optimization problem, a Computational Intelligence approach is successfully developed and implemented. The model is practical in nature and may be used as an add-on optimizer that co-ordinates distinct function with an aim of maximizing the profit function in any firm.


Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea. Worldwide prevalence of the virus is high and Nigeria is yet to adopt the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation for global inclusion of rotavirus vaccine into the national program on immunization due to the high cost of the vaccine. The study assessed Nigerian mothers' awareness of rotavirus infection, the importance of the rotavirus vaccine, its acceptance, and their willingness-to-pay (WTP) value for the vaccine. A quantitative study was carried out at eligible immunization units in Anambra State, using a self-administered validated questionnaire. Yamane's sample size formula was used to get the sample size and data collected from eligible mothers were collated using Microsoft Excel, 2010. Various outcomes were determined with a Chi-square test using SPSS (Ver. 20.0 for Windows, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Of the 376 mothers assessed, the maximum amount most of the women were willing to pay was less than 1000 naira per dose of the vaccine. WTP amount and knowledge of RV infection were statistically associated with the level of education and average total income per month of the mothers (p< 0.05).  There was no statistically significant difference in outcomes observed with the different study settings. There was poor awareness of rotavirus infection among mothers as well as poor awareness of the importance of the rotavirus vaccine, but most mothers were willing to pay a maximum of 1, 000.00 Naira [$3.0] per dose for the vaccine.


The behavior of aerosol boluses inhaled by subjects with different age (1 y – 20 y) was theoretically studied. Main parameters of pulmonary bolus transport were modeled by using (a) a stochastic lung architecture, (b) an algorithm assuming random particle trajectories, and (c) the mathematical concept of effective diffusivities. Adaptations of inhalative and morphometric factors to subject's age were conducted by specific scaling functions. As demonstrated by the modeling results, both aerosol bolus dispersion and standard deviation increase with age according to a polynomial of degree 2. A contrary behavior may be attested for bolus mode-shift, showing a linear decrease from 1-y-old subjects to 20-y-old subjects. Bolus skewness and particle deposition from the bolus exhibit a linear increase with age, whereby in the first case regression calculation is characterized by noticeable uncertainties. Based on the theoretical results, it may be concluded that infants' and children's lungs react with lower sensitivity on inspired aerosol boluses than adults' lungs. This has important consequences with regards to the use of bolus inhalation for therapeutical purposes.


We consider a nonlinear bi-inductance electrical transmission line which simulates a diatomic chain with non-linear cubic interactions. The linear spectrum of this model exhibits a gap which is proportional to the linear inductance difference. We analyse theoretically and numerically the coupled nonlinear excitations of such a bi-inductance line, which have a similar origin as the well-known gap solitons (GS) appearing in nonlinear systems with a spatial periodicity. Otherwise, these nonlinear modes are found in terms of asymmetric GS (kinks type) and are long-lived non-linear excitations.


This paper proposes a system for automatic social pattern characterization using a wearable photo-camera. The proposed pipeline consists of three major steps. First, detection of people with whom the camera wearer interacts and, second, categorization of the detected social interactions into formal and informal. These two steps act at event-level where each potential social event is modeled as a multi-dimensional time-series, whose dimensions correspond to a set of relevant features for each task, and a LSTM network is employed for time-series classification. In the last step, recurrences of the same person across the whole set of social interactions are clustered to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the diversity and frequency of the social relations of the user. Experiments over a dataset acquired by a user wearing a photo-camera during a month show promising results on the task of social pattern characterization from egocentric photo-streams.


Objective—To summarize house fire injury risk factor data, using relative risk estimation as a uniform method of comparison. Methods—Residential fire risk factor studies were identified as follows: MEDLINE (1983 to March 1997) was searched using the keywords fire*/burn*, with etiology/cause*, prevention, epidemiology, and smoke detector* or alarm*. ERIC (1966 to March 1997) and PSYCLIT (1974 to June 1997) were searched by the above keywords, as well as safety, skills, education, and training. Other sources included: references of retrieved publications, review articles, and injury prevention books; Injury Prevention journal hand search; government documents; and internet sources. When not provided by the authors, relative risk (RR), odds ratio, and standardized mortality ratios were calculated, to enhance comparison between studies. Results—Fifteen relevant articles were retrieved, including two case-control studies. Non-modifiable risk factors included young age (RR 1.8–7.5), old age (RR 2.6–3.6), male gender (RR 1.4–2.9), non-white race (RR 1.3–15.0), low income (RR 3.4), disability (RR 2.5–6.5), and late night/early morning occurrence (RR 4.1). Modifiable risk factors included place of residence (RR 2.1–4.2), type of residence (RR 1.7–10.5), smoking (RR 1.5 to 7.7), and alcohol use (RR 0.7–7.5). Mobile homes and homes with fewer safety features, such as a smoke detector or a telephone, presented a higher risk of fatal injury. Conclusions—Risk factor data should be used to assist in the development, targeting, and evaluation of preventive strategies. Development of a series of quantitative systematic reviews could synthesize existing data in areas such as house fire injury prevention.


Identifying the source population of invasive species is important to assess the distribution and potential effects in the invaded area. The araneid spider Cyrtophora citricola is widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and Africa; however, in the last twenty years, it has been reported in several countries across the Americas. To date, the geographic origin of the populations established in America remains unclear, but considering the successful colonization after its recent arrival, a high environmental similarity between the invaded and native geographic distributions is expected. In this study, we compared the environmental characteristics of two possible native regions (southern Africa and the Mediterranean) and the invaded region (America), to determine the more likely origin for the populations established in America. We found that the South African populations of C. citricola occupy environments with similar climatic conditions to those of the American populations, and these similarities are greater than the ones shared with the Mediterranean populations. Therefore, our results support a Southern African, rather than a Mediterranean origin for the populations established in America. In addition, our results also show that populations in America are expanding to environments that differ from those of the native populations. Further studies, assessing intrinsic (e.g. physiological tolerances, plasticity, behavior, reproduction) and extrinsic (physical barriers, predator release) factors could provide further information to disentangle the mechanisms behind this expansion.


Hourly averages of the H component of the low-latitude geomagnetic disturbance field are Fourier analyzed to obtain the amplitude G and local-time phase ϕ of the first diurnal harmonic for the one and one-half years of the IGY. The amplitude G is found to correlate roughly with the AE index and, in particular, to exhibit the same storm-time behavior. For major storms, G can exceed 100γ and, in the example shown, exceeds 80γ for an interval of six hours. The phase ϕ tends to be located near 1800 LT, and this characteristic is nearly independent of AE. A comparison of the observed phase and that associated with the usual bay return current suggests a two-component model of the disturbance field asymmetry, with one component at a non-bay orientation. The non-bay component is discussed in terms of possible ionospheric and magnetospheric currents. The second possibility seems to require currents located on the plasmapause to sustain the large forces involved in the asymmetry.


Analyzing the structure of the material in the fields of material science needs a very good device and methods. Due to its principle in projected images at various tilt angles and calculation of the three-dimensional volume reconstruction with a distinct algorithm, tomography become an excellent tool for analyzing the 3D structure. Several research has been studied to apply electron tomography in ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy) which gives an opportunity in observing the wet material (hydrated) in the aquatic environment. In this research, we showed the advisability of wet-Carbon compound tomography by simulating the interaction of electron materials. Monte Carlo simulation was applied in this study to calculate the optimum water layer thickness in the wet material detected.Keywords: Carbon, Electron Tomography, Simulation of Monte Carlo, STEM


This book examines the power relationships that organize and facilitate quality assurance in higher education. It investigates power in terms of macro systems of accountability, surveillance and regulation, and uncovers the ways in which quality is experienced by academics and managers in higher education. Louise Morley reveals some of the hidden transcripts behind quality assurance and poses significant questions: what signs of quality in higher education are being performed and valued? What losses, gains, fears and anxieties are activated by the procedures? and Is the culture of excellence resulting in mediocrity? "Quality and Power in Higher Education" covers a wide range of issues including: the policy contexts, new managerialism, the costs of quality assurance, collegiality, peer review, gender and equity implications, occupational stress, commodification and consumer values in higher education, performance, league tables, benchmarking, increasing workloads and the long-term effects on the academy. It draws upon Morley's empirical work in the UK on international studies and on literature from sociology, higher education studies, organization studies and feminist theory. It is important reading for students and scholars of higher education policy and practice, and for university managers and policy-makers.


Recently, the present authors used Nevanlinna theory to provide a classification for the Malmquist type difference equations of the form \(f(z+1)^n=R(z,f)\) \((\dagger)\) that have transcendental meromorphic solutions, where \(R(z,f)\) is rational in both arguments. In this paper, we first complete the classification for the case \(\deg_{f}(R(z,f))=n\) of \((\dagger)\) by identifying a new equation that was left out in our previous work. We will actually derive all the equations in this case based on some new observations on \((\dagger)\). Then, we study the relations between \((\dagger)\) and its differential counterpart \((f')^n=R(z,f)\). We show that most autonomous equations, singled out from \((\dagger)\) with \(n=2\), have a natural continuum limit to either the differential Riccati equation \(f'=a+f^2\) or the differential equation \((f')^2=a(f^2-\tau_1^2)(f^2-\tau_2^2)\), where \(a\neq 0\) and \(\tau_i\) are constants such that \(\tau_1^2\neq\tau_2^2\). The latter second degree differential equation and the symmetric QRT map are derived from each other using the bilinear method and the continuum limit method.


Background To examine immunomodulatory medication use for youth with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during their first year of care. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using de-identified administrative claims for 2000 to 2013 from Optum© Clinformatics® DataMart for youth ages 10–24 years with an incident diagnosis of SLE (3 International Classication of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for SLE 710.0, each >30 days apart). We determined the proportion of subjects filling a prescription for an immunomodulatory mediation, defined as hydroxychloroquine or an immunosuppressant (excluding glucocorticoids), within 3, 6, and 12 months after the first SLE diagnosis code (index date). We used a Cox proportional hazards regression model to examine associations between time to immunomodulatory prescription fill within 12 months and demographic and disease factors (age, race/ethnicity, household education level, region, history of seizures/stroke, history nephritis). Results We identified 650 youth with an incident diagnosis of SLE. In the 12 months following the index date, 511 (79%) of youth had a prescription fill for an immunomodulatory medication. For those with a prescription fill for hydroxychloroquine in the first year (n=457, 70%), 374 (58%) and 407 (63%) of youth filled the medication within 3 months and 6 months from the index date, respectively (table). For those with a prescription fill for an immunosuppressant (n=221, 34%) in the first year, 114 (18%) and 162 (25%) of youth filled the medication within 3 months and 6 months from the index date, respectively (Table). Location in the Northeast region was significantly associated with a longer time to immunomodulatory prescription fill within 12 months, compared to location in the South (HR=0.686, 95% CI 0.50–0.94). There were no statistically significant associations for the other demographic and disease factors. Conclusions Among youth with newly-diagnosed SLE, hydroxychloroquine use is prevalent although not universal, and immunosuppressant use is notably low during the first year of care. As poorly controlled SLE disease activity can lead to organ damage, further work is needed to identify potential factors contributing to suboptimal immunomodulatory medication use in this population. Funding Source(s): The Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance, Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation


The Natural Language Inference (NLI) task often requires reasoning over multiple steps to reach the conclusion. While the necessity of generating such intermediate steps (instead of a summary explanation) has gained popular support, it is unclear how to generate such steps without complete end-to-end supervision and how such generated steps can be further utilized. In this work, we train a sequence-to-sequence model to generate only the next step given an NLI premise and hypothesis pair (and previous steps); then enhance it with external knowledge and symbolic search to generate intermediate steps with only next-step supervision. We show the correctness of such generated steps through automated and human verification. Furthermore, we show that such generated steps can help improve end-to-end NLI task performance using simple data augmentation strategies, across multiple public NLI datasets.


ment of people, largely veterans. Then be joined Coagress(R). Siddaveerappa, a very old hand at the political game, is Urs' main rival in the party. In the bid to form a ministry he was supported by quite a few Vok- kaligas also, like M V Krishnappa, now an MP. Urs opposed the move. His logic was that a ministry then formed would largely consist of defectors and the party could never have a fresh team. Secondly, Urs must have seen in Siddaveerappa's haste an attempt at becoming Chief Minister. The support of some Vokkaligas for forming a ministry indicated the anxiety of the two major groups to block the emergence of a leader from a minority community. However Urs has always enjoyed the support of the High Command and has won the day.


Due to the fact that material properties may change, weighing and feeding process is difficult to achieve high accuracy with conventional control methods. This paper discusses application of iterative learning control in weighing and feeding process, which takes advantage of previous control information. First, a continual state-space model is established based on dynamic analysis of weighing and feeding process. Next, this model is discretized into a two-dimensional state space model, which takes into account more state information about the process. Then, an iterative learning controller is presented, which improves the tracking performance with the increase of feeding times. A multi-objective simulated annealing is used to find the controller parameters with better control performance under the stability condition. Finally, simulation results are given, which show that a faster feed rate and more accurate feed accuracy is obtained after several feeding batches.


For metals, deformation is commonly conducted at elevated temperatures, reducing the overall process energy and cost. However, elevating the temperature has many drawbacks, including high tool/die adhesions, environmental reactivity, etc. Therefore, this study examines using an electrical current to reduce the deformation energy and presents electricity's effects on the tensile properties of various materials. The influences of strain rate and cold work are also investigated. The results demonstrate that, when current flows through a metallic specimen, the material's yield strength, flow stress, and elastic modulus are decreased; strain weakening occurs; and the total energy of deformation is decreased. These changes in the engineering stress-strain behavior occurred in all of the materials tested and are much greater than can be accounted for by resistive heating. However, the effects diminish with increasing strain rate. The analysis shows that applying electricity during deformation provides a viable alternative to increasing the workpiece temperature for deformation-based manufacturing processes.


This study aimed to determine the problems and needs of the parents of children with hearing loss in primary and secondary inclusive schools in Turkey. A mixed methods exploratory sequential design was conducted, where the qualitative data were followed by quantitative data. The participants were determined by purposive sampling method. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were held with the parents, and the themes related to the problems and needs of the parents were created by analyzing the data through an inductive approach. The data were not only used to identify the problems and needs, but also formed the basis of the Parents' Problems and Needs Questionnaire (PPNQ). A total of 66 parents participated in the study. In the quantitative phase, the PPNQ was developed and administered. The quantitative data obtained through the questionnaire were combined with the qualitative data. Qualitative data of the research were made using content analysis, and quantitative data were made using descriptive analysis method. The findings indicated that the primary problems for parents were the absence/inadequacy of the educational support services. Parents had communication problems with the teachers, they fell short regarding the education of their children, and problems arose regarding the approach of typically developing peers and their parents towards the children with special needs. These problems implied that the parents needed more information on inclusive education, psychological support, and financial support. As a result, the necessity of arrangements has emerged to provide educational support services for both the parents and students, especially in inclusive educational settings in Turkey. Therefore, it can be alleged that it is vital to invigorate the available regulations.


We consider a multi-source hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) based system, where a transmitter sends status update packets of random arrival (i.e., uncontrollable sampling) and generate-atwill (i.e., controllable sampling) sources to a destination through an error-prone channel. We develop transmission scheduling policies to minimize the average number of transmissions subject to an average age of information (AoI) constraint. First, we consider known environment (i.e., known system statistics) and develop a near-optimal deterministic transmission policy and a low-complexity dynamic transmission (LC-DT) policy. The former policy is derived by casting the main problem into a constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) problem, which is then solved using the Lagrangian relaxation, relative value iteration algorithm, and bisection. The LC-DT policy is developed via the drift-plus-penalty (DPP) method by transforming the main problem into a sequence of per-slot problems. Finally, we consider unknown environment and devise a learning-based transmission policy by relaxing the CMDP problem into an MDP problem using the DPP method and then adopting the deep Q-learning algorithm. Numerical results show that the proposed policies achieve near-optimal performance and illustrate the benefits of HARQ in status updating.


The use of operating system API calls is a promising task in the detection of PE-type malware in the Windows operating system. This task is officially defined as running malware in an isolated sandbox environment, recording the API calls made with the Windows operating system and sequentially analyzing these calls. Here, we have analyzed 7107 different malicious software belonging to various families such as virus, backdoor, trojan in an isolated sandbox environment and transformed these analysis results into a format where different classification algorithms and methods can be used. First, we'll explain how we got the malware, and then we'll explain how we've got these software bundled into families. Finally, we will describe how to perform malware classification tasks using different computational methods for the researchers who will use the data set we have created.


Using a novel data set, we study the soft information in subprime mortgages that is not verifiable by a third party, and its relationship with mortgage default. We find that lender effort to collect soft information is intertwined with borrower self-selection into subprime mortgages. We employ various sample stratification strategies to distinguish between two explanations, where one is more evident in some subsamples than is the other. Our results support that soft information is more evident in low-competition markets and among borrowers with low credit score, while adverse selection is more applicable to liquidity-constrained borrowers and loans originated by brokers. Both explanations are reflected in low-documentation loans, since lenders must expend greater effort collecting soft information, and borrowers have more private information to adversely select. The development and expansion of securitization has diminished soft information while increasing borrower adverse selection opportunities.


This study aims to retrieve journal articles related to Islamic philanthropy over a span of 16 years and propose new pathways for future research. The study involved a bibliometric analysis of 122 publications on the subject registered in the Scopus database from 2007 to 2023. The bibliometric procedure evaluates research performance and progress within an international impact framework, while Biblioshiny-R and VOSviewer visualize overall research trends in Islamic philanthropy. The results of the study show that Indonesia is the country with the most publications related to Islamic philanthropy. Hilman Latief and Fauzia Amalia are the two leading authors in this field based on the total number of publications and citations. The Journal of Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society is the journal that has published the most papers on this topic. Some of the author's most recent keywords include "islamic charity; muslim philanthropy; sadaqa; ethics of giving; needy; philanthropy; Islam; zakat; charity; muhammadiyah; islamic; sdgs; food security; wealth," which shows a strong current interest in the study of Islamic philanthropy. This paper is useful to academics, organizations, and policymakers in understanding the general picture of the field of Islamic philanthropy and allows future researchers to see where this study started and trace its shifts over time.


In this study, we examined teachers' remote use of a science dashboard, Inq-Blotter, through discourse analyses and students' corresponding inquiry performance in Inq-ITS. Specifically, Epistemic Network Analyses were applied to compare patterns of support elicited by Inq-Blotter when students improved versus did not improve on inquiry in Inq-ITS. Analyses revealed significant differences in teacher support patterns in relation to student improvement. These results demonstrate how dashboards can support science discourse and learning during remote instruction.


The K2K (KEK to Kamioka) long-baseline neutrino-oscillation experiment was successfully started in early 1999. A total intensity of 7.20 × 10 protons on target, which is about 7% of the goal of the experiment, was accumulated in 39.4 days of data-taking in 1999. We obtained 3 neutrino events in the fiducial volume of the Super-Kamiokande detector, whereas the expectation based on observations in the front detectors is 12.3 −1.9 . An analysis of oscillation searches from the view points of absolute event numbers, distortion of neutrino energy spectrum, and νe/νμ ratio is in progress.


With the close cultural exchanges between China and Japan, the demand and quality of Japanese talents are gradually increasing. Traditional Japanese teaching modes and measures cannot meet the basic requirements. With the rapid development of network multimedia technology and virtual reality technology, in the process of Japanese teaching, virtual reality technology is used to reform the traditional teaching mode and to improve the quality of Japanese teaching. Based on virtual reality technology, this paper studies the online Japanese teaching mode, analyses the characteristics of Japanese teaching, combines modern information technology to assist teaching, comprehensively improves the quality of Japanese teaching, and improves the traditional Japanese teaching mode. By describing the concept, basic features, and components of the AR system in detail and by introducing the virtual construction method based on the geometric model, this paper improves the traditional Japanese teaching mode and establishes the online Japanese teaching mode. Finally, the online Japanese teaching mode for one semester is applied in colleges and universities to analyze whether this mode can improve students' interest in Japanese learning and the e'ect of Japanese learning. e results show that 59% of the students using this mode expressed an increased interest in Japanese learning, while only 25.8% of the students not using this mode showed an increased interest in Japanese learning. 72% of students indicated that they could improve their oral Japanese performance after using this model, while 45% of students who did not use this model could improve their oral Japanese performance.


Abstract This study assessed how socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and birth weight interacted to predict differential patterns of body mass index (BMI) growth among U.S. children born in the early 1990s. Three BMI growth tra-jectories emerged—one above the 50th percentile across the age range of 5 to 14, one in which children rapidly became obese before adolescence, and one where children started out and remained seriously obese. Hispanic and African American children were more likely to show accelerated patterns of weight gain as were those of lower SES and/or higher birth weights. How-ever, SES interacted with both race/ethnicity and birth weight. For girls of all race/ethnicity groups tested, lower SES and higher birth weights predicted membership in the seriously obese BMI growth trajectory. For African Amer -ican and Asian boys, however, the higher the SES the more likely they were to be on a trajectory for rapidly developing obesity by early adolescence. ArticleDownloaded from jea.sagepub.com


Abstract There is no national picture of teaching and training practices or the communities they serve. We aimed to describe the association between general practices' engagement with education and their characteristics, locality and patients' health-status and satisfaction. This data linkage study of all English practices calculated odds ratios for teaching and training status and practice, locality and patient variables. Teaching and training practices are larger than practices which do neither (mean list size (SD) 7074 (3736), 10112 (4934), and 5327 (3368) respectively, p < 0.001 and have fewer patients per GP (1932 (951), 1838 (544), and 2117 (1585) respectively, p < 0.001). Their localities have a higher proportion of White British residents (77.99% (24.17), 81.66% (20.81), 73.07% (26.91), p < 0.001). Practices with more GPs (OR 1.21 (95%CI 1.18–1.20)), fewer male GPs (0.45 (0.36–0.55)) and a higher proportion of White British people in their locality (1.30 (1.06–1.60)) were more likely to teach. Practices in rural areas (1.68 (1.43–1.98)), with more GPs (1.22 (1.27–1.39)), more full time equivalent GPs (2.68 (1.64–4.40)), fewer male GPs (0.17 (0.13–0.22)) and a higher proportion of White British people in their locality (1.34 (1.02–1.75)) were more likely to train. Teaching and training practices had higher patient satisfaction (0.293 (0.190, 0.397) and (0.563 (0.442, 0.685)) respectively and quality and outcomes framework scores (0.507 (0.211, 0.804)) and (0.996 (0.650, 1.342)) respectively than those which did not. Educationally engaged practices are unrepresentative in serving less ethnically diverse and (for training practices) less urban environments. Investment is needed to increase the proportion of educational practices in diverse urban localities.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

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The amino boronic dipeptide, Val-boro-Pro (PT-100), competitively inhibits the dipeptidyl peptidase activity of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and CD26/DPP-IV. We previously observed that PT-100 significantly inhibited growth of established tumors in mouse models, whereas treatment at earlier stages resulted in rejection of tumors derived from fibrosarcoma and lymphoma cell lines. The activity of PT-100 involved rapid up-regulation of cytokines and chemokines in the tumor and draining lymph node tissue followed by a tumor-specific immune response. CD26/DPP-IV was not the essential molecular target because the anti-tumor activity was undiminished in CD26−/− mice. We have found that FAP mRNA was expressed in lymph nodes proximal to solid tumors in mice, and as shown by others, FAP was expressed within in vivo tumors. FAP associated with the tumor stroma is thought to play a role in tissue re-modeling required for tumor growth by digestion of collagen I in extracellular matrix. The increased production of cytokines and chemokines observed in PT-100-treated mice indicates an additional regulatory role for FAP. The mechanism of action suggests that PT-100 is uniquely suited for use in combination with other anti-cancer agents; consequently, we have investigated treatment of established tumors in mice with PT-100 plus various chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil. The addition of PT-100 was found to enhance the activity of each agent. In this study, the combination of PT-100 with gemcitabine was highly effective, as shown in the [Table][1]. For each dose of gemcitabine, the combination had a significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) greater anti-tumor effect than treatment with either agent alone. Tumors were never rejected in mice treated with PT-100, and rejection frequencies did not exceed 20% with any dose of gemcitabine; however, combination treatment caused rejection in 40–60% of mice by day 25 after tumor inoculation, and relapses were not observed over a further 30 days. Treatment with cisplatin and PT-100 similarly increased rejection frequency from 20% in mice treated with 5 mg/kg cisplatin alone to 50%. Following tumor rejection, mice were specifically immune to rechallenge with WEHI 164 tumor cells. Thus PT-100 could stimulate tumor immunity in mice that received active doses of chemotherapy.

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 [2]: pending:yes


In this work, the Mg17Al12 phase was successfully synthesized by the Bulk Mechanical Alloying (BMA), based on repeating compression and extrusion cycles in a metallic die. After 2000 cycles of compression and extrusion, nano-structural Mg17Al12 phase was obtained in molded bulk shape. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses were carried out to determine the morphology, phase structure of BMA-ed samples. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of phase abundance, evolution of microstructure and distribution of particles size were studied. It was shown that the Mg17Al12 alloy is able to absorb a large amount of hydrogen, higher than 3 mass% of Hydrogen. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MRA2008155]


Diseases of affluence are those diseases which are thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society, in contrast to diseases of poverty which result from impoverishment.


The review gives an update on adult-onset Still's disease: on its causes, the specific features of its pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical presentations (with identification of subtypes), and treatment with consideration for the nature of the course of the disease and life-threatening complications.


Optimization of the mobile network is becoming important to both operators and vendors. Although there have been many software packages for optimization, they are always based on the use of CAD. In this article, the theory of AI (artificial intelligence) is introduced into the optimization software. The kernel is an expert system, which uses the knowledge of an expert to solve the problems in some special fields. The knowledge discovery from data base (KDD) is also used to update the knowledge. The structure of the expert system is described, and the data handling integrated in the system as well as the fuzzy logic to handle uncertainty are all shown. The steps of the KDD process and the mining algorithm are both given.


We investigate some nonlinear integral inequalities in two independent variables on time scales. Our results unify and extend some integral inequalities and their corresponding discrete analogues which established by Pachpatte. The inequalities given here can be used as handy tools to study the properties of certain partial dynamic equations on time scales.


Background IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a new disease entity characterized by high serum IgG4 levels, infiltration of IgG4-positive plasmacytes and fibrosis in various organs such as the pancreas, salivary and lacrimal glands. Although the clinical features have been clarified recently, the pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear [1]. We previously showed that significantly higher expressions of IL-10, TGFb, and AID in labial salivary glands (LSG) of IgG4-RD than Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and controls. In LSG of IgG4-RD, increased IL-10 and TGFb might play pathogenic roles in IgG4-specific class switch recombination and fibrosis. AID also might contribute to up-regulation of IgG4-specific class switch recombination along with IL-10 in LSG [2]. Objectives The purpose of this study was to clarify the molecules which played pathogenic roles in IgG4-RD exhaustively. Methods 1) Gene expression was analyzed by DNA microarray using GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array (Affymetrix) in LSG of IgG4-RD (N=3) and SS (N=3). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in IgG4-RD and SS were identified, and gene-annotation enrichment analysis of these DEGs was performed using Gene Ontology (GO) annotation. 2) Validation of the result was performed by quantitative PCR using LSG from IgG4-RD (N=8), SS (N=11), and controls (N=3) other than the patients analyzed by DNA microarray. 3) We also examined the expression of molecules in protein level by immunofluorescence assay using lacrimal glands from patients with IgG4-RD. Results 1) Gene expression patterns in IgG4-RD and SS were quite different in hierarchical clustering. In IgG4-RD, 580 up-regulated and 280 down-regulated genes were identified as DEGs (false discovery rate <0.05). GO analysis indicated the up-regulated set of DEGs in IgG4-RD encoded proteins that function in T cell activation, T cell differentiation, chemotaxis, mitosis, immune responses, and inflammatory response. 2) PCR validated significantly higher expression of CCL18 which related to chemotaxis and fibrosis, in LSG of IgG4-RD than in SS and controls (P<0.05). 3) Immunofluorescence assay showed that CD68 positive macrophages could produce CCL18 in lacrimal glands of IgG4-RD. Conclusions DNA microarray analysis in this study showed that the gene expression pattern in LSG of IgG4-RD was different from that of SS, suggesting different pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-RD and SS. CCL18 produced by macrophages might relate to the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD via the chemotaxis of T cells and B cells, and the induction of collagen production from fibroblasts. References Umehara H, et al: A novel clinical entity, IgG4-related disease (IgG4RD): general concept and details. Mod Rheumatol 2012, 22:1-14. Tsuboi H, et al: Analysis of IgG4 class switch-related molecules in IgG4-related disease. Arthritis Res Ther 2012, 23;14(4):R171. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared


I AM NOT going to discuss a specific research-oriented program; rather, I hope that I can speak in more general terms about goals and problems. There will, however, be an element of subjectivity that I suspect none of us can help. It seems to me that a major goal of a research-oriented program must be to recruit and to train appropriately motivated individuals for careers in academic dermatology. An associated and more obvious objective is to create an aura of critical inquiry in the clinical training environment. Perhaps you will permit me to dwell for a moment on the need for qualified full-time academic people. I am sure the need is conspicuous to all of this group, and it is better documented now than it was six months ago in view of the programs Dr. Kopf outlined last night. My figures are not perhaps as up-to-date as those which appear


Background: In various malignancies, whether tumor mutation burden (TMB) is associated with improved survival outcomes or enhanced immunotherapy remains controversial. We are committed to exploring the prognosis of TMB and its potential association with immune infiltration of uterine corpus endometrial cancer (UCEC).Methods: We downloaded transcriptome data and somatic mutation data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and visualized the mutation profiles using the "maftools" package. TMB was calculated and the samples were divided into two groups by the median. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Wilcoxon test were used to compare the differences in survival and clinicopathological characteristics. Furthermore, we performed functional enrichment analysis to screen for significant contributing pathways. The "CIBERSORT" package was used to estimate the abundance of immune components. Differential analysis was performed using the "limma" package to compare gene expression profiles. Multivariate analysis was used to identify risk genes related to TMB. Based on these genes, a risk model was established, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to assess the predictive accuracy. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between risk genes and immune infiltration using the Timer database.Results: The mutation data included 542 UCEC patients. The waterfall plot summarized the specific mutation information. Higher TMB levels indicated improved overall survival (OS) (p =0.048) and were associated with advanced grades. Pathway analysis showed that the differential signals were enriched in multiple immune-related crosstalks. We screened 108 differentially expressed genes in two TMB groups and identified four risk-related genes. The model based on these four risk genes had good predictive value, the area under the curve (AUC) = 0.670, and patients with higher risk scores showed worse OS (p <0.001). Additionally, CD8 T cells memory-activated, CD4 T cells, and M1 macrophages in the high TMB group showed higher infiltrates, while regulatory T cells (Tregs) and M2 macrophages showed lower infiltrates.Conclusions: Higher TMB was associated with better survival outcomes and increased the immune infiltration in the tumor microenvironment of UCEC.