FoxP3 determines the development of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and represses interleukin-2 (IL-2) expression in Treg cells. However, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infects and replicates efficiently in FoxP3+ Treg cells. We report that, while inhibiting IL-2 gene expression, FoxP3 enhances gene expression from HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). This FoxP3 activity requires both the N- and C-terminal domains and is inactivated by human IPEX (immunodysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked syndrome) mutations. FoxP3 enhances HIV-1 LTR via its specific NFκB binding sequences in an NFκB-dependent fashion in T cells but not in HEK293 cells. FoxP3 decreases level of histone acetylation at the interleukin-2 locus but not at the HIV-1 LTR. Although NFκB nuclear translocation is not altered, FoxP3 enhances NFκB-p65 binding to HIV-1 LTR. These data suggest that FoxP3 modulates gene expression in a promoter sequence-dependent fashion by modulating chromatin structure and NFκB activity. HIV-1 LTR has evolved to both highjack the T-cell activation pathway for expression and to resist FoxP3-mediated suppression of T-cell activation.


A reactive distillation plant is one of the most important and "delicate" functional components of a complex chemical plant. While steady state modeling and simulation tend to become a standard today by using some well known dedicated software tools, only little is known about the dynamic simulation in the open literature. Due to the process complexity, the references in this field mention many difficulties in building-up a dynamic model that could be appropriate for numerical integration. The (dynamic) simulation is useful in understanding the behavior of such a complex plant. But the most important goal by using an appropriate simulation tool would be to design and set up a control system for such a reactive distillation process.


Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus Sieb. & Zucc.) is an outstanding small ornamental tree that is underused in the U.S. One of the reasons this Asian native is not more widely planted is that it is subject to spring freeze damage. The objectives of this study were to determine if there was variability within S. japonicus for time of budbreak and if this variability could be used for selecting plants better adapted to areas of the country that frequently experience late spring freezes. During Spring 1999 and 2000, budbreak was evaluated weekly in 224 open-pollinated seedlings. While weather conditions varied greatly between the 2 years, there was good consistency between 1999 and 2000 data. There was a 4-week difference between the earliest and latest plants to break dormancy. Based on the 1999 and 2000 data, 28 plants were selected and propagated. A replicated trial involving these selections and three cultivars was carried out in 2002, 2003 and 2004. All of the selections broke bud later and suffered less freeze damage than the cultivars 'Emerald Pagoda' and 'Carillon', but many performed similarly to 'Pink Chimes'. Variation in height, width, caliper and canopy shape was observed among the selections. There is an opportunity to utilize the genetic variability in S. japonicus for developing cultivars with reduced susceptibility to spring freeze damage.


Substance mishandle in Pakistan is one of the real reasons for worry that influences all sections of society. It has not just destroying consequences for the physical and mental prosperity yet in addition has the unfriendly impacts on labor and financial development of the nation. Roughly 6.7S million peoples in Pakistan have been related with various sorts of prescriptions. For instance, Cannabis is the most frequently used solution, with an inescapability of 3.6% of the people, after that poly-calm use is ordinary. With reference to sedatives, a normal 860,000 masses are general heroin customers and 320,000 are opium.
Methods: The quantitative cross sectional study was used.
Results: The discoveries of the examination. in 23 tables and 27 figures have been utilized to demonstrate comes about. That just about 80 for every penny of respondents viewed every single illicit medication as similarly hurtful to one's wellbeing recommend an inability to perceive the distinctive different impacts related with various medication writes (Cocaine, Grass, and Heroin). More than 94 for every penny of respondents announced that they had known about cannabis, and the larger part of respondents detailed having known about bliss (96.3%), cocaine (96.4%) and heroin (92.3%).
Conclusions: The knowledge, attitude, and beliefs of drug abuse among male are good.


The title compounds have been synthesized for evaluation as potential suicide substrates of 20 alpha- and 20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases. Synthesis was achieved by the following route. Acetylenedimagnesium bromide was reacted with 3 beta-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-17 beta-carboxaldehyde to give 17 beta-[(1R,S)-1-hydroxy-2-propynyl] androst-4-en-3 beta-ol. Separation of the R and S diols was achieved by HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). Selective oxidation of the 3 beta-hydroxyl group with Jones reagent at 0 degrees gave the title compounds. Further oxidation with Jones reagent converted each acetylenic alcohol to the conjugated acetylenic ketone, 17 beta-(1-oxo-2-propynyl)androst-4-en-3-one.


Biological sequence alignment is a very popular application in Bioinformatics, used routinely worldwide. Many implementations of biological sequence alignment algorithms have been proposed for multicores, GPUs, FPGAs and CellBEs. These implementations are platform-specific; porting them to other systems requires considerable programming effort. This article proposes and evaluates MASA, a flexible and customizable software architecture that enables the execution of biological sequence alignment applications with three variants (local, global, and semiglobal) in multiple hardware/software platforms with block pruning, which is able to reduce significantly the amount of data processed. To attain our flexibility goals, we also propose a generic version of block pruning and developed multiple parallelization strategies as building blocks, including a new asynchronous dataflow-based parallelization, which may be combined to implement efficient aligners in different platforms. We provide four MASA aligner implementations for multicores (OmpSs and OpenMP), GPU (CUDA), and Intel Phi (OpenMP), showing that MASA is very flexible. The evaluation of our generic block pruning strategy shows that it significantly outperforms the previously proposed block pruning, being able to prune up to 66.5% of the cells when using the new dataflow-based parallelization strategy.


Purpose To evaluate and compare biometric and optical coherence tomography parameters of ocular structures in preterm children without retinopathy of prematurity with term children. Methods A cross-sectional, comparative study was carried out from 2018 to 2019. In this study, 124 eyes of 62 preterm children were compared with 132 eyes of 66 term children aged between 7 and 9 years. Preterm children were born at 28 to 32 weeks with a birth weight of less than 2 kg with no ocular abnormalities, and term children were delivered at 37 or greater weeks and had a birth weight of 2 kg or more. All children had standardized eye examinations, and ocular measurements using the anterior and posterior segment optical coherence tomography and laser interferometry. Results Significant differences were found between the term and preterm children for horizontal corneal diameter: median, 12.2 mm (interquartile range [IQR], 0.4) versus median, 12.1 mm (IQR, 0.6; P < 0.005); axial length median, 23.03 mm (IQR, 1.10 mm) versus median, 22.88 mm (IQR, 1.35 mm; P = 0.017); global retinal nerve fiber layer thickness: mean ± standard deviation, 106.54 ± 10.23 µm versus mean ± standard deviation, 103.65 ± 10.178 µm (P = 0.024); temporal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness: median, 76 µm (IQR, 16 µm) vs median, 74 µm (IQR, 14 µm; P = 0.012); and the angle opening distance at 750 µm nasal: mean ± standard deviation, 0.815 ± 0.23 mm vs mean ± standard deviation, 0.749 ± 0.21 mm (P = 0.016). No significant differences were found for other anterior segment and angle parameters. Conclusions Preterm children with no retinopathy of prematurity have smaller eyes and thinner retinal nerve fiber layers than their term counterparts. The long-term effects of interrupted ocular growth in preterm children should be further studied into adulthood. Translational Relevance Preterm children maybe more predisposed to certain eye conditions because they have smaller eyes, and thus should be further monitored clinically.


DV-Hop algorithm produces errors in location estimations due to inaccurate hop size. We propose a novel localization scheme based on DV-Hop to improve positioning accuracy with least error hop sizes of anchors and average hop sizes of unknowns. The least error hop size of an anchor minimizes its location error, but it may be far small or large. To cope with this inconsistent hop size, each unknown node calculates its average hop size with hop sizes from anchors. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the DV-Hop algorithm in location estimations.


Information on waves is critical to the designers of coastal projects. Unfortunately, data are usually sparse. This dichotomy was recognized and addressed in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CE) when the Coastal Field Data Collection Program (CFDCP) was created in 1977. This national data collection program is intended to provide the information designers require through two efforts, the Field Wave Gaging Program (FWGP) and Wave Information Studies (WIS). These efforts, through wave measurement and hindcasting, respectively, aid the designer through increasing the available data base. Because of the nature of hindcasting, the WIS data base has been developed much more quickly than that of the FWGP. In addition to the FWGP and WIS, the CFDCP funds efforts to acquire oceanographic and meteorological data during episodic events, such as northeasters and tsunamis; measure damage to coastal structures and projects and the alteration of coastal areas; conduct Littoral Environmental Observations (LEO) in areas of interest; and develop a data base management system for the archiving of coastal data that have been and continue to be collected. The CFDCP, therefore, provides the mechanism through which valuable coastal data are collected, analyzed, distributed, and archived.


Targeting star-like water surface clutter, a clutter suppression method based on infrared polarization information is proposed. First, the clutter is suppressed from a global perspective using infrared polarization imaging technology, and a basic clutter-suppressed image is obtained. Then, using the Reed-Xiaoli anomaly detection algorithm, the remaining clutter positions in the basic image are determined from the polarization intensity image and basic image. Finally, an image filtering algorithm is utilized to further suppress the remaining clutter in the basic image. In experiments, the proposed method can not only improve the signal-to-clutter ratio as much as 152%, but also preserve the target information and background texture features effectively, indicating clear superiority of our method over existing clutter suppression algorithms. Clutter suppression and target detail preservation can enhance observer understanding of a scene significantly, so this method is applied to the detection and recognition of targets on the water surface.


The present qualitative study narrates the challenges and identity changes experienced by an Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher taking her initial steps in developing second language reading materials through recreating the anecdotes of a Persian classic poet. Her descriptive and analytic field notes while designing the materials, feedbacks received from two advisors and six language teachers, and various drafts of the developed materials as documents formed the data for this self-study. Meticulous analysis of the data revealed the ways by which the practicing materials developer revisited a number of normative assumptions which had permeated her cognition; started to see materials development as art; and practiced self-reliance, creativity, respect, and ownership. Given the paucity of narrative enquiries focusing on materials developers' identity (re)-construction, the present study is hoped to provide a richer understanding of the processes involved in generating classroom materials.


This article critically analyzes the environmental economics paradigm of David Pearce and Robert Kerry Turner. Our analysis is inspired by the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd, in particular his transcendental criticism and theory of modalities. We describe how Pearce and Turner theorize the concept of sustainable development. On the basis of this description we identify immanent tensions in their approach and analyze to what extent these tensions are caused by implicit normative presuppositions in the key concepts used by Pearce and Turner. Finally, we examine whether Dooyeweerd's conception of the economic aspect can diminish these tensions.


We present a three-dimensional photoionisation and dust radiative transfer model of NGC 6302, an extreme, high-excitation planetary nebula. We use the 3D photoionisation code mocassin to model the emission from the gas and dust. We have produced a good fit to the optical emission-line spectrum, from which we derived a density distribution for the nebula. A fit to the infrared coronal lines places strong constraints on the properties of the unseen ionising source. We find the best fit comes from using a 220, 000 K hydrogen-deficient central star model atmosphere, indicating that the central star of this PN may have undergone a late thermal pulse. We have also fitted the overall shape of the ISO spectrum of NGC 6302 using a dust model with a shallow power-law size distribution and grains up to 1.0μm in size. To obtain a good fit to the infrared SED the dust must be sufficiently recessed within the circumstellar disk to prevent large amounts of hot dust at short wavelengths, a region where the ISO spectrum is particularly lacking. These and other discoveries are helping to unveil many properties of this extreme object and trace it's evolutionary history.


Supply chains are ubiquitous in the manufacturing of many complex products. Traditionally, supply chains have been created through the interactions of human representatives of the companies involved, but advances in autonomous agent technologies have sparked an interest in automating the process. The Trading Agent Competition Supply Chain Management (TAC SCM) scenario provides a unique testbed for studying supply chain management agents. This paper introduces TacTex-05 (the champion agent from the 2005 competition), describes its constituent intelligent components, and examines the success of the complete agent through analysis of competition results and controlled experiments.


The use of piezoelectric elements as a means for implementing broadband, low authority structural control with passive and active electrical impedance matching is investigated. Passive techniques are shown to be ineffective for truly broadband problems due to the relatively large inherent piezoelectric capacitance. Active techniques are developed using the simultaneous sensing and actuation (SSA) circuit. Detailed analysis of circuit tuning issues in conjunction with mechanical boundary conditions of the piezoelectric element is presented. The result is a set of guidelines for SSA component selection to enable the implementation of guaranteed stable positive real feedback for damping enhancement. Examples and experimental results on the SERC Interferometer Testbed are presented. Difficulties in implementation presented by the unmodeled piezoelectric losses and nonlinearities, which prove to be significant when using axially stacked elements, are discussed.


Editor's Note: At the 1983 National Conference, there was a special session on Technology Transfer. Six speakers from different industrial organizations presented their personal views on the process of turning the results of AI restarch and development into commercial practice. Unfortunately there was not time to produce and distribute a written record of the Symposium for the attendees. To correct that problem, we will publish edited versions of the six oral presentations, at the rate of one or two per issue. The following two articles, by Larry Harris of Artificial Intelligence Corporation and S. Jerrold Kaplan of Teknowledge, inaugurate the series Other speakers at the Symposium were Reid Smith (Schlumberger), Stephen Polit (DEC), Ed T yl a or (TRW) and Earl Sacerdoti (formerly Machine Intelligence Corporation, now with Teknowledge). Robert S. Engelmore


Background:  Suxamethonium having its rapid onset and short duration of action makes this drug unique amongst the neuromuscular blocking drugs described so far. However, use of suxamethonium is associated with a large number of undesirable side effects. Objective:  To evaluate clinical effects of high and low dose of suxamethonium and to determine whether lower dose of suxamethonium can be used for any beneficial effects in terms of its various adverse effects e.g. cardiovascular responses, post-operative muscle pains and intraocular pressure. Methods:  A total of 100 patients were included in this prospective study. All these patients on preoperative clinical evaluation were assessed to have adequate airway. All the patients were divided in two groups, low dose group (group I) and High dose group (group II) with 50 patients in each at random. A standard anesthetic technique was adhered to all the patients and following parameters were observed on comparative basis: a. Fasciculation and post operative myalgia. b. Cardiovascular effects, c. Intraocular pressure. Observation:  The incidence of post Suxamethonium pain was significantly greater in group II. Increase in heart rate from baseline was significant in both groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the diastolic pressure but rise in systolic blood pressure was significant at all assessment times in both groups. This rise from control was statistically significant. Conclusion:  Suxamethonium can be used in lower doses (0.5 mg/kg) in elective cases without airway compromise. It gives benefits of reduced muscle pains, cardiovascular responses and intraocular hypertension. Journal of College of Medical Sciences-Nepal, 2013, Vol-9, No-2, 1-8 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmsn.v9i2.9677


HyPerspectives specializes in the collection and analysis of remotely sensed data in and around the greater Yellowstone National Park area. This region is of great interest to the military because of its similarity to the terrain and vegetation found in active theatres such as Afghanistan and the Balkans. Because of our extensive ground truth and knowledge of the local vegetation, we have been contracted to provide realistic scene construction of the Yellowstone area to be used in military low-level flight mission rehearsals. These scenes need to be as accurate as possible, right down to 3D vegetative models of shrubbery. In addition to multispectral data available from sources such AVIRIS, we have also been supplied with 3D LIDAR data from the client's recent flyover. The first step is to create a bare earth model (BEM). Next, the other data are brought in and features are identified. Once all the various data are coregistered, Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst is used to verify the registrations and construct the actual scene, including many of the supplied 3D vegetation, vehicle, building, and structure models. After the accuracy of the scene is verified, it is exported to the OpenFlight format for use in sophisticated military flight simulators.


For nearly twenty-five years, federal regulation of privacy issues in research involving human subjects was the primary province of the federal rule for Protection of Human Subjects (Common Rule).' As of April 14, 2003, the compliance date for the Privacy Rule ofthe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),^ however, the Common Rule and the Privacy Rule^ jointly regulate research privacy. Although, in theory, the Privacy Rule is intended to omplement the Common Rule, there are several areas in which the rules diverge. In some instances the inconsistencies result in gaps in privacy protection; in other instances the inconsistencies result in added burdens on researchers without additional privacy protections.In all instances, the lack of harmonization of these rules has created confusion, frustration, and misunderstanding by researchers, research subjects, and institutional review boards (IRBs). In this article, I review the major provisions ofthe Privacy Rule for research, explain the areas in which the Privacy Rule and Common Rule differ, and conclude that the two rules should be revised to promote onsistency and maximize privacy protections while minimizing the burdens on research.


Proactive coping directed at an upcoming as opposed to an ongoing stressor, is a new focus in positive psychology. The present study explored the proactive coping's effect on the workplace adaptation after transition from college to workplace. In order to demonstrate the influence process between them, we constructed the model of proactive coping style effecting the actual positive coping efforts and outcomes by mediating proactive competence during one year after the transition. Participants (n = 100) started to work right after graduating from college completed all the four time's surveys --one month before (Time 0), one month after (Time 1), three months after (Time 2), and one year after (Time 3) the transition. Time 0 survey included the measurement of proactive coping style and competence. Time 1, 2, 3 surveys included the measurement of the challenge cognitive appraisal, problem solving coping strategy, and subjective workplace adaptation. The result indicated that proactive coping style effected newcomers' actual coping efforts and outcomes by mediating proactive coping competence. The result also showed that proactive coping competence directly promoted Time1's actual positive coping efforts and outcomes, and indirectly promoted Time 2's and Time 3's. Keywords—Proactive coping style, proactive coping competence, transition form college to workplace, workplace adaptation.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the association between chromosomal disequilibrium and chemoresistance/chemosensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH).

METHODS
Genomic DNA samples were prepared from the tumor tissues in paraffin-embedded sections derived from 88 patients with advanced NSCLC (18 with chemosensitivity and 16 with chemoresistance). The DNAs were first amplified by a degenerate oligonucleotide prime-polymerase chain reaction protocol and then labeled with fluorescence as probes for CGH analyses. The correlations of the resulting chromosomal imbalances with the chemo-sensitivity and other pathological features of the patients were analyzed.

RESULTS
A total of 640 abnormal chromosome regions including 96.12% gains and 3.88% losses were detected in 88 specimens. The results indicated that the most frequently gained chromosome regions were 19p13.1-13.3 (39/88, 44.12%), followed by 9q12-q22 (26/88, 29.41%), 22q12-q13 (26/88, 29.41%), and Xq (29/88, 32.35%). The total number of abnormal regions related with chemo-sensitivity was 188( 182 gains and 6 losses), while the number of the abnormal regions linked to the chemoresistance was 452 (431 gains and 21 losses) (P=0.005). Gains of 14p12-p13 and 19p were significantly correlated with the chemosensitivity of the NSCLC (P=0.006). Gains of 1q12-q22, 10q25-q26, 5p15.1-p15.3, 19q13.2-13.4, 20p11.2-p12, 21q22, and Xp 21-p22.1 were also significantly correlated with the chemoresistance (P]0.005, 0.029, 0.039, 0.029, 0.039, 0.016, and 0.006, respectively). No correlation between the chromosome abnormalities and other clinical features was observed.

CONCLUSIONS
The specific gains and losses of chromosome region is correlated with platinum-based first-line chemotherapy in NSCLC patients,as confirmed by CGH detection. This finding is useful for further identifying the chemosensitivity-related functional genes, predicting clinical effectiveness, and achieve individualized treatment in the future.


The incidence of the following species of helminths recovered from the digestive tract of 218 muskallunge, Esox m. masquinongy, from various localities in the St. Lawrence watershed is recorded: Azygia augusticauda, A. longa, Triaenophorus nodulosus, Proteocephalus pinguis, Neoechinorhynchus cylindratus, Leptorhynchoides thecatus, Metabronema salvelini, and Rhaphidascaris canadensis. One hundred and ninety-two, or 88% of the fish examined were found to harbor one or more species. The most commonly found species were T. nodulosus and A. longa. In all cases the number of worms recovered per host was small.


Prosthodontic treatment, especially restorations of fractured teeth in small animals, has been the subject of many veterinary dental analyses in relation to techniques of endodontic treatment, preparation and cementation, as well as the general principles of prosthodontic treatment. The purpose of this paper is to present a previously undescribed method of all-in-one crown and root prosthetic restoration of fractured teeth in large dogs, together with a thorough analysis of the drawbacks, which may help veterinary dentists to use an evidence-based approach when deciding on the type of treatment for their patients with tooth fractures.


Stock market investors debate and heavily discuss stock ideas, investing strategies, news and market movements on social media platforms. The discussions are significantly longer in length and require extensive domain expertise for understanding. In this paper, we curate such discussions and construct a first-of-its-kind of abstractive summarization dataset. Our curated dataset consists of 7888 Reddit posts and manually constructed summaries for 400 posts. We robustly evaluate the summaries and conduct experiments on SOTA summarization tools to showcase their limitations. We plan to make the dataset publicly available. The sample dataset is available here: https://dhyeyjani.github.io/RSMC


Based on terror management theory, it was hypothesized that media choices may be affected by the salience of death-related thoughts. Three experiments with samples of undergraduate students were conducted to investigate whether such a process would affect preferences for law and justice television programming. In the first experiment (n = 132), individuals for whom mortality had been made salient through experimental induction preferred more programs with law and justice themes than individuals for whom mortality had not been made salient. In the second experiment (n = 161), this effect was observed regardless of trust in law enforcement and only for participants induced to think about death, not those induced to think about pain. In the third experiment (n = 163), participants for whom mortality was salient who watched a crime drama that showed justice being carried out showed a diminished self-enhancing bias compared to participants who watched a version of the same program in which justice was thwarted. Results indicate that entertainment choices are influenced by thought of death beyond simply seeking distraction and that entertainment programming emphasizing justice can effectively ameliorate existential anxiety that arises from thoughts of death.


In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to analyze the effect of a non-uniform heat source or sink on chemically reacting magnetohydrodynamic Casson fluid flowing across a slendering sheet. A chemically reacting fluid with multiple slips has various applications in controlling heating and mass transport phenomena such as biological reactants being converted to products, biomedical signal processing and image processing to establish a dynamic area of specialization in research aspects of biomedical engineering. For these reasons multiple slips (diffusion, thermal and momentum slips) are applied in modeling the heat and mass transfer process. The non-linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are solved using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integration method. The characteristics of the velocity, temperature and concentration boundary layers are presented for different physical parameters such as space and temperature-dependent heat source or sink parameter, porosity parameter, chemical reaction parameter, velocity slip parameter, and temperature and concentration jump parameters. Moreover, the skin friction coefficient, and the local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers have been estimated for different parameters are discussed from an engineering point of view. We found a significant increase in thickness of the thermal and concentration boundary layer when the strength of the thermophoresis parameter is increased. In contrast, the thermal boundary layer increases with increasing the Brownian motion parameter while the reverse trend holds true for the concentration field.


The objective of this article is to accomplish a diagnosis of the Knowledge Management  (KN) in processes of teaching investigation about academic programs of physical therapy in the Caribbean region. The methodology that was used is the founded theory that allows to know the relation of every factor. Finally, it came to two conclutions, 1) there are inaccuracies in the concept and factors of the KN that influence the scarce participation of the programs in the process and 2) when establishing the practices that define the factors of the KN with precision they will allow to improve the diagnosis process.


The integration of modern computer-based inferencing, networking, computer-mediated training and multimedia technology hold the promise of improved training and performance support for personnel in industry and government. This paper reports an effort to develop a network-enabled knowledge editing and modeling environment that offers just-in-time training and performance support, anytime, anywhere. The instructional component of the system is based upon a knowledge model elicited from a domain expert and represented in a pedagogicallymotivated multimedia browser. The expert's diagnostic processes are mapped into an integrated rule-based advisory system that assists the user in task performance. The advisory system is tightly coupled with the knowledge model in a fashion that provides context-dependent explanations of the diagnostic process. The distributed, network-based design allows the system to be accessed any time, on demand, running seamlessly over the Internet or similar networks. El-Tech (Electronic Technician) is a first prototype of this approach to next-generation, just-in-time performance support systems with embedded training. El-Tech is being developed as a joint project with the Navy's Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET).


In Tweeting to Power, Jason Gainous and Kevin Wagner have created a thorough and stimulating book, which will be of great interest to experts and newcomers to digital politics. Gainous and Wagner assert that social media's greatest effect is upon the perceptions of the individual; that, in the process of receiving and filtering out certain political content online, individual voters change their perceptions and thus their behaviour. The authors argue that this is due to the bypassing of traditional 'gatekeepers' to voters. Whereas once a candidate needed to have their message transmitted through adversarial media, social media allow political actors to circumnavigate such obstacles to present their ideas to the public without outside interference. Furthermore, the tendency for individuals on these networks to filter out contrary political information provides these political actors with an audience far more likely to engage meaningfully with their message. As a result, online political actors have the means to build emboldened support that translates into real-world results, such as election victories. The focus of this book is squarely upon the American setting and upon Twitter specifically. However, scholars will find plenty of insight into the current state of the field throughout, not least in the particularly excellent introduction. Beyond this, the book – to its credit – takes on a number of different qualitative and quantitative approaches and makes use of varied data to better understand the role of social media in American politics. Gainous and Wagner present evidence that strong control over political messages on Twitter can be correlated with electoral success for candidates running in the 2012 American election. The conclusions put forward are convincing and exciting, especially given the lack of actionable, positive results found in the field at the present time. A slight problem is the legwork the authors need to carry out to reach a stage where these hypotheses can be tested. Although this is understandable, given the scope of the topic and its academic underdevelopment, at times there is a lack of clarity as to the reasons each of the case studies is carried out, which can be confusing. Furthermore, those unfamiliar with advanced quantitative approaches may have a few difficulties penetrating the results. However, these very minor faults should take nothing away from the scale of Gainous and Wagner's achievement in assembling some of the most convincing and illuminating work on digital politics currently available.


Replication of plus-strand RNA viruses depends on recruited host factors that aid several critical steps during replication. Several of the co-opted host factors bind to the viral RNA, which plays multiple roles, including mRNA function, as an assembly platform for the viral replicase (VRC), template for RNA synthesis, and encapsidation during infection. It is likely that remodeling of the viral RNAs and RNA-protein complexes during the switch from one step to another requires RNA helicases. In this paper, we have discovered a second group of cellular RNA helicases, including the eIF4AIII-like yeast Fal1p and the DDX5-like Dbp3p and the orthologous plant AtRH2 and AtRH5 DEAD box helicases, which are co-opted by tombusviruses. Unlike the previously characterized DDX3-like AtRH20/Ded1p helicases that bind to the 3′ terminal promoter region in the viral minus-strand (−)RNA, the other class of eIF4AIII-like RNA helicases bind to a different cis-acting element, namely the 5′ proximal RIII(−) replication enhancer (REN) element in the TBSV (−)RNA. We show that the binding of AtRH2 and AtRH5 helicases to the TBSV (−)RNA could unwind the dsRNA structure within the RIII(−) REN. This unique characteristic allows the eIF4AIII-like helicases to perform novel pro-viral functions involving the RIII(−) REN in stimulation of plus-strand (+)RNA synthesis. We also show that AtRH2 and AtRH5 helicases are components of the tombusvirus VRCs based on co-purification experiments. We propose that eIF4AIII-like helicases destabilize dsRNA replication intermediate within the RIII(−) REN that promotes bringing the 5′ and 3′ terminal (−)RNA sequences in close vicinity via long-range RNA-RNA base pairing. This newly formed RNA structure promoted by eIF4AIII helicase together with AtRH20 helicase might facilitate the recycling of the viral replicases for multiple rounds of (+)-strand synthesis, thus resulting in asymmetrical viral replication.


Bio -diversityrefers to the variations within the living world while genetic diversity is the sum of genetic characteristics within any species or genus. Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. With more variation, it is more likely that some individuals in a population will possess variations of alleles that are suited for the environment. Those individuals are more likely to survive to produce offspring bearing that allele. The population will continue for more generations because of the success of these individuals. The extensive literature survey revealed that Pongamia Pinnata L. is an important medicinal plant with diverse pharmacological spectrum. The plant shows the presence of many chemical constituents which are responsible for varied pharmacological and medicinal properties. Furthermore, it also represents a milestone in the field of biofuel industry as one of the most important bio fuel crop. The present investigation was carried out to assess the genetic diversity of 37 wild species of P. pinnata collected from different states from India based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Sequenced Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) primers. After screening a total of 18 RAPD and 23 SRAP primers were used which gave reproducible amplification banding patterns. In RAPD out of 157 alleles were generated of which 150 were polymorphic across the studied accessions (96.8% polymorphism). For SRAP the total number of amplified products was 145 of which 122 were polymorphic (84.1% polymorphism). The mean polymorphic information content (PIC) for both the markers was 0.77 and 0.68. Variation in combined Jaccard's coefficient of similarity indicates the high level of genetic variation among the genotypes studied. The overall grouping pattern of clustering corresponds well with the principal component analysis (PCA), confirming patterns of genetic diversity observed among the accessions.


Recent results on the particle detector R&D for new accelerators are reviewed. Different approaches for the muon systems, hadronic and electromagnetic calorimeters, particle identification devices, and central trackers are discussed. Main emphasis is made on the detectors for the International Linear Collider and Super B-factory. A detailed description of a novel photodetector, a so called Silicon Photomultiplier, and its applications in scintillator detectors is presented.


Background: Kimura's Disease (KD) is a benign, rare form of chronic inflammatory disease of unknown origin, almost exclusively found in Asian males in their second to fourth decades of life. This rare condition is mostly present as soft tissue mass consists of multiple painless solitary subcutaneous nodules mostly localized in the head and neck region, with coexisting lymph node enlargement and eosinophilia. This case study aims to describe Kimura's Disease (KD) characteristics and give an insight into the role of Computed Tomography (CT) scan in identifying KD and its imaging characteristics.Case Presentation: We reported a case of an Asian man with a history of 18 years left-sided painless facial mass, gradually increase in size with no history of hoarseness, epistaxis, previous facial mass or malignancy, and familial malignancy. CT scan findings showed an inhomogeneous contrast enhancement soft tissue mass located on the left parotid-submandibular region with multiple neck lymphadenopathy and left parotid gland involvement. Eosinophilia was found persistently in the laboratory outcomes, and this mass had been confirmed with histological findings consistent with KD features.Conclusion: Recognizing the characteristics of KD and the imaging findings on Ultrasound and CT-scan as accessible and first-line diagnostic tools, might help in facilitating the diagnosis, making a decision and sparing the patient from unnecessary and harmful procedures.


Eight 300 kJ capacitor bank modules are being assembled for the Korean ETC program. Six self-healing capacitors (22 kV, 50 kJ) are used as a capacitor bank module and an RVU-43 switch is used as the main pulse power closing switch for each module. Pulse power inductors of 20 /spl mu/H to 160 /spl mu/H are used to obtain the required current pulse width and each module is crowbarred by three parallel crowbar diode stacks. Several kinds of high current switch for capacitive pulse power system were considered. The RVU-43 switch was selected because it is much cheaper than thyristors and has rectifying capability after passing the current zero. Performance test for the Russian-made RVU-43 (max rating: 25 kV, 200 kA, 120 Coulomb) switch have been conducted and the results for self-breakdown voltage, minimum operating voltage, turn-on delay, reverse current blocking ability and switch loss are presented.


Dialyzer clearance depends on blood and dialysate flow rates and the product of the membrane surface area and mass transfer coefficient for the solute of interest, K(o)A. K(o)A is usually assumed to be constant for a given dialyzer and solute. Results of two recent studies challenge this assumption. Therefore, we examined the hypothesis that K(o)A depends on blood and dialysate flow rates during clinical dialysis. Urea clearances were measured for two different dialyzers at all four combinations of two blood flow rates (300 and 400 mL/min) and two dialysate flow rates (500 and 800 mL/min). Urea K(o)A was calculated by using standard equations for mass transfer in dialyzers operated with countercurrent flows. The impact of blood and dialysate flow rates on K(o)A was assessed by analysis of variance. Increasing dialysate flow rate from 500 to 800 mL/min significantly increased K(o)A (P = 0.018). Increasing blood flow rate from 300 to 400 mL/min did not significantly increase K(o)A (P = 0.083). Also, K(o)A decreased significantly with increasing hematocrit (P = 0.022). The results of this study extend previous in vitro findings by showing that increasing the dialysate flow rate increases urea K(o)A during clinical dialysis. However, the increase in K(o)A observed during clinical dialysis (5.7%) is less than that previously reported in vitro (14.7%), possibly because of the impact of blood cells and proteins on blood-side mass transfer resistance.


Abstract. One objective of dialysis treatment is to normalize the blood
plasma electrolytes and remove waste products such as urea and creatinine
from blood. However, due to a shift in plasma osmolarity, a rapid or
excessive change of the electrolytes can lead to complications like
cardiovascular instability, overhydrating of cells, disequilibrium syndrome
and cardiac arrhythmias. Especially for critical ill patients in intensive
care unit with sepsis or multi-organ failure, any additional stress has to be
avoided. Since the exchange velocity of the electrolytes mainly depends on
the concentration gradients across the dialysis membrane between blood and
dialysate, it can be controlled by an individualized composition of dialysate
concentrations. In order to obtain a precise concentration gradient with the
individualized dialysate, it is necessary to continuously monitor the plasma
concentrations. However, with in-line sensors, the required hemocompatibility
is often difficult to achieve. In this work, we present a concept for
continuous in-line monitoring of electrolyte concentrations using
ion-selective electrodes separated from the blood flow by a dialysis
membrane, and therefore meeting the fluidic requirements for
hemocompatibility. First investigations of hemocompatibility with
reconfigured human blood show no increased hemolysis caused by the measuring
system. With this concept, it is possible to continuously measure the plasma
concentrations with a relative error of less than 0.5 %.


The authors present a physics based electric arc model which can simulate both static and dynamic characteristics of an arc load controlled by an electronic circuit. The proposed model was developed from modifications of the classical Cassie and Mayr equations. It has been test implemented in the Saber circuit simulator. There has been a considerable degree of correspondence between the simulated and experimental results.


Aim: The aim of this study was to determine effects of 1800 MHz magnetic field on amout of colonic Bactroides and Fusobacterium and colon pathology in rats and determination of KRAS and p53 gene mutation in colon. Materials and Methods: In the present study, three groups were prepared as control, sham and RFR. The RFR group rats were exposed to 1800 MHz GSM-like RFR for 12 weeks as 45 minutes per day. An electromagnetic energy generator was used to generate 1800 MHz RF radiation in the RFR group. At the end of experiments, colons were dissected from rats for histopathological examination and determination of KRAS and p53 mutations. Fecal speciments were collected for bacterial detection. DNA was isolated from fecal bacterias and colon. Results: No differences were observed between sham and control groups, histopathologically. Corrupted gland structure, mucosal edema and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed at mucosal epithelum in the RFR group. An increase in the amount of collagen and fibrosis were detected in the electromagnetic field group. Number of goblet cells showed a statistically significant decrease in electromagnetic field group compared to both the control and sham groups (P<0.05). The increase in the amount of Fusobacterium it was significantly higher in the RFR group compared to the control group. In the quantity of Bacteroides, no differences were observed between the groups. KRAS and Tp53 mutation analysis of all samples were found to be wild type, at the colon tissues. No significant difference observed between the control group and the electromagnetic field treated group. Conclusion: These results support, for 12 weeks 45 min/day exposure to GSM-like RFR caused histopathological damage in rat colon. Also, the amount of Fusobacterium is increased. But RFR exposure did not caused to KRAS and P53 mutations in colon tissue.


The QUATRO Plus project, a follow on from the original QUATRO Project, aims to balance the wisdom of the crowds with the knowledge of the experts. It uses a mixture of authenticated data sources and the opinions of end users expressed through social networking software to build a dataset that is authoritative and trustworthy. The dataset describes online resources using RDF with the upcoming W3C Recommendation, POWDER, as the underlying transport and storage mechanism. Data can be added to or queried through a variety of tools provided by the project, some of which are described in detail in this paper.


Velocity anisotropy of the suprathermal population created by heating (essentially ion cyclotron resonant heating (ICRH)) is known to influence sawtooth stabilization in tokamaks. However, studying such effects requires a realistic description of the hot ion distribution pitch angle dependence in terms of easily accessible experimental data. Such a description has been obtained for on-axis ICRH on Tore Supra. A simple analytic model, allowing an easy analysis of experimental data, is developed and applied to the above mentioned description of on-axis ICRH. It leads to the result that, contrary to common presumption, sawtooth stabilization with on-axis ICRH is driven by both passing and trapped hot ions. In Tore Supra discharges, the stabilizing effect of barely passing hot ions is found to be dominant


The present study focuses on the mechanism that controls the transition of the Euro-Atlantic circulation responses to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) from early (December) to late winter (February) for the period 1981–2015. A positive phase of ENSO induces a precipitation dipole with increased precipitation in the western and reduced precipitation in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean; this occurs mainly during early winter (December) and less so in late winter (February). It is shown that these interbasin atmospheric teleconnections dominate the response in the Euro-Atlantic sector in early winter by modifying the subtropical South Asian jet (SAJET) and forcing a wavenumber-3 response that projects spatially onto the positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern. On the contrary, during late winter, the response in the Euro-Atlantic sector is dominated by the well-known ENSO wave train from the tropical Pacific region, involving extratropical anomalies that project spatially on the positive phase of the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern and the negative phase of the NAO pattern. Numerical experiments with an atmospheric model (an AGCM) forced by an Indian Ocean heating dipole anomaly support the hypothesis that the Indian Ocean modulates the SAJET and enforces the Rossby wave propagation to the Euro-Atlantic region in early winter. These phenomena are also investigated using the ECMWF SEAS5 reforecast dataset. In SEAS5, the ENSO interbasin tropical teleconnections and the response of the Euro-Atlantic circulation anomalies and their change from early to late winter are realistically predicted, although the strength of the early winter signal originated from the Indian Ocean is underestimated.


This study purposed to obtain basic information on the development of sociability and self-concept in obese children from 168 obese children who participated in a dance program. For this purpose, we measured and analyzed the obese children`s sociability and self-concept after the dance program, and drew conclusions as follows. First, as to sociability according to the characteristics of the obese children who participated in a dance program, sociability was not different according to age and height, but was significantly different according weight. In addition, according to blood type, sociability was higher in children of Type B. Second, as to self-concept according to the characteristics of the obese children who participated in a dance program, the children esteemed themselves and expressed their emotion regardless of age, height and weight, but according to blood type self-concept was higher in children of Type O. Third, in the obese children who participated in a dance program, sociability and self-concept was in a significant correlation between each other. In addition, sociability showed influence of 58.1% on self-concept and its sub-factors diligence and activity had a significant effect on self-concept.


Noise measurements were carried out in the Cologne area (Germany), and the resonance frequency of each site was estimated from the main peak in the spectral ratio between the horizontal and vertical component. For 32 of these sites, the thickness of the sedimentary cover was known from boreholes, and a clear correlation between resonance frequency and sediment thickness was observed. A formula that correlates cover thickness with frequency of the main peak in the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio was derived. In addition, a best-fitting shear-wave-velocity distribution with depth, vs ( z ), as well as a relationship between average shear-wave velocity Vs and thickness of the sedimentary cover, was calculated. By using all of the noise measurements and applying the derived relationships, we obtained a subsoil classification for the Cologne area.


KRAS oncogene mutations are found in ~95% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and are well validated drivers of PDAC initiation and maintenance. Consequently, a major goal for the field is the development of effective anti-KRAS therapies. However, despite more than three decades of intensive effort, no effective pharmacologic inhibitors of the KRAS have reached the clinic, prompting the widely held perception that KRAS is "undruggable". However, with more advanced knowledge of KRAS function and new technological approaches, there is renewed hope that the time is ripe to revisit targeting KRAS. I will present our studies focused on the RAF-MEK-ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. This effector signaling network is a well-validated driver of KRAS-dependent cancer growth. Despite this key role, pharmacologic inhibitors of RAF and MEK have been ineffective in inhibiting growth of KRAS-mutated cancers, in large part due to dynamic signal reprogramming leading to ERK reactivation and bypass of inhibitor action. We therefore addressed whether direct ERK inhibition may be a more effective therapeutic approach. We identified a growth suppression mechanism due to pharmacologic inhibition of ERK that involves degradation of the MYC oncoprotein, activation of the p16INK4A-RB1 tumor suppressor pathway and induction of a senescence-like phenotype. We also applied unbiased genetic and chemical functional screens, as well as reverse phase protein array analyses, and identified the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signalling network as a key driver of pancreatic cancer resistance to ERK inhibition. Novel combination inhibitor approaches that synergistically enhanced ERK inhibitor anti-tumor activity were also identified. Finally, we determined that continued expression of KRAS was required for maintenance of MYC protein expression. We determined that previously identified mechanisms of RAS effector signaling alone did not account for MYC protein regulation in PDAC, prompting our search for novel protein kinases that regulate MYC protein degradation. Our efforts are centered defining pharmacologic strategies to accelerate MYC protein degradation as a novel approach for blocking mutant KRAS in PDAC. Citation Format: Channing J. Der.{Authors}. Drugging undruggable kras: will myc do the trick? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Advances in Science and Clinical Care; 2016 May 12-15; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(24 Suppl):Abstract nr IA08.


Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is a standard of care for neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) in developed countries. Most data come from High income countries (HIC). Recently, experts suggest that the safety and efficacy data on cooling from HIC should not be extrapolated to Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC).

 Evaluation of the outcome of neonates with HIE treated with TH as a neuroprotective treatment who were admitted to NICUs of Ain Shams University from 1/2016 to 12/2020.

 All HIE babies who were treated with TH were included. Retrospectively, patients' medical paper notes of included babies were reviewed, recorded, and analyzed. Survived neonates were approached by telephone interview regarding parental views on their neurodevelopment and were offered a formal neurodevelopmental assessment for their babies using Bayley Scales III.

 A total 37 neonates (17 survived and 20 died) were included: 2 mild HIE (survived), 13 severe HIE (all died) and 22 moderate HIE (15 survived and 7 died) (mortality 54.1%). The most common causes of death are pulmonary hemorrhage (24.3%) and shock (18.9%). Of the 17 survivors, 6 patients couldn't be reached while 9 patients had satisfactory neurodevelopmental progression as per their parents while 2 patients had poor outcome. Bayley III was done for only 3 babies: All had normal cognitive and language development. 2 of them had normal motor development while 1 patient had mild to moderate motor delay.

 TH might not improve outcome of sever HIE but of great value on outcome of moderate HIE. Prospective RCTs are recommended to assess the role of TH as a neuroprotective agent for neonates with HIE in a low resource setting.


Signal-to-interference ratio (SIR)-based call admission control (CAC) algorithms are proposed and studied in a DS-CDMA cellular system. Residual capacity is introduced as the additional number of initial calls a base station can accept such that system-wide outage probability will be guaranteed to remain below a certain level. The residual capacity at each cell is updated dynamically according to the reverse-link SIR measurements at the base station. A 2/sup k/ factorial experimental design and analysis via computer simulations is used to study the impact of the parameters used in the algorithms. The influence of these parameters on system performance, namely blocking probability and outage probability, is then examined via simulation. The performance of the algorithms is compared together with that of a fixed call admission control scheme (fixed CAC) under both homogeneous and hot spot traffic loading. The results show that SIR-based CAC always outperforms fixed CAC even under overload situations, which is not the case in FDMA/TDMA cellular systems. The primary benefit of SIR-based CAC in DS-CDMA cellular systems, however, lies in improving the system performance under hot spot traffic. >


The mean concentration of Hg in suspended particular material (SPM) was 189±24.9 ng.g -1 , presenting a interval of variation of 93 - 290ng.g -1 (November, 1999 – beginning of high discharge period and August of 2000 – low discharge period). Mercury concentration in volumetric base for suspended particulate material presented a large variation, 1.49 - 22.5ng.L -1 , with small values founded in September of 1999 while higher concentrations were observed in January of 2000. The largest total suspended particulate material (229kg.s -1 ) transported and its Hg content (34mg.s -1 ) was obtained in January 2000, indicating that the transport of Hg in the water column was directly related with the discharge and SPM concentration. The geochemical partitioning coefficient (Kd~6) are at the same order of magnitude reported for other rivers of the world, reinforcing that Hg tends to migrate in the landscape preferentially associated to the particulate forms and mainly associated with organic matter. The major fraction of Hg in volumetric base is the fine particulate material (63


Today's common trend is that people want strong performance and greater fuel efficiency but single spark ignition engines fail to satisfy these needs now-a-day's complete combustion is not at all possible in automobiles due to various losses in combustion chamber and due various other design parameters. Thus the process of combustion is not at all instantaneous and therefore alternate solution to it is by burning the fuel as quickly as possible by using two spark plugs instead of one. An internal combustion (IC) engine has a predominant role in a low power generation and a virtual monopoly in mobile applications today. One of the best methods to improve the engine performance and reduce the exhaust emission in a SI engine is by using introduction of twin spark into the combustion chamber. Objective of this paper is to compare single spark ignition engine and the DTS-i engine on various parameters such as specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, exhaust gas emission and engine performance.


The aims of this study were to analyze the effect of environmental factors (age of bull, season of collection and frequency of ejaculation) and estimate the repeatability on semen quality of ongole grade bulls. Semen data were collected from Singosari National Artificial Insemination Centre, in Malang District, East Java Province, Indonesia. A total of 1.020 ejaculates collected from three Ongole grade cattle from 20122016 were analyzed. Data were analyzed by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method using the mixed model including the random effect of bull and the fixed effects of age of bull, season of collection, and ejaculate number. The results showed that age of bull and ejaculate number significantly affected all studied variables (P<0.01). Season only affected to sperm motility (P<0.01). Repeatability estimates of semen volume, sperm concentration, total number of sperm and sperm motility were 0.48; 0.42; 0.28; and 0.01, respectively. It was concluded that the age of the bull and frequency of ejaculation significantly affected semen quality of Ongole grade cattle. Repeatabilities for semen quality were low, moderate and high.


Though bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a favorable tool for assessing body composition to estimate nutritional status and physical fitness, such as sarcopenia, there are accuracy issues. Hence, high-frequency (HF) BIA equipment uses an additional frequency of 2 and 3 MHz and has been developed as a commercial model. However, there are no studies validating the accuracy and safety of HF-BIA. Therefore, this study aims to assess the validity of HF-BIA in analyzing body composition relative to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Appendicular lean mass (ALM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percentage of body fat (PBF) were assessed by HF-BIA and DEXA in 109 individuals; 50.5% (n = 55) were males. The average age and body mass index (BMI) were 43.4 ± 14.7 years and 25.5 ± 6.7 in males and 44.9 ± 14.1 years and 24.0 ± 6.4 in females, respectively. The HF-BIA results showed a high correlation with the DEXA results for assessing ALM (standard coefficient beta (β) ≥ 0.95), FFM (β ≥ 0.98, coefficient of determinations (R2) ≥ 0.95), and PBF (β ≥ 0.94, R2 ≥ 0.89). Body composition measured by HF-BIA demonstrated good agreement with DEXA in Korean adults.


Abstract Lead poisoning is an important threat to some raptor species, and the primary source of lead is through the ingestion of carcasses that have been shot with lead, which makes scavengers such as vultures particularly vulnerable. We examined the concentrations of lead in blood and bone tissue samples collected throughout the range of the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in southern Africa. This population is regionally critically endangered and it is not known to what extent lead poisoning may be a threat. Blood lead levels (0.62 ± 0.81 μg dL−1) from six live birds tested in 2017 indicated background levels of exposure to lead. Similarly, five live birds tested in 2009 using a less sensitive method all had blood lead levels <3 μg dL−1. Bone lead levels (11.79 ± 8.34 μg g−1) from eight birds that had died indicated lead exposure and accumulation over time, suggesting that lead may have contributed to their deaths. These levels of lead may be detrimental to the survival and fecundity of this small and declining population. Recommendations to address this threat include banning hunting and culling with lead ammunition, which is the most likely source of this pollutant. Such actions may reduce the population's susceptibility to other threats, which may be compounded by high lead levels, and help ensure the success of planned reintroduction programs.


Nanomedicine opens new therapeutic avenues for attacking viral diseases and for improving treatment success rates. Nanoparticulate-based systems might change the release kinetics of antivirals, increase their bioavailability, improve their efficacy, restrict adverse drug side effects and reduce treatment costs. Moreover, they could permit the delivery of antiviral drugs to specific target sites and viral reservoirs in the body. These features are particularly relevant in viral diseases where high drug doses are needed, drugs are expensive and the success of a therapy is associated with a patient's adherence to the administration protocol. This review presents the current status in the emerging area of nanoparticulate delivery systems in antiviral therapy, providing their definition and description, and highlighting some peculiar features. The paper closes with a discussion on the future challenges that must be addressed before the potential of nanotechnology can be translated into safe and effective antiviral formulations for clinical use.


Abstract Experiments were conducted at Ibadan, Nigeria to assess the effect of leaf trichome characteristics (pubescence intensity index, length, and orientation) on field resistance of cassava to the green spider mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar). There were significant (P < 0.01) differences in M. tanajoa density, damage score and leaf trichome characteristics among the cultivars. During the dry season (February, 1993 and 1994) and the early part of the rainy season (May, 1993), there were significant (P < 0.01) negative correlations between pubescence intensity index on the top leaves (leaf 3) and mite damage. Significant negative correlations were also obtained between trichome length and damage in the dry season (February, 1993) (P < 0.05), and between trichome orientation and mite damage in the rainy season (May, 1993) (P < 0.01). Correlation between pubescence intensity index and mite density on the top leaves was significant and positive only in the "middle" of the rainy season (August, 1993). A significant (P < 0.01) negative correlation was obtained between trichome orientation and mite density in the dry season (February, 1993). The results suggest that, during the dry season, a high pubescence intensity significantly reduces leaf damage by M. tanajoa through mechanical disturbance of movement and feeding. Trichome length is more important than trichome orientation in cassava resistance to M. tanajoa.


ABSTRACT Long-distance commuting (LDC) in Australia has become an entrenched workforce practice. Work force mobility is not limited to the mining sector although for more than a decade, the scale of LDC in the resources industries has been contentious. A diverse range of workforce supply, logistical and employee preference reasons have contributed to the existence of LDC arrangements throughout Australia across many industry sectors. The economic and social consequences of LDC are also varied and complex. This article reports on research conducted with three case-study communities in rural, regional and remote locations where local residents regularly work long periods of time away from home (source communities) in the mining industry. The research analysed the socio-economic impacts on the workers, families, communities and businesses from source communities. Results show that LDC had benefits and by synthesising the key learnings of LDC, potential benefits for regional and community development are highlighted.


In order to achieve fast convergence and less computation for adaptive filters, a joint method combining a whitening process and the NLMS algorithm is a hopeful approach. However, updating the filter coefficients is not synchronized with the reflection coefficient updating, resulting in unstable behavior. We analyze the effects of this, and propose the "synchronized learning algorithm" to solve this problem. The synchronous error between them is removed, and fast convergence and small residual error are obtained. This algorithm, however, requires O(ML) computations, where M is an adaptive filter length, and L is a lattice predictor length. It is still large compared with the NLMS algorithm. In order to achieve less computation while the fast convergence is maintained, a block implementation method is proposed. The reflection coefficients are updated at some period, and are fixed during this interval. The proposed block implementation can be effectively applied to parallel form adaptive filters, such as sub-band adaptive filters. Simulation using speech signals shows that the learning curve of the proposed block implementation is a little slower than our original algorithm, but can save computational complexity.


ABSTRACT DNA methylation is commonly associated with gene silencing, and a link between histone deacetylation and DNA methylation has been established. However, the transcriptional impact of the position and length of methylated zones relative to the promoter and the coding region of a gene remains quite unclear. This study investigates the impact of regional methylation on transcription and the relationship between DNA methylation and histone acetylation. Using patch-methylated stable episomes in human cells, we establish the pivotal importance of the location of DNA methylation in the regulation of transcription. We further demonstrate that the size of the methylated patch is not a key determinant for transcriptional suppression. The impact of DNA methylation on transcription is greater when it is in the transcription unit, and it is primarily a local effect. However, methylation outside of the transcription unit may potentiate the effect of methylation within the transcription unit. Acetylated histones are associated with unmethylated DNA and are nearly absent from methylated DNA regions. This association appears to be local and does not propagate along the DNA.


Application of a LED-photodiode optocouple for the study of human respiratory function is considered. The optocouple operating in the middle-infrared part of the spectrum (with the peak of the LED emission at 4.1 μm at 300 K) was applied for monitoring changes in CO2 concentration during respiration of a human. Studies were carried out simultaneously with the measurements of pressure in the left and right halves of the nose cavity. The results of the study open possibilities for using infrared optocouples as sensitive elements in compact and cheap sensors detecting breath abnormalities associated with respiratory and other diseases.


The health system in Argentina is characterized by its fragmentation and multiplicity of actors, affecting the coverage and quality of the provision, despite having a level of health spending that is not far from that of developed countries. In this context, the question is how to improve the quality of services through a reallocation of health expenditure. Additionally, the demographic change will have an impact on public health expenditure, which generates the additional question of how to finance the increase in expenditures, within a framework of fiscal federalism where there are responsibilities at the federal and subnational levels.


Zach Jordan (a real person but not his real name), the owner of a small business in Connecticut, may not be able to compete any longer in the spring manufacturing industry. Overseas competition has put him at a significant cost disadvantage, and the losses continue to mount year after year. At the same time, he's deeply committed to care for his handful of employees — people who are dependent on him and who he considers "family." Now at a crossroads, he faces an apparent dilemma: (1) gamble $200,000 on rent to extend the jobs of his employee family or (2) liquidate the business while it's still worth something, sending his employees to the unemployment line during a bad economy. There may be other, more attractive options and identifying them and selecting from among them is largely what this case is about. Framed from a Christian worldview, the case comes down to this: In an intensely competitive environment, how can we faithfully serve employee needs while effectively stewarding the business?


This document has the purpose of presenting the result of investigation works carried out in a larger study of Didactic Doctorship, which as the objective the development of a formation program to kindergarten educators, in order to implement a experimental work in their didactic-pedagogic practice, according to the current curriculum guidelines for children, with more emphases a CTS. The data presented, are the first part of the study, and they are the result of information gathered through a questionnaire survey, undertaken as the diagnosis of kindergarten educators from public and private schools, in the district of Bragança.


The paper presents a noninvasive method of estimating the bioheat transfer equation (BHTE) parameters (namely, thermal diffusivity, K, and the normalized local heat source, Q) in situ during HIFU therapy. The method analyses the raw acoustic backscatter data using novel signal processing techniques. First, a heat exposure at sub-ablative intensities is performed to determine K, followed by another at therapeutic intensities to obtain Q. In vitro experiments, performed in a tissue-mimicking alginate phantom, demonstrate that the noninvasive estimates of K and Q are in good agreement with those obtained independently using established methods. The results show potential for the applicability of these techniques in therapy planning and monitoring for therapeutic dose optimization using real-time temperature feedback.


Recent development of the structure formation theory based on the cold dark matter scenario implies that a number of larger separation lensed quasars, for which a confirmed detection has not yet been achieved, will be observed in the ongoing large-scale surveys such as the 2dF survey and SDSS. We show that statistics of such large separation lenses can be a powerful probe of the density profile of dark halos. After we summarize the current status of the lens surveys in the 2dF and SDSS, we focus our discussion on what information can be extracted from these lens surveys. In addition, we also propose statistics of differential time delays between multiple images as an alternative probe of the density profile of dark halos.


Diversity has been identified as one of the key dimensions of recommendation utility that should be considered besides the overall accuracy of the system. A common diversification approach is to rerank results produced by a baseline recommendation engine according to a diversification criterion. The intent-aware framework is one of the frameworks that has been proposed for recommendations diversification. It assumes existence of a set of aspects associated with items, which also represent user intentions, and the framework promotes diversity across the aspects to address user expectations more accurately. In this paper we consider item-based collaborative filtering and suggest that the traditional view of item similarity is lacking a user perspective. We argue that user preferences towards different aspects should be reflected in recommendations produced by the system. We incorporate the intent-aware framework into the item-based recommendation algorithm by injecting personalised intent-aware covariance into the item similarity measure, and explore the impact of such change on the performance of the algorithm. Our experiments show that the proposed method improves both accuracy and diversity of recommendations, offering better accuracy/diversity tradeoff than existing solutions.


Callus derived from cotyledons of 'Fuji' apple were cultured on 1/3 MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BA and NAA. The effects of BA, TDZ, and CPPU at 1.0 to 8.0 mg • liter -1 on shoot regeneration from calli and NAA on subcultured calli were investigated. 1. Cotyledons produced callus profusely when cultured on a medium supplemented with 0 to 4.0 mg • liter -1 BA and 0.5 to 10.0 mg • liter -1 NAA. Callus formation occurred only at the proximal part of the cotyledon exposed to 0 or 0.1 mg • liter -1 NAA. However, calli formed from the distal and middle regions at 0.5 mg • liter 1 NAA or higher. 2. Callus morphology was dependent on concentrations of NAA and BA. With NAA alone, soft calli were produced, whereas at 0.5 to 4.0 mg • liter -1 BA and at combinations of 0 to 0.1 mg • liter -1 NAA and 0.5 to 8.0 mg • liter -1 BA hairy calli were induced. Combinations of 10.0 mg liter -1 NAA and 2.0 to 10.0 mg • liter -1 BA gave rise to globular calli. 3. When globular calli were cultured on the medium with 4.0 mg • liter -1 CPPU and 0 NAA and then subcultured onto a fresh medium at 2-week interval for 6 weeks, 60% of the callus explants regenerated shoots; about 12 shoots per callus were obtained 12 weeks after beginning the experiment. TDZ also produced a positive effect on shoot regeneraiton from callus, but the percentage of explants forming shoots and the number of shoots formed were less than those treated with CPPU. The effect of BA on shoot formation from callus was comparatively weak. The addition of 0.1 mg • liter -1 NAA to CPPU greatly reduced the number of shoots regenerated.


Interviews were conducted with 67 Black and non-Hispanic White adolescents to gain detailed descriptions of personal and ethnic identities, perceptions of drugs and drug use norms, and reports of their own drug use behavior. In addition, this study examined ways in which ethnic identity and perceptions of cultural norms were linked to adolescent drug use attitudes. Findings imply that perceptions of culturally specific norms may be related to adolescent drug use attitudes and behavior. The authors argue for increased health campaign prevention efforts directed at erroneous perceptions of ethnic cultural norms.


A novel technique is proposed and demonstrated for processing interpenetrating ceramic–metal composites by the infiltration of molten metals/alloys into ceramic foams utilizing a current-activated, pressure-assisted technique. Ti2AlC foams were prepared and used as the infiltration preform. Aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061) has been infiltrated into the Ti2AlC foams, resulting in AA6061/Ti2AlC composites. The microstructure, composition, and distribution of phases in the composites were studied. The AA6061/Ti2AlC composites were studied under compression testing, and the results were compared with those of the pure components of the composites. Advantages of this method in comparison to other methods for processing metal–ceramic composites are discussed.


The paper is devoted to a mathematical model of concurrency the special case of which is asynchronous system. Distributed asynchronous automata are introduced here. It is proved that the Petri nets and transition systems with independence can be considered like the distributed asynchronous automata. Time distributed asynchronous automata are defined in standard way by the map which assigns time intervals to events. It is proved that the time distributed asynchronous automata are generalized the time Petri nets and asynchronous systems.


The photophysical properties of seven lumines- cent iridium complexes are characterized in their single-crystal form, and the photoactivity is related to their molecular structures. Specifically, solid-state optical emission spectra and associated lifetimes are determined from single crystals of iridium complexes containing three bidentate ligands: two variously substituted 2-phenylbenzothiazoles and either a 2,4- pentadione (acetylacetone) or 2-pyridinecarboxylic (picolinic) acid. All complexes studied exhibit emissive behavior in the solid-state which originates from 3 π−π* and metal-to-ligand- charge-transfer (MLCT) electronic transitions; this is supported by density functional theory. Phosphorescence is observed in all cases with microsecond lifetimes, ranging from 0.30 to 2.4 μs at 298 K and 1.4−4.0 μs at 100 K. Structure−property relationships are established which are relevant to the potential solid-state application of this series of luminescent complexes as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) material components. In addition, these materials are assessed for their suitability to time-resolved pump−probe photocrystallography experiments, which will reveal their photoexcited state structure. Accordingly, the design process by which materials are selected and technical parameters are defined for a photocrystallography experiment is illustrated. This family of complexes presents a case study for this photocrystallography material profiling. Results show that the time- resolved photoexcited state structure, featuring the MLCT transition is, in principle at least, viable for two of these complexes.


Obesity is increasing around the world, and with it the risk of cardiovascular disease

Given the rising global epidemic of obesity,1 it is likely that adverse health consequences of excess adiposity will escalate in the future. In this context, several investigators have described the adverse effects of obesity on the heart.2,3 Obesity has been linked to a spectrum of cardiovascular changes ranging from a hyperdynamic circulation,2 through subclinical cardiac structural changes4 to overt heart failure.5

Obesity is associated with haemodynamic overload.2,3 The increased metabolic demand imposed by the expanded adipose tissue and augmented fat-free mass in obesity results in a hyperdynamic circulation with increased blood volume. In addition to the increased preload, left ventricular (LV) afterload is also elevated in obese individuals due to both increased peripheral resistance and greater conduit artery stiffness.6 Right ventricular afterload may be increased, presumably due to associated sleep disordered breathing and LV changes.3

Obesity is associated with atrial and ventricular remodelling (fig 1), known precursors of atrial and ventricular dysfunction, respectively. Obese individuals have larger left atrial size,7 related both to an expanded intravascular volume and to altered LV filling properties (see below). Both eccentric and concentric patterns of LV hypertrophy (LVH) have been described in overweight people,4,8 with the former being more common.8 The extent of cardiac remodelling in obesity increases with its severity and duration,3 and is exacerbated by concomitant …


In this work, a developed e-learning system for the final project of engineering undergraduate students is evaluated as a miniature of engineering education in one of the Indonesian universities (i.e., Universitas Gadjah Mada). Several challenges faced during the system realization have been accommodated by involving the use of both learning materials and experiences. For its problem-solving approach, Fink's taxonomy has been combined in a system with semantic technology, based on the ontology method. Therefore, the results of ontology design can then be integrated to the learning management system (LMS) of Moodle, which allows semantic resource queries. By means of the e-learning experimental results with six components of Fink's taxonomy as the measurement aspects, it is obviously shown that the e-learning system has significantly influenced the application, learning how to learn, integration, and foundational knowledge aspects. Moreover, it provides a strong indication that the realized system can assist engineering undergraduate students to reduce the required duration of their final projects.


Di-substituted cyclohexyl (DSC) derivatives inhibit the voltage-gated potassium channel, K(v)1.3, and have immunosuppressant activity (Schmalhofer et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 7781-7794). This class of inhibitors displays Hill coefficients of near 2 in functional assays, and trans DSC analogues appear to selectively interact with K(v)1.3 channel conformations related to C-type inactivation. To further understand the details of the DSC inhibitor interaction with potassium channels, trans-1-(N-n-propylcarbamoyloxy)-4-phenyl-4-(3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-2-azaprop-1-yl)cyclo-hexane (trans-NPCO-DSC) was radiolabeled with tritium, and its binding characteristics to K(v)1.3 channels were determined. Specific binding of [(3)H]-trans-NPCO-DSC to K(v)1.3 channels is a saturable, time-dependent, and fully reversible process. Saturation binding isotherms and competition binding experiments are consistent with the presence of two receptor sites for DSC derivatives on the K(v)1.3 channel that display positive allosteric cooperativity. The high affinity interaction of [(3)H]-trans-NPCO-DSC with K(v)1.3 channels appears to correlate with the rates of C-type inactivation of the channel. These data, taken together, mark the first demonstration of the existence of multiple binding sites for an inhibitor of an ion channel and suggest that the high affinity interaction of trans-NPCO-DSC and similar inhibitors with K(v)1.3 channels could be exploited for the development of selective molecules that target this protein.


This work demonstrates the first 3D printed wearable motor-sensory module prototype designed for facial rehabilitation, focusing on facial paralysis. The novelty of the work lies in the fast fabrication of the first fully soft working prototype, including feedback control, with a focus on the methodology for individual customization. Facial paralysis results from a variety of conditions, and more wearable and modular technologies are needed to address the complexity of facial movement rehabilitation. Smiling muscles are especially important for both expression and eating, and so this work focuses on this motion as an example of how the module can be applied to mimic and support needed muscle movement. A generalized actuator-sensor pair with a feedback control system is created to translate signals from smiling on the healthy side of the face (notably temporal and zygomatic branch) to actuation on the paralyzed side of the face for augmented physiotherapy. Fabric and a sensor fluid are integrated during the silicone printing process to create a multicomponent wearable that is ready to use with minimal postprocessing. The actuators' force and vertical contraction results under a 0.98 and 1.96 N load meet the 1-7 N requirements needed for smiling. It is a challenge to measure soft surface-based force and contraction ratio consistently; therefore, a novel modular surface is designed to simulate the interaction of skin and bone using 3D printed hard plastic (bone) and a silicone sheet (skin). The actuator is tested on top of four different repeatable and standardized surface morphologies, and results reveal that the actuator force application will vary based on topography and hardness of the facial surface. Demonstration of the complete system on the face while collecting sensor and pressure data serves as a proof-of-concept and motivates potential applications in rapid customization of highly specialized soft wearable orthotics, prosthetics, and rehabilitation devices. This unique actuator-sensor combination can have additional applications for wearables due to the (1) customizability, (2) closed-loop control, and (3) unique "grounding" test platform.


The blades of wind turbines placed in cold climate regions are exposed to the risk of icing phenomena which impact their lifetimes. This paper proposes a numerical model to simulate 50 mm ice thickness localized on the tip side of a horizontal wind turbine blade, and to study its mechanical behavior. The wind turbine blade wasmodeled with the finite element method (FEM)in ABAQUS software taking into account aerodynamic, centrifugal and inertial loads under the conditions of service of the blade.Numerical tests haveevaluated the behavior of different composite materials and compared with each other. Damage mode based on the Hashin criteria was defined. Carbon fibers were considered to be the most rigid material which results in thinner, stiffer and lighter blades.


: The whole-body exposure of mice to 0.1 Gy gamma-radiation resulted in stimulation of T-cell dependent humoral immune response in lymph nodes. At the same time enhancement of susceptibility of immunocompetent cells to damaging effect of hydroquinone was observed. Under irradiation with doses of 0.5 or 1 Gy which cause dose-dependent immunosuppression, hydroquinone induced stimulation of antigen production.


In Europe and in Italy, Universities are pressured to increase their performance. As a matter of fact, recently, several national governments have introduced quasi-market mechanism, pursuing the aim of encourage competition among Universities, improving efficiency, effectiveness and increasing economic viability. In this scenario, the practice of benchmarking is becoming more important as it provides a realistic approach for assessing the performance in critical areas for learning from the experience of other organisations. However, the majority of performance indicators only refers to the two main core activities of University (research and teaching), underestimating the economical-financial performances. The idea is to provide managers with a multidimensional performance evaluation system, which also consider the accounting dimension as an essential element to support strategic decisions. The paper aims to define a set of balance sheet ratios, which take into account the peculiarity of University management, meanwhile developing data-benchmarking process for monitoring and compare economic and financial dynamic in higher education institutions.


A waveguide N2, laser was used to pump rhodamine 6G, the most widely used laser dye. The energy characteristics and the spatial structure of the radiation were investigated. In a nonselective cavity the dye laser emitted pulses of 200 W power and of 2 ns duration. The efficiency of conversion of the pump radiation was 3.5%.


The Chinese landmass, as a composite region, consists of multiple small continental blocks, such as Sino‐Korea, Yangtze, Tarim, etc., and orogenic belts. Because of its distinctive tectono‐sedimentary evolution, China's oil/gas‐bearing regions differ remarkably from that elsewhere in the world. For instance, in comparison to the Middle East oil/gas‐bearing regions which are characterized by Mesozoic‐Cenozoic marine oil/gas‐bearing beds, early oil and gas discoveries in China are distributed mainly in Mesozoic‐Cenozoic continental sedimentary basins. Generation of oil from terrestrial organic matter, or terrestrial oil generation, and the formation of large oil/gas fields in continental sedimentary basins were previously the major characteristics of petroleum geology of China. However, in the past 20 years, a series of major oil and gas discoveries from marine strata have been made. Marine oil/gas fields in China are mainly distributed in the Tarim, Sichuan, and Ordos basins, which are tectonically stable and covered with Mesozoic‐Cenozoic deposits. In these basins, hydrocarbon‐bearing strata are of old age and the oil/gas fields are commonly deeply‐buried. Cumulatively, 995 oil/gas fields have been found so far, making China the fourth largest oil‐producing country and the sixth largest gas‐producing country in the world. In terms of petroleum and natural gas geology, theories of hydrocarbon generation from continental strata, such as terrestrial oil generation and coal‐generated hydrocarbons, etc., have been established. Significant progress has been made in research on the sequence stratigraphy of continental strata, formation mechanisms of ultra‐deep clastic reservoirs, and hydrocarbon accumulation in the continental subtle reservoir. Regarding research on the marine petroleum geology of China, with respect to the major characteristics, such as deeply‐buried reservoirs, old strata, and multiple phases of transformation, important advances have been made, in areas such as the multiple‐elements of hydrocarbon supply, formation of reservoirs jointly controlled by deposition, tectonic activities, and diagenetic fluid‐rock reactions, and oil/gas reservoirs formed through superimposed multi‐stage hydrocarbon accumulation. As more and more unconventional hydrocarbon resources are discovered, unconventional oil and gas reservoirs are under study by Chinese petroleum geologists, who endeavor to come up with new discoveries on their formation mechanisms.


(–)-5-18F-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (18F-FEOBV) is a vesamicol derivative that binds selectively to the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) and has been used in preclinical studies to quantify presynaptic cholinergic nerve terminals. This study presents, to our knowledge, the first-in-human experience with 18F-FEOBV, including radiation dosimetry, biodistribution, tolerability and safety in human subjects, and brain kinetics and methods for quantitative analysis of 18F-FEOBV. Methods: Whole-body 18F-FEOBV scans were obtained in 3 healthy human volunteers. Seven additional subjects underwent dynamic brain imaging 0–120, 150–180, and 210–240 min after bolus injection of 18F-FEOBV. Arterial blood sampling was performed with chromatographic identification of authentic 18F-FEOBV to determine the arterial plasma input function. Analysis methods included nonlinear least-squares fitting of a 2-tissue-compartmental model, reference tissue modeling, and late single-scan imaging. Results: No pharmacologic or physiologic changes were observed after intravenous administration of up to 1.3 μg of 18F-FEOBV. Radiation dosimetry estimates indicate that more than 400 MBq may be administered without exceeding regulatory radiation dose limits. Kinetic analysis showed brain uptake to be relatively high with single-pass extraction of 25%–35%. VAChT binding estimates varied by a factor of greater than 30 between the striatum and cortex. Coefficients of variation in k3 estimates varied from 15% to 30%. Volume of distribution measures yielded a dynamic range of approximately 15 but with little reduction in variability. Reference tissue approaches yielded more stable estimates of the distribution volume ratio (1 + BPND), with coefficients of variation ranging from 20% in the striatum to 6%–12% in cortical regions. The late static distribution of 18F-FEOBV correlated highly with the distribution volume ratio estimates from reference tissue models (r = 0.993). Conclusion: 18F-FEOBV PET confirms that the tracer binds to VAChT with the expected in vivo human brain distribution. Both reference tissue modeling and late static scanning approaches provide a robust index of VAChT binding.


Background: In fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-induced contact hypersensitivity models, dibutyl phthalate has been empirically used as a solvent ingredient. We have demonstrated that dibutyl phthalate has an adjuvant effect through the facilitation of trafficking FITC-presenting dendritic cells (DC) from the skin to draining lymph nodes. Here we investigated the effects of local pretreatment with substances that are capable of desensitizing sensory neurons in the sensitization phase. Methods: Local pretreatment of BALB/c mice with capsaicin (epicutaneous), allyl isothiocyanate (epicutaneous) or a truncated form of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP8–37; intradermal) was performed before contact sensitization to FITC. The ear swelling test was employed to monitor sensitization. The appearance of FITC-presenting CD11c-positive cells in the draining lymph nodes was detected by flow cytometry. Cytokine production in local lymph node cell cultures was determined by ELISA. Results: The ear swelling response was reduced in mice pretreated with capsaicin or allyl isothiocyanate. DC trafficking and maturation (based on the levels of costimulators CD80 and CD86) were inhibited. Interleukin-4 production by local lymph nodes was suppressed with allyl isothiocyanate but not with capsaicin. Pretreatment with CGRP8–37 suppressed sensitization to FITC. Conclusions: Local pretreatment with substances that are capable of desensitizing sensory neurons through the respective transient receptor potential channels suppressed skin sensitization to FITC in a mouse model. This was associated with reduced trafficking and maturation of FITC-presenting DC. A CGRP antagonist also suppressed the sensitization to FITC, suggesting the possible involvement of sensory neurons in sensitization.


This study is entitled 'Acquiring Wisdom through the Imagination.' It is a heuristic inquiry attempting to understand noumenal or spiritual reality as it breaks through from unconscious levels into people's personal lives and stories. This study is therefore problematic, as according to Neo-Kantian philosophers, it is not possible to go beyond the phenomenal "World of Appearances" in our quest for knowledge. However, this study suggests that though science cannot test, measure or verify noumenal reality, it can attempt an understanding. If it were to do so, this is what it might look like. This study is; therefore, a sort of "as if" doctrine that explores the Neo-Kantian debate from a theoretical point of view. But it also provides experiential evidence of an approach to the noumenal via the unconscious mind. This is suggested through field-generated research. Using visualised colour as an imaginal catalyst, I have shown that by turning our observation within, to the innermost reaches of the psyche, we can move from phenomenal to noumenal reality. Indeed, I have suggested that this is an unavoidable act---that inner processes of discovery invariably affect and influence outer processes of discovery. One of the ways in which I have verified this is through matching inner, experienced phenomenon, within the wider field of derived knowledge. I have thus used interpretative frameworks from many paradigms, such as science, transpersonal psychology, stress pathology, spirituality and art. This research is; therefore, a creative synthesis of experiential evidence and philosophical theoretical argument. One of the outcomes of this synthesis is a new Mandala of the Psyche, which I have developed as a visual aid for use in learning cycles and personal development analysis. It suggests that there are different levels of subtle reality and a priori. And it incorporates explicit definitions of intuition and tacit knowing.


Interleukin (IL-)6 is the major pro-inflammatory cytokine within the IL-6 family. IL-6 signals via glycoprotein 130 (gp130) and the membrane-bound or soluble IL-6 receptor (IL-6R), referred to as classic or trans-signaling, respectively. Whereas inflammation triggers IL-6 expression, eventually rising to nanogram/ml serum levels, soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R) and soluble gp130 (sgp130) are constitutively present in the upper nanogram/ml range. Calculations based on intermolecular affinities have suggested that systemic IL-6 is immediately trapped in IL-6·sIL-6R and IL-6·sIL-6R·sgp130 complexes, indicating that sIL-6R and sgp130 constitute a buffer system that increases the serum half-life of IL-6 or restricts systemic IL-6 signaling. However, this scenario has not been experimentally validated. Here, we quantified IL-6·sIL-6R and IL-6·sIL-6R·sgp130 complexes over a wide concentration range. The amounts of IL-6 used in this study reflect concentrations found during active inflammatory events. Our results indicated that most IL-6 is free and not complexed with sIL-6R or sgp130, indicating that the level of endogenous sgp130 in the bloodstream is not sufficient to block IL-6 trans-signaling via sIL-6R. Importantly, addition of the single-domain antibody VHH6, which specifically stabilizes IL-6·sIL-6R complexes but did not bind to IL-6 or sIL-6R alone, drove free IL-6 into IL-6·sIL-6R complexes and boosted trans-signaling but not classic signaling, demonstrating that endogenous sIL-6R has at least the potential to form complexes with IL-6. Our findings indicate that even though high concentrations of sIL-6R and sgp130 are present in human serum, the relative ratio of free IL-6 to IL-6·sIL-6R allows for simultaneous classic and trans-signaling.


Current DNA electrophoretic solutions employ high ionic concentrations and require long electrophoretic run times. Here we demonstrate that high and low molecular weight double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), and RNA can be separated rapidly in agarose-based low-molarity conductive media. Separation of small DNA fragments was optimized by substituting 1-mM solutions of alkali metals or a nonbiological amine that distributed voltage with a minute current. These ultra-dilute solutions can separate DNA at least 15-fold faster Low-molarity media at 5-10 mM adequately separated RNA and larger DNA fragments as well. These novel media reduce the Joule heating of the electrophoretic system and allow for easy-to-use, ultra-fast separation of DNA fragments.