After decades of pressing for the decriminalization of same-sex conduct, advocates around the globe have increasingly urged states to use the power and authority of criminal law to address bias against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. In dozens of countries as diverse as Angola, Ecuador, Malta, Mongolia, and Taiwan, lawmakers have criminalized various forms of anti-LGBT conduct and proscribed them with lengthy periods of incarceration. This embrace of criminalization has often been articulated in the language of human rights, using that framework to expand rather than curb the scope of criminal law.

In this Article, I look to debates over LGBT rights to analyze what I call discriminalization, or the adoption and application of carceral penalties for discriminatory conduct. I argue that the growing use of discriminalization raises difficult questions about anti-discrimination law and human rights, which necessitate an appreciation of the injuries inflicted by discrimination, the injuries inflicted by carceral punishment, and the complexities of a framework that meaningfully protects human rights when these harms are in tension.

The Article explores these questions in three parts. Part I reviews critiques of criminalization, and particularly carceral punishment, as a response to offenses targeting marginalized groups. I draw in particular from racial justice literature and critiques of carceral feminism to map out some of the complexities of using criminal law to demonstrate that targeted violence is being taken seriously. Part II documents some of the ways that LGBT advocates have embraced discriminalization in recent years, focusing on three issues – discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and the provision of goods and services; demeaning or degrading speech; and so-called "conversion therapy," or efforts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. Using a data set of LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination laws in these three areas, I chart how discriminalization has been enshrined in law and practice, and raises questions that extend beyond the LGBT context to anti-discrimination law more generally. Part III asks whether the human rights framework offers any useful tools for those who wish to take stigmatic harm seriously while keeping the creep of the carceral state at bay. I consider dignity-maximizing approaches, abolitionist frameworks, and proportionality as three avenues that human rights advocates might take to mediate this tension. By drawing a distinction between the doctrinal strictures of human rights law and the discretion that human rights advocates utilize in practice in deciding when and how to advance LGBT rights, I propose a modified proportionality approach for advocates that attends to both the specificities of anti-LGBT hostility and the conditions of criminalization in a given context. Such an approach is more flexible, pragmatic, and attuned to grounded notions of justice than the absolutist positions that have thus far guided discriminalization debates. I conclude by acknowledging the limits of such an approach, arguing for a principled retreat from discriminalization and a stronger emphasis on proactive measures to address stigma.


FEVER is one of the most frequently encountered problems facing the pediatrician. Often he prescribes an antipyretic agent in conjunction with treatment for the basic disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the antipyretic efficacy of three commonly used drugs: acetaminophen, aspirin, and salicylamide. We also wanted to determine whether there were any differences in the onset, peak, and duration of action of these drugs. Method of Study The study included 150 infants and children, each with a minimum temperature of 102 F (38.9 C). They were divided into three groups: A, B, and C. Each group contained 50 patients. Random selection was used in determining which group a patient would join. The patients in group A received acetaminophen; group B, aspirin; group C, salicylamide. The patients had received no antipyretic therapy for at least four hours prior to the start of the observation period. One of the


The purpose of the investigation was to study the pattern of 99mTc (MIBI) technitrile uptake in the metastatically involved lymph nodes in breast cancer, by applying the plain scintigraphic technique. The scintigraphic study of the breast and regional metastatic areas by means of the radionuclide 99mTc (MIBI) technitrile was made on a Millennium GE tomographic gamma chamber. The radiotracer 550 (MBq) dissolved in 10-20 ml of saline solution was intravenously injected into the arm cubital vein contralaterally to the lesion. Following 20 minutes of injection of the agent, plain scintigraphy was carried out in three standard projections: frontal and two oblique ones. The scintigraphy was performed using a high-resolution collimator recording a 128 x 128 matrix image. The detector was maximally approximated to the organ being examined. A plain scintigraphic scan was recorded on each side for 10 minutes. By the degree of axillary lymph nodal involvement, the patients were divided into 3 groups in accordance with the international TNM classification: N0 (n = 55), N1 (n = 13), N2 (n = 4). Among 72 patients, axillary lymph nodes could be detected in 6, in 2 of them changes were not diagnosed by X-ray and ultrasound studies. The final pathomorphological study of intraoperative materials revealed axillary lymph nodal metastatic involvement in 17 patients. A micrometastasis in one lymph node was found in 1 patient. None of the radionuclide studies showed tumor spread in 5 cases. The sensitivity, specificity, and precision of the technique were 35.3, 100, and 84.7%, respectively. Thus, a combination of the high cost of the procedure, its radiation load on a patient, and its low sensitivity make the use of plain scintigraphy of axillary regions inexpedient in the complex of studies of the extent of breast cancer in the present development of technology.


The available literature on the uprising of 1857 is fairly voluminous. Successive generations of historians have studied the subject in its varied aspects. Their concern, however, quite often lay with long-term political issues, with questions of the growth of the colonial state, of nationalism, of the unity and integrity of the country. These problems were made central to the study of the rebellion not because they were of any relevance to the rebels but because contending imperialist and nationalist historians were seeking to accommodate the event in a longer time span of history.The rebellion of 1857 was thereby assimilated to a linear order related to a context that largely lay outside of the occurrence itself. To most early English writers the mutiny marked the watershed between Company rule and Crown rule, an interlude in the transition to a better imperial system. For Indian writers it was the beginning of India's struggle for national independence


This paper presents a new design of an experimental low power Wind Turbine Emulator (WTE) which has the advantage of being simple and easy to implement in practice. The proposed emulator takes into account the effect of Wind Turbine (WT) inertia as well as the nonlinearities in the system which make it suitable for all types of WTs. An efficient Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPpt) algorithm based on synergetic and backstepping nonlinear control theory has also been proposed to allow the WT to extract maximum power under a wide range of operating conditions. This is achieved by regulating the current at the input of the boost converter through these controllers. Furthermore, these nonlinear controllers considerably reduce the complexity of the design of the control scheme. Several experimental test are conducted to validate the MPPT strategy and the proposed control scheme using a dSPACE1104 board and MATLAB/Simulink environment, including different wind profiles and variable electrical load. The results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed WTE in reproducing the same mechanical behavior as the real turbine studied and the good performance achieved by the proposed MPPT control algorithm.


A multivariate statistical method called correspondence analysis was used to examine the codon usage of one-hundred-and-one nuclear genes of maize (Zea mays L.). Forty percent of the variation in codon usage was due to bias toward G or C-ending versus A or U-ending codons. Differences in levels of G-ending codons showed the weakest correlation with the major codon usage bias. The bias toward C or U versus A or G in the silent third nucleotide position of synonymous codons accounted for approximately 10% of the variation in codon usage. The G+C content of the silent third nucleotide position of coding regions was not strongly correlated with G+C content of introns. Codon usage was strongly biased toward codons ending in G or C for a number of highly expressed genes including most light-regulated chloroplast proteins, ABA-induced proteins, histones, and anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes. Codon usage of genes encoding storage proteins and regulatory proteins, such as transposases, kinases, phosphatases and transcription factors, was more random than that of genes encoding cytosolic enzymes with similar bias toward G or C-ending codons. Codon usage in maize may reflect both regional bias on nucleotide composition and selection on the silent third nucleotide position.


The brachiopod Cardiarina cordata, collected from a Late Pennsylvanian (Virgilian) limestone unit in Grapevine Canyon (Sacramento Mts., New Mexico), reveals frequent drillings: 32.7% (n = 400) of these small, invariably articulated specimens (<2 mm size) display small (<0.2 mm), round often beveled holes that are typically single and penetrate one valve of an articulated shell. The observed drilling frequency is comparable with frequencies observed in the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The drilling organism displayed high valve and site selectivity, although the exact nature of the biotic interaction recorded by drill holes (parasitism vs. predation) cannot be established. In addition, prey/host size may have been an important factor in the selection of prey/host taxa by the predator/parasite. These results suggest that drilling interactions occasionally occurred at high (Cenozoic-like) frequencies in the Paleozoic. However, such anomalously high frequencies may have been restricted to small prey/host with small drill holes. Small drillings in C. cordata, and other Paleozoic brachiopods, may record a different guild of predators/parasites than the larger, but less common, drill holes previously documented for Paleozoic brachiopods, echinoderms, and mollusks.


Since its inception in ancient Greece, Western philosophy had undergone two breaks with its past. The first was initiated by Descartes with his "method of doubt" which led to a questioning of the basic assumptions of classical philosophy, the second arose at the beginning of the 20th century and is associated with the movement now known as analytic philosophy. Clarke explains some of the crucial issues raised by the second philosophical revolution, and especially the differences between the early phase of analytic philosophy, covering roughly the first half of the 20th century, and the new phase which commenced about 1960. As the book surveys the direction of modern philosophy, it is able to combine discussion of cutting edge topics with an introduction to analytic philosophy for those with little background in logic or history of philosophy. The author traces the progression of the analytic movement from its origins, through its development by applications of logic to philosophical problems and by "ordinary language" philosophers. He then concentrates on the post-1960 phase, with its rejection of earlier views dominated by Wittgenstein's methods. The new phase features the development of a materialist metaphysics, the attempt to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences, and the attempt to reinstate normative ethics as a guide to conduct. Clarke defends the first phase against aspects of the second phase, arguing that contemporary materialism rests on the mistaken view that mental language has fact-stating functions, and that normative ethics imposes on moral reasoning a false intellectualist model.


Native acceptor centres in are studied using atomistic simulation techniques for which a new set of interatomic potential parameters consisting of two- and three-body terms is developed. Crystal lattice constants, elastic and low- and high-frequency dielectric constants are well reproduced in this atomistic model. The calculated formation energies for vacancies, interstitials and antisites in this material suggest that the intrinsic disorder is dominated by antisites in the cation sublattice followed by the Schottky and Frenkel defects. The acceptor centre identified by Hall-effect measurements and EPR is found to be related to the delocalized hole shared by the four As neighbours bound to CdGe. For this centre, calculations yield a binding energy of 0.13 eV in an agreement with the experimental value of 0.15 eV obtained by the Hall-effect measurements. Furthermore calculations provide the magnitude of the lattice distortion introduced by this acceptor centre in which can be used for the analysis of ENDOR experiments.


Spectral clustering is one of the most popular and important clustering methods in pattern recognition, machine learning, and data mining. However, its high computational complexity limits it in applications involving truly large-scale datasets. For a clustering problem with n samples, it needs to compute the eigenvectors of the graph Laplacian with O(n3) time complexity. To address this problem, we propose a novel method called anchor-based spectral clustering (ASC) by employing anchor points of data. Specifically, m (m ≪ n) anchor points are selected from the dataset, which can basically maintain the intrinsic (manifold) structure of the original data. Then a mapping matrix between the original data and the anchors is constructed. More importantly, it is proved that this data-anchor mapping matrix essentially preserves the clustering structure of the data. Based on this mapping matrix, it is easy to approximate the spectral embedding of the original data. The proposed method scales linearly relative to the size of the data but with low degradation of the clustering performance. The proposed method, ASC, is compared to the classical spectral clustering and two state-of-the-art accelerating methods, i.e., power iteration clustering and landmark-based spectral clustering, on 10 real-world applications under three evaluation metrics. Experimental results show that ASC is consistently faster than the classical spectral clustering with comparable clustering performance, and at least comparable with or better than the state-of-the-art methods on both effectiveness and efficiency.


A very important phase in construction of a pavement structure is the compaction process of the asphaltic mixture. It reflects a complex mechanism where many parameters are influential. These parameters are associated with the initial air voids content in the asphaltic mixture, aggregate gradation and angularity, asphalt binder content and its viscosity, asphaltic mixture layer thickness, compaction pattern, equipment and temperature cooling rate. In general, the pavement constructors perform the most of their decision making and planning process according to their engineering judgment and monitoring of field data. Although these methods are well accepted by the road industry, still the availability of a reliable software tool to simulate the mechanical behavior of the asphaltic mixtures during compaction and foreseeing the optimum compaction pattern is highly demanded. In this work, a compaction model for asphaltic materials is developed using the finite element software package COMSOL where it receives the input parameters such as initial air void and temperature dependent properties of granular structure bounded by asphalt binder and utilizes the Solid Mechanic Module and Heat Transfer Module within a time dependent analysis to simulate the compaction process of asphaltic mixtures by gyratory compaction.


This paper describes the evolution of an evidence-based management-research case study in the UK that has the potential to enhance the profile and status of nonprofit studies in the UK and beyond. Until recently, to evaluate the research quality of universities the UK relied on journal quality lists to guide their ratings. However, in recent years, these have been revised with the addition of impact case studies. In response, we developed a methodology and template for writing impact case studies for the nonprofit sector. The first case study using the new template was produced at the end of 2016, describing an evaluation framework for the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation's Place program in the UK. This complex regeneration project involved private, public, and voluntary sectors and demonstrated the efficacy of the multidimensional collaborative approach that helps communities regenerate after economic decline. Subscribe to JNEL


Research on subtitling has developed rapidly in most Western countries in the last two decades, resulting in a certain consensus about standards. In response to new social and political challenges, in recent years the focus of research has broadened to include the usability and effectiveness of subtitles for all audiences. However, research on subtitling in Chinese-speaking territories is lagging behind, although their audiovisual industry is very powerful and that the rate of citizens with accessibility problems is growing. This paper carries out a literature review that reveals a lack of guidelines regarding appropiate typefaces, size, color, exposition time and number of characters per line, as well as a scarcity of empirical and experimental approaches backing up current practices. At present, the manner information is displayed through subtitles prioritizes attractiveness over its effectiveness. Therefore, they are not inclusive enough, since they do not always meet the needs of particular audiences, such as the elderly, the visually impaired or the deaf or hard of hearing. This article synthesizes and critically reviews the state of the art, highlighting those aspects of Chinese subtitling practices that need further study vis-a-vis establishing guidelines to assure the information they convey is usable and effective for all audiences


The verification quality of a system on chip (SOC) design depends on the number of simulations that can be performed under time-to-market constraints. This in turn depends on both the simulation speed and the cost of multiple simulator licenses. Since HDL simulators are both slow and expensive, design quality suffers. This paper presents a methodology and associated tools for the use of RTL-accurate C models for fast and cost-effective verification.


AIM
To examine whether a healthy diet based on nutrient recommendations is associated with periodontal condition in smokers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Daily smokers from the cross-sectional Health 2000 Survey (BRIF 8901) in Finland were analysed in two age groups (30-49 and 50-79 years, n = 704 and 267) and according to the level of oral hygiene. Periodontal condition was measured as the number of sextants with gingival bleeding and teeth with ≥4 mm deepened periodontal pockets. Information on nutrition was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire and measured using the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and the Recommended Finnish Diet Score (RFDS).

RESULTS
In the total study population, no association between the scores and periodontal condition was observed. Among 30- to 49-year-old participants with good oral hygiene, diet scores associated inversely with the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets (p = .078 (BSDS) and p = .027 (RFDS)).

CONCLUSIONS
In a representative sample of Finnish adults who smoke, a healthy diet was not associated with periodontal condition. Among a younger age group with good oral hygiene, a healthy diet associated with better periodontal condition. Age and oral hygiene appeared to modify the association between diet and periodontal condition.


This paper adds to a growing group systems literature in the area of task-technology fit by investigating effects of group task pressure on perceptions of media effectiveness. A quasi-experiment was conducted using long-term participants in low-and high-level group task pressure treatments. Following treatment, participants rated email and face-to-face communication effectiveness on four task dimensions based on the well-known McGrath group task circumplex. Significant effects were found between treatments and among task dimensions, suggesting a number of implications for both practice and research.


1. Of 110 anemic patients observed in the determination of Heinz's body, the patients suffering from aplastic anemia gave the highest value and then those of leukemia, anchylostomiasis, Banti's syndrome, hemorrhagic anemia, essential chlorosis, aglanulocytosis, endocarditis lenta, and Welhoff's disease, in the order mentioned. 2. In the case of the domestic rabbits inoculated with sera of various anemics at the dose of 2cc/kg each, continuously for one week, the order of anemias, if arranged according to the rates of the Heinz-body appearance, will be aplastic anemia, leukemia, anchylostomiasis, Banti's syndrome, essential chlorosis, hemorrhagic anemia, and Welhoff's disease. From this result, practically no substance accelerating the formation of Heinz's body appears to be in the sera of hemorrhagic anemia and Welhoff's disease, while such substances may be thought to exist in the rest of anemic sera (although in the case of essential chlorosis, it is not definitely certain). 3. When the erythrocytes of normal person were left suspended in the sera of various anemics for 3 hours and these erythrocytes measured separately for Heinz's body, the order of diseases arranged according to the rates of the appearance of Heinz's body was more or less like as follows: aplastic anemia, leukemia, anchylostomiasis, Banti's syndrome, essential chlorosis, hemorrhagic anemia, and Welhoff's disease. 4. From these results, it is clear that whether the determination for Heinz's body be made with the blood directly tapped from the patient, or with the domestic rabbits receiving the anemic serum continuously for one week, or with the blood of normal person treated with an anemic serum, in vitro, any one of the three methods proves to be an invaluable aid in differentiation of the anemic patients and in determination of seriousness of the disease itself. Furthermore, it may be assumed that in the sera of the anemics, there exist some subclinic, intrinsic toxins which accelerate the formation of Heinz's body, and that the quantity of such toxins has an important bearing on the estimated values obtained from the blood directly drawn from the patients. Hence in the case of hemorrhagic anemia, the penetrability of Heinz's corpuscles through the wall of erythrocytes should be given an especial consideration. The serum of anemic patient has been found to accelerate the formation of Heinz's body even when made to act directly upon the erythrocytes of the normal persons, in vitro.


EPISTAXIS and hemoptysis due to a leech in the upper respiratory tract has been known for centuries. 1 Although extremely rare in western countries, it is by no means uncommon in Asia and Africa. 2,3 In the past eight years, no fewer than 54 cases have been treated in this department. They form the basis of the present report. Case Material Almost all the cases were farm workers or their families from nearby villages who gave a history of drinking water from open streams. Of the total of 54 cases, 47 or 87% were males. Their ages ranged from 2 to 64 years; the majority were between 30 and 40. Symptoms started within a few hours after ingestion. Often they would notice them on first waking in the morning. The first complaint was invariably bleeding. In 65%, it was hemoptysis and in 35% epistaxis. An additional symptom in the


As online platforms are striving to get more users, a critical challenge is user churn, which is especially concerning for new users. In this paper, by taking the anonymous large-scale real-world data from Snapchat as an example, we develop ClusChurn , a systematic two-step framework for interpretable new user clustering and churn prediction, based on the intuition that proper user clustering can help understand and predict user churn. Therefore, ClusChurn firstly groups new users into interpretable typical clusters, based on their activities on the platform and ego-network structures. Then we design a novel deep learning pipeline based on LSTM and attention to accurately predict user churn with very limited initial behavior data, by leveraging the correlations among users' multi- dimensional activities and the underlying user types. ClusChurn is also able to predict user types, which enables rapid reactions to different types of user churn. Extensive data analysis and experiments show that ClusChurn provides valuable insight into user behaviors, and achieves state-of-the-art churn prediction performance. The whole framework is deployed as a data analysis pipeline, delivering real-time data analysis and prediction results to multiple relevant teams for business intelligence uses. It is also general enough to be readily adopted by any online systems with user behavior data.


also state that in 40 patients, measured at varying intervals, therapy checked what had previously been a progressive loss of height. These observations confirm that the administration of the sex hormones may check the progress of osteoporosis, but it is quite another matter to conclude that the original condition was a disorder of the bone matrix secondary to hormonal deficiency. One might as justifiably argue that, because iron deficiency anaemia secondary to menorrhagia can be checked by the induction of an artificial menopause, the anaemia must have been due to ovarian overactivity.


This work focuses on the origin, the history and milestones that led to the conceptualization of sustainable de-velopment (SD). Not only is the concept of SD broad, but it is often used interchangeably with the more general (but sometimes also more specific) concept of sustainability. The concept of SD is analysed based on its devel-opment and relationships with sustainability and related scientific (theoretical) and practical concepts. The ra-tionale behind this work lies in clarifying the meaning of SD, including the concept of sustainability, and, on the basis of this, identifying the main ways of moving closer towards the aims of SD, including quality of life and wellbeing. The limitations of the concept are identified and summarized, as are the alternatives to SD and sus-tainability. The rationale behind this work lies not only in the clarifying of the SD concept, but also in the norma-tive evaluation of this concept in relation to the wellbeing and quality of life of the Earth's population for an infinite time period, while maintaining the supply of ecosystem services which the planet provides, taking into account that these resources are not only a source of people's wellbeing, but are essential for people's survival in general. Hence this work includes an in-depth sophisticated consideration of the SD concept based on its histori-cal development, with a focus on the most crucial milestones, as well as normative assessments of the concept resulting from this knowledge.


In virtualized networks, network functions are delivered as software running on generic hardware allowing service providers to dynamically allocate resources based on traffic and service demands. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is becoming a key enabler and consequently a hot research topic. Dynamic scaling of resources in NFV is a highly important challenge towards its implementation in real-life networks. In this paper, we propose a method to predict the required resources in the appropriate time to sustain true elasticity in NFV. The capacity of different Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) would increase/decrease in a way that the CPU utilization is maximized while the overall cost is minimized. In this paper, we present two strategies to predict the day-ahead CPU utilization. The first strategy is an offline scheduling method that helps managing elasticity in virtualized networks by predicting normal days events. The second one is an online scheduling approach that predicts the day-ahead CPU utilization during sudden peaks due to some unusual circumstances. In this paper, we also present new promising results that show the correlation between the control and data planes. Finally, we propose a hybrid algorithm that uses both strategies to efficiently handle elasticity in virtualized networks. The obtained results are encouraging and are all based on real-life data of mobile operator networks.


1. The factors responsible for seasonal variations in the growth of brown trout in any one environment are examined.

2. The probable basic importance of the water temperature is established. A critical temperature of 6°C. below which no growth takes place is deduced.

3. It is shown that the seasonal variations in growth observed do not result in corresponding variations in the width of the scale rings: such variations appear to be the direct result of fluctuations in available food supply.

4. Under natural conditions both water temperature and available food supply apparently act as limiting factors during the winter: during the summer, provided that the water temperature does not rise to a lethal level, only the available food supply is limiting.

5. The possible importance of light intensity as a limiting factor is indicated.

6. Differences in the growth rate of trout from different environments are also considered.

7. The role of dissolved calcium is investigated. It appears unlikely that the amount of dissolved calcium is responsible for the differences in trout growth in "hard" and "soft" waters.

8. It is suggested that such differences may be effected not by differences in the concentration of any one specific ion, but by departures from the optimum ionic balance brought about by variations in the relative concentration of any of the ions present.


Balinese carving is one of the arts and culture in Bali and have various types in its application, but the lack of information resulted in people do not really know the kinds of Balinese carving. Lack of information about Balinese carvings can be solved by utilizing advances in information technology in image processing, which is to make application that can recognize Balinese carvings. Applications that made is a mobile application that can be used on smartphones with Android operating system. The method that applied is Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB) that able to recognize the image of Bali carving based on the features keypoints. Carved image matching using Bruteforce Hamming Distance to find the similarity between features carved images so that they can be identified. The results of the accuracy of the research process recognition Balinese carving method ORB reaches the percentage of 48% Balinese carvings recognizable and 52% did not recognize, so it can be concluded the result method ORB is quite good to recognize Balinese carving.


A set of 21 loblolly pine families produced by crossing trees from east Texas were tested for resistance to fusiform rust disease. The parents of these families were surviving trees in stands that experienced extensive mortality in the 1960s due to southern pine beetle infestation. Seedlings were grown in tubes in a greenhouse and artificially inoculated with C. quercuum from five different sources of inoculum, each consisting of single gall collections of aeciospores. Four of the collections originated from galls on loblolly pine (C. q. fusiforme or Cqf), whereas the remaining collection was obtained from a shortleaf pine gall (C. q. echinatae or Cqe). Two of the Cqf inocula were collected from trees in Louisiana, while the others were obtained from trees in east Texas. A single collection of Cqf in each state and Cqe were taken from round-shaped galls, while the other two Cqf collections were taken from typical fusiform-shapaed galls.


A catheter-based transurethral ultrasound applicator with angularly directional heating patterns has been designed for prostate thermal therapy and evaluated in canine prostate in vivo using MRI to monitor and assess performance. The ultrasound transducer array (3.5 mm diameter tubular transducers, 180 degrees active sectors, approximately 7.5 MHz) was integrated to a flexible delivery catheter (4 mm OD), and encapsulated within an expandable balloon (35 mm x 10 mm OD, 80 ml min(-1) ambient water) for coupling and cooling of the prostatic urethra. These devices were used to thermally coagulate targeted portions of the canine prostate (n = 2) while using MR thermal imaging (MRTI) to monitor the therapy. MRI was also used for target definition, positioning of the applicator, and evaluation of target viability post-therapy. MRTI was based upon the complex phase-difference mapping technique using an interleaved gradient echo-planar imaging sequence with lipid suppression. MRTI derived temperature distributions, thermal dose exposures, T1-contrast enhanced MR images, and histology of sectioned prostates were used to define destroyed tissue zones and characterize the three-dimensional heating patterns. The ultrasound applicators produced approximately 180 degrees directed zones of thermal coagulation within targeted tissue which extended 15-20 mm radially to the outer boundary of the prostate within 15 min. Transducer activation lengths of 17 mm and 24 mm produced contiguous zones of coagulation extending axially approximately 18 mm and approximately 25 mm from base to apex, respectively. Peak temperatures around 90 degrees C were measured, with approximately 50 degrees C-52 degrees C corresponding to outer boundary t43 = 240 min at approximately 15 min treatment time. These devices are MRI compatible, and when coupled with multiplanar MRTI provide a means for selectively controlling the length and sector angle of therapeutic thermal treatment in the prostate.


encouragement. A child will likely encounter many different staff over the course of their pediatric care. This tool provides continuity in the IBD education and expectations and a means of assessing progress towards self care This is best done in age appropriate stages with consistent reinforcement enabling the patient, family and health care team to feel confident that independence has been achieved.


In This work an automatic solderability assessment method based on dynamic measurement of the weight of inspecting sample immersed in fluid solder, is introduced. The basic concept of measurement control and data storing software is presented. Measurement results made with designed application are shown.


A new approach is provided to facilitate the study of de-centalized resource allocation algorithms. Three algorithms are presented: the Arrow-Hurwicz algorithm, the center-free algorithm, and the Heal algorithm. For each algorithm, an associated network consisting of resistors, capacitors, and power supplies is found to exist. A one-to-one correspondence is proved between the equations describing these electrical networks and the equations governing the algorithms. With this correspondence, knowledge and intuition regarding electrical networks is demonstrated to facilitate the study of properties of these resource allocation algorithms.


Sewlal and Cutler (2003) and Cutler (2005) listed a total of 42 spider families known to occur in Trinidad and Tobago and an additional 12 that might be found based on their presence in nearby South America. The Table in this paper lists many of the defining characteristics for each family known to occur in these islands.


Abstract We made a regression analysis on the early IPO of venture capital investments in Korean IPO market. First, we found that it was likely to shorten the period to IPO in companies which were fast growing with a good operating cash flow, but these companies had a higher possibility of the earning management. Second, companies with more assets and larger size of the board of directors did not take companies public any earlier. Third, a better corporate governance also had no impact on the time period to IPO in the newly public firms. The findings above clearly show that venture-backed companies in Korea pursue the tendency of an early IPO. This phenomenon was much clearer when the companies were invested in by multiple venture capital firms than by a single investor. In general, venture capital firms invest in companies which are fast growing and which have a good operating cash flow. On the other side, venture capitals make investee companies go public earlier by manipulating operating earnings, so that they themselves may exit early. In conclusion, this research has shown that venture capitals in Korea do not play a positive role in the corporate transparency. This is the paradox of venture capital investment and this also shows the current status of Korean venture capital firms.


Study Design. Clinically based systematic review. Objective. To define optimal clinical care for primary spinal aggressive "benign" osseous neoplasms using a systematic review with expert opinion. Methods. Predefined focused questions on treatment of osteoblastomas, aneurysmal bone cysts and giant cell tumors were refined by a panel of spine oncology surgeons, medical and radiation oncologist. Keywords were searched through Medline and pertinent abstracts and articles obtained. The quality of literature was rated as high, moderate, low or very low. Based on literature review and expert opinion recommendations were composed through the GRADE system and rated as either strong or weak. Results. The literature searches revealed very low quality evidence with no prospective or randomized studies. There are a limited number of patients with aggressive primary osseous tumors. The osteoblastoma initial search identified 211 articles of which 17 were pertinent to the spinal questions. The aneurysmal bone cysts initial search revealed 482 articles initially of which 6 were pertinent; and the search on giant cell tumors identified 178 articles of which only 8 were focused on the predefined treatment questions. Conclusion. Spinal aggressive benign osseous neoplasms have varying histology. Despite these differences surgical treatment should be directed at gross resection of the tumor, understanding that this may be limited by anatomic confines and the potential for morbidity.


The purpose of this study is to develop a finite element model that accurately describes the buckling behavior of a spacer grid. The spacer grid is the most important component of a nuclear fuel assembly and supports the fuel rod with a structurally sufficient buckling strength. Therefore, the development of a reliable spacer grid model is essential to evaluate the mechanical integrity of a nuclear fuel assembly. To achieve this objective, a three-dimensional finite element model was proposed to simulate the buckling characteristics and mechanical behavior of a PWR spacer grid.
 To simulate the exact mechanical properties of the spacer grid cell, the parameter values required for the model were determined by conducting a fuel rod drag test and spacer grid spring/dimple stiffness test. Finally, a spacer grid static compression test and dynamic impact test were performed according to the gap size of the spacer grid cell, and the model was verified by comparing the test and analysis results. The results obtained using the developed spacer grid finite element model agreed well with the mechanical test results, and it was confirmed that both the buckling characteristics and mechanical behaviors of the model were accurately simulated by the proposed model.


This study aims to test the extended theory of planned behavior(TPB) in visitors` decision-making process in attending a nature-based festival. Three nature related constructs of environmental concerns, perceived customer effectiveness, and environment friendly tourism behavior were added to strengthen the conceptual foundation specific to the study setting. The results of the study reveal that all newly added environmentally conscious perception and behavioral constructs formed positive and significant causal relationship with other constructs. All antecedents except perceived behavioral control were statistically significant in explaining behavioral intention to revisit the nature-based festival in this study. The revised TPB synthesized the volitional elements (attitude and subjective norm), non-volitional elements (perceived behavioral control), and environmental elements (environmental concern, perceived customer effectiveness, and environment friendly tourism behavior) together to propose decision-making mechanism of festival visitors. The findings offer richer implications in understanding visitors` decision-making process that is strongly related to behavioral intention and suggest festival can be better planned and executed in a sustainable manner.


Fexofenadine HCl (Allegra, Telfast) is approved in the US for twice-daily dosing in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). A once-daily dose (already available in some countries outside the US) can improve patient compliance and health outcomes. This multicenter, placebo-controlled, 14-day US study was conducted to compare the safety and effectiveness of once-daily fexofenadine HCl with placebo in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe autumnal SAR symptoms. After a 1-week placebo lead-in, patients received 120 or 180 mg fexofenadine HCl or placebo at 8 A.M. Patients recorded SAR symptom severity scores instantaneously (for the 1 hour before medication; i.e., trough blood levels), and reflectively (for the previous 12 hours) at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M. The primary efficacy measure was change from baseline in average instantaneous 8 A.M. total symptom score (TSS, the sum of individual symptom scores excluding nasal congestion). In 861 intent-to-treat patients, both fexofenadine HCl doses provided significant (p < or = 0.05) improvement in 8 A.M. instantaneous TSS compared with placebo. Similarly, both fexofenadine doses were superior to placebo for reflective TSS assessments (p < or = 0.0012). There were no statistical differences in efficacy between the two fexofenadine doses, though the 180 mg dose showed a trend toward greater symptom relief. Incidence of adverse events was similar between fexofenadine and placebo groups (30.2% and 30.0%, respectively), with headache the most frequently reported adverse event (8.9% and 7.5%, respectively). In conclusion, once-daily fexofenadine HCl, 120 or 180 mg, is safe and effective in the treatment of autumnal SAR.


Objective Comparison of the auditory and subjective capabilities of 2 implantable bone conduction devices BAHA Divino Sound Processor (Divino) and the BAHA BP100 Sound Processor (BP100) using a daily alternating method. Study Design Open prospective comparative trial. Setting Tertiary referral otology and neurotology center. Patients Ten patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) using a Divino for more than 1 year. Interventions The patients with SSD changed to the BP100 for 1 week, and then underwent an evaluation period of 18 days switching between BP100 and Divino on a daily alternating basis. On a scale from 0 to 10, patients rated their quality of hearing daily with both devices concerning overall satisfaction, clearness of sound, and effort of listening in background noise. For the total duration of the trial, the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (SHQ) and the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) were administered. In the unaided condition and with Divino at baseline and aided with BP100 after the evaluation period, adaptive speech in quiet and in noise testing was performed with speech and noise coming from different azimuth angles. Main Outcome Measures Subjective rating in a diary, APHAB, SHQ, and aided speech in quiet and speech in noise. Results The diary shows significant improvement on all subscales with BP100 in comparison with Divino. These differences did not change significantly during 18 days. On the APHAB, listening in background noise and in reverberant conditions was rated significantly better with the BP100. The SHQ shows a significant difference between both devices on all subscales except for source localization and speech understanding in quiet. Speech audiometry showed a significant head shadow benefit with both implantable bone conduction devices (median [Q1, Q3]: Divino = 2.67 dB [0.33, 1.51], BP100 = 2.83 dB [4.08, 3.83]). There was no significant difference found between both devices. Conclusion Both the Divino and the BP100 reduce the handicap experienced by patients with SSD. Subjective assessment using a daily alternating method shows higher overall hearing capabilities with BP100. Results of the questionnaires are similar. Speech audiometry in noise does not reveal a statistically significant difference between both devices. A daily alternating method can provide useful information for both the patient and the audiologist because objective measurements do not show any statistically significant differences between patients. In our opinion, daily alternation of devices is a useful method to compare different devices.


ABSTRACT The evidence is now overwhelming that discrimination negatively impacts both the physical and mental health of minority groups. Members of multiple-minority groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people of color (LGBTQ-POC), are more likely to be exposed to experiences of stigmatization, discrimination, and fear of rejection. However, whether the stress of having these unfavorable experiences translates into increased risk for negative health outcomes is unanswered by the literature. Research to date attempts to address the relationship of stress as a minority and health outcomes through examining the role of microaggressions, exploring the concepts of risk and resilience, and most notably the creation of the minority stress model. The model analyzes the complex relationship between external (discrimination/prejudice) and internal (self-doubt/rumination) stressors that shape the experience of multiple-minority groups, which helps us understand the lived experiences of LGBTQ-POC. LGBTQ-POC are adversely affected by cumulative discrimination and social exclusion, including racism from the LGBTQ community, and homophobia and heterosexism within their racial/ethnic community. In this way, they are a multiply marginalized group, which has implications not only for their risk of mental illness, but also for their access to mental health care, and the quality of care they receive. Using the minority stress model as a frame of reference, we will discuss current approaches to capturing the toll that stress as an LGBTQ-POC has on mental health consequences.


ConspectusThis Account describes fundamental chemistry that promoted the discovery of new antibiotics. Specifically, the NH acidity of simple hydroxamic acid derivatives facilitated the syntheses of novel β-lactams (oxamazins and monobactams), siderophore mimics that limit bacterial iron uptake and bacterially targeted sideromycins (siderophore-antibiotic conjugates). The development of resistance to our current limited set of antibiotic scaffolds has created a dire medical situation. As recently stated, "if you weren't taking antibiotic resistance seriously before, now would be a good time to start." A project commissioned by the British government (https://amr-review.org/) has released estimates of the near-future global toll of antibiotic resistance that are jaw-dropping in their seriousness and scale: 10 million deaths per year and at least $100 trillion in sacrificed gross national product. The 2020 COVID pandemic confirmed that infectious disease problems are no longer localized but worldwide. Many classical antibiotics, especially β-lactams, previously provided economical cures, but the evolution of antibiotic destructive enzymes (i.e., β-lactamases), efflux pumps, and bacterial cell wall permeability barriers has made many types of bacteria, especially Gram-negative strains, resistant. Still, and in contrast to other therapies, the public expectation is that any new antibiotic must be inexpensive. This creates market limitations that have caused most major pharmaceutical companies to abandon antibiotic research. Much needs to be done to address this significant problem.The critical need for bacteria to sequester essential iron provides an Achilles' heel for new antibiotic development. Although ferric iron is extremely insoluble, bacteria need micromolar intracellular concentrations for growth and virulence. To this end, they biosynthesize siderophores (Gr. iron bearer) and excrete them into their environment, where they bind iron with high affinity. The iron complexes are recognized by specific outer-membrane transporters, and once actively internalized, the iron is released for essential processes. To conserve biosynthetic energy, some bacteria recognize and utilize siderophores made by competing strains. As a counter-revolution in the never-ending fight for survival, bacteria have also evolved sideromycins, which are siderophores conjugated to warheads that are lethal to rogue bacteria. While none are now used therapeutically, natural sideromycins called albomycins have been used clinically, and others have been shown to be well tolerated and active in animal infection models. Herein we describe practical methods to synthesize new antibiotics and artificial sideromycins with the generalized structure shown above (siderophore-linker drug). Utilizing the molecular-recognition-based siderophore/sideromycin bacterial assimilation processes, it is possible to design both broad spectrum and exquisitely narrow spectrum (targeted) sideromycins and even repurpose older or more classical antibiotics. Relevant microbiological assays, in vivo animal infection studies, and the recent FDA approval of cefiderocol demonstrate their effectiveness.


A precise knowledge of the temperature and number of hot electrons generated in the interaction of short-pulse high-intensity lasers with solids is crucial for harnessing the energy of a laser pulse in applications such as laser-driven ion acceleration or fast ignition. Nevertheless, present scaling laws tend to overestimate the hot electron temperature when compared to experiment and simulations. We present a novel approach that is based on a weighted average of the kinetic energy of an ensemble of electrons. We find that the scaling of electron energy with laser intensity can be derived from a general Lorentz invariant electron distribution ansatz that does not rely on a specific model of energy absorption. The scaling derived is in perfect agreement with simulation results and clearly follows the trend seen in recent experiments, especially at high laser intensities where other scalings fail to describe the simulations accurately.


This paper investigates the theatrical stage both as a walled-in space where ethnic difference can be safely experienced and consumed, and as a gateway for black performers to achieve public visibility and recognition as appears in Caryl Phillips's novel Dancing in the Dark (2005). Phillips's main character puts blackface on his own black skin to handle what Edward Said would name the "anxious power" of performance; this power becomes, in Phillips's own postcolonial rereading, a device to expose the performativity of racial borders and gateways. Here, the theatrical curtain works as a gateway to acceptance and, in some cases, integration; yet it also becomes a wall enclosing the performer in her/his own performance of "the Other".


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Intake of the antioxidant vitamins C and E lowers the oxidative stress. The study aimed to determine plasma concentrations of vitamin C and tocotrienols after supplementation of both vitamins in young male adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 64 police recruits were randomly assigned to one of these groups: (a) 500 mg vitamin C (Vitamin C), (b) 200 mg Tocovid (Tocotrienol), (c) combination of 500 mg vitamin C and 200 mg Tocovid (Combination) or (d) placebo (Placebo) for eight-weeks of supplementation followed by six-week washout period.

RESULTS
In Combination group, mean plasma vitamin C concentration significantly increased from baseline 2.86 +/- 1.19 mg/L to 10.37 +/- 1.29 mg/L and 15.63 +/- 1.27 mg/L after four- and eight-week supplementation, respectively. The corresponding figures for alpha-, delta- and gamma-tocotrienols were 9.9 +/- 2.5 ng/ml to 104.1 +/- 19.8 ng/ml and 112.8 +/- 38.0 ng/ml; 2.5 +/- 0.9 ng/ml to 29.9 +/- 7.0 ng/ml and 17.9 +/- 4.7 ng/ml; 19.2 +/- 3.1 ng/ml to 75.2 +/- 24.1 ng/ml and 161.7 +/- 49.9 ng/ml, respectively. In Vitamin C group, plasma vitamin C concentrations were significantly increased. Conversely, concentration of plasma vitamin C in Tocotrienol group increased from baseline of 2.72 +/- 0.20 mg/L to 6.80 +/- 0.63 mg/L and 8.9 +/- 0.77 mg/L respectively. Plasma concentrations of alpha-, delta- and gamma-tocotrienols in this group were significantly elevated. After 6-week washout period, all the elevated concentrations returned to basal levels.

CONCLUSION
The study showed a good bioavailability of these vitamins and increment due to supplementation.


Total-dose iron-dextran infusions have been reported to cause exacerbation of the disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. A case of prolonged polyarthritis following a total-dose iron-dextran infusion in a patient with no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis is reported.


GDP and industrial investment funds-added are two major factors of measuring economic development for certain countries or regions. In this paper, we use gross domestic product and industrial investment funds as original data from Qinghai Province (2005-2009), and design an improved GM (1, 1) model which is based on the traditional Gray System to analyze and forecast the overall economic growth of Qinghai Province. The improved GM (1, 1) model not only maintains the advantages of simple calculation method, but also greatly improves the traditional GM (1, 1) model to make prediction more accuracy. The experimental results show that this method using improved GM (1, 1) model is high prediction accuracy in forecasting economic growth of Qinghai province. This method is very practical, and it can provide reliable scientific basis for local government to make right directions behind economic growth and industrial development in that region.


A well-defined double hydrophilic graft copolymer, with polyacrylate as backbone, hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(methacrylic acid) as side chains, was synthesized via successive atom transfer radical polymerization followed by the selective hydrolysis of poly(methoxymethyl methacrylate) side chains. The grafting-through strategy was first used to prepare poly[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate] comb copolymer. The obtained comb copolymer was transformed into macroinitiator by reacting with lithium diisopropylamine and 2-bromopropionyl chloride. Afterwards, grafting-from route was employed for the synthesis of poly[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylatel-g-poly(methoxymethyl methacrylate) amphiphilic graft copolymer. The molecular weight distribution of this amphiphilic graft copolymer was narrow. Poly(methoxymethyl methacrylate) side chains were connected to polyacrylate backbone through stable C-C bonds instead of ester connections. The final product, poly[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylatel-g-poly(methacrylate acid), was obtained by selective hydrolysis of poly(methoxymethyl methaerylate) side chains under mild conditions without affecting the polyacrylate backbone. This double hydrophilic graft copolymer was found be stimuli-responsive to pH and ionic strength. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


AIM To study mortality, length of stay, and total charges in morbidly obese adults during index hospitalization for orthotopic liver transplantation. METHODS The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried to obtain demographics, healthcare utilization, post orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) complications, and short term outcomes of OLT performed from 2003 to 2011 (n = 46509). We divided patients into those with [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 40] and without (BMI < 40) morbid obesity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to characterize differences in in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and charges for OLT between patients with and without morbid obesity after adjusting for significant confounders. Additionally, propensity matching was performed to further validate the results. RESULTS Of the 46509 patients who underwent OLT during the study period, 818 (1.8%) were morbidly obese. Morbidly obese recipients were more likely to be female (46.8% vs 33.4%, P = 0.002), Caucasian (75.2% vs 67.8%, P = 0.002), in the low national income quartile (32.3% vs 22.5%, P = 0.04), and have ≥ 3 comorbidities (modified Elixhauser index; 83.9% vs 45.0%, P < 0.001). Morbidly obese patient also had an increase in procedure related hemorrhage (P = 0.028) and respiratory complications (P = 0.043). Multivariate and propensity matched analysis showed no difference in mortality (OR: 0.70; 95%CI: 0.27-1.84, P = 0.47), LOS (β: -4.44; 95%CI: -9.93, 1.05, P = 0.11) and charges for transplantation (β: $15693; 95%CI: -51622-83008, P = 0.64) between the two groups. Morbidly obese patients were more likely to have transplants on weekdays (81.7%) as compared to those without morbid obesity (75.4%, P = 0.029). CONCLUSION Morbid obesity may not impact in-hospital mortality and health care utilization in OLT recipients. However, morbidly obese patients may be selected after careful assessment of co-morbidities.


Delirium can have serious consequences in terms of morbidity, mortality, and increased health care costs. An extensive literature review showed that delirium is not well understood, recognized, or managed by medical and nursing professionals. The goal for this study was to determine the level of knowledge and management skills among critical care nurses caring for patients with delirium who were treated in intensive care units (ICUs) in Jordan. A total of 232 critical care nurses, employed in different ICUs in Jordan, completed self-reported questionnaires. The nurses in critical care units who completed the questionnaires identified a need for more delirium-specific knowledge and skills to assess and manage this condition more effectively. To enhance health outcomes for patients treated in the ICU who have delirium, nurses need to receive education on current assessment and management modalities. These regular education programs should be complemented with evaluative research focusing on both nursing care and patient outcomes.


We calculate level densities for 56,57Fe nuclei using BCS hamiltonian with inclusion of pairing interaction. The results of calculations show that the step structure observed experimentally has been supported by microscopic theory. Also the S-shaped energy and entropy as function of temperature have been obtained in theoretical calculations. Structures in the curves are interpreted as fingerprints of breaking Cooper pairs and quenching of pairing correlations.


Visual perception which is one of the most valuable perception for human beings may be lost due to various degenerative retinal diseases such as Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). These diseases cause severe damage across visual pathway and irreversible blindness. Recently, the progress in the fields of bioengineering, micro technology, neuroscience provides multi-disciplinary research opportunity about design and implementation of visual prosthesis. This becomes a promising strategy for restoration of visual perception. It is shown that visual percepts, called phosphene, are obtained via stimulation of remaining nerve cells in the literature. Temperature changes of retinal tissue and its surrounding because of electrical stimulation is one of the critical points that must be taken into consideration in design phase of a visual prosthesis. In this study, the effect of length of stimulation electrode array on temperature induced in retinal tissue is investigated with developed 2-D model, and simulation is solved using Finite Element Analysis. It is seen that as the length of the stimulation electrode array, which touches to retinal tissue, increases, the temperature has a lowering trend in the tissue. Additionally, it is observed that the temperature has the highest values near the stimulation electrode array and it has a decremental tendency away from there.


Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) precoder design for frequency-selective fading channels using partial channel information based on the spatial and path correlation matrices is presented. By representing a frequency-selective fading channel as a multipath model with L effective paths, a general precoding structure is proposed and used to derive optimum precoding designs that maximize Jensen's upper bound on the channel ergodic capacity under the transmitted power constraint for two cases, i.e., uncorrelated and correlated channel paths. Analytical results show that, in the uncorrelated case, the precoder structure consists of a number of parallel precoders for frequency-flat fading channels. The power assignment to each precoder and the power allocation over the eigenmodes of each precoder are calculated based on the power of channel paths and the eigenvalues of the transmit correlation matrix. In the correlated case, the precoder structure is an eigenbeamformer with the beams referred to a function of eigenvectors of the Kronecker product of path and transmit correlation matrices. Furthermore, the power allocated to each eigenmode can be obtained from a statistical water-pouring policy that is specified by the product of eigenvalues of the transmit antenna and path correlation matrices. Simulation results for different scenarios indicate that the proposed precoder can increase the ergodic capacity of MIMO systems in a frequency-selective fading environment with spatial and path correlations, and its offered capacity gain is increased with the level of correlation and numbers of antennas and channel paths.


Total hip replacement (THR) can make remarkable contributions to the lifestyle restoration of individuals with hip dysfunction. The past success of this treatment combined with expanded surgical education, implant device availability, and access to healthcare has help make total hip replacement widely available through most of the world. Currently there are approximately 800,000 total hip procedures performed annually and it is projected that more than one million procedures will be performed annually within the next four years (1-4). With at least one half of the patients treated over the past twenty years likely to still be living, there are today more than five million successfully functioning total hips making immeasurable contributions to the productivity and enjoyment of their owners. The success of past treatments with total hip replacement understandably serves as a basis for the projection of future success with this joint reconstruction. The future of this procedure may, however, not be directly extrapolated from past experience. As many of the works that follow in this issue of Hip International report, there have been and continue to be significant advances in the surgical technique, training, device design, and materials associated with THR. By themselves these advances may be expected to contribute to a higher level of joint reconstruction success in the future. Factors related to demographic changes in new total hip patients may, however, tend to mitigate the advances made on other fronts. Today's total hip patient and the patient to be treated in the future can be expected to be different from those treated in the past. There are substantial measurable changes that have occurred and continue to occur in the demographics of the population most likely to receive THR. Today's total hip patient is in many ways different than patients from the past. These differences may be important to their treatment and to the outcome expectation of that treatment. The demographics of the population most likely to receive total joint replacement is changing in terms of their life expectancy, body mass, disease incident, education, and activity expectation. The aggregate effect of these demographic factors may contribute to a population of total hip patients that is different from those of the past and perhaps to a population that is more difficult to successfully treat.


As all coastal environments, the Patos Lagoon Estuary (PLE) is an important habitat for the early stages of the life cycle of many marine organisms. Little is known, however, about how larvae respond to the estuarine dynamics because this study is complex. An actual way to investigate fish eggs and larvae dispersion is to use "Individual-Based Models" (IBM). Here, an IBM is used to study the wind influence on the transport of fish eggs and larvae of Micropogonias furnieri in the PLE. Circulation patterns were generated and extracted from TELEMAC-3D hydrodynamic model and simulated in an IBM. Results demonstrated that the transport of M. furnieri larvae to the PLE is maximized during periods of southerly winds. During northerly winds, on the other hand, larvae are advected off the estuary. This study revealed that the wind-driven estuarine dynamics mainly modulate the transport variability of eggs and larvae and it could have consequences for M. furnieri ' s recruitment.


S. Cirebon regency is one of highest endemie area of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) at West Java. during three the last year, there are 4.199 cases, that is 1.535 cases in year 2006 (incidenee rate/IR = 0,732%0),1.523 cases in year 2007 (IR = 0,712%0) and 1.141 cases in year 2008 (IR = 0,523%0). To get DHF epidemiology information at Cirebon regency had been done a data analysis that aimed to know epidemiology description and risk factor identification related to case distribution (person, time and place variables). Data analysis was resulted that there are depreciation of DHF case in year 2007 when compared with year 2006 and also case in the year 2008 compared with year 2007, but as a whole DF cases at Cirebon regency still high. Proportion of DHF cases in male is not dijJering compared female. It based on age group, highest cases is 15 - 45 year group that be a voluminous age group with high mobility. Thereby, DHF transmission is guessed happened in outside of residenee areas may be at school or at work areas. Data analysis also founding there are associate between ra in falls with DHF case incident, although that is a weak association. The peak of incident cases is happened in January (transmission peak in December.


Author(s): Dobrushina, Nina; Daniel, Michael; Koryakov, Yuri | Abstract: This paper introduces the future Atlas of Multilingualism in Daghestan, a project based on extensive field study of the language repertoires of the residents of rural highland Daghestan. The Atlas will provide quantitative data on multilingualism across a relatively compact linguistic area, which is, culturally and socially, both homogeneous and diverse. It will represent a wide range of ethnic contact situations in a qualitatively and quantitatively comparable way. The data are collected by the method of retrospective family interviews, which is designed to obtain data about bilingualism in the past. The paper gives a brief sociolinguistic overview of Daghestan, describes the method and its restrictions, explains the design of the future Atlas, and provides two sample chapters. One of the chapters describes three villages in northeast Daghestan, and the other describes two villages in southern Daghestan.


BACKGROUND
The in vitro effect of six commonly used herbicides viz., amidosulfuron, dicamba, metribuzin, pyridate, S-metolachlor and tembotrione on mycelial growth of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveriabassiana (ATCC 74040) was investigated. Mycelial growthrates at 15 and 25°C were evaluated on PDA plates containing 100, 75, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 and 0% of the recommended application rate of each selected herbicide. The tested herbicides were classified in 4 scoring categories based on reduction of mycelial growth in toxicity tests.

RESULTS
All six herbicides had a fungistatic effect of varying intensities, dependent on their rate in medium, on B. bassiana. The present study showed that B. bassiana is sensitive to all tested herbicides, particularly at recommended as well as lower field rates. Metribuzin, S-metolachlor and tembotrione had a strong fungistatic effect on mycelial growth even at rates 25 and 12.5%.Pyridate was slightly harmful, depending on the rate and temperature. Dicamba and amidosulfuron had slight effect on mycelial growth. Sporulation and conidial germination of B. bassiana were significantly inhibited by all tested herbicides. Amidosulfuron and dicamba, both at 100% rate, had the lowest inhibitory effect on sporulation, i.e. 24% and 44%, respectively. Other herbicides in test showed much higher inhibitory effect on sporulation (69-95%). With exception of dicamba with 33% of conidial germination inhibition all other herbicides in test inhibited conidial germination for 70-100%. At 200% dosage, inhibition rates even increased.

CONCLUSION
Of all tested herbicides, amidosulfuron and dicamba showed the least adverse effects and are therefore probably compatible with B. bassiana in the field.


Motivation: Systems biology integrates expression, methylation, transcription factor binding and histone modification profiles with other physiological characteristics of a specific organ. Repositories that provide the required data, like ENCODE, generally work on a high level and do not take the heterogeneity of cell types within an organ into consideration. The hematopoietic system allows the characterization and study of each cell type involved in the generation of blood cells from bone marrow stem cells and thus provides a good foundation for systems biology studies. Here we compare RNA expression, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, DNA binding proteins and histone modification profiles in seven different hematopoietic populations using a Bayesian non-parametric hierarchical latent-class mixed-effect model known as IDEAS to characterize epigenetic changes associated with hematopoietic differentiation. Unlike other existing approaches IDEAS considers various cell types of a biological systems in concert instead of disjointly. Results: Using the VISION database and the IDEAS toolkit we provide insights into the transcriptional, epigenetic and regulatory programs governing the hematopoietic differentiation process. The characterization of the different hematopoietic components and their interactions provide the foundations for a systems biology model of hematopoiesis. Previous hematopoietic epigenome segmentation studies have focused on histone modifications, chromatin accessibility and DNA binding protein profiles. DNA methylation has been shown to vary markedly in hematopoietic populations. Inclusion of DNA methylation in these segmentation studies increased the original 36-state model of regulatory interactions to 41 states. These new DNA methylation-related states were associated with repressive marks, active RNA transcription, and a novel state regulated by DNA methylation alone. Imputing epigenetic models on inputs systematically perturbed for hematopoietic populations resulted in models of varying degrees of overlap, which were quantified and set in context with underlying biological processes. Conclusion: Our data show that methylation has a strong impact on functional genomic modeling and can be used to discern cell type specific epigenetic regulatory behavior by leveraging imputation for missing cell type data.


Fine needle aspiration biopsy cytopathology (FNAC) of lymph nodes is a very common, inexpensive, and rapid diagnostic procedure and can lead to the accurate and timely diagnosis of one of the wide range of pathological processes that involve lymph nodes. These diagnoses include specific reactive processes, specific infections such as tuberculosis, metastatic carcinomas and melanomas, and some lymphomas. The FNAC effectively triages the lymph node material, but the initial diagnosis often requires ancillary testing as a second diagnostic step to make a specific diagnosis, such as the particular infectious agent, the type of lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma, or the specific type of metastatic malignancy. An international group of cytopathologists have begun the process of developing a system for the standardized reporting of lymph node FNAC. The group is addressing the pre-analytical issues related to the FNAC, including the role of clinical information and the use of ultrasound, and developing a structure of reporting categories based on the cytopathological findings linked to management recommendations. The basis of the system is the integration of the FNAC with the clinical setting, imaging, and ancillary tests that utilize the FNAC material, to produce a final report that will enhance patient care.


The broad application of next-generation sequencing in genetic diagnostics opens up vast possibilities for personalized treatment of patients with genetic disorders including monogenic epilepsies. To translate genetic findings into personalized medicine, mechanistic studies of the individual pathogenic variants and drug screening in patient-specific in vitro models are very crucial. Recently, human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technologies have made it possible to generate patient-specific pluripotent cells, which can be directed to differentiate into any given cell type. These hiPSCs are ideal for generating neurons to investigate specific neurological/ neurodevelopmental disorders. While two-dimensional single-cell models of hiPSC-derived neurons provide reliable investigation of synaptic transmission and plasticity, cerebral organoids are superior in regard to functional characterization and the study of cell-cell interactions in three-dimensional structures. In this review, we focus on monogenic epilepsies and discuss the application of hiPSC models in personalized drug treatment based on the patient's specific genetic variants.


The polarity dependence of Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling current stress on the interface-state-generation efficiency in (100) n-type Si metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) capacitors has been investigated as a function of oxide voltage using the ac conductance method. The interface-state-generation efficiency η gen is larger when the F-N tunneling electrons are injected from the gate (gate emission) than when they are injected from the substrate (substrate emission) by about two orders of magnitude over the whole range of the oxide voltage employed. Moreover, the values of η gen for both polarities depend significantly on the oxide voltage in a similar fashion. The measured generation efficiency is combined with the critical electron fluence Q BD for dielectric breakdown reported to date to demonstrate that the critical interface-state density for breakdown is independent of Q BD and the oxide voltage.


The kidneys, as an integral part of the body, are in close functional relationship with other organs. Dysfunction of the relationship with one organ will affect the kidney. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads in time to alteration of the relationship of the kidney with other organs, sometimes with severe consequences. Thus, cardiovascular involvement in CKD leads to increased severity of CKD, with an increase in mortality rate. At present, the relationship between the kidney and the lung has been less studied. Many aspects of this relationship are still unknown. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the main situations of the alteration of the kidney-lung relationship in clinical pathology, with special reference to chronic kidney disease. The pulmonary-renal syndrome is at the forefront. This pathology--well known in practice--refers mainly to the kidney-lung relationship in vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Goodpasture's syndrome. The relationship between the kidney and the lung is not limited to this syndrome. Many systemic diseases like sarcoidosis and amyloidosis alter the lung-kidney binomial. Likewise, the association in some patients of an important disorder primarily affecting the lung, such as silicosis, with concomitant renal involvement, highlights the relationship between the lungs and kidneys in clinical pathology. It is very important to know heart-kidney relationships via the lung in pulmonary arterial hypertension. In-depth knowledge of the patient with chronic kidney disease also requires thorough analysis of the lung-kidney relationship. This relationship is very evident in haemodialysed patients, taking into consideration that the pulmonary circulation is influenced by the dialysis membranes, in patients on peritoneal dialysis and especially in transplanted patients whose kidney-lung relationship has a favorable outcome. Although little dealt with, the relationship between the kidneys and the lungs requires more attention, as it can have important consequences, and appropriate therapy.


Juvenile xanthogranuloma(JXG) is a disorder of histiocytes usually associated with cutaneous leisons. JXG developing in soft tissue is rare and receives little attention. Therefore deeply located JXG may present a diagnostic difficulty in the absence of cutaneous lesions. Clinically, deep JXG seems to occur as solitary lesions on the trunk rather than on the head and neck region and tends to be composed of a monotonous population of histiocytic cells, with rare, if any, foamy macrophages or Touton-type multimucleated giant cells. We report an unusual case of JXG in a 4-month-old male infant who had a deep-seated mass located on the subcutaneous and muscle layer of the left forearm.


The main purpose of the paper is to investigate the firm survival in Indonesia from 2003 to 2004. In particular we investigate factors beyond firm death. In the literature of firm survival, the death is defined as firms that are no longer in the 'list', which in the Indonesian context it means no longer in the BPS (Central Statistical Agency) manufacturing directory. But we found that the death firms may not necessarily die after all. In the context of the perceived worsening business climate in Indonesia some firms may choose to become less visible or less formal to avoid harassment from tax officials, to escape from labor regulation, and to avoid paying local tax and levies which become common after decentralization. In the subsequent round of the BPS manufacturing survey, firms whose size fall below 20 workers would likely disappear from the BPS list. Other firms choose less extreme strategy to undergo downsizing. For the central and local governments; point of view this could mean the loss of potential tax revenues. We estimate a probabilistic model where the firm likelihood of becoming smaller status is influenced by firm characteristics, district level variables like bureaucratic harassment, bribery, and the horizon of the local bureaucrats.


with respect to prolonged use have evolved over time. It shows that these policies have moved gradually toward greater acceptance of the need to finance adjustment over a longer time period, especially in low-income countries, and that this has increased the probability of prolonged use. However, the implications of some of these changes both for the extent of prolonged use and possible adverse consequences may not have been fully and explicitly recognized. It also describes how some elements of a strategy for dealing with prolonged use were adopted by the IMF's Executive Board at various times; however, the country case studies and other evidence suggest that these strategies were not fully implemented.1


Atheism, the thesis that God does not exist and Thomism, the thesis that there are "proofs" for the existence of God based on experience and reason can be juxtaposed to each other as two extremes. On the other hand, the very statement of each implies the need to consider the other, so that the atheist and the Thomist both claim to belong to rational discourse, however much they differ in conclusions. The scriptural tradition has consistently found the one who says there is "no God" to be "foolish," that is, someone with more than just an intellectual error.


Soil is a natural habitat for several important insect pathogenic fungi which play a key role in regulating populations of soil dwelling insect pests. Forty soil samples were collected during 2012-2013 from different agro ecosystems at Duhok governorate were screened for the presence of soil dwelling entomopathogenic fungi using four different selective isolation media. The four isolation media were prepared by modifying previously prepared DOC2 medium and a selective medium based on the use of Cetyletrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) with oatmeal agar (OT) as a basal medium. The percentage occurrence of fungi and number of detected species was significantly affected by the type of isolation medium. The least number of recovered species (5 species) was on DOC2 medium, whereas, the highest number (14 species) was displayed by CTAB+OT medium. The two true entomopathogenic species Lecanicillium lecanii and Metarhizium anisopliae were successfully recovered only with our new formula by combination of DOC2+CTAB and OT+CTAB media, whereas, DOC2 and DOC2+OT media failed to recover the two species. This result indicated that addition of CTAB to media was a vital factor for the recovery of the two entomopathogenic species. L. lecanii and M. anisopliae have been recorded for the first time from Iraqi soil. Several other opportunistic pathogens were also detected. These include Aspergillus flavus, A.parasiticus, Clonostachys rosea and Fusarium species . The distribution of entomopathogenic and opportunistic fungi is discussed in relation to different agroecosystems and to some physical and chemical characteristics of soil samples. Key words: Entomopathogenic fungi, soil, Iraq.


The author adopts definitions for 'reciprocity', 'microscopic inversibility' (usually known as 'microscopic reversibility') and 'detailed balance' in terms of the S matrix. He notes several situations for which microscopic inversibility is obeyed and provide an explicit example for which is not. The validity of microscopic inversibility may depend on the choice of basis. He discusses the implications of these results on the kinetic foundations of thermodynamics.


The structures of the tetranuclear osmium carbonyl derivatives Os4(CO)n (n = 16, 15, 14, 13, 12) have been investigated using the density functional theory method MPW1PW91 with the SDD effective core potential basis set, found to be effective in previous work for the study of Os3(CO)12. The Os4 clusters in the lowest energy structures for Os4(CO)16, Os4(CO)15, and Os4(CO)14 are found to be rhombi, butterflies, and tetrahedra with four, five, and six Os-Os bonds, respectively, in accord with structures determined by X-ray diffraction as well as the 18-electron rule. The fluxionality of tetrahedral Os4(CO)14, suggested by experimental work of Johnston, Einstein, and Pomeroy, is confirmed by our DFT studies, which find four Os4(CO)14 structures within 1.5 kcal mol-1 of each other with similar tetrahedral Os4 frameworks but with different arrangements of bridging and semibridging carbonyl groups. The lowest energy structures for the more unsaturated Os4(CO)13 and Os4(CO)12 are also based on Os4 tetrahedra but with shorter Os-Os edge lengths than in Os4(CO)14 suggesting delocalized multiple bonding in the more highly unsaturated systems. Thus the global minimum for Os4(CO)12 is predicted to have tetrahedral symmetry, with all terminal carbonyl groups analogous to the experimentally known structure of (mu3-H)4Re3(CO)12, but without the face-bridging hydrogen atoms.


In this study a comparison of the mean monthly values of potential evapotranspirauon (PE) and rainfall is made for Ghana. From this comparison, the quan- tity of water that actually evaporates from the soils and open water surfaces and transpires from plants, the quantity of water that is stored by the soils, and the surplus water at anyplace and month in the country are known. As rainfall and PE are two independent climatic variables, their annual courses hardly coincide; as a result there are periods in the country when the necessity for water is satisfied by rainfall and other periods when there is scarcity of water. Some months certain places in the country therefore have adequate water supply and others have excess or deficit. There are also extreme cases in which in nearly all the months of the year, rainfall exceeds PE and vice versa.


Making this film was motivated by the lack of promotion of Special Interest Tours in Gunungkidul. With the consideration that there is very suitable to be used as a movie promotion media. Stages in the making of the film consists of: initial stage or pre-production and production stages and the last is the stage of post production. These stages should be taken to the making of the film will produce a quality film. Pre production stage is where all the preparatory phases for shooting done. In this phase, the design also made a film that consists of: the determination of story ideas, themes, logline, synopsis and story board creation. That later it will become a reference in the shooting. Production stage is the stage where the process of shooting done. In taking these images must be in accordance with the scheme that has been created. In this stage needs good preparation tool in the process so that there are no barriers. Constraints often come because of natural factors. The last stage is the stage of post production. In this stage of film editing that has been recorded by the camera. Providing interesting effects are also done at this point. Main Software Special Interest Tours filmmaking, using Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and Adobe After Effects CS3. Both software is very helpful in doing the editing and also making a very interesting image effects.


Forest fires are a major risk factor with strong impact at ecological-environmental and socio-economical levels, reasons why their study and modeling is very important. However, the models frequently have a certain level of uncertainty in some input parameters given that they must be approximated or estimated, as a consequence of diverse difficulties to accurately measure the conditions of the phenomenon in real time. This has resulted in the development of several methods of uncertainty reduction, whose trade-off between accuracy and complexity can vary significantly. The system ESS (Evolutionary-Statistical System) is a method whose aim is to reduce the uncertainty, by combining Statistical Analysis, High Performance Computing (HPC) and Parallel Evolutionary Algorithms (PEA). The PEA use several parameters that require adjustment and that determine the quality of their use. The calibration of the parameters is a crucial task for reaching a good performance. This paper presents an empirical study of the parameters tuning to evaluate the effectiveness of different configurations and the impact on their use in the Forest Fires prediction.


Aims Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells obtained from bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), has been used as an adjuvant to hip decompression. Early results have shown promise for hip preservation in patients with osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral head. The purpose of the current study is to examine the mid-term outcome of this treatment in patients with precollapse corticosteroid-induced ON of the femoral head. Methods In all, 22 patients (35 hips; 11 males and 11 females) with precollapse corticosteroid-induced ON of the femoral head underwent hip decompression combined with BMAC and PRP. Mean age and BMI were 43 years (SD 12) and 31 kg/m² (SD 6), respectively, at the time of surgery. Survivorship free from femoral head collapse and total hip arthroplasty (THA) and risk factors for progression were evaluated at minimum five-years of clinical follow-up with a mean follow-up of seven years (5 to 8). Results Survivorship free from femoral head collapse and THA for any reason was 84% and 67% at seven years postoperatively, respectively. Risk factors for conversion to THA included a high preoperative modified Kerboul angle (grade 3 or 4) based on preoperative MRI (hazard ratio (HR) 3.96; p = 0.047) and corticosteroid use at the time of decompression (HR 4.15; p = 0.039). The seven-year survivorship for patients with grade 1 or 2 Kerboul angles for conversion to THA for articular collapse, and THA for any reason, were 96% and 72%, respectively, versus THA for articular collapse and THA for any reason in patients with grade 3 or 4 Kerboul angles of 40% (p = 0.003) and 40% (p = 0.032). Conclusion At seven years, hip decompression augmented with BMAC and PRP provided a 67% survivorship free from THA in patients with corticosteroid-induced ON. Ideal candidates for this procedure are patients with low preoperative Kerboul angles and can stop corticosteroid treatment prior to decompression. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(11):926–931.


Objective : Anxiety disorders represent an important part of mental health problems in primary care. This literature review seeks to find out whether collaborative care (called "matrix support" in Brazil) assists the treatment of anxiety disorders and/or anxiety symptoms. Methods: We performed a literature search with no time period restriction using PubMed, ISI, and LILACS PSYCINFO databases. The descriptors sought were "collaborative care", "shared care", "primary care", "anxiety", "generalized anxiety disorder", "panic disorder", "phobia", "social phobia", "post-traumatic stress disorder", "obsessive compulsive disorder" and "anxiety disorder, Not Otherwise Specified - NOS." Results: A total of 106 articles were found and after the application of exclusion criteria, seven articles were selected for the present analysis. Conclusion: Despite the different types of collaborative care used, results show greater improvement in anxiety symptoms in patients that received collaborative care compared with those in the control groups, who did not receive such intervention.


This article explores the question of whether, following the modernization of EU competition law, Article 101(1), or Article 101 as a whole, requires, or is developing toward requiring, a rule of reason analysis similar to that carried out in the US under section 1 of the Sherman Act of 1890. It commences by examining section 1 of the Sherman Act, its objectives, and the tools that have been utilized to resolve the question of whether an agreement unreasonably restrains trade. It then examines Article 81 against this backdrop. It concludes that despite a greater convergence between the US and EU approach to objectives in recent years, the bifucated structure of Article 81 and the difficulty of isolating competition from other Community policies means that significant differences undoubtedly remain and that the US approach to rule of reason analysis has not been embraced as a mechanism for distinguishing between agreements which do, and those which do not, harm competition.


Seal integrity and seal strength are important requirements in the heat sealing of flexible packaging. In this article, the influence of talc compounds and different process parameters, such as film tension and contamination on the sealant films consisting of polypropylene and low‐density polyethylene blend were investigated. According to the results, increasing the talc ratio from 0% wt to 30% wt positively influenced both hot and cold seal strength. Among different polymer blends having same talc ratio, the sample having the lowest melt flow index (2.84 dg/min at 230°C and 2.16 kg) showed the highest cold seal strength with 9.07 N/25 mm. On the other hand, in the samples with higher melt flow indexes, less seal integrity issues were observed in the presence of contaminants. Elevated film tensions from 0 to 0.4 N/mm2 enhanced the seal strengths significantly at the seal initiation temperatures of each film. However, this situation changed at higher operating temperatures due to the increased orientation and brittleness. Besides, in the presence of contaminant coffee particles at the seal interphase, high film tensions adversely affected the seal integrity since the average leakage increased 2.7% for samples A and B, and 7.4% for sample C. In summary, it has been shown that talc incorporation can improve seal strength, high MFI can fill the gaps at the seal interphase and the high levels of film tension (above 0.16 N/mm2) during sealing as well as the contamination need to be avoided to ensure integrity sealing.


The authors propose a new method to visualize browsing behavior in so-called product search maps. Manufacturers can use these maps to understand how consumers search for competing products before choice, including how information acquisition and product search are organized along brands, product attributes, and price-related search strategies. The product search maps also inform manufacturers about the competitive structure in the industry and the contents of consumer consideration sets. The proposed method defines a product search network, consisting of the products and links that designate whether a product is searched conditional on searching other products. The authors model this network using a stochastic, hierarchical, and asymmetric multidimensional scaling framework and decompose the product locations as well as the product-level influences using product attributes. The advantages of the approach are twofold. First, the authors simultaneously visualize the positions of products and the direction of consumer search over products in a perceptual map of search proximity. Second, they explain the formation of the map using observed product attributes. The authors empirically apply their approach to consumer search of digital camcorders at Amazon.com and provide several managerial implications.


Municipal compost and sewage sludge which are used as amendments to improve soil structure and fertility, often contain Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni and Cu at levels that are toxic to soil microorganisms. Among these elements, Pb appears at relatively higher concentration. In this study, the impact of different levels of Pb as Pb(NO3)2 on the population of soil microorganisms in soil were evaluated. Six levels of Pb including 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg Pb per kg soil were added at two replications to the pots containing 2 kg of soil and kept 25±2°C and 0.7 FC soil moisture for six months. Bacterial and fungal cells numbers were enumerated using plate count method, on days 15 th , 30 th , 90 th and 180 th day during incubation. At each incubation period, bacterial number decreased with increasing Pb levels. The most adverse effect of Pb was observed at above 200 mg Pb kg -1 . Fifteen days after incubation, the fungal population was significantly (p≤0.05) declined at 400 and 500 mg Pb kg -1 compared to the control level (zero addition of Pb). By increasing of incubation time to 180 days, the fungal number cells showed no significant differences between Pb levels. It seems that the fungal population is more tolerant to Pb than the bacterial population in the tested soil.


In order to correlate damage induced by ionising radiation in biological systems on the cellular or subcellular level with physical parameters characterising the radiation, extensive use has been made of the parameter linear energy transfer (LET). Its main limitation is that depending on the ionising particle and its energy, a substantial amount of the particle's energy is not deposited locally but it is carried away from the track of the particle by energetic secondary electrons called delta rays. A physical parameter which does not suffer from this limitation is the number of primary ionisations produced by an ionising particle per unit pathlength in an irradiated medium. This parameter is called specific primary ionisation (SPI) and its usefulness in reporting results of radiobiological experiments has already been pointed out (Cannel and Watt 1985, Watt 1985). The author calculates SPI in water for particles that are used in radiobiological experiments, using recent cross section data. The results are presented in tables so that they can be easily used by interested radiobiologists.


Staphylococcus aureus, a commensal bacterium in human, causes a wide range of human diseases from soft tissue infections to lethal systemic infections. But, immune-competent people are highly resistant to these diseases, indicating that unknown host defense response(s) can protect host. An effective immune response to S. aureus requires a rapid activation of innate immunity in the shape of γδ-T cells mediated IL-17 production for bacterial clearance. We hypothesized that an unidentified staphylococcal-cell wall derived molecule(s) that can activate host innate γδ-T cells is generated after S. aureus infection in healthy people. To purify this molecule(s) in mice, we generated 11 different S. aureus mutant strains, in which genes involved in staphylococcal cell wall components bio-syntheses were mutated. The mutant cells were acetone-treated to inactivate and extract toxic molecules, and then injected intra-peritoneal cavity of mice. When peritoneal lavage fluid collected 5 hr after injection was examined which mutant bacteria can produce IL-17A, three mutants produced IL-17A. To purify active fractions capable of γδ T cell-mediated IL-17A production, acetone-treated mutant bacterium was solubilized with two different peptidoglycan hydrolyzing enzymes. Then, active molecules were purified to homogeneity on ion-exchange columns. By pre-injection of purified molecule or acetone-treated mutant bacteria, the expansion of USA 300 MRSA-mediated skin abscess was inhibited, leading to a lower bacterial numbers and decrease of abscess lesion size at the site of infection. These results suggest that a novel molecule producing γδ T cell-derived IL-17A in peritoneum protected MRSA-derived skin abscess expansion in mice.