Microbiota within mosquitoes influence nutrition, immunity, fecundity, and the capacity to transmit pathogens. Despite their importance, we have a limited understanding of host-microbiota interactions, especially at the cellular level. It is evident bacterial symbionts that are localized within the midgut also infect other organs within the mosquito; however, the route these symbionts take to colonize other tissues is unknown. Here, utilizing the gentamicin protection assay, we showed that the bacterial symbionts Cedecea and Serratia have the capacity to invade and reside intracellularly within mosquito cells. Symbiotic bacteria were found within a vacuole and bacterial replication was observed in mosquito cell by transmission electron microscopy, indicating bacteria were adapted to the intracellular milieu. Using gene silencing, we determined that bacteria exploited host factors, including actin and integrin receptors, to actively invade mosquito cells. As microbiota can affect pathogens within mosquitoes, we examined the influence of intracellular symbionts on Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. Mosquito cells harbouring intracellular bacteria had significantly less ZIKV compared to uninfected cells or cells exposed to non-invasive bacteria. Intracellular bacteria were observed to substantially upregulate the Toll and IMD innate immune pathways, providing a possible mechanism mediating these anti-viral effects. Examining mono-axenically infected mosquitoes using transmission electron and fluorescent microscopy revealed that bacteria occupied an intracellular niche in vivo. Our results provided evidence that bacteria that associate with the midgut of mosquitoes have intracellular lifestyles which likely have implications for mosquito biology and pathogen infection. This study expands our understanding of host-microbiota interactions in mosquitoes, which is important as symbiont microbes are being exploited for vector control strategies.


United States professional football sensation Ricky Williams last week sparked a blaze of publicity when he revealed that he had social anxiety disorder and was benefiting from both therapy and Paxil (Seroxat/paroxetine), the drug that earned GlaxoSmithKline global sales last year of US$2.7bn (£1.7bn; €2.7bn).

Items appeared on the front page of the New York Time s sports section, in the prestigious Los Angeles Times , and a host of other papers, as well as broadcast media including NBC. Stories described a serious psychiatric condition affecting between 5 and 10 million Americans. Some reports revealed that GlaxoSmithKline was paying the sports celebrity, some didn't.

Williams joins a stellar cast of characters now using the mass media to promote awareness of a whole suite of medical conditions and diseases. In May Camilla Parker Bowles spoke out about osteoporosis at an international meeting in Portugal ( BMJ 2002;324:1342). While Mrs Parker Bowles received …


Aim The aim of this study was to examine how new technologies in late-stage clinical trials might address unmet patient, practitioner or caregiver need for faecal incontinence (FI) over the next 5 years. Methods Horizon scanning techniques were used to provide insights into the current landscape of emerging health technologies. A search was performed across clinical trial registries using the National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory's ScanMedicine database (scanmedicine.com) to identify new, emerging interventions or health technologies (drugs, medical devices or diagnostics) that were addressing or investigating FI. Trials were then screened for relevance to FI in a non-blinded duplicate manner. Results 1163 records were identified through searching ScanMedicine, and 136 trials were included in the final data extraction and mapping process. The most frequently investigated FI intervention topics were complementary therapies (n=17, 12.4%); electrical stimulation (n=13, 9.5%); pelvic floor muscle training/biofeedback/sphincter exercises (n=13, 9.5%) and implanted sacral nerve stimulation (n=12, 8.7%). There was little evidence of new pharmaceutical technologies in development. Existing drugs are, however, being repurposed and trialled for the treatment of FI (eg, linaclotide, colesevelam). Such repurposed drugs often have lower development costs, shorter timelines and report lower failure rates compared with new pharmaceutical products. Conclusion Overall, the innovation space as indicated by late-stage clinical trials related to FI, is relatively stagnant. Patients, carers and healthcare professionals are demanding more effective treatment and containment options; however, these are unlikely to come to market in the immediate future.


These design techniques target EEPROMs embedded in portable, battery-powered devices that operate under a wide supply voltage range. A current-controlled ring oscillator provides stable programming pulse generation, optimizing write time. Logic delay optimization and a word line boosting technique decrease read access time.


Spectroscopic ellipsometry is the technique of choice to characterize thickness and refractive indices of transparent and semi-transparent thin layers with thickness ranging from few Angstroms to few micrometers. However, in case of porous thin film, traditional EMA (Effective Medium Approximation) fails to provide qualitative information on porosity. However, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry can benefit elaborated hardware and software set-up involving the adsorption/desorption of an adsorbate in the porous thin film, we call it, Ellipsometry Porosimetry Atmospheric (EPA) and the adsorbate is water. The change in refractive index induced by the introduction of water is measured and thanks to Lorentz Lorenz effective medium model, the volume of water adsorbed by the material is calculated. EPA becomes an effective method for characterization of porosity volume, pore size distribution (PSD), average pore size, cumulative surface area and Young's modulus of porous films. EPA is also suitable to evaluate the sealing of a porous layer. An example of study is carried on for TiO2 mesoporous prepared by Evaporation Induced Self-Assembly with various calcinations treatment. Plots results are characteristic of mesoporous medium with well defined pore dimensions. Upon calcinations, EP-A allows to follow a significant pores enlargement from 3 to 10 nm. In this paper, the instrument as well as TiO2 porous thin film study will be presented.


The proto-oncogenic protein, c-KIT, plays a crucial role in regulating cellular transformation and differentiation processes, such as proliferation, survival, adhesion, and chemotaxis. The overexpression of, and mutations, in c-KIT can lead to its dysregulation and promote various human cancers, particularly gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs); approximately 80–85% of cases are associated with oncogenic mutations in the KIT gene. Inhibition of c-KIT has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for GISTs. However, the currently approved drugs are associated with resistance and significant side effects, highlighting the urgent need to develop highly selective c-KIT inhibitors that are not affected by these mutations for GISTs. Herein, the recent research efforts in medicinal chemistry aimed at developing potent small-molecule c-KIT inhibitors with high kinase selectivity for GISTs are discussed from a structure–activity relationship perspective. Moreover, the synthetic pathways, pharmacokinetic properties, and binding patterns of the inhibitors are also discussed to facilitate future development of more potent and pharmacokinetically stable small-molecule c-KIT inhibitors.


The acceleration of ultrahigh energy nuclei in fast spinning newborn pulsars can explain the observed spectrum of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and the trend towards heavier nuclei for energies above 10{sup 19} eV as reported by the Auger Observatory. Pulsar acceleration implies a hard injection spectrum ( ∼ E{sup −1}) due to pulsar spin down and a maximum energy E{sub max} ∼ Z 10{sup 19} eV due to the limit on the spin rate of neutron stars. We have previously shown that the escape through the young supernova remnant softens the spectrum, decreases slightly the maximum energy, and generates secondary nuclei. Here we show that the distribution of pulsar birth periods and the effect of propagation in the interstellar and intergalactic media modifies the combined spectrum of all pulsars. By assuming a normal distribution of pulsar birth periods centered at 300 ms, we show that the contribution of extragalactic pulsar births to the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray spectrum naturally gives rise to a contribution to very high energy cosmic rays (VHECRs, between 10{sup 16} and 10{sup 18} eV) by Galactic pulsar births. The required injected composition to fit the observed spectrum depends on the absolute energy scale, which is uncertain,more » differing between Auger Observatory and Telescope Array. The contribution of Galactic pulsar births can also bridge the gap between predictions for cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants and the observed spectrum just below the ankle, depending on the composition of the cosmic rays that escape the supernova remnant and the diffusion behavior of VHECRs in the Galaxy.« less


The technique used in patients with dental implants helps evaluate the differences in the morphology of the oral fluid crystal structures in relation to the geographic region of residence and environmental factors.


Al0.68Sc0.32N (AlScN) has gained attention for its outstanding ferroelectric properties, including a high coercive field and high remnant polarization. Although AlScN-based ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FETs) for memory applications have been demonstrated, a device for logic applications with minimal hysteresis has not been reported. This study reports on the transport characteristics of a MoS2 negative capacitance FET (NCFET) based on an AlScN ferroelectric material. We experimentally demonstrate the effect of a dielectric layer in the gate stack on the memory window and subthreshold swing (SS) of the NCFET. We show that the hysteresis behavior of transfer characteristics in the NCFET can be minimized with the inclusion of a non-ferroelectric dielectric layer, which fulfills the capacitance-matching condition. Remarkably, we also observe the NC effect in MoS2/AlScN NCFETs arrays based on large-area monolayer MoS2 synthesized by chemical vapor deposition, showing the SS values smaller than its thermionic limit (∼36 to 60 mV/dec) and minimal variation in threshold voltages (<20 mV).


The charge stability in thermally grown silicon dioxide layers during irradiation with monochromatic ultraviolet light was investigated. The samples were prepared by thermal oxidation of the Si wafer at 1000/spl deg/C and charged by a constant-voltage corona method. A xenon arc lamp in combination with a monochromator was used to generate monoenergetic photons. The surface potential was measured in dependence on the photon energy, the irradiation intensity, and the charge polarity. During an irradiation period of several hours, the surface potential of negatively charged samples remained constant. In contrast, positively charged samples showed a charge decay which was accelerated by a reduction of the light wavelength as well as an increase of the irradiation intensity. A theoretical model for the interpretation of the experimental data is presented in the second part of this contribution.


1. those whose interests focus on a liberal arts education and who wish to use the disciplines to understand cross-cultural patterns, social institutions, and socio-cultural change; 2. those who wish to use anthropology and sociology as a background for certain occupations such as law, social work, medical and health sciences, business, public service, and human service careers; and 3. those who expect to pursue graduate study in anthropology or sociology, leading to a teaching, administrative, or research career.


The items available for ars contextualis can be characterized in terms of the focal point from and to which the lines of divergence and convergence attributable to them move and find resolution, and the field from which and to which those same lines proceed and have influence. To take Confucius himself as a concrete example, we would have to allow that he is corporate in the sense that the lines of divergence and convergence that constitute his focus and meaning move throughout the entire field of the Chinese cultural tradition. Confucius is both focus and China as a focused field.


Sayers SP, Bean J, Cuoco A, LeBrasseur NK, Jette A, Fielding RA: Changes in function and disability after resistance training: Does velocity matter? A pilot study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2003;82:605–613. ObjectiveTo compare the effects of high- and low-velocity resistance training on functional performance and disability outcomes in physically limited older women. DesignA total of 16 wk of high-velocity resistance training or traditional low-velocity resistance training consisting of knee extension and leg press exercises was performed three times per week by 30 women with self-reported disability to compare their effect on functional performance and disability. Tests of dynamic balance, stair-climb time, chair-rise time, and gait velocity were used to assess changes in functional performance. Changes in disability were assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form. ResultsDynamic balance and stair-climb time improved 8% and 10%, respectively, with training. Self-reported disability, physical functioning, role physical, and mental health improved 11, 9, and 5% with training, respectively. There were no significant differences between high- and low-velocity training groups. ConclusionsHigh- and low-velocity training achieved similar improvements in functional performance and disability. Improvements in functional performance and disability were modest compared with robust increases in strength and power. Specific modes of training or behavioral strategies may be necessary to optimize improvements in these outcomes.


Twitter facilitates borderless communication, informing us about real-life events and news. To address privacy needs, Twitter provides various security settings. However, users with protected profiles are limited to their friendship circles and thus might have less visibility from outside of their networks. Previous research on privacy reveals information leakage and security threats in social networks despite of privacy protection enabled. In this context, could protecting microblogging content be counterproductive for individual users? Would microbloggers use Twitter more effectively when opening their content for everyone rather than protecting their profiles? Are user profile protection features necessary? We wanted to address this controversy by studying how microbloggers exploit privacy and geo-location setting controls. We followed a set of user profiles during half of year and compared their usage of Twitter features including status updates, favorites, being listed, adding friends and follower contacts. Our findings revealed that protecting user accounts is not always detrimental to exploiting the main microblogging features. Additionally, we found that users across geographic regions have different privacy preferences. Our results enable us to get insights into privacy issues in microblogs, underlining the need of respecting user privacy in microblogs. We suggest to further research user privacy controls usage in order to understand user goals and motivations for sharing and disclosing their microblogging data online with the focus on user cultural origins.


The prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities is constantly rising and is one of the most threatening global health and economic problems worldwide. Whereas bariatric surgery is well accepted in the treatment of morbid obesity, surgical treatment for ist comorbidities (metabolic surgery) such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and other diseases are still under discussion. A more profound knowledge of its physiologic mechanisms is crucial for the future implementation of the bariatric and metabolic surgery to treat obesity-related comorbidities.


BACKGROUND
Nutrition support is essential in the management of critically ill children. There is no current literature to support the common practice of discontinuing enteral nutrition delivered through a transpyloric feeding tube during the tracheal extubation process. We conducted a prospective, randomized controlled trial in mechanically ventilated children to examine the safety and efficacy of continuous transpyloric feeding compared with interrupted transpyloric feeding at the time of tracheal extubation.

METHODS
Subjects were randomly assigned to receive transpyloric feeding throughout the tracheal extubation process (Continuous Group) or to have transpyloric feeding discontinued 4 hours before tracheal extubation and restarted 4 hours after tracheal extubation (Interrupted Group). Data consisting of patient demographics, admission pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) score, diagnoses, adverse events (feeding intolerance, gastroesophageal reflux, and pulmonary aspiration), daily feeding volume, and caloric intake were recorded for the 3 days surrounding tracheal extubation.

RESULTS
Fifty-nine patients completed the study (29 in Continuous Group, 30 in Interrupted Group). There was no episode of pulmonary aspiration in either group. The Continuous Group experienced 4 adverse events, whereas the Interrupted Group experienced 3 adverse events (p = not significant). The Continuous Group received 92 +/- 2.5% of their caloric goal on the day of weaning from the ventilator (day 1) and 93 +/- 3.2% on the day of tracheal extubation (day 2) compared with 76 +/- 4.2% and 43 +/- 4.3%, respectively, in the Interrupted Group (p < .004 and p < .0001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Continuous transpyloric feeding during weaning from the ventilator and tracheal extubation is safe and results in the delivery of more optimal nutrition.


Regulation of vascular tone is complex due to the presence of redundant mechanisms operating over multiple spatial domains (cell, tissue and organ) and influenced by various confounding factors, such as sex, age and time. As a result, the task of identifying the underlying mechanisms of vascular dysfunction associated with complex cardiovascular diseases, like heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), remains under explored. 'Omics research strategies are proposed to be an effective way to navigate complicated physiology. In this review an 'omics approach is applied to the spatial domains of HFpEF using a mechanistic "physiological map" of factors known to be associated with vascular (dys) function. The result is intended to generate hypotheses, foster robust study design, and highlight the necessity for collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to conduct 'omics research, which in turn is expected to facilitate the development of efficacious therapies for cardiovascular diseases such as HFpEF, where etiologies are unclear and evidence-based therapeutic strategies lacking.


Abstract Introduction The majority of adrenal masses are found incidentally during imaging for non-adrenal causes. Approximately 5% of adrenal incidentalomas have proved to be pheochromocytomas. The majority of incidentalomas are benign and non-secretory. Case A 73 years-old white male with pre-diabetes and morbid obesity has been followed by endocrine service for right adrenal incidentaloma overall several years. A 1.6 cm right adrenal nodule with 31 Hounsfield Unit was found incidentally in 2009 CT abdomen for abdominal pain. It was a lipid poor adenoma with >60% absolute contrast washout in 10 minutes. Biochemically it was non-secretory. The size of nodule was gradually increased over next seven years measuring at 1.9 x 1.6 cm in 2010 and 2.1 x 1.6 cm in 2012 but remained non-secretory. In 2015 CT scan, it was measured at 3.0 x 2.3 cm with absolute washout value of 45% and relative washout value of 34%. The size was overall stable again for next three years measuring at 3.2 x 2.2 cm in 2018 scan. Repeat plasma and urine metanephrine were about 2-folds higher than upper normal reference level in 2015 and 3-folds higher in 2017. Clinically he was asymptomatic except anxiety. He has normocalcemia. He underwent laproscopic right adrenectomy after alpha blockage with doxazosin. Pathology showed 4.5 cm pheochromocytoma with positive chromogranin and synaptophysin. Fulgent paraganglioma-pheochromocytoma comprehensive panel with negative for RET,NF1,FH,SDHB,SDHD,SDHC,SDHAF2,SDHA,MAX,TMEM127 and VHL but noted to have heterozygous VUS of VHL c.205>G(p.Arg69Gly). He has no significant family history or personal history to suggest VHL. Discussion In a patient with lipid poor adrenal incidentaloma, pheochromocytoma should be ruled out biochemically with either plasma or 24hr urine fractionated metanephrine. Both tests have similar specificity and sensitivity. Even with initial negative biochemical assessment, repeat screening should be performed annually based on clinical suspicion and radiology characteristics. Imaging can be performed annually or biannually to assess the stability of nodule. VHL is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease with del/dup mutation in the VHL gene and associated with multisystem tumor such as CNS or retinal hemagioblastomas, RCC, pheochromocytoma, pancreatic NET, endolymphatic sac tumor, epididymal and broad ligament cystadenoma and visceral cysts. Learning points Lipid poor adrenal incidentaloma needs interval biochemical and imaging follow up. The frequency of monitoring can be individualized based on clinical suspicion and radiology findings. Pheochromocytoma can be clinically silent especially if it is small, however, it can be lethal with late or missed diagnosis. This is the first published case report of c.205C>G VHL variant associated with pheochromocytoma.


A reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction system was developed to detect passionfruit woodiness potyvirus (PWV) in leaves of Passiflora species. PWV coat protein (CP) sequences which were amplified from New South Wales isolates and PWV strain K had identical Hinf I, Hae III, Rsa I and Cfo I restriction profiles. Some polymorphism was revealed by digestion with Alu I. PWV CP sequences from 20 out of 21 plants had identical Alu I patterns which differed from that of PWV-K. The remaining isolate produced Ah I restriction fragments characteristic of both the common New South Wales isolates and of PWV-K, suggesting that the original plant contained a mixed infection. Three CP cDNA clones, each from an individual plant sample, and six clones from the sample which showed a mixed infection were sequenced. Analysis of the sequence data showed that these isolates from New South Wales had over 97% nucleotide sequence similarity and were closely related to PWV-K. There was 82–85% similarity in the deduced amino acid sequence to the previously described tip blight, severe and mild strains.


Aberrant proliferation of nucleus pulposus cell is implicated in the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration. Recent findings revealed that microRNAs, a class of small noncoding RNAs, could regulate cell proliferation in many pathological conditions. Here, we showed that miR-10b was dramatically upregulated in degenerative nucleus pulposus tissues when compared with nucleus pulposus tissues isolated from patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Moreover, miR-10b levels were associated with disc degeneration grade and downregulation of HOXD10. In cultured nucleus pulposus cells, miR-10b overexpression stimulated cell proliferation with concomitant translational inhibition of HOXD10 whereas restored expression of HOXD10 reversed the mitogenic effect of miR-10b. MiR-10b-mediated downregulation of HOXD10 led to increased RhoC expression and Akt phosphorylation. Either knockdown of RhoC or inhibition of Akt abolished the effect of miR-10b on nucleus pulposus cell proliferation. Taken together, aberrant miR-10b upregulation in intervertebral disc degeneration could contribute to abnormal nucleus pulposus cell proliferation through derepressing the RhoC-Akt pathway by targeting HOXD10. Our study also underscores the potential of miR-10b and the RhoC-Akt pathway as novel therapeutic targets in intervertebral disc degeneration.


: An increase in the firing rate induced minimization of the reward (a weak electrical skin stimulation) and altered the neuronal activity patterns in the posterior hypothalamus. The estimation of the expected random coincidence functions between the two neuronal activity trains belonging to adjacent cells showed the synchronization both in high- and low-frequency ranges. In the process of adaptive alterations of the neuronal activity, fluctuations of the expected randon coincidence coefficients occurred.


SummaryThe aim of this study was to determine the aetiology of solitary hot spots in the ribs found at bone scintigraphy in patients with known extraskeletal malignancy. A group of 34 patients whose bone scans showed a solitary hot spot in a rib were identified retrospectively over a 4-year period. They all had a known extraskeletal malignancy. Aetiology of the rib hot spot was established in 26 patients based on a review of clinical features, radiographic findings and clinical follow-up. In eight cases it remained indeterminate. In 14 (41%) cases, the rib lesion was malignant in origin, 9 were due to metastasis and 5 due to direct spread from intrapulmonary malignancy. In 12 (35%) cases, it was benign. In the remaining 8 (24%) cases, the aetiology was indeterminate. In the subgroup of 14 hot spots confined to the anterior rib end, 5 (36%) were due to malignancy. 4 (28%) were benign and 5 (36%) were indeterminate. We conclude that solitary hot spots in the ribs of patients with known extraskeletal malignancy undergoing bone scintigraphy are frequently (41%) malignant in origin. This also applies when the hot spot is in the anterior rib end (36% malignant). Thus, such hot spots are far more sinister than previously reported and require careful clinical and radiographic evaluation.


A bactericidal substance isolated from phage type 71 staphylococci has been studied relative to its mechanism of action on streptococcal cells. The substance exerts its effect best at 37 C. No cell lysis occurs as evidenced by lack of alteration in optical density of susceptible cell suspensions. The bactericidal substance results in immediate cessation of protein and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis as well as degradation of newly and previously formed ribonucleic acid (RNA). The action on RNA seems to be independent of protein synthesis.


An investigation of reproductive disorders including congenital defects of cattle was carried out in settled cattle herds in Zaria, Northern Nigeria. Congenital blindness and cataracts were observed in 2 of 8 (22%) of the herds studied with an overall prevalence of 10.91%. The overall prevalence of the individual defects was 2.87% and 8.05% for congenital blindness and cataract, respectively. The affected herds (I and II) had a total prevalence of 16.05% and 75.0% respectively with 92.31% of the defects being cataracts in herd I and 66.67% of the defects in herd IV being blindness. The prepartum serum levels of beta-carotene of cows in herds with calf congenital defects were significantly (P 0.05). There was an apparent increase in the level of serum beta - carotene following parturition in both groups. This study has shown that congenital defects associated with prepartum vitamin A deficiency exist in settled cattle herds in Zaria thus limiting cattle productivity. It is recommended that a more detailed and large scale investigation is carried out on congenital defects, involvement of vitamin A and other factors of the defects in the area.


Data envelopment analysis (DEA ( is a technique for measuring the efficiency of decision making units. In all models of the DEA, for each unit under assessment, the numerical efficiency is obtained which may be less than or equal to one. Given the possible large number of functional units, we use various ranking methods for evaluating units. One of the rating methods is Balance index and Topsis. This method has been used for categorical data. In this paper, we assume data as interval, introduce the interval Balance index and the interval Topsis and run it on a single example. Keyword: DEA, Ranking, Interval Data, Balance Index, Topsis


Advancements in microscopy instrumentation have resulted in larger volumes of acquired image data and, consequently, increased memory and space requirements for the processing and storage of the data. To address the issue in software, the Microscopy Image Analysis Tool (MIATool) was created to support processing of large image sets that makes efficient use of available resources. Implemented in MATLAB using object-oriented design, MIATool works with image pointer arrays to utilize RAM effectively and to support the analysis of different interpretations of data. Furthermore, the software provides image editing tools which operate on parameter objects that are saved in lieu of processed images to exploit the available disk space. A detailed image analysis example is given to illustrate the design and features of MIATool.


Objectives: Pressure Ulcer (PUs) remains one of the most crucial aspects of any home-based palliative care setting. The objective of this need assessment study was to assess caregivers' knowledge regarding the prevention of pressure ulcers (PUs) among home-based palliative care patients. Materials and Methods: Study design: This study was a quantitative cross-sectional survey. Setting: The study was conducted among caregivers of home-based palliative care patients residing in Olavanna Panchayath, Kozhikode. Population: Caregivers of home-based palliative care patients at risk of developing bedsores. Sample and sample size: Using the purposive sampling technique, the need assessment was conducted among 20 caregivers of home-based palliative care patients. Data were collected using a structured knowledge interview schedule. Data analysis: The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Knowledge assessment among care providers reveals that 10% had good knowledge, 40% had average knowledge, 50% had poor knowledge, and none had very good or very poor knowledge. Conclusion: Providing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and structured teaching programs can improve the knowledge of caregivers. Measures to improve the availability of helping hands at home through volunteer training, ensuring the necessary equipment and regular supervision are crucial for contributing to patient comfort and safety, which will enhance the quality of life of palliative care patients


Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine and metabolic disease characterized by hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance. It results in irregular menstruation, obesity and even infertility, which influences badly physical and mental health of the patients. Now, there is no effective drug for treating PCOS and the preferred program is lifestyle modification, including diet control, regular exercise and behavior therapy. Therefore, in the review, we summarize the study progress concerning the effects of lifestyle intervention on the metabolic, reproductive and psychological dysfunctions of PCOS patients and analyze the corresponding mechanisms in these processes. It can radically reduce the factors of PCOS occurrence and development, while providing valuable information for the prevention and treatment of PCOS and is helpful for further research.


Background: Thalassemia syndromes are the most prevalent single gene disorders in Iran. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different types of beta-globin gene mutations, co-inheritance of alpha-globin gene mutations and/or Xmn1 SNP on disease phenotype in a large cohort of Iranian patients. Subjects and Methods: In total, 433 patients were clinically classified into β-thalassemia major (TM) or intermedia (TI). Multiplex PCR, ARMS-PCR, RFLP-PCR and DNA sequencing were performed to identify both α- and β-globin gene mutations and Xmn1 polymorphism as well. All data were compared and analyzed by SPSS software in TM and TI groups, consequently. Results: A total of 39 different β-globin mutations were identified. Among them, the most common were IVS IInt1 (40.33%) followed by IVS Int5 (9.56%), C30 (7.22%) and Fr8-9(7%). All patients were subjected to evaluate common α-globin gene deletions. The patients inherited concomitant mutations of α- and β-globin, showed no clinical modifications compared with those who had only β-globin mutation. The TI patients showed a significant increase in frequency of both heterozygous and homozygous form of the Xmn1 polymorphism. It was also found that β0/β0 genotype patients, inherited the Xmn1 polymorphism required lesser blood transfusion. Conclusion: No significant differences were observed, on the severity of disease, between patient's inherited defective α- and β-globin genes and ones with just β-globin gene mutation. Taking the results of this research into account, Xmn1 polymorphism can be considered as an important genetic factor modulating the severity of disease.


Polymalformative syndromes may involve an alteration of the two pubertal components: sexual maturation and pubertal growth spurt. An absence of pubertal development, generally without changing of final height, or an advance of puberty, with reduction of adult height are possible in some syndromes. Moreover, a normal pubertal evolution, with lack of pubertal growth spurt, is the result in bone growth anomalies. Puberty increases bone strength, in some conditions in which it is reduced, and finally this period of rapid growth may cause an alteration of structure and bone segments. A series of examples on correlations between polymalformative syndromes and puberty is presented.


Background: Juvenile-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (JSLE) is a chronic debilitating multi-system autoimmune condition characterised by auto-antibody production directed against nuclear antigens. It is associated with a more severe onset and more aggressive clinical course than in adults, with poor prognostic factors presenting earlier in childhood. It has been proposed that dysregulated neutrophil apoptosis may be a source of autoantigen in JSLE. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential in the function of the innate immune system recognising pathogenic material. Upon stimulation they initiate a non-specific immune response leading to the production of an antigen-specific immune defence and autoantibody production. TLRs have been implicated in the development of autoimmunity. TLRs 3, 7, 8 and 9 are capable of recognising nucleic autoantigens typical of SLE and their expression has been shown to positively correlate with anti-dsDNA titres and disease activity in adult-onset SLE. To date there have been no studies examining the role of TLRs in JSLE. Aim: To assess whether apoptotic neutrophils in JSLE are providing a source of nuclear autoantigen which are being detected through TLRs 3, 7, 8 and 9 resulting in an inflammatory response through activation of an adaptive autoimmune response. Methods: Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) and B cells were isolated from JSLE patients, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) (inflammatory controls) and non-inflammatory controls. TLR 3, 7-9 mRNA and protein expression was measured using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and flow cytometry respectively. PBMCs were incubated with TLR agonists, activation was measured by IFN-a protein and mRNA expression, by ELISA and qPCR respectively. Neutrophils were isolated from healthy controls and incubated with JSLE serum to induce apoptosis. Apoptotic neutrophils were incubated with PBMCs at varying concentrations for 6 hours. After which IFN-a mRNA expression was measured by qPCR. PBMCs were treated with a MyD88 inhibitor to block TLRs 7-9 or left untreated. MyD88 treated and untreated PBMCs were incubated with TLR9 agonist or apoptotic neutrophils for 6 hours. TLR activation was measured using IFN-a mRNA expression by qPCR. Results: JSLE patients have a significantly increased PBMC TLR 3, 8 and 9 protein and mRNA expression compared to controls (p


Web Services and Business Processes for Web Services are the new paradigms for the lightweight integration of business from different enterprises. Whereas the security and access control policies for basic web services and distributed systems are well studied and almost standardized, there is not yet a comprehensive proposal for an access control architecture for business processes. The major difference is that business process describe complex services that cross organizational boundaries and are provided by entities that sees each other as just partners and nothing else. This calls for a number of differences with traditional aspects of access control architectures such as: - credential vs classical user-based access control, - interactive and partner-based vs one-server-gathers-all requests of credentials from clients, - controlled disclosure of information vs all-or-nothing access control decisions, - abducing missing credentials for fulfilling requests vs deducing entailment of valid requests from credentials in formal models, - "source-code" authorization processes vs data describing policies for communicating policies or for orchestrating the work of authorization servers. Looking at the access control field we find good approximation of most components but not their synthesis into one access control architecture for business processes for web services, which is the contribution of this paper.


Two PhDs were recently awarded to students involved in the animal breeding and reproduction programmes of the Directorate Animal Sciences.


The benefit of changing to Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) from uniform application methods needs to be assessed for technology adoption. Precision irrigation involves water application in optimum amounts. Results indicate that feasibility of precision irrigation depends on field variability, crop value, economies of scale, and useful life of the equipment.


This article aims to explore the relationship between patient empowerment and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Indeed, ICTs are considered important for increasing access to medical information and for patients' other experiences, thereby nourishing the empowering rhetoric. The paper presents a research study conducted in Italy that focuses on the self-assessments made by online health communities (OHCs) users, subdivided in three categories, according to their level of online activity: Lurkers, occasionally active users and frequently active users. The concept of empowerment was operationalised in five issues: autonomy from doctors, involvement in medical decision-making, competence, self-management and acceptance. The results support the relationship between perceptions of empowerment and the higher level of activity played on OHCs, contributing instead to reject the idea of a generalised benefit. Moreover, the paper aims to enrich the theory of patient empowerment by adding a socio-material perspective. This helps broaden the understanding of the relationship between empowerment and ICTs by highlighting its underlying complex skein.

 Key words: Empowerment, self-management, information and communication technologies, online health communities, socio-material perspective, chronic disease.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to develop a program promoting adjustment to hospital life and determining its effectiveness for school aged children.

METHOD
The sample group consisted of 76 hospitalized children in 2 University Hospitals located in Busan. The experimental group was given the program on admission and feedback was obtained on the 3rd day and again 24 hours later. Data was analyzed using t-test and ANOVA in the SPSS program package.

RESULT
There were significant differences, in information(t=4.235, p=0.000) and coping effort criteria (t=2.922, p=0.005) between the experimental and control groups. There was a non-significant difference in attitude criteria between the two groups(t=1.009, p=0.316).

CONCLUSION
It was found that the adjustment promoting program for hospital life for school aged children was effective, but not enough to promote self-esteem. The program, based on a learning theory, was improved and shown to be an effective and strong method to promote adjustment of school-aged children.


A few basic results regarding the ranks of certain types of matrices are presented. Also, some bounds on the ranks of the real and imaginary parts of a positive semi-definite Hermitian matrix are worked out. Applications of particular cases of these results in the areas like passive network synthesis, generation of two-variable reactance matrices, etc., are pointed out.


Effects of uniaxial stress on the dielectric properties of ceramics in lead magnesium niobate–lead zirconate titanate (PMN–PZT) system are investigated. The ceramics with a formula (x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–(1−x)Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 or (x)PMN–(1 − x)PZT when x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.0 are prepared by a conventional mixed-oxide method. Phase formation behaviour and microstructural features of these ceramics are studied by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods, respectively. The dielectric properties under the uniaxial stress of the PMN–PZT ceramics are observed at stress levels up to 5 MPa using a uniaxial compressometer. It is found that with increasing applied stress the dielectric constant of the PZT-rich compositions increases slightly, while that of the PMN-rich compositions decreases. On the other hand, the dielectric loss tangent for most of the compositions first rises and then drops with increasing applied stress.


Human exposure to elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace organic compounds (e.g. PCB, OCP, PBDE) can be related to negative health effects. This raises demands of exposure measurements to be performed. Passive air samplers (PAS) are simple and cheap sampling options that may be useful tools for exposure screening of large populations. They can also enable frequent monitoring. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate and increase the understanding of PAS methods to sample and monitor PAHs and some trace organic compounds in occupational and residential air. A polyurethane foam (PUF) based PAS was considered having the best potential and was chosen for the evaluation. Two designs of this PUF-PAS were evaluated: one for stationary sampling shaped as a disk and one for personal sampling shaped as a cylinder ("mini-PUF"). The results presented show that PUF-PAS disks and mini-PUFs provide detectable levels for most of the studied compounds under typical occupational and residential air concentrations. They also showed potential to detect spatial differences in concentrations between and within sampling sites as well as inside and outside homes. The novel use of the mini-PUF was successful both as stationary and personal sampler. Moreover, the precision of gas phase PAHs in replicates of PUF-PAS disks and mini-PUFs were comparable to precision for active samplers while particle-associated PAHs showed more variable results. Results from personally deployed mini-PUFs were significantly correlated to personal active samplers for the studied compounds and the accuracy was high for most compounds. Sampling rates (RS) for 16 individual PAHs ranged from 1 to 10 m 3 day -1 (0.7-7 L min -1 ) in PUF-PAS disks, from 0.4 to 3.3 m 3 day -1 (0.3-2.3 L min -1 ) in mini-PUFs deployed for two weeks as well as 8 h. No significant differences in RS were found for PAHs in the gas phase and PAHs associated to particles. The RS was higher for the mini-PUF compared to the PUFPAS disk when correcting for their surface areas indicating a more efficient uptake in the mini-PUF design. Somewhat higher RS was also found for gas phase PAHs for the 8 h exposure compared to two weeks exposure. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that PUF-PAS disks can be a useful tool for screening of PAH concentrations in occupational environments. The mini-PUF has a good potential to be used as a personal sampler for PAHs in occupational environments but requires further validation.


A dedicated system, based on digital sampling of beam signals with a commercial oscilloscope, has been developed to measure bunch by bunch current in the DAΦNE collider. It provides an automated tool to equalize bunch filling patterns in the main rings. Individual bunch current and lifetime are simultaneously computed from the sampled data, collected at a 4Hz rate and provided via ethernet to the accelerator control system to control individual bunch injection. System hardware and software data processing are reported, together with performance and results of the measurements obtained during DAΦNE operation.


Male Swiss Webster mice were fed a diet containing 2.5 percent griseofulvin (GF). Serially progressive light and electron microscopic hepatic altertions were present from one day on and grossly visible hepatomegaly from two weeks until termination at 22 weeks. GF induced liver changes included hepatocyte nuclear and cytoplasmic hypertrophy, increased incidence of necrosis and mitosis, Kupffer cell activation, bile duct proliferation and portal fibrosis. Protoporphyrin crystals were present in hepatocyte cytoplasm as early as one day after GF feeding. Hepatocellular hyalin was initially noted at seven weeks. Thereafter, the hyalin increased in prominence and frequency of occurrence. Ultrastructurally, three types of hyalin have been presently demonstrated to correspond to Mallory bodies (MB) reported in human liver disease. Forms intermediate in appearance between various MB types suggested transition from one to another. Areas of organelle free cytosol with abundant, loosely scattered filamentous elements as well as vesicular, smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes appeared preceding and closely associated with MB formation. Similarities of hepatocellular MB observed in GF fed mice and reported earlier in human alcoholic liver disease suggest a common pathway in its formation as a response to divergent noxious insults.


This papers presents bond graphs modeling and simulation of the second order self-excited system using Bondsim Simulink library. The application of Bondsim elements is based on Fakri transformation of bond graphs into block diagrams. Using an example of a mechanical self-excited stick-slip system it is shown that the use of Bondsim library will simplify the modeling and simulation.


In 70 patients with primary open angle glaucoma and 70 unrelated controls of identical ethnic origin, the prevalence of different HLA antigens were examined. There were statistically no significant differences in the incidence of the antigens in both groups. There was no association between specific HLA antigen and primary open angle glaucoma.


To study the reproductive aspects of captive Agouti paca, we analyzed the vaginal cells of six non-pregnant, mature pacas submitted to exfoliative colpocytology. The pacas were held in captivity at the Center for Studies and Research on Wild Animals (CEPAS) of the College of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences (FCAV), Sao Paulo State University (Unesp), Campus of Jaboticabal, Brazil. The study of estrous cycle was based on the identification and counting of the vaginal wall epithelial cells, as well as the leukocyte, mucus, and debris indexes. Four phases of the estrous cycle were identified. The mean and standard deviation for the estrous cycle duration was 33.4 ± 4.4 days. Superficial cells were predominant in the estrous phase, whereas intermediate cells and parabasal cells were identified in the proestrus, metestrus and anestrus. Metestrus was characterized by a great number of intermediate and parabasal cells, metestrum cells and foam cells, besides leucocytes. During anestrus, there was a prevalence of parabasal cells, debris and a small number of intermediate cells, metestrum cells and leucocytes. The vaginal exfoliative colpocytology allowed identifying the epithelial cells and detecting cellular changes that occur during the estrous cycle. It proved to be useful in the identification of estrous and the mean duration of the estrous cycle in captive pacas


A 46-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a left-sided renal tumor pointed out by ultrasonography at the time of a medical checkup.Computed tomography revealed a mass measuring 88×77×68 mm on the upper pole of the left kidney. She was diagnosed with cT2aN0M0 clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Laparoscopic left nephrectomy was performed uneventfully. Histopathological diagnosis was clear cell renal cell carcinoma, G2, v1, pT2. Four months after surgery, lung metastases appeared, and systemic therapy was given sequentially as follows ; sunitinib for 2 months, nivolumab for 8 months, axitinib for 17 months, and pazopanib for 2 months.However, metastases progressed, and a re-administration of nivolumab was planned. The nivolumab re-treatment resulted in a marked reduction in multiple lung metastases despite the previous failure by nivolumab treatment. There are few reports on the therapeutic effect of re-administration of nivolumab. We report a case of successful treatment by re-administration of nivolumab.


ABSTRACT
 A partial ornithomimid skeleton, ROM 1790, from the lower Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta was previously referred to Struthiomimus altus, but lacks diagnostic characters of that species. It is here described as the holotype of a new species, Rativates evadens, gen. et sp. nov., diagnosed by the form of the maxilla-jugal contact, the reduction of the mid-caudal neural spines, the convex fusion of the left and right ischial shafts, the straight-edged distal end of the third metatarsal, and possibly the relatively enlarged medial condyle of the tibia. A histological section of the femur confirms that the type specimen is not a juvenile, despite its relatively small size (approximately 50% the size of large individuals of Struthiomimus altus). Phylogenetic analysis recovers Rativates as a member of a derived ornithomimid clade that includes Ornithomimus, Struthiomimus, and the Asian taxa Anserimimus and Qiupalong. Fusion of the proximal tarsals to the tibia in some ornithomimid specimens was observed to be more complete than previously recognized, increasing the suite of features that these non-avian dinosaurs share homoplastically with birds.


Planar geometric transformations approximately model differences between images from a moving camera. Our registration technique consists of finding and matching featured primitives, invariant in the observed scene. The invariant shape to be maintained constrains the kind of approximation. Primitives stem from level-lines, inheriting their robustness towards contrast changes. The registration still improves it through efficient cumulative matching based on a multi-stage primitive election procedure. This paper is a continuation of a preliminary work on the simplest geometric transform, similarity, constructing two-segment-primitives. Our contribution is to validate further geometric transforms, completing the path "similarity, affine, projective". Transformations are stable when they are computed on planar objects or from scenes which contain many coplanar facets and elements. Our approach works with cluttered images, and even if the estimation is done globally while the apparent displacement is not small and there are several different unknown motions in the scene. Results obtained with selected shapes of primitives are shown and compared in the corresponding sections. A gauge of transform goodness is elaborated, based on an assumption of spatial ergodicity incentive to estimate a conditional probability of finding similar pixel values in a neighborhood of the original and transformed images respectively.


This paper presents a personalized adaptive cruise control (PACC) design that can learn human driver behavior and adaptively control the semi-autonomous vehicle (SAV) in the car-following scenario, and investigates its impacts on mixed traffic. In mixed traffic where the SAV and human-driven vehicles share the road, the SAV's driver can choose a PACC tuning that better fits the driver's preferred driving strategies. The individual driver's preferences are learned through the inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) approach by recovering a unique cost function from the driver's demonstrated driving data that best explains the observed driving style. The proposed PACC design plans the motion of the SAV by minimizing the learned unique cost function considering the short preview information of the preceding human-driven vehicle. The results reveal that the learned driver model can identify and replicate the personalized driving behaviors accurately and consistently when following the preceding vehicle in a variety of traffic conditions. Furthermore, we investigated the impacts of the PACC with different drivers on mixed traffic by considering time headway, gap distance, and fuel economy assessments. A statistical investigation shows that the impacts of the PACC on mixed traffic vary among tested drivers due to their intrinsic driving preferences.


Background and Importance: Chronic subdural hematomas (cSDH) are a common problem for which solutions remain imperfect. Surgery is effective, but not without risk. Recent data have suggested a role for inflammation in the genesis of cSDH and several reports have documented some benefit to steroid treatment. In this report, a possible role for tumor necrosis factor alpha blockade in the resolution of a multiply recurrent cSDH is described. Clinical Presentation: An 86-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab presented with a large, symptomatic, multiloculated cSDH. Infliximab was withheld and craniotomy for evacuation was uncomplicated, but recurrent symptoms were noted and a recurrence was operated upon again several weeks later. Follow up CT showed a second recurrence. The patient requested to go back on his infliximab due to painful arthralgias. After a single dose of 10 mg/kg, follow up CT showed that the cSDH resolved and did not recur. Conclusion: Anti-TNF-alpha treatment with infliximab may have played a role in the resolution of this patient's cSDH. Further investigation of this possible effect seems warranted.


In this essay, I discuss the challenges faced by Canadian researchers in trying to undertake research, particularly in the area of education. I begin by focusing on the issue of data availability (with focus on the lack of race data in Canada) and the extreme limitations that these issues place on the potential for research on important Canadian education issues and then discuss what I regard as hypervigilant data access protocols for Canadian data sets. I then turn to practical issues that arise when comparing education data across cities and countries and the process of "harmonizing" the data. I address the compromises that must be made when attempting to make data comparable across different sites. I conclude by discussing how the larger context in which education occurs must be considered when understanding observed comparative differences between educational outcomes.


In a controlled field trial, 178 dairy cows with chronic endometritis and at least 21 days in lactation were randomly assigned to four different treatment groups: prostaglandin F2alpha intramuscularly (PG, 5 mg dinoprost (5 ml Dinolytic), n = 51), intrauterine antibiotics (AB; 400 mg ampicillin + 800 oxacillin (20 ml Totocillin), n = 49), intrauterine antiseptics (AS; 100 ml 4% Lotagen, n = 50); control (C, no initial treatment, n = 28). Before treatment, uterine swabs for bacteriologic examination and blood samples for determination of serum progesterone concentrations were collected. Two weeks following the first treatment, cows were reexamined. In case no clinical cure was diagnosed, treatment was repeated and control cows were treated for the first time with one of the three treatments mentioned above. The four treatment groups did not differ with respect to the clinical cure or reproductive performance. Therefore, factors that might have an influence on clinical cure and fertility were evaluated. With increasing duration of lactation, the clinical cure after a single treatment increased significantly over all treatment groups from 59.5% (treatment before day 42 postpartum) to 79.6% (treatment following day 42 postpartum) (P < 0.05). Within the PG group, a statistically significantly higher cure rate after a single treatment and first service conception rate and a lower pregnancy index were obtained when the treatment was performed following day 42 postpartum (P < 0.05). This was not the case in the other treatment groups. A retarded involution of the uterus based on the size had a negative effect on clinical cure over all groups (first treatment clinical cure: 68.2% (small uteri) vs 44.4% (large uteri); P < 0.05). Within groups, this effect was also detected, but only as a trend (P > 0.05). Isolation of Arcanobacterium (A.) pyogenes negatively influenced first treatment clinical cure over all treatment groups (79.0% vs 31.5%) and within treatment groups (P < 0.05). In the AB group, the pregnancy index, days open and the interval from first insemination to conception increased compared with the other treatment groups, when A. pyogenes was detected. Isolation of unspecific bacteria and the presence or absence of a corpus luteum only had minor effects over all and within the PG, AS and C group. Within the AB group, presence of luteal tissue was connected with a higher pregnancy index and increased days open and interval from first insemination to conception (P < 0.05). A multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of A. pyogenes and no initial treatment (control group) had a statistically significant independent and negative influence on the first treatment clinical cure. Ill-smelling vaginal discharge and no treatment had a negative independent effect on first service conception rate. Furthermore, days open were negatively influenced by the interval from calving to first examination and the presence of ill-smelling vaginal discharge. In conclusion, under the conditions of this field study, it seems preferrable to treat chronic endometritis. However, under the condition of a herd health program with continuous observation of sick and healthy animals, a wait-and-see attitude might also be justified.


We propose a model for relating IT management complexity metrics to key business-level performance metrics like time and labor cost. In particular, we address the problem of quantifying and predicting the value that automation and IT service management process transformation will yield before their actual deployment. Our approach looks at this problem from a different, new perspective by regarding complexity as a surrogate for potential labor cost and human-error-induced problems: It consists in (1) assessing and evaluating the complexity of IT management processes and procedures, (2) separately measuring business-level performance metrics (3) relating the collected complexity metrics to business-level performance metrics by means of a quantitative model, and (4) validating the model through a field study. Algorithms are presented for selecting a subset of the complexity metrics to use as explanatory variables in a quantitative model and for constructing the quantitative model itself. Besides improving decision making for deploying automation technologies and transforming IT service management processes, our quantitative IT management complexity model can help service providers and outsourcers predict the amount of human effort and skills that will be needed to provide a given service, thus allowing them to more effectively evaluate costs and benefits of automation technologies and IT management process transformations.


Proteases are enzymes that break peptide bonds between amino acids of other proteins and occupy a crucial position with respect to their applications in both physiological and commercial fields. In order to screen new source of protease, bacteria producing extracellular proteases at low temperature were isolated from deep sea water of East Sea, Korea. A bacterium showing the best growth rate and production of an extracellular protease at low temperature was designated HJ 47. The DNA sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, phenotypic tests and morphology led to the placement of this organism in the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Although maximal growth was observed at , enzyme production per culture time was maximum at . At this temperature, extracellluar protease production was detected from the end of the exponential phage to stationary phase, and maximal at 15 hours after initial production. The optimum temperature and pH of the protease were found to be and 8.


In traditional parcel delivery operations, customers determine delivery locations and, hence, the performance of a transporter. We exploit this idea and show that customers can improve the efficiency of a transporter by giving the latter flexibility in choosing the delivery locations. Two possible policies to enable this flexibility are presented and evaluated. The first policy, conceptually similar to roaming vehicle routing, is related to the presence of alternative locations. The second policy is related to the possibility of aggregating/skipping some locations. We show that route optimization behind both policies can be modelled via the well-known generalized travelling salesman problem. Extensive computational experiments with real parcel delivery data are performed to evaluate the potential of the presented policies and to obtain insights for possible implementation in daily practice. The experiments show that under certain conditions, the two proposed policies can lead to 15 to 20% improvement in the route length and in extreme yet realistic cases up to 40 to 50%. Consequently, the concept of flexible delivery locations has potential for practice, especially in densely populated areas.


This paper examines the differences between economists and environmentalists on issues such as resource scarcity, intergenerational equity, and the composition of social capital. While economic notions of optimal growth and the techniques of benefit-cost analysis are seen to have advantages for evaluating complex tradeoffs due to their concreteness, they have potentially serious limitations as well. The analysis identifies two sources of potential bias in the use of welfare economics for social choice: First, there is a "conservative reinforcement" implicit in benefit-cost analysis methods which will bias estimates of optimality. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the aggregation of individual willingness to pay as a measure of social welfare is shown to be invalid in the case of "positional goods," where the demand for the goods reflects the desire of individuals to raise their own relative standing. This error will cause the economic calculus to be biased against non-positional goods, including non-rival goods such as the environment. Because the dynamic consequences of even small biases in judging optimality may give rise to large social costs, the use of economic measures of welfare for social choice and environmental policy needs corrective modification. The paper concludes that such modification would likely narrow the apparent differences between economists and environmentalists.


Planning an itinerary when traveling to a city involves substantial effort in choosing Points-of-Interest (POIs), deciding in which order to visit them, and accounting for the time it takes to visit each POI and transit between them. Several online services address different aspects of itinerary planning but none of them provides an interactive interface where users give feedbacks and iteratively construct their itineraries based on personal interests and time budget. In this paper, we formalize interactive itinerary planning as an iterative process where, at each step: (1) the user provides feedback on POIs selected by the system, (2) the system recommends the best itineraries based on all feedback so far, and (3) the system further selects a new set of POIs, with optimal utility, to solicit feedback for, at the next step. This iterative process stops when the user is satisfied with the recommended itinerary. We show that computing an itinerary is NP-complete even for simple itinerary scoring functions, and that POI selection is NP-complete. We develop heuristics and optimizations for a specific case where the score of an itinerary is proportional to the number of desired POIs it contains. Our extensive experiments show that our algorithms are efficient and return high quality itineraries.


We studied the intestinal glucose absorption in a colony of rats at different ages. The experiment was carried out on animals of the following ages: 3, 5, 10 and 20 months. All rats were fasted 48 hr prior to the administration of 2 ml. 50% glucose solution by an oesophageal sound. After one hour the animals were killed, the intestine was washed with a determinated quantity of distilled water and homogenized, to find out any trace of glucose in mucose cells. Glucose absorption was calculated as the difference between the quantity introduced and that left in the intestine. The results of this experiment show that glucose absorption expressed as mg/100 gm. body weight/hr decrease significantly during the first 10 months, with no marked changes there after. Absorption rapidly increase during the first 16 month, if expressed as mg/hr. This is probably due to a remarkable weight increase without a proportional increase of intestinal length.


This paper attempts to investigate the validity of Financial Kuznets Curve hypothesis that examine the relationship between financial development and income inequality for G-7 economies. Towards to aim of the paper, we use annual data of Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK and the USA and employ the method of Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) developed by Stock and Watson (1993) and the cointegration test developed by Shin (1994). According to empirical results, we find out the validity of Financial Kuznets Curve hypothesis Canada, Italy and the USA, so there exists an inverse U-shaped relationship between financial development and income inequality. On the other hand, we find out no evidence of the validity of Financial Kuznets Curve hypothesis for Germany and the UK. According to estimation results of ARDL models, we only find out evidence of the validity of Financial Kuznets Curve hypothesis for Germany and Italy. Moreover, the empirical findings do not support the validity of traditional Kuznets Curve hypothesis for Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK and the USA and there does not exist a relationship between economic growth and income inequality in G-7 countries.


Maguey mezcalero (Agave angustifolia Haw.) is an industrial crop grown in the highlands of Oaxaca State (Southern Mexico), a semi-arid area. A previous study focusing on soil properties provided a reference for the selection of the soil quality indicators in this study. The objective of this work was to identify the appropriate soil parameters for soil quality assessment in cultivated A. angustifolia plantations using three tillage systems: disk ploughing (DP), animal-drawn ploughing (ADP) and minimum tillage (MT). Each tillage system was associated with a specific topographic condition (valley, hill and mountain, respectively). Principal component analysis identified soil organic carbon, pH, soil microbial biomass carbon, and exchangeable Mg2+ as potential indicators for a minimum data set for soil quality assessment in A. angustifolia plantations. Soil organic carbon was the most sensitive indicator for separating the sites and their associated tillage systems.

 Key words: Agave angustifolia, semi-arid soils, soil organic carbon.


Morphological profiling aims to create signatures of genes, chemicals and diseases from microscopy images. Current approaches use classical computer vision-based segmentation and feature extraction. Deep learning models achieve state-of-the-art performance in many computer vision tasks such as classification and segmentation. We propose to transfer activation features of generic deep convolutional networks to extract features for morphological profiling. Our approach surpasses currently used methods in terms of accuracy and processing speed. Furthermore, it enables fully automated processing of microscopy images without need for single cell identification.


Summary form only given. This paper classifies and analyzes the capital and total costs for 172 electricity distribution system capacity enhancement projects undertaken during 1995-2002 or planned in the 2003-2011 time period by three electric power utilities in the Western United States. Projects were sorted into eight categories: capacitors, bad transfer, new feeder, new line, new substation, new transformer, reconductoring, and substation capacity increase. Capital cost and total cost frequency distributions were constructed along with descriptive statistics for each project type. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was performed to determine how various project variables (e.g., project location and primary customer served by the project) impact the unit costs. Distribution system capital costs averaged $51/kVA of additional capacity and varied significantly by project type. New substations and new transformers were the most costly, $112/kVA and $87/kVA respectively, while reconductoring and substation capacity increase were found to be the least expensive ($21/kVA). Using the full costs of delivering electricity over the 30-year life of a project increased the mean project cost to $100/kVA. The OLS analysis revealed that the primary determinant of total project cost is project type. Other variables, such as the geographic location of the project and primary customer served, did not yield statistically significant results.


This paper examines the nature and determinants of the capital structure choice of Jordanian non-financial listed companies. This paper also studies the impact of the financial and economic liberalization on the capital structure choice of these companies. The move from a relatively highly controlled to a more liberalized financial system since the early-1990s should have a significant impact on the extent and nature of the financial decisions of companies. The findings of this paper suggest that while much of the explanatory powers of main stream capital structure theories are applicable to the Jordanian companies. The empirical evidence also shows that the 1990s liberalization did affect their financial decisions. Moreover, the findings of the paper suggest that Jordanian companies have target leverage ratios and following the financial liberalization, their speed of adjustment to these ratios have, as unexpected, decreased.


Carotid strain imaging using ultrasound-based speckle tracking has showed potential in risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases. However, assessing strain in the artery wall and in atherosclerotic plaques is challenging because of small dimensions and low deformations in relation to the applied ultrasound wavelength. High-resolution ultrasound has potential to improve the speckle tracking performance by increasing spatial resolution. The aim of this study was to compare carotid strain estimation by speckle tracking using standard clinical ultrasound and high-resolution ultrasound in an experimental setup. Ultrasound long-axis images were obtained using a standard clinical ultrasound system (Vivid7) and a high resolution ultrasound system (Vevo2100) in dynamic phantoms mimicking the carotid artery. Speckle tracking was performed to estimate radial and longitudinal strain whereas sonomicrometry was used as reference. The results showed a significant better performance for speckle tracking applied on images from the high-resolution system compared to the standard clinical system.


ABSTRACT Senior pre-university education (SPE) students experience difficulties applying mathematics to physics. This paper reports the outcome of an online explorative quantitative study of teachers' belief systems about improving transfer of algebraic skills from mathematics into physics, conducted among 503 mathematics and physics teachers working in SPE. We used a questionnaire with 16 beliefs about improving transfer, and asked teachers to select a top 5 and distribute 50 points among them. We used agglomerative hierarchical clustering to cluster qualified SPE teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience. We found 3 large clusters, each containing naïve and desirable beliefs about transfer. These clusters turned out to be rather coherent sets of beliefs. Hence, these clusters can be interpreted as belief systems, to a certain extent justifying Ernest's [(1991). The philosophy of mathematics education. London: Falmer.] idea to cluster teachers based on their belief systems. We found relations between our groups and those of Ernest. Since naïve beliefs turn out to be weak in each cluster, science teacher educators can help science teachers to change their harmful naïve beliefs, into desirable transfer enhancing beliefs. Furthermore, we discuss some implications of our results for science teacher educators, curricula, teachers and textbooks.


Fibroblasts are an important resident cell population in the heart involved in maintaining homeostasis and structure during normal conditions. They are also crucial in disease states for sensing signals and initiating the appropriate repair responses to maintain the structural integrity of the heart. This sentinel role of cardiac fibroblasts occurs, in part, through their ability to secrete cytokines. β-adrenergic receptors (βAR) are also critical regulators of cardiac function in the normal and diseased state and a major therapeutic target clinically. βAR are known to influence cytokine secretion in various cell types and they have been shown to be involved in cytokine production in the heart, but their role in regulating cytokine production in cardiac fibroblasts is not well understood. Thus, we hypothesized that βAR activation on cardiac fibroblasts modulates cytokine production to influence fibroblast function. Using primary fibroblast cultures from neonatal rats and adult mice, increased interleukin (IL)-6 expression and secretion occurred following β2AR activation. The use of pharmacological inhibitors and genetic manipulations showed that IL-6 elevations occurred through the Gαs-mediated activation of ERK1/2 and resulted in increased fibroblast proliferation. In vivo, a lack of β2AR resulted in increased infarct size following myocardial infarction and impaired wound closure in a murine dermal wound healing assay. These findings identify an important role for β2AR in regulating fibroblast proliferation through Gαs/ERK1/2-dependent alterations in IL-6 and may lead to the development of improved heart failure therapies through targeting fibrotic function of β2AR.


Allergenic mites are responsible for inducing hypersensitive reactions in genetically predisposed people worldwide. Mites in dust from 30 Irish homes with pets (dogs, n = 23; cats, n = 7) were compared with those in 30 homes without pets. House dust mites constituted 78% of all mites recorded, with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Acariformes: Pyroglyphidae) representing 57–72% of mites in furniture and mattresses in both home types compared with only 22% of mites in pet beds. Although storage mites accounted for just 13% of all mites recorded, they represented 46% of mites recorded in pet beds. Median levels of the dust mite allergen Der p 1 (µg/g) in dust samples from mattresses in homes without pets were significantly greater than in mattresses from homes with pets, reflecting the greater densities of D. pteronyssinus found in the former home category. Mite species richness was greater in homes with pets (17 species) than in homes without pets (13 species). This suggests that although the presence of pets can result in a wider variety of epidemiologically important mite species within households, increased competition among mite species may result in a more balanced mite fauna in the home, inhibiting the dominance of any one species and hence lowering allergen‐associated risks.


We address the problem of tracking 3D object poses from touch during in-hand manipulations. Specifically, we look at tracking small objects using vision-based tactile sensors that provide high-dimensional tactile image measurements at the point of contact. While prior work has relied on a-priori information about the object being localized, we remove this requirement. Our key insight is that an object is composed of several local surface patches, each informative enough to achieve reliable object tracking. Moreover, we can recover the geometry of this local patch online by extracting local surface normal information embedded in each tactile image. We propose a novel two-stage approach. First, we learn a mapping from tactile images to surface normals using an image translation network. Second, we use these surface normals within a factor graph to both reconstruct a local patch map and use it to infer 3D object poses. We demonstrate reliable object tracking for over 100 contact sequences across unique shapes with four objects in simulation and two objects in the real-world.


We use a fitness-generating function (G-function) approach to evolutionary games. The Gfunction allows for simultaneous consideration of strategy dynamics and population dynamics. In contrast to approaches using a separate fitness function for each strategy, the G-function automatically expands and contracts the dimensionality of the evolutionary game as the number of extant strategies increases or decreases. In this way, the number of strategies is not fixed but emerges as part of the evolutionary process. We use the G-function to derive conditions for a strategy's (or a set of strategies) resistance to invasion and convergence stability. In hopes of relating the proliferation of ESS-related terminology, we define an ESS as a set of strategies that is both resistant to invasion and convergent-stable. With our definition of ESS, we show the following: (1) Evolutionarily unstable maxima and minima are not achievable from adaptive dynamics. (2) Evolutionarily stable minima are achievable from adaptive dynamics and allow for adaptive speciation and divergence by additional strategies – in this sense, these minima provide transition points during an adaptive radiation and are therefore unstable when subject to small mutations. (3) Evolutionarily stable maxima are both invasion-resistant and convergent-stable. When global maxima on the adaptive landscape are at zero fitness, these combinations of strategies make up the ESS. We demonstrate how the number of co-existing strategies (coalition) emerges when seeking an ESS solution. The Lotka-Volterra competition model and Monod model of competition are used to illustrate combinations of invasion resistance and convergence stability, adaptive speciation and evolutionarily 'stable' minima, and the diversity of co-existing strategies that can emerge as the ESS.


Non-planar semiconductor devices, such as vertical fin-based field-effect transistor (FinFET) devices have been developed that include multiple vertical fins serving as conducting channel regions to enable larger effective conduction width in a small layout area. However, as circuits are scaled to smaller dimensions, it has become increasingly difficult to improve the performance of FinFET devices. Stacked nanosheet FETs have been developed to further enable larger effective conduction width in a given small layout area while enabling gate length scaling. Nanosheet (NS) FET devices have attracted attention as a candidate to replace FinFET technology at the 5 nm technology node and beyond due to their excellent electrostatics and short channel control. The use of silicon-germanium for the channel material has been explored as a major technology element for FinFET CMOS technology, and the performance benefits of Si-Ge channel over silicon channel have been demonstrated. Compared with conventional FinFET, stacked gate-all-around (GAA) NS CMOS shows higher electron mobility for nFET but lower hole mobility for pFET due to its unique device architecture and carrier transport direction. To improve pFET performance, SiGe NS is proposed as the pFET channel material. However, introducing and maintaining strain in the SiGe GAA NS channel is challenging but important for improving carrier transport. It is critical to understand the strain distribution in the advanced 3D nanosheet FET structures. This paper describes the use of advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques to investigate the strain distribution in strained SiGe channel NS pFET through Si channel trimming and selective Si1-xGex epitaxial growth. A stacked GAA NS pFET was fabricated from compressively strained Si1-xGex channel with good crystallinity and high uniaxial compressive stress of ~1 GPa. From lattice deformation maps with a nanometer spatial resolution obtained by TEM techniques, the authors demonstrate that nano-beam precession electron diffraction techniques can be used to investigate the local strain distribution of the stacked GAA NS pFET devices with high precision, and thus help to optimize the integration process and strain engineering for pFET device performance enhancement for the next generation of CMOS logic in GAA NS technology.


In recent years, human pathogenic microorganisms have developed multiple drug resistance and caused serious nosocomial infections. In this study, we identified four new antimicrobial compounds from the Chinese herbal medicine Illicium verum and assessed their antibacterial efficacies. The supercritical CO₂ and ethanol extracts of Illicium verum showed substantial antibacterial activity against 67 clinical drug-resistant isolates, including 27 Acinetobacter baumannii, 20 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 20 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The diethyl ether (EE) fraction obtained from partition extraction and supercritical CO₂ extracts revealed an antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 0.15-0.70 mg/mL and 0.11 mg/mL, respectively. The EE fraction of I. verum showed synergetic effects with some commercial antibiotics. The antimicrobial mechanism was investigated with killing curves and scanning electron microscopy observation. The chemical components of the extracts were analyzed by spectrophotometry; (E)-anethole, anisyl acetone, anisyl alcohol, and anisyl aldehyde exhibited antibacterial activity against different clinical isolates. These extracts from I. verum can be further developed into antibiotic medicines due to their proven antibacterial activity.


ABSTRACT Curli are extracellular surface fibers that are produced by many members of the Enterobacteriaceae and contribute to biofilm formation. The environmental cues that promote biofilm formation are poorly understood. We found that deletion of the N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6P) deacetylase gene, nagA, resulted in decreased transcription from the curli-specific promoters csgBA and csgDEFG and a corresponding decrease in curli production in Escherichia coli. nagA is in an operon that contains nagB, nagC, nagD, and nagE, whose products are required for utilization of GlcNAc as a carbon source. NagC is a repressor of the nagBACD and nagE genes in the absence of intracellular GlcNAc-6P. We found that nagC mutants were also defective in curli production. Growth of a wild-type strain on media containing additional GlcNAc reduced curli gene transcription to a level similar to the level observed when nagA was deleted. The defect in curli production in nagA or nagC mutants was alleviated by deletion of the GlcNAc transporter gene, nagE. Curli-producing ΔnagA suppressor mutants whose cells were unable to take up GlcNAc were isolated. These results suggest that elevated levels of intracellular GlcNAc-6P signal cells to down-regulate curli gene expression.


The McCann Youth study introduced their results with the statement that "The youth have been considered one of the most fascinating group of people." All sectors have a strong interest in them. Politicians anchor their promises on what they think will appeal to the youth. Manufacturers and producers try to woo them to get a share of their allowance. Also mass media cannot seem to have enough stories about the youth. In education the development of the youth is our primary concern. It is in trying to understand the circumstances of our students and their families that we ventured into this college student survey. This study is on the late adolescence into the early adult stage of development. Times have indeed changed and over this past year these changes have occurred swiftly and dramatically. We believe that the people in EDSA Dos came largely from the youth population. GMA therefore owes her presidency to the idealism of the college student. This generation has been referred to as the interactive generation. This report is on Miriam College. It is preliminary because we intend to pull together the results of the five-sister colleges into one data set. However, one of our sister college has not had the time to give the questionnaire. The other two are cleaning up their data after encoding in a form that can be read by SPSS.


1. One large neurone on each side of the cervical and thoracic ventral nerve cord of crickets responds to object motion anywhere in the visual field of the ipsilateral compound eye, but not to the forced or voluntary movement of the eye itself. 2. This discrimination between self-movement and object-movement is accomplished by an inhibitory mechanism mediated by the same eye. 3. Inhibition must be present because a potent moving stimulus becomes ineffective if presented during a forced eye movement. 4. Its visual origin is demonstrated in two ways: (a) abolishing all known mechanosensory feedback does not disrupt the mechanism, but (b) alteration of visual conditions does so in a predictable way. Sweeping the eye past a complex visual environment suppresses the neurone9s response to a concurrently or subsequently presented moving target, whereas the same movement past a simplified or homogeneous environment produces little or no inhibition. 5. Responses to eye movement itself are greatly enhanced in appropriately simplified visual fields, reinforcing the conclusion that the inhibition preventing response in complex fields is of visual origin. 6. Suggestive evidence for an additional inhibitory mechanism associated with voluntary movement is presented.


Indonesian throughflow (ITF) regions are important in terms of inter-oceanic exchange of heat as well as freshwater between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. These regions also linking the North Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic through a global conveyor belt. However, information about the long-term variations of sea surface temperature (SST) across the ITF regions is rather limited. Here, we use long-term Hadley sea surface temperature and advance satellite-derived sea-surface winds to understand long-term changes in and around the ITF. The SST has been lower during the summer season (May-August) with a pronounced minimum in the eastern Indonesia region (INA) and then decreases towards the west due to the activity of southeasterly monsoon winds. The cooling is noticed in the beginning of May, intensifies during July and subsides during the later half of August. The Lambok Strait has been identified as the coolest region (<26°C) in the ITF. Though there has been a general agreement of warm and cool SSTs with El Nino and La Nina conditions respectively, and increasing trend since 1970s, however, there is no consensus among the major passages in the ITF, suggesting complex internal dynamic processes those need to be studied.


THE roll-welding process has been used for years at the Western Electric Company for fabricating tapes for precious metal contacts. A thin strand of palladium a few thousandths of an inch thick and about 0.010 inch wide is roll-welded to a nickel tape of larger section to facilitate handling of the short lengths required in the contact-welding machines. Many millions of contacts are required in the telephone equipment manufactured each year and many contact welders are used.


The electroencephalographic effects of several doses of a brain edema inducing agent, triethyltinsulfate (TET), was studied by implanted epidural electrodes in cats. The effect of TET on the central nervous system was found to have two phases: 1. a six hours' acute toxic phase following TET administration, 2. An edematic phase developing on the 2nd to the 4th day. Similarly to our earlier observations brain edema induced by TET was found to be dose-dependent, as shown by EEG-s, and their analysis performed by computation.


he In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) project has been developing technologies to produce oxygen from lunar regolith to provide consumables to a lunar outpost. The processes developed reduce metal oxides in the regolith to produce water, which is then electrolyzed to produce oxygen. Hydrochloic and hydrofluoric acids are byproducts of the reduction processes, as halide minerals are also reduced at oxide reduction conditions. Because of the stringent water quality requirements for electrolysis, there is a need for a contaminant removal process. The Contaminant Removal from Oxygen Production Systems (CROPS) team has been developing a separation process to remove these contaminants in the gas and liquid phase that eliminates the need for consumables. CROPS has been using Nafion, a highly water selective polymeric proton exchange membrane, to recover pure water from the contaminated solution. Membrane thickness, product stream flow rate, and acid solution temperature were varied with the goal of maximizing water permeation and acid rejection. The results show that water permeation increases with increasing solution temperature and product stream flow rate, while acid rejection increases with decreasing solution temperature and concentration. Thinner membranes allowed for higher water flux and acid rejection than thicker ones. These results were used in the development of the hardware built for the most recent Mars ISRU demonstration project, and will be used in conjunction with other unit operations to obtain electrolysis-grade water.


Structural Health Monitoring is a growing area of interest given the benefits obtained from its use. This area includes different tasks in the damage identification process, the main important, is the damage detection since an early detection allows to avoid possible catastrophes in structures in service. Practical solutions require a big quantity of sensors and a robust system to process and obtain a reliable solution. In this sense, bio-inspired algorithms provide tools for an effective data analysis taking advantage of the developments provided by the nature by means of computational algorithms. As a contribution in this area, this paper presents a methodology for structural damage detection using a type of artificial intelligence that is called artificial immune system. The developed methodology includes the inspection of the structure by means of a distributed piezoelectric active sensor network at different actuation phases to define a baseline by each actuation phase using data from the structure when it is known as healthy. In a second step, same experiments are performed to the structure when its structural state is unknown to determine the presence of damage by using the developed artificial immune system. Results show that the proposed methodology allows to detect damages in the experimental setup.


Scalable shared-memory multiprocessors are the subject of much current research. but little is known about the performance behavior of these machines. This paper studies the performance effects of two machine characteristics and two program characteristics that seem to be major factors in determining the performance of a hierarchical shared-memory machine. We develop an analytical model of the traffic in a machine loosely based on Stanford's DASH multiprocessor and use program parameters extracted from multiprocessor traces to study its performance. It is shown that both locality in the data reference stream and the amount of data sharing in a program have an important impact on performance. Although less obvious, the bandwidth within each cluster in the hierarchy also has a significant performance effect. Optimizations that improve the intracluster cache coherence protocol or increase the bandwidth within a cluster can be quite effective.


This paper addresses the dynamic pricing problem of a single-item, make-to-stock production system. Demand arrives according to Poisson processes with changeable arrival rate dependent on the selling price. Item processing times follow an Erlang distribution, which allows to use the information on the production status in a tractable way. The objective is to identify a dynamic control policy that decides production and adjusts the price to maximize the long-run total discounted profit. An optimal policy is based on the so-called work-storage level that captures the information of the inventory level and the status of ongoing production process. Specifically, we show that: 1) the finished goods inventory is optimally managed by a critical stage level policy: when the inventory is below a certain work-storage level, production is started if the system is currently idle and 2) the price is optimally set by threshold levels: a certain price is posted when the work-storage level is at or below a threshold corresponding to that level of price. Moreover, we develop an efficient algorithm to compute the optimal policy.


BACKGROUND
The acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) increases rapidly during an infection. We tested the hypothesis that chronic low-level increases in CRP are associated with an increased risk of infectious disease.

METHODS
We studied 9660 individuals from a prospective general population cohort, including 3592 in whom infectious disease developed, and another 60 896 individuals from a cross-sectional general population study, of whom 13 332 developed infectious disease; 55% were women, and the mean age was 57 years. Hospital diagnoses of infections in 1977-2010 were based on International Classification of Diseases-coded discharge records from the national Danish Patient Registry. We measured CRP concentrations and conducted genotyping for 4 CRP polymorphisms that increase CRP. Individuals with CRP >10 mg/L were excluded because of possible ongoing infection at the time of testing.

RESULTS
Individuals with CRP >3 mg/L had 1.2 and 1.7 times increased risk of infectious disease, in the prospective general population cohort and the cross-sectional general population study, respectively, compared with individuals with CRP <1 mg/L. In the combined populations, individuals in the highest CRP tertile (compared with the lowest) had an increased risk of bacterial diseases (hazard ratio 1.7, 95% CI 1.6-1.8), but not viral, mycosis, and parasitic diseases. The increased risk was mainly carried by pneumonia, sepsis, and particularly gram-negative infections. None of the genotype combinations examined conferred an increased risk of infectious disease.

CONCLUSIONS
Chronic low-level CRP increases were associated with increased risk of bacterial infections, gram-negative infections in particular. Genotypes associated with increases in CRP were not associated with increased risk of infection.


To account for an illusion of succession, it was theorized that the axes of the physical space-time plane were rotated in the process of perceiving. This theoretical rotation of space-time axes led to the prediction and demonstration of an illusion of spatial displacement.


Significance This paper presents a large-scale analysis of the impact of lockdown measures introduced in response to the spread of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on socioeconomic conditions of Italian citizens. We leverage a massive near–real-time dataset of human mobility and we model mobility restrictions as an exogenous shock to the economy, similar to a natural disaster. We find that lockdown measures have a twofold effect: First, their impact on mobility is stronger in municipalities with higher fiscal capacity; second, they induce a segregation effect: mobility contraction is stronger in municipalities where inequality is higher and income per capita is lower. We highlight the necessity of fiscal measures that account for these effects, targeting poverty and inequality mitigation. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, several national governments have applied lockdown restrictions to reduce the infection rate. Here we perform a massive analysis on near–real-time Italian mobility data provided by Facebook to investigate how lockdown strategies affect economic conditions of individuals and local governments. We model the change in mobility as an exogenous shock similar to a natural disaster. We identify two ways through which mobility restrictions affect Italian citizens. First, we find that the impact of lockdown is stronger in municipalities with higher fiscal capacity. Second, we find evidence of a segregation effect, since mobility contraction is stronger in municipalities in which inequality is higher and for those where individuals have lower income per capita. Our results highlight both the social costs of lockdown and a challenge of unprecedented intensity: On the one hand, the crisis is inducing a sharp reduction of fiscal revenues for both national and local governments; on the other hand, a significant fiscal effort is needed to sustain the most fragile individuals and to mitigate the increase in poverty and inequality induced by the lockdown.