OBJECTIVE
To study the influence of central obesity on clustering of other metabolic syndrome (MS) risk variables among adults with normal body mass index.

METHODS
Through cluster multistage and random sampling methods, local people aged>35 years old with normal body mass index (BMI=18.5-24.9 kg/m2) in Lanxi country were selected. Overnight fasting blood specimens of these people were collected. Chi-square test, analysis of covariance, and logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS
(1) 1821 residents were surveyed including 844 male and 977 female subjects. The overall prevalence of MS was 8.68% and the overall prevalence of central obesity was 15.87%. Both prevalence rates of the two diseases appeared to be lower in males than in females (MS: 3.32% vs. 13.31%; center obesity: 5.57% vs. 24.77%, all P<0.001). (2) The overall positive rate of clustering on other MS risk variable was 36.02%, with 34.12% in males and 37.67% in females. Comparing the subjects who did not have central obesity, those subjects wth central obesity had higher positive rate in other MS risk variables. (3) Data from analysis of covariance showed that the level of waist circumference appeared an upward trend along with the count of other MS risk variables (all P<0.001). (4) Data from multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that central obesity was a risk factor on clustering of other MS risk variables.

CONCLUSION
Control the level of waist circumference among normal body mass index was an effective method in preventing metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in adults.


Now a day's the medium of communicating the information is through the internet and there are enough hackers to hack the information because the data has transferred through covert channels. The information will encrypt using cryptographic algorithms and the cipher text can see by a third party adversary and by applying cryptanalysis the information can retrieve back. The major problem in applying cryptography is that, the cipher text is visible to unauthorized user. We can avoid this by using steganography. Different techniques are available to hide the information in steganography. Transformation techniques produce more noise in the image when the information has embedded. To avoid the noise distortion in the image, the LSB insertion method is used to insert the bits in an image by using random number generators. In this proposed technique before embedding the secret information into an image, the secret information has been compressed using the wavelet transform technique. The obtained bits after compression are encoded using quantum gates.


Abstract:Youth's free time is an opportunity for profound development of skills, attitudes and behaviors. Research on this topic has focused on middle class or White communities. The current study, conducted with an urban, low-income sample of 138 African American adolescents, examined associations between parental monitoring, support of autonomy and control, and adolescent amotivation, ability to restructure, and planning and decision-making skills in free time with adolescent substance use, delinquency, school attachment, and academic achievement. Data were collected in 2008-2009. Parental monitoring had the clearest association with outcomes, although all parental behaviors and free time variables were important. Understanding these associations in this population informs efforts aimed at promoting success of African American adolescents and preventing delinquency.


Data centers networks supports heterogeneous kind of applications like social networking, e-commerce, web search, video data hosting, computation-intensive and data-storage. It has high-bandwidth links, low propagation delay and commodity switches with small-size buffers. Under cluster-based storage environment, data center supports barrier-synchronized manyto-one communication pattern where multiple worker nodes simultaneously transmit bulk of data to single aggregator node by running standard TCP protocol. This synchronized transmission may overload aggregator's switch buffer, which leads to severe packet loss and overall throughput fall. This is called as TCP Incast problem. This paper analyses issue of TCP Incast and provides detailed survey about several solutions at link, transport and application layer to mitigate impact of TCP Incast in data center network. Solutions are described with their procedural approach for alleviating Incast. Comparative evaluation between these solutions provides understanding about their merits, demerits and applicability under various implementation circumstances.


This essay aims to discuss the development of materialistic consumption of experience from the behavior of publications related to consumption on digital social networks. Approach: Extensive survey and analysis in the literature of topics related to materialism and its particularities, existing concepts for the consumption of experience and the implications of technology in consumer practices. Results: The materialism that was previously achieved by the material purchases exhibition in physical environments is currently made from virtual disclosures, which made any kind of purchase susceptible to this behavior development and giving signs of the constitution of what was sought to be called materialism experiential. Academic contributions -This essay may contribute to the development of new studies that seek to test and understand the relationships of specific materialism of social networks in different contexts and from the perspective of different areas of knowledge, to the point that it becomes possible to offer subsidies for new understandings about materialism and digital platforms as a trans-forming aspect of human behavior.


With its consideration for nonlinear scattering phenomena, the distorted Born iterative method (DBIM) is known to provide images superior to those of linear tomographic methods. However, the complexity involved with the production of superior images has prevented DBIM from overtaking simpler imaging schemes in commercial applications. The iterative process and need to solve the forward-scattering problem multiple times make DBIM a slow algorithm compared to diffraction tomography. Fortunately, as computer prices continue to decline, it is becoming easier to assemble large, distributed computer clusters from low-cost personal computer systems. These are well-suited to DBIM inversions, and offer great promise in accelerating the method. Traditional frequency-domain DBIM formulations produce an image by inverting the Fréchet derivative. If the derivative is treated as a matrix, it is costly to construct and awkward to invert on distributed computer systems. This paper presents an interpretation of the Fréchet derivative that is ideal for parallel-computing applications. As a bonus, this formulation reduces the storage requirements of DBIM implementations, making it possible to invert larger problems on a fixed system.


Conventional platelet transfusion may not be adequate to deal with platelet transfusion refractoriness (PTR), and therefore human leukocyte antigen (HLA) or human platelet antigen (HPA) matched and platelet crossmatch compatible units are recommended. However, in developing countries, finding a unit that is HLA or HPA matched or platelet crossmatch poses a challenge. Hence, easier and cost-effective alternatives such as massive platelet transfusion and continuous platelet transfusion were attempted to manage bleeding in PTR. A 31-year-old male presented with acute myeloid leukemia relapse and chloroma in bladder underwent FLAG salvage chemotherapy. Despite almost daily platelet transfusion with single donor platelets (SDPs), patient presented with hematuria and low corrected count increment at 1 h and 24 h suggesting both immune and nonimmune refractoriness to platelet transfusion. The patient received SDP transfusion twice daily from day 19 to day 21 to maintain hemostasis. The patient had persistent hematuria, so massive platelet transfusion in the form of double adult doses of SDP given every 12th hourly for three events. Despite these measures, there was persistent hematuria and refractoriness to platelet transfusion. As HLA or HPA matched or crossmatch compatible platelets were unavailable, continuous platelet transfusion was started for this patient from day 23 to day 28. After 4 days of continuous platelet transfusion, hematuria subsided. In resource-constrained clinical settings, continuous platelet transfusion can be an effective alternative to HLA/HPA-matched platelets in the management of PTR.


Geological setting is crucial to the occurrence of slope failure and landslides, resulting in prolonged suspended sediment runoff; in this sense, local geology can affect the magnitude of suspended sediment yield. To clarify the suspended sediment sources in a watershed with various geological units, hydrological monitoring and fingerprinting techniques using natural radionuclides were conducted during a heavy rainfall event in August 2010 in the Nukabira River watershed, a tributary of the Saru River, in northern Japan. A GIS analysis for slope failure and landslide areas was also conducted to investigate the distribution of potential suspended sediment sources. During the rainfall event, the dominant sources of suspended sediment were found to be areas consisting of metamorphic rock (31%), sedimentary rock (30%), and accretionary sedimentary rock (24%). The highest sediment yield was found in metamorphic rock, which is consistent with the dense distribution of slope failure and landslides identified by the GIS analysis. Active landslides can introduce a significant amount of sediment from the hillslope to the stream channel, providing a source of fine sediment. In the area of the accretionary basalt block, there was an inconsistency between the sediment yield and the density of slope failure and landslides, perhaps attributable to the lack of a fine particle fraction in the sediment deposited on the bare slope along the stream channel and riverbed due to the resistance of bed rock to slaking and weathering. These results indicate that natural radionuclides can be used in order to elucidate the suspended sediment sources and sediment yield of various geological units within a watershed.


In the paper, we describe new Ir complexes for achieving efficient blue phosphorescence. New blue-emitting mixed-ligand Ir complexes comprising one cyclometalating, two phosphines trans to each other such as Ir(dppz)(PPh3)2(H)(L) (Ll= Cl, NCMe+, CN), [dppz = 3,5-Diphenylpyrazole] were synthesized and studied to tune the phosphorescence wavelength to the deep blue region and to enhance the luminescence efficiencies. To gain insight into the factors responsible for the emission color change and the variation of luminescence efficiency, we investigate the electron-withdrawing capabilities of ancillary ligands using DFT and TD-DFT calculations on the ground and excited states of the complexes. To achieve deep blue emission and increase the emission efficiency, (1) we substitute the phenyl group on the 3-position of the pyrazole ring that lowers the triplet energy enough that the quenching channel is not thermally accessible and (2) change the ancillary ligands coordinated to iridium atom to phosphine and cyano groups known as very strong field ligands. Their inclusion in the coordination sphere can increase the HOMO-LUMO gap to achieve the hypsochromic shift in emission color and lower the HOMO and LUMO energy level, which causes a large d-orbital energy splitting and avoids the quenching effect to improve the luminescence efficiency. The maximum emission spectra of Ir(dppz)(PPh3)2(H)(CI) and Ir(dppz)(PPh3)2(H)(CN) were in the ranges of 439, 432 nm, respectively.


ABSTRACT:Jeffrey P. Bishop argues that contemporary understandings of the good death are predicated on conscious choice. This focus on rational conscious choice as the primary criterion has troubling implications for how we evaluate the death of children, whose capacity for autonomy is unclear. In this essay, I will explore ways in which the death of children creates silences, arising most notably from our ideas about the good death. In contrast, I will argue for a different model of a good death that is predicated on intersubjectivity, shared meaning-making, and presence, and which finds its foundation in Christian eschatology, which is not an escape from the present; rather, all our present actions find meaning in God. Our completeness must always and can only be found in God, and understood this way, children can die a good death.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the correlation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or micro-vessel density (MVD).

METHODS
The ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 was transplanted into nude mice to form xenogeneic tumor. Mice were treated with rapamycin 4 mg/kg, sulindac 100 mg/(kg.d) and saline 200 microl respectively. Expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF proteins and MVD were determined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA of Glut1 and VEGF was studied by RT-PCR.

RESULTS
The positive expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF was moderate to strong, and MVD was high (31 +/- 8) in control group. In rapamycin treated group, the expression of HIF-1alpha was inhibited to weak positive or negative (P < 0.05), the VEGF protein and mRNA expression decreased (P < 0.05), MVD was also suppressed to a low level (13 +/- 5). There was a significant correlation between HIF-1alpha expression and VEGF expression (by Spearman's coefficient r = 0.8264, P < 0.01), and MVD (r = 0.4842, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
HIF-1alpha protein can regulate VEGF protein and its mRNA expressions. It correlates with MVD in ovarian tumor tissue.


Paediatric dentists commonly come across one or more cases of congenitally missing teeth on regular oral assessment. Hypodontia and oligodontia are the two most frequently encountered genetic disorders. Hypodontia is the case when one or less than six teeth are missing congenitally. Various other causes have also been put forward namely, environmental factors, radiation, trauma, infection or genetic mutations. A proper documentation of such condition becomes essential to augment the knowledge about congenitally missing teeth. The aim of this paper is to report a case of congenital missing permanent mandibular central incisors. Keywords: Paediatric dentists, genetic disorders, mandibular central incisors Cite this Article Raol R, Deshpande A, Kariya P et al. Agenesis of Permanent Mandibular Central Incisors: A Case Report. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Dentistry. 2017; 8(3): 7–9p.


Nitridoosmium(VI) complexes of substituted 2,2′-bipyridines and 1,10-phenanthrolines have been prepared from [OsNCl4]– and the appropriate chelating ligands in acetonitrile. Reaction of [Os(bipy)NCl3](bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine) and [Os(terpy)NCl2]Cl (terpy = 2,2′ : 6′,2″-terpyridine) with neat trifluoromethanesulfonic acid gave [Os(bipy)NCl2(H2O)]+ and [Os(terpy)N(Cl)(CF3SO3)]+ respectively. The crystal structures of [Os(dmbipy)NCl3](dmbipy = 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine), [Os(bipy)NCl2(H2O)]+ and [Os(terpy)N(Cl)(CF3SO3)]+ show that the OsN distances are 1.68(1), 1.630(7) and 1.629(8)A respectively. In the latter two complexes the OsN moiety is perpendicular to the plane of the chelating ligand. The spectroscopic, photophysical and photochemical properties of the newly prepared complexes have been studied. All have long-lived and emissive 3[dxy′,dπ.] excited states in the solid state and in fluid solution at room temperature. The complex mer-[Os(terpy)NCl2][ClO4] has the longest emission lifetime 4.64 µs (at infinite dilution) in degassed acetonitrile at room temperature. Based on quenching studies with aromatic hydrocarbons, this complex is a powerful photooxidant with E⊖[OsVI*–OsV] being 2.12(30)V vs. the normal hydrogen electrode.


The objective of this study was to investigate the existence of abnormalities of insulin sensitivity in patients with chronic heart failure. Glucose metabolism and insulin resistance were assessed in 10 male patients with severe, chronic heart failure and in 10 matched control subjects. Glucose, insulin and C-peptide concentration profiles were measured following a 0.5 g.kg-1 intravenous glucose tolerance test. Insulin sensitivity (inversely related to insulin resistance) was estimated by minimal modelling analysis of the glucose and insulin profiles. Heart failure patients had similar mean fasting plasma glucose concentration to controls but a significantly greater mean fasting plasma insulin concentration (P = 0.002) and C-peptide concentration (P = 0.02). Plasma glucose response profile was similar in the two groups but the incremental plasma insulin response profile of the heart failure group was significantly greater (P = 0.004). Mean insulin sensitivity was 73% lower in the heart failure patients (P = 0.003). These findings show that patients with severe chronic heart failure are hyperinsulinaemic and insulin resistant compared with a matched health group. This insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia may contribute to the progressive deterioration in myocardial function and associated clinical features of fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance seen in heart failure. Interventions designed to overcome or reduce insulin resistance warrant further investigation.


Several polynomial time computable metrics on the class of semibinary tree-sibling time consistent phylogenetic networks are available in the literature; in particular, the problem of deciding if two networks of this kind are isomorphic is in P. In this paper, we show that if we remove the semibinarity condition, then the problem becomes much harder. More precisely, we prove that the isomorphism problem for generic tree-sibling time consistent phylogenetic networks is polynomially equivalent to the graph isomorphism problem. Since the latter is believed not to belong to P, the chances are that it is impossible to define a metric on the class of all tree-sibling time consistent phylogenetic networks that can be computed in polynomial time.


Bracon hebetor is a common parasitic wasp of Lepidopteran larvae and can attack coleopteran larvae. It is an ecto larval parasitoid belongs to the family Braconidae of order Hymenoptera. The wasp has wide host range and successful biocontrol agent recommended for the control of lepidopteran larvae in many crops and stored grains. Occurrence of fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda was reported recently in June 2018 in India. A study on Bracon hebetor parasitization effects on Spodoptera frugiperda in comparison with Spodoptera litura, Helicoverpa armigera and Corcyra cephalonica was conducted by providing them as alternate hosts under laboratory conditions at National Institute of Plant Health Management, Rajendranagar, India. The study revealed that when all the hosts were offered to Bracon hebetor it is parasitizing in the order of C. cephalonica followed by H. armigera, and then S. frugiperda, there was no parasitization on S. litura. When two hosts were offered Bracon hebetor preferred C. cephalonica over H. armigera and H. armigera over S. frugiperda. When individual hosts were offered Bracon hebetor is forming more larvae, pupae and producing more adults on C. cephalonica followed by H. armigera then on S. frugiperda, and no egg laying and pupation was observed on S. litura.


Impact of land use changes and varying levels of habitat disturbance on tree populations was evaluated using the spatial analogue technique of studying ecosystem dynamics. Three sites with low, moderate, and high levels of disturbance were purposively chosen from the Biodiversity Conservation Area (BCA), an Unprotected Secondary Regrowth (USR), and an Arable Farmland (AF) respectively, for the study. Tree density and alpha diversity were evaluated in each site. The level of tree species compositional similarity/variation was also ascertained for each pair of the sites, and the extent of change in populations of individual tree species measured for the unprotected sites – USR and AF. Total tree density was highest in BCA (466 trees/hectare) followed by USR (317 trees/hectare) and AF (73 trees/hectare). Tree diversity was highest and lowest in BCA and AF respectively. Tree species compositional variation was higher between BCA and each of USR & AF (66.7%), than between USR and AF (57.1). Harungana madagascariensis, Berlinia grandiflora, and Eleais guineensis were the most abundant tree species in BCA, USR, and AF, respectively. Although, populations of many tree species were found to be drastically reduced or completely lost in the unprotected sites, improvement was observed in populations of few species with Spondias mombin having the highest improvement index (314.29%) in USR while E. guineensis had the highest improvement index (72.7%) in AF. S. mombin is highly valued in the study area because of its edible fruits and diverse medicinal attributes while palm oil and palm kernel oil from E. guineensis contribute immensely to rural livelihoods. Hence, the rural dwellers tend to favour and encourage their growth.


Patients' perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine are not well studied. This review highlights attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine, particularly for cancer patients. In general, the longer the time since a cancer diagnosis, the more likely it is that someone may use complementary and alternative medicine. In addition, women of a younger age with a higher education are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine. Most commonly, complementary and alternative medicine is used to treat a range of physical and emotional problems relating to cancer, and only rarely as a means to cure the cancer itself. Dietary supplements, dietary changes and meditation are the most commonly used therapies. Many people perceive that these – and other complementary and alternative medicines – are benefi cial for both physical and emotional reasons. However, not all people gain their desired outcomes from using complementary and alternative medicine. There are few reports of negative effects, but these are factors in some people not using or ceasing complementary and alternative medicine. Others do not use complementary and alternative medicines because of disbelief or due to concerns about complementary and alternative medicine benefi ts or safety. Doctors are not always consulted about complementary and alternative medicine use, but many people hope their doctors are supportive of it.


The usage of mobile devices for mobile learning is becoming increasingly popular. There is a new brand of students in the universities now-a-days who are easily connected to technology and innovative mobile devices. We attempt to do an analysis on a survey done with university students on mobile device usage for mobile learning purposes. This is to find the learning trends within the student community so that some of these popular practices could be encouraged to enhance learning among the student community. Both the quantitative and qualitative approaches are adopted in the analysis. The results are discussed and conclusions drawn in the end.


This work addresses three problems that are associated with Web browsing: (a) low bandwidth available to the end user who is connected via slow modems or outdoor wireless networks, (b) long and variable latencies in document access, and (c) temporary disconnections of mobile users. Three techniques are used with a variety of heuristics in order to overcome these problems: (a) profiling user and group access patterns and using these profiles in order to pre-fetch documents, (b) filtering HTTP requests and responses in order to reduce data transmission over bottleneck links, and (c) hoarding documents based on user profiles in order to support limited web browsing even during disconnection. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a WWW proxy-based system that incorporates the above techniques. We describe our experiences with the proxy system, and present performance results that show an improvement in the experience of Web browsing using this system.


The paper treats of the contemporary state and tendences in commuting - a phenomenon of great intensity and significance in Czechoslovakia. The relative stagnation of the intensity of the process is explained more as an outcome of the administrative merging of settlements rather than the decline of the intensity. The author recommends a more detailed investigation of individual commuting regions and stresses the role played by commuting between central places.


Huge volume changes of silicon particles upon alloying and dealloying reactions with lithium are a major reason for the poor cycle performance of silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries. To suppress dimensional changes of silicon is a key strategy in attempts to improve the electrochemical performance of silicon-based anodes. Here, we demonstrate that a conductive agent can be exploited to offset the mechanical strain imposed on silicon electrodes caused by volume expansion of silicon associated with lithiation. Hollow graphene particles as a conductive agent inhibit volume expansion by absorbing the swelling of silicon upon lithiation through flattening the free voids surrounded by the graphene shell. As a result, silicon electrodes with hollow graphene showed a height expansion of 20.4% after full lithiation with a capacity retention of 69% after 200 cycles, while the silicon electrode with conventional carbon black showed an expansion of 76.8% under the same conditions with a capacity retention of 38%. Some of the deflated hollow graphene returns to its initial shape on delithiation due to the mechanical flexibility of the graphene shell layer. Such a robust microstructure of a silicon electrode incorporating hollow graphene that serves as both an expansion inhibitor and a conductive agent greatly improves capacity retention compared with silicon electrodes with the conventionally used carbon black.


A prospective echocardiographic investigation was undertaken to determine the prevalence and significance of localized subaortic hypertrophy in 1000 consecutive patients presenting for a routine echocardiographic examination. Localized septal hypertrophy was diagnosed when the subaortic septum was hypertrophied (greater than 1.4 cm) and was 50% thicker than the mid-point of the septum. Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and fixed subvalvular aortic stenosis were excluded. Eight cases of localized subaortic hypertrophy were identified. In 7 the appearances of the left side of the interventricular septum were similar with an apparently sigmoid shape (reversed S on its side) and in 1 with associated mitral stenosis the septum was a tapered wedge. All patients with localized subaortic hypertrophy had left ventricular hypertrophy (left ventricular mass or posterior wall thickness greater than 2 SD from normal) with a normal size cavity due to aortic valve disease (2 patients were also hypertensive). Of the 180 patients with aortic valve disease, localized subaortic hypertrophy was found in 10% of those with left ventricular hypertrophy and 33% of those with asymmetrical septal hypertrophy (septum to posterior wall ratio of greater than 1.5:1). There was no evidence of subaortic stenosis by pulsed and continuous wave doppler echocardiography (8 cases) and cardiac catheterization (6 cases). The aetiology of this discrete localized muscular bulge is unclear but is presumably due to change in shape of the septum with left ventricular hypertrophy. However, this finding has important implications as a cause of asymmetrical septal hypertrophy and because of the possible false diagnosis of subvalvular stenosis and its effect on ultrasound measurements.


We evaluated the ability of both static electric and static magnetic fields to enhance the in vivo action of a chemotherapeutic agent, adriamycin, against transplanted mammary tumors in mice. Female B6C3F1 mice with transplanted mammary adenocarcinoma were divided into four randomized groups and injected with 10 mg/kg adriamycin on day 7 of the study. Three of the groups were then exposed to nonuniform static electric or static magnetic fields. The resulting tumor regression in each group was measured four times during the remaining 13 days of the 20 day study. Two-sided statistical tests revealed all of the static field exposed groups achieved significantly greater (P </=.05) tumor regression than the group treated with adriamycin only, with P-values in a range as low as. 0001. There is an almost universal need in disease treatment to increase the efficacy and delivery of bioactive agents against target cells. The technology demonstrated here may result in improved use of therapeutic materials ranging from drugs to genetic agents. In addition, our findings point to possible hazards from the in vivo enhancing action of static fields on administered or environmentally encountered chemicals.


Two nonstandard finite difference schemes are derived to solve the regularized long wave equation. The criteria for choosing the "best" nonstandard approximation to the nonlinear term in the regularized long wave equation come from considering the modified equation. The two "best" nonstandard numerical schemes are shown to preserve conserved quantities when compared to an implicit scheme in which the nonlinear term is approximated in the usual way. Comparisons to the single solitary wave solution show significantly better results, measured in theL2andL∞norms, when compared to results obtained using a Petrov-Galerkin finite element method and a splitted quadratic B-spline collocation method. The growth in the error when simulating the single solitary wave solution using the two "best" nonstandard numerical schemes is shown to be linear implying the nonstandard finite difference schemes are conservative. The formation of an undular bore for both steep and shallow initial profiles is captured without the formation of numerical instabilities.


The modelling of geologic processes is poised to make major new contributions in the field of reservoir modelling. This technique is based on numerical simulations that model the processes of erosion, transport and deposition of clastic sediments, as well as carbonate growth and redistribution on the basis of quantitative deterministic physical principles of conservation of mass and energy. The results of such modelling show the geometry and composition of the stratigraphic sequence as a consequence of sea-level change, paleogeography, paleoclimate, tectonics and variation in sediment input (Tetzlaff et al. 2014).

In this paper we use geologic process modelling to simulate examples of both deltaic and shoreline coastal environments and we discuss its potential for the analysis and prediction of reservoir continuity and stratigraphic traps.


Since its inception, surgical management of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is fairly standard; however, the invasive, costly, and time-intensive nature of UCL surgery may be restrictive to some athletes. Electronic databases were searched starting from the year 2013 to September 2018. Extracted data included frequencies of (a) return to play (RTP); (b) return to same level of play (RTSP); (c) athlete's position; (d) complete reconstitution of the UCL; and (e) the location of ligament rupture (proximal or distal). Proportions of success/failure for selected outcomes were calculated. Additionally, an odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) determined the association between tear location (proximal vs. distal) and nonsurgical success. A total of 169 athletes underwent nonsurgical management of UCL injury in the seven included studies. Sports included baseball, gymnastics, softball, hockey, volleyball, and tennis. Overall, 83% (n = 140) were able to RTP and 72% (n = 121) were able to RTSP. Those with proximal UCL tears had a RTSP rate of 82% (n = 56) compared to 42% (n = 13) of those with a distal tear. Proximal tears were associated with higher rates of successful outcomes in RTP and RTSP (OR = 6.5 [2.5,16.7],p < .001). In baseball, 76% (n = 38) of pitchers were able to RTSP compared to 90% (n = 9) of position players. When visualized using MRI, 96% (n = 22) of athletes had full UCL reconstitution following nonsurgical management. Based on the pooled outcomes of included studies, nonsurgical management of a UCL injury was reasonably successful for RTP and RTSP rates in professional athletes, with a better chance of success for proximal tears compared to distal and incomplete tears compared to complete. The exploratory nature of utilizing nonsurgical management for UCL sprains in athletes, by way of the case series, appears to be fairly well established, but an upgrade in study design is warranted.


Standard retinoids (e.g. etretinate, isotretinoin) are successful in the treatment of a variety of dermatological disorders. However, they are handicapped by an unfavorable ratio between activity and toxicity. In order to find more successful substances new promising compounds were recently synthesized. The aim of this study was to screen new monoaromates (etretin (Ro 10-1670) ), demethyletretin (Ro 12-7310), 13-cis-etretin (Ro 13-7652) and the polyaromates arotinoid (Ro 15-0778), arotinoid acid (Ro 13-7410) and arotinoid ethyl sulfone (Ro 15-1570) for their effect on keratinocyte differentiation in vitro and to compare these results with differentiation data of retinoids currently used clinically. It was found that the second generation of retinoids had a lower antikeratinizing potential than the third generation of retinoids. They markedly inhibited crosslinked keratins and envelope proteins. Arotinoid acid was found to be the most potent derivative. In contrast to this, differences with regard to the synthesis of keratohyalingranule macroaggregates were detected between the retinoid derivatives. Arotinoid acid and arotinoid sulfone stimulated this protein fraction, whereas arotinoid left this fraction uninfluenced. If the data obtained were considered the selection criterion for the future therapeutic application of the new arotinoids in psoriasis therapy, it should be more useful to employ arotinoid acid or arotinoid sulfone rather than arotinoid in clinical psoriasis studies.


Objective Puerperae' dietary patterns (DPs) during the puerperium may be influenced by the mode of delivery, but population studies on this topic are scarce. This study aims to explore the relationship between DPs and different modes of delivery among puerperae. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 3,345 parturients in Lanzhou, China. The postpartum food intake was measured by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Factor analysis was used to determine the DPs. Multiple linear regression was employed to examine the association between the mode of delivery and DP. Results In this study, two DPs, i.e., traditional and modern DPs, were identified. Traditional DP was characterized by high energy-adjusted intake of tubers, coarse cereals, rice, whole grains, fishery products, and eggs. Modern DP included a high intake of coffee, non-sugary drinks, wine, tea, and fishery products. Compared with participants with vaginal delivery (reference category), cesarean section had an inverse association with modern DP (β: −0.11, 95% CI: −0.36, −0.09). A significant interaction was found between education level, monthly household income, alcohol drinking, and modes of delivery. The inverse association between cesarean section and modern DP or the intake of coffee was significant among puerperae with higher or lower monthly household income. However, the inverse association between cesarean section and traditional DP was only found among puerperae with higher monthly household income. Moreover, among the participants with high education, cesarean section was positively associated with intake of vegetables. Conclusion Cesarean puerperae with higher levels of education and those with lower and higher monthly household income had less unhealthy foods intake than those who had vaginal delivery. They need to be accounted for in educational programs and interventions focused on healthy diet recommendations in puerperium.


It is suggested that we must distinguish 2 types of object categorization in infancy. One is perceptual categorization, which is an automatic part of perceptual processing that computes the perceptual similarity of one object to another. It creates perceptual schemas of what objects look like. The other is conceptual categorization, which is based on what objects do. It consists of the redescription of perceptual information into conceptual form, particularly the paths that objects take and the interactions among them. This process creates the notion of kinds, such as animals, plants, vehicles, and furniture. The similarity in this kind of categorization is of roles in events, not the physical appearance of the objects. Several differences between the 2 types of categories are discussed, of which the most important is the different functions they serve. Perceptual categories are used for object identification; conceptual categories control inductive inference. Experimental results are described showing that because early conceptual categories tend to be global in scope, the inductive generalizations based on them are global in scope as well.


Incidence Of Malignancies Is On The Rise. Advances In Treatment Protocols
Have Resulted In Increased Longevity Of The Patients. Therefore Greater Focus Is
Now On Comorbid Conditions, Treatment Of Which Would Improve The Survival And
Quality Of Life.
Over The Past Decade, There Has Been A Growing Appreciation Of Anaemia
As The Source Of A Wide Range Of Symptoms And Poorer Outcomes In Cancer
Patients.
Data Published On 15 September, 2004 In The European Journal Of
Cancer1 (Online Edition) Reveals Two Out Of Three Cancer Patients Suffer From
Anaemia And Only 40% Of These Patients Receive Appropriate Treatment
(Anaemia Defined As Haemoglobin Less Than 12 G/Dl). Low Haemoglobin Levels
Correlate With Poor Quality Of Life And Physical Performance. Performance Status
Deteriorates With Decreasing Haemoglobin. This Correlation Remains Regardless Of
Disease Status Or Cancer Treatment.
J Jaime Caro Et Al2, In Their Systematic And Quantitative Review Of Anaemia
As An Independent Prognostic Factor For Survival In Patients With Cancer, Found
That Anaemia Was Associated With Shorter Survival Times For Patients With Lung
Carcinoma, Cervicouterine Carcinoma, Head And Neck Cancer, Prostatic
Carcinoma, Lymphoma And Multiple Myeloma. The Overall Estimated Increase In
Risk Of Death Was 65% (54 – 77%).
Tumour Hypoxia May Directly Contribute To The Resistance Of The Cancer
Patient To Radiation Therapy Or Chemotherapy Via Deprivation Of The Oxygen
Essential For The Cytotoxic Actions Of These Agents. Indirectly, Tumour Hypoxia May
Contribute To Radioresistance And Chemoresistance By Inducing Proteomic And
Genomic Changes That Lead Ultimately To Malignant Progression, With Reduced
Local Control And Metastatic Spread, And Ultimately, Increased Resistance And
Decreased Survival Time. A Direct Association Between Hypoxia And Anaemia
Appears Likely, And Anaemia Is A Modifiable Condition In Many Cancer Patients.
This Being The Case, Reducing Tumour Hypoxia By Correcting Anaemia With
Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (Rhuepo) And Other Agents Appears To Offer
One Possible Therapeutic Option For Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Standard
Cancer Therapies3. Hence, It Is Worthwhile To Study The Incidence And Pattern Of
Anaemia In Cancer Patients In Our Hospital And Create A Database So That Timely
Intervention By The Oncologists With Strategies To Improve The Outcome Of
Treatment Can Be Instituted Whenever Anaemia Is Diagnosed.


Supply Chain Management (SCM) not only helps in cutting costs, but also adds to maintain and improve the quality of fruits and vegetables (F&V) marketed. In marketing F&V, which are perishable in nature, Supply Chain (SC) plays a crucial role. The very nature of land holding by the farmers, varied climatic conditions, production spread over wide geographical area, mainly in remote villages, diversified consumption patterns and poor SC infrastructure makes SCM for F&V more complicated. In India, SCM is at its nascent stage in marketing of F&V. Marketing of F&V is challenging because of the perishability, seasonality and bulkiness and consumption habits of the Indian consumers. In addition to this, poor SC infrastructure, poor private equity in SC and conventional small-scale unorganized retailers, make state-of-the-art SC challenging in the present scenario. The Indian retail market is mainly dominated by unorganized retailers. The unorganized retailers are not a homogeneous group. Recent development in retailing is the entry of large number of organized retailers. Current SC catering mainly to the unorganized retailers is riddled with number of drawbacks. As per the survey conducted for this study, important drawbacks of the current SC are number of intermediaries, high level of wastage, quality degradation, poor infrastructural facilities and high cost. Fresh produce market has immense influence on the socioeconomic and even political conditions. Close to 30% of the F&V grown is going waste. All the stakeholders have to join hands to improve SC mechanism to take produce from the farmers to the consumers. This would facilitate the consumers to get quality produce at economical rates. The middlemen and all the stakeholders in the SC benefit from the improved SC infrastructure. Government and private operators have to join hands to improve the physical infrastructure, information sharing, and the service required for quality improvement of the SC.


ABSTRACT What causes brands to grow over time? The article addresses this important question. Measures of market share, market penetration, customer loyalty, and price were gathered in two time periods, five years apart, for 353 brands in 21 categories of fast-moving consumer goods. We used these data to study share growth over time. Key findings include: (1) growth must be earned, even for brands that have been successful in the past; (2) increased penetration is the key to share growth, and especially dramatic share growth, for all types of brands; and (3) customer loyalty strongly leverages the effects of penetration. This paper extends upon work by Baldinger and Rubinson (1997) in demonstrating that the way to grow brands is via a combination of penetration and loyalty growth.


Abstract : Aging systems and systems operating longer than their anticipated life span, sometimes because of program slips in follow-on systems, have intensi ed the need for understanding how maintenance and sustainment affect the performance of space systems. In this monograph, we develop a pilot framework for analyzing these and related questions in the ground segment of the Global Positioning System and recommend steps for implementing this framework. In doing so, we address the issue of modeling approach and how to define appropriate metrics of performance. We develop the guidelines for metrics and analytic methods as generally as possible so that they will be useful for other space systems. Much of the spirit of the current metrics used to monitor the maintenance of the ground segments of space systems follows that of metrics used for aircraft. But, space systems have some attributes that differ significantly from those of aircraft systems, and these attributes suggest that the metrics for maintenance and sustainment for space systems be reconsidered. From a modeling perspective, the central difference is that space systems are highly integrated systems in near constant operation, not fleets of aircraft, any one of which can perform the specified mission. This difference leads to three challenges for the analyst. First, the logical metric used in the aircraft realm the fraction of the fleet that can perform the stated mission is not applicable in the space realm. Space command systems function as an integrated whole, and the whole must meet operational mission goals at all times. What is needed for space systems is either a measure or measures that reflect the overall system performance, even when the system is operating nominally. The metric should also be sensitive to sustainment perturbations.


Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience accelerated atherosclerosis leading to excessive cardiovascular death. This cannot be fully explained by traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Oxidative stress is currently receiving attention as an important pathogenetic mediator of tissue damage. Oxidative stress is highly prevalent in patients with CKD. Increased prooxidant activity (age, diabetes, hypertension, inflammation, incompatibility of dialysis membranes, and solutions) goes together with reduced antioxidant defense (reduced activity of the glutathione system, low levels of vitamin E, C). Oxidative stress has been linked to several surrogate markers of atherosclerosis in patients with CKD, such as endothelial dysfunction and intima‐media thickness. However, large epidemiological studies testing hard endpoints are lacking. Oxidative stress may also influence response to erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents. Among possible therapeutic approaches, the use of vitamin E seems to be the most promising. Given orally, it has been shown to significantly improve cardiovascular outcomes in a relatively small clinical trial. When bonded to biocompatible dialysis membranes, it may be effective in improving erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents' responsiveness. Similarly, vitamin C may be effective in reducing cardiovascular events in haemodialysis patients. Further well‐designed, randomized controlled clinical trials with antioxidants are required to establish their potential to make a substantive difference in clinical practice.


Probably the most direct observation of the Earth's curvature is how objects appear from over the horizon when we approach them and disappear as we get further away from them. Similarly, the portion of a high object (a building or a mountain) that is visible depends on the height of the site where the observation is made. Based upon these very obvious facts, a simple method to estimate the Earth's radius R has been applied. The method does not need either sophisticated instrumentation or complex mathematics. In our application of the method presented here, the result is R = 6600 ± 600 km in the best case. A discussion is presented about the possible use of this method in ancient times. Surprisingly enough, we have not found any reference to the use of this method despite its being simpler than, for example, the classical approach of Eratosthenes.


Mountainous landscapes in Central Zagros are mainly used as grazing rangelands to feed animals and are heavily degraded. Overgrazing may impose a negative effect on rangeland productivity and sustainability through significant changes in soil properties. Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is one of the key biological processes that might be affected by biotic and abiotic factors including range grazing regime or intensity. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effects of rangeland management (grazing and ungrazing regimes) on soil N mineralization in natural rangelands of Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiyari province. Three range management regimes including a) long-term ungrazed, b) controlled grazed and c) freely(over)-grazed plots in a close vicinity were selected in three regions consisting of SabzKouh (protected from grazing for 18 years), Boroujen (protected from grazing for 23 years) and Sheida (protected from grazing for 2 years), and soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm depth for some physical and chemical properties. Soil N mineralization was measured under standard laboratory conditions. At SabzKouh, the effect of range management on the cumulative N mineralization and the proportion of N mineralized (%) was significant (P<0.05) and ungrazing regime resulted in 89% and 96% increases in soil N mineralization in ungrazed rangelands compared with controlled grazed and freelygrazed rangelands, respectively. Similarly, soil N mineralization was significantly greater (P<0.05) in ungrazed rangelands (3.3to 3.5-folds) than in controlled grazed and freely-grazed rangelands at Boroujen site. However, at Sheida site with short-term ungrazing period and cropping history there were no significant and considerable differences in soil N mineralization among the three grazing regimes. Briefly, degraded rangelands at SabzKouh and Boroujen sites seem to recover rather quickly from long-term overgrazing with a proper grazing management, while rangeland ecosystems at Sheida site need a much longer period for steady-state conditions and for improvements in soil quality and fertility after long-term soil degradation and disturbance.


In this paper, we propose and investigate the use of a modifiedversion of Intermediate Significant Bit (ISB) insertion algorithm, so-called here as MISB algorithm for secret text steganography. The secret text is passed through a sequence of ciphering techniques. A Modified Intermediate Significant Bit MISB insertion algorithm is proposed for hiding the bit sequences of the cipher text into the time-frequency domain using wavelet transform of the image pixels, in order to improve the robustness of the Steganography system. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of wavelet Modified Intermediate Significant Bit WMISB while evaluating its performance using Peak Signal to Noise Ratio PSNR measure. Moreover, additional experiments are evaluated for noising, and image compression for cover images to compare their Peak Signal to Noise Ratio PSNR. The drawn results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed Wavelet-based Modified Intermediate Significant Bit Insertion WMISB, Also, Bit Error Rate BER, is a key parameter that is used in assessing systems that transmit digital data from one location to another.


Human and Computer interaction has been a part of our day-to-day life. Speech is one of the essential and comfortable ways of interacting through devices as well as a human being. The device, particularly smartphones have multiple sensors in camera and microphone, etc. speech recognition is the process of converting the acoustic signal to a smartphone as a set of words. The efficient performance of the speech recognition system highly enhances the interaction between humans and machines by making the latter more receptive to user needs. The recognized words can be applied for many applications such as Commands & Control, Data entry, and Document preparation. This research paper highlights speech recognition through ANN (Artificial Neural Network). Also, a hybrid model is proposed for audio-visual speech recognition of the Tamil and Malay language through SOM (Self-organizing map0 and MLP (Multilayer Perceptron). The Effectiveness of the different models of NN (Neural Network) utilized in speech recognition will be examined.


in ensuring that a therapeutic trial achieves the intended ideal of †̃¿ double-blindness'. In a double blind study the identity of the treatment adminis tered to an individual patient is concealed from both the patient and the assessing clinician, in an attempt to disentangle a †̃¿ true' th rapeutic effect from any prejudice arising on account of the reputation of a recognised treatment. Ensuring concealment in this way is regarded as particularly important in psychi atric research, in that it would otherwise be imposs ible to obtain objective evidence (Pocock, 1983)— although conversely it may be argued that in some cases in which the aim is purely to provide sympto matic relief, a placebo effect could be construed as validly beneficial. †̃¿ Double-blindness' is one of several attributes a trial may exhibit which are unequivocally desirable, other things being equal, but which may not in every instance be feasible. For example, it can be argued that the principle that adequately informed consent on the part of the patient and †̃¿ therapeutic equipoise' on the part of the clinician are prerequisites for ethi cality would, if taken literally, preclude the majority of studies actually performed. Similarly, not all types of trial can aspire to double-blindness. The compari son of a surgical treatment with a conservative, medi cal one cannot ethically be made in a double-blind manner. In psychiatry, the †̃¿ non-blindness' that can arisefromrecognitionfadrugfromitstaste orside effects is a problem only because recognition leads to imputation of the characteristics the drug is believed to have. The suggestion that the ability of participants to guess the patients' drug status should be used as a retrospective criterion to exclude certain results is likely to replace one problem with several others. (a) A phase III drug trial is normally construed as †̃¿ pragmatic' in the sense of Schwartz & Lellouch (1967) and analysed according to the †̃¿ intention-to treat' principle. Retrospective exclusion of some results because in those cases compliance with the principle of †̃¿ blindness' could not be obtained is as alien to this scenario as exclusion on account of any other non-compliance or co-intervention. (b) Some questions could never be answered. In the case of many drugs, such as those with anticholi nergic effects, the treatment taken would be †̃¿ blind' to the patient in few instances. In the case of less recognisable treatments, retrospective exclusion of a substantial proportion of patients would lead to a serious shortfall in statistical power. (c) Inappropriate significance testing: to advocate discrimination between the discerning patient and the undiscerning by use ofa significance test compar ing correct guesses or surmises with chance expec tation betrays a misunderstanding ofthe meaning of significance testing and type I and type II errors —¿ the setting of the boundary for such a selection rule is essentially arbitrary, and is made no less so by invoking permutational probabilities under a null hypothesis. (d) Exclusion of some patients will upset the ran domisation and might introduce a selection bias; any observed difference in outcome could be spurious; or conversely, an apparently null difference could be observed because the selection bias masks a true dif ference. Since we do not know in what respects the undiscerning would differ from the discerning in their susceptibility to (truly) respond to one treatment rather than another, the results of a trial based on the undiscerning could not reasonably be expected to transfer to a target patient population that was not selected in this way. A more appropriate conclusion to draw from the great difficulty of ensuring †̃¿ double-blindness' i that studies sufficiently well planned to be definitive (in particular, heeding the points I raised recently (Newcombe, 1988)),and also as well masked as poss ible, should be carried out very early in the career of a treatment, before myths concerning its efficacy become widely disseminated. R. G. NEWCOMBE Department of Medical Computing and Statistics University of Wales College of Medicine Heath Park Card@ffCF44XN


Abstract Following a period of Whiterockian erosion, Middle Ordovician seas transgressed into the North American continental interior, and a diachronous sheet of clastic sediments (St. Peter, McLish, Winnipeg) lapped onto the margins of the Transcontinental Arch. The Arch served as a major clastic source region during subsequent deposition (especially Decorah). Middle Ordovician clastic sediments adjacent to the Transcontinental Arch and in the Willis-ton Basin were probably deposited in a humid climatic regime, and carbonate deposition predominated in an arid belt that included Wisconsin, southeastern Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois, where carbonate oolites and evaporites are noted. As the marine transgression continued, clastic source areas on the Transcontinental Arch were inundated, and a continuous sheet of carbonate sediments (Galena, Viola, Red River, Bighorn) spread across most of the continental interior during the Edenian. Migration of North America across latitudinally-related climatic belts brought the Williston Basin area into an arid climatic regime by mid-Late Ordovician as evidenced by the deposition of upper Red River evaporites. Widespread carbonate deposition was replaced by Dubuque/Maquoketa and Stony Mountain carbonate/clastic deposition as source regions emerged on the Transcontinental Arch and Ozark Uplift. The lower Maquoketa is conformable with the underlying Dubuque over most of the eastern Midcontinent, and the joint occurrence of organic-rich shales and phosphorites is attributed to a low-oxygen, phosphate-rich water mass in the Maquoketa sea. The Ordovician closed with red clastic deposition, intermixed with carbonates and/or ironstones, adjacent to the Arch.


A family of cyclometalated [Ir(III)] complexes containing two F2ppy ligands and a bis-oxazoline (box) ancillary ligand, either chiral (1) or achiral (2) has been synthesized. They exhibit photophysical and electrochemical properties quite similar to the isoelectronic and well known [Ir(F2ppy)2(acac)] complex. However, an unprecedented photoreactivity has been observed. Upon UV irradiation of air-equilibrated solutions of both complexes, stable photoproducts containing an [Ir(IV)] metal center are obtained. The photoproducts exhibit highly efficient blue luminescence with good OLED performances. The same [Ir(IV)] complexes are obtained also by electrochemical oxidation.


This paper presents a comparison study of two sequence kernels for text classification, namely, all common subsequences and sequence kernel. We consider some variations of the two kernels — kernels based on individual features, linear combination of individual kernels and kernels with a factored representation of features — and evaluate them in text classification by employing them as similarity functions in a support vector machine. A sentence is represented as a sequence of words along with their lemma and part-of-speech tags. Experiments show that sequence kernel has a clear advantage over all common subsequences. Since the main difference between the two kernels lies in the fact that the frequency of words (objects) is considered in sequence kernel but not in all common subsequences, we conclude that the frequency of words is an important factor in the successful application of kernels to text classification.


This paper deals with the theory and application of the parallel-T resistance-capacitance network, and gives a more general treatment of this network than that found in earlier papers. Using wye-delta conversion methods, the parallel-T resistance-capacitance network is represented by a single equivalent pi circuit. By introducing symbols corresponding to frequency and component values, simple expressions are derived for the impedance of the pi arms, as well as the network transmission, at any frequency. Since no arbitrary relationships are assumed between component values, the derived expressions are general. The practical application of the network is also considered. Three versatile circuit embodiments are described, and the effects of deviating from specified component values investigated. A calculation is made to illustrate the application of the network to a negative-feedback circuit using a single stage of voltage amplification.


Objectives: Dietary modifications are common treatment strategies for adults with metabolic syndrome, but it is unclear how often these individuals read food labels. The objective of this study was to examine if adults with metabolic syndrome read food labels when buying packaged foods and to determine factors related to label use. Methods: From the database of the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES-V), 1,335 adults with metabolic syndrome and 3,696 those without were selected. Data were analyzed using frequency distributions, test and multiple logistic regression with the SPSS win 18.0 program. Results: Adults with metabolic syndrome read food labels less than individuals without it when they purchase packaged foods(12.5% vs 29.0%). Among those without metabolic syndrome, food label use was significantly higher among participants who were women, younger, educated, and trying to control weight. Conclusions: Strategies to use food label as a diet management tool for metabolic syndrome are needed.


In this paper an isolated microgrid comprising both controllable and uncontrollable sources, such as solar, wind, diesel generator, fuel cell, aqua-electrolyser and hydrogen storage is modeled. After discussing the modeling of the power system and different generating units, two kinds of control approaches have been used and the results have been compared to each other. Firstly, PI controllers have been implemented for controllable sources to damp the frequency oscillations. This control approach is a kind of local approach and just uses the data locally. Secondly, Optimal LQR control algorithm is employed for controlling the system using Particle Swarm Optimization. This control is a full state feedback control which uses all the state of the system and tries to minimize the objective function. PSO technique has been applied to come up with the best control matrices such that the frequency oscillation due to a disturbance in a microgrid is minimized. To establish an efficient resource management strategy, a central controller takes the decisions based on the status of the loads and sources. The status is obtained with the help of multi-agent concept (treating each load and source as an agent) through internet using User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP). The decisions are transmitted to the controllable sources to regulate their power output for damping of frequency deviations following a disturbance. The proposed control approach is tested in presence of different frequency changes in the system including cyber attack effects. The proposed control method is improved by optimizing the frequency sending rate and tested in case of cyber intrusions or malfunctions.


Background: An estimated 0.1% of the population harbors brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Diagnosis and workup of AVMs include thorough evaluation for characterization of AVM angioarchitecture and careful assessment for concomitant aneurysms. The presence of coexisting aneurysms is associated with an increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage, with a published risk of 7% per year compared to patients with AVMs alone with a risk of 3%. Comprehensive AVM management requires recognition of concomitant aneurysms and prioritizes treatment strategies to mitigate the aggregate risk of intracranial hemorrhage associated with AVM rupture in patients with coexisting aneurysms. Endovascular treatment of these flow-related aneurysms can offer a cure, while avoiding open surgery. Successful flow-diverting embolization techniques, efficacy, and outcomes have been previously described for a variety of aneurysm types and locations. However, use of a flow diverter has not been previously described for the treatment of high-flow aneurysms on AVM-feeding vessels. Case Presentation: We report 2 cases of large AVMs within eloquent cortex associated with flow-related aneurysms in patients presenting initially with suspected intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to AVM rupture. Discussion: No consensus currently exists to guide treatment of intracranial aneurysms associated with AVMs. Surgical management addressed AVM embolization initially, as the vasculopathology with the highest rupture risk. Subsequently, Pipeline embolization of the associated aneurysms with adequate antiplatelet treatment was performed before scheduled radiosurgery to decrease the risk of AVM rupture or rebleed. This represents a novel and promising use of the Pipeline Embolization Device. Additional cases and longer follow-up will be needed to further assess the efficacy of this technique.


Transfer and imitation of the organizational capabilities are the twin elements of competition in innovative and growing markets. Knowledge therefore becomes an important strategic asset within organizations. Consequently the management of knowledge is considered with special attention. This paper focuses on the transfer of knowledge between to units of a multinational corporation. The premise of this paper is that successful transfer of knowledge is dependent on the dimensions of the context the transfer process faces. It first gives an overview on main influence factors during the knowledge transfer process between two company units, and then investigates the question whether cultural differences in the sender units influence the knowledge transfer process. The paper finally presents a model of culture related factors influencing the knowledge transfer process between two company units located in geographically different places.


Large-scale tourism development after a natural disaster often leads to substantial changes in the living conditions of local residents. Few studies have examined how these changes are perceived by residents and related to their support to tourism development. We conducted a household survey in Wolong National Nature Reserve, which is a popular nature-based tourist location severely devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in 2008. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to explore the association between residents' expectation of tourism impacts and their willingness to support tourism development. Results indicated that they held high expectations about development and believed that it would be enhance Wolong's economic progress and improve their personal living conditions. Expected economic benefits (EEB) had a significant and positive relationship with the expected improvement of their personal living conditions, but not with their support to tourism development. The latter two variables, however, were associated with each other, suggesting that expected improvement of living conditions mediated between expected benefits and stated support to tourism development. Similar results were not found for resistance and concerns about tourism development. Policy-makers and tourism planners should recognize that public support to tourism development is not necessarily driven directly by expected economic benefits.


This essay provides an overview of artistic work and experimentation leading to the concept of the Third Space Network: a live Internet broadcast and performance project for connecting artists, audiences, and cultural perspectives from around the world. The concept of the third space suggests the collapse of the local (first space) and remote (second space) into a third, socially constructed networked space. The third space can be viewed as a new realization of the community of theater in a globally connected culture: performance space for broadcasted live art, a forum for the aggregation of artist streams of media art, and an arena for social interaction. The following is a personal artistic history and contextualization of nearly thirty years of live performance, interactive media, installation, Internet art, and the spaces they inhabit. This essay connects early work in Music Theater from the late 1980s and early 1990s to more recent networked projects to frame the idea of the Third Space Network as a new theatrical environment rich in potential for live performance and creative discourse.


Individual phenotypic selection for high 4. week body weight was conducted for 40 generations in two lines of Japanese quail under two protein environments. Line P was selected on an adequate 28% protein diet, and line T was selected on a 20% protein diet containing 0.2% thiouracil (TU). In generation 20, a subline R was established by subjecting progeny from the T line to a 20% protein diet; in generation 27, a subline S was developed by subjecting progeny from the T line to a 28% protein diet containing 0.2% TU. Progeny from a nonselected control line (C) were reared with selected lines and sublines in all generations. Quail in the P line continued to respond to selection for 40 generations; body weights increased from 90 to approximately 200 g. Mean body weights of T line quail peaked in generation 22 and did not appear to show any deffmite gains thereafter. Body weight responses of sublines R and S were greater than those in the T line and indicate that changing the selection environment following long-term selection may be an effective technique to maximize total selection responses for 4-week body weight in quail. Realized heritability estimates for 4-week body weight were larger in the P line than in the T line in all comparisons. Realized estimates were high (30-45%) for the ten generations 1-10; moderate (15-20%) for generations I 1-30, and small (5-10%) for generations 31-40.


Inscription fragments from the site of Kom el-Nana at Tell el-Amarna, the location of the capital city of Akhenaten, have established the location of two structures previously thought lost or nonexistent: a Sunshade of Re likely of Nefertiti, and the rwd 'n?w ?tn. This article reviews the evidence for the two structures, suggesting that although closely related, they were likely separate but complementary structures. The article also includes a discussion of possible reasons the archaeological record outside of Kom el-Nana proper never mentions the two names together. It also offers suggestions regarding the function of Kom el-Nana at Tell el-Amarna.


This article examines the ECJ�s July 2016 judgment in Verein fur Konsumenteninformation (VKI) v Amazon EU, a case which sits at the crossroads of consumer protection, data protection and private international law. VKI, an Austrian consumer protection association, brought a claim for an injunction to preclude the use of unfair terms in Amazon EU�s standard terms and conditions (T & Cs); the Austrian Supreme Court ultimately sought a preliminary ruling from the ECJ for clarification on the applicable conflicts rules to determine the law that governs the consumer and data protection dimensions of the cross-border collective action. The article begins by setting out the facts of the case; it then situates the challenge to Amazon�s T & Cs in the current contexts of consumer and data protection and analyses the key dimensions of consumer and data protection arising in the case. To conclude, the article offers reflections on the interplay of consumer enforcement, data protection and private international law in light of the ECJ�s judgment.


In order to increase the adaptation of the robot to the environment, this paper proposes a new hybrid mechanism which combines the wheeled movement with the hopping. The wheeled movement will be selected to enhance the mobility performance and efficiency when the road is flat or the obstacle is less than the radius of the wheel. When there are big obstacles or ditches on the ground which are difficult for wheeled movement, hopping is a better choice. Based on the design of the mechanism, the robot's two movements can be approximately decoupled: 1) the wheeled movement which is completely free from the vertical direction of hopping; 2) the hopping movement where the robot controls the wheel horizontal velocity at the hopping instance to control the hopping angle and height. The paper firstly introduces the mechanical configuration of a two-wheel-hopping robot, then develops the hopping dynamics model and hopping process for the two-wheel-hopping robot. The effects of the spring rate and the whole mass to the hopping performance are analyzed. Finally the whole mechanism is given for the future development of the robot. The combination of the wheel drive with hopping can greatly improve the mobility of the mechanism.


Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. However, results from randomized controlled trials indicate that lung cancer mortality can be reduced by early detection through computed tomography screening. This thesis describes the development of a microsimulation model for the evaluation of lung cancer screening programs, based on individual-level data from two large randomized controlled trials. It then evaluates the long-term benefits and harms of implementing lung cancer screening programs. Finally, it investigates how risk stratification may be used to optimize lung cancer screening programs.


Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in anterior chamber morphology and corneal endothelium in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) and to determine the differences according to the control group.
Material and Methods: 61 eyes of 61 PEX patients, 56 eyes of 56 PEXG patients and 46 eyes of 46 healthy subjects were included in the study. Measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) was taken and axial length (AL), K1, K2, central corneal thickness (CCT), white-to-white distance (WTW), anterior chamber depth (ACD), pupil diameter (PD) by optical biometry and endothelial cell density (ECD), polimegatism (CV), pleomorphism (HEX) and average cell area (AVG) by specular microscope were taken of all the patients. Evaluation among the groups were made by ANOVA test, and p 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences among the groups in terms of IOP, AL, K1, K2, WTW, ACD (p> 0.05). Pupil diameter values were lower in the PEX group. CCT and endothelial cell counts were found to be higher in the control group compared to the other groups, while no significant difference was found between PEX and PEXG groups. AVG results were found to be significantly higher in the PEXG group than in the control group (p


The isothermal decomposition process of CL-20/HMX co-crystals was studied through an isothermal decomposition dynamics research method. The pressure versus time curves of the gas generated by the CL-20/HMX co-crystal thermal decomposition present a significant inflection point at the decomposition extent of 70%. Furthermore, the residue of the CL-20/HMX co-crystals was investigated by HPLC and FTIR spectroscopy to understand the decomposition process. The results manifest that the decomposition of the CL-20/HMX co-crystals before and after the inflection point conforms to different model equations with the activation energies of 149.3 kJ mol−1 and 169.0 kJ mol−1, respectively. The thermal decomposition of the CL-20/HMX co-crystals is a coupling process. Clearly, the decomposition rate of CL-20 is much higher than that of HMX before the inflection point; CL-20 is almost consumed when the inflection point is reached in the pressure–time curve of the CL-20/HMX co-crystal thermal decomposition and then, HMX accelerates the thermal decomposition of the CL-20/HMX co-crystals.


Background The use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) is associated with a reduction in malaria transmission. In 2015, a new delivery strategy (intervention) for universal coverage campaign was tested and compared with standard strategy (control). The objective is to compare two bed net delivery models in rural districts of Mozambique. Methods Two districts served as intervention, and two as control. The following study design was used: 1) before and after; and 2) cost-effectiveness analysis. Three core implementation strategies were tested: 1) use of coupons during household registration, 2) use of stickers to identify registered houses, and 3) a new LLINs allocation criterion. The main endpoints measured were: i) percentage of distributed LLINs; ii) LLINs ownership and use coverage; iii) percentage of households that achieved universal coverage; iv) incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER); v) incremental net benefit (INB). Results Approximately 88% (302,648) of LLINs were distributed in intervention districts compared to 77% (219,613) in control districts [OR: 2.14 (95% CI: 2.11–2.16)]. Six months after the 2015 campaign, 98.8% of the 760 households surveyed in the intervention districts had at least one LLIN; 89.6% of the 787 households surveyed in the control districts had at least one LLIN [OR: 9.7, (95% CI: 5.25–22.76)]. Near 95% and 87% of respondents who had at least one LLIN, reported having slept under the LLIN the previous night in the intervention and control districts, respectively [OR: 3.2; (95% CI 2.12–4.69)]; 71% of the households surveyed achieved universal coverage in the intervention districts against 59.6% in the control districts [OR: 1.6; (95% CI: 1.33–2.03)]. ICER per distributed LLIN was US$ 0.68. INB was positive. Conclusion Intervention districts had greater LLINs availability, greater LLINs ownership and use coverage, and a better progression toward reaching universal coverage targets. The new strategy was more cost-effective than the previous strategy.


A method for cloning mRNAs has been used which results in a high yield of recombinants containing complete 5'-terminal mRNA sequences. It is not dependent on self-priming to generate double-stranded DNA and therefore the S1 nuclease digestion step is not required. Instead, the cDNA is dCMP-tailed at its 3'-end with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT). The synthesis of the second strand is primed by oligo(dG) hybridized to the 3'-tail. Double-stranded cDNA is subsequently tailed with dCTP and annealed to dGMP-tailed vector DNA. This approach overcomes the loss of the 5'-terminal mRNA sequences and the problem of artifacts which may be introduced into cloned cDNA sequences. Chicken lysozyme cDNA was cloned into pBR322 by this procedure with a transformation efficiency of 5 x 10(3) recombinant clones per ng of ds-cDNA. Sequence analysis revealed that at least nine out of nineteen randomly isolated plasmids contained the entire 5'-untranslated mRNA sequence. The data strongly support the conclusion that the 5'-untranslated region of the lysozyme mRNA is heterogeneous in length.


This paper investigates the properties of an international real business cycle model with household production. We show that a model with disturbances to both market and household technologies reproduces the main regularities of the data and improves existing models in matching international consumption, investment and output correlations without irrealistic assumptions on the structure of international financial markets. Sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the results to alternative specifications of the stochastic processes for the disturbances and to variations of unmeasured parameters within a reasonable range.


Dense retrieval is becoming one of the standard approaches for document and passage ranking. The dual-encoder architecture is widely adopted for scoring question-passage pairs due to its efficiency and high performance. Typically, dense retrieval models are evaluated on clean and curated datasets. However, when deployed in real-life applications, these models encounter noisy user-generated text. That said, the performance of state-of-the-art dense retrievers can substantially deteriorate when exposed to noisy text. In this work, we study the robustness of dense retrievers against typos in the user question. We observe a significant drop in the performance of the dual-encoder model when encountering typos and explore ways to improve its robustness by combining data augmentation with contrastive learning. Our experiments on two large-scale passage ranking and open-domain question answering datasets show that our proposed approach outperforms competing approaches. Additionally, we perform a thorough analysis on robustness. Finally, we provide insights on how different typos affect the robustness of embeddings differently and how our method alleviates the effect of some typos but not of others.


As most of the time mobile devices are used inside buildings, it is of particular interest for mobile network operators to cover indoor areas with their services. In order to reach satisfying indoor coverage without having too much extra costs for e.g. additional cell sites, optimum network planning has to be performed with the aid of coverage prediction by using propagation models. In this work we compare eight empirical and one deterministic model (ray tracing) by their usability and general validity for predicting the indoor coverage in UMTS macro cells. Furthermore, the accuracy of the models is shown via a comparison to measurements inside an office building in a live UMTS network in the city center of Vienna, Austria. It was found that despite the high effort for the usage, the deterministic model could not reach higher accuracy than the empirical models. Additionally, in this work we investigate improvements of the indoor coverage in UMTS macro cells by optimizing various base station antenna parameters.


Radioactive waste contains many important elements like cesium ion. Generally, the separation of these elements is expensive and exotic. However, electrically switched ion exchange (ESIX) process is an attractive method for separation, which involves an ion exchange film deposited onto an electrode surface. In this study, a graphite electrode was used; nickel hexacyanocobaltate was introduced into the graphite electrode to improve the capacity for cesium ion separation. X-ray tomography was used to characterize nickel hexacyanocobaltate inside the electrode, and FTIR was used to characterize the prepared material. Cyclic voltammogram was used to measure the ion exchange performance. This technique was found to enhance both the removal capacity of cesium and stability of the ion exchange process compared to other techniques.


In this article mixed ligand complex formation equilibria of copper(II) and zinc(II) with isoniazid and two amino acids have been determined by potentiometric titration method, involving the use of Irving Rossotti procedure. The formation constants of mixed ligand complexes have been found to be Cu(II)-isoniazid-L-asparagine logK= 7.29; Zn(II)- isoniazid-L-asparagine logK= 4.09 and Cu(II)-isoniazid-L-glutamic acid logK= 6.70; Zn(II)- isoniazid-L-glutamic acid logK= 6.30, at 25.0±0.1° C and I= 0.11 mol dm-3 ionic strength (NaCIO4) in aqueous solution. The maximum values of the conditional formation constants were found to be in accordance with the mixed-ligand complex formation constants in a given pH region. In addition, the mole fractions of different species from mixed complexes were calculated by means of formation constants.


This chapter discusses the meaning of hearsay in criminal proceedings and the categories of hearsay admissible by statute in such proceedings. It considers the relationship between the hearsay provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights as it relates to hearsay; the definition of hearsay and its admissibility under the 2003 Act, including admissibility under an inclusionary discretion (section 114(1)(d); and safeguards including provisions relating to the capability and credibility of absent witnesses the power to stop a case and the discretion to exclude. Also considered in this chapter are: expert reports; written statements under section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967; and depositions of children and young persons under section 43 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.


Abstract The impact of a considerable increase in traffic volume on the emission and concentrations of air pollutants was investigated at three beaches (Haeundae (HB), Gwanganri (GB), and Songjeong (SB)) in Busan during beach opening period (BOP) in 2011. During the BOP, passenger car was the major vehicle type, followed by taxi, and van. CO was the major contributor of total air pollutant emissions followed by NOx, VOC, and PM 10 . For the temporal variation of the emission of air pollutants during the BOP, it was generally the highest in the afternoon followed by the evening and morning, except for SB. For the spatial variation of their emission, it was the highest at GB followed by SB and HB. The emissions of air pollutants during the BOP were generally higher than those during the Non-BOP, except for HB. In contrast, the significant impact of the traffic volume increase on the concentrations of air pollutants at monitoring sites near the three beaches during the BOP were not found compared to the Non-BOP due to the significant distances between monitoring sites of air pollutants and monitoring sites of traffic volume at the beaches.


The author explores the psychological dynamics of feedback to clients by examining the method and processes of organizational diagnosis and change. In so doing, the concept of the unthought known is introduced along with several other psychological concepts to help explain the clients' initial response to consultant feedback. In particular, the author submits that it is not so much that clients do not know what consultants tell them at this stage of the process of organizational change as much as it is the case that they had not thought of it. This understanding of the change process and feedback to clients has important implications for working effectively with clients' inevitable defensive resistances and anxieties. Two case vignettes are offered as illustrations of defensive resistance and the unthought known in organizational change consultations.


Commercially available Cu CMP waste treatment processes involve: 1) pretreatment chemistry using oxidizers to break down complexed copper resulting in precipitation of copper in the form of copper hydroxide; 2) microfiltration of both slurry particles and copper hydroxide; and 3) ion exchange to remove ions. Ion exchange resins used to remove ions are limited to only removing cations and also have a low efficiency in binding ions. The treatment strategy to be evaluated here only requires using two processes to remove the copper from Cu CMP waste - filtration to remove the particles followed by chelation. This paper focuses on the chelation step. The chelator of interest is polyethyleneimine (PEI) bound to agarose beads. PEI removes both ions and Cu-complexes. The particles from slurry in the actual Cu CMP waste were removed by filtration before the experiment. The results show that PEI has a higher binding capacity for ions than ion exchange resins. Its performance and reproducibility did not change after multiple regenerations. Furthermore, PEI has the ability to bind Cu-complexes through electrostatic attraction. Although the bonds aren't strong, the result is more overall copper removal from the waste stream. The copper component of the Cu CMP waste was concentrated 12 fold using this system.


The long consolatory poem for the blind, Ooghentroost, written by the Dutch seventeenth-century poet, Constantijn Huygens, looks like an intricate web of dialogues. The text is first of all a letter from Huygens to Lucretia van Trello, an older friend of the author who suffered from cataract. One can regard this poem also as a collection of links between the lines in Dutch and the margin of the poem, a subtext of references to the oeuvres of diverse authorities such as playwrights (Euripides, Seneca, ...), philosophers (Plato, Cicero, ...), poets (Homer, Ovid, ...), Church Fathers and the Bible. In this paper I examine one specific dialogue – a conversation between Huygens and Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Huygens frequently refers to Seneca's philosophical and literary work but his entretien with the Roman writer is not in the least unproblematic. To fit Seneca's stoic ideas into his own Christian discourse on those who are morally blind the poet cannot but manipulate the words of his illustrious interlocutor.


The contribution of own food production to the nutrition of households in two neighbouring, rural, semi-arid settlements was investigated. A survey of a 10% probability sample (n=131) of households in Sekuruwe and Ga-Molekane in the Mokgalakwena Local Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa, conducted in 2001, provided data on household composition, income (cash and kind), poverty status, expenditure and agriculture, including a detailed account of the types and quantities of food that were purchased during the month preceding the date of the interview. For each household the food obtained from the different types of agriculture they practised was quantified. Protein, iron and Vitamins A and C were selected as indicators to assess the contribution of purchased and own produced food to the food intake of households. Food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of the different foods. To assess the contribution of irrigated home gardening to food intake of households, Drum & Drip micro-irrigation systems which enabled irrigated vegetable production on an area of 36 m2 were installed on the residential sites of 10 volunteer households in the study area. The results confirmed that income is the most important determinant of household food security in rural South Africa. However, food obtained from various types of dry-land agriculture contributed significantly to household nutrition and without farming the food security of households would be reduced, especially among the ultra-poor. Small-scale irrigated vegetable production was shown to have the potential to substantially raise the amount of the Vitamins A and C available to households but did not address the lack of protein in the diet of ultra-poor households and the lack of iron in the diet of all households.


This paper deals with Chinese web page classification based on support vector machine (SVM). First, Some methods are proposed for feature extraction and selection based on textual keywords. Then Special problems are discussed on statistic learning theory, support vector machine and their application in classification. Quadratic program algorithm is also described for constructing the SVM classifier. In the experiment part, the sample set, including 5096 samples, is chosen from the web version of Chinese People's Daily. It is separated into two sets, the training set with 3398 samples and the test set with 1698 samples. Two kinds of kernel function, polynomial and radial basis function, are considered in constructing the SVM classifier. The final classification correct rates are 89.81%, 86.51% for the two classifiers, respectively.


We propose a Bayesian formulation of the sample size problem for planning clinical trials. The frequentist paradigm for calculating sample sizes for clinical trials is to prespecify the type I and II error probabilities. These error probabilities are conditional on the true hypotheses. Instead we propose prespecifying posterior probabilities which are conditional on the outcome of the trial. Our method is easy to implement and has intuitive interpretations. We illustrate an application of our method to the planning of cancer clinical trials for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG).


Primary myoblasts are undifferentiated proliferating precursors of skeletal muscle. They can be cultured and studied as muscle precursors or induced to differentiate into later stages of muscle development. The protocol provided here describes a robust method for the isolation and culture of a highly proliferative population of myoblast cells from young adult mouse skeletal muscle explants. These cells are useful for the study of the metabolic properties of skeletal muscle of different mouse models, as well as in other downstream applications such as transfection with exogenous DNA or transduction with viral expression vectors. The level of differentiation and metabolic profile of these cells depends on the length of exposure, and composition of the media used to induce myoblast differentiation. These methods provide a robust system for the study of mouse muscle cell metabolism ex vivo. Importantly, unlike in vivo models, the methods described here provide a cell population that can be expanded and studied with high levels of reproducibility.


Group B Streptococcus (GBS) emerged as a leading cause of invasive infectious disease in neonates in the 1970s, but has recently been identified as an escalating public health threat in non-pregnant adults, particularly those of advanced aged or underlying medical conditions. GBS infection can rapidly develop into life-threatening disease despite prompt administration of effective antibiotics and initiation of state-of-the-art intensive care protocols and technologies due to deleterious bacterial virulence factors, such as the GBS pore-forming toxin β-hemolysin/cytolysin (β-H/C). β-H/C is known to have noxious effects on a wide range of host cells and tissues, including lung epithelial cell injury, blood brain barrier weakening, and immune cell apoptosis. Neonatal and adult survivors of GBS infection are at a high risk for substantial long-term health issues and neurologic disabilities due to perturbations in organ systems caused by bacterial- and host- mediated inflammatory stressors. Previously engineered anti-virulence inhibitors, such as monoclonal antibodies and small molecular inhibitors, generally require customized design for each different pathogenic toxin and do not target deleterious host pro-inflammatory responses that may cause organ injury, septic shock, or death. By simply wrapping donor red blood cells (RBCs) around polymeric cores, we have created biomimetic "nanosponges." Because nanoparticles retain the same repertoire of cell membrane receptors as their host cell, they offer non-specific and all-purpose toxin decoy strategies with a broad ability to sequester and neutralize various bacterial toxins and host pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines to attenuate the course of infectious disease. This proof-of-concept study successfully demonstrated that intervention with nanosponges reduced the hemolytic activity of live GBS and stabilized β-H/C in a dose-dependent manner. Nanosponge treatment also decreased lung epithelial and macrophage cell death following exposure to live GBS bacteria and stabilized β-H/C, improved neutrophil killing of GBS, and diminished GBS-induced macrophage IL-1β production. Our results, therefore, suggest biomimetic nanosponges provide a titratable detoxification therapy that may provide a first-in-class treatment option for GBS infection by sequestering and inhibiting β-H/C activity.


This paper discusses the movement of inmates from mental hospitals to the community with particular focus on homeless women. It raises the question of the fate of bag ladies once the National Mental Health Policy and Plan have run their course in the middle of 1998 when 'community care' has been inadequately resourced. It explores alternative explanations for odd behaviour other than labelling such behaviour psychotic.


Ulmus pumila open forest ecosystem plays an important role in Otindag Sandy Land. Using biostatistics (U test and Pearson correlation analysis) and geostatistics (Semivariogram analysis and Kriging interpolation), the spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter (SOM), soil total nitrogen (STN), soil pH (SpH), soil water content (SWC), and the correlations between them, as well as their relationships with herbaceous coverage (HC) and Ulmus pumila were studied. The results showed that spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependence were apparent in SOM, STN, SpH, SWC and HC. With Kriging interpolation in the sampling area, the contour maps for these properties were drawn. Using the contour maps, the relationship between Ulmus pumila and spatial heterogeneity of the studied properties was investigated. The possible reason for the formation of fertility island under the Ulmus pumila trees in the ecosystem was discussed.


Prostate cancer is a very common malignant disease and a leading cause of death for men in the Western world. Tumorigenesis and progression of prostate cancer involves multiple signaling pathways, including the Hippo pathway. Yes-associated protein (YAP) is the downstream transcriptional co-activator of the Hippo pathway, is overexpressed in prostate cancer, and plays a vital role in the tumorigenesis and progression of prostate cancer. However, the role of the YAP paralog and another downstream effector of the Hippo pathway, transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), in prostate cancer has not been fully elucidated. Here, we show that TAZ is a basal cell marker for the prostate epithelium. We found that overexpression of TAZ promotes the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cell migration, and anchorage-independent growth in the RWPE1 prostate epithelial cells. Of note, knock down of TAZ in the DU145 prostate cancer cells inhibited cell migration and metastasis. We also found that SH3 domain binding protein 1 (SH3BP1), a RhoGAP protein that drives cell motility, is a direct target gene of TAZ in the prostate cancer cells, mediating TAZ function in enhancing cell migration. Moreover, the prostate cancer-related oncogenic E26 transformation-specific (ETS) transcription factors, ETV1, ETV4, and ETV5, were required for TAZ gene transcription in PC3 prostate cancer cells. MAPK inhibitor U0126 treatment decreased TAZ expression in RWPE1 cells, and ETV4 overexpression rescued TAZ expression in RWPE1 cells with U0126 treatment. Our results show a regulatory mechanism of TAZ transcription and suggest a significant role for TAZ in the progression of prostate cancer.


Acknowledgments ix 1. Introduction 3 2. More Guns Means Less Crime 13 3. AIDS Is Not Caused by HIV 33 4. Sun Exposure Is Beneficial 57 5. Low Doses of Nuclear Radiation Are Beneficial 73 6. The Solar System Has Two Suns 102 7. Oil, Coal, and Gas Have Abiogenic Origins 122 8. Time Travel Is Possible 146 9. Faster-than-Light Particles Exist 172 10. There Was No Big Bang 194 11. Epilogue 215 Notes to the Chapters 221 Bibliography 235 Index 239


The adenylate-cyclase activator forskolin, the guanylate-cyclase stimulator sodium nitroprusside, the phosphodiesterase inhibitor Ro 15–2041, different Caentry blockers, as well as various vasodilators, and the atrial natriuretic peptide were tested for antiplatelet activity. Thrombin, vasopressin, ADP, arachidonic acid, and the dihydropyridine Ca agonist CGP 28392 were used as platelet activators. The physiological and biochemical parameters of platelet function studied included shape-change reaction, intracellular free-Ca modulation, and cyclic nucleotide formation. When inhibition of the shape-change response occurred, it was accompanied by inhibition of the increase in intracellular free Ca. Furthermore, the results suggest a possible intracellular site of action of Ca entry blockers in platelets, and confirm the importance of modulation of cyclic nucleotides in the regulation of platelet function, regardless of the mechanism of platelet activation. Additional antiplatelet activity of antihypertensive agents may have a beneficial effect in reducing the associated risk of thrombo-embolic complications in essential hypertension.