SUMMARY In unfertilized, highly weathered tropical soils, phosphorus (P) availability to plants is dependent on the mineralization of organic P (Po) compounds. The objective of this study was to estimate the mineralization of total and labile Po in soil size fractions of > 2.0, 2.0-0.25 and 2.0 and 2.0-0.25 mm fractions, respectively. In contrast, there was an average increase of 90 % of total Po in microaggregates of 2.0 (-50 %) and < 0.25 mm (-76 %) fractions, but labile Po increased by 35 % in the 2.0-0.25 mm fraction. The Po fraction relative to total extracted P and total labile P within the soil size fractions varied with the vegetation cover and incubation time. Therefore, the distribution of P fractions (Pi and Po) in the soil size fraction revealed the distinctive ability of the cover species to recycle soil P. Consequently, the potential of Po mineralization varied with the size fraction and vegetation cover. Because Po accounted for most of the total labile P, the P availability to plants was closely related to the mineralization of this P fraction.


Objective: To evaluate the evidence on the association between migraine and mortality. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the association between any migraine (all forms of migraine collectively) or migraine subtypes (e.g. migraine with aura) and mortality published until March 2011. Results: We identified ten cohort studies. Studies differed regarding the types of mortality investigated and only four presented aura-stratified results, limiting pooled analyses with regard to migraine subtypes and with regard to cause-specific mortality. For any migraine pooled analyses do not suggest an association with all-cause mortality (five studies; pooled relative risk (RR) = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71–1.16), cardiovascular disease mortality (CVD; six studies; pooled RR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.89–1.32), or coronary heart disease mortality (CHD; three studies; pooled RR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.57–1.60). Heterogeneity among studies is moderate to high. Two studies suggest that migraine with aura increases risk for CVD and CHD mortality. Conclusion: This meta-analysis does not suggest that any migraine is associated with increased risk of mortality from all causes, CVD, or CHD. However, there is heterogeneity among studies and suggestion that migraine with aura increases CVD and CHD mortality. Given the high prevalence of migraine in the general population a definitive answer to the question of whether migraine or a subtype alters risk for mortality is of high public health importance and further targeted research implicated.


MRI (Magnetic Resonance) Imaging is the boon to the field of medical technology. Our body is designed or developed in such a way that the human eye cannot analyze the micro to the macro form of tissues developed in your human anatomical structure. This kind of physiological changes and early diagnosis of the minute tissues and the internal valves of the heart are taken up more by this magnetic resonance imaging. Due to this technique there will be an accurate tracings of the affected region of the heart which might could be a sign of one kind of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) which where we are mostly concerned about the early diagnosis of Cardiac Attack Analysis. The main purpose of this research is to process and analyze MRI cardiac images using Hybrid Approach consisting of image filtering technique for the Noise removal followed by application of sophisticated Image segmentation methods on the best filtered image which would help medical practitioners for rapid tracing. It also does accurate enhancement of the affected area of interest inside the heart for the purpose of better image clarity and early diagnosis. Comparisons were made using PSNR values.


The rapid development of flexible and wearable electronics has led to an increase in the demand for flexible supercapacitors with enhanced electrochemical performance. Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO (rGO) exhibit several key properties required for supercapacitor components. Although solid-state rGO/GO/rGO supercapacitors with unique structures are promising, their moderate capacitance is inadequate for practical applications. Herein, we report a flexible solid-state rGO/GO/rGO supercapacitor comprising H2SO4-intercalated GO electrolyte/separator and pseudocapacitive rGO electrodes, which demonstrate excellent electrochemical performance. The resulting supercapacitor delivered an areal capacitance of 14.5 mF cm-2, which is among the highest values achieved for any rGO/GO/rGO supercapacitor. High ionic concentration and fast ion conduction in the H2SO4-intercalated GO electrolyte/separator and abundant CH defects, which serve as pseudocapacitive sites on the rGO electrode, were responsible for the high capacitance of this device. The rGO electrode, well separated by the H2SO4 molecular spacer, supplied highly efficient ion transport channels, leading to excellent rate capability. The highly packed rGO electrode and high specific capacitance resulted in a high volumetric energy density (1.24 mWh cm-3) observed in this supercapacitor. The structure, without a clear interface between GO and rGO, provides extremely low resistance and flexibility for devices. Our device operated in air (25 °C 40%) without the use of external electrolytes, conductive additives, and binders. Furthermore, we demonstrate a simple and versatile technique for supercapacitor fabrication by combining photoreduction and electrochemical treatment. These advantages are attractive for developing novel carbon-based energy devices with high device performance and low fabrication costs.


Supramolecular chemistry concerns the manner in which molecular building blocks associate via non-covalent interactions and form aggregates. The particular building block in this research is a photoresponsive molecule 4,4'-azobenzene dicarboxylic acid (ADA), a molecule that isomerizes reversibly around an N-N double bond upon irradiation with different wavelengths of light. The large structural changes in the molecule that result from isomerization have the potential to modulate the properties of a supramolecular aggregate. ADA was studied under a variety of environmental conditions for the purpose of understanding aggregation behavior and geometries. A UV-Vis and Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopic study of ADA showed that it is soluble only at very basic pH (above 10.8) and that a decrease in pH gives rise to the formation of an aggregate. Further studies of the self-aggregation process at low pH showed that this process is under hierarchical control. Four procedures for the formation of homoor hetero-aggregates of ADA were characterized. Each gave rise to the formation of a different structure showing the importance of the pathway undertaken during the aggregation process. CD spectra of the ADA aggregates showed that, typically, they have a preferential asymmetric geometry despite the symmetry of the constituent molecules. Moreover, the use of a chiral template macromolecule (poly-glutamate) during the formation of the aggregate can affect the structure of the supramolecular species and direct its chirality. The study of the photoisomerization of ADA in the aggregated form showed that the highly packed aggregates of the trans isomer were unable to photoisomerize to the cis isomer upon UV (365 nm) irradiation. On the contrary the aggregates containing the cis isomer of ADA were able to retain their ability to photoisomerize to the aggregates of the trans form


Radial spokes are conserved macromolecular complexes that are essential for ciliary motility. A triplet of three radial spokes, RS1, RS2, and RS3, repeats every 96 nm along the doublet microtubules. Each spoke has a distinct base that docks to the doublet and is linked to different inner dynein arms. Little is known about the assembly and functions of individual radial spokes. A knockout of the conserved ciliary protein FAP206 in the ciliate Tetrahymena resulted in slow cell motility. Cryo–electron tomography showed that in the absence of FAP206, the 96-nm repeats lacked RS2 and dynein c. Occasionally, RS2 assembled but lacked both the front prong of its microtubule base and dynein c, whose tail is attached to the front prong. Overexpressed GFP-FAP206 decorated nonciliary microtubules in vivo. Thus FAP206 is likely part of the front prong and docks RS2 and dynein c to the


Objective To evaluate the mutagenicity of a common chemical additive bronopol.Methods In Vitro Mammalian Chromosome Aberration Test(CHL),In Vitro Mammalian Cell Gene Mutation Test(CHO),Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay(Ames)and Mice Bone Marrow Micronucleus Test were conducted to evaluate the mutagenicity of bronopol.For In Vitro Mammalian Chromosome Aberration Study,CHL cells were exposed to the test substance in presence(50,20,10,3mg/L)and absence(30,10,5,2.5mg/L)of S9.For In Vitro Mammalian Cell Gene Mutation Study,CHO cells were exposed to the test substance with the concentration of 20,10,5and 2.5mg/L.For Ames study,TA97,TA98,TA100,TA102and TA1535 bacteria strains were exposed to the test substance in the presence(50,25,12.5,6.25and 3.125μg/plate)and absence(30, 15,7.5,3.75and 1.875μg/plate)of S9.For Mice Bone Marrow Micronucleus Study,60ICR mice were randomly assigned to 6groups,with half males and half females in each group,which were exposed to test substance(20,40,80mg/kg for males; 25,50,100mg/kg for females)of bronopol.Results For In Vitro Mammalian Chromosome Aberration Study,the chromosome aberration rates of all dose groups were≤4.5%,no significant difference was observed compared to negative control group(P0.05).For In Vitro Mammalian Cell Gene Mutation Study,there was no significant difference in mutation frequency for all test groups compared to that of the negative control group(P0.05).For Ames study,the number of revertant colonies of the test strains was less than two-fold of the negative control group regardless of bronopol dose.For Mice Bone Marrow Micronucleus Study,there was no significant increase in appearance rate of micronucleus compared to that of a negative control.Conclusion Bronopol has no obvious mutagenicity under the test condition.


Background: Curcuma comosa Roxb. (Zingiberazeae) is a well-known medicinal plant in Thailand. Rhizome of this plant has been traditionally used for the treatment of various abnormal symptoms of the uterus. Medicinal indications of C. comosa may be associated with its estrogenic-like effects reported by many studies. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of C. comosa hexane and fractionated ethanolic extracts on the activities of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the rat brain. Methods: Forty male rats were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups, 8 rats per group. In group 1, rats were administered orally with 1 ml/kg/day of corn oil (control group); group 2 and 3 with 250 and 500 mg/kg/day of C. comosa hexane extract; group 4 and 5 with 250 and 500 mg/kg/day of C. comosa fractionated ethanolic extract for 30 days, respectively. At the end of the treatment, rats were anesthesized and euthanized. Three regions of brain (cerebral cortex, basal forebrain and hippocampus) were dissected out and collected. Each brain region homogenate was prepared for enzyme activity assays. Results: The results showed that both dosages of C.comosa fractionated ethanolic extract caused an increase of ChAT activity in cerebral cortex and hippocampus but not in the basal forebrain. C. comosa hexane and fractionated ethanolic extracts did not affect AChE activities in any brain region. Conclusions: These findings suggest that C. comosa fractionated ethanolic extract potentially possesses a beneficial effect on the cholinergic nervous system, via enhancement effect on the activity of ChAT, an enzyme responsible for brain acetylcholine synthesis.


Polarons play a major role in determining the chemical properties of transition-metal oxides. Recent experiments show that adsorbates can attract inner polarons to surface sites. These findings require an atomistic understanding of the adsorbate influence on polaron dynamics and lifetime. We consider reduced rutile TiO2(110) with an oxygen vacancy as a prototypical surface and a CO molecule as a classic probe and perform ab initio adiabatic molecular dynamics, time-domain density functional theory, and nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations show that subsurface polarons have little influence on CO adsorption and CO can desorb easily. On the contrary, surface polarons strongly enhance CO adsorption. At the same time, the adsorbed CO attracts polarons to the surface, allowing them to participate in catalytic processes with CO. The CO interaction with polarons changes their orbital origin, suppresses polaron hopping, and stabilizes them at surface sites. Partial delocalization of polarons onto CO decouples them from free holes, decreasing the nonadiabatic coupling and shortening the quantum coherence time, thereby reducing charge recombination. The calculations demonstrate that CO prefers to adsorb at the next-nearest-neighbor five-coordinated Ti3+ surface electron polaron sites. The reported results provide a fundamental understanding of the influence of electron polarons on the initial stage of reactant adsorption and the effect of the adsorbate–polaron interaction on the polaron dynamics and lifetime. The study demonstrates how charge and polaron properties can be controlled by adsorbed species, allowing one to design high-performance transition-metal oxide catalysts.


Youth radicalization is a global phenomenon and many countries have fallen victim to deadly terrorist attacks, including Indonesia. With the advancement of technology, society has changed. The millenial generation has become susceptible to terrorist propaganda. In this digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for spreading terrorist narratives. They target the millennial generation who depends on online social networks for self-expression and to develop a sense of belonging. It is assumed that online interactions have contributed to the radicalization process. Some of them eventually join terrorist networks or become suicide bombers. This paper critically assesses how terrorists use the media to develop narratives that win the hearts and minds of Indonesian millennials. It will do so by juxtaposing the terrorist narratives with the counter-narrative initiatives undertaken by the government, NGOs and universities.


Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are a seamless cylindrical structure formed by folding a single-walled graphene sheet. Nanotubes are of great interest due to their unique thermo-mechanical characteristics. Such objects can be applied in the energy, rocket and aerospace engineering as a filler of advanced structural composite materials.One of the most important SWCNT characteristics is a complex of its elastic properties. The most reliable way to determine the elastic characteristics of a nanotube is to conduct an experiment. However, due to high cost and lengthy time of the experiment completion, it is more preferable to use mathematical modeling of these properties of SWCNT with which the paper deals.The paper proposes a mathematical model that is constructed by methods of generalized continuum mechanics. To use these methods, the nanotube, on the assumption of its transverse isotropy, is presented simultaneously as a cylindrical shell and a continuous circular rod.As a result of consideration of various stress-strain states of the shell and rod, are obtained relations to establish a quantitative relation between the elements of the matrix of compliance coefficients of a rod that simulates a single-walled carbon nanotube, and the elastic characteristics of graphene taken as its basis in the isotropy plane. Also, the constructed mathematical model allows us to define the influence of the nanotube configuration (chiral indices) on its elastic characteristics.The paper presents the application results of the model proposed, using as an example, a SWCNT with chirality indices (7, 0), for which were constructed mutually inverse matrices of compliance and elasticity coefficients that completely describe the elastic properties of the nanotube.Using the proposed mathematical model significantly reduces the time and cost for estimation of the elastic characteristics of the SWCNT, that is especially important at the design stage of new materials based on them.


The use of concentrating systems has been proposed as a way to reduce the cost of electrical energy from photovoltaic (PV) module. Since 1970s, different solar collector designs have been used to increase energy flux on the PV module. This study aims at providing a comprehensive review of development in the application of compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) to solar photovoltaic conversion for the past five decades. By narrowing down the application of CPCs to electrical energy only gives a reader an opportunity to clearly understand the detail development stages, challenges, and research opportunities for further improvement. From this review, it has been found that during 1970s, all studies on the application of CPCs to solar photovoltaic conversion were mainly focused on establishing technical feasibility and cost effectiveness. Thereafter (1981‐May 2018), extensive studies were carried out to resolve challenges that were observed during the establishment stage. However, it has been found that even though the power output of the PV modules with the CPC was always higher than similar modules without the CPC, the values were less than the expected (theoretical) results. This was due to optical losses, series resistance losses, non‐uniform illumination effect, and high operating cell temperature effect. In addition, high cost of the PV‐CPC systems and low concentration ratio of the CPCs were also the main concerns of various researchers.


This mini-review examines whether accident prevention education reduces the incidence of home accidents among children under the age of 5 years. The Cochrane Library, Medline, CINAHL and Embase databases were searched for randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and systematic reviews of RCTs that compared parents who received accident prevention education with those that did not. Only two RCTs met the inclusion criteria for analysis in this review. The results of these studies showed that there was no statistically significant difference in accidents between the two groups but the quality of the trials was low. An RCT in process (Watson et al, 2002) looks likely to provide evidence of a high standard, so that practice decisions regarding accident prevention education can be made.


The Faddeev equations are solved to investigate the bound states of three-body systems with short-range two-body interactions. Different bound 0+ excited states are obtained depending on the mass ratios of particles, when there is no bound state for two-body sub-systems. On the one hand, a number of bound 0+ excited states appear in the system with two heavy particles and a light particle. On the other hand, a weakly bound 0+ excited state is obtained in the system with two light particles and a heavy particle, which has not been reported in previous works as far as we know.


The English as a foreign language classroom is a plurilingual setting par excellence since it involves at least two languages. However, plurilingual practices such as code-switching and translation have been consistently discouraged in formal learning contexts, based on the belief that keeping languages compartmentalized helps learning, and allowing the simultaneous presence of two (or more) languages favours interference (negative transfer), a lack of learner interest in using the foreign language(s), or a reduction in foreign language exposure. Two specific plurilingual learning strategies will be described here. Pedagogically Based Code-switching and Translation for Other Learning Contexts are means to advance communicative development through language in action (noticing, understanding, using, and monitoring), based chiefly on the notions of 'translanguaging' and 'multi-competence'. We present a rationale for an informed use of code-switching and translation along with tasks that can be easily included in the foreign language syllabus, and reference is made to ongoing research to identify further connections between the two classroom strategies.


Localized Pipeline Encroachment Detector System Using Sensor Network. (August 2011) Xiaoxi Ou, B.S., Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jim X. Ji Dr. Mi Lu Detection of encroachment on pipeline right-of-way is important for pipeline safety. An effective system can provide on-time warning while reducing the probability of false alarms. There are a number of industry and academic developments to tackle this problem. This thesis is the first to study the use of a wireless sensor network for pipeline right-of-way encroachment detection. In the proposed method, each sensor node in the network is responsible for detecting and transmitting vibration signals caused by encroachment activities to a base station (computer center). The base station monitors and analyzes the signals. If an encroachment activity is detected, the base station will send a warning signal. We describe such a platform with hardware configuration and software controls, and the results demonstrate that the platform is able to report our preliminary experiments in detecting digging activities by a tiller in the natural and automotive noise.


Design and Analysis ofFault-Tolerant Digital Systems: B. W. JOHNSON (Addison Wesley, 1989,577 pp., £41.35) The book provides an introduction to the important aspects of designing fault-tolerant systems, and an evaluation of how well the reliability goals have been achieved. The book is mainly oriented towards a final year undergraduate course on fault-tolerant computing, primarily with an implementation bias. In chapters 1 and 2, definitions and basic terminology are covered, which sets the stage for the remaining chapters, and provides the background and motivation for the remainder of the book. Chapter 3 provides a thorough analysis of fault-tolerance techniques and concepts. This chapter in particular is remarkably well written, covering the issues of hardware and information redundancy, which form the mainstay offault-tolerant computing. Subsequent chapters on the use and evaluation of the various approaches illustrate the principles as they have been put into practice. At the end of chapter 5, small projects that allow the reader to apply the material presented in the preceding chapters are included. The resurgence of interest in fault-tolerance with the emergence of VLSI is the theme of chapter 6, focussing on designing fault-tolerant systems in a VLSI environment. The problems and opportunities presented by VLSI are discussed and the use of redundancy techniques in order to enhance manufacturing yield and to provide in-service reliability are reviewed. The final chapter covers testing, design for testability and testability analysis, which must be considered during each phase of the design process to guarantee that resulting designs can be thoroughly tested. Each chapter is followed by a summary of the key issues and concepts presented therein, and a separate list of references, which makes it easily readable. In addition, there is a reading list with more comprehensive and specialised references devoted to each chapter. Overall, the book is well written, and contains a great deal of information in 577 pages. The book has a definite implementation bias, and draws considerably on the author's experience in industry, particularly reflected in the projects accompanying chapter 5. The book should be a useful addition to a library, and a suitable text to accompany a lecture course on fault-tolerant computing. R. RAMASWAMI, Department ofComputation, UMIST


A series of heteroleptic copper(I) photosensitizers of the type [(P^P)Cu(N^N)]+ with an extended π-system in the backbone of the diimine ligand has been prepared. The structures of all complexes are completely characterized by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography. These novel photosensitizers were assessed with respect to the photocatalytic reduction of protons in the presence of triethylamine and [Fe3 (CO)12 ]. Although the solid-state structures and computational results show no significant impact of the π-extension on the structural properties, decreased activities were observed. To explain this drop, a combination of electrochemical and photophysical measurements including time-resolved emission as well as transient absorption spectroscopy in the femto- to nanosecond time regime was used. Consequently, shortened excited state lifetimes caused by the rapid depopulation of the excited states located at the diimine ligand are identified as a major reason for the low photocatalytic performance.


T lymphocytes are increasingly recognized as key modulators of detrimental inflammatory cascades in acute ischaemic stroke, but the potential of T cell-targeted therapy in brain ischaemia is largely unexplored. Here, we characterize the effect of inhibiting leukocyte very late antigen-4 and endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule-1-mediated brain invasion-currently the most effective strategy in primary neuroinflammatory brain disease in murine ischaemic stroke models. Very late antigen-4 blockade by monoclonal antibodies improved outcome in models of moderate stroke lesions by inhibiting cerebral leukocyte invasion and neurotoxic cytokine production without increasing the susceptibility to bacterial infections. Gene silencing of the endothelial very late antigen-4 counterpart vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 by in vivo small interfering RNA injection resulted in an equally potent reduction of infarct volume and post-ischaemic neuroinflammation. Furthermore, very late antigen-4-inhibition effectively reduced the post-ischaemic vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 upregulation, suggesting an additional cross-signalling between invading leukocytes and the cerebral endothelium. Dissecting the specific impact of leukocyte subpopulations showed that invading T cells, via their humoral secretion (interferon-γ) and immediate cytotoxic mechanisms (perforin), were the principal pathways for delayed post-ischaemic tissue injury. Thus, targeting T lymphocyte-migration represents a promising therapeutic approach for ischaemic stroke.


Background: A key strategy in improving care for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the provision of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes. Pulmonary rehabilitation programmes have been successful in improving patients ' sense of dyspnoea and Health Related Quality of Life. However, the effectiveness of structured education pulmonary rehabilitation programmes delivered at the level of the general practice on the health status of people with COPD remains uncertain and there is a need for a robust and fair assessment of this. The PRINCE study will evaluate the effectiveness of a Structured Education Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programme (SEPRP), delivered at the level of the general practice, on the health status of people with COPD. Methods/Design: The PRINCE Trial is a two-armed, single blind cluster randomised trial conducted in the primary care setting in Ireland. Randomisation to control and intervention is at the level of the General Practice. Participants in the intervention arm will receive a SEPRP and those allocated to the control arm will receive usual care. Delivery of the SEPRP will be by a practice nurse and physiotherapist in the General Practice (GP) site. The primary outcome measure of the study will be health status as measured by the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ). Blinded outcome assessment will be undertaken at baseline and at twelve-fourteen weeks after completion of the programme. A comparison of outcomes between the intervention and control sites will be made to examine if differences exist and, if so, to what extent between control and experimental groups. Sample size calculations estimate that 32 practices with a minimum of 10 participants per practice are required, in total, to be randomised to control and intervention arms for power of at least 80% with alpha levels of 0.05, to determine a clinically significant change of 0.5 units in the CRQ. A cost effectiveness analysis will also be conducted. Discussion: The results of this trial are


A64 There are some evidences on involvement of ABL2 in a number of cancers. ABL2 overexpression was especially observed in Raji, a Burkitt9s lymphoma (BL) cell line. Therefore ABL2 over expression may be involved in pathogenesis of Burkitt9s lymphoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate ABL2 significance in BL.
 Formaldehyde fixed paraffin embedded blocks were from 20 samples, of which 16 were BL and 4 normal lymph nodes. Sections were prepared from the paraffin blocks and hybridized to primary and then secondary fluorescently labeled probes. Two genes, ABL2 (the test) and GAPDH (a control house keeping gene) were studied. ABL2 was labeled green and GAPDH red. After capturing the pictures using a CCD camera, the intensity of green and red colures were measured and ratio between green/red, that demonstrate changes in ABL2 expression, were calculated.
 Our data showed that expression of ABL2 protein in BL and normal lymph node was considerably different. BL had the higher expression of ABL2 protein compared to normal lymph nodes.
 Like other malignancies, finding about gene expression patterns in BL seems to be helpful in future board therapeutic guidelines. Then specific inhibitors of ABL2 would be considered as new chemotherapy agents in BL treatment.


Multiscale approaches based on homogenization theory provide a suitable framework to incorporate information associated with a small‐scale (microscale) problem into the considered large‐scale (macroscopic) problem. In this connection, the present paper proposes a novel computationally efficient hybrid homogenization method. Its backbone is a variationally consistent FE2 approach in which every aspect is governed by energy minimization. In particular, scale bridging is realized by the canonical principle of energy equivalence. As a direct implementation of the aforementioned variationally consistent FE2 approach is numerically extensive, an efficient approximation based on Ritz's method is advocated. By doing so, the material parameters defining an effective macroscopic material model capturing the underlying microstructure can be efficiently computed. Furthermore, the variational scale bridging principle provides some guidance to choose a suitable family of macroscopic material models. Comparisons between the results predicted by the novel hybrid homogenization method and full field finite element simulations show that the novel method is indeed very promising for multiscale analyses.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Automatic repeat request (ARQ), data carousels and packet-level forward error correction (PLFEC) are fundamental techniques for combating packet loss in point-to-multipoint communications. Generally speaking, ARQ-based techniques are unattractive due to the feedback implosion they generate. Furthermore, in broadcast/multicast wireless networks, radio resources are scarce and feedback may not be an option at all. Two error mitigation mechanisms that become relevant in this scenario are data carousels and PLFEC. In this work, we consider the application of these two techniques as components of an integrated layer in satellite environments. We also investigate the impact of the type of PLFEC code, small or large, on the main user-oriented performance metric of the data carousels, the average content download time


Methane dynamics in a water-saturated soil layer with gas-transporting roots is modeled with a weighed set of single-loot model systems. Each model system consists of a soil cylinder with a gas-transporting root along its axis or a soil sphere with a gas-transporting root at its centre. The weights associated with a different cylinder or sphere radius were deduced from root architecture. Methane dynamics in each single-root model system are calculated using a single-root model from the previous paper. From this full model a simplified model was deduced consisting of an oxygen-saturated and an oxygen-unsaturated model system. An even more simplified model was deduced, called the homogeneous model. In this model the concentrations are homogeneous in the whole soil layer. Simulation results of the simplified model are closer to the simulation results of the full model than the simulation results of the homogeneous model. The overall effect of the simplifications on simulated methane emissions are small, though the underlying processes are affected more severely, depending on simulation time and parameters. At high root densities and at large times, under stationary conditions, root density is proportional to simulated methane fluxes, provided that carbon availability is proportional to root density. Sensitivity analysis shows that lack of knowledge on root gas-transport is an important limitation for the predictability of methane fluxes via the processes at the kinetic level.


Adaptation and mitigation are two distinctive policy responses to anthropogenic climate change. In the past, the international climate change regime established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) emphasised the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. International policy efforts, therefore, were orientated towards designing laws, policies and instruments to reduce emissions globally in an attempt to prevent anthropogenic climate change. Over the past two decades, the global climate regime has created a significant architecture to govern climate change mitigation globally by setting targets and identifying uniform instruments such as emissions trading systems to be implemented by member states. The effectiveness of this centralised climate governance architecture has been contested, however. The Paris Agreement presents a welcome paradigmatic shift in the international climate regime, as it no longer tries to achieve greenhouse gas emissions using a centralised mode of governance, but rather creates room for a more polycentric mode of governance (see Chapter 1). Adaptation, on the other hand, was considered to be further down the political agenda – a distraction from the more urgent issue of avoiding the problem in the first place via taking mitigating actions (Biesbroek, Swart and van der Knaap, 2009; Lesnikowski et al., 2017). Nonetheless, adaptation is a long-standing component of the international climate policy agenda. Until recently, however, it was largely framed as an issue relevant mainly to low-income countries. This dominant discourse changed in the mid-2000s, when it was politically acknowledged that some degree of climate change was unavoidable as emissions were not reduced quickly enough and that adaptation would be necessary to manage these impacts across all regions, in spite of efforts directed at mitigation. International debates on adaptation in the global arena have mostly centred around the politically sensitive


Author(s): Sparck, Erin | Advisor(s): Bjork, Elizabeth L; Bjork, Robert A | Abstract: Retrieving information is an effective learning strategy to promote the long-term retention of materials (see, e.g., a meta-analysis by Rowland, 2015), so tests can foster learning as well as assess learning. Multiple-choice testing, however, has often been criticized as not engaging retrieval processes to the same extent as do other test types, such as cued-recall and free-recall (see, e.g., a meta-analysis by Hamaker, 1986). Recent research, however, suggests that as a pedagogical tool, multiple-choice tests can in fact trigger productive retrieval processes, provided the incorrect alternatives are competitive enough to induce the retrieval of why they are incorrect, and can even have benefits over other formats. More specifically, multiple-choice tests can boost the recall of non-tested, related information as learners retrieve and reject information connected to those alternatives (e.g., Little, Bjork, Bjork, a Angello, 2012), especially when the test format requires that learners make confidence judgments about the alternatives (Sparck, Bjork, a Bjork, 2016). Additionally, multiple-choice testing might be an efficient way to study when one is tasked with learning a large amount of information. The experiments reported in this dissertation were designed to explore further the potential of multiple-choice testing as a tool for learning. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that taking a confidence-weighted multiple-choice test, which requires that a test taker consider more carefully than does a standard multiple-choice test why a given alternative is correct or incorrect, can lead a learner to transfer that behavior to a subsequent standard-format multiple-choice test. The results of Experiment 3, on the other hand, in which the focus was shifted to the possible benefits of multiple-choice tests as pre-tests presented before a study phase, found no significant benefits of the confidence-weighted format over the standard format. Experiments 4 and 5 were designed to examine whether multiple-choice testing might be beneficial in the learning of vocabulary words, especially when the to-be-learned words are difficult and confusable. Again, the results demonstrated that multiple-choice testing can have benefits that go beyond the benefits of cued-recall testing, especially for words that are incorrect alternatives on an initial test, but are correct alternatives on a subsequent test. The results have major implications for the design of flashcards. In summary, the results reported in this dissertation demonstrate that a multiple-choice test, when well designed, can be a powerful pedagogical tool, one that can contribute to optimizing educational practices.


A series of 1,3,5-triazinyl aminobenzenesulfonamides substituted by aminoalcohol, aminostilbene, and aminochalcone structural motifs was synthesized as potential human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) inhibitors. The compounds were evaluated on their inhibition of tumor-associated hCA IX and hCA XII, hCA VII isoenzyme present in the brain, and physiologically important hCA I and hCA II. While the test compounds had only a negligible effect on physiologically important isoenzymes, many of the studied compounds significantly affected the hCA IX isoenzyme. Several compounds showed activity against hCA XII; (E)-4-{2-[(4-[(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino]-6-[(4-styrylphenyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino]ethyl}benzenesulfonamide (31) and (E)-4-{2-[(4-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)amino]-6-[(4-styrylphenyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino]ethyl}benzenesulfonamide (32) were the most effective inhibitors with KIs = 4.4 and 5.9 nM, respectively. In addition, the compounds were tested against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE) isolates. (E)-4-[2-({4-[(4-cinnamoylphenyl)amino]-6-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl}amino)ethyl]benzenesulfonamide (21) (MIC = 26.33 µM) and derivative 32 (MIC range 13.80–55.20 µM) demonstrated the highest activity against all tested strains. The most active compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against the Human Colorectal Tumor Cell Line (HCT116 p53 +/+). Only 4,4'-[(6-chloro-1,3,5-triazin-2,4-diyl)bis(iminomethylene)]dibenzenesulfonamide (7) and compound 32 demonstrated an IC50 of ca. 6.5 μM; otherwise, the other selected derivatives did not show toxicity at concentrations up to 50 µM. The molecular modeling and docking of active compounds into various hCA isoenzymes, including bacterial carbonic anhydrase, specifically α-CA present in VRE, was performed to try to outline a possible mechanism of selective anti-VRE activity.


3He/4He ratios in samples of sea water obtained at depths from surface to 300 m in the upper layer of the Western Pacific Ocean were measured by a mass spectrometer VG5400. The lateral and vertical distribution of He isotopes in the studied area was discussed in detail on the basis of 3He/4He ratios. Excess and depleted 3He. in relation to δ3He value of surface water in equilibrium with air has been discussed in the area, which may be mainly attributed to the incorporation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water with the Equatorial Upwelling and the exchange of water masses between the South China Sea and the Western Pacific, respectively. The present work in Western Pacific has also indicated that He isotopes may be used as a tracer for mixing processes of water masses and oceanic circulation.


Tissue regeneration is widely studied due to its importance for understanding the biology of stem cells, aiming at their application in medicine for therapeutic and various other purposes. The establishment of experimental models is necessary, as certain invertebrates and vertebrates have different regeneration abilities depending on their taxon position on the evolutionary scale. Planarians are an efficacious in vivo model for stem cell biology, but the correlation between planarian cellular and molecular neoblast pluripotency mechanisms and those of mammalian stem cells is unknown. The present study had the following objectives: i) Establish Girardia tigrina cell culture, ii) determine the time required for complete cell disintegration and iii) obtain neoblasts by cell subdivision. Twenty-four specimens were deprived of food for seven days. After this time, disintegration was performed by incubation protected at three temperatures for 48 h in an antibiotic, antimycotic and trypsin solution, after which the suspension was homogenized and centrifuged. Histopaque® 1077 was used for cell separation and interphases were collected and monitored by optical and fluorescence microscopy. Optical microscopy analysis informed the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, cell morphology and cell size. Under fluorescence microscopy, interphase 1 (I1) was subdivided into two groups and neoblasts were marked for characterization; one group was stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and the other was immunolabeled with octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) and isolated and observed after 10 days of cultivation. Neoblasts predominated in I1 with a small amount of other cell types. In conclusion, sample disintegration with a trypsin and antibiotic solution was effective at 18˚C and Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum was adequate for the establishment of primary cell cultures after 48-h incubation and centrifugation. Antibody anti-OCT4 was used for the characterization of stem cells and was successfully labeled with concentrated neoblasts on interphase 1.


Peru is experiencing a deep political and fiscal decentralization process, especially since 2002. The newly created regional governments now share power and resources with the existing municipal governments as well as with the national or central government. The national government has transferred important responsibilities and fiscal resources to regional governments and also has reinforced local governments' budgets. Both levels of subnacional governments have doubled their budget revenues in only five years. However, they are mostly financed by national government transfers instead of own collected taxes. This study analyzes in detail the functions as well as the fiscal resources of subnational governments in Peru. Based on this analysis, a set of proposals to increase direct income sources for both levels of government are discussed.


This study explores foreign direct investment (FDI) determinants in China and India and fills the gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive empirical comparison analysis. Two panel data sets and two statistical models are employed to identify the determinants of FDI inflows from home countries worldwide to the two host countries by considering both home and host countries' characteristics. The empirical results show some interesting similarities and differences between the two countries. Market growth, imports, labor costs, and country political risk/policy liberalization are the determinants for both countries. However, exports, market size, and borrowing costs are important to China's FDI, while geographical and cultural distance factors are important to India's FDI.


In the present modern age, the majority of people are suffering from haemorrhoids. Mithyaahara- Vihara (faulty food habits and improper sedentary lifestyle) has increased its incidence. Haemorrhoidectomy either open or closed is an invasive procedure for the treatment of hemorrhoids. A noninvasive measure for the treatment of second degree haemorrhoids is Rubber Band Ligation. In this procedure hemorrhoids are tied off at its base with rubber bands to cutting off blood flow resulting in necrosis of the haemorrhoidal stump. It relies on the principle of mucosal fixation. In the present clinical study Rubber Band, Ligation was done in randomly selected 15 patients of either sex with Second degree haemorrhoids. The duration of the trial was of 15 days, with a follow-up of 4 weeks. The total effect of therapy was assessed based on Clinical and Postoperative criteria. The significance of the treatment was determined by Statistical analysis. The significance level was p<0.05 for all values. Rubber Band Ligation has the advantages of no requirement of anesthesia, minimal hospitalization, and less postoperative pain. Hence after clinical study, it can be concluded that Rubber Band Ligation is a timely accepted effective modality to treat symptomatic second degree haemorrhoids. Through a non-invasive approach, it cures second degree haemorrhoids without disturbing normal haemorrhoidal cushion.


FTH1 is a 21kD subunit of the ferritin complex, which is involved in intracellular iron storage. In a previous study we found that FTH1 proteins can be located either in the cytoplasm or nucleus and, depending on its cellular localization, is associated with good or poor prognosis in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Furthermore, cytoplasmic localization of cFTH1 was associated with an increased anti-tumor (CD8+) T-cell / tumor-promoting (CD4+) T-cell ratio suggesting an immune modulatory role for FTH1. In the current study we have assessed the prognostic value of FTH1 expression for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. FTH1 proteins were visualized by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray containing primary breast cancer specimens from 222 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers that were diagnosed between 1982 and 2008. Primary breast cancers from BRCA1 carriers were predominantly of the TNBC subtype, whereas primary breast cancers from BRCA2 mutation carriers were mainly ER-positive. The association between FTH1 expression and clinical outcome was evaluated by a Cox proportional hazards regression model using left truncation to adjust for study inclusion bias. The median follow-up time of the study was 9.2 years. High nuclear FTH1 (nFTH1), but not cytoplasmic FTH1 (cFTH1), was associated with decreased metastasis-free and disease-free survival as compared with low nFTH1 (multivariable HR=3.54, 95% CI=1.45-8.66, P=0.0056 adjusted for tumor size and nodal status; multivariable HR=2.71, 95% CI=1.49-4.92, P=0.0011 adjusted for tumor size). Neither nFTH1 nor cFTH1 were associated with breast cancer-specific or overall survival. This suggests that high nFTH1 expression in primary breast cancer predicts earlier disease recurrence for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Since we had observed that CD4+:CD8+ T-cell ratios were increased among TNBCs with high nFTH1, we hypothesize that nFTH1 promotes recruitment of immune suppressive CD4+/FOXP3+ regulatory T-cells in TNBC and BRCA1/2-associated tumors, suppressing CD4+/FOXP3- and CD8+ T-cell anti-tumor immunity. Citation Format: Antoinette Hollestelle, Mieke Timmermans, Renee Broeren-Foekens, Anita Trapman - Jansen, Carolien H. van Deurzen, Arzu Umar, John W. Martens, Maartje Hooning. High nuclear FTH1 protein expression predicts early disease recurrence for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2780. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2780


Abstract The physical presence of historic villages and habitats on the Indus Delta is observed to be under threat due to environmental changes and permanent disasters. The delta of River In-dus has distinct social, economical and environmental features as compared to the rest of the coast of Pakistan. The delta population, being the lower riparian of the River Indus, re-ceives a limited flow of fresh water. This is causing environmental degradation and negative-ly impacting traditional livelihoods, survival and resilience patterns in the presence of high levels of social inequality. Climate and environmental changes over time are deemed as a root cause of the rise of sea level which is leading to a loss of land, rendering it unusable for cultivation, increase in salinity, depletion of mangrove forests and a decline in fish catch. This paper is an outcome of field visits to the Indus delta's inland and the island villages in Kharo Chan in particular. In this paper, the focus is on environmentally induced migration caused by slow-onset disasters and its linkages with social inequality based on class, caste and kinship groups.


Collection of autographs emerged in Europe in the sixteenth century, together with the spread of the written language. In later centuries, this type of collection became popular in many European countries and USA. Relevant media articles and rare exhibitions of autographs show that although collection of autographs does exist in Lithuania as a particular type, knowledge about it is limited. Both autographs and, in general, their collection are the subject of limited scientific research in Lithuania. However, collection of autographs as a phenomenon is out of the scope of the aforementioned research. The present article examines the current Lithuanian collectors of autographs, their collecting motives, thematic composition of collections, methods of collection and sources of collections. The research revealed that collection of autographs is an integral part of certain Professional activity and leisure time of collectors, which is related and complementary to it. Among Lithuanian collectors of autographs, the most popular are the autographs of contemporary famous Lithuanian representatives of art, culture, science, public, politics and sports as well as famous foreign musicians and actors. Personalities, but not themes are selected, the autographs of famous persons, but not of all famous persons of a certain historical period are collected. The autographs of Lithuanian historic personalities, subject to a negative attitude, are not popular as the objects of collection. In Lithuania, the most popular are eclectic (mixed) collections, which consist of unrelated autographs on various themes that are close to the collector. The most important criterion for selection of autographs for these collections is an emotional and intellectual attractiveness of an autograph. It might be argued that even the autographs of negatively viewed personalities can be valuable, if certain historical periods rather than individual persons are chosen as the objects of collection. Thus, selection of themes rather than persons would allow to fully reveal complex epochs of Lithuanian history (wars, occupations), while the aforementioned thematic collections of autographs could be successfully used as iconographic material, for example, to illustrate historical monographs or other works in publishing, or used as educational tool for lectures, etc. Lithuanian collectors usually acquire the autographs of historical persons by purchasing them (in flea markets, antique shops, from other collectors, etc.), while the collectors of autographs of contemporary people generally ask for them personally during various events (concerts, book presentations, etc.). It might be concluded that subject to the nature of collection (of historical persons or collector's contemporaries), the methods of autograph collection and their sources differ. Personally obtained autographs are the most popular and the most common method to collect autographs in Lithuania. In this way, the collectors get autographs from the following sources: 1) during various events (during concerts, book presentations, scientific conferences); it is the most popular source of autographs; 2) in workplaces, 3) by post after sending the request for autograph to the preferred author; even though this source of obtaining autographs is the most rare. Other methods to collect autographs are the following: 1) through intermediary (the sources are similar as getting the autograph personally); 2) purchase (flea market, antiques, auctions, etc.), 3) gift, 4) accidental findings. In comparison with methods of collecting books (purchase, exchange, gifts, heritage), no exchange of autographs and no heritage cases are found among the current Lithuanian collectors of autographs.


Cauchy discovered before 1821 that a function satisfying the equation ƒ(*)+ƒ (y) =f(* + y) is either continuous or totally discontinuous. After Hamel showed the existence of a discontinuous function satisfying the equation, many mathematicians have concerned themselves with problems arising from the study of such functions. However the following question seems to have gone unanswered : Since the plane image of such a function (the graph of y =f(x)) must either be connected or be totally disconnected, must the function be continuous if its image is connected? The answer is no. The utility of this answer is at once apparent. For if f(x) is totally discontinuous, its image obviously contains neither a continuum nor (in view of Darboux's work) a bounded connected subset even if the image itself is connected. As a matter of fact, if f(x) is discontinuous but its image is connected, then the image, its complement, or some simple modification thereof, serves to illustrate rather easily many of the strange and non-intuitive properties of connected sets now illustrated by numerous complicated examples scattered through the literature. Thus this class of sets is a useful tool in studying connectedness and disconnectedness. A few illustrations are given, particularly in connection with


The inner surfaces of the electrodes encompassing the gas volume of a Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) have been found to exhibit asperities with, grossly, three kind of features. The desired uniform electric field within the gas volume of RPC is expected to be affected due to the presence of these asperities, which will eventually affect the final response from the detector. In this work, an attempt has been made to model the highly complex roughness of the electrode surfaces and compute its effect on the electrostatic field within RPC gas chamber. The calculations have been performed numerically using Finite Element Method (FEM) and Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the two methods have been compared in this context.


Abstract Human beings are not created equal, at least not in terms of nutritional needs. Nutritional needs are dictated by a mixture of genetics, epigenetics, personal history and lifestyle. Obvious cases of genetically-based or genetically-predisposed special nutritional needs are well known; insulin-dependent (Type 1) diabetes mellitus and phenylketonuria being good examples. Other special dietary needs are of less clear origin, but disorders such as coeliac disease, irritable bowel disease and lactose intolerance are becoming widely recognised as having strong genetic components. Additionally, there is emerging evidence of individually different responses in fat metabolism in individuals, leading to differences in lipoprotein profiles (HDL and LDL – indicators of heart health) in response to diet. Some lifestyles also give rise to special dietary requirements. This is particularly noted for athletes, who often have very specific nutritional advice. All of these examples are exceptional, relating to specific metabolic disorders or extreme lifestyle needs, with quite specific goals. This paper is concerned with an emerging trend towards personalised nutrition becoming mainstream in affluent society, with a goal of general good health, and the potential for mass customisation to provide personalised nutrition on a wide front.


Offshore marine environment can very well be utilized for mass storage of liquids which are not harmful to that environment. Improper placement of large tanks on the seabed, to store large quantities of liquids, would adversely affect the hydrodynamics of adjoining environment. Thorough understanding on the hydrodynamics of the adjoining environment is thus required before and after placing such tanks so as to properly plan the placement of these large tanks. A two dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model is used to study influence of placing large number of tanks in a dynamic marine environment. Cylindrical tanks (5 m dia.) are arranged in three rows with 50 tanks placed in each row with their length (100 m) aligned perpendicular to the coast. These tanks cover an area of about 36000 m2 and are placed on seabed in water depths about 15 m. Hydrodynamic simulations carried out with tidal forcing for cases of (a) before and (b) after placement of tanks showed that current speeds increase up to 65% in the region where the tanks are placed compared to currents without placement of tanks. However, up to 85% increase in current speeds is observed in regions beyond the tanks. In this manuscript results of the effects on the hydrodynamics of a region due to placing large number of tanks in shallow waters are presented.


This paper examines the meaning of the term independence as stipulated by Japan's Long-term Care Insurance Act. Although this law aims to support the independence of those requiring long-term care, the term itself is not clearly defined. While it is possible to understand the meaning of "independence" as one interpretation of "care prevention" and "self-selection" as specified in Article 2 of the law, this paper explores the meaning of the term by analyzing from various perspectives the process of establishing the long-term care insurance system. As a result, we found "care prevention" and "self-selection," although the meaning of independence in long-term care insurance varies depending on factors such as services, care management, insurance systems, and user contracts. In summary, Japan's long-term care insurance guarantees the daily life of those requiring care by utilizing necessary services, and their independence was confirmed that the improvement of their quality of life, the maintenance and improvement of their mental and physical conditions, and the prevention of care needs through self-determination and choice.


A rare complication of mitral valve replacement with the Hancock bioprosthesis was observed in three patients presenting with prevalent mitral stenosis and normally-sized left ventricular cavity. In the patients, a deep erosion of the left ventricular free wall was present which evolved into cardiac rupture in one of them. The laceration is ascribed to the friction between a prosthetic strut and the myocardium; a disproportion between the "high-profile" device and the left ventricular chamber is suggested to explain this complication, which may be avoided by employing a "low-profile" prosthesis.


The helper T cell response of the mouse and rat to infection with Schistosoma mansoni was measured by using schistosomula as a carrier for the hapten TNP. After infection, both hosts showed a high level of helper T cell activity with a peak response between 8 to 10 days after exposure to cercariae. As infection progressed and protective immunity developed, there was a steady decline in the level of helper T cell activity as detected by the anti-TNP assay, and the response could not be restimulated by a second infection. Mice vaccinated with 30 formalin-fixed schistosomula gave a helper T cell response equivalent to that of infected mice, but their response remained at a high level for at least 24 weeks. Antibody to schistosomula was detected in the serum of mice 5 weeks after infection and reached high titers by week 11; no antibody was detected in vaccinated mice. The passive transfer of serum from 8- to 13-week infected mice reduced the PFC response after injection of TNP-schistosomula in 8- to 10-day infected mice and in vaccinated animals, suggesting that anti-carrier antibody was responsible for the depression of helper T cell activity. IgG purified from the serum of 16- to 17-week infected mice by affinity chromatography with a Sepharose-protein A gel specifically suppressed T cell cooperation to the schistosomular surface. The decline in helper T cell activity in schistosome-infected mice may not indicate a decrease in the number of helper T cells to schistosomula in chronically infected animals, but could reflect the blocking by anti-carrier antibody of the cooperation between T cells and the hapten-committed B cells.


In this paper, we present a numerical investigation on the robust synchronization phenomenon observed in a unidirectionally-coupled quasiperiodically-forced simple nonlinear electronic circuit system exhibiting strange non-chaotic attractors (SNAs) in its dynamics. The SNA obtained in the simple quasiperiodic system is characterized for its SNA behavior. Then, we studied the nature of the synchronized state in unidirectionally coupled SNAs by using the Master-Slave approach. The stability of the synchronized state is studied through the master stability functions (MSF) obtained for coupling different state variables of the drive and response system. The property of robust synchronization is analyzed for one type of coupling of the state variables through phase portraits, conditional lyapunov exponents and the Kaplan-Yorke dimension. The phenomenon of complete synchronization of SNAs via a unidirectional coupling scheme is reported for the first time.


Based on a detailed study of morphology and a critical analysis of species limits, we present a synopsis of Senecio ser. Culcitium from Andean South America. In this synopsis, Senecio ser. Culcitium is circumscribed including Aetheolaena and Lasiocephalus , two genera which are nested within Senecio . Forty three species are recognized in S. ser. Culcitium that are either rosette or scapiform herbs or subshrubs (sometimes scandent) bearing usually entire leaves, discoid and nodding capitula usually with conspicuous calycular bracts, penicillate style arms with or without a tuft of long hairs, and microechinate pollen. The new combination Senecio hyoseridis is proposed. The following names are proposed as synonyms: Senecio comosus var. debilis and S. comosus var. blancus with S. comosus ; Senecio cuencanus var. tomentella with S. cuencanus ; Senecio decolor , S. iscoensis and S. rosanus with Senecio antisanae , Senecio eliseae with S. rhizomatus ; Senecio hypsobates var. parvulus with S. hypsobates ; Senecio mochensis with S. pindilicensis ; Senecio modestus with S. candollei ; Senecio neeanus and S. haenkeanus with S. nivalis ; Senecio quitensis with S. superandinus ; Senecio santanderensis with S. cocuyanus ; Senecio yacuanquensis with S. otophorus ; Senecio zoellneri with S. keshua . Ten species previously placed in Senecio ser. Culcitium , i.e., S. aspleniifolius , S. candidans , S. comosus , S. diemii, S. gilliesii , S. jarae , S. julianus , S. magellanicus S. martinensis and S. stylotrichus , are excluded. Two of them, Senecio gilliesii and S. candidans are placed within Senecio ser. Hualtatini mainly by their herbaceous habit, stems usually leafy up to the apex, and erect capitula. Senecio jarae and S. aspleniifolius are placed in a new series based on the previously described Senecio sect. Repentes because of their solitary erect capitula and entire or deeply lobed leaves. Lectotypes are designated for 13 names. Additionally, 11 new illustrations, distribution maps, and identification keys are presented.


A new concurrent tri-band LNA (TBLNA) operating around 13/24/35 GHz has been designed using a novel tri-band load for stable and high stop-band rejection. The tri-band load is composed of two passive LC notch filters with feedback. The TBLNA fabricated on a 0.18-μm SiGe BiCMOS process achieves power gain of 22.3/24.6/22.2 dB at 13.5/24.5/34.5 GHz, respectively. It has the best noise figure of 3.7/3.3/4.3 dB and the IIP3 of -17.5/-18.5/-15.6 dBm, at each pass-band, respectively. The TBLNA consumes 36 mW from a 1.8 V supply, and occupies 920 μm × 500 μm.


We used the miniature pig to evaluate the effect of ethanol ingestion on the hydrolysis of pteroylpolyglutamate and on the uptake of pteroylmonoglutamate (PteGlu) by the intestinal brush border membrane, processes that are required for folate absorption. After feeding ethanol or sucrose at 60% of calories for 11 mo, the uptake of PteGlu by jejunal brush-border-membrane vesicles was similar in both groups of animals. Jejunal brush border pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase was decreased by one-half in the ethanol-fed group. Jejunal brush-border-membrane fluidity, measured by fluorescence polarization, was similar in both groups. Acute exposure of the jejunal vesicles to ethanol increased membrane fluidity and decreased hydrolase activity but had no effect on PteGlu transport. Inhibition of jejunal folate hydrolase by chronic exposure to ethanol may be an early effect in the pathogenesis of folate malabsorption and deficiency in chronic alcoholism.


Notch has been linked to β-catenin-dependent tumorigenesis; however, the mechanisms leading to Notch activation and the contribution of the Notch pathway to colorectal cancer is not yet understood. By microarray analysis, we have identified a group of genes downstream of Wnt/β-catenin (down-regulated when blocking Wnt/β-catenin) that are directly regulated by Notch (repressed by γ-secretase inhibitors and up-regulated by active Notch1 in the absence of β-catenin signaling). We demonstrate that Notch is downstream of Wnt in colorectal cancer cells through β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation of the Notch-ligand Jagged1. Consistently, expression of activated Notch1 partially reverts the effects of blocking Wnt/β-catenin pathway in tumors implanted s.c. in nude mice. Crossing APCMin/+ with Jagged1+/Δ mice is sufficient to significantly reduce the size of the polyps arising in the APC mutant background indicating that Notch is an essential modulator of tumorigenesis induced by nuclear β-catenin. We show that this mechanism is operating in human tumors from Familial Adenomatous Polyposis patients. We conclude that Notch activation, accomplished by β-catenin-mediated up-regulation of Jagged1, is required for tumorigenesis in the intestine. The Notch-specific genetic signature is sufficient to block differentiation and promote vasculogenesis in tumors whereas proliferation depends on both pathways.


Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation is an essential therapy for hematological conditions, but finer definitions of human HSPC subsets with associated function could enable better tuning of grafts and more routine, lower-risk application. To deeply phenotype HSPCs, following a screen of 328 antigens, we quantified 41 surface proteins and functional regulators on millions of CD34+ and CD34- cells, spanning four primary human hematopoietic tissues: bone marrow, mobilized peripheral blood, cord blood, and fetal liver. We propose more granular definitions of HSPC subsets and provide new, detailed differentiation trajectories of erythroid and myeloid lineages. These aspects of our revised human hematopoietic model were validated with corresponding epigenetic analysis and in vitro clonal differentiation assays. Overall, we demonstrate the utility of using molecular regulators as surrogates for cellular identity and functional potential, providing a framework for description, prospective isolation, and cross-tissue comparison of HSPCs in humans.


The Greek term "glaucoma" has nothing to do with the disease we call glaucoma today and that we use to translate incorrectly with "grüner Star" throughout the German-speaking countries. The Greek adjective "glaucos" does not mean green but gleaming, sparkling. It signified the discolouring of the pupil in glaucoma. It was later replaced by the pathogenetic term hypochysis, Latin suffusio, denoting the supposed "trübe Feuchte" (opaque humour) that was taught to gather and congeal in front of the crystalline lens. Later on "glaukosis" was reserved for incurable cases, disease of the crystalline lens itself, which was looked at as the "organon visus" up to Felix Plater. The word "cataract"--waterfall--does not exist in Greek medicine. It appears in Salernitan medical science around the year 1000 as a synonym for hypochysis, the disease we call cataract today and which has been identified as opacity of the lens since Brisseau (1705). The nature of "incurable" glaucoma, later considered as a disease of the vitreous body, was clearly recognized as a consequence of intraocular increase of pressure only by v. Graefe.


TO THE EDITOR: As the son of a radiologist and currently an undergraduate at Ohio State University, I have become accustomed to the occasional "interesting case" my father shows me. When he presented me for the first time with an abstract, it was from a paper at this summer's SNM annual meeting: "Treadmill exercise does not affect image quality on subsequent whole body FDG PET scan" (1). I read this abstract with interest, as it pertained to the topic of the high school science fair project I had conducted 3 y earlier. My project evaluated glucose utilization in resting, actively exercising, and recovering muscle in 2 nondiabetic, fasting volunteers. A 49-y-old woman and a 47-y-old man performed biceps curls and leg extensions. They exercised only one arm and the contralateral leg. The exercise routine consisted of 8 sets of 10 repetitions of a challenging load. The female volunteer (exercise active) exercised immediately after the intravenous injection of 18F-FDG. The male volunteer (exercise recovery) exercised 12 h before the intravenous injection of 18F-FDG. PET was performed on an Allegro scanner (Philips) 1 h after the administration of 18FFDG (370 MBq [10 mCi]). Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVs) from the biceps brachii muscle of both arms and rectus femoris muscle of both legs were recorded. The SUVs of the rectus femoris for the exercise-active and exercise-recovery volunteers were 3.2 and 1.4, respectively, and the SUVs of the biceps brachii were 7.1 and 2.7, respectively. The SUV of resting muscle was either 0.6 or 0.7 in both muscle groups (Fig. 1). Muscle actively exercising showed the highest SUV, likely because it used the circulating 18F-FDG as an immediate energy source. Muscle recovering from exercise performed 12 h earlier also showed an SUV that was still considerably higher than that of resting muscle, presumably because the circulating 18F-FDG was being used to replenish glycogen stores. Although this simplistic science fair project does not advance the frontiers of nuclear medicine discovery, the results may be noteworthy. 18F-FDG is used by muscle whether actively exercising or recovering from exercise that had occurred as much as 12 h earlier. Conceivably, the muscle steal of circulating 18F-FDG may alter the appearance of small metastases. And this alteration may theoretically affect patient management.


This article deals with the structure of the pastoral economy of East Trans–Baikalian Buryats (Aginsky region). The herd structure used to include the five basic species of domestic animals of Eurasia: sheep, cattle, horses and, more rarely, goats and camels. A horse was of the utmost economic and status significance. However, the quantity of sheep and goats was larger. The pastoral groups owned the land and the nomads migrated with their herds along their traditional seasonal routes. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the influence of the Russian economy on the Buryat nomadic economy began to increase. In the USSR, these processes were more intensive. A complete sedenterisation of Buryat society took place. Agriculture was developed and nearly one-quarter of the pastures were used as arable lands. The pastoral economy changed from subsistence to one that was guided by the market. Since wool and meat were valuable commodities new breeds of sheep were raised, and the number of sheep increased greatly thereby giving rise to degradation of pastures. The ecological crisis did not develop on a large scale only because political (collapse of the USSR) and economic crises were ahead of it. As a result, the cattle-breeding and livestock economies of the Aginsky Buryats have fallen into decay. At present, although a crisis situation has been held back, progress is not observed.


Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, comprises four subtypes classified by their distinct molecular signatures. Wnt and SHH subtypes up-regulate those respective signaling pathways, while Group 3 and Group 4 tumors are less understood and have the worst prognosis. Treatment is currently limited to surgical resection, radiation and broad-spectrum cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs that frequently devastate cognition in survivors. In order to develop patient-specific targeted therapies we need to understand the underlying molecular events that drive the tumor in each patient. Previously, our research group and others sequenced whole exomes from a total 92 primary tumors from patients in comparison to their matched normal blood. Over 1,700 mutated genes were identified. The overwhelming majority of mutations occurred only once in the entire cohort, and just 12 genes were recurrently mutated with statistical significance. Statistically significant mutated genes include genes involved in subtype-specific signaling events, such Wnt and SHH which have been shown to be causative in those subtypes, and others are involved in chromatin and epigenetic regulation. The diversity of mutations makes it difficult to resolve which mutations drive oncogenesis, especially in Groups 3 and 4. Most patients in these subtypes do not harbor a mutation in one of the 12 significantly mutated genes, leaving an open question as to why these patients developed cancer. The aim of this study is to employ systems biology to interweave singleton genes into networks to identify candidate drives in each patient and ultimately resolve the underlying common pathways that caused each cancer. We have identified singleton mutations in patients that substitute for the statically significant mutated genes. Modeling individual patient level data onto networks predicts novel driver events in each patient. These candidate driver events are then functionally validated in vitro. In addition to mutation, oncogenic events can occur via copy number changes, chromatin regulation, transcription regulation, mRNA processing, or protein degradation. We hypothesize that common pathways are targeted in multiple tumors of the same type, despite the obvious differences in the patterns of somatic mutations. Citation Format: Tenley C. Archer, Shyamal Dilhan Weeraratne, Jessica Pierre Francois, Scott L. Pomeroy. Identifying signaling pathways associated with medulloblastoma subtypes from "omic" data. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5241. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5241


Safe installation and operation of high-pressure composite cylinders for hydrogen storage are of primary concern. It is unavoidable for the cylinders to experience temperature variation and significant thermal input during service. The maximum failure pressure that the cylinder can sustain is affected due to the dependence of composite material properties on temperature and complexity of cylinder design. Most of the analysis reported for high-pressure composite cylinders is based on simplifying assumptions and does not account for complexities like thermo-mechanical behavior and temperature dependent material properties. In the present work, a comprehensive finite element simulation tool for the design of hydrogen storage cylinder system is developed. The structural response of the cylinder is analyzed using laminated shell theory accounting for transverse shear deformation and geometric nonlinearity. A composite failure model is used to evaluate the failure pressure under various thermo-mechanical loadings. A back-propagation neural network (NNk) model is developed to predict the maximum failure pressure using the analysis results. The failure pressures predicted from NNk model are compared with those from test cases. The developed NNk model is capable of predicting the failure pressure for any given loading condition.


An interface matrix which incorporates mixing between Γ and X conduction-band valleys is used for calculation of optical intensities in GaAs/AlAs short-period superlattices. A characteristic oscillation of the intensity as a function of the monolayer number for superlattices with lower X states is destroyed easily in the presence of interface fluctuations.


The ligand substitution chemistry of the hexaruthenium cluster Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(17) () with several unsaturated diphosphine ligands has been investigated. Thermolysis of with (Z)-Ph(2)PCH[double bond, length as m-dash]CHPPh(2) (dppen) furnishes the new cluster compounds Ru(5)(mu(5)-C)(CO)(12)(mu(3)-dppen) (), Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(14)(mu(3)-dppen) (), and Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(12)(mu(3)-dppen)(mu-dppen) (). Clusters and are also obtained when a mixture of and dppen is treated with the oxidative-decarbonylation reagent Me(3)NO. Thermolysis or Me(3)NO activation of in the presence of 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-4-cyclopenten-1,3-dione (bpcd) yields Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(14)(mu(3)-bpcd) () as the sole observable product. Near-UV irradiation of leads to P-C bond cleavage and the formation of phosphido-bridged cluster Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(13)[mu(3)-C[double bond, length as m-dash]C(PPh(2))C(O)CH(2)C(O)](mu-PPh(2)) () in essentially quantitative yield. The reaction between and the ligand 3,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)-5-methoxy-2(5H)-furanone (bmf) leads to the formation of Ru(6)(mu(6)-C)(CO)(14)(mu(3)-bmf) (), which exists as a single diastereomer in solution as shown by (1)H and (31)P NMR spectroscopy. The molecular structures and the binding mode of the ancillary diphosphine ligand(s) in have all been established by X-ray diffraction analyses. The solid-state structure of reveals that the chiral bmf ligand caps one of the metallic faces stereospecifically with the 5-methoxy moiety oriented distal or trans relative to the Ru(6) polyhedral core. The new substitution products are discussed relative to the products obtained from and the related diphosphine ligands dppm, dppe, dppf, and dppbz.


In this paper, we propose a decentralized sensor network scheme capable to reach a globally optimum maximum-likelihood (ML) estimate through self-synchronization of nonlinearly coupled dynamical systems. Each node of the network is composed of a sensor and a first-order dynamical system initialized with the local measurements. Nearby nodes interact with each other exchanging their state value, and the final estimate is associated to the state derivative of each dynamical system. We derive the conditions on the coupling mechanism guaranteeing that, if the network observes one common phenomenon, each node converges to the globally optimal ML estimate. We prove that the synchronized state is globally asymptotically stable if the coupling strength exceeds a given threshold. Acting on a single parameter, the coupling strength, we show how, in the case of nonlinear coupling, the network behavior can switch from a global consensus system to a spatial clustering system. Finally, we show the effect of the network topology on the scalability properties of the network, and we validate our theoretical findings with simulation results.


Neuropeptides are short‐chain peptides found in brain tissue, some of which function as neurotransmitters and others as hormones. Neuropeptides may directly or indirectly modulate glial functions in the CNS. In the present study, effects of various neuropeptides on the viability and inflammatory activation of cultured microglia were investigated. Vasoactive intestinal peptide, substance P, cholecystokinin and neuropeptide Y did not affect microglial cell viability, whereas corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) induced a classical apoptosis of mouse microglia in culture as shown by nuclear condensation and fragmentation, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick‐end labeling, and cleavage of caspase 3 and poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase protein. CRH, however, did not influence nitric oxide production or expression of inflammatory genes including those encoding cytokines and chemokines, indicating that CRH did not affect the inflammatory activation of microglia. The CRH‐induced microglial apoptosis appeared to involve a mitochondrial pathway and reactive oxygen species, based on the mitochondrial membrane potential change, caspase 9 activation and sensitivity to antioxidants. Taken together, our results indicate that the stress neuropeptide CRH may regulate neuroinflammation by inducing the apoptosis of microglia, the major cellular source of inflammatory mediators in the CNS.


Thermoplastics are among polymers that biodegrades very slowly over a very long period and can be regarded as nonbiodegradable despite their rapid accumulation in the environment. The use of plant natural fibres as reinforcement for thermoplastics to produce composites is an important area for research. In this study, composites of high density polyethylene wastes reinforced with wood flour, rice husks and bagasse fibers were prepared. The fibers were heated to reduce their moisture content and improve their compatibilities with heated high density polyethylene wastes so as to increase adhesion at the interface. Binders were used to improve interfacial strength of the composite. Composites were prepared by extrusion. From preliminary laboratory test results based on Fratios using ANOVA, optimal coupon was found to be wood flour mixed with high density polyethylene and polyurethane resin (X 17) heated to 210oC and extruded at 140oC. The final test results for mechanical properties for optimal wood flour, rice husks and bagasse composites respectively were: Tensile strength; 83.87, 74, and 62.73 MPa. Flexural strength; 26.73, 39and 15.22 MPa. Compressive; 225, 190.5 and 140 MPa and Impact; 78, 81 and 66 J/mm 2 . The use of binders significantly improved impact strengths and widely expanded the usage of such product to include light load structural applications thus offering alternative source of construction materials to supplement timber and hence save forests. The technology can create employment to thermoplastic waste collectors, fibre collectors and composite producers.


We present the physics behind general optical interference filters and the design of dielectric anti-reflective filters. These can be anti-reflective at a single wavelength or in an interval. We solve the first case exactly for single and multiple layers and then present how the second case can be solved through the minimisation of an objective function. Next, we present several optimisation methods that are later used to solve the design problem. Finally, we test the different optimisation methods on a test problem and then compare the results with those obtained by the OpenFilters computer programme.


Escape behaviour in response to perceived predators can be employed as a guide when designating protected areas around sensitive bird species to minimise the impact of human disturbance. A key measure of escape response is flight-initiation distance (FID), the distance at which a prey animal initiates its escape when approached by a potential predator. We tested the predictions of optimal escape theory by determining the factors that influence FID of bird species in a Nigerian reserved area and its surrounding habitats, and so the potential utility of FID in managing human disturbance on birds, for the first time within a West African context. We tested how FID varied with group size, proximity to vegetation acting as protective cover, levels of human use, and survival rate, and whether these relationships varied by species. We collected 504 FIDs for seven bird species in Amurum Forest Reserve and its surrounding habitats (Jos, Nigeria). The FID was lower in larger groups and when species were closer to protective cover. The FID was lower outside of the protected area because animals in sites with higher levels of human presence and use may become habituated. The FID was higher for species with higher survival, being consistent with predictions from life history theory. Overall, birds perceived humans as a potential threat and responded in accordance to the predictions of optimal escape theory, with FID increasing with increased cost of staying. Reserve managers in Africa could use species- and context-specific FIDs to designate buffer distances for the protection of wildlife from human disturbance.


In the vehicle management systems, two important issues have to be considered by managers: the dispatching problem with the aim of minimizing the response time for current emergency calls; and the covering problem with the objective of keeping proper coverage to satisfy future calls in best times. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the value, in term of service quality, of integrating the dispatching and covering problems in the same model. A heuristic algorithm, combining Ant optimization and Tabu search, is used as a solution approach. Several numerical examples are used to compare the integrated approach and the non-integrated one.


Dynamics of belonging and exclusion and the notion of being 'in-between' are common in dominant discourse regarding sexuality and Christianity in Dutch society. Homosexuality and Christianity are considered as incompatible, with religious homosexuals moving in between religiosity and sexuality. This dominant discourse in both media and academia mainly focuses on homosexual men. As a consequence, the lives and narratives of religious nonheterosexual women are silenced and made invisible – an exclusion which this article seeks to address. Based on in-depth interviews with non-heterosexual Protestant women, this article foregrounds the stories, practices, and experiences of these women. It explores different strategies these women use to move beyond the dominant discourse of incompatibility. Instead of positioning Christianity and non-normative sexuality as opposites, these women show how religion and religiosity can affirm love and desire for women. This article argues that the faith of these women enables them to express love and desire in other parts of their life, such as in relations with women. At the same time sexuality, especially same-sex sexuality and female sexuality, is largely unspoken or even condemned within the Churches that these women attend. These women use various strategies to establish a sense of community by questioning established boundaries through an experience of sex as positive and empowering. Through these negotiations of God, sex, love, and the Church, these stories emphasise the agency and creativity of these women by showing the diverse ways in which religion and sexuality intersect and are embodied. As such religion and sexuality are co-constructed and embodied by these women as empowering modes of negotiation.


The ethnographic ideals of 'reflectiveness' and 'openness' inspire the researcher to think deeply about how to develop ethnographic soundscape methodology during the research process. This Paper focuses on developing adaptive research methods for soundscape studies on Chinese Buddhist temples. Chinese Buddhist temples are monasteries and dwelling places of monks. They are also the miniature of "pure land". Temples have been considered as the landmarks of quiet and peace in China for thousands of years. What and how are the soundscapes of Buddhist temples? Have any changes happened in the soundscapes? How does the Buddhist way of thinking about hearing impact the Buddhists' way of hearing? Within these questions in the researcher's mind, field work is carried on in three Chinese Buddhist temples in 2011. In the course of the field work, I detected that Buddhist thinking impresses enormously Buddhists' way of listening and forms special understanding about hearing. This way of thinking about hearing in Buddhism seems to be opposite to our encouragement on increasing awareness of soundscape and cultivating soundscape competence in soundscape studies. The paradox between soundscape studies and Buddhist thinking inspired problems in the field work in temples. I don't give any explanations yet, just descriptions of the differences. I will analyze further two notions I paid attention to in sound preference test answers and interviews. These answers questioned the need to express soundscapes liked or disliked and the need to change in the sound environment outside.


We address the problem of designing jointly the linear transmit and receive beamformers in a single-cell multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink system. The optimization is based on maximizing the weighted harmonic mean of the combiner output's signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). When the linear minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) receivers are employed, we show that the maximization of the proposed objective leads to the minimization of an upper-bound on the weighted sum mean-squared error (MSE).We propose a reduced complexity solution which finds the transmit beamformers without relying on interior point methods. The solution supports the transmission of multiple substreams to each user, and handles multiple antennas at both the base station (BS) and the mobiles. Power allocation schemes based on the sum-power constraint (SPC) and the per-antenna power constraint (PAPC) are also investigated in this paper.


Democracy has never appeared more fragile and endangered in the United States than in this time of civic and political crisis. This is especially true for young people. While a great deal has been written about the budget busting costs of the invasion of Iraq and the passing of new anti-terrorist laws in the name of "homeland security" that make it easier to undermine those basic civil liberties that protect individuals against invasive and potentially repressive government actions, there is a thunderous silence on the part of many critics and academics regarding the ongoing insecurity and injustice suffered by young people in this country. As a result, the state is increasingly resorting to repression and punitive social policies at home and abroad.


The menopause is centered on the ovary and its in-built obsolescence. The events of the menopause start when the active ovary begins to fail and end when the ovary lapses into inactivity. The duration of these events is variable. Stimulated by the pituitary, 1 follicle develops each month as a hormone-producing organ. The life span of the follicle is then 28 days. Follicles continue to develop unt il none respond to the stimulus of the pituitary. The 32-week fetus has about 7 million primordial follicles. At birth, the number has dropped to 2 million. By puberty only 300,000 3008000 remain. During adult life about 400 follicles will have provided the ova and the hormones. The last few capable of funtion may have poor endocrine function. Ovarian activity is controlled by a "biological clock" in the hypothalamus. This controls the pituitary by a gonadotropin-releasing h ormone. In response the pituitary secretes follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The creation of the corpus luteum follows in the ovary and secretes progesterone while estrogen secretion continues. A cyclic drop in pituitary gonadotropin secretions causes the corpus luteum to degenerate. The ovary makes estrogen from cholesterol, converting it to pregnenolone, then to progesterone which is androstenedione to andnostenedione and on to estradiol. Estradiol is the estrogen secreted by the ovary, but it can be changed in the liver t o estrone and estriol. The pathways of the steroid hormone synthesis are the same in the adrenal cortex. When estrogen deficiency occurs in the menopause LH levels increase. Later the FSH is raised and remains high for the rest of life. This raised FSH and low estrogen levels appear to cause the characteristic hot flashes. Abrupt deprivation of estrogen causes more symptoms than a slow decline of function. Estrogen therapy may relieve these symptoms. Prevalence of coronary thrombosis rises sharply in the postmenopausal years. Estrogen-containing pills increase the incidence of venous thrombosis. Estrogen therapy reverses the atrophy of the genital tract. Cycles of treatment imitate the normal action of the functioning ovary but usually are not large enough to promote menstruation. Endometrial cancer appears to be increased by estrogen therapy. It may be that the addition of progesterone would protect against this from of cancer. The adjustment of tissues to an altered hormonal environment and the unrelated changes of aging make complicated problem.


International transfers in China are mostly from adult children to elderly parents. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study explores the motives of intergenerational transfers in China. Understanding the motives of intergenerational transfers is crucial for policy makers. Altruistic motive and exchange motive would lead to different response from the transferors. Theories show that transfers based on altruistic motives would be crowded out by public transfers. The conditional least-square threshold model is used to allow the possible coexistence of altruistic motive and exchange motive. Results show adequate evidence to support the altruistic motive. Other motives include the social norm motive, the self-interest motive and the demonstration effect motive are explored, but the results are not sufficient to support them. Appropriate public old-age policy needs to address this crowding-out issue, to help elderly people, especially in rural areas.


Several epidemiological studies have suggested that carotenoids have antineoplasic activities. The objective of this study was to determine the antiproliferative effect of rich carotenoid lipophilic extracts of papaya fruit pulp ( Carica papaya L., cv Maradol) in breast cancer cells, MCF-7 (estrogen receptor positive) and MDA-MB-231 (estrogen receptor negative), and in non-tumoral mammary epithelial cells MCF-12F. Antiproliferative effect was evaluated using the methylthiazolydiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and testing lipophilic extracts from different papaya fruit ripening stages (RS1, RS2, RS3, RS4), at different times (24, 48 and 72 h). Papaya lipophilic extracts do not inhibit cell proliferation of MCF-12F and MDA-MB-231 cells. However, MCF-7 cells showed a significant reduction in proliferation at 72 h with the RS4 papaya extract. Results suggested that lipophilic extracts had different action mechanisms on each type of cells and therefore, more studies were required to elucidate such mechanisms.


Mycolic acids are important class of mycobacterial lipids which form an essential component of cell-wall skeleton and could be important primary or secondary sites for drug action. With an aim to develop models for pathogenic mycobacteria, the effect of rifampicin on mycolic acid levels in two cultivable mycobacteria M. triviale and M. lufu has been investigated. The mycobacteria were grown in a incubator shaker in Sauton's medium and were treated with varying concentrations of rifampicin in mid logarithmic phase. Samples were collected after 1, 2, 8, 24 and 48 hrs. for viability check and bacilli were harvested for mycolic acid analysis. The 'bound lipid' fractions comprising of mycolic acids were extracted and isolated from the cell wall structure M. triviale and M. lufu by alkaline methanolysis and were analysed by thin-layer chromatography using HP-TLC plates. The results showed that, rifampicin affected the mycolic acid levels at optimum concentrations. The higher concentrations, though, affected the viability, did not affect the mycolic acid levels indicating that both biosynthethic and catabolic processes are affected simultaneously resulting in poor or no degradation of mycolic acids present originally. These observations may have therapeutic implications and need to be further investigated.


Appetite in children is an important determinant of nutritional intake and growth. The information used by caregivers to understand children's appetite can help inform infant and young child feeding promotion and appetite assessment. We conducted a qualitative study to (a) explore maternal perceptions and responses to children's appetite and (b) to identify how these factors differ by type of caregiver, level of maternal experience, and urban versus rural context. We used purposive sampling to recruit mothers and alternate caregivers into 14 total focus group discussions (six to eight participants in each group; N = 95) in both urban and rural settings in Bangladesh. To understand children's appetite, caregivers monitor children's dietary patterns, emotional signs, and physical and verbal cues. Healthy appetite was observed by willingness to eat diverse foods, finish offered portions, and by acceptance of foods without excessive prompting. Child illness was cited for a cause of low appetite, which was manifested through fussiness, and avoiding commonly consumed foods. Mothers described a limited set of feeding practices (offering diverse foods, playing, and cheering children with videos) to encourage consumption when children lacked appetite. Mothers' stress related to work was noted as a barrier to identifying appetite cues. Urban mothers described a lower access to instrumental social support for child feeding but informational support than mothers in the rural setting. Understanding caregivers' perceptions of children's appetite may inform strategies to improve responsive feeding and tool development to assess changes in appetite as early indicators of change in health or nutrition status among high-risk children.