Primary leiomyosarcomas of the heart, particularly those affecting the right ventricle, are uncommon. A 70 year old woman presenting with the symptoms of progressive exertional dyspnoea and left sided pleuritic pain is presented. A leiomyosarcoma was diagnosed that originated in the right lateral ventricle wall, causing pulmonary outflow obstruction. Pathological analysis showed a neoplasm with a myxoid stroma, high mitotic activity, and nuclei expressing atypia. Immunohistochemical staining was found positive for vimentin and desmin. Seven months after complete surgical resection the tumour relapsed. This case illustrates the poor outcome, high relapse rate, and inefficiency of treatment associated with primary cardiac leiomyosarcomas. The current literature regarding incidence, diagnostic techniques, treatment strategies, and survival rates of this rare but terminal disease is reviewed.


This is the first in-depth analysis of the works of the Galician-Spanish expatriate writer Sofa Casanova (1861-1958), a transnational poet, novelist, journalist, playwright, campaigner, translator, historian and intellectual, and one of the first Spanish women to support herself as a professional writer. Casanova, born in Galicia in rural northwest Spain, married a Pole and spent over seventy years traveling between Spain and Poland. A challenging writer and thinker who witnessed the First World War, the Russian Revolution and the rise of Franco at first hand, moved in the highest political and intellectual circles on both sides of Europe and blazed a trail as one of Spain's first female foreign correspondents, her remarkable achievements were gradually sidelined at home in increasingly reactionary Spain until, by the time of her death, she was remembered only as a perfectly patriotic wife and mother and icon of Francoist femininity.


In this paper, the nuclear longitudinal form factors are systematically studied from the intrinsic charge multipoles. For axially deformed nuclei, two different types of density profiles are used to describe their charge distributions. For the same charge distributions expanded with different basis functions, the corresponding longitudinal form factors are derived and compared with each other. Results show the multipoles Cλ of longitudinal form factors are independent of the basis functions of charge distributions. Further numerical calculations of longitudinal form factors of 12C indicates that the C0 multipole reflects the contributions of spherical components of all nonorthogonal basis functions. For deformed nuclei, their charge RMS radii can also be determined accurately by the C0 measurement. The studies in this paper examine the model-independent properties of electron scattering, which are useful for interpreting electron scattering experiments on exotic deformed nuclei.


Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is characterized by pathologic immune activation which occurs either as a familial disorder or as an acquired condition. The diagnosis of HLH requires the presence of five out of nine criteria: fever, splenomegaly, pancytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, hemophagocytosis in bone marrow, hyperferritinemia, low or absent natural killer cell activity and high level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor.
 Here we present a 6-month-old girl with parents from Southern Italy. She suffered from hepatosplenomegaly and a recurrent high fever for 3 months' duration. On admission, she showed neurological symptoms including irritability and neck stiffness. Blood analysis revealed bicytopenia, namely anemia and thrombocytopenia. The first bone marrow aspirate was indicative for neither malignancies nor HLH. At this time, additional investigations indicated macrophage activation syndrome with elevated ferritin value (11.741ng/ml), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (CD25) levels (16.018U/ml), hypertriglyceridemia (582mg/dl) supportive of the diagnosis of HLH. Because of the worsening of her clinical condition, a second bone marrow aspirate and biopsy was performed 5 days later when the child became pancytopenic. The second bone marrow aspirate still did not show morphological signs of HLH, but microorganisms were detected in at least one macrophage, which were consecutively diagnosed as Leishmania amastigotes within macrophages by positive Leishmanial polymerase chain reaction from bone marrow specimen. Consistent with the diagnosis of visceral Leishmaniasis Amphotericin B (liposomal) therapy was initiated which resulted in dramatic resolution of fever, splenomegaly, ferritin levels, and recovery of blood counts within 96 hours.
 Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) manifests as acute illness with prolonged fever, cytopenias and hepatosplenomegaly. Onset typically occurs within the first months of life. Other findings include liver dysfunction and bone marrow hemophagocytosis. The median survival of children with typical FHL, without treatment, is less than two months. Acquired HLH is typically associated with T-/NK-cell lymphomas and autoimmune diseases but also with infections including EBV, malaria and Leishmaniasis. Even in non-endemic areas, our case of vertically transmitted Leishmaniasis highlights the importance of recognizing infectious etiologies of HLH compared with hereditary forms of HLH in early infancy to initiate appropriate therapy to prevent life-threatening complications.

 Russo: Novo Nordisk: Other: conference fee, travel and accomodation support ; Octapharma: Other: conference fee, travel and accomodation support. Lammle:Baxter: Other: congress travel and accomodation support ; Ablynx: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: congress travel and accomodation support ; Siemens: Honoraria, Other: congress travel and accomodation support ; Bayer: Honoraria, Other: congress travel and accomodation support; Alexion: Other: congress travel and accomodation support .


There are many factors to consider when choosing a physiologic monitoring system. not only should these systems perform well clinically, but they should also be able to exchange data with other information systems. We discuss some of the ins and outs of physiologic monitoring system networking and highlight eight product lines from seven suppliers.


This study aimed to determine if Senna spectabilis (DC.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby var. excelsa (Schrad.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (Fabaceae) present seed memory and evaluate the effects of hydration and dehydration cycles (HD) on the seed germination of this species when submitted to conditions of water stress.  Seeds underwent HD cycles (0, 1, 2 and 3 cycles) corresponding to the hydration times X, Y and Z, determined from the imbibition curve, with 5 hours of dehydration and submitted to water stress conditions. Germination was evaluated at 0.0, -0.1, -0.3, -0.6 and -0.9 MPa, obtained with polyethylene glycol 6000 solution. Germinability (%), mean germination time (days) and hydrotime (MPa d -1 ) were calculated. The seeds of S. spectabilis var. excelsa are sensitive to the low osmotic potentials tested in this study, however, when submitted to the HD cycles of 16 hours hydration (time Y), the tolerance to water stress conditions is increased. In addition, the observed benefits on the evaluated germination parameters show that S. spectabilis var. excelsa present seed memory.


The recent success of Krische et al. ( Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2017 , 56 , 14667 -14671 ) in achieving a ruthenium(0)-catalyzed transfer hydrogenative cycloaddition of 1,2-diols with cyclohexadiene and norbornadiene in excellent yield with exo- and diastereoselectivity represents an exciting development in the synthesis of bridged carbocycles. In the present work, the possible catalytic mechanisms and origin of the exo- and diastereoselectivity for cyclohexadiene and norbornadiene were studied in detail by density functional theory calculations. The theoretical results indicate that the exoselective pathway for the cyclohexadiene substrate proceeds by a novel two-step successive C-C coupling, while the endoselective pathway undergoes the C-C coupling reaction in a conventional concerted manner. The origin of the preferential chemoselectivity of dione-cyclohexadiene C-C coupling over aromatization to benzene was investigated. Aromatization to benzene is unfavorable because of the large distortion energy of the three-membered ring in the transition state of hydrogen migration. From distortion/interaction analysis, for norbornadiene, the distortion energy plays the main role in determining the exoselectivity.


Microglia, the resident immune cells in the central nervous system, can monitor the microenvironment and actively respond to ischemic stroke and other brain injuries. In this procedure, microglia and neurons can cross-talk via transmembrane chemokine, Fractalkine (CX3CL1), to impact one another. We used a rat model of multifocal microinfarcts induced by the injection of fluorescent microspheres into the right common carotid artery and examined the morphological alteration of blood vessels, microglia, astrocytes, and neurons at 6 h, 1, 7, and 14 days after modeling, along with neurobehavioral tests and the staining of CX3CL1 in this study. Our results demonstrated that in the infarcted regions, astrocytes and microglia activated in response to neuronal degeneration and upregulation of cleaved caspase-3, which occurred concurrently with vascular alteration and higher expression of CX3CL1. We provided sequential histological data to shed light on the morphological changes after modeling, which would help in the identification of new targets and the choice of the ideal time window for therapeutic intervention in ischemic stroke.


In our daily life, every thing and every event were intimately related to spatial features. Due to fluidness of objects, such as locations of persons, sites of events, destinations of journeys, spatial information of those were often indeterminate. Those objects were often called non-spatial objects. Therefore it was impossible to collect spatial information and position them on the map. People often described the non-spatial objects with information combination of doorplate, place name and road. Electronic doorplate, place name and road were the core of address database which was an important part of fundamental geographic information database. The address database provided a new way for WebGIS applications in non-spatial objects. With the penetration of WebGIS application, address database was widely used in various industries. Data in each industry didnpsilat be shared due to lack of unified standards. It was necessary to build a standard address database and provided service for each industry. This paper which took Panyu as an example introduced the present status of address database application and discussed the architecture and main functions of the standard address database system in Panyu. It was a new idea for address database application and provided reference meaning for standard address database construction in other area.


The NMDA receptor non-competitive antagonist, [3H]MK-801, was used as a ligand for an autoradiographic study to determine the effects of lead on NMDA receptor in rat brain. Adult male rats were given lead acetate, 100 mg/kg, or sodium acetate, 36 mg/kg (control), by i.p. for 7 days. Lead levels were detected in blood (41.1 micrograms/dl) and brain (16.7-29.4 micrograms/g). Concentrations of lead in various brain regions did not differ. [3H]MK-801 binding was heterogeneous throughout the brain with the following order of binding densities: hippocampal formation > cortex > caudate-putamen > thalamus > brainstem. Lead exposure caused a decrease in [3H]MK-801 binding to NMDA receptors in the hippocampal formation including CA2 stratum radiatum, CA3 stratum radiatum and presubiculum, and in the agranular insular, cingulate, entorhinal, orbital, parietal and perirhinal areas of cerebral cortex. In another experiment, female rats were exposed pre- and post-natally from the 4th +/- 1 post conception day with 1,000 ppm lead in their drinking water. This treatment continued after weaning. No effects of lead on [3H]MK-801 binding were found at postnatal day (PM) 28. However, lead caused a significant increase in [3H]MK-801 binding in the hippocampus including CA1 and CA2, and in the occipital and temporal cortical areas at PN 56 and at PN 112. Increases in [3H]MK-801 binding were also found in entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus at PN 112. The hippocampal formation is a critical neural structure for learning and memory processes, whereas cortical and subcortical regions are involved in the modulation of complex behavioral processes. NMDA receptors have been shown to play a key role in synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory. Therefore, lead-induced alterations of ligand binding to NMDA receptors in the hippocampal formation and cortical areas may play a role in lead-induced neurotoxicity.


With the rapid development of Internet and Cloud Computing, Web-based applications become more powerful. In order to fully use the Web-based applications, we design a new Operating System known as the Cloud Terminal Operating System. CTOS just runs one application which is Web browser, and the Web-based applications meet all the daily needs of users. CTOS abandons the traditional desktop applications, and makes some special design to optimize Web-based applications. This paper gives the concept of CTOS, and analyzes the other similar operating systems. This paper also gives a detailed design and implementation of CTOS which is based on the Hurd operating system.


The paper proposes an approach to functional reasoning for diagnosis, based on an ontology that is aimed at providing a more formal physical foundation to functional knowledge. The approach (called FDef, i.e. functional diagnosis with efforts and flows) is analysed from several perspectives: reasoning strategy, modelling, formalisation of the reasoning activities and of the entities involved, architecture, comparison with related work, main assumptions and limitations. Furthermore, the paper shows in detail how the minimum entropy approach to measurement prescription can be simplified and used in FDef. Several diagnostic examples are considered and discussed in the paper.


The loss of proteostasis over the life course is associated with a wide range of debilitating degenerative diseases and is a central hallmark of human aging. When left unchecked, proteins that are intrinsically disordered can pathologically aggregate into highly ordered fibrils, plaques, and tangles (termed amyloids), which are associated with countless disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, cancer, and even certain viral infections. However, despite significant advances in protein folding and solution biophysics techniques, determining the molecular cause of these conditions in humans has remained elusive. This has been due, in part, to recent discoveries showing that soluble protein oligomers, not insoluble fibrils or plaques, drive the majority of pathological processes. This has subsequently led researchers to focus instead on heterogeneous and often promiscuous protein oligomers. Unfortunately, significant gaps remain in how to prepare, model, experimentally corroborate, and extract amyloid oligomers relevant to human disease in a systematic manner. This Review will report on each of these techniques and their successes and shortcomings in an attempt to standardize comparisons between protein oligomers across disciplines, especially in the context of neurodegeneration. By standardizing multiple techniques and identifying their common overlap, a clearer picture of the soluble neuropathological aggresome can be constructed and used as a baseline for studying human disease and aging.


Introduction The formation and collapse of vapor-filled bubbles near a mechanical heart valve is called cavitation. Microbubbles can be detected in vivo by doppler ultrasonography (USG) as HITS (high intensity transient signals) in cranial circulation. We investigated the relationship between exercise induced heart rate increase and HITS formation in cranial circulation. Material and methods Thirty-nine mechanical heart valve implanted (8 aortic valve replacement (AVR) + mitral valve replacement (MVR), 9 AVR, 22 MVR) patients aged 18-80 years old were included in our study. Microbubbles were counted in the left ventricular cavity via transthoracic echocardiography at rest per cardiac cycle. Afterwards transcranial Doppler USG was performed and HITS were counted in each patient's middle cerebral artery at 5 min duration. Subsequently an exercise test according to the Bruce protocol was performed. After achieving maximal heart rate, microbubbles in the left ventricle and HITS were counted again. Results Microbubbles in the left ventricle and transcranial HITS increased after exercise significantly compared to resting values (15.79 ±10.91 microbubbles/beat vs. 26.51 ±18.00 microbubbles/beat, p < 0.001; 6.13 ±8.07 HITS/5 min vs. 13.15 ±15.87 HITS/5 min, p = 0.001). There was a significant correlation between microbubbles and HITS counts after peak exercise (r = 0.55, p < 0.001). Conclusions In our study, we found that the microbubbles were increasing as the heart rate increased and more HITS were propelled to the cerebral circulation. As previously shown, HITS can alter cognitive functions. Therefore heart rate control is essential in mechanical heart valve patients to protect neurocognitive functions.


We investigated far-field (FF) emission patterns of nanowire light-emitting diodes (NW-LEDs). NW-LEDs were fabricated using vertical InP-NW arrays with axial pn-junctions grown on InP (111)A substrates, and the emission intensity of NW-LEDs was measured as a function of view angle θ, where θ = 0° indicates the direction normal to the substrate or that along the NWs. For NW arrays with pitch a of around 1 μm, we found a clear dip in the emission intensity at θ = 0°, which was explained by an analogy with dipole antenna, or a smaller contribution of the lowest order guided modes for emission as compared with higher order guided and free-space radiation modes. Results of the simulation of radiation patterns by the finite-difference time-domain method and near-field to far-field transformation are also described. They also confirm that the dip at θ = 0° is specific to light emission from NWs. We also investigated the dependence of the FF pattern on the pitch of the NW array, and the observation was qualitatively explained by the relative contribution of the guided and free-space radiation modes.


The control of Aedes aegypti has been considered one of the most important public health challenges worldwide. Chemical compounds have long been used for this purpose, but resistance to these molecules has also increased. Therefore, over the last few years several studies have focused on the development of alternative tools, particularly those based on plant metabolites. The purpose of this study was to assess the larvicidal activity of Caesalpinia ferrea and Lippia origanoides against Ae. aegypti. Larvae (L3) of Ae. aegypti Liverpool and Rockefeller strains, as well as of the Recife population were exposed to different concentrations of C. ferrea (ranging from 13.1 to 105 mg/mL) and L. origanoides (ranging from 16.3 to 130 mg/mL), and the mortality rate was evaluated up to 48 hours after the beginning of the experiment. All tested groups and control group were quadruplicated. For C. ferrea, mortality ranged from 42.5% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Liverpool strain, from 67% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Rockfeller strain, and 57% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Recife population after 48 hours of larval exposure. For L. origanoides, the larvicidal activity ranged from 75% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Liverpool strain, from 61.5% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Rockfeller strain, and from 60.5% to 100% for Ae. aegypti Recife population. The hydro ethanol extract of C. ferrea and L. origanoides presented larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti.


Using computer and the Internet allow students and teachers to interact with one another with no boundaries and this affects the students' attitude and their motivation in learning. This study focuses on the attitude, motivation and performances of ESL learners in learning writing using Google Docs. The quantitative instruments consisted of questionnaire, pre-test, and post-test while the qualitative instruments consisted of interview recordings and the treatment sessions. The results from the questionnaire were used to identify the attitude and motivation of the students while the results from the pre-test and post-test were used to determine the students' performances after the use of Google Docs. The result of the study showed that the students had positive attitude toward the use of Google Docs in learning and were also motivated to learn. Google Docs manage to encourage them to write better, and there were improvements in learners' performances. They were able to generate more ideas and organized their writing accordingly. As a conclusion, Google Docs should be implemented by teachers to teach process writing as the tool can motivate the students to learn better.


Abstract. Mosses are remarkably successful plants that colonize a variety of habitats. They have specific requirements with regard to microenvironments factors such as temperature, light and water availability and substrate chemistry. The occurrence of a particular species may reflect the microclimate of the locality. Pleurocarpous mosses form extensive cover on the substrate and provide microenvironment for the activity of bacteria, fungi and invertebrates, thus constituting a kind of bryosystem. Present study has revealed 42 species of pleurocarpous mosses belonging to 30 genera and 16 families from Imphal district, Manipur, India. Hypnaceae are found to be most frequent. Majority of taxa are found as epiphytic growing on tree bark and branches. Erpodium mangiferae, Erythrodontium julaceum, Pterygynandrum decolor, Fabronia assamica are found most widely spread in the studied area. It seems that these species have high tolerance and adaptability to survive in the dry bark. Most of the pleurocarpous mosses in the present collection display mat form.


The purpose of this study is to describe how university students rate the evaluation systems and strategies that have been proposed for use in Higher Education during the period of COVID-19 confinement and online teaching as a result of the coronavirus crisis in Spain. For this purpose, we prepared a descriptive study by means of an online questionnaire, specifically designed on the basis of evaluation and qualification proposals made by REACU (Spain), ANECA (Spain), UNESCO, and the Spanish Ministry of Universities. The results obtained, after applying them to a sample of 1008 students from different universities in Spain, and covering most of the Autonomous Communities (17), indicate that students agree with and value the changes recommended by agencies and agree that the assessment should be flexible, diverse, formative and continuous. On the other hand, their experiences indicate that the Universities have not yet applied some of the suggested recommendations.


The study reported here examined the food safety perceptions, food safety behaviors, and emergency food preparedness of elderly people participating in congregate-meal and home-delivered-meal (HDM) programs as influenced by demographic and socioeconomic variables. Interviewers surveyed elderly people participating in a congregate-meal and HDM program in nine counties in central Kentucky in April 2004 and May 2005. Participants' perceptions of food safety issues showed statistically significant differences by meal site location, age, marital status, and household composition. Participants' self-reported food safety behaviors showed statistically significant differences by marital status, meal site location, age, gender, household composition, race/ethnicity, and level of education. In addition, significant differences were found in seniors' self-reported emergency food preparedness by race and level of education. The study found that some elderly people participating in the Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) have disconcerting food safety perceptions, engage in risky food-handling behaviors, and lack emergency food and water preparation. Since many elderly people participating in the ENP program are vulnerable, these findings indicate that support and assistance by providers is warranted to protect elderly people from unsafe situations.


BACKGROUND Almost no scientific observtions exist concerning the physiological changes and events that arise before nd during human agressive behavior. Yet, there are many instances where it might be of great benefit to have insight in these changes, for example when an individual has limited communicative capabilities to express their emotions and rising frustrations. In our project we focused on such a situation by measuring physiological changes of people with severe mental disabilities, who also consistently showed challenging behavior (CB) such as aggressive acts and self-injurious behavior. Caretakers often report being surprised by these outbursts and explicitly express a need for additional tools to gain insight in the arousal levels of their clients. The aim of our project was to investigate the potential value of ambulatory physiological measurements in bringing this insight to the caretakers. An additional goal was to also examine the relation between the physiological changes of the caretakers themselves and the CB of the clients. We did this because actions of direct care staff have been found to be antecedents of the aggressive behavior of clients, and therefore we wanted to investigate the possibility that heightened levels of arousal in caretakers might be associated with a higher likelihood of future aggressive behavior.
METHOD We followed 9 individuals with severe mental disabilities and their regular caretakers during sessions of two to three hours on a fixed timeslot and day of the week over a period of months. During all those sessions (typically a total of 24 per client-caretaker couple), we measured electrodermal activity (EDA) with a wrist sensor, and we recorded the clients behavior on video. EDA, and the parameters that can be extracted from it, such as the number of skin conductance responses per minute, have been found to be a good estimate of the activity of the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous systems. As such, it can be taken as a further operationalization of the arousal level of the client and caretaker, which was the dependent variable of interest for our project. The measurement device was the Q sensor "Curve" from Affectiva, which allows for wireless, non-intrusive measurements of EDA with a sample rate of 32 Hz (which is more than sufficient for state of the art analysis methods). A protocol was developed to realize these measurements, while minimizing distress for the clients (see Noordzij, Scholten, Laroy-Noordzij, 2012, Measuring Behavior). After each session caretakers noted whether any CB had occurred. Subsequently, trained professionals examined the videos and determined the nature, severity and onset of the CB. EDA parameters were extracted automatically both with computationally simple trough-to-peak analyses, and with more sophisticated decomposition analyses of the signal into its phasic and tonic components.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As expected the participants displayed CB during many of the sessions. These events were typically associated with medium to highest amplitudes and frequencies of the electrodermal responses. Our data analysis also brought to light some of the complexities surrounding the determination of arousal levels of these clients. Even detailed viewing of the videos by trained professionals resulted in only moderate levels of inter-rater reliability concerning the severity CB and especially the precise onset of CB. This reflects the observation of experienced caretakers that the buildup phase towards CB is hard to detect. On the other hand, we also found low correlation between EDA fluctuations of caretakers and clients. This, and further video analysis, showed that caretakers did not continuously interact and track the arousal level of the clients on a behavioral level. This fact alone opens up a set of possibilities to create a monitoring system based on the EDA levels of client, which informs the caretaker when EDA levels are in a medium to high range (i.e. the only moments when CB occur). Currently, we are developing such a monitoring prototype, which, together with findings from our ongoing analysis of this rich data set will be further discussed during the presentation.


Asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L.) stored 28 days at 2C in air, a flow-through controlled-atmosphere (CA) system, or 14 days in polymeric film consumer packages were evaluated in respect to compositional and quality changes. CA-stored spears retained more sugars, organic acids, and soluble proteins than spears stored in air. Spears stored in vented consumer packages had a useful life of 14 days, whereas those in nonvented packages started to break down after 8 days. Spears from vented packages lost more weight but retained more sugars and organic acids than those from nonvented packages (...)


The experimental results here recorded have as their basis the ability to determine scientifically the production of sex hormones by the human body and to measure accurately the amounts present in the blood, in various organs, and in the excreta, especially the urine.

Hormones in Health

In health the excretion of estrin begins at puberty and under normal conditions is continued until some time after the onset of the menopause. Aschheim and Zondek (1) and Margaret Smith (2), working independently, were responsible for the discovery that large quantities of estrin are excreted in the urine during pregnancy. The urine of the new-born child has been found to contain this hormone up to the fourth day after birth; while small quantities have been recognized in the urine of healthy males (Laqueur et al., 3; Fee et al., 4).

The gonadotropic hormone is known to be excreted during the greater part of the human life cycle. It has been found in comparatively large amounts in the urine in the first few days after birth; its presence has been determined in the urine before the age of puberty (Soeken, 5); during pregnancy a very marked increase in its excretion has been noted; and it continues to be excreted long after the onset of the menopause (Osterreicher, 6).

Hormones in Relation to Malignant Growth

The apparent relationship between the gonadotropic and sex hormones and certain types of neoplasm, both in man and in certain of the experimental animals, is a fact the full significance of which is not understood. The presence of large quantities of the gonadotropic hormone in the urine of patients suffering from hydatidiform mole and from chorionepithelioma is a most striking finding. Equally important is the observation of Zondek that 82.5 per cent of a series of patients with carcinoma of the cervix also showed the presence of this hormone, but in lesser amount. Malignant tumors of the testicle, i.e. , teratoma testis (Zondek, 7) and testicular chorionepithelioma (Heidrich and Fels, 8), have been proved to be associated with the presence of the gonadotropic hormones in the urine. These pioneer observations have been confirmed by the large series studies of Zondek (9), Ferguson (10), Herger and Thibaudeau (11), Cutler and Owen (12).


When I was in college, I went off to the mountains for a weekend of hiking with an older, wiser friend of twenty-two. After setting up our tent, we sat by a stream, watching the water swirl around rocks, talking about our lives. At one point she described how she was learning to be "her own best friend." A wave of sadness came over me, and I broke down sobbing. I was the furthest thing from my own best friend. I was continually harassed by an inner judge who was merciless, nit-picking, demanding and always on the job. My guiding assumption was, "Something is fundamentally wrong with me," as I struggled to control and fix what felt like a basically flawed self.


Single fibre EMG studies were carried out on the right extensor digitorum communis muscle in 30 subjects with chronic fatigue syndrome and in 30 age and sex matched controls. Abnormal jitter was seen in five patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Slight but significant differences between the mean consecutive differences in the remainder of the chronic fatigue subjects and the control subjects were recorded. Overall the differences were so minor that it seems unlikely that a disturbance of neuromuscular function as reflected by jitter measurement has a pathogenetic role. It is suggested that the increased jitter seen may be explained by the effects of the variability of motor unit firing rates on the myogenic component of the jitter.


Ellipsometry has sufficient sensitivity for sensor applications and is here used as an optical readout method in a gas sensing system. Porous silicon is used as sensing layers in which vapors of solvents can adsorb and condensate due to capillary effects. A miniaturized multi-beam ellipsometer system is proposed and the concept is demonstrated by measurements on alcohol vapors. Optimization of the sensor system is discussed and improvement of sensitivity and alteration of selectivity by metal deposition in porous silicon layers are presented.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the risks of inguinal and pelvic lymph node metastasis as well as the prognostic factors in carcinoma of the penis.

METHOD
Fifty patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis who consecutively underwent immediate bilateral ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy after treatment of the primary tumor. Clinical features were evaluated to determine the risk of inguinal and pelvic lymph node metastasis as well as prognostic factors.

RESULTS
Patients with palpable inguinal lymph node had a high risk of inguinal lymph node metastasis compared with patients with a non palpable inguinal lymph node (p = 0.002). Patients with poor differentiated tumors had a high risk of pelvic lymph node metastasis compared with patients with well or moderately differentiated tumors (p = 0.021). Prognostic factors significantly related to survival were the clinical status of the inguinal lymph node, histological grade and the status of lymph node metastasis (N stage). None of the patients with stage N0 and N1 died with the longest follow-up at 85 and 67 months, respectively. Cumulative survivals were 0.6 at follow-up at 36 months for the patients with stage N2 and 0.5 at follow-up at 18 months for patients with stage N3.

CONCLUSION
The clinical status of inguinal lymph node was related to the risk of inguinal lymph node metastasis. Histological grade was related to the risk of pelvic lymph node metastasis. The clinical status of the inguinal lymph node, histological grade and pathological N stage were the important factors affecting the prognosis.


An ethno-botanical survey of Barahali village for the Psychological (Mental) Disorders people.The main purpose of this survey was to the traditional use of medicinal plants for mental health in Barahali village people.  Medicinal were found to be used to treat some psychological disorder. The medicinal plants like Annona squomosa L., Brassica oleraceae L. Var. Capitata (L.) Alef.,Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., Ziziphus mauritiana L and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.


Hou A, Fu J, Yang H, Zhu Y, Pan Y, Xu S, Xue X. Hyperoxia stimulates the transdifferentiation of type II alveolar epithelial cells in newborn rats. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 308: L861–L872, 2015. First published February 13, 2015; doi:10.1152/ajplung.00099.2014.—Supplemental oxygen treatment in preterm infants may cause bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is characterized by alveolar simplification and vascular disorganization. Despite type II alveolar epithelial cell (AEC II) damage being reported previously, we found no decrease in the AEC II-specific marker, surfactant protein C (SP-C), in the BPD model in our previous study. We thus speculated that AEC II injury is not a unique mechanism of BPD-related pulmonary epithelial repair dysfunction and that abnormal transdifferentiation can exist. Newborn rats were randomly assigned to model (85% oxygen inhalation) and control groups (room air inhalation). Expressions of AEC I (aquaporin 5, T1 ) and AEC II markers (SP-C, SP-B) were detected at three levels: 1) in intact lung tissue, 2) in AEC II isolated from rats in the two groups, and 3) in AEC II isolated from newborn rats, which were further cultured under either hyperoxic or normoxic conditions. In the model group, increased AEC I was observed at both the tissue and cell level, and markedly increased transdifferentiation was observed by immunofluorescent double staining. Transmission electron microscopy revealed morphological changes in alveolar epithelium such as damaged AECs, a fused air-blood barrier structure, and opened tight junctions in the model group. These findings indicate that transdifferentiation of AECs is not suppressed but rather is increased under hyperoxic treatment by compensation; however, such repair during injury cannot offset pulmonary epithelial air exchange and barrier dysfunction caused by structural damage to AECs.


In my view, Donald M. Jansky's idea of putting together many technical concepts applied to existing  communications  systems makes this World Atlas of Satellites an  excellent  handbook  for  undergraduate electrical engineers and a good reference for  professional  engineers  and  scientists. The book  summarizes  the  fundamentals of the Geostationary Satellite Orbit (GSO), giving the characteristics and purposes of geostationary satellites. It is detailed and instructive, deserving high marks for the description of the principles of space telecommunications, maritime and aeronautical communications,  meteorology, defense, safety,  and  exploration  of  new  scientific horizons. In short, the author has gathered a great deal of information and condensed it into eight informative chapters. In chapter 11, which deals with commurlications satellites, the author describes the characteristics of satellite networks in the Fixed  Satellite  Service (FSS) based  upon the  advanced  technology  of  communications atellites. He gives  details of frequency allocation, assignment capacity of the GSO to accommodate outer-space traffic demand, and the geographic coverage requirements  and  developments  affecting system  characteristics.  This  includes  antenna  radiation,  side-lobe  level  reduction, cross polarization, depolarization compensation, and linearizer receiver and transmitter techniques. Chapters Ill and IV, on the Inter-Satellite and Space Operation Services, define radio communications ervices  providing  links between artificial  earth  satellites,  system configuration, frequency allocation assignment, and spacecraft operation in Tracking, Telemetry, and Telecom (TT&C), Technical Planning and Criteria. Chapter V explains the purpose of mobile satellite  services  and  shows  that  the INMARSAT network has efficient and flexible worldwide communication capabilities; and wil l cut the cost of land, sea, and air terminals integrated in one system. Chapter VI is dedicated to the Broadcasting  Satellite  Service (BSS). This  chapter describes television programming received via satellite, and application of the BSS and Fixed Satellite Service (FSS). Also included are  simultaneous  planning of feeder and transmitting links, the effect of community broadcasting,  satellite  spacing,  position tolerances, digital modulation, and spurious emissions. Chapter VII, entitled "Radiodetermination, Radionavigation  a d  Earth  Exploration Satellite  Services,"  is an  extensive  and comprehensive  explanation of the  differences between  radiodetermination  (NAV-


Traditionally, network management functionalities have been performed manually by expert individuals. However, the traditional approaches leads to numerous problems, including high maintenance cost as well as being error prone, and may possibly lead to failures in cases where functionality changes are inconsistent. This complexity has been accelerated with the proliferation of different network technology types, devices supporting these technologies, as well as diverse services that accompany these technological advancements. From observing these drawbacks, researchers are now investigating the application of applying autonomic functionality in communication networks in order to efficiently support and maintain high level business goals, as well as to manage the complexity of network reconfiguration and management. We explore some bio-inspired mechanisms from the point of view of autonomic network Management. Autonomic capabilities enable network entities to efficiently manage, configure, and maintain network services and resources with minimal human interaction.


Iron oxides, typical constituents of many soils, represent a natural immobilization mechanism for toxic elements. Most iron oxides are formed during the transformation of poorly crystalline ferrihydrite to more crystalline iron phases. The present study examined the impact of well known contaminants, such as P(V), As(V), and Sb(V), on the ferrihydrite transformation and investigated the transformation products with a set of bulk and nano-resolution methods. Irrespective of the pH, P(V) and As(V) favor the formation of hematite (α-Fe2O3) over goethite (α-FeOOH) and retard these transformations at high concentrations. Sb(V), on the other hand, favors the formation of goethite, feroxyhyte (d'-FeOOH), and tripuhyite (FeSbO4) depending on pH and Sb(V) concentration. The elemental composition of the transformation products analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy show high loadings of Sb(V) with molar Sb:Fe ratios of 0.12, whereas the molar P:Fe and As:Fe ratios do not exceed 0.03 and 0.06, respectively. The structural similarity of feroxyhyte and hematite was resolved by detailed electron diffraction studies, and feroxyhyte was positively identified in a number of the samples examined. These results indicate that, compared to P(V) and As(V), Sb(V) can be incorporated into the structure of certain iron oxides through Fe(III)-Sb(V) substitution, coupled with other substitutions. However, the outcome of the ferrihydrite transformation (hematite, goethite, feroxyhyte, or tripuhyite) depends on the Sb(V) concentration, pH, and temperature.


The sudden presence of refugees significantly altered the lives of the local population in Kibondo District. The present study was carried out to determine socio-economic effects of refugees on the local community. It was geared specifically to determine economic status of local people in Kibondo district after refugees' influx. Furthermore, the study investigated social effects of refugees on the hosts, attitude of people towards the refugees and mitigation efforts done by the government and other relief agencies to reduce effects of refugees on the local community. The study was conducted in Kibondo district which has been highly receiving refugees from various countries. Data was collected from households and individuals in the refugee host area. Other respondents included key informants such as the District Commissioner, District Natural Resources Officer; Head of UNHCR Suboffice in Kibondo district and District Medical Officer. Secondary data were documentary materials from the government reports, research reports, village records and books from University of Dar es salaam and Sokoine University of Agriculture libraries. A crosssectional survey was employed and covered 150 hosts' households and 30 households in refugee camps. The study revealed that the opportunities available in the host communities changed in both positive and negative ways in agriculture, environment, market economy, infrastructure and social services context. On the positive side, refugees represented a source of cheap agricultural labour for villagers in the study area; refugees labour was attractive to local farmers because it was cheap and readily available hence increased production of food crops. Despite the benefits of refugee labour, many villagers blamed theft, particularly of food crops. On environmental perspective, refugees affected environment due to firewood and charcoal uses. The study findings can be used by a wide range of stakeholders and the government of Tanzania to create refugees' policies. ii


Introduction: Paramedics make important decisions about whether a patient needs transport to hospital, or can be discharged on scene. These decisions require a degree of accuracy, as taking low acuity patients to the emergency department (ED) can support ambulance ramping. In contrast, leaving mid–high acuity patients on scene can lead to incidents and recontact. This study aims to investigate the accuracy of conveyance decisions made by paramedics when looking at real life patient scenarios with known outcomes. It also aims to explore how the paramedic made the decision. Methods: We undertook a prospective mixed method triangulation design. Six individual patient vignettes were created using linked ambulance and ED data. These were then presented in an online survey to paramedics in Yorkshire. Half the vignettes related to mid–high acuity attendances at the ED and the other half were low acuity. Vignettes were validated by a small expert panel. Participants were asked to determine the appropriate conveyance decision and to explain the rationale behind their decisions using a free-text box. Results: A total of 143 paramedics undertook the survey and 858 vignettes were completed. There was clear agreement between paramedics for transport decisions (ƙ = 0.63). Overall accuracy was 0.69 (95% CI 0.66–0.73). Paramedics were better at 'ruling in' the ED, with sensitivity of 0.89 (95% CI 0.86–0.92). The specificity of 'ruling out' the ED was 0.51 (95% CI 0.46–0.56). Text comments were focused on patient safety and risk aversion. Discussion: Paramedics make accurate conveyance decisions but are more likely to over-convey than under-convey, meaning that while decisions are safe they are not always appropriate. It is important that paramedics feel supported by the service to make safe and confident non-conveyance decisions. Reducing over-conveyance is a potential method of reducing demand in the urgent and emergency care system.


Deals with the problem of establishing a model for test pattern generation and hierarchical fault coverage during the earliest phases of the design of processor arrays. A general approach, valid for the two intermediate design steps of processor arrays, consisting of identical combinational cells with identical local interconnections, is presented. The classes of architectures considered are iterative logic arrays, and systolic and semisystolic arrays implementing locally recursive algorithms. Three basic abstraction levels can be identified in the synthesis of array architectures: the data flow graph, the signal flow graph, and the array level. The authors introduce a methodology to map the testability and testing techniques identified for each level to the others.<<ETX>>


Alcohol prohibition and law enforcement deployment are important policies designed to increase traffic safety and reduce injury crashes. This study uses data on county-level law enforcement and injury crashes to analyze the effect of traffic law enforcement and alcohol prohibition. The analysis controls for other factors that affect injury crashes such as age groups, road factors, and behavioral factors including driving under the influence convictions and suspended licenses. Analysis is presented through a negative binomial regression methodology. Results indicate that both increasing law enforcement personnel and alcohol prohibition reduce the number of injury crashes within a county. Moreover, if policymakers' goals are to reduce the count of injury crashes to zero, law enforcement and alcohol prohibition are important combined factors in this goal.


INTRODUCTION: In 1989, the first superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap for breast reconstruction was performed at Charity Hospital (New Orleans). Initially, the SIEA flap was greeted with tempered enthusiasm because the pedicle diameter and length were small.A more technically challenging microsurgical scenario was encountered compared to free TRAM/DIEP flaps.The advantages of the flap included 1) preservation of the abdominal muscle/fascia integrity similar to an abdominoplasty and 2) perfusion of ample skin and fat for breast reconstruction.These favorable characteristics of the SIEA flap made it an attractive donor flap; therefore, further evaluation and technical refinement was initiated.


Earth and its environment are studied by different scientific disciplines as geosciences, science of engineering, social sciences, geography, etc. The study of the above, beyond pure scientific interest, is useful for the practical needs of man. Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (defined by Statute II of ISPRS) is the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information from non-contact imaging and other sensor systems about the Earth and its environment, and other physical objects and of processes through recording, measuring, analyzing and representation. Therefore, according to this definition, photogrammetry and remote sensing can support studies of the above disciplines for acquisition of geoinformation. This paper concerns basic concepts of geosciences (geomorphology, geology, hydrology etc), and the fundamentals of photogrammetry-remote sensing, in order to aid the understanding of the relationship between photogrammetry-remote sensing and geoinformation and also structure curriculum in a brief, concise and coherent way. This curriculum can represent an appropriate research and educational outline and help to disseminate knowledge in various directions and levels. It resulted from our research and educational experience in graduate and post-graduate level (post-graduate studies relative to the protection of environment and protection of monuments and historical centers) in the Lab. of Photogrammetry – Remote Sensing in Civil Engineering Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.


In sentiment analysis, annotation is the crucial step of data processing to label the review or sentences as positive, negative, or neutral. An annotation process is usually performed by three key approaches: (i) manual, (ii) crowdsourcing, and (iii) automated annotation. Manual annotation is preferred in most of the literature's and crowdsourcing tools are used in some of the works. This indicates that there is a scarce of automatic annotation and its service is highly essential to support more systematic research in sentiment analysis. Manual procedures mostly depends on external annotators, resulting in costly and time-consuming processes. Thus, we propose a method for automatic annotation using web search model to dynamically label reviews (positive, negative, or neutral) that are not available in the dictionary. Some research works consider the product opinions from e-commerce sites where most of the texts may not be available in the dictionary, in such cases, the web search model can be used instead of manual annotation. A large-scale opinosis dataset is used to evaluate the accuracy of the algorithms and feasibility of the model. The experimental results indicate that this model outperforms conventional methodologies and therefore we firmly believe it will be useful for current researchers in the field of opinion mining.


The chemical conversion film formed on magnesium alloy was investigated by using the colloidal silica with some parameters such as solution pH. temperature, solution conditions, and treatment time. Moreover. the solutions consisted of colloidal silica titanium sulfate, and cobalt ions were used for the colloidal silica film to having a good corrosion resistance and adhesion properties. It was thought that the film at 298K was made with combination of Si-O. The quantity of film formed at high temperature such as 333K and 353K is smaller than dissolved quantity during chemical conversion treatment. Adding to the colloidal silica solution enhanced the adhesion force between the silica film and magnesium substrate, The optimum conditions for the chemical conversion treatment solution were PH 2.90 s treatment, and 298K


Background:Studies have linked intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) to postoperative infectious complications. Since IAH is a constant companion of obesity, it is logical to assume a causal connection between high incidences of wound infection in female obese patients to the level of postoperative intra-abdominal pressure (IAP).
Objective:The primary aim of the study was to determine if wound infection in obese primigravidas is related to intra- abdominal pressure (IAP) after caesarean section. Secondary objective was to determine the type of bacterial contamination in placenta, lochia and surgical site.
Materials and methods:Inclusion criteria were all primigravida women with term singleton pregnancy and delivery by caesarean section. A total of 313 patients were divided into four groups according to their BMI recorded before sixth week of pregnancy. Group I (n=90): BMI 18.5 - 24.9, Group II (n=137): BMI 25-29.9, Group III (n=49): BMI 30-39.9, Group IV (n=37) BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2.
Postoperatively incision site was evaluated for oedema, flushing, scar tenderness, hyperthermia, purulent discharge, and suture line disruption. Discharge was sent for cytology. The presence of seroma and hematomas (non-infectious complications) was assessed by ultrasound in uterovesical fold, subaponeurotic and epiaponeurotic layer done on post operative three, five and seven days. Bacteriological studies were carried out on amniotic fluid, placenta, lochia and wound discharge. IAP was assessed by UnometerTM Abdo-PressureTM (Unomedical). Difference in abdominal pressure (Δ IAP) from baseline at 12, 24 and 72 hours was calculated.
Results:Postoperative wound complications (including infectious and non-infectious) was seen in 56 (17.9 %) post caesarean patients. Epiaponeurotic seroma, subaponeurotic and epiaponeurotic hematoma, infected wound and bacterial contamination of postoperative wounds was statistically significant in obese patients (group III & group IV) compared to non obese group I (p < 0.05). The titer of cultured microorganisms increased with higher degree of obesity, but did not exceed 105 CFU/ml, cut off for infective wound. Postoperative IAP decreased with time in all groups. However IAP was statistically higher in Groups II, III and IV compared to Group I at all stages of the study.
Conclusion: In the present study, wound infection occurred in 9.9% obese female following caesarean section. Long- persisting IAH in the postoperative period is a significant risk factor for post caesarean wound infection.
Keywords: Obesity; C-section; Wound infection; Intra-abdominal pressure; Bacteriological test


It is general opinion that for a better understanding of the problems which historians would be facing along the 21st Century it is essential a serious survey of the works and opinions of those who dealt with them before us. History, as a science, has not been properly or methodological developed till recent years. Intellectuals or researchers without none or very poor historiographic background have been publishing books that they have tried to pass as faithful and reliable historical books. History has been often used to back up political or ideological opinions. It is not unusual that those authors paid little attention to the veracity of their statements among other reasons because they considered history as a literary gender where fables and fantasy were well received. But these approaches are superannuated today thanks to the efforts made by the Spanish universities on the field of historical research. This essay deals precisely with some of the cliches and myths of the Medieval Ages in the Basque Country


The latest message driven (LMD) greedy heaviest observed sub-tree (GHOST) consensus protocol is a critical component of proof-of-stake (PoS) Ethereum. In its current form, the protocol is brittle, as evidenced by recent attacks and patching attempts. We report on Goldfish, a considerably simplified candidate under consideration for a future Ethereum protocol upgrade. We prove that Goldfish satisfies the properties required of a drop-in replacement for LMD GHOST: Goldfish is secure in synchronous networks under dynamic participation, assuming a majority of the nodes (called validators) follows the protocol. Goldfish is reorg resilient (i.e., honestly produced blocks are guaranteed inclusion in the ledger) and supports fast confirmation (i.e., the expected confirmation latency is independent of the desired security level). We show that subsampling validators can improve the communication efficiency of Goldfish, and that Goldfish is composable with finality gadgets and accountability gadgets, which improves state-of-the-art ebb-and-flow protocols. Attacks on LMD GHOST exploit lack of coordination among honest validators, typically provided by a locking mechanism in classical BFT protocols. However, locking requires votes from a quorum of all participants and is not compatible with dynamic availability. Goldfish is powered by a novel coordination mechanism to synchronize the honest validators' actions under dynamic participation. Experiments with our implementation of Goldfish demonstrate the practicality of this mechanism for Ethereum.


Until Recently, Vietnamese Scholars agreed that the modern Vietnamese novel emerged in the North and that the first instances of the genre were Hoàng Ngọc Phách's Tố Tâm (Pure heart) and Nguyển Trọng Thuật's Qủa dủa đỏ (The red melon), both published in 1925. Now it is becoming generally accepted that the Vietnamese novel developed first in the South—in the French colony of Cochinchina, a region that stretched from the modern towns of Biên Hóa and Phan Thiết to Cà Mau, the southern tip of Vietnam. Trần Chánh Chiếu published Hoàng Tố Anh hàm oan (The unjust suffering of Hoàng Tố Anh) in 1910, the same year that another Southerner, Trủỏng Duy Toản (illustration 1), published Phan Yên ngoại s (An unofficial history of Phan Yên). Hồ Biểu Chánh (illustration 2), who was to become the most prolific southern novelist, published his first novel, Ai làmc (Who can do it?), in 1912.


Examining the dialogue of the 1858 drama reveals a great deal about the characterizations within the play and of the society in which the playwright lived. The various characters utilize language that often indicates or challenges both their placement within society and the hierarchy of color within the play. Textual analysis reveals that the house slave Cato, a character easily recognized for his sense of self-importance, is consistent in his use of malapropisms, which contrast starkly with the delusions of grandeur Cato possesses. In contrast, the dialogue of protagonists Glen and Melinda reads poetically. They use dialogue that seems lyrical, reminiscent of Shakespeare. Conversely, the slave owners speak in colloquial and unsophisticated terms, thus placing them lower on the spectrum than their slaves. This reading can be applied to each of the characters in the drama, effectively placing them on a social spectrum within the work, which does not mirror that of society at the time. Instead, the sympathetic protagonists appear morally and intellectually superior to their antagonists – the supporters of slave society – indicating that Brown uses the changes in vocabulary as a vehicle to indicate not only the character's social standing, but also their position on slavery.


Abstract A class of multi-band planar diplexer with sub-sets of frequency-contiguous transmission bands is reported. Such a radio frequency (RF) device is suitable for lightweight high-frequency receivers aimed at multi-band/multi-purpose mobile satellite communications systems. It consists of two channelizing filters, each of them being made up of the in-series cascade connection of replicas of a constituent multi-passband/multi-embedded-stopband filtering stage. This building filtering stage defines a multi-passband transfer function for each channel, in which each main transmission band is split into various sub-passbands by the multi-stopband part. In this manner, each split passband gives rise to several sub-passbands that are imbricated with their counterpart ones of the other channel. The theoretical RF operational principles of the proposed multi-band diplexer approach with sub-sets of imbricated passbands are detailed by means of a coupling–routing–diagram formalism. Besides, the generation of additional transmission zeros in each channelizing filter for higher-selectivity realizations by exploiting cross-coupling techniques into it is also detailed. Furthermore, for experimental demonstration purposes, a microstrip proof-of-concept prototype of second-order octo-band diplexer in the frequency range of 1.5–2.5 GHz that consists of two quad-band channelizing filters with pairs of imbricated passbands is developed and characterized.


A Ag-SiO2 film was prepared on a stainless steel surface using sol-gel method and soak-lifting method. The structure of the film was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, the hydrophilicity was characterized by measuring the contact angle, the corrosion resistance was determined in a 10% FeCl3 solution, and the adhesion properties and antibacterial performance were tested. It is shown that the antibacterial Ag-SiO2 film can be obtained on the stainless steel by sol-gel method. After oxidization for 10 min and five times dip-coating, as well as heat treatment, the film is firmly bonded with the stainless steel. The hydrophilicity and corrosion resistance of the film are improved, and the inhibitory rate to Staphylococcus aureus reaches up to 100%.


Since the initial description of the pivotal role of the pulmonary veins (PVs) in the initiation of atrial fibrillation (AF), significant strides have been made in the ablative treatment of AF.1 Recently, 5-year follow-up data on the outcome following PV isolation for the treatment of AF were reported.2 3 In patients with paroxysmal AF, arrhythmia recurrence was common following initial PV isolation but decreased to about 20% after a median of one (one to three) procedure.2 In a second study, success rate was lower in patients with long-standing persistent AF.3 In a systematic review, non-paroxysmal AF was an independent risk predictor for arrhythmia recurrence following first-time PV isolation.4

Several other factors have demonstrated predictive value in patients undergoing AF ablation. Left atrial (LA) size commonly serves as a surrogate marker for atrial remodelling and is easily and reproducibly measured using preprocedural echocardiography. LA diameter predicts first-time occurrence of AF as well …


Diabetes mellitus (hereinafter referred to as diabetes) is a serious health concern affecting the daily lives of many Americans in both clinical and financial aspects. Diabetes affects approximately 26 million people of all ages in the United States, and the total estimated medical costs of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. in 2012 exceeded $200 billion. To obtain better health outcomes, prevent complications, and reduce unnecessary costs, some health insurance plans encourage patients to enroll in diabetes management programs that monitor patient's health status more closely and assist in the adoption of healthy behaviors and habits. The aims of this study are to compare medication adherence rates and total healthcare cost among patients participating in a Diabetes Care Management Incentive Program offered by a commercial health insurer with usual care. This study was performed using a retrospective cohort study design; subjects were insurance plan members with diabetes using metformin-containing medications. Logistic regression analyses were performed to measure the degree of association between intervention status (i.e. participation in the diabetes incentive program) and adherence rates. The adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were reported as the measure of effect. For the total healthcare cost analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to evaluate differences between the median intervention and non-intervention cost values. Odds ratios for rates of achieving medication possession ratio (MPR) of 0.80 or greater among the intervention group as compared with the nonintervention groups were 0.966 (95% CI: 0.739 1.264) in the bivariate logistic regression model, 0.995 (95% CI: 0.755 -1.312) in the full logistic regression model, and 1.008 (95% CI: 0.765 1.328) in the fitted logistic regression model. Additionally, the mean annual total healthcare cost was $8,827.01 ($735.58 per month) in the intervention group and $10,096.53 ($841.38 per month) in the nonintervention group), yet the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.2327). Study results indicate that the medication adherence rates among patients using metformin-containing medications were similar between members who were enrolled in the diabetes management program and members who were not enrolled in the program. However, members participating in the program incurred approximately $2,200 less in annual total healthcare cost.


Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have attracted attention as a promising nano-filler material for reinforcement and anti-bacterial effect in polymers and composites. In this work bamboo samples, Dendrocalamus Giganteus Munro, were impregnated using a colloidal solution of homemade Ag-NPs with the goal of improving its resistance to attacks by fungi. X-ray microtomography (μCT) was performed to investigate the 3D distribution of Ag-NPs within the biological matrix. 3D image reconstruction showed silver clusters distributed within the parenchymatic tissue. Quantitative information of the Ag-NPs agglomerate population was computed. Ag-NPs were characterized by UV-VIS, SERS, ICP-MS, TSEM, DLS and zeta potential analysis. The antimicrobial activity of homemade and commercial citrate-capped silver nanoparticles was evaluated against the Aspergillus niger fungus. Homemade nanoparticles (NP-01), presenting the smallest diameter (14.3 ± 3.6 nm), and the highest particle concentration (1.25 × 1011 particles per mL) were able to inhibit 53% of Aspergillus niger growth in a concentration of 2.00 mg L−1. Both engineered biocomposite material and untreated specimens were exposed to air and humidity. After five months the treated samples were free of fungal colonies, while colonization by the fungal hyphae was present on untreated bamboo specimens.


The problem constituting by waste paper is enormous. How to dispose this waste is becoming worrisome and it's generated every day. Although waste paper is used for various other things, there are still abundant of it. Since both paper and sawdust are wood products, as sawdust is used for briquettes, paper also can be used. This is one of the ways of reducing the nuisance constitute by these wastes. Mixing waste paper with sawdust briquettes could lead to better briquette performance and cost-effectiveness making this fuel more attractive to both producers and consumers. This leads to the investigation of the effect of paper paste on the calorific value of solid briquettes. In this work briquettes were produced out of the mixtures of sawdust from Teak, Masonia, Iroko and Afara woods. This mixture of sawdust was sieved into three different grain seizes A (1.2 mm), B (1.15 mm) and C (0.75 mm). To these were added two grain seizes (1.18 mm and 1.70 mm) of palm kernel shell and paper pastes in various ratios. Sixteen samples were produced from each grain size of the sawdust; hence there are forty-eight different ratios of sawdust: palm kernel shell; paper paste. Five each of the samples were tested and average values recorded. The experimental results show that, as the percentage by weight of paper paste increases, both percentage fixed carbon and ash content reduce. Also both the volatile matters and the calorific values increase with increase percentage paper paste. However, it was noted that as the paper paste exceeded 25% there was a decrease in the calorific value. Hence for optimum performance and calorific value, the appropriate percentage paper paste should range between 20% and 25%.


Replication fork stalling is a common event during scheduled DNA synthesis. Cancer cells, including very early neoplastic lesions, often reveal high levels of replication-related DNA damage ("replication stress"), suggesting that defective processing of stalled forks is an early and near-ubiquitous process in cancer. A number of distinct protein complexes operate at the stalled fork to ensure its error-free processing and to minimize the risk of genomic instability. If the stalled fork response is dysregulated, this can lead to chromosome breakage, misrepair and chromosome rearrangement at the site of replication arrest. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that operate on the stalled fork in health and disease is critical to our understanding of genomic instability in cancer. The proteins that act at the stalled fork are also promising targets for cancer therapy, as suggested by the current testing of ATR and CHK1 inhibitors in clinical trials and by the use of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for therapy of homologous recombination (HR)-defective cancers. The HR pathway plays an essential role in preventing genomic instability at stalled forks. HR proteins both stabilize the stalled fork and mediate error-free repair of broken forks. Consistent with this, germ line mutation of HR genes can cause hereditary developmental disorders and hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes. A large number of these genes are now recognized, some of the most prominent being the hereditary breast/ovarian cancer predisposition genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, the Fanconi anemia (FA) genes and the Bloom9s syndrome gene (BLM). Much has been learned about HR from analysis of the repair of "generic" chromosomal double strand breaks (DSBs)—for example, those induced by the rare-cutting homing endonuclease I-SceI. However, until recently, there were no tractable tools for analyzing HR at a molecular level at stalled replication forks on a mammalian chromosome. We solved this longstanding problem by adapting the Escherichia coli Tus/Ter complex to induce site-specific replication fork stalling and chromosomal HR in mammalian cells, making this process accessible to quantitative molecular analysis (Willis et al. 2014). We found that the mechanisms that control HR at stalled forks differ from those operating on a generic DSB, especially with regard to aberrant HR responses. Specifically, in BRCA/HR-defective cells, the majority of HR products at Tus/Ter-stalled forks resolve via an error-prone HR pathway termed "long tract" gene conversion (LTGC). Surprisingly, Tus/Ter-induced LTGC frequencies are paradoxically increased in BRCA mutants in comparison to wild type cells—an effect that is not seen in response to a generic DSB. Long tract gene conversion has similarity to "break-induced replication" (BIR) in yeast and is a potential mediator of genomic instability. Thus, the stalled fork is uniquely vulnerable to BIR-type mechanisms of genomic instability. Our recent work is focused on a novel aberrant outcome of replication arrest: the non-homologous tandem duplication (TD). Nonhomologous TDs are frequent in some cancer genomes and may be significant mediators of gene dysregulation in cancer. We have identified BRCA1, acting in parallel with two replication fork helicases, FANCM and BLM, as a critical suppressor of nonhomologous TD formation at Tus/Ter-stalled forks. The Tus/Ter system may provide a useful model of TD formation in cancer. In this presentation, we will address progress in identifying the gene network that normally suppresses TDs at stalled replication forks. We will also discuss our efforts to determine the underlying mechanisms, including evidence of chromosome breakage at sites of replication arrest. Willis NA, Chandramouly G, Huang B, Kwok A, Follonier C, Deng C, Scully R. 2014. BRCA1 controls homologous recombination at Tus/Ter-stalled mammalian replication forks. Nature 510: 556-559. Citation Format: Ralph Scully, Nicholas A. Willis. Recombination functions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 at stalled replication forks. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr SY34-03.


Of interest to the research community dealing with real gas flows, this study analyzes the influence of the physical complexity of real gases on the amplitude of subgrid-scale (SGS) terms present in the filtered Navier–Stokes equations to be solved in large eddy simulations. The direct numerical simulation results of three academic configurations (homogeneous isotropic turbulence, mixing layer, and channel flow) are filtered from the largest scale in the domain down to the Kolmogorov length scale. The analysis of the filtered flow variables consistently shows that the SGS turbulent stress and the SGS pressure cannot be neglected in the momentum equation. In the total energy equation, SGS pressure work and SGS internal and kinetic fluxes are found to be significant in the inertial zone of the turbulent kinetic energy spectrum. Since in the inertial zone, which corresponds to large filter sizes, specific models have not yet been designed for some of these terms, this study calls for such a modeling effort that will benefit the real gas and organic Rankine cycles research communities.


Background: An assist-as-needed robot-assisted gait training protocol was recently developed. It allows active movement during training, but its exact criteria remain unknown. Asymmetric step length is a common abnormal gait pattern in hemiplegic stroke patients. We compared the effects of assist-as-needed robot-assisted gait training on the unaffected and affected limbs of hemiplegic stroke patients. Method: Twenty-four chronic stroke patients with asymmetric step lengths were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. Twelve completed the study protocol. Group 1 underwent 20 sessions of assist-as-needed robot-assisted gait training for the unaffected limb and fully-assisted robot-assisted training for the affected limb. Group 2 underwent 20 sessions of robot-assisted gait training using the opposite protocol. Clinical measurements were obtained and 3-dimensional gait analyses were performed at baseline and after 10 and 20 training sessions. Results: Clinical measurements improved in both groups after 20 training sessions. The unaffected limb's step length asymmetry ratio and hip maximal extension moment significantly improved in group 1. The affected limb's maximal dorsiflexion angle for the ankle in the swing phase significantly improved in group 2. Conclusion: Application of the assist-as-needed training mode for the unaffected limb helped improve step length asymmetry in chronic stroke patients.


Objectives Through-knee amputation is an umbrella term for several different surgical techniques, which may affect clinical and functional outcomes. This makes it hard to evaluate the benefits and need for a through-knee amputation approach. This article seeks to (1) determine the number of through-knee amputation performed compared with other major lower limb amputations in England over the past decade; (2) identify the theoretical concepts behind through-knee amputation surgical approaches and their potential effect on functional and clinical outcomes and (3) provide a platform for discussion and research on through-knee amputation and surgical outcomes. Methods National Health Service Hospital Episodes Statistics were used to obtain recent numbers of major lower limb amputations in England. EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched using a systematic approach with predefined criteria for relevant literature on through-knee amputation surgery. Results In the past decade, 4.6% of major lower limb amputations in England were through-knee amputations. Twenty-six articles presenting through-knee amputation surgical techniques met our criteria. These articles detailed three through-knee amputation surgical techniques: the classical approach, which keeps the femur intact and retains the patella; the Mazet technique, which shaves the femoral condyles into a box shape and the Gritti-Stokes technique, which divides the femur proximal to the level of the condyles and attaches the patella at the distal cut femur. Conclusions Through-knee amputation has persisted as a surgical approach over the past decade, with three core approaches identified. Studies reporting clinical, functional and biomechanical outcomes of through-knee amputation frequently fail to distinguish between the three distinct and differing approaches, making direct comparisons difficult. Future studies that compare through-knee amputation approaches to one another and to other amputation levels are needed.


Collections of images of ever growing sizes are becoming common. Structuring and browsing large image databases is a challenging problem. Access to images based on the 3D acquisition location or on the spatial overlap of the scenes they depict is intuitive and has high user acceptability. Commonly, the sets of relevant spatially related images are obtained using manual annotations. A method for discovering spatial overlaps using image content only via image retrieval techniques was proposed. The objective of the proposed approach is to provide a randomized data mining method for finding clusters of images with spatial overlap. Instead of trying to match each image, in turn, the method relies on the min- Hash algorithm for fast detection of random pairs of images with spatial overlap, the so-called cluster seeds. The seeds are then used as visual queries and clusters are obtained as transitive closures of sets of partially overlapping images that include the seed. This approach shows that the probability of finding a seed for an image cluster rapidly increases with the size of the cluster and approaches one fast. For practical database sizes, the running time of the seed generation process is close to linear in the size of the database. The cluster completion process requires a number of visual queries proportional to the number of images in all clusters. The proposed method discovers the spatially related images in large-scale image databases.


Thirteen species of megachiropteran bats were captured in primary forest at 830-1000 m on Negros Island in the central Phillippines; 1229 individuals were marked and released. Individuals of six species were recaptured, for an overall recapture rate of 13%. For these six species, mean movement distance ranged from 0.16 to 0.75 km. For the two species with larger sample sizes, HaplonycterisJischeri Lawrence and Ptenochirus jagori Peters, adult males moved only one-half as far as females or subadult males. For three species, Cynopterus brachyotis Muller, H.fischeri and P. jagori, minimum longevities in the wild of four or five years were documented. For the same species, estimates ofcombined subadult and adult annual survival were 60 to 80%. Density estimates for six species ranged from 0.2 to 3.7 individuals per hectare, with a cumulative density of about 10 bats per hectare. Considerable differences in proportional abundance were found between different subsamples of netted bats, but most of this variation could be accounted for by variation between habitats. Four species (Cynopterus brachyotis, Eonycteris spelaea Dobson, Macroglossus minimus Geoffroy, and Rousettus arnplexicaudatus Geoffroy) that were common in agricultural habitats distant from forest were strongly associated with clearings and rare in forest; three species (Harpyionycteris whiteheadi Thomas, Nyctimene rabori Heaney and Peterson, and Ptenochirusjagori) that were as common in clearings as in forest, or slightly more common in clearings, are absent from sites more than a kilometre from forest or forest patches, and appear to use clearings principally as flyways; and one species (Haplonycterisfischerr3 that was much more common in forest than in the adjacent clearings is elsewhere present only in or very near forest or in forest patches. Estimates of density of small subcanopy fruit bats that are derived from recapture data were found to be correlated with rank-order abundance in moderate (c. 100 fruit bats) net-samples in forest, and directly proportional to abundance of fruit bats in large (c. 300500) samples in forest. This indicates that large netting samples can provide meaningful estimates of relative abundance for these species.


A large and diverse miRNA superfamily targets mRNAs of disease resistance proteins and initiates phased secondary siRNA that target other mRNAs. Pathogen-encoded suppressor proteins interfere with this process; consequently, infection increases the level of mRNAs for disease resistance and other proteins. Analysis of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) small RNA data sets revealed the presence of a regulatory cascade affecting disease resistance. The initiators of the cascade are microRNA members of an unusually diverse superfamily in which miR482 and miR2118 are prominent members. Members of this superfamily are variable in sequence and abundance in different species, but all variants target the coding sequence for the P-loop motif in the mRNA sequences for disease resistance proteins with nucleotide binding site (NBS) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) motifs. We confirm, using transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, that miR482 targets mRNAs for NBS-LRR disease resistance proteins with coiled-coil domains at their N terminus. The targeting causes mRNA decay and production of secondary siRNAs in a manner that depends on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6. At least one of these secondary siRNAs targets other mRNAs of a defense-related protein. The miR482-mediated silencing cascade is suppressed in plants infected with viruses or bacteria so that expression of mRNAs with miR482 or secondary siRNA target sequences is increased. We propose that this process allows pathogen-inducible expression of NBS-LRR proteins and that it contributes to a novel layer of defense against pathogen attack.


We performed a prospective randomized double-blinded study to test preservative-free S(+)-ketamine alone or in combination with clonidine for intra- and postoperative caudal blockade in pediatric surgery over a 24-h period. Fifty-three children (1–72 mo) scheduled for inguinal hernia repair were caudally injected with either S(+)-ketamine 1 mg/kg alone (Group K) or with additional clonidine (Group C1 = 1 &mgr;g/kg; Group C2 = 2 &mgr;g/kg) during sevoflurane anesthesia via a laryngeal mask. Intraoperative monitoring included heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse oximetry; postoperative monitoring included a pain discomfort scale and a sedation score. No additional analgesic drugs were required during surgery. The mean duration of postoperative analgesia was 13.3 ± 9.2 h in Group K, 22.7 ± 3.5 h in Group C1, and 21.8 ± 5.2 h in Group C2 (P < 0.0001, Group K versus other groups). Groups C1 and C2 received significantly fewer analgesics in the postoperative period than Group K (15% and 18% vs 63%;P < 0.01). The three groups had similar postoperative sedation scores. We conclude that the combination of S(+)-ketamine 1 mg/kg with clonidine 1 or 2 &mgr;g/kg for caudal blockade in children provides excellent analgesia without side effects over a 24-h period.


Objective: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common type of secondary hypertension occurring in ∼10% of hypertensive patients. Up to 50% of PA is caused by aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA). This study is to identify the potential biological processes and canonical pathways involved with aldosterone regulation, APA formation, or APA and ZG cell functions. Design and Method: Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analyses were performed on genes differentially expressed in APAs when compared to ZG and on genes differentially expressed in ZG when compared to ZF. Comparisons were also made between KCNJ5 genotypes. Results: The most significantly enriched canonical pathway was 'NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response' in APA vs. ZG (P = 7.87 × 10−5). The main molecular and cell functions of the differentially expressed genes in APA vs. ZG included cell death and survival, cellular growth and proliferation, cellular movement, lipid metabolism and small molecule biochemistry. In ZG vs. ZF, the most significantly enriched canonical pathway of the up-regulated genes was 'Wnt/&bgr;-catenin signaling' (P = 2.13 × 10−5) and the most upstream regulating gene was TGFB1 (P = 3.80 × 10−14). The main molecular and cell functions of the differentially expressed genes in ZG vs. ZF included lipid metabolism, small molecule biochemistry, vitamin and mineral metabolism, cell death and survival and molecular transport. The canonical pathways enriched in both APA and ZG, were 'NRF2-mediated Oxidative Stress Response' and 'LPS/IL-1 Mediated Inhibition of RXR Function' (Figure 1). Comparing the genotypes of KCNJ5, two of the top three molecular and cell functions (cellular development, cell death and survival) associated with the differentially expressed genes in KCNJ5 mutant APAs vs. wild-type APAs, were also the top ones in KCNJ5 mutant ZF vs. wild-type ZF. Conclusions: We have identified potentially novel mechanisms for APA and ZG cell function that could provide insights into pathological and physiological aldosterone regulation and APA formation.


Robust estimation is an important problem in statistics which aims at providing a reasonable estimator when the data-generating distribution lies within an appropriately defined ball around an uncontaminated distribution. Although minimax rates of estimation have been established in recent years, many existing robust estimators with provably optimal convergence rates are also computationally intractable. In this paper, we study several estimation problems under a Wasserstein contamination model and present computationally tractable estimators motivated by generative adversarial networks (GANs). Specifically, we analyze the properties of Wasserstein GAN-based estimators for location estimation, covariance matrix estimation and linear regression and show that our proposed estimators are minimax optimal in many scenarios. Finally, we present numerical results which demonstrate the effectiveness of our estimators.


Objectives To design and construct a standardised tool to provide exposure information associated with commonly used asbestos products and their related tasks in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Methods Asbestos dust exposure measurements taken during workplace inspections in the 1970s and 1980s were collected and stored in an exposure database. Measurements were assigned to specific asbestos product and task groups and divided into two sampling periods 1970–1979 and 1980–1989. Results A total of 1578 asbestos air measurements collected from WorkCover and Dust Diseases Board company records were entered into a custom built exposure database. An asbestos-specific exposure matrix (ASTEM) was constructed in Microsoft Excel 2000, consisting of 3 axes incorporating 12 tasks, 8 asbestos products and the 2 time periods based on 872 individual measurements extracted from the exposure database. Each matrix cell contains the mean asbestos exposure levels measured in fibres/ml, 5th and 95th percentiles and number of data points in the set. Conclusion An ASTEM has been developed which provides exposure levels for different task/product combinations. When used in conjunction with a detailed occupational history, it will improve exposure estimates of a worker's cumulative asbestos exposure.


An analysis of the starting process of the disk drive spindle motor using the time stepping finite element method (FEM) is presented. The electromagnetic field is coupled with the stator circuit and motion equations and solved simultaneously at each time step. The model also includes control elements. By coupling the control loop features with the time stepping FEM model, the stator winding can be fed with the actual output voltages from the inverter, as in an actual system. The saturation effects, the eddy current effects, the harmonic effects, and the control nonlinearities are all taken into account in the system of equations. Torque, speed, and current with different set limits in the starting regime are investigated in this paper.


This article describes two synchronous motors with permanent magnets (PMSM). Both have the same housing and very similar output parameters. First is a classic, four poles construction with distributed winding and standard (like for asynchronous motors) stator's package. Second is a completely new and optimized design with concentrated winding. First part briefly describes current situation on a market of synchronous motors with rare earths magnets and also describes the way of design in each case. In the second part of the article details of both constructions as well as test results could be seen. At the end of the article conclusion is written which summaries two concepts.


Serum antibodies to parasite-specific and non-parasite antigens were evaluated  using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Out of the 470 sera collected, 409 were from residents of an onchocerciasis hyper-endemic area, 55 non-endemic and 6 European normal sera served as control. The patients' age, sex, skin  microfilaria densities, dermal and ocular clinical manifestations (colour of optic disc) have been well characterised. The study population had participated in a  placebocontrolled (n=191) trial of ivermectin (Mectizan®) treatment (n=218). The parasite antigens are phosphate buffered saline crude extract of adult worms of Onchocerca volvulus , a recombinant antigen (Ov1.9) and a monoclonal antibody purified antigen (Cam 1). The non-parasite antigens are deoxycholate citrate extract of optic nerve (nerve-DOC) and commercially available IgA, IgM and IgG were used to assay for rheumatoid factor (Rh-F) auto-antibodies. Generally, antibodies to parasite antigens in onchocerciasis patients were remarkably higher than control group (p 0.05) in antibodies to nerve-DOC and Rh-F in patients compared to control. Antibodies increased with increasing skin snip microfilaria load from 0.69±0.28 with 0mf/mg (n=54) as against 0.80±0.26 for those with 4-20mf/mg. Observed slight negative correlation in IgG antibody levels and severity of disc colour with mean OD values of 0.26±0.22 in those graded as having no optic nerve disease (OND) (disc 1, n=86) and 0.17±0.19 for those with severe changes (disc 3, n=49) was not statistically significant (P>0.05). An age dependent significant decrease (P<0.05) in antibodies were observed with 0.64±0.34 for 15-30yr old (n=48) compared to 0.48±0.35 for those 50yr (n=50) for PBS with a similar trend for IgG to Ov1.9 and Cam1. In conclusion, serum parasite-specific and non-parasite antibodies may not be responsible for the pathology of optic nerve disease. Onchocerciasis patients were apparently not at higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis than the control. Keywords : Onchocerciasis; Antibodies; Antigens; Immune responses; Ivermectin.


Abstract Premise The diversification of island flora has been widely studied. However, the role of environmental niches in insular radiation processes has been less investigated. We combined population genetic analyses with species distribution modelling to clarify the genetic relationships, diversification patterns, species niche requirements, and conservation of Thesium sect. Kunkeliella, a clade of rare hemiparasitic plants endemic to the Canaries. Methods We studied the three extant Thesium species and a new taxon from La Palma Island. We developed 12 microsatellites and performed population genetic analysis and studied the demographic history of the group. To evaluate the role of niche conservatism in the diversification of the group, we performed species distribution modelling (ESM) with four algorithms. Results All species presented moderate genetic diversity values for rare endemics. Thesium canariense (Gran Canaria) showed high differentiation, whereas T. subsucculentum, T. retamoides (Tenerife), and La Palma populations are closely related. The lineage may have undergone a recent diversification with colonization proceeding east to west, with T. canariense as sister to the others. We detected a climatic niche shift, as taxa showed different distributions across the temperature gradient. There is enough evidence to describe La Palma populations as a new species. Conclusions We characterized the evolutionary history of Thesium sect. Kunkeliella by integrating genetic and ecological assessments. Our results indicate that this clade has undergone a recent radiation process with niche differentiation among species. The results increase our knowledge about insular radiations and will inform the conservation management of the study species.


The stochastic Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert (LLG) equation coupled with the Maxwell equations (the so called stochastic MLLG system) describes the creation of domain walls and vortices (fundamental objects for the novel nanostructured magnetic memories). We first reformulate the stochastic LLG equation into an equation with time-differentiable solutions. We then propose a convergent θ-linear scheme to approximate the solutions of the reformulated system. As a consequence, we prove convergence of the approximate solutions, with no or minor conditions on time and space steps (depending on the value of θ). Hence, we prove the existence of weak martingale solutions of the stochastic MLLG system. Numerical results are presented to show applicability of the method.


Interleukin 13 receptor alpha1 (IL-13Rα1) binds to IL-13 and is required for IL-13 signaling. Although clearly expressed on non-immune cells, the presence and function of IL-13Rα1 on T cells is still controversial. Our laboratory generated IL-13Rα1-/- mice and studied the role of IL-13Rα1 in T cell function and allergic lung disease. As expected from prior studies, compared with identically treated wild type control mice, IL-13Rα1-/- mice challenged with the spores of Aspergillus niger failed to acquire an asthma-like phenotype, most likely due to the lack of IL-13 signaling in the lung. Surprisingly, we further discovered significantly fewer T helper type 2 (Th2) cells in the lung in IL-13Rα1-/- mice after spore challenge, suggesting that IL-13Rα1 may have a direct role in regulating Th2 cell function. To understand this phenomenon further, we used qRT-PCR to define the expression of IL-13Rα1 on distinct T helper effector subsets, finding IL-13Rα1 mRNA only expressed in differentiated Th2 cells. Further studies revealed that Th2 cell-intrinsic IL-13Rα1 is dispensable for Th2 cell linage commitment, but is required for Th2 cell homing to the lung using an adoptive T cell transfer system. Thus, although further studies are required, our findings suggest that IL-13Rα1 is selectively upregulated in Th2 cells and mediates Th2 cell homing to lung in allergic lung disease. These findings potentially reveal a novel mechanism by which IL-13 regulates allergic responses.


A study has been made of the viability of rat ovarian tissue after exposure to -79°C and to -190°C for varying times and in different media. The material so treated was grafted usually autoplastically, into spayed rats and its functional activity assessed by examination of vaginal cycles and by histological studies at intervals after grafting. Ovaries chopped in serum , cooled slowly to -79°C and left at that temperature for 1 h or for 9 days gave functional autografts, but not after exposure to -190°C. The incidence of takes and the functional activity of the grafts was greater when the ovarian tissue was suspended in serum or saline containing 15% glycerol and cooled either to -79 or to -190°C for 1 h. Such material deteriorated during 9 days at -79°C but not at -190°C. A delay of 2 h between thawing and grafting reduced the incidence of takes with ovarian tissue suspended in saline containing 15% glycerol and cooled to -190°C. Increasing the glycerol concentration in the medium to 25 % before freezing also decreased the proportion of takes and delayed the appearance of activity of the grafts. Material cooled rapidly did not give functional grafts. The histological appearances suggested that, during the processes of freezing and thawing, a proportion of ovarian cells were destroyed and that eggs in all stages of development were particularly sensitive. Immature ovarian tissue had a greater capacity for reformation of oocytes than had adult tissue, but in either case the capacity to reform oocytes was exhausted within one month, whereas lutein tissue continued to increase for several months.


Germination responses of seeds of three native plant species-Nemophila menziesii H. & A. ssp. menziesii, Layia platyglossa (F. & M.) Gray ssp. platyglossa, and Clarkia rubicunda (Lindl.) Lewis & Lewis ssp. rubicunda-were investigated at atmospheric CO2 levels of 0.03%, 0.07%, 0.14%, and 0.2 1% in controlled greenhouse experiments. Seeds were germinated in a 1:1 (vol/vol) mixture of vermiculite and sponge rock under natural conditions of daylengths and temperatures. Elevations in CO2 concentrations did not significantly affect the germination responses of any of the three species, but their patterns of germination differed. The data suggest that increasing CO2 concentrations such as those anticipated in the next century may not significantly affect germination of native plant species.