Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] is one of the most important oil crops. Genetic transformation techniques can provide new tools for soybean improvement. The production of transgenic soybean has been limited. This research integrated a modified soybean regeneration system into a transformation protocol to optimize the production of transgenic soybean. Soybean hypocotyls and cotyledonary nodes were cultured on Gamborg B5 medium containing thidiazuron (TDZ). TDZ at 0.16 pM was found superior to other concentrations for inducing multiple shoot formation. Explants isolated from seedlings germinated on medium containing 6 -benzyl-aminopurine (BAP) greater than 7 pM produced more multiple shoots than when on lower concentrations of BAP. Elongation of shoots was achieved on Gamborg B5 medium containing 0.36 pM BAP for hypocotyl-derived, or containing 0.58 mg/1 gibberellin acid (GA3) and 0.67 mg/1 indole3-butyric acid (IBA) for cotyledonary node-derived multiple shoots. Plant recovery was achieved on medium consisting of Gamborg B5 with 0.58 mg/1 GA3 , 0.67 mg/1 IBA, 2.0 % sucrose, and 7 g/I phytagar. Transgenic soybean plants were obtained with Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using glufosinate as a selective agent. Nodes with 1/3 cotyledons inoculated with Agrobacterium KYRTl and subjected to vacuum infiltration during inoculation and 4 mg/1 glufosinate in the selection medium, produced more glufosinateresistant multiple shoots than other treatments. The optimal duration of vacuum infiltration was 10 minutes at 508 mm Hg. A glufosinate concentration of 1 to 1.2 mg/1 was necessary to select transgenic shoots. Recovered plants were screened with a 0.3 ml/1 solution of Liberty herbicide. PCR and southern hybridization analysis confirmed x Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. transformation. Progeny tests using herbicide leaf painting assay, PCR, and RT-PCR analysis, indicated that the transgene was transmitted to and expressed in the next generation. The effects of additional copies of virE and virG genes in Agrobacterium and activation of vir genes with acetosyringone on plant transformation were also studied. A significant enhancement was observed when additional copies of virE and virG genes were included in the Agrobacterium for transformation of Arabidopsis but not for soybean. Activation of vir genes with acetosyringone (lOOpM) increased the glufosinate-resistant multiple shoot formation rate in soybean, and reduced the rate in Arabidopsis.


Background Tocilizumab (TCZ) is effective for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with inadequate responses to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists. However, it has not yet been established whether the type of failure that motivated the switch from TNF antagonists influences the retention of TCZ. Objectives The present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the retention of TCZ and the reason for discontinuation of previous TNF antagonists in RA patients. Methods This study included 181 RA patients who switched from TNF antagonists to TCZ therapy in Tsurumai Biologics Communication Registry (TBCR). The continuation rates and causes of discontinuation of TCZ were compared between two groups divided by the reasons for discontinuation of previous TNF antagonists (142 patients with inefficacy and 25 patients with adverse events). Results The continuation rate of TCZ after 2 years in patients with inefficacy (76.8%) was significantly higher compared with patients with adverse events (56.0%). At the rate of discontinuation of TCZ due to inefficacy, no significance was shown between the two groups (9.2% vs 4.0%). On the other hand, the rate of discontinuation of TCZ due to adverse events in patients with inefficacy was significantly lower than patients with adverse events (6.3% vs 36.0%). Conclusions RA patients who switched from TNF antagonists due to inefficacy to TCZ have high rates of continuation. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2299


Abstract Back ground Rotational atherectomy (RA) is used for plaque modification in patients with heavily calcified coronary lesions. Rotational atherectomy can induce significant bradycardia or atrioventricular block requiring for temporary pacemaker insertion. In this report, we present a case of trans-coronary pacing via a Rota wire to prevent bradycardia during RA in the proximal right coronary artery (RCA). Case summary A 72-year-old woman with a 1 month history of worsening effort angina was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography coronary angiography disclosed significant coronary stenosis with severe calcification in proximal RCA. Coronary angiography revealed significant coronary stenosis with severe calcification in the proximal RCA. Subsequently, percutaneous coronary artery intervention was performed under the guidance of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The pull-back IVUS showed a circumferential calcified lesion in the proximal RCA that was treated using RA, which induced significant bradycardia requiring temporary pacemaker insertion. Immediately, trans-coronary pacing was provided via a Rota wire placed in the far distal RCA; this was used for back-up pacing during RA. Rotational atherectomy was completed by safely modifying the calcified lesion. After successful debulking of the calcified lesion, we dilated with a balloon, and a drug-eluting stent was implanted at the proximal RCA. Final IVUS and angiography showed good stent apposition and expansion. We did not observe any serious intraprocedural complications. Discussion Rotational atherectomy is used for plaque modification in patients with heavily calcified coronary lesions. Rotational atherectomy can induce significant bradycardia or atrioventricular block requiring for temporary pacemaker insertion via the transvenous route. This method could be an effective method to prevent bradycardia during RA.


In recent years, some researchers are exploring many new sources of energy, such as biofuels. Biodiesel attracted the attention of various researchers as an alternative fuel because it is non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable as well as contributing the minimum amount of net greenhouse gases, such as CO2, SO2 and NO emissions into the atmosphere. The use of waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel reduced the raw material cost. The acid-catalyzed process using waste cooking oil proved to be technically feasible with less complexity than the alkali-catalyzed process using waste cooking oil, thereby making it a competitive alternative to commercial biodiesel production by the alkali-catalyzed process. The main objective of this study was to compare the process of making biodiesel. Esterification process would be compared with esterification followed by a trans-esterification process. The results showed that biodiesel was produced by esterification followed by trans-esterification process and esterification process , they have met SNI for parameters such as density, acid number, pH, cloud point and flash point, but the parameters of the viscosity and water content did not meet standards. Biodiesel using esterification followed by trans-esterification) was better than esterification process due to the yield produced higher (62.667%) than the esterification process (48%)


A number of health hazards are in welding processes. In this paper, the characteristics of fumes and some other hazardous agents in welding are reviewed. Fumes in welding are generated by complex mechanism like physical ejection of particles. oxidation-enhanced vaporization. vaporization-condensation-oxidation. and spatter contribution. Fume generation rates could be described as a power function in a given process. Most of fume constituents was originated from consumables rather than base metal. The mass distribution for the welding fumes is unimodal and very small to penetrate respiratory system. So. almost fractions of fumes are classified into the respirable particulate mass. Total chromium contents in FCAW were similar to those from SMAW whereas hexavalent chromium concentrations in fume were similar to those produced from MIG welding fume. Hexavalent chromium was mostly soluble which was similar to the characteristic solubility of fume hexavalent chromium from SMAW.


A 17-year-old male admitted to Rikshospitalet exhibited the triad of symptoms known as Meniere''s syndrome. Neuroradiological and audiological tests revealed (a) an abnormally large anastomosis between the left vertebral and occipital arteries which appeared to shunt blood away from the vertebral circulation, and (b) a hearing loss in the left ear consistent with cochlear pathology. Resection of the abnormal communicating vessel was followed by a gradual but remarkable improvement. The tinnitus ceased within 3 months; normal hearing was measured within 16 months, and the hearing has remained normal; attacks of vertigo have not been experienced during the 3 and ¾ years since the operation. There are reports of longstanding spontaneous remissions in patients exhibiting Meniere's syndrome. It is, therefore, on the basis of the longlasting postsurgical symptom-free period, not permitted to draw any definite conclusions as to the cause of the postsurgical improvement in our patient. All aspects of our case taken into consideration, a cause and effect relationship between the corrective surgical procedure and postsurgical improvement seems likely. Vascular disturbances should probably be sought more frequently in the Meniere syndrome than hitherto has been the case. This may especially apply to the younger patients.


This is the first palynological study of the Dubrajpur sediments exposed near the village Murgadangal within the Birbhum Coalfield of West Bengal. The grey shales and off-white sandy claystones have yielded characteristic palynomorph assemblages. At the base of the succession, which consist of coaly shales. The genus Densipollenites is prominent along with striate bisaccate pollen (Palynozone I). In the same assemblage, the first occurrence of Kremipollenites indicus, Arcuatipollenites pellucidus and Goubinispora indica, is significant. This suggests the end Permian level for the Barakar coal deposits. Subsequently, genus Callialasporites makes its first occurrence at the transition of Barakar and Dubrajpur formations and attains fair presentation in the up-section (Palynozone II) replacing Densipollenites. Definite occurrence of Callialasporites turbatus/dampieri in the presently investigated Dubrajpur strata along with Foraminisporis tribulosus, Klukisporites sp. suggest late Lower Jurassic age for Dubrajpur Formation, and the non-diversified palynomorph composition evidences shallow deposition for this outcrop section.


Taking the self-gravitation interaction and energy conservation, charge conservation and angular momentum conservation into account, we discuss the tunnelling characteristics of the charged particle from Sen black hole by the Hamilton–Jacobi method. The result shows that the tunnelling probability is related to the change of Bekenstein–Hawking entropy, and the actual radiation spectrum deviates from the pure thermal one, which is consistent with the result of Parikh and Wilczek and gives a new method to correct the Hawking pure thermal spectrum of Sen black hole.


This paper explores the impact of English language proficiency and country of origin on the occupational choice of high-skilled immigrants in the U.S. using the 2000 Census. The findings reveal that high-skilled immigrants with limited proficiency in English, or whose mother tongue is linguistically distant from English, are more likely to be in occupations in which English communication skills are not very important, such as computer and engineering occupations. Moreover, the degree of exposure to English prior to immigration is found to have little influence on selecting occupations in the U.S. The paper also shows that immigrants from some origins with little exposure to English and whose native language is far from English tend to be in some "speaking-intensive" occupations, in particular social services occupations. These occupations may not require workers to be fluent in English if they mostly provide services to immigrants from their same linguistic background.


To determine whether the bioavailability of trace elements derived from coal ash leachates varies with the geochemical conditions associated with their formation, we quantified periphyton bioaccumulation and subsequent trophic transfer to the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer. Oxic ash incubations favored periphyton uptake of arsenic, selenium, strontium, and manganese, whereas anoxic incubations favored periphyton uptake of uranium. Mayfly enrichment was strongest for selenium, whereas biodilution was observed for strontium, uranium, and arsenic. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2991–2996. © 2017 SETAC


Subsequent to sequencing projects new strategies are required for eff icient functional characterization of the identified genes. DNA array technology was proven to be a powerful tool by monitoring the transcriptional levels of all or a significant portion of genes of an organism simultaneously. Here, we present data obtained by spotting PCR products derived from yeast ORFs as high density arrays onto nylon or polypropylene membranes. Total RNA of yeast cells was then prepared, radioactively labeled and hybridized to such arrays. The signal intensity detected for each spot in the array is at least a semiquantitative measure of the expression level of the corresponding gene. Transcriptional profiles can be obtained comparing multiple conditions, like varying growth media or temperatures and different mutant strains. In order to compare these conditions, the hybridization signal intensities must be brought to roughly the same level ('normalization'). Systematic differences are corrected for by l inear regression. Changes in the expression levels of certain genes are detected by direct comparison to a control condition. Coexpressed genes, i.e. genes that show similar profiles across all conditions are found by clustering techniques. It is often assumed that these genes are functionally related. Correspondence analysis reveals under which of several conditions the transcriptional profi le of an organism will change signi ficantly, as well as the identity of the involved genes. 1 2 3 4


A great deal of effort is needed to construct software products in a predictable and repeatable manner. Having a precisely defined methodology in place can certainly help, especially if it includes the comprehensive specification of the process to be followed and the work products to be created. However, a convenient integration of these two aspects (process and work product) has not yet been performed. This paper presents a new approach to the definition of methodologies that supports the process and work product domains concurrently through the specification of discrete methodology elements. Some of these elements, called here templates, are designed to be instantiated during the use of the methodology in specific projects, while others, called resources, are intended to be used directly. Theoretical and practical implications of this division, especially regarding metamodelling and the use of powertypes, are explored. The proposed metamodelling approach is shown to facilitate the precise and complete specification of comprehensive methodologies, establishing the foundations for predictable and repeatable results from software development.


In this paper, a new soft handoff scheme for CDMA cellular systems is proposed and investigated. It is pointed out that some handoff calls unnecessarily occupy multiple channels with little contribution to the performance of handoffs in IS95/CDMA2000-based handoff schemes or systems. To alleviate performance degradation due to channel resource shortage during soft handoff, a new concept of channel convertible set (CCS), which contains several types of handoff calls that unnecessarily occupy extra channels by considering the relative mobility of the calls in the handoff area is introduced. A new scheme that reallocates those extra channels in the CCS to new handoff calls when there is no available free channel in the system is proposed. Furthermore, according to the variation of the CCS, the proposed scheme dynamically adjusts the number of guard channels reserved exclusively for handoff. Then, the feasibility and implementation issues of the proposed scheme are discussed. To evaluate and compare performance indexes of different soft handoff schemes, continuous-time Markov chain models are constructed. Automated generation and solution of the underlying Markov chains are facilitated by stochastic reward net models, which are specified and solved by stochastic Petri net package. Numerical results show that this scheme can significantly decrease both the number of dropped handoff calls and the number of blocked calls without degrading the quality of communication service and the soft handoff process


This paper shows how actuator coordination, based on control allocation, can be used in the motion control system for long articulated heavy vehicles. Usage of a control allocation structure is one way to handle an over-actuated system, which is a system where there are more motion actuators than controlled motions. The A-double combination is in focus for the control allocation design, which is based on vehicle modelling using the Lagrange formulation. The control structure is tested in a simulation environment and evaluated by two test scenarios. For the selected configuration with 31 actuators, the control allocation method coordinates the desired motion for both large and small steer and articulation angles. The proposed control structure is shown to be convenient when the vehicle configuration, for example the number of actuators in the combination, is changed.


The influence of isradipine (PN 200-110), a new dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, in comparison to nifedipine and placebo on hemodynamics and left ventricular function was investigated in patients with coronary artery disease (10 patients in each group). The drugs were infused intravenously within 30 min in a dosage which led to a comparable afterload reduction (nifedipine [N] 2 mg, isradipine [I] 0.5 mg, AOP mean decrease: N, 14.7%, I, 13.1%). Increase of cardiac output (N +12.5%, I +15%) and decrease of systemic vascular resistance (N -29.2%, I -25%) were equal in both groups. Nifedipine caused a significant reflex increase of heart rate (+9.2%, p less than 0.001), which was not present with isradipine. The consequence was a significant decrease of the rate-pressure product with isradipine only (-12.5%, p less than 0.001) and not with nifedipine. Although afterload reduction was equal in both groups, isradipine caused a more pronounced decrease of LV volumes (EDVI: N -10%, I -16%) and an increase of ejection fraction (N +8%, I +14%). A significant increase of dp/dtmax, as a result of the afterload reduction, occurred after isradipine only (+13.5%, p less than 0.001) with no changes of dp/dtmax after nifedipine. Since changes of parameters (preload, afterload, HR, LVSP), which influence dp/dtmax independent of the inotropic state, were equal in both groups, the increase of dp/dtmax after isradipine should be a result of less negative inotropic properties of isradipine compared to nifedipine.


The current research aims to diagnose organizational learning strategies at the University of Dhi Qar, and to achieve this, the organizational learning strategies variable was measured through five dimensions (strategic alliances, group learning, leadership strategy, technological learning, individual learning), as the research sample was represented by leaders. University (Dean, Associate Dean, Head of Department) and in the manner of the intentional sample from the research community (University of Dhi Qar), and the research included (14) colleges, and (100) university leaders were targeted. The researcher distributed (100) questionnaires to university leaders, where all the questionnaires were retrieved distributed, represented by (24) paragraphs, and supplemented them with personal interviews, university records, and field visits.


Effects of various food preparation on antioxidant content of two local edible seaweeds were analyzed. The green seaweed Cilulerpa lentillfera was blanched l0sec, made into raw and blanched salad and boiled 2min. The red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezzi was blanched lsee, made into blanched salad, boiled 2min and made pudding. Total carotenoid, total flavonoid and vitamin C was analyzed through spectrophotometry. Beta carotene, lutein, quercetin, kaemferol and catechin group was analyzed through HPLC. Results of the study revealed that boiling cause a significant (p<O.O5) increase In the total flavonoid, beta carotene and lutein in C lentillifera. However, boiling caused destruction of total carotenoid and vitamin C. For K. alvarezzl, blanched salad Increased total carotenoid and lutein. losses caused by boiling In some of the other compounds of C lentilltera was low. Similarly, losses caused by blanched salad in some of the other compounds in K. alvarezziwas also low. In view of this it could be conduded that, food preparation method can make the antioxidant compounds of the foods to be different from those raw ones.


In this paper we present a language, PEARL, for projecting annotations based on the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) over RDF triples. The language offer is twofold: first, a query mechanism, built upon (and extending) the basic FeaturePath notation of UIMA, allows for efficient access to the standard annotation format of UIMA based on feature structures. PEARL then provides a syntax for projecting the retrieved information onto an RDF Dataset, by using a combination of a SPARQL-like notation for matching pre-existing elements of the dataset and of meta-graph patterns, for storing new information into it. In this paper we present the basics of this language and how a PEARL document is structured, discuss a simple use-case and introduce a wider project about automatic acquisition of knowledge, in which PEARL plays a pivotal role.


Drawing on the data from the 7th Japanese National Fertility Survey held by the Institute of Population Problems, JMHW, in 1977, multiple classification analysis (MCA) was done for the number of children ever born (NCEB) of currently married women to identify social determinants of marital fertility in contemporary Japan. These are the major findings. 1) Among all of the explanatory variables included in the MCA model, spouses' age at marriage has the largest explanatory power. The proportion of the total variance of NCEB explained by social variables is relatively small. 2) Although wife's work before marriage did not have any significant relation to NCEB, wife's work during the early reproductive years has the largest negative effect on NCEB among social variables. This relationship holds even after controlling for fecundity status. 3) Variables such as wife's education, nature of place of residence, and husband's occupation have a small but systematic effect on NCEB even after MCA adjustment. Higher education, urban place of residence, and husband's status as an employee are associated with lower NCEB. 4) Among such variables relevant to the family system as type of marriage, spouses' number of siblings, and birth order, and locality type, only locality type is significantly associated with NCEB. Married couples who cohabit with their parents at marriage have higher fertility than those who do not. 5) Wife's sex role norms and type of conjugal relationship role have been regarded as an important determinant of fertility. This does not hold true for Japan; a highly segregated role relationship between husband and wife coexists with low fertility. (author's modified)


We present a case study of how topology can affect synchronization. Specifically, we consider arrays of phase oscillators coupled in a ring or a chain topology. Each ring is perfectly matched to a chain with the same initial conditions and the same random natural frequencies. The only difference is their boundary conditions: periodic for a ring and open for a chain. For both topologies, stable phase-locked states exist if and only if the spread or "width" of the natural frequencies is smaller than a critical value called the locking threshold (which depends on the boundary conditions and the particular realization of the frequencies). The central question is whether a ring synchronizes more readily than a chain. We show that it usually does, but not always. Rigorous bounds are derived for the ratio between the locking thresholds of a ring and its matched chain, for a variant of the Kuramoto model that also includes a wider family of models.


We discuss price variations distributions in foreign exchange markets, characterizing them both in calendar and business time frameworks. The price dynamics is found to be the result of two distinct processes, a multi-variance diffusion and an error process. The presence of the latter, which dominates at short time scales, leads to indeterminacy principle in finance. Furthermore, dynamics does not allow for a scheme based on independent probability distributions, since volatility exhibits a strong correlation even at the shortest time scales.


Abstract The fact that students' target language needs (TLN) analysis is conducted for the benefits of the students is obvious. However, in the tertiary level context the TLN analysis is usually neglected and replaced with the use of the ready-made curricula (e.g. corresponding to the content of the course books used or syllabi of the examinations taken at the end of the course). The question which inspired the research undertaken for this paper was whether, and if so how, the very fact of conducting the TLN analysis affects teachers' professional development. Namely, whether teachers choose to develop professionally in order to cater for the target, entry level job-related requirements, which may significantly increase students' employability. Very often that means incorporating extracurricular content and skills into the course syllabus which originally have not been compulsory. Moreover, it may require teachers themselves gaining new knowledge and skills; it may induce professional development. The paper will draw on interviews conducted among legal English teachers running classes at universities and will research their perception of TLN. It will address the questions how the teachers gain knowledge about their students' target needs, what they understand by target needs, whether they try to satisfy the target needs which go beyond the studies curriculum and how they as language teachers benefit professionally from that.


A relativistic many-body theory for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of paramagnetic atoms arising from the electric dipole moment of the electron is presented and implemented. The relativistic coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations (RCCSD) using the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian and a weak parity and time reversal violating interaction to the first-order of perturbation has been employed to obtain the EDM enhancement factor for the ground state of the Fr atom due to the intrinsic EDM of the electron. The trends of different correlation effects and the leading contributions from different physical states are discussed. Our results in combination with that of the Fr EDM experiment that is currently in progress possess the potential to probe the validity of the standard model (SM) of elementary particle physics.


sailles (near Paris) from September 16 to 18, 1968, under AICA sponsorship. Claude Caillet, the symposium organizer, has done a really fine job in obtaining the participation of a remarkable spectrum (geographic as well as technical) of authors. A total of some 35 papers on analog/ hybrid simulation in the nuclear field will be presented. The main general topics to be covered are: Simulation of nuclear reactors and power plants Simulation of heat exchangers and boilers Simulation of plasmas, accelerators and fields General problems related to simulation in the nuclear industry Papers from France, United States, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Israel, Holland, Poland, and Argentina will be included. It is expected that on the order of 500 delegates from all over the world will attend. Registration as well as travel and accommodation arrangements may be made by contacting any of the Cook Travel Agency offices, or by writing to:


Abstract:The present study composed a diesel-atkinson cycle of high expansion as a method of achieving high efficiency in diesel cycle engines. It also interpreted the cycle engine thermodynamically analysis to determine the possibility of the improvement of thermal efficiency and clarified the characteristics of several factors. According to the result of theoretical analysis, heat efficiency was highest when expansion-compression ratio R ec = 1. In addition, diesel engines with high apparent compression ratio had higher expansion-compression ratio than otto engines and consequently, their effect of high expansion was high, which in turn enhanced thermal efficiency. When the atkinson cycle was implemented in a real diesel engine by applying the miller cycle through the variation of the closing time of the intake valve, the effective compression ratio and the quantity of intake air decreased and as a result, the effect of high expansion was not observed. Accordingly, the atkinson cycle can be implemented when the quantity of intake air is compensated by supercharge and the effective compression ratio is maintained at its initial level through the reduction of the clearance volume. In this case, heat efficiency increased by 4.1% at the same expansion-compression ratio when the apparent compression ratio was 20 and the fuel cut off ratio was 2. As explained above, when the atkinson cycle was used for diesel cycle, heat efficiency was improved. In order to realize high expansion through retarding the intake value closing time, the engine needs to be equipped with variable valve timing equipment, variable compression ratio equipment and supercharged pressure equipment. Then a diesel-atkinson cycle engine is realized.


Dirac matrices, also known as gamma matrices, are defined only up to a similarity transformation. Usually, some explicit representation of these matrices is assumed in order to deal with them. In this article, we show how it is possible to proceed without any such assumption. Various important identities involving Dirac matrices and spinors have been derived without assuming any representation at any stage.


The proteolytic activity of human plasmin (hPm) is utilized by various cells to provide a surface protease that increases the potential of cells to migrate and disseminate. Skin-trophic Pattern D strains of Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS), e.g., GAS isolate AP53, contain a surface M-protein (PAM) that directly and strongly interacts (Kd ~ 1 nM) with human host plasminogen (hPg), after which it is activated to hPm by a specific coinherited bacterial activator, streptokinase (SK2b), or by host activators. Another ubiquitous class of hPg binding proteins on GAS cells includes "moonlighting" proteins, such as the glycolytic enzyme, enolase (Sen). However, the importance of Sen in hPg acquisition, especially when PAM is present, has not been fully developed. Sen forms a complex with hPg on different surfaces, but not in solution. Isogenic AP53 cells with a targeted deletion of PAM do not bind hPg, but the surface expression of Sen is also greatly diminished upon deletion of the PAM gene, thus confounding this approach for defining the role of Sen. However, cells with point deletions in PAM that negate hPg binding, but fully express PAM and Sen, show that hPg binds weakly to Sen on GAS cells. Despite this, Sen does not stimulate hPg activation by SK2b, but does stimulate tissue-type plasminogen activator-catalyzed activation of hPg. These data demonstrate that PAM plays the dominant role as a functional hPg receptor in GAS cells that also contain surface enolase.


Energy has become a first-class design constraint in computer systems. Memory is a significant contributor to total system power. This paper introduces Flikker, an application-level technique to reduce refresh power in DRAM memories. Flikker enables developers to specify critical and non-critical data in programs and the runtime system allocates this data in separate parts of memory. The portion of memory containing critical data is refreshed at the regular refresh-rate, while the portion containing non-critical data is refreshed at substantially lower rates. This partitioning saves energy at the cost of a modest increase in data corruption in the non-critical data. Flikker thus exposes and leverages an interesting trade-off between energy consumption and hardware correctness. We show that many applications are naturally tolerant to errors in the non-critical data, and in the vast majority of cases, the errors have little or no impact on the application's final outcome. We also find that Flikker can save between 20-25% of the power consumed by the memory sub-system in a mobile device, with negligible impact on application performance. Flikker is implemented almost entirely in software, and requires only modest changes to the hardware.


This article examines the impact of organizational and absorptive capacities and networking on the performance of Argentine software and IT services firms, within an evolutionary theoretical framework. The models estimated show that innovation outcomes depend on quality management, the existence of research and development (R&D) staff and on occupying intermediate positions in the network architecture. Firms' economic performance cannot be assessed using a single set of indicators: whereas productivity is explained by the qualifications of human resources and employment growth by R&D personnel, export probability is associated with obtaining certifications, adopting agile methodologies and occupying intermediate positions in the network architecture. The heterogeneity of business models suggests that it is not possible to establish a single type of relationship between innovation and performance for all firms in the industry.


Oligonucleotide-templated reactions (OTRs) between two reactive hybridization probes allow for the detection of a DNA or RNA of interest by exploiting the target molecule as a catalyst of chemical reactions.
The product of such a reaction commonly exhibits distinct fluorescence properties and can be detected by the means of fluorescence spectroscopy. The vast majority of OTR systems utilize organic dyes as fluorescent reporters. However, the use of brighter emitters, such as semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), has potential to improve the sensitivity of detection by providing brighter signals and permitting the use of probes at very low concentrations. Here we report an RNA-templated reaction between two fluorescently labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based probes, which proceeds on the surface of a QD. The QD-Bound PNA probe bears a cysteine functionality, while the other PNA is functionalized with an organic dye as a thioester. OTR between these probes proceeds through a transfer of the organic dye to the QD and can be conveniently monitored via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the QD to the Cy5. The reaction was performed in a conventional fluorescence microplate reader and permits the detection of RNA in the picomolar range.


This study photo-etches micropatterns on mold inserts and manufactures a light guide plate with microstructures using microinjection molding. The single parameter method is used to investigate flatness and replication with different process parameters for microinjection molding. Mold temperature is the most important factor for plate flatness and microstructure replication of a light guide plate fabricated by microinjection molding. Low mold temperature increases the flatness of light guide plates, whereas a high mold temperature improves height replication of the microstructure of light guide plates. Optimal mold temperature to maintain flatness and increase microstructure replication of light guide plates is 60°C. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


One of the main challenges in Computational Biology is to find the evolutionary distance between two organisms. In the field of comparative genomics, one way to estimate such distance is to find a minimum cost sequence of rearrangements (large scale mutations) needed to transform one genome into another, which is called the rearrangement distance. In the past decades, these problems were studied considering many types of rearrangements (such as reversals, transpositions, transreversals, and revrevs) and considering the same weight for all rearrangements, or different weights depending on the types of rearrangements. The complexity of the problems involving reversals, transpositions, and both rearrangements is known, even though the hardness proof for the problem combining reversals and transpositions was recently given. In this paper, we enhance the knowledge for these problems by proving that models involving transpositions alongside reversals, transreversals, and revrevs are NP-hard, considering weights w1 for reversals and w2 for the other rearrangements such that w2/w1 ≤ 1.5. In addition, we address a cost function related to the number of fragmentations caused by a rearrangement, proving that the problem of finding a minimum cost sorting sequence, considering the fragmentation cost function with some restrictions, is NP-hard for transpositions and the combination of reversals and transpositions.


Introduction: Epilepsy affects seventy million people worldwide. India accounts for 10%–20% (5–10 million) of the global burden of epilepsy. The prevalence of dental caries is significantly higher in epileptic children. Antiepileptic pediatric liquid medicaments (PLMs) are commonly prescribed and are easily accepted by children. However, these drugs can place children at risk for dental caries and dental erosion, when used on a regular basis and over a long period. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the cariogenic and erosive potential of pediatric anti-epileptic LMs. Material and Methods: Ten pediatric antiepileptic LMs which are most commonly used in children for a prolonged period were obtained from local pharmacies after consulting pediatricians of Bengaluru city. Physicochemical analysis for endogenous pH, viscosity, and sugar content of these antiepileptic PLMs was done. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software. One-way ANOVA, post hoc test, and t-test were used for the statistical analysis. Results: Most of the antiepileptic PLMs analyzed showed low pH, high viscosity, and higher total sugar content. Statistically significant differences (P = 0.001) were found among the PLMs in terms of pH, viscosity, and sugar content. Conclusions: Most of the antiepileptic PLMs showed cariogenic and erosive potential. Thus, the study highlights the need to reformulate the antiepileptic PLMs with sugar substitutes or making it sugar free.


We investigate the ability of a platform to design its marketplace to promote competition, improve consumer surplus, and increase its own payoff. We consider demand‐steering rules that reward firms that cut prices with additional exposure to consumers. We examine the impact of these rules both in theory and by using simulations with artificial intelligence pricing algorithms (specifically Q‐learning algorithms, which are commonly used in computer science). Our theoretical results indicate that these policies (which require little information to implement) can have strongly beneficial effects, even when sellers are infinitely patient and seek to collude. Similarly, our simulations suggest that platform design can benefit consumers and the platform, but that achieving these gains may require policies that condition on past behavior and treat sellers in a nonneutral fashion. These more sophisticated policies disrupt the ability of algorithms to rotate demand and split industry profits, leading to low prices.


This paper provides a methodology for addressing contradictions in the ranking of suppliers when more than one metric functions are adopted in intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) for supplier selection. Our literature search revealed contradictions when more than one metric functions are adopted in the method. Two types of contradictions were addressed: (i) contradiction of the best supplier, and (ii) contradiction at the middle of the park. Decision rules algorithms were developed to address the problems.Worked examples were given to illustrate the rules for resolving the contradiction. A major thrust of this paper is the adoption of odd number of metric functions with the use of the ballot strategy. This paper used three metric functions which are Spherical, Euclidean and Hamming metric fuctions. In case of contradiction, the alternatve that gives majority of same rank with respect to the metric fuctions is selected.


The binding of colloidal iron hydroxide (CI) and ruthenium red (RR) to the plasma membrane of frog ependymal astrocytes was examined by electron microscopy. Positively charged CI and RR bind to the external surface of the plasma membrane of all parts of the ependymal astrocyte. Prior treatment with neuraminidase markedly reduces the number of bound CI particles, suggesting that the sialic acid of carbohydrates associated with the cell surface is responsible for much of the CI binding. Comparable observations were made on mouse ependymal cells. These findings indicate that an anionic, carbohydrate‐rich cell coat occurs on the plasma membrane of amphibian ependymal astrocytes and mammalian ependymal cells. This cell coat may be related to transport, barrier, or receptive functions of ependymal cells.


X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of Ti in crystals of Ti metal, TiC, TiN and TiO2 rutile are calculated in EXAFS and XANES regions. Single, double and triple photoelectron scattering processes are included through the spherical-wave formalism and the crystalline muffin-tin (MT) potential model, which employs a Hartree-Fock exchange interaction between photoelectron and core electrons inside MT spheres. Overall agreement of the theoretical and experimental spectra is obtained on the absolute photon energy scale. This result enables one to treat the experimental XAFS without using adjustable parameter E0. The neutral-atoms approximation is shown to be adequate for the phase-shift calculations in XAS theory for both metals and insulators. A comparison of Ti K XAFS of Ti metal calculated by means of various exchange-correlation potentials for the photoelectrons inside MT spheres is carried out. The best results are shown to be provided by Hartree-Fock and Dirac-Hara exchange potentials.


Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is an important material in low-cost thin film solar cells and is also a promising candidate for lithium storage. In this work, a novel three-dimensional CZTS film coated with a lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) film is fabricated for the first time and is applied to thin-film lithium-ion batteries. The modified film exhibits an excellent performance of ∼900 mAh g(-1) (450 μAh cm(-2) μm(-1)), even after 75 cycles. Morphology integrity is still maintained after repeated lithiation/delithiation, and the main reaction mechanism is analyzed in detail. The significant findings from this study indicate the striking advantages of modifying both the surface and structure of alloy-based electrodes for energy storage.


Large cohort studies are commonly launched to study risk of genetic variants or other risk factors on age at onset (AAO) of a chronic disorder. In these studies, family history data including AAO of disease in family members are collected to provide additional information and can be used to improve efficiency. Statistical analysis of these data is challenging due to missing genotypes in family members and the heterogeneous dependence attributed to both shared genetic back-ground and shared environmental factors (e.g., life style). In this paper, we propose a class of semiparametric transformation models with multilevel random effects to tackle these challenges. The proposed models include both proportional hazards model and proportional odds model as special cases. The multilevel random effects contain individual-specific random effects including kinship correlation structure dependent on the family pedigree, and a shared random effect to account for unobserved environment exposure. We use nonparametric maximum likelihood approach for inference and propose an expectation-maximization algorithm for computation in the presence of missing genotypes among family members. The obtained estimators are shown to be consistent, asymptotically normal, and semiparametrically efficient. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed method performs well with finite sample sizes. Finally, the proposed method is applied to study genetic risks in an Alzheimer's disease study.


Background: Several molecular markers have been detected that are important in clinical aspect of malignancies especially in breast cancer. More recently, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the most potent endothelial cell mitogen and also a regulator of vascular permeability, is emerging as a prognostic marker in patients with several types of cancer including breast cancer. This study assessed the expression of VEGF in a series of breast cancers in correlation with HER-2/neu and steroid receptors (ER and PR) in standard clinicopathological parameters in an attempt to clarify its potential clinical importance in Iraqi females of Middle Euphrates area. Findings: The present investigation was performed over a period starting from September 2011 through September 2012. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks from 52 patients with breast cancer (44 ductal and 8 lobular carcinoma) were included in this study. A group of 20 patients with fibroadenoma was included as a comparative group, and 20 samples of normal breast tissue sections were used as controls. Labeled streptavidin-biotin (LSAB+) complex method was employed for immunohistochemical detection of VEGF, HER-2/neu, ER and PR. The detection rate of VEGF, HER-2/neu, ER and PR was 59.62%, 36.96%, 34.62% and 36.54% respectively. There was a significant difference in immunoexpression between ductal and lobular carcinoma, but not significantly different among tumor sizes, tumor grades, axillary lymph node involvement and age of the patients. However, VEGF was positively correlated with tumor grade, tumor size, nodal involvement and HER-2/neu, but negatively correlated with ER and PR, which show the most unfavorable biopathological profile. Conclusion: VEGF overexpression play an important role in pathogenesis of breast carcinoma evolution, as its positivity associated with biologically aggressive tumors, so incorporation of this biomarker with other parameters into a prognostic index will more accurately predict clinical outcome and determine the effects of anti cancer therapy.


In a sample of 277 teacher candidates who completed a 15-item teacher disposition survey, 12 teacher candidates faced considerable challenges during their student teaching practicum. The objective of this study was to predict such challenging experiences from the participants' self-perceived dispositions to teach. The group that faced challenges had a 15-item total disposition score that was significantly lower than their counterpart that did not face challenges. Utilizing CART data mining analyses, the challenges were best predicted by lower scores on Item 6 "Collaborating with my Master teacher and University Supervisor will help me become a better teacher." The results from this study hold important implications for the teacher education community in relation to curriculum development and the student teaching practicum.


Abstract Personal 48-hr exposures of 15 randomly selected participants as well as microenvironment concentrations in each participant's residence and workplace were measured for 16 carbonyl compounds during summer–fall 1997 as a part of the Air Pollution Exposure Distributions within Adult Urban Populations in Europe (EXPOLIS) study in Helsinki, Finland. When formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were excluded, geometric mean ambient air concentrations outside each participant's residence were less than 1 ppb for all target compounds. Geometric mean residential indoor concentrations of carbonyls were systematically higher than geometric mean personal exposures and indoor workplace concentrations. Additionally, residential indoor/outdoor ratios indicated substantial indoor sources for most target compounds. Carbonyls in residential indoor air correlated significantly, suggesting similar mechanisms of entry into indoor environments. Overall, this study demonstrated the important role of non-traffic-related emissions in the personal exposures of participants in Helsinki and that comprehensive apportionment of population risk to air toxics should include exposure concentrations derived from product emissions and chemical formation in indoor air.


The article addresses Jürgen Habermas' theory of communicative action, which offers very productive tools for analysing disability. The Habermasian division of social reality helps examine positive and negative effects of tensions between the lifeworld of a person with disability and the system. By exploring such an individual's communicative action, one can obtain an insight into his/her validity claims and disruptions in the communication process and self-understandings inscribed in group narratives. The study reported in the article used in-depth interviews, which narratively reveal the experiences of a person with disability in family, education, sports and labour. The key findings are, first, that the rationalization of lifeworlds of people with disability increases while processes in which they are colonized by the system intensify; second, that education and family are significant factors in the raising of validity claims; and third, that validity claims as tools of verbal communication should be augmented with arguments from non-verbal language (e.g. gesture, empathy).


Electric current and electrical potential is an abstract topic that students find great difficulty in understanding. This paper presents a teaching strategy aimed at facilitating the learner in developing a useful mechanistic mental model of the nature of simple electric circuits. The model is not at the highest level required of a graduate physicist but should be appropriate to students reaching a good secondary education level.


In this study, an anisotropic viscoelastic-viscoplastic macro-mechanical model is presented for short-fiber reinforced thermoplastics (SFRT). In injection molding of SFRT, the fiber orientation is influenced by the flow velocity profile which varies through- out the mold. The flow-induced orientation in the microstructure leads to anisotropy in the mechanical response. In addition to the mechanical anisotropy, SFRTs show time dependent behavior because of the thermoplastic matrix. The developed model captures the effects of both material orientation and loading rate on the yield behavior. In this study, uniaxial tests are performed at different strain rates and material orientations with samples cut from injection molded plaques. The experimental results show that the effects of loading rate and material orientation on the yield are decoupled. The presented model takes advantage of this observation to simplify material characterization. An implicit integration scheme is used for the numerical implementation of the model as a UMAT in ABAQUS. Multiple relaxation times are used in order to capture the nonlinear pre-yield regime. An efficient method for obtaining the model parameters for different modes is proposed. Experimental results are used for validation of the model and a good agreement is observed for the prediction of viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior.


We propose a language modeling and adaptation framework using Bayesian structural maximum a posteriori (SMAP) principle, in which each n-gram event is embedded in a branch of a tree structure. The nodes in the first layer of this tree structure represent the unigrams, and those in the second layer represent the bigrams, and so on. Each node in the tree structure has an associated hyper-parameter representing the information about the prior distribution, and a count representing the number of times the word sequence occurs in the domain-specific data. In general, the hyper-parameters depend on the observation frequency of not only the node event but also its parent node of lower order n-gram event. Our automatic speech recognition experiments using the Wall Street Journal corpus verify that the proposed SMAP language model adaptation achieves a 5.6% relative improvement over maximum likelihood language models obtained with the same training and adaptation data sets.


In addition to minimizing graft site morbidity, providing stable fixation, and enabling early progressive rehabilitation, the ideal PCL reconstruction would closely simulate natural ligament function. This study retrospectively examined the 2-year postoperative outcomes of 19 athletically active patients referred with clinically symptomatic PCL-deficient knees. Preoperatively 18 patients had severely abnormal knee ligament examination scores, and one had an abnormal score (IKDC). All but one patient was confirmed negative for observable posterolateral corner injury via MRI. Eighteen patients had clinical evidence of posterolateral instability. All patients underwent double-bundle PCL reconstruction (using allograft tissue) without concomitant posterolateral corner reconstruction. Two years after surgery 100% of patients had normal ( n=18) or near normal ( n=1) passive knee joint motion. The results were: one-leg hop test, 58% normal, 37% nearly normal, 5% abnormal; knee ligament examination, 47% normal, 42% nearly normal, 5% abnormal, 5% severely abnormal; knee arthrometry, 2.4+/-2 mm posterior tibial displacement; IKDC subjective assessment section, 47% normal, 42% nearly normal, 5% abnormal, 5% severely abnormal; IKDC symptom-activity level section, 47% normal, 42% nearly normal, 5% abnormal, 5% severely abnormal; final knee ligament evaluation, 47% normal, 42% nearly normal, 5% abnormal, 5% severely abnormal; Lysholm knee scoring scale, 63% excellent, 27% good, 5% fair and 5% poor. Improved stability with clinical ligamentous laxity tests and good IKDC subjective and symptom-activity results 2 years after surgery suggest that for patients with PCL rupture and grade I or II posterolateral instability the double-bundle procedure alone sufficiently restores PCL function through a greater range of knee motion than traditional single-bundle techniques.


Although the Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems have been rapidly developed to protect copyrights, they have not considered user privacy because they regard this as an unnecessary element in achieving their goals. However, the protection of user privacy becomes one of the most important issues in DRM systems as the number of people who suffer from accidents caused by the infringement of individual information dramatically increases. This paper suggests a license management protocol which is a more powerful protocol to protect individual information in DRM. To protect the exposure of information of user identification, the proposed protocol uses alias like a TID and a token instead of the identity of content users. Due to using alias, this protocol can guarantee the anonymity of content users. Also, it can prevent the leakage of individual information through encryption of usage information. In this way, it can protect the privacy of content users.


High-rate wireless personal area network (HR-WPAN) has been standardized by the IEEE 802.15.3 task group (TG). To support multimedia services, the IEEE 802.15.3 TG adopts a time-slotted medium access control (MAC) protocol controlled by a central device. In the time division multiple access (TDMA)-based wireless packet networks, the packet scheduling algorithm plays a key role in quality of service (QoS) provisioning for multimedia services. In this paper, we propose an adaptive cross-layer packet scheduling method for the TDMA-based HR-WPAN. Physical channel conditions, MAC protocol, link layer status, random traffic arrival, and QoS requirement are taken into consideration by the proposed packet scheduling method. Performance evaluations are carried out through extensive simulations and significant performance enhancements are observed. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed scheme remains stable regardless of the variable system parameters such as the number of devices (DEVs) and delay bound.


Arctic and alpine aquatic ecosystems are changing rapidly under recent global warming, threatening water resources by diminishing trophic status and changing biotic composition. Macrophytes play a key role in the ecology of freshwaters and we need to improve our understanding of long‐term macrophytes diversity and environmental change so far limited by the sporadic presence of macrofossils in sediments. In our study, we applied metabarcoding using the trnL P6 loop marker to retrieve macrophyte richness and composition from 179 surface‐sediment samples from arctic Siberian and alpine Chinese lakes and three representative lake cores. The surface‐sediment dataset suggests that macrophyte richness and composition are mostly affected by temperature and conductivity, with highest richness when mean July temperatures are higher than 12°C and conductivity ranges between 40 and 400 μS cm−1. Compositional turnover during the Late Pleistocene/Holocene is minor in Siberian cores and characterized by a less rich, but stable emergent macrophyte community. Richness decreases during the Last Glacial Maximum and rises during wetter and warmer climate in the Late‐glacial and Mid‐Holocene. In contrast, we detect a pronounced change from emergent to submerged taxa at 14 ka in the Tibetan alpine core, which can be explained by increasing temperature and conductivity due to glacial runoff and evaporation. Our study provides evidence for the suitability of the trnL marker to recover modern and past macrophyte diversity and its applicability for the response of macrophyte diversity to lake‐hydrochemical and climate variability predicting contrasting macrophyte changes in arctic and alpine lakes under intensified warming and human impact.


The main provisions of thermodynamics at finite time are discused and results of its application to a number of commonly encountered processes are given. It is shown that it is possible to obtain the parameters of the most effective modes after finding the parameters of the process organization, which are appropriate to minimal dissipation.


A small group of scientists were doggedly working in the field of antiviral treatments when the AIDS epidemic struck. Faced with one of the grand challenges of modern biology of the twentieth century, scientists worked across the political divide of the Cold War to produce a new class of antivirals. Their molecules were developed by a Californian startup together with teams of scientists at the Rega Institute of KU Leuven and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Academy of Sciences in Prague. These molecules became the cornerstone of the blockbuster drugs now used to combat and prevent HIV. Cold War Triangle gives an insight into the human face of science as it recounts the extraordinary story of scientists in East and West who overcame ideological barriers and worked together for the benefit of humanity.


A. Karpinski (2004) recently criticized Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures of self-esteem, arguing that their measurements of self-associations are compromised by their contrasting self with a putatively extremely negative second category, the nonspecific other. The present data show, to the contrary, that the nonspecific other category in the self-esteem IAT is near neutral in valence. Validity of the self-esteem IAT is most appropriately assessed by examining its correlations with conceptually related measures. That has been done in several previous studies that are reviewed here. The nonspecific other category is only one of several choices for representing the concept of other in self-esteem IATs. Choice of the appropriate other category to contrast with self in self-esteem IATs should be guided by the needs of the research question being addressed.


: Mixed germ cell tumors of ovary are malignant neoplasms of the ovary comprising of two or more types of germ cell components. The combination of various elements occurs in approximately 8 percentage of cases. The most common combination is that of dysgerminoma with yolk sac tumor, but other combinations including teratoma, choriocarcinoma, embryonal carcinoma etc may also occur. These tumors mainly affect young girls and women of reproductive age group. Hence its identification and diagnosis assumes importance for the treatment. Here a case of mixed germ cell tumor of ovary is presented. A 15 year old girl presented with abdominal pain, abdominal mass and irregular bleeding. MRI showed huge pelvic mass. Tumor markers AFP, Beta HCG, LDH were elevated. Tumor was excised. Histopathological examination showed mixed germ cell tumor with components of yolk sac tumor with dysgerminoma, embryonal carcinoma, teratoma and


As part of the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project, History Associates Incorporated (HAI) prepared this guide to the records series pertaining to health protection activities at the DOE`s Savannah River Site (SRS). Since its inception in the early 1950s, the SRS, formerly known as the Savannah River Plant (SRP), has demonstrated significant interest in safeguarding facilities, protecting employees` health, and monitoring the environment. The guide describes records that concern health protection program administration, radiological monitoring of the plant and the environment, calibration and maintenance of monitoring instruments, internal and external dosimetry practices, medical surveillance of employees, occupational safety and training measures, site visitation, and electronic information systems. The introduction to the guide describes the Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project and HAI`s role in the project. It provides brief histories of the DOE, SRS, and the SRS organizational units responsible for health protection activities. This introduction also summarizes HAI`s methodology in developing criteria and conducting its verification of the SRS inventory of active and inactive SRS Health Protection records. Furthermore, it furnishes information on the production of the guide, the content of the records series descriptions, the location of the records, and the procedures for accessing records repositories.


BackgroundVector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika pose a significant challenge to health systems in countries they affect, especially countries with less developed healthcare systems. Therefore countries are encouraged to strengthen their healthcare systems to achieve more resilient systems. This qualitative study aims to examine the performance of the health system of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaҫao with regards to the prevention and control of VBDs in the last decennium by using the WHO health system building blocks.MethodsFrom January 2019 to February 2020, a multi-method qualitative study was performed in Curaçao., applying content analysis of documents (n = 50), five focus group discussions (n = 30), interviews with experts (n = 11), and fifteen observation sessions. The study was designed based on the WHO framework: health system building blocks. Two cycles of inductive and deductive coding were employed, and Nvivo software was used to analyse the data.ResultsThis study's data highlighted the challenges (e.g., insufficient oversight, coordination, leadership skills, structure, and communication) that the departments of the health system of Curaҫao faced during the last three epidemics of VBDs (2010–2020). Furthermore, low levels of collaboration between governmental and non-governmental organisations (e.g., semi-governmental and private laboratories) and insufficient capacity building to improve skills (e.g., entomological, surveillance skills) were also observed. Lastly, we observed how bottlenecks in one building block negatively influenced other building blocks (e.g., inadequate leadership/governance obstructed the workforce's performance).ConclusionsThis study uncovers potential organisational bottlenecks that have affected the performance of the health system of Curaҫao negatively. We recommend starting with the reinforcement of oversight of the integrated vector management program to ensure the development, implementation, and evaluation of related legislation, policies, and interventions. Also, we recommend evaluating and reform the existing administrative and organisational structure of the health system by taking the cultural style, challenges, and barriers of the current health system into account. More efforts are needed to improve the documentation of agreements, the recruitment, and evaluation of the workforce's performance. Based on our findings, we conceptualised actions to strengthen the health system's building blocks to improve its performance for future outbreaks of infectious diseases.


A silica-supported cobalt catalyst was prepared by hydrogen dielectric-barrier discharge (H2-DBD) plasma. Compared to thermal hydrogen reduction, H2-DBD plasma treatment can not only fully decompose the cobalt precursor but also partially reduce the cobalt oxides at lower temperature and with less time. The effect of the discharge atmosphere on the property of the plasma-prepared catalyst and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis activity was studied. The results indicate that H2-DBD plasma treatment is a promising alternative for preparing Co/SiO2 catalysts from the viewpoint of energy savings and efficiency.


EXAMINING PARENTS' EXPERIENCES IN A STANDARDS-BASED MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM Deborah Blume Janine D. Remillard Recent efforts to reform mathematics education in the United States have caused confusion for those at home. Parents and caregivers who learned math through traditional approaches are unsure how to help their children with math taught in unfamiliar ways (Peressini, 1998; Remillard & Jackson, 2006). Many educational researchers believe that, in order for the current reform to survive, parents need to be given opportunities to participate actively in their children's mathematics learning (Civil & Bernier, 2006; Lehrer & Shumow, 1997; Remillard & Jackson, 2006). These researchers claim that parents have been ignored and excluded from the process of reform and its enactment. I designed and conducted a teacher research-based intervention study to increase parents' engagement with and understanding of standards-based mathematics education. Parents visited my math classroom twice monthly and participated in all aspects of lessons. Research questions focused upon change. How do parents' beliefs and actions change over time as they participate in the study? The six core participants changed in three main ways. They learned about the curriculum used in my classroom, they changed iv the way they work with their children outside of school and they changed their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Parent proxy reports are well used in occupational therapy, yet historically parent report instruments of motor skill have not required parents to report on the same motor skills that their children are assessed on. The aim was to examine how well a parent report of children's fundamental movement skill (FMS) was associated with children's actual FMS.

METHOD
A sample of 100 children aged 7-9 years from Melbourne, Australia, were recruited. Parents/guardians completed proxy report (parent version of the 'Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence' (PMSC)) and children's actual motor skills were assessed ('Test of Gross Motor Development' 3rd edition (TGMD-3)). Data were first analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficients and then hierarchical linear stepwise regression was conducted with actual skill as the outcome variable in each model.

RESULTS
The PMSC-Parent (r = 0.36, P < 0.001) was moderately associated with children's actual skill. After age and sex adjustment, the PMSC-Parent explained 11.4% of variance in total skills. Parent report of their children's object control scores (PMSC object control scale) was significantly associated with children's actual object control (B = 0.36, P < 0.001) and explained 11.3% of the variance. Parent report of children's locomotion scores (PMSC locomotion scale) was associated with children's actual locomotor skills (B = 0.27, P = 0.007) and explained 6.2% of the variance.

CONCLUSION
Parents are able to report to some degree on their children's FMS competency, in particular, their object control competence. Parent proxy report of FMS may help inform occupational therapists to identify children with low FMS competency to develop interventions targeting FMS.


Building real Smart Metering and Smart Grid networks is very expensive and time-consuming and also it is impossible to install different technologies in the same environment only for comparison. Therefore, simulation and experimental pilot measurements are an easy, economical, and time-affordable solution for a first comparison and evaluation of different technologies and solutions. The local area networks (LAN) are the core of Smart Metering and Smart Grid networks. The two predominant technologies are mostly sufficient for LAN networks, Power Line Communication (PLC), and radio frequency (RF) solutions. For PLC it is hard to allow prediction of the behaviour. Performance assessment for point-to-point connection is easy, but for complex PLC networks with repeaters it is quite expensive. Therefore, a simulation is an easy, fast, and cheap solution for understanding the grid configuration, influence of particular topological components, and performance possibilities. Simulation results can, thus, provide material for the design of a telecommunication infrastructure for Smart Metering. This paper presents results of such a simulation study. It is based on realistic PLC channel model implementation in Network Simulator 3, our modification and extension of this implementation for our use case scenario. It uses Shannon's formula to calculate theoretical maximum channel capacity. In particular, it provides channel capacity and achievable distances of broadband PLC (BB-PLC). In this article we also exploit our novel idea of simple performance assessment of broadband PLC communication via simulation. It is supposed to be used to understand, evaluate, and test the grid configuration before deployment.


Over the last decade, object detection, as a leading application in computer vision, has been intensively studied, heavily engineered and widely applicable to everyday life. However, existing object detection algorithms could easily break down under very dim environments, due to significantly low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Prepending a low-light image enhancement step before detection, as a common practice, increases the computation cost substantially, yet still does not yield satisfactory results. In this paper, we systematically investigate object detection in very low light and identify several design principles that are essential to the low-light detection system. Based upon these criteria, we design a practical low-light detection system that utilizes a realistic low-light synthetic pipeline as well as an auxiliary low-light recovery module. The former can transform any labeled images from existing object detection datasets into their low-light counterparts to facilitate end-to-end training, while the latter can boost the low-light detection performance without adding additional computation cost at inference. Furthermore, we capture a real-world low-light object detection dataset, containing more than two thousand paired low/normal-light images with instance-level annotations to support this line of work. Extensive experiments collectively show the promising results of our designed detection system in very low light, paving the way for real-world object detection in the dark. Our dataset are publicly available at https://github.com/ying-fu/LODDataset .


exposed to UV light for 15 to 30 minutes was the most immunogenic. A dose of 10s cells per ml was only weakly immunogenic. A dose of IO8 UV-irradiated cells killed all of the recipient mice. However, when IO8 cells were exposed to 15,000 R of X-irradiation they were strongly immunogenic ; a 10s cell dose exposed to 5,000-15,000 R was not immunogenic. A preparation of IO7 cells per ml exposed to 5,000-15,000 R was the most immunogenic. The optimum method for inactivating cells with formalin was by exposure to a 1:500 dilution for 18 hours at 4°C.A dose of IO7 cells per


Striving toward goal completion and achieving objectives is one of the motors of personal advancement. The path to goal completion is fueled by many reasons, among which motivation stands out as one of the core impulses. Motivation acquires a particularly high relevance in learning, prompting educators to mind its substance when designing not only the material to be imparted but also the approach and the mechanisms to assess knowledge acquisition. The intrinsic nature of motivation might stem from self-realization, thriving in specific goals, or even exploring unknown ground. One of the main teacher–student interactions is the provision of adequate tools to achieve learning outcomes. One of the tools available to teachers is the exercise of extrinsic motivation. This paper proposes and assesses the initial implementation of a student-involved extrinsic motivation method. A pilot group in the Junior year of a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering program was selected, in which the evaluation system was slightly modified with respect to the system that is normally used. The course selected for the study was a compulsory six European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) course covering production and manufacturing technology. Students were asked to partake in the drafting of questions to assess their own knowledge, hence indirectly increasing their motivation to learn the content. The tentative results obtained with the pilot group appear to be positive and relevant. Students showed a higher engagement during class and reported needing fewer hours of preparation at home (32% reduction). In addition, global satisfaction with the course was improved.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the expression changes of Pax7 and MyoD in satellite cells of denervated skeletal muscle at the mRNA and protein level, and to explore the pathway concerning with denervation and regeneration of skeletal muscle.

METHODS
Nine male SD rats of 2 months old, weighing 180-200 g were selected. The right gastrocnemius muscle was made denervation model as experimental sides, and the same operation was performed in the left sides as control. The immunofluorescence analysis was done for detecting the protein expressions of Pax7 and MyoD in muscles denervated 3, 7 and 21 days after operation. The RT-PCR analysis was used to explore the mRNA expression of MyoD and Pax7 in extracted tissues from denervated muscles.

RESULTS
Nine rats survived after operation, with limited motion of right hind limbs, and normal motion of left limbs. The result of immunofluorescence with the polyclonal antibody against MyoD and the monoclonal antibody against Pax7 showed that the number of MyoD positive cells in prolonged denervated muscles (experimental sides) increased gradually, and reached the peak 21 days after denervation, there was significant difference compared with that of control sides (P < 0.05). However, the total number of Pax7 positive cells decreased with the prolongation of denervation, the expression of Pax7 was strong only at 3 days, then decreased gradually, and there was no positive cells in denervated muscles of 21 days. There were significant differences in Pax7 positive cells between experimental sides and control sides at 3 and 7 days (P < 0.05). The results of immunostaining showed that MyoD mRNA levels increased , and reached the peak at 21 days of denervation, there was significant difference compared with that of control sides (P < 0.05). Whereas, Pax7 mRNA expressed only in control, denervated muscles of 3 and 7 days, and its expression level decreased gradually.

CONCLUSION
One possible reason of the depletion of satellite cell pool in prolonged denervated muscle is the down-regulation of Pax7.


Recent neo-Marxian and state-centric analyses of the origins of the American welfare state have misspecified the autonomy of the state, thereby conflating policy formulation with policy-making and missing the complex political struggles that shaped the formulation of the Social Security Act of 1935. Synthesizing Poulantzas's "class struggle" theory of state with social protest theory and Domhoff's analysis of capitalist dominance, we advance a political struggle theory that identifies two major processes leading to social reforms: (1) sustained protest waves by excluded groups and threatened polity members that create a sense of political crisis among elites; and (2) hegemonic competition between capitalist blocs that use policy-planning and electoral investments to promote alternative political programs. This model is then applied to the formulation of the Social Security Act. Unemployed protests, industrial strikes, and middle-class reform movements, interacting with electoral instability, created an elite sense of political crisis. Simultaneously, rival capitalist blocs centered in bank groups and industrial segments competed for political dominance, creating opportunities for protest and placing major reforms on the national political agenda.


Abstract Objective The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed U.S. workers within the Services sector. Methods Audiograms for 1.9 million workers (158,436 within Services) from 2006 to 2015 were examined. Prevalence and adjusted risk for hearing loss as compared with a reference industry were estimated for the Services sector/sub-sectors, and all industries combined. Results The prevalence of hearing loss within Services was 17 compared to 16% for all industries combined. However, many sub-sectors greatly exceeded the overall prevalence (10–33% higher) and/or had adjusted risks significantly higher than the reference industry. Workers in Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development had the highest prevalence (50%), and workers in Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators had more than double the risk, the highest of any sub-sector. Some sub-sectors traditionally viewed as 'low-risk' also had high prevalences and risks. Conclusions Large numbers of workers within Services have an elevated risk of hearing loss and need immediate hearing conservation efforts. Additional research and surveillance are needed for sub-sectors for which there is low awareness of hearing hazards or a lack of hearing data.


By using labelled sodium sulfate or calcium sulfate (sulfate containing S(35)) the transition of sulfate ion into the body across the skin was investigated soon after taking a bath in sodium
sulfate or calcium sulfate solution under varing conditions. Mice were used for experiments. The percutaneous absorption of sulfate ion proved to decrease gradually in the course of serial baths in sodium sulfate solntion and was accelerated by making a fresh burn on the skin of the bathed animals, but it showed a tendency to decrease as the wound became more and more healed. The application of basic dye to the skin (e.g. 1% methylenblue or 1% fuchsin solution) increased the transition of sulfate ion into the test animal. Little difference was proved between the bath in sodium sulfate and calcium sulfate solution with respect to the penetration of sulfate ion. Passage of sulfate ion from the bath water through the skin was a little promoted by the use of sodium sulfate solution than by the use of calcium sulfate solution.


We propose a method for delivering error-resilient video from wireless camera networks in a distributed fashion over lossy channels. Our scheme is based on distributed source coding that exploits inter-view correlation among cameras with overlapping views. The main focus in this work is on robustness which is imminently needed in a wireless setting. The proposed approach has low encoding complexity, is robust while satisfying tight latency constraints, and requires no inter-camera communication. Our system is built on and is a multi-camera extension of PRISM[1], an earlier proposed single-camera distributed video compression system. Decoder motion search, a key attribute of single-camera PRISM, is extended to the multi-view setting by using estimated scene depth information when it is available. In particular, dense stereo correspondence and view synthesis are utilized to generate side-information. When combined with decoder motion search, our proposed method can be made insensitive to small errors in camera calibration, disparity estimation and view synthesis. In experiments over a simulated wireless channel, the proposed approach achieves up to 2.1 dB gain in PSNR over a system using H.263+ with forward error correction.


Since a few years indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) enjoys automated screening. These automated systems give an interpretation for the detection of anti-nuclear (ANA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and take images in the case of the research of anti-tissue antibodies. We propose an evaluation of the Image Navigator® system for all these kinds of research. 1,435 sera samples are included: 810 for ANA detection, 450 for ANCA detection, 175 for anti-tissue antibodies research. Visual interpretation using microscope is compared to automated interpretation and visual interpretation using the pictures. Sensibility of the automated interpretation to artifacts is assessed too. Accordance between automated interpretation and visual interpretation using microscope is moderate (kappa=0.46) in the case of ANA detection, poor in the case of ANCA detection (kappa=0.30). Accordance between visual interpretation using microscope and visual interpretation using pictures is strong for ANA (kappa=0.79) and for ANCA (kappa=0.63), very strong for anti-tissues antibodies (kappa=0.87). The blur of more than one photography interferes with the interpretation of the system (p<0.01). In any case, a second reading is necessary. The results of our study validate the use of the pictures for the interpretation of AAN but require visual interpretation using microscope for ANCA. The screening of anti-tissue antibodies can be achieved using pictures.


This note is concerned with robust H∞ control of linear uncertain networked control systems with stochastic network induced delay and data packet dropout. The stochastic delay and data packet dropout are viewed as equivalent delay which is modeled as a binary switching sequence satisfying a interval Bernoulli distribution. A new approach is given to model the networked control systems. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, and with the linear matrix inequality approach, a sufficient condition is presented for the existence of H∞ controller. With the H∞ controller, the networked control systems is exponentially mean-square stable. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the validity of the proposed design approach.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the impact of dietary and underlying factors on the iron status of women in early pregnancy and to provide evidence for preventing iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, thereby reducing the incidence of associated adverse outcomes.

METHODS
From November to December 2018, women in the first trimester of pregnancy (< 12 weeks gestation) who established prenatal records at the Shunyi District Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Beijing, were enrolled in this study, in which 388 participants were accessed for data including demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, parity, biomarkers reflecting iron status, and food-frequency questionnaire. SPSS 26.0 were used for statistical analysis. Dietary patterns were extracted using principal component analysis, and factor scores of each dietary pattern were calculated. Two-sided Fisher exact probability test and one-way ANOVA were conducted to access differences in iron status among the groups, and the differences were significant if P < 0.05. Iron deficiency was defined as serum ferritin(SF) < 30 μg/L. To analyze the potential role of dietary factors on iron deficiency during the first trimester, the collected data listed above were adopted as independent factors for the cross-sectional Logistic regression. We used Logistic regression to analyze the potential effects of baseline characteristics and dietary factors on iron status.

RESULTS
Among the 388 participants included in the analysis, 121 (32.2%) were iron deficient, in which 107 (27.6%) were iron depletion (ID), 8 (2.1%) were iron deficiency erythropoiesis (IDA), 6(1.5%) were iron deficiency anemia. The mean SF concentration was (50.4±35.3) μg/L. Multiparity(OR=3.9, 95%CI: 1.81-8.42, P=0.001)was a risk factor for iron deficiency during early pregnancy. No significant iron status differences were found among the participants with different educational levels and anthropometric measurements. In contrast, age (OR =0.96, 95%CI: 0.94-0.97, P < 0.001) was a protective factor. For multiparas, taking iron-containing supplements might have a protective effect for iron deficiency (OR=0.27, 95%CI: 0.09-0.83, P=0.022). The balance-diet pattern (OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-1.00, P=0.054) only showed a marginally significant effect.

CONCLUSION
Increasing attention should be paid to the iron status of pregnant multiparas and young pregnant women. For those women of reproductive age with the risk factors listed above, especially for multiparas, iron-containing supplements should be recommended to prevent gestational iron deficiency. The effect of the "balance" dietary pattern on iron status in the first trimester and following requires further research and discussion.


Aloe has been used as a folk medicine because it has several important therapeutic properties. These include wound and burn healing, and Aloe is now used in a variety of commercially available topical medications for wound healing and skin care. However, its effects on epidermal keratinocytes remain largely unclear. Our data indicated that both Aloe vera gel (AVG) and Cape aloe extract (CAE) significantly improved wound healing in human primary epidermal keratinocytes (HPEKs) and a human skin equivalent model. In addition, flow cytometry analysis revealed that cell surface expressions of β1-, α6-, β4-integrin, and E-cadherin increased in HPEKs treated with AVG and CAE. These increases may contribute to cell migration and wound healing. Treatment with Aloe also resulted in significant changes in cell-cycle progression and in increases in cell number. Aloe increased gene expression of differentiation markers in HPEKs, suggesting roles for AVG and CAE in the improvement of keratinocyte function. Furthermore, human skin epidermal equivalents developed from HPEKs with medium containing Aloe were thicker than control equivalents, indicating the effectiveness of Aloe on enhancing epidermal development. Based on these results, both AVG and CAE have benefits in wound healing and in treatment of rough skin.


The surface of a germanium internal reflectance element (IRE) was modified to bind 6X-histidine (his)-tagged biomolecules. The step-by-step surface modification was monitored via single-pass attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR). Initially an adlayer of 7-octenyltrimethoxysilane (7-OTMS) was formed on the Ge crystal through the surface hydroxyl groups, which were produced via ozonolysis of the Ge surface. The vinyl moiety of 7-OTMS was oxidized to a carboxylic acid, which was activated by 1,1'-carbonydiimidazole (CDI) to produce a labile imidazole. The labile imidazole that resulted from the CDI coupling was then displaced by the primary amine of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). Nickel sulfate was added to the system, and it coordinated with the three carbonyl groups and the nitrogen on NTA, thus leaving the ability of Ni to coordinate with two adjacent histidine residues. Binding of his-tagged biotin to nickel nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) was observed by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy. The surface modification method presented in this paper had minimal nonspecific binding, the Ni-NTA surface was reusable if stored properly, and complete removal of the organic surface was achievable.


In this research we characterize the goodness-of-fit between observed and synthetic seismograms from three small magnitude (M3.64.5) earthquakes in the region using the Wasatch Front community velocity model (WCVM) in order to determine the ability of the WCVM to predict earthquake ground motions for scenario earthquake modeling efforts. We employ the goodness-of-fit algorithms and criteria of Olsen and Mayhew (2010). In focusing comparisons on the ground motion parameters that are of greatest importance in engineering seismology, we find that the synthetic seismograms calculated using the WCVM produce a fair fit to the observed ground motion records up to a frequency of 0.5 Hz for two of the modeled earthquakes and up to 0.1 Hz for one of the earthquakes. In addition to the reference seismic material model (WCVM), we carry out earthquake simulations using material models with perturbations to the regional seismic model and with perturbations to the deep sedimentary basins. Simple perturbations to the regional seismic velocity model and to the seismic velocities of the sedimentary basin result in small improvements in the observed misfit but do not indicate a significantly improved material model. Unresolved differences between the observed and synthetic seismograms are likely due to un-modeled heterogeneities and incorrect basin geometries in the WCVM. These differences suggest that ground motion prediction accuracy from deterministic modeling varies across the region and further efforts to improve the WCVM are needed.


Hodgkin's lymphoma exerts characteristics of a true hematopoietic neoplasia as well as of an atypic immune response. In affected lymphatic tissue a minority of malignant Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg [H-RS] cells is surrounded by a majority of reactive, nonmalignant cells. Clinical features and biological studies suggest a pronounced, but inefficient, T-cell response against a yet undefined [viralS/B] target antigen expressed on H-RS cells. The role of the Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] which can be detected in the H-RS cells in about 50% of cases remains to be defined. By micromanipulation of single H-RS cells from frozen sections and subsequent enzymatic amplification of nucleic acids [single cell PCR] for the first time a monoclonal B-cell origin of H-RS cells could be demonstrated in several cases of Hodgkin's disease. Therapeutic strategies in Hodgkin's disease, in contrast to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, are not based on the histological subtype, but rather on precise determination of the stage of disease. Treatment of choice in limited disease stages without risk factors is radiation therapy. Intermediate stages are treated with combined chemo- and radiation therapy, advanced stages with intensive chemotherapy [subsequent radiation only on bulk tumors]. Thus, about 85% of all patients suffering from Hodgkin's disease, can be cured definitely. High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in relapsed Hodgkin's lymphoma is currently proofed in clinical studies.


in Indian Agriculture in Late 1970s A Look at the Level of Districts and Agro-Climatic Regions S Mahendra Dev One of the criticisms against the new strategy of agricultural development, which is identified with HYV technology, is that it has widened regional disparities in agricultural performance. This paper examines whether such disparities have in fact widened. Changes in regional disparities for all crops in terms of output per area and output per capita (to take account of demographic pressures) and the interconnections between the two measures are examined across agro-climatic regions in late 1970s as compared to early 1970s and 1960s. Also examined ore differences in the levels of output per area and output per capita across different growth classes.


Specific inhibition of NADPH oxidases (NOX) and NO-synthases (NOS), two enzymes associated with redox stress in tumor cells, has aroused great pharmacological interest. Here, we show how these enzymes distinguish between isomeric 2′- and 3′-phosphate derivatives, a difference used to improve the specificity of inhibition by isolated 2′- and 3′-phosphate isomers of our NADPH analogue NS1. Both isomers become fluorescent upon binding to their target proteins as observed by in vitro assay and in vivo imaging. The 2′-phosphate isomer of NS1 exerted more pronounced effects on NOS and NOX-dependent physiological responses than the 3′-phosphate isomer did. Docking and molecular dynamics simulations explain this specificity at the level of the NADPH site of NOX and NOS, where conserved arginine residues distinguished between the 2′-phosphate over the 3′-phosphate group, in favor of the 2′-phosphate.


The French authorities have recently decided that an eye-sight examination should be required for the delivery of a driving licence and also at a later date for confirmed drivers. This appeared to be necessary, because the impairment of driver's visual capacity is sometimes the cause, either directly or indirectly, of accidents. The visual information relies on the visual acuity but also on contrast sensitivity, the spatial perception, the color vision, the depth appreciation and the visual recovery after a glare. During twilight and during normal night driving with dipped-beam headlights, the luminance of the roadway is very low and reduces the efficiency of the functions indicated above. Other factors also appear to be unfavorable such as: old age, being tired and unreasonable drinking and use of drugs. The visual information of the drivers depends on the technical equipment of the road and more precisely on the general lighting of the most dangerous spots of heavy traffic roads. In order to reduce both the frequency and gravity of accidents, standards covering the minimal efficiency of each eye function are required, such as the choice of the specifications covering the eye examinations.


Introduction: Stroke is a growing health problem in women. We previously showed that ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in male rats reduced tone in middle cerebral arteries (MCA) but enhanced tone in parenchymal arterioles (PA). Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may contribute to vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation. However, vascular dysfunction and the effect of tPA have not been studied in females. Hypothesis: I/R in ovariectomized (OVX) female rats impairs MCA and PA function differentially, increases vascular oxidative stress and intravascular polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). tPA has an additive effect on the vascular dysfunction after I/R. Methods: OVX female rats underwent 2 h MCA filament occlusion (n=16) or sham surgery (n=17) with 30 min reperfusion. tPA (1 mg/kg, i.v.) or vehicle (Vh) was given 10 min prior to reperfusion. Myogenic tone and reactivity to nitric oxide synthase (L-NNA, 10-4M) and Rho kinase (Y27632, 10-8 to 10-5M) inhibition were measured in pressurized MCA and PA. MCA were stained for F-actin and 3-nitrotyrosine (NT), a marker of oxidative stress. Brain intravascular PMN were identified with myeloperoxidase and collagen IV using immunohistochemistry, and counted blinded to group. Results: In MCA, I/R decreased tone at 75 mmHg (Sham Vh: 26±3%, Sham tPA: 27±3% vs. MCAO Vh: 21±2%, MCAO tPA: 21±3%, P Conclusions: The differential effect of I/R on MCA vs. PA in OVX females on tone suggest parenchymal blood flow may be restricted during reperfusion that could increase perfusion deficits. tPA had no effect on tone in MCA and PA but might enhance intravascular PMN, implicated in no-reflow after I/R. Therapies to alleviate parenchymal vasoconstriction may improve stroke outcome in females.


"Sean Scully: Wall of Light" will present paintings, watercolours, and pastels from the artist's "Wall of Light" series. In the 1980s and 90s, Scully embarked on a significant body of work following a number of trips to Mexico, entitled Wall of Light. In this series, Scully transcribed his experience of colour and light as he travelled through Mexico and witnessed the interplay of light and shadow on the stacked stones of ancient ruins and architectural formations. The resulting paintings combine colour and shape in a way that is airy and balanced. These paintings confirm Scully's position as one of the world's foremost painters.