A fuzzy simulation-based optimization approach (FSOA) is developed for identifying optimal design of a benzene-contaminated groundwater remediation system under uncertainty. FSOA integrates remediation processes (i.e., biodegradation and pump-and-treat), fuzzy simulation, and fuzzy-mean-value-based optimization technique into a general management framework. This approach offers the advantages of (1) considering an integrated remediation alternative, (2) handling simulation and optimization problems under uncertainty, and (3) providing a direct linkage between remediation strategies and remediation performance through proxy models. The results demonstrate that optimal remediation alternatives can be obtained to mitigate benzene concentration to satisfy environmental standards with a minimum system cost.


During the last decade, due to advances in functionalization chemistry, novel nanobiomaterials with applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have been developed. These novel materials with their unique physical and chemical properties are bioactive hierarchical structures that hold great promise for future development of human tissues. Thus, various nanomaterials are currently being intensively explored in the directed differentiation of stem cells, the design of novel bioactive scaffolds, and new research avenues towards tissue regeneration. This paper illustrates the latest achievements in the applications of nanotechnology in tissue engineering in the field of regenerative medicine.


Cascaded nonlinear phase shifts may be imposed on the interacting waves during second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a quasi-phase-matched (QPM) structure, which are severe in high-intensity regime and may result in lower conversion efficiency. We propose a configuration of QPM structure with reduced domain-length, which may depress the nonlinear phase shifts to some extent and lead to an improvement on the conversion efficiency. The numerical analyses on the conversion efficiency as well as the relative phase angle are discussed in detail for better understanding of the SHG process.


In this paper, we present an evaluation methodology to validate the performance of a UML model, representing a software architecture. The proposed approach is based on open and well-known standards: UML for software modeling and the OMG Profile for Schedulability, Performance, and Time Specification for the performance annotations into UML models. Such specifications are collected in an intermediate model, called the Performance Context Model (PCM). The intermediate model is translated into a performance model which is subsequently evaluated. The paper is focused on the mapping from the PCM to the performance domain. More specifically, we adopt Petri nets as the performance domain, specifying a mapping process based on a compositional approach we have entirely implemented in the ArgoPerformance tool. All of the rules to derive a Petri net from a PCM and the performance measures assessable from the former are carefully detailed. To validate the proposed technique, we provide an in-depth analysis of a web application for music streaming.


The solar corona is a typical example of a plasma with strongly anisotropic transport processes. The main dissipative mechanisms in the solar corona acting on slow magnetoacoustic waves are the anisotropic thermal conductivity and viscosity [Ballai et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 252 (1998)] developed the nonlinear theory of driven slow resonant waves in such a regime. In the present paper the nonlinear behavior of driven magnetohydrodynamic waves in the slow dissipative layer in plasmas with strongly anisotropic viscosity and thermal conductivity is expanded by considering dispersive effects due to Hall currents. The nonlinear governing equation describing the dynamics of nonlinear resonant slow waves is supplemented by a term which describes nonlinear dispersion and is of the same order of magnitude as nonlinearity and dissipation. The connection formulas are found to be similar to their nondispersive counterparts.


Objective To investigate the familial aggregation of metabolic risk factors (RF) according to blood pressure (BP) percentile of children and adolescents. Design and methods Normal BP was established in 3906 children and adolescents in 1987. From this population two groups of target individuals were separated: group A (n = 327) with systolic and/or diastolic BP percentile > 95 and group B (n = 327) with systolic and diastolic BP percentile ≤ 50. Ten years later, familial aggregation of metabolic RF was evaluated using clinical and laboratorial data from 785 individuals, divided into two groups: group 1 with 135 target individuals (BP percentile > 95), 181 parents, 100 siblings and 16 grandparents; and group 2: 106 target individuals (BP percentile ≤ 50), 145 parents, 84 siblings and 18 grandparents. Results (1) The longitudinal study 10 years later (tracking effect) showed that 34.8% of target individuals of group 1 and 90.5% of group 2 remained at the same BP percentile. (2) Comparing the two groups of target individuals, group 1 had higher weight and body mass index (BMI), systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and heart rate (HR) (P < 0.001) and lower HDL (P < 0.003). (3) Comparing target individuals' and their relatives' measurements together, group 1 had higher BMI, HR, SBP, DBP (P < 0.03) and lower HDL (P < 0.001). (4) SBP and DBP showed significant correlation with all metabolic variables even when BMI was controlled in a multiple regression analysis (P < 0.04). Conclusion BP level in children and adolescents was a good marker for familial aggregation of metabolic RF, suggesting an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Primary intervention should be carried out in early stages of life.


Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China in December 2019, a pandemic has rapidly developed on a scale that has overwhelmed health services in a number of countries. COVID-19 has the potential to lead to severe hypoxia; this is usually the cause of death if it occurs. In a substantial number of patients, adequate arterial oxygenation cannot be achieved with supplementary oxygen therapy alone. To date, there has been no clear guideline endorsement of ward-based non-invasive pressure support (NIPS) for severely hypoxic patients who are deemed unlikely to benefit from invasive ventilation. We established a ward-based NIPS service for COVID-19 PCR-positive patients, with severe hypoxia, and in whom escalation to critical care for invasive ventilation was not deemed appropriate. A retrospective analysis of survival in these patients was undertaken. Twenty-eight patients were included. Ward-based NIPS for severe hypoxia was associated with a 50% survival in this cohort. This compares favourably with Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre survival data following invasive ventilation in a less frail, less comorbid and younger population. These results suggest that ward-based NIPS should be considered as a treatment option in an integrated escalation strategy in all units managing respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19.


Summary
In this study, the effects of convective, microwave and microwave–convective drying methods on the drying characteristics, colour, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of goldenberry fruits were investigated. To select the most appropriate thin-layer drying model for drying treatments, nine mathematical drying models were fitted to the experimental data. Based on the statistical tests used for evaluation, the Midilli et al. and Wang and Singh models were considered the best models to describe the drying behaviours of goldenberry fruits in all drying methods. The colour values (L*, a* and b*) of fresh fruit were decreased by drying. Compared with the fresh sample, the dried samples exhibited a 64–75% and 65–75% decrease in total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, respectively. Among the different drying treatments, the values closest to those of fresh samples with respect to colour values, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were achieved with the 160 W microwave drying method.


Abstract Oscillatory compositional zoning in minerals has been observed in hydrothermal, magmatic, and metamorphic environments and is commonly attributed to chemical or physical cyclical changes during crystal growth. Chemical zoning is a common feature of solid solutions, which has been rarely reported in phyllosilicates. In this study, oscillatory zoning in chlorite is described in samples from the Pic-de-Port- Vieux thrust, a minor thrust fault associated to the major Gavarnie thrust fault zone (Central Pyrenees, Spain). The Pic-de-Port-Vieux thrust sheet comprises a 1-20 m thick layer of Triassic red pelite and sandstone thrust over mylonitized Cretaceous dolomitic limestone. The thrust fault zone deformation comprises secondary faults and cleavage affecting the Triassic pelite and sandstone. An important feature responsible to this deformation is a set of veins filled by quartz and chlorite. Chlorite is present in crack-seal extension veins and in shear veins; both structures opened under the same stress conditions. In some shear veins, chlorite occurs as pseudo-uniaxial plates arranged in rosette-shaped aggregates. These aggregates appear to have developed as a result of radial growth of the chlorite platelets. Oscillatory zoning has been imaged by backscattered scanning electron microscopy and by X‑ray quantitative micro-mapping. These oscillations correspond to chemical zoning with alternating iron-rich and magnesium-rich bands. The chlorite composition ranges from a Fe-rich pole to a Mg-rich pole. Fe3+/ΣFe values were measured in chlorite using μ-XANES spot analyses and vary from 0.23 to 0.44. The highest values are in the Ferich area. Temperature maps, built from standardized microprobe X‑ray images and redox state using the program XMapTools, indicate oscillatory variations from about 310 to 400 ± 50 °C during chlorite crystallization. These temperature variations are correlated with a Fe3+/ΣFe variation by Al3+Fe3+-1 and ditrioctahedral substitutions highlighted by Mg and FeTot contents (Fe-Mg zoning). Chemical variations could be then explained by alternation of cooling times and cyclical pulses of a fluid hotter than the host rock. It is however not excluded that kinetic effects influence the incorporation of Mg or Fe during chlorite crystallization.


Serum and membrane proteins are two of the most attractive targets for proteomic analysis. Previous membrane protein studies tend to focus on tissue sample, while membrane protein studies in serum are still limited. In this study, an analysis of membrane proteins in normal human serum was carried out. Nano-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (NanoLC-ESI-MS/MS) and bioinformatics tools were used to identify membrane proteins. Two hundred and seventeen membrane proteins were detected in the human serum, of which 129 membrane proteins have at least one transmembrane domain (TMD). Further characterizations of identified membrane proteins including their subcellular distributions, molecular weights, post translational modifications, transmembrane domains and average of hydrophobicity, were also implemented. Our results showed the potential of membrane proteins in serum for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.


In this chapter, we summarized the recent advances of the research topic on biomimetic molecularly imprinted catalysts. The introduction of biomimetic catalysts was briefly reviewed to represent a basic comprehension on the state-of-the-art of artificial enzymes. Then, biomimetic molecularly imprinted catalysts were highlighted with respect to molecular catalysis and even supramolecular catalysis. The highlights suggested that a number of chemical reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, elimination, and carbon–carbon bond formation and more, can efficiently be catalyzed by molecularly imprinted catalysts. Owing to the selectivity features of molecular recognition originating from molecularly imprinted catalysts, these synthetic materials will be promising for a wide use in sensing applications for environmental monitoring, clinical diagnostics, the detection of organisms and toxins, and security.


Gesture and speech combine to form a rich basis for human conversational interaction. To exploit these modalities in HCI, we need to understand the interplay between them and the way in which they support communication. We propose a framework for the gesture research done to date, and present our work on the cross-modal cues for discourse segmentation in free-form gesticulation accompanying speech in natural conversation as a new paradigm for such multimodal interaction. The basis for this integration is the psycholinguistic concept of the coequal generation of gesture and speech from the same semantic intent. We present a detailed case study of a gesture and speech elicitation experiment in which a subject describes her living space to an interlocutor. We perform two independent sets of analyses on the video and audio data: video and audio analysis to extract segmentation cues, and expert transcription of the speech and gesture data by microanalyzing the videotape using a frame-accurate videoplayer to correlate the speech with the gestural entities. We compare the results of both analyses to identify the cues accessible in the gestural and audio data that correlate well with the expert psycholinguistic analysis. We show that "handedness" and the kind of symmetry in two-handed gestures provide effective supersegmental discourse cues.


A force field needs to decide if it should contain a torsional potential or not. A helpful guide to this decision should come from a quantum mechanical energy partitioning. Here we analyze the energy profiles of eight simple molecules (ethane, hydrogen peroxide, hydrazine, methanol, acetaldehyde, formamide, acetamide and N-methylacetamide) subject to rotation around a torsion angle. Coulomb interaction energies between all atom pairs in a molecule are monitored during the rotation. Atoms are defined as finite electron density fragments by quantum chemical topology, a method that enables well-defined short-range interactions (1-2, 1-3 and 1-4). Energy profiles of Coulomb interaction energies mostly counteract the ab initio energy profiles. This and future work strives to settle ambiguities in current force field design.


The electromagnetic phenomena in the MHD devices, linear induction machines and the transportation of carriers in plasma and semiconductors are subjected to the convective diffusion equation. To solve the equation by numerical methods has recently become of a great importance. The paper presents the FEM analysis of linear induction machines assuming that the field quantities have reached the steady state.


Part of the New Foundations of Game Development Series! As games become more popular in international markets, developers and publishers are looking for ways to quickly localize their games in order to capitalize on these markets. Authored by two internationally known experts in game localization, The Game Localization Handbook, Second Edition provides information on how to localize software for games, whether they are developed for the PC, console, or other platforms. It includes advice, interviews, and case studies from industry professionals, as well as practical information on pre-production, production, translation, and testing of localized SKUs. Written for producers, translators, development personnel, studio management, publishers, students, and anyone involved directly or indirectly with the production of localized games, this single-reference handbook provides insightful guidelines to all the tasks involved for planning and executing successful localizations.


We use a framework that takes into account the effects of deformation of both the solid and fluid in the solidification process, to study the solidification of a semi-infinite layer of fluid. It is shown that the time required for solidification, and the final location of the interface are significantly different form the predictions of the classical Stefan problem. A detailed numerical solution of the initial-boundary value problem is provided for a variety of values for non-dimensional parameters relevant for freezing water.


Trust-management systems address the authorization problem in distributed systems by defining a formal language for expressing authorization and access-control policies, and relying on an algorithm to determine when a specific request can be granted. For authorization in distributed systems, trust-management systems offer several advantages over other approaches, such as support for delegation and making authorization decisions in a decentralized manner. This paper focuses on a popular trust-management system SPKI/SDSI. Although SPKI/SDSI is an attractive system for authorization in distributed systems, it has seen limited deployment. One of the major hurdles in deploying SPKI/SDSI is that it is PKI-based, i.e., every principal is required to have a public-private key pair. We present an approach that combines SPKI/SDSI with a widely-deployed authentication system, Kerberos, to reduce reliance of SPKI/SDSI on PKI. In our approach, only sites need public-private key pairs. We believe that reducing the reliance of SPKI/SDSI on PKI will facilitate its wider deployment. We also have implemented a prototype of our technique.


The Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority (KVWPCA) owns and operates a combined sewer system (CSS) which includes 23 diversion chambers, eight pump st…


The strong time-reversal symmetric (TRS) topological insulator (TI) in three space dimensions features gapless surface states in the form of massless Dirac fermions. We study these surface states with the method of bosonization, and find that the resulting bosonic theory has a topological contribution due to the parity anomaly of the surface Dirac fermions. We argue that the presence of a quantum anomaly is, in fact, the main reason for the existence of a surface state, by the principle that anomalies of a surface and bulk must cancel. Inspecting other classes of topological insulators, we argue that this principle holds in general. Moving beyond purely topological considerations, we incorporate the dynamics of the surface electron states into the bosonic theory. Additionally, we discuss the thermodynamics of the bosonic theory and propose a representation of the surface Dirac fermions in terms of the bosonic fields.


Carbon dioxide has gained lot of attention in recent past as a greenhouse gas, and therefore it has a potential to affect the climate pattern of the world. Several anthropogenic activities are known to be responsible for the increased level of carbon in the atmosphere and disruption of the global carbon cycle. However, nature has its own mechanism of sequestering and storing the carbon in its "reservoirs". Forest has the ability to sequester carbon in their biomass and reduce the rate of increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The carbon sequestered in the forest trees are mostly referred to as the biomass of a tree or a forest. It has been identified five carbon pools of the terrestrial ecosystem, involving biomass. The study was designed to estimate biomass stock and then the carbon stock of the Udawattakele Forest Reserve (7°17'58 "N, 80°38'20''E) in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Allometric equations were used to calculate biomass of trees. The total biomass stock was estimated to be 9475.56 t ha-1 (Mega gram-Mg) and the total carbon stock was estimated to be 4,453.55 t ha-1 (Mg) in the Udawattakele Forest Reserve (UFR). This amount is equivalent to 16,344.52 Mg of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. UFR holds a moderate amount of biomass/carbon stock and the total carbon density of natural forest and plantations was found to be 36.55 Mg ha-1 and 44.89 Mg ha-1 respectively.


Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by alveolar simplification with decreased alveolar number and increased airspace. Previous studies suggested that transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) may contribute to arrested alveolar development in BPD. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) control cellular signaling and gene expression. HDAC2 is crucial for suppression of inflammatory gene expression. Here we investigated whether HDAC2 was involved in the arrest of alveolarization, as well as the ability of HDAC2 to regulate TGF-α expression in a rat model of BPD induced by intra-amniotic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results showed that LPS exposure led to a suppression of both HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression and activity, induced TGF-α expression, and disrupted alveolar morphology. Mechanistic studies showed that overexpression of HDAC2, but not HDAC1, suppressed LPS-induced TGF-α expression. Moreover, the HDAC inhibitor TSA or downregulation of HDAC2 by siRNA both significantly increased TGF-α expression in cultured myofibroblasts. Finally, preservation of HDAC activity by theophylline treatment improved alveolar development and attenuated TGF-α release. Together, these findings indicate that attenuation of TGF-α-mediated effects in the lung by enhancing HDAC2 may have a therapeutic effect on treating BPD.


We develop the first approximation algorithm for periodic-review perishable inventory systems with setup costs. The ordering lead time is zero. The model allows for correlated demand processes that generalize the well-known approaches to model dynamic demand forecast updates. The structure of optimal policies for this fundamental class of problems is not known in the literature. Thus, finding provably near-optimal control policies has been an open challenge. We develop a randomized proportional-balancing policy (RPB) that can be efficiently implemented in an online manner, and we show that it admits a worst-case performance guarantee between 3 and 4. The main challenge in our analysis is to compare the setup costs between RPB and the optimal policy in the presence of inventory perishability, which departs significantly from the previous works in the literature. The numerical results show that the average performance of RPB is good (within 1% of optimality under i.i.d. demands and within 7% under correlated demands).


[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of using quality control circle (QCC) techniques to reduce the cost of non-priced consumables in medical oncology. Methods: Analytic statistics were compiled on the performance appraisal form. Aiming at the key points of improvement with respect to the excess cost of non-valuable consumables, the reasons were analyzed, and corresponding measures were formulated to compare the cost before and after the improvement. Results: After the QCC activity, the cost of non-priced consumables decreased from RMB 6.57/bed day to RMB 3.96/bed day. Conclusion: QCC has effectively reduced the cost of non-priced consumables in the oncology department, and it is worthy of promotion.


R/V Revelle approaches the northern tip of Velasco Reef after a mooring recovery. Photo courtesy of Patrick L. Colin, CRRF ABSTRACT. An impulsive or rotary wind stress can excite near-inertial oscillations (NIOs) in the surface mixed layer. Although previous work shows that coastal boundaries modify NIOs, few studies have explored their behavior near island topography. Understanding how topography modifies NIOs provides insight into physical processes that contribute to local mixing, which enhances biological richness near islands. Here, encounters between NIOs and the island chain of Palau are examined using moored current meter measurements from a 10-month field study. Near-inertial currents are surface intensified, where typical speeds of 0.15 m s−1 in the surface layer are twice those below 50 m. At moorings farthest from Palau topography, nearinertial surface currents are intermittent and clockwise rotational, suggestive of wind-generated NIOs. Closer to the topography, near-inertial currents become more rectilinear, with enhanced energy at the northern and southern tips compared to along the north-south oriented coastline of the elongated island chain. The first empirical orthogonal function of near-inertial vector surface currents (62% of the total variance in the near-inertial band) reveals a broadly uniform flow that spans the northern and southern extents of the island, suggestive of a slab-like NIO response to wind stress, modified as the island topography blocks the flow. To further characterize the impact of the topography on near-inertial currents, a cluster of moorings at the northern tip of Palau is used to estimate vorticity, which increases as near-inertial current speeds increase. Near-inertial vorticity is attributed to frictional torque caused by the topographically enhanced near-inertial currents brushing against the northern tip of Palau.


In the conservative Muslim community's lack of transparency and awareness to resultant bad consequences that mislead practicing doctors, delay in the diagnosis and increase in costs of treatment and worsen of morbidity of the disease is the ultimate consequence. Three phases are recognized in the natural history of infection by the human  immunodeficiency virus (HIV): (a)An early or acute phase lasting several weeks with infectious mononucleosis-like symptoms, (b) an intermittent or chronic phase, with active low-grade viral replication, lasting several years and (c) the final stage or crises, which corresponds to the clinical phase of AIDS. The virus may enter the nervous system at the time of sero-conversion. However the clinical picture of dementia appears later, when there is marked immunodeficiency. There are many causes for CNS lesions in patients with HIV as vascular, viral, bacterial, myco-bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and neoplastic causes. Human immunodeficiency virus leucoencephalopathy (HIVL) is an uncommon and rapidly progressive form of AIDS dementia complex (ADC) that has remained poorly understood. Here we report a rare case of Progressive Multifocal Leuoencephalopathy (PML) in a case of HIV/AIDS who was not willing to disclose her diagnosis till late in the disease.


This paper is mainly focused on a key topic of economic literature, respectively the link between insurance instruments and total investments at macroeconomic level. Thus, the study includes the analysis and evaluation of the effects of insurance instruments on the real growth rate of investments in the economic context of Romania. The analysis was made by approaching different models and econometric tests, respectively by using the auto-regressive vector/auto-regressive vecto with correction, which surprised the effect of the three selected indicators: gross written premiums related to life/general and total insurance, on the real growth rate of the total amount of investments. The research hypothesis for starting the analysis is that the insurance instruments have a significant economic potential in the Romanian economy, with a high impact on the investment environment, depending on the instrument used in the promotion process of the entrepreneurship. Following the analysis of the econometric model' results and tests, the initial formulated hypothesis was validated by generally obtaining a positive effect given by the insurance instruments on investment real growth. Also, the econometric cointegration and causality tests supported the results obtained from the run of the autoregressive vector models. The results of the study are important as it forms a concrete basis for developing recommendations for the use of these instruments in stimulating investments as well as for the economic potential that this sector has on the financial market in Romania.


Observed seat belt use on a private university campus was compared with use by the general population of the state in which the university is located. It was expected, given the higher educational level and socioeconomic status of the university population, that seat belt use would be higher than it is for the general population. The results of the study indicated that seat belt use by members of the university community was actually significantly lower than that reported statewide. The statistically significant difference was even greater for front-seat passengers than for drivers on campus.


Sudden hypertensive surges are often observed in patients with primary hypertension. Even though the possibility of a pheochromocytoma almost automatically comes to mind, this diagnosis is confirmed only in a few patients (less than 1%). The case of a 55 yr old patient with very high posture-or emotion-induced hypertensive paroxysms, often associated with chest pain and flushing is described. All laboratory tests were normal except for plasma catecholamines, which were high especially during stress tests (Tab. II). The existence of a pheochromocytoma was excluded on the basis of repeatedly normal urinary catecholamine levels after hypertensive crises and a negative CT abdominal scan and I131 MIBG adrenal scintigraphy. An alteration of the baroreceptor reflex was ruled out, as the blood pressure response to autonomic function tests was normal. The cause of the orthostatic hypertensive crises could not be attributed to hypovolemia, as plasma volume proved normal. Measurement of circulating catecholamines showed elevated free plasma epinephrine with low conjugated epinephrine indicating a defective conjugation of this amine. This finding suggests an injured inactivation of epinephrine and might be involved in the pathogenesis of the hypertensive crises observed. Continuous intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring demonstrated the existence of mild hypertension with a normal 24-hour blood pressure pattern. However, the tracings were interspersed with numerous blood pressure peaks. Average 24 hour blood pressure was normalized by the therapy, but the hypertensive crises were not controlled by any of the drugs used. The absence of target organ damage despite the spectacular rises in blood pressure suggests that the cardiovascular system is well able to withstand hypertensive episodes if they are short lived.


Approximately two‐thirds of the world's older adults live in developing nations. By 2050, as many as 80% of such older people will live in low‐ and middle‐income countries. In sub‐Saharan Africa alone, the number of individuals aged 60 and older is projected to reach 163 million. Despite this demographic wave, the majority of Africa has limited access to qualified geriatric health care.3 Although foreign aid and capacity‐building efforts can help to close this gap over time, it is likely that failure to understand the unique context of Africa's older adults, many of whom are marginalized, will lead to inadequacies in service delivery and poor health outcomes.4 As the need for culturally competent care of older adults gains recognition in the developed world, research in geriatric care in developing countries should progress in tandem.4 By examining the multidimensional challenges that an older woman with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in rural Uganda faces, this article makes contextualized policy recommendations for older adults in Africa and provides lessons for the developing world.


The prevailing way of conceptualizing multiple pathways to college and career segregates or "tracks" students into college prep or voc-ed curriculum. Recent research and public commentary have shown that tracking neither provides students with equal educational opportunities nor serves the needs of employers for a well-educated workforce. Recognizing that tracked schools are both inequitable and ineffective, educators have been exploring alternatives to tracking practices since the 1980s. This paper focuses on one attempt to redefine and restructure the academic curriculum, pedagogy, and course structures of California schools into "multiple pathways" to college and career. The Preuss School at UCSD "detracks" its curriculum, i.e., establishes high instructional standards and presents rigorous curriculum to all students while varying the supports available to enable all students to meet high the school's academic standards. Detracking high schools can provide students with access to multiple pathways when they complete high school. By gaining access to a rigorous academic curriculum, they are well prepared for both college and career. This approach requires a school district to assemble a portfolio of schools, each with a different theme or focus (such as performing arts, science academies, interactive technology, etc.). When a district assembles a portfolio of theme-based schools, each of them rigorous, then students (and their parents) are enabled to choose from an array of possibilities. This form of curriculum differentiation aligns well with the democratic project of providing equal opportunities for all students to learn and to have significant life choices when they complete high school.


The signal integrity issues at split ground and power planes are studied by 3D, time-domain, full-wave simulations and SPICE circuit simulations. Dynamics of the mode conversion between microstrip line mode and slotline mode is presented as a series of snapshots of a computer animation. Equivalent circuits based on transmission line model and mode conversion are developed and validated by published experimental data. It is also demonstrated that under certain resonance conditions, the unwanted noise coupling between two signal lines that cross the same ground slot can reach a very high percentage. Design rules for choosing the slot width for isolated ground and power islands in mixed-signal environment are also discussed.


The influence of electrode surface state and the electrode thermal parameters on the motion of magnetically driven arcs was investigated with the aid of high-speed photography, a surface profile recorder, and an electron scanning microscope. It was found that the electrode surface asperities had little influence on the arc velocities when the arc was moving in the direction of the electrode surface being polished. However, the asperities had appreciable influence on the arc motion when the arc was moving perpendicularly to the direction of polishing. An investigation on the local surface films on electrodes showed that the anode root of the arc can jump over a limited width of the local films. Furthermore, experiments on electrodes made of different materials showed that the thermal parameters of these materials exert a great influence on the motion of the arc.


This paper presents experimental results on fretting testing of various surface coatings, with particular reference to ion-plated films. A special test setup is described, and some peculiar testing conditions are discussed. The results indicate that ion-plated films are superior to vacuum-deposited, gas-deposited, and sputtered-surface coatings. The effectiveness in alleviating fretting of four ion-plated soft metallic films-namely, lead, indium, tin, and silver-is evaluated. Lead showed the best fretting resistance at small slip amplitudes, while tin showed a good resistance at high slip amplitudes. Ion-plated titanium carbide films were also examined. The wear-resistant hard carbides showed outstanding fretting resistance.


SummaryImmunoreactive erythropoietin levels of serum and reticulocyte counts were measured in a group of normal subjects. Values fluctuated throughout the day. Maximal levels of reticulocyte counts and erythropoietin tended to occur in the afternoon and early evening but the times did not coincide in individual subjects.


Measurements were made during 1948-9 of all the intensities of hkl reflexions observable with chromium Koc X-radiation from air-dried crystals of vitamin B12. Calculations parallel with those of J. G. White were carried out on these data. The positions of the cobalt atoms in the crystal structure were found from three-dimensional Patterson series and the positions of 90 atoms of the B12 molecule and 7 water molecules were derived through three successive approximations to the three-dimensional electron density distribution. The choice of atomic positions was checked against superposition maps derived from the original Patterson series, and assisted by comparisons with other B12 derivatives. Minor differences appear between the positions derived here and in III; some of these may be real differences due to the state of dryness of the crystals.


Ubiquitin is a highly conserved, multifunctional protein, which is implicated in the heat-shock response of eukaryotes. The differential expression of the multiple ubiquitin genes in Dictyostelium discoideum was investigated under various stress conditions. Growing D. discoideum cells express four major ubiquitin transcripts of sizes varying from 0.6 to 1.9 kb. Upon heat shock three additional ubiquitin mRNAs of 0.9, 1.2 and 1.4 kb accumulate within 30 min. The same three transcripts are expressed in response to cold shock or cadmium treatment. Inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide leads to a particularly strong accumulation of the larger ubiquitin transcripts, which code for polyubiquitins. Possible mechanisms regulating the expression of ubiquitin transcripts upon heat shock and other stresses are discussed.


Several iterations of guidelines for ethical psychological practice with those who self-identify as women and girls have been developed in the field of Canadian psychology and are designed to offer practitioners direction concerning their ethical responsibilities and competencies. But to be responsive to the varied and changing experiences of women and girls within the Canadian context, these guidelines require regular revision. This article discusses avenues for evolving inclusive counselling and psychotherapy practice with women and girls in Canada. While the primary focus is on implications for counselling and psychotherapy practice, the need for ethical texts and guidelines to reflect gender diversity is underscored. Drawing from literature on feminist thought and its applications, this article offers recommendations for ethical and socially just counselling and psychotherapy practice. Additionally, this article is intended to reignite conversation about how future iterations of ethical guidelines may evolve to be more responsive to the current status of those who self-identify as women and girls.


This study examined cross-cultural difficulties experienced by Japanese students in France and their coping strategies. This study consists of 2 parts: in Study I, difficulties in interpersonal relationship formation and coping strategies were explored from the perspective of Japanese students in France. In Study II, Japanese students' coping behaviors in France were evaluated from the hosts' perspective. Additionally, expected coping behaviors in specific sociocultural contexts were examined. Data were obtained through questionnaire surveys and interviews. Study I demonstrated that interpersonal difficulties fell under three major categories: assertiveness, sociability, and schedule fluidity. These comprise eleven medium and four minor categories. In Study II, active coping, in which a guest student actively attempted to address a challenge, and receptive coping, in which a guest accepted the host's behavior and perspective, received high evaluations. Finally, the use and teaching of cross-cultural social skills with French people are discussed.


My book, Foundations of Evidence Law, was published thirteen years ago. Between then and now, the book has been reviewed and discussed on multiple occasions. Most of its critics have agreed with my core insight that evidentiary rules—all of them, and not just burdens and standards of proof—allocate the risk of error in factfinding to plaintiffs, prosecutors, and defendants (civil and criminal). This insight vindicated the conventional common-law system of proof that employs different admissibility and corroboration requirements to preselect evidence for trials. If evidentiary rules allocate risk of error, who should get to decide how to allocate that risk and the resulting undeserved denial of freedom or entitlement? Why allow trial judges and jurors to allocate this risk as they deem right? Why not give this power to publicly visible and politically accountable actors such as supreme courts and legislators? Moreover, why not grant individuals constitutional rights against risks of error?

These fundamental questions escaped the attention of Bentham and contemporary opponents of the common law system of proof. Bentham and his followers have argued that lawmakers will do well to abolish all evidence selection rules and let factfinders evaluate all relevant evidence. This abolitionist claim alluded to a set of virtues that included truth, simplicity, cost-savings, and uniformity. Arguably, by considering all relevant evidence, factfinders will maximize their chances to uncover the truth. Trials without evidentiary rules will also become uncomplicated and inexpensive. Finally, doing away with evidence selection rules will align the American trial system with much the rest of the world.

My book has refuted the abolitionist claim by showing that these virtues are false. Bentham's claim that augmentation of relevant information makes discovery of the truth more likely has received a near-uniform endorsement from evidence scholars. Whether this claim is correct, however, can only be determined by the principles of epistemology and logic. These principles prove that the "more information, more truth" argument is patently false. Augmentation of relevant information, without more, does not make the factfinder more informed. The factfinder becomes more informed when the information she receives is trustworthy, rather than simply relevant to her decision. Any piece of (first-order) information that factfinders receive under conditions of uncertainty consequently requires supplemental (second-order) information concerning its trustworthiness. This second-order information needs to be trustworthy as well, which calls for yet another set of supplemental (third-order) information, and so on. To avoid this infinite and fruitless inquiry, factfinders must preselect their evidence. They must take into consideration evidence likely to improve their decisions while ignoring all other evidence. Any such selection of evidence allocates the risk of error and the accompanying prospect of an undeserved denial of freedom or entitlement to one party or another. How to allocate such risks is an issue of political morality. Individual judges and jurors should have no authority to decide this issue as they deem right. Under the conventional power structure of modern democracies, such issues ought to be determined by common law precedent, statute, and constitution.

The simplicity of "free proof" is also an illusion. Trials without evidentiary rules will not turn into an uncomplicated affair by themselves. They would become uncomplicated only if litigants avoid making claims with regard to evidentiary uncertainty and the consequent need to allocate the risk of error one way or another. There is, however, no rational reason for suppressing such claims. Adjudicative factfinding is not naturally simple. Falsely pretending that it is would suppress the question about the desired allocation of the risk of error, but would not make this question disappear.

As far as cost is concerned, the abolitionists' exclusive focus on the expenses generated by the evidentiary rules is wrongheaded. For reasons well familiar to any contemporary economist, cost questions should be resolved not only by what one pays, but also by what one gets in return. When an evidentiary rule helps the legal system allocate the risk of error in a socially desirable fashion, policymakers should juxtapose this benefit against the rule's cost. If the benefit is greater than the cost, the rule becomes socially desirable even when its standalone cost is high. More fundamentally, the factfinding system would do well to reduce the cost of errors and error avoidance as a total sum. Allowing individual judges and jurors to allocate the risk of error as they deem right will not meet this target.

Among the abolitionists' claims, the uniformity argument is probably the weakest. Those who believe in this argument implicitly prefer an intellectual cartel to intellectual competition. My book theorized the Anglo-American way of dealing with evidence, uncertainty, and the risk of error. Calling this way (pejoratively) "American exceptionalism" doesn't advance the conversation. My theory explains, justifies and commends the common law system of factfinding. Yet, it does not claim that there can be no better system. Allocation of the risk of error and the consequent prospect of denying a person her freedom or entitlement crucially depends on societal preferences and values. These preferences and values need not be universal.


This article addresses the evolution of content development on the Access Colorado Library and Information Network (ACLIN). It traces the history of that evolution from ACLIN's initial role as a means of accessing library catalogs, to a grant-funded demonstration using the World Wide Web as a mechanism for publishing information, to the current collection development process that was recently tested through a pilot project. The focus is this latest process and what was learned from the pilot with regard to using a distributed approach to collection development on a statewide network.


Summary The chemical variation in a single horizon of pelitic schists, both within and without the contact aureole of the granodioritic diapir of Ardara in County Donegal, is given in detail. In both environments the schists have been carefully sampled and some 50 analyses made by using rapid spectrophotometric methods. By establishing an original compositional variation across this horizon it is shown that the contact metamorphism is largely isochemical. Close to the pluton, however, certain slightly higher values for potassium and sodium are recorded and, throughout the aureole, the water content is significantly reduced. The variations in the chemical composition of the rocks are clearly reflected by changes in the mode ; most important are the appearance of a new muscovite and a progressive change in the composition of the ferromagnesian micas. The results of this study make it quite clear that a knowledge of the original chemical variation of the sediments is a necessary prerequisite to the petrochemical study of their metamorphic derivatives. Certain of the contact aureoles of the Donegal Granite Complex in North-West Ireland provide excellent opportunities for the geochemical investigation of metamorphic processes. Almost ideal sites for such researches are given by the beautifully exposed aureole surrounding the diapiric pluton of Ardara. The Dalradian country rocks include a thick horizon of pelitic schists which can be followed into this contact zone, thus providing a single medium in which to determine and compare any changes in chemical composition. This study is concerned with a comparison of the composition of


Motivation to quit smoking, social support and knowledge of asthma were investigated in a group of parents (n = 39) who smoked and whose children had asthma. Parents who reported smoking only outside the house had higher rankings on a motivation to quit smoking measure than parents who reported smoking inside the house. Parents who smoked had less knowledge of asthma when compared to parents who did not smoke. Parents who smoked and reported joining a smoking cessation program had more knowledge of asthma than parents who smoked but did not join cessation programs. Analysis of urinary cotinine in the children revealed no associations between urinary cotinine and motivation to quit smoking, social support and/or knowledge of asthma.


Purpose of the study: This paper will discuss the application of maqasid al shariah as a benchmark in the Corruption Measurement Model (CMM) based on Maqasid Syariah. Dimensions to be assessed on maqasid al shariah based on the opinions of Syathibi include hifdzun Dhin, hifdzun an-nafsh, hifdzun al-aql, hifdzun an-nasl, and hifdzun al-maal.
Methodology: In addition to successfully formulating all the relevant details of maqasid al shariah for corruption measurement, this study is the first research that uses quantitative methods like ANOVA on data from all provinces in Indonesia.
Main findings: The result is the average score from the Corruption Measurement Model (CMM) in Indonesia which is found to be good enough. The empirical study using ANOVA shows that there is no significant difference in the maqasid dimension among provinces in Indonesia, with a significance of 0.05.
Applications of this study: The results of this study enables researcher, practitioner and policy maker to understand the implication of corruption and its impact on the society.
Novelty/ Originality of this study: The application of maqasid al shariah is tested to explain the impact of corruption on the inadequacy of infrastructure and inefficient bureaucracy.


Central to obesity is an energy imbalance due to increased calorie intake and/or decreased energy expenditure, as well as a genetic or non genetic biological predisposition. New advances in obesity research point to a role of primary changes in fat storage capacity. Modifications of the cellular composition and structure of adipose tissue, characterized by inflammation and fibrosis, can lead to an "organ disease" that is partially irreversible, thus explaining long-term treatment resistance. This organ disease may lead to local and systemic disorders. A possible role of the gut flora is one especially interesting line of research.


ABSTRACT: Designed to be used in an undergraduate or Master's auditing course, this Case asks students to evaluate work performed on the financial statement audit of a private wholesale merchandiser. Through this evaluation, students can uncover issues relating to gaining knowledge of a client and its environment, risk assessment, materiality, audit strategy, and specific audit procedures for the revenue/receivables/receipts accounting cycle. The Teaching Notes provide support both for instructors who ask students to prepare the Case in advance of class and for instructors who instead assign the Case for analysis in real-time during class, whereby the Case is read aloud paragraph-by-paragraph and issues are discussed as they are detected.


This paper documents differences in the levels and growth rates of manufactured exports across the Australian states and territories over the period 1989/90 - 2000/01 and then re-interprets these differences using shift-share analysis. Our results suggest that the relative changes in state exports of manufactured goods have been substantial and seem in large part due to state specific characteristics that impact on state competitiveness.


Introduction In June 2016, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) became legal in Canada. This has prompted many to ask whether organ donation following MAiD should be permitted and under what circumstances. Indeed, since the MAiD legislation came into effect, reports indicate that a few individuals have donated organs following medical assistance in dying. This study considers the legal and ethical questions that arising regarding organ donation following MAiD in Canada. Methods The authors have engaged in a review of the relevant federal and provincial laws and policies governing MAiD and organ donation. These include the law establishing the conditions under which an individual may undergo MAiD, provincial laws setting out the consent requirements for organ donation and pre-mortem interventions to determine eligibility for organ donation and conscientious objection policies for health care providers. The authors have also reviewed the relevant national and international literature on organ donation following MAiD. Results Our study indicates that there are several important legal and ethical questions that must be considered in developing a framework for organ donation following MAiD in Canada. What legal protections are necessary to ensure free and informed consent to organ donation following MAiD? Several concerns arise such as the risk that patients may feel pressured or coerced to consent to organ donation. Potential safeguards to ensure consent is voluntary include precluding physicians and organ procurement organizations from approaching patients to seek their consent for organ donation, separating the decisions concerning MAiD and organ donation, precluding directed donation and ensuring that patients are aware that they can withdraw consent to MAiD and/or organ donation at any time. Other pressing questions include the extent to which health care professionals may exercise a conscientious objection to this practice and whether the recipient of an organ should be informed that an organ was obtained from an individual who underwent MAiD. In addition to domestic legislation, the experience of countries like Belgium and the Netherlands offer important guidance in addressing some of these difficult questions. Conclusion Organ donation following MAiD has the potential to benefit patients and increase organs available for donation in Canada. This study considers the difficult legal and ethical questions that arise in this context and proposes a framework for organ donation following MAiD in Canada. Reference: 1. Criminal Code - R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46 (Section 241).


OBJECTIVE
To explore nurses' experiences of caring for persons with dementia experiencing responsive behaviours in an acute hospital.

BACKGROUND
Caring for persons with dementia who have an acute medical illness and are experiencing responsive behaviours in acute hospitals can be challenging for nurses. While existing research has explored the experiences of nurses in providing dementia care in this setting, there is limited knowledge about the specific care experiences of nurses when working to meet the needs of persons with dementia who experience responsive behaviours alongside an admitting diagnosis.

METHOD
A qualitative descriptive design was implemented. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine nurses working in medical and surgical wards. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Ethical approval to conduct the study was received from the writers' university.

RESULTS
Three themes were found: (a) challenges encountered, (b) a person-centred response and (c) dementia preparedness. Key findings about challenges encountered by nurses included: the acute hospital environment; increased need for enhanced knowledge; and emotional challenges. Person-centred responses such as working in partnership with others and reminiscence were identified as strategies to address the challenges. Finally, nurses identified particular interventions that were supportive to them in enhancing their preparedness to meet the needs of persons with dementia who experience responsive behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS
Persons with dementia who are acutely unwell and are experiencing responsive behaviours, within acute hospitals, have specific and individualised care needs. Nurses working in these settings must therefore be supported in developing competence in managing these frequently complex clinical cases, while also providing person-centred care.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE
Nurses' narratives demonstrate that they continue to experience challenges in the presence of responsive behaviours. There is a consequent need for dementia-specific education on person-centred ways to address responsive behaviours within acute hospital settings.


The effect of theaflavins (TFs) on the adhesion between monocyte and endothelial cells induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein was studied. The experiments of cells-adhesion,the cells ELISA were applied. The results showed that TFs could significantly inhibit the adhesion between monocyte and endothelial cells, and the expression of cell adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1). That maybe one of the mechanisms in antiatheroclerosis and antiadhesion between monocyte and endothelial cells.


Experience with the International Space Station (ISS) program demonstrates the degree to which engineering design and operational solutions must protect crewmembers from health risks due to long-term exposure to the microgravity environment. Risks to safety and health due to degradation in the microgravity environment include crew inability to complete emergency or nominal activities, increased risk of injury, and inability to complete safe return to the ground due to reduced strength or embrittled bones. These risks without controls slowly increase in probability for the length of the mission and become more significant for increasing mission durations. Countermeasures to microgravity include hardware systems that place a crewmember's body under elevated stress to produce an effect similar to daily exposure to gravity. The ISS countermeasure system is predominately composed of customized exercise machines. Historical treatment of microgravity countermeasure systems as medical research experiments unintentionally reduced the foreseen importance and therefore the capability of the systems to function in a long-term operational role. Long-term hazardous effects and steadily increasing operational risks due to non-functional countermeasure equipment require a more rigorous design approach and incorporation of redundancy into seemingly nonmission-critical hardware systems. Variations in the rate of health degradation and responsiveness to countermeasures among the crew population drastically increase the challenge for design requirements development and verification of the appropriate risk control strategy. The long-term nature of the hazards and severe limits on logistical re-supply mass, volume and frequency complicates assessment of hardware availability and verification of an adequate maintenance and sparing plan. Design achievement of medically defined performance requirements by microgravity countermeasure systems and incorporation of adequate failure tolerance significantly reduces these risks. Future implementation of on-site monitoring hardware for critical health parameters such as bone mineral density would allow greater responsiveness, efficiency, and optimized design of the countermeasures system.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Environmental obligations fit uncomfortably into the framework of federal insolvency law. Canadian courts have struggled to articulate which environmental obligations should be stayed, compromised, and discharged in insolvency proceedings and which should remain fully enforceable. In its 2019 decision, Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd, the Supreme Court of Canada drew a distinction between two types of environmental obligations: debts and public duties. Debts are subject to being stayed, compromised, and discharged, whereas public duties remain enforceable notwithstanding the obligor's insolvency proceedings. This article elaborates the distinction drawn by the Supreme Court of Canada between debts and public duties by considering who constitutes the public. It offers three answers. The public could include existing members of the human community, future generations of humanity, or non-human environmental entities. The article synthesizes the legal precedents supporting the different conceptions of the public and traces their implications for insolvency practice. Critics charge that the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Orphan Well has improperly given environmental obligations a super-priority in insolvency proceedings and that such a reordering of insolvency priorities should have been left to Parliament. Yet careful attention to the 'public' character of environmental obligations justifies judicial interventions like the Court's decision in Orphan Well. As humanity faces the existential threat of climate change, the common law provides scope for reimagining legal concepts to better serve the needs of our communities.


Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that preferentially affects the optic nerves and spinal cord. An autoantibody (NMO-IgG) targeting the aquaporin-4 water channel distinguishes NMO from other inflammatory disorders of the CNS. Recent studies have demonstrated that the area postrema and other circumventricular organs (CVOs) can be targeted in NMO.We herein report the case of a 12-year-old girl who experienced anorexia six months before the onset of NMO. Anorexia caused by hypothalamic or CVO dysfunction may herald the onset of NMO.


Mobility is a key challenge for beam management in 5G cellular networks due to the overhead incurred at beam switching and base station (BS) handover events. This paper focuses on a network that has a multi-tier structure with two types of BSs operating in the same frequency bands, namely macro BSs that are sparser but with higher transmit power, and micro BSs that are denser and with lower transmit power. We propose a downlink user association policy which is a function of the user mobility. Typically, high mobility users should associate with macro BSs so as to incur less beam switching overhead, whereas low mobility ones should be associated with micro BSs. The main contribution of the paper is a formalization of the optimal threshold association policy, when the optimality is understood with respect to the mean effective Shannon rate. The analysis is based on stochastic geometry and on an exact representation of the mean effective Shannon rate of the typical user in this beamforming multi-tier context. Two models are discussed. The simplest one focuses on a single-user optimization problem. We also discuss a more realistic model with bandwidth sharing between all users in the cell. Finally, we identify the mobility and user-density patterns where the velocity-based threshold association policy outperforms the classical best mean power association policy.


In atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus, the concomitant presence of low-grade systemic inflammation and mild zinc deficiency highlights a role for zinc nutrition in the management of chronic disease. This review aims to evaluate the literature that reports on the interactions of zinc and cytokines. In humans, inflammatory cytokines have been shown both to up- and down-regulate the expression of specific cellular zinc transporters in response to an increased demand for zinc in inflammatory conditions. The acute phase response includes a rapid decline in the plasma zinc concentration as a result of the redistribution of zinc into cellular compartments. Zinc deficiency influences the generation of cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α, and in response to zinc supplementation plasma cytokines exhibit a dose-dependent response. The mechanism of action may reflect the ability of zinc to either induce or inhibit the activation of NF-κB. Confounders in understanding the zinc-cytokine relationship on the basis of in vitro experimentation include methodological issues such as the cell type and the means of activating cells in culture. Impaired zinc homeostasis and chronic inflammation feature prominently in a number of cardiometabolic diseases. Given the high prevalence of zinc deficiency and chronic disease globally, the interplay of zinc and inflammation warrants further examination.


In this paper the special case of reconstruction from image sequences taken by cameras with skew equal to 0 and aspect ratio equal to 1 has been treated. These type of cameras, here called cameras with Euclidean image planes, represent rigid projections where neither the principal point nor the focal length is known. It will be shown that it is possible to reconstruct an unknown object from images taken by a camera with Euclidean image plane up to similarity transformations, i.e., Euclidean transformations plus changes in the global scale. An algorithm, using bundle adjustment techniques, has been implemented. The performance of the algorithm is shown on simulated data.


Glucocorticoids (GCs), including dexamethasone (dex), are a central component of combination chemotherapy for childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). GCs work by activating the GC receptor (GR), a ligand-induced transcription factor, which in turn regulates genes that induce leukemic cell death. Which GR-regulated genes are required for GC cytotoxicity, which pathways affect their regulation, and how resistance arises are not well understood. Here, we systematically integrate the transcriptional response of B-ALL to GCs with a next-generation short hairpin RNA screen to identify GC-regulated "effector" genes that contribute to cell death, as well as genes that affect the sensitivity of B-ALL cells to dex. This analysis reveals a pervasive role for GCs in suppression of B-cell development genes that is linked to therapeutic response. Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase δ (PI3Kδ), a linchpin in the pre-B-cell receptor and interleukin 7 receptor signaling pathways critical to B-cell development (with CAL-101 [idelalisib]), interrupts a double-negative feedback loop, enhancing GC-regulated transcription to synergistically kill even highly resistant B-ALL with diverse genetic backgrounds. This work not only identifies numerous opportunities for enhanced lymphoid-specific combination chemotherapies that have the potential to overcome treatment resistance, but is also a valuable resource for understanding GC biology and the mechanistic details of GR-regulated transcription.


Abstract Background: Ethnic differences necessitate a need for local reference intervals (RI), but establishing these can be challenging in some cultures that are reluctant to donate blood. Frozen sera are an alternative, but results can be questionable. Between 1998 and 2001, we collected blood samples from 343 healthy pregnant Chinese women (5–41 weeks' gestation), and in 2001 published gestational RI for thyrotropin thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) using the ACS180, now obsolete. As a pilot to re-establishing RI, TSH, FT4 and FT3 were re-assayed in archived specimens using contemporary assays. Methods: Thirty archived specimens (–80°C) with ACS180 TSH concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 3.7 mIU/L were measured using the Roche E170, Advia Centaur and Architect i2000 TSH, FT4 and FT3 assays, along with 10 newer contemporary samples. Results were compared to the original, and examined in context of past and present methodological performances in an external quality assurance (EQA) program. Results: All contemporary assays detected significantly lower TSH and increased FT4 and FT3 concentrations in the stored samples. Conclusions: With reference to methodological performances in EQA, the results obtained with contemporary assays suggest analyte deterioration in specimens and thus their unsuitability for re-establishing RI. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:409–12.


ABSTRACT Jeri Kroll's verse novel, Vanishing Point, exists as a text and a performance piece, adapted for the stage by Leslie Jacobson. Productions at George Washington University and Horizons Theatre from 2009 led to a staged reading at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 'Page to Stage' Festival (2011), followed by a professional workshop with original music (2012). In 2014, a 90-minute performance with musical score by Roy Barber was produced at George Washington University. That version became a winner in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Puncher and Wattman published the verse novel, shortlisted for the 2015 Queensland Literary Awards. This article takes a case study approach, using the adaptation in America of Vanishing Point into musical drama. It discusses the suitability of a verse novel for adaptation, provides context about American musical drama and focuses on shows that break new ground through dealing with challenging social and psychological material. Vanishing Point treats a young woman's struggle to overcome anorexia and bulimia. The article explores music and emotion in drama and concentrates on the composer's, director's and poet's interpretations of how music and lyrics shape the production's affect. These 'emic' perspectives strengthen the case study methodology.


Abstract Although stresses induce generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are highly reactive and toxic, and cause severe damage to cellular components; plants have very efficient enzymatic ROS-scavenging mechanisms. Despite the substantial knowledge produced about these enzymes, we still have limited knowledge regarding their expression patterns in relation to the stress type, duration and strength. Thus, taking advantage of microarray data, this work evaluated the abiotic stresses (salt, cold, heat and light) induced regulation of six antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), in 10 natural Arabidopsis ecotypes. The expression profiles of 36 genes encoding six enzymatic antioxidants including CSD1-3, FSD1-3, MSD1-2, CAT1-3, APX1-6, APXT, APXS, GPX1-8, MDAR1-5 and DHAR1-4 were investigated. In particular, FSD1, FSD2, CSD1 and CSD2 genes coding for SOD; CAT2 and CAT3 for CAT; APX3-6, APXT and APXS for APX; GPX1, GPX2, GPX5, GPX6 and GPX7 for GPX; MDAR2-4 for MDHAR; and DHAR1 and DHAR3 for DHAR families appeared to be more differentially expressed under given stress conditions. Primarily, high light as well as salt and cold stresses considerably up-regulated the gene expression, whereas cold stress significantly led to the down-regulation of genes. The overall expression pattern of ecotypes suggested that the studied Arabidopsis genotypes had different stress tolerance.


Gastric metastasis by solid tumor cancer is a rare event. Concomitant metastases to other organs are frequent, so that this condition is often associated to a poor prognosis. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia are the most common presenting symptoms. We present the case of a 81 years old women previously treated for cervix carcinoma showing later a stomach metastasis. The patient is alive and disease free 39 months after salvage gastrectomy. A radical surgery in selected patients could be useful for symptom palliation and prolonged survival.


"We find in distinct languages striking homologies due to community of descent." --Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man There is a little oddity at the beginning of Wilkie Collins's sixth novel, which everyone notices, a short Preface that ends by alerting his readers that the story they are about to read lacks suspense. It demands our attention as a kind of repudiation, because, by 1862, after the phenomenal success of The Woman in White, Collins's reputation depended upon his ability to hide secrets within elaborate plots. This was the bread and butter of the Sensational School, and he was rightly considered its leader. Somewhat perversely, then, he says, "The only Secret contained in this book, is revealed midway in the first volume" (xxi). Now most writers would shy away from such a bald declaration as this, even if they were not committed as Collins was to producing a type of fiction driven largely by the thirst for uncovering dangerous secrets. The very readers whom he had cultivated might lack the incentive to go forward. But he wanted to try new ground and to vary the form by which he appealed to his audience. Admirable, certainly, but smacking of needy rationalization when one meets it here. Something about this new book needed explaining. He felt it. The disappointed critics felt it. Was it "the struggle of a human creature, under those opposing influences of Good and Evil, which we have all felt, which we have all known" (xxi)? Collins devotes two of the three paragraphs of the Preface to a discussion of character, and the critical response to the novel has turned almost entirely on these questions. The early reviewers pronounced Magdalen Vanstone an unappealing heroine, unworthy of her happy ending, and they judged her creator to have overstepped the bounds of morality in representing her story. It is only in the third paragraph that Collins comes to the plan of the story, and the lack of suspense; but this is undoubtedly where he has been heading all along. The core idea and chief oddity of the book, I believe, is this: "all the main events of the story are purposely foreshadowed, before they take place--my present design being to rouse the reader's interest in following the train of circumstances by which these foreseen events are brought about" (xxi-xxii). After the secret is revealed, No Name is not a novel of disclosure or discovery, but of inexorable movement toward a foreseen conclusion--with a single, important exception. A stranger, Robert Kirke, sees Magdalen once at a seaside resort, falls madly in love, and finds her by chance in London, one year later, when she is near death and about to be evicted from a poor lodging house. She has reached the end of her line. Her fall is complete. Without Mr. Kirke's improbable intervention, we are led to believe, she would have died, abandoned in the street. As the title suggests, No Name is a highly self-conscious exploration of the consequences of losing one's identity, and as Jonathan Loesberg and others have argued, the "concern with identity and its loss" is the abiding theme of sensation fiction (117). Writers and readers in the 1850s and 1860s were preoccupied with the loss of class identity and social identity, which would result, many feared, in the merging of the classes. The particular frisson of the sensation novel is traceable, Loesberg says, to this fear (135). The "narrative of inevitable sequence" (117) that follows from the loss of name and home is clearly what Collins has in mind in the Preface, not mystery at all but shared knowledge. What kind of knowledge did Collins share with his readers that would have enabled them to follow the links in the chain of his carefully plotted narrative? The earliest reviews of the sensation novel traced it quickly to its source: the newspapers. Margaret Oliphant even named a subgenre of sensation fiction the "Newspaper Novel" (501). Sensation novelists were inspired by real events, and readers were drawn in by the realization that these stories could be happening anywhere, to anyone. …


The results of a computation, performed with a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes computation at ONERA, have been averaged in the blade-to-blade direction; the spatial fluctuations around the averaged flow variables have also been determined. It has then been possible to estimate all terms in the average components of the momentum equations. The comparison of the two-dimensional balances of these three equations shows that the shear stress play a minor role in the momentum balance, except on the dissipation of the passage vortex kinetic energy downstream of the blade trailing edges. The kinetic energy of the spanwise component of the velocity spatial fluctuations has a very strong influence on the radial pressure gradient; it introduces a convection effect. This is a key effect for all these balances.Copyright © 1993 by ASME


A revised gravity model has been adopted in the thesis to measure the changes of bilateral trade costs of China and other 28 countries during 1992 ~ 2007.The results are as follows: China's trade costs take on a declining trendand the bilateral trade costs between China and developed countries is lower than that of developing countries. As the trade costs between China and major trading partners take on a declining trend, which even has room for further decline, the major policy significances in this thesis are that China shall continue to excavate the way to reduce the trade costs in order tofurther enhance the export competitiveness.


We show that voltage response of dc SQUID can be substantially linearized by the introduction of a nonlinear inductance. The inductance tuning allows us to achieve the response linearity as high as 120 dB. Such a nonlinear inductance can be easily formed using Josephson junction inductance. To obtain high dynamic range commensurate to the high response linearity, one can use series array of the nonlinear inductance dc SQUIDs.


A continental‐scale dynamic mass budget for toxaphene in North America is presented, based on available information on physicochemical properties, usage patterns, and reported environmental concentrations and using the Berkeley‐Trent North American mass balance contaminant fate model (BETR North America). The model describes contaminant fate in 24 ecological regions of North America, including advective transport between regions in the atmosphere, freshwater, and near‐shore coastal water. The dynamic mass budget accounts for environmental partitioning, transport, and degradation of the estimated 534 million kg of toxaphene that were used in North America as an insecticide and piscicide between 1945 and 2000. Satisfactory agreement exists between model results and current and historically reported concentrations of toxaphene in air, water, soil, and sediments throughout North America. An estimated 15 million kg of toxaphene are believed to remain in active circulation in the North American environment in the year 2000, with the majority in soils in the southern United States and Mexico, where historic usage was highest. Approximately 70% of total toxaphene deposition from the atmosphere to the Great Lakes is attributed to sources outside the Great Lakes Basin, and an estimated total of 3.9 million kg of toxaphene have been transported to this region from other parts of the continent. The toxaphene mass budget presented here is believed to be the first reported continental‐scalemultimedia mass budget for any contaminant.


Seventy clinical strains of Vibrio cholerae O1 isolated from 1982–96 in Samutsakorn, a port city 30 km southwest of Bangkok where cholera occurs at low levels with regular seasonality, were characterized to investigate if there were any differences among the O1 strains isolated before, during and after the O139 epidemic. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing, ribotyping and southern blot hybridization with a cholera toxin probe (CT genotyping) demonstrated several genotypes among O1 strains isolated before the emergence of V. cholerae O139. However, O1 strains isolated during and after the advent of O139 showed identical ribotypes which were distinctly different from the types identified in strains isolated before the emergence of O139. Ribotypes identified in strains during and after the advent of O139 were also demonstrated by O1 strains isolated immediately before the emergence of O139. Considering the seasonality of cholera in Samutsakorn, the identical ribotype and CT genotype and the closely related PFGE types shown by all O1 strains isolated during and after the appearance of O139 is remarkable and suggest that the V. cholerae O1 strain may reemerge from an environmental source. A subgroup of V. cholerae O1 strains isolated before the emergence of the O139 epidemic had a ribotype identical to a type demonstrated by O139 strains isolated in Thailand. Our results support similar findings in Bangladesh and India that a distinct O1 strain appeared during the O139 epidemic. However, compared with the apparent identical strain which replaced O139 in Bangladesh and India, the emerged O1 strain in Samutsakorn showed a different ribotype and CT genotype.


A simple addressing scheme for pipeline MDC shared-memory architecture with mixed-radix algorithm is proposed. It can provide a simple control circuit for memory addressing generation, and the mixed-radix butterfly sequence can be automatically generated by way of simple counter. In addition, for the N-point FFT processor, only N/8 coefficients should be stored in the VLSI implementation, therefore, the ROM size and the FFT processor area are reduced. According to the simple control scheme and small memory size, the low-power VLSI architecture can be achieved. Furthermore, the architecture with the mixed-radix algorithm also enhances the speed in performing large-point FFT computations compared with the existing shared-memory architectures. Based on this architecture, not only radix-23 butterfly is adopted to achieve the requirement of high throughput, but also radix-2 2 or radix-2 butterfly is utilized to allow all of FFT calculation for N=2n. An VLSI architecture of 8192-point FFT processor with only power consumption of 890muW is also implemented to demonstrate the proposed method


Background: Pathologic complete response (pCR) to HER2-targeting neoadjuvant therapy (NT) predicts for improved survival (Cortazar et al, Lancet, 2014). The addition of pertuzumab to trastuzumab and docetaxel increased pCR rates, and, as first line treatment for MBC led to longer overall survival ([OS] Swain et al, NEJM 2015). Avoidance of anthracyclines in the adjuvant setting for HER2+ BC reduced the risk of secondary hematologic malignancies without a detriment to OS (Slamon et al, NEJM, 20111). Finally, nab-paclitaxel (nab) might provide an advantage over other taxanes via decreased use of steroids and may lead to increased response rates (RR). We designed a study of pertuzumab (pert), trastuzumab (trast), and nab, testing the feasibility and efficacy of this regimen in the LABC and metastatic breast cancer settings. Materials and Methods: Pts with Stages II-III LABC received six cycles of NT with pert (day 1 q 21 days), trast, and nab 100 mg/m2 (both given IV, weekly). Pts with untreated MBC received the same regimen until progression, toxicities, or patient or physician preference led to stopping therapy. Primary endpoints included pCR (LABC) and RR and progression-free survival (PFS) in MBC. Forty pts with LABC and 25 pts with MBC were to be accrued. The study was designed to test whether the pCR rate of Neosphere (Gianni et al, Lancet Oncol, 2012, > 45.8%) and the PFS rate of CLEOPATRA (median of > 18.5 months) can be matched or exceeded. Procurement of serial samples for assessment of tumor gene expression, circulating tumor cells, miRNA, and serum DNA profiling for exploratory biomarker analysis was carried out. Results:Twenty-two of 28 already enrolled pts with LABC (clinical stage II:15, stage III: 7) completed NT. The median age was 53 (34-77). The pCR rate was 86% (6/7) for hormone receptor negative (HR-) and 40% (6/15) for HR+ pts, with an overall pCR of 55%. Three pts without pCR following NT had residual BC with a HER2 negative phenotype. Eighteen of 22 pts required nab dose modifications. The most frequent toxicities following NT included elevated liver function tests:27%, peripheral neuropathy:23%, hematological toxicities:17%, diarrhea:18%, infusion reactions:18%. In the MBC cohort there were 13 of 16 enrolled pts with > 2 months of follow-up. The median age was 47 (31-65), 62% had HR+ disease. A CR rate of 4/13 (31%) and confirmed RR of 77% were observed. The median number of cycles with pert, trast, nab was 9 (3+ to 41); 11 of 13 pts required dose modifications or delays (3 of the delays were due to primary breast surgery performed upon response to treatment). At a median follow-up of 19 months, PFS and OS estimates are 63% (95% CI 0.09-0.93), and 89% (95% CI 0.61-1.0). Conclusion: The non-anthracycline-containing regimen of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and nab-paclitaxel induced a high pCR rate in HER2+ BC. PFS is encouraging in MBC. Outcome of the fully accrued cohorts inclusive of residual cancer burden scores in the LABC cohort, and correlative data with exploratory biomarker analysis will be presented. Citation Format: Somlo G, Frankel P, Yeon C, Yuan Y, Yim J, Kruper L, Taylor L, Mortimer J, Waisman J, Jones V, Vito C, Paz B, Huria A, Li D, Gaal C, Tong T, Tumyan L. Phase II trial of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and nab-paclitaxel in patients (pts) with HER2 overexpressing (HER2+) locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer (LABC) or untreated stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-21-35.


The scope of this study was to investigate the homogenization of a two-layer stratified liquid in a tank where liquid stirring was achieved by carrying out external recirculation. Furthermore, the aim of the research was to observe the effect of the height of the outlet during the time of mixing one. The experimental fluid was two-layer, density stratified liquid. From the perspective of homogeneity, the effect of the height of the outlet was investigated in laboratory. Moreover, the experimental device was modeled in CFD. In simulation examination, laminar - and k-ε-model were used, and the influence of the outlet position was observed. The difference was remarkable in the first part of the measurement caused by the presence of sharp concentration variation in the tank. After the operating time, the expected homogeneity was fulfilled at the outlet in all cases. Regarding of CFD research, the results suggest that the laminar model is more effective to describe the concentration changes at the sampling point in the tank investigated.


Purpose of review Although the aetiology of sarcoidosis is not yet completely understood, immunological changes within the T-cell compartment are characteristic for an exaggerated antigen-driven immune response. In this review, we describe the most recent findings on T-cell subset responses and regulation in sarcoidosis. We discuss how future immunological research can advance the field to unravel pathobiological mechanisms of this intriguingly complex disease. Recent findings Research into the field of T-cell plasticity has recently challenged the long-held T helper type 1 (Th1) paradigm in sarcoidosis and striking parallels with autoimmune disorders and common variable immunodeficiency were recognized. For instance, it was demonstrated that Th17.1-cells rather than Th1-cells are responsible for the exaggerated IFN-&ggr; production in pulmonary sarcoidosis. Furthermore, impaired regulatory T-cell function and alterations within the expression of co-inhibitory receptors that control T-cell responses, such as PD-1, CTLA-4 and BTNL2, raise new questions regarding T-cell regulation in pulmonary sarcoidosis. Summary It becomes increasingly clear that Th17(.1)-cells and regulatory T-cells are key players in sarcoidosis T-cell immunology. New findings on plasticity and co-inhibitory receptor expression by these subsets help build a more comprehensive model for T-cell regulation in sarcoidosis and will finally shed light on the potential of new treatment modalities.


Abstract Although older age theoretically might be a negative risk factor for liver transplantation (LT) outcomes, age alone should not exclude a patient from waiting list. This study is to investigate the outcomes of elderly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients which meet Milan criteria. A retrospective study was performed in a single liver transplantation center. Demographic and clinical data of 110 HCC LDLT recipients from January 2004 to December 2012 were collected and analyzed, including 31 elderly recipients in group E (≥60 years) and 79 younger recipients in group Y (<60 years). Recipients' age between 2 groups were significantly different (65.4 ± 4.8 vs 49.9 ± 5.9, P = 0.000). There was no significant difference in preoperative demographic data as well as postoperative liver function. Complication rates, length of ICU and hospital stay, graft loss, and mortality were similar in both groups, as well as the 1-, and 3-year overall and disease-free survival rates (77.4%, and 64.5% vs 82.8%, and 44.6%, P = 0.458; 94.7%, and 80.7% vs 98.6%, and 85.9%, P = 0.661). When recipients were further stratified into group E1, E2, Y1, and Y2, no significant difference was found in 1-, and 3-year overall and disease-free survival rates. In multivariate analysis, recipients' age was not a predictor for long-term survival. Following rigorous listing criteria, if overall clinical conditions and comorbidities allowed, elderly HCC recipients achieved similar LDLT outcomes and survival rates with the younger HCC recipients.


Numerous metazoans express venoms for the purpose of defense, competitor deterrence, or prey capture. Peptide neurotoxins are particularly well represented in the venoms of arachnids, cnidarians and mollusks and these toxins often possess high affinity and specificity for particular classes of ion channels. Some of these toxins have become the defining pharmacology for certain vertebrate ion channel subtypes. Unfortunately, due to differences in the structure, pharmacology, and ion selectivity of insect voltage-gated sodium (NaV) and calcium (CaV) channels compared with their vertebrate counterparts, these peptide toxins have proven less useful for the characterization of insect ion channels. Despite these disparities in channel structure and function, the armament of peptide toxins that specifically modulate the activity of insect ion channels is slowly expanding. This review focuses on insect-selective peptide toxins and their utility for the study of insect NaV and CaV channels. The high affinity and selectivity of some of these neurotoxins means that they have the potential to become the defining pharmacology for specific subtypes of insect ion channels. In addition, it might be possible to exploit the phyletic specificity of these toxins as the basis for rational development of novel classes of ion channel insecticides.


A self-stabilizing simulation of a single-writer multi-reader atomic register is presented. The simulation works in asynchronous message-passing systems, and allows processes to crash, as long as at least a majority of them remain working. A key element in the simulation is a new combinatorial construction of a bounded labeling scheme that can accommodate arbitrary labels, i.e., including those not generated by the scheme itself.


The CHARGE syndrome comprises ocular coloboma, heart malformation, choanal atresia, retarded growth and development, central nervous system malformations, genital hypoplasia, ear abnormalities, or deafness. The cause of the CHARGE syndrome remains unknown. In the present study, we analyzed the distribution pattern of the PAX2 gene in human embryos and found that PAX2 gene expression occurs in the primordia affected in the CHARGE syndrome. These data prompted us to consider the PAX2 gene a candidate gene in the CHARGE "association." We analyzed the PAX2 gene in 34 patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of the CHARGE syndrome for deletion and nucleotidic variations of the coding sequence and identified only polymorphisms. Our data suggest that mutation of the PAX2 gene is not a cause of the CHARGE association. However, the pattern of expression of PAX2 suggests that genes encoding downstream targets effectors could be candidate genes for the CHARGE syndrome.


Objectives To develop a radiomics signature for predicting surgical portal vein-superior mesenteric vein (PV-SMV) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and measure the effect of providing the predictions of radiomics signature to radiologists with different diagnostic experiences during imaging interpretation. Methods Between February 2008 and June 2020, 146 patients with PDAC in pancreatic head or uncinate process from two institutions were retrospectively included and randomly split into a training (n = 88) and a validation (n =58) cohort. Intraoperative vascular exploration findings were used to identify surgical PV-SMV invasion. Radiomics features were extracted from the portal venous phase CT images. Radiomics signature was built with a linear elastic-net regression model. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the radiomics signature was calculated. A senior and a junior radiologist independently review CT scans and made the diagnosis for PV-SMV invasion both with and without radiomics score (Radscore) assistance. A 2-sided Pearson's chi-squared test was conducted to evaluate whether there was a difference in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy between the radiomics signature and the unassisted radiologists. To assess the incremental value of providing Radscore predictions to the radiologists, we compared the performance between unassisted evaluation and Radscore-assisted evaluation by using the McNemar test. Results Numbers of patients identified as presence of surgical PV-SMV invasion were 33 (37.5%) and 19 (32.8%) in the training and validation cohort, respectively. The radiomics signature achieved an AUC of 0.848 (95% confidence interval, 0.724–0.971) in the validation cohort and had a comparable sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as the senior radiologist in predicting PV-SMV invasion (all p-values > 0.05). Providing predictions of radiomics signature increased both radiologists' sensitivity in identifying PV-SMV invasion, while only the increase of the junior radiologist was significant (63.2 vs 89.5%, p-value = 0.025) instead of the senior radiologist (73.7 vs 89.5%, p-value = 0.08). Both radiologists' accuracy had no significant increase when provided radiomics signature assistance (both p-values > 0.05). Conclusions The radiomics signature can predict surgical PV-SMV invasion in patients with PDAC and may have incremental value to the diagnostic performance of radiologists during imaging interpretation.


Managing asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis with a view to preventing ischemic stroke is a challenging task. As the annual risk of stroke in untreated asymptomatic patients on average is less than the risk of surgical intervention, the key question is how to identify those asymptomatic individuals whose risk of stroke is elevated and who would benefit from surgery, while sparing low-risk asymptomatic patients from the risks of surgical intervention. The advent of a multitude of noninvasive carotid imaging techniques offers an opportunity to improve risk stratification in patients and to monitor the response to medical therapies; assessing efficacy at individual and population levels. As part of this, plaque measurement techniques (using ultrasound, computed tomography or MRI) may be employed in monitoring plaque/component regression and progression. Novel imaging applications targeted to plaque characteristics, inflammation and neovascularization, including contrast-enhanced ultrasound and MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, and fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, are also being explored. Ultimately, noninvasive imaging and other advances in risk stratification aim to improve and individualize the management of patients with carotid atherosclerosis.


The Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) process model developed by the Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards (VICS) association has received significant attention from both practitioners and academics. However, despite promising pilots, the adoption rate of CPFR has been slower than expected, especially in Europe. The reason seems to be that the proposed collaboration process is currently too labour-intensive for many companies. There is a need for streamlined approaches to get collaboration started in Europe. This paper presents a case study involving a supplier and a retailer collaborating to increase the retailer's forecasting accuracy for new product introductions. The approach is based on creating one forecast that is then shared within the supply chain. Three other streamlined approaches to planning and forecasting collaboration are also presented on a more general level. Finally, there is a discussion as to how the product life cycle model can be used to select and combine the most suitable approaches to collaboration in different market situations.


The roles wood-boring insects play in modifying mangrove ecosystems were examined on small, offshore mangrove islands in Belize. Several species of xylem- and phloem-feeding woodborers consume the wood of living mangrove trees. By girdling, pruning, and hollowing, woodborers killed over 50% of the Rhizophora mangle canopy in experimental plots arrayed across a tidal-elevation gradient. In contrast, leaf-feeding herbivores removed less than 6% of the canopy. In the plots, stem girdlers killed over three branches per tree. The patterns of herbivory by three functional feeding groups were heterogeneous and did not vary consistently with tidal elevation. Because R. mangle lacks viable axillary buds or the ability to produce epicormic shoots to replace pruned branches, the canopy architecture was significantly modified by this damage. The branches that were pruned by stem girdlers created numerous small holes or gaps in the mangrove canopy. Shoot growth and flowering increased in R. mangle trees with 50% of their branches experimentally girdled. Because branches and twigs attacked by woodborers lost their leaves prematurely as greenfall, the quantity and quality of leaf litter were altered when a leaf-bearing branch was girdled or hollowed. These changes suggest that wood-boring insects also significantly affect internal and external nutrient cycling processes in mangrove ecosystems.


The article intends to highlight how building in exceptional environmental conditions (e.g. sites inaccessible to traditional vehicles, particularly harsh climate conditions, etc.) and reducing the environmental impact of the built environment lead to the adjustment of construction techniques, through applications of materials, even traditional, but made more efficient by innovative offsite and onsite production processes. A Life Cycle Assessment study has enabled to compare the impact of rice-based straw bale as a building material having both a load-bearing and insulation function, and to compare the results achieved with alternative scenarios characterised by materials conventionally used in construction, such as rock wool and concrete and masonry.