A strategy is developed for characterizing the properties and microphysical structure of a mixed phase aerosol droplet consisting of an aqueous sodium chloride host and an insoluble organic inclusion using aerosol optical tweezers and Raman spectroscopy. In particular, palmitic acid (PA), solvated in ethanol and nebulized to produce a flow of aerosol, is coalesced with an optically trapped sodium chloride droplet. Once the ethanol solvent has evaporated, a hydrated crystalline organic phase is formed. Two distinct classes of mixed phase structure are observed. The observation of a PA aggregate formed immediately on coalescence at the surface of the host droplet is consistent with the hydrophobicity of the organic component; this is the dominant structure observed. However, PA inclusions are also observed within the droplet bulk following the evaporation of the ethanol solvent. This may be attributable to the interplay of the optical forces exerted on the inclusion and the lowering of the surface tension of the aqueous droplet by the presence of a monolayer of PA, or through direct incorporation of a PA inclusion by impaction. In this latter class of structure, an autocorrelation analysis of the Raman signatures suggests that the inclusion diffuses throughout the entire droplet volume. Finally, the coupling of nonresonant and resonant heating of the droplet, arising from motion of the PA inclusion within the droplet, is contrasted with observations of the lowering of equilibrium droplet size that accompanies the presence of a weakly absorbing inclusion, a polystyrene bead, within the droplet core.


Background Pseudomeningoceles (PMCs) as abnormal collections of cerebrospinal fluid are quite common findings on follow-up MRI after Chiari decompression surgery (CDS). However, the importance of their identification has not been truly determined, especially when PMCs are described occasionally in the process of radiological follow-up. We retrospectively analyzed surgical outcomes and imaging findings after CDS depending upon the occurrence and thickness of PMCs. Methods A total of 76 adult patients who underwent CDS were analyzed. The clinical and radiological outcomes of patients with a pseudomeningocele (wPMC) were evaluated and compared to those of patients without a pseudomeningocele (w/oPMC). Radiological morphometric measurements were performed and compared between groups. Comparisons of the maximal PMC thickness were made within the wPMC group. Results PMCs were recognized in 27 (35.5%) patients, of whom 3 (11.1%) required reoperation. Differences in satisfactory result rates regarding gestalt assessment and Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale were statistically insignificant between the w/oPMC and wPMC groups (p = 1 and p = 0.56, respectively). The postoperative syringomyelia decrease and cerebellar tonsil elevation were similar between the groups (p = 1 and p = 0.74, respectively) in the long-term follow-up. Additionally, the clinical or radiological outcomes with radiological details were not related to PMC thickness in the long-term follow-up. However, radiological details showed the cooccurrence of PMCs with a postsurgical of cerebello-tentorial distance increase (p < 0.05), basion-pontomedullary sulcus distance decrease (p < 0.05) and tonsillo-graft distance decrease (p < 0.05). Conclusions We found no significant relationships between PMC presence or thickness and clinical or radiological outcomes. However, postoperative changes within the posterior fossa associated with PMCs resemble brain sagging, which occurs in intracranial hypotension. Therefore, extradural cerebrospinal fluid escape may also be responsible for symptoms in some patients with PMCs after CDS.


This work is part of a general effort to demonstrate the effect of the bulk microstructure of titanium as a model bone implant material on viability of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells). The objective of this work was to study the proliferation of preosteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells extracted from mice embryos on commercial purity titanium substrates. Two distinct states of titanium were considered: as-received material with an average grain size of 4.5 microm and that processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), with an average grain size of 200 nm. We report the first results of an in vitro study into the effect of this extreme grain refinement on viability and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. By means of MTT assays it was demonstrated that ECAP processing of titanium enhances MC3T3-E1 culture proliferation in a spectacular way. This finding suggests that bone implants made from ECAP processed titanium may promote bone tissue growth.


Religion is almost universally guaranteed as a fundamental liberty and human right, although the scope of religious freedom and understandings of religious identity within secular democracies are informed by the specific model of constitutional secularism practiced. States often evidence an ambivalent attitude towards religion, treating it as Law's Other, that is, a competing normative system which has regulative force on social behaviour and influences conceptions of citizenship and affective loyalties. This article examines the interpretive method of two secular Asian courts, which are meant to be bastions of impartiality, in negotiating questions of religious identity and religious freedom. It analyses the judicial weighting and balancing of relevant competing factors and considers the varied understanding of what secularity requires and whether the concerns of religious minorities are adequately safeguarded within secular polities where religion remains an important social force.


Objective To compare the clinical effects of budesonide enema 2mg/100ml and methylprednisolone hemisuccinate (MP) enema 20mg/100ml once daily in active distal ulcerative colitis. Design Patients with mild or moderate distal ulcerative colitis (n = 88), which did not extend beyond the splenic flexure, were enrolled in a multicentre randomized investigator blind study comprising a blind treatment period of 4 weeks followed by a 4-week open phase with the same budesonide dose in patients with partial remission. Patients were assessed at 2, 4 and 8 weeks. Results At 4 weeks, 39% of patients on budesonide and 36% on MP were considered to be in clinical remission; budesonide was more effective in patients with moderate disease at entry (36 versus 29%). On sigmoidoscopy, no differences in the porportion of patients with no or only mild signs of mucosal inflammation were observed between budesonide and MP (43 versus 46%, respectively). No significant differences were observed in the histology scores. Of the 37 patients receiving budesonide for a further 4 weeks, 65% achieved symptomatic remission and 47% showed mucosal healing or substantial improvement on endoscopy at 8 weeks. Plasma cortisol levels fell significantly (P < 0.01) after 4 weeks in patients on MP, while only a slight change was observed in those on budesonide. After 8 weeks, plasma cortisol levels were unchanged in patients continuing on budesonide whereas in those switched from MP to budesonide, they approached the baseline value. No drug-related adverse experiences were observed. Conclusions Budesonide enema seems to be as effective as MP enema in the topical treatment of distal ulcerative colitis but unlike conventional steroids, it causes minimal or no adrenal supression.


Globalization of economy, technological development and increasing competition about limited resources make tangible values, including knowledge, the key factor in economic growth. These phenomena influence national economies, households and enterprises. As a result, an increasing group of business entities, including also tourism companies, use the concept of knowledge management. The aim of this thesis is to analyse knowledge management performed by selected travel agencies from Tarnowski Subregion. Two main research methods are used in the thesis: documentation research method and diagnostic survey method. Based on the documentation method and using data from the secondary sources, one has made an inventory of travel agencies located in Tarnowski Subregion. Then, based on the diagnostic survey method and by means of questionnaire technique a research has been carried out on use of knowledge management at 44 travel agencies. The surveyed owners or managers of travel agencies indicated financial resources, then human resources and tangible resources (knowledge, patents, know how) as the most important groups of resources. Knowledge management is the most popular concept of management used at the surveyed travel agencies. Using and acquiring knowledge are the processes most frequently realized within this method. The most often used knowledge management tools there are: intranet, document management systems and workflow systems. According to the respondents, knowledge resources and trust-based interpersonal relations are the most important areas of knowledge management at their enterprises. It seems that large significance of the issues discussed in the thesis makes reasonable to continue research on this subject area.


These are the guidelines by which materials are purchased for the Library and Information Science collection of the UW Libraries (Seattle Campus).


The mathematical framework of matrix decomposition implies the possibility to perform statistical analyses of directed graphs focused on the distributions of the independent cyclic and starlike hierarchical components. In this approach the weighted directed graphs with n nodes are built up as a linear combination of starlike graphs with n outgoing edges and a suitable set of three-edge cyclic subgraphs. The applicability of this approach is illustrated by quantifying several general features: e.g., ratio of the cyclic and hierarchical components and asymmetry in the hierarchical components. The applicability of these methods is illustrated by considering the averages over random directed graphs and comparing these values with those characterizing simple directed graphs of tournaments.


Introduction: Alcohol dependence is a global problem worldwide and the global burden of disease study published in 2010 concluded alcohol use to be the third leading risk factor for death and disability. This study was conducted to find out the diagnostic profile, socio- cultural determinants, motivation level and other related variables in patients diagnosed as alcohol dependence in hospital admitted patients.Material and Method: This was a cross- sectional study carried out in patients diagnosed as alcohol dependence and admitted in the deaddiction ward of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital over a period of eight months. SPSS version 18 was used for the statistical analysis of the data obtained.Results: A total of 86 patients were admitted during the period of 8 months. Among those, 48% were admitted with the diagnosis of alcohol dependence- complicated withdrawal while remaining 52% were admitted with alcohol dependence- uncomplicated withdrawal. Assessment of motivation revealed that majority of the patients i.e.43% were in precontemplation phase, 27.9% were in the contemplation phase, 9.3% were in preparation phase, and 19.8% were ready to take action for remaining abstinent. Sociodemographic variables were not statistically significant except for family type where more than 70% of patients with complicated withdrawal belonged to nuclear family when compared to uncomplicated withdrawal.Conclusion: In this study, we assessed the overall profile of patients admitted with alcohol dependence syndrome in a tertiary care hospital so that this data can be used for better management of our patients.J Psychiatrists' Association of Nepal Vol .6(1), 2017, p.38-43


This study reviews the relationship between social policy and the division of domestic chores in the family by providing a new theoretical framework for housework reallocation. We argue that if presented as a dual process composed of modern values formation and behavioral compliance with such values, the reallocation of unpaid labor can be affected by a wide set of welfare state policies. In particular, education or labor market policies contribute to the emergence of modern values, while child care provision or poverty alleviation practices facilitate behavioral compliance with them. We suggest that the level of symmetry in the distribution of domestic chores in families is a function of whether or not policies promoting both stages of the reallocation are introduced. In addition, we demonstrate what may result if only one of them becomes a key target of welfare state activities. This theoretical framework is tested on data from the European Social Survey (2004) for 25 countries, using a variety of statistical techniques.


Cuscuta campestris is the most widespread species in the genus Cuscuta belonging to family Convolvulaceae throughout the World. Cuscuta campestris possess to have anthelmintic activity. The ethanol extract of plant also proved to have Analgesic, antipyretic and anti- inflammatory activity (Azza, et al., 1996) on different host. The dried methanol extract (CC ME) of the whole plant of Cuscuta campestris Yuncker was studied for its analgesic activity grown on Nerium indicum (Apocyanaceae). Analgesic activity was carried out using animal models i.e. Acetic acid Induced Writhing Test (Chemical Stimulation) and Heat conduction method in comparison with Diclofenac sodium as reference standard (Positive control). The CC ME was given in doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight in which dose 400 mg/kg given significant results in comparison with reference standard Diclofenac sodium. The study may conclude that some chemical entities transferred from host Nerium indicum to the parasite Cuscuta campestris are responsible for analgesia.


Abstract. Environmental equity is a concept derived from the (un)equal exposure to environmental degradation by different social groups, usually minorities and low-income people exposed to major environmental risks, also known as environmental justice. It is assumed that no group of people, independent of race, ethnicity or socio-economic class, should support, either in concentrated or unevenly distributed form, the negative environmental impacts resulting from industrial, agricultural, commercial and infrastructure activities or government programs and policies. In this paper the concept of environmental equity is explored as a criterion for water management through the analysis of a typical coupled human–natural system: the Epitacio Pessoa Reservoir, located in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Inefficient water resource management has caused unequal access to water by the population, particularly during drought periods. However, census data indicate that population have practically the same access to water, which actually is not able to reflect the actual picture. This study argues that environmental equity can be an additional criterion to improve water management.


Abstract:  Although the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis has been well described, there is a paucity of recent data on the public health burden associated with this disease. Accordingly, California's Inpatient Hospital Discharge Data Set from 1997 to 2002 was used to calculate the incidence of hospitalization for coccidioidomycosis by county, year, age, race, ethnicity, and gender. The overall finding that coccidioidomycosis has a significant impact in endemic areas supports the conclusion that the need for a preventive vaccine is great. Investigators of the Valley Fever Vaccine Project (VFVP) have successfully identified a number of recombinant coccidioidal protein antigens and two attenuated mutant strains that have been evaluated as vaccines, demonstrating protective responses in murine models. Efforts to select and develop a vaccine for human clinical trials are in progress.


This paper proposes a new three phase hybrid passive filter (HPF) for compensating voltage and current harmonics type of load, and power factor. The proposed filter is not sensitive to source impedance variations, eliminate the chances of series and parallel resonance and eliminates large variation of power factor and terminal voltage caused by varying loads under stiff and distorted source conditions. Besides these, the topology also helps fast settling of transients and blocking of harmonics. The investigations are carried out to validate the performance of proposed HPF with detuned resonance, for effective and efficient operation under varying loads and source conditions. The topology of HPF is chosen to shift the resonance frequency of the resulting system below 80 Hz where no excitation is expected. The frequency response shows excellent damping characteristic for load harmonic current above 80 Hz, The simulation results show that the proposed passive filter can simultaneously compensate effectively all harmonics and reactive power for a variety of nonlinear loads.


Flow stress models in FE-analysis of metal cutting require material parameters that are essential considering the accuracy of the simulations. This paper presents a method to acquire material parameters from cutting experiments using the extended Oxley's shear zone theory. The novelty in this approach is to use measured chip geometry and temperature instead of determining them analytically to calculate strain and strain rate. These values are used to calculate the resultant cutting forces with the extended Oxley's model and Johnson-Cook flow stress model. Flow stress model parameters are optimized to fit the calculated forces to those measured from cutting experiments. The JohnsonCook parameters acquired with this method perform better than those found in the literature.


Each large particle accelerator which has been developed over the past years has been designed to yield information which was previously unavailable. Much of the design criteria depended upon the r.f. energy source available. This paper discusses the r.f. energy sources preserntly available. An extension is made to higher power tubes and the associated problems are discussed in detail.


Author(s): Han, Xuchen | Advisor(s): Teran, Joseph M | Abstract: We present an extension to the Material Point Method (MPM) for simulating elastic objects with various co-dimensions like hair (1D), thin shells (2D), and volumetric objects (3D). We simulate thin shells with frictional contact using a combination of MPM and subdivision finite elements. The shell kinematics are assumed to follow a continuum shell model which is decomposed into a Kirchhoff-Love motion that rotates the mid-surface normals followed by shearing and compression/extension of the material along the mid-surface normal. We use this decomposition to design an elastoplastic constitutive model to resolve frictional contact by decoupling resistance to contact and shearing from the bending resistance components of stress. We show that by resolving frictional contact with a continuum approach, our hybrid Lagrangian/Eulerian approach is capable of simulating challenging shell contact scenarios with hundreds of thousands to millions of degrees of freedom. Furthermore our technique naturally couples with other traditional MPM methods for simulating granular materials. Without the need for collision detection or resolution, our method runs in a few minutes per frame in these high resolution examples. For the simulation of hair and volumetric elastic objects, we utilize a Lagrangian mesh for internal force computation and an Eulerian mesh for self collision as well as coupling with external materials. While the updated Lagrangian discretization where the Eulerian grid degrees of freedom are used to take variations of the potential energy is effective in simulating thin shells, its frictional contact response strategy does not generalize to volumetric objects. Therefore, we develop a hybrid approach that retains Lagrangian degrees of freedom while still allowing for natural coupling with other materials simulated with traditional MPM. We demonstrate the efficacy of our technique with examples that involve elastic soft tissues coupled with kinematic skeletons, extreme deformation, and coupling with multiple elastoplastic materials. Our approach also naturally allows for two-way rigid body coupling.


Since the early 1990s, phytoplankton has been studied and monitored in Potter Cove (PC) and Admiralty Bay (AB), King George/25 de Mayo Island (KGI), South Shetlands. Phytoplankton biomass is typically low compared to other Antarctic shelf environments, with average spring—summer values below 1 mg chlorophyll a (Chl a) m−3. The physical conditions in the area (reduced irradiance induced by particles originated from the land, intense winds) limit the coastal productivity at KGI, as a result of shallow Sverdrup's critical depths (Zc) and large turbulent mixing depths (Zt). In January 2010 a large phytoplankton bloom with a maximum of around 20 mg Chl a m−3, and monthly averages of 4 (PC) and 6 (AB) mg Chl a m−3, was observed in the area, making it by far the largest recorded bloom over the last 20 yr. Dominant phytoplankton species were the typical bloom‐forming diatoms that are usually found in the western Antarctic Peninsula area. Anomalously cold air temperature and dominant winds from the eastern sector seem to explain adequate light : mixing environment. Local physical conditions were analyzed by means of the relationship between Zc and Zt, and conditions were found adequate for allowing phytoplankton development. However, a multiyear analysis indicates that these conditions may be necessary but not sufficient to guarantee phytoplankton accumulation. The relation between maximum Chl a values and air temperature suggests that bottom‐up control would render such large blooms even less frequent in KGI under the warmer climate expected in the area during the second half of the present century.


Among the illustrations used for a 4to Missale Romanum published by Christopher Plantin in 1585 are five prints by Jan Wierix and four anonymous copies of his work, none of which are in Marie Mauquoy-Hendrickx's extensive catalogue, Les Estampes des Wierix (Brussels 1978-83). This new group of religious prints and an already known group of comparably scaled Wierix engravings appear formerly to have been part of a single series of images. A consideration of both the subjects represented and archival evidence suggests that the series had been commissioned for the illustration of books of hours and not the missals in which the engravings are seen today. Finally, a similar examination of the subjects represented in two other sets of Wierix plates catalogued by Mauquoy-Hendrickx (but not part of any known book) suggests that they may also have originally been intended for the illustration of books of hours.


The pattern of protein changes during the development of immunity after B. C. G. vaccination and during infection of these immunized animals have been compared with those occurring in non-immunized healthy guinea pigs infected with virulent tubercle bacilli and later treated with INH. The protein patterns were studied by the agar-gel electrophoretic technique. The main features of the results obtained were: (1) in acute infection of normal guinea pigs, a fall was noticed in the albumin level and a rise in all the globulins with no alteration of the total proteins in the earlier phase of the infection; a steep fall in the albumin and increased rise in all the globulins with hyperproteinaemia in the later stages. Treatment with INH raised the lowered albumin and decreased the ,k globulin levels.(2) After B. C. G. vaccination no alteration in the albumin concentration, but a slight fall in a a2 and P globulins and increase in the globulin associated with hypoproteinaemia was the early reaction. From the second month onwards, an increase in al, a2 and p globulins associated with hyperprotemaemia was observed. During the development of tuberculosis in the immunized animals,globulin remained at the immunized level; az, P and globulins showed an increase, the latter to quite an appreciable extent. Significance of these changes in the individual components in relation to immunity and infection are discussed.


Although a number of research studies indicate an inverse relationship between age and sexual offence recidivism, the effect of age on sexual and violent reconviction remains unclear, with some studies producing contradictory results. In the present study, reconviction data were obtained for 131 offenders (85 sex offenders and 46 violent offenders) followed up over a 2- and 5-year period. The sample was grouped into four age bands (i.e., ≤24, 25-34, 35-44, and ≥45 years) and rates of sexual, violent, sexual and violent (combined), and any offence reconviction were compared. There was an almost linear relationship between age and rate of reconviction, with the youngest age band (≤24 years) presenting the greatest risk of reconviction and the older age bands (≥45 years) presenting the lowest reconviction rate. At the 5-year follow-up, the youngest age band was significantly more likely to be reconvicted of sexual and violent offences (combined) than any other age band. This age band was significantly more likely to be actuarially assessed (i.e., Static-99) as high risk (controlling for age) and was more likely to target strangers, be single, and display non-sexual violence during the index offence. In relation to sexual reconviction, there was a plateau effect in the middle-age band, with the oldest age band (≥45 years) obtaining the highest sexual reconviction rate compared with all other age bands at the 5-year follow-up. Although these findings support the view that lower-aged sexual and violent offenders pose greater risk than their older-aged counterparts, this was not true for sexual reconviction at the 5-year follow-up. Implications of these findings are discussed.


A recent trend in Ad Hoc network routing is the reactive on-demand philosophy where routes are established only when required. Most of the protocols in this category are not incorporating proper security features. The ad hoc environment is accessible to both legitimate network users and malicious attackers. It has been observed that different protocols need different strategies for security. The key issues concerning these areas have been addressed here. The cryptic algorithm has been proposed in this paper. This scheme can make most of the on-demand routing protocols secure. The study will help in making protocols more robust against attacks and standardize parameters for security in protocols.


Better understanding of the mechanisms of hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms and effect of some environmental factors is critical for the optimisation of the bioremediation processes. Temperature, pH, nitrate and phosphate are the major factors that influence there mediation process of bacterium. In the present study, optimisations some selected physico-chemical parameters (temperature, pH, nitrate and phosphate) were carried out on Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter sp . and Enterobacter ludwigii which were previously isolated as potential oil degraders . The bacteria showed maximum degradation of crude oil at 33 o C where the desirable pH was 8.6 for all the isolates except E. ludwigii (pH 5.4). A significant degradation ( p < 0.05) of oil was detected by B. cereus (80% to 98%), Enterobacter sp. (73% to 90%) and E. ludwigii (70% to 83%) respectively with increasing of nitrate concentration from 0.1 to 2.5 ppm. Significant degradation of oil was not detected in the control and when bacteria were enriched with phosphate. Results of this study revealed that the bacterial remediation of oil is governed by nutritional status with special emphasis of nitrate enrichment in the environment. Thus, the results revealed that bacteria could be a useful tool to remove oil from the contaminated environment as eco-friendly, low cost application.


When an image shown on an 8K display is projected onto the entire hemisphere, the size of a single pixel is almost equal to 1', which is same as human visual acuity. This indicates that the resolution of an 8K display is beyond the visual ability of humans, in most cases. A display can show not only an image, but also coded information on its screen. When this ultra-high-definition display is used as a light-field display that consists of a high-definition display and lens array plate, its redundancy of resolution is used for depth information of 3D objects, and a volume 3D image can be reconstructed near the screen. We fabricate a 3D light-field display using a 4K cellular phone and obtain a good image quality. An 8K display is more suitable for a light-field display that generates 3D images of higher resolutions, although the reproduced depth is limited. Herein, I report our light-field display utilizing an ultra-high-definition flat display.


A study by Penn Medicine that examined why low-income patients seek care in the emergency department concluded that the healthcare system drives patients away from primary care and to the emergency department. Low-income patients have to miss work and line up transportation to make a primary care visit. Often, their providers are in clinics with a limited number of appointments each day. Instead of merely lecturing patients about seeking care at the right level, case managers should develop strategies to meet each patient's individual needs.


Abstract
Export of nonoil goods in economic activities is so important and its effect on economic and comparative growth is undeniable. So, Emphasize on agricultural sector and development of export in this sector prepares good conditions, for Iran, to be present at international markets relying its advantages. The study tries to recognize necessary policies to enhance agricultural export potentialities. To this end, this study investigates determinants of supply and demand of Iran's agricultural products export from 1965 to 2007 by using Tree-stage least square. The result indicates that shadow exchange rate, relative prices, product quantity, domestic price and dummy variable related to war, are effective variables on demand and supply of exports. Also, price elasticity in long run and short run for export demand are estimated to be -1.83 and -2.12, respectively. And Price elasticity of export supply in short run is 2.17.

Keywords: Agricultural Sector, Function of Export Demand, Function of Export Supply, Pattern of Simultaneous Equations

JEL Classification: F10, F11, Q11 ،Q17, Q19


Numerical model became one of most important tools for identifying the state of an existing structure in accordance with development of numerical analysis techniques. A numerical model should be updated based on the measured responses from the existing structure to accurately use the model for identifying the state of the bridge and executing numerical experiments. In this study, a new model updating method based on repetition method without a differential function is introduced and applicability for high speed railway bridge is verified with dynamic stability analysis. A fine measurement based on measurement points roaming method was executed with an wireless measurement system for precise dynamic characteristic analysis. The natural frequencies and mode shapes were estimated by correlation analysis and a mode decomposition technique. An initial numerical model was constructed based on design drawings and the model have been updated in accordance with the introduced model updating method. The results from numerical experiment and field test have been compared for verifying the applicability of the model updating method. And the dynamic stability analysis has been executed to verify the usability of the updated numerical model and the model updating method. It seems that the model updating method can be used for various bridges after evaluation of applicability for other type bridges in further studies.


Foreword - Fred Cordova Introduction - Maria P P Root The Tragic Sense of Filipino History - Peter Bacho Demographic Changes Transforming the Filipino American Community - Juanita Tamayo Lott Macro/Micro Dimensions of Filipino Immigration to the United States - Antonio J A Pido Colonialism's Legacy - Nilda Rimonte The Inferiorizing of the Filipino Coming Full Circle - Leny Mendoza Strobel Narratives of Decolonization among Post-1965 Filipino Americans Contemporary Mixed-Heritage Filipino Americans - Maria P P Root Fighting Colonized Identities Filipino American Identity - Linda A Revilla Transcending the Crisis Living in the Shadows - Concepcion A Montoya The Undocumented Immigrant Experience of Filipinos Mail-Order Brides - Raquel Z Ordonez An Emerging Community Part of the Community - Cynthia C Mejia-Giudici A Profile of Deaf Filipino Americans in Seattle The Day the Dancers Stayed - Theodore S Gonzalves On Filipino Cultural Nights Pamantasan - Jon Y Okamura and Amefil R Agbayani Filipino American Higher Education Images, Roles and Expectations of Filipino Americans by Filipino Americans - Allan L Bergano and Barbara L Bergano-Kinney Homeland Memories and Media - Rick Bonus Filipino Images and Imaginations in America Deflowering the Sampaguita - M Evelina Galang Tomboy, Dyke, Lezzie and Bi - Trinity A Ordona et al Filipina Lesbian and Bisexual Women Speak Out At the Frontiers of Narrative - Martin F Manalansan IV The Mapping of Filipino Gay Men's Lives in the United States Throwing the Baby Out with the Bathwater - Antonio T Tiongson, Jr Situating Young Filipino Mothers and Fathers Beyond the Dominant Discourse on Adolescent Pregnancy The Prevalence and Impact of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs on Filipino American Communities - Jacqueline T Jamero Berganio, Leonardo A Tacata Jr and Peter M Jamero The Family Tree - Emilie Gaborne Dearing Dicovering Oneself The Filipino American Young Turks of Seattle - Peter M Jamero A Unique Experience in the American Sociopolitical Mainstream Filipino Americans and Ecology - Felix I Rodriguez New Challenges in the Global Future Filipino Spirituality - Thelma B Burgonio-Watson An Immigrant's Perspective


AIM To determine the ability of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) to promote airway clearance in spontaneously breathing patients and those on mechanical ventilation. METHODS An artificial lung was used to simulate a spontaneously breathing patient (Group 1), and was then connected to a mechanical ventilator to simulate a patient on mechanical ventilation (Group 2). An 8.5 mm endotracheal tube (ETT) connected to the test lung, simulated the patient airway. Artificial mucus was instilled into the mid-portion of the ETT. A filter was attached at both ends of the ETT to collect the mucus displaced proximally (mouth-piece filter) and distally (lung filter). The IPV machine was attached to the proximal end of the ETT and was applied for 10-min each to Group 1 and 2. After each experiment, the weight of the various circuit components were determined and compared to their dry weights to calculate the weight of the displaced mucus. RESULTS In Group 1 (spontaneously breathing model), 26.8% ± 3.1% of the simulated mucus was displaced proximally, compared to 0% in Group 2 (the mechanically ventilated model) with a P-value of < 0.01. In fact, 17% ± 1.5% of the mucus in Group 2 remained in the mid-portion of the ETT where it was initially instilled and 80% ± 4.2% was displaced distally back towards the lung (P < 0.01). There was an overall statistically significant amount of mucus movement proximally towards the mouth-piece in the spontaneously breathing (SB) patient. There was also an overall statistically significant amount of mucus movement distally back towards the lung in the mechanically ventilated (MV) model. In the mechanically ventilated model, no mucus was observed to move towards the proximal/mouth piece section of the ETT. CONCLUSION This bench model suggests that IPV is associated with displacement of mucus towards the proximal mouthpiece in the SB patient, and distally in the MV model.


A method using phospholipase C (PL-C) for removing nonspecific inhibitors (NSI) of rubella virus hemagglutinin is described. PL-C was found to hydrolyze NSI without altering the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) activity of the specific antibody and could be used to remove NSI in the rubella HI test by using formalinized erythrocytes, which resisted the enzymatic action; fresh erythrocytes were lysed by PL-C. The HI test using PL-C treated sera gave true measurements of actual rubella antibody content, and HI titers of PL-C treated sera were identical or equivalent (+/-1 dilution) to those of sera treated with dextran sulfate and CaCl2 (DS-C). Thus, the PL-C method gave results as reproducible and reliable as the DS-C method and was more convenient.


For multisensor descriptor systems with uncertain noise variances, the weighted measurement fusion (WMF) reduced-order robust estimators are presented. The multisensor descriptor systems with known upper bounds of uncertain noise variances are defined as the worst-case conservative multisensor descriptor systems. For the worst-case conservative multisensor descriptor systems, the WMF reduced-order conservative Kalman estimators, including filter, predictor and smoother, are obtained, by applying the WMF method and the singular value decomposition method. However, the measurements of the conservative multisensor descriptor systems are unavailable. Replacing these unavailable conservative measurements by the actual and available measurements yields the actual WMF reduced-order robust estimators. Their robustness is proven by the dynamic error variance system method, i.e. the actual estimation error variances are not greater than those of conservative systems. Two simulation examples of four-sensor descriptor systems show the effectiveness of the presented algorithms.


ABSTRACT The diverse and versatile roles that doctors today hold highlight the importance of encouraging personal and professional development within medical students enabling them to become confident leaders and innovators. The introduction of core curriculum projects such as the Community Action Project (CAP) endorses the development of skills required to prepare all students for their future role as doctors. The aim of this report is to reflect on our experiences having taken part in the CAP during our third year at medical school. The CAP at Imperial College London provides all medical undergraduates in their third year of medical school with an opportunity to undertake a quality improvement project. The CAP required students to engage with the local community and members of staff at the general practice to identify a need and deliver an appropriate intervention which was then evaluated. The CAP enabled us to deliver an intervention in the form of a creative stop-motion video created with patients at the practice. The project encouraged students to find creative ways to tackle prominent health-care issues within local communities and also acted as a stepping-stone for students to consider how to tackle larger healthcare issues on a national scale.


We consider systems of partial (multidimensional) linear difference equations. Speciˇcally, such systems arise in scientiˇc computing under discretization of linear partial differential equations and in computational high energy physics as recurrence relations for multiloop Feynman integrals. The most universal algorithmic tool for investigation of linear difference systems is based on their transformation into an equivalent Gréobner basis form. We present an algorithm for this transformation implemented in Maple. The algorithm and its implementation can be applied to automatic generation of difference schemes for linear partial differential equations and to reduction of Feynman integrals. Some illustrative examples are given.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

In response to DNA damage, the so-called 'DNA damage response' provokes a cell cycle arrest to facilitate DNA repair. Recently, it has become clear that cells can respond to DNA damage throughout the cell cycle, except during mitosis. Specifically, the mitotic kinases Cdk1 and Plk1 were shown to be responsible for the inactivation of key DNA damage checkpoint proteins, including Claspin and 53BP1.

Here we have addressed the possibilities to exploit the mitotic inactivation of the DNA damage response with the purpose to block proper cellular responses to DNA damage during interphase. We hypothesized that mimicking the 'mitotic' state of the DNA damage response could potentially inhibit DNA repair and could sensitize cancer cells to genotoxic therapy. To this end, we employed chemical inhibition of the Wee1 kinase. Wee1 is known to prevent unscheduled Cdk1 activation and inhibition of Wee1 has previously been shown to provoke Cdk1 activity.

We could show that chemical Wee1 inhibition indeed leads to upregulation of Cdk1 activity. Importantly, we furthermore showed that recruitment of critical repair factors, such as BRCA1 were no longer recruited to sites of DNA damage. Furthermore, we show that DNA repair kinetics were decreased after inhibition of Wee1. Finally, we could show that inhibition of Wee1 sensitized cells to genotoxic chemotheapeutics and irradiation. Thus, forced activation of mitotic kinase interferes with normal DNA damage responses and can be used for radio/chemosensitization.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2970. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2970


Across a variety of animal taxa, the outcome of male--male contests depends on male body size; winners are usually the larger males or the males with bigger weapons. However, high male density can either increase or reverse large-male advantage because density changes the frequency and intensity of male--male interactions. In the golden orb-web spider Nephila clavipes, large males have a competitive advantage in male--male contests. However, this species shows more than 2-fold variation in male body size and highly variable local male density (the number of males on a female's web). To test how male density affects large-male advantage, I manipulated male density on female webs. I measured how density affects the rate of male--male challenges and the body size of successful males. Large males have a reproductive advantage when male density is high and fighting among males is intense, but small and large males are equally likely to copulate successfully when male density is low, possibly because male--male interactions are infrequent at low densities. High variance in male density among female webs and the positive relationship between density and the strength of sexual selection for male body size create a heterogeneous mosaic of selection intensities. Spatial variation in selection intensity could act to maintain variation in male body size in this species. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.


This Article argues that there is a need for many law schools to examine their admission processes and make changes designed to ensure that the qualities considered most closely by bar admission authorities are highly valued in law school admission decisions. At the same time, law schools should tailor their student behavior codes and related enforcement mechanisms to better prepare students to practice professionally upon admission to the bar.


Many methods have been developed to detect protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and explore cellular processes. However, effective methods for detecting complicated PPIs under physical conditions are still in demand. Here, a simple and efficient mitochondria-docking (Mito-docking) method for PPI detection in vivo is developed. The strategy is to anchor a "bait" protein to mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM), and then trap the "prey" protein onto MOM. In this way, interacting signals are enriched to allow easy detection. This method efficiently detects the well-known interaction between two G protein subunits (Gγ2 with Gβ1) and is successfully applied to investigate the recognition of importin α superfamily members for the classical nuclear localization signal (NLS) of simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen, which are highly dynamic and not easily visualized by conventional methods. As far as is known, this is the first time that the interaction between human importin α receptors with NLSs has been visualized. The results prove that Mito-docking can be used as a simple, straightforward, and intuitive method to study PPIs qualitatively and quantitatively in vivo.


Abstract  Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan clonal species, but one haplotype from Eurasia has become highly invasive in North America. This article describes an investigation of the phylogeographic composition of 77 populations from China, based on the sequencing of two chloroplast non‐coding DNA regions. A total of 11 haplotypes were detected, based on the sequence alignments of two chloroplast DNA fragments from 421 sampled individuals. Six of these haplotypes were completely new, and did not correspond to any of this species' 27 previously known haplotypes. The invasive haplotype M and haplotypes O and P were shown to occur frequently. Haplotype O is widely distributed across all regions and probably represents the primitive haplotype of this species. In contrast, P is mainly distributed in the humid eastern and northeastern regions of China, whereas M is more frequent in western and northwestern China—arid habitats with low precipitation. Between eastern and northeastern and western and northwestern regions, there was distinct genetic differentiation; the former region has a higher genetic diversity than the latter. The high occurrence of haplotype M in western China suggests that it prefers more arid habitats. These findings shed new light on the native distribution, adaptation, and habitat preference of haplotype M, which invaded North America.


Administrative agencies frequently use guidance documents to set policy broadly and prospectively in areas ranging from Department of Education Title IX enforcement to Food and Drug Administration regulation of direct-to- consumer pharmaceutical advertising. In form, these guidances often closely resemble the policies agencies issue in ordinary notice-and-comment rulemaking. However, guidances are generally developed with little public participation and are often immune from judicial review. Nonetheless, guidances can prompt significant changes in behavior from those the agencies regulate. A number of commentators have guardedly defended the current state of affairs. Though guidances lack some important procedural safeguards, they can help agencies supervise low-level employees and supply valuable information to regulated entities regarding how an agency will implement a program. Thus far, however, the debate has largely ignored the distinct and substantial interests of regulatory beneficiaries--those who expect to benefit from government regulation of others. Regulatory beneficiaries include, among others, pharmaceutical consumers, environmental users, and workers seeking safe workplaces. When agencies make policy informally, regulatory beneficiaries suffer distinctive losses to their ability to participate in the agency's decision and to invoke judicial review. This Article argues that considering the interests of regulatory beneficiaries strengthens the case for procedural reform. The Article then assesses some possible solutions.


The flow of granular nickel particles moving down vertical pipes from a hopper in the presence of a local, horizontal ac electric field is studied experimentally. The flow is initiated by opening the bottom outlet of the pipe after the pipe is fully filled with particles from the hopper. The mass of particles flowing out of the pipe is measured as a function of time by an electronic balance. The time dependence of the steady-state flow rate Q, under each fixed voltage V, is obtained. Depending on the magnitude of V, two types of flow behaviors are observed. For low V (<V(c)=2.0 kV), a downward-moving interface-separating a dense particle region below it from a low-density region above-exists between the hopper and the electrodes. Two prominent peaks exist in the Q(t) curve for V in the range of 1.4 kV< or =V<V(c), resulting in two clearly defined flow rates Q(A2) and, later in time, Q(B). The particles measured by Q(A2) originate from the pipe above the electrodes, and those by Q(B) coming initially from the hopper. For high V (> or =V(c)), no interface exists and the whole region between the hopper and the electrodes are densely filled; only one constant flow rate Q(A2) is observed. (The precise meaning of Q(A2) and Q(B) are defined in the text.) The steady-state flow rates Q(A2) and Q(B) measured for each V, are plotted as a function of V. The flow rate Q(A2) is a monotonically decreasing function of V, which can be approximately fitted by a power law, with an exponent of -0.8, while Q(B) is found to be voltage independent. These features result from a competition between the blocking effect of the electric-field region and the gravity-driven pushing effect from the hopper outlet. The local electric field is able to retard the downward movement of a dense column existing above it, but is ineffective in doing so when the column above is dilute in density.


In this paper, a novel technique for efficient electromagnetic simulation of microstrip circuits etched in layered media is presented. The proposed approach is useful for rapid prototyping of the desired circuit response and it uses closed-form expressions for the evaluation of the fields radiated by rooftop basis functions, applied in conjunction with an algorithm referred to herein as the Equivalent Medium Approach. Illustrative examples demostrating the reliability and the efficiency of the described procedures are included.


An unexpected result of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in the Great Victoria Desert (South Australia) was the lack of returning signal in what appeared to be a favorable environment for GPR, with dry silica sand and calcrete aggregates in the near surface. We found that the dielectric response of the dry sand samples had much higher dielectric losses than comparable sands from Western Australia and that the dielectric losses are controlled by the presence of iron oxide minerals, although iron concentrations themselves are only around 0.4%. The samples contained over 90% quartz, with subsidiary amounts of carbonates, kaolin, and smectite occurring with the iron oxide minerals as a coating on the quartz grains. An acid washing procedure removed the reducible iron oxide minerals from the clay coating but left the clays substantially unaltered. Subsequent dielectric and magnetic analysis of the samples indicates that the iron oxide minerals removed during the washing process are responsible for the re...


Progestin and adipoQ receptor 5 (PAQR5) affects the development of various malignancies and is specifically expressed in kidney. However, the role of PAQR5 in renal carcinoma remains unclear. We assessed the state of PAQR5 expression in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) by The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. Moreover, immunohistochemistry was performed to observe the expressions of PAQR5 protein in tumor tissues. The relationships between PAQR5 expression and clinical characteristics were investigated by UALCAN. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and Kaplan–Meier plotter were used to analyze the effect of PAQR5 expression levels on overall survival and relapse-free survival (RFS). The re lationships between clinical characteristics and survival were also evaluated by univariate and multifactorial Cox regression. Gene Ontology term analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis were performed on PAQR5 to explain the enrichment pathways and functions. Protein and protein interactions were explained by GeneMANIA and STRING. We also explored the relevance of PAQR5 to tumor immune cell infiltration and immunomodulatory molecules by TIMER and GEPIA. Finally, we explored the correlation of PAQR5 with the pathway proteins STATs, HIF-1α, and mTOR using the GSE40435 dataset. PAQR5 expression was low in KIRC and correlated significantly with clinical characteristics including cancer stage, tumor grade, and nodal metastasis status. Low PAQR5 expression was significantly associated with poorer survival. Cox regression analysis indicated that upregulation of PAQR5 was an independent factor for a good prognosis of KIRC. PAQR5 downregulation was associated mainly with STAT3 target upregulation, tumorigenesis, and poor differentiation. PAQR5 expression also correlated positively with B cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells and negatively with the infiltration of FOXP3+ Treg cells and the immune checkpoint molecules PD-1, CTLA4, and LAG3. Moreover, PAQR5 expression in KIRC was negatively correlated with the pathway proteins STAT1/2/3/4/5A, HIF-1α, and mTOR. PAQR5 is an excellent predictor of KIRC prognosis and may be a potential molecular therapeutic target.


This paper presents a novel algebraic framework of collaborative network channel coding scheme in a network with multiple-access relay channel. The proposed scheme helps reduce the computational complexity while enhancing energy efficiency of the wireless network. The devised scheme is intended for practical scenarios where channels exhibit various fading conditions over all the wireless links. We use network coding at the relay to give diversity boost at the receiver with lesser number of transmitted signals and lesser energy consumption. The setup demonstrates improved performance that is instrumental for the effective use of joint network channel coding (JNCC) for practical wireless networks. We further present a performance metric Energy Efficiency for the better performance evaluation.


Juvenile ossifying fibroma (JOF) is a fibro-osseous neoplasm, rare in occurrence and usually seen in young children. JOF is locally aggressive spreads quickly and is defined as a variant of ossifying fibroma. There are two types of ossifying fibroma depending on histopathology and classified as Psammomatoid juvenile ossifying fibroma (PJOF), Trabecular juvenile ossifying fibroma (TJOF). Both the types affect skull bones with the trabecular type being more common in the jaws- maxillofacial region and the psammomatoid type being more common in the paranasal sinuses, ethmoid sinuses- craniofacial region. Complete excision is mandatory because JOF's have an extremely high rate of recurrence. A rare case of PJOF involving right maxilla sparing paranasal sinuses in a 15-year-old male patient with clinical, radiographic and histopathological features is discussed.


Finding of new faults in Surabaya city has attracted many researchers to evaluate the seismic resilience of the city. A major earthquake in Surabaya may cause a huge losses for the country due to its massive population and large business activities. In this research, a physical vulnerability map of buildings in Surabaya was developed, particularly due to the updated potential earthquake in Surabaya. The results are expected to be used as part of a mitigation and risk reduction strategy for earthquake disasters in the city of Surabaya. The sampled buildings were aggregated in the scale of regional blocks and urban villages in Surabaya, considering the structural type and typology of the buildings. The aggregation process to capture the distribution of existing buildings uses various inputs from landsat maps, google maps, google street view, CKTR Surabaya (Cmap), and openstreetmap Surabaya. Spatial mapping in the scale of regional and village blocks with more precise data will be an essential information in earthquake risk reduction strategies.


For at least three decades, it has been quite common in the United States to talk of the coming of the Asian century. Americans have been fascinated with the rise of Japan and then China, and the corresponding reports of the decline of the United States. This psychology may have intensified with the 2008-09 financial crisis and the understanding that China is now playing a central role in assuring global financial, and thereby political, stability. Notwithstanding some Orientalist hyperbole, there is no doubt that Asia has been, and will continue to be, a region of rising power, responsible for an increasing share of world output, innovation, and power, even as the United States declines in relative terms. What will the rise of Asia mean for global governance? Oddly, I believe that any "Eastphalian" world order will mean a return to Westphalia, at least as modern international lawyers understand the term. Drawing its name from the 1648 treaties ending the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War, Westphalia stands for principles of mutual noninterference, an emphasis on sovereignty, and formal equality of states. Eastphalia, should it materialize, will emphasize similar structures, putting an end to the brief interlude of European universalism and global constitutionalism that intensified after the Second World War.


The octadecaneuropeptide (ODN; QATVGDVNTDRPGLLDLK) and its C-terminal octapeptide (OP; RPGLLDLK), which exert anxiogenic activity, have been previously shown to increase intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cultured rat astrocytes through activation of a metabotropic receptor positively coupled to phospholipase C. It has also been found that the [d-Leu5]OP analog possesses a weak antagonistic activity. The aim of the present study was to synthesize and characterize cyclic analogs of OP and [d-Leu5]OP. On-resin homodetic backbone cyclization of OP yielded an analog, cyclo1-8 OP, which was three times more potent and 1.4-times more efficacious than OP to increase [Ca2+]i in cultured rat astrocytes. Cyclo1-8 OP also mimicked the effect of both OP and ODN on polyphosphoinositide turnover. Conversely, the cyclo1-8 [d-Leu5]OP analog was totally devoid of agonistic activity but suppressed the effect of OP and ODN on [Ca2+]i and phosphoinositide metabolism in astrocytes. The structure of these cyclic analogs has been determined by two-dimensional 1H-NMR and molecular dynamics. Cyclo1-8 OP exhibited a single conformation characterized by a gamma turn comprising residues Pro2-Leu4 and a type III beta turn encompassing residues Leu5-Lys8. Cyclo1-8 [d-Leu5]OP was present as two equimolar conformers resulting from cis/trans isomerization of the Arg-Pro peptide bond. These pharmacological and structural data should prove useful for the rational design of non peptidic ODN analogs.


Seven patients suffering from hepatic haemangioma were investigated by sonography and computed whole-body tomography (CT). In addition, percutaneous fine-needle biopsy was performed in 3 cases. All the patients had typical angiographic features of hepatic haemangioma. Histological confirmation was obtained in five cases. Sonography showed lesions of sonodense and mixed predominant sonolucent features. CT showed typical peripheral post-contrast enhancement. Fine needle biopsy was successful and diagnostic in two cases. No complications occurred with the procedure. Sonography overlooked one tiny lesion, and CT two. It seems that sonographic appearances are not reliable in the diagnosis of hepatic haemangioma, though CT may be diagnostic. In doubtful situations other diagnostic procedures, such as angiography and/or fine-needle biopsy, may be necessary.


This paper deals with the design of a broad class of 2-D recursive digital filters including general fan, diamond and elliptically-symmetric filters. At first, the explicit design of quadrant and /spl plusmn/45/spl deg/ fan filters is reviewed. A full-plane diamond filter (both axes are nearly of length 2 /spl pi/) can easily be obtained through an appropriate transformation of a /spl plusmn/45/spl deg/ fan filter. Using this diamond filter as a prototype, a very simple spectral transformation is then proposed to design full-plane circularly-symmetric filters (radius /spl ap//spl pi/). These filters share the same lattice wave digital structure and employ only first or second order all-pass sections which can be realized by two-port adaptors. They provide very desirable properties such as low sensitivity, high dynamic range and good stability even under finite arithmetic conditions. Using the above mentioned filters as prototypes, a multirate approach is then introduced to deal with the design of fan filters with arbitrary angle and orientation, diamond and elliptically-symmetric filters with arbitrary length of axes. Finally, some design examples are given. >


Bone is a unique tissue that serves multiple functions. One of its unique features is the ability to heal by formation of new bone, whereas most other tissues undergo the process of scar formation. When a large amount of bone is lost the only treatment available is the use of bone grafts. Multiple bone graft substitutes are being developed to address the shortage of autologous bone graft. 3-D models are being developed to further our understanding of the cellular processes taking place in vivo. In this study I examined the strategy of designing a 3-Dmodel of hard tissue and a potential bone graft substitute using collagen type I and several different porous scaffolds. Factors influencing collagen gel contraction by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) during the process of osteogenic differentiation were studied and it was shown that collagen type I gels prepared in accordance with our patented technology contract far less than any other collagen gels reported in literature. The validity of MTT assay to track proliferation of hMSC in various 3-D matrices was established and allowed me to show that human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) proliferated, differentiated along an osteogenic lineage and mineralized the extracellular matrix (ECM). Higher cell seeding density and greater serum concentration in the culture medium, caused increased collagen type I gel contraction. Late passage cells and osteoblasts caused a greater collagen type I gel contraction than undifferentiated early passage hMSC. hMSC that had been transduced to constitutively express human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and which had thereby acquired an extended in vitro life span (telomerized hMSC or TMSC), contracted the collagen gel lesser than hMSC. A Collagen type I Gel Collagen type I foam Scaffold combination (CGCS) was investigated as a 3-D in vitro model to allow extrapolation of soft tissue results to those characteristic of hard tissue. Deep penetration of MSC into the CGCS with uniform distribution was achieved by the use of collagen type I gel, as the cell carrier. Collagen type I gel improved seeding efficiency and facilitated retention of cells that penetrated deep into the scaffold. Longterm survival, proliferation, viability and in situ osteogenic differentiation within the CGCS were demonstrated. A model that demonstrated migration of cells in and out of CGCS was assembled and tested. A need for the presence of fibrillar collagen gel for mineralization process to take place highlighted the benefit of adding collagen gel to the 3-D models. Porous Beta-tricalcium phosphate (-TCP) was used as the scaffold and impregnated with collagen gel to generate Collagen Gel Impregnated Porous Scaffolds (CGIPS). Highly efficient seeding of the cells throughout the porous scaffold was attained with collagen gel. hMSC proliferated in CGIPS without contracting the collagen gel. Cells could migrate into CGIPS and mineralized the ECM when cultured in vitro under osteogenic differentiation conditions. CGIPS allowed the application of pressure and hMSC responded to mechanical force by a change in proliferation. hMSC xenotransplanted into immunocompetent rats survived for a month and expressed markers of osteogenic differentiation. While cells alone improved vascularization of the implants, they did not improve mineralization. Presence of collagen gel alone allowed for faster invasion of cells into the implanted TCP and improved radiodensity but did not affect vascularization. A combination of cell and gel within the TCP (CGIPS) was necessary to improve all the measured varialbes (tissue invasion, vascularization, mineralization and radioopacity). Thus biocompatibility, greater vascularization and enhanced mineralization of CGIPS implants established the foundation to proceed with large animal bone defect model studies utilizing CGIPS in the future. I established that CGIPS could deliver small molecules into the surrounding milieu by a process of simple diffusion. A rapid intital burst followed by a slow sustained release was observed when collagen gel containing EphrinB2-Fc clusters was incorporated ointo CGIPS. The released EphrinB2-Fc was physiologically functional and increased hMSC proliferation and chemotaxis. CGIPS inhibited the growth of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus when vancomycin was incorporated into the CGIPS. Thus the potential of CGIPS to serve as a drug delivery device was demonstrated. This work has provided the scientific foundation for use of CGIPS as bone graft substitute and 3-D model of osteogenesis. In this research study, a number of challenges were solved and questions answered, and the applications of the proposed strategy formulated. However, as is frequently the case many more avenues of future research have been exposed and a variety of new questions posed to be pursued and answered in future.studies. STUDY OF OSTEOGENESIS IN 3-D


The Third Fermi LAT catalog (3FGL) is the most important astronomical catalog of
gamma-ray sources, a long-lasting reference for high-energy astrophysics. As of today,
perhaps surprisingly, more than a third of 3FGL sources lack a classification, not being
identified nor even associated to sources at other wavelengths. Therefore finding a tool
that could aid in the identification would be very helpful. To this purpose, we selected data
from 3FGL, processed and analyzed them for the various categories of objects. In a first
exploratory part of our investigation, we built histograms for galactic latitudes, photon
fluxes, energy fluxex, spectral indices, variability indices and redshift of our samples,
and tried interpreting the distributions. Secondly, we also built broad-band color-color
diagrams that we used as diagnostic tools to verify the nature of already associated objects, and particularly to test those of the unidentified sources.


In a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA), an intense laser pulse excites a plasma wave that traps and accelerates electrons to relativistic energies. When the pulse overlaps the accelerated electrons, it can enhance the energy gain through direct laser acceleration (DLA) by resonantly driving the betatron oscillations of the electrons in the plasma wave. The traditional particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm, although often the tool of choice to study DLA, contains inherent errors due to numerical dispersion and the time staggering of the electric and magnetic fields. Furthermore, conventional PIC implementations cannot reliably disentangle the fields of the plasma wave and laser pulse, which obscures interpretation of the dominant acceleration mechanism. Here, a customized field solver that reduces errors from both numerical dispersion and time staggering is used in conjunction with a field decomposition into azimuthal modes to perform PIC simulations of DLA in an LWFA. Comparisons with traditional PIC methods, model equations, and experimental data show improved accuracy with the customized solver and convergence with an order-of-magnitude fewer cells. The azimuthal-mode decomposition reveals that the most energetic electrons receive comparable energy from DLA and LWFA.


Objective:The Hantaviruses and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) are members of the Bunyaviridae family. Hantavirus infections causes two main febrile diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopul- monary syndrome (HCPS). Hantaviruses are transmitted by rodents. In 2009, a hantavirus outbreak occurred in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey. For the last 10 years, the prevalence of CCHFV has also been high in this region. Methods:We screened patients' samples for the presence of hantavirus IgM and IgG using ELISA on 42 clinically suspect CCHF cases which were CCHFV real-time-RT-PCR and anti-CCHFV IgM negative without a tick-bite history. The current study was carried out on samples sent between March and September of 2008. SELISA-seropositivity was further evaluated using immunofluo- rescence assay, immunblotting, and FRNT (focus reduction neutralization test). Real-time-PCR was performed to genotype the sero- positive cases. Results:Anti-Hantavirus IgM and IgG positivity were detected in 3 samples (7.1%) by ELISA and immunoblotting tests. Two had a 1:640 titer against Puumala virus (PUUV) strain by FRNT, while all three samples were found negative for Dobrova virus (DOBV). Thus, hantavirus-specific antibodies could be confirmed detected in 2 out of 42 sera (4.8%) by FRNT. Conclusions: TThe authors postulate that Hantavirus infection should be taken into consideration in patients with clinically suspected CCHFV infection. This study also shows that Hantavirus was circulating in the area before the 2009 hantavirus outbreak in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey.


This paper proposes a low-complexity signal detection scheme for multitrack recording channels. The performance of the detector in a turbo-coded architecture is investigated on the ME/sup 2/PR channel used for high-density recording with strong intertrack interference. Simulation results indicate that the proposed system operates successfully in moderate signal-to-noise ratio ranges even for a large number of heads and tracks.


Complex document layouts pose prominent challenges for document image understanding algorithms. These layouts impose irregularities on the location of text paragraphs which consequently induces difficulties in reading the text. In this paper we present a robust framework for analyzing historical manuscripts with complex layouts. This framework aims to provide a convenient reading experience for historians through topnotch algorithms for text localization, classification and dewarping. We segment text into spatially coherent regions and text-lines using texture-based filters and refine this segmentation by exploiting Markov Random Fields (MRFs). A principled technique is presented for dewarping curvy text regions using a non-linear geometric transformation. The framework has been validated using a subset of a publicly available dataset of historical documents and it provided promising results.


When practicing secure programming, it is important to understand the restrictive influence programmed entities have on the propagation of authority in a program. To precisely model authority propagation in patterns of interacting entities, we present a new formalism Knowledge Behavior Models (KBM). To describe such patterns, we present a new domain specific declarative language SCOLL (Safe Collaboration Language), which semantics are expressed by means of KBMs. To calculate the solutions for the safety problems expressed in SCOLL, we have built SCOLLAR: a model checker and solver based on constraint logic programming. SCOLLAR not only indicates whether the safety requirements are guaranteed by the restricted behavior of the relied-upon entities, but also lists the different ways in which their behavior can be restricted to guarantee the safety properties without precluding their required functionality and (re-)usability. How the tool can help programmers to build reliable components that can safely interact with partially or completely untrusted components is shown in elaborate examples.


The percentage of labeled cells in the uterine luminal epithelium of cycling mice showed the different zonal distributions at each stage of estrous cycle after cumulative labeling with 3H-thymidine for 36 hr. It was estimated that the proliferating fraction in the epithelium at proestrus, estrus, metestrus, and diestrus was 100%, 100%, 40% and 5%, respectively. The percentage of labeled cells in the uterine luminal epithelium of cycling mice treated with progesterone remained below 10% level for at least 20 hr after injections of progesterone. Total labeling was attained in the uterine epithelium of castrated mice by the administration of estradiol-17beta. On the other hand, the cell proliferation in the uterine epithelium of castrated mice treated with estradiol and progesterone was markedly suppressed and the percentage of labeled cells remained approximately at 35%. The remaining cell population, however, still showed the mitotic potency when mice received estradiol. It is suggested from this study that the effect of progesterone is to suppress the epithelial cell proliferation and transfer cells into resting cell fraction which is still evoked to proliferate as the effect of estradiol and that a key factor controlling epithelial proliferation in mouse uterus during the estrous cycle is proliferating fraction rather than cell cycle time.


The ubiquity of social networking sites (SNS) is astounding. As of 2016, Facebook had over 1.65 billion users. SNS is known for challenging conventional connotations of friendship by lumping all of one's social connections, including remote acquaintances, into one uniform friend category. Research suggests that social search is the future of online search and social search is seen as the online search for persons or information on persons. Based on only the structure of SNS, this paper devises a couple of exploration techniques to predict what strategies users are going to make friends on SNS in mobile environment. Essentially, there are two strategies for making friends on SNS in mobile environment: random and non-random (friends of friends) strategies. The non-random strategy means that new friends are selected in a friends-of-friends manner. Each SNS user can select randomly chosen target user, or neighbourhood search is done to develop a social network. This study develops logit models to capture the characteristics of these choice strategies. We conduct a series of experiments related to Facebook membership. Visualising how users are linked together or not is accessible via the Facebook application programming interface (API), so that we could crawl their Facebook accounts and extract their friends' data and access all their information under their agreement. In this study we obtained the users' permission to install an application within their accounts. The study analyses 226 Facebook users who totally have 37,571 friends and 607,802 relationships. The results significantly show that the number of individuals' friends, the value of closeness function, the betweenness value, and the clustering coefficient are the four important factors when an individual makes friends on Facebook. The accuracy of our models predicting the random or non-random strategies for making friends on Facebook is 84.5%. In addition, this paper significantly verifies the small-world phenomenon or six degrees of separation on Facebook. Implications for practitioners and academics are discussed.


During October-November 2021, clinicians at a children's hospital in Alabama identified five pediatric patients with severe hepatitis and adenovirus viremia upon admission. In November 2021, hospital clinicians, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Jefferson County Department of Health, and CDC began an investigation. This activity was reviewed by CDC and conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.


BACKGROUND
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a reversible cholestatic liver disease of undefined etiology and pathogenesis. It is likely associated with dyslipidemia. However, the explanation for the role of dyslipidemia is not clear. We hypothesized that an increased oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) may play a crucial role in the development of the disease. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the plasma oxLDL level and LOX-1 expression in placentas from women with ICP.

METHODOLOGY
The plasma oxLDL level and LOX-1 expression were detected in 94 intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy patients (ICP group) and 94 healthy pregnant women (control group). The placental LOX-lexpression was detected by Western blotting; the plasma oxLDL was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS
The placental LOX-1 expression in the ICP group was higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05), whereas the plasma oxLDL did not differ significantly between the patients with ICP and healthy pregnant women.

CONCLUSIONS
LOX-1 may play a crucial role in the pathophysiological processes of ICP caused by over-apoptosis of trophocytes. Moreover, LOX-1 could be a potential target for therapeutic intervention.


The article deals with the EU's approach to conditionality policy in the Western Balkans. EU membership conditionality is generally believed to be one of the most effective tools at the EU's disposal to foster stability and democracy in the neighboring regions. However, the economic crisis that hit the Eurozone in 2007/2008 and the subsequent rise in Euroscepticism raised a question whether the incentives provided by the membership perspective are as convincing for new candidates and potential candidates as they were for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The article shows that, whilst the EU remains committed to the enlargement process in the Western Balkans, the transformations that the EU's approach has undergone have negatively affected the overall level of the Western Balkans's membership perspective.


Abstract This paper presents main results of an investigation of the tribological system formed by the piston/cylinder assembly of swash plate axial piston machines. Main focus has been given to the influence of a piston macro and micro geometry variation on energy dissipation generated by piston/cylinder assembly. Using the simulation tool CASPAR, which has been developed at the Institute for Aircraft Systems Engineering, an optimization of the piston shape has been realized to achieve minimum energy dissipation in a wide range of operating parameters of the axial piston machine. Micro geometry stands for surface roughness here. Its influence has been investigated within a second task especially in the area of low speed, where full lubrication is not achievable and therefore mixed friction occurs. For the investigation a special friction force measurement test rig has been developed, which has also been used for verification of the simulation tool CASPAR.


The World Wide Web (WWW) is famous for weaving far-flung fans with like interests into true communities. It also puts a spin all its own on product and information delivery. Nowhere is this more apparent than in a global industry such as electrical and electronic engineering. The Web is still unmatched in its ability to receive and distribute information and software, and to encourage interaction and collaboration. These strengths stem from the Web's combination of many of the best features of existing media-audio, video, text, and graphics-to which it adds some unique new talents, such as the ability to manipulate information through software. Most corporations acknowledge the opportunities the Web presents. The paper presents some guidelines on how best to start turning them to advantage.


Although most operational seasonal forecasting systems are based on dynamical models, empirical forecasting systems, built on statistical relationships between present and future at seasonal time horizons conditions of the climate system, provide a feasible and realistic alternative and a source of supplementary information. Here, a new empirical model based on partial least squares regression is presented. Originally designed as a flexible tool, the model can be run with many configurations including different predictands, resolutions, leads and aggregation times. To be able of producing forecast for any selected configuration, the model automatically selects predictors from an initial pool, containing global climate indices and specific predictors for the Mediterranean region unveiled in the frame of the MEDSCOPE project. Additionally, the model explores spatial fields, generating time series based on spatial averages of areas well correlated with the predictand. These time series are added to the initial pool of candidate predictors.  We present here results from a configuration producing probabilistic forecasts of seasonal (3 month averages) temperature and precipitation, their verification and comparison against a selection of state-of-the-art seasonal forecast systems based on dynamical models in a hindcast period (1994-2015). The model is able to produce spatially coherent anomaly patterns, and reach levels of skill comparable to those based on dynamical models. As predictors can be easily removed or incorporated, the model can provide information on the impact of a particular predictor on skill, so it can be used to help in the search and understanding of new sources of predictability. Evaluation of soil moisture impact on summer temperature predictability is shown as an example


Natural Disasters have arisen the concern of public opinion globally. Disastrous floods, deadly earthquakes, landslides and other natural phenomena overwhelm human capacity and constitute serious changes in earth. Disastrous events cause not only casualties but also have an adverse psychosocial impact on individuals, society and environment. Specifically there has been a tremendous rise in natural disasters. Natural Disasters are an indispensable part of the Greek territory. The heat wave of 1987, the earthquake of 1999, the fires are only some of the cases that prove this rise. This is why the role of civil protection in disaster risk management is so important. This present paper focuses on policies that are being implemented by civil protection authorities in disaster risk management and on analyzing the phases of disaster risk management. This paper also includes appropriate ways of coping with disastrous risks that are adopted by several countries. Finally the earthquake risk management phases are being analyzed.


We introduce a new -derivable approach for the Anderson impurity model in a BCS superconductor. The regime of validity of this conserving theory extends well beyond that of the Hartree - Fock approximation. This is the first generalization of the U-perturbation theory to encompass a superconductor.


The paper considers the free vibration analysis of FGM grid systems. Up to now, very little work has been done on this type of system and the paper aspires to fill this gap. Based on the hybrid-stress finite element formulation free vibration solutions for FGM grid systems of various aspect ratios, different types of gradations functions, and support conditions are determined. The tabulation of these results, not available thus far, should be useful to designers and researchers who may use them.


The understanding of the occurrence of extreme waves is crucial to simulate the growth of waves in coastal regions. Laboratory experiments were performed to study the spatial evolution of the statistics of group-focused waves that have a relatively broad-banded spectra propagating from intermediate water depth to shallow regions. Breaking waves with different spectral types, i.e., spectral bandwidths and wave nonlinearities, were generated in a wave flume using the dispersive focusing technique. The non-Gaussian behavior of the considered wave trains was demonstrated by the means of the skewness and kurtosis parameters estimated from a time series and was compared with the second-order theory. The skewness and kurtosis parameters were found to have an increasing trend during the focusing process. During both the downstream wave breaking and defocusing process, the wave train dispersed again and became less steep. As a result, both skewness and kurtosis almost returned to their initial values. This behavior is clearer for narrower wave train spectra. Additionally, the learning algorithm multilayer perceptron (MLP) was used to predict the spatial evolution of kurtosis. The predicted results are in satisfactory agreement with experimental findings.


Since Latvia filed in July 2022, 21 additional states have filed declarations of intervention in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation). At the time of writing, declarations have been filed by Lithuania, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Sweden, Romania, France, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Estonia, Spain, Australia, Portugal, Austria, Luxembourg, Greece, and Croatia.


Time-resolved studies of the title reaction, employing both
SiH2 and SiD2, have been carried out over the pressure
range 1–100 Torr (with SF6 as bath gas) at five temperatures
in the range 297–599 K, using laser flash photolysis to generate and
monitor both silylene species. The second order rate constants obtained were
pressure dependent indicating that the reaction is a third-body assisted association
process. The high pressure rate constants, obtained by extrapolation, gave
the following Arrhenius parameters: log(A/cm3 molecule−1
s−1) =
− 10.10 ± 0.06, Ea
=
−
3.91 ± 0.47 kJ mol−1, where the uncertainties are
single standard deviations. The parameters are consistent with a fast association
process occurring at close to the collision rate. RRKM modelling, based on
a transition state appropriate to formation of a three-membered ring product,
3-methylsiloxirane, and employing a weak collisional deactivation model gives
reasonable fits to the pressure dependent curves for ΔH°/kJ
mol−1 in the range − 215 to − 245. Ab initio
calculations at the G2 level indicate the inital formation of a silacarbonyl
ylid which can then either form the siloxirane by ring closure, rearrange
to form siloxyethene or give ethoxysilylene. Fuller details of the potential
surface are given. The energetics are reasonably consistent with siloxirane
formation representing the main pathway. The isotope effects are small and
close to unity, indicating that secondary isotopic label scrambling, by the
reversible ring opening of the siloxirane to ethoxysilylene is not occurring.
Differences with the silirane system can be explained by the stabilization
of a silylene by an alkoxy substituent.


Lara Lengel, Advisor This dissertation argues that womanist rhetoric is a cultural discourse. It asks the questions, what is womanist rhetoric, who engages in womanist rhetoric, and what are the implications for womanist rhetoric in the everyday lives of Black women? I ask and answer these questions within the context of the Black Church as a cultural location and social institution. This allows for a rich and complex discussion of the organic elements of womanist rhetoric, which enter the academy but are not limited to the academy. I define the Black Church in both historic and contemporary terms to demonstrate the cultural location of womanism within African America. Womanist rhetoric has three pillars: authentic womanist voice, gendered cultural knowledge, and ethical discourse for salvation. This dissertation uses a mixed-methods approach to present each of these three elements. Historic and literary womanist shape my definition of womanist rhetoric. In centralizing Black women's narratives through womanist discourse, Black women create spaces in which and through which they make their voices heard and their presence known. Through this engaged discourse within and outside of the Black Church, African American women have created and maintained spaces for authentic womanist voice. African American women daily embody the process of womanist rhetoric. Through an analysis of Wanda Davis-Turner as a womanist minister, I am able to discuss womanist rhetoric in the context of the sermon.


This study investigated the trends of mobile applications which were developed for prompting speech and language skills for children with disabilities, and analyzed the function and contents of these applications as a tool of speech and language therapy. For this analysis, twenty applications among 71 ones were selected according to the exclusion criteria. These applications were classified by the 8 using types of contents and analyzed the function of mobile applications by the revised mobile contents evaluation standard (ease of use, value of education, interest level, and interactivity). As a results, applications for augmentative and alternative communication were developed much more than any other types. And the ease of use got the highest score whereas the interest level got the lowest score in whole evaluation analysis. The result of this study would suggest way to evaluate applications for speech language therapy and to contribute to developing the contents and function of mobile applications aims to help children with disabilities improving their speech and language skills.


Regulatory B cells (Breg) have emerged as important members of the immune regulatory network, particularly in the context of autoimmunity and tissue transplant. Previously we found that IL-5 supported the growth and functions of Breg cells, including production of IL-10 and FasL-mediated T cell killing. In contrast, IL-4 did not support regulatory B cells growth or function and instead antagonized the effects of IL-5. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) is the primary STAT activated by IL-4. We hypothesized IL-4 effects on B cells were mediated by STAT6, and that STAT6−/− mice would have more abundant and effective regulatory B cells. Flow cytometric analysis of naïve B cells from STAT6−/− and BALB/c wild-type mice indicated differences in some Breg phenotypes. Culture with CD40L, IL-5, and/or IL-4 stimulation were used to assess the IL-10 production, FasL mediated killing, and activated phenotypes. As anticipated, STAT6−/− B cells did not lose regulatory function when cultured with CD40L, IL-5, and IL-4. Interestingly, when BALB/c B cells were cultured with CD40L and IL-5 to expand regulatory B cells and then re-cultured in the presence of IL-4, regulatory functions were not affected. These results suggested the inhibitory effects of IL-4 on Breg cells is likely to be due to competition of other B cells in the culture rather than direct inhibition. To confirm these findings in vivo, STAT6−/− and control mice were immunized with OVA emulsified in IFA and their B cells were compared phenotypically and functionally. Our data suggest that regulatory B cell growth, IL-10 production, and FasL mediated killing may be supported by IL-5 and CD40L stimulation, and are not directly affected by IL-4 as previously thought.


This paper analyses the behaviour of a highly capacitive DC marine network under fault conditions and demonstrates how overvoltages can be caused by the redistribution of stored energy following the clearance of a fault. Energy flows of this type can be hard to predict, making it particularly difficult to sufficiently protect the network from such overvoltages. Through simulation of a representative zonal DC marine network, this paper analyses the causes and severity of overvoltages which can occur following a fault and identifies where these overvoltages are likely to occur. The simulations demonstrate how the effects of a fault on the network can propagate, potentially causing damage to previously healthy parts of the network. Finally, the paper discusses the impact of these findings on the operation of network protection.


Hydraulic control has been widely applied in the economic and civil construction, mechanical processing and metal casting process such as mechanical field for the advantages of high response speed and control precision, and on-line vibration parameters adjustment. This work studies the mathematical model of the hydraulic vibration servo control system, and analyzes the non-linear, time-varying and model structure uncertainty features of the objects. To meet the requirement that control system has to track trajectory in a fast and accurate way, this paper proposes an advanced control strategy based on predictive function control (PFC). The simulation results in this work show that our proposed method is effective, and therefore improve the tracking speed, accuracy and robustness.


This article describes the development of a high order finite volume method for the solution of transonic flows. The high order of accuracy is achieved by a reconstruction procedure similar to the weighted essentially non-oscillatory schemes (WENO). On the contrary to the WENO schemes, the weighted least square (WLSQR) scheme is easily extensible to the case of complex geometry.


The H.264 encoded video is highly sensitive to loss of motion vectors during transmission. Several statistical techniques are proposed for recovering such lost motion vectors. These use only the motion vectors that belong to the macroblocks that are horizontally or vertically adjacent to the lost macroblock, to recover the latter. Intuitively this is one of the main reasons behind why these techniques yield inferior solutions in scenarios where there is a non-linear motion. This paper proposes B-Spline based statistical techniques that comprehensively address the motion vector recovery problem in the presence of different types of motions that include slow, fast/sudden, continuous and non-linear movements. Testing the proposed algorithms with different benchmark video sequences shows an average improvement of up to 2 dB in the Peak Signal to Noise Ratio of some of the recovered videos, over existing techniques. A 2 dB improvement in PSNR is very significant from an application point of view.


Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) occurs sporadically; however, at least four familial cases of WBS have been described previously. We describe a mother and her son with typical WBS. The diagnosis of WBS in the son was confirmed by molecular cytogenetic analysis fluorescence in situ hybridization. He had a deletion of 7q11.23 at the ELN locus. The mother was diagnosed after the identification of WBS in her affected son. She is deceased and was thus not studied by FISH. However, her combined symptoms make it very clear that she had WBS. Two traits uncommon in WBS were observed, unilateral renal hypoplasia in the mother and a hemivertebra at L5 in the son.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare the bactericidal effect of various laser irradiation systems on Enterococcus faecalis biofilms in dentinal tubules by using a novel dentin infection model and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).

BACKGROUND DATA
Laser-activated irrigations have been proposed as an adjuvant to conventional protocols of root canal treatment to enhance the smear layer removal, which is a promising protocol for root canal disinfection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
E. faecalis were centrifuged into the dentinal tubules, cultured for 3 weeks, and then received 1- and 3-min treatments as follows: (A) 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) irrigation, (B) Nd:YAG laser irradiation, (C) diode laser irradiation, (D) Nd:YAP laser irradiation, (E) Er,Cr:YSGG laser-activated NaOCl irrigation, and (F) Er:YAG laser-activated NaOCl irrigation. Bacterial reductions were assessed by CLSM using a LIVE/DEAD® bacterial viability stain method.

RESULTS
For each group, the bacterial reduction increased as the treatment time increased (p < 0.05). The Er,Cr:YSGG and Er:YAG laser significantly enhanced the bactericidal effect of NaOCl (p < 0.05). Under the conditions of the same treatment time, bacterial reductions were presented in the descending order of Er:YAG + NaOCl, Er,Cr:YSGG + NaOCl > Nd:YAP > Nd:YAG, diode > NaOCl.

CONCLUSIONS
Under the conditions of present study, treatments of Er:YAG + NaOCl and Er,Cr:YSGG + NaOCl presented the strongest bactericidal effect among the tested protocols and are potential protocols for root canal disinfection.


When Sulaiman Al-Adsani traveled from the United Kingdom to Kuwait to repel Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1991, he never dreamed he would depart with bruises and burns inflicted by the very government he had sought to defend. According to Al-Adsani, his troubles began when he was accused of releasing sexual videotapes of Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah Al-Saud AlSabah, a relative of the emir of Kuwait, into general circulation. After the first Gulf war, with the aid of government troops, the sheikh exacted his revenge by breaking into Al-Adsani's house, beating him, and transporting him to a Kuwaiti state prison, where his beatings continued for days. Al-Adsani was subsequently taken at gunpoint in a government car to the palace of the emir's brother, where his ordeal intensified. According to Al-Adsani, his head was repeatedly submerged in a swimming pool filled with corpses and his body was badly burned when he was forced into a small room where the sheikh set fire to gasoline-soaked mattresses.


Dehydration responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factors (TFs) play a key role in regulating abiotic stress related genes. A new gene (PeDREB2b) encoding an unidentified DRE-binding protein was isolated from 20% PEG6000 treated Populus euphratica Oliv. seedlings by RT-PCR and RACE. Full length of PeDREB2b cDNA was 1110 bp, and an ORF of 870 bp, which encoded 289-amino-acids polypeptide, were included. The deduced amino acid sequence analysis revealed that this protein was a putative AP2/EREBP transcription factor with a conserved AP2/EREBP domain of 64 amino acids and a potential nuclear localization signal (NLS). Based on phylogenetic characterization, PeDREB2b was classified as a member of A-5 group belonged to the DREB family. The PeDREB2b gene is induced by salinization, low temperature, drought and phytohormones GA3, NAA and 6BA, but not by ABA treatment. The fact that the product of PeDREB2b as a DREB transcription factor was verified in our further experiment: the nuclear localization of the gene when it was expressed transiently as a GFP fusion in onion epidermal cells. In addition, PeDREB2b was capable of activating reporter gene expression. To study the salt and drought stress responses for PeDREB2b transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana in detail, integrated physiological, biochemical and genetic approach methods were used. Results indicated that the PeDREB2b gene was over-expressed under stress-inducible rd29A promotor in transgenic plants alleviates the adverse effects of environmental stresses.