The influence of the in-plane flexibility of composite floor systems on the seismic response of the structures may become significant, particularly when considerable floor slab cracking and yielding are expected. As in recent years the use of composite floor systems is increasing, in this study the lateral in-plane behavior of composite floor diaphragms in steel structures is investigated through numerical simulations. The structures considered in the study were two models of the prototype buildings, where the elastic and inelastic responses of the diaphragms under lateral load are analyzed using 3-D finite element models and FEM linear and nonlinear structural analysis. It was found that under the seismic load specified in the code, the criterion of diaphragm rigidity is too small, so the composite floor systems can be assumed as rigid body, however under lateral loads with higher amplitudes, by developing the cracks in the concrete slabs, nonlinear behavior and stiffness degradation of the diaphragms might occur. The results showed that for both single story structures the ultimate strength of the diaphragms was very high about 20 to 33 times of the seismic load specified in Iran's seismic code, however the ultimate strength of the second model, where the joists direction was perpendicular to the lateral load direction, was considerable showing a reduction about 50~60% compared to the ultimate strength of the first model, where the joists direction was parallel to the lateral load direction. The comparisons between the numerical and previously obtained experimental results showed that FEM overestimates the diaphragm response in terms of stiffness and deformability; however conservatively estimates the diaphragms strength.


The 2.67 Ga Hackett River volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits located in the northeastern Slave province, Nunavut, Canada, are among the largest undeveloped massive sulfide resources in Canada and are silver rich compared to other such deposits of similar age, with Ag grades up to 3,000 g/t.

The deposits are hosted by the Ignerit Formation of the felsic to intermediate calc-alkaline Hackett River Group metavolcanic rocks that are part of the province-wide supracrustal Yellowknife Supergroup. One of the most economically significant of the Hackett River deposits is the Hackett River Main zone (Main zone), which consists of two parts: a stratigraphically lower chalcopyrite-rich stringer zone and an upper massive to semimassive polymetallic sulfide lens. The mineralization is subdivided into five types based on mineralogy, textures, and approximate stratigraphic position: (1) disseminated footwall sulfides, (2) copper-rich stringer sulfides, (3) pyrite-poor sphalerite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite mineralization at the top of the stringer zone, (4) mineralization in calc-silicate–altered calcareous tuff units, and (5) sphalerite-pyrite massive sulfide. In type 1 mineralization, disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite contain negligible Ag and in type 2, Bi-Ag-(Pb) sulfides, Ag-Bi-Se–enriched galena and chalcopyrite are the dominant Ag hosts. Within type 3, Ag-rich tetrahedrite (freibergite) and galena are the main Ag hosts. In type 4, Ag is hosted in disseminated electrum and freibergite, and within type 5 mineralization, freibergite hosts 99% of the Ag. Overall within the Main zone, Ag-rich freibergite contains 79.4% of the Ag, whereas chalcopyrite hosts 6.3% and galena contains 1.8%. Trace minerals such as electrum host the remainder of the Ag, and these have a limited spatial distribution.

Zone refining is the most important control on the distribution of Ag within the Main zone and the principal controls on Ag residence are mineralizing fluid temperature, deposit-scale relative redox conditions, sulfidation state, location of the mineralization relative to the hydrothermal conduit, and the ratio of Bi to Sb in the mineralizing fluid available for coupled substitution. Within the freibergite and chalcopyrite, Ag directly substitutes for Cu and replaces Pb in galena by coupled substitution with Bi and, to a lesser extent, Sb. Lower temperatures ca. 250°C, the most reducing conditions favored incorporation in Ag-Bi-rich galena (plus Se) and Bi-bearing sulfides or Ag-rich chalcopyrite under lesser reducing conditions.


Background. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive method of treatment based on thermal effects. This retrospective study aimed to clarify percutaneous RFA of kidney tumors  –  performance, extremeness and 5-year survival in patients with small renal tumors in a single center.
 Materials and methods. Between September 2003 and December 2012, a total of 118 patients underwent percutaneous RFA of renal tumors. During more than 9  years period 144 RFA procedures were performed. Tumors were verified by biopsy. We used 3 RFA techniques: RFA under ultrasound control only (US), ultrasound guided RFA with CT navigation (US/CT) and ultrasound guided RFA with CT navigation, fiducial markers placed around the kidney tumor before the treatment (US/CT/FM). RFA electrodes were one and three. Patients were followed up regularly by CT with contrast enhancement.
 Results. The mean patient age was 68.72  years (range 28 to 86). The mean tumor size was 2.8 cm (range 1 to 5.4). The mean follow-up time was 29 months (1–111 months). Radical dependence on technical procedures: only US  39 (66.1%), US/CT 18 (94.7%), US/CT/FM 37 (92.5%), p = 0.001. Radical differences between using one and three electrodes: 39 (66.1%) and 55 (93.2%), p < 0.05. 17 patients (14%) presented with complications: haematomas 12  (10%), severe bleeding 2  (1.7%), ureteral stricture 1  (0.8%), urinoma 1  (0.8%) and dysuria 1 (0.8%). 27 patients of the cohort have died till January 2013. Survival analysis showed that the 2-year survival probability was 84%, 5-year survival was 57%.
 Conclusions. In this study the most radical renal tumor RFAs were done with US/CT and with US/CT/FM. RFA is more radical when performed using three electrodes. Serious RFA complications are rare.


In this report, we show that malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients whose tumors express high levels of AKT1 exhibit a significantly worse prognosis, whereas no significant correlation with AKT3 expression is observed. We provide data that establish a phosphorylation independent role of AKT1 in affecting MPM cell shape and anchorage independent cell growth in vitro and highlight the AKT1 isoform-specific nature of these effects. We describe that AKT1 activity is inhibited by the loss of SIRT1-mediated deacetylation and identify, by mass spectrometry, 11 unique proteins that interact with acetylated AKT1. Our data demonstrate a role of the AKT1/SIRT1/FOXM1 axis in the expression of the tumor suppressor ERβ. We further demonstrate an inhibitory feedback loop by ERβ, activated by the selective agonist KB9520, on this axis both in vitro and in vivo. Our data broaden the current knowledge of ERβ and AKT isoform-specific functions that could be valuable in the design of novel and effective therapeutic strategies for MPM.


The interactions between holes in the Hubbard model, in the low-density, inter mediate-to-strong coupling limit, are investigated. Dressed spin polarons in neighboring sites have an increased kinetic energy and an enhanced hopping rate. Both effects are of the order of the hopping integral and lead to an effective attraction at intermediate couplings. Our results are derived by systematically improving mean-field calculations. The method can also be used to derive known properties of isolated spin polarons.


This paper presents a novel approach for the radio source allocation as part of the overall radio resource management scheme for the satellite digital multimedia broadcast (SDMB) system. A two-stage bin-packing algorithm is signed and employed for channel mapping which considers multiplexing at both the transport and physical channels so as to achieve the highest possible degree of utilization and efficiency of the available system capacity. Evaluations of these schemes are performed for various traffic mixes and physical channel configuration scenarios


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the distribution of Nontuberculous mycobacteria in the environment of Shenzhen city and its related sensitivity to drugs.

METHODS
145 samples in the environment of Shenzhen city were collected and the samples were isolated, identified and its drug sensitivity were detected according to the "Procedure of Bacteriological Determination Regulation for Tuberculous Diagnosis", issued in 1995 by the Antituberculosis Association of China.

RESULTS
All together, 53 strains of Mycobacteria were detected from the 145 sample, including 6 of them isolated from the polluted water in the hospital before disinfected, 4 from the polluted water in the hospital after disinfected, 4 from the dirt of air condition in the hospital, 34 from the polluted water in the residential area, 3 from the ocean water and 2 from the fountain. M. nonchromogenicum, M. avium, M. fortuitum, M. gordonae, M. genavense, M. chelonae and M. intracellulare were identified.

CONCLUSION
Nontuberculous mycobacteria seemed to widely exist in the environment of Shenzhen city and the ratio of drug-resistant was high. Attention should be paid to the influence of Nontuberculous mycobacteria on humans in order to formulate effective control measure.


BACKGROUND
Dairy foods, particularly yogurt, and plasma biomarkers of dairy fat intake are consistently inversely associated with incident type 2 diabetes. Yet, few trials assessing the impact of dairy on glucose homeostasis include fermented or full-fat dairy foods.

OBJECTIVES
We aimed to compare the effects of diets rich in low-fat or full-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese on glucose tolerance and its determinants, with those of a limited dairy diet.

METHODS
In this parallel-design randomized controlled trial, 72 participants with metabolic syndrome completed a 4-wk wash-in period, limiting dairy intake to ≤3 servings/wk of nonfat milk. Participants were then randomly assigned to either continue the limited dairy diet, or switch to a diet containing 3.3 servings/d of either low-fat or full-fat dairy for 12 wk. Outcome measures included glucose tolerance (area under the curve glucose during an oral-glucose-tolerance test), insulin sensitivity, pancreatic β-cell function, systemic inflammation, liver-fat content, and body weight and composition.

RESULTS
In the per-protocol analysis (n = 67), we observed no intervention effect on glucose tolerance (P = 0.340). Both the low-fat and full-fat dairy diets decreased the Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI) (means ± SDs -0.47 ± 1.07 and -0.25 ± 0.91, respectively) and as compared with the limited dairy group (0.00 ± 0.92) (P = 0.012 overall). Body weight also changed differentially (P = 0.006 overall), increasing on full-fat dairy (+1.0 kg; -0.2, 1.8 kg) compared with the limited dairy diet (-0.4 kg; -2.5, 0.7 kg), whereas the low-fat dairy diet (+0.3 kg; -1.1, 1.9 kg) was not significantly different from the other interventions. Intervention effects on the Matsuda ISI remained after adjusting for changes in adiposity. No intervention effects were detected for liver fat content or systemic inflammation. Findings in intent-to-treat analyses (n = 72) were consistent.

CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to our hypothesis, neither dairy diet improved glucose tolerance in individuals with metabolic syndrome. Both dairy diets decreased insulin sensitivity through mechanisms largely unrelated to changes in key determinants of insulin sensitivity.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02663544.


The New York Fed's Center for Microeconomic Data released results today from its March 2020 Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE), which provides information on consumers' economic expectations and behavior. In particular, the survey covers respondents' views on how income, spending, inflation, credit access, and housing and labor market conditions will evolve over time. The March survey, which was fielded between March 2 and 31, records a substantial deterioration in financial and economic expectations, including sharp declines in household income and spending growth expectations. As shown in the first two columns of the table below, the median expected year-ahead growth in income and spending declined from 2.7 percent and 3.1 percent in February to 2.1 percent and 2.3 percent in March, respectively. Similarly, expectations about home price growth plunged from 3.1 percent in February to 1.3 percent in March. The March reading for one-year home price growth expectations came in about 1.4 percentage points below the previous low for the series, which stretches back to June 2013.


There is a great need for delivery strategies capable of efficiently localizing drugs to the damaged myocardium that do not require direct intramyocardial injection of therapeutic molecules. In the work discussed here, we exploited the myocardium-specific upregulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that occurs during myocardium remodeling by designing a micellar vehicle containing an MMP-targeting peptide (MMP-TP). The binding of MMP-TP to MMP was evaluated with purified MMP-2 protein and U-937 cells induced to overexpress MMP. Inhibition of MMP-2 activity was not observed in the presence of unmodified micelles but was pronounced at a 5 mol % MMP-TP ligand density. In a FACS analysis, MMP-TP micelles containing 5 mol % of the MMP-targeting peptide showed ∼10-fold higher binding to activated U937 cells than plain micelles and micelles containing a control peptide with two amino acid replacements. MMP-TP-micelles and plain micelles were injected intravenously into C57BL/6 mice 1, 3, and 7 days after the induction of a myocardial infarction (MI). Immunohistochemistry performed on heart tissue sections revealed that MMP-TP-micelles colocalize with both MMP and infiltrating macrophages. MMP-TP micelles showed significantly enhanced accumulation to the necrotic area of the heart after MI on days 3 and 7 when compared to plain micelles and negative control peptide micelles. This is coincident with the measured temporal profile of MMP gene expression in the heart after MI. These results suggest that MMP-TP micelles are candidates for the development of targeted regenerative heart therapeutics because of their ability to target the infarcted myocardium in a MMP dependent manner.


Objective: To clarify the effect of TRAF2 in the biological behavior of gastric cancer and explore the mechanism. Methods: TRAF2 stably depleted AGS cell was established. Cell growth was monitored by x-CELLigence system. Cell proliferation was detected using cell viability assay. The apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry. The difference of migration and invasion abilities were measured by real-time xCELLigence system and Transwell. The expression and activity of NF-κB signaling pathway were measured by western blot and TransAM assay. The expression of TRAF2 in gastric cancer tissue and its clinical significance were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: The cell index of AGS-siTRAF2 cells was significantly lower than that of AGS-sictrl cells at 8 h. In the cell viability assay, the A values of AGS-siTRAF2 cells were 51 296.00±2 631.06, 68 389.25±6 703.21 and 65 559.50±6 339.22 at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. The values of the viability of AGS-siTRAF2 cells were significantly lower than those of AGS-sictrl cells (P<0.001). The results of flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rates of AGS-siTRAF2 cells were (1.42±0.07)%, (2.98±0.11)% and (1.56±0.03)% at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of AGS-sictrl cells (all P<0.05). The distribution of S phase in AGS-siTRAF2 cells was (23.57±1.12)%, while that in the AGS-sictrl cells was (19.49±1.19)%. The difference was statistically significant (P=0.012). AGS-siTRAF2 cells migrated much slower than AGS-sictrl cells from 3 h and the number of migrated AGS-sictrl cells was 121.7±6.7 while that of AGS-siTRAF2 cells was 84.0±6.6 (P=0.002). The cell index of AGS-siTRAF2 cells was less than that of AGS-sictrl cells from 3 h. In Transwell assay, the number of invaded AGS-sictrl cells was 109.3±3.1 after 24 h of culture, significantly higher than 79.0±6.2 of AGS-siTRAF2 cells (P=0.002). Western blot analysis showed that the expression levels of RelA, RelB, p50 and p52 in AGS-siTRAF2 cells were significantly lower than those in AGS-sictrl cells. The activities of RelA, RelB, p50 and p52 in AGS-siTRAF2 cells were 0.01±0.00, 0.01±0.01, 0.92±0.01 and 0.53±0.03, respectively, significantly lower than those of AGS-sictrl cells (all P<0.001). High TRAF2 expression (TRAF2-high) was found in 53.0% of GC samples, while TRAF2-high was only observed in 38.0% of the paired adjacent tissues (P=0.033). The expression of TRAF2 was significantly higher in the tubular adenocarcinoma, poor differentiation advanced T, advanced N, and clinical staging (P<0.05). The median survival time were 17 months and 78 months in the TRAF2 high-expression and low-expression groups, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.010). Conclusions: Depletion of TRAF2 inhibits the AGS cell growth, migration and invasion. The expression of TRAF2 is increased in gastric tumor tissue. The expression of TRAF2 is associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer.


The performance of wavelet shrinkage algorithms for image-denoising can be improved significantly by considering the statistical dependencies among wavelet coefficients as demonstrated by several algorithms presented in the literature. In this paper, a locally adaptive denoising algorithm using a bivariate shrinkage function is applied to reduce speckle noise in time-domain (TD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the prostate. The algorithm is illustrated using the dual-tree complex wavelet transform. The cavernous nerve and prostate gland can be separated from discontinuities due to noise, and image quality metrics improvements with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) increase of 14 dB are attained with a sharpness reduction of only 3%.


Part I, Identifying biodiversity: Why do we need field guides? * How do we 'know' nature? Classifying, naming and recognizing * Field guides * How to use this book * Part II, Producing a successful guide: Principles, purpose, people and process * What makes a successful guide? * Purpose * Principles * People * Process * Part III, Planning and budgeting * Step 1: Identify the needs and purpose of the guide with the stakeholders * Methods for consulting * Step 2: Review the scope in relation to available resources * Step 3: Prepare an action plan and agreements with stakeholders * Summary: Checklist of questions for the planning stage * Part IV, Plant names and botanical publication * Naming, identification and classification * The spectrum of botanical literature * Landmarks in the spectrum of field guides today * Your field guide within the spectrum of types * Part V, Identification: Keys and other access methods * Types of guide: Types of access * Choosing access methods and the medium for your field guide * Part VI, Plant characters suitable for field guides * Characters of younger stems and leaves * Characters of whole plants or plant populations * Part VII, Information: Finding it and presenting it * Kinds of information * Managing information in a database * Nomenclature * Selecting, sampling and recording your sources of information * Primary data: Information direct from people * Secondary sources: Information from existing documented sources * Ownership, intellectual property rights and copyright * Accuracy and reliability * Writing * Part VIII, Illustration * The content of a picture: Some general principles * The options for illustrative material * Use of computers for handling illustrations * Conclusions: Choosing and using imagery * Part IX, Testing the field guide * Overview of the testing process * Methodology * Organizing workshops for testing * Preparing materials for testing * Documentation: Instructions and forms for the test * Using the results of tests and workshops * Part X, Publishing the field guide * Choosing a publisher * Do-it-yourself publication * Desktop publishing * Finalizing content * Printing * Getting your guide to the users * Follow-up: Tracking the success of your field guide *


Fluorescence microscopy is one of the most powerful tools to investigate complex cellular processes such as cell division, cell motility, or intracellular trafficking. The availability of RNA interference (RNAi) technology and automated microscopy has opened the possibility to perform cellular imaging in functional genomics and other large-scale applications. Although imaging often dramatically increases the content of a screening assay, it poses new challenges to achieve accurate quantitative annotation and therefore needs to be carefully adjusted to the specific needs of individual screening applications. In this review, we discuss principles of assay design, large-scale RNAi, microscope automation, and computational data analysis. We highlight strategies for imaging-based RNAi screening adapted to different library and assay designs.


The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that sorafenib‐related dermatologic adverse events (AEs) as an early biomarker can predict the long‐term outcomes following the combination therapy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus sorafenib (TACE‐S). The intermediate‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma patients who received either TACE‐S or TACE‐alone treatment were consecutively included into analysis. In the TACE‐S group, patients with ≥ grade 2 dermatologic AEs within the first month of sorafenib initiation were defined as responders; whereas those with < grade 2 were defined as nonresponders. In the TACE‐S group, the median overall survival (OS) of the responders was significantly longer than that of nonresponders (28.9 months vs. 16.8 months, respectively; p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that nonresponders were significantly associated with an increased risk of death compared with responders (HR = 1.9; 95% confidence Interval‐CI: 1.3–2.7; p = 0.001). The survival analysis showed that the median OS was 27.9 months (95% CI: 25.0–30.8) among responders treated with TACE‐S vs.18.3 months (95% CI: 14.5–22.1) among those who received TACE‐alone (p = 0.046). The median time to progression was 13.1 months (95% CI: 4.4–21.8) in the TACE‐S group, a duration that was significantly longer than that in the TACE‐alone group [5 months (95% CI: 6.4–13.3), p = 0.014]. This study demonstrated that sorafenib‐related dermatologic AEs are clinical biomarkers to identify responders from all of the patients for TACE‐S therapy. Sorafenib‐related dermatologic AEs, clinical biomarkers, can predict the efficacy of TACE‐S in future randomized controlled trials.


Kv1.3 is a voltage-gated K(+) channel expressed in insulin-sensitive tissues. We previously showed that gene inactivation or pharmacological inhibition of Kv1.3 channel activity increased peripheral insulin sensitivity independently of body weight by augmenting the amount of GLUT4 at the plasma membrane. In the present study, we further examined the effect Kv1.3 on GLUT4 trafficking and tested whether it occurred via an insulin-dependent pathway. We found that Kv1.3 inhibition by margatoxin (MgTX) stimulated glucose uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle and that the effect of MgTX on glucose transport was additive to that of insulin. Furthermore, whereas the increase in uptake was wortmannin insensitive, it was completely inhibited by dantrolene, a blocker of Ca(2+) release from intracellular Ca(2+) stores. In white adipocytes in primary culture, channel inhibition by Psora-4 increased GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane. In these cells, GLUT4 protein translocation was unaffected by the addition of wortmannin but was significantly inhibited by dantrolene. Channel inhibition depolarized the membrane voltage and led to sustained, dantrolene-sensitive oscillations in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. These results indicate that the apparent increase in insulin sensitivity observed in association with inhibition of Kv1.3 channel activity is mediated by an increase in GLUT4 protein at the plasma membrane, which occurs largely through a Ca(2+)-dependent process.


Objective: Sensorineural hearing loss is a common sequela of bacterial meningitis. The objective of this study is to delineate the incidence and course of hearing loss after bacterial meningitis. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Data of 655 patients who suffered from bacterial meningitis between 1985 and 2015 were analyzed. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measurements: Availability of audiometric data, incidence of hearing loss, and onset and course of hearing loss. Results: In this cohort the incidence of hearing loss (>25 dB) was 28% (95% confidence interval 23–34%). The incidence of profound hearing loss (>80 dB) was 13% (95% confidence interval 10–18%). Normal hearing at the first assessment after treatment for meningitis remained stable over time in all these patients. In 19 of the 28 patients with diagnosed hearing loss, the hearing level remained stable over time. Hearing improved in six patients and deteriorated in two patients. One patient showed a fluctuating unilateral hearing loss. Conclusion: Audiological tests in patients with bacterial meningitis, especially children, should be started as soon as possible after the acute phase is over. As we found no deterioration of initial normal hearing after bacterial meningitis, repeated audiometry seems indicated only for those with diagnosed hearing loss at first assessment.


2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (D4T) is a thymidine analogue with potent anti-HIV activity in vitro and is currently being investigated therapeutically in patients with advanced HIV infection. We describe a first one-step competitive ELISA method developed for D4T measurement. Anti-D4T rabbit antibodies were raised against a D4T hemisuccinate-bovine serum albumin immunogen. A D4T-hemisuccinate-horseradish peroxidase conjugate and a monoclonal anti-rabbit IgG antibody insolubilized onto a microtiter plate were used as a tracer and capture system, respectively. The method was capable of detecting 2 ng/ml of D4T in cell cultures and 20 ng/ml of D4T in plasma samples previously separated in microconcentrator devices. Cross-reactivity analysis showed that thymidine, D4T monophosphate, or azidothymidine, were weakly recognized by the ELISA and that thymine or other nucleosides were unreactive. The test was successfully used for the quantification of D4T in cell extracts from CEM or Molt 4 cell lines cultured with D4T and in the plasma of patients with advanced HIV infection, receiving D4T therapy. Moreover this ELISA could be used for the indirect quantification of D4T phosphorylated intracellular metabolites previously separated by reverse phase HPLC and hydrolyzed with alkaline phosphatase.


The periostin protein is expressed in a variety of human malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum periostin levels in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We measured serum periostin levels by ELISA in 296 NSCLC patients, 120 benign lung diseases (BLD) patients and 160 healthy controls. The levels of serum periostin in NSCLC patients were significantly elevated compared with those in healthy controls (P < 0.001) and BLD patients (P < 0.001). Using a cutoff value of 30.87 ng/ml, the sensitivity and specificity of periostin in differentiating between NSCLC patients and BLD patients, and between NSCLC patients and healthy controls was, 48.6 and 91.7%, and 51.4 and 97.5%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier log rank analysis revealed that the higher serum periostin levels group had a poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with lower periostin group (P = 0.024, P = 0.015, respectively). Further univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that serum periostin was an independent risk factor of prognosis of NSCLC patients. In conclusion, our study suggests that serum periostin could be considered as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.


Background and Purpose: We present three patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging utilizing an Aquilion ONE (Toshiba Medical Systems, Nasu, Japan) 320-dectector row CT scanner using a Singular Value Decomposition Plus (SVD+) algorithm to generate perfusion maps. These MTT maps may prove to be a sensitive and specific predictor of ischemic penumbra (IP) and infarct core (IC). Methods: Patients, who presented with an acute ischemic stroke, received high quality whole-brain CTP scans and a follow up MRI or non-contrast CT (NCCT) scan, and underwent successful pharmacological and/ or interventional reperfusion procedures were selected for evaluation. A neuroradiologist utilizing Vitrea FX 3.1 software reviewed images, and the IC volumes were calculated. Results: A comparison was made between the volumes of infarct core utilizing SVD+ MTT maps and DWI MR sequences or a sub-acute NCCT. There was a correlation between the infarct core volume measured on MTT and final infarct volume on follow up imaging. However due to limitations associated with a small sample size, a statistical correlation cannot be definitively calculated from this data set. Conclusions: Utilization of the SVD+ MTT map may allow for a more accurate assessment of the infarct core and surrounding salvageable tissue as compared to cerebral blood flow/cerebral blood volume (CBF/CBV) mismatch though further studies are required to validate this observation.


A conditional tetracycline-responsive transgenic mouse model with deregulated estrogen receptor alpha expression in mammary epithelial cells developed ductal hyperplasia (DH), lobular hyperplasia, and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) by 4 months of age. Higher proliferative rates were found in both normal and abnormal ductal and lobular structures. DH and DCIS but not normal ductal structures showed an increased percentage of cells with nuclear-localized cyclin D1. No differences in either the prevalence or extent of these phenotypes following exogenous 17beta-estradiol treatment were found suggesting that alteration of ERalpha expression was the rate-limiting factor in initiation of DH, lobular hyperplasia, and DCIS.


Grafting of starch with methyl methacrylate was carried out using a free radical mechanism. Free radicals were generated by the thermal disintegration of potassium persulphate at the temperature of 60°C. A variety of experimental methods were investigated to check the effect of different parameters such as (temperature, amount of starch, quantity of monomer) for efficient grafting. The optimum temperature found for good grafting was 60°C. The initial amount of starch was taken as 0.75 g. Keeping the amount of starch constant, the quantity of monomer was reduced gradually from 10 to 2 ml in portions of 5 and 3 ml. The controlled biodegradability of the grafted product was obtained by using a 3 ml monomer in 0.75 g starch. This grafted polymer showed 31.45% biodegradability in 60 days. The nanocomposite of starch grafted methyl methacrylate was prepared by incorporating 0.02 g Ni nanoparticles in the reaction flask 15 min before the completion of reaction time. The starch grafted polymer and nanocomposite of this were fully characterized by SEM, FTIR, TGA, and DSC techniques. The soil burial method was applied to estimate the biodegradability of samples. The polymer containing Ni nanoparticles was less biodegradable than without nanoparticles. Such polymers can be efficiently used as packaging material for food items.


There have been numerous studies on the effect of turbulators of various shapes integrated with the absorber plate for an improved performance. However, a study on saw-toothed profiled turbulators is not available in the literature. In this paper, an attempt has been made to explore in detail on this aspect. Turbulators of different heat transfer surface types mainly create flow disturbance and break the laminar sub-layer, enhancing the heat transfer rate. The present work, saw tooth turbulator profiles with different configurations, i.e. upstream tapered, downstream tapered and flat turbulators attached to the SAH absorber plate, are being numerically investigated. For the base model, i.e. without any turbulators, a numerical and experimental analysis has been carried to establish the overall validity. All tested saw tooth turbulator configurations show better performance compared to the base model. Configuration, which is tapered towards the upstream-end, shows a better performance in terms of outlet temperature, Nusselt number and thermo-hydraulic enhancement factor compared to the other configuration tested. It is found from the analysis that for upstream tapered turbulators, there is an enhancement of 8% to 20% improvement in Nusselt number of the flow as well as 1.05 to 1.18 in the thermo-hydraulic performance corresponding to higher to lower flow rates, respectively. As also for downstream tapered turbulators, an improvement of 5% to 16% in Nusselt number and 1.04 to 1.17 in the thermo-hydraulic performance are observed corresponding to higher to lower flow rates, respectively.


In "Aurora," a short story published in his 1996 collection Drown, Junot Díaz transforms the mythical character into a contemporary woman. Aurora abandons the unspecified space of myth and is relocated to the barrio. She becomes a drug addict who, like the goddess who salutes the new day, is homeless. She has no permanent home in the barrio, aside from the apartments she and Lucero, the narrator, break into, the juvie [Juvenile Detention] and the Hacienda. In the midst of these non-places, Aurora can only authorize herself through her art, the small-scale dawns she leaves on the walls of the apartments she occupies, and the violent lines she scratches on Lucero. In downgrading and relocating the goddess, Díaz barrioizes high literature and carves this violent clash of cultures and languages on the parchment of American literature.


Polysaccharide lyases, which are polysaccharide cleavage enzymes, act mainly on anionic polysaccharides. Produced by prokaryote and eukaryote organisms, these enzymes degrade (1,4) glycosidic bond by a beta elimination mechanism and have unsaturated oligosaccharides as major products. New polysaccharides are cleaved only by their specific polysaccharide lyases. From anionic polysaccharides controlled degradations, various biotechnological applications were investigated. This review catalogues the degradation of bacterial, plant and animal polysaccharides (neutral and anionic) by this family of carbohydrate acting enzymes.


Treatment with valproic acid (VPA) deteriorates hippocampal neurogenesis, which leads to memory impairment. Hesperidin (Hsd) is a plant-based bioflavonoid that can augment learning and memory. This study aimed to understand the effect of Hsd on the impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis and memory caused by VPA. The VPA (300 mg/kg) was administered by intraperitoneal injection twice daily for 14 days, and Hsd (100 mg/kg/day) was administered by oral gavage once a day for 21 days. All rats underwent memory evaluation using the novel object location (NOL) and novel object recognition (NOR) tests. Immunofluorescent staining of Ki-67, BrdU/NeuN, and doublecortin (DCX) was applied to determine hippocampal neurogenesis in cell proliferation, neuronal survival, and population of the immature neurons, respectively. VPA-treated rats showed memory impairments in both memory tests. These impairments resulted from VPA-induced decreases in the number of Ki-67-, BrdU/NeuN-, and DCX-positive cells in the hippocampus, leading to memory loss. Nevertheless, the behavioral expression in the co-administration group was improved. After receiving co-administration with VPA and Hsd, the numbers of Ki-67-, BrdU/NeuN-, and DCX-positive cells were improved to the normal levels. These findings suggest that Hsd can reduce the VPA-induced hippocampal neurogenesis down-regulation that results in memory impairments.


A mass of perfect fluid rotating about an axis is considered. The material stress-system is taken to be one of isotropic pressure. General expressions for the pressure and form of the free surface are assumed. It is shown that the equations of motion cannot be satisfied unless the rotation produces an electromagnetic field which gives rise to additional terms in the total energy-tensor.


Epilepsy, as a kind of neurological disease, is harmful to human mental health. There are many problems in the corresponding drugs and treatment methods, such as poor targeting, side effects and drug resistance. The conventional treatment of epilepsy is mainly focused on its corresponding electrophysiological mechanism to limit the discharge of epileptic focus. However, in the clinical and experimental observation process, this method finds that its corresponding target and direction are easily interfered, and its targeting shows poor directionality. Therefore, based on this, this paper will fully combine the electrophysiological mechanism of epilepsy and brain targeting technology, fully analyze the correlation between miR-181 and epilepsy and other nervous system diseases, and construct the epilepsy cell model to provide new ideas for the target and direction. Finally, we will construct a nanoscale hydrogel targeting the electric field, which can rapidly suppress the discharge and release the therapeutic drugs in epileptic seizures, so as to achieve effective treatment for epilepsy. The experimental results show that the new targeting technology proposed in this paper has obvious effect on the treatment of epilepsy.


The ideal of diversity so pervades American public life that we now speak of diversity where we once spoke of equality. This Article rejects the dominant legal conception of diversity found in equal protection jurisprudence but not the relevance of diversity to the project of equal opportunity. In Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court endorsed diversity as a compelling governmental interest capable of justifying the use of racial preferences in public university admissions. However, rather than quieting public controversies about affirmative action, the decision has been a frequent target of legal and political attack, and its narrow focus on educational diversity leaves many questions unanswered concerning the value of diversity and the applicability of its rationale for status-based action outside of the educational context. This Article demonstrates that Grutter underserves the law's equality values by deferring to institutional constructions of diversity's benefits, naively equating the achievement of numerical diversity with the accomplishment of those benefits, and failing to distinguish between exploitative and egalitarian uses of diversity. These deficiencies obscure diversity's potential to reimagine the relationship between equal opportunity, individual achievement, and institutional design. The Article uses the managerial conception of diversity as a foil for the legal conception. One the one hand, proponents of diversity management in the business context seek to exploit workforce diversity for financial gain, and they reject the emphasis of affirmative action programs and civil rights enforcement on the achievement of integration for its own sake. On the other hand, however, proponents of diversity management sometime marshal the diversity ideal also in order to promote new institutional practices that extend to underrepresented persons equal opportunity for individual growth and advancement. The Article proposes a reconstruction of the diversity rationale to fulfill its potential as an instrument of equal opportunity, within and beyond the educational realm and in circumstances including, but not limited to, the implementation of affirmative action programs.


Hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) is a toxic heavy metal that discharged by many industries into the water streams. It is the most toxic form of chromium compound, which causes significant damage to receiving ecosystems. A microalgal species, Chlorella sp., was used as a biosorbent material to remove Cr (VI) from Cr-contaminated effluents. Furthermore, different variables: pH, temperature, contact time, Cr (VI) concentration and algal dose, were optimized in order to determine the optimum conditions that achieve the highest removal efficiency. The optimization process was achieved through two steps: one factor at a time (OFAT) experiments followed by 25 general full factorial. Moreover, molecular identification was performed using 18S rRNA in order to demonstrate the species of Chlorella, and it was identified as Chlorella sorokiniana. The highest chromium removal efficiency of 99.6793% was achieved at 100 ppm Cr (VI) after three days' contact time. Chlorophyll 'a' estimation as a growth indicator stated that Chlorella sorokiniana can tolerate 100 ppm Cr (VI) for three days' exposure. The results suggested that Chlorella sorokiniana is a good biosorbent material and it distinguished by its high ability to uptake Cr (VI) from solutions.


This paper produces a plan how Rapid Prototyping Services RPS to (external) enterprises and businesses can be accomplished by universities which use the CDIO educational framework in their undergraduate engineering education. The CDIO Syllabus summarizes formally a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that alumni, industry, and academia desire in a future generation of young engineers. The CDIO Syllabus can be utilized to define new educational initiatives, and it can be employed as the basis for a rigorous assessment process, such as is required by ABET (www.abet.org). Some technical universities supply RPS to external enterprises and businesses. This paper shows how this service process can be included to stages of CDIO educational process. Through the CDIO educational framework the engineering students are able not only to adopt the techniques of rapid prototyping engineering but also fundamentals of engineering service processes and business to business service sales.


Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has become the standard of care for descending thoracic aortic pathology as the procedure has a historically low rate of reintervention and a high rate of success. However, TEVAR can be associated with complications such as endoleak, upper extremity limb ischemia, cerebrovascular ischemia, spinal cord ischemia, and post-implantation syndrome. An 80-year-old man with a history of complex thoracic aortic aneurysms underwent repair of a large thoracic aneurysm with a frozen elephant trunk procedure in 2019 at an outside institution. The proximal aortic graft extended to the arch and the innominate and left carotid artery were implanted into the distal portion of the graft. The endograft, extending from the proximal graft to the descending thoracic aorta, was fenestrated to maintain left subclavian artery flow. In an attempt to gain a seal at the fenestration, a Viabahn graft (Gore, Flagstaff, AZ, USA) was inserted. A type III endoleak was identified postoperatively at the fenestration, and a second Viabahn graft was required to gain a seal during the initial hospitalization. In 2020, an endoleak persisted at the fenestration on follow-up imaging, but the aneurysmal sac was stable. No intervention was recommended. The patient later presented to our institution with three days of chest pain. A type III endoleak at the level of the subclavian fenestration persisted with significant enlargement of the aneurysm sac. The patient underwent an urgent repair of the endoleak. This consisted of covering the fenestration with an endograft and left carotid to subclavian bypass. Subsequently, the patient developed a transient ischemic attack (TIA) due to kinking and extrinsic compression by the large aneurysm sac of the proximal left common carotid artery, requiring a right carotid to left carotid-axillary graft bypass. This report with a literature review discusses TEVAR complications and outlines methods to approach them. TEVAR complications and their management should be firmly understood to improve overall treatment outcomes.


This paper presents a novel method for the coordinated selection and positioning of groups of active-vision cameras for the surveillance of an object-of-interest as it travels through a multi-object environment with an a priori unknown trajectory. Dynamic sensing-system reconfiguration is achieved through the use of multiple real and virtual agents. The proposed reconfiguration algorithm is implemented on an experimental prototype setup for automated facial recognition of a single subject in a cluttered environment.


The paper deals with risk analysis of human resource management in small and medium enterprises. Risk factors of human resource management are arranged into dimensions, which are described general human resources characteristics and main personnel operations. Research in selected enterprises results in risk matrix of human resources. All dimensions are characterized according to risk factors in selected small and medium enterprises.


Electric power produced by the use of ordinary fuels will produce toxic gasses like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide etc. Which will causes environment contamination and as a result cause to global warming. This bring to the use of renewable energy sources. A Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) system, along with Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), catenated to a three phase grid which feeding a switched reluctance motor is introduced. The catenation of solar photovoltaic system to the grid arise through two stages of operations, which is through a DC/DC boost converter via a Voltage Source Inverter (VSI). The Maximum power point tracking algorithm used is Perturb & Observe (P &O) algorithm, which is applied to the boost converter. Also reference reimbursement current has been generated by using I cos Φ algorithm. Adaptive hysteresis band current controller is used for switching pulse generation in current controlled VSI. Em-ploying adaptive control, the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of supply current is reduced to 0.22% from 28.20%. There by the power factor is increased to a value 0.976%.


BACKGROUND
To fabricate some prosthetic restorations, such as metal alloy frameworks for removable partial dentures (RPDs), casting techniques must be used. The penultimate stage of the cast finishing procedure is electropolishing.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study was to assess the influence of selected electrolytic polishing process parameters on the resulting surface smoothness of the cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The CoCrMo alloy, 3 experimental and 2 name-brand electrolytes, were used in the study. A total of 25 samples, 63 mm × 10 mm × 1 mm in size, were cast using the Nautilus® equipment. The cast samples were shaped using metal cutters and carborundum stones and separators, and were sandblasted. The prepared samples were placed in an electrolysis cell as an anode. For each sample, measurements were made by changing the potential of the electrode by 0.2 V in the range from 1.2 V to 7.0 V. The surface of the samples was analyzed using a profilometer. An optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to examine the structure of the surface.

RESULTS
An analysis of the obtained results showed no statistically significant differences between the BEGO Wirolyt® electrolytic polishing liquid (WB) and experimental electrolytes K15, K8 and K13, all of which were significantly better than the Dentaurum Electrolyt® polishing solution (ED). The microscope images indicated differences in the surface structure of the samples; in the SEM images, inclusions were also visible.

CONCLUSIONS
The experimental electrolytes did not differ in quality from one of the name-brand electrolytes and were even better than the other one. The obtained surface roughness values (Ra) did not differ significantly from those achieved by other researchers.


The research aims to present the theoretical implications of both the strategic leadership and the institutional performance of the employees, as well as to identify the extent of the surveyed private colleges for strategic leaders and the levels of institutional performance of the employees in the surveyed colleges. For the research sample and the second axis, the questionnaire questions for the variables, and each of (Al-Mamoun University College, Al-Isra University College, Al-Turath University College, Al-Rafidain University College, Baghdad College of Economic Sciences, AlNisour University College) was chosen as a research community, and (160) forms were distributed and (150) were retrieved. A valid form for statistical analysis, and the research problem was to identify the role played by the strategic leadership in private colleges, the research community, a role in developing institutional performance in them, and in order to process the data collected by the researcher by the research sample, the statistical analysis program (AMOS V25) was relied on. ) and the program SPSS V25)) and a number of descriptive and analytical statistical methods represented by (percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, simple correlation coefficient, simple linear regression analysis and confirmatory factor analysis), the research reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which is that the leaders in the researched colleges have a strategic direction and the ability to closely examine their internal environment, their strengths and weaknesses, and their external environment related to opportunities And threats by participating in the development of that direction to achieve its goals, and accordingly the researcher recommends the leadership of the researched colleges to qualify individuals and work to direct them towards paying attention to the strategic direction of their ideas to enable them to make the right decision in the situations they are exposed to when carrying out the tasks assigned to them.


The main aim of this study is to document the effectiveness of siddha medicine Thathu Viruthi Kuligai (Internal medicine) in the management of AAN MALADU (Male infertility).
The objective of this study is the Clinical studies conducted in 40 cases. The raw drug was purchased from reputed country medical shop in Chennai and drug authentication by Assisstant Professor of Medicinal Botany.
The drug was prepared as per standard operating procedure mentioned in the siddha literature in Gunapadam laboratory of National Institute of Siddha.
The standardization of study drug was carried out in the Biochemistry lab of NIS. It revealed the presence of chloride, fluoride, carbonate with the study drug.
The clinical study was conducted with a well-defined protocol and a proper proforma after getting the approval of the Institutional Ethical Committee. (IEC NO.2016/11-04/14.10.2016].
The study data were registered in CTRI (Clinical Trial Registry of India) with ID NO: CTRI/2018/01/011580.
After screening 60 cases study based on the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria reporting at the OPD of Maruthuvam, 40 cases were selected for induction to the study. Before enrollment into the trial the informed consent was obtained from the patients.
The aim of the study is to increase the sperm count and sperm motility in male infertility patients. The duration of administration of study drug 48 days. The study drug dose was illanthai kottai alavu [325mg] twice a daily with cow milk Before Starting the treatment semen analysis, routine blood and urine examination were taken in all 40 patients. Siddha methods like three Humor, Thegi, Kosangal, udalthathukkal, Envagaithervu, neeikuri, nerkuri and buoyancy of Semen on water were analysed in all 40 Cases.
Patients were instructed to come for clinical assessment once in 15 days. They were also instructed to bring back the unconsumed drug during the next visit and return the same. In every visit the clinical assessment was made.
At the end of the treatment reduction of clinical symptoms and improvement in clinical lab para meters (Sperm count and motility) in all the 40 patients. 72.5% of patients improved after treatment more than 30 Million in sperm count. 24% of the patients were presenting increase of Active Motility with range of 50%-70%. 41% of the patients were presenting increase of Active Motility with range of 50% to 60%.10% of the patients were presenting increase of Active Motility with range of with 50%. 25% of the patients were presenting with range of Active Motility with less than 50%.
The cost of medicine is comparatively low. The ingredients were easily available and the rural people will be benefited more.
The mean + Standard deviation of sperm count before and after treatment were 21.01 and 60.6 respectively which is statistically significant (t=4.63 P < 1.0000.
The mean + Standard deviation of sperm motility before and after treatment were 23.25 and 36.75 respectively which is statistically significant (t=5.04 P < 1.0000.
I have concluded the siddha medicine thathuviruthikulikai was effective in treatment of Aan maladu‖ (Male infertility especially oligospermia and asthenozoospermia).


Major salivary gland tumours were studied for the presence of hormone receptors for oestrogen and progesterone. Of the eight salivary gland tumours exhibiting varied histology, none showed high affinity receptors for oestrogen or progesterone. Salivary tissue from four patients with non-neoplastic salivary gland disease was also studied and found not to contain high affinity receptor sites. The absence of hormone receptors in these glands suggests that such tumours are not dependent on endocrine function.


A new metric based on Malecot's parameters of isolation by distance is proposed for estimation of genetic similarity between populations. This metric is in good agreement with the angular metric used for estimation of interpopulation genetic distances. It is suggested to term the new metric Malecot's metric.


Rationale:Following transplantation, renal ischemia is a major cause of Acute Kidney injury(AKI). TREM1(Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1) is an innate immune receptor expressed on neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages, the most common cells infiltrating the kidney upon IR. TREM1 enhances Toll-like receptor (TLR)-induced inflammatory response in several models of infection and sterile inflammation.TREM1 inhibition reduced disease severity in mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion induced injury (IRI).We hypothesized that TREM1 intervention will also reduce renal IRI. Methods:Mice were subjected to renal IRI induced by occlusion of the renal artery for 25' and reperfused for 24h. Mice were treated i.p. with different doses of LP17, LR12, TREM1 fusion protein and control peptides.Renal TREM1 protein expression and plasma sTREM1 were measured. TREM1 expression on circulating granulocyte and monocyte, renal function (creatinine, urea), damage (PASD) and inflammation (KC and LY6G-positive cell infiltration) were evaluated. Results:IRI was associated with increased renal and circulating TREM1 protein levels. TREM1 levels were similar on circulating granulocyte but decrease on monocyte upon IR. TREM1 intervention with LP17, LR12 and TREM1 fusion protein did not reduce renal dysfunction, injury or inflammation following IRI. Conclusion: The modulation of the TREM-1 pathway by means of synthetic peptides and fusion protein does not represent a useful tool to prevent renal IRI.


Changes in the nucleoli of maturing oocytes and the eggs of Cynops pyrrhogaster were studied with light and electron microscopy. Extrachromosomal nucleoli moved toward the center of the germinal vesicle in response to the maturation stimulus, released presumed ribosomal ribonucleoprotein, and further moved toward the center of the nucleus to form an aggregate with chromosomes which behaved in a similar manner. A few. ball‐shaped nucleolar masses were formed from this aggregate, leaving the chromosomes and probably the extrachromosomal nucleolar organizer. The chromosomes then proceeded to the first meiotic metaphase. The nucleolar masses were surrounded by a layer of mitochondria and became smaller with formation of pinched‐off fragments, which were also surrounded by mitochondria, during the time the egg was moving down the oviduct. Only fragments were observed in the subcortical area of the animal hemisphere of the egg after reaching the lowest part of the oviduct.


The authors report the experience in training clinical anatomists gained at the Chair of General Clinical Pathology (Pathoanatomy) in the Novokuznetsk Institute for Advanced Medical Training. Altogether 366 specialists in clinical pathology have been trained for the 10-year period (1976-1985). Problems of composing the curricula for the training cycles and their contents are discussed. The significance of such institutes for advanced training of those who specialize in pathoanatomy is emphasized.


This chapter explores the different discourses of race as they affected my position as a German-speaking scholar of Indigenous Australian studies. There are difficulties, at times even impossibilities, in translating Australian meanings of race into a German-speaking context. The silencing of 'race' in German-speaking academia, especially in leftist circles, has led to a difficulty to reclaim difference. This silencing was cracked in Australia, where I had suddenly 'inherited' more than one race. The retranslation of these discourses into German-speaking contexts meant, again, a loss of my race and proved a difficulty for German-speaking scholars to handle a concept so profound for (Indigenous) Australian studies: race.


Tec family non‐receptor tyrosine kinases have been implicated in signal transduction events initiated by cell surface receptors from a broad range of cell types, including an essential role in B‐cell development. A unique feature of several Tec members among known tyrosine kinases is the presence of an N‐terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. We directly demonstrate that phosphatidylinositol‐3,4,5‐trisphosphate (PtdIns‐3,4,5‐P3) interacting with the PH domain acts as an upstream activation signal for Tec kinases, resulting in Tec kinase‐dependent phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) tyrosine phosphorylation and inositol trisphosphate production. In addition, we show that this pathway is blocked when an SH2‐containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP)‐dependent inhibitory receptor is engaged. Together, our results suggest a general mechanism whereby PtdIns‐3,4,5‐P3 regulates receptor‐dependent calcium signals through the function of Tec kinases.


To achieve resource-efficient hardware designs, HLS tools share (i.e., time-multiplex) functional units among operations of the same type. This optimization is typically performed together with operation scheduling to ensure the best possible unit usage at each point in time. Dataflow circuits have emerged as an alternative HLS approach to efficiently handle irregular and control-dominated code. Yet, these circuits do not have a predetermined schedule—in its absence, it is challenging to determine which operations can share a functional unit without a performance penalty. Furthermore, although sharing seems to imply only some trivial circuitry, time-multiplexing units in dataflow circuits may cause deadlock by blocking certain data transfers and preventing operations from executing. In this paper, we present a technique to automatically identify performance-acceptable resource sharing opportunities in dataflow circuits and we describe a sharing mechanism that achieves deadlock-free dataflow designs. On benchmarks obtained from C code, we show that our approach effectively implements resource sharing: it results in significant area savings (i.e., a DSP reduction of up to 81%) compared to dataflow circuits which do not support this feature and matches the sharing capabilities of a state-of-the-art HLS tool.


Purpose
By considering the rapid and continuous increase of housing prices in Turkey recently, this study aims to examine the determinants of the residential property price index (RPPI). In this context, a total of 12 explanatory (3 macroeconomic, 8 markets and 1 pandemic) variables are included in the analysis. Moreover, the residential property price index for new dwellings (NRPPI) and the residential property price index for old dwellings (ORPPI) are considered for robustness checks.

Design/methodology/approach
A quantile regression (QR) model is used to examine the main determinants of RPPI in Turkey. A monthly time series data set for the period between January 2010 and October 2020 is included. Moreover, NRPPI and ORPPI are examined for robustness.

Findings
Predictions for RPPI, NRPPI and ORPPI are carried out separately at the country (Turkey) level. The results show that market variables are more important than macroeconomic variables; the pandemic and rent have the highest effect on the indices; The effects of the explanatory variables on housing prices do not change much from low to high levels, the COVID-19 pandemic and weighted average cost of funding have a decreasing effect on indices while other variables have an increasing effect in low quantiles; the pandemic and monetary policy indicators have a negative and significant effect in low quantiles whereas they are not effective in high quantiles; the results for RPPI, NRPPI and ORPPI are consistent and robust.

Research limitations/implications
The results of the study emphasize the importance of the pandemic, rent, monetary policy indicators and interest rates on the indices, respectively. On the other hand, focusing solely on Turkey and excluding global variables is the main limitation of this study. Therefore, the authors encourage researchers to work on other emerging countries by considering global variables. Hence, future studies may extend this study.

Practical implications
The COVID-19 pandemic and market variables are determined as influential variables on housing prices in Turkey whereas macroeconomic variables are not effective, which does not mean that macroeconomic variables can be fully ignored. Hence, the main priority should be on focusing on market variables by also considering the development in macroeconomic variables.

Social implications
Emerging countries can make housing prices stable and affordable, which will increase homeownership. Hence, they can benefit from stability in housing markets.

Originality/value
The QR method is performed for the first time to examine housing prices in Turkey at the country level according to the existing literature. The results obtained from the QR analysis and policy implications can also be used by other emerging countries that would like to increase homeownership to provide better living conditions to citizens by making housing prices stable and keeping them under control. Hence, countries can control housing prices and stimulate housing affordability for citizens.


This thesis presents the research undertaken to develop a novel approach towards the development of a text-based Conversational Natural Language Interface to Databases, known as ANEESAH. Natural Language Interfaces to Databases (NLIDBs) are computer applications, which replace the requirement for an end user to commission a skilled programmer to query a database by using natural language. The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the use of a Natural Language Interface to Database (NLIDB) capable of conversing with users to automate the query formulation process for database information retrieval. Historical challenges and limitations have prevented the wider use of NLIDB applications in real-life environments. The challenges relevant to the scope of proposed research include the absence of flexible conversation between NLIDB applications and users, automated database query building from multiple dialogues and flexibility to sustain dialogues for information refinement. The areas of research explored include; NLIDBs, conversational agents (CAs), natural language processing (NLP) techniques, artificial intelligence (AI), knowledge engineering, and relational databases.
Current NLIDBs do not have conversational abilities to sustain dialogues, especially with regards to information required for dynamic query formulation. A novel approach, ANEESAH is introduced to deal with these challenges. ANEESAH was developed to allow users to communicate using natural language to retrieve information from a relational database. ANEESAH can interact with the users conversationally and sustain dialogues to automate the query formulation and information refinement process. The research and development of ANEESAH steered the engineering of several novel NLIDB components such as a CA implemented NLIDB framework, a rule-based CA that combines pattern matching and sentence similarity techniques, algorithms to engage users in conversation and support sustained dialogues for information refinement. Additional components of the proposed framework include a novel SQL query engine for the dynamic formulation of queries to extract database information and perform querying the query operations to support the information refinement.

Furthermore, a generic evaluation methodology combining subjective and objective measures was introduced to evaluate the implemented conversational NLIDB framework. Empirical end user evaluation was also used to validate the components of the implemented framework. The evaluation results demonstrated ANEESAH produced the desired database information for users over a set of test scenarios. The evaluation results also revealed that the proposed framework components can overcome the challenges of sustaining dialogues, information refinement and querying the query operations.


Vehicle License plate recognition system includes license plate location, character segmentation, character recognition three important aspects. Image Processing is the VLPRS is one of the three key technologies, this gray-scale transformation of the image, contrast enhancement, image smoothing, edge detection, binarization and other methods were discussed and studied through the Image Processing technology to improve image Quality, strengthen the image area. Experimental results show that this treatment method is simple, real time, dealing with the right rate to achieve a practical standard.


Although marine sponges are one of the most ecologically important benthic groups in marine ecosystems, their ecological role in seagrass beds from estuarine environments is little known. In this study we investigated the temporal and small-scale spatial variability in the abundance and biomass of the three common seagrass-dwelling sponges Halichondria melanadocia, Haliclona implexiformis and Chondrilla caribensis in a tropical estuary of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. The influence of biotic (physical characteristics of the seagrass) and abiotic (temperature, salinity, water movement, sediment particle size and sedimentation rate) variables on the spatio-temporal variability of these population descriptors was evaluated. In addition, a complete identification of the sponge species through morphology and COI mtDNA sequences (integrative taxonomy) was performed. Chondrilla caribensis and H. melanadocia had the highest overall average abundance and biomass, respectively. There was no significant correlation with temperature and salinity. In H. melanadocia, temporal variations in its average biomass were positively related to changes in the average size of individuals, whereas in H. implexiformis and C. caribensis these intra-annual variations in biomass were positively related to changes in their average abundance. Important declines in the average biomass and size of H. melanadocia and in the average abundance of H. implexiformis occurred during the transition period from the dry to the rainy season, which was attributed to fragmentation and shrinkage processes. Moreover, the abundance and biomass of the three sponge species showed high small-scale spatial variations within the seagrass meadow, but without a clear pattern of variation related with the distance from the shore. In H. implexiformis a significant negative relationship was found between its average biomass and the seagrass biomass. In H. melanadocia and H. implexiformis as well, their abundance was positively related with the proportion of coarse particles of the sediment (mollusk shell debris). Multivariate analyses confirmed that the proportion of coarse particles in the sediment, either acting alone or in conjunction with other variables such as seagrass shoot density and sedimentation/resuspension rate, was the variable that best explained the distribution of sponges within the seagrass meadow. This is one of the few studies on the population dynamics of sponges in seagrass meadows from estuarine environments.


An 18-year-old man, admitted because of severe bleeding manifestations due to varicella thrombocytopenia was administered 800 mg/day adenine arabinoside (Ara-A) intravenously for 5 days. 2 days after the start of this treatment the bleeding phenomena became markedly reduced and a progressive increase in the platelet count was noted thereafter. Although a spontaneous improvement is known to occur in patients with varicella thrombocytopenia, the rapid clinical improvement after the Ara-A administration is suggestive for its beneficial effect in the presented patient.


Can the frequency with which a food is depicted in paintings give historical insight into family meals over the years and across countries? To initially explore this question, 750 food-related paintings were screened down to 140 paintings from Western Europe and the United States depicting small, family meals. Quantitative content analyses showed the most frequently eaten foods (such as chicken, eggs, and squash) were least frequently depicted in paintings. In contrast, the most aspirational foods such as shellfish were commonly painted in countries with the smallest coastlines (Germany), and more than half (51.4%) of the paintings from the seafaring Netherlands contained non-indigenous tropical lemons. Moreover, although bread and apples have been commonly available over time, bread has been painted 74% less frequently and apples painted 302% more frequently. In general, paintings tend to feature meals with foods that were either aspirational to the commissioning family, aesthetically pleasing or technically difficult for the painter, or that encoded cultural, religious, or political information for informed viewers. Care should be taken to not project food depictions in paintings as indicative of what was actually served or eaten in that country at the time.


The topological routing over N2R structures has previously been studied and implemented using different techniques. A first approach was achieved obtaining the best trade off between path length vs. path completion time for the shortest path between any pair of nodes. This paper introduces protection against failures by modifying the previous algorithm implementing the option of routing a packet using a second independent path. The goal is to prove that there is an easy and efficient method to route topologically a packet (in case of a failure) using an alternative path with no record at all of the original. Keywords— Topological routing, N2R, SQoS, Failure Protection


Cluster randomized trials (CRTs), where clusters (for example, schools or clinics) are randomized but measurements are taken on individuals, are commonly used to evaluate interventions in public health and social science. Because CRTs typically involve only a few clusters, simple randomization frequently leads to baseline imbalance of cluster characteristics across treatment arms, threatening the internal validity of the trial. In CRTs with a small number of clusters, classic approaches to balancing baseline characteristics—such as matching and stratification—have several drawbacks, especially when the number of baseline characteristics the researcher desires to balance is large. An alternative approach is constrained randomization, whereby an allocation scheme is randomly selected from a subset of all possible allocation schemes based on the value of a balancing criterion. Subsequently, an adjusted clustered permutation test can be used in the analysis, which provides increased efficiency under constrained randomization compared with simple randomization. The program cvcrand facilitates the application of constrained randomization, and the program cptest allows the user to perform a clustered permutation test to analyze their cluster randomized trial.


Transparent glass-ceramic composites embedded with Ln-fluoride nanocrystals are prepared in this work to enhance the upconversion luminescence of Tm3+. The crystalline phases, microstructures, and photoluminescence properties of samples are carefully investigated. KYb3F10 nanocrystals are proved to controllably precipitate in the glass-ceramics via the inducing of Yb3+ when the doping concentration varies from 0.5 to 1.5 mol%. Pure near-infrared upconversion emissions are observed and the emission intensities are enhanced in the glass-ceramics as compared to in the precursor glass due to the incorporation of Tm3+ into the KYb3F10 crystal structures via substitutions for Yb3+. Furthermore, KYb2F7 crystals are also nano-crystallized in the glass-ceramics when the Yb3+ concentration exceeds 2.0 mol%. The upconversion emission intensity of Tm3+ is further enhanced by seven times as Tm3+ enters the lattice sites of pure KYb2F7 nanocrystals. The designed glass ceramics provide efficient gain materials for optical applications in the biological transmission window. Moreover, the controllable nano-crystallization strategy induced by Yb3+ opens a new way for engineering a wide range of functional nanomaterials with effective incorporation of Ln3+ ions into fluoride crystal structures.


ABSTRACT Park, J.H.; Yoo, C.I. and Yoon, H.S., 2016. Use of groundwater-table to establish a buffer zone In a barrier Island, Nakdong river estuary, South Korea. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 113-117. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. A barrier island works as a buffer zone against wave and tidal forces, especially in river estuaries. To quantitatively analyze the buffer zone mechanism, understanding the wave, tide precipitation and groundwater-table by using long-term field observation is necessary. This study presents a coastal buffer zone mechanism in a barrier island (Jinudo) of the Nakdong river estuary in Busan, South Korea. For establishing a coastal buffer zone in a barrier island, we measured the groundwater at five observation points for 26 months from March 2012 and obtained wave and tidal data from a national observation station near the river mouth. We constructed a wave transformation numerical model and extracted breaking wave conditions, and then we compared data from the numerical model with a real-time groundwater data. According to the results, the buffer zone maximized up to 166.3 m from the shoreline with a wave height and period of 0.05 m and 12 sec, respectively, for 8 hours. Considering seawater infiltration, the buffer zone was observed to reduce to 125.0 m. The critical values are likely to define a coastal protection zone and vegetation distribution characteristic.


Gas–water interface mediated photoconversion of renewable biomass into fuels is a promising strategy to mitigate the impending environmental pollution and energy crisis. Herein, a gas–water interface is engineered to photoconvert fatty acids (FAs, C6–C9) into gaseous Cn-2 linear alpha-olefins (LAOs) with a high selectivity (87–91%) under mild conditions; especially, experiments with different interfaces demonstrate that the gas–water interface plays a crucial role in the enhanced selective production. The thinner molecular layer and ordered packing significantly promote the production of LAOs by maximizing the hydrogen bonding between FAs and interfacial water molecules. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, at the molecular level, elaborate that interfacial water could activate the reactions through hydrogen bonding lowering the reaction barrier of initial photoreaction of FAs. Additionally, different atmospheres are found to impact the pathways and products of photoconversion, thus enabling the controllable synthesis of LAOs. Unlike the metal/enzyme-involved harsh catalytic system, the gas–water interface serves as a green, low-cost and efficient 'venue' which can be infinitely reused for hydrocarbon production, pioneering a new way for mitigating the energy crisis and developing a truly green and sustainable society.


The Euro area as a whole has experienced a marked downward trend in inflation over the past decades and, concomitantly, a protracted period of depressed activity. Can permanent and gradual shifts in monetary policy be held responsible for these dynamics? To answer this question, we embed serially correlated changes in the inflation target into a DSGE model with real and nominal frictions. The formal Bayesian estimation of the model suggests that gradual changes in the inflation target have played a major role in the Euro area business cycle. Following an inflation target shock, the real interest rate increases sharply and persistently, leading to a protracted decline in economic activity. Counter--factual exercises show that, had monetary policy implemented its new inflation objective at a faster rate, the Euro zone would have experienced more sustained growth than it actually did. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


Three patients ate different amounts of a common northern mushroom, brown fly agaric, Amanita regalis. All of them believed they had eaten delicious parasol mushrooms, Macrolepiota procera. The symptoms of poisoning began 1--2 hours after ingestion of the mushrooms. All the patients had marked gastrointestinal symptoms: nausea and heavy vomiting. Two had central nervous system manifestations and cholinergic symptoms: hallucinations, confusion, or loss of consciousness as well as copious salivation, or sweating. All patients recovered within 4--24 hours without any damage to liver, kidneys or central nervous system. It seems that cooking the mushrooms does not completely neutralize the toxic agents of Amanita regalis. The analysis of fried mushrooms shows that it may be possible to identify mushrooms reliably from the remains of a meal.


In the opinion of EPRI and ERDA this 46 month program to develop an ac superconducting power transmission line was unsuccessful in meeting most of its specific objectives. The technical and economic problems pursued are outlined. Unforeseen difficulties were encountered with power losses in the superconductor, eddy current losses, and heat leak. Fault current testing was never attempted. Major dielectric problems were encountered preventing operation of this system at 138 kV. Ac loss data on small samples of electroplated niobium and a preliminary cost estimate by the contractor indicated that this type of cable system might be attractive for moving large blocks of power if an overall system could be developed that would meet utility system needs. Based on R and D to date, a conceptual design was generated for the rigid conductor, rigid cryogenic enclosure, helium-spacer insulated superconducting cable system. The design parameter values that are reported and the cost estimate represent values that the contractor believes could be achieved with continued development; they are based on the results of full-scale laboratory tests or extrapolations from smaller scale laboratory tests. None of these values have been demonstrated to be valid in a full-scale power test. The test data onmore » the voltage withstand of the dielectric spacers in pressurized liquid helium were unacceptably low, a factor of 3 to 4 below the anticipated value.« less


The article deals with the backgrounds of pedagogy as a practice of self-organization of modern society. This optics is possible on the base of the consistent delimitation between cultural practices of education, on the one hand, and the peculiarly pedagogy as an autonomous rational discipline, which systematically and theoretically grounds educational activity, on the other hand. A modern social constructivism is a constitutive factor as a genesis of both pedagogy and its work. The relationship between pedagogy and social utopianism of the modern sense and its value-normativistic effect are revealed. This effect is a manifestation of the overall prescriptive pedagogical knowledge. Therefore pedagogy is defined as a manifestation of social-effective consciousness, rather than purely cognitive position. Four basic modes of prescriptivity incident to pedagogical discourse are emphasized and analyzed.


Cholesterol, an abundant membrane component in both lipid rafts and caveolae of cell membrane, plays a crucial role in regulating the function and organization of various G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). However, the underlying mechanism for cholesterol-GPCR interaction is still unclear. To this end, we performed a series of microsecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on β(2)-adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR) in the presence and absence of cholesterol molecules in the POPC bilayer. The unbiased MD simulation on the system with cholesterols reveals that cholesterol molecules can spontaneously diffuse to seven sites on the β(2)AR surfaces, three in the extracellular leaflet (e1-e3) and four in the intracellular leaflet (i1, i2, i4, and i5). The MD simulation identifies three cholesterol-binding sites (i2, e2, and e3) that are also observed in the crystal structures of several GPCRs. Cholesterol binding to site e1 lock Trp313(7.40) into a certain conformation that may facilitate ligand-receptor binding, and cholesterol binding to site i2 provides a structural support for the reported cholesterol-mediate dimeric form of β(2)AR (PDB code 2RH1). In addition, both competitive and cooperative effects between cholesterols and phospholipids in binding to β(2)AR were observed in our MD simulations. Together, these results provide new insights into cholesterol-GPCR interactions.


In this analysis, distortion of the spectral distribution of the light due to the wavelength dependence of the loss in the fiber is taken into account. The computations show that the system performance of a given fiber type may be characterized by three parameters, one for attenuation and two for dispersion. The attenuation in the fiber may be modeled by an average attenuation per unit length, whereas the bit rate that limits the sensitivity degradation in the receiver due to intersymbol interference to less than 1 dB may be modeled by a bit-rate distance product and a constant bit rate valid for long lengths of fiber. As a design aid in system planning, diagrams showing the three parameters as functions of the diode center wavelength and the spectral width for typical single-mode fibers have been prepared. >


All optical frequency converters are key devices for new-conception optical networks. A theoretical model is presented to evaluate performances of frequencies converters based on highly nondegenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) in semiconductor amplifiers. Conversion efficiency and noise performances are evaluated in generic saturation conditions and compared with experimental results.<<ETX>>


oxrB8, a mutation that diminishes the anaerobic induction of pepT and other anaerobically regulated, oxrA (fnr)-dependent Salmonella typhimurium genes, is an allele of rpoA, the gene for the alpha subunit of RNA polymerase. Four additional rpoA mutations that affect anaerobic pepT expression have been isolated after localized mutagenesis of the rpoA region. All but one of these rpoA mutations appear to have relatively specific effects on genes that require the OxrA (FNR) protein, a positive transcriptional regulator of a family of anaerobically expressed genes. All of these mutations lead to amino acid substitutions in the C-terminal region of the alpha subunit. These results taken with a number of previous observations suggest a role for the alpha subunit in the interaction between RNA polymerase and positive transcriptional regulatory proteins. They also suggest that the C-terminal region of alpha is important for these interactions.


The health-related benefits of a high consumption of fruit & vegetables on a variety of diseases, including skeletal health have been advocated by health organisations. The effect of high acidity, weight-reducing diets on bone health also remains undefined This project involved two key aspects: a population-based study and an intervention study. The principal aims of the population based study were to: (i) estimate the acid/alkaline potential of the diet in a representative group of British elderly from National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) datasets using several validated algorithms for calculating the potential renal acid load (PRAL) and estimated net endogenous acid production [NEAP], (ii) compare and characterise the aforementioned algorithms by specific nutrients/food groups likely to influence dietary acid load in the abovementioned population group and a representative sample of Irish adults (18-64 years) using North South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (NSIFCS) datasets. The principal aims of the intervention study were to: (i) quantify the dietary acidity characteristics of a low carbohydrate diet (LCD) versus a high fruit and vegetable (F&V) weight loss group and a weight maintenance (WM) control group using PRAL and estimated NEAP (ii) determine the short-term (6-months) of the aforementioned groups on bone turnover markers. PRAL and estimated NEAP were measured using the aforementioned datasets. Values for both algorithms increased significantly with increasing age (P<0.001), except in the oldest age group for the elderly British population. Higher intakes of fruit and vegetables resulted in significantly lower dietary loading, conversely protein, meat and fish intakes were significantly associated with higher dietary acidity. A total of 68 overweight/obese (BMI 27-40 kg/m2) men aged 21-65 years were recruited to follow either one of two diets: a LCD versus a F&V weight loss programmes and a WM group. Dietary intake, anthropometries, blood pressure, and fasting blood and urine samples were measured. Results showed the weight reducing diets were effective with weight loss and those subjects on the LCD diet had significantly higher levels of acidity. There was a significant decrease in dietary acid loading in F&V group at 6 months. No differences were found for markers of bone turnover in the LCD group compared to the other groups. This study did not demonstrate a detrimental effect of high acidic-weight reducing diets on bone turnover markers. Further work is urgently required to examine the potentially detrimental effect of these diets in women as well as the effect of high F&V intakes on bone health indices.


Abstract. Precision agriculture (PA) is defined as an agricultural management based on the observation, measurement, and response of a set of quantitative and qualitative variables that affects agricultural production. The first step in the approach to precision agriculture is, therefore, the acquisition and collection of data from optical, multispectral, geophysical sensors, etc. aimed at obtaining knowledge and monitoring of the crop. In recent years UAVs are assuming an important role in precision agriculture. The possibility of mounting RGB, multispectral, LiDAR sensors on them make these systems fast, accurate, and usability compared other geomatic methods. In this study, we focus on a very low-cost UAV system to assess individual tree height and generate 3D Model and orthophoto of the study area. We used the DJI Mini2, a low-cost UAV that can be used without a flight rating and without restrictions due to its light weight of only 250 grams. The case study where the survey was performed is an agricultural area of about 1 hectare, where are some fruit trees and a small vineyard. The area was selected because it contained both tall and small trees. The study concerned the influence of the relative flight altitude and therefore of the GSD of the images on the extraction of the dimensional data of the trees. From the results obtained, it can be stated that the flight altitude has certainly more influence on the measurement of small tree (around one meter tall) compared to tall ones (around 4 m).


Two novel closed-shell hemicarcerand-like hosts with spherical cavities of 11 A diameter that are soluble in aqueous solution were constructed. The binding of xylenes, aryl ethers, polyaromatic compounds, ferrocene derivatives, and bicyclic aliphatic compounds were examined by NMR spectroscopy and microcalorimetry. NMR binding studies indicated that binding depended upon guest hydrophobicity and shape. No binding was detected for guests in which a charge must be desolvated as part of inclusion or for guests that can not fit within the cavity of the host. Three complexes 2.naphthalene, 2.p-xylene, and 2.ferrocene were isolated and found to be indefinitely stable in the solid phase and in aqueous solution. The binding constants for these complexes are estimated to be greater than 10(8) M-1. Thirteen guests were examined by microcalorimetry with binding constants ranging between 10(7) and 10(3) M-1. A comparison of results obtained here with those from previous work with beta-cyclodextrin and cyclophane hosts, along with analysis of the entropy-enthalpy compensation data, indicate that there is a higher degree of guest desolvation with this host structure than with open-shell hosts. This accounts at least partially for the increase in affinity observed with these closed-shell hosts. Replacing a hydroxy group in the host portal with a hydrogen atom does not affect the binding constant, a finding consistent with the guest residing deeply buried within the host cavity. It was observed that aromatic guests are bound with higher affinity than aliphatic ones in agreement with results that point to the importance of London dispersion forces in the association of aromatic components in face-to-edge orientations. The correlation of changes in NMR chemical shift with microcalorimetry data supports a model in which increased CH-pi interactions strengthen association between host and guest due to the dominant role of van der Waals dispersion forces. Remarkably, the binding constant for the 1,4 isomer of dimethoxybenzene is 32 times higher than for the 1,2 isomer, and even greater discrimination is observed between the xylene guests since the binding constant for p-xylene is 80 times greater than that for o-xylene. This discrimination between isomeric guests by a rigid host indicates that changes in specific hydrophobic interactions have substantial effects upon binding affinity.


BACKGROUND
the origin of chronic Achilles tendinopathy (AT) is currently unclear and epidemiological factors, such as ethnicity, may be associated.

METHODS
intraoperative findings from the treatment of 865 Finnish and 156 Italian athletic patients with chronic Achilles tendon related pain were evaluated, retrospectively. The mean age was 34 years (range, 18 to 65 years) in the Finnish and 29 years (range, 17-63 years) in the Italian patients. In total, 786 patients were males and 226 females of which 84 and 87% Finnish, respectively. Data were collected, retrospectively from patient records. The differences in the frequencies of operative findings were assessed for statistical significance.

RESULTS
retrocalcaneal bursitis, partial tear and chronic paratenonitis were the most prevalent findings in patients with chronic AT undergoing surgery. Tendinosis and chronic paratenonitis were significantly (p=0.011) more common in Finnish athletes. Italian patients exhibited significantly (p<0.001) more insertional calcific tendinopathy (heel spurs) and prominent posterosuperior calcaneal corners (Haglund's heel).

CONCLUSION
ethnicity appears to be associated with specific characteristics of overuse-related Achilles tendon pathology. This is an issue that should be considered in the planning of genetic research on AT.


Road segmentation from high-resolution visible remote sensing images provides an effective way for automatic road network forming. Recently, deep learning methods based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely applied in road segmentation. However, it is a challenge for most CNN-based methods to achieve high segmentation accuracy when processing high-resolution visible remote sensing images with rich details. To handle this problem, we propose a road segmentation method based on a Y-shaped convolutional network (indicated as Y-Net). Y-Net contains a twoarm feature extraction module and a fusion module. The feature extraction module includes a deep downsampling-to-upsampling sub-network for semantic features and a convolutional sub-network without downsampling for detail features. The fusion module combines all features for road segmentation. Benefiting from this scheme, the Y-Net can well segment multi-scale roads (both wide and narrow roads) from high-resolution images. The testing and comparative experiments on a public dataset and a private dataset show that Y-Net has higher segmentation accuracy than four other state-of-art methods, FCN (Fully Convolutional Network), U-Net, SegNet, and FC-DenseNet (Fully Convolutional DenseNet). Especially, Y-Net accurately segments contours of narrow roads, which are missed by the comparative methods. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 28 August 2018 Accepted 5 December 2018


In the eastern part of Thailand, there are lots of tourism businesses in operation with lots of tourist attractions in places like Pattaya, Chonburi and Rayong, and agritourism has increasingly been developed in this region, especially the activities related to agricultural products. However, it appears that agritourism businesses there still lack of efficient management, i.e., most farmers and planters tend to manage as best as their abilities provide. This study, therefore, aims to learn of any efficient models for the management of agritourism businesses in the eastern region of Thailand, so as to construct efficient management models suitable for agritourism businesses, by interviewing entrepreneurs having been awarded with Thailand Tourism Awards in agritourism, and relevant local governments.


Surgery is the main therapeutic option to control recurrent laryngeal cancer after radiotherapy (RT) relapse. Most RT-recurred cancer is treated aggressively; although, conservative laryngeal surgery was attempted in selected cases. Here, we report our experiences with salvage laryngeal surgery for early glottic cancers that did not respond to RT. We analyzed files from 1980 to 2006 and selected 173 patients surgically treated for a RT-failed early glottic carcinoma (stage I-II according to 2010 TNM: 114 T1N0, 59 T2N0). Among them, 47 patients (27%) underwent a salvage partial laryngectomy (SPL) and 126 (73%) had a salvage total laryngectomy (STL). When compared with initial T staging, we found 61% of lesions were up-staged, 31% had the same staged lesion, and only 8% were down-staged (according to rTNM). No statistically significant differences were found in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival when SPL and STL patients were compared. Univariate analysis showed that T, rT, and rTNM were prognostic factors for overall survival (p = 0.045, p = 0.028, and p = 0.037, respectively); yet, these significances were lost in multivariate analysis. Our results suggest that salvage surgery is feasible in most cases of RT-recurred early glottic cancer; although, a conservative approach achieves good oncological and functional results only in select RT-recurred patients.


The iron-binding protein transferrin has major roles in transporting, delivering, and sequestering ferric ions acquired by body tissues. Yet, during aging, serum transferrin levels decrease in humans. Likewise, in transgenic mice carrying chimeric human transferrin transgenes, liver expression of transferrin transgenes decreases with age. The aging regulation is due to decreased gene transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and antibody-recognition have revealed the binding of 5' regulatory elements of the human transferrin gene by three YY1 proteins, called YY1, YY1-a, and YY1-b, and an Sp1-a transcription factor. An age-related increase in YY1-a and YY1-b binding activities and a decrease in Sp1-like binding activity were shown. Since Sp1 is a positive transcription factor and YY1 can be a negative transcription factor, the alterations in their binding with age could cause the decreased transcription of the human transferrin transgene, and also the age-related decreased serum transferrin levels in humans.