A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)–ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed and applied to profile metabolite changes in human Huh-7 cells exposed to the potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Comparisons of sensitivity (limit of detection as low as 0.01 µM) and reproducibility (84% of compounds had an interday relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10.0%; 83% of compounds had an intraday RSD less than 15.0%) were assessed for all the metabolites. The exposure of Huh-7 cells to the hepatotoxic carcinogen TCDD at low doses (1 nM and 10 nM for 4 h and 24 h, respectively) was reflected by the disturbance of amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism (glycolysis, TCA cycle), and nucleic acid metabolism. TCDD caused a significant decrease in amino acids such as serine, alanine, and proline while promoting an increase in arginine levels with 24 h treatment. Energy metabolism intermediates such as phosphoenolpyruvate and acetyl–CoA and nucleosides such as UMP, XMP, and CMP were also markedly decreased. These results support the application of HILIC–UHPLC–MS/MS for robust and reliable analysis of the cellular response to environmentally relevant toxicants at lower doses.


This article proposes a rethinking of approaches to compliance, extending perspectives that view regulation as an interactive or reflexive process mediated by sociolinguistic practices. These suggest that the meaning of rules is not fixed ex ante, but may emerge and change through such interactions, which therefore actually help to construct what it means to comply. The analysis supports proposals to base tax law on purposive general principles combined with detailed rules. However, it suggests that this should be the approach adopted for the tax code as a whole, instead of focusing mainly on the merits of a general anti-avoidance principle, as some of the recent debates have done. The article explores the question of interpretation of rules and the problem of avoidance and game playing. It reexamines the issue of the indeterminacy of rules and relocates it within the context of professional and regulatory practices, suggesting that it is these interactions that construct the meaning of rules and hence of compliance. The analysis is applied to income taxation, to sketch out how the international tax system has been constructed through the interaction of contending views of fairness in the allocation of tax jurisdiction, while in the process becoming refined into a formalist and technicist process of game playing. It argues that the central factor in this process has been the inherent contestability of the core concepts of international taxation, the rules on corporate residence and source of income. The article concludes by considering some of the current proposals for improving tax compliance, in particular by reducing complexity, improving clarity, and the use of broad principles.


A new catalytic method has been investigated to obtain either Oor C-allylated phenolic products using allyl alcohol or diallyl ether as the allyl donor. With the use of new cationic ruthenium(II) complexes as catalyst, both reactions can be performed with good selectivity. Active cationic Ru(II) complexes, having cyclopentadienyl and bidentate phosphine ligands are generated from the corresponding Ru(II) chloride complexes with a silver salt. The structures of three novel (diphosphine)Ru(II)CpCl catalyst precursor complexes are reported. It appears that the structure of the bidentate ligand has a major influence on catalytic activity as well as chemoselectivity. In addition, a strong cocatalytic effect of small amounts of acid is revealed. Model experiments are described that have been used to build a reaction network that explains the origin and evolution in time of both O-allylated and C-allylated phenolic products. Some mechanistic implications of the observed structure vs. performance relation of the [RuCp(diphosphine)] complexes and the cocatalytic role of added protons are discussed.


Abstract
Coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) and Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) are current submersed weeds in many fresh waters of Iran. The excessive growth of these plants causes the reduction in utilization of water resources and making some ecological and economical damages in these areas. The aim of this study was to determine the response of two submerged aquatic weeds of Coontail and Watermilfoil to light reduction, cutting (without, once and twice) and their incorporation under laboratory (aquarium) condition. The experiment was conducted in factorial design, with three replications. The experimental traits included the length and dry weight of plants. The experimental results showed that, cutting and shading caused a significant effect (P≤0.01) on length and dry weight of test plants. Also, twice cutting compared with once, due to more reduction in plants carbohydrate storage resulted in better control of both species.

 Keywords: Dry weight, Length, Light and Nutrients


An annual legume cover crop was evaluated in pecan orchards to increase coccinellids that would reduce pecan aphids. Treatments were a 'Dixie' crimson clover and hairy vetch mixture and a grass sod. Coccinellids were abundant on the legume ground covers, but coccinellid density in the tree canopy was rarely affected by ground cover treatment. There were substantial differences between the coccinellid species collected from the legumes and from the trees. In Oklahoma , Olla v-nigrum ( Mulsant ) and Cycloneda munda ( Say ) were the main species in the trees, while Hippodamia convergens Guerin , Coccinella septempunctata L, and Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake were dominant species in the legumes. In Georgia , Harmonia axyridis ( Pallas ) was the dominant species in the trees, and C. septempunctata in the legumes. Pecan aphids at two Oklahoma sites usually were not affected by cover crop treatment, but at the Georgia site, early-season aphids frequently were lower with a legume cover crop than with a grass sod. The accumulated effect of all aphid predators and parasitoids attracted to the legume aphids may have reduced the density of the pecan aphid .


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease which causes juxta-articular and generalized bone loss. Several studies revealed that bone mineral density (BMD) is associated with atherosclerosis. Objectives In the present study, we investigated the association between BMD and RA disease activity and the carotid atherosclerosis in RA patients based Kyungpook National University Hospital Atherosclerosis Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis (KARRA) cohort study. Methods A total of 323 patients with RA, who performed dual-photon x-ray absorptiometry and carotid ultrasound, were included. We assessed RA disease activity, risk factors for atherosclerosis including hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, presence of carotid plaque, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and BMD. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine (L-spine, L1-L4), femur neck (total femur neck) and distal forearm (total radius), and low BMD was defined as a T score of -1.0 or less. Results The BMD in the L-spine, femur, and radius was significantly lower in patients with carotid plaques (n=152), compared to patients without plaques (n=171) (1.014 g/cm2 ± 0.21 vs. 1.066 g/cm2 ± 0.18, p=0.016 for L-spine; 0.816 g/cm2 ± 0.16 vs. 0.863 g/cm2 ± 0.13, p<0.001 for femur; 0.542 g/cm2 ± 0.13 vs. 0.603 g/cm2 ± 0.12, p<0.001 for radius). The frequency of low BMD in these areas was also higher in patients with carotid plaques, compared to patients without plaques (52.7% vs. 47.5%, p=0.045 for L-spine; 56.0% vs. 44.0%, p=0.001 for femur; 60.6% vs. 39.4%, p<0.001 for radius). Carotid IMT showed a significant difference between patients with low BMD and those with normal BMD (0.84 mm ± 0.14 vs. 0.80 mm ± 0.19, p=0.025 for L-spine; 0.83 mm ± 0.15 vs. 0.80 mm ± 0.18, p=0.045 for femur; 0.85 mm ± 0.15 vs. 0.77 mm ± 0.18, p <0.001 for radius). In subgroup analysis, patients with the highest IMT quartile had a significantly lower BMD in all the regions than those with the lowest IMT quartile (61.2% vs. 37.7%, p=0.004 for L-spine; 59.5% vs. 35.1%, p=0.003 for femur; and 71.4% vs. 28.6%, p<0.001 for radius). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that BMD at radius (OR 4.995, 95% CI [1.067–10.276], p<0.001), DAS28-ESR (OR 1.906, 95% CI [1.042–3.046], p=0.036), and dyslipidemia (OR 2.334, 95% CI [1.164–3.156], p=0.02) were risk factors for presence of carotid plaques. Conclusions The present study showed that carotid atherosclerosis was influenced by both disease activity and impaired bone health. References Im CH et al. Inflammatory burden interacts with conventional cardiovascular risk factors for carotid plaque formation in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015 May;54(5):808–15. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Intercultural communication will occur if there is communication between each other who has different backgrounds. When someone has a different culture and background, it is possible that the barriers to communication will increase. Likewise, what was experienced by Pattani students who were studying at the Raden Intan State Islamic University Lampung, when there was communication with local students who had various cultures, of course, they encountered many obstacles. Communicators who are involved in the interaction certainly want effective communication between each other. Therefore, Pattani students are required to be able to adapt and acculturate the existing culture to reduce uncertainty. Qualitative descriptive is the type of research used in this scientific work. Based on the data seen in the field, a common thread can be drawn, that Pattani (Thailand) students have 2 ways of interacting, namely: verbal and nonverbal communication.


Some strains of Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium spiroforme and Clostridium difficile produce binary toxins known respectively as iota toxin, S toxin and CDT. Each toxin consists of two unlinked polypeptides (e.g. CDTa and CDTb) that only together have biological activity. Taking an historical perspective, we review the development and early use of assays employing the specific neutralization of a biological activity for the detection and quantification of binary toxin. The survey moves on to more recent immunological assays and culminates with a discussion of the relevance of binary toxin, especially CDT, in feces.


The method of pressure die casting of composites with AlSi11 alloy matrix reinforced with 10 vol. % of SiC particles and the analysis of the distribution of particles within the matrix is presented. The composite castings were produced at various values of the piston velocity in the second stage of injection, at diverse intensification pressure values, and various injection gate width values. The distribution of particles over the entire cross-section of the tensile specimen is shown. The index of distribution was determined on the basis of particle count in elementary measuring fields. The regression equation describing the change of the considered index was found as a function of the pressure die casting parameters. The conclusion presents an analysis of the obtained results and their interpretation.


Abstract Limited sampling has so far been conducted of the meroplankton community of the high Antarctic, with most research being conducted using vertical hauls in waters > 50 m, and little focused research on the meroplankton community directly under the sea ice (cryopelagic). Here we report the composition of the early summer cryopelagic meroplankton community of the shallow waters of Gerlache Inlet, Terra Nova Bay. A fixed-frame stationary plankton net was deployed c. 1 m below the annual sea ice and sampled at c. 24 hour intervals over a period of 19 days from mid-November to early December 2006. A total of 173 larvae from the phyla Annelida (n = 66), Mollusca (n = 30), Nemertea (n = 4), Echinodermata (n = 8), several Pleuragramma antarcticum (n = 4) and numerous planulae (n = 61) were collected, as well as 265 egg/embryo stages. A mean of 9.1 larvae (SD = 7.3, n = 19) and 13.9 eggs/embryos (SD = 20.5, n = 19) were found directly below the sea ice in each 24 hour period, and these early life history stages may be subject to the hazards of extensive platelet ice and penetrating ultraviolet radiation. The cryopelagic meroplankton community of shallow water is also compositionally similar to that of deeper waters, suggesting that the 50–0 m plankton tows used in previous research are providing a reliable assessment of the biodiversity of coastal Antarctic meroplankton.


The serum level of soluble CD44 is directly associated with several clinicopathological parameters of malignant diseases. There is a great need for the development of an easy and cost-effective detection method for soluble CD44 for both the diagnosis and the treatment of cancers. In this work, a simple photoelectrochemical (PEC) method for the sensitive detection of serum-soluble CD44 is proposed based on the construction of a hybrid antifouling coating on the TiO2 substrate. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) are co-immobilized using a biomimetic one-step surface functionalization approach. The immobilized HA shows strong recognition abilities toward soluble CD44, and the synergistic antifouling effect achieved by the combination of PEG and HA improves the sensing specificity. Based on the inhibitory effect of CD44 recognition on the PEC signal of the TiO2 substrate, a PEC biosensor is developed with a wide response range and a low detection limit. The development of antibody-free biosensors may promote the application of soluble CD44 as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant diseases.


The aim of this paper is to catch up with a conjecture designated by the term 'responsive self-preservation'. This term appears neither strikingly beautiful nor intuitively understandable. Obviously it is a convoluted terminus technicus in need of conceptual clarification. The reasons for introducing it should therefore be good. That this is the case cannot be guaranteed from the outset. What can be offered here is a substitution of good reasons with high ambitions: the concept of 'responsive self-preservation' is designed to illuminate the conditio humana. In all brevity the claim is that human beings are responsive beings. This means that they do not just exist. In order to do so, they must respond to their existence. On the one hand the inner drive and utmost aspiration in human responsiveness therefore lies in selfpreservation. On the other hand self-preservation is thoroughly transformed when embedded into human responsiveness. The article will thus use the concept of responsiveness and the concept of self-preservation to mutually clarify each other – in order to open the possibilities and avoid the pitfalls in each of them. In doing so, it aspires to intervene in contemporary philosophical anthropology.


The study investigates the effect of foreign bank entry on the efficiency of domestic banks in Ghana. The study applies the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) technique and the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator on bank specific level data, spanning the period 2000 to 2015. The results show that foreign banks with an average profit efficiency of 74.7% are more profit efficient than domestic banks with a score of 71% which conforms to the global advantage hypothesis. This suggests that foreign banks are able to maximize revenue through the generation of interest income on loans and investments better than domestic banks due to the foreign banks' comparative advantage in terms of international expertise. Further, the system GMM results indicate that the entry of foreign banks has contributed to the profit efficiency of domestic banks in Ghana. This positive spillover effect of foreign banks is manifested in their transfer of international expertise, technological knowledge, quality banking services and competitive pressure to domestic banks. In addition, bank size and liquidity are essential determinants of the profit efficiency of domestic banks in Ghana. The findings of the study imply that bank regulators in developing countries should push for reforms that eliminate implicit and explicit barriers that may hinder the entry of foreign or new banks.


HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) is a protein-lipid complex derived from human milk that was first described for its tumoricidal activity. Later studies showed that HAMLET also has direct bactericidal activity against select species of bacteria, with highest activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. ABSTRACT HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) is a protein-lipid complex derived from human milk that was first described for its tumoricidal activity. Later studies showed that HAMLET also has direct bactericidal activity against select species of bacteria, with highest activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Additionally, HAMLET in combination with various antimicrobial agents can make a broad range of antibiotic-resistant bacterial species sensitive to antibiotics. Here, we show that HAMLET has direct antibacterial activity not only against pneumococci but also against Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococci [GAS]) and Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococci [GBS]). As with pneumococci, HAMLET treatment of GAS and GBS resulted in depolarization of the bacterial membrane, followed by membrane permeabilization and death, which was able to be inhibited by calcium and sodium transport inhibitors. Treatment of clinical antibiotic-resistant isolates of S. pneumoniae, GAS, and GBS with sublethal concentrations of HAMLET in combination with antibiotics decreased the MICs of the antibiotics into the sensitive range. This effect could also be blocked by ion transport inhibitors, suggesting that HAMLET's bactericidal and combination treatment effects used similar mechanisms. Finally, we show that HAMLET potentiated the effects of erythromycin against erythromycin-resistant bacteria more effectively than penicillin G potentiated killing bacteria resistant to erythromycin. These results show that HAMLET effectively (i) kills three different species of pathogenic streptococci by similar mechanisms and also (ii) potentiates the activities of macrolides and lincosamides more effectively than combination treatment with beta-lactams. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for HAMLET in repurposing antibiotics currently causing treatment failures in patients.


In an attempt to develop a predictive model for poultry inspection at processing plants, a systems research design was developed to examine poultry population health dynamics from hatching to processing. Five cooperating Alabama poultry firms with 5 to 7 growers from each firm were identified to form the study unit. The farms were stratified to represent good, average, and poor producers. Via epidemiologic causal diagrams, variables with potential influence on poultry condemnation due to diseases were identified for hatchery, broiler, and processing subsystems. Field and/or laboratory data were generated for each study unit and for each variable. Using stepwise multiple regression and discriminant analysis, a predictor model with a multiple correlation coefficient (R) of 0.91 and multiple coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.82 was developed. A discriminant analysis model for classifying a flock into high or low condemnation group, using 0.1% to 2.0% as the demarcation line, was also developed. This latter model had overall correct classification probabilities ranging from 0.88 to 1.0. The 2 decision-making models were then computerized, using Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC). On the day of processing, the grower provides the inspector with selected information, which is entered on a computer. Alternatives for scaled-down inspection or others are then systematically evaluated by the computer, and decision-making information is provided to the user.


The ankle biomechanics is easily changed due to the acute injury of the tissue around the ankle joint and the damage of the ankle joint structure, such as ankle instability and joint surface imbalance. When the mechanical load of the ankle changes, it can cause ankle regeneration and remodeling processes such as cartilage loss, bone remodeling, and degenerative changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 against interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced apoptosis in human articular chondrocytes (HACs). The apoptosis model of HAC cells was established by IL-1β induction, and then the HAC cells were cultured with different concentrations of Rg1. The protective effect of Rg1 on HAC cell apoptosis was investigated by detecting the changes of apoptosis and activity of PI3K/Akt/mitochondrial signaling pathway. The results showed that a specific concentration of Rg1 could promote the proliferation of IL-1β-induced HAC cells and inhibit apoptosis. At the same time, Rg1 treatment with specific concentration can reduce the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in HACs and improve the related expression of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Furthermore, qRT-PCR and western blot results showed that Rg1 could improve the low expression of Bcl-2 and inhibit the high expression of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, FasL, AIF, and Cyto c in IL-1β-induced cells. In summary, Rg1 can inhibit IL-1β-induced apoptosis of HAC cells by decreasing the activity of PI3K/Akt/mitochondrial signaling pathway, and Rg1 has a protective effect on apoptosis of HAC cells.


Frequent surveys from August 2012 to July 2013 in temperate forest of Mandal valley of district Chamoli resulted in identification of 83 bird species belonging to 59 genera, 26 families and 7 orders. Order Passeriformes dominates all other orders by representing 18 families. Marked variations were observed in seasonal species occurrence. The maximum number orders observed in the month of February, March, April and June (7 orders in each) followed by January, July, August, September, October and November (6) and December with minimum (4). Sub-continental and current status also observed during study period. Species diversity and relative abundance of bird species on the east and west aspects were noticed almost identical over the year and show seasonal variation.


The Langevin equation is a very important mathematical model in describing
 the random motion of particles. The fractional Langevin equation is a
 powerful tool in complex viscoelasticity. Therefore, this paper focuses on a
 class of nonlinear higher-order Hadamard fractional Langevin equation with
 integral boundary value conditions. Firstly, we employ successive
 approximation and Mittag-Leffler function to transform the differential
 equation into an equivalent integral equation. Then the existence and
 uniqueness of the solution are obtained by using the fixed point theory.
 Meanwhile, the Ulam-Hyers (UH) stability is proved by inequality technique
 and direct analysis.


Background: In India, research work in the form of a thesis is a mandatory requirement for the postgraduate (PG) medical students. Data entry in a computer-based spread sheet is one of the important basic skills for research, which has not yet been studied. This study was conducted to assess the data entry skills of the 2nd year PG medical students of a medical college of North India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among 111 second year PG students by using four simulated filled case record forms and a computer-based spread sheet in which data entry was to be carried out. Results: On a scale of 0-10, only 17.1% of the students scored more than seven. The specific sub-skills that were found to be lacking in more than half of the respondents were as follows: Inappropriate coding (93.7%), long variable names (51.4%), coding not being done for all the variables (76.6%), missing values entered in a non-uniform manner (84.7%) and two variables entered in the same column in the case of blood pressure reading (80.2%). Conclusion: PG medical students were not found to be proficient in data entry skill and this can act as a barrier to do research. This being a first of its kind study in India, more research is needed to understand this issue and then include this yet neglected aspect in teaching research methodology to the medical students.


The purpose of this work was to determine the effect of transport of cattle from the farm to the abattoir on the animal's welfare and post mortem meat quality (instrumental and sensorial). Thirty-nine commercial journeys were followed in Spain from July 2000 to July 2001 at varying distances from a local abattoir in the city of Zaragoza. Blood samples were taken at the farm and at sticking and meat pH24 was measured at 24 hours post-mortem. Samples from the M. longissimus dorsi thoracis were taken from 48 slaughter bulls and analysed in terms of instrumental and sensorial qualities. Cortisol, glucose, CPK, lactate and N:L ratio increased during transport compared to control values. Cortisol was higher after 1-2 h transport compared to journeys that were less than 1 h or more than 2 h long. In general the parameters indicated slightly more stressful conditions under winter conditions than in the summer. Meat tenderness measured by a Warner-Bratzler device demonstrated that there was no significant effect of either transport time or season. There was no significant change in pH24 or meat colour at 24 h with transport time. Transport time had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on overall liking and animals transported in summer had slightly more tender meat and higher overall liking.


The Singularity is a hypothetical moment in the not-so-distant future when machine
intelligence will supplant human intelligence as the dominant force in the world. There is a
growing movement of scientists, authors, and advocates who believe the Singularity is not just
possible, but inevitable. There is maybe no more eloquent or influential argument for the
Singularity than futurist Ray Kurzweil's 2005 book, The Singularity is Near: When Humans
Transcend Biology. Kurzweil predicts a utopian future of advanced human/machine hybrid
intelligence and radically extended life by the year 2045. This thesis applies Kenneth Burke's
system of dramatism, specifically the pentad, to The Singularity is Near as well as a sample of
technology articles from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to examine
Kurzweil's motives and the way Singularity discourse "chains out" through other media. I will
also draw on movement theory to examine the discourse of Singularity advocates to determine if
Singularity discourse qualifies as a rhetorical movement.


Function of thyroid hormones affecting broad spectrum of various biochemical and molecular biology reactions in organisms is unimaginable without fully functional nuclear receptors. On account of this fact, research on the role and function of thyroid hormone receptors that play a role as thyroid hormone inducible transcription factors, belongs to dynamically developing branches of molecular endocrinology. In organism, full functionality of thyroid hormone receptors in the form of heterodimer with nuclear 9-cis retinoic acid receptor is essential for biological effects of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine.


/  Abstract : This paper assesses the incidence of glaucoma in the developing world and how Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) can be used to mitigate the condition. Intraocular Pressure (IOP) is a leading cause of glaucoma and is occasioned by the failure of proper drainage of the aqueous humor fluid. This leads to irreparable damage to the lens and the retina, which cause permanent blindness. It is prevalent in areas where mainstream medication and ophthalmology care is above the access and penetration of high income communities. Methods like palpitations, manometry, and telemetry have been used to measure the pressure. They are intrusive and require a personal commitment to regular checkups. However, MEMS stand a chance to offer less intrusive and highly efficacious devices to measure and report IOP. The contact lenses and on-chip sensors devices allow easy monitoring of IOP and allow constant communication of the changes to an external device. This device can be easily monitored by the patient since the instruments allows self-reporting of the condition. This makes it suitable to be used in areas where low accessibility and penetration of ophthalmologic treatment is low yet crucially needed. In addition, it taps directly to available technology of mobile and internet access thus making it feasible in its


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which organs undergo damage. Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disease, which presents in two forms: hereditary and acquired. Cases of hypoparathyroidism and SLE rarely co‐exist. Only six cases have been reported; five of them first presented with lupus and then hypoparathyroidism or simultaneously. We present here developing lupus disease in a woman who had idiopathic hypoparathyroidism. According to increasing data about the autoimmune origin of idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, these case reports suggest that there may be an autoimmune process linking these diseases.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Previous studies of survivors of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have drawn heterogeneous conclusions regarding the prevalence of obesity and risk factors for developing obesity in pediatric ALL survivors. We sought to determine the prevalence of obesity in pediatric ALL survivors and examine risk factors for obesity through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: A MEDLINE search was performed from its inception through 2013. Studies met the inclusion criteria if they (1) included at least 10 survivors of pediatric ALL; (2) assessed the prevalence or indicators of obesity; and (3) compared obesity among ALL survivors to a reference population or external control group. Extracted data included patient and treatment characteristics, study design, population used for comparison, and prevalence of obesity. RESULTS: Forty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Despite significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 96%), the mean BMI z score in 1742 pediatric ALL survivors was 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.60–1.06), which corresponds to the 80th BMI percentile, indicating a significantly higher BMI in pediatric ALL survivors than the reference population. Subgroup analyses found a high prevalence of obesity in ALL survivors regardless of survivors' receipt of cranial irradiation, gender, or age at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is prevalent in pediatric ALL survivors and is independent of patient- and treatment-related characteristics. Clinicians need to screen for obesity and its associated health conditions early in survivorship.


Supersonic-sonic patches are ubiquitous in regions of transonic flows and they boil down to a family of degenerate hyperbolic problems in regions surrounded by a streamline, a characteristic curve and a possible sonic curve. This paper establishes the global existence of solutions in a whole supersonic-sonic patch characterized by the two-dimensional full system of steady Euler equations and studies solution behaviors near sonic curves, depending on the proper choice of boundary data extracted from the airfoil problem and related contexts. New characteristic decompositions are developed for the full system and a delicate local partial hodograph transformation is introduced for the solution estimates. It is shown that the solution is uniformly $C^{1,\frac{1}{6}}$ continuous up to the sonic curve and the sonic curve is also $C^{1,\frac{1}{6}}$ continuous.


The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation for item response models. A brief description of Bayesian inference is followed by an overview of the various facets of MCMC algorithms, including discussion of prior specification, sampling procedures, and methods for evaluating chain convergence. Model comparison and fit issues in the context of MCMC are also considered. Finally, an illustration is provided in which a two-parameter logistic (2PL) model is fit to item response data from a university mathematics placement test through MCMC using the WINBUGS 1.4 software. While MCMC procedures are often complex and can be easily misused, it is suggested that they offer an attractive methodology for experimentation with new and potentially complex IRT models, as are frequently needed in real-world applications in educational measurement.


The theme of the fallen woman finding salvation in death was a popular topic in Victorian art and literature, especially during the mid-Victorian era. From the fiction of Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens to realistic paintings, the myth of the fallen woman had a strong presence. In this article, I will focus on artistic representations of the fallen woman, such as John Everett Millais's Ophelia and Augustus Egg's Past and Present triptych and discuss the importance of Williams Shakespeare's Ophelia and Thomas Hood's poem "The Bridge of Sighs" for the conception of this mythical figure. I will also argue that, despite these artists' efforts to mercifully portray the fallen women, in the end, they reinforced a Victorian patriarchal discourse, which regarded women as physically and intellectually weaker than men, while mythologizing this transgressing figure, created in order to remind all women of the fate they could expect if they defied the idealized conception of femininity imposed by society.


There are several terms that identify proposed paradigms for the way things ought to be carried out in the health sciences: evidence-based, cause-and-effect, diagnostic gold-standard, patient-centred-outcomes, risk assessment, cost/benefit/risk, and efficacious/effective. Collectively these paradigms exhibit varying degrees of interdependence, and have the potential for changing the way dentistry is practiced. A paradigm can be thought of as a standard by which research and health science ought to be conducted and evaluated. In this sense scientists and clinicians try to figure out how to account for various observations and phenomena dictated by paradigms or models of health care; however, it may become necessary to shift to new paradigms that are more consistent with scientific and clinically reality. Some of the potential effects of these shifting paradigms on the practice and teaching of occlusion and temporomandibular disorders are considered.


We draw on theories of self-verification and situational strength to examine how and when core self-evaluations (CSE) predict career satisfaction. We tested our hypotheses using a time-lagged study with 139 alumni of two business schools across three measurement waves. Results showed that compared to individuals with lower CSE those with higher CSE were more satisfied with their careers because they associated more positive emotions with pursuing their career goals. However, a high degree of occupational embeddedness attenuated the indirect effect of the CSE–career satisfaction relationship through positive goal emotions and compensated for low levels of positive goal emotions. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.


Charge transfer cross-sections in collisions of completely stripped ions of nuclear charges Zp = 3–8, 10 in the intermediate and high energy region with the gound state of atomic hydrogen are calculated within the framework of a single channel distorted wave approximation. Charge and velocity dependence of the nth partial cross-sections are studied. It is found that for a fixed projectile, nmax at which the n-th partial cross-section is maximum, moves towards smaller values as the energy increases. For a constant projectile velocity, nmax increases with the projectile charge. We have also studied the cross-sections of different sub-levels as a function of energy at n = nmax which is obtained from the nmax = Zp3/4 model for various projectiles. Comparisons are made with other calculations in the overlapping energy region.


Second generation antihistamines have been employed in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis for many years. However, their effects on two distinctive Mediterranean allergic conditions, viz. Parietaria pollinosis and cypress pollinosis, have been scarcely investigated, so far. A comparative efficacy and side effect trial of astemizole and terfenadine in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis due to either Parietaria or cypress pollen was carried out in 27 adult patients, according to a double-blind, double-dummy parallel-group design. Airborne pollen monitoring allowed comparison of symptom scores with pollen counts. Seven patients (26%) withdrew, due to poor symptom control. In contrast, in a subset of 15 patients who completed the trial, treatment led to a substantial and statistically significant decline in symptom severity in both the astemizole and the terfenadine study group. However, no statistically significant inter-group differences could be detected.


We report a rare presentation of xerophthalmia due to partial pancreatic exocrine insufficiency following Frey's surgery (pancreatic resection) in a 12-year-old girl. The child had undergone this surgery for chronic calcific pancreatitis 3 years before and presented with ocular irritation and decreased vision of 3 months duration. Ocular examination showed severe conjunctival and corneal xerosis. Her serum retinol levels and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were tested and were extremely low. The condition rapidly reversed following high-dose replacement therapy with vitamin A and D. This case highlights the importance of continuous enzyme replacement therapy as well as dietary modification and nutritional supplement therapy and monitoring of ocular symptoms in post-pancreatic surgery.


Summary form only given. Today, there is a generally held view that the next step for wireless technology is a natural progression to support high data rates over a wide area and facilitate roaming among a variety of systems. 4G wireless has the potential to provide these features and many more, which can significantly change the way we use mobile devices and lead to a wide variety of new applications. However, such technology doesn't come without its challenges. Some of these challenge are radio access methodologies, mobility management across different networks and the physical and functional model to be employed. This paper aims to give an insight into these issues, outline some of the proposed solutions to these problems and identify some of the benefits of this technology.


This article examines Herbert Spencer's organic-evolutionary sociological theory, built on the analogy of dependencies in the development of society and the development of biological organisms, which places special emphasis on the interpretation of the idea of progress. The article analyzes a number of basic points in Spencer's teaching, such as the relationship between social and industrial progress, the role of property and socio-economic wellbeing, the evolutionary forms of statehood, legislation and lawmaking, the interpretation of positive and negative freedom. Spencer's concept of social evolution is also considered here, according to which societies are not created, but develop and cannot be created artificially and intentionally, as they grow naturally like any natural system.


An abnormal HLA expression has been detected in some tumors including rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Classical cytotoxic treatment of these tumors, the most common childhood soft tissue malignancy, may induce multidrug resistance (MDR) associated with the expression of a 170-kDa membrane-associated glycoprotein (P-glycoprotein). In order to analyse the connection between modulation of HLA expression and the development of the MDR phenotype mediated by P-glycoprotein in RMS, we used three resistant RMS cell lines; two of these resistant cell lines (TE.32.7.DAC and RD-DAC) were established by in vitro exposure to actinomycin D, a drug of choice in the treatment of RMS; the resistant RMS- GR cell line was established from an embryonal RMS tumor after polychemotherapy. Our results showed that all the resistant cell lines showed a significant increase in the expression of HLA class I surface antigens in comparison to drug-sensitive cells. Blockade of P-glycoprotein with verapamil led to a decrease in HLA class I expression in RMS resistant cell lines. However, no modulation of HLA class II expression was observed in any of the three analyzed cell lines. These findings support the hypothesis that the development of resistance mediated by mdr 1/P-glycoprotein, directly influences the expression of HLA class I in RMS cells, inducing to upregulation. This effect may be relevant to the application in RMS of immunotherapy against tumor-associated antigens presented by HLA class I molecules.


The article is aimed at defining the feasibility of using the Sitniks CRM software for small commodity businesses, examining its compliance with the standard and the main competitive advantages among such products. Analyzing and generaling the scientific works of many scholars, the positive impact of high-quality information provision on the activities of the enterprise is proved. However, despite the obvious benefit of using automation systems, a bigger share of Ukrainian entrepreneurs do not use CRM systems (Customer Relationship Management systems) either due to lack of awareness or unsuccessful implementation experience. The article uses comparative and matrix analyses. A comparative analysis of competitors shows that the researched CRM system stands out among others with a high level of flexibility and personalization, which is the main advantage of this software. During the SWOT analysis, the factors influencing the development of the company were worked out in detail. It is found that the main drawback of this software is a relatively long implementation period, and its capabilities and threats are, accordingly, scaling and increasing competitors in a niche. It is concluded that the Sitniks CRM system is not just a system for simplifying and automating business processes, but a platform that has sufficiently powerful functionality due to customization, integration, tracking capabilities and ease of use. The implementation of this software will lead the company to increase productivity, allowing to effectively plan and control, as well as establish strong relationships with customers.


reflects long-term outcomes in survivors of critical illness is a laudable one. However, several obstacles must be overcome before it can be achieved. We need to determine which morbid outcomes are most informative in critically ill populations, how best to measure these outcomes, and how they influence the subsequent pattern and cost of health care use. This review suggests a reevaluation of our approach to outcome studies in survivors of critical illness. We need to abandon the traditional, compartmentalized view of critical illness as an intensive care unit-centered phenomenon. Instead, we need to adopt the concept of a continuum from premorbid disease to critical illness and ultimately to a debilitated patient in need of physical and psychological rehabilitation. This longitudinal model for outcomes research in critical care can be achieved only through rigorous ambulatory followup of survivors of critical illness. This detailed follow-up data may facilitate the development of predictors that might prove valuable in future scoring system models. Curr Opin Crit Care 2000,


The Lidcombe Programme is an operant intervention for early stuttering that parents administer to children in their everyday speaking environments. The treatment was developed at the Suttering Unit, Bankstown Health Service, Sydney, and The University of Sydney. Recently, staff from the Australian Stuttering Research Centre. The University of Sydney, toured universities and clinics in the UK to present lectures about this treatment. We were encouraged to write this paper because an independent survey showed that most speech and language therapists who attended the presentations were open to this treatment. Prior to and following that lecture tour, publications in the press and professional journals in the UK alluded to many positive features of the Lidcombe Programme, but also raised several issues about it. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the Lidcombe Programme and address the following criticisms of the treatment that were raised in the UK: (1) Stuttering is complex but the Lidcombe Programme is simple; (2) the Lidcombe Programme is not an operant treatment, but invokes positive changes in children's environments; (3) the Lidcombe Programme is harmful to children; and (4) the scientific evidence in support of the Lidcombe Programme is flawed. Each of these issues is addressed from logical, theoretical and empirical viewpoints.


The article elaborates on conditions for SMEs in the EU and Poland as far as integrated EU business environment is concerned. It also focuses on the important role of the EU policy and integrated business environment on the cooperation strategies between SMEs. Although it was not the intention of the EU, the integration process favors Large-sized Enterprises in the run for market success. Yet, it does not mean that SMEs are on the lost position. The integrated European environment offers them a wide-range of opportunities but SMEs have to change their attitude and take their chances on the European market. For SMEs, due to their resources shortages, effective exploitation of market opportunities depends on built and developed internal core competences and firms' ability to gain external complementary competences and resources through cooperation with other participants of the market game irrespectively of their geographical localization. From the perspective of generated profits, crucial meaning has the competential rather than national identity of the firm. Therefore, owing to the EU integration, value creation processes take place within transnational or interregional networks of suppliers, customers, competitors. Nowadays, more and more products offered on the worldwide market are becoming effects of complex systems. A typical made-in-world product is represented by car - cars' components are designed and produced in various countries by diverse companies (Italian design, German plastic elements of the engine, French tires, American synthetic oil and microprocessors). Successful performance within economic mechanisms of fast growing interdependence raises the requirements concerning flexibility of SMEs functioning. Hence, firms' presence on the integrated European market is not the guarantee of success, instead it generates the opportunities of creating unique values - and SMEs have to learn how to recognize and use the chances offered by the environment. Since, much of these opportunities require integration of dispersed experiences, technologies, resources, competences, firms are forced to build their competitive advantages based on network cooperation. Due to internal limitations of SMEs, in terms of resources, competences as well as attitude towards and awareness of the environmental changes, there is a strong need for institutional support that would enhance cooperative spirit among SMEs and their competitiveness. This kind of support based on the EU policy would affect not only SMEs' willingness to cooperate but through influencing different dimensions of the business environment it will create more favorable conditions for already undertaken cooperative actions. The analysis of detailed effects of that influence should be the subject of further research.


Kinetic simulations of collisionless shocks have provided a wealth of information on injection and acceleration of thermal ions into a diffusive acceleration process. At quasi-parallel shocks upstream diffuse ions and the induced upstream turbulence are an integral part of the collisionless shock structure. Before injected into a diffusive acceleration process thermal ions are trapped near the shock and are accelerated to higher energies. The injection and acceleration process for thermal ions at quasi-perpendicular shocks depends on the possibility of these ions to recross the shock many times. A viable mechanism for injection is cross-field diffusion of the specularly reflected ions after they have crossed the shock into the downstream region. Determination of the cross-field diffusion coefficient in strong turbulence suggests that specularly reflected ions can recross the quasi-perpendicular shock and can get further accelerated. At more oblique shocks the same injection process as at quasi-parallel sh...


The data are generated by the sources are very large in number with variety of form. These data are organized in to specific format in order to handle properly. Data mining methods are addressed various problem during data extraction process to analytical process. The relevant data are extracted by applying pattern over the huge databases. Association rule mining introduces the method to extracts the related data from the datasets using the performance metrics like support and confidence. Traditional algorithm uses this metrics which is restricted to common attribute format. This problem is addressed by using generic attribute format with frequent pattern mining. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the algorithm and performance metrics related to the frequent patter mining or relevant data. Association rule mining has analyzed with various parameters in single connectivity and multi connectivity rules. Social networking suffers various problem because of uncertain data arrived for processing which is analyzed with various efficiency related elements. The analysis and prediction are also compared with the machine algorithms like classification and clustering and so on. Various frequent pattern mining algorithm is analyzed and review has been carried out based on the performance level.


The number of cancer survivors increase in the last decade. The cancer patients' survival rate is 65.8 months and the five-year survival rate is 71.1%. The cancer survivors need information, services, and holistic treatment to have a high quality life. This study aimed to explore cancer survivor experiences of cervical cancer patients.This study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, involved five participants in the Central Java Province. The data were collected using semi-structured interview, documented into transcript form then analyzed using content analysis method. The study results revealed that there were five themes: healthy cancer survivor behavior in facing cervical cancer, using complementary or herbal treatment in cervical cancer survivor patient, coping in overcoming problem during cervical cancer treatment, family and health worker support to cervical cancer survivor, spiritual aspect among cervical cancer survivor. Results of this study conclude that the cervix cancer survivors applied several self care methods.


Abstract. Small α-dicarbonyls represent the major precursors for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and brown carbon (BrC) in the atmosphere, but the chemical mechanisms leading to their formation remain unclear. Here we elucidate the fundamental kinetics and mechanisms for aqueous-phase oligomerization of glyoxal (GL) using quantum chemical and kinetic rate calculations. Our results identify several essential isomeric processes for GL, including protonation to yield diol/tetrol and carbenium ions, nucleophilic addition of carbenium ions to diol/tetrol as well as to free methylamine/ammonia (MA/AM), and deprotonation to propagate oligomers and N-heterocycles. Both protonation and nucleophilic addition occur without activation barriers and are dominantly driven by electrostatic attraction. Deprotonation proceeds readily via water molecules in the absence of MA/AM but corresponds to the rate-limiting step for N-containing cationic intermediates to yield N-heterocycles. On the other hand, the latter occurs readily via a catalytic process by acidic anions (eg., SO42-). A carbenium ion-mediated reaction rate of GL is 4.62 × 10-3 s-1 under atmospheric conditions, in good agreement with the experimental data. Our results provide essential mechanistic and kinetic data for accurate assessment of the role of small α-dicarbonyls in SOA and BrC formation.


Does the ABC, or the Murdoch or Fairfax press, or any other Australian news media outlet, for that matter, have a discernible political or philosophical bias? Is it possible for journalists to be truly objective: neutral, detached, and leaving every skerrick of his or her personal baggage behind? Bias, it seems, in the eye of the beholder. A panel of experts discuss perceptions of bias in the Australian media with Paul Barclay. Recorded at the Noosa Long Weekend Festival. Guests Tom Switzer - journalist, former Australian editor of 'The Spectator' magazine research associate, US Studies Centre Dr John Harrison - academic, University of Queensland, School of Journalism and Communication Sharri Markson - journalist, Media Editor, 'The Australian' newspaper Dr Andrew Dodd - journalist, academic, Swinburne University of Technology Credits Producer - Paul Barclay


The synthesis and properties of a full set of four benzo-expanded ribonucleosides (xRNA), analogous to A, G, C, and U RNA monomers, are described. The nucleosides are efficient fluorophores with emission maxima of 369-411 nm. The compounds are expected to be useful as RNA pathway probes and as components of an unnatural ribopolymer.


Many studies have showed that childhood maltreatment is associated with several negative consequences in the development and clinical manifestations, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptomatology is complex, thus requiring an explanatory model of post -traumatic syndrome identified in some children. The present study aims to a) contextualize the diagnos is of PTSD in children, b) compare the model proposed by Scheeringa in 1995 and the DSM-5 proposed diagnosis of PTSD in preschool children, and c) discuss these changes in relation to current diagnostic criteria in DSM-IV-TR. Therefore, the model proposed in the DSM-5 retains many of the suggestions made in 1995 by Scheeringa and significantly differs from the current model of the DSM-IV-TR, especially regarding to the inclusion of symptoms which comprise development issues


Patient-specific vessel material properties are in general lacking in image-based computational models, limiting the accuracy of their stress/strain calculations. A noninvasive approach of combining in vivo 3D multi-contrast and Cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational modeling was introduced to quantify patient-specific carotid plaque material properties for potential plaque model improvements. Carotid plaque stress and strain conditions with in vivo and old material model were investigated. A computational plaque stress index (CPVI) was proposed to combine mechanical analysis, plaque morphology and compositions for more complete carotid plaque vulnerability assessment. In vivo 3D multi-contrast and Cine MRI carotid plaque data were acquired from 8 patients with follow-up (18 months) with written informed consent obtained. 3D thin-layer model and an established iterative procedure were used to determine parameter values in the Mooney-Rivlin models for the 81slices from 16 plaque samples. Effective Young's Modulus (YM) values were calculated for comparison and analysis. The average YM, circumferential shrink (C-Shrink) and lumen circumference variation measure by Cine MRI of the 81 slices was 411 kPa, 5.62%, and 8.91%, respectively. Average YM values by vessel varied from 109 kPa (softest) to 922 kPa (stiffest), a 746% difference. The average absolute variation of average stress values from 16 carotid plaques were 16.42% between in vivo material model and old material model, where 8 cases had in vivo material model stress greater than old material model stress and 8 cases had old material model stress greater than in vivo material model stress. The range of absolute variation values was [0.29%, 30.98%]. The average absolute variation of average strain values from 16 carotid plaques were 71.99% between in vivo material model and old material model, where 9 cases had in vivo material model strain greater than old material model strain and 7 cases had old material model strain greater than in vivo material model strain. The range of absolute variation values was [2.82%, 377.34%]. YM values showed positive correlation with Max stress (r=0.3531, p=0.1797) and critical stress (r=0.5733, p=0.0202). YM values also showed strong negative correlation with Max strain (r=-0.8246, p<0.0001) and critical strain (r=-0.7376, p=0.0011). The five intervals (unit: kPa) [0, 46.8), [46.8, 80), [80, 92), [92, 103), and [103, +∞) from in vivo material models were used for CPVI values of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The optimized agreement rate was 85.19%. In vivo carotid vessel material properties have large variations from patient to patient. The use of patient-specific material properties in plaque models could potentially improve the accuracy of model stress/strain calculations. Large-scale studies are needed to further demonstrate that CPVI has the potential to improve the current image-based screening and plaque vulnerability assessment schemes.


Toponomastica nostalgica. Il caso Granbassi a Trieste - The "Granbassi Case" exploded in Trieste after the decision of the Comunal council to re-name a public space in his honour. The honour of being a "fascist hero". Mario Granbassi (1907-1939) was a journalist of the «Piccolo», a local newspaper, but above all a propagandist of the fascist regime. He conducted a fortuitous radio transmission, in the early thirties, "Mastro Remo" aimed at children and young adults and founded a specialized weekly magazine. He died in Spain as a volenteer fighting on Franco's side and was awarded, not only the gold metal, but also the name of a street. A street that in 1946 resumed it's ancient name; that of Samuel Romanin, an historian wantingly canceled by the racial laws for being "non-arian". This past year has seen this continual controversy tighten between the council and the opponents who have written several letters and articles, organized press conferences and rallies in the contested site. The site consists of steps dedicated to Giuseppe Revere, a Trieste born jewish Mazzini follower. Key words: Granbassi, Trieste, the racial laws, toponymic, Fascism, Spanish Civil War. Parole chiave: Granbassi, Trieste, leggi razziali, toponomastica, fascismo, guerra civile spagnola.


OBJECTIVE
Vagoglossopharyngeal and geniculate neuralgias are less frequently seen types of cranial neuralgias. Their causes and symptomatology are similar to those of trigeminal neuralgia; however, the complex anatomic relationship between the intermedius, vagal, and glossopharyngeal nerves leads to difficulties in the diagnosis and management of neuralgias originating from these cranial nerves. Numerous procedures have been used to treat intractable neuralgias of the VIIth, IXth, and Xth cranial nerves: 1) extracranial sectioning of the cranial nerves, 2) percutaneous thermal rhizotomy, 3) intracranial glossopharyngeal and vagal rhizotomies, 4) microvascular decompression, and 5) percutaneous trigeminal tractotomy-nucleotomy (TR-NC) or nucleus caudalis dorsal root entry zone operation. We propose that computer-guided TR-NC may be the first-choice operation for patients with glossopharyngeal, vagal, or geniculate neuralgia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Nine patients suffering from idiopathic vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia (six patients) and geniculate neuralgia (three patients) were managed at our clinic. Computed tomography-guided percutaneous trigeminal TR-NC was performed for these nine patients.

RESULTS
Excellent (six patients) or good (three patients) pain control was obtained in each patient. Complications included temporary ataxia in two patients after TR-NC.

CONCLUSION
The risk:benefit ratio should be evaluated individually to select the appropriate treatment procedure for patients with vagoglossopharyngeal and geniculate neuralgias. Computed tomography-guided percutaneous TR-NC is an effective and minimally invasive procedure for such patients.


We used six waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Data (1986–1996) to assess the relative impact of adverse birth outcomes vis-à-vis social risk factors on children's developmental outcomes. Using the Peabody Individual Achievement Tests of Mathematics and Reading Recognition as our outcome variables, we also evaluated the dynamic nature of biological and social risk factors from ages 6 to 14. We found the following: (1) birth weight is significantly related to developmental outcomes, net of important social and economic controls; (2) the effect associated with adverse birth outcomes is significantly more pronounced at very low birth weights (< 1,500 grams) than at moderately low birth weights (1,500–2,499 grams); (3) whereas the relative effect of very low-birth-weight status is large, the effect of moderately low weight status, when compared with race/ethnicity and mother's education, is small; and (4) the observed differentials between moderately low-birth-weight and normal-birth-weight children are substantially smaller among older children in comparison with younger children.


This paper uses a new micro-survey on a representative sample of tourists who visited the Azores, an emerging Portuguese Archipelago tourist destination, to quantify the determinants of tourist satisfaction, the intention to revisit the destination and the likelihood of recommending the destination to friends and relatives. To do so we employ a microeconometric ordered probit model. The econometric results are statistically valid and economically important, since they uncover significant and heterogeneous responses which vary according to the tourists' socio-demographic profiles, as well as trip attributes, among other factors. Our results allow policymakers and tourism economic agents alike to tailor policies aimed at increasing tourist satisfaction, repeat visitation rates and recommendation rates.


The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of jumping rope training on the static balance in students
 with intellectual impairment. 60 students 14-24 ages were used the random sampling method and students were
 divided into the experimental groups and the control groups. The experimental groups performed rope training
 for 45 minute, three days per week, for 6 weeks. The control group continued usual activities. Assessment of static
 balance of participants was carried out as follows using the Sharpened Romberg Test. score given to each
 individual was the time they could maintain a stable state with open and then with closed eyes. The test was
 conducted before and after the training. The paired t-test and independent t-test were used in the statistical
 analyses for the test results. The results of the comparison in the posttest showed that there is a significant
 difference only in the female group's Romberg test performance with eyes open, between the control and
 experimental groups after the training course. We conclude that the jump rope workout, have specific advantage,
 since these exercises are of the dynamic activities, which causes vigor in the people, while strengthening the pivotal
 muscles.


Effects of long-term dietary restriction on body temperature and its circadian changes were investigated in 3.5- and 14.5-month-old male Long-Evans rats. Animals were either fed and libitum or kept on a restricted diet for 8 weeks. Purina Lab Chow was constantly available to the ad libitum-fed groups, while half portions of their daily food consumption were given to age-matched diet-restricted groups every day. A highly significant lowering of body temperature in middle-aged diet-restricted (MR) rats was not observed until their food intake had been restricted for 5 weeks compared with that of the middle-aged ad libitum-fed (MA) group as well as that of the young diet-restricted (YR) rats. Eight weeks after diet restriction, both the circadian pattern of body temperature and its diurnal peak-trough difference remained almost unchanged in all four groups, while the average body temperature of MR rats was greatly lower than that of the YR group and that of MA animals. No significant difference in average body temperature was found between the young ad libitum-fed (YA) rats and the MA group. These data suggest that the average body temperature and its circadian changes in ad libitum-fed rats, at least before the age of 14.5 months, is not age-related, while the effect of dietary restriction on body temperature may be modified with increasing age.


Purpose of reviewIt has been demonstrated that a considerable percentage of patients suffering from atopic dermatitis mount IgE autoantibodies against a broad variety of human proteins. This review summarizes evidence for autoimmune mechanisms in atopic dermatitis and suggests novel pathomechanisms that may be involved in this disease. Recent findingsIt has been shown that patients suffering from atopic dermatitis exhibit IgE autoreactivity to human proteins. These autoantigens are expressed in a variety of cell and tissue types. Complementary DNAs coding for IgE autoantigens have been identified, cloned and characterized at the molecular level. Using purified recombinant IgE autoantigens, it has been shown in paradigmatic models that IgE autoimmunity may be a pathogenetic mechanism in atopic dermatitis. Moreover, it has been shown that the levels of IgE autoantibodies are associated with severity of disease. SummaryPatients suffering from severe manifestations of atopy mount IgE autoantibodies against a variety of human proteins. The levels of IgE autoantibodies correspond with disease severity. Several mechanisms of IgE autoimmunity may contribute to the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis.


Data exchange is the problem of taking data structured under a source schema and creating an instance of a target schema. Given a source instance, there may be many solutions - target instances that satisfy the constraints of the data exchange problem. Previous work has identified two classes of desirable solutions: canonical universal solutions, and their cores. Query answering in data exchange amounts to rewriting a query over the target schema to another query that, over a materialized target instance, gives the result that is semantically consistent with the source. A basic question is then whether there exists a transformation sending a source instance into a solution over which target queries can be answered.We show that the answer is negative for many data exchange transformations that have structural properties similar to canonical universal solutions and cores. Namely, we prove that many such transformations preserve the local structure of the data. Using this notion, we further show that every target query rewritable over such a transformation cannot distinguish tuples whose neighborhoods in the source are similar. This gives us a first tool that helps check whether a query is rewritable, We also show that these results are robust: they hold for an extension of relational calculus with grouping and aggregates, and for two different semantics of query answering.


Genome Rearrangement is a field that addresses the problem of finding the minimum number of global operations that transform one given genome into another. In this work we develop an algorithm for three constrained versions of the event called inversion, which occurs when a chromosome breaks at two locations called breakpoints and the DNA between the breakpoints is reversed. The constrained versions are called symmetric, almost-symmetric and unitary inversions. In this paper, we present a greedy randomized search procedure to find the minimum number of such operations between two genomes. Our approach is, to our knowledge, the first genome rearrangement problem modeled using this metaheuristic. Our model is an iterative process in which each iteration receives a feasible solution whose neighborhood is investigated for a better solution. This search uses greediness to shape the candidate list and randomness to select elements from the list. A previous greedy heuristic was used as an initial solution. In almost every case, we were able to improve that initial solution by providing a new sequence of inversions that uses less operations. For permutations of size 10, our solutions were, on average, 5 inversions shorter than the initial solution. For permutations of size 15 and 20, our solutions were, on average, 10 and 16 inversions shorter than the initial solution, respectively. For longer permutations ranging from 25 to 50 elements, we generated solutions that were, on average, 20--22 inversions shorter than the initial solution. We believe that the method proposed in this work can be adjusted to other genome rearrangement problems.


THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE is to describe two case studies of classroom-based teaching interventions, conducted by final-year pre-service teachers, which were successful in assisting young children with autism engage in and learn literacy through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The 10-day interventions were carried out as part of a two-year Master of Teaching course at an Australian university, and were designed to identify specific learning needs in young children, and then implement targeted interventions. The two cases described here show how ICTs were successfully used to create multimodal texts to support the literacy learning and engagement of young children with autism. The first case involved an intervention that employed two iPad apps—which were not intended specifically for children with autism—to support the literacy learning and engagement of a five-year-old. The second case involved the use of Microsoft PowerPoint on a laptop to develop multimodal non-fiction texts to improve an eight-year-old's attitude to, and engagement with, reading. Each intervention was found to be effective in improving the participating child's literacy achievement and engagement. Each used multisensory and student-centred approaches that acknowledged the children's strengths and interests, with ICTs being used to transform teaching and learning tasks. This article illustrates the successful drawing together of pre-service teachers' technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), as well as their knowledge of the children concerned, to devise evidence-based interventions using ICTs to assist young children with autism to engage in, and learn, literacy.


Efficient resource management is one of key problems associated with large-scale distributed computational systems. Taking into account their increasing complexity, inherent distribution and dynamism, such systems are required to adjust and adapt resources market that is offered by them at run-time and with minimal cost. However, as observed by major IT vendors such as IBM, SUN or HP, the very nature of such systems prevents any reliable and efficient control over their functioning through human administration. For this reason, autonomic system architectures capable of regulating their own functioning are suggested as the alternative solution to looming software complexity crisis. Here, large-scale infrastructures are assumed to comprise myriads of autonomic elements, each acting, learning or evolving separately in response to interactions in their local environments. The self-regulation of the whole system, in turn, becomes a product of local adaptations and interactions between system elements. Although many researchers suggest the application of multi-agent systems that are suitable for realising this vision, not much is known about regulatory mechanisms that are capable to achieve efficient organisation within a system comprising a population of locally and autonomously interacting agents. To address this problem, the aim of the work presented in this thesis was to understand how global system control can emerge out of such local interactions of individual system elements and to develop decentralised decision control mechanisms that are capable to employ this bottom-up self-organisation in order to preserve efficient resource management in dynamic and unpredictable system functioning conditions. To do so, we have identified the study of complex natural systems and their self-organising properties as an area of research that may deliver novel control solutions within the context of autonomic computing. In such a setting, a central challenge for the construction of distributed computational systems was to develop an engineering methodology that can exploit self-organising principles observed in natural systems. This, in particular, required to identify conditions and local mechanisms that give rise to useful self-organisation of interacting elements into structures that support required system functionality. To achieve this, we proposed an autonomic system model exploiting self-organising algorithms and its thermodynamic interpretation, providing a general understanding of self-organising processes that need to be taken into account within artificial systems exploiting self-organisation.


It has been argued with some justice by commentators from Walter Kaufmann to Thomas Hurka that Nietzsche's positive ethical position is best understood as a variety of virtue theory – in particular, as a brand of perfectionism. For Nietzsche, value flows from character. Less attention has been paid, however, to the details of the virtues he identifies for himself and his type. This neglect, along with Nietzsche's frequent irony and non-standard usage, has obscured the fact that almost all the virtues he praises are intellectual rather than moral. The vices he most despises include dogmatism, intellectual partisanship, faith, boredom, the desire for certainty and pity. The virtues he most appreciates include curiosity, honesty, scepticism, creativity, the historical sense, intellectual courage and intellectual fastidiousness. These tables of values place Nietzsche squarely among so-called responsibilist virtue epistemologists, such as Lorraine Code and Linda Zagzebski, who emphasize that knowledge is infused with desire and affect. I argue that curiosity construed as the specification of the will to power in the domain of epistemology is the cardinal Nietzschean virtue, and that the others – especially intellectual courage and honesty – are presupposed by curiosity. Thus, Nietzsche turns out to accept his own peculiar brand of the thesis of the unity of virtue.


The effects of Ca and combined electromagnetic stirring and Ca on the microstructures and mechanical properties of Mg-8%Li-3%Al alloys were studied, and the relationships among the chemical composition, microstructures and mechanical properties were discussed. The results show that both Ca and combined electromagnetic stirring and Ca improve the microstructures and mechanical properties of Mg-8%Li-3%Al alloys. Adding 0.5% Ca into the as-cast alloys, the β phase becomes thinner, and the tensile strength and elongation reach to 188.93 MPa and 11.35%, respectively. The microstructure is fine and uniform, and the Brinell hardness, tensile strength, and elongation are 67.5HB, 203.8 MPa and 7.7% at electromagnetic stirring of 80 V combined with 0.5%Ca.


The lung cancer is one of the most important health problems all over the world. Early diagnosis is life-saving for patients because it is an aggressive cancer. Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia is defined as a form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia stem from pulmonary reactions against injuries. An interesting case that mimics cancer radiologically will be presented in this study.
A 51-year-old male patient admitted to the our clinic with cough and sputum complaints. No pathological finding was detected and, there was no obvious pathology on chest X-ray. A solitary pulmonary nodule of 10 mm in size was detected in the lateral aspect of the left upper lobe of the left lung on CT. Solitary pulmonary nodule was reported as malignancy border involvement in FDG-PET. The nodule was excised completely with the help of VATS. The pathology of the patient was reported as cryptogenic organizing pneumonia.
Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia mimics many lung pathologies, most notably lung cancer. According to the symptoms and signs, clinicians should definitely rule out lung cancer if there is suspicion. Because a late diagnosis or delayed treatment of lung cancer reduces the life expectancy.


Abstract Risk reduction means diminishing uncertainties and strengthening the knowledge. There are many ways in which undesirable surprises can be understood and controlled, but the dominating one is the risk approach, on the basis of risk conceptualization, evaluation and risk management. Across time, many progresses have been accomplished in the field of risk, connected not only to the conceptual part, but also to the empirical procedures. Despite this, the premise of this domain is being represented to a substantial extend by theories and practices. This is why it is indispensable to search for trends in the risk framework, to reveal whether further development should be desired and if uncertainties' consequences are measured properly. The aim of this article is to present an analysis of some fundamental breakthroughs developed in the risk field, with a particular attention on the fundamental concepts. In addition, I also pursued to provide you with new insights on how to assess, perceive, describe and manage the unforeseen situations altogether with analyzing the uncertainty component of risk. To understand the risk has to be in continuous harmony with the acknowledgement element of the same concept.


Abstract In many resource-poor countries, CD4 count thresholds of eligibility for antiretroviral treatment (ART) were initially low (<200 cells/mm3) but are now being increased to improve patient survival and to reduce HIV transmission. There are few quantitative data on the effect of such increases on the demand for ART. The objective of this study was to measure HIV prevalence and the proportion of HIV-positives eligible for antiretroviral therapy at different CD4 cut-off levels among users of public health care services in Kampala, Uganda. We recruited 1200 adults from three primary care clinics in Kampala, including equal numbers of family planning (FP) clients, pregnant women, adult patients with any complaint, and persons seeking HIV counseling and testing. All participants were screened for HIV and those positive had a CD4 count done. HIV prevalence in all patients was 16.9% (203/1200). ART eligibility based on CD4 counts significantly increased from 36% at a 200 cells/mm3 cut-off to 44% at 250 cells and to 57% at 350 cells cut-off (p for χ2 trend<0.001). We concluded that changing cut-off levels to higher CD4 counts will significantly increase patient load in Kampala's primary care clinics, but a phased implementation should minimize negative effects on quality of care.


It has long been recognised by geologists that, amongst the geographical mutations which all parts of the earth's surface have at one time or another undergone, the change from humid to arid climatal conditions has several times had a place. It has now and then happened in past times, even in Britain, that conditions of the normal kind, as regards rainfall, have subsequently given place for a time to true desert conditions, differing in no essential respect from those prevailing in many arid regions at the present day. By desert conditions, as here understood, is meant that combination of geographical conditions which has led to certain parts of the earth's surface receiving a smaller annual precipitation than suffices for the maintenance of any types of vegetation except those specially adapted by evolution to an environment in which aridity is the dominant feature. As typical examples of the conditions referred to may be cited the Sinaitic Peninsular, parts of Afghanistan, the great Central Asian deserts, as well as the more arid parts of western North and South America. As regards temperature these regions widely differ from each other; whence it will be seen that the prevalence of excessive sun-heat is by no means a special characteristic of desert regions. In one respect all areas of Inland Drainage may be regarded as areas where desert conditions prevail. Under the existing geographical conditions of the earth's surface the areas of inland drainage occupy an area 11,486,350 square miles,2 which, as the area of


Many systems, both natural and artificial, exhibit a mixed discrete-continuous behavior that cannot be fully captured by either continuous nor discrete models: they evolve in accordance to continuous laws, but these laws are controlled by a finite set of modes. Hybrid automata were proposed to represent such kind of behaviors and they have been used to model numerous natural phenomena in the last decades. Unfortunately, the Model Checking problem over them was proved undecidable and, because of that, many techniques were suggested so far to both approximate the original models and reduce the analysis complexity. This paper surveys some of such techniques and reports some open questions.


This article presents a test method that was developed to screen adhesive formulations for finger-jointed lumber. The goal was to develop a small-scale test that could be used to predict whether an adhesive would pass a full-scale ASTM E119 wall assembly test. The method involved loading a 38-mm square finger-jointed sample in a four-point bending test inside of an oven with a target sample temperature of 204°C. The deformation (creep) was examined as a function of time. It was found that samples fingerjointed with melamine formaldehyde and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde adhesives had the same creep behavior as solid wood. One-component polyurethane and polyvinyl acetate adhesives could not maintain the load at the target temperature measured middepth of the sample, and several different types of creep behavior were observed before failure. This method showed that the creep performance of the one-component adhesives may be quite different than the performance from short-term load deformation curves collected at high temperatures. The importance of creep performance of adhesives in the fire resistance of engineered wood is discussed.


As the risks of climate change keep increasing, countries have emphasized the ecosystem adaptation policy, and the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP) aids countries to adapt to a warming world with eco-based adaptation (EbA) measures for good ecosystem governance for boosting ecosystem adaptation services (EAS). With the purpose of helping to indicate the magnitude of the benefits of EAS from local EbA measures, this study assesses the economic value of the EAS of hillside forests regarding the residents in a climate vulnerable watershed, the Lanyang River watershed, by applying a single-bounded contingent evaluation method. The demographic variables and motivation variables indexed by perceived impacts are influencing factors in the residents' willingness-to-pay. These variables are of significance in EbA policy application. The average economic value for each responding resident was estimated to be NT$ 793.65 on the basis of a survey of the residents' willingness to pay for EAS and the single-boundary contingent valuation method. The results verified that the residents depend on the protection of natural hillside ecosystems. Considering the complex interactions between ecosystems and humans, the EbA is demonstrated to be a crucial method for mitigating the consequences of climate change. Protecting hillside ecosystems in the Lanyang River watershed through soil and water management presents critical policy implications. Now that climate change has become an emergency, this case study shows the success of Taiwan's long manipulated EbA for EAS, with evidence of residents benefiting. This Taiwan case study has policy implications for the world and UNEP's global EbA program to maintain EAS.


We introduce a new Jungck-type implicit iterative scheme and study its strong convergence, stability under weak parametrical restrictions in generalized convex metric spaces as well as data dependency in generalized hyperbolic spaces. We show that newly introduced iterative scheme has better convergence rate as compared to well known Jungck implicit Mann, Jungck implicit Ishikawa and Jungck implicit Noor iterative schemes. It is also shown that Jungck-implicit iterative schemes converge fast as compared to corresponding Jungck-explicit iterative schemes. Validity of our analytic proofs is shown through numerical examples. Our results are improvements and generalizations of some recent results of Khan et al.[18], Chugh et al.[8] and many others in fixed point theory.


This paper describes and defends in detail a novel account of belief, an account inspired by Ryle's dispositional characterization of belief, but emphasizing irreducibly phenomenal and cognitive dispositions as well as behavioral dispositions. Potential externalist and functionalist objections are considered, as well as concerns motivated by the inevitably ceteris paribus nature of the relevant dispositional attributions. It is argued that a dispositional account of belief is particularly well-suited to handle what might be called "in-between" cases of believing - cases in which it is neither quite right to describe a person as having a particular belief nor quite right to describe her as lacking it.


Leads are relatively linear features in the sea ice cover, which are composed of open water or new, thin ice. Because of their composition, leads impact the ocean/air heat exchange. Automated analysis of leads from sea ice imagery may provide a means of gathering important information about the sea ice cover and its climatic influence. This paper describes: (1) a method for extracting and analyzing leads from ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images classified by ice type and (2) the results of using this method on images of the Beaufort Sea. The methodology consists of identifying potential lead features in the image and measuring their characteristics both before and after using a thinning or skeletonization technique on the features. The measurements obtained using this method include lead area, average width, number of leads in an area, amount of branching, and linearity of the lead. These measurements were analyzed with respect to the time of year and the latitude of the images. Results indicate that the measurements produced by the methodology are consistent with lead measurement distributions that others have found. The results of the study suggest that the methodology is appropriate to study lead characteristics on a large scale.


A widely used analytical, image charge, model of the SNMM was analysed for the first time in terms of its ability to predict the response of the SNMM to both bulk and thin film dielectrics. For the first time it was shown that the uncertainty in fitting to the model reduces from 10% to 5% when the length of the tip protruding from within the cavity is reduced from 2mm to 1mm. A 5% uncertainty in fitting to the image charge model for the measurement of the relative permittivity of bulk samples is demonstrated.


Histories of 'popular music' abound: stories of agents whose medium of public expression is music (i.e. accounts of the dealings and output of singers, writers, producers, label executives etc.). Because these stories take as their subjects the succession of individuals who produce work, rather than the work successive individuals produce, there is little challenge to the practice of hyping every change as 'new', since both audiences and, frequently, practitioners, have a vested interest in being unaware of historical precedents. However, these are not histories of 'popular music': stories of the behaviour of sounds which constitute aesthetic objects are vital to provide context for the work of analysts. What might such a history look like? It might be a history of the issues to which musical decisions give rise (genre formation; the decision-making relationship between 'writer' and 'performer' etc.). It might be a history of recurring patterns of aesthetic intentions (successive turns to sophistication and simplicity in the realms of lyrics, technology, harmonic language etc.). It might be a history of styles (of the ways musical materials are moulded) and of the conditions for their apparent demise. Such histories can be conceived: one such is demonstrated.


In tomographic imaging, anatomical structures are reconstructed by applying a pseudo-inverse forward model to acquired signals. Geometric information within this process is usually depending on the system setting only, i.e., the scanner position or readout direction. Patient motion therefore corrupts the geometry alignment in the reconstruction process resulting in motion artifacts. We propose an appearance learning approach recognizing the structures of rigid motion independently from the scanned object. To this end, we train a siamese triplet network to predict the reprojection error (RPE) for the complete acquisition as well as an approximate distribution of the RPE along the single views from the reconstructed volume in a multi-task learning approach. The RPE measures the motion-induced geometric deviations independent of the object based on virtual marker positions, which are available during training. We train our network using 27 patients and deploy a 21-4-2 split for training, validation and testing. In average, we achieve a residual mean RPE of 0.013mm with an inter-patient standard deviation of 0.022mm. This is twice the accuracy compared to previously published results. In a motion estimation benchmark the proposed approach achieves superior results in comparison with two state-of-the-art measures in nine out of twelve experiments. The clinical applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated on a motion-affected clinical dataset.


Millions of Americans finance their home using the treacherous contract for deed. Denied access to the conventional mortgage, the contract for deed often is the only alternative for Americans seeking the stability of homeownership. Historically, however, this deceptive financing device disrupted the lives of thousands of individuals by forfeiting their property and all payments made on the contract—even where only one installment was overdue. Low-income Americans and immigrant families disproportionately experience the brunt of the contract for deed. Furthermore, as Americans experience rising prices and increasing financial instability, there is reason to fear sellers—equipped with insight into lenders' former mistakes—could revive the contract for deed, using it to swindle unsuspecting buyers. Several scholars previously addressed the necessity of treating the contract for deed as a mortgage. However, none addressed the critical underlying question: What is property, and what role does it play in society? This Article analyzes natural law, personhood, utilitarian, and civic republican theories of property as applied to the dilemma of the forfeiture clause. Whether it is because of the stifling of community, the destruction of an individual's external sphere of freedom, or the inhibiting of a citizen's ability to participate in democracy, channeling the insight of some of the world's greatest philosophers compels the conclusion that change is necessary. Lastly, courts are not without guidance. The Indiana & Kentucky Supreme Courts established clear doctrine treating the contract for deed as a mortgage. Thus, given that enforcing forfeiture clauses in contracts for deeds is incongruent with the philosophical foundations of property law, it is time for society to follow the Indiana and Kentucky approaches and treat this financing device as a mortgage.


The Coulomb explosion of carbon dioxide in a 55 fs laser pulse of intensity 1.5-3 × 1016 W cm-2 has been studied using a variety of techniques based on time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Covariance mapping has been used to identify Coulomb explosion channels and to measure the associated kinetic energy release. By comparing time-of-flight spectra taken with linearly and circularly polarized light, a clear signature of laser-induced reorientation is found, which is strongest for the lowest Coulombic channel. Ion-momentum imaging coupled with Monte Carlo simulation shows that the zero-point bend-angle distribution is better preserved than for longer laser pulses. However, some residue of the sequential processes dominant in much longer pulses is found.


Carbon nanotubes functionalized with sulfonated polyether-ether-ketone are investigated using solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. Carbon and proton NMR experiments of the sulfonated polymer chains covalently grafted on the nanotube surface reveal a distribution of diamagnetic shifted lines. These experimental results can be interpreted at the molecular level in terms of magnetic ring currents originating from the surface of the graphitized wall of the nanotubes in agreement with recent theoretical investigations. These features can potentially be used to track the structural modifications, which take place during the functionalization of carbon nanotubes.


In this research, modal analysis of a second stage blade in a gas turbine is investigated and vibration modes of blade are found in various conditions. The numerical calculation by finite element method using NASTRAN-PATRAN software based on experimental test conditions is utilized and there is a good agreement between the experimental and FEM results. Finally by calculating excitation frequency in gas turbine work conditions and using a Campbell diagram, it is concluded that there is not any resonant problems in the blade and there is a good agreement between the experimental and FEM results as well.


The thinnest recognizable strata in modern eolian dune sands can be grouped into six classes. They are herein named planebed laminae, rippleform laminae, ripple-foreset crosslaminae, climbing translatent strata, grainfall laminae, and sandflow cross-strata.

Planebed laminae are formed by tractional deposition on smooth surfaces at high wind velocities. They are very rare in the deposits studied. Grainfall laminae are also formed on smooth surfaces, largely by grainfall deposition in zones of flow separation. They are much more common than planebed laminae, which they closely resemble.

Eolian climbing-ripple structures are composed primarily of climbing trans-latent strata, each of which is the depositional product of a single climbing ripple. Climbing translatent strata that formed at relatively high or supercritical angles of ripple climb are typically accompanied by rippleform laminae, which are wavy layers parallel to the rippled depositional surfaces. Ripple-foreset crosslaminae, which are incomplete rippleform laminae produced when the angle of ripple climb is relatively low or subcritical, are rarely visible in eolian sands.

Sandflow cross-strata are formed by the avalanching of noncohesive sand on dune slipfaces. Their form varies with slipface height and with other factors.


The authors compared detection of proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) in vitro and in vivo with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemistry and two established methods: [3H]thymidine autoradiography and bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry. Labeling with [3H]thymidine and bromodeoxyuridine of rat vascular SMC in culture stained 11% +/- 2% and 11% +/- 1% of cells, and PCNA immunohistochemistry 22% +/- 2% of cells. Proliferation in the media of the denuded rat aortae was highest 3 days after denudation: 4.2%, 3.8%, and 4.7% of labeled cells with [3H]thymidine, bromodeoxyuridine, and PCNA, respectively. In the intima, proliferation was highest 7 days after denudation with 42% [3H]thymidine, 40% bromodeoxyuridine, and 46% PCNA-positive cells. With double labeling, all [3H]thymidine-positive cells were PCNA positive, whereas some cells were only positive for PCNA. The authors conclude that PCNA immunohistochemistry compares favorably with [3H]thymidine autoradiography, and bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry.


Fractures of calcaneus are the most common among all tarsal bone fractures. Such injuries are most often produced by large forces, while accompanying soft tissue trauma makes them complicated and difficult to treat. Due to complex structure of the foot and talocalcaneal joint all injuries to this area constitute an important orthopedic problem, as improper treatment or lack thereof leads to gait impairment, particularly with regard to moving on uneven surface. In this work we presented the problem of intraarticular calcaneal fractures with particular consideration paid to methods of its treatment. We also mentioned the problem of complications after conservative and surgical treatment as well as methods of their prevention.


: In this paper, we used blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals and emotion ratings to investigate the relationship between the type and strength of emotion induced by musical stimuli. Our goal was to establish a quantitative emotional evaluation method that uses brain activity. In Experiment 1, 26 participants rated 60 pieces of music using a semantic differential scale and 20 pieces were chosen on the basis of Russell's circumplex model. In Experiment 2, we investigated the relationships between the type and strength of emotion and brain activity by asking 20 participants to listen to the pieces of music in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. We identified brain regions for which the BOLD signal intensity was correlated with the ratings of emotions. As a result, the ''Happy'' rating was mainly correlated with activity in the superior temporal gyrus. The ''Sad'' rating was correlated with activity in the left thalamus. The ''Fear'' rating was mainly correlated with activity in the parahippocampal gyrus, insular cortex, and right amygdala. By focusing on activity in these brain regions, it may be possible to quantify the type and strength of emotions evoked by music.