Vaccination with SMW 68, an Mr 68,000 glycoprotein of Schistosoma mansoni, induces significant protection in mice against challenge schistosome infection. This resistance occurs without the use of adjuvants and without sensitizing animals to granuloma formation. Likewise, passive transfer of monoclonal antibody (MAb) 31-3B6 against SMW 68 confers partial protection against challenge infection. As a first step in understanding how the immune response to this molecule leads to resistance, SMW 68 was localized in three developmental stages of the parasite by immunoelectron microscopy using MAb 31-3B6 and polyclonal antisera raised against purified SMW 68. In cercariae and schistosomula, MAb 31-3B6 bound electron-dense granules within the head gland and similar granules in the preacetabular glands. In adult worms, SMW 68 or related antigens were found to be widely distributed in tissues. Binding of specific antisera was most pronounced in the gut and tegument of male worms, but less so in subtegumental muscles. We conclude that SMW 68 is presented to the immune system in various ways during parasite development. The protective protein or epitope is excreted, and presented on the surface and in the cytoplasm at various stages of the life cycle. The relationship of the location of this protein to its role in protective immunity is discussed.


In the process of drilling-in productive horizons, several irreversible physical and chemical processes take place in the near-wellbore zone of the formation: stress state of the rocks changes, penetration of the filtrate and solid phase, as well as drilling mud into the reservoir, and swelling of clay particles of intergranular cementing material are observed. As a result, permeability of productive horizon is significantly reduced and, consequently, potential inflow of oil or gas from formation is excluded. An equally serious problem exists during well servicing and workover, when the use of irrational fluids of well killing causes negative consequences associated with deterioration of reservoir properties of formations in the wells being repaired. Article presents the results of the experiments on permeability of clayed porous samples after exposure to various compositions of liquids. In order to increase permeability of near-borehole zone of the formation and increase productivity of wells completed by drilling, and after well servicing and workover, a composition of the process fluid containing a 15 % aqueous solution of oxyethylene diphosphonic acid (OEDA) with addition of a surfactant is proposed.


Web services enable the integration of applications in a web environment. Due to an increased automation of web service interoperation, intelligent web services are recommended, such as Semantic Web Services. In this paper, we first introduce web services and the concept of intelligent web services. We then propose an agent-based web service gateway. We focus on the intelligent web services platform with existing standards instead of proposing other standards. In particular, we present an agent approach to dynamic web services, which invokes access points of UDDI registry automatically and returns execution results for web services. The proposed approach is used to build experimental solutions involving intelligent web service systems. Finally, we'll give an example to illustrate a typical scenario in which consumers search web services using our web services gateway.


As teachers, directors and coaches we move between conscious and unconscious use of language with different levels of awareness of its impact. Ideas and images are transformed into movement through a process of 'ideokinesis', where how you think your body works changes how your body works. This mattering discourse can become naturalised within different movement practices and, as such, its political resonance and liberatory potential is side-lined. This article seeks to understand how language matters in movement teaching. What types of language are produced in the movement space and why? How does pedagogic language open up or close down the possibility of a liberatory practice and how might we define this? At this cultural moment, when the complexities of identity politics have been brought into sharp focus, it seems vital to hold our pedagogic language to account.


Introduction: Pin tract infections are complications associated with external fixators. Proper diagnosis and treatment can prevent further complications related to the infection. There are limited numbers of studies on this infection and thus treatment is usually based on individual's experience. Therefore, this study was undertaken to have a better understanding of pin tract infections and to help us establish a treatment protocol in the hospital. Aim: To determine the incidence of pin tract infections among all patients who have external fixators, to identify the causative agents and study their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study which was conducted in a tertiary hospital for patients who had external fixators. After obtaining ethical clearance and informed consent from the patient, all patients were monitored and if there was clinical suspicion of infection, discharge/pus was collected from the infection site and processed in the microbiology laboratory as per standard laboratory protocol to isolate and identify the causative agent. Antimicrobial susceptibility using Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method. Statistical analysis was done by using Microsoft excel 2010. Results: It was found that out of the 30 patients included in the study, six patients showed clinical evidence of pin tract infections with male preponderance. The most common isolate was Acinetobacter baumanii followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter koseri with variable antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Conclusion: Pin tract infection occurred in 20% of the patients. Early diagnosis and treatment prevents complications which further reduces the cost of treatment and the number of days of hospital stay.


KNOX and BELL transcription factors regulate distinct steps of diploid development in the green lineages. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, KNOX and BELL proteins are inherited by gametes of the opposite mating types, and heterodimerize in zygotes to activate diploid development. By contrast, in land plants such as Physcomitrella and Arabidopsis, KNOX and BELL proteins function in meristem maintenance and organogenesis during the later stages of diploid development. However, whether the contrasting functions of KNOX and BELL were acquired independently in algae and land plants is currently unknown. Here we show that in the basal land plant species Marchantia polymorpha, gamete-expressed KNOX and BELL are required to initiate zygotic development by promoting nuclear fusion in a manner strikingly similar to that of C. reinhardtii. Our results indicate that zygote activation is the ancestral role of KNOX/BELL transcription factors, which shifted toward meristem maintenance as land plants evolved.


Various recent iterative optimization methods require to compute the proximity operator of a sum of functions. We address this problem by proposing a new distributed algorithm for a sum of non-necessarily smooth convex functions composed with arbitrary linear operators. In our approach, each function is associated with a node of a graph, which communicates with its neighbors. Our algorithm relies on a primal-dual splitting strategy that avoids to invert any linear operator, thus making it suitable for processing high-dimensional datasets. The proposed algorithm has a wide array of applications in signal/image processing and machine learning and its convergence is established.


Power distribution equipment is the backbone of any Industrial process infrastructure. Safety and reliability are the two most important criteria in the proper functioning of the power distribution system. Low-voltage switchgear (LVS) is an important part of power distribution. Minimizing arcing faults in the switchgear is of utmost importance to enable a safe environment. Arcing faults increase the temperatures inside the equipment beyond 20,000 K, rapidly heating air and vaporizing metal parts. This expanding plasma creates severe mechanical and thermal stress in the equipment which can blow open doors and fragment/burn through the enclosure. Arc-resistant LVS is designed to provide an additional degree of protection for operating personnel performing normal operating duties in close proximity to the equipment. A series of arc flash simulations were performed on arc-resistant LVS in both bare bus (noninsulated) and insulated/isolated bus configurations. In all simulations, insulated/isolated bus had significantly shorter arcing duration and lower energy emitted.


Two groups of 10 Göttingen minipigs each were anaesthetized with enflurane in a mixture of O2 and N2O for 90 minutes. One group breathed spontaneously. In the other controlled respiration was used following relaxation with succinylcholine-chloride. Control values of ECG, blood pressure, aortic blood flow, arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions, arterial pH, the maximum rate of rise of the left ventricular pressure (max. dp/dt) were recorded from all animals. Anaesthesia was induced with enflurane using a face mask. On reaching the stage of deep surgical anaesthesia the pigs were quickly intubated and anaesthesia was maintained for up to 90 minutes. Max. dp/dt, blood gas tensions and pH were measured again 60 minutes after induction of anaesthesia. A third arterial blood sample was taken in the 100th minute at the end of the experiment. Enflurane produced a negative chronotropic and inotropic effect on the heart muscle. Blood pressure decreased by 40% and cardiac output by 32%. Total peripheral resistance was reduced in the 20th minute by 28% but returned to the control level towards the end of the experiment. We observed a few disturbances of cardiac rhythm and conduction. The spontaneously breathing group developed a respiratory acidosis. Within 10 minutes of discontinuing enflurane administration all parameters returned to the control levels. An obvious overdose of enflurane caused transitory convulsions in two animals. Similar symptoms are well known in humans. We prefer enflurane in the minipig since, in contrast to other inhalation anaesthetics, almost none is metabolised. This is especially important in cases of repeated anaesthesia in the same animal.


With more than 45,000 sold since 1988, The New Organic Grower has become a modern classic. In this newly revised and expanded edition, master grower Eliot Coleman continues to present the simplest and most sustainable ways of growing top-quality organic vegetables. Coleman updates practical information on marketing the harvest, on small-scale equipment, and on farming and gardening for the long-term health of the soil. The new book is thoroughly updated, and includes all-new chapters such as: * Farm-Generated Fertility - how to meet your soil-fertility needs from the resources of your own land, even if manure is not available. * The Moveable Feast - how to construct home-garden and commercial-scale greenhouses that can be easily moved to benefit plants and avoid insect and disease build-up. * The Winter Garden - how to plant, harvest, and sell hardy salad crops all winter long from unheated or minimally heated greenhouses. * Pests - how to find "plant-positive" rather than "pest-negative" solutions by growing healthy, naturally resistant plants. * The Information Resource - how and where to learn what you need to know to grow delicious organic vegetables, no matter where you live.


This paper describes and evaluates "shadow" sovereign credit ratings, which represent the credit ratings of countries that are not rated by credit rating agencies. Credit ratings represent the creditworthiness of companies or governments. They are important in attracting foreign capital. Countries without credit ratings can face greater difficulties than countries with low credit ratings, for example paying a higher price for capital. This paper has two objectives. The primary objective of this paper was to estimate a rating prediction model to the assess credit ratings of countries that are not yet rated. Large numbers of potential determinants were tested, and nine variables were selected that play a key role in assessing credit ratings. According to the chosen determinants, a highly precise model was calculated (80% of the estimated ratings were identical to the corresponding actual ratings or only one notch different). The purpose of this analysis was to estimate credit ratings for a sample of 31 unrated countries. The results are statistically significant and explained in detail. The second objective of this paper was to demonstrate that countries that are not ranked would not necessarily receive the lowest rating, and the results supported that hypothesis.


A novel type of dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) is proposed, which consists of a tuned mass damper (TMD) and tuned sloshing damper (TSD) connected in series to the structure. The system enables the expensive viscous damping devices (VDDs) associated with traditional TMDs to be omitted from the design. A linearized equivalent mechanical model and a nonlinear multimodal model are developed to investigate the proposed system. A TMD–TSD is nonlinear due to the quadratic damping associated with liquid drag, which ensures the system performance is amplitude-dependent. Simple expressions for the optimal TSD–TMD mass ratio, tuning, and damping ratios are employed to design a TMD–TSD coupled to a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure. Frequency response curves for the structure, TMD, and TSD degrees-of-freedom are created for several excitation amplitudes, and the nonlinear behavior of the system response is evident. The performance of the TMD–TSD is evaluated against traditional TMD and TSD systems—with the same total mass—by computing the effective damping produced by each system. The proposed system is found to provide a superior acceleration reduction performance and superior robustness against changes to the frequency of the primary structure. The proposed system is, therefore, an effective and affordable means to reduce the resonant response of tall buildings.


This paper brings a detailed mathematical description of an artificial immune network model, named aiNet. The model is implemented in association with graph concepts and hierarchical clustering techniques, and is proposed to perform machine learning, data compression and cluster analysis. Pictorial representations for the aiNet basic units and typical architectures are introduced. The proposed immune network was primarily compared on a theoretical basis with well-known artificial neural networks. Then, the aiNet was applied to a non-linearly separable benchmark and a real-world problem, and the results were compared with that of the self-organizing feature map and with others already presented in the literature.


This paper gives a summary on SOI based Smart Power technologies. The benefit of SOI is explained by reviewing the basic power device concepts. SOI enables full dielectric isolation of devices. In power applications this can be used to build products with improved EMC, improved robustness. Another dominant aspect is that devices can be biased above the supply voltage or below the ground voltage, without suffering from electrical overstress or the trigger of parasitic transistors. It also enables the integration of minority carrier devices into an integrated circuit. NXP uses those benefits in the SOI based technologies, like A-BCD (for medium voltages) and EZ HV (for high voltages). Other semiconductor manufacturers use the SOI for similar reasons, or extend the voltage range of their baseline technology. Main drawback of SOI is the relative high price of the starting material.


Background: Stress is an important aspect of strenuous jobs and one such job is that of the Security guards, who are exposed to various risk factors leading to stress, so this study was planned to assess the prevalence of such risk factor and determine the level of stress faced by the security guards. Methodology: Cross sectional study conducted at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DU), Wardha, Maharashtra. Total of 68 security guards are included in this study. PLSS pretested stress questionnaire was used to determine the stress level. Results: Results depicted that 98.53% of subjects had moderate range of stress for a busy professional person. Conclusion: Those reported occupational stress also reported increased exposure to potentially stressful working conditions. The sample in general was in quite good health and showed no biases.


This essay is a response to Struan Jacobs, "Recovering the Thought of Edward Shils," which is an extended review of Adair-Toteff and Turner's The Calling of Social Thought. It considers Edward Shils as a "stranger," in the sense defined by Georg Simmel, relative to contemporary sociology. Christian Smith's claim that American sociology is implicitly pursuing a "sacred project" is invoked, in contrast with Shils' vision for consensual sociology. The expansion by CST to "Social Thought" as a calling (vocation), and its ties to science as understood by Polanyi, are strongly affirmed.


The high confinement mode (H-mode) operation is recently obtained in HL-2A divertor configuration, the corresponding edge localized mode (ELM) is recognized as being of type III. Time intervals in ELM time series are analysed to obtain the information about the ELM process. Signatures of unstable periodic orbits (UPOs) are detected, which are indicators of chaos and may be used to control the big ELM events.


We studied the change of the nonlocal correlation of the entanglement in Rindler spacetime by showing that the Unruh effect can be interpreted as a noisy quantum channel having a complete positive and trace preserving map with an operator sum representation. It is shown that the entanglement fidelity is obtained in analytic form from the operator sum representation, which agrees well numerically with the entanglement monotone and the entanglement measure obtained previously. Non-zero entropy exchange between the system Q and the region II of the Rindler wedge indicates the nonlocal correlation between casually disconnected regions. We have also shown the sub additivity of entropies numerically.


Landscape evolution is closely related to soil formation. Quantitative modeling of the dynamics of soils and landscapes should therefore be integrated. This paper presents a model, named Model for Integrated Landscape Evolution and Soil Development (MILESD), which describes the interaction between pedogenetic and geomorphic processes. This mechanistic model includes the most significant soil formation processes, ranging from weathering to clay translocation, and combines these with the lateral redistribution of soil particles through erosion and deposition. The model is spatially explicit and simulates the vertical variation in soil horizon depth as well as basic soil properties such as texture and organic matter content. In addition, sediment export and its properties are recorded. This model is applied to a 6.25 km2 area in the Werrikimbe National Park, Australia, simulating soil development over a period of 60,000 years. Comparison with field observations shows how the model accurately predicts trends in total soil thickness along a catena. Soil texture and bulk density are predicted reasonably well, with errors of the order of 10%, however, field observations show a much higher organic carbon content than predicted. At the landscape scale, different scenarios with varying erosion intensity result only in small changes of landscape‐averaged soil thickness, while the response of the total organic carbon stored in the system is higher. Rates of sediment export show a highly nonlinear response to soil development stage and the presence of a threshold, corresponding to the depletion of the soil reservoir, beyond which sediment export drops significantly.


Abstract. Analysis of cosmogenic nuclides produced in surface rocks and sediments is a
valuable tool for assessing the rates of processes and the timing of events that
shaped the Earth surface. The various nuclides that are used have specific
advantages and limitations that depend on the time range over which they are
useful, the type of material they are produced in and not least the
feasibility of the analytical effort. Anticipating novel applications in
Earth surface sciences, we develop in situ-produced terrestrial cosmogenic
krypton (Krit) as a new tool, the motivation being the availability of
six stable and one radioactive isotope (81Kr, half-life 229 kyr) and of
an extremely weathering-resistant target mineral (zircon). We provide proof
of principle that terrestrial Krit can be quantified and used to
unravel Earth surface processes.


The special class of linear programs described as network flow problems includes many of the special structure optimization problems in such areas as assignment, transportation, catering, warehousing, production scheduling, etc. Besides the physical motivation of the flow description, this class of problems possesses conceptually simple, and computationally elegant, solution techniques originated by DANTZIG, FORD, FULKERSON, ET AL. This paper describes a generalization of this class of problems to 'processflow networks,' or 'flow with gains,' in which flow in any branches of the network may be multiplied by an arbitrary constant, called the branch gain, before leaving the branch and flowing into the remainder of the network. This generalization permits the description of networks in which different kinds of flow may be converted one to another, without 'constant returns to scale.' Among other interesting problems, this model includes the metalprocessing problem, the machine-loading problem, financial budgeting, aircraft routing, warehousing with 'breeding' or 'evaporation,' the two-equation capacitated linear program, etc. The solution method here described and proved is a natural extension of Ford and Fulkerson's technique (or specialization of the primal-dual method) and retains much of the physical motivation and easy computational aspect of their technique; a direct starting solution is usually available, and optimization of the imbedded linear program (the restricted primal problem) can be accomplished without the use of the simplex technique. Conceptually, the solution procedure consists of the following steps: (1) Find the incrementally cheapest loop in the network that will absorb flow. (2) Establish as much additional flow into the network along this route as possible. (3) Repeat Steps (1) and (2) until the desired flow is established, or until infeasibility is discovered. The solution technique includes a maximal-flow procedure and produces a 'min-cut equals max-flow' theorem for networks with gains. Additional features, such as piece-wise linear convex costs, parametric studies, network 'tearing,' mixed boundary conditions, etc., may be easily incorporated in the algorithm.


A new procedure focused on the design and preparation of structured and functional polymer surfaces by combination of two approaches acting simultaneously is developed. The elaboration of micrometer size patterned surfaces by UV-light lithography is reported where, in addition, the surface chemical composition can be controlled by surface segregation of a fluorinated copolymer incorporated in the photopolymerizable mixture. As evidenced by contact angle and XPS measurements, the surface composition can be modified depending on such factors as with the environmental conditions or the concentration of copolymer in the blend. Moreover, the functionality of the copolymer is enhanced by the surface pattern created. As a consequence, the wettability of the films can be modified depending on the pattern and composition of the blend. By using this methodology, functional adaptive sensitive surfaces with a well-defined topography will be obtained in one single step and without the use of tedious and time-consuming multistep procedures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012


A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for the quantitation of n-alkanes (carbon backbones ranging from 21 to 36 carbon atoms) in forage and fecal samples has been developed. Automated solid-liquid extraction using elevated temperature and pressure minimized extraction time to 30 min per sample as compared to more than 24 h for traditional GC-flame ionization detection methods that use saponification and liquid-liquid extraction. Extraction solvent requirements were also minimized to 10 mL per sample. Under optimal conditions, complete method recoveries, including extraction efficiency, were greater than 91%. The linear dynamic range was 5 to 100 nmol injected onto the column, with a limit of quantitation of 5 nmol. Intra-assay coefficients of variation for the analysis of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), subterranean clover (Trifolium subterranean), and bovine feces ranged from 0.1%-12.9%, where lower concentrations of n-alkane produced a higher degree of imprecision. The reported GC/MS method permits simple, rapid, and precise quantitation of n-alkanes in plant and fecal material and reduces reagent and labor requirements.


This paper discusses the aging US electricity infrastructure, including generation, transmission and distribution. From the analysis in this article, there is no doubt that the U.S. electricity infrastructure is aging. Aging infrastructure has higher cost to operate and maintain and, more importantly, lower reliability. The lower reliability of aging infrastructure makes the physical system less reliable and the electricity market more risky. The healthy operation of an electricity market should take into consideration the reliability of individual infrastructure components, and one way to do that is to make the reliability a cost driver


Objective: To assess the activity against three non-enveloped viruses (an adeno-, a rhino- and a rotavirus) of a gel containing 60% ethanol, using experimentally contaminated thumb- and fingerpads of 12 panelists, as per standard procedure E-1838-96 of the American Society of Testing and Materials. Design: Each digit received 10 μL of the test virus suspension. The inocuLum from the thumbs was eluted immediately with 990 μL of Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) to assess the amount of virus on each digit (0-minute control). The inoculum on the fingers was allowed to dry (20-25 minutes), and virus was eluted from two fingerpads to determine the loss in virus infectivity upon drying (baseline titer). Then the dried inoculum on randomly selected fingers was exposed to 1 mL of the test product or standard hard water (200-ppm calcium carbonate) for 20 seconds. The virus remaining was eluted with 1 mL of EBSS, titrated to determine the amounts eliminated, and compared to the baseline titer. Results: Each digit received at least 104 plaque-forming units of virus in 10 μL The amounts of adeno-, rhino-, and rotaviruses surviving the drying were 30%, 75%, and 42%, respectively. The product reduced the infectivity titers of the three viruses by 3 to >4 log10 when compared to a reduction of ≤ 1 log10 for the hard-water rinse. Conclusion: The level of virus reduction by gel was statistically significantly higher than that seen with the water control. Evidence for such activity against non-enveloped viruses supports further investigation of the benefits of this product.


Weed infestation is a major problem and matter of concern as it reduces yield as well as quality of many crops including sugar beet. Manual weeding is very tedious, costly, time consuming and most probably non-availability of trained and skillful labor is another issue. Keeping in view these facts, an experiment was performed to evaluate the efficacy of dual gold on the weed biomass (gm-2) and on the growth and yield components of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cv. California-KWS during 2013-14 and 2014-15. The study was performed using RCBD having five treatments and three replications. The treatments included different application times (pre-emergence application and application after 15, 30 and 45 days after emergence) of dual gold (s-Metolachlor) and a control (weedy check). Data were recorded on fresh and dry weed biomasses (g m-2), number of leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1 (cm2), leaf and root weights plant-1 (g), sucrose%, TSS%, root and sugar yields (t ha-1). The results showed significant variation among the treatments for all parameters during both years of study. Among the treatments the dual gold (s-Metolachlor) applied as pre-emergence reduced weed fresh and dry biomasses (g m-2) and also enhanced number of leaves plant-1, leaf area (cm2), leaf and root weight plant-1, sucrose%, TSS%, root and sugar yields (t ha-1) during both years. Hence it is concluded that dual gold (s-Metolachlor) applied as pre-emergence is best for eradicating weeds at early stages of growth and hence improving yield and quality of sugar beet under Dera Ismail Khan Conditions.


T cell antigen recognition involves the formation of a structured interface between antigen-presenting and T cells that facilitates the specific transmission of activating and desensitizing stimuli. The molecular machinery that organizes the signaling molecules and controls their disposition in response to activation remains poorly understood. We show here that in T cells Discs large (Dlg1), a PDZ domain-containing protein, is recruited upon activation to cortical actin and forms complexes with early participants in T cell activation. Transient overexpression of Dlg1 attenuates basal and Vav1-induced NFAT reporter activation. Reduction of Dlg1 expression by RNA interference enhances both CD3- and superantigen-mediated NFAT activation. Attenuation of antigen receptor signaling appears to be a complex, highly orchestrated event that involves the mutual segregation of important elements of the early signaling complex.


DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most mutagenic form of DNA damage, and play a significant role in cancer biology, neurodegeneration and aging. However, studying DSB-induced mutagenesis is currently limited by the tools available for mapping these mutations. Here, we describe iMUT-seq, a technique that profiles DSB-induced mutations at high-sensitivity and single-nucleotide resolution around endogenous DSBs spread across the genome. By depleting 20 different DSB-repair factors we defined their mutational signatures in detail, revealing remarkable insights into the mechanisms of DSB-induced mutagenesis. We find that homologous-recombination (HR) is mutagenic in nature, displaying high levels of base substitutions and mononucleotide deletions due to DNA-polymerase errors, but simultaneously reduced translocation events, suggesting the primary role of HR is the specific suppression of genomic rearrangements. The results presented here offer new fundamental insights into DSB-induced mutagenesis and have significant implications for our understanding of cancer biology and the development of DDR-targeting chemotherapeutics.


Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide and in particular, ischemic heart disease holds the most considerable position. Even if it has been deeply studied, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is still a side-effect of the clinical treatment for several heart diseases: ischemia process itself leads to temporary damage to heart tissue and obviously the recovery of blood flow is promptly required even if it worsens the ischemic injury. There is no doubt that mitochondria play a key role in pathogenesis of IRI: dysfunctions of these important organelles alter cell homeostasis and survival. It has been demonstrated that during IRI the system of mitochondrial quality control undergoes alterations with the disruption of the complex balance between the processes of mitochondrial fusion, fission, biogenesis and mitophagy. The fundamental role of mitochondria is carried out thanks to the finely regulated connection to other organelles such as plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum and nucleus, therefore impairments of these inter-organelle communications exacerbate IRI. This review pointed to enhance the importance of the mitochondrial network in the pathogenesis of IRI with the aim to focus on potential mitochondria-targeting therapies as new approach to control heart tissue damage after ischemia and reperfusion process.


Yeast RNA polymerase II holoenzymes have been described that consist of RNA polymerase II, a subset of general transcription factors, and nine SRB regulatory proteins. The feature that distinguishes the RNA polymerase II holoenzymes from other forms of RNA polymerase II in the cell is their tight association with SRB proteins. We investigated the fraction of genes that require SRB proteins in vivo by examining the effect of temperature-sensitive mutations in SRB genes on transcription by RNA polymerase II. Upon transfer to the restrictive temperature, there is a rapid and general shutdown of mRNA synthesis in srb mutant cells. These data, combined with the observation that essentially all of the SRB protein in cells is tightly associated with RNA polymerase II molecules, argue that SRB-containing holoenzymes are the form of RNA polymerase II recruited to most promoters in the cell.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Treatment of several diseases of the brain are complicated by the presence of the skull and the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Focused ultrasound (FUS) and microbubble (MB)-mediated BBB treatment is a minimally invasive method to transiently increase the permeability of blood vessels in targeted brain areas. It can be used as a general delivery system to increase the concentration of therapeutic agents in the brain parenchyma. Areas covered: Over the past two decades, the safety of using FUS+MBs to deliver agents across the BBB has been interrogated through various methods of imaging, histology, biochemical assays, and behavior analyses. Here we provide an overview of the factors that affect the safety profile of these treatments, describe methods by which FUS+MB treatments are controlled, and discuss data that have informed the assessment of treatment risks. Expert opinion: There remains a need to assess the risks associated with clinically relevant treatment strategies, specifically repeated FUS+MB treatments, with and without therapeutic agent delivery. Additionally, efforts to develop metrics by which FUS+MB treatments can be easily compared across studies would facilitate a more rapid consensus on the risks associated with this intervention. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03321487. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03119961. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02343991. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03608553. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03626896. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03616860. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03671889. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03712293.


A new strategy for the encapsulation of magnetic nanobeads was developed by using the in situ self-assembly of an organic-inorganic hybrid polymer. The hybrid polymer of {[Cu(bpy)(BF(4))(2)(H(2)O)(2)](bpy)}(n) (bpy=4,4'-bipyridine) was constructed on the surface of amino-functionalized magnetic beads and the resulting hybrid-polymer-encapsulated beads were utilized as catalysts for the oxidation of silyl enolates to provide the corresponding alpha-hydroxy carbonyl compounds in high yield. After the completion of the reaction, the catalyst was readily recovered by magnetic separation and the recovered catalyst could be reused several times. Because the current method did not require complicated procedures for incorporating the catalyst onto the magnetic beads, the preparation and the application of various other types of organic-inorganic hybrid-polymer-coated magnetic beads could be possible.


At the occasion of the 10th session of the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi (2020), the World Blind Union (WBU) and City Space Architecture committed to develop and publish a special issue of The Journal of Public Space with a specific focus on universally accessible public spaces. This voluntary commitment was included in the Forum's outcome declaration, the Abu Dhabi Declared Actions (2021), intended to support accelerating the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and urban dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the Decade of Action. In particular this Special Issue is contributing to Goal 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development, and its outcomes are focusing on Goal 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.Today, more than half of the world's population live in cities, 15 per cent of them being persons with disabilities. By 2050, 70 per cent of the world's population will live in urban communities including over two billion persons with disabilities and older persons requiring inclusive and accessible infrastructure and services to live independently and participate on an equal basis in all aspects of society. Local and regional governments, and other key urban stakeholders, face immense pressure to adapt strategies, policies, and urban planning and design practices to fully respond to the rights and needs of all persons with disabilities and intersecting social groups.
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We study the angular momentum profiles both for dark matter and for gas within virialized halos using a statistical sample of halos drawn from cosmological hydrodynamics simulations. Three simulations have been analyzed: one is the nonradiative simulation and the other two have radiative cooling. We find that the gas component, on average, has a larger spin and contains a smaller fraction of mass with negative angular momentum than its dark matter counterpart in the nonradiative model. As to the cooling models, the gas component shares approximately the same spin parameter as its dark matter counterpart, but the hot gas has a higher spin and is more aligned in angular momentum than dark matter, while the opposite holds for the cold gas. After the mass of negative angular momentum is excluded, the angular momentum profile of the hot gas component approximately follows the universal function originally proposed by Bullock et al. for dark matter, though the shape parameter μ is much larger for hot gas and is comfortably in the range required by observations of disk galaxies. Since disk formation is related to the distribution of hot gas that will cool, our study may explain the fact that the disk component of observed galaxies contains a smaller fraction of low angular momentum material than dark matter in halos.


Although the theory of water movement through an unsaturated, swelling soil has been developing for a number of years, the efficiency of the results has been limited, and the developed models have suffered from a lack of a mechanism to reliably define water flow and experimental techniques for measuring the unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. The intent of the present research is to elucidate and to investigate the theory of flow through unsaturated, swelling soil, to develop a three dimensional theoretical model based on a reliable soil swelling and unsaturated flow mechanism and, furthermore, to characterize the relationships between different soil hydraulic and swelling properties. In the first part, based on the water adsorption mechanism by the soil particles and the use of continuum theory principles, a theoretical model of unsaturated flow through swelling soil has been developed. Some new techniques were established to measure the different soil swelling and hydraulic properties and to analyze the effect of the soil's initial conditions. The reliability of the different existing empirical models, to be applied to the results obtained from hydraulics, shrinkage and swelling experiments, were investigated and modified where necessary. A static neural network model was developed to mathematically characterize the experimental results being used in the proposed numerical solution of the mathematical model. The neural network model works based on the back-propagation error method with adaptive learning rules by means of the neural network tool box of MATLAB software. A finite difference numerical model, based on a fully implicit method, was proposed to numerically solve the one dimensional governing equation (simplified form of 3D governing equation). For this part of the study, a computer program in C++ language was developed. Finally, the results of the numerical method were verified using the results obtained from infiltration tests. The tests were conducted for the semi-infinite soil columns having three different confinement conditions: completely confined, semi-confined and free swelling. The results show a clear agreement between the output of the developed numerical model and the experimental data. As one of the conclusions, the results of the numerical analysis of the developed mathematical model agreed reasonably well with those of the experiments. The study also indicated that the static neural network model, as one of the most promising models, can precisely characterize any experimental function related to the soil properties and cooperates with other numerical approaches such as finite difference method to solve a highly nonlinear partial differential equation such as unsaturated flow equation


Sustainable energy is important to achieve development and welfare of population because it is a key to analyse how the countries use their energy as an element that strengthens productive activities from environmental protection perspective. This study seeks to determine the progress in sustainable energy in Colombia for the last decade by analysing trends and challenges of energy efficiency through some indicators to establish results, achievements, gaps and barriers in the context of the institutional and policy framework. Results of this analysis demonstrated that Colombia has achieved significant advances in this field recognizing the need to increase energy efficiency especially in the power, industrial and transport sectors. Colombian government has formulated two regulations (Law 691/2001 and Decree 3683/2003) and PROURE program with Resolution 180919/2010 to implement various measures to promote energy efficiency. However, this country has to deal with several challenges in order to achieve a better use of energy that decreases environmental impacts whereas it strengthens economic growth and development.


I humans, a complex interaction between the host immune system and commensal microbiota is required to maintain gut homeostasis. In this symbiotic relationship, the microbiota provides carbohydrate fermentation and digestion, vitamin synthesis and gut-associated lymphoid tissue development, as well as preventing colonization by pathobionts, whereas the host offers a niche and nutrients for the survival of the microbiota. However, when this mutualistic relationship is compromised and an altered interaction between immune cells and microorganisms occurs, the gut microbiota may contribute to the autoimmune diseases development. Researchers have made efforts to clarify the role of the microbiota in autoimmune disease and find new therapeutic approaches to treat immune-mediated diseases. However, the exact mechanisms involved in the breakdown of the gut epithelial barrier and bacterial translocation are currently unknown. In our autoimmune diabetes study, we observed prevalence of Bacteroides vulgatus, Bacteroides rodentium, Blautia coccoides, Prevotella copri, Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides xylanisolvens. Positive correlation was found (P=0.02; r=0.67) between fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1C percentages (P=0.03; r= 0.74) with Bacteroides xylanisolvens. Plasma levels of IL-6 were increased in patients (P<0.05) and negative correlations between TNF (P=0.04; r=-0.57) and IFN-γ (P=0.01; r=-0.65) with Bacteroides xylanisolvens readings were observed. In conclusion, we observed dysbiosis in T1D patients, with lower diversity of phyla and species compared with controls. Further studies with the gram-negative Bacteroides xylanisolvens are necessary to determine whether it may represent a target for probiotics.


CONTEXT
Among type V hyperlipoproteinemias, only one-fourth of the patients have genetic defects in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) or in its associated molecules; the exact mechanism in other patients is usually unknown.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to report a case of severe hypertriglyceridemia induced by anti-apolipoprotein (apo) C-II autoantibody and to clarify its pathogenesis.

SUBJECT AND METHODS
A 29-year-old Japanese woman presented with severe persistent hypertriglyceridemia since the age of 20 years. The past history was negative for acute pancreatitis, eruptive xanthomas, or lipemia retinalis. LPL mass and activities were normal. Plasma apo C-II levels were extremely low, but no mutation was observed in APOC2.

RESULTS
Apo C-II protein was detected in the serum by immunoprecipitation and Western blotting. Large amounts of IgG and IgM were incorporated with apo C-II protein coimmunoprecipitated by anti-apo C-II antibody. IgG, but not IgM, purified from the serum prevented interaction of apo C-II with lipid substrate and diminished LPL hydrolysis activity.

CONCLUSION
We identified anti-apo C-II antibody in a myeloma-unrelated severe hypertriglyceridemic patient. In vitro analysis confirmed that the autoantibody disrupted the interaction between apo C-II and lipid substrate, suggesting the etiological role of anti-apo C-II antibody in severe hypertriglyceridemia in this patient.


According to official data, there are 50 million children in migration world wide and one in every 200 children is a refugee. In 2016 children comprise over 30% of all see arrival to November 2016. Despite the reality that children comprise a significant proportion of refugee and migrants, the response is often fragmented and there is a pressing need to ensure concerted, collective efforts to join the dots and address the gaps. The present paper will focus on the protection of children from all forms of violence in searching to establish "a comprehensive child protection system". The primary objectives cover a wide range of interventions, including prevention, identification, reporting, referral, investigation, traceability and statistics, Judicial involvement and effective procedures. The authors will point out how the principles for integrated child protection systems can be implemented to identity promising practices.


This paper presents a new computationally efficient methodology for calculating the reliability indices of a bulk power system using the state enumeration approach. The proposed approach utilizes topological analysis to determine the contribution of each system state to the frequency and duration indices at both the system and the bus level. In this approach, there is no need to conduct additional adequacy evaluations or utilize an optimization technique to identify the boundary wall between success and failure states. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by application to the IEEE Reliability Test System (IEEE-RTS) and a model of the existing network of SaskPower in Canada. The proposed approach can also be used for noncoherent systems.


The productivity of five pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.)Millsp.) genotypes Anã, Red, Roraima, White of Minas and Puerto Rico, were assessed in a cutting trial carried out at Porto Velho, Rondônia, from November 1996 to December 1997. In total biomass, the genotypes Red and White of Minas were the most productives, while for the useful forage fraction the genotype Red produced higher dry matter yields. Pigeonpea genotypes did not differ (P>0.05), for both fractions (rough and useful), in crude protein (CP) contents, however, there were significant differences among CP yields. The higher yields were obtained from genotypes Red and White of Minas. The performance of genotypes Red and White of Minas was considered very satisfactory and suggest the viability of pigeon pea culture for forage production in Porto Velho, Rondônia.


Current crisis of morality in scientific and technical civilization leads us to a common ruin because modern science (which is free of morality) is inextricably linked to technology, and can therefore be called technoscience. As such, today it has a monopoly on knowledge of the world and therefore has the greatest power in history and is in tight collusion with the holders of power: the economy, politics, medicine, media, countries and multinational corporations. To have the greatest imaginable power (which, according to Kant, corrupts the freedom of mental reasoning), while being free from the morals that limit that power, means to turn the world into a world of the most modern barbarism and violence, destruction and self-destruction. Only morally responsible science is capable for future and it is the premise of a civilization capable of the future. Only responsible science can prevent science from turning into a comprehensive dogma. Therefore, science must be free from any ideology that depicts reality in black and white and thus produces vanity, hatred and violence. Global science requires a global ethos (global responsibility). Science cares about the truth that liberates us from lies and connects us into a single community. The fundamental ethical imperative primum non nocere ("first, do no harm") is valid everywhere and forever. Ethically responsible science requires a change in the consciousness of the individual and a rediscovery of the idea of brotherhood. No human action should undermine and destroy existing reality, but rather improve it.


For the average person many opportunities for esthetic enjoyment of useful objects exist if the relationship between beauty and utility is understood. Furniture and other articles of daily use have acquired new and radical changes of design, based on function, which are altering esthetic concepts. This new approach to design is gradually being accepted by manufacturers and producers. Do purchasers appreciate and accept these structural and functional bases of contemporary design? If they do not, wherein does their deficiency lie, and how may it be corrected? This is the problem that the writer has attempted to investigate through this study.


In recent years, mobile and ubiquitous computing has emerged in our daily lives, and extensive studies have been conducted in various areas using smart devices, such as tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, smart refrigerators, and smart media devices, in order to realize this computing technology. Especially, the integration of mobile networking technology and intelligent mobile devices has made it possible to develop the advanced mobile distance learning system that supports portable smart devices such as smartphones and tablets for the future IT environment. We present a synchronous mobile learning system that enables both instructor and student to participate in distance learning with their tablets. When an instructor gives a lecture using a tablet with front-face camera by bringing up slides and making annotations on them, students in the distance can watch the instructor and those slides with annotation on their own tablets in real time. A student can also ask a question or have a discussion together using the text chat feature of the system during a learning session. We also show the user evaluation of the system. A user survey shows that about 67% are in favor of the prototype of the system.


The purpose of this study is to develop new multilayer feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN)-based maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) prediction models by using submaximal treadmill exercise and nonexercise data. Using 10-fold cross validation on the dataset, standard error of estimate (SEE) and multiple correlation coefficient (R) of the models are calculated. It is shown that the models including submaximal, standard nonexercise and questionnaire variables yield higher R and lower SEE than the ones including submaximal and standard nonexercise variables only. The results of ANN-based models are also compared with the ones obtained by Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). It is shown that ANN-based models perform better than MLR and SVM-based models for predicting VO2max.


Eleven G-protein-coupled receptors were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion proteins with N-terminal glutathione-S-transferase and a C-terminal (His)6 tag. Expression levels varied between 0.1% and 10% of the total cellular protein. Low expression levels, as quantified by analytical nickel chelating chromatography, coincided with a toxic effect of protein expression. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish a correlation between the occurrence of positively charged amino acid residues in the loop regions and the expression level. Indeed, 44% of the variation in expression levels could be attributed to the positive charge content. Consequently, this sequence feature is the major determinant of expression level. Our results were supported by two mutations where positive charges were introduced into loop regions of two low-expressing receptors: As predicted, these mutations led to a considerably higher expression. A similar mutation of an olfactory receptor described previously increased expression approximately 100-fold and further supports our model. The data are discussed in the context of the "positive inside rule".


Gauge field theory is usually used to describe particles with spins higher than 1/2. The gauge invariance represented in terms of the BRST invariance is often crucial for studying the quantum properties of those theories. Yet there is a another very different formulation sometimes called the light-cone gauge approach or the light-front approach used to study quantum properties, where the only symmetries present in the theory are the Poincar\'e symmetry and perhaps some global external symmetries. There are no unphysical degrees of freedom in the fields. The elementary particles are related to the irreducible representations of the Poincar\'e algebra. In this formulation of quantum field theory one can extend these representations to depend also on a coupling constant. The representations then become non-linear and contain the interaction terms which are shown to have strong uniqueness. Extending the algebra to supersymmetry it is shown that two field theories stick out, N=4 Yang-Mills and N=8 Supergravity and their higher dimensional analogues. I also discuss string theory from this starting point.


Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver is characterized by diffuse nodularity of the hepatic parenchyma without fibrotic septa. It may be related to venous or arterial obstruction in the portal tract. We report a case of primary antiphospholipid syndrome associated with nodular regenerative hyperplasia in a 45-year old woman. The patient had an ischemic stroke, associated with an acute arterial ischemia of the left leg. She had high titers of serum anticardiolipin antibodies. Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver was histologically confirmed and was associated with anicteric cholestasis. This case provides additional evidence that a thrombotic mechanism may play a role in the pathogenesis of nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver.


Two diets containing respectively 14 and 16 percent crude protein were fed either wet or dry to 80 Landrace x Large White cross bred barrows. Live mass gain, carcass growth, deposition rates of the different chemical carcass components and carcass compositions were determined at different live masses by means of a comparative slaughter technique. No significant differences in terms of growth rate or carcass composition were observed between the pigs which recieved the high protein diet (16 percent crude protein) either wet or dry. The pigs which recieved the low protein diet (14 percent crude protein) dry, produced fatter carcasses than the pigs which recieved the same diet wet. However , the differences were small and of no economic importance. The rate of protein deposition increased curvilinearly to reach a maximum at about 75 kg live mass after which it declined again.


1. Scope I. 1 This test method covers the determination of carbon dioxide, methane, ethane, acetylene, and other hydrocarbons in high-purity ethylene. Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon monoxide are determined in accordance with Test Method D 2504. The percent ethylene is obtained by subtracting the sum of the percentages of the hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon impurities from 100. The method is applicable over the range of impurities from I to 500 parts per million volume (ppmV). 1.2 This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety problems associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For some specific hazard statements, see Notes 8 through 9. 1.3 The values stated in acceptable metric units are to be regarded as the standard. The values in parentheses are for information only.


Herbal plants can be used as nutritious processed food products like instant powder drink products. This study aimed to determine the effect of turmeric juice addition on the characteristics of the starfruit leaves instant powder drink and to determine the proper turmeric juice addition that able to produce the starfruit leaves instant powder drink with the best characteristics. The experimental design used was a completely randomized design (CRD) with the treatment of turmeric juice addition consisting of 5 levels: 0%; 5%; 10%; 15%; 20%. The treatment was repeated 3 times in order to obtain 15 experimental units. The data obtained were analyzed by variance test and if the treatment affected the observed parameters, it was continued with Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The result showed that the adition of turmeric juice had significant effect on moisture content, ash content, solubility time, antioxidant activity, total flavonoid, hedonic test (color, aroma, taste and overall acceptance) and also color scoring test. The additions of 20% turmeric juice in starfruit leaves instant powder drink was the best characteristics with: water content of 4.12%, ash content of 1.11%, solubility time of 49.51 seconds, total flavonoid 19.70 mgQE / 100g powder, antioxidant activity of 80.71% with IC50 was 2884.06 ppm, the color liked with yellow color, the aroma liked, the taste liked, the overall acceptance liked, and scoring test with yellow color.


Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in dog plasma is significantly higher than in either ventricular or cisternal CSF. However, since protein levels in plasma are about 100‐fold higher than in CSF, the specific activity of AChE is lower in plasma than in CSF. Acetylcholinesterase activity in plasma represents only 22% of total cholinesterase (ChE) activity, while preliminary findings indicate that in ventricular CSF it is 50–60%. Acetylcholinesterase activity in ventricular CSF is significantly lower than in cisternal CSF. Chlorpromazine (10 mg/kg, intravenous), a drug which increases acetylcholine turnover, increased AChE‐specific activity in all dogs. Our results support the hypothesis of a neuronal origin of AChE activity in CSF.


: The new cestode species is described from the intestine of the crab eater seal Lobodon carcinophagus living in Pacific region of Antarctic. It differs from other diphyllobothriids by clear wavy lateral margins of the body. It is close to D. scoticum by the presence of uterine sack, but it has larger size of the body, lesser craspedotity of segments, lesser size of scolex, longer neck, thinner tegument, 3 times thicker layers of longitudinal and transversal muscles, 2 times greater number of testicles (per transversal section of the segments), another form and position of the bursa of cirrus and of the testicular vesicle, larger uterine sack consisting about one third of the total uterine volume.


Constrained resolution allows the incorporation of domain specific problem solving methods into the classical resolution principle. Firstly, the domain specific knowledge is represented by a restriction theory. One then starts with formulas containing so-called restricted quantifiers, written as forall_{X:R} F and exists_{X:R} F, where X is a set of variables and the restriction R is used to encode domain specific knowledge by filtering out some assignments to the variables in X. Formulas with restricted quantifiers can be translated into clauses which consist of a (classical) clause together with a restriction. In order to attain a refutation procedure which is based on such clauses one needs algorithms to decide satisfiability and validity of restrictions w.r.t. the given restriction theory. Recently, concept logics have been proposed where the restriction theory is defined by terminological logics. However, in this approach problems have been assumed to be given as sets of clauses with restrictions and not in terms of formulas with restricted quantifiers. For this special case algorithms to decide satisfiability and validity of restrictions have been given. In this paper we will show that things become much more complex if problems are given as sets of formulas with restricted quantifiers. The reason for this is due to the fact that Skolem function symbols are introduced when translating such formulas into clauses with restrictions. While we will give a procedure to decide satisfiability of restrictions containing function symbols, validity of such restrictions turns out to be undecidable. Nevertheless, we present an application of concept logics with function symbols, namely their usef or generating (partial) answers to queries.


Papers from an international Egyptological conference entitled Evolving Egypt: Innovation, Appropriation, and Reinterpretation in Ancient Egypt held in February 2006 at BYU-Hawaii (Oahu). Contents: 1) Possibilities and Pitfalls in Identifying Innovation: The Early Ramesside Era as a Case Study (Kerry Muhlestein); 2) Les bateaux et le sacre dans l'ancienne Egypte (Ana Maria Rosso); 3) Symbolic Connotations of Pyramid Temples in the 5th and 6th Dynasties (Pal Steiner); 4) Dating of Stelae of the 12th Dynasty: A Statistical Approach (Des Bright); 5) The Expansionist Policies of the New Kingdom and the Increase in Craft Specialization in the Textile Industry (Giovanni Tata); 6) Copy and Reinterpretation in the Tomb of Nakht: Ancient Egyptian Hermeneutics (Valerie Angenot); 7) The Daily Cult: Space, Continuity and Change (Robyn Gillam); 8) Glossed Over: Ancient Egyptian Interpretations of Their Religion (John Gee); 9) The Hieratic Scribal Tradition in Preexilic Judah (David Calabro); 10) Ptolemaic Translation and Representation: The Hellenistic Sculptural Program of the Memphite Sarapieion (Shanna Kennedy-Quigley); 11) Appropriation of Egyptian Judgment in the Testament of Abraham? (Jared Ludlow); 12 New Evidence of Coptic Mummification Techniques From Tell El-Hibeh, Middle Egypt (Robert M. Yohe II, Jill K. Gardner, and Deanna Heikkinen).


Purpose – In response to the challenge of the ageing of societies and concerns over recruitment and quality of service delivery, many nations have introduced new educational and training pathways, as well as national standards that set a minimum qualification level for residential care staff. In Ireland, national standards were introduced in July 2009 and, against this backdrop this study aimed to explore the level of qualification held or being pursued by non‐nursing care staff.Design/methodology/approach – An email/postal survey was conducted.Findings – This survey revealed that while vocational qualifications were most common, more than 50 per cent of care staff neither held nor were pursuing the minimum qualification set by the standards.Research limitations/implications – While the introduction of standards may address this situation, the workforce appears currently ill‐prepared for increasing professionalisation. Moreover, given Ireland's poor economic circumstances, training or supports are likely ...


Sweden has often been regarded by outside observers as one of the more 'problematic' Member States of the European Union a reputation that has been consolidated by regular public opinion surveys suggesting widespread scepticism amongst the public and also borne out by Sweden's decision to remain outside the 'Euro‐zone'. This article outlines the reasons why Sweden has attracted such a reputation. It then challenges such a labelling by examining the prioritising of EU policy issues by the Swedish government over the period since the country joined the Union in January 1995. The author introduces a typology and three scenarios to classify Swedish policy priorities and uses various empirical sources to track their development over four distinct time periods culminating with the Swedish EU Council Presidency in early 2001. It is argued that Sweden has increasingly accepted supranational solutions to European integration questions.


This chapter explores the effect that changing access patterns has on the performance of database management systems. Changes in access patterns play an important role in determining the efficiency of key performance optimization techniques, such as dynamic clustering, prefetching, and buffer replacement. However, all existing benchmarks or evaluation frameworks produce static access patterns in which objects are always accessed in the same order repeatedly. Hence, we have proposed the dynamic evaluation framework (DEF) that simulates access pattern changes using configurable styles of change. DEF has been designed to be open and fully extensible (e.g., new access pattern change models can also be added easily). In this chapter, we instantiate DEF into the dynamic object evaluation framework (DoEF), which is designed for object databases, that is, object-oriented or object-relational databases such as multimedia databases or most eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) databases


EPIcode (version 7.0) and ALOHA (version 5.2.3) are two of the designated toolbox codes identified in the Department of Energy's Implementation Plan for DNFSB Recommendation 2002-1 on Software Quality Assurance issues in the DOE Complex. Both have the capability to estimate evaporation rates from pools formed from chemical spills and to predict subsequent atmospheric transport and dispersion. This paper provides an overview of the algorithms used by EPIcode and ALOHA to calculate evaporation rates and downwind plume concentrations. The technical bases for these algorithms are briefly discussed, and differences in the EPIcode and ALOHA methodologies highlighted. In addition, sample calculations are performed using EPIcode and ALOHA for selected chemicals under various environmental conditions. Side-byside comparisons of results from sample calculations are analyzed to illustrate the impact that the different methodologies used by EPIcode and ALOHA have on predicted evaporation rates and downwind concentrations.


Multilocular pain syndromes with advanced chronification lead to a significant reduction in the quality of life of patients. The administration of cannabis is currently being discussed in the context of therapy-resistant pain and increasing opiate abuse. In this case study, possible side effects from the administration of a cannabis extract tetrahydrocannabinol:cannabidiol are examined. Furthermore, the effect on pain intensity and sleep quality is recorded. Due to numerous comorbidities in the patient, interactions with other medications are documented.


Select committees play an important role in scrutinising government policy. They have come under increasing pressure to seek evidence for their inquiries—including both formal and informal evidence—from a wider range of stakeholders. Two particular pressures can be observed within this trend. First, committees are expected to show commitment to hearing from a more diverse set of stakeholders. The second pressure relates to the representativeness of those providing evidence. Consequently, they have been urged to increase public engagement. The recent Citizens' Assembly into adult social care points to one mechanism for engaging a 'mini-public' in committee inquiries. Due to their use of random and stratified sampling to recruit participants, mini-publics could diversify the evidence base and facilitate public scrutiny of the committees. However, we know little of what committee members and staffs think about these issues. In this article, we draw insights from over 60 interviews with select committee chairs, members and staff to gain insight into their perspectives on evidence diversity and the potential of mini-publics to promote this. We find that traditional approaches to inquiries are still favoured. While mini-publics are seen as a solution to the failings of current approaches to public engagement, this is for instrumental reasons, meaning that they are only valued in particular circumstances. Ultimately, further culture change is required if committee inquiries are to move substantially beyond the traditional approach.


Abstract Objectives Automated machine learning (AutoML) tools can help clinical laboratory professionals to develop machine learning models. The objective of this study was to develop a novel formula for the estimation of urine osmolality using an AutoML tool and to determine the efficiency of AutoML tools in a clinical laboratory setting. Methods Three hundred routine urinalysis samples were used for reference osmolality and urine clinical chemistry analysis. The H2O AutoML engine completed the machine learning development steps with minimum human intervention. Four feature groups were created, which include different urinalysis measurements according to the Boruta feature selection algorithm. Method comparison statistics including Spearman's correlation, Passing–Bablok regression analysis were performed, and Bland Altman plots were created to compare model predictions with the reference method. The minimum allowable bias (24.17%) from biological variation data was used as the limit of agreement. Results The AutoML engine developed a total of 183 ML models. Conductivity and specific gravity had the highest variable importance. Models that include conductivity, specific gravity, and other urinalysis parameters had the highest R2 (0.70–0.83), and 70–84% of results were within the limit of agreement. Conclusions Combining urinary conductivity with other urinalysis parameters using validated machine learning models can yield a promising surrogate. Additionally, AutoML tools facilitate the machine learning development cycle and should be considered for developing ML models in clinical laboratories.


The effect of gravity modulation and rotation on chaotic convection is investigated. A system of differential equation like Lorenz model has been obtained using the Galerkin-truncated Fourier series approximation. The nonlinear nature of the problem, i.e., chaotic convection, is investigated in a rotating fluid layer in the presence of g-jitter. The NDSolve Mathematica 2017 is employed to obtain the numerical solutions of Lorenz system of equations. It is found that there is a proportional relation between Taylor number and the scaled Rayleigh number R in the presence of modulation. This means that chaotic convection can be delayed (for increasing value of R) or advanced with suitable adjustments of Taylor number and amplitude and frequency of gravity modulation. Further, heat transfer results are obtained in terms of finite amplitude. Finally, we conclude that the transition from steady convection to chaos depends on the values of Taylor number and g-jitter parameter.


The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were both born to stabilise vulnerable state borders by practising non-interference in domestic affairs. Today, the OAU's successor, the African Union (AU), uses sanctions against unconstitutional changes of government, while ASEAN continues to rule out any collective punitive action against members. To explain these divergent trajectories, this article first shows how different traditions produced different ways of engaging with sanctions in the early formative cases of South Africa and Vietnam. Thereafter, it examines how these traditions were selectively re-thought when confronted with the dilemmas of international sanctions against Libya and Myanmar. The interpretive approach enables a nuanced account of continuity and change in beliefs about sanctions. The AU's sanctions doctrine has updated rather than broken with a traditional interpretation of non-interference. For ASEAN, the longstanding tradition of informality – and not strict adherence to non-interference – has continued to rule out regional sanctions.


This article is a critical examination of how capitalism has adapted to the explosion of websites devoted to user-generated content (commonly referred to as social media or Web 2.0). The author proceeds by reviewing how Marx applies the concepts of alienation and exploitation to his paradigmatic example (i.e., the factory); the author then attempts to extend the logic of both concepts to determine what they might reveal about the structural conditions of social media. A difference of prime importance between the two case studies is that factory work is wage labor coerced by economic necessity, whereas use of social networking sites is apparently voluntary and done freely. The author concludes by arguing that social media users are subject to levels of exploitation relatively consistent with industrial capitalism, whereas the structural conditions of the digital economy link profitability to a reduction in the intensity of alienation. Finally, he infers that social media is not economically beneficial to most users.


Estimates for the temperatures and depths of equilibration of garnet Iherzolite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite plot in superposition on a calculated continental geotherm based on a heat flow of 40 mW/m 2 . The Udachnaya plot shows no marked or substantial inflection for the high-temperature xenoliths, in contrast to results obtained for xenolith suites for southern Africa and elsewhere in the world. Higher-than-present mantle temperatures are not manifest in the 350 Ma Udachnaya geotherm nor in steady-state parts of Proterozoic geotherms obtained for xenolith suites from South Africa and India. The concurrence of geotherms based on garnet Iherzolite xenoliths from kimberlites (excluding inflections) with the estimated present-time shield geotherm based on geophysical data suggests that approximations in both kinds of calculations may be essentially correct.


All fluid dynamic equations are valid under their modeling scales, such as the particle mean free path and mean collision time scale of the Boltzmann equation and the hydrodynamic scale of the Navier–Stokes (NS) equations. The current computational fluid dynamics (CFD) focuses on the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs), and its aim is to get the accurate solution of these governing equations. Under such a CFD practice, it is hard to develop a unified scheme that covers flow physics from kinetic to hydrodynamic scales continuously because there is no such governing equation which could make a smooth transition from the Boltzmann to theNSmodeling. The study of fluid dynamics needs to go beyond the traditional numerical partial differential equations. The emerging engineering applications, such as air-vehicle design for near-space flight and flow and heat transfer in micro-devices, do require further expansion of the concept of gas dynamics to a larger domain of physical reality, rather than the traditional distinguishable governing equations. At the current stage, the non-equilibrium flow physics has not yet been well explored or clearly understood due to the lack of appropriate tools. Unfortunately, under the current numerical PDE approach, it is hard to develop such ameaningful tool due to the absence of valid PDEs. In order to constructmultiscale andmultiphysics simulation methods similar to the modeling process of constructing the Boltzmann or the NS governing equations, the development of a numerical algorithm should be based on the first principle of physical modeling. In this paper, instead of following the traditional numerical PDE path, we introduce B Kun Xu email@example.com 1 Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China direct modeling as a principle for CFD algorithm development. Since all computations are conducted in a discretized spacewith limited cell resolution, the flowphysics to bemodeled has to be done in the mesh size and time step scales. Here, the CFD is more or less a direct construction of discrete numerical evolution equations, where themesh size and time step will play dynamic roles in the modeling process. With the variation of the ratio between mesh size and local particle mean free path, the scheme will capture flow physics from the kinetic particle transport and collision to the hydrodynamic wave propagation. Based on the direct modeling, a continuous dynamics of flow motion will be captured in the unified gas-kinetic scheme. This scheme can be faithfully used to study the unexplored non-equilibrium flow physics in the transition regime.


treatment of nerve damage. This study aims to correlate the reported symptoms with sensory and motor findings of neurological assessment in upper and lower limbs of leprosy patients. An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out at a specialized leprosy service in Belém, Pará, Brazil. This study included 97 leprosy patients treated between 2014 and 2015. Assessment included nerve palpation, voluntary muscle test, sensory testing in hands and feet with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, in addition to the recording of symptoms reported by the patient. Data analysis was performed using the chi-square test, G test, t test and Spearman correlation test, considering the alpha significance level of 0.05. Of the 97 leprosy patients, 77 (79.4%) had symptoms, the most common were those related to sensory fibers, including pain and numbness were the most mentioned. The patients with symptoms had more advanced sensory damage stages, higher degree of disability in the lower limbs and motor damage occuring more frequently. The health professionals should be alert to patients with symptoms, allocating more attention at the time of evaluation in order to better prevent / manage disabilities.


The purpose of this study was to develop a bifunctional iron oxide (IO) nanoparticle probe for PET and MRI scans of tumor integrin αvβ3 expression. Methods: Polyaspartic acid (PASP)–coated IO (PASP-IO) nanoparticles were synthesized using a coprecipitation method, and particle size and magnetic properties were measured. A phantom study was used to assess the efficacy of PASP-IO as a T2-weighted MRI contrast agent. PASP-IO nanoparticles with surface amino groups were coupled to cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic (RGD) peptides for integrin αvβ3 targeting and macrocyclic 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N″,N′″,-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelators for PET after labeling with 64Cu. IO nanoparticle conjugates were further tested in vitro and in vivo to determine receptor targeting efficacy and feasibility for dual PET/MRI. Results: PASP-IO nanoparticles made by single-step reaction have a core size of 5 nm with a hydrodynamic diameter of 45 ± 10 nm. The saturation magnetization of PASP-IO nanoparticles is about 117 emu/g of iron, and the measured r2 and r2* are 105.5 and 165.5 (s·mM)−1, respectively. A displacement competitive binding assay indicates that DOTA-IO-RGD conjugates bound specifically to integrin αvβ3 in vitro. Both small-animal PET and T2-weighted MRI show integrin-specific delivery of conjugated RGD-PASP-IO nanoparticles and prominent reticuloendothelial system uptake. Conclusion: We have successfully developed an IO-based nanoprobe for simultaneous dual PET and MRI of tumor integrin expression. The success of this bifunctional imaging approach may allow for earlier tumor detection with a high degree of accuracy and provide further insight into the molecular mechanisms of cancer.


ABSTRACT Although much has been written about Chinese students' understandings of illegitimate intertextual practices, few studies have investigated Chinese university teachers' perceptions of plagiarism, let alone the effects of their disciplinary background on their knowledge of and attitudes toward plagiarism. This paper reports on a study that examined the knowledge that 128 Chinese university teachers of different disciplinary backgrounds had of plagiarism, their attitudes toward identified plagiarism, and their own ability to engage in legitimate paraphrasing. Multiple regression analyses showed that disciplinary background and teaching experience were significant predictors of the participants' knowledge of plagiarism, whereas disciplinary background and overseas experience significantly predicted their stance on plagiarism. A logistic regression analysis identified disciplinary background as a significant predictor of the participants' ability to produce legitimate paraphrases. Qualitative analyses of the participants' open-ended responses revealed that their criteria for plagiarism aligned with Anglo-American conceptions of plagiarism and that intertextual competence was dependent in no small measure on linguistic competence.


This report describes a rare curative case of local recurrence from poorly differentiated transverse colon cancer treated with resection and chemoradiation. A 49-year-old Japanese man presented with epigastralgia, abdominal fullness and vomiting. Colonoscopy revealed advanced transverse colon cancer. Partial resection of the transverse colon with lymph node dissection and combined resection of the pancreas tail and spleen were performed because of macroscopic direct invasion to the pancreas tail from the tumor. A histopathological examination revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered using 5-FU/LV. At 6 months later, CT demonstrated a hen-egg-sized mass measuring 4 cm × 3 cm in diameter at the antero-lateral side of the left kidney. Resection of this tumor was therefore performed. A histopathological examination of the tumor specimen revealed metastatic poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. After resection of the recurrent tumor, chemoradiation was performed. Sequentially, chemotherapy was administered using an oral fluorouracil analog. The patient has been followed up in the outpatient clinic without recurrence for approximately 15 years since undergoing the operation.


Due to changing climate and water legislation in South Australia, Australia's oldest water trust, the Renmark Irrigation Trust (RIT), and the community it serves have faced unprecedented changes in water allocations. Using participatory research methods, this article examines irrigators' perceptions of risk, uncertainty and trust in relation to changing water legislation and drought. The social, cultural and regulatory relationship between irrigators and the RIT and the conditions in which trust is given are also explored. Foucault's understanding of power provides the analytical context in which we examine how power and knowledge are constituted, negotiated and reconstructed at the local level to shape trust between individuals and the RIT.


In this work we explore new forms of urban sociability encountered in the metropolis of Sao Paulo.  As scenario analysis, we dive into the Vila Olimpia district, located in the district of Itaim Bibi, in western of the city. Currently, this region is marked by a large concentration of multinational companies, for a real estate megaprojects of architecture for commercial and corporate buildings, featuring the latest business axis of the metropolis.  As a starting point, we analyzed urban sociability in Sao Paulo, characterized today by apex of the process of urban, globalization and the existence of new centralities in the city expanded, causing changes in the urban area and consequently, the sociability, emphasizing value such as: incivility, intolerance and segregation.  Furthermore, this process causes also the transience and uncertainty of / on social relations.  Then, in fact we get on the ground the study object, performing a brief characterization of the area. The analysis involves the transformation of the Chacara das Flores to Vila Olimpia, understood today as one of the youngest  centralities in Sao Paulo. The methodology was based on technical research exploratory, in which we conduct regular visits to places of sociability and interviews with old and new residents. As results we believe we have achieved a peculiar dynamic between the social actors  inhabit this new centrality, noting a certain lack of respect social between the old and new residents of the neighborhood.  This absence is marked by a space conflict, in view of the existence of an urban life reduced by the distribution of global capital and the reduction of spaces public interaction, which supports the idea of urban planning subject to the logic of private interest.


Whilst Scottish environmental policies feature many characteristics typical for modern systems of governance, addressing similar environmental challenges and wicked problems of the twenty-first century, many environmental policy responses in Scotland are nevertheless distinctly contextual and often driven by the ongoing constitutional debate whilst also being ambitious, if not pioneering. This is not to say that Scotland leads in environmental politics on all fronts; where coalition networks and other factors may not promise the desired results, Scottish decision makers shy away from a determined green approach. This chapter therefore argues that in order to understand green politics in Scotland as a whole we need to study environmental policies carefully and individually and take into consideration a number of factors (or parameters) such as resource availability and, more importantly, the strategic consideration of whether or not a co-framing between green ambitions and national identity can be achieved successfully.


Objective To observe the effect and clinical efficacy of Qilin Pill (QP) combined met- formin on matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) , hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) , sex hormones, insulin resistance (IR) related indicators in polycystic ovaries induced infertility women. Methods Totally 58 polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) complicated infertility patients admitted to authors' hospital were serial numbered according to visit sequence. The odd num- bers were recruited as the control group, and the even numbers were recruited as the test group, 29 ca- ses in each group. Patients in the control group took Metformin Hydrochloride Tablets, while those in the test group additionally took QP. All patients received 3 months of treatment. After treatment serum con- tents of VEGF, MMP-9, HGF, sex hormones, IR related indicators, and clinical efficacy were detected in all patients. Results (1) There was no statistical difference in serum contents of MMP-9, VEGF, HGF, sex hormones [luteinizing hormone (LH) , testosterone (T) ] , or serum levels of fasting serum insulin (FINS) and insulin sensitive index (IS]) related indicators between the two groups before treatment (P> 0. 05) ; (2) Compared with before treatment in the same group, there was statistical difference in serum contents of MMP-9, VEGF, HGF, and levels of LH, T, FINS, ISI in the two groups after treatment (P < 0. 05) ; (3) Compared with the control group, patients' serum contents of MMP-9, VEGF, HGF,and levels of LH, T, FINS, ISI were lower in the test group after treatment (P <0. 05) ; (4) After treatment the ovulation rate (93.2%) and the pregnancy rate (48.3%) were higher in the test group than in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion QP combined metformin could significantly reduce serum levels of LH. FINS and T, contents of VEGF, HGF, and MMP-9, improve IR, and elevate the ovulation rate and the pregnancy rate in PCOS induced infertility patients.


Colonic polyps or carcinomas located within a colonic diverticulum are very rare phenomena. There are a few reports in the literature describing adenocarcinoma arising within colonic diverticulum. Endoscopic resection of the polyp poses a risk of perforation because of the lack of muscular coats in the diverticulum. Therefore, special care should be taken in the treatment of such patients.


The use of intravenous enoxaparin, a glyco-protein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor, during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to be safe and to possibly reduce in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiac events(MACE). NICE-4, a recent PCI observational study, evaluated a reduced dose of intravenous (IV) enoxaparin (0.75 mg/kg) with abciximab. However, prior PCI studies evaluating IV enoxaparin have not used percutaneous closure devices. The purpose of this study was to observe the safety and efficacy of a lower dose of IV enoxaparin (0.5 mg/kg) in conjunction with any GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor. The Angio-Seal femoral closure device was also employed as part of the treatment strategy. We administered 0.5 mg/kg IV enoxaparin and a GP IIIb/IIIa inhibitor to 75 eligible PCI patients. None received anticoagulation 24 hours prior to PCI; all received pre-procedural aspirin, post-procedural deployment of the Angio-Seal and clopidogrel therapy, and were discharged home within 36 hours. TIMI minor bleeding was 1.3%; there were no TIMI major bleeding events or major adverse cardiac events during in-hospital stay or at 30-day follow-up. Our small observational study shows that IV enoxaparin is safe and efficacious during PCI when given at a dose 33% lower than previously reported in conjunction with any GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor and Angio-Seal. However, large, randomized PCI trials are needed to confirm the clinical efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of lower doses of enoxaparin with GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors and vascular closure devices.


Infection with M. tuberculosis remains one of the most common infections in the world. The outcome of the infection depends on host ability to mount effective protection and balance inflammatory responses. Neutrophils are innate immune cells implicated in both processes. Accordingly, during M. tuberculosis infection, they play a dual role. Particularly, they contribute to the generation of effector T cells, participate in the formation of granuloma, and are directly involved in tissue necrosis, destruction, and infection dissemination. Neutrophils have a high bactericidal potential. However, data on their ability to eliminate M. tuberculosis are controversial, and the results of neutrophil depletion experiments are not uniform. Thus, the overall roles of neutrophils during M. tuberculosis infection and factors that determine these roles are not fully understood. This review analyzes data on neutrophil defensive and pathological functions during tuberculosis and considers hypotheses explaining the dualism of neutrophils during M. tuberculosis infection and tuberculosis disease.


This paper emphasises the importance of the political-institutional dimension in the understanding of the spatial distribution of economic activity. We introduce the notion of Territorial Authority Scale, which refers to the degree of devolution (towards sub-national tiers of government) involved in the authority to decide on Spatial Policy, and propose a model of 'agglomeration in a system of cities' in which both intra-city trade and inter-city trade are considered. Enriching both the literature on integration/agglomeration and that on city size and formation, we show that: i) devolution results in over-agglomeration (fewer cities, which tend to be over-sized) and low welfare; ii) the higher the level of spatial (i.e. transport costs) and economic (i.e. intensity of trade) integration, the higher is the magnitude of the inefficiency. From a theoretical point of view, the paper represents an attempt to import, into geographical economics, a 'scale approach', which is an established approach to the notion of space in sociology.


We describe how the concept of program slicing can be formalised in WSL transformation theory. This formalism naturally tends itself to several generalisations including amorphous slicing and conditioned slicing. One novel generalisation is "semantic slicing" which combines slicing and abstraction to a specification. Interprocedural semantic slicing has been implemented in the FermaT transformation system (Ward, 1999): an industrial-strength transformation system designed for forward and reverse engineering, re-engineering and program comprehension.


In this paper we propose and analyze various operating regimes of a quantum phase gate built on two atoms trapped in two independent dipole traps. The gate operates when the atoms are excited using a two-photon transition from the hyperfine manifold of ground states up to Rydberg states with strong dipole-dipole interaction. Experimental requirements are discussed to reach a fast (microsecond) gate operation.


BACKGROUND
KRAS mutations have a significant role in the consecutive activation of RAS.RAF.MEK.ERK pathway in colorectal cancer.Approximately 30.35% of sporadic colorectal cancers have KRAS mutation. While the predictive role of KRAS is commonly accepted at the present time, its prognostic role and association with different clinical and histopathological properties are currently unclear and inconsistent. The intent of this study, has been to evaluate the associations between KRAS gene mutations and clinicopathological features and survival times in Turkish colorectal cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this study, the file records of 115 metastatic colorectal cancer patients who applied to the Department of Medical Oncology between 2000 and 2011 were monitored; data on clinicopathological features and survival times were collected. DNA.sequencing method with PCR amplification from archival paraffin blocks were used for KRAS mutation status analysis. The associations between KRAS mutation status and clinicopathological features and survival times were compared statistically.

RESULTS
While a significant association hadbeen determined between KRAS mutation status and tumor localization, there was no determined significant association with other clinicopathological properties. Similarly, there was no association between KRAS mutation status and survival parameters.

CONCLUSIONS
As a result, the effect of KRAS mutation status on clinicopathological features, survival time and prognosis is unclear.


Introduction Recent advances in the management of high grade dysplasia and early cancer in Barrett's oesophagus (BO) have led to updated guidelines recommending endoscopic resection (ER) as a first line option in selected cases. The complexity and complications of ER have prompted guidelines recommending at least 15 procedures annually per endoscopist to minimise complications. The reported complications of oesophageal perforation (<0.9%) and delayed bleeding (2–22%) may prompt routine overnight observation following resection. Our aim was to report complications and outcomes in a unit performing just above the recommended annual numbers of ER for BO. Methods All patients undergoing ER for BO over 3 years were identified. All resections were performed with a mutiband ligation technique. Number of resections performed, size of resected specimens and stage of dysplasia/cancer in specimens were recorded. Complications of delayed bleeding, perforation, or dysphagia requiring dilation were also recorded. Results In 3 years, 108 endoscopic resections were performed in 46 procedures (median resections per procedure=2; range 1–6). 3 patients underwent 2 separate procedures. Resected specimens ranged in size from 3–17 mm (mean 10mm, SD 2.77). Final histological diagnosis per procedure was: no dysplasia=6, low grade dysplasia=3, high grade dysplasia = 8, invasive cancer- T1a=9 T1b =13, T2=4. 2 ER specimens were not retrieved, 1 showed granular cell carcinoma. Immediate complications included 1 perforation (2.3%. 95% CI:0–13%) with successful closure at endoscopy. 2 procedures were abandoned due to immediate bleeding (4.6% 95% CI 4.2 to 16.0%) which was successfully treated at the time. Delayed bleeding occurred in 2 patients, (4.6% 95% CI 4.2 to 16.0%) requiring emergency OGD at 8 h and 11 days post procedure. The second required endotherapy and readmission for 7 nights. 7 patients developed post-ER dysphagia (15.9% 95% CI 7.6 to 29.7) requiring oesophageal dilation (median procedures = 2, range 1–5). There was no significant difference in the number of resections in patients who had perforation (1 ER) or bleeding (median 1 range 1–3) p = 0.56. Patients who developed symptomatic strictures had a significantly higher number of resections (median 4 range 1–6) p < 0.0001. Conclusion Complication rates of Barrett's ER procedures in a unit performing an adequate number are comparable to published outcomes from high volume centres. Delayed bleeding is rare, occurring up to 7 days post procedure and is not more common within the first 24 h. Therefore, if no immediate complications occur, same day discharge is appropriate. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.