Abstract 3649 Poster Board III-585 The Notch1 pathway and pre-TCR signalling are critical regulators of thymocyte development that have been implicated in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Although the pre-TCR is required for Notch-dependent T-ALL, the role of pre-TCR alpha (pTa) as a Notch1 target remains controversial. Previous work in our laboratory has shown that the pTa gene is a target gene of the E2A-HEB transcription factors and that the SCL and LMO1 or LMO2 oncogenic transcription factors inhibits E2A activity and pTa expression, thereby causing thymocyte differentiation arrest during the pre-leukemic stage. SCL and LMO1/2 are implicated in 25% of T-ALL cases and induce aggressive T-ALL in transgenic (tg) mice when inappropriately expressed in the thymus. To define the mechanism regulating pTa expression by Notch1 and SCL, we used pTa regulatory sequences as a tool. To this end, we have performed transcriptional assays by co-delivering a luciferase reporter gene construct driven by the 200 bp pTa enhancer sequence with or without SCL or Notch1 intracellular domain (N1ICD), the functional fragment of the Notch1 receptor. Sequence analysis of the pT a enhancer revealed the presence of four E boxes that are potential binding sites for E2A-HEB and a CSL consensus sequence that can recruit the CSL/RBP-Jk transcription factor. Transcriptional assays in double negative thymomas indicated that the integrity of E box 2 and 3 (that recruit E2A-HEB) are essential for pTa enhancer activity in DN thymocytes, confirming the importance of E2A-HEB for pTa expression in these cells. In contrast, the CSL consensus sequence is important but not essential for pT a enhancer activity in these cells, consistent with previous results based on a conditional Notch1 knock out. In the presence of N1ICD, pTa enhancer sequences are strongly activated, either in fibroblasts or in double negative T cell lines in a dose dependent manner. This activation requires the integrity of the CSL consensus sequence but not of the E boxes. Moreover, we found that N1ICD strongly overrides the inhibitory activity of SCL on the pTa enhancer. Inhibition by SCL requires the integrity of E2 and E3 but not the CSL, confirming that SCL inhibits E2A-HEB activity, without affecting N1ICD. Together, our observations indicate that the regulation of pTa enhancer activity by Notch1 and E2A/HEB occur though independent mechanisms. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The COVID-19 pandemic presents a global crisis and authorities have encouraged the population to promote preventive health behaviors to slow the spread of the virus. While the literature on psychological factors influencing health behaviors during the COVID-19 is flourishing, there is a lack of cross-national research focusing on multiple health behaviors. The present study overcomes this limitation and affords a validation of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework for explaining the adoption of handwashing and limitation of social contacts, two health behaviors that highly differ in their nature. Specifically, we compare TPB model on these two protective behaviors among people living in Belgium (N = 3744) and France (N = 1060) during the COVID-19 sanitary crisis. Data were collected from March 18 until April 19, 2020, which corresponds to the spring lockdown and the first peak of the pandemic in these countries. Results indicated that more positive attitudes, greater social norms, increased perceived control and higher intentions were related to higher adherence to handwashing and limitation of social contacts, for both Belgian and French residents. Ultimately, we argued that the TPB model tends to manifest similarly across countries in explaining health behaviors, when comparing handwashing and limitation of social contacts among individuals living in different national contexts.


With the first publication of this book in 1988, the centrality of the lexicon in language research was becoming increasingly apparent and the use of relational models of the lexicon had been the particular focus of research in a variety of disciplines since the early 1980s. This convergence of approach made the present collection especially welcome for bringing together reports of theoretical developments and applications in relational semantics in computer science, linguistics, cognitive science, anthropology and industrial research. It explains in detail some important applications of relational models to the construction of natural language interfaces, the building of thesauri for bibliographic information retrieval systems and the compilation of terminology banks for machine translation systems. Relational Models of the Lexicon not only provides an invaluable survey of research in relational semantics, but offers a stimulus for potential research advances in semantics, natural language processing and knowledge representation.


In 1843, during a decade marked by political and cultural recognition of the industrialization and urbanization of Britain, a number of plays concerned with city life and the representation of the city were produced on the popular stage in London. These plays were variously called The Bohemians of Paris, The Scamps of London, The Mysteries of Crime, The Mysteries of London or The Mysteries of Paris. Arguably the first and most influential play about the city in the nineteenth century was William Thomas Moncrieff's Tom and Jerry; or Life in London (first performed in 1821). Imitated and adapted throughout the century (Nicoll 96–97), Moncrieff's play was itself an adaptation of Pierce Egan's book, Life in London, which was illustrated by the brothers George and Robert Cruikshank. This particular combination of writers and illustrators is a powerful one, as, collectively and individually, these artists had much to do with the activity and energy of urban popular culture in the first half of the nineteenth century. George Cruikshank, especially, is important in the modernization of the popular art of this period, while William Moncrieff was a prolific dramatist and notable for his use of topical material. Not only was Moncrieff one of the first dramatists to adapt Egan's Life in London for the stage, but his interest in the theatricality of the city and its richness as theatrical source material continued in later melodramas, particularly The Heart of London and The Scamps of London. It is in the Scamps, Bohemians, and Mysteries plays that early century representations of the city assume their most powerful form, and it is William Moncrieff's version which will be my specific focus here.


Now in its fourth edition trusted textbook Older People: Issues and Innovations in Care provides a unique collection of conversations and commentaries by leading international and local experts on a range of contemporary issues around the care of older people.

Featuring six new chapters, current research and policy changes, the esteemed author team continue to highlight the importance of interdisciplinary healthcare in providing a comprehensive, person-centred approach to care.

This edition encourages readers to explore care issues, innovations and change, and to utilise evidence-based practice to improve the care of older people and their families


Services computing is becoming one of the most widely adopted software paradigms in today's network computing environment. Due to the rapid development of web services technology, there are growing number of web services applications distributed over the Internet. While the identification of web services that best meet the users' needs and preferences remains an unsolved problem, requirements, social contexts and operational environment of service systems change constantly, which makes the service configuration and composition even more difficult. This paper proposes a generic service adaptation and evolution framework based on user preferences and contexts. The users' requirements are treated as the most essential factor that triggers the adaptation of provided services. It is also used as a criterion to make rational decisions when selecting currently available services, reconfiguring service interfaces and structures, and designing new services. Various application scenarios of an online travel planning services are used to illustrate the proposed approach.


A phase II study utilizing VP-16 and adriamycin in a randomized fashion tested the concept of synchronization of the drugs in treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Although there was a trend in median survival following the synchronized schedule, there was no significant difference in survival or progression-free intervals. The concept of synchronization was not established.


Due to the recent growth in the consumer credit market and the consequent increase in default indices, companies are seeking to improve their credit analysis by incorporating objective procedures. Multivariate techniques have been used as an alternative to construct quantitative models for credit forecast. These techniques are based on consumer profile data and allow the identification of standards concerning default behavior. This paper presents a methodology for forecasting credit risk by using three multivariate techniques: discriminant analysis, logistic regression and neural networks. The proposed method (deemed the CRF Model) consists of six steps and is illustrated by means of a real application. An important contribution of this paper is the organization of the methodological procedures and the discussion of the decisions that should be made during the application of the model. The feasibility of the approach proposed was tested in a program for granting credit offered by a network of pharmacies. The use of the models for forecasting credit risk greatly reduces the subjectivity of the analysis, by establishing a standardized procedure that speeds up and qualifies credit analysis.


An economic crisis is the flip side of a financial crisis. A financial crisis, whether on a personal, national or international level, takes place when economic activity - the source of income - slows down or stops. Economic activity generates income. When production slows down income paid for the use of the factors of production also falls. As the gross domestic product declines so does national income. When there is a recession or a depression the economy needs to be revived - fast. An increase in efficiency or productivity contributes to higher profits, higher incomes, and a higher standard of living. Low productivity keeps income at low levels. When income increases without a proportionate increase in productivity, however, it is as if a car engine were running at a higher speed - but in the neutral gear. More income is being generated, but there is little corresponding increase in real wealth. Islam, in turn, appears to offer effective responses to a variety of crises - including financial and economic ones.


This paper presents a fair network access scheme called MultiSAT which can be seen as a generalization of two access schemes proposed by Ofek and Yung (see IEEE/ACM Trans. Networking, vol.3, no.4, p.169-80, 1995) and Ngai and Seitz (1989). An upper bound on the delay before a node can inject a packet into the network is given which is valid when packet routes have no cyclic dependencies, backpressure flow control is used, and the processing and propagation delays are negligible. Upper bounds on packet injection delay are also given for ring networks employing shortest path routing for the case of negligible processing and propagation delays, and for the case of the MetaRing network when link propagation delays are significant.


Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft provide interesting examples of nonlinear non-minimum phase systems. We introduce a new approach to output tracking for VTOL aircraft. First the nonminimum phase aircraft model is decomposed into a minimum phase part and a non-minimum phase part. For the minimum phase part dynamic inversion is used. The nonminimum phase part is simpler than the original and linear control can be used to achieve output tracking with stability. A robust control design methodology is proposed that incorporates perturbations that arise due to the tracking commands; this leads to restrictions on the class of tracking commands. The resulting control laws are nonlinear. Computer simulations indicate that the controllers are efficient and robust with respect to aircraft parameter uncertainties.


In a previous work we proved that gold nanoparticles engineered with a specific anti-CD44 antibody (GNP-HCe) directed against mesenchymal cells (MCs)from BOS patients were able to specifically inhibit their proliferation and increase their apoptosis. Aim of this work is to prove that GNP-HCe do not stimulate inflammatory cells in vitro since inflammatory process plays a pivotal role in BOS onset and its activation would exacerbate the reactive milieu. Macrophages were isolated from BAL of three subjects by adhesion procedure. Lymphocytes and neutrophils were obtained from peripheral blood by Lympholyte gradient. IL-8 was assayed by ELISA test while IFN-g, IL-17 and IL-10 by Elispot. Elastase release was evaluated by enzymatic procedure. Apoptosis and proliferation rate were evaluated by flow cytometry (Annexin V and CFSE). In vitro experiments proved that 24 and 48 h of incubation with GNP-HCe did not increase IL-8 secretion by macrophages but instead a significant (P This work opens new scenarios on the possibility to target a drug to specific cells without rising a further inflammatory response that would contribute to perpetuate the vicious cycle epithelial damage/inflammatory response/fibroproliferative process.


The responsibility for the contents of this report lies with EIM. Quoting numbers or text in papers, essays and books is permitted only when the source is clearly mentioned. No part of this publication may be copied and/or published in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written permission of EIM. EIM does not accept responsibility for printing errors and/or other imperfections.


ABSTRACT This study focused on facets of tolerance towards immigrants among Czech adolescents, drawing on data from 9th and 10th graders (n = 2003). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tolerance towards immigrants and support for democracy, repression potential, right-wing authoritarianism, and out-group trust. Results showed that tolerance towards immigrants should be treated as a two-dimensional concept: support for equal rights, focused on equality in labour market, housing or access to education, and support for cultural rights, encompassing acceptance of immigrants' rights to practice their culture and religion. We found that Czech adolescents were generally more supportive of equal rights than of cultural rights, and that out-group trust explained most of the variance for both dimensions of tolerance towards immigrants. The study also indicated ambiguous effects in the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism, repression potential and support for equal/cultural rights of immigrants with out-group trust used as moderating variable.


The binding modes of some non-platinum metal anticancer complexes, Cp2TiCl2, Cp2ZrCl2, (CH3)2SnCl2, (C2H5)2SnCl2, (C2H5)2SnCl2(phen) (phen=Phenanthroline) and cis-RuIICl2(DMSO)3 (DMSO) (cis-RDT) with nucleotides and DNA in aqueous solution at physiological pH values were investigated by various modern techniques. 5'-dGMP with Cp2TiCl2 or cis-RDT forms chelate complexes in which both N7 and phosphate of dGMP bind to the metal center. Whereas Cp2ZrCl2 and all the diorganotin compounds can bind dGMP only via the phosphate group. The investigations of the interactions between Cp2TiCl2 or (C2H5)2SnCl2 and DNA indicate that there are two types of binding sites on DNA for Cp2TiCl2, i.e., the base nitrogen rings and the phosphate group, while (C2H5)2SnCl2 can bind to DNA only via the phosphate group. At last, by carefully comparing and analysing the binding modes-activity relationships of the above anticancer complexes and other non-platinum and platinum anticancer complexes, a hypothesis named "Two-Pole Complementary Principle" was put forward.


The aim of this paper is to share our approach for a societal engagement and participation process that is implemented as part of two sequential research projects on CCUS. The two projects are both funded under the European Union's (EU) Horizon 2020 research program. The first one, STRATEGY CCUS (2019-2022), develops strategic development plans for eight regions in South-East Europe; the second, Pilot STRATEGY (2021-2026), partly builds on the first project; Pilot STRATEGY aims at enabling three of the eight regions to start developing their storage resources concretely and to support two further regions in continuing to explore CCUS as an option. Both projects were designed in a way that they integrate geological, technical and economic research with social sciences, with a focus on the regional level. The paper provides an overview on the concept, objectives and the methodologies for the engagement process. It further includes reflections identifying room for improvement and provides recommendations for other projects. Overall, we find that the situation is characterized by low levels of awareness regarding CCUS, but some openness to discuss it. Specific expectations vary and the societal view is not always in line with the current scientific knowledge and the technological development. Important recommendations include building strong interdisciplinary teams that also implement processes for self-reflection.


LPS stimulates CD14/Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, leading to induce TNF-&agr; production. Cell-to-cell interaction through the engagement between intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM) 1 on monocytes and its ligand on T cells has been suggested to play a role in the TNF-&agr; production by LPS-treated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Adenosine is reported to inhibit LPS-induced TNF-&agr; production. However, little is known about the mechanism of the inhibitory effects induced by adenosine on the LPS-induced immune responses. We found that adenosine inhibited the expression of ICAM-1 and the production of TNF-&agr; by human PBMC via adenosine A2A receptor in the presence of LPS. However, the stimulation of A1R or A3R enhanced the actions of adenosine. Adenosine had no effect on the expression of CD14 and TLR-4, suggesting that the inhibitory effects of adenosine on the LPS actions might be independent of the expression of CD14 and TLR-4. Thus, adenosine differentially regulates the expression of ICAM-1 and the production of TNF-&agr; through plural subtypes of receptors.


Objective: To assess the effectiveness of ECV in singleton breech presentation at term and to determine its effect on maternal, delivery and perinatal outcomes in women to whom the procedure was offered.
Study Design: A quasi experimental study
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Railway hospital, Rawalpindi, from August 2006 to December 2008.
Material and Methods: Eligible women, presenting with uncomplicated breech, between 37-41 weeks gestation, underwent ECV on day care basis. Fifteen minutes before the procedure, injection salbutamol 0.5 mg was administered. Cases with contraindication to ECV or salbutamol injection were excluded from the study.
Success rate of ECV (in terms of conversion from breech to cephalic presentation at the completion of procedure confirmed through ultrasound) along with maternal, delivery and perinatal outcomes were assessed. Maternal and fetal demographic characteristics were also recorded as secondary outcome measures. For statistical
analysis, SPSS version 10 was used and Chi-square test applied with a p


Background Extraglandular manifestations in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are frequent and may include renal involvement. This is one of the systemic involvement that marks pSS prognosis. Objectives The goal of this work is to study the demographic, clinical, serologic features and outcomes of Tunisian patients with pSS and renal involvement. Methods It is a single-center retrospective study including all the cases of pSS diagnosed since 1998 until 2011 in Internal Medicine Department from Tunis in Tunisia. All the patients fulfilled the 2002 American-European Consensus Group (AECG) criteria for pSS. Results We examined the hospital records and laboratory findings of 31 patients with pSS. Among these patients, renal impairment was observed in 9.6% of cases, all women. It was noted in 3 cases tubulo-interstitial nephritis. They were revealed by hypokalemic rhabdomyolysis in 2 patients and bone pains in one patient. Further explorations revealed bilateral nephrocalcinosis and moderate kidney failure in one case and osteomalacia in another case. All these patients have distal tubular acidosis. All these patients have received symptomatic treatment (sodium bicarbonate, potassium chlorides). Vitamin D and Calcium was prescribed for the patient with osteomalacia and corticosteroids was given to the patient with nephroclcinosis and moderate kidney failure. The evolution was marked by the regression of rhabdomylysis, and osteomalacia and the improvement of kidney function. Conclusions Tubulo-inerstitial nephritis is the most frequent kidney involvement during pSS. It is rarely an inaugural manifestation of the disease. However the presence of a hypocitraturie in the presence of a renal lithiasis, hypokalemia and even rhabdomyolyis or osteomalacia must evoke distal tubular acidosis. Its early diagnosis allows to adapt the best therapy and avoid the evolution to chronic renal failure. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The aim of this research was to determine the ability of merunggai seed powder extract with shelled and non-shelled as a natural coagulant to reducing reactive colours concentration in liquid waste model of industrial besurek. In this research, for the first time merunggai seed powder with shelled and non-shelled was extracted with powder percentage variation of 3%, 5% and 7%, while period process of extraction variation were 30 minutes, 45 minutes and 60 minutes at the temperature of extraction 60 oC. Then merunggai seed extract with shelled and non-shelled was used as coagulant to reducing  reactive  colours  concentration  in  model  liquid.  The  result  showed  that optimum  condition  for merunggai  seed  powder  extract  with  shelled  is 5% powder percentage with period process of extraction during 45 minutes for reactive colours blue, red and yellow. The decrease of reactive colour content were 491,63 mg/mL, 490,02 mg/mL and 466,60 mg/mL respectively. Keywords: Moringa oleifera Lamk, coagulation, extraction, reactive colours


ABSTRACT Objective: Mechanical thrombectomy is the standard treatment for large vessel occlusion (LVO) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) up to 6 h after onset. Recent trials have demonstrated a benefit for wake-up strokes and patients beyond 6 h. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted for multicenter randomized clinical trials (RCTs) investigating endovascular stroke treatment using perfusion imaging to identify patients that may benefit from mechanical thrombectomy for AIS beyond 6 h of onset. Random effects meta-analysis was used to analyze the following outcomes: 90-day functional independence rates with modified Rankin Scale (mRS ≤2), 90-day mortality, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) rates. Further stratification was carried out by age and presentation. Results: Two multicenter RCT's were included as follows: DAWN and DEFUSE-3. Pooled 90-day functional independence rates favored endovascular management (odds ratio [OR] 5.01; P < 0.00001). Subgroup analysis demonstrated continued 90-day functional independence benefit for endovascular management regardless of age (≥80 years, OR 5.65, P = 0.01; ≤80 years, OR 4.92, P < 0.00001). When stratified for the manner of stroke discovery, 90-day functional independence rates favored endovascular management for wake-up strokes (OR 8.74, P < 0.00001) and known-time onset strokes (OR 5.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.04–12.65, P = 0.0005), although no benefit was observed for unwitnessed strokes (OR 1.64, 95% CI 0.17–16.04, P = 0.67). No difference observed in 90-day mortality rates (OR 0.71; P = 0.14) or in SICH rates (OR 1.67; P = 0.29). Conclusions: This meta-analysis reinforces that endovascular management is superior to standard medical management alone for the treatment of AIS due to LVO beyond 6 h of onset in patients with perfusion-imaging selection.


We report experimental results from collapsed regime operation of the capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) fabricated by a wafer bonding technique. The results show that a cMUT operating in the collapsed regime produces a maximal output pressure higher than a cMUT operating in the precollapse regime at 90% of its collapse voltage, 1.79kPa/V vs. 9.72 kPa/V at 2.3 MHz. in collapsed regime operation the fractional bandwidth (pulse-echo) is increased compared to that obtained in precollapsed regime operation 140% vs 83% with a bias 90% of the collapse voltage. Characterization of 1-D cMUT arrays operating in oil was done by ultrasonic pulse echo and pitch catch measurements.


OBJECTIVE
Poorly differentiated metastatic carcinoma may be difficult to distinguish histologically from high-grade astrocytic malignant neoplasms, particularly on small open or stereotactic biopsy specimens. Previous authors have reported that a subset of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) variably stains with cytokeratin immunomarkers. The authors examined a panel of epithelial and keratin antibodies by paraffin immunohistochemistry to evaluate the immunophenotype of GBM for these markers and to determine what combination of immunostains would be optimal in distinguishing GBM from metastatic carcinoma.

METHODS
Twenty-three patients with GBM (age range, 19-86 years; mean, 63.4 years; 14 men and 9 women) and 22 patients with metastatic carcinoma (age range, 26-77 years; mean, 58.1 years; 7 men and 15 women) to the brain were studied with a panel of immunostains, including glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), Ber-EP4, antikeratin monoclonal antibodies AE1/3, and antibodies to CAM 5.2 and cytokeratins 7 (CK7) and 20 (CK20). Sites of origin for the metastatic tumors included lung (n = 11), breast (n = 5), endometrium (n = 1), prostate (n = 1), colon (n = 1), presumed kidney (n = 1), and unknown (n = 2).

RESULTS
All GBMs stained positive for GFAP (100%), and all but 1 (95.7%) stained positive for cytokeratins AE1/3. Only rare focal immunoreactivity was observed in a single case of GBM with CAM 5.2 (4.3%), CK7 (4.3%), and CK20 (4.3%). Immunoreactivity with Ber-EP4 was not observed in any of the GBMs (0.0%). All cases of metastatic carcinoma stained positive with cytokeratins AE1/3 (100%) and CAM 5.2 (100%). Variable staining was observed in carcinomas with CK7 (17 of 22, 77.3%), Ber-EP4 (11 of 22, 50.0%), and CK20 (9 of 22, 40.9%). Three metastatic carcinomas showed rare GFAP-positive staining cells (13.6%).

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the aforementioned results, a combination of immunostains, including GFAP and cytokeratin CAM5.2, may be the most useful in differentiating poorly differentiated metastatic carcinoma from GBM. A significant number of GBMs stain with some cytokeratin markers, in particular cytokeratins AE1/3. Because of the poor specificity of cytokeratins AE1/3 in distinguishing metastatic carcinoma from GBM, it should not be used to differentiate the 2 entities.


A mass vaccination strategy is estimated to be the long-term solution to control COVID-19. Different European countries have committed to vaccination strategies with variable population inoculation rates. We sought to investigate the extent to which the COVID-19 vaccination strategies, inoculation rate, and COVID-19 outcome differ between Cyprus and Malta. Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health websites and COVID-19 dashboards, while vaccination data were obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control until mid-June, 2021. Comparative assessments were performed between the two countries using Microsoft® Excel for Mac, Version 16.54. Both islands took part in the European Union's advanced purchase agreement and received their first batch of vaccines on 27 December 2020. The positivity rate and mortality between December and June differs between the two countries (average positivity rate Cyprus 1.34, Malta 3.37 p ≤ 0.01; average mortality Cyprus 7.29, Malta 9.68 p ≤ 0.01). Both the positivity rate and mortality for Cyprus declined due to strict public health measures and vaccination roll-out in early January (positivity rate by 95% and mortality by 58%). In contrast, for Malta, there was a sharp increase (64% p ≤ 0.01) with almost no public health restrictions in place and soaring cases during the Christmas and Carnival period until March, when lockdown measures were re-introduced. A distinctive difference between Cyprus and Malta in positivity rate (14 per 100,000 population; p ≤ 0.01) can also be observed between January and mid-April 2021. However, from April onwards it is evident that the positivity rate and mortality decline (positivity rate Cyprus by 82%, Malta by 95%; mortality Cyprus by 90%, Malta by 95%, p ≤ 0.01, respectively) in both countries as the vaccination roll-outs progressed, covering about 58.93% of the Maltese population, while Cyprus had fully inoculated about 38.03% of its population. The vaccine strategies and vaccination rates were similar for both countries; yet Malta had the fastest vaccine roll-out. Reluctancy to get vaccinated, significant differences in the vaccination appointment scheduling system, and the freedom of vaccination choice for the citizens in Cyprus may have contributed to a delayed vaccination roll-out. These potential contributing factors should be acknowledged and considered for future vaccination programs and potential COVID-19 boosters.


In modern practice the problems of aircraft production take on a new character in an ever-changing geopolitical situation in the world. The aviation industry is one of the most promising trends for development of the national high-tech production. It requires special attention, as the potential is the source of a qualitatively new economic growth of countries in general and Russia in particular. In our research, we designated specific production of civil aircraft issues, which have, from the authors' view point, the major influence on the industry product competitiveness for the aircraft factory. The purpose of this paper is to study and analyze domestic and international experience in supply chain management of the aviation industry to enhance the competitiveness of aircraft factory products. A case study applied at the aircraft factory to propose a method of selecting suppliers for improving the quality and competitiveness of the industry product. Based on undertaken analysis, the authors designated specific areas of strategy implementation for the supply chain management when entering new markets with products of aircraft factory. According to current situation at aviation industry, strategic scenario of quality management improvement with the priority of supply chain management processes is proposed after aircrafts' mass production launch at aircraft factory.


Adult virgin female guinea pigs were injected with an emulsion of homologous adult testis and Freund's adjuvant before exposure to males. The fertility of this group was only 24 percent while the fertility of the control group was 84 percent. The testis-injected guinea pigs had also a high titer of antibodies against testis.


This study investigates how the nuclear tension between Iran and the US is likely to result. Game theoretical analyses are applied in order to develop the argument of this study. Interaction between the US and Iran is analyzed by using two different forms of games, complete and incomplete information; and two different methods, backwards induction and Bayes's theorem. It is concluded that Iran's nuclear pursuit is mostly security based and the nuclear tension between Iran and the US creates a vicious circle. While Iran is going for nuclear weapons primarily to protect itself against the enemy states, the US challenge to Iran's nuclear pursuit poses a security threat to Iran and makes Iranians much more eager to develop their own nuclear weapon capability. If Iranians are not bluffing and if they are determined to get the nuclear weapons, primarily because of security considerations, sooner or later Iran will have them. On the other hand, if the Mullahs intend to use their nuclear program as a leverage in their bargain with the West, they can only be persuaded to give up only by guaranteeing the security of the Islamic Regime.


Book abstract: This third edition of Navigating the Maze of Research: Enhancing Nursing and Midwifery Practice has been written for nursing and midwifery students in Australia and New Zealand.

Learning to access, evaluate and apply research findings in everyday clinical practice can be difficult. This introductory text presents concepts, demonstrating how to use research and, importantly, which research to use.

All chapters have been significantly revised and updated to reflect current nursing and midwifery research theory and practice, and midwifery students will welcome the increased focus on midwifery specific research.

Additional new content in this edition of Navigating the Maze of Research includes an increased focus on developing an evidence-based culture in the nursing workplace; a new chapter on applying the research process; a more explicit discussion of nursing ethics; case studies linking practice to research; and increased detail on sampling techniques and reliability and validity.


The relationship between S. obtusifolia (L.)Irwin & Barneby and S. tora (L.)Roxb. is discussed. Consideration of biogeography suggests that the latter species evolved in Asia from the former.


This study aims to determine chemical compounds of the propolis samples gathered from different regions of Turkey in geographical region-base. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, was performed on 21 propolis samples acquired from different geographical regions of Turkey. Samples were collected from five different geographical regions including Black Sea, Central Anatolia, East Anatolia, Marmarean and Mediterranean Regions (Three different phytogeographic regions: European-Sibaerian, Irano-Turanian and Meditteranean phytogeographic regions). So, by this study the chemical compositions of different propolis samples gathered from three distinct phytogeographical regions will be compared. Accordingly, "1-Nonadecene", "pinocembrin", "phenylethyl alcohol", "2-propen-1-one,1-(2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxy phenyl)-3-phenyl" and particularly " 2-methoxy-4-vinyl phenol", "ethyl oleate" were determined as mostly found compounds in collected propolis samples. According to the GC-MS analysis results, five geographical regions are distinguished from each other according to chemical compound groups. "Benzoic acid "and "17-Pentatriacontene" were found as possible markers of Black Sea Region, "chrysin" for Marmarean region, "2-buten-1-ol,2-methyl", "Z-12-pentacosane", "1-Hexacosane" for Central Anatolia, "Nonadecane", "Octadecane", and "2-Nonadecan one" for East Anatolia Regions. Besides these for the chemical compositions of Mediterranean Region samples, no clear distinction could be found.


The authors report an intelligent advisor which helps software engineer to reuse domain abstractions to improve the consistency, completeness, and clarity of requirement specifications. Understanding unfamiliar domain abstractions can be difficult, so partial exposure and visualization of concrete examples and metaphors are proposed to aid comprehension, prior to reuse. These strategies are incorporated into an iterative fact acquisition and domain retrieval dialogue with important implications for fact capture and modeling during requirements engineering. The effectiveness of this paradigm was shown during user studies with a prototype of the intelligent advisor, during which software engineering retrieved and understood correct domain abstractions while analyzing a new domain.<<ETX>>


Mechanical reliability of epoxy molding compounds in plastic packages of integrated circuits (IC) devices is affected to a great extent by the materials ability to absorb moisture. Accordingly, the objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of moisture sorption on the mechanical properties of the compounds. The diffusion of water in compounds filled with silica and alumina nitride particles has been studied experimentally for systems with moderate and high concentration of fillers. The analysis of the weight gain profiles has shown that the process of moisture diffusion is non-Fickian and that the moisture weight gain depends on the specimen's relative humidity and the concentration of fillers. As to the hygro-thermal (swelling) stress, caused by moisture diffusion, we found that this stress is very low (its average value does not exceed 662 psi). We showed also that moisture diffusion leads to an appreciable decrease in the compound's strength and to a substantial increase in the material's plasticity. The obtained results can be helpful in the analysis of the mechanical behavior of epoxy molding compounds used in electronic packaging.


Critical network states and neural plasticity are essential for flexible behavior in an ever-changing environment, which allows for efficient information processing and experience-based learning. Synaptic-weight-based Hebbian plasticity and homeostatic synaptic scaling were considered the key players in enabling memory while stabilizing network dynamics. However, spine-number-based structural plasticity is not consistently reported as a homeostatic mechanism, leading to an insufficient under-standing of its functional impact. Here, we combined live-cell microscopy of eGPF-tagged neurons in organotypic entorhinal-hippocampal tissue cultures and computational modeling to study the re-sponse of structural plasticity under activity perturbations and its interplay with homeostatic synaptic scaling. By following individual dendritic segments, we demonstrated that the inhibition of excitatory neurotransmission did not linearly regulate dendritic spine density: Inhibition of AMPA receptors with a low concentration of 2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo[f]quinoxaline (NBQX, 200 nM) sig-nificantly increased the spine density while complete blockade of AMPA receptors with 50 µM NBQX reduced spine density. Motivated by these results, we established network simulations in which a biphasic structural plasticity rule governs the activity-dependent formation of synapses. We showed that this bi-phasic rule maintained neural activity homeostasis upon stimulation and permitted both synapse formation and synapse loss, depending on the degree of activity deprivation. Homeostatic synaptic scaling affected the recurrent connectivity, modulated the network activity, and influenced the outcome of structural plasticity. It reduced stimulation-triggered homeostatic synapse loss by downscaling synaptic weights; meanwhile, it rescued silencing-induced synapse degeneration by am-plifying recurrent inputs via upscaling to reactivate silent neurons. Their interplay explains divergent results obtained in varied experimental settings. In summary, calcium-based synaptic scaling and homeostatic structural plasticity rules compete and compensate one another other to achieve an eco-nomical and robust control of firing rate homeostasis.


A compressor in hearing aid devices (HADs) is responsible for mapping the dynamic range of input signals to the residual dynamic range of hearing-impaired (HI) patients. Gains and parameters of the compressor are set according to the HI patient's preferences. In different surroundings depending upon noise level, the patient may seek to tune the parameters to improve performance. Traditionally, fitting of the hearing aids is done by an audiologist using hearing aid software and the HI patient's opinion at a clinic. In this paper, we propose a frequency-based multi-band compressor implemented as a smartphone application, which can be used as an alternative to that of the traditional HADs. The proposed solution allows the user to tune the compression parameters for each band along with a choice of compression speed and fitting strategy. Exploiting smartphone processing and hardware capabilities, the application can be used for bilateral hearing loss. The performance of this easy-to-use smartphone-based application is compared with traditional HADs using a hearing aid test system. Objective and subjective evaluations are also carried out to quantify the performance.


Fifteen fungal species were isolated from waste soil and used for the production of red pigment. Among the fifteen fungal isolates only Penicillium sp. BKS 9 displayed excellent production ability of red pigment in sabouraud's dextrose agar medium as well as broth medium. After 28S rRNA sequencing the fungus Penicillium sp. BKS9 was identified as Penicillium purpurogenum and submitted to NCBI (Gene Bank) with Gene Bank accession number KT222270. Further, optimization of incubation period and pH was performed and it was concluded that an incubation for 18 days with pH 6.0 at 30°C are the most favorable conditions for biomass (0.877 g/50 ml) and red pigment (0.79 Abs/ml) production. The pigment used for the study was soluble in all the organic solvents taken. The effect of red pigment on germination of fifty numbers of viable and healthy seeds of Cicer arietinum was studied and confirmed that the pigment has no significant negative effect on the germination of the seeds.


By administration of fat emulsion a well-balanced parenteral nutrition concerning calories is possible in newborn infants. Investigations with great amounts of fat during and after a short-time infusion have shown that the maximal fat clearance of very-low-birth-weight and small-for-gestational-age newborn infants is limited. Heparin can improve the lipid clearance and reduce hyperlipaemia occurring under lipid application. The fat oxidation is not affected by heparinization. Extent and velocity of the fatty acid utilization can be judged by the 13C-triolein breath test. Under the clinical conditions of a continuous long-term infusion with 2 g fat/kg BW/day a complete fat clearance is observed in low-birth-weight infants with respiratory distress syndrome and septicaemia and small-for-gestational-age newborn infants. The determination of serum triglycerides is considered to be a sufficient control of fat clearance in respect to clinical concerns. The fat emulsion is continuously applied for 24 h and is being increased stepwise up to a dosage of 2-3 g/kg BW/day. Before starting parenteral nutrition, acidosis, hypoxaemia, hyperglycaemia and insufficient circulation must have been treated. Contraindications to this are shock, disturbances of blood coagulation and of fat metabolism. Complications are avoided by using an adapted and standardized nutritional programme under sufficient clinical and laboratory control.


Protein surface recognition by fluorescent molecular sensors poses an immense challenge in supramolecular recognition chemistry owing to the immense difficulty of selectively targeting these large, relatively flat, and non-contiguous domains. The fact that protein surfaces can exhibit different charges, topologies, and posttranslational modifications that can be found in other proteins in the mixture is an additional factor that complicates targeting and consequently, sensing specific protein surface modifications. A recent report, however, shows that the difficulty of sensing changes that occur on the surface of specific proteins could be circumvented by attaching a relatively non-specific synthetic receptor to a specific protein binder. The latter brings the receptor near the target protein and enhances its affinity toward its surface. Modifying the synthetic receptor with an environmentally sensitive fluorescent reporter, along with suitable recognition elements, enables such systems to target specific regions on protein surfaces and consequently, to track modifications that result from conformational changes or binding interactions.


In the past 10 years, it has become increasingly clear that the genome of temperate Salmonella phage P22 is organized and regulated in much the same way as the genome of λ (or of other related lambdoid coliphages). Alignment of the P22 and λ prophage genetic maps (Fig. 1) reveals that the two genomes are, for the most part, composed of analogous clusters of functionally related genes arranged in the same order. This congruence of genetic structure and function is particularly striking in the left half of the prophage, where there is a one-to-one correspondence between many individual P22 and λ genes, including the genes encoding major regulatory proteins as well as their sites of action. Thus, the regulatory mechanisms responsible for temporal control of gene expression during lytic development and for establishment and maintenance of repression in P22 closely parallel the mechanisms that operate in λ . P22 and λ not only share common features of genetic and physiological organization but also show a considerable degree of DNA sequence homology (Skalka and Hanson 1972). Furthermore, P22 and λ recombine in vivo to produce viable hybrids (Gemski et al. 1972; Botstein and Herskowitz 1974). For all of these reasons, P22 has properly come to be considered a member of the lambdoid family. However, P22 differs profoundly from λ (and other lambdoid coliphages) in many properties, most of which are determined by genes in the right half of the prophage map. The pathway of P22 capsid assembly differs substantially from the λ ...


We analyze a stochastic bargaining game in which a new dollar is divided among committee members in each of an infinity of periods. In each period, a committee member is recognized and offers a proposal for the division of the dollar. The proposal is implemented if it is approved by a majority. If the proposal is rejected, then last period's allocation is implemented. We show existence of equilibrium in Markovian strategies. It is such that irrespective of the initial status quo, the discount factor, or the probabilities of recognition, the proposer extracts the entire dollar in all periods but the initial two. We also derive a fully strategic version of McKelvey's (1976), (1979) dictatorial agenda setting, so that a player with exclusive access to the formulation of proposals can extract the entire dollar in all periods except the first. The equilibrium collapses when within period payoffs are sufficiently concave. Winning coalitions may comprise players with high instead of low recognition probabilities, ceteris paribus. JEL Classification Numbers: C73, C78, D72.


Evidence of comparative and developmental morphology is presented from 99 specimens from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to establish the conspecificity of Benthalbella dubius with B. irfans. The development of the species is described from the early post-larva (12.5 mm) through metamorphosis (60–80 mm) to the sexually mature adult (112–143 mm). Benthalbella infans is shown to be a hermaphrodite with simultaneous maturation of ova and spermatozoa, in common with other alepisauroid fishes. A fecundity estimate gave 2300 ova. The morphology and histology of the light organs are described, at cellular and sub-cellular levels, and the luminous tissue is shown to be derived from muscle blocks. The significance of these findings is discussed, the properties of the bioluminescent emission defined and measures of intensity recorded. Stomach contents were analysed. The significance of changes in body and eye orientation at ossification is discussed in relation to behaviour and specifically to that of feeding. The horizontal and vertical distribution of B. infans considered in the light of collections made in the eastern North Atlantic. The possibility of racial differences within the species is discussed, although no major niorphological differences were observed between Atlantic and Indian Ocean specimens. The diurnal depth distribution of the species is indicated (90–1500 m); post-larvae are shown to occupy the shallower reaches of the range, descending with advancing development. Evidence of vertical migration was observed only in adults and juveniles.


This study tried to comprehend the generation mechanism of the rip current at the enclosed beach by the groins. Firstly, this study did field survey and comprehended the large scale and velocity of the rip current. In this method, the rip current was pigmented by the sea water colorant, and the pigmented current was recorded as the aerial photograph by the multi-copter. Secondly, this study simulated the rip current in accordance with the results of field survey, and the results of simulation and filed survey ware compared.


Studies of healthy brain aging have reported diffusivity patterns associated with white matter degeneration using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which assumes that diffusion measured at the typical b-value (approximately 1000 s/mm2) is Gaussian. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of DTI that measures non-Gaussian diffusion (kurtosis) to better capture microenvironmental changes by incorporating additional data at a higher b-value. In this study, using UK Biobank data (b values of 1000 and 2000 s/mm2), we investigate (1) the extent of novel information gained from adding diffusional kurtosis to diffusivity observations in aging, and (2) how conventional DTI metrics in aging compare with diffusivity metrics derived from DKI, which are corrected for kurtosis. We find a general pattern of lower kurtosis alongside higher diffusivity among older adults. We also find differences between diffusivity metrics derived from DTI and DKI, emphasizing the importance of accounting for non-Gaussian diffusion. This work highlights the utility of measuring diffusional kurtosis as a simple addition to conventional diffusion imaging of aging.


Drivers for nanotechnology, drivers for innovation, drivers for economic growth. Many people say that the key to anticipating future growth is to first understand the underlying motivation for current trends today. According to this belief, by drawing a line from the past to the present, we are able to predict the future by extrapolation. The now infamous Moore's law is an example of this endless march down the road of technology development. For many years now scientists have been predicting that modern IC production technology has finally reached a limit, some sort of brick wall beyond which Moore's law can no longer hold true. But, keeping in-line with Moore's law, entering the nano-era requires an increasingly significant effort in research and development. The emergence of bottom-up approach to fabrication of structures requires the integration of competencies from many different fields of expertise. Assembling devices one molecule at a time using molecular building blocks requires a skill set not typically found in a traditional semiconductor environment. The new breakthrough technologies will likely result from the integration of applied microelectronics background with more fundamental inputs. And for this, Europe again has specific strengths due to the synergy between national and European level initiatives.


In this work, a new concentric circles detection method for object detection is proposed. It has been applied to the images of a commercial radar, captured with a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera. The processing includes the detection of centres and concentric circles in the images and the identification of the radar scale. Several methods found in the literature have been applied and compared with our novel proposal for multiple concentric circles detection, called "Propagation Method based on Circular Regression". This methodology has been validated with real radar images, proving its efficiency in obtaining the distance of any object to a marine vessel, with high accuracy and low computational cost, in real time. This system can not only be applied to most existing radars in the market by adjusting the parameters of each model but our proposal for concentric circle detection can be also applied to other sensing applications.


ABSTRACT When a child has been sexually abused, the non-offending parent plays a crucial role in determining that child's recovery. However, the disclosure of sexual abuse in families often throws non-offending parents into a dilemma about whether or not to side with the perpetrator or child, leaving them in an ambivalent position. In order to enhance the ability of parents to protect and support their children, this paper proposes the use of the Transtheoretical Stages of Change model and Motivational Interviewing. Techniques of Motivational Interviewing will be discussed and then illustrated with a case example.


Neutron inelastic scattering measurements of the polar transverse optic phonon mode dispersion in the cubic relaxor Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))0.92Ti0.08O3 at 500 K reveal anomalous behavior in which the optic branch appears to drop precipitously into the acoustic branch at a finite value of the momentum transfer q = 0.2 A(-1) measured from the zone center. We speculate that this behavior is the result of nanometer-sized polar regions in the crystal.


Densely populated rural areas in the East African Highlands have faced significant intensification challenges under extreme population pressure on their land and ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural intensification, in the context of increasing cropping intensities, is a prerequisite for deliberate land management strategies that deliver multiple ecosystem goods (food, energy, income sources, etc.) and services (especially improving soil conditions) on the same land, as well as system resilience, if adopted at scale. Tree based ecosystem approaches (TBEAs) are among such multi-functional land management strategies. Knowledge on the multi-functionality of TBEAs and on their scaling up, however, remains severely limited due to several methodological challenges. This study aims at offering an analytical perspective to view multi-functional TBEAs as an integral part of sustainable agricultural intensification. The study proposes a conceptual framework to guide the analysis of socio-economic data and applies it to cross-site analysis of TBEAs in extremely densely populated Rwanda. Heterogeneous TBEAs were identified across Rwanda's different agro-ecological zones to meet locally-specific smallholders' needs for a set of ecosystem goods and services on the same land. The sustained adoption of TBEAs would be guaranteed if farmers subjectively recognize their compatibility and synergy with sustainable intensification of existing farming systems, supported by favorable institutional conditions.


Substance abuse is common among persons with severe mental illness, but few measures exist for clinicians to evaluate treatment progress. The Substance Abuse Treatment Scale (SATS) combines a motivational hierarchy with explicit substance use criteria to form an eight-stage model of the recovery process. Data are presented supporting the reliability and validity of the SATS, based on its use in a community-based sample of persons with dual disorders. The SATS can be used as either a process or an outcome measure, for individuals or for groups, and its value in making explicit the stages of substance abuse treatment is discussed.


The present study is the first to investigate the extent to which positive language education can improve foreign language enjoyment in the same learners. At the same time, it explores the relation between life quality variables, subjective well-being (SWB), and stresses that have emerged as important variables to explain foreign language enjoyment (FLE). Participants were 50 native speakers of Turkish, university students, 24 having a high proficiency in one language (English) and 26 having a high proficiency in two languages (French and English). Quantitative data were collected before and after the intervention ("3 Good Things" and "Use your Strength and Virtues in a Creative Way") and qualitative data were collected at the end of the course. The results of pre-test and post-test analysis were not significant FLE (t(49) = −1.3, p > 0.05), SWB (t(49) = −0.58, p > 0.05), and stress (t(49) = −0.7, p > 0.05). Manova with a level of multilingualism as a fixed factor revealed that there was a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test F(3, 46) = 3.49, p < 0.023, Wilk's Λ = 0.81, partial η2 = 0.023. The Between Subjects' Test reveals a significant difference in the level of SWB (F(1, 48) = 7.04, p < 0.01) and FLE (F(1, 48) = 8.5, p < 0.005), but not for the level of stress (F(1, 48) = 0.29, p < 0.59). A subsequent set of regressions revealed that in pre-test there is not a significant effect of the factors on the dependent variable (R2 = 0.20, R2 adjusted = 0.140). The analysis after the intervention shows a significant effect of the SWB on FLE R2 = 0.35, R2 adjusted = 0.31, Beta = 0.25, p < 0.002. The analysis of the quantitative data supports the statistical analysis as students report that the intervention has helped to improve the atmosphere in the classroom as well as their general attitude in life and they have learned valuable knowledge about themselves as an added value to the acquisition of the new language. We conclude that positive language education can increase the level of subjective well-being in students and that, in turn, improves the level of positive emotions in the language classroom.


Summary

1. Many plant species germinate from herbivore dung. However, there has been little assessment of how widespread this dispersal mechanism is.

2. A survey of the germinable seed in rabbit and sheep dung from 10 sites in the UK was used to identify the characteristics of species dispersed internally by animals.

3. A wide range of species germinated; the commonest species being 'weeds' of grazed communities.

4. Species that did germinate were characterized by small seed size and the capability of forming a persistent seedbank.

5. A substantial quantity and range of seeds are dispersed by herbivores in grazed ecosystems, and this could have a significant effect on the dynamics and species richness of these systems.


Methods for the characterization of radial convective transport in magnetized plasma devices are depicted. Perspectives for the investigation of transport using the linear low-beta plasma device Mirabelle are presented. The utility of time resolved data analysis, using the wavelet transform of the signals, is demonstrated. These techniques are illustrated by their application to experimental data from the Mirabelle device and from the Castor tokamak.


The authors propose a new type of scan statistic to test for the presence of space‐time clusters in point processes data, when the goal is to identify and evaluate the statistical significance of localized clusters. Their method is based only on point patterns for cases; it does not require any specific knowledge of the underlying population. The authors propose to scan the three‐dimensional space with a score test statistic under the null hypothesis that the underlying point process is an inhomogeneous Poisson point process with space and time separable intensity. The alternative is that there are one or more localized space‐time clusters. Their method has been implemented in a computationally efficient way so that it can be applied routinely. They illustrate their method with space‐time crime data from Belo Horizonte, a Brazilian city, in addition to presenting a Monte Carlo study to analyze the power of their new test.


Abstract Purpose This article aims to describe the global research profile and the development trends of single cell research from the perspective of bibliometric analysis and semantic mining. Design/methodology/approach The literatures on single cell research were extracted from Clarivate Analytic's Web of Science Core Collection between 2009 and 2019. Firstly, bibliometric analyses were performed with Thomson Data Analyzer (TDA). Secondly, topic identification and evolution trends of single cell research was conducted through the LDA topic model. Thirdly, taking the post-discretized method which is used for topic evolution analysis for reference, the topics were also be dispersed to countries to detect the spatial distribution. Findings The publication of single cell research shows significantly increasing tendency in the last decade. The topics of single cell research field can be divided into three categories, which respectively refers to single cell research methods, mechanism of biological process, and clinical application of single cell technologies. The different trends of these categories indicate that technological innovation drives the development of applied research. The continuous and rapid growth of the topic strength in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment indicates that this research topic has received extensive attention in recent years. The topic distributions of some countries are relatively balanced, while for the other countries, several topics show significant superiority. Research limitations The analyzed data of this study only contain those were included in the Web of Science Core Collection. Practical implications This study provides insights into the research progress regarding single cell field and identifies the most concerned topics which reflect potential opportunities and challenges. The national topic distribution analysis based on the post-discretized analysis method extends topic analysis from time dimension to space dimension. Originality/value This paper combines bibliometric analysis and LDA model to analyze the evolution trends of single cell research field. The method of extending post-discretized analysis from time dimension to space dimension is distinctive and insightful.


This paper presents a termination technique for positive supercompilation, based on notions from term algebra. The technique is not particularily biased towards positive supercompilation, but also works for deforestation and partial evaluation. It appears to be well suited for partial deduction too. The technique guarantees termination, yet it is not overly conservative Our technique can be viewed as an instance of Martens' and Gallagher's recent framework for global termination of partial deduction, but it is more general in some important respects, e.g. it uses well-quasi orderings rather than well-founded orderings. Its merits are illustrated on several examples


In this paper, we propose an approach to take into account, in a robust way, part-worth uncertainty in a share-of-choice (SOC) model. More precisely, we extend the method proposed by Wang and Curry by endogenously including competition. Indeed in their approach, competition is described exogenously and the model cannot take into account part-worth uncertainty for the competition's products. Our extension permits us to take into account all effects of part-worth uncertainty, even those relative to the competition, and therefore improve substantially Wang and Curry's approach.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer. In the present study, the expression and intracellular localization of lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) protein in CRC were examined. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis of LOXL2 mRNA and protein expression was performed for 40 pairs of CRC tumor and normal mucosa tissue samples. The immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays was performed to detect LOXL2 protein expression. LOXL2 was highly expressed in the extracellular matrix and CRC cells. The positive expression of LOXL2 in CRC cells was significantly associated with the tumor tumor-node metastasis stage and distant metastasis, while elevated LOXL2 expression within the CRC cells was an independent prognostic factor in patients with CRC. The knockdown of LOXL2 impaired the proliferative and migratory abilities of CRC cells in vitro and in vivo, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. These findings indicated that LOXL2 might have an important role in CRC.


The Altaic languages (Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic) are spread across Eurasia, from Central Asia to the Middle East and the Balkans. The genetic affinity between these subgroups has not been definitively established but the commonality among features and patterns points to some linguistic connections. The main morphological operations in Altaic languages are suffixation and compounding. Generally regarded as morphologically regular with easily identifiable suffixes in which there are clear form-meaning correspondences, the languages, nevertheless, show irregularities in many domains of the phonological exponents of morphosyntactic features, such as base modification, cumulative exponence, and syncretism.
 Nouns are inflected for number, person, and case. Case markers can express structural relations between noun phrases and other constituents, or they can act as adpositions. Only very few of the Altaic languages have adjectival inflection. Verbs are inflected for voice, negation, tense, aspect, modality, and, in most of the languages subject agreement, varying between one and five person-number paradigms. Subject agreement is expressed through first, second, and third persons singular and plural. In the expression of tense, aspect, and modality, Altaic languages employ predominantly suffixing and compound verb formations, which involve auxiliary verbs.
 Inflected finite verbs can stand on their own and form propositions, and as a result, information structure can be expressed within a polymorphic word through prosodic means. Affix order is mostly fixed and mismatches occur between morpholotactic constraints and syntactico-semantic requirements. Ellipsis can occur between coordinated words.
 Derivational morphology is productive and occurs between and within the major word classes of nominals and verbs. Semantic categories can block other semantic categories.


The goal of our study was to understand the spatial and temporal variation in spawning and settlement of gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) along the West Florida shelf (WFS). Juvenile gray snapper were collected over two consecutive years from seagrass meadows with a benthic scrape and otter trawl. Spawning, settlement, and growth patterns were compared across three sampling regions (Panhandle, Big bend, and Southwest) by using otolith microstructure. Histology of adult gonads was also used for an independent estimate of spawning time. Daily growth increments were visible in the lapilli of snapper 11–150 mm standard length; ages ranged from 38 to 229 days and estimated average planktonic larval duration was 25 days. Estimated growth rates ranged from 0.60 to 1.02 mm/d and did not differ among the three sampling regions, but did differ across sampling years. Back-calculated fertilization dates from otoliths indicated that juveniles in the Panhandle and Big Bend were mainly summer spawned fish, whereas Southwest juveniles had winter and summer fertilization dates. Settlement occurred during summer both years and in the winter of 1997 for the southern portion of the WFS. Moon phase did not appear to be strongly correlated with fertilization or settlement. Histological samples of gonads from adults collected near the juvenile sampling areas indicated a summer spawning period.


This work presents a curvelet-based algorithm for detection of optic disk (OD) and exudates on low contrast images. This algorithm which is composed of three main stages does not require user initialisation and is robust to the changes in the appearance of retinal fundus images. At first, bright candidate lesions in the image are extracted by employing DCUT and modification of curvelet coefficients of enhanced retinal image. For this purpose, the authors apply a new bright lesions enhancement on green plane of retinal image to obtain adequate illumination normalisation in the regions near the OD, and to increase brightness of lesions in dark areas such as fovea. Following this step, the authors introduce a new OD detection and boundary extraction method based on DCUT and level set method. Finally, bright lesions map (BLM) image is generated and to distinguish between exudates and OD (i.e. a false detection for the final exudates detection), the extracted candidate pixels in BLM that are not in OD regions (detected in previous step) are considered as actual bright lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of the authors exudates detection method are 98.4 and 90.1%, respectively, and the average accuracy of their OD boundary extraction method is 94.51%.


This paper proposes an automatic learning framework for the dynamic security control of a power system. The proposed method employs a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), which serves to assess the dynamic security status of the power system and to estimate the effect of a corrective control action applied in the event of a disturbance. Particle swarm optimization is applied to find the optimal control action, where the objective function to be optimized is provided by the RBFNN. The method is applied on a realistic model of the Hellenic Power System and on the IEEE 50-generator test system, and its added value is shown by comparing results with the ones obtained from the application of other machine learning methods.


In this paper, we consider the problem of hosting financial exchanges in the cloud. Financial exchanges require predictable, equal latency to all market participants to ensure fairness for various tasks, such as high speed trading. However, it is extremely difficult to ensure equal latency to all market participants in existing cloud deployments, because of various reasons, such as congestion, and unequal network paths. In this paper, we address the unfairness that stems from lack of determinism in cloud networks. We argue that predictable or bounded latency is not necessary to achieve fairness. Inspired by the use of logical clocks in distributed systems, we present Delivery Based Ordering (DBO), a new approach that ensures fairness by instead correcting for differences in latency to the participants. We evaluate DBO both in our hardware test bed and in a public cloud deployment and demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve guaranteed fairness and sub-100 microsecond latency while operating at high transaction rates.


A common view is that good project management is necessary but not enough to ensure project success. This begs the question: Why not? This paper examines current factor-, process-, and capability-based explanations of project performance and finds gaps in their explanatory power. An alternative explanation is developed from organizational learning and capability theory that integrates drivers for project success and drivers for project failure in one model. Project performance is modeled as the contested outcome of the two opposing drivers, enabling unpredictable variations in project outcomes. A key contribution of the model is the inclusion of drivers of underperformance and failure. These comprise common learning barrier conditions that can reduce or negate the performance value of organizational capabilities applied to projects. Two types of conditions are described: liabilities of incumbency and liabilities of newness. Together, these negative drivers can offset or overwhelm the positive effects of organizational learning on capability accumulation, creating a net performance liability, leading to underperformance or failure— even in well-managed projects. The performance model is illustrated using a longitudinal case study. The model improves our understanding of project performance as well as our ability to explain industry data on project outcomes and anomalous inconsistencies in performance in successive projects. Implications of the model are discussed, including how it might be used in practice. The paper argues from an information systems project perspective, but the model also has relevance to other application domains.


The fisheries for small pelagic species in Angola, Namibia and South Africa fulfil important social and economic roles but have undergone substantial changes in recent years, some of which are likely to be related to climate change. This assessment of vulnerability and possible adaptation options for the main stakeholder groups in these fisheries was based on a framework encompassing ecological, social and economic vulnerability and the broader economic and governance context of the countries. Information was gathered through stakeholder consultations and workshops as well as from published information. Adaptation options were identified primarily through consultation with stakeholders. Namibia was considered to have the most vulnerable fishery because of the poor state of the sardine population and limited alternatives. Angola and South Africa were estimated to be moderately vulnerable for different reasons. Alternative sources of livelihoods are scarce, and the wellbeing of stakeholders is highly dependent on the resilience and adaptive capacity of individual fishing companies. For land-based and sea-going workers (fulltime and permanent), skills improvement to increase their flexibility and employability within and beyond fisheries is a primary adaptation option. Key roles for governments include ensuring effective governance and facilitating sustainable economic development, especially in underdeveloped coastal areas.


Background

Understanding the magnitude of Tuberculosis (TB) transmission among the youth is a global priority as the disease burden shifts to this population. Learning institutions host overcrowded accommodation and classrooms, especially in resource limited contexts. Understanding the global threat of the youth as an infection pool on the wider population is highlighted in the global response to COVID 19. This pilot study aimed to test the feasibility of recruiting university students' contacts and demonstrate transmission of TB in Pwani University, Kilifi County-Kenya.
Materials and Methods

A pilot study among Pwani University TB index cases receiving treatment at the Kilifi County Hospital was conducted. Index cases who consented provided information about their household and social contacts. Contacts were identified and screened using a World Health Organization (WHO) symptom-based questionnaire. Their sputum samples were analysed using GeneXpert. Multivariate log-binomial regression was used to determine demographic and clinical characteristics associated with TB infection among contacts with TB index patients.
Results

A total of 51 index cases were recruited, median (IQR) age of 21 (20–23) years and 31 (61%) were males. 156 contacts were screened, median (IQR) age of 23 (20–23) years, 80 (51%) were males and 76 (49%) were household contacts. Among the 156 TB contacts, 5 participants were confirmed positive for TB: prevalence of 3.2% (95% CI 1.0 to 7.3%). 8/156 (5.1%, (95% CI 2.2 to 10%) contacts, had clinical diagnosed TB despite having a negative GeneXpert result. In total 13/156 contacts had either confirmed or clinical diagnosed TB; 8.3% (95% CI 4.5 to 14%). Sharing a bed with an index case was the only factor significantly associated with TB infection among the five contacts with GeneXpert diagnosed TB.
Conclusion

Students sleeping in crowded hostels promote TB transmission within universities informing TB control interventions. Collaborating with existing national TB programme systems is a feasible approach to recruit people with active disease and their social contacts. Expansion of this approach to a larger population of students with TB infection may demonstrate the magnitude of TB transmission within universities, and the wider local communities.


Epistaxis is the most common ENT emergency and one of the commonest presentation in an emergency department. Its management can be challenging depending on the origin of bleeding and presence of precipitating factors. This review discuss risk factors linked with epistaxis and critically analyse and evaluate the pathway of management based on the higher level of evidence available.


ABSTRACT:
 Thirteen isoline colonies of Anopheles nigerrimus were established from individual wild-caught females collected from cow-baited traps at locations in Thailand and Cambodia. Three types of X (X1, X2, X3) and 4 types of Y (Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4) chromosomes were recovered, according to differing amounts of extra heterochromatin. Four karyotypic forms were designed depending upon apparently distinct figures of X and Y chromosomes, i.e., Form A (X1, X2, X3, Y1), B (X2, X3, Y2), C (X1, Y3), and D (X3, Y4). Forms C and D were new metaphase karyotypes discovered in this study. Form A appeared to be common in both Thailand and Cambodia. Forms B and D were found to be rather specific to southern and northeastern Thailand, respectively, whereas Form C was confined to Cambodia. Hybridization experiments among the eight isoline colonies, which were representative of four karyotypic forms of An. nigerrimus, demonstrated genetic compatibility in giving viable progenies and synaptic salivary gland polytene chromosomes through F2-generations. These results elucidated the conspecific relationship, comprising four cytological forms within this taxon. Supportive evidence was confirmed further by very low intraspecific sequence variations (average genetic distance = 0.002–0.007) of the nucleotide sequences in ribosomal DNA [second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2)] and mitochondrial DNA [cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and subunit II (COII)].


Referential expressions are used to introduce and continue reference to entities with particular referential properties, but also with particular discourse properties. In this paper we investigate the referential and discourse properties of pe-marked indefinite direct objects in Romanian, which are an instance of Diff erential Object Marking (DOM). Pe-marking is generally obligatory for definite noun phrases but optional for indefinite ones. The optionality of pe marking with indefinite descriptions constitutes the focus of the present article. We will show that, on the one hand, pe with indefinite descriptions allows the realization of referential properties such as specific or wide scope readings, but that on the other hand, pe also signals discourse prominence, in particular in such contexts where referential properties are neutralized. We assume three parameters for discourse prominence, namely referential persistence, the topic-shift potential and the type of anaphoric referring expressions. We used these three parameters in a web-based story continuation experiment. The findings of the experiment revealed several interesting patterns: (i) that pe -marked direct objects are referentially more persistent than their unmarked counterparts, (ii) that pe -marked direct objects show a systematic preference to become topics two or three sentences after being introduced in the discourse, and (iii) that (modified) definite NPs were chosen to refer back to the referent of the marked as well as to the referent of the unmarked direct object. On the basis of the first two parameters we conclude that the relevant discourse contribution of pe is to signal to the hearer that subsequent information about that referent will follow, whereas the third parameter indicates that the referent of the pe -marked indefinite is not necessarily associated with a high level of activation. The general findings of the experiment support Kehler et al.'s (2008) intuition to differentiate between referential persistence and the activation level of the referent.


The identifying of the preferred breeding sites of
sand fly immature forms is quite important to the understanding of the vector's
biology and the development of more effective control strategies for
leishmaniasis. In the present study, it was analyzed experimentally; the
potential of dog feces of serving as breeding substrate to Lutzomyia longipalpis. Two situations were tested: 1) the life
cycle of the insects from larvae to adults, 2) the whole cycle from adults to
adults. Our results demonstrated for the first time that: 1) L. longipalpis can be easily bred in dog
feces, suggesting that it could represent a potential raising substrate to immature
forms for this species; 2) L. longipalpis larvae are able to make galleries on a substrate, literally burying themselves
in this to function also as a shelter; 3) from the previous information that
dogs infected with Ancylostoma caninum can present dodecanoic acid in their feces, we suggested that this substrate
may be particularly more attractive to L.
longipalpis females seen that this molecule is the same component of their
oviposition pheromone, which is produced by the accessory glands and secreted
onto the eggs; 4) after the copulation the males may landing on the substrate
and continued beating the wings intermittently until the death in a similar
behavior also noticed in other situations associated to kairomones response or
pheromone production. Therefore, we suggested that it is very likely that dog
excrements could serve as an important breeding substrate for L. longipalpis in endemic areas of visceral
leishmaniasis in the New World.


SUMMARY

We investigate the load-induced response of a Burgers earth model. In particular, using the incremental field equations and interface conditions of viscoelastodynamics, we give closed-form solutions for a two-layer half-space subjected to surface loading. In the special case of homogeneity, the solution shows that the Burgers half-space is characterized by two fundamental normal modes: Mo and M∞. They correspond to the short-and long-time viscosities, ηo and η∞, which describe the creep behaviour of the transient Burgers rheology at short and long times after the onset of loading. In the more general case of a Burgers substratum overlain by an elastic layer, the number of normal modes increases to four: Mo, Lo, M∞, L∞. Values of the parameters specifying the Burgers substratum are estimated by predicting the observed post-glacial uplift in Fennoscandia with a simple model of the Pleistocene glaciation history. The calculations return the following results: (1) an upper bound on η∞ cannot be determined: (2) a comparison with uplift curves for a steady-state Maxwell substratum shows that the marginal and peripheral regions of the Fennoscandian ice sheet are most sensitive to transient creep in the Earth's mantle; and (3) an estimate of η∞ cannot be obtained without a priori knowledge of the other parameters of Burgers rheology.


INTRODUCTION Studies of the relation of the structure to function of ribosomes can be approached in several ways. For example, the role of the various components of ribosomes can be directly analyzed by reconstitution experiments (see Nomura and Held, this volume). Another approach is modification of these components in situ by the use of specific reagents. In this article, the inactivation of ribosomes by colicin E3 will be discussed in the light of our developing understanding of its specific mode of action. COLICIN E3 The bacteriocins are bactericidal substances which are synthesized by certain strains of bacteria and have killing activity against some other strains of the same or closely related species. Colicins are one class of such bacteriocins. Several colicins have been studied with respect to their chemical nature, genetic determinants, and mode of action. Colicins are proteins and are produced by cells which carry a plasmid called colicinogenic factor or Col factor. The presence of a Col factor in a cell confers on it both the ability to produce the colicin as well as immunity against the corresponding colicin (Fredericq 1958). In killing sensitive cells, colicins first adsorb to specific receptors on the cell surface. Colicin E3 shares its adsorption specificity with colicins E1 and E2 and with bacteriophage BF23. Cells which lack such receptors are resistant to the colicins. For example, most of the mutants of E. coli that are resistant to BF23 are also resistant to colicins E1, E2, and E3; the resistance is due to...


This dataset contains the amount of money paid by UK higher education institutions to ten major publishers (Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Sage, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Nature Publishing Group, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Institute of Physics Publishing) for academic journals from 2010-14. The data was obtained by sending FOI requests to each institution through the website whatdotheyknow.com. It now represents over £430m of expenditure.


B. intermedius have been shown previously to secrete two serine proteinases: glutamyl endopeptidase 2 and subtilisin 2 during the late stationary phase, with maximal levels of the enzymes activities recorded at the 40th and 44th hours of growth, respectively. In the current study, we analyzed the impact of various culture medium components on biosynthesis of these proteinases. Yeast extract and gelatin did not stimulate the enzymes biosynthesis. However, on the medium containing 0.1% casein subtilisin 2 production increased to reach 140%. Biosynthesis of both serine proteinases, produced by B. intermedius at the late stationary phase, were found to be inhibited by individual amino acids, and to be insensitive to catabolite repression. In order to maximise enzyme production, the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ at concentration of 5 mM was shown to be necessary. Based on the results of this work, the composition of a complex culture media for the effective production of late stationary phase proteinases by B. intermedius was developed. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Our current understanding of the Earth System has significantly improved in recent years. As a result, the Anthropocene is seen as a major planetary emergency not only for humans but for other living organisms too. However, Earth System science lacks a proper integration of the social or human side and the natural side of the Earth System into an organic theoretical corpus. Without such an integration a comprehensive understanding of the Earth System is not possible, and the practical actions undertaken to face the Anthropocene crisis will only alleviate some of its effects but the planetary emergency will keep deepening. The epistemological reason underlying disagreement between natural and social sciences is that Earth System scientists understand the natural side of the Earth System and the Anthropocene from a dialectic and materialist perspective, whereas they understand the social side of the studied object from a positivist and idealist perspective. Such a dualist approach hampers a proper understanding and the practical actions aimed at transcending the planetary crisis. By consciously adopting a dialectic and materialist epistemic paradigm under which both natural and social realms are studied and understood, Earth System scientists would be able to identify the internal contradictions of the studied objects and, accordingly, to address the research in the suitable directions. In this way, structural solutions and not merely conjunctural measures to face the Anthropocene crisis could be formulated.


Experiments on guinea-pigs have shown the synergetic effect of the lyzed, low-molecular Brucella component (glucopeptide) and live brucellosis vaccine prepared from Br. abortus 82 on the antibacterial immunity index. After the injection of these preparations in succession (glucopeptide and then the vaccine) at an interval of 72 hours the number of immune animals increased 1.5-2 times in comparison with the animals receiving only one of these preparations.


Salient region detection is very useful in video analysis. A salient region detection method based on spatiotemporal visual attention model is proposed in this paper. Visual attention mechanism is used to generate saliency map of the image sequence. Spatial saliency map is computed in accordance with some predefined features including intensity, color and orientation. Temporal visual saliency of each pixel is calculated using motion feature. Both spatial saliency map and temporal saliency map are combined to obtain the overall visual saliency map. Then salient regions are detected based on the visual saliency map. The proposed salient region detection method has been tested on many videos. The experiment results show that the presented method is valid and effective. The detection results are consistent with human visual system.


1. In a recent paper Dirac* has brilliantly removed the defects before existing in the mechanics of the electron, and has shown how the phenomena usually called the " spinning electron " fit into place in the complete theory. He applies to he problem the method of q-numbers and, using non-commutative algebra, exhibits the properties of a free electron, and of an electron in a central field of electric force. In a second paper † he also discusses the rules of combination and the Zeeman effect. There are probably readers who will share the present writer's feeling that the methods of non-commutative algebra are harder to follow, and certainly much more difficult to invent, than are operations of types long familiar to analysis. Wherever it is possible to do so, it is surely better to present the theory in a mathematical form that dates from the time of Laplace and Legendre, if only because the details of the calculus have been so much more thoroughly explored. So the object of the present work is to take Dirac's system and treat it by the ordinary methods of wave calculus. The chief point of interest is perhaps the solution of the problem of the central field, which can be carried out exactly and leads to Sommerfeld's original formula for the hydrogen levels. But it is also of some interest to exhibit the relationship of the new theory to the previous equations which were derived empirically by the present writer.* It appears that those equations were an approximation to the new ones, derived by an approximate elimination of two of Dirac's four wave functions. We shall also review a few other points connected with the free electron, the emission of radiation from an atom and its magnetic moment, and shall outline a discussion of the Zeeman effect.


We discuss the consequences of Lorentz violation (as expressed within the Lorentz-violating extension of the standard model) for the hydrogen molecule, which represents a generic model of a molecular binding. Lorentz-violating shifts of electronic, vibrational and rotational energy levels, and of the internuclear distance are calculated. This offers the possibility of obtaining improved bounds on Lorentz invariance by experiments using molecules.


This research was aimed at finding whether or not the use of digital storytelling and dictionary can improve students' vocabulary mastery. To get the answer of the defined research questions, the researcher used quantitative approach and quasi experimental design. The research had been done in SMPN 1 Cilamaya Wetan, and took two classes as sample, namely, 8G and 8H with 40 respondents in each class. There were three steps in this research, namely pre-test, treatment, and post-test. Pre-test was held in both classes to know students' vocabulary mastery before the treatment. After doing pretest, treatment was held in experimental class by using digital storytelling and dictionary, that used the technology such as infocus, projector, speaker, and LCD in which the materials were taken from youtube, while control class only used song lyrics. In the next step, posttest was held in both classes to know the improvement after the treatment in experimental class. The data of the study were analyzed by using SPSS version 22 for windows. This research findings showed that experimental group had higher vocabulary score than control group. It can be seen from the posttest mean of experimental group was 74.75 , while the mean of control group was 60,62. Meanwhile, the average of normality gained in experimental group was 0.37 and the average of normality gained in control group was 0.075. Thus, the improvement of students' vocabulary mastery by using digital storytelling and dictionary in experiemental group is greater than using song in control group. It can be concluded that digital storytelling and dictionary improves vocabulary mastery of eight grader of SMPN 1 Cilamaya Wetan.


Few public sector organisations or departments have escaped the attention of the Government's, sometimes justified, preoccupation with reform and increased efficiency. Inevitably the process is painful and enjoys variable degrees of success in differing settings. What is certain is that effective change will not be achieved without strong and imaginative leadership at all levels in an organisation. Because of their culture, public sector organisations often start the journey with managers in key positions who will not be able to 'cut the mustard', will inhibit culture change and can be an anchor on progress. Others may feel out of their depth with the demands being placed upon them and will need support and mentoring to develop their skills and gain confidence. Success will therefore only be achieved by a team effort. This paper examines the recollections and experiences of one senior manager in the transition of the Prison Service.


In 1993 New Zealand passed into law the Companies Act. The Act was a combination of work done by the New Zealand Law Commission and the Justice Department. It was anticipated that the Act would provide all the information necessary to enable a prospective director to understand what was required in incorporating and winding up a company, as well as the requirements to be met whilst doing business using that form. This paper contends that the Act does not contain the Law Commission's original intentions in terms of directors' duties, compliance with which is argued to be the quid pro quo of the right to incorporate, where the company is a small or medium entity. The paper further contends that amendments to the Act are necessary to take account of the needs of small and medium entities and suggests possible amendments, in light of case law emphasising the need for directors to maintain a company's solvency, where failure to do so can trigger personal liability for directors.


Patterns of bilirubin staining were studied in nine infants with kernicterus related to nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia, all weighing less than 1200 g, and nine matched controls. Three staining patterns were disclosed: a localized pattern in the central nervous system of kernicteric infants, with only the thalamus staining significantly often; staining, in extraneural tissues (adrenal, myocardial, renal, and colonic mucosa) only in kernicteric infants, despite similar bilirubin levels in both groups; and yellow staining of the alveolar hyaline membranes as a function of survival duration in both groups. Bilirubin staining of tissue is apparently a generalized phenomenon, most recognized in the central nervous system as kernicterus. Failure to maintain the impermeability of the cell membrane coupled with regional differences in blood flow would best explain bilirubin distribution. In contrast, the degree of bilirubin staining of alveolar hyaline membranes is time related in kernicteric and control infants.


QUALITY-oriented meat production has grown during the past decade and its aim is to improve the harmonisation of product characteristics and consumer demands. Consumer concerns about quality are not limited solely to intrinsic characteristics, for example, meat quality, but often include extrinsic aspects, such as environment and animal welfare in relation to production. Legislation in various EU-member states is often based on animal health and welfare considerations, protecting personnel working with animals, as well as the health and safety of the animals themselves. This interaction, whether it be during housing, transport or slaughter, should not lead to unnecessary excitement, pain or suffering. The current level of animal welfare protection in the EU is one of the highest in the world. However, the European approach is under pressure because of the differences in animal welfare standards between EU member states. Postmortem measurements in the slaughterhouse provide valuable information for welfare evaluation; however, a good feedback system should be available and a process-oriented animal welfare assurance system developed. It is suggested using the meat inspection as an animal welfare diagnostic tool or in animal welfare surveillance schemes at national and international levels; …


Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), mainly caused by the Leishmania donovani parasitic infection, constitutes a potentially fatal disease, for which treatment is primarily dependent on chemotherapy. The emergence of a resistant parasite towards current antileishmanial agents and increasing reports of relapses are the major concerns. Detailed research on the molecular interaction at the host-parasite interface may provide the identification of the parasite and the host-related factors operating during disease development. Genomic and proteomic studies highlighted several essential secretory and cytosolic proteins that play vital roles during Leishmania pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to identify membrane proteins from the Leishmania donovani parasite and the host macrophage that interact with each other using 2-DE/MALDI-TOF/MS. We identified membrane proteins including activated protein C kinase, peroxidoxin, small myristoylated protein 1 (SMP-1), and cytochrome C oxidase from the parasite, while identifying filamin A interacting protein 1(FILIP1) and β-actin from macrophages. We further investigated parasite replication and persistence within macrophages following the macrophage-amastigote model in the presence or absence of withaferin (WA), an inhibitor of activated C kinase. WA significantly reduced Leishmania donovani replication within host macrophages. This study sheds light on the important interacting proteins for parasite proliferation and virulence, and the establishment of infection within host cells, which can be targeted further to develop a strategy for chemotherapeutic intervention.