We study the ground-state phase diagram of an interacting staggered Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) ladder in the vicinity of the Gaussian quantum critical point. The corresponding effective field theory is a double-frequency sine-Gordon (DSG) model which involves two perturbations at the Gaussian fixed point: the deviation from criticality and Umklapp scattering processes. A topological distinction between thermodynamically equivalent phases becomes only feasible when nonlocal fermionic fields, parity and string order parameter, are included into consideration. We prove that a noninteracting fermionic staggered SSH ladder is exactly equivalent to a O(2)-symmetric model of two decoupled Kitaev-Majorana chains, or two 1D p-wave superconductors. Close to the Gaussian fixed point the SSH ladder maps to an Ashkin-Teller like system when interactions are included. Thus, the topological order in the SSH ladder is related to broken-symmetry phases of the associated quantum spin-chain degrees of freedom. The obtained phase diagram includes a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid state which, due to Umklapp processes, can become unstable against either spontaneous dimerization or the onset of a charge-density wave (CDW). In these gapped phases elementary bulk excitations are quantum kinks carrying the charge QF = 1/2. For sufficiently strong, long-range interactions, the phase diagram of the model exhibits a bifurcation of the Gaussian critical point into two outgoing Ising criticalities. The latter sandwich a mixed phase in which dimerization coexists with a site-diagonal CDW. In this phase elementary bulk excitations are represented by two types of topological solitons carrying different fermionic charges, which continuously interpolate between 0 and 1. This phase has also mixed topological properties with coexisting parity and string order parameters.


ABSTRACT This study interrogates the demand and supply of transport infrastructure and services in peri-urban areas of Sunyani Municipality in Ghana. Structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with 100 households across three peri-urban communities in Sunyani (Abesim-Kyidom, Asuakwaa and Adomako). Findings revealed that a majority of peri-urban households (84%) in the study communities who commute daily to and from the city centre are faced with poor transport infrastructure (e.g. poor conditions of road) and unreliable services (e.g. unregulated public transport). Inadequate investment in transport infrastructure and services by the Ghanaian government, the limited activity locations in peri-urban areas, and the concentration of activity locations at the city centre were identified to be contributing to the poor state of transport infrastructure and services in the case study communities. Policy recommendations to improve the situation are further proffered.


Job-Shop Scheduling is the core contents of the CIMS research area and production logistics in the discrete manufacturing industry. To solve Job-Shop Scheduling problems, a scheduling mode1 based on MAS (Multi-Agent-System) is presented with multiple applications of genetic algorithm (GA) and contract-net mechanism. In the model, the entities in the job-shop are abstracted as Task Agent, Resource Agent, Control Agent and Cooperation agent. The scheduling mode1 is able to combine the flexibility of MAS and optimization through algorithms mentioned above. This model improves the literature proposed genetic algorithm, solves the dynamic job-shop scheduling problem by multi-agent consultative mechanism. According to compute the stimulating degree and equipment threshold, the new mission can be directly access to the appropriate sequence. At the same time, the use of genetic algorithm processing of the final route selection makes a reasonable allocation of resources. At the same time, the scheduling optimization objectives and the factors disturbing job-shop scheduling are analyzed in the paper.


Abstract This study investigated the seasonal variation of the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Eucalyptus radiata leaf essential oil. Young and mature Eucalyptus radiata leaf material was collected monthly (January 2014 to December 2014), hydrodistilled and analyzed using GC-MS. Essential oil yields ranged from 0.14% to 4.31% (w/w). The major compounds were 1,8-cineole (65.7% ± 9.5), α-terpineol (12.8% ± 4.4) and limonene (6.5% ± 2.4). Chemometric tools were used to determine seasonal variations, which showed slight variance in E. radiata chemistry between seasons. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay showed that the highest activity was noted against the Streptococci (0.19–2.00 mg/mL) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (0.19–1.75 mg/mL). The activity of the E. radiata leaf essential oil is dependent on the unique ratio of its compounds. The E. radiata leaf essential oil showed good oil yields, a relatively consistent chemical profile and noteworthy antimicrobial activity that rivals other commercial Eucalypt counterparts.


Background: Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular and chronic lung disease, but limited evidence exist on the risk for pneumonia. Aim: To investigate the effect of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution (up to 38 years) in Copenhagen and Aarhus on hospital admissions for pneumonia. Methods: We followed 57053 participants of Danish Cancer, Diet, and Health cohort, aged 50-65 years at baseline (1993-1997) in Danish hospital discharge register for first hospital admissions for pneumonia between baseline and 2010. The annual nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels were estimated at residential address since 1971 as a proxy of exposure to traffic-related air pollution. We modelled the association between mean NO 2 levels and hospitalizations for pneumonia using Cox regression. Results: During 12.7 years9 mean follow-up, 3024 (5.7%) out of 53239 eligible people were admitted to hospital for pneumonia. Mean NO 2 levels were significantly positively associated with risk for first pneumonia hospitalization in the full cohort (hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval per double mean exposure: 1.25; 1.13-1.35); with similar effect for first-ever pneumonia admission in 46462 people without earlier hospitalizations for pneumonia or co-morbid conditions defined by Charlson (1.23; 1.11-1.37), and in 6292 people with history of co-morbid conditions (1.22; 1.02-1.46), wheras enahnced association was observed in 485 people with a history of pneumonia hospitalizations (1.45; 0.85-2.47). Conclusions: Living in areas with high traffic-related air pollution increases the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia.


Uncertainty inherent in the financial market was usually consid- ered to be random. However, randomness is only one special type of uncer- tainty and appropriate when describing objective information. For describing subjective information it is preferred to assume that uncertainty is fuzzy. This paper defines the expected payoof trading strategies in a fuzzy financial market within the framework of credibility theory. In addition, a computable integral form is obtained for expected payoof each strategy.


Human cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) is one of the major drug metabolising enzymes which exhibits a broad substrate specificity. The B-C loop is located in the active-site but has been difficult to model, owing to its diverse and flexible structure. To elucidate the function of the B-C loop we used homology modelling based on the Cyp102 structure in combination with functional studies of mutants using diclofenac as a model substrate for CYP2C9. The study shows the importance of the conserved arginine in position 97 and the arginine in position 108 for the catalytic function. The R97A mutant had a 13-fold higher K(m) value while the V(max) was in the same order as the wild type. The R108 mutant had a 100-fold lower activity with diclofenac compared to the wild-type enzyme. The other six mutants (S95A, F100A, L102A, E104A, R105A, and N107A) had kinetic parameters similar to the CYP2C9 wild-type. Our homology model based on the CYP102 structure as template indicates that R97, L102, and R105 are directed into the active site, whereas R108 is not. The change in catalytic function when arginine 97 was replaced with alanine and the orientation of this amino acid in our homology model indicates its importance for substrate interaction.


For some years now it has been the policy of the BMJ Publishing Group, which jointly owns Heart with the British Cardiac Society, to give gratis subscriptions to their journals to applicants from countries in the developing world. However, in practice this has had its difficulties. Many developing countries have either poor or non-existent postal services, and granting a print subscription can often be problematic and expensive—for example, the marginal cost of sending Heart to Africa is around £25 each year.

An editorial in BMJ has set out the arguments very clearly.1 We know that the gap between …


Striatal large aspiny interneurons were recorded from a slice preparation using a combined electrophysiologic and microfluorometric approach. The role of intracellular Ca2+ stores was analyzed during combined oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). Before addressing the role of the stores during energy deprivation, the authors investigated their function under physiologic conditions. Trains of depolarizing current pulses caused bursts of action potentials coupled to transient increases in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). In the presence of cyclopiazonic acid (30 μmol/L), a selective inhibitor of the sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pumps, or when ryanodine receptors were directly blocked with ryanodine (20 μmol/L), the [Ca2+]i transients were progressively smaller in amplitude, suggesting that [Ca2+]i released from intracellular stores helps to maintain a critical level of [Ca2+]i during physiologic firing activity. As the authors have recently reported, brief exposure to combined OGD induced a membrane hyperpolarization coupled to an increase in [Ca2+]i. In the presence of cyclopiazonic acid or ryanodine, the hyperpolarization and the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by OGD were consistently reduced. These data support the hypothesis that Ca2+ release from ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ pools is involved not only in the potentiation of the Ca2+ signals resulting from cell depolarization, but also in the amplification of the [Ca2+]i rise and of the concurrent membrane hyperpolarization observed in course of OGD in striatal large aspiny interneurons.


Functional neuroimaging is widely used to examine changes in brain function associated with age, gender or neuropsychiatric conditions. FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies employ either laboratory-designed tasks that engage the brain with abstracted and repeated stimuli, or resting state paradigms with little behavioral constraint. Recently, novel neuroimaging paradigms using naturalistic stimuli are gaining increasing attraction, as they offer an ecologically-valid condition to approximate brain function in real life. Wider application of naturalistic paradigms in exploring individual differences in brain function, however, awaits further advances in statistical methods for modeling dynamic and complex dataset. Here, we developed a novel data-driven strategy that employs group sparse representation to assess gender differences in brain responses during naturalistic emotional experience. Comparing to independent component analysis (ICA), sparse coding algorithm considers the intrinsic sparsity of neural coding and thus could be more suitable in modeling dynamic whole-brain fMRI signals. An online dictionary learning and sparse coding algorithm was applied to the aggregated fMRI signals from both groups, which was subsequently factorized into a common time series signal dictionary matrix and the associated weight coefficient matrix. Our results demonstrate that group sparse representation can effectively identify gender differences in functional brain network during natural viewing, with improved sensitivity and reliability over ICA-based method. Group sparse representation hence offers a superior data-driven strategy for examining brain function during naturalistic conditions, with great potential for clinical application in neuropsychiatric disorders.


Summary The traditional view of the cnidarian nervous system is of a diffuse nerve net that functions as both a conducting and an integrating system; this is considered an indicator of a primitive condition. Yet, in medusoid members, varying degrees of nerve net compression and neuronal condensation into ganglion-like structures represent more centralized integrating centers. In some jellyfish, this relegates nerve nets to motor distribution systems. The neuronal condensation follows a precept of neuronal organization of higher animals with a relatively close association with the development and elaboration of sensory structures. Nerve nets still represent an efficient system for diffuse, non-directional activation of broad, two-dimensional effector sheets, as required by the radial, non-cephalized body construction. However, in most jellyfish, an argument can be made for the presence of centralized nervous systems that interact with the more diffuse nerve nets.


Objective To study and contrast the expression of Dystrophin in skeletal muscle and in Arrector pili muscle of the patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy(BMD). Methods Immunohistochemical stains using anti-Dystrphin monoclonal antibodies of three diffcrent domains(Dystrophin -N,-C,-R) were procedured for 11 patients with DMD,5 patients with BMD and 3 other patients with neuromyopathies. Analysis the expression of the Dystrophin in the skeletal muscles and in the skin. Results Compared to the controls, in the 11 cases with DMD, the Dystrophin -N,-C,-R on the sarcolemma of skeletal muscle were completely deficient; in the arrector pili muscles the Dystrophin- N、-R were absent, whereas the Dystrophin-C showed slightly expressed. In the 5 cases with the BMD, Dystrophin are partly deficient both on the sarcolemma of the skeletal muscle and in the arrector pili muscles. Conclusion It is completely or partly deficient on the sarcolamma of the skeletal muscle and in the arrector pili muscles in the patients with the DMD and BMD; Some as the skeletal muscle biopsy, the skin biopsy is also a useful, easy and trustworthy method to molecular pathological diagnose the DMD and BMD.


The increased serum level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in a case of renal cell carcinoma, a rare condition of AFP production by mesoderm-derived cells, was evaluated for its lectin reactivity by affinity electrophoresis, followed by the antibody-affinity transfer to nitrocellulose membranes for visualization of separated AFP bands. The AFP of this case was characterized by relative increases of concanavalin A-nonreactive AFP-C1 (60.4%), erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin-reactive AFP-P4 (37.8%) and AFP-P5 (46.3%) and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin-nonreactive AFP-A1s (66.7%), and by the total absence of lentil lectin-reactive components, AFP-L2 and AFP-L3. Thus, the lectin-reactive pattern of AFP markedly deviated not only from that of cord serum, but also from those of other malignancies and of fetal kidney cells in culture.


Chlorpyrifos (CP), a widely used pesticide, and its metabolite 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (3,5,6-TCP), are xenobiotic compounds detected in many biomes, notably in marine sediments, all over the world. These compounds are posing a serious environmental and health problem given their toxicity to wildlife and possible exposure effects to human neurodevelopment. Microorganisms at CP-impacted environments could harbor metabolic capabilities that can be used as indicators of the biological effects of the contaminant and could encode selected functions reactive against contaminants. Those features could be used for microbial ecotoxicology applications by collectively using analytical, enzymatic, microbiological and toxicological techniques in order to assess the biological effects of pollutants and other environmental/climatic stressors in ecosystems. The objective of this study was to assess the variability in the metabolic responses of yeast isolates from CP-contaminated marine sediments as potential biological indicators for microbial ecotoxicology testing. Sediment samples from a South Caribbean tropical shore (Cartagena Bay, Colombia) were collected, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was recovered from lyophilized aliquots. The DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) technique targeting fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) showed the great diversity of fungal types. Simultaneously, yeast strains were isolated from the freshly collected sediment samples. Physiological characterization including API 20C and antibiosis tests, growth patterns at salt concentrations (2/4/10/25%), temperatures (4/25/37/45 °C), esterase activity assay and resistance tests to CP/TCP toxicity resulted in 10 isolated yeast strains, identified as Candida spp. (6), Cryptococcus spp. (3). and Rhodotorula spp. (1), showing promising characteristics to be used as a test for yeast-based ecotoxicity indicators. The patterns of carbohydrate assimilation, low antibiosis, presence of esterases/lipases, growth in a wide range of temperatures and salt concentrations, and tolerance to minimal inhibitory concentrations of CP and TCP are factors useful for testing environmental samples.


Most technologies in use or proposed for use to detect landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) suffer from unacceptably high false-alarm rates, even at modest probabilities of detection. High false-alarm rates are a consequence of the inability to discriminate real UXO and landmines from man-made and naturally occurring clutter. Experimental data on expected signatures of UXO and landmines have been collected by various sensor developers and research agencies. However, an equivalent characterization of clutter returns has been lacking. As a result, background signatures have not been considered in sensor or algorithm design. The goal of the two-phase, DARPA-sponsored Background Clutter Data Collection Experiment is to begin to fill this void. The first phase, completed during the fall of 1996, consisted of high aerial density site surveys using the following sensor types: magnetometer, infrared electromagnetic induction, and ground-penetrating radar. The second phase, which is currently underway, consists of analysis of the collected sensor data to include excavation of clutter objects. This paper describes the clutter data collection program and provides a cursory summary of the analysis done to date.


Inquiry-based methods have been seen as important for developing science in the school. There are good reasons why the work of designing various technological devices in technology should also be part of inquiry-based methods. If so, it requires teachers having an exploratory approach in communicating with students. In this paper, we analyze the communication between teachers and students in six technology student projects. The main pattern is that teachers act instructively to students or try to convince them to use a solution they have planned in advance. Exploratory and moderating communication were less frequent. This is contrary to the intention of inquiry-based methods. However, active students, who themselves try to come up with solutions to the challenges, seem to contribute to a more exploratory approach from the teachers. The same goes for tasks that are so open that teachers will not be able to plan the solutions in advance.


In modern robust control, control synthesis may be cast as an interpolation problem where the interpolant relates to robustness and performance criteria. In particular, robustness in the gap fits into this framework and the magnitude of the corresponding interpolant dictate the robustness to perturbations of the plant as a function of frequency. In this paper we consider the correspondence between weighted entropy functionals and minimizing interpolants in order to find appropriate interpolants for e.g. control synthesis. There are two basic issues that we address: we first characterize admissible shapes of minimizers by studying the corresponding inverse problem, and then we develop effective ways of shaping minimizers via suitable choices of weights. These results are used in order to systematize feedback control synthesis to obtain frequency dependent robustness bounds with a constraint on the controller degree.


Aims and method There is a drive to increase the number of psychiatry foundation placements to ensure that training keeps up with the changing health and social care landscape. This qualitative study aimed to explore, by interview, the experiences of 17 doctors who have completed a foundation placement in psychiatry. Results The study highlights the benefits of foundation psychiatry placements and some of their positive and negative aspects. Clinical implications Those developing foundation placements will need to ensure they are of high quality.


She-Zih is a low-lying area in Taipei City where the Tanshui River and Keelung River meet. Average elevation is about 2.5 m. Perennial flood events occur very often. The only flood prevention facility is the 6 m levee built around the perimeter to overcome 20-yr flood events. The main cause of the flooding problem is the instantaneous extreme high rainfall events that often exceed the drainage capacity of She-Zih. Current solutions to relieve this water hazard, suggested by the Water Resources Agency, include channel widening and many water pumping installations. At present, all emergency facilities are insufficient to combat unexpected heavy storms. Therefore, this study attempts to design drainage systems using the available limited land space, along with rainwater catchment systems, in order to achieve the expected flood prevention goal. These study results may provide adequate references for residents and government agencies to design future flood prevention management plans and strategies.This study gathers information from previous literatures to understand initially the effect of storm runoff in this low-lying area, the flood mitigation benefits of building rooftop catchment systems and the drainage systems. Scaled-down rooftop simulation experiments are then conducted with different rainfall intensities and retention rates to evaluate their effects on flood mitigation. Study results indicate that for low intensity rain, a 55% and 69% flood retention efficiency may be obtained using the lower capping device (2.5 cm) and the higher capping device (5.0 cm), respectively. For medium intensity rain, a 58% and 70% flood retention efficiency may be obtained using the lower capping device and the higher capping device, respectively. For high intensity rain, a 46% and 63% flood retention efficiency may be obtained using the lower capping device and the higher capping device, respectively. In addition, eight locations are selected for temporary retention ponds construction in order to enhance the flood mitigation effect. Stored flood water may then be drained out through pumping or connecting drainages ditches.


The aim of this study is to compare Least Squares Regression (LSR) and Principal Components Regression (PCR) results when multicollinearity is determined in a dataset.In order to examine the effect of the degree of multicollinearity in the study, 10 datasets with different levels of multicollinearity were derived. Each data set consists of three independent and one dependent variable, and the variables were derived from the standard normal distribution. The multicollinearity status in the derived data has been demonstrated by the commonly used metrics to determine multicollinearity. Least Squares and Principal Components Regression was applied to all datasets.
When generating multicollinearity, all relationships were defined as positive in data simulation. However, the sign of the regression coefficients for the second (X2) and third (X3) independent variables were obtained as reverse (negative) as one of the expected effects of multicollinearity in Least Squares analysis. In the analysis of the Principal Components Regression, the sign of coefficients was found to be in the right direction (positive). The sign of the coefficients obtained from OLS and PCR were different and they also differed in magnitude. In addition, the standard errors of the coefficients in PCR results were lower than OLS results.
The existence of multicollinearity must be examined while performing multiple linear regression analysis, and if multicollinearity is determined, one of the methods that can solve this situation should be used. Otherwise, the estimations to be made as a result of regression may lead to wrong results. In line with the results of this study, it is recommended to use Principal Components Regression instead of Least Squares regression in case of multicollinearity in the data.


This paper discusses the relationship between sport and tourism in reference to a specific hallmark event, the F´de´ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2002 Football World Cup. In particular, it investigates the terrorism-related issues that affected the event and the possible implications for future mega sporting events in Australia. It seeks to contribute to awareness of spectator experiences of this event by understanding perceptions of safety and responses to security measures. A questionnaire survey of a convenience-based sample of World Cup spectators in the Republic of Korea was undertaken to determine: the extent to which the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on 11 September, 2001 changed these sport tourists' motivations to attend the event; how safe they felt in Korea during the World Cup; and how risk management measures taken by the event organizers impacted on the tourists' level of enjoyment. The findings are discussed in the context of sport event management, concluding with consequences for the future organization of sports events. While this study focused on the impact of an act of terrorism, it is suggested that the implications of other critical incidences with global ramifications, such as the recent war in Iraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) need to be taken into account when planning mega sporting events.


The multifractal analysis of the atomic Force Microscope (AFM) images of the Niobium (Nb) thin ˇlm surfaces has been performed. These Nb ˇlms are being used for the measurements of the London penetration depth of stationary magnetic ˇeld by polarized neutron refectometry. The analysis shows the behavior of Rsenyi dimensions of images (in the range of available scales 6Ä2000 nm), like the known multifractal p-model, with typical Hausdorff dimension of prevalent color in the range of 1.6 − 1.9. This indicates the fractal nature of ˇlm landscape on those scales. The perspective of new mechanism of order parameter suppression on superconductor-vacuum boundary, manifested in anomalous magnetic ˇeld penetration, is discussed. The investigation has been performed at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics and at the Laboratory of Computing Techniques and Automation, JINR.


Recurrent respiratory papillomas are benign airway tumors caused by Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) types 6 and 11. The disease is characterized by multiple recurrences of papillomas following surgical removal, caused by activation of latent HPV DNA. Most patients have laryngeal disease, while only a small subset has tracheal involvement. We have asked whether the lower frequency of tracheal papillomas was due to reduced prevalence of latent/subclinical tracheal HPV infection or reduced likelihood of activation to clinically apparent disease. A total of 121 biopsies of clinically normal laryngeal and tracheal tissues from 61 patients with laryngeal papillomas were analyzed for HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction, confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. Patients were followed for 3–18 years (mean = 5.5 ± 4.4), with only one developing subsequent tracheal disease. There was no significant difference in prevalence of latent HPV DNA between larynx and trachea, analyzing either those patients with a single biopsy or those with more than one biopsy of larynx, trachea, or both. There was also no significant difference between tracheal latency with HPV 6 and HPV 11. We conclude that HPV infects tracheal mucosa and is maintained as a latent infection in the trachea as efficiently as in the larynx. Therefore, we propose that the low frequency of tracheal disease reflects a lower frequency of HPV activation, and postulate that cellular factors that differ between the stratified squamous epithelium of the larynx and the ciliated pseudo‐stratified columnar epithelium of the trachea contribute to this difference. J. Med. Virol. 72:473–477, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


PURPOSE
Patients with spasticity suffer not only from neurological problems but also from various dentistry problems due to spasticity of the jaw muscles. Measurements of motion in temporomandibular joints should reflect the amount of abnormal muscle tone of these muscles. The aim of this study was to find out if the measurements of temporomandibular joint movements performed with the ultrasound Zebris device are different in cerebral palsy patients than in healthy subjects; and to find out if the information on the degree of spasticity in the lower legs provided by the Wartenberg test could be used to predict the degree of spasticty in the jaw muscles.

METHOD
Twenty five healthy subjects and 25 cerebral palsy patients participated in the study. Two types of measurements were performed: temporomandibular movements measured with Zebris device, and instrumented Wartenberg test.

RESULTS
The laterotrusion and opening movements are different in CP patients than in healthy subjects. Laterotrusion movement correlates with velocity measured during the Wartenberg test.

CONCLUSION
This finding suggests that high spasticity in the lower legs could indicate jaw movement restrictions in CP patients.


The hemolysin, listeriolysin 0 (LLO), produced by Listeria monocytogenes is both a virulence factor and an immunodominant Ag. In this study, we investigated how the lytic activity of LLO effects the context of presentation of two known LLO epitopes by either class I or class II MHC molecules. T cell hybridomas were used to monitor each peptide/MHC ligand. APCs infected with strains of Listeria expressing hemolytic LLO strongly presented the class I MHC epitope; however, this ligand was not well presented by cells infected with nonhemolytic Listeria. In contrast, there was almost no presentation of the class II-binding LLO epitope in cells infected with fully hemolytic Listeria. Only hemolysin-deficient Listeria were presented by class II MHC. Listeria expressing wild-type LLO but deficient in other virulence factors showed a presentation pattern equivalent to that of hemolytic Listeria. To address further the divergence of presentation, we used an intercellular spread assay to detect Ag presentation by cells neighboring the primarily infected one. We found that hemolytic Listeria were presented by both class I and II MHC on cells adjacent to the initially infected one(s). Finally, our kinetic analysis of presentation revealed that the class II ligand is presented over 4 h before the class I ligand. We have demonstrated that LLO's lytic activity potentiates presentation of listerial Ags by class I MHC and inhibits presentation via class II MHC. LLO-mediated intracellular localization (cytoplasmic vs endosomal) of bacteria corresponds to the operative presentation pathway.


Multicopy utility-based forwarding algorithms are popular in opportunistic mobile networks. They aim to gain high system throughput while keeping the cost low. However, most of them ignore the fairness issue on the successful delivery rate among users. In this paper, we analyze the fairness evaluation of the success rate distribution, and we propose a new fair packet-forwarding strategy based on packet priority. We formulate the opportunistic packet-forwarding process as a discrete-time Markov chain and deduce a stationary probability distribution vector. Instead of taking the hill-climbing heuristic on utility comparison, we introduce a lower utility tolerance mechanism for the decision-making process of each node, and we theoretically demonstrate that the proposed mechanism may be used to control the success rate of packet delivery by changing a simple parameter. In addition, we adopt a message-duplication restricting mechanism to adjust the number of replications based on packet priority. Our proposed protocol can work as a plug-in for traditional utility-based forwarding algorithms. The performance is compared with several well-known opportunistic routing protocols via both a synthetic model and real human mobility traces. The results show that our protocol improves the fairness in successful delivery rates among users while maintaining almost the same system throughput. Moreover, it reduces the cost of traditional utility-based forwarding algorithms, rendering our proposed scheme not only fair but efficient as well.


Cerebral palsy is the developmental and postural disorder that combines a group of conditions/disease (neuromuscular), occurs in the developing fetal or infant brain, affects movement and intelligence that are ascribed to non-progressive disturbances. Orthotics is the branch of modern health science and rehabilitation that deals with assessment, prescription, fabrication, fitment, and purposeful gait training to the individual who needs orthosis for optimal independence. Orthoses are external devices that applied to increase function, prevent contracture and deformity, maintain the limbs in a functional position, stabilize the segments of the body, support the weak muscle and its functions, increase motor control, reduce spasticity, protect the limbs, and body segments in the postoperative condition.


Burton, Bruce & Johnston (1990) have recently presented an interactive activation and competition (IAC) model of face recognition. Within this architecture they present accounts of repetition priming, semantic priming and distinctiveness effects with faces. This model predicts that a short-lived priming effect should extend from a person's face to their name, this is called 'self priming'. The model also predicts that the distinctiveness of the person's face should interact with the amount of self priming found. We tested this prediction with distinctive and typical face sets (Expt 1); results confirmed the prediction. From a hybrid of Valentine's (1991 a) multidimensional space framework and Burton et al.'s IAC model we derived a second prediction, that a caricature of a face should produce more self-priming than the veridical or an anti-caricatured (shifted towards an average face) representation of the face. Using continuous-tone caricatures of photographic quality we tested this prediction in Expts 2 and 3; results again confirmed the prediction. This finding is consistent with the idea that caricaturing works by enhancing the face's distinctiveness.


S.R. Ranganathan (1892-1972) donned many a hats at a time- a revolutionary thinker, philosopher, educationist, preacher, doer, missionary, teacher, a librarian, and above all a crusader. He worked single-mindedly and tirelessly for the development of libraries and library science in India. More than purveyor of information and knowledge, he valued libraries as instruments for all-round development of the country. At heart he was an internationalist, a humanist who saw libraries as a force in world peace and cooperation (Satija,1992).


Communication is the central social process used to deliver health care and promote public health. Ehealth applications, the use of new information technologies in health care and health promotion, have developed as new tools for communicating with diverse audiences of health care consumers and providers. The growth of ehealth tools has spurred an information revolution within the modern health care system that holds tremendous promise for enhancing the delivery of care and the promotion of health (Neuhauser & Kreps, 2010). Yet, there is much to learn about the best ways to design and implement health information technologies. The development, adoption, and implementation of a broad range of new ehealth applications, such as health information websites, online social support networks, interactive electronic health records, health decision support systems, tailored health education programs, health care system web portals, mobile health communication devices, and advanced telehealth applications, all promise to increase consumer and provider access to relevant health information, enhance the quality of care, reduce health care errors, increase collaboration, and encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors. However, with the growth of new and exciting HIT opportunities comes the daunting responsibility to design eHealth tools that communicate effectively with a diverse array of health care consumers, providers, and policy makers. These tools must be designed to effectively communicate the right information needed by different audiences at the right time, in the right place, and in the best ways to guide health care and health promotion. Evidence suggests that ehealth tools should be interactive, interoperable, easy to use, engaging, adaptable, and accessible for diverse audiences (Neuhauser & Kreps, 2010). This special issue of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication examines the strategic use of ehealth applications to enhance the promotion of health. The ehealth interventions examined in this special issue are designed for diverse and vulnerable groups of health care consumers (such as patients coping with chronic health care problems, consumers who have low levels of health literacy, and members of marginalized populations who suffer from disparities in health outcomes), health care providers (both formal health professionals and informal caregivers/advocates), as well as health care system administrators and health policy makers. The special issue begins with an important case study by Ginossar and Nelson describing a community-based e-health intervention to increase knowledge and self-efficacy for low-income Hispanic parents coping with their young children's


KrF excimer laser annealing on ultrathin hydrogenated amorphous Si films with various initial Si thicknesses is carried out to obtain a single layer of nanocrystalline Si structures. It is found that Si nanograins can be obtained with the area density as high as 1011 cm−2 under the irradiation with suitable laser fluence. Raman and planar transmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the formation process of Si nanocrystals from amorphous phase. Moreover, a strong photoluminescence is observed at room temperature from well-relaxed nanocrystalline Si structures.


4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) is one of the most vital targets for herbicides discovery. In search for HPPD inhibitors with novel scaffolds, a series of aryl-naphthyl methanone derivatives have been designed and synthesized through alkylation and Friedel-Crafts acylation reactions. The bioassay indicated some of these compounds displayed preferable herbicidal activity at the rate of 0.75 mmol/m2 by post-emergence application, in which compound 3h displayed the best herbicidal activity. The molecular docking showed that compound 3h could bind well to the active site of the AtHPPD. This study shows that aryl-naphthyl methanone derivatives could be a potential lead structure for further development of novel herbicides.


Background Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important adaptive trait for soil water deficit. The molecular and physiological bases of WUE regulation in crops have been studied in detail in the context of plant breeding. Knowledge for most forest tree species lags behind, despite the need to identify populations or genotypes able to cope with the longer, more intense drought periods likely to result from climate warming. Results We aimed to bridge this gap in knowledge for sessile oak (Quercus Petraeae Matt. L.), one of the most ecologically and economically important tree species in Europe, using a factorial design including two genotypes (low and high WUE) and two watering regimes (control and drought). By monitoring the ecophysiological response, we were able to identify groups of genotypes with high and low WUE. We then performed RNA-seq to quantify gene expression for the most extreme genotypes exposed to two watering regimes. By analyzing the interaction term, we were able to capture the molecular strategy of each group of plants for coping with drought. Regardless of water availability, the high WUE genotypes overexpressed genes associated with drought responses, and the control of stomatal density and distribution, and displayed a downregulation of genes associated with early stomatal closure and high transpiration rate. High-WUE genotypes, thus, coped with drought by fine-tuning the expression of genes with known functions in the regulation of stomatal size, density, movement or aperture and transpiration rate. Conclusion Fine physiological screening of sessile oaks with contrasting WUE, and their molecular characterization i) highlighted subtle differences in transcription between low and high WUE genotypes, identifying key molecular players in the genetic control of this trait, and ii) revealed the genes underlying the molecular strategy that had evolved in each group to cope with water deficit, providing new insight into the value of WUE for adaptation to drought.


A series of 34 patients repaired by folded, bipaddled composite flaps for head and neck cancer surgical defects is presented. Pectoralis major composite flap was used in 33 patients on musculovascular pedicle and 1 patient had a latissimus dorsi composite flap free‐tissue transfer. The pectoralis major rib, osteomyocutaneous flap was utilized in 6 patients who had lesions of the mouth floor and anterior mandibular arch. The incorporated rib was used as a vascularized bone graft for the stability of mandibular fragments. Thus, one regional composite flap used in bipaddled fashion enabled the reconstruction of mucosal, skin, and mandibular arch defects.


Abstract We analysed the web construction-behaviour of an ideal orb web-building spider using a computer model that constructed artificial webs with a Rule Based Simulation and optimised them with a Genetic Algorithm (GA). The GA simulated adaptation towards an adjustable ecological niche in a population of artificial (cyber) spiders. Web construction behaviour in each cyber spider was controlled by a set of rule parameters (encoded in artificial genes) resulting in different web shapes. We then statistically compared the best cyber webs from our optimisation runs with real webs ofAraneus diadematusbuilt under controlled, experimental conditions in the laboratory. Web characteristics like spiral distances, eccentricities and vertical hub location could to a large degree be accurately simulated with the model. In addition, falsification of working hypotheses using the model pointed to incomplete or wrong assumptions about the behaviour under study which became apparent when web geometry adapted poorly.


Mass data traffics, low-latency wireless services and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have driven the emergence of a new paradigm for wireless networks, namely edge-intelligent networks, which are more efficient and flexible than traditional cloud-intelligent networks. Considering users' privacy, model sharing-based federated learning (FL) that migrates model parameters but not private data from edge devices to a central cloud is particularly attractive for edge-intelligent networks. Due to multiple rounds of iterative updating of high-dimensional model parameters between base station (BS) and edge devices, the communication reliability is a critical issue of FL for edge-intelligent networks. We reveal the impacts of the errors generated during model broadcast and model aggregation via wireless channels caused by channel fading, interference and noise on the accuracy of FL, especially when there exists channel uncertainty. To alleviate the impacts, we propose a robust FL algorithm for edge-intelligent networks with channel uncertainty, which is formulated as a worst-case optimization problem with joint device selection and transceiver design. Finally, simulation results validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Using Rho GTPases-inhibiting clostridial cytotoxins, we showed recently in RBL cells that the GTPase Rac is involved in FcεRI (high-affinity receptor for IgE) signaling and receptor-mediated calcium mobilization, including influx via calcium release-activated calcium channels. Here, we studied the role of Rho GTPases in muscarinic M1 receptor signaling in RBL 2H3-hm1 cells. Clostridium difficile toxin B, which inactivates Rho, Rac, and Cdc42, and Clostridium sordellii lethal toxin, which inhibits Rac but not Rho, blocked M1-mediated exocytosis, indicating that Rac but not Rho is involved in the regulation of receptor-mediated exocytosis. Although antigen-induced FcεRI stimulation caused tyrosine phosphorylation of the Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav, M1 stimulation by carbachol activated Rac independently of Vav. The Rac-inactivating toxins blocked M1 receptor-induced membrane translocation of the pleckstrin homology domain of protein kinase B, which is a phosphoinositide 3-kinase effector. The M1-induced calcium release from internal stores was not affected by toxin B; however, the subsequent calcium influx from the extracellular space was inhibited. The data suggest that besides capacitative calcium entry, the M1 signaling pathway activates further calcium entry channels with mechanisms that are not affected by the inhibition of Rac.


A Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, pale-red-pigmented, non-motile, rod-shaped strain designated HG677(T) was isolated from a sediment sample collected at Nagasuka Fishery Harbor in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the novel isolate was affiliated with the phylum Bacteroidetes and that it showed highest sequence similarity (97.2%) to Sunxiuqinia elliptica DQHS4(T). The hybridization values for DNA-DNA relatedness between the strains of HG677(T) and Sunxiuqinia elliptica DQHS4(T) were lower than 70%, which is accepted as the phylogenetic definition of a novel species. The DNA G+C content of strain HG677(T) was 47.5 mol%; MK-7 was the major menaquinone; and the presence of iso-C15:0 and iso-C17:0 3-OH as the major cellular fatty acids supported the identification of the novel isolate as a member of the genus Sunxiuqinia. A complex polar lipid profile was present consisting of phosphatidylethanolamine, unidentified phospholipids, an unidentified aminolipid and four unidentified lipids. From the distinct phylogenetic position and combination of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, the strain is considered to represent a novel species for which the name Sunxiuqinia rutila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Sunxiuqinia rutila is HG677(T) (= KCTC 32434(T) = NBRC 109919(T)).


This paper presents experimental work on recursive identification of an electro-hydraulic system that represented by a discrete-time model in open-loop and closed-loop configurations. A recursive least square (RLS) method is used to estimate the unknown parameters of the system based on auto regression with exogenous input (ARX) model. Residual analysis is utilized for a model validation. Results are presented which show variations in parameters of the electro-hydraulic system. From the results obtained, position tracking for electro-hydraulic system can be implemented by using conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller with the aim of the modeling validation.


A novel Reversible data hiding technique in encrypted image is presented in this paper. Reversible data hiding in encrypted images maintains the excellent property, that the original cover can be losslessly recovered after embedded data is extracted while protecting the content's security. In Reversible Data hiding technique instead of embedding data in encrypted Image directly some pixels are estimated before encryption so that additional data can be embedded in the estimating error.RC4 algorithm is applied to the rest pixels of the image and a special encryption scheme is designed to encrypt the estimating error. Without the encryption key one cannot get access to the original image. Providing with data hiding key only one can embed in or extract from the encrypted image additional data without knowledge of the original images.In other words ,data extraction and image recovery are free of error for all images .Experiments gives the feasibility and efficiency of proposed method. Especially in aspects of embedding rate versus Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR).


The value of understanding the procedural knowledge that young children bring with them to the Design and Technology task is addressed in this paper. The research so far provides an investigation into young children's learning strategies and goes some way towards identifying emergent, developing and changing strategies during Key Stage One. It challenges the conventional Technology problem solving models and strategy cycles and poses questions concerning optimal times of capability. In doing so it attempts to gain greater insight into children's motivation for their actions and through their perceptions of the classroom culture, raises broader issues regarding early years education.


We introduce LTrack, a new tracking attack on LTE that allows an attacker to stealthily extract user devices' locations and permanent identifiers (IMSI). To remain stealthy, the localization of devices in LTrack is fully passive, relying on our new uplink/downlink sniffer. Our sniffer records both the times of arrival of LTE messages and the contents of the Timing Advance Commands, based on which LTrack calculates locations. LTrack is the first to show the feasibility of a passive localization in LTE through implementation on software-defined radio. Passive localization attacks reveal a user's location traces but can at best link these traces to a device's pseudonymous temporary identifier (TMSI), making tracking in dense areas or over a long time-period challenging. LTrack overcomes this challenge by introducing and implementing a new type of IMSI Catcher named IMSI Extractor. It extracts a device's IMSI and binds it to its current TMSI. Instead of relying on fake base stations like existing IMSI Catchers, which are detectable due to their continuous transmission, IMSI Extractor relies on our uplink/downlink sniffer enhanced with surgical message overshadowing. This makes our IMSI Extractor the stealthiest IMSI Catcher to date. We evaluate LTrack through a series of experiments and show that in line-of-sight conditions, the attacker can estimate the location of a phone with less than 6m error in 90% of the cases. We successfully tested our IMSI Extractor against a set of 17 modern smartphones connected to our industry-grade LTE testbed. We further validated our uplink/downlink sniffer and IMSI Extractor in a test facility of an operator.


Capsule Clutch size and female body mass play major roles in duck incubation behaviour. Aims To investigate the effects of incubation stage, clutch size, body size, body mass and weather on incubation attentiveness. Methods Incubation behaviour was monitored with Temperature Data Loggers (TDLs). Nest temperature fluctuations were recorded both in the field in Common Pochards Aythya ferina and in aviaries in Mallards Anas platyrhynchos using TDLs deposited either in the nest (Pochards) or in a dummy egg placed in the clutch (Mallards). Both methods allowed data collection on incubation attentiveness. Results Incubation attentiveness increased over the incubation period and with clutch size for both species. Body size appeared to affect incubation rhythms in Mallards only. Female Pochards were found to reload their nest with fresh material in response to precipitation events, presumably owing to the rise in water level. Conclusions Clutch size and female body mass play major roles in duck incubation behaviour. Climatic events can also be prominent factors influencing incubation behaviour. We describe for the first time the nesting behaviour of Pochard females and show that they have the capacity to adjust nest topology in response to a rise in water level following rain.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a small-scale study to explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Irish primary teachers' evolving identities.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a narrative methodological approach, the study was underpinned by Kelchtermans' (2009) interpretive framework. Five Irish primary teachers participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The teachers' narratives focused on what it meant to "be" a teacher during the pandemic, their overall experience of teaching and learning, their motivation during (and beyond) this time, lessons learned and their future perspectives.

Findings
The paper found that teachers' identities shifted and evolved over the course of the pandemic, as they initially struggled to make sense of the significant challenges. However, the emergent self-image, as illustrated here, is characterised by commitment, altruistic motivation and personal and professional growth. The study also demonstrated a reconstruction of teachers' identities, in line with reconfigured relationships with parents, a renewed commitment to space and time in teaching and learning and an attendance to pupil voice.

Originality/value
There is little specific research on how teachers' identities have been redefined over the course of the pandemic. This admittedly small-scale study offers insights on how teachers viewed themselves during the pandemic, what it means to be a teacher at this tumultuous time and gives voice to the hard-learned lessons they take with them into a post-Covid era.


SHORT ABSTRACT This paper summarizes how to visualize the flexible inter-domain movements of CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 using single molecule FRET LONG ABSTRACT The CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 is widely used as a genome editing tool because of its ability to be programmed to cleave any DNA sequence that is followed by a protospacer adjacent motif. The continuing expansion of Cas9 technologies has stimulated studies regarding the molecular basis of the Cas9 catalytic process. Here we summarize methods for single molecule FRET (smFRET) to visualize the inter-domain movements of Cas9 protein. Our measurements and analysis demonstrate flexible and reversible movements of the Cas9 domains. Such flexible movements allow Cas9 to adopt transient conformations beyond those solved by crystal structures and play important roles in the Cas9 catalytic process. In addition to the smFRET measurement itself, to obtain precise results, it is necessary to validate Cas9 catalytic activity. Also, fluorescence anisotropy data are required to interpret smFRET data properly. Thus, in this paper, we describe the details of these important additional experiments for smFRET measurements.


The knowledge of initial flux, energy and flavor of neutrino beams is currently the main limitation for a precise measurement of neutrino cross sections. The ENUBET project is studying a facility based on a narrow band neutrino beam capable of constraining the neutrino fluxes normalization through the monitoring of the associated charged leptons in an instrumented decay tunnel. In particular, the identification of large-angle positrons from $K_{e3}$ decays at single particle level can potentially reduce the $\nu_{e}$ flux uncertainty at the level of 1%.The ENUBET Collaboration presented at EPS-HEP2019 the advances in the design and simulation of the hadron beam line, the performance of positron tagger prototypes tested at CERN beamlines, a full simulation of the positron reconstruction chain and the expected physics reach.


Lactic acid, traditionally obtained through fermentation processes, presents numerous applications in the chemical industry. Among these is the production of polymers, more specifically biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA). Development of processes that use low cost substrates, such as bioproduction of lactic acid, could improve the economic viability of bioprocesses. Thus, the present work reports investigation of hemicellulose hydrolysate from sugarcane bagasse as a sole carbon source for lactic acid production by Lactobacillus pentosus ATCC 8041. Initially, sugarcane bagasse was pretreated with acid in a solid:liquid ratio of 1:2.8 (1 g of bagasse: 2.8 mL of sulfuric acid solution 1 % v/v) and at a temperature of 121°C for 27 minutes. Then, concentration of both the hemicellulose hydrolysate and the yeast extract in MRS medium were optimized usingResponse Surface Methodology through software STATISTICA 6.0. Once the optimal conditions (40 % of hemicellulose hydrolysate and 5 g/L of yeast extract) were validated, fermentations were carried out in anaerobic conditions at 37°C and 120 rpm. After 48h, 19.17 g/L of lactic acid were produced, corresponding to a volumetric productivity of 0.40 g/L.h1. Findings of this work demonstrate that hemicellulose hydrolysate from sugarcane bagasse is a promising carbon source for lactic acid production.


2017) Abstract To obtain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurement of membrane protein, an NMR magnet is required to generate high intensity, homogeneity, and stability of field. A High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) magnet is a promising alternative to a conventional Low-Temperature Superconducting (LTS) NMR magnet for high field, current density, and stability margin. Conventionally, an HTS coil has been wound by several winding techniques such as Single-Pancake (SP), Double-Pancake (DP), and layer-wound. The DP winding technique has been frequently used for a large magnet because long HTS wire is generally difficult to manufacture, and maintenance of magnet is convenient. However, magnetic field generated by the slanted turns and the splice leads to field inhomogeneity in Diameter of Spherical Volume (DSV). The field inhomogeneity degrades performance of NMR spectrometer and thus effect of the slanted turns and the splice should be analyzed. In this paper, field gradient of HTS double-pancake coils considering the slanted turns and the splice was calculated using Biot-Savart law and numerical integration. The calculation results showed that magnetic field produced by the slanted turns and the splice caused significant inhomogeneity of


Background: Ischemic heart disease often results in myocardial infarction, after which surviving tissue undergoes remodeling. Unfortunately, the regenerative capacity of adult cardiomyocytes is poor. Repopulating myocardium with contractile cells is an objective of regenerative medicine. The most investigated strategy is implantation of stem cells. An alternative approach is stimulating cardiomyocytes to re-enter the cell cycle and progress to mitosis and cytokinesis through gene-mediated interventions targeting cell cycle regulators, or by injecting genes coding for mitotic cytokines. Objective/methods: To summarize work done and examine postnatal growth of the heart in small rodents and large mammals to emphasize the need for caution when extrapolating results from mice and rats to humans. Results/conclusions: Today we have evidence that under certain circumstances adult cardiomyocytes re-enter the cell cycle and advances to mitosis, The problem is that our current knowledge of the triggering phenomena and the cascade of events leading to cardiomyocyte mitosis is poor.


Multiple epizootics of typhlocolitis associated with high morbidity and mortality occurred among suckling mice in an arbovirology research laboratory. Affected mice had necrosis and hyperplasia of cecal, colonic, and less often, small intestinal mucosa. Epithelial syncytia were present throughout the affected areas. Other organs generally were not involved. The etiologic agent was a coronavirus antigenically related to mouse hepatitis virus strains 1 and S. Sera from dams of affected litters and recovered animals did not contain detectable complement fixing antibody to coronavirus antigen. The lesions and the causative agent differed from previously reported coronaviral syndromes in mice. The source of the infection was not definitely found.


Objective: Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency manifests genetic polymorphism and prevalence of its varying among geographic regions and ethnic groups. G6PD deficiency is important in Gaziantep, Turkey because high deficiency prevalence was observed in Adana and Antakya, the neighbouring  Mediterranean cities. Methods: In this study, sera from 306 subjects (166 female, 140 male) between 1-80 years old were for erythrocyte G6PD activity with International Committee for Standardization in Hematology (ICSH) method. After excluding the outliers, 95 % interpercentile interval was accepted as reference limit. Results: In Gaziantep reference group erythrocyte G6PD activity limits for subjects over one year old are 6.4 - 13.2 U/ g Hb, 30oC. Seven subjects with low enzyme activities indicate that G6PD deficiency frequency is approximately 2.3  ± 1% in Gaziantep. Conclusion: G6PD deficiency frequence is approximately 2.3 ± 1 % in Gaziantep which is higher than the mean prevalence in Turkey. Key words:  Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, reference limits, deficiency frequency


Permalloy bilayers grown in orthogonal applied fields demonstrated unusual coupling phenomena in Kerr-effect observations. The films were grown by ultrahigh-vacuum ion-beam sputtering in an applied field of 28 Oe that established a well-defined anisotropy direction. Midway through the deposition, the substrates were rapidly turned 90 degrees in the applied field, including an orthogonal anisotropy direction in the second layer of the film. With layers of equal thickness, a simple model predicts the bilayer to be isotropic in the plane of the film, regardless of the strength or mechanism of any interlayer coupling. Instead, the initial layer acquired the anisotropy orientation of the second layer grown. This unusual coupling was investigated for a number of bilayer structures of different thicknesses. >


This paper argues that two related concepts, process consultation and, in particular, the clinical perspective, developed by the organisational psychologist Edgar Schein, can improve the understanding, teaching and conduct of development practice. Process consultation - which is more than just the application of so called process approaches - and the clinical perspective are described, and the case for them is put, in relation to contrasts with ethnography and action research and in the light of contemporary debates about development studies and practice. Five particular aspects of the clinical model - the primacy of the "helpful intervention", the subservience of science to helping, its client centredness, it recognition of interventionists' financial and political status, and its overt normativeness are seen as particularly relevant to development practice. In conclusion, the clinical model is seen to pose four challenges for development studies - the creation of development's own theory of practice, the establishment of rigorous practitioner training programmes, the consequent institutional change, and an acknowledgement of the implications of development studies' disciplinary biases.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to find the most appropriate, accurate, and convenient muscle parameter that can be used as a substitute for volume in monitoring the effectiveness of therapy of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The four rectus muscles in 110 orbits (35 patients and 20 control subjects) were evaluated with MR imaging. The diameter at the largest extent of the muscle belly, as well as the long and the short diameters and the cross-sectional areas in a preselected coronal scan, were measured for each muscle and were compared with the corresponding muscle volume measured on contiguous T1-weighted transverse slices.

RESULTS
The measured coronal area correlated well with the volume of the superior (r = 0.694, p < 0.0001) and inferior (r = 0.783, p < 0.0001) recti, and the largest transverse diameter showed strong correlation with the volume of the lateral (r = 0.868, p < 0.0001) and medial (r = 0.869, p < 0.0001) recti. For the latter muscle, the coronal area also exhibited a good correlation with the volume (r = 0.838, p < 0.0001). Coronal cross-sectional areas can be well estimated by measuring both the short and long coronal muscle diameters (r values were between 0.914 and 0.966; p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
In Graves' ophthalmopathy, the volume of three of the rectus muscles can be well estimated by simple measurements on a single coronal slice, and the largest transverse diameter of the lateral rectus is suitable for the same purpose.


Yanchun Yu, Tian Tang, Qian Qian, Yonghong Wang, Meixian Yan, Dali Zeng, Bin Han, Chung-I Wu, Suhua Shi, and Jiayang Li (2008). Independent Losses of Function in a Polyphenol Oxidase in Rice: Differentiation in Grain Discoloration between Subspecies and the Role of Positive Selection under Domestication. Plant Cell 20: 2946–2959. The last line of the Acknowledgments section is corrected to read: This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30330040, 30500049, and 30730008/ C0102) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2005CB1208 and 2007CB815701).


Broken-symmetry density functional theory (BS-DFT) calculations are assessed for redox energetics [Cu(SCH3)2]1–/0, [Cu(NCS)2]1–/0, [FeCl4]1–/0, and [Fe(SCH3)4]1–/0 against vertical detachment energies (VDE) from valence photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), as a prelude to studies of metalloprotein analogs. The M06 and B3LYP hybrid functionals give VDE that agree with the PES VDE for the Fe complexes, but both underestimate it by ∼400 meV for the Cu complexes; other hybrid functionals give VDEs that are an increasing function of the amount of Hartree–Fock (HF) exchange and so cannot show good agreement for both Cu and Fe complexes. Range-separated (RS) functionals appear to give a better distribution of HF exchange since the negative HOMO energy is approximately equal to the VDEs but also give VDEs dependent on the amount of HF exchange, sometimes leading to ground states with incorrect electron configurations; the LRC-ωPBEh functional reduced to 10% HF exchange at short-range give somewhat better values for both, although still ∼150 meV too low for the Cu complexes and ∼50 meV too high for the Fe complexes. Overall, the results indicate that while HF exchange compensates for self-interaction error in DFT calculations of both Cu and Fe complexes, too much may lead to more sensitivity to nondynamical correlation in the spin-polarized Fe complexes.


This study analyzes four locally produced rice varieties in Wukari and one imported brand (caprice) to scientifically determine the concentration of selected heavy metals, minerals, proximate, and vitamin contents.  Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze for Cd, Cr, and Pb present in the rice. From the result, Cd and Cr were not detected in all the rice brands. However, Pb concentrations ranging from 0.024 mg/kg to 0.12mg/kg, were detected. Mineral analysis was determined using flame photometry, which shows the presence of Na, K, Ca, and P in all the rice brands analyzed. Vitamins analysis results revealed the presence of B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), and B6 (pyridoxine) in all four local varieties and the imported brand. The proximate analysis revealed the mean nutritional content of (7.65 ± 0.00 - 12.86 ± 0.014) protein, (1.00±0.00 - 1.26 ± 0.014) Fat, (0.80±0.00 - 0.86 ± 0.0071) Fibre, (1.20 ± 0.00 - 1.89 ± 0.0071) Ash, (9.15±0.00 - 9.50 ± 0.00) Moisture, (76 ± 0.283 - 79.85 ± 0.00) CHO. From the present study, all four locally produced rice are very rich in nutritional contents and some of them contain more nutritional profile than the imported variety. The entire four local rice brands and the imported brand analyzed were not contaminated by heavy metals, their concentration is below the permissible level (0.2mg/kg) according to WHO and FAO


This article is an inter-disciplinary study of Marsh Norman's 'Night, Mother. Marsha Norman is an American playwright who is famous for addressing the dilemmas of women in her writings. Female characters in her plays are generally depicted as victims of their societies. They are situated in a place in which they are powerless and helpless about improving their own conditions. This study aims at exposing the psychological suffering of the main character in relation to the socially imposed standards of living. According to different theories of feminist critics such as Kate Millet, Luce Irigary, Jane Stoppard, and psycho feminist theories of Nancy Chodorow, in addition to going back to the science of psychology, it shows that the life of women is predetermined by social values and norms. It also shows that the kind of life assigned to women based on their gender roles and feminine duty is the factor behind women's psychological anguish and self-destructive decisions, such as committing suicide.


We present a document-grounded matching network (DGMN) for response selection that can power a knowledge-aware retrieval-based chatbot system. The challenges of building such a model lie in how to ground conversation contexts with background documents and how to recognize important information in the documents for matching. To overcome the challenges, DGMN fuses information in a document and a context into representations of each other, and dynamically determines if grounding is necessary and importance of different parts of the document and the context through hierarchical interaction with a response at the matching step. Empirical studies on two public data sets indicate that DGMN can significantly improve upon state-of-the-art methods and at the same time enjoys good interpretability.


Recently, the development of materials based on natural polymers have been observed. This is the result of increasing environmental degradation, as well as increased awareness and consumer expectations. Many industries, especially the packaging industry, face challenges resulting from legal regulations. Chitin is the most common biopolymer right after cellulose and is used to produce chitosan. Due to the properties of chitosan, such as non-toxicity, biocompatibility, as well as antimicrobial properties, chitosan-based materials are used in many industries. Many studies have been conducted to determine the suitability of chitosan materials as food packaging, and their advantages and limitations have been identified. Thanks to the possibility of modifying the chitosan matrix by using natural additives, it is possible to strengthen the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of chitosan films, which means that, in the near future, chitosan-based materials will be a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic packaging used so far. The article presents literature data on the most commonly used natural additives, such as essential oils, plant extracts, or polysaccharides, and their effects on antimicrobial, antioxidant, mechanical, barrier, and optical properties. The application of chitosan as a natural biopolymer in food packaging extends the shelf-life of various food products while simultaneously reducing the use of synthetic plastics, which in turn will have a positive impact on the natural environment. However, further research on chitosan and its combinations with various materials is still needed to extent the application of chitosan in food packaging and bring its application to industrial levels.


The dynamics of walking dramatically influences the behaviors of pedestrians, yet few details of human biomechanics and walking control are addressed in crowd animations developed for virtual environments and scientific applications. People cannot stop or start instantaneously and their movements reflect an attention to balance as well as other environment-driven goals. This work seeks to fill the void between full-scale, computationally expensive models of articulated human motion and simplified particle/cell models used in many multiagent simulations. Comparison of our pedestrian model results with those published elsewhere reveals that this work preserves phenomena like self-organization, lane formation, and semi-circular crowding at exits [Helbing et al. 2002]. Furthermore, our pedestrian model enables novel behaviors such as tripping, stumbling, and falling which permit animating more extreme scenarios; for example, earthquakes, where translational forces significantly affect pedestrian and crowd dynamics.


The response addresses three of the themes in the consultation in that it responds to the call for views in Theme 10 on Processing of Children's Personal Data by Online Services, and it responds to Themes 5 & 11 through the lens of how changes in the GDPR will impact on the ability of UK based university researchers to process personal data for research purposes. Dr Karen Mc Cullagh, a Lecturer in IT, IP, Media & Public law, at the University of East Anglia, has prepared this response on behalf of and with the support of a group of academics based in the UK with expertise in Information technology law and related areas who collectively approved the submission under the auspices of the British & Irish Legal Education & Technology Association (BILETA).


Background Steroids are frequently prescribed in palliative care for several indications, often concurrently. Identifying the original indication and thus a safe withdrawal regimen is, however, not straightforward as patients transition across different clinical settings. We conducted this Quality Improvement Project to assess current practice of steroid prescribing and titration in dying patients on an NHS Palliative Care Unit in Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT. Methods All patients who were prescribed steroids between January and April 2019 were included in the study, and followed through until discharge or death. Details of the indication, dose, and the documented plan for dose reduction and cessation were collected. Results 43 patients were prescribed steroids: all of these were given dexamethasone. 17 patients died in the period under study; the remainder were discharged. While 48% had a plan for reduction of steroids documented, this was inconsistent and highly variable. The mean number of days patients remained on dexamethasone was 19.2 (range 3–54 days). The most common reason for stopping steroids was patient deterioration or death (40%). 88% of patients who died, were given dexamethasone subcutaneously in the last days of life. Discussion Steroid use can lead to significant morbidity, with adverse effects reported in up to 63% of prescriptions. Adrenal suppression can occur when steroids are used for over 3 weeks. It is critical to be able to establish the indication for and the duration of steroid use, in order to prevent unnecessary harm by the continuation of a subcutaneous injection even into the last days of life. This is the start of a plan, do, study, act cycle. The next iteration of this introduces mandatory documentation of the indication for use within electronic prescribing modules.


The first NbTi superconductor was developed in 1962 at Westinghouse. During 50 years, the manufacturing process of NbTi wires became highly optimized, and complex wire structures, which are needed in reducing ac losses, can be produced these days. Twisted multifilamentary structures generate many challenges from the modeler's point of view. Considering numerical modeling, NbTi wires are too complicated to model with filament-level details. This is due to the high number and very nonlinear resistivity of filaments. Consequently, simplified approaches are needed for wire modeling. In this paper, a time-harmonic approach to model losses in the metal matrix is introduced. It is based on the linear approximation of filaments. The method to determine the linear resistivity of filaments is based on the definition of the skin depth and the radius of filaments. This can be done in advance without solving a nonlinear problem in 3-D. The suitability of the time-harmonic approach is benchmarked against the H-formulated 3-D eddy current model (ECM) with power-law resistivity. According to simulations, the losses in the metal matrix predicted by the time-harmonic approach agreed well with the nonlinear ECM when the filaments were uncoupled. The results achieved with the proposed approach similarly followed the effects of geometrical changes in the wire structure on losses as the nonlinear ECM and predicted the circumstances where the filaments became partially coupled. The simulation times were considerably lower with the new approach. From the manufacturer's perspective, it is important to design conductors where the filaments stay uncoupled and have low ac losses in such a situation. Thus, the new approach can provide an effective design tool in developing new superconductors.


The management of locally advanced rectal cancer requires a multidisciplinary effort. Surgical resection remains the therapeutic cornerstone, but neoadjuvant chemoradiation clearly improves both surgical and long-term outcomes. Pathological complete response is a desirable outcome and has been associated with good long-term outcomes. This article provides an overview of the evolution and current role of radiosensitizing chemotherapy when given as part of neoadjuvant chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer. 5-fluorouracil, given either as an infusion or orally as capecitabine, appears to have the most favorable balance of efficacy and tolerability at the present time. Oral administration without need for central IV access makes capecitabine an attractive option. Oxaliplatin and irinotecan have demonstrated increased toxicity without substantial associated improvement in outcomes. Both bevacizumab and cetuximab appear feasible when given with radiosensitizing chemotherapy, but no strong signal of improved efficacy has been demonstrated so far. There is currently a great need for new radiosensitizing agents and predictive biomarkers to help optimize the use of existing therapeutics. Increased topoisomerase I expression and increased EGFR gene copy number as possible predictors of response to irinotecan- and cetuximab-based chemoradiation, respectively, deserve further studies.


A May 2008 oceanographic survey of the Labrador Sea and recent Argo float profiles have revealed that convective overturning extended to a depth of about 1600 m during the winter of 2008, resulting in the production of a large "year class" of Labrador Sea Water. This convection was the deepest since 1994, and substantially exceeded the convection to 500–1100 m in the past few years in both the Labrador and Irminger Seas. The resultant 0.2°C cooling of the intermediate‐depth waters in the Labrador Sea has disrupted a steady warming of these waters since 1994. The cumulative heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere during the 2007–2008 cooling season was the largest since the mid‐1990s and exceeded the 2000–2007 mean by about 50%. This indicates that enhanced atmospheric cooling, apparently associated with below‐normal air temperatures in the region, was the predominant factor contributing to the enhanced LSW production in 2008.


The opening of a paediatric assessment and decision area (Panda) unit at Salford A&E means sick children and their families do not have to be transfered to other hospitals for treatment.


The structural evolution of the Co3O4 fine powders prepared by rheological phase reaction and pyrolysis method upon different temperature has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) topography. The electrochemical performance of Co3O4 electrode materials for Li-ion batteries is studied in the form of Li/Co3O4 cells. The reversible capacity as high as 930 mAh/g for the Co3O4 sample heat-treated at 600 °C is achieved and sustained over 30 times charge-discharge cycles at room temperature. The detailed information concerning the reaction mechanism of Co3O4 active material together with lithium ion is obtained through ex-situ XRD topography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis and cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. And it is revealed that a "two-step" reaction is involved in the charge and discharge of the Li/Co3O4 cells, in which Co3O4 active material is reversibly reduced into xCoO(3 - x)CoO and then into metallic Co.


Upward trends in testicular cancer incidence have been reported in Europe and North America, particularly for seminomas. We considered incidence data between 1974 and 1999 from the Swiss cancer registry of Vaud, i.e. one of the highest incidence areas on a worldwide scale, including a total of 731 cases. Testicular cancer incidence was around 8.5/100 000 between the mid-1970s and the late 1980s, and increased to around 10/100 000 in the 1990s. Corresponding figures at age 15-44 were around 16/100 000 between the mid-1970s and the late 1980s, and about 19/100 000 thereafter. No evidence of persisting upward trends was evident over the last few years. The rise in testicular cancer incidence in the 1990s was apparently restricted to seminomas, whose rates increased from about 4 to 5.7/100 000 at all ages, and from 7 to over 11/100 000 at age 15-44. No consistent pattern of trends was observed for malignant teratomas and for other and unspecified histotypes. Testicular cancer in Vaud has shown no tendency to further rising over the last decade, thus re-opening the issue of a probable asymptote of testicular cancer incidence in this population.


Effective thermal management is critical to the successful design of small (<10 kW) solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems. While separate unit processes occur within each component of the system, external heat transport from/to components must be optimally managed and taken into account in system-level design. In this paper, we present a modeling approach that captures thermal interactions among hot zone components and couples this information with system process design. The resulting thermal model is then applied to a mobile SOFC power system concept in the 1–2 kW range to enable a better understanding of how component heat loss affects process gas temperature and flow requirements throughout the flowsheet. The thermal performance of the system is examined for various thermal management strategies that involve altering the convective and radiative heat transfer in the enclosure. The impact of these measures on internal temperature distributions within the cell-stack is also presented. A comparison with the results from traditional adiabatic, zero-dimensional thermodynamic system modeling reveals that oxidant flow requirements can be overpredicted by as much as 204%, resulting in oversizing of recuperator heat duty by 221%, and that important design constraints, such as the magnitude of the maximum cell temperature gradient within the stack, are underpredicted by over 24%.


The 7598-bp plasmid pDL10 from the extremely thermophilic, acidophilic, and chemolithoautotrophic Archaeon Acidianus ambivalens was sequenced. It contains 10 open reading frames (ORFs) organized in five putative operons. The deduced amino acid sequence of the largest ORF (909 aa) showed similarity to bacterial Rep proteins known from phages and plasmids with rolling-circle (RC) replication. From the comparison of the amino acid sequences, a novel family of RC Rep proteins was defined. The pDL10 Rep protein shared 45-80% identical residues with homologous protein genes encoded by the Sulfolobus islandicus plasmids pRN1 and pRN2. Two DNA regions capable of forming extended stem-loop structures were also conserved in the three plasmids (48-69% sequence identity). In addition, a putative plasmid regulatory protein gene (plrA) was found, which was conserved among the three plasmids and the conjugative Sulfolobus plasmid pNOB8. A homolog of this gene was also found in the chromosome of S. solfataricus. Single-stranded DNA of both pDL10 strands was detected with a mung bean nuclease protection assay using PCR detection of protected fragments, giving additional evidence for an RC mechanism of replication.


Abstract : Working memory is a basic cognitive mechanism (or set of mechanisms) that is responsible for keeping track of multiple task related goals and subgoals, or integrating multiple sources of information. As such, it is essential for any complex cognitive task, such as planning an airplane's route or learning new computer software. Understanding the mechanisms and structures underlying working memory is, hence, one of the most important scientific issues that need to be addressed to improve the efficiency and performance of individuals on such cognitive tasks in a technological setting. A good understanding of working memory should lead to effective practical applications, such as the design of better computer interfaces, and novel techniques for training new personnel on complex information processing tasks. The goal of the symposium was to promote a better understanding of the architecture and mechanisms that underlie working memory as well as the practical implications of these important issues. The symposium was specifically dedicated to detailed systematic comparisons of existing models and theories of working memory. Thus, we included several features that would facilitate active communication and collaborative problem solving among participants during the symposium. Specifically, we used an issue based approach to theory comparison, in which each participant addressed a common set of important theoretical questions that have been guiding the current research in the field.


'Young adult realistic fiction' is a classification used by contemporary publishers such as Random House, McGraw Hill Education and Scholastic, who define it as 'stories with characters, settings, and events that could plausibly happen in true life' (Scholastic 2014). From the first Australian young adult imprint in 1986 it has become possible to trace substantial shifts in the trends of genre. This thesis explores some of the ways that the narrative structures and preoccupations of contemporary Australian young adult realistic fiction novels have shifted, particularly in regards to the portrayal of the main protagonist's self-awareness, the complexity of the subject matter being discussed and the unresolved nature of the novels' endings. The significance of these shifting trends within the genre is explored by means of a creative component and an accompanying exegesis. Through my novel, Somewhere between, I aim to consider and build on the changing narrative structures and preoccupations of Australian novels of the young adult realistic fiction genre. The exegesis uses the examination of representative Australian YA novels published between 1986 and 2013 to demonstrate the shifting trends in these three main narrative structures and preoccupations. The gradual, steady, shift in the narrative structures and preoccupations of the genre away from stability and assurance gives evidence of shifting notions of childhood and adolescent subjectivity within contemporary Australian society.


Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) is a specific type of bile duct tumor. It has been proposed that it could be the biliary counterpart of the intraductal papillary neoplasm of the pancreas (IPMN-P). This hypothesis is supported by the presence of simultaneous intraductal tumors of both the bile duct and pancreas. There have been five reports of patients with simultaneous IPNB and IPMN-P. In all of these cases, biliary involvement was limited to the intrahepatic and perihilar bile duct, which had characteristics similar to IPMN-P and usually had slow progression in nature. Herein, we present the first case of extensive intraductal neoplasm involving the extrahepatic bile duct, intrahepatic bile duct, and entire length of the pancreas with a poor outcome, even after being treated aggressively with radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Additionally, we summarize previous case reports of simultaneous intraductal lesions of the bile duct and pancreas.


Growth characteristics of the aerobic bacterial strain Arthrobacter citreus BI-100 in mineral salts medium with gg -hexachlorocyclohexane ( gg -HCH) as the sole source of carbon and degradation of gg -HCH by the strain are reported. The highest yield of the bacteria is observed at a gg -HCH concentration of 100 mg/L. At this concentration, the bacteria entered the exponential phase of growth without any lag. At 8 h of growth, no residual HCH, but its metabolites, was detectable in the medium. The bacterium attained its stationary phase at 48 h and at 72 h; no metabolite of gg HCH could be detected by gas chromatography. Six metabolic intermediates of gg -HCH produced by A. citreus BI-100 at different periods of growth were characterized by using gas chromatogra-phy-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography, which furnished evidence for the presence of gg -1,3,4,5,6-pentachlorocyclohexene, tetrachlorocyclohexene, trichlorocyclo-hexa-diene, 2-chlorophenol, phenol, and catechol, among others.


Sorption of aromatic amines to sediments and soils can occur by both reversible physical processes and irreversible chemical processes. To elucidate the significance of these sorption pathways, the sorption kinetics of aniline and pyridine were studied in resaturated pond sediment. Aniline and pyridine behaved quite differently in the sediment-water systems. The sorption kinetics of pyridine were quite fast, reaching equilibrium within 1-2 h. In contrast, the sorption kinetics of aniline were characterized by a rapid initial loss of aniline from the aqueous phase followed by a much slower rate of disappearance. The rapid initial sorption of aniline upon respiking after an equilibration period of 200 h, and results of sorption kinetic studies as a function of substrate concentration, demonstrated that sorptive sites were not being saturated at the nominal concentration of aniline. Sequential extraction of a sediment treated with 14C-labeled pyridine and aniline suggested that pyridine was bound primarily through a reversible cation-exchange process, whereas aniline sorbed through both cation-exchange and covalent binding processes. At longer reaction periods sorption became increasingly dominated by covalent binding. The reaction kinetics for the slow, irreversible sorption of aniline appeared to be limited by the reactivity and/or availability of covalent binding sites. The initial rate and extent of aniline sorption was pH dependent (sorption increased with decreasing pH). At pH values above the pKa of aniline, sorption kinetics for the slower, irreversible loss of aniline were independent of pH.


The extracellular matrix plays a vital role in regulating normal tissue development and function--largely via the specific arrangement of macromolecules such as collagens, proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins. Previous reports have concentrated on associations between combinations of collagens/proteoglycans, collagens/glycoproteins and proteoglycans/glycosaminoglycans whilst little information is available on associations between collagens and free glycosaminoglycans. In this review, we discuss possible associations between collagens and the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan; macromolecules which are known to exhibit changes in amount and composition during development and under pathological conditions. We demonstrate two types of collagen/hyaluronan association in vivo: the first, during the formation of extracellular matrix structures where neither collagens nor hyaluronan are degraded, resulting in the regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis, and the second, involving an inverse correlation between collagen synthesis and hyaluronan degradation and vice versa. We suggest that associations between collagens and hyaluronan play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of angiogenesis and put forward a model of cartilage vascularisation which relies on these associations.


Multiple studies have shown the potential of some animal venom compounds for the treatment of different diseases where medical needs are not properly addressed by the current available treatments. Animal venoms are small effective molecules with extraordinary target selectivity and low side effects with huge natural and chemical diversity. These properties make animal venoms especially suitable as sources for drug development. Due to technical and economical limitations in traditional peptide screening techniques little work has been done so far in venom-based research for drug therapy. With the advent of Next-Generation Sequencing platforms novel and more efficient strategies for drug discovery are now feasible to improve Human Health.


AIM To examine the utility of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) on biliopancreatic diseases in the patients with Billroth II-reconstructed stomach. METHODS For 26 cases of biliopancreatic diseases in patients with Billroth II-reconstructed stomach, ERCP was conducted using a straight-view scope or a retrograde oblique-viewing endoscope. All the cases were patients aiming at selective insertion into the bile duct. One patient aimed at diagnosis, and 25 patients aimed at treatment. The cases in which the endoscope reached the duodenal papilla and anastomosis, and insertion into the bile duct became possible, were considered successful. RESULTS The rate of reaching the duodenal papilla and anastomosis was 84.7% (22/26 patients). Among the cases without reaching the duodenal papilla and anastomosis, there were 2 in which the endoscope did not pass due to tumor-induced duodenal infiltration. In 1 case, the fiber did not reach the duodenal papilla due to long afferent loop. The success rate of insertion into the bile duct in patients in which the endoscope reached the duodenal papilla and anastomosis was 90.9% (20/22 patients), and the success rate of procedures including treatment was 86.3% (19/22 patients). After treatment, mild cholangitis was observed in 1 patient (4.5%, 1/22 patients) but relieved conservatively. No other accidental symptom was observed. CONCLUSION It was considered that the ERCP for biliopancreatic diseases in patients with Billroth II-reconstructed stomach will become a less invasive, safe and useful examination and treatment approach.


Abstract Since the advent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, gay men have reduced their sexual behaviors that put them at risk. Despite these changes, recent studies have found that some men who have sex with men (MSM) who regularly practice safer sex behaviors, periodically engage in risky anal sex. Many of these MSM realize that their "lapses" place them at risk for HIV infection; nevertheless, they engage in unprotected sex. In response to these findings, some behavioral scientists have questioned the ability of existing models of condom use to completely account for all types of HIV sexual risk and risk avoidance behaviors, especially episodic unprotected anal sex by men who otherwise use condoms. A cognitive escape model proposed by McKir-nan, Ostrow, and Hope (1996) is an explanation that may be able to account for periodic "lapses" in condom use by MSM who usually comply with safer sex standards. This manuscript applies that model to textual data from a sample of 41 MSM who have sex in bathhouses. In depth, semi-structured interviews provided the data for the study. We found that MSM in this study recognize strong normative expectations for using condoms during anal sex, and usually comply with these expectations. Participants also report that constant awareness of HIV and the AIDS epidemic and the need to constantly comply with standards of safer sex produce stress. The men noted that they frequented certain settings, including bars and bathhouses, and used alcohol and illicit drugs because these provided the stimuli that facilitated a cognitive disengagement from the norms of safer sex. Among the MSM interviewed who reported unprotected sex, a cognitive escape model appears able to account for their lapses from safer sex standards. Limitations of the study and recommendations for further exploration are discussed.


What if James T. Kirk and Spock had a baby, left the Enterprise and moved to New Vulcan to live happily ever after? Fan fiction plots like this are a strong testament of fans' endless creativity. Not only do the authors invent their own storylines but they have developed a generic definition of content across fandoms according to the relationship present in the text. Classification is therefore profoundly related to gender and sexuality. Julia Elena Goldmann examines these generic structures and formulaic patterns comparatively in Star Trek and Supernatural fan fiction. She also focuses on the interplay of the concepts of gender, sexuality, relationships and depictions of family in these texts.


A Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) is proposed for flight on the International Space Station (ISS) platform to conduct scientific research in support of the Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). The LIS, identical to one being flown on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), optically detects lightning flashes that occur within its field-of-view during both day and night conditions with storm scale resolution and a high, uniform detection efficiency. The ISS, with an orbital inclination of 51.6°, will extend the measurements from TRMM into the important mid-latitudinal regions of the Earth. The lightning measurements from LIS support important ESE science objectives including increased knowledge of the amount, distribution, and variability of deep convection and natural sources and sinks of key trace gases (e.g., NOX) on a global scale. A space-qualified LIS instrument built as a spare for the TRMM mission is available for integration onto the external truss of the ISS keeping the overall mission costs lo...