Phylogenetic information has been increasingly included into (meta)community assembly studies. However, recent studies have challenged the framework commonly used to infer processes from phylogenetic structure. Amphibians are good model organisms to study processes promoting structure in metacommunities, since they are subjected to different environmental and spatial processes throughout their biphasic life cycle. Pond canopy cover is one of these environmental factors that strongly influence the distribution of species and traits of several freshwater taxa, including larval amphibians (e.g., behavior, color, fin height, and length of intestine). Here, I tested the influence of pond canopy cover, floating vegetation, and pond morphology on the phylogenetic structure of an anuran metacommunity in the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil. I sampled tadpoles in 13 ponds and marshes from June 2008 and July 2009 in the Serra da Bocaina National Park, São Paulo. After building a metacommunity phylogeny, I used an eigenvector-based technique to describe the metacommunity phylogenetic composition (Principal Coordinates of Phylogenetic Structure, PCPS). I then run a db-RDA to evalute whether a subset of these eigenvectors can be explained by environmental variables. I found that pond canopy cover and floating vegetation were the main variables influencing lineage sorting in this metacommunity. Canopy cover separated hylid lineages from other families that were associated with open areas. Floating vegetation separated two hylid tribes (Cophomantini and Dendropsophini). Our results mainly suggest that the effect of canopy cover and floating vegetation on the structure of anuran metacommunity may affect not only species, but also entire lineages.


In South Africa, industrial development and mining sustains the country's economy. Unfortunately, the effluents from these industries introduce heavy metal pollutants such as lead into the environmental water. Lead(II) is widely recognized as a highly toxic and non-biodegradable metal [1,2,3]. This study addresses a method of monitoring lead(II) by modifying glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and generation 2 (G2) poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (PPI), to provide a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the determination of lead(II) ions in water using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The co-deposition of PPI and AuNPs on the surface of GCE was confirmed by field emission scanning microscopy (FESEM). Voltammetric probing showed that the GCE/PPI-AuNP platform exhibited reversible electrochemistry and conductivity in [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- redox probe. The electroactive surface area of the modified electrodes were also calculated in order to illustrate that the prepared PPI+AuNP nanocomposite could improve the surface area and conductivity of the GCE and was found to be 8.17 mm2, GCE-AuNP, 10.84 mm2, GCE-PPI, 11.03 mm2, while 11.13 mm2 was found for GCE-PPI+AuNP. The electroactive surface area of GCE-PPI+AuNP modified electrode increased to approximately 36.23% as compared to bare GCE, which provided an effective evidence for the superior conductivity of PPI+AuNP as expected. The effect of different electrochemical parameters on the sensitivity of the sensor for the Pb2+ detection were also scrutinized, including supporting electrolyte (HNO3), pH (1), deposition potential (-0.8 V) and deposition time (150s). The sensor was applied in the detection of lead(II) in real water sample and it was exhibited good stability and the results were validated by ICPOES.


Many studies have been made with regard to added mass and added damping of the fluid in the case of simple circular cylinders by Chen, Fritz, Mulcahy, etc.; but those effects for the noncircular cylinders are hardly available. In this study, added mass and added damping of the fluid for the coaxial circular cylinders with projection are investigated by both the experiment utilizing one-degree of freedom cylindrical models and the analysis by comparing those for the simple circular cylinders. Also, the method to evaluate the damping ratio of the beam which has the fluid restraint was derived.


Transgenic corn, expressing the insecticidal δ-endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner, provides high levels of control of some lepidopteran pests, particularly the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner). However, resistance to B. thuringiensis has been documented recently in laboratory colonies of agronomically important Lepidoptera, including O. nubilalis. For the past 4 yr, we have selected for Cry1Ac resistance in a population of O. nubilalis from southeastern Minnesota. Increasing resistance to B. thuringiensis was noted after only 8 generations of selection, with a peak at 162-fold resistance, based on comparisons of LC50s to a nonselected parental strain. This resistance was found to decrease at the same rate in the absence of B. thuringiensis selection, with one selected colony becoming nearly as sensitive to the Cry1Ac toxin as the nonselected colony after 9 generations without exposure to B. thuringiensis. The most resistant of the colonies, S-I, was only marginally cross-resistant to Cry1Ab, yet another selected colony, S-IV, did demonstrate a 16-fold cross-resistance. In addition, larvae from the S-IV colony had significantly greater weight gain when feeding on diet incorporated with B. thuringiensis -transgenic corn than did larvae from the nonselected parental colony. These findings emphasize the need for careful deployment of B. thuringiensis corn to preserve this effective pest management technology.


Recently WMAP and BOOMERanG experiments have set stringent constraints on the polarization angle of photons propagating in an expanding universe: $\Delta \alpha = (-2.4 \pm 1.9)^\circ$. The polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) is reviewed in the context of nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED). We compute the polarization angle of photons propagating in a cosmological background with planar symmetry. For this purpose, we use the Pagels-Tomboulis (PT) Lagrangian density describing NLED, which has the form $L\sim (X/\Lambda^4)^{\delta - 1}\; X $, where $X=1/4 F_{\alpha\beta} F^{\alpha \beta}$, and $\delta$ the parameter featuring the non-Maxwellian character of the PT nonlinear description of the electromagnetic interaction. After looking at the polarization components in the plane orthogonal to the ($x$)-direction of propagation of the CMB photons, the polarization angle is defined in terms of the eccentricity of the universe, a geometrical property whose evolution on cosmic time (from the last scattering surface to the present) is constrained by the strength of magnetic fields over extragalactic distances.


Well‐preserved topotype material of Holmia inusitata Ahlberg and Bergstro¨m, in Ahlberg et al., from the Lower Cambrian of Lauselva, southern Norway, allows a redescription of the species. Intraspecific variation of characters, such as the expansion and relative length (sagittal) of the anterior glabellar lobe and the curvature and length of the ocular lobes, is shown. The species is, however, considered a typical member of Holmia. A discussion of character variation and distribution within species of Holmia further demonstrates a great degree of intrageneric variation. Thus, the newly erected Baltobergstroemia Lieberman is regarded as a subjective synonym of Holmia, since the differences between the two genera can only effectively be applied to the type species. The age of the succession with H. inusitata is not well constrained by regional lithological correlations or by an acritarch assemblage, and lacks the well‐differentiated faunas of the uppermost zones in the Lower Cambrian of Scandinavia. It is obvious that it must be older than the Holmia kjerulfi‐group Zone, and strata with H. inusitata are, therefore, maintained as a discrete zone underlying that zone.


Treatment options remain limited for men with castration resistant prostate cancer, with current chemotherapy offering mainly palliative benefits. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify new targets for therapeutic intervention in men who have progressed on anti-androgen therapy. We have compiled a panel of 20 prostate cancer cell lines that has been extensively characterized at the molecular level that enables us to perform high throughput drug and siRNA screens to identify novel therapeutic targets. We performed an siRNA screen targeting kinases using eight representative lines, both in the presence and absence of the anti-androgen MDV3100. Knockdown of NTRK1 (TRKA) significantly inhibited growth in 4/8 of the cell lines tested. To confirm this, we screened the entire panel of cell lines with the inhibitor CEP-701, which targets FLT3, JAK2, and TRK-A/B/C. CEP-701 showed GI50 values (dose required to inhibit growth by 50%) less than 400 nM in 8/20 cell lines. Since this drug had already been tested in clinical trials for prostate cancer and the trials were discontinued due to lack of PSA decline, we looked for other drugs that also inhibit TRKA. Both BIBF-1120 and GSK-1363089 are also known to inhibit TRKA, but neither have been tested in prostate cancer expressing TRKA. We tested GSK-136089 in a subset of 9 prostate cell lines, and found that 4/9 lines reached GI50 at 1 uM or less, including AR mutant or null lines such as 22rv1 and PC3 that are non-responsive to MDV3100. Additional tests with BIBF-1120 and GSK-1363089 are underway. These data suggest that NTRK1 may be a potential target for patients with castration resistant prostate cancer. Citation Format: James E. Korkola, Moqing Liu, Rebecca Smith, Tiera Liby, Joe W. Gray. NTRK1/TRKA as a therapeutic target in castration resistant prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1347.


It has been hypothesized that free radical metabolism and oxygenation in living organs, such as the heart, may vary over particular anatomic locations within these tissues. When there is a lack of tissue perfusion, as occurs during myocardial ischemia or infarction, radical metabolism and oxygenation are greatly changed, however, it was not previously possible to spatially map these alterations within the heart. Therefore, we developed EPR imaging instrumentation to enable three-dimensional spatial as well as spectral-spatial EPR imaging of 2, 3 , or 4 dimensions. Utilizing this instrumentation, at L-band, high quality images of the distribution of nitroxide free radical labels and suspensions of oxygen sensitive chars have been performed on lossy samples of up to 25 mm in size. In the isolated rat heart, imaging experiments were performed to determine the kinetics of radical clearance at different locations within the heart during myocardial ischemia. This kinetic data showed the existence of regional and transmural differences in myocardial radical clearance. In terms of image quality and resolution, we observed with nitroxides that resolutions as high as 1 mm could be obtained, enabling visualization of the of the overall shape of the heart and location of the right and left ventricles. With char suspensions resolutions as high as 0.1 mm were possible, enabling visualization of the ventricles, aortic root, and proximal coronary arteries. Overall our results demonstrate that spatial and spectral-spatial EPR imaging are powerful techniques which enable the visualization of localized differences in free radical metabolism and oxygenation within the heart.


Nepal has a long history of irrigation, including government and farmer-managed irrigation systems that are laborand skill-intensive. Widespread male migration has important effects on Nepalese society. How institutions such as Water Users' Associations (WUAs) respond and adapt, is therefore critical to the understanding of rural transformation and the likely impact on gender equality, food production, and rural livelihoods. This paper examines the effects of male migration on institutional change in WUAs, women's roles, technological change, and outcomes affecting effectiveness of irrigation systems based on a mixed methods study, combining a phone survey of 336 WUA leaders from all provinces in Nepal with qualitative data from case studies in 10 irrigation systems. Results indicate WUAs have adapted rules to increase women's participation, and to monetize the contributions for maintenance. Women exercise agency in whether and how to interact with WUAs. Mechanization has reduced the need for some male labor, though the ability to mechanize is limited by hilly terrain and small plot sizes. Overall, systems are adapting to male migration, with relatively low idling of land or labor shortages causing deterioration of the systems, though there are concerns with the high levels of women's labor burdens.


ABSTRACT Purpose: Neuronal theory regarding rotator cuff degeneration has developed from the findings that glutamate, an amino acid and an excitatory neurotransmitter, is present in increased concentrations in tendon tissues with tendinopathy and that glutamate induces cell death in fibroblasts of origin in rat supraspinatus tendon. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has cytoprotective effects against glutamate-induced fibroblast death. Materials and Methods: Primary cultured fibroblasts were obtained from rat supraspinatus tendons. Varying concentrations of glutamate (0.5, 1, 5, and 10 mM) and of NAC (0.5, 1, 2, and 5 mM) were used for evaluation of cytotoxicity. Cell viability, cell cycles, types of cell death, intracellular ROS production, expressions of caspase-3/7, and Ca2+ influx were evaluated. Results: Glutamate significantly induced cell death, apoptosis, and Ca2+ influx and significantly increased caspase-3/7 activity and intracellular ROS production (p < 0.001). NAC significantly reduced the glutamate-induced cell death, apoptosis, Ca2+ influx, caspase-3/7 activity, and intracellular ROS production (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The glutamate-induced cytotoxic effects can be reduced by NAC, an antioxidant, through the reduction of intracellular oxidative stress and/or Ca2+ influx.


This paper examines the long-term impact of custom made inserts, sidelying and sleeping/positioning systems. MPS and its predecessor Greystanes Children's Home have been providing individually moulded positioning systems to their clients for over 10 years. At MPS we make three different types of positioning systems. Fully moulded, partially moulded and systems that are adjustable. A questionnaire has been sent to the users to analyse both short-term impacts and long-term benefits. Some 60 questionnaires have been sent out to the clients. A smaller number of these clients will be reassessed to investigate changes in the range of motion and a possible effect on reflux in the more severely disabled clients.


Afforestation of agricultural lands can provide economically and environmentally realistic C storage to mitigate for elevated CO2 until other actions such as reduced fossil fuel use can be taken. Soil carbon sequestration following afforestation of agricultural land ranges from losses to substantial annual gains. The present understanding of the controlling factors is inadequate for understanding ecosystem dynamics, modeling global change and for policy decision‐makers. Our study found that planting agricultural soils to deciduous forests resulted in ecosystem C accumulations of 2.4 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 and soil accumulations of 0.35 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. Planting to conifers showed an average ecosystem sequestration of 2.5 and 0.26 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in the soils but showed greater field to field variability than when planted to deciduous forest. Path analysis showed that Ca was positively related to soil C accumulations for both conifers and deciduous afforested sites and played a significant role in soil C accumulations in these sites. Soil N increases were closely related to C accumulation and were two times greater than could be explained by system N inputs from atmospheric deposition and natural sources. Our results suggest that the addition of Ca to afforested sites, especially conifers, may be an economical means to enhance soil C sequestration even if it does not result in increasing C in aboveground pools. The mechanism of N accumulation in these aggrading stands needs further investigation.


This study investigated the interactive effects of alcohol and nutritional status of the pregnant female on fetal growth and development. Three liquid diets were formulated ranging in protein content from suboptimal to supraoptimal: diet I provided 18% kcal as protein and 1.0 kcal/ml; diets II and III provided 25 and 32% kcal, respectively, as protein and 1.2 kcal/ml. In all cases, alcohol provided 36% of total calories. Both pair-fed and ad libitum fed control groups were included. We found that blood alcohol levels were consistently high in all three diet regimens throughout gestation. Alcohol intake suppressed weight gains and increased adrenal weights and placenta weights in pregnant females. Both body weights and brain weights were reduced in alcohol-exposed fetuses. However, relative brain weights were found to be increased in alcohol fetuses, indicating "brain sparing." Maternal nutritional status had no major effect on developmental outcome. Thus, with alcohol administered as a high proportion of total daily calories, increasing dietary protein levels did not attenuate the major adverse effects of alcohol on fetal development.


The alpha/beta dystroglycan (DG) complex links the extracellular matrix to the actin cytoskeleton. The extensive glycosylation of alpha-DG is believed to be crucial for the interaction with its extracellular matrix-binding partners. We characterized a monoclonal antibody, directed against the beta-DG-binding epitope ( approximately positions 550-565), which recognizes preferentially hypoglycosylated alpha-DG. In Western blot, the antibody was able to detect a number of partially glycosylated alpha-DG isoforms from rat brain and chicken skeletal muscle tissue samples. In addition, we demonstrated its inhibitory effect on the interaction between alpha- and beta-DG in vitro and preliminary immunostaining experiments suggest that such hypoglycosylated alpha-DG isoforms could play a role within cells.


We proposed a traveling-wave expansion based subspace search (TWESS) algorithm for modulus estimation of MRE. Based on a traveling wave decomposition model, we explore the orthogonal characteristics of the signal subspace and the noise subspace. Eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance matrix of the wave data were used to search the wavenumber and retrieve the local modulus. Results showed the proposed method could provide better delineation of the inclusion boundaries, even when signal-to-noise ratio of the image was low.


There are nine descriptionbed species of Onychophora (Peripatopsidae) in South Africa, two in Opisthopatus Purcell, 1899 and seven in Peripatopsis Pocock, 1894. These species are redescriptionbed, illustrated and keyed to facilitate future ecological and biodiversity studies. The nine species almost certainly form an incomplete list, as it appears that there are at least another five undescriptionbed species. Taxonomic investigations using molecular techniques and scanning electron microscopy will almost certainly also reveal many new species, these currently confused with descriptionbed taxa. Information on the biology, phylogeny and possible species diversity of South African Onychophora is also given. Conservation of these onychophorans is discussed, and recommendations made for the new IUCN Categorisation of the threatened species: Opisthopatus roseus Lawrence, 1947 (VU), Peripatopsis alba Lawrence, 1931 (VU), P. clavigera Purcell, 1899 (1c) and P. leonina Purcell, 1899 (CR). Suggestions for conservation management and legal protection are also given.


Anterior rectocele is not only a herniation of the anterior rectal wall into the vagina, but rather a complex anatomical and functional abnormality which may be isolated or associated with other pelvic floor disorders. It could result in rectal obstruction with dyschezia, manual extraction of feces, and fecal or gas incontinence. The purpose of this review is to describe and to assess the most useful methods for the diagnosis and for the treatment of the rectocele. Data from physical examination may be improved by defecography. Surgery remains the main treatment: several surgical ways (perineal, anal, abdominal, laparoscopic) are described. Analysis of the anatomical and functional results allows to assess these techniques and to determine the best therapeutic option.


Background: Vernonia (Vernonia galamensis) is a potential novel industrial crop due to high demand for its natural epoxidized oil, which can be used for the manufacturing of oleochemicals such as paints, plastic formulations (polyvinyl chloride), and pharmaceutical products. Assessment of the extent of genetic diversity in V. galamensis was the first and the most step in cultivation, breeding and genetic resource conservation. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of this plant from different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia using SSR markers. Results: Twenty SSR markers were used for genetic diversity analyses of 150 individual V. galamensis accessions representing 10 populations, from which a total of 79 bands were identified for the 20 loci. All the loci used showed high polymorphism that ranged from 0.50 to 0.96, while the mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) was 0.15 across all the 20 markers evaluated. The molecular variance analysis (AMOVA) showed significant variations among populations which accounted for 11% of the variations. Populations clustering showed that the dendrogram and principal coordinate's analysis roughly classified the accessions into four groups. However, the Bayesian model-based clustering (STRUCTURE) grouped into 6 (K = 6) major gene pools. Since, the cluster and the STRUCTURE analyses did not group the populations into sharply distinct clusters, due to presence of gene flow and mode of reproduction of the plant. Conclusions: The SSR molecular markers used in this study are highly polymorphic. Among the ten populations, East Showa and East Hararghe revealed higher genetic diversity, signaled that these areas are the hotspots for in-situ conservation of V. galamensis. In addition, the values of SSR markers such as heterozygosity, Shannon's index, polymorphic information content, and population clusters are important baseline information for future V. galamensis cultivation, breeding and genetic resource conservation endeavors in Ethiopia.


Abstract 67 Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric malignancy, and relapsed B-lineage ALL remains a leading cause of cancer death in young people. Recent genomic analyses by our group and others identified a unique subtype of BCR-ABL-negative, high-risk B-ALL, with deletion or mutation of IKZF1 and a gene expression profile similar to BCR-ABL1-positive ALL (Ph-like ALL). Up to 50% of Ph-like patients harbor rearrangements of the cytokine receptor gene, CRLF2, with concomitant JAK mutations detected in ∼30%. However, the nature of genetic alterations activating kinase signaling in the remaining cases is unknown. To identify novel genetic alterations in Ph-like ALL, we performed transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) on 11 cases of Ph-like B-ALL (10 from the P9906 Children9s Oncology Group trial and 1 from the St Jude Total XV study), and whole genome sequencing (WGS) on two of these. Using multiple complementary analysis pipelines including deFuse, Mosaik, CREST and CONSERTING, we identified novel rearrangements, structural variations and sequence mutations dysregulating cytokine receptor and kinase signaling in 10 cases. Putative rearrangements and sequence mutations were validated using RT-PCR, genomic PCR and Sanger sequencing. The spectrum of alterations included 3 cases with known IGH@CRLF2 rearrangement, 2 cases with the NUP214-ABL1 rearrangement, 1 case each with the in-frame fusions EBF1-PDGFRB, BCR-JAK2 or STRN3-JAK2, and 1 case with a cryptic IGH@-EPOR rearrangement. Detailed analysis of RNA-seq data revealed a 7.5 kb insertion of EPOR downstream of the enhancer domain in the IGH@ locus, which was not detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. WGS identified an in-frame activating insertion in the transmembrane domain of IL7R (L242>FPGVC) in 1 index case, and recurrence screening identified similar IL7R sequence mutations in 8 cases from the P9906 cohort (N=188). This patient also harbored a focal homozygous deletion removing the first two exons of SH2B3 that was not evident by SNP array analysis. SH2B3 encodes LNK, a negative regulator of JAK2 signaling. Notably, all patients harbor genetic lesions affecting B-lymphoid development (e.g IKZF1), suggesting these events cooperate to drive B-lineage ALL. To determine the frequency of each fusion, candidate RT-PCR was performed on 231 cases from the COG AALL0232 trial of high-risk B-ALL, 40 (17%) of which were identified as Ph-like using Predictor Analysis of Microarrays (PAM). The EBF1-PDGFRB fusion was detected in 3 additional patients, each containing an intact PDGFRB kinase domain. No additional cases of NUP214-ABL1, BCR-JAK2, or STRN3-JAK2 were identified. Phosphoflow analysis on 3 primary ALL samples demonstrated increased CKRL phosphorylation in the NUP214-ABL1 case and tyrosine phosphorylation in the cases with BCR-JAK2 and STRN3-JAK2 fusions. Importantly, this activation was reduced with the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) imatinib, dasatinib and the T315I inhibitor XL228 in cells harboring the ABL1 fusion, and the JAK2 inhibitor, XL019, in the JAK2-rearranged samples. Furthermore, the novel EBF1-PDGFRB fusion transformed Ba/F3 cells to growth factor independence, induced constitutive activation of pSTAT5, pAkt, pERK1/2, and responded with low IC50 values to imatinib, dasatinib and the specific PDGFRB/FGFR inhibitor, dovitinib. Using complementary genomic approaches we show that rearrangements, sequence mutations and DNA copy number alterations dysregulating cytokine receptor and kinase signaling are a hallmark of Ph-like ALL. These data support the screening of patients at diagnosis to identify those with Ph-like ALL, characterize the genomic lesions driving this phenotype, and to determine those that may benefit from TKI treatment. Disclosures: Hunger:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Author9s children own stock in BMS, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees.


Patients with extraesophageal gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are often more difficult to treat than patients with typical GERD. Effective treatment almost always requires the use of proton pump inhibitors, often in higher doses than traditionally used to treat patients with heartburn and erosive esophagitis and for a longer period of time. Long-term maintenance therapy is usually required as relapse is almost universal when therapy is discontinued. This paper reviews the treatment options and suggested approach to management of these patients with extraesophageal GERD.


Summary The sedation threshold is an objective pharmacological determination which represents the amount of intravenous Sodium Amytal required to elicit certain EEG and speech changes. The purpose of this paper was to present the evidence which bears on the validity of this method as a clinical neurophysiological approach to investigation of psychopathological problems. Summary Data were drawn from tests on over 500 psychiatric patients and 45 nonpatient controls. The following general results were obtained: (a) The sedation threshold was positively correlated with degree of manifest anxiety in nonpsychotic subjects. The greater the manifest anxiety in psychoneurotics or control subjects, the higher the threshold. (b) Obsessional personality characteristics tended to be associated with a high threshold, hysterical characteristics with a low threshold. (c) The sedation threshold was negatively correlated with degree of gross impairment of ego functioning in psychotics. The greater the ego impairment, the lower the threshold. (d) The threshold differentiated between neurotic and psychotic depressions with a high degree of accuracy. Thresholds were low in psychotic depressions and high in neurotic depressions. Summary It was concluded that the sedation threshold was meaningfully related to several important psychopathological phenomena, and that the results supported its validity as an investigative approach. The findings were discussed from the following standpoints: clinical and research applications; some neurophysiological aspects of anxiety, depression, and ego functioning; and relation to personality theory, with special emphasis upon Eysenck's theory.


We consider Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms for Bayesian high‐dimensional regression with continuous shrinkage priors. A common challenge with these algorithms is the choice of the number of iterations to perform. This is critical when each iteration is expensive, as is the case when dealing with modern data sets, such as genome‐wide association studies with thousands of rows and up to hundreds of thousands of columns. We develop coupling techniques tailored to the setting of high‐dimensional regression with shrinkage priors, which enable practical, non‐asymptotic diagnostics of convergence without relying on traceplots or long‐run asymptotics. By establishing geometric drift and minorization conditions for the algorithm under consideration, we prove that the proposed couplings have finite expected meeting time. Focusing on a class of shrinkage priors which includes the 'Horseshoe', we empirically demonstrate the scalability of the proposed couplings. A highlight of our findings is that less than 1000 iterations can be enough for a Gibbs sampler to reach stationarity in a regression on 100,000 covariates. The numerical results also illustrate the impact of the prior on the computational efficiency of the coupling, and suggest the use of priors where the local precisions are Half‐t distributed with degree of freedom larger than one.


We present a novel head tracker for 3D displays that ensures the viewer has a high degree of movement. The tracker is capable of segmenting the foreground objects (viewer) from background objects using their relative distance from the camera. The tracker is a novel 3D CMOS image sensor based on time of flight (TOF) principle using innovating photon gating techniques. The basic feature incorporates real time depth imaging by capturing the shape of a light-pulse front as it is reflected from a three dimensional object. The basic architecture and main building blocks of a real time depth CMOS pixel are described. For this application, we use a stereoscopic type of display using parallax barrier elements that is described as well.


Very long and noisy sequence data arise from biological sciences to social science including high throughput data in genomics and stock prices in econometrics. Often such data are collected in order to identify and understand shifts in trend, e.g., from a bull market to a bear market in finance or from a normal number of chromosome copies to an excessive number of chromosome copies in genetics. Thus, identifying multiple change points in a long, possibly very long, sequence is an important problem. In this article, we review both classical and new multiple change-point detection strategies. Considering the long history and the extensive literature on the change-point detection, we provide an in-depth discussion on a normal mean change-point model from aspects of regression analysis, hypothesis testing, consistency and inference. In particular, we present a strategy to gather and aggregate local information for change-point detection that has become the cornerstone of several emerging methods because of its attractiveness in both computational and theoretical properties.


Purpose: To evaluate the refractive status, anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus in 3-year-old premature children. Methods: A total of 161 eyes from 82 premature infants were retrospectively reviewed and divided into three groups according to the presence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and treatment; Group 1 (68 eyes): without ROP, Group 2-1 (32 eyes): spontaneously regressed ROP, and Group 2-2 (61 eyes): regressed ROP with treatment. The incidences and clinical features of refractive errors, anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus at the age of three years were compared among the three groups. Results: The incidences of myopia, astigmatism, anisometropia and the severity of myopia increased according to the presence of ROP and treatment (p = 0.03, 0.02, 0.001, and 0.04, respectively). There were no significant differences in the incidences of hyperopia among the three groups; however, the severity of hyperopia in Group 2-2 was higher than those in the other two groups (p = 0.01). Patients in Group 1 had better best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) compared with those of the other two groups (p


Mixture-of-Expert (MoE) models have obtained state-of-the-art performance in Neural Machine Translation (NMT) tasks. Existing works in MoE mostly consider a homogeneous design where the same number of experts of the same size are placed uniformly throughout the network. Furthermore, existing MoE works do not consider computational constraints (e.g., FLOPs, latency) to guide their design. To this end, we develop AutoMoE -- a framework for designing heterogeneous MoE's under computational constraints. AutoMoE leverages Neural Architecture Search (NAS) to obtain efficient sparse MoE sub-transformers with 4x inference speedup (CPU) and FLOPs reduction over manually designed Transformers, with parity in BLEU score over dense Transformer and within 1 BLEU point of MoE SwitchTransformer, on aggregate over benchmark datasets for NMT. Heterogeneous search space with dense and sparsely activated Transformer modules (e.g., how many experts? where to place them? what should be their sizes?) allows for adaptive compute -- where different amounts of computations are used for different tokens in the input. Adaptivity comes naturally from routing decisions which send tokens to experts of different sizes. AutoMoE code, data, and trained models are available at https://aka.ms/AutoMoE.


Small sewage wastewater treatment plants are used for treatment of domestic wastewater from individual residential houses, small schools, roadside cafes, restaurants, small railway stations, camping sites, etc., where there is no centralized sewage network. In cases when there is a limited space for the installation of small-scale treatment facilities, authors suggest using of septic tanks and drainage wells. Sewage effluents are collected with gravity force, without using electricity. Usage of proposed constructions does not cause pollution of soils and underground water horizons. Sanitary environment is stable and predictable.


The Chicxulub asteroid impact produced massive extinction in terrestrial environments most likely through an intense heat pulse and subsequent widespread fires. Aquatic environments were shielded from this heat and fire but nevertheless showed massive extinction in marine environments and, for reasons unexplained, far less extinction in freshwater environments. Extinction in marine environments resulted from the effects of an "impact winter" caused by dust and smoke in the atmosphere that extinguished sunlight at the Earth's surface for a period of months to years. The resulting cessation of photosynthesis caused a globally extensive extinction of phytoplankton taxa. Because aquatic ecosystems, unlike terrestrial environments, are strongly dependent on daily photosynthetic output by autotrophs, loss of phytoplankton likely caused catastrophic mortality and extinction in aquatic ecosystems. Other potential causes of mortality in aquatic ecosystems include lower ambient temperatures and anoxia due to the lack of photosynthetic oxygen. Inland waters, although probably subject to high mortality, showed lower proportionate extinction than marine environments probably because of the greater potential among the freshwater taxa for dormancy, the greater efficiency of reaeration by rapid flow to offset oxygen demand, abundant thermal refugia fed by groundwater at moderate temperatures, and preadaptation of freshwater taxa to a great degree of environmental variability. In addition, detrital feeders appear to have had low extinction rates in either marine or freshwater environments, but again freshwater taxa would have been favored by higher renewal rates of detrital organic matter as a result of their direct hydrologic contact with soil.


BACKGROUND
To determine the extent and effects of increased metabolic demand represented by Pseudomonas colonization on body composition and resting energy expenditure in children with cystic fibrosis (CF).

METHODS
The study comprised 18 stable children with CF, of whom 10 (6 male/4 female) were colonized with Pseudomonas species and 8 (4 male/4 female) were not. The groups were of similar age range and genotype. Measured resting energy expenditure (REE) was performed by open circuit indirect calorimetry and compared with predicted REE calculated from standard equations. Body composition was determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, including lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM), bone mineral density (BMD), and anterior-posterior spine density (APS); these were compared using z-scores. Routine pulmonary function testing assessed forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and forced expiratory flow over middle half of vital capacity (FEF25% to 75%); these were compared as percent predicted.

RESULTS
As expected, results of pulmonary function testing showed significant deterioration among the children colonized with Pseudomonas species when compared with the children who were not, while standard anthropometry showed no differences in weight, height, or weight-for-height percentile and respective z-scores. Although a trend of lower LBM was noted among the children colonized with Pseudomonas species, no significant differences were found between these children and children who were not colonized with Pseudomonas species when z-scores for LBM, FM, BMD, or APS were compared during body composition analysis. In addition, neither REE as kilocalories per day (kcal/d) nor REE expressed as a percent predicted by standard equations discriminated between subgroups of children colonized with Pseudomonas species and children who were not. However, metabolic demand, expressed as resting energy expenditure in kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg) of LBM (REE/LBM), revealed significant differences between children colonized with Pseudomonas species and children who were not (75.4+/-4.4 vs 58.6+/-2.9 kcal/kg, p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
The effect of Pseudomonas colonization on metabolic demand in children with CF can be accurately assessed by expressing resting energy expenditure as kilocalorie per kilogram of LBM, the active metabolic component of the body. The 50% increase in REE/LBM seen in the children colonized with Pseudomonas species represents the metabolic demand from the inflammatory burden and work of breathing resulting from the effects of the Pseudomonas colonization. The trend of a lower LBM in the children colonized with Pseudomonas species makes this finding even more dramatic.


Digital mammograms are coupled with noise which makes de-noising a challenging problem. In the literature, few wavelets like daubechies db3 and haar have been used for de-noising medical images. However, wavelet filters such as sym8, daubechies db4 and coif1 at certain level of soft and hard threshold have not been taken into account for mammogram images. Therefore, in this study five wavelet filters namely: haar, sym8, daubechies db3, db4 and coif1 at certain level of soft and hard threshold have been considered. Later, peak signal to noise ratio and mean squared error values are calculated. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that db3 (46.44656 db for hard threshold and 43.80779 db for soft threshold) is more appropriate filter for de-noising mammogram images while compared with other wavelets filters.


Objective: To determine frequency of endoscopic oesophagitis in the patients who complain the chronic laryngopharyngeal disorders in the absence of typical gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) symptoms. Design: Descriptive study Place & Duration of the Study: The study was carried out in the department of E.N.T at Nawabshah Medical Centre, Nawabshah over the period of two years (2004 to 2006). Patients & Methods: One hundred patients of either sex and in the age group between 25-79 years with symptoms of chronic laryngopharyngeal disorders were selected for study. All patients had physical examination of upper aero digestive tract. Direct laryngoscopy was done to evaluate the status of larynx, however rigid esophagoscopy was done to evaluate the status of esophageal mucosa and biopsies from lower part of esophagus were taken in all patients. Results: Eighty percent of patients with symptoms of chronic laryrigopharyngitis were also suffering from microscopic Oesophagitis. Among the 80% patients 87.5% were having non-erosive oesophagitis while 12.5% were having erosive oesophagitis. Conclusion: In significant number of patients with chronic upper respiratory symptoms resistant to the treatment, there was co existing gastroesophageal disease which could be the cause of the symptoms.


The detection of ketone bodies in urine specimens is sufficiently important to warrant the inclusion of a nitroprusside test for ketonuria as a part of the routine urinalysis. In the past, methods available have included a tablet test (Acetest) and the Rothera test, a conventional test tube procedure. Recently the nitroprusside test for urine ketones has been made available as a stick or dip test with a preparation called Ketostix. This test, like the other nitroprusside tests, depends on the reaction between acetoacetic acid and nitroprusside to produce a colored complex. In order to determine the accuracy and simplicity of the new test, it was compared with the two more standard procedures on a series of routine urine specimens in a general hospital laboratory. Tests were also carried out by experienced and inexperienced personnel on urines with and without added acetoacetic acid. The present report describes the results obtained in


The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to creating knowledge-based analytical platforms that inte- grate language toolkits allowing to create new domain-specific languages, customizable to the specifics of the tasks solved by users, to their domains and used solution methods. The basis of the solution is a knowledge base, a multifaceted ontology that describes data and data sources, domain objects, tasks and solving methods and functional modules that implement them, as well as domain-specific languages created to solve user's tasks. The ontology structure, mathematical model, and metalanguage, on which the implementation of language toolkits is based, are described.


The demand for energy and electrical power is ever increasing. Efficient and low-cost methods of
power generation is a primary requirement for a sustainable use of the available natural resources. The use of non-azeotropic binary mixtures as the working fluid in power cycles has received considerable attention. The motivation for using non-azeotropic binary mixtures is the fact that heat can be supplied or rejected at variable temperature but constant pressure, which can reduce the mismatch between the hot and cold streams and the cycle working fluid. Ammonia-water cycle is one among most prominent methods of power generation with high efficiency and low cost since the mixture of working fluids enable efficient energy recovery. The properties of ammonia and water are suitable for a power cycle working fluid mixture. The substances are soluble in each other and easily separable. Ammonia and water have different boiling temperatures; thus, the ammonia-water mixture evaporates over a large temperature range, which is an advantage for power generation from a sensible heat source. Both substances are inexpensive and extensively used in industry. Ammonia and water have approximately the same molecular weights; hence, a steam turbine can be used in the ammonia-water cycle with only minor alterations. There is also better thermal matching between the heat source and the working fluid. Use
of the cryogenic exergy of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation includes methods which use the LNG as the working fluid in natural gas direct expansion cycles, or its coldness as the heat sink in closed-loop Rankine cycles.Natural gas is considered to be the most environmental friendly fossil fuel and LNG is regarded as a relatively clean energy resource which has very high potential of cold energy that can be efficiently recovered in a power producing process.Because ammonia is a working fluid with a low boiling point and the cold
energy generated during the LNG vaporization is used to condense the ammonia turbine exhaust, the ammonia vapor can expand to a much lower temperature compared to a conventional steam Rankine cycle. This paper presents a thermal performance analysis of a combined power cycle which consisted of an ammonia-water cycle with and without regenerator and LNG cycle to utilize low-temperature waste heat in the form of sensible energy. Based on the thermodynamic models of ammonia-water power generation cycles, the effects of the key parameters such as ammonia concentration, turbine inlet pressure and condenser outlet temperature on the system performance are investigated. The results show that the ammonia concentration, turbine inlet pressure and condenser outlet temperature affect greatly the thermodynamic performance of the combined cycle. It is also found that there exists an optimum ammonia concentration to achieve maximum system performance.


Objective: Mutations of the peripherin/RDS gene have been reported in several kinds of retinal dystrophy, and they show a variety of manifestations. The authors identified a novel Val200Glu mutation of the peripherin/RDS gene in a Japanese family with autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy (CRD). This report describes a genotype-phenotype correlation of the Val200Glu mutation. Patients and Methods: Fifteen members of one Japanese family with autosomal dominant CRD were screened for mutations in the peripherin/RDS and ROM 1 genes. Clinical features were identified by visual acuity, visual field testing, fundus examination, and electroretinography. Results: A Val200Glu mutation was found in all of the affected family members examined and was segregated with the disease. No patient had a mutation in the ROM 1 gene. Phenotypic characteristics of each affected member in this family showed intrafamilial similarity. Characteristic features included cone function more severely impaired than rod function and degenerative change in the macular region associated with peripheral retinal degeneration. Conclusion: The mutation at codon 200 of the peripherin/RDS gene causes both cone and rod degeneration. The Val200Glu mutation results in a type of autosomal dominant CRD.


OBJECTIVE
Temporary intravascular shunts (TIVSs) are commonly used as a damagecontrol procedure in trauma settings. Currently, there is scarce literature in the civilian field, and what there is is limited to large trauma centers with multiple resources. Therefore, we aimed to describe TIVS usage, and the outcomes of that usage, at Puerto Rico Trauma Hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This is a case series conducted from 2009 to 2013 with 32 patients who suffered vascular trauma, of which 13 needed TIVSs. Data related to age, trauma mechanism, injured vessel, type of shunt, Glasgow Coma Scale, vital signs, and mortality were collected. The analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics. This protocol was approved by the IRB of the Medical Sciences Campus.

RESULTS
The most frequent mechanism of injury was a gunshot (11/13; 84.6%). The most commonly injured vessel was the superficial femoral artery. Indwelling time ranged from 6 to 96 hours. Only 2 of the 13 (15.4%) patients with shunts reported thrombosis. Furthermore, we performed 4 (30.7% of the patients) prophylactic fasciotomies and 4 (30.7% of the patients) amputations; 4 of the 13 (30.7%) patients died from unrelated causes.

CONCLUSION
Our results are consistent with those in the literature, which supports our contention that a TIVS can be an effective component of damage-control vascular surgery and can, in both military and civilian settings, aid in extremity amputation prevention. Furthermore, it has been established that a TIVS can be fashioned from any available hollow tube. However, further research is needed to evaluate the safety of an improvised catheter of this nature.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of the decoction of Rhizoma Dioscoreae septemlobae (RD) on the biomechanical and bone histomorphometric parameters of femur in the ovariectomized rats.

METHODS
25 female Wistar rats without pregnancy and deliver were divided into 5 groups randomly: sham (sham-operation), ovariectomy (OVX), OVX + high dosage RD (4 g/kg x d), OVX + middle dosage RD (2 g/kg x d) and OVX + low dosage RD (1 g/kg x d), n = 5 in every group. After intragastric administration 12-week period continuously, the biomechanical and the bone histomorphometric parameters of the femur of the rats in every group were determined, respectively, including percentage of trabecular bone volume (TBV%), percentage of trabecular osteoid (TOS%), mean osteoid width (MOSW), percentage of mineralizing surface (MdS%), percentage of double mineralizing surface (DMds%), percentage of DMds/MdS (%), percentage of travecular formation surface (TFS%), percentage of trabecular resorption surface (TRS%), mineral apposition rate (MAR), mineralizing lag time (MLT).

RESULTS
The maximum loading, deflection, the maximum strain of the femur in the OVX group was 125.78 +/- 15.48 (N), 1.87 +/- 0.22 (mm), 9.34 +/- 1.10 (%), it was significantly lower than that in the sham group ( P< 0.05, P < 0.01), respectively. The maximum loading and maximum stress was increased in different extent in the every dose group of OVX + RD, respectively. TBV% of femur was significantily lower in the OVX group than that in the sham group (P < 0.01). The MdS%, DMds%, DMds/MdS (%), TOS%, MOSW, TRS%, MAR was significantly higher in the OVX group than that in the sham group, respectively (P < 0.01). In the RA high and middle dosage group, the TBV% of femur was significantly higher than that in the model group (P < 0.05), and the MdS%, DMds%, DMds/MdS (%), TRS%, TOS%, MOSW, MAR was significantly lower than that in the model group, respectively (P < 0.05), and MLT was decurtated slightly (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The decoction of RD can decline the bone turnover and the loss of bone of femur in the ovariectomized rats.


Ensuring ecosystem resilience is an intuitive approach to safeguard future provisioning of ecosystem services (ES). However, resilience is an ambiguous concept and difficult to operationalize. Focusing on resilience mechanisms, such as diversity, network architectures or adaptive capacity, has recently been suggested as means to operationalize resilience. Still, the focus on mechanisms is not specific enough because the usefulness of a mechanism is context-dependent. We suggest a conceptual framework, resilience trinity, to facilitate management of resilience mechanisms in three distinctive decision contexts and time-horizons. i) reactive, when there is an imminent threat to ES resilience and a high pressure to act, ii) adjustive, when the threat is known in general but there is still time to adapt management, and iii) provident when time horizons are very long and the nature of the threats is uncertain, leading to a low willingness to act. This emphasizes that resilience has different interpretations and implications at different time horizons which however need to be reconciled. The inclusion of time into resilience thinking ensures that longer-term management actions are not missed while urgent threats to ES are given priority.


The species of the genus Pennella are highly modified copepods that have been found parasitizing several species of fishes in Atlantic waters. Although these parasites have been recorded several times in the Atlantic Ocean, little is known about them in South Atlantic waters, except for one report published 20 years ago. The present contribution reports the occurrence of Pennella instructa Wilson, 1917 parasitizing the swordfish Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758 in the South Atlantic. The prevalence of infestation was 15.6% and the mean intensity of infestation was 1.6, ranging from 1 to 3.


In the article the problems of the value based financial activities and reports in conditions of the economic entity dependence on suppliers and customers are being researched, the algorithms of calculation relevant in the meaning of the supplier and customer interests the indexes of economic profit are being developed, the forms of financial reporting and registers, forming the price-oriented financial indexes are being represented for the readers attention. Keywords: value based activities, financial reports, forms of economic influence, economic profit, relevant costs, opportunity costs. JEL Classifications: O150; E660; R130


Nowadays many crucial network applications rely on the existence of a confidential channel established by authenticated key exchange (AKE) protocols over public networks. With the rapid development of cyber technology, novel attacks to cryptosystem emerge in an endless stream. This has also led to the development of AKE solutions to provide increasingly stronger security guarantees. In this thesis we focus on provision of practical constructions for AKE protocols which are provably secure in a strong sense without resorting to random oracles. We first we present three new efficient compilers to generically turn passively secure key exchange protocols (KE) into authenticated key exchange protocols (AKE) where security also holds in the presence of active adversaries. Our compilers are not only a useful tool for the design of new AKE systems with many additional security properties in a modular and less error-prone fashion, but they also help to relax the assumptions on existing, practical key exchange mechanisms which are not known to be provably secure AKE protocols. Security of our compilers is shown in a strong modified CK model where the adversary is allowed to reveal either long-term secret key or state information of the protocol participants. On the second, we study the open problem on constructing eCK secure two party AKE protocol without random oracles and NAXOS trick. A generic construction satisfying those requirements is given based on well-known cryptographic primitives following the guideline of efficiency. Then a concrete protocol is proposed which is the first eCK secure protocol in the standard model under both standard assumptions and post-specified peer setting (i.e. without knowing any cryptographic information about its communication peer). Both proposed schemes can be more efficiently implemented with secure device than previous works which are eCK secure in the standard model, where the secure device might be normally used to store the long-term private key and to implement codes of protocol which need to be resilience of state leakage. Finally, we generalize our one-round two party AKE construction to group case that yields an efficient tripartite AKE protocol based on bilinear maps and a candidate group AKE protocol (with more than three members) based on multilinear maps. Up to now they are the first solutions which can be proved secure in the g-eCK model without random oracles. Meanwhile we make first step to show how to simplify the security proof for one-round group AKE under g-eCK model.


Resident law was enacted to improve the training environment and working conditions. However, the law caused confusion in the field and resulted in a medical vacuum in inpatient care. It also resulted in a lack of training time. A hospitalist system was introduced to improve the quality of patient care and to cover the shortage of residents. This study aimed to outline a development strategy for hospitalists participation in resident education in Korea. The result of pilot study of the hospitalists in Korea showed that patients, nurses, and residents were satisfied with hospitalists. Eighty-five percent of surgical residents were helped in postoperative patient care and 70.7% of residents were willing to work with a hospitalist. The competency of surgical hospitalists includes understanding surgery and the appropriate management of postoperative complications. In order to shift the paradigm of resident education, the Korean government must pay the expenses for resident training. Through hospitalists' participation in the resident training, it may be possible to provide residents with more comprehensive and continuous education for inpatient care.


This study aims to analyze muscle synergies in darts throwing movement to clarify how the central nervous system (CNS) controls muscle activation to produce complicated motion. Activities of 10 different muscles on upper limb were recorded through surface electromyography (EMG) electrodes from four participants with less experience of dart throwing. Subsequently, non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF) was applied to the collected EMG signals for muscle synergy analysis. Results showed that three muscle synergies could explain sufficiently the observed EMG data, with determination coefficient r2 = 0.91 ± 0.02 across four subjects. However, it was found that there was significant difference in terms of patterns of both muscle synergies and activation coefficients between participants, which might reflect different neuromuscular control strategies in dart throwing.


The discussion of fertility decline in Kerala state India focused on fertility decline in Kerala state and the role of the UN. Key features of Keralas success in fertility decline were the emphasis on female education and the emancipation of women reduced infant and child mortality rates and political support. Since 1956 when the states of Cochin and Travancore were joined the development of education and health services was encouraged. Literacy was over 90% in Kerala compared to 62% for males and 34% for females in India in 1990. Keralas government invested in primary and secondary education primary health care and family planning services. 12% of Keralas education budget is devoted to "higher" education compared to 47% of national government expenditures. Inheritance of property was matrilineal. 85% of girls aged under 14 years stayed in school in Kerala compared to 21% nationally. The mean age of marriage is 21.9 years compared to 18.3 years nationally. The sex ratio life expectancy and child mortality rates were favorable to females. In 1987 the crude birth rate was 22/1000 population in Kerala and 32/1000 nationally. The infant mortality rate was 27/1000 live births in Kerala and 94/1000 nationally. Contraceptive use in Kerala was predominately female sterilization followed by the condom. Successful features of Keralas fertility decline are potentially transportable to African countries where women already play an important role in trade and shopkeeping. Emphasis must be simultaneously placed on primary health care and free family planning services that are easily accessible at all levels of health care. With political will African or poor countries should be able to afford these programs. The UN and its agencies should be the unifying force promoting and supporting education primary health care and family planning services on a worldwide scale. However the authority and expertise within the UN has not been sufficient to meet this challenge.


Large demographic shifts will have many effects on the quest for sustainable use of the planet. Using Garrett Hardins simile which portrays Earth as a lifeboat achieving sustainability requires a dispassionate objective appraisal of the rate at which additional people can be taken aboard without sinking the lifeboat. However the world population increase is not uniform among countries and the growing rate of international migration from countries that have a high fertility rate to countries with a more equable rate is spreading the ecological threat contingent on over population to all habitable regions of the globe. (authors)


Non-equilibrium physical systems, be they biological or otherwise, are powered by differences in intensive thermodynamic variables, which result in flows of matter and energy through the system. This thesis is concerned with the response of physical systems and ecosystems to complex types of boundary conditions, where the flows and intensive variables are constrained to be functions of one another. I concentrate on what I call negative feedback boundary conditions, where the potential difference is a decreasing function of the flow. Evidence from climate science suggests that, in at least some cases, systems under these conditions obey a principle of maximum entropy production. Similar extremum principles have been suggested for ecosystems. Building on recent work in theoretical physics, I present a statisticalmechanical argument in favour of this principle, which makes its range of application clearer. Negative feedback boundary conditions can arise naturally in ecological scenarios, where the difference in potential is the free-energy density of the environment and the negative feedback applies to the ecosystem as a whole. I present examples of this, and develop a simple but general model of a biological population evolving under such conditions. The evolution of faster and more efficient metabolisms results in a lower environmental energy density, supporting an argument that simpler metabolisms could have persisted more easily in early environments. Negative feedback conditions may also have played a role in the origins of life, and specifically in the origins of individuation, the splitting up of living matter into distinct organisms, a notion related to the theory of autopoiesis. I present simulation models to clarify the concept of individuation and to back up this hypothesis. Finally I propose and model a mechanism whereby systems can grow adaptively under positive reinforcement boundary conditions by the canalisation of fluctuations in their structure.


author. Abstract: Pediatric nurses have the greatest contact with mothers and children among health care providers, so the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral hygiene among the nursing staff in Riyadh hospitals, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 randomly selected pediatric nurses. The data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire under four main sections: demographic details, knowledge, attitude, and practice. Chi-square test was used, and data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 23 with a statistically significant value of P < 0.05. Results have showed that 58.7% of the participants did not have oral health care courses in their nursing curriculum, and only 21.4% had attended oral health training programs. The majority of the participants were aware of the importance of good oral health for the child's overall health. 60% knew the correct timing of teeth eruption, 20% were aware of the risk of transmitting dental caries. Almost all nurses consider oral health care as a part of nursing care and oral diseases are preventable. However, 21% consider cleaning the patient's mouth an unpleasant task, and 33.3% consider oral health care delivered by nurses is insufficient. The majority examine the oral cavity and perform oral hygiene practices. Only 22.2% reported that they had an oral health training program. 80% emphasize on regular dental checkups, demonstrate oral hygiene techniques, document oral findings, and refer patients to the dentists. Pediatric nurses' have a concerning level of knowledge regarding oral health care and should be encouraged to promote oral health to their patients. Attitude And Practice Of Oral Hygiene Among In Pediatric Hospitals


INTRODUCTION
In the United States, Emergency Medicine (EM) is recognized as an independent medical speciality, which focuses on the initial evaluation and treatment of all patients with acute illness or injury. Patients have free access to the emergency department (ED), which serves as the main portal of entry for most acute patients coming into the hospital. The ED is staffed with EM specialists at all hours. The purpose of this study was to describe a U.S. tertiary care hospital ED and the patient population that is cared for there.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A descriptive retrospective study of the patient population at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Emergency Department, from 1 January to 31 December 2003. Demographic data were collected for each patient, as well as estimated severity index score, diagnosis and ED disposition.

RESULTS
46,936 patients with a median age of 46.5 years where seen at the ED in 2003. Women represented 56%. The majority of patients had an ESI triage score = 3. All of the main categories of ICD-9 diagnostic codes where represented among patients' ED discharge diagnoses. 65% of ED patients where discharged home from the department. Approximately one third where admitted to the hospital.

CONCLUSION
A broad range of patients are seen in the ED, which sets high demands for the knowledge and skills of the ED staff as well as co-operation between the ED and other specialties and hospital departments.


It is normally expected that an excellent optical material should have p → s-like transitions at the absorption edge. This is because the strength of p → s-like transitions usually is much stronger than those of p → p transitions, especially in those ionic semiconductors where the electronic states are more localized and behave as atomic characters. Here, we demonstrate an exception that the luminescence intensity of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) could be at least two orders of magnitude greater than that of AlN, despite the dominated atomic p → p transitions at the absorption edge of h-BN. Using group theory analysis and first-principles calculations, we show that the strong optical transitions in h-BN originate from the unusually strong p → p-like transitions and its "two-dimensional" nature. As learned from h-BN, we demonstrate that one can dramatically increase the absorption or luminescence intensity at the fundamental absorption edge of an optical material by confining its thickness into a few layers, which is much more effective than the commonly used superlattice technology.


Abstract Low molecular weight constituents of 3400 venom sacs of Paravespula vulgaris were extracted with water, diluted acetic acid, and methanol. After conversion to volatile derivatives carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids, other constituents of phospho lipids, and biogenic amines were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Quantitative analysis was achieved for amino acids by amino acid analysis and for glucose by an enzymatic assay. Results are discussed with regard to biosynthesis of wasp toxins and phylogenetic aspects of hymenopteran venoms.


Summary Electrodermal activity was measured in a group of depressive patients and normal controls. Those patients classified as endogenous on the Newcastle Scale had significantly lower skin conductance levels than either the non-endogenous patients or controls. The endogenous depressives also contained significantly more non-responders to the experimental stimuli. The lack of responsivity to external stimulation in non-responders is associated with a significantly lower rate of blood platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake, suggesting that endogenous depressives have biological characteristics that distinguish them from other depressive groups and that electrodermal measures may be useful in the classification of depressive illness.


Anomalous gain enhancement was observed in thin indium tin oxide-, zinc selenide-coated, and uncoated Fe-doped lithium niobate (Fe:LN) slabs. Coating dependent strong scattering near the surface normal was also observed and investigated in these slabs. The correlation between mid-wave IR oscillation and gain and the enhancement of the scattering near surface normal was evidenced in several supported experiments. A tentative model based on quasi-two-dimensional diffusive amplification was proposed to elucidate these findings.


Delayed union and nonunion in fractures of the long bones has for years been a fertile field for investigation and the source of much thought by surgeons specializing in conditions of the bones and joints. Many theories as to the cause of the aforementioned conditions have been advanced. Chief among them should be mentioned: (1) insufficient immobilization by improper splinting; (2) infection, either primary due to compounding of the fracture, or secondary, due to lack of aseptic technic at open reduction; (3) previous or concurrent organic disease, such as syphilis, tuberculosis, etc.; (4) general asthenia with low metabolic rate and diminution in the cellular and hemoglobin content of the blood; (5) the lowered calcium phosphorus content of the blood as determined by laboratory methods; (6) interposition of tissue, such as muscle, fascia, fat, etc.; (7) the type of suture material selected for internal fixation, such as various forms of catgut,


Carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles have become attractive as nano-fillers for improving the mechanical properties and thermal stability of polymer-based nanocomposites. Most research has focused on the use of straight single-walled (SWNTs) or multiwalled (MWNTs) carbon nanotubes as ultrastrong reinforcements for epoxy-based composites. However, due to the uncertainty of the bond interface between the nanotubes and matrix, the stress transferability of these composites is doubtful [1]. The latest development of coiled multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) provides an improvement in the stress transferability due to the generation of mechanical interlocking in composite systems [2]. However, there is no comprehensive study which has addressed the thermal properties of these nanocomposites. In this letter, we report on the thermal properties of different epoxy-based nanocomposites formed by adding 0.5 wt% of SWNTs, CCNTs (Fig. 1a), and bamboo multiwalled (BCNTs) nanotubes (Fig. 1b) to pure epoxy. The low viscosity, commercially available ARALDITE GY 251 epoxy resin was used with CIBA HY 956 amine hardener. The sample preparation for 0.5 wt% nanotubes (SWNTs, CCNTs, and BCNTs) reinforced epoxy beam was based on four steps:


Electronic health records (EHRs) provide a potentially valuable source of information for pharmacovigilance. However, adverse drug events (ADEs), which can be encoded in EHRs with specific diagnosis codes, are heavily under-reported. To provide more accurate estimates for drug safety surveillance, machine learning systems that are able to detect ADEs could be used to identify and suggest missing ADE-specific diagnosis codes. A fundamental consideration when building such systems is how to represent the EHR data to allow for accurate predictive modeling. In this study, two types of clinical code are used to represent drugs and diagnoses: the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (ATC) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (ICD). More specifically, it is investigated whether their hierarchical structure can be exploited to improve predictive performance. The use of random forests with feature sets that include only the original, low-level, codes is compared to using random forests with feature sets that contain all levels in the hierarchies. An empirical investigation using thirty datasets with different ADE targets is presented, demonstrating that the predictive performance, in terms of accuracy and area under ROC curve, can be significantly improved by exploiting codes on all levels in the hierarchies, compared to using only the low-level encoding. A further analysis is presented in which two strategies are employed for adding features level-wise according to the concept hierarchies: top-down, starting with the highest abstraction levels, and bottom-up, starting with the most specific encoding. The main finding from this subsequent analysis is that predictive performance can be kept at a high level even without employing the more specific levels in the concept hierarchies.


The light-driven reduction of protons for the production of molecular hydrogen in multicomponent systems depends on electron relays such as viologens. We describe here the effect of viologens appended with guest moieties (adamantane or bile acid) on the efficiency of a system composed of a cyclodextrin-appended photosensitizer [Ir(ppy)2(pytl-βCD)]Cl [ppy = 2-phenylpyridine; pytl = 2-(1-substituted-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine; CD = cyclodextrin], cyclodextrin-modified Pt nanoparticles as the catalyst, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as the sacrificial donor. The system was designed to self-assemble in a supramolecular manner in order to promote electron transfer and produce hydrogen. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements in DMF showed that the electron-donating adamantyl substituent decreases the reduction potential of the viologen. The use of symmetric and asymmetric guest-appended viologens gave rise to unexpected phenomena in the H2 evolution. The presence of adamantane or bile acid groups on the viologen induced stabilization and aggregation of the radical cations in water, which is disadvantageous for hydrogen formation.


Thin layers of metal clusters in silica glass were formed by high dose ion implantation of Ag, Ni and Cu using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source. Characterization of the implanted layers was performed using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and optical measurements. The nonlinear optical properties of the implanted samples were studied by the z-scan method, using a self mode-locked Ti: sapphire laser delivering linearly polarized pulses of 130fs long at a wavelength of 790nm at 76MHz. The variation of the intensity-dependent refractive index n 2 with the ion species and the implantation conditions were studied. An n 2 value of about 0.6 cm 2 /GW was measured for one of the Cu and Ni co-implanted samples. The correlation between n 2 and the cluster size was also analyzed. Ellipsometry spectra of the samples were measured in the visible range from 0.4 to 0.7 [.proportional]m and in the near infrared range from 0.9 to 1.6 [.proportional]m. Preliminary results are reported on our attempt to deduce the effective complex refractive indices of the implanted layers by fitting of the ellipsometry spectra using a simple single uniform layer on substrate model and the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium approximation.


In recent years, home energy management systems (HEMS), which enable the automatic control of electrical equipment and home appliances, have been attracting attention as a method for saving electricity at home. HEMS achieve energy saving by visualizing energy consumption at home and controlling energy consuming equipment such as air conditioners. The optimum control law is difficult to attain, owing to uncertainties related to power demand and power supply from the electrical equipment. Deep reinforcement learning has been used to address energy optimization problems for home environments. However, in HEMS, several components such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, storage batteries, and electric water heaters are simultaneously controlled, and therefore, the action space becomes extremely large. Therefore, it may not be feasible to fully learn the rare experience using traditional deep reinforcement learning methods due to the large size of the state-action space and slow propagation of delayed rewards. In this study, we propose an energy management algorithm that uses the Dual Targeting Algorithm to strongly learn the experience of acquiring high returns using the quick propagation of delayed rewards via multistep returns. The proposed energy management algorithm is applied to a HEMS learning experiment to control a storage battery and an HVAC system, and its performance is compared to that of a Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient-based energy management system. As a result, it is confirmed that the proposed method can reduce the number of hours deviating from the comfort temperature range by about 17% compared to the existing method.


Analysis of the concept of internal control system is an important subject that involves the analysis of the latest scientific results, and on its basis to perform an updated analysis of the concept of internal control system which meets the modern business conditions and tendencies. Such an assumption has been made upon exploring famous scientists' concepts of internal control system, in which the basic values needed for internal control system: (honesty, trust, respect, openness, skills, courage, economy, initiative, etc.) were not included. Only a modern concept of internal control might ensure an effective internal control system. The main purpose of the authors was to explore control, the concepts and conceptions of control, internal control and the system of internal control, as well as to present their own idea of the concept of internal control system and to compile a structural scheme of their conception. The structural scheme may alleviate the process of compiling a new model of an effective internal control system. The structural scheme of the conception may also be used in compiling a model of internal control system in different branches of industry.


Natural human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is characterized by a strain-specific neutralizing antibody response. This is particularly relevant in clinical settings such as transplantation and pregnancy where reinfection with heterologous strains occurs and the immune system does not mount an effective response against the infecting strain due to underlying immunosuppression. There is an emerging argument that a CMV vaccine that induces high titres of cross-neutralizing antibodies will be more effective in protecting individuals from infection with antigenically different CMV strains. In addition, induction of cell-mediated immunity offers the additional advantage of targeting virus-infected cells. This study presents a novel formulation of a CMV vaccine that, by combining recombinant soluble gB protein with a Toll-like receptor 9 agonist (CpG ODN1826) and immune-stimulating complexes (AbISCO 100), was able to elicit strong polyfunctional CMV-specific cellular and cross-neutralizing humoral immune responses. These data demonstrated that prime-boost immunization of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 mice with gB protein in combination with CpG ODN1826 and AbISCO 100 induced long-lasting CMV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell and humoral responses. Furthermore, these responses neutralized infection with multiple strains of CMV expressing different gB genotypes and afforded protection against challenge with recombinant vaccinia virus encoding the gB protein. These observations argue that this novel vaccine strategy, if applied to humans, should facilitate the generation of a robust, pluripotent immune response, which may be more effective in preventing infection with multiple strains of CMV.


This paper proposes a health-aware model predictive control (MPC) for drinking water networks that includes an additional goal to extend the components and system reliability. The components and system reliability are incorporated in the MPC model as an extra parameter varying equation that considers the control action as a scheduling variable. The main goal of this work is to exhibit the advantage of taking into account system and component reliability, computed on-line by means of an LPV-MPC algorithm through an instance dedicated to DWNs. The proposed control approach allows the controller to accommodate to the parameter changes. By computing an estimation of the state variables during prediction, the MPC model can be modified considering the estimated state evolution at each time instant. Moreover, the solution of the optimization problem associate to the MPC problem is achieved by solving a series of Quadratic Programs (QP) at each sampling time. A small part of a real water network is used as a case study for illustrating the performance of the proposed approach.


Memory for sequences of events, an ability present in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents, is a critical component of episodic memory and is known to decline in typical aging (Allen and Fortin, 2013; Allen et al., 2015; Fabiani and Friedman, 1997; Pinto-Hamuy and Linck, 1965; Roberts et al., 2014; Tolentino et al., 2012; Tulving, 1984). The use of a cross-species task allows for complementary approaches in the rat and human in order to provide a greater understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying sequence memory ability. Using a non-spatial sequence memory paradigm in combination with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we present evidence that memory for sequences of events activates the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in humans, paralleling recording studies and temporary inactivations in rats performing the cross-species task. In addition, these areas show functional connectivity over the course of the task to a greater degree than other regions, supporting the hypothesis that sequence memory in the human is subserved by the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex and their functional interactions. After demonstrating homology for the neural substrates of sequence memory in the rat and human, we sought to investigate the behavioral and neural changes associated with typical aging. We found that typically aging older adults showed behavioral impairments on the sequence memory task. Equating performance between young and older adults, using BOLD fMRI we found evidence for similar neural substrates, but decreased activity in older adults. In addition, we found that functional connectivity between hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex decreased with age, as did connectivity between other regions that in young adults showed high connectivity. Future studies using variants of the cross-species task in both rats and humans, combined with additional imaging modalities, will further elucidate the underlying neurobiological changes in typical aging.


IADA History not only refers to the series of conferences and workshops which have been organized since the foundation of the Association but also to the discussions about a unified concept of dialogue which accompanied IADA's activities during the last three decades. On the one hand, there is the basic question of what constitutes dialogue, while on the other hand there are multiple approaches which claim to be acknowledged as dialogic approaches. If we do not want to accept the plurality of models in the sense of 'anything goes' we need to address the difficult issue of how far individual models can contribute to an investigation of dialogue as a complex whole.


The authors review the various methods proposed for the late evacuation of the uterus. They report their experience of intra-amniotic injection of prostaglandins and, more recently, the use of extra-amniotic injections. They have found this latter technique to be unsatisfactory. Evacuation following dilatation under local anaesthetic, despite a few complications, appears to be effective... but the problem is far from being resolved.


Lymphangiomas are uncommon congenital lesions of the lymphatic system which usually present in childhood. We report a case of adult lymphangioma, localised in the neck, and discuss the presentation, diagnosis and management of this tumour.


This exhibition review focuses on how India has been represented in the Exhibition 'Artist and empire: Facing Britain's Past' at Tate Britain (25 November 2015 – 10 April 2016) and explores this question in relation to questions of British art and empire.


Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) were deposited onto silicon substrates by direct current (dc) magnetron sputtering. The influences of sputtering power and sputtering time on the AgNP film morphology were studied using atomic force microscopy. The particle size was successfully tuned from 19 nm to 53 nm by varying the sputtering time at a dc power of 10 W. When Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) was used as the probe molecule, the AgNP films showed significant surface enhanced Raman scattering effect. In particular, it is found that larger particles show stronger enhancement for lower concentrations of R6G while smaller particles display stronger enhancement for higher concentrations of R6G.


Corporate governance is the institutional arrangement of legislation, organization, contract and culture about organization mode, control mechanism, and interest distribution among a corporate and stakeholders such as shareholders, management, obligee and employees. Its basic purpose is to distribute the corporate power, obligation and interest reasonably in a corporation through valid institutional arrangement; to correct or remedy the agency operating risks for a corporation, owing to the separation of ownership and managerial power and threat to the social fairness and order owing to the extended scale of corporate,especially in a public corporation. so that the liberty of corporation itself and the interest of stakeholder can be developed in coordinately. The corporate governance is the consolidation of autonomy and regulation. It's essential that The law be involved in corporate governance because of the power checking, reducing the organization cost, helping the long trading, correcting or remedying the lacking of the market and balancing of interest. But when the law is involved in corporate governance, it must lay enough space of the corporate autonomy, The autonomous factors such as the morality, culture, contract and market and so on can play a very important role in organizing a corporation, autonomous factors can remedying the lacking of the legal and make the mechanism of corporation governance more efficacious.


Background : VEGF play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia .

Objective :(1).Assess the pathophysiological role of VEGF in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia(CML). (2). Study the effect of Hydroxyurea and Imatinib on serum VEGF level.

Material and Methods : A total of 40 cases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and 20 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this study. The patients were divided into three subcategory: Untreated cases (which did not receive any treatment);patients who were treated with Hydroxyurea and patients who were treated with Imatinib Mesylate . 5 ml of blood was collected , were centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes and stored at - 20°C until assay.

Results : On comparing the various subgroups with control, the values was 726.61 ±199.67 pg/ml in Untreated group. It was 573.53 ± 213.423 pg/ml in Hydroxyurea group and 530.00±180.96 pg/ml in Imatinib group. Fresh cases had significantly elevated VEGF value (P value < 0.001) . VEGF level significantly elevated in Untreated cases when compared to treated groups either hydroxyurea (p=0.02) or Imatinib (p=0.019). There was no significant difference between Hydroxyurea and Imatinib groups.

Conclusion : This study suggest that VEGF play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia. Understanding this may help in designing new therapeutic strategies(antiangiogenic agents) for this dreaded disease.


The extremely large optical extinction coefficient of gold nanorods (Au-NRs) enables their use in a diverse array of technologies, rnging from plasmonic imaging, therapeutics and sensors, to large area coatings, filters, and optical attenuators. Development of the latter technologies has been hindered by the lack of cost-effective, large volume production. This is due in part to the low reactant concentration required for symmetry breaking in conventional seed-mediated synthesis. Direct scale up of laboratory procedures has limited viability because of excessive solvent volume, exhaustive postsynthesis purification processes, and the generation of large amounts of waste (e.g., hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB)). Following recent insights into the growth mechanism of Au-NRs and the role of seed development, we modify the classic seed-mediated synthesis via temporal control of seed and reactant concentration to demonstrate production of Au-NRs at more than 100-times the conventional concentration, while maintaining independent control and narrow distribution of nanoparticle dimensions, aspect ratio, and volume. Thus, gram scale synthesis of Au-NRs with prescribed aspect ratio and volume is feasible in a 100 mL reactor with 1/100th of organic waste relative to conventional approaches. Such scale-up techniques are crucial to cost-effectively meet the increased demand for large quantities of Au-NRs in emerging applications.


ABSTRACT Aim: The major concern of linezolid is the adverse events. High linezolid trough serum concentration (Cmin) has been associated with toxicity. The aim of this study was to analyze factors associated with high Cmin. Methods: Main clinical characteristics of 104 patients treated with 600 mg/12 hours of linezolid were retrospectively reviewed. Samples were obtained just before the next dose after at least three doses and within the first 8 days of treatment. High Cmin was considered when it was >8 mg/L. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Results: 34.6% patients had a Cmin >8 mg/L, and they were older and had more frequently an estimated glomerular filtration by MDRD <40 mL/min. There were more patients co-treated with rifampin in the group with low Cmin. The only factor independently associated with Cmin >8 was the renal function. Patients with an eGF < 40 mL/min had significantly higher Cmin than those with eGF > 80 mL/min (OR: 4.273) and there was a trend towards a high Cmin in patients with eGF between 40-80 mL/min (OR: 2.109). Conclusions: High Cmin were frequent, especially in patients with MDRD <40 mL/min. Therapeutic drug monitoring could be useful to avoid toxicity in patients with renal dysfunction.


Herewith, we report development of small molecule inhibitors of MNK1 and MNK2 kinases and their cellular activity. MNK1 and 2 are MAP kinase-interacting kinases are activated by RAS and MAPK signaling pathways, and are involved in regulation of translation. Both kinases phosphorylate translation initiation factor eIF4e on a conserved serine 209. eIF4E can contribute to the oncogenic transformation both in vitro and in vivo and is highly expressed in diverse types of cancer. Interestingly, mice that lack both Mnk1 and Mnk2 do not have any apparent phenotype. Recently first dual MNK1/MNK2 inhibitors have entered clinical trials as a combinational therapy with docetaxel in NSCLC. SEL201 is a series of small molecule inhibitors which inhibit activity of both MNK1 and MNK2 in a low nM range and high selectivity confirmed in kinome panels. Analysis of SEL201 cellular activity indicated potent inhibition of eIF4e Ser209 in vitro in cancer cells and in vivo after oral administration in xenograft tumors. Repressed phosphorylation of eIF4e resulted in impaired translation of several proteins involved in metastasis and activation of immune cells. High potency, selectivity and favorable ADME/PK profile indicates that SEL201 inhibitors would be useful tools in probing molecular consequences of eIF4e Ser209 inhibition in cancer cells. SEL201 in vitro and in vivo activities on viability and metastasis will be presented in cellular and in vivo models of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. SEL201 series is further developed as a cancer therapy with a good therapeutic window. Citation Format: Tomasz Rzymski, Agnieszka Dreas, Ewelina Wincza, Charles-Henry Fabritius, Urszula Kulesza, Katarzyna Kucwaj- Brysz, Mariusz Milik, Aniela Golas, Renata Windak, Eliza Żylkiewicz, Anna Wrobel, Maciej Sulkowski, Krzysztof Brzozka. Repression of tumor survival pathways by novel and selective inhibitors of MNK1 and MNK2 kinases in cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr C194.


The present invention relates to a haptic information providing module. The haptic information providing module (50) according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: a receiving unit (51) for receiving notifying information from the outside; a control unit (52) for converting the notifying information into a haptic signal; and an actuating unit (53) for relaying the haptic information to a user according to the haptic signal. The actuating unit (53) includes a haptic relay unit (1) configured of magnetic particles and a matrix element, and the haptic relay unit (1) provides haptic information through modifications (10a to 10d and 20a to 20d) by means of an external magnetic field.


Video-based wireless sensor networks continue to gain increasing interest due to their ability to collect visual information for a wide range of applications. However, knowledge about these types of networks is mostly related to visual algorithms, leaving the networking perspective aside. In this work, we analyze how an algorithm designed for traditional wireless sensor networks, which integrates the coverage and routing problem, behaves in video-based networks. Our results show that because of the unique way that cameras capture data, the sensor network algorithm does not give the expected results in terms of coverage preservation of monitored areas. We discuss the main differences between traditional wireless sensor networks and video-based networks that lead to such a result, and we provide ideas for how protocols should be designed for the unique features of video-based networks


BackgroundTreatment and prevention of HIV-1-related central-nervous-system disease
may be dependent on penetration of antiretroviral drugs into the central nervous
system. Few data are available about cerebrospinal-fluid penetration and concomitant
changes of HIV-1-RNA concentrations during treatment with antiretroviral agents.
We investigated these effects in HIV-1-infected people.Methods28 antiretroviral-naive individuals with CD4 cell counts of 200/µL
or more and plasma HIV-1-RNA concentrations of 10000 or more copies/mL who
were free of neurological symptoms were randomly assigned lamivudine plus
either stavudine (n=17) or zidovudine (n=11). We did lumbar punctures on 28
individuals before and 22 individuals after 12 weeks of treatment to assess
HIV-1-RNA and drug concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid.FindingsAll 28 individuals had detectable HIV-1-RNA concentrations in the cerebrospinal
fluid (median 4.64 log10 copies/mL and 4.20 log10 copies/mL
in the lamivudine plus zidovudine and lamivudine plus stavudine groups, respectively).
There was no correlation between plasma and cerebrospinal-fluid HIV-1-RNA
concentrations (r=0.18, p=0.35). After 12 weeks of
treatment none of the individuals had detectable HIV-1-RNA concentrations
in the cerebrospinal fluid. The highest drug concentration in the cerebrospinal
fluid was for lamivudine followed by stavudine and zidovudine. Concentrations
were consistent over time, unlike plasma concentrations. Therefore, we found
time-dependent cerebrospinal-fluid to plasma drug-penetration ratios, which
were highest for zidovudine followed by stavudine and lamivudine.InterpretationThe two drug combinations were equally effective in the decrease of
cerebrospinal fluid HIV-1-RNA concentrations. All drugs penetrated the cerebrospinal
fluid. Antiretroviral drugs other than zidovudine might be useful in the prevention
of AIDS dementia complex.


A considerable part of the difficulty of determining nutrient requirements in pathologic states is the failure to understand the physiology unique to the specific condition. Here we take the specific example of burns in childhood and discuss the roles of the inflammatory and stress responses to the burn and the consequent transient increased bone resorption followed by osteoblast apoptosis and adynamic bone. This condition leads to a failure of the bone to take up and thus conserve the increased calcium liberated by the acutely increased bone resorption. On top of this mechanism, there is a cytokine-mediated upregulation in the parathyroid gland calcium-sensing receptor that results in hypocalcemic hypoparathyroidism and consequent urinary calcium wasting. As if that were not sufficient, the skin of the burned patient, both scarred area and normal-appearing adjacent skin, convert 7 dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin D(3) at a rate that is 20-25% of normal skin and circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are chronically low. Thus, burn injury gives rise to calcium wasting, failure of bone to take up excessive calcium, and vitamin D insufficiency to frank deficiency. These and other areas must be addressed before it can be determined how much vitamin D and calcium should be given to a patient with severe burn injury.


Sensory nerve action potentials (SNAP) and mixed nerve action potentials (MNAP) of the median nerve were examined in 16 patients with motor neurone disease (MND), 29 patients with peripheral neuropathy and 18 age-matched normal controls. Patients with MND showed almost normal amplitudes of SNAP and MNAP, though they had muscle weakness in the hands. The motor nerve fibres may have a negligible effect on MNAP. The amplitude of MNAP correlated well with that of SNAP. The sensory fibres may play a major role in MNAP. Patients with peripheral neuropathy showed a significant reduction in amplitude in SNAP and MNAP. In particular, patients with sensory disturbance in the hands elicited low amplitudes in SNAP and MNAP. Patients without sensory disturbance also showed a decrease in amplitude in SNAP and MNAP. Peripheral neuropathy patients without sensory disturbance might show subclinical disturbance of peripheral sensory nerve fibres.