OBJECTIVE
To investigate the serum levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) and their possible relationship with disease activity in Kawasaki disease.

METHODS
Twelve children with Kawasaki disease, 12 healthy children (afebrile controls), and 12 children with high fever related to upper respiratory tract viral infections (URTVI) were enrolled in the study. Serum NGF levels were measured by an ELISA method before and after therapy. In addition, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), complete hemochrome, and C-reactive protein were tested as indicators of endothelial injury and disease activity, respectively.

RESULTS
NGF levels were strikingly increased in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (1219.54 +/- 1660.29 pg/ml) and decreased in the inactive phase of the disease (277.08 +/- 245.64 pg/ml), while remaining significantly higher than controls (6.5 +/- 2.03 pg/ml). In febrile patients with URTVI, NGF levels (30.18 +/- 44.70 pg/ml) were moderately but significantly increased compared to afebrile controls, but remarkably lower in respect to active and inactive Kawasaki disease. In active Kawasaki disease, ACE values were significantly lower than in healthy children (2.8 +/- 1.7 vs 10.1 +/- 4.2 pmol/ml/min; p < 0.001) and increased during the inactive phase, but remaining lower than in controls (4.8 +/- 2.7 pmol/ml/min); ESR, hemoglobin level, and platelet count showed significant correlation with NGF, while ACE levels showed a significant inverse correlation with ESR and NGF.

CONCLUSION
In Kawasaki disease, NGF increased together with decreased ACE may be linked to a diffuse vascular inflammatory process. NGF and ACE levels remained abnormal even when there was no clinical sign of disease activity. This may indicate that the disease process is not in complete remission and suggests careful and prolonged cardiac followup until their normalization.


Image inpainting is a technique of completing missing pixels such as occluded region restoration, distracting objects removal, and facial completion. Among these inpainting tasks, facial completion algorithm performs face inpainting according to the user direction. Existing approaches require delicate and well controlled input by the user, thus it is difficult for an average user to provide the guidance sufficiently accurate for the algorithm to generate desired results. To overcome this limitation, we propose an alternative user-guided inpainting architecture that manipulates facial attributes using a single reference image as the guide. Our end-to-end model consists of attribute extractors for accurate reference image attribute transfer and an inpainting model to map the attributes realistically and accurately to generated images. We customize MS-SSIM loss and learnable bidirectional attention maps in which importance structures remain intact even with irregular shaped masks. Based on our evaluation using the publicly available dataset CelebA-HQ, we demonstrate that the proposed method delivers superior performance compared to some state-of-the-art methods specialized in inpainting tasks.


Introduction: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a heterogeneous group of clinical syndromes characterized by activation and subsequent uncontrolled non-malignant proliferation of T-lymphocytes, histiocytes and macrophages leading to a cytokine storm and manifesting as prolonged fever, organomegaly, cytopenia, hyperferritinemia and demonstrable hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow. Case Presentation: Here we present a case of infection associated HLH in a five-year-old girl as a complication of Hepatitis A virus infection. The girl developed acute fulminant hepatic failure with multisystem involvement and was treated with a short course of steroid. Conclusions: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is broadly classified as two types, either familial or acquired. The acquired variety may be secondary to any type of infection, mostly viral. Hepatitis A virus is rarely reported to give rise to HLH in the pediatric population. Less intensive immunosuppressive therapy with steroids was successful in maintaining remission.


Introduction Colorectal (CRC) and Gastric (GC) cancers are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the North region of Brazil, these neoplasms are among the three most incident and aggressive types of cancer, constituting a severe problem of public health. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) of xenobiotic metabolism and transporter genes may play a role in individual response to exposure to some of the compounds implicated in the cancer susceptibility. However, few studies have demonstrated the role of polymorphisms of xenobiotic metabolism and transporter genes in the susceptibility to CRC or GC in admixed populations. In this context, the study of variation in the activation and detoxification processes of xenobiotics may help to clarify the development of either GC or CRC in substructured populations, providing new insights about predictive diagnostic criteria in oncological investigations. MethodsWe performed an association study using 31 SNPs in 15 xenobiotic metabolism and transporter genes. The study was carried out in 121 CRC and 95 GC cases and 140 control individuals from Belém, a city which comprises a population with high levels of miscegenation, located in the Brazilian Amazon. Samples were genotyped using the QuantStudio™12K Flex Real-Time PCR System. Due to the high level of genetic admixture in the studied population, we applied a panel of 61 Ancestry Informative Marker standardized by our research group in an earlier study. Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS v.20.0 and Structure v.2.3.4ResultsThe results revealed a significant association between the increased CRC or GC risk and polymorphisms of ABCG2 (rs2231142) and DPYD genes (rs17116806, rs1801159). ConclusionsOur data suggest that polymorphisms in xenobiotic-metabolizing and transporter genes may be relevant to the susceptibility to both CRC and GC.


Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is a serious adverse effect of chemotherapeutic agents. Clinical evidence suggests that stress is a risk factor for development and/or worsening of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). We evaluated the impact of stress and stress axis mediators on paclitaxel CIPN in male and female rats. Paclitaxel produced mechanical hyperalgesia, over the 4-day course of administration, peaking by day 7, and still present by day 28, with no significant difference between male and female rats. Paclitaxel hyperalgesia was enhanced in male and female rats previously exposed to unpredictable sound stress, but not in rats that were exposed to sound stress after developing paclitaxel CIPN. We evaluated the role of the neuroendocrine stress axes: in adrenalectomized rats, paclitaxel did not produce hyperalgesia. Intrathecal administration of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) that reduced expression of β2-adrenergic receptors on nociceptors, paclitaxel-induced hyperalgesia was slightly attenuated in males, but markedly attenuated in females. In contrast, following intrathecal administration of antisense ODN to decrease expression of glucocorticoid receptors, hyperalgesia was markedly attenuated in males, but unaffected in females. Both ODNs together markedly attenuated paclitaxel-induced hyperalgesia in both males and females. We evaluated paclitaxel-induced CIPN in stress-resilient (produced by neonatal handling, NH) and stress-sensitive (produced by neonatal limited bedding, NLB). NH significantly attenuated paclitaxel-induced CIPN in adult male, but not in adult female rats. NLB did not affect the magnitude of paclitaxel-induced CIPN in either male or female. This study provides evidence that neuroendocrine stress axis activity has a marked, sexually dimorphic, effect on paclitaxel-induced painful CIPN.


The crystal structure of the title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C10H12N2)]PF6, consists of a ferrocene-1-methyl-(3-methylimidazolium) cation and a hexafluoridophosphate anion. The ferrocenyl rings are skewed by 6.7 (4)° from the ideal eclipsed conformation. The interplanar angle between the plane of the substituted cyclopentadienyl ring and that of the imidazole ring is 89.9 (4)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds.


As web 2.0 becomes one of the important architecture styles, more web applications adopt single page structure instead of multiple web pages and navigations between pages. A single page web application client, called a mashup client in this paper, interfaces more than one services and allows users to navigate in the page. A mashup client page includes complicated functions and has to handle various styles of services and user requirements, and therefore is usually developed manually. In this paper, we propose a model driven code generation approach for in-page navigations. We propose a page model and view navigation design approach, applying REST service architecture patterns. Then, we consider type conditions for each view to have service calls or navigation controls. Also, we developed an XForms page code generation system to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. The developed system generates mashup client pages including navigation controls between services and views. This system can generate ready to use codes from service specifications, so this can help to reduce the development overhead. Moreover, our approach is based on formal model and navigation patterns so the generated result code is simple and easy to understand, and includes only the necessary controls. Therefore, the proposed approach can be more effective for the case of a large number of services.


The ignition resistance was investigated for CaO added Mg-Al alloys. The ignition resistance was examined by DTA for quantitative data, furnace chip ignition test for the safety of machined chips and torch ignition test for safety of products. The ignition resistances under all conditions greatly increased by CaO addition. AES depth profile was performed to evaluate the ignition resistance in terms of surface oxide stability. In the case of Mg-Al alloy without CaO, there was the thick and porous MgO oxide layer on the surface. The depth profile for CaO added Mg-Al Mg alloys indicated that the surface consisted of the thin and dense oxide layer mixed with MgO and CaO. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2010397]


The genetic susceptibility loci for complex disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) rarely encode protein. A better understanding of the intracellular mechanisms by which MS genetic susceptibility variants function is crucial to the development of more effective targeted treatments. Growing evidence suggests that these loci confer risk by controlling gene expression in specific disease-relevant cells by altering regulatory genetic sequences. This can be explored by correlating genotype at susceptibility loci with expression of nearby genes (cis-regulation), with greatest sensitivity demonstrated in the most relevant cell types. Aims 1. Interrogate MS susceptibility loci for cis-regulatory effects. 2. Establish a publicly available resource of genome-wide RNA sequencing expression data in CSF-derived CD4 +T cells. 3. Correlate gene expression data with detailed longitudinal clinical data to seek biomarkers of prognosis. This study will provide fresh insights into MS disease mechanisms and have relevance across all complex diseases by better defining relationships between susceptibility variants and gene expression. Identifying novel pathological cellular pathways may provide potential therapeutic targets, and detecting gene expression profiles that predict disease severity could help identify patients requiring early treatment. This work will be completed thanks to the ABN and Guarators of Brain Fellowship award I obtained in 2016.


Introduction: Cerebral palsy is the most common neurological disorder seen in childhood, and part of chronic diseases at this stage, which poses a great social and economic challenge at the family level, medical staff and rehabilitation centers. To assess the actual needs for patient management in various fields, it was necessary to study the problem at the local level. The main objectives: To study the risk factors associated with cerebral palsy in children attending the Neurological Clinic in Tishreen University Hospital. Materials and methods: The study included all children diagnosed with cerebral palsy up to the age of 14 who attended the Neurology Clinic at Tishreen University Hospital during the study period from May 2020 to June 2021. Data were analyzed according to: gender distribution, age of the injured, method of delivery, and the age at which the child first attended the clinic. In addition to studying potential risk factors during pregnancy, and causes in the perinatal and postpartum period. Cerebral palsy was stereotyped and the degree of disability was determined based on the clinical examination and the need for aids. The accompanying disorders and the various complaints that these children were referred to were recorded and included in categories. The diagnosis was based on clinical examination, pathological history, radiological investigations and available laboratory analyzes. Results: The sample included 163 children with a male preponderance of 68%. In the research sample, there was a relationship between the parents of 40 children at a rate of 24.5%. The risk factors that were found in the mothers of the children were sepsis during pregnancy, diabetes and preeclampsia. The form of perinatal asphyxia was the most dangerous perinatal factor seen and there was no differences in the method of delivery. The most causative factor after birth is the need for oxygen or a ventilator. Delayed milestone, speech delay, and convulsions constituted the most associated troubles. The spastic pattern is the most frequently seen pattern. As for the applied procedures, the most common was CT scan with 71.8.


[1] Mogi's (1958) magma intrusion model is widely used to predict observed deformation of active volcanoes. The model simulates a small spherical expansion source (SES) embedded in a homogeneous, isotropic, Poisson-solid half-space (HIPSHS). This study computes surface displacement due to SESs at depth using a combination of analytical and finite element models (FEMs), for which the HIPSHS assumptions are not required. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data suggest that Okmok volcano, Alaska, subsided more than a meter owing to lava extrusion during its 1997 eruption. Inverse methods, which use an HIPSHS model, precisely locate an SES at a depth of 3100 m beneath the center of the caldera. A series of alternative model configurations relax the combined suite of HIPSHS assumptions and sequentially isolate the effects of each assumption. Forward modeling predictions are relatively insensitive to topographic effects and layered elastic properties, somewhat sensitive to anisotropic elastic properties and Poisson's ratio, and very sensitive to the presence of weak materials within a caldera. Inverse methods, combined with analytical and FEM-generated impulse response functions, isolate the influence of each HIPSHS assumption on SES depth and pressure estimations. Results are particularly sensitive to a model configuration simulating a weak caldera, for which the estimated SES depth (4500 m) is significantly deeper than the estimate for the HIPSHS model. For deformation data having high signal-to-noise ratios, such as the co-eruption InSAR data for Okmok volcano, both forward and inverse deformation prediction errors attributed to the Mogi (1958) assumptions can greatly exceed observation uncertainties.


Abstract The Ligation of Intersphincteric Fistula Tract (LIFT) procedure is a recent sphincter-preserving procedure added to the surgical armamentarium of managing anal fistulas. It has gained popularity for its simple, easy-to-learn technique and success rate reliably exceeding 70%. Studies using validated continence scores have verified its advantage in preserving continence. The procedure is aimed at the cryptoglandular source of infection within the intersphincteric space. This is achieved through a small incision parallel to the intersphincteric groove and corresponding to the internal opening. After excision of the intersphincteric portion of the fistula tract, the openings on the internal and external sphincter are suture-ligated. Wound care is simple with minimal post-operative pain. Pre-operative imaging with endoanal ultrasonography helps to position the incision. Most failures or recurrences occur in the intersphincteric wound. This can be treated successfully with simple fistulotomy. The use of a seton before a LIFT procedure has not been proven beneficial. This technique has also been applied to Crohn׳s disease-related fistulas with similar success. Modifications to the technique using bioprosthetic inserts have also been reported to confer better results albeit at a greater cost.


The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key brain region for the perception of pain and emotion. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of the ACC are usually investigated in rodents such as mice and rats. Studies of synaptic mechanisms in primates are limited. To facilitate the translation of basic results from rodents to humans, it is critical to use a primate-like animal model for the investigation of the ACC. The tree shrew presents a great opportunity for this as they have similar genome sequences to primates and are considered to have many similarities to primates. In the present study, by combining anatomy, immunostaining and micro-optical sectioning tomography methods, we examined the morphological properties of the ACC in the tree shrew and compared them with the mouse and rat. We found that the ACC in the tree shrew is significantly larger than those found in the mouse and rat. The sizes of cell bodies of ACC pyramidal cells in tree shrew are also larger than that found in the mouse or rat. Furthermore, there are significantly more apical/basal dendritic branches and apical dendritic spines of ACC pyramidal neurons in tree shrew. These results demonstrate that pyramidal cells of the ACC in tree shrews are more advanced than those found in rodents (mice and rats), indicating that the tree shrew can be used as a useful animal model for studying the cellular mechanism for ACC-related physiological and pathological changes in humans.


High Temperature Superconductor (HTSc) will switch from the superconducting state to the normal resistive state when an intrinsic critical current density is exceeded. We have measured the transition characteristics for HTSc thin films forced into transition by the application of voltage driven overcurrents. These thin films were used in the development of prototype HTSc fault current limiting devices. The prototype fault current limiters have exhibited excellent performance, combining low insertion loss during normal current conditions with rapid response and minimization of fault currents. This paper describes the results of several subscale power applications experiments which have demonstrated the usefulness of these devices. Also presented is an experiment demonstrating active switching of the devices to the resistive state. These experimental results will benefit researchers considering the use of HTSe switches for active control of current.


Ga´nti ' s chemoton model (Ga´nti , T. , 2002. On the early evolution of biological periodicity. Cell. Biol. Int. 26 , 729) is considered as an iconic example of a minimal protocell including three key subsystems : membrane , metabolism and information. The three subsystems are connected through stoichiometrical coupling which ensures the existence of a replication cycle for the chemoton. Our detailed exploration of a version of this model indicates that it displays a wide range of complex dynamics , from regularity to chaos. Here , we report the presence of a very rich set of dynamical patterns potentially displayed by a protocell as described by this implementation of a chemoton-like model. The implications for early cellular evolution and synthesis of artificial cells are discussed .


The discovery of molecular interactions is crucial towards a better understanding of complex biological functions. Particularly protein-protein interactions (i.e., PPIs), which are responsible for a variety of cellular functions from epigenetic modifications to enzyme-substrate specificity, have been studied extensively over the past decades. Position-specific scoring matrices (PSSM) in particular are used extensively to help determine interaction specificity or candidate interaction motifs. However, not all studies successfully report their results as a candidate interaction motif. In many cases, this is the result of a lack of analysis tools for simple analysis and motif generation. Peptide Specificity Analyst (PeSA) is developed with the goal of filling this gap and providing an analysis software to aid peptide array analysis and subsequent motif generation. PeSA utilizes two models of motif creation: (1) frequency-based using a peptide list, and (2) weight-based using a quantified matrix. The ability to generate motifs effortlessly will make analyzing, interpreting and sharing peptide specificity study results in a simple and straightforward process. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT HIGHLIGHTS Biological motifs are widely used representations for peptide specificity analysis. PeSA populates a list of peptides matching a set threshold from a quantified matrix. Frequency-based motif using a peptide list to spot residue patterns. Use of quantified matrices to create weight-based motifs using residue positions.


Dilatation and rupture of Dacron vascular grafts have been infrequently reported in the literature. Graft rupture occurred in five patients of a series of some 300 Cooley double velour knitted Dacron arterial prostheses implanted at Haukeland Hospital. An incidence of 3% graft ruptures has been reported in the literature. It is important that this complication is recognized and properly treated by the vascular surgeon. Regular life-long follow-up examinations of all patients with vascular prostheses are recommended.


This study aims to expand on a deeper understanding of the relationship between rapid economic development and ensuing air pollution in China. The database includes the gross domestic product (GDP), the value added of a secondary industry, the per capita GDP (PGDP), greenhouse gases emissions, and PM2.5 concentrations. The results indicate that China's PGDP has continued to rise over the past decade, and the rate of PGDP slowed down from 1980 to 2004 (slope = 5672.81, R2 = 0.99, p < 0.001) but was significantly lower than that from the year 2004 to 2013 (slope = 46,911.08, R2 > 0.99, p < 0.001). Unfortunately, we found that total coal consumption, annual steel production, and SO2 emission had been continually growing as the overall economy expands at temporal scale, with the coefficient of determinations greater than 0.98 (p < 0.001). Considering the spatial pattern aspect, we also found a significant relationship between GDP and greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, severe air pollution has negatively impacted the environment and human health, particularly in some highlighted regions. The variation explained by both total SO2 emission and total smoke and dust emission were 33% (p < 0.001) and 24% (p < 0.01) for the rate of total pertussis at temporal scale, respectively. Furthermore, at the spatial scale, pulmonary tuberculosis rates and pertussis mainly occurred in area with serious air pollution (economically developed region). It can be summarized that the extensive mode of economic growth has brought a number of serious environment and human health problems. Thus, a new policy framework has been proposed to meet the goals of maintaining a healthy economy without harming natural environment, which may prove integral, especially when coupled with long-term national strategic development plans.


In this paper, a comparison study has been presented to see the difference between the theoretical and finite element analysis for ball bearing. Throughout that study, a finite element analysis is performed to determine the maximum contact pressure and maximum stresses induced in the bearing components; rolling elements and rings. Another purpose of this analysis is to validate the most critical zones in the bearing for knowing the scenario of generating this stress and pressure which enabling the specialists to determine the initiation point for failure in the bearing. The comparison between the results of the numerical study with theoretical one has showed the good agreement outputs of this numerical study. In addition, this analysis could give the displacements and deformations that raised in the bearing elements at the highest critical zones.


Recently, the number of user-generated recipes on the Internet has increased. In such recipes, users are generally supposed to write a title, an ingredient list, and steps to create a dish. However, some items in an ingredient list in a user-generated recipe are not actually edible ingredients. For example, headings, comments, and kitchenware sometimes appear in an ingredient list because users can freely write the list in their recipes. Such noise makes it difficult for computers to use recipes for a variety of tasks, such as calorie estimation. To address this issue, we propose a non-ingredient detection method inspired by a neural sequence tagging model. In our experiment, we annotated 6,675 ingredients in 600 user-generated recipes and showed that our proposed method achieved a 93.3 F1 score.


The intratumoral delivery of radioactive therapeutics, a clinical technique known as brachytherapy, has proven very successful in treating solid cancers and become a prevalent option for treating prostate, breast, and melanoma tumors. The method typically involves the permanent implantation of 80-120 titanium 'seeds' encapsulating radioactive isotopes and requires expert spatial placement to ensure full dose coverage. The disadvantages of the seeds include a complicated implantation process, the permanence of the implants, migration of seeds to off-target sites, and that the titanium shielding limits the application of radionuclides which could treat more aggressive forms of cancer. As such, we have developed a next-generation brachytherapy alternative to solid seeds using an injectable, biodegradable, biocompatible and thermosensitive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). Through recombinant design and synthesis, ELP exhibits a thermal phase transition (soluble-to-insoluble) when heated above 21°C. This allows radionuclide-bearing ELP to be easily handled as a fluid at room temperature, but enables spontaneous self-assembly into a stable brachytherapy gel upon intratumoral injection at body temperature. Previously, we demonstrated the efficacy of ELP brachytherapy in treating both s.c. human hypopharyngeal tumors and orthotopic human prostate tumors xenografted in mice models. Treatment options for pancreatic cancer remain limited due to a large proportion of patients presenting with advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Trials investigating the use of brachytherapy as a neo-adjuvant for shrinking pancreatic tumors prior to surgery or as an adjuvant to inhibit recurrence have provided encouragement. By conjugating the more potent radionuclide 131-Iodine to ELP, we investigated the ability of ELP brachytherapy to treat more clinically aggressive pancreatic tumors. Utilizing a human CRL-1687 cell line transfected to express luciferase (BxPc3-luc2), human pancreatic tumors were xenografted into an orthotopic, athymic nu/nu mouse model. Upon reaching 150 mm^3 in size, mice were treated either with [131I]-ELP brachytherapy (n = 6), at a dose of 5.83 μCi/mm^3, or with an ELP-only control injection (n = 6). Tumor response was tracked non-invasively using luminescent imaging for 60 days. The ELP brachytherapy demonstrated significant tumor inhibition (p Citation Format: Jeffrey Laurence Schaal, Wenge Liu, Ashutosh Chilkoti, Xinghai Li, Eric Mastria, Michael R. Zalutsky. Next-generation brachytherapy: a preclinical study of a thermally stabilized biopolymer gel for delivering intratumoral radionuclide therapy in a pancreatic tumor mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1809. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1809


Symbiotic interactions have structured past and present ecosystems and shaped the evolution of life. As any trait, the symbiotic state observed in extant species builds on ancestral and conserved features, and lineage-specific innovations. From these mixed origins, defining the ancestral state of symbiotic associations is challenging although it is instrumental for understanding how symbiotic abilities emerge from non-symbiotic states. Here we aimed at reconstructing the intermediate steps leading to the root-nodule nitrogen-fixing symbiosis (RNS) observed in some extant flowering plants. For this, we compared the transcriptomic responses of nine host plants in response to symbiotic bacteria. We included the mimosoid legume Mimosa pudica for which we assembled a chromosome-level genome and generated the transcriptomic response to experimentally evolved bacterial symbionts. With this dataset, we reconstructed the ancestral RNS transcriptome, composed of most already described symbiotic genes together with hundreds of novel candidates. We found that the response to the chemical signals produced by the symbiont, nodule organogenesis and nitrogen-fixation are predominantly linked to ancestral responses, although these traits have diversified in the different nitrogen-fixing lineages. We detected a clear signature of recent and convergent evolution for the ability to release intracellular symbiosomes in two legume lineages, exemplified by the expression of different classes of small proteins in each group, potentially leading to the convergent gain of symbiotic evolutionary stability. Our findings demonstrate that most of the novelties for RNS were mostly in place in the most recent common ancestor of the RNS-forming species that lived on Earth 110 million years ago. Graphical abstract A little graphical/nice phylogeny with nodes of interest Highlights We sequenced a high-quality genome of the Mimosoideae Mimosa pudica The nitrogen-fixing root-nodule symbiosis relies on an ancestral transcriptomic response All symbiotic traits involve genes of the ancestral symbiotic program Symbiont perception, nodule organogenesis and nitrogen-fixation are essentially ancestral processes Convergent evolution of intracellular accommodation of symbionts additionally involves lineage-specific genes


We study the dynamics of a polymer when it is quenched from a θ to a good or bad solvent, by means of a Langevin equation. The variation of the radius of gyration is studied as a function of time. For the first stage of collapse or swelling, the characteristic time scale is found to be proportional to N4/3. Other scaling laws are derived for the diffusion regime at larger times. Although the present model is solved only for homopolymers and does not include hydrodynamic interactions, these results may be a first step towards the understanding of the early stages of protein folding.


Results from numerical tests of nine approximate exchange–correlation energy functionals are reported for various systems—atoms, molecules, surfaces, and bulk solids. The functional forms can be divided into three categories: (1) the local spin density (LSD) approximation, (2) generalized gradient approximations (GGAs), and (3) meta-GGAs. In addition to the spin densities and their first gradients, the input to a meta-GGA includes other semilocal information such as Laplacians of the spin densities or orbital kinetic energy densities. We present a way to visualize meta-GGA nonlocality which generalizes that for GGA nonlocality, and which stresses the different meta-GGA descriptions of iso-orbital and orbital overlap regions of space. While some of the tested approximations were constructed semiempirically with many parameters fitted to chemical data, others were constructed to incorporate key properties of the exact exchange–correlation energy. The latter functionals perform well for both small and extended systems, with the best performance achieved by a meta-GGA which recovers the correct gradient expansion. While the semiempirical functionals can achieve high accuracy for atoms and molecules, they are typically less accurate for surfaces and solids. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 75: 889–909, 1999


Water evaporation during windshield defrosting is investigated paying particular attention to the effects of air humidity and wind speed. During the defrosting process, the ice layer on the windshield begins to melt as the temperature of the defrost air increases. Results have shown that the iceturned-water can evaporate depending upon the ambient air humidity level and the wind speed. Water evaporation takes the heat otherwise available for melting, thereby delaying the ice melting process. It is found that at low wind speeds the effect of air humidity in delaying the ice-melting is minimal. However, at high wind speeds, (>10 m/s) water evaporation can take enough heat away from melting, thereby significantly reducing the ice removal rate. In relation to this, driver safety concerns associated with the reduction of ice melting rate are discussed.


Since 1883, when the nation's first electric power company, Tokyo Electric Lighting Co., was founded, Japan's electric power industry has developed largely through private enterprise. The exception was the period 1939-1951, spanning World War II and the Allied Occupation, when it was under state control. This path of development contrasts sharply with that of another electricity-related enterprise, the telecommunications industry. The Ministry of Communications also controlled telecommunications during and just after the war, but unlike the electric industry, telecommunications had no history as a private enterprise at any time from its start in 1869 until it was privatized in 1985. Until that year, the government ran it either directly or indirectly. This article reviews the history and development of Japan's electric power industry and analyzes the influential role of Matsunaga Yasuzaemon (1875-1971) in that process. While identifying the factors that lay behind Matsunaga's enormous contributions to the industry, it explains the reasons that the electric power industry, in contrast with telecommunications, has been run predominantly as a private enterprise.


Support Vector Regression (SVR) is proved to be a good and effective method for machine condition prediction. But prediction results are usually not satisfying for complex machines, e.g., a certain diesel engine. So a hybrid method GA-EMD-SVR is proposed in this paper integrating Genetic Algorithm (GA), Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Support Vector Regression (SVR). The main ideal of the method is to select effective parameters combination from condition signal based on GA. Then EMD is employed to decompose the effective parameter sequences into several Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) and a residual. Finally, each IMF and the residue are considered as training samples to train SVR based on space construction, whose model parameters is generated by using grid-search. Experiment data from a certain diesel engine is used to validate the model. Prediction results of single and multiple steps based on GA-EMD-SVR are validated to be feasible and more accuracy than GA-SVR model.


Industrial development manifested due to setting up of new industries or expansions of the existing industrial establishments resulted in to environmental degradation therefore it is necessary to evaluate, monitor and check various environmental parameters whether they are complying with given standard or not given by regulatory authority. During the entire study period performance evaluation of effluent treatment plant and hazardous waste management has been carried out at pharmaceutical industry, Ankleshwar. The monitoring data of the effluent treatment plant will give information on the pollution control by the company and management of solid waste. Statistical analysis showed that there are no significance difference in pH, BOD, COD and ammonical Nitrogen. Hence determination of various environmental aspects of pharmaceutical bulk drugs process and parameters of generated effluents were carried out.


Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation is an important event in atherosclerosis development. The relationship between oxidized LDL (oxLDL) autoantibodies and coronary artery disease (CAD) remains controversial. IgM and IgG autoantibodies to oxLDL were measured in twenty patients undergoing clinically indicated coronary angiography, and in ten young healthy volunteers from the Center of Molecular Immunology. The levels of IgM autoantibodies to oxLDL did not differ between no CAD patients and healthy subjects, but the levels of IgM autoantibodies to oxLDL of these two groups were higher compared with the one of CAD patient group. Our results, although preliminary, supports the hypothesis that this kind of Abs might be inversely associated with the presence of atherosclerosis.


Over an eight month period, ten patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were preoperatively scanned with Tc-99m-Sestamibi in order to locate adenomas. An adenoma was detected in nine patients, of which four were operated and good concordance was found between the scanning and the operative findings. Of the remaining six patients two were inoperable, two refused operation and two died of other causes.


Jakarta is the center of business and government in Indonesian Republic that have population density about 15.000 citizen per kilometer. Jakarta have many major problem like different political view, high population density, traffic jam, increase of waste product, air population, etc. "Surat Untuk Jakarta" Animation short is about condition in Jakarta from day to night. For about two minutes, the winner of the Best Animation Category in Festival Film Indonesia show us about the architecture in Jakarta in exquisites 2D animation media. Despite of the success for gaining many award like "Best Picture Hellofest 2016", this film just show the sequence of Jakarta. We can see the iconic building like Monumen National, Dirgantara Statue, Istiqlal Mosque, etc. But the problem is, there is no narrator that tell us what's going on there. The shot change to another shot, but just segmented people that know the meaning and message of this film. This research purpose is to analyze the meaning and message of "Surat Untuk Jakarta" with semiotic metodolgy. The conclusion of this research is with visual element that have no narrator makes the meaning and the responds to target audience ineffective. The conclusion we have is this film is about the complexity of Jakarta, there are too many social gap in Jakarta, and we still need more pluralism in this city.


Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a heterogenous presentation and highly variable disease course. The most common subtypes of CTCL are mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary Syndrome (SS). Treatment varies based on the stage of the disease with skin directed therapies typically utilized for early stage disease, and systemic therapies employed for more advanced disease. There are few highly effective treatments available, and systemic therapies have limited response rates. Histone deacetylase inhibitors have emerged as mainstream treatments for MF/SS over the past several years. Here, we discuss the mechanism of action of histone deacetylase inhibitors in relation to the pathogenesis of MF/SS, evaluate the clinical trials that led to Food and Drug Administration approval of two of the histone deacetylase inhibitors for MF/SS and describe the results for those still under investigation. Additionally, we discuss the potential for combination therapies in order to optimize outcomes of treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors.


The recent advances in network-based software applications and the advent of ubiquitous computing are pushing us inevitably towards a world of autonomous software architectures. This trend has spurred the revitalization of agent technology as a complement to the object paradigm for a variety of modern application domains, including e-commerce, software development environments, and personal assistants. There is explicit evidence to believe that the penetration of software agents is also high for systems used in military and government contexts [2, 8]. Agents, like objects, provide services to their clients, but are recognizably different from objects as seen from an architectural point of view [3, 5, 8]. Unlike objects, an agent is an autonomous entity that takes the initiative to achieve system goals and represent software users [2, 3]. As a result, architects of software agents are faced with basic concerns, such as the agent services that are made available to the clients, and a number of additional concerns on top of the basic concerns. The internal architecture of a single agent encompasses multiple properties, including autonomy, interaction, adaptation, collaboration, learning, and mobility. Hence architects of agent-based systems are also concerned with issues such as making an agent interact appropriately, handling the agent's adaptive behavior, structuring the agent's autonomous behavior, designing the agent roles and protocols for inter-agent collaboration purposes, and incorporating learning mechanisms into the agent's structure in a modular manner.


Positive ions were measured in situ by direct sampling from CF4 discharge space at 13.56 MHz using a quadrupole mass spectrometer. CF3+ is observed predominantly with smaller amounts of CF2+ and CF+. With increasing RF power, both CF2+ and CF+ shift to the lower energy side of CF3+, and their intensities tend to increase. Such a phenomenon is also observed as controlling the potential of a sampling tip externally. These seem to suggest that CF2+ and CF+ are produced mainly in the sheath region.


The majority of what is known in the recent literature regarding human milk studies in the neonatal intensive care setting is specific to term and/or preterm infants (including very-low-birth-weight preterm infants). However, there is a lack of human milk and breastfeeding literature concerning infants with congenital anomalies, specifically infants diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). By applying human milk research conducted among other populations of infants, this article highlights how human milk may have a significant impact on infants with CDH. Recent human milk studies are reviewed and then applied to the CDH population in regard to respiratory and gastrointestinal morbidities, as well as infection and length of stay. In addition, clinical implications of these relationships are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.


In this research we systematically formulate a novel physics-based solid model that can overcome many of the limitations associated with conventional solid modeling techniques. Within our new dynamic modeling framework, free-form subdivision solids [2] are equipped with continuous mass and stiffness distributions, internal deformation energies, and other material and graphical properties such as color and density. In contrast with mature modeling techniques associated with subdivision surfaces, our solid formulations based on subdivision transcend surface-based approaches by defining geometry and topology both in the interior and on the boundary of solid objects. We have implemented a prototype design environment based on dynamic subdivision solids in which users can interact with virtual objects via forces and simulate and analyze their dynamic behavior either at run-time (for simple models) or offline (for complex models). 2 FEM-based Subdivision Solids


Below is a preview of the studies that are being conducted on the Caruao
parish in the Vargas state of Venezuela. On this occasion we talk about
the Hacienda de San Faustino, an old cacao production unit worked initially
by enslaved Africans and then by their afro-descendants, located in the Caruao
parish since the 18th century. It is known from the same by the documentary
research carried out in historical archives of Caracas and La Guaira, by the
archaeological record and the oral memory collected in the research project
"Anthropology of the Caruao parroquia" (APC) in the nineties of the XXth
century. With this article we want to honor the enslaved of San Faustino, of
whom today there is no memory, even when their cries and laments are heard
at night.


Abstract Freely propagatiug coastally trapped waves (CTWs) dominated the large alongshore-scale low-frequency variability in the Australian Coastal Experiment (ACE). Two analytical models are used to demonstrate that these waves are not due to wave energy propagating freely through Bass Strait from the Southern Australian wave guide, but rather are largely generated by the very strong low-frequency winds in Bass Strait. The first model shows that the considerable CTW energy flux from the Southern Australian shelf wave guide does not propagate through Bass Strait. It is either frictionally dissipated at the northwest entrance to Bass Strait or travels southward along the western Bass Strait escarpment as "escarpment" waves and then southward along Tasmania's west coast as coastally trapped waves. The second model is used to calculate the eastward energy flux at the eastern end of Bass Strait assuming that all of this flux is generated by the very strong winds in Bass Strait. The calculations show that the ...


This paper addresses the problem of language recognition according to stochastic attributed context-free grammars. Starting with an application as the main motivation-automatic sleep analysis-a heuristic recognizer for attributed grammars is proposed. The algorithm (an extension of a previously developed method for stochastic context-free grammars) is there used both in the process of grammar inference and on the classification of sleep macrostructure. The generality of the method features its application into other areas, namely in natural language and speech understanding.


s from the 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting of the British and Irish Hypertension Society (BIHS) Journal of Human Hypertension (2017) 31, 657–686; doi:10.1038/jhh.2017.63 The Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. 11-13 September 2017 Conference Organizer: In Conference Ltd. http://bihsevents.org/ Presenting author names are underlined in the contributor lists. Sponsorship: Funding for the publication of this supplement was provided by the British and Irish Hypertension Society for the advancement of knowledge and dissemination of information concerning the pathophysiology, epidemiology, detection, investigation and treatment of arterial hypertension and related vascular diseases. O – 1 Trends for prevalence and incidence of resistant hypertension: a population based cohort study in the UK 1995-2015 Sarah-Jo Sinnott, Liam Smeeth, Elizabeth Williamson, Ian Douglas London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom Introduction: There is a dearth of data on how the prevalence and incidence of resistant hypertension (RHTN), a potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, are changing over time. Our aim was to establish epidemiological trends for RHTN in the UK from 1995 to 2015. Methods: We used a cohort study design using electronic health records from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink [1]. RHTN was defined as (1) concurrent use of ⩾ 3 antihypertensive drugs, uncontrolled hypertension (⩾140/90mmHg) and adherence to drug regimen or (2) concurrent use of ≥4 anti-hypertensive drugs and adherence to drug regimen. We calculated crude and age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence. We assessed changes in trends over time using Joinpoint models and the effect of age and gender on trends over time using Poisson models. Results: 1,317,290 million patients with hypertension were included. The age-standardised incidence of RH increased from 0.98 cases/100 person years (py) (95% CI 0.92–1.04) in 1996 to a peak level of 2.19 cases/100 py (95% CI 2.15–2.24) in 2004. Incidence then fell to 0.49 cases/100 py (95% CI 0.46–0.51) in 2015. Age-standardised prevalence increased from 1.79% (95% CI 1.71–1.88) in 1995 to a peak of 8.26% (95% CI 8.19–8.32) in 2007. Prevalence then plateaued, and subsequently declined to 7.10% (95% CI 7.02–7.16) in 2015. Conclusion: Prevalent RHTN has plateaued and decreased in recent years, due to a decrease in incidence from 2004 onwards. However, RHTN is not uncommon and remains a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Disclosure: None declared. References: 1. UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink: https://www.cprd. com/home/. O – 2 The use of four or more drugs for intensive control of blood pressure is associated with detrimental renal effects in Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) Linsay McCallum, Indranil Dasgupta, Alan Jardine, Sandosh Padmanabhan University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom, Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom Background: In Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) [1], achievement of target systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the intensive arm required a higher number of drugs and intensive treatment was associated with lower cardiovascular (CV) events and death but an increased incidence of adverse events. Methods: Number of drug classes prescribed at randomisation and at 1,2,3,6,9,12 months were used to identify distinct trajectory groups in the standard and intensive arm using Latent Class Mixed Modelling, in 8,449 participants. Cox proportional hazards (Cox-PH) models, adjusted for age, sex, SBP (area under curve [AUC] 0-12 months), prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD), prevalent chronic 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 19 95 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 pe r 1 00 p eo pl e or p er 1 00 p er so n ye ar s Year Incidence and Prevalence of Resistant Hypertension in the UK 1995-2015 Standardised Prevalence Standardised Incidence Figure 1. [O – 1]: Incidence and Prevalence of Resistant Hypertension by year, 1995-2016. Age Standardised to 2015 hypertensive population Journal of Human Hypertension (2017) 31, 657–686 © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved 0950-9240/17


Accidents on ski slopes constitute a big strain on rescue teams in mountainous areas. In the last few years the number of events has increased. The number of accidents with the participation of snowboard riders and events resulting from crash of slope users has also increased. In this work, we analyzed TOPR actions in case of ski interventions in the winter seasons 2008/ 09 and 2009/10. We evaluated the mechanisms of the events, the most frequent injuries and their level of severity, basing on NACA and IKAR scales applied by TOPR. In our work, we also referred to the issue of using ski helmets by skiers in relation to the obligation of its wearing by children up to the age of 15 years old.


Background: Given the impact of high intake sugar sweetened beverages on type2 diabetes, intervention to reduce their consumption can be a top priority for any health system. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to simulate the impact of policy options related to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages on the prevalence and mortality of type 2 diabetes in Iranian men and women.Methods: A Markov micro-simulation (MM) model was used to predict the effect of several policy options on the incidence and death from type 2 diabetes in Azar Cohort Databases. Population age-and sex-specific prevalence and incidence rate of diagnosed diabetes were derived from the national health data. The PRIME model was used for coding the input parameters of simulation using R and Python software.Results: The prevalence and mortality rate of type 2 diabetes under the scenario of reduced consumption of sugar sweetened beverages indicated that the highest and lowest prevalence and mortality rates of type 2 diabetes for men and women were related to no policy condition and replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with healthy drinks such as water, respectively. Also, the maximum number of death postponed/prevented from type 2 diabetes was related to replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water and levying 10% tax on sugar sweetened beverages, respectively. Conclusion: Regarding the effect of simulating different policy options on reducing the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, the most effective policy options were replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water.


Industrial or occupational hygiene is normally defined as "that science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers or among the citizens of the community".
Taking into account the importance of this discipline for the health of workers in particular and of the population in general, for years there was a need to define requirements that could guarantee a high and standardized professional level for figures operating in the sector.
For this purpose, standard UNI 11711:2018 "Unregulated professional activities - occupational hygienist - Requirements for knowledge, skills and competence" was published in 2018.
In this paper, the main points of the standard are discussed and the positive aspects that this can have in the field of industrial hygiene are outlined.


Magnesium is the lightest of all structural metals. As such, and combined with good mechanical and physical properties, it forms the basis for commercial alloys that have found successful use in a wide variety of applications. The work presented in this thesis has aimed to investigate the characteristics of microstructures and defects in cast magnesium alloys, as well as how they influence the mechanical properties.The microstructural features of binary Mg-Al alloys with various Al concentrations were investigated under a range of cooling conditions. The experiments were done by using a gradient solidification technique to achieve homogeneous and nearly defectfree magnesium alloy specimens, through which the isolated effect of microstructural parameters on the mechanical properties could be evaluated. Some models were developed to describe the relationships between the microstructure and mechanical properties in the Mg-Al alloys. In this work, it was also found that the mechanical properties of cast Mg components were affected by some non-structural factors. It is proposed that mould constraints in the die during cooling can have a significant effect on the yield strength of die-cast magnesium components.Investigations were also done concerning the characteristics of the microstructure, especially the so called pre-solidified crystals, as well as two common defects, segregation bands and hot-tears, in die-cast Mg components. The effects of process parameters on the formation of the microstructure and these defects were thoroughly investigated in some high pressure die cast commercial components. Applying a high intensification pressure was found to have a strong effect in minimizing the segregation band formation, however at the same time promoting the formation of hot tears. A new theory describing the mechanisms for segregation band formation is proposed. The theory was confirmed by simulations of solidification process during die casting, and by experimental verification. The tensile stresses built up in the residual liquid due to the solidification (and cooling) shrinkage of the casting, which causes a pressure drop and viscous flow of enriched liquid inside the mushy zone, is believed to be the main reason for segregation band formation.In order to be able to produce premium quality and cost effective Mg components, a new semi-solid casting process was developed. The process, called Rapid Slurry Forming (RSF), is based on a rapid but precise control of the enthalpy of the metal, thereby permitting the operator to obtain the desired solid fraction in the slurry. By using this process, large amounts of high quality semi-solid slurry can be produced in some minutes. This new technology opens up possibilities for producing Mgcomponents with well described microstructures, low defect contents and good mechanical properties.


In this paper, we present an empirical comparison among four different schemes of coding the outputs of a Multilayer Feedforward networks. Results are obtained for eight different classification problems from the UCI repository of machine learning databases. Our results show that the usual codification is superior to the rest in the case of using one output unit per class. However, if we use several output units per class we can obtain an improvement in the generalization performance and in this case the noisy codification seems to be more appropriate.


This study's goal is to identify and measure the variables which influence per capita municipal solid waste generation in the southern U.S., using the 100 counties of North Carolina as a data set and regression models for statistical analysis. Variables are selected to capture the residential, institutional, and commercial components of the municipal solid waste stream as well as the overall structure of waste management through inclusion of waste disposal fees. An additional goal of this study is to examine the influence of the components of retail sales, including sales of eateries, merchandise, food stores, and apparel stores, as the retail industries have been suggested to contribute significantly to waste generation. The results indicate that retail sales and the waste disposal fee are the significant determinants of waste generation while variables to account for manufacturing, construction, personal income, and degree of urbanization did not prove significant. Of the components of retail sales, per capita sales of eating establishments proved the greatest influence on waste generation. Policy implications are that an increasing effort should be made to focus on eating establishments and to establish appropriate tipping fees if a goal of waste reduction is to be achieved.


The juncture of big and open data informs areas as diverse as artificial intelligence, agriculture, and public health, and promises to transform our ability to tackle global challenges. However, Sabina Leonelli highlights three major concerns over how big and open data are currently managed: the unsustainable nature of the digital data landscape; the quality and credibility of the data themselves; and how data sources currently represent only privileged – typically English-speaking – individuals and communities, with little representation from less visible and more vulnerable groups. These challenges can be overcome, but to do so requires significant investment in key data governance priorities.


In the study of population dynamics, the predator-prey system is recognized as a vitally important aspect in natural population control. On aspect of predator-prey interactions is studied in this paper. The attack cycle of a predator is assumed to consist of four different activities, namely, search, pursuit, handle and eat, and digestion. A semi-Markovian model is proposed to obtain the number of prey devoured by a predator during the activity of a day. The advantages of a new semi-Markovian model to the queueing model developed by Curry and DeMichele (1977) is demonstrated, as the results from the semi-Markovian model are closer to Holling's (1966) experimental data than their results, which were based entirely on Poisson assumptions.


Mother's Milk (ASI) is the best food for babies that is produced directly from the mother's breast to her newborn baby, because its composition is appropriate for every baby's growth and development, breast milk also contains protective substances that can prevent babies from various infectious diseases . Dates contain iron, protein, fiber, glucose, vitamins, biotin, niacin, folic acid, and minerals such as calcium, sodium, and potassium which can increase breast milk production . The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dates on breast milk production in postpartum mothers on days 3-9 at PMB Binti Qoni'ah Nganjuk 2021. The design of this study was pre-experimental using a one-group pre-posttest design. In this study obtained a population of 15 people, with a sample of 15 people using total sampling technique. The data was collected using an observation sheet and the hypothesis test used was the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test with a significance value = 0.05. The statistical test result from the Wilcoxon Sign Rank obtained p value = 0,01 with an error level (=0.05), it can be said that p < than it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and H1 is accepted. There is an effect of dates on breast milk production in postpartum mothers on days 3 - 9 at PMB Binti Qoni'ah Nganjuk 2021. Based on the results of the study, it is hoped that the research area can be used as input for using dates to increase breast milk production in the development of traditional medicine


Recently we reported that phosphorescent light emission was observed upon irradiation of WF6/H2/noble gas (Ar, Kr, Ne, Xe) mixtures by ArF excimer laser [P. Heszler, P. Mogyorosi, and J.-O. Carlsson, J. Appl. Phys. 78, 5277 1995], originating from tungsten nanoparticles. In this work results of additional measurements on the same system are presented, and we conclude that the reported phosphorescence is a blackbody-like radiation. Taking into account the emissivity of the particles calculated on the base of the Mie theory, it was possible to determine the dependence of the temperature of the tungsten nanoparticles on time after the laser pulse by means of time-resolved spectroscopy. It is shown that surface reactions on the hot nanoparticles contribute significantly to the growth. The size distribution was found lognormal by transmission electron microscopy measurements.


Following a brief introduction to the existing research on Vicki Baum (1888-1960) and her work, this study examines the importance of assimilation, identity, and self-discovery both in the author's biography and in her narrative. The analysis of Menschen im Hotel (1929) and Hotel Berlin (1943/44) collocates the fictional conflicts between modernizing inputs and traditional settings, between self-deception and ethical responsibility within the wider field of Baum's experience as an assimilated Jew first in the Weimar Republic and then, after the so-called voluntary exile, in the U.S. Even though the writer herself was not willing to stress her Jewishness, this article contends that Vicki Baum's Jewish background and her ability to absorb every cultural ambience are crucial for the understanding of her texts.


Vibrio fluvialis is a food-borne pathogen with epidemic potential that causes cholera-like acute gastroenteritis and sometimes extraintestinal infections in humans. However, research on its genetic diversity and pathogenicity-related genetic elements based on whole genome sequences is lacking. In this study, we collected and sequenced 130 strains of V. fluvialis from 14 provinces of China, and also determined the susceptibility of 35 of the strains to 30 different antibiotics. Combined with 52 publicly available V. fluvialis genomes, we inferred the population structure and investigated the characteristics of pathogenicity-related factors. The V. fluvialis strains exhibited high levels of homologous recombination and were assigned to two major populations, VflPop1 and VflPop2, according to the different compositions of their gene pools. VflPop2 was subdivided into groups 2.1 and 2.2. Except for VflPop2.2, which consisted only of Asian strains, the strains in VflPop1 and VflPop2.1 were distributed in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Analysis of the pathogenicity potential of V. fluvialis showed that most of the identified virulence-related genes or gene clusters showed high prevalence in V. fluvialis , except for three mobile genetic elements: pBD146, ICEVflInd1 and MGIVflInd1, which were scattered in only a few strains. A total of 21 antimicrobial resistance genes were identified in the genomes of the 182 strains analysed in this study, and 19 (90%) of them were exclusively present in VflPop2. Notably, the tetracycline resistance-related gene tet(35) was present in 150 (95%) of the strains in VflPop2, and in only one (4%) strain in VflPop1, indicating it was population-specific. In total, 91% of the 35 selected strains showed resistance to cefazolin, indicating V. fluvialis has a high resistance rate to cefazolin. Among the 15 genomes that carried the previously reported drug resistance-related plasmid pBD146, 11 (73%) showed resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which we inferred was related to the presence of the dfr6 gene in the plasmid. On the basis of the population genomics analysis, the genetic diversity, population structure and distribution of pathogenicity-related factors of V. fluvialis were delineated in this study. The results will provide further clues regarding the evolution and pathogenic mechanisms of V. fluvialis , and improve our knowledge for the prevention and control of this pathogen.


This article is an investigation of the different factors that potentially influence the career choices of Canadian female professionals working in water research and policy (WRP). This community was broadly defined as any Canadian engineers, technicians, biologists, planners, economists, scholars conducting physical and social research, public servants (e.g., national, provincial, municipal), and civil society activists who were self-identified as working on water-related issues. Participants' essay responses were assessed by using an integrated comparative framework—drawing insights from economics, social network theory, environmental psychology, innovation, knowledge management, and pro-environmental behavior. Focus was placed on participants' responses about what motivated their careers, how this motivation sustained their professional participation over time, and whether different experiences with people and/or nature influenced their contributions to Canadian WRP. The data analysis indicated that female professionals draw on their relationships and experiential knowledge to make career decisions, sustain their career progression, and direct their career contributions. The analysis suggested that both recruitment and retention within the water community could be improved by providing recognition of alternative knowledge opportunities, including opportunities to develop skill mastery over existing or new skills, and experiential knowledge in nature for children, and by facilitating mentorship relationships and social networks. By doing so, these interventions would help sustain the availability of diverse knowledge resources held by female professionals within Canadian WRP.


The nucleotide sequence of the designated lumQ gene (EMBL accession No. U35231) from Photobacterium leiognathi PL741 has been determined, and the encoded amino acid sequence is deduced. The LumQ protein has a calculated M(r) of 28,416 and comprises 248 amino acid residues. The lumQ gene is identified as the envY-like gene by significant similarity of the encoded protein with the EnvY and AdiY proteins of E. coli; there the envY gene encodes the porin thermoregulatory protein EnvY, and the adiY gene encodes the putative transcriptional regulator protein AdiY. It suggests that the lumQ gene of P. leiognathi is orthologous to the envY and adiY genes of E. coli. The function of the protein encoded by the lumQ gene from P. leiognathi is not really defined yet, it is likely to be the DNA-binding protein related to the araC and xylS family of transcriptional regulators. The lumQ and lumP genes form the lum operon which linked to the lux operon, but run in the opposite direction. The gene order of the lum and the lux operon is < -ter-lumQ-lumP-R&R-luxC-luxD-luxA-luxB- luxN-luxE- > (R&R: regulatory region; ter: transcriptional terminator); whereas the regulatory region (R&R) includes two promoter systems, PR-promoter for the lux operon and PL-promoter for the lum operon; ter is the transcriptional terminator of the lum operon.


This work presents a summary of current knowledge on the laboratory diagnosis of periodontitis. It focuses on the theoretical foundations and is supplemented with new knowledge. It subsequently describes specifically the laboratory diagnosis methods of periodontitis: the protein expression of inflammation, oral microbiology and molecular diagnostics. Periodontitis is a serious disease worldwide and its confirmed association with systemic diseases means its severity is increasing. Its laboratory diagnosis has the potential to rise to the level of clinical and diagnostic imaging. The transfer of diagnostic methods from laboratory to clinical use is increasingly used in the prevention and monitoring of the exacerbation and treatment of periodontal disease, as well as of its impact on systemic disease.


Abstract Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are major constraints for wildlife, livestock production and human health. Chemical acaricides are widely promoted for the control of TBDs despite the uncertainty that farmers and state support can manage TBDs. This paper explores how spatial biopolitics related to TBDs are enacted by livestock keepers in Laikipia, Kenya. The results show that control of TBDs is the product of indigenous knowledge of pastoral farmers and western veterinary thought with two different logics, sometimes converging but often at odds. The analysis reveals power relations, tensions and contradictions emerging from an attempt to impose a western model for the management of TBDs resulting in marginalization of the pastoralists and their livestock. This paper shows that a practice-based approach, focused on situated agency, can provide an empowering way of understanding the spatial biopolitics of acaricide use and management of TBDs.


First-principles atmospheric correction that converts Visible-NIR-SWIR spectral imagery to surface reflectance requires an estimate of the scene visibility / aerosol optical depth. This paper describes aerosol upgrades to FLAASH, a first-principles atmospheric correction algorithm developed by Spectral Sciences, Inc. and the US Air Force Research Laboratory. FLAASH utilizes an automated band ratio method for retrieving an average scene visibility from dark pixels. The visibility estimate is combined with a MODTRANTM aerosol representation to describe the atmosphere. Recent FLAASH upgrades improve both visibility retrieval and atmospheric correction accuracy. These result in better handling of highly off-nadir viewing geometries, high aerosol optical depths and sensors lacking infrared spectral channels.


In this paper we discuss some of the relations between cognition and emotion as exemplified by a particular type of agent architecture, the CogAff agent architecture. We outline a strategy for analysing cognitive and emotional states of agents along with the processes they can support, which effectively views cognitive and emotional states as architecture-dependent. We demonstrate this architecture-based research strategy with an example of a simulated multi-agent environment, where agents with different architectures have to compete for survival and show that simple affective states can be surprisingly effective in agent control under certain conditions. We conclude by proposing that such investigations will not only help us improve computer entertainments, but that explorations of alternative architectures in the context of computer games may also lead to important new insights in the attempt to understand natural intelligence and evolutionary trajectories.


Peatlands and Histosols in Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia Mitzy L. Schaney Canaan Valley in West Virginia contains a greater area of peatlands than any other locality in the mid-Atlantic Highlands. Extensive fieldwork focused on peat stratigraphy and pedology, combined with high-resolution radiocarbon dating, was used to evaluate five peatlands within Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (CVNWR) in the central Appalachian Mountains. One hundred soil cores were profiled and described, 30 with laboratory data, including 52 radiocarbon dates. Calibrated basal peat dates among the five mapped peatlands indicate a late Pleistocene timeframe for the onset of peat genesis, ranging from ~18,600 to ~15,200 cal yr BP. The dates for peat initiation are older than those published previously from other central Appalachian Mountain peatlands. Peat accumulation rates varied from 0.02 mm/yr to 1.34 mm/yr with a mean of 0.14 mm/yr. Results of age-depth profiles show similar trends in peat accumulation: moderately high peat accumulation during the late Pleistocene, below average peat accumulation in the early Holocene, the slowest peat accumulation (if any) during the mid-Holocene, and rapid peat accumulation in the early late Holocene. Very few samples were collected correlating to the last 2,000 years; however, those few suggest a possible decrease in peat accumulation. CVNWR peatlands hold pedomemory of latest Pleistocene and Holocene climatic fluctuations in the central Appalachian Mountains. The field investigation revealed a distinct pattern of organic soil horizons throughout five study peatlands. The anaerobic lower portion of the peat soil profile consists of varied thicknesses of a combination of hemic and sapric soil materials, characteristically layered as a hemic horizon, underlain by a sapric horizon, underlain by another hemic horizon, these also correlate with general trends in the age-depth plots. Late Pleistocene peat initiation and accumulation form the lower hemic horizon, correlating with general warming after the Last Glacial Maximum. Between 10,000 and 4,200 cal yr BP, low peat accumulation and decomposition of previously deposited peat prevailed, forming the sapric, or most decomposed, horizon in the anaerobic portion of the soil profile. This early to midHolocene interval of minimal accumulation and significant decomposition indicates a climatic change to a dryer environment. The upper hemic horizon within the anaerobic portion of the soil profile formed during the wetter early late Holocene. A sapric horizon at the water table is overlain by an aerobic fibric surface horizon in uppermost portion of the soil profile. Soil profiles were classified according to Soil Taxonomy, and soil cores were mapped using the Soil Survey Manual. CVNWR Histosols were classified as Dysic, frigid Sapric Haplohemists and given an official series description and new soil series name of Canaan Valley peat. The five CVNWR peatland landforms are now mapped with a new map unit, Canaan Valley peat, moist, 0 to 3 percent slopes (map symbol CavA), totaling 246 hectares. These rare soils support unique ecosystems of high conservation value and ecological significance.


Chiral high performance liquid chromatography was used for the enantiometric separation of leucovorin. The optimal separation conditions recommended after optimizing the mobile phase composition, flow rate, and temperature are described. Achiral reversed-phase chromatographic method was applied for the simultaneous separation of methotrexate and leucovorin in clinical samples. Column-switching system including achiral short pre-column and chiral analytical column based on immobilized bovine serum albumin were used for simultaneous determination of leucovorin and methotrexate patients treated at the National Cancer Institute.


Abstract This paper discusses public speakers' discursive use of modality markers to persuade their audiences in political discourse. Although modality has been a subject of much investigation in different research areas recently, there has been no empirical examination of their role or functions in political discourse in Lesotho. The present study aims to fill the research gap by contributing to the analysis of the social and/or institutional functions of modality markers in public speeches. Using the approach of critical discourse analysis and systemic functional linguistics, the present paper analyses the speech of the Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho, His Majesty King Letsie III, on the occasion of the university's 70th anniversary celebration. Particular attention is paid to how the King strategically used modality markers to express his attitude, opinion, ideas, obligation, beliefs, commitment, politeness, stance, involvement and his authorial presence. The results of the qualitative analysis of the use of modality markers show how the Chancellor strategically applies these affective modal expressions beyond the linguistic level. In other words, the King's speech reveals the ways in which speakers' stance, attitude and their authorial presence can be strategically used to achieve certain social and/or institutional goals.


Quasiparticles are an intrinsic source of relaxation and decoherence for superconducting qubits. Recent works have shown that normal-metal traps may be used to evacuate quasiparticles, and potentially improve the qubit lifetime. Here, we investigate how far the normal metals themselves may introduce qubit relaxation. We identify the Ohmic losses inside the normal metal and the tunneling current through the normal-metal--superconductor interface as the relevant relaxation mechanisms. We show that the Ohmic loss contribution depends strongly on the device and trap geometry, as a result of the inhomogeneous electric fields in the qubit. The correction of the quality factor due to the tunneling current on the other hand is highly sensitive to the nonequilibrium distribution function of the quasiparticles. Overall, we show that even when choosing less than optimal parameters, the presence of normal-metal traps does not affect the quality factor of state-of-the-art qubits.


The uniform asymptotic description of electromagnetic pulse propagation in a single-resonance Lorentz medium is presented. The modern asymptotic theory used here relies on Olver's saddle-point method [ Stud. Appl. Math. Rev.12, 228 ( 1970)] together with the uniform asymptotic theory of Handelsman and Bleistein [ Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal.35, 267 ( 1969)] when two saddle points are at infinity (for the Sommerfeld precursor), the uniform asymptotic theory of Chester et al. [ Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc.53, 599 ( 1957)] for two neighboring saddle points (for the Brillouin precursor), and the uniform asymptotic theory of Bleistein [ Commun. Pure Appl. Math.19, 353 ( 1966)] for a saddle point and nearby pole singularity (for the signal arrival). Together with the recently derived approximations for the dynamical saddle-point evolution, which are accurate over the entire space–time domain of interest, the resultant asymptotic expressions provide a complete, uniformly valid description of the entire dynamic field evolution in the mature dispersion limit. Specific examples of the delta-function pulse and the unit-step-function-modulated signal are considered.


BACKGROUND
Mycobacteria genus is responsible for deadly diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy. Cell wall of bacteria belonging to this genus is unique in many ways. It plays a major role in the pathogenesis and intracellular survival inside the host. In intracellular pathogens, their cell wall acts as molecular shield and interacts with host cell milieu to modulate host defense responses.

OBJECTIVES
In this review, we summarize the factors that participate in the biosynthesis of unique mycobacterial cell wall, understand their potential as drug targets and the recent developments where they have been evaluated as possible drug targets.

RESULTS
Several cell wall associated factors that play crucial roles in the synthesis of cell wall components like Antigen 85 complex, Glycosyltransferases (GTs), LM (lipomannan) and LAM (lipoarabinomannan), mAGP Complex, lipolytic enzyme have been categorically documented. Most of the presently used anti TB regimens interrupted cell wall synthesis, but the emergence of drug resistant strains made it mandatory to identify new drug targets. Novel drug candidates which could inhibit the synthesis of cell wall components have been thoroughly studied worldwide.

CONCLUSION
Studies demonstrated that the cell wall components are unique in terms of their contribution in mycobacterium pathogenesis. Targeting these can hamper the growth of M. tuberculosis. In this study, we scrutinize the drugs under trials and the potential candidates screened through in silico findings.


The diets of feral pigs and feral goats shot on the main Auckland Island in 1989 are described from analyses of stomach and rumen contents. Feral goats ate at least 50 species of plants, but only three, Metrosideros umbellata, Chionochloa antarctica, and Durvillea antarctica made up over 50% by dried weight of the food eaten. Feral pigs ate a mixed plant and animal diet, of which plants made up 61% of the diet, with the megaherb Anisotome antipoda being the largest dietary item at 38% by dried weight. The animals eaten by pigs were mostly annelids, at 26% by dry weight of their diet, and there was little evidence of predation or scavenging on birds. Goats have subsequently been eradicated from the island, but feral pigs remain arguably a potential threat to current conservation values and certainly an impediment to any restoration of the island's natural values. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


In the interview in this article, Randall Collins discusses various aspects of his oeuvre. First, he considers why interaction rituals (IRs) in religion are special emotional transformers. This is followed by a discussion of IRs in the digital age and the symbolic and economic power that is required to orchestrate IRs in politics and revolutions. Then comes a discussion of social scientific research into violence, in the past and more recently. The interview continues with a reflection on the notion of attention space, a concept which Collins has applied in analyses of violent interactions and the intellectual struggles between philosophers. Finally, the article considers the state of the art of sociology and its future prospects, evaluating its potential for rapid discovery and its position on the abstraction-reflexivity continuum. As the interview demonstrates Collins's insightful sociological craftsmanship, it provides social scientists with a strong and optimistic lead in how to do social theory.


Orthostatic hypotension (OH) leads to a significant number of hospitalizations each year, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality among affected individuals. Given the increased risk for cardiovascular events and falls, it is important to identify the underlying etiology of OH and to choose appropriate therapeutic agents. OH can be non-neurogenic or neurogenic (arising from a central or peripheral lesion). The initial evaluation includes orthostatic vital signs, complete history and a physical examination. Patients should also be evaluated for concomitant symptoms of post-prandial hypotension and supine hypertension. Non-pharmacologic interventions are the first step for treatment of OH. The appropriate selection of medications can also help with symptomatic relief. This review highlights the pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnostic work-up and treatment of patients with neurogenic OH.


Conventional packaging materials are mostly produced using petroleum-based substances and its' non-biodegradability are causing landfill problems. Therefore, researches have been done to replace the non-degradable polymer substances to degradable polymers. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a type of biodegradable polymer which is brittle but has good mechanical strength, which makes it a suitable polymer to be used as packaging materials. To improve the flexibility of PLA, PLA based polyurethanes (PUs) are produced by using PLA-diol with vegetable oil polyol as the chain extender. Palm oil polyol (PO) is a type of vegetable oil polyol which are used in various productions of PUs. In this study, PO polyol is used as soft segment to improve the flexibility of PLA whereas hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) are used as a source of isocyanate. PLA/Palm oil polyol based polyurethanes (PLAPOPUs) are synthesized using one-shot and two steps polymerization method. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectra confirmed on the formation of urethane bond and glass transition temperature was analyzed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The PLAPOPU prepared using HDI through one-step method has high potential to be used in environmental friendly packaging industries.


Statement of Purpose The neighborhood socio-economic factors associated with school-shootings and the differences in the public interest are unknown. We characterized the relationship between median home price, poverty rate, black population, homicide rate and population size with the incidence of school shootings at the zip code level, and additionally intent of the shooter and number of victim fatalities with google trends of school shootings. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study between 01/01/2013–12/31/2018 using school-shooting data from Everytown database (K-12 and colleges/Universities) and K12 (only K-12). Median house price, poverty rate, black population, and population size was obtained from American Community Survey, homicide rate from Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and intent of shooting and number of fatal victims were from the school shooting databases. Google trends for each day for 'school' and 'shooting' was obtained for six years and standardized using year weights created as total proportion of total hits in months per total hits during six years. Results There were 405 and 295 school shooting incidents in Everytown and K12 datasets respectively. From 2013 to 2018, school shooting incidences per 10 million population increased from 1.45 to 3.12 in Everytown data and from 1.04 to 2.96 in K12 data. The zip code areas with higher poverty rate (Incidence ratio, IRR=1.37 [95% CI, 1.09–1.73], larger black population [IRR=1.24, 95% CI 1.13–1.37], higher homicide rate [IRR=1.08, 95% CI 1.04–1.12] and larger population size [IRR=2.34, 95% CI 2.00–2.75] had an increased incidence of school shooting. Increasing public interest or Google trends for school-shooting was independently associated only with the death of victims. Conclusion/Significance Although school shootings are more likely in large neighborhoods with high homicide and a larger proportion of the black population, public interest in school shootings depended only on whether the death occurred during school-shooting.


Aims The aim of this study was to establish p53 immunohistochemistry (IHC) patterns to predict TP53 mutations in gastrointestinal neuroendocrine neoplasms (GI-NENs) and to determine whether p53 IHC patterns could be used for the differential diagnosis of neuroendocrine neoplasms. Methods TP53 gene sequencing and p53 IHC were performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from 92 patients diagnosed with GI-NENs from five medical centers. Results The cohort included 35 well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors and 57 poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. Gene sequencing revealed 38 wild-type TP53 and 54 TP53 mutations. p53 expression was interpreted as follows: pattern A, p53 was absent from all tumor cells; pattern B, scattered and weak p53 expression in 1-20% of tumor cells; and pattern C was subclassified as pattern C1: variable p53 staining intensity in 21-60% of tumor cells and tumor cell nests with focal strong positive p53 staining and pattern C2: strong p53 staining in more than 60% of tumor cells. p53 IHC patterns were evaluated as a binary classifier where pattern B predicted wild-type TP53, and patterns A and C predicted TP53 mutations. The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of this binary classification to predict TP53 status were 0.963, 0.868, and 0.924, respectively. p53 IHC patterns were also correlated with TP53 mutation types. Most cases with pattern A harboured loss-of-function (LOF) mutations, whereas patterns B and C tended to indicate wild-type TP53 and gain-of-function (GOF) mutations, respectively. Furthermore, most of the well-differentiated NETs showed pattern B, whereas pattern C2 was more common in poorly differentiated NECs. Finally, staining interpretation between different observers also yielded high reproducibility. Conclusions p53 IHC patterns may be used as predictors of TP53 gene mutations and therefore could be potential surrogate markers for TP53 mutations in GI-NENs and could distinguish between well-differentiated NETs and poorly differentiated NECs.


Proline-rich extensin-like receptor protein kinases (PERKs) are known for their roles in the developmental processes and stress responses of many plants. We have identified 30 TaPERK genes in the genome of T. aestivum, exploring their evolutionary and syntenic relationship and analyzing their gene and protein structures, various cis-regulatory elements, expression profiling, and interacting miRNAs. The TaPERK genes formed 12 homeologous groups and clustered into four phylogenetic clades. All the proteins exhibited a typical domain organization of PERK and consisted of conserved proline residue repeats and serine-proline and proline-serine repeats. Further, the tyrosine-x-tyrosine (YXY) motif was also found conserved in thirteen TaPERKs. The cis-regulatory elements and expression profiling under tissue developmental stages suggested their role in plant growth processes. Further, the differential expression of certain TaPERK genes under biotic and abiotic stress conditions suggested their involvement in defense responses as well. The interaction of TaPERK genes with different miRNAs further strengthened evidence for their diverse biological roles. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of obtained TaPERK genes was performed, enriching our knowledge of TaPERK genes and providing a foundation for further possible functional analyses in future studies.


Abstract Thanks to recent progress in foetal imaging, it is now possible to detect many anatomical defects at earlier gestational age. To illustrate the importance of prenatal diagnosis and the impact of extracardiac congenital anomalies we presented the cases of sibling with prenatal diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and post-mortem diagnosis of adrenal hypoplasia. Prenatal diagnosis was made in one mother twice, in two subsequent pregnancies, respectively at 22 and 18 weeks gestational age. The mother-to-be was referred to specialist foetal echocardiography because of suspected image of the heart. After the diagnosis was made, future parents were thoroughly informed about prognosis and possible management and decided to continue pregnancy, and treat a newborn, despite the fact that the foetal defect was diagnosed subsequently. The two newborns underwent surgical treatment and no complications occurred during the surgery. The children died after Norwood operation among the symptoms of acute adrenal failure. In post-mortem examination of the younger, the severe adrenal hypoplasia was identified. Prenatal diagnosis enables to make informed, conscious decisions at appropriate gestational age. Detection of congenital heart defect should incline an ultrasonographer towards searching for extracardiac lesions, which might significantly influence prognosis and surgical outcomes.


Hard or soft biological tissue, including human tissue (bone, kidney, intestine, etc.) due to amorphous structure, low loss and high refractive index, can act as dispersive in random laser. Regarding to the dependence of the random laser emission spectrum to the scatterer medium, biological tissues impregnated with dye laser solution containing important information relating to the structure of biological tissue. Cancer tissue cells proliferate and are increasingly irregular and amorphous arrangement and more porous than healthy tissue cells, such that the random laser emission of healthy tissue and cancer are different. In this paper, random laser emission comes from thyroid cancer and normal tissues impregnated with dye solution are studied.


Diabetic foot ulcers under the first metatarsal head are difficult to treat and prevent recurrence. The aim of this study is to summarize the results of a distal first metatarsal minimally invasive floating osteotomy for ulcers under the first metatarsal head in patients with diabetic neuropathy. We reviewed files of patients with diabetic neuropathy undergoing a floating first metatarsal osteotomy. Demographic and clinical data were collected and analyzed to determine success and complications. We found records for 21 patients (mean age 64) with University of Texas 1A ulcers. The ulcer's mean age was 11.2 months. Following surgery, the ulcer completely resolved after a mean of 3.7 (2 to 11) weeks in 19 patients. During the first year, there were 4 complications related to the surgery (including 3 infections). At latest follow-up, 17/21 (81%) patients had healed with satisfactory results. Minimal invasive floating distal osteotomy of the first metatarsal can cure and prevent recurrence of diabetic foot ulcers under the first metatarsal head in 80% of the patients, but the ability to provide close follow-up and prompt response are prerequisites.


An image can be represented digitally as a matrix of numbers. When those numbers are linearly related to a property of the object, such as mass per unit area, a simple integration of an image area leads to a total of that property, such as the mass of a particle that is represented in a selected area. Following techniques pioneered by Bahr and Zeitler, we illustrate the use of photographic densitometry of films exposed in an electron microscope to measure electron scattering. The transmission of an electron micrograph will be linear with respect to mass thickness for a particular value of background brightfield density, hence allowing determination of the mass of microscopic particles. We show here a digital computer method for conveniently establishing the linear condition by quantitative image processing using micrographs of polystyrene spheres. The method also serves to produce calibration curves for cases where the transfer from transmission to mass thickness is not linear. We also illustrate how an inexpensive computer is used to display and integrate regions of micrographs to determine particle mass.


In this paper, a 1:4.25 ratio ferrite magnet and Nd-Fe-B magnet flux-focusing magnetic gearbox with a high pole count is analyzed. A simple parameter sweep analysis is used to show that higher than previously published torque density values are achievable. Experimental results are then presented for the Nd-Fe-B design that confirm the calculations and also demonstrate that the proposed magnetic gearbox can operate with a low torque ripple.


In line with the United Nations perspective of Education being a human right for all world citizens, access to higher education by students representing traditionally marginalized racial and ethnic minority groups continues to be a challenge in many nations.  In Costa Rica and the United States, early college high school programs represent one approach to facilitating college going and retention rates of racial and ethnic minority students by enhancing college readiness skills and dispositions.  An overview of the educational systems and philosophies of each country are given, as well as comparisons of racial and ethnic demographics. Examples of early college high school approaches applied in both Costa Rica and the United States then are presented, followed by a discussion of implications for practice. In comparing early college systems, several questions for further inquiry emerged particularly around the demographic reporting and power mobility of Afro Costa Ricans.


Abstract Chromites from two horizons of the Sukinda area (India) marked as 'grey ore' and 'brown ore' zones have been studied by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, which revealed that both chromite types are oxidised and have a type of disordered spinel structure in which octahedral sites are occupied by Fe2+ ions. The spectra of the grey ore sample can be fitted to three doublets corresponding to Fe2+ (A), Fe3+ (A) and Fe2+ (B) sites. This sample is less oxidised than the brown ore, in which progressive oxidation in the magmatic (?) stage led to the complete conversion of Fe2+ in A sites to Fe3+. The spectra of the brown ore are characterised by two doublets correpsonding to two tetrahedral (A) sites of Fe3+ with different next-nearest neighbour configurations and a third doublet for Fe2+ at the B site. The brown ores have higher chromium and Fe3+ content and have lesser amounts of Ni and Al in comparison to the grey ores. Megascopically, the former shows larger crystal sizes. The high Fe3+ content in the brown ore suggests that this type of chromite was formed in a region of high ƒ O2 in the magmatic environment. This perhaps occurred at the part of the mantle where the temperature was higher and the rate of cooling was slower than that of the grey ores which crystallised in the magmatic melt.