Metronidazole alone rarely causes Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). We present a case of an elderly male patient who, following metronidazole use, developed neurological symptoms followed by pain and blisters on both soles, erythema of face and neck, scrotal itching and erosion, and hemorrhagic encrustation around the lips and oral mucous membrane. Initial neurological symptoms followed by mucocutaneous manifestation of SJS following metronidazole use is probably a new presentation of this case.


The spectra of 18 WN stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are quantitatively analyzed by means of "standard" Wolf-Rayet model atmospheres, using the helium and nitrogen lines as well as the spectral energy distribution. The hydrogen abundance is also determined. Carbon is included for a subset of 4 stars. The studied sample covers all spectral subtypes (WN2 ... WN9) and also includes one WN/WC transition object. The luminosities of the program stars span a wide range ( L/Lsun = 5.0 ... 6.5). Due to the given LMC membership, these results are free from uncertainties inferred from the distance. 50 % of the studied stars (both, late and early WN subtypes) have rather low luminosity (L/Lsun < 5.5). This puts tough constraints on their evolutionary formation. If coming from single stars, it provides evidence for strong internal mixing processes. The empirical mass-loss rates are scaled down by a factor of about two due to the impact of clumping, compared to previous studies adopting homogeneous winds. There is no obvious strong correlation between the mass-loss rates and other parameters like luminosity, temperature and composition. The stellar parameters for the present LMC sample are not systematically different from those of the Galactic WN stars studied previously with the same techniques, in contrast to the expected metallicity effects.


The engine cylinder is one of the major automobile components which is subjected to high temperature variations. In order to cool the cylinder, an extended surface which is commonly known as fins are provided on cylinder to increase the rate of heat transfer from the system to surrounding. It is helpful to know the heat dissipation inside cylinder. In this project, we are considering the Apache 160cc model fins to increase the heat transfer. Presently material used for manufacturing fin body is Aluminium Alloy 6061 which has thermal conductivity of 151–202 W/m k. In this thesis, using copper alloy which has thermal conductivity of 401w/m k, magnesium alloy which has thermal conductivity of 156w/m k are also analysed. Fins with various thickness and configuration of fins such as fins with holes, rectangular notches and V-notch are also modelled by CATIA V5R20 to increase the heat dissipation rate by selecting suitable material. Thermal analysis on the I.C. Engine fin is done by ANSYS workbench 14.0


Bootstrap financing methods commonly used as an alternative to access a capital, since the conventional access of capitalis limited for small and medium firms in Indonesia.This  study aims to explain the application of bootstrap financing for small and medium-sized firms in getting access to capital. Subjects used in this study are 67 owners of small and medium firms in Surabaya. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The results of this study indicate that for the method loan from the owner, instrument using personal credit card is the most frequent one. On the other hand, for the method funding from family, borrowing from family and friends is the most common instrument.


Abstract : This report investigates the costs of achieving greater reliability in military equipment, the benefits of improved reliability in reduced support costs and increased availability, and strategies for attaining reliability goals. Three kinds of evidence were examined: reliability improvement programs, new product developments, and statistical analyses of reliability costs and outcomes in new programs. Literature reviews of both military and commercial experience, and interviews with reliability experts and managers in government and industry, provided additional information to supplement detailed case studies. Performed were detailed case studies of seven systems: F-18 aircraft, CH-47D helicopter modernization, F100 turbine engine, Phalanx Mk15 Close-in Weapon System, LAMPS MKIII helicopter antisubmarine warfare system, Minuteman I inertial navigation system, and the Carousel inertial guidance system, Minuteman I inertial navigation system, and the Carousel inertial guidance system. Information produced in other studies was reanalyzed in the context of the present research; these included F-16 aircraft reliability improvements, spacecraft reliability costs, Duane models of reliability growth, and a study of 19 Navy systems. These cases covered several different technologies and were drawn from all three military services.


A novel evolutionary planning framework (coevolutionary virtual design environment) particularly suited to distributed network-enabled design and manufacturing organizations is presented. The approach utilizes distributed evolutionary agents and mobile agents as principal object-oriented software entities that support a network-efficient evolutionary exploration of planning alternatives in which successive populations systematically select planning alternatives that reduce cost and increase throughput. This paper presents the architecture of the coevolutionary virtual design environment, and examines the network-based performance of the coevolutionary algorithms that execute in this environment. Simulation analysis examines the percentage convergence error and percentage computational advantage comparing the distributed network-based implementation to a centralized network-based implementation. The algorithms and architectures are evaluated in a realistic network setting and analyzed using models of network delays and processing times.


Designer DNA structures have garnered much interest as a way of assembling novel nanoscale architectures with exquisite control over the positioning of discrete molecules or nanoparticles. Exploiting this potential for a variety of applications such as light-harvesting, molecular electronics, or biosensing is contingent on the degree to which various nanoarchitectures with desired molecular functionalizations can be realized, and this depends critically on characterization. Many techniques exist for analyzing DNA-organized nanostructures; however, these are almost never used in concert because of overlapping concerns about their differing character, measurement environments, and the disparity in DNA modification chemistries and probe structure or size. To assess these concerns and to see what might be gleaned from a multimodal characterization, we intensively study a single DNA nanostructure using a multiplicity of methods. Our test bed is a linear 100 base-pair double-stranded DNA that has been modified by a variety of chemical handles, dyes, semiconductor quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, and electroactive labels. To this we apply a combination of physical/optical characterization methods including electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Förster resonance energy transfer, voltammetry, and structural modeling. In general, the results indicate that the differences among the techniques are not so large as to prevent their effective use in combination, that the data tend to be corroborative, and that differences observed among them can actually be quite informative.


We explore the physics and observational consequences of tidal compression events (TCEs) of dark-matter clumps (DMCs) by supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Our analytic calculations show that a DMC approaching a SMBH much closer than the tidal radius undergoes significant compression along the axis perpendicular to the orbital plane, shortly after pericenter passage. For DMCs composed of self-annihilating dark-matter particles, we find that the boosted DMC density and velocity dispersion lead to a flaring of the annihilation rate, most pronounced for a velocity- dependent annihilation cross section. If the end products of the annihilation are photons, this results in a gamma-ray flare, detectable (and possibly already detected) by the Fermi telescope for a range of model parameters. If the end products of dark-matter annihilation are relativistic electrons and positrons and the local magnetic field is large enough, TCEs of DMCs can lead to flares of synchrotron radiation. Finally, TCEs of DMCs lead to a burst of gravitational waves, in addition to the ones radiated by the orbital motion alone, and with a different frequency spectrum. These transient phenomena provide interesting new avenues to explore the properties of dark matter.


CNN model is a popular method for imagery analysis, so it could be utilized to recognize handwritten digits based on MNIST datasets. For higher recognition accuracy, various CNN models with different fully connected layer sizes are exploited to figure out the relationship between the CNN fully connected layer size and the recognition accuracy. Inspired by previous pruning work, we performed pruning methods of distinctiveness on CNN models and compared the pruning performance with NN models. For better pruning performances on CNN, the effect of angle threshold on the pruning performance was explored. The evaluation results show that: for the fully connected layer size, there is a threshold, so that when the layer size increases, the recognition accuracy grows if the layer size smaller than the threshold, and falls if the layer size larger than the threshold; the performance of pruning performed on CNN is worse than on NN; as pruning angle threshold increases, the fully connected layer size and the recognition accuracy decreases. This paper also shows that for CNN models trained by the MNIST dataset, they are capable of handwritten digit recognition and achieve the highest recognition accuracy with fully connected layer size 400. In addition, for same dataset MNIST, CNN models work better than big, deep, simple NN models in a published paper.


In this study, by employing mixed organic ligands through rational design and metal ions as the initial reactants, a series of novel metal-organic frameworks (AHU-TW1 to 6) were synthesized by a solvothermal method. Herein, accessible Lewis base sites originating from organic ligands within MOFs act as functional sites that can interact with the analyte possessing protons and then lead to obvious variations in the fluorescence spectra. Due to their superiority, AHU-TW1, 3, 4 and 6 are able to recognize trinitrophenol (TNP) with high sensitivity and a low detection limit.


Application of Dimethyl Ether in Compression Ignition Engines This study has its roots in two separate events at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at DTU. In 1995 the first attempt to operate a diesel engine on dimethyl ether (DME) was successfully concluded. In 2004 the department decided to compete in the vehicle fuel efficiency competition Shell Eco-Marathon. The diesel engine test results from 1995 showed that DME is a superb diesel fuel. DME is easy to ignite by compression ignition and it has a molecular structure that results in near-zero emission of particulates when burned. These are features of a fuel that are highly desirable in a diesel engine. The challenges with DME as a diesel engine fuel are mainly related to poor lubricity and incompatibility with a range of elastomers commonly used for seals in fuel injection systems. This means that although DME burns well in a diesel engine designing a fuel injection system for DME is challenging. Since then studies have revealed that the injection pressure for DME does not have to be as high as with diesel to achieve satisfactory performance. This opens for a larger range of possibilities when designing injection systems. In the period from 2004 to 2009 the DME engine was perfected for use in the car DTU was racing in the Shell EcoMarathon. The car won the competition in 2007 and 2009. The concept was to use a direct injected two-stroke engine operating with an injection pressure of only 150 bars. A piston pump operating without metal-to-metal contact had been developed to supply that pressure. The elastomer seals that provided the sealing instead of the metal-to-metal contact could do that because of the low injection pressure. The engine developed in this way was based on a 50cc Peugeot two-stroke engine. The fuel injector used was a Bosch HDEV originally developed for direct injection of gasoline in automotive engines at up to 200 bars pressure. This injector was too large to provide for normal diesel engine operation on an engine of only 50cc. Although DME ignites easily all the fuel was injected before combustion started due to the high flow rate. Attempts to find a smaller injector that was also able to deal with the required injection pressure and also DME were not fruitful. Despite the fact that this combustion mode was more a result of necessity than choice the engine efficiency was higher than 30% which is good for an engine of this size. Up until this stage engine design and testing work was done with a focus on efficiency not emissions. The objective of this study was to investigate the combustion mode and the emissions of the engine and to investigate possible improvements. It has been shown that the engine operates in a partially premixed mode. It does so with emissions of NOx that are an order of magnitude lower than for traditional automotive diesel engines. Emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons were quite high though. Experiments with an oxidation catalyst revealed that carbon monoxide could effectively be converted to carbon dioxide but the low exhaust temperature did not allow for full oxidation of the unburned hydrocarbons.


The osseous tear of extensor tendon is to be seen as a intraarticular fracture. The exact anatomical reduction is not only necessary for the reconstruction of extensor tendon but also for the recovery of the articular surface. The tension band wiring which is used in avulsion fractures of bigger joints is also the method of choice for the treatments of the osseous tear of extensor tendon. An accurate carrying out is very important. The result of six cases is reported.


Follicular fluid (FF) surrounds the granulosa cell-oocyte complex and is one of the mediating factors in the communication between the cells within the follicle. Literature reveals that human FF and its components are key factors to the success of natural fertilization. Among other substances, FF consists of multiple cytokines and immune cells, including interleukin 6 (IL6), IL12, sHLA-G, macrophages, NK cells, and lymphocytes. Together, these cells and cytokines might influence the oocyte-granulosa-cell complex. Altered balances of immune content might be involved in changes on folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, oocyte quality, and ovulation. Furthermore, these altered balances are possibly involved in infertility associated with immune mediated diseases such as endometriosis. The aim of this narrative review is to elaborate on the function and contents of FF and its immunological profile in patients with endometriosis. A comprehensive literature search was performed for the published literature on FF (immune) contents, FF function, and FF content alterations in endometriosis patients. In FF of patients with endometriosis, elevated levels of macrophages and several cytokines have been reported. The role of specific immune cells in FF and a clarification of the biological mechanism in healthy women and endometriosis patients remains largely unknown. Future studies in this field will give us more insight in the role of FF immune cells and the effect of altered balances in patients with endometriosis.


Fouling as an intricate process is considered as the main obstacle in membrane technologies, and its control is one of the main areas of attention in membrane processes. In this study, a commercial polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane (MWCO: 4000 g/mol) was surface modified with different concentrations of vanillin as an antifouling and hydrophilicity promoter to improve its performance. The presence of vanillin and its increasing adsorption potential trends in higher vanillin concentrations were clearly confirmed by observable changes in FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectra after modification. Membranes with better hydrophilicity (almost 30% lower contact angle in the best case) and higher polyethylene glycol solution (PEG) permeability were achieved after modification, where a 35–38% increase in permeability of aqueous solution of PEG was perceived when the membrane was modified at the highest exposure concentration of vanillin (2.8 g/L). After filtration of wood extract, surface modified membrane (2.8 g/L vanillin) showed better antifouling characteristics compared to unmodified membrane, as indicated by approximately 22% lower pure water flux reduction, which in turn improved the separation of lignin from the other organic compounds present in wood extract.


Worries about safety of approved drugs have pushed post registration research (phase IV) to become the fastest growing drug research phase. Until recently, phase IV studies were mainly conducted for marketing purposes and run much like a phase III trial—at institutions with experienced investigators and a list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Innovative phase IV studies involve ordinary physicians in research naive communities. This brings ethical issues familiar to medical research into clinical practice. As a consequence, individual physicians are challenged to protect scientific integrity and to secure the ethical conduct of research. Several ethical issues need to be addressed in the process of developing a scientifically sound and ethically high principled practice of phase IV research.

Essential to phase IV research is the focus on how drugs work in the real world. The research goal may be to explore a specific pharmacological effect, to establish the incidence of adverse reactions, or to determine the effects of long-term administration of a drug. They may also be designed to establish a new clinical indication for a drug.1 Subjects may or may not be randomised, and the studies typically involve large numbers of patient-subjects and physicians.

Doubts concerning the scientific rigor and clinical value have put postmarketing research in a poor light. However, high quality phase IV research is badly needed to further pharmaceutical science. First, because it can provide reliable data on the effectiveness, safety and optimal use of a drug in treated populations.2 3 In pre-registration clinical trials (phase I–III), a pharmaceutical product is studied under unrealistic circumstances. Under-representation of women and elderly are common and the concomitant use of medicines is usually extremely restrictive in these trials.4 Second, phase IV can provide much needed data for evidence-based …


The paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis caused by it on the activities of firms in six sectors of the Russian economy. On the basis of a series of 45 in-depth interviews with the heads of companies and business associations and Russian and international industrial statistics, we show the reaction of enterprises to the crisis and changes in their models of behavior, as well as differences in the forms of communication between government and business in different sectors of Russian economy. Paper shows that key problems faced by firms in 2020 were emerged before the pandemic. During the crisis better performance was demonstrated by firms which before made significant investment in technological development and used digital technologies. Broad application of distant employment model in 2020 led to aggressive HR policy of large firms from Moscow and St.Petersburg in regional markets and increased competition for high-qualified workers. Sectoral associations played important role as representative of collective interests of business in negotiations with authorities. In the conclusion paper discusses the challenges for business and state in the post-crisis development.


The automatic interpretation of human gestures based on the kinect sensor offers new opportunities for human-computer interaction (HCI) more natural and intuitive than conventional devices. Thus, Finger and hand gesture detection constitutes an active research axis because certain situations demand silenced conversation. In fact, visual explanation of hand movements and finger detection can be helpful to achieve the easiness preferred for HCI. It is a famed method to communicate with machines and it has been developed in many applications. In this paper we present a view of the current research. We will start by defining certain number of terms then by interpreting the main steps of system recognition gesture and fingertips tracking.


In this paper, one-dimensional steady-state mathematical model of a semi regenerative naphtha catalytic reforming process had been made. This model incorporated a detailed kinetic model involving 24 components, 1 to 11 carbon atoms for paraffins (n and iso) and 6 to 11 carbon atom for naphthenes and aromatics with 71 reactions. The effect of pressure drop was considered through Ergun equation. The model explains the composition, temperature and pressure distributions along the four reforming reactors. The simulation results of the proposed model were compared with the experimental results obtained from literature to validate the model. The results showed good agreement between the reformate composition of proposed model with the experimental reformate composition. Finally, the mathematical model was used to study the effect of reactor feed temperature, total pressure and hydrogen to hydrocarbon feed ratio on the reformate compositions. Keywords: Heavy Naphtha, Reforming, Model, Simulation, MATLAB.


We have previously demonstrated a genetic polymorphism of human C4. Modification of the methods employed in the separation and detection of C4 proteins has shown that further molecular variability exists in C4. By employing prolonged high voltage electrophoresis in agarose and a sensitive hemolytic detection system, three common C4 alleles and one less common have been detected. The following gene frequencies have been found in the Norwegian population: C4F: 0.46, C4F1: 0.20, C4S: 0.32, C4M: 0.02.
 In 165 informative meioses not a single recombinant has been observed between C4 and HLA-B. In three known cross-over events between HLA-A and B, C4 in each instance follows B. The short map distance between C4 and HLA-B is further substantiated by haplotype association data. All 12 HLA-B8 chromosomes carry C4S. In seven out of eight instances HLA-B7 follows C4F1.
 In 53 informative meioses no cross-over event has been observed between C4 and Bf (locus for factor B).


Polymer immobilization of chiral catalysts has progressed extensively over the past years. Recent intensive development of chiral organocatalysts resulted in the identification of numerous highly active catalysts, which are, however, still far less effective than transition metal catalysts. Separation of relatively large amounts of organocatalysts from the reaction mixture causes problems during product isolation. In the case of chirally modified metal catalysts, recovery of valuable metal species and suppression of metal leaching are perpetually important requirements in the design of environmentally friendly chemical processes. Various types of chiral organocatalysts and metal catalysts have been immobilized as pendant groups onto the side chains of polymer supports. Another important polymer immobilization technique is the incorporation of a chiral catalyst into its main chain, with several types of chiral catalyst monomers having been copolymerized with achiral monomers for their production. Recently, the synthesis of chiral main-chain polymeric catalysts has progressed extensively. Moreover, many examples of polymer-immobilized catalysts exhibit higher enantioselectivities in comparison to those of the corresponding low-molecular-weight catalysts. The development of these polymer-immobilized chiral catalysts, which have largely been reported in the last five years, is reviewed in this article.


Characteristic patterns of injury to children in automobile crashes resulting from lap and lap-shoulder belts have been described for many years. These injuries are known as the "seat belt syndrome." We present a typical case of seat belt syndrome involving a 4-year-old boy and review the current literature on the topic, highlighting proposed mechanisms of intra-abdominal and spine injuries. In addition, recent research findings identifying a new pattern of injuries associated with inappropriate seat belt use in young children are reviewed. Emergency physicians must consider these seat belt-related injuries in the initial evaluation of any child involved in a motor vehicle crash who was restrained with the vehicle seat belt.


The field of continual deep learning is an emerging field and a lot of progress has been made. However, concurrently most of the approaches are only tested on the task of image classification, which is not relevant in the field of intelligent vehicles. Only recently approaches for class-incremental semantic segmentation were proposed. However, all of those approaches are based on some form of knowledge distillation. At the moment there are no investigations on replay-based approaches that are commonly used for object recognition in a continual setting. At the same time while unsupervised domain adaption for semantic segmentation gained a lot of traction, investigations regarding domain-incremental learning in an continual setting is not well-studied. Therefore, the goal of our work is to evaluate and adapt established solutions for continual object recognition to the task of semantic segmentation and to provide baseline methods and evaluation protocols for the task of continual semantic segmentation. We firstly introduce evaluation protocols for the class- and domain-incremental segmentation and analyze selected approaches. We show that the nature of the task of semantic segmentation changes which methods are most effective in mitigating forgetting compared to image classification. Especially, in class-incremental learning knowledge distillation proves to be a vital tool, whereas in domain-incremental learning replay methods are the most effective method.


An ultrasonic horn originally designed for welding has generally been used for thermosonic testing. However, it is difficult to obtain reproducible and controllable excitation with the existing horn system because of nonlinearity in the coupling; surface damage can also be produced by hammering caused by loss of contact between the tip of the horn and the structure. Therefore, this research was conducted to develop a simple excitation system that should excite sufficient strain for the detection of the defects of interest at all relevant positions in the structure, and should also be easy to attach to and remove from the structure. It must also avoid surface damage. Test results suggest that a simple, small wax coupled PZT exciter may provide a convenient, reliable thermosonic test system in applications where relatively low strain levels are required for damage detection.


Pelvic cancers are among the most frequently diagnosed neoplasms and radiotherapy represents one of the main treatment options. The irradiation field usually encompasses healthy intestinal tissue, especially of distal large bowel, thus inducing gastrointestinal (GI) radiation-induced toxicity. Indeed, up to half of radiation-treated patients say that their quality of life is affected by GI symptoms (e.g., rectal bleeding, diarrhoea). The constellation of GI symptoms - from transient to long-term, from mild to very severe - experienced by patients who underwent radiation treatment for a pelvic tumor have been comprised in the definition of pelvic radiation disease (PRD). A correct and evidence-based therapeutic approach of patients experiencing GI radiation-induced toxicity is mandatory. Therapeutic non-surgical strategies for PRD can be summarized in two broad categories, i.e., medical and endoscopic. Of note, most of the studies have investigated the management of radiation-induced rectal bleeding. Patients with clinically significant bleeding (i.e., causing chronic anemia) should firstly be considered for medical management (i.e., sucralfate enemas, metronidazole and hyperbaric oxygen); in case of failure, endoscopic treatment should be implemented. This latter should be considered the first choice in case of acute, transfusion requiring, bleeding. More well-performed, high quality studies should be performed, especially the role of medical treatments should be better investigated as well as the comparative studies between endoscopic and hyperbaric oxygen treatments.


Loss of pancreatic β cells is involved in pathogenesis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Recently, several studies have elucidated the connection between microRNAs (miRNAs) and diabetes mellitus (DM), but the role of miRNAs in GDM remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential functions of miRNAs in GDM and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of action. First, we explored the expression profile of miRNAs in placenta tissue from GDM patients using microarray. Validation analysis was performed in peripheral blood specimens using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Then the role and regulating mechanism of miR-503 in weaken the function of pancreatic β cell was investigated. We found that miR-503 was markedly upregulated in placenta tissue from GDM patients, as elevated in peripheral blood specimens, and the high level was positively correlated to blood glucose concentration. Knockdown of miR-503 enhanced insulin secretion of pancreatic β-cells, promoted cell proliferation and protected cells from apoptosis, whereas overexpression of miR-503 showed the opposite effects. Furthermore, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was identified as a direct target of miR-503 and mTOR silencing could reverse the improving effects of miR-503 knockdown on insulin secretion and pancreatic β-cells proliferation. High expression of miR-503 in peripheral blood may be acted as a diagnosis biomarker of GDM. MiR-503 regulated functions of pancreatic β-cells by targeting the mTOR pathway, suggesting that targeting miR-503/mTOR axis could serve as a novel therapeutic target for GDM.


Abstract Globally, indigenous peoples live with stark disparities in health when compared with national populations. The disparities arise from a combination of factors that relate to the social and economic determinants of health, combined with disenfranchisement, and a rapid destruction of indigenous health systems, forests, natural resources and indigenous knowledge. In Malaysia, the indigenous peoples, known as the Orang Asli or 'Original People', are often viewed by authorities as 'backward, ignorant and resistant to modern health services', and therefore responsible for their poor state of health. This view situates the problem in the indigenous community, with the state as the benevolent provider of progress and improvement including health services. Orang Asli responses to this benevolence ranges from pragmatism to resignation to resistance. Drawing on a two-year ethnographic study, this paper explores, from the perspective of the Orang Asli, the dynamics of state and non-state societies, the structure and role of indigenous health systems and the effects of socio-economic transition in shaping Orang Asli responses to modern health services. Already burdened with poorer health compared with the national population, there is a growing problem of non-communicable diseases among the Orang Asli. Addressing this will require a shift from the benevolent dependency-creating approach commonly adopted by state public health services to one that is inclusive, responsive and participatory.


We present a novel method for reconstructing three dimensional surfaces from stereo intensity data. We employ a set of competing surface hypotheses based on parameterized models. We use maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation and demonstrate a connection to the Hough transform. Experimental results are given showing the effectiveness of the algorithm.


Previous research has neither fully examined family structure across the life course nor considered increasing variation in family types. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 11,318), I examine the influence of longitudinal measures across childhood of family structure duration and the number and timing of parent transitions (entrances and exits) on indicators of grade point average (GPA), college expectations, and suspension or expulsion in adolescence. I also examine whether parent gender moderates these effects. Results show that mother transitions during early childhood affect all outcomes, whereas time in mother-absent families influences GPA and school discipline. I find evidence for parent gender differences in transition effects; mother transitions, especially early ones, have more severe consequences than father transitions.


Abstract Cross-flow, or vertical-axis, turbines are a promising technology for capturing kinetic energy in wind or flowing water and their inherently unsteady fluid mechanics present unique opportunities for control optimization of individual rotors or arrays. To explore the potential for beneficial interactions between turbines in an array, as well as to characterize important cycle-to-cycle variations, coherent structures in the wake of a single two-bladed cross-flow turbine are examined using planar stereo particle image velocimetry in a water channel experiment. There are three main objectives in the present work. First, the mean wake structure of this high chord-to-radius ratio rotor is described, compared with previous studies, and a simple explanation for observed wake deflection is presented. Second, the unsteady flow is then analysed via the triple decomposition, with the periodic component extracted using a combination of traditional techniques and a novel implementation of the optimized dynamic mode decomposition. The latter method is shown to outperform conditional averaging and Fourier methods, as well as uncover frequencies suggesting a transition to bluff-body shedding in the far wake. Third, vorticity and finite-time Lyapunov exponents are then employed to further analyse the oscillatory wake component. Vortex streets on both sides of the wake are identified, and their formation mechanisms and effects on the mean flow are discussed. Strong axial (vertical) flow is observed in vortical structures shed on the retreating side of the rotor where the blades travel downstream. Time-resolved tracking of these vortices is performed, which demonstrates that vortex trajectories have significant rotation-to-rotation variation within one diameter downstream. This variability suggests it would be challenging to harness or avoid such structures at greater downstream distances.


A case of homozygous sickle cell anaemia male patient, aged 16 years is reported. The initial symptom following a sickle cell crisis was impairment of vision, progressing rapidly to complete blindness within three days. Within 4 days of admission in the hospital, he lapsed into coma and died four weeks later. Autopsy findings revealed multiple cerebral, pontine and cerebellar infarcts. The literature on neuro-ophthalmological sequelae is reviewed.


Galois field implementations are central to the design of many reliable and secure systems, with many systems implementing them in software. The two most common Galois field operations are addition and multiplication; typically, multiplication is far more expensive than addition. In software, multiplication is generally done with a look-up to a pre-computed table, limiting the size of the field and resulting in uneven performance across architectures and applications. In this paper, we first anaylze existing table-based implementation and optimization techniques for multiplication in fields of the form GF(21). Next, we propose the use of techniques in composite fields: extensions of GF(21) in which multiplications are performed in GF(21) and efficiently combined. The composite field technique trades computation for storage space, which prevents eviction of look-up tables from the CPU cache and allows for arbitrarily large fields. Most Galois field optimizations are specific to a particular implementation; our technique is general and may be applied in any scenario requiring Galois fields. A detailed performance study across five architectures shows that the relative performance of each approach varies with architecture, and that CPU, memory limitations and fields size must be considered when selecting an appropriate Galois field implementation. We also find that the use of our composite field implementation is often faster and less memory intensive than traditional algorithms for GF(21).


Supply chain sustainability (SCS) in the age of Industry 4.0 and Big Data is a growing area of research. However, there are no systematic and extensive studies that classify the different types of research and examine the general trends in this area of research. This paper reviews the literature on sustainability, Big Data, Industry 4.0 and supply chain management published since 2009 and provides a thorough insight into the field by using bibliometric and network analysis techniques. A total of 87 articles published in the past 10 years were evaluated and the top contributing authors, countries, and key research topics were identified. Furthermore, the most influential works based on citations and PageRank were obtained and compared. Finally, six research categories were proposed in which scholars could be encouraged to expand Big Data and Industry 4.0 research on SCS. This paper contributes to the literature on SCS in the age of Industry 4.0 by discussing the challenges facing current research but also, more importantly, by identifying and proposing these six research categories and future research directions.


The aim of this work was to clarify the influence of the properties (firmness and fat content) of a solid processed model cheese on in vivo aroma release while considering the role of the in-mouth process during both mastication and post-swallowing steps, and the hydrophobicity of aroma compounds, on a large number of well characterized subjects. In vivo aroma release was studied on 44 subjects who freely consumed six processed model cheeses flavoured with the same concentration of nonan-2-one and ethyl propanoate. Globally, an increase in firmness induced an increase in chewing duration, amount of saliva incorporated into the food bolus, total amount of aroma released and rate of release. The kinetics of release clearly differed between the two aroma compounds. Ethyl propanoate presented a higher release rate for firmer cheese and was more released during the mastication step, whereas nonan-2-one was more released during the post-swallowing step and more persistent in the mouth, due to its higher hydrophobicity. Consuming cheeses with a higher fat content led to a higher amount of product remaining in the mouth after swallowing, a lower amount of nonan-2-one released and a longer persistence of nonan-2-one in the breath. The results could be helpful to better understand the relative influence of the parameters related to products and subjects in order to reformulate foods with good sensory acceptability. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Paiaguas palisadegrass was released in order to meet the requirements of the different production systems. However, little is known about the quality of the forage. The goal of this study was to evaluate the protein and carbohydrate fractionation of the Paiaguas palisadegrass after intercropping with grain sorghum in the pasture recovery, through the integration of crop and livestock production. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Rio Verde, State of Goias. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments were composed of the following forage systems: Paiaguas palisadegrass in monocropped, sorghum intercropped with Paiaguas palisadegrass in the row, sorghum intercropped with Paiaguas palisadegrass in the interrow, and sorghum intercropped with oversown Paiaguas palisadegrass. The evaluations were carried out in the four climatic seasons of the year (winter, spring, summer, and fall) in the same plots, over a period of one year, in 16 paddocks under continuous stocking system. The results showed that forage systems did not influence protein and carbohydrate fractionation. The winter season presented higher values of protein and carbohydrate fractionation, negatively affecting the animal performance.


A fatty liver index (FLI) greater than sixty (FLI ≥ 60) is an established score for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which carries a high risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, while a FLI ≤ 20 rules out the presence of steatosis. Thus, we investigated whether FLI was associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, i.e., visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (SC), epicardial (EPI), extrapericardial (PERI), and total cardiac (CARD-AT) adipose tissue, hepatic fat ((by magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, and spectroscopy, MRS), and insulin resistance (IR, HOMA-IR and OGIS-index), and components of metabolic syndrome. All individuals with FLI ≥ 60 had MASLD, while none with FLI ≤ 20 had steatosis (by MRS). Subjects with FLI ≥ 60 had a higher BMI and visceral and cardiac fat (VAT > 1.7 kg, CARD-AT > 0.2 kg). FLI was positively associated with increased cardiac and visceral fat and components of metabolic syndrome. FLI, VAT, and CARD-AT were all associated with IR, increased blood pressure, cholesterol, and reduced HDL. For FLI ≥ 60, the cut-off values for fat depots and laboratory measures were estimated. In conclusion, FLI ≥ 60 identified not only subjects with steatosis but also those with IR, abdominal and cardiac fat accumulation, increased blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia, i.e., those at higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Targeted reduction of FLI components would help reduce cardiometabolic risk.


To study the diversity and phylogenetic structure of Sebacinales communities from eight vegetation communities along an altitudinal gradient in the Bavarian Alps (Germany), we analysed 456 thalli or roots of plants. We detected 264 sebacinoid sequences, spanning the intergenic transcribed spacer region, 5.8S and D1/D2 regions of the nuclear rRNA gene, mostly using a nested PCR approach. Based on 97% sequence similarity, 73 Sebacinales molecular taxonomic units were found from 70 host species belonging to 44 plant families. Twenty-six molecular taxonomic units represented singletons, the most frequent of these being restricted exclusively to either wooded or grassland habitats. Although Sebacinales appear to occur in low abundance in plant roots, these microorganisms are phylogenetically diverse and widely spread in the ecosystems studied. Ordination analyses showed that land use, pH and humus content strongly influence the diversity and assembly of Sebacinales. In most cases, Sebacinales communities in ecosystems with extreme soil conditions or intensive land use exhibited significant phylogenetic clustering, whereas in undisturbed plant communities no trend was observed. These results suggest that ecosystem disturbance and environmental forces have an influence on the diversity and structure of Sebacinales community assembly over local and spatial scales.


PURPOSE: To monitor improvements and follow-up of patients with EDs (Eating Disorders), and BED (Binge Eating Disorder) in the Regional Reference Center for the Physiopathology of Nutrition of Teramo, Italy. METHODS: All the access for EDs (diagnosed according to DSM-IV) were recorded at first visit and follow up. The diagnoses and characteristics of patients from the Teramo area, who enjoy easier access to the service were compared to those of patients from other local health authorities. The degree of improvement in BMI between the first and last appointment of patients with AN (anorexia nervosa), and the average time of treatment, were noted. Microsoft Excel was used for data storing and processing. Statistical analysis was performed by the X-Lstat software. RESULTS: Of the 169 patients registered, 90.5% were female. The average age of patients followed by the Centre for eating disorders was 29.3 (60.9% of the cases were in the youth age bracket). In local patients, the AN is corrected with greater success and in less time compared to cases of AN in active mobility. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that an integrated multidisciplinary outpatient service provides continuity of care and more support to patients coming from the province. The data demonstrate that the ability of the outpatient structure to intercept early cases and offer effective therapeutic itineraries is directly related to its accessibility. These data provide valuable references for a more rational and thoughtful use of available resources and to begin the development of a registry of EDs in Abruzzo's region in center of Italy.


Abstract A new tool that may measure certain absolute temporal properties of information processing in intact organisms is suggested by. investigations of temporal summation in single nerve cells. Two findings have led to this suggestion: One, the form of the temporal summation function (relating the intensity and duration required to evoke a criterion neural signal) depends on the analysis used by the investigator. Corresponding form variations occur in behavioral studies when the observer's task is varied. Two, the critical durations of fixed neural signals depend on the latency of the feature of the signal chosen as criterion; early features yield short critical durations and vice versa. The critical duration also varies in behavioral studies if one varies the observer's task, keeping the stimulus ensemble fixed. These data lead to two inferences: One, the form of a behavioral temporal-summation function expresses the kind of hidden mental analysis mediating that behavior. Two, a behavioral critical duration is an indicator of the absolute timing of the hidden mental analysis mediating that behavior.


Trials were carried out in spring and autumn at two locations in New Zealand to measure the effects of metsulfuron-methyl on pasture production and composition. Metsulfuron-methyl at 3-12 g/ha resulted in 20-45% loss of herbage production. This was particularly evident for two months after spraying, with no significant reduction in dry matter yield 3 months after treatment in spring. The effect on pasture composition was more persistent. Metsulfuron-methyl, along with clopyralid and picloram + 2,4-D completely removed the clover for the three month duration of the trial. The consequences of broadcast application of these herbicides in pasture need to be considered in the context of the overall farming system.


The aim of this paper is to analyze the experience of four Latin-American countries with different traditions and methodological perspectives on the gathering of ethnic and racial statistics of Afrodescendant and Indigenous population groups. A particular emphasis is made on the appearance of the multicultural ideology in the four societies, since the mid ͺͲǯs, and in the ʹͲ th century until today; and on its relation to the previous frame of reference based on the ideology of miscegenation. The four societies exemplify to a fair extent the variability within the Latin American and Caribbean region on the collection of statistical data for ethnic and racial groups. We also introduce the extent to which we believe the development of the methodologies is related to the particular historical context, as grounded in long term patterns of relation between the races and ethnic groups. We take the three societies with the biggest population volume in the region (Brazil, Mexico and Colombia), plus the Peruvian case, all of them with differentiated ethnic-racial patterns.


Recently, the European Commission published information on the vaccine confidence and the delivery of vaccination services in the European Union (EU). Both reports revealed the need for EU action to tackle on the one hand misinformation and the lack of awareness of the general public and on the other hand, the lack of coordination among Member States.

The vaccine confidence report underlined the crucial link between confidence and coverage rates. To better understand why immunisation rates are declining throughout the EU. Confidence of the public in the EU and among general practitioners in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK was surveyed. Since confidence varies from vaccine to vaccine, the report focused on measles, influenza and vaccines in general. Data show that the population group over the age of 65 years is generally more confident about the safety and importance of vaccination than those under the age of 65 years.

In conclusion, the report highlights that the recent measles outbreak should be used as an opportunity. Coordinated approaches should be taken to remind the EU population about the importance of vaccination and the danger of vaccine-preventable diseases.

The study on the organisation and delivery of vaccination services in the EU was prepared by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. It is divided into three parts to provide a comprehensive overview on the current situation. It summaries information on vaccine uptake and vaccine-preventable diseases. In addition, it contains details on the systematic review of health system-related factors and their impact on vaccine uptake as well as country fiches that outline the organisation and delivery of vaccination programmes.

The combination of these three components provides on the one hand an insight on what has been achieved and on the other hand highlights areas were further …


A patient with a massive false aneurysm of the left ventricle following myocardial infarction is described. The pseudoaneurysm compressed the esophagus causing severe dysphagia, and contributed to advanced terminal cachexia.


Optimal control policies are determined for the free radical polymerization of three different polymerization processes, in a non-isothermal batch reactor as follows: (1) bulk polymerization of n-butyl methacrylate; (2) solution polymerization of methyl methacrylate with monofunctional initiator; (3) solution polymerization of methyl methacrylate with bifunctional initiator. Four different optimal control objectives are realized for the above three processes. The objectives are: (i) maximization of monomer conversion in a specified operation time, (ii) minimization of operation time for a specified, final monomer conversation, (iii) maximization of monomer conversion for a specified, final number average polymer molecular weight, and (iv) maximization of monomer conversion for a specified, final weight average polymer molecular weight. The realization of these objectives is expected to be very useful for the batch production of polymers. To realize the above four different optimal control objectives, a genetic algorithms-based optimal control method is applied, and the temperature of heat exchange fluid inside reactor jacket is used as a control function. Necessary equations are provided in the above three processes to suitably transform the process model in the range of a specified variable other than time, and to evaluate the elements of Jacobian to help in the accurate solution of the process model. The results of this optimal control application reveal considerable improvements in the performance of the batch polymerization processes.


The purpose of this study is to find out whether liquidity, leverage, company size, and institutional ownership affect financial distress in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, especially in 2015-2017 as the study population. The sampling method used was purposive sampling with a total sample of 36 data which are financial statements from www.idx.co.id. Data processing is done using SPSS version 25. The results of the study indicate that the independent variable can explain the dependent variable at 80.6639%; The other 19.3361% is influenced by other factors apart from the independent variables of this study. Independent variables of liquidity and leverage affect financial distress. While company size and institutional ownership do not affect financial distress


The present study was performed to examine the analgesic effects of the intrathecal administration of agents acting at various sites in the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor complex on the nociceptive responses to s.c. formalin injection in rats. Both the competitive NMDA receptor antagonist 2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid (APV) and the non‐competitive NMDA antagonist dizocilpine maleate (MK‐801) produced dose‐dependent analgesic effects in the late, but not the early, phase of the formalin test. The polyamine antagonist ifenprodil, and the strychnine‐insensitive glycine antagonists DCQX and 7‐chlorokynurenic acid, failed to produce any analgesic effects in either the early or the late phase of the formalin test. The analgesic effects of APV were enhanced slightly by combined administration with a non‐analgesic dose of glycine, and the analgesic effects of MK‐801 were dramatically potentiated by combined adminstration of a non‐analgesic dose of the polyamine spermine. The results indicate that much more potent analgesia can be produced in the formalin test by a combination of open channel blockers (such as MK‐801) with agonists acting at the polyamine site, than by a single treatment with antagonists to either glycine allosteric or polyamine sites within the NMDA receptor complex.


The effect of noise enhancement of the linear decorrelating detector (LDD) is investigated by studying a low complexity receiver for synchronous code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. Using Gold codes as the spreading sequences a general formula of the decorrelating matrix is obtained, which leads to a simplified receiver structure and explicit expression of the bit error rate (BER). It is shown that even with multiple access interference (MAI) reduced, the BER of the system is still dependent on the bandwidth efficiency. For a given bandwidth efficiency the system performance improves when the processing gain is increased.


Heterotopic pregnancy refers to simultaneous presence of intrauterine and ectopic gestational sacs. Its incidence exhibits a rising trend due to the increased use of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This paper aims to present a rare case of tubal and cesarean scar heterotopic pregnancy that occurred following a spontaneous pregnancy. The patient presenting with delayed menstruation and abdominal-inguinal pain was evaluated. Transvaginal ultrasonography revealed a gestational sac located in the scar of a previous cesarean section and in the left tubal region corresponding to a gestational age of 4 weeks and 5 days. The patient was hospitalized and informed about conservative and surgical methods. Then, she was administered a single dose of methotrexate 75 mg intramuscularly. Post-operative period included ultrasonographic and laboratory follow-up. In conclusion, it should be remembered that single-dose systemic methotrexate therapy might constitute an alternative to surgery in unruptured hemodynamically stable cases.


This article discusses a method for obtaining a mathematical model of an electric multipole with memresistive branches in finite parameter increments for a large signal mode in time domain calculation when calculating a direct current based on a generalized model obtained earlier. A computational algorithm for calculating nanoelectronic circuits based on methods of interval arithmetic is also given.


Tabtoxin is a chlorosis-inducing toxin produced by the plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci. Previous studies have indicated that tabtoxin inhibits glutamine synthetase (EC 184.108.40.206) in vitro. We report here that tabtoxin also inhibits glutamine synthetase in vivo. The main evidence was that assimilation of exogenous 15NH3 into Asparagus sprengeri protein was rapidly inhibited in isolated cells exposed to tabtoxin. This was associated with an equivalent decline in glutamine synthetase activity in extracts of these cells and the accumulation of extracellular ammonia. Glutamine synthetase was also inhibited in leaves of Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. White Burley treated with tabtoxin and the affected tissue accumulated ammonia and became chlorotic. However, the development of symptoms and accumulation of ammonia was suppressed when the leaves were held in air containing 1% CO2 to reduce photorespiration. This indicates that the chlorotic symptom did not result from the inhibition of nitrogen assimilation but was a consequence of the interruption of the photorespiratory nitrogen cycle.


This paper presents the study of non-classical nonlinear response of fiber-reinforced composites. Nonlinear elastic wave methods such as nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS) and nonlinear wave modulation spectroscopy have been used earlier to detect damages in several materials. It was observed that applying these techniques to composites materials becomes difficult due to the significant inherent baseline nonlinearity. Understanding the non-classical nonlinear nature of the composites plays a vital role in implementing nonlinear acoustic techniques for material characterization as well as qualitative nondestructive testing of composites. Since fiber reinforced composites are orthotropic in nature, the baseline response variation with fiber orientation is very important. This work explores the nature of the inherent nonlinearity by performing nonlinear resonant spectroscopy (NRS) in intact unidirectional carbon/epoxy samples with different fiber orientations with respect to major axis of the sample. Factors such as frequency shifts, modal damping ratio, and higher harmonics were analyzed to explore the non-classical nonlinear nature of these materials. Conclusions were drawn based on the experimental observations.


Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common inborn defect. Due to advances in paediatric care, surgical, and catheter procedures the number of adults with CHD has grown remarkably in recent years. Most of these patients, however, have residua from their original operation/s and require life-long care, many of them are subjected to further haemodynamic and electrophysiological interventions during adulthood. While such re-do surgical or catheter interventions together with device therapy and transplantation play a key therapeutic role, increasingly, adults with CHD require drug therapy for late complications namely heart failure (HF), arrhythmias, pulmonary and systemic hypertension, thromboembolic events, etc. Unlike other cardiovascular areas, drug therapy in adult CHD is based on scarce clinical data and remains largely empiric. Consequently, pharmacological therapies are individualized to ameliorate patients' symptoms and/or degree of haemodynamic impairment. Thus far, recommendations have been difficult to make and formalized guidelines on drug therapy are lacking. We review herewith the rationale, limited evidence and knowledge gaps regarding drug therapy in this growing cardiovascular field and discuss pharmacotherapy options in specific conditions namely HF, arrhythmias, thrombosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, contraception, and pregnancy.


Atrazine and alachlor formulations were designed by encapsulating the herbicide molecules into phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles, which subsequently were adsorbed on montmorillonite. PC and montmorillonite are classified as substances of minimal toxicological risk by the U.S. EPA. PC enhanced alachlor and atrazine solubilities by 15- and 18-fold, respectively. A 6 mM PC:5 g/L clay ratio was found as optimal for PC adsorption on the clay. Active ingredient contents of the PC-clay formulations ranged up to 8.6% for atrazine and 39.5% for alachlor. Infrared spectroscopy showed hydrophobic interactions of herbicide molecules with the alkyl chains of PC, in addition to hydrophilic interactions with the PC headgroup. Release experiments in a sandy soil showed a slower rate from the PC-clay formulations than the commercial ones. Soil column experiments under moderate irrigation and bioactivity experiments indicate that a reduction in the recommended dose of alachlor and atrazine can be accomplished by using PC-clay formulations.


OBJECTIVE
To explore causes of gluteal muscle contracture induced anterior knee pain and curative effect of arthroscopic release.

METHODS
From March 2002 to August 2013,36 patients with gluteal muscle contracture induced anterior knee pain were treated, including 15 males, 21 females, aged from 9 to 40 years old with an average (18.7±7.2) years old; the courses of diseases ranged from 4 to 30 years. The clinical manifestations involved limited to symmelia, positive Ober sign, buttocks touch contracture belts, knee and patella slide to lateral when doing squat activities. All patients were performed gluteal muscle contracture release under arthroscopic. Postoperative complications were observed, Kujala scoring before and after operation was used for compare curative effect.

RESULTS
All patients were followed up with an average of 29 months. The incision were healed well, and no complications were occurred. Postoperative Kujala score were improved more than preoperative.

CONCLUSION
Gluteal muscle contracture release could alleviate hypertension of lateral patella, and palys an important role in preventing patellofemoral arthritis.


Background With the development of new specific inhibitors of hepatitis C virus (HCV) enzymes and functions that may yield different antiviral responses and resistance profiles according to the HCV subtype, correct HCV genotype 1 subtype identification is mandatory in clinical trials for stratification and interpretation purposes and will likely become necessary in future clinical practice. The goal of this study was to identify the appropriate molecular tool(s) for accurate HCV genotype 1 subtype determination. Methodology/Principal Findings A large cohort of 500 treatment-naïve patients eligible for HCV drug trials and infected with either subtype 1a or 1b was studied. Methods based on the sole analysis of the 5′ non-coding region (5′NCR) by sequence analysis or reverse hybridization failed to correctly identify HCV subtype 1a in 22.8%–29.5% of cases, and HCV subtype 1b in 9.5%–8.7% of cases. Natural polymorphisms at positions 107, 204 and/or 243 were responsible for mis-subtyping with these methods. A real-time PCR method using genotype- and subtype-specific primers and probes located in both the 5′NCR and the NS5B-coding region failed to correctly identify HCV genotype 1 subtype in approximately 10% of cases. The second-generation line probe assay, a reverse hybridization assay that uses probes targeting both the 5′NCR and core-coding region, correctly identified HCV subtypes 1a and 1b in more than 99% of cases. Conclusions/Significance In the context of new HCV drug development, HCV genotyping methods based on the exclusive analysis of the 5′NCR should be avoided. The second-generation line probe assay is currently the best commercial assay for determination of HCV genotype 1 subtypes 1a and 1b in clinical trials and practice.


Information technologies (ITs) are recognized critical for supply chain integration because ITs facilitate information interchanges, decision and process synchronization. But the integration of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to supply chains is difficult due to their limited technological capabilities. The objective of this work is to determine those factors affecting IT implementation among SMEs. To determine which factors of the internal context of the company (its characteristics and structure) and which of their external atmosphere (businesses environment and partners' influence) affect the adoption and/or the assimilation of technology, a survey among SMEs located in the central part of Mexico was conducted. Multivariate statistical analysis allowed determining that the external factor "influence of clients" only affects IT adoption, whereas all the internal factors related with the perceptions of the CEO-owner, plus a technology supporting culture and human resources, affect both adoption and assimilation. Contrary to expectations, a high CEO-owner innovation perception decreases the adoption and commitment to ITs implementation; whereas a high perception of insecurity/discomfort about electronic relations increases both adoption and assimilation of ITs. The study results allow the establishment of recommendations for the design of technology supporting plans for SMEs integration to their supply chains.


Immune responses against E1-deleted adenovirus vectors and/or their transgene products result in the rapid elimination of vector-transduced cells and the generation of neutralizing antibodies. Different strategies of immunomodulation to stabilize transgene expression at therapeutic levels and to permit productive vector readministration have been examined. Our previous studies have shown that depletion of macrophages from spleen and liver decreases hepatic inflammation, significantly prolongs transgene expression, and delays the onset of humoral immune responses after systemic administration of an E1-deleted adenovirus vector. In the present study, we have examined the effects of macrophage depletion in combination with temporary blockade of CD40 ligation on E1-deleted adenovirus vector-mediated gene transfer. Alone, each of these treatments significantly inhibited the humoral immune response against the transgene product and prolonged its expression. Together, these treatments completely stabilized transgene expression and inhibited the production of neutralizing anti-adenovirus antibodies, permitting successful vector readministration. Animals rendered immunologically unresponsive to vector and transgene antigens regained their ability to mount productive immune responses against the vector after recovery of immune function, but remained unresponsive to the transgene product. These experiments demonstrate that this treatment is transient and antigen-specific.


contains detailed data on individual vehicle trips. This paper demonstrates several useful statistics from the NHTS concerning how people use their vehicles, such as how far they drive, where they go, how long they stay, and their sequence of destinations. These statistics, in turn, are potentially useful for vehicle design, vehicle use simulation, navigation algorithms, interpreting GPS data, and the placement of electric vehicle charging stations.


Novel ligands have been obtained from the reaction of 4,4'-dibromomethyl-2,2'-bipyridine with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosylthiol, 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-galactopyranosylthiol or 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-thioacetylmannopyranoside in which the sugar residues are thioglycosidically linked to the bipyridine in the 4,4'-position. Cleavage of the acetyl groups affords hydrophilic symmetric ligands with free hydroxyl groups. Reaction of the new glycoconjugated ligands (L) with [Re(CO)(5)Cl] yields fluorescent complexes of general formula [Re(L)(CO)(3)Cl], which were characterised by mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and (1)H and (13)C NMR, IR, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. These complexes exhibit excellent solubility and stability in organic solvents or water, depending on the residues of the sugar. One complex, namely tricarbonyl-4,4'-bis[(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glycopyranosyl)thiomethyl]-2,2'-bipyridinerheniumtricarbonylo chloride, has been characterised by X-ray crystallography. A non-symmetric structure of the complexes could be assigned. Radiolabelling of the unprotected ligands with [(99m)Tc(H(2)O)(3)(CO)(3)](+) affords the corresponding water-soluble technetium complexes (in quantitative yields), which were characterised by their HPLC radiation traces. The formed complexes are stable for several hours in the presence of histidine but show partial ligand-exchange after one day.


Between 1975 and 1980, 108 cancers of the breast (T1 and small T2) were treated by associated conservative surgery and radiotherapy. Axillary glands were curetted in 92 patients; 17% showed lymph node invasion. Radiotherapy was by telecobalt: 45 grays to the whole breast and 60 grays to the tumor bed. Esthetic results were satisfactory. Intramammary recurrence was rare (6%) and was independent of site or size of tumor and of degree of lymph node involvement. Metastases not associated with local recurrence were very rarely observed (4% of cases) and were present only in patients without glandular involvement. The 5-year actuarial survival rate was 95%.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the short-term and long-term efficacy of using releasable sutures vs conventional interrupted sutures for scleral flap suturing in trabeculectomy.

DESIGN
A prospective randomized study.

SETTING
A university-affiliated referral eye hospital.

PATIENTS
Thirty consecutive patients requiring trabeculectomy for uncontrolled primary glaucoma.

INTERVENTION
Fifteen patients underwent trabeculectomy with permanent interrupted sutures; the same number underwent trabeculectomy with releasable sutures.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Incidence of short-term shallowing of anterior chamber or hypotony and related complications, and long-term intraocular pressure control and bleb score.

RESULTS
The mean percentage reduction in intraocular pressure on day 1 in the group with releasable sutures was 55.2%, while only a 0.8% reduction in anterior chamber depth was noted. This compared with figures of 59.3% and 10.1%, respectively, in the group without releasable sutures. Hypotony (intraocular pressure < or =6 mm Hg) was noted in 8 (53%) of cases without releasable sutures and 3 (20%) of cases with releasable sutures. Shallow anterior chamber (central anterior chamber depth, < or =1 mm) was noted in 5 (33%) of cases without releasable sutures and 1 (7%) of cases with releasable sutures. The mean +/- SD final bleb score was 5.4 +/- 0.3 in the group with releasable sutures compared with 4.2 +/- 0.6 in the group without releasable sutures (P<.001). The mean +/- SD final intraocular pressure at the end of 12 months was 16.9 +/- 1.2 mm Hg in the group without releasable sutures and 15.0 +/- 0.9 mm Hg in the group with releasable sutures (P<.001). Final intraocular pressure was controlled (intraocular pressure < or =21 mm Hg) in all patients in the group with releasable sutures, giving a success rate of 100%, and in 12 patients in the group without releasable sutures, giving a success rate of 80%.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of releasable sutures is an effective way at no extra cost or instrumentation to maximize the long-term bleb score and lower intraocular pressure, and to minimize the short-term complications of trabeculectomy.


●ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. ethanol, flower bulbs, forcing, height control SUMMARY. Ethanol was demonstrated to reduce unwanted floral scape and leaf elongation of 'Ziva' paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus tazetta) when plants were grown with traditional pebble culture. Root-zone ethanol concentrations of 1% to 5% (v/v) were effective in reducing height without visible phytotoxicity to the roots. Various ethanol sources, including gin, vodka, whiskey, schnapps, rum, and tequila, were equally effective in reducing growth when supplied at 4%; peppermint schnapps caused somewhat more growth inhibition, providing a safe, effective, and organic method for amateurs to control height of this popular fl owering bulb. Beer and wine (white or red) were unsuitable for this use at 4% alcohol concentration.


Vanadium is a transition metal widely distributed in the environment and in biological systems, and it is a major trace element in fossil fuels. Consequently, combustion of these materials is a significant source of vanadium in the environment. In the periodical table, vanadium belongs to the first transition series and can form compounds mainly in valences III, IV and V. The V state of vanadium, as vanadate, predominates in extracellular body fluids whereas the IV form is the most common intracellular form. Research on biological influence of vanadium has gained major importance because it is well known that is exerts potent toxic, mutagenic, and genotoxic effects on a wide variety of biological systems, including that recently compounds as the vanadium pentoxide, has been classified by the IARC (2006) as a possible carcinogenic agent for humans. Information about the clastogenic effects of vanadium compounds is limited and controversial, and data about its mutagenic and genotoxic potential in bacterial, yeast and plants are inconclusive. On the other hand, results obtained in mammalian cells, both in vivo and in vitro, indicate that vanadium compounds produce mutagenic and genotoxic responses, however, the most evident action exhibited by this metal compounds is their ability to disrupt microtubule function, and consistent cytotoxic and cytostatic effects. By these reasons some authors, including us, classify vanadium as a weak mutagen.


BACKGROUND
Head and neck neoplasia constitute one of the commonest cancers in India. Use of smokeless tobacco (Pan masala, Zarda etc.) is on the increase in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, and is responsible for the large majority of these tumours.

AIM
To assess the patients' characteristics, yearly prevalence and histopathological subtypes of the head and neck neoplasia (excluding oral cavity) in Allahabad and surrounding regions.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
A retrospective study of 11 years from 1990 to 2000 was designed. Data was collected year-wise using the tumor registry data.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
All biopsies submitted for histopathology to the Pathology department were reviewed and analyzed for demographic data, site and diagnosis.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Two-Sample Test was utilized to determine whether two distributions are the same.

RESULTS
A total of 40559 biopsies were examined in the department, of which, lesions of the head and neck region, excluding the oral cavity, constituted 694 biopsies (409 males and 285 females). One hundred and forty-four malignant lesions were reported, 114 being males and 30 females. A comparison of the age-specific prevalence rates of cancer during the study period showed that the prevalence was highest in patients belonging to the 50-59 years age group and squamous cell carcinoma Grade II was the most prevalent type. On an average, 58 new biopsies per annum were received.

CONCLUSIONS
Properly structured site-specific data like this can augment the National Cancer Registry Programme and is an essential indicator for the magnitude and the pattern of the cancer problem in India.


The article is devoted to the analysis of the factors of decentralization in Spain on the example of the Basque Country. Particular attention is paid to the factor of European integration and the EU regional policy in the political development of Spain. The purpose of this article is to consider the resources for decentralization in Spain with a focus on European integration (in particular, the EU regional policy). The first part of the article proposes a research methodology. The second examines some of the factors of decentralization offered by the scientific literature. The third part of the article reveals the features of the «three-tier» model of regional policy in Spain and the indicators of the EU regional policy effectiveness. The fourth part examines the experience of the Basque Country in the European integration, in particular, the EU's regional policy. Referring to the database of the «Manifesto» project, the author comes to the conclusion that connection between the processes of decentralization in the Basque Country and European integration can be manifested in the texts of the electoral programs of the Basque Nationalist Party. The scientific significance of the article is to analyze the impact of European integration on the processes of decentralization in Spain via the data of the «Manifesto» project.


The herbicide napropamide [N,N-diethyl-2-(1-naphthyloxy)propanamide] has been shown to complex with various sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM), potentially increasing the risk of ground water contamination by facilitating napropamide transport through soil. Two factors that may reduce the threat of facilitated transport of chemicals through soils are soil profile depth and soil horizon variability. Movement through the soil profile may cause herbicide complexed with DOM to break apart and readsorb to the soil. Differences in soil horizon organic matter content throughout the soil profile may also alter the potential for facilitated transport of herbicides. Napropamide was used in column studies to determine if organic matter differences in horizons and soil profile depth would reduce the risk of facilitated transport. A silt loam soil was used with and without sewage sludge amendment (SS and NoSS) to represent differences in organic matter content. Results showed that <6% of the applied mass of napropamide moved as DOM complexes through soil. The majority of complexed napropamide was very stable and relatively nonadsorbing in solution such that doubling of soil depth only reduced facilitated transport by 20% or less. We present evidence to show that napropamide-DOM complexes are relatively nonadsorbing in solution and exhibit transport characteristics similar to those of a inert compounds in soil solution.


This paper is based on the application of the "Social World's" theory created by Shibutani to the worlds of knowledge society, cyberspace, d-Knowledge CommonsEcosystem.1 Knowledge society will be presented as the social world and cyberspace as the sub-social world with the d-Knowledge Commons Ecosystem as the sub-world of cyberspace. This theory will open discussion about activity, boundaries,arenas and values of each social world/sub-worlds. However, the main intention ofthis paper is an introduction to a discussion about the sub-world of d-KnowledgeCommons Ecosystem as an example of one of the most striking sub-worlds within cyberspace trying to answer the question: why do we need social worlds while talking about d-Knowledge Commons Ecosystem? This paper is to be divided into fiveparts: 1. Activity, 2. Boundaries, 3. Arena, 4. Values, 5. Conclusion.


The orthogonal simple group 0 (3) has three conjugacy classes of maximal subgroups of the form 36:L4(3). These groups are all isomorphic to each other and each group has order 4421589120 with index 1120 in 0 (3). In this paper, we will compute the ordinary carácter table of one of these classes of maximal subgroups using the technique of Fischer-Clifford matrices. This technique is very efficient to compute the ordinary character table of an extension group Ḡ = N.G and especially where the normal subgroup N of Ḡ is an elementary abelian p-group. The said technique reduces the computation of the ordinary character table of Ḡ to find a handful of so-called Fischer-Clifford matrices of Ḡ and the ordinary or projective character tables of the inertia factor groups of the action of Ḡ on N.


SUMMARY Effective immunotherapy requires thorough knowledge of the tumour microenvironment. Indeed, the interplay among the immune system, the tumour and treatment is conditioned by the composition of the tumour microenvironment. In addition, it must be taken into account that homeostasis of the tumour microenvironment is highly dynamic and changes rapidly in function of many factors, such as inflammation, hypoxia, tumour volume, all of which change over time, and the effect of treatments. All these elements interact with each other and with conditions related to the tumour (i.e. mutational load, rate of clonal and subclonal mutations) and to host (life style, diet, obesity, age). All these factors as well as their interplay, affect the response to immunotherapy. The target of this short review is to summarise some of the major aspects that impact the homeostasis of the tumour microenvironment and how its structure can drive treatment choice.


This research study explored the changes in and effects of TED talks on Chinese postgraduate students' English speaking performance and speaking anxiety over a period of 10 weeks. In this research, TED talks were used as a learning mode to provide a quasi-realistic sociocultural context for speaking English. 166 students from the experimental group using TED talks and 156 in the conventional mode participated in the quasi-experiment. They made eight-minute oral presentations and answered the 12-item English Speaking Anxiety Scale prior to and after the experiment. Analyses of the data revealed three major findings: 1) both the experimental and control groups did significantly better in English speaking performance and became significantly less anxious about speaking English over the 10-week period, 2) the experimental group did significantly better in move structure and were significantly less anxious about speaking English than the control group at the end of the 10-week period, and 3) the learning modes had a significant effect on students' move structures of oral presentations but had no effect on their oral presentation performance and English speaking anxiety. These findings support the benefit of supplementing EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching and learning with TED talks and other similar virtual situated learning. Thus, the present study not only contributes to the current literature, which is short of studies on the effects of technology on SL/FL teaching and learning and the dynamic characteristic of the emotions associated with SL/FL learning, but also suggests that virtual situated learning like TED talks should be incorporated into SL/FL teaching and learning.


1 Theory predicts that population structure and dynamics affect a population's capacity for adaptation to environmental change. For isolated, small and fragmented populations at the trailing edge of species distributions, loss of genetic diversity through random genetic drift may reduce adaptive potential and fitness levels for complex traits. This has important consequences for understanding population responses to, for example changing climate, but has rarely been tested in natural populations. 2 We measured the intertidal thermal environment and tidal exposure (emersion) times for natural populations of the intertidal seaweed Fucus serratus at the centre (southwest UK) and southern edge (northern Portugal) of its range in the Eastern Atlantic, and for a congener, F. vesiculosus, whose range extends further south to Morocco. Fitness‐related traits of individuals at each location were measured in common garden experiments: physiological resilience to desiccation and heat shock (PSII quantum yield), and the molecular phenotype of the heat shock response (quantitative PCR of heat shock protein gene transcripts). 3 The realized thermal environment experienced by F. serratus was similar at the centre and southern edge of its distribution because the maximum shore height (and emersion period) was reduced in southern populations. For F. vesiculosus, thermal maxima were higher and occurred more frequently in the south, although maximum vertical height (emersion time) remained similar to central populations. 4 Edge populations of F. serratus were less resilient to desiccation and heat shock than central populations, and expression of heat shock genes was higher at the same temperature, suggesting greater cellular stress. In contrast, there was no evidence for physiological divergence in heat shock response in F. vesiculosus, and little variation in gene expression. 5 Synthesis. We provide evidence that compared with range‐centre populations upper intertidal limits of F. serratus at the southern edge are 'pruned back' by abiotic stressors. Rather than being locally adapted, these small populations are less resilient to abiotic stresses and experience greater cellular stress during heat shock. These results suggest that ongoing climate forcing factors may threaten small, fragmented rear edge populations because of inherently reduced fitness and lower adaptive capacity relative to larger central populations.


Partial discharges (PD) measurement is a well-known technique for judgment of the condition of power transformer offline. Phase-resolved PD measurement is a normalized technique for PD tests, but noise, especially by PD-measurements onsite is sometimes difficult to reject, and a post-processing of a pattern is necessary to separate different sources. Higher-frequency-detection devices and processing strategies are useful for PD classification and identification. Recently, ultra-high-frequency (UHF) detection by means of antennas has been shown to be a promising detection system for both offline and online PD-measurements. However, it is necessary to assess whether PD source separation and classification is possible by means of pulse analysis because some additional UHF noise sources are coupled to the detected signals, and it is not clear whether different sources produce different pulses. In this study, the attenuation effect of the metallic tank of a power transformer on the inner PD activity when measured outside the tank was studied. Additionally, experiments were conducted to detect and characterize two different PD sources (internal and external discharges) using two antennas measuring the same phenomenon inside and outside of a transformer. It will also be shown that broadband UHF signals are useful for PD recognition and that a deep study of frequencies below 500 MHz can separate PD occurring inside from those occurring outside when measured with an antenna outside the tank.


Frequency control in European synchronous areas is becoming a greater challenge with decreasing levels of rotational inertia. One potential approach to deal with this problem is changing frequency standards. This contribution seeks to examine the impact of unusually large grid frequency deviations of up to ±10 Hz on industrial customers through a power hardware-in-the-loop study conducted in a real mechanical workshop. For the three drilling machines and two lathes under test, the experiments suggest that machining quality is not affected by these large frequency deviations. Nonetheless, critical motor states may occur depending on the drive type. In addition, the results show a considerable impact on active power consumption.


The authors compare the efficacy of epidural morphine analgesia with continuous intercostal extrapleural block using bupivacaine 0.5% after thoracotomy. They affirm that antalgic treatment in thoracotomised patients is the most important factor in preventing the onset of major complications that may negatively influence the results of surgery. The efficacy of the analgesic techniques examined was evaluated using El-Baz's visual analogic scale of pain, through the analysis of spirometric values and on the incidence of postoperative complications. The authors demonstrate that the extrapleural continuous nerve block is a reliable method of post-thoracotomic analgesia.


Background Main approaches of this investigation were climate regionalization to recognize the spatial distribution of cutaneous/visceral leishmaniasis (CL/VL) vectors as risk-maps using ArcGIS modeling system, evaluation of species biodiversity, assessing bio-climate (BC) effect on expression plasticity of genes possessing vaccine properties isolated from wild-collected sand flies.Methods The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method was used to obtain accurate geography map using ArcGIS10.3.1 in closely-related distances. Species diversity was calculated based on Shannon diversity index using Rv.3.5.3. Expression fold change of SP15 and LeIF genes was evaluated using cDNA synthesis and RT-qPCR analysis. Results Three BC zone were identified in northeast of Iran. Phlebotomus papatasi were abundantly captured in all BC regions and the frequency was more in plains areas of mountainous BC as hot spots of CL. VL vectors were more prevalent in spatial cluster of Mediterranean BC. Semi-arid BC was identified as a major contributing factor to up-regulate SP15 salivary gene expression ( P =0.0050, P <0.05), and Mediterranean BC had considerable effect on up-regulation of LeIF- Leishmania gene in gravid and semi-gravid P. papatasi population ( P =0.0109, P <0.05). Conclusions The diversity and spatial distribution of CL/VL vectors associated with BC regionalization obtained in our research provide epidemiological risk maps and establish more effectively control measures against leishmaniasis. Oscillations in gene expression indicate that each gene has its own features, which are profoundly affected by bioclimatic characteristics and physiological status of sand flies. It is essential to consider BC factors affecting regulatory regions of environmentally responsive loci for genes used in vaccine designing.


Summary The preparation of tumor ribosomes that are essentially free of polyribosomes and active in polypeptide synthesis is described. Most active preparations were obtained by incubating ribosomal suspensions 20 min under conditions of protein synthesis. After this time, all polysomes had been converted to 80 S particles which could be stimulated to polypeptide synthesis by polyuridylic acid or liver mRNA. High-speed supernatant from rat or pig liver was used for the incubation procedure and in the cell-free system, rather than tumor supernatant, which caused almost complete inactivation of the ribosomes. The most active high-energy system was 10 mm 3-phosphoglycerate; optimum ATP and Mg2+ concentrations were 1 and 7 mm, respectively. Deoxycholate was used to solubilize membranous fractions and to liberate bound polysomes. Ribosomes, having been prepared by deoxycholate treatment and successive incubation, were free of polyribosomes. However, a small amount of ribosomal subunits was always observed under these conditions. Large-scale preparation of structurally intact subunits by Mg2+ deficiency or mild ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid treatment is complicated by the high affinity between 40 and 60 S particles. In this respect, ribosomes of the Ehrlich carcinoma are comparable to those of rapidly growing hepatomas. However, they are strikingly different from ribosomes of slowly growing hepatomas and normal tissues.


An electron microscopic study of left ventricular myocardium was carried out in 15 patients who had isolated rheumatic mitral stenosis, with particular reference to the relation among ultrastructural pathological findings, the severity of mitral stenosis and left ventricular function. They were divided into 2 groups based on left ventricular performance evaluated by 2-dimensional echocardiography and angiocardiography. The severity of mitral stenosis was determined by hemodynamic data and mitral valve areas measured by 2-dimensional echocardiography. Regardless of the level of left ventricular contractile function we consistently demonstrated varying degrees of ultrastructural pathological alterations of left ventricular muscle cells, involving the myofibrils, mitochondria, nuclei and other elements of the sarcoplasm and membranes surrounding the myocardial cells in all specimens examined. The ultrastructural pathological findings did not correlate with the severity of mitral stenosis reflected in the echocardiographic and hemodynamic data. However, those patients with abnormal left ventricular function always exhibited more extensive loss of myofibrils resulting from either disproportion of the mitochondria-to-myofibril ratio or myofibrillar degeneration. The present investigation provides the morphological data at the ultrastructural level to support the widely held concept of a myocardial factor i.e., the extent of myocardial involvement by the rheumatic process as the basic pathogenetic mechanism responsible for left ventricular dysfunction in patients with isolated rheumatic mitral stenosis. Furthermore, it is suggested that pathological alterations of myocardial ultrastructure were related to the extent of myocardial involvement by the rheumatic process rather than being structural adaptations in response to the hemodynamic derangement.


To examine how public servants are depicted in film, I discuss the changes over time of Batman's Commissioner Gordon, particularly his character arc in the contemporary The Dark Knight trilogy. An important aspect of Gordon's evolution is in contrast to the films' other prominent public servant, District Attorney Harvey Dent. The Gordon-Dent contrast illustrates aspects of the Friedrich-Finer debate over administrative discretion, a classic debate in public administration. The trilogy's verdict on public service is mixed: the flawed, rule-bending, expedient public servant survives while the fabricated hero is a sham. Commissioner Gordon is far more interesting than he had been for decades, but is he just an expedient bureaucrat ultimately pursuing self preservation? In contrast, the (pre-villain) Harvey Dent, who refuses to compromise his principles, is ultimately undone by his absolutism. For the complexity of his character and its centrality to the plot, I judge the depiction of Commissioner Gordon-warts and all-to be better than simplistic caricatures of bureaucrats and promising for future public servants in film.


With the development of security system information degree and protection capability format, it is important to evaluate its effectiveness precisely to prevention and control of social order based on these changes. According to the operational characteristics of security system, protection format is divided into personal protection, physical protection, and electronic protection. Effectiveness evaluation theory is used to measure how the risks were in each protection capability format. Meanwhile a method is put forward to evaluate security system effectiveness, then the conclusion is clear that security system risk is not directly proportional to protection capability, but the speed raising process of "fast-slow-down-stable 0".


Young non-Hispanic Black adults have reduced microvascular endothelial function compared with non-Hispanic White counterparts, but the mechanisms are not fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of endothelin-1 A receptor (ETAR) and superoxide on cutaneous microvascular function in young non-Hispanic Black (n=10) and White (n=10) adults. Participants were instrumented with four intradermal microdialysis fibers: 1) lactated Ringer's (control), 2) 500 nM BQ-123 (ETAR antagonist), 3) 10 μM tempol (superoxide dismutase mimetic), and 4) BQ-123 + tempol. Skin blood flow was assessed via laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF), and each site underwent rapid local heating from 33°C to 39°C. At the plateau of local heating, 20 mM L-NAME [nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor] was infused to quantify NO-dependent vasodilation. Data are mean ± standard deviation. NO-dependent vasodilation was decreased in non-Hispanic Black compared with non-Hispanic White young adults (p < 0.01). NO-dependent vasodilation was increased at BQ-123 sites (73 ± 10% NO) and at BQ-123 + tempol sites (71 ± 10 %NO) in non-Hispanic Black young adults compared with control (53 ± 13 %NO, p = 0.01). Tempol alone had no effect on NO-dependent vasodilation in non-Hispanic Black young adults (63 ± 14 %NO, p = 0.18). NO-dependent vasodilation at BQ-123 sites was not statistically different between non-Hispanic Black and White (80 ± 7 %NO) young adults (p = 0.15). ETAR contribute to reduced NO-dependent vasodilation in non-Hispanic Black young adults independent of superoxide, suggesting a greater effect on NO synthesis rather than NO scavenging via superoxide.


X-ray/neutron (X/N) diffraction data measured at very low temperature (15 K) in conjunction with ab initio theoretical calculations were used to model the crystal charge density (CD) of the host-guest complex of hydroquinone (HQ) and acetonitrile. Due to pseudosymmetry, information about the ordering of the acetonitrile molecules within the HQ cavities is present only in almost extinct, very weak diffraction data, which cannot be measured with sufficient accuracy even by using the brightest X-ray and neutron sources available, and the CD model of the guest molecule was ultimately based on theoretical calculations. On the other hand, the CD of the HQ host structure is well determined by the experimental data. The neutron diffraction data provide hydrogen anisotropic thermal parameters and positions, which are important to obtain a reliable CD for this light-atom-only crystal. Atomic displacement parameters obtained independently from the X-ray and neutron diffraction data show excellent agreement with a |ΔU| value of 0.00058 Å(2) indicating outstanding data quality. The CD and especially the derived electrostatic properties clearly reveal increased polarization of the HQ molecules in the host-guest complex compared with the HQ molecules in the empty HQ apohost crystal structure. It was found that the origin of the increased polarization is inclusion of the acetonitrile molecule, whereas the change in geometry of the HQ host structure following inclusion of the guest has very little effect on the electrostatic potential. The fact that guest inclusion has a profound effect on the electrostatic potential suggests that nonpolarizable force fields may be unsuitable for molecular dynamics simulations of host-guest interaction (e.g., in protein-drug complexes), at least for polar molecules.