Textures within anhydrite cap rock are products of repeated cycles of halite dissolution and residual anhydrite accretion at tops of salt stocks. Quarrying operations at Winnfield dome have exposed extensive portions of the anhydrite cap rock zone. This zone is composed primarily of unoriented, xenoblastic anhydrite crystals in laminae less than 1 mm to several centimeters thick. Laminations are defined by thin, dark sulfide accumulations and pressure solution of anhydrite. Deformed, banded anhydrite clasts are contained locally within laminae. Multiple-laminated, concave downward anhydrite mounds occur along some horizons. They may contain anhydrite breccia fragments or sulfides. Coarsely crystalline salt mounds, containing disseminated idioblastic anhydrite also occur a ong horizons. Mound morphologies vary from tall and thin to broad and squat; maximum dimensions range from less than 0.5 m to about 2.0 m. These moundlike structures are related spatially and genetically. Moundlike structures are believed to form from salt spines along the salt-anhydrite contact. As the spine dissolves through several cycles of dissolution and accretion, a laminated anhydrite mound is preserved; if the spine becomes isolated from dissolution, then a salt inclusion is preserved. Anhydrite beds within the Louann Salt, deformed during diapirism, are preserved as deformed anhydrite clasts. Steeply dipping, bedded anhydrite zones within the salt stock may produce brecciated anhydrite mounds when incorporated into the cap rock. Sulfides record the movement of metalliferous fluids through the salt-anhydrite contact. Cores from other Gulf Coast domes indicate that these textures and interpreted processes are common. End_of_Article - Last_Page 313------------


ABSTRACT Gram-positive bacteria secrete a variety of peptides that are often subjected to posttranslational modifications and that are either antimicrobials or pheromones involved in bacterial communication. Our objective was to identify peptides secreted by Streptococcus thermophilus, a nonpathogenic bacterium widely used in dairy technology in association with other bacteria, and to understand their potential roles in cell-cell communication. Using reverse-phase liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and Edman sequencing, we analyzed the culture supernatants of three S. thermophilus strains (CNRZ1066, LMG18311, and LMD-9) grown in a medium containing no peptides. We identified several peptides in the culture supernatants, some of them found with the three strains while others were specific to the LMD-9 strain. We focused our study on a new modified peptide secreted by S. thermophilus LMD-9 and designated Pep1357C. This peptide contains 9 amino acids and lost 2 Da in a posttranslational modification, most probably a dehydrogenation, leading to a linkage between the Lys2 and Trp6 residues. Production of Pep1357C and transcription of its encoding gene depend on both the medium composition and the growth phase. Furthermore, we demonstrated that transcription of the gene coding for Pep1357C is drastically decreased in mutants inactivated for the synthesis of a short hydrophobic peptide, a transcriptional regulator, or the oligopeptide transport system. Taken together, our results led us to deduce that the transcription of the Pep1357C-encoding gene is controlled by a new quorum-sensing system.


Twenty-eight Hereford x Angus cows (4 yr of age) were used to determine the effects of pre- and postpartum dietary energy on performance and reproductive function in suckled beef cows. The experiment was designed as a 2 x 2 factorial with cows receiving either 70 (L) or 150% (H) of NRC recommended level of dietary energy before and(or) after parturition, resulting in four treatment combinations (L-L, L-H, H-L, H-H). Prepartum diets were fed for approximately 110 d, and postpartum diets were fed until either 10 d after the second postpartum ovulation or 150 d postpartum for those cows that failed to ovulate. Cows receiving low compared with high levels of energy before calving lost more (P less than .01) weight, body condition, subcutaneous fat, and longissimus muscle area before parturition and had calves with lighter (P less than .01) birth weights. Cows receiving low compared with high levels of energy postpartum lost more (P less than .01) weight, body condition, and longissimus muscle area after parturition. Low levels of energy before and after parturition decreased (P less than .01) milk production and calf weight at 70 d of age. Rates of cervical and uterine involution were unaffected by dietary energy treatments. Cows receiving high levels of energy prepartum had increased (P less than .01) mean concentrations and pulse frequency of LH in serum after parturition, and cows receiving high levels of energy postpartum had increased (P less than .05) pulse frequency of LH. Low levels of energy postpartum decreased (P less than .01) appearance rate of small (5.0 to 7.9 mm) and large (greater than or equal to 10 mm) follicles, and low levels of energy prepartum decreased (P less than .02) appearance rate of large follicles based on transrectal ultrasonography. Cows receiving high levels of energy prepartum had shorter (P less than .02) intervals from parturition to ovulation, and a higher (P less than .01) percentage of the cows that received high levels of energy postpartum ovulated by 150 d postpartum. In summary, prepartum level of dietary energy influenced birth weight and weight gain of calves, milk production, concentrations and pulse frequency of LH in serum, appearance rate of large follicles, and the interval to first ovulation. Postpartum level of dietary energy influenced milk production, weight gain of calves, pulse frequency of LH, appearance rate of small and large follicles, and the percentage of cows that ovulated after parturition.


MALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry (MS) has been successfully adapted for the routine identification of microorganisms in clinical microbiology laboratories in the past 10 years. This revolutionary technique allows for easier and faster diagnosis of human pathogens than conventional phenotypic and molecular identification methods, with unquestionable reliability and cost-effectiveness. This article will review the application of MALDI-TOF-MS tools in routine clinical diagnosis, including the identification of bacteria at the species, subspecies, strain and lineage levels, and the identification of bacterial toxins and antibiotic-resistance type. We will also discuss the application of MALDI-TOF-MS tools in the identification of Archaea, eukaryotes and viruses. Pathogenic identification from colony-cultured, blood-cultured, urine and environmental samples is also reviewed.


Generally, to acquire an HDR image, many images that cover the entire dynamic range of the scene with different exposure times are required, then these images are fused into one HDR image. This paper proposes an efficient method for the HDR image acquisition with small number of images. First, we estimated scenic dynamic range using two images with different exposure times. These two images contain the upper and lower limit of the scenic dynamic range. Independently of the scene, according to varied exposure times, similar characteristics for both the maximum gray levels in images that include the upper limit and the minimum gray levels in images that include the lower limit are identified. After modeling these characteristics, the scenic dynamic range is estimated using the modeling results. This estimated scenic dynamic range is then used to select the proper exposure times for the acquisition of an HDR image. We selected only three proper exposure times because entire dynamic range of the cameras could be covered by three dynamic range of the cameras with different exposure times. To evaluate the error of the HDR image, experiments using virtual digital camera images were carried out. For several test images, the error of the HDR image using proposed method was comparable to that of the HDR image which utilize more than ten images for the HDR image acquisition.


The positions of charged residues in the primary sequence of amino acids comprising the molecular model of type I collagen, the major extracellular protein found in vertebrate tissues, have been earlier characterized by Chapman and Hardcastle [Chapman, J.A., and Hardcastle, R.A. (1974). The staining pattern of collagen fibrils. II. A comparison with patterns computer-generated from the amino acid sequence. Connect. Tissue Res. 2:151–159]. When the sequence of residues is packed in the quarter-staggered arrangement described originally by Hodge and Petruska [Hodge, A.J., and Petruska, J.A. (1963). Recent studies with the electron microscope on ordered aggregates of the tropocollagen macromolecule. In Aspects of Protein Structure, G.N. Ramachandran (ed.) pp. 289–300. New York: Academic Press] in two dimensions and in the quasi-hexagonal model of microfibrillar assembly and molecular packing structure in three dimensions detailed recently by Orgel et al. (Orgel, J.P.R.O., Miller, A., Irving, T.C., Fischetti, R.F., Hammersley, A.P., and Wess, T.J. (2001). The in situ supermolecular structure of type I collagen. Structure 9:1061–1069; Orgel, J.P.R.O., Irving, T.C., Miller, A., and Wess, T.J. (2006). Microfibrillar structure of type I collagen in situ. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103: 9001–9005], the common sites of charged amino acids, specifically glutamic and aspartic acid, lysine and arginine, and hydroxylysine and histidine, of type I collagen have been examined in the present study and their locations determined in relation to one another. The respective positions of these amino acid residues are notable in several features in two dimensions within a single collagen triple helix as well as in adjacent helices. There are, first, numerous sites in which the same amino acid is adjacent in each of the three collagen helices. Second, many sites exist in which two of the same amino acids and one of the same charge are adjacent in the three helices. Third, the same two or three glutamic and/or aspartic amino acids are found in close proximity to amino acids with their counterparts, aspartic and glutamic acid, respectively. Fourth, several sites occur in which the same two or three amino acids of one charge are present in close proximity to the same two or three amino acids of opposite charge (glutamic acid and lysine or arginine residues or aspartic acid and lysine or arginine residues). Fifth, there are several sites where hydroxylysine contributes charged groups in place of one of the three lysine or arginine residues common in adjacent collagen helices. The strikingly repetitive and close nature of these specific charged groups in two dimensions is even more apparent when the molecular packing structure is investigated in three dimensions. In this instance, the most recent model of Orgel et al. [Orgel, J.P.R.O., Irving, T.C., Miller, A., and Wess, T.J. (2006). Microfibrillar structure of type I collagen in situ. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103: 9001–9005] has been correlated for the first time with the model of Landis et al. [Landis, W.J., Song, M.J., Leith, A., McEwen, L., and McEwen, B. (1993). Mineral and organic matrix interaction in normally calcifying tendon visualized in three dimensions by high voltage electron microscopic tomography and graphic image reconstruction. J. Struct. Biol. 110: 39–54] showing channels traversing molecular arrays of collagen. Here, many of the charged amino acid sites correspond to the known type I collagen hole zones defined by Hodge and Petruska [Hodge, A.J., and Petruska, J.A. (1963). Recent studies with the electron microscope on ordered aggregates of the tropocollagen macromolecule. In Aspects of Protein Structure, G.N. Ramachandran (ed.) pp. 289–300. New York: Academic Press]. As such, these residues present the locations highly likely to bind Ca2+ and ions in stereochemical configurations that could serve directly as nucleation centers for the subsequent growth and development of apatite crystals representing initial events in vertebrate mineralization. Based on these results, type I collagen appears to provide a molecular framework for direct formation of apatite without the necessary intervention or mediation of other molecules in extracellular matrices of vertebrate calcifying tissues.


Mental Models is an introduction to cognitive science and, as such, is a synthesis of ideas and methods from experimental psychology, linguistics and artificial intelligence over the past fifteen years. The book's main thesis is that thinking is the manipulation of internal representations, which owes much to the ideas of Kenneth Craik (1943) in The Nature of Explanation. What Dr Johnson-Laird has done is to emphasize the subtleties of these representations in order to explain reasoning, meaning, grammar, the interpretation of discourse and, finally, consciousness. According to the theory, there are at least three types of mental representations: prepositional representations, which are strings of symbols that correspond to natural language; mental models, which are structural analogues of the world; and images, which are the perceptual correlates of mental models. These three types of representation are acted on by recursive procedures which manipulate and map one form of representation onto another (such as the propositional one onto a mental model). In the introduction to his book the author clarifies the criteria he uses to evaluate a psychological theory. His strong bias is towards expressing theories as computer programs in order to develop 'working models' of how they operate. This process enables an evaluation of whether the theory is an effective procedure. This approach has much to commend it, especially in the field of psychopathology where many vague and woolly qualitative explanations can only be understood by their proponents. It is not possible to attempt to describe the detailed theory of mental models here. One of its interesting aspects is the notion that we reason by producing an integrated mental model of the premises and then 'read off' our deductions without recourse to some formal logic. This notion, which is supported by numerousempirical findings on reasoning, also dissolves one major issue in psychology: if we do not use mental logic then we need not argue either about which logic or logics we use or postulate how these rules might be acquired as in Piaget's theories. The book is a long one and sometimes the arguments are difficult to grasp, although the author has allowed the' mathematically innocent' to skip some of the passages containing formal notation without too much loss of continuity. From the point of view of psychiatry, this book could be as influential as Broadbent's filter theory of the 1950s. Not only will it provide new ways of looking at thought disorder, but the chapter on consciousness should provide a new terminology in which to describe some psychiatric problems. Dr Johnson-Laird must be congratulated on being able to sustain a general theory from such diverse strands of cognitive psychology as thought, language and consciousness. Although much of the work is not new and is available in many diverse publications, its amalgamation in one book will provide psychologists and psychiatrists with a suitable introduction to the new field of cognitive science.


The B12 absorption test (Schilling test) with intrinsic factor was used to examine ileal B12 absorption in 26 patients after allogeneic transplantation. The test was well tolerated and showed a profound fall in B12 absorption, which was maximal at two weeks after transplantation and recovered by eight weeks. The predominant influence on absorption at this stage was probably the conditioning schedule, and the presence of acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) was not associated with a further impairment of absorption. Six patients with chronic GVHD were studied. When compared with nine patients without GVHD there was a significant (p less than 0.005) reduction of B12 absorption. These findings suggest that the B12 absorption test may be a useful non-invasive method of studying bowel function after bone marrow transplantation.


Physical activity represents a powerful tool to achieve optimal health. The overall activation of several molecular pathways is associated with many beneficial effects, mainly converging towards a reduced systemic inflammation. Not surprisingly, regular activity can contribute to lowering the "epigenetic age", acting as a modulator of risk toward several diseases and enhancing longevity. Behind this, there are complex molecular mechanisms induced by exercise, which modulate gene expression, also through epigenetic modifications. The exercise-induced epigenetic imprint can be transient or permanent and contributes to the muscle memory, which allows the skeletal muscle adaptation to environmental stimuli previously encountered. Nutrition, through key macro- and micronutrients with antioxidant properties, can play an important role in supporting skeletal muscle trophism and those molecular pathways triggering the beneficial effects of physical activity. Nutrients and antioxidant food components, reversibly altering the epigenetic imprint, have a big impact on the phenotype. This assigns a role of primary importance to nutri(epi)genomics, not only in optimizing physical performance, but also in promoting long term health. The crosstalk between physical activity and nutrition represents a major environmental pressure able to shape human genotypes and phenotypes, thus, choosing the right combination of lifestyle factors ensures health and longevity.


In mobile communication services, users can communicate with each other over different telecommunication carriers. For telecom operators, how to acquire and retain users is a significant and practical task. Note that telecom operators only have their own customer profiles. For the users from other telecom operators, their information is sparse. Thus, given a set of communication logs, the main theme of our work is to identify the potential users who will possibly join the target services in the near future. Since only a limited amount of information is available, one challenging issue is how to extract features from the communication logs. In this article, we propose a Communication-Based Feature Generation (CBFG) framework that extracts features and builds models to infer the potential users. Explicitly, we construct a heterogeneous information network from the communication logs of users. Then, we extract the explicit features, which refer to those calling features of users, from the potential users' interaction behaviors in the heterogeneous information network. Moreover, from the calling behaviors of users, one could extract the possible community structures of users. Based on the community structures, we further extract the implicit features of users. In light of both explicit and implicit features, we propose an information-gain-based method to select the effective features. According to the features selected, we utilize three popular classifiers (i.e., AdaBoost, Random Forest, and SVM) to build models to target the potential users. In addition, we have designed a sampling approach to extract training data for classifiers. To evaluate our methods, we have conducted experiments on a real dataset. The results of our experiments show that the features extracted by our proposed method can be effective for targeting the potential users.


The development of the DETECT procedure marked an important advancement in nonparametric dimensionality analysis. DETECT is the first nonparametric technique to estimate the number of dimensions in a data set, estimate an effect size for multidimensionality, and identify which dimension is predominantly measured by each item. The efficacy of DETECT critically depends on accurate, minimally biased estimation of the expected conditional covariances of all the item pairs. However, the amount of bias in the DETECT estimator has been studied only in a few simulated unidimensional data sets. This is because the value of the DETECT population parameter is known to be zero for this case and has been unknown for cases when multidimensionality is present. In this article, integral formulas for the DETECT population parameter are derived for the most commonly used parametric multidimensional item response theory model, the Reckase and McKinley model. These formulas are then used to evaluate the bias in DETECT by positing a multidimensional model, simulating data from the model using a very large sample size (to eliminate random error), calculating the large-sample DETECT statistic, and finally calculating the DETECT population parameter to compare with the large-sample statistic. A wide variety of two- and three-dimensional models, including both simple structure and approximate simple structure, were investigated. The results indicated that DETECT does exhibit statistical bias in the large-sample estimation of the itempair conditional covariances; but, for the simulated tests that had 20 or more items, the bias was small enough to result in the large-sample DETECT almost always correctly partitioning the items and the DETECT effect size estimator exhibiting negligible bias.


In order to investigate the effect of different levels of niacin supplementation on growth, nutrient utilization, their balance and blood biochemical profile, 15 male buffalo calves (9-10 months of age, 88.4±4.37 kg average body weight) were divided into 3 equal groups each of 5 calves, following a completely randomized design, and fed individually for 120 days with wheat straw and concentrate mixture to meet their nutrient requirements. In addition calves were supplemented with 0 ppm (control, group 1), 100 ppm (group II) and 200 ppm (group III) niacin. After 90 days of experimental feeding a metabolism trial was conducted to estimate the digestibility of nutrients and their balance. Fortnightly body weights were recorded to assess their growth rate and blood was collected from the jugular vein at day 0 and subsequently at 30-day intervals from all the experimental buffalo calves to study blood biochemical parameters. Results showed that intake and digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, total carbohydrates, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, cellulose and hemicelluloses were statistically similar in the 3 groups. Buffalo calves in all three groups were in positive nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus balance, without showing any significant effect of the treatments. Dry matter, crude protein, digestible crude protein and total digestible nutrient intake (g/d/kg W 0.75 ) were similar in the control and niacin supplemented groups. Digestible crude protein (%) and total digestible nutrients (%) in the ration of the 3 groups were 8.07, 7.99, 7.92 and 56.70, 56.63, 56.74, respectively, and were comparable among the groups. The average daily gain (g) in-group II (567.50) was not significantly (p>0.05) higher than group I (500.0) and group III (510.0). Blood biochemical constituents (glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea-N, insulin) showed no significant effect of niacin supplementation. However, serum cholesterol (mg/100 ml) was significantly (p<0.01) lower in the 200 ppm niacin-supplemented group than in the control and 100 ppm niacin-supplemented groups. It can be concluded that supplementation of niacin at 100 and 200 ppm in the diet of buffalo calves had no significant beneficial effect on their growth and nutrient utilization.


Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Dublin (S. Dublin) is a cattle-adapted pathogen that has emerged as one of the most commonly isolated and multidrug resistant (MDR) serovars in cattle. S. Dublin may be shed in feces, milk, and colostrum and persist in asymptomatic cattle, leading to spread and outbreaks in herds. Though infections with S. Dublin in humans are rare, they are frequently severe, with extraintestinal spread that requires hospitalization and antimicrobial therapy. To determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns and trends in cattle in California, broth microdilution testing was performed on 247 clinical S. Dublin isolates recovered from cattle at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) over the last three decades (1993–2019). Mean MICs and classification of resistance to antimicrobial drugs using a clinical livestock panel and the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) Gram-negative drug panels were utilized to assess prevalence and trends in AMR. Findings indicate an increase in AMR for the years 1993 to 2015. Notably, compared to the baseline year interval (1993–1999), there was an increase in resistance among quinolone and cephalosporin drugs, as well as an increased number of isolates with an MDR profile.


Lactating cows were exposed to moderate and hot, humid weather to determine the effect of increasing ambient temperature, relative humidity, or temperature-humidity index (THI) on intake, milk yield, and milk temperature. Minimum and maximum temperatures averaged 17.9 and 29.5 degrees C (cool period) and 22.5 and 34.4 degrees C (hot period), and minimum and maximum THI averaged 63.8 and 76.6 (cool period) and 72.1 and 83.6 (hot period). Environmental conditions had minor effects on intake and milk yield during the cool period. During the hot period, the THI 2 d earlier and mean air temperature 2 d earlier had the greatest impact on milk yield and DMI, respectively. Both breeds maintained milk temperature within normal ranges during the cool period, but Holstein and Jersey p.m. milk temperatures averaged 39.6 and 39.2 degrees C during the hot period. Current day mean air temperature during the hot period had the greatest impact on cow p.m. milk temperature, and minimum air temperature had the greatest influence on a.m. milk temperature. Dry matter intake and milk yield declined linearly with respective increases in air temperature or THI during the hot period and milk temperature increased linearly with increasing air temperature. Dry matter intake and milk yield both exhibited a curvilinear relationship with milk temperature. Environmental modifications should target the effects of high temperatures on cow body temperature and should modify the environment at critical times during the day when cows are stressed, including morning hours when ambient temperatures are typically cooler and cows are not assumed to be stressed.


This paper describes the design and development of a hovering AUV constructed at Cheju National University and analyses the dynamic performance of the vehicle using simulation programs. The main purpose of this AUV is to carry out fundamental tests in its station keeping, attitude control, and desired position tracking. Its configuration is similar to the general ROV appearance for underwater works and its dimensions are 0.75m*0.5m*0.5m. It has 4 thrusters of 450 watts for longitudinal/lateral/vertical propulsion and is equipped with a pressure sensor for measuring water depth and a magnetic compass for measuring heading angle. The navigation of the vehicle is controlled by an on-board Pentium III-class computer, which runs with the help of the Windows XP operating system. These give us an appropriate environment for developing various algorithms needed for developing and advancing Hovering AUV.


With the development of information technologies, web data mining has been put forward and in wide research. It is defined as the discovery, extraction and analysis of useful and potential information from the World Wide Web. But much of inhomogeneous and anomalistic and dynamic updated semi-structured data in web pages makes web data mining difficult. To solve this problem, on the basis of analyzing the characteristics of XML, the paper presents a web data mining model on XML, and introduces the method to implement the model with XML and Java technologies in detail with the combination of an instance. Finally, some valuable discussions are put forward on this model for its shortages.


To observe and assess the performance and effect of our self-made FD-1 freezing drier on biomaterials. R502 compressor and R502 refrigerating agent were adopted. In the experiment, FD-1 lyophilized collagen sponge, strain and defibrinogenase. The evaporating-condenser temperature reached -45 degrees C and the small icebox temperature reached -30 degrees C under the loading or free-loading circumstances in the lyophilizing box. The lyophilized collagen sponge had many pores in the structure, and the strain and the defibrinogenase were lyophilized and maintained satisfactorily. This freezing drier is suitable for lyophilizing some biomaterial samples in small or medium batches.


The Cole-Cole model is considered the most reliable fitting tool to describe tissue dielectric properties, but it is not adequate for efficient numerical computation of electromagnetic fields (EMF). On the contrary the Debye model permits very fast computation, but it is not adequate to describe the tissue dispersion in the whole frequency spectrum. In this work we demonstrate that for a large class of actual wideband sources, the Debye model is accurate enough by retaining fast and efficient EMF calculations.


Background: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a prevalent fatal problem and a major cause of avoidable death among morbid hospitalized patients. It is estimated that up to 900,000 people in the United States are affected each year. Additionally, around 60,000 to 100,000 Americans die annually of DVT. Objective: To assess studied nurses' knowledge and practice regarding Deep venous thrombosis prevention. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used in this study at King Fahad Hospital of the University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 67 nurses from medical and surgical units were included in the study. Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS 23.0 version. Results: According to the results, the knowledge and practice of nurses were found to be high. Total knowledge score regarding prevention of deep venous thrombosis (72.8±9.6), regarding studied nurses, score for each subcategory: general knowledge category (70.6±15.5), deep venous thrombosis risk factors category (66.5±13.1), and deep venous thrombosis prevention category (90.1±10.5). in addition, a statically significance association between nurses' years of experience (p=0.026), previous Deep venous thrombosis education (p=0.012), and total knowledge score regarding the prevention of deep venous thrombosis. Concerning the self-reported practice, the majority of the studied nurses have shown a very high practice score. Yet, there was no statically significant association between the sociodemographic characteristic and practice. Furthermore, a positive association between total knowledge and reported practice score but statically insignificant (p=0.075). Conclusion: Based on the result of the study, most of the studied nurses' level of knowledge and practice concerning the prevention of deep vein thrombosis ranged between high and very high.


Background: Although currently adoption of modern life style has resulted in reduction of consumption of solid fuels, the dependable source of household energy in developing countries still remain unclean and its incomplete combustion continue to be the most common source of cooking smoke in Ethiopia. As a result, 50-90 % of households emitted cooking smoke which intern leads to various public health concerns. The objective of this study was to describe the household level cooking smoke exposure practices in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted January 18 to June 27, 2016. From 16,650 households recorded in the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey dataset, households (n=10,904 (weighted)) were included in the study. Proportions were computed and presented in tables and bar graph. Bi-variable analysis was performed using x 2 test to assess the existence of association and multivariable binary logistic regression also computed to identify the independent determinants of cooking smoke exposure status. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as a statistical significance cut off value. Results: The study revealed that 6,695(61.4%, 95%CI: 59.6-63.2) of households had cooking smoke exposure. The majority of cooking smoke exposure by households was attributable to the uneducated status of household head and rural residence (61.6% and 63.7%respectively). Sex (AOR =0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.85), age group of house hold head (AOR= 1.4, 95% CI: 1.49-1.81 and AOR= 1.39, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.63), residence(AOR= 0.55, 95% CI: 0.39-0.78), familiy size(AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.16–1.53), poorest wealth index(AOR= 6.1, 95% CI: 4.5-8.2), and households with television(AOR= 4.9, 95% CI: 3.8-6.3)and electricity for source of room light(AOR=1.52; 95% CI:1.09-2.12) were independent determinants for cooking smoke exposure status. Conclusion: Cooking smoke exposure in studied households in Ethiopia was a persistent problem. Sociodemographic and economic factors along with advancing of clean energy technologies and behavior intervention need to be implemented to address the problem of household air pollution.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(3):000-000]


This paper presents the numerical simulation of single, circular, turbulent, thermal jets discharged into an ambient fluid body with a uniform cross flow. The study utilizes a 3D hydrodynamic model to predict the dynamics of the evolving jets, with the model simulations calibrated against benchmark laboratory experimental datasets. Within the numerical-experimental model comparisons, the mean centreline temperature and velocity fields of the evolving jets are investigated in order to understand and predict the jet diffusion characteristics within the flowing ambient fluid body. Direct comparison between the numerical model predictions and laboratory datasets reveals that, with appropriate parameterization of the mixing processes and the selection of an appropriate numerical grid resolution, the large-scale hydrodynamic model can simulate both the near- and far-field thermal jet behaviour with good overall agreement, thus revealing a valid modelling tool used by environmental regulators for assessing the conformity of water quality of marine wastewater discharges.


The purpose of this study is to thoroughly discuss kernel hazard function estimation, both in the complete sample case as well as in the presence of random right censoring. Most of the focus is on the very important task of automatic bandwidth selection. Two existing selectors, least-squares cross validation as described by Patil (1993a) and Patil (1993b), as well as the bootstrap bandwidth selector of Gonzalez-Manteiga, Cao and Marron (1996) will be discussed. The bandwidth selector of Hall and Robinson (2009), which uses bootstrap aggregation (or "bagging"), will be extended to and evaluated in the setting of kernel hazard rate estimation. We will also make a simple proposal for a bootstrap bandwidth selector. The performance of these bandwidth selectors will be compared empirically in a simulation study. The findings and conclusions of this study are reported.


Nature is a source of knowledge and inspiration for sustainable innovative solutions. Through biomimetic design, nature solutions are studied, abstracted and transferred to technology and other domains of applications. Sustainability and ideality are basic notions in design. While ideal systems had always been aspired to, sustainable systems are relatively new demand. In this paper we explore the similarity and differences between these two basic notions and suggest that there is a strong relation between ideality and sustainability. Based on this relation we analysed biological systems by a particular ideality framework and identified repeated ideality strategies and design principles in nature. Selected examples of ideality analyses are presented as well as the list of ideality strategies that repeat in nature and represent nature sustainability strategies. These ideality strategies enrich current knowledge of sustainability strategies in nature (the life principles) by new operative and descriptive strategies. Ideality strategies are derived from a technical view that might be more inherent and applicable for engineers, observing biological systems as if they were technical systems. Using the ideality framework and strategies as a sustainability tool to address sustainable biomimetic design processes is further discussed.


The work investigated fuel interrelationships in surgical patients infused with saline (Group I) or glucose (Group II) (13 patients in each group) on the day of surgery and subsequently maintained solely on saline until the fifth postoperative day. Blood concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and ketone bodies were markedly increased in response to surgical stress on the day of surgery only in patients who were not administered carbohydrate. Increased concentrations of lactate and glucose were observed on the day of surgery in patients infused with either saline or glucose. As both fatty acid and ketone body concentrations were decreased by glucose infusion, impaired glucose utilization immediately after surgery is not a simple consequence of increased oxidation of lipid fuels. Glucose and lactate concentrations declined after the day of surgery. Despite a progressive fall in plasma non-esterified fatty acid concentrations from the first to fifth post-operative days, blood ketone body concentrations were strikingly elevated in both groups of patients. The findings emphasize the role of the liver in post-operative fatty acid turnover.


Roots and associated microbes generate acid-forming CO 2 and organic acids and accelerate mineral weathering deep within Earth's critical zone (CZ). At the Calhoun CZ Observatory in the USA's Southern Piedmont, we tested the hypothesis that deforestation-induced deep root losses reduce root- and microbially-mediated weathering agents well below maximum root density (to 5 m), and impart land-use legacies even after ~70 y of forest regeneration. In forested plots, root density declined with depth to 200 cm; in cultivated plots, roots approached zero at depths >70 cm. Below 70 cm, root densities in old-growth forests averaged 2.1 times those in regenerating forests. Modeled root distributions suggest declines in density with depth were steepest in agricultural plots, and least severe in old-growth forests. Root densities influenced biogeochemical environments in multiple ways. Microbial community composition varied with land use from surface horizons to 500 cm; relative abundance of root-associated bacteria was greater in old-growth soils than in regenerating forests, particularly at 100–150 cm. At 500 cm in old-growth forests, salt-extractable organic C (EOC), an organic acid proxy, was 8.8 and 12.5 times that in regenerating forest and agricultural soils, respectively. The proportion of soil organic carbon comprised of EOC was greater in old-growth forests (20.0 ± 2.6%) compared to regenerating forests (2.1 ± 1.1) and agricultural soils (1.9 ± 0.9%). Between 20 and 500 cm, [EOC] increased more with root density in old-growth relative to regenerating forests. At 300 cm, in situ growing season [CO2] was significantly greater in old-growth forests relative to regenerating forests and cultivated plots; at 300 and 500 cm, cultivated soil [CO2] was significantly lower than in forests. Microbially-respired δ13C-CO2 suggests that microbes may rely partially on crop residue even after ~70 y of forest regeneration. We assert that forest conversion to frequently disturbed ecosystems limits deep roots and reduces biotic generation of downward-propagating weathering agents.


Food traceability is a growing consumer concern worldwide. Traceability is undertaken primarily at the administrative level, where the use of advanced analytical tools is not available. Nevertheless, the determination of geographical origin is a requirement of the traceability system for the import and export of foodstuffs (EU regulation 178/2002). The topics covered in this book include the history of traceability; legislations and rules; the actual traceability techniques and the potential analytical techniques for food traceability such as molecular methods (e.g. DGGE, SSCP), next generation sequencers (NGS), bio-captors, chromatographic techniques, isotopic analysis that are used for discrimination of organic food, fish, oils. The chromatographic techniques help in the use of volatile compounds analysis. The isotope analysis helps in distinguishing between chicken meat and vegetable oils. Ambient mass spectrometry is used for studying mycotoxines and alkaloids in foodstuffs and their management, food and feed authentication in olive and other plant oils, and wine. Vibrational methods (e.g. NMR and NIRS) are used to trace food by global spectrum. The book reviews the current and future techniques including metabolomic techniques. (Resume d'auteur)


Introduction: Physical activity is presumed to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD), of which carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a common indicator. Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have limited mobility and therefore an expected increased risk for CVD. The purpose of this study was to determine which CVD risk factors predict CIMT among women with SCI, with the ultimate goal of targeting therapy to improve CVD in this population. Methods: One hundred twenty-two women with SCI who attended an outpatient SCI clinic and met inclusion and exclusion criteria participated in this study. SCI was categorized into 1 of 4 categories: complete tetraplegia, incomplete tetraplegia, complete paraplegia, and incomplete paraplegia. Maximum heart rate and VO2 max were obtained using bicycle ergometry with ventilatory gas exchange and continuous electrocardiogram. Hierarchical regression was used to predict CIMT, with the first block including demographic variables (age, race, smoking status) and the second block including physiologic variables (total cholesterol, heart rate, VO2 max, BMI, fasting serum glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and blood pressure). Results: Similar findings were observed for left and right CIMT, therefore only results from right CIMT are reported. The overall model was significant, F(16,46)=8.53, p=.000. Adjusted R square was .54 for the first block of variables and increased significantly (p=.006) to .66 when the second block of variables was added. Significant predictors at alpha=.05 included age (beta=.51, t=4.79, p=.000) and max/peak heart rate (beta=−.336, t=−2.39, p=.02). At alpha=.10, A1c was significant (beta=.187, t=1.99, p=.053). Conclusions: Although low aerobic conditioning is a purported CVD risk factor, quantitative measurements of such lack a demonstrable relationship with subclinical atherosclerosis (CIMT), perhaps because of its reduced importance relative to other CVD risk factors in a mobile population. We found expected relationships with CIMT in our SCI population (i.e., age), however we also found a quantitative measure of aerobic conditioning (max/peak heart rate) to be associated with CIMT. Our data indicate that SCI individuals may bear a greater CVD burden from cardiac de-conditioning than the general population and that investigation of a cohort with mobility limitation may provide a unique opportunity to study the impact of physical conditioning on CVD risk.


Pyoderma gangrenosum is a chronic ulcerative noninfectious disease of the skin. It is rare and one of the worst postoperative complications following aesthetic surgery of the breast. When a wound does not respond to local wound care and antibiotic therapy, a surgeon should al - ways suspect pyoderma gangrenosum. In this article, in order to emphasize the frequent misdiag - nosis and mistreatment of pyoderma gangrenosum, we described a case of bilateral pyoderma gangrenosum following reduction mammaplasty that was treated successfully with cyclosporin.


The problem of mixed convection about non-isothermal vertical surfaces in a saturated porous medium is analysed using boundary layer approximations. The analysis is made assuming that the surface temperature varies as an arbitrary function of the distance from the origin. A perturbation technique has been applied to obtain the solutions. Using the differentials of the wall temperature, which are functions of distance along the surface, as perturbation elements, universal functions are derived for various values of the governing parameter Gr/Re. Both aiding and opposing flows are considered. The universal functions obtained can be used to estimate the heat transfer and fluid velocity inside the boundary layer for any type of wall temperature variation. As a demonstration of the method, heat transfer results have been presented for the case of the wall temperature varying as a power function of the distance from the origin. The results have been studied for various combinations of the parameters Gr/Re and the power index m, taking both aiding and opposing flows into consideration. On comparing these results with those obtained by a similarity analysis, the agreement is found to be good.


The study reports the prevalence of bancroftiasis in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Taraba State, Nigeria. Night blood samples collected from one thousand and thirty one individuals were stained with haematoxylin and examined microscopically for the presence of Wu-chereria bancrofti. The overall prevalence of infection in the study area was high (21.2%) but mean microfilaria densities were generally low. Statistically, prevalence rate differed significantly (χ2d.f.2 = 10.498; P χ2d.f.1 = 1.385; P > 0.05) between sexes. Infection also did not statistically differ between age groups (χ2d.f.5 = 13.219; P > 0.05) even though infection rate increased steadily with age and reaching a peak at the 40 - 49 year age group. Lymphoe-dema was the commonest (M = 12.4%, F = 19.2%) clinical manifestation of bancroftian morbidity encountered in the survey. Overall, the findings indicate that bancroftian filariasis is a public health problem in Taraba state and there is an urgent need to establish an elimination programme with a view of halting transmission in the area.


Abstract We investigated the dynamics of identity fusion and prosocial behavior within political groups in the four weeks preceding and following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The primary questions were whether a negative event (losing) would lead to a more pronounced increase in identity fusion, and whether identity fusion would predict prosocial giving. We found that while fusion gradually increased in the run-up to the election, there was no significant increase after the event for supporters of either party. We also found that identity fusion robustly predicted prosocial ingroup giving, especially before the election, and even when accounting for self-reported identification and previous political commitment behaviors. Implications for theories of identity fusion are discussed.


The convex (concave upward) high-energy X-ray spectra of the blazar PKS 2155-304, observed by XMM-Newton, is interpreted as the signature of subdominant inverse-Compton emission. The spectra can be well fitted by a superposition of two power-law contributions which imitate the emission due to synchrotron and inverse-Compton processes. The methodology adopted enables us to constrain the photon energy down to a level where inverse-Compton emission begins to contribute. We show that this information supplemented with knowledge of the jet Doppler factor and magnetic field strength can be used to constrain the low-energy cut-off γminmec2 of the radiating electron distribution and the kinetic power Pj of the jet. We deduce these quantities through a statistical fitting of the broad-band spectral energy distribution of PKS 2155-304 assuming synchrotron and synchrotron self-Compton emission mechanisms. Our results favour a minimum Lorentz factor for the non-thermal electron distribution of γmin ≳ 60, with a preference for a value around γmin ≃ 330. The required kinetic jet power is of the order of Pj ∼ 3 × 1045 erg s−1 in case of a heavy, electron–proton dominated jet, and could be up to an order of magnitude less in case of a light, electron–positron dominated jet. When put in context, our best-fitting parameters support the X-ray emitting part of blazar jets to be dominated by an electron–proton rather than an electron–positron composition.


The exploration of flexible and lightweight electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with excellent shielding effectiveness, as a means to effectively alleviate electromagnetic pollution, is still a tremendous challenge. This paper proposes a conducting material named the textured Ni-encapsulated carbon tube, which can be applied in EMI shielding material by being inserted in the center of a poly(dimethysiloxane) (PDMS) polymer. We demonstrated that Pd2+ could be absorbed by the active groups on the plant fiber surface to catalyze the reduction of Ni2+ as a catalytic center by means of a textured Ni-encapsulated plant fiber. Owing to the outstanding heat-conducting capability of the Ni coating, the inner plant fiber was carbonized and attached to the Ni-tube inside the surface during annealing. To be precise, the textured Ni-encapsulated C tube was fabricated successfully after annealing at 300 °C. On further increasing the annealing temperature, the C tube disappeared gradually with the Ni coating being oxidized to NiO. Of note, the C tube acted as a support layer for the external Ni coating, providing sufficient mechanical strength. When combined with the coating PDMS layer, a flexible and lightweight EMI shielding material is fabricated successfully. It displays an outstanding EMI shielding effectiveness of 31.34 dB and a higher specific shielding efficiency of 27.5 dB·cm3/g, especially showing excellent mechanical property and flexibility with only 2 mm thickness. This study provides a new method to fabricate outstanding EMI shielding materials.


Context: Alginate-chitosan pellets prepared by extrusion-spheronization technique exhibited fast drug dissolution. Objective: This study aimed to design sustained-release alginate pellets through rapid in situ matrix coacervation by chitosan during dissolution. Methods: Pellets made of alginate with chitosan and/or calcium acetate were prepared using solvent-free melt pelletization technique which prevented reaction between processing materials during agglomeration and allowed such reaction to occur only in dissolution phase. Results: Drug release was retarded in pH 2.2 medium when pellets were formulated with calcium acetate or chitosan till a change in medium pH to 6.8. The sustained-release characteristics of calcium alginate pellets were attributed to pellet dispersion and rapid cross-linking by soluble Ca2+ during dissolution. The slow drug release characteristics of alginate-chitosan pellets were attributed to polyelectrolyte complexation and pellet aggregation into swollen structures with reduced erosion. The drug release was, however, not retarded when both calcium acetate and chitosan coexisted in the same matrix as a result of chitosan shielding of Ca2+ to initiate alginate cross-linkages and rapid in situ solvation of calcium acetate induced fast pellet dispersion and chitosan losses from matrix. Conclusion: Similar to calcium alginate pellets, alginate-chitosan pellets demonstrated sustained drug release property though via different mechanisms. Combination of alginate, chitosan and calcium acetate in the same matrix nevertheless failed to retard drug release via complementary drug release pattern.


RATIONALE
Time series analysis has seen limited application in the biomedical Literature. The utility of conventional and advanced time series estimators was explored for intensive care unit (ICU) outcome series.

METHODS
Monthly mean time series, 1993-2006, for hospital mortality, severity-of-illness score (APACHE III), ventilation fraction and patient type (medical and surgical), were generated from the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society adult patient database. Analyses encompassed geographical seasonal mortality patterns, series structural time changes, mortality series volatility using autoregressive moving average and Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity models in which predicted variances are updated adaptively, and bivariate and multivariate (vector error correction models) cointegrating relationships between series.

RESULTS
The mortality series exhibited marked seasonality, declining mortality trend and substantial autocorrelation beyond 24 lags. Mortality increased in winter months (July-August); the medical series featured annual cycling, whereas the surgical demonstrated long and short (3-4 months) cycling. Series structural breaks were apparent in January 1995 and December 2002. The covariance stationary first-differenced mortality series was consistent with a seasonal autoregressive moving average process; the observed conditional-variance volatility (1993-1995) and residual Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity effects entailed a Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity model, preferred by information criterion and mean model forecast performance. Bivariate cointegration, indicating long-term equilibrium relationships, was established between mortality and severity-of-illness scores at the database level and for categories of ICUs. Multivariate cointegration was demonstrated for {log APACHE III score, log ICU length of stay, ICU mortality and ventilation fraction}.

CONCLUSIONS
A system approach to understanding series time-dependence may be established using conventional and advanced econometric time series estimators.


Aqueous extraction process using water alone as medium is an alternative to the solvent oil extraction process from oilseeds. It enables simultaneous recovery of oil and protein. The implementation of a co-rotating twin-screw extruder allows the aqueous extraction of oleic sunflower oil from whole plant.
Screw configuration, screw rotation speed and whole plant input flow rate affect directly the efficiency of liquid/solid separation. Wringing out the mixing is possible because of the natural abundance of fibers in stalk. However, the compression of the vegetable matter is imperfect to allow an expedient separation of the two phases. Lixiviation of oilseeds is also incomplete. The highest oil extraction yield obtained is 64.9% and residual oil content of fibrous cake meal is always higher than 13.1%. Hydrophobic phase produced is an oil-in-water emulsion. Its stability is ensured by the presence at interface of natural surface-active agents also extracted during the process, phospholipids and proteins. Hydrophilic extract contains soluble proteins but also hemicelluloses and pectins. Originated respectively from stalk, pith and head, these two molecular families also have some interesting surface-active properties. So the aqueous extraction produces a second hydrophobic phase when it is realised from whole plant. This water-in-oil-in-water emulsion is denser than aqueous phase. Its stability is ensured by the presence at interface of phospholipids, proteins, hemicelluloses and pectins. Fibrous cake meal is richer in fibers (up to 45.6% of cellulose and lignins against 33.1% in the whole plant) and other insoluble components. It is possible to upgrade it by thermopressing in such a way as to manufacture sound insulation panels.


This paper analyses the experience, high incidence, lesson learned and reflections on the issue renegotiations in Latin America, based in the evolution of PPP contracts through the last 25 years. The paper also shows how countries via new PPP laws, regulations, norms and specific platforms can reduce the incidence and the incentives to renegotiate contracts. Based in experience in the last two decades, many countries in the region have improved renegotiation practices and regulations/framework through their PPP legislation and associated regulations, such as Peru (2008), Chile (2010), Colombia (2011) or Mexico (2012.) The preliminary findings show advances in the implementation of platforms to address renegotiations and new trends in the renegotiations of contracts particularly in complex projects and where governments are providing financial or credit enhancement, such as sharing risk or co-financing.


The prevalence of human frailty makes the peer review system an imperfect, though perhaps the best, method of judging scientific work for publication. It is the frequent subject of editorials and essays, mainly by editors, and the constant subject of curses, mostly unuttered, by successful, as well as unsuccessful, authors. In recent years, the peer review system's tightening noose has made the label "revision accepted" almost inescapable. Although one trusts that most reviewers do a conscientious job, sticking strictly within their competence, disappointed authors can cite exceptions, excessive demands, and plain sniping. It is less well recognized (because it hurts fewer authors) that reviewers' imperfections extend in the other direction. Errors of fact and theory, slipshod methods, and occasional completely misleading communications have successfully evaded their eagle eyes. A traditional function of letters to the editor has been to report observations that may not merit a full article, eg, the


Qvevri wine is something unusual and at the same time very understandable for final customers. What drives such wine to sale? What kind of motivators must be increased in final customers? What inspires customers to buy wine made with oldest known method of winemaking? What do Polish customers know about Georgian Qvevri Wine? All these questions must be answered by wine marketers and the answers are strategically important for Georgian wine producers. Why Poland has been selected as a case for study for the present article? Georgia and Poland has been in closing political, cultural and trade relationships since the Soviet period, therefore the awareness regarding Georgian traditional winemaking is high among polish customers. Qvevri Wine is a new trade product for the Polish market, though; we presume that because Georgian wines are traditionally highly evaluated by Polish people, Qvevri wine, an authentic Georgian traditional winemaking product, would be also welcomed in Polish wine market. However, this commodity is little known for Polish people and needs strong market promotion. The article aims to study the attitude of Polish wine customers towards Georgian Qvevri wine.Research method - the study was conducted in two steps. The literature analysis was done. A quantitative survey was used to measure how wine customers in Poland know Qvevri wine and what inspired them to learn more and buy Qvevri wine exported from Georgia. The survey, originally developed at Manko Association in Krakow, was modified to include questions on wine consumption. The survey included 10 questions using different types of questions. In order to measure the knowledge of the customers to Qvevri Wine, some respondents were invited to online study. Finally 45 respondents, citizens of Poland, living in Krakow participated in the survey. Findings - are special ways to motivate customers to some higher knowledge to Qvevri Wine making can serve as a guideline to future sales.


The case of a 36-year-old patient from a rural area is presented. He came with an 8 month history of fever, myalgias, arthralgias, weight loss and lower back pain; who also had an aortic insufficiency murmur detected. The diagnosis of aortic valve endocarditis was made by echocardiography, and had 4 positive blood cultures for Brucella abortus biotype 3, and negative serologic test for brucellosis. He was started on antibiotics and later on underwent aortic valve replacement, with a late coronary cardioembolism as a complication.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

AKT1E17K mutations occur at low frequency in a variety of solid tumors, including those of the breast and urinary bladder. Although this mutation has been shown to transform rodent cells in culture, it was found to be less oncogenic than PIK3CA mutations in breast epithelial cells. Moreover, the therapeutic potential of AKT inhibitors in human tumors with an endogenous AKT1E17K mutation is not known. Expression of exogenous copies of AKT1E17K in MCF10A breast epithelial cells increased phosphorylation of AKT and its substrates, and induced colony formation in soft agar. These effects were inhibited by the allosteric and catalytic AKT inhibitors MK-2206 and AZD5363, respectively. We identified two breast cancer explant models with AKT1E17K mutation (HBC-x2 and HBCx-31). Dosing of AZD5363 at 150 mg/kg twice daily or MK-2206 at 120 mg/kg 3 times a week significantly inhibited tumor growth in both models, but AZD5363 was significantly more active than MK-2206 at the dosing schedules employed, in both models. Pharmacodynamics were assessed in the HBC-x2 model at 2 h after the final dose. Both compounds significantly inhibited phosphorylation of PRAS40 and S6, caused relocalisation of FOXO3a to the nucleus, and reduced Ki67 staining. The data indicate that breast cancers with AKT1E17K mutations are rational targets for monotherapy treatment with AKT inhibitors.

Citation Format: Barry R. Davies, Nin Guan, Armelle Logie, Amy Palmer, Vivien Jacobs, Neil James, Emma L. Jenkins. Monotherapy efficacy of catalytic and allosteric inhibitors of AKT in breast cancer models with AKT1E17K mutations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5553. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5553


In response to gonadotropins, the elevated level of intracellular‐cyclic AMP (cAMP) in ovarian granulosa cells triggers an ordered activation of multiple ovarian genes, which in turn promotes various ovarian functions including folliculogenesis and steroidogenesis. Identification and characterization of transcription factors that control ovarian gene expression are pivotal to the understanding of the molecular basis of the tissue‐specific gene regulation programs. The recent discovery of the mouse TATA binding protein (TBP)‐associated factor 105 (TAFII105) as a gonad‐selective transcriptional co‐activator strongly suggests that general transcription factors such as TFIID may play a key role in regulating tissue‐specific gene expression. Here we show that the human TAFII105 protein is preferentially expressed in ovarian granulosa cells. We also identified a novel TAFII105 mRNA isoform that results from alternative exon inclusion and is predicted to encode a dominant negative mutant of TAFII105. Following stimulation by the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin, TAFII105 in granulosa cells undergoes rapid and transient phosphorylation that is dependent upon protein kinase A (PKA). Thus, our work suggests that pre‐mRNA processing and post‐translational modification represent two important regulatory steps for the gonad‐specific functions of human TAFII105. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We report here the electrodeposition of copper on an insulating glass substrate without introducing additives into the electrolyte and/or metallic clusters on the surface of the substrate. The deposit morphology, which varies from compact film to dense-branching patterns, can be achieved by changing the concentration and pH of the electrolyte, and the electric current in electrodeposition. The grain size of the electrodeposits is analysed for various growth conditions. We find that finer copper grains can be easily achieved at large electric current, high pH and low electrolyte concentration. We explain, using the theory of nucleation, why a metallic layer may develop horizontally over an insulating glass plate.


At the end of 2016, China's Protocol of Accession (POA) to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will require a change in the way WTO members calculate normal value in anti-dumping (AD) proceedings involving China.1 Although no organ of the U.S. government has officially acknowledged that Paragraph 15 of China's POA will require the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) to abandon its current non-market economy (NME) surrogate value method for calculating normal value for Chinese respondents post-2016, there is no question that some change in practice must take place in order to comply with the expiration of a key provision of that Paragraph that occurs effective December 12, 2016. Ultimately, it is quite possible that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) will interpret the provision as requiring that members subject China to the "default" rules set forth in Article 2 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA). What remains a mystery, however, is just what those default rules permit in terms of the flexibility afforded to investigating authorities in dealing with economies like China, where the state's role in the economy remains pervasive, even if to a lesser degree than it was in the past. It will also be interesting to watch how these new rules might be applied to traditionally market economies (MEs) whose governments, although not formerly communist, may be sufficiently involved in a particular market to also justify application of Article 2 in a manner that, to date, has not been widely adopted by USDOC or any other investigating authorities. These inquiries are not merely the idle musings of the authors, but draw on action already taken by the U.S. Congress and the European Commission. In amendments to its AD laws, known as the Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA), passed during the summer of 2015 as part of granting the Obama Administration Trade Promotion Authority,2 the U.S. Congress added language that expands USDOC's discretion to treat certain transactions as outside the ordinary course of trade (OCOT). Although no legislative history accompanied these amendments, they appear, at least in part, tailored to a post-NME normal value calculation paradigm, in which a respondent's costs can be disregarded and replaced with an alternative that may well approximate the NME methodology that China hoped would be eliminated as a result Article 15 of its POA. Meanwhile, the European Commission has adopted a practice that uses similar tools—so far only for MEs—where a respondent's transactions are deemed outside the OCOT. Together, the new U.S. law and recent European action both suggest a movement toward more flexible rejection of AD respondents' own data and replacement with data that look eerily similar to NME surrogate methodologies—for respondents in any country. But, stay tuned, as these efforts are currently under WTO review, and one dispute settlement panel has indicated that Europe's practice may have gone too far.


This study evaluated the association between the body weights and dimensional shell parameters of two snail breeds (Archachatina marginata and Achatina  achatina). Two hundred (200) sexually mature snails, one hundred (100) each of A. marginata and A. achatina sorted out of a base population purchased from snail vendors in Calabar were used for the study. Their weights ranged from 127.6 – 443.4 g for A. marginata and 85.43 – 249.08 g for A. achatina. Each of the snail breed constituted a treatment and was replicated ten (10) times with ten (10) snails per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD) for ease of data collection. Traits measured on each snail included shell length (cm), shell width (cm), aperture length (cm), aperture width (cm), spiral length (cm), spiral width (cm), diagonal length (cm), length between aperture and first spiral (cm) and body weight (g). Data collected were subjected to correlation and regression analyses to establish relevant associations among the traits. Results of correlation among traits showed that all the pairs of traits investigated in A. marginata expressed medium to high positive and significant (P<0.05) correlation values. Whereas some pairs of traits investigated on A. achatina expressed low to high positive and significant (P<0.05) correlation values, other pairs expressed negative correlation values. The two snail breeds had high coefficient of determination (r2) values, ranging from 69 to 84 % for A. achatina and 95 to 98 % for A. marginata . The results of regression models revealed that live weight of A. achatina was best predicted with multiple linear regression models, while with live weight of A. marginata was best predicted with simple linear regression model and multiple linear regression models. A test of accuracy of the linear regression models showed that the models with three, four, six and seven traits best predicted body weight in A. achatina, whereas the models with one and models with two and six traits best predicted bodyweight in A. marginata . This implies that snails body weight and dimensional shell traits are positively correlated and the variability in live weight of these snail breeds can be explained by changes in other phenotypic traits. Key words : Association, A. achatina, A. marginata, body weight, shell traits


Modern Visual Question Answering (VQA) models have been shown to rely heavily on superficial correlations between question and answer words learned during training such as overwhelmingly reporting the type of room as kitchen or the sport being played as tennis, irrespective of the image. Most alarmingly, this shortcoming is often not well reflected during evaluation because the same strong priors exist in test distributions; however, a VQA system that fails to ground questions in image content would likely perform poorly in real-world settings. In this work, we present a novel regularization scheme for VQA that reduces this effect. We introduce a question-only model that takes as input the question encoding from the VQA model and must leverage language biases in order to succeed. We then pose training as an adversarial game between the VQA model and this question-only adversary -- discouraging the VQA model from capturing language biases in its question encoding. Further,we leverage this question-only model to estimate the increase in model confidence after considering the image, which we maximize explicitly to encourage visual grounding. Our approach is a model agnostic training procedure and simple to implement. We show empirically that it can improve performance significantly on a bias-sensitive split of the VQA dataset for multiple base models -- achieving state-of-the-art on this task. Further, on standard VQA tasks, our approach shows significantly less drop in accuracy compared to existing bias-reducing VQA models.


Covid-19 as worldwide pandemic which lead to health crisis in physical, mental, and also financial dimension is demanding resilience of family. This article is an attempt to examine resilience of family as social system and to assess impact of the Islamic law awareness and other factors on family resilience. This article is based on quantitative and cross-sectional study which involved 296 young people and family as respondents from all-over Indonesia.  The collected data was analyzed by PLS SEM approach and analyzed by SmartPLS version 3 for statistical testing. The result explained that family resilience is influenced by the awareness of Islamic law on marriage, parenting quality, and personal financial management. The awareness also impacts on personal financial management and parenting quality. By leveraging awareness of Islamic law in young people and family, it is going to improve the family resilience during Covid 19 crisis


Inequalities in the burden of sudden and unexpected deaths in infancy make targeted action by health professionals a viable option for intervention. Most of the deaths that now occur have at least one known modifiable risk factor present, so the potential impact of supporting families with implementing safer sleep strategies is great and may bring about a further reduction in infant deaths. This article describes the latest evidence for action on three of the major risk factors for SIDS: sleeping position; smoking; and co-sleeping. It will go on to discuss how to translate this evidence into effective communication strategies for families, including giving information about why or how the messages increase safety for sleeping babies.


This thesis presents the exploration of a child – coach relationship based within the 'Transforming Lives for Good, Early Intervention' programme. The programme offers support to children with or vulnerable to, social, emotional and mental health difficulties using the principles of coaching and emotional literacy. Coaching children in primary schools has gained little attention in the research community. Research in the US has begun to address this, although there has been a minimal focus on relationship. The wider coaching literature suggests the importance and impact of relationship. It also postulates the value of understanding and interacting with the process of relationship to enable better outcomes for coachees. In the broader research field, relationships have been found to play a key role in reducing the debilitating outcomes for children with or vulnerable to social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Such findings indicate the value of understanding and improving relational experiences for this group. This research explored the perceptions of children and coaches, with regards to their experience of relationship, on three occasions. This enabled the process of relationship to be better understood and offered an insight into how relational development can be supported. Acknowledging the co-constructed, subjective nature of relationship, this research adopted a qualitative longitudinal design using flexible methodological tools. Participant views were collected by semi-structured interview and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings included themes in line with a journey of relationship, capturing the importance of beginnings and endings, taking an interest, reciprocity and responsivity. Three further themes were found to interact with the relational journey. These were: the importance of play, coaching challenges and relational positioning. A Child – Coach Model of relationship was proposed. Specific recommendations for coaches, EPs and TLG's use of this model, with regards to supporting the development of the child – coach relationship, were made.


ESR and optical studies have been made of dissociative electron attachment by phenyl halides and reaction intermediates produced in γ-irradiated glassy solid matrices at 77°K. Dissociative electron attachment by phenyl halides is an efficient process and the ratio of cross sections C6H5I/C6H5Br/C6H5Cl for this process in MTHF glass is 1.5/1.0/1.0. The phenyl radical produced abstracts a hydrogen atom from solvents (MTHF, 3MP) at 77°K and is stable in aqueous alkali-metal hydroxide glass. A part of 3MP radicals in a γ-irradiated solution of phenyl bromide in 3MP at 77°K disappear by a first-order process for which k=4.3×10−2 min−1. γ-Irradiated 3MP glasses containing phenyl halides exhibit the optical absorption spectra having characteristic absorption bands in the visible and UV region which are assigned to solute cations and hydrogen-adducts respectively.


This paper aims at presenting an evaluation of an English language training classroom-based assessment plan for the non-English-majored at a university in Vietnam. This contributes to qualifying the English assessment at this university with an expectation of setting the right purpose and testing the right ability in the industrial revolution 4.0 when English is an indispensable skill in the globalized occupational market. No previous Vietnamese documentation has presented the concerned issue. The qualitative analysis framework is grounded on Bachman & Palmer's (1996) aspects of designing and developing an effective language test, co-occurring with the specific contextual reflection containing the overall assessment plan and the test specification. The assessment purpose initiates the discussion, followed by the assessment procedures, test methods, test instruments, test usefulness, the guideline for scoring and interpreting test-takers' results as well as supports for teachers' teaching and students' learning. All these criteria are critically evaluated in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, from which pedagogical implications can be practically drawn out. The research findings reveal that the assessment plan is made transparent and follows the MOED's guidelines while considering the local features since stiff compliance with the micro policy can lead to severe pitfalls in certain contexts. Test usefulness as its cornerstones in assuring the success of the assessment plan is reported more positively regarding validity and practicality than reliability, authenticity, interactiveness and washback. All aspects are reached but they still demand a more professional and detailed style from more well-qualified testing and assessment experts.


It has previously been reported that x-rays are emitted when adhesive tape is peeled in a vacuum but no account of the dependence of the x-ray emission on the pressure of the environment has been given to date. In this paper we present detailed experimental data on the number and angular distribution of x-ray photons as a function of pressure. We find that x-rays are emitted for pressures between p0=10−3 and p1=10−2 mBar, with ∼106 counts/(cm2 s) recorded by a 256×256 pixel2 silicon array sensor placed 35 mm from the tape. The main role of the tape is found to be the build-up of an acceleration potential sufficient to produce x-rays by bremsstrahlung of free electrons in a low-pressure gas. The source of the free electrons is the gas. Our model shows that the production rate of uncompensated tape charge and absorption of positive ions from the gas define p1. The angular distribution of the radiation shows a pressure-independent 20° wide peak in the direction perpendicular to electron motion. Ordinary brem...


We provide a new foundation of risk aversion by showing that the propension to exploit insurance opportunities fully describes this attitude. Our foundation, which applies to any probabilistically sophisticated preference, well accords with the commonly held prudential interpretation of risk aversion that dates back to the seminal works of Arrow (1963) and Pratt (1964). In our main results, we first characterize the Arrow-Pratt risk aversion in terms of propension to full insurance and the stronger notion of risk aversion of Rothschild and Stiglitz (1970) in terms of propension to partial insurance. We then extend the analysis to comparative risk aversion by showing that the notion of Yaari (1969) corresponds to comparative propension to full insurance, while the stronger notion of Ross (1981) corresponds to comparative propension to partial insurance.


A method for improving coherence in semiconductor lasers by negative electrical feedback is proposed for stabilization of the center frequency of the field spectrum, linewidth reduction of the field spectrum, frequency tracking to another highly coherent laser, and stable and wideband frequency sweep. Experimental center frequency stabilization of the master laser showed that the magnitude of frequency fluctuations was reduced to 50 kHz at the integration time tau =3 s. The linewidth of the master laser was reduced to 100 kHz, which was 1/50 that of the free running laser. Under these frequency control conditions, the frequency of the slave laser was controlled so that the phase of the heterodyne signal between the master and the slave lasers could be locked to that of a stable microwave synthesizer. The slave laser frequency tracked accurately to the master laser frequency. >


We treated three brothers for prostate cancer. The first brother developed the disease of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma at the age of 76, and was treated with endocrine therapy but died of recurrent cancer at age 80. The second brother was diagnosed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma at age 75, and he is alive at age 80 without recurrence after endocrine therapy. The third brother developed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma at age 58, and was treated with endocrine therapy but died of recurrent cancer at age 73. We have seen few familial cases of prostate cancer. The first such case is reported here in Japan. Eleven similar cases of familial prostate cancer involving three or more brothers have been reported in the Western literature.


Component Based System (CBS) development focuses on integrating software components, often developed by different parties, to build an application. Component integration plays a critical role in overall CBS development. As the number of interactions increases in a CBS, there is a need for a better management of the component integration process. In a large and complex CBS, a system integrator is interested in analyzing different interactions to identify which interactions are more important than others. In this paper, we present an interaction prioritization process which uses the concept of `degree centrality' to analyze component interactions and subsequently prioritize the use case scenarios of the system based on the centrality of individual interactions. We also present an application of our technique to a hotel reservation system.


Background: Limitations in laboratory testing capacity undermine the ability to quantify the overall burden of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We undertook a cross-sectional population based sero-survey for SARS-CoV-2 infection in 26 sub-districts, Gauteng Province (population 15·9 million), South Africa. Furthermore, we estimated SARS-CoV-2 mortality risk triangulating seroprevalence, recorded COVID-19 deaths and excess mortality data.Methods: We employed multi-stage random household sampling with selection probability proportional to sub-district size, stratifying sub-district census-sampling frame by housing type and selecting clusters within household type strata. Serum SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was measured using a quantitative assay on Luminex platform.Findings: Overall RBD IgG seroprevalence was 19·1% (95%Confidence interval [CI]: 18·1-20·1%), being similar in children and adults. Seroprevalence varied from 5·5% to 43·2% across sub-districts. Conservatively, there were 2 897 120 (95%CI: 2 743 907-3 056 866) SARS-CoV-2 infections, yielding an incidence of 19 090 per 100 000 until January 9, 2021, when 330 336 COVID-19 cases were recorded. The estimated mortality risk using recorded COVID-19 deaths (n=8198) was 0·28% (95%CI: 0·27-0·30) and 0·67% (95%CI: 0·64-0·71) assuming 90% of modelled natural excess deaths were due to COVID-19 (n=21 582). Notably, 53·8% (65/122) of individuals with previous self-reported confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were RBD IgG sero-negative.Interpretation: The imputed number of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 8·8 fold greater than recorded number of COVID-19 cases. The imputed SARS-CoV-2 infection mortality risk varied 2·39 fold when calculated using reported COVID-19 deaths (0·28%) compared with excess mortality derived COVID-19 attributable deaths (0·67%). Waning of RBD IgG may have inadvertently under-estimated number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and conversely over-estimated mortality risk, by a factor of two. Funding Information: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: The University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee granted a waiver for formal approval of the survey, which was deemed to be part of public-health good and surveillance to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronic signed informed consent was administered to individuals older than 15 years age, parental consent obtained for children <12 years of age, and assent and parental consent for adolescents 12-15 years old.


Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are unconventional, semi-invariant T lymphocytes that recognize microbial-derived vitamin B2 (riboflavin) biosynthesis precursor derivatives presented by the monomorphic MHC class 1-related (MR1) molecule. Upon microbial infection, MAIT cells rapidly produce cytokines and cytotoxic effectors, and are thus important players in anti-microbial defense. MAIT cells are protective in experimental models of infection and are decreased in the blood of adult patients with bacterial infections, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In children, the risk of rapid progression to active tuberculosis (TB) following Mtb infection is higher than in adults. Whether MAIT cells influence the outcome of Mtb infection in children is therefore, an important issue. We analyzed MAIT cell numbers and phenotype in 115 children investigated for pulmonary TB and determined their potential correlation with disease progression. MAIT cells were reduced in numbers and activated in the peripheral blood of children with active TB as compared to those with latent TB infection (LTBI) and healthy children. Moreover, MAIT cells did not accumulate and did not proliferate in the lung of children with active TB. These results suggest that MAIT cells may be important in preventing progression of Mtb infection to active TB in children.


ABSTRACT Heavy metal pollution is a major environmental stress affecting plant growth and development. The heavy metal cadmium inhibits various physiological processes in plants, including seed germination and seedling growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidation. Extensive research has been conducted on the toxic effects of Cd2+ on plants and the mechanisms of Cd2+ tolerance. Here, we review recent advancements in our understanding of the absorption, transport, and accumulation of Cd2+ in plants and the mechanisms of Cd2+ tolerance.


Contemporary Indigenous literature serves two transformative functions — healing Indigenous people and advancing social justice in settler society — both components in the process of decolonization. . . . I believe that everyday stories, âcimowina, the stories that are the foundation of contemporary Indigenous literature, although not spiritual, are nevertheless spirit. Everyday stories, too, have transformative powers, but they must first implicate the audience before transformation can occur. (Episkenew 15)


Engaging the public with research and environmental issues can be challenging due to the complexity of the topics and pre-existing misconceptions. Independently, interdisciplinary approaches such as sci-art and games have shown some promise for engaging people with complex and unfamiliar issues. This raises the question: Can the two be paired together for the better?

This project aims to see if sci-art and card games can be used together as a more effective and enjoyable way to engage people with environmental issues, as well as inspiring interest in science more generally. It also seeks to find out if art can influence the retention of information when paired up with the card game format.

To test this, we designed a card game that uses varying levels and styles of art to engage people with issues around flooding and climate change. An open international invite has recruited a large number of participants to take part in the study. In the study, participants are given a random version of the game to play and afterwards, and asked to complete a short questionnaire related to the game’s topics. This is supported with targeted facilitated sessions at university campuses, outreach and public events across the UK.

The results will demonstrate whether combining sci-art and card games in combination improves on just using either on their own. These are expected to vary depending on a number of factors, including what version of the game was played, the demographic playing the game and the location.


Pacitan city represents one of the regions residing in South East Java Province Indonesia about which on direct with Indian Ocean. In this area there is a meeting of plate of Indo-Australia with plate of Eurasia which is if colliding head-on potency can generate tsunami. Seeing this existing condition, it is needed a study to know how susceptible level of South East Java Province regional to get disaster of tsunami. Based on the tsunami was occurred in Aceh Indonesia on December 26, 2004 was killed more than 200.000 peoples, the tsunami disaster management become very important to study. One of the studies is how to predict the tsunami runup along shoreline of southern beach of East Java Province Indonesia. According to the geological data, area of east Java Ocean has high potential of earthquake. The history shows that there are many time tsunami occurred in East Java. Based on the initial study, one of the areas predicted as dangerous area for the tsunami is Pacitan city. To minimize the effect of tsunami hazard, prediction of inundation area base on the numerical model simulation of tsunami runup was done for Pacitan city. In this research predicting of inundation area caused by tsunami was studied. GIS was used as tool to predict the inundation area. From this research it can be shown that numerical model of tsunami can be used to predict the runup. Base on runup elevation, inundation area can be predicted well by using GIS


Objectives: The vascular depression hypothesis posits that cerebrovascular burden contributes to the development of depression symptoms in late life. Building on work that suggests that vascular depression is a prodrome for frailty, this paper tests a theoretical framework that vascular depression symptoms are an early marker of a broader pattern of decline characterized by more frailty symptoms and shortened lifespan, and that vascular depression symptoms predict mortality through frailty. Methods: The sample was drawn from the Health and Retirement Study and included 1361 stroke-free women over the age of 80. Data were included from six biannual waves from 1998 to 2008 (waves 4–9). A vascular depression symptomatology variable was based on Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores and number of cerebrovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, and smoking). Frailty was measured based on wasting, slowness, weakness, fatigue, and falls. Vascular depression and frailty symptoms were modeled using slope and intercept terms. Mortality was modeled using a discrete-time survival term. Results: The data supported the proposed model (RMSEA = 0.051; CFI = 0.971; X 2 = 234.84, p < 0.001). Higher vascular depression symptom slope and intercept scores significantly predicted higher frailty slope and intercept scores, respectively. Frailty intercept scores significantly predicted mortality. The vascular depression symptoms indirectly predicted mortality through frailty symptoms. A second model testing the competing hypothesis – that frailty symptoms lead to vascular depression symptoms and indirectly to mortality – was not supported by the data. Conclusions: Results suggest that vascular depression symptoms are associated with a clinical trajectory that includes greater frailty and shortened remaining lifespan.


Dielectric elastomers (DEs) have significant applications in artificial muscle and other biomedical equipment and device fabrications. Metallic thin films by thin film transfer and sputter coating techniques can provide conductive surfaces on the DE samples, and can be used as electrodes for the actuators and other biomedical sensing devices. In the present study, 3M VHB 4910 tape was used as a DE for the coating and electrical characterization tests. A 150 nm thickness of gold was coated on the DE surfaces by sputter coating under vacuum with different pre-strains, ranging from 0 to 100%. Some of the thin films were transferred to the surface of the DEs. Sputter coating, and direct transferring gold leaf coating methods were studied and the results were analyzed in detail in terms of the strain rates and electrical resistivity changes. Initial studies indicated that the metallic surfaces remain conductive even though the DE films were considerably elongated. The coated DEs can be used as artificial muscle by applying electrical stimulation through the conductive surfaces. This study may provide great benefits to the readers, researchers, as well as companies involved in manufacturing of artificial muscles and actuators using smart materials.


Measurements of relative humidity, dew point and vapour pressure at Uturu (Lat. 05.33°N and 06.03°N, and long, 07.10°E and 07.29°E) were carried out. The data were collected in a synoptic hour, that is at 3 hours interval starting from 9am to 6pm each day for the months of February, March, and July using whirling psychrometer to determine the dry air temperature and wet air temperature. In all, four readings were taken each day and the mean calculated. The mean depression for each day was calculated. The relative humidity, dew point, and vapour pressure were obtained using psychrometric table and the Blundell Harling humidity slide rule. The results o obtained showed mean monthly dry air temperature values of 31.3°C, 30.9°C, and 27.7 C, the mean monthly relative humidity values of 52%, 58%, and 75%, mean monthly dew point values of 19.4°C, 22.1°C, and 2.3.7°C and mean monthly vapour pressure values of 26.1mbs, 27.3mbs, and 28.0mbs for the months of February, March and July, respectively, representing the harmattan, dry and wet seasons, respectively. Result further showed that in July, the air is close to saturation due to the high value of the relative humidity, dew point, and vapour pressure unlike in February where they are low because of the effect of harmattan dust and March because of the readiness of the air to absorb more moisture.


Based on a comprehensive survey of metaphors of God in the Hebrew psalter, a total number of 507 occurrences are identified in which God is described by means of a metaphor. Applying modern metaphor theory, these occurrences are classified according to their main metaphor, submetaphor, metaphor type, and metaphor category. It is shown, that a proportionally small number of 17 main metaphor groups with their respective submetaphors exist which describe Yahweh in mostly anthropomorphic categories. Focusing on the God of heaven and warrior metaphors, a group of eight psalms is selected which display a recurrence of the two metaphors: Psa 18, 21, 29, 46, 65, 68, 83, and 144. Each psalm is discussed according to its transmitted text, semantic peculiarities, and literary structures, followed by short comments on the passage. It appears that the authors of the psalms under consideration used imagery familiar to them from their Syro-Palestinian background, but adapted and shaped it accordingly to their literary. Intentions in the form of an interpretatio Israelitica. The notion of Yahweh fighting as a warrior from heaven on behalf of his people encompasses the spectrum of meaning for the God of heaven and warrior metaphors in the most comprehensive way.
In the iconographic part of the study, the visual sources are presented in three groups, i.e., depictions of gods or goddesses displaying warrior attributes, those with god of heaven attributes, and a group manifesting attributes which are reflective both imageries. A total number of 93 images are presented of which approximately one-third come from Syro-Palestinian archaeological sites. It is noted that the more aggressive depictions of gods. Can generally be associated with earlier time periods and are well represented in Syro-Palestine. As the most prolific source for iconographic images reflecting the God of heaven and warrior metaphors, the Neo-Assyrian glyptic of the 9th-7th centuries can be established.
In comparing the two bodies of evidence, it appears that the biblical authors employed metaphors reflecting motifs from ANE iconography, although it is not possible to speak of a one-to-one relationship. Rather, the reutilization and adaptation of the imagery and its ascription to Yahweh demonstrates the tendency to indicate the superiority of Yahweh over the deities of the ANE in a strong monotheistic fashion.


Infection of dengue virus (DENV), an arthropod-borne flavivirus, threatens global public health due to its high prevalence and the lack of effective treatment. Multiple risk factors are believed to be involved, including virus virulence, antibody-dependent enhancement, T cell response, complement activation, autoimmune response, host factors, cytokine storm, and vascular leakage. Regarding host factors may contribute to DENV infection, replication, and pathogenesis, here we investigate the role for nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), which is activated by DENV in mononuclear phagocytes. DENV infection selectively activates Nrf2 through a mechanism involving endoplasmic reticulum stress and protein kinase R-like ER kinase activation. After DENV infection, activation of Nrf2 facilitates an increase in C-type lectin domain family 5, member A (CLEC5A) expression through the binding of activated Nrf2 to the CLEC5A promoter. The downstream signaling of the Nrf2-CLEC5A interaction enhances TLR3-independent TNF-α production following DENV infection. Forced expressing the viral protein NS2B3 induces Nrf2 activation and CLEC5A expression to increase DENV-induced TNF-α production. Further animal studies confirm Nrf2-induced CLEC5A and TNF-α in brains from DENV-infected mice. These results demonstrate that, in addition to TLR3, DENV infection also causes Nrf2-facilitated TNF-α production by increasing levels of CLEC5A.


In experiments with cats under the hexenal anesthesia it has been found that the transmission of information in multineuronic reflex ring carries out by frequency-dependent way. The optimum frequency subrange corresponds to each meaning of the modulation depth. Appearing signal distortions are accompanied by the phase lead of dorsal potentials with maximum on "resonance" frequency. The mechanism of presynaptic inhibition serves as control command amplifier. For all this the information signal amplitude grows, signal relation to noise increases, noise immunity of information transmission through the neuronic communication channel of multineuronic reflex ring improves considerably.