The design philosophy of defence in depth for nuclear power plant establishes in consideration of technical, artificial and organizational management failures. Defence in depth principle is a safety design idea that runs through all stages of production activities in the whole life of nuclear power plants. Each of defence lines must be reliable and independent of each other as much as possible. According to the system function and operation requirements of nuclear power plants, this paper analyses latest requirements of defence in depth and diversity line of nuclear power plants, based on the research and analysis of laws and regulations, standard and good practices at domestic and abroad. According to the requirements of independence, common cause fault and diversity, the independence and diversity of defence line in depth of instrument and control systems are analyzed, the weak points of common cause fault of defence line in depth of instrument and control system are identified, and the improved analysis method and improved realization steps are put forward. And then each of its lines of defence provided diversity for common cause failure. This paper discusses the types of common cause faults and typical countermeasures of defence in depth and diversity line for digital instrument and control system. This paper summarizes the common cause failure analysis methods, processes and countermeasures for digital instrument and control systems in nuclear power plant.


Objective: This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of hydrogen fluoride–exposed patients (HFEPs) treated at an emergency department (ED) at a local university hospital, and to review the hospital's disaster response according to staff, stuff, space, and system (4Ss).Method: This is retrospective observational chart review and descriptive study included 199 HFEPs among 2628 of total ED patient who visited a local university emergency medical center for treatment between September 27 and October 20, 2012, following an HF leak at the Hub Globe factory in Gumi City, Republic of Korea. Descriptive results concerning 4Ss were obtained from interview with ED specialist staff physician on duty during the study period. According to the criteria of the American Burn Association, patients requiring burn center referral were assigned to the major burn group (MBG) as severe condition. Result: During the first 24 h after the accident, 161 (80.9%) HFEPs were treated in the ED. Among the 55 (27.6%) patients in the MBG, 8 (4% of the HFEPs) came to the ED during the acute phase (within the first 8 h after the leak began). During the acute phase, the ED was staffed with three doctors and three nurses. Among the total 2628 patients in the ED during the study period, 262 (9.97%) patients, including 167 (83.92%) of the 199 HFEPs, were there during the subacute phase, defined as the 24 h after the acute phase. During the subacute phase, the ED staff consisted of six doctors and 10 nurses. No concepts according to 4Ss that allowed for the expansion of ED space with securing disaster reserve beds or an increase in manpower with duty time adjustments or duty relocation for ED working personnel were in place as well as reinforcement of logistics such as antidote or PPE or disaster related measures of administration department or decontamination zone setup or decontamination or disaster related diagnostic testing measures or unification and management of the entrances and exits of hospital or implementation of previously designated disaster triage.Conclusion: Hospital disaster response was insufficient for all aspects of 4Ss. Detailed guidance for hospital disaster management plan establishment is required.


In this paper, we describe how to decide a n-gram is actually impossible in a language. We use decision rules on a corpus tagged with POS. These rules are based on statistics and phonological criteria. In terms of statistical language modeling, deciding that a n-gram is impossible leads to assign to it a null probability.We defer on the possible n-grams the released mass of probabilities. To do this, we define a new formulation of P(w|h). We apply the principle of impossible events to bigrams. Then we use the list of impossible bigrams to build a list of impossible trigrams. The new trigram model exceeds the baseline model by 5.53% in terms of perplexity.


A novel multi-sensor fusion indoor localization algorithm based on ArUco marker is designed in this paper. The proposed ArUco mapping algorithm can build and correct the map of markers online with Grubbs criterion and K-mean clustering, which avoids the map distortion due to lack of correction. Based on the conception of multi-sensor information fusion, the federated Kalman filter is utilized to synthesize the multi-source information from markers, optical flow, ultrasonic and the inertial sensor, which can obtain a continuous localization result and effectively reduce the position drift due to the long-term loss of markers in pure marker localization. The proposed algorithm can be easily implemented in a hardware of one Raspberry Pi Zero and two STM32 micro controllers produced by STMicroelectronics (Geneva, Switzerland). Thus, a small-size and low-cost marker-based localization system is presented. The experimental results show that the speed estimation result of the proposed system is better than Px4flow, and it has the centimeter accuracy of mapping and positioning. The presented system not only gives satisfying localization precision, but also has the potential to expand other sensors (such as visual odometry, ultra wideband (UWB) beacon and lidar) to further improve the localization performance. The proposed system can be reliably employed in Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) visual localization and robotics control.


A method is developed for constructing an approximate plot of a function of three independent variables. The plot is similar to a conventional contour map except that there are three scales to represent the independent variables. Scale values of the three independent variables are added vectorially, and the value of the function is then read from the values associated with nearby contours.


In India significant percentage of the people who die due to cardiovascular diseases belong to rural part. The major reasons are lack of awareness, lifestyle, and the cost factor. While the first two reasons are more applicable in urban India, the third is a pain point for rural areas where there are no cost-effective ways available for an early diagnosis of heart diseases. There are different tests and investigations used to diagnose heart disease. The tests doctor chooses depending upon risk of heart disease, history of heart problems and the symptoms one might have but the initial diagnosis can be done using the stethoscope used for auscultation.For many years healthcare professionals would listen quietly to patients internal organs so they could diagnose from specific sounds of these organs. But it requires lot of expertise for such diagnosis, which is not available in the rural part. The objective is to develop a Digital Stethoscope for early initial diagnosis of cardiac disorders without any high end test which the patients can be referred to, if required. The proposed design consists of a Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC) based system which consists of following stages: Front end pick-up circuitry, PIC18F4550 controller, graphic LCD display or high resolution TFT display, a memory device, USB and Bluetooth connectivity. Recorded data on memory device helps professionals to analyze later on at far distances. Bluetooth facilitates professionals to use portable devices along with its Bluetooth connectivity to capture these transmitted recordings and then analyzing these waveforms in time and frequency domain by using software


Septoria tritici blotch caused by Mycosphaerella graminicola is currently one of the most economically damaging diseases on wheat crops worldwide. Two hundred and sixty single-conidial isolates of this fungus were sampled in April 2012 in the Nord-Pas de Calais region (France). They have all been collected from 13 distinct plots in a single field. The corresponding isolates were then fingerprinted using 8 microsatellite markers in order to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of M. graminicola at the single field scale. The results revealed a high genotypic diversity within the collected population, with the detection of 83% of unique haplotypes among the isolates tested (clonal fraction = 17%). A high genic diversity was also found as indicated by the Nei's index value (0.50) and strong allele diversity obtained (number of alleles per locus ranged from 7 to 17, with an average of 10 alleles per locus). Further analyses showed a low population differentiation (G(ST) = 0.08) and a high gene flow (Nm = 5.64) between the 13 sampled plots. Our study suggests that sexual reproduction, by its frequency, plays a major role in the genetic diversification of M. graminicola at the field level and in the distribution and homogenization of this diversity in the field via wind-born ascospores.


Aquaculture is emerging as the fastest growing food-producing industry in the world because of the increasing demand for food fish consumption. The intensive culture of fish has led to outbreaks of various bacterial diseases, causing economic losses to the aquaculture industryworldwide [1,2]. In the last yearsin the Mediterranean basin is registering a growing attention to some emerging bacterial fish pathogens. In the last years in the Mediterranean basin is registering a growing attention to some emerging bacterial fish pathogens. In particular Vibrio harvey, normally pathogen for crustaceans, molluscs and elasmobranchs, recently caused damage to the nervous system and septicemia in varying degrees of various fish species farmed. Also other Vibrio species such as V. splendidus, V. mediterranei, V. ordalii, V. aginolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus are becoming dangerous for the farmed fish species [3]. Among Gram negative bacterial there are also: Tenacibaculum maritimumthat causes the flexibacteriosis. The fish disease marine flexibacteriosis is characterised by necrotic lesions on the body, head, fins, and occasionally gills, with erosive lesions on the external surface as the prominent clinical sign[4,5] and the halophilic Photobacterium damselae subsp.piscicida responsible of the photobacteriosis in a great variety of fish species [6]. The disease exist in two forms the acute bacterial septicemia with a striking lack of gross clinical signs in most susceptible hosts and the chronic form with typical whitish pseudotubercles being present in the spleen[6-11]. While among the emerging bacterial diseases caused by Gram positive there are the streptococcal infections (caused by Lactococcus garvieae, Lactococccus piscium, Streptococcus iniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus parauberis and Vagococcus salmoninarum that affect a variety of wild and cultured fish around the world [12,13]. And therefore, streptococcosis of fish should be regarded as a complex of similar diseases caused by different genera and species capable of inducing central nervous system damage characterized by suppurative exophthalmia ("pop-eye") [14] and meningoencephalitis.


A LEO satellite transmits recorded images to a ground station using an X-band antenna during contact. The X-band antenna points to the ground station according to a TPF (tracking parameter file) during communication time. A TPF generation software generates azimuth and elevation profile which make the antenna point to the ground station using satellite orbit and attitude information and mission information including recording and downlink operation. When the satellite passes above the ground station, azimuth velocity increases rapidly so that jitter may occur if the azimuth velocity is in specific range. In case of realtime mission in which the satellite perform recording and downlink simultaneously, azimuth velocity must be lower than specific value to prevent image blur due to jitter effect. The method to point one virtual ground station has limitation of azimuth velocity reduction. In this paper, we propose the azimuth fixing method to reduce azimuth velocity of X-band antenna. The experimental results show that azimuth velocity of the X-band antenna is remarkably reduced using proposed method.


This study was carried out to investigate the genetic diversity of prolactin gene (PRL gene) in Japanese quails using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) marker. One hundred and thirty nine quails were sampled for PRL loci analysis. DNA was extracted from the samples. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis was used to characterize a 24 base pair (bp) insertion/deletion in a 358 bp PCR product. Test for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium were carried out. From the results, two alleles A (0.63) and B (0.37) and three genotypes AA, AB and BB were observed from this locus. Results of the study showed that genetic variability exists in the study population of Japanese quails in Nigeria and its segregation could be assessed for reproductive capacity


Two are the main objectives of this article: first, we introduce a method for determining and analyzing constrained local extrema that provides a different alternative to all previous works on the topic, by eliminating Lagrange multipliers and reducing constrained problems to unconstrained ones; Second, we also develop another method for analyzing and determining the nature of known critical points by resorting, when needed, to higher order derivatives. The result presented here constitutes our proposal of solution to a long standing problem: that of extending to higher dimensions what has been known for many years in the case of functions defined on open sets of the real line, regarding the classification of critical points when enough derivatives are also known at those points.


In 2007, over 12-million people were diagnosed with cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, at least one third of these individuals are not expected to survive the disease, making cancer the second most prevalent cause of death worldwide. Systemic chemotherapy forms the mainstay of cancer treatment, and agents that disrupt mitotic spindle assembly – so called `anti-mitotics' – are commonly used to treat a wide variety of cancers. Traditional anti-mitotic agents include the microtubule toxins such as taxol, other taxanes and the vinca alkaloids, all of which have proven successful in the clinic. However, patient response remains highly unpredictable, and drug resistance is common. In addition, toxicity is a problem. To address these limitations, a new generation of anti-mitotic drugs is being developed. As the first wave of these new agents enters clinical trails, much hope rests on their outcome. Meanwhile, significant attention is being focused on trying to predict which tumour types are likely to respond. In this Commentary, we outline recent advances in our understanding of how cancer cells respond to anti-mitotic drugs, and discuss the relevance of these studies to their use in the clinic.


Interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) therapy increased CD4 cell counts and delayed antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in HIV‐infected patients in the Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le SIDA et les Hépatites Virales (ANRS) 119 trial. However, four cases of lymphoma were reported. Epstein−Barr virus (EBV) replication is associated with an increased risk of lymphoma in immunocompromised patients. We assessed whether IL‐2 had an impact on EBV replication and the development of lymphoma.


A new purification procedure for cytochrome-c oxidase from bovine heart mitochondria is described. The enzyme was purified by selective solubilization in Triton X-100 and subsequent hydroxyapatite and gel chromatography. The preparation was highly pure and active. The subunit composition and steady-state kinetics were found to be the same as those reported for other preparations. In contrast to most of the previously published protocols the method presented here resulted in a preparation which had a rapid intramolecular electron transfer from cytochrome a to cytochrome a3, i.e. it was found to have retained its pulsed state. This correlated with monoexponential cyanide-binding kinetics. The formation of resting kinetics and biphasic cyanide-binding kinetics was shown to be induced by a short incubation at pH 5.0.


The fungal plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of the "gray mold" disease on a broad range of hosts. As an archetypal necrotroph, B. cinerea has evolved multiple virulence strategies for inducing cell death in its host. Moreover, progress of B. cinerea colonization is commonly associated with induction of senescence in the host tissue, even in non-invaded regions. In a recent study, we showed that abscisic acid deficiency in the sitiens tomato mutant culminates in an anti-senescence defense mechanism which effectively contributes to resistance against B. cinerea infection. Conversely, in susceptible wild-type tomato a strong induction of senescence could be observed following B. cinerea infection. Building upon this earlier work, we here discuss the immune-regulatory role of a key senescence-associated protein, asparagine synthetase. We found that infection of wild-type tomato leads to a strong transcriptional upregulation of asparagine synthetase, followed by a severe depletion of asparagine titers. In contrast, resistant sitiens plants displayed a strong induction of asparagine throughout the course of infection. We hypothesize that rapid activation of asparagine synthetase in susceptible tomato may play a dual role in promoting Botrytis cinerea pathogenesis by providing a rich source of N for the pathogen, on the one hand, and facilitating pathogen-induced host senescence, on the other.


Millimeter wave is today's breakthrough frontier for emerging wireless mobile cellular networks, wireless local and personal area networks, simultaneous energy/data transfer, wearable networks, vehicular communications and radar. In the near future, millimeter wave applications, devices, and networks will change our world. Millimeter wave is regarded as a solution to an unprecedented challenge to overcome a global bandwidth shortage owning to an ever increase demand for higher data rates and more reliable service capabilities for wireless devices, wireless service providers are facing, thanks to the
massive amount of raw bandwidth
and potential multigigabit-per-second
(Gb/s) data rates. This article introduces the basic challenges and initial opportunities for millimeter wave engineering, with an emphasize on 5G antenna design.


Distributed generation (DG) is a distributed generator that employs on the distribution system. The aims of DG in distribution system are to improve the voltage profile, to increase spare capacity, and to reduce the power losses. DG installation on the distribution system needs consideration of optimal capacity and optimal placement. If DG has placed in incorrect location so it can damage and interference such as voltage flicker, phase disorder to ground, fault current and fault current magnitude. So this would be differ with DG expected. Therefore it needs a right placement and allocation of power capacity (sizing) to optimize DG in which use a metaheuristic optimization algorithm to solve the problem. The metaheuristic optimization algorithm is proposed to use particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for reducing power losses in distribution system and this study used feeder 7 Bantul in substation to coastal areas Samas that is the end of distribution system. The result showed that PSO succeeded to reduce losses.


It has been shown that alternative splicing is especially prevalent in brain and testis when compared to other tissues. To test whether there is a specific propensity of these tissues to generate splicing variants, we used a single source of high-density microarray data to perform both splicing factor and exon expression profiling across 11 normal human tissues. Paired comparisons between tissues and an original exon-based statistical group analysis demonstrated after extensive RT-PCR validation that the cerebellum, testis, and spleen had the largest proportion of differentially expressed alternative exons. Variations at the exon level correlated with a larger number of splicing factors being expressed at a high level in the cerebellum, testis and spleen than in other tissues. However, this splicing factor expression profile was similar to a more global gene expression pattern as a larger number of genes had a high expression level in the cerebellum, testis and spleen. In addition to providing a unique resource on expression profiling of alternative splicing variants and splicing factors across human tissues, this study demonstrates that the higher prevalence of alternative splicing in a subset of tissues originates from the larger number of genes, including splicing factors, being expressed than in other tissues.


We investigated the presumption that wind-wave exposure is a major regulator of vegetation distribution within lakes. Along a 675-km stretch of shore in northern Lake Victoria (Uganda), the pattern of vegetation distribution in relation to shoreline features, and the variation of shoreline swamp area along a gradient of wave exposure were examined. The ability of wave exposure, when combined with bay morphometric characteristics, to predict the lakeward limit of vegetation distribution was assessed. Data were collected through a shoreline survey and from maps. Maximum effective fetch, computed from topographic maps, was used as a surrogate for wave exposure. Our results reinforce and amplify the notion that wave exposure is an important regulator of the within-lake distribution of vegetation. We found shoreline plants to either occupy stretches of shore shielded by coastal islands or hidden by convolutions of the lake margin. The area of shoreline swamps declined exponentially with increasing wave exposure. Of the coastal characteristics examined, bay area had the strongest influence on the lakeward expansion of vegetation. Wave exposure acting together with bay area, accounted for 64.4% of the variance in the limit of lakeward vegetation advancement.


Background Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and expression of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) are crucial for antitumor immunity. However, the status remains undetermined in HIV-infected colorectal cancer (CRC), limiting the use of immunotherapy in HIV-infected CRC patients. Methods We examined 27 HIV-infected patients and 120 non-HIV-infected patients with CRC from 2015-2020 at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. After matching the propensity score, 13 paired patients in the two groups were also compared. The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 as well as tumor-infiltrating CD4, CD8, and CD56 immune cells was examined using multiplex immunofluorescent analysis. The cell density for positive staining was calculated (cells/mm2) and compared between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected groups. In addition, the co-expression of PD-1 on immune cells and PD-L1 on tumor cells was compared in these two groups. Results The mean densities of tumor-infiltrating CD4, CD8, CD56 immune cells were 620.2, 261.2, and 0.2 cells/mm2, respectively, in HIV-infected colorectal tumors compared with 698.6, 243, and 14 cells/mm2 in non-HIV-infected tumors. PD-1 expression was 227 cells/mm2 in HIV-infected tumors and 365.2 cells/mm2 in non-HIV-infected tumors. Besides, PD-L1 expression was 108.5 cells/mm2 in HIV-infected tumors and 126.8 cells/mm2 in non-HIV-infected tumors, and no significant difference was found between the two groups. Similarly, there were no significant differences in the expression of PD-1 on TILs and PD-L1 on tumor cells. Conclusion HIV-infected CRC patients had similar tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD4 and CD8 T cells) compared to non-HIV-infected controls and substantially similar PD-1 expression on TILs and PD-L1 expression on tumors. These results support the inclusion of HIV-infected CRC patients in future immunotherapy trials.


Mixed-mode, device and circuit simulation of electronic circuits is an important tool when accurate treatment of nonlinear devices within a circuit is required. The two currently favoured approaches, the two-level and full Newton methods, each require some amendment to the device simulator code. Alternative, purely numerical decoupled techniques have received little attention owing to their relative inefficiency. We examine two approaches-the choice of an alternative nonlinear solution technique, and parallelisation-by which such "Black Box" methods might be rendered feasible.


We demonstrate the integration of a single-crystal magneto-optical film onto thin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides by use of direct wafer bonding. Simulations show that the high confinement and asymmetric structure of SOI allows an enhancement of approximately 3x over the nonreciprocal phase shift achieved in previous designs; this value is confirmed by our measurements. Our structure will allow compact magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices, such as isolators, integrated on a silicon waveguiding platform.


PROBLEM ADDRESSED
The population is aging rapidly and there are implications for health care delivery in the face of few physicians specializing in care of the elderly (COE).

OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM
To train physicians wishing to provide COE services.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The COE program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton is an enhanced skills diploma program lasting 6 months to 1 year, with core program requirements including geriatric inpatient care,geriatric psychiatry, ambulatory care, continuing care, and outreach. There is a longitudinal clinic component and a research project requirement. The program is designed to cover the 85 core competencies in the Can MEDS-Family Medicine roles.

CONCLUSION
There is a need for COE physicians to provide clinical care as well as fill educational, administrative, and research roles to meet the health care needs of medically complex seniors. These physicians require alternative funding and a departmental home within a university if they are to provide an academic service.


While the physical effects of bone marrow transplants are well documented, less appears to have been written on the psychosocial aspects. This paper describes the setting up of a group of bone marrow recipients in which members could discuss their feelings openly. The information gained has enabled a fresh look to be taken at this group of patients' needs.


This report contains the findings and recommendations on antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) practice and policies in Indonesia. The observations were made by a team of Dutch and Indonesian experts during an identification mission in August 2015. The mission did address AMU/AMR in both human and veterinary health. It was found that the use of antimicrobials in Indonesia was widespread and uncontrolled on both the human and the veterinary side. This situation was recognised by the Indonesian public and private stakeholders. The awareness on AMR is low within the general public but also within a large part of the professional stakeholders. There are only limited data available on antimicrobial usage in the human and veterinary sector or on the development of antimicrobial resistance. Research in this area is fragmented and poorly coordinated and reporting lines are not clear. Several initiatives have been taken on both the human and veterinary side to reduce the use of antibiotics, through regulation and increasing awareness of public and professionals. However, from the interviews it appeared that the actual use is not being reduced. The Ministry of Health has drafted a road map on the implementation of existing regulations and guidelines. However, human and financial resources are lacking to support the implementation of this roadmap and to measure the effect of the implementation. The Ministry of Agriculture has recently approved a regulation to ban the use of antibiotics as growth promotor. However, no plan has been made to implement this regulation or to enforce this regulation. On the veterinary side a road map to support the reduction of antibiotic use in the livestock sector is not available. Recommendations are given in this report to support the reduction of AMU/AMR on both the human and veterinary side. On the veterinary side the development of a road map describing a feasible strategy should be the first priority. Second priority should be to establish an intersectoral coordinating mechanism for AMU/AMR involving both human and veterinary stakeholders. The development of monitoring and surveillance programmes for AMU/AMR and capacity building is important to support the policy and intervention programmes and is a logical third step.


The purpose of this research is to use systems approach to develop a System Dynamic (SD) model for analysing the
Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Knowledge Management (KM) which are qualitative in nature. A literature survey is conducted to identify the CSFs of KM. Amongst the five generic critical success factors identified, viz. Organization culture, Top management commitment & support, KM tools & technology, KM organization & process and KM measurement & incentives, the research focuses on the 'technology' dimension of the KM initiative and explains how the associated variables
affect Knowledge Management System (KMS) performance. The SD model is developed through a five stage process of
Problem identification, System conceptualization, Model formulation, Simulation & validation, and Policy analysis & improvement. The model developed uses systems approach to identify the interdependence between CSFs, and the
influence of the variables belonging to the technology dimension of KM are varied dynamically, to study their impact on KMS performance, in conjunction with the other CSFs. The model behaviour with reference to the technology dimension is analysed by simulating the model for different possible scenarios. The simulation results emphasize on the need for timely adoption of technology, reduction of the delay in usage of technology so as to gain the competitive advantage. The role
played by technology obsolescence on KMS performance is also depicted. The results gives insights to the managers on how to handle the technology dimension of a KMS in concurrence with the other enabling factors of KM. Also, the model demonstrates the use of SD models in evaluating qualitative constructs using quantitative simulation models. There was lack of literature evidence on the study of critical success factors of KMS using an SD model. Hence this paper tries to fill this gap
by developing an SD model which can be used to analyse each of the critical success factors in detail, but in concurrence with each other. The use of the model is demonstrated by analysing the technology dimension of the KMS and the results and implications are reported. A clear scope for future research is also provided at the end of the study


This study analyzes the alignment between (1) the scientific publications generated within a nation-state, and (2) the United Nations resolutions on climate change research and sustainable development guidelines to which that nation-state is a signatory. Starting with a characterization of Chile's modern scientific journal output using extensive scientometrics databases, this work contrasts the resulting Chilean analysis with United Nations (UN) resolutions generated at the fifth UN Environment Assembly held in Nairobi in March of 2022. Chile is an interesting choice because the most recent political election installed an environmentally progressive president who has described his administration as the "first ecological government in the history of Chile". Chile also held a constitutional referendum shortly after the presidential election that would have replaced the existing constitution from 1980 with a more progressive constitution designed to shift the country towards expanded social and environmental rights. The study covers different dimensions and scales, from the interaction of authors, institutions, and disciplines, to the current conditions regarding authors' gender and the co-author inertia existing in every niche of scientific publication in Chile. The results and recommendations presented in this paper are intended to assist in developing policies for improved scientific–technical knowledge management at the national level.


BACKGROUND
The development of graft vascular disease (GVD) in the allograft is a major impediment for long-term survival of heart transplant recipients. GVD may be mediated by cellular processes, in response to the transplanted heart, and regulated by cytokines.

METHODS
We studied donor-specific cytokine production patterns in graft-infiltrating lymphocyte cultures propagated from endomyocardial biopsies. The biopsies were derived from patients with and without signs of GVD, as diagnosed by angiography at 1 year after heart transplantation.

RESULTS
In the first year after transplantation, significantly more T-helper (Th) 1 cytokines (interleukin [IL]-2: P=0.04; interferon-gamma: P=0.01), but not Th2 (IL-4 and IL-6) cytokines, were produced by cultures of patients with GVD compared with patients without GVD. Thereafter, the Th1 cytokine levels in patients with GVD normalized to the levels of patients without GVD. Detectable levels of IL-6 were produced significantly more often (P=0.009) by cultures obtained more than 1 year after transplantation from patients with GVD.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that high levels of Th1 cytokines produced by graft-infiltrating lymphocytes early after transplantation may be responsible for activation of vascular endothelium, leading to the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells that is characteristic of GVD. IL-6, produced later after transplantation, continues this process by promoting smooth muscle cell proliferation.


Quantifying the forest loss and land use dynamics using satellite data is becoming increasingly important in natural resource management. Deforestation anddegradation have become issues of paramount concern due to climate changeanxieties. Satellite imagery in this study via Landsat TM, Landsat ETM + and DMChave provided vital tools for assessing forest loss and land use change in theWestern Region of Ghana from 1990 -2010. The study employed a combinationmethod in Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) toestimate, classify and map the forest cover and land use change over a twentyyear period. The study revealed a very serious problem of forest loss. The WesternRegion is the mostforested, natural resources rich and biologically diverse inGhana. This study offers vital pieces of information which may be used to observe;advice and sway land use to a more beneficial and sustainable manner as thetrend of forest loss is alarming in this part of country.


Most research on the effects of chemicals on biologic systems is conducted on one chemical at a time. However, in the real world people are exposed to mixtures, not single chemicals. Although various substances may have totally independent actions, in many cases two substances may act at the same site in ways that can be either additive or nonadditive. Many even more complex interactions may occur if two chemicals act at different but related targets. In the extreme case there may be synergistic effects, in which case the effects of two substances together are greater than the sum of either effect alone. In reality, most persons are exposed to many chemicals, not just one or two, and therefore the effects of a chemical mixture are extremely complex and may differ for each mixture depending on the chemical composition. This complexity is a major reason why mixtures have not been well studied. In this review we attempt to illustrate some of the principles and approaches that can be used to study effects of mixtures. By the nature of the state of the science, this discussion is more a presentation of what we do not know than of what we do know about mixtures. We approach the study of mixtures at three levels, using specific examples. First, we discuss several human diseases in relation to a variety of environmental agents believed to influence the development and progression of the disease. We present results of selected cellular and animal studies in which simple mixtures have been investigated. Finally, we discuss some of the effects of mixtures at a molecular level.


We examine the changeover in the particle configurations and the dynamics in dense Lennard-Jones binary mixtures composed of small and large particles. By varying the composition at a low temperature, we realize crystal with defects, polycrystal with small grains, and glass with various degrees of disorder. In particular, we show configurations where small crystalline regions composed of the majority species are enclosed by percolated amorphous layers composed of the two species. We visualize the dynamics of configuration changes using the method of bond breakage and following the particle displacements. In quiescent jammed states, the dynamics is severely slowed down and is highly heterogeneous at any compositions. We apply shear flow by relative motions of boundary layers. Then plastic deformations multiply occur in relatively fragile regions, growing into large-scale shear bands where the strain is highly localized. Such bands appear on short time scales and evolve on long time scales with finite lifetimes.


A he major part of my business career has been spent marketing Pharmaceuticals to physicians and pharmacists all over the world. To learn from my predecessors, I began to study the methods used by earlier medicine sellers. To be sure, my colleagues and I were engaged in marketing "ethical" Pharmaceuticals, those promoted only to professionals. Until the middle of the nineteenth century there was no distinction between such promotion and that directed to the general public, and few products were advertised to physicians alone. While books and journals contain limited information about earlier proprietary medicines and the men and occasionally women who promoted them, the brochures, broadsides, packages, labels, inserts, posters and other advertising forms are an excellent source. They provide insights into business strategies and tactics designed to obtain sales. Such ephemera often is the only source of information available and can provide contemporary evidence of marketing practices. The proprietors whom I have studied so far, James Morison, Angelo Mariani, and the American medicine show operators, used methods developed in the nineteenth century. Now I want to turn my attention to an earlier entrepreneur, Samuel Solomon, who exploited opportunities in late eighteenth-century England, building a large market for his Cordial Balm of Gilead. Solomon is of interest also because he


Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have started to play a significant role in the transport sector and automotive industries. The broader market penetration of BEVs has still not been achieved due to significant barriers associated with initial costs and short driving ranges. The purchase price and a limited driving range are barriers that are inevitably associated with battery technology. Therefore, the growing demand for BEVs has expedited new innovative approaches to improve battery capacity and performance and to reduce battery costs. Considerable advancements have been employed to meet the challenges. However, there are still many challenges to make BEVs affordable and convenient for users. In this review, the main aims are to identify and address challenges by considering the prospects of BEVs in the future market and to explore the technological and financial difficulties of low energy density of battery materials, fast charging rate, battery lifetime, and cost-effectiveness, associated with effectively implementing and adopting BEVs. Moreover, potential suggestions are proposed for researchers, manufacturers, users, and government policy planners. Finally, a concrete conclusion is drawn by disseminating a vision about the future adoption of BEVs. This review of technologies, challenges, prospects, and potential solutions associated with BEVs could provide a base for effective strategic policy and could help policymakers to frame strategies for adapting and achieving targets. This review could help to achieve sustainable BEV transport and to adopt next-generation green vehicles.


Primary leiomyosarcomas of the superficial soft tissues are very rare neoplasms. Because of the different biological behaviour, they should be divided into cutaneous and subcutaneous tumours. Differential diagnosis includes leiomyomas, skin metastases from extracutaneous leiomyosarcomas, and other spindle-cell tumours of the skin. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical investigations are useful when light microscopic features do not allow an unequivocal diagnosis. Although local recurrences develop in almost half the patients with cutaneous leiomyosarcomas, the prognosis is predominantly good. In contrast, metastatic spread is more common in patients with subcutaneous leiomyosarcomas. Treatment for superficial leiomyosarcomas consists in wide excision. We report on a 76-year-old women with a local recurrence of a primary cutaneous leiomyosarcoma.


Present advances in plant cell and tissue culture have increased the use of the many approaches afforded by these techniques for practical exploitation in agriculture. Now that the earlier problems of demonstrating totipotency, obtaining suspension cultures of cells and protoplasts, and inducing haploid clones from pollen and anthers have been solved (at least for some plants), the techniques of microbial genetics are being applied to higher plant systems. The stage is now set for the induction, detection, and identification of desirable mutants for the study of biosynthetic pathways and for increasing desirable agronomic characteristics such as disease resistance.


The study included 48 cases of pulpitis grade II of one-root teeth in 42 patients of either sex aged 21-35 years treated by pulp extirpation under analgesia with immediate filling of canals. In 28 teeth Biopulp was used as an intercalated substance between the periapical tissues and the material filling the canal. The control group comprised 20 teeth filled only with Endomethasone paste. The observations made immediately after filling and clinical-radiological control examination after from 6 months to 3 years showed a high usefulness of calcium hydroxide. Good results were achieved in 100% of cases while in the control group in 70% of cases.


With the emergence of 4k/8k video, the throughput requirement of video delivery will keep grow to tens of Gbps. Other new high-throughput and low-latency video applications including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and online gaming, are also proliferating. Due to the related stringent requirements, supporting these applications over wireless local area network (WLAN) is far beyond the capabilities of the new WLAN standard – IEEE 802.11ax. To meet these emerging demands, the IEEE 802.11 will release a new amendment standard IEEE 802.11be – Extremely High Throughput (EHT), also known as Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) 7. This article provides the comprehensive survey on the key medium access control (MAC) layer techniques and physical layer (PHY) techniques being discussed in the EHT task group, including the channelization and tone plan, multiple resource units (multi-RU) support, 4096 quadrature amplitude modulation (4096-QAM), preamble designs, multiple link operations (e.g., multi-link aggregation and channel access), multiple input multiple output (MIMO) enhancement, multiple access point (multi-AP) coordination (e.g., multi-AP joint transmission), enhanced link adaptation and retransmission protocols (e.g., hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)). This survey covers both the critical technologies being discussed in EHT standard and the related latest progresses from worldwide research. Besides, the potential developments beyond EHT are discussed to provide some possible future research directions for WLAN.


This volume contains the papers presented at Arg-LPNMR 2016: First International Workshop on Argumentation in Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning held on July 8-10, 2016 in New York City, NY.


This essay is a result of many years of thinking about the role of technology in human life and about the ways in which new technologies develop. It may be viewed in two ways: either as a history of technology since earliest times to the present, with emphasis on ways in which technology interacted with society, or alternatively some may read it as a description of technology in a social context, illustrated by examples from the history of technology. Whereas in early times technology served in the main only to support, indeed enable, human life, it later became a major economic factor and the chief creator of wealth. New technologies arise when a technological idea – whether based on new scientific phenomena or not – appears to offer promise for commercial success. A technological innovation happens if and when there is a confluence of a technical possibility with the promise of a profitable market. Technology now permeates all spheres of human life, for better or for worse, and dominates the real economy. I think that much of technology is for the better, but we have to be very careful about many abuses of the natural environment and many other misuses of our technical prowess. The argument is not hostile to technology, but takes a critical view of it. We are too profligate in our use of natural resources and we often forget human values in our uncritical indulgence in astonishing technological capabilities. The book "From Need to Greed" which underlies this essay addresses the lay reader, though I hope that many professional technologists and scientists will find in it much of interest.


Objective: It has recently been found that hydronephrotic rats, despite low diuresis, show a significant increase in renal blood flow (RBF) during volume expansion. The present experiments were designed to evaluate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Material and methods: Three-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats underwent partial obstruction of the left ureter using the Ulm-Miller psoas groove technique. The effects on RBF were studied 3 weeks later under general anesthesia using real-time ultrasound flowmetry, first during normohydration and then during extracellular volume expansion, in both untreated animals, and after prior blockade of either thromboxane or nitric oxide. Results: Significant hydronephrosis developed in all cases. RBF was normal under control conditions. During volume expansion RBF increased significantly in untreated experimental animals (mean 7.5%). In contrast to this finding, RBF remained unchanged during volume expansion in both the thromboxane and nitric oxide blockade groups. Conclusion: It is concluded that a thromboxane- and/or nitric oxide-dependent RBF redistribution takes place in hydronephrotic kidneys during volume expansion.


CGRA has been considered to be an attractive architecture for accelerating data-intensive applications due to the performance and flexibility that it can provide. However, the cache memory that stores the configuration code increases the silicon area significantly, making the architecture less attractive. This paper proposes an approach to saving the cache memory space through code compression for CGRA. It is based on the observation that typical configuration code consists of a repetition of same instruction patterns. Experiments with several applications show that the proposed approach reduces the code size by 56% on average and the required cache area by 26% on average and up to 68.6% when the hardware overhead is taken into account.


The aim of this thesis has been to develop and validate the user interface of a service composition tool for creating mobile tourist services in a city environment. The project has been conducted in cooperation with SINTEF and the Norwegian research project UbiCompForAll. As part of this thesis, a number of scenarios were created initially, showing what kind of functionalities accessed using mobile devices might be useful for tourists in the city. Based on these scenarios, the graphical user interface of a composition service tool was created and then assessed through the involvement of several users using a paper prototyping approach. The results from the paper prototyping assessment showed that the proposed interface is generally easy to understand and use, although there were a number of improvements necessary in the areas of information abstraction, module naming and letting users be able to see the final product of the composition. In addition, as part of the assessment of the proposed interface, the realizability of the services specified using this interface was evaluated. An architecture for the service derived from the specification developed by the user was defined. This enabled us to check that all the information necessary for creating the composed services can be provided when using the proposed user interface.


More than half a century after the fundamental, spherical shell structure in nuclei had been established, theoretical predictions indicated that the shell gaps comparable or even stronger than those at spherical shapes may exist. Group-theoretical analysis supported by realistic mean-field calculations indicate that the corresponding nuclei are characterized by the TD(d) ("double-tetrahedral") symmetry group. Strong shell-gap structure is enhanced by the existence of the four-dimensional irreducible representations of TD(d); it can be seen as a geometrical effect that does not depend on a particular realization of the mean field. Possibilities of discovering the TD(d) symmetry in experiment are discussed.


Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that exists in eight different isoforms: four tocopherols (alpha, beta-, gamma- and delta-), and four tocotrienols (also alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-). Studies are underway to determine whether vitamin E, through its ability to limit production of free radicals, might help prevent or delay the development of cancer. Other studies suggest that vitamin E may modulate signal transduction pathways to prevent or reverse the effects of cancer. In our study, we examined the effect of vitamin E isotypes on some gene products involved in acute leukemia such as HOXA9 (Homeobox A9), PBX1 (Pre-B cell leukemia transcription factor 1) and E2A-PBX1. HOXA9 is a transcription factor with a central role in both hemopoiesis and leukemia. A high level of HOXA9 is a characteristic feature of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and may be sufficient to cause this disease. PBX1 is involved in a form of pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). E2A-PBX1 is a protein resulting from a chromosomal translocation t(1;19)(q23;p13.3) which involves PBX1 and E2A genes. E2A-PBX1 transforms cells by constitutively activating transcription of genes regulated by PBX1 or by other members of the PBX protein family. KG-1 cells were treated with 20 micromolar (μM) gamma tocotrienol (γT3) and delta tocotrienol (δT3) for 48 hours, and 50 μM gamma tocopherol (γT) and delta tocopherol (δT) for 72 hours. MTT Assays demonstrate 30% inhibition of cell proliferation using 50 μM γT after 72 hours, 60% inhibition of cell proliferation using 50 μM δT after 48 hours, 70% inhibition of cell proliferation using 25 μM γT3 after 48 hours, and 75% inhibition of cell proliferation using 25 μM δT3 after 48 hours. Western Blot analysis was performed on the cell lysates using HOXA9, PBX1 and E2A-PBX-1 antibodies. Our results showed that both δT and γT when used at a 50 μM concentration for 72 hours treatment, as well as δT3 and γT3 when used at a 20 μM concentration for 48 hours treatment, have a down regulatory effect on HOXA9, PBX1 and E2A-PBX-1 protein expression in the leukemic KG-1 cells. A down regulatory effect on cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 was also demonstrated.


Abstract Prolonged paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) and cold stress (CS) are known to cause sympathoexcitation and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The present study examined the effect of PSD with CS on hemodynamic perturbations by investigating blood pressure and heart rate variability (BPV and HRV) in conscious rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups (n = 10, each): normal sleep (NS), PSD of 72 h, and recovery sleep of 7 days after PSD. When compared with NS, PSD increased systolic blood pressure in all three conditions: before CS (PreCS), CS, and after CS (PostCS). The PSD also increased heart rate in both PreCS and PostCS. Furthermore, spectral power changes were observed throughout the experiment. The PSD increased very-low-frequency BPV in PreCS, decreased very-low-frequency HRV in CS, and increased low-frequency BPV in all three conditions. The PSD increased low-frequency HRV in PreCS, increased high-frequency BPV in both CS and PostCS, and also increased high-frequency HRV in both PreCS and CS but decreased that in PostCS. On the other hand, when compared with PSD, recovery sleep has reversed most cardiovascular changes in PSD toward the NS level. However, when compared with NS, spectral powers of very-low-frequency BPV in the recovery phase showed a lower level. These results showed that in the resting condition, PSD might evoke sympathoexcitation with a tendency to increase both very-low-frequency BPV and very-low-frequency HRV, as the intensified myogenic oscillations. However, in the CS condition, PSD evoked the sympathoexcitation yet might attenuate such myogenic oscillations.


Abstract. The chemical and morphological properties of mineral dust aerosols emitted by wind erosion from arid and semi-arid regions influence climate, ocean, and land ecosystems; air quality; and multiple socio-economic sectors. However, there is an incomplete understanding of the emitted dust particle size distribution (PSD) in terms of its constituent minerals that typically result from the fragmentation of soil aggregates during wind erosion. The emitted dust PSD affects the duration of particle transport and thus each mineral's global distribution, along with its specific effect upon climate. This lack of understanding is largely due to the scarcity of relevant in situ measurements in dust sources. To advance our understanding of the physicochemical properties of the emitted dust PSD, we present insights into the elemental composition and morphology of individual dust particles collected during the FRontiers in dust minerAloGical coMposition and its Effects upoN climaTe (FRAGMENT) field campaign in the Moroccan Sahara in September 2019. We analyzed more than 300 000 freshly emitted individual particles by performing offline analysis in the laboratory using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). Eight major particle-type classes were identified with clay minerals making up the majority of the analyzed particles both by number and mass, followed by quartz, whereas carbonates and feldspar contributed to a lesser extent. We provide an exhaustive analysis of the PSD and potential mixing state of different particle types, focusing largely on iron-rich (Fe oxide-hydroxides) and feldspar particles, which are key to the effects of dust upon radiation and clouds, respectively. Nearly pure or externally mixed Fe oxide-hydroxides are present mostly in diameters smaller than 2 µm, with the highest fraction below 1 µm at about 3.75 % abundance by mass. Fe oxide-hydroxides tend to be increasingly internally mixed with other minerals, especially clays, as particle size increases; i.e., the volume fraction of Fe oxide-hydroxides in aggregates decreases with particle size. Pure (externally mixed) feldspar represented 3.2 % of all the particles by mass, of which we estimated about a 10th to be K-feldspar. The externally mixed total feldspar and K-feldspar abundances are relatively invariant with particle size, in contrast to the increasing abundance of feldspar-like (internally mixed) aggregates with particle size with mass fractions ranging from 5 % to 18 %. We also found that overall the median aspect ratio is rather constant across particle size and mineral groups, although we obtain slightly higher aspect ratios for internally mixed particles. The detailed information on the composition of freshly emitted individual dust particles and quantitative analysis of their mixing state presented here can be used to constrain climate models including mineral species in their representation of the dust cycle.


Background: Intramuscular (IM) vaccination injections are an important cause of iatrogenic pain. Nonpharmacological intervention helps to reduce pain perception during immunization. Purpose: To compare the pain perception during IM injection, among infants who were breastfed versus local cold application in the vaccination clinic of a tertiary referral center. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the immunization clinic of a tertiary center. 60 infants (30 each in the intervention and control group) were selected for the study using simple random sampling method. Demographic proforma, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) pain scale was used to collect data of infants aged of 0–6 months. One group was breastfed and the other group local cold application was applied before the IM vaccine. Infant pain was assessed using the Modified FLACC Pain Scale. Results: Majority of the infants (36.6%) perceived moderate pain when the injection was given after local cold application, whereas least (23.3%) demonstrated moderate pain when the injection was administered after breastfeeding. The median score of infants in the local cold application group (5.5) was greater than that of the breastfeeding group (4.0). Conclusion: The study concluded that the application of cold can be used to reduce pain during IM vaccination in children <6 months of age where breastfeeding is not possible.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The UICC recommends a number of at least six lymph nodes to be examined in the surgical therapy of esophageal cancer for a reliable pN classification. The aim of this study was to evaluate this threshold by means of the data from our patients.

METHODOLOGY
Following curative resection (R0) of esophageal cancer the numbers of examined tumor-free and tumor-involved lymph nodes were compared. Different statistical models of logistic regression were fitted to the data and checked for plausibility (Hosmer Lemeshow test). The sensitivity of a correct pN classification was then calculated and correlated to the total number of examined lymph nodes.

RESULTS
A maximum increase of the sensitivity in classifying pN occurred from 0 to 6 examined lymph nodes. Nevertheless an additional improvement of sensitivity was continuously shown up to 100 examined nodes. An over 90% sensitivity of a correct lymph node classification was reached when more than twelve nodes were examined. Thus the results demonstrate in the case of esophageal cancer, that the suggestion by the UICC to examine at least 6 nodes for defining pN appears too low and may not represent the clinical situation. A ninety percent confidence level of a correct lymph node classification can be expected above 12 examined nodes similarly to the current recommended threshold in colorectal carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS
We suggest a new threshold for the number of examined lymph nodes of at least 12 instead of 6 nodes for accurately defining the pN category in esophageal cancer.


Introduction : outbreaks of bacterial Cerebrospinal Meningitis are known to result in high morbidity and mortality. Outbreaks with such a high impact attract a multi-level, multi-partner response. While the accompanying deployment of human and material resources is beneficial for response, effective utilization may be compromised without a central coordinating structure. Activating an Incident Management System (IMS) is therefore vital. This paper describes the role of an IMS in coordinating response to the 2017 CSM outbreak, which resulted in 14,280 cases with CFR of 8%. Methods : on the 3rd of April, 2017, a national IMS led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was activated coinciding with the peak of the outbreak (Epi-week 14, 2017). Terms of Reference and an emergency response plan was defined based on five response pillars- Coordination, Case management, Surveillance and Epidemiology, Risk Communications and Vaccines management. Activities implemented include: Bi-weekly CSM EOC meetings and situational report development, deployment of rapid response teams (RRT) to affected States, technical support to States to support reactive vaccination campaigns. Other activities included sensitization of stakeholders, monitoring of epidemiological trends using dashboards, development and review of SOPs, weekly feedbacks to affected States as well as multi-layered advocacies. Results : the IMS activation enhanced coordination of all response activities by the Government and partners. A long tail of the epidemic prior to EOC activation was shortened and CFR reduced from 11.2% to 8.0%. Reactive vaccination campaigns were better coordinated yielding high coverage rates in Zamfara (97%), Sokoto (97%) and Yobe (105%) States. Multi-level mapping and strategic deployment of all partners' resources was achieved. Development and dissemination of bi-weekly situational reports aided response decisions and kept stakeholders and the general public abreast of outbreak status. Decision making was evidence-based as outbreak dashboards were used to review epidemic trends. Engagement with stakeholders (media, traditional and religious institutions) helped in social mobilization. Guidelines and SOPs development improved sub-national response by eliminating the use of multiple guidelines on same thematic area. Conclusion : the containment of CSM outbreak is partly attributable to the activation of the IMS, which aided timely identification of response gaps and proffering solutions. Although the IMS was activated only at the peak of the outbreak, a drastic reduction in new cases was recorded. The use of an IMS for coordinating future outbreaks is highly recommended.


To evaluate the immuno-toxicity of magnolia extracts, mutagenicity of Salmonella, chromosome aberration of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and micronucleus formation in rats were examined. Magnolia extracts at the concentrations of did not induce mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA 98, TA 100 and TA 1535 with and without metabolic activation of S-9 mixture. In chromosome aberration assay, Magnolia extracts at the concentrations of did not cause a significant chromosome aberration in CHO cells with and without metabolic activation of S-9 mixture. Magnolia extracts were treated with dose of 0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg in ICR mice. After 48 hours, the frequencies of the micro-nucleided polychromasia erythrocytes (MNPCE) were determined in bone marrows isolated from the mice. Magnolia extracts did not increase the incidence of polychromasia erythrocytes of bone marrow in ICR mice. These results show that Mgnolia extracts did not induce any harmful genotoxic effects.


Research over the last 5 to 6 years has indicated quite clearly that Down's syndrome children are a distinct, somewhat delayed group of people, the delays being a result of both physical and cognitive problems. What is considerably more positive is that much may apparently be done to help ameliorate the problems. However, the older Down's syndrome child has the most serious problems, and comparatively little research is being performed with this age group. What is being done tends to be less integrated than the work being done with younger children, leading to less generalisability across areas of development. Finally, research also shows that parents are a vital resource, as they are willing and able, particularly with guidance, to stimulate and encourage their children in all aspects of growth and development.


A combined histological and biomechanical study was performed in patients with localised or systemic scleroderma. The inflammatory reaction was variable in intensity and location, predominating around the superficial vascular plexus, the deep dermo-hypodermal plexus, the paraseptal plexus or in the fasciae. Secondary sclerosis resulted from the lateral fusion of bundles of collagen fibers. Three degrees of intensity of sclerosis were disclosed by our noninvasive technique of tonometry by vertical traction of the skin in vivo. That measurement allowed a follow-up of the evolution of the disease and a control of the therapeutic efficacy.


This paper reports characterization of sodium cobalt oxides related to a P3-phase superconductor (space group R3m) newly found other than P2 phase (space group P63/mmc). α-NaCoO2 used as a parent compound for the synthesis of the superconductor was oxidized to be Na0.42CoO2, in which the rhombohedral structure in the parent phase providing octahedral coordination environment for Na+ ions changed to a monoclinic lattice with trigonal prismatic sites. Hydration of the as-oxidized Na0.42CoO2 to the superconducting bilayer-hydrate phase was accompanied by the ion exchange between Na+ and H3O+ ions and reductive insertion of H3O+ ions as observed in the formation of P2-phase superconductor. Partial dehydration of the superconducting phase transformed its bilayer-hydrate structure into a monolayer-hydrate one, in which the superconductivity disappeared again. Influence of the decreasing interlayer distance caused by the dehydration upon the guest species is discussed in combination with the results of Raman sp...


ObjectivesTo compare the efficacy and safety of initial reduced-dose glucocorticoids combined with reduced-frequency cyclophosphamide and to determine risk predictors of end-stage renal disease in ANCA-associated vasculitis(AAV)patients with renal involvement which BVAS was less than 20.MethodsThis is a single-center retrospective cohort study that involved 58 patients who were newly diagnosed with ANCA-associated renal vasculitis. The efficacy and safety of reduced-frequency cyclophosphamide combined with initial reduced-dose glucocorticoids were compared using chi-square test. The cumulative probability to ESRD were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log rank test. Potential variates were examined using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models to determine the risk predictors of end-stage renal disease.ResultsA total of 35 patients in the standard-dose glucocorticoids group and 23 in the reduced-dose glucocorticoids group were included. The average age of the included patients was 62.45±12.70 years, and the baseline serum creatinine was 251.35[155.53, 445] μmol/L. Nine patients (15.52%) developed ESRD within 24 months (7 Standard vs. 2 Reduced, P=0.035). Multivariate Cox regression model analysis proved that baseline serum creatinine (HR: 0.007, 95%CI: 2.48-39.48, P=0.014), infection rate within first 3 months (HR: 2.28, 95% CI: 2.14 45.27, P=0.003), persistent hematuria for more than 6 months (HR: 1.723, 95%CI: 0.043-0.738, P=0.017) were risk predictors of end-stage renal disease in ANCA-associated renal vasculitis.ConclusionThe regime of initial reduced-dose glucocorticoids combined with reduced-frequency cyclophosphamide is not inferior to the standard regimen in AAV patients with renal involvement which BVAS score was less than 20,and meantime the incidence of infection was significantly lowered. Patients had infection within first 3 months were at higher risk in development of ESRD. To reduce the incidence of infection and thus delay deterioration of renal function, the reduced-dose regime may be more appropriate than standard-dose regimen and can be used as an option in mild patients.


Over the past two decades there has been an explosion in the number of cases of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where Kaposi's sarcoma associated-herpesvirus (KSHV) and HIV are relatively prevalent. Currently KS is the most commonly reported cancer in Uganda causing significant morbidity and mortality. Limiting KSHV transmission or halting disease progression could prevent KS. Here, I describe an investigation of factors that might impact on transmission of KSHV and report the first prospective study of antibody titre to KSHV to determine risk of KS from Africa.

Stored samples from Medical Research Council, Uganda cohorts were tested using an ELISA to KSHV antigens. Results from a birth cohort found that among both mothers and children malaria parasitaemia was identified as a novel association with KSHV seropositivity. Among children HIV exposure and HIV infection was associated with antibodies to KSHV. A random effects meta-analysis conducted to clarify wider evidence of an association between KSHV and HIV found that HIV was associated with an increased prevalence of antibodies to KSHV in mothers and children. A case-control study nested within a longitudinal HIV cohort found among individuals who develop KS, antibody titres to KSHV are higher and increased over time compared to adults who did not.

It is plausible that control of malaria may also reduce the spread of KSHV. How malaria may interact with KSHV and if malaria control will reduce transmission are key future questions. Prevention and treatment of HIV with anti-retroviral therapy may lower KSHV transmission between mothers and children. For individuals with HIV-KSHV co-infection, increasing antibody titre to KSHV precedes development of KS. Research is required to elucidate co-factors driving progression to cancer. A clinically valid tool to screen for risk of HIV-associated KS is urgently needed.


Cisplatin is currently one of the most widely used anticancer drugs in the world. The unlikely events surrounding the discovery of its anticancer activity, subsequent introduction into the clinic, and continuing research into platinum compounds is the subject of this review.


PurposeThis study aims to analyze the effects of the type of agency contract on the relationship between agency workers' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support.Design/methodology/approachThe authors extend a previously developed model considering organizational support and affective commitment by including also continuance commitment in the Italian employment agency industry. The authors use a probabilistic stratified sampling method on a sample of 8,283 agency workers. Data were analyzed with structural equation modelling (SEM) and multiple group analyses.FindingsThe findings confirm the positive relationship between perceived organizational support from both the agency and the client organization and agency workers' affective commitment to them. The authors also find that agency workers develop a mutually related dual commitment in response to the support they receive from both organizations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature on agency workers and suggests useful managerial and policy makers interventions for both temporary work agencies and client organizations for the development of the agency industry as well as the well-being of workers.


Modeling controlled-source EM data using the finite-element method is preferred because of its ability to model complex structures and to accommodate both small and large structures in the same grid. Most of current 2.5-D FE codes are designed for point dipole sources oriented parallel or perpendicular to the strike direction. Additionally, most codes use a primary / secondary separation field approach to simplify and speed-up calculations. We have developed a 2.5-D controlled-source EM algorithm that uses the finite element method, models the sources directly (no primary/secondary approach) and applies an alternative scheme for the transformation of the EM fields from the strike-parallel wavenumber domain into the spatial domain. This approximation does not assume any parity of the transformed EM fields and can be used for any orientation of the sources. The accuracy of this scheme is shown against a semi-analytical solution for a 1D canonical reservoir model. A second test uses a 2D model, in which a small conductive block is modeled below the seafloor. The anomaly distorts the fields at all frequencies studied, demonstrating the utility of the direct source modeling, in contrast to the usual primary/secondary field separation technique, which cannot handle this type of structures.


Successful reconstruction of a lip is a difficult and intriguing problem. The addition of a new operation to the remarkably long list of operations proposed in the past can be justified only if the new procedure proves to possess added advantages and fewer disadvantages than its predecessors. In reviewing the literature, about sixty-five different methods for this operation were discovered, and this new procedure is described because it possesses the advantages of simplicity, cosmetic fidelity to the normal in its results, noninterference with muscle and nerve supply and production of nearly normal function, and is applicable to restoration of either the upper or the lower lip. Before this problem can be successfully adjudged, its factors must be analyzed, and the obvious first step is a review of the anatomic structures about the mouth together with their physiologic action. Of these structures, the musculature is the most pertinent to our problem.


A motor vehicle technician has to attain high technological skills to enable him or her to diagnose faults and service modern transport vehicles and their components. Science is a branch of study concerned with the systematic investigation of observed facts, and forms an important foundation on which to build sound engineering practice. Such a background will stimulate personal development by increasing confidence and intellectual ability. This is the first of two books planned to cover the TEe U77/413 and 415 Motor Vehicle Science II and III Model programmes of study. Part 1 is intended to cover the requirements of Motor Vehicle Science II. The fundamental principles of engineering science have been applied to the motor vehicle in a systematic and progressive manner to enable the reader to follow most of the work on his or her initiative. The book is aimed mainly at the student who is attending a recognized college course leading to a Technician qualification. The importance of the college lecturer and his individual method of teaching the subject remains of prime importance to the student. The book is designed to become a valid source of information to assist the student both in and out of the classroom environment to attain his or her objective. Numerous fully worked and exercise examples are given. Plenty of practice in solving problems is an excellent way to gain knowledge of the subject, and improve confidence in preparation for an examination.


In this paper we compare two recent methods for automatic enhancement of the contrast of the image, based on the principle of transforming the skewed histogram of the original image into a uniform histogram. The histogram based gray level grouping (GLG) method and its variants (after Chen et al., 2006) and the fuzzy logic method (after Hanmandlu and Jha, 2006) are evaluated on three different images (gray scale as well as color) in order to ascertain which of the algorithms are better suited across a variety of images from different sensors and having varying characteristics. Based on the visual quality and the Tenengrad criterion we conclude that the FastHSV variant of the GLG method may be applied for automatic contrast enhancement across a wide variety of images.


If you want to get to grips further with any of the [European] languages, Routledge s Colloquial series is the best place you could start. Rough Guide to Europe COLLOQUIAL DUTCH is easy to use and completely up to date! Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Dutch. No prior knowledge of the language is required. What makes COLLOQUIAL DUTCH your best choice in personal language learning? Interactive lots of exercises for regular practice Clear concise grammar notes Practical useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide Complete - including answer key and reference section By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Dutch in a broad range of everyday situations. This pack contains the book and two 60-minute CDs. Recorded by native speakers, these will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills."


Visual simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM) algorithms are mainstream technical methods for markerless augmented reality using monocular cameras. However, most vSLAM algorithms are incompetent to project virtual object on a specified plane, especially when rigour precision is required. This is because they fail to distinguish the mappoints of interest from other normal ones. In this work we propose a new SLAM system which integrates target detection algorithm into conventional ORB-SLAM2 so that mappoints of interest can be regarded as variables and hence be optimized continuously. Specifically, the proposed system adds a new class member called Target in the map of ORB-SLAM2 so that the system can detect the target during operation with Oriented Fast and Rotated Brief (ORB) features and distinguish the Target Mappoints from others. Compared to conventional ORB-SLAM2, proposed system needs to take on two more tasks: management of Target Mappoints and updating the projection matrix in all three treads. In this work we use the Lena picture as the target plane we want to project visual objects on and the test results demonstrate that our system can perform projection more accurately.


We introduce a semi-empirical model that can determine a ship's performance in level ice based on Lindqvist's model and develop a simple model for calculating ice resistance. This model assumes that contact between the ship and the ice is a case of symmetrical collision, and two contact cases are considered. Crushing and submersion forces are calculated via Lindqvist's formulas, and the breaking force is determined by a concept of energy consideration during ship and ice impact. The average difference between the predicted data and the model test data is about 4.6%, but the total resistance showed fairly close agreement with both. In addition, the friction coefficient may have considerable influence on breaking and submersion forces.


Objective: Describe the employability of students majoring in nursing and psychology with respect to their job expectations and success in finding work. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted among nursing and psychology students at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM) in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The sampling universe was comprised of 1,060 students, and a purposive sample of 297 students was obtained: 126 who are majoring in nursing and 171 in psychology. The va- riables studied include the job market, employment future, job appreciation, contribution to the company or organization, ideal job profile and socio-demographic variables. A survey was developed to measure the dependent variable. Results: A higher prevalence of women (74.7 % ) was observed; 20.9 % of the graduates are currently employed; 18.1 % of those who are working are psychologists and 24.3 % are nurses (71 % women). As for job appreciation, contribution to the company or organization and ideal job profile, the students majoring in nursing had better scores than those majoring in psychology. Conclusion: Employability is a complex construct. Professional trai- ning should assess to what extent the graduate's profile coincides with the demands of the job market, which is subject to precarious employment conditions, cultural factors, demonstrated skills and the potential of the human factor.


Intracisternal administration of leu- or met-enkephalins in a dose of 100 micrograms into unanesthetized cats evoked a short-lasting elevation of arterial pressure and tachycardia. After 1.5-2 minutes the blood pressure returned to normal and bradycardia developed (heart rate = 86 +/- 3.4% of initial). Alterations in the arterial pressure and heart rate were prevented by naloxon in a dose of 50-100 micrograms administered into the 4th ventricle. Leu-enkephalin inhibited the sensitivity of the baroreceptor reflex and increased by 69% the pressor reactions evoked by hypothalamus stimulation. Met-enkephalin was half as potent with respect to the baroreceptor reflex and exerted no effect on the hemodynamic reactions evoked by hypothalamus stimulation.


After protracted negotiations, in June 2008, agreement between the European Parliament and the Council cleared the way for the adoption of the Directive setting out common standards and procedures in the Member States for returning irregularly staying third country nationals (the Returns Directive). While its impact in terms of harmonising national legal frameworks can be questioned, from the Member States' point of view the agreed standards will underpin their common efforts at removing a higher number of irregular immigrants. From the point of view of immigrants, it will mean longer pre-removal detention periods and a ban on re-entering legally the Union's territory for the foreseeable future.


Na/K-ATPase hydrolyzes ATP to maintain the transmembrane gradients of Na+ and K+ found in most mammalian cells and is inhibited specifically by cardiac glycosides such as ouabain. Recently, we have shown that partial inhibition of Na/K-ATPase by non-toxic concentrations of ouabain causes hypertrophic growth and transcriptional regulation of several growth-related marker genes in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. These ouabain effects involve the activation of multiple signal transduction pathways, including the activation of Src kinase and tyrosine phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptors and other proteins, followed by the activation of Ras, the Ras/Raf/MEK/MAPK cascade, and increased production of reactive oxygen species. The gene regulatory actions of ouabain, like its classical effect on cardiac contractility, are dependent on the net influx of Ca2+ and rise in [Ca2+]i, indicating that the latter is a shared second messenger for the ouabain effects on cardiac contractility and growth. Significantly, the effects of ouabain on several early signaling events including stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation and production of reactive oxygen species are independent of changes in intracellular Na and Ca2+ concentrations. Taken together, these new findings have led us to propose that when ouabain binds to Na/K-ATPase, it converts the enzyme to a signal transducer and initiates multiple gene regulatory pathways through either direct or indirect interactions with tyrosine kinases in cardiac myocytes.


Recently, feminist work on sport and gender has begun to understand male tolerance of physical risk and injury as a constituting process that may enhance a particular brand of masculinization. For some men, the cultural meanings of physical danger and living with injury resonate with larger ideological issues of gender legitimacy and power. But how may women's tolerance of the potential for injury in sport be explained using this approach? Based on data from questionnaires and follow-up interviews with elite women athletes in Western Canada, this exploratory study reveals some parallel meanings of violence, pain, and injury for men and women athletes. The findings raise important theoretical questions regarding possible ambiguities in sports-related emancipation for women. On one hand, women are participating in, even colonizing, traditionally male-exclusive spaces in sport. On the other hand, many such spaces are being occupied by women athletes who, rather than participating in a transformation of the meaning of sport, appear to be contributing to a male-defined sports process replete with its violent, macho, and health-compromising aspects. Women's increasing participation in aggressive sport is interpreted as a dialectic, in which resistance to male dominance in sport is tempered by a degree of hegemonic incorporation.


We describe a system that combines default reasoning with contexts. Contexts are arranged in a hierarchy where more specific contexts represent revisions of the state of belief in more general contexts. We describe our algorithm for default reasoning in a context hierarchy and provide a translation of our representation into a default logic theory whose inferences agree with our algorithm. We conclude with a discussion of different notions of context and give a justification of our default rules when contexts are understood as states of belief.


The partial invalidation of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and national focus on comprehensive immigration reform has brought lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) immigrants to the forefront. This Article is the first to undertake a close examination of asymmetries in the impact of LGBT identity on access to United States citizenship. It does so by exposing how patterns of LGBT access to citizenship have long been at odds with one another, as well as out of sync with domestic civil rights trends and fundamental U.S. immigration and human rights principles.This examination focuses on the interplay of LGBT identity and the two major paths to immigration in the United States: asylum and partner-based benefits. LGBT identity has long helped noncitizens to immigrate permanently via grants of asylum, despite a concurrent lack of similar identity-based rights and protections for LGBT people harmed in the United States. On the other hand, LGBT identity has been a detriment to individuals seeking even temporary benefits on the basis of same-sex relationships with Americans, beginning prior to the passage of DOMA, even though partner-based benefits are a cornerstone of immigration law.By inadvertently mirroring the dichotomous cultural values reinforced by the Supreme Court's major LGBT rights cases, the executive branch issued conflicting policy that protected those noncitizens who present a one-dimensional LGBT "status" in their asylum applications, while penalizing those LGBT noncitizens who, by creating queer families in the U.S., display LGBT "conduct" that offended American norms. To substantiate this claim, I trace these concepts of status and conduct throughout the Supreme Court's major LGBT rights decisions, including the recent ruling in United States v. Windsor, and present their effects on immigration policy. Further, the uneven LGBT access to citizenship resulting from these factors contradicted the executive branch's international human rights discourse as well. Thus, over time, agencies' anti-LGBT immigration policies even began to conflict with pro-LGBT human rights ideals voiced by agencies' own (executive branch) leaders on the international stage. This contradiction, in turn, illustrated a complex form of American exceptionalism resulting in part from the executive branch's refusal to employ its significant discretionary power to improve LGBT access to immigration.


This publication explains the governance and decision-making fora and processes of the UN system. Section One explains the principal UN organs of intergovernmental decision making; the negotiating blocs of Member States at the UN; the various types of documentation; and the nature of UN decisions and the weight they carry internationally. This updated second edition includes information on new UN bodies and processes following on from the outcomes of the 2005 World Summit. Section Two provides practical knowledge, advice and guidance to non-governmental representatives who wish to engage with the UN system, ranging from accreditation to the preparatory process, to engaging in follow-up activities after a meeting.


Probability concept in physics entered into statistical physics and quantum physics by molecules kinematics; and curvature concept in physics as applying differential geometry to physics, entered into analytical mechanics long ago. Along with introducing space-time curvature concept into general relativity, curvature concept became more important; gauge field theory regards field intensity as curvature of fibre bundles. Curvature concept in quantum mechanics germinated from original derivation of Schrodinger equation; catastrophe scientist Rene Thom advanced curvature interpretations of ψ function and entropy according to differential geometry. Guoqiu Zhao advanced curvature interpretation of quantum mechanics; this new interpretation made relativity theory and quantum mechanics more harmonious, and regarded ψ function as a curvature function. So far Zhao's quantum curvature interpretation is nearest to Schrodinger's scientific thought and Einstein's physics ideal.


Introduction: Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) causes sleep related symptoms and also causes increased incidence of RTA, cardiovascular diseases and all cause mortality. Currently OSA has been recognized as the consequence of number of interrelated metabolic and oxidative pathologies. As there are limited data of association of OSA with metabolic stress and its correlation with severity of OSA, study of metabolic profile of these patients in view of defining the Metabolic signature of OSA was carried out in eastern Nepal.
Objectives: To study metabolic profile of OSA and its association with clinical severity. Methods: Hospital based descriptive cross sectional study. Biochemical profile results related to metabolic –oxidative pathway of the OSA patients were obtained. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained. Quantitative data were compared using Mann–Whitney test while qualitative variables compared using Pearson χ2. Correlation was carried out using Pearson and Spearman's test. P-value<0.05 considered significant.
Results: 33 patients of OSA were enrolled. Majority of patients had deranged metabolic and oxidative parameters despite mild OSA. Among metabolic stress parameters, most commonly deranged were decreased high density lipoprotein (HDL), increased mean arterial pressure (MAP), waist circumference (WC) and raised fasting blood sugar (FBS). Increased MAP and increased WC was significantly corelated with severity.
Conclusion: Besides symptom complex, OSA is also harbinger of metabolic stress that can lead to various cardiometabolic diseases and premature mortality thus early recognition and treatment can mitigate these consequences.


Traditional culture with refined and meaningful words, beautiful verses and rich connotations. As a product of the fusion of East and West, Chinese ancient poetry art songs is a perfect fusion of the profound Chinese poems and Western elegant music creation techniques, which is the continuous development of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. Colleges and universities, as the main channel for the training of high-quality music talents, shoulder the important responsibilities of talent training, cultural inheritance and scientific research. Since the birth of Chinese ancient poetry art songs, there have been high requirements in vocal singing, mood shaping and cultural expression, etc. Therefore, integrating Chinese ancient poetry art songs into vocal teaching in colleges and universities can not only improve the students' vocal singing level and comprehensive cultural literacy, but also enhance the students' cultural self-confidence in learning and singing. However, it is found that the inheritance status of Chinese ancient poetry art songs integrated into vocal music teaching in colleges and universities is not optimistic, and there are problems such as insufficient attention of students, irrational curriculum facilities, lack of attention to the improvement of comprehensive quality, confusing use of teaching materials, and fewer opportunities for students to practise, and so on. Through the analysis of the causes, it is found that there are misunderstandings in the students' cognition, the teaching objectives are not clear enough, the teaching faculty is scarce, and the teaching ability needs to be improved. In view of the above problems, this study proposes that students should be guided to improve their value cognition and set up a correct sense of inheritance; teachers should clarify the teaching objectives and create a reasonable curriculum system; institutions should strengthen the training of teachers and enhance the ability of diversified teaching; institutions should encourage teachers to reasonably prepare teaching materials and provide a scientific teaching basis; and institutions and teachers should also actively develop practical activities and provide sufficient opportunities for exercise.


The O vacancy (Ov) formation energy, EOv, is an important property of a metal-oxide, governing its performance in applications such as fuel cells or heterogeneous catalysis. These defects are routinely studied with density functional theory (DFT). However, it is well-recognized that standard DFT formulations (e.g., the generalized gradient approximation) are insufficient for modeling the Ov, requiring higher levels of theory. The embedded cluster method offers a promising approach to compute EOv accurately, giving access to all electronic structure methods. Central to this approach is the construction of quantum(-mechanically treated) clusters placed within suitable embedding environments. Unfortunately, current approaches to constructing the quantum clusters either require large system sizes, preventing application of high-level methods, or require significant manual input, preventing investigations of multiple systems simultaneously. In this work, we present a systematic and general quantum cluster design protocol that can determine small converged quantum clusters for studying the Ov in metal-oxides with accurate methods, such as local coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations. We apply this protocol to study the Ov in the bulk and surface planes of rutile TiO2 and rock salt MgO, producing the first accurate and well-converged determinations of EOv with this method. These reference values are used to benchmark exchange-correlation functionals in DFT, and we find that all the studied functionals underestimate EOv, with the average error decreasing along the rungs of Jacob's ladder. This protocol is automatable for high-throughput calculations and can be generalized to study other point defects or adsorbates.


Avalanche problems are used in avalanche forecasting to describe snowpack, weather, and terrain factors that require distinct risk management techniques. Although they have become an effective tool for assessing and communicating avalanche hazard, their definitions leave room for interpretation and inconsistencies. This study uses conditional inference trees to explore the application of avalanche problems over eight winters in Glacier National Park, Canada. The influence of weather and snowpack variables on each avalanche problem type were explored by analyzing a continuous set of weather and snowpack 5 variables produced with a numerical weather prediction model and a physical snow cover model. The decision trees suggest forecasters' assessments are not only based on a physical analysis of weather and snowpack conditions, but also contextual information about the time of season, location, and interactions with other avalanche problems. The decision trees show clearer patterns when new avalanche problems were added to hazard assessments compared to when problems were removed. Despite discrepancies between modelled variables and field observations, the model-generated variables produced intuitive 10 explanations for conditions influencing most avalanche problem types. For example, 72 h snowfall was the most significant variable for storm slab avalanche problems, skier penetration depth was the most significant variable for dry loose avalanche problems, and slab density was the most significant variable for persistent slab avalanche problems. The explanations for wind slab and cornice avalanche problems were less intuitive, suggesting potential inconsistencies in their application as well as shortcomings of the model-generated data. The decision trees illustrate how forecasters apply avalanche problems and can 15 inform discussions about improved operational practices and the development of data-driven decision aids.


BACKGROUND
Recent studies provide evidence that peripheral blood monocytes have the ability to differentiate into mesenchymal-like cells. The ability of cultured monocytes to differentiate and produce insulin in vitro is analysed in the present study.

METHODS
Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from healthy donors and cultivated for fourteen days. Growth factors and liraglutide were used to induce pancreatic differentiation in most of the cultures. The growth factors were: monocyte colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-3, hepatocyte growth factor and epidermal growth factor. The rest of the cultures were cultivated only with nutrient medium and human serum. Insulin levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cellular morphology was observed using optical and electron microscopy. Cell membrane receptors were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTS
Monocytes were able to synthesize and excrete high levels of insulin after seven days in culture. A further increase in the excretion of insulin was observed after fourteen days. Cells were also able to differentiate and synthesize insulin, even if no growth factors were added to the culture medium. Some of the cultures were able to excrete insulin in a glucose-dependent manner. Differentiated monocytes were connected to neighbouring cells with axons and resembled the morphology of mesenchymal, dendritic and myeloid-progenitor cells. Cells retained their mature receptors and simultaneously developed immature receptors on their membrane.

CONCLUSIONS
Monocytes can acquire morphological properties of multipotent cells when they are cultivated under specific conditions in vitro. Differentiated monocytes are able to synthesize and excrete insulin. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 344-351.