The relationship between variable (V) gene complexity and the efficiency of B cell development was studied in strains of mice deficient in mouse antibody production and engineered with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) containing different sized fragments of the human heavy (H) chain and κ light (L) chain loci. Each of the two H and the two κ chain fragments encompasses, in germline configuration, the same core variable and constant regions but contains different numbers of unique VH (5 versus 66) or Vκ genes (3 versus 32). Although each of these YACs was able to substitute for its respective inactivated murine counterpart to induce B cell development and to support production of human immunoglobulins (Igs), major differences in the efficiency of B cell development were detected. Whereas the YACs with great V gene complexity restored efficient development throughout all the different recombination and expression stages, the YACs with limited V gene repertoire exhibited inefficient differentiation with significant blocks at critical stages of B cell development in the bone marrow and peripheral lymphoid tissues. Our analysis identified four key checkpoints regulated by VH and Vκ gene complexity: (a) production of functional μ chains at the transition from the pre B-I to the pre B-II stage; (b) productive VκJκ recombination at the small pre B-II stage; (c) formation of surface Ig molecules through pairing of μ chains with L chains; and (d) maturation of B cells. These findings demonstrate that V gene complexity is essential not only for production of a diverse repertoire of antigen-specific antibodies but also for efficient development of the B cell lineage.


Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is an essential DNA damage repair pathway that removes bulky DNA lesions formed by exposure to ultraviolet light, environmental toxins, and platinum (Pt)-based chemotherapeutic drugs that are a standard of care for many cancer types. Mutation or decreased NER gene expression in cancer correlates with improved patient survival after Pt-based chemotherapy. However, the impact of most missense mutations in NER genes is unknown, and few approaches exist to reliably identify nonrecurrent passenger mutations with functional consequences. In this study, a multidisciplinary strategy will be developed to predict, validate, and characterize NER-defective mutations in the essential NER scaffold protein Xeroderma Pigmentosum Complementation Group A (XPA). Computational analyses were used to score NER-deficient versus NER-proficient mutations for further study. Predicted NER-deficient XPA mutants are being expressed in human XPA-deficient cells and screened for both NER activity and cisplatin sensitivity. In-depth biophysical and structural studies are being implemented to elucidate mechanisms of dysfunction. Identifying NER-deficient mutations that may sensitize tumors to Pt-based chemotherapies represents a promising strategy to stratify patients for optimal treatment strategies.


• This introductory article lays out the stakes of thinking through the temporal-ities of Brexit history across multiple fi elds of vision. It makes the case for books as one archive of Brexit subjects and feelings, and it glosses all the articles in the special issue.


Purpose Most patients with rectal cancer undergo a total mesorectal excision and a partial resection of the sigmoid colon to improve oncologic outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of lymph nodes (LNs) in rectal cancer. Methods The records of 54 patients with mid and low rectal cancer between April 2015 and March 2017 were reviewed, and 49 patients were enrolled in this study. All harvested LNs were analyzed according to the harvested area: the mesorectum area (MA), the vascular pedicle area (VA), and the sigmoid area (SA). Results Finally, 865 LNs were harvested from all patients, and of these, 71 (8.2%) showed metastases. In stage III patients, 343 LNs were harvested, and of these, 52 (15.2%) showed metastases. Significant differences were found in the total numbers of harvested LNs by area (P < 0.001) and in the numbers of harvested positive LNs by area (P < 0.001). In stage III patients, LNs from the MA were more frequently to be positive than were those from the VA (P < 0.001) or the SA (P < 0.001). Conclusion LN metastasis in the SA was rare. Therefore, resecting the mesorectum and the vascular pedicle may be more important than resecting the sigmoid mesentery due to concerns about LN metastases.


INTRODUCTION
Military operations often involve intense exposure to stressors combined with acute sleep deprivation, while military personnel also experience high prevalence of chronic sleep deficiency from insomnia and other sleep disorders. However, the impact of acute and chronic sleep deficiency on physiologic stressor responses is poorly understood. In a controlled laboratory study with normal sleepers and individuals with chronic sleep-onset insomnia, we measured responses to an acute stressor administered in a sleep deprivation condition or a control condition.

METHODS
Twenty-two adults (aged 22-40 years; 16 females)-11 healthy normal sleepers and 11 individuals with sleep-onset insomnia-completed a 5-day (4-night) in-laboratory study. After an adaptation day and a baseline day, subjects were assigned to a 38-hour total sleep deprivation (TSD) condition or a control condition; the study ended with a recovery day. At 8:00 PM after 36 hours awake in the sleep deprivation condition or 12 hours awake in the control condition, subjects underwent a Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST). Salivary cortisol was measured immediately before the MAST at 8:00 PM, every 15 minutes after the MAST from 8:15 PM until 9:15 PM, and 30 minutes later at 9:45 PM. Baseline salivary cortisol was collected in the evening of the baseline day. Additionally, before and immediately upon completion of the MAST, self-report ratings of affect and pain were collected.

RESULTS
The MAST elicited a stressor response in both normal sleepers and individuals with sleep-onset insomnia, regardless of the condition, as evidenced by increases in negative affect and pain ratings. Relative to baseline, cortisol levels increased immediately following the MAST, peaked 30 minutes later, and then gradually returned to pre-MAST levels. At the cortisol peak, there was a significant difference across groups and conditions, reflecting a pronounced blunting of the cortisol response in the normal sleepers in the TSD condition and the sleep-onset insomnia group in both the TSD and control conditions.

CONCLUSIONS
Blunted stressor reactivity as a result of sleep deficiency, whether acute or chronic, may reflect reduced resiliency attributable to allostatic load and may put warfighters at increased risk in high-stakes, rapid response scenarios.


ABSTRACT Fur ranching has been a prosperous industry for decades. Despite its worldwide distribution, little published information is available regarding the importance of the various causes of death in chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera). In the period 1999–2013, 698 captive chinchillas from different commercial ranches were presented for necropsy at the Pathology Department (UNLP). Two-hundred and forty-four animals (35.0%) had classical enteritis, 198 (28.4%) had pneumonia, 63 (9.0%) had other infections, 40 (5.7%) had traumatic injuries, 109 (15.6%) had miscellaneous conditions, meanwhile 44 (6.3%) had no significant lesions. Although some disease processes may be underrepresented (i.e. heat stroke and the shock syndrome), the data were collected from a field wide enough and over a sufficient period to give a reliable overview of the fatal problems of this rodent in captivity.


Bacteria belonging to the Bacillus cereus group are Gram-positive, rod-shaped, and sporeforming micro-organisms widely distributed in nature. They are commonly found in soil, air, dust, water and in many raw and processed foods. Several strains of this group have been implicated in food-borne illness with two pathogenic forms generally benign and spontaneously resolved, but people who are immuno-suppressed could have complications. Bacteria of B. cereus group are also prolific enzyme producers (lipases, proteases) and are recognised as causing spoilage in milk and egg product factories, even in refrigerated foods when psychrotolerant strains are involved. Liquid egg products usually receive only mild heat treatments inefficient on spores. Monitoring and control of bacteria belonging to the B. cereus group are hence of high importance for the egg breaking industry. Here we report on the typing by ERIC-PCR of bacteria belonging to the B. cereus group collected at different steps on a line of liquid egg product manufacturing. The strains exhibiting the same ERIC-PCR profiles were further discriminated by PFGE. Similar ERIC-PCR and PFGE profiles were observed for strains collected at the pasteurizing level and in two finished egg products. We then hypothesized the formation of a thermotolerant B. cereus-containing biofilm in the pasteurizer, giving rise to the contamination of the finished liquid egg products analyzed.


In this project we have established guidelines for the design on organic chromophores suitable for producing high triplet yields via singlet fission. We have proven their utility by identifying a chromophore of a structural class that had never been examined for singlet fission before, 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran, and demonstrating in two independent ways that a thin layer of this material produces a triplet yield of 200% within experimental error. We have also designed a second chromophore of a very different type, again of a structural class that had not been examined for singlet fission before, and found that in a thin layer it produces a 70% triplet yield. Finally, we have enhanced the theoretical understanding of the quantum mechanical nature of the singlet fission process.


We describe the mathematical model of a digitally controlled buck converter. This model is an autonomous discrete-time discontinuous piecewise-linear dynamical system in three dimensions. Investigating this system, we find its equilibrium points, describe the shape and size of possible limit cycles (i.e. stable periodic motions), and derive conditions for their existence and non-existence.


The rural tax reform is an another major reform implemented in the rural areas after the founding,this reform also has a significant impact on the problem of farmer's interests demand,has caused the farmer's interests demand changes in the economy 、the politics、the culture and the development and so on several aspect.the Initiative of farmer's interests demand enhancement in Post-tax reform era;farmer's interests demand positioned as the main target of the Party and government;he level of interest demands a greater increase than the previous tax reform.


Petrus Alfonsi's "Dialogue Against the Jews" (ca. 1109) breaks new ground in the history of Christian anti-Jewish polemics. As a recent convert from Judaism, Alfonsi introduced an intimate knowledge of Jewish literature and contemporary practice absent from earlier Christian sources. This knowledge enabled him to attack for the first time the Talmud (or, more broadly, post-biblical Jewish literature) as a source of Jewish error, with arguments drawn from philosophy and theology, astronomy, medicine, and physics. Equally important, Alfonsi's Dialogue contains an extensive anti-Muslim polemic to explain not only why he abandoned Judaism but also why he rejected Islam and chose the Christian faith. For these reasons, the Dialogue has been described as the most important anti-Jewish text of the Latin Middle Ages. This assessment is based not only on its innovative argumentation but also on the fact that it was one of the most popular medieval anti-Jewish polemics written. It was cited, often verbatim, by later Christian polemicists like Peter of Blois and used by Peter the Venerable. Alfonsi's Dialogue was known to Joachim of Fiore, who adapted its illustration of the mystery of the Trinity contained in the tetragrammaton; summarized by Vincent of Beauvais, who included a long extract from the Dialogue in his popular "Speculum Historiale"; exploited by Raymund Martini in his monumental "Pugio Fidei"; and utilized by Abner de Burgos in his "Mostrador de Justicia". It was also likely employed by Pablo Christiani to prepare for the public disputation at Barcelona (1263 C.E.) and later by Jerome de Santa Fe for the disputation at Tortosa (1413-1414 C.E.). Never before translated into English, this work presents to the reader perhaps the most important source for an intensifying medieval Christian-Jewish debate.


Traditional supervised learning makes the closed-world assumption that the classes appeared in the test data must have appeared in training. This also applies to text learning or text classification. As learning is used increasingly in dynamic open environments where some new/test documents may not belong to any of the training classes, identifying these novel documents during classification presents an important problem. This problem is called open-world classification or open classification. This paper proposes a novel deep learning based approach. It outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques dramatically.


AbstractAuthor: Sofie JakobssonCourse: Media and Communication Studies CUniversity: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityPeriod: Spring 2012Key words: Job ads, Professional Communicator, Public Relations Officer, Trait Theory, Five Factor Theory, Big Five, personal traits, work tasks.Title: The Independent Specialist. A study of requested personal types in Professional Communicators.Number of pages: 35Purpose/ Aim: The study aims to evaluate what kind of personality type that would make a good fit for a Professional Communicator. The study examines personal traits and work tasks that are presented in job ads for Professional Communicators in Sweden today. From this material the author wants to calculate what kind of personal type that characterize the profession with the help of the Big Five theory.Material/ Method: Quantitative research method based on job ads.Main results: The study shows that personal traits that employers look for in Professional Communicators today are mainly traits from the Conscientiousness group with characteristics such as independent, structured and planning. The second biggest personality group is Extraversion where personal traits like driving, outgoing and social were put. The results also indicate that the professional should enjoy working independently but also be able to cooperate with other people. A big part of the profession involves tasks which are of a producing nature which indicates that a talent or personality that fits for that kind of tasks is to prefer.


An electrochemical nucleic acid (NA)-based biosensor is a biosensor that integrates a nucleic acid as the biological recognition element and an electrode as the electrochemical signal transducer. The present report provides concepts, terms, and methodology related to biorecognition elements, detection principles, type of interactions to be addressed, and construction and performance of electrochemical NA biosensors, including their critical evaluation, which should be valuable for a wide audience, from academic, biomedical, environmental, and food-testing, drug-developing, etc. laboratories to sensor producers.


BackgroundIn the past 20 years, the number of adults with diabetes has tripled. For most of the researches are often conducted in rodent T2DM models, and effective drugs developed have low clinical conversion efficiency. Therefore, it is urgent to establish a large animal model to explore the pathogenesis of T2DM and formulate disease prevention and control strategies. MethodsThis study was designed to establish and validate a T2DM model in minipigs with notable hyperglycemia using a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin (STZ),and examined the influence of STZ infusion time, the difference between a high-fat diet and a high-cholesterol and high-fat diet, and the atherosclerotic lesions accelerated by diabetes. Male Bama minipigs (n=24) were randomly divided into 5 groups; the control group was fed with normal diet for 9 months; STZ+HFD group and STZ+HCFD group were infused with 90 mg/kg STZ and then fed with a high-fat diet or high-cholesterol and high-fat diet for 9 months, respectively; HFD + STZ group and HCFD + STZ group were fed with a high-fat diet or high-cholesterol and high-fat diet, respectively, for nine months (after 3 months, pigs were injected with 90 mg/kg STZ intravenously). ResultsThe results showed the serum glucose concentrations were within the normal range in all groups except for HFD + STZ group and HCFD + STZ group. Animals fed with a high-fat diet for 9 months, did not develop apparent atherosclerotic lesions; nevertheless, atherosclerotic lesions were seen in animals fed with high-cholesterol and high-fat diets. Moreover, hyperglycemia accelerated atherosclerosis (lesions on the intimal surface of the abdominal aorta, 0.44±0.29 vs. 0.28±0.26) in minipigs. ConclusionsHigh-fat/high-cholesterol and high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin successfully established T2DM in minipigs. High-fat diet could not induce apparent atherosclerosis lesions but high-cholesterol and high-fat diet could during the nine months period. Hyperglycemia accelerated atherosclerosis in the minipigs.


Summary The plant immune system involves detection of pathogens via both cell‐surface and intracellular receptors. Both receptor classes can induce transcriptional reprogramming that elevates disease resistance. To assess differential gene expression during plant immunity, we developed and deployed quantitative sequence capture (CAP‐I). We designed and synthesized biotinylated single‐strand RNA bait libraries targeted to a subset of defense genes, and generated sequence capture data from 99 RNA‐seq libraries. We built a data processing pipeline to quantify the RNA‐CAP‐I‐seq data, and visualize differential gene expression. Sequence capture in combination with quantitative RNA‐seq enabled cost‐effective assessment of the expression profile of a specified subset of genes. Quantitative sequence capture is not limited to RNA‐seq or any specific organism and can potentially be incorporated into automated platforms for high‐throughput sequencing.


The present invention is notably directed to a computerized method to reduce noise in phased- array signals from a set of receivers at different locations. Time-series are received from the receivers, which time-series form phased-array signals. The time-series are ordered based on the different locations of the receivers and spatially phased series are obtained from the ordered time- series. Each of the spatially phased series obtained comprises a series of signal values that are spatially phased. A noise component is identified in each of the spatially phased series obtained and removed from the spatially phased series to obtain denoised series. The invention is further directed to related receiver systems and computer program products.


Postischemic acute renal failure (ARF) is common and often fatal. Cellular mechanisms include cell adhesion, cell infiltration and generation of oxygen free radicals, and inflammatory cytokine production. Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors ("statins") directly influence inflammatory mechanisms. The hypothesis that ischemia-induced ARF could be ameliorated with statin treatment was investigated and possible molecular mechanisms were analyzed in a uninephrectomized rat model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with cerivastatin (0.5 mg/kg) or vehicle for 3 d. Ischemic ARF was induced by left renal artery clipping for 45 min, while the right kidney was being removed. After 24 h of ARF, serum creatinine levels were increased 7.5-fold in vehicle-treated control animals with ARF, compared with sham-operated animals (P < 0.005). Statin treatment reduced the creatinine level elevation by 40% (P < 0.005). Simultaneously, ischemia-induced severe decreases in GFR were significantly ameliorated by statin treatment (sham operation, 0.95 +/- 0.09 ml/min, n = 13; ischemia without treatment, 0.06 +/- 0.02 ml/min, n = 9; ischemia with statin pretreatment, 0.21 +/- 0.03 ml/min, n = 11; P < 0.001). Furthermore, statin pretreatment prevented the occurrence of tubular necrosis, with marked loss of the brush border, tubular epithelial cell detachment, and tubular obstruction in the S3 segment of the outer medullary stripe. In addition, monocyte and macrophage infiltration was almost completely prevented, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 upregulation was greatly decreased, and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression was reduced. Fibronectin and collagen IV expression was reduced, approaching levels observed in sham-operated animals. In vehicle-treated rats with ARF, mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular activated kinase-1/2 activity was increased and the transcription factors nuclear factor-kappaB and activator protein-1 were activated. Statin treatment reduced this activation toward levels observed in sham-operated rats. The data suggest that hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibition protects renal tissue from the effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury and thus reduces the severity of ARF. The chain of events may involve anti-inflammatory effects, with inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation and the redox-sensitive transcription factors nuclear factor-kappaB and activator protein-1.


Conditionally and strictly controlling cell fates is important for biomedical applications including cell therapies. Although previous studies have been based on regulating the expression or activation of signaling molecules, the techniques therein require improvement in terms of reducing leakiness and complexity. In this study, we propose a novel cell fate converting system using our previously developed antibody/receptor chimeras named "signalobodies" in combination with a Cre/loxP recombination system. We designed a "switch vector" where a growth signalobody gene was flanked by two loxP sites and a death signalobody gene was placed downstream of the floxed cassette. Cells transduced with the switch vector showed superior growth activity in the presence of a specific antigen. Subsequent expression of Cre induced the death signalobody, leading to conditional cell death. This technology could be applicable for other cell fate conversion systems including differentiation and migration, by using appropriate signal‐transducing domains. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013;110: 3219–3226. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


REDISCOVERING THE CONNECTION TO THE QUINNIPIAC  ABSTRACT The Quinnipiac River is a tidal river that leads to the New Haven Harbor and ultimately the Long Island Sound in New Haven, Connecticut. The water is essential to the livelihood of many in New Haven. Besides those who utilize the river to make their living, however, few in New Haven have strong available access to the waterfront. All along major bodies of water in the United States, cities are beginning to reclaim their waterfronts as an asset for their communities. Rediscovering the Connection to the Quinnipiac looked at how several parks along the Quinnipiac River could connect to create a positive social space and unity in the community, while also having a beneficial impact on the ecology of the Quinnipiac River. It also looked at how this connection could be used to create an identity for the Front Street neighborhood. This study consisted of three phases. The first introduced and examined elements of urban park design, ecological bank stabilization and greenways as connections through a literature review. It also explored precedent studies for urban waterfront revitalization through park redesign and then how those examples could be built upon to increase the success and sustainability of the redesign. The second phase included a design charette with twenty-six local community members that helped establish a list of desired elements for the parks and streetscape. These suggestions formed the skeleton for the final program. The third phase utilized the information gathered and synthesized to create a master plan for the two major parks of the Front Street neighborhood and the connection between them. Further design detail was provided with a site plan of the Quinnipiac River Park and support graphics. Rediscovering the Connection to the Quinnipiac provides a design solution to help give the Front Street neighborhood a cohesive identity and greater access to the river at their back door. A redesign of these spaces could revitalize the neighborhood and remind New Haven of the early glory of this majestic estuary.


Summary
Eggs, rhabditoid larvae and infective-stage larvae of Ancylostoma duodenale were immersed in common food-preservative substances individually and in combinations used in pickling mixtures. In all tests, the eggs and rhabditoid larvae failed to develop to infective-stage larvae. Infusions containing the usual amounts or less of mustard or garlic used in food preservatives were especially toxic, and combinations of either of these substances with other commonly used preservatives such as salt, sugar, acetic acid, bean sauce and spices were equally or more toxic to all stages, killing the infective-stage larvae within a few hours or at most 1 to 2 days.


and Summary

L. brichardi is a substrate brooding cichlid with facultative polygamy. The social organization was studied in the field for a 6-week period. The mating structure was examined in detail in the laboratory. Two types of social groupings are described:

1
Aggregations of sexually mature but nonterritorial fish, also frequently visited by territory holders in the vicinity.

2
Reproductive units (families) mainly consisting of the reproducing pair members and offspring from several broods. All family members defend a common territory around the shelter site. Occasionally a male has access to two females each with a separate territory (harem).

The factors influencing mating structure were investigated in the laboratory:

1
Females select breeding sites rather than partners.

2
Without competitors for breeding sites, and with an equal or nearly equal sex ratio, harems were established nearly as often as pairs.

3
Young males are physically able to mate and form a harem; but they are usually prevented from doing so by more competitive (larger) males.

4
Competition for breeding sites is not a prime influence on harem formation, although it is of great importance in determining the composition and size of the breeding population.

5
Just as many pairs as harems were formed with and without predators, even though, with predators, no young survived.

6
In L. brichardi the formation of harems is not predominantly determined by the distribution of suitable spawning sites. The monopolization of females is only slightly influenced by the distance between their territories.

7
In L. brichardi it is not necessary for harem formation that the male is bigger than the female.

8
Behavioural protocols and data on growth rates, as well as spawning intervals, did reveal any consistent difference between pairs and harmes.

Of the variables tested, male competition for females was therefore the sole determinant of who should mate.


as an important tool of security policy, given the close link age between integration and security. There are reasons to assume that successful association of the neighbouring countries to the EU may produce the same results. In a recent report, Stefan Lehne (2014) recommends that the Neigh bourhood Policy should expand the ENP framework to more countries and that engagement should be more diversified according to the needs and capacities of the individual coun tries. Further, notes Lehne, there is a need to improve the ENP toolbox and develop capacity for rapid reaction, as well as developing a more sophisticated approach to promoting democratic values; and finally, the EU needs to strengthen the political leadership of the ENP (Lehne 2014).


Gamification aims at improving people's motivation and performance in certain tasks by introducing different mechanics taken from traditional games. Gamification has been successfully applied in different domains, such as education, marketing, and the workplace. In this paper we present an intelligent virtual assistant for gamified environments. This assistant will provide the players with help on the tasks they have to complete using natural language dialogues. The intelligent virtual assistant includes other advances technologies, such as sentiment analysis, and player's profile and interaction network analysis. This allows the assistant to analyze the sentiment polarity of each message submitted by the user, and to adapt its dialogues accordingly. It also allows the assistant to have knowledge about each player, including basic personal data and their social network. This allows the assistant to use those data in the dialogues to, for example, suggest players to ask for help to their friends, or even to suggest new friends to a player. We also present a case study in which the intelligent virtual assistant has been introduced in the gamified environment of a real company.


Abstract Heating application efficiency is a crucial point for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today, EU legal framework conditions clearly define how heating systems should perform, how buildings should be designed in an energy efficient manner and how renewable energy sources should be used. Using heat pumps (HP) as an alternative "Renewable Energy System" could be one solution for increasing efficiency, using less energy, reducing the energy dependency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This scientific article will take a closer look at the different efficiency dependencies of such geothermal HP (GHP) systems for domestic buildings (small/medium HP). Manufacturers of HP appliances must document the efficiency, so called COP (Coefficient of Performance) in the EU under certain standards. In technical datasheets of HP appliances, these COP parameters give a clear indication of the performance quality of a HP device. HP efficiency (COP) and the efficiency of a working HP system can vary significantly. For this reason, an annual efficiency statistic named "Seasonal Performance Factor" (SPF) has been defined to get an overall efficiency for comparing HP Systems. With this indicator, conclusions can be made from an installation, economy, environmental, performance and a risk point of view. A technical and economic HP model shows the dependence of energy efficiency problems in HP systems. To reduce the complexity of the HP model, only the important factors for efficiency dependencies are used. Dynamic and static situations with HP´s and their efficiency are considered. With the latest data from field tests of HP Systems and the practical experience over the last 10 years, this information will be compared with one of the latest simulation programs with the help of two practical geothermal HP system calculations. With the result of the gathered empirical data, it allows for a better estimate of the HP system efficiency, their economic costs and benefits and their environmental impact.


Borrelia afzelii, B. japonica, and 'B. tanukii' isolated from various sources and geographical origins in Japan were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and sequencing analysis of the outer surface protein C (OspC) amplicon. B. afzelii and 'B. tanukii' generated variable RFLP patterns and differences in ospC gene sequence were confirmed. In contrast, 26 isolates of B. japonica generated one OspC RFLP type, and sequence similarity between B. japonica ranged from 96.4 to 99.7%. These finding suggests that B. japonica is unique in comparison with other members of B. burgdorferi sensu lato species with respect to homogeneity of the ospC gene.


The purpose of the simulation history match phase in a study is to achieve a simulation model calibrated to historical performance for predictive production forecasting while preserving reservoir understanding in terms of reservoir characterization and fluid flow mechanisms. The classical history match simulation approach involves running a number of history match simulation cases with modified simulation model variables to obtain only one of the many probable match models to the field data. Undoubtedly, the conventional simulation history match approach does not normally handle the uncertainty of all model variables, nor the possibility to identify and carry forward a set of multiple equi-probable history match model scenarios to predictive forecasting. Furthermore, the conventional history match approach lacks a rigorous mechanism to ensure that the original reservoir characterization and understanding is preserved after achieving only one of the many probable history match models. This paper presents an innovative history match approach as part of Saudi Aramco's integrated "Event Solution1" study workflow. This approach was developed to enable faster simulation history match under uncertainty, in terms of static and dynamic variables. The history matching process is performed with the aid of assisted history matching software 2 that tracks the match quality of hundreds of history match cases and analyzes the impact of each variable and its range of uncertainty on model match quality to historical field data. Finally, a proxy (statistical History Match solution surface including all uncertainty variables) is created that combines model learnings to provide directional guidance to a most likely history match model design. As the history match process progresses, history match variables are characterized into three distinct categories; (1) critical variables to history match, (2) non critical variables to history match but with significant impact on prediction, and (3) non critical variables to history match but with less impact on prediction. The impact of the variables on prediction is concluded by concurrently running prediction runs under uncertainty. The uncertainty range of the variables categorized in groups (1) and (3) are set to a single realizations or narrower range of uncertainty for each variable while group (2) variables are carried forward with a more restricted range of uncertainty (defined by history match quality analysis) setting the stage for prediction under uncertainty modeling. This paper presents the application of an innovative history match approach that provides all project stakeholders with a shared understanding of critical and non critical uncertainties (static and dynamic) in history match as carried forward to prediction runs under uncertainty.


This research unites traditionally disparate developmental domains-cognition and locomotion-to examine the classic cognitive issue of the development of inhibition in infancy. In 2 locomotor A-not-B tasks, 13-month-old walking infants inhibited a prepotent response under low task demands (walking on flat ground), but perseverated under increased task demands (descending a staircase). Despite elimination of factors previously associated with infant perseveration, infants still perseverated in the difficult stairs condition. Increasing cognitive load by manipulating task difficulty affected infants' ability to inhibit repeated responses that were no longer appropriate. Evidence supports a cognitive capacity account of infant perseveration, in which infants' performance depends on allocation of cognitive and attentional resources.


The paper summarizes the results of a follow-up study on the effects of globalization in an old industrial town in eastern Finland called Varkaus. Until the 1980s, the town was dominated by one large Finnish company. Since then, the company has sold all its businesses in the town, and almost all have been acquired by foreign companies. The analysis reveals that in the first phase, during the 1990s foreign ownership has primarily had a positive impact on the development of the business units acquired although there were some problems between local business units and their new owners. During the more recent years the effects of globalization have changed towards more negative direction. This is not because of foreign ownership but due to changes in the competitiveness of Finland and the town as business environment. Today, Finnish forest multinationals invest in Russia, China and in the South America. Instead, in Finland and in Varkaus some old paper machines have been closed. In addition, due to globalization pressure firms in Finland and Varkaus try to develop new high-tech products. For high-tech product development old industrial towns are not the best business environment and therefore in Varkaus the major automation company has decided to move its facilities to a bigger university city in Finland.


This review discusses the wealth of information available for the N. crassa cell wall. The basic organization and structure of the cell wall is presented and how the wall changes during the N. crassa life cycle is discussed. Over forty cell wall glycoproteins have been identified by proteomic analyses. Genetic and biochemical studies have identified many of the key enzymes needed for cell wall biogenesis, and the roles these enzymes play in cell wall biogenesis are discussed. The review includes a discussion of how the major cell wall components (chitin, β-1,3-glucan, mixed β-1,3-/ β-1,4- glucans, glycoproteins, and melanin) are synthesized and incorporated into the cell wall. We present a four-step model for how cell wall glycoproteins are covalently incorporated into the cell wall. In N. crassa, the covalent incorporation of cell wall glycoproteins into the wall occurs through a glycosidic linkage between lichenin (a mixed β-1,3-/β-1,4- glucan) and a "processed" galactomannan that has been attached to the glycoprotein N-linked oligosaccharides. The first step is the addition of the galactomannan to the N-linked oligosaccharide. Mutants affected in galactomannan formation are unable to incorporate glycoproteins into their cell walls. The second step is carried out by the enzymes from the GH76 family of α-1,6-mannanases, which cleave the galactomannan to generate a processed galactomannan. The model suggests that the third and fourth steps are carried out by members of the GH72 family of glucanosyltransferases. In the third step the glucanosyltransferases cleave lichenin and generate enzyme/substrate intermediates in which the lichenin is covalently attached to the active site of the glucanosyltransferases. In the final step, the glucanosyltransferases attach the lichenin onto the processed galactomannans, which creates new glycosidic bonds and effectively incorporates the glycoproteins into the cross-linked cell wall glucan/chitin matrix.


We summarize existing constraints on the epoch of reionization and discuss the observational probes that are sensitive to the process. We focus on the role large scale polarization can play. Polarization probes the integrated optical depth across the entire epoch of reionization. Future missions such as Planck and CMBPol will greatly enhance our knowledge of the reionization history, allowing us to measure the time evolution of the ionization fraction. As large scale polarization probes high redshift activity, it can best constrain models where the Universe was fully or partially ionized at early times. In fact, large scale polarization could be our only probe of the highest redshifts.


This paper investigates the performance of a massive multiple-input multiple-output relaying network where a group of single-antenna users communicate with a massive-antenna destination with the help of a multiple-antenna relay node. The transmission is performed based on a very simple amplify-and-forward relaying technique. To detect the signals transmitted from the users, the destination does not need to know all channels. It needs to know only the effective channel gains (the combined channel of the links from the users to the relay and the relay to the destination). Thus, we propose a channel estimation protocol at the destination where the pilot signals are first transmitted from the users to the relay, and then forwarded to the destination. The destination can estimate the effective channel gain from the received pilot signals, while the channel estimation overhead of the proposed scheme is independent of the number of destination antennas. A closed-form expression for the spectral efficiency with maximum-ratio-combining is derived. This closed-form expression enables us to suboptimally allocate power to each user and the relay to maximize the minimum of all user rates. We show that the power allocation can be solved through a sequence of geometric programs, and that the solution improves the system performance significantly.


Group-based approaches have received a lot of attention in the recent past due to their possible role in securing household welfare in the presence of adverse events. Using detailed household survey data from Bangladesh, the present paper tests this potential by first examining the factors associated with men's and women's participation in different types of groups. Subsequently, we investigate the relationship between social and political capital and welfare among agricultural households in the presence of shocks, addressing the inherent endogeneity with the help of instrumental variables estimation and allowing for differences by gender, both in group membership and in asset ownership. The data suggest that household heads and their spouses are members of different groups overall: while the former mainly participate in farmer groups, the latter are mainly active in credit groups. Furthermore, there is evidence for a positive association of social and political capital with household-level welfare, mainly driven by social capital and particularly with consumption expenditure of the household and asset holdings of the household head. Interestingly, our results suggest that this effect is not driven by the mere participation in groups, but also by other aspects of social capital such as informal networks, of both household heads and their spouses.


iabetes can be considered as a cardiovascular disease leading to the premature death of patients. The increase in cardiovascular risk has been extensively investigated and is associated with a cluster of adverse factors. The effects of various treatments used to affect the pathogenesis of the atherosclerotic process have been investigated in many large trials. A number of issues make the interpretation and comparison of these trials complicated, and in particular the use of a single primary end point such as mortality has been replaced with composite end points. The effects of risk factors and interventions on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk has been converted to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk for understandable reasons, but this makes the interpretation and comparison of results even more complex. This review provides a critical analysis of outcome studies, highlighting differences in design, end points, patient inclusion and definitions in recent cardiovascular diabetology trials, and examines the ...


This study evaluates the efficiency of lead (Pb) extraction from cathode ray tube (CRT) funnel glass in strongly alkaline solution using mechanical activation in a ball mill as the chemical breakage and defects formed in the inner structures will contribute to the easy dissolution of the activated Pb glass. The combination of mechanical activation and a chemical leaching process in a single operation (mechano-chemical leaching) is more effective than the mechanical activation and subsequent chemical leaching. More than 97% of Pb in the CRT funnel glass can be extracted with a stirring ball mill leaching process in 5 M sodium hydroxide at 70°C. The diameter of the stainless steel balls as the activation medium is 5 mm; the mass ratio of ball to raw materials is 25:1. Pb powder with a purity of 97% can be obtained by electrowinning from the leaching solution. The Pb-depleted solution can be recycled into the leaching step. After Pb is removed, the solid leaching residues can be used for preparation of foam glass. Thus, a novel hydrometallurgical process for recovering Pb from CRT funnel glass in alkaline solution is proposed.


BACKGROUND
Patients who survive critical illness have well-defined physical, cognitive, emotional, and familial problems. However, the impact of these problems on survivors' ability to return to work and other financial outcomes are less clear.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the financial and employment consequences of an intensive care stay, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. Data Source We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL (1970-2018). All study designs except narrative reviews, case reports, case control studies, and editorials were included. Included studies assessed financial outcomes in patients admitted to critical care, and their caregivers.

DATA EXTRACTION
Two reviewers independently applied eligibility criteria, assessed quality and extracted data. The primary outcome reported was return to employment among those previously employed. We also examined financial stress and the impact financial outcomes had on quality of life and psychosocial health.

DATA SYNTHESIS
From 5765 eligible abstracts, 51 studies were included, which provided data on 858 caregivers/family members and 7267 patients. Forty-two papers reported on patient outcomes and 11 papers on caregiver/family members. Two papers included data from both patients and caregivers/family members. Return to employment was the most commonly reported financial outcome for critical care survivors. The pooled estimate for return to employment-among those who were employed prior to critical illness-was 33% (95% CI: 21%-48%), 55% (95% CI: 45%-64%) and 56% (95% CI: 45%-66%) at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Across the studies included in this review, there was a positive association with psychosocial health if patients returned to employment. This included improved health related quality of life and fewer depressive symptoms. With caregivers/family members, six studies reported changes to employment such as reduced hours and lost earnings.

CONCLUSIONS
Following critical illness, many patients who were previously employed do not return to work, even one year later. This new job loss is associated with worse health related quality of life amongst survivors and worse psychological function amongst survivors and caregivers/family members. More interventional research is required to understand how best to support employability after critical illness. PROSPERO (ID:CRD42018102360).


This paper addresses the microstructural optimization of an infinite, transversely isotropic layer which is free of tractions and subjected to a prescribed thermal gradient. The layer's microstructure is characterized as a bi-phase composite in the form of a continuous matrix perfectly bonded to embedded spheroidal reinforcements. The microstructural characterization of the FGM is taken to be the volume fraction, aspect ratio and orientation distribution function of the second phase. The composite layer is made functionally gradient by taking the aforementioned parameters to vary through the thickness of the layer. The effective properties of the bi-phase composite are obtained by appropriate homogenization theories. The microstructural parameters are determined such that an objective function, defined in terms of strain energy and curvature, is minimized. Specific results are presented for an aluminum (Al) layer reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC). Comparisons are made to conventional coating technology.


The purpose of the study reported in this article was to examine how the unique circumstances of the birth of a premature baby affect the perception of parental self-efficacy and stress-related growth--which is the experience of positive change in one's life following stressful circumstances--among first-time parents and to examine the contribution of the parents' personal resources of self-esteem and attachment style, and their infant's temperament and medical condition, to their self-efficacy and stress-related growth. Forty-nine sets of parents of preterm babies and 50 sets of parents of full-term babies completed questionnaires about one month after the birth of their child. Parents of premature infants reported a higher level of stress-related growth than those of full-term infants, but no difference was found between them on parental self-efficacy In addition, gender differences in the dependent variables, as well as significant contributions of attachment style and self-esteem, were found. Professional guidance during pregnancy, aimed at expanding parents' knowledge and understanding of the changes they can expect to undergo, may serve to enhance the positive experience of growth in the transition to parenthood.


Context: Osteoporosis is a universally growing health problem. Adequate calcium intake and physical activity, alongside a high level of knowledge and health beliefs, play a crucial role in preventing or delaying diseases.
Aim: This scoping review provides an overview of university students' prevailing knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding osteoporosis.
Methods: CINHAL, PubMed, and MEDLINE databases were searched to cover the period between 2014 to 2019. Twenty-seven articles were selected out of 4078 were retrieved. The following searching terms were used: (osteoporosis knowledge OR osteoporosis awareness) AND osteoporosis beliefs AND (osteoporosis practices OR osteoporosis behaviors OR calcium intake OR physical activity) AND (osteoporosis OR bone mineral density) AND (nursing students OR university students OR undergraduate students OR college-age students OR young adults). Finally, the level of osteoporosis knowledge, health beliefs, preventive behaviors, the relationship between practices/behaviors and lifestyle with bone health, and the educational intervention's significant/nonsignificant positive effect on the students' osteoporosis knowledge, the prevailed beliefs, and the level of engagement in the osteoporosis preventive behaviors were documented.
Results: Most articles demonstrate that the students' osteoporosis knowledge was insufficient and seriously lacking in osteoporosis's perceived susceptibility and severity. This finding clarified that most students were not adequately engaging in the osteoprotective preventive behaviors (Physical activity ad Ca intake). Also, the finding indicates that following a healthy lifestyle and engaging in osteoprotective behaviors positively affect BMD and vice versa.
Conclusion: The lack of osteoporosis awareness among the university students and the low perception of osteoporosis susceptibility and severity explains why most participants are not engaged in osteoporosis preventive behaviors due to the strong influence of personal beliefs, perceptions, and misconceptions. Therefore, it is important to design educational programs targeting these groups to raise awareness and change their subsequent beliefs.


In this paper a simple diagnostic method of a single IGBT open-circuit fault is presented, it is dedicated for three- phase two-level voltage-inverter-fed vector controlled induction motor drive systems. A failure diagnosis is based on a transient analysis of a reference voltage space vector in stationary coordinates, without additional sensors. The diagnostic algorithm ensures detection and localization of single IGBT failures in time shorter than one period of a stator current fundamental harmonic, without regard to a drive operation point. The presented scheme of the diagnostic system can be easily applicable in the electric drives that use voltage space vector modulation algorithms. The main achievement of the research, whose results have been presented in this paper, is an experimental validation of the analyzed IGBT faults diagnosis technique in the drive with the Direct Torque Control algorithm.


RAS subfamily proteins regulates cell growth promoting signaling processes by cycling between active (GTP‐bound) and inactive (GDP‐bound) states. Different RAS isoforms, though structurally similar, exhibit functional specificity and are associated with different types of cancers and developmental disorders. Understanding the dynamical differences between the isoforms is crucial for the design of inhibitors that can selectively target a particular malfunctioning isoform. In this study, we provide a comprehensive comparison of the dynamics of all the three RAS isoforms (HRAS, KRAS, and NRAS) using extensive molecular dynamics simulations in both the GDP‐ (total of 3.06 μs) and GTP‐bound (total of 2.4 μs) states. We observed significant differences in the dynamics of the isoforms, which rather interestingly, varied depending on the type of the nucleotide bound and the simulation temperature. Both SwitchI (Residues 25–40) and SwitchII (Residues 59–75) differ significantly in their flexibility in the three isoforms. Furthermore, Principal Component Analysis showed that there are differences in the conformational space sampled by the GTP‐bound RAS isoforms. We also identified a previously unreported pocket, which opens transiently during MD simulations, and can be targeted to regulate nucleotide exchange reaction or possibly interfere with membrane localization. Further, we present the first simulation study showing GDP destabilization in the wild‐type RAS protein. The destabilization of GDP/GTP occurred only in 1/50 simulations, emphasizing the need of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) to accelerate such an extremely unfavorable process. This observation along with the other results presented in this article further support our previously hypothesized mechanism of GEF‐assisted nucleotide exchange. Proteins 2015; 83:1091–1106. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


We develop a bottom-up, midterm model for the Nord Pool system price. Models for consumption, generation and exchange are combined using a market equilibrium approach. Scenarios for the most influential stochastic factors are created using statistical models. Forecasted price scenarios yield an indication on the expected future system price, and the uncertainty in future prices. Compared to stochastic dynamic programming based models, we use an empirical function to approximate the water value. Consequently, our model represents a less computationally intensive method for price forecasting than e.g. the EMPS model. In addition to providing a picture of the price distribution, the model can be applied to learn about the impact of different variables. In particular, we study the relative influence of the stochastic factors and price risk caused by inflow volatility. The performance of the model is evaluated in numerical examples over a two-year forecast period. Overall, we conclude the model provides realistic forecasts of the system price and its distribution. The performance under normal market conditions may deviate from our results, due to the extraordinary drop in fuel prices caused by the financial crisis.


Henri de Genouillac (1881–1940), one of the leading Assyriologists of his time, owned a collection of cuneiform tablets and inscribed artefacts. On his death, it was divided into two parts. Whereas the majority of these objects were bequeathed to the Musée des Antiquités in Rouen, his native city, a smaller part remained the property of his nephew, Michel de Genouillac. The present paper, which offers the publication of the latter, also aims to reconstruct its history. The Michel de Genouillac collection consists of 20 Ur III tablets (9 from Puzriš-Dagan, 10 from Girsu, 1 of uncertain origin), 1 clay cone with an inscription of Gudea and 5 Sargonic administrative tablets from Girsu.


This study aims to classify the architectural formation of the Stylobate of and Staircase types of Post-Lintel Construction in Backje style and Silla style and also to figure out their specific elements by periods and transformation characteristics. The scope of this study was restricted to architectural remains between the Three Kingdom period and the Goryeo period. To progress the investigation, the study classified remains in a similar type by period and type, and then and analyzed its character based on formation method and specific factors of subsidiary materials. As a result, its type can be classified as Backje type(I), Silla type(II) and Mixed type(III). Regionally, it is found that Woongjin, Sabi and surroundings in the capital of Backje, Gyeongju and main towns in the capital of Silla, and Gaeseong and main towns in the capital of Goryeo. In particular, type III has the characteristics of type I and II simultaneously, which has one or two layers Jangdaeseok stone between the foundation stone of stylobate and plate stone, and tends to be decorative when Taengjuseok stone is installed. For types of staircase, it could be classified as 6~7C Backje type(I), 7~9C Silla type(II) and 9C Mixed type(III) according to the formation method of Somaetdol (banister of stone stair). And from the 9th century on, decorated Somaetdol stone type(IV) of 1/4 circle shape began to appear. The common feature of stylobate of post-lintel and staircase is that it became simplified, abbreviated and decorative. It seems to be intended to secure simplicity of construction or structural stability.


The unique reactivity pattern elicited by the crowded tert-butyl group is highlighted by summarising characteristic applications. Starting from the use of this simple hydrocarbon moiety in chemical transformations, via its relevance in Nature and its implication in biosynthetic and biodegradation pathways, the way through to its possible application in biocatalytic processes is described.


Frequencies of movement, as an index of propensity for immobility, of Takydromus tachydromoides were measured in the encounters with a potential predator Elaphe quadrivirgata (Session A) or a sympatric non-predator Eumeces latiscutatus (Session B), or in the absence of other animals (Session C). Frequency of movement in Session A was significantly lower than in Sessions B and C. In Session B, T. tachydromoides moved significantly less frequently during the first 10min than during the latter 10min. The lizards previously exposed to E. quadrivirgata reduced their movements in the subsequent Session B with significantly high frequency when compared with animals without such experience. It is suggested that immobility of T. tachydromoides is an adaptive antipredator behavior to avoid detection by a visually orienting predator.


A modem-agnostic Line-of-Sight (LoS) MIMO system, which performs MIMO processing in analog domain, can be retrofitted to any kind of single-input-single-output (SISO) digital modems to further increase spectral efficiency and data- rate. We show that two of the enabling technologies for broadband analog MIMO processing over several GHz bandwidth are: (1) precise signal delay compensation using continuously tunable delay line and (2) operating analog MIMO equalization at high RF intermediate frequency. Based on these two principles, we design and implement a 2×2 LoS MIMO system that supports MIMO processing of up to 1.6 Gbaud 64-QAM signal. The channel interference can be reduced lower than −25 dB over the entire signal spectrum after MIMO equalization. We demonstrate an indoor 2×2 LoS MIMO link of 16.7 Gbps with each channel carrying 1.6 Gbaud 64 QAM and an outdoor MIMO link of 11.1 Gbps over the range of 13 km with each channel carrying 1.6 Gbaud 16-QAM signal at millimeter-wave (MMW) frequency of 85 GHz.


QUANTIFYING VULNERABILITY TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE Barry Charles Ezell Old Dominion University, 2004 Director: Dr. Charles Keating Military and civilian leaders have the responsibility to protect our Nation's critical infrastructure, communities, and symbols of American power from terrorists, home and abroad, as well as from natural disasters. To this end, assessments are conducted to reduce vulnerability. The literature offers multiple definitions of vulnerability and measurement has not been adequately addressed. Thus, the purpose of this research has been to develop and deploy a systems-based model that quantifies vulnerability to critical infrastructure. This research defines critical infrastructure vulnerability as a measure of the susceptibility of critical infrastructure to threat scenarios. Vulnerability is a function of 1) threat scenario, 2) protection and 3) importance. Critical infrastructure vulnerability is measured by a system's 1) deterrence, 2) detection, 3) delay and 4) response capabilities. Importance implies that some subsystems are more critical to overall system performance than other subsystems. A value model was used as the logic construct for quantifying vulnerability. Subject-matter experts were queried to establish the shapes of value functions and importance (weights) in the model. Another set of subject-matter experts are queried to assess a notional clean water system with respect to each protection measure within the vulnerability value model. To accomplish this, two simulations are executed in the model. The first simulation aggregates expert assessments into one assessment. The results are then used as inputs into the vulnerability value portion of the model for use in the second simulation where vulnerability is quantified. Results of this Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. research demonstrate that vulnerability can be quantified and that quantifying vulnerability is useful to decision-makers who prefer quantification to qualitative treatment of vulnerability. This research is a novel contribution to the body of scholarly work by: 1) providing a rigorous method to quantify vulnerability to critical infrastructure, 2) introducing the theory of vulnerability, and 3) specifying the theoretical relationship between risk and vulnerability. Subject matter experts conclude that there is value in the approach put forward in this body of research as it is applied to clean water systems, so it may be useful in other critical infrastructures. The research closes with directions for further research. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to the men and women who protect our Homeland. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


Matthew Ridout gave outstanding care to my 85-year-old mother during her stay at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr hospital in Ystrad Mynach, south Wales following a stroke.


The article discusses some of the major issues which need to be examined in a gendered reading of citizenship. However, its basic claim is that a comparative study of citizenship should consider the issue of women's citizenship not only by contrast to that of men, but also in relation to women's affiliation to dominant or subordinate groups, their ethnicity, origin and urban or rural residence. It should also take into consideration global and transnational positionings of these citizenships. The article challenges the gender-blind and Westocentric character of many of the most hegemonic theorizations of citizenship, focusing in particular on the questions of membership in 'the community', group rights and social difference and the ways binaries of public/private and active/passive have been constructed to differentiate between different kinds of citizenships. The article argues that in order to be able to analyse adequately people's citizenship, especially in this era of ethnicization on the one hand and globalization on the other hand, and with the rapid pace at which relationships between states and their civil societies are changing, citizenship should best be analysed as a multi-tiered construct which applies, at the same time to people's membership in sub-, cross- and supra-national collectivities as well as in states.


BACKGROUND
Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) can lead to serious reproductive and sexual health outcomes, and the annual number of NG notifications in Australia increased steadily from 10329 in 2010 to 29549 by 2020. Australian populations most affected are urban men who have sex with men and First Nations peoples living in remote areas, and a resurgence in urban heterosexuals has been observed since 2012.

METHODS
A case series analysis of Queensland NG isolates (2010-15) exploring temporal trends and antimicrobial resistance by demographic and geographic distribution and genotype was performed. Proportions describe age, sex, strain, genogroup (NG multi-antigen sequence typing), region, swab site, antimicrobial sensitivity and isolate rates per 100000 population. Dominant genogroups were identified.

RESULTS
Among 3953 isolates, the median age was 25years (IQR 20-34years) and most (n=2871/3915, 73%) were men. Brisbane city (68.8) and Far North Queensland (54.1) excluding Cairns showed the highest rates. Forty-six genogroups were documented, seven (G2992, G6876, G1415, G4186, G5, G1407 and G6937) comprised half of all isolates. The predominant male genogroup was G2992 (16%), and G6876 (20%) for females; G5 was predominantly male from 2010 to 2011, but equal in both sexes from 2012 to 2015.

CONCLUSION
Considerable temporal, geographical and demographical diversity was observed in Queensland NG isolates, which has public health implications. Certain genogroups are more transient than others, and evidence suggests bridging from male-dominant networks to heterosexual networks. Molecular surveillance can enhance tracking the epidemiology and movement of NG in Australia, highlighting the necessity of genotyping to expose potentially prevalent strains circulating in undetected or underrepresented networks by current screening methods.


In continuously breeding marsupials it is possible for successive young to occupy the pouch simultaneously. Although this rarely occurs in nature, it is most likely in some macropodids. Experiments by others have suggested that it is the pouch young which determines the duration of lactation and pouch occupancy. The female Bettongia gaimardi exhibits a precise sequence of events on the night her young vacates the pouch. Initially, the pouch muscle tightens, preventing re-entry by the large young, this is then followed by birth and/or oestrus. When pouch vacation is not followed by birth and/or oestrus, young have stayed in the pouch significantly longer. Experiments in which furred pouch young are replaced by others of different ages have shown that the replacements remain in the pouch until the night of birth and/or oestrus, regardless of their age. This indicates that in this species physiological events in the mother are at least partly responsible for determining the duration of pouch life.


Property analysis and quality assessment are fundamental needs in the study of complex mixtures, for instance petroleum fractions or biomass products. For the purpose of experimental efficiency in process development, finding cheaper alternatives is a rising trend with the development of high-throughput experiments (HTE). These units produce smaller sample volumes that are not compatible with the standard analytical process applied to determine petroleum cuts properties (Y) such as density, viscosity, etc. It is time-consuming (up to two days for some properties). An alternative for Y prediction is to combine analytical techniques (requiring a small volume of sample) with data mining. Given a subset of representative data (X), one strives to develop a predictive model P, such that P(X)~Y with sufficient precision compared to the standardized reference. Principal component regression (PCR) or Projection onto Latent Structures (PLS) prediction tools. Such chemometric models do not resist straightforwardly to artifacts (X, Y, model limits). Exploratory data analysis (grouping patterns, infrequent data, outliers) and analytical signal preprocessing (normalization, alignment, denoising, detrending) may attenuate parasite effects (in sample preparation or instrumental variations). Preprocessing and prediction are classically applied in compartmentalized workflows, each with specific statistical assumptions and parameters [2]. They are at risk of producing over-parametrized solutions, with more tedious interpretation and generalization. Their control crucially depends on gray-box preprocessing, experimental diversity, model-maker skills. Not all of the former benefit from advanced optimization. Pressing needs in faster turnaround acquisition and modeling time impose building more precise and less fragile (to artifacts) data-driven processing and prediction workflows. The purpose is to reduce the over-parameterization burden, and help model-makers focus on their field-of-expertise, such as the conception of calibration/prediction databases, the determination of the numbers of latent variables, the evaluation of prediction accuracy. In this contribution, we analyze a previously validated NMR predictive workflow. It relies on a curated dataset of 309 NMR spectra and its associated measured property (the Viscosity Index) to predict. The standardized method for the latter property raises questions regarding its repeatability and reproducibility [3]. However, in [4], a predictive PLS model was obtained with 12 latent variables (Figure 1). To increase the accuracy of the current prediction, we revisit this workflow to identify key leverage data processing and property prediction techniques throughout a detailed sensitivity analysis. We examine the relative importance of specific processing techniques, among which spectral selection, outlier rejection, trend [5] and noise reduction, with respect to novel alternatives aiming at introducing so-called "sparsity" or "robustness" to the workflow. Improvements in prediction accuracy will be evaluated on several accounts, including precision and resistance to outliers and model parameters, toward better integrated optimization algorithms.


Today's business applications are increasingly process driven, meaning that the main application logic is executed by a dedicate process engine. In addition, component-oriented software development has been attracting attention for building complex distributed applications. In this paper, we present the experiences gained from building a process-driven biometric identification application that makes use of grid infrastructures via the Grid Component Model (GCM). GCM, besides guaranteeing access to grid resources, supports autonomic management of notable parallel composite components. This feature is exploited within our biometric identification application to ensure real-time identification of fingerprints. Therefore, we briefly introduce the GCM framework and the process engine used, and we describe the implementation of the application by means of autonomic GCM components. Finally, we summarise the results, experiences and lessons learned focusing on the integration of autonomic GCM components and the process-driven approach.


For more than three decades, time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) has been used for elemental depth profiling. In recent years, cluster primary ion sources (principally, C60+, Bin+, and Aun+) have become widely available, and they can greatly enhance the signal intensity of molecular ions (10–1000 times). Understanding the performance of cluster ion analysis beams used in elemental depth profiling can greatly assist normal ToF‐SIMS users in choosing the optimal analysis beam for depth profiling work. Presently, however, the experimental data are lacking, and such choices are difficult to make. In this paper, hydrogen and deuterium depth profiling were studied using six different analysis beams—25 keV Bi+, Bi3+, Bi5+, 50 keV Bi32+, 10 keV C60+, and 20 keV C602+. The effort shows that cluster primary ions do enhance H− and D− yields, but the enhancement is only about 1.5–4.0 times when compared to atomic Bi+ ions. Because the currents of atomic ion analysis beams are much stronger than the currents of cluster ion analysis beams for most commercial ToF‐SIMS instruments, the atomic ion analysis beams can provide the strongest H− and D− signal intensities, and may be the best choices for hydrogen and deuterium depth profiling. In addition, two representative nuclides, 30Si and 18O, were also studied and yielded results similar to those of H− and D−. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract The secreted gelatinase matrix metalloprotease-2 (MMP-2) and the membrane-anchored matrix metalloprotease MT1-MMP (MMP-14), are central players in pericellular proteolysis in extracellular matrix degradation. In addition to possessing a direct collagenolytic and gelatinolytic activity, these enzymes take part in a cascade pathway in which MT1-MMP activates the MMP-2 proenzyme. This reaction occurs in an interplay with the matrix metalloprotease inhibitor, TIMP-2, and the proposed mechanism involves two molecules of MT1-MMP in complex with one TIMP-2 molecule. We provide positive evidence that proMMP-2 activation is governed by dimerization of MT1-MMP on the surface of fibroblasts and fibrosarcoma cells. Even in the absence of transfection and overexpression, dimerization of MT1-MMP markedly stimulated the formation of active MMP-2 products. The effect demonstrated here was brought about by a monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to MT1-MMP as shown by immunofluorescence experiments. The antibody has no effect on the catalytic activity. The effect on proMMP-2 activation involves MT1-MMP dimerization because it requires the divalent monoclonal antibody, with no effect obtained with monovalent Fab fragments. Since only a negligible level of proMMP-2 activation was obtained with MT1-MMP-expressing cells in the absence of dimerization, our results identify the dimerization event as a critical level of proteolytic cascade regulation.


We summarize the results of the NICMOS warmup monitoring program. Instrument parameters such as quantum efficiency, dark current, focus behavior, bias offsets, and saturation levels have been measured and are projected onto the expected temperature range for operation with the NICMOS Cooling System (NCS). We estimate NICMOS performance during the NCS era, and briefly discuss possible implications for the cycle 9 calibration program.


Assesses the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the motor vehicle industry in two areas of Brazil, focusing on the development of regional institutions to support social dialogue. Examines the flow of FDI into the Brazilian motor vehicle industry during the late 1990s, describes the modernization process in the industry and analyses the productive chains set up in the two regions. Investigates strategies adopted by government and local agents to attract new capital and discusses the future outlook for the two regions.


There is a growing interest in tourism safety within the travel medicine and safety management literature. From this body of research, motor vehicle traffic accidents (MVTA) are identified as a leading cause of tourist morbidity and mortality. There is, however, a dearth of tourist road safety literature where the tourism context is taken into account. This paper examines the extent of overseas visitor MVTA in New Zealand, based on data collected by the New Zealand Health Information Service for the 15-year period 1982–1996. Some 1604 MVTA cases were recorded in the NZHIS database for non-New Zealand residents, representing 27.4% of all non-resident injuries resulting in hospitalisation during the period of the study. The majority of these incidents involved collisions between vehicles, with 1121 (70% of MVTA cases) involving a car. Highest counts of MVTA were found for males and females in the 20–39 years age range. Largest proportions of MVTA were observed for the Auckland, Otago and Southland regions, although highest incidence rates (based on visitor numbers in each region for the year 1995/6) were found for the Taranaki, Northland, Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Southland regions. The paper discusses possible reasons for patterns and trends in the MVTA data, drawing on comparisons with existing international studies from the travel medicine and safety management literature.


PURPOSE
To confirm the predictive value of the results of a 4-week trial of latanoprost alone, timolol-gel alone, or a combination of the two in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients, when compared with the hypotensive response after a 6-month trial using the same combination of eye drops for the same patients.

METHODS
One eye each of 45 NTG patients was used in a prospective 4-week trial of latanoprost alone, timolol-gel alone, or a combination of the two. Patients continued using the eye drops for 6 months, according to the results of the trial. The correlation of the results of the 6-moth use and the baseline data, and the baseline data and the results of the 4-week trial were evaluated by the paired-t test.

RESULTS
The intraocular pressure(IOP)s of patients using timolol-gel alone were 13.9 mmHg at the base line, 9.7 mmHg after the trial, and 12.0 mmHg after 6-month use(baseline, trial: p < 0.05). IOPs when using latanoprost alone were 15.3 mmHg at baseline, 11.7 mmHg after the trial, and 11.5 mmHg after 6-month use(baseline: p < 0.05, trial: p = 0.33). IOPs using timolol-gel and latanoprost in combination were 14.8 mmHg at baseline, 11.4 mmHg after the trial, and 12.0 mmHg after 6-month use (baseline: p < 0:05, trial: p = 0.14).

CONCLUSION
The result of the 4-weeks trial of latanoprost alone or in combination with timolol-gel can be indicative of the IOP after 6-month use.


1996;184:AP93. 11. Cornaggia M, Gada D, Frassoldi E, et al. Immunophenotypic propile and clinical evolution of 50 consecutive cases of severe gastric dysplasia. Path Intern 1996;46(suppl. 1):286. 12. Graham DY. Helicobacter pylori infection in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer and gastric cancer: A model. Gastroenterology 1997; 113:1983–91. 13. De Koster E, Buset M, Fernandes E, et al. Helicobacter pylori and cancer prone lesions of the stomach. Acta Endosc 1995;25:33–8. 14. Savarino V, Mansi C, Mele MR, et al. A new 1-week therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: Ranitidine bismuth citrate plus two antibiotics. Alim Pharmacol Ther 1997;11:699–701. 15. Sipponen P, Seppala K, Varis K, et al. Intestinal metaplasia with colonic type sulphomucins in the gastric mucosa. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand Sect A, 1976;23:276–9.


To the Editor:— In the George X. Trimble, MD, "Critique and Cavil" (JAMA192:645 [May 17] 1965) it is said that "Deliberate exposure to measles has been recommended on a number of occasions in the literature." I would wager that it was not recommended in any of the three articles to which reference is given. Rubella, sometimes with confusion called German measles, rose measles, bastard measles, has no virological or immunological connection to measles and usually no appreciable clinical resemblance. Also, I am confident no true "measles party" is ever planned, as was suggested in Dr. Trimble's last line. The lay press frequently confuses rubella with measles; the augustJAMAshould not make this mistake.


While hardware transactional memory (HTM) has recently been adopted to construct efficient concurrent search tree structures, such designs fail to deliver scalable performance under contention. In this paper, we first conduct a detailed analysis on an HTM-based concurrent B+Tree, which uncovers several reasons for excessive HTM aborts induced by both false and true conflicts under contention. Based on the analysis, we advocate Eunomia, a design pattern for search trees which contains several principles to reduce HTM aborts, including splitting HTM regions with version-based concurrency control to reduce HTM working sets, partitioned data layout to reduce false conflicts, proactively detecting and avoiding true conflicts, and adaptive concurrency control. To validate their effectiveness, we apply such designs to construct a scalable concurrent B+Tree using HTM. Evaluation using key-value store benchmarks on a 20-core HTM-capable multi-core machine shows that Eunomia leads to 5X-11X speedup under high contention, while incurring small overhead under low contention.


In this paper, we propose and evaluate our contribution which is a new scheme of authentication. This scheme is based on a virtual three-dimensional environment. Users navigate through the virtual environment and interact with items inside the virtual three-dimensional environment. The combination of all interactions, actions and inputs towards the items and towards the virtual three-dimensional environment constructs the user's 3D password. The 3D password combines most existing authentication schemes such as textual passwords, graphical passwords, and biometrics into one virtual three-dimensional environment. The 3D password's main application is the protection of critical resources and systems. Keywords— Security, authentication, 3d-Security, Interactive Environments, Password


A hybrid field model (HFM) based on the combination of magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) and exact conformal mapping (ECM) is developed to calculate the open-circuit field of interior permanent-magnet (IPM) motor. In the proposed HFM, the IPM and iron saturations are transformed into equivalent current on the rotor surface and stator bore. ECM can calculate the air-gap field analytically using the equivalent current. Once the air-gap field is obtained, the MEC in the iron region can be solved and gives the new value of equivalent current, which forms a calculation loop. Hence, iterative solving process is required to determine the equivalent current and iron permeability in the rotor and stator. In order to verify the proposed model, both finite-element (FE) analysis and experiment are performed on IPM motors with V-type rotor and conventional "-" type rotor. Their results demonstrate the high accuracy of HFM.


The tracking techniques employed by the SUPER RADOT system are enabled through automated control by a large mini -digital computer. The operational mode calibration, error determination, designate, acquisition and track functions are mechanized by a modular software package which is integrated and controlled through mode switch and matrix panels located in a control console. The auto -track functions allow collection of atmosphere limited precision target angular position data. The systematic error content of the vehicle position data is determined through definition of tracker error model coefficients by application of star track error determination techniques. The distribution of star data point residuals after correction model fit indicates systematic error sigmas for azimuth and elevation coordinates of less than ±1.0 arc seconds. Sunlit reentry targets have been detected and acquired by the optical -video sensor and auto - tracked by the video processor at slant ranges in excess of 1000 kilometers.


The increasing integration of banks in the Asia-Pacific region is often associated with the banking sector's vunerability to adverse shocks and financial instability. As the main financial intermediaries in the region, banks play an important role in mediating the region's vast savings and capital flows. In light of the increasing interconnectedness between banks and the rising threat of financial volatility, this study aims to determine whether bank integration mitigates cross-border systemic risk or acts as a conduit for systemic risk. The effect of the business cycle and the real interest rate in facilitating the spread of systemic risk is also examined. In addition, we investigate the long-term effect of bank integration on systemic risk resulting from habit-persistence in bank lending behaviour. The sample consists of 36 country-pairs and covers the period from Q4 1997 to Q1 2010. Using daily returns from the national banking sector stock indices, the cross-border systemic risk measure is computed as the conditional covariance from a bivariate GARCH constant conditional correlation model. Meanwhile bank integration is measured using confidential data from the Bank of International Settlements. Panel data regression methods are employed to examine the impact of bank integration, the business cycle and the real interest rate on cross-border systemic risk in the region. A panel 2-stage least squares instrumental variable estimation is then used to examine the long-term effect of bank integration on systemic risk. We present strong empirical evidence that intensified bank integration increases cross-border systemic risk between a country-pair. An adverse economic environment and high real interest rate in the reporting country tends to exacerbate cross-border systemic risk between a reporting and vis-à-vis country-pair. The study also finds that banks in vis-à-vis countries become more vulnerable to the macroeconomic environment of the reporting country as bank integration between the country-pair increases. Bank integration also has a longer-term effect on systemic risk. The results confirm our suspicion that habit-persistence in bank lending behaviour causes cross-border systemic risk to be accumulated over time and manifest only at a later period. The findings from this study alerts the region's policy makers to the need to develop a sustainable framework for effective cross-border bank supervision and regulation. Further financial co-operation in the region needs to be discussed with regard to the provision and protection of lines of liquidity that bank integration offers from the risks that threaten it.


We have measured the blood pressure to 1500 children aged between 6 and 14 years by sphingomanometric method, using various cuffs according to the recommendations of the A.H.A. Systolic and diastolic pressure was taken and the average value and standard deviations were calculated for each age. On the ground of the values equal or higher than 97 degrees percentil was the presence of 99 subjects afflicted with not secondary hypertension. We noticed that blood pressure increases with the age, is independent of sex, but bears relationship to the presence of obesity (out of 72 obese subjects, 25 were afflicted with hypertension), of menarca (17 hypertensive menstruated out of 27) and of family hypertension (31 hypertensive parents out of 41 examined). Neither relation was found between children's hypertension and socio-economical level nor between hypertension and presence of pathological proteinuria.


Amyloid beta-peptides (A beta) are centrally involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Using secretory phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from porcine pancreas as a model and in the presence of a limiting Ca2+ concentration of approximately 50 nM, the synthetic peptide A beta 1-42 activates the hydrolysis of the pyrene-labeled acidic phospholipid analog 1-palmitoyl-2-[(pyren-1-yl)]hexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (PPHPG) maximally 2.3-fold, whereas an inhibition of PLA2 action by 50% on the corresponding phosphatidylcholine derivative (PPHPC) was observed. The above effects were evident at 0.24 nM A beta 1-42 corresponding to A beta 1-42:phospholipid and A beta 1-42:PLA2 molar ratios of 1:10 650 and 1:7.6, respectively. The presence of 10 mol % 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (POPG) in PPHPC reversed the inhibitory effect of A beta 1-42 peptide and for these vesicles the hydrolytic activity of PLA2 toward the fluorescent phosphatidylcholine was enhanced approximately 1.8-fold by A beta 1-42. In contrast, inclusion of 10 mol % POPG into PPHPG did not influence either the hydrolytic rate toward the latter lipid or the activating effect of A beta 1-42. Ca2+ concentrations exceeding 15 microM abolished the enhancing effect of A beta 1-42 on the hydrolysis of PPHPG whereas a slight activation of PPHPC hydrolysis now became evident. With limiting [Ca2+] preaggregated A beta 1-42 enhanced the hydrolysis of both PPHPG as well as PPHPC but the peptide concentrations required were higher by 3-4 orders of magnitude. The synthetic peptide A beta 25-35 corresponding to the hydrophobic membrane-spanning segment of the beta amyloid precursor protein activated PLA2 when using PPHPG as a substrate; however, compared to A beta 1-42 the extent of activation was less (approximately 2-fold) and required higher (1 nM) peptide. A beta 25-35 did not affect the hydrolysis of the phosphatidylcholine derivative. The hydrophilic peptide A beta 1-28 had no effect on PLA2-catalyzed hydrolysis of either PPHPG or PPHPC under the conditions used in the present study. Interestingly, the above activating effects of A beta 1-42 and A beta 25-35 on PLA2-catalyzed hydrolysis of the acidic phospholipid substrate parallel their toxicity on cultured neurons whereas A beta 1-28 had no influence either on cultured cells or on PLA2 activity.


Extracellular matrices can be important in disease. Glomerulonephritis is an inflammation of the kidney that is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix within the damaged glomeruli. We have shown that transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is unique in regulating the production of proteoglycans and matrix glycoproteins by glomerular cells in vitro. In an experimental model of glomerulonephritis in rats, we found increased proteoglycan and fibronectin synthesis by cultured nephritic glomeruli, which was greatly reduced by the addition of antiserum to TGF-beta 1. Conditioned media from glomerular cultures, when added to normal cultured mesangial cells, induced elevated proteoglycan synthesis. The stimulatory activity of the conditioned media was blocked by addition of TGF-beta 1 antiserum. Glomerular histology showed mesangial matrix expansion in a time course that roughly paralleled the elevated proteoglycan synthesis by the nephritic glomeruli. At the same time there was an increased expression of TGF-beta 1 mRNA and TGF-beta 1 protein in the glomeruli. Administration of anti-TGF-beta 1 at the time of induction of glomerulonephritis suppressed the elevated extracellular matrix production and dramatically attenuated histological manifestations of the disease. A small proteoglycan, decorin, also inhibits the activity of TGF-beta, potentially providing an alternative format for the prevention of TGF-beta activity. Our results provide direct evidence for a causal role of TGF-beta 1 in the pathogenesis of the experimental disease and suggest a new approach to the therapy of glomerulonephritis.


A cytosol liver extract was prepared from adult dog livers and from liver remnants that had been regenerating for one, two and three days after 72 per cent partial hepatectomy. Given intraportally, the most active of these cytosols did not stimulate proliferation in the livers of normal dogs. However, infused during a six hour period into the portal vein of test group dogs, the cytosol from 48 and, especially, 72 hour regenerating livers augmented the regeneration response ordinarily produced by 44 per cent partial depatectomy. The effect was delayed. It became identifiable 48 hours after infusion and rached a peak at 72 hours. Neither augmentation nor significant inhibition of the normal regeneration response was produced by cytosol from normal liver and 24 hour regenerating liver or by six hour infusion of insulin. The amplification effect of active cytosol was equivocal when the infusions were given intraperitoneally and was not demonstrable at all by the intravenous route. In these investigations, it is confirmed that there are growth control factors in regenerating liver but the nature or physiologic significance of the factor or factors has not been clarified.


In this paper, we have designed and manufactured 10MHz power source for the application of short distance wireless power transmission. The designed power source consists of a DDS(direct digital synthesizer) signal generator, a buffer driver and a balanced power amplifier. Short range wireless power transmission is usually carried out by near-field inductive coupling between source and load. The distance variation between source and load gives rise to the change of load impedance of power amplifier, which has effect on the operation of power amplifier. To overcome this problem due to load variation of power amplifier, we have adopted the balanced power amplifier using the quadrature hybrid implemented by lumped capacitors and a mutually coupled coil. The experiment results show the above 40dBm output power, frequency range of 9 to 11MHz, and total DC power consumption of 36W.


Background There is a need for new immunosuppression strategies to minimize calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) toxicity while effectively preventing antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Methods We tested the efficacy of an investigational proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib, alone and in a CNI minimization strategy in a rat kidney transplant model of transfusion-elicited acute AMR. Nonsensitized (naïve) and sensitized allograft recipients were randomized into 4 treatment groups (8 groups total, n = 3 to 6 in each group) and treated for 1 week. Groups included: no treatment, full dose cyclosporine (CsA, 10 mg/kg per day), ixazomib (0.25 mg/kg on days −5, −2 and +2) alone, and half dose CsA (5 mg/kg per day) + ixazomib. Results Compared to untreated animals, ixazomib alone or in combination with ½ dose CsA reduced donor-specific antibody, intragraft transcripts for chemokines CCL-21 and CXCL-13, and CD19 expression in both sensitized and naïve transplants. Compared to full dose CsA, the CNI minimization strategy with ixazomib inhibited AMR and allograft injury as evidenced by reduced C4d staining in peritubular capillaries, microcirculation inflammation, splenic plasma cells, circulating B cell activating factor, and intragraft transcripts for major histocompatibility complex class II, Toll-like receptors (TLR-1, TLR-10, and TLR-12) and CCL-21 and CXCL-13 in sensitized animals, indicating downregulation of B cell activation, antigen presentation and T-cell and B-cell signaling. Conclusions These studies suggest that CNI minimization strategies including ixazomib are effective to prevent AMR including in sensitized kidney allograft recipients. Clinical studies are needed to determine the role of novel proteasome inhibitors for the prevention and treatment of AMR.


In the present paper, for constructing the minimum risk estimators of state of stochastic systems, a new technique of invariant embedding of sample statistics in a loss function is proposed. This technique represents a simple and computationally attractive statistical method based on the constructive use of the invariance principle in mathematical statistics. Unlike the Bayesian approach, an invariant embedding technique is independent of the choice of priors. It allows one to eliminate unknown parameters from the problem and to find the best invariant estimator, which has smaller risk than any of the well-known estimators. Also the problem of how to select the total number of the observations optimally when a constant cost is incurred for each observation taken is discussed. To illustrate the proposed technique, an example is given.


Copper and iron salts are less toxic and  inexpensive as compared to other transition metal salts. These salts have been extensively used for various carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom cross-coupling reactions. In this review, we described the Cu and Fe-mediated C-C, C-N, C-O, C-S and C-Se coupling reactions extensively. The synergistic effects of copper and iron salts towards the various bond-forming reactions have been presented. Use of such methods in the synthesis of bioactive molecules were also highlighted.


This paper studies a continuous-time market under a stochastic environment where an agent, having specified an investment horizon and a target terminal mean return, seeks to minimize the variance of the return with multiple stocks and a bond. In the model considered here, the mean returns of individual assets are explicitly affected by underlying Gaussian economic factors. Using past and present information of the asset prices, a partial-information stochastic optimal control problem with random coefficients is formulated. Here, the partial information is due to the fact that the economic factors can not be directly observed. Using dynamic programming theory, we show that the optimal portfolio strategy can be constructed by solving a deterministic forward Riccati-type ordinary differential equation and two linear deterministic backward ordinary differential equations.


The conformational transition of poly gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) embedded with magnetite nanoparticles under various pH conditions was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The secondary structure content was determined through the analysis of amide I bands of Fourier deconvolution spectra, secondary derivative spectra and the Gaussian curve fitting of the original infrared spectra. The results showed that the conformation of the gamma-PGA was affected by solution pH. The total contents of beta-sheet and beta-turn were higher than 65%, while alpha-helix and random coil were low. The content of beta-turn increased with increasing pH, while the beta-sheet decreased. Additionally, the zeta potential results showed that the pH-sensitive secondary structure of gamma-PGA had influence on the stability of suspension of magnetic gamma-PGA nanospheres. The minimum value of zeta potential (-35. 4 mV) was obtained at pH 10.2.


This paper reports on findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological research inquiry which explored the nature of relational experiences in teacher education. Stories of the lived experience of relationships in an educational context were hermeneutically interpreted against the philosophical writings of Heidegger, Gadamer, Levinas, and Buber. The research found that relationships are essential to the experience of education whether they are recognised or not. While the relationship matters to the experience, the relationship lies out of sight and is largely taken for granted. On other occasions, the assumption that relationships matter is called into question. In these times, the relationship is a worry to the student and stressful for the teacher. In these moments, concern over the relationship foregrounds the teaching-learning experience for those involved. It is critically important that teacher educators, and teachers alike, become more attentive to how their relationship is with their students individually and collectively. Teacher educators, and teachers alike, need an attunement to notice how relationships are mattering in their immediate context .