While the problem of tracking 3D human motion has been widely studied, the top view is never taken into consideration. However, for the video surveillance, the camera is most of the time placed above the persons. This is due to the human shape is more discriminative in the front view. We propose in this paper a markerless 3D human tracking on the top view. To do this we use the depth and color image sequences given by a kinect. First a 3D model is fitted to these cues in a particle filter framework. Then we introduce a process where the body parts are linked in a complete 3D model but weighted separately so as to reduce the computing time and optimize the resampling step. We find that this part-based tracking increases the accuracy. The process is real-time and works with multiple targets.


The rapid evolution of technology and the increased connectivity among its components, imposes new cyber-security challenges. To tackle this growing trend in computer attacks and respond threats, industry professionals and academics are joining forces in order to build Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) that combine high accuracy with low complexity and time efficiency. The present article gives an overview of existing Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) along with their main principles. Also this article argues whether data mining and its core feature which is knowledge discovery can help in creating Data mining based IDSs that can achieve higher accuracy to novel types of intrusion and demonstrate more robust behaviour compared to traditional IDSs.


Maintenance of immune homeostasis is a complex process allowing the immune system to be both aggressive enough to eradicate cells that express foreign antigens, and yet provide sensitivity to tolerate cells expressing self antigens. Key modulators allowing tolerance of host antigens, thereby preventing autoimmunity are the regulatory T cells (Treg). The transcription factor Foxp3 is of critical importance for both Treg development and function, and thereby the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Although the transcriptional regulation of Foxp3 has been well investigated, mechanisms of post-translational regulation remain poorly understood. Here we sought to investigate the molecular mechanisms regulating Foxp3 protein expression and the potential for modulation of transcriptional activity by co-factor association. We report, several novel findings including: a) regulation of Treg functionality by acetylation-mediated Foxp3 protein stabilization, (b) rapid temporal control of Foxp3 protein degradation by Sirtuin-1, (c) Increased Treg mediated suppression through USP7/HAUSP-mediated Foxp3, (d) inhibition of Treg function through inhibition of Foxp3 by canonical Wnt signaling. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which Foxp3 is regulated could provide novel therapeutic strategies to control inappropriate (auto)immuunresposes


This research aims to identify the main scientific productions on the theme of music education for the deaf in various article bases and to find the themes used for teaching music to the deaf. It seeks to analyze them and thus propose a new method using artificial intelligence to meet the needs of the deaf person and make them independent in learning.


An elderly man presented with a macrocytic anemia with severe reticulocytopenia. The observation of trilineage dysplasia in addition to red cell aplasia led to a diagnosis.


This article continues a cycle of papers, which describe an approach to construction and verification of discrete PLC-programs by an LTL-specification. The approach provides a possibility of PLC-program correctness analysis by the model checking method. For the specification of the program behavior the linear-time temporal logic LTL is used. The correctness analysis of an LTL specification is performed automatically by the symbolic model checking tool Cadence SMV.  Previously it was shown how ST-, LDand IL-programs are constructed by a correct (with verified program properties) LTL-specification. In this article a technology of CFC-program construction by an LTL-specification is described. The language CFC (Continuous Function Chart) is a variation of FBD (Function Block Diagram). FBD is a graphical language for microcircuits. CFC provides a possibility of free allocation of program components and connections on a screen. The approach to construction of CFC-programs is shown by an example.  PLC-program representation on CFC within the approach to programming by LTL-specification differs from other representations. It gives the visualisation of a data flow from inputs to outputs. Influence and dependence between variables is explicitly shown during program execution within one PLC working cycle. In fact, CFC-program is a scheme of PLC-program data flow.


Purpose
West Bay, the Business District of Doha, the capital city of the State of Qatar, is facing an urban regeneration phase due to the construction of the West Bay Central Train Station, a four-storey underground building hosting the intersection of two metro lines – one long-distance train and one people mover. The development of the transit village, or transit-oriented development, is raising concerns related to the need to enhance liveability (as urban quality of life) and sense of place (considering the local cultural identity). The purpose of this paper is to investigate existing urban elements, such as transit stations, as well as their impact on the liveability and identity of the place and to define a comprehensive urban regeneration strategy for the development of the distinctive urban village of West Bay.

Design/methodology/approach
The analysis and data collection were based on the type of data as tangible aspects which mainly include the physical, and aspects such as diversity, density, connectivity, transportation systems and public realm. Intangible factors are concluded from close and direct site observation, semi-structured in-depth interviews, as a face-to-face type of data collection with key persons in Qatar Rail, the Ministry of the Municipality and public work authorities, where the intangible aspects were briefed by economic aspects, environmental situation, social pattern and human behaviours. After siting the base ground of theoretical knowledge and site condition analysis, the authors identified a group of key factors that respond to the targeted (tangible and intangible) aspects and threats, to propose a design treatment for the site threats and highlighted issues in addition to a group of recommendations and design strategies (Charmaz, 2006; Marshall and Rossman, 2010).

Findings
From the data analysis of the site and by revisiting the literature review, a group of recommendations are formulated. The authors divided the recommendations into two types according to their method of application. The first is the design approach, where the authors propose integrated design proposals to tackle and solve the highlighted issues from the findings of site analysis (diversity, density, connectivity in addition to economic, social and environmental factors). Meanwhile, the second part represents the systematic recommendations that should be adopted and implemented to enhance the existing situation and form a guideline for further developments.

Research limitations/implications
This research study could be further expanded to urban planning, urban design, social development and environmental engineering. Urban design and social development chiefly focus on the relationship between built and unbuilt forms with an eye to creating healthy, sustainable communities for current and future generations.

Originality/value
Because issues of social sustainability and urban design have failed to attract suitable levels of attention from local scholars, gaps have arisen in the research. Accordingly, this research study investigates the relationship between social sustainability and urban design standards in the State of Qatar with an eye to translating theoretical knowledge into applicable principles of urban planning. In doing so, it will help close the gaps in knowledge related to Qatar and GCC countries.


Abstract. Motivated by applications to a wide range of assemble-to-order systems, operations scheduling, healthcare systems and collaborative economy applications, we introduce a stochastic matching model on hypergraphs, extending the model in [15] to the case of hypergraphical (rather than graphical) matching structures. We address a discrete-event system under a random input of single items, simply using the system as an interface to be matched by groups of two or more. We study the stability of this stochastic system, for various hypergraph geometries.


Climatic variation and change affect the dynamics of nutrients and ecosystem processes.The aim is to quantitatively evaluate changes in phosphorus dynamics resulting from a climate warming in lakes. Long-term data and the results of a regional climate model, a physical lake model and a phosphorus model generated for three Swedish lakes with different morphometry and trophic status were analysed. The analysis of the long-term data and the models varied greatly with respect to the variability and the response of the phosphorus dynamics to past and future climate scenarios. The risk of lake eutrophication will be discussed.


Cull of Personality: Ayahuasca, Shamanism and the Death of the Healer tells a story of colonial encounters with different worlds, with a primary focus on the processes associated with turning human and non-human others into resources. Along with Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of the New World and the signing of the Treaty at Tordesillas, which divided its territory between European empires, began the era of the exploitation of local people, plants, animals and minerals. The author of the book, like many other scholars, points out that despite the fall of imperial powers, Western domination is not just a part of a cruel past, but is still enacted in many material and immaterial forms: inter alia in Euro-American claims on indigenous knowledge. In the light of the "psychedelic renaissance" (known also as a psychedelic turn) and the globalization of entheogens 1 , Kevin Tucker's book offers a valuable approach to the phenomenon of the mainstreaming of psychedelic medicine plants. He reminds us that the history of ayahuasca is strictly intertwined with the history of colonialism, and that we should bear this in mind when engaging in practices connected with the Amazonian sacred brew. However, the author leaves no hope that Westerners may establish positive and sustainable relations with indigenous worlds, and postulates that they rather should stay away from them. The starting point for Tucker's reflection is the tragic death of Maestra Olivia, a plant medicine healer from the Shipibo-Conibo group. She was shot by Sebastian Woodroffe, a Canadian who was lynched afterwards by the local community as an act of revenge. The recording of this assassination spread across the Internet and became a matter of global interest. Woodroffe, like many Western travellers and spiritual seekers, came to the Peruvian rainforest in search of ayahuasca , the potent


This paper deals with the problem of distributed causal model-based diagnosis on interacting Behavioral Petri Nets (BPNs). The system to be diagnosed comprises different interacting subsystems (each modeled as a BPN) and the diagnostic system is defined as a multi-agent system where each agent is designed to diagnose a particular subsystem on the basis of its local model, the local received observation and the information exchanged with the neighboring agents. The interactions between subsystems are captured by tokens that may pass from one net model to another via bordered places. The diagnostic reasoning scheme is accomplished locally within each agent by analyzing the P-invariants of the corresponding BPN model. Once local diagnoses are obtained, agents begin to communicate to ensure that such diagnoses are consistent and recover completely the results obtained by a centralized agent having a global knowledge about the whole system.


Do human–computer interaction (HCI) researchers agree about which HCI approaches should be used in the development of an interactive system? To address this question, we performed a study based on the engineering process areas (requirements development, technical solution, product integration, verification and validation) of the CMMI-DEV (Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development), a software engineering model commonly used in the industry. To carry out this study, a literature review was performed, a specific instrument was designed based on CMMI-DEV and interviews with 20 researchers from the HCI domain were conducted. Analyzing the interview data with monovariate and multivariate statistical approach (Multiple Correspondence Analysis - MCA), we find the greatest agreement occurred among researchers for HCI approaches that support verification and validation phases and the use of functional prototypes in some activities of the last phases of software development (technical solution and product integration). However, we identified lack of agreement among researchers regarding requirements development activities.


Objectives Assess TBS to categorize skeletal status in adult subject which history of Poliomyelitis sequels in limbs. Methods We scan total body, lumbar spine (L1-L4) and both hips (Total femur and Femoral Neck ROI's) in 58 patients with history of poliomyelitis infection and limb paralysis (men: 14 -57.5 years; women: 48 -57±8.5 years). A DXA device GE-iDXA model was used. The difference between affected extremity and the opposite in BMD T-score and trabecular microarchitecture assessed by TBS (TBS® Insight; Medimaps) were used. The results were stratified as normal, low bone density or osteoporosis taking the lower T-score of the scanned regions of interest. TBS results were categorized as normal (TBS N) ≥1.350; partially deteriorated-(TBS-PD) between: 1.250 -1.349, and significantly deteriorated (TBS-SD): <1.250. Results Three patients had hip fracture history. The left limb was the extremity most affected in this group (32 vs 20). Five patients had both extremities affected, with more severe affectation on the right side (4/5). Only 7 patients had normal BMD of the hip, which contrasts with the 43.1% of patients with normal lumbar BMD. The TBS was normal in 16 patients (27.6%). Stratification was more similar in patients who had a low bone density (48.3% in the hip and 50% in lumbar spine) and TBS-PD (50%). In patients categorized as osteoporotic the lowest T-score of BMD was found in proximal femur (39.7%) of the most affected limb, the T-score BMD of the lumbar spine in 6.9% of the patients, while the TBS-SD was found at 22.4%. The DXA spine images showed a spondyloarthritis and scoliosis signs in 25 patients. 16.7% of patients had a osteoporotic T-score in affected femur and had normal BMD at the lumbar spine and opposite femur, but interestingly had a deteriorated TBS (TBS-PPD and TB SSD). Conclusions A degradation TBS allow identify a greater number of patients who had polio with low bone status than assess BMD of lumbar spine and femur. Postural instability could increase irregular mechanical charges to lumbar spine and femur unaffected that may decrease the sensitivity of DXA when only the BMD is used to classify patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Since the MEDLINE database was released, the number of documents indexed by this entity has risen every year. Several tools have been developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to query this corpus of scientific publications. However, in terms of advances in big data, text-mining and data science, an option to build a local relational database containing all metadata available on MEDLINE would be truly useful to optimally exploit these resources. MEDOC (MEdline DOwnloading Contrivance) is a Python program designed to download data on an FTP and to load all extracted information into a local MySQL database. It took MEDOC 4 days and 17 hours to load the 26 million documents available on this server onto a standard computer. This indexed relational database allows the user to build complex and rapid queries. All fields can thus be searched for desired information, a task that is difficult to accomplish through the PubMed graphical interface. MEDOC is free and publicly available at this https URL.


Background: Static balance is a reliable indicator of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which is a basis for movement stabilization development. The disorders in this area may increase injury risk (IR). This study investigated the musculoskeletal injury risk due to static balance and movement quality regarding single and multiple injury occurrences in physically active women. Methods: The study sample was 88 women aged 21.48 ± 1.56. The injury data were obtained with a questionnaire, and Deep Squat (DS), In-line lunge (IL), and Hurdle Step (HS) tests were conducted. Static balance was assessed with a stabilometric platform measured center of gravity area circle (AC) and path length (PL) with open (OE) and closed eyes (CE), maintaining a standing position for the 30 s. Results: The logistic regression models revealed the general injury occurrence was predicted by AC-CE (OR = 0.70; p = 0.03) and IL (OR = 0.49; p = 0.03), and the two-factor model AC-CE*IL, (OR = 1.40; p < 0.01). When the single injury was predicted by the same factors AC-CE (OR = 0.49; p < 0.01), IL (OR = 0.36; p = 0.01), and AC-CE*IL (OR = 1.58; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Static balance and movement stability predict musculoskeletal injury risk alone and in one model. A further study is needed to verify the efficiency of indicated factors in prospective terms. Using both quantitative and qualitative tests could be helpful in IR prediction.


Pheochromocytoma is characterized by a combination of various clinical manifestations that include the classic triad of severe headache, palpitations and diaphoresis. In addition, hyperglycemia can be caused by overproduction of catecholamines, which are secreted by a catecholamine-secreting neoplasm of adrenal or extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue. We encountered a case of diabetes with an occult malignant adrenal pheochromocytoma, who did not have any classic manifestations. A 37-year-old male was admitted because of polydipsia, polyuria, and weight loss. Fasting blood glucose level was 497 mg/dL, hemoglobin A1c level was 15%, and diabetic retinopathy and peripheral polyneuropathy were also accompanied. Incidentally, right adrenal mass was detected by ultrasonography of abdomen. Urinary excretion of total metanephrine and epinephrine were elevated. Adrenal CT showed a 7.1 cm sized right adrenal cystic mass with enhancing solid portion and hemorrhagic content. The scan with 123I-MIBG revealed the cystic mass with increased rim uptake in the region of right adrenal gland. After removal of the tumor, the increased levels of catecholamine were normalized. Moreover, blood glucose level was normalized without administration of insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. The pathologic examination showed that the neoplasm was a malignant adrenal pheochromocytoma. We report this case that diabetes was cured after removal of malignant tumor with literature review at first in Korea. (J Kor Diabetes Assoc 31:520~524, 2007)


This is the second paper in a three-part series reporting on the test and evaluation of typical duct-mounted relative humidity sensors used in building HVAC applications. In this paper, three duct-mounted humidity sensors from each of six different manufacturers were tested and evaluated to determine the sensor accuracy and to provide a comparison with manufacturer specifications. A total of 18 sensors were tested, nine of them were capacitive-type sensors and nine were resistive-type sensors. The sensors were tested at three different temperatures (i.e., 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C) and five different relative humidity (RH) levels (i.e., 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% RH). The experimental procedure used for testing and evaluating the accuracy of the humidity sensors was described previously in Part 1 (Joshi et al. 2004a) of this paper. The test and evaluation results show that at 25°C, two of the six humidity sensor models are within manufacturer-specified accuracy of ±3% for the entire relative humidity range of 10% to 90%. A third sensor model did not meet the manufacturer-specified accuracy of ±3% at any humidity level tested while the remaining three sensor models met the manufacturer-specified accuracy of ±3% for only part of the humidity range.


Optimization of the antibacterial therapy constitutes an important clinical problem. A new possibility to solve it is to consider the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of these drugs in their unity. PK of antimicrobials has always been a significant factor in the drug choice, since it determines the accumulation of the drug at the site of infection. The current aspects of PD of antibacterial drugs, however, are only lately being intensively developed. Amongst the PD indices, only MIC (reflecting the susceptibility of the infective agent to drugs) has been routinely used in the clinical practice up to now. Currently, increasing attention is being paid to other PD parameters: pattern of bacterial killing (time- or concentration dependent) and persistent (post-an ti bi otic) ef fect. According to these parameters, antibacterial drugs can be classified into three groups. Combining the PK indices maximal plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under concentration-time curve (AUC) with PD ones (MIC) in a way based on experimental evidence, allows the development of integral PK/PD parameters, predicting clinical and efficacy and bacteriological cure.Forbeta-lactams and macrolides such a parameter is the time during which the concentration of the drug is higher than MIC (T>MIC90). With aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones, the parameter correlating bets with positive outcomes, ate the ratios Cmax/MIC90 and AUC24/MIC90. With azalides the best predictor of efficacy is AUC24/MIC90. The introduction of PK/PG parameters in clinical performance has the potential to provide individual approaches in the choice of antibacterial drug and their dosing regimen. They can also contribute to reducing resistance and adverse effects, as well as to lowering the cost of therapy. Scripta Scientifica Medica 2007;39(1):19-23


Agriculture is under constant threat of natural disasters, exotic animal diseases, pests, and
potential bioterrorism. In the case of agricultural emergency, county, state, federal, and volunteer
organizations need to work together to prevent outbreaks and conduct emergency management.
One of the challenges in agricultural emergency management is to provide the right information at
the right time. Information technology provides a means to assist decision makers, first responders,
and emergency response teams in the event of emergency. To effectively cope in an agricultural
emergency, a joint effort based on a new concept, the State Agricultural Response Team (SART),
has been made in Florida. This paper describes a newly developed web application that provides a
communication bridge and much needed resources for agricultural response teams.


A 60-year-old male in apparently good health presented with right groin hernia. A detailed clinical work up was carried out. A diagnosis of indirect inguinal hernia was made. Incidentally, two painless nodes were seen in the right inguinal region. The first one present along the upper horizontal chain measures 2 ¥ 0.8 cm, while second node present along the vertical chain measures 3 ¥ 1 cm. Lymphadenopathy on other sites of the body was absent. There was no history of any constitutional symptoms. No foci of inflammation in corresponding drainage areas explaining lymphadenopathy were detected. Fine-needle aspirations of lymph node were inconclusive. Excision biopsy of lymph node was carried out. While awaiting histopathological report, the patient reported back with a serous discharge from the wound. A course of antibiotics was prescribed to which the patient responded well. A small opening, with the size of a pinhead, developed in centre of the wound site, which, on compression used to produce jets of serous fluid. Cytological examination revealed that the fluid was of lymphatic origin. Histopathological examination of node was suggestive of Hodgkin's lymphoma (Fig. 1). Meanwhile, the patient developed significant lymphadenopathy at the groin and the axilla. Spontaneous closure of this lymphocutaneous fistula occurred after 4 weeks. In the light of histopathological report of lymph node, thorough investigations were carried out, diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma was confirmed and an appropriate treatment was started. In surgical practice, a lymphocutaneous fistula is rarely encountered. Post surgery, venous leg ulcer and renal transplantation can lead to the formation of lymphocutaneous fistula. An incidence rate of 2% is seen with groin incision for vascular surgery. This fluid is sterile but, in 25% of cases, they become culture positive. The site of lymphocutaneous fistula has predilection for increased risk of wound sepsis. A persistent leak inside the body may result in chylous ascites or chylothorax. Most of the lymphocutaneous fistulas settle by conservative treatment. Lymphangiography is useful for confirming the formation of lymphocutaneous fistula. Subatmospheric pressure dressings, drainage, diet modifications, total parenteral nutrition, application of octreotide or etilefrine, the use of sclerosing agents, low-dose radiotherapy and percutaneous embolisation are treatment options available. Radiotherapy is efficacious for persistent lymphorrhea and reduces the risk of secondary infection. Surgical repair of groin lymphocutaneous fistulas and lymphoceles following synthetic graft placement is considered safe.


ABSTRACT PURPOSE OF REVIEW Migraine is a disabling disease of attacks of moderate to severe pain with associated symptoms. Every person with migraine requires treatment for acute attacks. Treatments can range from behavioral management and nonspecific medications to migraine-specific medications and neuromodulation. For many with migraine, having a combination of tools allows for effective treatment of all types of attacks. RECENT FINDINGS Over the past several years, four neuromodulation devices have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of acute migraine, and three medications with novel mechanisms of action have been FDA approved. They add to the arsenal available to people with migraine and focus on migraine-specific pathways to allow for precise care with fewer side effects. SUMMARY This article discusses acute migraine therapy, focusing on best-level evidence.


The essence of banking risks is directly related to the classification of these risks. In addition, the effectiveness of banking risk management also depends on the classification. It provides an opportunity for effective application of banking risk management methods and techniques. We must apply our own method of risk management to each type of risk. The value of complex classification of banking risks is that on its basis it is possible to model the activities of banking institutions, to conduct a comprehensive search of internal reserves in order to increase the efficiency of banking operations. However, studies of methodological approaches to the classification of banking risks have not been sufficiently reflected in the national literature. Therefore, today there is a need to study the classification of banking risks. There is no single approach to the classification of banking risks in the economic literature. The article discusses the theoretical bases for the classification of banking risks, its necessity and role in the modern banking system and in the economy as a whole. The analysis of the existing approaches of domestic and foreign scientists to methods of classification of banking risks and the allocation of their types.The classification of banking risks in terms of the introduction of new classification criteria is proposed, in particular by the level of occurrence of banking risks (enables to distinguish risks at macroeconomic and microeconomic levels) and quantitative criteria (separated banking risks that can be quantified, quantified and quantified) be able to more fully cover and organize all types of banking risks.The structuring and systematic regulation of banking risks is of practical value to banks in selecting forms and methods for managing them. One of the first problems that any bank that builds a risk management system has to face is optimizing the types of banking risks.


Background Sepsis is the systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection, which commonly targets on the lung. Tea polyphenols (TP) have many pharmacological activities, but their role in sepsis induced lung injury remains unclear. Results Injection of TP after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) operation elevated the survival rate in a concentration dependent manner. TP treatment improved alveoli structure injury under CLP operation. CLP surgery increased the expression of inflammatory factors IL1β, IL6, and TNFα expression, which was reversed by TP injection. In addition, CLP operation promoted apoptosis and senescence in tissues and cells during lung injury, while TP administration removed the damaged role of CLP on lung tissues and cells. Furthermore, CLP operation or LPS (lipopolysaccharide) treatment induced dysfunction of mitochondria in lung tissues and cells, but TP contributed to recover mitochondria function, which exhibited as inhibition of ROS production inhibition and increase of ATP content and Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Interestingly, DJ-1 was inhibited by CLP operation but promoted by TP treatment. Overexpression of DJ-1 reversed the injury of LPS on L2 cells and recovered mitochondria normal function. And silencing of DJ-1 in rats or alveolar epithelial cells blocked the protection effect of TP. Conclusion Our research revealed that TP protected against lung injury via upregulating of DJ-1 to improve mitochondria function, which contributed to the prevention and treatment of sepsis induced lung injury.


Objectives: To determine the frequency of use of analgesics in terminal patients attended in home, and factors that may be involved in pain perception, in addition to the interventions carried out. Methods: prospective, interventional and analytical study in patients attended to Homecare Support Team (HSCT) of Barbastro. Variables studied: age, sex, number of visits, time tracking, presence of pain and other concomitant symptoms, Visual Analogic Scale (VAS), diagnosis, analgesics previous and post-intervention, previous and post-intervention average dose of analgesics. Statistical study with SPSS 15.0. Results: n = 638, men 53.9 % (n = 344), mean age 10.8 ± 79.64 years, cancer patient 56 % (n = 357), mean follow-up time 56 ± 56.56 days, 2.5 ± 2.68 mean visits per process. Pain in first visit 43.3 % (n = 276), mean VAS 6.54 ± 1.87, pain 47.1 % of men (n = 162) and 38.8 % of women (n = 114) (p < 0.05), pain in oncology 56.6 % (n = 202) and 26.3 % of non-cancer patients (n = 74) (p < 0.001). No differences between groups in VAS. Before intervention by HCST we found statistically significant differences (p < 0.005) on morphine and tramadol, and greater significance (p < 0.001) in transdermal and transmucosal fentanyl, paracetamol, metamizol and NSAIDs, all more common in uncontrolled pain. Previous mean doses of all these drugs showed no significant differences between groups, although they were higher in the group of uncontrolled pain. In these, analgesics were prescribed or modified, being statistically significant difference pre-post-intervention (p < 0.001) in transdermal and transmucosal fentanyl, tramadol, paracetamol, metamizol, NSAIDs, pregabalin and with p < 0.05 in gabapentin. Was obtained difference (p < 0.05) in mean dose only in transdermal fentanyl and codeine dose post-intervention of HCST. We obtain positive correlations between pain and anorexia, anxiety, depression and insomnia; in cancer patients between pain and anxiety and insomnia, and non-cancer patients between pain, nausea and depression. No differences between groups in previous use of benzodiazepines, antidepressants and other treatments; there was differences in depression, anxiety and insomnia. After intervention, we obtain significant differences in use of these treatments and sedation. Conclusions: after intervention of HCST there was gradual increase of all analgesic; it should conduct a full assessment of the patient's symptoms and treatment of multifactorial symptoms in addition to questioning the patient adequately about the presence of associated symptoms, given the high correlation of them.


BACKGROUND
Glycemic variability (GV) is an alternative diabetes-related parameter that has been associated with mortality and longer hospitalization periods. There is no ideal method for calculating GV. In this study, we used standard deviation and coefficient of variation due to their suitability for this sample and ease of use in daily clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate the association between GV, hypoglycemia, and the 90-day mortality and length of hospital stay (LOS) among non-critically ill hospitalized elderly patients.

METHODS
The medical records of 2,237 elderly patients admitted to the Zilda Arns Elderly Hospital over a 2.5-year period were reviewed. Hypoglycemia was defined as a glucose level <70 mg/dL (hypoglycemia alert value) and represented by the proportion of days in which the patient presented with this condition relative to the LOS. The Charlson comorbidity index was used to evaluate prognosis. Data were analyzed using multiple linear and logistic multivariate regression analyses.

RESULTS
Adjusted analysis of 687 patients (305 men [44.4%] and 382 women [55.6%], mean age of 77.86±9.25 years) revealed that GV was associated with a longer LOS (p=0.048). Mortality was associated with hypoglycemia (p=0.005) and mean patient-day blood glucose level (p=0.036). Variables such as age (p<0.001), Charlson score (p<0.001), enteral diet (p<0.001), and corticosteroid use (p=0.007) were also independently associated with 90-day mortality.

CONCLUSION
Increased GV during hospitalization is independently associated with a longer LOS and hypoglycemia in non-critically ill elderly patients, while the mean patient-day blood glucose is associated with increased mortality.


Introduction. Surgical site infections (SSIs) affect costs of care and prolong length of stay. Crohn's disease (CD) represents an independent risk factor for SSI. The risk can be further increased by concomitant administration of immunosuppressive drugs and poor performance status at the time of surgery. Patients suffering from CD often need more than one surgical intervention during life, sometimes requiring fashioning of a stoma. The aim of this pilot study was to compare a portable device for negative pressure wound therapy (PICO, Smith & Nephew, London, UK) to conventional gauze dressings in patients undergoing surgery for stricturing CD. Methods. Between January 2010 and November 2011, this controlled trial enrolled 30 patients, who were assigned to treatment with either PICO (n = 13) or conventional dressings (n = 17). Each patient completed a 3-month follow-up. Results. Patients receiving PICO experienced significantly less postoperative wound complications (P = .001) and SSI (P = .017) compared with those who received conventional dressings. This resulted in shorter hospital stay (P = .0007). No significant differences in cosmetic results were found. Conclusion. These data suggest that PICO allows faster and safe discharge by reducing the incidence of SSI and wound-related complications in selected patients undergoing surgical intervention for stricturing CD. This could be particularly useful in patients receiving steroids.


: The paper reports three cases of optic chiasmal radionecrosis due to radiotherapy of the sellar region. These three cases are compared with 34 ones found in literature. The use of M.R.I. is shown to dramatically improve diagnosis. Corticoids are useful in the treatment. The gravity of the complication, which implies visual prognosis, focuses on a strict use of radiotherapy. For benign or slowly evoluting lesions, surgery and/or regular controls by modern imaging techniques would often be more eligible than systematic earliest irradiation.


Peptidoglycan is the major structural component of bacterial cell walls. In this era of increasingly antibiotic resistant pathogens, peptidoglycan hydrolases that degrade this important cell wall structure have emerged as a potential novel source of new antimicrobials. Included in this class are bacteriocins (lysostaphin), lysozyme, and bacteriophage endolysins. Bacteriophage are viruses that infect and utilize bacteria as their host. They can reside in the bacterial genome as a prophage, or enter the lytic phase, take over the bacterial gene expression machinery, synthesize new phage particles, lyse the host, and release up to hundreds of phage progeny. Lysis occurs during the late phase of the lytic cycle when the phage endolysin and a holin molecule are produced. The holin creates holes in the cells lipid bilayer allowing the phage endolysin (peptidoglycan hydrolase) to escape and degrade the structural portion of the cell wall. These (and other phage encoded proteins) have been shown to inhibit bacterial growth. The ability to inhibit growth or kill bacteria make both the bacteriophage and their gene products a rich source of potential antimicrobials. This review summarizes the recent resurgence of these potential antimicrobials as both diagnostic and therapeutic agents and identifies recent patents that describe these technologies.


Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease that usually develops in women aged 18-50 years. It is known that age at onset modifies the clinical manifestations of SLE, and so the elderly may form a specific patient subgroup. It is now well established that the serum levels of the cytokines interleukin (IL) 6 and IL10 are increased in patients with SLE (1). Objectives The primary aim was to compare the type of clinical involvement and autoantibodies in patients with late-onset (LO) or early-onset (EO) SLE. The second aim was to compare IL6 levels in the two patient groups and their possible correlations with clinical and immunological manifestations. Methods Fifty-five patients meeting the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for the classification of SLE (47 F, 8 M) were consecutively enrolled. They were evaluated for the presence and intensity of clinical manifestations and laboratory abnormalities, and divided into two subgroups on the basis of the age of onset of SLE symptoms. The patients who developed SLE at or after the age of 65 years were considered LO-SLE cases. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) were detected by means of indirect immunofluorescence respectively using HEp-2 cells and Crithidiae luciliae as a substrate. Anti-extractable nuclear antigen (anti-ENA) antibodies (anti-Sm, anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB) were tested by means of counter-immunoelectrophoresis using control sera provided by the Center for Disease Control (Atlanta, USA). Serum IL6 levels were measured using the Quantikine high sensitivity human IL6 immunoassay (R & D Systems Europe, Abingdon, Oxon., UK). Results Twenty-five patients hadLO-SLE and 30 EO-SLE. The female to male ratio was similar in the two goups (9:1 vs. 8:1). The LO-SLE patients were more likely to have arthritis (88% vs 82%; p =0.813) and serositis (28% vs 13%; p=0.34). The prevalence of the other SLE manifestations was lower in the LO-SLE patients: malar rash (60% vs 82%; p =0.176), nephropathy (3% vs 10%; p =0.245), photosensitivity (35% vs 82%; p=0.176), alopecia (15% vs 82%; p= 0.0001) and Raynaud's phenomenon (32% vs 70%; p=0.001). The LO-SLE patients had a higher prevalence of anti-SSA (52% vs 33%; p= 0.162), ANA antibodies (30% vs 27%; p=0.295) and were more frequently affected by secondary Sjogren syndrome (SS) (44% vs 16%; p= 0.001). Thee prevalence of other antinuclear antibodies was lower in LO-SLE than in EO-SLE (anti-dsDNA: 74,3% vs. 78,8%, anti-Sm 17,1% vs. 20%; all p=n.s; anti-SSB (24% vs 66%, p=0.002).IL6 levels were significantly higher (p=0.005) in the patients with LO-SLE, and there was a correlation between IL6 levels and secondary SS (p = 0.002, r =20.26). Conclusions Patients with LO-SLE tend to have a less severe clinical picture than those with EO-SLE; however, they frequently suffer from secondary SS. The increased IL6 levels in the patients with EO-SLE may influence the development of secondary SS. These findings are in line with those of increasing number of studies supporting the existence of physiological links between IL6 and SLE and SS, but further analyses are required to confirm them. References Eilertsen GØ, et al. Interleukin-6promotes arthritis and joint deformation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2011;20:607-13; Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This paper deals with the problem of delay-dependent robust stability of a class of uncertain discrete singular time-delay systems. The considered systems are subject to norm-bounded parameter uncertainties and constant time delay. A new approach is introduced to take the relationship between the fast and slow subsystems of a discrete singular time-delay system, based on which, a strict linear matrix inequality (LMI) criterion is obtained for a discrete singular time-delay system to be regular, causal and stable. The result on robust stability of uncertain discrete singular time-delay systems is also obtained and expressed in terms of LMIs. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method


The beta-lactam antibiotic penicillin is produced as a secondary metabolite by some filamentous fungi. In this study, the molecular regulation of the Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans penicillin biosynthesis genes acvA (pcbAB) and ipnA (pcbC) was analyzed. acvA and ipnA are divergently oriented and separated by an intergenic region of 872 bp. Translational fusions of acvA and ipnA with the two Escherichia coli reporter genes lacZ and uidA enabled us to measure the regulation of both genes simultaneously. A moving-window analysis of the 872-bp intergenic region indicated that the divergently oriented promoters are, at least in part, overlapping and share common regulatory elements. Removal of nucleotides -353 to -432 upstream of the acvA gene led to a 10-fold increase of acvA-uidA expression and simultaneously to a reduction of ipnA-lacZ expression to about 30%. Band shift assays and methyl interference analysis using partially purified protein extracts revealed that a CCAAT-containing DNA element within this region was specifically bound by a protein (complex), which we designated PENR1, for penicillin regulator. Deletion of 4 bp within the identified protein binding site caused the same contrary effects on acvA and ipnA expression as observed for all of the deletion clones which lacked nucleotides -353 to -432. The PENR1 binding site thus represents a major cis-acting DNA element. The intergenic regions of the corresponding genes of the beta-lactam-producing fungi Penicillium chrysogenum and Acremonium chrysogenum also diluted the complex formed between the A. nidulans probe and PENR1 in vitro, suggesting that these beta-lactam biosynthesis genes are regulated by analogous DNA elements and proteins.


Influence of Perceived Safety Culture and Nurses' Work Environment on Medication Error Occurrence and Reporting Joyce A. Shanty Purpose: The purpose of this research study was to 1) compare differences in perceptions of the influence of organizational safety and 2) the nurses' practice environment on medication error occurrence and barriers to reporting among nurses working in Magnet, Magnetaspiring, and non-Magnet hospitals using an Internet survey method. Background: Over the last several years, there have been many publications that cite organizational variables that are potentially important in addressing medical errors and patient safety. Unfortunately, it is unclear which specific organizational factors contribute to errors and safety in health care organizations. Empiric support of the effects of the nurses' work environment and perceived safety culture within an organization on reasons nurses make medication errors and the barriers to report those errors would provide nursing leaders with data that would be useful in prioritizing interventions to improve patient safety. Design and method: This descriptive correlational study used a cross sectional design. Additionally, for several of the research questions, a betweenparticipants design was used to evaluate differences among acute care nurses in Magnet, Magnetaspiring, and non-Magnet hospitals in perceptions of medication error occurrence and reporting, work environment, and safety culture. The study population included447 nurses working in acute care Magnet, Magnetaspiring, and non-Magnet designated hospitals. Data were collected online using Qualtrics webbased software. An advertisement for participation was placed on professional organizations' websites. Participants clicked on the link if interested in learning more about the study. A cover letter explaining the research was available to the potential participants. Instruments: All of the instruments used in this study had validity and reliability demonstrated in prior studies. The Medication Administration Error (MAE) Reporting Survey contains 45 questions in 2 general content areas; (a) reasons why medication errors occur (29 items) and (b) reasons why medication errors are not reported (16 items) The instrument has five subscales for ―why MAEs occur‖ and four subscales for ―why MAEs are not reported.‖ Internal consistency of each subscale was acceptable, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .74-.97. Safety culture was measured using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC). The survey consists of 79 items measuring 12 dimensions: 2 outcome dimensions and 10 safety culture dimensions with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .72-.91. Nurses' work environment was measured using the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) instrument. The PES-NWI consists of 31 items in five subscales that characterized professional practice in the original Magnet hospitals with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .88-.92. Results: Differences were found among nurses working in Magnet, Magnet-aspiring, and nonMagnet hospitals regarding reasons why medication errors occur and reasons why medication errors are not reported. Safety culture variables (hospital handoffs, nonpunitive response, staffing and resources, collegial nurse-physician relations) and type of work unit were predictors of reasons medication errors occur. Safety culture variables (nonpunitive response and hospital management) and years as a nurse were predictors of reasons medication errors are not reported. Work environment variables (nursing foundation for quality of care, staffing and resources, and nurse manager ability) were predictors of reasons medication errors are not reported. The relationships between the perceived work environment and reasons medication errors are not reported and the perceived safety culture and perceived work environment were as theorized but not in the anticipated direction, most likely due to participant fatigue causing participants to not notice that the response scale options were in the opposite direction as the rest of the questionnaires. Conclusions: This study revealed there are a number of person and system attributes that influence the reasons why medication errors occur and the reasons why medication errors are not reported, confirming the complexity of hospital systems and the influence of organizational variables on medication error occurrence and reporting and providing support for the Conceptual Model of Medication Safety. This study also revealed that reasons medication errors occur and nurses' willingness to report those errors are influenced by the key environmental attributes of Magnet hospital settings.


Background: The term chronic headache is commonly taken as headache lasting for more than three months. It is common in general practice with minimal research on the topic in Nepal. Objective: To sort out the common diagnoses of chronic headache and to study the clinical features and demographic profile of patients presenting with chronic headache. Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted (2012 August to 2013 August) at General Practice outpatients in BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, a medical university in eastern Nepal. Approval and ethical clearance was taken from Research Committee and Institutional Ethical Review Board. Descriptive statistical analysis was done. Result: 168 patients constituting 1% of outpatient visits presented due to chronic headache. Mean age was 29.57 years (SD 10.53) and female to male ratio was 3.67. Mean number of days of headache was 19.46 days (SD 4.62). Numerical pain score was reported at 7.1/10 (SD 1.85). The mean duration of presentation was 22 months (SD 11). 40% reported impaired activity of more than one week. Headache was classified as chronic migraine in 20.2%, chronic tension type headache in 16.7%, and chronic daily persistent headache in 11.9%. The diagnosis did not fit into any diagnostic criteria in 51.2% cases. Conclusion: Chronic headache is common in females and young age group. Patients present late despite significant pain scores. Significant proportion is still unclassified. Health Renaissance 2015;13(2): 22-29


Jugulo-tympanic paragangliomas are rare benign tumors arising from the neuroectodermal cells of the tympanic cavity and the dome of the jugular vein. Surgical resection has long been the first-line treatment. However, when this is not possible, radiotherapy remains a therapeutic alternative allowing local control with less morbidity. We report the case of a patient with an unresectable tympano-jugular paraganglioma, the symptomalagy was dominted by chronic headaches and right sided hypoacousie, and the treatment consisted of external radiation therapy with a total dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions, one fraction per day, 2 Gy per fraction using the IMRT technique. The evolution was good with disappearance of clinical symptomatology, significant local control with less toxicity.


Introduction: The evolution and progress of microsurgery has brought about numerous advances but some challenges still remain. Among these are discrepancies in the vessel size. A significant size discrepancy still equates to technical difficulty and high rate of flow turbulence possibly resulting in subsequent thrombosis. This article reviews the most common techniques that address this obstacle and highlights the reliability of each technique. Methods: Medline, Embase, Pubmed, Cochrane and google scholar search limited to English language since 1980 till present time. Results: Various techniques were described to address micro-anastomosis size discrepancy with variable reliability. Conclusion: Although many techniques have been described to overcome micro-anastomosis size mismatch, an ideal technique is yet to be perfected. Every technique described has advantages as well as limitations. From our review, it was apparent that the bigger the discrepancy between the vessels, the higher the incidence of complications. That being said, successful anastomoses have been described in vessel mismatch ratios of up to 1:5 in the literature. Moving forward, in our opinion, when describing a vessel size mismatch, it is more informative and helpful to use a ratio rather than a millimeter gauge.


We report photocurrent transients arising from the pulsed laser excitation of the dipolar first excited singlet sate S{sub 1} of trans 4-dimethyl-amino-4{prime}-nitrostilbene (DMANS) in toluene solution. The currents arise from rotational reorientation of DMANS dipoles with respect to the axis of an applied electric field. The method appears to offer a simple and general approach to the measurement of the change in dipole moment upon electronic excitation of a molecule. In another experiment, durene (1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene) dissolved in n-hexane was photoionized by 35 psec pulses at 266 nm. Transient absorption at 1064 nm arising chiefly from geminate electrons was detected and used to monitor the recombination of the electron-cation pairs produced by two-photon ionization. An excellent fit to the recombination kinetics was obtained by assuming that the distribution of initial electron-cation separations was of the form r{sup 2}EXP = r{sup 2}/(2L{sup 3})exp({minus}r/L) with a mean radius 3L = 5.7 nm.


Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from five patients with idiopathic sideroblastic anemia were examined in clonal culture for circulating erythropoietic precursors. Three of these patients had relatively mild anemia and revealed significant burst formation. Two patients who had severe anemia and required regular blood transfusions showed severe diminution or absence of circulating precursors. These results could suggest that the number of circulating erythropoietic precursors reflects effective erythropoiesis in the marrow. Ultrastructural morphology and ultrastructural Prussian-blue staining of the bursts from a patient revealed the characteristic mitochondrial deposition of ferrugionous material in pathologic normoblasts. Peripheral blood clonal cell cultures would, therefore, appear to be a potentially useful tool for analysis of biochemical abnormalities in idiopathic sideroblastic anemia.


The circular economy can contribute to the eco-efficient use of resources. Firms can obtain relevant benefits if they implement a circular economy. In Peru, the circular economy would create benefits, but it is not fully clear what factors explain the acceptance of firms of implementing a circular economy. Following the theory of planned behavior, the current research assesses the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral norms, intentions, and pressures on behaviors towards the circular economy. A total of 71 medium-size firms based in Peru participated in an online survey. Six questions were focused on general information, and forty-seven questions evaluated the circular economy behavior of firms. A partial least square structural equation modeling technical analysis was used. It was found that attitudes (0.144), subjective norms (0.133), and perceived behavioral control (0.578) had a positive influence on intentions; also, perceived behavioral control (0.461) had a positive influence on behaviors towards the circular economy. Finally, pressures had a positive influence (0.162) on behaviors towards the circular economy. The model explained 64.3% of the behaviors towards the circular economy. The outcomes of the bootstrapping test were used to evaluate if the path coefficients are significant. This study showed that attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral norms, intentions, and pressures explained circular economy behaviors. This information can help firms develop strategies to move forward a circular economy and provide governments information about the current situation of circular economy implementation to generate new norms and strategies for more implementation of circular economy measures in enterprises. The novelty is based on using the PLS-SEM technique.


The idea that everyday problems are diagnosable and treatable by medicine is ancient as well as common today, when we are used to understanding and explaining the psyche and ethical conduct by knowing the materiality of the body. In the last two decades, investment in research investigating brain functioning has significantly expanded scientific knowledge of physiological and psychological interactions, which strongly support somatic culture. Thus, psychiatric diagnoses have become important tools in the explanation and intervention of schooling procedures considered "problematic". The combination of biomedical sciences and education has had an impact on intervention practices regarding the problems faced by children when they enter school. We are going to take a diachronic look at the relationship between biomedical knowledge and pedagogy that created the concept of normal/abnormal childhood.


The aim to identify the types of political relationship among monuments can be defined as the main goal of the article. Regarding the ongoing debate about the politicization of monuments in Lithuania, the article seeks to find out what features and functions of monuments make them the subject of political controversy and political discussion. The analysis starts with theoretical assumptions distinguishing the types of relationship between monuments and politics that dominate the theoretical level. After the review of the theoretical level, the typology of the relationship between politics and monuments in Lithuania is explained highlighting the exceptions of the Lithuanian case by going through the typological analysis of the Lithuanian academic discourse.


The growing number of events affecting public safety and security (PS&S) on a regional scale with potential to grow up to large scale cross border disasters puts an increased pressure on organization responsible for PS&S. In order to respond timely and in an adequate manner to such events Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) organizations need to cooperate, align their procedures and activities, share needed information and be interoperable. The paper at hands provides an approach to tackle the above mentioned aspects by defining an Enterprise Architecture (EA) of PPDR organisations and a System Architecture of next generation PPDR communication networks for a variety of applications and services on broadband networks, including the ability of inter-system, inter-agency and cross-border operations.


The problem studied is similar to the problems found in multiprocessor operating systems. The lockout problem in multiprocessor operating systems is a direct result of multiple processors attempting to process common data structures asynchronously. There are numerous such shared data structures. The models developed are applicable to the study of contention for software and hardware resources in multiprocessor operating systems. The authors introduce an approximate analytical model to evaluate the performance of asynchronous processes found in asynchronous algorithms, including the combined effects of software lockout on critical sections and on job queues, and of shared-memory access conflicts. Because of the strong similarities between the two effects, the same model can be used for both, leading to a uniform and elegant formulation. The models are combined to find the run-time efficiency of asynchronous iterations. >


Humans afflicted with mood disorders respond differently to antidepressant drug therapy. Different responses to psychoactive drugs are also observed in rats, and specific strains exhibit substantial differences in gene expression following synaptic activity. We examined the effects of fluoxetine on the induction of Fos-like proteins in Long–Evans and Sprague–Dawley rat brains. Fluoxetine elicited a strong induction of Fos in the striatum of Long–Evans but not Sprague–Dawley rats following acute drug exposure. This effect was specific to fluoxetine as two highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, HD-31 and HD-50, as well as treatment with fenfluramine failed to replicate the observed differences in Fos. These differences in Fos expression between rat strains may represent variability in post-receptor pathways that ultimately mediate the therapeutic actions of fluoxetine.


Twitter users in Indonesia are one of the biggest twitter users in the World. The use of Twitter in Indonesia, is often used in various activities, one of which is in the field of education. The @ruangguru account is a twitter account that is used to deliver content related to the Teacher's Room application. In Indonesia, Ruang Guru is the largest educational platform that can be enjoyed by the people of Indonesia, so the research objective is to analyze @ruangguru's Twitter content as a means of education in Indonesia, and what form of content or twet delivered by the @ruangguru account to users and other communities. This type of research uses descriptive qualitative research, with data collection methods used, namely with data capture containing content from the @ruangguru twitter account, and then analyzed using the Nvivo 12 application. The results of the research address the social media content Twitter @ruangguru containing information as an alternative learning in encouraging the provision of educational facilities in Indonesia. Ruang Guru received a good response from active twitter users who followed the @ruangguru account in providing or expanding access to quality education through technology that is not limited by time and place and can encourage quality education in Indonesia.


A time series is a sequence of data items; typical examples are videos, stock ticker data, or streams of temperature measurements. Quite some research has been devoted to comparing and indexing simple time series, i.e., time series where the data items are real numbers or integers. However, for many application scenarios, the data items of a time series are not simple, but high-dimensional data points. Motivated by an application scenario dealing with motion gesture recognition, we develop a distance measure (which we call congruence distance) that serves as a model for the approximate congruency of two multi-dimensional time series. This distance measure generalizes the classical notion of congruence from point sets to multi-dimensional time series. We show that, given two input time series $S$ and $T$, computing the congruence distance of $S$ and $T$ is NP-hard. Afterwards, we present two algorithms that compute an approximation of the congruence distance. We provide theoretical bounds that relate these approximations with the exact congruence distance.


This work reviews the problems associated with the diagnosis of well differentiated carcinomas of the thyroid (follicular and papillary), which anatomically and clinically can show characteristics not readily distinguishable from those found in thyroid hyperplasia and adenomas. Some features of atypical adenomas and Hurthle cell tumors are detailed, in particular the borderline malignancy of the latter. We have examined the histological parameters useful in diagnosis of follicular carcinoma (cellular polymorphism and size variability with increased and atypical mitoses, invasion of the capsule and vessels, metastasis to lymph nodes and distant organs) and of papillary carcinoma (true papillae, large and crowded nuclei displaying a "ground glass" appearance with grooves and cytoplasmic inclusions and psammoma bodies). The limitations of these parameters are discussed with emphasis on frozen section examination when the lack of time limits examination to few and small tissue fragments. Invasion of the capsule and vessels is not easily detected and the "ground glass" nucleus and presence of grooves are not evident. The biological behavior of well differentiated carcinomas is discussed and, although unpredictable and variable in the single case, is generally that of a slow growing tumor. It is partially influenced by the age of the patient, size and stage of the tumor, invasion of the capsule and vessels and metastatic spread. We have observed that the biological behavior, apparently different in the follicular and papillary forms, appears identical for both tumors when a large number of cases are analyzed. Mention is made of the various surgical choices (total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy, lobectomy, different surgical procedures which take into account the various risk factors). No statistically significant differences in recurrences and metastatic spread are obtained by electing more or less aggressive surgery with or without extensive dissection of cervical lymph nodes.


Since 2004, the social web has become a dominant force on the Internet. As of 2011, 65% of adults in the US used online social networking (OSN) sites, and this number continues to grow, both in the US and around the world. However, as OSNs gradually supplant email and instant messaging as the primary channel for online communication, the incentive for malicious users to attack these systems grows. Social spam and fake Sybil accounts are now the primary tools for online criminals looking to spreadmalware and steal personal information on OSNs. In this work, we take the first steps towards measuring, understanding, and defending against these threats to the social web.
We begin by conducting detailed studies of two of the largest OSNs in the world: Facebook and Renren. Quantifying the basic graph structural properties of these OSNs gives us a solid foundation of understanding on which to build further research. Our work goes beyond existing studies that are focused on static topologies by accounting for the relative importance of individual edges of the social graph. By analyzing visible and latent interactions between users, we show that all edges in social graphs are not equally important, and develop "interaction graphs" to capture these effects. Through simulations on real social graphs, we show that edge importance has a large effect on the performance of social applications. This result indicates that ongoing research into social applications and algorithms should take user interactions into account if they hope to obtain realistic and accurate results.
Our baseline OSN measurements allow us to characterize the behavior of normal users in great detail, which opens a window of opportunity for identifying anomalies associated with malicious activity. As a first step towards understanding malicious activity on OSNs, we examine its most prominent outward symptom: spam. We analyze hundreds of millions of wall posts received by millions of Facebook users and develop a novel set of automated techniques to detect social spam. Our results show that a significant portion of the URLs shared on Facebook are spam, the majority of which link to malicious phishing websites. These spam attacks are organized into large, coordinated campaigns by criminals working behind the scenes. Analysis of the behavior of spamming accounts demonstrates that both fake, Sybil accounts and compromised normal accounts are used as tools to attack Facebook users.
Next, we turn our attention to the problem of Sybil accounts. Although our work on spam detection identified Sybils as a major threat to OSNs, at the time no practical solutions to this problem had been developed. To address this challenge, we use ground truth data provided by Renren Inc. to build a measurement based Sybil detector. This system is currently deployed on the Renren OSN, and to date it has caught and banned millions of Sybils. Importantly, our detector operates in real-time, meaning that Sybils are banned before they get a chance to generate harmful spam. We study the edge creation behavior of Sybils on Renren, and find that contrary to prior conjecture, they do not form tight-knit communities. Instead, they integrate into the social graph just like normal users. This result confirms our hypothesis that existing Sybil community detectors from the literature are unlikely to succeed on today's OSNs.
In summary, our research makes two fundamental contributions to the study of OSNs. First, our work demonstrates the necessity of measurement driven design of social systems. Repeatedly, our measurements have contradicted assumptions from prior work, and thus revealed new avenues of research. Second, we have discovered, quantified, and developed practical solutions for pressing OSN security problems. However, the social web continues to evolve, and the shape of its attack surface is constantly changing. Attackers will continue to innovate new and unexpected strategies to exploit OSNs and evade security mechanisms. Only by bringing all of our tools to bear: measurement, graph analysis, data mining, machine learning, etc., can computer scientists hope to defend against future threats to the social web.


The new species Elaeagia coriacea (Condamineeae, Rubiaceae), from southern Ecuador, is here described and illustrated. It differs from Elaeagia ecuadorensis in its abaxially papillate leaves and by the short obtuse calyx lobes.


Interventional procedures of the breast are increasing in frequency both because of screening programs designed to detect large numbers of nonpalpable lesions and the advent of new technologies. These procedures afford the radiologist new opportunities to participate in patient care. Those radiologists involved in interventional programs need to be familiar with the legal ramifications of such procedures, many of which have not been historically important outside of the treating clinical community. The high frequency of legal exposure associated with breast cancer evaluation should prompt the development of risk management guidelines for the performance of interventional procedures of the breast.


Evaluation of polar effects in hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) processes is made difficult by the fact that in most cases substrates characterized by lower bond dissociation energies (BDEs), activated from an enthalpic point of view, are also more activated by polar effects. In search of an exception to this general rule, we found that the introduction of a methoxy substituent in the 3-position of 2,6-dimethylphenol results in a small increase in the O-H BDE and a decrease of the ionization potential of the phenol. These findings suggest that the enthalpic effect associated with the addition of the m-methoxy group to 2,6-dimethylphenol will decrease reaction rates, while the polar effects will increase reaction rates. Our model analysis of polar effects has been experimentally validated by comparing the reactivity of 2,6-dimethylphenol with that of 2,6-dimethyl-3-methoxyphenol in HAT promoted by a series of radicals (cumyloxyl, galvinoxyl, 2,2-diphenylpycrylhydrazyl, phthalimide- N-oxyl, and benzotriazole- N-oxyl radicals). In line with our predictions, the ratio of HAT rate constants ( kH mOMe/ kHH) is larger in cases where there is a greater contribution of polar effects in the HAT reaction, i.e., in HAT promoted by N-oxyl radicals containing electron-withdrawing groups or when more polar solvents are employed.


We address issues dealing with visual perception for a personal service robot in the intelligent home environment. We identify key visual functionalities necessary for the robot to perform its activities. They include people detection and identification, gesture recognition, and self-localization. We propose an efficient and reliable framework to organize and coordinate the vision sensor nodes: fixed cameras mounted on walls, and earnera(s) on the mobile robot. We propose solutions to the different vision tasks, and present our implementation within this framework, validated with experimental results.


This paper offers a detailed analysis of reduplicative patterns in Kirundi. In it, I show that what looks like simple OCP effects preventing the reduplicant and the base from being identical are due to the interaction of markedness and faithfulness constraints giving rise to what McCarthy and Prince (1994) call the emergence of the unmarked (TETU). Moreover, in accounting for the nonidentity of the base and reduplicant, I show that a ranking paradox occurs when applying McCarthy and Prince's (1995) Full Model of reduplication to Kirundi reduplicated words. I show that models with a broad Input-Output correspondence, like those advocated by Spaelti (1997) and Struijke (1998), easily account for Kirundi reduplicated words.


Current study presents professional qualities of social worker and summarizes his professional knowledge, skills and qualities. Like any other profession, social work also has its obligations and responsibilities. They are based on ethical norms and requirements. Ethical rules are set in the Social Worker's Code of Ethics. It represents standards of ethical conduct in professional relations with clients, colleagues, institutions and society as a whole.Professional ethics is an integral part of the components that form the structure of the professional competence of the social worker. The term "professional ethics" refers to the set of requirements for the morality of the worker in each area of professional activity. There are common, valid for all professions requirements for labor morality, as well as specific for the specific profession or position.In the context of social work, the issue of professional ethics is particularly important because of the often necessary need in the daily life of the specialist to confront ethical dilemmas, to make a choice between the purely human response and the professional solution, to observe and apply moral norms.Moral categories in professional and educational activity are manifested in several ways: professional abilities; relations between the subjects in the pedagogical process; ethical relationship within the work team.Professional social work also requires the need for other components in the structure of professional ethics considered as a helping activity, more in the context of social support and assistance, such as caring for the social well-being of people. Professional social work also requires the need for other components in the structure of professional ethics - confidentiality, support volunteering, anti-discriminatory attitude, the best interest of the client, etc.Social work is among the professions that are realized and represent a special category - filled with humanity, compassion; a profession that requires love and concern for people, concern and responsibility towards their destiny, readiness for conscious and voluntary support in the name of their prosperity. It is these characteristics that can only occur when the social worker has high morals, values that are transformed into ethical attitudes and behaviors.


Composite System Based Multi-Area Reliability Evaluation. (December 2009) Ramya Nagarajan, B.E., College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, India Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Chanan Singh Currently, major power systems almost invariably operate under interconnected conditions to transfer power in a stable and reliable manner. Multi-area reliability evaluation has thus become an invaluable tool in the planning and operation of such systems. Multi – area reliability evaluation is typically done by considering equivalent tie lines between different areas in an integrated power system. It gives approximate results for the reliability indices of a power system as it models each of the areas as a single node to which are connected the entire area generation and loads. The intratransmission lines are only indirectly modeled during the calculation of equivalent tie lines' capacities. This method is very widely used in the power industry, but the influence of the various approximations and assumptions, which are incorporated in this method, on reliability calculations has not been explored. The objective of the research work presented in this thesis is the development of a new method called Composite system based multi – area reliability model, which does multi – area reliability evaluation considering the whole composite system. It models the transmission system in detail and also takes into account the loss sharing policy within


Background: Determining the host feeding patterns of mosquitoes by identifying the origin of their blood-meals is an important part of understanding the role of vector species in current and future disease transmission cycles. Collecting large numbers of blood-fed mosquitoes from the field is difficult, therefore it is important to maximise the information obtained from each specimen. This study aimed to use mosquito genome sequence to identify the species within Anopheles maculipennis sensu lato ( An. maculipennis s.l.), identify the vertebrate hosts of field-caught blood-fed An. maculipennis s.l. , and to test for the presence of myxoma virus ( Poxviridae , genus Leporipoxvirus ) in specimens found to have fed on the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ). Methods: Blood-fed An. maculipennis s.l. were collected from resting sites at Elmley Nature Reserve, Kent, between June and September 2013. Hosts that An. maculipennis s.l. had fed on were determined by a PCR-sequencing approach based on the partial amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I gene. Mosquitoes were then identified to species by sequencing a region of the internal transcribed spacer-2 . DNA extracts from all mosquitoes identified as having fed on rabbits were subsequently screened using PCR for the presence of myxoma virus. Results: A total of 94 blood-fed Anopheles maculipennis s.l. were collected, of which 43 (46 %) provided positive blood-meal identification results. Thirty-six of these specimens were identified as Anopheles atroparvus , which had fed on rabbit ( n = 33, 92 %) and cattle ( n = 3, 8 %). Seven mosquitoes were identified as Anopheles messeae, which had fed on cattle ( n = 6, 86 %) and dog ( n = 1, 14 %). Of the 33 An. atroparvus that contained rabbit blood, nine (27 %) were positive for myxoma virus. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that a single DNA extract from a blood-fed mosquito can be successfully used for molecular identification of members of the An. maculipennis complex, blood-meal identification, and for the targeted detection of a myxoma virus. This study shows that An. atroparvus has a strong feeding preference for both healthy and myxoma-infected rabbits, providing evidence that this species may play a significant role in the transmission of myxomatosis among wild rabbit populations in the United Kingdom (UK). Evidence of natural feeding provided by direct collections ( DC ) from rabbits, or rabbit-baited trap collections ( BC ) a Anopheles atroparvus was identified in these studies based on morphological and behavioural characteristics. Culex pipiens s.l. in these studies was identified morphologically and thus could include Cx. pipiens f. pipiens or Cx. pipiens f. molestus


ed by Sir JAMES DUNDAS-GRANT, K.B.E., M.D., F.R.C.S. DISCUSSION ON THE PATHOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL ASPECTS OF TUBERCULOSIS OF THE UPPER AIR PASSAGES. The Pathological Anatomy of Tuberculosis of the Upper Air Passages-—MANASSE (Wurzburg).—The introduction to the discussion of Tuberculosis of the Upper Air Passages at the Annual Meeting of the Society of German Laryngo-Rhino-Otologists forms a valuable monograph on the subject. It contains a statement of the recognised description revised in the light of original researches into the naked-eye and microscopical data, of which admirable illustrations are lavishly presented. Manasse rejects the more recent classifications of the various processes, such as "productive" and •"exudative," and adopts the old-established grouping into Infiltration,


The research findings from Tamaki's (2008) study are important to EBNP for both maternity and psychiatric-mental health nurses. Although the findings demonstrated that mental health visits showed improvement in women with postpartum depression, one suggestion would be to implement a study with a larger sample population and in multiple cultures. With support supplied by numerous quantitative and qualitative studies, such as Tamaki's (2008) study, postpartum depression could be treated with a new non-pharmaceutical measure that would be more beneficial and effective to women and their babies. It will also open new doors for EBNP in mental health and revolutionize home health nursing.


OBJECTIVES
Transvenous lead extraction using mechanical rotational- or laser sheaths is an established procedure. Lead dwell time has been recognized as a risk factor for extraction failure and procedure-related complications. We therefore investigated the safety and efficacy of transvenous extraction of leads with an implant duration of more than 10 years.

METHODS
Between January 2013 and March 2017, a total of 403 patients underwent lead extraction in 2 high-volume lead extraction centres. One hundred and fifty-four patients with extraction of at least 1 lead aged over 10 years were included in this analysis. Laser lead extraction was the primary extraction method, with additional use of mechanical rotational sheaths or femoral snares, if necessary. All procedural- and patient-based data were collected into a database and retrospectively analysed.

RESULTS
Mean patient's age was 65.8 ± 15.8 years, 68.2% were male. Three hundred and sixty-two leads had to be extracted. The mean lead dwell time of treated leads was 14.0 ± 6.1 years. Complete procedural success was achieved in 91.6% of cases, while clinical success was achieved in 96.8%. Failure of extraction occurred in 3.2%. Leads that could not be completely removed had a significantly longer lead dwell time (18.2 vs 13.2 years; P = 0.016). Additional mechanical rotational sheaths or femoral snares were used in 26 (16.9%) patients. Overall complication rate was 4.6%, including 5 (3.3%) major and 2 (1.3%) minor complications. There was no procedure-related mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Transvenous lead extraction in leads aged over 10 years is safe and effective when performed in specialized centres and with use of multiple tools and techniques. Leads that could not be completely extracted had a statistically significant longer lead dwell time.


Hemostasis laboratory tests to diagnose hemostasis are among the most complex processes in clinical medicine. The diagnostic approach to hemostatic alterations should not be simple or direct. In fact, the notion that a single test should be sufficient for diagnosis, which is valid for most conditions, is not usually applicable to hemostatic alterations. Standardization of the different techniques is still an unattained goal and the calculation of the normal reference ranges for the different tests varies widely across different labs. Moreover, new treatments are emerging in the realm of hemostasis whose mechanisms of action are entirely different from classical ones. Beside, the vast amounts of information generated by newly developed technologies represent formidable challenges.


The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of maker-centred learning methodology on the motivation of secondary school students towards science learning using a quasi-experimental design pretest–posttest. For this purpose, a sample of 200 students in eighth grade (110 boys and 90 girls) was selected from two different schools in Madrid during 2017–2018 academic year. The experimental group selected covered the learning standards by doing a project in the makerspace, and the control group covered the same standards by traditional learning in the classroom. Data were collected through a Students' Motivation Towards Science Learning questionnaire developed by Tuan, Chin and Shieh (2015). The results of the data analysis revealed a significative difference between groups in the post-test, finding a higher level of motivation towards science in the experimental group (maker-centred learning based), in comparison with the control group (traditional learning based). Findings in this study confirm the benefits of makerspaces in schools as learning environments that motivate students to learn science, so we strongly recommend the use of these spaces to teach science, allowing the students to find their passion and fostering a love of learning.
Keywords: Makerspaces, motivation, science learning, secondary school, Quasi-experimental design.


The ability to produce robust fiber-based integrated optical systems operating over a wide spectral domain (UV to mid-infrared), is one of today's key challenges in photonics. This work reports on the production of crystal-free, light guiding fibers from rich Ga2O3 oxide-based glass compositions. These materials show optical transmission extending from ultraviolet wavelengths (∼0.280 µm) up to 6 µm in the IR for millimeter length scale while exhibiting relatively high vitreous transition temperatures (∼735 °C), nonlinear optical properties and improved surface micro-hardness. This combination of superior thermal, mechanical and optical properties represents a promising alternative for the development of robust fibers operating in the visible up to the 3–5 µm window.


ABSTRACT Increasing discharge rate in sympathetic neurons elevates transmitter release probability in the neuroeffector junction, with important consequences for neural control and for quantitative estimates of transmitter release. This survey of quantitative data favors the view that the quantum of transmitter released may be only part of the total vesicle contents.


To investigate possible mechanisms for the long-lasting pharmacokinetic properties of cefpiramide, pharmacokinetic and renal clearance studies were carried out using rabbits. Cefazolin was employed as a reference compound. In pharmacokinetic studies, the plasma half-life (t1/2 beta) for cefpiramide was 2.7 times as long as that for cefazolin. The total body clearance (ClT) and renal clearance (ClR) for cefazolin were approximately 2.3 times larger than those for cefpiramide. In renal clearance studies, the clearance by glomerular filtration (Clf) for cefpiramide exceeded Clf for cefazolin by 2.5 times, because of lower plasma protein binding of cefpiramide. In contrast, the clearance by tubular secretion (Cls) for cefpiramide was one-fifth as small as Cls for cefazolin. The overall renal clearance (Clr) for cefazolin was 3.6 times as large as Clr for cefpiramide, being in good agreement with the cefazolin/cefpiramide ratios of ClT and ClR. Therefore, the long-lasting pharmacokinetic properties of cefpiramide was suggested to be due to the fact that cefpiramide undergoes renal tubular secretion to less extent.


The focus of this paper is on the normal, intrapsychic, subjective experience of time in a developmental context. Time sense in middle age is determined less by the chronological age markers of forty or sixty and more by powerful, complex dynamic factors. Issues such as physical aging and illness, relationship to spouse and children, death of parents, and retirement will be explored in terms of how time is experienced.


ABSTRACT

 This study aims to analyze: (1) The Effect of Foreign Institutional Ownership on Intellectual Capital, (2) The Effect of Domestic Institutional Ownership on Intellectual Capital, (3) The Effect of Intellectual Capital on Company Values, (4) The Effect of Foreign Institutional Ownership on Firm Value, ( 5) Effect of Domestic Institutional Ownership on Company Values, (6) Effect of Foreign Institutional Ownership on company value mediated by intellectual capital, (7) Effect of Domestic Institutional Ownership on Corporate Values mediated by Intellectual Capital. The sampling technique was purposive sampling and based on specified criteria, so that 18 companies that met the criteria were obtained. This research includes causal comparability. The analysis used in this study includes the classical assumption test, multiple linear regression test, and path analysis. The results of this study indicate that: (1) Foreign institutional ownership structures have a negative and not significant effect on intellectual capital; (2) The domestic institutional ownership structure has a positive and significant effect on intellectual capital; (3) Foreign institutional ownership structure has a positive and not significant effect on company value; (4) The domestic institutional ownership structure has a positive and not significant effect on the value of the company; (5) Intellectual Capital has a positive and significant effect on firm value; (6) Intellectual capital cannot mediate the relationship between foreign institutional ownership and company value; (7) Intellectual capital cannot mediate the relationship between domestic institutional ownership and company value.

Keywords: Foreign Institutional Ownership, Domestic Institutional Ownership, Intellectual Capital, Company Value (PBV)


In this paper, we develop a comprehensive model of a permanent-magnet brushless DC (BLDC) motor. An analytical model for determining instantaneous air-gap field density is developed. This instantaneous field distribution can be further used to determine the cogging torque, induced back electromotive force, and iron losses in the motor. The advantage of analytical models is that they can be readily used for optimization of BLDC motor because they are fast.


The prosomeric model was postulated jointly by L. Puelles and J. L. R. Rubenstein in 1993 and has been developed since by means of minor changes and a major update in 2012. This article explains the progressive academic and scientific antecedents leading LP to this collaboration and its subsequent developments. Other antecedents due to earlier neuroembryologists that also proposed neuromeric brain models since the late 19th century, as well as those who defended the alternative columnar model, are presented and explained. The circumstances that apparently caused the differential success of the neuromeric models in the recent neurobiological field are also explored.


A 34-year-old man was diagnosed in January 2002 with acute B lymphoblastic leukemia. After induction chemotherapy with vincristine and daunorubicin, complete remission was achieved. In October 2011 a bone marrow relapse was detected. He was treated with clofarabine, attaining morphological remission with minimal residual disease, and in February 2012 he received a haplo-identical allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from his mother, achieving a second complete remission.


Design and response characteristic of electronic control system on mole plough is the part of dissertation. Mole plough is used to construct the subsurface drainage channels on farms, to improve the absorption of water logging which caused plant deterioration. In the design, mole plough was directly mounted to hydraulic cylinder. The pressure to drive hydraulic cylinder piston was taken from tractor with capacity 55 kW using hydraulic hose.The problem that needs solving was how to observe the response characteristics of electronic control system on mole plough. This paper presented an alternative system came from the combination of mechanics, hydraulics, and electronics systemto lift and lower the mole plough based on received input sensor. The main parts of the system are hydraulic proportional controller, which is the first order control system, and convert the rotational angle of stepper motor to valve control openings in order to operate the velocity of hydraulic oil, and Electronic Control Unit (ECU) whichproduces the valve opening angle in the form of stepper motor rotation. Through the design analysis, response time in generating the valve opening system to drive the hydraulic cylinder piston was 3, 75 seconds at 89, 2° valve opening angle from the desired set point 15° valve opening, the maximum error in steady state condition was 2,1%.


Objective: the article describes the experience of the application of antigestagens for the preparation for delivery. Material and methods. The work presents the results of the application of antigestagens to prepare 4 patients for delivery, describes the structural changes in the cervix, the course of the delivery and the postpartum period. Results. 2 (50.0±28.8 %) patients developed regular labor and had natural delivery. 2 (50.0 ±28.8 %) women were performed amniotomy for labor induction a day after the adequate effect of the preparation had been achieved, in all the other cases cesarean section was made due to the weakness of labor. Conclusion. Thus, the work shows the efficiency of antigestagens for the preparation for delivery, but notes that an integrated approach is needed for the further management of the programmed delivery.


Abstract. Effects of curing treatments and storage temperature on the quality of Chinese yams ( Dioscorea polystachya Turcz.) were investigated stepwise in three consecutive years for the optimization of postharvest handling procedures. Tuberous roots were harvested in early to mid November and cured under ambient or 29°C heated air conditions for various periods according to the treatment conditions. Storage temperatures in the range of 0.5 to 7.5°C were phased in to avoid chilling injury while examining storage potential from 4 to 7 months. As poststorage technology, short-term 60°C hot-air exposure or low shelf temperature treatments were additively imposed. Curing treatments, especially heated air curing for 3-5 days tended to reduce the respiration and weight loss during storage while maintaining flesh firmness. Storage at 0.5°C brought out typical chilling injury symptoms on the shelf with increases in respiration and lower flesh firmness by tissue breakdown resulting in the rapid loss of marketability. Optimum storage temperature appeared to be the 3-4°C range which suppresses quality deterioration while avoiding chilling injury. Low shelf temperature seemed to be a necessary part of postharvest handling system to keep marketability through control of poststorage disorders such as rooting and decay. Overall results suggested that optimized postharvest program consisting of heated-air curing, storage at 3-4°C, and low shelf temperature could extend storage potential of Chinese yam to longer than 7 months.


The title compound, 5-[(3,5-dimethyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methylene]-1,3-diethyl-2-thioxodihydropyrimidine-4,6(1H,5H)-dione, has been synthesized by condensation of 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid and 3,5-dimethyl-1-phenylpyrazole-4-carbaldehyde in ethanol in the presence of pyridine. The structure of this new compound was confirmed by elemental analysis, IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and EI-MS spectral analysis.


Research in multiple sclerosis (MS) has recently been focusing on the extent of neuroaxonal damage and its contribution to disease outcome. In the present study, we examined spinal cord tissue from 30 clinically well‐characterized MS patients. MS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and control spinal cord tissue were subjected to morphometric analysis and immunohistochemistry for markers of cell damage and regeneration. Data were related to disease duration and age at death. Here, we present evidence for substantial, nonprogressive neuronal loss on the cervical and lumbar levels early in the disease course of MS. Chromatolytic neurons and immunoreactivity for c‐Jun and GAP43 were observed in the ventral gray matter in and adjacent to actively demyelinating lesions, pointing toward neuronal damage and regeneration as an early response to lesion formation. Ann Neurol 2009;66:698–704


Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 monoclonal antibody against CD20, approved for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) has been suggested to be an important mechanism of rituximab via binding to the Fc gamma IIIa receptor (Fc?RIIIa) on natural killer (NK)cells. Fc?RIIIa has two expressed alleles that differ at amino acid position 158 in the extracellular domain, valine (V158) and phenylalanine (F158). These allelic variants have been demonstrated to differ in IgG1 binding and ADCC. V/V homozygotes and V/F heterozygotes bind to IgG with higher affinity than F/F homozygotes. Objectives: We identified the frequencies of Fc?RIIIa polymorphism and investigate the correlation between Fc?RIIIa polymorphism and rituximab responses, both in vitro and in vivo in Thai population. Methods: The RFLP-Nested PCR and allele specific amplification was used to identify the Fc?RIIIa polymorphism in the study. The correlation between Fc?RIIIa polymorphism and rituximab responses, both in vitro and in vivo, was also studied. Results: The distributions of Fc?RIIIa-158 polymorphism in these subjects are V/V 40.26%, V/F 16.88%, and F/F 42.86%. Higher rituximab-induced Ramos cell cytotoxicity (mean 33.16%, 36.87%) was observed in the subjects with VV and VF genotypes, respectively. However, the lower cytotoxicity (mean 20.07%) was determined insubjects with FF genotype. As for the in vivo study, the NHL patients with V/V or V/F genotypes had a primary response as complete response; whereas, the NHL patients with F/F genotype had partial response. Conclusion: Fc?RIIIa polymorphism and the primary response in NHL patients tend to correlate. The higher number of patients is necessary for further study. These results provide useful information to understand beneficial response of rituximab as well as other IgG1 therapeutic antibody in Thai patients. Keywords: Anti CD20, Fc?RIIIa polymorphisms, NK cell, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, rituximab


In cotton growing areas of Africa, wild and cultivated plants such as cotton, tomato, maize, Cleome and Hyptis, constitute temporal habitats for Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) populations and take part in the epidemiology of pyrethroid resistance. From 2002 to 2006, seasonal monitoring of pyrethroid resistance was performed in different locations on the major host plants of the bollworm. It was observed that pyrethroid susceptibility in H. armigera usually decreased during each cotton growing season. With time, susceptibility of cotton populations had gradually decreased to attain a worrying level by October 2004. Laboratory bioassays on field-sampled larvae showed that most control failures reported by farmers could definitely be allotted to pyrethroid resistance. Field monitoring on the sequence of host plants of H. armigera in northern Cameroon confirmed the probable key role of cotton in the seasonal increase of resistance frequency. In addition, tomato crops were found to strongly concentrate resistance during the off-season. Understanding biological, ecological and operational factors that shape pyrethroid resistance are of huge interest in the development of a sustainable insecticide resistance management strategy. (Texte integral)