Objective: To understand the history, current situation and trends of intensive care unit (ICU) of pediatrics in China over the past 30 years. Methods: The results of the cross-sectional investigation on the status of ICU of pediatrics in 2014 were compared with those in 1993, 2001 and 2009. The main measurements were the number of participated provinces and hospitals, the availability of equipment, staffing, and medical technologies, the major diseases and the source of the patients. Besides, the equipment allocation and technology implementation in 2014 were compared with the standards in the "recommendations on grading construction and management of children's intensive care unit in China" published in 2016. Results: The contents of the four surveys were slightly different, with only a few measurements not documented in one or more surveys. (1) The number of provinces and hospitals involved in the four surveys were 20 hospitals in 14 provinces in year 1993, 27 hospitals in 17 provinces in year 2001, 33 hospitals in 25 provinces in year 2009 and 108 hospitals in 25 provinces in year 2014. (2) In 1993, 2001, 2009 and 2014, the ratio of doctors/beds were 0.7∶1,0.8∶1, (0.4-0.5) ∶1 and 0.5∶1, and the ratio of nurses/beds were 1.1∶1,1.4∶1, (1.1-1.7) ∶1 and 1.3∶1, respectively. (3) Regarding the equipment availability, in 1993, 2001, 2009, and 2014, the numbers of monitors were 0.3/ICU, 0.3/bed, 1.1-1.4/bed and 1.0/bed; the numbers of invasive ventilators were 0.4/bed, 0.5/bed, 0.6/bed and 0.4/bed, respectively. In 2001, 2009 and 2014, there were 60.0%, 100.0% (33/33) and 88.0% (95/108) of the participating ICU equipped with blood gas analyzer, and 70.0%, 93.9% (31/33) and 90.7% (98/108) with bedside X-ray machines, respectively. In 2009 and 2014, 69.7% (23/33) and 92.6% (100/108) ICU were equipped with non-invasive ventilators respectively. In 2014, 10.2% (11/108) ICU were equipped with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) equipment and 45.4% (49/108) ICU with bedside continuous blood purification equipment. In 1993, 2001 and 2014, the numbers of infusion pump were 0.5/ICU, 1.1/bed and 1.7/bed, respectively. (4) Regarding the conducted medical technology, in 2014, invasive mechanical ventilation was used in 100% (108/108) ICU, and non-invasive ventilation in 89.8% (97/108) ICU. High frequency ventilation was used in 78.8% (26/33) and 38.0% (41/108) ICU in 2009 and 2014 respectively. Blood purification was used in 22.0%, 69.7% (23/33) and 47.2% (51/108) ICU, and the application of surfactant was in 48.0%, 97.0% (32/33) and 24.1% (26/108) ICU in 2001, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Nitric oxide inhalation (iNO) was used in 24.0% and 9.3% (10/108) in 2001 and 2014 respectively. ECMO was used in 6 and 7 hospitals in 2009 and 2014 respectively. (5) Compared with the criteria in the "recommendations on grading construction and management of children's intensive care units in China" in 2016, only the availability of monitors and conventional mechanical ventilation in 2014 met the standards.The original data in 2001 was not shown due to the lack of absolute values. Conclusions: The number of ICU of pediatrics and its beds in China increased significantly from 1993 to 2014, as well as the equipment availability and the conducted medical technology. But the status in 2014 was still far behind the recommendations in 2016, with a significant shortage of professional staff.


Background In China, the HIV prevalence continues to rise despite increasing efforts to contain the epidemic, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also on the increase. Furthermore, antibiotic-resistant STI pathogens are on the increase and many STIs facilitate the acquisition and/or transmission of HIV-1. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs), including drugs, devices and vaccines that simultaneously prevent unintended pregnancies, HIV and other STIs, would provide effective approaches to meet these public health challenges. Methods The Initiative for MPTs developed Target Product Profiles (TPPs) to define key product attributes appropriate for those regions of the world hardest hit by unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other STIs. The TPP considered priority combinations of indications, mechanisms of action, dosing and administration, and formulation and delivery. Current and historic data from China were reviewed to determine which product attributes in an MPT would best meet the needs in China. Results Sexual transmission of HIV-1 has become the major route for new infection in China, and other STIs have increased more than 40 times from 1985. The increase in STI rates is associated with population mobility, and the geographic distribution of STIs overlaps with that of HIV, suggesting the possibility of co-infection. The rate of unintended pregnancy is low in China, given the "one child" policy. After analysing the current and historic data, we propose that MPTs specifically addressing HIV and STIs would best meet the public health challenges in China, and the preferred dosing form would be long-acting implant or IUD-based delivery. Conclusion The continuing rise in prevalence and rates of STIs, including HIV poses serious public health challenges to China, where sustained economic development has resulted in social transformation and unprecedented population mobility. MPTs that specifically target HIV and other STIs could provide an effective approach to meeting these public health challenges in China.


The archaeological study of maroons in the Caribbean Antilles presents both opportunities and challenges. On small islands, runaways had few places where they could seek refuge from slavery and elude capture for long periods of time. Consequently, such sites were occupied briefly and have been difficult to locate and identify. The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico) had both short-term refuge sites and long-term settlements comparable to quilombos. Archaeologists have been most successful in their investigations maroons in Cuba and Jamaica. In Hispaniola, where I am working at the present, only a few cave sites and one presumed maniel (the local term for a long-term maroon settlements) have been studied. In this paper, I provide an overview of the archaeological study of maroons on the Caribbean Islands and my preliminary research to locate El Maniel de Ocoa, a major settlement of slave runaways for over a hundred years during 1500s-1660s.


Purpose Prostaglandin derivatives are used widely to reduce intraocular pressure associated with open-angle glaucoma. The most widely used prostaglandin derivative, latanoprost, is available in an ophthalmic solution that is solubilized and preserved with 0.02% benzalkonium chloride (BAK), which has been shown to be cytotoxic to corneal cells. Latanoprost ophthalmic solution with BAK requires specific storage temperatures, which can impact the supply cycle. Here, we describe the production, physicochemical characteristics, and cytotoxicity profile of a micelle formulation that solubilizes latanoprost without the need for BAK. Methods The optimum concentration of castor oil with the surfactant polyethylene glycol (15) hydroxystearate was determined, and the mixture stirred. Various surfactants were tested to determine the ideal mixture to form a micelle formulation. Viscosity, zeta potential, surface tension, droplet size, and osmolality of the batches were tested. The cytotoxicity of the micelle formulation was determined in a corneal cell viability assay that compared positive and negative controls, latanoprost without BAK, latanoprost with BAK, and placebo. Results A castor oil concentration of 0.15% produced a micelle formulation with a diameter of <100 nm. This micelle formulation had unique characteristics that were not mimicked when either the surfactant or the oil was changed. The physicochemical characteristics in multiple batches of the micelle formulation did not vary significantly between batches. Long-term and accelerated stability studies showed latanoprost potency remained constant for 24 months at 25°C/75% relative humidity (RH) and at 40°C/25% RH for 6 months. Conclusion The micelle formulation technology system is capable of solubilizing latanoprost in an ophthalmic formulation without the need for BAK. The system is stable at room temperature.


Biotype 2 of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), is virulent to both sources of resistance presently available in commercial wheat, Triticum aestivum L. The performance of biotype 2 was compared with that of biotype 1 on eight wheat cultivars at two constant temperatures, and the plants were evaluated for overall damage and leaf rolling. Colonies of biotype 2 grew an average of 2.3 and 24.9 times faster in the first and second generation, respectively, than did their biotype 1 counterparts at 20°C, reaching 80 to 125 aphids per plant after 20 d, compared with 10 to 31. The no. of aphids per plant at 10 and 20 d after infestation displayed a significant biotype-temperature interaction. There was also a biotype-temperature interaction for plant damage at 10 d, and for damage and leaf rolling at 30 d. After 20 d at 24°C, damage ratings ranged from 7.3 to 8.6 on a scale of 1.0 to 9.0, and leaf rolling ranged from 2.4 to 2.9 on a scale of 1.0 to 3.0 for biotype 2, whereas values for biotype 1 ranged from 2.8 to 5.1 and 1.4 to 2.2, respectively. There were no differences among cultivars in plant damage or leaf rolling induced by biotype 2, and ratings of both were higher than for biotype 1 in all cultivar-temperature combinations. Biotype 2 D. noxia has overcome both Dn4- and Dny-based sources of resistance, was more virulent than biotype 1 to all the cultivars tested, and induced plant injury more rapidly than biotype 1, especially at higher temperatures.


Screening programmes have the potential to prevent premature death and disability and to improve quality of life, but they also have the potential for harm. Identifying worthwhile screening programmes, developing the correct strategies, and implementing them effectively is no easy task. A much more critical approach to screening is now being adopted and efforts are being made to ensure that new programmes of proven benefit and which are acceptable to the public, are effectively and equitably implemented in the community. We hope that this issue will stimulate further discussion and debate.


Succinate-driven reverse electron transport (RET) through complex I is hypothesized to be a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that induces permeability transition pore (PTP) opening and damages the heart during ischemia/reperfusion. Because RET can only generate ROS when mitochondria are fully polarized, this mechanism is self-limiting once PTP opens during reperfusion. In the accompanying article (Korge, P., Calmettes, G., John, S. A., and Weiss, J. N. (2017) J. Biol. Chem. 292, 9882–9895), we showed that ROS production after PTP opening can be sustained when complex III is damaged (simulated by antimycin). Here we show that complex II can also contribute to sustained ROS production in isolated rabbit cardiac mitochondria following inner membrane pore formation induced by either alamethicin or calcium-induced PTP opening. Two conditions are required to maximize malonate-sensitive ROS production by complex II in isolated mitochondria: (a) complex II inhibition by atpenin A5 or complex III inhibition by stigmatellin that results in succinate-dependent reduction of the dicarboxylate-binding site of complex II (site IIf); (b) pore opening in the inner membrane resulting in rapid efflux of succinate/fumarate and other dicarboxylates capable of competitively binding to site IIf. The decrease in matrix [dicarboxylate] allows O2 access to reduced site IIf, thereby making electron donation to O2 possible, explaining the rapid increase in ROS production provided that site IIf is reduced. Because ischemia is known to inhibit complexes II and III and increase matrix succinate/fumarate levels, we hypothesize that by allowing dicarboxylate efflux from the matrix, PTP opening during reperfusion may activate sustained ROS production by this mechanism after RET-driven ROS production has ceased.


An experimental investigation to measure the performance of a first prototype of a kinetic turbine is presented. This turbine, developed using numerical simulation, recovers the kinetic energy of water in free surface canals. To assess the performance of the machine, a first prototype as well as an open-air platform were built, both installed in the tailrace canal of Lavey hydropower plant. This is the first time in Switzerland that on-site experiments have been carried out for kinetic turbines. An experimental procedure was set up using measurements in the laboratory and on site to assess the power coefficient of the turbine as a function of the tip speed ratio. The influence of the turbine depth and the tilt of the turbine axis were also explored. A maximal power coefficient of 0.93 was reached for the higher tilt and depth investigated.


Lymphocytic gastritis (LG) is a chronic inflammatory process of poorly understood pathogenesis. We report the case of a 12-year-old premenstrual girl with refractory iron deficiency anemia in which the oral iron absorption challenge suggested iron malabsorption. Laboratory studies ruled out celiac disease and autoimmune gastritis, and carbon-13 urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori was also negative. Upper endoscopy with gastric body and antral mucosa biopsies revealed a LG with focal intestinal metaplasia and H. pylori infection. H. pylori eradication was undertaken with success and 3 months later her hematologic parameters normalized. Histologic reevaluation showed disappearance of LG. This case shows that investigation of malabsorption disease in the presence of refractory iron deficiency anemia can lead to the diagnosis of important gastric diseases, even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms. This nonceliac child was diagnosed with a severe histopathologic pattern of LG, with potential risk of malignant transformation, which was completely reverted with adequate H. pylori eradication treatment.


They were shifting in land use increases salinity stress, significant abiotic stress affecting plant growth, limiting crop productivity. This work aimed to improve Linum usitatissimum L. (linseed) growth under salinity using Comamonas testosteroni and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). AgNPs were fabricated exploiting Rosmarinus officinalis and monitored by U.V./Vis spectrophotometry scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants of linseed were investigated under salt stress in treated and untreated plants with C. testosteroni alongside AgNPs. Our findings recorded the formation of AgNPs at 457 nm, which were globular and with a diameter of 75 nm. Notably, chlorophyll-a, b, and total chlorophyll reduction while enhanced carotenoids and anthocyanin contents were attained under salinity stress. Total dissoluble sugars, proline, and dissoluble proteins, H2O2, malondialdehyde, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants were significantly elevated in NaCl well. Combined AgNPs and C. testosteroni elevated photosynthetic pigments. Also, they led to the mounting of soluble sugars, proline, and soluble proteins. H2O2 and malondialdehyde decreased while enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants increased in response to AgNPs, C. testosteroni, and their combination. Thus, AgNPs and C. testosteroni might bio-fertilizers to improve linseed crop productivity under salinity stress.


In this work, the performance of queues for handover calls in both a micro- and a macrocell is analysed by varying the number of microcells under a macrocell, arrival rates of new calls in micro- and macrocells, cell dwell times, signal degradation interval, and queue size of both micro- and macrocells. In the model, the role of a macrocell is as a secondary server for handover calls overflowed from microcells and the overflow process of handover calls from microcells is modelled by Poisson and Markov modulated Poisson process (MMPP) approximations. In the numerical examples, it is found that Poisson approximation optimistically estimates call performance compared to MMPP, and that queues in a macrocell are more effective than those in microcells.


Summary Background Airway inflammation represents the basis of respiratory allergic disease and is generally associated with increased oxidative stress. As a consequence of successful treatment leading to hyposenzibilization and remission of symptoms, decrease of reactive oxygen formation is expected. Material/Methods This preliminary study evaluates the production of oxygen free radicals in white blood cells and changes in basic immunological parameters in a cohort of 50 patients (27 females and 23 males, age 14–48 years) with upper airway allergic inflammation caused by pollens, before and during specific immunotherapy. Results We found an unexpected significant increase in the free radical concentration during and after treatment in comparison to values before the treatment and to the control group. Statistical analysis also found significant increase of IgG3 after initial treatment and also 1 year after allergen immunotherapy. Although there were similar trends in the elevated ROS and elevated IgG3, these were not statistically significant. Conclusions We observed changes in oxidative mechanisms in white blood cells of patients treated with AIT. Allergen immunotherapy works at a multilayer level and influences airway inflammation as well as the protective antimicrobial defense in treated patients. Further studies for understanding the mechanisms involved in oxidative stress as well as for laboratory monitoring of therapeutic approaches in allergic diseases are needed.


This is the first of two papers that develop the theory of oscillatory spectra. When an atom is placed in a magnetic field, and the absorption spectrum into states close to the ionization threshold is measured at finite resolution, so that individual energy levels are not resolved, it is found that the absorption as a function of energy is a superposition of sinusoidal oscillations. These papers present a quantitative theory of this phenomenon. In this first paper, we describe the physical ideas underlying the theory in the simplest possible way, and we present our first calculations based upon the theory. In the second paper, the theory is developed in full detail, proofs of all of the assertions are given, and we describe the algorithm that was used to make the calculations.


HYPOTHESIS
Laparoscopic gastric bypass (GBP) induces a postoperative hypercoagulable state that is similar or reduced compared with open GBP.

SETTING
University hospital.

PATIENTS
Between May 1999 and June 2000, 70 patients were randomly assigned to laparoscopic (n = 36) or open (n = 34) GBP. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis consisted of antiembolism stockings and sequential pneumatic compression devices.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Plasminogen, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), prothrombin fragment 1.2 (F1.2), fibrinogen, D-dimer, antithrombin III (AT), and protein C levels were measured at baseline and at 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively. A venous duplex examination of both lower extremities was performed preoperatively and between the third and fifth day postoperatively.

RESULTS
The 2 groups were similar in age, weight, and body mass index. Plasminogen levels decreased, and TAT, F1.2, and fibrinogen levels increased after laparoscopic and open GBP. There was no significant difference in these levels between groups. D-dimer levels increased in both groups, but the levels were significantly higher after open GBP than after laparoscopic GBP (P<.01). Antithrombin III and protein C levels decreased in both groups. The reduction of AT (at 1 hour) and protein C (at 72 hours) was significantly less after laparoscopic GBP than after open GBP (P<.05). Postoperative venous duplex examination revealed DVT in 1 (2.9%) of 34 patients after open GBP but in none of 36 patients after laparoscopic GBP. One patient developed pulmonary embolism after open GBP.

CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic GBP induces a hypercoagulable state similar to that of open GBP. Our findings suggest that DVT prophylaxis should be used during laparoscopic GBP as in open GBP.


Microfloccules of TiO(2) nanoparticles, on which glycerol-dehydrogenase (GDH), 1,3-propanediol-oxidoreductase (PDOR), and glycerol-dehydratase (GDHt) were coimmobilized, were prepared by adsorption-flocculation with polyacrylamide (PAM). The catalytic activity of immobilized enzyme in the glycerol redox reaction system, the enzyme leakage, stabilities of pH and temperature, as well as catalytic kinetics of immobilized enzymes relative to the free enzymes were evaluated. Enzyme loading on the microfloccules as much as 104.1 mg/g TiO(2) (>90% loading efficiency) was obtained under the optimal conditions. PAM played a key role for the formation of microfloccules with relatively homogeneous distribution of size and reducing the enzyme leakage from the microfloccules during the catalysis reaction. The stabilities of GDH against pH and temperature was significantly higher than that those of free GDH. Kinetic study demonstrated that simultaneous NAD(H) regeneration was feasible in glycerol redox system catalysted by these multienzyme microfloccules and the yield of 1, 3-popanediol (1, 3-PD) was up to 11.62 g/L. These results indicated that the porous and easy-separation microfloccules of TiO(2) nanoparticles with immobilized multienzymes were efficient in term of catalytic activity as much as the free enzymes. Moreover, compared with free enzyme, the immobilized multienzymes system exhibited the broader pH, higher temperature stability.


Bosmat Yefet's The Politics of Human Rights in Egypt and Jordan is poised astride two defining shifts in the contemporary Arab world: the Arab uprisings of 2010-2013 that shook both the foundations of the Arab political order and the assumptions of many academic experts who assured us of the stability of that order; and the countermovements that have usurped, withstood, or overthrown these uprisings. Key actors in these countermovements have included Islamists supplanting movements for multiethnic pluralism; nationalist state elites reasserting authoritarian power despite popular repudiations; and resilient monarchies that have also funded counterrevolutionary pushbacks against the democratic openings that briefly emerged in the wake of the Arab uprisings.Given these countermovements' success, it could be assumed that 2010-13 was nothing more than a blip; a brief disruption in the preeminence of Islamists, military regimes, and monarchies. The book under review, however, has the great virtue of allowing the reader to move past such a static vision and into how human rights discourse has been repressed, certainly, and yet also been a vital impulse in Arab politics. In this regard, The Politics of Human Rights shows the insights that can be gleaned from working at the interstices of international relations and comparative politics. On the one hand, in a broad international relations frame, Yefet shows the penetration of the global language of human rights into local discourses in the Arab world. On the other hand, in a specific comparative politics mode, she demonstrates the complexities of that penetration in Egypt and Jordan. This gives Yefet the opportunity to explore cases that are revealing both in terms of each country but, as well, indicative of larger trends in the region. The questions raised include: Why did human rights-inflected uprisings emerge in countries across the region, but have particular success only in some countries (such as Egypt) but not others (such as Jordan)? And what do the resilience of the Jordanian monarchy and the resurgence of Egypt's so-called deep state indicate about the reasons that such human rights inflections met sharp limits in being translated from rhetoric into reality?The upsurge of popular demands for more representative governance that swept Egypt and other parts of the Arab world were prefigured by decades of under the radar activism. Yefet provides the backdrop to this by showing how human rights were identified as a powerful language by sectors in the Egyptian opposition. As it was elsewhere in the Arab world, rights language was deployed in Egypt both in pursuit of specific goals but, more generally, to inform a structural critique. This structural critique was essential in how, in Yefet's words, "Human rights became an instrument used to express the need and desire on the part of a variety of social forces to reconstruct political and social institutions as well as collective identity" (p. 2). This was most vividly expressed in the famous Tahrir Square demonstrations, which were sometimes explicitly about rights-based demands and virtually always informed by human rights language. A series of remarkably detailed case studies allow Yefet to show how human rights "became the language of resistance" (p. 10) in key battles, specifically over free expression and apostasy and the rights of minorities and of women. These details reveal much about underlying currents that were generally overlooked at the time, but which were normatively reshaping from below the politics of Egypt (and other countries) even during a period that seemed, superficially at least, static. …


While it may be impossible to accurately predict what the world will look like in the future, we can be certain that it will be different from the world of today. By extension, we know that using today's data in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies claiming to represent future scenarios is problematic. For the future impact of products to be estimated in a consistent and meaningful manner in LCA, the background system, most commonly the ecoinvent database, needs to be projected into the future alongside the foreground system modeled in a given study. Futura is a new piece of open‐source software which allows LCA practitioners to create and share novel background databases representing arbitrary scenarios. It allows users to import a base database and then start making targeted changes. These changes take three main forms—adding new technologies, regionalizing new or existing technologies, and altering market compositions. All changes made are automatically added to a "recipe." This recipe file can be shared publicly. This recipe can be imported by other users and used to exactly recreate the modified database. The additive and transparent nature of this system means that initially simple scenarios can be built upon by others to progress toward more comprehensive scenarios in a stepwise manner. The inability to build on the work of others is a serious barrier to the progress of the LCA field. Futura goes some way to reduce this barrier in the field of prospective LCA.


Due to increasing complexity of SoC and shortening life time cycle of product, time to market becomes a ma- jor challenge in SoC design. To overcome this problem, an abstract representation of the platform under develop- ment can be used by software developers at the early stage of the development. This abstracted platform is then re- fined until its complete specification. For now, it remains difficult to implement and simulate a system that mixes TLM and RTL code. In this paper, we proposed a first step to bridge this gap by using CCSL as a mean to synchro- nize the system interfaces independently of their abstrac- tion level. We describe a potential way to logically specify transaction at different levels of abstraction.


Background. Donor-specific tolerance can be induced in mice by transient antibody blockade of the CD4 and CD8 co-receptors of T cells. To evaluate the potential application of CD4/CD8 blockade in the clinic, we have asked if either tacrolimus or cyclosporine counteract the tolerogenic process. Methods. Using the fully mismatched mouse cervical heart transplant model, BALB/c (H2 d ) to CBA (H2 k ), the experimental groups were (i) no therapy, (ii) tacrolimus (1 mg/kg, i.p., daily, days 0-14); (iii) cyclosporine (25 mg/kg, i.p., daily, days 0-14), (iv) blocking monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to CD4 and CD8 (2 mg, i.p., starting day 0 and on alternating days thereafter for a total of six doses), (v) tacrolimus plus mAbs, and (vi) cyclosporine plus mAbs. Results. Allograft survival was prolonged in both the tacrolimus and cyclosporine groups, mAbs alone induced tolerance, and mAbs combined with tacrolimus also induced tolerance. In contrast, the combination of mAbs and cyclosporine was toxic. Conclusions. The induction of tolerance by blocking CD4 and CD8 was not prevented by tacrolimus. However, combination of cyclosporine with the same tolerogenic protocol was toxic to mice.


These lecture notes give an introduction to the functional renormalisation group and asymptotically safe quantum gravity. We cover the basics of generating functionals in quantum field theories and derive the Wetterich equation. The anharmonic oscillator is presented as a simple example and compared to perturbation theory with resummation methods. A special focus is set on the implementation of symmetries in the functional renormalisation group. The second half of these notes is dedicated to quantum gravity, explaining the failure of perturbative gravity and how these issues are addressed in the non-perturbative approach. After detailing the implementation of the diffeomorphism symmetry, we present a simple computation in the Einstein-Hilbert truncation and give a short outlook on the state-of-the-art in the field. These notes are based on lectures given at the XV Modave Summer School in Mathematical Physics.


It has been well-documented that high-level judo athletes presented a high level of hypohydration during weight-cutting and competition periods. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the hydration status of high-level judo athletes during a weight-stable training period. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate elite judo athletes' hydration status, body mass change, and fluid intake during a weight-stable training camp. Twenty-seven judo athletes (women n = 8, men n = 19, body weight = 79.6 ± 20.9 kg) from the senior national judo team voluntarily participated in this study. Data were collected in the morning after waking up and before and after the morning and evening training sessions. On the second day, the measurements were taken again in the morning after waking up. Urine-specific gravity (USG) was classified as hydrated (USG < 1.020) and hypohydrated (USG ≥ 1.020). The athletes' USG values measured on two consecutive mornings increased (1.025 ± 0.007 to 1.029 ± 0.006) during 24 h, in which athletes performed judo training in the morning and evening. Moreover, sex and weight category did not affect the changes in USG values ( p > .05). Most of the elite judo athletes presented hypohydration (92.6%). The relationship between the fluid intake of the athletes and the changes in USG and body weight values during 24 h was not significant ( p > .05). The current study's findings revealed that high-level judo athletes present a high level of hypohydration even during a weight-stable training camp. Furthermore, the training sessions during the experiment period (24 h) worsened the hydration status of the senior athletes in all weight categories for both women and men.


Cathodic protection power supplies are widely used for corrosion prevention on storage tanks, transmission and distribution pipelines in the gas and petrochemical industry. To improve reliability of the cathodic protection systems, a remote monitoring of power supply system base on four-tier structure and B/S model is developed This paper presented four-tier structure: Acquisition unit control scheme with MSP430F2013 as controller, Digital control unit control plan with dsPIC33FJ16GS504 as core chip, GPRS communication unit adopts processor LPC2134 (ARM7) and SIM300, Monitoring center design plan with JAVA as programming language, and B/S model as well.


This study presents a system for validating the PLC code in the virtual environments of automobile trim line. There have been considerable efforts to develop standard PLC editors for saving human power and PLC test time. However, it was difficult to apply the PLC editor on a real shop floor environment. A virtual equipment was developed to communicate with the PLC module of a shop floor and to make up the connectivity environment by a special protocol. We can validate the code without launching real equipments because the PLC module and the virtual equipment is able to be controlled in real time by the OPC protocol. An experimental model is applied to the final assembly line of an automotive industry and validated by using DELMIA Automation. In conclusion, the system is valuable in the process of PLC codes validation and virtual equipments operation. This system would reduce the development time of the PLC codes and improve the productivity and the integrity of the PLC codes.


This project aim is to design and fabrication of Multi Nut Opener and tightener for tightening and removing of four nuts altogether. With the increment of number of car on the road, the number of cars problem due to tyre failure has increased. Often, the car is provided with tyre wheel nuts remover and jack for instance spare tyre replacement. Nevertheless, due to difficulty in applying torque to remove nut and to save a time. We develop tool having a gear mechanism. In our project we are tried to focus on the minimization of human effort for fixing all for nuts of 100mm PCD wheel . The main objective of work is to develop a single tool, which can be made use during assembling and disassembling of wheels in automobiles. It can be successfully used as standard tool irrespective of the model of the vehicle. Also it can be used garages, workshops and service stations. The remover is designed to be ergonomic to be used, easy maintenance, easy storage, easy to handled and able to remove all nuts at once.


We report on the development of a method for repeated monitoring of mucosal permeability that allows assessment of the severity of colitis and evaluation of treatment efficacy in HLA-B27 transgenic rats. We determined the extent to which intestinal permeability related to stool condition, colon weight, and histological pathology in precolitic and diseased rats up to 29 weeks old. Intestinal permeability was measured by the urinary excretion of iodixanol at 24 h after oral administration. Mean permeability values increased significantly with age in HLA-B27 rats but remained decreased in the background strain Fischer-344 (F-344) control animals. Macroscopic evaluation of HLA-B27 rat colons between 20 and 24 weeks old showed colonic thickening with colonic wet weights increased from 3.4+/-0.13 mg/kg b.wt. in F-344 rats to 6.79+/-0.73 mg/kg b.wt. (p<.05) in HLA-B27 rats. Histological examination of HLA-B27 rat colons confirmed the colonic inflammation as a chronic active mononuclear cell infiltrate. The increase in colon weight was associated with an increase in permeability: 1.16+/-0.17 mg iodixanol versus 5.37+/-1.3 mg of iodixanol in F-344 and HLA-B27 rats, respectively. Three weeks treatment of HLA-B27 rats with cyclosporin A, but not sulfasalazine, showed a dose-dependent decrease in mucosal permeability and colon weight. Neither treatment improved stool condition. We conclude that the measurement of intestinal permeability by iodixanol excretion is a useful biochemical marker that is associated with increases in colonic weight and histological evaluation of inflammation. These data indicate that this technique may be valuable for diagnostic and evaluation purposes in preclinical models of inflammatory bowel disease.


In a previous work (de Almeida), we presented an approach for shape-based image retrieval using the curvature scale space (CSS) and self-organizing map (SOM) methods. Here, we examine the robustness of the representation with images under variations of rotation. Moreover, the CSS images extracted from a database are processed and represented by median vectors that constitutes the training data set for a SOM neural network. This way of representation improves the accuracy of image retrieval in comparison with the previous work (de Almeida) that used the first principal component of the PCA technique. A benchmark database is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology.


ABSTRACT We conducted three studies to examine how two types of user-generated feedback, appreciation and attention, affect users' decisions to make voluntary knowledge contributions to electronic networks of practice (ENPs). Appreciation is reflected in positive ratings, votes, and helpfulness evaluations. Attention is reflected in the number of views of contributed content. The first study used clickstream data from a college application ENP in China, where information seekers can read posted information asynchronously and request synchronous consultations with volunteers. The second study was a controlled online experiment in the United States where we assessed users' willingness to answer questions in a college application ENP asynchronously. The third study examined knowledge contribution across a diverse set of topics using a well-established ENP that serves more than 100 countries. In all three studies, the results consistently show that greater appreciation increased continued knowledge contribution, but greater attention without sufficient appreciation negatively affected contributions. Our findings show the theoretically intertwined nature of attention and appreciation and offer insights for the design and management of ENP feedback systems to encourage user contributions.


Despite the contact angle of underfill fluid is largely correlated to the flowability, it was scarcely being investigated in the design optimization of flip-chip underfill encapsulation process. Furthermore, the detailed implication of the variation of contact angle on the flow mechanism was never being discussed. Thus, this paper is devoted to study the variation effect of contact angle on both spatial aspects of meniscus evolution and contact line jump of underfill flow menisci. The governing analytical equations that describe both meniscus evolution and contact line jump were well-validated with the past experimental and numerical findings. It was revealed that the bump contact angle critically determined the separation between concave and convex menisci. Generally, larger bump contact angle yields the earlier formation of convex menisci that is nearer to the bump entrant. Consequently, the occurrence of convex menisci in the bump region increased for the case of high bump contact angle. Moreover, when the contact angle increases, the equilibrium positions of entrant jump meniscus locates nearer to the bump entrant; while the equilibrium meniscus of exit jump becomes further away from the bump exit. These findings provided microscopic insights of the influence of contact angle on the characteristic and dynamic of flow menisci upon interacting with the solder bump array, which may benefit both electronic packaging and microfluidics sectors in general.


Background Propofol and sevoflurane are the most used anesthetics for pediatric surgery. Emergence agitation, postoperative nausea and vomiting and postoperative pain are the primary adverse effect of these general anesthetics. Many clinical studies had compared the safety of propofol and sevoflurane in pediatric surgery, but the results were controversial. Objectives To evaluate the evidence surrounding the safety of propofol versus sevoflurane for general anesthesia in children. Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data and Vip Data were searched to collect relevant articles. Trials were strictly selected according to previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analyses. Results Twenty randomized controlled trials recruiting 1,550 children for general anesthesia were included, with overall low-moderate methodological quality. There was evidence that compared with sevoflurane anesthesia, propofol anesthesia significantly decreased the incidence of emergence agitation (OR = 4.99, 95% CI, 3.67–6.80; P < 0.00001), postoperative nausea and vomiting (OR = 1.91, 95% CI, 1.27–2.87; P  =  0.002) and postoperative pain (OR = 1.72, 95% CI, 1.11–2.64; P = 0.01) in children. However, patients who received sevoflurane tended to have shorter times to eye opening (MD = −2.58, 95% CI, −2.97– −2.19; P < 0.00001) and times to extubation (MD = −1.42, 95% CI, −1.81– −1.02; P < 0.00001). Conclusions This review reveals that the children who received propofol anesthesia had the lower risks of emergence agitation, postoperative nausea and vomiting and postoperative pain when compared with sevoflurane anesthesia. But the children who received sevoflurane recovered slightly faster than those received propofol. Considering the limitations of the included studies, better methodological quality and large controlled trials are expected to further quantify the safety of propofol and sevoflurane for general anesthesia in children.


A recently proposed Mechanical Strain Relaxation (MSR) technique for the measurement of residual stress in thin plates is presented. The measurement of residual stress involves making a single straight cut and collecting the relaxation displacement data from the side surface. In this work the method was applied to an Aluminium friction stir welded (FSW) specimen. The cut was introduced with a wire electrical discharge machining. The displacements were recorded with a 3D digital image correlation (DIC) method. The measured FSW residual stress profile agreed well with that measured by Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (EDXRD). It was observed that the amount of plastic strain, caused by stress redistribution during the relaxation process, strongly depends on the direction of the propagation of the cut. In particular, if a cut is propagated along the thickness of a plate, then the effect of plastic flow on the measured residual stress is negligible. Another attractive feature of the method is that it is relatively insensitive to random experimental noise. Introduction Over the last two decades a wide range of mechanical strain relaxation (MSR) techniques have been developed and used to measure residual stresses in a wide variety of engineering components. Well known examples of MSR techniques are: hole drilling [1], slitting [2] and contour method [3]. Recently, new technique [4] has been proposed and it follows the general scheme of Mechanical Strain Relaxation (MSR) techniques, i.e. measuring the deformation due to removal of some stressed material in a body and then that measured relaxation is converted to stress. The main target of the proposed method is that the shape of in-plane residual stress field is highly non-uniform, including discontinuities. Other popular techniques, such as e.g. hole drilling, cannot be used in such cases because they assume stress uniformity within hole diameter [1] and many holes are required to measure residual stress field in relatively large measurement area, leading to complexity of the experiment [5]. During cutting residual stress is redistributed and this might cause plastic deformation where the magnitude of residual stress is close to yield [2]. However, it is shown that this plastic strain on relaxation can be mitigated by choosing the correct propagation of the cut [4]. For this is reason, the technique is attractive in practical application because the measurement can be conducted regardless of the propagation of the cut. It is not always possible for many techniques, for example the slitting method, the propagation of the cut is very important because non-uniform RS can only be measure along depth [2]. In this work, RS field in 3 mm thick FSW plates have been measured by the proposed method. The application is ideal for the technique because the specimen is very thin and the stress field is non-uniform. The techniques involves a single cut at the midsection of the longitudinal direction of the plate, propagated either from the front to the rear surface, called 'side cut', or from the top to bottom surface, called 'top cut' to observe the difference. 3D DIC were used to measure relaxation displacement on the half width of side surface. Then the residual stress field was reconstructed from the measured relaxation via analytical model. Residual Stresses 2016: ICRS-10 Materials Research Forum LLC Materials Research Proceedings 2 (2016) 115-120 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781945291173-20 116 Analytical model The analytical model for the technique is based on the elastic solution for the problem of selfequilibrated loading at the one end of 2D semi-infinite strip of width 2c [6], see Fig. 1(a). This analytical model will be employed to reconstruct residual stress field in thin Friction stir welded (FSW) plate from the measured displacement fields on the side surface from 3D DIC, see Fig. 1(b). Other application of the elastic problem to the measurement of residual stress was investigated and described in [4]. Brief overview is given here. (a) (b) Fig. 1 : (a) The problem geometry for a 2D semi-infinite rectangular strip, of width 2c, with arbitrary self-equilibrated end load [4]. The boundary conditions are: ±c ∶ σ22 = σ12 = 0 and x1 = 0 ∶ ∫ σ22dx2 = c


Modeling sequence data using probabilistic finite state machines (PFSMs) is a technique that analyzes the underlying dynamics in sequences of symbols. Hidden semi-Markov models (HSMMs) and hierarchical hidden Markov models (HHMMs) are PFSMs that have been successfully applied to a wide variety of applications by extending HMMs to make the extracted patterns easier to interpret. However, these models are independently developed with their own training algorithm, so that we cannot combine multiple kinds of structures to build a PFSM for a specific application. In this paper, we prove that silent hidden Markov models (silent HMMs) are flexible models that have more expressive power than HSMMs and HHMMs. Silent HMMs are HMMs that contain silent states, which do not emit any observations. We show that we can obtain silent HMM equivalent to given HSMMs and HHMMs. We believe that these results form a firm foundation to use silent HMMs as a unified representation for PFSM modeling.


This paper is to technically implement the sensing platform for Home-Wellness Robot. The self-Localization of indoor mobile robot is very important for the sophisticated trajectory control. In this paper, the robot`s self-localization algorithm is designed by RF sensor network and fuzzy inference. The robot realizes its self-localiz ation, using RFID sensors, through the collaboration algorithm which uses fuzzy inference for combining the strengths of triangulation and triangulation. For the triangulation self-Localization, RSSI is implemented. TOA method is used for realizing the triangulation self-localization. The final improved position is, through fuzzy inference, made by the fusion algorithm of the resultant coordinates from trilateration and triangulation in real time. In this paper, good performance of the proposed self-localization algorithm is confirmed through the results of a variety of experiments in the base of RFID sensor network and reader system.


In this study; The painting-poetry relation by Şeker Ahmet Paşa's "Education Men" painting and the poem "Şeker Ahmet Paşa / Talim Making Erler" with the same name, named İlhan Berk, were examined with the inter-art method chosen as a subject. The link between the structure and content of postmodern poetry and painting has formed the backbone of this study. In this context, it is aimed to examine the sources of modern and postmodern art, without leaving their own special fields, and while paying attention to their special fields, common concepts and images have been brought together. The research was conducted with the content analysis method on the basis of qualitative approach. In addition, in the study, the table of "Education Performers" was read with the method of visual reading and the poem titled "Şeker Ahmet Paşa / Talim Making Erler" was examined by content analysis technique. Ecfrasis has been handled in the relationship between painting and poetry, which has been intimate throughout the history of art, and two works have been researched in this direction. In the study, ecfrasis was explained and it was explained how it found a place in inter-arts. Berk presented a replica made with letters, which makes the work visible thanks to the formality of the poem. By looking at Şeker Ahmet Pasha's painting, he determined the credits of the painting and wrote his poem in line with this line. Thus, the content of the poem was included in the composition in terms of form, as well as the picture. In addition, while Berk attributes this work to himself, he emphasized Şeker Ahmet Pasha by placing the name of the painter in the name of the poem. The poet has made it a mission to serve and advertise the painting in this inter-art work in which poetry is the framework for the painting. With this study, which is thought to contribute to the literature, it is predicted that it will constitute a different example where ecfrasis and self-appropriation methods are used together.


Heat and the heating process are of the most widespread and the most important activities in the post-harvest operations for food products in the world. Such activities are usually expected to decrease the moisture content for crop preservation;the heating process is also used for modifying the mouthfeel of a product in order to raise the food"s market values. Likewise, recovery and storage of the energy,environmental protection alongside the climate effect are considered as notable issues. Nowadays different types of heating system such as the hot air heating machines are being used for heating the food products. Mostly, fossil fuel has been used by machines for this purpose, making the heat energy in the direct combustion. The heat from burning fuels is supplied directly by the airflow through the blower housing and harmful gases directed to enter the food chamber and the environment. , It must also kept in mind that in a direct in- line burner using natural gas, 3.5 lb. of water is add to the air for every cubic meter of natural gas consumed . This action leaves undesirable and unintended effects on the product quality. Regarding these cases, such as non-constantity of the temperature in the compartment space of the products, lack of a precise temperature control, food contamination through contact with invisible gases from the burning fuel, more pollution and other environmental issues are among the disadvantages of these types of machines. Currently, the same actions are being used in Malaysia. Therefore, a new hot air heating system was required for heating the food and it"s products having high capacity and satisfactory heating quality with no damage to the food quality and the environment. Air distribution in the machine reservoir and the flow rate were calibrated to achieve good results and outcomes in the construction phase as well as in the procedural steps to create the machine. To conserve energy, a closed circuit system and series was added to the machine. In this research work first, the parts of the machine were designed using CATIA software then new heating system based on a hot water recirculation technique and effective air velocity has been fabricated. An adjustable system was used to provide hot water with a high setting range of adjustment and high precision for different temperatures up to ninety degrees at the constant pressure. In order to avoid energy losses and prevent pollution of the environment A Newly Developed and Extra-Enclosed System was designed, fabricated and add to the machine. For this purpose two extra devices of heat exchanger mounted on the machine, one located at the blower fan inlet and other situated at the air outlet final channel of machine. Both energy saving heat exchangers have been connected by connecting series and insulated tubes. The new machine was tested in the Agricultural Process and Instrument Laboratory (APIL) of the faculty of engineering in UPM. The tests were performed based on the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) experimental design was with three replications and the means were being compared using the Duncan"s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The parameters included the air temperature at three levels, the air velocity at three levels, and the hot air heting time duration at five levels. The data measured included the energy consumption, the opening force of the cockle shells, the moisture content, the cutting force, the compression force, the penetration force,the meat volume, the length, the height, the inflation, and the air and water temperature profiles. The Malaysian cockle (Anadara Granosa L.) was used as the experimental material. The results revealed that the best and lowest cockle"s opening force [N] belonged to the hot air heating parameters (air velocity: 2 m/s, air temperature: 70 °C) in the first hours of process, [M=(111±6.4) ×10-2][N]. For the volume of the cockle"s, the best result was observed at (air velocity: 2 m/s, air temperature: 70 °C) in the first hours of the air heating time [M =(3.47± 0.19)] [cm3]. Results also showed that the lowest MC- % happened at (air velocity:1 m/s, air temperature: 50 °C) after 1hour (M=0. 26%± 0.01). The best treatment on the cutting stress (τ, N/m2) was at the air parameter of (air velocity: 1 m/s, air temperature: 60 °C) in the first hours of the experiment [M= (1.08±0.02) ×105] [N/ m2]. The lowest penetration force [N], was also observed for the air parameter of (air velocity:1m/s, air temperature: 50 °C) in the first hours of time duration [M=(52± 0.58) ×10-2] [N]. The lowest compression stress (σ, N/m2) was observed for the air parameter of (air velocity: 1 m/s, air temperature: 50 °C) in the first hours [M=(0.7887± 0.004) ×105][N/m2]. For the boiling experiment, it was found that the opened cockle, the cutting stress, the penetration force, and the compression stress increased significantly by having an increase in the boiling time. In this test, by increasing the boiling time, the cockle"s volume decreased significantly and the lowest volume was for 15 min of boiling [M=(2.033± 0.033)] [cm3].


In this work, we report on the structural and thermoelectric properties of Sb2Te3 films deposited on GaSb(111) substrates by using molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of the growth temperature on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of the films were investigated. The results show that Sb2Te3 films grow on GaSb(111) along (00l) axis normal to the substrate and have a hexagonal structure with a layer-by-layer growth mode in growth temperature range from 200 to 250 °C while at 175 and 300 °C, the films show an island growth mode. Te and Sb2Te3 phases coexist at a growth temperature of 175 °C. The films exhibit a metallic behavior for growth temperatures below 250 °C and a semiconductor behavior at 300 °C. By changing growth temperature, we were able to vary the carrier density from 9.96×1018 to 4.55×1019 cm −3. At room temperature, the Seebeck coefficients are 110, 146, and 138 μV/K for growth temperatures of 175, 200 and 250 °C, respectively, and a large value of the power factor 61.67 μW/cm-K2 is achieved for the film grown at 250 °C.


Background Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR) to drugs are a crucial public health issue and the use of systemic corticosteroids in SCAR has been controversial. Objective To analyze clinical features, causative drugs, treatment, outcomes, and prognostic factors of SCAR in the case-series of 173 patients, and add more information to the debate of using systemic corticosteroids in SCAR management. Methods A retrospective study of 173 SCAR patients diagnosed with drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) or acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) at a tertiary care institution in China between January 2014 and December 2017 was conducted. Results Of 173 patients, allopurinol, carbamazepine, and antibiotics are the most frequently implicated drugs for DRESS (40.4%), SJS/TEN (26.0%), and AGEP (40.0%) respectively. Moreover, there is a strongly negative correlation between early corticosteroids use and the progression (p=0.000) and severity (p=0.01) of skin lesions. However, there is no association between early corticosteroids use and the mortality of SCAR (odds ratio: 1.01, 95% confidence interval: 0.95~1.08). In addition, lymphadenopathy, eosinophilia, and interval from onset to corticosteroids treatment were correlated with SCAR prognosis. Conclusion Prompt short-course systemic corticosteroids use is associated with early-stage skin lesions remission without influencing the disease mortality. Lymphadenopathy and eosinophilia were the independent poor prognostic factors of SCAR.


This paper is in three main parts. The first part describes the circumstances surrounding the founding of the ICMPC series in the late 1980s, and the first two ICMPC conferences, which were held in Kyoto and in Los Angeles. The second part describes some recent research by the author and collaborators. The first body of research concerns a new illusion, in which a spoken phrase is perceptually transformed to be heard as song, just through simple repetition. The second body of research concerns absolute pitch. It is argued, based both on published work and also a newly completed study, that exposure to tone language during the critical period for speech strongly influences the capacity to acquire absolute pitch for musical tones. The third body of research concerns a new illusion of pitch circularity, in which this is achieved with a bank of tones that each comprise a full harmonic series. This both extends the theoretical scope of pitch circularity and also has implications for the development of new music. Finally, developments in the field of music perception and cognition since the inception of the ICMPC series are considered.


Motivation: Shared Services (SS) is a cost cutting and quality improvement strategy, which is receiving increasing attention from academics and practitioners. However, previous research focuses primarily on the potential benefits of these strategies; while very little research explains the role of SS resources and capabilities in the achievement of SS goals. The purpose of this thesis is to address this gap by explaining how SS resources and capabilities influence the achievement of SS goals.

Approach: A multiple-case study approach is adopted, following a qualitative methodology, with data collection occurring at four SS organisations.

Findings: This thesis introduces a taxonomy of SS resources and identifies three SS operational capabilities and seven SS dynamic capabilities, grouped into four areas of competence. Furthermore, this research uncovers the capability development process in an SS context, through the identification of the specific routines that precede each capability. Finally this research extends SS research, not only by identifying additional SS goals not mentioned by previous research, but also by recognising what specific SS capabilities contribute to what goals, thus uncovering the goal achievement process in a shared service centre.

Academic Contributions: This research contributes to the negligible literature focusing on SS resources and capabilities and responds to the claims that a further understanding of shared services is needed in order to provide practitioners with advice and procedural guidelines on how to design, implement and manage SS. It also lays the foundation for future research on resources and capabilities in an SS context.

Managerial Contributions: The findings enable managers to identify and further develop the necessary resources, routines and capabilities to achieve their specific SS goals. Additionally, this research supports managers in identifying additional goals they can achieve, considering the resources, routines and capabilities their SSCs already have.


ABSTRACT This study addresses one aspect of traditional environmental knowledge in Ireland: remembered and currently practiced folk medicine in the Gaeltacht region of County Kerry. Two aims were to research women's knowledge of medicinal plants there and to understand reasons for continuation or discontinuation of transmission of knowledge of those remedies. Forty-five Irish women collectively described a multi-faceted folk medical tradition. Knowledge of plants used as medicine varied in quantity and depth amongst the people who were interviewed. Forty-seven plant species were described as ingredients of "old-time cures." In the context of this study, knowledge of medicinal plants is linked to environmental and botanical knowledge because the majority of plant ingredients were described as obtained from the wild or from a local garden. Informants viewed their knowledge of medicinal plants as cultural or practical, rather than vital to their survival. This is due to a local improvement in the quality and accessibility of modern scientific medical treatment, also referred to as biomedicine. Change in the economy has influenced the content of participants' knowledge of plant remedies; that knowledge has shifted from traditional medicine sourced from the environment to over-the-counter and plant-based remedies purchased at a store. When the ability to recognize and select plants for medicine from the outdoors becomes nonessential, the corresponding environmental knowledge is endangered.


Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) generate the Na+ current (INa) responsible for the cardiac action potential upstroke largely due to the 'cardiac' isoform Nav1.5, but with ˜20% of the upstroke and a component of a sustained sodium current, attributed to other isoforms. This sustained component has been attributed with increasing arrhythmia risk and has been the target of development for new anti-arrhythmic drugs, targeted at 'neuronal' isoforms. Distinctive distribution patterns of Nav isoforms 1.1–1.6 have been demonstrated in human atrial myocardium,1 suggesting differing isoforms have spatially distinct roles; however little is known regarding the expression of the neuronal isoforms Nav1.7, Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 in the heart. Our study has investigated the subcellular distribution patterns of VGSC alpha-subunits Nav1.1–1.9 in the rat heart. Rats ˜300 g were sacrificed and ventricular tissue or single myocytes isolated. Immunocytochemistry showed the location of VGSCs within single cardiac myocytes or tissue sections using primary VGSCs antibodies (Alomone, Israel) bound to secondary antibodies conjugated to Alexa 488 (Molecular probes, UK), and cellular membranes labelled by wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to rhodamine (Vector, UK), viewed by confocal microscopy (Zeiss 710, Germany). The dominant cardiac isoform, Nav1.5, was expressed at the sarcolemma membrane, intercalated disk and t-tubular membrane, whereas the skeletal muscle isoform Nav1.4 was detected at intercalated disks as an intense punctate pattern. Nav1.3 was not detected.2 The neuronal-associated isoforms Nav1.1, Nav1.2 and Nav1.6 positively labelled rat brain sections; whereas in cardiac tissue Nav1.1 showed faint punctate labelling,1 Nav1.2 showed t-tubular staining, and Nav1.6 showed intercalated disk, faint t-tubular expression as well as nuclear labelling. As reported by others,3,4 sensory neurons from rat dorsal root ganglia labelled positive for Nav1.7, 1.8 and 1.9. In heart tissue and cells; Nav1.8 protein expression was a striated pattern throughout the cell, whereas Nav1.9 protein was found at the intercalated disks, t-tubules and nuclei. Nav1.7 expression was not observed in cardiac tissue or myocytes. We conclude that in addition to Nav1.5, other sodium channels are expressed in the rat heart (Nav1.1, Nav1.2, Nav1.4, Nav1.6, Nav1.7 and Nav1.8) and may play distinct roles in the cardiac action potential, however these are yet undetermined. Abstract 200 Figure 1 Distinct subcellular distribution patterns of protein expression for Nav1.7, Nav1.8 & Nav1.9. Sodium channels Nav1.7, Nav1.8 & Nav1.9 were labelled using immunocytochemistry and their protein expression observed in rat ventricular tissue, rat single cardiac myocytes and sendsory neurons from rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) References Westenbroek K, Lange M, Wischmeyer R, Muck B, Catterall E, Maier S. JMCC 2013;61:133–41 Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2014, The BHF Annual Statistics. 2014. Alsheikh-Ali AA et al. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010. Caro CG et al. Nature. 1969.


Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) are reportable diseases, the third most common causes for hospitalization of children in Thailand. Data collected from the Ministry of Public Health were analysed for trends. Rates of DHF increased in Thailand until 1987 when the largest epidemic ever, 325/100000 population, was recorded. Whereas the disease used to be confined to large cities, the rate is now higher in rural (102·2 per 100000) than urban areas (95·4 per 100000 in 1997). The age of highest incidence has increased, and the age group most severely affected is now those 5–9 years old (679/100000 in 1997). The case fatality rate has decreased with improved treatment and is now only 0·28%.


In this paper we study the nonlinear elliptic problem with p(x)-Laplacian (hemi- variational inequality). We prove the existence of a nontrivial solution. Our approach is based on critical point theory for locally Lipschitz functionals due to Chang (J. Math. Anal. Appl. 80 (1981), 102-129). p(x)-Laplacian ( p(x)u ju(x)j p(x) 2 u(x)2 @j(x;u(x)) a.e. in ;


Digestive tract cancers represent a serious public health issue. In recent years, evidence has accumulated that microRNA miR-185 is implicated in the pathogenesis of this group of highly malignant tumors. Its expression variations correlate with clinical features, such as tumor size, lymph node metastasis, tumor node metastatic stage, survival, recurrence and response to adjuvant therapy, and have diagnostic and prognostic potential. In this review, we compile, evaluate and discuss the current knowledge about the roles of miR-185 in digestive tract cancers. Interestingly, miR-185 is apparently involved in regulating both tumor suppressive and oncogenic processes. We look at downstream effects as well as upstream regulation. In addition, we discuss the utility of miR-185 for diagnosis and its potential concerning novel therapeutic approaches.


In 1858, Rudolf Virchow, the professor of pathology in Berlin University, published the book "Cellular Pathology". A compendium of his lectures to physicians and medical students, he introduced the use of microscopy for the study of human diseases. To an astonishing extent Rudolf Virchow was helpful to the disciplines of veterinary medicine (and veterinary pathology). Considered a scientific genius in several disciplines, this essay deals exclusively with the devotion of Virchow, a scholarly physician, to the profession of veterinary medicine. He respected veterinary research, supported governmental veterinary education, and provided a role model for the veterinarians who were drafting control legislation of contagious diseases in livestock. Repeatedly, he responded in help when seemingly irretrievable problems arose. Examples of Virchow's activities in the realms of veterinary medicine and pathology are marshalled here to shed light on this pioneer "veterinary pathologist". In celebration of 50 years of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1999, it is timely to remember that Rudolf Virchow, the father of cellular pathology, also fathered veterinary pathology, whose offsprings in Canada and the U.S.A. (Osler, Clement, Williams, Olafson, Jones 26 ) had enabled them to form and foster the A.C. V.P.


Many prototypes of FED device were realized by conical microtips of Mo or Si, which is called Spindt-type field emitters. The displays performed good characteristics, but the principal issues are the limited display area and manufacturing cost. We intended to overcome these issues by new material, that is Carbon Nanotubes(CNTs). The CNTs have been discovered by Prof. Sumio Iijima in 1991. In 1995, field emission from an isolated single CNT was first reported by Dr. Rinzler et al., and field emission from a CNT film was reported by Dr. de Heer et al. Subsequently, many studies on field emission were reported under the academic interest. But neither industrial fabrication technology nor performance had been reported for practical display applications.


Even if quark and lepton masses are not uniquely predicted by the fundamental theory, as may be the case in the string theory landscape, nevertheless their pattern may reveal features of the underlying theory. We use statistical techniques to show that the observed masses appear to be representative of a scale-invariant distribution, {rho}(m){approx}1/m. If we extend this distribution to include all the Yukawa couplings, we show that the resulting Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements typically show a hierarchical pattern similar to observations. The Jarlskog invariant measuring the amount of CP violation is also well reproduced in magnitude. We also apply this framework to neutrinos using the seesaw mechanism. The neutrino results are ambiguous, with the observed pattern being statistically allowed even though the framework does not provide a natural explanation for the observed two large mixing angles. Our framework highly favors a normal hierarchy of neutrino masses. We also are able to make statistical predictions in the neutrino sector when we specialize to situations consistent with the known mass differences and two large mixing angles. Within our framework, we show that with 95% confidence the presently unmeasured Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata mixing angle sin{theta}{sub 13} is larger than 0.04 and typically of order 0.1. Themore » leptonic Jarlskog invariant is found to be typically of order 10{sup -2} and the magnitude of the effective Majorana mass m{sub ee} is typically of order 0.001 eV.« less


The use of toxicity tests in which each chemical is tested separately is inadequate for assessing the potential risk of complex mixtures of chemicals for soil ecosystems. In the present study, the effects of Cd and Zn, alone or in combination, on the survival, growth, and reproduction of the collembolan Folsomia candida were determined after 2, 4, and 6 weeks of exposure in an artificial soil. The water solubility of Cd in the soil was significantly increased by the presence of Zn, whereas Cd did not affect the water solubility of Zn. In spite of this, uptake of Cd or Zn in the animals was not affected by the presence of the other metal, suggesting that water solubility does not determine the uptake of these metals in F. candida. For both Cd and Zn, reproduction was the most sensitive parameter, with 50% effective concentration (EC50) values of 51 and 683 μg/g dry soil, respectively, after 6 weeks. These values corresponded with internal concentrations of 44 μg Cd/g and 97 μg Zn/g dry body weight, respectively, while corresponding water‐soluble EC50s were 0.13 μg Cd/g and 14 μg Zn/g dry soil, respectively. Although a proper comparison of the effects of mixtures of the metals with the effects of the individual metals was sometimes hampered by the nonsimilarity of dose‐response relationships, it may be concluded that the effects of the mixture of Cd and Zn on the growth of F. candida are antagonistic (EC50 significantly greater than 1.0 toxic unit), while the effects on reproduction are additive (EC50 = 1.0 toxic unit). Similar conclusions could be drawn for EC50s expressed on the basis of total and water‐soluble soil concentrations as well as on the basis of internal concentrations in the animals. Analysis of the combined effects of Cd and Zn at the 10% effective concentration level did not change these conclusions.


Samples of IS-Mn and IIS-Mn were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and pH-metry. The X-ray diffraction method revealed both samples to be crystalline and single-phase. IS-Mn sample contains a phase of gausmannite (Mn3O4) with the parameters of the crystal lattice of tetragonal symmetry and the crystallites sized 43 nm. IIS-Mn sample, obtained by calcination of Mn3O4 sample in air under the condition of 600 oC for 4 hours, contains a phase of bixbyite Mn2O3 with a cubic crystal lattice and the crystallites sized 66 nm. The spectra of the Mn3O4 and Mn2O3 samples are particularly different in the region of Mn-OH and Mn-O valence vibrations. For gausmannite, the absorption band for Mn2+ in Td-coordination at 631 cm-1 and the absorption band for Mn3+ in Oh-coordination at 523 and 407cm-1 were clearly shown. In the IR spectrum of bixbyite, several intense absorption bands were observed at 674; 658; 606 and 542 cm-1, which correlate with the literature data and correspond to the valence oscillations of Mn-O in Mn2O3. The pH measurement of the aqueous suspension of the synthesized samples showed that Mn3O4 forms an alkaline medium, and Mn2O3 –weakly acidic upon contact with water molecules. Testing of Mn3O4 and Mn2O3 samples in the ozone decomposition reaction at the initial concentration of 100 mg/m3 showed that the kinetic curves profiles were determined by the phase composition. The testing of the samples was completed and it was established that the same degree of ozone decomposition, namely 50%, was achieved. For hausmannite, the values of the ozone half-life (t1/2) and the amount of ozone (Qexp), which reacted at the end of the experiment, are greater than Mn2O3 sample. The presence of manganese in two oxidation states Mn2+ and Mn3+ in the Mn3O4 structure promotes the redox process, and the alkaline medium contributes to the radical-chain reaction, which affects values t1/2 of and Qexp, which reacted.


The study of cardiovascular diseases requires viable animal models, and small animals have become models of choice due to their significant advantages. Segmentation from cine-MR image has become the gold standard for cardiac function assessment. While many image analysis methods have been developed for clinical studies, similar techniques are generally lacking for preclinical cases. Recent application of neural networks has shown encouraging results in several medical imaging applications. For cardiac cine-MR image segmentation, convolutional neural networks and recurrent neural networks have been successfully used for segmentation of the left ventricle. However, most methods only use a stack of short axis images, which introduces inaccuracy and uncertainty for cardiac function assessment in 3D, especially considering the existence of misalignment between slices. In this paper, we propose an efficient and 3D consistent segmentation method for small animal cardiac MR images taking advantage of a combination of long-axis and short-axis images, by combining convolutional neural networks and the guide-point modelling method. Unlike in most clinical studies, we also focus on training with small datasets, as is common in preclinical studies, and show accurate results with only 12 cine-MR sequences.


Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a promising recent technique for the generation of digital elevation models and/or the measurement of ground surface deformations. In InSAR data processing, the first step is the image co‐registration, achieved by using a set of tie points which are the conjugate image points on the master and slave images. Tie points are selected with the aim of finding the conjugate point automatically on the slave image for any given point on the master image, by the process known as image matching. To achieve reliable matching, a set of points within a window is used instead of a single point. The size of the window will affect the reliability of matching. Hitherto there have been no effective methods for the determination of optimum window size for this purpose. In practice, this parameter is determined by experience. In this paper, a pair of SAR images is used to test the effect of window size on the reliability of co‐registration. An optimum window size is selected on the basis of the experimental results. The determination of optimum window size for tie point matching is then examined theoretically, leading to a proposal for an automated method based on the auto‐correlation of the SAR images, which reflects the similarity between image pixels. The auto‐correlation function is decomposed into waves of various frequencies by a wavelet transform. By a combined analysis of the variations of wave amplitudes with frequency, the optimum window size for tie point matching can be determined. A procedure based on the use of Daubechies wavelet db1 is proposed in detail. An optimum window size could be determined in this way for any pair of SAR images.


The perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary condition is applied to modal analysis for optical waveguides. It is demonstrated that the PML is suitable and effective in computation of leaky modes.


ABSTRACT The regional innovation system (RIS) approach has become a widely used framework for examining the dynamics of innovation across space and for crafting policies to promote the innovation capacity of regions. The dominant focus has been on technological and business innovation enhancing competitiveness and economic growth. In light of persistent environmental and social challenges such as climate change, aging and growing inequalities, this understanding appears to be too narrow. We argue that the RIS approach requires a critical reassessment for informing the next generation of regional innovation policies. We explore how RIS scholarship and policies could benefit from an alternative understanding of the innovation process. Inspired by recent work on mission-oriented and transformative innovation policies, we develop the notion of 'challenge-oriented RISs' (CoRISs). In contrast to conventional understandings of RISs, this approach embraces a more critical view of innovation, captures the directionality of change, opens up to new innovation actors at different territorial scales and pays more attention to the application side and upscaling of innovation within the region and beyond. Acknowledging that regions vary in their capacity for transformative change and challenge-oriented innovation, the article outlines new directions for place-based innovation policies.


This presentation will highlight the findings from the first two years of an NSF-funded research experience for undergraduate (REU) program located in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU). The authors noticed in recent years that many undergraduate students avoid enrolling in graduate school because they believe the only path for someone with a Ph.D. in engineering is as a faculty member. To address this limitation, the authors have developed a 10-week program that couples traditional research-related activities with training in entrepreneurship. The concept was to show students how both fundamental and applied research can lead to start-up companies, patents, and industrial partnerships. Additionally, in the part of the country where LSU is located, there are numerous small universities and colleges that do not offer research programs for undergraduates, so this REU site is a rare opportunity for these students to perform undergraduate research. The research theme for this program is energy: specifically, catalysis, energy storage, and biofuels due to the pronounced expertise in these areas at LSU. A major strength of this REU program is the partnership with the LSU Business & Technology Center which provides the REU students with training in technology transfer fundamentals and how to pitch scientific ideas to non-scientists. In addition to the entrepreneurship training, the program offers weekly seminars in ethics, effective presenting, applying to graduate school, industrial safety, and topical seminars related to three main research areas of the programs. The students were assessed individually (weekly reports), by their mentors (electronic survey three times during the 10 weeks), and by an external evaluator (portfolios). The overwhelming response from the students was positive with many learning about new opportunities for someone with a Ph.D. degree. To date, the program has been offered during the summer of 2016 and the summer of 2017 with a total of 19 students participating in the program mentored by 11 different faculty members from three different engineering departments (chemical, biological, and environmental). Of the three students that have graduated from their undergraduate institutions, two have enrolled in post-graduate training further demonstrating the effectiveness of the program.


The admission of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to intensive care units in the United Kingdom was surveyed in January 1986. Ninety‐three intensive care units completed the questionnaire. Thirty‐two patients had been admitted to 12 units up to that time. Twenty‐five (78%) of these patients had received artificial ventilation of the lungs. The commonest cause of respiratory failure on admission was Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; this occurred in 27 patients, seven of whom also had pulmonary cytomegalovirus infection. Four patients had Kaposi's sarcoma and three of these patients also had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The overall mortality was 72%; twenty (80%) of the patients who required artificial ventilation, died. Ten patients survived to leave the intensive care unit, but one patient died of respiratory failure prior to discharge home.


In a sample of eighty-five 15-month-old infants, salivary cortisol was obtained prior to and following a potentially stressful episode in which the child was confronted with a stranger and with a frightening robot. Infant characteristics such as anger proneness, cognitive competence, and attachment security were expected to be related to cortisol reactivity during the stressful event. The results showed higher cortisol reactivity in more anger-prone infants and in infants with higher levels of cognitive development as assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (N. Bayley, 1969). Attachment security, assessed with the Attachment Q-Set (AQS; E. Waters, 1995), was found to moderate the relation between cognitive level and cortisol reactivity; the positive relation between cognitive development and cortisol response was found in only infants with low AQS security scores. The findings may have important implications for research in the development of self-regulation in humans as well as in studies with animals.


Aims: The aim of this article was to study the suitable storage duration and temperature of Nadorcott mandarin. Study Design: The experimental design used was the completely randomized design, with two factors: two storage temperatures and four storage durations, with four repetitions for each period, and each repetition counting with 15 fruits. Place and Duration of Study: The mandarin cv. Nadorcott used were from Rosário do Sul city, Rio Grande do Sul (RS) State, Brazil. Fruits were harvested in commercial maturation, and transported to the Food and Postharvest Laboratory, Embrapa Temperate Climate, Pelotas-RS. Methodology: Mandarins were stored during 15, 30, 45, and 60 days at refrigerated temperatures of 4°C and 8°C, with two days at 20°C in order to simulate market conditions. The parameters Original Research Article Nardello et al.; JEAI, 19(5): 1-10, 2017; Article no.JEAI.38520 2 analyzed were: total soluble solids content; titratable acidity; the relationship between total soluble solids and titratable acidity; firmness; longitudinal diameter; mass loss; juice yield; skin color; rotting percentage; antioxidant activity; total carotenoids; total phenolic compounds and vitamin C. Results: Maturity index of 9.97 and 11.52 to 4°C and 8°C, respectively, was obtained. The biggest loss of mass (12.08%) and rotting (18.33%) occurred at 60 days of storage at 8°C. The total phenol content (60.02 mg of gallic/100 g of fresh fruit) and the vitamin C concentration (15.7 mg of ascorbic acid/100 g of fresh fruit) had the highest reduction at 60 days of storage at 8°C. Conclusion: The 'Nadorcott' mandarin maintained postharvest quality characteristics when stored up to 45 days at 4°C, with relative humidity between 90-95%, and commercialized for 2 days at 20°C.


Shock is, as before, among one of the most serious pathologic states threatening patient's life in spite of considerable progress in its treatment in the recent ten years. The immediate causes of shock may be a decrease of cardiac output, increase of volume of vascular bed or interaction of them both. Decrease of cardiac output may result from defective heart ability to contract or decrease venous blood flow to the heart. Decrease of stroke volume and cardiac output result in defective blood flow through all tissues and lead to metabolic acidosis, whose intensity is decisive for prognosis.


Responding to an earlier article (Aresti et al, 2023) by two scholars involved in convict criminology at Westminster University and a third from the US, this article mounts a defence of the British Convict Criminology group against the analysis and conclusions of the first article. We argue that convict criminology is diverse and needs to embrace different approaches that correspond to national circumstances, both in prisons and universities. We suggest that far from stagnating, convict criminology in the UK is beginning to thrive and has much to offer critical criminology. This offer is strengthened by adopting critical and convivial academic practice supportive of people's various efforts and experiences in British prisons and British universities. Our article offers a critical engagement with issues of nomenclature, convictism and coloniality which we believe will be important for an inclusive convict criminology for the future.


The immunity induced by frozen and fresh Anaplasma centrale vaccines against anaplasmosis caused by A. marginale was tested in 12-month old Friesian steers. A. centrale parasitaemia occurred in all cattle inoculated with both types of vaccine. The average maximal decrease in PCV for the frozen and fresh vaccines was 41.0 and 40.3% respectively. All cattle recovered spontaneously. Vaccinated and control steers of the same age were challenged six months later with doses of 10(6), 10(7) or 10(8) A. marginale organisms. Vaccinated cattle showed average maximal A. marginale parasitemia of 1.2-4.0 versus 10.3-12.0% in control cattle. The average maximal decrease in packed cell volume (PCV) was 33.1 and 30.0% for steers vaccinated with frozen or fresh vaccine, respectively, and 57.4% for the non-vaccinated steers. All vaccinated cattle recovered spontaneously from the A. marginale infection while 7 out of 8 control steers required specific treatment. It thus appears that both frozen and fresh A. centrale vaccines are equally capable of inducing partial protection against infection with A. marginale and of preventing severe red blood cell destruction.


We have recently developed a sagittal laser optical tomographic (SLOT) imaging system for the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory processes in proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While cross sectional images of distribution of optical properties can now be generated easily, clinical interpretation of these images remains a challenge. In this paper, we apply and analyse two machine learning methods for optimal identification and severity classification of RA in a data set of 78 joints. The methods surveyed include fisher face with support vector machines (SVMs), and transformed mixtures of Gausians (TMG). It appears that TMG methods outperform the approach using fisher face with SVMs; however, the results need to be further validated in studies involving larger patient populations


The results of four rather unusual kinds of study on the thyroid supply the basis for this discussion. Our studies have been made on doves and pigeons. These animals are peculiarly adapted to thyroid studies, since they feed exclusively upon the same dry grains throughout the year, and from them the complete reproductive history of all individuals is readily obtained. Seasonal Variations of Thyroid Size The data obtained by Riddle and Fisher (1925) show that in three kinds of pigeons the thyroid notably and promptly enlarges in autumn and winter and becomes smallest in summer; a decrease in size begins promptly with the appearance of warmer external temperature in the early months of spring. It was shown in the paper cited that this result was obtained on material practically free from the complicating effects of diet, care, locality, race, age, length or degree of confinement, health, and body size of the animals examined.


It is well appreciated that factors intrinsic to the cancer cells, such as specific mutations, regulate response to chemotherapy. However, there is limited knowledge on the dynamics of cancer cell death in response to therapy in the naturally developing tumor microenvironment. Using intravital microscopy (microscopy in live mice) of tumors, we show that factors within the microenvironment, extrinsic to the cancer cells, support the development of chemoresistance by regulating drug distribution and the inflammatory response. Specifically, intravital microscopy of chemotherapy-treated mouse mammary carcinomas allowed us to follow drug distribution, cell death, and tumor-stroma interactions. We observed associations between vascular leakage and response to the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, including improved response in matrix metalloproteinase-9 null mice that had increased vascular leakage. Furthermore, we observed CCR2-dependent infiltration of myeloid cells after treatment and that Ccr2 null host mice responded better to treatment with doxorubicin or cisplatin. These data show that the microenvironment contributes critically to drug response via regulation of vascular permeability and innate immune cell infiltration. These results have clinical implications, as myeloid cell infiltration is increased in human breast tumors after chemotherapy and the cellular composition of the immune infiltrate is a strong predictor of overall survival. Our data further suggest that the response to classical chemotherapeutic drugs can be improved by changing the tumor microenvironment with agents that modify matrix metalloproteinase activity and chemokine signaling. Thus, intravital imaging can be used to gain insights into drug responses in situ. Citation Format: Mikala Egeblad, Elizabeth Nakasone, Hanne Askautrud, Robert Wysocki, Miriam Fein, Tim Kees, Juwon Park, Jae-Hyun Park. Understanding drug responses and resistance mechanisms using imaging in live mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr IA11.


Measles virus (MV) vaccine strains use CD46, signaling lymphocyte activation molecule, and nectin-4 in human cells as receptors. Meanwhile, many of them are propagated in primary chicken embryonic fibroblasts (CEFs). Our data revealed that CEFs express a nectin-4 homologous molecule (CEF nectin-4) containing well-conserved motifs in the FG and BC loops, but not in the C′C′′ loop. MV infected CHO cells eywords: easles virus hicken embryonic fibroblasts ectin-4 iral receptor expressing CEF nectin-4 and induced syncytia in these cells, confirming that CEF nectin-4 functions as an MV receptor and that the C′C′′ loop is not critical for this function. Nectin-4-blind mutations in MV H protein reduced the infectivity of MV in CEF nectin-4-expressing cells. Infection of CEFs with the MV vaccine AIK-C strain was partially blocked by an anti-nectin-4 antibody, indicating that CEF nectin-4 plays a role for propagation of MV vaccines in CEFs. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.


A study was performed to determine whether experimentally induced bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection in cattle could be detected earlier by use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of genomic DNA extracted from leukocytes than by use of conventional agar-gel immunodiffusion (AGID). The PCR primers were designed to amplify a 375-base-pair region of the proviral gag gene. Five cows were identified that were BLV-negative on the basis of AGID and PCR results. At day 0, these cows were inoculated IM with blood pooled from 3 naturally infected cows. Blood samples were taken on days 0, 1, and 7, and every 2 weeks thereafter until 3 months after inoculation. Three of the cows were BLV-positive by AGID test results 3 weeks after inoculation, and the remaining 2 seroconverted at 5 weeks. In contrast, all 5 cows were BLV-positive by PCR results 7 days after inoculation and remained positive for the duration of the study. Five cows that were BLV-positive by AGID test and PCR results on day 0 and from which samples were obtained at the same times as those from the other 5 cows, remained BLV-positive by results of both tests during the course of the study. Results indicate that under experimental conditions, BLV infection in cattle can be detected as much as 2 to 4 weeks earlier by use of PCR than by use of the AGID test.


This paper proposes a framework for studying the relationship between fiscal policy and state constitutions in terms of direct and indirect fiscal restraints and pressures. Fiscal restraints such as balanced budget rules limit the scope of government, while fiscal pressures such as education rights expand or place demands on government. After detailing the types of fiscal restraints and pressures in state constitutions, this paper discusses four limitations of state constitutions as they relate to achieving sustainable fiscal policies. It then discusses five principles for reform moving forward and calls for giving legislators more discretion about substantive policy matters while placing bounds on the overall scope of government. This paper provides guidance for policymakers and others who want to maintain a state's excellent fiscal health or address budget problems.


Quantitative structure-interaction relationship (QSIR) analyses of 1,4-dihydropyridine drugs were performed on grapefruit juice interaction potentials to characterize the interaction and evaluate drugs not yet tested in clinical research. AUC ratios of drugs with and without grapefruit juice ingestion were estimated as grapefruit juice interaction potentials from clinical studies on dihydropyridine drugs such as amlodipine, azelnidipine, benidipine, cilnidipine, felodipine, manidipine, nicardipine, nifedipine, nimodipine, nisoldipine, and pranidipine. The minimal energy conformation in each dihydropyridine drug was searched for using Merck Molecular Force Field (MMFFaq), and then geometry optimization was performed by density-functional-theory (DFT) calculation (B3LYP/6-31G**). The geometric, electronic, and physicochemical features including molecular size, dipole moment, total energy, HOMO/LUMO energies, and logP values were then obtained. Dragon descriptors were also calculated by optimized 3D-structures. The relation between the potentials and over 1000 of the molecular properties was investigated using statistical techniques including partial least squares analysis with genetic algorithm (GA-PLS) to a variable subset selection. Some PLS regression equations including logP values and dragon descriptors as explanatory variables were constructed in which the maximal contribution coefficient was 94%. These models could be applied to estimate the interaction potentials of other dihydropyridine drugs that have gone unreported in interactions with drugs such as aranidipine, barnidipine, clevidipine, lemildipine, lercanidipine, niguldipine, niludipine, and nilvadipine. In the assessment of major dihydropyridines, amlodipine was found to be the safest drug to avoid interactions among the drugs investigated in the present study.


AIM
The aim of this paper was to present the experiences of microsurgical refertilization in a single-centre study during a period of 27 years.

METHODS
Nearly 2000 patients were operated by a single surgeon (JUS). A total of 1708 patients were evaluated in a data base, 1164 were available for a follow-up. Both vasovasostomy (VV) and epididymovasostomy (EV) were carried out in a three-layer technique. Vasectomy reversal (VR) end-to-end VV was performed only if spermatozoa had been demonstrated at the epididymal stump of the vas. In all other cases of VR, EV was done in a preocclusive region of the epididymal tubule. In the cases of postinfectious obstruction (PIO) of seminal pathways, an EV was always carried out.

RESULTS
The outpatient procedure of refertilization was associated with a very low complication rate, which underlines its minimal-invasive character. The follow-up rate was 68%, the overall patency rate was 88% for VR and 67% for PIO and the pregnancy rate was 59% for VR and 38% for PIO. Secondary azoospermia was observed in 1% of the patients.

CONCLUSION
In relation to the intervals of obstruction, the patency and pregnancy rates were higher after short-term obstruction than after long-term obstruction. There is a significant discrepancy between patency and pregnancy rates that is likely to be caused by a relevant number of patients with postoperative asthenozoospermia.