Breast cancer is an important health issue in the United States, as the most common cancer and the second leading cause of death among women. Since genetic and lifestyle factors account for only approximately 25-47% of breast cancer cases, environmental pollutants likely explain a significant portion of breast cancer incidence. The Nicholas School of the Environment and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Duke University are collaborating on a project looking at environmental causes of possible breast cancer clusters in six counties in North Carolina: Caswell, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, and Vance. There is a need for identification of possible pollutant sources in the counties, along with construction of a systematic way to find relevant facilities. This paper briefly examines the connection between the environment and breast cancer and aims to construct an organized framework for finding possible pollutant sources with the resources available in national and state databases. Vance County is selected as a case study due to preliminary research indicating its unusually high rate of breast cancer in young women (25-34 years old), and the highest discrepancy between black and white women in fiscal year survival rates. The adaptive process of creating the framework was performed simultaneously with the research for the case study, using peer-reviewed literature, internet research, and meetings with state environmental managers. The resulting framework consists of five stages designed as an iterative flowchart. Using Vance County as a case study, the successes and difficulties presented in the process are evaluated. National and state databases were used to collect facility and pollutant information that might be connected to the breast cancer cluster. The disorganization and lack of information located online hindered the search for historic pollutant sources in Vance. It was difficult to find facility information connected with emitted pollutants. Recommendations on improving the process include the importance of establishing clear goals and limitations, the lack of information found in national and state databases, and a need for overall improved database management. Future research may include field sampling and spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS).


At a time of renewed debate in the United States over the merits of using coercive interrogation techniques by intelligence services and law enforcement, John Schiemann's book is an important reminder of the inherent limits of torture. What is all the more remarkable is that Schiemann does not rely on the moral or legal critiques by various philosophers or legal scholars, but rather approaches the claims put forward by torture proponents on their own terms. The book's opening epigraph from human rights scholar Michael Ignatieff rightly captures the tenor throughout this systematic treatment of such a charged topic: "If we are against torture, we are committed actually to arguing with our fellow citizens, not treating those who defend torture as moral monsters." The main foil throughout the book remains the torture regime, particularly the CIA program of the George W. Bush administration during the War on Terror. Yet rather than portraying the Bush regime as some aberration of abusive excess, Schiemann makes a compelling case that the U.S. program designed during this period closely approximates the "idealized" model envisioned by more pragmatic proponents of how a torture regime— properly formulated, regulated, and implemented— should be expected to function. Assessing the Bush program thus offers a more general test of any torture regime, however ideally conceived, with implications for supporters and opponents alike. The opening chapters lay out in clear, oftentimes brutally stark, terms the defining features of torture, alongside the conditions under which proponents would judge an interrogational program employing torture as successful on pragmatic grounds. Weaving together existing scholarly work with primary documents, Schiemann distills benchmarks upon which torture programs should be assessed based on four key elements: 1) high reliability of the information collected; 2) low frequency of torturing only the most resistant of detainees; 3) limiting the severity of abuses; and 4) the success of such calibrated torture in getting resistant suspects to give up most (if not all) information while sparing cooperative or innocent detainees. The remainder of the book goes on to demonstrate in detail how none of these benchmarks can reasonably be met, even under the most ideal of circumstances favorable to proponents' positions. That Schiemann finds the Bush program wanting across multiple dimensions offers an even more fundamental challenge to scholars, policymakers, or members of the public who believe that torture represents an effective policy under almost any circumstances. Does Torture Work? builds its case with a game-theoretic model of interrogation. Schiemann starts with relatively simple building blocks of a single-shot sequential game involving two players—a detainee and an interrogator. Each has two choices, respectively, whereby the detainee either chooses or refuses to give information, and the interrogator then decides whether or not to use torture to try to get the detainee to talk. Such a straightforward model with fully informed players allowing slight differences in preference orderings yields puzzling (or, for Schiemann, "quixotic") outcomes, such as torture never happening or, instead, information never being obtained. Given that neither equilibria mesh well with what is known from real-world episodes, Schiemann goes on to incorporate insights from historical and contemporary cases to develop a more realistic interrogation model (RIT). Keeping the same overall structure, an incomplete information game is developed to introduce uncertainty over the particular "type" of actor both sides believe they are facing—whether the interrogator is pragmatic or sadistic; and whether the detainee is cooperative, resistant, or innocent. The model is also flexible enough to allow for different types of questioning—leading versus objective— to capture important differences in interrogation scenarios. While necessarily simplifying the types of actors and actions, the RIT does what any good formal model should do in highlighting some of the most salient dynamics involved in complex phenomena. Throughout these formative sections of the book, Schiemann describes and justifies each modeling choice in clear terms, providing further discussion and examples where necessary. For this alone, the book serves as an excellent template for how to present and discuss a formal model to a general audience. The modifications in the RIT turn out to be crucial, as solving the model generates a dizzying nine separate equilibrium outcomes. Schiemann deftly organizes these


A faint gas cloud called G2 is found in 2011 on its way towards Sgr A* (that is associated with a supermassive black hole) in the center of the Milky Way. Since the first identification of this source (that is called Dusty S-cluster Object in the following), it is traced until spring 2014 in the red-shifted Br-gamma wavelength domain with the SINFONI instrument mounted at the VLT/Chile. It emits not only in the red-shifted Br_gamma domain (with respect to the rest wavelength at 2.1661 µm, the Dusty S-cluster Object (DSO) is also traceable in the red-shifted Pa-alpha and He-I regime. It is claimed, that the object in the years before the periapse (i.e., the closest approach to Sgr A*) already starts to dissolve due to the gravitational force of the black hole. Because of that, a tail is detected that follows the object towards Sgr A*. It is expected, that the 'head' and the 'tail' cause a firework-like event that leads to a bright accretion behavior of Sgr A*. In the observations that take place after May 2014, the emitted and prominent Br-gamma line is observed in the blue-shifted wavelength domain. This indicates that the source passed the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. Furthermore, the object is still intact after the periapse. In this work, a detailed and extensive analysis of the SINFONI data between 2006 and 2015 with a spatial pixel scale of 0".025 and a corresponding field of view of 0".8x0".8 per single data cube with the focus on the DSO is presented. In detail, the position of the DSO in the Br-gamma linemaps is compared to the position of the DSO in the Lucy-Richardson algorithm de- and re-convolved images. The K-band magnitude, as well as the flux from these images, are extracted. The derived orbit is based on the analyzed 10-year survey. Using the position and the velocity of the DSO from the data-cubes, position-velocity diagrams for every year between 2006 and 2015 are presented. Many authors believe that the object is rather a gas cloud than a dust embedded young stellar object. The question, why this topic raises such a controversial point of view, is discussed in this work. Also, the final answer about the nature of the DSO is given. For the analysis, the standard reduction procedure with the SINFONI and EsoRex pipeline is used. Because of not satisfying results, post-data corrections are applied in order to establish various calibration procedures. For the low-pass filtered images, the Lucy-Richardson deconvolution algorithm is applied to K-band images of the Galactic center region around Sgr A*. The analysis shows that the DSO can, without any confusion, be identified in the Br-gamma linemaps between 2006 and 2015. It can also be traced as a compact source in the deconvolved K-band images in every epoch from 2006 to 2015. A comparison between stacked K-band and Lucy-Richardson images show the robustness of the procedure. The derived position-velocity diagrams underline the compact nature of the DSO. These extensive analysis methods reveal a new source that is called OS1. It follows the DSO on a similar orbit around Sgr A* and can explain the claimed tail emission of the DSO. The magnitude and flux extraction show that neither a brightening nor an increase in flux density of the infrared excess source takes place before or after the pericenter passage. The fact that the DSO can be observed in the near-infrared SINFONI data as a compact source between 2006 and 2015 indicates a stellar origin of the object. It is highly unlikely that a non-stellar object, for example, a gas cloud, could survive the pericenter passage of a supermassive black hole and stay compact on a Keplerian orbit especially after the flyby event in 2014. A stretching that leads to the creation of a tail in the epochs before the periapse cannot be confirmed by judging the results in the linemaps, the low-pass filtered continuum images of the GC, or in the position-velocity diagrams.


Sweden has made its labour market more open for labour immigration since the mid1990s: becoming member of the common labour market of EES/EU in 1994, no transitional rules introduced at the enlargement of European Union in 2004 and 2007, and opening up for labour migration from non-EES/EU countries in December 2008. The changes have led to increased labour immigration. The labour immigration expanded for example after the enlargement in 2004 but not so much as in for example the United Kingdom and Ireland. Other forms of immigration have been more important. On the other hand, the migration has been rather stable in the years after the crisis in 2008. The main explanation is most likely that the recession in Sweden was only for one year, 2009, and that it was concentrated to some parts of the manufacturing industry where few migrant workers were employed. If the present EMU crisis is spreading to Sweden the result may of course be different.


In recent years RNA interference (RNAi) has rapidly become the most widely used tool for gene knockdown due to its high specificity and potency. RNAi is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for silencing gene expression by targeted degradation of mRNA. In the past decade, hundreds of molecular targets have been identified for their roles in pain modulation. But most molecular targets are not readily druggable with small molecules. RNAi represents a therapeutic approach applicable to these non-druggable targets. There is a rapid increase in the number of studies that use small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to validate new targets for pain regulation. In this review, we will discuss these pain-related RNAi studies (Table 1). We will also compare the advantages and disadvantages of RNAi with antisense knockdown (Table 2), because antisense oligodeoxynucleotides have been extensively used for target validation in pain research. Although in vivo delivery of siRNA remains to be a challenge, RNAi has a great potential to become a major therapeutic tool for pain management.


This paper proposes an evaluation of the pre-retirement consequences of a reform of the French pension system that increased the minimum legal retirement age. Our empirical strategy relies on the comparison of two groups of cohorts. The control group consists of cohorts not affected by the increase in the minimum legal retirement age while the treatment group consists of cohorts born later. Using a sample of 38,652 high-school teachers, we identify the effect of increasing the minimum retirement age on short sick leaves (i.e., of less than three months) by comparing probabilities to take at least one sick leave during a schooling year before retirement across the two groups. Estimates of panel data models show that teachers affected by the reform have an increased probability to take short sick leaves before retirement. This is mainly due to teachers who decide to retire at the minimum legal retirement age, while those who continue to work above the minimum retirement age do not increase the frequency of their short sick leaves before retirement. This last result is predicted by a theoretical model that analyzes the optimal retirement choice over the life-cycle, and it is confirmed by using an empirical strategy that distinguishes teachers according to their retirement age.


In this paper we study the reflexivity of a unital strongly closed algebra of operators with complemented invariant subspace lattice on a Banach space. We prove that if such an algebra contains a complete Boolean algebra of projections of finite uniform multiplicity and with the direct sum property, then it is reflexive, i.e. it contains every operator that leaves invariant every closed subspace in the invariant subspace lattice of the algebra. In particular, such algebras coincide with their bicommutant.


Ground water is one of the most important resources which play a key role in sustainable development. Over the last few decade, the industrial development and population growth has increased the water utilization which creates stress on both water and land resources. In such scenario, assessment of water quality is essential for proper management and utilization. This paper presents the usage of statistical method like Principal Component Analysis and Pearson Correlation coefficient analysis for analysing temporal variations of the ground water. From Coonoor Taluk of Nilgiri district, various samples were collected to analyse physico-chemical factors. The quality of the ground water and the compositions are to be determined by Water Quality Index (WQI) calculation method. A comparison of each parameter with that of standard permissible limit as recommended by WHO.


Two cases are presented that demonstrate the feasibility of using the laparoscopic transabdominal approach for failed antireflux procedures. The first patient had two previous Belsey hemifundoplications that had both failed and had intractable reflux unresponsive to conservative treatment. The Belsey operation was taken down and a floppy Nissen fundoplication performed; the patient had only transient postoperative dysphagia. The second patient had a standard floppy Nissen fundoplication performed over a large bougie and developed a postoperative motility problem that failed to respond to medication and dilation. The Nissen was taken down laparoscopically and converted to a Toupet procedure; the patient had total relief of the dysphagia. Neither patient had intra-abdominal complications, and both have had total relief of their heartburn and regurgitation.


AbstractIn this paper, we develop two regression methods that transform hesitant fuzzy preference relations (HFPRs) into fuzzy preference relations (FPRs). On the basis of the complete consistency, reduced FPRs with the highest consistency levels can be derived from HFPRs. Compared with a straightforward method, this regression method is more efficient in the Matlab environment. Based on the weak consistency, another regression method is developed to transform HFPRs into reduced FPRs which satisfy the weak consistency. Two algorithms are proposed for the two regression methods, and some examples are provided to verify the practicality and superiority of the proposed methods.


TO OUR READERS: The copyright has changed in the ahead of print version of the following article: Powell, A. Therapeutic alliance and its potential application to physical activity interventions for older adults: A narrative review. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2021-0379. In the original version, the copyright was assigned to Human Kinetics, Inc. The author subsequently obtained Open Access distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, CC BY 4.0, which reverted copyright back to the author. The online version of this article was updated [April 26, 2022].


OBJECTIVE
Within the last few years, a small number of German cost analyses of patients treated in community mental health care settings was presented. None of these studies, however, examined direct health care costs of the patients' close reference persons focusing on costs associated with providing informal care. Therefore, our study aimed to analyse health-related direct costs of severely ill patients suffering from affective or schizophrenic disorders, and of their informal carers during community mental health care; further, we examined if these costs differed between the diagnostic groups.

METHODS
69 patients currently treated by community mental health services of the Dresden region and their closest reference person providing informal care were assessed twice within an interval of 3 months by use of the CSSRI- D. Thus, direct health care costs of patients and their informal carers covering a 6-months-period could be calculated.

RESULTS
25.35% and 38.24%, respectively, of the closest reference persons' direct health care costs were caused by the situation of acting as informal carer. This was 9.12% and 22.74%, respectively, of the patients' direct health care costs assessed at the same time-points. Patients' costs did not differ between the diagnostic categories, but were influenced by the current severity of psychopathological symptoms. Reference persons' costs were influenced by the severity of the patient's psychopathological symptoms, but also by the social control behaviour of the reference persons themselves as well as by their sense of coherence.

CONCLUSIONS
While a replication of our findings is urgently needed, they point at the economic significance of direct health-related costs caused by acting as informal carers. Further, therapeutic approaches adequate for minimizing these costs could be suggested, like emphasizing protective factors of mental well-being in psycho-educational programmes for relatives.


Abstract Italian ryegrass resistance to diclofop has been documented in several countries, including the United States. The purpose of this research was to screen selected putative resistant populations of Italian ryegrass for resistance to the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)–inhibiting herbicides diclofop and pinoxaden and the acetolactate synthase (ALS)–inhibiting herbicides imazamox, pyroxsulam, and mesosulfuron in the greenhouse and to use field experiments to develop herbicide programs for Italian ryegrass control. Resistance to diclofop was confirmed in eight populations from Tennessee. These eight populations did not show cross-resistance to pinoxaden. One additional population (R1) from Union County, North Carolina, was found to be resistant to both diclofop and pinoxaden. The level of resistance to pinoxaden of the R1 population was 15 times that of the susceptible population. No resistance was confirmed to any of the ALS-inhibiting herbicides examined in this research. Field experiments demonstrated PRE Italian ryegrass control with chlorsulfuron (71 to 94%) and flufenacet + metribuzin (84 to 96%). Italian ryegrass control with pendimethalin applied PRE or delayed preemergence (DPRE) was variable (0 to 85%). POST control of Italian ryegrass was acceptable with pinoxaden, mesosulfuron, flufenacet + metribuzin, and chlorsulfuron + flucarbazone (> 80%). Application timing and herbicide treatment had no effect on wheat yield, except for diclofop and pendimethalin treatments, in which uncontrolled Italian ryegrass reduced wheat yield. Nomenclature: Chlorsulfuron; diclofop; flucarbazone; flufenacet; imazamox; mesosulfuron; metribuzin; pendimethalin; pinoxaden; pyroxsulam; Italian ryegrass, Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum Lam. Husnot LOLMU; wheat, Triticum aestivum L.


A b ody's material. A body isn't empty. It's full of other bodies. It's also full of itself. A body's immaterial. It's a drawing, a contour, an idea. The body is also a prison for the soul. The body's a prison, or a god. Why indices? Because there's no totality to the body, no synthetic unity. There are pieces, zones, fragments. Why 58 indices? Because 5 + 8 = the members of the body, arms, legs and head, and the the eight regions of the body: the back, the belly, the skull, the face, the buttocks, the genitals, the anus, the throat.


Commercial banks, due to their position in the financial system, are a necessary part in ensuring the correct and timely tax payments to the state budget, which certainly affects the economy as a whole. Despite of the periodical changes in legal bank taxation, in regulation and in reforming, the banks are not still the "locomotive" of the economy. Therefore, the study of foreign practice of taxation and its analysis will allow us not to repeat the mistakes and to use the experience to expedite the process of civilized market reforms in Russia. The article deals with the taxation of profits of commercial Banks in Russia and in developed countries of the world. The comparative analysis of profit taxation practice in Russia, USA, UK, Germany and France is made. The characteristic, applied to financial and credit institutions types of taxes and tax rates, is done. Tax incentives and suggested ways of improvement of taxation in commercial Banks in the Russian Federation and foreign countries are analyzed. The most effective ways of tax impact of the state on banking activities are considered, their detailed characteristics is given. On the basis of the conducted research, the conclusions about the relatively low tax load of banks in the Russian Federation and the high differentiation of tax rates in the United States were made. However, the main ways of tax policy improvement in the banking sector are related to the efficiency of interaction between government and financial-credit organizations. Keywords : taxes, commercial banks, the taxation of banks abroad, tax banking, , tax on banks' income, tax breaks JEL Classifications : H23, G21, C58, F30


In this review the indications for surgery are discussed, based on the literature and own publications. In 185 ears of children up to 14 years, 9.1% recurrent perforations were found. Otitis of the ossicles is rarer than in adults and in cholesteatoma in children. Tubal function seems to influence the results. These factors are discussed. Surgery is indicated to improve and to prevent ossicular destruction; furthermore, the children are able to participate in swimming and sports without ear protection. Delay of tympanoplasty is recommended if bad cooperation makes pre- and postoperative treatment difficult, and in cases where a secretory otitis media on the contralateral ear indicates poor tubal function. A persisting perforation after extrusion of a grommet should not be closed immediately.


A prior learning assessment (PLA) can be an intimidating process for adult learners. Capella University's PLA team has developed best practices, resources, and tools to foster a positive experience and remove barriers in PLA, and uses three criteria to determine how to best administer the assessment. First, a PLA must be motivating, as described by the ARCS model. Second, it must enable success. Finally, it must use available resources efficiently. The tools and resources developed according to these criteria fall into two categories, staff and online resources. PLA programs can use both to ensure that all departments provide consistent communication to learners about the PLA process, which will foster a positive experience. The PLA online lab houses centralized resources and offers one-on-one interaction with a facilitator to assist learners step-by-step in the development of their petitions. Each unit contains resources, examples, and optional assignments that help learners to develop specific aspects of the petition. By following the examples and recommendations, learners are able to submit polished petitions after they complete the units. The lab facilitator supports learners throughout the units by answering questions and providing recommendations. When learners submit their petitions, the facilitator reviews it entirely and provides feedback to strengthen the final submission that goes to a faculty reviewer for an official evaluation. All of these individuals and tools work together to help create a positive experience for learners who submit a PLA petition. This article shares these resources with the goal of strengthening PLA as a field.


Recently Wiener's causality theorem, which states that one variable could be regarded as the cause of another if the ability to predict the future of the second variable is enhanced by implementing information about the preceding values of the first variable, was linked to information theory through the development of a novel metric called 'transfer entropy'. Intuitively, transfer entropy can be conceptualized as a model-free measure of directed information flow from one variable to another. In contrast, directionality of information flow is not reflected in traditional measures of association which are completely symmetric by design. Although information theoretic approaches have been applied before in epidemiology, their value for inferring causality from observational studies is still unknown. Therefore, in the present study we use a set of simulation experiments, reflecting the most classical and widely used epidemiological observational study design, to validate the application of transfer entropy in epidemiological research. Moreover, we illustrate the practical applicability of this information theoretic approach to 'real-world' epidemiological data by demonstrating that transfer entropy is able to extract the correct direction of information flow from longitudinal data concerning two well-known associations, i.e. that between smoking and lung cancer and that between obesity and diabetes risk. In conclusion, our results provide proof-of-concept that the recently developed transfer entropy method could be a welcome addition to the epidemiological armamentarium, especially to dissect those situations in which there is a well-described association between two variables but no clear-cut inclination as to the directionality of the association.


Recent studies have shown that there can be high inter- and intra-observer variability when creating annotations for biomedical image segmentation. To mitigate the effects of manual annotation variability when training machine learning algorithms, various methods have been developed. However, little work has been done on actually assessing the impact of annotation errors on machine learning-based segmentation. For the task of cell segmentation, our work aims to bridge this gap by providing a thorough analysis of three types of potential annotation errors. We tackle the limitation of previous studies that lack a golden standard ground truth by performing our analysis on two synthetically-generated data sets with perfect labels, while also validating our observations on manually-labeled data. Moreover, we discuss the influence of the annotation errors on the results of three different network architectures: UNet, SegNet, and MSD. We find that UNet shows the overall best robustness for all data sets on two categories of errors, especially when the severity of the error is low, while MSD generalizes well even when a large proportion of the cell labels is missing during training. Moreover, we observe that special care should be taken to avoid wrongly labeling large objects when the target cells have small footprints.


Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology for the energy-efficient removal of dissolved ions from aqueous solutions. Expanding this technology to non-aqueous media, we present an experimental characterization of a pair of porous carbon electrodes towards electrosorption of dissolved ions in propylene carbonate. We demonstrate that application of CDI technology for treatment of an organic solution with an electrochemical stability window beyond 1.2 V allows for a higher salt removal capacity and higher charge efficiency as compared to CDI applied for treatment of aqueous electrolytes. Further, we show that using conductivity measurements of the stream emerging from the CDI cell combined with an equilibrium electric double-layer structure model, we can gain insights into charge compensation mechanisms and ion distribution in carbon nanopores.


Abstract Acceptability of PRO2000 Gel, a candidate vaginal microbicide, among participants of its Phase I safety study in Pune, India is reported here. Forty-two eligible women were enrolled in a study requiring twice daily intra-vaginal product use for 14 consecutive days between menses. Acceptability was assessed at study exit through structured questionnaires among 41 participants who completed the product use, and five focus group discussions involving 31 study participants. The participants generally liked the product (40/41, 97.2%), especially its colour (40, 97.2%) and consistency (35, 85.3%). Thirty-four participants reported sexual intercourse within one hour of product use, at least once during the study period and sexual pleasure was reported to be better or unaffected among (30, 88.2%) participants. Nearly 70% did not like its smell and mentioned preference for a product that would be unnoticeable to the male partner. Participating women were concerned about privacy in usage and storage of the product. Acceptability of PRO2000 vaginal gel was good, but its smell will have to be improved. Counselling to address women's concerns about privacy and storage will be crucial. Women's preference for unnoticeable product indicates their empowerment and willingness to accept female-controlled options for HIV prevention.


The supervisor/student relationship forms one of the most memorable relationships in a student's academic life. This relationship not only informs the development of the research and potential outcomes but also role models the nature of research supervision for future generations of academics.
Universities have, over the years, fine-tuned guidance and expectations of both supervisors and students in an attempt to spell out and clarify a very unique and personal relationship. Whilst there is still huge variance in experiences, there is a common understanding and perception of the junior role of the PhD student relative to the Professor or PhD supervisor.
The rise of Professional Doctorates (PD) as an alternative form of Doctoral degree recognition has now added another layer of complexity to our understanding of supervisor/student relationships. PD students do not conform to the stereotype of traditional PhD students as they are mostly in full time employment, have a wealth of experience in their chosen field of study and have in most cases, quite developed careers or career paths. Thus, supervisors have to develop a different supervision style to be able to support the specific requirements of PD students.
This phenomenon is best exemplified in the Middle East where there has been a noticeable rise in the uptake of Doctorates of Business Administration (DBA) and where candidates undertaking these degrees tend to hold high ranking prestigious jobs in their home countries. This background within which the supervision takes place is very different to the 'norm' of PhD supervision requiring a different skill set and approach.
This paper explores the evolving nature of Doctoral supervision focusing on the need to revisit supervision expectations and requirements in a global educational environment, and calls for supervisors who can assume a 'split personality' to address the diverse needs of Doctoral students.


Histochemical methods were applied to determination of salomycin, dermatansulfate, keratosulfate and neutral mucopolysaccharides in the goblet cells of rabbit appendix. Sialomycin and neutral mucopolysaccharides were found in the glands. Immunization with human gamma globulin was followed in the productive phase of immunogenesis by a rise of the secretory activity of the mucosa of the appendix. An increase of the mucus formation in the appendix occurred after laparatomy and during the initial period of experimental appendicitis. However, surgical trauma caused an opposite effect against the background of increased functional activity of the secretory elements of the immunized animals, and during experimental appendicitis no activation of mucus formation was seen. The influence of the abovementioned factors on the secretory activity of the mucous membrane was accompanied by qualitative changes in the synthesized mucus.


We present timing solutions and spin properties of the young pulsar PSR B0540–69 from analysis of 15.8 years of data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer. We perform a partially phase-coherent timing analysis in order to mitigate the pronounced effects of timing noise in this pulsar. We also perform fully coherent timing over large subsets of the data set in order to arrive at a more precise solution. In addition to the previously reported first glitch undergone by this pulsar, we find a second glitch, which occurred at MJD 52927 ± 4, with fractional changes in spin frequency Δν/ν = (1.64 ± 0.05) × 10−9 and spin-down rate Δ &ngr; ˙ / &ngr; ˙ = ( 0.930 ± 0.011 ) × 10 − 4 ?> (taken from our fully coherent analysis). We measure a braking index that is consistent over the entire data span, with a mean value n = 2.129 ± 0.012, from our partially coherent timing analysis. We also investigated the emission behavior of this pulsar, and have found no evidence for significant flux changes, flares, burst-type activity, or pulse profile shape variations. While there is strong evidence for the much-touted similarity of PSR B0540–69 to the Crab pulsar, they nevertheless differ in several aspects, including glitch activity, where PSR B0540–69 can be said to resemble certain other very young pulsars. It seems clear that the specific processes governing the formation, evolution, and interiors of this population of recently born neutron stars can vary significantly, as reflected in their observed properties.


Mathematical morphology coupled with creation of a time stack image and principal oscillation pattern analysis are used to determine the water depths over a known sloping bottom from synthetic remotely sensed images. The data, produced by a simulator, consisted of 60 images, each 256/spl times/256 pixels, separated by 1 second in time. The mathematical depth results are compared with those derived using principal oscillation pattern analysis by which three significant complex pairs of patterns are found with their corresponding characteristic times: e-folding times and periods. From these results and by using the classical hydrodynamic theory of gravity waves, water depths are determined. Both analyses yield small errors for the simulated data, indicating both methods should perform reliably for real data.


This study focused on the effects of different enriched environments for mice in a number of behavioral and physiological parameters in 2 routine laboratory testing procedures: potency testing for tetanus vaccine and stress-induced hyperthermia. The variability in the results was studied by calculating and analyzing mean absolute deviations. Mice from enriched conditions weighed more and consumed more food than mice from standard housing conditions. However, mice from enriched conditions lost more body weight after being housed individually. Other physiological parameters showed no differences. Mice from standard conditions were more active in an open field, suggesting a tendency to overrespond to various stimuli in a testing environment. Mice from enriched environments were more tranquil and easier to handle. The enrichment did not influence the variability in any of the parameters measured, although earlier results and results of other studies suggest that the effects on the variability in results are parameter dependent. When enrichment does not influence variability, there is no reason for not introducing cage enrichment and by doing so contributing to the animals' welfare.


Background The Eneolithic (~ 5,500 yrBP) site of Verteba Cave in Western Ukraine contains the largest collection of human skeletal remains associated with the archaeological Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture. Their subsistence economy is based largely on agro-pastoralism and had some of the largest and most dense settlement sites during the Middle Neolithic in all of Europe. To help understand the evolutionary history of the Tripolye people, we performed mtDNA analyses on ancient human remains excavated from several chambers within the cave. Results Burials at Verteba Cave are largely commingled and secondary in nature. A total of 68 individual bone specimens were analyzed. Most of these specimens were found in association with well-defined Tripolye artifacts. We determined 28 mtDNA D-Loop (368 bp) sequences and defined 8 sequence types, belonging to haplogroups H, HV, W, K, and T. These results do not suggest continuity with local pre-Eneolithic peoples, but rather complete population replacement. We constructed maximum parsimonious networks from the data and generated population genetic statistics. Nucleotide diversity (π) is low among all sequence types and our network analysis indicates highly similar mtDNA sequence types for samples in chamber G3. Using different sample sizes due to the uncertainly in number of individuals (11, 28, or 15), we found Tajima's D statistic to vary. When all sequence types are included (11 or 28), we do not find a trend for demographic expansion (negative but not significantly different from zero); however, when only samples from Site 7 (peak occupation) are included, we find a significantly negative value, indicative of demographic expansion. Conclusions Our results suggest individuals buried at Verteba Cave had overall low mtDNA diversity, most likely due to increased conflict among sedentary farmers and nomadic pastoralists to the East and North. Early Farmers tend to show demographic expansion. We find different signatures of demographic expansion for the Tripolye people that may be caused by existing population structure or the spatiotemporal nature of ancient data. Regardless, peoples of the Tripolye Culture are more closely related to early European farmers and lack genetic continuity with Mesolithic hunter-gatherers or pre-Eneolithic groups in Ukraine.


Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that functions as a key regulatory protein in normal cell growth, survival, metabolism, development, and angiogenic pathways. Deregulation of these processes is a required hallmark of cancer, and dysregulation of mTOR signaling frequently occurs in a wide variety of malignancies, including lung cancer. Targeting of mTOR is thus an attractive strategy in the development of therapeutic agents against lung cancer. In this review, the mTOR-signaling pathway is described, highlighting opportunities for therapeutic intervention and biomarker analysis, and clinical trials in lung cancer including both non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer.


Data from 710 yearling bulls and steers collected from 1991 to 1994 were used to predict the percentage of intramuscular fat (PIFAT) by using real-time ultrasound (RTU) and imageprocessing parameters. Image-processing parameters included histogram, texture, and Fourier transformation parameters. Additionally, ultrasound fat thickness (UFAT) was included. Two multiple regression models Model1 excluding UFAT and Model2 including UFAT,were developed by using 392 images and validated with 318 independent images. These models were used to assess the accuracy of image parameters in predicting PIFAT and to determine whether including UFAT as an additional covariate parameter increases accuracy. Results indicated that for actual PIFAT values ranging from .5% to 13%, RTU and image-processing parameters can consistently predict PIFAT with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.43 and 1.41 and a coefficient of determination (R-square) of .59 and .6 for Model1 and Model2, respectively. Both models were unbiased with intercepts of .47 and .51 (p > 0.1), respectively. RTU and image-processing parameters can accurately and without bias predict PIFAT without including UFAT in the prediction model.


Abstract  This project explores how the family-whānau centred music therapy approach was demonstrated, by a student music therapist on clinical placement, within a rehabilitation centre for adults with traumatic brain injuries. Parallel links between the Samoan fale tele metaphor of health and family-whānau centred approaches within music therapy perspectives - were enabled in this mahi, due to the work of Carolyn Kenny. Having developed an INDIGENOUS theory in music therapy, Carolyn Kenny emphasises the role of connectedness of each aspect and idea of sacred "space" and "place" within the music therapy session, (Kenny, (1989, 2006), Music and Life - In The Field of Play).  My own personal identity as a respectful PASIFIKA woman, and child migrant who learnt Te Reo Māori, history of Tāngata Whenua, Māoritanga, and kapa hāka on Whaiora Marāe, Otara South Auckland, 1970s - enabled the incorporation of the framework of the fale tele metaphor to represent the "personhood of the Client" and their relationships with aiga/family-whānau, medical teams/staff, community workers, as well as myself - in order to illustrate my findings. These showed that clients invariably somehow communicated and expressed a yearning for their home, had strong emotions of displacement away from home; seemed highly motivated to participate and "join in" musicking sessions due to the presence of their kin; or because they had a clear personal goal during sessions to reach a recovery stage that would facilitate their return as soon as possible to a spouse, parent, siblings, children, or to the space and place that represented "home."  Data was collected from clinical notes, assessment reviews, client reports, reflective journal. Deductive secondary analysis was used for coding from which five key themes emerged as being important in the FWCMT, and are further described in the music therapy methods, strategies and activities in a clinical vignette.  Of the eight clients, the 167 music therapy sessions which I facilitated, only 43 sessions included the physical presence of family-whānau.  Findings are listed as:  (1) The spiritual, psychotherapeutic, physiological health and well-being of the client;  (2) The internal space – of the participant;  (3) Maintaining the dignity of all – participants, family-whānau;  (4) Boundaries: The collaborative external space – visiting family-whānau, the interdisciplinary teams and staff carers who became the 'institutional family-whānau,' or extended whānau of the client;  (5) The rhythmic foundation of the client – innate musical self, external structures, influences and rhythm found in whenua and cosmos which supports the rhythmical structures of the musical, cultural self.


This dissertation comprises a novel and contextualising research. This study deals with the creative and political problems that emerge when a writer attempts to write a convincing transgender character in a historical novel. It is both critical and intensely personal as it takes full account of both my feminist and my transgender points of view and refers to my own experience of living in a transgender body. Sometimes its focus is emotional and political.

The study comprises two chapters and a conclusion. In the opening chapter I engage with De Beauvoir's comment that to be a 'man' is to be 'one', and describe how my own gender identity has influenced my construction of Mary Anne Ashley/Paul Smith in 'Rainbow'. I describe my usage of Somerset dialect as an attempt to unsettle the privileged position of standard English and my intention to make the gendered word 'boy' signify a masculine position that is not defined by anatomy. Finally I suggest that it can be hard for a transgender writer to inhabit a fictional transgender voice in a culture that has historically attempted to silence both.

The second chapter deals with three novels whose writers have attempted to write from the viewpoint of a transgender character. I explore specific scenes from two of these novels in the light of both lesbian-feminist and transsexual criticisms (primarily those of Judith Halberstam and Jay Prosser). I then describe how I have attempted to subvert both the tropes of the 'mirror scene' ('The Well of Loneliness') and the 'transphobic attack' ('Sacred Country'). I finally investigate Eugenides' construction of Cal/liope from 'Middlesex' from a specifically trans viewpoint and suggest that it is problematic artistically and politically.

The conclusion deals with how successful I consider my construction of a transgender character and transgender voice to have been, and looks toward the future.


Modern medical physics deals with complex problems such as 4D radiation therapy and imaging quality optimization. Such problems involve a large number of radiological parameters, and anatomical and physiological breathing patterns. A major challenge is how to develop, test, evaluate and compare various new imaging and treatment techniques, which often involves testing over a large range of radiological parameters as well as varying patient anatomies and motions. It would be extremely challenging, if not impossible, both ethically and practically, to test every combination of parameters and every task on every type of patient under clinical conditions. Computer-based simulation using computational phantoms offers a practical technique with which to evaluate, optimize, and compare imaging
technologies and methods. Within simulation, the computerized phantom provides a virtual model of the patient's anatomy and physiology.
Imaging data can be generated from it as if it was a live patient using accurate models of the physics of the imaging and treatment process. With sophisticated simulation algorithms, it is possible to perform virtual experiments entirely on the computer. By serving as virtual patients, computational phantoms hold great promise in solving some of the most complex problems in modern medical physics. In this proposed symposium, we will present the history and recent developments of computational phantom models, share experiences in their application to advanced imaging and radiation applications, and discuss their promises and limitations.
Learning Objectives:
1.
Understand the need and requirements of computational phantoms in medical physics research
2.
Discuss the developments and applications of computational phantoms
3.
Know the promises and limitations of computational phantoms in solving complex problems


Managing service quality in heterogeneous Cloud environments is complex: different Cloud providers expose different management interfaces. To manage Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in this context, we have developed the rSLA framework that enables fast setup of SLA monitoring in dynamic and heterogeneous Cloud environments. The rSLA framework is made up of three main components: the rSLA language to formally represent SLAs, the rSLA Service, which interprets the SLAs and implements the behavior specified in them, and a set of Xlets - lightweight, dynamically bound adapters to monitoring and controlling interfaces. In this paper, we present the rSLA framework, and describe how it enables the monitoring and enforcement of service level agreements for heterogeneous Cloud services.


CME: Early Recognition and Prevention of a Disulfiram-Ethanol Reaction Abstract. Disulfiram is an alcohol-aversive agent for pharmacological relapse prevention in alcohol dependency. When combined with alcohol, disulfiram induces a disulfiram-ethanol reaction (DER), causing mild to severe symptoms. While the anticipated adverse effects should support abstinence, failed abstinence can be potentially lethal. Since there is no specific antidote, early recognition and supportive treatment are vital. The aim of this article is to illustrate the clinical features of DER, to suggest a reasonable diagnostic pathway and to provide a basis for decision-making as to the treatment with disulfiram.


Abstract Hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) materials have found advanced applications in energy storage, adsorption, and catalysis in recent years. The HPC can be synthesized from a vast range of inexpensive carbon precursors, and contain unique structural features, such as nano-scale dimension, high porosity, high surface area, and tunable pore surfaces. These materials hold immense potential for removing contaminants from water and wastewater. However, this area is severely under-explored yet. In this review, we have discussed the recent advances of synthesis, modification, and application of HPC for the removal of pollutants from water, especially focusing on organic pollutants. Owing to their intrinsic hydrophobic nature and unique interconnected porous structure, HPC demonstrates a high affinity to hydrophobic organic contaminants, which can be enhanced many folds by target-specific chemical activation. Successful high-performance removal of contaminants by pristine and modified HPC includes plastic-derived (e.g. bisphenol A), pharmaceutical (e.g. antibiotics), dye (e.g. methylene blue) and pesticide micro-pollutants. Future research is warranted to find optimal and effective HPC synthesis and modification methods for further improving their ability to remove aqueous organic contaminants as a low-cost and energy-inexpensive remediation technology. Graphical Abstract


The sorbitol pathway in human lenses is evaluated on the enzymic level. Adult lenses, normal and nondiabetic as well as diabetic cataracts, are found to contain limited levels of aldose reductase (AR) and high levels of polyol dehydrogenase (PD) relative to the animal lens. AR is confined primarily to the lens epithelium and is two to three times higher in juvenile lenses than in the adult lens. The level of AR in the epithelium of juvenile lenses is sufficient to cause significant osmotic stress. The Km of glucose of AR is roughly 200 mM, whereas the Km for NADPH is 0.06 mM. NADP inhibits human lens AR noncompetitively and has a Ki equivalent to the Km for NADPH. PD occurs in both the lens epithelium and cortex, remains persistently high with age, and decreases with increased cortical involvement. The Km of sorbitol for PD is 1.4 mM and for NAD is 0.06 mM. NADH (Ki 0.002 mM) competitively inhibits PD in the forward direction. PD purified 100-fold from diabetic and nondiabetic cataracts and normal lenses exhibit similar kinetic constants. PD has an extremely high Vmax in the fructose-to-sorbitol direction. The Km of fructose is 40 mM and for NADH is 0.02 mM. At high enough concentration, alrestatin also inhibits PD. The added activities of AR and PD in producing sorbitol and fructose in combination with decreased hexokinase with age may account for diabetic cataract formation in human lenses exposed to a high glucose stress. Nucleotide levels are reported for senile cataractous lenses.


Escherichia coli K12 serves as an important model for studying systems that are important to bacteria in their own right as well as those that are conserved in 'higher' organisms, which are more difficult and costly to study. Like many model organisms, the genome of K12 has been sequenced, producing a catalogue of protein-coding and stable-RNA genes that enabled study using 'omic' approaches. This has led to a rapid expansion of our knowledge of patterns of gene expression and their dependency on growth conditions, cell physiology and individual genes. However, the underlying networks of gene regulation are less well understood, but are known to involve the control of steps in RNA processing and degradation as well as transcription and translation. With this in mind, this thesis describes the development of an approach based on RNA sequencing that produces nucleotide-resolution transcriptome maps that distinguish sites that correspond to RNA processing and steps in degradation from those of transcription initiation, while incorporating all classes of RNA. Comparison with results obtained previously validated the approach, which has been applied already to the study of other bacterial species. Within the E. coli map, many new features were identified, such as previously undetected small RNAs and processing at a site associated with the production of specialised ribosomes, which may ensure the translation of leaderless mRNAs, which were also mapped. The approach also showed the benefit of incorporating steps that can differentiate the 5' status of transcripts in assigning sites of transcription initiation. RNA sequencing was also used to map sites of cleavage by RNase E, an essential endoribonuclease that is central to both the processing and degradation of RNA in bacteria and plant plastids. This aspect of the thesis has advanced from pilot studies to the point where the 'code' that determines one form of substrate recognition by RNase E is beginning to emerge. As a result of this success, equivalent data has been collected for other ribonucleases involved in RNA processing and degradation. Continuing analysis of the primary and secondary transcriptomes, consisting of native, unprocessed transcripts and of transcripts that have been modified from their native form via processing and/or degradation respectively, with the tools presented here promises to broaden and deepen our understanding of an important model organism.


OBJECTIVE
To study women's experience of postoperative pain and pain relief after cesarean birth and factors associated with pain assessment and the birth experience.

DESIGN
Descriptive patient survey. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The outcome variables were assessments of pain using a Visual Analog Scale and women's birth experience measured on a seven-point Likert scale.

SETTING
Central Swedish county hospital, maternity unit.

PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS
The sample consisted of 60 women undergoing cesarean birth.

RESULTS
Women reported high levels of experienced pain during the first 24 hours. Seventy-eight percent of the women scored greater than or equal to 4 on the Visual Analog Scale, which can be seen as inadequately treated pain. There was no difference between elective and emergency cesarean births in the levels of pain. In spite of high levels of pain, women were pleased with the pain relief. The risk of a negative birth experience was 80% higher for women undergoing an emergency cesarean birth compared with elective cesarean birth. Postoperative pain negatively affected breastfeeding and infant care.

CONCLUSIONS
There is a need for individual and adequate pain treatment for women undergoing cesarean birth, as high levels of pain interfere with early infant care and breastfeeding.


Abstract Increased abundance and distribution of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginianus), a native species in the Great Plains, has been associated with changes in ecosystem functioning and landscape cover. Knowledge of the main consumers and dispersal agents of eastern red cedar cones is essential to understanding the invasive spread of the species. We examined animal removal of cedar cones in three habitats (tallgrass prairie, eastern red cedar and woodland-prairie margins) in the Cross Timbers ecoregion using three exclosure treatments during autumn and winter. Exclosure treatments excluded study trees from ungulates, from terrestrial rodents and ungulates or from neither (control). Loss of cones from branches varied by a habitat-time interaction, but was not affected by exclosure type. Loss of cones from containers located under experimental trees varied by a habitat-treatment-time interaction. In December and January, cone consumption from containers in no-exclosure treatments was highest in margins, followed by tallgrass prairie and eastern red cedar habitats. We conclude birds consumed the majority of cones from branches and small- and medium-sized mammals consumed cones on the ground. Both birds and mammals likely contribute to the spread of eastern red cedar but at different scales. Limiting invasion of eastern red cedar in forests may require early detection and selective removal of pioneer seedlings in cross timbers and other habitats that attract a high diversity or density of frugivores.


Wood is a living material with a dimensional stability problem. White spruce wood is a Canadian non-permeable wood that is used for siding applications. To improve this property, white spruce wood was treated with organosilanes sol-gel treatment with different moisture content (oven dried, air dried, and green wood). No major morphological changes were observed after treatment. However, organosilanes were impregnated into the cell wall without densifying the wood and without modifying the wood structure. Si-O-C chemical bonds between organosilanes and wood and Si-O-Si bonds were confirmed by FTIR and NMR, showing the condensation of organosilanes. The green wood (41% moisture content) showed only 26% dimensional stability due to the presence of too much water for organosilanes treatment. With a moisture content of 14%–18% (oven dried or air dried wood), the treatment was adapted to obtain the best improvement in dimensional stability of 35% and a 25% reduction of water vapor sorption. Finally, impregnation with organosilanes combined with the appropriate heat treatment improved the dimensional stability of white spruce wood by up to 35%. This treated Canadian wood could be an interesting option to validate for siding application in Canada.


A retrospective study of two groups of patients was conducted to evaluate the physiologic drift, or "driftodontics", of the mandibular teeth following the extraction of four first premolars. Group 1 included 32 patients who underwent early extraction in the mixed dentition stage at a mean age of 10.4 years; they were followed for approximately 2.5 years postextraction. Group 2 included 20 patients whose premolars were extracted after the permanent dentition had fully erupted. Their mean age at the time of extraction was 14.2 years, followed by a 0.8 year observation period. Except for the extractions, no other mandibular therapy was rendered. The results show no differences in rates of molar movements between groups. The molar apex moved mesially approximately 0.6 mm/yr; the molar cusp moved mesially approximately 1.2 mm/yr. In contrast, there were marked group differences in movements of the mandibular incisors and canines; rates of change were significantly greater in Group 2 than in Group 1. The canines drifted laterally and distally into the extraction sites while the incisors became more upright over basal bone and less crowded. Incisor irregularity decreased 1.3 mm/yr in Group 1 and 5.5 mm/yr in Group 2. The group differences in amounts of tooth movement were accounted for by changes in incisor crowding.


Macroporous silica gel, prepared from sodium silicate and hydrochloric acid, one grade of diatomaceous earth (celite 545) and nonporous glass were analyzed in terms of pore size by the mercury intrusion pressure method. The alkylamine derivatives of the above materials were examined for their suitability as supports for enzyme immobilization, using the enzyme glucose oxidase. The effectiveness of the immobilized enzyme was compared in relation to the free enzyme and particle size of the carrier. The immobilized enzyme exhibited a broader range of optimum pH and greater thermal stability, among some properties considered.


In a paper published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives in the fall of 2003, Robert Crandall and Clifford Winston all but call for the repeal of the Nation's antitrust laws. Their qualifications to make such a radical proposal are in doubt, but more importantly their purported review of empirical studies of overt price-fixing effects is shallow, biased, and naive. Crandall and Winston's assertion that the direct benefits of convicting price-fixers are slight is central to their paper's thesis. Their review is shallow because the five studies that they examine comprise less than 2% of the economic literature that quantitatively estimates the price effects of explicit price-fixing schemes; it is biased because the chosen studies find no or weak price effects, whereas the vast majority of such studies find significant positive effects on price during the collusive period; it is naive because the selected studies are either severely flawed or irrelevant.


This paper is concerned with the robust tracking control of an electrically driven robot with the model uncertainties in the robot dynamics and the motor dynamics. The motors driving the joints of the robot are assumed to be equipped with only the joint position and the current measurement devices. Adaptive fuzzy logic and adaptive backstepping method are employed to provide the solution to the control problem. The suggested method does not require the measurement of the velocity nor the acceleration. Simulation results from a two-link electrically driven robot show the satisfactory performance of the proposed control scheme even in the presence of internal model uncertainties in both the robot and motor dynamics and external disturbances


This article studies the various mechanisms by which democracy affects transnational terrorism. New theoretical mechanisms are identified that either complement or encompass existing arguments. Different effects of democracy on transnational terrorism are assessed for a sample of about 119 countries from 1975 to 1997. Results show that democratic participation reduces transnational terrorist incidents in a country, while government constraints increase the number of those incidents, subsuming the effect of press freedom. The proportional representation system experiences fewer transnational terrorist incidents than either the majoritarian or the mixed system.


Visual analytic tools, combined with social networks and mobile platforms, make it possible to create multi-dimensional, holistic pictures of people's health care and condition and expand the scope of information addressed in medical records. The Care and Condition Monitor (CCM) is a tablet-based, networked visual analytics tool for collecting, structuring and analyzing informal and qualitative healthcare data and visualizing it in a circular format. It illustrates how social communication within teams of caregivers enables capturing of longitudinal informal data that can (a) result in rich and meaningful information visualizations, (b) improve comprehension of healthcare data and changes in condition over time, and (c) support medical decision making.


Intratumoral heterogeneity and treatment resistance drive breast cancer (BC) metastasis and recurrence. The RUNX2 transcription factor is upregulated in early stage luminal BC. However, the precise mechanism by which RUNX2 regulates an oncogenic phenotype in luminal BCs remains an enigma. We show that RUNX2 is predictive of poor overall survival in BC patients. RUNX2 associated with the TAZ transcriptional co-activator to promote a tumorigenic phenotype that was inhibited by knockdown of TAZ. RUNX2 increased endogenous TAZ translocation to the nucleus, which was prevented by inhibiting RUNX2. RUNX2/TAZ interaction was associated with ectodomain shedding of an oncogenic soluble E-Cadherin fragment (sE-Cad), which is known to cooperate with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2/ErbB2) to increase BC growth. Neutralizing E-Cadherin antibodies or TAZ knockdown reduced the levels of sE-Cad in RUNX2-expressing BC cells and inhibited tumorsphere formation. RUNX2 expression also increased HER2-mediated tumorsphere size, which was reduced after treatment with the HER2-targeting agents Herceptin and lapatinib. These data support a novel role for RUNX2 in promoting an oncogenic phenotype in luminal BC in the context of TAZ, sE-Cad, and HER2. Using this signaling pathway to monitor BC cell oncogenic activity will accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic modalities to treat BC patients.


Objective To assess adherence to and acceptability of revised antiemetic prescribing guidelines implemented 20091 and evaluation of use of the patient-specific antiemetic record. Methods Case notes, prescription and administration charts were reviewed retrospectively for 20 patients receiving chemotherapy during April 2011. Prescribing of chemotherapy and antiemetics over the previous 12 months was recorded and adherence to guidelines assessed. Recently implemented patient sickness diary cards completed by patients/carers on each cycle of chemotherapy were evaluated. Prescribers' views and awareness of the guidelines were gathered from a specifically designed self-administered questionnaire. Outcomes from the study were presented at a multidisciplinary meeting where changes in practice were agreed. Results Of the 20 patients (11 oncology; 9 haematology), 13 were male and ranged from 6 months to 19 years old. Five patients had received chemotherapy for longer than 12 months. Prescribing adhered to the guidelines greater than 70% of the time in eight patients, between 30–70% of the time in 10 patients and less than 30% of the time in two patients. Non-adherence trends were: unclear documentation of patients receiving prechemotherapy antiemetics, ondansetron continued longer than 24 h postchemotherapy to prevent acute nausea and vomiting, metoclopramide started concomitantly with ondansetron for prevention of delayed nausea and vomiting and lorazepam not being administered immediately post an acute emetic episode. Non-adherence was justified when there was a previous adverse reaction to an antiemetic or when emesis continued despite appropriate management and/or confounding circumstances such as parenteral nutrition. Omissions from the guidelines were use of aprepitant in teenagers receiving cisplatin-based regimens, emetogenic risk of clofarabine and intrathecal cytarabine and guidance on evaluating emetogenic risk for investigational medicinal products such as chimeric 14.18/CHO monoclonal antibody (antiGD2). Five patients returned completed Patient Sickness Diary Cards. Excluding one patient with low-grade glioma and pre-existing vomiting prior to chemotherapy who experienced 13 vomits over a 5 day reporting period, only three vomits were noted over a total of 36 days reported but 22 patient days (61%) were recorded as nauseated. 17 out of 35 (49%) prescriber questionnaires were returned. Prescribers reported awareness of the guidelines and considered them helpful. The patient specific antiemetic record was not used, and there was multidisciplinary agreement that working practices be reviewed to facilitate accessibility. Conclusion The revised guidelines are mostly adhered to and the results have informed where adjustments and additional information are required. The patient diary card and the patient specific antiemetic record were considered useful in the individualisation of treatment and are to be integrated into working practices and used for continuous quality monitoring.


This paper discusses policy contestation in Cape Town over an expanded public works program (EPWP) in which previously unemployed people were hired to help poor households in Khayelitsha (a low-income suburb) deal with rodent infestation in a 'poison free' manner. EPWP workers, managed by Environmental Health (EH), a government operation in Khayelitsha, set cage traps for rats inside people's homes. This project was halted after the South African National Council for Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) objected because the rats were subsequently drowned. We show that rival understandings of the morality (or humaneness) of rodent control shaped the policy contestation. EH officials held that cage-trapping and drowning rats was preferable to poisoning them primarily because rat poison was dangerous to children, domestic animals and other wildlife. In so doing, they adopted a broader, and more ecological, notion of welfare that extended beyond the NSPCA's focus on whether the rat was killed in a cruel and legal manner. The clash in perspectives nevertheless had some common ground: both 'sides' believed that drowning was cruel. For EH, it was the least worst option and officials continued to seek alternative, poison-free and more humane methods of disposing of rats (though these proved impractical). We draw on a representative survey of Site C in Khayelitsha to show that EH's approach had significant support amongst local people. Most agreed that workers should be allowed to trap and drown rats and those who said they were concerned about rat poison killing other animals like cats and owls were more likely to do so. Those who believed that drowning was painful for the rat were less likely to agree with cage-trapping and drowning.


Integrins play an important physiologic role in cell adhesion, and accumulating evidence suggests that they also regulate cell growth, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. A number of congenital and acquired disease states have been associated with integrins, and small-molecule integrin inhibitors have been approved for treatment of benign hematologic diseases. In cancer, aberrant expression with normal-functioning rather than dominant genetic variations of genes coding for integrins has generally been observed. This aberrant expression is mediated through "bidirectional" receptor signaling and interaction with corresponding signals from growth factor signaling pathways, leading to inhibition of apoptosis, induction of cell proliferation, extracellular matrix remodeling, migration, and angiogenesis. From a clinical perspective, a growing number of molecules targeting integrins have been developed for treatment and imaging purposes; clinical studies in melanoma, prostate cancer, and other malignancies are underway. This review summarizes the biology of integrins, the signal transduction pathways they regulate, and their role in different stages of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, it provides a synopsis on the clinical advancements in integrin targeting for therapeutic and imaging purposes in cancer.


ATP and other nucleotide derivatives have potent extracellular effects. Sensitive and rapid techniques of ATP detection have shown that ATP is (1) released from active skeletal muscle in vasodilator quantities and (2) released from isolated heart cells in response to hypoxia. Release of nucleotides from active brain tissue has also been demonstrated (Pull and McIlwain, 1972). It is calculated that active cerebral tissue releases sufficient ATP to satisfy local vasodilator requirements in the brain. Intracarotid infusions of ATP have the effect of stimulating oxygen uptake in brain tissue and profoundly increasing the cerebral blood flow. It is not understood how the ATP can exert these effects beyond the blood : brain barrier. Since exercising skeletal muscle releases ATP and other nucleotide derivatives into the circulation, it is postulated that the metabolism of the brain can be significantly affected in exercise. These data, together with the studies by Pritchard et al. (1975) on uptake and supply of purine compounds by the liver, prompt the suggestion that there exists a system of "metabolic communication" in the body mediated by circulating purine compounds.


Outcome prediction is critical in stroke patient management. We propose a novel approach combining imaging with parameters (including history, hospitalization, demographics, clinical and outcome) for a population of patients in the Probabilistic Stroke Atlas (PSA) along with prediction engine. The PSA aggregates multiplicity of data for a population of stroke patients and presents them in image format. The PSA is composed from a series of three-dimensional (3D) image volumes including scans and parameters. A cohort of over 700 ischemic stroke generally treated patients with 176 parameters per patient, and CT scan performed at admission and on day 7 was acquired. Outcome measurements were assessed up to one year after stroke onset. Cases with old infarcts, infarcts in both hemispheres, and hemorrhagic transformations were rejected. This data was post-processed to build the PSA and then the PSA was used for prediction. The infarcts were delineated on CT scans and their 3D surface models constructed and normalized. The PSA was calculated from the normalized 3D infarct models as frequency of stroke occurrence. Similar maps were calculated for the following parameters: Age; Sex; Survival; NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS); Barthel Index (BI) at 30, 90, 180, 360 days; modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 7, 30, 90, 180, 360 days; White blood cell count; C-reative protein; Glucose at emergency department; History of hypertension; and History of diabetes. The PSA was used for prediction of mRS and BI for 50 stroke subjects. For a given case to be predicted, the infarct was delineated and analyzed by the PSA mapped on the scan. The predicted values of the parameters from the PSA were compared with the actual values of the parameters measured in up to 1-year neurological follow up. The accuracy was defined as 100*(1-(actual value-predicted value)/actual value)%. The mean prediction accuracy of mRS at (7, 30, 90, 180, 360) days is (89.7, 90.7, 92.1, 87.0, 83.3)% and that for BI at (30, 90, 180, 360) days is (90.0, 95.4, 94.4, 92.2)% respectively. This novel prediction method has high prediction rates. It can be applied to any other parameters. The PSA is dynamic and its power can increase with additional cases.


There has recently been much soul searching among US agricultural economists concerning future directions of the American Agricultural Economics Association. In Australia, however, little direct attention has been paid to the Australian Agricultural Economics Society. Utilising an industrial organisation framework, this paper seeks to investigate issues pertaining to the structure, conduct and performance of the Society. To that end, a survey of members was recently undertaken. This information, along with the views of Past Presidents of the Society, minutes of previous Annual General Meetings and student feedback on the future direction of the profession, is used as the main database for the analysis. The results suggest that, while demand for the product mix is generally strong, supply constraints are impinging on the performance of the Society. Alternative approaches to overcoming these constraints are explored.


This book is a unique account of the way politics has shaped the information age in America. Reed E. Hundt, chairman from 1993 to 1997 of the Federal Communications Commission, the nation's chief regulatory agency for media and communications industries, tells of the battles for political advantage that lie behind the enormous creation of wealth and social changes that are generally called the "New Economy". The central theme of the narrative is the surprising passage and fascinating implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which authorised the Federal Communications Commission to replace monopoly with competition and to guarantee access to the Internet to all Americans, including every child in every classroom. Depending on the leadership of his high school classmate Al Gore and finding unexpected allies in the ranks of free market ideologues, Hundt led the FCC to make the decisions that helped start a wave of entrepreneurship, which in turn has given the United States the world's leading Internet economy. As the memoir shows, every decision involved prodigious political battles between existing industries and start-ups, between Newt Gingrich and the Clinton-Gore White House, between inside-the-Beltway lobbyists and the new grassroots advocacy of e-mails, between the politics of money and the politics of ideas. In the same period, the often ignored and historically maligned FCC was the place where government decided whether to undertake the largest national initiative to reform K-12 education in the country's history: the programme to connect every classroom to the internet by the year 2001. Hundt's report from the political battlefield offers significant insight into the motives and personality not only of Al Gore but other prominent figures in political life, as well as many of the media moguls of our time. Told with great energy and wit, it is a tale that inspires both concern for and confidence in our democracy in the information age.


Intrapair similarity of evoked potentials (EPs) to light flash, checkerboard, house picture, the word "house" and a number of other stimuli was estimated in 20 pairs of monozygotic and 20 pairs of dizygotic adult twins of the same gender. In the right temporal area the level of the genotypic control of amplitude-temporal parameters of EPs on the whole is higher than in the left one; the more prominent this difference is in responses to spatial-structural stimuli. In the left temporal area, the genotypic control is manifested in latencies of components of EPs to linguistic stimuli.


With the high rise of drug resistance in microbial populations, there has been a surge in researches to find new natural antibiotics alternative compounds that can be used safely in both humans and animals. The main goals of using this category of alternatives are maintaining the gut microbiome in healthy conditions and preventing the attachment of pathogenic organisms at the early life stages. Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have been widely used for several years as growth promoters and as preventive measures against several enteric pathogens with successful results. Recently, paraprobiotics and postbiotics are derivatives of probiotic cultures and have been used in humans, animals, and poultry. They are regarded as immunostimulators, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, and anti-microbial, as well as growth promoters. Till now, there is scanty information about the use of paraprobiotics and postbiotics in animals or in the poultry sector. Accordingly, this review article has focused on defining these new categories of natural alternatives with descriptions of their types, functions, and uses, especially in the poultry field.


gan artists including those living abroad. Former residents of Michigan who are among the contributors this year are Gerrit A. Beneker, Franz A. Bischoff, now a resident of California, F. S. Church, Edith Haworth, J. H. Gardner Soper and T. Gilbert White of New York, Alfred Hutty of Woodstock, N. Y., Edmond Rolfe of Shady, N. Y., and Julius Rolshoven who is in California. The work which the Scarab Club has done in developing and organizing this exhibition and securing prizes as an incentive to meritorious effort on the part of resident artists, is an act of patriotism which deserves as its reward the patronage of those making Christmas purchases or securing distinctive decorations for their homes.


Oxazepam 25 mg, flunitrazepam 1 mg and placebo were compared as oral premedication in 602 gynecological patients in a double-blind randomised parallel study. In 251 patients undergoing major surgery the same drug was also given as a hypnotic the night before the operation. Both active drugs shortened the sleep-onset time, decreased the number of spontaneous awakenings at night and improved the quality of sleep when compared to placebo. The active drugs were significantly better than placebo as premedication when assessed by both the patients and the anesthesiologist. In 351 patients admitted for day-case minor surgery with no previous night medication, flunitrazepam was significantly better than placebo as premedication when assessed by both the patients and the anesthesiologist, while oxazepam was only better than placebo when judged by the anesthesiologist, not by the patients.


Experiments were conducted on Myxicola giant axons to determine if the sodium activation and inactivation processes are coupled or independent. The main experimental approach was to examine the effects of changing test pulses on steady-state inactivation curves. Arguments were presented to show that in the presence of a residual uncompensated series resistance the interpretation of the results depends critically on the manner of conducting the experiment. Analytical and numerical calculations were presented to show that as long as test pulses are confined to an approximately linear negative conductance region of the sodium current-voltage characteristic, unambiguous interpretations can be made. When examined in the manner of Hodgkin and Huxley, inactivation in Myxicola is quantitatively similar to that described by the h variable in squid axons. However, when test pulses were increased along the linear negative region of the sodium current-voltage characteristic, steady-state inactivation curves translate to the right along the voltage axis. The shift in the inactivation curve is a linear function of the ratio of the sodium, conductance of the test pulses, showing a 5.8 mv shift for a twofold increase in conductance. An independent line of evidence indicated that the early rate of development of inactivation is a function of the rise of the sodium conductance.


Documented cases of lung cancer complicated by pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium are extremely rare. We report the case of a 55-year-old man with lung cancer complicated by pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium. The patient was admitted with a 3-month history of dyspnea (Day 1). Computed tomography (CT) was performed and disease staging was established as cT4N3M0, although the tumor was not confirmed by histopathology. Pericardial and tracheal invasion were observed, causing tracheomediastinal fistula, pneumomediastinum (Fig. 1), and pneumopericardium. No distant metastases were observed. Bronchoscopy showed significant tumor stenosis on the trachea, approximately 6 cm below the glottis. Samples could not be obtained and the procedure had to be terminated prematurely due to dyspnea. The invasive bronchology team was consulted, but the conclusion was that bronchological intervention was impossible – at that time Y stents were not yet available in the hospital. The patient's condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on Day 10. Autopsy revealed squamous cell lung cancer with direct invasion of the pericardium and trachea, forming a tracheomediastinal fistula, pneumohydropericardium, left lung pneumonia (not present at the time of performing the CT). No distant metastases were observed, so stage pT4 and pM0 was confirmed (no information on N3 lymph node invasion was provided). Only 4 cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum in patients with primary lung cancer have been described.1–4 In 2 of them, the clinical situation deteriorated rapidly until death,1,2 1 patient recovered,3 and clinical progress was not reported in the fourth case.4 Histological types were large cell carcinoma,1 small cell carcinoma2,3 and undifferentiated carcinoma.4 There are 2 explanations for poor clinical progress in the cases discussed. Tracheomediastinal fistula carries a high risk for acute mediastinitis and possible development of tension pneumomediastinum. This, like tension pneumothorax, can rapidly be fatal. We have identified 2 risk factors for the development of pneumomediastinum, both of which were presented by our case: direct


Background and aims S-Adenosyl-l-homocysteine hydrolase (SAHH) is a highly conserved ubiquitous enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) to adenosine (Ado) and homocysteine (Hcy) in eukaryotic cells. The reversible type III SAHH inhibitor DZ2002 has been found to have an immunomodulatory function and to alleviate disease in several inflammatory and autoimmune animal models, with greatly reduced cytotoxicity. This study was aim to examine the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of DZ2002 on lupus-prone female NZB/W F1 mice. Methods NZB/W F1 mice were treated orally with DZ2002 (0.5 mg kg-1) for 11 weeks, and the proteinuria level and body weight were monitored. After the mice ware euthanized, serum biochemical parameters and renal damage were determined. Splenocytes of NZB/W F1 mice were isolated for ex vivo study. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-stimulated human PBMCs or murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells were used for in vitro study. Results Our study demonstrated that DZ2002 exerted a therapeutic effect on NZB/W F1 mice with established nephritis. The mechanism involves the modulation of T cell development in lupus by interfering with TLR-triggered APC function. Further study explored the regulatory mechanisms of SAHH on DC function in both innate and adaptive immune system, using the SAHH inhibitor with definite target and potent immunosuppressive activity. Conclusions The present issue demostrated that the reversible SAHH inhibitor DZ2002 effectively ameliorates lupus syndrome in NZB/W F1 mice by regulating TLR signaling-mediated APC responses. This compound is prospective to become a novel drug for SLE treatment with Hcy as a potential biomarker in autoimmune disease.


Objectives: Adiponectin is an adipocyte-secreted protein that modulates insulin sensitivity and whose low circulating concentration is associated with insulin resistance. We evaluated the association between serum adiponectin and blood glucose levels with coronary artery disease severity on the angiogram in patients with stable angina pectoris. Materials and methods: The study included 160 patients (82 males) with stable angina pectoris. The patients were divided into three groups according to the blood glucose levels on admission; thus, 24 had normal glucose group, 53 had impaired glucose tolerance group, and 53 had diabetes mellitus (DM) group. The severity of coronary lesions was assessed using the Gensini score. Serum adiponectin levels were measured in the all group. Results: The hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and insulin resistance were significantly higher in the DM group. Patients with DM significantly lower serum levels of adiponectin (13.55±7.16, p=0.002). The mean Gensini score was 40.84± 37.25 in the DM group (p=0.006). Conclusion: Serum adiponectin levels may be a clue for severity coronary artery disease in patients with stable angina pectoris. J Clin Exp Invest 2012; 3(2): 229-234 OZET


Providing health care is an endeavor replete with hidden opportunities for exercising discretion. Hard science answers few of the questions that physicians face daily, and the resulting space for discretion opens a myriad of possibilities for racial bias at the bedside, and in the administration and design of health plans. This article explores the connections between hidden discretion and racial disparities in health care provision. It highlights the influence of market and cost pressures, countervailing regulatory and liability concerns, and the changing organization and financing of medical services. It then offers proposals for institutional, legal, and cultural change that take pragmatic account of cost concerns (and the American health system's growing reliance on markets) while rejecting, as incident, the racial bias so evident in American medical practice. Finally, the article suggests some broader conclusions that we might draw about the psychology and social expression of bias, from the persistence of racial disparities in health care provision despite society's rejection of racism's overt forms.


The Commission of the European Communities aims for a reduction of new car CO2 emissions of 120 grams per kilometer in 2012. As a result of the omnipresent efforts of the automotive industry to hit these tighter emission standards innovative lightweight strategies, e.g. the use of lightweight materials are developed. This entails new joining techniques that are appropriated to the new lightweight materials. The die-less hydroforming process is a joining method for tubular joints which meets the new demands of lightweight strategies. Since there is no need for any additional connection elements or filling material, it is an interesting alternative to conventional welding and riveting processes. The present paper describes the basic principle of the die-less hydroforming joining technology with a special focus on form-fit connections. An analytical model, based on the membrane theory with an additional local consideration of bending stresses is developed. This analytic approach can be used to calculate the working fluid pressure, required to bulge the tube material into the groove of the outer joining partner. Taking into account the material parameters as well as the groove and tube geometry, this model allows a reliable process design. Additionally, validation of the model by experimental investigations will be provided.


Acoustic system is the core component of power ultrasonic, which is designed by traditional analytic method and modal analysis with finite element analysis method. And component of the step-like horn with rectangular sections and tool head used in two dimension ultrasonic polishing without abrasives are studied, and the calculating results and modal analysis results are consistent on the whole. The harmonic response analysis for the component of horn and tool head is carried out and the three dimensional coordinates of the vibrating node on the tool head with maximal displacement are obtained. The fitting result shows that the moving trajectory of such node is ellipses, which meets the experimental requirement well. So a new way for designing acoustic system of two dimensional ultrasonic vibration through combining theoretical calculation with computer aided design may be applied.


Project leader/manager is vital for project management organization. Project manager should be able to influence the followers positively, manage several activities together, communicate with various stakeholders at the same time, manage conflicts, take difficult and risky decisions, deal with several socio-economic and cultural challenges, handle several deadlines, control the resources, solve disputes, and finally achieve the project objectives. To accomplish these jobs, the project leader must develop an appropriate leadership style which can be employed under such circumstances for effective performance outcomes. Moreover, leadership researchers have argued that current frameworks do not suffice the need to develop future leaders who can face the challenging future with valor. This situation necessitates the need for a new form of leadership. This paper presents a case for changing and more demanding role of project leader for managing the exigent future projects. The authors argue that a new breed and generation of project leaders is required to fight the turbulent business environment. This new leadership can be provided by developing authentic leadership style in project leaders. It is argued that authentic leadership style is unique and best suited to project management practices. The paper also discusses benefits and applications of authentic leadership style in project management. Proposals are made for authentic leadership development in project leaders. The study would be beneficial for management professionals in the business industry in general.


A survey of 1,016 children under five years old, randomly sampled was carried out in S.Paulo city, Brazil, with a view to studying the epidemiology of health conditions. In this survey the prevalence and duration of breast feedind were particularly observed. Although the majority of infants start breast feeding (92.8%), less than a half are still nursed at 4 months, 18.8% at 12 and 10.7% at 24 months. The median duration of breast feeding for S.Paulo city was estimated at 109.25 days. As far as exclusive breast feeding is concerned, the median duration decrease to 62.85 days. When the sample was stratified according to socioeconomic status, the breast feeding rates (total or exclusive, as medians) are higher on the highest socioeconomic level, an unusual situation in developing countries. The comparison of data of the 1984/85 survey with those of 1973/74 and 1981 shows an evident trend to return to the practice of breast feeding in S.Paulo. This trend is similar to that found in developed countries during the 70's, specially for the highest socioeconomic status, documented for other great urban conglomerates of the Third World. Although the trend can be considered incipient, because many infants are still weaned early, it shows there is no reason to accept as irreversible the trend towards artificial feeding in urban societies of the Third World.


This critical review discusses the use of the testosterone/cortisol ratio in the studies of athletic performance and sports physiology. Although in most of the time physical exercise is beneficial to health, it can also be seen as a "stressor" both in men and in women. It is not completely known at what level this "physical stress" ends up its beneficial effects and begins to impair health status. In search for this putative turning point, several markers have been put forward in the last decades. One of these markers is the ratio between testosterone, considered as an anabolic hormone, and cortisol, considered as a catabolic one. Whether in search for an anabolic internal environment for strength training or to avoid performance decline during aerobic workout, the testosterone/cortisol ratio has been considered as an important physiological variable to gauge individual conditioning and responses.


w The impacts of climate change are increasingly viewed as global security risks, which will have far-reaching implications for both human and renewable natural systems. Most climate–conflict research has focused on East Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. This SIPRI Insights explores and summarizes the findings from a systematic literature review of climate–conflict research on South Asia and South East Asia. Although these regions have been greatly affected by both climate change and conflict, there have only been a small number of rigorous academic studies that focus on the climate–conflict relationship. While this constrains the ability to draw general conclusions, there is contextspecific evidence that climate change can have an effect on the causes and dynamics of violent conflict in the region when: (a) it leads to a deterioration in people's livelihoods; (b) it influences the tactical considerations of armed groups; (c) elites use it to exploit social vulnerabilities and resources; and (d) it displaces people and increases levels of migration. In acknowledging that these mechanisms are often interlinked and more noticeable in some climatic, conflict and socio-economic contexts than in others, the need for more research in both regions is clear. No. 2018/4 September 2018 SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security