Thyroid cancer is the most common type of endocrine malignancy that has an escalating global frequency. Although most well differentiated thyroid cancers (WDTC) are manageable and respond to current therapeutic modalities, undifferentiated anaplastic thyroid cancers (ATC) exhibit a dramatically different clinical behavior and poor prognosis. With the recent development of immunotherapies, targeted, well-defined treatment plans can demonstrate promising treatment outcomes in ATC patients. Precise immunological targets in ATCs with potential clinical relevance are unknown. Major progress has been made in last 5 years toward development of immune checkpoint inhibitors using anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies for cancer treatment which has made immunotherapies one of the mainstream treatment choices. Few additional members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of receptors, like LAG3, TIM3 and VISTA have recently been identified as potential checkpoint targets. Interestingly some of these molecules including TIM3 and PD-L1 promote tumor progression and immune escape. Identification of specific immunotherapeutic targets requirs a better understanding of the immune microenvironment in ATC. To this end we evaluated the expression of prominent co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory cell surface molecules by RT-PCR in three thyroid cancer cell lines - TPC-1 (papillary), CGTH-W-1 (follicular) and 8505C (anaplastic). We observed that many co-inhibitory molecules were upregulated in all three tumor cell lines. CTLA4, interestingly, had the highest expression in 8505C. Additionally we observed differential expression of BTLA, LAIR1, TIM3 and VISTA between TPC-1 and 8505C. LAG3, PD-1 and PD-L1 were also upregulated in 8505C compared to TPC-1. Similar pattern was observed with the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, CD40L and GITR . GITR has been shown to have a tumor suppressor function in multiple myeloma. Another co-stimulatory molecule OX40, which has shown promise in tumor recession when targeted, was upregulated in all three cell lines and 8505C showed the highest expression. Our findings suggest that the aggressive and less immunogenic phenotype of ATC might be attributed to the differential expression of these molecules. Targeting these immunomodulatory molecules in ATC warrants a better understanding of the crosstalk between them and it might provide an efficient means for the disease management. Citation Format: Sanjukta Chakraborty, Rachana R. Maniyar, Neha Y. Tuli, Ghada Ben Rahoma, Cameron Budenz, Sarnath Singh, Jan Geliebter, Raj Tiwari. Functional pairing of immunomodulatory targets in anaplastic thyroid cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5676. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5676


This paper presents an overview of heat and mass transfer issues in advanced rechargeable batteries such as nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. These batteries are important power sources for ultra-clean, fuel-efficient vehicles and modern portable electronics. Recent demands for environmentally responsible vehicles and strong portable power have prompted fundamental studies of heat and mass transport processes in battery systems in conjunction with electrochemistry and materials science. In this paper, discussions are presented on what are the critical heat and mass transfer issues present in advanced batteries and how these issues affect the battery performance, safety, life cycle, and cost. A theoretical framework describing the transport phenomena with electrochemical reactions is provided. Selected results are presented to illustrate the importance of coupled electrochemical and thermal modeling for advanced batteries. The recent progress is also reviewed in developing and validating battery models at Penn State GATE Center for Advanced Energy Storage.


It is well known that the aluminum alloys containing Cu and/or Mg lead to soluble compounds which themselves allow the hardening during the process of strengthening and ageing. At the same time, the hardening process during ageing takes a relatively long period of time, and the registered rises are generally not too high. There are presented studies regarding to alloy AlCu4Mg1,5Mn which was tested in several heat treatment conditions. These alloy, after final heat treatment of hardness by and ageing, suffers a sensitive hardening – the ageing is recommended for pieces used under medium and intense mechanical stresses Using the alternative electromagnetic fields is more efficient by 10 to 12% than stationary one, not only regarding to the period of ageing, but also regarding to the highest values of hardness; Also other specific results are given in the paper.


As of today, large-scale wireless sensor networks are adopted for smart building applications as they are easy and flexible to deploy. Low-power wireless nodes can achieve multi-year lifetimes with an AA battery using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Zig-Bee. However, replacing these batteries at scale is a non-trivial, labor-intensive task. Energy harvesting has emerged as a potential solution to avoid battery replacement but requires compromises such as application specific sensor node design, simplified communication protocol or reduced quality of service. We show the design of a battery-free sensor node using commercial off the shelf components, and present Pible: a Perpetual Indoor BLE sensor node that uses an ambient light energy harvesting system and can support numerous smart building applications. We show trade-offs between node-lifetime, quality of service and light availability and present a predictive algorithm that adapts to changing lighting conditions to maximize node lifetime and application quality of service.


ABSTRACT: Professor Gary Born proposed the adoption of a Bilateral Arbitration Treaty ("BAT") during the final speech of the 2012 Kiev Arbitration Days entitled "BITs, BATs and Buts". The idea postulates that the concept of Bilateral Investment Treaty applied to international commercial arbitration where determined disputes between parties from the two BAT countries would be by default submitted to arbitration without any direct consent to arbitration. Professor Born mentions both the reasons countries would want to adopt BATs and the "substantial grounds for doubting the wisdom and usefulness of BATs" - the "Buts". This text does not have the purpose of rejecting the proposal of Born. Quite the reverse, it will emphasize that efficiency is a good and legitimate motivation to adopt them. However, the primary purpose is to predict the efficiency of a BAT in comparison to the traditional system based on the New York Convention. Finally, the text will explain that there are some other Buts that will decrease any advantage the BAT could have in comparison to the traditional international commercial arbitration.


Three concepts combine to show both the feasibility and desirability of incorporating probability within programming models. First, the reliability of estimates obtained by using Chebyshev's inequality increases as variation measured by the coefficient of variation, declines. Second, the coefficient of variation can be substantially reduced by the use of the mean and variance of a truncated normal distribution. Third, chance-constrained programming can be converted into deterministic equivalent quadratic programming by using the parameters of a truncated normal distribution.


This study was designed to investigate the economics of using indigenous management systems (IMSs) in small ruminant production in Gombe state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 80 small scale goat and sheep producers. Data were collected from the primary sources using pre-tested and validated structured questionnaire supported with oral interview. Both descriptive statistics (percentage and mean) and inferential statistics (chi-square test and correlation analysis) were used to analyse the data. Majority (83.75%) of the small ruminant producers were below the age of 50 years. The results also revealed that 90.0% of the respondents are full time farmers, where about 60.0% are low level income earners of < N 50,000/annum. Only 07.50% of the respondents did not acquire any form of education, while most (51.25%) have the basic education. The study identified four major IMSs used by the livestock farmers in the study area, with the majority (40.0%) embarked on 'Fulani pastoral system' while only 05.0% of the respondents used 'Turka management system'. It's revealed also, being low level income earners, 97.50% of the respondents kept small ruminant animals to serve as live bank. A high patronage of IMSs was recorded with 98.75% and 88.75% because of the familiarity with IMSs and high costs of modern methods respectively. There was significant relationship between IMSs utilisation and Age (r = 0.439, p≤0.05), income (r = 0.498, p≤0.05), occupation (r = 0.638, p≤0.05), education (r = 0.562, p≤0.05), years of farming experience (r = 0.480, p≤0.05). Farmers expressed fear about the extinction of grazing lands. Seasonal change in the availability of some herbs is also identified as a limiting factor of IMSs used in the study area. It is recommended to provide credit facilities and as well adequate extension services so as to motivate and train small scale livestock producers in the State. Keywords: Indigenous, Management, Small Ruminant, Economics, Production


ADASAGE is an application development system designed to facilitate rapid and professional construction of applications written in Ada on microcomputers. Applications may vary in size from small to large multiprogram systems. ADASAGE consists of a collection of re-usable libraries for database management and form and report processing utilities having the following capabilities: basic universal type and function definitions; sequential file input/output; terminal and file input/output; DOS system command execution; data movement and fill; string manipulation; math libraries; bit manipulation; a relational database utility; data validation; menu form and window procedures; report generation; sort/merge, time, and date functions; sound production; editing; and index rebuilding. These capabilities are integrated to allow the development of an efficient system. As an application is designed and developed, ADASAGE capabilities are selected and included along with any requirements unique to that application.


The current insight into the neurobiological pathogenesis underlying social anxiety disorder (SAD) is still rather limited. We implemented a meta-analysis to explore the neuroanatomical basis of SAD. We undertook a systematic search of studies comparing gray matter volume (GMV) differences between SAD patients and healthy controls (HC) using a whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approach. The anisotropic effect size version of seed-based d mapping (AES-SDM) meta-analysis was conducted to explore the GMV differences of SAD patients compared with HC. We included eleven studies with 470 SAD patients and 522 HC in the current meta-analysis. In the main meta-analysis, relative to HC, SAD patients showed larger GMVs in the left precuneus, right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) and supplementary motor area (SMA), as well as smaller GMV in the left putamen. In the subgroup analyses, compared with controls, adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) with SAD exhibited larger GMVs in the left precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), angular gyrus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), MOG and SMA, as well as a smaller GMV in the left thalamus; SAD patients without comorbid depressive disorder exhibited larger GMVs in the left superior parietal gyrus and precuneus, right inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, MTG and superior temporal gyrus (STG), as well as a smaller GMV in the bilateral thalami; and currently drug-free patients with SAD exhibited a smaller GMV in the left thalamus compared with HC while no larger GMVs were found. For SAD patients with different clinical features, our study revealed directionally consistent larger cortical GMVs and smaller subcortical GMVs, including locationally consistent larger precuneus and thalamic deficits in the left brain. Age, comorbid depressive disorder and concomitant medication use of the patients might be potential confounders of SAD at the neuroanatomical level.


This study examines the annual investment required for universal, collectively funded childcare and longterm care services, as well as adequate paid care leave and breastfeeding breaks to parents in 82 countries. Simulations of policy reforms show that extending paid leave and breastfeeding breaks to all employed parents (including those in informal employment) at an adequate level of pay would require about 0.3 per cent of GDP of annual investment by 2035. Extending universal childcare would require additional annual investment of 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2035 over and above current public spending of 0.3 per cent. For long-term care, the annual additional investment by 2035 would be 2.5 per cent of GDP, over and above current public spending of 0.6 per cent. Such care investments could also provide powerful economic stimulus, creating up to nearly 300 million jobs by 2035, and recouping some of the investment through increased tax revenue.


Phenotyping, the process of measuring plant traits, plays a central role in plant breeding. However, traditional approaches are labor-intensive, time-consuming, costly, and error prone. Accurate, automated, high-throughput phenotyping can relieve a huge burden in the breeding pipeline. In this paper, we propose computer vision systems and approaches to annotate, detect, and count panicles (heads), a key phenotype, from aerial images of Sorghum crops. The annotation system allows the users to label panicles in Sorghum aerial images. This annotated data is used for learning by the panicle detection and counting algorithms. The proposed approaches were used with aerial imagery of 18 varieties of Sorghum crop collected at 6 different dates in the Midwestern United States. The detector has an AUC of over 0.98 and the counter has a mean absolute error of 2.66 without adapting to variety and 1.88 when using variety specific information. Our approaches are being adopted into a high-throughput phenotyping pipeline for accelerating Sorghum breeding.


Skeletal muscle glucose transport was examined in transgenic mice overexpressing the glucose transporter GLUT1 using both the isolated incubated-muscle preparation and the hind-limb perfusion technique. In the absence of insulin, 2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake was increased approximately 3-8-fold in isolated fast-twitch muscles of GLUT1 transgenic mice compared with non-transgenic siblings. Similarly, basal glucose transport activity was increased approximately 4-14-fold in perfused fast-twitch muscles of transgenic mice. In non-transgenic mice insulin accelerated glucose transport activity approximately 2-3-fold in isolated muscles and to a much greater extent ( approximately 7-20-fold) in perfused hind-limb preparations. The observed effect of insulin on glucose transport in transgenic muscle was similarly dependent upon the technique used for measurement, as insulin had no effect on isolated fast-twitch muscle from transgenic mice, but significantly enhanced glucose transport in perfused fast-twitch muscle from transgenic mice to approximately 50-75% of the magnitude of the increase observed in non-transgenic mice. Cell-surface glucose transporter content was assessed via 2-N-4-(l-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl-1,3-bis-(d -mannos-4-yloxy)-2-propylamine photolabelling methodology in both isolated and perfused extensor digitorum longus (EDL). Cell-surface GLUT1 was enhanced by as much as 70-fold in both isolated and perfused EDL of transgenic mice. Insulin did not alter cell-surface GLUT1 in either transgenic or non-transgenic mice. Basal levels of cell-surface GLUT4, measured in either isolated or perfused EDL, were similar in transgenic and non-transgenic mice. Interestingly, insulin enhanced cell-surface GLUT4 approximately 2-fold in isolated EDL and approximately 6-fold in perfused EDL of both transgenic and non-transgenic mice. In summary, these results reveal differences between isolated muscle and perfused hind-limb techniques, with the latter method showing a more robust responsiveness to insulin. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that muscle overexpressing GLUT1 has normal insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation and the ability to augment glucose-transport activity above the elevated basal rates.


This work investigates the relations between the critical temperature of the thin FGM plates under various temperature distributions through the thickness resting on the Pasternak elastic foundation. Both rectangular and skew plates are investigated. The uniform, linear, and nonlinear temperature distributions through the plate's thickness are considered. Formulations are derived based on the classical plate theory (CPT) considering the von Karman geometrical nonlinearity taking the physical neutral plane as the reference plane. The partial differential formulation is separated into two sets of ordinary differential equations using the extended Kantorovich method (EKM). The stability equations and boundary conditions terms are derived according to Trefftz criteria using the variational calculus expressed in an oblique coordinate system. Novel multi-scale plots are presented to show the linear relations between the critical temperatures under various temperature distributions. The critical temperature of plates with different materials are also found linearly related. Resulting relations should be a huge time saver in the analysis process, as by knowing one critical temperature of the one FGM plate under one temperature distribution many other critical temperatures of many other FGM plates under any temperature distributions can be obtained instantly.


ABSTRACT BCL6 is a transcriptional repressor crucial for germinal center formation. BCL6 represses transcription by a variety of mechanisms by binding to specific DNA sequences or by recruitment to DNA by protein interactions. We found that BCL6 can inhibit activities of the immunoglobulin kappa (Igκ) intron and 3′ enhancers. At the Igκ 3′ enhancer, BCL6 repressed enhancer activity through the PU.1 binding site. We found that BCL6 physically interacted with PU.1 in vivo and in vitro, and the results of sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation assays and transient-expression assays suggested that BCL6 recruitment to the Igκ and Igλ 3′ enhancers occurred via PU.1 interaction. By computational studies, we identified genes that are repressed in germinal center cells and whose promoters contain conserved PU.1 binding sites in mouse and human. We found that many of these promoters bound to both PU.1 and BCL6 in vivo. In addition, BCL6 knockdown resulted in increased expression of a subset of these genes, demonstrating that BCL6 is involved in their repression. The recruitment of BCL6 to promoter regions by PU.1 represents a new regulatory mechanism that expands the number of genes regulated by this important transcriptional repressor.


We would like to thank Michael Mahler1 for his letter, 'Population-based screening for anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA): A step in the pathway to the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis?' In his letter, Dr Mahler makes a plea to analyse and define reliable biomarkers to identify subjects who are on the trajectory to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We agree with this notion of Dr Mahler as current efforts are increasingly focusing on the possibility to install early preclinical treatment to prevent progression to RA. For example, several randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) have been initiated recently. These clinical trials will investigate the therapeutic potential of several immunomodulatory agents such as rituximab (PRAIRI study: NTR No. 1969), abatacept (APIPPRA study: ISRCTN No. 46017566 and ARIAA study: EudraCT …


ABSTRACT Populations of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae were sampled from two bulk soils, rhizosphere, and nodules of host legumes, fava bean (Vicia faba) and pea (Pisum sativum) grown in the same soils. Additional populations nodulating peas, fava beans, and vetches (Vicia sativa) grown in other soils and fava bean-nodulating strains from various geographic sites were also analyzed. The rhizobia were characterized by repetitive extragenomic palindromic-PCR fingerprinting and/or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of 16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacers as markers of the genomic background and PCR-RFLP of a nodulation gene region, nodD, as a marker of the symbiotic component of the genome. Pairwise comparisons showed differences among the genetic structures of the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and nodule populations and in the degree of host specificity within the Vicieae cross-inoculation group. With fava bean, the symbiotic genotype appeared to be the preponderant determinant of the success in nodule occupancy of rhizobial genotypes independently of the associated genomic background, the plant genotype, and the soil sampled. The interaction between one particular rhizobial symbiotic genotype and fava bean seems to be highly specific for nodulation and linked to the efficiency of nitrogen fixation. By contrast with bulk soil and fava bean-nodulating populations, the analysis of pea-nodulating populations showed preferential associations between genomic backgrounds and symbiotic genotypes. Both components of the rhizobial genome may influence competitiveness for nodulation of pea, and rhizosphere colonization may be a decisive step in competition for nodule occupancy.


Background Post-esophagectomy airway fistula (PEAF) is a serious complication after esophageal cancer resection. At present, the clinical characteristics, treatments and prognosis of PEAF patients remain inconclusive. We aimed to investigate these problems of patients with PEAF through a multi-center retrospective cohort study. Methods We included consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in seven major Chinese esophageal cancer centers from January 2010 to December 2020. Based on the anatomic characteristics of PEAF patients, PEAFs were divided into Union type I (without digestive fistula) and Union type II [respiratory-digestive fistula (RDF)], and subtypes a and b (tracheal or bronchial fistulas), as well as L1 and L2 (same or different level of fistulas). The clinical characteristics, diagnoses, managements, and effects of the various types were retrospectively analyzed. Results PEAF occurred in 85 of 26,608 patients (0.32%), including eight females and 77 males. There were 16 patients with type I and 69 with type II. The numbers of healings, non-healings, and deaths at discharge were 45 (52.9%), 20 (23.5%), and 20 (23.5%), respectively. Type Ib was common in type I, and type II L1 was common in type II. The healing rates of surgical, stent, and conservative treatments were 50%, 60%, and 50%, respectively. All type I patients treated with stent implantation were healed at discharge. The healing rates, mortality, and 3-year survival of type II L1 and type II L2 patients were 55.4% and 30.8%, 17.9% and 30.8%, and 34.3% and 15.4%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of all PEAFs were 21.1%. Conclusions PEAF is an infrequent and life-threatening complication after esophagectomy. Patients with different types of PEAF often have different inducements. In this study, we found that the healing rates of surgical and conservative treatments were similar, and stent implantation may have the potential to improve efficacy. Type II L2 patients were the most difficult to cure.


This article examines a critique that has been levied against Martin Luther's account of the passivity of the human agent in salvation, and his corresponding critique of Aristotelian and Scholastic accounts of virtue. According to Reinhard Hutter and Jennifer Herdt, among others, Luther's theology of passivity is primarily the product of a philosophical failure to recognize that divine and human agency can be conceived in non-competitive terms. In what follows, I will demonstrate through close analysis of Luther's arguments that this philosophical critique does not succeed in refuting Luther's theology of passivity. This is because it fails to recognize that Luther's view of human agency and his critique of virtue are based to a significant degree on a different kind of argument: namely, empirical reflection on the experience of sin, including especially experience of the unmasterability of sinful affections through discipline, habit, or effort of will. I conclude by arguing that until Christian virtue ethicists have reckoned with this experiential argument, they have not engaged with one of the strongest theological critiques of virtue-based paradigms of Christian moral transformation.


Abstract Objective To investigate the impact of fortification by comparing food records and selected biochemical indicators of nutritional status pre- and post-fortification. Design Mean intake from 24 h recalls (n 142) was compared with the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) to determine the proportion with inadequate intake. In a subsample (n 34), diet and serum retinol, folate, ferritin and Zn were compared pre- and post-fortification for fortified nutrients vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, Fe and Zn. Setting South Africa. Subjects Breast-feeding women (ninety-four HIV-infected, forty eight HIV-uninfected) measured at ∼6, 14, 24 weeks, and 9 and 12 months postpartum. Results Pre-fortification, >80 % of women did not meet the EAR for vitamins A, C, D, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12 and folate and minerals Zn, iodine and Ca. Dietary intake post-fortification increased for all fortified nutrients. In post-fortification food records, >70 % did not meet the EAR for Zn and vitamins A, riboflavin and B6. Serum folate and Zn increased significantly post-fortification (P < 0·001 for both), with no change in ferritin and a reduction in retinol. Post-fortification marginal/deficient folate status was reduced (73·5 % pre v. 3·0 % post; P < 0·001), as was Zn deficiency (26·5 % pre v. 5·9 % post; P < 0·05). Pre- and post-fortification, >93 % were retinol replete. There was no change in Fe deficiency (16·7 % pre v. 19·4 % post; P = 0·728). Conclusions Micronutrient intake improved with fortification, but >70 % of lactating women did not meet the EAR for Zn, vitamins A, riboflavin and B6. Although 100 % exceeded the EAR for Fe after fortification, Fe status did not improve.


The aim of this study is to treat the trade liberalization's impacts in both monetary and non-monetary conditions. Using the difference-indifferences method and a panel from 1987-1997, the obtained evidence suggests that trade liberalization have differently impacted the labor force within formality and informality; import and export sectors; in terms of income and household's deprivation. Trade have worsened the average income and implied a deterioration in the household's multidimensional conditions in the formal sectors and contributed to the labor informalization process already underway, putting in evidence the migration of workers towards informality. Moreover, although the shock of trade harmed more intensely import sectors, export sectors would be expelling skilled better-paid workers to specialize in unskilled lower paid labor. The trade liberalization perpetuated the international division of labor and was unable to permit structural changes capable of adjusting distortions inherent to the national productive structure.


Detailed investigations of the peculiar lamellar texture in an iridescent garnet from Adelaide, Nevada, described previously, were made by SEM, EPMA, AEM and X-ray diffraction methods. Observations by SEM showed that the lamellar texture was due to compositional variation. Quantitative analyses by EPMA and AEM and X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that the lamellar texture was composed of alternate Fe-rich and Fepoor lamellae with small differences in chemical composition and cell parameter. The most probable interpretation ofthe lamellae is an exsolution texture, although the configuration of the lamellae is somewhat different from exsolution textures previously described.


1. Dissolved food substances elicit preparatory feeding behaviour in the sea anemone Tealia felina . This behaviour takes the form of expansion of the oral disk and lowering of the margin of the disk. Food may also cause mouth opening and pharynx protrusion. This pre-feeding response may increase the chance of food capture. 2. The expansion and lowering of the oral disk can also be elicited by electrical stimulation of a slow conduction system, the SS1, thought to be located in the ectoderm. 3. SS1 activity is seen when the anemone is exposed to dissolved food substances. 4. It is concluded that preparatory feeding behaviour in Tealia is mediated in part by the SS1.


Purpose Using three-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry precise images and reconstructions of the human body can be produced. Over the last few years, this technique is mainly being developed in the field of maxillofacial reconstructive surgery, creating fusion images with computed tomography (CT) data for precise planning and prediction of treatment outcome. Though, in hand surgery 3D stereophotogrammetry is not yet being used in clinical settings. Methods A total of 34 three-dimensional hand photographs were analyzed to investigate the reproducibility. For every individual, 3D photographs were captured at two different time points (baseline T0 and one week later T1). Using two different registration methods, the reproducibility of the methods was analyzed. Furthermore, the differences between 3D photos of men and women were compared in a distance map as a first clinical pilot testing our registration method. Results The absolute mean registration error for the complete hand was 1.46 mm. This reduced to an error of 0.56 mm isolating the region to the palm of the hand. When comparing hands of both sexes, it was seen that the male hand was larger (broader base and longer fingers) than the female hand. Conclusions This study shows that 3D stereophotogrammetry can produce reproducible images of the hand without harmful side effects for the patient, so proving to be a reliable method for soft tissue analysis. Its potential use in everyday practice of hand surgery needs to be further explored.


Background PD-1/L1 inhibitor-based immunotherapy is currently under investigation in biliary tract cancer (BTC). Apatinib combined with camrelizumab has achieved promising results in various tumor types. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of apatinib plus camrelizumab for advanced biliary tract cancer patients who have received previously treatments. Methods This prospective, non-randomized, open-label trial was conducted at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). All included patients received apatinib orally at 250 mg per a day and camrelizumab intravenously at 200 mg every three weeks until disease progression or intolerable toxicity occurred. Efficacy was evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors RECIST Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1). Adverse events (AEs) were assessed by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE version 4.0). Results A total of 22 patients were consecutively enrolled from 1st December, 2018 until 1st August, 2020. Among 21 patients for whom we could conduct efficacy evaluations, no patients achieved a complete response (CR), 4 patients (19%) achieved partial response (PR), and 11 patients had stable disease with a disease control rate of 71.4%. The median overall survival was 13.1 months (95% CI, 8.1-18.2), and the median progression-free survival was 4.4 months (95% CI, 2.4-6.3). All patients experienced treatment related AEs, and grade 3 or 4 AEs occurred in 14 (63.6%) of 22 patients. No treatment related deaths were observed. Conclusions This is the first report focusing on the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab plus apatinib in pretreated biliary tract cancer patients. The finding suggests this regimen has favorable therapeutic effects with relatively manageable toxicity. Further trials with a control arm are required to investigate. Clinical Trial Registration identifier NCT04642664.


Reproducible preparations are given for salts of the following L-amino acid derivatives: Bpoc-Ala-OH, Bpoc-Arg(Mtr)-OH, Bpoc-Asn-OH, Bpoc-Asp(OtBu)-OH, Bpoc-Cys(Acm)-OH, Bpoc-Cys(S-tBu)-OH, Bpoc-Gln-OH, Bpoc-Glu(OtBu)-OH, Bpoc-Gly-OH, Bpoc-Ile-OH, Bpoc-Leu-OH, N-alpha-Bpoc-Lys(epsilon-Boc)-OH, Bpoc-Met-OH, Bpoc-Phe-OH, Bpoc-Pro-OH, Bpoc-Ser(OtBu)-OH, Bpoc-Thr(OtBu)-OH, Bpoc-Tyr-OH, Bpoc-Val-OH. A study of the deblocking of N-alpha-Bpoc peptides in dichloromethane containing 0.5% trifluoroacetic acid revealed that a rapid equilbrium is established between the first-formed monomeric alkene 2-p-biphenylylpropene and the hindered dimer 2,4-bis(p-biphenylyl)-4-methyl-1-pentene. Thioethers were found to be inefficient carbocation scavengers for the deblocking reaction. The most efficient scavengers were found to be thiophenol and benzyl mercaptan, and the following approximate reactivity order was established: benzyl mercaptan approximately thiophenol greater than indole much greater than 1,3-dimethoxybenzene approximately resorcinol greater than 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene approximately dimethyl sulfide approximately thioanisole.


The Connecticut College campus has changed dramatically in the last century. Originally a women's college design as a series of Gothic quadrangles inspired by the examples of prestigious English universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, development changed course dramatically in the 1920s and 1930s, as inwardly focused designs gave way to a sweeping Campus Green modeled after Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia. While the Green continued to serve as the organizing spine of the campus, by the midcentury the College had introduced Modernist buildings to facilitate both coeducation and expanding curriculums. This thesis starts from the premise that these changes are meaningful. Each period of expansion tells us not only about the aesthetic vision of the architects who designed the individual buildings, but also about the values of those who commissioned the structures. Thus, the spaces of the Connecticut College campus, as well as the grounds themselves, are a useful medium for understanding the educational, social, and cultural values that informed the school's history. Based on extensive archival research and on a close reading of the buildings and their relationships to one another, this thesis considers the physical forms of the Connecticut College campus and their role in shaping both student experience and the image the College presented to the world at large. Established well after the first women's colleges of the late 1800s, Connecticut College opened on the eve of a transformative period in women's history. The strict codes of conduct that had governed the Victorian era were beginning to slacken, and women were taking a more active role in the cultural affairs, evident in the battle to win the right to vote. While the original layout, appearance, and amenities of the Connecticut College campus were informed by an understanding of women's needs that emphasized domesticity and sheltering of feminine innocence, perceptions of those needs were in flux throughout the first fifty years of the College's existence, and led to dramatic changes in campus form. Ultimately, the thesis makes two main arguments. The first is that, for the fifty years that it functioned as an all-women's school, Connecticut College differed from the traditions of gendered higher education established in the Seven Sister schools, but also quickly diverged from models put forth by all-male colleges. After an initial building campaign of monastically-inspired structures meant to safeguard its occupants, the College quickly developed a physical and academic identity based on women's increasingly dynamic role in American society. While still attuned to the how collegiate space for women differed from that for their male counterparts, such as the construction of multiple cooperative, "practice homes," and the adoption of a housefellow system by which professors served as protectors of student propriety from centrally located suites in every dormitory, overall the campus adopted a progressive position reflected in the steady shift towards modern design. The second argument focuses on the more recent periods of development, when, as the College struggled to regain a sense of history, it attempted to return to the notion of the campus as a family-like entity through several building campaigns. In the years directly preceding the College's centennial, a series of structures that look to the schools' earliest era of development in both architectural form and community-centered function confirm an institutional commitment to close-knit togetherness. Finally, these projects reinforce the extent to which the constructed campus continues to function as a tool with which to shape the character of the College. The Architecture of Connecticut College


Summary HTA is considered the most comprehensive and transparent method of supporting decision-makers in their choices in Public Health. HTA on vaccines is being performed by many experts. However, they often present their studies to colleagues, but not to decisionmakers, who should be the main target and current users. It is therefore crucial to improve the transfer of scientific data to decision- makers and all stakeholders. The aims of the present project are: 1) to set up a team of experts to collect economic evaluations and HTA studies on vaccines and assess their actual use in decision-making processes; 2) to constitute regional working groups in order to identify the critical aspects of the communication process and identify the most appropriate method of data transfer. Systematic reviews of economic evaluations and HTA on vaccines and their actual use in decision-making will be used to draw up the basic documents for discussion by the 3 regional working boards. The working groups will discuss the current scientific evidence and communication methods and will try to implement a model of technology assessment with well-defined and objective criteria, in order to better fit pharmaco-economic and HTA methods to the field of vaccinations. Improving the transfer of HTA results to stakeholders, particularly decision-makers, will enable decisions to be taken on the basis of scientific evidence, and appropriate, sustainable actions to be undertaken.


Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Additional countries in preparation include Australia and Norway. European Computer Law is a joint project by the members of the Pan-European IT Law Group/Europe. It was established in 1989 and was the first specialist computer law network of its type within Europe. Member firms span the European Union, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe.


The recent identification of the genes and the mutations underlying infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis and juvenile onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis facilitates specific DNA-based diagnostics for the disorders. We have developed a solid-phase minisequencing test for the identification of the major Finnish INCL mutation, an A to T transversion at nucleotide position 364 of the palmitoyl protein thioesterase gene on chromosome 1. This test has been applied for prenatal diagnosis and for identification of disease carriers in INCL families. For population-based screening for INCL carriers the coverage of the test would be 98%. In addition, by combining the solid-phase minisequencing test with whole genome preamplification, we have developed a procedure that allows reliable identification of the INCLFin-mutation in single blastomeres from in-vitro-fertilized embryos. This method is applicable for preimplantation diagnosis, and thus it offers an alternative to early prenatal diagnosis in the prevention of INCL. A modification of the solid-phase minisequencing test was devised for detection of the major INCL mutation, a 1.02 kb deletion in the CLN3 gene on chromosome 16. The coverage of this test for diagnosis of INCL and identification of carriers is 90% in Finland and > 80% worldwide.


C-type lectin receptor (CLR)/carbohydrate recognition occurs through low affinity interactions. Nature compensates that weakness by multivalent display of the lectin carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) at the cell surface. Mimicking these low affinity interactions in vitro is essential to better understand CLR/glycan interactions. Here, we present a strategy to create a generic construct with a tetrameric presentation of the CRD for any CLR, termed TETRALEC. We applied our strategy to a naturally occurring tetrameric CRD, DC-SIGNR, and compared the TETRALEC ligand binding capacity by synthetic N- and O-glycans microarray using three different DC-SIGNR constructs i) its natural tetrameric counterpart, ii) the monomeric CRD and iii) a dimeric Fc-CRD fusion. DC-SIGNR TETRALEC construct showed a similar binding profile to that of its natural tetrameric counterpart. However, differences observed in recognition of low affinity ligands underlined the importance of the CRD spatial arrangement. Moreover, we further extended the applications of DC-SIGNR TETRALEC to evaluate CLR/pathogens interactions. This construct was able to recognize heat-killed Candida albicans by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, a so far unreported specificity of DC-SIGNR. In summary, the newly developed DC-SIGNR TETRALEC tool proved to be useful to unravel novel CLR/glycan interactions, an approach which could be applied to other CLRs.


There is an increasing need to reduce energy consumption to tackle the adverse effects of climate change. The UK government has established numerous directives and policies to encourage carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and energy reduction within the non-domestic sector. However these measures are primarily focused towards reducing operational energy (i.e. energy used during building occupier activity), largely overlooking initial embodied energy. The trend towards reduced operational energy consumption due to energy efficient design is leading initial embodied energy to become a more significant part of project life cycle energy. Initial embodied energy relates to the energy use during the material, transportation and construction phases up to project practical completion, which is of keen interest to contractors due to their significant role in project procurement and delivery.

Opportunities to address project life cycle energy are typically identified through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However at present there is little validated data, no coherent method for data capture and limited incentive for project stakeholders to address initial embodied energy consumption. In response, this research project presents a contractor s practical approach towards assessing initial embodied energy consumption within UK non-domestic construction projects. An action research methodological approach enabled the assessment and potential reduction of initial embodied energy to be explored within a large principal contractor through five research cycles which included diagnosing and action planning, action taking, evaluating and specified learning.

A comprehensive framework is designed to highlight the significance of initial embodied energy consumption relative to specific construction packages, activities and sub-contractors. This framework is then explored within three UK non-domestic construction projects (i.e. two industrial warehouses and one commercial office). Capturing information from live projects enables practical challenges and opportunities inherent when addressing initial embodied energy consumption to be identified. A series of contractor current practices are reviewed, and subsequently improved, to enhance their compliance with the framework requirements.

The findings emphasise the importance of material phase impacts, especially construction packages which primarily contain steel and concrete-based materials (i.e. ground and upper floor, external slab and frame). The importance of project type, site area, building lifespan and waste consumption are also recognised to reduce initial embodied energy consumption. The framework provides a practical approach for initial embodied energy assessment which can readily be adopted to help highlight further opportunities to reduce energy consumption. The research project concludes by presenting a number of recommendations for consideration by the construction industry and associated stakeholders, along with requirements for future research.


Among college graduates, teachers have both low average AFQT and high average risk aversion, perhaps because the compression of earnings within teaching attracts relatively risk-averse individuals. Using a dynamic optimization model with unobserved heterogeneity, we show that were it possible to make teacher compensation mimic the return to skills and riskiness of the nonteaching sector, overall compensation in teaching would increase. Moreover, this would make many current teachers substantially worse off, making reform challenging. Importantly, our conclusions are sensitive to the degree of heterogeneity for which we allow. Since even a model with no unobserved heterogeneity fits well within sample, one could easily conclude that allowing for two or three types fits the data adequately. Formal methods reject this conclusion. The BIC favors seven types. Ranking models using cross-validation, nine types is better although the improvements of going from six to seven, from seven to eight and from eight to nine types are noticeably smaller than those from adding an additional type to a lower base. Kevin Lang Department of Economics Boston University 270 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 and NBER firstname.lastname@example.com Maria Dolores Palacios Department of Economics Boston University 270 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 firstname.lastname@example.com


OBJECT
The authors describe a microsurgical technique for the preservation of the ligamentum flavum and the longterm surgery-related results, including an independent assessment of outcome.

METHODS
Three hundred seventy-seven patients underwent ligament-sparing microsurgical discectomy for a previously untreated single-level lumbar disc herniation and were followed for more than 2 years. A successful outcome at 6 months was demonstrated in 93.9% of the patients. At a median follow-up period of 30 months, successful patient-assessed outcome was 84.1%. During the mean follow-up period of 4.2 years (range 2-6.5 years), recurrent disc herniation was detected in 18 patients (4.8%). These patients all underwent repeated surgery. The overall surgery-related rate of complications was 1.3%.

CONCLUSIONS
The authors conclude that ligament-sparing microdiscectomy is a safe procedure, with a favorable success rate and minimal morbidity. Reoperation is safer and easier when using this technique compared with traditional ones.


Software-defined networking (SDN) overcomes many limitations of traditional networking architectures because of its programmable and flexible nature. Security applications, for instance, can dynamically reprogram a network to respond to ongoing threats in real time. However, the same flexibility also creates risk, since it can be used against the network. Current SDN architectures potentially allow adversaries to disrupt one or more SDN system components and to hide their actions in doing so. That makes assurance and reasoning about past network events more difficult, if not impossible. In this paper, we argue that an SDN architecture must incorporate various notions of accountability for achieving systemwide cyber resiliency goals. We analyze accountability based on a conceptual framework, and we identify how that analysis fits in with the SDN architecture's entities and processes. We further consider a case study in which accountability is necessary for SDN network applications, and we discuss the limits of current approaches.


Ten years after the well-known Viking and Laval judgments, there is still no end to the debate about the appropriateness of the EU Court of Justice (CJ) approach to cases of conflict between the fundamental freedoms of the EU internal market and the fundamental, especially social, rights protected by EU law as well. The CJ does not abandon its pre-Lisbon case law, only the accent seems to change. In its recent decisions however - in particular the AGET Iraklis one from December 2016 - a quite more socially responsive approach can be traced. The following analysis attempts to sum up the path that the CJ has made between the Viking and AGET Iraklis judgments. It wonders whether the CJ has found the optimal solution for clashes between fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights. It shows that this is not yet the case, because even in the AGET Iraklis judgment CJ did not abandon the one-sided test of proportionality, which treats basic social rights and their protection as possible exceptions to the freedoms of movement that could be acceptable only if they are reasonably justified by the protection of overriding reasons in public interest.


Training clinical users to effectively and efficiently use and integrate the EMR into their workflow is one of the most important aspects of a successful implementation. Appropriate training and use facilitates achieving the benefits of quality, safety and efficiency in providing care. In their absence, these benefits are likely to suffer. Here we discuss the challenges, learning and innovative approaches in training a large academic medical center to use an


Quasiperiodic increases, or "bursts," of 17–26 keV electron fluxes in conjunction with chorus wave bursts were observed following a plasma injection on 13 January 2013. The pitch angle distributions changed during the burst events, evolving from sinN(α) to distributions that formed maxima at α = 75–80°, while fluxes at 90° and <60° remained nearly unchanged. The observations occurred outside of the plasmasphere in the postmidnight region and were observed by both Van Allen Probes. Density, cyclotron frequency, and pitch angle of the peak flux were used to estimate resonant electron energy. The result of ~15–35 keV is consistent with the energies of the electrons showing the flux enhancements and corresponds to electrons in and above the steep flux gradient that signals the presence of an Alfvén boundary in the plasma. The cause of the quasiperiodic nature (on the order of a few minutes) of the bursts is not understood at this time.


to previous work in the area. Thus Roberta Frank on 'Germanic legend in Old English Literature' and John Niles on 'Pagan survivals and popular belief' provide clear discussions on the different ways their topics have been approached which will be of great assistance to a novice who wishes to venture further into secondary criticism, but several other writers do not touch upon such matters at all. No doubt all reviewers will have their own suggestions for which additional topics could have been covered, but there does seem to be a space for an essay on the development of Old English studies and the variety of critical approaches. Perhaps the hypothetical essay could also have included something on the dating of Beowulf, for all the authors who discuss the poem seem to favour a different date, and although they all admit there are difficulties with the dating no one really explains what the issues are. There are also variations in the degree of interdisciplinarity, though admittedly some topics are better suited to a multidisciplinary approach than others. Nevertheless, Christine Fell's discussion of 'Perceptions of transience' benefits considerably from her sensitive appreciation of the nature of Anglo-Saxon society, while Katherine O'Brien O'Keefe on 'Heroic values and Christian ethics' misses the opportunity to develop and strengthen her discussion on the Battle of Maldon by relating it to the problems with 'loyalty' which other contemporary writers believed were a major concern during the reign of JEtheired the Unready. However, such minor reservations as these should not be allowed to detract from the overall conclusion which is that this is an excellent introduction for beginners in Old English and can be recommended as a refreshing stimulant to those who consider themselves more experienced in Anglo-Saxon studies.


The internationalisation of university studies has resulted in an increasing use of English, a language which many students assume they master sufficiently well. This can lead to resistance to devoting time to language improvement. The motivation to work with language skills can be promoted by integrating language classes into discipline specific summary writing. This approach is showing some potential and incorporates reading skills with writing, grammar, peer critique and discussion. Summary writing also facilitates a critical study of different texts and their structure.


We study the impact of the 1907 Panic, the most severe economic crisis before the Great Depression, on the selection of Mexican immigration. We find that migrants were positively selected on height before the crisis. This pattern changed to negative selection during the crisis but returned to positive selection afterward. Adjustments in selection were partially mediated by the enganche, a historical labor-recruiting system that reduced migration costs but only for taller laborers with above-average earnings potential. We document that labor recruiting contributed to maintaining the relatively constant height profile of the migration flow in the short run.


This article is a case study of how one university is internationalizing all its courses so that all graduates will demonstrate an international perspective as professionals and citizens. This focus on courses and their teaching, learning, and assessment promotes international education, multiculturalism, and the recognition of intercultural issues relevant to professional practice. The first section deals with structural options and pathways for course design when internationalizing curricula and the defining characteristics of such options. The second and final section of the article outlines ways in which an internationalized curriculum broadens the scope of the subject to include international content and/or contact and sets up teaching and learning to assist in the development of cross-cultural communication skills. Internationalizing university curricula is a powerful and practical way of bridging the gap between rhetoric and practice to including and valuing the contribution of international students.


Mobile healthcare (m- health) is a new paradigm that brings together the evolution of emerging wireless communications and network technologies with the concept of 'connected healthcare' anytime and anywhere. There are two critical issues facing the successful deployment of m-health applications from the wireless communications perspectives. First, wireless connectivity issues and mobility requirements of real-time bandwidth demanding m-health applications. Second, the Quality of Service (QoS) issues from the healthcare perspective and their required levels to guarantee robust and clinically acceptable healthcare services.
This thesis consider the concept of medical QoS (m-QoS) issues for typical bandwidth demanding m-health application (tele-ultrasound streaming) in 3G and 3.5G wireless environments. Specifically this thesis introduces a new concept of m-QoS that provide a sub-category of quality of services from the m-health perspective. A wireless robotic tele-ultrasonography system is adopted in this research as the m-health application. Accordingly the m-QoS metrics and its functional bounds for this m-health application are defined. To validate this concept a new optimal video streaming rate control policy is proposed based on the Q-Iearning approach to deliver the ultrasound images over 3G and 3.5G environments.
To achieve these objectives an end-to-end architecture for streaming M-JPEG compressed ultrasound video over 3G and 3.5G communication network is developed. Through this a client-server test bed is developed to capture the ultrasound images and adaptively varying its frame rate and the quality and send to the other end. The new rate control algorithm was implemented via this test bed.
This thesis shows the performance analysis of the proposed rate control algorithm in terms of achieving the defined m-QoS over 3G and 3.5G wireless connections.
In collaboration with medical expert in ultrasonography field, subjective image analysis are also carried out to validate the quality of the processed images.


The electronic structure of the p-type transparent conducting oxide CuCrO2 has been studied by x-ray photoemission, x-ray absorption, and x-ray emission spectroscopies. The upper part of the valence band derives mainly from Cu 3d and Cr 3d states while the lower valence-band states are of dominant O 2p atomic character, but with pronounced mutual hybridization among Cu 3d ,C r 3d, and O 2p states. Site specific electronic excitations have been studied by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the Cu L and Cr L edges. Inelastic loss at the Cu L edge is dominated by on-site interband excitations similar to those found in Cu2O, while at the Cr L edge localized excitations arising from ligand field splitting of the Cr 3d levels are observed. Mg doping on the Cr sites in CuCrO2 is shown to lead to a pronounced shift in the Fermi level toward the edge of the valence band. The experimental data are compared to electronic structure calculations on CuCrO2 carried out using density-functional methods corrected for onsite Coulomb repulsion.


Abstract The Area Courts are the most heavily criticised of courts in Nigeria. They are frequently accused of incompetence, corruption, and arbitrariness. Another basic problem with the area courts is that of a crisis of identity. Law in Nigeria is a plural complex with English-style laws, Islamic law and customary laws operating to various extents. The Area Courts, although historically and basically Islamic law courts, partake of the other two laws. This paper assesses the extent to which the criticisms levelled against Area Courts hold true regarding those in the Ilorin Emirate in northern Nigeria. The colonial system of indirect rule resulted in the preservation of the pre-existing Islamic Alkali courts, but a gradual assumption of control by the government. They were renamed Native Courts, and required to apply common law and customary laws as well as Islamic law. After Independence the courts were renamed Area Courts, but the system was continued. Today Area Court judges are generally trained legal practitioners, and the courts are under the administrative control of the Chief Judge, also a trained legal practitioner. Legal practitioners represent litigants, and have brought the technicalities, delays and high costs of the common law into the system. Nevertheless, Area Court judges administering Islamic law generally think of themselves as Qadis and their courts as religious courts, and this is how the populace generally perceive them. Some results of this crisis of identity have been highhandedness, arbitrariness and corruption. The paper concludes with suggestions of ways to improve the administration of justice in the Area Courts in Ilorin and in Northern Nigeria in general


We evaluated the possibility that increased arteriolar tone in salt-sensitive hypertension could be partially due to an altered vascular responsiveness to oxygen and/or tissue metabolites. The microvasculature of the superfused spinotrapezius muscle was studied with fluorescence microscopy in Dahl salt-sensitive rats fed low (0.45%) or high (7%) salt diets for 4 weeks. High salt intake produced hypertension (mean arterial pressure = 162 +/- 5 mm Hg vs 130 +/- 4 mm Hg for low salt rats, p < 0.05), and increased vascular tone at the level of the arcade arterioles but not in the smaller transverse or distal arterioles. Arcade arteriole constriction induced by increasing superfusate oxygen content (from 0% to 10% O2) was 60% greater in hypertensive rats than in normotensive rats, whereas oxygen-dependent constriction of transverse and distal arterioles was similar in the two groups. The oxygen-induced reduction in capillary perfusion (the fraction of time during which flow was observed in each vessel) was also greater in hypertensive than in normotensive rats. Arcade arteriole dilation during 2 Hz muscle contraction was significantly greater in hypertensive than in normotensive rats, but there were no differences between groups in the dilation of any other vessel type or in the capillary flow increases accompanying 2 or 8 Hz contraction. These results suggest that a hyperresponsiveness to the actions of blood-borne or tissue oxygen could contribute to increased arcade arteriolar tone in the spinotrapezius muscle of Dahl rats with salt-induced hypertension. The enhanced dilation of arcade arterioles during muscle contraction also suggests a localized hyperresponsiveness to tissue metabolites in this form of hypertension.


This paper contains the research of neuroeconomics results such as formulation and analysis of Ultimatum game (Sanfey et al. 2003) and neuromarketing (Renvoisé-Morin 2007). As a result the rational behavior of consumer during the decision-making of consume object prejudiced. In particular the axiom of reflexiveness of the rational utility theory was disproved. That axiom maintains that the fixed set of goods is not worse that itself. A conclusion that consumer choice based on the utility criterion depends not only on the set of goods but on the consume environment was made. The hypothesis of irrational behavior allowed to formalize floating utility criterion and correlation between the basket of products utility and consume environment during the consumer decision-making. Based on floating utility criterion the problem of optimal consumer's budget distribution in conditions of integral utility maximization on limited time interval and consideration of the predicted environment factors value posed. Then the problem of intertemporal consumer choise for floating criterion was posed. The solution analysis of that problems had allowed to draw a conclusion of a significant influence of the predicted environment factors value exactness on an optimal solution and a dependence of that exactness on a consumer satisfaction.


Wave-mixing and Z-scan experiments were performed in a study of the influence of the electronic trapping states on the nonlinear behavior of semiconductor-doped glasses. The origin of the optical nonlinearity for nanosecond light pulses whose frequencies were smaller than the sample band-gap frequencies was identified, and the densities of deep traps in the studied samples were measured.


Geoelectrical measurements with multi-electrode arrays are performed to obtain an image of the subsurface resistivity structure. Conventional configurations like Wenner, dipole-dipole or pole-dipole yield pseudosections of apparent resistivity showing a more or less distorted image of the real structure. Consequently, inversion procedures have to be applied to transform the measured data into a realistic model. Practical experience has shown that a simple averaging of the apparent resistivities measured with a configuration of three collinear, equispaced electrodes in the forward (AMN) and in the backward mode (NMA) by changing the position of the current electrode A and the potential electrode N results in an improved pseudosection reflecting the main features of the subsurface. This configuration has proved to be an efficient tool for data acquisition combining sounding and profiling (Peschel, 1967). Based on this arrangement, a special continuous imaging technology was developed which has been successfully applied to engineering geological problems and at archaeological sites (Peschel and Lubenow, 1995). The available tools for modelling and inversion have been used to investigate the resolving .power ofthe averaged three-electrode configuration.


SIR,-Correctly adjusted car head restraints have been shown to reduce the incidence of neck injury after rear end shunts. 2 If set too low they will not provide maximum benefit and, in the event of an accident, may act as a pivot and increase the chance of injury.34 To see if motorists were making full use of their head restraints we surveyed 150 male drivers leaving a do it yourself store. After answering a short questionnaire each driver was asked to lean back in his seat, and we assessed the position of the head restraint. If the top of the head restraint was above eye level it was considered to be correctly positioned. Though 136 drivers knew that head restraints were a safety feature, only 36 could identify the correct position. In only 50 cases was the head restraint found to be correctly adjusted (95% confidence interval 39 to 61). A further 54 could be adjusted to a satisfactory height and 46 remained too low even when fully extended. Although this study population cannot be regarded as typical of car drivers and passengers generally, the results suggest that a substantial proportion of car head restraints are too low and that many could be adjusted correctly. Further work is needed to determine the number of potentially preventable neck injuries and hence the appropriate public health response, but this should not delay inexpensive measures to educate the motoring public through car handbooks, at services, and at Department of Transport tests (MOTs). MICHAEL R BRADDICK


Chinese migrants have low cardiovascular mortality, particularly in their first 10 years of residence in Australia. The apparent increase in cardiovascular deaths among Asian migrants who have lived in Australia for more than 10 years suggests that cardiovascular risk transition may occur soon after migration. In this descriptive study, we found that Melbourne Chinese were not low in cardiovascular risk factors as usually defined. The prevalence of hyperlipidaemia (7.7 per cent for men and 5.2 per cent for women) was similar to the prevalence for other Australians (6.8 per cent for men and 4.4 per cent for women). In spite of low mean blood pressure (systolic blood pressure 114 +/- 23 mmHg (mean +/- standard deviation) and diastolic blood pressure 67.3 +/- 10.6 mmHg), Melbourne Chinese women were hypertensive as often as their Australian counterparts. The prevalence of cigarette smoking in men (26.9 per cent) was also comparable to prevalence for Australian males (24.1 per cent). Being slim is the only recognised cardiovascular protection that Melbourne Chinese may have. A high waist-to-hip ratio (0.91 +/- 0.054 for men and 0.88 +/- 0.077 for women), however, may outweigh the potential benefit of lower prevalence of overweight (17.7 per cent for men and 14.1 per cent for women). Melbourne Chinese men had a multiple risk-factor profile similar to their Australian counterparts. Differences in multiple risk factors in women were attributable to fewer Chinese women having a single risk factor (15.4 per cent versus 30.1 per cent).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Clinical and neurophysiological analysis of a case of a 7 year old patient with typical benign partial seizures with rolandic spikes and speech disorder, differing from those in Landau-Kleffner syndrome and in typical benign partial epilepsy of childhood presenting as speech dyspraxia. Two independent foci (in the premotor cortex of the left front lobe (dominant hemisphere) and in the temporal lobe of the right hemisphere were found. Significant clinical improvement and electrographical positive effect in EEG were achiered after prednisolone and sodium valproate treatment.


Background: Pain is not a private experience, it affects spouses too. However, little is known why partners are distressed and how partners impact patient outcomes. The current study aimed at investigating associations between partners' motivation to help and partner/patient outcomes. Method: 48 couples, recruited through patient groups, in which one partner (36 female patients; Mage = 52.98) has chronic pain participated. Questionnaires were administered to assess affect, life satisfaction, anxious and depressive feelings and relational quality. Additionally, partners completed an adapted version of the Motivation to Help Scale. Findings: This study indicates that partners who help for autonomous reasons report better well-being, less distress and better relational quality than partners who help out of external or internal pressure. Effects are explained by a higher relational need satisfaction and experiencing less helping exhaustion. Partners' helping motivation also affects patients' relational quality, but only for those with high pain intensity. Discussion: Results will be discussed in the context of Self-Determination Theory. Directions for future research will be outlined.


The utilization of D-ribose by yeasts of the genus Pichia was examined with respect to aerobic growth, respiration and entry of ribose into the cells. Pichia etchellsii (CBS2011) could respire D-ribose, but not use it for aerobic growth. Pichia fermentans (CBS187) neither respired nor grew on D-ribose, though it entered the cells of this yeast either by simple diffusion, or possibly, by the D-glucose carrier, this having a very low affinity for D-ribose. Pichia pinus (CBS5097) respired and grew on D-ribose; kinetic evidence is given for this yeast having two ribose carriers, one inducible and the other constitutive.


We developed delta generalised additive models (GAMs) to predict the spatial distribution of different size classes of South African hakes, Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus, using demersal trawl survey data and geographical (latitude and longitude) and environmental features (depth, temperature, bottom dissolved oxygen and sediment type). Our approach consists of fitting, for each hake size class, two independent models, a binomial GAM and a quasi-Poisson GAM, whose predictions are then combined using the delta method. Delta GAMs were validated using an iterative cross-validation procedure, and their predictions were then employed to produce distribution maps for the southern Benguela. Delta GAM predictions confirmed existing knowledge about the spatial distribution patterns of South African hakes, and brought new insights into the factors influencing the presence/absence and abundance of these species. Our GAM approach can be used to produce distribution maps for spatially explicit ecosystem models of the southern Benguela in a rigorous and objective way. Ecosystem models are critical features of the ecosystem approach to fisheries, and distribution maps constructed using our GAM approach will enable a reliable allocation of species biomasses in spatially explicit ecosystem models, which will increase trust in the spatial overlaps and, therefore, the trophic interactions predicted by these models.


We describe a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome with monosomy 7 presenting with a T-cell defect. He suffered from infections from the age of 10 years, when a CD4 deficiency and impaired lym-phoproliferative responses in vitro were found. The only symptom of a myelodysplastic syndrome at that time was thrombocytopenia with gi ant platelets. Monosomy 7 was found in the bone marrow cells. At the age of 11 years he developed other characteristics of monosomy 7 including splenomegaly and anaemia. Some months later leukaemia was diagnosed. Conclusion In non-HIV CD4 defi ciency myelodysplastic syndrome has to be considered.


Specimens from fatal aviation accident victims are submitted to the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for toxicological analysis. During toxicological evaluations, ethanol analysis is performed on all cases. Care must be taken when interpreting a positive ethanol result due to the potential for postmortem ethanol formation. Several indicators of postmortem ethanol formation exist; however, none are completely reliable. The consumption of ethanol has been shown to alter the concentration of two major serotonin metabolites, 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTOL) and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA). While the 5-HTOL/5-HIAA ratio is normally very low, previous studies using living subjects have demonstrated that the urinary 5-HTOL/5-HIAA ratio is significantly elevated for 11-19 h after acute ethanol ingestion. Recently, our laboratory developed and validated an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of both 5-HTOL and 5-HIAA in forensic urine samples using a simple liquid/liquid extraction and LC/MS/MS and LC/MS/MS/MS. In this previous work a 15 pmol/nmol serotonin metabolite ratio cutoff was established in postmortem urine, below which it could be conclusively determined that no recent antemortem ethanol consumption had occurred. In the current study this newly validated analytical method was applied to five ethanol-positive aviation fatalities where the origin of the ethanol present could not previously be conclusively determined. In four of the five cases examined the detected ethanol was demonstrated to be present due to postmortem microbial formation, and not consumption, even though some indication of ethanol consumption may have been present.


We prove quantitative convergence rates at which discrete Langevin-like processes converge to the invariant distribution of a related stochastic differential equation. We study the setup where the additive noise can be non-Gaussian and state-dependent and the potential function can be non-convex. We show that the key properties of these processes depend on the potential function and the second moment of the additive noise. We apply our theoretical findings to studying the convergence of Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) for non-convex problems and corroborate them with experiments using SGD to train deep neural networks on the CIFAR-10 dataset.


Tropical region such as Darwin has similar weather patterns throughout the year, thus creating higher energy demands in residential buildings. Typically, buildings consume about 40 per cent of the total energy consumption for indoor heating and cooling. Therefore, building envelopes are linked with design strategies such as the use of thermal energy storage and phase change materials (PCM) to minimize this energy consumption by storing a large amount of thermal energy. Primarily, PCMs are targeted by researchers for use in different components of buildings for thermal efficiency; thus, this study aimed to provide a suitable PCM to optimize indoor thermal comfort and minimize the cooling loads of residential buildings in tropical climates through simulation of a tropical climate building and provide optimum thickness for the selected material. Microencapsulated PCM mixed with gypsum in wallboards were used to reduce the cooling load of a building located in Darwin. The cooling load of the building was calculated using Revit software. A comparison of the cooling load of the building was carried out using PCM-incorporated wallboards of thicknesses of 0 cm, 1 cm and 2 cm in Energy Plus software. The total cooling load decreased by 1.1% when the 1-centimetre-thickness was applied to the wall, whereas a 1.5% reduction was obtained when a 2-centimetre-thick PCM layer was applied. Furthermore, the reduced cooling loads due to impregnation of the PCM-based gypsum wallboard gave reduced energy consumption. Ultimately, the 2-centimetre-thickness PCM-based gypsum wallboard gave a maximum reduction in cooling load with a 7.6% reduction in total site energy and 4.76% energy saving in USD/m2/year.


From a semiotic viewpoint, Tarot has been described as a mere artifact with pictorial cards being signifiers in a symbolic sense. This paper reconceptualizes the process-structure of Tarot by placing it in a three-fold framework that merges semiotics with systems-theoretical and cybernetic perspectives. Charles Sanders Peirce's triadic logic embedded in the action of signs, or semiosis in mind and nature, serves as a point of departure. By addressing Tarot from the position of general systems theory it is possible to describe Tarot dynamics by means of a sort of indexical connection to its signified. The latter, albeit functioning in a symbolic sense as an archetypal field of Jungian collective unconscious, is nevertheless capable of producing real effects at the level of human emotions, cognitions and habitual behaviors. The interpretation of symbols as the Peircean category of Thirdness creates, by virtue of mediation, a feedback loop, that is it generates conditions of possibility for self-organization. The previously unconscious, that is as yet out of conscious awareness, contents of one's mind become available to human knowing. The process of reading and interpretation contributes to, in a pragmatic sense, the creation of meanings for mental representations, the former inferred from the symbolism embedded in Tarot pictures. As such, Tarot as a self-organized system has the potential to provide epistemic access to the Peircean virtual Real, affirming, in a way, some contemporary debates of cognitive science. It is honorable to be an epigone of Peirce. (Shimony,1993/II: 245.) Cybernetics & Human Knowing, Vol.8, no.1–2, 2001, pp. 111-132 [1] Program in the Philosophy of Education, Columbia University Teachers College, New York, USA. Email: email@example.com


Background/Aims To evaluate the ability of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) to identify the presence or absence of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) and CNV activity in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Clinical parameters, fundus fluorescein angiogram and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were used as the gold standard to determine disease activity. OCTA imaging was performed on the same day and was graded by two masked retina specialists for the presence or absence of CNV. Traditional multimodal imaging and OCTA findings were compared. Results One hundred and fifty-two eyes of 106 patients with AMD were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 59 eyes had wet AMD and 93 had dry AMD with high-risk drusen. OCTA had 85.4% and 79.3% specificity and sensitivity, respectively, in determining the presence or absence of CNV. OCTA was 69.5% accurate in determining active CNV. False positives and negatives were 21.6% and 8.0%, respectively. Conclusions This study suggests that en-face OCTA images allow a moderate ability to identify CNV and that OCTA alone is weak at recognising active CNV requiring treatment in AMD.


We developed and validated an echo simulator with three novel tools that facilitate training and enable quantitative and objective measurement of psychomotor as well as cognitive skill. First, the trainee can see original patient images - not synthetic or simulated images - that morph in real time as the mock transducer is manipulated on the mannequin. Second, augmented reality is used for Visual Guidance, a tool that assists the trainee in scanning by displaying the target organ in 3-dimensions (3D) together with the location of the current view plane and the plane of the anatomically correct view. Third, we introduce Image Matching, a tool that leverages the aptitude of the human brain for recognizing similarities and differences to help trainees learn to perform visual assessment of ultrasound images. Psychomotor competence is measured in terms of the view plane angle error. The construct validity of the simulator for competency testing was established by demonstrating its ability to discriminate novices vs. experts.


The Niger State Governor Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu recently blamed the existing revenue sharing formula among the tiers of government for the growing imbalance in development strides in the Northern states compared with the rest of the states. In his words, the relative poverty of the (Northern) region was attributable to the country's system of revenue allocation, which, he said, unduly favoured the littoral states that get additional 13 per cent from the Federation Account on the basis of the derivation principle. Embitteredly, he complained that the Niger Delta states also get the 13 per cent derivation from offshore exploration which ought to belong equally to all the constituent units of the federation. He however lambasted the current revenue sharing formula which gives the federal government 52.8 per cent and described it as abnormal, because both the states and the local governments share only 47.2 percent. Expectedly, this has generated a heated debate as one of the touchy issues in the country's acrimonious geopolitics with its characteristic finger-pointing, grandstanding, stereotyping and ethnic/regional posturing to the extent that the Governors forum, led by the Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola have thus proposed a new revenue allocation formula that will checkmate the excessiveness of the federal government in terms of their allocation, fiscally and otherwise and then empower the states to function viably and pacify the northerners who also have problem with the current revenue sharing formula. The possibility of this clamour succeeding is the thrust of this paper.


AIM
This report describes the results from the last international prevalence measurement of care problems in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, including the course of the prevalence rates during the past 4 years.

BACKGROUND
Basic care problems such as pressure ulcers, malnutrition and falls occur frequently in healthcare organizations. Measuring these care problems provides insight into their occurrence, and, while a measurement is included of the prevention, treatment and structural quality indicators, this gives institutions the possibility of improving their care regarding these care problems.

DESIGN
An annual cross-sectional multicentre study.

METHOD
The prevalence measurement of care problems is conducted annually on one specific day in different healthcare settings, among which are hospitals and care homes. Data are collected by means of a comprehensive, standardized questionnaire that comprises three levels: institutional, ward/department and patient level.

RESULTS
Besides general characteristics of patients, results are presented for prevalence rates, prevention, treatment and quality indicators regarding each care problem for each country.


We present a method for solving a class of optimal control problems involving hyperbolic partial differential equations. A numerical integration method for the solution of a general linear second-order hyperbolic partial differential equation representing the type of dynamics under consideration is given. The method, based on the piecewise bilinear finite element approximation on a rectangular mesh, is explicit. The optimal control problem is thus discretized and reduced to an ordinary optimization problem. Fast automatic differentiation is applied to calculate the exact gradient of the discretized problem so that existing optimization algorithms may be applied. Various types of constraints may be imposed on the problem. A practical application arising from the process of gas absorption is solved using the proposed method.


PURPOSE
This study explores the relationship of special observation (SO) to a range of patient, staff, and ward variables.

DESIGN AND METHODS
End-of-shift reports were completed by nurses on 136 acute mental health wards in England during 2004 and 2005.

FINDINGS
Intermittent SO (patient checked at specified intervals) was used five times more frequently than constant SO (patient kept within sight or reach). Significant relationships were found between SO and measures of ward surveillance, door locking, and the ease of observing patients on the wards. Both types of SO were more common when higher numbers of staff without a nursing qualification were on duty.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
Improved ward design, less reliance on unqualified staff, and greater use of surveillance measures may reduce the need for SO.


We performed an in vivo study in a canine model to compare the results of the use of a porous-coated collared femoral component with those of the use of a porous-coated collarless femoral component in total hip arthroplasties without cement. Our study focused on the comparative proximal strain pattern, bone ingrowth, and cortical porosity of the two types of prostheses. We used a trochanteric wire marker to measure subsidence. The use of the limb was assessed with gait analysis. Twelve weeks after the operation, the collarless components had significantly greater bone ingrowth proximally (p = 0.003) and were associated with significantly lower cortical porosity (p = 0.006). There were no differences between the groups with regard to either axial or hoop strain. While the group that had a collarless prosthesis had significantly less proximal-medial radiolucency (p = 0.03), there were no differences between the groups with regard to subsidence.


We consider the multi-class classification problem, based on vector observation sequences, where the conditional (given class observations) probability distributions for each class as well as the unconditional probability distribution of the observations are unknown. We develop a novel formulation that combines training with the quality of classification that can be obtained using the 'learned' (via training) models. The parametric models we use are finite mixture models, where the same component densities are used in the model for each class, albeit with different mixture weights. Thus we use a model known as All-Class-One-Network (ACON) model in the neural network literature. We argue why this is a more appropriate model for context-dependent classification, as is common in bioinformatics. We derive rigorously the solution to this joint optimization problem. A key step in our approach is to consider a tight (provably) bound between the average Bayes error (the true minimal classification error) and the average model-based classification error. We rigorously show that the parameter estimates maximize the likelihood of the model-based class posterior probability distributions. We illustrate by application examples in the bioinformatics of cancer.


a broadened spectrum autosomal recessive polycystic Background: Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disorder (ARPCKD) is one of the most prevalent hereditary disorders in neonates and children. Its frequency is between 1/6000 to 1/55000 births. In the most severe cases, it can be diagnosed prenatally by the presence of enlarged, echogenic kidneys and oligohydramnios. However, in the milder forms, clinical manifestations are usually detected in neonatal and childhood period. PKHD1 gene located on chromosome 6 is linked with this disorder. About half of detected mutations in this gene are missense ones. The largest protein product of this gene is called the FPC/polyductin complex (FPC). It is a single-membrane spanning protein whose absence leads to abnormal ciliogenesis in the kidneys. Case presentation: Here we present a 5-year-old female patient affected with ARPCKD. She has been born to a non-consanguineous healthy Iranian parents. No similar disorder has been seen in the family. Prenatal history has been normal. In order to find the genetic background, DNA was extracted from patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes. PKHD1 gene exons and exon-intron boundaries were sequenced using next generation sequencing platform. Two novel variants have been detected in compound heterozygote state in the patient (c.6591C>A, c.8222C>A). Bioinformatics tools predicted these variants to be pathogenic. Conclusion: In the present study, we detected two novel variants in PKHD1 gene in a patient with ARPCKD. The relatively mild phenotype of this patient is in accordance with the missense mutations found. Molecular genetic tools can help in accurate risk assessment as well as precise genotype-phenotype correlation establishment in families affected with such disorder to decrease the birth of affected individuals through preimplantation genetic diagnosis or better management of disorder.


Terror attacks on innocent people have continued around the world since 11 September 2001, but not on the scale of the 2001 attack on the United States, which claimed more than 2500 lives. That disaster made us realize our vulnerabilities in many sectors. When a critical industry, such as transportation, communications, energy, or water services, is disrupted in a disaster, it may also cause collateral damage to other services. For example, the 2003 Northeast blackout cut off power to 55 million people. This not only cut off electricity to homes and offices—trains stopped, water purification failed, cell phones went uncharged, and factories shut down. Clearly, attention needs to be paid to improving the resilience of the most critical infrastructure industries.


The conclusion that people are optimistic concerning personal
risk does not have a sound evidential basis. Following Harris
and Hahn's (2011) critique of unrealistic optimism research,
we consider the evidence from a recent series of high profile
neuroscience papers. We demonstrate that the methods used
are fundamentally flawed. A simulation and an empirical
comparison of autism spectrum condition participants with
typical adults confirm that we have learnt nothing about
optimism from these studies.


&NA; The purpose of the study was to measure readiness to change profiles of alcohol and other drug abusers, information which is needed in the individual tailoring of treatment. The subjects (N = 780) were Finnish alcoholics and polydrug users receiving inpatient treatment. The instrument used to measure readiness to change was the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA). In the cluster analysis the subjects were placed in groups. The results revealed wide differences in readiness to change profiles, yet not between alcoholics and polydrug users. Higher education, female gender, living with minor children and marital state were consistently associated with better readiness to change. Those coming on an entirely voluntary basis and those aiming at abstinence were also more ready to change than other subjects. Abstinence in this population is generally a realistic objective, which many clients adopt after some unsuccessful attempts at controlled use. The article contemplates the significance of the findings in the light of earlier profiling studies and the treatment of substance abuse.


Abstract. There is unanimous agreement that a precise spatial representation of past landslide occurrences is a prerequisite to produce high quality statistical landslide susceptibility models. Even though perfectly accurate landslide inventories rarely exist, investigations of how landslide inventory-based errors propagate into subsequent statistical landslide susceptibility models are scarce. The main objective of this research was to systematically examine whether and how inventory-based positional inaccuracies of different magnitudes influence modelled relationships, validation results, variable importance and the visual appearance of landslide susceptibility maps. The study was conducted for a landslide-prone site located in the districts of Amstetten and Waidhofen an der Ybbs, eastern Austria, where an earth-slide point inventory was available. The methodological approach comprised an artificial introduction of inventory-based positional errors into the present landslide data set and an in-depth evaluation of subsequent modelling results. Positional errors were introduced by artificially changing the original landslide position by a mean distance of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 120 m. The resulting differently precise response variables were separately used to train logistic regression models. Odds ratios of predictor variables provided insights into modelled relationships. Cross-validation and spatial cross-validation enabled an assessment of predictive performances and permutation-based variable importance. All analyses were additionally carried out with synthetically generated data sets to further verify the findings under rather controlled conditions. The results revealed that an increasing positional inventory-based error was generally related to increasing distortions of modelling and validation results. However, the findings also highlighted that interdependencies between inventory-based spatial inaccuracies and statistical landslide susceptibility models are complex. The systematic comparisons of 12 models provided valuable evidence that the respective error-propagation was not only determined by the degree of positional inaccuracy inherent in the landslide data, but also by the spatial representation of landslides and the environment, landslide magnitude, the characteristics of the study area, the selected classification method and an interplay of predictors within multiple variable models. Based on the results, we deduced that a direct propagation of minor to moderate inventory-based positional errors into modelling results can be partly counteracted by adapting the modelling design (e.g. generalization of input data, opting for strongly generalizing classifiers). Since positional errors within landslide inventories are common and subsequent modelling and validation results are likely to be distorted, the potential existence of inventory-based positional inaccuracies should always be considered when assessing landslide susceptibility by means of empirical models.


BACKGROUND
Co-culture of cancer cells with alveolar bone cells could modulate bone invasion and destructions. However, the mechanisms of interaction between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and bone cells remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to analyse the direct and indirect effects of OSCC cells in the stimulation of osteolytic activity and bone invasion.

METHOD
Direct co-culture was achieved by culturing OSCC (TCA8113) with a primary alveolar bone cell line. In the indirect co-culture, the supernatant of TCA8113 cells was collected to culture the alveolar bone cells. To assess the bone invasion properties, in vitro assays were performed.

RESULTS
The proliferation of co-cultured cancer cells was significantly (p<0.05) higher in comparison to the monolayer control cells. However, the proliferation rates were not significantly different between direct and indirect co-cultured cells with indirect co-cultured cells proliferated slightly more than the direct co-cultured cells. Invasion and migration capacities of co-cultured OSCC and alveolar bone cells enhanced significantly (p<0.05) when compared to that of control monolayer counterparts. Most importantly, we noted that OSCC cells directly co-cultured with alveolar bone cells stimulated pronounced bone collagen destruction. In addition, stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers have shown significant changes in their expression in co-cultured cells.

CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the findings of this study highlight the importance of the interaction of alveolar bone cells and OSCC cells in co-culture setting in the pathogenesis of bone invasion. This may help in the development of potential future biotherapies for bone invasion in OSCC.


Lenin once said that the three sources of Marxism were �German philosophy, English political economy, French socialism�. He thereby gave the mistaken impression that Marxist social theory was merely an eclectic mixture of incompatible approaches. It is not without irony that the spirit of Lenin�s bons mots in fact captures more accurately the thought of one of the most outspoken opponents of socialism, Friedrich A. Hayek. The normative dimension of Hayek�s work, as I will argue in my paper, is marked by an anti-socialist eclecticism that is grounded in an incoherent moral framework. His work draws on three sources of moral reasoning that deeply conflict with one another: (1) evolutionist relativism, (2) utilitarianism and (3) a Kantian conception of liberty. Hence he can be accused of attacking socialism whatever the costs � he tolerates fundamental inconsistencies in order to uphold his political position. This leads me to conclude that he fails to offer convincing justification of either the desirability of the neoliberal social order favoured by him, or the undesirability of socialism.


A high sensitivity pressure sensing system with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) using the transverse strain characteristic of a straight bourdon tube (SBT) is presented and demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. The transverse strain of the SBT makes the FBG tensioned. The pressure can be determined by measuring the shift of the Bragg wavelength. The experimentally obtained results indicate that the shift of the Bragg wavelength changes linearly with the applied pressure and the sensitive coefficients of pressure are approximately 6.22x10-3MPa-1. This represents a sensitivity value approximately 9.66x10-3pm/Pa. The pressure sensing system shows little hysteresis error.