The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway regulates normal development and cell proliferation in metazoan organisms, but its aberrant activation can promote tumorigenesis. Hh-induced tumors arise from various tissues and they may be indolent or aggressive, as is the case with skin basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or cerebellar medulloblastoma, respectively. Little is known about common cell-intrinsic factors that control the development of such diverse Hh-dependent tumors. Transcription factor Zfx is required for the self-renewal of hematopoietic and embryonic stem cells, as well as for the propagation of acute myeloid and T-lymphoblastic leukemias. We report here that Zfx facilitates the development of experimental BCC and medulloblastoma in mice initiated by deletion of the Hh inhibitory receptor Ptch1. Simultaneous deletion of Zfx along with Ptch1 prevented BCC formation and delayed medulloblastoma development. In contrast, Zfx was dispensable for tumorigenesis in a mouse model of glioblastoma. We used genome-wide expression and chromatin-binding analysis in a human medulloblastoma cell line to characterize direct, evolutionarily conserved targets of Zfx, identifying Dis3L and Ube2j1 as two targets required for the growth of the human medulloblastoma cells. Our results establish Zfx as a common cell-intrinsic regulator of diverse Hh-induced tumors, with implications for the definition of new therapeutic targets in these malignancies.


This research was conducted as a descriptive study for the purpose of determining the healthy lifestyle behaviors of health care workers employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. There were 1779 health care personnel in the sample who were employed at university and state hospitals in Afyon and Denizli. It was planned conducted the research on the entire population however some health care workers did not want to participate a total of 316 health care workers were included in the study sample. Data were collected between 15 June-15 Agust 2006 using a demografik questionnaire form and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale. In the evaluation data gained, Number-percentage calculations, t-test, One Way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used. This study was determined that 84.5% of the health care workers were nurses, 55.7% were in the 20-30 year old age group, 75.0% were married, 39.2% worked on surgical units, 69.6% ate regular meals, only 22.8% were interested in sports, 61.1% did not smoke cigarettes. A statistically significant difference was found health care workers between for age group, gender, educational level, years of employment, hospital unit where they worked, status of eating regular meals, status of being interested in sports, use of alcohol, hospital where employed and the health care workers' healthy lifestyle behaviors (p


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bibliometrically analyze the gerontology-related research articles for a comprehensive understanding of the gerontology literature.

Design/methodology/approach
This study employed the approach of visual analytics on 32 journals with a total of 99,204 articles published after 2000 to identify the main subfields, keywords, and growth trend. The investigated journals are either open access online or listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index. In addition, the 200 most frequently cited papers were analyzed through bibliographic coupling, co-word, and co-citation analysis.

Findings
The selected most cited papers were mostly published before 2007, and psychiatry and psychology were the top research subfields. Dementia, older adult, and Alzheimer's disease were the three most frequently occurring keywords, both in Author Keywords and KeyWords Plus. While coupling analysis yielded 12 research groups, co-word analysis classified the most frequently used 20 Author Keywords into two categories. Four research clusters were identified by the co-citation analysis.

Originality/value
This research provides a comprehensive view of the gerontology research as well as an understanding of the subfields and their interrelations. It also provides government departments with directions for formulating and executing policies affecting older people not only in setting academic and professional priorities but also in understanding the key topics related to older people.


Three separate effects on refuge use by signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus and Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were examined: (1) the effect on Atlantic salmon of an addition of signal crayfish (doubling the total number of animals), (2) the effect on signal crayfish of an addition of Atlantic salmon and (3) intraspecific compared with interspecific competition, compared by holding total density of animals constant and varying the proportion of signal crayfish and Atlantic salmon in trials. Observations were made during winter, when both species are nocturnal. The proportion of Atlantic salmon sheltering was significantly lower in the presence than in the absence of signal crayfish when the interspecific treatment (Atlantic salmon plus signal crayfish) effected a doubling in density compared to the intraspecific treatment (Atlantic salmon alone). The proportion of signal crayfish sheltering was independent of the presence of Atlantic salmon. When total density was constant, the proportion of Atlantic salmon sheltering was significantly higher in intraspecific (52·8%) than interspecific trials (27·3%). Atlantic salmon out of shelter during the day in winter are believed to be very vulnerable to predators and the capacity for fish to share shelters with one another is known to be very low. Therefore, competition from crayfish for winter shelters may lead to detrimental effects on Atlantic salmon populations.


We present the urn, a simple tree-based data structure that supports sampling from and updating discrete probability distributions in logarithmic time. We avoid the usual complexity of traditional self-balancing binary search trees by not keeping values in a specific order. Instead, we keep the tree maximally balanced at all times using a single machine word of overhead: its size. Urns provide an alternative interface for the frequency combinator from the QuickCheck library that allows for asymptotically more efficient sampling from dynamically-updated distributions. They also facilitate backtracking in property-based random testing, and can be applied to such complex examples from the literature as generating well-typed lambda terms or information flow machine states, demonstrating significant speedups.


The problem of optimally distributing a divisible load to the nodes of an arbitrary processor tree is tackled in this paper. The rigorous mathematical foundation presented allows the derivation of the sequence of operations that is necessary to obtain the minimum processing time, along with closed-form expressions that yield the solution in time O(NP), where P is the number of tree nodes and N their maximum degree. The main contributions of this work are: (1) both load distribution and result collection overheads are considered, thus providing better resource utilization, and (2) arbitrary processor trees are examined in contrast with previous approaches that examined either complete homogeneous trees, or single level trees. Additionally, approximate algorithms for solving the problem of specifying the optimum subset of active processors for a given load, are presented and evaluated.


Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by defects in insulin secretion and action. Impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle is believed to be one of the earliest features in the natural history of T2DM, although underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Methods and Findings We combined human insulin/glucose clamp physiological studies with genome-wide expression profiling to identify thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) as a gene whose expression is powerfully suppressed by insulin yet stimulated by glucose. In healthy individuals, its expression was inversely correlated to total body measures of glucose uptake. Forced expression of TXNIP in cultured adipocytes significantly reduced glucose uptake, while silencing with RNA interference in adipocytes and in skeletal muscle enhanced glucose uptake, confirming that the gene product is also a regulator of glucose uptake. TXNIP expression is consistently elevated in the muscle of prediabetics and diabetics, although in a panel of 4,450 Scandinavian individuals, we found no evidence for association between common genetic variation in the TXNIP gene and T2DM. Conclusions TXNIP regulates both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent pathways of glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Combined with recent studies that have implicated TXNIP in pancreatic β-cell glucose toxicity, our data suggest that TXNIP might play a key role in defective glucose homeostasis preceding overt T2DM.


The chemisorption of CO and hydrogenation of surface adsorbed carbon species formed after reaction of CO/He with Rh/MgO catalyst in the range 300-573 K were studied by transient methods employing both FTIR and mass spectroscopy in separate flow and reactor systems. Exposure of Rh/MgO to CO/He at 523 K results in a rapid formation of linear and bridged CO species. It was found that formation of gem-dicarbonyl CO species during CO chemisorption at 300 K is strongly affected by CO/He treatment at 523 K and H2 reduction conditions. Experiments with labelled CO (13CO and 18CO) indicate that linear and bridged CO species readily exchange with gaseous CO species. Transient hydrogenation results for adsorbed carbon-containing species formed after CO/He reaction at 523 K provide evidence that H2 chemisorption decreases after cycles of reaction in CO/He at 523 K followed by H2 reduction at 673 K. However, the surface coverages of adsorbed CO species are not affected by such treatments. Oxygen pretreatment of the catalyst at 623 K followed by H2 reduction, after CO/He reaction at 523 K, greatly affects the transient kinetics of hydrogenation of adsorbed CO species at 523 K but not their respective surface coverages. This result is related to a change in the hydrogen chemisorption sites by oxygen treatment which resulted in the removal of inactive carbon not hydrogenated at 723 K. A kinetic model for the hydrogenation of the various adsorbed carbon-containing species is proposed which accounts for the interpretation of the CH4 transient responses obtained.


In this paper, we propose a new scheduling algorithm with economic theory, called black Scholes market (BSM) algorithm for a class of dynamic jobs (DJ). BSM is based on the classic option pricing theory in investment - black Scholes pricing model. The algorithm could meet the needs of dynamic flow jobs and select server to provide specific service through simulating an irrational market. Compared with dynamic weighted round robin (DWRR) and dynamic statistical random (DSR) scheduling algorithms, BSM algorithm achieves a better performance in long time scheduling and the best average delay rate in different maximum job arrival rates. And from view of the stability, BSM is also much better than the other two algorithms


In order to understand the evolution and ecology of organisms, detailed data on the distribution and habitat preferences are essential. Although black scavenger flies (Diptera, Sepsidae) are common and abundant acalyptratae in European grass- and farmlands, a detailed understanding of their ecology and distribution is currently limited. This is particularly problematic since this taxon has received considerable interest in evolutionary ecology and continues to be studied in ecotoxicology and speciation. The aim of this study is to publish faunistic data, gathered from the extensive private collection of G. Bachli. Additionally, the occurrence of an additional species, Meroplius fukuharai, for Switzerland is documented.


Embedding a domain-specific language (DSL) in a general purpose host language is an efficient way to develop a new DSL. Various kinds of languages and paradigms can be used as host languages, including object-oriented, functional, statically typed, and dynamically typed variants, all having their pros and cons. For deep embedding, statically typed languages enable early checking and potentially good DSL error messages, instead of reporting runtime errors. Dynamically typed languages, on the other hand, enable flexible transformations, thus avoiding extensive boilerplate code. In this paper, we introduce the concept of gradually typed symbolic expressions that mix static and dynamic typing for symbolic data. The key idea is to combine the strengths of dynamic and static typing in the context of deep embedding of DSLs. We define a gradually typed calculus λ<⋆>, formalize its type system and dynamic semantics, and prove type safety. We introduce a host language called Modelyze that is based on λ<⋆>, and evaluate the approach by embedding a series of equation-based domain-specific modeling languages, all within the domain of physical modeling and simulation.


Current Automatic Collision Notification Systems (ACN) utilize deltaV as a simple predictor of injury likelihood. When considered independently, this single variable provides a general indication of injury potential, yet it lacks specificity to adequately distinguish between injured and uninjured occupants in many cases. However, when additional crash attributes are considered in conjunction with deltaV, the accuracy of injury predictions greatly improves. The following paper presents two crash models of varied complexity and compares their predictive ability with predictions based on deltaV alone. Within this paper, regression models are presented which relate occupant, vehicle and impact characteristics to two different injury outcome variables. These are Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale Level (MAIS) and occupant Injury Severity Score (ISS). The accuracy of proposed models is evaluated using National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) and Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) case data. Cumulatively, the positive prediction rate of models identifying the likelihood of MAIS3 and higher injuries is 74.2%. Regression models which predict ISS on a continuous scale correctly identify injured occupants with a sensitivity of 86.1%. The predictive accuracy of each model presented is compared with deltaV alone to support the need for additional model variables for use in future ACN systems. For the covering abstract see ITRD E825082.


BACKGROUND
Gastrointestinal perforation is an infrequent occurrence in neonates. Experience in its management is presented, while also attempting to analyze the factors affecting outcome.

METHODS
From 1983 to 1992, 31 neonates with gastrointestinal perforation were treated at Taichung Veterans General Hospital. The medical records of these patients were reviewed thoroughly. In the meantime, Mann-Whitney U and Yates' correction chi square tests were used to analyze the factors predicting the outcomes.

RESULTS
There were 21 males and 10 females, among whom 16 were premature births. The median age at diagnosis was 5 day; half (16/31) had occurred during the first 5 days of life. Abdominal distension was the most common manifestation (87%). Hemograms at admission showed leukopenia in 32% (10/31) and thrombocytopenia in 40% (8/20) of the patients. Metabolic acidosis was present in 46% (13/28) of the patients. Peritoneal fluid and preoperative blood cultures were positive in 71% (17/24) and 50% (13/26) of the patients, and both of them had Gram-negative enterobacteriacea as the most common pathogen. The overall mortality rate was 58%. The highest mortality rate was associated with gastric perforation (100%), followed by small bowel (50%) and colon (50%) perforations. The predominant cause of perforation was necrotizing enterocolitis (14/31), with the most common site the terminal ileum (16/29). Four patients with necrotizing enterocolitis had multiple perforations. Others who underwent surgery showed single perforation. The major cause of death in those patients who received operation was sepsis (8/13). An initial arterial pH value higher than 7.25, and surgical procedure performed within two days after disease onset may predict a favorable outcome (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Gastrointestinal perforation is a life-threatening complication in neonates. A better survival rate can be obtained by cooperation among neonatologists, pediatric surgeons and the nursing staff taking care of these high risk babies.


The Soldier Readiness Point at Fort Carson, Colorado suffers from long soldier wait times and low throughput caused by poor command and control, limited building capacity, and poor flow through the site. By applying systems thinking and simulation to this complex problem, it is possible to identify key opportunities for improvement. Fort Carson's SRP Site is operating at near maximum capacity and the application of loading strategies failed to produce substantial gains, however, the increase of onsite servers at key bottlenecks as well as the reduction of those requiring testing by sending them to offsite testing before entering the system proved very effective in increasing throughput and reducing wait times.


Two great earthquakes have occurred recently along the Sunda Trench, the 2004 M9.2 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the 2005 M8.7 Nias earthquake. These earthquakes ruptured over 1600 km of adjacent crust within 3 mo of each other. We quantitatively present poroelastic deformation analyses suggesting that postseismic fluid flow and recovery induced by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake advanced the timing of the Nias earthquake. Simple back-slip simulations indicate that the megapascal (MPa)–scale pore-pressure recovery is equivalent to 7 yr of interseismic Coulomb stress accumulation near the Nias earthquake hypocenter, implying that pore-pressure recovery of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake advanced the timing of the Nias earthquake by ∼7 yr. That is, in the absence of postseismic pore-pressure recovery, we predict that the Nias earthquake would have occurred in 2011 instead of 2005.


Presentation of two cases of a patients with urinary incontinence of neurogenic origin treated by means of an artificial urinary sphincter graft AMS-800 who suffered the complication of intravesical migration of the occlusive cuff in one case, and pressure balloon and occlusive cuff in the second one. In the latter, the pressure balloon underwent a process of intravesical calcification. A review of the literature on the etiopathogeny of this complication and management of these patients is conducted.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether fully inflated pneumatic anti-shock garments (PASGs) decrease blood flow to abdominal and retroperitoneal organs.

METHODS
An experimental study was conducted using a convenience sample of ten healthy adults. A duplex Doppler ultrasound was used to image and measure blood flow at the aortic root (cardiac output), left carotid artery, left subclavian artery, superior mesenteric artery (SMA), left renal artery, and distal aorta. Each subject was imaged before and after inflation of all three compartments of the garment to 90 mm Hg. Data were analyzed with paired t-tests.

RESULTS
PASG inflation did not affect cardiac output (5.45 vs. 5.83 L/min, 95% confidence limit (CL) for mean -0.97 to 0.30, p = 0.26), left carotid artery flow (0.34 vs. 0.35 L/min, 95% CL for mean -0.06 to 0.04, p = 0.70), or left subclavian artery flow (0.12 vs. 0.11 L/min, 95% CL for mean -0.01 to 0.03, p = 0.47). Inflation did cause the aortic flow immediately distal to the renal artery to decrease markedly in all subjects (1.01 vs. 0.11 L/min, 95% CL for mean 0.79 to 1.19, p < 0.001). Flow immediately above this point appeared unaffected. Physical interference with the ultrasound probe by the garment precluded measurement of SMA or renal artery flow in five subjects. In the remaining subjects, these values did not change significantly (SMA 0.40 vs. 0.28 L/min, 95% CL for mean -0.11 to 0.33, p = 0.23; renal artery 0.44 vs. 0.51 L/min, 95% CL for mean -0.09 to 0.08, p = 0.78).

CONCLUSION
PASG inflation caused a dramatic decrease in aortic blood flow over a small area immediately distal to the renal arteries but had little or no effect above this point. This provides support for the use of PASG to decrease otherwise uncontrollable hemorrhage from the iliac, pelvic, and leg vessels, but not for injuries above them.


District health services through pharmacies in Istanbul (1845-1895) Nuran Yildirim Ottoman archival documents and the Ottoman Yearbooks ( Devlet Salnameleri ) published between 1854 and 1896, as well as the primary sources of the period under study reveal that health services were extended to districts in 'rooms' annexed to pharmacies in thoughout Istanbul. The earliest of these sugeries were opened in 1845 in Beyazit/Koska, Eyup and Uskudar districts. These were followed by rooms that were set in the districts of Salipazari/Findikli (1866) and Topkapi (1870). The residents of Anadoluhisari and Kasimpasa sent petitions in 1887 and 1888 to the government for the creation of rooms in their districts; these demands could not be executed due to economical shortage. Administered by the Imperial School of Medicine, these rooms were called nobet mahalleri (literally, 'localities on duty' where physicians were served day and night) or nobet eczaneleri (pharmacies on duty). Medical service, including examination and care of patients, dispensing of medication, and prescription of drugs was extended in these rooms. During the day, minor surgical operations were performed, as well. Professors and graduates of the Imperial Medical School were in charge of this medical service. Well off patients would pay for the medicaments, while the expenses of poor were covered by the Palace as the charity of the Sultan, and were reimbursed to the pharmacists. The state would also pay a rent to the pharmacist for his room. Thanks to the payments by the government and rich patients, the pharmacist would benefit from a larger income than usual. In fact, this practice intiated by the State allowed doctors and pharmacist to cooperate for a common interest. Doctors would mostly deal with emergency cases. They would visit patient's house when necessary. Thus, people of the district day-round access to medical care and medication. The doctors and surgeons in charge, fixed luxations and fractures, dressed wounds and extracted pieces of foreign bodies from patients. Physicians also performed bloodletting, plaster (sinapism) application, drained  abcesses. Free vaccination was also offered. The rooms annexed to pharmacies that funcioned for about fifty years (1845-1895) can be considered as early examples of district health and emergency units. These units had to close down in late 19th century when the town council decided to appoint doctors to the municipality and employ them to extend health services to local people. Key words : History of pharmacy, health services, emergency services , social healthcare , smallpox vaccination, hekim-eczaci isbirligi, belediye saglik teskilati, Imperial School of Medicine ; Anahtar kelimeler : Eczacilik tarihi, Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Şahane, acil servisler, yoksullarin muayene ve tedaveri, cicek asisi, hekim-eczaci isbirligi, belediye saglik teskilati


during surgery, yielding a POP incidence rate of 2.6%. However, in the NMBA reversal analysis, these same 10,594 patients were split into two subgroups: 1,623 patients who did not receive reversal and 8,971 patients who were given neostigmine. To our surprise, the POP incidence rates are significantly higher in both subgroups, with 149 POP cases in the 1,320 patients (11.5%) who received NMBA without reversal and 70 POP cases in the 1,320 patients (5.3%) who received NMBA and were reversed with neostigmine. Because these two subgroups are from the same 10,594 patients in the NMBA group, we do not understand why the POP rates are so much higher in the two subgroups. The authors are silent on this apparent discrepancy in POP incidences. We believe that this is due to calculation errors. In Table 2 of the article,1 the POP incidence rates are presented as "Incidence per 10,000 person-days at risk" because each patient was followed for up to 30 days. There are four such values, 9.00, 5.22, 4.22, and 1.88, representing patients who received NMBA, those who did not receive any NMBA, those who received NMBA without reversal, and those who received NMBA with reversal, respectively. The last two numbers appear to be incorrect; we believe that they should be 42.2 (not 4.22) and 18.8 (not 1.88). Thus, the actual POP incidence rates are much higher in the two NMBA subgroups than that of the total NMBA group (42.2 and 18.8 compared with 9.00). These errors in data collection and calculation lead to invalid conclusions. We also wonder about the study design, with its 30-day observation period. Although it has been suggested that many postoperative complications require a 30-day follow-up,2 we do not think this applies to NMBA complications. Any postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade in these patients would be clinically insignificant in a matter of hours, and a POP related to that should easily be evident within 1 week. It would seem to be erroneous to attribute any POP cases that occurred several weeks after surgery to the use of NMBA.


Aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) inhibitors (ASIs) represent an attractive therapeutic approach for mitigating the untoward effects of aldosterone. We characterized the pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic relationships of a prototypical ASI, ( (cid:1) )-(5 R )-4-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo[1,5- a ]pyridin-5-yl]benzonitrile hy- drochloride (CGS020286A, FAD286, FAD) and compared these profiles to those of the 11 (cid:1) -hydroxylase inhibitor metyrapone (MET) in two rodent models of secondary hyperaldosteronism and corticosteronism. In chronically cannulated Sprague-Daw-ley rats, angiotensin II (ANG II) (300 ng/kg bolus (cid:1) 100 ng/kg/ min infusion) or adrenocorticotropin (100 ng/kg (cid:1) 30 ng/kg/ min) acutely elevated plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) from (cid:2) 0.26 nM to a sustained level of (cid:2) 2.5 nM for 9 h. Adrenocorticotropin but not ANG II elicited a sustained increase


AIM: To investigate the difference of gene expression profiles between Barrett's esophagus and reflux esophagitis induced by gastroduodenoesophageal reflux in rats.METHODS: Eight-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were treated esophagoduodenostomy to produce gastroduodenoesophageal reflux, and another group received sham operation as control. Esophageal epithelial tissues were dissected and frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately for pathology 40 wk after surgery. The expression profiles of 4 096 genes in reflux esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus tissues were compared with normal esophageal epithelium by cDNA microarray.RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-eight genes in Barrett'sesophagus were more than three times different from those in normal esophageal epithelium, including 312 up regulated and 136 down-regulated genes. Two hundred and thirty-twogenes in RE were more than three times different from those in normal esophageal epithelium, 90up-regulated and 142 down-regulated genes. Compared to reflux esophagitis, there were 214 up-regulated and 142 down-regulated genes in Barrett's esophagus. CONCLUSION: Esophageal epithelium exposed excessively to harmful ingredients of duodenal and gastric reflux can develop esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus gradually.The gene expression level is different between reflux esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus and the differentially expressed genes might be related to the occurrence and development of Barrett's esophagus and the promotion or progression in adenocarcinoma.


A group of 26 examples of lung carcinoma showing mixed squamous and glandular differentiation is described. The clinical and biological features of the lesions are intermediate between those of squamous-cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the bronchus. It is suggested that bronchial carcinoma is a single entity in which the type of cell, whether glandular or squamous, plays a much smaller part in determining the biological behaviour than the anatomical site of the tumour and the degree of differentiation of its component cells. It is suggested that mixed adenosquamous tumours arise from bronchial epithelial cells in the process of metaplastic change from the columnar to the squamous form.


The laser diode (LD) is a key component in thermally assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) systems. However, heating from the LD can induce thermal deformation of the slider assembly, and change the gap separation between the slider and disk medium. In this paper, we analyzed the relationship between the slider–medium gap and the optical efficiency of the TAMR head, by considering the thermal effects of epoxy, the adhesive layer, and the near-field transducer (NFT) on the TAMR slider. The epoxy effect was modeled by using finite element (FE) analysis. Five different epoxy models were simulated, and the optimal epoxy model was selected, on the basis of its thermal performance. FE analysis was also carried out to simulate the TAMR slider assembly, which consisted of the LD, NFT, adhesive layer, epoxy, and TAMR head. On the basis of iterative analysis, an FE model was constructed with optimized representation of the epoxy, TAMR head component, and NFT. Thermal analysis of the simulation representation indicated that the epoxy, adhesive layer, and NFT played a significant role in the performance of the TAMR system.


This research aimed to demonstrate that weather index insurance could be used by what farmers in Narok to protect themselves against adverse effects of drought. This involved determining the minimum amount of premiums that would be required from small scale wheat farmers . In this case a cash or nothing put option which has similarities with a weather index was considered. The methodology involved using rainfall data from Narok county over a period of20 years. Data from 1993-2013 was provided by the Kenya Meteorological Department of Kenya. Narok was chosen as the study area since it is the highest net producing county of wheat in Kenya and it has previously been affected be droughts. The average amount of rainfall during the planting season was used as the trigger amount. A rate of 5% was assumed to determine the premiums. From the study's conclusion, it was established that the cash or nothing put option could be used to hedge for drought and it gave an affordable amount of premiums to be paid for 100 currency units.


Loadings in rats with 4-deuterium labeled beta-phenylhydracrylic acid results in the excretion of large amounts of deuterium labelled hippuric acid. Labelled benzoic acid was also detected.


The presence of the pandemic in the world has led most governments to temporarily close educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. Most higher education practitioners have made efforts to stay connected with students through online instruction, hoping that the university doors will open again. Having taught students online during the pandemic follows a need to assess students' learning online. Assessment is one activity that drives students into learning and it could be done both online and offline. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of assessment to learning, traditional instructor-centered examination, online assessment techniques, and cheating in online student assessment and how to curb the cheating. We conclude by answering the worth of online assessment in higher education.


In a recent publication, Bromenshenk et al. claim that an iridovirus, Invertebrate Iridescent Virus-6 (IIV-6)1, is tightly linked to colony collapse disorder (CCD, the cause of many of the bee losses over the past four winters) based on proteomic analyses of bees from CCD-afflicted and unafflicted colonies (1). We believe that there are fundamental flaws in the interpretation of their data based on the following rationale. First, liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) tends to identify the most abundant proteins much more frequently and the major capsid protein of IIV-6 constitutes at least 17% of total virion protein (2) yet of the 792 IIV-6 peptides reported by the authors, only four (0.5%) are from protein 274L, the major capsid protein. This is especially troubling because the authors rely on spectral counting to correlate IIV-6 levels with CCD. Second, in the list of identified peptides provided by the authors there is a high frequency of missed cleavage sites. Trypsin is a very reliable protease (3) and, indeed, if we examine some of our own recent large-scale bee proteomic data sets (available at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/), we find that nearly 80% of all peptides are perfect tryptic peptides, with ∼18% containing one missed cleavage and a few percent containing two (Fig. 1, black bars). The peptides from Bromenshenk et al. are skewed dramatically toward greater numbers of missed cleavages (Fig. 1, light grey bars), which could be explained in one of two possible ways: (1) that the tryptic digest was inefficient, or (2) that many of the peptide identities are incorrect (i.e. a high false discovery rate (FDR)). Because there is no independent "gold standard" MS/MS data from IIV-6 proteins to compare against it is difficult to definitively evaluate the efficacy of trypsin from these data. However, other aspects of the described Methods suggest that the second possibility, a high FDR, is the more likely explanation: the authors state that they did not consider bee protein sequences when interpreting their MS/MS spectra, only pathogen protein sequences. Others have shown that when identifying proteins using a search engine such as SEQUEST or Mascot it is important to consider all the protein sequences that might be present in the sample or risk a high FDR (4). If we take the above-mentioned, large-scale LC-MS/MS dataset acquired on an linear trap quadrupole (LTQ)-OrbitrapXL, that should have similar fragmentation characteristics to the LTQ data reported by the authors, and search all 692,336 MS/MS against a database comprised only of proteins from IIV-6 and all other known bee viruses (i.e. no Apis mellifera sequences), we can also "identify" 103 IIV-6 peptides. However, if we include A. mellifera protein sequences in this search, as well as the virus sequences, then only a single IIV-6 peptide is found at an FDR of 1% based on reversed database searching: the other 102 spectra that matched IIV-6 peptides in the absence of bee sequences match considerably better to bee peptides than to IIV-6 peptides. In other words, at least 102 of the 103 matches were false discoveries when bee proteins were not considered. Interestingly, if one then plots the distribution of missed trypsin cleavages in the false IIV-6 peptides that we have "discovered," the distribution is almost identical to that of the peptides from Bromenshenk et al. (Fig. 1, dark grey bars). We believe that there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that bees are a natural host for IIV-6, let alone that the virus is linked to CCD.

Fig. 1.

Missed cleavages in peptides. A large-scale honey bee LC-MS/MS dataset was acquired on an LTQ-OrbitrapXL as described (5) and searched using MaxQuant against two different protein libraries: (1) all Apis mellifera protein sequences plus sequences from ...


Objective: To assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of carbapenems by considering their microbiological, clinical, pharmacokinetics and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) properties and defining optimal conditions of uses of the new generation of carbapenems. Methods: Literature review. Results: Except for ertapenem, the spectrum of activity is similar for all carbapenems, with little differences in activities of individual agents. The absence or reduced expression of two major porins in combination with various beta-lactamases and alteration of some penicillin binding proteins have been implicated in carbapenem resistance. All carbapenems are not alike, although they have very similar pharmacokinetic properties. The most important PK/PD parameter predicting bacteriological and clinical efficacy is T>MIC. There is some circumstantial evidence, such as clinical data in severe critically ill septic patients, impaired renal function patients and neutropenic patients that imipenem has to exceed 66% of T>MIC to result in good clinical outcome. Continuous or extend infusion of carbapenems should result in at least equal efficacy to that of intermittent infusion in the treatment of infections with susceptible bacteria and appear highly appropriate for use in critically ill patients. Conclusions: Maximizing clinical outcomes and minimizing antibiotic resistance using individualized doses may be best achieved with therapeutic drug monitoring of carbapenems.


"Transitioning the Theatre Industry" examines the state of trans theatre in Canada. Vibrant creativity abounds in trans, transgender, transsexual, two spirit, and genderqueer communities. Trans artists, particularly those at the intersections of marginalized identities such as trans women of colour, have immense underused contributions to make to Canadian theatre. Yet there is a lack of trans content in theatres, and very few trans artists are able to access careers in theatre. While mainstream trans visibility has increased somewhat, the majority of cultural content about trans people continues to be created by non-trans artists. The voyeuristic biases of non-trans people shape the telling of particular trans narratives with problematic stereotypes. In contrast, at a community level, trans artists are creating compelling work exploring the wholeness of our experiences—not just our surgeries and physical transitions. Theatre presenters are frequently more conservative than their audiences—wide audiences are able to enjoy trans-themed work, although it is also valid for trans artists to make work specifically for trans communities. This article urges support for the development and presentation of trans artists as a priority, yet also explores whether and how non-trans artists can create respectful, nuanced trans characters.


Terraced or link houses have been one of the most popular housing schemes lived by modern Malaysians from all walks of life due to its design and affordability amongst all landed properties. Conversely, the mass housing production concept has its disadvantages and in most cases could not complement to the diverse individual needs and personal satisfaction of personalisation. The most distinctive evidence is the adhered normal practice to renovate or modify houses even as early as when the owner is given vacant possession of the property. Users make changes for various reasons such as for personal needs, functional requirements or just plainly for aesthetic appeal. Housing modification or occurs when users modify the interior or exterior physical components of their homes. Modification works ranges from a simple change of colour of the facade to major structural changes to the home. It is also much based on individual affordability and the timing J{Jr the modifications to be made. A questionnaire survey was conducted in a terraced housing development in Section 7, Shah Alam, Selangor, to establish the personalisation trends and the motivational desires behind the personalisation.
© 2016 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v1i1.166
Keywords: Housing, personalisation


Summary Some geotechnical properties of the ballclays of Devon have been related to their mineralogical composition, sedimentary depositional environment and tectonic setting. Small scale sedimentological structures of these predominantly disordered' kaolinitic clays indicate shallow water deposition in a fluvio-lacustrine environment which existed during Oligocene times in the Lustleigh-Sticklepath fault zone. The two principal types of ballclay, the stoneware and whiteware ceramic varieties, have consistently different negative liquidity indices which imply different degrees of overconsolidation. The differences of consistency between the stoneware and whiteware ballclays are considered to have arisen as a result of variations in the intensity of desiccation to which the individual beds of ballclay were subjected shortly after deposition, when receding flood waters allowed drying of the fresh sediment. The stoneware ballclays are typically stiff to hard, apparently 'intact' clays found inter-bedded with silts and sands, whilst the whiteware clays are hard or very hard, highly fissured and slickensided slightly lignitic clays which occur in close association with lignite seams and in many respects resemble underclays from coal-bearing sequences. Overconsolidation is considered to result principally from desiccation of the individual beds of clay, hence estimates of the former maximum thickness of the ballclay deposits within the Lustleigh-Sticklepath fault zone from one-dimensional consolidation tests using undisturbed and remoulded specimens are precluded.


An evolutionary algorithm for the creation of recurrent network structures is presented. The aim is to develop neural networks controlling the behaviour of miniature robots. Two neuro-modules are created separately using this evolutionary approach. The rst neuro-module gives the agents the ability to move within an environment without colliding with obstacles. The second neuro-module provides the agents with a phototropic behaviour. The interaction of the neuro-modules is then investigated evolving the necessary interface to provide the agents with a coherent obstacle avoidance and phototropic behaviour. The evolution process is carried out in a simulated environment and individuals with high performance are also tested on a physical environment with the use of Khepera robots.


The Drosophila melanogaster embryo, an elongated multi-nucleated cell, is a classical model system for eukaryotic development and morphogenesis. Recent work has shown that bulk cytoplasmic flows, driven by cortical contractions along the walls of the embryo, enable the uniform spreading of nuclei along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis necessary for proper embryonic development. Here we propose two mathematical models to characterise cytoplasmic flows driven by tangential cortical contractions in elongated cells. Assuming Newtonian fluid flow at low Reynolds number in a spheroidal cell, we first compute the flow field exactly, thereby bypassing the need for numerical computations. We then apply our results to recent experiments on nuclear transport in cell cycles 4-6 of Drosophila embryo development. By fitting the cortical contractions in our model to measurements, we reveal that experimental cortical flows enable near-optimal axial spreading of nuclei. A second mathematical approach, applicable to general elongated cell geometries, exploits a long-wavelength approximation to produce an even simpler solution, with errors below 5% compared to the full model. An application of this long-wavelength result to transport leads to fully analytical solutions for the nuclear concentration that capture the essential physics of the system, including optimal axial spreading of nuclei.


Cloud computing is a internet based computing model that supports convenient ,on-demand and pay-for-use model. In this computing, data owners host their data on cloud servers and clients can access the data from cloud servers. Due to the data outsourcing, efficient verification of the outsourced data becomes a formidable challenge for data security in Cloud Computing (CC). Therefore, an independent auditing service is required to make sure that the data is correctly hosted in the Cloud. Several protocols are introduced for performing integrity in cloud storage. This paper focuses on the different integrity checking protocols to address the above issue. This paper provides an overview of these protocols by presenting their


The effects of Rhizobium leguminosarum inoculation on the growth and yield of Mucuna flagellipie s (Vogel ex Hook) was conducted for two years (2008 and 2009) in the Greenhouse, Department of Agronomy, Obubra, Cross River University of Technology, Cross River State. Treatments were three Rhizobium strains (CB188, CB756, IAC636 inoculants and no Rhizobium (control), inoculated on Mucuna flagellipies seedlings planted in the polyethelene bags (50x30cm) arranged in a Completely Randomized Design with eight replications. The results showed that all cases of inoculation with Rhizobium strains significantly (p<0.05) increased higher growth and yield compared with the noninoculated ones. Rhizobium inoculated plants produced more number of leaves per plant (28.4 and 29.3), branches (5.3 and 6.2), longest vine length(225.5 and 238.3cm) than the non inoculated at 50% flowering in 2008 and 2009 seasons respectively. The highest leaf area index value (4.03 and 4.06), biomass dry weight of plant fractions; nodule ( 0.78 and 0,79g), vine(11.32 and11.44g), root (6.51 and 6.51g),and leaf (14.5 and 15 2g) were  obtained in plants inoculated with IAC 636 Rhizobium strains. Inoculation also promoted earlier flowering ,pod formation in Mucuna flagellipies as compare with the non inoculated ones .Similarly, the same strain (IAC 636) gave the best seed yield of 120.0g and 126.1g per plant in 2008 and 2009 seasons, respectively. The findings suggested that inoculation of Mucuna flagellipies with Rhizobium is beneficial and produced high seed yield and could be use as biofertilizer an alternative to nitrogen fertilizer. KEY WORDS : Mucuna flagellipies, Rhizobium , Inoculation, Growth, and Yield.


The inclusion of foreign-born sportspeople in national sports teams has become increasingly common. At the same time, the assumed increase in diversity within national football teams has turned into a major subject of (inter)national controversy and debate. This applies, in particular, to the football World Cup, as the assumed increase in foreign-born players in national football teams detracts from the (homogeneous) nation-state basis of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) international football competitions. However, the actual dynamics and complexities of the presence of foreign-born players in national football teams within this context have remained under-researched. In this paper, we use the idea of 'migration corridors' to examine the underlying structures that contribute to the diversification of national football teams, in particular during the World Cup. We do so from both an immigration and emigration perspective. By connecting our foreign-born player data to three types of migration corridors, we discuss the bidirectionality of player movements and nationality choices. Our outcomes indicate that the selection of foreign-born footballers within national football teams in the World Cup can mainly be considered as an echo and/or reversal of preceding migration flows between pairs of countries, indicating that historically embedded migration corridors sustain or are rediscovered in this process.


We report the discovery of three new pulsars in the globular cluster (GC) NGC 6517, namely NGC 6517 E, F and G, made with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The spin periods of NGC 6517 E, F and G are 7.60 ms, 24.89 ms and 51.59 ms, respectively. Their dispersion measures are 183.29, 183.713 and 185.3 pc cm−3, respectively, all slightly larger than those of the previously known pulsars in this cluster. The spin period derivatives are at the level of 1 × 10 – 18 s s−1, which suggests these are recycled pulsars. In addition to the discovery of these three new pulsars, we updated the timing solutions of the known isolated pulsars, NGC 6517 A, C and D. The solutions are consistent with those from Lynch et al. but with smaller timing residuals. From the timing solution, NGC 6517 A, B (position from Lynch et al.), C, E and F are very close to each other on the sky and only a few arcseconds from the optical core of NGC 6517.With currently published and unpublished discoveries, nine pulsars have been discovered in NGC 651, ranking it 6th for GCs with the most known pulsars. The discoveries take advantage of the high sensitivity of FAST and a new algorithm used to check and filter possible candidate signals.


Dynamic response is a key parameter for the engineering applications of MR damper. However, the response time has many different definitions, and which leads to a confusion of the measurement. Commonly, the response of MR damper in the new-designed status is focused, the instance after long-time use or standing-still has not been proposed. In this paper, the influence on the response time by the long-time standing-still is investigated, which shows that the response is largely lengthened. Next step, the measurement will be optimized, and the response of MR damper after long-time use will be in consideration.


Abstract The scope of this research is to assess benthoscape discrimination by airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) bathymetry (ALB) on the basis of statistical parameters derived from the LIDAR waveforms, textural information, and local spatial statistics. Analysis of the underwater camera stations allowed clustering of the stations into groups on the basis of their habitat composition (β-diversity). Twelve descriptive statistics describing the shape of the bottom part of the waveform, also called 12 benthic parameters, were used for discriminating four benthic habitats. A K-means classification and a supervised method based on the Support Vector Machine (SVM) were applied to this dataset, and overall accuracies of 67.7% and 89.9% were obtained, respectively. Geostatistical analyses, using 11 textural measures, defined by the gray-level occurrence matrix (GLOM) and the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), and three local spatial statistics were then applied to the 12 benthic parameters to enhance the SVM classification performance. The assessment of the contribution of geostatistics into benthic class segmentation was achieved by computation of separability distance. Mean (from the GLOM), mean (from the GLCM) and the local Getis-Ord statistic yielded the best rates of discrimination. These added metrics, integrated with bands related to the 12 benthic parameters, showed that the rate of correct (supervised) classification was thereby improved and increased by 5.3%. Finally, the first four principal components (PCs) (i.e., 90.41% of the 12 parameter variances, boosted by the three best geostatistics) brought out an overall accuracy of 93.3%, showing evidence for optimizing the classification processing.


Colorectal cancer is the second commonest cause of cancer-related death after lung cancer. Prognostic features of colorectal cancer are important in determining the optimal treatment for an individual patient. The management of colorectal cancer is further complicated by the need to translate prognosis based on morphology alone as the TNM staging system describes only the anatomical extent of colorectal cancer. However, there are other prognostic factors that have impact on disease progression and can be used as adjuncts to the TNM classification. In particular, features of invasiveness of the tumour may be helpful in the identification of an aggressive phenotype of colorectal cancer and were further investigated. The hypothesis of an aggressive phenotype of colorectal cancer was explored; tumour budding reflects a detachment of tumour cells at the invasive front and presumed to be an early step in the metastatic process. As such, tumour budding has received some attention in colorectal cancer as it has been proposed as an additional factor that may stratify patients into risk categories and therefore considered to be a promising prognostic factor in colorectal cancer.
Chapter 2 examined lymphatic invasion (LI) and blood vessel invasion (BVI) in context to the feasibility of methods in routine practice with and without immunohistochemistry. Results suggested the use of immunohistochemistry (IHC) for detection of lymphatic invasion as feasible; D2-40 improved the identification of lymphatic invasion and was associated with N stage. Elastica staining improved detection rates of blood vessel invasion was associated with T stage and had independent prognostic value. However, the usefulness of CD31 could not be demonstrated.
2
Thus, immunostaining with D2-40 as predictor of nodal metastasis has potential as a marker of lymph node metastasis in early stage colorectal cancer. The detection of blood vessel invasion appeared to be optimised by utilising Elastica stain, resulting in improved detection rates and improved prediction of survival. Therefore, the routine use of Elastica was recommended. These results also point to the relative roles of lymphatic and blood vessel invasion in tumour progression and dissemination in patients with colorectal cancer.
In Chapter 3, Elastica staining in blood vessel invasion was further investigated. In study A, the impact of Elastica staining was examined by comparing two cohorts of patients before and after the routine implementation of the stain. Despite that Elastica staining has been shown to enhance detection rates of venous invasion with improved stratification of risk for patients with colorectal cancer, the Royal College of Pathologists advise its routine use only as a measure of quality control if venous detection rates are below 30%. Results from this study concluded that detection of venous invasion appeared to be optimised by utilising Elastica/ H&E stain that resulted in improved detection rates and improved prediction of survival. The routine use of Elastica/ H&E staining was therefore recommended. In study B, venous invasion in mouse models based on the most common mutated genes of colorectal cancer were examined. Evaluation of the depth of invasion (T stage) was used as an indicator of the extent of tumour growth and venous invasion was used as indicator of metastatic spread. The results showed that Elastica staining can be of use in the assessment of mouse models as it highlighted the elastin in veins and vascular structures were recorded in all models. However, venous invasion was only present in model 2 suggesting the
3
metastatic potential of this model. Therefore, in Model 2 the addition of activated Kras promoted formation of invasive tumours. Kras has a known role in metastatic colorectal cancer. Therefore, Elastica staining can be used to contribute to the current understanding of metastatic spread in colorectal cancer.
Chapter 4 examined tumour invasion in nerves as a potential supplement to the TNM staging system. Metastatic spread can occur in nerves however, the identification of perineural invasion can be difficult with routine staining -H&E (haematoxylin and eosin) alone. Therefore, the prognostic role of perineural invasion (PNI) in Stage I colorectal cancer, using immunohistochemical staining (S100) was investigated. No associations were demonstrated between perineural invasion and clinopathological features. However, the combination of venous invasion and perineural invasion (VI&PNI) were associated with poorer overall survival on univariate analysis while age had independent prognostic value.
Therefore, immunohistochemistry using S100 improved the identification of perineural invasion however, alone; the prognostic value was limited unless used in combination with venous invasion. These findings suggested that the detection of early metastatic invasion (Venous/lymphatic/perineural invasion- ―VELIPI‖) in Stage I colorectal cancer can potentially be helpful in the prediction.
In Chapter 5 tumour budding were further investigated. First, the prognostic value of tumour budding using of the 10HPF (high powered field) method were examined. H&E slides were used and the number of tumour buds was counted using the 10HPF method. An optimal threshold score for the determination of high-grade budding was performed by a ROC analysis using survival as endpoint.
4
The study concluded that the presence of tumour budding was an independent adverse prognostic factor in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. Therefore, the 10HPF method demonstrated to be a promising method for the assessment of tumour budding in H&E sections and should be considered for implementation in routine clinical practice.
Next , the relationship between tumour budding and clinopathological characteristics, tumour micro-environment and survival in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer were examined. Results showed that tumour budding was associated with TNM stage, serosal involvement, venous invasion and a weaker inflammatory cell infiltrate and more stroma. The study concluded that the presence of tumour budding was associated with elements of the tumour micro-environment and was an independent adverse prognostic factor in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. Specifically, high tumour budding was associated with and stratified effectively the prognostic value of TNM stage, venous invasion and GMS. Taken together tumour budding should be assessed routinely in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer.
Further, the prognostic significance of intratumoural budding were investigated, when compared to peritumoural budding in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. Results showed that intratumoural budding was an independent prognostic factor, as such supporting further studies to investigate intratumoural budding in a larger cohort of preoperative biopsies applicable to routine clinical use.
The work presented in this thesis highlights the importance of the additional factors associated with tumour invasiveness and reports associations with the tumour micro environment and local inflammation in patients with colorectal
5
cancer. In addition, this work adds weight to the body of evidence suggesting that the recognition of an aggressive phenotype may improve stratification of treatment for patients with colorectal cancer.
The thesis concluded that additional prognostic factors associated with tumour invasiveness can contribute to the current TNM staging systems and have potential to be implemented with automated assessment for future use in routine practice, the implementation of tumour budding should be further explored.


In order to be deployed in real-world driving environments, self-driving cars must be able to recognize and respond to exceptional road conditions, such as highway work zone signs. In this paper, we present a set of Digital image processing (DIP) and microcontroller (ATmega16) that recognize, through identification of work zone signs, alert the driver of vehicle. Traffic sign detection and recognition system is becoming an essential component of smart cars. Speed-Limit Sign (SLS) is one of the most important traffic signs, since it is used to regulate the speed of vehicles in downtown and highways. Also we have upto 30 traffic signs in our database. In addition, the proposed solution does not require the installation of infrastructure on the road and it can be installed into any vehicle. Also most of the road accidents can be avoided using this system.


Background: CD123 is the α-subunit of the high-affinity receptor for interleukin-3; its expression in normal bone marrow (BM) is highly restricted, however CD123 is highly expressed in certain hematolymphoid malignancies. In a pilot study of 11 systemic mastocytosis (SM) patients (Lasho et al., Leukemia, 2015), we made the following novel observations (i) CD123 was aberrantly expressed on neoplastic mast cells (MC); and (ii) there was focal proliferation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC) around MC aggregates, suggesting a tumor promoting role for PDC.

Objectives: To study MC CD123 expression by IHC in a larger cohort of SM patients to ascertain: (i) whether there is a significant difference in CD123 expression between SM subtypes; (ii) whether focal PDC proliferation around MC aggregates is correlated with CD123 expression; and (iii) whether CD123 expression has prognostic value for overall survival (OS).

Methods: The current study was approved by the Mayo Clinic institutional review board. SM was classified as per standard criteria. Archived BM slides were stained for tryptase and CD123 as previously described (Lasho et al., Leukemia, 2015). Slides were reviewed independently by 2 hematopathologists who were blinded with regards to SM subgroups and scored on the following pre-defined parameters: (i) CD123 expression yes/no; (ii) CD123 expression strong/weak; (iii) focal PDC proliferation yes/no; and (iv) BM MC%.

Results: We studied 58 SM patients and 3 controls. Of the former, 23 had indolent SM (ISM), 10 aggressive SM (ASM), 23 SM with associated hematological disease (SM-AHD), and 2 had mast cell leukemia (MCL). Of the SM-AHD patients, 10 (43%) had CMML, 5 (22%) myeloproliferative neoplasm-unclassified (MPN-u), 3 (13%) PV, 2 (9%) acute myeloid leukemia, and 1 each had lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndrome. The median follow up from diagnosis was 32 months (range 0.1 to 162). Over this period, 3 patients (5%) had leukemic transformation and 30 patients (52%) died.

Concordance rates between hematopathologists for CD123 positive/negative, CD123 strong/weak, focal PDC proliferation yes/no and MC% were 97%, 94%, 98% and 100%, respectively. MC CD123 expression was absent in control cases but demonstrable in 37 (64%) SM patients; expression rates were 100%, 61%, 57%, and 0% in ASM, ISM, SM-AHD and MCL, respectively (p=0.02). Similar to MCL, both cases with SM-AML showed absent MC CD123 expression. Strong MC CD123 expression (comparable to background interstitial PDC) was observed in 23 patients (62%), including 85% with SM-AHD, 60% with ASM, and 43% with ISM (p=0.08). Focal PDC proliferation around MC aggregates, regardless of CD123 expression status, was noted in 44 patients (76%), including 90% with ASM, 87% with ISM, 65% with SM-AHD and 0% with MCL (p=0.02). Focal PDC proliferation was significantly higher in CD123-positive versus -negative patients (87% versus 50%, p=0.005).

OS was predicted by SM subtype; the median OS for ISM, ASM, SM-AHD and MCL patients was not reached, 30 months, 25 months and 3 months, respectively (p=0.005). CD123 expression status did not have prognostic value for OS overall, however, in SM-AHD patients, CD123 expression was associated with significantly inferior survival (p=0.04), independent of the associated disease (ie, CMML vs AML vs MPN vs other). Survival outcome of SM-CMML patients expressing MC CD123 (n=3, median OS=11 months) was significantly inferior as compared to patients who did not (n=7, median OS=44 months), independent of age and absolute monocyte count (p=0.01). CD123 staining intensity had borderline significance for OS in the overall cohort (p=0.08). When restricted to non-indolent SM cases, strong CD123 expression was associated with significantly worse overall survival (15 versus 88 months, p=0.04).

Conclusions: In this cohort, aberrant MC CD123 expression was observed in the majority of SM patients with highest prevalence in ASM patients and uniformly absent expression in leukemic phase SM (MCL or SM-AML). Focal PDC proliferation around MC aggregates was significantly higher in CD123-positive cases, indicating a potential functional interaction. CD123 expression identified SM-AHD patients with inferior OS, especially those with SM-CMML. Strong CD123 staining intensity may be associated with inferior OS in non-indolent SM patients. CD123 expression on MC and PDC constitutes a novel therapeutic target in non-leukemic SM.

Disclosures Pardanani: Stemline: Research Funding. Brooks: Stemline Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of the combination of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), transforming growth factor-Β1 (TGF-Β1), bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and temperature-responsive chitosan hydrogel (TCH) gel on the repair of degenerative intervertebral disc in rat models.

METHODS
Rat models of intervertebral disc degeneration were established by acupuncture. The degenerative effects were observed under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The BMSCs was cultured in vitro and then transfected by adenovirus with enhanced green fluorescent protein to make it carry the gene of enhanced green fluorescent protein,which functioned as fluorescence labeling. The SD rat models of intervertebral disc degeneration were divided into four groups: group A, treated with the combination of bFGF, TGF-Β1,BMSCs,and TCH gel; group B, treated with the combination of BMSCs and TCH gel;group C, treated with the combination of bFGF,TGF-Β1, and TCH gel;and group D, treated with PBS buffer solution. After the corresponding reagents were injected into the degenerative intervertebral discs of each group, the rats were cultivated for another four weeks and then the repair effects of the intervertebral discs were observed under MRI. Furthermore,the intervertebral discs of each group were taken out and observed by HE and Masson staining. The nucleus pulposus was aspirated and the expressions of aggrecan,collagen 2,Sox-9,and collagen I of nucleus pulposus of each group were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot.

RESULTS
The transplanted BMSCs survived in the intervertebral disc and differentiated into nucleus pulposus-like cells. MRI showed that:the signal intensity of the nucleus pulposus of group A was much higher than that of the rest groups, the signal intensity of group B was higher than that of group C, and the signal intensity of group D was the lowest,in which the dura mater spinalis was in compression and the spinal cord changed in beaded shape. The differences of the Pfirrmann grading among the four groups had statistical significance (P<0.05). The results of the HE and Masson stains showed:the intervertebral disc of group A was well-structured,the quantity of nucleus pulposus cells was larger than that of the other three groups,and the boundary between the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus was clearly defined;the quantity of the nucleus pulposus cells of group B was larger than that of group C, and the broken annulus fibrosus was not observed in group B, while the broken annulus fibrosus could be observed in group C; and, the nucleus pulposus cells of group D were replaced by fibrous tissue. The results of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot tests showed that,in terms of the expressions of aggrecan,collagen 2 and Sox-9,group A was the highest, followed by group B,group C,and group D (P<0.05); in terms of the expression of collagen 1,there was no obvious difference among these four groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The transplanted BMSCs can survive in the degenerative intervertebral disc and differentiate into nucleus pulposus-like cells. The combination of bFGF, TGF-Β1, BMSCs,and TCH gel has obvious repair effect on the degenerative intervertebral discs. The effect of the combination of BMSCs and TCH gel on transplantation therapy of the degenerative intervertebral discs is better than that of the combination of bFGF, TGF-Β1 and TCH gel but worse than that of the combination of bFGF, TGF-Β1, BMSCs, and TCH gel.


Human rights have undergone constant evolution. Recently, however, new generations of rights are developing: from political and civil rights to social and economic rights, so much so that this period may be defined as the age of human rights. Many differences exist between moral rules and judicial law. While moral rights are not necessarily recorded in statutory law, some judicial laws, which are capable of being imposed and/or appealed within a true territorial government, originate from moral rules. Common sense has reservations about whether human rights can be labelled as laws in a rudimentary way; instead, society places human rights in the category of moral rights. These moral rights, in fact, are not the fruit of compromise, but are absolute and essential to the inner self. Throughout this article, the evolution of end of life rights is discussed, with particular regard to how those rights are directly correlated to organ transplantation.


Umbrella sampling Monte Carlo simulations are used to calculate free energy barriers to homogeneous liquid–vapor nucleation in the superheated Lennard-Jones fluid. The calculated free energy barriers decrease with increased superheating and vanish at the spinodal curve. A statistical geometric analysis reveals the existence of two types of voids: Small interstitial cavities, which are present even in the equilibrium liquid, and much larger cavities that develop as the system climbs the nucleation free energy barrier. The geometric analysis also shows that the average cavity size within the superheated liquid is a function of density but not of temperature. The critical nucleus for the liquid–vapor transition is found to be a large system-spanning cavity that grows as the free energy barrier is traversed. The weblike cavity is nonspherical at all superheatings studied here, suggesting a phenomenological picture quite different from that of classical nucleation theory.


The objective of this study is to investigate the psychological and academic issues encountered by female talented students at Computer Sciences and Community College at NBU- Rafha' Branch. This is an attempt to suggest suitable solutions to the psychological problems (i.e., alienation, superficiality, fluctuations in morale and academic ones (i.e., boredom and insufficient educational resources). The population of the study consists of (60) students whereas the instrument is a questionnaire. The results of the study indicate that alienation, superficiality, fluctuations in morale (low vs. high) show high effect on students' performances; however, boredom, insufficient educational resources meet the students' needs. The study concludes that there are lack of workshops, field trips, high ambition and low productivity among the students due to the persisting problems.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the in vitro activity of olorofim, a new broad-spectrum antifungal with a novel mechanism of action, against a collection of 123 Spanish clinical isolates belonging to five Scedosporium species and Lomentospora prolificans.

METHODS
The activity of olorofim against Scedosporium apiospermum (n = 30), Scedosporium boydii (n = 30), Scedosporium ellipsoideum (n = 10), Scedosporium aurantiacum (n = 20), Scedosporium dehoogii (n = 3) and Lomentospora prolificans (n = 30) was compared with that of amphotericin B, voriconazole, isavuconazole and micafungin by performing EUCAST and CLSI reference methods for antifungal susceptibility testing.

RESULTS
Amphotericin B and isavuconazole showed MICs ≥2 mg/L for all the species evaluated and voriconazole was moderately active (GM, MIC50 and MIC90 values ≤2 mg/L) against all of them except L. prolificans. Micafungin was effective against S. apiospermum complex strains, but exhibited elevated MECs for S. dehoogii and S. aurantiacum. Olorofim showed low MICs for all the Scedosporium strains tested (GM values were lower than 0.130 and 0.339 by the EUCAST method and the CLSI method, respectively, for all of the species), including those belonging to the MDR species L. prolificans, for which GM values were 0.115 and 0.225 mg/L by the EUCAST method and the CLSI method, respectively, while the GMs for the rest of the antifungals evaluated were higher than 3.732 mg/L using both methodologies.

CONCLUSIONS
Olorofim displayed promising in vitro activity against the Scedosporium and L. prolificans strains tested, some of which have reduced susceptibility to the antifungals that are currently in use.


Latest research indicates that construction of a communal meaning regarding coordination of complex systems development tasks should be implemented into practice, proving that far more attention should be given to the issue of communal meaning construction in organizations. Using Activity Domain Theory for Managing Complex Systems offers a new approach towards managing the coordination of complex system development tasks that informs the co-construction of technical support for coordination and communal meaning regarding this support. Compiling and structuring empirical observations and theoretical developments from the perspective of meaning construction, this unique book combines a deep understanding of concrete, every-day conditions of the telecom industry with innovative theoretical development of the Activity Domain Theory.


For hundreds of thousands of immigrants, coming to Massachusetts has meant exchanging one community for another in multiple ways that are often overlooked. Whether home was originally an Irish tenant farm or the slave quarters of a Southern plantation or an Eastern European ghetto, whether its mention evoked warm memories or nightmares, immigration has required adopting a new identity consonant with new circumstances. Men who considered themselves Milanese moved to Boston's North End and became Italian Americans; women who identified themselves with County Cork turned into Irish Americans when Worcester became their hometown. The identities that immigrants adopted demarcated the outlines of their new communities. This collection of essays explores some of the communities that Massachusetts immigrants created for themselves in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Contributions investigate how individual immigrant settlements came about and how groups interacted with one another as well as how newcomers were received. The essays also assess how immigration affected those who experienced it, the men and women who gave up the rhythms of their birthplaces in favor of the pulsing beat of their adopted homeland. Because the Bay State was a primary destination for immigrants during the social reorganization caused by industrial and urban development, the volume offers important case studies, with national significance, of how newcomers and natives adjusted to each other and reshaped the boundaries of American communities. The collection explores the common aspects of community creation and development that linked their various ethnic experiences-Irish, French Canadian, Jewish, Italian, Swedish, and African American. Essayists are: Janette Thomas Greenwood, John F. McClymer, Reed Ueda, Jonathan M. Chu, Paula M. Kane, Kristen Petersen Farmelant, James J. Connolly, and Mark Herlihy.


Commuting imposes financial, time and emotional cost on the labor force, which increases the cost of supplying labor. Theory suggests a negative or no relation between travel and working time for two reasons: travel time is a cost to supplying labor and commuting frustrates the traveler decreasing productivity. We use a unique dataset that records all commuting trips by public transport (bus and train) over three months in 2013 to study if commuting time affects labor supply decisions in Singapore. We propose a new measure of commuting and working time based on administrative data, which sidesteps issues related to survey data. We document a causal positive relation between commute time and the labor supply decision within individuals. Specifically, we show that a one standard deviation increase in commute time increases working time by 2.6%, controlling for individual, location, and time fixed effects. There are two sources of variation in the elasticity of work time to travel time: across individual and within individual (time variation). While part of the cross-sectional variation may be captured by survey data, the time-variation is completely unexplored. First, we find that the cross-sectional variation depends on whether one engages in a service or manufacturing type of job. This cross-sectional variation might be missed out in survey-based responses due to a different selection process, based say on the proportion of industries in the S&P500. Second, we find that there is very large within individual variation in the elasticity, not based on calendar effects, like day of the week or month. We investigate several potential explanations for this result. We find that in professions where interaction with co-workers and with customers is necessary, i.e. service jobs, disruptions in travelling to work cause a backlog and increase the working hours beyond the original travel delay. These (travel delayed) individuals are not compensated for the time that they put in, in addition to the usual number of working hours. This means that there is a cost shift from employer to employee. Given the recent trend of moving from manufacturing to service-based economies, it is most likely the positive elasticity will increase and become a larger economic burden.


The Department of Defense faces a growing challenge to meet the breadth, depth, and tempo of its expanding education and training needs. While budgets are shrinking, the complexity of missions is increasing and demands on personnel are growing. Learning technologies can help address this, but the research and acquisition communities must make informed decisions about which technologies to pursue. Various military offices publish guidance on this question. For instance, some Defense agencies publish "Science and Technology Objectives," including direction on next-generation learning requirements and associated technologies. However, these publications generally lack linkages to one another—particularly those authored by different Services—which leads to duplications of effort and missed opportunities for coordination. Further, because these publications typically derive from high-level strategy guidance (i.e., "top-down" direction), they may inadvertently omit some lower-echelon needs (i.e., "bottom-up" inputs). To address these gaps, the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative executed an interagency requirements campaign to collate existing publications, crosswalk Defense agency needs, and search for yetundiscovered requirements associated with training, education, and related performance support. As part of this effort, we also conducted interviews with widespread stakeholders across the Department. The results are being assembled into a data visualization, which viewers will be able to access via a government website. Although our Requirements Campaign is still underway, this paper describes our requirements engineering process as well as initial results from it. In particular, we highlight the "top ten" requirements in terms of frequency and apparent priority (for the stakeholders), and we discuss opportunities for developing or acquiring new learning technologies to address the priority objectives.


Objective. To determine the clinical effects of Thai herbal compress. Methods. International and Thai databases were searched from inception through September 2014. Comparative clinical studies investigating herbal compress for any indications were included. Outcomes of interest included level of pain, difficulties in performing activities, and time from delivery to milk secretion. Mean changes of the outcomes from baseline were compared between herbal compress and comparators by calculating mean difference. Results. A total of 13 studies which involved 778 patients were selected from 369 articles identified. The overall effects of Thai herbal compress on reducing osteoarthritis (OA) and muscle pain were not different from those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, knee exercise, and hot compress. However, the reduction of OA pain in the herbal compress group tended to be higher than that of any comparators (weighted mean difference 0.419; 95% CI −0.004, 0.842) with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 58.3%, P = 0.048). When compared with usual care, herbal compress provided significantly less time from delivery to milk secretion in postpartum mothers (mean difference −394.425 minutes; 95% CI −620.084, −168.766). Conclusion. Thai herbal compress may be considered as an alternative for osteoarthritis and muscle pain and could also be used as a treatment of choice to induce lactation.


The widespread assumption that the origin of polar marine faunas is linked to the onset of major global cooling in the Late Eocene – Early Oligocene is being increasingly challenged. The Antarctic fossil record in particular is suggesting that some modern Southern Ocean taxa may have Early Eocene or even Paleocene origins, i.e. well within the Early Cenozoic greenhouse world. A global analysis of one of the largest marine clades at the present day, the Neogastropoda, indicates that not only is there a decrease in the number of species from the tropics to the poles but also a decrease in the evenness of their distribution. A small number of neogastropod families with predominantly generalist trophic strategies at both poles points to the key role of seasonality in structuring the highest latitude marine assemblages. A distinct latitudinal gradient in seasonality is temperature-invariant and would have operated through periods of global warmth such as the Early Cenozoic. To test this concept a second global analysis was undertaken of earliest Cenozoic (Paleocene) neogastropods and this does indeed show a certain degree of faunal differentiation at both poles. The Buccinidae, s.l. is especially well developed at this time, and this is a major generalist taxon at the present day. There is an element of asymmetry associated with this development of Paleocene polar faunas in that those in the south are more strongly differentiated than their northern counterparts; this can in turn be linked to the already substantial isolation of the southern high latitudes. The key role of seasonality in the formation of polar marine faunas has implications for contemporary ecosystem structure and stability.


Abstract : Calculation procedures to describe airplane noise during takeoff and approach have been programmed for batch operation on a large digital computer. Three routines are included. The first normalizes far-field noise spectra to reference conditions and then determines spectra at various distances from the airplane, for airport elevations between sea level and 6000 feet and ambient temperatures between 30F and 100F. Overall sound pressure levels, A-weighted noise levels, perceived noise levels, and effective perceived noise levels are calculated. The second routine uses aerodynamic and engine thrust data to produce takeoff and approach flight path description. Volume 4 describes the computer program and gives instructions for its operation.


Protein microarrays, an emerging class of proteomic technologies, are quickly becoming essential tools for large-scale and high throughput biochemistry and molecular biology. Recent progress has been made in all the key steps of protein microarray fabrication and application, such as the large-scale cloning of expression-ready prokaryotic and eukaryotic ORFs, high throughput protein purification, surface chemistry, protein delivery systems, and detection methods. Two classes of protein microarrays are currently available: analytical and functional protein microarrays. In the case of analytical protein microarrays, well-characterized molecules with specific activity, such as antibodies, peptide-MHC complexes, or lectins, are used as immobilized probes. These arrays have become one of the most powerful multiplexed detection platforms. Functional protein microarrays are being increasingly applied to many areas of biological discovery, including drug target identification/validation and studies of protein interaction, biochemical activity, and immune responses. Great progress has been achieved in both classes of protein microarrays in terms of sensitivity and specificity, and new protein microarray technologies are continuing to emerge. Finally, protein microarrays have found novel applications in both scientific research and clinical diagnostics.


Three species of flatworms from the genus Echinococcus (E. granulosus, E. multilocularis and E. vogeli) and four strains of E. granulosus (cattle, horse, pig and sheep strains) were analysed by the PCR-SSCP method followed by sequencing, using as targets two non-coding and two coding (one nuclear and one mitochondrial) genomic regions. The sequencing data was used to evaluate hypothesis about the parasite breeding system and the causes of genetic diversification. The calculated recombination parameters suggested that cross-fertilisation was rare in the history of the group. However, the relative rates of substitution in the coding sequences showed that positive selection (instead of purifying selection) drove the evolution of an elastase and neutrophil chemotaxis inhibitor gene (AgB/1). The phylogenetic analyses revealed several ambiguities, indicating that the taxonomic status of the E. granulosus horse strain should be revised.


This paper describes two demodulation methods that have been developed for extracting large optical phase changes from pseudo-heterodyne modulated optical-fiber sensor signals. Both demodulator approaches use frequency-dependent electrical phase shifts in an electrical all-pass filter, and differ only in how the electrical phase is extracted from the all-pass filter. One approach uses a summing amplifier and a peak detector, while the other uses a phase meter. Both proved capable of detecting optical phase changes greater than 100 radians, which is far in excess of previous pseudo-heterodyne techniques, but this is achieved at the expense of DC measurement capability. Additionally, the peak detector demodulator and phase meter demodulators had minimum detectable phases of 5*10-4 radians and 1*10-5 radians, respectively, over a 2.0 kHz bandwidth.


Monitoring is a continuous, or nearly continuous, evaluation of the physiological function of a patient in real time to guide management decisions, including when to make therapeutic interventions and assessment of those interventions. Pulse oximeters pass two wavelengths of light through a pulsating vascular bed and determine oxygen saturation. The accuracy of pulse oximetry is about ±4%. Capnography measures carbon dioxide at the airway and displays a waveform called the capnogram. End-tidal PCO2 represents alveolar PCO2 and is determined by the ventilation-perfusion quotient. Use of end-tidal PCO2 as an indication of arterial PCO2 is often deceiving and incorrect in critically ill patients. Because there is normally very little carbon dioxide in the stomach, a useful application of capnography is the detection of esophageal intubation. Intra-arterial blood gas systems are available, but the clinical impact and cost effectiveness of these is unclear. Mixed venous oxygenation (PvO2 or SvO2) is a global indicator of tissue oxygenation and is affected by arterial oxygen content, oxygen consumption and cardiac output. Indirect calorimetry is the calculation of energy expenditure and respiratory quotient by the measurement of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. A variety of mechanics can be determined in mechanically ventilated patients including resistance, compliance, auto-peak end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and work of breathing. The static pressure-volume curve can be used to identify lower and upper infection points, which can be used to determine the appropriate PEEP setting and to avoid alveolar overdistension. Although some forms of monitoring have become a standard of care during mechanical ventilation (eg, pulse oximetry), there is little evidence that use of any monitor affects patient outcome.


Background. Splanchnic artery bleeding is a life-threatening condition, especially in high-risk patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of endovascular treatment of splanchnic artery bleeding in pancreato-biliary disease, considered as survival at the 3-month follow-up. Patients and methods. From 1992 to 2001 39 patients with upper splanchnic arterial lesion due to acute and chronic pancreatitis after surgery or percutaneous procedures, or as a complication of aneurysms or trauma, were treated using endovascular techniques. The patients undenvent CT control immediately after the procedure, after seven days and then at the 3, 6 and 12-month-fo/low-up. Results. In some patients, more than one angiography was necessary to identify the source of bleeding. Bleeding was stopped in all treated patients. Fatal re-bleeding occurred in 6 patients and, in the first part of the study, 2 patients died of hepatic failure after hepatic artery embolization. Conclusions. Splanchnic artery bleeding is a life-threatening condition. Endovascular treatment can reach a clinical success rate of up to 75% at three months.


We studied the arrangement of the cross-filaments in intestinal microvilli to understand how microfilaments interact with the membrane. Observations on thin-sectioned or negatively stained microvilli with the electron microscope demonstrate that the cross-filaments on the core bundle lie opposite to one another and are spaced 32.5 nm apart. In sections grazing through the membranes, the cross-filaments appear as transverse stripes in a barber-polelike arrangement. The cross- filaments point away from the microvillus tip. This subfragments S1 or HMM. The cross filaments are associated not only with the microfilaments but also with electron-dense patches on the inside surface of the membrane. These results suggest the cross-filaments are arranged as a double helix around the core bundle. Furthermore, the cross-filaments can serve as in situ markers for microvillar polarity. Lastly, the cross-filaments interact not only with specific portions on the actin filaments but also with dense patches on the membrane. These observations are summarized in a model of the microvillus cytoskeleton.


The project was designed to determine the suitability of different wheat varieties for the production of naan and to evaluate the performance of mixed starter cultures of yeast and LAB and wheat flour extraction rates on the quality of sourdough naan. On the basis of physico-chemical, rheological characteristics of wheat flour and sensory characteristics of the naan, wheat variety AS-2002 were found the most suitable for the production of naan. Consequently, this variety was milled to get 64, 76, 88 and 100% extraction rates flour for subsequent studies. The extraction rates significantly influenced the proximate composition and rheological characteristics of the flour. The sourdoughs were prepared from different extraction rates flour using freeze dried mixed cultures namely; LA-1 containing homo-fermentative strain Pediococcus acidilacti and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and LA-5, containing hetero-fermentative strain L. brevis and homo-fermentative strain L. casei and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The pH of the sourdoughs decreased and acidity increased significantly with an increase in extraction rate of flour. The sourdoughs were analyzed for volatiles; the compounds extracted were alcohols, esters, acids, carbonyls and aromatic compounds. The sourdough naans were prepared by using different extraction rates flour. The production of organic acids increased with an increase in extraction rate and freeze dried cultures containing hetero-fermentative strains of LAB showed better performance than homo-fermentative in the production of organic acids. The sourdough naans prepared with different extraction rates flour showed highly significant effect on minerals contents. The volatile compounds extracted from the sourdough naans using SPME and Dynamic Headspace techniques were mainly identified as alcohols, esters, carbonyls. It was found that hetero-fermentative strains of LAB produced more volatile compounds than homo-fermentive and SPME technique extracted volatile compounds with higher relative peak areas than Dynamic Headspace. The sensory evaluation of naans revealed that the sourdough naans were preferred over yeast leavened due to their better taste; flavor and chewability. The sourdough naans prepared from 76% extraction rate flour were awarded the highest scores for most of the sensory attribute.


To achieve a better material for uncooled infrared (IR) detector, polycrystalline VO2(B) thin films with layered W-doping were fabricated on Si substrates by magnetron sputtering, and the best temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) value reached 4.1%/K. The film synthesis was in a two-step route, first deposition at room temperature and then post-deposition annealing at 450 °C, to better control the crystallization behavior. Various transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods were employed to investigate three sets of multi-layered films with different deposition time, 10, 20, and 30 min, with especial emphasis on the effect of layered W-doping scheme on the formation of multiple VO2(B) layers. Spatial-resolved energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed the alternative patterns of W-rich layers and W-poor layers, while the thinner films exhibited better crystallinity and texturing. By comparison with an as-deposited film, it was found that the inter-diffusion between the two types of layers was completed in the deposition step while both remained in amorphous structure. A stable W solution of about 8 cat% in VO2(B) layers measured from all these films indicated that the layered doping can tailor the multi-layered microstructure to optimize the performance of VO2(B) films.


Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is an attractive strategy for enhancing the luminescence of metal nanoclusters (NCs). However, rational control of the AIE of Au NCs is currently one of the key challenges and fundamental understanding of the complex surface/interfacial structures, and the emission mechanism of AIE-type Au NCs is far from complete. In this study, we report a pH-controllable AIE accompanied with a self-assembly/disassembly process of Au NCs with Au(I)–thiolate complexes with glutathione (GSH)-protected AIE-type Au NCs as a model. It was found that the solution pH could be used to control the landscape of the Au(I)–thiolate complexes encapsulating the Au NCs, generating varied AIE. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed that the Au NCs were essentially embedded inside the pH-sensitive supramolecular assemblies of the Au(I)–thiolate complexes. It was further found that a certain degree of crystallization of the Au(I)–thiolate shell occurred on the surface of the Au NCs. This study expands the knowledge of both the surface/interfacial structures of AIE-type metal NCs and the control of their PL and their self-assembly.


Two important issues have arisen in 5G wireless communications: spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. The existing wireless communication architectures and technologies may not be able to address these two issues at the same time for 5G multi-tier networks where users in different tiers have different priorities for channel access. In this article, we first present the motivation for our proposal of a new paradigm of integrated spectrum and energy harvesting for 5G wireless networks, in which spectrum and energy resources are efficiently collected and intelligently managed. Then we present an integrated spectrum and energy harvesting 5G architecture for dealing with current challenges. After that, based on the proposed architecture, we provide integrated spectrum and energy control mechanisms for typical 5G networks. Finally, we propose a cooperative medium access control scheme for heterogeneous 5G networks that attracts cooperative sensing participants with heterogeneous energy harvesting capabilities. Illustrative results demonstrate significant energy and spectrum efficiency for 5G wireless networks.


The present study was designed to investigate the possible effects of the antioxidant taurine on pregnant adriamycin (ADR) induced toxemic female rats. ADR was injected intraperitoneally to 50 pregnant female rats (5 groups) to induce toxemia. the first is Frank control group injected only with saline; the second group is the Taurine group that determined the effect of taurine alone; the third group is the Toxemic group that showed the toxicity of Adriamycin; the fourth group is the Therapeutic group (Adriamycin followed by Taurine) and the fifth group is the Protective group (Taurine followed by Adriamycin) that showed the amelurative effect of taurine in these groups. Blood pressure, liver and kidney function, lipid profile, taurine concentration in plasma, serum cortisone, T3 &T4 were measured for all animals. Furthermore, histopathological examination and morphometric study for liver, kidney and cardiac muscle were done for all groups. The results showed that, the Protective group has marked improvement in most biochemical parameters than the Therapeutic group compared to Toxemic group. Morphometric study revealed a significant decrease in the nuclear area in the tissues of toxemic rats. Also, marked disturbances were observed in the histopathological architecture of the kidney, liver and heart in all toxemic rats. However, a marked improvement in morphometrical parameters and histopathological architecture was observed in protective group. The results support the ameliorative effect of taurine in the protection against toxemia during pregnancy in experimental animals.


SUMMARY In the eight years since its release, IntelliDoc has raised the standard for Document Delivery worldwide, and increased international recognition of CISTI as a major force in the information industry. IntelliDoc integrated a multitude of automated processes into a unified whole, enabling CISTI to offer close to same-day delivery of documents worldwide. IntelliDoc integrates document ordering from a host of ordering methods, scanning of documents from collections at CISTI and in partner collections, and a range of delivery options.