We present a functional renormalization group investigation of an Euclidean three-dimensional matrix Yukawa model with $U(N)$ symmetry, which describes $N=2$ Weyl fermions that effectively interact via a short-range repulsive interaction. This system relates to an effective low-energy theory of spinless electrons on the honeycomb lattice and can be seen as a simple model for suspended graphene. We find a continuous phase transition characterized by large anomalous dimensions for the fermions and composite degrees of freedom. The critical exponents define a new universality class distinct from Gross-Neveu type models, typically considered in this context.


The aim of the present paper is to compare the results obtained using two osteosynthesis systems developed for the surgical treatment of unstable fractures of the trochanteric region of the femur: the proximal femoral nail (PFN) and the dynamic hip screw (DHS) with trochanteric butt-press plate (TBPP). From December 1997 to November 2000, 173 patients with instable trochanteric fractures (type 31 A-2 and A-3 according to the AO-classification) had osteosynthesis by PFN (n = 122) or DHS/TBPP (n = 51). The average patient age was 74 years (range 27 to 98). No significant differences between the two study groups were observed with regard to age, sex, and rate of fracture types. At an average follow-up of 17 months the radiological and clinical outcome according to the score of "Merle d'Aubigne" was analysed in 61 % of all patients. All fractures were healed with no difference in functional outcome between the two groups. In the case of PFN 17.2 % revisions were necessary and in the case of DHS with TBPP 21.6 %. A shorter operation time (43 vs. 61 min) and a considerable shorter in-patient stay (20 vs. 24 days) were common with PFN. Full-weight-bearing immediately after the osteosynthesis was possible for 98 % of the PFN patients and 81 % of the DHS/TBPP patients. The DHS/TBPP osteosynthesis in instable trochanteric fractures is associated with a higher incidence of complications. Therefore we recommend to treat instable fractures of the trochanteric region with the PFN.


b-axis oriented SrO substituted BaTi2O5 (Ba1-xSrxTi2O5) was prepared by arc-melting. The effect of SrO substitution on the dielectric properties of BaTi2O5 (BT2) was investigated by A.C. impedance spectroscopy. The Cole-Cole plot of Ba1-xSrxTi2O5 showed a distorted semi-circle which was deconvoluted into two semicircles corresponding to the bulk BT2 and a second phase. The complex impedance, modulus and capacitances from the ferroelectric bulk matrix and the paraelectric second phase of Ba1-xSrxTi2O5 were simulated by a Maxwell-Wagner model.


Here we present the summary of first years of operation and the first results of a novel 9-channel wide-field optical monitoring system with sub-second temporal resolution, Mini-MegaTORTORA (MMT-9), which is in operation now at Special Astrophysical Observatory on Russian Caucasus. The system is able to observe the sky simultaneously in either wide (∼900 square degrees) or narrow (∼100 square degrees) fields of view, either in clear light or with any combination of color (Johnson-Cousins B, V or R) and polarimetric filters installed, with exposure times ranging from 0.1 s to hundreds of seconds. The real-time system data analysis pipeline performs automatic detection of rapid transient events, both near-Earth and extragalactic. The objects routinely detected by MMT include faint meteors and artificial satellites. The pipeline for a longer time scales variability analysis is still in development.


This research examined food production/service quality mediating effect in the relationship between the innovative human resource management practices (IHRMPs) and patient satisfaction in Egyptian healthcare. Case study strategy applied in two Egyptian hospitals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used. A convenient sample included 252 hospital patients and 108 kitchen staff was selected. Findings indicated a strong positive IHRMP effects on patient satisfaction. According to SEM analysis, food service quality factor was fully mediated the direct relationship between IHRMPs and the patient satisfaction. While food production quality factor was not mediated the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction. The article identifies opportunities to use comprehensive IHRMPs effectively and to develop other food quality indicators that may affect patient satisfaction. This article is among the few studies offering a framework to identify service quality mediation effect in the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction in Egyptian healthcare. This framework is based on social exchange theory in which quality knowledge perceptions in hospitals could come from IHRMPs, which consequently promotes patient satisfaction.


ABSTRACT Edwardsiella ictaluri is the leading cause of mortality in channel catfish culture, but little is known about its pathogenesis. The use of signature-tagged mutagenesis in a waterborne infection model resulted in the identification of 50 mutants that were unable to infect/survive in catfish. Nineteen had minitransposon insertions in miscellaneous genes in the chromosome, 10 were in genes that matched to hypothetical proteins, and 13 were in genes that had no significant matches in the NCBI databases. Eight insertions were in genes encoding proteins associated with virulence in other pathogens, including three in genes involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, three in genes involved in type III secretion systems (TTSS), and two in genes involved in urease activity. With the use of a sequence from a lambda clone carrying several TTSS genes, Blastn analysis of the partially completed E. ictaluri genome identified a 26,135-bp pathogenicity island containing 33 genes of a TTSS with similarity to the Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 class of TTSS. The characterization of a TTSS apparatus mutant indicated that it retained its ability to invade catfish cell lines and macrophages but was defective in intracellular replication. The mutant also invaded catfish tissues in numbers equal to those of invading wild-type E. ictaluri bacteria but replicated poorly and was slowly cleared from the tissues, while the wild type increased in number.


The purpose of this study was to assess the vulnerability of groundwater in Baghmalek aquifer to pollution. The groundwater vulnerability was simulated in Geographical Information System (GIS) using DRASTIC model. Indeed, GIS clarifies the results of a complicated model through visual representation, which provided an applicable tool for decision makers. The vulnerability map of Baghmalek basin shows four classes including no risk to pollution, very low vulnerability, low vulnerability, and low to moderate vulnerability depending on the intrinsic characteristics. The results of the model indicate that the northern parts of the plain are more vulnerable than the southern parts.


Introduction:
 Early after stroke local inflammatory changes are primarily mediated by microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain. As injury evolves and the vascular integrity becomes compromised, there is a robust infiltration of peripheral myeloid cells into the ischemic area. Given the common lineage ancestry and morphological similarity between bone marrow-derived (BM) macrophages and resident microglia, the two cell types become nearly indistinguishable from each other using standard immunohistological methods. To date, the most sensitive means of discerning between microglia and BM macrophages relies on the relative level of CD45 expression. In this study, ex-vivo analyses were performed to distinguish CD45intCD11b+ microglia and CD45hiCD11b+Ly6C+ BM macrophages. Functional studies were also performed.

 Materials & Methods:
 Young male C57Bl/6 mice were subject to sham surgery or middle cerebral artery occlusion for 90min followed by 72hr or 7d of reperfusion. Ipsilateral hemispheres were harvested from PBS perfused mice and fixed for immunohistological preparation or processed by dissociation into single cell suspensions for use in functional flow cytometry assays.

 Results:
 Significant microglia cell death occurred by 72hr, and inversely correlated with BM macrophage infiltration. Surviving microglia showed a low rate of proliferation in response to ischemic stress compared to BM macrophages (1% vs. 7%; p<0.01). Peripheral macrophages were the primary source of TNF, while IL-1β was predominately expressed by microglia. Mitochondrial activity was significantly altered in microglia after stroke (p<0.05) and was accompanied by two-fold increases in ROS production. Finally, microglia displayed poor phagocytic potential after stroke compared to infiltrating macrophages (12% vs. 30%; p<0.01).

 Discussion:
 There is a complex, biphasic macrophage response to stroke injury. The post-acute phase is characterized by widespread microglia activation and dysregulation, whereas the subsequent resolution phase consists of debris clearance in the necrotic core by infiltrating macrophages.


Expanded nursing roles are being explored in Canada as a means to better support the health of the population, enable access to quality care and contribute to the sustainability of the healthcare system. As Canada embarks on a process of developing and implementing registered nurse (RN) prescribing roles, gathering evidence from jurisdictions with established nurse prescribing is helpful to inform policy development. Of particular interest is literature from the UK, with more than 20 years of experience with nurse prescribing, which identifies the importance of completing graduate pharmacological education and building on existing clinical knowledge and experience. Similar models of RN prescribing education have been adopted in New Zealand and Ireland. Within Canada, the RN prescribing role is still in its infancy, and there is some variation among provinces in the approach to prescribing practices and in RN prescribing education. This paper describes the results of an environmental scan that sought to explore the educational practices of national and international jurisdictions through published and grey literature sources. Findings from this environmental scan will support nurse leaders as they develop RN prescribing regulation and education in Canada and will highlight important areas for further knowledge development.


According to the properties of bioleaching solutions of printed circuit boards (PCBs), copper(Ⅱ) in the leaching solution were recovery by solvent extraction with N902 and RE609. The influence of equilibration time,extractant concentration,O/A ratios,pH value on copper(Ⅱ) extraction and sulphuric acid concentration on copper(Ⅱ) stripping had been studied. Extraction of copper increased with increasing extractant concentration with both the extractants. More than 97.45% of copper can be extracted from a typical bioleaching solution of PCBs after copper extraction was carried out using 10% N902 diluted in kerosene at O/A ratio of 1:1, while 97.14% of copper can be extracted using 20% RE609 diluted in kerosene at O/A ratio of 1:1. The stripping of copper loaded N902 and RE609 increased with increasing H2SO4 concentration, but stripping of the latter was lower than the former.More than 93.57% and 90.29%of copper can be stripped from the loaded N902 and RE609 stripped at 1:1 phase ratio with 1.8 M H2SO4 in a single stage.


Sweden is consistently found at the top in international indices of corruption. In recent years, however, several instances of corruption have been exposed, and surveys show that large shares of Swedish citizens harbor perceptions that public corruption is widespread. Drawing on recent surveys, two questions are asked. First, to what extent do Swedish citizens believe that corruption constitutes a serious problem? Second, how do citizens' evaluations of the extent of public corruption affect support for the democratic system? Approaching the issue from a comparative Nordic perspective, the data indicate that Swedes are considerably more prone to believe that politicians and public officials are corrupt than their Nordic counterparts. The analysis also suggests that such perceptions constitute an important determinant of support for the democratic system. Thus, even in a least likely case of corruption, such as Sweden, growing concerns about corruption has a potential to affect democratic legitimacy negatively.


: Serological evidence with or without clinical signs of neonatal isoerythrolysis was experimentally produced in 6 of 8 foals born to mares allo-immunized with washed erythrocytes from the stallion. Blood group antigens were determined in all mares, stallions and foals, and the incompatible antigenic factor(s) responsible for the disease were defined. In 5 of 8 foals born to alloimmunized mares, a single antigenic factor difference accounted for the erythrocyte incompatibility between mare and foal. The erythrocyte antigen suspected as the most responsible for isoerythrolysis observed was A1. Agglutinin and hemolysin titers were measured in mare serum and colostrum. Of the presuckle anti-foal erythrocyte titers, colostral and hemolysins titers were greater than serum and agglutinin titers respectively. Foals were allowed to nurse and treatment of affected foals was not attempted which allowed full expression of disease and outcome.


In this study, dissolved ozone flotation system with injecting ozone directly into a DAF pump developed was applied to remove turbidity and organic matter for water treatment. This ozone flotation system was evaluated on the basis of the efficiency of ozone transfer into water and the removal efficiency of turbidity and TOC in the Nakdong river water. The DAF pump system found to be more efficient than the conventional DAF system injecting ozone directly from a ozone generator. The ozone through the DAF pump process was dissolved in water much faster than through the general ozone generator due to the higher mixing efficiency through a pump impeller and high pressure inside the DAF pump. Also, the kinetics of ozone decay injected by the DAF pump was slower than injected by an ozone generator. The DAF pump flotation system shows that 30% difference of removal efficiencies is attained as the ozone dose increases from 1.2 mg/L to 8.2 mg/L. And the turbidity removal was increased with increasing ozone dose. Therefore it can be concluded that ozone in this flotation system facilitates improved removal of organic matter and turbidity due to enhanced destabilization of those.


Using the gene expression vector pFDC11 for Bacillus stearothermophilus CU21, a recombinant plasmid pFDX1 was constructed, which carries the Pseudomonas-derived xylE gene coding for Catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (CatO2ase). CatO2ase activity can be detected from CU21 (pFDX1) cells grown at 48 degrees C. This result indicates that the promoterless xylE gene can be expressed in a thermophilic host under the direction of a promoter from a thermophilic bacterium. By selecting Kmr mutants at elevated growth temperature, a segregant CU21-161 was obtained, the xylE gene expression of which at 55 degrees C and 60 degrees C was much higher than that of the parental strain. A method for CatO2ase assay with suspension of intact cells was also reported in this paper.


Objective To describe how a successful partnership between state public health and a university organization has used epidemiologic data, such as mortality, hospital discharge, and emergency department (ED) visit data, to inform falls prevention activities in North Carolina (NC). Introduction Falls are a leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injury in NC. As the size of the older adult population is predicted to increase over the next few decades, it is likely that the incidence of falls-related morbidity and mortality will increase in tandem. 1 In order to address this public health emergency, the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (IVPB) of the NC Division of Public Health has partnered with the Carolina Center for Health Informatics (CCHI) in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to perform falls surveillance activities. This abstract describes some of the specific research and surveillance activities currently ongoing in NC. Methods IVPB developed the Special Emphasis Report (SER) on Fall Injuries among Older Adults, 2005-2014 to describe the demographic characteristics and trends of falls-related mortality and hospitalization among adults 65 and older, associated costs of falls-related injury, and current falls prevention activities in NC. The NC SER was based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury SER template, a tool designed to facilitate the dissemination of injury data for public health action. While the SER focused primarily on falls among adults > 65 years of age, CCHI was interested in using ED visit data to identify the age at which falls morbidity begins to increase as a means of informing prevention activities to be implemented before the advent of an injurious fall. Therefore, CCHI performed a descriptive epidemiologic study using ED visit data collected by NC DETECT. CCHI identified all NC ED visits from January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2014 that met the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control definition of a fall of unintentional intent. 2 During 2010-2014, NC DETECT captured ED visit data from all 125 24/7, acute care, hospital-affiliated, civilian EDs and over 99% of all ED visits in the state. 3 Results Analysis for the SER found that falls-related death rates increased by 43.1% from 2005 (47.0 per 100,000) to 2014 (67.3 per 100,000), with the greatest increase among males (61.3%) and adults 85 and older (74.4%). Conversely, rates of non-fatal hospitalization remained relatively stable and were 1.6 times higher among females than males in 2014 (84.0 and 56.8 per 100,000 respectively). Projected lifetime costs associated with falls among NC older adults was approximately $1.4 billion in 2014. NC DETECT captured 986,024 ED visits during the period 2010-2014 among adults > 20 years of age (27.4 ED visits/1,000 person-years; 95% CI: 27.4-27.5). Throughout the adult lifespan, fall incidence rates in women (33.0 ED visits/1,000 person-years; 95% CI: 32.9-33.1) exceeded those in men (21.3 ED visits/1,000 person-years; 95% CI: 21.3-21.4). Starting at age 45, fall rates in women continued to exceed fall rates in men, climbing each year, while rates in men remained stable until after age 65. These results suggest that the risk of having an injurious fall may increase before age 65, particularly among women. Due to the public health implications of the results obtained by IVPB and CCHI, both organizations are working closely to ensure that relevant information reaches a wide net of potential partners in the effort to reduce falls morbidity and mortality. To date, IVPB and CCHI have collaborated on generating fact sheets and short reports available to the public, syndromic surveillance custom event reports available to authorized users, and presenting information to local, state, and national partners. Conclusions Falls morbidity and mortality are major concerns for the state of NC and the country as a whole. Falls surveillance benefits from the collaboration of governmental and university organizations with community partners. For example, when CCHI identified an increase in falls incidence in middle age, and, therefore, the potential need to begin falls risk assessment activities at ages < 65, particularly among women, NC DPH had the resources to communicate these results to relevant local and state programs and organizations. References 1. R Tippett. Population Growth in the Carolinas: Projected vs. Observed Trends. Carolina Demography, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://demography.cpc.unc.edu/2015/12/08/population-growth-in-the-carolinas-projected-vs-observed-trends/. Page last reviewed December 8, 2015. Accessed October 9, 2017. 2. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Matrix of E-code Groupings. www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/ecode_matrix.html. Page last reviewed on August 29, 2014. Accessed October 12, 2016. 3. Carolina Center for Health Informatics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. NC DETECT: Background. http://ncdetect.org/background/. Page last reviewed January 2017. Accessed March 8, 2017.


Non-homogeneous Poisson Process (NHPP) model with typical reliability growth patterns is an important technology about evaluating software reliability. Two parameters which affect software reliability are original failures number and failure-detected rate. The paper firstly defines the software failure distributed and discusses a few kinds' software reliability models. Non-homogeneous Poisson process model is presented. The models with different parameters are discussed and analyzed. The model's restrict condition and some of parameters, original failures number and failure-detected ratio, are extrapolated. Assessment methodology about key parameters is given.


Application of calcium (Ca) sprays is a recommended practice to reduce the inci- dence of Ca-related disorders such as bitter pit in apple (Malus ×domestica), but effectiveness of sprays to increase Ca concentrations in the fruit is not always consistent. Strontium (Sr) has been used as a Ca analog to evaluate Ca transport processes and distribution in plants. A fi eld study was conducted using foliar- and fruit-applied Sr as a tracer for Ca transport in 20-year-old 'Honeycrisp' apple trees on Malling.26 (M.26) rootstock. The objectives of this study were to 1) measure the amount of Sr translocation from leaves to fruit, 2) deter- mine the effectiveness of eight sprays applied over the growing season vs. four late-season sprays on increasing Sr concentrations in leaves and fruit, and 3) evaluate the effect of an experimental adjuvant consisting of alkyl-polysaccharides and monosaccharides on spray effi cacy. Seven treatments were tested, which included a control and six Sr treatments ap- plied in various combinations with or without an adjuvant. Trees were sprayed four or eight times during the growing season, either directly to leaves and fruit or to leaves only (fruit covered during application). Spray treatments did not signifi cantly affect total fruit fresh or dry weight. Although some discrimination between Ca and Sr was detected, the similar distribution of Ca and Sr in fruit tissue of control treatments suggested that Sr is a suitable tracer for Ca. Based on the covered vs. uncovered fruit treatments, about 11% to 17% of the Sr in the fruit came from Sr applied directly to the leaves. Eight spray applications over the growing season more than doubled both the concentration and content of fruit Sr compared with four late season sprays. The tested adjuvant doubled Sr absorption by and translocation to fruit compared with not using an adjuvant. Assuming similar transport for Ca and Sr, and adjusting for the atomic weight of Ca relative to Sr, the maximum increase in fruit Ca concentration at harvest from foliar and fruit applications (eight sprays with adjuvant and uncovered fruit) would have been as follows: core = 78 mg·kg -1 ; fl esh = 35 mg·kg -1 ; peel = 195 mg·kg -1 ; entire fruit = 67 mg·kg -1 . In addition to being an underused tool for studying Ca transport patterns, the results also suggest that use of Sr may be a novel technique for testing the effi cacy of various adjuvants used to enhance uptake and transport of Ca in leaves and fruit. Quality and storability of apple fruit are often strongly associated with levels of Ca in


Objectives:HIV-1 tropism needs to be determined before the use of CCR5 antagonist drugs such as maraviroc (MVC), which are ineffective against CXCR4-using HIV-1. This study assessed how different computational methods for predicting tropism from HIV sequence data performed in a large clinical cohort. The value of adding clinical data to these algorithms was also investigated. Design and methods:PCR amplification and sequence analysis of the HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop region was performed on triple replicates of plasma viral RNA or proviral DNA extracted from peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) in 242 patients. Coreceptor usage was predicted from V3 sequences using seven bioinformatics interpretation algorithms, combined with clinical data where appropriate. An intention-to-treat approach was employed for exploring outcomes and performance for different viral subtypes was examined. Results:The frequency of R5 predictions varied by 22.6%, with all seven algorithms agreeing for only 75.3% of tests. The identification of individuals likely to fail was poor for all algorithms. The addition of clinical data improved this, but at the expense of their ability to predict success. The clinical algorithms varied across subtypes, whereas other algorithms were more consistent. Furthermore, individuals with discordant clonal and clinical predictions were more likely to fail MVC treatment. Conclusion:Eligibility for MVC varied depending on the algorithm method used. The addition of clinical parameters alongside sequence data may help predict X4 emergence during treatment. It could be that V3 loop analysis in isolation may not be the best method for selecting individuals for MVC.


Long-term effects of renal denervation (DNX) commonly include a decrease in blood pressure (BP), observed in both normotensive animals and various models of hypertension. On the other hand, short term BP responses vary. We examined how post-DNX increase in BP observed in this study depends on baseline metabolic and functional status of animals, with a special interest for the role of oxidative stress. Anesthetized Wistar rats on standard (STD), low-sodium (LS) or high-sodium (HS) diet were used, untreated or pre-treated with tempol, a superoxide scavenger, or N(omega)-propyl-L-arginine (L-NPA), an inhibitor of neuronal NOS (nNOS). Early BP and renal hemodynamic responses were examined to right- and then left-side DNX performed using an own relatively non-invasive technique. Left kidney cortical, outer- and inner-medullary blood flows (CBF, OMBF, IMBF) were continuously recorded as laser-Doppler fluxes. Sequential denervations significantly increased BP to final 19 %, 12 %, and 6 % above control level in HS, LS, and STD groups, respectively. CBF, a measure of total renal perfusion, increased in LS and STD but not in HS rats. Tempol pretreatment prevented the post-denervation BP increase on each diet. Selective inhibition of nNOS prevented BP increase in STD and HS groups, a modest increase persisted in LS rats. We propose that enhanced afferent impulsation from intrarenal chemoreceptors related to oxidative stress in the kidney was the background for acute BP increase after DNX. The response was triggered by a release of brain sympatho-excitatory centers from inhibition by renal afferents, this was followed by widespread sympathetic cardiovascular stimulation.


The socalled gambling addiction expresses itself as an exaggerated form of the gambling passion. The act of becoming fixed on or addicted to this (or another) behaviour pattern is always proceded by tentative situations man is succumbing to. The stimulant becomes increasingly more attractive. Regarding such a process, there is not criterion to determine a point when the addiction (which is not linked to a certain matter) becomes a disease. At all events, it is a legal matter to decide whether an extremely defective development that has obviously resulted into social ruin is to be regarded as a disease. The whole range of medical and educational requirements, however, has to be dealt with separately.


Checking for properties of Web ontologies is important for the development of reliable Semantic Web systems. Software specification and verification tools can be used to complement the Knowledge Representation tools in reasoning about Semantic Web. The key to this approach is to develop sound transformation techniques from Web ontology to software specifications so that the associated verification tools can be applied to check the transformed specification models. Our previous work has demonstrated a practical approach to translating Web ontologies to Z specifications. However, from a sound engineering point of view, the translation is lacking the theoretical work that can formally relate the respective underlying logical systems of OWL and Z. In this paper, we take the advantage that the logics underlying OWL and Z can be represented as institutions and we show that the institution comorphism provides a formal semantic foundation for the transformation from OWL to Z.


OBJECTIVES: The increasing number of patients admitted to emergency departments (EDs) and overcrowding of EDs lead to a global problem. Advanced nursing triage is an important solution in facilitating patient and time management, also increasing the efficiency of the ED. This study was conducted to predict the possible effects of applying advanced nursing triage modeling with predetermined protocols during the current nursing triage in the ED. METHODS: This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. An advanced "triage assessment protocol," which was developed previously, was hypothetically applied for 5 days by triage nurses in the adult ED of a university hospital. The hypothetical application was tested by triage nurses in all shifts. The nurses recorded the examination or treatment options which they thought to apply for the patient on the study form. The data recorded on the advanced triage evaluation protocol form by the triage nurses were compared with the patient outcomes and physician examination/treatment requests in the Hospital Information Management System by the researchers. RESULTS: In the study, it was determined that the rate of examination/treatment that could be requested according to the advanced nursing triage protocol was 46%. There were a good level of agreement on X-ray and a moderate level of agreement on urinary test and urinary beta- Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test between physicians and triage nurses regarding examination/treatment requests. In addition, it was found that there was a 61.2% of agreement on decisions made for patients aged between 18 and 35. The rate of agreement between doctors and nurses regarding a gluco-stick request for patients admitted outside the prime time (92.2%) was found to be significantly higher (87.9%) than for patients admitted during prime time (P = 0.046). CONCLUSION: "Advanced triage" practices recommended for busy EDs were tested "hypothetically" at the national level due to the lack of legal regulations and were found to be compatible with the actual results of physicians' practices at an acceptable level, especially for selected medical conditions. The method used in this study can be useful in planning the transition to "advanced triage" practices. These results can show the readiness of nurses for the transition to this practice.


The topic of this article is conversion of the signal with given sampling frequency to signal with another sampling rate. The task is to change the sampling rate from fvz3=500Hz to fvz4=360Hz. There are two methods; in the text are called Method A and Method B. The Method B has two approximations, first and second order. The basic idea of Method A is to find the least common multiple. It has to use integrator (low-pass filter, cut frequency is half of original signal) and decimator (low-pass filter, cut frequency is half of final signal). At first the zero samples are pasted, these are filtered by low-pass filter and then the computed samples are selected. The method B is not so exacting for computation, because the integrate factor is smaller, than in the method A. Of course, there are used integrate filters (low-pass filter). The first order approximation selects the nearer sample of both border samples. The second order approximation interpolates samples by line. Selected sample is therefore more accurate.


Capture–recapture studies are often conducted on populations that are stratified by space, time or other factors. In this paper, we develop a Bayesian spatial capture–recapture (SCR) modelling framework for stratified populations – when sampling occurs within multiple distinct spatial and temporal strata. We describe a hierarchical model that integrates distinct models for both the spatial encounter history data from capture–recapture sampling, and also for modelling variation in density among strata. We use an implementation of data augmentation to parameterize the model in terms of a latent categorical stratum or group membership variable, which provides a convenient implementation in popular BUGS software packages. We provide an example application to an experimental study involving small‐mammal sampling on multiple trapping grids over multiple years, where the main interest is in modelling a treatment effect on population density among the trapping grids. Many capture–recapture studies involve some aspect of spatial or temporal replication that requires some attention to modelling variation among groups or strata. We propose a hierarchical model that allows explicit modelling of group or strata effects. Because the model is formulated for individual encounter histories and is easily implemented in the BUGS language and other free software, it also provides a general framework for modelling individual effects, such as are present in SCR models.


The development of Typhoon Irving is investigated using a variety of data, including special research aircraft data from the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-92) experiment, objective analyses, satellite data, and traditional surface and sounding data. The development process is treated as a dry-adiabatic vortex dynamics problem, and it is found that environmental and mesoscale dynamics mutually enhance each other in a cooperative interaction during cyclone formation. Synoptic-scale interactions result in the evolution of the hostile environment toward more favorable conditions for storm development. Mesoscale interactions with the low-level, large-scale circulations and with other midlevel, mesoscale features result in development of vorticity in the midlevels and enhancement of the low-level vorticity associated with the developing surface cyclone. Multiple developments of mesoscale convective systems after the storm reaches tropical depression strength suggests both an increase in low-level confluence and a tendency toward recurrent development of associated mesoscale convective vortices. This is observed in both aircraft data and satellite imagery where subsequent interactions, including mergers with the low-level, tropical depression vortex, are observed. A contour dynamics experiment suggests that the movement of mesoscale convective systems in satellite imagery corresponds well to the movement of their associated midlevel vortices. Results from a simple baroclinic experiment show that the midlevel vortices affect the large-scale, low-level circulation in two ways: 1) initially, interactions between midlevel vortices produce a combined vortex of greater depth; 2) interaction between midlevel vortices and the low-level circulation produces a development downward of the midlevel vorticity. This strengthens the surface vortex and develops a more cohesive vortex that extends from the surface through the midtroposphere.


Interval appendectomy (IA) is a controversial subject, with little consensus on its use in patients undergoing treatment for malignancy. We sought to determine the frequency of recurrent appendicitis in cancer patients managed nonoperatively (NOM) during index hospitalization (IHA) for acute appendicitis (AA). Clinical presentation, cancer treatment, and follow-up were collected from electronic medical records of patients with CT scan-confirmed AA treated at a single institution between August 1999 and August 2009. Seventy-two of 109 AA patients underwent appendectomy during IHA;34ofthese 109 wereNOM during IHA.Medianindex lengthofNOM patients'staywas six days (0–55), median age was 59 (18–80) years. Indications for NOM were presence of abscess or phlegmon (14), mild symptoms (13), high surgical risk (3), end-stage cancer (3), and patient declining surgery (1). Eight NOM patients underwent percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscess (median total duration of intravenous + oral antibiotics = 12 days [0–55]). There were six deaths (1 IHA, 5 NOM): four sepsis and two cancer progression. At a median of 19-month follow-up (range 1–103), four NOM patients surviving IHA had recurrent AA (11.7%) at two (n = 2) and three months (n = 2) after the first episode. Overall, six had IA (17.6%) one to seven months post AA; 25 remained asymptomatic, without IA. In conclusion, among NOM patients at a cancer center at IHA for AA, recurrent AA was early (< 4 months) but uncommon. IA should be offered to those with recurrent symptoms, but appears to have a very limited role after several months of asymptomatic follow-up.


Authentication is an essential step for giving access to resources to authorized individuals and prevent leakage of confidential information The traditional authentication systems like a pin, card, a password could not differentiate among the authorized users and fakers who have an illegal access to the system Traditional authentication technique never alerts about the unwanted access to the system The device that allows the automatic identification of an individual is known as a biometric system It is not required to remember a password, card, and pin code in the Bio-metric system Numerous biometric characteristics like the fingerprint, iris, palm print, face is used for authentication and recognition As compared to fingerprint and face the Iris based authentication provides stronger contactless identification of the user Due to the contactless approach, it helps to prevent the spread of viruses and diseases like COVID 19 But the system faces issues related to spoofing attacks using contact lenses, replayed video, print attacks, etc , which make it unsafe to use for high-security applications Thus, is there is an urge need to develop robust Iris Biometric system, which can discriminate between real and spoof Iris images In this paper the bibliometric study of Biometric Iris Liveness detection performed by using the Scopus database From this study it is observed that the majority of articles on Biometric Iris Liveness Detection were published from India, followed by the USA The paper concludes that the area of study is recent and further research is required in the field of Biometric Iris Liveness Detection © 2020 All Rights Reserved


Common knowledge of over a century has it that monozygotic and dizygotic twinning events occur by unrelated mechanisms: monozygotic twinning 'splits' embryos, producing anomalously re-arranged embryogenic asymmetries; dizygotic twinning begins with independent ovulations yielding undisturbed parallel embryogeneses with no expectation of departures from singleton outcomes. The anomalies statistically associated with twin births are due to the re-arranged embryos of the monozygotics. Common knowledge further requires that dizygotic pairs are dichorionic; monochorionicity is exclusive to monozygotic pairs. These are fundamental certainties in the literature of twin biology. Multiple observations contradict those common knowledge understandings. The double ovulation hypothesis of dizygotic twinning is untenable. Girl-boy twins differ subtly from all other humans of either sex, absolutely not representative of all dizygotics. Embryogenesis of dizygotic twins differs from singleton development at least as much as monozygotic embryogenesis does, and in the same ways, and the differences between singletons and twins of both zygosities represent a coherent system of re-arranged embryogenic asymmetries. Dizygotic twinning and monozygotic twinning have the same list of consequences of anomalous embryogenesis. Those include an unignorable fraction of dizygotic pairs that are in fact monochorionic, plus many more sharing co-twins' cells in tissues other than a common chorion. The idea that monozygotic and dizygotic twinning events arise from the same embryogenic mechanism is the only plausible hypothesis that might explain all of the observations.


BACKGROUND: Portal systemic encephalopathy (PSE) is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with hepatic failure. Small scale studies have shown the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil to be effective in ameliorating PSE. AIMS: To determine the efficacy of flumazenil in patients with non-comatous mild to moderate PSE (stages I to III) due to severe chronic liver disease. PATIENTS: 49 male and female adults without symptoms of severe bleeding and sepsis and who screened negative for benzodiazepine in both blood and urine, were included in the study. METHODS: Patients were randomised to receive either three sequential bolus injections of flumazenil (0.4, 0.8, and 1 mg) or placebo at one minute intervals, followed by intravenous infusions of either flumazenil (1 mg/h) or placebo for three hours. Clinical PSE grading and vital signs were assessed hourly during baseline and post-treatment periods and half hourly during treatment. The main outcome measures were improvement in group average PSE score and reduction of two points in individual PSE score (clinically relevant improvement). RESULTS: The mean average improvement in the PSE score in the subjects treated with flumazenil was not statistically significantly different from placebo. However, for patients showing clinically relevant improvement, the difference between flumazenil and placebo was statistically significant (seven of 28 v none of 21; p = 0.015). Flumazenil was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: A subgroup of patients with PSE resulting from chronic liver disease may benefit from the administration of flumazenil.


The magnetic properties of SrCu2 (BO3)2 are reviewed from a theoretical point of view. SrCu2 (BO3)2 is a new two-dimensional spin gap system and its magnetic properties are well described by a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model of the orthogonal dimer lattice. The model has a dimer singlet ground state whose exactness was proven by Shastry and Sutherland for a topologically equivalent model more than 20 years ago. The exactness of the ground state is maintained even if interlayer couplings are introduced for SrCu2 (BO3)2. In the two-dimensional model, quantum phase transitions take place between different ground states for which three phases are expected: a gapped dimer singlet state, a plaquette resonating valence bond state and a gapless magnetic ordered state. Analysis of the experimental data shows that the dimer singlet ground state is realized in SrCu2 (BO3)2. The orthogonality of the dimer bonds, which is the underlying symmetry of the exactness of the ground state, also leads to an unusual property of elementary excitations, namely the almost localized nature of the triplet excitations. Application of an external magnetic field changes the density of the triplet excitations. In general, there is competition between kinetic energies and interaction energies between triplets. The almost localized nature of the triplets makes it easy to form regular lattices. In fact, at certain densities, where the commensurability energy is significant, the triplet excitations form superstructures and plateaux appear at 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/8 in the magnetization curve. In high-magnetic-field experiments, magnetic plateaux at magnetizations of 1/3, 1/4 and 1/8 have been observed. Translational symmetry of the lattice is spontaneously broken at the plateaux, except for the 1/2 plateau. The 1/3 and 1/4 plateaux are expected to have magnetic superstructures of stripe form while the 1/2 plateau has a square unit cell and the 1/8 plateau a rhomboid cell. Especially at the 1/8 plateau, nuclear magnetic resonance experiments indicate the presence of at least 11 distinct Cu sites with different spin polarizations, which is the first evidence of breaking of the translational symmetry at the plateau phase. The spin texture calculated on the basis of a Heisenberg model with adiabatic spin–phonon coupling is consistent with the experimental results.


The article deals with the contradictory effect of civil society and civility discourses for the theory of modern democracy. The author concentrates on observed two main theoretical approaches towards the role and position of civil society in new democracies. Following the cautious optimism of "neotocquevillians" the transition from undemocratic regime to the democracy was influenced of universal and global spread of democracy. In the transitional period civil society comes into play as the guarantee for consolidating democracy. Scientists skeptics don't share this view and not consider civil society as the panacea building democracy. Civility can be described as an ethos of citizens conduct, necessary condition for real democracy. Social capital theory inspired discussion on the influence of "republican virtues" upon the modern democracy. However, the more important question is what type of civil society promotes democracy. The manifestations of civility discourse complicated the creation of liberal democracy at the initial stage of postcommunist transformations in East and Central European countries. Seeking more authentic reflection of modern democracy in their own country Lithuanian social scientists should: 1) discard all the uncritical approaches to the Western models of civil society; 2) propose the original decision while trying to solve the dilemma of modern democracy, because the one suggested by L. Siedentop is hardly applicable for societies which lack the liberal hinge.


Recent experience in both Senegal and Syria demonstrates that immunization can be enhanced markedly in a short time if societies are mobilized. Senegal and Syria more than doubled their immunization levels in 1 year through nationwide campaigns and with the assistance and encouragement of the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Individuals and groups in both countries worked to educate parents. The main obstacles to making immunization programs effective have been political commitment and educational approaches that fail to involve the parents. Parents need to know that their children require a full course of vaccines during their 1st year and that pregnant women must be vaccinated against tetanus to protect their newborns. Precampaign surveys in Senegal and Syria revealed that few parents were familiar with immunization or with the protection it offers. In Senegal, UNICEF and health officials overcame this by using traditional communication in a creative way to inform and encourage parents. Health promoters mobilized teachers, trade union workers, religious leaders, and other respected individuals to educate parents about immunization and urge them to participate in the vaccination drive. Neighborhood leaders and local council members met with parents in their homes to explain the campaign. Syria, with about 4 times Senegal's per capita income and higher literacy rates, was in a somewhat better position to boost its immunization rates. Yet, precampaign surveys revealed that Syrian parents were as naive as parents in Senegal about the benefits of immunization. By 1987, this had changed dramatically. Syria boosted immunization rates close to 70% during 4 week-long vaccination drives staged in late 1986. Short-term campaigns, though short-term, can raise awareness, strengthen infrastructure, and immunize a pressing backlog of children. The challenge is to make immunization the birthright of all children.


This study investigates how young, well-educated, unemployed people are governed and how they govern themselves through affective capacities, focusing here on shame and passion. The empirical material consists of field observations made at an unemployment fund and in-depth interviews with 33 young unemployed people in the Danish welfare state. Inspired by governmentality studies including recent contributions concerning affectivity, I analyse how affect, emotions, and feelings are pivotal instruments of governmentality. On the one hand, unemployed people are encouraged to cultivate a passion for their profession and display this passion in their quest for a job. On the other hand, they are encouraged to feel ashamed for receiving unearned money from the state. The study applies the theoretical framework from governmentality studies and combines it with concepts in Ahmed (2014) in order to unfold the affective sides of governing young unemployed people. The study contributes theoretically by developing Ahmed's idea of "sticky emotions" in an explicit psychological manner by identifying an embodied and a phenomenological dimension. It concludes that shame and passion influence unemployed people differently in relation to their subjective life courses as well as in relation to their social and societal circumstances and that people deal with the stickiness of unemployment shame in different ways. Some get rid of it by sticking it to other unemployed groups and some by dis-identifying with their formal status and instead conducting themselves as freelancers. The study begins to fill in the gap of how the more diffuse sides of governing can be made psychologically identifiable and in doing so it sheds light on the intimate relationship between politics and psychology.


The present paper describes an implementation of genetic search methods in multicriterion optimal designs of structural systems with a mix of continuous, integer and discrete design variables. Two distinct strategies to simultaneously generate a family of Pareto optimal designs are presented in the paper. These strategies stem from a consideration of the natural analogue, wherein distinct species of life forms share the available resources of an environment for sustenance. The efficacy of these solution strategies are examined in the context of representative structural optimization problems with multiple objective criteria and with varying dimensionality as determined by the number of design variables and constraints.


Research on direct-drive wave energy converter linear generators has mostly focused on synchronous inner permanent magnet (PM) linear generators. In this study, an outer-PM tubular linear generator is designed to increase the power density and distance of relative movement. The motion equations of heaving buoys are derived on the basis of hydrodynamic theory. Two buoys are designed in accordance with the real wave condition in the Yellow Sea in China. The design process of the proposed generator is elucidated. Considering cogging force and voltage, the authors optimise the linear generator and determine the final parameters. The generator performance is evaluated using the finite element method. The integrated wave energy converter system consists of a linear generator, inner buoys, outer buoys, an electricity post-processor, and a communication component. The system is manufactured and placed in the Yellow Sea based on the design results. The measured voltage is highly consistent with the simulation data. All results show that the system is well suited for wave energy conversion.


In 1984 Drs. Arthur Pohm and Jim Daughton, both employed at that time by Honeywell, conceived of a new class of magnetoresistance memory devices which offered promise for high density, random access, nonvolatile memory. In 1989 Dr. Daughton left Honeywell to form Nonvolatile Electronics, Inc. having entered into a license agreement allowing him to sublicense Honeywell MRAM technology for commercial applications. Dr. Pohm, Dr. Daughton, and others at NVE continued to improve basic MRAM technology, and innovated new techniques which take advantage of revolutionary advances in magnetoresistive devices, namely giant magnetoresistance and spin dependent tunneling. Today there is a tremendous potential for MRAM as a nonvolatile, solid state memory to replace flash memory and EEPROM where fast writing or high write endurance is required, and in the longer term as a general purpose read/write random access memory. NVE has a substantial patent portfolio containing 10 MRAM patents, and is willing to license these, along with 12 Honeywell MRAM patents, to companies interested in manufacturing MRAM. In addition, NVE is considering internal production of certain niche MRAM products over the next several years.


Objectives This study evaluated the role of single session counselling on partner referral among index cases diagnosed as having sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Bangladesh. Methods A quasirandomised trial was conducted in 1339 index cases with symptomatic STIs in 3 public and 3 non-government organisation operated clinics. Results Out of 1339 index cases, partner referral was achieved by 37% in the counselling group and 27% in the non-counselling group. Index cases in the counselling group and non-counselling group were similar in terms of condom use rates, STI symptoms and duration of disease. A quarter of the index cases reported having more than one sex partner in last 3 months, and 39% reported having commercial sex partners. Only 8% of the index cases reported using condoms during their last sex act. Partner referral rates were higher among index clients with higher age, higher income, those who attended NGO clinics, those who had only one partner and among those who had no commercial partners, but counselling had significantly positive impact in all of these subgroups. In multivariate analysis, the probability of partner referral was 1.3 times higher among index cases in the counselling group (prevalence ratio 1.3; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6) as compared to index cases in the non-counselling group. Conclusions Patient-oriented single session counselling was found to have a modest but significant effect in increasing partner referral for STIs in Bangladesh, greater emphasis should be placed on examining further development and dissemination of partner referral counselling in STI care facilities.


Abstract. An important phenomenon in cartography in the 19th Century is the emergence of thematic cartography and especially distribution maps. The latter represent the spatial distribution of a particular feature in an area. Distribution maps may be qualitative such as those representing the land use or land cover, geological maps, … or also quantitative, such as maps representing the population distribution by dots or isolines. Even if in the 18th C. (or even earlier), some thematic maps were drawn, the real development of the thematic mapping only started in the 19th C. In cartographic literature, large attention was paid to the cholera map of Snow from 1854. It has often been cited (also in geographical information science) as an example of early spatial analysis; what he visually did is today a well-known technique and methodology of buffer analysis in GIS. But the most impressive thematic maps are the early 19th C. chronostratigraphical maps, mostly described as geological maps. This type of inventory maps - important till the end of the 20th C. – are now completely substituted by digital data. If the development of thematical maps was an answer on one hand to industrialisation and changing ideas about the concept of richness, it was on the other hand also only made possible by the development of new printing techniques. Belgium was a forerunner in realizing geological maps. Already in the Dutch period (1815–1830) systematic field observations were executed in the southern part of Belgium. In this period a map was realized representing ore deposits ("Geologische kaart van een gedeelte der Nederlanden"), under the direction of J.E. Van Gorkum, with scientific input by professor Van Breda; the map was published in the Netherlands in 1834, after Belgian independency. The map is also interesting from another point of view as it is representing the triangulation network the Dutch established in Belgium before 1830 in the framework of the Military Reconnaissance. They were part of a systematic mapping project under supervision of the Topographical Bureau with a section responsible for the Northern provinces and one for the Southern provinces, which realized those Military Reconnaissance maps. Captain Erzey executed a triangulation over the southern provinces. Later on, those coordinates served Vander Maelen to realize his 1 : 20 000 and 1 : 80 000 topographical mapping of Belgium. On the one hand, the awareness that a new and a more precise surveying and cartography was needed and on the other hand that inventories of different thematic data were needed, must be seen not only in the context of industrialization but also in the change of the role of landownership in the society through the ages. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the landownership was a synonym for richness. The land-owners (abbeys, noblemen, …) could collect taxes based on this ownership (the so-called taxation paradigm). In the 19th Century, land also became a good that could be traded. The trading land also induced a need for a stricter legal framework. In France, typically Napoleon erected not only the Cadastre Law to partition the tax collection more fairly but he also mentioned "Un bon cadastre parcellaire sera le complément de mon code en ce qui concerne la possession du sol. Il faut que les plans soient assez exacts et assez développés pour servir à fixer les limites des propriétés et empêcher les procès." ("A good land cadastre will be the complement of my code regarding the ownership of the soil. Maps must be accurate enough and developed enough to set property boundaries and prevent lawsuits") (Letter of Napoleon to his Minister of Finance Mollien). This period when land also became a negotiable good fits in a so-called legal paradigm. The land registry reform affecting the whole French Empire cannot be seen separately from the reform Napoleon wished to set up for his topographical maps. Napoleon established a commission that had to define the cartographic system of a new topographic map covering the French Empire. Even if the ellipsoid of Delambre and the Bonne projection were retained, the map production could never be launched. The measurements of Captain Erzey in the Dutch period can be considered as the first attempt (in Belgium) to map the territory on a geodetically correct basis. During one and a half century the negotiable aspect of land was predominant. Map making was requiring the best available geometric accuracy. The needs of map making changed fundamentally when land also became scarcer, when it became a scarce good. The increasing need for planning in the second part of the 20th C. for the sake of land scarcity finally induced – when techniques (in particular GIS) would allow it - the development of multi-purpose spatial data systems.


This paper exploits a natural experiment at the Erasmus University Rotterdam to evaluate the effectiveness of small-scale teaching groups that are typically used at universities in undergraduate courses. Economic Bachelor students who had a GPA below a seven in their first Bachelor year, were obliged to attend 70% of the tutorials per course in their second year. We use a regression-discontinuity design to identify the intention-to-treat effect of the policy as well as a well-defined local average treatment effect of actual attendance on grades. We find that the policy of mandatory tutorials caused an increase in attendance of second year Bachelor students of roughly 20%. Remarkably, point estimates for the intention-to-treat are consistently negative, but small, and in some cases statistically significant. In addition, we find a negative effect of attendance upon grades, sometimes statistically


Nowadays, the formal verification of hardware is gaining a lot of importance in the design flow of micro-electronics systems. There exists several formal hardware verification approaches each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Hence, the idea of linking different approaches to benefit from their advantages has emerged as a potential ultimate solution. In this thesis, we describe a hybrid tool for formal hardware verification that links the HOL (Higher-Order Logic) theorem prover and the MDG (Multiway Decision function symbols available in MDG, allowing the verification of high level specifications. For this purpose, we embedded in HOL the grammar of the hardware description language, MDG-HDL, used to represent models to be verified. Furthermore, we provided an embedding of the first-order temporal logic [Special characters omitted.] used to express properties for the MDG model checker. Furthermore, we have developed an interface which reads a HOL goal, generates the required MDG files, calls the MDG model checker, and generates the HOL theorem on successful verification. Our tool also handles design hierarchies by reducing the model to its subsystem according to the property to be verified. Verification with the hybrid tool is faster and more tractable than using either tool separately. This has been illustrated via a number of simple hardware benchmark examples as well as a more elaborated design case study.


Hierarchical self-assembly offers an elegant and energy-efficient bottom-up strategy for the fabrication of complex materials with precisely controllable morphologies and internal structures. Herein, pupa-like multicompartment micelles (MCMs) were readily fabricated via the hierarchical self-assembly of a polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) and polystyrene-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAM) block copolymer mixture in a THF/water mixture solvent, which were unable to be obtained by any of the individual block copolymers (BCPs). This means that the hierarchical self-assembly is a result of the synergistic cooperation between the two BCPs. Moreover, a kinetic study revealed that the MCMs were formed by hierarchical self-assembly of small spherical micelles (SSMs), which were co-assembled from the PS-b-P4VP/PS-b-PNIPAM mixture. Subsequently, we investigated the self-assembly of a PS-b-P4VP/PS-b-PNIPAM mixed solution confined in the nanopores of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. In such two-dimensional confinement, long multicompartment micelles (LMCMs) with a period multilayer structure were obtained. Notably, the confinement effect of nanopores on the hierarchical self-assembly could be distinguished into two different situations according to the activity of secondary assembly of the preformed SSMs from different BCP compositions, i.e., dynamic and static confinement. The dynamic confinement can affect the Brownian movement of SSMs and thus promotes their fusion to form spherical micelles with larger size compared with the SSMs formed under an unconfined condition. For the situation where AAO nanopores were partially filled with the preformed SSMs, the static confinement could decrease the stretching of BCP chains along the short axis of LMCMs and thus induce the formation of long range ordered multilayer nanostructures. These results illustrated that the synergistic effect played an important role in the hierarchical assembly of BCPs; meanwhile, such hierarchical self-assembly could be further manipulated by cylindrical confinement to rationally tune the nanostructures and dimensions of the BCP assemblies.


This paper describes a tool using an extended Data Privacy Vocabulary (the DPV) to audit and monitor GDPR compliance of international transfers of personal data. New terms were identified which have been proposed as extensions to the DPV W3C Working Group. A prototype software tool was built based on the model plus a set of validation rules, and synthetic use-cases created to test the capabilities of the model and tool (together a compliance framework). This framework was created because the rules around international transfer compliance are complex and changing, there is an absence of a common approach to ensuring compliance, few tools exist to assist, and those that do lack interoperability. Evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed model improves compliance identification and standardisation. The tool received positive feedback from the data protection practitioners who participated in the evaluation, and an initial version of is now in use in one financial services organisation. While currently the tool only addresses international transfers, in theory the framework can be extended through further work to the broader area of compliance of other aspects of the GPDR.


This paper presents the inspection technology for a freeform surface component which is named F-theta lens. F-theta lens is widely used in laser scanners, printers, etc. Freeform characterization is one of the main approaches to verify the manufacturing precision of freeform surface. At present, there is still a lack of techniques for the characterization of freeform surfaces. This study aimed to explore some approaches to inspect freeform surfaces. Two types of measurement methods, namely contact and non-contact measurement methods, are employed to measure the F-theta lens surface. The pros and cons, the existing problems, different applications and areas for improvement of the two methods are discussed. A series of advanced measuring instruments are used in the measurement process. A brief description of measurement mechanisms of these instruments is also presented. As a whole, this paper contributes to the development of the precision measurement technology for optical freeform surfaces.


Positive and negative feedback converts the switchlike activation of the yeast osmotic stress response into graded adaptation. One Pathway: Both a Switch and a Rheostat Signaling pathways can mediate responses that are on or off, like a light switch, or can mediate responses that are graded, like a dimmer switch. English et al. explored the yeast response to osmotic stress, which is mediated by a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade involving the kinase Hog1. Using a new method for quantifying the abundance of phosphorylated Hog1, which requires dual phosphorylation for activation, this kinase exhibited switchlike activation and then produced a graded duration of activity that reflected the intensity of the osmotic stress. Positive and negative feedback from Hog1 produced these dual behaviors. Genetic analysis indicated that several upstream components of the pathway contributed to the profile of Hog1 activity. Analysis of transcriptional and translational profiles of yeast exposed to persistent osmotic stress showed that the initial response triggered adaptive changes that enabled cell survival and later transcriptional changes enabled the cells to recover. Signaling pathways can behave as switches or rheostats, generating binary or graded responses to a given cell stimulus. We evaluated whether a single signaling pathway can simultaneously encode a switch and a rheostat. We found that the kinase Hog1 mediated a bifurcated cellular response: Activation and commitment to adaptation to osmotic stress are switchlike, whereas protein induction and the resolution of this commitment are graded. Through experimentation, bioinformatics analysis, and computational modeling, we determined that graded recovery is encoded through feedback phosphorylation and a gene induction program that is both temporally staggered and variable across the population. This switch-to-rheostat signaling mechanism represents a versatile stress adaptation system, wherein a broad range of inputs generate an "all-in" response that is later tuned to allow graded recovery of individual cells over time.


BACKGROUND
There are no randomised trials of peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) targets in acute respiratory infection. Two national guidelines recommended different targets for the management of acute viral bronchiolitis.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline target of SpO2 ≥ 90% with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network target of SpO2 ≥ 94%.

DESIGN
A multicentre, parallel-group, double-blind, randomised controlled, equivalence trial with economic evaluation.

SETTING
Eight paediatric hospital departments in the UK.

PARTICIPANTS
Infants > 6 weeks and ≤ 12 months of age (corrected for prematurity) with physician-diagnosed bronchiolitis admitted to hospital from a paediatric emergency assessment area. Follow-up for 6 months by standardised telephone contacts.

INTERVENTION
Infants were randomised to a target oxygen saturation of ≥ 94% (standard care) or ≥ 90% (modified care) displayed by a pulse saturation oximeter (Masimo Corporation Limited, CA, USA).

ROUTINE CARE
All infants received routine care in addition to the study intervention. Infants were eligible for discharge when they exhibited a SpO2 of ≥ 94% in room air for 4 hours including a period of sleep and were also feeding adequately (≥ 75% usual volume).

PRIMARY OUTCOME
A total of 615 infants were recruited, of whom 308 were allocated to the standard care group and 307 to the modified care group. The primary outcome was time to cough resolution. There was equivalence at the prespecified variance of ± 2 days [time to cough resolution: standard care group, 15 days; modified care group, 15 days; median difference 1 day (benefit modified), 95% confidence interval (CI) -1 to 2 days].

SECONDARY RESULTS
Return to adequate feeding occurred sooner in infants in the modified care group than in those in the standard care group (19.5 vs. 24.1 hours). This difference was non-equivalent [median difference 2.7 hours (95% CI -0.3 to 7.0 hours) versus prespecified ± 4 hours; post-hoc hazard ratio 1.22 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.44 (p-value = 0.015)]. Parent perspective of the time taken to return to normal was not equivalent, being 12 days in the standard care group compared with 11 days in the modified care group [median difference 1.0 day (95% CI 0.0 to 3.0 days) versus prespecified ± 2 days; post-hoc hazard ratio 1.19 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.41); p-value = 0.043]. At 28 days, SpO2 was equivalent [mean difference 0.11% (95% CI -0.35% to 0.57%), within the 1% prespecified]. The modified care group (55.6%) required oxygen less than the standard care group (73.1%), and for a shorter period (5.7 hours vs. 27.6 hours). Infants in the modified care group were fit for discharge (30.2 hours vs. 44.2 hours, hazard ratio 1.46, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.73; p-value < 0.001) and were discharged (40.9 hours vs. 50.9 hours; hazard ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.50; p-value < 0.003) sooner than those in the standard care group. There were 35 serious adverse events in the standard care group, compared with 25 in the modified care group. Eight infants in the standard care group and 12 in the modified care group were admitted to a high-dependency unit. By 28 days, 23 infants had been readmitted to hospital in the standard care group and 12 infants in the modified care group. Parents of infants in the modified care group did not experience higher levels of anxiety and, by 14 days, had lost 28% fewer hours to usual activities. NHS costs were £290 lower in the modified care group than in the standard care group, with additional societal costs also being lower in the modified care group.

CONCLUSIONS
Management of infants to a SpO2 target of ≥ 90% is as clinically effective as ≥ 94%, gives rise to no additional safety concerns, and appears to be cost-effective. Future work could focus on the safety and effectiveness of using intermittent oxygen saturation monitoring in secondary care, and to consider what are safe and effective oxygen saturation targets for children with bronchiolitis managed in primary care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
This trial is registered as ISRCTN28405428.

FUNDING
This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme. Masimo Corporation Limited, CA, USA, kindly provided oxygen saturation monitors with standard and altered algorithms.


: There have been studied the activity and properties of fructose bisphosphatase (FBPase) of Bothriocephalus scorpii parasitizing in pyloric appendages of the goby Myoxocephalus brandti. All subcellular fractions of B. scorpii (12 g-cytosol, 105 g-cytosol, mitochondria, and microsomes) have the FBPase activity. The enzyme has a high affinity to substrate and needs the presence of bivalent cations (Mg2+ or Mn2+). AMP inhibits the enzyme significantly. Action of various effectors has been studied. The monovalent (Na+, K+, Li+, NH4+) and bivalent cations (Zn2+ and Cu2+) inhibit the enzyme activity.


The mitochondrial haplogroup has been reported to affect the clinical expression of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). The present study aimed to investigate the interaction between mutations and the haplogroup of mito-chondrial DNA (mtDNA) in families. Two unrelated families with LHON were enrolled in the study, and clinical, genetic and molecular characterizations were determined in the affected and unaffected family members. Polymerase chain reaction direct sequencing was performed using 24 pairs of overlapping primers for whole mtDNA to screen for mutations and haplogroup. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to evaluate the patho-genic effect of these mtDNA mutations and the haplogroup. The G11778A mutation was identified in the two families. In addition, the members of family 2 exhibited the T14502C mutation and those in family 1 exhibited the T3394C and T14502C mutations, which were regarded as secondary mutations. The penetrance of visual loss in families 1 and 2 were 30.8 and 33.3%, respectively. In addition, the two families were found to be in the H2a2a1 haplogroup. In this limited sample size, it was demonstrated that the H2a2a1 haplogroup had a possible protective effect against LHON. Additional modifying factors, including environmental factors, lifestyle, estrogen levels and nuclear genes may also be important in LHON.


Flying shear machine is widely used in continuous rolling mill production line, and its performance is largely depended on the transmission system. Here a model is established with multiple backlashes, time-varying mesh stiffness and error excitation to investigate the dynamics performance of the transmission system during the process. Also, effects of parameters are discussed. It's believed that it will be helpful for the design of the flying shear machine


Jan Tinbergen was the first Nobel Laureate in Economics in 1969. This paper presents a brief survey of his many contributions to economics, in particular to macro-econometric modelling, business cycle analysis, economic policy making, development economics, income distribution, international economic integration and the optimal regime. It further emphasizes his desire to contribute to the solution of urgent socio-economic problems and his passion for a more humane world.


A mitomycin C-sensitive, mtc, mutant of Escherichia coli has an altered cell surface and is sensitive to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The mutant, M27, formed multinucleate nonseptated filaments in the presence of a low concentration of SDS (50 microgram/ml). When the culture grown at that concentration of SDS was diluted with an SDS-free medium, the filaments began to divide at a very rapid rate after a lag of about 20 min. Chloramphenicol inhibited this recovery division when added within 10 min after SDS dilution but did not inhibit the division when added 20 min after dilution. Penicillin G at a low concentration, which is enough to cause filamentation, had virtually no effect on the recovery division of SDS-induced filaments. The division of penicillin G-induced filaments was inhibited by SDS.


European agriculture is experiencing a recruitment crisis that threatens the continuation of both family farming and associated rural communities. Conventionally, researchers and policymakers see farm succession as driven by discrete factors such as education level, farm size, profitability, enterprise type, and so on. This article offers an alternative perspective. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 farm families in Scotland, it uses a single case-study to outline the concept of endogenous succession cycles based on the iterative and interlinked development of successor identity and farm structure. In this way, succession is seen as predominantly socially constructed. We suggest that the key to succession lies in the development and maintenance of these endogenous cycles as, when they are broken or uninitiated, attracting a successor on to the farm is likely to be exceptionally difficult whatever the policy incentive. We conclude that the current crisis can partly be explained by the breakdown of early childhood socialisation, a key stage of the cycle, caused by changes to agriculture such as the use of larger machinery, more health and safety regulations, fewer farm workers, and so on. As a result, the process of constructing successor identities in early childhood through extended contact between the farmer, the child and the farm is becoming increasingly difficult.


This article examines the development of a Japanese American civil religion that intimately links Japanese Americans to public life. Historical trials, especially that of internment, has forged a strong sense of racial-ethnic identity, cultural memory, and social justice that have been carried forward in institutions, such as the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians hearings, the Japanese American National Museum, and the annual pilgrimage to Manzanar. In significant fashion, these texts, projects, and modern-day rituals have become a "sacred" part of the community, bind it together, and give it a specific sense of meaning and mission. Japanese American civil religion is distinctive in terms of not only the particular history from which it emerges, but also the religious patterns or "spiritual culture" that underwrites its political commitments and forms of civic engagement. Analyzing the contours of a Nikkei "critical faith" offers insights into the group's continuing struggles for justice and provides a rubric for understanding similar ways that religion and politics merge for other marginalized groups in relation to U.S. national culture.


Purpose: Collaborative goal setting has been shown to be an effective way to promote client engagement leading to improved outcomes; however, healthcare professionals face challenges when implementing collaborative goal setting into their clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of educational workshops to 1) increase a therapist's knowledge of motivational interviewing and action planning, 2) promote collaboration between therapists and their patients/clients, 3) promote collaboration between therapists and their interdisciplinary team and 4) increase the ease of implementation of motivational interviewing and action planning skills into a therapist's clinical practice. Method: A mixed-methods design was utilized. Occupational therapists and physical therapists were recruited via email to participate. Data were collected via online surveys at three different times (before the first educational workshop, after the second workshop, and three months after the second workshop) consisting of quantitative related survey questions assessing the participants' knowledge, beliefs, actions, and perceived self-efficacy related to motivational interviewing and action planning and qualitative questions focused on typical goal development processes, level of collaboration and challenges associated with developing goals with clients and interdisciplinary team members and anticipated/resultant impact and meaning of participation in the educational workshops. Results: The sample included 19 participants. Quantitative data demonstrated a statistically significant increase in self-scoring related to knowledge, beliefs, and actions when comparing all the pre-education to the post-education scores, except for one (collaboration with interdisciplinary team members). A follow-up analysis on this criterion demonstrated no statistically significant changes over the three-month period, potentially indicative of retention of the material covered. The qualitative data provided further insight into the challenges faced by participants and the perceived benefits of participating in the educational workshops. Conclusion: The educational workshops appeared to be effective in addressing some of the barriers to collaborative goal setting (e.g. lack of time, knowledge/skills, appropriate patients, concern for duplication of services) found in the literature, most notably providing the participants with the knowledge and skills needed, which is the first step when implementing collaborative goal setting into clinical practice. Further research in this area is recommended.


This paper develops a new structural estimator that uses the properties of a market equilibrium, together with information on households and their observed location choices, to recover horizontally differentiated preferences for a vector of local public goods. The estimation is consistent with equilibrium capitalization of local public goods and recognizes that job and house location choices are interrelated. By using set identification to distinguish the identifying power of restrictions on the indirect utility function from the identifying power of assumptions on the distribution of preferences, the estimator provides a new perspective on characteristics-based models of the demand for a differentiated product. The estimator is used to recover distributions of the marginal willingness-to-pay for improved air quality in Northern California's two largest population centers: the San Francisco and Sacramento metropolitan areas. The average marginal willingness-to-pay increases by up to 190% when job opportunities are included as a dimension of location choice.


Objective. Gross mode, the work climate has been studied as an area inherent in leadership. In the case of the one that is distinguished by its communication and vertical motivation, the work environment has been addressed as a determinant of flexibility in terms of conditions, salaries and benefits. In this regard, the objective of this paper has been to explore the dimensions of climate and labor flexibility in order to establish the dependency relationships between its indicators. Methodology. A non-experimental, cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out with a non-probabilistic sample selection of 300 employees from central Mexico. Results and conclusions. The labor climate determines the flexibility, although the most recent literature warns that rather the climate mediates the relationship between the flexibility policies on staff turnover, the informal salary and the absence of benefits. Research lines are recommended concerning the incidence of leadership styles in the variables in question.


t Site-directedd mutagenesi was performed on two conserved active site residues of vanadium chloroperoxidas e (VCPO)) from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis. Mutation of an active site residue Ser402 to Ala (S402A), a residue proposedd to be brominated during turnover, caused a decreas e in its activity, however it still catalyses efficiently the oxidationn of both chloride and bromide. The Km values for chloride and bromide of S402A at the optimal pH 4.5 were 3.22 mM and 20 uM, respectively. The active site residues of VCPO and vanadium bromoperoxidase s (VBPO) from the seaweed ss Ascophyllum nodosum and Corallina officinalis show very high similarity. A prominent difference in the activee site architectur e of VCPO and VBPO is the presenc e of a second histidine in VBPO, a residue substituted by a phenylalaninee in VCPO. The mutation of Phe397 to His (F397H) resulted in the enhancemen t of bromination activity underr certai n conditions. However, inactivation of F397H by halide especiall y at low pH was observed during turnover. Kineticc parameter s and characteristic s of these mutant s are discusse d in this report. A detailed kinetic analysi s of the pH dependenc ee of the chlorinating and brominating activity of VCPO and the S402A yielded an interesting difference betweenn the two activities. The results show that the Km for CI" was pH dependen t whereas the Km for Br" was hardly pHH dependent . The data confirm that protonation of an active site residue or the bound peroxide is essentia l for chloride oxidation. .


After the virtual NC real-time machining process control technology is studied, we design the NC code interpreter using the pipeline control method of overlapped resources in this paper. In order to improve the availability of interpreter, the design adopts the function pointer array and expression evaluation algorithm. By using two methods, the scalability is enhanced. Also the versatility is improved by using keywords information table to some extent. The system achieves a straight line and arc of the trajectory interpolation by the digital sampling algorithm and makes the efficiency improved by using RCS communication mechanism, windows thread and timing mechanism.


Smallholder agriculture remains the heart of Ghana's food crop production and crucial to meet the zero-hunger target. Unfortunately, rural households continue to see no significant improvement in their livelihoods, as poverty and food insecurity remain high in these areas. This has raised concerns about the economic viability of smallholder agriculture in Ghana. We estimated propensity score matching on a sample of 581 farmers to determine the economic viability of the smallholder farmers and the impact of farm output commercialization and off-farm diversification on their food security and welfare status. Large-scale (>2 ha) maize production led to 8% more yield and 96% more income than small-scale (≤2 ha) production. At observed mean levels, large-scale farmers performed better in most of the livelihood outcomes. The impact of diversification and commercialization on livelihood outcomes was mixed, based on the scale of production. For small-scale farmers, diversification reduced per capita consumption expenditure, while commercialization improved food security, consumption expenditure, and income. For large-scale farmers, diversification improved yield and food security, while commercialization improved fertilizer application rate and income but reduced yield. Although small-scale farmers are not necessarily doomed, the heterogeneity of farmers' production scale should be considered in the design of rural agricultural policies.


This research evaluates the effects of the inoculum size and enzymatic activity on the concentration of ethanol obtained through the simultaneous saccharifi cation and fermentation of alkali-pretreated cassava stems. Other goals for this study include the determination and validation of the optimal conditions for and the evaluation of the process of ethanol production in a bioreactor. Alkaline-pretreated cassava stems were used as the substrate in a solid to liquid ratio of 1:10; the enzymatic complex Accellerase 1500 and the yeast Ethanol Red were evaluated at two levels at a temperature of 38° C and a pH of 4.0 in an Erlenmeyer fl ask. The following were evaluated as process controls: simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of non-pretreated stems and separate saccharifi cation and fermentation of pretreated stems. A regression analysis was conducted, and the resulting model was maximized using genetic algorithms. At the optimal conditions identified in an Erlenmeyer flask, the production of ethanol in a 5-liter bioreactor was subsequently evaluated. An experimental concentration of ethanol of 1.88±0.04% v/v (1.99% v/v simulated optimum) was obtained using an inoculum concentration of 1.59 g/L and an enzyme concentration of 13.3 FPU/g. This value was approximately four times the quantity of ethanol produced without pretreatment or by the separate saccharification and fermentation of pretreated cassava stems. The evaluation of the process in the bioreactor yielded an ethanol concentration 20% less than that reached in the Erlenmeyer flask.


Gaussian graphical models (GGMs) are widely-used to describe the relationship between random variables. In many real-world applications, GGMs have a block structure in the sense that the variables can be clustered into groups so that inter-group correlation is much weaker than intra-group correlation. We present a novel nonparametric Bayesian generative model for such a block-structured GGM and an ecient inference algorithm to nd the clustering of variables in this GGM by combining a Gibbs sampler and a splitmerge Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. Experimental results show that our method performs well on both synthetic and real data. In particular, our method outperforms generic clustering algorithms and can automatically identify the true number of clusters.


Obesity is the common health issue in current era. It is defined as the condition of accumulation of excess fat in the body which in turn shows adverse effects on health. Obesity is calculated in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is measure of fat based on height and weight of an individual. A person with BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2 means he/she is overweight. In terms of BMI, Obesity can be defined as the condition of having BMI greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity is divided into three classes which include: Class I (BMI-30-34.9 kg/m2), Class II (BMI-35-39.9 kg/m2) and Class III (BMI-40 and above). In the current era, due to lack of physical exercise and proper diet, people are prone to obesity. Women during pregnancy are more susceptible to Obesity. This condition is known as Maternal Obesity. It is one of the major risk factor in Obstetric practice. It may result in negative outcomes for both mother as well as the foetus. Obesity in Pregnancy may result in serious health conditions like Gestational diabetes and Preeclampsia. It may also result in future health problems for both mother and child. Inorder to prevent the risk of Maternal Obesity, one must follow nutritional diet from the first trimester.


The next generation of electronic devices based on 3D topological insulators will be developed from advanced functional nanostructures and heterostructures. Toward this goal, single-crystalline nanowires offer interesting opportunities for new developments due to the strong quantum confinement of spin-helical surface Dirac fermions and to the possibility to realize core-shell lateral nanostructures adapted to the control of the elec- tro-chemical potential at the interface with a topological insulator. Here, we review the specific transport properties of 3D topological insulator quantum wires and the influence of disorder. Having a large energy quantization, weakly-coupled Dirac surface modes are prone to quasi-ballistic transport, with some analogies to carbon nanotubes but with spin-textured quantum states weakly coupled by non-magnetic disorder. Due to a small interaction with their environment, these surface modes are good candidates to realize novel quantum spintronic devices, spanning from ballistic spin conductors to localized spin filters. A specific topological mode also holds promises to control chiral edge states and Majorana bound states in truly 1D quantum wires, being tunable with a magnetic field or an electrical gate. Challenges toward these goals are briefly discussed, as well as the need for novel functional heterostructures.


In beyond 3G networks, the adequate design of the transmission network that diverts the data traffic of the NodeBs to the core network is an important challenge. Due to the deployment of new radio access technologies, and the dramatic traffic increase, the network operators tend to apply traffic aggregation techniques within their transmission network to reach higher utilization. This paper presents a method for the design of microwave transmission network topology and optimal link capacity assignment. The method considers the traffic conditions of the NodeBs; the number, lengths and capacities of the available microwave links; the available number of pylons/buildings with given upper-bound on the number of antennas; the traffic aggregation factor at the NodeBs; the costs of the transmission capacities; and topology constraints. The method finds the network topology and a capacity planning with the less cost within the set of candidate topologies.


Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) during interferons (IFN-α) treatment can occur within a few months of therapy, and shares many homologies with other forms of MDD, Most patients are resilient to the side effect ofinterferon-induced depression (IFN-MDD), but 15% to 40% are vulnerable. Several studies have employed antidepressants to prevent the incidence of an IFN-MDD episode, and the results suggest that prophylactic antidepressants may be specifically useful in those with pre-existing subthreshold depressive symptoms andlor a history of prior MDD episodes. Several other potential markers of vulnerability for IFN-MDD have been implicated in assessments of nondepressed patients before they start IFN-α These include poor sleep quality, premorbid elevations in inflammatory cytokines, genetic polymorphisms in the serotonin system, personality, and social support. The interplay of these factors strongly predicts who is at risk for IFN-MDD, and indicates several potentially modifiable targets for the personalized prevention of IFN-MDD,


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is a promising cancer chemopreventive constituent of processed garlic. The DATS administration not only inhibits chemical carcinogenesis in experimental rodents but also affords significant protection against cancer development in a transgenic mouse model of prostate cancer. We have shown previously that DATS inhibits growth of human prostate cancer cells by causing apoptosis, but the mechanism of cell death is not fully understood. Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family proteins has emerged as critical regulators of apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the role of IAP family proteins in DATS-mediated apoptosis using PC-3 (an androgen-independent cell line lacking functional p53) and LNCaP (an androgen-responsive cell line with wild-type p53) human prostate cancer cells as a model. Protein level of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) was decreased markedly upon 8-hour treatment with 20 and 40 µmol/L DATS in both PC-3 and LNCaP cells but this effect was somewhat reversible at the 16-hour time point. The DATS-mediated suppression of XIAP protein was not due to a decrease in its mRNA expression. Instead, the DATS-mediated decline in XIAP protein level was reversed in the presence of proteasomal inhibitor MG132. Ectopic expression of XIAP in PC-3 cells conferred modest yet statistically significant protection against DATS-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, the DATS treatment resulted in a marked and sustained induction of survivin protein in both cell types. The DATS-mediated induction of survivin protein correlated with an increase in its mRNA levels in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. RNA interference of survivin resulted in increased apoptosis even in absence of DATS treatment in PC-3 cells. However, the DATS-induced apoptosis was only marginally affected by siRNA knockdown of survivin. Inhibition of prostate cancer development in Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) mice by p.o. gavage with DATS correlated with a statistically significant decrease in the levels of XIAP protein and induction of survivin protein expression. The results of the present study indicate differential effect of DATS treatment on IAP family protein expression, which may serve as biomarkers of DATS response. This study was supported by the USPHS grant 2 RO1 CA113363-06, awarded by the National Cancer Institute.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3688. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3688


Ukrainian ethnomusicologist Lina Dobrianska (Лiна Добрянська) collected rich information concerning rise of institutional scientific centres on ethnomusicology in Europe and in Soviet space during the 20th C. She emphasizes, that rapid development of music folklore studies in the 20th C. was caused by epochal invention of sound recording technology as well as moving to well-organized research ethnomusicological centres. Most of them were maintaining sound recording archives. The history of founding important research centres in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv and Lviv in European tendencies institutionalization of ethnology is outlined in the article including departments at High music schools. Key words: department of folk music, phonogram archive, high music school. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/td.v12i0.1552


Semi supervised learning (SSL) provides an effective means of leveraging unlabelled data to improve a model's performance. Even though the domain has received a considerable amount of attention in the past years, most methods present the common drawback of being unsafe. By safeness we mean the quality of not degrading a fully supervised model when including unlabelled data. Our starting point is to notice that the estimate of the risk that most discriminative SSL methods minimise is biased, even asymptotically. This bias makes these techniques untrustable without a proper validation set, but we propose a simple way of removing the bias. Our debiasing approach is straightforward to implement, and applicable to most deep SSL methods. We provide simple theoretical guarantees on the safeness of these modified methods, without having to rely on the strong assumptions on the data distribution that SSL theory usually requires. We evaluate debiased versions of different existing SSL methods and show that debiasing can compete with classic deep SSL techniques in various classic settings and even performs well when traditional SSL fails.


We report the synthesis of poly(lactide)-b-poly(styrene)-b-poly(butadiene)-b-poly(lactide) (LSBL′) and poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(styrene) (SIOS′) tetrablock terpolymers with asymmetrically sized end blocks. A combination of anionic polymerization and ring opening transesterification polymerization (ROTEP) of (±)-lactide was used to synthesize LSBL′ while SIOS′ was prepared by a combination of anionic polymerization and reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. All intermediate and final products were characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and specific control experiments for the LSBL′ tetrablock confirmed the successful synthesis.