BACKGROUND
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition that affects the quality of life of older men. Specific micronutrients, including retinol, retinyl esters, carotenoids, vitamin E, and vitamin C, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the correlation between serum concentrations of these micronutrients and BPH is unclear.

METHODS
We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included 2067 representative US men. BPH was assessed using the self-reported questionnaire. This association was explored by adjusting for confounders using multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS
After fully adjusting for confounders, for every 0.01 μmol/L increase in serum retinyl esters, the risk of BPH increased by 2% (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.03; p = 0.006). Based on the Bonferroni-corrected p-value, we found this correlation to be significant. One μmol/L increase in total carotenoids was associated with a 22% increase in BPH risk (OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.03-1.46; p = 0.025). By analyzing the correlation between different types of carotenoids and BPH, we also found that β-carotenoids (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.03-1.99; p = 0.036) was also positively correlated with BPH. The subgroup analysis revealed a positive correlation between serum vitamin E (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.00-1.04; p = 0.018) and BPH in men under 60 years of age. Serum retinyl ester (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.04; p = 0.008) and carotenoid (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.22-1.87; p < 0.001) concentrations were positively correlated with BPH in men over 60 years of age.

CONCLUSION
Our study suggests that excessive serum retinyl esters, total carotenoids, and especially β-carotenoids are potential risk factors for BPH, and this association should be further investigated.


ABSTRACT Reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) latent infection from early myeloid lineage cells constitutes a threat to immunocompromised or immune-suppressed individuals. Consequently, understanding the control of latency and reactivation to allow targeting and killing of latently infected cells could have far-reaching clinical benefits. US28 is one of the few viral genes that is expressed during latency and encodes a cell surface G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), which, during lytic infection, is a constitutive cell-signaling activator. Here we now show that in monocytes, which are recognized sites of HCMV latency in vivo, US28 attenuates multiple cell signaling pathways, including mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and NF-κB, and that this is required to establish a latent infection; viruses deleted for US28 initiate a lytic infection in infected monocytes. We also show that these monocytes then become potent targets for the HCMV-specific host immune response and that latently infected cells treated with an inverse agonist of US28 also reactivate lytic infection and similarly become immune targets. Consequently, we suggest that the use of inhibitors of US28 could be a novel immunotherapeutic strategy to reactivate the latent viral reservoir, allowing it to be targeted by preexisting HCMV-specific T cells. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among immunosuppressed individuals. HCMV can establish latent infection, where the viral genome is maintained in an infected cell, without production of infectious virus. A number of genes, including US28, are expressed by HCMV during latent infection. US28 has been shown to activate many cellular signaling pathways during lytic infection, promoting lytic gene expression and virus production. As such, the role of US28 remains unclear and seems at odds with latency. Here, we show that US28 has the opposite phenotype in cells that support latent infection—it attenuates cellular signaling, thereby maintaining latency. Inhibition of US28 with a small-molecule inhibitor causes HCMV latent infection to reactivate, allowing latently infected cells to be detected and killed by the immune system. This approach could be used to treat latent HCMV to clear it from human transplants. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among immunosuppressed individuals. HCMV can establish latent infection, where the viral genome is maintained in an infected cell, without production of infectious virus. A number of genes, including US28, are expressed by HCMV during latent infection. US28 has been shown to activate many cellular signaling pathways during lytic infection, promoting lytic gene expression and virus production. As such, the role of US28 remains unclear and seems at odds with latency. Here, we show that US28 has the opposite phenotype in cells that support latent infection—it attenuates cellular signaling, thereby maintaining latency. Inhibition of US28 with a small-molecule inhibitor causes HCMV latent infection to reactivate, allowing latently infected cells to be detected and killed by the immune system. This approach could be used to treat latent HCMV to clear it from human transplants.


A one-year field study was conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural Center in the winter and spring of 1991 -92 with the purpose of comparing the response of leaf lettuce grown with subsurface drip irrigation to various broadcast and banded phosphorus (P) fertilizer applications and rates. Two rates of banded treble superphosphate , 250 lbs. (1X) and 125 lbs. (1 /2X) of P2Osper acre, were applied immediately before planting in a concentrated strip 1 inch directly below the row to be seeded. One broadcast rate, 250 lbs. (1X) of P205 per acre of the same material, was applied and folded into the planting beds during listing. Control plots, in which zero P fertilizer was applied, were also maintained. Whole plant total P concentrations were higher in the first one -third of the growing season for the band treatments, though the differences in responses between band and broadcast applications were not statistically significant in the final third of the season. The 1X band treatment exhibited both greater plant heights and diameters than all other treatments during the first one -half of the growing season, and maintained greater height dimensions in the second half. The 1X broadcast and 1/2X band treatments exhibited similar growth throughout the season. By harvest there were not significant differences in head or plant size or in marketable yield among the three P treatments.


Ptolemy, considered a proto-Humanist by some, combined the principles of Northern Italian republicanism with Aristotelian theory in his De Regimine Principum, a book that influenced much of the political thought of the later Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the early modern period. He was the first to attack kingship as despotism and to draw parallels between ancient Greek models of mixed constitution and the Roman Republic, biblical rule, the Church, and medieval government. In addition to his translation of this important and radical medieval political treatise, written around 1300, James M. Blythe includes a sixty-page introduction to the work and provides over 1200 footnotes that trace Ptolemy's sources, explain his references, and comment on the text, the translation, the context, and the significance.


A Ni-catalyzed reductive carboxylation of N-substituted aziridines with CO2 at atmospheric pressure is disclosed. The protocol is characterized by its mild conditions, experimental ease, and exquisite chemo- and regioselectivity pattern, thus unlocking a new catalytic blueprint to access β-amino acids, important building blocks with considerable potential as peptidomimetics.


This paper analyzes the implication of economic structural change and dietary transformation on changing patterns of agri-food trade among 17 Asian development countries. Sub-regional trade in Central, South, and Southeast Asia is the focus of the paper, along with trade with other partners outside the sub-regions. The paper finds that Asian markets for total agri-food exports and exports of nutritious foods are generally more important than the markets outside of Asia and for many of them, the importance of Asian markets increases over time. While net exporters and importers co-exist in each sub-region, with a few exceptions, sub-regional trade is often less important. Many small countries trade only with one or two large neighbors and less so with each other. The dietary transformation impacts trade in nutritious foods in diverse ways. With income growth, increased domestic demand for nutritious foods seem to lead to more imports of these foods. While many South and Southeast Asian countries have a comparative advantage in exports of some nutritious food products, growth in these exports can be negatively affected by rising domestic demand. Although nutritious food exports continue to play important roles in total agri-food exports, export growth of nutritious food is often slower than overall growth of agri-food exports. The dietary transformation also seems to lead to increases in demand for processed foods which many Asian countries meet through imports, often, accounting for a large component of total agri-food imports. On the other hand, processed foods generally account for a small portion of agri-food exports. However, there are a few countries where processed food export growth is rapid. In these cases, the sub-regional market is expanding, but with few exceptions, it is still less important than trade with countries outside the sub-regions. The paper also finds that agri-food exports and imports are highly concentrated, and a small group of commodities dominate most countries export and import portfolios and remain unchanged over time. The main markets for these important commodities are generally not in the sub-regions and this mismatch between demand and supply of agri-food commodities within sub-region is a natural barrier for promoting regional trade. The modified trade complementary index developed in this paper is based on Michaely (1996) and shows that trade complementarity measures are positively correlated with actual bilateral trade. Small countries tend to enjoy higher levels of complementarity with one or two large trading partners than with other small countries in the same sub-region. This implies that small countries could be better off from bilateral trade arrangements with large partners compared to a regional trade agreement within the sub-region. Because the sub-regional market is oftentimes not large enough to meet large countries' import demand or consume their export supply, regional trade agreements within sub-regions may be less likely to serve their needs for trade expansion than negotiating with large trading partners outside the sub-regions. While many Asian developing countries' governments have been pushing for trade diversification and want to reduce export dependencies concentrated on one or two large trading partners, this paper shows the challenges to achieve this policy goal. For small countries, focusing on bilateral trade arrangements with their dominant trading partners seems to be a more practical and effective strategy than regional trade agreements within sub-regions. Long-term trade arrangements, consistent trade policies, and various preferential trade arrangements should be pursued by small countries with their larger trading partners to promote agri-food exports.


An invariable interest in mechanisms of synaptic plasticity gave birth to several specific methods of evoked postsynaptic responses analysis: quantal analysis, component analysis, nonstationary fluctuation analysis (NSFA) etc. The major part of these methods are not standardized yet however, that can lead to obtaining different (and even contradictory) results in similar experiments performed by different scientific groups. This paper issues the experiments for revealing pre- or postsynaptic location of the synaptic plasticity mechanisms during the early phases of the long-term potentiation (LTP). On a model we analyse how an estimation of the single-channel current made by the NSFA is influenced by changes in the evoked postsynaptic currents shape variability. A hypothesis is made that the apparent increase in the AMPA-receptor single-channel current, reported in some works for early LTP stages, could be concerned with the increase in the postsynaptic response shape variability rather then with real increase in AMPA-receptor channels conductivity. The shape of the postsynaptic responses can become more variable after LTP-associated unsilencing of the previously silent synapses. A new method of independent component analysis (ICA) is introduced to check this hypothesis first on model and than on physiological data. The results of the experiments in general agree with the hypothesis suggested.


This guide lists resources specifically on Eastern Christianity. Many general resources on Christian history, theology, and liturgy may also be useful; see the Kelly Library research guides on Church History, Patristics, Systematic Theology, and Catholic


#BlackLivesMatter (#BLM) has garnered considerable attention in recent years with its commitment to honor all black lives, yet the affective dimensions of this global cause remain largely under- theorized. Within this piece, I explore how #BLM, as a larger sociopolitical movement, works to collectively bind strangers together by transmitting affects that produce a sense of immediacy, intimacy, and belonging. I argue that these affective intensities incite an 'unpredictable intimacy' that closely connects strangers to black bodies and intensifies the forces of race, gender, and hetero/ sexuality in ways that—counter to the movement's purpose— violate the bodies of queer/black women, in particular, via the processes of replication and erasure. I conclude by proposing that, while #BLM aims to empower black lives and build a collective, we remember the political possibilities that affect and queer theories have to offer in order to attend to, and potentially disrupt, the violence that such collectives bring.


Post‐wildfire changes to hydrologic and geomorphic systems can lead to widespread sediment redistribution. Understanding how sediment moves through a watershed is crucial for assessing hazards, developing debris flow inundation models, engineering sediment retention solutions, and quantifying the role that disturbances play in landscape evolution. In this study, we used terrestrial and airborne lidar to measure sediment redistribution in the 2016 Fish Fire, in the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California, USA. The lidar areas are in two adjacent watersheds, at spatial scales of 900 m2 to 4 km2, respectively. Terrestrial lidar data were acquired prior to rainfall, and two subsequent surveys show erosional change after rainstorms. Two airborne lidar flights occurred (1) 7 months before, and (2) 14 months after the fire ignition, capturing the erosional effects after rainfall. We found hillslope erosion dominated the overall sediment budget in the first rainy season after wildfire. Only 7% of the total erosion came from the active channel bed and channel banks, and the remaining 93% of eroded sediment was derived from hillslopes. Within the channelized portion of the watershed erosion/deposition could be generally described with topographic metrics used in a stream power equation. Observed sediment volumes were compared with four empirical models and one process‐based model. We found that the best predictions of sediment volume were obtained from an empirical model developed in the same physiographic region. Moreover, this study showed that post‐wildfire erosion rates in the San Gabriel Mountains attain the same magnitude as millennial time scale bedrock erosion rates.


AS STRA CT Sodium exchange was studied in the arterially perfused papillary muscle of the dog. Three kinetically defined phases accounted for all the myocardial sodium: phase 0 (vascular)-~, (exchange constant) = 3.6 min-a; phase 1 (interstitial)-Xl = 0.62 min-1; phase 2 (intracellular)-X2 < 0.020 rain -~ in quiescent muscles. The phase 2 exchange rate was proportional to frequency of contraction and increased by approximately 0.004 min -1 for each 1 beat/min increment in rate in muscles demonstrating stable function. A sudden increase in frequency of contraction was followed by a marked increase in phase 2 sodium exchange if muscle function did not deteriorate. This increased exchange required 14 rain to achieve a steady state. During this time active tension increased (positive" staircase) and then declined to become stable as the sodium exchange stabilized. In muscles in which increased frequency of contraction produced a progressive decrease in active tension and contracture, sodium exchange failed to increase. The characteristics of sodium exchange are compared to those previously defined for calcium and potassium in the perfused dog papillary muscle. It is proposed that alteration in sodium exchange is a primary determinant of calcium and potassium movements and thereby plays a significant role in the control of myocardial contractility.


OBJECTIVE
To report the development of metastatic prostate cancer in a heart transplant recipient without a primary focus in the recipient prostate gland; to present genetic evidence suggesting transplantation of the malignancy from the donor.

DESIGN
Histological analysis of donor prostate and recipient prostate and rib. Molecular genetic analysis of prostate and kidney tissue from the donor and peripheral blood leukocytes and rib tissue from the transplant recipient.

SETTING
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

RESULTS
Multiple biopsies of recipient prostate were negative for malignancy but recipient rib contained prostatic adenocarcinoma with osteoblastic bone response. Molecular genetic analysis of recipient rib specimen, which contained both histologically normal and neoplastic cells, was shown to contain a combination of alleles from the donor and recipient at 4 loci.

CONCLUSION
Although this is a single case report of an uncommon event, genotyping of polymorphic dinucleotide repeat elements from 4 different chromosomal regions provides strong evidence that the tumor cells arose from donor tissue and were transplanted along with the cardiac allograft.


The clinical value of acoustic rhinometry (AR) is its ability to measure the dimensions of the nasal cavity in terms of a curve describing the cross-sectional areas as a function of distance. This curve describes nasal airway patency and gives an impression of the degree of nasal obstruction. The method provides values before and after decongestion which allow to evaluate the cause of the nasal obstruction as mainly skeletal or mucosal. This makes AR a tool for diagnosis and follow-up of treatment in both rhinology and rhinosurgery. Similarly, AR is a reliable method to show the dimensional changes of the nasal cavity before and after a given treatment. In the evaluation of a surgical intervention it is reasonable to use decongested values. Turbinate surgery, septo- and rhinoplasty, orthognatic surgery and paranasal sinus surgery and their influence on the dimensions of the nasal cavity may be reflected by AR. The absolute minimum cross-sectional area, and cross-sectional areas and volumes at fixed distances are the recommended parameters to show dimensional changes after nasal surgery. The predictive value of AR, in relation to nasal obstruction, should have high specificity and sensitivity to be used in a clinical setting. It seems that the single variables do not provide enough information for the diagnosis of obstruction, and it has been stressed that the results should be interpreted together with rhinoscopy and subjective complaints. A statistical model based on questionnaire, rhinoscopic findings and several variables from AR has been proposed to increase the diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of AR.


The article examines some of Eugenio Barba's study material now preserved in the Fonds Barba at Odin Teatret Archives (ISTA Series, b. 1). Barba's readings preceding the first edition of the ISTA in Bonn in 1980 trace the development of interests cultivated by the director, from humanities to science (biology, neuropsychology, studies of perception, posturology). Even before developing the theory of theatre anthropology as an autonomous discipline, Barba evolved many fertile perspectives of study on energy, within which he expanded the understanding of presence as a fundamental component of theatre. Barba's reading notes reveal an intellectual approach similar to his artistic work: the accumulation of an overabundance of material, which in the theoretical sphere, too, invert the principle of maximum results with minimum effort.


Skin color segmentationis used to determine whether the color pixel is a skin color or non skin color. Understanding the skin color segmentation which supports to design YCbCr and CIELab algorithm for skin color segmentation which use in various applications such as face detection, human computer interaction, medical x-rays scan, agriculture. In this paper we discuss on face detection algorithms based on skin color. Two color spaces RGB, YCbCr are of main concern. It combined the Crowley and Coutaz (1997) algorithm for RGB and cahi and ngan (1999) algorithm for YCbCr to get a new skin color based face detection algorithm which gives higher accuracy. Keyword: YCbCr color model, RGB color model, Segmentation, Comparison.


Today most smart grid projects are still in the R&D or the demonstration phases on small scale. The condition that these projects are implemented in the future on a large scale is that they have a suitable degree of scalability and replicability to avoid that project demonstrators remain local experimental exercises. The current paper tackles the question of what makes a particular smart grid project scalable and replicable. Factors that affect the scalability and replicability of smart grid projects were derived in a first step through the analysis of complex systems and smart grid projects. These factors can be categorized into technical, economic and regulatory & stakeholder-related factors. In a second step, a short case study is performed on on-going European and national smart grid projects in order to validate the factors, which allows then quantifying the status quo of the analyzed projects with respect to the scalability and replicability. This paper provides a feedback on to what extent they take into account these factors and on whether their results and solutions are actually able to be scaled-up and replicated. Results are based on the research done within the European FP7 Coordination and Support project Grid+.


The scalability of routing and resource advertisement protocols is a key issue in large optical networks. A commonly used solution is based on the hierarchical approach adopted in IP/MPLS-TE networks, i.e., multiple areas or autonomous systems are pre-established to contain the geographical scope of the resource advertisement protocols and the related routing information. With arbitrarily pre-established areas, routing decision might be sub-optimal. Thus, special care must be paid by the network designer to subdivide effectively the network into areas. This paper presents and discusses an alternative routing technique that attempts to improve both optimality and scalability of routing and resource advertisement protocols without requiring the use of manually pre-established areas.


Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005) conducted a long political career in the service of black feminist ideas. Her 1972 run for President is the most famous of her efforts, but she also served fourteen years in Congress (1969–1983), serving Brooklyn, New York. As a holder of national elected office at the same time that black feminists were institutionalizing their activism into organizations, Chisholm bridged grassroots and local activism with the national state. She also bridged the ongoing black freedom struggle and women's movements, though not without complication and controversy. This essay uses Chisholm's writings and speeches, as well as government documents, newspaper archives, and interviews to demonstrate Chisholm's dual engagement with the antiracist and antifeminist movements of her time within the context of legislative politics.


The present study was carried out for in-vivo biocompatibility testing of cross-linked bladder acellular matrix graft (BAMG) with of 0.6% Glutaraldehyde(GA), 1% Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMD), 1% 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDGE) and 1% 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) for 12, 24, 48 and 72 h duration at room temperature. The uncross-linked acellular bladder was used as control. In-vivo biocompatibility testing of above cross-linked bladder acellular matrix grafts was determined by subcutaneous implantation of graft on either side of spine of rabbits. The native bladder, acellular and cross-linked BAMG were implanted in separate rabbit under general anesthesia. These grafts were retrieved back at 15, 30, 60 and 90 post-operative implantation days and were evaluated using parameters like macroscopic and microscopic examination, immunoblotting, lymphocyte proliferation assay and ELISA. Macroscopically, all the retrieved biomaterials were found covered with fibrous connective tissue. However, it was thin at 15 days and later on its density increased with maximum at day 90. By day 90, EDC treated grafts for 24 h and 72 h were completely resorbed while EDC treated 12 and 48 h grafts were partially resorbed; whereas GA, HMD and BDDGE cross-linked biomaterials were partially resorbed. The histopathological examination revealed that the bladder acellular matrix graft treated with GA underwent minimum degradation at day 90 post-implantation, which indicated that degradation was least as compared to other cross-linking agents. The native bladder was found to induce more host inflammatory reaction as compared to its acellular graft. All the cross-linked bladder acellular matrix graft showed similar type of inflammatory reaction as compared to acellular uncross-linked bladder matrix (control), which was confined to the periphery of the graft without infiltration within the graft. The reaction became more intense at day 90 in GA and BDDGE treated BAMG samples. The HMD-12 h and HMD-48 h treated BAMG showed good healing of tissue appeared within the graft which was having less inflammatory exudates by day 90. The HMD-24 h and HMD-72 h treated graft showed heavy infiltration of cellular debris and disintegrated collagen scaffold in time dependent manner. The EDC-24 h and EDC-72 h treated BAMG showed host reaction, confined to the periphery around graft up to 60 days post-implantation, but at day 90 the graft was completely reabsorbed. At different cross-linking time intervals the host graft reaction of BDDGE treated graft was similar. The immunoblotting revealed that HMD and BDDGE cross-linked graft showed humoral response. In lymphocyte proliferation assay, the minimum SI was recorded in the tissues cross-linked with GA-48 h which indicated that GA cross-linked tissue had least ability to trigger CMI response in host and the maximum SI was seen in HMD-48 h treated samples. The GA and EDC cross-linked BAMG showed minimum SI value as compared to other cross-linked samples. ELISA revealed less immune response towards the EDC cross-linked grafts.


In this paper, we propose new technologies to compress the interpolator nodes in VRML/MPEG-4 BIFS (binary format for scene). Interpolators are used to animate the 3D objects in a VRML/MPEG-4 BIFS scene. For interactive applications with quite a few animated 3D synthetic objects, two components are dominant in the amount of data to represent the animation: 3D object and its animation. In the current MPEG-4, 3D model coding (3DMC) yields a high compression ratio with reasonable quality for the 3D object, while predictive MFField coding (PMFC) yields a moderate compression ratio with reasonable quality for the animation data. The proposed techniques are to provide a high compression on animation data and have been adopted to MPEG-4 system amendment 4 (AFX/MUW).


The purpose of the study is damage reduction of easily damaged products in transport vehicle body in various ways of its placement (embankment, in containers) during the on-farm transportation through the development of new scientifically grounded technical solutions. The methods of the study are performing theoretical studies on the basis of regulations, laws and methods of theoretical mechanics and mathematical analysis with computers using, including using the program MathCAD 14.0 and package application software LabView. The article presents the results of realized theoretical studies about the analysis of damage process of easily damageable agricultural products in transport vehicle body during the on-farm transportation, which prove that the maximum speed of the vehicle on the field and in gardens with slopes of up to 9o (with gradients up to 9), in which product damage in the containers (during transport of apples no more than 5%) and in the vehicle body during on-farm potatoes embankment transportation (no more than 4%) do not exceed agronomic requirements is for a vehicle with body stabilization devices 23.9 kilometers per hour and 24.6 kilometers per hour respectively, that is 1.2-1.22 times greater than the base variant trailer 19.9 kilometers per hour and 20.1 kilometers per hour. The containers that proposed according to the results of the research contribute to the reduction of product's damage during its transportation by increasing contact area of the fruit and container and by reducing the space for the free movement of products.


Films and television series you watch online are watching you back. Algorithms and data analytics are making deeper inroads into film and television production in Europe: Belgian company ScriptBook offers data-driven script analysis and automated story generation, which the company sees as co-authorship between humans and machines. At the same time, data-driven streamers like Netflix and Amazon are investing heavily in local-language content. This paper examines how these developments affect creative labour in the European screen industry. More specifically, it zooms in on the development stage and the experiences of screenwriters, directors, and producers. What do audience data and algorithmic tools add to the creative process? What are the possibilities and limitations? Questions like these call for a robust theoretical and methodological toolbox, which synthesises concepts and methods from media industry studies, critical algorithm studies, and critical data studies. This research project explores the influence of algorithms and data analytics on both a macro-level (changing industry structures) and micro-level (creative practices of screenwriters and producers). The analysis is based on data from three registers: semi-structured interviews with screen workers, ethnographic field observation, and industry trade publications. These empirical data have been gathered online and offline in several European countries. In sum, this paper presents some preliminary observations of European screen production in an algorithmic culture - and how it is perceived by the people who produce the stories that land on our screens.


LAMP-1 (lysosome-associated membrane protein), a major glycoprotein present in the lysosomal membrane, constitutes up to 50% of total membrane proteins. LAMP-1, expressed at the plasma membrane, is reported to be the major molecule expressing the sialyl-Lewis X antigen. Two forms of LAMP-1 exist; the full-length LAMP-1 [LAMP-1 (+Tail)] has a highly glycosylated lumenal domain, a membrane-spanning domain and a short cytoplasmic tail, and the truncated LAMP-1 [LAMP-1 (-Tail)] contains only the lumenal domain. Soluble LAMP-1 (+/-Tail) has been reported in circulation. LAMP-1 at the cell surface has been shown to interact with E-selectin and galectin and is proposed to function in cell-cell interactions. However, the functional role(s) of soluble LAMP-1 in circulation is unclear. To investigate the functional role of soluble LAMP-1 in circulation, recombinant LAMP-1 (-Tail) and LAMP-1 (+Tail) were produced in HT1080 cells. Two immune-quantification assays were developed to distinguish between the LAMP-1 forms. The interaction and aggregation properties of the different LAMP-1 forms were investigated using the immune-quantification assays. Only LAMP-1 (+Tail) was found to aggregate and interact with plasma proteins. Plasma proteins that interact with LAMP-1 were isolated by affinity chromatography with either the recombinant LAMP-1 (-Tail) or a synthesized peptide consisting of the 14 amino acids of the LAMP-1 cytoplasmic tail. Transthyretin was found to interact with the cytoplasmic tail of LAMP-1. Transthyretin exists as a homotetramer in plasma, as such may play a role in the aggregation of LAMP-1 in circulation.


Ab s t r Ac t Background: The association between Graves' disease (GD) and ocular myasthenia (OM) is well known. Total thyroidectomy gives a permanent "cure" for GD and the literature reports a varying progression of myasthenia gravis (MG) in such patients after surgery. The main issue in patients with MG is the difficulties with the use of muscle relaxants during anesthesia. In the ensuing case report, a patient with OM and GD who had a total thyroidectomy under general anesthesia (GA) with laryngeal mask airway (LMA) without muscle relaxants is described. Case report: A 40-year-old man was clinically and biochemically diagnosed to have GD. Subsequently, he developed bilateral ptosis which was diagnosed as OM by a neurologist. Though his OM responded to treatment, his GD was not well controlled. He was admitted, monitored, and made euthyroid by adjusting the carbimazole dose. A decision was made to undertake total thyroidectomy for GD, with total intravenous anesthesia and Proseal® LMA without muscle relaxants following a discussion with the anesthetic team. A conventional total thyroidectomy was performed using nerve encountering, parathyroid preserving, and capsular dissection technique. The patient made an uncomplicated recovery. Conclusion: A technique combining total intravenous anesthesia and a LMA without muscle relaxants for thyroid surgery in a patient with MG has advantages over a standard method. The use of LMA in other thyroid surgeries must be further evaluated for future use. Clinical significance: Coexistence of MG and GD should be in mind when treating the patients with GD. Individualize the use of muscle relaxants in GA and best to avoid whenever possible.


Oxygen ionic and mixed ionic-electronic conductors find important applications in solid-state electrochemical devices, including sensors, solid oxide fuel cells, hightemperature electrolyzers, and oxygen separationmembranes. This chapter presents a brief overview of oxide phases with high diffusivity of O anions, providing an introduction to this fascinating topic. Particular emphasis is centered on the comparative analysis of ionic and electronic conductivity variations in the major groups of solid oxide electrolytes and mixed conductors, such as perovskiteand fluorite-related compounds, apatite-type silicates, and derivatives of g-Bi4V2O11 and b-La2Mo2O9. The defect chemistrymechanisms relevant to the oxygen ionmigration processes are briefly discussed.


Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in one in every 23 UK pregnancies. GDM identifies the mother as high-risk for development of type 2 diabetes. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published updated guidance in February 2015 recommending routine follow-up of women with GDM.Aims: This cohort study compared follow-up rates of women with GDM before and after the updated guidance. We also investigated for an association between follow-up rates and deprivation.Methods: Participants were identified from the database of the GDM service of two English hospitals and were organised into two cohorts: 'pre-guidance' (2012–2015) and 'post-guidance' (2015–2016). Using the recommendations of the NICE guidance as the follow-up standard, we used the hospitals' computer system to compare follow-up rates of the two cohorts. The English Indices of Deprivation split the country into 32,844 small areas and rank them in order of deprivation such that 1 is the most deprived area and 32,844 is the least deprived. We compared the patients' postcodes against the English Indices of Deprivation to investigate the relative levels of neighbourhood deprivation of those followed up compared with those not followed up. The Z statistic was used to test for statistical significance.Results: 535 participants were included (pre-guidance n=306, post-guidance n=229). Baseline average age (pre-guidance 32.2 years, post-guidance 32.5 years), body mass index (30.7 kg/m2, 30.9 kg/m2) and fasting glucose (4.9 mmol/L, 4.8 mmol/L) were all comparable between cohorts. The follow-up rate improved from 60.5% in the pre-guidance group to 69.9% in the post-guidance group. The median deprivation rank of those followed up was 14,565 compared with 13,393 in those not followed up. This difference was not found to be significant.Conclusion: A higher proportion of women with GDM were followed up with screening for type 2 diabetes after the updated NICE guidance in 2015 recommended routine follow-up. Across the study, over a third of women were not followed up. There was no statistically significant difference in the deprivation levels of those women followed up compared with those not followed up.


The assessment of skeletal bone age is an important step both in diagnostic and in therapeutic investigations of en-docrinological problems and growth disorders of children. Currently, there are two main approaches for skeletal bone age estimation that use X-Ray images: 1) the Greulich and Pyle (G&P) method and 2) the Tanner and Whitehouse (TW2 or TW3) methods. Although the G&P method is the most widely used for its simplicity, the TW2/TW3 method is the most accurate one, but it requires intensive training, especially for novice radiologists. The method is complex since it involves the simultaneous assessment of shapes and relative distances among several bones of the hand and with the further complication of the interaction between sex, age and race. In this paper we propose a computer-based system for assisting radiologists in the training with the Tan-ner&Whitehouse method; the system is based on an engine for automated assessment of skeletal bone age from X-Rays. In detail, after evaluating the user level, the system automatically proposes personalized training sessions by drawing from a wide repository of hand X-rays, and it suggests remedial sessions upon identification the features of the cases where the users demonstrated misconceptions. Finally, all the X-Rays that show combinations of features provenly difficult, are treated as teaching cases and are converted into Medical Imaging Resource Center (MIRC) format to ease their integration into more comprehensive digital educational resources.


The performance and success of many self-timed design methodologies commonly rely heavily on completion detection schemes in order to reliably acknowledge the termination of a computation associated with a self-timed functional block. A particularly vexing problem associated with many self-timed completion detection schemes proposed in the literature, is the task of implementing the robust and successful generation of a completion done signal, denoting the termination of a self-timed event, on every computation handled by a self-timed functional block. Many research groups who have focused on the development of asynchronous self-timed design methodologies have proposed methods to successfully detect the completion of a self-timed computation. However, a universally acceptable solution that successfully detects the completion of a self-timed event on every cycle of computation for an arbitrary self-timed functional block, remains to this day, an elusive technical issue. A specific case, related to data conditioning, that proves to be fundamentally problematic in many self-timed completion detection schemes that have been proposed, involves the successful generation of a self-timed components' completion detection signal on consecutive cycles of computation. This is equivalent to cases where the nature of the input data is such that the resulting output generated on subsequent computational cycles is the same as the previous cycles' result ("same state similarity"). In this paper, the authors' propose a novel approach to completion detection, for use in asynchronous self-timed designs, that employs a ternary multiple valued logic ("MVL") approach using dynamic CMOS circuit design techniques, that guarantees the failproof generation of event termination on every self-timed computational cycle, including cases of same state similarity.


Problem: The number of partially edentulous patients is increasing, so the need for RPDs will increase in the clinical practice (Walmsley 2003). One of the most significant disadvantages of current RPDs affecting the health of the remaining oral structures is the unresolved issue of the load distribution between the supporting structures. This is dependent upon materials properties, design and fit of the RPD. A significant need exists to advance the knowledge surrounding this issue and the exploration of novel materials now available for this type of prosthetic treatment.Purpose of study: The aim of this project was to evaluate the RPD frameworks produced from Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and their load distribution to the supporting structures in comparison to the conventional RPD materials. Further, to enhance the design in order to take advantage of the polymer's mechanical properties. Therefore, the design will then be adjusted to optimise the load distribution.
The objectives for this study were firstly, to use 3D stress freezing digital photoelasticity in dental applications and produce a photoelastic model composed of two materials that have properties representing that of dentin and bone.
Secondly, to compare the load distribution of PEEK with that of the conventional materials, and thirdly, to design a PEEK RPD framework for the optimised load distribution.Method and Materials: A 3D digital photoelasticity technique was adapted for use in dentistry to analyse the load distribution of RPD frameworks. A novel photoelastic model was made with individual simulative materials for tooth structure, alveolar bone, PDL, and oral mucosa. For each experiment the RPDs were placed on the photoelastic model and loaded by a modified dental surveyor in the stress freezing oven. The models then sectioned to produce sample slices 2mm in thickness at selected points. The data was collected using Catchsix and CoPA photoelastic softwares packages.Results: Results of the resin model fabrication revealed that the ratio of the modulus of elasticity between Photoelastic materials PL1 and Araldite 2020 epoxy resins at Tg mimic that between dentin and bone.
3D digital photoelasticity was demonstrated to be a valuable technique which allows for viewing of the stresses in the model and the inclusion of digital technology in data processing advances photoelasticity to a modern technique of stress analysis.
Results of stress analysis revealed that:
• PEEK dimensions and designs should be tailored to the material properties to fulfil the objective of the supporting components
• Covering the palatal surfaces of the teeth above the height of the contour in acrylic denture designs assists in transferring some of the applied load to the teeth.
• PEEK dentures with a novel clasp design shows potential in comparison to the conventional tissue supported RPD materials.
• RPI assemblies are better in load distribution than circumferential and embrasure CoCr designs. This was found to be consistent with other studies.
• PEEK dentures with the novel clasp design are comparable in load distribution with that of the RPI assembly design.

Conclusion: PEEK is a promising RPD material. The flexibility of this material in combination with novel clasp design transfers the distribution of load in a favourable manner over the abutment teeth. However, further research is needed before it can be accepted as an option in RPD prosthodontics.


To produce enough food for a growing population, soil remediation is crucial unless more forests are to be cleared to make way for agriculture land. Finely ground rocks have been proposed as a soil amendment for highly weathered soils. In Chontales, Nicaragua most of the forest has been converted to cattle pasture. In fertile soils, crop agriculture is more lucrative per unit of area than cattle grazing, but the low nutrient content of Chontales soils makes it uneconomic. The purpose of the study was to examine whether incorporation of rock dust is a sustainable way to increase the fertility in Chontales and thus can be part of a strategy that encourages farmers to adopt crop agriculture as an alternative to animal husbandry. A field experiment was conducted in which basaltic rock dust and compost was applied to soil for cultivation of common beans. Three sustainability parameters were analyzed and the diffusion potential of the proposed technology was assessed. The experiment failed to confirm the positive result obtained in previous studies on yield in similar soils and no correlation between pest resistance and rock dust applications was found. The failure to produce a confident result on yield was partly due to a leaf hoppers invasion and harm caused by intruding calves into the experiment site. Rock dust was found to be typically free of toxic agents and little environmental damage is associated with the practice, provided that the source of extraction is close to the application site. The relative disadvantage in terms of social prestige and incompatibility with the current cattle oriented production system were found to be the main obstacles for diffusion of the technique in Chontales.


Background: Achilles tendinitis is a common overuse injury among both elite and recreational athletes involved in activities such as repetitive jumping and running. Aim: The aim of this single-blinded randomized study was to compare the efficacy of muscle energy technique (MET) and eccentric loading exercise (ELE) interventions on improving functional ability and pain reduction among athletes with Achilles tendinitis. Methods: A single-blinded, pilot, randomized study was conducted in the Department of Physical Therapy, Global Hospitals and Health City, India, with 6-week follow-up. A total of 30 patients with Achilles tendinitis were randomly allocated to receive either MET (n = 15) or ELE (n = 15) treatment. Treatment effects were evaluated by pre- and post-treatment assessment of visual analog scale (VAS) and Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire. Measures were performed by single-blinded evaluators at baseline and at 2, 4, and after 6 weeks of treatment. Results: Both groups showed a significant difference in VAS after 6 weeks' ELE group showed a significant improvement during treatment at 2 and 4 weeks in comparison with MET group. The VISA-A scale score significantly improved in both groups. Yet, comparison of VISA scores between groups showed marginally significant difference (P = 0.012). Conclusion: This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed the efficacy of ELE in reducing pain and improving functional ability among patients with Achilles tendinitis. The findings of this study provide the rationale for undertaking a large-scale RCT. A large sized trial is needed to establish evidence for clinical practice of ELE in Achilles tendinitis cases.


Barium calcium tungsten oxide (Ba2CaWO6) is known for its double perovskite-type crystal structure. The present study was designed to see the effect of biofield energy treatment on physical, atomic, and structural properties of Ba2CaWO6. In this study, Ba2CaWO6 powder sample was divided into two parts, one part was remained as untreated, denoted as control, while the other part was subjected to Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment and coded as treated. After that, the control and treated samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area analyzer, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The XRD data revealed that the crystallite size was decreased by 20% in the treated Ba2CaWO6 sample as compared to the control. The surface area of treated Ba2CaWO6 was increased by 9.68% as compared to the control sample. The FT-IR spectroscopic analysis exhibited that the absorbance band corresponding to stretching vibration of W-O bond was shifted to higher wavenumber from 665 cm-1 (control) to 673 cm-1 after biofield energy treatment. The ESR spectra showed that the signal width and height were decreased by 88.9 and 90.7% in treated Ba2CaWO6 sample as compared to the control. Therefore, above result revealed that biofield energy treatment has a significant impact on the physical and structural properties of Ba2CaWO6.


It has been established that early events in lymphocyte activation involve a rise in intracellular Ca++ as well as changes in the flux of other ions. Although a Ca++ channel has been postulated to participate in the early Ca++ rise, its presence in lymphocytes remains controversial. Also although yet undetected, electrophysiological data suggest the presence of a Ca++ activated K+ channel on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBL). Here we report on the effect of specific channel blockers as an approach to the identification of these channels on HPBL. At 40 nM nifedipine, an inhibitor of voltage‐gated Ca++ channels, fully inhibits the PHA‐promoted activation of HPBL. This effect is concentration dependant with a half maximum effect at approximately 10 nM and is demonstrable whether the drug is added at the same time as or up to 18 h after the addition of the mitogen. This inhibition of activation is not seen if the lymphocytes are activated using IL‐2 instead of PHA. Charybdotoxin a toxin which blocks a Ca++ activated K+ channel of muscle cells also blocks to almost 100 per cent the PHA‐induced activation of HPBL. This inhibition can be demonstrated regardless of whether the blocker is added together with or up to 4 h after PHA. As opposed to nifedipine charybdotoxin shows no effect if added 18 h after the initiation of the activation process. When nifedipine and charybdotoxin were tested on mice splenocytes we found that nifedipine fully inhibits the LPS‐promoted activation of these cells while charybdotoxin has no effect on their activation. Taken together these results strengthen the view regarding the participation of both a voltage‐gated Ca++ channel and a Ca++ activated K+ channel in human T lymphocyte activation.


The characteristics of the "risk-adjusted rating" (RAR) on which Morningstar bases its "star ratings" and "category ratings" are analyzed, and the RAR is compared with more traditional mean–variance measures. The RAR measure has characteristics similar to those of an expected utility function based on an underlying bilinear utility function. These characteristics are of some concern because strict adherence to maximizing expected utility with such a function could lead to extreme investment strategies. This study finds that Morningstar varies one of the parameters of this function in a manner that frequently produces results similar to the results of using the excess-return Sharpe ratio. Finally, the argument is presented that neither Morningstar's measure nor the excess-return Sharpe ratio is an efficient tool for choosing mutual funds within peer groups for a multifund portfolio.


Health Information System aims at improving and enhancing the delivery of quality, data availability and administrative effectiveness of people's health. Medical record has come under severe threat as a result of the manual system of medical record keeping in spite of its important functions. This system of record-keeping involves taking down patient data on pieces of paper, which are put into files and kept in cabinets. In fact, this is an improper means of documentation resulting in loss and mismatch of patient data, and time wastage. It is alsocumbersome, bulky and consumes a lot of the office space. In this paper, a complete web-based health information system is designed to solve these problems so as to enable users handle details on policies efficiently and effectively. A test of the system over various network topologies reveals that time taken to move a packet and received acknowledgment for standalone, LAN, WAN and Intranet is 3ms, 4ms, 8ms and 10ms respectively. These short periods of time show faster and efficient delivery of health activities. The Web Based HealthInformation System thus provides significant benefit to institutions as it can capture data and store it in the developed database for future use.
Citation: Kwasi, T. M., Patrick, A.A, Amponsah Wellington, A. Design and Implementation of a Web-BasedHealth Information System, 2020; 5(3): 1-11.
Received: August 4, 2019Accepted: September 30, 2020


approved: Snature redacted for privacy. John 1). Walstad Red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) seedlings were grown at three initial spacings (8 x 8 cm, 4 x 4 cm, and 2 x 2 cm) and on two soil types (forest soil and river loam) under greenhouse and lath house conditions for 525 growing days. There were seven harvest dates, conmencing at crown closure. Based on a 6% stratified (by size) random sample, logarithmic regressions were used to estimate individual tree biomass and structure at each harvest date. Acetylene reduction (a measure of N2 fixation capacity) was estimated as the mean sample tree value per treatment combination for selected harvest dates. Average tree size was consistently larger at wider than denser spacings and on forest soil compared to river loam. The -3/2 power rule, which imposes an upper limit on average plant size () as a function of actual stocking density (p), was reformulated by examining the trend of the size to density (S-p) trajectory over the course of the experiment. A 5 parameter non-linear model was used to estimate the self-thinning asymptote, relative density at crown closure plus shape and rate of change in the (-p) trajectory. For average plant weight (W) the self-thinning asymptote intercept and slope were 9.4 x l0 g/m2 and 1.46, respectively. The crown closure line was parallel to the asymptote at a relative density of 0.31. The (W-p) trajectory was described by the same model regardless of initial spacing or soil type. This model was used to examine carbohydrate allocation and suggested the following priority: branches > stem > leaves > roots > nodules, with decreasing density. The (W-p) time trajectory was examined using a logarithmic integral logistic equation which showed that intrinsic growth rate was higher on denser spacings and forest soils. There were no soil type differences (p < 0.01) between acetylene reduction estimates. Values (innoles C2H2/g nodule/hr) ranged from 297 at crown closure to 47 after 451 days. Highest values were for densest spacings at crown closure; this trend was reversed after 451 days. Acetylene reduction per tree was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the wider spacings. Estimates of N2 fixation (ranked by densest initial spacings) were 680, 638 and 454 kg/N21ha16 months. FOREST RESEARCH LABORATORY LJBRARY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Effects of Density Stress and Soil Productivity on Size, Mortality and Nitrogen Fixation in Artificial Populations of Seedling Red Alder (Alnus rubra Bong.)


Pregnant and non-pregnant sheep uteri were perfused in situ with arterial blood at a constant flow rate. Unilateral stimulation (1-2 ma, u ms pulse) of the distal end of the severed sympathetic chain (L3-L4) at frequencies between 5 and 25 Hz produced a graded increase in uterine artery pressure in both horns. At 25 Hz, pressure in the horn ipsilateral to the stimulated sympathetic chain increased by 28 +/ 2% in four pregnant animals and 32 +/ 5% in six non-pregnant ewes. The response of the contralateral horn was significantly smaller than that of the ipsilateral horn (P less than or equal to 0.05). The response was alpha-mediated since it was abolished by local injection of dibenzyline into the middle uterine artery. The responses of the pregnant and non-pregnant animals were similar, indicating that pregnancy did not alter the alpha-adrenergic responses of the uterine vasculature.


The descriptionsand impressions of managed care are like the pronouncements of the blind men of Hindustan who encountered an elephant. One felt the trunk and said it was like a snake, another felt the tail and said it was like a rope, another grabbed the ear and said it was like a leaf, and on and on. Thus, the payer, the provider, the patient, the teacher, the student, the primary care physician, and the specialist all see managed care in different ways—some reassuring, some threatening, some good, some bad, but all new and different. This month the Journal of the American Medical Association and the associated family ofArchivesare featuring managed care as our theme. Neurologists make up a small number of physicians, but, with the aging of the population, we are taking care of more and more patients. Patients who often have chronic and disabling illnesses. These


Turns-at-talk are fundamental units of participation in talk-in-interaction, and turn-constructional-units (TCUs) are the basic building blocks for turns. Possible completion of a TCU is, in principle, the possible completion of the turn, but multi-unit turns are not uncommon, and participants have practices for constructing multi-unit turns and for recognizing them in the course of their production. This article offers an account of one practice (and several of its variants) usable by speakers and recipients to convey and recognize the designed completion of a multi-TCU turn and/or a multi-turn sequence in which 'answering' is being done: returning to, or 're-using', a word or phrase from the start of the turn or sequence, whether articulated by same or different speaker, whether used to refer to same or different referents. This practice is one of the resources by which the overall structural organization of an interactional unit and its local realization are mutually realized.


Photoperiod, or the daily sequence of light and dark, has dramatic effects on many physiological systems across animal species. Light patterns alter melatonin secretion profiles and, subsequently, the release profiles and circulating concentrations of several hormones that influence a variety of physiological responses. Although the impact of photoperiod on reproductive processes is perhaps the most common example, it is often the seasonal aspects of ovulation and anestrus that are considered. However, in cattle, the final phase of reproduction, that is, lactation, is significantly influenced by photoperiod. In contrast to short days (SDPP; 8 h light:16 h dark), exposure to long days (LDPP) of 16 to 18 h of light and 6 to 8 h of darkness increases milk yield 2 to 3 kg/d, regardless of the stage of lactation. There is evidence that this LDPP effect is due to increased circulating IGF-I, independent of any effect on GH concentrations. Cows that are housed under SDPP during the dry period have increased mammary growth and produce 3 to 4 kg/d more milk in the subsequent lactation compared with cows on LDPP when dry. While cows are on SDPP, circulating prolactin (PRL) diminishes but expression of PRL receptor increases in mammary, liver, and immune cells. Moreover, PRL signaling pathways within those tissues are affected by photoperiod. Further, replacement of PRL to cows on SDPP partially reverses the effects of SDPP on production in the next lactation. Thus, effects on dry cows are mediated through a PRL-dependent pathway. Before maturity, LDPP improve mammary parenchymal accumulation and lean body growth, which lead to greater yields in the first lactation. The accumulated evidence supports the concept that photoperiod manipulation can be harnessed to improve the efficiency of production across the life cycle of the dairy cow.


This paper undertakes a study on energetic and exergetic performance evaluation of various types of coals in Turkey, such as Armutcuk, Amasra, Zonguldak and Catalagzy hard coals and Tuncbilek, Beypazari, Cayirhan, Afsin, Soma, Yatagan, Can and Sorgun lignites for gasification purposes, where syn-gas may subsequently be used for the production of electricity, heat, hydrogen, etc. in industry. The chemical exergy contents of these coals are determined and compared for a potential use in gasification, and their energetic and exergetic efficiencies are also assessed for performance comparison. In the analysis, exergetic efficiencies are evaluated for an idealised gasifier in which chemical equilibrium is reached, ashes of coals are not considered and heat losses are neglected. It is observed that coals having lower heating value have higher gasification efficiency, and the ratios of hydrogen to chemical exergy of coal are related to the gasification process efficiencies of this coal.


We recently demonstrated a high function wrist watch computer prototype that runs the Linux operating system and also XII graphics libraries. In this paper we describe the unique energy related challenges and tradeoffs we encountered while building this watch. We show that the usage duty factor for the device heavily dictates which of the powers, active power or sleep power, needs to be minimized more aggressively in order to achieve the longest perceived battery life. We also describe the energy issues that percolate through several layers of software all the way from device usage scenarios, applications, user interfaces, system level software to device drivers. All of these need to be systematically addressed to achieve the battery life dictated by the hardware components and the capacity of the battery in the device.


Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has been identified in the USA as an ideal biomass crop, in relation to its wide environmental suitability, mainly linked to the availability of both upland and lowland ecotypes, allowing the possibility of growing this species in most of the North American region. Switchgrass is conventionally grown for forage, but more recently, it has been considered as a model biofuel crop. Early European studies on switchgrass as a bioenergy crop started in the late 1990s, when a multi-location field trial was established in Greece (Aliartos) and Italy (Ozzano) to compare the productivity of 13 switchgrass genotypes, including upland (Carthage, Blackwell, Caddo, CIR, Forestburg, SU 94-1, Summer) and lowland (Alamo, Kanlow, Pangburn, SL 93-2, SL 93-3, SL94-1) genotypes. The scope was to identify the most suitable ecotype within each environment and, possibly, the best performing variety. The trials lasted 17 years (1998–2014) in Greece and 13 years (1998–2010) in Italy. While in Italy the trial was rainfed and unfertilized, in Greece, where the soil was marginal, drip irrigation was always applied, and the plots were fertilized regularly. The biomass yields in Greece, as averages across the 17 years, were similar for the lowland and upland varieties (11.5 vs. 11.1 Mg ha−1, respectively), while in Italy, as averages across the 13 years, the differences were relevant: 15.4 vs. 11.3 Mg ha−1 for lowland and upland, respectively. Alamo (lowland) was the most productive variety, both in Greece and Italy, with average annual yields of 12.7 and 16.6 Mg ha−1, respectively; CIR in Greece (10.1 Mg ha−1) and Forestburg in Italy (9.1 Mg ha−1) (both upland) were the least productive genotypes. The present results demonstrate the good suitability of switchgrass as biomass crop for the Mediterranean climate. Despite the very marginal soil (i.e., very shallow and with a sandy texture) in the Greek trial, the application of regular fertilization and irrigation produced biomass yields above 11 Mg ha−1 (grand mean) in the present 17-year-long study.


The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) provides that judges must not alter property rights on the breakdown of the relationship unless satisfied that it is just and equitable to do so. This is the principle of judicial restraint. In the past, and prior to the 2012 decision of the High Court in Stanford v Stanford, this principle was given almost no effect. The High Court sought to correct this approach, insisting that the family courts should not begin from an assumption that a couple's property rights are or should be different from the state of the legal and equitable title. It also reaffirmed that there is no community of property in Australia. This article considers the significance of the principle of judicial restraint: first, in cases where the property is already jointly owned and, secondly, in cases where the couple have chosen to keep their finances separate.


GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on sapphire substrate have current transport along the lateral direction due to the insulating nature of the substrate, and the anode and cathode contacts are in a side-by-side configuration. The resistance of the n-type material of the GaN and the lower confinement layer is not negligible, which causes the current to crowd near the edge of the n-contact pad. The current crowding problems will become more severe for large area and high power devices. In this paper, the current spreading effect is qualitatively analyzed. The applied current density and the effective length of the lateral current transport are found to have a considerable effect on the uniform current spreading. Based on these findings, an optimized contact scheme of high-power GaN-based LEDs is proposed to alleviate current crowding effect and reduce the series resistance of the devices. It is clearly shown that the high-power GaN-based flip-chip LEDs with optimized ring-shape interdigitated contact scheme have a relatively uniform temperature distribution by measuring the surface temperature distribution of the device with infrared thermal imaging system. It is confirmed that the current distributes more uniformly over the contact, and current densities in a localized region of the device are reduced, which can decrease the joule heat generated and improve the reliability of the GaN-based LED.


BACKGROUND: An increasing proportion of patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are initially successfully resuscitated and thus hospitalized. AIMS: To define risk indicators for, and to describe the mode of, in-hospital death among patients hospitalized after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. SETTING: Goteborg, Sweden. PATIENTS: All patients hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between 1980 and 1992. RESULTS: A total of 707 out of 3434 patients were hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, of whom 278 (39%) were discharged alive. Independent risk indicators for in-hospital death were: type of initial arrhythmia on the scene, age, interval between cardiac arrest and arrival of first ambulance, bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and history of diabetes mellitus. Of the patients who died in hospital, 88% had brain damage and 43% myocardial damage. CONCLUSION: Risk indicators for hospital death can be defined. The majority of in-hospital deaths were associated with brain damage.


Bloch and Paschukanis have given a different answer to the question: What is law and what should happen to law in a socialist society? Paschukanis argues against Stalin's order to create a specific socialist or soviet law and was killed for his dissident approach. He explained the thesis that law is a creation of exchange in capitalist societies, and that therefore socialist law, he declares, is an oxymoron. Forty years later Bloch came to an opposite result: to prevent servility and oppression in "socialist societies" of the eastern world the tradition of human rights should be conserved and developed, i.e. they should reflect the solidarity of the new post capitalist order. This debate is not only of historical interest, but represents a different approach to a theory of law and concerns the relation between social change and law as an instrument of this change.


Actuarial senescence (i.e., the age-specific increase in mortality rate) is pervasive across mammalian species, but our current understanding of the diversity of forms that actuarial senescence displays across species remains limited. Although several mathematical models have been proposed to model actuarial senescence, there is still no consensus on which model to use, especially when comparing mortality patterns among species. To fill this knowledge gap, we fitted and compared different forms of increase using models commonly used in senescence studies (i.e., Gompertz, Weibull, and logistic) across 61 species of mammalian captive populations using the Bayesian Survival Trajectory Analysis (BaSTA) approach. For as much as 79% of the species, a Gompertz increase of mortality with age was the most parsimonious model that satisfactorily described the shape of age-specific mortality changes in adults. This highlights that the form of the increase in mortality is mostly consistent across mammalian species and follows the Gompertz rule with some rare exceptions. The implications of that result are twofold. First, the Gompertz rate of mortality increase should be used in cross-species comparative analyses of mammals, as already done in some studies. Second, although the Gompertz model accurately describes actuarial senescence in most mammals, there are notable exceptions, and the factors causing this deviation from an exponential mortality increase during the adult stage warrant further investigation.


Abstract Background The outbreak and rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only caused an adverse impact on physical health, but also brought about mental health problems among the public. Methods To assess the causal impact of COVID-19 on psychological changes in China, we constructed a city-level panel data set based on the expressed sentiment in the contents of 13 million geotagged tweets on Sina Weibo, the Chinese largest microblog platform. Results Applying a difference-in-differences approach, we found a significant deterioration in mental health status after the occurrence of COVID-19. We also observed that this psychological effect faded out over time during our study period and was more pronounced among women, teenagers and older adults. The mental health impact was more likely to be observed in cities with low levels of initial mental health status, economic development, medical resources and social security. Conclusions Our findings may assist in the understanding of mental health impact of COVID-19 and yield useful insights into how to make effective psychological interventions in this kind of sudden public health event.


A discussion of "The Holding Environment and Family Therapy with Acting Out Adolescents," by E.R. Shapiro, M.D. It is presupposed that the central motivation of psychotherapists is to derive a secure holding environment from the patient. The most fundamental need of human beings is the allaying of separation anxiety. As parents use their children to maintain an inner sense of security, the unresponsive child will cause the parent significant depression and anxiety. The parallel of the therapist's and parent's position with the patient/child is explored.


RVD in ZR-75-1 cells, epithelial-derived human breast cancer cells, is HCO3- dependent and involves the parallel activation of the K+ and volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC; Nicholl et al. 2001). Preliminary data indicated that the mechanisms of RVD were calcium (Ca2+) dependent, although the exact nature is unknown. This study investigated the Ca2+ dependency of RVD in ZR-75-1 cells using the video imaging technique


In this paper, a dielectric modulated junctionless TFET (DM-JLTFET) based structure is examined and proposed for the first time to inspect label free recognition of biological molecules like compound, cell, DNA, and so on. The variation in the threshold voltage and potential of the proposed structure has been utilised as the sensing parameter to distinguish the biological molecules. In the present literature, there is a presumption that the entire nanogap region is filled with biological molecules after confinement and hybridisation. A study is presented here to describe the impact of biological molecule's fill in factor on the drain current characteristics of the proposed structure. The presence of biomolecules in a small area inside the cavity can lead to noticeable changes in the electrical properties of the device, resulting in high sensitivity. The proposed device structure gives noticeable results for both types of biological molecules (neutral and charged).


ABSTRACT Background: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is characterized by signs and symptoms similar to substance use and gambling disorders, and associated with psychosocial impairments. Research suggests that maladaptive gaming-related cognitions and coping may be implicated in IGD; therefore, interventions for IGD need to target these underlying mechanisms. Mindfulness-based treatment is effective in changing maladaptive cognitive processes and increasing adaptive coping among people with addictions. Aims: This study used data from an RCT of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) for IGD to further examine changes in maladaptive gaming-related cognitions and positive reappraisal as mediators of the effects of MORE on IGD signs/symptoms. Methods: Participants (N = 30, Age M = 25.0, SD = 5.4) were randomized to 8-weekly sessions of MORE or a support group (SG) control condition. IGD severity, levels of craving for video game playing, maladaptive gaming-related cognitions, and positive reappraisal were measured at pre-and posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up. Results: Multivariate path analyses revealed that effects of MORE in reducing IGD and craving were statistically mediated by changes in maladaptive gaming-related cognitions. Though changes in positive reappraisal did not significantly mediate effects of MORE on IGD or craving, MORE enhanced positive reappraisal to a significantly greater extent than the SG at posttreatment. Discussion: Findings suggest that effects of mindfulness treatment in reducing maladaptive gaming-related cognitions might lead to reductions in IGD severity and cravings for video game playing. This cognitive mechanism should be evaluated in a future, full-scale RCT.


Purpose. To assess the status of U.S. military retirees and their spouses 38 to 64 years of age relative to select Healthy People 2010 objectives and to identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with select health behaviors. Design. Cross-sectional analyses with self-reported standardized measures from the U.S. Department of Defense Population Health Survey, 2003. Setting. The continental United States. Subjects. U.S. military retirees and their spouses 38 to 64 years of age. Measures. Data for this study were self-reported responses to the Population Health Survey. Dichotomous variables were created to indicate whether each Healthy People 2010 objective had been met. Each objective was measurable with the survey by using the definitions set forth in Healthy People 2010. These objectives included healthy weight and obesity based on body mass index (height and weight); daily fruit, vegetable, and grain-product consumption; physical inactivity, moderate physical activity, and vigorous physical activity; binge drinking; cigarette use; and smoking-cessation attempts. Results. The study population did not meet any of the Healthy People 2010 objectives included in this study. Sociodemographic characteristics that were associated with this result included being male, not having a college degree, and a less-than-excellent self-reported general health status. Conclusion. Health-promotion interventions are needed to improve the health status of this population and to achieve the goals set forth in Healthy People 2010.


: Cranio-thoracic trauma is characterized by severity of the pathologic process, peculiarities of the diagnosis, and a high mortality rate. However, problems concerning the correlation of hemodynamic and gas exchange disorders in patients with cranio-thoracic trauma, according to the principal factor of the damage, have been insufficiently studied. The purpose of the research was to study the condition of gas exchange and hemodynamics in this category of patients. Fifty-three patients with cranio-thoracic trauma (32 with main pathology of the cranium and 21 with trauma of the chest) were studied. The changes of gas exchange and hemodynamics in the early posttraumatic period in patients with principal trauma of the skull were unstable in character and responded easily to adequate therapy. Coarse disorders of gas exchange and low values of the cardiac debit were characteristic of cranio-thoracic trauma in which damage to the chest was the leading factor. Stabilization of gas exchange disorders was postponed in time, the hemodynamic parameters were stabilized by the end of the second day.


Teachers' performance in teaching mathematics had over the years been persistently poor and the corresponding effect has been noticeable on students' performance. To address the issue, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) sponsored capacity building workshops for primary school teachers. The paper explores the impact of this capacity building workshop on teachers' level of competence and pupils' performance. Sixty teachers were selected purposively for the study and 418 pupils were selected to form the sample of students. Two instruments were used for the study, Teacher Competence Test (TCT) and Pupils' Performance Test (PPT). The result of the study shows that both the performances of teachers and pupils were tremendously increased as a result of the capacity building workshop. The paper finally offers recommendations on how to help  teachers increase their performance by exposing them to more rigorous academic training and the programme should be extended to senior secondary school teachers.


: Researchers and practitioners increasingly recognize the relevance of the complex business environment in which companies develop, produce, and distribute their services and products, which we refer to as business ecosystems. In scientific research, the characteristics of business ecosystems, including the changing relations between ecosystem entities, are often visualized. We conducted a systematic mapping study analyzing overall 136 papers to identify types of visualizations used in the business ecosystem context. We provide an overview of 17 visualization types and their frequency of application in scientific literature. In addition, we collected visualization tool requirements, which we enriched with our own experience visualizing business ecosystems with practitioners, leading to overall nine tool requirements.


Knowledge of the angular distribution of an electron beam at the applicator face is a necessary parameter in defining a beam when the Hogstrom pencil beam method of dose calculation is used. The angular spread can be found experimentally using penumbra widths measured at various distances from the applicator face. Using knowledge of the geometry and composition of the scattering foils of the linear accelerator, the angular standard deviation was calculated theoretically using Fermi-Eyges theory. The obtained angular spread values agree with experimentally derived values to within experimental error for electron energies from 6 to 21 MeV. The Fermi-Eyges calculation is fast, and can be used as a quick check to validate experimental angular spread values.


This study investigated the ICT integration practices in pre-service teacher education in the School of Education at Makerere University (College of Education and External Studies) in Uganda and Dar es salaam University College of Education (DUCE), a constituent college of the University of Dar es salaam in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at establishing ways in which ICTs were being deployed in pre-service teacher training in the two colleges. It also investigated the factors constraining integration of ICTs in pre-service teacher education as perceived by the pre-service teachers and lecturers at the colleges. Using questionnaires and interview, data were collected from both the lecturers and final year pre-service teachers during the academic year (2009/2010). The findings revealed that, limited access to ICTs, limited lecturers' knowledge of ICTs and limited use of the available ICTs affected usage of the technologies. Thus, it emerged that there is a need to explore models situated in a more encompassing theoretical framework like Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) so as to realise sustainable pedagogical practices in classrooms proliferated with technology. Keywords : TPACK; Professional development; Science education


Nurses often use non-pharmacological measures to facilitate comfort for patients within the hospital setting. However, guidelines for use of these measures are commonly inadequate or absent. This paper presents 12 clinical practice guidelines that were developed from the findings of a literature review into non-pharmacological measures that are thought to facilitate patient comfort. The non-pharmacological measures addressed in these guidelines are: Aromotherapy, Distraction, Guided Imagery, Laughter, Massage, Music, Reiki, Heat or Cold, Meditation, Reflexology, Reposition and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. These are preliminary guidelines for the use of non-pharmacological measures and further research and development of such guidelines is recommended.


Planktonic marine cyanobacteria of the genus Trichodesmium occur throughout the oligotrophic tropical and subtropical oceans. Their unusual adaptations, from the molecular to the macroscopic level, contribute to their ecological success and biogeochemical importance. Trichodesmium fixes nitrogen gas (N2) under fully aerobic conditions while photosynthetically evolving oxygen. Its temporal pattern of N2 fixation results from an endogenous daily cycle that confines N2 fixation to daylight hours. Trichodesmium colonies provide a unique pelagic habitat that supports a complex assemblage of consortial organisms. These colonies often represent a large fraction of the plant biomass in tropical, oligotrophic waters and contribute substantially to primary production. N2 fixation by Trichodesmium is likely a major input to the marine and global nitrogen cycle.


In this paper, a novel framework is proposed in order to evaluate impacts of the uncertain models of the system components on the voltage regulation problem of the medium-voltage distribution systems. The investigation focuses on the model uncertainty associated with voltage dependency of loads, power factor of loads, thermal dependency of lines, shunt admittances of lines and internal resistance of substation transformer. To this end, firstly, voltage constraints are managed using a centralised voltage control algorithm (VCA) by relying on the simplified models of the system components. The system loads and lines as well as the substation transformer are then modelled with the uncertain variables which are bounded in the predefined ranges. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are used to create wide series of scenarios that cover the possible values that the parameters of the system components can take due to their uncertain nature. The model uncertainty impacts on the voltage regulation problem are finally evaluated by the load flow calculations considering the scenarios created by the MC simulations and the set-point obtained by the VCA. The proposed investigation brings useful information regarding the possible deviations that the node voltages can have due to the uncertain models of the studied components.


Agricultural subsidies levied by industrial countries have been a source of contentious debate in multilateral trade negotiations. Developing countries argue that subsidies result in an overproduction of crops which depress prices on the world market. The 1996 and 2002 U.S. Farm Bills decoupled agricultural subsidies from current production, so the subsidies should be minimally trade distorting, but a provision in the 2002 Farm Bill that allowed farmers to update their subsidy base potentially broke this decoupling mechanism. The results suggest that farmers did anticipate a base update, which technically violates the classification of decoupled subsidies in the WTO's Green Box, but the magnitude of the distortion was small. However, under the assumption that farmers forecast a base update with certainty, which may be a more accurate reflection of the current policy environment, the acreage distortions are larger, and this questions the future ability of the U.S. to classify decoupled subsidies in the Green Box. So while decoupled subsidies appear to have been minimally trade distorting, future base updates may play a role in depressing international prices.


Emerging evidence demonstrates that megakaryocytes (MK) play key roles in regulating skeletal homeostasis and hematopoiesis. To test if the loss of MK negatively impacts osteoblastogenesis and hematopoiesis, we generated conditional knockout mice where Mpl, the receptor for the main MK growth factor, thrombopoietin, was deleted specifically in MK (Mplf/f;PF4cre). Unexpectedly, at 12 weeks of age, these mice exhibited a 10-fold increase in platelets, a significant expansion of hematopoietic/mesenchymal precursors, and a remarkable 20-fold increase in femoral midshaft bone volume. We then investigated whether MK support hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function through the interaction of MK with osteoblasts (OB). LSK cells (Lin-Sca1+CD117+, enriched HSC population) were co-cultured with OB+MK for 1 week (1wk OB+MK+LSK) or OB alone (1wk OB+LSK). A significant increase in colony-forming units was observed with cells from 1wk OB+MK cultures. Competitive repopulation studies demonstrated significantly higher engraftment in mice transplanted with cells from 1wk OB+MK+LSK cultures compared to 1wk OB+LSK or LSK cultured alone for 1 week. Furthermore, single-cell expression analysis of OB cultured±MK revealed adiponectin as the most significantly upregulated MK-induced gene, which is required for optimal long-term hematopoietic reconstitution. Understanding the interactions between MK, OB, and HSC can inform the development of novel treatments to enhance both HSC recovery following myelosuppressive injuries, as well as bone loss diseases, such as osteoporosis.


Abstract We investigate the portability of a spectral amplitude method in determining moment tensor solutions for mine‐related seismicity recorded by deep mining networks to tectonic earthquakes recorded by surface aftershock networks. The original methodology inverts spectral amplitudes—with polarity attached—for direct P , SV , and SH waves recorded at deep‐seated geophones, so surface recordings must first be cleaned from free‐surface effects to recover the incident P and S waves. For precritical incidence, the correction is easily achieved by dividing the vertical component of the P and SV waveforms by the corresponding free‐surface reflection coefficients; for postcritical incidence, a more sophisticated correction that accounts for waveform distortion introduced by the coefficient's phase shift is needed. Correction of SH components is achieved through division by a factor of 2. The proposed corrections are applied to 16 earthquakes recorded at local distances ( S ‐to‐ P critical reflection prevented the use of many SV amplitude measurements, inversion of the remaining spectral amplitudes allowed the recovery of deviatoric moment tensors for most of the events. Comparison with an independent first‐motion fault‐plane mechanism developed for the area shows consistency with our moment tensor solutions. Additionally, the ported methodology allows estimation of moment magnitudes for the selected events.


This article examines the relations between Jewish and Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel since the events of October 2000, when massive Arab protests and riots took place and thirteen Arab demonstrators were killed. In the decade since then Arab-Jewish relations have been characterized by growing mutual mistrust, fear, and hostility. Together with these negative attitudes, political polarization between the two communities has also increased. This poses a serious threat to Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel and to Israeli democracy itself.


Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is considered to be an important disease in China; large-scale investigations have not been carried out since the 1990s, however, and whether or not yaks can be infected by A. marginale has never been investigated. In this study, 2 yaks were successfully infected by the inoculation of blood infected with A. marginale under experimental conditions. Furthermore, an investigation of 482 field serum samples from yaks using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the recombinant major surface protein 5 (MSP5) showed that 84.4% of the results were positive. In consideration of previously determined ecological and biological data related to A. marginale, it is assumed that yaks are potential natural reservoir hosts of A. marginale in the northwest of China.


In this paper we present new results on the core instability of the 't Hooft Polyakov monopoles we reported on before. This instability, where the spherical core decays in a toroidal one, typically occurs in models in which charge conjugation is gauged. In this paper we also discuss a third conceivable configuration denoted as " split core " , which brings us to some details of the numerical methods we employed. We argue that a core instability of 't Hooft Polyakov type monopoles is quite a generic feature of models with charged Higgs particles.


Extracts from bovine nasal cartilage with 1 M-guanidinium chloride were fractionated by ultrafiltration. Gel chromatography of the low-molecular-weight material resolved three distinct fractions with inhibitory activity against (a) collagenases (22000 mol.wt.), (b) thiol proteinases cathepsin B and papain (13000 mol.wt.), and (c) trypsin and other serine proteinases (7000 mol.wt.).


We present the results obtained from the analysis of dynamic fibrils in NOAA active region (AR) 12132, using high resolution Hα observations from the New Solar Telescope operating at Big Bear Solar Observatory. The dynamic fibrils are seen to be moving up and down, and most of these dynamic fibrils are periodic and have a jet-like appearance. We found from our observations that the fibrils follow almost perfect parabolic paths in many cases. A statistical analysis on the properties of the parabolic paths showing an analysis on deceleration, maximum velocity, duration and kinetic energy of these fibrils is presented here. We found the average maximum velocity to be around 15 kms−1 and mean deceleration to be around 100 ms−2. The observed deceleration appears to be a fraction of gravity of the Sun and is not compatible with the path of ballistic motion due to gravity of the Sun. We found a positive correlation between deceleration and maximum velocity. This correlation is consistent with simulations done earlier on magnetoacoustic shock waves propagating upward.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Electronic Health Record (EHR) use in clinical practice has accelerated in recent years. While several aspects of EHR use have been extensively studied, there is little data on EHR impacts on medical student educators, especially those involved in outpatient family medicine. This study evaluated perceived impacts of EHR use on clinician teachers of outpatient family medicine.

METHODS
The study used a mixed methods survey of clinicians who teach third-year medical students during the required family and community medicine outpatient clerkship at a Mid-Atlantic medical school.

RESULTS
Among 50 completed surveys, most respondents reported that the EHR had impacted their teaching (70% reported at least one negative effect; 84% reported at least one positive effect). Positive impacts included more easily viewing information, more effectively teaching evidence-based medicine, and teaching about EHR use itself. Negative impacts included less time teaching or interacting with students, and a perception that EHR use impedes development of students' critical thinking and clinical integration skills. Providers who have taught medical students both with and without EHR in place (>P=.024), those over 50 years old (>P=.019), and those with at least 5 years teaching experience (>P=.006) were more likely to report negative impacts.

CONCLUSIONS
Most preceptors reported that EHR use had both positive and negative impacts on their teaching of medical students, though the negative effects were perceived by respondents as more substantial, consistent with a theme of decreased enthusiasm for teaching due to EHR use. These findings can be used to help inform faculty development and education initiatives.


Objective To test whether daily high-dose vitamin D improves recovery after unilateral total knee replacement. Methods Data come from a 24-month randomised, double-blind clinical trial. Adults aged 60 and older undergoing unilateral joint replacement due to severe knee osteoarthritis were 6–8 weeks after surgery randomly assigned to receive daily high-dose (2000 IU) or standard-dose (800 IU) vitamin D3. The primary endpoints were symptoms (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index pain and function scores) assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in both knees, and the rate of falls over 24 months. The secondary outcomes were sit-to-stand performance, gait speed, physical activity and radiographic progression in the contralateral knee. Results We recruited 273 participants, 137 were randomised to receive 2000 IU and 136 were randomised to receive 800 IU vitamin D per day. 2000 IU vitamin D increased 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels to 45.6 ng/mL and 800 IU vitamin D to 37.1 ng/mL at month 24 (p<0.0001). While symptoms improved significantly in the operated knee and remained stable in the contralateral knee over time, none of the primary or secondary endpoints differed by treatment group over time. The rate of falls over 24 months was 1.05 with 2000 IU and 1.07 with 800 IU (p=0.84). 30.5% of participants in the 2000 IU and 31.3% of participants in the 800 IU group had radiographic progression in the contralateral knee over 24 months (p=0.88). Conclusions Our findings suggest that a 24-month treatment with daily 2000 IU vitamin D did not show greater benefits or harm than a daily standard dose of 800 IU among older adults undergoing unilateral total knee replacement.


Abstract. The development of self-driving vehicles has been efficiently accelerated by applying computer simulations. These environments can achieve the best result only if reality has been digitized: highly accurate and detailed maps are required. The high-definition (HD) maps aim to fulfill these requests. Companies and academia are seeking adequate technology, where OpenDRIVE standard seems to win this race.A software was developed to create high-definition road models for self-driving car testing purposes, which can also be used in driving simulators, for example, for testing vehicle prototypes.The data of a sample area was received located in northern Budapest, which included inconsistent information about the lanes of the road network. The top-priority task was to build a highly structured, consistent model satisfying this open standard, an increasingly popular modeling format to describe the environment for various simulating software. In order to do that, the relevant information had to be extracted from an AutoCAD file. The result was a collection of points that was added to a software module written in C++. The code has built a structure from those points, including determining connections between lanes, building roads from the lanes, determining connections between roads, adding road marks, and building the final OpenDRIVE model.Two different sets of data have been used thus far in the software: a circa 8 km long road section and a separate junction – meaning about 20,000 points to process. Two independent models were created; both were tested in various automotive simulators – including IPG CarMaker, probably the most well-known simulating tool used in car manufacturing – which showed that both are indeed correct. The overall time required to build those models from simple text files to well-structured OpenDRIVE models is no more than two minutes, while before the software development – when all of those aforementioned processes were done by humans – it required several weeks, if not months.The software is already capable of building basic road models but is nowhere near finished. Numerous other features can be added to it as well, for instance, traffic signs and signals and environmental elements such as roadside objects, trees, and buildings.


The efficacy and safety of combining bosentan, an orally active dual endothelin receptor antagonist and epoprostenol, a continuously infused prostaglandin, in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) was investigated. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study, 33 patients with PAH started epoprostenol treatment (2 ng·kg−1min−1 starting dose, up to 14±2 ng·kg−1min−1 at week 16) and were randomised for 16 weeks in a 2:1 ratio to bosentan (62.5 mg b.i.d for 4 weeks then 125 mg b.i.d) or placebo. Haemodynamics, exercise capacity and functional class improved in both groups at week 16. In the combination treatment group, there was a trend for a greater (although nonsignificant) improvement in all measured haemodynamic parameters. There were four withdrawals in the bosentan/epoprostenol group (two deaths due to cardiopulmonary failure, one clinical worsening, and one adverse event) and one withdrawal in the placebo/epoprostenol group (adverse event). This study showed a trend but no statistical significance towards haemodynamics or clinical improvement due to the combination of bosentan and epoprostenol therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Several cases of early and late major complications were reported. Additional information is needed to evaluate the risk/benefit ratio of combined bosentan-epoprostenol therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension.