The use of leaf extract of M. oleifera in the management of chronic disease conditions like diabetes and hypertension has been documented, however; the safety of this extract on male fertility following prolonged administration seems not to have received adequate attention. We examined the effect of subchronic administration of the leaf extract on male rat reproductive system. Alloxan-induced hyperglycermia model was used in determining the antidiabetic ED50 dose. Serum testosterone, luteinizing, follicle stimulating, thyroid stimulating, prolactin and estradiol hormones were monitored. Cauda epididymal sperm count and testicular histology were analysed at the 91st day. The ED50 was 320 mg/kg.  There were significant (p < 0.05) increases in testicular weight and sperm count in extract treated groups compared with control. Serum testosterone significantly (p < 0.05) increased from 4.26 ng/ml to 5.51 ng/ml in the ED50 group compared with the control that showed slight increase from 4.40 ng/ml to 4.73 ng/ml. Our findings also revealed significant (p < 0.05) elevation in serum gonadotropins and reduction in serum prolactin. Testicular photomicrograph showed increases in the numbers of sertoli and lydig cells in the extract treated groups. The leaf extract of M. oleifera was found to be safe and enhance male fertility.


The Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia is undergoing some of the most rapid land-cover and land-use changes in the Arctic due to a combination of gas development, reindeer herding, and climate change. Unusual geological conditions (nutrient-poor sands, massive ground ice and extensive landslides) exacerbate the impacts. These changes will likely increase markedly as transportation corridors are built to transport the gas to market. Understanding the nature, extent, causes and consequences (i.e., the cumulative effects) of the past and ongoing rapid changes on the Yamal is important for effective, long-term decision-making and planning. The cumulative effects to vegetation are the focus of this chapter because the plants are a critical component of the Yamal landscape that support the indigenous Nenets people and their reindeer and also protect the underlying ice-rich permafrost from melting. We are using a combination of ground-based studies (a transect of five locations across the Yamal), remote-sensing studies, and analyses of Nenets land-use activities to develop vegetation-change models that can be used to help anticipate future states of the tundra and how those changes might affect traditional reindeer herding practices and the thermal state of the permafrost. This chapter provides an overview of the approach, some early results, and recommendations for expanding the concept of cumulative-effects analysis to include examining the simultaneous and interactive effects of multiple drivers of change. D.A. Walker (B) Department of Biology and Wildlife, Institute of Arctic Biology, Alaska Geobotany Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000, USA e-mail: email@example.com; email@example.com 207 G. Gutman, A. Reissell (eds.), Eurasian Arctic Land Cover and Land Use in a Changing Climate, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-9118-5_9, C © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 208 D.A. Walker et al.


Background: Determining when athletes are able to return to sport after sports-related concussion (SRC) can be difficult. Hypothesis: A multimodal algorithm using cognitive testing, postural stability, and clinical assessment can predict return to sports after SRC. Study Design: Prospective cohort. Level of Evidence: Level 2b. Methods: Athletes were evaluated within 2 to 3 weeks of SRC. Clinical assessment, Immediate Post Concussion and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), and postural stability (Equilibrate) were conducted. Resulting data and machine learning techniques were used to optimize an algorithm discriminating between patients ready to return to sports versus those who are not yet recovered. A Fisher discriminant analysis with leave-one-out cross-validation assessed every combination of 2 to 5 factors to optimize the algorithm with lowest combination of type I and type II errors. Results: A total of 193 athletes returned to contact sports after SRC at a mean 84.6 days (±88.8). Twelve subjects (6.2%) sustained repeat SRC within 12 months after return to sport. The combination of (1) days since injury, (2) total symptom score, and (3) nondominant foot tandem eyes closed postural stability score created the best algorithm for discriminating those ready to return to sports after SRC with lowest type I error (13.85%) and type II error (11.25%). The model was able to discriminate between patients who were ready to successfully return to sports versus those who were not with area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.82. Conclusion: The algorithm predicts successful return to sports with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity. Tandem balance with eyes closed measured with a video-force plate discriminated athletes ready to return to sports from SRC when combined in multivariate analysis with symptom score and time since injury. The combination of these factors may pose advantages over computerized neuropsychological testing when evaluating young athletes with SRC for return to contact sports. Clinical Relevance: When assessing young athletes sustaining an SRC in a concussion clinic, measuring postural stability in tandem stance with eyes closed combined with clinical assessment and cognitive recovery is effective to determine who is ready to successfully return to sports.


The biological activity of thyroid hormones (TH) is regulated by selenoenzymes of the iodothyronine deiodinase (DIO) family catalysing TH activating and inactivating reactions. Besides TH metabolism, several studies indicate an important role of DIO isoenzymes in tumorigenesis and cancer growth. It is therefore of therapeutic importance to identify modulators of DIO expression. We have synthesized and studied a series of selenocompounds containing a methyl- or benzyl-imidoselenocarbamate backbone. One of these novel compounds had chemotherapeutic activities in a murine xenograft tumour model by an unknown mechanism. Therefore, we tested their effects on DIO expression in vitro. In HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells, DIO1 activity was strongly (up to 10-fold) increased by the methyl- but not by the corresponding benzyl-imidoselenocarbamates. Steady-state mRNA levels remained unaltered under these conditions indicating a post-transcriptional mode of action. The effects were further characterized in HEK293 cells stably expressing DIO1, DIO2 or DIO3. Even within the artificial genetic context of the expression vectors, all three DIO isoenzymes were up-regulated by the methyl- and to a lesser extent by the benzyl-imidoselenocarbamates. Consistent stimulating effects were observed with methyl-N,N'-di(quinolin-3-ylcarbonyl)-imidoselenocarbamate (EI201), a selenocompound known for its anti-tumour activity. DIO inducing effects were unrelated to the intracellular accumulation of selenium, yet the precise mode of action remains elusive. Collectively, our data highlight that these selenocompounds may constitute interesting pharmacological compounds for modifying DIO expression potentially affecting the balance between cell differentiation and proliferation.


Cantang grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus lanceolatus) is the result of hybridization between female tiger grouper and male grouper fish which is widely cultivated because it has fast growth, easy to breed, and lower cannibalism. Cultivation of cantang grouper can be carried out in semi-intensive ponds and floating net cages (KJA) which have the potential for grouper nursery and rearing activities. One of the problems in the cultivation of cantang grouper is the presence of disease attacks caused by marine leeches Zeylanicobdella with a prevalence of up to 100% in grouper culture in floating net cages. This study aims to determine differences in species and intensity of marine leech Zeylanicobdella infestation in cantang grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus lanceolatus) from semi-intensive ponds in Brondong District, Lamongan and floating net cages (FNC) on Mandangin Island, Madura. The method used in this research is a survey and sampling is done by purposive sampling method. Cantang groupers measuring 15-20 cm from semi-intensive ponds and 20-25 cm from floating net cages each were taken as many as 35 individuals. Identification of Zeylanicobdella marine leeches using a binocular microscope and making sketches of ectoparasites with the help of a binocular microscope equipped with a lucida camera. Marine leech species found to infest the cantang grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus lanceolatus) is Zeylanicobdella arugamensis which was found on the body surface, fins, gills, and eyes. The results of statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference (p>0,05) between species and intensity of Zeylanicobdella arugamensis in cantang grouper reared in semi-intensive ponds and floating net cages. The intensity of marine leeches Zeylanicobdella arugamensis in semi-intensive ponds was in the medium category (14,74 individuals/head) and in floating net cages was in the medium category (27,74 individuals/head). The highest intensity of infestation marine leeches Zeylanicobdella arugamensis in floating net cages of 27,74 individuals/head. There was no significant difference in the intensity of Zeylanicobdella arugamensis marine leech infestation in cantang grouper both from semi-intensive ponds and floating net cages (FNC) which were included in the medium category.


This thesis is a reference grammar of the Umbeyajts language (also known as Huave) as spoken in San Dionisio del Mar on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca, Mexico), a severely endangered langage spoken by approximately 2,000 people in the municipality of San Dionisio del Mar. Together with its four neighbouring varieties, Umbeyajts forms part of an isolate family with no established genetic links (affiliations to various language families or phyla have been proposed over time – Mayan, Mixe-Zoquean, Otomanguean, 'Hokan' – but none of these proposals have proved to be conclusive). A large number of common roots with Mixe-Zoquean, Mayan and Oto-Manguean languages are present which indicates intensive contacts.

This thesis, consisting of 13 chapters, has been assembled using techniques pertaining to ethnographic fieldwork and grammar writing acquired during my studies at James Cook University and put to practice in the field. The main component of the theoretical and methodological framework underlying this grammar is Basic Linguistic Theory, and the methodology is a combination of rigorous collection and transcription of linguistic data and the qualitative methodology associated with the interpretation of these data in their natural context, thus aiming at ensuring a high degree of ecological validity of the research findings. The sociolinguistic context of the speaker community and the methodological and theoretical basis of the research is described in the first chapter.

Umbeyajts is a head marking language. Possession is marked on the possessee by means of either a possessor prefix marking for person, or, when two NPs are juxtaposed, the head noun is marked with a pertensive prefix, while the possessor receives no marking. The language is synthetic rather than analytic, and it exhibits agglutinating, and at times fusional properties (Matthews, 1972). Markers in Umbeyajts often show multifunctionality, marking either several categories simultaneously, or being polysemous for several categories. Person/number categories are first, second and third person, singular and plural, and an inclusive first person dual and inclusive first person plural (called first person inclusive 'minimal' and 'maximal' by Hollenbach, 1981).

Umbeyajts has 24 consonant phonemes (of which 5 are marginal phonemes, appearing exceptionally infrequently only in loans). There is a prenasalised series of four of the stops and of one affricate, and 10 consonants have a palatalised realisation. There are seven vowel phonemes as well as two diphthongs, and bimoraic vowel nuclei may contain combinations of two vowels. The phonology includes several phonotactic restrictions conditioned by its historical development, and the historical development of palatalisation (which exists in all four varieties) plays an important role in explaining current syllable structure.

Umbeyajts has open and closed word classes: Nouns and verbs are open classes, whereas adjectives, adverbs, numerals, quantifiers, demonstratives, pronouns, clause-linkers, clitics and TAM markers constitute closed classes. Word class-changing derivation exists and can be observed in the formation of verbs expressing abstract property concepts as well as in deverbal participial forms with agentive meaning. An overview of word classes can be found in chapter 3.

The language exhibits agglutination and some fusional properties, with markers often displaying multifunctionality, and there is some affix mobility: Verbs may belong to either a prefixing class, which has both prefix and suffix positions, or a non-prefixing class which can only take suffixes – for example, a suffix such as past tense marker t thus may appear either as a prefix or a suffix depending on the verb class (whereas clitics do not display such mobility). Nouns are divided into classes based on differing sets of possessive marking. Another division in the noun system is made through the selection of one of three different numeral classifiers. An overview of nominal morphology and properties of the noun phrase is given in chapter 4, and morphological processes occurring in the verbal system are described in chapter 5 about verb morphology and classes.

Spatial relations and deixis are reviewed in chapter 6, about demonstratives. Umbeyajts features several series of demonstratives which have different syntactic properties and are conditioned mostly by the pragmatic context. The way non-spatial setting, such as the TAM system, is coded in the language is the topic of chapter 7, which includes an overview with examples of tenses (future and past), aspect (progressive, perfective, completive, inchoative), modality (abilitative, desiderative, necessitive) and mood (imperative, including non-canonical imperatives coded as optative or hortative forms), and also special negative forms.

Chapter 8 explains the rather interesting ways in which property concepts are expressed, which involve adjectives, nouns, verbs and deverbal stative participles. Chapter 9 about derivation gives a more in-depth overview of participles including human agentive forms, and examines different valency-changing devices used in the verbal system.

Chapter 10, about grammaticalisation in Huave, delves into the origins of different grammatical morphemes which can be revealed by their occurrence in present-day Umbeyajts as well as in the early 20th century texts recorded by Paul Radin. The overview includes clitics marking tense, aspect or modality and lexicalised verb roots now functioning as quantifiers or prepositions. Chapter 11 reviews clause and sentence types (verbless clause and copula clause constructions as well as complement clauses and relativisation strategies; declarative, imperative and interrogative sentences), clause combining and clausal (as opposed to constituent-level) negation. In chapter 12 an overview of speech genres and pragmatic phenomena can be found, and in chapter 13, language attitudes and ideology as well as language contact phenomena like codeswitching and borrowing are reviewed. Finally, in the appendix to the work, the reader will find a selection of the transcribed field recordings with morphological glossing and translation.


Background Health services, guidelines and epidemiology largely focus on single conditions. However, multimorbidity (typically defined as >1 long-term condition), is an increasingly important, but inconsistently conceptualised, socio-economically patterned phenomenon challenging this approach. This paper explores whether using both short and long-term conditions to classify multimorbidity helps to better understand the health outcomes of working-age adults. Methods Population: adults aged 16–64 in Scotland. Data: 2008–2011 Scottish Health Survey. Sample design: stratified, geographically unclustered, random probability Postcode Address File (PAF) sample (designed to facilitate combined years' analysis). Interviewers recorded long-term conditions (>1 year) and "any other health problems" verbatim (without objective verification). Six health states were derived, combining long-term conditions (0, 1, >1) and absence/presence of other health problems. Outcomes: GHQ12 score >4; Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) score >1 SD below population mean; life-satisfaction below population mode; bad/very bad self-rated health. Computer-assisted personal interviews and self-completion questionnaires (GHQ12/WEMWBS) were used. The associations between health states and outcomes (adjusted for age, sex and area deprivation), were estimated using logistic regression. The reference category was 1 long-term condition and no other problems (to estimate the effect of multiple conditions, and other problems, separately). Results Differential selection and non-response weights were applied to percentages and odds ratios (ORs). Denominators are unweighted. Multimorbidity increases markedly with age, so analysis was restricted to ages 16–64 (n=21,369). 36% had >1 long-term condition, 13% reported other health problems (16% of those with multiple long-term conditions, n=3019). For brevity, only GHQ12 results are presented; the patterns for all other outcomes were identical. Compared with people with 1 long-term condition and no additional problems (n=4213), the OR of having a GHQ12 score of >4 were (p > 0.001): >1 long-term condition and additional health problems, 3.5 (95% CI: 2.8–4.4) [n=458]; >1 long-term condition and no additional problems, 2.4 (2.1–2.7) [n=2315]; 1 long-term condition and other health problems, 1.8 (1.5–2.2) [n=631]; No long-term conditions but other health problems, 0.8 (0.7–0.9) [n=1711]; No long-term conditions or other health problems, 0.5 (0.4–0.5) [n=10,482]. Discussion Focusing solely on long-term conditions doesn't capture the extent of people's condition burden: having long-term conditions and additional health problems is significantly associated with worse physical and mental health, with the effect-size greatest for people with multiple long-term conditions. Better understanding of the interaction between longer and shorter-term conditions (including better case-finding, iatrogenesis and overtreatment) and their impact on outcomes will help to improve interventions for this highly heterogeneous – and socially disadvantaged – group. Conclusion Long-term conditions are only part of the story.


BACKGROUND
Present-centered therapy (PCT) is a non-trauma, manualized psychotherapy for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PCT was originally designed as a treatment comparator in trials evaluating the effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). Recent trials have indicated that PCT may be an effective treatment option for PTSD and that patients may drop out of PCT at lower rates relative to TF-CBT.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of PCT for adults with PTSD. Specifically, we sought to determine whether (1) PCT is more effective in alleviating symptoms relative to control conditions, (2) PCT results in similar alleviation of symptoms compared to TF-CBT, based on an a priori minimally important differences on a semi-structured interview of PTSD symptoms, and (3) PCT is associated with lower treatment dropout as compared to TF-CBT.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and PTSDpubs (previously called the Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) database) (all years to 15 February 2019 search). We also searched the World Health Organization (WHO) trials portal (ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify unpublished and ongoing trials. Reference lists of included studies and relevant systematic reviews were checked. Grey literature searches were also conducted to identify dissertations and theses, clinical guidelines, and regulatory agency reports.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We selected all randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that recruited adults diagnosed with PTSD to evaluate PCT compared to TF-CBT or a control condition. Both individual and group PCT modalities were included. The primary outcomes of interest included reduced PTSD severity as determined by a clinician-administered measure and treatment dropout rates.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We complied with the Cochrane recommended standards for data screening and collection. Two review authors independently screened articles for inclusion and extracted relevant data from eligible studies, including the assessment of trial quality. Random-effects meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analyses were conducted using mean differences (MD) and standardized mean differences (SMD) for continuous data or risk ratios (RR) and risk differences (RD) for dichotomous data. To conclude that PCT resulted in similar reductions in PTSD symptoms relative to TF-CBT, we required a MD of less than 10 points (to include the 95% confidence interval) on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Five members of the review team convened to rate the quality of evidence across the primary outcomes. Any disagreements were resolved through discussion. Review authors who were investigators on any of the included trials were not involved in the qualitative or quantitative syntheses.

MAIN RESULTS
We included 12 studies (n = 1837), of which, three compared PCT to a wait-list/minimal attention (WL/MA) group and 11 compared PCT to TF-CBT. PCT was more effective than WL/MA in reducing PTSD symptom severity (SMD -0.84, 95% CI -1.10 to -0.59; participants = 290; studies = 3; I² = 0%). We assessed the quality of this evidence as moderate. The results of the non-inferiority analysis comparing PCT to TF-CBT did not support PCT non-inferiority, with the 95% confidence interval surpassing the clinically meaningful cut-off (MD 6.83, 95% CI 1.90 to 11.76; 6 studies, n = 607; I² = 42%). We assessed this quality of evidence as low. CAPS differences between PCT and TF-CBT attenuated at 6-month (MD 1.59, 95% CI -0.46 to 3.63; participants = 906; studies = 6; I² = 0%) and 12-month (MD 1.22, 95% CI -2.17 to 4.61; participants = 485; studies = 3; I² = 0%) follow-up periods. To confirm the direction of the treatment effect using all eligible trials, we also evaluated PTSD SMD differences. These results were consistent with the primary MD outcomes, with meaningful effect size differences between PCT and TF-CBT at post-treatment (SMD 0.32, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.56; participants = 1129; studies = 9), but smaller effect size differences at six months (SMD 0.17, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.29; participants = 1339; studies = 9) and 12 months (SMD 0.17, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.31; participants = 728; studies = 5). PCT had approximately 14% lower treatment dropout rates compared to TF-CBT (RD -0.14, 95% CI -0.18 to -0.10; participants = 1542; studies = 10). We assessed the quality of this evidence as moderate. There was no evidence of meaningful differences on self-reported PTSD (MD 4.50, 95% CI 3.09 to 5.90; participants = 983; studies = 7) or depression symptoms (MD 1.78, 95% CI -0.23 to 3.78; participants = 705; studies = 5) post-treatment.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Moderate-quality evidence indicates that PCT is more effective in reducing PTSD severity compared to control conditions. Low quality of evidence did not support PCT as a non-inferior treatment compared to TF-CBT on clinician-rated post-treatment PTSD severity. The treatment effect differences between PCT and TF-CBT may attenuate over time. PCT participants drop out of treatment at lower rates relative to TF-CBT participants. Of note, all of the included studies were primarily designed to test the effectiveness of TF-CBT which may bias results away from PCT non-inferiority.The current systematic review provides the most rigorous evaluation to date to determine whether PCT is comparably as effective as TF-CBT. Findings are generally consistent with current clinical practice guidelines that suggest that PCT may be offered as a treatment for PTSD when TF-CBT is not available.


Sporozoites of Cryptosporidium parvum, excysted from oocysts isolated from calves, were applied to monolayers of the human endometrial carcinoma cell line RL95-2. Cells were grown as monolayers in 24-well plates at concentrations ranging from 5 x 10(4) to 1 x 10(5) RL95-2 cells per well. At 1 or 7 days postculturing, C. parvum sporozoites (ranging from 1 x 10(5) to 2 x 10(5) were added to the monolayers of RL95-2 cells. The cells were fixed and stained to estimate the extent of parasite colonization. Light microscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the development and replication of C. parvum within the RL95-2 cells. A standardized and reproducible in vitro culture system for C. parvum is necessary to evaluate therapies against cryptosporidiosis.


Despite obesity reaching pandemic proportions, its impact on antigen-specific T cell responses is still unclear. We have recently demonstrated that obesity results in increased expression of PD-1 on T cells, and checkpoint blockade targeting PD-1/PD-L1 surprisingly resulted in greater clinical efficacy in cancer therapy. Adverse events associated with this therapy center around autoimmune reactions. In this study, we examined the impact of obesity on T cell priming and on autoimmune pathogenesis using the mouse model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which is mediated by autoreactive myelin-specific T cells generated after immunization. We observed that diet-induced obese (DIO) mice had a markedly delayed EAE onset and developed milder clinical symptoms compared to mice on control diet (CD). This delay was associated with impaired generation of myelin-specific T cell numbers and concurrently correlated with increased PD-L1 upregulation on antigen-presenting cells in secondary lymphoid organs. PD-1 blockade during the priming stage of EAE restored disease onset and severity and increased numbers of pathogenic CD4+ T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) of DIO mice to similar levels to those of CD mice. Administration of anti–PD-1 after onset of clinical symptoms did not increase EAE pathogenesis demonstrating that initial priming is the critical juncture affected by obesity. These findings demonstrate that obesity impairs antigen-specific T cell priming, but this can be reversed with PD-1 blockade. Our results further suggest that PD-1 blockade may increase the risk of autoimmune toxicities, particularly in obesity.


Background Patients have a wide range of explanations for their depression and it is not known how these beliefs influence subsequent behaviour and hence outcome. Research question What are patients' beliefs about depression and do they relate to duration of antidepressant treatment? Design of study Cross-sectional questionnaire survey Setting A general practice in the South of England Methods All patients prescribed antidepressant medications over a 1-year period were asked to complete a validated questionnaire on beliefs about depression (PDIQ), a current depression and anxiety score (HADS), a measure of compliance with medication (MARS) and a demographic questionnaire. Results from the PDIQ were analysed by exploratory factor analysis. Multiple regressions were used to determine predictors of belief andwhether belief predicted duration of medication. Results Two-hundred and eight patients (33%) consented to participate. Factor analysis produced a coherent underlying belief structure, similar to results obtained in the US and related to Leventhal's self-regulatory model of illness cognitions. Antidepressant medication was taken for longer by older participants and those with beliefs that antidepressants help, medical illness causes depression, and that depression is chronic. Antidepressant medication was taken for a shorter time by those who were in a stable relationship, or believed herbal remedies or 'clarifying priorities' would help depression. Beliefs accounted for up to 35% of the variability in duration of medication. Conclusions Beliefs do seem to be related to duration of treatment in this cross-sectional study. Longitudinal research is needed to establish cause and effect.


Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disorder of cardiac muscle with a prevalence of 1 in 500 of the general population.w1 In most adults, HCM is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait caused by mutations in genes encoding cardiac sarcomere proteins.1 The disease is clinically defined by left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) unexplained by abnormal loading conditions,2 and is often associated with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) caused by the systolic anterior movement of the mitral valve.w2 Histologically, HCM is characterised by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and disarray, myocardial fibrosis, and small vessel disease.1 w3

Sudden cardiac death (SCD), heart failure, and thromboembolism are the main causes of death.3 Early studies of small HCM cohorts from tertiary referral centres reported cardiovascular mortality rates of ∼6%/year, but later less selected studies demonstrated a more favourable clinical course with an overall cardiovascular mortality of ∼2%/year.3 Nevertheless, SCD still occurs with an incidence of ∼0.8%/year, peaking in early adulthood.4 ,5 As observational data suggest that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can prevent SCD, there is a clinical need to identify accurately individual patients at high risk.

Numerous cardiac arrhythmias have been reported in association with SCD in HCM, including asystole,w4 atrioventricular block,w5 pulseless electrical activity,w6 w7 and supraventricular arrhythmias.w8 Data from chance electrocardiographic recordings and stored intracardiac electrograms from ICDs suggest that SCD in HCM is most commonly caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF).w9 w10 The characteristic cellular disarray and cardiac hypertrophy facilitate the development of re-entry arrhythmias,w11 and delayed after depolarisations caused by calcium (Ca2+) leak from the sarcoplasmic reticulum render the myocardium vulnerable to triggered activity.w12 Increased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity also causes shorter effective refractory periods and increased dispersion of repolarisation, predisposing to functional re-entry.w13

Despite …


The grapevine (Vitis vinifera, L.) has been long since recognized as an ozone-sensitive plant. Ozone molecules can penetrate grapevine leaf tissues when the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere is high due to air pollution. This causes cell damage and interferes with photosynthetic mechanisms, subsequently slowing down plant growth and resulting in premature leaf senescence. Secondary effects include changes in biochemical processes that affect the chemical composition of the must and are likely to alter the quality of the wine. An experiment was conducted during two grapevine-growing seasons in 2010 and 2011 to gain knowledge of the effect of high ozone levels on the yield and on several biochemical characteristics of the plant which could influence the quality of the final product. These factors are economically important for agricultural production; this is especially true for Italy, which is one of the largest wine producers worldwide. The method used was a facility consisting of open top chambers operated at a vineyard in Angera (northern Italy). This facility permitted the study of the effects of different ozone levels. At the end of the experiment, the grapes were weighed and chemical analyses were carried out in order to understand the effects of ozone on the different characteristics of the grapes and on concentrations of several of its chemical substances. In particular, concentrations of yeast assimilable nitrogen, degrees Brix, pH, tartaric and malic acids, and polyphenols, including resveratrol, were considered, as these influence the quality of the wine. Parameters characterizing the different ozone levels were expressed in terms of ozone exposure (AOT40) and phytotoxic ozone dose (POD). The results showed that high ozone levels affect grapevine weight and thus its yield. In addition, the quality of the wine is affected by reductions of polyphenols which diminish the nutritional benefits of the product. In addition, these reductions cause the wine to have a more aggressive taste. These results emphasize the practical importance of the present study.


In neo-classical economic theory labour is a commodity and the ultimate value of the employer's services is determined by the sales value of the product of these services: the cost of supply reflects both the disutility of work for the recruit and his equalisation of net advantages between jobs. For modern labour economists the assumption that entrepreneurs require identical inputs of labour and the new recruits will therefore possess similar skills (the conditions of free competition) is an unrealistic one. Hence segmental labour market theory has grown out of the need to explain differences between shared needs and commonalities within each group of consumers (employers) on the one hand and suppliers (employees) on the other. In this way it has been possible to carry on assuming the existence of perfect competition on both sides of the market within the boundaries of labour markets thus defined.


Speaker recognition, recognizing speaker identities based on voice alone, enables important downstream applications, such as personalization and authentication. Learning speaker representations, in the context of supervised learning, heavily depends on both clean and sufficient labeled data, which is always difficult to acquire. Noisy unlabeled data, on the other hand, also provides valuable information that can be exploited using self-supervised training methods. In this work, we investigate how to pretrain speaker recognition models by leveraging dialogues between customers and smart-speaker devices. However, the supervisory information in such dialogues is inherently noisy, as multiple speakers may speak to a device in the course of the same dialogue. To address this issue, we propose an effective rejection mechanism that selectively learns from dialogues based on their acoustic homogeneity. Both reconstruction-based and contrastive-learning-based self-supervised methods are compared. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method provides significant performance improvements, superior to earlier work. Dialogue pretraining when combined with the rejection mechanism yields 27.10% equal error rate (EER) reduction in speaker recognition, compared to a model without self-supervised pretraining.


Dr Roy Soetikno and Dr Tonya Kaltenbach are the editors for this issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America, which is devoted to the improved detection and management of early neoplasia in inflammatory bowel disease. An important aspect of Dr Soetikno's outstanding career has been the bridging of endoscopic methods between Japan and the United States. Endoscopists in Japan have a better record of detecting subtle flat GI lesions. From the earliest days of endoscopy, it is fair to say that Japanese endoscopists have emphasized visual identification, analysis, and photo documentation of small GI lesions. The colon has been no exception. Dr Soetikno has incorporated these techniques, which have become increasingly feasible with steady improvement in modern digital endoscopes. Identifying small flat premalignant lesions and early cancers in patients with colitis can be lifesaving. Dr Soetikno and Dr Kaltenbach have edited an extraordinary issue of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America devoted to teaching and promulgating these methods, including an extensive photo atlas, which should be an invaluable resource for all academic specialists and practicing gastroenterologists.


Mobile devices with ever-increasing functionality and the ubiquitous availability of wireless communication networks are driving forces behind innovative mobile applications enriching our daily life. One of the performance measures for a successful application deployment is the ability to support application-data flows by heterogeneous networks within certain delay boundaries. However, the quantitative impact of this measure is unknown and practically infeasible to determine at real time due to the mobile device resource constraints. We research practical methods for measurement-based performance evaluation of heterogeneous data communication networks that support mobile application-data flows. We apply the lightweight Comparative Output-Input Analysis (COIA) method estimating an additional delay based on an observation interval of interest (e.g., 1 second) induced on the flow. An additional delay is the amount of delay that exceeds nonavoidable, minimal end-to-end delay caused by the networks propagation, serialization, and transmission. We propose five COIA methods to estimate additional delay, and we validate their accuracy with measurements obtained from the existing healthcare and multimedia streaming applications. Despite their simplicity, our methods prove to be accurate in relation to an observation interval of interest, and robust under a variety of network conditions. The methods offer novel insights into application-data delays with regards to the performance of heterogeneous data communication networks.


Today, thermosyphon solar water heaters are the most popular type of solar water heaters for
providing households with the required hot water for domestic purposes. However, sizing and
designing these systems is still based on experience or on trial and errors methods, which are
based more on intuition rather than scientific methods.
The present study is aimed at addressing this problem (sizing thermosyphon systems) through
the development of a design tool that can be used by engineers and manufacturers to arrive at
optimised systems designed according to the weather and operating conditions of particular
geographical locations.
The design tool developed during the course of this study is based on the TRNSYS simulation
programme for evaluating the thermal performance of thermosyphon systems, and on the
genetic algorithm approach for the purpose of optimising selected design parameters of
thermosyphon systems.
A thorough literature review of the available models and software packages that are capable of
evaluating the performance of thermosyphon systems has shown that the best available
programme is TRNSYS, namely the component Type 45 (thermosyphon collector-storage
component). However, the component Type 45 in its current form cannot be used directly for
the purpose of optimisation, because this component relies on information that must be
determined experimentally. This means that the component is mainly used for evaluating the
thermal performance of already-made and tested systems under varying operating and climatic
conditions. For this reason, two components developed in this research have been added to
the TRNSYS suite to account for information that would otherwise have to be determined
experimentally.
The new components are: solar collector characteristics component Type 210; and pipes -
tank heat loss coefficients Type 211. Furthermore, the component Type 45 is also modified to
accept as, inputs, the outputs from the previous two new components. The modified
component is named as modified thermosyphon component Type 245.
The new components are validated experimentally and by using reports of tests conducted
according to the appropriate European standard. The modified component Type 245 does not
require any validation, as no changes were made in the main programme, except that of
altering the experimentally-determined information from being parameters to instead being
inputs in the TRNSYS terminology.
The newly validated components were added to the original TRNSYS model so as to constitute
a modified TRNSYS model which is used throughout this work. The modified TRNSYS model
was· then used to perform a parametric study of the design parameters of thermosyphon
systems.
A genetic algorithm routine for constrained single objective optimisation problem was used, and
the constraints are handled by using the stochastic ranking procedure. The genetic algorithm
programme is combined with the modified TRNSYS model to constitute the final design tool.
The design tool is used in this study to find the optimum thermosyphon system design that best
suits Libyan families (as a case study in this research) according to the weather conditions of
Tripoli and a simple, but representative, hot water load pattern. The design tool is shown to
have significant potential, and with further development and validation would be capable of
commercial application.


cheers Scandinavians to the delicate flow-by infusate appreciated by the French. American-style coffee is unexpectedly weak (and the British variety is predictably dilute). Coffee provides enough heterocyclics and sugar derivatives to interest any biologist. The following eight chapters cover the pharmacology of caffeine and coffee, with the tacit assumption that the former can account for most of the


A huge amount of hot molten oxides, such as steelmaking slag and molten municipal waste, is discharged at present without heat recovery, in spite of its very high potential. For example, hot molten slag as a by‐product in the Japanese steelmaking industry, over 1723 K in temperature, reaches as much as 30 million tonnes annually. To recover heat of the viscous slag chemically, the strongly endothermic reaction CH4+H2O →3H2+CO was selected and then the property of dry granulation of the molten slag by Rotary Cup Atomizer (RCA) for expanding surface area of the slag was experimentally studied. The purpose of this paper was, therefore, to study slag granulation under various conditions for promoting heat exchange between slag and gas, in which the influence of the rotating speed and the shape of the cup on the slag drop size was mainly examined. The collected slag drops were correlated with operating conditions such as rotating speed, cup shape, etc. Most significantly, the molten slag was successfully granulated under the dry conditions without water impingement. The rotating speed of the cup influenced the diameter and shape of the slag drops very strongly. The higher rotating speed made the slag drops smaller, more spherical and uniform. Drops with 5 to 6 mm of average dimension were obtained at a rotating speed of 15 rps (900 rpm), and drops with about 1 mm at 50 rps (3000 rpm). In the former case, the shape of the obtained drops changed from spherical to ribbon‐like. These results will be useful to establish new heat recovery processes with hydrogen generation from molten slag with many benefits. Energy analysis and cost evaluation were also conducted, to study the benefit of the proposed process.


A new method is described for identifying low concentrations of circulating derivatives of fibrinogen and fibrin, even when present in heterogeneous mixtures. This technique is applicable to plasma and serum and uses electrophoresis in 2% agarose in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) followed by immunological identification of separated derivatives, using radiolabeled antifibrinogen antiserum and autoradiography. Unique electrophoretic patterns distinguish plasmic derivatives of crosslinked fibrin from those of fibrinogen and also identify crosslinked fibrin polymers produced by the combined action of thrombin and factor XIII on fibrinogen. The assay is sensitive to a concentration of 0.1 micrograms/mL of fibrinogen in serum or plasma. Fibrin polymers, plasmic degradation products of fibrinogen, and plasmic degradation products of crosslinked fibrin were detected in the plasma or serum of a patient with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Plasmic derivatives of both fibrinogen and crosslinked fibrin appeared in serum in the course of fibrinolytic therapy for pulmonary embolism, whereas during acute myocardial infarction a marked increase in the proportion of fibrin polymers in plasma was found in comparison with normal controls. Thus, the procedure can distinguish between the simultaneous processes of fibrin polymer formation, fibrinogenolysis, and fibrinolysis, and is sufficiently sensitive to detect relevant quantities of derivatives in pathologic conditions.


Rapidly expanding computing, storage, and networking requirements have increased the quantity and energy density of modern data centers. Air-cooled high-performance servers often require low air-supply temperatures as well as high air-flow rates, making air-cooling inefficient above certain thermal design power levels. Single-phase liquid immersion cooling (Sp-LIC) addresses this challenge by providing a much higher thermal mass and a high percentage of heat dissipation owing to the direct contact of dielectric fluids with all powered components in the server. It also improves reliability by shielding the ITE from pollutants and hostile environments, and it lowers OpEx by eliminating fans and computer room air handling units. Unlike direct-to-chip liquid cooling, Sp-LIC does not need a complex liquid distribution manifold design as the dielectric liquid can be in direct contact with all components of a server, making it an ideal choice for hyper-scale, edge, and modular data center applications. There are some unique thermal challenges to implementing Sp-LIC such as determining whether to use natural or forced convection and customizing heat sinks that were designed for air-cooling that need to be optimized for dielectric fluids with higher fin efficiency and component reliability (active and passive), which must be addressed and thoroughly researched. These challenges can be addressed using CFD simulations including "Multi Design Variables" and "Multi-Objective Function" Optimization with "Constraints" to help in the design of appropriate extended surfaces and cooling approaches. Experiments are done to verify the CFD models for inlet temperatures greater than 40°C. Also, there are very limited studies related to the reliability of such cooling technology. The accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) test given by ATC JEDEC is relevant just for air cooling but there is no such standard for immersion cooling. The ASTM benchmark D3455 with some appropriate adjustments was adopted to test the material compatibility because of the air and dielectric fluid differences in the heat capacitance property and corresponding ramp rate during thermal cycling. Material characterization findings such as modulus, CTE, creep, fracture toughness, elastic modulus, stress relaxation, cracking, dislocation nucleation, and the viscoelastic properties of the samples will be compared before and after immersion using a TI-980 Nano-indenter, Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA), Thermomechanical Analyzer (TMA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In all, a comprehensive guide to Sp-LIC for the thermal management of hyper-scale data centers will be presented.


In recent years there has been increasing interest in forecasting methods that utilise large datasets, driven partly by the recognition that policymaking institutions need to process large quantities of information. Factor analysis is one popular way of doing this. Forecast combination is another, and it is on this that we concentrate. Bayesian model averaging methods have been widely advocated in this area, but a neglected frequentist approach is to use information theoretic based weights. We consider the use of model averaging in forecasting UK inflation with a large dataset from this perspective. We find that an information theoretic model averaging scheme can be a powerful alternative both to the more widely used Bayesian model averaging scheme and to factor models.


Pregnancy rhinitis may lead predisposition to Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome which is associated with critical comorbidities effecting both mother (preeclampsia, hypertension) and newborn (intrauterine growth retardation, low apgar score). We aim to unveil if nasal TREK-1 and AQP5 expression changes during pregnancy. We proposed that these two proteins may take part in the biomolecular background of Pregnancy Rhinitis. Twenty adult Wister albino female rats were enrolled into the study. Two groups constituted as 10 control (group A) and 10 pregnant (group B) rats. We sacrificed the rats at 21th day of gestation by intraperitoneal injection of 400mg/kg Na-pentobarbitone. Intracardiac blood sample was taken before the pulse died out. Serum estradiol (E2) and progesterone (PG) levels were determined by ELISA. Nasal septum with its mucoperichondrium was resected and sent for real time polymerase chain reaction testing. Relative TREK-1 (p=0.001) expression of group B was found to be significantly higher than group A. Relative AQP5 (p=0.003) expression was also found to be significantly higher in group B than group A. E2 was found to upregulate AQP5 expression (p=0.032) while downregulate TREK1 expression (p=-0.011). On the other hand, PG was also found to upregulate nasal AQP5 expression (p=0.024) but not TREK1 expression (p=-0.071). TREK1 and AQP5 take part in pregnancy related biomolecular changes of nasal mucosa. Namely, expression of TREK1 decreases while expression of AQP5 increases during pregnancy. These findings support the researchers asserting triggered allergy as the etiology of PR.


The study of private non-profit enterprises that offer general interest services is only at the start. The understanding of existing organisations resists an inclusive, public interest view of governance. This contribution aims at providing a reflection on specific features that non-profit enterprises should have, and outlines four main justifications for including stakeholders in production governance: 1) access to knowledge and other resources, 2) trust creation, 3) internal efficiency, 4) external efficiency. Conclusions elaborate on Hansmann's classic theory of the firm to suggest that governance solutions need to be assessed on the basis of total costs, considering also the lower level of social costs that is created when governance includes relevant stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multi-stakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives. "The only form of enduring social organization that is now possible is one in which the new forces of productivity are cooperatively controlled and used in the interest of the effective liberty and the cultural development of the individuals that constitute society. Such a social order cannot be established by an unplanned and external convergence of the actions of separate individuals, each of whom is bent on personal private advantage. This idea is the Achilles heel of early liberalism" (Dewey, 1935, pp. 628).


Vision-based traffic surveillance systems are more and more employed for traffic monitoring, collection of statistical data and traffic control. We present an extension of such a system that additionally uses the captured image content for 3-D scene modeling and reconstruction. A basic goal of surveillance systems is to get a good coverage of the observed area with as few cameras as possible to keep the costs low. Therefore, the 3-D reconstruction has to be done from only a few original views with limited overlap and different lighting conditions. To cope with these specific restrictions we developed a model-based 3-D reconstruction scheme that exploits a priori knowledge about the scene. The system is fully calibrated offline by estimating camera parameters from measured 3-D-2-D correspondences. Then the scene is divided into static parts, which are modeled offline and dynamic parts, which are processed online. Therefore, we segment all views into moving objects and static background. The background is modeled as multitexture planes using the original camera textures. Moving objects are segmented and tracked in each view. All segmented views of a moving object are combined to a 3-D object, which is positioned and tracked in 3-D. Here we use predefined geometric primitives and map the original textures onto them. Finally the static and dynamic elements are combined to create the reconstructed 3-D scene, where the user can freely navigate, i.e., choose an arbitrary viewpoint and direction. Additionally, the system allows analyzing the 3-D properties of the scene and the moving objects.


Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) is a clinical testing that allows for the analysis of gas exchange during exercise. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), comprehensive index of cardiac, respiratory, and skeletal muscle functions, is one of the most important measurements obtained in CPET. Anaerobic threshold, the exercise intensity at which lactate starts to accumulate in the blood, is widely used, as it represents an exercise level that is not too strenuous, but not too mild. The Minute Ventilation/Carbon Dioxide Output relationship (VE/VCO2 slope) is often used as a prognostic marker of cardiac failure. The Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope (OUES), a submaximal index of cardiorespiratory functional reserve, correlates strongly with VO2max and is utilized as a prognostic tool for various heart diseases including congenital heart defects.


We present the first measurement of fluctuations from event to event in the production of strange particles in collisions of heavy nuclei. The ratio of charged kaons to charged pions is determined for individual central Pb+Pb collisions. After accounting for the fluctuations due to detector resolution and finite number statistics we derive an upper limit on genuine nonstatistical fluctuations, which could be related to a first- or second-order QCD phase transition. Such fluctuations are shown to be very small.


In shotgun proteomics, matching peptides to tandem mass spectrometry data is a computationally expensive process that in some cases can take days using conventional software packages. Even though many existing search engines such as Sequest, Myrimatch, and X!Tandem now exploit multiple processors via threading libraries, they leave much on the table in terms of performance and don't exploit computational accelerators. In this paper, we present Spec master, a Myri-match implementation written in OpenCL with performance portability in mind. We demonstrate the same Spec master code base outperforming Myrimatch by several fold on 32-core AMD and Intel x86 machines and by nearly an order of magnitude on both an AMD Radeon 7970 and Nvidia GTX 480. We describe the rationale behind Specmaster's design, and how to gain portable performance on a plethora of architectures using OpenCL.


Abstract The mechanotransduction mechanisms linking distraction device activation to new bone formation remain unknown. We hypothesize that the tension stress of activation during distraction osteogenesis is transmitted through lacunocanalicular fluid flow to initiate the osteogenic signaling cascade. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 24) were subjected to mandibular osteotomy and application of an external distraction device. After a 3-day latency period, half the animals (n = 12) underwent device activation at 0.25 mm twice daily for 6 days (total activation, 3 mm), and the other half (n = 12) had no activation. On day 10, the animals were injected with fluorescent reactive red lacunocanalicular tracer before killing. Mandibles were harvested, embedded, and sectioned, and reactive red epifluorescence lacunocanalicular flow was measured. Protein was harvested for focal adhesion kinase 1 (FAK1), NESPRIN1, SUN1, LAMIN A/C, and SMAD1 Western blotting as well as for bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and alkaline phosphatase assay. Lacunocanalicular fluid flow was significantly greater in the distracted samples (60.5 ± 14 vs 10.3 ± 4 molecules of equivalent soluble fluorochrome per megapixel, P = 0.01). Flow distribution demonstrated the highest lacunocanalicular flow near the center of the distraction gap. Increased lacunocanalicular flow resulted in increased FAK1 (P = 0.009), NESPRIN1 (P = 0.01), SUN1 (P = 0.01), and LAMIN A/C (P = 0.008) expression. Focal adhesion kinase 1 activation in the presence of BMP-2 protein expression (P = 0.001) resulted in increased intranuclear SMAD1 phosphorylation (P = 0.04) and alkaline phosphatase activity (P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that activation of the distraction osteogenesis device affects cellular response through changes in lacunocanalicular fluid flow.


The Third National Climate Assessment (NCA) process for the United States focused in part on developing a system of indicators to communicate key aspects of the physical climate, climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and preparedness to inform decisionmakers and the public. Initially, 13 active teams were formed to recommend indicators in a range of categories, including forest, agriculture, grassland, phenology, mitigation, and physical climate. This publication describes the work of the Forest Indicators Technical Team. We briefly describe the NCA indicator system effort, propose and explain our conceptual model for the forest system, present our methods, and discuss our recommendations. Climate is only one driver of changes in U.S. forests; other drivers include socioeconomic drivers such as population and culture, and other environmental drivers such as nutrients, light, and disturbance. We offer additional details of our work for transparency and to inform an NCA indicator Web portal. We recommend metrics for 11 indicators of climate impacts on forest, spanning the range of important aspects of forest as an ecological type and as a sector. Some indicators can be reported in a Web portal now; others need additional work for reporting in the near future. Indicators such as budburst, which are important to forest but more relevant to other NCA indicator teams, are identified. Potential indicators that need more research are also presented.


Deploying Machine Learning (ML) algorithms within databases is a challenge due to the varied computational footprints of modern ML algorithms and the myriad of database technologies each with their own restrictive syntax. We introduce an Apache Spark-based micro-service orchestration framework that extends database operations to include web service primitives. Our system can orchestrate web services across hundreds of machines and takes full advantage of cluster, thread, and asynchronous parallelism. Using this framework, we provide large scale clients for intelligent services such as speech, vision, search, anomaly detection, and text analysis. This allows users to integrate ready-to-use intelligence into any datastore with an Apache Spark connector. To eliminate the majority of overhead from network communication, we also introduce a low-latency containerized version of our architecture. Finally, we demonstrate that the services we investigate are competitive on a variety of benchmarks, and present two applications of this framework to create intelligent search engines, and real time auto race analytics systems.


The focus of this project was on the pivotal role of microzooplankton (MZP) as trophic intermediary between the microbial loop and higher trophic levels. At the base of the food web, MZP has a strong impact on phytoplankton standing stocks due to its high growth and grazing rates, leading to dietary competition with larger mesozooplankton. Simultaneously, higher trophic levels use MZP as food source and benefit from its ability to buffer nutritional imbalances especially at times when food quality of phytoplankton is low.
Therefore, MZP abundance, biomass and taxonomic composition were investigated during three mesocosm experiments within the BIOACID II framework, using natural plankton communities. The KOSMOS 2013 Gullmar Fjord experiment in the North Sea was a long-term outdoor mesocosm study with an elevated CO2 level as single stressor. Contrastingly, the BIOACID Autumn 2012 and Summer 2013 Baltic Sea indoor mesocosm experiments investigated the combined effects of both high CO2 and warming.
In conclusion, warming can be expected to directly affect MZP communities and enhance their growth and grazing pressure. Additionally, more complex responses of MZP to an increase in CO2 can be expected from the results. The present data points at predominately indirect effects on the MZP community via e.g. changes in phytoplankton community composition and/or standing stocks.


Using Cameroonian data, this paper investigates the effects of social network on job quality. Social network is measured in terms of using friends and relatives while looking for a job. As regards to job quality, two aspects have been taken into consideration: monetary job quality which is captured by wage and non monetary job quality which is captured by a combination of social protection and job security. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of social network as regard to job quality, we make use of both Heckman selection model and Ordered Logit model. Our findings contrast with previous studies. Job seekers who make use of social network do not necessarily get a good job. More precisely, while the users of social networks exhibit a wage premium, they also exhibit a low job quality in terms of social protection and job security. We also find that social network contributes to explain job quality differential according to gender and institutional sectors (formal versus informal).


Background: Artesunate (ART), is a semi-synthetic water-soluble artemisinin derivative extracted from the plant Artemisia annua, which is often used to treating malaria. In vivo and in vitro studies suggested it may help decrease inflammation and attenuate airway remodeling in asthma. However, its underlying mechanism of action is not elucidated yet. Herein, an attempt is made to investigate the ART molecular mechanism in treating asthma. Methods: The BALB/c female mice sensitized via ovalbumin (OVA) have been utilized to establish the asthma model, followed by carrying out ART interventions. Lung inflammation scores by Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), goblet cell hyperplasia grade by Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS), and collagen fibers deposition by Masson trichrome staining have been utilized for evaluating how ART affected asthma. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The DEGs were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) terms, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, and Protein-Protein interaction (PPI) function analyses. Hub clusters were found by Cytoscape MCODE. Subsequently, Real-Time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) verified the mRNA expression profiles of DEGs. Finally, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blots have validated the relevant genes and potential pathways. Results: ART considerably attenuated inflammatory cell infiltration, mucus secretion, and collagen fibers deposition. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the ART played a protective role via various pathways including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway as one of them. Moreover, ART could alleviate the overexpression of found in inflammatory zone 1(FIZZ1) as revealed by IHC and Western blot analyses. ART attenuated OVA-induced asthma by downregulating phosphorylated p38 MAPK. Conclusion: ART exerted a protective function in a multitarget and multi-pathway on asthma. FIZZ1 was a possible target for asthma airway remodeling. The MARK pathway was one of the key pathways by which ART protected against asthma.


In the recent years, mushroom derived active metabolites have emerged as an important class of bioactive compounds with several therapeutic applications. Most of the production methods were based on cultivation of mushroom on solid substrate in controlled temperature green house. For the production of bioactive compounds for therapeutic application, production should be carried out under sterile and well controlled condition. Thus, the interest of cultivation of mushroom in bioreactors for bioactive compound production was increased during the last few years. In the present study, mushroom cells were cultivated in submerged culture for the overproduction of anticancer exo-polysaccharides (EPS). Cell cultivation was optimized in fully controlled stirred tank bioreactor in batch and fed-batch culture to improve the process and to increase the anticancer EPS production. In the first part of this study, significant improvement in EPS production was achieved upon transferring the process from shake flask to 15 L bioreactor. Further development in the process was conducted through optimization of some process parameters in bioreactor batch culture. In fed-batch culture, among different feeding strategies, optimized glucose feeding based on using the in-line data for oxygen and carbon dioxide obtained from out-gas analyzer was the best. The maximal yield of EPS obtained was 2.1 g L-1 in optimized fed-batch culture. The obtained EPS was almost two fold higher than those obtained in batch culture.


Establishing a complex brain and nervous system requires a wide array of neurons with diverse forms, functions, and characteristics. Developing nervous systems employ many strategies to create this neuronal diversity, and these strategies remain the subject of ongoing investigations in developmental neuroscience.Neuronal diversity in the taste system of Drosophila melanogaster is important for the appropriate detection of chemosensory signals in the fly's environment. Drosophila can distinguish sweet substances, bitter compounds, pheromones, and pure water using distinct populations of taste neurons. The correct detection of such substances is critical for correct ingestion of nutritive foods, avoidance of toxins, recognition of appropriate mates, and hydration, all of which are essential for the survival and propagation of the fly. The first part of this thesis focuses on the developmental relationship between these classes of neurons and the signaling pathways used to diversify them. Mosaic analysis revealed at least two stereotyped lineages for taste neurons innervating bristles on the proboscis of the fly. Furthermore, mutant mosaic studies showed that Numb inheritance or lack thereof is necessary for correct cell fate decisions. The involvement of Numb strongly indicates that Notch signaling is the key player in establishing taste neuron diversity.The second part of this thesis describes an expression screen for transcription factors with specific expression patterns in subsets of taste neurons. The transcription factors activated in each cell type ultimately establish that cell's unique identity by activating expression of appropriate receptors, axon guidance cues, neurotransmitters, and more. The screen identified two transcription factors, knot and Lim3, with specific expression in bitter-sensing neurons. Results of loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies with each gene indicate that neither one alone is necessary or sufficient to specify the full bitter neuron fate, but it remains possible that each could play a role in subsets of the bitter neuron's identity not observed by these analyses.


It is shown that when small rats are early (beginning with the 18th day of life) given semisynthetic diets the reactions of the pancreatic and intestinal enzyme systems become nonspecific, and they are expressed in a rise of both proteolytic and carbohydrase activities, regardless of the content of proteins or carbohydrates in the diet. This reaction is of stress nature, and the hypothalamo-hypophysial-medullar system participates in its realization. During further maintenance of the small rats on special diets (30 days) it is recorded that the enzyme spectrum corresponds to the diet composition: when the protein diet is used proteolytic enzyme activity prevails, while in case of carbohydrate diets enzyme activities of pancreatic and enteral carbohydrases predominate. A conclusion has been made that under conditions of early semisynthetic feeding the adaptation of the digestive system to the food content is first realized through the mechanisms of hormonal regulation, and then--the substrate one.


he fun of T upcoming implementation of activity-based ding (ABF) should drive unprecedented levels transparency and has the potential to deliver vital funding increases to mental health services. However, current plans to apply a generic form of ABF based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to mental health risk a continuation of Australia's inappropriate hospital-centric model of psychiatric care. There is much work to do to ensure that ABF is implemented in an evidence-based manner to support patients with mental illnesses, who often require long-term community care and support.


Background: Fractures are typically evaluated and monitored using plain radiographs, but in the pediatric population the goal is always to reduce radiation exposure when possible. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is an imaging modality that uses less radiation. The evaluation of upper and lower extremity fractures in the pediatric population using DEXA imaging has not yet been studied. Method: Radiographs of 19 patients treated for forearm or tibia fractures were compared to images taken with a DEXA machine. The angulation and translation of the fractures were measured twice each by two independent observers. Correlation of these values between plain radiographs and DEXA scans along with intra and inter-observer reliability was calculated. Results: A total of 19 patients with a forearm or tibia fracture were enrolled in the study. Correlation with conventional radiographs for angulation was r=0.77, p<0.001, while for translation it was r=0.76, p<0.001. The mean difference between the methods was 0.5 degrees (range of -6.7 to 7.7) for angulation and 4% (range of -28% to 37%) for translation. For plain radiographs, the inter-rater reliability was 0.90 (95% confidence interval of 0.84-0.93) for angulation and 0.89 (0.68-0.95) for translation. The inter-rater reliability for DEXA imaging was 0.77 (0.69-0.83) for angulation and 0.76(0.41-0.88) for translation. Conclusion: Our study showed that DEXA imaging correlates well with plain radiographs when measuring angulation and translation of forearm and tibia fractures in the pediatric population. This study is a proof of concept that DEXA, a low-dose radiation alternative to plain radiographs, may be useful in the management of pediatric fractures.


The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) proposes many new tools and capabilities to meet goals of increasing the capacity, safety, and efficiency in the National Airspace System (NAS). This effort aims to assess the potential effects of off-nominal conditions on human performance in the NextGen environment. To complete this assessment, a comprehensive list of off-nominal conditions with potential NextGen consequences was developed. This condition list was then compared against the changes proposed in each NextGen Operational Improvement to determine the potential positive and negative effects on human performance in terms of safety and efficiency. The most frequently cited off-nominal conditions with potential negative effects on human performance included: Incorrect/Missing Information in Data Block/flight plan, Inadvertent Sector Overload, Conflict/Proximity/Other alert activates erroneously, and Runway Closure. These conditions represent key areas that could have crosscutting impact on controller performance and should be utilized to develop requirements for NextGen midterm concepts. both


Background and Purpose The lectin-like oxidised LDL receptor-1 (OLR1) gene encodes a scavenger receptor implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Although functional roles have been suggested for two variants, epidemiological studies on OLR1 have been inconsistent. Methods - We tested the association between the non-synonymous substitution K167N (rs11053646) and intima media thickness of the common carotid artery (CCA-IMT) in 2,141 samples from the Progression of Lesions in the Intima of the Carotid (PLIC) study (a prospective population-based study). Results Significantly increased IMT was observed in male carriers of the minor C (N) allele compared to GC and GG (KN and KK) genotype. Functional analysis on macrophages suggested a decreased association to Ox-LDL in NN carriers compared to KN and KK carriers which is also associated with a reduced OLR1 mRNA expression. Macrophages from NN carriers present also a specific inflammatory gene expression pattern compared to cells from KN and KK carriers. Conclusions These data suggest that the 167N variant of LOX-1 receptor affects the atherogenic process in the carotid artery prior to evidence of disease through an inflammatory process.


Supplier resources are critical to the success of downstream firms. The relational view and resource dependence theory predict how supplier-specific investments and supplier dependence make the supplier more willing to allocate its best resources to the focal buyer relative to other buyers. However, these theories are ambiguous regarding the interplay between these two constructs. Specifically, the combination could either create relational synergies that benefit the focal buyer or create a situation in which the supplier reconsiders its resource allocation decisions and potentially allocates its resources to the accounts of other buyers. We investigated these competing views by building on two independent dyadic datasets. We found positive effects for both a buyer's supplier-specific investments and supplier dependence on supplier resource allocation, which is measured as the supplier's allocation of physical and innovation resources to the focal buyer relative to competing buyers. However, we also found evidence that supplier dependence negatively moderates the effect of supplier-specific investments on supplier resource allocation. Hence, the effect of supplier-specific investments weakens when the supplier is dependent on the buyer's business volume. These findings make an important empirical contribution to the literature by clarifying the dual workings of supplier-specific investments and supplier dependence as mechanisms to influence supplier resource allocation. We discuss several implications for the buyer-supplier relationship literature and the broader management literature.


Background: Although rarely reported, Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) may complicate recovery in patients who undergo hematopoietic cell, and organ transplantation. Skin manifestations can appear clinically similar or overlap. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are any parameters, which distinguished these two conditions during transplantation. Methods: A literature search for TEN only and combined TEN/GvHD cases after hematopoietic or liver transplantation between 1970 and 2015 was performed. Results: Of 34 cases, there were 14 cases of TEN and 20 of combined TEN/GvHD after hematopoietic or liver transplantation. Patients with TEN had a median age of 41 (range 22-56) years compared to patients with TEN/ GvHD who had a median age of 29 (range 18-52) years. Percent total body surface area (TBSA) skin involvement was a median of 50 (range 23-87) %TBSA in the TEN group and 55 (range 30-80) %TBSA in the TEN/GvHD group. Mortality was 71.4% in the TEN group (10 of 14) and 95% in those with concurrent TEN/GvHD (19 of 20). Conclusions: Development of both TEN and GvHD after hematopoietic or liver transplantation heralded a poor prognosis. TEN was frequently precipitated by co-trimoxazole and allopurinol, medications frequently used during transplantation. GvHD was more likely to start before TEN if both were diagnosed. If Grade IV GvHD occurred, it was difficult to determine if TEN had also complicated the picture. More patients with HSCT developed TEN/GvHD compared to patients with BMT and liver transplants. Future treatment directions may utilize major histocompatibility complex genetic drug susceptibilities testing to prevent the development of TEN during the transplantation in vulnerable patients. Although still in the early stages, several studies have shown that cyclosporine, which is used to treat patients with GvHD, may also be beneficial in decreasing mortality in patients with TEN.


: Therapeutic response to treatment (vaginal and external cryotherapy, drugs) in 97 patients with chronic salpingo-oophoritis at reproductive age provides the conclusion on effectiveness of various cryotherapeutic regimens in this disease. Cryotherapy improves regional blood circulation, restores contractility of the uterine tubes.


The increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones in different civil and military operations has attracted attention of many researchers and science communities. One of the most notable challenges in this field is supervising and controlling a group or a team of UAVs by a single user. Thereupon, we proposed a new intelligent adaptive interface (IAI) to overcome to this challenge. Our IAI not only is empowered by comprehensive IAI architecture but also has some notable features like: presenting single-display user interface for controlling UAV team, leveraging user cognitive model to deliver right information at the right time, supporting the user by system behavior explanation, guiding and helping the user to choose right decisions. Finally, we examined the IAI with contributing eleven volunteers and in three different scenarios. Obtained results have shown the power of the proposed IAI to reduce workload and to increase user's situation awareness level and as a result to promote mission completion percentage.


This chapter in a book on Children's Literature takes the poems in Roger McGough's (2002) anthology entitled 100 Poems for Children and subjects them to a rigourous stylistic analysis with the aim of discovering whether there are any particular stylistic tendencies in poems aimed at younger readers.
The conclusions are that strong patterning, particularly sound-patterning is evident at a time when this is less common in poetry for adults. However, the broad range of other linguistic features to be found in poems for adults is also evident here, especially in poems aimed at older children.

This chapter is part of an Open University text, and is intended to work as an introduction to stylistic analysis as well as a case study as described above.


Background: According to WHO data, the incidence of anemia in non-pregnant women of reproductive age in Indonesia is 33.1%, that is higher than prevalence of anemia in the world (30.2%). Ferroportin (FPN1) is one of important gene in iron metabolism encodes ferroportin for iron absorption, release, and recycle inside the body. The variant of FPN1 -1355G/C in promoter region leads to increases of ferroportin expression and iron export, increases of cellular iron needs, decreases of hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels that manifest to iron deficiency anemia. Objectives. To investigate the frequency of FPN1 -1355G/C polymorphism as a risk factor of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and to assess iron statusand iron intake among adolescent girls in Islamic Boarding School in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Methods. In this case-control study, we enrolled 20 adolescent girls with IDA dan 52 healthy adolescent girls, and analyze their complete blood count, genotypes, and iron intake. Promoter FPN1-1355G/C genotypes were determined using PCRRFLP method. Serum ferritin levels were measured with ELISA. Serum iron levels were determined using colorimetric method. Iron intake was assessed by Food Records and Food Frequency Quesionairre.Categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-Square or Fisher's exact tests. Correlation between iron intake and serum ferritin levels or serum iron levelswere calculated using Pearson dan Spearman correlation tests. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. Genotypes distribution were 38.5% for CC, 53.8% for CG, and 7.7% for GG in IDA group. The genotype frequencies were CC 36.5%, CG 55.8% and GG 7.7% in control group. The odds ratio (OR) of C allele having IDA was 2.036 (95% CI, 0.518-7.995, p=0.249). Subjectscarrying C allelle in IDA group had lower serum ferritin levels and serum iron levels than non-IDA group (p = 0.000 and p = 0.02, respectively). There was no significant difference in hemoglobin levels and erythrocyte indices between genotype groups. There was no significant correlation between iron intake and serum ferritin levels (r = -0.074, p = 0.535), but there was a significant correlation between iron intake and serum iron levels (r = 0.239, p = 0.043). Conclusions. Our study suggests that C allele of FPN1 -1355G/C genetic polymorphism is a risk factor for iron deficiency anemia among adolescent girls. There was a significant correlation between iron intake and serum iron levelsin this study.


Ultrasonographic nerve enlargement has been reported in patients with demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy and POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin changes) syndrome. Reference nerve sizes are needed at evaluation sites to determine nerve enlargement. However, neither site-based differences nor associations between the reference nerve sizes and several physical characteristics had been sufficiently verified. In our study, the reference nerve sizes of the median and ulnar nerves and the cervical nerve roots were determined in healthy Japanese adults. Site-based differences in the nerve sizes were observed. The stratification of reference nerve sizes according to gender is reasonable for practical use, as these differences reflect physical characteristics. The cross-sectional areas of the peripheral nerves were markedly larger at all evaluation sites in patients with demyelinating CMT than in patients with CIDP. However, the nerve sizes of the cervical nerve roots were not significantly different between patients with either disease. We also observed that the number of sites exhibiting nerve enlargement in the intermediate region of the median and ulnar nerves was useful to distinguish demyelinating CMT from CIDP. Thus, nerve ultrasonography is a promising diagnostic supportive tool for demyelinating neuropathy.


Rationale Admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are frequent and associated with high costs. In recent years initiatives in our Healthcare System have advanced the quality of care. We hypothesized that there would be improvement in care provided during admission for COPD in 2010 compared to 2005-06. Methods We performed a chart review of hospitalizations for exacerbation of COPD in 2005-06 and 2010 at five hospitals. Admissions were identified by ICD9 diagnosis code (COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive asthma). Demographics, medications, vaccinations and smoking cessation were recorded. Chi-squared tests compared rates among the groups. Results There were 989 unique patients admitted in 2005-06 and 1,261 in 2010. Patients were 73±12 years old, 42% male, 60% Caucasian, 17% African American and 18% Hispanic. In 2010, hospitalized patients were more likely to be treated with steroids (89.7% vs. 81.5% in 2005-06, P Conclusions During admissions for exacerbation of COPD at 5 hospitals in our Healthcare System, there were significant improvements from 2005-06 to 2010 in quality of care; however, there continues to be room for improvement.


The most important attention is paid to the search of natural antioxidants and their evaluation in medicinal and food raw materials of plant origin. A number of plants, their extracts, food products, and medicinal preparations appear to be the objects of scientific research. Effectiveness and informative character of research, undoubtedly, depend on relevance, sensitivity, and efficiency of the methods chosen. The aim of this work was to develop and validate the postcolumn high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-DPPH method as well as its application in the evaluation of antioxidant activity of known and unknown compounds scavenging free radicals and existing in medicinal plant raw materials. HPLC-separated compounds were identified at the wavelength of 275 nm, and then the mobile phase with analytes flowed through a mixing tee to the reaction coil, where DPPH reagent solution was supplied. The solution flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. The reaction coil was connected with UV/VIS type detector, which measured absorption of flowing solution at the wavelength of 520 nm. It was determined that vitexin rhamnoside, the dominant compound in the leaves of Crataegus monogyna, was not a significant radical scavenger. The most active antioxidant in the leaves and flowers of Crataegus monogyna was chlorogenic acid. The most active antioxidant in Origanum vulgare raw material was rosmarinic acid. Identified analytes in the extracts of Achillea millefolium that possessed radical-scavenging properties were chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, rutin, and luteolin.


In this paper, I present evidence that there exists an unstructured area in the present general assumptions of classical mechanics, especially in case of rigid bodies exposed to simultaneous noncoaxial rotations. To address this, I propose dynamics hypotheses that lead to interesting results and numerous noteworthy scientific and technological applications. I constructed a new mathematical model in rotational field dynamics, and through this model, results based on a rational interpretation of the superposition of motions caused by torques were obtained. For this purpose, I analyze velocity and acceleration fields that are generated in an object with intrinsic angular momentum, and assessed new criteria for coupling velocities. In this context, I will discuss reactions and inertial fields that cannot be explained by classical mechanics. The experiments have been analyzed and explained in a video accompanying this text. I am not aware of any concurrent study on the subject and conclusions evidenced in this paper, preventing us from making additional theoretical com- parisons or indicate to the reader other sources to compare criteria.


The electro-optic properties of a liquid-crystal display associated with a homeotropic to multidomainlike transition for a liquid crystal with a positive dielectric anisotropy have been investigated. The cell plates are prepared in such a way that, in the absence of an electric field, the liquid-crystal alignment is homeotropic. an electric field created by interdigitated electrodes on both substrates causes a director deformation of a multidomain type. The display shows wide viewing angle, excellent color characteristics, and a fast response time. The molecular director configuration, together with the electro-optic characteristics of the device, are discussed in this letter.


Environmental Cross Compliance is one policy by means by which government can seek to influence farmers so that they give greater weight to environmental goods in their decisions. The policy is evaluated from both a theoretical and pragmatic viewpoint and its strengths and weaknesses are discussed. The necessary conditions for the success of environmental cross compliance policies are identified and problems with its implementation are highlighted.


A common method of disposing of ash generated from coal-fired thermal power plants is wet disposal, where the ash is mixed with water to make a slurry and is disposed of in ash ponds or lagoons. Such a disposal system allows for ash-water interaction, and alkalis present in the ash react with water, leading to the formation of ash zeolites. Formation of zeolites alters the overall properties of the ash. Controlled laboratory experiments have been conducted on a lagoon ash to determine the effects of zeolitization on its physico-chemico-mineralogical properties. Further investigations have been carried out to demonstrate the effect of zeolitization of the ash on its geotechnical properties such as its compaction, consolidation, and permeation characteristics. Such a study is required for bulk utilization of the ash (as a fill material) where compaction, consolidation, and permeation properties are most important.


The analysis of the molecular mechanisms involved in the initial interaction between neurons and Schwann cells is a key issue in understanding the myelination process. We recently identified Cthrc1 (Collagen triple helix repeat containing 1) as a gene upregulated in Schwann cells upon interaction with the axon. Cthrc1 encodes a secreted protein previously shown to be involved in migration and proliferation in different cell types. We performed a functional analysis of Cthrc1 in Schwann cells by loss‐of‐ and gain‐of‐function approaches using RNA interference knockdown in cell culture and a transgenic mouse line that overexpresses the gene. This work establishes that Cthrc1 enhances Schwann cell proliferation but prevents myelination. In particular, time‐course analysis of myelin formation intransgenic animals reveals that overexpression of Cthrc1 in Schwann cells leads to a delay in myelin formation with cells maintaining a proliferative state. Our data, therefore, demonstrate that Cthrc1 plays a negative regulatory role, fine‐tuning the onset of peripheral myelination. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This paper describes an example-based Bayesian method for 3D-assisted pose-independent facial texture super-resolution. The method utilizes a 3D morphable model to map facial texture from a 2D face image to a pose- and shape-normalized texture map and vice versa. The center piece of this method is a generative model to describe the process of forming an image from a pose- and shape-normalized texture map. The goal is to reconstruct a high-resolution texture map given an low-resolution face image. The prior knowledge about the sought high-resolution texture is incorporated into the Bayesian framework by using a recognition-based prior that encourages the gradient values of the texture map to be close to some predicted values. We develop the generative model and formulate the problem as MAP estimation. The results show that this framework is capable of performing pose-independent face recognition even when the sample set only contains exemplar face images with frontal pose. We present results in frontal and non-frontal poses. We also demonstrate that the technique can be utilized to improve face recognition results when the probe images have a lower resolution compared to the gallery images.


Experience in Thailand sheds light on one of the key dimensions of land administration: its contribution to improving natural resource management and reducing rural poverty. The two projects under review were separate and discrete interventions that were not part of an overall strategy for rural development: jon their own terms, one failed and the other succeeded. Both could have been more effective if they had been based on a broader dialogue. However, when these projects were designed--before the financial crisis of 1997--the government of Thailand was not interested in a broad program of Bank assistance. Lessons from these projects confirm that poverty reduction and natural resource management objectives can best be achieved through projects that are, indeed, part of a broader strategy for rural development.


Scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disorder of unknown etiology that affects the microvasculature and loose connective tissue. Langerhans cells play an important role in the immune system of the skin. By immunohistochemistry we investigated the phenotypical characteristics of epidermal and dermal Langerhans cells and their spatial relationship with infiltrating lymphocytes in systemic scleroderma (SSc) and localized scleroderma. Skin samples were obtained from patients by 6 mm punch biopsy. Samples were stained with antibodies against CD1a and CD86. The number of cells stained with both antibodies in the dermal and epidermal infiltration was calculated. In contrast to normal skin, both types of scleroderma skin showed a marked increase in CD1a+ dermal Langerhans cells, whereas the number of CD1a+ cells in localized scleroderma was much higher than that in SSc (p < 0.05) either in the dermis or in the epidermis. The expression of CD86 was increased in the dermis of localized scleroderma compared with that in SSc or normal skin (p < 0.05). This study revealed that Langerhans cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of scleroderma, especially in localized scleroderma. CD86 is predominantly expressed on dermal Langerhans cells in the lesional skin of localized scleroderma. Therefore, it might play an important role in the pathogenesis of localized scleroderma.


The study aims to formulate a strategy for strengthening the farmers in the adoption of technology for the development of integrated beef cattle with paddy. Research was conducted in Pinrang South Sulawesi province for seven months. Primary Data obtained by using questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussion. In this study also was involved expert respondents. Flow implementation strategy formulation is done using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) techniques. The results showed that to increased optimally capacity of paddy straw processing technologies dairy farmers as feed technology for implementation strategies required waste treatment at the level of the farmers (weighting 0,558). Increased capacity of the farmersin cow waste processing technology as fertilizer can be achieved by applying a strategy of increased knowledge and skills of extension officers in sewage treatment technology (weighting 0,443). In order to increase achievement farmers cow waste processing technology as biogas and development material/methods extension technology based on the needs of ranchers was required a strategy in providing of facilities and infrastructure supporting the application of the technology of sewage treatment (weighted 0.590 and 0,517).


Geodetic measurements made after the 1964 Niigata, Japan, earthquake (M = 7.5) show that a broad region both in and around the aftershock zone subsided at a rate which decreased nearly exponentially for a year following the earthquake. This is inferred to be a result of recovery of dilatancy which is believed to have preceded the earthquake. Analysis using one-dimensional consolidation theory agrees well with this interpretation and indicates that the dilatant zone was a layer approximately 10 km thick with a diffusivity of approximately 10 4 cm 2 /sec and a lateral extent of at least 50 km. Measurements made after the 1946 Nankaido, 1923 Kanto, and 1964 Alaska earthquakes suggest that they too were followed by dilatancy recovery. These observation provide further considerable information regarding this phenomenon can be obtained from post-earthquake observations.


More than 150 years after the heyday of the British ceramics industry, things are looking more positive than for some time. Potteries capital Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, is currently hosting the fourth British Biennial Ceramics festival, an eight-week exhibition and international showcase. And the BBC is shortly to air The Great British Pottery Throw Down, a sort of Bake Off with clay filmed at Stoke's Middleport pottery factory (which recently received a £9m restoration).


Safety function response time (SFRT) is a metric for safety-critical automation systems defined in the IEC 61784-3-3 standard for single input and single output systems communicating over wired technologies. This thesis proposes a model to estimate the SFRT for multiple input and multiple output feedback control systems communicating over the IEEE 802.15.4e wireless medium access control standard designed for process automation. The wireless SFRT model provides equations for the worst case delay time and watchdog timer of participating network entities, including wireless communication channels. Thirty-nine on board, wired and wireless control experiments using real devices were carried out to evaluate control performance, and the applicability of the wireless SFRT model. The estimated SFRT for the wired implementation is 38.2 ms. For the wireless experiments, the best SFRT obtained was 655.4 ms with no acceptable packet loss. The wireless implementation failed to provide successful control on 15 of the 21 experiments.


Maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality from placenta accreta are considerable. Most cases of placenta accreta have known risk factors and are diagnosed antenatally. They are often delivered by elective caesarean section. Only a handful of cases of placenta accreta in low risk primiparous women have been reported in the literature. Our case is unusual as it was diagnosed following a vaginal delivery in a young, low risk primip with no known risk factors for adherent placenta. A manual removal of placenta was unsuccessfully attempted for retained placenta. A postnatal USS and MRI were performed. MRI showed a fundal placenta accreta. She was subsequently managed conservatively with prophylactic antibiotics and serial MRI scans, as per the RCOG Green Top guideline number 27. The patient declined methotrexate due to her wish to breastfeed. She was warned of the risks of major haemorrhage and infection, including the possibility of an emergency hysterectomy. A repeat MRI, 8 weeks, later showed complete resolution of the placenta. This case illustrates a successful outcome with conservative management using appropriate imaging modalities and counselling. This has potential implications for management of other pregnancies in the future as the recurrence rate for placenta accreta is high. Due to the changes in maternal age and increasing risk factors, the incidence and the associated complications are likely to continue to rise.