Six-year-old Vitis vinifera L. Chardonnay grapevines grown under controlled conditions were investigated with regard to both qualitative and quantitative temporal evolution of the xylem sap composition. Xylem exudates were collected by pruning the spurs just before bud burst. Potassium was the main mineral ion found in the sap (7300 µM), followed by calcium (2600 µM), phosphate (2500 µM), nitrate (2300 µM), sulfate (1600 µM), magnesium (500 µM), and chloride (150 µM). The major organic compounds were amino acids (5500 µM) and amides (mainly glutamine, 4000 µM), organic acids (3500 µM, mainly malate), and soluble carbohydrates (500 µM) including glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Over a one-week time course, water flux increased from the first four hours of exudation until 52 hours and then diminished steadily. Mineral ion concentrations remained fairly constant from the onset of the exudation to the end of the collection period, except for potassium which increased continuously and nitrate whose concentration reached a plateau after 24 hours. The high xylem levels of soluble organic compounds (amino acids and soluble carbohydrates), that were found initially, dropped rapidly and then increased reaching a maximum at 52 hours. Finally, the concentration decreased until the end of the exudation period. Furthermore, attention was paid to the effect on the xylem sap composition of recutting the spurs. The data obtained revealed that water flux and soluble carbohydrate release were enhanced, as a result of the recut, up to the maximum level previously reached at 52 hours.


Background: Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is the major protein component of chylomicrons, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL) and is the ligand for the LDL receptor. ApoB plays an important role in the maintenance of cholesterol homeostasis and lipoprotein metabolism. Numerous restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the ApoB gene have been reported to be associated with variation in lipid levels, obesity and/or coronary artery disease.
Purpose: This study assesses the effect of Apo B restriction fragment length polymorphism (XbaI) on lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in an Egyptian population.
Methods: Blood samples from 355 unrelated individuals aged 19 – 70 years were analysed and genotyping was performed using the XbaI restriction enzyme after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification.
Results: Allele frequencies obtained for X- and X+ were 69 and 31 %, respectively. Presence of the X+ allele was associated with increased levels of total cholesterol, ApoB, and LDL. X-/X- homozygous individuals in our sample displayed the lowest mean levels and homozygous X+/X+ the highest, with heterozygous individuals displaying intermediate levels.
Conclusion: These findings confirm the impact of ApoB genetic variation on some lipid related factors levels in an Egyptian population.


PurposeTo analyze the outcomes of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with salvage-targeted therapy after progressing on high-dose interleukin (IL)-2 immunotherapy in a tertiary referral center. Materials and MethodsA retrospective nonrandomized cohort consisting of 286 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated from 2003 to 2010 was analyzed from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Kidney Cancer database. All patients underwent cytoreductive nephrectomy, and 21 patients received salvage-targeted therapy after progression on high-dose IL-2, whereas 111 patients received targeted therapy alone. The remaining 154 patients had other treatment combinations or experimental targeted therapy agents only. Since 2003, selection of patients for high-dose IL-2 was increasingly based on clinical, pathologic, and molecular criteria (UCLA CPM criteria). Disease-specific survival was calculated from diagnosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. ResultsPatients selected according to UCLA CPM criteria and treated with salvage-targeted therapy after progressing on high-dose IL-2 experienced a significantly greater disease-specific survival (median not reached) than those treated with targeted therapy alone (30 months; P = 0.004). Since 2006, all high-dose IL-2 patients met the UCLA CPM criteria and were able to receive salvage-targeted therapy upon progression. Disease-specific survival calculated from initiation of targeted therapy was comparable for patients treated with salvage-targeted therapy after progression on high-dose IL-2 (34 months) versus first-line targeted therapy (26 months; P = 0.175). DiscussionPatients selected for high-dose IL-2 based on UCLA CPM criteria and treated with salvage-targeted therapy upon progression have achieved outstanding disease-specific survival. Our data suggest a new algorithm for carefully selected patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma based on UCLA CPM criteria to receive first-line high-dose IL-2 while reserving their option for salvage-targeted therapy with uncompromised efficacy upon progression.


How to allocate the profits from cooperative purchasing is a key factor to the formation and maintaining of aconsortium. In this paper, according to the characteristics of joint procurement. Established a cooperative game model-Union game model o Analysised several methods based on cooperative game theory of the distribution of benefits » According to the model of Heijboer and Fredo Schotanus. Explored the joint procurement and distribution of benefits, Take a practical example of Corporate joint procurement as an example. Analysised PV, SV and CV of three distribution methods. Concluded that the method of CV which can provide guidance for the enterprise when they are make decision-making in Purchasing Alliance


This paper introduces a novel approach to automating failure diagnostics in distributed systems by combining fault injection and data analytics. We use fault injection to populate the database of failures for a target distributed system. When a failure is reported from production environment, the database is queried to find "matched" failures generated by fault injections. Relying on the assumption that similar faults generate similar failures, we use information from the matched failures as hints to locate the actual root cause of the reported failures. In order to implement this approach, we introduce techniques for (i) reconstructing end-to-end execution flows of distributed software components, (ii) computing the similarity of the reconstructed flows, and (iii) performing precise fault injection at pre-specified executing points in distributed systems. We have evaluated our approach using an OpenStack cloud platform, a popular cloud infrastructure management system. Our experimental results showed that this approach is effective in determining the root causes, e.g., fault types and affected components, for 71-100 percent of tested failures. Furthermore, it can provide fault locations close to actual ones and can easily be used to find and fix actual root causes. We have also validated this technique by localizing real bugs that occurred in OpenStack.


The primary imaging modality for the detection of pulmonary metastases is computed tomography (CT). Ideally, a helical CT scan with 3- to 5-mm reconstruction thickness or a volumetric thin section scanning should be performed within 4 weeks of pulmonary metastasectomy. A period of observation to see whether further metastases develop does not seem to allow better patient selection. If positron emission tomography is available, it may identify the extrathoracic metastatic sites in 10 to 15% of patients. Despite helical CT scan, palpation identifies the metastases not detected by imaging in 20 to 25% of patients and remains the standard. No data define the optimal interval for follow-up surveillance imaging.


Previous studies have found clear differences in profitability between Norwegian and multinational firms operating in Norway under the dual income tax systems prior to 2006. It is corporations that only operate in Norway that is found to be the most profitable, which suggests profit shifting by international firms. One problem with these studies is that none of them account for the fact that in some circumstances, it would be preferable for owners who also are employed in the same corporation to receive labor compensation as dividends rather than wages. I try to control for this in my estimation on data between 2006 and 2011. I find that profitability in corporations where the chairman of the board also is the CEO is higher, and like in previous studies I find a lower profitability in foreign controlled firms. Surprisingly however, I find no differences in profitability between domestic Norwegian and Norwegian multinational corporations.


This guide is for students enrolled in the M.A. in Organizational Leadership offered by the Department of Graduate Education, Leadership, & Counseling.


Tissue-mimicking phantoms are widely used for the calibration, evaluation and standardisation of medical imaging systems, and for clinical training. For photoacoustic imaging, tissue-mimicking materials (TMMs) that have tuneable optical and acoustic properties, high stability, and mechanical robustness are highly desired. In this study, gel wax is introduced as a TMM that satisfies these criteria for developing photoacoustic imaging phantoms. The reduced scattering and optical absorption coefficients were independently tuned with the addition of TiO2 and oil-based inks. The frequency-dependent acoustic attenuation obeyed a power law; for native gel wax, it varied from 0.71 dB/cm at 3 MHz to 9.93 dB/cm at 12 MHz. The chosen oil-based inks, which have different optical absorption spectra in the range of 400 to 900 nm, were found to have good photostability under pulsed illumination with photoacoustic excitation light. Optically heterogeneous phantoms that comprised of inclusions with different concentrations of carbon black and coloured inks were fabricated, and multispectral photoacoustic imaging was performed with an optical parametric oscillator and a planar Fabry-Pérot sensor. We conclude that gel wax is well suited as a TMM for multispectral photoacoustic imaging.


Literature about Christianity in Africa disproportionately directs attention to the important work of Western missionaries, but to a great extent Africans were the agents of their own conversion. This is true of the key figure in this book, Kamba Simango. Encouraged from a distance by an American Congregationalist missionary, Fred R. Bunker, who shared his commitment to an African-led work, Simango, Tapera Nkomo and others struggled against difficult odds in the Mozambique Company region of Manica and Sofala in Central Mozambique. This study reveals the humanity of its characters as well as their deep devotion to their task.


Objective: To study the antifungal activity of pterocarpans from Caragana jubata (pall.) poir.. Methods: The compounds have been separated and purified by polyamine resin and silica gel column chromatography as well as the preparative HPLC method from the active fraction. The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) were measured by broth microdilution method according to document M27-A published by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). Results: The CHCl3 extract of the MeOH extract prepared from the whole plant of Caragana jubata (pall.) Poirexhibited good antifungal activity. Bioassay-directed fractionation led to the purification of five pterocarpans, 3-methoxy maackiain (1), maackiain (2), 3-methoxy-9-hydroxy pterocarpan (3), 3,9-dimethoxy pterocarpan (4) and 3-methoxy-4,9-dihydroxy pterocarpan (5), in which compounds 2 showed potential antifungal activity against three Candida strains at the level of MICs 6.25-25 姷mL-1.Conclusion: All of the compounds were isolated from the title plant for the first time. And biological validation showed pterocarpans were responsible for antifungal activity.


Background: Determining the epidemic threshold parameter helps health providers calculate the coverage while guiding them in planning the process of vaccination strategy. Since the trend and mechanism of influenza is very similar in different countries, we planned a study with the mentioned goal by using data of US from 2017 to 2018. Study design: A secondary study. Methods: R0 and corresponding vaccination coverage are estimated using the national and state-level data of the US from the 40th in 2017 to the 5th week in 2018. Four methods maximum likelihood (ML), exponential growth (EG), time-dependent reproduction numbers (TD), and sequential Bayesian (SB) are used to calculate minimum vaccination coverage. The gamma distribution is considered as the distribution and the generation of time. Results: The peak of epidemy in most states has occurred in the 15th week after the beginning of the epidemics. The generation time obey the Gamma distribution with mean and standard deviation of 3.6 and 1.6, respectively, was utilized for the generation time. The R0 (vaccination coverage) equaled 1.94 (48.4%), 1.80 (44.4%), 3.06 (67.3%), and 2.11 (52.6%) for EG, ML, SB, and TD methods at the national level, respectively. Conclusion: The R0 estimations were in the range of 1.8-3.06, indicating that an epidemic has occurred in the US (R0>1). Thus, it is required to vaccinate at least 44.4% to 67.3% to prevent the next epidemics of influenza. The findings of this study assist futures studies to apply disease control by vaccination strategies in order to prevent a national disaster.


This study examined the effect of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM, 10 -7 M) on agonist-induced contraction and the relaxation following drug-washout, of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) segments derived from hypertensive rabbits. Mean blood pressure increase was produced either by renal constriction plus contralateral nephrectomy, or by cadmium acetate ingestion. Freely-ionized calcium ( 45 Ca) flux, cyclic 3':5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), and cyclic 3':5' adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), were analyzed. NEM was used as a stereoselective probe to clarify the role of sulfhydryl (SH) groups in hepertension. Contractile response to norepinephrine (NE, 5.9 x 10 -7 M), angiotensin II (AT, 9.8 x 10 -8 M), and potassium chloride (KCl, 2.2 x 10 -2 M) were significantly depressed in hypertensive tissue. Exposure to NEM, before agonist challenge, caused an even greater depression in contractile response. As for the normotensive group, an inhibition of relaxation occurred when NEM was added after the development of a maximal contractil response to NE, AT or KCl. Changes in contractile ability and in relaxation were attributed to specific alterations in calcium distribution. These alterations were examined by 45 Ca washout components and were related to cAMP and cGMP metabolism. These results suggest a regulatory role of SH groups in contraction and relaxation and a modification of this role in hypertension.


Light is an environmental marker that can produce non-visual responses within the human body, including the regulation of circadian rhythms, suppression of melatonin, and promotion of alertness and cognition. Recent studies have shown that these non-visual responses are particularly sensitive to monochromatic blue-enriched white light. With an increasing number of the population working under artificial lighting conditions, there is a need for more energy efficient lighting that also promotes cognition and alertness. The rating system for artificial lighting is based on two different characteristics, total lux and color temperature (K); the color temperature refers to what part of the visual spectrum the light is emitting. The present study sought to discover how cognitive problem solving (under specific time constraints) changes in regards to different color temperature-rated lighting environments. Participants were exposed to two different lighting environments, one being a low cool-white light with a color temperature of 4100K, and the second being a high cool-white light with a color temperature of 6500K. In order to measure cognition the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) was administered followed by the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. It was found that color temperature had no significant effect of PASAT scores F(1,19)=.769, p > .05. A trend for increased alertness was seen for the 6500K condition however, significance could not be found F(1,19)=3.709, p =.069


The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly around the world in a frightening way. In Brazil, the third country with the highest number of infected and deaths from the disease, it is important for government health authorities to identify the federation units that stand out in cases and deaths from this disease to target resources. The circular scan statistic proposed by Martin Kulldorff allows to identify with some statistical significance the units of the federation that stand out in relation to the number of cases and deaths of COVID-19 in Brazil. Such units of federation are known as clusters. Once these clusters were identified, we used the coefficients of incidence and lethality to better describe the behavior of these clusters during three phases of the pandemic: the initial phase, the peak phase, and also the stability and fall phase. We observed changes in the location of the clusters identified in these three phases and used the R software and also the SaTScan software to obtain the maps and results, which were consistent with what was reported by the Brazilian media.


CDK7 has recently emerged as an attractive target in cancer since its inhibition decreases the transcript levels of oncogenic transcription factors, especially those driven by super-enhancers (SEs). Cancers have been hypothesized to be addicted to SE regulated genes and simultaneous suppression of multiple SE associated genes through CDK7 inhibition might represent a novel, powerful way to selectively kill cancer cells. Previously, we reported that SY-1365, a highly selective covalent CDK7 inhibitor, induces apoptosis in leukemia cells, but not in non-malignant cells, and demonstrates anti-tumor activity in in vivo models of leukemia. In this study, we extend these findings to the identification of multiple solid tumors that are susceptible to SY-1365 and compare the effects of SY-1365 on gene expression to other gene control agents. SY-1365 was screened in a panel of solid tumor cell lines, revealing activity in breast, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancer cells with low nM EC50 and rapid induction of apoptosis. In breast cancer, a subset of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines were found to be more sensitive than luminal breast cancer cell lines, so we extended our studies to in vivo models and showed substantial tumor growth inhibition in multiple patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of TNBC. Since other compounds have been reported to modulate the expression of SE regulated genes, we compared the transcriptional effects of SY-1365 treatment with those of a pan-CDK inhibitor (flavopiridol), a CDK9 inhibitor (NVP2) and a BRD4 inhibitor (JQ1) using microarray analysis. Applying principal component analysis, we observed a unique transcriptional response elicited by SY-1365 compared to the other inhibitors. NVP2 and flavopiridol inhibited an overlapping and much larger gene set than either JQ1 or SY-1365. Interestingly, SY-1365 treatment decreased the expression of oncogenic transcription factors, cell cycle checkpoint regulators and DNA damage response genes. The downregulation of transcripts involved in apoptosis and DNA damage response by SY-1365 suggests that CDK7 inhibition might synergize with targeted agents that affect these processes. Indeed, we observed that SY-1365 was synergistic with the PARP inhibitor niraparib and the Bcl-2 inhibitor venetoclax in triple negative breast cancer and AML cell lines, respectively. In summary, we have identified TNBC, ovarian and small cell lung cancer cell lines as highly sensitive to SY-1365 in vitro and have observed substantial tumor growth inhibition in PDX models of TNBC. SY-1365 induced a distinct transcriptional response compared with other transcriptional inhibitors, with apoptotic and DNA damage pathways being central. Finally, these mechanism of action studies support a rationale for investigating combinations of SY-1365 with inhibitors of PARP and Bcl-2. Citation Format: Shanhu Hu, Nan Ke, Yixuan Ren, Sofija Miljovska, Nisha Rajagopal, Michael McKeown, David Orlando, Kevin Sprott, Yoon J. Choi, Eric Olson, Christian C. Fritz. SY-1365, a potent and selective CDK7 inhibitor, exhibits promising anti-tumor activity in multiple preclinical models of aggressive solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1151. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1151


Two incentive mechanisms for Boolean games were proposed recently - taxation schemes and side payments. Both mechanisms have been shown to be able to secure a pure Nash equilibrium (PNE) for Boolean games. A complete characterization of outcomes that can be transformed to PNEs is given for each of the two incentive mechanisms. Side payments are proved to be a weaker mechanism in the sense that the outcomes that they can transform to PNEs are a subset of those transformable by taxation. A family of social-network-based Boolean games, which demonstrates the differences between the two mechanisms for securing a PNE, is presented. A distributed search algorithm for finding the side payments needed for securing a PNE is proposed. An empirical evaluation demonstrates the properties of the two mechanisms on the family of social-network-based Boolean games.


We live in an age of fast changes, where updating has become a way of living; constantly forcing ourselves to change as we try to make sense of our existence. Thus there is a need for openness to the kind of learning which is incorporated with the individual's process of change; a constant becoming through continuous forms of lifelong learning. In this qualitative study I explore and present two documented projects; involving Tetra Pak and Paradigm Strategic Communication. By using selected accounts from these documentations together with a theoretical framework I examine and try to illustrate how pedagogical documentation of various activities can make learning visible. Highlighting that by documenting activities new knowledge can be accumulated and can enable the participants to re-visit, reflect and grow with qualitative feedback. Although this study has its limitations, it will exemplify that by documenting various activities we can recognize moments of learning which can be found in daily interruptions. Thus it illustrates the relevancy of further studies.


Based on the structural dynamics optimization theory, a vibration optimization design method of a ship foundation by APDL language is presented in this paper. Structural dynamic optimization design of a ship foundation under the constraint of gross weight of a ship cabin is performed by ANSYS to minimize the vibration of ship hull plating. Optimization shows that the thickness of webs has considerable influence on the vibration isolation performance of ship foundation, while changes of the thickness of base panels and brackets have insignificant influence. Optimal thickness combination of webs, panels and brackets of the foundation is obtained through the optimization. Study also provides reference for practical engineering as well as enriches theories and methodologies of novel vibration isolation for ship foundation design.


In this report the authors seek to answer the question of whether combining school and work is detrimental or beneficial to a student's school educational performance and labour market outcomes. They find that young people who combine school and work are distributed right across the school population. Results show that individuals can combine school and work with minimal impact on their study if the hours are modest and those working longer hours show a stronger orientation towards work than study. The authors used data from the 2003 cohort (Y03) of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth.


The maximum weighted matching problem in bipartite graphs is one of the classic combinatorial optimization problems, and arises in many different applications. Ordered binary decision diagram (OBDD) or algebraic decision diagram (ADD) or variants thereof provides canonical forms to represent and manipulate Boolean functions and pseudo-Boolean functions efficiently. ADD and OBDD-based symbolic algorithms give improved results for large-scale combinatorial optimization problems by searching nodes and edges implicitly. We present novel symbolic ADD formulation and algorithm for maximum weighted matching in bipartite graphs. The symbolic algorithm implements the Hungarian algorithm in the context of ADD and OBDD formulation and manipulations. It begins by setting feasible labelings of nodes and then iterates through a sequence of phases. Each phase is divided into two stages. The first stage is building equality bipartite graphs, and the second one is finding maximum cardinality matching in equality bipartite graph. The second stage iterates through the following steps: greedily searching initial matching, building layered network, backward traversing node-disjoint augmenting paths, updating cardinality matching and building residual network. The symbolic algorithm does not require explicit enumeration of the nodes and edges, and therefore can handle many complex executions in each step. Simulation experiments indicate that symbolic algorithm is competitive with traditional algorithms.


Abstract In this paper, we present a research approach that makes visible how young children in Chinese immigrant families muster their multilingual, multimodal and multisemiotic repertoires as they interact with distant family and friends on social media. The approach brings multimodal social semiotics into conversation with translanguaging to problematize the notion of languages as bounded systems, and to illustrate how emergent multilingual learners deploy their knowledge of the features of different language scripts and modalities to maximise their communicative capacity. We focus on the emergent translanguaging practices of Chinese immigrant children when using WeChat—a popular Chinese social media that is widely used by young families in their everyday language and literacy practices. Reporting on a study of nine immigrant families in southeast London, we home in on one boy aged eight years and his younger brother aged six years, with mixed Chinese (mother) and Portuguese (father) immigrant heritage. Through fine-grained multimodal analysis of online exchanges between the older brother and contacts in their mother's WeChat network, we illustrate the multimodal, translinguistic and polyadic nature of his language use in practice and reflect briefly on the disjuncture between his home uses of multiple languages and his schooling. We also consider how the younger brother is socialised into translanguaging practices by observing and occasionally participating in his older sibling's online chat. The findings address a gap in research knowledge by illustrating how social media can enrich opportunities for young children's emergent translanguaging practices and heritage language learning.


In the eastern tropical Indian Ocean, intraseasonal variability (ISV) affects the regional oceanography and marine ecosystems. Mooring and satellite observations documented two periods of unusually weak ISV during the past two decades, associated with suppressed baroclinic instability of the South Equatorial Current. Regression analysis and model simulations suggest that the exceptionally weak ISVs were caused primarily by the extreme El Niño events and modulated to a lesser extent by the Indian Ocean dipole. Additional observations confirm that the circulation balance in the Indo-Pacific Ocean was disrupted during the extreme El Niño events, impacting the Indonesian Throughflow Indian Ocean dynamics. This research provides substantial evidence for large-scale modes modulating ISV and the abnormal Indo-Pacific dynamical connection during extreme climate modes.


Our understanding of the geological evolution of West Papua (or the Bird's Head Peninsula and Bird's Neck) predominantly stems from a systematic mapping campaign conducted by Indonesian and Australian geologists during the 1970's and 80's, together with the findings of mineral and hydrocarbon exploration by Dutch geologists in the early 1900's. Most of the research that has been conducted since these initial, but comprehensive studies have been associated with continued exploration for hydrocarbons (e.g., around the Salawati and Bintuni Basins) and precious metals (e.g., associated with Grasberg–Ertsburg). Here we present an overview of research conducted over the past five years that was largely funded by several oil exploration companies. Our research did not focus on oil exploration, but instead attempted to update our understanding of the age of magmatic, metamorphic and deformation events, and to improve our knowledge of the regional stratigraphy of West Papua. These new data have been used to develop new tectonic models and paleogeographic maps that provide a framework for future studies in the region to build upon.


Mental disorders are highly prevalent, placing an enormous burden on individuals, society and economy. Research shows that family members who provide care to individuals with chronic or disabling mental conditions are themselves at risk. As a response to this problem, the project 'Family Caregiver Support - Strategies and tools to promote the mental and emotional health of caregivers' emerged, funded by Erasmus + Program and carried out by 8 European partners including ESS|P.PORTO.

 To empower family members as caregivers and to give them access to relevant medical information and to psychological support for their own needs.

 A Guide and a Resource Pack concerning 9 important mental health disorders were developed. An interactive e-platform and a mobile App were developed to make available these materials. Validation of the products was carried out, in each country, by caregivers and health/social care professionals through online questionnaires. Data were collected and processed in an anonymous manner, and the confidentiality was ensured.

 In Portugal, 98% of respondents (25 caregivers/citizens interested on subject, and 25 health/social care professionals), consider the accessibility and attractivity of the platform very good or excellent; and more than 90% consider materials very effective for the caregiver's empowerment. Some issues were identified to add to Resource Pack.

 Data from partners is being processed but there is already strong evidence of the usability and efficacy of the project's outcome, and a strong contribution was done for adult education concerning physical, mental and emotional health promotion of family caregivers.


Many coal mines are located at the middle and high latitudes. In winter, coal mining facilities may be operated under the freezing conditions. Burning coal for hot water is usually used to heat up the facilities, which is not environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Currently, the ground source heat pumps and other new technologies have been applied for heating in coal mines and have achieved some success. However, the working characteristics and costs of these technologies are not suitable for the antifreeze at the wellhead. Heat pipe technology has the following advantages: automatic operation with the change of atmosphere temperature (AMT) and low cost of construction and maintenance, which can overcome the drawbacks of the aforementioned technologies. In this article, a heating system based on heat pipe technology has been designed and modeled. The system extracts heat from the shallow normal temperature zone (NTZ) to automatically heat the coal wellhead in winter. For the heating system, the effects of AMT, the temperature of NTZ, the frozen zone thickness (FZT), the thermal conductivity, and the heat pipe quantity (HPQ) on the heating performance have been modeled and investigated using comsol multiphysics. The modeling results have been analyzed and discussed. The modeling data showed that the system based on heat pipes could meet the antifreeze requirements for the designed system during the winter period. The wellhead heating system proposed in this article may achieve the purpose of replacing fossil energy with shallow geothermal energy.


By presenting emergency management organizations of developed countries as early adopter of RFID in emergency management, this paper aims to minimize the disastrous impacts of emergencies currently faced by mankind; especially in developing countries. We conduct a study in the context of RFID adoption in emergency management and seek to answer the question - What are the contributing factors in the adoption of RFID in emergency management? In order to answer this question, a research framework is proposed by using a rather loose interpretation of task-technology fit (TTF) model. Multiple case study method has been employed to explore the contributing factors of RFID adoption. It is anticipated that the findings of this research will not only enhance the research in technology adoption, but also assist the emergency management organizations to better plan the adoption of pertinent technologies such as RFID for emergency operations.


Heterosexual encounters remain the primary route for HIV transmission in Africa. Safer sex behaviour is not adopted by many women due to several social and psychological factors. This paper aims to identify socio-demographic, marital and psychosocial predictors associated with current sexual activity and condom use in Mozambican women at sexual risk for HIV/AIDS. Women (173), patients at a public hospital and at risk for HIV infection, completed measures of condom use negotiation self-efficacy, perceived barriers against safer sex, current sexual activity and condom use. Having more than 6 years of education and being younger and single were significant predictors for current sexual activity and condom use. Regarding psychosocial factors, talking about AIDS with partners, condom use negotiation self-efficacy and fewer perceived barriers to safer sex were significant predictors for current sexual activity (intention to use and buy/get condoms). Condom use negotiation self-efficacy is a significant predictor for condom use. These results should be considered in new HIV prevention intervention design in Mozambique.


In compressive stress-strain tests on a coarse-grained marble at various confining pressures up to 1000 kg cm−2, special attention has been paid to the transition from brittle to ductile behavior. The application of low confining pressures suppresses the longitudinal fractures characteristic of failure at atmospheric pressure, and well-defined shear failures develop. The formation of the localized shear zones accompanies a gradual decrease in the stress needed for continued deformation but does not lead immediately to complete fracture. This behavior may be initiated by a type of plastic instability. Its relevance to geological faulting is discussed, since the shear zones developed in the marble specimens appear to be similar to geological faults.

At confining pressures above about 300 kg cm−2, the stress-strain curves rise continuously without reaching a maximum, and the deformation is distributed throughout the specimen instead of being localized in shear zones or faults. This suggests that there is a depth in the earth's crust below which faulting cannot be expected in this rock.

The stress-strain curves have been analyzed to show the effect of confining pressure on the yield stress and on the stress at the maximum load. A few measurements on a fine-grained limestone are also included in an appendix.

Coloration of the marble by X radiation occurs after deformation at low confining pressures, but the effect becomes more marked at higher confining pressures.


List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Preface 1.Change Solutions to the Norms & Standards Ovewhelming Organizations: An Introduction to 'Fractal' Wings of 'Tetranormalizing' David M. Boje 2. Philosophical Reflections on Tetranormalization Frits Schipper Part I: Economy/Accounting Change Fractals Introduction David M. Boje 3.How Does the Creation of Local Accounting Standards Reflect the Identity of an Organization? Tronc Boris and Plane Jean-Michel 4.Tetranormalization and the Accounting Standard Setting Process: A Retrospective View of the Accounting Principles Board William L. Smith 5.Professional and neo-institutional Dynamics in the Islamic accounting standards-setting process Aldo Levy and Hichem Rezgui Part II: Trade and Change Fractals Introduction David M. Boje 6. Tetranormalization, Disruption of Markets and Strategic Steering: Threats and opportunities Henri Savall and Veronique Zardet 7.The loss of sense in labor legislation, a risk for Mexican small businesses and their employees Luis Portales, Consuelo Garcia de la Torre, and Osmar Arandia 8. Tetranormalizing Entrepreneurial Storytelling: Bringing complexity to the narrative of 'Born Global' Rohny Saylors Part III: Social/Cultural Change Fractals Introduction David M. Boje 9. The decision-making smart information system based on the human behaviour Patrick Haim 10. Recent Advances in Standardizing the Reporting of Non-Financial Information Juan Pineiro-Chousa, Marcos Vizcaino-Gonzalez, and Noelia Romero-Castro 11. Profession Architects: Normative dispossession of an art trade is not inevitable Miguel Delattre and Veronique Zardet 12. The Tetranormalization of Human Resource Management of Persons with Disabilities Jillian Saylors 13.: Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure and institutional legitimacy: A comparative analysis Bechir Bellahouel, Nader Mansouri, and Jean Marie-Peretti Part IV: Ecology/Quality Change Fractals Introduction David M. Boje 14. Disclosure of Sustainability Information and the Evolution to a New Type of Report in a Tetranormalization Context Hong Yuh Ching and Fabio Gerab 15. The Quality Management Systems, The environmental and the social responsibility management systems and their effects on the Human Resources practices Riad Makdessi and Selim Mekdessi 16. Taking the Natural Environment in the Hospitality Industry into Account: An examination on the relevance of the diversity of standards Bernard Guillon and Gisele Sigal


African Americans have twice the prevalence of type 2 diabetes as Caucasians and much greater genetic diversity. We identified an inframe insertion of a proline in the insulin promoter factor 1 (IPF1) gene (InsCCG243), which was relatively common (minor allele frequency ∼0.08) in African Americans and showed a trend to association with type 2 diabetes in preliminary studies. An earlier French study identified InsCCG243 as a cause of autosomal dominant diabetes. To determine the role of this variant in African Americans, we examined an additional population from North Carolina (n = 368) and a subset of African-American participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (n = 1,741). We also looked for segregation in 66 African-American families and for a role in insulin secretion in 112 nondiabetic subjects. InsCCG243 did not increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (P = 0.16 in North Carolina; P = 0.97 in the ARIC study) and did not segregate with type 2 diabetes in families. However, we found suggestive evidence for reduced insulin response to glucose (P = 0.05). Neither indirect measures of β-cell mass nor β-cell compensation were altered (P > 0.1). InsCCG243 does not act in a dominant, highly penetrant fashion in African Americans and is not a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes in this population.


We analyzed data from the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP) to obtain multivariate relative hazard models for breast cancer that included mammographic density (MD) in addition to standard risk factors. Data from the BCDDP were collected from a stratified case–control study in the screening phase (1973–1980) and from follow-up of three subcohorts in the follow-up phase (1980–1995). For both phases, MD measurements were only available for about half the women who developed breast cancer (cases) and a small fraction of noncases. We used a logistic regression model for the stratified case–control study and developed a general pseudo-likelihood approach to accommodate missing covariate data (MD) by adapting the method of Scott and Wild and Breslow and Holubkov. We showed that this method was substantially more efficient than a previously proposed weighted-likelihood method. We assumed piecewise exponential models for the analysis of each subcohort, with the missing covariate (MD) distribution conditional on the observed information modeled with polytomous logistic regression. We developed an EM algorithm for estimation, which allowed for time-varying covariates, incomplete follow-up, and left truncation. We analyzed the three follow-up subcohorts separately and then combined the relative hazard models from the case–control and cohort data. The final model included main effects for MD, weight, age at first live birth, number of previous breast biopsies, and number of sisters or mother with breast cancer and was more discriminating (higher concordance) than the original model of Gail et al., which included standard risk factors but not MD. In a separate work, we combined this relative hazard model with other data to project absolute breast cancer risk.


We have studied the diffusion mechanism of lithium ions in glassy oxide-based solid state electrolytes using elastic and quasielastic neutron scattering. Samples of xLi_2SO_4-(1-x)(Li_2O-P_2O_5) were prepared using conventional melt techniques. Elastic and inelastic scattering measurements were performed using the triple-axis spectrometer (TRIAX) at Missouri University Research Reactor at University of Missouri and High Flux Backscattering Spectrometer (HFBS) at NIST Center for Neutron Research, respectively. These compounds have a base glass compound of P_2O_5 which is modified with Li_2O. Addition of Li_2SO_4 leads to the modification of the structure and to an increase lithium ion (Li^+) conduction. We find that an increase of Li_2SO_4 in the compounds leads to an increase in the Lorentzian width of the fit for the quasielastic data, which corresponds to an increase in Li^+ diffusion until an over-saturation point is reached (< 60% Li_2SO_4). We find that the hopping mechanism is best described by the vacancy mediated Chudley-Elliot model. A fundamental understanding of the diffusion process for these glassy compounds can help lead to the development of a highly efficient solid electrolyte and improve the viability of clean energy technologies.


In this paper, we propose a supervised learning based model for ocular biometrics. Using Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) for detecting local features of the eye region, we create a local feature descriptor vector of each image. We cluster these feature vectors, representing an image as a normalized histogram of membership to various clusters, thereby creating a bag-of-visual-words model. We conduct a multiphase training, first performing a fast Multinomial Naïve Bayes learning, and subsequently using a pyramid-up topology to use the top k% results (based upon confidence scores) thus predicted and perform Dense SIFT for nearest neighbor matching. Contrary to traditional ocular biometric systems, our proposed approach does not rely highly accurate iris pattern segmentation, allowing less constrained image acquisition conditions such as from mobile devices. Our method identifies the individuals with an identification accuracy varying from 48.76% to 79.49%, across different lighting conditions and phone handset data sources, while testing on the given data.


3 Abstract: In this paper, we propose the mobility of a sink in improved energy efficient PEGASIS-based protocol (IEEPB) to advance the network lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The multi-head chain, multi-chain concept and the sink mobility affects largely in enhancing the network lifetime of wireless sensors. Thus, we recommend Mobile sink improved energy-efficient PEGASIS-based routing protocol (MIEEPB); a multi-chain model having a sink mobility, to achieve proficient energy utilization of wireless sensors. As the motorized movement of mobile sink is steered by petrol or current, there is a need to confine this movement within boundaries and the trajectory of mobile sink should be fixed. In our technique, the mobile sink moves along its trajectory and stays for a sojourn time at sojourn location to guarantee complete data collection. We develop an algorithm for trajectory of mobile sink. We ultimately perform wide-ranging experiments to assess the performance of the proposed method. The results reveal that the proposed way out is nearly optimal and also better than IEEPB in terms of network lifetime.


This paper addresses a core feature of the debt capital markets in general and securitisation transactions in particular; the creation of debt claims with different ranking and priority (also referred to as "tranching"). The primary purpose of the study is to develop an understanding of the contractual ranking of debt as an enforceable legal construction. It is suggested that a more coherent understanding of tranching could foster (i) greater compatibility of insolvency law with financial regulation; (ii) a reduction in unnecessary transaction costs through further standardisation; and (iii) a more level playing field between jurisdictions and different forms of debt finance. I discuss tranching of debt in securitisations as one of many junctures between EU financial market regulation and the realm of local private law. At the same time, tranching highlights the elusive distinction between contracts that are valid and binding inter partes, and those that purport to affect third parties. These are vast topics, and even more daunting when taken together. The focus on securitisation and tranching therefore offers an opportunity to study fractions of these issues by virtue of the limited context. The paper is organised as follows. After an introduction of the subject matter and theoretical foundations, it investigates the element of tranching by first looking at the term as it emerges in the Securitisation Regulation ((EU) 2017/2402). It then looks at how the ranking of a tranche of debt securities plays into the rules on capital adequacy in a securitisation context. The notions of tranching found in financial regulation do not however include the substantive rules that apply to the creation of an enforceable priority ladder between investors. That task is still left to domestic insolvency, contract, and property law. Moving therefore beyond the definitions and usages of tranching in EU regulatory sources, the paper analyses how tranches of debt with different priority are created in actual transactions. Based on public transaction documents and domestic legal sources from three EU jurisdictions (France, Germany and the Netherlands) and the UK, it analyses the building blocks used to create enforceable contracts on the ranking of debt. This is followed by concluding remarks, including a suggested common approach for evaluating enforceability of an agreed payment waterfall across jurisdictions. By disentangling the elements of public STS transactions that are used to ensure enforceability of an agreed payment order, this study provides a starting point for finding paths in domestic law that allows legal certainty in relation to the ranking of notes.


Background: Disorders of the musculoskeletal system can affect the functions of the body's movers consisting of bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue. Acupuncture therapy began to develop with various types of micro acupuncture that began to be widely applied, such as the Korean Hand Therapy technique. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of acupuncture methods or techniques in elderly patients who experience musculoskeletal pain. Methods: This type of research is Quasi Experimental. The location of the study was at the Posyandu Elderly Ngemplak Boyolali in March-May 2019. The population is elderly musculoskeletal pain by 50 people. A sample of 30 people was divided into 3 treatment groups. Data analysis using the Anova Test. Results: Significance results> 0.05 so it can be concluded that Ho is accepted, Ha is rejected, meaning there is no difference in the method of therapy in reducing pain. Conclusion: The Most Effective Method for Overcoming Musculoskeletal Pain in this Study There was no difference between the Acupuncture Therapy Group, the Korean Hand Therapy Group and the Combined Acupuncture Therapy Group and the Korean Hand therapy.


Past work on relatively small, single-site studies using regional volumetry, and more recently machine learning methods, has shown that widespread structural brain abnormalities are prominent in schizophrenia. However, to be clinically useful, structural imaging biomarkers must integrate high-dimensional data and provide reproducible results across clinical populations and on an individual person basis. Using advanced multi-variate analysis tools and pooled data from case-control imaging studies conducted at 5 sites (941 adult participants, including 440 patients with schizophrenia), a neuroanatomical signature of patients with schizophrenia was found, and its robustness and reproducibility across sites, populations, and scanners, was established for single-patient classification. Analyses were conducted at multiple scales, including regional volumes, voxelwise measures, and complex distributed patterns. Single-subject classification was tested for single-site, pooled-site, and leave-site-out generalizability. Regional and voxelwise analyses revealed a pattern of widespread reduced regional gray matter volume, particularly in the medial prefrontal, temporolimbic and peri-Sylvian cortex, along with ventricular and pallidum enlargement. Multivariate classification using pooled data achieved a cross-validated prediction accuracy of 76% (AUC = 0.84). Critically, the leave-site-out validation of the detected schizophrenia signature showed accuracy/AUC range of 72-77%/0.73-0.91, suggesting a robust generalizability across sites and patient cohorts. Finally, individualized patient classifications displayed significant correlations with clinical measures of negative, but not positive, symptoms. Taken together, these results emphasize the potential for structural neuroimaging data to provide a robust and reproducible imaging signature of schizophrenia. A web-accessible portal is offered to allow the community to obtain individualized classifications of magnetic resonance imaging scans using the methods described herein.


The reuse of process water in paper mills causes increase in the concentration of contaminants such as dissolved and colloidal substances (DCS) and electrolyte in the suspension. In this study, the effect of these materials on the retention of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) was investigated. The cationic microgels (CMG) with low charge density and cross-linked structure were compared to linear poly-DADMAC with higher charge density in the different model white water systems (WWS) including different concentrations of DCS and electrolyte. The results indicated that the main mechanism behind PCC retention for these two kinds of polyelectrolyte was patch-type electrostatic interaction in less and medium contaminated WWSs. On the other hand, a nonionic interaction was found in the highly contaminated WWS. It was also determined that PCC retention decreased with increasing contaminant concentration. CMG2 was less influenced by the contaminants because it had lower charge density and more stable and cross...


An increasing number of researchers are exploring variations of the Concealed Knowledge Test (CKT) as alternatives to traditional 'lie-detector' tests. For example, the response times (RT)-based CKT has been previously shown to accurately detect participants who possess privileged knowledge. Although several studies have reported successful RT-based tests, they have focused on verbal stimuli despite the prevalence of photographic evidence in forensic investigations. Related studies comparing pictures and phrases have yielded inconsistent results. The present work compared an RT-CKT using verbal phrases as stimuli to one using pictures of faces. This led to equally accurate and efficient tests using either stimulus type. Results also suggest that previous inconsistent findings may be attributable to study procedures that led to better memory for verbal than visual items. When memory for verbal phrases and pictures were equated, we found nearly identical detection accuracies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The skilled technical workforce (STW) comprises workers in occupations that require significant science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) skills but not a bachelor's degree for entry. The United States had over 17 million STW workers in 2017, and is expected to be short about 3.4 million workers who are qualified for the available STW positions by 2022. Despite the important contribution of the STW to the U.S. economy, the policy discourse on the STEM workforce has largely focused on workers with bachelor's or graduate degrees, overlooking those without a 4-year degree. Consequently, knowledge about the STW is limited. This paper draws on a recently available national data source to provide a close look at STW workers through the lens of U.S. undergraduates who joined the STW after college. Multivariate results indicate that students who held STW jobs after college fared better than those who held nontechnical jobs on a range of employment outcomes, including salary, access to workforce benefits, alignment between college majors and intended careers, and job satisfaction. Multivariate analyses also confirmed that graduating from a less-than-4-year institution, earning a subbaccalaureate credential, and majoring in STEM, healthcare, and such technical fields as manufacturing, construction, repair, and transportation are common paths to STW careers. Despite the benefits of STW employment, however, relatively few students pursued STW jobs after college. Significantly fewer female than male students and fewer Black than White students pursued STW jobs, even after controlling for such factors as major field, type of last institution, STEM credits, and educational attainment. However, post-college STW participation did not differ between Hispanic and White students or vary by students' family income or their parents' education attainment. protective


It is undoubtedly true that the development of a country depends on the exploitation of these resources. In the case of Madagascar's Island, it is home to countless natural biological and mineral resources. Yet the island is underexplored, with most of the country's geological data dating from the 1950s. The use of modern technologies in mineral exploration and research facilitates and gives us many advantages. The time and investment cost will be less, but the results are reliable depending on the procedures to be followed in the processing, analysis and interpretation of the data acquired. By using ENVI software for ASTER and Landsat8 images, Index  calculation of certain minerals, color composite and band ratio of the different spectral bands are the methods adopted to see the spatial distribution of gold deposits available in the study area located in the Betsiriry region in the western part of Madagascar. Field survey for verification is always recommended after software treatment, data analyses and interpretation.

 Key words: Geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing, gold, betsiriry, index calculation.


In this paper a model for the evolution of society based on the principles of communicative links formation is suggested and modified. One of the main principles of links formation suggested is closely related to altruism, the other to selfishness. The numerical study of the model and its modifications has revealed that the selfish strategy is more robust. Although the altruistic society, under the same environmental conditions, is able to achieve a higher level of prosperity and seems to be in some sense, more rational. Eventually underlying laws of evolution lead to a dominant role of the selfish.


A data reproducing device comprises reproducing means for reproducing data stored on a recording medium, a first storing means for storing data copied from the recording medium, and for decoding from said first memory means decoding data read out apparatus, when a reproduction point of data from a recording medium of the reproducing means is discontinuously shifted, for storing a bit of data is written to the first memory means a second storage means , and corresponding to the data writing position stored in the second memory means, for controlling the readout from the read first data storage means control means.


Questions on community question answering websites usually reflect one of two intents: learning information or starting a conversation. In this paper, we revisit this fundamental classification task of informational versus conversational questions, which was originally introduced and studied in 2009. We use a substantially larger dataset of archived questions from Yahoo Answers, which includes the question»s title, description, answers, and votes. We replicate the original experiments over this dataset, point out the common and different from the original results, and present a broad set of characteristics that distinguish the two question types. We also develop new classifiers that make use of additional data types, advanced machine learning, and a large dataset of unlabeled data, which achieve enhanced performance.


In an attempt to increase opportunity and quality of life for people in poverty, governments and non-government organisations (NGOs) sell and donate products to developing countries. Typically these are essential household items such as cookstoves, water filters, and solar lighting. However, to date there has been limited research into the uptake and long term effectiveness of these products. To overcome this problem and provide guidance to future and existing designers and NGOs an assessment framework has been created consisting of eight critical indicators for product success. These indicators have been identified from a literature review, the analysis of 63 products and 18 interviews with product designers and NGOs. The results have been presented in an easy to use assessment web which can assist designers in the design process and ensure that products designed for these markets are long-lasting and effective.


In the present study, we tested the level of aggression of monodomous and polydomous colonies of the wood ant Formica pratensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with a behavioral assay in nature and laboratory conditions to see if the ants from neighboring colonies are more tolerant or more aggressive to each other than those from greater distances. We also tested how context (nature and laboratory conditions) affected aggression. Our results showed that the monodomous colonies were highly aggressive to all neighboring or nonneighboring conspecifics in nature irrespective of the spatial distance. The polydomous colony showed no aggression towards neighboring conspecifics but the level of aggression increased with increasing spatial distance between the colonies. The level of aggression of tested colonies in laboratory conditions was significantly low, irrespective of whether they were monodomous or polydomous, indicating that aggression is context dependent. A DNA barcoding technique based on mitochondrial COI gene sequencing was applied to determine the genetic relatedness between the colonies. The results of the genetic analysis, in combination with results of behavioral assays, revealed that aggression behavior of the polydomous colony was affected by both the genetic relatedness and the spatial distance between the colonies while there was no clear separation of effects of genetic relatedness and spatial distance on aggression in the monodomous colonies.


Consider the problem of predicting in real time the next value of a random quantity x/spl ges/0 from past observations. We present a flexible solution to this problem, a dynamic Bayesian model which represents the probability distribution of x by a mixture of gamma distributions /spl Sigma//sub i/c/sub i/G(z|a/sub i/, b/sub i/). Whenever a new observation on x becomes available, the model updates its estimates of the parameters a/sub i/, b/sub i/, and c/sub i/. It also contains a monitoring mechanism that allows it to react quickly to major changes in the behavior of the input and to adjust itself when its predictions become unsatisfactory. Numerous examples are given, which illustrate the difference between static and dynamic models, and show that the mixture form is flexible enough to represent adequately a variety of inputs, even if their distributions are very different from the gamma.


The multidrug resistance plasmid TP228 replicates at low copy number in Escherichia coli. Stable partitioning of this plasmid is mediated by three essential components: a ParA homologue, ParF; a centromere binding protein, ParG; and a centromere site, parH. ParF and ParG jointly assemble on the parH centromere forming the segrosome complex, and thereby direct intracellular plasmid transport. ParG belongs to the ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) class of dimeric DNA binding proteins. ParG specifically binds the parH site and also is a transcriptional repressor of the parFG genes. Previous studies demonstrated that unstructured N-terminal tails in ParG are not important for dimerization. Instead the tails are implicated in assembly of higher order nucleoprotein complexes essential for transcriptional repression and segrosome assembly, and also influence ParF nucleotide hydrolysis and polymerization. In this study we defined the role of residues in the RHH folded domain that are crucial for ParG dimerization and function. To achieve our goal the two ?-helices, the intervening loop, and two C-terminal residues were analyzed fully by alanine scanning mutagenesis. Initially, ParG mutants were constructed and assessed for effects on normal plasmid partition activity and on dimerization. In vivo segregation assays and bacterial two-hybrid studies revealed mutation of residues F49 in ?-helix 1 and W71 and L72 in ?-helix 2 of ParG each resulted in defective plasmid partition activity and impaired dimerization. In vitro chemical cross-linking of purified proteins ParG-F49A, ParG-W71A and ParG-L72A demonstrated predominant monomeric species whereas wild-type ParG formed dimeric species as noted previously. Multiangle light scattering and sedimentation equilibrium analysis of the mutant proteins showed shifts in molar mass towards monomeric species with increased Kd values for dimerization. Protein-DNA interactions studied by gel retardation assays showed impaired interactions of ParG-F49A, ParG-W71A and ParG-L72A with parH. Results of conserved substitutions at position 71 showed that aromatic substitutions of W71 to Y71 or F71 are tolerated and have no apparent effects on ParG mediated plasmid segregation, but the non-aromatic W71L mutation blocked the segregation. However, a ParG double mutant bearing the ?reversed? amino acid pair (W71L-A52Y) retained plasmid segregation activity and behaved like wild-type ParG in dimerization assays in vitro and in vivo. Thus, substitution of W71 by tyrosine or phenylalanine does not disturb the monomer-monomer interface interactions that pack ?-helix 2 from one monomer against residues of ?-helix 1 and ?-helix 2 of the partner monomer. Moreover, the permissible amino acid combinations at interacting positions 52 and 71 in ParG show significant flexibility and reveal key roles for these residues in function and dimerization of ParG. Overall, our in vivo and in vitro interaction studies provide novel information about the role of hydrophobic residues F49, W71 and L72 in ParG dimerization and activity. In the longer term, interference with dimerization by ParG and other centromere binding proteins using artificial ligands may provide a novel strategy for destabilization of antibiotic multiresistance plasmids.


Car traffic is one of the biggest problems faced by sustainable development in the Brussels Region. While the debate regarding the use of cars in the city is important, noise pollution caused by goods vehicles is mentioned much less often. They are responsible for 25% of CO2 emissions, 33% of PM2.5 emissions and up to 32% of PM 10 emissions caused by road transport in the capital. Given that a significant increase in freight transport is predicted, it is necessary to examine this lesser known aspect of mobility in Brussels. The aim of this article is therefore to establish a diagnosis of freight transport in Brussels. The different available sources are brought together in order to better understand the sector's dynamics. Some of the solutions implemented in the Region to improve the sustainability of delivery operations are also presented.


This volume reviews virtually everything that is known about cell motility and behavior in Chlamydomonas. World experts in each area focus on mitosis and cytokinesis; flagellar assembly and motility; intraflagellar transport, and more will use this reference as a guide for understanding human diseases of the cilium. The volume is richly illustrated and is supplemented by a Website containing both classic and previously unpublished videos of cell motility in Chlamydomonas. Because Chlamydomonas has been the premier model for investigating the function and behavior of cilia and flagella, the chapters summarize the current state of knowledge in these areas as it applies to all ciliated organisms. Thus, this volume will be an essential source for all students and researchers interested in cell motility. This volume is part of a 3-Volume Set (ISBN: 978-0-12-370873-1) and is also sold individually. * Includes a table listing the known proteins (with NCBI accession numbers) for each structure discussed, and the known mutations that affect each structure and process * Essential reference to a model species for the study of mechanisms of motility in free living cells * Includes methods for Chlamydomonas motility research. * Companion Website with videos illustrates the marvels of the Chlamydomonas flagella in action


Global health continues to face increasing challenges owing to a variety of reasons that include the almost constant changes in disease appearance and evolution. Most, but not all, of these changes affect low-income countries and are influenced by climate change. Tracking the recent and anticipated changes in the demographics and global distribution of these changes is essential for evolving effective new methods for dealing with the problems. The recent recognition by the United Nations of the importance of non-communicable diseases is a major positive step. For the sake of this paper, the following diseases were chosen: dengue and malaria, to highlight the role of climate change on vector-borne diseases. Drug-resistant tuberculosis illustrates the role of globalization and reduced resources on disease evolution. The continuing rise in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, particularly in resource-poor countries is largely attributed to lack of preventive and therapeutic measures against such conditions as hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis and congenital heart disease as well as neglected diseases, of which Chagas and rheumatic heart disease will be discussed further.


Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate coaches' views on developing leadership and shared leadership capacity in particular in competitive youth football. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative examination focusses on the leadership philosophy of ten male coaches at the sub-elite competitive level in youth football in The Netherlands and applies the theory of shared leadership to examine coaches' views on developing leadership capacity. Findings Only few coaches have a clear philosophy on the development of leadership in general and/or shared leadership in particular. Most coaches do not have a distinct view on how to involve players in the team processes. Shared leadership development in youth teams occurs occasionally but can be implemented more intentionally. Research limitations/implications Although this study lacks generalizability, coaches' views are required in understanding how shared leadership is to be developed in youth sport. Practical implications For implementing shared leadership in football purposefully, a clear view on the development of youth is required, whereas coaches need to be taught, how to involve the individual players in team processes such as decision-making. In addition, leadership development in sport may have the potential of transfer of skills to other domains. Social implications Learning shared leadership at a young age by athletes can have a positive influence on relationships in teams on micro-level and might have an impact on meso-level within a football club because of its social constructionist approach. Originality/value This study is one of the first to apply shared leadership at the micro-level of competitive youth football making use of football coaches' view.


Exception handling in a multi-agent system (MAS) has not been well addressed compared to other software engineering paradigms. This results in part from the lack of a comprehensive classification of exceptions in MAS. The interaction between agents presents exceptions that cannot be addressed by the exception handling techniques used in traditional software engineering systems due to the introduction of the notions of sociability and autonomy. This paper attempts to provide an insight of agent exceptions by dividing them into three levels, namely environmental, knowledge and social level. The use of a temporal dimension in the form of explicit deadlines in communicative acts is presented as a means of clarifying and facilitating exception analysis at a social level. Comments are made on related work and areas for further work are identified.


INTRODUCTION
Debridement and control of wound drainage are critical for managing patients with extensive traumatic wounds because wound infection can result in sepsis and further complications.

CASE REPORT
The authors report the case of a 19-year-old woman with an extensive crush/degloving injury to her right lower limb that was treated with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with a reticulated open-cell foam dressing. The patient received 2 treatments of sharp debridement and vacuum drainage using wall suction and polyvinyl alcohol dressings. Her respiratory failure, sepsis, and septic shock continued to worsen, and she could not tolerate anesthesia. On post admission day 9, after simple debridement where only superficial necrosis tissue was debrided without anesthesia, NPWT was applied for 5 days and removed about 8500 mL of exudate the first day and 6000 mL on the second. After 5 days, her wound began to improve, granulation tissue formed, no necrotic tissues were visible, and vital signs were stable. On day 14, she underwent anesthesia, surgical debridement, and application of NPWT for an additional 5 days. Following autologous skin grafting on day 19, she was removed from the ventilator (which was started on day 3). The extensive wound was effectively closed; she recovered satisfactorily. There was no patient follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
In this case, NPWT, in continuous mode at -125 mm Hg, effectively removed exudate after simple debridement in a patient who could not tolerate anesthesia.


Recently, lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) have attracted intense interest as promising active materials for optoelectronic devices. However, their extensive applications are still hampered by poor stability under ambient conditions. Oleic acid and oleylamine are the most commonly used ligands in colloidal CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, and I) synthesis. Oleylamine plays a dual role as it stabilizes the surface but in the long run or post-synthesis, it may disturb the colloidal stability due to facile proton exchange leading to the formation of labile oleylammonium halide, which detaches the halide ions from the NC surface. To address these issues, herein, we report an open-atmospheric, facile, efficient, and completely amine-free synthesis of cesium lead bromide perovskite nanocrystals using a novel bromine precursor, bromopropane, which is inexpensive and available at hand. The reaction mechanism follows a trioctylphosphine/oleic acid-mediated surface passivation route that provides an amine-free reaction environment to stabilize ligand capping on the NC surface. Uniform, highly monodisperse NCs of size ∼29 nm were obtained. The as-synthesized NCs have a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of around 80%, and especially, exhibited strong stability under ambient conditions and continuous UV irradiation. The PLQY can maintain 83% of the initial one even after 120 days. Furthermore, after 96 h of continuous irradiation under UV light at 365 nm (8 W cm-2) under open ambient conditions, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity showed retention of 68% of its original value with no significant changes in the full width at half-maximum, whereas the amine-based sample retains only 5% of its original PL intensity. Furthermore, we have utilized these NCs to fabricate stable down-converted LED devices. The present work demonstrated the synthesis of ultra-stable CsPbBr3 NCs that can be an ideal candidate for display applications.


Analysis of C-band heterochromatin (CBH) and cold-induced secondary constrictions (CICs) indicates that gynogenetic triploidy in the Ambystomajeffersonianum complex is a cytogenetic consequence of hybridization between the two diploid species, A. jeffersonianum and A. laterale. The key feature in the history of this complex was the apparent proclivity for germ-line chromosome reduplication, and incidental production of chromosomally unreduced ova, allowing the circumvention of meiotic difficulties in diploid hybrid females. Chromosome structure, in terms of CBH and CICs, the mechanism of sex determination (dominant W, female heterogametic), and a recognizable WZ female/ZZ male sex chromosome heteromorphism in the diploid species A. laterale, are cytogenetic factors that allow reconstruction of the probable evolutionary history of the complex. The constitution of the triploid karyotypes suggests that the putative ancestral hybrid diploid females resulted from a mating between female A. jeffersonianum and male A. laterale, and that when such a hybrid female backcrossed to normal males of A. jeffersonianum and A. laterale, both kinds of allotriploids, A. platineum and A. tremblayi respectively, were produced. Karyological differentiation in each triploid species suggests that their origin was relatively recent and virtually simultaneous. It is conceivable that only one such hybrid female gave rise to both kinds of allotriploids in just one or two breeding seasons, and that present geographic distributions are due to persistent post-glaciation migrations of the resulting triploid clones. All offspring from such a backcross carried a jeffersonianum W-chromosome and hence were female as well as triploid, and probably continued to produce chromosomally unreduced (triploid) ova by the same mechanism that operated in their hybrid mother. Sperm rejection resulting in gynogenesis in the allotriploids can be viewed as a physiological response to "pseudopolyspermy" by the chromosomally unreduced triploid ova. Evidence is presented that one of the triploid species, A. platineum, may produce a high percentage of diploid offspring with karyotypes identical to A, jeffersonianum. Diploids have not * Dedicated to my mentor and valued friend, James Kezer 0009-5915/82/0084/0599/$04.60


Cities across Canada should consider new and innovative approaches to financing their share of infrastructure spending, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In "Tapping the Land: Tax Increment Financing of Infrastructure," author Adam Found shows how cities could use tax increment financing (TIF) to finance infrastructure ranging from sports arenas to public transit.


Problem statement: The use of a mediation model for understanding the mediating impact of work-family conflict on the relationship between role overload and emotional exhaustion has not been given much attention. Approach: This study tested a mediation model consisting of emotional exhaustion as the dependent variable and role overload as the independent variable, with work-family conflict as its mediator. Data were gathered from a sample of 220 female junior physicians aged 40 years and below, having at least one child as well as working full-time in 14 public hospitals in Malaysia, using self-administered questionnaires. The data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Results: Results of correlation analyses revealed that role overload was significantly related to work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion and work-family conflict was significantly related to emotional exhaustion. Results of a series of multiple regression analyzed indicated that work-family conflict partially mediated the relationship between role overload and emotional exhaustion. Conclusion/Recommendations: Junior physicians who experience role overload seem to be more emotionally drained and seem to experience greater conflict between work and family roles. There is a need to reduce the role overload that physicians experience by reviewing the ratio between physicians and patients and re-assessing the number of work hours and the weekly frequency of on-calls. Limiting on-call frequency and hours may be more likely to reduce work-family conflict as well as emotional exhaustion.


Local symmetry breaking in complex materials is emerging as an important contributor to materials properties but is inherently difficult to study. Here we follow up an earlier structural observation of such a local symmetry broken phase in the technologically important compound PbTe with a study of the lattice dynamics using inelastic neutron scattering (INS). We show that the lattice dynamics are responsive to the local symmetry broken phase, giving key insights in the behavior of PbTe, but also revealing INS as a powerful tool for studying local structure. The new result is the observation of the unexpected appearance upon warming of a new zone center phonon branch in PbTe. In a harmonic solid the number of phonon branches is strictly determined by the contents and symmetry of the unit cell. The appearance of the new mode indicates a crossover to a dynamic lower symmetry structure with increasing temperature. No structural transition is seen crystallographically, but the appearance of the new mode in inelastic neutron scattering coincides with the observation of local Pb off-centering dipoles observed in the local structure. The observation resembles relaxor ferroelectricity, but since there are no inhomogeneous dopants in pure PbTe this anomalous behavior is an intrinsic response of the system. We call such an appearance of dipoles out of a nondipolar ground-state "emphanisis" meaning the appearance out of nothing. It cannot be explained within the framework of conventional phase transition theories such as soft-mode theory and challenges our basic understanding of the physics of materials.


Forage legumes have the potential to contribute substantially to warm-season, subtropical and tropical pastures and rangelands. Compared to grasses, they have advantages in accessing subsoil nutrients and moisture; legumes typically concentrate protein in forage, even in infertile soils, and they can also provide ruminants with plant proteins and soluble carbohydrates that increase digestibility of grasses when consumed in legume–grass mixtures. Yet their inclusion in warm-season, subtropical or tropical pasture seed mixes or rangeland rehabilitation is minimal considering the percentage of grasslands coverage in these regions. Why have past diligent attempts failed to develop the germplasm, agronomic techniques, dissemination and ultimate widespread acceptance by land managers in regions where these legumes are widely adapted? Successful forage legume reports indicate that farmers' participation in technology development, persistence with minimal management, adequate seed supply following release of new varieties, meeting recognised needs, delivery of clear benefits and profits, and communication among researchers, extension and stakeholders are crucial. Current and future research and development programs based on limited past successes and widespread failures should enhance successful commercial use of warm-season, subtropical and tropical forage legumes.


The Hongniu-Hongshan Cu skarn deposit (77.8 Mt at 1.8% Cu) is located in the central part of the Zhongdian porphyry and skarn Cu belt in southwestern China. Skarn and orebodies occur mainly between the different units of the Upper Triassic Qugasi Formation or within altered limestone adjacent to Late Cretaceous intrusions (78–76 Ma). Three main paragenetic stages of skarn formation and ore deposition have been recognized on the basis of petrographic observations: (1) pre-ore-stage hornfels with diopside (Di87–72Hd12–7), small-scale endoskarn with reddish grossular (Adr22–57Gr78–43), diopside (Di83–92Hd7–15), vesuvianite, and abundant exoskarn with red-brown andradite (Adr75–98Gr2–22), sahlite (Di28–41Hd58–71), and wollastonite; (2) syn-ore-stage retrograde minerals, sulfides (pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, molybdenite, galena, and sphalerite), quartz, and calcite; and (3) post-ore-stage calcite veins. Sulfur isotope values of sulfides are relatively high, with an average δ 34S = 4.9‰ (n = 40), suggesting that the ore-forming fluid was magmatic and that the sulfides precipitated from a relatively reducing ore fluid.

The coexistence of silicate melt and primary fluid inclusions in quartz phenocrysts of the mineralization-related quartz monzonite porphyry indicates the simultaneous entrapment of fluid and melt, and records the process of the aqueous fluid exsolving from the crystallizing melt. The initial single-phase fluid has a salinity of 8.8 to 12.7 wt % NaCl equiv and homogenization temperatures of 566° to 650°C, corresponding to pressures of 680 to 940 bar and lithostatic depth of 2.5 to 3.5 km. The primary fluid inclusions in the pre-ore-stage garnet and pyroxene composed of coeval vapor-rich (V type) and halite-bearing (S-I and S-II types containing sylvite) inclusions (32–>79 total wt % salts) share similar homogenization temperatures (450°–550°C), indicative of the occurrence of fluid unmixing under lithostatic pressures of ~550 to 780 bar (>2.0-km depth). Primary fluid inclusions trapped in syn-ore quartz, calcite, and epidote show the common development of S-type inclusions (~37.3 wt % NaCl equiv) with coexisting V-type, liquid-rich (L type), and CO2-bearing (C-I type) inclusions, all of which have homogenization temperatures of 300° to 400°C and trapping pressures of 100 to 400 bar (~1.5-km depth). Brine inclusions homogenized by halite dissolution after vapor disappearance in both the pre- and syn-ore stages are interpreted to have been trapped under overpressured conditions (>1,520 bar).

Oxygen isotope analyses were conducted on garnet, wollastonite, epidote, quartz, and calcite. The pre-ore-stage garnet and wollastonite have δ 18Ofluid values of 5.6 to 8.1‰, whereas the syn-ore-stage epidote, quartz, and calcite have more variable δ 18Ofluid values in the range of 3.9 to 17.5‰. The δ 18Ofluid values of the post-ore-stage vein calcite (15.2–21.3‰) are much higher than both the pre- and syn-ore stages. The vapor phase of inclusions contains H2S, CH4, and C2H6 in the syn-ore stages. All these observations reveal that (1) the formation of the Cu skarn deposit was dominated by a magmatic hydrothermal system, (2) multiple fluid pulses contributed to the formation of the pre- and syn-ore-stage skarn minerals and sulfides, and (3) the increase in pH due to the neutralization of the acidic fluid could be the main factor controlling the large-scale ore deposition in Hongniu-Hongshan.


The ultimate goal of remote sensing image processing is to analyze and interpret the image. The classification is the most basic question of remote sensing image information extraction. Object-oriented classification is proposed in recent years, whose image classification is based on image segmentation. This paper introduces the spatial pyramid matching kernel method (SPM) for feature extraction, the segmentation algorithm uses mean shift, and the classifier is support vector machines(SVM). Taking a piece of land in southern California for example, we do two experiments, including our approach and a comparing test .Comparing the results, we can see that the object-oriented classification of remote sensing image which based on SPM feature extraction can greatly improve the accuracy.


An encryption scheme is proposed that considers hierarchies in media, such as text, images, sound, and so on, in a composite multimedia content to enable versatile access control. In the proposed scheme, a content provider has only one managed key (the master key) for a particular multimedia content, and an user who is permitted to access a reserved content objects in the composite content receives only one key that is subordinately generated from the master key. The key generated from the identical master key is delivered to another user, and this permits the user to access different objects. This scheme introduces a new key concept, namely "unusable key", to keep all objects encrypted in a particular medium and to simultaneously decrypt several objects in other media. The other new key, "numbering key," is also used in this scheme to support simultaneous partial decryption of multiple images that are coded with scalable coding technology. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


With specific reference to the spread of non-traditional forms of spirit possession, this article explores the growing influence of the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda upon the Brazilian new religion of Santo Daime. The following material opens by introducing Santo Daime and plotting the historical trajectory of spirit possession from the movement's beginnings in 1930s' Brazil, to its spread to various parts of the industrialized world. Subsequent to detailing the contemporary spirit possession repertoire of Santo Daime, the article offers a typology of the most prominent kinds of spirit possession practiced by Santo Daime. The article closes by relating the increasing popularity of Umbanda-inspired possession motifs to the growing influence of a white, urban-professional constituency imbued with typically late-modern concerns.


A general equation governing the evolution of number density of microdamage in the phase space has been derived previously, based on the concept of ideal microdamage. The phase space consists of necessary mesoscopic variables describing the state of microdamage. In the cases of parallel penny-shaped microcracks and spherical microvoids, two independent variables, that is, their current and initial sizes, play a significant role in the evolution. This paper focuses on the two-dimensional (current and initial sizes) version of the equation and its solution. These results constitute a basis for the understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing damage evolution. Experimental techniques dealing with the statistical evolution of microcracks under impact and fatigue loadings are reported. These include specimen design, testing methods providing multifrozen stages of microdamage evolution, counting of microdamage, etc. Data processing, especially the conversion from sectional counting to volumetric distribution of microdamage, is provided. In this way, the microdamage evolution is measured. As applications to the damage evolution under impact loading, two inverse problems are discussed, that is, nucleation and growth rates are deduced from the measured data of statistical evolution of microcracks. Another application is the prediction of the evolution of continuum damage in terms of nucleation rate, n N , and microdamage front, c f D j = α ∫ ∞ 0 c i f (t, c 0 ; σ)n N (c 0 ; σ)dc 0 This expression concisely links continuum damage evolution to its underlying mesoscopic dynamics. This approach can be effective until a cascade of coalescence of microdamages leads to an evolution-induced catastrophe-a critical failure.


ABSTRACTAt the end of the undergraduate nursing course, the primacy of any trainee is to practice the profession for which he has been preparing for four or five years. However, very often, the graduates are faced with an unfavorable scenario in a job market saturated with professionals trained in search of the first opportunity and, consequently, this scenario is increasingly demanding. Along with this panorama, it is added the inexperience and the natural insecurity of those who have just graduated. On the other hand, many graduates, postgraduates, and experienced professionals who are already in the labor market, live, day after day, another type of insecurity – generated by the instability of the bargaining relations of work, increasingly tenuous. Despite the different perspectives, lived at different moments of the professional career, the way to reach the goal of differentiation in the nursing area is the same: focus, dedication, study, preparation, and perseverance.


BACKGROUND
Recent studies showed that sushi repeat containing protein X linked 2 (SRPX2) could participate in the development of various malignant tumors. However, its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was unknown. The aim of the study was to prospectively investigate the role of SRPX2 in NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion and reveal the underlying mechanism.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry - IHC) were used to measure detect the mRNA and protein levels, respectively, in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, wound healing and transwell assays were utilized to assess cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In vivo subcutaneous xenograft tumor model was established to detect the tumorigenic function of SRPX2, and IHC assay was performed to measure protein expression.

RESULTS
SRPX2 expression was upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and positively correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and clinical stage. High SRPX2 expression also predicted poor prognosis. In vitro experiments indicated that overexpression of SRPX2 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SPC-A1 cells while knockdown of SRPX2 caused the opposite effects in A549 cells. Specifically, SRPX2 activated FAK/SRC/ERK pathway and its downstream effectors and promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

CONCLUSION
Taken together, our findings revealed a functional role of SRPX2 in NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The underlying mechanism was, at least partially, the activation of FAK/SRC/ERK pathway. This study provides the molecular basis for targeting SRPX2 in potential clinical application for NSCLC.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the impact of task-based instruction (TBI) and traditional instruction (TI) on the motivation and vocabulary development in secondary language education. The focus of the study was to also find out the perceptions of teachers about implementing these two instructional methods in their teaching practices. The participants were 97 students and 2 teachers engaged in the 7th grade EFL program at a private school in Istanbul, Turkey. Data was collected quantitatively from a vocabulary check test and motivation scale, as well as qualitatively from semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that implementing TBI had positive impact on students' vocabulary development as well as their motivation. In line with these findings, it was also suggested that teachers perceived TBI to be a more effective method to be incorporated in secondary grade language practices. Based on the gathered findings, suggestions for redesigning and implementing the existing 7th grade EFL program were provided.


The primary mechanism of the biological effect of ionizing radiation has been known for more than 50 years: it is damage to DNA. In pharmaco-toxicological terms DNA is the "receptor" for radiation effects. Despite this knowledge, the current model for predicting or explaining health effects in populations exposed to internal exposures relies only upon quantifying radiation as average energy transfer to large masses of human tissue with no consideration whatever of the ionization density at the DNA relative to cytoplasm or non-DNA regions. This approach is equivalent to describing all chemical toxicological effects in terms of Mass and is clearly absurd.
The concept of Radiochemical Genotoxicity is presented whereby biochemical affinity of internal radionuclides for DNA confers an excess genetic hazard which can be assessed. The most directly measurable effects of radiation exposure are heritable effects detectable around birth. Data enabling the development of a risk coefficient for internal exposures to Uranium fissionproducts is already available. By directly employing a meta-analysis of more than 19 epidemiological studies of post-Chernobyl birth outcomes in 10 different countries affected by contamination from Chernobyl a generalized risk coefficient for heritable damage is obtained. It is shown that the dose response is biphasic due to death of the foetus before term. The resulting coefficient is 20 per mSv internal exposure. Application of the new factor to the radionuclide exposures occurring during the period of atmospheric test contamination predicts the increases in infant mortality reported in the literature. The philosophical and ethical aspects are briefly discussed together with an account of the legal position in Europe.


Background: Patients with melanoma can present with a hemorrhagic intracranial lesion. Upon resection, pathology reports may not detect any malignant cells. However, the hemorrhage may obscure their presence and so physicians may still decide whether adjuvant radiotherapy should be applied. Here, we report on the outcomes of a series of patients with melanoma with hemorrhagic brain lesions that returned with no tumor cells. Methods: All melanoma patients who had craniotomies from 2008 to 2017 at a single institution for hemorrhagic brain lesions were identified through retrospective chart review. Those who had pathology reports with no malignant cells were analyzed. Recurrence at the former site of hemorrhage and resection was the primary outcome. Results: Ten patients met inclusion criteria, and the median follow-up time was 8.5 (1.8–27.3) months. At the time of craniotomy, the median number of brain lesions was 3 (1–25). Two patients had prior craniotomies, eight had prior radiation, and six had prior immunotherapy to the lesion of interest. After surgery, one patient received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to the resection bed. Only one patient developed subsequent melanoma at the resection site; this patient developed the lesion recurrence once and had not received postoperative SRS. Conclusion: Although small foci of metastatic disease as a source of bleeding for some patients cannot be excluded, melanoma patients with a suspected hemorrhagic brain metastasis that shows no tumor cells on pathology may benefit from close observation. The local recurrence risk in such cases appears to be low, even without adjuvant radiation.


Background Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Previous research has shown that mothers of overweight children have difficulty identifying their children as overweight. Objective To determine and evaluate the associations of the actual and maternal perception of the child's weight. Methods A prospective sample of mothers of children aged 2-17 years who presented at two inner-city, university affiliated pediatric clinics were surveyed on whether they thought their child's weight was "just right," "too light," or "too heavy." Mothers were asked to provide their own height and weight as well as that of the child's father if known. Other demographic variables were also collected. The height and weight of each child were measured and the BMI calculated for all three family members. Categories for adult BMI were as follows: < 25 = normal, 25-29.9 = overweight, ≥ 30 = obese. For pediatric BMI, less than 5% = underweight, 85-95% = at risk for overweight, > 95% = overweight. Results The mothers of 504 children were surveyed (79.8% African-American, 91.9% Medicaid, 52.8% male). For mothers, 157 (31%) were overweight and 215 (42.7%) were obese. For fathers, 174 (34.5%) were overweight, 161 (32%) were obese; data for 27 (5%) were not available. For children, 88 (17.5%) were at risk for being overweight, and 113 (22.4%) were overweight. If either mother (OR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.4-3.2, p < .001) or father (OR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.6-3.8, p < .001) was obese, their child was also more likely to be overweight. There was no difference in the accuracy of maternal perception when comparing overweight with nonoverweight children. However, when comparing overweight boys to girls, the boys were less likely to be accurately perceived by their mothers as too heavy (OR = 0.28; 95% CI 0.12-0.67, p = .003). Also, children less than eight years were less likely to be accurately perceived by their mothers (OR = .0451; 95% CI 0.31-0.656, p < .01) as overweight. Conclusions Obesity is a family problem, which may be complicated by inaccurate maternal perceptions. Young and male children are particularly susceptible to inaccurate perceptions. Families should be educated early on the risks and weight status of their children.