In the present study, we have demonstrated that alginate and collagen sponge can act as scaffolds in order to support 3-dimensional structure for the differentiated bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) during chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. The chondrogenic induced BMSCs were well distributed and differentiation in scaffolds system before implantation, then they produced sufficient ECM in the implants to form chondroid aggregates in vivo. In our opinion, well-differentiated BMSCs is a crucial feature of cartilage repair and only can be achieved in scaffold matrix. Furthermore, when dealing with cartilage defects, alginate seem to be superior to collagen sponge, and the combinational strategy of pre-induced BMSCs combined with alginate 3D-culture might be useful in improving conventional autologous cells transplantation or free-cells scaffolds.


Cyclotella iranica sp. nov. is described from the Karaj River, Iran. The morphology of Cyclotella iranica is documented with light and scanning electron micrographs and discussed in comparison with several related species: Cyclotella fottii, C. delicatula, C. andancensis var. adnanensis, C. andancensis var. bauzilensis and C. andancensis var. bipolaira. Cyclotella iranica shares with these related Cyclotella species the following features: unequal stria pattern, one sessile rimoportula and several marginal fultoportulae. It is distinguished from them by the position of central fultoportula(e), which is (are) situated at the central end of the striae. It is known only from the type locality; the autecology of Cyclotella iranica shows that it is tolerant of nutrient and organic enrichment.


Providing a challenging Artificial Intelligent opponent is an important aspect of making video games enjoyable and immersive. A game that is too easy, or conversely too hard may frustrate or bore players. Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment is a method that aims at improving the traditional methods of difficulty selection, by providing an opponent that tailors the challenge it presents to players such that it is at an optimal level for them. This research presents a player evaluation of three different Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment approaches using Monte Carlo Tree Search and measures their impact on player enjoyment, realism and perceived level of difficulty. In particular, it investigates the effect that different win/loss ratios, employed by Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment, have on player enjoyment.


HOUCH YGAMA'NA is a participatory 'design and build' project piloted in 2014 that aims to create age and gender inclusive child-friendly spaces that foster children's imagination and enhance their physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. This paper focuses on the narrative of the project implemented in the Central Public Park of New Damietta, Egypt. The project entailed applying a set of urban and design practices centred around a socially engaging mobile installation all aiming to bring the users of the park from the Egyptian community and newly settled Syrian community together to collaborate in reshaping and developing their outdoor environment with the overarching aim of Integrating the local Syrian population in their host society and linking them to one of the active local associations in the area :Terre Des Hommes . The project is a manifestation of the socio-spatial dimension to placemaking where the produced public space is ''both a product and producer of change''(Gottdiener M., Hutchison R., 2011); as the created space is not only a collaborative effort by the local community, but also a tool within the overall process to achieve the project's overarching goal.


Non-specific low back pain is a serious health and socioeconomic problem because of its frequency, chronicity, recurrence and functional and work restrictions in patients. Frequent absence of cause determination and poor correlation of the symptoms and diagnostics with imaging techniques, primarily magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray, indicate that there is a need for functional assessment in low back pain patients. Functional assessment enables quantitative measurement of functional changes which can be the cause and effect of low back pain and the reason of recurrence and work restrictions. Based on the information gathered by functional evaluation, low back pain prevention procedures can be planned and programmed and therapeutic and rehabilitation procedures can be individualised. Furthermore, functional assessment during the treatment and rehabilitation enable monitoring of the efficacy of different procedures and once the rehabilitation has been completed the evaluation of work ability. Although the significance of functional assessment for successful rehabilitation of patients with low back pain is undeniable, there is no consensus on standardisation of protocol for functional assessment. Defining valid protocols is necessary and an important precondition for a successful treatment and prevention of recurrence and development of chronic non-specific low back pain.


THE EYES, IT'S BEEN SAID, ARE WINDOWS TO THE SOUL. I'd argue that the real portals are the ears.¶ Consider that, at this very moment, a cacophony of biological conversations is blasting through dime-size patches of skin just inside and outside the openings to your ear canals. There, blood is coursing through your veins, its pressure rising and falling as you react to stress and excitement, its levels of oxygen changing in response to the air around you and the way your body is using the air you breathe. Here we can also detect the electrical signals that zip through the cortex as it responds to the sensory information around us. And in that patch of skin itself, changing electrical conductivity signals moments of anticipation and emotional intensity.


Abstract : A comparative analysis of the EI-787 Fe-Cr-Ni base alloy and the EI-437B Ni alloy as materials for turbine disks is presented. The experiments were carried out on two series of four disks each (diameter 402 mm). Two disks in each quartet had a 'normal' profile and the other two, a 'lightweight' profile; one disk in each pair contained eight small (diameter 6 mm) eccentrically aligned orifices serving as stress concentrators. The strength of the disks was evaluated as a function of the residual deformation arising in connection with creep during tests at normal rotational speed (15,500 r.p.m.) during 5 min., 5, 10, 25, 50 hr. (stage 1 of tests), as well as a function of time to fracture during increased rotational speed (19,200 r.p.m.) (stage 2 of tests). In addition, short-time and long-time mechanical properties of both alloys were investigated on specimens cut out from disks and forgings. Findings: The strength of normal-profile disks of both alloys is roughly the same, as is the degree of their deformation. Lightweight-profile disks fractured in the presence of smaller loads (lower rotational speeds) and their deformation reached a greater degree than normal-profile disks; this effect was more pronounced for the EI-437B alloy.


Abstract Background and purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of alternative on-treatment and post-treatment radiographer-led review clinics in an attempt to protect patients, staff and the public. Pre-COVID, patient reviews were routinely undertaken face-to-face, led by therapeutic review radiographers with advanced practice qualifications and skills in radiotherapy symptom management, triage, referral and support services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an alternative option has been to follow-up in the form of telephone reviews to reduce face-to-face exposure whilst continuing to manage patient radiotherapy treatment-related toxicities. The aim of the narrative review is to explore the subject of telephone reviews and how therapeutic review radiographers might need to adapt communication skills so that they can continue to effectively assess and manage radiotherapy patient treatment reactions remotely. Method and discussion: A narrative review was conducted using the SCOPUS database and 28 publications were included from 2013 to 2021. The review highlights a paucity of literature exploring specific telephone training for radiographers and other allied healthcare professionals. Experiences within medical and nursing programmes demonstrate that development and integration of training in this area is critical in preparing for patient interaction via telephone. Conclusion and implications for practice: Multiple teaching modalities including simulation are ideal for teaching telephone-specific skills and content, demonstrating improvement in student knowledge, competence and confidence. Less is known regarding whether this knowledge translates to an improved patient experience. Enhancements in education and training, guided by the Health and Care Professions Council, may be warranted to ensure that patients continue to receive the optimal quality of care in a world where remote reviews are likely to become commonplace. Patient-reported outcome measures might be utilized for future training evaluations to ensure that effective patient care is being maintained.


Discussion on frame and targets as well as management structures for research and development of the German steel industry, Product and research strategies. Specific steel research expenditure in Germany, Example for joint research work. The role of the European Coal and Stee[ Community (ECSC) and of the European framework programmes including remarks about the future of European R&D support.


The motivation of this thesis is given in the introduction, followed by the corresponding background. The second chapter gives the results and discussions in the form of publications. Firstly, dual-mode PL of mixed valence Eu3+/Eu2+ doped glass ceramics are investigated. During the crystallization processes, Eu3+ ions are partially incorporated into crystalline phases, and gradually reduced to Eu2+. It is investigated how to control the blue PL of Eu2+ and red PL of Eu3+ in these glass ceramics. Secondly, tunable IVMn2+/VIMn2+ PL of Li2ZnSiO4 glass ceramics are displayed. The Mn2+ ions are octahedrally coordinated in the SLZAKP glass. After crystallization, Mn2+ can be partially incorporated into the crystalline phase. Consequently, the ratio of IVMn2+/VIMn2+ and the emission color can be tailored by annealing temperature. Thirdly, broadband PL of V5+ doped SLZAKP glasses and corresponding Li2ZnSiO4 glass ceramics are studied. The PL from [VO4]3– is centered at 550–590 nm. After crystallization, a tenfold increase in the emission intensity is observed. Fourthly, broadband NIR PL of VINi2+ doped Ba-Al titanate glass ceramics is investigated. Ni2+ ions are tetrahedrally coordinated in precursor glasses, whereas Ni2+-species are incorporated into the crystalline environment in octahedral sites. The broadband NIR PL of VINi2+ spans the spectral range of 1.0–1.6 μm. Decay kinetics of the emission band can be adjusted. Lastly in this chapter, DC of one blue photon to two NIR photons is obtained from the Pr3+/Yb3+ co-doped SLABS glasses and Mn2+/Yb3+ do-doped Zn2GeO4. Pr3+ ions act as sensitizers by absorbing 415–505 nm photons and transferring the absorbed energy to Yb3+ ions in a cooperative down-conversion process. In the Zn2GeO4 lattice, intrinsic defect transitions and Mn2+ ions act as broadband spectral sensitizers by absorbing UV-Vis photons. The absorbed energy is transferred to Yb3+ ions in a cooperative DC process. The third chapter summarizes the thesis.


Studies of the anorthositic-gabbroic rocks of the Layered Series of the Wichita province, Oklahoma, establish petrologic constraints that suggest the body is an eroded stratiform gabbro complex, originally several kilometres thick, exposed at its approximate midsection. These rocks appear to be genetically unrelated to most of the other igneous rocks of the province. Uplift and erosional removal of several kilometres of upper Layered Series and overburden occurred prior to extrusion of the 500-m.y.-old Carlton Rhyolite and associated Wichita Granite. Time considerations imply a Precambrian age for the Layered Series, the emplacement of which reflects, according to this working hypothesis, a more ancient zone of rifting or crustal weakness, a rejuvenation of which in the Paleozoic evolved as the Southern Oklahoma aulacogen. This association of tholeiitic magmatism with an intracratonic rift system is analogous to the Midcontinent Rift (Duluth gabbro complex) and represents a petrogenesis different from that of the alkaline magmatism commonly found in this tectonic setting.


The aim of this study is to examine the "Knowledge of Student Understanding (KSU)" of pre-service science teachers on "Heat and Temperature" topics. The sample of the research consists of 268 pre-service teachers studying at the 4th grade in the science teaching program of five different universities in Turkey. This research is a case study. The data of the study are collected with "Student Thinking Comprehension Test" and "Interview Form". "Scoring Rubrics for Knowledge of Student Thinking" and "Rubric for Analysis of Interviews" are used for the analysis of data. The data of the research are analyzed descriptively on the basis of these rubrics. The results of the study reveal that the vast majority of pre-service science teachers cannot effectively diagnose the student's inaccurate knowledge that emerges in solving specific problems in "Heat and Temperature" topics. In addition, it is shown that the majority of pre-service science teachers have a little knowledge regarding the difficulties and limitations of students while learning "Heat and Temperature" subjects. According to these results, the KSU of the pre-service science teachers in "Heat and Temperature" topics is insufficient in the process of starting their profession.


We study the design of a sequence of two contests between a pair of identical risk averse employees whose effort choices are private information. It is optimal for the organization to `bias' the second contest in favor of the early winner - the reduction in second-period incentives is outweighed by the increase in first-period incentives. Thus, even though first-period success reflects only transitory shocks and not ability, it is efficient to structure the contests so these shocks have persistent effects on employees' careers.


The efficiency of sorption purification of gases, as measured by an improvement in product quality and/or lowering of its cost, can be significantly increased via simple solutions: the substitution of current getter technology with reactive getters; and stimulation of the material in the sorption process using mechanochemical methods instead of heating or cooling. These ideas were embodied by the authors in new sorption apparatuses and devices such as mechanochemical sorption apparatuses for production of ultra pure gases, improved gas purifiers with reactive sorbent for production of pure and high purity gases and, finally, fluidized bed columns for mass production of pure and high purity gases.


Stomata fulfill an important physiological role and are often phenotyped by researchers in many fields. Currently, no fully automated method exists to perform this task. Researchers typically rely on manual counts of stomata, which is an error-prone method and difficult to reproduce. We introduce StomataCounter, an automated stomata counting system using a deep convolutional neural network to identify pores in a variety of different microscopic images. We used a human-in-the-loop approach to train and refine a neural network on a large variety of microscopic images, which helps us achieve robust detection among a number of datasets. Our network achieves 98.1% identification accuracy on Ginkgo SEM micrographs, and 94.2% transfer accuracy when tested on untrained species. To facilitate adoption of the method, we make a web tool available under http://www.stomata.science/


A state feedback boundary control law that stabilizes fluid flow in a 2D thermal convection loop is presented. The fluid is enclosed between two cylinders, heated from above and cooled from below, which makes its motion unstable for a large enough Rayleigh number. The actuation is at the boundary through rotation (direct velocity actuation) and heat flux (heating or cooling) of the outer boundary. The design is a new approach for this kind of a coupled PDE problem, based on a combination of singular perturbation theory and the backstepping method for infinite dimensional linear systems. Stability is proved by Lyapunov method. Though only a linearized version of the plant is considered in the design, an extensive closed loop simulation study of the nonlinear PDE model shows that the result holds for reasonably large initial conditions. A highly accurate approximation to the control law is found in closed form.


Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera, Hesperioidea) from Ponta Grossa, Parana, Brazil: 70 years of records with special reference to faunal composition of Vila Velha State Park. The municipality of Ponta Grossa has a peculiar ecosystem, originally composed of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest and natural isolated fragments of Araucaria forest interconnected by large areas of the steppe phytophysionomy known as the Brazilian "campos" (grasslands). However, both ecosystems have been continually reduced by human occupation, with remnants still found in the Vila Velha State Park, whose floristic composition has been recently related to the Cerrado biome. Few studies have been dedicated to recognize the characteristic fauna of these grasslands and its relationship with other Brazilian vegetation types, which has motivated this study. After gathering information from more than 70 years of collecting in the region, a list of 225 species of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera, Hesperioidea) recorded within the municipality is provided, of which 162 are indicator species of forest environments and 53 of open areas. The Vila Velha State Park contributes to the conservation of 65% of the species and its skipper community shows a closer affinity to the Pampas and Cerrado instead of forested habitats. This relation may be attributed to its precise localization between both ecosystems, since geographical distances affect similarities on Hesperiidae assemblages. The flora of Vila Velha can also influence the observed pattern, since a considerably number of species found in the region are also found in Cerrado. Further studies are still required among Brazilian grassland habitats, especially in the Cerrado enclaves within the states of Parana and Sao Paulo in attempt to better understand the mechanisms that drive the community dynamics in those areas.


The author examines the questions of why individuals behave the way they do and if there is a natural impulse to do good. This article discusses such issues as whether an individual, pursuing his or her own self-interest, can improve the general welfare and whether people have an innate intuition that leads them to do good. In coming to the conclusion that the pursuit of self-interest can produce a lot of good if it is balanced with a bit of societal guidance, the author brings to light issues of corporate governance, performance pay, legal and monetary incentives, and other forms of regulation. It is in these arenas, the author points out, that intuition, rather than a more empirical approach, can best be put to good use. He argues that intuition has been lacking from the more utilitarian view of economics and management and that, generally speaking, a blend of both approaches is optimal.


The focus of this paper is on evaluating different spatial interpolation methods for the construction of radio environment map using field measurements obtained by cyclostationary-based mobile sensors. Mobile sensing devices employing cyclostationary detectors provide lot of advantages compared to the widely used energy detectors, such as robustness to noise uncertainty and ability to distinguish among different primary user signals. However, mobile sensing results are not available at locations between the sensors making it difficult for a secondary user (possibly without a spectrum sensor) to decide whether to use primary user resources at that location. To overcome this, spatial interpolation of test statistics measured at limited number of locations can be carried out to create a channel occupancy map at unmeasured locations between the sensors. For this purpose, different spatial interpolation techniques for the cyclostationary test statistic have been employed in this paper such as inverse distance weighting, ordinary kriging, and universal kriging. The effectiveness of these methods is demonstrated by applying them on extensive real-world field measurement data obtained by mobile-phone-compliant spectrum sensors. The field measurements were carried out using four mobile spectrum sensors measuring eight digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) channels at more than hundred locations encompassing roughly one-third of the area of the city of Espoo in Finland. The accuracy of the spatial interpolation results based on the field measurements is determined using the cross-validation approach with the widely used root mean square error as the metric. Field measurement results indicate that reliable results with spatial coverage can be achieved using kriging for cyclostationary based test statistics. Comparison of spatial interpolation results of cyclostationary test statistics is also carried out with those of energy values obtained during the measurement campaign in the form of received signal strength indicator. Comparison results clearly show the performance improvement and robustness obtained using cyclostationary based detectors instead of energy detectors.


Identifying the liver region from abdominal Computed Tomography (CT) scans is still a challenging task due to the complexity of the liver's anatomy, similar intensity with adjacent organs and presence of pathologies. In this paper we propose a system which consists of three stages: preprocessing, segmentation and post processing. In the first stage, the input image is smoothed using anisotropic diffusion filter. In the second stage, we introduce a modified density-based clustering algorithm, DBSCAN, to segment the liver. Finally, morphological operations are performed to enhance the segmentation results. The proposed system is evaluated on 3Dircadb1 database which is publicly available. The experimental results show that the proposed system is effective for accurate detection of the liver surface in comparison with other related works in the literature.


Test day data on milk yield for individual cows were generated using Monte Carlo simulation consisting of 1000 herds. Each herd contained 30 second lactation cows for each of 2 yr. Three scenarios were simulated with increasing effects of test day and seasonality. For each test day, several statistics were calculated for each cow: test day data on yield deviated from expectations, deviated test day data on yield transformed to account for correlation of consecutive test day data on yields, 305-d mature equivalent estimates, and changes in these values from the previous test day. A probability value for each herd was calculated for test of month of lactation effects using ANOVA models with and without cows in the model. No month of lactation effects were simulated. The distribution of generated probability values were tested for uniformity using a chi-square test. The distribution of probability values associated with the change in test day deviations were most nearly uniform, and results for these variables were similar when the cow effect was removed from the analysis model. The transformed variables also provided a fairly uniform set of probability values, although interpretation of these statistical tests was more difficult. Tests based on mature equivalent, 305-d records were oversensitive.


Anxiety is a personality trait of adult patients with eczema and hyperkinesis commonly found in childhood. Eczema may be precipitated and exacerbated by stress in vulnerable individuals. Eczema, appearing on important body image areas or visible skin areas such as the face, may produce marked reactive depression. Biofeedback techniques, including habit reversal, are useful in management. Chronic intractable eczema may be a sign of impaired parent/child relationships.


Located in the lateral cranial base, the temporal bone is one of the human body's most complicated parts. It contains many tiny, delicate, and detailed anatomical structures, including many irregular orifices, antra (cavities), canals, and fissures. Crucial nerves, blood vessels, and auditory and vestibular organs coexist in this dense bone structure in a complex 3D configuration, causing medical science to once regard the temporal bone as a surgically forbidden area. Today, otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) surgeons still find it difficult to envision and master these complex anatomic interrelationships. Here, we present a new method for generating and reconstructing 3D temporal bone models and their applications in stereoscopic virtual environments. Our virtual laboratory and its associated software can run on ordinary PCs.


The hypotensive effect of the different extracts of Ficus sycomorus L. (FS) on blood pressure was evaluated in normotensive male rabbits for the first time. Anaesthetized rabbits were intraperitoneally injected with the tested extract in a dose of 400 mg/kg. The unripe fruit extract (FSFE) produced the greatest fall in the mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) from 181±5.22 to 65±11.56 mmHg. The wood extract (FSWE) caused significant and sustained hypotension and reduced MABP from 198±4.53 to 79±2.41 mmHg. The stem bark extract (FSBE) demonstrated slight fall in the MABP, it reduced MABP from 186±1.43 to 122±2.65 mmHg. The leaf extract (FSLE) showed fluctuation in the MABP. Hence, it can be concluded that F. sycomorus L. exerts a hypotensive effect suggesting its potential to be utilized as a therapeutic alternative for hypertension. Also, phytochemical screening of ethanolic extracts of the different parts of F. sycomorus L. revealed the presence of carbohydrates and/or glycosides, unsaturated sterols and/or triterpenoids and flavonoids, tannins and coumarins in addition to traces of saponins.


Purpose Review of dose metrics as part of the routine evaluation of CT protocols has become commonplace and is required by the Joint Commission and the American College of Radiology for accreditation. Most CT quality assurance programs include a review of CTDIvol and/or SSDE, both of which are affected by changes in mAs and kV. mAs, and sometimes kV, are largely determined by the Tube Current Modulation (TCM) functions of the scanner. TCM, in turn, relies on localizer scans to provide an accurate estimate of patient size. When patient size estimates are inaccurate, TCM and SSDE calculations are affected, leading to errors in both. It is important that those who are involved in reviewing CT dose indices recognize these effects to properly direct quality improvement initiatives. Methods An anthropomophic phantom was scanned on four clinical CT scanners using AP and PA localizers and the institution's routine abdomen protocol. Scans were repeated with the phantom at various heights relative to scanner isocenter. For each height, the projected phantom width, as shown by the localizer scans, was measured and normalized by the width of the helical scan. After each localizer scan, the TCM algorithm determined the mAs to be used for the helical scan. The scanner‐reported average CTDIvol was recorded for each helical scan, and the SSDE was calculated from the projected phantom size and the scanner‐reported CTDIvol at each phantom height. Last, the phantom was augmented with a lipid‐gel bolus material to simulate different body mass distributions and investigate the effect of differing body habitus on projected phantom size. The results were considered in the context of optimizing dose in CT imaging, with particular attention paid to the effect on dose to breast tissue. Results Vertical mis‐positioning of the phantom within the scanner led to errors in estimated phantom size of up to a factor of 1.5. These effects were more severe when localizers were acquired in the PA orientation compared with the AP orientation. Minification effects were more pronounced for AP localizers. As a consequence of inaccuracies in estimated phantom size, TCM resulted in changes in CTDIvol and SSDE of as much as a factor of 4.4 and 2.7, respectively. The effect was more pronounced when the TCM function used data from the PA, rather than the AP, localizer. Conclusions Proper patient positioning plays a large role in the function of TCM, and hence CTDIvol and SSDE. In addition, body mass distribution may affect how patients ought to be positioned within the scanner. Understanding these effects is critical in optimizing CT scanning practices.


Polycystic liver disease (PLD) may provoke massive hepatomegaly and severe physical and social handicaps. Data on orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for PLD are rare and conflicting. Conservative surgery (resection or fenestration) is indicated for large single cysts, but its value for small diffuse cysts is questionable. In addition, conservative surgery is not devoid of morbidity and mortality. OLT offers the prospect of a fully curative treatment, but controversy remains because those patients usually have preserved liver function. Thus, we reviewed our experience with OLT for PLD. Sixteen adult women underwent OLT for small diffuse PLD between 1990 and 1999. Mean age was 45 years (range, 34 to 56 years). Fourteen patients had combined liver and kidney cystic disease, but only 1 patient required combined liver and kidney transplantation, whereas 13 patients underwent OLT alone. Two patients had isolated PLD. Indications for transplantation were massive hepatomegaly causing physical handicaps (n = 16), social handicaps (n = 16), malnutrition (n = 4), and cholestasis and/or portal hypertension (n = 5). OLT caused no technical difficulty in 15 of 16 patients (surgery duration, 6.8 hours; range, 5 to 8 hours), with blood transfusions of 7.9 units (range, 0 to 22 units). One patient who underwent attempted liver‐mass reduction pre‐OLT died of bleeding and pulmonary emboli. Native liver weight was 10 to 20 kg. Posttransplantation immunosuppression consisted of cyclosporine or FK506, azathioprine, and steroids (discontinued at 3 months). Morbidity included biliary stricture (2 patients), revision for bleeding and hepatitis (1 patient), pneumothorax and subphrenic collection (1 patient), and tracheostomy (1 patient). One patient died of lung cancer 6 years posttransplantation. Both patient and graft survival rates are 87.5% (follow‐up, 3 months to 9 years). Of 15 patients who underwent OLT alone, only 1 patient needed a kidney transplant 4 years after OLT. Kidney function has remained satisfactory in the other patients despite the use of cyclosporine or FK506 (last follow‐up creatinine level, 1.55 mg/dL; range, 0.80 to 2.85 mg/dL). OLT had a dramatic impact on daily quality of life, enabling these patients to go back to a fully active life style. OLT offers the chance of a definitive treatment in patients with extensive, small, diffuse PLD that has evolved into severely handicapping hepatomegaly. In contrast to previous studies, combined liver and kidney transplantation is rarely needed. Patient symptoms and chances of definitive palliation offered by OLT must be balanced against the risks of transplantation and lifelong commitment to immunosuppression.


In popular sense the word "Byzantine" is synonimous with deviousness anddipomatic intrigue, but the Byzantine diplomacy was in fact very complex and pragmatic. The aim of this paper is to contribute precisely to the research of Byzantine diplomacy, a field still lacking a comprehensive and systematic investigation. We intend here to survey the notion of Byzantine diplomacy taking into account the geopolitical context of the empire. From the specific particularities in the time and the space we try to explain the overall pattern of the foreign policy in Byzantium; we introduce distinctions into 'foreign affairs' and 'diplomacy' and we examine the changing diplomatic practices, always subordinate to a defensive.


This paper describes a number of freely available tools for implementing and running spoken language understanding systems. Unlike other free tools (e.g. the CSLU toolkit), the main emphasis is on spoken language understanding (syntactic/semantic parsing, generation of language models for recognition etc.). The suite supports (reads and/or writes) a number of grammar formats defined for speech rec ognisers like Entropic's GrapHvite (HTK standard lattice) as well as common unification grammar formats used in NLP: The American PATRII and the European EUROTRA (Augmented Phrase Structure Grammar) format. The open architecture is completed by a general API allowing simple interfacing to dialogue management and sp eech rec ognition. The suite, implemented in C++ (partly C, Lex, Yacc), can compile and run on any machine under any OS having a 32 bit C++ compiler, Flex/Bison or Lex/Yacc. The suite can be downloaded at http://www.cpk.auc.dk/~tb/nlpsuite.


Disagreement among the various publications providing lists of Korean endemic plants makes confusion inevitable. We summarized the six previous reports providing comprehensive lists of endemic plants in Korea: 407 taxa in Lee (1982), 570 taxa in Paik (1994), 759 taxa in Kim (2004), 328 taxa in Korea National Arboretum (2005), 515 taxa in the Ministry of Environment (2005) and 289 taxa in Flora of Korea Editorial Committee (2007). The total number of endemic plants described in the previous reports was 970 taxa, including 89 families, 302 genera, 496 species, 3 subspecies, 218 varieties, and 253 formae. Endemic plants listed four times or more were collected to compare the data in terms of scientific names and synonyms (339 taxa in 59 families and 155 genera). If the varieties and formae were excluded, the resulting number of endemic plants was 252 taxa for the 339 purported taxa analyzed. Seven of the 155 genera analyzed were Korean endemic genera. Among the 339 taxa, the same scientific names were used in the original publications for 256 taxa (76%), while different scientific names were used for 83 taxa (24%). The four largest families were Compositae (42 taxa, 12.4%), Ranunculaceae (19 taxa, 5.6%), Rosaceae (19 taxa, 5.6%), and Scrophulariaceae (19 taxa, 5.6%). Saussurea (Compositae) had the highest number of taxa within one genus (17 taxa; 5% of total endemic taxa).


Palms, belonging to the Arecaceae family, are among the most common plants in tropical countries and provide a vast assortment of products ranging from food to construction materials, fibre and fuel. Tropical palms, originall published in 1998, has been updated in 2010 to include the most recent information and developments regarding the conservation status and use of various tropical palm species. It describes the many uses of the products derived from palms and provides updated references and sources of additional information. Palm products are considered both at the substance and commercial levels. Using this publication, readers will be able to assess the role of palms and their products within forest management, agriculture and nature conservation activities.


PURPOSE
To look for central nervous system abnormalities as possible causes of intractable hiccups.

METHODS
Of a series of 50 patients with chronic (ie, lasting more than 48 hours) hiccups, a prospective study identified a subgroup of 9 patients with no clinical or gastroesophageal abnormalities (according to endoscopy, pH monitoring and manometry). We performed in all 9 patients brain and upper cervical cord MR examination with precontrast and postcontrast T1- and T2-weighted sequences. A study of the last cranial nerves was done with thin T2-weighted imaging (constructive interference in a steady state sequence). The cervical cord and parapharyngeal space were systematically explored using coronal T2- and sagittal T1-weighted imaging.

RESULTS
Five of these 9 patients had definite MR abnormalities located in the temporal lobe (3 cases), cerebellopontine angle (1 case), or areas of high signal intensity compatible with demyelination (1 case). The relationship between hiccups and infratentorial abnormalities in 2 cases was doubtful (vascular loop and prominent posterior condylar canal). MR findings in 2 cases were considered normal.

CONCLUSIONS
Brain MR is a useful investigation in patients with chronic hiccups when gastroesophageal lesions are either excluded or too mild to account for an intractable hiccup.


Introduction: Recently, cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator modulator therapy with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor has become available for children with cystic fibrosis (CF) carrying at least one F508del mutation. Objective: To assess the intermediate term effects of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor in children with cystic fibrosis in a real-world setting. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of records of children with cystic fibrosis, who started elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor between 8/2020 and 10/2022. Pulmonary function tests, nutritional status, sweat chloride and laboratory data were assessed before, 3 and 6 months after the start of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor respectively. Results: Elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor was started in 22 children 6–11 years and in 24 children 12–17 years. Twenty-seven (59%) patients were homozygous for F508del (F/F) and 23 (50%) patients were transitioned from ivacaftor/lumacaftor (IVA/LUM) or tezacaftor/ivacaftor (TEZ/IVA) to elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor. Overall, mean sweat chloride concentration decreased by 59.3 mmol/L (95% confidence interval: −65.0 to −53.7 mmol/L, p < 0.0001) under elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor. Sweat chloride concentration also decreased significantly after transition from IVA/LUM or TEZ/IVA to elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (−47.8 mmol/l; 95% confidence interval: −57.6 to −37.8 mmol/l, n = 14, p < 0.0001). Sweat chloride reduction was more marked in children with the F/F than in those with the F/MF genotype (69.4 vs 45.9 mmol/L, p < 0.0001). At 3 months follow-up, body-mass-index-z-score increased by 0.31 (95% CI, 0.2–0.42, p < 0.0001) with no further increase at 6 months. BMI-for-age-z-score was more markedly improved in the older group. Overall pulmonary function (percent predicted FEV1) at 3 months follow-up increased by 11.4% (95% CI: 8.0–14.9, p < 0.0001) with no further significant change after 6 months. No significant differences were noted between the age groups. Children with the F/MF genotype had a greater benefit regarding nutritional status and pulmonary function tests than those with the F/F genotype. Adverse events led to elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor dose reduction in three cases and a temporary interruption of therapy in four cases. Conclusion: In a real-world setting, elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor therapy had beneficial clinical effects and a good safety profile in eligible children with cystic fibrosis comparable to previously published data from controlled clinical trials. The positive impact on pulmonary function tests and nutritional status seen after 3 months of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor therapy was sustained at 6 months follow-up.


Disaster preparedness will be determined by the vulnerability of communities and might include preparation for reducing health risk due to climate change and rapid urbanization. This article overviews the evidence for human-induced climate change, its health impacts, and the role of health cadres in flood risk management and primary healthcare as strategies for CCA and DRR. Climate change has substantial potential health effects. Transmission of DHF is also sensitive to periodic fluctuations in the climate factors. Displaced persons may face more environmental threats that harm their health. Primary healthcare implemented by health cadres plays an important role in preparing for flooding and responding to infectious disease outbreaks due to changing patterns of vector- and water- borne diseases. However, there is a challenge for system shift towards more inclusive approach to DRR and CCA comprising primary healthcare measures, that is inadequate the mechanism of protection and compensation for health cadres. Building health cadres' capacity for flood risk management and strengthening their roles into the integration of primary healthcare as strategies for CCA and DRR, can help to meet the goal of the SFDRR 2015-2030 that calls for the participation of people disproportionately affected by disasters.


Introduction Although the presence of inflammation is well recognised in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor gene, BMPR2, underlie the majority of heritable and a significant fraction of idiopathic PAH Here, we sought to determine whether loss of BMPR2 was directly associated with inflammation, the underlying mechanisms, and possible therapeutic interventions. Methods The initial approach employed human and mouse pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) from controls and subjects with a mutation in BMPR2. Cells were studied at baseline and in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in the presence or absence of pharmacological inhibitors of known pro-inflammatory pathways. Cytokines were measured by ELISA Reactive oxygen species were measured using dihydroethidium staining. For in vivo studies, we employed the heterozygous null bmpr2 mouse (bmpr2+/–) and wild-type littermates. Results Chronic low dose LPS resulted in a marked elevation of right ventricular systolic pressure to ∼40 mmHg in bmpr2+/– mice, but not in wild-type mice (Fig.1). In vitro studies showed that mouse bmpr2+/– and human BMPR2mut PASMCs produced more IL-6 and IL-8 at baseline and after stimulation with LPS For example, bmpr2+/– PASMCs produced 1533±280 pg/ml of IL-6 (versus 341±10 pg/ml in controls, P<0.01) after LPS stimulation. Reduced BMPR2 was also associated with increased phospho-STAT3 levels and an abnormal pro-proliferative response to IL-6. Acute administration of LPS to the bmpr2+/– mouse reproduced these results in vivo, with increased lung and serum IL-6 and IL-8. The link between reduced BMPR2 and increased cytokine expression was found to be associated with increased superoxide generation and loss of extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3). Treatment of BMPR2 deficient PASMCs with the superoxide dismutase mimetic, Tempol, normalised the exaggerated secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. Co-administration of Tempol prevented the PAH phenotype in bmpr2+/– mice exposed to low dose LPS (Fig. 1). Conclusions We have determined a novel link between BMPR2 loss and increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which is dependent on mishandling of superoxide. Our results suggest that pro-inflammatory stimuli may represent disease-provoking triggers for patients with BMPR2 deficiency. Promotion of SOD3 activity may represent a novel therapeutic approach in PAH. Abstract T4 Figure 1


emergence of expert systems, and computational tools designed to capture and access to knowledge from experts in the medical field. We have built an expert system for the purpose of giving the diagnosis of some diseases by linking this system devise testing and analysis of blood type (CELL-DYN Ruby) and which has a private entrance to the computer. The system is divided into several modules, History Entering Module (HEM) systematic Review Module (SRM), a Laboratory Test List Module, Diagnosis Process Module (DPM), Data Base (DB), and finally the graphical interface to the user. All these modules work together to give a high degree of accuracy in the diagnosis of disease through blood samples and we will describe the work of each unit in detail.


Preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy specific vascular disorder which is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria is a leading cause of maternal, fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality affecting 5-14% of pregnancies. PE is a multifactorial disorder associated with poor placentation, placental hypoxia, poor angiogenesis and excessive maternal inflammation. Adrenomedullin (ADM) is a multifunctional peptide, plays an important role in the establishment and maintenance of healthy pregnancy, prevents an immune attack at peri-implantation period, vasodilation and promotes angiogenesis. In the present study, we enrolled a total of 600 subjects which includes 300 PE patients and 300 healthy pregnant women from South India to analyse two functional polymorphisms (rs4399321A/G and rs4910118C/T) of ADM gene. The genotype frequencies of these two polymorphisms differed significantly between the PE and control groups (p=0.02 and p=0.03). Individuals carrying the AA genotype of rs4399321A/G were slightly higher in controls (40%) compared to patients (28%) and revealed an OR value of (0.69, CI 0.49-0.98; p=0.05) suggests the protective role. Predominant frequency of CC genotype of rs4910118C/T was observed in patients (OR- 1.43; CI 1.02–2.01, p=0.04) and CT genotype in controls (OR-0.69; CI 0.49–0.97, p=0.04) indicating predisposing and protective role of these genotypes. Haplotype analysis revealed a substantial association of A-T block towards preeclampsia with an OR value of 0.40 (CI 0.21-0.75, p=0.004). Further analysis on linkage disequilibrium showed a significant value (D'=1.0 and r2=0.12, p<0.05) between these two polymorphisms.


In this study, we have assessed the economic impact of potential increase in supply reliability of irrigation water in the Hinds Plains Area in the Ashburton district. The Hinds catchment has a number of irrigation schemes namely, Rangitata Diversion Race (provides water for Mayfield Hinds and Valetta Schemes), Barrhill Chertsey, Eiffelton and Lynford Schemes. All these schemes have varying supply reliability which ranges from 40% to 80% approximately. First, we estimated the relationship between water availability and pasture growth using experimental data. We then employed this relationship to estimate the potential incremental pasture growth with assumed increased supply reliability (95%) at farm level. We estimated the farm level benefit of increased pasture production in terms of saved costs in supplementary feed. These farm level estimates were used to assess the catchment level farm income gain. The catchment level income gain was then employed to assess the regional level economic gain (GDP and employment) by the socio-accounting matrix input-output model (SAMI-O) simulation. Income gain at catchment level is estimated to vary from $16 to $17million. This implies an additional gain in regional level income (GDP) of $85 to $91million and additional employment of 137 FTE to 207 FTE. The study indicates the importance of an increase in irrigation efficiency at farm level for the local and regional economy and also discusses the potential environmental impacts of increase irrigation efficiency at catchment level.


This article is a theoretical analysis aimed at articulating the harm caused by media (mis)representation, and at showing existing ways in which this harm can be contested. The approaches analysed are largely from the United Kingdom. However, the issues they raise are not unique and the models explored are potentially transferable. The examples cover a range of media, including British right-wing press, television and Facebook; and characteristics protected by equality legislation in the UK such as sex, sexual orientation, race, religion and mental health stigma. Crucially, all the initiatives presented demonstrate the group-based nature of media (mis)representations, which cannot be understood and, therefore, cannot be addressed through individualistic approaches. Therefore, the article concludes that the role of groups as the targets of media (mis)representation and as potential claimants should be fully acknowledged and enabled.


Mounting evidence suggested that histone H4K20-specific methyltransferase SET8 is required to maintain the malignant phenotype of various cancer types; however, the role of SET8 in mediating tumor metastasis in prostate cancer (PCa) has remained elusive. The present study demonstrated that small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of SET8 inhibited the invasive potential of the PCa cell line PC-3 in vitro. Knockdown of SET8 reduced sphere formation, downregulated E-cadherin and α-catenin, and upregulated N-cadherin and vimentin expression in CaP cells, while upregulation of SET8 expression with a recombinant plasmid had the opposite effect. Furthermore, SET8 was shown to be physically associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducer zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) in PCa cell lines. Chromatin immunoprecipitation suggested that SET8 binds to the promoter of cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin and vimentin. Luciferase reporter assays suggested that E-cadherin and vimentin are direct targets of SET8; furthermore, loss- and gain-of function studies of SET8 and ZEB1 indicated that suppression of downstream E-cadherin and activation of vimentin are important mechanisms by which SET8 and ZEB1 cooperatively trigger metastasis. Furthermore, SET8-induced methylated H4K20 was indicated to exert a dual function in ZEB1-regulated gene expression. In conclusion, the present study revealed that SET8 and ZEB1 are functionally interdependent in promoting the EMT and enhancing the invasive potential of PCa cells in vitro.


European media regulation currently faces several challenges: technology, media and markets have become convergent, while – at the same time – the situations in the individual member states differ in respect of media use, the usage of end devices as well as regulatory aims and frameworks. These challenges can be met with an updated regulatory framework. Core attributes of this updated framework are a reorientation relative to the current framework, a basis in principles, learning aptitude, and a coherent approach to media regulation. This is, however, not just an incremental but a structural change. Other than the regulatory framework currently in place, which takes different types of audiovisual services as a starting point for specific regulation just to follow the same aims, a reoriented regulatory framework could allow for effective regulations that follow specific goals and that address the media landscape as a whole – also taking into account the peculiarities of certain types of media in specific provisions by introducing a general regulation as well as one built upon that. Such a framework is capable of effectively managing a convergent media landscape. An incentive-based opt-in approach would further improve the efficiency of this framework, offering a self-categorisation option for content providers and unburdening regulators while retaining the needed flexibility. Privileging desirable public value services will give incentives for providing such media content across different audiovisual services and form the basis of a vivid and pluralistic media landscape. However, European regulation still has to guarantee a minimum standard. To address the different situations in the member states, they will need some leeway for implementation. This calls for a principle-driven approach, setting coherent regulatory aims and a general framework across Europe, but leaving it to the member states to define requirements for the different content categories for the providers to opt-in to. This will finally lead to a consistent regulatory framework throughout the EU, which is still able to manage the heterogeneity of the different media landscapes. This paper is based on a larger study by the Hans Bredow Institute (HBI) and the Institute for Information Law (IViR).


Behavioral treatments performed in patients with dysphagia are designed to produce immediate or short-term outcomes that eliminate physiologic or biomechanical impairments of oropharyngeal swallowing. These short-term outcomes are expected to reduce aspiration of swallowed food into the respiratory system, and improve delivery of swallowed material into the digestive system. In the long-term these interventions are justified by expectations that they will reduce patient risk for dysphagia-related consequences such as pneumonia, malnutrition, and death.Two distinct investigations were performed in this dissertation. The first, a meta-analysis, was performed to evaluate available evidence regarding the efficacy of individually administered dysphagia interventions in neurogenic dysphagia, and the effectiveness of systematic, institutional dysphagia protocols at mitigating public health risks associated with dysphagia. The second investigation, an experimental study, was executed to evaluate whether the addition of surface electromyographic biofeedback to traditional training of the Mendelsohn maneuver, a common individually administered dysphagia intervention, altered the initial (first training session) efficacy of volitional prolongation of muscle activity responsible for upper esophageal sphincter opening during the swallow.The meta-analysis revealed that well designed investigations of individually administered treatments for short-term elimination of biomechanical impairments demonstrated small to large effect sizes (r = .13 - .45) for these treatments, all but one of which were statistically significant, and that overall, their combined effect size was small to medium (r = .29) and significant (p = .03). However studies of institutionally deployed dysphagia protocols demonstrated moderate effect sizes (Odds Ratio = .44 - .79) which, combined, were not statistically significant (p = .08). Overall, few published investigations of sufficiently robust evidence quality were found to justify their inclusion in the meta-analysis, suggesting that more research of this type is needed.The experiment revealed that training of the Mendelsohn maneuver with and without surface electromyographic biofeedback, produced significantly increased duration (p < .01) and average amplitude (p = .02) of swallowing myoelectric activity. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in swallow duration or amplitude, however a trend toward increased preparatory myoelectric consistency was observed for the biofeedback trained group (p = .052) compared to the non-biofeedback trained group.


Context. Recent results suggest that there is a group of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) (2003 EL 61 being the biggest member), with surfaces composed of almost pure water ice and with very similar orbital elements. These objects provide exciting laboratories for the study of the processes that prevent the formation of an evolved mantle of organics on the surfaces of the bodies in the trans-Neptunian belt (TNb). Aims. We study the surface composition of another TNO that moves in a similar orbit, (145453) 2005 RR 43 , and compare it with the surface composition of the other members of the group. Methods. We report visible and near-infrared spectra in the 0.53-2.4 μm spectral range, obtained with the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope and the 3.58 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo at the "Roque de los Muchachos" Observatory (La Palma, Spain). Scattering models are used to derive information about its surface composition. We also measure the depth D of the water ice absorption bands and compare with those of the other members of the group. Results. The spectrum of 2005 RR 43 is neutral in color in the visible and dominated by very deep water ice absorption bands in the near infrared (D = 70.3 ±2.1% and 82.8 ± 4.9% at 1.5 μm and 2.0 μm respectively). It is very similar to the spectrum of the group of TNOs already mentioned. All of them present much deeper water ice absorption bands (D > 40%) than any other TNO except Charon. Scattering models show that its surface is covered by water ice, a significant fraction in crystalline state with no trace (5% upper limit) of complex organics. Possible scenarios to explain the existence of this population of TNOs are discussed: a giant collision, an originally carbon depleted composition, or a common process of continuous resurfacing. Conclusions. 2005 RR 43 is member of a group, may be a population, of TNOs clustered in the space of orbital parameters that show abundant water ice and no signs of complex organics and which origin needs to be further investigated. The lack of complex organics in their surfaces suggests a significant smaller fraction of carbonaceous volatiles like CH 4 in this population than in "normal" TNOs. A carbon depleted population of TNOs could be the origin of the population of carbon depleted Jupiter family comets already noticed by A'Hearn et al. (1995).


Metagenomics is emerging as an important tool in biosurveillance, public health, and clinical applications. However, ease-of-use for execution and data analysis remains a barrier-of-entry to the adoption of metagenomics in applied health and forensics settings. In addition, these venues often have more stringent requirements for reporting, accuracy, and precision than the traditional ecological research role of the technology. Here, we present PanGIA (Pan-Genomics for Infectious Agents), a novel bioinformatics analysis platform for hosting, processing, analyzing, and reporting shotgun metagenomics data of complex samples suspected of containing one or more pathogens. PanGIA was developed to address gaps that often preclude clinicians, medical technicians, forensics personnel, or other non-expert end-users from the routine application of metagenomics for pathogen identification. Though primarily designed to detect pathogenic microorganisms within clinical and environmental metagenomics data, PanGIA also serves as an analytical framework for microbial community profiling and comparative metagenomics. To provide statistical confidence in PanGIA's taxonomic assignments, the system provides two independent estimations of probability for species and strain level detection. First, PanGIA integrates coverage data with 'uniqueness' information mapped across each reference genome for a stand-alone determination of confidence for each query sequence at each taxonomy level. Second, if a negative-control sample is provided, PanGIA compares this sample with a corresponding experimental unknown sample and determines a measure of confidence associated with 'detection above background'. An integrated graphical user interface allows interactive interrogation and enables users to summarize multiple sample results by confidence score, normalized read abundance, reference genome linear coverage, depth-of-coverage, RPKM, and other metrics to detect specific organisms-of-interest. Comparison testing of the PanGIA algorithm against a number of recent k-mer, read-mapping, and marker-gene based taxonomy classifiers across various real-world datasets with spiked targets shows superior mean positive predictive value, sensitivity, and specificity. PanGIA can process a five million paired-end read dataset in under 1 hour on commodity computational hardware. The source code and documentation are publicly available at https://github.com/LANL-Bioinformatics/PanGIA or https://github.com/mriglobal/PanGIA. The database for PanGIA can be downloaded from ftp://bioinformatics.mriglobal.org/. The full GUI-based PanGIA analysis environment is available in a Docker container and can be installed from https://hub.docker.com/r/poeli/pangia/.


We show that market frictions and agency considerations are important concerns when institutional investors make portfolio allocation decisions. For a sample of widely followed firms, institutional holdings increase with increases in visibility as measured by the number of analysts following the firm. We also report a significant seasonal pattern in institutional holdings consistent with the gamesmanship hypothesis, which asserts that institutions rebalance their portfolios in response to agency considerations. Finally, we find that excess returns are highly seasonal with performance, deteriorating when the following by financial analysts increases. "Followed" firms actually exhibit inferior market performance over the 1981-1996 sample period.


The emission performance and life of most VEDs (vacuum electron devices) is directly related to the capability of cathode. As the main force of thermionic sources, dispenser cathodes made of a porous tungsten pellet impregnated with Ba, Ca aluminates, such as M type cathodes (coated with Osmium, Iridium or Osmium/Ruthenium) and scandate cathodes, play an important role in the electron beam devices. This paper presents some results obtained during the investigation of M-type cathodes used in TWTs (traveling wave tubes) and klystrons. The investigation covers the following experiments: (i) the lifetime test in close space diode to evaluate the long term life capability of M-type cathodes operated at different temperatures and loads to fulfill the missions for VEDs; (ii) the assessment of performances of M-type cathode delivery high current density up to 32A/cm/sup 2/ in standard Pierce electron gun; (iii) the application of M-type cathode in practical X-band dual mode TWTs and Ka, X band MBKs (multi beam klystrons); (iv) the investigation of high reliable "quasi ceramic" potted heaters that shorten the warm-up time significantly. The experimental approach such as cathode structures, test vehicles and experimental techniques are also demonstrated in this paper.


Many forms of inguinal hernias have been found to have different contents ranging from abdominal to pelvic organs. A form of inguinal hernia with its contents made up of almost the whole of the small intestine and having a herniating sac as long as 28cm in length is indeed a rare form of inguinal hernia. Strangulated inguinal hernia is one of the commonest emergencies in surgery. The diagnosis may be made by physical examination disclosing a visible bulge or an easily palpable mass on straining with an examining finger in the external ring, the content of the hernia sac and the operation may vary. We present a rare case of a strangulated unusual left indirect inguinal hernia in a 56-year-old male cadaver with a large mass containing loops of small intestine which extends from the pubic tubercle to the mid thigh and found within the scrotal sac. Keywords: Strangulated inguinal hernia, loops of small intestine, irreducible


Ti2SnC has been fabricated from Ti, Sn and graphite elemental powders by mechanically activated low-temperature synthesis (MALS) technique. Superfine powders were obtained after milling the elemental powders for only 1 h with a charge ratio of 20:1. The mechanically alloyed powders were then pressureless sintered at different temperatures at Ar atmosphere for 0.5 h. High content of Ti2SnC was obtained at 950 oC, which is lower than the previously reported temperatures of above 1200 oC by sintering the conventional mixture powders. The microstructure shows that Ti2SnC grains with plate-like shape and smooth surface are less than 5 μm in size. The result demonstrates that the MALS is a novel method for the synthesis of Ti2SnC or other ceramic powders.


Cytomorphologic signs of malignant histiocytosis of the bones are described in detail, that have not been reported in the Soviet literature before. Cytologic signs that permit a differential diagnosis between this condition and plasmacytoma and osteogenic sarcoma are presented.


October 2008 marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky. Their Propaganda Model (PM), which attempted to explain the behaviour of the media in the United States, found that it consistently served the interests of corporate and state power. Furthermore, they anticipated that the PM would be generally ignored within academia, which, all too often, also served the interests of corporate and state power. This commentary breaks new ground by focusing upon their second-order prediction, concerning the reception of the PM within academia; it demonstrates that the PM has been systematically marginalized within the field of media and communication studies, just as Herman and Chomsky forecast it would. The commentary is divided into six sections. The first section highlights the contrast between the liberal pluralist perspective and the Marxist-radical critique of how political and media systems function in capitalist, liberal-democratic societies. The second section situates the PM within the Marxist-radical tradition of media and communication studies. The third section provides an overview of the PM, more specifically its three hypotheses, its five operative principles and the evidence presented by Herman and Chomsky in support of the PM. The fourth section, which assesses how the PM has been received within the field of media and communication studies since 1988, is concerned with the second-order prediction that the PM would be neglected. More specifically, it surveys the way in which scholars have engaged with the PM; it provides data on the proportion of media and communication journal articles that have attended to the PM; and it submits data on the number of media and communication texts that refer to the PM. The fifth section suggests a number of reasons to explain why the PM has been generally dismissed, while the sixth section makes the case for the continued relevance of the PM.


Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is still an important cause of death in infancy despite its declining incidence. The overall aim of this thesis was to study environmental factors influencing the risk of SIDS with the goal of still further reducing preventable deaths among infants in the future. In a prospective study (Children of Western Sweden) consisting of 5600 healthy six-months-old infants born in 2003 and 430 healthy Swedish infants born in 1991-1995, the prevalence of risk factors was compared and factors associated with prone sleeping were studied. We found that parents had complied with advice to prevent SIDS but that further change to an exclusively supine sleeping position and reducing the number of pregnant women who smoke might be beneficial. A prone sleeping position was more common if the mother was unemployed or smoked during pregnancy, and also if the child was irritable, never used a pacifier or shared a bedroom with siblings. To identify the changes in epidemiology since the national guidelines to prevent SIDS were established in 1992-94 we studied 207 SIDS cases in 1997-2005 and compared them with controls randomly selected from the Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR). The results showed that the incidence of SIDS had remained low in Sweden and that the age at death continued to decrease. The odds ratio for smoking continued to increase. The high incidence at weekends persisted but there was no longer any seasonality. Bed sharing is considered to be a risk factor for SIDS and we therefore we examined bed sharing at six months of age and associated factors. The questionnaire was answered by 5605 families with a response rate of 68.5% and we found that every fifth infant shared a bed. Factors associated with bed a g Sudden infant death syndrome – epidemiology and environmental factors 6 sharing were breastfeeding, sleeping problems and a single parent. Never using a pacifier was associated with a higher frequency of bed sharing but it was less common to bed share if the infant was bottle-fed during the first week. In a retrospective study we investigated data from all sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in Sweden from 2005-2011. Medical records were obtained from hospitals and supplementary data from the Swedish MBR. Of the 261 infants, 136 were defined as SIDS and 125 as explained SUDI. We found that bed sharing was more common in SIDS than in explained SUDI. Sparse data in medical records were a problem. Bronchopneumonia, other infections and congenital anomalies were the most common causes of explained SUDI. It is still possible to prevent more deaths in SIDS if prone and side sleeping positions, maternal smoking and bed sharing during the first months decrease. One tool for success is to have routines and documentation continuously to follow changes in the epidemiology of environmental factors, together with the possibility to communicate this and reach groups at risk with targeted information.


Our new multimedia transmission and synchronization scheme for parallel servers in a wireless environment enables servers to store MPEG-4 data according to video-object-plane type. The goal of our research, therefore, was to develop an enhanced multimedia transmission scheme that can cope with load imbalance, congestion, and jitter. Accordingly, we evaluated three issues: data striping, priority queuing, and multimedia synchronization.


The main question of this paper tries to answers: How to explain FMEA difficulties and how to improve FMEA methodology in order to be able to design a better risk management strategy in NPD? First, this research will discuss the FMEA procedure, its history, its main concepts and its current weakness. Then, we propose to highlight that the limits of FMEA procedure can be linked to the limits of a problem-solving paradigm. We reveal that current vision of engineering design, and particularly FMEA procedure, is based on problem solving perspective, which is restricted by the "bounded-rationality" model. From the concept of "expandable rationality" we propose to revisit the theoretical framework of the FMEA to explain why FMEA cannot be reduced to problem solving. Finally, we argue that FMEA procedure is a full design activity and we propose to extend the initial FMEA methodology, by using CK design theory. The research was carried out in STMicroelectronics manufacturing department, more specifically in the Engineering Competences Center located in Crolles (France).


Rats genetically predisposed (PM+) and non-predisposed (PM-) to pendulum movement (spontaneous nystagm) were studied at different age. In old PM+ and PM- rats the brain MAO-A activity did not differ, unlike between young PM+ and PM- rats. In old PM+ and PM- rats, brain stem MAO-A activity was higher than in young ones. Actinomycin D lowered brain stem MAO-A activity in PM+ and PM- rats. In the absence of actinomycin D, stress elevated MAO-B activity in the brain stem of PM- rats, and a preliminary actinomycin D administration prevent the MAO-B activating effect of stress. Possible differences in MAO-A and MAO-B regulation at transcription level in PM+ and PM- are discussed.


BACKGROUND
Executive functions (EFs) comprise a group of cognitive processes that selectively control and regulate attention. Inverse relations have been reported between EFs and BMI. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood.

OBJECTIVES
We aimed to decompose the inverse relation between EFs and BMI into genetic and environmental components.

METHODS
We employed a cross-sectional analysis of data from 869 twins aged 7-15 y from the Texas Twin Project, who completed a neuropsychological test battery measuring 4 EFs (switching, inhibitory control, working memory, and updating); academic achievement (reading and mathematics); and general cognitive abilities (general intelligence/intelligence quotient; crystallized and fluid intelligence; and processing speed). Participants also had their height and weight measured.

RESULTS
After controlling for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, BMI was inversely associated with a general EF factor representing the capacity to control and regulate goal-oriented behaviors (r = -0.125; P = 0.01; Q = 0.04). This inverse BMI-EF association was due to a significant overlap in genetic factors contributing to each phenotype (genetic correlation, rA, = -0.15; P < 0.001). Shared genetic influences accounted for 80% of the phenotypic association.

CONCLUSIONS
Children with higher general EF have lower BMIs, and this association is primarily attributable to shared genetic influences on both phenotypes. The results emphasize that higher weight associates not only with physical sequelae, but also with important cognitive attributes. This work adds to a growing body of research suggesting there are sets of genetic variants common across physical health and cognitive functioning.


Complications of the hydatid cyst of the liver on bile ducts appear in 5-25% representing almost two third of all complications of the hydatid liver cysts. Fortunately a damage to the bile ducts causes only an infection of the cyst usually without major consequences. More serious complications such as cholangitis and deep obstructive jaundice are much rarer. The defect of the bile duct usually is a periferal one. Damage to the major ducts are rarer and those on the confluence of hepatic ducts itself are the rarity. In that case biliary reconstruction may be a serious challenge. The authors present a 23 year-old man in whom a centrally localised hydatid cyst made a major damage of the confluence of all three hepatic ducts causing deep obstructive jaundice. After standard procedure for hydatid cyst an intracavital mucosa to mucosa hepaticojejunostomy was carried out with excellent success. More then six years after surgery the patient stayed symptom-free with bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase within normal limits.


abstract:The Ottoman Empire's vast territory held more than one thousand cities with a population ranging from around 100 to more than 100,000 households. This essay aims to sketch out a typology of these Ottoman cities in terms of their three basic socio-spatial features to allow them to be studied from a comparative perspective vis-à-vis other Ottoman and world cities. Thus, the key research themes of this article are the similarities and differences, groupings and idiosyncrasies, and common trends and singularities of Ottoman cities. It uses a relational approach to define and map Ottoman cities synchronically, and in some cases diachronically, according to their different attributes in different geographies and time periods. It focuses on forty-five cities selected from the Balkan, Anatolian, and Arab regions of the empire during the period 1450–1700 on the basis of the research literature and archival sources, including taḥrīr (cadastral) surveys and ʿavāriż (extraordinary tax) surveys. This essay's conclusions are based on a project that scanned scholarly publications and primary sources, selected a representative number of the cities, gathered data about these cities, set up a database, explored the attributes-based typologies of the cities, and presented the outcomes by means of tables and maps using SPSS and GIS.


. Hemidesmosomes (HDs) are stable anchoring structures that mediate the link between the intermediate filament cytoskeleton and the cell substratum. We investigated the contribution of various segments of the (cid:98) 4 integrin cytoplasmic domain in the formation of HDs in transient transfection studies using immortalized keratinocytes derived from an epidermolysis bullosa patient deficient in (cid:98) 4 expression. We found that the expression of wild-type (cid:98) 4 restored the ability of the (cid:98) 4-deficient cells to form HDs and that distinct domains in the NH 2 and COOH-terminal regions of the (cid:98) 4 cytoplasmic domain are required for the localization of HD1/plectin and the bullous pemphigoid antigens 180 (BP180) and 230 (BP230) in these HDs. The tyrosine activation motif located in the connecting segment (CS) of the (cid:98) 4 cytoplasmic domain was dispensable for HD formation, although it may be involved in the efficient localization of BP180. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we could demonstrate a direct interaction between (cid:98) 4 and BP180 which involves sequences within the COOH-terminal part of the CS and the third fibronectin type III (FNIII) repeat. Immunoprecipitation studies using COS-7 cells transfected with cDNAs for (cid:97) 6 and (cid:98) 4 and a mutant BP180 which lacks the collagenous extracellular domain confirmed the interaction of (cid:98) 4 with BP180. Nevertheless, (cid:98) 4 mutants which contained the BP180-binding region, but lacked sequences required for the localization of HD1/plectin, failed to localize BP180 in HDs. Additional yeast two-hybrid assays indicated that the 85 COOH-terminal residues of (cid:98) 4 can interact with the first NH 2 -terminal pair of FNIII repeats and the CS, suggesting that the cytoplasmic domain of (cid:98) 4 is folded back upon itself. Unfolding of the cytoplasmic domain may be part of a mechanism by which the interaction of (cid:98) 4 with other hemidesmosomal components, e.g., BP180, is regulated. the number of colonies on the SC-LT plate compared with on the SC-LTHA plate. a positive control for GAL4-driven activation of the Ade and His reporter genes of PJ69-4A, two combinations of vectors were used enable growth on SC-LTHA plates. One combination was pCL1, full-length GAL4 (which is able to activate the two reporter genes on its own) in a pACT2-like vector (Fields and Song, 1989; Clontech) together with the empty pAS2-1 vector. In the other combination, two vectors, pTD1-1, SV-40 large T antigen in pACT2 (Li and Fields, 1993; Clontech), together


To evaluate face immersion reflex (FIR) as a diagnostic test for diabetic autonomic neuropathy, we studied 15 patients with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy--defined as the presence of at least two other abnormal autonomic tests-and 15 healthy subjects as a control group. All patients underwent six different autonomic tests including deep breathing R-R variation, Valsalva maneuver, heart rate and blood pressure response to standing, intravenous atropine injection and FIR. FIR test was considered positive for autonomic neuropathy if heart rate did not decrease at least 15% of the basal rate after 10 sec of immersion. FIR was positive in all the diabetic patients and negative in the 15 controls. Its sensitivity was higher than any other single autonomic test (p < 0.025). Considering two abnormal autonomic tests as a gold standard for diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy, sensitivity was 100% for FIR, 66% for deep breathing R-R variation and Valsalva maneuver, 53% for blood pressure (BP) response to standing and 20% for i.v. atropine injection. All the test were highly specific. We conclude FIR test should be considered among diagnostic tests for diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy.


The Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio which Napier published in 1614 tabulates this 'marvellous measure of ratio-numbers' to 7 places, giving the 'Napierian' logarithms (we would now say) of the sines of angles from 0 to 90, and in a wealth of worked examples displays how these may be applied to reduce to the equivalent additions and subtractions the lengthy multiplications and divisions necessary in problems of plane and spherical trigonometry. The book had a short-lived heyday: one abruptly ended just ten years later when Henry Briggs brought out his 14-place table of common logarithms (these computed by a different and more powerful method). It is well known that the last places in Napier's table are not to be trusted. And no one after 1624 would dream of constructing logarithms his way (which was not just by computing powers of …). Why then make so much fuss over his discovery if in fact he no more invented our logarithms than Logie Baird the TV cathode-ray tube?


Intraspecific brood parasitism involves laying eggs in the nest of another individual of the same species without subsequently caring for the eggs or hatchlings. Where individuals lay in their own nest as well as parasitically, previous works predicted that parasitism leads to fewer eggs being laid in an individual's own nest, compared with the equivalent situation without parasitism. This is predicted to occur both to reduce the effects of competition from parasitically laid individuals and because parasitism can be used to reduce competition between siblings. Here, we present a quantitative model of this situation. This model indicates that the brood–reduction prediction does not hold universally. For some plausible parameter combinations, parasitism causes an increase rather than a decrease in the number of eggs laid by an individual in its own nest. This occurs because parasitism becomes a less profitable tactic as more eggs are laid by nest owners due to increasing within–nest competition. Increasing clutch size will also increase competition between the host's own offspring, but can still be advantageous if the induced reduction in parasitism is sufficient.


In the 2015 refugee crisis, nearly one million refugees came to Germany, raising concern that crimes against natives would rise. Using novel county-level data, we study this question empirically in first-difference and 2SLS regressions. Our results do not support the view that Germans were victimized in greater numbers by refugees as measured by their rate of victimization in crimes with refugee suspects. Our findings are of great policy and public interest, and also of material relevance for the broader literature on immigration and crime which considers only crimes per capita or variants thereof, but never actual crimes by foreigners against natives. We show that this shortcoming can lead to biased inference.


Abstract The concept of a dialogue is considered in general terms from the standpoint of its referential presuppositions. The semantics of dialogue implies that dialogue participants must generally have a collective intentionality of agreed-upon references that is minimally sufficient for them to be able to disagree about other things, and ideally for outstanding disagreements to become clearer at successive stages of the dialogue. These points are detailed and illustrated in a fictional dialogue, in which precisely these kinds of referential confusions impede progress in shared understanding. It is only through a continuous exchange of question and answer in this dialogue case study that the meanings of key terms and anaphorical references are disambiguated, and a relevantly complete collective intentionality of shared meaning between dialogue participants is achieved. The importance of a minimally shared referential semantics for the terms entering into reasoning and argument in dialogue contexts broadly construed cannot be over-estimated. Where to draw the line between referential agreement and disagreement within any chosen dialogue, as participants work toward better mutual understanding in clearing up referential incongruities, is sometimes among the dialogue's main points of dispute.


Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants despite improved treatment modalities. Pentoxifylline, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, inhibits multiple processes that lead to neonatal hyperoxic lung injury, including inflammation, coagulation, and edema. Using a preterm rat model, we investigated the effects of pentoxifylline on hyperoxia-induced lung injury and survival. Preterm rat pups were exposed to 100% oxygen and injected subcutaneously with 0.9% saline or 75 mg/kg pentoxifylline twice a day. On day 10, lung tissue was harvested for histology, fibrin deposition, and mRNA expression, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was collected for total protein concentration. Pentoxifylline treatment increased mean survival by 3 days (P = 0.0018) and reduced fibrin deposition by 66% (P < 0.001) in lung homogenates compared with untreated hyperoxia-exposed controls. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression in lung homogenates was decreased, but the expressions of TNF-alpha, IL-6, matrix metalloproteinase-12, tissue factor, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were similar in both groups. Total protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was decreased by 33% (P = 0.029) in the pentoxifylline group. Pentoxifylline treatment attenuates alveolar fibrin deposition and prolongs survival in preterm rat pups with neonatal hyperoxic lung injury, probably by reducing capillary-alveolar protein leakage.


Assisted dying remains illegal in England and Wales in spite of several attempts having been made by campaigners to challenge the law. These were either through judicial review in the courts or the introduction Private Members' Bills in Parliament. Recently, terminally ill Noel Conway joins the cause by seeking a declaration of incompatibility between the blanket ban on assisted dying as enshrined in section 2(1) Suicide Act 1961, with his right to respect for private life as protected by Article 8(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. He also proposed a statutory scheme that he claimed would serve as sufficient protection for the weak and vulnerable, and which would in turn render the blanket ban an unnecessary and disproportionate interference with his Article 8(1) rights. However, given that these assertions have been made by previous campaigners, Conway's decision to field these arguments has a strange sense of familiarity around them. Hence when his application failed to garner the sympathy of the High Court and the Court of Appeal in their recent judgments, this was hardly surprising since these two main routes which campaigners have pursued in the 21st century, have never met with success. By either overlooking or paying insufficient heed to their fates in previous campaigns, Conway's challenge seemed destined for failure from the outset.


A new terahertz dispersive device designed for single-shot spectral measurements of broadband terahertz pulses is proposed. With two-dimensional quasi-randomly distributed element design, the device exhibits approximately the dispersive property of single-order diffraction in far field. Its far-field diffraction pattern is experimentally verified employing a continuous terahertz source centered at 2.52 THz and a pyroelectric focal-plane-array camera, which is in good agreement with the numerical result. The device provides a new approach for direct single-shot spectral measurements of broadband terahertz waves.


Mitochondria and submitochondrial particles of the osmophilic yeast-like fungus Moniliella tomentosa may respire by means of two pathways: a normal cytochrome pathway, sensitive to cyanide and antimycin A, and an alternative pathway, which is insensitive to these inhibitors but is specifically inhibited by salicylhydroxamic acid. The affinities of both oxidases for succinate and NADH as substrates, for O(2) as terminal electron acceptor, and for AMP as stimulator of the alternative oxidase were determined. 1. Submitochondrial particles of M. tomentosa may also respire by means of a cyanide-sensitive and/or cyanide-insensitive system. 2. The activities of both oxidases as compared with the total activity are roughly the same in submitochondrial particles as in the original mitochondria. 3. The terminal oxidase of the cyanide-insensitive pathway requires a 10-fold higher O(2) concentration for saturation than does cytochrome c oxidase. 4. The apparent K(m) for succinate is about 3 times higher for the alternative than for the normal oxidase when measured in mitochondria, and 4-10 times higher when measured in submitochondrial particles. The apparent K(m) for NADH is roughly the same for both oxidases. 5. The apparent K(m) values of both oxidases for succinate are always lower in submitochondrial particles than in mitochondria. 6. The apparent K(m) for AMP, acting as a stimulator of the alternative oxidase, is the same (25mum) in mitochondria as in sub-mitochondrial particles. These results are discussed in the light of the structure and localization of the components of the alternative oxidase.


Many urban areas across the United States and globally are considering policies to create healthier and safer community environments. This report presents the rationale, evidence, and mechanisms for utilizing alcohol outletrelated zoning policy and specifically, the distance, distribution (or density), definition, and existence of alcohol outlets (i.e., bars, taverns, liquor stores) as one method to create healthier and safer communities. While aspects of this report will be applicable to other urban areas, the specific focus here is on Baltimore City, which is undergoing a comprehensive update of its zoning code for the first time since 1971. The comprehensive zoning code rewrite presents Baltimore with a unique window of opportunity to increase the health-promoting potential of neighborhoods through urban planning. The National Prevention Strategy released by the U.S. Surgeon General's Office in March 2011 serves as the nation's blueprint for advancing health and wellness. It highlights the importance of including health considerations in decision-making across multiple sectors in order to create healthier and safer communities (National Prevention Council, 2011). Known as a Health in All Policies approach, public health leaders recognize that many plans, policies, and activities in non-health sectors can still influence human health and well-being. By recognizing these links, assessing possible health impacts and including health considerations in the decision-making, a more comprehensive approach to improving and maintaining health can be realized. Such efforts include assessing possible health impacts of new rail and freight transportation projects, housing plans, familyand sick-leave policies, alcohol policies, redevelopment policies, or economic policies.


ABSTRACT Free-living nematodes are known to ingest food-borne pathogens and may serve as vectors to contaminate preharvest fruits and vegetables. Caenorhabditis elegans was selected as a model to study the effectiveness of sanitizers in killing Salmonella enterica serotype Poona ingested by free-living nematodes. Aqueous suspensions of adult worms that had fed on S. enterica serotype Poona were treated with produce sanitizers. Treatment with 20 μg of free chlorine/ml significantly (α = 0.05) reduced the population of S. enterica serotype Poona compared to results for treating worms with water (control). However, there was no significant difference in the number of S. enterica serotype Poona cells surviving treatments with 20 to 500 μg of chlorine/ml, suggesting that reductions caused by treatment with 20 μg of chlorine/ml resulted from inactivation of S. enterica serotype Poona on the surface of C. elegans but not cells protected by the worm cuticle after ingestion. Treatment with Sanova (850 or 1,200 μg/ml), an acidified sodium chlorite sanitizer, caused reductions of 5.74 and 6.34 log10 CFU/worm, respectively, compared to reductions from treating worms with water. Treatment with 20 or 40 μg of Tsunami 200/ml, a peroxyacetic acid-based sanitizer, resulted in reductions of 4.83 and 5.34 log10 CFU/worm, respectively, compared to numbers detected on or in worms treated with water. Among the organic acids evaluated at a concentration of 2%, acetic acid was the least effective in killing S. enterica serotype Poona and lactic acid was the most effective. Treatment with up to 500 μg of chlorine/ml, 1% hydrogen peroxide, 2,550 μg of Sanova/ml, 40 μg of Tsunami 200/ml, or 2% acetic, citric, or lactic acid had no effect on the viability or reproductive behavior of C. elegans. Treatments were also applied to cantaloupe rind and lettuce inoculated with S. enterica serotype Poona or C. elegans that had ingested S. enterica serotype Poona. Protection of ingested S. enterica serotype Poona against sanitizers applied to cantaloupe was not evident; however, ingestion afforded protection of the pathogen on lettuce. These results indicate that S. enterica serotype Poona ingested by C. elegans may be protected against treatment with chlorine and other sanitizers, although the basis for this protection remains unclear.


We report the design and synthesis of macrocyclic peptide-peptoid hybrids (peptomers) as analogs of autoinducing peptide I (AIP-I) from Staphylococcus aureus. Our solid-phase synthetic route includes efficient microwave-assisted reactions and a tandem macrocyclization-cleavage step, and we demonstrate its compatibility with parallel synthesis through the generation of a focused peptomer library. One of the peptomers was capable of stimulating biofilm formation in S. aureus, a phenotype linked to AIP-I receptor (AgrC-I) inhibition.


Introduction Mental disorders such as depression are common, and an estimated 264 million people are affected by them throughout the world. In recent years, studies on digital health interventions to treat mental disorders have shown evidence of their efficacy, and interest in using them has increased as a result. In the primary care setting, depression and anxiety are the two most frequently diagnosed and treated mental disorders. When they do not refer them to specialists, primary care professionals such as general practitioners treat patients with mental disorders themselves but have insufficient time to treat them adequately. Furthermore, there is a shortage of psychotherapists and those that exist have long waiting lists for an appointment. The purpose of this mixed methods systematic review is to explore the attitudes of primary care professionals towards the use of digital health interventions in the treatment of patients with mental disorders. Their attitudes will provide an indication whether digital mental health interventions can effectively complement standard care in the primary care setting. Methods and analysis We searched for qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies published in English, German, Spanish, Russian, French and Dutch after January 2010 for inclusion in the review. The included studies must involve digital mental health interventions conducted via computer and/or mobile devices in the primary care setting. The search was conducted in July 2020 in the following electronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science Core Collection. Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts and full texts and extract data. We will use the 'Integrated methodology' framework to combine both quantitative and qualitative data. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required. We will disseminate the results of the mixed methods systematic review in a peer-reviewed journal and scientific conferences. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020188879.


Synovial chondromatosis (SC) is a rare, benign, chronic, progressive and proliferative lesion that more often affects the large joints of the body. There is formation of cartilaginous nodules in the synovial joint space, which subsequently degrade, detach and form free-floating, calcified bodies within the joint space. The first case of SC affecting the TMJ was described by Axhausen in 1933. The etiopathogenesis still remains unclear but often associated with a history of trauma. Clinically patients present with symptoms of swelling, pain, crepitation, malocclusion and joint dysfunction. These signs and symptoms mimic other TMJ diseases thus establishing the importance of correct diagnosis of SC. Here we present a case of SC of the right TMJ highlighting the various imaging modalities which aid in the diagnosis of SC.


Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of implant casts generated with splinted and nonsplinted impression techniques with multiple parallel and nonparallel implants. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, two edentulous maxillary stainless steel models with seven implant analogs in the central incisor, canine, premolar, and first molar region simulating clinical condition were used (control groups). In one master model, implant analogs were placed parallel to each other, whereas in another model, analogs were placed with a tilt-to-longitudinal axis. Forty stone casts were made from each model using splined and nonsplinted technique using polyether with open-tray technique. Then, the difference in the distance between the master cast and experimental cast in three dimensions was measured by coordinate-measuring machine. One-way ANOVA, post hoc Bonferroni test, and unpaired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: Statistical comparisons were made using ANOVA test, post hoc test, and unpaired t-test. Splinted technique with parallel implants generated interimplant distance values closest to the master model, followed by nonsplinted technique with parallel implants, splinted technique with angulated implants, and nonsplinted technique with angulated implants. Conclusions: Splinted impression technique exhibited higher accuracy than the other technique studies in both parallel and angulated implants.


Given a set of monophonic, harmonic sound sources (e.g. human voices or wind instruments), multi-pitch estimation (MPE) is the task of determining the instantaneous pitches of each source. Multi-pitch tracking (MPT) connects the instantaneous pitch estimates provided by MPE algorithms into pitch trajectories of sources. A trajectory can be short (within a musical note), or long (an entire piece of music). While note-level MPT methods usually utilize local time-frequency proximity of pitches to connect them into a note, song-level MPT is much more difficult and needs more information. This is because pitches evolve discontinuously from note to note, and pitch trajectories can even interweave. In this paper, we cast the song-level MPT problem as a constrained clustering problem. The constraints are time-frequency locality of pitches and the clustering objective is their timbre consistency. Due to this problem's unique properties, existing constrained clustering algorithms cannot be directly applied. We propose a new constrained clustering algorithm. Experiments show that our approach produces good results on real-world music recordings of 4 musical instruments.