Phormium yellow leaf (PYL) phytoplasma causes a lethal disease of the monocotyledon, New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). The 16S rRNA genes of PYL phytoplasma were amplified from infected flax by PCR and cloned, and the nucleotide sequences were determined. DNA sequencing and Southern hybridization analysis of genomic DNA indicated the presence of two copies of the 16S rRNA gene. The two 16S rRNA genes exhibited sequence heterogeneity in 4 nucleotide positions and could be distinguished by the restriction enzymes BpmI and BsrI. This is the first record in which sequence heterogeneity in the 16S rRNA genes of a phytoplasma has been determined by sequence analysis. A phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that PYL phytoplasma is most closely related to the stolbur and German grapevine yellows phytoplasmas, which form the stolbur subgroup of the aster yellows group. This phylogenetic position of PYL phytoplasma was supported by 16S/23S spacer region sequence data.


This paper presents a critique of the present concepts of the pathology of nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease and particularly of the criteria required for diagnosis for the condition and its separation from other types of Hodgkin's disease. In addition, the natural history and histopathology of the condition have been studied among 104 cases of Hodgkin's disease presenting at The London Hospital, and the significance of the appearance is discussed.


Fixed-bed reactors have gained growing attention for the cultivation of mammalian cells. They allow for a low shear stress cultivation of adherent and non-adherent cells due to the immobilization of cells within macroporous carriers. Their potential has been demonstrated for many cell culture purposes. Some of the recent developments are presented in this review, including improved antibody production by hybridoma cells, high performance cultivation of a hepatoblas- toma cell line and cultivation of cells for the production of retroviral vectors. Furthermore, criteria for the selection of process strategies and scale-up concepts are addressed.


Influenza-like illness (ILI) is a commonly measured syndromic signal representative of a range of acute respiratory infections. Reliable forecasts of ILI can support better preparation for patient surges in healthcare systems. Although ILI is an amalgamation of multiple pathogens with variable seasonal phasing and attack rates, most existing process-based forecasting systems treat ILI as a single infectious agent. Here, using ILI records and virologic surveillance data, we show that ILI signal can be disaggregated into distinct viral components. We generate separate predictions for six contributing pathogens (influenza A/H1, A/H3, B, respiratory syncytial virus, and human parainfluenza virus types 1–2 and 3), and develop a method to forecast ILI by aggregating these predictions. The relative contribution of each pathogen to the total ILI signal is estimated using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method upon forecast aggregation. We find highly variable overall contributions from influenza type A viruses across seasons, but relatively stable contributions for the other pathogens. Using historical data from 1997 to 2014 at US national and regional levels, the proposed forecasting system generates improved predictions of both seasonal and near-term targets relative to a baseline method that simulates ILI as a single pathogen. The hierarchical forecasting system can generate predictions for each viral component, as well as infer and predict their contributions to ILI, which may additionally help physicians determine the etiological causes of ILI in clinical settings.


Reproduction of the Ebola strains (ES) virus causing lethality in guinea pigs as well as in peritoneal macrophages and aorta explants of animals was investigated in vitro and in vivo; besides, production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by macrophages and endotheliocytes of guinea pigs was also studied. The interplay "macrophage--ES" by the example of 2 models of susceptibility to ES demonstrates that the ES lethality is not unambiguously related only with a level of virus reproduction in macrophages. The interplay "endotheliocyte--ES" is indicative of that the ES lethality is inversely dependent on a level of production of the IFN-gamma and of TNF-alpha by endotheliocytes. In general, the Eboly fever lethality is not conditioned only by the ability or inability of ES to reproduce in macrophages and endotheliocytes; it also depends on a variety of pathogenetic factors, one of which could be the cytotoxic action of immune complexes shaping in the process of infection progression.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a congenital disease characterized by defective erythroid progenitor maturation. Patients' bone marrow progenitor cells do not respond to erythropoietic growth factors, such as erythropoietin. Mutations in the gene encoding for ribosomal protein (RP) S19 account for 25% of cases of DBA. The link between defective erythropoiesis and RPS19 is still unclear. Two not mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed: altered protein synthesis and loss of unknown extraribosomal functions.

DESIGN AND METHODS
We used yeast two-hybrid screening and a human liver cDNA library obtained at 19-24 weeks of gestation, when hepatic erythropoiesis is efficient, to search for proteins interacting with RPS19.

RESULTS
We found that RPS19 binds PIM-1, an ubiquitous serine-threonine kinase whose expression can be induced in erythropoietic cells by several growth factors, such as erythropoietin. The PIM-1/RPS19 interaction was demonstrated both in vitro and in living cells and led to phosphorylation of RPS19 in an in vitro kinase assay. We also showed that in human 293T cells PIM-1 interacts with ribosomes and may be involved in translational control. Three DBA-associated RPS19 mutations alter the binding between RPS19 and PIM-1.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
A link between erythropoietic growth factor signaling and RPS19 has been identified for the first time.


The morphologic changes occurring in human chromosomes during G-banding by trypsin treatment on the same metaphase were followed with the aid of an atomic force microscope (AFM). It was found that trypsin treatment alone caused a pattern of collapse in the chromosomes that was clearly dependent on the duration of trypsinization. The progressive pattern of collapse first indicated the loss of internal differentiation between chromatids, then bands, and finally all internal structures, except for edges running around the chromosomes' perimeter. When stained with Giemsa, the collapsed chromosomes partly regained their original form, and transverse ridges appeared that correspond to G-positive band regions. However, the treatment of fixed chromosomes with trypsin for 42 s diminished the chromosomal edges, and the z-dimensions could not be measured even with the subsequent application of Giemsa.


The acute therapy of the cerebral infarct necessitates the fast evaluation of the favorable risk factors and the assessment of its pathogenetical mechanisms to facilitate a specific treatment as early as possible. Acute treatment procedures like the rheologic therapy, anticoagulation, thrombolysis, application of calcium antagonists, and antiedematous therapy are discussed. Recommendations for the secondary prophylaxis with drugs like acetylsalicylic acid or triclopidine after transitory ischemic attacks or manifest brain infarctions are given. The indications for the surgical therapy of stenoses of the extracranial vessels supplying the brain are discussed and rules for the emergency management of the transitory ischemic attack are introduced.


In the complexity of the entangled interactions within the group of psychoanalytical pionneers, their divergent interests and views, the Ferenczi-Jung relationship is of particular interest given the importance that both had in the field of the history of ideas. It is striking to discover some parallel lines, but interpersonal, institutional and socio-cultural factors contributed to the fact that this peaceful and complementary collaboration was not possible in the long run. Perhaps for the present generation, in retrospective, it is easier to notice seminal strokes and also some deficiencies in all these thinkers.


Abstract Many of the greatest challenges in medicine and public health involve the evolution of drug resistance by pathogens. Recent advances in the theory of natural selection suggest that there are two broad classes of pathogen traits that can be targeted by drugs or vaccines. The first class, consisting of traits that benefit the individual organisms bearing them, causes a strong evolutionary response and the rapid emergence of drug resistance. The second class, consisting of traits that benefit groups of pathogen organisms including the individual provider, causes a weaker evolutionary response and less drug resistance. Although most previous drug development has targeted the first class, it would be advantageous to focus on the second class as targets for drug and vaccine development. Specific examples and test cases are discussed.


Many companies are using model-based techniques to offer a competitive advantage in an increasingly globalised systems development industry. Central to model-based development is the concept of models as the basis from which systems are generated, tested and maintained. The availability of high-quality tools, and the ability to adopt and adapt them to the company practice, are important qualities. Model interchange between tools becomes a major issue. Without it, there is significantly reduced flexibility, and a danger of tool lock-in. We explore the use of a standardised interchange format (XMI) for increasing flexibility in a company environment. We report on a case study in which a systems development company has explored the possibility of complementingtheir current proprietary tools with open source products for supporting their model-based development activities. We found that problems still exist with interchange, and that the technology needs to mature before industrial- strength model interchange becomes a reality.


In this research, it was aimed to analyze the effects of reading attitudes and reading anxiety of middle school students reading habits through structural equation modeling. The study group, which was formed by simple random sampling in the research conducted by the relational screening model consists of 341 students who were studying on 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. In the collection of the data, "Reading Anxiety Scale (Melanlioglu, 2014)","Reading Attitude Scale (Cakiroglu & Palanci, 2015)" and "Secondary School Reading Habits Scale (Tok, Kucuk, & Kirmaci, 2015)" were used. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling and SPSS 23 and AMOS  22.0 software were used for the analysis of data. As a result of the research, it was determined that and the reading anxiety and the attitude in which the hypothesis model was valid directly and significantly affected the reading habits. It has been determined that reading anxiety and reading attitude were the most dominant predictor of reading habits, as well as explaining 42% of reading habits, and that reading habits were both directly and indirectly influenced by reading anxiety and they were directly influenced by reading attitude.


Nitride-based diodes with an in situ grown, 30 nm thick unactivated Mg-doped GaN cap layer were fabricated. It was found that we could significantly reduce leakage current by using the semi-insulating Mg-doped GaN cap layer. This is due to the thicker and higher potential barrier and the effective passivation of surface states when the semi-insulating Mg-doped GaN cap layer was inserted.


Capacitive deionization (CDI) typically uses one porous carbon electrode that is cation adsorbing and one that is anion adsorbing. In 2016, Smith and Dmello proposed an innovative CDI cell design based on two cation‐selective electrodes and a single anion‐selective membrane, and thereafter this design was experimentally validated by various authors. In this design, anions pass through the membrane once, and desalinated water is continuously produced. In the present work, this idea is extended, and it is experimentally shown that also a choice for anion‐selective electrodes, in combination with a cation‐selective membrane, leads to a functional cell design that continuously desalinates water. Anion‐selective electrodes are obtained by chemical modification of the carbon electrode with (3‐aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. After chemical modification, the activated carbon electrode shows a substantial reduction of the total pore volume and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, but nevertheless maintains excellent CDI performance, which is for the first time that a low‐porosity carbon electrode is demonstrated as a promising material for CDI.


Institutional innovations are critical for effective performance of agricultural research centres in natural resource management projects that often include multiple and diverse stakeholders with contrasting objectives and activities. This report shows how institutional histories of projects can be used as tools to help reveal institutional innovations thereby promoting Institutional Learning And Change [ILAC). This report extends an earlier work on using institutional histories over a thirty-year period to understand research practice at an international agricultural research centre, by focusing on applying institutional insights to a current project of the agroecosystems group of ICRISAT with an Indian 'unconventional' donor. It draws out lessons for scaling-up of activities in multi-partner initiatives. The report also explores the use of actor-oriented tools for project management and recommends its use to enable collective reflection on partnerships in review and planning meetings of projects. The learning from the historical study and the application of institutional histories in an ongoing project together reveal interesting insights on international agricultural research centres and their efforts towards a transition into learning organizations.


The notion of the speech community is one of the foci and the main issue of analysis in the ethnography of communication and one of the important concepts in sociolinguistics. In the theory and method of sociolinguistics, it is one of the major problems concerned. Second language acquisition (SLA) is a sub-discipline of applied linguistics and is defined as the learning and adopting of a language that is not your native language as well as the process by which people learn it. SLA is influenced by many factors in a speech community. This paper presents a detailed analysis of speech community; discusses different theories concerning SLA; summarizes the various factors in a speech community which function to influence SLA; and tries to point out the significance of the study and the problems existing in it.


Thermoregulation is thought to be the most important factor influencing habitat selection by terrestrial ectotherms, at least in temperate climates. The cost-benefit model of thermoregulation predicts that ectotherms should invest more in thermoregulation when the costs of doing so are low (when the thermal quality of the habitat is high). However, the extent to which ectotherms vary their thermoregulatory behaviour according to the thermal quality of habitats is currently unknown. We studied the relationship between habitat use and thermoregulation in 53 black rat snakes using temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters. Among the habitats available to black rat snakes, edges had the highest thermal quality, retreat sites and forest were intermediate, and open habitats had the lowest thermal quality. Black rat snakes experienced more favourable body temperatures while in barns (retreat sites) than in edges, and in edges than in forest. During the day, the effectiveness and the extent of thermoregulation by the snakes were equal in barns and forest, but much lower in edges. In fact, black rat snakes selected thermally favourable microhabitats less than their availability while in edges. Therefore, more favourable body temperatures were not necessarily achieved in thermally superior habitats by increased thermoregulation, but simply because favourable temperatures were encountered more often in those habitats. This result is contrary to the central prediction of the cost-benefit model of thermoregulation and we suggest that this model should be modified to put more emphasis on other costs of thermoregulation, such as increased predation risk or lost foraging opportunities.


For a large class of scientific computing applications, the continuing growth in physical memory capacity cannot be expected to eliminate the need to perform UO throughout their executions. For these out-of-core applications, the large and widening gap between processor performance and disk latency is a major concern. Current operating systems deliver poor performance when an application's working set does not fit in main memory. As a result, programmers who wish to solve these out-of-core problems efficiently are typically faced with the onerous task of rewriting their application to use explicit I/O operations (e.g., read/write). In many cases, the end result is that the size of physical memory determines the size of problem that can be solved.
In this dissertation, we propose and evaluate a fully-automatic technique which liberates the programmer from this task, provides high performance, and requires only minimal changes to current operating systems. In our scheme, the compiler provides the crucial information on future access patterns without burdening the programmer, the operating system supports non-binding prefetch and release hints for managing I/O in a virtual memory system, and the operating system cooperates with a run-time layer to accelerate performance by adapting to dynamic behavior and minimizing prefetch overhead. This approach maintains the abstraction of unlimited virtual memory for the programmer, gives the compiler the flexibility to aggressively insert prefetches ahead of references, and gives the operating system the flexibility to arbitrate between the competing resource demands of multiple applications.
We implemented our compiler analysis within the SUIF compiler, and used it to target implementations of our run-time and operating system support on both research and commercial systems (HURRICANE and I RIX 6.5, respectively). Our experimental results show large performance gains for out-of-core scientific applications on both systems: more than 50% of the I/O stall time has been eliminated in most cases, thus translating into overall speedups of roughly twofold in many cases. Our initial experiments motivated a new compiler scheduling algorithm that is capable of tolerating the large and variable latencies that are common for disk accesses, in the presence of multiply-nested loops with unknown bounds. On our current experimental systems, many of our benchmark applications remain I/O bound, however, we show that the new scheduling algorithms are able to substantially improve performance in some cases, reducing execution time by an additional 36% in the best case. We further show that the new algorithms should enable applications to make more effective use of higher-bandwidth disk systems that will be available in the future.


In this research, high-temperature superconductors exhibit a wide variety of novel excitations. If contacted with a topological insulator, the lifting of spin rotation symmetry in the surface states can lead to the emergence of unconventional superconductivity and novel particles. In pursuit of this possibility, we fabricated high critical-temperature (Tc ~ 85 K) superconductor/topological insulator (Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊δ/Bi₂Te₂Se) junctions. Below 75 K, a zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) emerges in the differential conductance spectra of this junction. The magnitude of the ZBCP is suppressed at the same rate for magnetic fields applied parallel or perpendicular to the junction. Furthermore, it can still be observed and does not split up to at least 8.5 T. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the excitation we observe appears to fall outside the known paradigms for a ZBCP.


Objective: To determine if there is a relation of selected Doppler flow parameters with myometrial invasion and histological grading in endometrial cancer. Methods: TVCD were performed on 90 women with endometrial cancer. The location and intensity (vascular density – v. ds.) of vascularity, the peak systolic velocity (PSV) and the resistance index (RI) from blood flow waveforms of neoplastic infiltration were assessed. Ultrasonographic findings were compared to histopathology of the surgical specimen in which the degree of neoplastic invasion and histological grading was established. Results: In 80 of 90 patients (88.9%) abnormal flow with low impedance and high velocity levels (mean RI 0.38 ± 0.09 and PSV 20.45 ± 9.6 cm/sec) was found. In endometrial, superficial and deep neoplastic invasion (E,S,D) in 8/13 (61.5%), 38/41 (92.7%) and 34/36 (94.4%) respectively. Among 22 cases with neoplastic cervical canal involvement vascularity was seen in 21/22 i.e. 95.5% of cases, in 15/21 (71.4%) of high and in 6/21 (28.6%) of low vascular density. There was positive correlation between vascular density increase and surgicopathological stage (p < 0.005). Differences of RI and PSV between each type of infiltration was statistically significant (p < 0.01 and 0.02 respectively). In G1,G2,G3 vascularity was seen in 9/15 (60%), 56/60 (93.3%) and 15/15 (100%) of cases respectively, and these are significant differences (p < 0.05). Resistance index values manifested distinct decrease, and PSV a distinct increase with increasing histological malignancy of tumor. Well-differentiated tumors showed low vascular density, with relatively high impedance flow and low velocity: RI 0.44 ± 0.05 and PSV 14.1 ± 8.31 cm/sec, respectively. Conclusions: The correlation was seen between flow parameters, vascular density and staging (depth of tumor invasion) and grading of neoplasm. Lower resistance indices were reflected by higher grade and stage tumors, deeper invasion into the uterus.


This study investigates the usefulness of two academic word lists - Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) and Gardner & Davies' ( 2014 ) Academic Vocabulary List (AVL) - for students of English for Chinese Medical Purposes. The two academic word lists were evaluated in terms of the coverage they achieved in a corpus of Chinese medical research articles (CMRAs) written in English. The AWL was found to cover 10.64% of tokens in the corpus, while the AVL was found to cover 21.17% overall. In both cases, the majority of the coverage was achieved by a relatively small subset of the lexical items on the lists. Analysis of the most frequently used words that are not included in the General Service List, Academic Word List and Academic Vocabulary List in the CMRAs shows that a small number of such words achieve a high level of coverage, suggesting that they should be given a great deal of attention by learners in this discipline. This suggests that a discipline-specific listing would be of great benefit to learners in this discipline. A list of the most prominent 100 off-list lexical items is provided.


Objective: To investigate the association between caffeine consumption and cognitive outcomes in later life. Methods: Participants were 923 healthy adults from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study, on whom there were intelligence quotient (IQ) data from age 11 years. Cognitive function at age 70 years was assessed, using tests measuring general cognitive ability, speed of information processing, and memory. Current caffeine consumption (using multiple measures of tea, coffee, and total dietary caffeine) was obtained by self-report questionnaire, and demographic and health information was collected in a standardized interview. Results: In age- and sex-adjusted models, there were significant positive associations between total caffeine intake and general cognitive ability and memory. After adjustment for age 11 IQ and social class, both individually and together, most of these associations became nonsignificant. A robust positive association, however, was found between drinking ground coffee (e.g., filter and espresso) and performance on the National Adult Reading Test (NART, p = .007), and the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR, p = .02). No gender effects were observed, contrary to previous studies. Generally, higher cognitive scores were associated with coffee consumption, and lower cognitive scores with tea consumption, but these effects were not significant in the fully adjusted model. Conclusions: The present study is rare in having childhood IQ in a large sample of older people. The results suggest that the significant caffeine intake-cognitive ability associations are bidirectional—because childhood IQ and estimated prior IQ are associated with the type of caffeine intake in old age—and partly confounded by social class. BMI = body mass index; FFQ = Food Frequency Questionnaire; MHT = Moray House Test; PCA = Principal Components Analysis; SMS1947 = Scottish Mental Survey 1947; LBC1936 = Lothian Birth Cohort 1936; SES = socioeconomic status; NART = National Adult Reading Test; WTAR = Wechsler Test of Adult Reading.


The exploitation of natural resources and the associated marginalization of indigenous occupants of areas with such endowments continue to act as major driving forces for conflicts around the world, especially in Africa. In Nigeria's Niger Delta Region, the major triggers of resource-based violent conflicts have been the subject matter of many academics and policy analysts. With the introduction of several peace strategies especially the Federal Government of Nigeria's Amnesty Program notwithstanding, pockets of violent activities have generated questions as to the sustainability of the program. This study examines the sustainability of the Federal Government's Amnesty Program in the Niger Delta Region. The main objective is to provide empirical evaluation of the program in the light of its strategy to deliver peace to the region, not only in the short-term but also in the long-term. Consequently, relying on the philosophy of the relative deprivation theory, descriptive and Chi-Square (χ) statistical tools, the study has revealed that amnesty does not address the issues that have underpinned the genesis of violent agitations in the pre-amnesty era. As a result, this amnesty as a peace strategy is not sustainable. Hence, the inability to address issues such as adverse human development, inadequate infrastructure, environmental degradation and poverty among others strongly undermines the Amnesty program as a viable peace strategy. Given these findings, the study suggests a broad-based, multi-stakeholder approach that draws on private sector resources and competence in order to sustain the gains of the amnesty program if it is to bring about lasting peace in the region.


Arabic is a Semitic language that is rich in its morphology and syntax. The very numerous and complex grammar rules of the language may be confusing for the average user of a word processor. In this paper, we report our attempt at developing a grammar checker program for Modern Standard Arabic, called Arabic GramCheck. Arabic GramCheck can help the average user by checking hissher writing for certain common grammatical errors; it describes the problem for himsher and offers suggestions for improvement. The use of the Arabic grammatical checker can increase productivity and improve the quality of the text for anyone who writes Arabic. Arabic GramCheck has been successfully implemented using SICStus Prolog on an IBM PC. The current implementation covers a well-formed subset of Arabic and focuses on people trying to write in a formal style. Successful tests have been performed using a set of Arabic sentences. It is concluded that the approach is promising by observing the results as compared to the output of a commercially available Arabic grammar checker. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


One of the most pressing challenges for Springfield is increasing the labor force participation and employment rates of its residents. The city's labor force participation rate is extremely low even when compared with other older industrial cities in the region. In Springfield's Latino neighborhoods less than half of the working-age population is in the labor force. Through data analysis and interviews of business owners, this study focuses on business ownership as a potential strategy for job creation in the city and for income generation in impoverished areas. Springfield has self-employment rates similar to that of comparison cities in New England and in the past ten years, the number of Latinos self-employed in the city grew by 150 percent, a much faster rate than wage/salary workers. However, Springfield lags in the number of Latino-owned firms relative to the share of Latino population. Latino-owned businesses play an important role in providing additional services and support to Latino residents. Nevertheless, existing funding and technical assistance programs that are generally available to small businesses appear not to be reaching Latino entrepreneurs in Springfield, which tends to inhibit their survival and growth.


'Form Follows Idea' was written at the invitation of the publisher who specializes in books on contemporary art, architecture and design. It consolidates the concepts and rationales, which underpin the work of Professor Maxine Naylor (University of Brighton) and myself. Our text reflects upon our individual, independent design activity and recent design collaborations. We specifically draw attention to the concept of integrity using our own experimental design outputs, which are questioned against three frames of reference. These are (1) axioms and milestones within modernist ideology (2) the nature and performance of materials (3) the application of archaeological metaphor as a device for reinventing contemporary artefacts.

Significantly the book formulates and demonstrates, using over 90 of our own sketches, drawings, designs and photographs,(and references to Duchamp, Robert Venturi, SITE) the notion that design itself can be a direct critical medium for cultural reflection without recourse to interpretation by the design critic who 'writes' about the artefact. By illustrating 'embedded' visual narrative the book reclaims the role of reflective critic for the artist/designer.

The book's originality is defined in the foreword by Professor Jeremy Myerson, Director Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art as 'a manifesto for a "third way" in design, a championing of cultural enquiry within the object, which goes beyond the idea that designers just design and the context of what they create must be defined and directed by others… With 'Form Follows Idea', Ball and Naylor identify themselves as key players in this debate, their experimentation through design making a significant contribution to the research field.'


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of acetaminophen on the incidence of adverse effects to, and the immunogenicity of, whole-virus influenza vaccine in health care workers.

DESIGN
Prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

SETTING
Health Sciences Centre, an acute care teaching hospital in Winnipeg.

PARTICIPANTS
Of 474 hospital personnel who agreed to undergo influenza vaccination during the 1990-91 season 262 volunteered to participate in the study.

INTERVENTIONS
A dose of 0.5 mL of inactivated trivalent whole-virus influenza vaccine was injected into the deltoid muscle. Volunteers were randomly assigned to ingest two capsules of acetaminophen in a half dose (162.5 mg per capsule) or a full dose (325 mg per capsule) or two identical placebo capsules. Capsules were to be taken at vaccination and at 4, 8 and 12 hours afterward. Subjects were asked to answer questions regarding six symptoms in a diary for the 3 days after vaccination and to record their ingestion of the study medication.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Incidence of local (sore arm) and systemic (headache, fever, muscle ache, nausea and diarrhea) side effects as well as serum titres of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibody to vaccine antigens before vaccination and 2 weeks and 6 months afterward.

RESULTS
A total of 87, 87 and 88 subjects received the half dose, full dose and placebo respectively; 96% returned the diaries, 83% ingested all four doses of medication, and 87% volunteered all blood samples. Compared with the placebo group the incidence of sore arm was 25% to 28% lower in the half-dose and full-dose groups respectively at 24 hours after vaccination, and the rate of nausea was 90% lower in the full-dose group. The HAI titres were similar among the groups at the three test times.

CONCLUSIONS
The full dose of acetaminophen significantly reduced the incidence of sore arm and nausea without affecting the antibody response. Acetaminophen use may increase the acceptance of influenza vaccine by health care workers in whom concern about side effects is an impediment to vaccination.


This article compares and contrasts two humanitarian emergencies and their impact on Nepal: these are the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It explains how each emergency has impacted children without parental care or at risk of family separation, with specific reference to orphanage trafficking, voluntourism, child institutionalisation and family preservation. In relation to each emergency, the article considers the role of disaster preparedness; the roles of the Nepal government, the international community and civil society; and the significance of one emergency being localised, while the other is a global phenomenon. It also shows that while these emergencies have increased the risk of harm and exploitation for children and families, they have also driven forward innovation in child protection practices, particularly through the use of reintegration, case management and family preservation programmes.


The operating room (OR) is a dynamic and complex environment consisting of a multidisciplinary team working together in a high take environment to provide safe and efficient patient care. Additionally, surgeons are frequently exposed to multiple psycho-organisational stressors that may cause negative repercussions on their immediate technical performance and long-term health. Many factors can therefore contribute to increasing the Cognitive Workload (CWL) such as temporal pressures, unfamiliar anatomy or distractions in the OR. In this paper, a cascade of two machine learning approaches is suggested for the multimodal recognition of CWL in four different surgical task conditions. Firstly, a model based on the concept of transfer learning is used to identify if a surgeon is experiencing any CWL. Secondly, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) uses this information to identify different degrees of CWL associated to each surgical task. The suggested multimodal approach considers adjacent signals from electroencephalogram (EEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and eye pupil diameter. The concatenation of signals allows complex correlations in terms of time (temporal) and channel location (spatial). Data collection was performed by a Multi-sensing AI Environment for Surgical Task&Role Optimisation platform (MAESTRO) developed at the Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London. To compare the performance of the proposed methodology, a number of state-of-art machine learning techniques have been implemented. The tests show that the proposed model has a precision of 93%.


The Schrodinger equations which are exactly solvable in terms of associated special functions are directly related to some self-adjoint operators defined in the theory of hypergeometric type equations. The fundamental formulae occurring in a supersymmetric approach to these Hamiltonians are consequences of some formulae concerning the general theory of associated special functions. We use this connection in order to obtain a general theory of Schrodinger equations exactly solvable in terms of associated special functions, and to extend certain results known in the case of some particular potentials.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of parenteral administration of dexamethasone and levamisole on the accumulation of macrophages and formation of giant cells in chronic inflammation by foreign body and blood parameters in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). It was used 50 mg/kg of levamisole and 2.0 mg/kg of dexamethasone and the combination of both drugs. Coverslips were implanted under the skin. After 2, 7, and 15 days postimplantation (DPI), fish were anesthetized for removal of coverslips and the number of macrophages and giant cells were count. It was also collected blood from the caudal vessel to evaluate: red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, leukocytes count, thrombocytes count, MCV, and MCHC. We observed that dexamethasone affects negatively the formation of giant cells in the chronic inflammation for foreign body. Levamisole, despite being immunostimulatory in several species, showed limited action. However, it was enough to counteract the effect of dexamethasone; the association of the drugs did not interfere significantly in erythrocyte and leukocyte number in most of the treatments and times studied. In dexamethasone group there was a reduction in the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin associated with increased mean corpuscular volume, suggesting slight macrocytic anemia. At 15 DPI, most groups showed the recovery of hematologic response. As in mammals, dexamethasone affects negatively the inflammatory response. Levamisole showed little effect by itself. However, in some parameters the association of both drugs causes similar response to control and naïve groups, showing the antagonistic effect of these drugs.


2 mm plus radiotherapy is as good as a bigger margin

T he widespread use of mammography screening has led to a change in the perceived pathology of breast cancer. The increased detection of asymptomatic disease has resulted in an increased incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which now accounts for about 20% of all cases of breast cancer. In addition, the past decade has seen a change in the management of primary breast cancer, from mastectomy to breast conservation where possible.1 Clearly surgical management of DCIS poses several challenges, none more so than what should be the width of an adequate margin of resection. What is at issue is the size of the margin that ensures no residual tumour cells while minimising the deformity of the breast.

The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) regards "no tumour cells on the ink"—that is, a minimal margin free of disease—as a negative margin. Yet in a recent survey of 1137 radiation oncologists only 45.9% of North American respondents and 27.6% of Europeans agreed with this definition.2 When this margin was extended to 2 mm over 75% of North American respondents agreed that this could be regarded as negative, …


Problem statement: The South and South East Asian countries are characterized by their rich biodiversity as well as cultural diversity. Agricultural expansion for livelihood security is leading to an increase in pesticide application in this region. It has been observed that because of the hot and humid conditions prevalent in this region, most farmers and pesticide applicators do not use proper protective gear, thereby exposing themselves to the hazards of pesticide poisoning. Another important issue is the exposure of infants and children to toxic pesticides, especially in congested urban slums and tenements. Approach: The biodiversity contained in the six biodiversity hotspots located in this region was also at considerable risk from the toxic effects of pesticides from agricultural fields as well as plantations of tea, coffee, rubber, oil palm, which were often present in close proximity of protected areas. Though a large number of countries in this region had ratified and/or signed important international conventions on pesticide manufacture, export-import and trans boundary movements such as the Stockholm, the Rotterdam and the Basel conventions. Results: A large number of hazardous pesticides was still in use in this region and require to be phased out. Information was lacking on the use status of several pesticides in smaller countries, thereby retaining a certain amount of ambiguity. Conclusion: Despite the grave nature of the pesticide use regulation issue in the Asia-Pacific, clear and uniform policy response is lacking in most countries of this region. These issues need to be addressed through dialogues and mutual cooperation both at national as well as international levels.


Numerous models have been developed to account for the complex properties of the random walks of biomolecules. However, when analysing experimental data, conditions are rarely met to ensure model identification. The dynamics may simultaneously be influenced by spatial and temporal heterogeneities of the environment, out-of-equilibrium fluxes and conformal changes of the tracked molecules. Recorded trajectories are often too short to reliably discern such multi-scale dynamics, which precludes unambiguous assessment of the type of random walk and its parameters. Furthermore, the motion of biomolecules may not be well described by a single, canonical random walk model. Here, we develop a methodology for comparing biomolecule dynamics observed in different experimental conditions without beforehand identifying the model generating the recorded random walks. We introduce a two-step statistical testing scheme. We first use simulation-based inference to train a graph neural network to learn a fixed-length latent representation of recorded random walks. As a second step, we use a maximum mean discrepancy statistical test on the vectors of learnt features to compare biological conditions. This procedure allows us to characterise sets of random walks regardless of their generating models. We initially tested our approach on numerical trajectories. We then demonstrated its ability to detect changes in α-synuclein dynamics at synapses in cultured cortical neurons in response to membrane depolarisation. Using our methodology, we identify the domains in the latent space where the variations between conditions are the most significant, which provides a way of interpreting the detected differences in terms of single trajectory characteristics. Our data show that changes in α-synuclein dynamics between the chosen conditions are largely driven by increased protein mobility in the depolarised state. Author summary The continuous refinement of methods for single molecule tracking in live cells advance our understanding of how biomolecules move inside cells. Analysing the trajectories of single molecules is complicated by their highly erratic and noisy nature and thus requires the use of statistical models of their motion. However, it is often not possible to unambiguously determine a model from a set of short and noisy trajectories. Furthermore, the heterogeneous nature of the cellular environment means that the molecules' motion is often not properly described by a single model. In this paper we develop a new statistical testing scheme to detect changes in biomolecule dynamics within organelles without needing to identify a model of their motion. We train a graph neural network on large-scale simulations of random walks to learn a latent representation that captures relevant physical properties of a trajectory. We use a kernel-based statistical test within that latent space to compare the properties of two sets of trajectories recorded under different biological conditions. We apply our approach to detect differences in the dynamics of α-synuclein, a presynaptic protein, in axons and boutons during synaptic stimulation. This represents an important step towards automated single-molecule-based read-out of pharmacological action.


Summary Under the umbrella of the Healthy Futures Nearby programme, 46 small-scale projects were funded to promote changes in health-related behaviours (smoking, alcohol, diet and exercise) and to improve perceived health among vulnerable families in the Netherlands. The evaluation of these health-related multiple project programmes is often based on funder-defined outcomes and strategies. However, within the funded projects, assumptions about improving the health of vulnerable families based on local knowledge and experiences will also shape the project outcomes and strategies. These additional outcomes and strategies are project-specific interpretations of effective health promotion. Knowing these interpretations is crucial for the policy related and scientific relevance of the evaluation. Therefore, we aimed to determine the interpretations of each project and how they translate into relevant inputs for the overall evaluation of the programme. Based on 46 semi-structured group interviews with local project stakeholders, we produced a list of assumptions about what health promotion for vulnerable families should look like and then identified five main clusters: (i) strategies of offering pre-defined, health (behaviour)-related activities to families, (ii) actively involving vulnerable families in the initiative, (iii) assumptions about how health promotion should start with or include non-health-related topics, (iv) assumptions on how one should build on what already exists in the local context of the families and (v) assumptions on the role of the (health) professional in health promotion among vulnerable families. These project interpretations of effective health promotion provide inputs and priorities for the HFN programme's overall evaluation.


The remarkable success of transformers in the field of natural language processing has sparked the interest of the speech-processing community, leading to an exploration of their potential for modeling long-range dependencies within speech sequences. Recently, transformers have gained prominence across various speech-related domains, including automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis, speech translation, speech para-linguistics, speech enhancement, spoken dialogue systems, and numerous multimodal applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey that aims to bridge research studies from diverse subfields within speech technology. By consolidating findings from across the speech technology landscape, we provide a valuable resource for researchers interested in harnessing the power of transformers to advance the field. We identify the challenges encountered by transformers in speech processing while also offering insights into potential solutions to address these issues.


The proximity effects of high voltage electric power transmission lines on Leyland Cypress ( xCupressocyparis leylandii (Dallim. and A.B. Jacks.) Dallim) and Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum Thunb.) growth were examined in a private nursery located in Sakarya, Turkey. Five transect were randomly chosen in both leylandii and privet lots in the nursery. In the summer of 2009, starting from under the power line 12 sampling point for every five meters away from the power line on each transaction was located. From these sampling points, five seedlings for each species were randomly chosen. From each sampling seedlings, five - seven leaves (for private) or spurs (for leylandii) were collected from lower-, middle- and upper-crown. For each sampling seedling diameter at breast height (dbh) were measured with a caliper. Within the laboratory, the projected surface area (SLA) of needles and leaves were determined using a leaf area meter. The relationship among measured seedling variables and the proximity to high voltage electric power transmission lines were evaluated using correlation. The effects of proximity to power-line on specific leaf area and seedling dbh were tested with an analysis of variance procedure (ANOVA). Tukey's HSD test with alpha = 0.05 was performed to compare means. The result of the data revealed that the mean of seedling dbh at 55 m away from the power line was about 25% smaller than that of the seedlings underneath the power line. The data also showed that there was a gradual decrease at dbh value of the privet with the distance from the power line. Seedling mean dbh value at the 25 th m sampling point was about 10% lower than that of the seedlings underneath the power line. At the 40 th m sampling point this dbh value was about 17 and 8% lower than those of the seedlings underneath the power line and of the seedling at 25 th m sampling point, respectively. Specific leaf area after the 30 th m away from the power line has been decreasing. The SLA value at the 30 th m is about 17% lower than that of the seedling underneath the power line. Key words : magnetic field, ornamental plant growth, power transmission line, Leyland Cypress, Japanese Privet.


The Indonesian Islands stretch over almost four time zones along the equatorial belt in between +/- 10* latitude, and its lush vegetation along with its mineral resources are exposed to increasing natural hazards like volcano eruptions, earthquakes and seaquakes with ensuing tsunami, cyclones with devastating floods plus ruthless mineral mining and conversion of natural tropical jungles into oil-palm estates for ethanol production. Thus, disaster assessment and prevention has become an ever more pressing topic of top priority. Current ground-based disaster damage assessment methods are cumbersome and costly due to sudden sporadic hazard occurrences; and local point measurements are not representative of larger affected regions. Due to the strong spatial and temporal dynamics of geo/bio-environmental constituents enhanced by distinct local weather conditions, frequent continual observations are necessary for which microwave satellite remote sensing and stress change monitoring provide the sought for repetitive monitoring capability and synoptic coverage subject to equatorially orbiting POL-SAR satellite implementation.


Abstract Few marine taxa have been comprehensively assessed for their conservation status, despite heavy pressures from fishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report on the first global assessment of extinction risk for 300 species of syngnathiform fishes known as of 2017, using the IUCN Red List criteria. This order of bony teleosts is dominated by seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (family Syngnathidae). It also includes trumpetfishes (Aulostomidae), shrimpfishes (Centriscidae), cornetfishes (Fistulariidae) and ghost pipefishes (Solenostomidae). At least 6% are threatened, but data suggest a mid-point estimate of 7.9% and an upper bound of 38%. Most of the threatened species are seahorses (Hippocampus spp.: 14/42 species, with an additional 17 that are Data Deficient) or freshwater pipefishes of the genus Microphis (2/18 species, with seven additional that are Data Deficient). Two species are Near Threatened. Nearly one-third of syngnathiformes (97 species) are Data Deficient and could potentially be threatened, requiring further field research and evaluation. Most species (61%) were, however, evaluated as Least Concern. Primary threats to syngnathids are (1) overexploitation, primarily by non-selective fisheries, for which most assessments were determined by criterion A (Hippocampus) and/or (2) habitat loss and degradation, for which assessments were determined by criterion B (Microphis and some Hippocampus). Threatened species occurred in most regions but more are found in East and South-east Asia and in South African estuaries. Vital conservation action for syngnathids, including constraining fisheries, particularly non-selective extraction, and habitat protection and rehabilitation, will benefit many other aquatic species.


The foraging strategies of two natural enemies of the peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae: the seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata and the parasitoid wasp Diaeretiella rapae, were investigated. Specifically the roles of plant semiochemicals in the location of plants infested with M. persicae by these natural enemies were examined.

I investigated the olfactory responses of female C. septempunctata to volatiles collected from M. persicae and four Brassica cultivars; Brassica rapa, B. juncea, B. napus cultivar 'Apex' and B. napus cultivar 'Courage' and wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana that were: undamaged, previously infested by M. persicae and infested with M. persicae. C. septempunctata showed no attraction to volatiles from M. persicae alone. C. septempunctata significantly changed its searching behaviour in response to plant volatiles from B. rapa, B. napus cv. 'Apex' and Arabidopsis infested with M. persicae.

C. septempunctata was also found to display a significant turning bias when foraging on a branching horizontal wire stem. A model was developed to investigate how turning biases affect the foraging efficiency of C. septempunctata in dichotomous branched environments. Simulations using this model indicated that turning biases could potentially increase searching efficiency.

D. rapae showed a significant preference for volatiles from M. persicae infested wild-type Arabidopsis but no preference to volatiles from M. persicae alone or M. persicae honeydew. Volatile emissions by Arabidopsis were shown to be localised to the area of aphid-infestation rather than systemic. Using gas chromatography plants infested with M. persicae were shown to emit a quantitatively different volatile blend than undamaged plants.

In experiments with jasmonate mutants of Arabidopsis the jasmonate (octadecanoid) wound response pathway was implicated as being important for the production of M. persicae induced volatiles, attractive to D. rapae. Other wound response pathways were also found to be involved in the production of the full blend of M. persicae induced volatiles.


This paper argues for a fundamental reorientation of fiscal policy, from the current aggregate demand management model to a model that explicitly and directly targets the unemployed. Even though aggregate demand management has several important benefits in stabilizing an unstable economy, it also has a number of serious drawbacks that merit its reconsideration. The paper identifies the shortcomings that can be observed during both recessions and economic recoveries, and builds the case for a targeted demand-management approach that can deliver economic stabilization through full employment and better income distribution. This approach is consistent with Keynes's original policy recommendations, largely neglected or forgotten by economists across the theoretical spectrum, and offers a reinterpretation of his proposal for the modern context that draws on the work of Hyman Minsky.


A common mechanical failure in optical systems is inadequate stiffness in the supporting structure. Stiffness is crucial for maintaining the alignment of the optical elements and achieving adequate optical performance. It is the responsibility of the mechanical engineer to provide adequate stiffness in the mechanical design. Optical engineers assume that their large-displacement non-linear codes are required to analyze the perturbations caused by mechanical deflections. However, the permitted deflections of the optical elements are usually quite small, on the order of microns for structures of meter-sized dimensions. For perturbations of this magnitude it may be shown that a non-linear solver is not required for engineering accuracies. In fact, it can be argued that the optical functions are more linear than the solid mechanics functions, of which the finite element method itself is but a linear simplification. Unified optomechanical modeling provides a vehicle for tracing offending image motions to particular optical elements and their supporting structure. The unified modeling method imports the optical elements' imaging properties into a finite element structural model of the optical system. It convolves the elements' motions and their optical properties in a single optomechanical modeling medium, unifying them. This provides the engineer with a tool that discloses each element's contribution to the offending motions of the image on the detector. This paper presents the theory of unified optomechanical modeling as applied to the optical line-of-sight in a Nastran1 finite element model. The steps used in developing a unified optomechanical model are described in detail. Comparisons of the unified modeling technique to both analytical and empirical validation studies are shown.


The Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson is remembered for numerous achievements, chief of which is her leadership of the Jarrow Crusade in October 1936. Wilkinson was the only woman to march in the 280-mile protest against unemployment, and her compatriots were said to have looked upon her as one of them. But Wilkinson remained in many ways an outsider, both in politics and in industrial relations. Wilkinsons fiction provided her with a forum to discuss the difficulties faced by women such as herself who sought to succeed in a world dominated by men.


Coal mining directly employs over 7 million workers and benefits millions more through indirect jobs. However, to meet the 1.5 °C global climate target, coal's share in global energy supply should decline between 73% and 97% by 2050. But what will happen to coal miners as coal jobs disappear ?Answering this question is necessary to ensure a just transition and to ensure that politically powerful coal mining interests do not impede energy transitions. Some suggest that coal miners can transition to renewable jobs. However, prior research has not investigated the potential for renewable jobs to replace 'local' coal mining jobs. Historic analyses of coal industry declines show that coal miners do not migrate when they lose their jobs. By focusing on China, India, the US, and Australia, which represent 70% of global coal production, we investigate: (1) the local solar and wind capacity required in each coal mining area to enable all coal miners to transition to solar/wind jobs; (2) whether there are suitable solar and wind power resources in coal mining areas in order to install solar/wind plants and create those jobs; and (3) the scale of renewables deployment required to transition coal miners in areas suitable for solar/wind power. We find that with the exception of the US, several GWs of solar or wind capacity would be required in each coal mining area to transition all coal miners to solar/wind jobs. Moreover, while solar has more resource suitability than wind in coal mining areas, these resources are not available everywhere. In China, the country with the largest coal mining workforce, only 29% of coal mining areas are suitable for solar power. In all four countries, less than 7% of coal mining areas have suitable wind resources. Further, countries would have to scale-up their current solar capacity significantly to transition coal miners who work in areas suitable for solar development.


The opportunities for performing detailed clinical studies of biliary cirrhosis are limited. Suitable subjects are relatively rare and they differ in the duration, degree, and etiology of their biliary obstruction as well as the degree of associated infection. In addition, there is a need for stable experimental models of cirrhosis in animals whose liver is anatomically and physiologically similar to man and which are large enough to allow detailed study of the hemodynamic changes associated with cirrhosis and portal hypertension and their modification by surgical procedures. This report concerns a preliminary, successful experience in attempting to produce biliary cirrhosis in Macaca mulatta monkeys. Materials and Methods Eight male and eight female Macaca mulatta monkeys, approximately 2 years of age and weighing between 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) and 5.5 kg (12.1 1b) were the subjects of this investigation. The monkeys were maintained on a "fully nutritious diet" and were housed in


We find that Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) see through transitory shocks to credit risk that stem from transitory shocks to equity prices, while market-based measures of credit risk do not. For a given stock return, CRAs are significantly less likely to downgrade firms with transitory shocks than those with permanent shocks. However, credit default swap spreads and model-implied default probabilities do not distinguish between such shocks. These results explain why ratings are useful despite the availability of market-based estimates of credit risk: the ability to ignore transitory shocks is valuable because rating changes have real consequences for private contracts and access to capital.


Alterations in the target proteins of fluoroquinolones, especially in GyrA and ParC, are known to cause resistance. Here, we investigated environmental Escherichia communities to explore the possible link between the abundance of mutations, and the exposure to fluoroquinolones. Sediment samples were collected from a relatively pristine lake, up and downstream from a sewage treatment plant, and from several industrially polluted sites. The quinolone resistance-determining regions of gyrA and parC were analyzed using amplicon sequencing of metagenomic DNA. Five non-synonymous substitutions were present in all samples, and all of these mutations have been previously linked to fluoroquinolone resistance in Escherichia coli. In GyrA, substitutions S83L and D87N were on average detected at frequencies of 86 and 32%, respectively, and 31% of all amplicons encoded both substitutions. In ParC, substitutions S80I, E84G, and E84V were detected in 42, 0.9, and 6.0% of the amplicons, respectively, and 6.5% encoded double substitutions. There was no significant correlation between the level of fluoroquinolone pollution and the relative abundance of resistance mutations, with the exception of the most polluted site, which showed the highest abundance of said substitutions in both genes. Our results demonstrate that resistance mutations can be common in environmental Escherichia, even in the absence of a fluoroquinolone selective pressure.


The objective of this chapter is to understand innovative processes of resource redeployment taking place during consumption. We label this as consumer entrepreneurship. We define consumer entrepreneurship as the process of sharing and recombining resources innovatively to seek opportunities for self-creating user value. Through the illustration of heterogeneous forms of consumer peer-to-peer sharing, we argue that consumer entrepreneurship: (1) differs ontologically from a view of entrepreneurship as creation of exchange value; (2) bridges the notion, established in marketing studies, of consumers as value creators with the field of entrepreneurship; (3) develops mostly when the process of sharing is regulated informally, based on trust relationships; and (4) thrives as groups of sharing consumers discover and enact their values through the experimentation of multiple forms of product and service procurement. On the basis of these points, consumer entrepreneurship contributes to provide a novel perspective on hybrid organizations, that is, a view of hybrid organizations as everyday spaces where consumers create heterogeneous forms of (utilitarian, social, or environmental) value that they personally use as opposed to reward exchanges. Relative to the current definition of hybrid organizations (Pache & Santos, 2013) and organizing (Battilana & Lee, 2014), we argue that consumer entrepreneurship helps better explain "why, when, and how" consumers increasingly engage in peer-to-peer sharing organizations – a fledging and still underexplored way of organizing consumption worldwide.


In this project I describe the status of inverse kinematics research, with the focus firmly on the methods that solve the core problem. An overview of the different methods are presented Three common methods used in inverse kinematics computation have been chosen as subject for closer inspection. The three methods are described in some detail. An analysis is performed where the three methods are compared, and benchmarked against each other. I conclude which of the methods are the most promising and what their respective forces, weaknesses and prospects are. All figures shown are made using the test suite, developed in this project and in [4]. Source code developed for this project includes the CCD method , improvements on the BFGS method and Jacobian inverse originally developed in [4]. 1 Figure 2: Figure reaching for a moving ball, posed with bfgs. The figure have been constrained to obtain a more realistic pose. The source can be found at http://www.opentissue.org/svn/OpenTissue/branches/IK/.


Dystonias are a clinically and etiologically diverse group of disorders. Numerous genes have now been associated with different dystonia syndromes, and multiple strategies have been proposed for how these genes should be lumped and split into meaningful categories. The traditional approach has been based on the Human Genome Organization's plan for naming genetic loci for all disorders. For dystonia this involves a DYT prefix followed by a number (e.g., DYT1, DYT2, DYT3, etc.). A more recently proposed approach involves assigning multiple prefixes according to the main elements of the phenotype (e.g., DYT, PARK, CHOR, TREM, etc.) followed by the name of the responsible gene. This article describes these nomenclature systems and summarizes some of their limitations. We focus on dystonia as an example, although the concepts may be applied to all movement disorders.


Combined with the respective advantages in S-R(Sway-Rocking) impedance concept and finite-element method, a simplified 3D structural dynamic FEM considering composite pile-group-soil effects is presented. The structural members including piles are modeled by spacial beam or shell elements, and raft-base is divided into thick-shell elements with its spring-dashpot boundary coefficient obtained by impedance backcalculated. The mass-spring elements for soil between piles are set to simulate vertical, horizontal pile-group effects by strata-equivalent approach. The soil beside composite body is separated into near-field and far-field parts. The former is modeled by nonlinear spring-dashpot elements based on Winkler's hypothesis, while the latter is modeled by a series of linear mass-spring-dashpots. With the effects of boundary track forces and energy radiation, the presented model enables researchers to conduct the time-domain nonlinear analysis in a relatively simple manner which avoids sophisticated boundary method and solid-element mesh bringing with tremendous computational cost. The seismic effect on dynamic interaction of pile-soil-complicated structures would be efficiently annotated from two structural engineering and geotechnical engineering aspects and the numerical calculation effort would be drastically decreased too. The complete procedure is mainly performed using the parametric design language assembled in the Finite Element Code Ansys. With the dynamic analysis of foundation and superstructure for a pile-supported 15-storey building, the influence of the participant effect on structural dynamic response will be depicted by various dynamic parameters of pile-soil-raft foundation in detail. Not only do the results have an agreement with some conclusions drawn by the general interaction theory, but also certain of phenomena which would be disagree with that by general analysis is involved. Even with the finite-element meshes for 68 piles, the time-history analysis procedure for PGSS (Pile-Group-Soil-Superstructure) system and the qualitative evaluation with various SSI parameters can be also fulfilled efficiently and rapidly by presented means. These results may be of help to the designers to quickly assess the significance of interaction effect for the high-rise buildings resting on any type or layout of pile-group foundation.


INTRODUCTION
More than 40,000 soldiers cannot deploy every year, which undermines readiness. The medical readiness of soldiers is a critical component of the overall operational readiness of the U.S. Army. Acute musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) are the greatest threat to medical readiness. Medical providers place soldiers on temporary profiles to facilitate treatment and recovery of acute MSIs. Poorly managed temporary profiles negatively impact a soldier's work attendance, resulting in the loss or limitation of over 25 million workdays annually. Upgrading the electronic profile system and implementing the Army Medical Home has led to improvements in managing temporary profiles over the last decade. The Army Medical Home encompasses care delivery platforms, including the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and Soldier-Centered Medical Home (SCMH). The structure of U.S. Army PCMHs and SCMHs differ in ways that may affect care processes and patient outcomes. Temporary profile management is an important soldier health outcome that has not been studied in relation to the U.S. Army's PCMH and SCMH structures or care processes. Access to care, continuity, and communication are three care processes that have been described as essential factors in reducing lost workdays and functional limitations in workers after an acute injury. Understanding the impact of the medical home on temporary profile days is vital to medical readiness. This study aimed to (1) compare temporary profile days between the U.S. Army PCMHs and SCMHs and (2) determine the influence of medical home structures and care processes on temporary profile days among active duty U.S. Army soldiers receiving care for MSIs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, and correlational study guided by Donabedian's conceptual framework. We used secondary data from the Military Data Repository collected in 2018. The sample included 27,214 temporary profile records of active duty U.S. Army soldiers and 266 U.S. Army PCMH and SCMH teams. We evaluated bivariate and multivariate associations between outcomes and predictors using general and generalized linear mixed regression models. The U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School Institutional Review Board approved this study.

RESULTS
Total temporary profile days ranged from 1 to 357, with a mean of 37 days (95% CI [36.2, 37.0]). There was a significant difference in mean temporary profile days between PCMHs (43) and SCMHs (35) (P < 0.001). Soldiers in PCMHs were more likely to have temporary profiles over 90 days (OR = 1.54, 95% CI [1.17, 2.03]). Soldiers in the heavy physical demand category had fewer temporary profile days (P < 0.001) than those in the moderate physical demand category. Age, sex, rank level, physical demand category, profile severity, medical home type, the "explain things" communication subscale, and primary care manager continuity were significant predictors of temporary profile days.

CONCLUSIONS
Excessive temporary profile days threaten medical readiness and overall soldier health. Aspects of the medical home structure and care processes were predictors of temporary profile days for musculoskeletal conditions. This work supports continued efforts to improve MSI-related outcomes among soldiers. Knowledge gained from this study can guide future research questions and help the U.S. Army better meet soldier needs.


The dissertation examined family caregivers' perceptions of wandering behavior after their loved one has been diagnosed with ADRD (Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). Semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews of a convenience sample of 22 caregivers in the Dallas metropolitan area were conducted. Responses were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The use of qualitative methods facilitated the study of how caregivers of a loved one with ADRD understood and explained in their own voice the wandering behavior associated with the disease and how their views of the behavior informed the caregiving process. In particular, this research examined why some caregivers tend to recognize wandering behavior as significant early on while the ADRD patient is still living in the home (and community) and modifications can be made to keep him or her there despite the behavior, and why some caregivers do not. Findings indicated that caregivers were concerned about the general safety of their loved one. Precautions were taken within the home for conditions related to frailty, but were much less likely to be taken to address wandering behavior and its negative consequences. Three groups of caregivers emerged: (a) those who primarily reacted to their loved one's problem behaviors including wandering, and intervened minimally; (b) those who were proactive, making modifications in their routines and environment to protect their loved one after a trigger event; and (c) those who had a mixed response, who did the best that they could with what they had. This last group of caregivers took on additional roles, modified their homes for safety, but environmental stressors and inadequate supports limited their interventions. Implications of the findings for aging in place and community, further research, policy-making, and practitioners are discussed.


A variable regularized affine projection algorithm (VR-APA) is introduced, without requiring the classical step size. Its use is supported from different points of view. First, it has the property of being Hinfin optimal and it satisfies certain error energy bounds. Second, the time-varying regularization parameter is obtained by maximizing the speed of convergence of the algorithm. Although we first derive the VR-APA for a linear time invariant (LTI) system, we show that the same expression holds if we consider a time-varying system following a first-order Markov model. We also find expressions for the power of the steady-state error vector for the VR-APA and the standard APA with no regularization parameter. Particularly, we obtain quite different results with and without using the independence assumption between the a priori error vector and the measurement noise vector. Simulation results are presented to test the performance of the proposed algorithm and to compare it with other schemes under different situations. An important conclusion is that the former independence assumption can lead to very inaccurate steady-state results, especially when high values of the projection order are used


1. The original type material of Trombicula minor Berlese rgos, generic type of Trombicula and representative of the family Trombiculidae, consisted of two specimens of postlarval trombiculids mounted on one slide plus (probably) fragments from a third specimen, ali assumed to be identical. Of the two specimens on one slide, one was a complete adult, the other was greatly distorted. These specimens, from bat-guano in a cave or caves in jAVA, probably represented at least two species and probably included fragments of a nymph as well as an adult female. 2. Carl WILLMANN (1941) was the first reviser. He redescribed the complete adult female, containing an egg, and this specimen must be regarded as the lectotype. 3· The slide bearing the lectotype has been destroyed. 4· Sorne fragments (one palp and legs of a nymph), apparently regarded as conspecific by BERLESE, are unidentifiable and have been described as Trombicula sp. indet. l>y VERCAMMEN-GRANDJEAN, Aunv and PEGAZZANO (1965), not precisely topotypic. 5. The neotype designated by CuuREMAN (rg6o) from an adult (?) from a cave in AFGHANISTAN is considered invalidated (a) for taxonomie reasons, as differing morphologically from the original descriptions too widely to be acceptable, and (b) for nomenclatorial reasons. 6. Nomenclatorial reasons for invalidating CooREMA?-: s neotype designation concern neglect of severa! mandatory provisions of the Rules of Zoological Nomenclature, especially failure to respect the need to stabilize the classification of the family, which is based on larval characters of the parasitic larvae and not on the adults - stabilization of classification being the prime requisite of neotype designations. The description and figures of CooREMAN suggest sorne relationship to Myotrombicula. The invalidated neotype from AFGHANISTAN has accordingly been renamed Myotrombicula dilarami, nomen novum for T. minor, Cooreman 1960 nec Berlese 1905. 7· A neotype of Trombiwla minor Berlese is designated as a larva from a tomb-bat, Taphozous affinis, from a cave in MALAYA. A series has been reared to nymphs and adults and the species is described in all three stages. This is the same material as has been discussed as a potential neotype since 1954, on which the relationship of the genus Trombicula have been based by VERCAM:WEN-GRANDJEAN (1960) and others. 8. The neotype, larva No. CORU. 102934/r, has been deposited in the U. S. National Museum (no number) and 84 larvae, 16 nymphs (7 with paired larval exuvia), and the 3 adults have been distributed to a number of institutions and acarologists.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to assess primary care physicians' awareness of their patients' rated emotions, satisfaction, and opinion of the quality of their communication.

DESIGN
Diabetic patients (n = 261) and their primary care physicians (n = 44) each filled in a questionnaire following a routine medical visit. Patients were asked about the quality of communication with their physician, their satisfaction, and their experience of six emotions. Physicians were asked to estimate the patients' views on each of these questions. Physicians' awareness was measured by (1) correlating the physician and patient ratings, and (2) comparing mean ratings between physicians and patients.

RESULTS
Correlations between patients' and physicians' views of patients' emotions and satisfaction were weak to moderate in magnitude; for patients' opinion of communication quality, there was no correlation. All ratings showed a substantial discrepancy between physicians and patients, such that physicians thought patients' responses were more negative than they actually were.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the causes of physicians' weak awareness of their patients' responses are not known, the results suggest that the patients' affective responses may be an especially neglected aspect of communication in the medical visit.


The increasing interest in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has led to the development of new tools for their design and management. Studies about gas emissions show that the sewer collection and the wastewater treatment plant are anthropogenic GHG potential sources, so they contribute to the climate change and air pollution. A wastewater treatment plant receives wastewater from sewers and, while produces treated water for discharge into surface water, emits the three major greenhouse gases, CO2, CH4, and N2O, during the treatment processes, and additional amounts of CO2 and CH4 from the energy demands (Bani Shahabadi et al., 2009). Indeed, energy consumption can be considered as an indirect source of GHGs. Greenhouse-gas emissions are generated by water-line and sludgeline processes and by the on-site combustion of biogas and fossil fuels for energy generation. GHGs may also be produced during sludge disposal or reuse (transportation and degradation of remaining biosolids off-site), off-site energy production and off-site chemicals production. In recent years, increasing attention is given to the assessment of N2O emissions from WWTPs. N2O is a powerful greenhouse gas that is almost 300 times stronger than CO2. Nevertheless, the source and magnitude of N2O are relatively unknown and the knowledge is still incomplete. This paper presents the first results of an ongoing research project aiming at setting-up an innovative mathematical model platform (Decision Support System—DSS) for the design and management of WWTPs. The project is constituted by four research units (UOs) and its final goal is to minimize, by means of this platform, the environmental impact of WWTPs through their optimization in terms of energy consumptions and pollutants, sludge and GHG emissions.


Nine cases of indirect rupture of the choroid due to trauma were examined by indirect ophthalmoscopy, fluorescein angiography and static and kinetic perimetry. Our results indicate that the visual field defect cannot be correlated with the ophthalmoscopic picture as concerns shape, size, or location of the lesion. Seven of the 9 cases had a central scotoma and we demonstrated nerve involvement in 4 of the 9 cases. We do not know of other studies of the visual field in indirect traumatic rupture of the choroid.


This technical note discusses the various financial services segments in which technology solutions have been used to solve problems, including lending, payments, wealth/investment management, insurance, and regulation. For each of the segments, the note identifies key issues facing the segment, why and how fintech might provide an answer to the challenges faced, and the potential difficulties fintech may experience in doing so. For example, in lending, fintechs could solve issues related to access and convenience—without the need for costly infrastructure. The note also discusses the potential advantages/disadvantages of traditional banks over fintechs. Finally, the note describes influential technologies that are used in fintech such as application program interface (API), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning.

Excerpt

UVA-F-1860

Apr. 26, 2019

A Global Fintech Overview

What Is Fintech?

Fintech is the use of technology to solve financial services problems. It can be understood as traditional financial services segmentation and the technologies influencing these segments.

Part A: Financial services segmentation

. . .


Approximately 80% of adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) fail or become dependent on corticosteroids and require second-line therapy. Several new and effective therapies have been introduced during the last decade and our understanding of disease burden and its effect on quality of life has expanded. It is now recommended that splenectomy, the standard second-line therapy for decades, be delayed for at least 12-24 months allowing more patients to achieve remission on medical therapies before considering surgery. It is highly recommended to use medical therapies with abundant clinical trial evidence such as thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA), rituximab or fostamatinib. Unfortunately, there are no reliable biomarkers that help in treatment selection. These therapeutic medical options have variable efficacy, safety profiles, mechanism of action and mode of administration. This allows and mandates an individualized approach to treatment, where patient involvement, preferences and values have become central to the process of choosing the appropriate therapy. Both TPO-RA and fostamatinib are maintenance therapies whereas rituximab is given for a limited number of doses. While response is usually maintained while on therapy with TPO-RA or fostamatinib, half of rituximab responders will lose response 1 to 2 years after administration and require retreatment or other therapy.


In an effort to utilize microfluidics to enable photochemistry, we have devised a method for fabrication of devices with UV-transmissive glass. The photochemical device is successfully incorporated into a system utilizing high-pressure capillary mercury lamps and cooling system. We have demonstrated the ability to carry out photochemical transformations with substantial rate acceleration. Furthermore, we highlight the ability to carry out analytical-scale reactions on a pulse flow automated system while modulating wavelength and residence time to identify optimal photochemical reaction conditions. The analytical conditions were also successfully converted to continuous-flow preparative scale.


Abstract The injection of reactive fluids into carbonate reservoirs during enhanced recovery operations can induce important changes in rock permeability. However, reliably predicting these changes requires accurate knowledge of calcite reaction rates. While numerous studies have examined calcium carbonate dissolution rates, most have focused on pure calcite crystals rather than actual rocks. In this study, two types of flow-through experiments were carried out to determine the calcite dissolution rates in texturally diverse calcareous rocks: the first type of experiment had a duration of 3 days, while the second type ran for 3 months. Our experiments show that rocks with differing textures and roughness (samples included coarse-grained oolitic limestone, fine-grained Solnhofen limestone, marble and calcite spar) do in fact dissolve by different mechanisms. However, despite these differences, bulk reaction rates were found to be remarkably similar (with a relative standard deviation of <20%) and consistent with previously reported reaction rates for calcite. Thus, our results suggest that textural differences between rock types are unlikely to have an important impact on overall reaction rates in fractured carbonate reservoirs.


The Paris Agreement, which entered force in 2016, requires involved Parties to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Today, it is well known that global agriculture both contributes to, and is affected by, the changing climate, which calls for an integrated role of farming in climate policy formation. Currently, different efforts aim to increase agricultural productivity, and to mitigate and adapt to climate change through the use of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). However, the efficacy of CSA in contributing to the NDCs has been the subject of debate. In this study, we studied the implementation and alignment of CSA and NDCs in two contrasting case-study non-Annex-I countries that are well known for their efforts in implementing CSA, namely Ethiopia and Colombia. We found that CSA can be a useful approach to reaching the climate goals outlined in the NDCs in the agriculture sector, specifically when used in the planning process to ensure the integration of its elements—adaptation, mitigation, and productivity—in sectoral activity. At the same time, the NDCs, which influence subsequent policy development, also offer an opportunity to increase the usage of CSA as an approach by integrating it more fully into national strategies. However, the incorporation of CSA into national-level climate policies is difficult due to myriad challenges, such as a lack of horizontal and vertical alignment, limited capacity and funding, and highly complex and varying contexts in which the policies are being developed. This research analyzes to what extent CSA is utilized as an approach to fulfilling the NDCs in Ethiopia and Colombia, and identifies entry points to further its use in different contexts.


: Malingering is the conscious creation of a functional defect or denial of a true defect. Positive malingering is the former, and negative malingering is the latter. Hysteria is similar to malingering except that it is unconscious. Ocular malingering is common among draft evaders. The flight surgeon or military ophthalmologist will more commonly see the negative malingerer in peacetime because of the high physical standards for flying. Wartime creates a sudden shift towards positive malingering, however, for obvious reasons. This paper carefully defines the distinctions between malingering, hysteria, and true disease consistent with the defect claimed. It also provides a systematic approach to history, examination, and special testing of a possible ocular malingerer/hysteric. A number of common ocular complaints are considered separately, including decreased visual acuity, visual field defects, night vision defects, color vision defects, ocular muscle defects, automutilatory defects, opacification of transparent media, blepharospasm, intraocular disease, and asthenopia.


In this work, we propose the generation of a hybrid entangled resource (HER) and its further application in a quantum teleportation scheme from an experimentally feasible point of view. The source for HER preparation is based on the four-wave mixing process in a photonic crystal fiber, from which one party of its output bipartite state is used to herald a single photon or a single photon added coherent state. From the heralded state and linear optics, the HER is created. In the proposed teleportation protocol, Bob uses the HER to teleport qubits with different spectral properties. Bob makes a Bell measurement in the single photon basis and characterizes the scheme with its average quantum teleportation fidelity. Fidelities close to one are expected for qubits in a wide spectral range. The work also includes a discussion about the fidelity dependence on the geometrical properties of the medium through which the HER is generated. An important remark is that no spectral filtering is employed in the heralding process, which emphasizes the feasibility of this scheme without compromising photon flux.


To extract meaningful information from complex kinetic models involving a large number of species and reactions, advanced computational techniques are required. In this work, new approaches have been proposed based on element flux calculations for systematic kinetic analysis of complex reaction models. These approaches quantify element transformation flux between species to determine a metric that accurately captures the production and consumption of species. Furthermore, a graph searching procedure is employed to retrieve all possible reaction pathways from the highly complex reaction networks. Element fluxes involved in these pathways provide an indicator to quantitatively evaluate pathway activities. Based on pathway activities, a novel approach is proposed to project the totality of the information contained in pathway weights onto a single scalar, reactivity status indicator, which enables a compact representation of local chemistry. The proposed approaches are illustrated with highly complex kinetic mechanisms describing oxidation of n-pentane, n-heptane, and a biodiesel surrogate methyl-butanoate. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012


Acting as my Senior Honors Thesis in the departments of History, Political Science, and University Honors, this project, "The Acolyte of Being," aims to present an aesthetic history of twentieth century German philosopher Martin Heidegger's concept of "Da-sein:" the "thereness" of Being (or existence) itself. Taking into account 2,500 years of Western metaphysics, my thesis begins by redefining one key philosophical term: transcendence, and in so doing revive four others as well: truth, beauty, freedom and the term metaphysics itself. As such, this work begins with a "Definition of Transcendence," informing the following five chapters. These chapters, in keeping with the historicity of Da-sein as an aesthetic one, each name great works of art, opening of the oblivions of Being to man. Each of my chapters follow the guiding definition of "Transcendence" and correspond as well to one of five Wagnerian operas: Das Rheingold, Die Walkyrie, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung and, finally, Parsifal. This operatic chapter structure is linked as well to my the naming of my "Acolytes of Being:" Friedrich Nietzsche and his The Birth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Music, Richard Wagner and his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, T.S. Eliot and The Waste Land, and, finally, National Socialism—as an aesthetic, poetic politics. In constructing my argument in this manner, I am able to communicate that not only is history artistic, but that this aesthetic details the gradual return of metaphysics. With National Socialism acting as the final "Acolyte of Being," the distinction between the ontic (things as they appear) and the ontological (things in themselves) is defaced and Being as such returns with force to the dwelling of man. With Heidegger himself offering up his ground breaking philosophy to the spiritual impetus of National Socialism we come before my chief question in this thesis: How did National Socialism pose the question of Being in the twentieth century? Certainly a troubling assertion we must also add: What can this mean?


NOD-like receptors (NLRs) constitute a recently identified family of macromolecules that participate in regulation of innate immune responses. To date, 23 members of the NLR family are identified in humans. Diverse NLRs are stimulated by a broad range of pathogen- or danger-associated molecular patterns, and collectively function as intracellular pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The most studied inflammasomes are NLRP1 and NLRP3 that process inactive pro-caspase-1 to its active form, allowing the cleavage and subsequent activation of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18, and initiation of inflammatory responses. Three models, based upon extracellular ATP/K(+) flux, lysosomal release of cathepsin, and reactive oxygen species, have been proposed to be involved in signaling activation of NLRs and downstream events. In this review, I discuss the current state of knowledge related to the roles of NLRs and inflammasomes in the development of cardiovascular diseases.


Transcription factors of the Nuclear Factor I (Nfi) family are important for the development of specific neuronal and glial populations in the nervous system. One such population, the neurons of the basilar pontine nuclei, expresses high levels of Nfi proteins, and the pontine nuclei are greatly reduced in mice lacking a functional Nfib gene. Pontine neurons, along with other precerebellar neurons that populate the hindbrain, arise from precursors in the lower rhombic lip and migrate anteroventrally to reach their final location. Using immunohistochemistry, we find that NFI‐B expression is specific for mossy fiber populations of the precerebellar system. Analysis of the Nfib−/− hindbrain indicates that the development of the basilar pontine nuclei is delayed, with pontine neurons migrating 1–2 days later than in control animals, and that significantly fewer pontine neurons are produced. While the mossy fiber nuclei of the caudal medulla do form, they also exhibit a developmental delay. Nfia and Nfix null mice exhibit no apparent pontine phenotype, implying specificity in the action of NFI family members. Collectively, these data demonstrate that Nfib plays an important role in the generation of precerebellar mossy fiber neurons, and may do so at least in part by regulating neurogenesis. J. Comp. Neurol. 513:98–112, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This article proposes modelling, simulation and applied wrench workspace analysis of a 3D cable based robots which are consist of six cables are studies. After modelling, the kinds of workspace are defined then an available static combined workspace for different geometric structures of fixed and moving platform is obtained. This workspace is defined as the situations of reference point of the moving platform (center of mass) which under external forces such as weight and with ignorance of inertial effects, the end effector should be in static equilibrium under conditions that length of all cables must not be exceeded from the maximum value and all of cables must be at tension (they must have nonnegative tensions). Then the affect of various parameters such as the size of moving platform, the size of fixed platform, geometric configuration of robots, magnitude of applied forces and moments to workspace of these robots with different geometric configuration are investigated. Obtained results should be effective in employing these robots under different conditions of applied wrench for increasing the workspace volume.


The titaniferous blast furnace slag was selected as a kind of main raw material in the glass preparation. The glass system was separated phase into boron-rich phase and silicon-rich phase in Na2O-CaO-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2-TiO2 system, and the changes of the two-phase composition after heat treated at different temperatures were studied. Results indicated that the network adjustment oxide existing in boron-rich phase was only CaO when phase separation temperature was below 750°C, and Na2O concentrated in silicon-rich phase. With the phase separation temperature rising, the distribution of Al2O3 and CaO was almost unchanged, whereas Na2O transferred from the silicon-rich phase to boron-rich phase gradually. In the phase separation process, TiO2 concentrated and crystallized on the phase separation interface.


Hematopoietic clones with leukemogenic mutations arise in healthy people as they age, but progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is rare. Recent evidence suggests that the microenvironment may play an important role in modulating human AML population dynamics. To investigate this concept further, we examined the combined and separate effects of an oncogene (c-MYC) and exposure to IL3, GM-CSF and SCF on the experimental genesis of a human AML in xenografted immunodeficient mice. Initial experiments showed that normal human CD34+ blood cells transduced with a lentiviral MYC vector and then transplanted into immunodeficient mice produced a hierarchically organized, rapidly fatal and serially transplantable blast population, phenotypically and transcriptionally similar to human AML cells, but only in mice producing IL3, GM-CSF and SCF transgenically, or in regular mice in which the cells were exposed to IL3 or GM-CSF delivered using a co-transduction strategy. In their absence, the MYC+ human cells produced a normal repertoire of lymphoid and myeloid progeny in transplanted mice for many months but, upon transfer to secondary mice producing the human cytokines, the MYC+ cells rapidly generated AML. Indistinguishable diseases were also obtained efficiently from both primitive (CD34+CD38-) and late (GMPs) cells. These findings underscore the critical role that these cytokines can play in activating a malignant state in normally differentiating human hematopoietic cells in which MYC expression has been deregulated. They also introduce a robust experimental model of human leukemogenesis to further elucidate key mechanisms involved and test strategies to suppress them.