[Purpose] This case series presents the unique application of the non-commutative property of finite rotation angles under addition to the CBP® mirror image® treatment protocol for adult lumbar and thoraco-lumbar scoliosis. [Subjects and Methods] Five adult patients having lumbar/thoraco-lumbar scoliosis and back pain, and having at least two prominent thoracic postural abnormalities according to Harrison's rotations and translations of thoracic postures were included. After initial assessment, mirror-image stress x-rays were taken. For each patient, one stress film was taken using the order of mirror image movements with the largest displacement followed by the second largest (primary + secondary) and one stress film was taken in the opposite order (secondary + primary). The consecutive ordered movements that resulted in the largest reduction of curvature were chosen as the order-specific series of movements all exercises and postural traction were to be performed for each patient. Spinal manipulation was also performed. [Results] All patients had a reduction of curvature concomitant with a reduction in pain levels. [Conclusion] This unique treatment approach offers a patient-specific, targeted structural rehabilitative procedure to stress the spine towards a more straightened configuration. Adult lumbar and thoraco-lumbar curves can be reduced and improved by these non-invasive CBP methods.


The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics is complete with the discovery of the Higgs particle. However the SM cannot be a complete theory of nature as it does not explain the origin of neutrino mass, dark matter (DM), dark energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry and smallness of the strong CP parameter. From theoretical point of view we do not understand the origin of the scale separation between the electroweak (EW) and the Planck scale, and also the
flavor puzzle. In this work we will tackle the hierarchy problem with scale symmetry and the flavor puzzle with discrete flavor symmetries, charting new symmetry
groups and their breaking, while investigating their implied phenomenologies along the way. In the first part we provide two novel mechanisms to explain the origin of the
EW scale generated by quantum effects from an anomalous breaking of a classical scale invariant extension of the SM. For the first model we utilize a direct scale transmission from condensation of a scalar, charged under a high representation of QCD, to trigger EW symmetry
breaking (EWSB) dynamically. In the second model, we will use the indirect scale transmission approach to generate the EW scale transmitted by a singlet scalar mediator
which couples to the SM and a strongly coupled hidden sector. Chiral symmetry in the dark fermion sector is broken spontaneously due to nonperturbative effects of the running coupling in the hidden sector, triggering indirectly EWSB due to dimensional transmutation
and providing stable DM candidates in the form of dark pions. In the last part of this work we focus on charting new discrete flavor symmetry groups to obtain experimentally
acceptable leptonic and quark mixing patterns. The interesting new discrete groups that we have found are classified mathematically and provide a new starting point for model building in discrete flavor symmetry


The objective of this study is to examine factors influencing e-learning adoption and the moderating role of gender. This study extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) by adding attitude and social interaction. The new construct of social interaction is applied to the South American context. Gender effects on e-learning adoption from educators' perspectives have seldom been explored. The data collection takes place in three major Brazilian universities. In total, 446 faculty members responded to the questionnaire. Our structural equation modeling reveals that ease of use and perceived usefulness are significant antecedents of attitude, which in turn affects intention. However, unlike the original TAM, perceived usefulness is not a direct driver of intention. In terms of moderation, gender affects three relationships: (1) ease of use –› perceived usefulness; (2) perceived usefulness –› attitude, and (3) intention –› actual behavior. The analysis is carried out in a single country; thus, caution should be taken in generalization of the results. The findings will help academics, educators, and policy makers to better understand the mechanism of e-learning adoption in Brazil.


This is the ultimate armchair companion to over 200 sports. The Sports Book, 4th Edition, is the ultimate guide to games, fit for everyone still buzzing from 2012, the amazing year of sport. This new edition presents fully up-to-date information covering all sorts of sports, from equestrian sports, athletics and gymnastics to winter sports and extreme sports. You can check out the rules, history, players and events for over 200 of the world's greatest sports such as football, cricket, basketball and golf. You can stay ahead of the curve with this amazing sports source with the latest facts and statistics, including updated world and Olympic records from leading experts and sports governing bodies around the globe. You'll also learn the techniques and tactics of the world's best competitors. Plus, all the additional sports featured in the 2012 Olympic Games are included, with an overview of the upcoming games in Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. The Sports Book, 4th Edition (previous ISBN: 9781405367417) is perfect for sports buffs needing an ultimate quick-reference guide or anyone keen for more information on sports, from the most common to the more obscure.


Racial separatism, gender discrimination, and white dominance have historically thwarted black Americans' occupational aspirations. Access to medical education has also been limited, and mobility within the profession, leading to unequal access to health care. There have, however, been notable triumphs. In Against the Odds, Wilbur Watson describes successful efforts by determined individuals and small groups of black Americans, since the early nineteenth century, to establish a strong black presence in the medical profession. Changes in medical education and hospital management, desegregation of the medical establishment, and the contemporary challenges of managed-care organizations all attest to their achievements. Watson analyzes sociocultural, political, and psychological factors associated with African-American medical practice; race and gender differences in medical education and professional development; and doctor-patient relationships during and since the period of racial separatism. He discusses the policy implications of physicians' viewpoints on issues such as folk practitioners as health care providers, medical care for the poor, abortion and euthanasia, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, and the emergence of managed-care organizations. Through in-depth interviews with older physicians and comparative analyses of their situated techniques of coping with racial discrimination and segregation, we gain insight into the effects of separatism on the minds, selves, and social interactions of African-American physicians. Finally, Watson outlines current ethics, demographic changes since desegregation, the contemporary status of black physicians, and recent changes in the socioeconomic organization of the profession of medicine. Against the Odds is a unique study of the history, ethnography, and social psychology of blacks in medicine. Watson successfully debunks the myth that black physicians were less competent providers than their white counterparts: a myth that persists to this day. First-person accounts, from periods of socially and legally sanctioned racial separatism and the first three decades of desegregation in the United States, bring readers closer to the physicians' lived experiences than mere social or quantitative description. This engaging account will interest those in the fields of African-American studies, medicine, and sociology.


The Nanpanjiang Basin occurs in a key position for resolving controversies of basin tectonics and patterns of plate assembly at the junction between south China and Southeast Asian plates. Paleocurrent measurements indicate that siliciclastic turbidites in the basin were sourced by the Precambrian Jiangnan uplift to the northeast, the Precambrian Yunkai uplift to the southeast and the Triassic Songma suture to the south. Detrital zircon geochronology reveals Archean (2500 Ma), Paleoproterozoic (1800–1900 Ma), Neoproterozoic (900–1000 Ma) and Paleozoic (420–460 Ma) ages consistent with derivation from the Jiangnan and Yunkai uplifts. A large Permian‐Triassic peak of 250 Ma is present in the southern basin and attenuates northward suggesting derivation from an arc developed along the Songma suture. Sandstone QFL compositions average 65/12/23% and plot in the recycled orogen field except for a few samples in the southern basin that fall in the dissected arc field. The compositions are consistent with derivation from Precambrian basement that includes orogenic complexes. In the southern basin, Middle Triassic turbidites contain greater lithics and feldspars and Lower Triassic turbidites have volcaniclastic composition consistent with derivation from a southerly arc. Our preferred interpretation is evolution from remnant basin to a large peripheral foreland with southward subduction and convergence with Indochina along the Songma suture. The previously proposed Dian‐Qiong zone is not a suture as its map location places it within carbonate platforms bounded by identical stratigraphy. The Nan‐Uttaradit zone is too distant to have provided voluminous siliciclastic flux to the basin. The Nanpanjiang Basin provides an example of the evolution of an exceptionally large foreland with far‐field rejuvenation of Precambrian uplifts and carbonate platforms that were significantly influenced by siliciclastic flux. The timing and pattern of turbidite basin fill impacted platform evolution by enabling margin progradation in areas proximal to siliciclastic sources, whereas platforms distant from sources were driven to aggradation and extreme relief with large‐scale gravitational sector collapse.


A torsional transient wave was assumed acting at infinity on the piezoelectric body with an embedded penny-shaped crack. Appropriate governing equations and boundary conditions have been built within the three-dimensional electroelasticity. The total displacement field was simply considered as the combination of two parts, one related to incident waves inducing an oscillating motion, and another with the scattered waves. An electric impermeable crack was assumed to simplify the mathematical analysis. The problem was formulated in terms of integral transforms techniques. Hankel transform were applied to obtain the dual integral equations, which were then expressed to Fredholm integral equations of the second kind.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the laminar distribution of the pathological changes in the frontal and temporal lobe in neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID).

METHOD
The distribution of the alpha-internexin-positive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCI), surviving neurons, swollen achromatic neurons (SN) and glial cell nuclei was studied across the cortex in gyri of the frontal and temporal lobe in 10 cases of NIFID.

RESULTS
The distribution of the NCI was highly variable within different gyri, a peak in the upper cortex, a bimodal distribution with peaks of density in the upper and lower laminae, or no significant variation in density across the cortex. The surviving neurons were either bimodally distributed or exhibited no significant change in density across the cortex. The SN and glial cell nuclei were most abundant in the lower cortical laminae. In half of the gyri, variations in density of the NCI across the cortex were positively correlated with the SN. In some gyri, the surviving neurons were positively correlated with the SN and negatively correlated with the glial cell nuclei. In addition, the SN and glial cell nuclei were positively correlated in over half the gyri studied.

CONCLUSION
The data suggest that frontal and temporal lobe degeneration in NIFID characterized by NCI, SN, neuronal loss and gliosis extends across the cortical laminae with considerable variation between cases and gyri. alpha-internexin-positive neurons in the upper laminae appear to be particularly vulnerable. The gliosis appears to be largely correlated with the appearance of SN and with neuronal loss and not related to the NCI.


Prepare with confidence for the Final FRCA with this dedicated guide featuring 300 original single best answer questions (SBAs) covering the whole breadth of the RCOA basic and intermediate curricula. SBAs correspond to the Royal College of Anaesthetist's units of training, so candidates can focus their revision in each sub-specialty area, such as paediatrics, neuroanaesthesia, and pain management. Individuals can track their progress, identify gaps in their knowledge, and target their ongoing revision as needed, assured that chapters cover all aspects of the curriculum as required for the exam. A final mock chapter allows candidates to rehearse for real exam conditions. Written by a team of consultant anaesthetists and active educators, these original and high-quality questions have been developed over years of clinical experience and critical incidents as well as the authors' own revision courses. Each question is accompanied by detailed answers, explanations, and further reading. This invaluable resource also includes advice on SBA technique making this the only guide you need for SBAs in the Final FRCA Written Paper.


Desaturase genes are essential for biological processes, including lipid metabolism, cell signaling, and membrane fluidity regulation. Insect desaturases are particularly interesting for their role in chemical communication, and potential contribution to speciation, symbioses, and sociality. Here, we describe the acyl-CoA desaturase gene families of 15 insects, with a focus on social Hymenoptera. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that the insect desaturases represent an ancient gene family characterized by eight subfamilies that differ strongly in their degree of conservation and frequency of gene gain and loss. Analyses of genomic organization showed that five of these subfamilies are represented in a highly microsyntenic region conserved across holometabolous insect taxa, indicating an ancestral expansion during early insect evolution. In three subfamilies, ants exhibit particularly large expansions of genes. Despite these expansions, however, selection analyses showed that desaturase genes in all insect lineages are predominantly undergoing strong purifying selection. Finally, for three expanded subfamilies, we show that ants exhibit variation in gene expression between species, and more importantly, between sexes and castes within species. This suggests functional differentiation of these genes and a role in the regulation of reproductive division of labor in ants. The dynamic pattern of gene gain and loss of acyl-CoA desaturases in ants may reflect changes in response to ecological diversification and an increased demand for chemical signal variability. This may provide an example of how gene family expansions can contribute to lineage-specific adaptations through structural and regulatory changes acting in concert to produce new adaptive phenotypes.


For the first time, in April 2015, both the Dispersion Measure (DM) of a fast radio burst, FRB 150418, and the redshift of the host galaxy were measured. This gave the opportunity to test the New Tired Light Theory and its predictions. DM in mainstream physics is found from the time delay between the arrival of different frequencies from a short, sharp cosmological source (FRB or pulsar). DM is related to the mean free electron density along the path, n, and the distance from source to observer, d, by the formula DM=nd. New Tired Light (NTL) is an alternative cosmological theory to the Big Bang. In NTL the universe is static and redshifts are caused by photons of light interacting with the electrons in the plasma of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Energy is transferred from the photon to the recoiling electron on absorption and re-emission resulting in a reduction in frequency of the photon and an increase in the wavelength. The redshift distance relation is z=exp(Hd⁄c) -1 where c is the speed of light and H the Hubble constant. In NTL the Hubble constant is derived in terms of, n, the plank constant, h,and m and r the rest mass and classical radius of the electron giving H=(2nhr⁄m). Making, d, the subject of both equations from DM and NTL gives us the SI equation DM=(mc⁄2hr)LN(1+z). Substituting the measured redshift, z, and values for m,c,h and r as well as converting from SI units to those used in radio astronomy (pc cm^-3 ) gives a predicted DM of DM=949 pc cm^-3. This compares well with the observed DM of FRB 150418 of 776.2 pc cm -3 – a difference of just 22%. It is noted that a DM is produced for all electron number densities whilst in NTL redshifts only occur in the sparsely populated plasma of the IGM since in dense plasma, strong electromagnetic forces reduce or even prevent the electrons from recoiling. Consequently it is possible to have a DM but no redshift if the plasma density is too high. It is possible that denser plasma along the path may have resulted in the predicted DM being a little higher than the measured one - though the agreement is close and gives strong support to NTL.


In the routine of a hospital, during my nursing practice of providing care to patients with pain, it was shown to me as reaching beyond a biological sphere included in an existential dimension. Something in this experience disturbed me and I felt the need to understand these people suffering from pain, asking how they understand their pain and what is the meaning of experiencing painful chronic situations. In the attempt to find a way to obtain such understanding, I searched for some ideas stemming from phenomenology. Then, I interviewed the subjects individually based on the central question: "How is your experience with pain? Tell me about this". After the analysis, I was able to understand that pain is a way to narrow the horizon of possibilities and transformations in existence. It is not only the physical body that is ill, but also life is affected in its various dimensions, fundamentally with regard to the family, work and self-relation world.


A B S T R A C T Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer diagnosed, and is associated with high rates of propagation and mortality for both men and women. Aimed to analyze impact of presence of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 on colorectal cancer. During the period 1/October/2013 to 1/March/2014, fifty patie nts with colon cancer (14 female and 36 male) (7 -75) years were taken from (Al-Hussain Hospital City/Kerbala, Digestive and Liver Disease /Education Hospital Medical City Baghdad and Teaching Oncology Hospital /Baghdad Medical City/ Baghdad /Iraq).Immunochemical studying of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 of colorectal biopsies by using DAKO Company/Denmark. There was a significant increase (p ≤0.001) in the concentration of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 respectively in patients male compared with female, also there was a signi ficant variance (p≤0.001) in the three age groups from (7 -20), (21-40) and (41-75) in the levels of T -bet and CD8, whereas a significant difference (p ≤0.05) in the concentration of Foxp3 in the three age groups. This study proved functional role of T- bet, Foxp3 and CD8 in cell-mediated immunity. Keywords: T-bet, Foxp3, CD8, Colorectal cancer. A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer diagnosed, and is associated with high rates of propagation and mortality for both men and women. Aimed to analyze impact of presence of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 on colorectal cancer. During the period 1/October/2013 to 1/March/2014, fifty patie nts with colon cancer (14 female and 36 male) (7 -75) years were taken from (Al-Hussain Hospital City/Kerbala, Digestive and Liver Disease /Education Hospital Medical City Baghdad and Teaching Oncology Hospital /Baghdad Medical City/ Baghdad /Iraq).Immunochemical studying of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 of colorectal biopsies by using DAKO Company/Denmark. There was a significant increase (p ≤0.001) in the concentration of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 respectively in patients male compared with female, also there was a signi ficant variance (p≤0.001) in the three age groups from (7 -20), (21-40) and (41-75) in the levels of T -bet and CD8, whereas a significant difference (p ≤0.05) in the concentration of Foxp3 in the three age groups. This study proved functional role of T- bet, Foxp3 and CD8 in cell-mediated immunity. Keywords: T-bet, Foxp3, CD8, Colorectal cancer. A B S T R A C T Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer diagnosed, and is associated with high rates of propagation and mortality for both men and women. Aimed to analyze impact of presence of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 on colorectal cancer. During the period 1/October/2013 to 1/March/2014, fifty patie nts with colon cancer (14 female and 36 male) (7 -75) years were taken from (Al-Hussain Hospital City/Kerbala, Digestive and Liver Disease /Education Hospital Medical City Baghdad and Teaching Oncology Hospital /Baghdad Medical City/ Baghdad /Iraq).Immunochemical studying of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 of colorectal biopsies by using DAKO Company/Denmark. There was a significant increase (p ≤0.001) in the concentration of T-bet, Foxp3 and CD8 respectively in patients male compared with female, also there was a signi ficant variance (p≤0.001) in the three age groups from (7 -20), (21-40) and (41-75) in the levels of T -bet and CD8, whereas a significant difference (p ≤0.05) in the concentration of Foxp3 in the three age groups. This study proved functional role of T- bet, Foxp3 and CD8 in cell-mediated immunity. Keywords: T-bet, Foxp3, CD8, Colorectal cancer. A R T I C L E I N F O


We present a state sum construction of two-dimensional extended Topological Quantum Field Theories (TQFTs), so-called open-closed TQFTs, which generalizes the state sum of Fukuma–Hosono–Kawai from triangulations of conventional two-dimensional cobordisms to those of open-closed cobordisms, i.e. smooth compact oriented 2-manifolds with corners that have a particular global structure. This construction reveals the topological interpretation of the associative algebra on which the state sum is based, as the vector space that the TQFT assigns to the unit interval. Extending the notion of a two-dimensional TQFT from cobordisms to suitable manifolds with corners therefore makes the relationship between the global description of the TQFT in terms of a functor into the category of vector spaces and the local description in terms of a state sum fully transparent. We also illustrate the state sum construction of an open-closed TQFT with a finite set of D-branes using the example of the groupoid algebra of a finite groupoid.


Lisa Schmidt, KR'PTA. Samtidspoesin och Derrida. Spar och arrbildningar hos Johannes Helden, Ingrid Storholmen och Anna Hallberg. (CR'PT. Contemporary Poetry and Derrida: Traces and Scarring in the Poetry of Johannes Helden, Ingrid Storholmen and Anna Hallberg.) Through the analyses of three contemporary Nordic poets whose work challenges the boundaries of literature and even the laws of grammar, I draw attention to the term linguistic materialism. I also sketch an historical line between the predecessors of the experimentation with the poetic language in the past, starting with Mallarme, and the experiments of today. In conclusion, I discuss language poetry from a wider philosophical point of view, in relation to Derrida and Wittgenstein. Burner, the debut of Swedish poet Johannes Helden, combines an abstract intellectual and theory-based form with graffiti as the main topic, which results in a questioning of the structures of language and text. The poems will here be connected to Derrida's terms crypt, ashes, date and wound (in my analyses, wound is also transformed into scars and marks or tracks). The main feature of the Norwegian author Ingrid Storholmen's Skamtalen Graceland is the visuality of language that appears through different fonts and formations as well as through marked words visualizing a scarred text. Anna Hallberg has been a leading figure for the genre of language poetry in Sweden. In connection to the analysis of her latest poetry collection, Pa era platser, some ideas of the early Wittgenstein are applied. It seems as if the language-focused poets of today want to contribute to the philosophical language debate from within the topic of the same debate, that is, from the inside of poetry itself.


Numerous approaches have been published which derive fluid indicators (often called direct hydrocarbon indicators, or DHI) from AVO equations. The main idea behind these methods is to use the linearized Zoeppritz equations to extract petrophysical parameters such as P-impedance, S-impedance, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Lame's parameters, Poisson's ratio, etc. and, from cross-plots of these parameters, infer the fluid content. Often, these indicators provide a good tool to quickly identify hydrocarbon zones. But the question of whether there is a best approach and, if so, which one it is, is still under debate. The purpose of this study is to examine which indicator can most easily discriminate a gas/oil sand from its background geology, and which indicator is most sensitive to pore-fluid content estimation.


High-quality bulk β-Ga2O3 single crystals have been grown by optimized edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method. The problems of cracking and polycrystals have been effectively solved by using a high-quality 1 inch-wide seed. The crystalline quality of the as-grown crystal has been confirmed by X-ray rocking curve with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 42.1 arcsec. Moreover, an economical and efficient one-step mechanical exfoliation method has been proposed to get epi-ready β-Ga2O3 wafers directly. The root mean square (RMS) roughness of the wafers is noted to be around 0.1 nm, which means they are comparable or even better than wafers processed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). The mechanism of the exfoliation method is analyzed from a crystallographic view. A photodetector is fabricated on the exfoliated wafer directly and the device is proved to show good performance in solar-blind band.


Mangroves are highly productive wetland ecosystems and extremely important coastal resources providing a variety of environmental goods and services, which are vital to our socio-economic development. To evaluate the role of mangroves, a total of 75 semi-structured interviews were conducted with coastal community, resource user, government official, NGO personnel, researchers, and private entrepreneur to gather primary and secondary information. Results indicated that in the past 30 years there has been planted about 1,460 ha of euryhaline mangroves under different management regimes. Teknaf peninsula mangrove influenced two key variables viz., productivity and physical structure which direct other ecological processes. The variable 'productivity' provide suitable habitat for nursery, growth, migration through recycling waste and nutrients. The respondents identified 13 mangrove resource user groups in Teknaf peninsula which shows high dependency to mangroves goods. The catch of finfishes, shrimps and prawns, crabs, molluscs, etc. from the mangroves area contributes value to the small-scale fisheries. The knowledge gained from the information content of the Teknaf peninsula mangroves ecosystem contributes value to scientific and educational community. In particular, it means that environmental goods and services provided by the Teknaf peninsula mangroves are rarely produced independently and the multiple interdependencies involved in providing such environmental supports.


Many beginning teachers feel unprepared to teach students in their inclusive classrooms. Preservice teachers may need applied learning experiences, intentionally focused on understanding of individuals with disabilities as human rather than as their disability or label. This paper shares an applied learning project couched in the principles of Universal Design for learning completed by students in a course about disabilities. Two Student Choice Project examples are shared to demonstrate the process for completion and to provide preliminary evidence of how this project facilitated transformation of student perceptions, built awareness, and improved openness and objectivity in understanding individuals with disabilities.


In this paper, we studied the flocking motion of multiple agents in mixed absolute/relative navigation condition with communication. The difference between navigation and communication in the role taken part in the neighbourhood relations was firstly pointed out. We gave a criterion which can judge whether a communication neighbourhood graph with mixed absolute/relative navigation devices is connected. We also proposed an algorithm to achieve the absolute navigation using the communication. Based on above preliminaries, we design a control law to stabilize the flocking motion of multiple agents whose dynamics are nonlinear with noise. The simulation in three different scenarios was performed and the corresponding results illustrated the effectiveness of the control law.


Aerosol physical and chemical properties and relative humidity (RH) in the marine atmosphere undergo their modifications under the influence of continentally polluted air mass. Effects of continentally polluted air mass on aerosol optical properties over the East China Sea were studied by using data of aerosol size and number, aerosol composition, and RH. These data were obtained under Atmospheric Particulate Environmental Change Experiment 2/Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (APEX-E2/ACE-Asia). Data collected on 18, 21, 23, and 26 April 2001 were used in this study. In order to evaluate contributions of such modifications to aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and single scattering albedo (SSA), AOT and SSA of the continentally polluted marine atmospheres were compared with values calculated by replacing each parameter (aerosol composition, aerosol size and number, and RH) of the continentally polluted marine atmospheres with that of the marine atmosphere. Further, by not separating aerosol composition and aerosol size and number parameters, investigations were performed by replacing these parameters of the continentally polluted marine atmospheres with those of the marine atmosphere. Modification of aerosol size and number was found to have a tendency to increase AOT significantly, whereas modification of aerosol composition by only a few percentages. Since continental air had relatively low RHs, modification of RH was found to have a tendency to decrease the value. The result also suggested that the decrease of aerosol hygroscopicity by continentally polluted air mass tended to decrease AOT. On the other hand, not only aerosol composition and RH modifications, but also aerosol size and number modification had a tendency to decrease SSA The study pointed out an important role ofcontinentally polluted air mass on aerosol radiative forcing, due to the increase of AOT and the decrease of SSA over the East China Sea.


Broadcast traditionally has been regarded as a prohibitive communication transaction in multiprocessor environments. Nowadays, such a constraint largely drives the design of architectures and algorithms all-pervasive in diverse computing domains, directly and indirectly leading to diminishing performance returns as the many-core era is approaching. Novel interconnect technologies could help revert this trend by offering, among others, improved broadcast support, even in large-scale chip multiprocessors. This article outlines the prospects of wireless on-chip communication technologies pointing toward low-latency (a few cycles) and energy-efficient broadcast (a few picojoules per bit). It also discusses the challenges and potential impact of adopting these technologies as key enablers of unconventional hardware architectures and algorithmic approaches, in the pathway of significantly improving the performance, energy efficiency, scalability, and programmability of many-core chips.


Abstract Pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS) is defined as a syndrome of markedly elevated intracranial pressure, with no evidence of intracranial mass, inflammation or obstruction on brain imaging. Headache, visual disturbances (e.g., diplopia, visual loss), and papilledema are the most common presenting features. The mechanism(s) underlying PTCS is still unknown. Numerous medical illnesses and medications have been associated with the risk of PTCS, and a range of renal disorders (e.g., renal transplantation, nephrotic syndrome, inherited tubulopathies, acute or chronic kidney insufficiency) can predispose to developing this raised intracranial pressure syndrome. Fluid and electrolyte balance in renal epithelial cells are regulated by a complex interaction of metabolic and/or hormonal factors. In this context, we also discuss recent studies that suggest that renal epithelial cells share many of the same features as the choroid plexus epithelial cells, which are involved in the regulation of cerebrospinal fluid dynamics.


The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (MDRs) create exemptions to the offences of possession, production, supply, and administration of controlled drugs (CDs), which are necessary to allow healthcare professionals to treat patients without rendering themselves liable to prosecution for various offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. As the scope of healthcare in the UK grows to include extended roles for an increasing number of professions, so must the law be amended to allow for these. The MDRs were poorly drafted in their original form, and this has been compounded by twenty years of equally poor amendments, leading to a degree of inaccuracy and ambiguity that is no longer acceptable. These regulations both lack internal consistency, and fail to align with the Human Medicines Regulations, such that neither healthcare professionals, their regulators, nor their representative bodies agree on either the spirit or letter of the law. There are fewer than 30 active regulations in the MDRs, of which more than half contain ambiguities originating from poor drafting. While these could be clarified by a further series of amendments, the time is right to learn from previous mistakes and start over afresh.


Hydrothermal reaction of cadmium nitrate, bis(4-pyridylmethyl)piperazine (4-bpmp), and a variety of cyclohexyldicarboxylate ligands generated three new coordination polymer solids that were structurally characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [Cd(cis-13cdc)(4-bpmp)]n (1, cis-13cdc = cis-1,3-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) shows a sawtooth (4,4) grid topology. [Cd2(trans-12cdc)2(4-bpmp)]n (2, trans-12cdc = trans-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) displays a unique 4,5-connected layered (46)(4664) topology with embedded [Cd2(trans-12cdc)2] ribbon motifs. {[Cd(cis-12chedc)(4-bpmp)]·0.25H2O}n (3, cis-12chedc = cis-1,2-cyclohex-4-enedicarboxylate) manifests a 3D 3,5-connected self-penetrated network with an unprecedented (426)(426583) topology. Thermal decomposition, luminescent, and nitroaromatic detection properties of these three new materials are discussed.


Date palm (Phoenix dactyliferaL.) is the mainstay of oasis agriculture in the Saharan region. It is cultivated in a large part of the Mediterranean coastal area of the Sahara and in most isolated oases in the Algerian desert. We sampled 10 oases in Algeria to understand the structure of date palm diversity from the coastal area to a very isolated desert location. We used 18 microsatellite markers and a chloroplast minisatellite to characterize 414 individual palm trees corresponding to 114 named varieties. We found a significant negative inbreeding coefficient, suggesting active farmer selection for heterozygous individuals. Three distinct genetic clusters were identified, a ubiquitous set of varieties found across the different oases, and two clusters, one of which was specific to the northern area, and the other to the drier southern area of the Algerian Sahara. The ubiquitous cluster presented very striking chloroplast diversity, signing the frequency of haplotypes found in Saudi Arabia, the most eastern part of the date palm range. Exchanges of Middle Eastern and Algerian date palms are known to have occurred and could have led to the introduction of this particular chlorotype. However, Algerian nuclear diversity was not of eastern origin. Our study strongly suggests that the peculiar chloroplastic diversity of date palm is maintained by farmers and could originate from date palms introduced from the Middle East a long time ago, which since then, hasbeen strongly introgressed. This study illustrates the complex structure of date palm diversity in Algerian oases and the role of farmers in shaping such cryptic diversity.


Objective In patients with chronic hepatitis B, viral relapse following interferon (IFN) therapy may be the result of a treatment duration that is too short to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) from replicating later. To reduce viral relapse in patients with chronic hepatitis B who responded to IFN, we individualized the duration of therapy according to serum HBV‐DNA levels. Method Treatment duration was prolonged to maintain negative serum HBV‐DNA levels for the next 6 months in 30 patients who became HBV‐DNA‐negative following IFN therapy (group A). Another 35 patients were treated for only 6 months (group B). All patients had HBV‐DNA as well as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in their sera for more than 6 months and were proven histologically to have chronic hepatitis. Interferon alfa (IFN‐&agr;) was administered subcutaneously at a dose of 5 MU/m2 three times a week. Results There were no differences in age, gender, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positivity, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, or serum HBV‐DNA levels between the two groups. The mean duration of IFN therapy in group A was 7.2 months. At the end of treatment, serum HBV‐DNA was negative in 16 patients in group A and in 18 patients in group B. The loss of serum HBV‐DNA was maintained to the end of follow‐up in 13 patients in group A but in only eight patients in group B. Similarly, serum ALT levels were normal in 14 patients in group A but in only nine patients in group B at the end of follow‐up. Conclusion Individualization of the duration of treatment to maintain serum HBV‐DNA negativity for at least 6 months may reduce the viral relapse rate following IFN therapy.


Nanosized zinc oxide has been synthesized by using simple and efficient pericipitation method from zinc Nitrate and liquid ammonia with calcinations step at high temperature at 500 o C temperature for 5 hours. The nanosized ZnO were characterized by using XRD (X-ray diffraction), TGA/DTA (Thermal gravimetry analysis and Differential Thermal an alysis), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)/ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and magne tic measurement techniques. XRD studies showed that zinc oxide was formed as ZnO and it has hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. The particle size of the synthesized zinc oxide was determined by TEM. TEM im ages showed that the size of the particle of the zinc oxide varied from 21-40 nm, which is in good agreement with the theoretically predicted size of nanomaterials. This method is cheaper, easier and effective in comparison to the known methods for the synthesis of nanomaterials. There is excellent ag reement between the experimental and theoretical results.


Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a multifunctional organelle primarily responsible for protein synthesis and folding. Disruption of ER function triggers a protective machinery called the unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR pathways then arrest the RNA translation and increase the production of ER chaperones to alleviate ER stress, or, if the stress cannot be resolved, UPR induces phenotypic change and/or apoptosis. Cellular senescence is a complex cell phenotype, whereby cells irreversibly cease to divide after a number of passages. It can be induced by telomere shortening, DNA damage, oxidative stress and activation of some oncogenes. Senescent cells accumulate with age in tissues and are assumed to play a role in age-associated diseases, such as Alzheimer disease or cancer. In our work, induction of senescence lead to upregulation of UPR hallmark proteins and interestingly, alleviation of ER stress by inhibition of UPR signaling or by chemical chaperons, overridden the onset of senescence. In summary, these results indicate a biologically relevant link between UPR and senescence of OSE cells that may contribute to better understanding of ovarian pathologies extending the portfolio of druggable molecular targets.


In the 1960s and 1970s, with the introduction of hormonal contraception, as well as of a new generation of intrauterine contraception, Western countries saw cardinal changes in methods of fertility regulation so significant that the American demographers Westoff and Ryder called them "The contraceptive revolution." By this time, the transition to low fertility in developed countries, as, indeed, in Russia, was completed, and family planning had become a common practice. However, the new technologies significantly increased the effectiveness of birth control, and this change would have important social and demographic consequences.Underestimation of the importance of family planning and underdevelopment of the corresponding services in the USSR and in Russia led to the contraceptive revolution beginning here much later than in the West, already in the post-Soviet years with the arrival of a market economy and information openness. For decades, induced abortion played a key role in the regulation of fertility, and only in the 1990s did modern methods of contraception become widespread and the unfavorable ratio of abortions to births begin to change for the better. The article describes the composition of contraceptive methods used in the countries of European culture and in Russia, and attempts to explain the difference in this composition. Based on national representative sampling survey data, an analysis is made of current practice of contraceptive use in Russia. The conclusion is drawn that the contraceptive revolution in Russia is proceeding rather quickly, although is not receiving substantial state support.


Talbot-Lau x-ray interferometry has been implemented to map electron density gradients in High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) experiments. X-ray backlighter targets have been evaluated for Talbot-Lau X-ray Deflectometry (TXD). Cu foils, wires, and sphere targets have been irradiated by 10-150 J, 8-30 ps laser pulses, while two pulsed-power generators (∼350 kA, 350 ns and ∼200 kA, 150 ns) have driven Cu wire, hybrid, and laser-cut x-pinches. A plasma ablation front generated by the Omega EP laser was imaged for the first time through TXD for densities >1023 cm-3. Backlighter optimization in combination with x-ray CCD, image plates, and x-ray film has been assessed in terms of spatial resolution and interferometer contrast for accurate plasma characterization through TXD in pulsed-power and high-intensity laser environments. The results obtained thus far demonstrate the potential of TXD as a powerful diagnostic for HEDP.


Several proteins, including actin and fibrin, polymerize in vivo to form nanometre diameter fibers. These processes can be duplicated in vitro using only the essential enzyme and protein precursors. These same protein solutions are directed to self-assemble into oriented arrays of air-bridges using only the crude operation of hand brushing them over textured micron-scale surfaces. The creation of these suspended structures could be used as nanomechanical elements in various sensors and actuators, and their fabrication by this rapid directed self-assembly method would be useful, especially during the early phases of prototype device development. The fabrication method extends earlier studies (Harfenist et al., Nano Lett., 2004, 4, 1931) in which an organic polymer dissolved in a volatile solvent forms nanofiber air-bridges through a combination of capillary force driven thinning of liquid bridges and evaporation driven solidification of the polymer solution. However, in the current study polymerization is initiated when a monomeric solution of soluble protein is brushed over the micro-textured surface. When fibrinogen solutions are brushed over a thrombin primed surface, or monomeric actin over a KCl primed array, fiber air-bridges are formed, sometimes reaching diameters as small as 16 nm. The uniformity in diameter of one hand-brushed array of 358 parallel fibrin air-bridges was 36.4 nm (6.8 nm standard deviation), with no more than 3 broken fibers. The fibrin bridges are shown to be both highly elastomeric and adhesive through demonstration of the construction and stretching of a three point bridge using a micromanipulator. Also the brush-on method produced ordered arrays of suspended fibrin membranes, which sometimes were anchored perpendicular to the vertical sidewalls of the textured surface and other times were anchored parallel to the sidewalls. The demonstration of air-bridge formation by biopolymerization suggested that air-bridges might also be formed during initiated polymerization of organic monomers. Even though the monomer of norbornylene has a much smaller molecular weight than fibrinogen, hand brushing of norbornylene in toluene with Grubbs' catalyst resulted in the self-assembly of fiber air-bridges as small as 4 nm diameter over nearly 6 microns length.


The mHealth trend, which uses mobile devices and associated technology for health interventions, offers unprecedented opportunity to transform the health services available to people across the globe. In particular, the mHealth transformation can be most disruptive in the developing countries, which is often characterized by a dysfunctional public health system. Despite this opportunity, the growth of mHealth in developing countries is rather slow and no existing studies have conducted an in-depth search to identify the reasons. We present a comprehensive report about the factors hindering the growth of mHealth in developing countries. Most importantly, we outline future strategies for making mHealth even more effective. We are also the first to conduct a case study on the public health system of Pakistan showing that mHealth can offer tremendous opportunities for a developing country with a severe scarcity of health infrastructure and resources. The findings of this paper will guide the development of policies and strategies for the sustainable adoption of mHealth not only in Pakistan but also for any developing country in general.


With the research model of intelligent flexible structure by Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor, the dissertation deals with a design and manufacture methodology for FBG sensor array based on orthogonal curvatures, and offers the experiential analysis and validation. On basis of brief introduction to the principle of FBG sensor to detect curvatures and methodology of structural morphological reconstruction, detailed description of design solutions and manufacture processes have yielded based on orthogonal distributed FBG sensor array which includes some technological parts as the configuration of orthogonal distributed FBG sensor array, the technology of perception range-proportion and orthogonally contrapuntal-pasting, the method of casing and encapsulation, calibration for model structure and so on. Fitting and reconstructing of the model structure and validation of visualization is split up based on intelligent flexible model structure we make and experimental platform we develop. Thus, the result of the experiment adequately shows the FBG intelligent flexible structure designed and produced in the dissertation gives a splendid on fitting and reconstruction, in which the feasibility and validity of the design methodology and key technology has been proved deeply.


Hemoglobin digestion in the intraerythrocytic trophozoite stages of the malaria parasite releases large quantities of heme, which is then detoxified by crystallization into regular crystallites, which are subsequently secreted into the host vascular network as malaria pigment. This crystalline product is isostructural with the synthetic phase b-hematin, and its structure, solved from its powder diffraction pattern, (Pagola et al., 2000), corresponds to a hydrogen bonded chain of propionate linked dimers, Figure 1. This is an example where the crystalline phase is the macromolecule of direct biological interest, particularly in light of the currently accepted hypothesis for the quinoline antimalarial drug action being the inhibition of b-hematin formation and biosynthesis. A surprisingly array of spectroscopically similar closely related phases can also form during the reactions which are used to synthesize b-hematin. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction have been used to characterize these materials. Taken together these results indicate that infrared spectroscopy, in itself, is insufficient to identify synthetic analogs to malaria pigment and that a combination of electronmicroscopy and powder diffraction are required to unambiguously characterize these heme aggregates.


Receptors for neurotransmitters are often also ion channels, made up of more than one subunit working together as a unit. In this issue,
 Rosenmund
 et al. present a kinetic analysis of an ionotropic glutamate receptor that indicates that it is a tetramer, not a pentamer as thought before. In his commentary, Miller explains the elegant experiment that leads to this surprising conclusion.


This paper discusses the compensation of antenna-pointing errors following the recent analysis and retrofit of the NASA Deep Space Network antenna-control systems. The desired high-frequency communications with spacecraft (at Ka-band) require improved pointing precision over lower-frequency communications (at X-band). The quality of the antenna drives (hardware), the control algorithm (software), and the physical structure of the antenna (in terms of thermal deformations, gravity distortions, encoder mounting, and wind gusts) all influence pointing precision, and create the challenging task of remaining within the required pointing-error budget. Three control algorithms - PI (proportional-and-integral), LQG (linear-quadratic-Gaussian), and H, - are discussed, and their basic properties, tracking precision, and limitations as applied to antenna tracking are addressed. The paper shows that the PI algorithm is simple and reliable, but its performance is limited. It also explains how significant improvements in tracking precision are achieved when implementing the LQG control algorithm or the H, control algorithm. Still, pointing precision attributable to software modification is limited. It is pointed out that an additional increase of tracking precision requires concurrent improvements in the antenna drives.


We propose a variant of Alternating-time Temporal Logic (ATL) grounded in the agents' operational know-how, as defined by their libraries of abstract plans. In our logic, it is possible to refer to "rational" strategies for agents developed under the Belief-Desire-Intention agent paradigm. This allows us to express and verify properties of BDI systems using ATL-type logical frameworks.


It is well known that soft international law has begun to provide incentives for the management of a values-based behavior structure for multinational corporations. This paper will argue that hard international law can serve as a vehicle for the enhancement of a market environment in which corporate stakeholders, and principally consumers and investors, might incorporate information about corporate social behavior in their consumption and investment decisions. Specifically, a mandatory system of transparency and disclosure at the international level may provide an efficient means of creating incentives for moral behavior without the need to incorporate any one version of appropriate manifestations of social responsibility on corporate entities. International law can thus institutionalize, within a rule of law context, important incentives for appropriate behavior without incorporating any particular set of public values and provide a legal framework through which stakeholders can manage the public or social behavior of multinational corporations. The paper starts with a contextualization of the regulatory problem: the extent of the responsibility of corporate actors for the working conditions of indirect employees. Neither domestic nor international law has been much help. Law has taken only some very tentative steps to recognize or further the rise of this moral sense of obligation. The rise of the much-touted corporate social responsibility movement has resulted in the proliferation of a number of responses at every level of governance. Yet, virtually all of these responses have been in the form of soft law, usually voluntary codes that are not enforceable by any political organization, each reflecting the values of their proponents or stakeholders. Still, the obligation can be given legal effect through contract and enforced through regimes of monitoring and disclosure. The paper then considers the way in which hard international law might enhance this framework in which markets determine the substance of appropriate behavior which corporations are willing to embrace. For the purpose, the paper proposes the creation of a global system of disclosure and transparency. The object of these mandates would not be to establish a definitive set of behaviors, but rather to establish a framework within which corporate stakeholders-consumers, investors, labor, and others - could adjust their relationships on the basis of the behavior disclosed. The paper ends by pointing to the sources for such international lawmaking that already exist.


Recently, the privacy of blockchain transactions has taken center stage. Privacy is an essential feature of crypto-transactions. We have seen privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies like Monero with Cryptonote protocol and Zerocash with Zk-SNARKs. However, the privacy of transactions comes at the cost of the transactions not being visible at all to any regulatory bodies. In most developed or developing countries, the Government is democratic, and it is generally a good idea for the Government to be able to prevent illicit activities like foreign exchange frauds, black markets, criminal funding, and drug trafficking. The XAND blockchain aims to resolve this problem by allowing some authorized participants to view the transactions, while at the same time maintaining the privacy of the transactions from other regular users, including the validators.


Abstract Published measurements of the diatomic sulfur fugacity were used to make a thermodynamic analysis of high-temperature cuprous sulfide between 789 K and 1321 K. Gibbs–Duhem integration of the fugacity data was used to determine the enthalpy of formation of stoichiometric Cu2S as – 123.8 kJ mol–1. Statistical thermodynamics was applied to find partition functions, interaction energies, and free energies to characterize the configurational aspects of the phase. Theoretical calculations indicated that Cu vacancies might be localized in one half of the Cu lattice sites under quasi-chemical equilibrium.


Context: Cloud computing is a concept in which a user get services like SaaS, PaaS and IaaS by deploying their data and application on remotely servers. Users have to pay only for the time the resources are acquired. They do not need to install and upgrade software and hardware. Due to these benefits organization are willing to move their data into the cloud and minimize their overhead. Organizations need to confirm that cloud can replace the traditional platform, software and hardware in an efficient way and provide robust performance. Web servers play a vital role providing services and deploying application. One might be interested to have information about a web server performance in the cloud. With this aim, we have compared cloud server performance with a local web server. Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate cloud performance. For this purpose, we first find out the parameters and factors that affect a web server performance. Finding the parameters helped us in measuring the actual performance of a cloud server on some specific task. These parameters will help users, developers and IT specialists to measure cloud performance based on their requirements and needs. Methods: In order to fulfill the objective of this study, we performed a Systematic literature review and an experiment. The Systematic literature review is performed by studying articles from electronic sources including ACM Digital Library, IEEE, EiVillage (Compendx,Inspec). The Snowball method is used to minimize the chance of missing articles and to increase the validity of our findings. In experiment, two performance parameters (Throughput and Execution Time) are used to measure the performance of the Apache Web Server in Local and Cloud environment. Results: In Systematic literature review, we found many factors that affect the performance of a web server in Cloud computing. Most common of them are throughput, response time, execution time, CPU and other resource utilization. The experimental results revealed that web server performed well in local environment as compared to cloud environment. But there are other factors like cost overhead, software/ hardware configuration, software/hardware up -gradation and time consumption due to which cloud computing cannot be neglected. Conclusions: The parameters that affect the cloud performance are throughput, response time, execution time, CPU utilization and memory utilization. Increase and decrease in values of these parameters can affect cloud performance to a great extent. Overall performance of a cloud is not that effective but there are other reasons for using cloud computing


This note discusses avenues for multi-sectoral approaches and strategies to address adolescent and youth health. Successful application of any multi-sectoral approach requires strong and continuous partnerships with different stakeholders including within the Bank. It requires building effective multi-sectoral teams with dedicated resources that can build bridges across different sectors within the Bank and at the country level. While opportunities for collaboration depend on country contexts, keeping adolescents and youth at the center of an intervention will help align and define multi-sectoral actions across different areas. For more information on this topic, go to: www.worldbank.org/health.


Angiogenesis has been validated as a target in multiple randomised trials in ovarian cancer, in which addition of VEGF pathway inhibitors to conventional cytotoxic treatment resulted in increased progression-free and in some trials overall survival. However, the benefit from VEGF pathway inhibitors is still modest and the redundancy of angiogenic cytokines might be one of the underlying mechanisms. The majority of angiogenic cytokines, such as FGFs, HGF, VEGF165, IL-8, SDF-1α, HB-EGF that are also linked to ovarian cancer, critically depend on the linear glycosaminoglycan, heparan sulfate (HS), for their biological activity. HS is composed of repeating disaccharides that consist of N-substituted glucosamine and a hexuronic acid residue and is bound to core proteins which support signaling complex formation. The critical importance of glucosamine-6-O-sulfate (6S) moieties in assembling the growth factor/receptor signaling complex implies that reduced 6S content in HS will impact angiogenesis and thereby tumor growth. We used chemical synthesis to produce three differentially sulfated dodecasaccharides (12-mers). All three 12-mers were homogeneously sulfated at the 2-O position of iduronate (IS) and the N-position of glucosamine (NS). The first 12-mer lacked 6S moieties ([NSIS]6), the second 12-mer had a single 6S introduced at the non-reducing end of the molecule ([NS6SIS]1-[NSIS]5) and the third 12-mer was uniformly 6-O-sulfated ([NS6SIS]6). Comparison of anti-angiogenic properties of these 12-mers revealed differential inhibitory activities against angiogenic cytokines. While a single 6S at the non-reducing end slightly improved inhibition of FGF2- and VEGF165-induced angiogenic responses when compared to non-6S-sulfated 12-mer, it produced striking changes in the biological effects on IL-8/SDF-1α. Addition of one 6S abolished inhibitory activity of [NSIS]6 against IL-8, but conferred superior activity in inhibition of SDF-1α, in vitro and in vivo. These dramatic differential effects were absent if all glucosamine residues were 6-O-sulfated. NSIS 12-mer with a single 6S inhibited FGF-2-dependent microvessel formation in tumor xenografts, FGFR signaling in tumor blood vessels, but was insufficient in inhibiting tumor growth, most likely due to the dominant role of VEGF. We demonstrate unique structure-activity relationships for inhibition of SDF-1α and IL-8 which opens new opportunities in the development of glycotherapeutics. We show that oligosaccharides can be designed to target multiple or specific angiogenic cytokines, thus demonstrating the feasibility in generating agents that overcome resistance to VEGF inhibitors. Citation Format: Gordon C. Jayson, Steen U. Hansen, Gavin J. Miller, Claire Cole, Graham Rushton, John M. Gardiner, Egle Avizienyte. Development of synthetic heparan sulfate oligosaccharides as anti-angiogenic agents. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1375. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1375


Objectives: Present study examined how 16 weeks of six a side supervised recreational football affected serum immunoglobulin and white blood cells in untrained males. Methods/Analysis: We selected 27 untrained males having mean age (18.87±.79) years. These participants were then randomly allocated to two groups; football (n = 12) and control group (n = 15). Sixteen weeks of supervised recreational football training was offered to football group. Football sessions were conducted two times a week with 30min duration. Analysis of Covariance was employed to find any difference in two groups after 16 weeks of football training. Findings: Significant increase was seen after 16 weeks in total white blood cell count (P = 0.001), eosinophil (P = 0.006) and basophil (P = 0.005), while no significant improvement was observed in Neutrophil (P = 0.797), lymphocytes (P = 0.820), IgA (P = .158), IgG (P = .077) and IgM (P= .655). Monocytes and eosinophil counts decreased significantly whereas basophil counts increased significantly post football training. Novelty/ Improvement: Sixteen weeks of supervised recreation football training was effective in increasing total WBC count in untrained males. Our training was vigorous in nature as indicated by high average heart rate during the training sessions. Further, recreation football could not affect serum immunoglobulin significantly but there was some substantive increase in IgG levels.


IntroductionEven among people with mental disorders, relatively few die of suicide. However, a large proportion of people dying from suicide have seen a physician in the year before death. This raises the question whether focusing on hospital visits for suicide-related outcomes is a viable suicide prevention strategy.
Objectives and ApproachOur objective was to examine whether a hospital visit for a mental disorder or prior suicide attempt preceded suicide death. We requested Saskatchewan's provincial coroner for records of people dying of suicide in the Saskatoon Health Region catchment area for the years 2012 to 2016. The coroner's list was linked with hospital and community mental health databases. Patient charts and medical abstracts in both settings were reviewed for risk factors.
ResultsThere were 143 suicide deaths in the time period and the yearly incidence was higher in Saskatoon as compared with the national average. Only 38 percent were seen previously in any Saskatoon hospital for a mental disorder (11 percent for a self-harm diagnosis). The chart review confirmed several known psychological and social risk factors. Having a history of depression or psychosis and alcohol and/or drug use were common. Many decedents also had disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds characterized by vulnerable housing and being on social assistance.
Conclusion/ImplicationsWith only 38 percent of decedents being seen in hospital, community-based mental health care and data are important for suicide prevention. Suicide prevention efforts can be aided by facilitating the linkage of community and medical records to better track patients as they move between care settings.


Background Premature discontinuation of clinical studies affects about 25% of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which raises concerns about waste of scarce resources for research. The risk of discontinuation of non-randomised prospective studies (NPSs) is yet unclear. Objectives To compare the proportion of discontinued studies between NPSs and RCTs that received ethical approval. Methods We systematically surveyed prospective longitudinal clinical studies that were approved by a single REC in Freiburg, Germany between 2000 and 2002. We collected study characteristics, identified subsequent publications, and surveyed investigators to elucidate whether a study was discontinued and, if so, why. Results Of 917 approved studies, 547 were prospective longitudinal studies (306 RCTs and 241 NPSs). NPSs were on average smaller than RCTs, more frequently single centre and pilot studies, and less frequently funded by industry. NPSs were less frequently discontinued than RCTs: 32/221 (14%) versus 78/288 (27%, p<0.001, missing data excluded). Poor recruitment was the most frequent reason for discontinuation in both NPSs (36%) and RCTs (37%). Conclusions Compared to RCTs, NPSs were at lower risk for discontinuation. Measures to reliably predict, sustain, and stimulate recruitment could prevent discontinuation of many RCTs but also of some NPSs.


Action quality assessment (AQA) has become an emerging topic since it can be extensively applied in numerous scenarios. However, most existing methods and datasets focus on single-person short-sequence scenes, hindering the application of AQA in more complex situations. To address this issue, we construct a new multi-person long-form video dataset for action quality assessment named LOGO. Distinguished in scenario complexity, our dataset contains 200 videos from 26 artistic swimming events with 8 athletes in each sample along with an average duration of 204.2 seconds. As for richness in annotations, LOGO includes formation labels to depict group information of multiple athletes and detailed annotations on action procedures. Furthermore, we propose a simple yet effective method to model relations among athletes and reason about the potential temporal logic in long-form videos. Specifically, we design a group-aware attention module, which can be easily plugged into existing AQA methods, to enrich the clip-wise representations based on contextual group information. To benchmark LOGO, we systematically conduct investigations on the performance of several popular methods in AQA and action segmentation. The results reveal the challenges our dataset brings. Extensive experiments also show that our approach achieves state-of-the-art on the LOGO dataset. The dataset and code will be released at https://github.com/shiyi-zh0408/LOGO.


The aim of this determine the causes, frequency, location of isolated extradural hematomas in patients presenting with head injury and to find out the outcome of surgery in such patients. This is prospective observational study was conducted in the Neurosurgery Unit of Manipal Teaching Hospital from January 2012 to January 2017. All patients who presented with headinjury and had isolated extradural hematomas were included in the study. Total number of patients admitted with diagnosis of extradural hematomas during that time period was 169 among which 94 patients underwent surgical treatment. Descriptive statistics data including age, gender, causes of injury, severity of head injury and Glasgow outcome scale were studied. Results in proportion and percentages were calculated by using Microsoft Excel 2013.
There were 169 patients who had isolated extradural hematomas. Among them, 75 patients were managed conservatively and 94 underwent craniotomy for evacuation of hematoma. This group of 94 patients who operative treatment was taken for this study. Male: female ratio was 1.6:1. Mean age was 23 years. Most of patients were in 20-40 age groups. Causes of extradural hematomas included motor vehicle accidents, falls and assaults. Mild and moderate head injury was present in 53 (56.38%) and 32 (34.0%) patients. Seventy nine patients (84.05%) of patients had good recovery while 3 (3.19%) patients expired.


The complete amino acid sequence of Acanthamoeba profilin was determined by aligning tryptic, chymotryptic, thermolysin, and Staphylococcus aureus VS protease peptides together with the partial NH2-terminal sequences of the tryptophan-cleavage products. Acanthamoeba profilin contains 125 amino acid residues, is NH2-terminally blocked, and has trimethyllysine at position 103. At five positions in the sequence two amino acids were identified indicating that the amoebae express at least two slightly different profilins. Charged residues are unevenly distributed, the NH2-terminal half being very hydrophobic and the COOH-terminal half being especially rich in basic residues. Comparison of the Acanthamoeba profilin sequence with that of calf spleen profilin (Nystrom, L.E., Lindberg, U., Kendrick-Jones, J., and Jakes, R. (1979) FEBS Lett. 101, 161-165) reveals homology in the NH2-terminal region. We suggest, therefore, that this region participates in the actin-binding activity.


Many cities are facing challenges of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, diminishing quality of life and increasing pressure on their natural environment. Recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as wireless sensor networks and ubiquitous computing are potential tools for addressing these problems. How can the emerging technologies be used to create smarter, greener and more economically efficient cities? To what extent can ubiquitous technologies add value to place, community and environment? The paper examines current trends in ICTs such as wireless sensor networks, RFID, mobile devices and their potential roles in making cities sustainable. The paper develops a conceptual ICT implementation framework to make Gold Coast an intelligent and sustainable city. It examines the potential application of sensors for activities such as event and tourism management, enabling innovation, smart infrastructure, liveability and disaster resilience. Lastly, the paper discusses the practical and policy challenges of implementing these ideas in terms of issues such as privacy, affordability, security and stakeholders' engagement.


Avant de citer ce rapport technique, veuillez visiter notre site Web (https://www.gerad.ca/fr/papers/G-2020-12) afin de mettre à jour vos données de référence, s'il a été publié dans une revue scientifique. The series Les Cahiers du GERAD consists of working papers carried out by our members. Most of these pre-prints have been submitted to peer-reviewed journals. When accepted and published, if necessary, the original pdf is removed and a link to the published article is added.


During the past decade, solving constrained optimization problems with evolutionary algorithms has received considerable attention among researchers and practitioners. Cai and Wang's method (abbreviated as CW method) is a recent constrained optimization evolutionary algorithm proposed by the authors. However, its main shortcoming is that a trial-and-error process has to be used to choose suitable parameters. To overcome the above shortcoming, this paper proposes an improved version of the CW method, called CMODE, which combines multiobjective optimization with differential evolution to deal with constrained optimization problems. Like its predecessor CW, the comparison of individuals in CMODE is also based on multiobjective optimization. In CMODE, however, differential evolution serves as the search engine. In addition, a novel infeasible solution replacement mechanism based on multiobjective optimization is proposed, with the purpose of guiding the population toward promising solutions and the feasible region simultaneously. The performance of CMODE is evaluated on 24 benchmark test functions. It is shown empirically that CMODE is capable of producing highly competitive results compared with some other state-of-the-art approaches in the community of constrained evolutionary optimization.


Subtitles play a crucial role in cross-lingual distribution of multimedia content and help communicate information where auditory content is not feasible (loud environments, hearing impairments, unknown languages). Established methods utilize text at the bottom of the screen, which may distract from the video. Alternative techniques place captions closer to related content (e.g., faces) but are not applicable to arbitrary videos such as documentations. Hence, we propose to leverage live gaze as indirect input method to adapt captions to individual viewing behavior. We implemented two gaze-adaptive methods and compared them in a user study (n=54) to traditional captions and audio-only videos. The results show that viewers with less experience with captions prefer our gaze-adaptive methods as they assist them in reading. Furthermore, gaze distributions resulting from our methods are closer to natural viewing behavior compared to the traditional approach. Based on these results, we provide design implications for gaze-adaptive captions.


Abstract Background: The increase of the number of new cases for year of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has brought also an increase of BCC difficult to treat (extensive, locally advanced and high risk forms). Objective: To evaluate retrospectively the results obtained with dermatologic radiotherapy (RT) for better defining the indications respect to new emerging treatments. Methods: A series of extensive 115 BCC treated with RT from 1977 to 2014 were selected for the study, since endowed with histological diagnosis on the amount of 181 extensive BCC. RT was performed with conventional energies (50–160 kV) administering a total dose ranging from 47 to 85 Gy (median 55 Gy). The mean follow up was 40.66 months (median 21 months). A statistical evaluation was performed with chi-square test to analyse the possible correlations among therapeutic and cosmetic results and size, localisation and clinical type of the lesions. Results: A complete remission (CR) was obtained in 70.43%, a partial remission (PR) in 20% of the lesions treated, while in 9.56% a no response (NR) or not evaluable response (NER) was registered. In 19% of the lesions a relapse was observed, with a five-year cure-rate of 55.13%. Cosmetic results were good in 28%, acceptable in 50% and not acceptable in 22% of the lesions in CR. In six lesions, localised at the trunk region, a chronic radiodermatitis developed. A statistically significative correlation was observed between therapeutic results and size, between cosmetic results and size and between therapeutic results and clinical type of BCC. Conclusion: The treatment of extensive BCC is still a challenge and radiotherapy is one of the possible choices, preferred in the elderly, in relapsing cases, after incomplete excision, and in difficult localisations of the face. Radiotherapy might be included in sequential schedules of treatment to improve final results.


Abstract Understanding the crystal chemistry, materials properties, and thermodynamics of uranyl minerals and their synthetic analogs is an essential step for predicting and controlling the long-term environmental behavior of uranium. Uranyl vanadate minerals are relatively insoluble and widely disseminated within U ore deposits and mine and mill tailings. Pure uranyl vanadate mineral analogs were synthesized for investigation using high-temperature drop solution calorimetry. Calculated standard-state enthalpies of formation were found to be −4928.52 ± 13.90, −5748.81 ± 13.59, and −6402.88 ± 21.01, kJ/mol for carnotite, curienite, and francevillite, respectively. Enthalpies of formation from binary oxides for uranyl vanadate minerals exhibit a positive linear correlation as a function of the acidity of oxides. Normalized charge deficiency per anion (NCDA) is presented to relate bonding requirements of the structural units and interstitial complexes. An exponential correlation was observed between NCDA and energetic stability (enthalpy of formation from binary oxides) for the studied minerals. Additionally, NCDA and oxide acidity exhibit an exponential correlation where decreasing oxide acidity results in an exponential decrease in NCDA. The number of occurrences of uranyl vanadate mineral species are found to correlate with both enthalpy of formation from oxides and NCDA.


Unsustainable models of growth-based development are pushing aquatic ecologies outside known historical ranges and destabilizing human activities that have long depended on them. We develop the concept of hydrosocial rupture to explore how humanwater resource connections change when they are exposed to cumulative development pressures. The research analyzes stakeholder perceptions of hydrosocial ruptures in two sites in Southeast Asia: (1) peatlands in Riau Province, Indonesia, and (2) Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. In both contexts, capital-driven processes have reconfigured human-water resource connections to generate transgressive social and environmental consequence that cannot be contained within administrative units or property boundaries. Our findings show how these ruptured hydrosocial relations are perceived and acted upon by the most proximate users of water resources. In Cambodia, a policy of resettlement has sought to thin hydrosocial relations in response to biodiversity loss, chronic pollution, and changing hydrology in Tonle Sap Lake. By contrast, in Indonesia's Riau Province, efforts are underway to thicken human-water relations by hydrologically rehabilitating peatlands drained for agricultural development. We argue that in both of these contexts hydrosocial ruptures should be understood as phenomena of transboundary governance that cannot be addressed by individual groups of users, sectors, or jurisdictions.


The article analyzes in detail the main aspects of promotional marketing in team building. Team building is very important for marketing campaigns as it allows for the efficient completion of tasks and the achievement of set goals. The main purpose of the article is based on the evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing communications using the Yule model and the creation of a framework for the business modeling of the brand, since having a ready-made business model structure, one can describe the cost structure, which will reflect the key actions and all resources for investment in brand development. The article summarizes the main advantages and disadvantages of promotions and highlights the main consequences of the war for Ukrainian brands. The main reason for team building is that marketing campaigns usually require work with different specialists such as marketers, designers, copywriters, analysts, etc. Therefore, project teams secure necessary communication and coordination between project participants to avoid misunderstandings and ensure the successful implementation of the project. Moreover, project teams can secure efficient management of resources such as time, budget, and other resources. This is especially important for marketing campaigns since they often have limited resources and shorter deadlines. Each team member contributes and performs specific tasks to achieve the campaign goal. Team building is an essential element in the successful implementation of marketing campaigns. It allows for efficient communication and coordination among project participants, resource management, and the achievement of successful results. Effective promotions can provide a company with a competitive advantage. This article discusses the main types of promotions, such as advertising, discounts, gifts, contests, loyalty, etc. An important aspect is choosing the right type of promotion depending on the target audience and the company's marketing goals. The criteria for team building, including the abilities and skills of the participants, leadership, communication, and collaboration, are also considered. The concept of business management implies that the company's management should constantly work to improve business processes, optimize the use of resources, and efficiently utilize personnel. In addition, business management includes the development and implementation of the company's development strategy, as well as control over its financial results.


Meeting the increasing demand for energy storage based on lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is not only a question of resource availability but also an issue of resource conservation and efficient recycling management. In this respect, sustainable recycling concepts play a central role in mindful interactions with valuable materials. Based on this approach, a process interconnection of hydromechanical preparation, flotation, and pyrometallurgical treatment was investigated. The hydromechanical preparation showed promising results in achieving highly pure mixtures of LIB-active material. It was found that a pre-opening step could achieve an even better separation of impurities for downstream processes such as Cu and Al to avoid excessive particle size reduction. According to an optimized mixing stage during flotation, the C amount was reduced from 33 wt.% to 19.23 wt.%. A Li-free metal alloy was obtained through the subsequent pyrometallurgical treatment, and evidence for Li removal via the gas phase was provided. Furthermore, heating microscope trials confirmed the results of the process interconnection and showed that further optimization steps for the pre-treatment are necessary for favorable product quality. Therefore, a high-stratification plot was created, which allows a quick future statement about the suitability of the input material for use in the process.


In 2009 decisions were taken to develop the MSc Urban Planning and Design (UPD) at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE) at KTH, into a broader program incorporating, on the one hand, an already running MSc in Urban Regional Planning (URP) and, on the other, a new program in Environment and Planning (EP). The new program was given the name Sustainable Urban Planning and Design (SUPD), and the three subordinate programs were now denominated as tracks within the new MScprogram. The reasons for this reorganisation was manifold but the most important were, firstly, to create fewer and broader MSc-programs that better represented the profile of strong knowledge environments at ABE, secondly, raising the performance and quality of the programs and, finally, simplifying the communication and marketing of MS-programs. Less directly expressed but of equal importance were structural changes in the field that needed to be reflected in the profiles of the MSc-programs. One such profound change was the broad, powerful and acute debate on how to develop our societies into sustainable societies, where urban development suddenly had been addressed as maybe the most important field of action, raising completely new knowledge challenges for its practices. Another change with far reaching repercussions was the accelerating globalisation, quickly rearranging economic positions and roles between cities and regions around the world. These new agendas questioned the professional identities in the field, both when it comes to type and level of knowledge. Such profound structural changes asked not only for a new and updated organisation for the MSc but an analysis of its field, both as a field of practice and a field of knowledge. As part of the work towards a new and updated formulation of the identity and content of the new MSc-program SUPD, as well as its individual tracks, a preliminary analysis of that kind is presented here.


The United States has recently seen a large increase in hospital mergers and acquisitions, and Catholic hospital systems have actively participated in this. As of 2016, 40% of the largest healthcare systems were faith-based, with 141 mergers between Catholic and non-Catholic systems since 1997. Mergers that affiliate a hospital with a Catholic owner, network, or system, are consequential because they reduce the set of possible medical procedures since Catholic hospitals are generally prohibited from providing procedures like tubal ligation. We examine the effect of changes in ownership from secular to Catholic (and vice versa) on reproductive health procedures that are likely to be affected. Using hospital-level variation in ownership status for 1002 hospitals, we estimate a difference-in-differences model with year and hospital fixed effects. We find that Catholic hospitals reduce the per bed annual rates of inpatient abortions by 30% and tubal ligations by 31%, whereas there is no significant change in related procedures such as D&Cs or C-sections. Our results are primarily driven by hospitals that change from not Catholic to Catholic. Across a variety of measures, we find minimal overall welfare reductions. However, this decrease in tubal ligations rate alone represents nearly 10,000 fewer tubal ligations per year across the United States, which in itself imposes a substantial cost on women and their partners.


The authors treated 14 patients who had advanced head and neck cancer with an accelerated fractionation schedule of irradiation consisting of two fractions given 6 hours apart. In the morning a volume of 1.7 Gy was given to an area that encompassed the entire tumor, enlarged lymph nodes, and all areas at risk for microscopic disease. Six hours later, 1.1 Gy was given to an area that included only the tumor and any enlarged lymph nodes, with a 2-cm margin. The treatment was well tolerated; of the 13 patients who completed therapy, six did not require a break in therapy, and seven patients did. The median rest period was 2 days. There was no grade 4 toxicity. Grade 3 toxicity included skin changes (one case), mucositis (two), dysphagia (two), weight loss (three), and a decrease in the hemoglobin level (one case). The response rate in the 13 who completed therapy was 13/13 (100%); 11 of the 13 (83%) had a complete response. Only one of the 11 who achieved a complete response had failure at the primary site. At a median follow-up of 24 months, the absolute survival was 7/13 (54%) and the corrected survival was 7/10 (70%). This techniquemore » permits radiation therapy to be given on an accelerated schedule without a planned break in treatment. The overall response rate and survival at 2 years was excellent.« less


Evidence about the cost-effectiveness of interventions in children's services can help decision-makers make more efficient use of scarce resources. We returned to six somewhat disparate interventions on which we had collated research evidence identified by service planners and practitioners as relevant to the well-being of children in the course of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded What Works for Children project. These are home visiting, parenting, cognitive–bahavioural therapy, mentoring, traffic calming and breakfast club interventions. We aimed to explore the nature and extent of evidence on cost-benefit and cost effectiveness for these measures. We conducted searches for studies that looked at the costs as well as the effectiveness of the six interventions and found 24 studies matching our inclusion criteria. The studies were diverse in terms of study design and economic methods (including economic modelling and willingness to pay). Studies relating to parenting programmes and traffic calming gave the most positive indication that the interventions may be cost-effective for the outcomes in question. The remainder of the studies did not give a clear picture, in large part because of a lack of demonstration that the intervention was effective.


Introduction: Population needs health literacy (HL) in order to understand health-related topics. Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish Adults (SAHLSA-50) could be a high-quality tool for assessing HL in adults. Unlike questionnaires in the English language, which are not easily modifiable for Croatian, translation of SAHLSA-50 from Spanish into Croatian could be an appropriate choice. There are no similar questionnaires to assess HL in Croatian to date. Aim: To translate SAHLSA-50 into Croatian using a validated procedure and to adapt it linguistically, so that it could be used in the Croatian-speaking area to measure HL in the Croatian population. Material and Methods: SAHLSA was developed for the Spanish-speaking population by Lee et al. It consists of 50 items and is based on multiple choice questions. A score between 0 and 37 suggests that the respondent has inadequate HL. After the protocolized translation process (translation/back-translation), the final version of the Croatian translation of SAHLSA-50 was produced, after we introduced several changes that do not represent a direct translation of the Spanish items. Most of the changes were made because of a cultural difference in common use or in the meaning of the term. Conclusion: SAHLSA-50 was translated and adapted into Croatian using the standard translation/back-translation procedure. The Croatian version will now be available as an important part of epidemiological and clinical studies, as a useful tool for evaluating the levels of HL in the Croatian-speaking population. Validation of the translated Croatian version in practice would be the next step. (Berlancic T, Kuharic M, Jankovic D, Milic J, Badak K, Zibar L. Croatian Translation and Linguistic Adaptation of the Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish Adults (SAHLSA-50). SEEMEDJ 2020; 4(2); 121-128)


An initial study of how text clones can be detected and visualized in technical documentation, i.e., semi-structured text that describe a product, software, or service. The goal of the visualizations is to support human experts to assess and prioritize the clones, since certain clones can be either intentional or harmless. We study some existing visualizations designed for source code, and provide initial and limited adaption of these. A major difficulty in this adaptation is to manage the semi-structured technical documentation compared to structured source code.


Row spacing less than 76 cm for corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. .] is becoming more common. However, little information is available on row spacing in different rotation sequences. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of rotation sequence, row spacing, and tillage system on corn and soybean yield. Corn and soybean were planted in 19-, 38-, and 76-cm row spacing in conventional tillage and no-tillage systems. Both crops were compared in seven rotation sequences. Few interactions were found between row spacing and tillage or between row spacing and rotation sequence for corn or soybean yield. Corn grain yield decreased 11% using the 19-cm row spacing compared with the 38- and 76-cm row spacings. Corn grain yield decreased 5% using the no-tillage system compared with the conventional tillage system. Corn rotated annually with soybean and first-year corn after 5 yr of consecutive soybean yielded 15% more than continuously grown corn. Soybean yield was not affected by row spacing. No-tillage soybean yield was 6% higher than the conventional tillage system. First-year soybean after 5 yr of consecutive corn yielded 8% more than the other six rotation sequences. We concluded that corn-soybean cropping history and tillage system were not important for determining optimum row-spacing system for corn or soybean. The use of a row-spacing system less than 76 cm was not beneficial for either crop.


Most actinopterygians replace their teeth continuously throughout life. To address the question of where and how replacement teeth form in actinopterygians, it is advisable to investigate well-chosen representatives within the lineage. The African bichir, Polypterus senegalus, belongs to the earliest diverged group of the actinopterygian lineage with currently living representatives. Its well characterized dentition, together with its phylogenetic position, make this species an attractive model to answer following questions: (1) when and where does the replacement tooth form and how is it connected with the dental organ of the predecessor, and (2) is there any evidence for the presence of epithelial stem cells, hypothesized to play a role in replacement? Serial sections show that one tooth family can contain up to three members, which are all interconnected by dental epithelium. Replacement teeth develop without the presence of a successional dental lamina. We propose that this is the plesiomorphic condition for tooth replacement in actinopterygians. BrdU pulse-chase experiments reveal cells in the outer and middle dental epithelium, proliferating at the time of initiation of a new replacement tooth. It is tempting to assume that these cell layers provide a stem cell niche. The observed absence of label-retaining cells after long chase times (up to 8 weeks) is held against the light of divergent views on cell cycling properties of stem cells. At present, our data do not support, neither reject, the hypothesis on involvement of epithelial stem cells within the process of continuous tooth replacement.


Serious video games (VG) offer new opportunities for promoting health related diet and physical activity change among children. Games can be designed to use storylines, characters, and behavior change procedures, including modeling (e.g., engaging characters make changes themselves, and face and overcome challenges related to fruit and vegetable (FV) and physical activity (PA) goal attainment and/or consumption), skill development (e.g., asking behaviors; virtual recipe preparation), self regulatory behaviors (problem solving, goal setting, goal review, decision making), rewards (e.g., points and positive statements generated by the program), immediate feedback (e.g., through characters and/or statements that appear on the computer screen at critical decision points), and personalization (e.g., tailored choices offered at critical junctures, based on responses to baselines questions related to preferences, outcome expectancies, etc). We are in the earliest stages of learning how to optimally design effective behavior change procedures for use in VG, and yet they have been demonstrated to change behavior. As we learn, VG offer more and better opportunities for obesity prevention that can adjust to individual needs and preferences.


To improve the efficiency of Monte Carlo estimation, practitioners are turning to biased Markov chain Monte Carlo procedures that trade off asymptotic exactness for computational speed. The reasoning is sound: a reduction in variance due to more rapid sampling can outweigh the bias introduced. However, the inexactness creates new challenges for sampler and parameter selection, since standard measures of sample quality like effective sample size do not account for asymptotic bias. To address these challenges, we introduce a new computable quality measure based on Stein's method that quantifies the maximum discrepancy between sample and target expectations over a large class of test functions. We use our tool to compare exact, biased, and deterministic sample sequences and illustrate applications to hyperparameter selection, convergence rate assessment, and quantifying bias-variance tradeoffs in posterior inference.


To determine if passive immunization could decrease the incidence or severity of Klebsiella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, patients admitted to intensive care units of 16 Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense hospitals were randomized to receive either 100 mg/kg intravenous hyperimmune globulin (IVIG), derived from donors immunized with a 24-valent Klebsiella capsular polysaccharide plus an 8-valent P. aeruginosa O-polysaccharide-toxin A conjugate vaccine, or an albumin placebo. The overall incidence and severity of vaccine-specific Klebsiella plus Pseudomonas infections were not significantly different between the groups receiving albumin and IVIG. There was some evidence that IVIG may decrease the incidence (2.7% albumin vs. 1.2% IVIG) and severity (1.0% vs. 0.3%) of vaccine-specific Klebsiella infections, but these reductions were not statistically significant. The trial was stopped because it was statistically unlikely that IVIG would be protective against Pseudomonas infections at the dosage being used. Patients receiving IVIG had more adverse reactions (14.4% vs. 9.2%).


The effectiveness of Fenton's reagent for the remediation of contaminated sandy soils is affected by the precipitation and sorption of Fe species in soil/water systems. We investigated the ability of pyrophosphate to maintain Fe in solution and thus enhance the dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) by the Fenton reaction. The results of the experiments showed that pyrophosphate could significantly increase the concentrations of Fe in aqueous solutions and enhance the dechlorination of PCE. The dechlorination rate of PCE in the presence of pyrophosphate was found to decrease with time, which was attributed to both the conversion of Fe(II) to Fe(III) and the decrease of aqueous Fe concentration. In comparison to organic chelating agents, pyrophosphate appeared to be more stable and thus catalyzed the dechlorination of PCE for a longer time. The extended dechlorination (>120 h) was attributed to the solubilization of Fe and the stabilization of H2O2 caused by the addition of pyrophosphate.