Medical complaints and office visits of spouses and children of depressed patients were examined and compared to a matched comparison group of spouses and children of nondepressed patients. Both spouses and children of depressed patients showed increased numbers of visits and complaints which returned to control levels one year after the depression was diagnosed and treated. Infection, pain, functional, and anxiety complaints showed significant increases in spouses over controls. Definite diagnoses, infections, pain, and anxiety complaints were significantly increased in children compared to controls. In both spouses and children these complaints returned to control levels by the third period of the study, one year after the depression had been diagnosed (and treatment for depression started). The pain, functional, and anxiety complaints of spouses and children were very similar qualitatively to those of the depressed patients. The results demonstrate the validity of the family as a unit of medical care.


Late Callovian (athleta Chronozone) age sediments of Pedrógão, west coast Portugal, yielded a low diversity ostracod assemblage with relatively little in common with coeval NW European assemblages except at the weak level of comparative (cf.) species identification. Five new marine species are described (Neurocythere multiforma sp. nov., Palaeocytheridea (Malzevia)? dorsocostata sp. nov., Praebythoceratina parascrobiculata sp. nov., Praeschuleridea lisensis sp. nov., Virgulacytheridea posteroacuminata sp. nov.) and three previously described non-marine species recorded that so far are indigenous to Portugal (Septacandona azeredae, Sinuocythere pedrogaensis, Theriosynoecum helmdachi). Ostracod taxonomic links to western Tethys are evident but weak. Calcareous nannofossil assemblages were analysed for biostratigraphical control. Supplementary material: Sample data and raw ostracod counts are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3271394.v1


Context. The inversion of ring fit parameters to obtain subsurface flow maps in ring-diagram analysis for eight years of SDO observations is computationally expensive, requiring ∼3200 CPU hours.
Aims. In this paper we apply machine-learning techniques to the inversion step of the ring diagram pipeline in order to speed up the calculations. Specifically, we train a predictor for subsurface flows using the mode fit parameters and the previous inversion results to replace future inversion requirements.
Methods. We utilize artificial neural networks (ANNs) as a supervised learning method for predicting the flows in 15° ring tiles. We discuss each step of the proposed method to determine the optimal approach. In order to demonstrate that the machine-learning results still contain the subtle signatures key to local helioseismic studies, we use the machine-learning results to study the recently discovered solar equatorial Rossby waves.
Results. The ANN is computationally efficient, able to make future flow predictions of an entire Carrington rotation in a matter of seconds, which is much faster than the current ∼31 CPU hours. Initial training of the networks requires ∼3 CPU hours. The trained ANN can achieve a rms error equal to approximately half that reported for the velocity inversions, demonstrating the accuracy of the machine learning (and perhaps the overestimation of the original errors from the ring-diagram pipeline). We find the signature of equatorial Rossby waves in the machine-learning flows covering six years of data, demonstrating that small-amplitude signals are maintained. The recovery of Rossby waves in the machine-learning flow maps can be achieved with only one Carrington rotation (27.275 days) of training data.
Conclusions. We show that machine learning can be applied to and perform more efficiently than the current ring-diagram inversion. The computation burden of the machine learning includes 3 CPU hours for initial training, then around 10−4 CPU hours for future predictions.


A simplified analysis of the steady-turning characteristics of the tractor-semitrailer combination shows that, in order for a "jack-knife" type of directional instability to occur in the absence of braking, the tractor must, itself, exhibit an oversteer behavior and must be operated above its critical speed. When considering nonlinear aspects of the behavior of such vehicles, it becomes convenient to examine the potential for instability using the so-called handling diagram. When the nonlinear tractor is outfitted with a tandem drive axle arrangement, there ceases to exist a unique handling curve representing all steady-state conditions. Rather, a family of handling diagrams exists, with a distinct curve representing each value of forward velocity. Numerical computations employing a rather complete model of the vehicle were conducted to examine the influence of various design and operating parameters upon the yaw stability of tractor-semitrailer combinations. Results show that the inherent oversteer tendency in the steady turning behavior of typical tractors at increasing levels of lateral acceleration can be eliminated by large changes in the front/rear distribution of roll stiffness. Other commonly-experienced parametric variations are seen to significantly aggravate the basic tendency toward oversteer behavior. For the covering abstract of the conference see TRIS 378303. (Author/TRRL)


Area under vegetable cultivation is expanding in arid and semi-arid regions of the world to meet the nutritional requirements of an ever-growing population. However, water scarcity in these areas is limiting vegetable productivity. New water-conserving irrigation management practices are being implemented in these areas. Under these irrigation management practices, crops are frequently exposed to some extent of water stress. Vegetables are highly sensitive to water stress. For the successful implementation of new irrigation practices in vegetable crops, it is of immense importance to determine the threshold water deficit level which will not have a detrimental effect on plant growth and yield. Along with this, plant response and adaptation mechanisms to new irrigation practices need to be understood for the successful implementation of new irrigation practices. To understand this, water stress indicators that are highly responsive to water stress; and that can help in early detection of water stress need to be identified for vegetable crops. Plant-based water stress indicators are quite effective in determining the water stress level in plants because they take into account the cumulative effect of water stress due to declining soil moisture status and increased evaporative demand of the atmosphere while determining the water stress level in plant. Water stress quantification using plant-based approaches involves direct measurements of several aspects of plant water status and indirect measurements of plant processes which are highly sensitive to water deficit. In this article, a number of plant-based water stress indicators were critically reviewed for (1) their efficacy to determine the level of water stress, (2) their potential to predict the yield of a crop as affected by different water-deficit levels and (3) their suitability for irrigation scheduling in vegetable crops.


In this paper, we study the no-boundary wavefunction in scalar–tensor gravity with various potentials for the non-minimally coupled scalar field. Our goal is to calculate probabilities for the scalar field—and hence the effective gravitational coupling and cosmological constant—to take specific values. Most calculations are performed in the minisuperspace approximation, and we use a saddle point approximation for the Euclidean action, which is then evaluated numerically. We find that for potentials that have several minima, none of them is substantially preferred by the quantum-mechanical probabilities. We argue that the same is true for the stable and the runaway solution in the case of a dilaton-type potential. Technically, this is due to the inclusion of quantum-mechanical effects (fuzzy instantons). These results are in contrast to the often-held view that vanishing gravitation or cosmological constants would be exponentially preferred in quantum cosmology, and they may be relevant to the cosmological constant problem and the dilaton stabilization problem.


Background Customarily, bedrooms in Japan are left unheated. Although several studies have reported that the use of a heating system has positive outcomes on respiratory infection and asthma, the preventive effect of heating systems against infectious diseases in children is not well known. Methods We conducted a cohort study using two questionnaire surveys, one before the winter season in November, 2018 and the second after winter in March, 2019. Participants were 155 children who did not use a heating system in the bedroom and 156 children who did. Results Having a heated bedroom with a heating system was associated with decreased odds for the frequency of cold (≥3 times) (adjust odds ratio [AOR] 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19–0.65), duration of fever (≥3 days) (AOR 0.38; 95% CI, 0.22–0.66), duration of medicine for a cold (≥3 days) (AOR 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87–0.95), hospital visit due to cold (≥3 days) (AOR 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31–0.94), absence from school or nursery (≥3 days) (AOR 0.43; 95% CI, 0.27–0.70), influenza infection (AOR 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26–0.71), and gastroenteritis (AOR 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21–0.72). Influenza vaccination reduced the odds of influenza infection (AOR 0.36; 95% CI, 0.22–0.59) and absence from school or nursery (≥3 days) (AOR 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39–0.99). Conclusion This study implies that the heating of bedrooms may have a preventive effect against infections among children. Broader dissemination of this knowledge in Japan will require cultural change through public health awareness.


A new method for the preparation of phase‐pure ferromagnetic Fe3P films on quartz substrates is reported. This approach utilizes the thermal decomposition of the single‐source precursors H2Fe3(CO)9PR (R = tBu or Ph) at 400 °C. The films are deposited using a simple, home‐built metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) apparatus and are characterized using a variety of analytical methods. The films exhibit excellent phase purity, as evidenced by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field‐dependent magnetization measurements, the results of which agree well with measurements obtained from bulk Fe3P. Using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques, the films are found to have thicknesses between 350 and 500 nm with a granular surface texture. As‐deposited Fe3P films are amorphous, and little or no magnetic hysteresis is observed in plots of magnetization versus applied field. Annealing the Fe3P films at 550 °C results in improved crystallinity as well as the observation of magnetic hysteresis.


This paper puts forth a critical interpretation of Facebook Inc.'s mobile growth strategy within a present mobile network society. Using Facebook's own promotional and platform policy texts - many authored at a time when the company prepared for public trading - a promotional rhetoric inviting mobile users to actively partake in the site's 'engaging experiences' will be surveyed. The analyst adopts a view that engaging Facebook on mobile devices can be interpreted as an emerging form of hyper-mobile net work generating surplus value filtered towards particular interests (network 'nodes'). I argue that Facebook's source code can be likened to a worksite, albeit a highly decentralized one that, through mobile, bridge virtual influence to physical spaces. To meet such a task, end-users' mobile-specific technical rights will be discussed so far as they interface with other revenue-generating actors. Using a critical discourse analysis framework, this paper explores a grammar of interests portrayed at a key point in Facebook's company history, connecting Facebook's imagined mobile landscape to its initial public offering period.


Tests conducted on oriented strand board (OSB) webbed wood I-joists with web openings revealed that the typical failure mode was that the OSB fractured from tension zones around an opening, with cracks developing diagonally toward the joist flanges. The joist collapsed when the cracks reached the flanges. Finite-element models were developed using ABAQUS to simulate joist behavior. Material nonlinearity, crack propagation, and joist failure were dealt with by a user-defined subroutine. Good correlation was obtained between the test and the analytical results. The finite-element models were then used to investigate the effect of opening size and location on the behavior of joists. The lower bound and the upper bound of the load bearing capacity of joists with openings were found by finite- element modeling and were empirically expressed by polynomials.


Abstract Alpha-thalassemias are among the most common genetic diseases in the world. They are characterized by hypochromic and microcytic anemia and great clinical variability, ranging from a practically asymptomatic phenotype to severe anemia, which can lead to intrauterine or early neonatal death. Deletions affecting the α-globin genes, located on chromosome 16p13.3, are the main causes of α-thalassemia. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) can be used to detect rearrangements that cause α-thalassemia, particularly large deletions involving the whole α cluster and/or deletions in the HS-40 region. Here, MLPA was used to investigate the molecular basis of α-thalassemia in five unrelated patients, three of whom had Hb H disease. In addition to the -α3.7 deletion identified in the patients with Hb H disease, four different α0 deletions removing 15 to 225 kb DNA segments were found: two of them remove both the α genes, one affects only the regulatory element (HS-40) region, and another one extends over the entire α cluster and the HS-40 region. These results illustrate the diversity of α-thalassemia deletions in the Brazilian population and highlight the importance of molecular investigation in cases that present with microcytosis and hypochromia without iron deficiency and normal or reduced Hb A2 levels..


Since 2001, legislation implementing fixed dates for general elections has been passed by the federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The notion that general election dates are now fixed, however, is flawed. In my submission to Changing Political Landscapes , I will explore the fledgling norm of fixed date elections in Canada and examine the aspects of the legislation which call into doubt the fixedness of these elections. With a review of the literature on the subject, I begin by inquiring into the emergence of this foreign phenomenon into Canadian electoral politics and the justification for its extensive adoption. Comparing the legislation across jurisdictions, I analyze the basic construct of fixed date election legislation in Canada, survey similarities and differences, and discover how fixed dates for elections are ultimately avoidable. As a result, I find that election dates are not truly fixed in Canadian jurisdictions where fixed date election legislation has been enacted.


A new approach to the problem of machine part image recognition is proposed by using maximization of mutual information. The method applies entropy to measure image feature, combined with color information and local shape information, and uses mutual information as a new matching criterion between the images for image recognition. This method solves the problem that histogram algorithm can not represent the spatial information. This method not only has the feature of translation invariant, but also avoids image segmentation which may lead to a complex calculation, so it can be realized easily. The result shows that proposed approach is accuracy, stability, and reliability in the processing of machine part image recognition.


Objective Huntington's disease (HD) is characterised by the presence of a motor disorder and neuropsychiatric phenomena, including apathy. Whilst apathy is widely regarded as a significant feature of HD, it is unknown whether it presents a major problem. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess whether apathy is an problem for the patient, the caregiver and the clinician. Method I followed the PRISMA guidelines for conducting a systematic review, searching for literature using Medline, Embase and PsycInfo. I began by searching for "huntington*" and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) for Huntington's Disease, combining these searches with OR. I then searched for the term "apathy" OR MeSH for apathy. I combined the first with the second search using the word AND, giving 61 search results. I read the abstracts, narrowing down the search results to 7. Since the focus of this review is whether apathy is a problem in HD, I conducted another search for all literature containing information relating to quality of life in HD. To do this I made a search for MeSH for quality of life, "quality" and "qualy",combining these search terms with OR. I combined the result with the first search using AND, giving 329 results. Reading these abstracts left 3 additional papers to be added to the first 7. Results Mason and Barker (2015) found that patients with early stage disease rated their apathy higher than the rating of companions, whilst those with late stage disease rated it lower. Increased apathy was found to decrease total functional capacity in 4 studies. Apathy subscore was a predictor of disability not caregiver burden/reduced QoL. Ready et al. (2008) looked at both patient and caregiver QoL in HD, finding that difficult to manage behaviours (e.g. aggression) affected QoL more than apathy. Eddy and Rickards (2013) found that QoL scores were lower for patients who exhibited increased apathy scores (p≤0.05). Conclusion Our findings suggest that apathy is a perceived problem to the clinician, reducing total functional capacity. It may be a problem to the caregiver or may appear easier to manage than aggression/irritability. Patients with early-stage disease often feel their apathy is a problem but patients with late stage disease (and, therefore, most likely worse apathy) do not perceive their apathy to be a problem as it is not detrimental to their QoL.


The catabolism and distribution of simultaneously injected rabbit transferrin and rabbit asialotransferrin was studied in five rabbits using a dual-isotope tracer technique. Similar studies were performed with human transferrin and human asialotransferrin in two humans, seven rabbits, and a rat.In all experiments, the catabolic rate of the asialotransferrin was higher than the corresponding value for the control protein. The difference averaged at 15% for rabbits and 29% for humans when homologous protein preparations were used. There were no concomitant differences in capillary transfer rates or in the partition of the labeled proteins between intra- and extravascular spaces.The catabolic rate of human transferrin in rabbits was not significantly different from that of the corresponding homologous protein. In contrast, human transferrin from which 92–100% of the sialyl residues had been removed was catabolized in rabbits at approximately 3.5 times the rate for homologous asialotransferrin. Substantial di...


Chancellor MB, Anderson RU, Boone TB: Pharmacotherapy for neurogenic detrusor overactivity. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2006;85:536–545. Patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity are a heterogeneous group with voiding dysfunction secondary to neurologic injury or disease. The neurogenic detrusor overactivity syndrome, which may include urinary frequency, urgency, and incontinence, frequently contributes to a loss of independence, or even institutionalization. Urodynamic assessment provides the best method of quantifying and classifying neurogenic detrusor overactivity dysfunction in patients with primary diagnoses as diverse as Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and spina bifida. For many patients, management of urinary symptoms includes pharmacotherapy with an anticholinergic agent. Several novel approaches to managing neurogenic detrusor overactivity, including intravesical instillation of anticholinergic agents, vanilloids, and neurotoxins, are being investigated. For most patients, however, flexible dosing with an anticholinergic agent, with clean intermittent catheterization when indicated, has been shown to reduce the risks of urologic complications, improve levels of continence, and enhance patient quality of life in both children and adults.


Estimation of the recording completeness of seismic catalogs recorded with small networks in a heterogeneous observation volume, for example, in mines, is difficult. Local heterogeneities have a strong influence on the wave path and attenuation and must be taken into account. In order to analyze the spatially varying completeness of such catalogs in three dimensions, we present a new approach based on the probability-based magnitude of completeness (PMC) method of Schorlemmer and Woessner (2008). We demonstrate that the traditional approach of Schorlemmer and Woessner (2008) is insufficient in very complex and heterogeneous settings. To account for this problem, we extend the PMC method, taking into account the direction of incoming seismic waves. This allows us to analyze the influence of small heterogeneities on the recording completeness in high resolution. We compare the results with results obtained by a traditional Gutenberg–Richter frequency-magnitude analysis for the JAGUARS catalog: The Japanese German Underground Acoustic Emission Research in South Africa (JAGUARS) project recorded approximately 500,000 seismic events with magnitudes -5< M w<-1 in the Mponeng gold mine (Carletonville, South Africa) at -3.5 km depth. The network is surrounded by several cavities and is located partly in the Pink-Green dike, a local geological feature. We estimate that the completeness of the JAGUARS catalog varies significantly in space. In the center of the network, we estimate a magnitude of completeness of M P=-4.8, whereas at stope level (approximately 100 m from the network), the magnitude of completeness is only M P=-3.1. Variations due to the influence of local heterogeneities, for example, tunnels, are clearly resolvable.


Abstract International organizations have increasingly become engaged in developing transnational memory frames for the Holocaust. Based on document analysis and interviews with transnational norm entrepreneurs, this article explores the role and interaction of three organizations: the European Union, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and UNESCO. It employs the multi-level governance approach to analyze how Prime Minister Göran Persson and a 'progressive' alliance of Western politicians initially 'uploaded' a Swedish initiative to the EU and the UN system. In the EU, however, East-Central European norm entrepreneurs have increasingly pushed for greater emphasis on Stalinist crimes, which has reinforced the totalitarian paradigm and effectively undermined Holocaust remembrance. In contrast, the battle over the possible link between Holocaust remembrance, collective identity and political legitimacy is absent from the UN system. The UN and UNESCO have transformed the Holocaust into a universal code for the need to protect human rights and democracy.


This project involved a comprehensive and compact study of the built environment in light rail transit (LRT) station areas in Denver, Colorado and travel behaviors in both Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)- and non-TOD areas in the region. Graduate students from the University of Connecticut and University of Colorado, Denver participated in a workshop in Denver in Spring 2011 to collaborate on designing questions for two comprehensive travel surveys and subsequently carry out an intensive field campaign to collect data. The principal objectives were to provide insight into how different types of TOD affect travel behavior patterns—specifically reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT)—and to understand what prevents people from living in TOD areas. The latter information was intended to help assess the potential for region-wide reductions in VMT. An additional objective was to provide University of Connecticut students with experience in carrying out collaborative, integrative, and interdisciplinary research with students from a National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education, Research and Training (IGERT) Program. The intention was to help to build a community of emerging scholars equipped to engage in trans-disciplinary work on policy-relevant issues, and help to better position faculty at the University of Connecticut to advance ongoing initiatives to establish an IGERT in Sustainable Urbanism. The main findings of the research are that although the LRT system in Denver, Colorado, may have met its goals with respect to congestion relief and ridership, the fact that the system has been located in existing travel corridors housing freeways and heavy freight trains limits the extent to which the system can become integrated into the fabric of the built environment. A thorough and systematic index of pedestrian level-of-service shows a tremendous variation in the pedestrian accessibility of stations across the system. In addition, stations that have park-and-ride lots show similar levels of vehicle ownership and VMT to other locations across the metropolitan area that are nowhere near LRT systems. Only those stations defined as walk-and-ride locations (i.e., those without park-and-ride lots) register lower car ownership and lower levels of VMT. The results of the research are in the process of being disseminated to academics, practitioners, and policymakers interested in the interactions between transportation, housing, and energy demand. To date, the research has resulted in one MA Thesis completed in May 2011, one MS Thesis due to be completed at the end of August 2013, one presentation at the Transportation Research Board January 2013 annual meeting, one presentation at the Annual Association of American Geographers' annual meeting in New York in March 2012, one paper in the Transportation Research Record, and one presentation at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.


B814, now's called Coronavirus first identified by Tyrrell and Bynoe in 1965
from the respiratory tract (embryonic tracheal) of an adult and later on during working on National Institutes
of Health Robert Chanock used the term "OC" for same virus strain. After several years researchers
reported that coronaviruses were caused disease in rats, mice, chickens, turkeys, calves, dogs, cats,
rabbits etc. after effecting the enormous variety of animal, in year 2002-2003 it caused new respiratory
disease named severe acute respiratory syndrome, (SARS) in southern China.

The main objective of this article is to compare the status of various previous pandemics (i.e.,
SARS, MERS) with the current COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the life cycle, diagnosis process and
prevention.

On 31st December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) office in China received information
regarding pneumonia cases of unknown etiology from the Wuhan district in central China.
Subsequently, this new disease spread to China, and from there, to the rest of the world. By the end of
March 2020, more than 2 million cases were confirmed of this new disease, with over 70000 deaths
worldwide. After some time, researchers have identified that this new disease is caused by a novel beta-
Coronavirus (virus SARS-CoV-2) and the new disease was named COVID-19. Since then, the Ministry
of Health of various countries and WHO have been fighting this health emergency, which has not only
affected public health, but also affected various economic sectors.

 The current outbreak SARS-CoV-2 phylogenetically resembled to Bat SARS, which was
previously identified in year 2002 and 2012 having low mortality rate than MERS and SARS. However,
SARS-CoV-2 and MERS having high virological similarity but both use different receptors to take entry
in to the host cell via ACE-2 and DPP-4 respectively. Unfortunately, currently there is no approved
treatment available worldwide. Currently, we can hope that together we will recover from this public
health emergency very soon.


Although comorbid psychiatric illness is increasingly being recognized in patients with mitochondrial disorders, there has been relatively little attention to psychiatric symptomatology as the primary clinical presentation. The authors report detailed clinical, biochemical, neuroradiological, and genetic findings in a series of 12 patients with mitochondrial disorders in whom psychiatric symptoms were a prominent aspect of the clinical presentation. The psychiatric presentations included depression, anorexia nervosa, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. A review of the literature, in conjunction with the present series, indicates that psychiatric symptoms can be the presenting feature of mitochondrial disorders and highlights the importance of considering this diagnosis.


Henryk Roycewicz was not a well-known figure. His name would be difficult to find on the pages of textbooks for the history of Poland, he was also not included in the most popular encyclopedias. Who was he then? A Pole coming from a family with patriotic traditions, but born in times of persecution in the Russian partition. A soldier of the First World War, a cavalryman of the Second Republic, an athlete, an almost perfect rider, an Olympic medalist, a riding coach. Roycewicz was also a soldier of the September Campaign, then the Home Army, an activist of the underground, and finally a Warsaw insurgent – commander of the "Kilinski" Battalion. For the last two "offenses" he paid a high price – accusations of treason, sentence and a six-year stay in the Stalinist prison. After his release and rehabilitation, he returned to horse riding and remained faithful to it almost until the end of his life. Although he died more than a quarter of a century ago, he still lives in the memories of the older generation of riders, and above all his comrades-in-arms, their families, war veterans, for whom he has become a legend during his lifetime. The aim of the article was to present an outstanding figure of a soldier-patriot, sportsman-Olympian, sports activist.


Objective To investigate the accuracy of signal averaged electrocardiography (SAECG) and measurement of microvolt level T wave alternans as predictors of susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias. Design Analysis of new data from a previously published prospective investigation. Setting Electrophysiology laboratory of a major referral hospital. Patients and interventions 43 patients, not on class I or class III antiarrhythmic drug treatment, undergoing invasive electrophysiological testing had SAECG and T wave alternans measurements. The SAECG was considered positive in the presence of one (SAECG-I) or two (SAECG-II) of three standard criteria. T wave alternans was considered positive if the alternans ratio exceeded 3.0. Main outcome measures Inducibility of sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation during electrophysiological testing, and 20 month arrhythmia-free survival. Results The accuracy of T wave alternans in predicting the outcome of electrophysiological testing was 84% (p < 0.0001). Neither SAECG-I (accuracy 60%; p < 0.29) nor SAECG-II (accuracy 71%; p < 0.10) was a statistically significant predictor of electrophysiological testing. SAECG, T wave alternans, electrophysiological testing, and follow up data were available in 36 patients while not on class I or III antiarrhythmic agents. The accuracy of T wave alternans in predicting the outcome of arrhythmia-free survival was 86% (p < 0.030). Neither SAECG-I (accuracy 65%; p < 0.21) nor SAECG-II (accuracy 71%; p < 0.48) was a statistically significant predictor of arrhythmia-free survival. Conclusions—T wave alternans was a highly significant predictor of the outcome of electrophysiological testing and arrhythmia-free survival, while SAECG was not a statistically significant predictor. Although these results need to be confirmed in prospective clinical studies, they suggest that T wave alternans may serve as a non-invasive probe for screening high risk populations for malignant ventricular arrhythmias.


Background and Purpose— Stroke has global importance and it causes an increasing amount of human suffering and economic burden, but its management is far from optimal. The unsuccessful outcome of several research programs highlights the need for reliable data on which to plan future clinical trials. The Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive aims to aid the planning of clinical trials by collating and providing access to a rich resource of patient data to perform exploratory analyses. Methods— Data were contributed by the principal investigators of numerous trials from the past 16 years. These data have been centrally collated and are available for anonymized analysis and hypothesis testing. Results— Currently, the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive contains 21 trials. There are data on >15 000 patients with both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ages range between 18 and 103 years, with a mean age of 69±12 years. Outcome measures include the Barthel Index, Scandinavian Stroke Scale, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Orgogozo Scale, and modified Rankin Scale. Medical history and onset-to-treatment time are readily available, and computed tomography lesion data are available for selected trials. Conclusions— This resource has the potential to influence clinical trial design and implementation through data analyses that inform planning.


Introduction Crack users are at high risk for syphilis, due to multiple risk behaviours, such as inconsistent condom use, exchanging sex for money and/or drugs and multiple sexual partners. However, there is a gap in the literature on the epidemiology of this infection in crack users in developing countries, including Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of syphilis in crack users in Goiânia, Brazil Central. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 600 users of a reference unit for chemical dependency treatment of Goiás, between 2012 to 2013. All participants were interviewed regarding socio-demographic characteristics and risk behaviours and blood samples were then collected for the detection of anti-Treponema pallidum antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive samples were tested by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL). Active syphilis was considered when there was a positive ELISA result and VDRL titers≥1:8. Poisson regression analysis was used to analyse the factors associated with active syphilis. Results Of the total participants, 13.8% (95.0% CI: 11.3% to 16.8%) were positive in ELISA. The prevalence of active syphilis was 4.5% (95.0% CI: 3.1% to 6.5%). The prevalence of exposure to Treponema pallidum and active syphilis was statistically higher in women than in men (p<0.001). In multivariable model, female sex (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR]: 3.73; p<0.001), schooling (APR: 0.88; p=0.030), exchange sex for money and/or drugs (APR: 3.22; p=0.040) and a history of genital ulcers in previous six months (APR: 4.12; p=0.010) were associated with active syphilis. Conclusion The results of this research show high prevalence of syphilis in crack users in Goiânia city. Comprehensive care for this population should be offered, including strategies such as health education, condom provision, and regular infection testing.
Support:
 Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás – FAPEG; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq


We present a new sum-of-product-based asynchronous architecture, called the N-SHOT architecture, that operates correctly under internal hazardous responses and guarantees hazard-freeness at the observable noninput signals. We formally prove that within this architecture, a very wide class of semimodular state graphs with input choices (either distributive or nondistributive) that satisfy the complete state coding property always admit a correct implementation, As with synchronous circuits, we permit internal hazards in the combinational logic core, which means that we can make use of conventional combinational logic minimization methods to produce the sum-of-product implementation. This represents a significant departure from most existing methods that require the combinational logic to be hazard-free and are mainly valid for distributive behaviors, We also present optimizations for this architecture which are related to state graph properties.


Increase of sympathetic nervous activity and tachycardia at rest or during physical exertions are associated with increase of morbimortality, even in the absence of clinical signs of cardiac disease. Considering the importance of the α2A/α2C-adrenergic receptors in the modulation of the nervous activity and heart rate (HR), the present study uses a genetic model of cardiomyopathy induced by excess of circulating catecholamine in the gene inactivation of the α2A/α2 -adrenergic receptors in mice (α2A/α2CKO) to verify the HR response to physical exercise (PE), as well as the sympathetic-vagal control of the HR to PE. The hypothesis is that there would be exacerbated tachycardic response during PE in α2A/α2CKO mice even when the cardiac function was still preserved at rest, being the α2A-adrenergic receptor the main reason for this response. Male mice of the C57Bl6J lineage, control (CO) and with gene inactivation for the a2A (α2AKO), α2C α2CKO) and α2A/α2CKO receptors were submitted to tolerance to a physical exercise test. Two other groups of mice, CO and α2A/α2CKO, were submitted to pharmacological blocking of the muscarinic and β-adrenergic receptors as well as to progressive PE to assess the sympathetic-vagal contribution to PE tachycardia. Intolerance to physical exercise (1.220 ± 18 and 1.460 ± 34 vs. 2.630 ± 42m, respectively) and higher tachycardia to PE (765 ± 16 e 792 ± 13 vs. 603 ± 18 bpm, respectively) in the α2AKO and α2A/α2CKO vs. CO mice was observed. Moreover, the autonomic balance was altered in the α2A/α2CKO mice by the sympathetic hyperactivity and lower cardiac vagal effect. These outcomes demonstrated the importance of the α2A/α2C-adrenergic receptors in autonomic control not only at rest, but also during PE, being theα2A-adrenergic receptor responsible for the sympathetic hyperactivity and lower vagal effect observed. This exacerbated tachycardic response in α2A/α2CKO mice is present even when cardiac dysfunction is not observed.


Self-injection locking to an external fiber cavity is an efficient technique enabling drastic linewidth narrowing of semiconductor lasers. Recently, we have introduced a simple dual-frequency laser source that employs self-injection locking of a DFB laser in the external ring fiber cavity and Brillouin lasing in the same cavity. The laser performance characteristics are on the level of the laser modules commonly used with Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA). The use of a laser source operating two frequencies strongly locked through the Brillouin resonance simplifies the BOTDA system, avoiding the use of a broadband electrooptical modulator (EOM) and high-frequency electronics. In this work, in a direct comparison with the commercial BOTDA, we explore the capacity of our low-cost solution for BOTDA sensing, demonstrating distributed measurements of the Brillouin frequency shift in a 10 km sensing fiber with a 1.5 m spatial resolution.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the sleep hygiene and prevalence of sleep deprivation among a large sample of automobile drivers.

DESIGN
From the 15th of June to the 4th of August 1996, with the help of the French highway patrol, we randomly stopped automobile drivers at the toll booths of Bordeaux and Biarritz. All subjects completed a validated questionnaire on sleep/wake habits during the year. After answering the questionnaire, subjects completed a graphic travel and sleep log of the three days preceding the interview.

PARTICIPANTS
We randomly stopped 2196 automobile drivers. Ninety-one percent of the sample (mean age 43 +/- 13 years) agreed to participate in the survey.

RESULTS
Fifty percent of the drivers decreased their total sleep time in the 24 hours before the interview compared with their regular self-reported sleep time. 12.5% presented a sleep debt > 180 minutes, and 2.7% presented a sleep debt > 300 minutes. Being young, commuting to work, driving long distances, starting the trip at night, being an "evening" person, being a long sleeper during the week, and sleeping in on the week-end were risk factors significantly associated with sleep debt.

CONCLUSION
The results of the study highlight variables (long-distance driving, youth, sleep restriction) that are frequently associated with sleep-related accidents.


Purpose During image‐guided prostate biopsy, needles are targeted at tissues that are suspicious of cancer to obtain specimen for histological examination. Unfortunately, patient motion causes targeting errors when using an MR‐transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) fusion approach to augment the conventional biopsy procedure. This study aims to develop an automatic motion correction algorithm approaching the frame rate of an ultrasound system to be used in fusion‐based prostate biopsy systems. Two modes of operation have been investigated for the clinical implementation of the algorithm: motion compensation using a single user initiated correction performed prior to biopsy, and real‐time continuous motion compensation performed automatically as a background process. Methods Retrospective 2D and 3D TRUS patient images acquired prior to biopsy gun firing were registered using an intensity‐based algorithm utilizing normalized cross‐correlation and Powell's method for optimization. 2D and 3D images were downsampled and cropped to estimate the optimal amount of image information that would perform registrations quickly and accurately. The optimal search order during optimization was also analyzed to avoid local optima in the search space. Error in the algorithm was computed using target registration errors (TREs) from manually identified homologous fiducials in a clinical patient dataset. The algorithm was evaluated for real‐time performance using the two different modes of clinical implementations by way of user initiated and continuous motion compensation methods on a tissue mimicking prostate phantom. Results After implementation in a TRUS‐guided system with an image downsampling factor of 4, the proposed approach resulted in a mean ± std TRE and computation time of 1.6 ± 0.6 mm and 57 ± 20 ms respectively. The user initiated mode performed registrations with in‐plane, out‐of‐plane, and roll motions computation times of 108 ± 38 ms, 60 ± 23 ms, and 89 ± 27 ms, respectively, and corresponding registration errors of 0.4 ± 0.3 mm, 0.2 ± 0.4 mm, and 0.8 ± 0.5° The continuous method performed registration significantly faster (P < 0.05) than the user initiated method, with observed computation times of 35 ± 8 ms, 43 ± 16 ms, and 27 ± 5 ms for in‐plane, out‐of‐plane, and roll motions, respectively, and corresponding registration errors of 0.2 ± 0.3 mm, 0.7 ± 0.4 mm, and 0.8 ± 1.0° Conclusions The presented method encourages real‐time implementation of motion compensation algorithms in prostate biopsy with clinically acceptable registration errors. Continuous motion compensation demonstrated registration accuracy with submillimeter and subdegree error, while performing < 50 ms computation times. Image registration technique approaching the frame rate of an ultrasound system offers a key advantage to be smoothly integrated to the clinical workflow. In addition, this technique could be used further for a variety of image‐guided interventional procedures to treat and diagnose patients by improving targeting accuracy.


The effect of highly hydrophobic emulsifiers, the palmitic sucrose ester P-170 (hydrophilic/lipophilic balance (HLB) = 1.0), the stearic sucrose ester S-170 (HLB = 1.0), the polyglycerol ester decaglycerol decastearate DAS 7S (HLB = 3.7) and the polyglycerol ester decaglycerol dodecabehenate DDB 750 (HLB = 2.6), on the nucleation of a high melting point milk fat fraction (HMF) and its blends with sunflower oil (SFO) was investigated by polarized laser light turbidimetry, X-ray diffractometry and polarized light microscopy (PLM). Addition of polyglycerol esters accelerated nucleation, giving shorter induction times for the same supercooling. On the contrary, sucrose esters inhibited nucleation since induction times were elongated in all conditions selected. Addition of emulsifiers modified the polymorphic behavior in the blends with SFO. The β' form was promoted especially with the addition of S-170. DAS 7S and DDB 750 promoted crystallization. PLM images showed many small crystals that did not appear in HMF images. Addition of P-170 and S-170 delayed nucleation and inhibited crystal growth. Crystals were notoriously smaller than the ones that appeared in HMF images. The Fisher-Turnbull model was used to calculate activation free energies of nucleation. In all cases, sucrose esters elevated the energy barrier for nucleation. Polyglycerol esters, however, if they had an effect on the energy barrier, lowered the values.


Site-directed mutagenesis is used to identify amino acid residues that dictate reported differences in substrate specificity between rat hepatic neutral cytosolic cholesteryl ester hydrolase (hncCEH) and rat lung carboxylesterase (LCE), proteins differing by only 4 residues in their primary sequences. Beginning with LCE, the substitution Met423 → Ile423alone or in combination with other mutations increased activity withp-nitrophenylcaprylate (PNPC) relative to more hydrophilicp-nitrophenylacetate (PNPA), typical of hncCEH. The substitution Thr444 → Met444 was necessary but not sufficient for expression of cholesteryl esterase activity in COS-7 cells. The substitution Asn506 → Ser506, creating a potential phosphorylation site, uniformly increased activity with both PNPA and PNPC, was necessary but not sufficient for expression of cholesteryl esterase activity and conferred susceptibility to activation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, a property of hncCEH. The 3 mutations in combination were necessary and sufficient for expression of cholesteryl esterase activity by the mutated LCE. The substitution Gln186 → Arg186 selectively reduced esterase activity with PNPA and PNPC but was not required for cholesteryl esterase activity. Homology modeling from x-ray structures of acetylcholinesterases is used to propose three-dimensional models for hncCEH and LCE that provide insight into the effects of these mutations on substrate specificity.


Surgical ligation for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWIs) has been shown a possible association with neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) because of its invasiveness. However, we have undergone surgical ligation for ELBWIs immediately after cyclooxygenase inhibitor failed to close a hemodynamically significant PDA (hsPDA) to maintain proper systemic circulation. We aimed to determine the effect of surgical ligation for hsPDA on NDI in ELBWIs. In enrolled 71 ELBWIs, the clinical parameters, including the developmental quotient (DQ), were collected and compared among three groups that were divided by closure mode: spontaneous closure (n = 11), cyclooxygenase inhibitor therapy (n = 37) and surgical ligation (n = 23). No significant differences in DQ at the age of 36 months among the three groups were found: Median (interquartile range): 92.0 (31.0), 89.0 (22.0) and 92.0 (24.5), respectively. In a comparison between groups of DQ < 70 (n = 15) and DQ ≥ 70 (n = 56), a significant difference was found in the parameters related to prematurity (p < 0.05 for each): gestational age [23.9 (1.70) vs. 25.4 (2.50) weeks], birth weight [595 (183) vs. 714 (192) g], Apgar score < 5 (1 min) (67% vs. 36%), and laser photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity (73% vs. 43%), but there was no significant association with hsPDA. Therefore, we propose that surgical ligation for hsPDA in ELBWIs should be immediately carried out for preventing future neurodevelopmental deterioration if the cyclooxygenase inhibitor failed to close hsPDA.


We report a focus shaping technique for nano patterning and optical trapping of nano particles using generalized cylindrical vector beams. Cylindrical polarized light when tightly focused with high NA lens axicon generates highly confined longitudinally polarized focal spot with large depth of focus (DOF) which founds applications in nano patterning and optical trapping of high refractive index particles. We also found by properly tuning the azimuthal component of the cylindrical vector beam, the proposed high NA lens axicon can generate a sub wavelength flat top beam which is highly useful for nano lithographic applications.


The field of biomaterials has seen a strong rejuvenation due to the new potential to modulate immune system in our body. This special class of materials is called"immunomodulatory biomaterials". Generally, three fundamental strategies are followed in the design of immunomodulatory biomaterials: (1) immuno-iner t biomaterials, (2) immuno-activating biomaterials, and (3) immuno-tolerant biomaterials. While many applications of immuno-inert biomaterials such as biocompatible medical implants have been already proposed in the past decades, the ability to engineer biological activity into synthetic materials greatly increases the number of their potential uses and improves their per formance in more traditional applications. The major focus of researchers is now set on developing immuno-tolerant biomaterials for anti-inflammatory therapies. In this review, we therefore introduce recent developments of immuno-tolerant biomaterials. Especially we introduce an apoptotic cell membrane inspired polymer and its post-inflammatory ef fects on immune cells in this ar ticle.


The source of aeolian sediments such as loess has been investigated since decades. Reliable knowledge on potential dust sources is crucial to understand past climatic and environmental conditions accompanying the dispersal of early modern humans (EMH) into Europe. Provenance studies are usually performed on small sample sets and most established methods are expensive and time-consuming. Here, we present the results of high-resolution geochemical analyses performed on five loess-palaeosol sequences from the Lower Danube Basin (LDB), a region, despite its importance as a trajectory for EMH, largely underrepresented in loess provenance studies. We compare our results with geochemical data of loess-palaeosol sequences from Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Ukraine. Based on published literature, we thus evaluate five plausible sedimentary pathways for the LDB loess: 1) the Danube alluvium (DA) pathway, which constrains the transport and re-deposition of detrital material by the Danube and its tributaries; 2) the Carpathian Bending (CB) pathway, where sediment is mainly transported from the Cretaceous to Neogene flysch of the Eastern Carpathian Bending; 3) the Eastern Carpathian (EC) pathway, in which sediment is eroded from the flysch of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, transported by rivers, and deflated by northwesterly to westerly winds; 4) the glaciofluvial (GF) pathway, where dust is deflated from glacial outwash plains in nowadays Ukraine, and 5) the Black Sea (BS) pathway, where dust originates from the exposed shelf of the Black Sea. Based on geochemical data, we consider the DA pathway to be the major sediment trajectory for loess in the LDB. Especially the sequences located close to the Danube and the Dobrogea show similarities to sites in Central and Northeast Hungary as well as Northern Serbia. For the northeastern part of the LDB, we demonstrate that dust input is mainly sourced from primary material from the Eastern Carpathians. Mineralogical estimations and geochemical data render the CB pathway as an additional substantial source of detrital material for the loess of this area. We consider the influence of the GF pathway in the LDB as negligible, whereas some minor influences of the BS pathway cannot be ruled out based on geochemical data.


In order to streamline the study of the pathogenic yeast Candida parapsilosis, we developed a plasmid-based CRISPR-Cas9 system (pRIBO) for gene editing in this species. However, pRIBO was not feasible for large-scale generation of mutant strains. We recently addressed this bottleneck by generating pCP-tRNA, an improved version of pRIBO in which the guide sequence can be easily cloned into the SapI-digested plasmid, and the release of the mature sgRNA is mediated by endogenous RNase cleavage of the C. parapsilosis tRNAAla, and by self-cleavage of the HDV ribozyme. We are currently using pCP-tRNA for the systematic generation of mutant strains. Suitable guides were computationally designed to induce Cas9 cleavage within the first 25 % of each ORF in the genome, which is then repaired by recombination with a repair template (RT) containing 30 bp homology arms, 11 bp to introduce a stop codon in the functional reading frame, and a unique tag. In 4 months, 288 plasmids targeting genes encoding transcription factors, phosphokinases, or unknown functions, were transformed into C. parapsilosis with the corresponding RTs. The system resulted in gene editing of 62 % of the 288 genes at high efficiency (80–100 % of the colonies tested were positive); 16 % of the genes in the panel may be essential based on homology with related species, and we believe that the remaining 22 % may be successfully edited by selecting a different guide. In conclusion, we demonstrate that pCP-tRNA is a valuable tool for high throughput generation of mutants in C. parapsilosis.


Rural roads in developing countries continue to be in poor condition despite multiple interventions. To provide access to markets, hospitals and schools for rural communi‐ ties, capacity building has been conducted, enabling rural communities to participate in road projects. This process has included the transfer of Do‐nou technology, which is appropriate for spot improvement using a local resource‐based approach. The goal has been to transform the road projects implemented through community initiatives, maximizing their effectiveness and practicality, and thus improving the conditions of rural roads. Case studies have been conducted in Myanmar, the Philippines and Kenya. They demonstrate that spot improvement and the use of locally available materials can provide socioeconomic benefits to communities. Designs based on this approach have been developed for the construction of base courses, retaining walls and causeways. These designs can be applied over wide areas and modified to reflect the unique conditions of each project area. The experience gained in community mobilization and stakeholder involvement, which is essential in the proposed approach, can serve as a guide when applying the approach in new areas.


Soil properties are important to the development of agricultural crops. This study determined some selected soil properties of a drip irrigated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum M.) field at different moisture regime in South-Western Nigeria. The experiment was carried out using Randomized Complete Block Design with frequency and depth of irrigation application as the main plot and subplot, respectively in three replicates. Three frequencies (7, 5 and 3 days) and three depths equivalent to 100, 75 and 50% of water requirement were used. Undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were collected from 0-5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil layers for the determination of some soil properties (soil texture, organic matter content, bulk density, infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity) were determined using standard formulae. Soil Water Content (SWC) monitoring was conducted every two days using a gravimetric technique. The soil texture was sandy loam for all the soil depths; average value of soil organic matter was highest (1.8%) in the 0-5 cm surface layer and decreased with soil depth; the soil bulk density value before and after irrigation experiment ranged from 1.48 and 1.73 g/cm 3 and 1.5 and 1.76 g/cm 3 , respectively; there was a rapid reduction in the initial infiltration and final infiltration rate. Saturated hydraulic conductivity show similar trend although the 20-30 cm layer had the lowest value (50.84 mm/h); the SWC affect bulk density during the growing season. The study showed that soil properties especially bulk density and organic matter content affect irrigation water movement at different depth.


The present study focuses on perception as na integral part of the communication process and emphasizes, when consciously accomplished, its occurence as an interactive facilitator agent likely to widen the understanding of interpersonal relationships.


This paper compares the minimum wage in different countries and evaluates its effectiveness by using a calibrated equilibrium labor search model. The main result is that the conclusions from comparisons and tests, which are based on empirical grounds, are sometimes reversed when examined within the model. I show, that under reasonable assumptions, the minimum wage in the U.S., which is low, and therefore perceived to be ineffective, is in fact more effective than the one in some European countries. The minimum wage in the U.S. is above the reservation wage of low-skilled workers, yet, it is substantially lower than labor productivity; I find that adopting the recent proposal to raise the Federal minimum wage by 40 percent will reduce the monopsonistic power of firms without having an adverse effect on employment of low-skilled workers.


Surface-wave propagation in unconsolidated Quaternary alluvium has been investigated within the valley of the Chiusi Lake tributary (Central Italy). The seismic experiment was originally designed to determine the structural response of an Etruscan tomb to a 200-kg dynamite shot, planned as part of a refraction survey within the CROP-DSS (an Italian project for the investigation of deep crustal structures). The availability of many recording instruments allowed us to design a more complete experiment, and we decided to use surface waves generated by a small explosion (10 kg dynamite) to infer the shear-wave-velocity-attenuation model in the alluvium layer.

We deployed a linear array aligned with the shot point on the river sediments. Sixteen digital, three-component recording stations were used; the minimum distance from the source was 1.9 km, and we chose an interstation separation of 50 m, for a total array length of 750 m. Clear Rayleigh waves were recorded along the array, and we were able to recognize two propagating modes in the waveforms. We calculated the dispersion curves of group velocities using a multiple filter technique. Dispersion curves of phase velocities were calculated using a p -ω stacking technique.

The whole procedure was run as follows: (1) the inversion of the group-velocity dispersion; (2) the use of synthetic seismograms for mode recognition; (3) the extraction and the inversion of phase-velocity values from the p -ω stack performed on the observed waveforms; (4) the use of a trial-and-error approach for Qβ to obtain "good" synthetic waveforms; and (5) the application of a conjugate gradient inversion technique to the anelastic absorption model (no inversion was run on γ dispersion curves). Values of Qβ of ranging from 2 to 20, and a shear-wave velocity in the range 280 < β < 400 m/sec were found in the Holocene alluvium. Moreover, in our modeling we used the relation Qα = Qβ for unconsolidated, water-saturated sediments. Our results suggest that surface waves generated by explosions can be successfully used to determine shear-wave-velocity and attenuation models in soft sediment coverages.


Among the current issues in U.S.-Egyptian relations are the shared concerns over the terrorist attacks against Egyptian police, religious, government, and tourist facilities, and what those attacks maysignal for Egypt's domestic stability. The two nations may disagree over Egypt's interpretation of applying human rights practices to Islamic terrorists. The two countries disagree over the speed and depth, but not the need for some of Egypt's economic reforms. Egypt and the United States agree on the importance of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the need to continue current Arab-Israel peace talks, and the need for regional stability. The two nations agree on Egypt's determination to introduce democratic reforms to Egypt.


Abstract Objective: To determine whether blood glucose values of over 200 mg/dL in the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) are associated with pregnancy complications and adverse perinatal outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed comparing patients with GDM A1 (diet controlled) that had at least one value of 200 mg/dL or higher in the OGTT, to those who did not. Patients were treated at the diabetes day care clinic of a tertiary medical center between the years 1999 and 2010. Data were available from the computerized perinatal databases. Results: During the study period, 778 women with GDM were treated at the diabetes day care clinic. Of these, 162 had at least one test value of 200 mg/dL or greater. No significant differences regarding maternal and perinatal complications, such as polyhydramnios, macrosomia (birth-weight above 4 kg), shoulder dystocia, low Apgar scores at 5 min (<7) and cesarean section were noted between the groups. Conclusions: A value of 200 mg/dL or more in the OGTT is not an indicator of perinatal complications.


Copper/aluminum/stainless steel (Cu/Al/STS) clad materials were made by rolling and heat treatment process. These specimens were evaluated the formability and bonding strength of Cu/Al/STS clad materials. Thin disc specimens for TEM observation were prepared from the interfaces of Cu/Al and Al/STS by using the Focused Ion Beam (FIB) utility. Brittle oxide film formed on copper surface during heat treatment at 673K~773K. Diffusion bonding was observed at the interface of Cu/Al. Reacted region was formed in the interface of Al/STS with width about 10nm, while in the case of Cu/Al was formed about 1,600nm width. It was also observed nanosized crevice in reacted region of Al/STS interfaces.


BACKGROUND
Osteoprotegerin (OPG), an immunoregulatory member of the TNF receptor superfamily, is expressed in inflamed intestinal mucosa. We investigated whether OPG is produced by intestinal epithelial cells and tested the hypothesis that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding OPG (TNFRSF11B) are associated with traveler's diarrhea (TD) among North American travelers to Mexico.

METHODS
OPG concentration was measured in the supernatants of T84 cells infected with various diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes. Genotyping was performed for 4 SNPs in the OPG gene for 968 North American travelers with or without TD. Stool samples from travelers with TD were evaluated for the presence of enteric pathogens.

RESULTS
T84 cells produced higher OPG levels in response to infection with various diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes than with E. coli controls (P<.05). A SNP in the exon 1 region of the OPG gene (OPG+1181G>C) was associated with TD in white travelers who stayed in Mexico for >1 week during the summer (P=.009) and for TD due to nonsecretory pathogens (P=.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggests that OPG is secreted by intestinal epithelial cells in response to enteropathogens and that a polymorphism in the OPG gene is associated with an increased susceptibility to TD.


Introduction: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the serum level of vitamin C in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without periodontitis, and also to interpret whether raised or lessened serum vitamin C levels might be associated to a possibility for building oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes mellitus with periodontitis. Material and Methods: Investigation was conducted on diabetic subjects with and without periodontitis. The serum vitamin C level was determined using the 2, 4- dinitrophenylhydrazine method, and the spectrometer was used to read the concentration of serum vitamin C. The data attained were statistically calculated using the ANOVA test and post-hoc test. Results: The findings revealed that average serum vitamin C levels were reduced considerably among test groups (groups B, C, D) (p< 0.0001) in contrary to the healthy control group. Conclusion: The existing results are proof that reduced concentration of antioxidants such as vitamin C is related to a greater threat to the increase of oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and periodontitis.


Prior research has shown that many donors utilize charity ratings for decisions and they give more to higher rated charities. Because ratings are partly or completely based on financial information, the financial reporting quality of highly rated charities is more critical to donors than that of the poorly rated ones. In this study, we examine whether the financial reporting quality of charities systematically varies with charitable ratings. Examining a sample of human service charities. we find that highly rated organizations are more likely to underreport fundraising expenses and overstate program ratios. Highly rated organizations appear to be exercising accounting discretion to achieve this desirable outcome. Collectively. our findings suggest that stakeholders should be cautious when they use the rating information.


The relationship of natriuretic effect and furosemide excretion was studied in normal and azotemic dogs. Graded azotemia was produced in dogs by bilateral uretero-venous shunts of varying duration. The shunts were subsequently opened and urine and blood samples were taken to measure inulin, furosemide and sodium concentrations. Renal blood flow was measured by an electromagnetic flow probe. Two groups of dogs, control and experimental, were studied. The experimental group received a loading dose followed by a constant infusion of furosemide. This dose produced a natriuresis in nonazotemic normal dogs. The magnitude of this natriuresis correlated with furosemide excretion rate (P less than .005) and not with the plasma concentration of the drug. Furosemide clearance and extraction were inversely correlated with blood urea nitrogen. In the furosemide-treated group the augmentation of sodium excretion was not impaired except at blood urea nitrogen concentrations of greater than 200 mg/dl (two dogs). Thus the reduced clearance of furosemide may account in part for the high dose necessary. Further studies appear to be in order to clarify the relationship of the natriuretic response to furosemide to the rate of urinary excretion and plasma concentration of the drug.


The purpose of the present study was to develop a new procedure for estimating the oxidative modification of apolipoproteins in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs). The procedure was developed to use blood serum from 153 males aged 45-65 years, including 69 patients with coronary angiography-verified coronary atherosclerosis and 84 males from a representative sample from Novosibirsk residents of the same age. The new procedure is as follows: a rapid method for isolating serum LDLs, their apolipoprotein (apoLP) protein measurement by the Lowry procedure, their precipitation, a reaction with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in 2 M HCl solution, by subsequently rinsing in the ethanol:ethyl acetate (1:1) solution, dissolving the precipitate in 8 M urea, and by determining the level of the resultant dinitrophenylhydrazones by spectrophotometry at 363 nm, followed by conversion to LDL concentration of apoLP. The procedure is of informative value for the degree of oxidative LDL modification of apoLP under oxidative stress; it is technically simple, takes little time, and shows a good reproducibility. The values of determined oxidized LDL apoLP by the developed procedure highly positively correlated with the estimates of an oxidized total blood protein fraction and with the values of endothelial dysfunction and did not with the parameters of blood LDL peroxidation. The detected elevated oxidation LDL apoLP in males with coronary atherosclerosis suggests that this index is an additional marker of potentially atherogenic LDL changes.


There is evidence that fitness has been declining and fatness increasing in Australian schoolchildren over the last generation. This study reproduced the methods of a national survey of Australian schoolchildren conducted in 1985. Anthropometric and performance tests were administered to 1,463 10- and ll-year-old South Australians. Compared to the 1985 sample, the 1997 children were heavier (by 1.4−2.9 kg), showed greater weight for height (by 0.13−0.30 kg · m−2.85), and were slower over 1.6 km (by 38−48.5 s). Furthermore, the distribution of values was markedly more skewed in the 1997 data. While there was little difference between the fittest and leanest quartiles in 1997 and their 1985 counterparts, the least fit and fattest quartiles were markedly worse in 1997. This suggests that the decline in fitness of Australian schoolchildren is not homogeneous and that interventions should target groups where the decline is most marked.


Kriging (or Gaussian Process) metamodels may be analyzed through bootstrapping, which is a versatile statistical method but must be adapted to the speci c problem being analyzed. More precisely, a random or discrete-event simulation may be run several times for the same scenario (combination of simulation inputs); the resulting replicated responses may be resampled with replacement, which is called "distribution-free bootstrapping". In engineering, however, deterministic simulation is often applied; such a simulation is run only once for the same scenario, so "parametric bootstrapping" is used. This bootstrapping assumes a multivariate Gaussian distribution, which is sampled after its parameters are estimated from the simulation's input/output data. More specifically, this tutorial covers the following recent approaches: (1) E¢ cient Global Optimization (EGO) via Expected Improvement (EI) using parametric bootstrapping to obtain an estimator of the Kriging predictor's variance accounting for the randomness resulting from estimating the Kriging parameters. (2) Constrained optimization via Mathematical Programming applied to Kriging metamodels using distribution-free bootstrapping to validate these metamodels. (3) Robust optimization accounting for an environment that is not exactly known (so it is uncertain); this optimization may use Mathematical Programming and Kriging with distribution-free bootstrapping to estimate the Pareto frontier. (4) Assuming a characteristic like monotonicity for the outputs as a function of the inputs, bootstrapped Kriging may preserve this characteristic.


ABSTRACT
Stem rot disease is one of the production constraints in vanilla cultivation (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vanillae (Fov). This disease has not been effectively addressed even though several studies have been conducted. Important disease control alternatives to vanilla include the use of Fov resistant cultivars. The Fov resistant vanilla planlet has been selected in vitro in Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium with the addition of Fusaric Acid (FA) at concentrations of 0, 90, 100, 110, and 120 ppm.The FA tolerant concentration for plantlet selection with vanilla steady growth is between 90 ppm-110 ppm; the 110 ppm of FA was effective for suppressing the Fov compared to 90 ppm and 100 ppm respectively. To obtain an overview of the mechanism of resilience of planlet to Fov, a more in-depth study of the pattern of DNA V. planifolia planlet resistant to Fov compared with control. The DNA pattern analysis using PCR_RAPD method. The results showed that a new (specific) band of DNA in a resistant plantlet in size of 930 bp (OPB_14), 430 bp (OPB_20), 230 bp and 270 bp (OPD_19) respectively. These bands predicted as a candidate marker RAPD which responsible for vanilla resistant to Fov. A new (specific) band of DNA can become a specific grouping and separate character to vanilla plantlet control and that to induce with FA of 90, 100, 110 ppm.
KEYWORDS: Vanilla planifolia, The foot rot disease, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vanillae, in vitro, Fusaric Acid.


We have theoretically examined the scaling of the Al2O3/InAlAs/InGaAs QW FET one of the proposed III-V channel MOSFET's designed to replace the conventional SiO2/Si structures. To accomplish this we have used a Schroedinger – Poisson – Continuity equation model that is fully 2-dimentional ie all equations are solved along and perpendicular to the channel. We have found out that for the threshold voltage VT to be around zero volts a Schottky barrier ΦΒ of 3.5 - 4.0eV is necessary. Both Cu or W will suffice. for this. The VT value moves by 0.7 as the device is scaled from 65 nm gate length Lg to 25nm. Furthermore, as the Lg is scaled to the desired 20nm value the subthreshold slope SS increases from 90meV/dec to about 170meV/dec guaranteeing fast switching.


CUBIC is an extension to the current TCP standards. It differs from
the current TCP standards only in the congestion control algorithm on
the sender side. In particular, it uses a cubic function instead of a
linear window increase function of the current TCP standards to
improve scalability and stability under fast and long-distance
networks. CUBIC and its predecessor algorithm have been adopted as
defaults by Linux and have been used for many years. This document
provides a specification of CUBIC to enable third-party
implementations and to solicit community feedback through
experimentation on the performance of CUBIC.


Dofetilide (UK 68,798), a new antiarrhythmic agent, blocks potassium channels selectively and acts primarily by prolonging repolarization duration. The aim of this study was to investigate rate- dependent repolarization changes due to dofetilide in a fast beating in-vitro heart model. The study was designed using Langendorff perfusion of rabbit hearts at the drug concentrations of 1 nM, 3 nM and 10 nM. The electrophysiological evaluations were performed using the recording of epicardial monophasic action potentials. Atrial pacing was set at the cycle length (ms) of 300, 325, 350, 375 and 400 so that repolarization duration could be measured in different heart rates. The study also focused on the interventricular repolarization heterogeneity between the right and left epicardial regions. Dofetilide prolonged monophasic action potential duration at 90 % of repolarization on both sides of the epicardium in a concentration- and reverse-rate-dependent manner. However, the rate-dependent prolongation of action potential duration due to dofetilide was not accompanied by increased interventricular dispersion of repolarization. No proarrhythmia due to dofetilide was seen in our model. This may be explained by the rate-dependent stability in repolarization dispersion. Thus, the presented model indicated that dofetilide-induced prolongation of repolarization is not proarrhythmic in isolated fast beating hearts.


Speech tends to be the most challenging developmental difficulty for children with Down syndrome (DS). Studies on the development of phonology in this special population are currently limited and based on the sound mastery model of typically developing (TD) children. The available studies on phonological development in English-speaking children with DS have been confined either to examining one type of speech data, have small speech samples with limited representativeness, have included fewer participants, or rarely compare children with DS to another group. Additionally, most of the available speech intervention programmes have focused either on developing daily living communication skills or articulation at the expense of phonology for highly unintelligible children with DS. Therefore, developing a research study which combines single word (SW) and connected speech (CS) production data helps identify the difficult areas in phonology that may affect speech development in DS within the age range tested in the present study. Enhancing the phonological abilities of children with DS by adopting phonology-based intervention models to treat phonology-based speech problems facilitates learning of new sounds and using these sounds in correct contexts. The present study fills this gap in the current knowledge. The thesis is divided into two parts: a cross-sectional group study and a multiple baseline single subject case study. The group study aims at explaining the development of phonological systems of children with DS by analysing both SW and CS samples to determine the differences between children with DS and TD children in terms of: consonants and vowels acquisition, effect of consonant position on production accuracy and type and frequency of occurrence of phonological processes. The case study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of a phonological pattern-based cycles approach in improving the speech production accuracy of a child with DS and, in return, increasing the child's speech intelligibility. In the group study, the comparison of the developmental trajectories of children with DS and TD children showed significant differences between the two groups in terms of onset and rate of development when producing single word/connected speech. There were also differences within DS group between SW and CS samples in that there were more sound errors/phonological processes in CS than in SW samples. By and large, it was found that children with DS develop their phonological systems in a similar way to TD children, but at a slower pace and also have a delayed onset of development of the tested phonological aspects. The findings of the case study revealed that a phonology-based intervention model, such as the cycles procedure, was effective in reducing the occurrence of the target phonological processes and increasing sound production accuracy and speech intelligibility.


I reflect on the criminal justice legacy of the Warren Court, which ended approximately a half-century ago. I ask: How much of the law and values that Earl Warren and his colleagues transmitted to us remain a part of our constitutional fabric today? Put more bluntly, was the Warren Court successful or a failure in meeting its criminal justice goals?

As I see it, the goal of Earl Warren and his most progressive colleagues during his 15+ years on the high court was to reshape the criminal justice system by placing restrictions on those with the greatest power, primarily the police and prosecutors, and by providing greater rights to the rest of us (particularly the most vulnerable amongst us) when we are confronted by the awesome power of government in our homes, streets, police stations, and courts.

If those were, indeed, the amorphously described criminal justice goals of the Warren Court, and if we are evaluating it by looking at where we are today in regard to those goals, I am forced to conclude that the Warren Court was to a significant extent a failure. And yet, as the title of this article hopefully suggests, there may be another way to look at the Warren Court's efforts. Indeed, I will ultimately conclude that, at least for civil libertarians, we owe a debt to Earl Warren and his Court.


Abstract : The NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) Marine Mammal Risk Mitigation Rules and Procedures provides the policy and the procedures to scientific planners, Scientists-in-Charge (SID), researchers and the Master of NURC vessels which address potential adverse effects on marine mammals of sea trials involving underwater sound. As a matter of policy, the Centre will take precautionary and preventive measures to circumvent harm to marine mammals from underwater sound by institution of procedures outlined in Staff Instruction 77. As new information becomes available from continued research by the Marine Mammal Risk Mitigation project, as well as other documented sources, these procedures will be re-evaluated and modified as appropriate. This report supersedes the previous NURC report (NURC-SP-2008-003) which included both marine mammal and human diver risk mitigation procedures. These procedures are now separate reports.


The paper is dedicated to a problem of synthesizing a PID-controller, which provides and aperiodical transient process of desired duration in a control system of the third order with interval parametric uncertainty. To solve the problem, a new method of synthesis was developed. It is based on a decomposing a characteristic polynomial of a considered system in two multipliers: dominant polynomial, which determines allocation of a dominant pole and, consequently, quality of a transient process in a considered system, and non-dominant polynomial, which determines allocation of all other system poles. In order to provide a desired allocation of system poles, parameters of a PID-controller are divided to unrestricted ones and dependent ones. The research resulted in algebraic expressions for calculating dependent parameters of a PID-controller and a system of inequalities for finding its unrestricted parameter. Developed method of a PID-controller parametric synthesis allows placing an interval real dominant pole according to desired control quality and placing all other poles of a system in a desired part of a complex plane to provide necessary degree of a robust pole domination.


Abstract I examined the lek structure and behavior of male Plovercrests (Stephanoxis lalandi) at a lek in southern Brazil. The lek included seven territorial males; the distance between neighboring lek territories was 14.8 ± 6.3 m. Territory size was 11.4 ± 4.4 m2. Territory size and distance between territories were among the lowest reported for Trochilinae hummingbirds. Lek attendance by territory owners fluctuated throughout the day. Activity slowly diminished after an initial period of activity after arrival at sunrise, but increased again between 0900 and 1500 hrs. All males left their territories by 1830 hrs. Males sang at a similar rate (74.8 ± 14.5 songs/min) throughout the lekking season, but not throughout the day. There was no relationship between lek attendance and singing rate, two parameters that potentially affect mating success in lekking birds. Considerable interspecific variation occurs among lekking trochilines, indicating that much remains to be investigated about lek behavior and stru...


Functional membranes with a superwetting surface property have been extensively explored to achieve oil–water separation. Here, single-walled carbon nanotube/polydopamine/polyethyleneimine (SWCNT/PD/PEI) composite ultrathin films which have superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties were successfully prepared and used for the ultrafast separation of surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water nanoemulsions containing oil droplets of tens of nanometers. A SWCNT/PD/PEI composite film with an effective pore size of ∼10 nm and a thickness of ∼160 nm can effectively separate oil-in-water nanoemulsions in an ultrafast manner with fluxes up to ∼6000 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, which is 10-fold higher than traditional ultrafiltration membranes with a similar rejection property. Meanwhile, this film exhibits excellent pH-stability and antifouling property. This work points a direction for designing and fabricating ultrathin and superwetting films for the effective separation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions or nano-sized oils which are hard to separate by traditional methods. The SWCNT/PD/PEI ultrathin film holds promising potential for purifying emulsified wastewater from industries and daily life and for drinking water treatment.


There is little to debate about the nature of Serbian political life since the mid-1980s—it has been highly nationalized, to the point that one can argue that a consensus existed among Serbian public figures that the Serbs' very existence was threatened by their neighbors. This consensus links political, cultural, and intellectual elites regardless of their ideological background. It draws together figures representing great diversity in Serbia. This powerful movement has usually been either dismissed or demonized: dismissed as superficial, the product of the cynical adaptation of politicians to new times, or demonized as something inherent in Serbian political culture, a historically predetermined mind-set, ancient and therefore ineradicable. But there is too much evidence that nationalism in Serbia is neither superficial nor ancient. What of the large number of Serbian intellectual and cultural figures who traversed the path from socialism to nationalism after 1945? Were they collectively one of the most cynical generations in any society's modern history, or were they simply possessed by the ancient demons of Serbian nationalism? Neither explanation is satisfying. Instead, postwar Serbian nationalism began as a legitimate and humane movement, neither incomprehensible nor artificial, and it should be understood in the context of communism's effect on Serbian society and its failure to fulfill its own promises, particularly to bring modernization and a universal culture to the peoples of Yugoslavia.


Arabidopsis, which does not normally emit isoprene, was engineered to emit isoprene, and growth and development as well as gene expression were analyzed to determine how isoprene affects plants. Isoprene synthase converts dimethylallyl diphosphate to isoprene and appears to be necessary and sufficient to allow plants to emit isoprene at significant rates. Isoprene can protect plants from abiotic stress but is not produced naturally by all plants; for example, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) do not produce isoprene. It is typically present at very low concentrations, suggesting a role as a signaling molecule; however, its exact physiological role and mechanism of action are not fully understood. We transformed Arabidopsis with a Eucalyptus globulus isoprene synthase. The regulatory mechanisms of photosynthesis and isoprene emission were similar to those of native emitters, indicating that regulation of isoprene emission is not specific to isoprene-emitting species. Leaf chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were enhanced by isoprene, which also had a marked positive effect on hypocotyl, cotyledon, leaf, and inflorescence growth in Arabidopsis. By contrast, leaf and stem growth was reduced in tobacco engineered to emit isoprene. Expression of genes belonging to signaling networks or associated with specific growth regulators (e.g. gibberellic acid that promotes growth and jasmonic acid that promotes defense) and genes that lead to stress tolerance was altered by isoprene emission. Isoprene likely executes its effects on growth and stress tolerance through direct regulation of gene expression. Enhancement of jasmonic acid-mediated defense signaling by isoprene may trigger a growth-defense tradeoff leading to variations in the growth response. Our data support a role for isoprene as a signaling molecule.


As the authors note in the Preface, "Courses on Quality are generally taught in two different ways: 'technique-oriented' courses that emphasize statistical tools, and 'management-oriented' courses that stress the managerial aspects of quality. This book is intended as a main text for a managerial-oriented course on quality." For the statistical approach, the authors refer you to their other book, Statistical Quality Control: Strategies and Tools for Continual Improvement (Ledolter and Burrill 1999). The book does an excellent job of achieving its objective. Through a large number of examples and case studies, it covers a wide range of managerial topics in 624 pages, six sections of 24 chapters. The sections are "Introduction to Quality," "Process View of Quality," "Management Issues in Achieving Quality," "Stabilizing Quality," "Improving Quality," and "Conclusion— Optimism for the Future." There is also an appendix with eight case studies. I was surprised that there were no mentions of the ASQ CertiŽ ed Quality Manager certiŽ cation since the book covers most, if not all, of the topics needed for that certiŽ cation. It also covers not just manufacturing quality but "all aspects of quality: quality of goods, services and information." There are more services and information examples than in most comparable books. There are many examples in the text and many exercises and additional readings at the end of each chapter. Since the book was copyrighted in 1999, there are even exercises speciŽ cally asking for an Internet browser search. Although this part of the book is very up to date, many of the examples are not. Chapter 3 uses examples ranging from 1982–1993. Although they may be good examples, I wonder if the improvements noted have been maintained. The examples are also a good mix of Japanese and American companies— although with the current problems in Japan I would have like have preferred to see even fewer Japanese examples. Section IV on stabilizing quality has four chapters devoted to various statistical methods. Since this is not a statistically focused book, the topics are covered with a minimum of mathematics. However, they are covered in the depth appropriate for a management course. Interpretations are given, and shortcomings are noted. The book even covers new statistical topics like Cpm and Six-Sigma. In fact the entire book gives a very balanced description of various topics. Chapter 6 gives deŽ nitions of quality by Deming, Juran, Feigenbaum, Crosby, Ishikawa, and ISO 8402. Each deŽ nition includes a discussion. For example, the Deming discussion notes "some troublesome inconsistencies in Deming's comments," and Juran's deŽ nition includes a 1993 modiŽ cation. It is good to see that all points of view are covered and each is critiqued. Overall this a very good, balanced, and comprehensive management book. Even the statistical quality control section is very well done. I recommend this as a college textbook or as a manager's reference. It could even be used to supplement study for the ASQ CertiŽ ed Quality Manager.


We investigate the dynamical properties of the polarizable shell-model with a symmetric double Morse-type electron-ion interaction in one ionic species. A variational calculation based on the Self-Consistent Einstein Model (SCEM) shows that a theoretical ferroelectric (FE) transition temperature can be derived which demonstrates the presence of a first-order phase transition for the potassium selenate (K2SeO4) crystal around Tc = 90.5 K. Comparison of the model calculation with the experimental critical temperature yields satisfactory agreement.


This report presents highlights from four sections of the 17th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Transplant Physicians (Chicago; May 9-13, 1998): immunosuppressive drugs; immunosuppressive protocols; basic immunology; and areas of clinical interest. Studies were presented on the immunosuppressive effects of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus and analogues, daclizumab and basiliximab, among other compounds. Regarding immunosuppressive protocols, many studies focused on the need for steroid withdrawal a short period after renal transplantation; other subjects discussed were the avoidance of nephrotoxic drugs and the avoidance of acute graft rejection. The section on basic immunology covered transforming growth factor-beta chemotaxis, adhesion molecules and co-stimulation. Hepatitis C virus continues to be an area of current clinical interest, as is the problem of chronic rejection. Finally, lipids and statins were accorded great relevance at this meeting.


The aim of this study was to investigate precursors such as agmatine, ornithine involved in the synthesis of polyamines, enzymes level of these pathways and their correlation with diseases. In this study, 37 patients with schizophrenia and 37 healthy individuals no systemic disease (diabetes, hypertension, schizophrenia and mental illness) were taken as the control group. Determination of Ornithine decarboxylase, Arginine Decarboxylase, and Agmatinase levels were determined according to the each standard enzyme curve graph by using ELISA kits, Arginase activity, and ornithine levels were measured spectrophotometrically. When arginase activity was compared to the control group, it was determined that arginase activity was dropped significantly in the patient group (p=0.001 p<0.05).


In human monocytic cell lines, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) expression is induced by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). We have identified positive and negative cis-acting elements in the TNF alpha promoter by deletion analysis. Here we present the initial characterization of the repressor element. The repressor element was shown to function in either orientation and at various distances upstream from the positive element of the TNF alpha promoter. The TNF alpha repressor site (TRS) has been localized to a 25 bp region between base pairs -254 and -230 in the promoter. This region contains a 10 bp sequence with homology to the binding site of the activator protein AP-2. Mutation of the 6 C's of this 10 bp AP-2-like site abolish TRS repressor function. However, this AP-2-like site is not a binding site for AP-2 protein based on gel retardation analysis. In addition, a well-characterized AP-2-binding site placed upstream of the positive element of the TNF alpha gene did not cause repression. Therefore, this repression is very likely mediated by a novel protein(s) which interacts with the AP-2 consensus site in the TRS.


After a delay of 7 to 21 years, bilateral parotidectomy with complete preservation of the facial nerves and myoplasty of the post-operative cavities for enlarged parotid glands due to Sjögren's syndrome was found to have been beneficial in 10 patients. Excellent results were obtained both in terms of aesthetic and psychic outcome, but also in terms of greatly improved general health. Patients' psychoaffective, familial, professional and social lifestyle had returned to normal.


This paper provides general insight on the economic feasibility and desirability of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in order to explain why some firms voluntarily over comply with social matters. In this paper I define CSR as the activity in which firms makes an explicit pair between the sales of private good and the provision of public good. Furthermore, the consumers are divided into two different categories; responsible consumers and non responsible ones. The main result shows that CSR activity could be considered as a firm's strategy to internalize the externality, and thus it would not be contradicted with profit maximization. Moreover, could be an alternative way for the provision of public good, especially in the presence of government failure.


Three glasshouse experiments were conducted in which "starter" N, P, and K fertilizers were incorporated either within or below gel used for fluid sowing pregerminated seed of 'Avondefiance' lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and 'Derby Day' cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group). Addition of nutrients to the gel at salt concentrations between 384 and 1893 mg-ion/liter inhibited emergence of the pregerminated seeds. Additions to the gel at concentrations between 9 and 21 mg-ions/liter were too low to affect the growth of the plants. Nutrient solutions applied to the base of the furrow immediately prior to fluid drilling the seeds allowed higher concentrations of salts to be used without reducing emergence. Solutions that contained factorial combinations of 0.84 g/liter N, 1.86 g/liter P, and 2.34 g/liter K applied at the rate of 0.5 ml/cm of furrow increased lettuce dry matter production by up to 44% after 20 days growth, although there was no significant effect on the growth of cabbage. The increase in lettuce growth was mainly in response to P 'starter' fertilizer but the largest response was achieved with the N + P + K 'starter' treatment.


1,1-Dialkyldiazenes (aminonitrenes, N-nitrenes)
unlike their more stable 1,2-dialkyldiazetle isomers
(azo compounds) have not yet been isolated or detected
by spectroscopic methods, but rather are assumed
intermediates based on a substantial body of chemical
evidence. The first direct observation of a 1,1-
dialkyldiazene is described here. The visible spectrum
at -78° of N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl)nitrene (33)
(λmax = 541 nm) provides experimental evidence on (1)
the energy required for the n + π* electronic
transition, and (2) the vibrational spacing of the
first electronically excited state. The infrared spectrum
at -78° (14N=14N stretch at 1595 cm-1; 14N=15N
stretch at 1569 cm-1) provides evidence that the 1,1-
diazene has considerable N=N double bond character
in the ground state. The first kinetic study of the thermal decomposition
of a 1,1-dialkyldiazene is described. The
temperature dependence of the unimolecular rate (k1)
of fragmentation of 33 was examined in three different
solvents and kinetic evidence for a direct bimolecular
pathway for the formation of 1,1 "-azo-2,2,6,6-tetra-
methylpiperidine 41 from 33 is provided. The activation
parameters for the unimolecular fragmentations
are log A = 11.6 ± 0.5, Ea = 16.9 ± 0.7 in n-hexane,
log A = 13.7 ± 0.3, Ea = 20.0 ± 0.4 in Et20, log A=
13.6 ± 0.3, Ea = 20.1 ± 0.4 kcal/mole in THF. Using
computer simulation it is found that the curved
portions of the tn A vs. time plots may be modelled as
competitive unimolecular and bimolecular reactions
(kobs = k1 + k2[33]). In Et20 at -16°, k1 = 5.03 x
10-4 sec-1 and k2 = 5.0 x 10-2 liter/mole-sec. Also reported are proton and carbon-13 nuclear
magnetic resonance data for 33, along with the results
of a preliminary study of its photoreactivity.