OBJECTIVE
The HLA-B27 allele is strongly associated with the group of inflammatory diseases known as the spondylarthritides (SpA). The aim of this study was to perform a large-scale, direct biochemical analysis of the HLA-B*2705 peptidome in order to identify candidates for mimicry between HLA-B27 peptides derived from cartilage proteins and arthritogenic bacterial sequences and to refine the consensus binding motif of this important allele.

METHODS
The peptides were recovered by recombinant expression of soluble HLA-B27 molecules secreted from cultured chondrocytic cells or HeLa cells. Analysis was based on capillary chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry in combination with stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture or chemical labeling with iTRAQ to enhance the validity of the data.

RESULTS
Over 1,268 B27 peptides were identified, with 569 of them at high certainty, thus enabling better refinement of the B27 motif. This enabled the prediction of both short peptides and long peptides whose middle residues likely bulge out of the binding groove. Moreover, we identified a number of human B27 peptide sequences derived from human cartilage proteins, some of which are similar to common bacterial sequences.

CONCLUSION
The peptides we identified may provide the missing link between bacterial infections and the resulting SpA.


This reference guide to over fifty stastitical indicators of the U.S. economy provides quick and reliable explanations, in alphabetical order, of the basic data, their attributes, and analytical usefulness. Whether trying to understand economics stories in the financial press or more seriously involved in economic research, the reader will find this guide-book a valuable addition to the reference shelf. This is a companion volume to the author's Tracking America's Economy, 1988.


The maintenance of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult brain depends on their activation frequency and division mode. We use long-term intravital imaging of NSCs in the zebrafish adult telencephalon to link activation and division mode with predictive cellular and molecular parameters. We reveal that apical surface area and expression of the Notch ligand DeltaA predict NSC activation frequency, while deltaA expression marks NSC commitment to neurogenesis. We also find that deltaA-negative NSCs constitute the bona fide self-renewing NSC pool and systematically engage in asymmetric divisions generating a self-renewing deltaAneg and a neurogenic deltaApos NSC. Finally, modulation of Notch signaling during imaging indicates that the prediction of activation frequency by apical size, and the asymmetric divisions of deltaAneg NSCs, are functionally independent of Notch. These results provide dynamic qualitative and quantitative readouts of NSC lineage progression in vivo and support a hierarchical organization of NSCs in differently fated sub-populations.


Semi-supervised learning on graphs is an important problem in the machine learning area. In recent years, state-of-the-art classification methods based on graph neural networks (GNNs) have shown their superiority over traditional ones such as label propagation. However, the sophisticated architectures of these neural models will lead to a complex prediction mechanism, which could not make full use of valuable prior knowledge lying in the data, e.g., structurally correlated nodes tend to have the same class. In this paper, we propose a framework based on knowledge distillation to address the above issues. Our framework extracts the knowledge of an arbitrary learned GNN model (teacher model), and injects it into a well-designed student model. The student model is built with two simple prediction mechanisms, i.e., label propagation and feature transformation, which naturally preserves structure-based and feature-based prior knowledge, respectively. In specific, we design the student model as a trainable combination of parameterized label propagation and feature transformation modules. As a result, the learned student can benefit from both prior knowledge and the knowledge in GNN teachers for more effective predictions. Moreover, the learned student model has a more interpretable prediction process than GNNs. We conduct experiments on five public benchmark datasets and employ seven GNN models including GCN, GAT, APPNP, SAGE, SGC, GCNII and GLP as the teacher models. Experimental results show that the learned student model can consistently outperform its corresponding teacher model by on average. Code and data are available at https://github.com/BUPT-GAMMA/CPF


During the socialist era, economists in the Balkan countries rarely published their work in the West due to political restrictions, methodological differences with the West and inadequacy in Western languages. After the collapse of socialism, political barriers were lifted, a Western style of education in economics was adopted and English began to be taught widely as the common language in the academic realm. The aim of this study is to discuss the impact of these policies on the publication performance of economists in the former socialist countries of the Balkans region. The results reveal that the number of international publications increased gradually over the post-socialist period and fast reforming countries performed better than the slow movers.


Formable ultra high-strength TRIP-aided steel with bainitic ferrite matrix structure (TBF steel) contributes to a drastic weight reduction and an improvement of crash safety of automobile. In this study, fatigue strength of 0.2%C-1.5%Si-1.5%Mn TBF steels was investigated. High fatigue limit was achieved in TBF steels austempered at 400-450oC, containing a large amount of stable retained austenite. The fatigue limit was linearly related with mobile dislocation density, as well as TRIP effect of retained austenite. When compared to conventional martensitic steel, the TBF steel exhibited lower notch-sensitivity or higher notched fatigue performance. Complex additions of 0.5%Al, 0.05%Nb and 0.2%Mo considerably improved the notched fatigue performance, as well as the smooth fatigue strength. This was associated with the stabilized retained austenite and refined microstructure which suppress fatigue crack initiation and/or propagation.


Study objective: To study the associations between neighbourhood level violence/fear of violence and physical activity among elderly people, accounting for somatic health. Design: Self reported data from the Oslo health study, a cross sectional study conducted in 2000, were linked with sociodemographic and social security data from Statistics Norway. A multilevel regression analysis was conducted by MlwiN using contextual level variables provided by the Oslo City Council. Setting: Oslo, Norway. Participants: 3499 inhabitants aged 74/5 (53.2% of all invitees). Main results: 20.5% of the elderly were physically active less than one hour a week. Somatic health was clearly associated with physical activity among both men and women. Neighbourhood level violence was associated with physical activity only for men, while fear of violence was only associated with physical activity for women. Differences in somatic health did not explain differences in physical activity between neighbourhoods. These differences were explained by socioeconomic variables, and neighbourhood level violence/fear of violence. Conclusions: In a sample of presumably healthy 75/76 year olds in Oslo, the associations between neighbourhood level violence and physical activity (among men), and fear of violence and physical activity (among women), are of the same sizes as those between somatic health and physical activity. These two dimensions of violence have, in contrast with somatic health, an explanatory function in exploring differences in physical activity between neighbourhoods in Oslo.


The polarisation of prompt ψ(2S) mesons is measured by performing an angular analysis of ψ(2S) → μ+μ− decays using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1, collected by the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The polarisation is measured in bins of transverse momentum pT and rapidity y in the kinematic region 3.5 < pT < 15 GeV/c and 2.0 < y < 4.5, and is compared to theoretical models. No significant polarisation is observed.


Ten congenitally blind primary school children aged between 7 and 12 years were investigated and observed for a reduction or absence of photic input to the hypothalamus, which is required to entrain circadian rhythms which may lead to sleeping problems. As it was not dear whether sleeping problems are associated with blindness per se. Other characteristics of the pupils and their social environment were taken into account. A group of 10 matched controls were observed. Interviews were conducted with parents and teachers of the 10 congenitally blind pupils, together with the matched controls. An interview schedule and self-report measures were used to collect information about the nature arid type of sleep problems experienced by the children in this study, the parents ' acceptance of their blind child, marital satisfaction, social support and parental stress. The study revealed that light has a significant role to p!ay as an entrainment mechanism of circadian rhythms which have an effect on the quality of sleep. Results are discussed with reference to the application of a behavioral intervention approach (for example, a balanced diet, social support from both teachers and parents) with a view to improving sleeping problems in blind children.


This paper is focused on the development of the new principles and operational algorithms of the transmission lines distance protection. The proposed distance protection algorithms utilize statistical information about the undefined and random parameters and quantities such as equivalent impedances of the systems at the unmonitored end of the power transmission line and current and voltage phasor measurements errors. Knowledge about the distribution of these parameters and values results in more secure and dependable procedure for the decision on the line tripping or restraining in case of the appearance of the fault conditions in the network. The proposed algorithm is based on the modeling of the faulted line and the Monte-Carlo method. The algorithm computes expected value of the distance to the fault, fault resistance in the fault point and the standard deviation of the distance to the fault. This leads to the inherent adaptive features of the approach.


Three functional forms for earthquake occurrence relations ire compared, and slip rate constraints on each are derived. Constrained occurrence relations referred to total fault area, to rupture area of the maximum magnitude earthquake, and to a particular site along the fault are presented and discussed. The slip rate constraints provide a means to estimate A/^ from occurrence rates of small magnitude earthquakes, or a means to estimate the threshold of observations in a qualitative earthquake catalog, as well as a means to estimate occurrence rates when A/^ is obtained from other considerations. This paper shows examples of these three types of applications. The relations considered are: N\ (A/) is such that the cumulative occurrence rate of earthquakes with magnitude greater than M is an exponential function truncated at A/^, A72 (AS) is such that the corresponding incremental occurrence rate is a truncated exponential function, and N3 (M) is such that the corresponding incremental occurrence rate is an exponential function plus a constant which causes the rate to go to zero at A/ ,. A speculative model for the magnitudes of the earthquakes at Pallet! Creek observed by Sieh (1978a) suggests that AT2 (A/) is more appropriate than N\(M) or Ar3 (A/) for these earthquakes. Institute or Geophysics ind Planetary Physics University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (JCA). Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jotla, CA 92093 (JCA and JEL). Preprint . submitted for publication May 1982. Revised September 1982.


In this work, an inverse FE modelling program based on the Kalman filter technique has been developed and used to study three material models (linear elastic, hyperelastic and hyper foam). Two error treatment methods have been developed and implemented in the program and their feasibilities for different material systems were systematically investigated. FE models simulating the indentation process of three typical material behaviours have been developed and some important factors including mesh sensitivity, frictional conditions and material properties have been systematically studied to validate the FE models. The use of single indenter and dual indenters have been comparatively studied in terms of accuracy, convergence and robustness of the inverse program, which are important for materials characterisation. The program was evaluated with blind tests using numerical experimental data of known material properties. The validated method was then successfully used to study the properties of EVA foams for midsole of sport shoes and human heel pad using a newly develop continuous indentation testing system. Blind tests have been successfully used to establish the validity, efficiency and robustness of the program with different material models, error treatment and selection of indenters. The results showed that the double indenters method is better than the single indenter method, which is initial value dependent for some materials. The results also showed that the new random error treatment method is applicable to all the three material models while the converged results based on the program with constant error distribution was initial values dependent. The blind test results showed that Kalman filter is a feasible method and the random error treatment is more practical approach for characterisation material and can be universally applied to different materials models. Sensitivity test with perturbation in the indentation force demonstrated that the program is robust against potential experimental noise/errors. The framework established has been successfully used to characterise the properties of EVA foams in comparison with conventional compression, and compression-shear methods. The prediction from indentation tests showed comparable accuracy to the standard combined compression-shear tests, while pure compression could not predict the parameters accurately describing the material at complex situations. The parameters inversely predicted can be directly used in the product design and simulation process. A new in vivo test machine has been developed and performed on human subject with good accuracy and repeatability. The inverse method has been used to predict the elastic and nonlinear parameters of the heel pad. The predict elastic and hyperelastic properties showed good correlation for all the subjects tested. However the nonlinear model is more accurate, in describing the stiffening effect of the heel pad. This method would provide a practical way for detecting the property change of the heel pad with different conditions.


Purpose: We have developed an image‐guided small animal stereotactic irradiator capable of high dose rate radiation delivery and high accuracy in target localization in a manner that mimics clinical stereotactic delivery. In this study, we characterized radiation beams for small animal radiosurgerytreatment planning.Method and Materials: The irradiator employs a commercial x‐ray device (XRAD 320, Precision X‐Ray, Inc.) with custom made collimation system consisting of a brasscollimator holder and variable tungsten alloy collimators with apertures ranging from 1 to 10 mm in diameter. The image guidance system consists of a high resolution x‐ray intensifying screen (Kodak Min‐R2) coupled to a computer‐controlled digital camera. The x‐ray tube is operated at 30 kVp for imaging, and at 250 kVp for therapeutic delivery. To characterize the radiation beams, we measured percent depth dose curves (PDD), off‐axis ratios (OAR) and absolute dose rates for each collimator using radiochromic film (Gafchromic EBT, International Specialty Products, Wayne, NJ) at 19.76 and 24.76 cm source‐to‐surface distance (SSD). Results: For a 5 mm circular collimator, at 19.76 cm SSD, the penumbra, defined as distance between 80% and 20% isodoses, for in‐plane and cross‐plane measurements was 0.7 and 1.1 mm, respectively. For the 5mm collimator, PDD values of 55% and 20% were at depths of 25 and 50 mm respectively, indicating more than adequate penetration for deep seated targets in small animals. Absolute dose rates ranged from 6.7 to 11.6 Gy/min for the 1 to 10 mm collimators at SSD of 19.76 cm. At 24.76 cm SSD, for 5 and 10 mm collimators, measured dose rates were 7.1 and 7.7 Gy/min, respectively. Conclusion: The irradiator offers high dose rates and sharp beam profiles, and has been systematically characterized for a set of source‐to‐surface distances and field sizes relevant for a number of animal experiments already successfully performed.


Purpose of review The purpose of this study is to discuss the clinical, endoscopic and histologic features, pathogenesis and disease mechanisms of proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-responsive oesophageal eosinophilia (PPI-REE), and to highlight similarities and differences with eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). Recent findings PPI-REE is a condition in which patients have clinical and histologic findings similar to EoE, but achieve complete remission with PPI treatment. More than one-third of patients who have oesophageal symptoms associated with oesophageal eosinophilia respond to PPI treatment. Emerging data elucidating the pathogenesis of PPI-REE have shown that Th2-related inflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-13, IL-5, eotaxin-3 and major basic protein (MBP) are elevated in PPI-REE, similar to EoE. PPI-REE also shares a genetic expression signature with EoE that reverses with PPI treatment. Mechanisms proposed to explain the PPI response include an acid-independent, anti-inflammatory action of PPIs and PPI-induced restoration of oesophageal barrier function. Summary Multiple features of PPI-REE overlap extensively with EoE. This raises the question of whether PPI-REE is merely a subtype of EoE rather than an independent condition. This similarity may have future implications for algorithms informing evaluation and treatment of oesophageal eosinophilia.


Written in an easily accessible style, this book provides the ideal blend of theory and practical, applicable knowledge. It covers neural networks, graphical models, reinforcement learning, evolutionary algorithms, dimensionality reduction methods, and the important area of optimization. It treads the fine line between adequate academic rigor and overwhelming students with equations and mathematical concepts. The author includes examples based on widely available datasets and practical and theoretical problems to test understanding and application of the material. The book describes algorithms with code examples backed up by a website that provides working implementations in Python.


Awareness by medical practitioners of the need to keep their patients adequately informed of their conditions is of paramount importance in caring for those people who have had a myocardial infarction. This includes a realization that these people have questions to be answered at all stages of the illness, from the initial contact when in pain, throughout the hospital admission, and during rehabilitation.


Background: The Multidrug Resistance Protein ABCC11/MRP8 is expressed in physiological barriers and tumor breast tissues in which it secretes various substrates including cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) and 5FdUMP (5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine-5′-monophosphate), the active metabolite of the anticancer drug 5-FluoroUracil (frequently included to anticancer therapy). Previously, we described that ABCC11 high levels are associated to the estrogen receptor (ER) expression level in breast tumors and in cell lines resistant to tamoxifen. Consequently, by lowering the intracellular concentration of anticancer drugs, ABCC11 likely promotes a multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype and decreases efficiency of anticancer therapy of 5FdUMP. Since no experimental data about binding sites of ABCC11 substrate are available, we decided to in silico localize putative substrate interaction sites of the nucleotide derivatives. Taking advantage of molecular dynamics simulation, we also analysed their evolution under computational physiological conditions and during the time. Results: Since ABCC11 crystal structure is not resolved yet, we used the X-ray structures of the mouse mdr3 (homologous to human ABCB1) and of the bacterial homolog Sav1866 to generate two independent ABCC11 homology models in inwardand outward-facing conformations. Based on docking analyses, two putative binding pockets, for cGMP and 5FdUMP, were localized in both inwardand outward-facing conformations. Furthermore, based on our 3D models, and available biochemical data from homologous transporters, we identified several residues, potentially critical in ABCC11 transport function. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulation on our inward-facing model revealed for the first time conformation changes assumed to occur during transport process. Conclusions: ABCC11 would present two binding sites for cGMP and for 5FdUMP. Substrates likely first bind at the intracellular side of the transmembrane segment while ABCC11 is open forward the cytoplasm (inward-facing conformation). Then, along with conformational changes, it would pass through ABCC11 and fix the second site (close to the extracellular side), until the protein open itself to the extracellular space and allow substrate release.


The solid-state 1H and 13C NMR spectra as well as the 1H–13C cross-polarization upon magic angle spinning (CP MAS) kinetics were studied for poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA), i.e. a smart pH- and thermo-responsive polymer. The stereochemical content of PDMAEMA was determined from the complex shaped 13C MAS signal of CH3 group. The kinetic data were processed using the Hirschinger and Raya spin dynamics model that includes the complete scheme of rotating frame spinlattice relaxation pathways. The general solution was adapted for the spin cluster treatment. The earlier studied experimental CP MAS kinetics data of poly [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride] (PMETAC), i.e. one of its quaternized form, were revisited and newly processed applying this model. The spin-lattice relaxation of protons in the rotating frame in PDMAEMA and PMETAC occurs in the same scale from one to tens of milliseconds. Very high anisotropy of spin-diffusion was found for both polymers. However, the local disorder of various spin sites in PDMAEMA is significantly higher than in PMETAC. It is characterized by the order parameters 0.71–0.77 and 0.87–0.91, respectively. The main chain in PDMAEMA is also more disordered and more flexible than in PMETAC.


This report, conducted at the request of New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, reveals a 17% drop (from 49% to 41%) between 2001 and 2011 in the percentage of New York City workers participating in a retirement plan at work. Only 12% of New Yorkers had a defined benefit (DB) plan. The DB plan guarantees a pension, whereas defined contribution (DC) plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs do not. As a result, those with DB plans maintained an average income replacement rate of 90% versus those with DC plans who had an average replacement rate of 48%. The consequences of declining employer-sponsored plans and low replacement rates threaten workers' standard of living in retirement and could increase poverty levels among the city's older residents.


We investigated a case of unilateral optic nerve hypoplasia using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT). Optical coherence tomography was done on both eyes using 5-line Raster scan for the fovea to analyze the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, inner retinal layer thickness, outer retinal layer thickness, and optic disc cube scan for the disc. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, inner retinal layer thickness, and outer retinal layer thickness were manually measured at 21-points of each five lines, and results were compared between both eyes. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and inner retinal layer thickness of optic nerve hypoplasia were significantly thinner than the opposite eye, but there was no significant difference in the thickness of the outer retinal layer between both eyes.


Imagine that all the information in the entire world written in every known language, and every graphic image, video clip, or photograph copied digitally was available at your fingertips. This vast amount of data could then be reduced to digital data packets and stored in miniscule form on computer hard drives that are all connected by several other centrally located larger machines, called servers. However, searching for data in a vast system of inter-connected computers is virtually impossible using human faculties and is a far more intricate process than perusing book titles using the library's Dewey Decimal System. In order to find five or six pieces of information out of a global network of servers, individuals can explore the advantages of meta-search engines, which understand the "language" of each computer on the network and can quickly access global databases to respond to user inquiries, based on certain keywords or phrases. The advantages of meta-search engines are that they are able to "talk" to other search engines, which contain relevant data. The language that they speak is HTML, or hypertext markup language, a set of electronic codes that enables computers to read, translate, transmit, and store data accessible to the entire world. Every Web page is written in HTML using meta "tags," which are directives to client computers describing the kind of document stored. By reading meta tags, search engines are able to electronically "skim" through vast databases to select data that match a user's inquiry. However, the existing meta-search engines are still facing issues in providing accurate results that match user queries due to the extremely fast growth and the complexity of information that is stored in the Web server. This thesis proposes a new algorithm that will re-rank the Web search results from some of the best existing meta-search engines. This algorithm can be implemented to form a meta-meta-search engine. As a result, the new search engine will have the capability of listing a more reliable rank list with higher accuracy in comparison to the existing search engines and meta-search engines.


Corsican historical and endemical violence takes many forms (armed fight for Independence, 'terrorist' attacks, bombings, delinquency…) and this violence has often been overexploited by media and political discourses. What viewpoints might filmmakers in Corsica have of this violence? Is their filmic output reflective of the situation, offering original mise-en-scene to mirror and engage with the socio-historical context? Should Corsican cinema, on the contrary, take some distance to reconstitute the framework of a stereotyped, decontextualised violence, at the risk of dismissing historical reality? A new generation of filmmakers is at odds with the touristic, exotic, and truncated exploitation of the image of a sunny yet explosive island, a strange and foreign Corsica. This paper seeks to question the ethical dilemma these filmmakers are facing and analyse the dialectical position of the screen as mask and mirror. Filmmakers need to delocalise, internalise, decontextualise and reframe this violence in the specific context of Corsica to reveal the unspoken, to highlight silences, to echo clandestine testimonies, to exorcise individual memories and collective trauma.


Copper Oxide thin films have been deposited onto glass substrate with different time for 30 cycles by successive ionic layers by adsorption and reaction method. The layers were grown with different immersion times such as 15, 20, 25, and 30 s, respectively, employing copperthiosulphate aqueous solutions. Crystal phases were attained in all dipping levels. Copper oxide is one of the most promising candidates for nonstoichiometric p-type transparent semiconducting oxide materials. Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy studies confirmed the formation of copper oxide and the characteristic vibrational mode of CuO was identified. Both the structural and surface properties of copper oxide thin films were improved with increase in the deposition time as a result of which the optical absorption edge of copper oxide shifts toward longer wavelengths, the optical bandgap energy vary from 1.43 to 1.96 eV. The crystallinity of the film is high with allow the maximum nucleation process. The room temperature photoluminescence spectrum has also been taken to elucidate the optical emission properties of these thin films.


In order to replace bio-macromolecules by stable synthetic materials in separation techniques and bioanalysis biomimetic receptors and catalysts have been developed: Functional monomers are polymerized together with the target analyte and after template removal cavities are formed in the "molecularly imprinted polymer" (MIP) which resemble the active sites of antibodies and enzymes. Starting almost 80 years ago, around 1,100 papers on MIPs were published in 2016. Electropolymerization allows to deposit MIPs directly on voltammetric electrodes or chips for quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). For the readout of MIPs for drugs amperometry, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) offer higher sensitivity as compared with QCM or SPR. Application of simple electrochemical devices allows both the reproducible preparation of MIP sensors, but also the sensitive signal generation. Electrochemical MIP-sensors for the whole arsenal of drugs, e.g. the most frequently used analgesics, antibiotics and anticancer drugs have been presented in literature and tested under laboratory conditions. These biomimetic sensors typically have measuring ranges covering the lower nano- up to millimolar concentration range and they are stable under extreme pH and in organic solvents like nonaqueous extracts.


Predictions from three general approaches to prejudice-personality, social learning and group-conflict-have been examined on a sample of Hungarian youth and their parents. The sample consisted of 400 randomly selected college students and their parents from two Hungarian cities (total N=800). The questionnaire included, among others, an antisemitism scale, authoritarianism scale, and socio-demographic variables. Socio-psychological causal model was constructed using univariate recursive regression graph methodology. The results indicated that students' antisemitism is directly related only to personality (authoritarianism) and to parents' antisemitism. Students' authoritarianism is related to parents' authoritarianism and family socio-economic status (as indicated by parents' income and education). Parents' antisemitism is related to their own authoritarian tendencies and income, while parents' authoritarianism is primarily related to their educational background. It is concluded that the results primarily support personality approach to prejudice as represented by Adorno et al.' work (1950), and socialization approach. Group-conflict approach received ambiguous support in the same way as predictions from this approach concerning individual differences in prejudice are ambiguous


In modern electric traction systems, the calculation of induced voltage on internal and external conductors is always required for both interference and people and equipment safety. The International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) method is based on simplified relationships, which are integrated by suitable screening factors (representing and hiding the traction system complexity). Focus is on the determination of these factors and the accuracy, which are evaluated with simulation and experimental data. The considered systems are rail return, return conductor, and autotransformer (AT) 2 × 25-kV traction systems with victim cables of various lengths; the influence of the most relevant electric parameters (soil resistivity and conductance to earth of the return circuit conductors) is considered. The results confirm the relevance of the conductance to earth and of the position of the current injection point. The induced voltage is approximately proportional to the length, with a slight increase for shorter victim cables. The calculated AT screening factor is always smaller than the values suggested by the standards by a factor of 2 in the worst case. For the influence of separation of the inducing and victim circuits, the adopted methods agree in finding a critical distance around 6-8 m; at larger distances, CCITT values are slightly optimistic. Measured results confirm that the CCITT coefficients are all conservative by a factor of 2-4 (except the AT coefficient for total length exposure), whereas the multiconductor transmission line (MTL) results agree with a worst-case margin of 13%.


Carbonate fades of the Greenbrier Group establish the presence of an east-west-trending Mississippian uplift and record the timing of late Paleozoic tectonic movement in the east-central Appalachian basin at the east end of the 38th Parallel fracture zone. This fracture zone has been defined by previous workers from the alignment of igneous intrusive and volcanic rocks, ore mineralization zones, major fault systems, and Landsat lineaments across eastern and central North America. This fracture system is apparently associated with displacement along faults in the Precambrian basement rock. Movement along the fracture zone occurred periodically throughout the Phanerozoic. The lineament may be distinguished both geomorphically (on Landsat imagery and side-looking airborne radar) and stratigraphically. Mississippian tectonic activity along the eastern section of the fracture zone is indicated by anomalous thinning of sediments, facies patterns, and stratigraphic relations of uppermost Devonian to Upper Mississippian strata of the eastern Appalachian Plateau.


The complexities of green consumption are often discussed. Studies bring to fore difficulties of choosing sustainable alternatives in a complex world. How are consumers to know what products to purchase in a market society with global commodity chains? Can consumers really trust corporations' environmental reporting? In arguing this, these studies are giving voice to some of the difficulties and anxieties people have to deal with in a consumer society. As others have argued, consumption involves work and being a consumer is increasingly a laborious and anxiety-producing activity. However, what these studies are missing is the fact that consumers do manage to consume green, at least some of them do. An interesting question is then, how is this complexity managed? The aim of this paper is to contribute to the field of green consumption by illustrating and conceptualizing how consumers practically manage green complexities when performing green shopping. The focus is on shopping practices. Drawing on an ethnographic study of the Nordic Nature Shop – a Swedish retailer chain of outdoor products – and making use of practice theory, this paper shows that consumers have different strategies and techniques to make their shopping practices more sustainable. One strategy used is to shop for things that last. Consumers focused then on finding quality outdoor products with 'timeless design'. Another strategy included instead consuming less. These consumers had different techniques that aimed at reducing their overall consumption of outdoors products. Finally, there were also those that focused on purchasing green products. Here, two techniques were talked about. While some focused on finding green brands, others looked at the product information in search on information concerning its manufacturing. In sum, the practice-based analysis showed that green complexities are managed through the development of various green shopping strategies. Green shopping, however, is not an uncomplicated accomplishment. Green shopping, the analysis suggests, is knowledge demanding for consumers and requires an enabling/supportive socio-material retailscape


Data mining has been widely used in different areas of knowledge, and education is no exception. Data mining uses computer models to analyze data and answer research questions to help in decision making. This article uses data from the PLANEA 2015 Mathematics in Middle school (last year of Middle school) test, which measures the academic achievement and provides a personal, family and school context, in order to find those characteristics that are related to the academic level of the tested students. In this article, an interactive visualization system was developed that allows observing interesting patterns and association rules by combining relevant attributes (variables) and the States. To reduce the analysis space, the Correlation-Based Feature Selection method was used to reduce categorical and numerical attributes. The results show a significant reduction (93%) in the number of attributes, with very little loss of information, when certain attributes are eliminated. Particularly, the 232 categorical attributes obtained from each student are reduced to only 18 attributes, which are correlated with the results of students in the PLANEA test. In addition, empirically it was discovered that choosing the mode from the labels of plausible values as the target class increases the accuracy in classifiers used to show the goodness of the reduction obtained. Some of the relevant attributes are the "AcademicAspiration",  "FamilyResources", "MotherStudies" and "FatherStudies". From the 30 States with information, only 8 are in the Basic level, the other States are in the Below Basic level .


At first glance, the ground surrounding the glacier front and the streams originated by melting glaciers seem to be too extreme to host life forms. They are instead ecosystems, colonized by bacteria, fungi, algae, mosses, plants and animals (called the "glacial biodiversity"). The best adapted animals to colonize glacier surface, the recently deglaciated terrains and glacial streams are insects, specifically the ground beetles (carabids) and the non-biting midges (chironomids). This chapter aims to overview the species colonizing these habitats, their adaptation strategies to face natural cold and anthropogenic heat and the extinction threats of glacial retreat and pollution by emerging contaminants. Notes on their role in the glacial-ecosystem functioning and related ecosystem services are also given.


There is a high demand for 3D multiphoton imaging in neuroscience and other fields but scanning in axial direction presents technical challenges. We developed a focusing technique based on a remote movable mirror that is conjugate to the specimen plane and translated by a voice coil motor. We constructed cost-effective z-scanning modules from off-the-shelf components that can be mounted onto standard multiphoton laser scanning microscopes to extend scan patterns from 2D to 3D. Systems were designed for large objectives and provide high resolution, high speed and a large z-scan range (>300 μm). We used these systems for 3D multiphoton calcium imaging in the adult zebrafish brain and measured odor-evoked activity patterns across >1500 neurons with single-neuron resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio.


"Then you must begin a reading program immediately so that you man understand the crises of our age," Ignatius said solemnly. "Begin with the late Romans, including Boethius, of course. Then you should dip rather extensively into early Medieval. You may skip the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. That is mostly dangerous propaganda. Now, that I think about of it, you had better skip the Romantics and the Victorians, too. For the contemporary period, you should study some selected comic books."


The main goal of code obfuscation is to make software more difficult to reverse engineer. These techniques modify data structures and control flow while retaining the functionality of the original program. Although obfuscation is a useful method for protecting programs, it can also be used to protect malware. This raises concerns that malware could use code obfuscation to avoid detection by antivirus software. It is very difficult to analyze the functionality of obfuscated malware before it has been deobfuscated. Furthermore, commercial obfuscation tools allow malware authors to apply multiple obfuscation options simultaneously, and current deobfuscation techniques cannot handle this situation. In this study, we analyzed a well‐known commercial obfuscation tool called Themida. We applied its many obfuscation options to a program and implemented a tool to recover the original code and data. We extracted features from obfuscated programs and analyzed their control flow. Our tool is based on these features and the control flow patterns and can identify whether Themida has been applied to the program and which obfuscation options have been used. Finally, we suggested a method for recovering the import address table of programs by using dynamic binary instrumentation. The proposed rules and algorithms can almost completely recover the APIs of programs even though they are hidden by obfuscation options provided by Themida.


Amorphous pseudobinary (SiC)1 x(AlN)x thin films have been produced by radio frequency dual magnetron sputtering from bulk SiC and AlN targets. For each target the emission characteristic, i.e. the spatial variation of the deposition rate was determined, in order to predict thickness distribution and spatial composition variation for the (SiC) (AlN) alloy. Impedance spectroscopy shows a high resistivity of the films in the SiC rich region, decreasing significantly towards the AlN rich region.


Objective: The present study aimed to compare the qualitative (time intensity curve analysis), the semi-quantitative and the quantitative multiphase 3T dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI parameters as predictors of malignancy in adnexal masses. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, women with an adnexal mass who were scheduled for surgical resection or were followed for more than one year period to confirm the benignity of their lesions, underwent multiphase 3T DCE-MRI. The qualitative (time intensity curve), semi-quantitative (SImax, SIrel, WIR) and quantitative (Ktrans, Kep, Vb) analyses were performed on DCE-MRI sequences and their predictive values were compared. Results: A total of 17 benign and 14 malignant lesions were included. According to the qualitative analysis, none of the lesions with Type I time intensity curves (TIC) were malignant and none of the masses with Type III TICs were benign. The accuracy of the quantitative parameters in detection of malignancy was found to be higher than that of semi-quantitative variables, particularly when calculated for a small ROI within the high signal area of the mass (sROI) rather than the largest ROI including the whole mass (lROI), and when inter-MRI variations were omitted using ratios. The Kep(tumor)/Kep(myometrium) ratio measured from sROI was the best parameter for differentiating a malignant lesion with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 92.3%. Conclusion: We concluded that a Type I TIC confirms a benign lesion, and a type III TIC confirms the malignancy and further evaluation is not recommended for these lesions. So complementary quantitative analysis is only recommended for adnexal masses with type II TICs.


Cells infected with human adenovirus type 5 have been labelled with 32P-orthophosphate under various conditions and extracts examined, after denaturation in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) followed by autoradiography. A number of polypeptides appear to be phosphorylated specifically as a result of infection. Early in infection, phosphorylation of a polypeptide of apparent mol. wt. 26 K associated with ribosomes can be detected. Two other phosphorylated polypeptides of apparent mol. wt. 72 K and 18 K can also be seen, the former being mainly confined to the nucleus and capable of being precipitated by the previously described virus-specific P antiserum. The 18 K phosphorylated polypeptide is found mainly in association with membrane fractions. Later in infection phosphorylated polypeptides of apparent mol. wt. 100 K and 39 K can be recognized, the former being associated with ribosomes but removed, however, with a high salt wash; the latter component is mainly detected in the nucleus. Analysis of the purified 32P-labelled virus by the SDS PAGE technique indicated that a structural polypeptide of apparent mol. wt. 66 K (IIIa) was also phosphorylated.


In this study uranium and thorium contents and depositional characteristics of Çayirhan bituminous shales (ÇBS), west of Ankara (central Anatolia), are investigated. Samples used were collected from boreholes opened by Park Holding Ltd. A total of 25 samples were taken from bituminous shale levels in boreholes drilled at 6 different locations in the study area. The Hirka formation which hosts bituminous shale deposits is a volcano sedimentary sequence and all lithofacies indicate that a lacustrine environment where the water level was continuously changed. In addition to hydrocarbon generation potential, bituminous shales also accumulate significant amount of radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium. The average uranium and thorium concentrations of ÇBS (1.83/2.62 ppm) are much lower than averages of UC, NASK and PAAS (uranium: 2.70/2.66/3.10 ppm; thorium: 8.50/12.30/14.60 ppm). Low uranium contents in comparison to those of similar lacustrine environments might be attributed to that waters of depositional environment of ÇBS contain low concentration of dissolved uranium and redox conditions were of oxic and dioxic character. Correlation data indicate that U and Th have a similar source and are associated predominantly with clays and phosphates and dominantly with organic material. Radioactive elements in the basin might be derived from Paleozoic granites and metamorphites (e.g. gneiss, schist) which comprise the basement and volcanism which was active in the region throughout the Miocene period. These elements are probably associated with uraniferous phosphate minerals (e.g. autunite, torbernite) which occur in granite, gneiss and schist. ÇBS with average TOC content of 10.96 % shows very good/perfect source rock potential. Positive correlations between Gamma‐Ray values and U, Th and K concentrations imply that radioactivity might be originated from these three elements.


Positioning accuracy of cable-driven parallel robots is influenced by many factors such as geometry, actuator sensor accuracy and disturbances in the applied wrench. Another uncertainty source is the elasticity of the cables. While the influence of many factors may be decreased by calibration and/or sensor fusion, elasticity parameters are difficult to estimate and their effect on the positioning errors has yet to be determined. In this paper we consider a generic cable model that includes cable elasticity and the effect of cable weight and we propose a generic algorithm that allows one to safely calculate the minimum and maximum of the positioning error at a given pose when the elasticity parameters are constrained to lie within some given bounds. The algorithm is designed for being able to manage the effect of different uncertainties sources and we compare the influence of elasticity versus the effect of uncertainties in the cable lengths.


Homelessness is a constant problem the United States is facing despite various efforts to address the root causes of the issue. One of these efforts is subsidized housing programs. Across the nation, federal dollars are being used to provide homes for those who were once homeless and who may suffer from various health issues. Across these programs, one theme reigns supreme, the idea that having a stable home improves the health of those living in it. Studies investigating improvement in health show that those suffering from HIV, mental illnesses, drug usage, poor nutrition and single parenthood were all able to achieve stability and focus on their health. This health focus would not have been possible without the presence of a stable housing. Public health professionals have the opportunity to address relevant issues such as social determinants of health by creating more subsidized housing opportunities and helping to get to the root cause of homelessness. The Fair Chance at Housing Act has the goal to reduce barriers to entry into subsidized housing programs across the nation and to give more chances at a fresh start to those once barred from entry into federal programs, such as subsidized housing, due to either a criminal record or current drug or alcohol usage. The Fair Chance at Housing Act has yet to be passed into law; passage will depend on the current political climate. Despite several downsides to the policy, the positive aspects outweigh the negative and if this policy is made into law, many more citizens in this country will have a chance at a roof over their heads that they can call theirs. Lack of housing is a public health issue because it restricts individuals' opportunities to access various health services available to them. When struggling to find the next roof to sleep under, many aspects of health are not made a priority.


Purpose: To assess the effect of citicoline on visual field rates of progression in patients with progressing glaucoma. Patients and Methods: Forty-one patients with a diagnosis of progressing glaucoma received citicoline in oral solution for 2 years. Included were patients with a disease progression of at least -1 dB/year (at MD, mean deviation) for at least 3 years before entering the study despite controlled intraocular pressure (IOP). Patients were followed with 4 visual field examinations per year for 2 years. Results: At baseline, the mean rate of progression was -1.1 (±0.7) dB/year despite the fact that the IOP had been below 18 mm Hg for at least 3 years. At study inclusion, the mean IOP was 15.5 (±2.6) mm Hg and the mean MD was -9.2 (±6.7) dB in the worst eye. Starting from the first cycle of treatment with citicoline, the mean rate of progression significantly changed to -0.15 (±0.3) dB/year at the end of the study (p = 0.01). Conclusions: This study seems to indicate that supplementation with citicoline might significantly slow down glaucomatous rates of progression.


While it has been claimed that anaphora or coreference resolution plays an important role in opinion mining, it is not clear to what extent coreference resolution actually boosts performance, if at all. In this paper, we investigate the potential added value of coreference resolution for the aspect-based sentiment analysis of restaurant reviews in two languages, English and Dutch. We focus on the task of aspect category classification and investigate whether including coreference information prior to classification to resolve implicit aspect mentions is beneficial. Because coreference resolution is not a solved task in NLP, we rely on both automatically-derived and gold-standard coreference relations, allowing us to investigate the true upper bound. By training a classifier on a combination of lexical and semantic features, we show that resolving the coreferential relations prior to classification is beneficial in a joint optimization setup. However, this is only the case when relying on gold-standard relations and the result is more outspoken for English than for Dutch. When validating the optimal models, however, we found that only the Dutch pipeline is able to achieve a satisfying performance on a held-out test set and does so regardless of whether coreference information was included.


EEG-based BCI (brain-computer-interface) speller, especially gaze-independent BCI speller, has become a hot topic in recent years. It provides direct spelling device by non-muscular method for people with severe motor impairments and with limited gaze movement. Brain needs to conduct both stimuli-driven and stimuli-related attention in fast presented BCI paradigms for such BCI speller applications. Few researchers studied the mechanism of brain response to such fast presented BCI applications. In this study, we compared the distribution of brain activation in visual, auditory, and audio-visual combined stimuli paradigms using sLORETA (standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography). Between groups comparisons showed the importance of visual and auditory stimuli in audio-visual combined paradigm. They both contribute to the activation of brain regions, with visual stimuli being the predominate stimuli. Visual stimuli related brain region was mainly located at parietal and occipital lobe, whereas response in frontal-temporal lobes might be caused by auditory stimuli. These regions played an important role in audio-visual bimodal paradigms. These new findings are important for future study of ERP speller as well as the mechanism of fast presented stimuli.


Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) applications have become increasingly more commonplace in school-based agricultural education (SBAE) settings in the past few decades. In recent years, Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) programming has provided a practical outlet for STEM-focused, inquiry-based teaching and learning activities. The CASE Mechanical Systems in Agriculture (MSA) course was recently field-tested nationally with several SBAE teachers. Framed within Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory, we sought to study six teachers' experiences when implementing the CASE MSA curriculum throughout the 2018-2019 academic year. Using qualitative research methods, we conducted multiple one-on-one interviews with each SBAE teacher at different parts of their respective academic years. Data were coded in accordance with Merriam's (2009) recommendations. Four dominant themes emerged: (1) the journey toward innovation; (2) learning as you go; (3) logistical and implementation challenges; and (4) students' needs and preferences. Several prominent sub-themes emerged as well. Our findings highlight that although challenges existed, the CASE MSA curriculum was suitable for enhancing the rigor and relevance of these teachers' agricultural mechanics curricula. We recommend CASE MSA curriculum stakeholders collaborate to continuously improve its design and flexibility.


This article examines the representation of the medieval past in historical pageants in twentieth-century England. Pageants were an important aspect of popular engagement with the past, and often focused heavily on the medieval period. Different episodes and characters both historical and legendary—Alfred the Great, King John and Robin Hood, for example—featured at different times and in different ways during the twentieth century. Many communities saw their origins as being medieval, and almost all found important stories to tell from this period. However, the emphasis shifted over time, with the lessons of the 'constitutional Middle Ages' featuring prominently in Edwardian pageants, whereas by the 1950s elements of the romantic and grotesque were increasingly prominent. Throughout the twentieth century, aspects of civic medievalism were an important feature in pageants, particularly those staged in urban locations, but the style of representation of the medieval period changed over time, partly under the influence of new media—notably the cinema, radio and television. In the second half of the twentieth century, historical pageantry declined significantly, though it never disappeared; and although popular interest in the medieval past was undiminished, it increasingly took different forms.


This guide is intended to help students find resources and scholarly works on popular culture. Relevant subjects may include, but are not limited to, film, television, music, genre fiction, advertisements, and gaming


Abstract A new method has been developed to impose different redox conditions in high-temperature-pressure experiments in cold-seal pressure vessels, at 800 °C and 2000 bars. Experiments were conducted by loading a metallic filler rod into the autoclave together with H2 sensor capsules, and pressuring the autoclave with H2O. Rod materials tested successfully were Co, Ti, and C (graphite). The oxidation of these rods produces H2, but because of diffusive H2 loss through the walls of the autoclave, the system may not be buffered with respect to H2. However, fH₂ quickly reaches a steady state value, and because fH₂ is easily measured by the hydrogen sensor method, the effect of the filler rods on the intrinsic fO₂ of the autoclave can be quantified. In order to produce oxidized conditions, Ar was used as the pressure medium and metal oxides, contained in Al2O3 tubes, were employed. By using either Ar or H2O as a pressure medium, a log fO₂ range of NNO -3.9 to NNO +4.6 can be imposed by this method, where NNO is the log fO₂ value of the Ni-NiO buffer. The ability to conduct long-run-duration experiments at high temperature and high fH₂ conditions is not possible with the traditional double-capsule technique because the buffer assemblage is consumed too quickly. However, run durations of up to 4 weeks with constant fH₂ at reduced conditions have been conducted using the filler-rod technique. This technique has been shown to be an effective method in controlling redox conditions in cold-seal autoclaves, and thus can be applied to investigating redox-dependent reactions in a wide range of geochemical systems.


Absorption of niacin from the rumen was tested in vivo using a buffer solution that contained either nicotinic acid or nicotinamide. The experimental design was a 3 X 3 Latin square with three midlactation, ruminally cannulated Holstein cows. Orthogonal comparisons were control versus niacin and nicotinic acid versus nicotinamide. Nicotinamide was more rapidly absorbed from the rumen than nicotinic acid; this may have been caused by differences in the dissociation constants of the compounds. The effects that differential absorption may have on ruminal fermentation and animal metabolism require further study.


New Zealand is currently piloting the feasibility of a national population-based screening programme for colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer worldwide, with New Zealand having one of the highest colorectal death rates in the world (Blakely et al., 2010; Shah, Sarfati, Blakely, Atkinson & Dennet, 2012). Considered the most preventable form of cancer, lives can be spared through early diagnosis and intervention. However, evidence of disparities continue to exist in access to healthcare within some population groups, which has an influence on uptake rates in screening programmes (Pitama et al., 2012). Despite improvement in decreased mortality rates in New Zealand's breast and cervical screening, there continues to be a gap in New Zealand's uptake in health screening initiatives, especially within the Māori population. In view of the proposed colorectal cancer screening programme, there is a need for specific guidelines that will guide healthcare services in providing robust strategies that will effectively contribute to equity of uptake for Māori. A critical literature review on the equity of uptake in population-based screening for New Zealand's Māori population was undertaken using a critical social theory lens. The aim was to identify factors that influence equity in uptake of screening in order to recommend robust guidelines in assuring equity of uptake for Māori in the proposed colorectal cancer screening programme.
Sixteen articles from a large body of knowledge were selected and supporting articles and government publications were also used to enhance the review. A thematic analysis of the selected articles identified access to healthcare/screening as the main theme, with structural issues of socioeconomics, health literacy, structural racism, acceptability of service, appropriate services and geographical structures being sub-themes. Recommendations include on-going education to providers, healthcare professionals and the general public, on-going research into equitable access to screening and follow-up treatment, and consideration of Marae-based clinics and/or mobile endoscopy screening units.


In this text, which was originally delivered as a speech, I discuss the massive critique of teachers in the public discourse on education in Sweden over the last decade. I speak in defence of teachers, and since I am a teacher I speak in defence of myself. The critique of teachers, schooling, and teacher education has been so overbearing that a purely rational response is simply not possible. Therefore, my response is rhetorical in tone. In highlighting the passion of teaching, I lift something central for teachers, which is seldom or never taught about teaching in teacher education. Neither is the passion of teaching present in the public discourse on education. Passion, I argue in the article, is that which adds excess or an overflow of meaning that cannot be contained within the order of discourse and which therefore puts this discourse out of balance. Finally, I discuss a new balance beyond this order in the context of a classroom. In a concluding section, I highlight the struggle over borders which define who can speak and think in "good" order and who cannot.


Electron correlation in chromium-doped silicon cluster (Cr@Si12) in its neutral, positively, and negatively charged states with different nuclear configurations is investigated by means of quantum Monte Carlo methods. It is found that the correlation energy per electron is independent of whether the state is charged or not and about � 1 eV for each of these three states. The total binding energy of the neutral state per atom is 3.5 eV, which is divided into the Hartree-Fock contribution nearly equal to 1.2 eV and the correlation contribution as large as 2.3 eV. In the Hartree-Fock approximation, the ionization energy is 6.9 eV and the electron affinity is 2.7 eV. Correlation increases the ionization energy by 1.7 eV and the electron affinity by 1.4 eV. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.47.2617]


Cathepsin B (CB) is involved in the hydrolysis of thyroglobulin (Tg) and thought to be regulated by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in the normal thyroid. Our analyses of 91 thyroid tissues from 71 patients with Graves' disease (GD), multinodular goiter (MNG), papillary carcinoma (PC), or follicular carcinoma (FC), demonstrated a 2-fold increase in expression of CB in GD and an average increase of 1.5-fold in MNG (varying from 10-fold below normal to 6-fold above normal in MNG nodules), as might be predicted by the altered functional status of thyroid follicular cells in those diseases. However, CB activity was not downregulated in conjunction with the known "blocking effect" of malignancy on many thyroid functions, but rather increased on average 9-fold in papillary carcinomas (n = 33), and also showed a marked increase in 2 follicular carcinomas. Activity measurements were confirmed by CB protein detection on Western blot with moderately increased CB protein levels demonstrated in GD, variable expression in nodules of MNG, and markedly increased protein expression in carcinomas. In all diseased states, increased protein was detected primarily as overexpression of the 27 kd heavy chain of 2-chain mature CB and less frequently as overexpression of 31 kd single-chain mature CB. However, an additional 35 kd protein form was noted in 3 of 9 PCs, 1 of 2 FCs, and 1 of 4 GD cases but in none of 10 MNG cases. In conjunction with elevated CB activity plus additional protein bands on Western blots, altered patterns of CB immunohistochemical staining were observed, irrespective of the type of thyroid disease, suggesting certain common changes in CB expression, posttranslational processing, and vesicular trafficking. In summary, GD and MNG thyroid tissues demonstrated altered CB expression in keeping with predicted functional changes in thyroid follicular cells, while increased CB expression in carcinomas indicated a more pathological role for CB in thyroid cancers, possibly related to the processes of invasion or metastasis.


Synopsis A detailed field and petrographic study has been made of Lewisian rocks forming the western half of the Glenelg inlier. It is concluded that in this part of the inlier an earlier metamorphic and igneous complex was affected by Scourian metamorphism and intruded by a series of dykes (Scourié dykes) before the 'Caledonian' orogeny. There is no evidence of a Laxfordian event. From the metamorphic and deformational episodes recognised in the adjacent Moines a sequence of Caledonian events is established for the rocks of the inlier. It is found that although the rocks have been texturally and mineralogically modified, the outline of their earlier Lewisian history and their essential Scourian characteristics have been preserved. Correlation o f the later Caledonian events with the formation of mylonites in the Moine Thrust Belt supports the Precambrian age of the early metamorphic and structural events in the Moines indicated by isotopic age dating.


ABSTRACT An individual Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium can encode as many as 13 different Erp (OspE/F-related) proteins from mono-and bicistronic loci that are carried on up to 10 separate plasmids. We demonstrate through multilabel immunofluorescence analyses that individual bacteria simultaneously coexpress their entire Erp protein repertoire. While it has been proposed that B. burgdorferi controls expression of Erp and other plasmid-encoded proteins through changes in DNA topology, we observed regulated Erp expression in the absence of detectable differences in DNA supercoiling. Likewise, inhibition of DNA gyrase had no detectable effect on Erp expression. Furthermore, expression of loci physically adjacent to erp loci was observed to be independently regulated. It is concluded that Erp expression is regulated by a mechanism(s) directed at erp loci and not by a global, plasmid-wide mechanism.


USING VISUAL LITERACY THROUGH IMAGES TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO LEARN ENGLISH. Existing in an image-rich world, as school students currently experience, does not mean that they naturally possess right visual literacy aptitudes as when they see an object (such as  a picture), they just see what they see, they do not possess a considerable capability to understand, interpret, discover a meaning from an object or information they see. For that reason, students are supposed to possess visual literacy to perform that. Given the importance of utilizing visual literacy through a picture to motivate students in learning English, the writer of this article has the initiative to carry out community service to first-grade students of MTS Qurrotul Uyun. This community service discusses the utilization of visual literacy through colored pictures as a pedagogical tool, which can provide a precious and motivating resource for the students to learn English. The result of this community service suggests that English learning through colored pictures is potential to make the MTS Qurrotul Uyun first grade students motivated in learning pronunciation, speaking, and grammar. They feel that English learning through colored pictures in the classroom is more appealing and pleasurable as the pictures can both catch their mind attention and facilitate them to learn. Moreover, the colored pictures can make the MTS Qurrotul Uyun first grade students motivated and more involved actively in English learning.


Over-fitting usually appears in financial time series forecasting by neural networks, where the target series are usually contaminated with noise. To avoid this problem, regularization and committee machine methods are considered. In the context of financial applications, especially in the stock market predictions, the variance of asset returns is of particular interest in addition to the mean, in order to provide information to balance risk and return in investment at each point of time. To be able to fit two-dimensional mean and variance output to one-dimensional asset return data, an objective function based on the negative loglikelihood of the conditional distribution of the target variable is considered as an alternative to conventional least squares function. The likelihood approach also enables flexibility in the choice of distribution to model the underlying error process. In this thesis, regularization and ensemble techniques are adapted for networks with likelihood-based objective function. As well as a conditional Gaussian error distribution typically assumed, a long-tailed t-distribution is another choice for extreme leptokurtic situations. The regularization terms are formed by likelihood contributions corresponding to simple autoregressive models for the conditional mean and log variance parameters. In the ensemble technique, the mean and variance predictions are averaged rather than the probability density function. In addition, learning algorithms are developed for an Output-to-Output recurrent structure applied to a network with two-dimensional mean and variance output. These differ with respect to the terms and direction of unfolding the dynamic structure. The proposed methods are investigated by application to simulation data and real data. These following conclusions can be drawn. Regularization is found to improve generalization ability. Although the individual networks differ only with respect to the initial weights used for training, they appear to be in sufficient disagreement for the ensemble averaging approach. The error of the ensemble network is found to be smaller than the weighted average error over all ensemble members, and the resulting forecasts vary more smoothly over time. In order to reduce the memory and time requirements, truncated versions with a bounded history approximation ii are applied to recurrent networks, because of their efficiency without a trade-off in effectiveness. The recurrent networks yield more accurate forecasts and less fluctuation than non-recurrent networks. Ensemble techniques with proposed neural networks are successfully applied to real financial time series data. With a Gaussian error distribution assumed, the network with regularization outperforms and produces smoother outputs than the networks without regularization. The non-recurrent network with regularization has simpler structure but is reasonably effective, compared to the recurrent network without regularization. In case of extreme leptokurtic data, the network with a t-error distribution is superior to the network with a Gaussian error distribution.


A magnetically separable hybrid material consisting of Co3O4 nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide (Co3O4/rGO) was synthesized through a simple co-reduction process of graphene oxide (GO) and cobalt chloride (CoCl2) using sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The Co3O4/rGO heterogeneous catalyst exhibited a high-performance for the oxidative esterification of aldehydes to the corresponding methyl esters using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant. Owing to the synergistic effect of rGO support, the hybrid catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity to the corresponding cobalt oxide catalyst. Importantly, the synthesized hybrid possesses good magnetic properties, which enable facile recovery of the catalyst by using an external magnet.


: Human saliva plays a crucial role infood digestion and maintaining oral hygiene. Components of saliva constituting the electrolytes, mucus, glycoproteins, enzymes, various antibacterial compounds, and gingival crevicular fluid provides the optimum condition both of oral cavity and general health. Fortunately collection of this amazing fluid is very easy and non invasive. These particular advantages only make saliva a potential diagnostic fluid. Through detailed analysis, an array of salivary proteins and peptides found which may be beneficial as biomarkers in oral and systemic diseases. So by this review, we discuss the importance of human salivary proteomes and tabulate the recent salivary biomarkers found in subjects with acute myocardial infarction and other systemic disease. Since acute myocardial infarction contributes to large cases of mortality worldwide,especially in a clinical setting, an early detection using these biomarkers can provide an effective solution to decrease the global heart attack incidence particularly among the high-risk group of type-2 diabetes mellitus patients. Currentchallenges in saliva collection are also mentioned which need to be improved, resulting in better quality of saliva samples and produce biomarkers for future use in clinical applications. BIOMARKERS : Myoglobin (MYO), Cardiac troponin I (cTnI), Creatine phosphokinase MB (CK-MB), Myeloperoxidase (MPO), brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), Exosomal miRNA, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), MMP-9 tissue inhibitor of [3-8]


During the summer of 1960, the Committee on Nutrition of the Canadian Pediatric Society requested co-operation of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics in evaluation of the problem of scurvy in Canada. Reports in the Canadian literature in 1958 and 19591-6 recorded occurrence of 180 cases of scurvy during the 15 years from 1945 through 1959, and personal communications accounted for 142 cases not recorded in the literature. It was somewhat difficult to derive a satisfactory estimate of the true incidence of scurvy from these figures. However, an unpublished report by Dr. J. W. Davies, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Newfoundland, indicated that 77 cases of scurvy had been diagnosed in 1959 for an estimated 30,000 children less than 2 years of age, an incidence of 2.5 cases per 1,000 children.
 As an aid in evaluation of the problem of scurvy in Canada and to obtain information concerning the magnitude of the problem in the United States, a survey was carried out concerning incidence of scurvy in the United States during the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive. Questionnaires concerning the incidence of scurvy and rickets among children admitted to the hospital were mailed to 294 hospitals that maintain approved7 residency programs in pediatrics. Replies were received from 176 of the 294 hospitals (60%). Preliminary tabulation and analysis of results were then carried out, and a brief summary was mailed to each hospital. At the time of this mailing a second questionnaire was sent to those hospitals that had not responded to the initial questionnaire.


The authors present a method for determining the shapes of surfaces whose reflectance properties may vary from Lambertian to specular, without prior knowledge of the relative strengths of the Lambertian and specular components of reflection. The object surface is illuminated using extended light sources and is viewed from a single direction. Surface illumination using extended sources makes it possible to ensure the detection of both Lambertian and specular reflections. Multiple source directions are used to obtain an image sequence of the object. An extraction algorithm uses the set of image intensity values measured at each surface point to compute orientation as well as relative strengths of the Lambertian and specular reflection components. The proposed method is called photometric sampling, as it uses samples of photometric function that relates image intensity to surface orientation, reflectance, and light source characteristics. Experiments were conducted on Lambertian surfaces, specular surfaces, and hybrid surfaces, whose reflectance models are composed of both Lambertian and specular components. The results show high accuracy in measured orientations and estimated reflectance parameters.<<ETX>>


G protein-coupled receptor family C group 6 member A (GPRC6A) is activated by testosterone and modulates prostate cancer progression. Most humans have a GPRC6A variant that contains a recently evolved KGKY insertion/deletion in the third intracellular loop (ICL3) (designated as GPRC6AICL3_KGKY) that replaces the ancestral KGRKLP sequence (GPRC6AICL3_RKLP) present in all other species. In vitro assays purport that human GPRC6AICL3_KGKY is retained intracellularly and lacks function. These findings contrast with ligand-dependent activation and coupling to mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling of endogenous human GPRC6AICL3_KGKY in PC-3 cells. To understand these discrepant results, we expressed mouse (mGPRC6AICL3_KGRKLP), human (hGPRC6AICL3_KGKY), and humanized mouse (mGPRC6AICL3_KGKY) GPRC6A into human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Our results demonstrate that mGPRC6AICL3_KGRKLP acts as a classic G protein–coupled receptor, which is expressed at the cell membrane and internalizes in response to ligand activation by testosterone. In contrast, hGPRC6AICL3_KGKY and humanized mouse mGPRC6AICL3_KGKY are retained intracellularly in ligand naive cells, yet exhibit β-arrestin–dependent signaling responses, mitogen-activated protein kinase [i.e., extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)], and p70S6 kinase phosphorylation in response to testosterone, indicating that hGPRC6AICL3_KGKY is functional. Indeed, testosterone stimulates time- and dose-dependent activation of ERK, protein kinase B, and mTORC1 signaling in wild-type PC-3 cells that express endogenous GPRC6AICL3_KGKY. In addition, testosterone stimulates GPRC6A-dependent cell proliferation in wild-type PC-3 cells and inhibits autophagy by activating mTORC1 effectors eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 and Unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1. Testosterone activation of GPRC6A has the obligate requirement for calcium in the incubation media. In contrast, in GPRC6A-deficient cells, the effect of testosterone to activate downstream signaling is abolished, indicating that human GPRC6A is required for mediating the effects of testosterone on cell proliferation and autophagy.


Counting motor neurons within the spinal cord and brainstem represents a seminal step to comprehend the anatomy and physiology of the final common pathway sourcing from the CNS. Motor neuron loss allows to assess the severity of motor neuron disorders while providing a tool to assess disease modifying effects. Counting motor neurons at first implies gold standard identification methods. In fact, motor neurons may occur within mixed nuclei housing a considerable amount of neurons other than motor neurons. In the present review, we analyse various approaches to count motor neurons emphasizing both the benefits and bias of each protocol. A special emphasis is placed on discussing automated stereology. When automated stereology does not take into account site-specificity and does not distinguish between heterogeneous neuronal populations, it may confound data making such a procedure a sort of "guide for the perplex". Thus, if on the one hand automated stereology improves our ability to quantify neuronal populations, it may also hide false positives/negatives in neuronal counts. For instance, classic staining for antigens such as SMI-32, SMN and ChAT, which are routinely considered to be specific for motor neurons, may also occur in other neuronal types of the spinal cord. Even site specificity within Lamina IX may be misleading due to neuronal populations having a size and shape typical of motor neurons. This is the case of spinal border cells, which often surpass the border of Lamina VII and intermingle with motor neurons of Lamina IX. The present article discusses the need to join automated stereology with a dedicated knowledge of each specific neuroanatomical setting.


Spectroscopic studies play a key role in the identification and analysis of interstellar ices and their structure. Some molecules have been identified within the interstellar ices either as pure, mixed, or even as layered structures. Absorption band features of water ice can significantly change with the presence of different types of impurities (CO, CO2, CH3OH, H2CO, etc.). In this work, we carried out a theoretical investigation to understand the behavior of water band frequency, and strength in the presence of impurities. The computational study has been supported and complemented by some infrared spectroscopy experiments aimed at verifying the effect of HCOOH, NH3 , and CH3 OH on the band profiles of pure H2O ice. Specifically, we explored the effect on the band strength of libration, bending, bulk stretching, and free-OH stretching modes. Computed band strength profiles have been compared with our new and existing experimental results, thus pointing out that vibrational modes of H2O and their intensities can change considerably in the presence of impurities at different concentrations. In most cases, the bulk stretching mode is the most affected vibration, while the bending is the least affected mode. HCOOH was found to have a strong influence on the libration, bending, and bulk stretching band profiles. In the case of NH3, the free-OH stretching band disappears when the impurity concentration becomes 50%. This work will ultimately aid a correct interpretation of future detailed spaceborne observations of interstellar ices by means of the upcoming JWST mission.


 Abstract —The recoverable proven reserves of fossil fuel sources are projected to be exhausted by the end of this century. In response to the exhaustion of fossil resources, there is a serious need to find alternative fuel sources. Bioenergy is one of the potential candidates to counteract the fossil-fuel depletion challenge. Despite bioenergy sources appear to be renewable and net-zero GHG emitting, bioenergy undergoes competition with food, feed and other crucial applications. Since earth's eco system has a limited capacity of land and water resources, overuse of these resources in bioenergy production could cause adverse social and environmental impacts. This paper summarizes the key sustainability issues involve in bioenergy chain, and examine the potential role of bioenergy in dealing with these sustainability issues. We found that bioenergy can be a sustainable source of energy provided that it has maintained irrationality is using of natural resources and several limits. In contrary, bioenergy would provoke further social and environmental problems if the sustainability issues are not given proper consideration.


By using stacked partial least squares classifiers and genetic algorithms for feature selection and classification, it is demonstrated that search prefilters can be developed to extract investigative lead information from clear coat paint smears. The results obtained in this study also show that identifying specific wavelengths or wavelet coefficients in IR spectral data is superior to identifying informative wavelength windows when applying pattern recognition techniques to IR spectra from the paint data query (PDQ) database when differentiating paint samples by assembly plant. Search prefilters developed using specific wavelengths or wavelet coefficients outperformed search prefilters that utilized spectral regions. Clear coat paint spectra from the PDQ database may not be well suited for stacking as there are few spectral intervals that can reliably distinguish the different sample groups (i.e., assembly plants) in the data. The information contained in the IR spectra about assembly plant may not be highly compartmentalized in an interval, which also works against stacking. The similarity of the IR spectra within a plant group and the noise present in the IR spectra may also be obscuring information present in spectral intervals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This is the most comprehensive book devoted to Sumatra in more than half a century. It summarizes earlier studies, and provides a huge amount of new knowledge for the first time in readily accessible form. Sumatra is one of the world's largest islands, rich in flora and fauna, minerals and timber, and located at the midpoint of the maritime route between China and India. These are ideal conditions for the creation of a fascinating history. Sumatra has played a major role in world trade for 2,000 years, but its culture and archaeology have been surprisingly neglected. This volume sets out to remedy this defect. With chapters on history, archaeology, anthropology, folklore, and religion, the authors focus particular attention on the relations between the coastal peoples who are best known to outsiders, and the hinterlands, where most of the important resources lie. The list of authors includes most of the principal living authorities on Sumatra. Their cumulative experience consists of many years on all parts of the island. The book is copiously illustrated, and includes a comprehensive bibliography for those who wish to pursue further study of the wide range of topics covered.


ABSTRACT The success in egg hatching is determined by internal and external factors. One of external factors is the acid level. The use of pH in egg hatching is to stimulate chorionase enzyme that can make chorion become soft. The purpose of this research is to determine the best pH value for hatching of snakehead eggs. This research had been conducted in Laboratorium Dasar Perikanan , Departement of Aquaculture, Agriculture Faculty, Sriwijaya University on January until February 2016. The research method used a completely randomized design with five treatments and three replications. The treatment were P1 (pH 5±0.2), P2 (pH 6±0.2), P3 (pH 7±0.2), P4 (pH 8±0.2) dan P5 (pH 9±0.2). The results showed that different values of water pH in snakehead hatching gave significant effect on hatching percentage, incubation time and survival rate of larvae but did not indicate  significant effect on percentage of abnormal larvae. The highest hatching percentage was in treatment P5 (90.75%), the fastest incubation time was in treatment P4 (20.00 hours), the highest survival rate of larvae was in treatment P2 (85.31%) and the highest percentage of abnormal larvae was in treatment P1 (1.67%). During the research, water quality were in tolerance range for hatching and snakehead larvae rearing where DO (5.27-6.01 mg/l), ammonia (0.00-0.29 mg/l), and alkalinity (26-106 mg/l).   Key wor ds : Snakehead, Hatching, pH different


Purpose of reviewThis review summarizes recent advances in plain radiography and advanced imaging for gout, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal arthropathy and basic calcium phosphate crystal arthropathy. Recent findingsPlain radiography has diagnostic utility in the crystal-induced arthropathies. A gout radiographic damage index has been recently validated. High-resolution ultrasonography may improve noninvasive diagnosis of the crystal-induced arthropathies, and allow monitoring of intra-articular tophi in clinical trials. Computed tomography provides excellent definition of tophi and bone erosion, and three-dimensional computed tomography assessment of tophus volume is a promising outcome measure in gout. Magnetic resonance imaging is also a reliable method for assessment of tophus size in gout, and has an important role in detection of complications of disease in clinical practice. Emerging imaging techniques include three-dimensional ultrasonography and dual-energy computed tomography. Advanced imaging modalities also offer new insights into the mechanisms of cartilage and bone damage in the crystal-induced arthropathies. SummaryPlain radiography and advanced imaging techniques may assist with diagnosis, assessment of disease complications and monitoring of crystal-induced arthropathies. Further study of these techniques will provide significant improvement in patient care and further aid in the understanding of disease pathogenesis.


The difficulties experienced by patients with neurologic illness are usually multifaceted and multidimensional and it is rare that contact with a single health care profession is adequate to provide for all of their needs. It was recogmsed from the beginnmg that input from social workers and specialist nurses is vital in order to offer patients a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, holistic assessment, and seamless service. The Neuro-Rehabilitation Team was set up m August 1994 as a result of negotiations between Health and Social Services. The multidisciplinary team worked together to produce a document describing the aims and philosophies of the team. Central to this is a belief that rehabilitation is an active, interactive process, involving the combined efforts of health and social care professionals, patients, their relatives and carers, and the wider community m a goal-directed partnership. A key element of this partnership is goal-planning sessions, which the patients are mvited to attend. In the first 6 months, 90% of patients chose to attend their goal-planning sessions and 100% attended the follow-up reviews, held between 3 and 6 months afterward. Neurorehabilitation in


Hemifacial spasm is defined as unilateral, involuntary, irregular clonic or tonic movement of muscles innervated by the seventh cranial nerve. Most frequently attributed to vascular loop compression at the root exit zone of the facial nerve, there are many other etiologies of unilateral facial movements that must be considered in the differential diagnosis of hemifacial spasm. The primary purpose of this review is to draw attention to the marked heterogeneity of unilateral facial spasms and to focus on clinical characteristics of mimickers of hemifacial spasm and on atypical presentations of nonvascular cases. In addition to a comprehensive review of the literature on hemifacial spasm, medical records and videos of consecutive patients referred to the Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine for hemifacial spasm between 2000 and 2010 were reviewed, and videos of illustrative cases were edited. Among 215 patients referred for evaluation of hemifacial spasm, 133 (62%) were classified as primary or idiopathic hemifacial spasm (presumably caused by vascular compression of the ipsilateral facial nerve), and 4 (2%) had hereditary hemifacial spasm. Secondary causes were found in 40 patients (19%) and included Bell's palsy (n = 23, 11%), facial nerve injury (n = 13, 6%), demyelination (n = 2), and brain vascular insults (n = 2). There were an additional 38 patients (18%) with hemifacial spasm mimickers classified as psychogenic, tics, dystonia, myoclonus, and hemimasticatory spasm. We concluded that although most cases of hemifacial spasm are idiopathic and probably caused by vascular compression of the facial nerve, other etiologies should be considered in the differential diagnosis, particularly if there are atypical features. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society


Foxp3 reporter mice including DEREG (DEpletion of REGulatory T cells) mice have greatly helped in exploring the biology of Foxp3+ Tregs. DEREG mice express a DTR-eGFP fusion protein under the control of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-encoded Foxp3 promoter, allowing the viable isolation and inducible depletion of Foxp3+ Tregs. Adaptive Tregs differentiated in vitro to express Foxp3 (iTregs) are gaining high interest as potential therapeutics for inflammatory conditions such as autoimmunity, allergy and transplant rejection. However, selective isolation of Foxp3+ iTregs with a stable phenotype still remains to be a problem, especially in the human setting. While screening for culture conditions to generate stable CD4+Foxp3+ iTregs from DEREG mice, with maximum suppressive activity, we observed an unexpected dichotomy of eGFP and Foxp3 expression which is not seen in ex vivo isolated cells from DEREG mice. Further characterization of eGFP+Foxp3− cells revealed relatively lower CD25 expression and a lack of suppressive activity in vitro. Similarly, eGFP− cells isolated from the same cultures were not suppressive despite of a broad CD25 expression reflecting mere T cell activation. In contrast, eGFP+Foxp3+ iTregs exhibited potent suppressive activity comparable to that of natural eGFP+Foxp3+ Tregs, emphasizing the importance of isolating Foxp3 expressing iTregs. Interestingly, the use of plate-bound anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 or Flt3L-driven BMDC resulted in considerable resolution of the observed dichotomy. In summary, we defined culture conditions for efficient generation of eGFP+Foxp3+ iTregs by use of DEREG mice. Isolation of functional Foxp3+ iTregs using DEREG mice can also be achieved under sub-optimal conditions based on the magnitude of surface CD25 expression, in synergy with transgene encoded eGFP. Besides, the reported phenomenon may be of general interest for exploring Foxp3 gene regulation, given that Foxp3 and eGFP expression are driven from distinct Foxp3 loci and because this dichotomy preferentially occurs only under defined in vitro conditions.


The aim of this study was to assess and validate the herbal anthelmintic remedies used by farmers in Kirinyaga county, Kenya for the treatment of their cattle against gastrointestinal nematodes. The herbs used were identified via questionnaire surveys through focused group discussions. The aqueous extracts of plants used: Aspillia pluriseta, Vernonia lasiopus,Entada leptostachya and Erythrina abyssinica were prepared and using dosage between 10 and 30%, the viability of infective strongyle larvae were assessed for a period of 48 h. The results of the in vitro antihelmintic study indicated a high to moderate anthelmintic activity for the tested extracts. E. leptostachya exhibited the highest in vitro anthelmintic activity, while E. abyssinica had the lowest activity. The anthelmintic activity may have been due to the presence of saponins in the herbal remedies. There was a positive correlation between the saponin concentration and the anthelmintic activity of the extracts. In general, the in vitroanthelmintic activity increased with the extract concentration for the medicinal plants examined.

 Key words: Anthelmintics, in-vitro, Entada leptostachya, dosage, husbandry.


Background Nonlaboratory-based (non-LB) algorithms have been developed to facilitate absolute cardiovascular risk assessment in resource-constrained settings. The non-LB Framingham algorithm, which substitute BMI for lipids in laboratory-based Framingham, exhibits best performance among non-LB algorithms. However, its external validity has not been evaluated. Aim To examine the validity of non-LB Framingham algorithm in Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities dataset, and contrast performance with the laboratory-based Framingham algorithm. Methods We developed Cox regression models including non-LB and laboratory-based Framingham covariates in Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities dataset. Discrimination was assessed via C-statistic, calibration via goodness-of-fit, and marginal discrimination value of BMI vis-à-vis lipids vis-à-vis waist–hip ratio via net reclassification improvement (NRI). Both models were compared via area under receiver operating characteristic. Results Among 11 601 participants (mean age 54 years, 55% women, 23% black), non-LB vs. laboratory-based Framingham performed as follows: C-statistic 0.75 vs. 0.76 among women and 0.67 vs. 0.68 among men; goodness-of-fit 14.2 vs. 10.5 among women and 25.8 vs. 21.8 among men. Overall area under receiver operating characteristic was 0.706 vs. 0.710, respectively, with no racial differences in discrimination or calibration. BMI and total cholesterol had no impact on NRI. Incremental predictive value of HDL was comparable with waist–hip ratio (category-less NRI = 0.34 vs. 0.31; categorical NRI7.5 = 0.06 vs. 0.05, P < 0.01). Conclusion These results demonstrate the validity and limitations of the non-LB Framingham algorithm in a biracial cohort. Substituting BMI with a central adiposity metric such as waist–hip ratio or waist circumference could make the algorithm better or at par with the laboratory-based Framingham algorithm.


The ratio of surface and intracellular serotonin binding by the cells of immunocompetent tissues and synaptosomes of immunized and intact CBA mice was studied by treatment with imipramine inhibiting serotonin penetration through the cytoplasmic membrane. As early as 5 minutes after the antigen injection the content of intracellular amine increased with changes in its binding by the cytoplasmic membrane. The probability of the functional interconnection between the reaction of immunocompetent tissues to the antigen and two forms of serotonin binding by the cells of these tissues is discussed.


Ventricular assist device (VAD) therapy is increasingly utilized to support patients in end-stage heart failure. However, VAD programs are resource intensive and demand active monitoring to ensure long-term sustainability. The purpose of this study was to analyze total cost trends of the VAD program at our academic medical center. Retrospective analysis of University of California - Los Angeles's VAD program between 2013 and 2014 was performed. Total in-hospital costs from the date of VAD surgery admission were queried and normalized to a z score. Multivariable linear regression analysis with step-wise elimination was used to model total costs. Overall, 42 patients received a VAD during the study period, with 19 (45%) receiving biventricular support. On univariate analysis, high body mass index, biventricular support, time between VAD implantation and discharge, and total length of hospital stay were correlated with higher costs (all p < 0.02). On multivariable analysis, time between VAD implantation and discharge and biventricular support remained significantly related to total costs (overall R2 = 0.831, p < 0.001). The time between VAD implantation and discharge and the use of biventricular support were the most predictive factors of total cost in our VAD population. Reducing hospital stay post-VAD implantation is important in minimizing the cost of VAD care.