This article looks at the role of the British Royal Navy during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Although the British government decided to stay neutral and work with Russia to mediate between Japan and China, the presence of the China Station of the Royal Navy played a subtle role in influencing the strategies adopted by China and Japan. However, as the British government underestimated its own naval power and possibly overestimated that of its potential opponents, the China Station played only a limited role to protect British interest. As a result, Russia used a much weaker fleet to achieve its territorial and political goals, while Britain was forced to increase its military and naval investment in East Asia. The result of the war was the opposite of the intention of the British government, namely to maintain stability in the area and check the spread of Russian influence.


The authors present a retrospective study of 67 transchondral fractures of the talus in 64 patients that were treated surgically. A thorough literature review, physiology of articular cartilage and subchondral bone repair, and a comprehensive treatment of transchondral lesions are presented. Consideration is given to surgical approaches that require fibular and medial malleolar osteotomy, and to open reduction with internal fixation of the transchondral fractures. A new, practical, radiographic classification with appropriate terminology is proposed which acknowledges recent fractures from subsequent avascular necrosis of the lesions.


Understanding how plants respond to salinity, which severely restricts plant growth, productivity, and survival, is highly important in agriculture. Using three genotypes of Matricaria recutita L. (Shiraz, Ahvaz, and Isfahan) with different sensitivity to NaCl, the effect of long-term (about 110 days) NaCl treatments (2.5, 6, 9, and 12 dS*m-1) on crop growth, oil quality and quantity, and nutrient variations were investigated to underpin its agricultural management in the future. The adaptation strategy and plant responses were influenced by salinity level, genotype, and genotype × salinity interactions. With higher productivity compared to the Isfahan genotype, the Shiraz and Ahvaz genotypes had efficient Na+ exclusion at root surface as an avoidance strategy; however, under higher NaCl concentration, their higher performance were mainly attributed to the Na+ sequestration in root vacuoles and higher Ca2+/Na+, Mg2+/Na+, and root/shoot ratios as tolerance strategies. The higher oil yield and chamazulene percentage in the Isfahan genotype were not affected by salinity level and were only genotype dependent. Under 12 dS*m-1 NaCl, roots of the Shiraz and Ahvaz genotypes accumulated markedly higher Ca2+ (2.5% and 1.5% respectively) and Mg2+ (1.6% and 1.3% respectively), required for membrane stability and chlorophyll synthesis, respectively, more than the Isfahan genotype (0.2% Ca and 0.1% Mg2+) and considerably more than the control plants to keep low concentrations of ion toxicity of Na2+ and Cl- in shoots. Overall, greater salt tolerance found in the Shiraz and Ahvaz genotypes could be due to a variety of mechanisms, including higher efficiency of nutrient uptake (Ca2+, Mg2+, and Zn2+), utilization (N, P, Ca2+, and Mg2+), compartmentation (Na in roots), and maintenance of higher root/shoot ratios. Taking flower and oil yield as well as chamazulene percentage into consideration, the findings recommended cultivation of the Ahvaz genotype in the absence of salt stress (by 1.18 g*plant-1, 6.25 kg*ha-1, and 12.54% respectively), the Isfahan genotype under 6 dS*m-1 NaCl (by 0.73 g*plant-1, 4.84 kg*ha-1, and 11.66% respectively), and the Shiraz genotype under high salinity of 9 and 12 dS*m-1 NaCl (by 0.68 g*plant-1, 5.20 kg*ha-1, and 13.46% respectively under 12 dS*m-1 NaCl).


In rodents ongoing maternal behaviour requires activation of dopamine receptors. Therefore, it is possible that some motor components of maternal behaviour might be mediated by concurrent dopaminergic stimulation. It has been previously demonstrated that peripheral injections of some antipsychotic drugs such as pimozide have disruptive effects on maternal behaviour. The present experiments were designed to verify the effects of pharmacological blockade of limbic dopamine receptors on ongoing maternal behaviour in lactating rats. The hypothesis that central injections of the drug pimozide would have an effect on maternal behaviour was tested. We investigated the effects of central bilateral intra-accumbens microinjections of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist pimozide (1.5 and 3.0 microg) on maternal behaviour. Animals treated with 3.0 microg of pimozide showed significantly longer latencies for all parameters of maternal behaviour compared to controls. These results suggest that dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens play a role in ongoing maternal behaviour.


The purpose of this paper is to present a relational matrix of process, demands, and tools in automation as a framework in CAD education. Automating process is a closely related sequence of steps from clarifying demands, evaluating tools, operating study, purchasing equipment, training, maintaining, to renewing outdated equipment. Demands reflect a firm's expectation. Clarifying CAD demands is the first step in automating process, and clarified demands explicitly define the goal for automation. The demands include amount of work, content of changes, drawing specification, drawing generating process, data exchange, error-proving procedure, equipment management, training plans, etc. Proper selected tools facilitate automation process and ensure the efficiency and effectiveness in fulfilling a firm's demands. The selection is made according to the considerations associated with software, operating system, and hardware. In order to promote the CAD education in a new era, this matrix is introduced as a framework of automation.


Inmy Editorial for the fourth issue of the Journal in 2015, I had promised that we would aim to (1) deliver and maintain high quality of the published articles, (2) establish a smooth review process, (3) create a strong editorial board, and (4) work toward achieving an Impact Factor to the journal. In 2015, the Journal reported 104 submissions, and the number increased to 134 in 2016. The increase in the number of submissions has been accompanied by an enhancement in the quality of published articles. To invite more review style articles, I changed "Special FocusSection" that includesarticles on specific topics to "Special Review," thereby avoiding double publication. The Journal now has one "Special Review" article on topic of specific interest, such as "Kienböck's Disease," "Wrist Anatomy," and "Wrist Biomechanics." To serve purposes (1) and (2), we have invited a number of qualified reviewers this summer. In 2018, the Journalwill be expanding to five issues a year, followed by an increase to six in the year 2019. This shows a significant improvement in the article base and journal presence in the field. This issue includes a Special Review article entitled "Palmer Midcarpal Instability: An Algorithm of Diagnosis and Surgical Management" by Dr. Pak-Cheong Ho. Palmer midcarpal instability is a rare condition that is considerably difficult to treat. Normally, patients undergo midcarpal fusion, such as "scaphocapitate fusion" or "lunocapitate fusion." This review describes its diagnosis, arthroscopic treatment approach, and reconstruction of the sagged ulnar carpal rows using tendon graft. Additionally, this issue also features interesting wrist-related scientific articles on topics such as the dorsal wrist pain, thumb carpometacarpal problems, distal radius, and scapholunate dissociation, along with articles describing procedures and wrist and carpal anatomy. Don't forget to get your copy of the Journal in 2018.


Gametocyte maturation in Plasmodium falciparum is a critical step in the transmission of malaria. While the majority of parasites proliferate asexually in red blood cells, a small fraction of parasites undergo sexual conversion and mature over 2 weeks to become competent for transmission to a mosquito vector. Immature gametocytes sequester in deep tissues while mature stages must be able to circulate, pass the spleen and present themselves to the mosquito vector in order to complete transmission. Sequestration of asexual red blood cell stage parasites has been investigated in great detail. These studies have demonstrated that induction of cytoadherence properties through specific receptor–ligand interactions coincides with a significant increase in host cell stiffness. In contrast, the adherence and biophysical properties of gametocyte‐infected red blood cells have not been studied systematically. Utilizing a transgenic line for 3D live imaging, in vitro capillary assays and 3D finite element whole cell modelling, we studied the role of cellular deformability in determining the circulatory characteristics of gametocytes. Our analysis shows that the red blood cell deformability of immature gametocytes displays an overall decrease followed by rapid restoration in mature gametocytes. Intriguingly, simulations suggest that along with deformability variations, the morphological changes of the parasite may play an important role in tissue distribution in vivo. Taken together, we present a model, which suggests that mature but not immature gametocytes circulate in the peripheral blood for uptake in the mosquito blood meal and transmission to another human host thus ensuring long‐term survival of the parasite.


Monsters under Glass explores our enduring fascination with hothouses and exotic blooms, from their rise in ancient times, through the Victorian vogue for plant collecting, to the present day.

Our interest in hothouses can be traced back to the Roman emperor Tiberius, but it was in the early nineteenth century that a boom in exotic plant collecting and new glasshouse technologies stimulated the imagination of novelists, poets and artists, and the hothouse entered the creative language in a highly charged way. Decadent writers in England and on the Continent – including Charles Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde – transformed the notion of the hothouse from a functional object to a powerful metaphor, of metropolitan life, sexuality and being, replete with a dark underside of decay and death; of consciousness itself, nurtured and dissected under glass.

In this beautifully illustrated, wide-ranging and vivid study, Jane Desmarais charts the history and influence of these humid, tropical worlds and their creations, providing a steamy window on our recent past.


Although a great deal of progress has been made toward understanding the role of abscisic acid (ABA) in fruit ripening, many components in the ABA signalling pathway remain to be elucidated. Here, a strawberry gene homologous to the Arabidopsis gene ABI1, named FaABI1, was isolated and characterized. The 1641bp cDNA includes an intact open reading frame that encodes a deduced protein of 546 amino acids, in which putative conserved domains were determined by homology analysis. Transcriptional analysis showed that the levels of FaABI1 mRNA expression declined rapidly during strawberry fruit development as evidenced by real-time PCR, semi-quantitative reverse transcription–PCR, and northern blotting analyses, suggesting that the Ser/Thr protein phosphatase PP2C1 encoded by FaABI1 may be involved in fruit ripening as a negative regulator. The results of Tobacco rattle virus-induced gene silencing and PBI121 vector-mediated overexpression suggested that the down- and up-regulation of FaABI1 mRNA expression levels in degreening strawberry fruit could promote and inhibit ripening, respectively. Furthermore, alteration of FaABI1 expression could differentially regulate the transcripts of a set of both ABA-responsive and ripening-related genes, including ABI3, ABI4, ABI5, SnRK2, ABRE1, CHS, PG1, PL, CHI, F3H, DFR, ANS, and UFGT. Taken together, the data provide new evidence for an important role for ABA in regulating strawberry fruit ripening in the processes of which the type 2C protein phosphatase ABI1 serves as a negative regulator. Finally, a possible core mechanism underlying ABA perception and signalling transduction in strawberry fruit ripening is discussed.


Ultra-high strength steels (UHSS) are welded using an Nd:YAG laser welding system. The influence of welding speed on joint appearance, microstructure, hardness and tensile properties are investigated. The results indicate that the size of the fusion zone decreases with the increasing of the welding speed and partial penetration occurs if the welding speed exceeds 100 mm/s. The microstructure of the fusion zone and its approaching heat affected zone (HAZ) is lath martensite leading to the high strength and hardness. There exists a tempered zone (softening area) in the HAZ approaching to the base metal, where the microstructure is tempered maretensite and ferrite. When changing the welding speed from 70 to 130 mm/s, the width of the tempered zone decreases from 100.4 to 48.2 μm and the degree of softening slightly decreases with the minimum hardness ranging from 310 to 336 HV. The highest tensile strength and the maximum elongation at fracture are both obtained at the welding speed of 90 mm/s, the specimen fails in a ductile fracture mode.


Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) provide promising treatment options particularly for unmet clinical needs, such as progressive and chronic diseases where currently no satisfying treatment exists. Especially from the ATMP subclass of Tissue Engineered Products (TEPs), only a few have yet been translated from an academic setting to clinic and beyond. A reason for low numbers of TEPs in current clinical trials and one main key hurdle for TEPs is the cost and labor-intensive manufacturing process. Manual production steps require experienced personnel, are challenging to standardize and to scale up. Automated manufacturing has the potential to overcome these challenges, toward an increasing cost-effectiveness. One major obstacle for automation is the control and risk prevention of cross contaminations, especially when handling parallel production lines of different patient material. These critical steps necessitate validated effective and efficient cleaning procedures in an automated system. In this perspective, possible technologies, concepts and solutions to existing ATMP manufacturing hurdles are discussed on the example of a late clinical phase II trial TEP. In compliance to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines, we propose a dual arm robot based isolator approach. Our novel concept enables complete process automation for adherent cell culture, and the translation of all manual process steps with standard laboratory equipment. Moreover, we discuss novel solutions for automated cleaning, without the need for human intervention. Consequently, our automation concept offers the unique chance to scale up production while becoming more cost-effective, which will ultimately increase TEP availability to a broader number of patients.


Inspired by recent research into second natural language acquisition, we investigated the systematic errors made by a large group of programming language students over a period of time. The major objective was to study the development of the students' knowledge. In this paper, we discuss one aspect of that development. The students had major difficulties with using the semicolon, the sequencing operator of the programming language ALGOL 68. We suggest that this is due to the fact that students did not immediately understand a specific simply stated rule of syntax, introduced in a decontextualised way, but rather that their understanding of the rule developed with their increasing experience of using it in different contexts.


Surface quality and metallurgical characteristics of extrusion ingot have a significant impact on the extrudability of the billet. Both the type of casting mould and mould maintenance significantly influences billet surface quality. ALBA, like the majority of extrusion ingot producers, uses moulds with graphite technology, where a mix of oil and gas is injected through a graphite ring into the mould to improve billet surface quality. ALBA has a policy of continual improvement in the areas of safety, product quality and productivity to enhance customer satisfaction. During 2008, an extensive campaign was conducted in ALBA's casthouse to select the optimum type of casting rings for Airslip™ moulds supplied by Wagstaff Inc. The graphite casting rings evaluated must be suitable for the casting conditions and environment within the casthouse at ALBA. This paper details the methodology and the criteria set for the selection of the optimum graphite casting ring type as well as the results achieved. The results of the work showed a preference for L type casting rings, which enhance the quality of the extrusion ingots and extend the service life of the graphite ring.


Determining the most efficient use of diagnostic tests is one of the complex issues facing medical practitioners. With the soaring cost of healthcare, particularly in the US, there is a critical need for cutting costs of diagnostic tests, while achieving a higher level of diagnostic accuracy. This paper develops a learning based methodology that, based on patient information, recommends test(s) that optimize a suitable measure of diagnostic performance. A comprehensive performance measure is developed that accounts for the costs of testing, morbidity, and mortality associated with the tests, and time taken to reach diagnosis. The performance measure also accounts for the diagnostic ability of the tests. The methodology combines tools from the fields of data mining (rough set theory, in particular), utility theory, Markov decision processes (MDP), and reinforcement learning (RL). The rough set theory is used in extracting diagnostic information in the form of rules from the medical databases. Utility theory is used in bringing various nonhomogenous performance measures into one cost based measure. An MDP model together with an RL algorithm facilitates obtaining efficient testing strategies. The methodology is implemented on a sample problem of diagnosing solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN). The results obtained are compared with those from four alternative testing strategies. Our methodology holds significant promise to improve the process of medical diagnosis


The paper presents results of experimental research on emission of the visible radiation (VR) from intense deuterium plasma streams propagating freely within a vacuum chamber or interacting with silicon-carbide (SiC) targets. The investigated pulsed plasma streams were generated by high-current discharges realized within two facilities of the Plasma-Focus (PF) type, i.e. within the PF-1000U facility operated at the IFPiLM and the PF-360U device operated at the NCBJ. Detailed measurements have been carried out using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) technique. Parameters of plasma were estimated from the D line only. Structural changes of the irradiated SiC targets were analyzed by means of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). PACS: 52.59.Hq, 52.70.Kz, 52.30.-q, 52.40.Hf


In this paper, a high-performance controller with simultaneous online identification and control is designed for brushless DC motor drives. The dynamics of the motor/load are modeled "online" and controlled using two different neural network based identification and control schemes, as the system is in operation. In the first scheme, an attempt is made to control the rotor angular speed, utilizing a single three-hidden-layer network. The second scheme attempts to control the stator currents, using a predetermined control law as a function of the estimated states. This scheme incorporates three multilayered feedforward neural networks that the online trained, using the Levenburg-Marquadt training algorithm. The control of the direct and quadrature components of the stator current successfully tracked a wide variety of trajectories after relatively short online training periods. The control strategy adapts to the uncertainties of the motor/load dynamics and, in addition, learns their inherent nonlinearities. Simulation results illustrated that a neurocontroller used in conjunction with adaptive control schemes can result in a flexible control device which may be utilized in a wide range of environments.


Objective Our purpose is to provide first results of artificial urinary sphincter AMS 800 implantation for treatment of male urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy. To evaluate effectiveness and safety of AMS 800 artificial urinary sphincter patients. Material and methods 2016-11-04 three patients with severe urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy had artificial urinary sphincter AMS 800 implantation. For these patients, urinary incontinence conservative treatment has not effective. All patients before surgery examined. For all patients progression of prostate cancer, urethral strictures, residual urine and urinary tract infections were not found. Patients were checked one month after the activation of the artificial sphincter. Results Three artificial sphincters were implanted in 3 patients. After six weeks has been activated 2 sphincters, one sphincter was not activated because of device failure, however, one week later artificial sphincter was reactivated successfully. After checking the 3 patients within 1 month after the activation of the sphincter, for 2 patients wasn't need sanitary pad and for one patient was enough just 2 pads.


Data privacy concerns the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others [1]. However, most people are not aware of privacy and security risks. This is particularly relevant for the Internet of Things (IoT) which is increasingly ubiquitous and thus can become very privacy intrusive. On one side, this problem can slow-down IoT development, on the other side it is essential to make users gain control over data generated and collected by the IoT devices surrounding them, and to adopt a privacy-by-design approach for the IoT. UPRISE-IoT takes a fresh look at the IoT privacy space by considering a user-centric approach. It builds upon user behaviours and contexts to improve security and privacy, and follows the privacy by design approach. UPRISE-IoT improves data transparency and control, as users are informed about the data that are being collected in a user-friendly manner and have the option to oppose it. We raise user awareness, to ensure that their behaviour does not compromise their privacy, and we provide new tools to control data collection in the IoT.


In the current work, we investigated cellular viability, proliferation, and metabolic activity of rat primary culture osteoblasts in contact with a sample of collagen type I (C) and of this same collagen chemically treated (CTP). The chemical process used here consisted in recover the collagen surface with silica glass obtained from a sol-gel process. The cell viability, the cell death, the alkaline phosphate production and collagen secretion, after 72 hours of incubating the samples with osteoblasts, were measured by MTT assay, propidium iodide, NBT-BCIP assay and SIRCOL method, respectively. The viability and proliferation of osteoblasts had a significant decrease in the presence of samples when compared to control. The alkaline phosphatase production by the cells had a significant increase in the presence of CTP and collagen secretion by the cells was practically the same when compared to control.


Recent findings in several organ systems show that cytoneme-mediated signaling transports signaling proteins along cellular extensions and targets cell-to-cell exchanges to synaptic contacts. This mechanism of paracrine signaling may be a general one that is used by many (or all) cell types in many (or all) organs. We briefly review these findings in this perspective. We also describe the properties of several signaling systems that have previously been interpreted to support a passive diffusion mechanism of signaling protein dispersion, but can now be understood in the context of the cytoneme mechanism.


Everything changes, and changes constantly: technologies, competitors, customers, suppliers, employees, the economy, the overall business environment—everything. To stay competitive, a company has to respond. And since an organization is a living, interconnected, and integrated  system, an action taken in one place influences things elsewhere. A good 5S training program sensitizes people to all kinds of ways they can become more productive. The five S's are seiri (putting things in order);  seiton (arranging things efficiently), seiso (preventing problems by keeping things clean); seiketsu (doing after-work maintenance and cleanup), and shitsuke (showing discipline, following the rules). Anytime it  takes people more than a few seconds to find something, they will ask themselves why. A Five S program is usually a part of, and the key component of establishing a Visual Workplace, and are both a part of Kaizen — a system of continual improvement. This paper discusses the  implementation of 5S concept in Human resource management.


The (Fe)Male Shifts Shame: Androgyny and Transformation in Marie de France, Gerald of Wales, and the Volsungasaga Paula Christina Gutierrez-Neal, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Hannah Wojciehowski Transformation is inherently entwined with the transgression of borders; for male shifters, there is an acquittance of this transhuman breach, but not so for female shifters. Gerald of Wale's History and Topography of Ireland depicts two werewolves: the male's shapeshifting is all but disregarded, while the female's own transformation is depicted in detail and effectively shames her into silence. In addition, the Volsungasaga also contains werewolves: Sigmund and Sinfjotli don wolfskins, but soon regret their transformations. However, neither is shamed for the shapeshifting, and indeed, Sinfjotli successfully twists the experience to his advantage. The female werewolf, King Siggeir's mother, however, is killed and her identity as a "foul" witch exposed. There are also the human-to-human transformations of Signy/a witch and Sigurd/Gunnar. Signy expresses shame for the incident; Sigurd and Gunnar's plot is revealed, but neither is condemned: the tale passes over the shapeshifting in favor of the narrative drama. Furthermore, Marie de France's Bisclavret perpetuates the same pattern: the male werewolf is praised and exonerated for his transhuman nature while the wife's pseudo-shapeshifting is met with condemnation v and shame. However, Marie de France's Yonec attempts to break this pattern, with the shapeshifter Muldumarec transgressing not only the animal/human binary but that of the male/female. His androgyny is conferred onto his beloved, who also undergoes transformations but is spared the shaming consequences via Muldumarec. While this sharing of androgyny breaks the pattern and keeps the beloved from condemnation, it ultimately fails in breaking the patriarchal underpinnings of the pattern itself.


Background:
 Microsolubilization of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) by human apolipoprotein A-I is a frequently used model system for the identification of determinants of macrophage cholesterol efflux, the first step in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) to hepatic disposal. Although many studies have focused on microsolubilization of DMPC, most have been conducted under stoichiometric conditions resulting in ∼9 nm rHDL, and few have included free cholesterol (FC), a key lipid in RCT.

 Methods:
 Various rHDL species (excess DMPC + FC), were prepared and analyzed by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy as a function of temperature.

 Results:
 At each mol% of FC/DMPC, multiple rHDL species differing in size from ∼10 to ∼25 nm were formed. In SEC, rHDL size increased with the mol% FC in the microsolubilization reaction and in a given reaction mixture the large rHDL were always more FC-rich than the small rHDL. In DSC, the DMPC transition range of rHDL was broader than that of pure DMPC and although the transition temperature moderately increases with increasing mol% FC, the apparent enthalpy of the transition is diminished. The thermal dependence of the CD spectra showed that increasing mol% FC and rHDL size moderately increases the stability of apo A-I.

 Conclusion:
 Although large FC-rich and small FC-poor domains coexist on DMPC surfaces; the size of these domains increases with mol% FC. This effect of FC on rHDL size decreases the overall cooperativity of the DMPC phase transition and reduces the number of acyl chain interactions. Physiologically, these data suggest that increased FC-loading of macrophages should increase the size of nascent HDL produced by the interaction of apo A-I with cellular ABCA1. The lower stability of FC-poor HDL would likely make it release more lipid-free apo A-I in response to important plasma proteins including LCAT, PLTP, and CETP and in response to serum opacity factor.


This proposal is intended to be a contribution toward achieving more liveable cities through the revitalization of inner areas based on the restoration and rehabilitation of historic facilities in order to meet current needs. The research starts by posing several questions. What is the potential of abandoned monumental buildings for renewing and regenerating inner-city areas of our cities? What future do we imagine for old buildings that historically have played a significant role in the civic structure of a community and that still contribute to forming the memory and identity of a society? Can we suppose that the recovery of abandoned buildings could be a virtuous practice not only in terms of sustainability for their enormous potential but also for the role that public landmark centralities can play in social revitalization and urban regeneration? The complexity of this issue is addressed by analyzing related cases, relevant for their design solutions and effects, and proposes answers to the opening questions by investigating a relevant case study, the adaptive reuse of the Ospedale of San Giovanni di Dio in Cagliari, Italy. Starting from its original urban vocation, a place of healthcare for the whole city, the research envisions to re-functionalize Cagliari's historic hospital maintaining its soul, and at the same time introducing new uses. Through preservation and adaptive reuse, we aim to create a civic landmark and a cultural and social meeting, a city gateway capable of strengthening the civic character and at the same time of enabling dynamic relationships in the lives of citizens.


Material flow analysis (MFA) has become a useful tool fo to analyze the metabolism of social systems. This paper proposes to use the indicators derived from MFA, complemented with water and energy indicators, to analyze the efficiency and the materialization ranks of Ningdong energy(coal) and coal chemical base (China). The companies in the base have many opportunities to improve on these aspects and the indicators can measure and reflect their evolution. In addition, the results show the importance that some flows such as water inputs which often are omitted, can have in some study cases.


Canadians, like their neighbors to the south, have been betting on the outcomes of sporting events for many years. Until recently, those wagering on the outcome of a single game have done so either socially, illegally, or in a vast grey market. While many Canadians have had access to parlay-style wagering since the 1980s, single-game wagering has been out of reach until recently. After more than a decade of trying to pass legislation to amend the Criminal Code of Canada, Parliament was finally able to amend the law in 2021, allowing provinces to begin offering wagering on the outcome of individual sporting events. While nearly all provinces turned to their lottery operators, who had previously offered parlay wagering, Ontario announced prior to the amendment's passage that it intended to open the market to private operators. A little more than six months after first launching single-game sports betting via the province's lottery corporation, the market opened to private operators. The "grand experiment" remains young, and many questions remain to be answered including whether revenues will match that of a provincially operated monopoly. This article explores the evolution of the legalization of single-game sports wagering in Canada and discusses the emerging market.


Future therapeutic use of engineered site-directed nucleases, like zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), relies on safe and effective means of delivering nucleases to cells. In this study, we adapt lentiviral vectors as carriers of designer nuclease proteins, providing efficient targeted gene disruption in vector-treated cell lines and primary cells. By co-packaging pairs of ZFN proteins with donor RNA in 'all-in-one' lentiviral particles, we co-deliver ZFN proteins and the donor template for homology-directed repair leading to targeted DNA insertion and gene correction. Comparative studies of ZFN activity in a predetermined target locus and a known nearby off-target locus demonstrate reduced off-target activity after ZFN protein transduction relative to conventional delivery approaches. Additionally, TALEN proteins are added to the repertoire of custom-designed nucleases that can be delivered by protein transduction. Altogether, our findings generate a new platform for genome engineering based on efficient and potentially safer delivery of programmable nucleases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01911.001


A black hole in a Schwarzschild spacetime is considered. A transformation is proposed that describes the relationship between the coordinate systems exterior and interior to an event horizon. The application of this transformation permits considerations of the (a)symmetry of a range of phenomena taking place on both sides of the event horizon. The paper investigates two distinct problems of a uniformly accelerated particle. In one of these, although the equations of motion are the same in the regions on both sides, the solutions turn out to be very different. This manifests the differences of the properties of these two ranges.


Cannibalism provides energetic benefits but is also potentially costly, especially when directed towards kin. Since fitness costs increase with time and energy invested in offspring, cannibalism should be infrequent when parental investment is high. Thus, filial cannibalism in male syngnathids, a group known for the occurrence of male pregnancy, should be rare. Using the pipefish (Syngnathus abaster) we aimed to investigate whether cannibalism does occur in both sexes and how it is affected by reproductive and nutritional states. Although rare, we witnessed cannibalism both in the wild and in the laboratory. Unlike non-pregnant males and females, pregnant and post-partum males largely refrained from cannibalising juveniles. Reproducing males decreased their feeding activity, thus rendering cannibalism, towards kin or non-kin, less likely to occur. However, if not continuously fed, all pipefish adopted a cannibal strategy, revealing that sex and life history stages influenced the ratio between the benefits and costs of cannibalism.


We assess the impact of continued low fertility in China, versus a rebound in fertility due to the relaxation of the one child policy, on demographic and macroeconomic outcomes in a dynamic general equilibrium framework. We use a rich model of human capital investment, public health insurance, pensions, private savings, and intra-family transfers to support the consumption of young and elderly dependents. We find that in short run (sixty years in our benchmark experiment), income per capita is lower with a fertility rebound due primarily to a higher youth dependency rate. In the long run, higher fertility leads to a reduction in the old-age dependency ratio and lowers the tax rate required to pay for old-age pensions and health care. However income per capita remains lower even in the long run because of a reduction in female labor supply, savings, and schooling. Higher fertility in China is therefore unlikely to offset the negative macroeconomic effects of population aging.


Bcl-xL is a well characterized death-suppressing molecule of the Bcl-2 family. Bcl-xL is expressed in embryonic and adult neurons of the CNS and may play a critical role in preventing neuronal apoptosis that occurs during brain development or results from diverse pathologic stimuli, including cerebral ischemia. In this study, we used a novel approach to study the potential neuroprotective effect of Bcl-xL as a therapeutic agent in the murine model of focal ischemia/reperfusion. We created a Bcl-xL fusion protein, designated as PTD-HA-Bcl-xL, which contains the protein transduction domain (PTD) derived from the human immunodeficiency TAT protein. We demonstrated that this fusion protein is highly efficient in transducing into primary neurons in cultures and potently inhibited staurosporin-induced neuronal apoptosis. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection of PTD-HA-Bcl-xL into mice resulted in robust protein transduction in neurons in various brain regions within 1–2 hr, and decreased cerebral infarction (up to ∼40%) in a dose-dependent manner, as determined at 3 d after 90 min of focal ischemia. PTD-HA-Bcl-xL was effective even when it was administered after the completion of ischemia (up to 45 min), and the protective effect was independent of the changes in cerebral blood flow or other physiological parameters. Finally, as shown by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and substrate–cleavage assays, PTD-HA-Bcl-xL attenuated ischemia-induced caspase-3 activation in ischemic neurons. These results thus confirm the neuroprotective effect of Bcl-xL against ischemic brain injury and provide the first evidence that the PTD can be used to efficiently transduce a biologically active neuroprotectant in experimental cerebral ischemia.


This paper analyses two resource-based manufacturing industries in Tanzania: processing of horticultural goods and wood products and furniture. In several developing countries resource-based industrialization has worked as an engine of structural transformation. In Tanzania, these industries are still too small and inefficient. While industrial policy could help address the challenges that firms face in these industries, the country is currently lacking a concrete and detailed industrial strategy for these industries. In this regard, the cases of palm oil in Malaysia and wooden furniture in Vietnam teach important lessons. First, industrial targeting requires bundles of industrial policy instruments that reinforce each other. Second, science, technology, and innovation must be key priorities, even for industries that are not commonly considered "high-tech."


Automatically understanding the rhetorical roles of sentences in a legal case judgement is an important problem to solve, since it can help in several downstream tasks like summarization of legal judgments, legal search, and so on. The task is challenging since legal case documents are usually not well-structured, and these rhetorical roles may be subjective (as evident from variation of opinions between legal experts). In this paper, we address this task for judgments from the Supreme Court of India. We label sentences in 50 documents using multiple human annotators, and perform an extensive analysis of the human-assigned labels. We also attempt automatic identification of the rhetorical roles of sentences. While prior approaches towards this task used Conditional Random Fields over manually handcrafted features, we explore the use of deep neural models which do not require hand-crafting of features. Experiments show that neural models perform much better in this task than baseline methods which use handcrafted features.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if there is a core subset of depressive symptoms that could be used to efficiently diagnose depression after administering the 2-item PRIME-MD a screening questionnaire for depression.

METHODS
One thousand patients selected randomly and by convenience from 4 primary care clinics were assessed by PRIME-MD and completed a questionnaire measuring the following validation variables: functional status and well-being, disability days, somatic symptoms, depression severity, suicidal thoughts, health care utilization, and the physician-patient relationship.

RESULTS
Four symptoms (sleep disturbance, anhedonia, low self-esteem, and decreased appetite) accounted for virtually all the depression symptom-related variance in functional status and well-being, with 8.3% of patients having 2 of these symptoms and 8.2% having 3 or 4 of these symptoms. There was excellent agreement between diagnosis based on core symptoms and major depression (K= 0.77; overall accuracy rate, 94%). There were significant differences (P<.001) among patients with negative depression screen, 0 to 1, 2, and 3 to 4 core symptoms with scores on each of the validation variables getting progressively worse in these 4 groups. A cutoff point of 2 core symptoms identified all but 3 patients with major depression and an additional 5% of the entire sample without major depression who were significantly (P<.05) worse than patients without depression on each of the validation variables.

CONCLUSION
A strategy that includes the use of a 2-item depression screener followed by the evaluation of 4 core depressive symptoms is an efficient and effective way of identifying and classifying primary care patients with depression in need of clinical attention.


The effect of weather elements on the incidence of different types of crime has been the focus of a number of research studies. However, the detailed geographical dimension of this relationship has been largely ignored. The aim of this paper is to broaden the research on weather and crime to consider the effect of weather parameters on the spatial arrangement of crime within an urban area of the UK. A novel combination of techniques that are capable of both evaluating statistically and visualising geographically the effect of weather variables on the incidence of one type of crime, namely calls for police service for disorder or disturbances, is presented. These techniques are examined in relation to the theories that have traditionally been put forward to explain such trends. We conclude that, in our study area, both temperature and humidity exert significant effects on the spatial patterning of incidents of disorder or disturbances. Rainfall, wind speed, and wind direction were found not to have a significant effect for this type of call for service. More research is needed to see how transferable these findings are to other geographical areas with different climatic regimes.


We observed the [C ii] line in 15 lensed galaxies at redshifts 1 < z < 3 using HIFI on the Herschel Space Observatory and detected 14/15 galaxies at 3σ or better. High magnifications enable even modestly luminous galaxies to be detected in [C ii] with Herschel. The [C ii] luminosity in this sample ranges from 8 × 107 L⊙ to 3.7 × 109 L⊙ (after correcting for magnification), confirming that [C ii] is a strong tracer of the ISM at high redshifts. The ratio of the [C ii] line to the total far-infrared (FIR) luminosity serves as a measure of the ratio of gas to dust cooling and thus the efficiency of the grain photoelectric heating process. It varies between 3.3% and 0.09%. We compare the [C ii]/FIR ratio to that of galaxies at z = 0 and at high redshifts and find that they follow similar trends. The [C ii]/FIR ratio is lower for galaxies with higher dust temperatures. This is best explained if increased UV intensity leads to higher FIR luminosity and dust temperatures, but gas heating does not rise due to lower photoelectric heating efficiency. The [C ii]/FIR ratio shows weaker correlation with FIR luminosity. At low redshifts highly luminous galaxies tend to have warm dust, so the effects of dust temperature and luminosity are degenerate. Luminous galaxies at high redshifts show a range of dust temperatures, showing that [C ii]/FIR correlates most strongly with dust temperature. The [C ii] to mid-IR ratio for the HELLO sample is similar to the values seen for low-redshift galaxies, indicating that small grains and PAHs dominate the heating in the neutral ISM, although some of the high [CII]/FIR ratios may be due to turbulent heating.


Background Influence of knowledge of HIV+ status on sexual behaviour has not been well studied in Africa, where positive prevention could potentially have the greatest impact. Objective To determine the influence of HIV+ status awareness and other social factors on condom use. Method A behavioural questionnaire was administered to 642 patients in Durban, South Africa. Consistent condom use was defined as reported condom use during last sex act at months 6, 12, 18 and 24 of follow-up. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those who were aware of their HIV+ status prior to study enrolment (Group A) and those who only learned their HIV+ status at the time of study enrolment (Group B). Generalized estimating equations were used to assess factors associated with condom use at last sex act over time. Results At baseline, 150 (46.4%) in group B reported condom use at their last sex act compared to 174 (59.0%) in group A (p = 0.002). Reported consistent condom use at last sex act was significantly higher in group A compared to group B (53.3% vs. 46.7%, p = 0.01). HIV+ status awareness did not predict condom use over time [odds ratio (OR):1.2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9–1.5; p = 0.15]. Male patients were more likely to use condoms at last sex act (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 2.2–3.43; p < 0.01). Older patients (OR: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.7–0.8; p < 0.01), being never married (OR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5–0.9; p = 0.01); divorced (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3–0.9; p = 0.01); and under the influence of alcohol during their last sex act (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2–0.4; p = < 0.001) were less likely to use condoms at their last sex act. Conclusion Knowledge of HIV+ status is significantly associated with consistent condom use. Age, gender, marital status and alcohol consumption are significant predictors of condom use during last sex act.


In Arabidopsis thaliana, the endogenous danger peptides, AtPeps, have been associated with plant defences reminiscent of those induced in pattern-triggered immunity. AtPeps are perceived by two homologous receptor kinases, PEPR1 and PEPR2, and are encoded in the C termini of the PROPEP precursors. Here, we report that, contrary to the seemingly redundant AtPeps, the PROPEPs fall at least into two distinct groups. As revealed by promoter-β-glucuronidase studies, expression patterns of PROPEP1-3, -5, and -8 partially overlapped and correlated with those of the PEPR1 and -2 receptors, whereas those of PROPEP4 and -7 did not share any similarities with the former. Moreover, bi-clustering analysis indicated an association of PROPEP1, -2, and -3 with plant defence, whereas PROPEP5 expression was related to patterns of plant reproduction. In addition, at the protein level, PROPEPs appeared to be distinct. PROPEP3::YFP (fused to yellow fluorescent protein) was present in the cytosol, but, in contrast to previous predictions, PROPEP1::YFP and PROPEP6::YFP localized to the tonoplast. Together with the expression patterns, this could point to potentially non-redundant roles among the members of the PROPEP family. By contrast, their derived AtPeps, including the newly reported AtPep8, when applied exogenously, provoked activation of defence-related responses in a similar manner, suggesting a high level of functional redundancy between the AtPeps. Taken together, our findings reveal an apparent antagonism between AtPep redundancy and PROPEP variability, and indicate new roles for PROPEPs besides plant immunity.


Human recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration is being tested in patients with advanced cancer. Its effects on the expression of cytochromes P-450 were determined in rats. IL-2 administration (1-25 x 10(6) U/kg i.v. twice daily for 1 to 4 days) resulted in a time- and dose-dependent decrease in cytochrome P-450 measured by the absorbance of its Fe(++)-CO complex. After 25 x 10(6) U/kg twice daily for 4 days, cytochrome P-450 decreased 44%; immunoreactive cytochrome P-450 1A1 decreased nonsignificantly (22%); but cytochrome P-450 1A2 decreased 68%; 2B1/2, 50%; 2C11, 75%; 2D1, 36%; and 3A, 70%. Aminopyrine N-demethylase activity decreased 53%, ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase 64%, benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase 71%, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase 42%, pentoxyresorufin O-dealkylase 81% and erythromycin N-demethylase 56%. In rats treated with 3-methylcholanthrene for 4 days, IL-2 coadministration (25 x 10(6) U/kg i.v. twice daily for 4 days) did not decrease significantly immunoreactive cytochrome P-450 1A1 and 1A2, whereas cytochromes P-450 2B1/2, 2C11 and 3A decreased 39, 54 and 67%, respectively. In rats treated with phenobarbital for 4 days, IL-2 coadministration decreased immunoreactive cytochromes P-450 2B1/2 29%, whereas cytochromes P-450 1A2, 2C11 and 3A decreased 38, 63 and 67%, respectively. We conclude that administration of high doses of IL-2 decreases the expression of several cytochromes P-450 in rats. Microsomal enzyme inducers appear to limit the effects of IL-2 on the induced forms of cytochromes P-450. Because much lower doses are used in humans, their potential effects on drug metabolism cannot be assessed from present results.


We study the problem of checking whether an existential sentence (i.e., a first-order sentence in prefix form built using existential quantifiers and all Boolean connectives) is true in a finite partially ordered set (a poset). A poset is a reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive digraph. The problem encompasses the fundamental embedding problem of finding an isomorphic copy of a poset as an induced substructure of another poset. Model checking existential logic is already NP-hard on a fixed poset; thus, we investigate structural properties of posets yielding conditions for fixed-parameter tractability when the problem is parameterized by the sentence. We identify width as a central structural property (the width of a poset is the maximum size of a subset of pairwise incomparable elements); our main algorithmic result is that model checking existential logic on classes of finite posets of bounded width is fixed-parameter tractable. We observe a similar phenomenon in classical complexity, in which we prove that the isomorphism problem is polynomial-time tractable on classes of posets of bounded width; this settles an open problem in order theory. We surround our main algorithmic result with complexity results on less restricted, natural neighboring classes of finite posets, establishing its tightness in this sense. We also relate our work with (and demonstrate its independence of) fundamental fixed-parameter tractability results for model checking on digraphs of bounded degree and bounded clique-width.


The human milk fat globule membrane protein BA46 (lactadherin) is highly overexpressed in human breast tumors, making it a potential target for tumor immunotherapy. We have identified BA46-derived peptides that contain the motif recognized by the MHC class I molecule HLA-A2.1 and that are processed and presented by human breast carcinoma cells. In mice lacking normal class I molecules but expressing an HLA-A2.1/D(b)-beta2 microglobulin single chain (HHD mice), three peptides elicited specific CTL activity. Two of these peptides also stimulated cytotoxic activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes from HLA-A2.1-positive breast carcinoma patients. Adoptive transfer of HHD-derived bulk CTLs to nude mice bearing human breast carcinoma transplants reduced tumor growth. These peptides therefore represent naturally processed BA46-derived CTL epitopes that can be used in peptide-based antitumor vaccines.


We consider the problem of estimating the shape and radiance of an object from a calibrated set of views under the assumption that the reflectance of the object is non-Lambertian. Unlike traditional stereo, we do not solve the correspondence problem by comparing image-to-image. Instead, we exploit a rank constraint on the radiance tensor field of the surface in space, and use it to define a discrepancy measure between each image and the underlying model. Our approach automatically returns an estimate of the radiance of the scene, along with its shape, represented by a dense surface. The former can be used to generate novel views that capture the non-Lambertian appearance of the scene.


T his is the story of the final chapter of my mother's journey through dementia up to her death just after her 83rd birthday. The story includes extreme kindness and sensitivity from some doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, alongside crass, ill judged defensiveness from others.

After almost two years in a care home, which followed several years of gradually worsening dementia, my mother became unwell and much less responsive than usual. She was admitted to a hospital medical assessment ward for investigations. No specific ailment was diagnosed, though she was having trouble swallowing.

The speech and language therapists declared her "nil by mouth"—unsurprisingly, as she was asleep most of the time. A few days later a nurse told me they had been unsuccessful in putting in a nasogastric tube and intended to try again later; after that my mother would need a "PEG." I don't recall any explanations of what a PEG (percutaneous gastrostomy tube) was, but I knew what it was from my work. I also knew that my mother wouldn't want this. She had made it clear that she hated being "messed around with." In recent months she had resisted even having her nails cut, hair washed, or dressings changed.

She had been frail and desperately miserable for a long time and had declined steeply since my father's death nine months earlier. If she expressed emotion, it was to …


Jerne (1974) proposed that the immune system has important network characteristics
that are similar in many respects to neural networks. This paper outlines some recent
approaches taken by the authors and their colleagues toward the analysis of immune
networks. Other approaches have been omitted owing to space limitations, notably
that of Coutinho, Stewart, and Varela.


Abstract: Plant responses to herbivory vary depending on herbivory type, yet the comparative effects of defoliation (e.g. by insects) and pruning (e.g. by large mammals) on a single tree species are poorly documented. We investigated this in the Northern Province of South Africa by comparing the regrowth of Colophospermum mopane trees previously defoliated by caterpillars or pruned by elephants, the two main browsers of C. mopane foliage. Shoots were up to 160% and 125% longer after natural (elephant) and simulated pruning and leaves ~25% longer in regrowth after natural pruning (n = 13–15 trees per treatment). Shoot density and chemical defences in leaves (tannin:protein ratio and total polyphenolic concentration) were, however, no different from control trees. Simulated defoliation resulted in statistically insignificant changes to regrowth in terms of leaf and shoot size (both slightly decreased) and shoot density (slightly increased). Natural (caterpillar) defoliation, however, resulted in regrowth with significantly decreased shoot and leaf size (about 50% and 20% of control lengths, respectively), as well as decreased leaf chemical defence. Shoot and leaf length were longer on trees flushing for the first time after pruning and late-season defoliation had a greater negative impact than mid-season defoliation. Despite the differences in regrowth characteristics after pruning and defoliation, mopane plants showed no apparent trade-off in investment between tolerance and resistance after either herbivory type, as neither regrowth nor chemical defence occurred at the expense of the other.


Rehoming is a potentially stressful process for dogs retired from commercial breeding (CB) kennels, as they may struggle to cope with the myriad novel factors associated with transitioning to a home environment. Failure to adapt may increase the risk of an unsuccessful adoption, jeopardizing dog welfare and the benefits of rehoming programs. Little is known about relationships between welfare in the kennel of origin and a dog's ability to transition to a family home. This study aimed at investigating the welfare states of dogs retiring from CB kennels in relation to varying management practices across kennels, and understanding how behavioral and management factors might be associated with rehoming outcomes. A total of 590 adult dogs from 30 US CB kennels were included in the study. Dog behavioral and physical health metrics were collected through direct observation, while management information was obtained through a questionnaire. One month after adoption, 32 dog owners completed a follow-up questionnaire (CBARQ). A principal component analysis extracted four behavioral components (PCs) which included food interest, sociability, boldness, and responsiveness. Factors such as sex, housing, breed, and the number of dogs per caretaker were reported as significant sources of variation for some of those PC scores (p<0.05). For instance, lower dog to caretaker ratio was linked to better health, sociability, and food interest scores. Significant relationships were also found between in-kennel PC scores and CBARQ scores (p<0.05). Most interestingly, higher levels of sociability in the kennel were associated with lower levels of social and non-social fear, and higher trainability after rehoming. Overall, dogs were found to be physically healthy, and a moderate proportion showed fearful responses toward either social or non-social stimuli. Results suggest that a comprehensive behavioral assessment of rehoming candidates while in the kennel may help identify dogs that may have more difficulty coping during rehoming. The implications for developing management strategies and necessary interventions that support positive dog welfare outcomes within the kennel and when rehomed are discussed.


Huge amount of data stack which cannot be stored nor processed by traditional methods is called Big Data. This term, which is becoming more and more popular, led to the necessity of tools to process this data. One of the tools which is used for analysis and storage of this huge among of data is Elasticsearch. Elasticsearch is a content analysis and search server based on Lucene and developed in Java as open source. It is a software which can operate as distributed architectural structure. It also can store data in different shards in the same index, in different files in the same disk, in different disks in the same computer, and in different servers in the same network. All these options are shaped by the needs of users. As soon as Elasticsearch node starts working, it takes an active role in all indexes of clusters. It also connects with other nodes and the share of load takes place. This load distribution normally aims to increase performance by decreasing load in each node. However , this load distribution done


Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a non invasive geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. GPR can be used in a variety of media, including rock, soil, ice, fresh water, pavements and structures. In polar ice sheets, snow accumulation is transported by ice flow to outlet ice streams and glaciers and/or ice shelves. Time scales for this transport can vary up to 105 years depending on the physical processes operating within the ice sheets. Therefore understanding of the internal physical processes, internal structure and flow regime is of great importance for understanding past, present, and future changes of the ice sheet. Radar is an established geophysical technique that has been and continues to be applied to investigate a variety of ice mass properties. This review presents the evolution of the technique from its early inception to the modern currently used Ground penetrating Radar (GPR) systems in the application of primarily measuring snow accumulation in Polar Regions.


"All this time I'd been searching for true love when I already had it." That's perhaps a familiar moral, but it's exquisitely told in this coming-of-age novel of mother and daughter relationships. Brainy sixteen-year-old Eva Roth finds her grief over the loss of her father bonds her to Will, the gorgeous athlete/popular kid/loner hybrid grappling with the death of his brother and his parents' subsequent divorce. Eva especially needs this connection because she has a strained relationship with her mother, who has attempted to remove every trace of Eva's father following his death in a plane crash, and who avoids discussing the subject in a misguided attempt to move past grief. When Will leaves New York to live with his dad in California, Eva is inspired to visit him, roping her best friend into a road trip that gives Eva some needed clarity on parent-child relationships and on her hopes for her own future. With poetry from Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, and Adrienne Rich, among others, that punctuate Eva's feelings, and plentiful humor based on Eva's impression of love from romance novels, this is a well-balanced read that exposes readers to weighty ideas and difficult feelings while keeping them entertained and emotionally invested. Rabb has done a skillful trick: only after this story ends does it become obvious that it wasn't really about Will or even first love but about Eva, her mother, and the many different types of love that exist and that sustain us. AA


We developed a polyclonal antiserum directed to the γ-isoform of the human 14-3-3 protein and compared the immunoreactivity with a commercially available antibody (CG31). We analysed 14-3-3 in 253 cerebrospinal fluid samples blinded for the diagnosis by western blot and ELISA, with a commonly used polyclonal antiserum (Sc-731) and the γ specific antibodies. Our patient population consisted of 52 patients with definite sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) and 201 patients with a different final diagnosis. We obtained similar sensitivity, ranging from 96% to 98% with all antibodies. Of all the samples that were false positive with Sc-731, 50% were negative with both γ-isoform specific antibodies resulting in a significantly higher specificity (85% v 93%, respectively). If only sCJD and patients with dementia differing from sCJD were analysed we found that 64% of false positives were negative which also resulted in significantly increased specificity and positive predictive value. The γ-isoform specific antibodies strongly improve the specificity of the immunoblot and might improve worldwide acceptance of the use of the 14-3-3 assay in the differential diagnosis of sCJD.


Abstract Mechanisms of interstellar panspermia have recently been identified whereby life, wherever it has originated, will disperse throughout the habitable zone of the Galaxy within a few billion years. This re-opens the question of where life originated. The interiors of comets, during their aqueous phase, seem to provide environments no less favourable for the origin of life than that of the early Earth. Their combined mass throughout the Galaxy overwhelms that of suitable terrestrial environments by about 20 powers of ten, while the lifetimes of friendly prebiotic environments within them exceeds that of localized terrestrial regions by another four or five powers of ten. We propose that the totality of comets around G-dwarf Sun-like stars offers an incomparably more probable setting for the origin of life than any that was available on the early Earth.


CONTEXT
Accumulating evidence indicates that vascular and bone mineralization may be related, although the exact mechanism remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to investigate whether an observed inverse association between bone mineral density (BMD) and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in postmenopausal women currently taking estrogen therapy is mediated by osteoprotegerin (OPG) or receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL).

DESIGN
Participants were 92 postmenopausal women (aged 58-81 yr) taking estrogen therapy who had hip and spine BMD assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and CAC measured by electron-beam computed tomography in 1998-2002 and serum RANKL and OPG levels measured in samples collected in 1997-1999. Total CAC score was dichotomized as none/minimal (</=10) vs. some (>10).

RESULTS
OPG serum levels were higher in women who had some CAC compared with those who had none/minimal (126.8 +/- 1.08 vs. 102.9 +/- 1.07 pg/ml, respectively, P = 0.03); these differences became nonsignificant after adjustment for age and other risk factors (P = 0.51). A 1 sd increase in hip BMD was associated with significantly lower odds of having CAC > 10 (odds ratio = 0.52; 95% confidence interval = 0.29-0.93) independent of age, fat-free mass, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, current smoking, and use of cholesterol-lowering medications. Other skeletal sites demonstrated a similar pattern. Addition of RANKL and/or OPG to the model had minimal effect on the magnitude or statistical significance of the BMD-CAC association. Additionally, a test of interaction indicated that RANKL and OPG are not significant effect modifiers.

CONCLUSIONS
Serum OPG and RANKL do not account for the observed association between bone and coronary artery calcification among postmenopausal women using hormone therapy.


The 2000 presidential election brought intense scrutiny to the American election process, resulting in a number of significant reforms. Some changes involved overhauling rules for audits and other administrative procedures. Others involved the ways in which voters record their votes. The latter set of reforms raised questions about the type and quality of the experience voters would have at the polls on Election Day 2008, especially because of new technology voters would be required to use. Researchers and pundits alike worried that poor experiences at the polls would produce lower levels of confidence in the electoral process or a desire not to vote in subsequent elections. Using an innovative panel design and an internet-administered survey, we examine the type of experience voters had at the polls. Drawing insights from the organizational psychology and marketing research literatures on the impact of expectations on consumer satisfaction, the survey also measures the expectations voters had for their voting experience. The findings indicate that a full explanation of voter satisfaction with the voting experience needs to address both expectations and experiences of voters, as expectations condition the reaction of voters to their experiences at the polls.


The Notch pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signalling pathway involved in the development of diverse organisms from drosophila to humans. It plays a pivotal role in maintenance of stem cells and cell-fate determination in both developing embryos and adult organisms. Aberrant Notch signalling is oncogenic and is documented in various cancers such as cervical, breast, skin, colon, pancreatic, leukaemia, brain tumour and so on. Genome defects including both genetic and epigenetic alterations contribute to cancer development. Both Notch gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutations have been reported in various cancers. On the basis of the type of tissue, Notch genes are found to function as both oncogenes and tumour-suppressor genes. Epigenetic alterations of Notch genes including DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) methylation and histone modifications contribute to cancer development through transcription regulation, resulting in inappropriate activation or silencing of genes. Thus, Notch pathway plays an important role in tumour development through genetic and epigenetic modifications in several different ways.

Key Concepts

Notch pathway is an evolutionarily conserved cell-signalling pathway involved in the development of both vertebrate and invertebrate species.
It is responsible for communication between adjacent cells controlling multiple cell differentiation through regulation of gene expression during embryonic and adult life.
Aberrant Notch signalling is linked with various human diseases including cancers by modifying the developmental state of the cells and subsequently maintaining the cells in an undifferentiated or proliferative fate.
Abnormal Notch signalling is found to influence oncogenesis through genome defects involving both genetic and epigenetic alterations.
Depending on the cellular context, altered Notch pathway genes can act either as oncogenes or tumour-suppressor genes.
The first reported Notch mutation was the chromosome translocation in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients creating an active and oncogenic Notch1. Since then, Notch mutations, both gain-of-function and loss-of-function, have been identified in various cancers.
Promoter hypermethylation in Notch genes is more common in cancer compared to hypomethylation.
Histone modifications are covalent, and among various forms, lysine acetylation and lysine/arginine methylation are most common in cancer.

Keywords:

Notch-signalling pathway;
mutation;
gene expression;
epigenetics;
cancer


Light and electrically evoked responses of the rabbit lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex were monitored before and after ruby laser photocoagulation of a 0.6 cm. wide retinal field. The electroretinogram was also recorded. Severe lesions, especially those inflicted by laser energy densities of 6.3 joules (J) per square centimeter, residt in a substantial reduction or even elimination of geniculate and cortical potentials evoked by photic stimuli while the electroretinogram b-wave is reduced maximally about 30 per cent. Less severe lesions produced by energy densities near 2 to 3 J per square centimeter cause a mean increase in geniculate and cortical response to low-intensity photic stimulation but not to high-intensity stimulation at a time that the electroretinogram is reduced in amplitude. The postsynaptic component of the response of the lateral geniculate nucleus and the visual cortex potential, both elicited by electrical shock of the optic nerve, are enhanced after irradiation with an energy density of 3.2 J per square centimeter or more. The data suggest that the laser insult acts to uncouple the tonic inhibition imposed on the higher visual centers by the retina, i.e., the lesion produces a disinhibition similar to that obtained when afferent visual impulses are interrupted by ocular ischemia or enucleation.


The communities residing close to industrially contaminated sites are often affected by several fragilities, particularly of a socioeconomic nature. The disadvantaged conditions have often resulted from their marginalization in the decision-making related to the industrialization processes and may persist even when action is taken to limit the harmful consequences for the natural and social environment. Exposure to contaminants and the resulting health risks often regard socioeconomic deprived communities or the most disadvantaged subgroups, generating conditions of environmental injustice. This paper reports the results of a multidisciplinary reflection focusing on the Italian context. It describes how the national epidemiological surveillance system of communities residing close to industrially contaminated sites (named SENTIERI) and local epidemiological surveillance systems can be implemented to document local conditions of distributive injustice (inequalities in harmful exposures and consequent health risks). Furthermore, it analyses the mechanisms for generating and maintaining marginalities that prevent local communities from participating in decision-making processes (procedural injustice). Finally, after having identified and described the dimensions of community capacity, which concern both to the understanding of the adverse effects of environmental contamination and to the capability of promoting interventions against environmental injustices, it proposes an environmental justice promotion approach that starts from mapping the dimensions of community capacity as a premise to the identification of interventions for community empowerment. Keywords: environmental justice, industrially contaminated sites, epidemiological surveillance, community capacity.


Abstract. Turbulent planetary boundary layers (PBLs) control the exchange processes between the atmosphere and the ocean/land. The key problems of PBL physics are to determine the PBL height, the momentum, energy and matter fluxes at the surface and the mean wind and scalar profiles throughout the layer in a range of regimes from stable and neutral to convective. Until present, the PBLs typical of stormy weather were always considered as neutrally stratified. Recent works have disclosed that such PBLs are in fact very strongly affected by the static stability of the free atmosphere and must be treated as factually stable (we call this type of the PBL "conventionally neutral" in contract to the "truly neutral" PBLs developed against the neutrally stratified free flow). It is common knowledge that basic features of PBLs exhibit a noticeable dependence on the free-flow static stability and baroclinicity. However, the concern of the traditional theory of neural and stable PBLs was almost without exception the barotropic nocturnal PBL, which develops at mid latitudes during a few hours in the night, on the background of a neutral or slightly stable residual layer. The latter separates this type of the PBL from the free atmosphere. It is not surprising that the nature of turbulence in such regimes is basically local and does not depend on the properties of the free atmosphere. Alternatively, long-lived neutral (in fact only conditionally neutral) or stable PBLs, which have much more time to grow up, are placed immediately below the stably stratified free flow. Under these conditions, the turbulent transports of momentum and scalars even in the surface layer - far away from the PBL outer boundary - depend on the free-flow Brunt-Vaisala frequency, N . Furthermore, integral measures of the long-lived PBLs (their depths and the resistance law functions) depend on N and also on the baroclinic shear, S . In the traditional PBL models both non-local parameters N and S were overlooked. One of possible mechanisms responsible for non-local features of the long-lived PBLs could be the radiation of internal gravity waves (IGW) from the PBL upper boundary to the free atmosphere and the IGW-induced transport of the squared fluctuations of velocity and potential temperature. The free-flow stability plays an especially important role in is the conventionally neutral PBLs (those with the zero potential-temperature flux at the surface: F θ =0 at z =0, developed against non-zero static stability in the free atmosphere: N >0). The above reasoning obviously calls for a comprehensive revision of the traditional theory. In a series of papers (quoted below in References) an advanced theory has been proposed. It includes the following developments.


The power management control system development and vehicle test results for a medium-duty hybrid electric truck are reported in this paper. The design procedure adopted is a model-based approach, and is based on the dynamic programming technique. A vehicle model is first developed, and the optimal control actions to maximize fuel economy are then obtained by the dynamic programming method. A near-optimal control strategy is subsequently extracted and implemented using a rapid-prototyping control development system, which provides a convenient environment to adjust the control algorithms and accommodate various I/O configurations. Dynamometer-testing results confirm that the proposed algorithm helps the prototype hybrid truck to achieve a 45% fuel economy improvement on the benchmark (non-hybrid) vehicle. It also compares favorably to a conventional rule-based control method, which only achieves a 31% fuel economy improvement on the same hybrid vehicle.


Underwater archaeological sites represent assets of great value that are subjected to physical and biological stresses. The study of biological settlement on calcareous substrata is the first step to understanding the biodeterioration processes that take place on man-made structures (marble, statues, columns and other architectonic elements) in marine environments. To accomplish this objective, calcareous panels (30 × 30 × 2 cm) were immersed for 3, 6, 9 and 12 months along a north−south transect in marine protected areas of Baia (Naples). Both epilithic and endolithic assemblages were analysed: the latter was observed by scanning electron microscope after the cast-embedding technique had been used. After 1 year the epilithic community was still changing, with algae and pioneer species overgrown by encrusting organisms, and the endolithic assemblage dominated by cyanobacteria/chlorophyte traces. Changes of epilithics lead changes on endolithics. The initial phototrophic borers were replaced by more sciophilous and competitive species; moreover, the first macroboring organisms arrived after the settlement of grazers. After 12 months of immersion, the rate of bioerosion was high, the material was deeply bored and all of the limestone surface was heavily covered.


A lateral move irrigation system was modified so that controlled quantities of water and nitrogen could be applied to field plots. The system was designed to be mobile so that it could irrigate crops in several fields that were grown using different cultural management practices. The system design can be extended from studies of irrigation scheduling to varying the depth of water applied. The number of spray lines could be increased or the nozzle arrangement varied to give different treatment effects. A technique was developed to verify the system flow rate and nitrogen injection rate using a nitrate specific ion electrode. A central composite rotatable statistical design was used to reduce the number of plots required without reducing the plot size to obtain meaningful data and minimize experimental resources. Data collected from these plots can be used to predict water-nitrogen response surfaces of the quadratic form.


This paper reports on research conducted to improve understanding of human-rare historic book interaction as a necessary first step in order to design and develop physical-virtual renderings of rare books that provide integrated haptic, audio, olfactory, visual and cognitive human-rare book interaction for the public. Our synthesis of relevant literature proposes that current research and technology can be categorized according to five characteristics: expected users, content and content management, navigation, presentation, and interaction control. Our research investigates how young adults (novices) in northern Europe interact with a rare historic book and their reflections about their interaction. Results indicate that interaction engendered appreciation and curiosity regarding individual human behaviour and social practices, and regarding design and technology for novices. Interaction also had an affective impact, eliciting personal memories and emotions. Participants reported that interacting only visually with books or their representations would not have afforded the same results. The results suggest several design recommendations for future physical-virtual renderings of rare historic books.


Being the predominant cause of disability, neurological diseases have received much attention from the global health community. Over a billion people suffer from one of the following neurological disorders: dementia, epilepsy, stroke, migraine, meningitis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, prion disease, or brain tumors. The diagnosis and treatment options are limited for many of these diseases. Aptamers, being small and non-immunogenic nucleic acid molecules that are easy to chemically modify, offer potential diagnostic and theragnostic applications to meet these needs. This review covers pioneering studies in applying aptamers, which shows promise for future diagnostics and treatments of neurological disorders that pose increasingly dire worldwide health challenges.


NEUROTIC SYMPTOMS AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS. M. H. GREENHILL and J. EFIMJsiNGER. (1942) Arch. Derm. Syph. Chicago. 46, 187. ATOPIC dermatitis i.s regarded as identical with the dry type of neurodermatitis of Stokes and Becker. Tlie j>resent report is based on IVl such cases iu which there was a history of eczema in infancy. Controls included 1(5 patients suffering from hi]M]s erytheniatosus. 20 ])sychoneurotic patients, and 20 normal (!) persons. Patients suffcrinti; from atopic dermatitis showed psychoneurotic symptoms more fnnjuentl} than did patients with hipus erytlieinatosns or the nttrinal controls. Their severity, however, did not approach that found in the true psychoneuroses. In jnost cases these symptoms were phobic or compulsiveobsessive, from which ])atient8 with lu]jus erytheniatosus also seemed to suffer ! In patients suffering from atopic dermatitis there was a detinite correlation between events which evoked feelings of anger or depression and exacerbations of the eruptions. H, K.


Abstract Objectives While disparities in COVID-19 infections and mortality have been documented for older Black and Latinx populations, pandemic-related economic impacts have been less studied for these groups. Minoritized older adults may be particularly vulnerable to financial hardships given their precarious socioeconomic positions. Thus, we aim to highlight the devastating economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession on older Black and Latinx adults, with a particular focus on the foreign-born population. Methods This study used data from the 2020 COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study. The sample included adults >50 years of age who were U.S.-born non-Latinx White and Black, U.S.-born Latinx, and foreign-born Latinx (n=2,803). We estimated age-standardized prevalence and means of variables indicating financial impact and economic hardship during the pandemic. We further examined differences in these measures across racial/ethnic and nativity groups. Results Our findings document stark racial/ethnic inequalities in the pandemic's economic impact on older adults. Results show the pandemic has negatively affected older Black and Latinx adults across a host of economic factors (e.g., paying bills, affording health-related needs, or purchasing food), with foreign-born Latinx experiencing greater economic hardships relative to other groups. Discussion During the COVID-19 pandemic, older Black and Latinx adults are experiencing disparate economic effects, including lacking money to cover basic needs, compared to older White adults. The implications of the economic shocks of the pandemic for the health and well-being of older Black and Latinx adults warrant policy-oriented action towards promoting equity.


As the number of nodes keeps increasing, faults have become commonplace for HPC cluster. For fast recovery from faults, the fault detection method is necessary. Based on the usage patterns of HPC cluster, a automatic runtime fault detection mechanism is proposed in this paper: First, the normal activities for nodes in HPC cluster are modeled using runtime state by clustering analysis, Second, the fault detection process is implemented by comparing the current runtime state of nodes with normal activity models. A fault alarm is made immediately when the current runtime state deviates from the normal activity models. In the experiments, the faults are simulated by fault injection methods and the experimental results show that the runtime fault detection method in this paper can detect faults with high accuracy.


Actively tunable optical filters based on chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) are an emerging technology with applications across chemical spectroscopy and thermal imaging. The refractive index of an embedded PCM thin film is modulated through an amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition induced through thermal stimulus. Performance metrics include transmittance, passband center wavelength (CWL), and bandwidth; ideally monitored during operation (in situ) or after a set number of tuning cycles to validate real-time operation. Measuring these aforementioned metrics in real-time is challenging. Fourier-transform infrared (IR) spectroscopy provides the gold-standard for performance characterization yet is expensive and inflexible—incorporating the PCM tuning mechanism is not straightforward, hence in situ electro-optical measurements are challenging. In this work, we implement an open-source MATLAB®-controlled real-time performance characterization system consisting of an inexpensive linear variable filter (LVF) and mid-wave IR camera, capable of switching the PCM-based filters while simultaneously recording in situ filter performance metrics and spectral filtering profile. These metrics are calculated through pixel intensity measurements and displayed on a custom-developed graphical user interface in real-time. The CWL is determined through spatial position of intensity maxima along the LVF's longitudinal axis. Furthermore, plans are detailed for a future experimental system that further reduces cost, is compact, and utilizes a near-IR camera.


Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey similar to all countries,
holds largest share of the economy. It should be considered together with all the functions
affecting these enterprises, in order to ensure them successful in competitive markets. New
technologies, new competitors, reduced profit margins, etc. reasons adversely affect revenues
of the enterprises. In this case, enterprises are required to activate new factors to stay afloat.
Today, one of the most important factor of competition is innovation and technological
development. The number of SMEs has reached 255 thousand in Turkey and these
enteprises have 75% of total employment, 65% of total production capacity . In addition to
economic and cultural characteristics of these enterprises, their perception to innovation
and R&D(research and develoment) should be examined as well. Aim of this study to assess
the perspectives of SMEs in Turkey to technological innovation and R&D. The study
examined enterprises that give importance to technological innovation. It is seen from the
the studies cited in this study that the SMEs are aware of the importance of innovation to
survive competitive market conditions. However, cited studies show that SMEs in Turkey
are insufficient in terms of innovation culture and technology management.
Keywords: innovation, research and development, smes in turkey, new production design


Although constituting a relatively small proportion of waste matter, the waste produced during medical treatment and routine dispensing of medical care is potentially the most infectious and environmentally hazardous. Health-Care Facilities (HCF) are, therefore, duty-bound to effectively manage the waste that they produce in order to avert environmental pollution and risks to people's health. This paper reports on the findings of a recent study of current medical or Health- Care Waste (HCW) management practices in four purposively selected Health-Care Facilities (HCFs) in the district of Maseru, focusing on generation, segregation, treatment and disposal practices. These management practices are reported from a social science perspective, with no pretensions to expert medical or biological knowledge of the issues raised. The primary purpose of the paper is to raise public awareness and sensitivity to this serious but generally neglected environmental and public health issue. Evidence is adduced in the paper to show that the HCW management practices in the four HCFs are unhygienic and dangerously unsafe and that the HCW from these HCFs is an environmental and public health hazard. Most disturbingly, perhaps, is that Lesotho has neither a HCW management policy nor guidelines, and there are no indications that such policy will be in place in the foreseeable future.


In this study, we consider the problem of safely steering a planar nonholonomic cart around obstacles to reach a goal state. We achieve this by the decomposition of the free workspace into triangular tori and generation of local smooth feedback laws that drive the robot from one cell to an adjoining cell. These control laws exploit the fact that for nonholonomic systems, one can generate smooth controllers to reach a particular subset in the configuration space, even though smooth feedback laws cannot be obtained to reach a particular state. These local controllers are then sequenced using discrete motion planning algorithms like A* or incremental D* to reach the goal. We demonstrate the practical efficacy of this methodology by applying it to two experimental platforms: (1) a differential drive robot in which inertial effects are negligible and (2) a hexapedal robot in which inertial effects are significant but difficult to model. In both cases, we use the abstraction of a planar kinematic cart with process noise to develop feedback controllers. We present successful implementation of the controllers to navigate the hexapedal robot in both static and dynamic environments with obstacles.


BACKGROUND
Neuroblastoma is a rare malignant disease and mainly affects infants and very young children. The tumors mainly develop in the adrenal medullary tissue and an abdominal mass is the most common presentation. The high-risk group is characterized by metastasis and other characteristics that increase the risk for an adverse outcome. In the rapid COJEC induction schedule, higher single doses of selected drugs than standard induction schedules are administered over a substantially shorter treatment period, with shorter intervals between cycles. Shorter intervals and higher doses increase the dose intensity of chemotherapy and might improve survival.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of the rapid COJEC induction schedule as compared to standard induction schedules in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma (as defined by the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) classification system). Outcomes of interest were complete response, early toxicity and treatment-related mortality as primary endpoints and overall survival, progression- and event-free survival, late non-hematological toxicity, and health-related quality of life as secondary endpoints.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the electronic databases CENTRAL (2014, Issue 11), MEDLINE (PubMed), and EMBASE (Ovid) for articles from inception to 11 November 2014. Further searches included trial registries, conference proceedings, and reference lists of recent reviews and relevant articles. We did not apply limits on publication year or languages.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials evaluating the rapid COJEC induction schedule for high-risk neuroblastoma patients compared to standard induction schedules.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors performed study selection, abstracted data on study and patient characteristics, and assessed risk of bias independently. We resolved differences by discussion or by appeal to a third review author. We performed analyses according to the guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We used the five GRADE considerations, study limitations, consistency of effect, imprecision, indirectness, and publication bias, to judge the quality of the evidence. We downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision

MAIN RESULTS
We identified one randomized controlled trial (CCLG-ENSG-5) that included 262 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who were randomized to receive either rapid COJEC (N = 130) or standard OPEC/COJEC (N = 132) induction chemotherapy. We graded the evidence as low quality; we downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision.There was no clear evidence of a difference between the treatment groups in complete response (risk ratio (RR) 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71 to 1.38), treatment-related mortality (RR 1.21, 95% CI 0.33 to 4.39), overall survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.83, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.10), and event-free survival (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.13). We calculated the HRs using the complete follow-up period of the trial.Febrile neutropenia (two or more episodes), proven fungal infections, septicemia (one or more episodes), gastrointestinal toxicity (grade 3 or 4), renal toxicity (glomerular filtration rate < 80 ml/min per body surface area of 1.73 m(2)), neurological toxicity (grade 3 or 4), and ototoxicity (Brock grade 2 to 4) were addressed as early toxicities (during pre-operative chemotherapy). For febrile neutropenia, septicemia, and renal toxicity, a statistically significant difference in favor of the standard treatment arm was identified; for all other early toxicities no clear evidence of a difference between treatment groups was identified. With regard to late non-hematological toxicities (median follow-up 12.7 years; range 6.9 to 16.5 years), the study provided data on any complication, renal toxicity (glomerular filtration rate < 80 ml/min per body surface area of 1.73m(2)), ototoxicity (Brock grade 1 to 4), endocrine complications, neurocognitive complications (i.e. behavioral, speech, or learning difficulties), and second malignancies. For endocrine complications and neurocognitive complications, a statistically significant difference in favor of the rapid COJEC arm was found; for all other late non-hematological toxicities no clear evidence of a difference between treatment groups was identified.Data on progression-free survival and health-related quality of life were not reported.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
We identified one randomized controlled trial that evaluated rapid COJEC versus standard induction therapy in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. No clear evidence of a difference in complete response, treatment-related mortality, overall survival, and event-free survival between the treatment alternatives was found. This could be the result of low power or too short a follow-up period. Results of both early and late toxicities were ambiguous. Information on progression-free survival and health-related quality of life were not available. This trial was performed in the 1990s. Since then, many changes in, for example, treatment and risk classification have occurred. Therefore, based on the currently available evidence, we are uncertain about the effects of rapid COJEC and standard induction therapy in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. More research is needed for a definitive conclusion.


This project investigates the design of a 2-D, single, and multi-touch gesture set for the control of audio processing commonly found within DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) and mixing consoles. The recent popularity of touch pads has made wider application in this area possible. We describe the testing, analysis, and mapping of gestures to theorize the most efficient control over audio processing parameters. By improving the control interface, workflow efficiency could be greatly improved. A test was carried out that observed engineers as they carried out specific mixing tasks using standard Pro Tools plug-ins. In addition, a survey was constructed to determine the most popular gestures for common processing parameters. The workflow and recorded gestures were then analyzed and a set of optimized gesture based controls were produced.


In a recent experiment, Ma et al. measured the temperature dependence of the gap anisotropy of oxygen-annealed Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x. Their measurements were taken along the two directions Γ–M and Γ–X. They found that the gap along both directions is nonzero at low temperatures and that the ratio of the two gaps is strongly temperature dependent. We show, using Ginzburg-Landau theory, that this behavior can be obtained if one assumes the existence of s-wave and d-wave components for the order parameter. Our theory predicts orthorhombic anisotropy in the gap, and a somewhat anomalous behavior for the electronic specific heat below Tc in this material. Since recent experiments indicate nearly pure d-wave symmetry for YBa2Cu3O7, this would imply that different high-Tc materials have substantially different order parameter symmetries.


Recent advances in neuropathology, genotyping, and physiochemical characterization of proteins have allowed for the classification and verification of MM2-thalamic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). CJD is a fatal neurodegenerative illness belonging to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, also known as prion diseases. Sporadic CJD is generally classified by the genotype at codon 129 of the prion protein gene and the distinct physiochemical features of the pathologic prion protein (PrP). The entity is characterized by methionine homozygosity at codon 129, type 2 PrP, and, primarily, thalamic pathology (MM2-thalamic CJD). It shares clinical and pathologic similarities with the genetic prion disorder fatal familial insomnia; the MM2-thalamic phenotype has therefore been called sporadic fatal insomnia (SFI). SFI may also present like other neurodegenerative diseases, and common diagnostic findings that are seen in other forms of sporadic CJD may be absent. [Rev Neurol Dis. 2009;6(3):E87-E93 doi: 10.3909/rind0231]