Background: Although cigarette smoking is the major risk factor for lung cancer, only 7% of female lung cancer patients in Taiwan have a history of smoking. The genetic mechanisms of carcinogenesis in nonsmokers are unclear, but semaphorins have been suggested to play a role as lung tumor suppressors. This report is a comprehensive analysis of the molecular signature of nonsmoking female lung cancer patients in Taiwan, with a particular focus on the semaphorin gene family. Methods: Sixty pairs of tumor and adjacent normal lung tissue specimens were analyzed by using Affymetrix U133plus2.0 expression arrays. Differentially expressed genes in tumor tissues were identified by a paired t test and validated by reverse transcriptase-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Functional analysis was conducted by using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis as well as gene set enrichment analysis and sigPathway algorithms. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to evaluate the association of SEMA5A expression and clinical outcome. Results: We identified 687 differentially expressed genes in non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Many of these genes, most notably the semaphorin family, were participants in the axon guidance signaling pathway. The downregulation of SEMA5A in tumor tissue, both at the transcriptional and translational levels, was associated with poor survival among nonsmoking women with NSCLC. Conclusions: In summary, several semaphorin gene family members were identified as potential therapeutic targets, and SEMA5A may be useful as a prognostic biomarker for NSCLC, which may also be gender specific in Taiwanese patients. Impact: A novel biomarker for NSCLC is identified. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(10); 2590–7. ©2010 AACR.


The detrimental effect of increased memory load on selective attention has been demonstrated in many situations. However, in search tasks over time using RSVP methods, it is not clear how memory load affects attentional processes; no effects as well as beneficial and detrimental effects of memory load have been found in these types of tasks. The main objective of the present work is to provide more evidence about the involvement of working memory in visual search over time. Using an RSVP search task, we manipulated set size (experiment 1) and congruency in a Stroop-like task (experiment 2), finding that high memory load conditions sometimes increase the efficiency of search over time. Our data also support important similarities between attention in space and time showing that there might be a general system for allocating attentional resources independent of stimulus dimension. However, there are also important differences, thus theoretical implications of present results are discussed.


We optimized the gallium nitride(GaN)photocathode's structure in three aspects for higher quantum efficiency. AlN is used to replace GaN as the buffer layer, which can act as potential barrier to reflect electrons back to surface. The optimal thickness of emission layer is calculated as 162.5nm, and considering the graded doping profile, we optimized the thickness as 180nm. Three built-in electric fields are introduced by Mg graded doping, and the intensities of the high fields are calculated to give the quantitive results of their influence on quantum efficiency. After surface cleaning and activation, quantum efficiency of the optimized sample was greatly increased and the highest value of 56% was achieved at 5.20eV. More quantum efficiency enchancement is possible by further optimizing the photocathode structure.


This paper examined the effect of external factors on economic growth in Tunisia. The economic analysis was carried out using recent quantitative technique of annual time series data from 1976 to 2017. Based on co-integration test with unknown structural breaks and ARDL bound testing we investigated importance of each factor in stimulating economic growth. Our results show that in the long-run FDI does not affect economic growth. Remittances and imports negatively affect economic growth. Exports promote economic growth such that a 1% increase stimulates economic activity by 0.702%. In the short term, our estimates emphasize a structural break in 1988 linked to the structural adjustment program. Likewise, FDI does not have a significant effect on economic growth while remittances and imports slow economic growth significantly at the conventional level. On the other hand, exports form a relevant engine of economic growth. Therefore, our conclusions imply that political decision-makers in Tunisia must guarantee certain level of training and infrastructure to ensure the gain of transfers of new technologies and experiences related to the FDI. Thus, Tunisia must encourage peoples living aboard to create new investment opportunities instead of just supporting their families for consumption. In addition, the state must develop financial system capable of transferring funds for investment in order to better benefit from remittances. Finally, the government must restrict import of consumer goods and allow import of equipment and machinery goods that promote production and economic growth.


ABSTRACT Vaccination is the most efficient prophylaxis against a variety of infectious diseases. New vaccination strategies rely on the incorporation of effective adjuvants, which stimulate the innate immune response and, in turn, activate the adaptive immune response. It is well established that flagellin induces inflammatory responses through the activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). In order to evaluate whether flagellin can serve as a carrier for the development of adjuvants or vaccines, we prepared a flagellin-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion protein. Our results demonstrate that a flagellin-EGFP fusion protein is capable of stimulating APCs, resulting in the maturation of these cells and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, APCs pulsed with the flagellin-EGFP fusion protein effectively process and present EGFP antigens. More importantly, animals immunized with the flagellin-EGFP fusion protein developed specific anti-EGFP T-cell responses. In contrast, recombinant EGFP was not able to stimulate APCs, nor did it induce a T-cell response. Thus, recombinant-flagellin fusion proteins may be suitable carriers as adjuvants or vaccines for the development of new vaccination strategies to induce and boost immune responses against infectious diseases and cancer.


Estimation of asynchronous circuit performances, such as speed, is one of the major issues that make that design style still less popular than it deserves to be. Evaluating the worst case delays in the paths of an asynchronous circuit using a simple logic simulator would be very useful in overcoming this problem. In this paper a method for timing analysis of the asynchronous non-sequential circuits using a VHDL simulator is presented. With an appropriate extension of the standard logic simulation process, all worst case delays for all paths in a digital circuit with only one run of the simulation can be obtained. High levels of accuracy are achieved using different gate modelling and statistical analysis of the results. Due to the lack of asynchronous benchmark circuits, the method is verified on a set of asynchronous circuit selected by the authors.


Abstract : Microscale combustion is of interest in small-volume energy-demanding systems, such as power supplies, actuation, ignition, and propulsion. Energetic materials can have high burning rates that make these materials advantageous, especially for microscale applications in which the rate of energy release is important or in which air is not available as an oxidizer. In this study we examine the combustion of mixtures of nanoscale aluminum with molybdenum trioxide in microscale channels. Nanoscale composites can have very high burning rates that are much higher than typical materials. Quartz and acrylic tubes are used. Rectangular steel microchannels are also considered. We find that the optimum mixture ratio for the maximum propagation rate is aluminum rich. We use equilibrium calculations to argue that the propagation rate is dominated by a convective process where hot liquids and gases are propelled forward heating the reactants. This is the first study to report the dependence of the propagation rate with a tube diameter for this class of materials.Wefind that the propagation rate decreases linearly with 1=d. The propagation rate remains high in tubes or channels with dimensions down to the scale of 100 m, which makes these materials applicable to microcombustion applications.


Accurate endpoint detection is important for improving the speech recognition capability. This paper proposes an effective endpoint detection algorithm based on the acoustic frequency feature for Uyghur. The spectrum of each speech frame is divided into several sub-bands, and the maximum average spectral density of these sub-bands is used as the detection criteria to distinguish the speech and noise. At the same time, a dynamically updated threshold and a smoothing window are used to improve the performance of the algorithm. It is characterized by higher accuracy or flexibility, faster processing speed and less computation. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm achieves better performance compared to energy based and zero-crossing rate based algorithms.


Okmok, a ~10-km wide caldera that occupies most of the northeastern end of Umnak Island, is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc. The most recent eruption at Okmok during July–August 2008 was by far its largest and most explosive since at least the early 19th century. We investigate post-eruptive magma supply and storage at the volcano during 2008–2014 by analyzing all available synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of Okmok acquired during that time period using the multi-temporal InSAR technique. Data from the C-band Envisat and X-band TerraSAR-X satellites indicate that Okmok started inflating very soon after the end of 2008 eruption at a time-variable rate of 48–130 mm/y, consistent with GPS measurements. The "model-assisted" phase unwrapping method is applied to improve the phase unwrapping operation for long temporal baseline pairs. The InSAR time-series is used as input for deformation source modeling, which suggests magma accumulating at variable rates in a shallow storage zone at ~3.9 km below sea level beneath the summit caldera, consistent with previous studies. The modeled volume accumulation in the six years following the 2008 eruption is ~75% of the 1997 eruption volume and ~25% of the 2008 eruption volume.


Oxford Scholarly Classics brings together a number of great academic works from the archives of Oxford University Press. Reissued in a uniform series design, they will enable libraries, scholars, and students to gain fresh access to some of the finest scholarship of the last century.


A multichannel multiaccess slotted ALOHA protocol is introduced and analyzed for very high-speed optical fiber LANs with passive star topology using several wavelengths as control channels. We examine the efficiency of the proposed protocol and evaluate the performance measures for an infinite population. Numerical results are discussed for various number of control and data channels.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results obtained from treatment of humeral shaft fractures and their complications using the Osteoline® uniplanar external fixator. METHODS: The radiographic and functional results from 78 patients with humeral shaft fractures treated using the uniplanar external fixation technique were retrospectively assessed. The patients' ages ranged from 23 to 71 years, with a mean of 47 years. Male patients predominated (79%). Out of the 78 patients, 45 presented open fractures, 14 presented pseudarthrosis and six presented synthesis failure. There were no losses during the follow-up and all the patients were discharged after fracture consolidation and functional recovery. The results were evaluated based on the studies by Catagni, as good, fair or poor. RESULTS: Fracture consolidation was observed in 98% of the cases treated with uniplanar external fixation. Only one pseudarthrosis case required conversion to rigid internal fixation and autologous bone grafting. At the end of the treatment, all the patients were discharged with consolidated fractures, without pain, and good limb function. CONCLUSION: The external fixation described in this paper was shown to be an efficient and safe method for treating humeral shaft fractures and their complications. It preserved the local biological status and enabled passive and active movement immediately after surgery.


In this thesis, I argue that the nascent politics of Intellectual Property is poorly served through attempts to conceive IP rights as an "enclosure of the intangible commons of the mind" and highlight a number of problems with the enclosure/commons dialectic more generally. To this end, it tries to indicate some new possible directions for the politics of IP, based on the insights of pragmatist philosophy and Actor-Network Theory. Such insights, I argue, allow us to interrogate questions about IP along two axes that the enclosure/commons dialectic neglects. A move away from the "intangible commons" allows us to focus on the very material way in which many of the harms of IP rights play out, and on IP's contentious function as a regualtor of objects, bodies and technologies. Second, it allows for an interrogation of the epistemological question of whether knowledge is considered to have been created or discovered, a distinction which is of vital importance to the question of whether any give sort of knowledge will be protected by an IP right. In order to address these difficulties, I argue that, instead of seeing knowledge as a sort of substance, we should instead see it in terms of practice and relations. Ideas, I argue, are not things, but assemblages of materials.

This perspective is developed and illustrated through a number of case studies. I examine the history of copyright, showing that its emergence was not as a means of granting rights to ideas, but instead as a method of controlling the circulation of books. The notion of knowledge as a substance, I argue, was introduced only later, as a way of legitimating and naturalising this system. I offer a similar account of the information commons, an idea that developed from the tendency to frame issues of internet regulation in terms of applying the law to a particular place – cyberspace. Finally, I examine the controversy surrounding the Google Book Search project. I argue that the attempted settlement should be understood as a combination of two different systems of control. Again, the language of substance obscures this insight, presenting the settlement as a compromise over access to knowledge.

I conclude by arguing that this theoretical critique is also a political critique – that a politics of IP which gave up on the idea of knowledge of substance would necessarily have to focus more on the specific parties and practices that are threatened by IP rights.


This paper presents the results of a study which investigates early childhood teachers' levels of confidence and happiness in conducting music activities with young children. A sample of 284 in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong participated in the study. Two new research instruments entitled Teachers Music Confidence Scale (TMCS) and Teachers Happiness Scale (THS) were designed for data collection to answer the research questions. Results showed that early childhood teachers have the highest and the lowest level of confidence in singing and composing/improvising respectively. In-service teachers showed higher confidence and happiness levels in conducting several musical activities with young children than pre-service teachers. There was also a statistically significant relationship between these two variables. Implications for engagement in music are discussed in the paper.


Africa faces a seemingly ever-increasing range of security challenges. This book is a result of research carried out over a number of years by the Southern African Defence and Security Management Network (SADSEM) on many of these new and emerging security issues, in cooperation with the Danish Institute for International Studies and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The broad focus is on security governance - the role of state and a wide range of social actors in the areas of both human and state security. It deals with a range of sectors, themes and national case studies and makes an important contribution to debates on security sector reform. The topics covered include policing transformation, intelligence governance, regulation of private security actors, challenges of nuclear proliferation, regional security, peace diplomacy and peace missions, the relationship between development and security and new challenges in governance of the military.


A parametric study on the material properties of the brain tissues was conducted using the 2-D porcine brain model developed by Zhou et al (1994). The animal test condition by Meaney et al (1993) was simulated. Four points in the DAI regions were chosen for evaluation. Changes due to variation of material properties were investigated in terms of shear stress distribution, shear stress magnitude, shear strain magnitude, shear stress time history, shear strain time history, and strain rate. Base on the simulation results, a stress criterion of 20 kPa and a strain criterion of 0.20 were proposed for DAI to occur in the mini pigs. Shear stress/strain contours can be used for DAI predictions. Diffuse axonal injury was found to occur in areas where higher shear stresses or strains persisted for relatively longer periods during impact. It was estimated that the instantaneous shear modulus is in the range of 40 kPa to 120 kPa and the long term shear modulus is in the range of 5 kPa to 8 kPa. The decay factor should be within the range of 350 s−1 and 700 s−1.


The author evaluates the classification support provided by current object-oriented analysis methods and proposes possible improvements. Concepts of object-orientation are briefly reviewed. Key principles for classification are identified and emerging object-oriented analysis methods are then judged against these principles. In an attempt to avoid some of the identified shortcomings, it is proposed that classification support during analysis should be based on two distinct constructs (types and collections) instead of a single class construct. This suggestion is based on a clear distinction between the essential and the contingent properties of the modelled objects.<<ETX>>


Sandwich composites based on coir fiber nonwoven mats as core material were manufactured by Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding technique. Mechanical and physical properties of produced coir/polyester and coir-glass/polyester composites were assessed. Samples were evaluated according to their reinforcement contents, resin contents, areal density, and thickness. Tests on physical properties revealed that coir-glass/polyester sandwich structure has the lowest values of thickness swelling, water absorption and moisture contents compared with coir/polyester composite. Mechanical tests such as tensile strength, open-hole tensile strength, and flexural strength were also performed on all samples. Coir-glass/polyester sandwich structure showed significant increase in tensile strength of 70 MPa compared with 8 MPa of coir/polyester composite. Introducing two skins of fiber glass woven roving to coir/polyester increased its flexural strength from 31.8 to 131.8 MPa for coir-glass/polyester. POLYM. COMPOS., 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers


Several groups have generated programmable transcription factors based on the versatile Cas9 protein, yet their relative potency and effectiveness across various cell types and species remain unexplored. Here, we compare Cas9 activator systems and examine their ability to induce robust gene expression in several human, mouse, and fly cell lines. We also explore the potential for improved activation through the combination of the most potent activator systems and assess the role of cooperativity in maximizing gene expression.


We are pleased to present the proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education - ITiCSE 2005. We are honored to host this event, in particular as 2005 marks the tenth anniversary ITiCSE conference, a significant milestone in the evolution of this series. The growth and increasing prestige of ITiCSE is testimony to the soundness of the vision - to promote the exchange of international perspectives and advances on questions in computer science education - that motivated the inception of ITiCSE conferences. ITiCSE 2005 will be held in the campus of the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and is organized locally by the Computer Science Department. It is a fortunate coincidence that this year we are also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Computer Science Department, and its pioneer role in the launching of the first Computer Science degree in Portugal, back in 1975.The conference programme is full of exciting events, concerning our common interests in computer science, and including several social events and excursions that will hopefully reveal aspects of the life and the history of Portugal and the region of Lisbon, and the typical Portuguese hospitality. The technical programme includes three keynote speeches, tutorials, working groups, posters, student posters, and "tips & techniques", panels, paper presentations, and exhibits.We are honored to have as invited lecturers Professors Maria Klawe, Joseph Weizenbaum, and Emilio Luque who have kindly accepted to share their deep insights, knowledge and experience with all of us. We are proud that, for the first time, student poster presentations are included in ITiCSE, an opportunity to have undergraduate and graduate students participate in the conference by presenting work that represents the fruit of excellent practice in computer science education. They also represent the future generations of computer scientists and citizens who will project the vision of ITiCSE forward into what will certainly be an exciting and challenging second decade. We believe this is the best way to celebrating the notable anniversary of ITiCSE conference series.ITiCSE 2005 has attracted a record number of paper submissions, making the selection quite competitive, and allowing the acceptance of an increased number of high-quality papers, which represent a diversity of countries. Sixty-eight papers are included in the programme, organized in three parallel tracks, addressing important themes in computer science education.


In a pair of cases during the 2019-20 Term, Trump v. Vance and Trump v. Mazars, the Supreme Court revisited questions of presidential immunity and the scope of legislative oversight that infrequently come before the Court. In two opinions by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court rejected broad claims of presidential immunity while recognizing the real separation of powers concerns raised by any investigation of the President. In these two decisions, the Court reaffirmed two fundamental constitutional values: 1) No person is above the law; 2) The powers of Congress are limited. In the process, the Court also demonstrated an ability to resolve important constitutional questions without descending into the political polarization that engulfs the body politic in 2020.


The phorbol-ester-induced loss of protein kinase C that has been documented in many cell types appears to be a critical event in the generation of a cellular refractory state. We have investigated here the synthesis and degradation of the protein kinase C polypeptide in order to determine why its steady-state amounts are depleted in response to phorbol esters. These results indicate that depletion is due to an increased rate of degradation, with no change either in mRNA amounts or in rates of polypeptide synthesis.


Background Research on the associations between active travel and health has focused on major diseases and mortality. In contrast relatively little work has explored the associations between active travel and other measures such as sickness absence and wellbeing, outcomes that may be important for engaging employees and employers in its promotion. Our aim was to explore longitudinal associations of active commuting (cycling to work and walking to work) with physical wellbeing (PCS-8), mental wellbeing (MCS-8) and sickness absence. Methods We used data from the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study (2009 to 2012; n = 801), a cohort study of commuters recruited through workplaces in Cambridge, to test associations between: a) maintenance of cycling (compared to maintenance of not cycling) to work over a one year period and indices of wellbeing at the end of that one year period; and b) associations between change in cycling to work (increase and decrease in time compared to no change) and change in indices of wellbeing. Indices of well-being were physical (PCS-8) and mental (MCS-8) well-being measured using the Short Form 8 (SF-8) questionnaire and self-reported sickness absence. Linear regression was used for testing associations with PCS-8 and MCS-8, and negative binomial regression for sickness absence. Models were adjusted first for important co-variates (sociodemographic variables, physical activity, weight status and physical limitation), and then additionally adjusted for the baseline outcome of interest (i.e. analysis of co-variance). The analysis was repeated for walking to work. Data was analysed in Stata v13. Results After adjusting for co-variates, those who maintained cycle commuting reported lower sickness absence (0.46, 95% CI: 0.14–0.80; equivalent to one less day per year) and higher MCS-8 scores (1.50, 0.10–2.10) than those who did not cycle to work. The association for sickness absence persisted after adjustment for baseline sickness absence. No significant associations were observed for PCS-8. Associations between change in cycle commuting and change in indices of wellbeing were not significant. No significant associations were observed for walking. Conclusion Although an observational study, this work provides some evidence of the value of cycle commuting in improving or maintaining the health and wellbeing of adults of working age. This may be important in engaging employers and policy makers in the promotion of active travel, as well as communicating the benefits of active travel to employees.


The first of case of adult T-cell prolymphocytic lymphosarcoma is reported which according to the natural course, cell composition of tumor, cell surface markers as well as expressed immune response to a wide spectrum of HTLV-1 gag an env encoded proteins can be classified as HTLV-associated adult T-cell leukemia. Diagnosis of the tumor alongside with identification of HTLV-1-infected individuals in the USSR emphasizes the need to stimulate research in HTLV-1-associated carcinogenesis in this country.


BACKGROUND
Prayer is a common practice in the United States, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns of use of prayer for health concerns.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and patterns of use of prayer for health concerns.

METHODS
We conducted a national survey in 1998 (N = 2055, 60% weighted response rate) on use of prayer. Data were also collected on sociodemographics, use of conventional medicine, and use of complementary and alternative medical therapies. Factors associated with the use of prayer were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS
We found that 35% of respondents used prayer for health concerns; 75% of these prayed for wellness, and 22% prayed for specific medical conditions. Of those praying for specific medical conditions, 69% found prayer very helpful. Factors independently associated with increased use of prayer (P<.05) included age older than 33 years (age 34-53 years: odds ratio [OR], 1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-2.1]; age > or =54 years: OR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1-2.0]); female sex (OR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.1-1.7]); education beyond high school (OR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.8]); and having depression, chronic headaches, back and/or neck pain, digestive problems, or allergies. Only 11% of respondents using prayer discussed it with their physicians.

CONCLUSIONS
An estimated one third of adults used prayer for health concerns in 1998. Most respondents did not discuss prayer with their physicians. Prayer was used frequently for common medical conditions, and users reported high levels of perceived helpfulness.


Antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated in serum from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients by immunoblotting (Western blotting). The results were compared with determinations of precipitating antibodies in serum by crossed immune electrophoresis (CIE). The number of CIE precipitins is a sensitive and specific indication of infection and is used, with sputum bacteriology, to distinguish between colonisation and invasive lung infection. Immunoblotting was considerably more sensitive than CIE for detecting antibodies to P. aeruginosa. Paired serum samples from 64 CF patients, taken before a diagnosis of P. aeruginosa lung infection and immediately afterwards, showed a marked increase in the number of serum antibodies with the onset of infection. The intensity of the reaction, as shown by the density of blotted bands, was also increased. Laser scanning densitometry of immunoblots, and of photographic negatives taken from them, was used to quantify the increases. Differences in the number and intensity of blotted bands were highly significant between the two groups. The reproducibility of the method was good. An immunoblot assay may be a sensitive and useful method for routine diagnosis of early P. aeruginosa lung infection in CF.


Think tanks have experienced a significant development in France for 20 years. Some promote neoliberal ideas such as the Institut Montaigne, whereas some others are more progressive as Terra Nova. We aim at analyzing the involvement of business leaders in the boards of these organizations, in order to highlight their political mobilization. From the composition of the 70 main think tank boards in 2008, we investigate the network structure of board co-memberships. Then we focus on the position of business leaders in this network. Finally, we look at the role of executive and non-executive directors of the 100 main companies in France.
Despite their heterogeneity, most think tanks are rather well integrated thanks to their common board members. And business leaders play a major role in this cohesion. They stand at more central positions than the other categories of members (political leaders, scholars, journalists, bureaucrats…). Furthermore the interlinkages among them are more cohesive and centralized. These results illustrate the relational proximity of the business elite with the political and intellectual elites in particular. But they also reflect a better capacity from business leaders to defend their own ideas and values through these organizations, generally talking in the name of a so-called general interest.


Policy gradient methods are appealing in deep reinforcement learning but suffer from high variance of gradient estimate. To reduce the variance, the state value function is applied commonly. However, the effect of the state value function becomes limited in stochastic dynamic environments, where the unexpected state dynamics and rewards will increase the variance. In this paper, we propose to replace the state value function with a novel hindsight value function, which leverages the information from the future to reduce the variance of the gradient estimate for stochastic dynamic environments. Particularly, to obtain an ideally unbiased gradient estimate, we propose an information-theoretic approach, which optimizes the embeddings of the future to be independent of previous actions. In our experiments, we apply the proposed hindsight value function in stochastic dynamic environments, including discrete-action environments and continuous-action environments. Compared with the standard state value function, the proposed hindsight value function consistently reduces the variance, stabilizes the training, and improves the eventual policy.


Porphyrins are tetrapyrrolic macrocyclic ligands known for their affinity towards neoplastic tissues and once radiolabeled with a suitable diagnostic radioisotope could potentially be used for the imaging of tumorous lesions. In the present study, an unsymmetrically substituted porphyrin derivative namely 5-(p-amino-propyloxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tris(carboxymethyleneoxyphenyl)-porphyrin was synthesized and modified further to enable radiolabeling with 99mTc using two different 99mTc-cores viz. 99mTc-HYNIC (hydrazino nicotinic acid) and 99mTc(N)PNP2 (PNP2 = bis-[(2-dimethylphosphino)ethyl]-methoxy-ethylamine) in order to study the effect of employing different 99mTc-cores on tumor affinity and pharmacokinetic behavior of the resultant 99mTc-labeled porphyrin complexes. 99mTc-Porphyrin complexes were characterized by reversed phase HPLC studies and could be prepared with >95% radiochemical purity under optimized radiolabeling conditions. Both 99mTc-complexes were found to be adequately stable in human blood serum till 3 h post-preparation. Bio-distribution studies, carried out in Swiss mice bearing fibrosarcoma tumors, revealed relatively higher tumor uptake for the 99mTc-HYNIC-porphyrin complex (3.95 ± 1.42 and 3.28 ± 0.27% IA per g) compared to that exhibited by the 99mTc(N)PNP-DTC-porphyrin complex (1.52 ± 0.53 and 1.56 ± 0.10% IA per g) at 1.5 and 3 h post-administration, although the former complex exhibited comparatively lower lipophilicity in the octanol-water system. Higher uptake and longer retention in the blood were observed for the 99mTc-HYNIC-porphyrin complex (6.63 ± 0.75 and 4.36 ± 0.25% IA per g) compared to that exhibited by the 99mTc(N)PNP-DTC-porphyrin complex (2.41 ± 0.54 and 2.30 ± 0.16% IA per g) at both 1.5 and 3 h post-administration. However, relatively lower liver uptake was observed for the former complex (19.26 ± 3.48 and 18.45 ± 1.05% IA per g) than that exhibited by the latter one (39.37 ± 3.88 and 34.15 ± 8.25% IA per g) at both 1.5 and 3 h post-administration. This study indicates that the in vivo behavior exhibited by the 99mTc-labeled porphyrins not only depends on their lipophilicity/hydrophilicity but is also governed by the Tc-cores employed for radiolabeling.


Human macrophages express oestrogen receptors and are therefore competent to respond to the hormone present in their microenvironment, which is implicated in sexual dimorphism observed in several immune and autoimmune phenomena. An earlier study from this laboratory demonstrated 17beta-oestradiol (E2) induced apoptosis in macrophages derived from human peripheral blood monocytes and THP-1 acute monocytic leukaemia cell line when Bcl-2 was down-regulated; however, the involvement of E2 receptor subtypes in the modulation of death pathways in these cells remain unknown. Using macrophages derived from THP-1 human acute monocytic leukaemia cells as a model, we demonstrate that plasma membrane associated oestrogen receptor (ER) -alpha participate in E2 induced Bcl-2 increase, through activation of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway whereas cytosolic ER-beta transmits signals for the pro-apoptotic event of Bax translocation. The mechanistic basis of Bax translocation comprised of ER-beta mediated increase in intracellular pH, facilitated by activation of the Na(+)-H(+) exchanger. Intracellular alkalinization accompanied by concomitant Bcl-2 increase and Bax migration does not cause cellular apoptosis; however, siRNA mediated down-regulation of ER-alpha during E2 exposure leads to inhibition of Bcl-2 increase and consequently apoptosis due to the unopposed action of mitochondrial Bax. In summary, this study underscores the importance of integrative signalling modality from multiple oestrogen receptor pools in modulating oestrogen effects on human monocyte-derived macrophage apoptotic signalling pathway, which opens new vistas to explore the use of selective oestrogen receptor modulators in apoptosis-based therapies.


Within the kinetic theory of an ideal gas, the flux of particles having a number density n, and average velocity v̄ impinging on a plane from one side, is sometimes written in textbooks as nv̄/6 and sometimes as nv̄/4. The validity of each expression is worked out here with emphasis on their effect on the pre-factor for the expressions of the transport parameters such as viscosity, diffusion coefficient and heat conductivity. It is shown that nv̄/4 is valid in equilibrium while only when there are gradients, effectively the flux becomes nv̄/6. For the correct derivation of the transport parameters the introduction of a distribution function for the collision times or mean free paths is essential. A methodology is suggested on how to teach this subject to undergraduate and graduate students.


Objectives: Our study aimed at exploring structural and functional differences in the brain during higher cognitive processing between middle-aged hypertensive patients and controls matched for sex, age and years of education. Methods: Two groups of 20 patients took part in MRI examinations. This article reports the results of functional MRI during a Stroop color interference task and structural evaluations based on a modified Fazekas scale. Results: No intergroup differences were found in regards to the severity of white matter lesions (Mann–Whitney U test = 150.5, P > 0.1), nor from the task performance in the scanner (t(35) = 0.2, P > 0.1). However, brain activation patterns between patients and controls varied. Hypertensive patients involved significantly more cerebral areas during the processing, regardless of the task difficulty. Differences were found in 26 diverse regions of both primary and associative cortices (with a peak voxel located in the cuneus, Z = 6.94, P < 0.05 family-wise error corrected at voxel level). Conclusion: Our findings provide an insight into the brain mechanisms related to essential hypertension and suggest a functional reorganization (neuroplasticity) early in the course of the disease.


This paper measures the pass-through of exchange rate changes into domestic inflation within a cointegrated VAR (CVAR) framework. This issue is of particular interest for the euro area (EA) as Member Sates cede their national currencies and no longer have options of using monetary policy to respond to local conditions. In fact, a common exchange rate shock, in the absence of a national monetary policy, may have differential impact on EA countries, leading notably to possible divergence in inflation levels. Using quarterly data for 12 EA covering 1980:1 to 2010:4, we report a large degree of heterogeneity in the rates of pass-through across our sample, especially, between "peripheral" and "core" EA economies. For instance, prices rise by 84% in Portugal following one percent depreciation of exchange rate, while for the German economy the extent of pass-through is not exceeding 0.20%. This outcome would have important implications for the general risk perceived by foreign firms and investors regarding the inflationary environment within each EA country.


| Brucellosis is one of the neglected widespread zoonoses around the globe affecting animals as well as humans. The purpose of the current review is to illustrate a report on the seroprevalence of bovine and human Brucellosis and associated risk factors in Pakistan. A total of 29 articles on Brucellosis from 2000 to May 2020 were selected and reviewed for the estimation of Brucella incidence in cattle, buffaloes and humans of Pakistan. The current study is based on the research articles in which Brucella prevalence is primarily determined through the following serological tests: Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), milk ring test (MRT), serum agglutination test (SAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Due to diversity in sensitivity and specificity of applied serological tests, it was found a vast divergence in the prevalence of Brucellosis. The seroprevalence of bovine Brucellosis is also varied due to geographical and environmental conditions, different breeds, sexes, and the difference in ages as within cattle varied from 2.05% to 28.90%, and found in buffaloes ranged from 1.6% to 21.73%. The Brucellosis in humans was reported in livestock workers, butchers, veterinary professionals, and those people who have direct contact with animals or using raw milk and Brucellosis has been found in them from 14% to 17.74%. The published reports portray that Brucellosis does affect both humans and animals in Pakistan. A proper surveillance system, effective vaccination plan and execution of segregation and culling strategy regarding Brucella infected animals, are desperately needed for the eradication of Brucellosis in Pakistan.


In our studies we present a multilayer structure consisting of outer layers of two-ply basalt composed of basalt fabric impregnated with an epoxy compound and an inner layer of polyurethane reinforced with basalt, having the same composition, formed in conjugate hexagonal prisms, and forming a cellular framework. The main part describes the technological sequence of obtaining basalt face layers, basalt hexagonal cellular frame, and filling it with a liquid reaction mass of rigid polyurethane system. The formation of a single multilayer composite structure is shown. We also present the results of the experimental research of strength of a laminated composite and its inner layer without facing layers when tested for static bending with concentrated load increasing at a constant rate and compression testing up to 10% of relative deformation. It describes the effect of the size of hexagonal prismatic cells of the frame on the physical and mechanical characteristics of the middle layer. The reduction of the cell size results in the increase of the composite strength. The dependence of the composite density on the size of the cells of the basalt frame has been studied.


This paper develops a simple model of international trade with intermediation. We consider an economy with two islands and two types of agents, farmers and traders. Farmers can produce two goods, but in order to sell these goods in centralized (Walrasian) markets, they need to be matched with a trader, and this entails costly search. In the absence of search frictions, our model reduces to a standard Ricardian model of trade. We use this simple model to contrast the implications of changes in the integration of Walrasian markets, which allow traders from di⁄erent islands to exchange their goods, and changes in the access to these Walrasian markets, which allow farmers to trade with traders from di⁄erent islands. We (cid:133)nd that intermediation always magni(cid:133)es the gains from trade under the former type of integration, but leads to more nuanced welfare results under the latter, including the possibility of aggregate losses. Nottingham, Boston Paris of excellent research assistance.


Infrastructure contributed just over one percentage point to Ghana's annual per capital GDP growth during the 2000s. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost the annual growth rate by more than 2.7 percentage points. Ghana has an advanced infrastructure platform when compared with other low-income countries in Africa. The country's coverage levels for rural water, electricity, and GSM signals are impressive. A large share of the road network is in good or fair condition. Institutional reforms have been adopted in the ICT, ports, roads, and water supply sectors. Ghana's most pressing challenges lie in the power sector, where outmoded transmission and distribution assets, rapid demand growth, and periodic hydrological shocks leave the country reliant on high-cost oil-based generation. Exceptionally high losses in water distribution leave little to reach end customers, who are thus exposed to intermittent supplies. Addressing Ghana's infrastructure challenges will require raising annual expenditures to $2.3 billion. The country already spends about $1.2 billion per year on infrastructure, equivalent to about 7.5 percent of GDP. A further $1.1 billion is lost each year to inefficiencies, notably underpricing of power.Ghana's annual infrastructure funding gap is about $0.4 billion per year, chiefly related to power and water. Following its recent oil discoveries, Ghana can raise additional public funding from increased tax receipts. The country has several strong areas on which to build and a solid economic base from which to fund incremental efforts.


From 24-30 October, we celebrated international Open Access Week, a global event in its fifth year. According to www.openaccessweek.org, the event is "...an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they've learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.


Today, due to the global recession car sales have been decreased rapidly and auto makers are competing continuously to expand their market share. Automakers are struggling in order to secure competitive cost and quality through continuous cost reduction and quality innovation activities to win in the competition. In this situation, auto parts makers are trying to reinforce price competitiveness by reducing COPQ (Cost Of Poor Quality) in the mass production stages by securing the quality of components in advance from the design stage through DFSS (Design For Six Sigma) activities which is 6 sigma approach in the R&D field. However, auto parts makers have been undergone various confusion, feeling difficulties to get interrelationship among various activities. Thus, this study is going to suggest approach method for much more effective R&D activities by securing interrelationship between ISO/TS 16949 system established in the auto parts industry and DFSS activities.


This research is motivated by a paradigm shift in Initial Science Teacher Education in Pakistan, which places emphasis on the use of inquiry-based pedagogy as a key method for improving student-teachers' understanding of science. In the light of this key role for inquiry-based pedagogy, this study explores the perceptions of teacher-educators and student-teachers who are participating in an initial teacher education (ITE) program in a university in Pakistan. The main aims of the study are to explore (a) their perceptions about the components for inquiry-based pedagogy which are required to be undertaken properly in the classroom; (b) their perceptions of the role and importance of inquiry-based pedagogy and (c) their perceptions of the barriers that impede the practice of inquiry-based approaches. The study uses a methodological triangulation to gather data from science teacher-educators and student-teachers, employing four research tools: a teacher-educators' questionnaire, a student-teachers' questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with 20 science teacher-educators, and two focus groups with small groups of science student-teachers. Though, the researcher's role as an insider helped in collecting robust and extensive data due to a personal familiarity with the native setting, it also brought challenges in conducting the teacher-educators' interviews. The analysis of data from both teacher-educators and student-teachers converged on the overarching themes of the role of inquiry-based pedagogy in ITE, the relationship between inquiry and science literacy and the barriers impeding the practice of inquiry-based pedagogy.
Overall, it became clear that the conceptualization of inquiry-based learning with teacher-educators and student-teachers was rather limited. Nonetheless, the results of this study indicate that most teacher-educators were positive about the role and importance of inquiry-based pedagogy in ITE. The majority of teacher-educators appreciated their role as a facilitator of the learning process using inquiry and reported that they had developed an appreciation of the benefits of teaching science using inquiry-based pedagogy. Furthermore, teacher-educators strongly indicated an intention to use inquiry-based science teaching strategies in ITE in science though they tended to rely on questions as their main activity rather than using a range of inquiry-based instructional strategies. Moreover, the majority of teacher-educators reported that continued practice in teaching science courses and/or teaching method courses had contributed to their developing a fair understanding of inquiry-based pedagogy in science. The teacher-educators and student-teachers appreciated that inquiry-based pedagogy should be used in ITE because it helps in developing learning. The teacher-educators responded positively regarding the role of inquiry in developing science literacy and in enhancing the procedural understanding of student-teachers in science. Though most of the findings were supported by student-teachers' responses from student-teachers' questionnaires and focus groups, a gap was noted between the teacher-educators' perceptions of the use of inquiry-base pedagogies and the student-teachers' perceptions of their actual experiences in the science classroom in the responses given in the student-teachers' focus groups. The results indicate that a majority of teacher-educators and students reported several serious barriers to using inquiry-based pedagogy. These were exam-based assessment, text-based curriculum in science courses, insufficient time, a lack of resources and a lack of university support. Furthermore, the majority of teacher-educators reported that the curriculum allows only limited exposure to inquiry when teacher-educators are burdened with a large teaching load as well as a shortage of time, limited resources and big classes. The teacher-educators commented that assessment allows them little autonomy in assessing student-teachers' levels of science learning. Consequently, teacher-educators' lack of motivation regarding the process of inquiry-based strategies was reported, which resulted in the reduced use of inquiry-based strategies. Thus, teacher-educators' lack of motivation, difficulties in managing inquiry-based lessons and student-teachers' low levels of confidence in using inquiry were all reported as more minor barriers which could be removed with a continued practice of inquiry-based approaches. Student-teachers' perceptions from their questionnaires' and focus groups' data support the teacher-educators' perceptions of the role and importance of inquiry-based pedagogy. Moreover, the majority of teacher-educators responded that student-teachers should be encouraged to develop an understanding of the process of inquiry. The emergent themes were discussed in the light of the existing literature in order to highlight similarities, as well as distinctive features in a Pakistani context. Finally, recommendations concerning the importance of inquiry-based pedagogy in science in ITE, the arrangement of resources, teacher-educators' professional development, and preparation for student-teachers are presented for the attention of teacher-educators, the University administration, and Higher Education Authorities.


Mutations in the RHO gene encoding for the visual pigment protein, rhodopsin, are among the most common cause of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP). Previous studies of ADRP mutations in different domains of rhodopsin have indicated that changes that lead to more instability in rhodopsin structure are responsible for more severe disease in patients. Here, we further test this hypothesis by comparing side-by-side and therefore quantitatively two RHO mutations, N15S and P23H, both located in the N-terminal intradiscal domain. The in vitro biochemical properties of these two rhodopsin proteins, expressed in stably transfected tetracycline-inducible HEK293S cells, their UV-visible absorption, their Fourier transform infrared, circular dichroism and Metarhodopsin II fluorescence spectroscopy properties were characterized. As compared to the severely impaired P23H molecular function, N15S is only slightly defective in structure and stability. We propose that the molecular basis for these structural differences lies in the greater distance of the N15 residue as compared to P23 with respect to the predicted rhodopsin folding core. As described previously for WT rhodopsin, addition of the cytoplasmic allosteric modulator chlorin e6 stabilizes especially the P23H protein, suggesting that chlorin e6 may be generally beneficial in the rescue of those ADRP rhodopsin proteins whose stability is affected by amino acid replacement.


We report quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations on the electronically excited state of green fluorescent protein mutant S65T/H148D. We examine the driving force of the ultrafast (τ < 50 fs) excited-state proton transfer unleashed by absorption in the A band at 415 nm and propose an atomistic description of the two dynamical regimes experimentally observed [Stoner Ma et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 1227]. These regimes are explained in terms of two sets of successive dynamical events: first the proton transfers quickly from the chromophore to the acceptor Asp148. Thereafter, on a slower time scale, there are geometrical changes in the cavity of the chromophore that involve the distance between the chromophore and Asp148, the planarity of the excited-state chromophore, and the distance between the chromophore and Tyr145. We find two different non-radiative relaxation channels that are operative for structures in the reactant region and that can explain the mismatch between the decay of the emission of A* and the rise of the emission of I*, as well as the temperature dependence of the non-radiative decay rate.


Topography along strike‐slip fault restraining bends is theoretically self‐limited by erosion, block translation and the expected abandonment of fault bends. However, Denali (6,194 m) and Foraker (5,304 m) are located within a restraining bend of the dextral Denali Fault system. We reveal the role of bend evolution in mountain building with physical experiments scaled to simulate the Alaska Mount McKinley restraining bend (MMRB). Despite the natural complexity of the MMRB, first‐order patterns (of strike‐slip separation rates, uplift and lateral bend migration) from the geologic data align with patterns from scaled experiments. Thermochronology, seismicity, and slip rate data show that the persistence of a single Denali Fault strand through the ~6 Ma MMRB is facilitated by simultaneous advection of crust through the bend and migration of the eastern vertex of the bend.


Background To evaluate the effects of hyperprolactinemia on aldosterone secretion and its mechanisms of action in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Methods Hyperprolactinemia was induced by the transplantation of rat anterior pituitary (AP) glands under the kidney capsule for 6 weeks in female rats. Control rats underwent cerebral cortex (CX) transplantation. Four weeks after transplantation, the rats were OVX 2 weeks before decapitation. After decapitation, the trunk blood was collected, and the adrenal glands of CX- and AP-grafted rats were prepared as zona glomerulosa (ZG) cells for in vitro study. Results Plasma prolactin and aldosterone in the rats were increased by AP gland transplantation. In the in vitro study, the basal aldosterone secretion by the adrenal ZG cells was higher in AP-grafted rats than in CX-grafted rats. The AP-grafted group showed increased responsiveness to angiotensin II (10-8 M), KCl (8x10-3 M), or 8-bromo-adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (8-br-cAMP; 10-4 M, a membrane-permeable analogue of cAMP) with regard to aldosterone secretion as compared with the CX-grafted group. N-(2-[p-Bromocinnamylamine]ethyl)-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H89; 10-6, 10-5 M, a protein kinase A inhibitor) or tetrandrine (10-5 M, a blocker for both L-type and T-type Ca2+ channels) induced a greater suppression of aldosterone secretion in the AP-grafted group than in the CX-grafted group. No significant differences between the CX- and AP-grafted groups were observed, however, with regard to the adrenocorticotropic hormone (10-9 M)-, forskolin (10-5 M, an adenylyl cyclase activator)-, or nifedipine (10-5 M, an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker)-induced responsiveness of aldosterone secretion. In addition, there was no difference in the expression of desmolase (i.e., cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme) in ZG cells between AP- and CX-grafted rats. The conversions of 25-OH-cholesterol into pregnenolone in the presence of trilostane (an inhibitor of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase) and corticosterone into aldosterone, as well as the expression of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein in ZG cells, were greater in AP-grafted rats than in CX-grafted rats. Conclusions These results suggest that hyperprolactinemia increases basal, angiotensin II- and KCl-stimulated aldosterone secretion by ZG cells in OVX rats through activation of T-type Ca2+ channels, the post-cAMP and protein kinase A pathway, cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme, and aldosterone synthase, as well as by causing increased expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein in ZG cells.


Automatic segmentation of DNA bands in one dimensional DNA fingerprint gel images produced by hybridizing techniques could be challenging due to the noise and large intensity variation among the bands within each lane in the image. A new algorithm for automatic segmentation of DNA bands based on the variance (var), mean-variance-ratio (MVR) and equivalent width is presented. A number of pre-processing steps should be applied on the image prior to the automatic segmentation. First a homomorphic filter is applied to enhance the image followed by an edge preserving noise filtering algorithm to remove the noise in the image. Then a background normalization operation is applied to the resulting image. After these preprocessing operations, each lane in the image is detected and presented by a one dimensional intensity profile. The new algorithm will be applied on the valleys in the resulting intensity profile for each lane to characterize the corresponding valley as noise or a DNA band. We have applied this algorithm on several DNA fingerprint gel images, and all the bands were successfully segmented, except the very weak (faint) bands which are very close to their background. These should be analyzed manually.


In this paper, static-pressure strength, toughness index (TI) and thermal-toughness index (TTI) of each sample have been analyzed on the basis of the experimental studies on the magnetic separation and heavy liquid separation of diamond abrasives. The results show that the magnetism of synthetic diamond abrasives has an obvious influence on their mechanical performances. With the increase of magnetism, synthetic diamond abrasive particles becomes darker and darker in appearance color, and have more bubbles, impurities and defects inside the particles, furthermore, their surface fineness observed under the microscope will be found worse. While, the static-pressure strength, the TI under the normal temperature and TTI all become lower and lower. But the influence on the static-pressure strength and the TI is smaller, however the influence on TTI is the greater. The specific gravity of synthetic diamond abrasives has little influence on their mechanical performances.


Ion fluxes resolve organellar volume Animal cells continuously sample the surrounding medium, a feature accentuated in immune cells. Sampling is accomplished by trapping external medium into membrane-bound vesicles or vacuoles. These structures are promptly resolved, thus avoiding accumulation of endomembranes and volume expansion. In a variety of cultured cells, Freeman et al. found that this resolution entails conversion of spherical vacuoles into thin tubules, a process that involves marked changes in surface-to-volume ratio (see the Perspective by King and Smythe). Shrinkage of membrane-bound structures is driven by ion fluxes and subsequent osmotic transfer of water. Shriveled vacuoles attract curvature-sensing proteins that promote the extension of fine tubules. Ion channels thereby control membrane remodeling, enabling receptor recycling and proper routing of cellular cargo. Science, this issue p. 301; see also p. 246 Fluid transport by intracellular compartments during membrane remodeling maintains receptor distribution and organelle volume. Despite ongoing (macro)pinocytosis of extracellular fluid, the volume of the endocytic pathway remains unchanged. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we used high-resolution video imaging to analyze the fate of macropinosomes formed by macrophages in vitro and in situ. Na+, the primary cationic osmolyte internalized, exited endocytic vacuoles via two-pore channels, accompanied by parallel efflux of Cl− and osmotically coupled water. The resulting shrinkage caused crenation of the membrane, which fostered recruitment of curvature-sensing proteins. These proteins stabilized tubules and promoted their elongation, driving vacuolar remodeling, receptor recycling, and resolution of the organelles. Failure to resolve internalized fluid impairs the tissue surveillance activity of resident macrophages. Thus, osmotically driven increases in the surface-to-volume ratio of endomembranes promote traffic between compartments and help to ensure tissue homeostasis.


The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 is a troublesome statute. The Act requires that, when considering a claim brought against a defendant in negligence or for breach of statutory duty, the court must assess whether that party was 'acting for the benefit of society or any of its members' (section 2), or 'demonstrated a predominantly responsible approach towards protecting the safety or interests of others' (section 3), or was 'acting heroically' (section 4). However laudable the Coalition Government's attempts to foster a 'Big Society' might have been, this enactment was not the proper vehicle to achieve it. Some provisions merely repeat longstanding common law principles. Others may have been intended to amend the common law to encourage 'good citizenship', but fall well short of that aim. And some aspects of the Act's drafting have the (perhaps unintended) potential to sit uncomfortably with established common law negligence principles.


A case of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia with amegakaryocytosis is described. The baby was treated by double-volume exchange transfusion with only a temporary benefit; 2 weeks of steroid treatment were unsuccessful but the platelet count did increase transiently after infusion of random donor platelets. The newborn recovered after intravenous immunoglobulin, with restoration of the megakaryocyte thrombocytopoiesis and platelet number. The rare antigen Koa on the paternal platelets and maternal immunization against it were detected.


Feature salience estimation is the task of quantifying the relative importance of individual features, in the presence of other features, in determining the classes of records in a dataset. This is an important task in the field of knowledge discovery in databases as it can provide real insight into the data. It is often very valuable for users to be able to determine which are the most important features in a dataset. For example, medical practitioners may wish to identify the salience of risk factors for a disease. Furthermore, salience estimation can be used as a basis for feature subset selection. In this paper we present a simple definition of feature salience together with a method that can be used to estimate this salience. The effectiveness, and limits, of the method were investigated by applying it to five synthetic datasets with known properties.


The use of finite element methods to determine the collapse behavior of steel portal frames in fire requires temperature, large deformation, complex geometry, boundary conditions and degradation of material stiffness to be taken into account. For such analyses, the cost of computation is important as well as the accuracy, robustness and stability of the analyses. The implicit dynamic method is a rigorous technique that considers the equilibrium of every time step. However, convergence may become an issue, particularly if the frame undergoes structural instability while using a direct time incrementation scheme. In contrast, the explicit dynamic method does not require the equilibrium criteria to be met in every time step, and thus convergence problems are not encountered, although the cost of computation may be tremendous if the natural time scale is used. This paper presents a comparison between the efficiency, stability and accuracy of computations using the implicit and explicit dynamic methods, in determining the collapse behavior of portal frames at elevated temperatures; the models are quasi-static since inertia forces are ignored. It is found that similar results can be obtained using both the implicit and explicit dynamic methods, although the analysis times differ significantly. It is shown that, if the applied artificial inertia forces, in terms of residual forces, are magnified and an automatic time incrementation scheme is activated in the implicit dynamic method, then this method shows significant superiority over the explicit dynamic method both in terms of the cost of computation and the accuracy of results obtained for such structures.


Recently, self-assembly synthesis of metal nano-particles has attracted great interest due to its unique size dependent properties. In this study, an easy synthesis would be developed to form Au nano-particles which are without toxicity. The Au particles could be applied in biological and biological toxicity experiments. Some phenomena could be discovered in this paper. First, the concentration ratio of Au and trisodium citrate would be adjusted to control the Au nano-particles size. And the particle size is limited because of the size dependent energy would be discovered in this paper. The minimum particle size is also found. The one phase liquid reduction method is easy and without toxicity, it is low-cost, high-throughput, and suitable to be applied in biological and biological toxicity studies.


COVID-19 pandemic tensions and contradictions are being felt and experienced across the US at many levels: societal, organizational, and individual. One way to understand, work though, and address some of the tensions that workers are experiencing is through "paradoxical thinking." Paradoxical thinking helps to see on-going, unresolvable, contradictory tensions as forces that can fuel innovation and performance. Using a paradox lens, this paper was written to help make sense of the crises leaders and workers are experiencing as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on. The paper begins with a brief overview of the sources of data, the meaning of paradox, and illustrates five paradoxes experienced during the pandemic by providing information on the potential impact of COVID-19 on workers. Finally, empirically proven strategies for dealing with paradoxes are presented.


Recurrent chromosome translocations are the hallmark of many human cancers. A proportion of human extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas (EMCs) are associated with the characteristic chromosomal translocation t(3;9)(q11-12;q22), which results in the formation of a chimeric protein in which the N-terminal domain of the TRK-fused gene (TFG) is fused to the translocated in extraskeletal chondrosarcoma (TEC; also called CHN, CSMF, MINOR, NOR1, and NR4A3) gene. The oncogenic effect of this translocation may be due to the higher transactivation ability of the TFG-TEC chimeric protein; however, downstream target genes of TFG-TEC have not yet been identified. The results presented here demonstrate that TFG-TEC activates the human beta-enolase promoter. EMSAs, ChIP assays, and luciferase reporter assays revealed that TFG-TEC upregulates beta-enolase transcription by binding to two NGFI-B response element motifs located upstream of the putative transcription start site. In addition, northern blot, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blot analyses showed that overexpression of TFG-TEC up-regulated beta-enolase mRNA and protein expression in cultured cell lines. Finally, ChIP analyses revealed that TFG-TEC controls the activity of the endogenous beta-enolase promoter by promoting histone H3 acetylation. Overall, the results presented here indicate that TFG-TEC triggers a regulatory gene hierarchy implicated in cancer cell metabolism. This finding may aid the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of human EMCs. Citation Format: Ah-young Kim, Bobae Lim, JeeHyun Choi, Jungho Kim. TFG-TEC oncogene modulates beta-enolase expression via both promoter activation and epigenetic modification [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on DNA Repair: Tumor Development and Therapeutic Response; 2016 Nov 2-5; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2017;15(4_Suppl):Abstract nr A43.


In the dictionary learning (or sparse coding) problem, we are given a collection of signals (vectors in $\mathbb{R}^d$), and the goal is to find a "basis" in which the signals have a sparse (approximate) representation. The problem has received a lot of attention in signal processing, learning, and theoretical computer science. The problem is formalized as factorizing a matrix $X (d \times n)$ (whose columns are the signals) as $X = AY$, where $A$ has a prescribed number $m$ of columns (typically $m \ll n$), and $Y$ has columns that are $k$-sparse (typically $k \ll d$). Most of the known theoretical results involve assuming that the columns of the unknown $A$ have certain incoherence properties, and that the coefficient matrix $Y$ has random (or partly random) structure.
The goal of our work is to understand what can be said in the absence of such assumptions. Can we still find $A$ and $Y$ such that $X \approx AY$? We show that this is possible, if we allow violating the bounds on $m$ and $k$ by appropriate factors that depend on $k$ and the desired approximation. Our results rely on an algorithm for what we call the threshold correlation problem, which turns out to be related to hypercontractive norms of matrices. We also show that our algorithmic ideas apply to a setting in which some of the columns of $X$ are outliers, thus giving similar guarantees even in this challenging setting.


Studies in nuclear submariners show that calcium excretion falls rapidly to 50% of pre-patrol levels during long patrols and remains low for many weeks after return to fresh air. This has previously been attributed to a specific effect of continuous exposure to the inevitably raised ambient CO2 levels, but other environmental factors cannot be ignored, in particular isolation from sunlight, which leads to reduced skin synthesis of vitamin D. The role of vitamin D is examined with reference to measured mean circulating blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D at the beginning and end of a submarine patrol and in human exposure chamber investigations. It is concluded that although CO2 exposure has specific effects on calcium metabolism, causing a considerable reduction in urinary calcium excretion, a state of hypovitaminosis C occurs in long submarine patrols that has effects outweighing those of CO2 toward the end of patrols and afterward. The significance of this effect to submariners' health is discussed.


The aim of this study was to determine the effect of conservative management of pre-eclampsia with onset in the second trimester on fetomaternal outcome. This was a prospective study of 749 consecutive cases of pre-eclampsia seen over a 5-year period in a tertiary care centre in Enugu, Eastern Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-five (23·4%) of the 749 cases started at less than 30 weeks' gestational age. These early-onset cases formed the study group, while the remaining 574 with onset at 30 weeks' gestation or later (the late-onset cases) served as controls. The two groups were compared for some fetomaternal outcome variables at the 95% confidence level. Ninety-one (52%) of the early-onset group had pure pre-eclampsia while the remaining 84 were thought to have pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension. The mean gain in gestational age in the early-onset group was 8·8 ± 1·5 (range: 0-19) weeks. Compared to the late-onset group, the early-onset group had a twofold increase in maternal mortality ratio and a significantly increased incidence of renal failure and HELLP syndrome. The perinatal mortality rate increased fourfold in the early-onset compared to the late-onset group due principally to prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction. The perinatal mortality rate was, however, comparable to results from similar Caucasian studies. It was concluded that there has been an increased incidence of early-onset pre-eclampsia in Nigerian women. Although conservative management of such cases may improve fetal results, it is associated with increased maternal mortality and morbidity because of institutional delays and non-availability of magnesium sulphate at the time of the study. Minimising institutional delays, providing magnesium sulphate and improving neonatal services will enhance maternal and fetal results in early-onset pre-eclampsia in Nigeria and are recommended.


NURS 150 The Discipline of Psychiatric Nursing 3 Credits Weekly (3-0-0) Historical, current and future perspectives of the disciplines of nursing and psychiatric nursing are introduced. Nursing and psychiatric nursing as a science, art, discipline and professional practice are discussed. Selected theories and models are explored, focusing on philosophical viewpoints and their influence on knowledge and practice. The roles, scope and standards of psychiatric nursing practice are examined from provincial, national and international perspectives, as well as in terms of organizations and legislation. The professional code of ethics and approaches to ethical decision making are introduced. Thinking processes related to the discipline are developed.


Zintl phases are ideal candidates for efficient thermoelectric materials, because they are typically small‐bandgap semiconductors with complex structures. Furthermore, such phases allow fine adjustment of dopant concentration without disrupting electronic mobility, which is essential for optimizing thermoelectric material efficiency. The tunability of Zintl phases is demonstrated with the series CaxYb1–xZn2Sb2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). Measurements of the electrical conductivity, Hall mobility, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity (in the 300–800 K temperature range) show the compounds to behave as heavily doped semiconductors, with transport properties that can be systematically regulated by varying x. Within this series, x = 0 is the most metallic (lowest electrical resistivity, lowest Seebeck coefficient, and highest carrier concentration), and x = 1 is the most semiconducting (highest electrical resistivity, highest Seebeck coefficient, and lowest carrier concentration), while the mobility is largely independent of x. In addition, the structural disorder generated by the incorporation of multiple cations lowers the overall thermal conductivity significantly at intermediate compositions, increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT. Thus, both zT and the thermoelectric compatibility factor (like zT, a composite function of the transport properties) can be finely tuned to allow optimization of efficiency in a thermoelectric device.


Lime slurry pressure injections have been successfully used to stabilize and control swelling and expansive soils and low-strength clay soils to depths of up to 40 ft (12 m). When the activity of soils is somewhat lower, or when soils have large void ratios, lime/fly ash (L/FA) slurry mixtures have been injected to fill voids. It has been postulated that this action creates stronger seams, helps to mend possible failure surfaces, and at the same time increases the overall stability of a slope by decreasing water infiltration. The investigation reported herein was undertaken to develop laboratory testing techniques suitable for evaluating the strength improvement realized by introducing L/FA into a soil mass in the form of seams. To accomplish this goal, six specimen configurations were conceived, and a total of 45 direct shear specimens, including 35 containing vertical and/or horizontal seams of L/FA, were tested. In addition to demonstrating the viability of testing techniques developed, the testing program resulted in a small data base on one soil stabilized with an L/FA slurry having a lime-to-fly ash weight ratio of 1:3.75 and a solids-to-water ratio of 7.6 lb to 1 gal (0.9 kg to 1 L).


Research indicates that the Latina/o population is growing in the United States, and more Latina/os are attending college, many do not continue their education beyond the undergraduate level, much less beyond the Master's level. Latinas in particular continue to be underrepresented in professional roles due to the small number of Latinas who obtain doctoral degrees. Although many Latinas do not continue their education or drop-out throughout their graduate schooling, some Latinas do thrive forward and are academically successful. This study aimed at identifying elements that fostered resiliency in academically successful Latina doctoral students, as well as identifying challenges or barriers that some Latinas experience. Findings indicate some support for Bernard's resiliency theory, while also providing implications for advocacy for Latina doctoral students.


During the early stages of the Trump ICE age, we seem to be witnessing and experiencing an unparalleled era of immigration enforcement. But is it unparalleled? Didn't we label Barack Obama the "Deporter-in-Chief?" Wasn't it George Bush who used the authority of the Patriot Act to round up nonimmigrants from Muslim and Arab countries and didn't his ICE commonly engage in armed raids a factories and other worksites? Aren't there strong parallels that can be drawn between Trump enforcement plans and actions and those of other eras?
What about the fear and hysteria that seems to really be happening in immigrant communities? Is the fear unparalleled? Why is there so much fear? Is the fear justified? Why do things seem different, in spite of rigorous immigration enforcement that has occurred even in recent years?
This article begins with a comparison of what the Trump administration has done in terms of immigration enforcement with the enforcement efforts of other administrations. For example, I compare (1) the attempted Muslim travel bans with post-9/11 efforts by George W. Bush and Iranian student roundups by Jimmy Carter, (2) the Border Wall proposal with the Fence Act of 2006 and Operation Gatekeeper in 1994, (3) restarting Secure Communities (fingerprint sharing program) with Obama's enforcement program of the same name, (4) expanding INA § 287(g) agreements with Bush efforts under the same statute, (5) the threat of raids by an ICE deportation army with Bush gun-toting raids, (6) extreme vetting of immigrants and refugees with what already existed under Bush and Obama, (7) threatening to cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities with the prosecution of sanctuary workers in the 1980s, (8) prioritizing "criminal" immigrants with Obama's similar prioritization, and (9) expedited removal in the interior with Bush and Obama expedited removals along the border. Then I turn to the fear and hysteria in immigrant communities that has spread throughout the country. I ask why that fear has occurred and whether the fear has a reasonable basis. I close with a personal reflection on the parallels I have seen and experienced since I began practicing immigration law as a legal services attorney in 1975 and contemplate why enforcement and the resulting fear are different today.


Background- Elderly women, especially those 65 years of age or older are known to be at high risk of disequilibrium. Many anatomical and physiological changes have been suggested as reasons for the decrease in equilibrium found in the elderly population. Footwear, being at the interface between the body and the supporting surface has the potential to affect balance and subsequently, the risk of falling. Older people who perform poorly under dual-tasks are at increased risk of falls. We limited our focus to elderly women because they are at higher risk for disablement than are men.
Objective- To determine whether footwear affected performance of balance and mobility while performing dual task in elderly women aged 60 to 80 years.
Methods- A Total of 30 subjects were invited to participate in the study. Subjects performed the tasks (TUG and BBS) under dual task condition barefooted and with footwear. The mean and standard deviation of the collected data was calculated. Further, t value, p value was calculated to know the level of significance.
Result- Result of the mean scores of TUG under dual task (motor + cognitive) showed significant decrease in time while performing it with footwear. Similarly while performing balance activity with dual task (motor + cognitive) during barefoot or with footwear it showed significant changes when wearing footwear.
Conclusion- It was found that wearing footwear as compared to going barefoot was associated with significant changes in balance and mobility scores under dual task condition in elderly women aged 60 to 80 years attending a day care hospital. Taking into account the findings of increased falls risk in elderly women who go barefoot, we recommend that elderly women at risk of falls do not go barefoot while walking.


The realizability for spatial structure of suspended bio-carriers should be considered in the process of structure designing. Injection molding analysis could obtain the injection performance of spatial structure, and provide the references for economic benefit of structure realization and structure optimization, so it become an important tool for structure designing and optimization. In oder to apply the injection molding analysis to the process of bio-carriers designing, three structures, multi-plane spherical structure, straight chip columnar structure, wing panel structure are designed. Their injection performances, such as best location of injection, fill time, and injection pressure are be compared, the results show that the multi-plane spherical structure has the best injection economic benefit.


Background : Infections with mosquito-borne parasites are common in human populations inhabiting tropical regions of the world. Malaria is endemic along Kenyan Lake Victoria basin and its vectors are fresh water breeders. However, much less is known about the current spatial distribution and habitat characterisation of mosquitoes including vectors of malaria in the lake waters and adjacent terrestrial aquatic habitats. Objectives : To characterise mosquito larval habitats and to determine the spatial distribution of mosquito species in lake and land habitats, measure aquatic habitats' (water) physic-chemical parameters, enumerate the number of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish species and determine their effects on the abundance of mosquitoes. This could allow larval control to be more effectively targeted at specific sites which in its turn could reduce malaria transmission in the area. Design : Cross-sectional study. Setting : The Kenyan Lake Victoria Basin. Results : Anopheles and Culex species of mosquitoes were absent in different locations in the lake, but abundant in different aquatic habitats in different locations on land. There was heterogeneity in the relative abundance of Anopheles and Culex species in the aquatic habitats in different locations on land, p 0.05 (Pearsons correlation coefficiency). Also, there was no significant correlation between abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes and phytoplanktons, (P>0.05). Significant correlation was however, observed with Dinoflagellates on land, P=0.014.  Clarias gariepinus were more insectivorous compared to Oreochromis niloticus , which mostly fed on zooplankton and food remains. The most abundant mosquitoes in the lake were Mansonia followed by Aedes species of mosquitoes. Conclusion : Anopheles species of mosquitoes do not breed in deep permanent lake waters even if it is heavily infested by water hyacinth and other aquatic weeds. However, they breed in temporary or seasonal aquatic land habitats such as pools and swamps, more so when infested by aquatic and other vegetations. We recommend that, focus of malaria vector control should concentrate on land sites. Health education and awareness programs should be scaled up to inform the local communities on mosquito species ecology in relation to transmission of malaria and other mosquito- borne diseases. There is need to introduce certain fish species ( Clarias gariepinus ) for biological control of mosquitoes breeding in the aquatic habitats near human habitats.


The phenomenon of economic development is a composite of several, factors, which may not necessary have economic connotations; The contribution of human resource to economic growth of any country cannot be overemphasized, especially in a country like India which is still reeling under the pressures of its mammoth population and limited capital resource. The Indian economy can well be studied in two distinct sectors, organized and unorganized (informal). The widespread informal sector in the country is a major contributor to its development but at the same time it is plagued by several problems such as no proper service rules, no wage rules and no possibilities of career advancement. Another notable fact is that as many as 94% of total women workers work in the informal sector in India but they have to face gender discrimination which is almost inexistent in formal sector. Besides, their contribution in terms of income generation turns out to be less than their male counterparts, which means almost half of the population, contribute to less than to half the national income. The present paper aims at understanding this lopsided utilization of human capital and its fall outs.


This paper examines a new risk adjuster for capitation payments to Dutch health plans, based on the prior use of durable medical equipment (DME). The essence is to classify users of DME in a previous year into clinically homogeneous classes and to apply the resulting classification as a risk adjuster for capitation payments in the subsequent year. We evaluate 143 DME types in terms of incentives, validity, predictive value, and measurability, resulting in 14 functional disability classes (FDCs). We conclude that FDCs can significantly improve the Dutch risk adjustment model, although possible incentives for oversupply have to be monitored.


In this commentary, I make a case for recognizing and encouraging in human geography a sort of mundane kindness that is unremarkable in its ambition, but potentially profound in its impacts. Although it is important to continue to analyze the conditions that have left so many of us in need of acts of kindness that compensate for the failures and violence of the neoliberal academy, I argue that alongside this critical scholarship we could continue to make room for 'ordinary' kindness that does not necessarily need to justify itself through critical reflection.


There has been considerable interest in heart rate (fh) fluctuations in relation to cardiovascular control systems and foetal conditions during pregnancy in mammals. Prominent fluctuations in fh also occur in avian embryos, which are an important experimental model for studying developmental physiology. The present study determined the instantaneous fh of seven chick embryos continuously from the last stage of prenatal development (day 18), throughout the pipping (perinatal) period (days 19-21) until hatching and, subsequently, of newly hatched chicks (up to day 2). The distinctive patterns of instantaneous fh fluctuations took the form of specific changes within a broad mean fh baseline. Cyclic oscillations (ultradian rhythm) occurred until an early stage of the perinatal period, when the fh baseline started rising. Subsequently, the baseline dropped and respiratory arrhythmia began to appear concomitant with external pipping. During the final stage of external pipping, when the fh baseline rose again prior to hatching, three unique patterns of instantaneous fh fluctuations were evident: relatively long-lasting cyclic small accelerations, irregular intermittent large accelerations and short-term repeated large accelerations. Furthermore, repeated alternate occurrences of the latter two types of acceleration formed an additional oscillating pattern with a period of 10-15 min. During the early period after hatching, when the fh baseline reached its maximum, instantaneous fh changed relatively slowly accompanied by transient rapid decelerations, probably due to augmented vagal tone. Subsequently, the mean fh baseline dropped to its minimum, and a circadian rhythm and three types of previously reported fh fluctuations (types I-III) appeared. Developmental patterns of mean fh and the appearance of distinctive patterns of instantaneous fluctuations in fh and circadian rhythms were not influenced by an ultimate failure of hatching after a normal development. The demonstration of complex, repeatable patterns of fh fluctuation that change during development suggests that the avian embryo model should be useful in studying the phenomenon of fh fluctuation and its underlying causes.


Paid sick leave gives workers an opportunity to regain their health, return to full productivity at work, and avoid spreading disease to their co-workers, all of which reduces employers' overall absence expense. When used to care for sick children, it helps kids get well faster and reduces job turnover. Workers who care for adult relatives, including the elderly, need paid sick leave to take care of their loved ones' chronic and acute medical problems. However, new analysis of data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the inadequacy of paid sick leave coverage: over 59 million workers have no such leave. Even more—nearly 86 million—do not have paid sick leave to care for sick kids. Full-time workers, those in the public sector, and union members have the best sick leave coverage, while part-timers and low-wage workers have very low coverage rates. Expansion of paid sick leave and integration of family caregiving activities into authorized uses of paid sick leave are crucial work and health supports for workers, their families, employers, and our communities at large.


Source IP spoofing attacks are critical issues to the Internet. These attacks are considered to be sent from bot infected hosts. There has been active research on IP traceback technologies. However, the traceback from an end victim host to an end spoofing host has not yet been achieved, due to the lack of traceback probes installed on each routing path. There is a need to replace alternative probes in order to reduce the installation cost. In this research, we propose an IP tracking scheme against bots using the DNS logs. Many types of bots retrieve IP addresses from fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) at the beginning of communication. The proposed scheme checks from the destination to the source DNS logs, in order to extract the bots. Also, we propose means to distinguish spoofing from non-spoofing attacks, and how to obtain reliable of tracking results. We collect bot communication patterns to confirm that the DNS log can be used for reasonable probes and for achieving a high tracking success rate.


The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in children is closely linked to infected adult family members, usually the mother. Thus, a brief analysis of the epidemiology of AIDS in adults is necessary for the understanding of future trends in pediatric AIDS. AIDS was initially reported to occur in homosexual men. Subsequently, it was noted to occur in intravenous (IV) drug-abusing individuals, including women. The infection of women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of AIDS, has, however, not been restricted to IV-drug abusing women. It was soon recognized that a bidirectional heterosexual transmission does occur, with male to female transmission apparently being more efficient than female to male transmission. This form of sexual transmission may occur in more than 40% of regular sexual partners. Nationwide, the percentage of women with AIDS has doubled in 2 years to nearly 7%. Whether the female to male ratio of patients with AIDS will reach 1:1, as in Africa, is yet to be seen. New demographic studies have shown that AIDS in women, especially in those of childbearing age, is increasing dramatically. In New York City the leading cause of death in 1987 for women between the ages of 24 and 35 years was AIDS.


Abstract. This paper presents recent advances in the design of an underactuated hand for applications in prosthetics. First, the design of the fingers is addressed. Based on previous experiments with prototypes developed in the past, new tendon routings are proposed that lead to a more effective transmission of the forces. A novel elastic tendon routing is also proposed for the passive opening of the hand. A simplified static analysis of the fingers is proposed to support the results. Then, a new kinematic design of the thumb is presented. The thumb is designed to perform out-of-the-plane motions in order to broaden the variety of possible grasps. A mechanism for the implementation of underactuation between the fingers is proposed that alleviates the friction problems encountered in earlier hand designs. Finally, a prototype of the hand is briefly described and typical grasps are shown. This paper was presented at the IFToMM/ASME International Workshop on Underactuated Grasping (UG2010), 19 August 2010, Montreal, Canada.


Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of corporate ethical values (CEV) on the work attitudes linked to the organizational behavior of employees. It primarily focusses on examining the relationship of CEV with organizational commitment (OC) and the turnover intention (TI) of employees.

Design/methodology/approach

– Study undertakes an explanatory analysis on a sample of 150 employees from large and medium scale Indian Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing firms.

Findings

– Results of the study revealed significant relationships among the variables. Strong positive association has been found between CEV and commitment, whereas, contrasting result has been found with TI of employees. CEV explained 22 percent and 23 percent of variance in commitment and TI, respectively. Moreover, the relationship of ethical values and TIs has been found to be mediated through OC.

Practical implications

– Study enables the managers to understand wider impact of ethics in an organization and its positive impact on employees in increasing their commitment levels. Managers should focus on the ethical aspects of conducting business to ensure that the employees are well engaged with their employer and have the least tendency to shift when given an opportunity.

Originality/value

– This research attempts to bridge the gap in the existing literature by explaining relationship among variables (CEV, OC and TI) in context to the South-Asian nations, and especially India.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Hydroxyurea (HU) is known to increase gamma-globin chain expression in postnatal life. The efficacy of HU treatment in thalassemia patients is still unclear. The aim of this study was to monitor treatment of a large cohort of patients with beta-thalassemia major in order to establish the response to HU and the associated elements.

DESIGN AND METHODS
HU therapy was started in 133 patients diagnosed with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia in 1999. The molecular background of the disease, the polymorphisms of the promoter region of the genes, the haplotype of the beta-globin gene cluster, the alpha-gene deletions and the HS2 polymorphism at the locus control region (LCR) of the beta-globin gene cluster were studied.

RESULTS
We were able to classify three categories of response: a good response (61%) in patients who shifted from monthly blood transfusion dependency to a stable transfusion-free condition at an average Hb level of more than 10 gm/dL; a moderate response (23%) in patients who remained transfusion dependent but at longer intervals (6 months or more), and non response in patients who, after one year of treatment, remained at the same level of transfusion dependency. The correlations with the molecular defects were found to be secondary to the presence of the (C-->T) at -158 of the Ggamma gene (XmnI polymorphism). The T allele, in linkage to the haplotype I (+----) and to the internal beta-globin gene framework 2, was the most significant modulating factor involved.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
The good response to HU treatment that a significant number of southwest Iranian patients with beta-thalassemia patients had seems to correlate with particular haplotypes. This indicates that HU treatment is a sensible option for transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients with a favorable molecular background.


Used by more than a million students, LOOKING OUT/LOOKING IN, Fourteenth Edition, maintains its outstanding tradition of combining current information with a fun, reader-friendly voice that links course topics to your everyday life. You'll discover how you will benefit from improving your interpersonal skills and sharpening your critical understanding of the communication process. Diverse and compelling examples illustrate and reinforce how communication skills can affect both the world around you and your own lives. Improve your relationships and your future career success with this engaging text that teaches interpersonal concepts through popular music, art, movies, and television.