The state of thrombin-plasmin system was studied in 34 rabbits with Masuga nephritis untreated or treated with the use of heparin, urokinase, and uroplasmin. The untreated animals developed long-term activation of thrombinogenesis (hypercoagulation) with simultaneous inhibition of fibrinolysis accompanied by deposition of fibrin-postive substances in the lumens of capillaries and glomerular capsules, along basal membranes, and inside epithelial and endothelial cells. Heparin inoculated prophylactically prevented the development of nephritis and typical changes in the thrombin-plasmin system. Treatment with heparin, urokinase or uroplasmin produced regression of nephritis, elimination of fibrin-positive substances from the kidneys and gradual complete normalization of the functional status of the thrombin-plasmin system. It is suggested that not only heparin but also urokinase and uroplasmin can inhibit the immune process. The experimental results favours the immunocoagulation theory of nephritis pathogenesis.


Cognitive information has been exploited in noninvasive Brain Computer Interface (BCI) scenarios to provide autonomous external agents with additional information. In this context, Error-related potentials (ErrPs), temporal deflections in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals when humans perceive erroneous actions, have been exploited to teach correct policies to agents. However, previous works have shared same objective criteria to evaluate actions of agents across humans. Therefore, it is yet an open question whether ErrPs are elicited when humans assess actions based on individual subjective criteria, and if such neuronal activities can be exploited in BCIs to enhance personalized human computer interactions. In this work, we evaluate whether ErrPs are elicited while humans assess actions based on individual subjective criteria. For this purpose, we analyze EEG signals while humans evaluate trajectories performed by the robot to avoid an obstacle. We show that the ErrP can be generated even while the human evaluates the action based on his/her subjective criteria, and that such neuronal activity reveals subjective aspects when assessing the appropriateness of the action. These findings open the door to the exploitation of neural correlates for the personalized human computer interactions, and thus to building adaptable, individualized neuroprosthetic devices.


Most of the inhabitants of northern Italy were woken up during the night of May 20, 2012, by the Mw 6.1 earthquake [QRCMT 2012] that occurred in the eastern Po Plain. The mainshock was preceded a few hours before by a Mw 4.3 shock, and it was followed by a dozen Ml >4 aftershocks in May and June, amongst which 11 had Ml ≥4.5. On May 29, 2012, a second Mw 6.0 mainshock struck roughly the same area [QRCMT 2012], which resulted in further victims, most of whom were caught under the collapse of industrial warehouses. Such earthquakes are an unexpected event in this region, as testified by the lack of local epicenters in the Italian seismic catalog [Rovida et al. 2011: CPTI11 from now] and by the consequent low level of the local seismic classification (seismic zone 3) [DPC 2012]. Apart from the warehouses and hundreds of old, crumbling farmsteads, severe damage was focused on ancient, tall buildings, such as churches, bell towers, castles, towers and palaces. Residential buildings generally suffered only light and/or moderate effects, apart from some exceptional cases. Using the Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg (MCS) scale [Sieberg 1930], we began a macroseismic survey in the early morning of May 20, 2012, that ultimately included visits to almost 200 localities, 52 of which were carried out before the second mainshock. […]


In receptor binding studies, high-affinity racemic radioligands are often used as tracers, neglecting the difference in affinity of their stereoisomers. We present an experimental and theoretical study comparing the binding of (±)-[3H]carazolol and (±)-[125I]hydroxy-benzylpindolol (HYP) to their pure respective isomers in the frog erythrocyte beta-adrenergic system. Saturation binding curves with the racemic radioligands showed deviations from a binding isotherm for a single ligand which were accentuated at higher receptor concentrations. When different affinity constants for both isomers were considered, significant improvement in the fits of the data were obtained by computer-modeling procedures. The KDav (average dissociation constant) obtained by considering the racemic radioligand as a single ligand, as has generally been done in the literature, varied with the receptor concentration from approximately 2 KD(-) at low receptor concentrations to ≅0.5 KD(+) at high receptor concentrations. Thus the generally measured "KDav" of these racemic radioligands is really a hybrid of KD(-) and KD(+). These experimental findings are in very good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations and may help to explain the discrepancies in dissociation constants of high-affinity racemic radioligands reported in the literature. Experimental data and simulations also indicate that information about the KD(-) is greatest at low receptor concentrations, whereas that about KD(+) is greatest at high receptor concentrations. Simultaneous computer fitting of saturation curves from racemic [125I]HYP and the (+)-isomer, isolated by repeated incubations with frog erythrocyte membranes under appropriate conditions, indicates approximately a 20-fold ratio for the individual isomer KD values. Estimated KD values of the stereoisomers of [125I]HYP and [3H]carazolol were virtually identical, being KD(-) = 10-50 pM and KD(+) ≅ 400-2000 pM at 25°. Use of the KDav for a racemic radioligand resulted in up to 5-fold systematic underestimation of the affinity of nonracemic competitors. The KD values of all high-affinity competitors were also found to be misestimated by as much as 10-fold using the commonly employed Cheng and Prusoff [Biochem. Pharmacol.22: 3099-3108 (1973)] approximation when the affinity of the radioligand was significantly lower than that of the competitor. Under such circumstances, slope factors of ≅2 were obtained for competition curves in the absence of cooperativity.


Monitoring microorganisms in natural water is central to understanding and managing risks to human health and ecosystems. Some phytoplankton can produce toxic blooms which are harmful to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Kariena brevis is responsible for Harmful Algal Blooms and produces brevetoxin which can lead to gastrointestinal and neurological problems in mammals. Traditional methods for Harmful Algal Bloom monitoring require sample collection and preservation for later study in laboratories where they are generally processed using microscopy which can take many hours or days. Laboratory equipment for this application has been adapted for ship-board use. Portable instrument systems that incorporate sample preparation and detection have been also developed for environmental applications. However, very few are suitable for deployment in the environment (either as a hand-held or in situ system) and often require laboratory infrastructure or personnel to facilitate sample collection and processing. Current in situ systems are large, expensive, and require expert users to operate them. Thus these existing systems do not provide marine science with the high spatial resolution data required to enable a better understanding of the diversity, function and community structure of marine microorganisms. Ideal in situ sensors should provide sample analysis over wide areas and at many depths for long periods of time. This remains a significant challenge. One possible solution is to develop numerous cheap sensors which could be incorporated into autonomous underwater vehicles or an argofloats network. Micro systems are excellent candidates as when mature, they could be mass produced to enable them to meet this particular spatial mapping requirement. The use of fully automatic and accurate micro total analysis systems, also known as lab-on-a-chip, can overcome the challenges of highly integrated in situ systems for incorporation into environmental monitoring vehicles and stations. Lab-on-a-chip technology appears well suited for environmental monitoring with its main advantages being the possibility of miniaturization, portability, reduced reagent consumption and automation. Molecular biology tools combined with microfluidic technology have been seen as a potential technical solution for in situ environmental applications. The purpose of this work has been to develop key functions in independent microchips that perform elements of a complete biological assay for ribonucleic acid phytoplankton metrology from the sample preparation to the detection step. Specifically the system is being developed to analyse the large subunit of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL) gene of phytoplankton Kariena brevis, a species responsible for Harmful Algal Blooms. This thesis reports the development of three lab-on-a-chip devices which perform microalga cell lysis, nucleic acid purification and real-time ribonucleic acid detection. The aim was to demonstrate proof-of concept for each device separately in order to obviate the need to tackle the complications of system integration (which remains a challenge), while understanding performance needed and comparing that achieved to the most likely scenarios for real-world applications. Future research should integrate these separate chips into an integrated single chip design to achieve fully automated chips with "sample-in" to "answer-out" capability.


THE AIM of this article is to present an experimental-theoretical formulation concerning some types of thinking processes. More specifically, I shall refer to the analysis of the cognitive aspects of problem-solving performances. I shall first present some considerations pertaining to the evaluation of cognitive behavior in general. The usual approach consists of presenting a subject with problems, test items, or some other type of stimuli. By studying the responses given, the experimenter makes inferences concerning the psychological process of the subject. This kind of procedure has led to a concern that primarily centers around the study of the properties of the responses. The study of the vicarious procedures that may be used in order to reach a response is seldom considered per se, and the inferences that are made concerning the process that mediates between the stimulus and the response can be risky


Food safety events in the recent past have generated significant media attention and resulted in increased concerns over the food on the plate. A recent study (Degeneffe et al., 2007) on consumer perceptions of bio-terrorism and food safety risks shows increasing concern over food safety and corresponding decreasing confidence in security of the U.S. food supply. While there are some mandated safety and security practices for the firms in the food supply chain the economic incentives for the firms to actively address food safety throughout the supply chain are less clear. Security practices often require significant investments in both within the firm and across the supply chain but do not show tangible returns. Also, higher investments in securing the firms' processes and products do not necessarily make the food products more safe if the supply chain partners exhibit higher risks. However, a risk that is realized can potentially bankrupt the firm. Some high-profile cases of food safety outbreaks have had substantial economic consequences such as, lost sales, recall and compensation costs, damaged goodwill and hence impact on future markets. Such incidents can lead the firms out of business and the impact is not contained just at the firm level but also felt throughout the food supply chain. The issues of economic incentives and disincentives for risk mitigation strategies and investments, in a highly vulnerable area such as food sector, are an emerging area of concern both in private and public sector management as well as academic research. The research questions of interest that this paper addresses are: How much should the firm invest to address the security and safety risks that it faces? The optimum investment levels, among other things, are a function of the probabilities of contamination levels exceeding the maximum acceptable standards set. We consider a specification for the contamination levels follow gamma distribution as it exhibits the fat tail property which suggests that extreme events are more likely than predicted by the normal Gaussian form. Previous work by Mohtadi and Murshid(2007) has highlighted the fat-tail nature of extreme events for chemical, biological and radionuclear (CBRn) attacks, which are of intentional nature. However, for food safety risks of unintentional nature the fat-tail nature of the distribution though suggested, is not yet established in literature. The present model leaves less scope for analytical solutions but lends itself to numerical methods, which we employ to examine the firm strategies. Our preliminary model and its analysis suggest that infact for very low levels of risk exposure no investment in security is required! However, as the standards loosen and risk increases the optimum amount of investments also increase. Though the result here are intuitively consistent, they are largely dependent on the parametric specification of the model and their sensitivity to the parameter values is yet to be tested.


BACKGROUND Ischaemic colitis represents the most common form of intestinal ischaemia and involves more commonly elderly patients with a variety of underlying conditions. This study analyses the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of the disease in our environment. PATIENTS AND METHODS The IC cases occurred at our institution during the last two years were studied. Twenty-eight cases of IC obtained by reviewing colonoscopy and pathological records were analyzed. RESULTS The non-occlusive type is the most common presentation form of IC. It affected elderly patients (74 +/- 10 years) with cardiovascular risk factors. Most cases manifested with abdominal pain (68%). In 64% cases, colonoscopy showed ulcerations, located mainly at descending colon and rectosigmoid. The clinical course was generally favourable with conservative measures. The overall mortality rate was 10%. CONCLUSION The possibility of IC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of elderly patient with abdominal pain and cardiovascular risk factors.


Recent research has consistently demonstrated reduced orienting to social stimuli in samples of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, social orienting greatly varies between individual children on the spectrum. Better understanding this heterogeneity in social orienting may contribute to our comprehension of the mechanisms underlying autistic symptoms thereby improving our ability to intervene. Indeed, children on the autism spectrum who show higher levels of interest in social stimuli demonstrate reduced clinical symptoms and increased adaptive functioning. However, longitudinal studies examining the influence of social orienting on subsequent outcome are critically lacking. Here, we aim to explore the relationship between social interest at the age of 3 and changes in severity of autistic symptoms over the subsequent year, in 20 children with ASD and 20 age-matched typically developing (TD) children. A visual preference for social stimuli was measured using an eye-tracking task at baseline, consisting of a previously studied visual preference paradigm presenting biological and geometric motion side-by-side. The task was altered for the current study by alternating presentation side for each type of stimuli to keep visual perseveration from influencing participants' first fixation location. Clinical data were collected both at baseline and 1 year later at follow-up. As a group, we observed reduced interest for biological motion (BIO-M) in children with ASD compared to TD children, corroborating previous findings. We also confirmed that a preference for BIO-M is associated with better adaptive functioning in preschoolers with ASD. Most importantly, our longitudinal results showed that a preference for BIO-M strongly predicted decreased severity of diagnostic symptoms. Participants who preferred social stimuli at the age of 3 showed drastic reductions in their severity level of autistic symptoms 1 year later, whereas participants who preferred geometric stimuli showed autistic symptoms that were unchanged or more severe after 1 year. As a whole, our results suggest that a preference for BIO-M may be key to understanding the behavioral phenotype of young children with ASD, and may represent a promising candidate behavior for predicting early developmental trajectories and outcome.


In this paper, we highlight the shortfall of conventionally described heuristics in multi-attribute decision theory, and propose recasting these heuristics within a novel probabilistic framework. This framework is based on defining a psychological feature space, with rule-based heuristics represented as prototypical representations within this space. We provide various examples of meaningful heuristics that can be constructed under this representation, including recasting probabilistic versions of popular heuristics such as take-the-best. Next, we propose an evaluation framework to measure the effectiveness of a consideration set of heuristics. This framework measures whether the set of heuristics are sufficient to describe, predict and infer strategy selection and learning behavior. We propose that this is a step towards a robust framework within which models of strategy selection and learning should be evaluated. The framework aspires to develop a consideration set of heuristics that can be represented as a mathematically well-posed inference problem. We show that the heuristics redefined under our probabilistic framework generally perform better than conventional heuristics under this evaluation. We conclude with a discussion on the possible applications of this framework.


The prevalence of antibodies to Ehrlichia equi in horses from the foothill regions of northern California and from the Sacramento valley (non-foothill area) was determined, using an indirect fluorescent antibody test. Horses from foothill regions had a higher prevalence of seropositivity (10.4%) and higher titer (1:10 to 1:80) than did those from non-foothill regions (3.1%; titer less than or equal to 1:10). Fifty percent of healthy horses on a foothill farm enzootic for E equi had titer to E equi, suggesting that infection with E equi can be subclinical. Six veterinarians surveyed from northern California diagnosed clinical E equi infection in 38 horses during 1985-1986 based on clinical signs of infection and observation of E equi inclusion bodies in neutrophils on blood smears.


Writing of Death: Ethics and Politics of the Death Fast in Turkey Özge Nadide Serin This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the seven-year-long mass hunger strike undertaken by prisoners affiliated with outlawed Marxist-Leninist organizations in Turkey to protest their transfer from traditional ward-type facilities to new cellular institutions modeled after maximum security prisons, and it scrutinizes as well as radicalizes the ontological and political structure of hunger striking to construe otherwise the contestatory relationship between the individual right to death and political sovereignty by insisting on the irreducible excess of death over the totalizing closure of the performative acts of political foundation. Anchored in participant observation and in-depth interviews with surviving hunger strikers, ex-political prisoners, their families, medical and forensic doctors, and enriched by the textual and visual analysis of prison memoirs, diaries, correspondence, testaments, and last speeches, the dissertation focuses on the ambiguity of the very right to die—an ambiguity that has been ignored by performance theories of sovereignty—in order to figure death at one and the same time as both radical possibility and impossibility. Accounting for the extraordinarily long duration of the prison movement (7 years) and self-starvation period before death (up to 558 days) by examining its temporal and organizational logics, the dissertation argues that hunger striking draws an enormous political power from keeping the possibility of death in suspense unlike the power of negation which dissipates itself irreversibly in a paroxysmal moment of actual death. In distinguishing the anticipatory relation to death on the hunger strike from its counterparts in suicide attacks and self-immolations, the dissertation seeks to reveal an inescapable anachrony between two deaths—the passage of time that separates and draws together death as possibility from death as an anonymous event which comes either too early or late. It claims that it is precisely in this interim state between two deaths that death withdraws from the realm of possibility only to fold in on life, creating a reserve in both senses of the term, one where state power and political organizations vie with each other for hegemony over the ideological representations of life and death. The dissertation narrates how the hyper-rationalized political instrumentation of the suspended state between life and death produces its own everyday socialities by organizing the affective relations of hunger strikers to the futurity of death, to their individual bodies, and others on the hunger strike in a destructive rivalry with the contradictory discourses and practices of state officials, families, doctors and mass media. It argues that "death" thereby yields itself to a movement of self-differentiation and proliferation, oscillating uncontrollably between sacrificial sublation and waste. The result is a growing division within the prison movement which propels it towards its eventual dissolution, leaving in its ruins a crippled political subject without futurity. The dissertation figures the surviving fasters afflicted with the Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, a severe type of amnesia characterized by the inability to retain memories after an indefinite lapse of time, as an allegory for the ruination of the power to die in the performance of death itself. As such, it seeks to bring about a transformation in the very language of sacrificial politics by interrupting the economy of appropriation which functions in view of a future community founded upon the continuity of deaths towards an ever-receding presence.


X-beam imaging of mice utilizing a colloid arrangement of Au nanoparticles that were covered with silica and hence surface-adjusted with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) (Au/SiO2/CMC) was acted in this work. The silica-covering for Au nanoparticles and the amination for silica-covered particles were at the same time acted within the sight of the Au nanoparticles with a size of 17.9 nm, which were set up by decreasing Au particles (III) with sodium citrate in water at 80°C and by surface-changing the Au nanoparticles with (3-aminopropyl)- trimethoxysilane, by a sol-gel measure utilizing tetraethylorthosilicate, (3-aminopropyl)- triethoxysilane, water and sodium hydroxide (Au/SiO2-NH2). The surface alteration of Au/SiO2-NH2 particles with CMC was performed by essentially adding CMC with carboxyl gatherings that respond with an amino gathering to the Au/SiO2-NH2 molecule colloid arrangement. The as-arranged the Au/SiO2/CMC molecule colloid arrangement was concentrated by centrifugation for estimations utilizing figured tomography (CT). Figure 1 shows a photo of the concentrated molecule colloid arrangement and a conveyance electron microscopy picture of the Au/SiO2/CMC particles in the concentrated colloid arrangement. Most particles contained a solitary center of the Au nanoparticles. Their molecule size was 67.4±5.4 nm. A CT estimation of the Au/SiO2/CMC molecule colloid arrangement with an Au convergence of 0.043 M was as high as 344±12 Hounsfield units (HU). This worth compared to 8.0×103 HU/M as for the Au fixation, which was bigger than that of Iopamiron 300, a business X-beam contrast specialist. Mouse tissues were imaged following infusion of the Au/SiO2/CMC molecule colloid arrangement.


This article uses Douglas and Wildavsky's cultural theory of risk from the field of anthropology, in order to provide a new explanation regarding what factors influenced the evolution of international humanitarian law in general, and the rules of targeting in particular. The starting point of the analysis is that the attitudes of states to risk, and the strategies states employ to manage risk influence their conduct on the international arena. Another facet of the discussion is an examination of whether the cultural theory of risk may be used to explain the motives of states and non-state actors for violating the rules of international humanitarian law. Building on the proposition that the attitudes of states to how risk should be managed may shape the content of the law, as well as whether the law is obeyed, the article additionally considers whether the disagreement between scholars, regarding how the legal rules are to be interpreted, may be explained by reference to attitudes individual scholars hold towards risk. The academic discussion regarding the legality of the employment of lethal autonomous robots on the battlefield is used as a case study to test this hypothesis.


The effect of daunomycin, carminomycin and doxorubicin on the small intestine was studied on mice morphologically and histologically. The toxic action of these antibiotics in maximum tolerance doses was estimated comparatively. It was shown that the anthracycline antibiotics induced hemodynamic disorders, suppression of the crypt epithelium proliferating activity, dystrophic and destructive lesions in the epithelial cells, a decrease in the number of the cells in the crypts and on the villi and development of a large number of pathological mytoses in the small intestine. Recovery of the population count of the small intestine epithelium was associated with an increase in the mytotic activity of the crypts. It was observed by the 7th day after administration of daunomycin or carminomycin, and by the 15th day after administration of doxorubicin. Comparative estimation of the toxic action of the anthracycline antibiotics on the small intestine by such parameters as the percentage of the pathological mytoses and the number of the cells in the crypts and on the villi indicated that the toxic action of doxorubicin was more pronounced as compared to that of carminomycin or daunomycin.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the efficacy of the pediculate flap with the buccal fat pad in the sealing of orosinusal communications, describe the surgical technique used, and report the main complications.

PATIENTS AND METHOD
A retrospective study was made of 8 patients seen in the Service of Oral Surgery of the University of Barcelona Dental Clinic (Spain) for the treatment of orosinusal communications between the years 2007 and 2009. In all cases a pediculate flap with the buccal fat pad was used to solve the problem.

RESULTS
All of the orosinusal communications were successfully resolved with this technique. The immediate postoperative complications were pain (37.5%), inflammation (37.5%), edema (32.5%), trismus (37.5%), halitosis (14.3%), suppuration (12.5%) and rhinorrhea (12.5%).

CONCLUSIONS
The use of Bichat's buccal fat pad is not regarded as the technique of choice for sealing small to medium sized orosinusal communications. However, in the case of large communications, it is a good option, and the results obtained are optimum.


The edition of this work here presented is based on a collation of four manuscripts of dates varying between the 16th. and the 18th. centuries. The final text is fairly satisfactory but some half dozen verses still present corruptions. In noting the variants no account has been taken of mere orthographical peculiarities. The translation has been kept as close to the original as intelligibility allowed and lays no claim to literary style. The work consists of 646 verses and is built up, after the common Indian pattern, from a frame-story, incidents of which serve as a pretext for the introduction of sixteen tales of varying length. In addition a number of other tales are found inserted in the subsidiary narratives. The larger part of the introduction to this edition is taken up by a detailed analysis of these stories and of their parallels in Indian katha literature. Special attention is paid to the Jaina commentaries on the sacred books insofar as these are available for study. Many of the tales are a part of world folklore but it is beyond the scope of this short study to pursue their history outside India. One and, as far as know, only one, has been discussed elsewhere (by Belloni-Filippi In RSO vol. IV, 1911-12). It Is difficult to arrive at any clear conclusions on the origin and development of these fables, but it seems probable that most, if not all the 'boxed' stories belong to the common fund of narratives which Jaina preachers used for purposes of edification and which are preserved in the voluminous commentarial literature, whilst one is tempted to see in the frame-story a legend which has a special connection with Gujarat where the Munipaticarit a would seem to have been written. The introduction also includes a note on the various versions of the legend of Munipati (or Manipati for there is some hesitancy even about the name) which are known to exist and a discussion of the attribution of authorship (in the text itself) to Haribhadra Suri who cannot be identical with the famous Jaina commentator. Some considerable importance is attached in considering the date of the work to the occurrence in the Brhatkathakosa, a collection of Jaina tales dated A.D, 932, of a narrative so close to that of the Munipaticarita that it seems impossible not to assume that one has borrowed front the other. Prom internal evidence one is led to assume that the Munipaticarita is the older. Finally the introduction includes brief notes on popular Jainism as it appears in the stories and on the language and metre, as well as a short glossary of the more uncommon words.


Abstract This article explores key predictors of homelessness rates in different Swedish municipalities, the accommodation provided and the coverage of accommodation to homelessness. In order to create realistic models, seven sets of factors represent various structural levels in stepwise regressions. These sets are urbanisation, economy, demographic composition, housing market, aggregated individual problems, political majority and policies and organizational features of the social services. The findings show that urbanisation is central to understanding variations in homelessness and has also impact on housing provisions. In addition, higher rent levels as well as aggregated psychiatric problems seem to increase the level of problems. Overall supply of apartments and the proportion of public housing are important factors in providing accommodation, and a demographic factor, such as the proportion of single-parent households, seems to enhance such a provision. Political majority as well as the functional organization of the social services seems independently to impact coverage rates. Despite the importance of urbanisation, findings indicate that a number of factors with impact on the problem and on the possibilities to handle them are manageable by the municipalities.


In this study we extend the resource-based view of the firm to include inter-organizational complementary resources. We use web services as an example of a technology that extends firm resources beyond organizational boundaries. The modular design of web services enables the integration of monolithic applications within and across enterprises, creating the vision of an extended enterprise that is more adaptable and responsive to market changes. As the technology continues to mature, web services will create a dynamic capability that will sustain organizational competitive advantage.


Children with dyslexia experience a range of problems that are associated with literacy and sometimes numeracy. Such difficulties permeate their learning, and some students leave school with minimal qualifications. Contrary to the praxis in education where labeling is intentionally avoided, the label of dyslexia has been used to support affected learners, secure resources, provide specialist teaching, and award access arrangements. Cognitive strategy can improve the reader's comprehension if the information conveyed in the text matches the general knowledge of the reader. Phonemes are the smallest units, including spoken language. Phonemes combine to form syllables and words. Acquiring phonemic awareness is significant because it is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills. Phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of how healthy children will acquire to read during the first two years of school instruction. The present study aimed at investigating the dyslexic children of primary school. The sample consisted of 65 dyslexic children from 4th standard primary schools located in the Coimbatore district. The results revealed a significant difference between pre-test and post-test of phonemic awareness of Reading comprehension of children with dyslexia.


One multiscalar microlaminate (MSML) with 5 thick layers of NiCoCrAl whose thickness were different interspersed with 66 thin layer stacks of NiCoCrAl/YSZ was fabricated by EB-PVD. Uniaxial tensile testing was performed and fracture was examined using SEM. The results show that the microlaminate exhibits brittle-like behavior without macroscopic plastic deformation in room temperature tensile tests and the maximum engineering stress is 212MPa. Examination of fracture surfaces from the samples reveals that ceramic layers fail by intergranular brittle fracture between columns, but metal layers display features of both ductile and brittle fracture. It is also found that the thicknesses of metal layers have a great effect on their failure modes. And interfacial debonding and bridging metal layers are observed. Moreover, the resistance of crack propagation in the microlaminate is discussed.


Comparative efficacy of hepatoprotective agents in tetracycline affection of the liver is discussed. The affection was induced by daily intragastric administration of the antibiotic in a dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight to Wistar albino rats. The level of the hepatocyte affection and the efficacy of the hepatoprotective agents were judged by changes in the biligenic, glycogen producing, antitoxic and absorbing-excretory functions of the liver and the activity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and serum enzymes. In acute tetracycline intoxication there was observed suppression of cholopoiesis, induction of LPO, increased permeability of hepatocyte membranes, lowered stabilizing activity of bile and decreased detoxicating and absorbing-excretory capacity of the liver. The highest correcting effect of the hepatoprotective agents was shown with respect to cholopoiesis, carbohydrate metabolism and lipoperoxidation of hepatocyte membranes. The efficacy of silibor in tetracycline affection of the liver was close to that of Essentiale and legalon and superior to that of LIV-52.


Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with high morbidity and mortality from long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications. Evidence from randomized controlled trials indicates that aggressive treatment directed at improving glycemic control reduces the incidence of diabetes-related microvascular complications. Traditionally, oral monotherapy for type 2 diabetes is initiated when diet and exercise do not control hyperglycemia, followed by the sequential, stepwise addition of oral agents as glycemic control deteriorates. Insulin is the last therapeutic option used, generally reserved for advanced stages of the disease when multiple oral combination treatment fails. Despite a better understanding of the pathophysiologic disease mechanisms in the past decade, the expanded armamentarium of targeted oral antidiabetic drugs, and the conclusive evidence of the benefits of stringent glycemic control, actual treatment outcomes in clinical practice remain suboptimal relative to established treatment goals (glycosylated hemoglobin A1c level <7%). Earlier detection and aggressive treatment are critical to address the natural progression of diabetes because multiple defects (insulin resistance, insulin insufficiency, glucotoxicity, and lipotoxicity) and vascular complications may be present at the time of diagnosis. Acknowledging the inadequacy of traditional strategies and underscoring the importance of insulin as an integral part of the therapeutic armamentarium, clinical trends are moving toward earlier use of insulin combined with 1 or more oral agents. Such strategies can address the multiple abnormalities present early in the disease course and may restore optimal control. A new treatment paradigm for patients with type 2 diabetes to achieve and maintain near-normal glycemic control is warranted.


In this study an approximate method based on the continuum approach and transfer matrix method for static and dynamic analyses of multi‐bay coupled shear walls is presented. The whole structure is idealized as a sandwich beam in this method. Initially the differential equation of this equivalent sandwich beam is written, then shape functions for each storey can be obtained by the solution of differential equations. By using boundary conditions and storey transfer matrices which are obtained by these shape functions, system modes and periods can be calculated. Reliability of the study is shown with a few examples. A computer program has been developed in MATLAB and numerical samples have been solved for demonstration of the reliability of this method. The results of the samples display the agreement between the present method and the other methods given in the literature. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This meeting explores the recent, rapid Arctic sea ice reduction. We will discuss the evidence for change, the inability of our climate models to predict these changes, the processes responsible for sea ice reduction and improved representation of these processes in climate models, and the impacts of sea ice change on local and global weather and climate.


Clinical Assistant Professor Joanna Kempler, DDS, MS Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Baltimore, MD, USA. 3460 Old Washington Road, Suite 102, Waldorf, MD, 20602, USA. e-mail: email@example.com this article describes a clinical case in which a moderately compromised maxillary arch is restored with a fixed implant supported prosthesis with a substructure/suprastructure design. the prosthetic rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla can be achieved using different types of prostheses, including removable implant-retained, implant-supported, or fixed implantsupported prostheses. the treatment performed is presented step-by-step. the prosthetic design is discussed in detail and compared to other types of fixed implant supported prostheses. advantages and disadvantages of this type of design are also presented. the substructure/suprastructure design is indicated when the prosthesis must replace both soft and hard tissues. although it involves multiple steps and it is costly, the substructure/ suprastructure design represents a great alternative to any removable prosthesis and provides patients with great esthetics and function.


In transient expression assays, the adenovirus E1B 19-kilodalton (19K) tumor antigen increases expression from viral promoters and the promoter for the cellular 70-kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp70). To study the mechanism of this effect, we constructed HeLa cell lines that contain stably integrated copies of the 19K gene. Compared with a 19K- control cell line, 19K+ cells produced a significantly higher level of expression from every promoter introduced into the cells by transfection. The 19K protein also increased expression of an RNA polymerase III-transcribed gene but did not affect the level of expression of the endogenous hsp70 gene. The rate of transcription from transfected promoters, as measured by a nuclear run-on assay, was higher in the 19K+ cells than in the 19K- control cells. Furthermore, the level of plasmid DNA remained higher in the 19K+ cell line, suggesting that the 19K protein stabilizes transfected plasmid DNA. The elevated DNA levels seemed to account in full for the increased transcription. The role of the 19K protein in increasing gene expression during viral infection was found to be due to a replication-dependent increase in viral DNA levels. Thus, the 19K protein activates transcription indirectly by producing a higher level of viral or plasmid DNA. The DNA stabilization function of the 19K protein is probably related to the protective role of the 19K protein during viral infection and represents the first example of a viral oncogene product that modulates gene expression by regulating viral and plasmid DNA levels.


Large coronae on Venus, such as Artemis and Latona, are rimmed by conspicuous trenches and associated outer rises. Sandwell and Schubert have observed that these systems resemble terrestrial subduction zones in planform and have succeeded in fitting an elastic plate bending equation to the inferred flexural topography. However, the first zero crossing bending moments required are -2.5 x 10(exp 17) N for Artemis and -5.0 x 10(exp 16) N for Latona. Since these moments are similar in magnitude to those of subducting slabs on Earth, a rollback subduction mechanism was proposed to explain the flexure around the largest coronae, although a differential thermal subsidence model is sufficient to account for the topography around some coronae. The purpose is to investigate the effect of inplane force as a possible alternative to large applied moments in producing flexure at Artemis and Latona. The close correlation of gravity to topography on Venus implies the absence of a low viscosity zone and the strong coupling of the lithosphere to mantle convection. If coronae are the surface manifestations of mantle plumes, they may be the sites of active convective stress coupling. As the upwelling reaches the lithosphere, it spreads radially outward, inducing shear tractions on the base of the plate. In addition, the hot, expanding corona may load the surrounding plate horizonally. Both the basal shear stresses and radial loading can be treated as an equivalent compressive inplane force in the mechanical lithosphere, which contributes to the bending of the outlying plate. Using a model that relates inplane force to the measured gravity anomalies, a rough value of the inplane force at Artemis was calculated. Recent Pioneer Venus spherical harmonic gravity models indicate a geoid anomaly of about 75 m over Artemis, which corresponds to an estimated inplane force on the order of -1x10(exp 13) N/m. The gravity model is unable to resolve Latona, but an inplane force of similar dimensions is assumed. The maximum possible inplane force based on the expected rheology can be constrained by using the approximate 5 K/km thermal gradient inferred from the best fit 30 km elastic plate at Artemis and Latona. For a dry olivine flow law in the upper mantle, the compressional load limit of the 60 km thick mechanical lithosphere is -4 x 10(exp 13) N/m. This value is equivalent to a load of -8 x 10(exp 13) N/m on a 30 km thick elastic plate.


SUMMARY 1. It is generally agreed that the liver produces a substantial amount of lymph. In fact it is the largest single source of lymph in the body, contributing 15-20% of the total. This hepatic lymph is largely originating from the interstitial fluid in the space of Disse. However, it is still not clear how the fluid in the space of Disse may end up in the lymphatics of the portal tracts, as lymphatic vessels were not seen to penetrate into the hepatic lobules. 2. This study aimed to investigate the route followed by interstitial fluid from Disse's space to the lymphatic vessels of the portal tracts. The livers of adult Albino swiss rats, fixed by vascular perfusion, were studied by light and electron microscopy. 3. Frequent gaps were found between hepatocytes of the perilobular limiting plate. They were often independent of vessels entering the lobule. These were usually wider than the space of Disse, and contained hepatocytic microvilli, bundles of collagen fibres, and occasional slender fibroblastic processes extending into the lobule from portal tract interstitiurn. Large gaps (32 jum wide or more) allowed the sinusoidal endothelium to abut directly on portal tract interstitium. These gaps allowed free communication between the space of Disse and portal tract interstitium. 4. In the periportal connective tissue, long flattened processes of mesenchymal cells or fibroblasts formed incomplete linings of well defined spaces, which contained precipitated protein and occasional leukocytes. The lining cells were often associated with collagen fibres. The discontinuities in the wall of these spaces were confirmed by S.E.M. These mesenchymal/fibroblastic "channels" were seen in the perilobular space of Mall, in the interstitium of portal tracts and in proximity to lymphatics. They were not true lymphatics, but appeared to function as prelymphatic channels, leading the protein-rich interstitial fluid to adjacent terminal Lymphatics, from which they could be distinguished, but only by T.E.M. 5. In the light of all these findings, it is suggested that interstitial fluid in Disse's space had found its way through gaps in the perilobular limiting plate to reach the perilobular space of Mall, from which it drained by mesenchyma1/fibrob I astic preLymphatics to reach the initial lymphatics. 6. This hypothesis was tested by studying the distribution, in the liver, of several artificial and natural tracers introduced into the circulation of the artificial tracers, ferritin, Pontamine Sky Blue and Monastral Blue. Ferritin and Pontamine Sky Blue were identified by T.E.M. at all points along the proposed pathway. Most of the Monastral Blue particles were phagocytised. Natural tracers - chylomicrons and Lipoproteins - introduced by feeding the animals with a high fat diet, were also found to be distributed along the proposed pathway. 7. Lymphatic profiles were found in only about 50% of portal tracts of adult rats Livers. They did not accompany every branch of the portal tree, and when they did, they stopped short of the terminal twigs; lymphatic profiles were not seen in portal tracts whose associated portal vein branch diameter was 30-40 urn or less. In 100 portal tract profiles it was found that in 44.4% lymphatics were related equally to both arteries and veins, 32% mainly to veins and 22.8% to arteries. it was also found that 67% of portal tracts' profiles (mainly in small, peripheral, portal tracts) had a single lymphatic, 19% had 2, 8% had 3, 4% had 4, 1% had 5 and 1% had 6. Multiple lymphatic profiles were mainly found in large portaL tracts. This suggests that lymphatics in rat liver are principally in the form of trunks and not in the form of a plexus. 8. The histogenesis and topographic distribution of lymphatics in the livers of groups of Albino-swiss rats aged 24 hours, 1,2,3 weeks and adults were studied by optical and T.E.M. At 24 hours, lymphatics were found in only about 2% of sectional profiles of portal tracts, only in association with the largest branches of the portal vein. At 1 week, lymphatics were found in portal tracts further from the porta hepatis, associated with portal vein branches down to 60 urn in diameter. At 2 weeks, lymphatics were found in 15% of tracts, at 3 weeks in 30% and in adults in 50% of portal tracts. This statistical evidence suggests that Lymphatics develop by centrifugal extension from the porta hepatis accompanying many branches of the portal vein. The E.M. evidence indicated that this extension occured mainly by the differentiation, in situ, of mesenchymal cells, and their progressive assimilation by the tips of the lymphatic tree. Frequent examples were found of small lymphatics lined by typical endothelium ending open-mouthed in continuity with mesenchymal cells bounding irregular fluid filled tissue spaces. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


Consequences of global climate change are predicted to increase risks to crop production in the future. However, the possible broader impact of climate change on social-ecological systems still needs to be evaluated. Therefore, the present study focuses on one such globally important agricultural social-ecological system referred to as the Village Tank Cascade System (VTCS) in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The VTCS has considerable potential to withstand seasonal climate variability mainly through continuous supply of water by the village tank storage throughout the year. The current study aimed to investigate trends of climate variability and possible impacts on paddy production in the North and North-central VTCS zone. Observed and projected rainfall and temperature data were analysed to evaluate the past variability trends (1970 to 2020) and model future (up to 2100) scenarios of climate variability and trends. Long-term observed rainfall and temperature data (1946 to 2020) were analysed to identify possible anomalies. The Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model has been used to predict the situation of future paddy farming (2050 and 2070) under two climate scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Six variables that would affect paddy growth and yield quality were used alongside the average monthly rainfall and temperature of two Global Climate Models (MIROC5 and MPI-ESM-LR). Climate suitability for two paddy cultivation seasons (Yala and Maha) were predicted for current and future climate scenarios. The findings revealed that observed and projected climate changes show considerable deviation of expected rainfall and temperature trends across the VTCS zone. Temperature exhibits warming of approximately 1.0 °C during the declared Global Warming Period (1970 to 2020) in the study area. In addition, there is a trend of significant warming by 0.02 °C/year, RCP4.5 and 0.03 °C/year, RCP8.5 from 1950 to 2100. Rainfall (1970–2020) shows high interannual variability but trends were not significant and less discernible. However, long-term projected rainfall data (1950–2100) analysis detected a significant (p = 0) upward trend (2.0 mm/year, RCP4.5 and 2.9 mm/year, RCP8.5), which is expected to continue up to the end of this century. Further, the study revealed some shifts in temperature towards higher values and positive anomalies in rainfall affecting seasonality and the likelihood of more extreme occurrences in the future, especially during the Maha cultivation season. The MaxEnt model predicts the following under future climate scenarios: (i) spatio-temporal shifts (conversions) in climate suitability for paddy farming in the VTCS zone; (ii) substantial low and moderate suitability areas that are currently suitable will remain unchanged; (iii) up to 96% of highly suitable and 38% of moderately suitable paddy growing areas in the VTCS zone will be at risk due to a decline in future climate suitability; and (iv) expansion of lower suitability areas by approximately 22% to 37%, due to conversion from moderate suitability areas. The study provides evidence that the continuous warming trend with increasing variability in rainfall and shifting seasonality could increase the vulnerability of future paddy farming in the VTCS. Thus, findings of this study will help planners to make more targeted solutions to improve adaptive capacity and regain the resilience to adjust the paddy farming pattern to deal with predicted climate variability and change.


Endometrial cancer (EC) is the third most common gynecologic malignancy in the world, and is considered a chemotherapy poor responding cancer. There are two underlying mechanisms on chemoresistance: the stemness of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and activation of pro-survival autophagy. It was found that autophagy is one of the main factors of cancer stem cell survival, multidrug resistance and maintenance of the homeostasis of cancer stem cells and normal cancer cells. However, the relationship between CSCs and autophagy of EC cells is still unknown. In this study, higher autophagy level was found in endometrial cancer stem cells (ECSCs) and stemness kept in line with autophagy in successive cultured JEC spheres. Autophagy inhibition decreased the properties of CSCs in JEC spheres and enhanced sensitivity of ECSCs to paclitaxel. Besides, it was found that EIG121 exerted dual functions in the regulation of autophagy and stemness not only in normal JEC cells but also JEC obtained CSCs. These findings could be useful for developing targeted therapies for endometrial carcinoma.


Social capital is an economical idea that refers to connections between individuals and entities that can be economically valuable. Aim: To establish the relationship of social capital as a health care asset, with sociodemographic variables of older women attending public health care services. Material and Methods: Chen's Personal Social Capital scale was applied to 113 women aged between 64 and 80 years during 2014. Cronbach's alpha of the instrument was calculated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha of the instrument was 0.86. The average score for social capital was 23.9 points of a maximum of 50. Bridging capital scores had the higher disparity, specifically in participation in community organizations and the representation of their interest in them. Bonding capital decreased along with a higher age of interviewed women (r = -0,43, p < 0,01). Higher territorial roots were associated with a lower perception of social community resource availability (r = -0,42, p < 0,01). Conclusions: The social capital scores in these women were low. Their better support networks were close relationships and relatives. The sensation of solitude increased with age


Abstract In this paper, we calculate the p-torsion of the Farrell cohomology for low genus pure mapping class groups with punctures, where p is an odd prime. Here, 'low genus' means g = 1, 2, 3; and 'pure mapping class groups with punctures' means the mapping class groups with any number of punctures, where the punctures are not allowed to be permuted. These calculations use our previous results about the periodicity of pure mapping class groups with punctures, as well as other cohomological tools. The low genus cases are interesting because we know that the high genus cases can be reduced to the low genus ones. Also, the cohomological properties of the mapping class groups without punctures are closely related to our cases.


In the aerospace and wind turbine industries, high demand for light weight structures with high strength extend the use of composite laminates in a wide variety of geometries as load carrying elements. However, more complex geometries as curved composite laminates experience delamination and matrix cracking due to high interlaminar stresses induced in the curved region. Moreover, under cyclic loading failure on these components initiates under lower stress states so that fatigue behavior of curved composite laminates are critical. This thesis discusses the experimental investigation of fatigue behavior of curved composite laminates under bending moment. Bending moment is obtained at the curved region by applying axial load from both tips of the curved composite laminates. A special loading fixture is designed in order to apply axial load to curved specimens in universal testing machine. Two different lay-up configurations are investigated; [0]15s unidirectional as fiber dominated and [03/903/03/903/03]s cross-plied laminates as matrix dominated. Static loading experiments are conducted in order to obtain average ultimate strength of materials to use in fatigue loading experiments and compare the damage pattern with the fatigue failure. The load-displacement curves are recorded for both static and fatigue loading cases. The failure is observed using high speed camera under static loading. DSLR camera images and micrographs are taken for both static and fatigue experiments. Under static loading, two load drop is observed for [0] UD laminates until failure. Under fatigue loading, [0] UD laminates experience one sharp load drop, then stiffness degrades gradually until failure. The failure pattern of [0] UD laminates under static and fatigue loading is completely different. Cross-plied laminates show similar behavior on load-displacement curves and failure mechanisms under static and fatigue loading. Under static and fatigue loading, unexpected failure mechanisms are observed for cross-plied laminates which are found to be sensitive to the manufacturing defects.


Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital anomalies of the central nervous system (CNS) which affects  approximately one in every thousand pregnancies. The estimates, however, varies from country to country  with countries implementing national programmes on folic acid fortification recording lower estimates.  Neural tube defects are a common cause of morbidity and mortality especially in low-middle income countries such as Ghana. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of neural tube defect and hydrocephalus in the only tertiary hospital in northern Ghana. This was a 4-year retrospective study from January  2010 to December 2014. Data regarding the age, sex, clinical diagnosis, and treatment outcomes were all  retrieved from the registry of medical records using a simple data form designed for this study. During the  study period, there were 35,426 deliveries at the facility with 57 cases of neural tube defects, thus giving a  prevalence of 1.6 per 1000 births. They were more males than females with a male: female ratio of 2.4:1. All  cases were diagnosed at birth. All the cases reported in this study were open neural tube defect (NTD). The  most common defect was hydrocephalus occurring in 33 patients representing 57.9%, with spinal bifida  occurring in 21 patients representing 38.6%. Encephalocele or cranium bifida occurred in only 5.3% (3 patients). Among the spinal bifida cases, myelomeningocele occurred in 13 patients (59.1%), with meningocele  occurring in 8 patients (40.9%). Case fatality was about 15% of diagnosed cases. The prevalence of NTDs in  this study is relatively high compared to earlier studies but, is consistent with other findings in the subregion. Prenatal screening and diagnosis are highly recommended since most women undergo routine ultrasonography as part of antenatal service . Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2017) 6(1), 18-23 Keywords : neural tube defect, prevalence, spinal bifida, Northern Ghana


SUMMARY The term 'stay-green' (SG) is used in studies with varieties showing delayed senescence in the field. However, delayed appearance of visual symptoms of leaf senescence does not guarantee a longer duration of photosynthesis. The question arises whether the variation in photosynthetic capacity between silage maize varieties currently on the Belgian market is large enough to define different SG types. Furthermore, physiological traits were investigated as proxies for photosynthesis, including chlorophyll concentration, nitrogen (N) concentration, SPAD readings and greenness score. Finally, the functionality of the SG trait was determined by studying dry matter (DM) and N partitioning in the plants. To address these questions, eight silage maize varieties were monitored at two sites in Belgium over 2 years (2013–2014). Two plant types were found: hereafter called 'normal' and 'SG'. The SG varieties had higher values for photosynthetic capacity and they coincided with higher values for the proxies. Because a higher photosynthetic capacity did not provoke higher assimilate accumulation in the leaves, the SG trait was characterized as a cosmetic one. The SG trait influenced N dynamics in the plant: lower N translocation from the leaves to the ear resulted in lower ear N concentration and lower ear DM yield. No differences in whole-crop N concentration and whole-crop DM yield were found. As the SG trait mainly provokes shifts in partition of DM and N between vegetative and generative tissues, the energy source also shifts from starch (provided by the ear) to cell wall material (provided by the stover).


In this paper we present Text2Onto, a framework for on-tology learning from textual resources. Three main features distinguish Text2Onto from our earlier framework TextToOnto as well as other state-of-the-art ontology learning frameworks. First, by representing the learned knowledge at a meta-level in the form of instantiated model-ing primitives within a so called Probabilistic Ontology Model (POM), we remain independent of a concrete target language while being able to translate the instantiated primitives into any (reasonably expressive) knowledge representation formalism. Second, user interaction is a core aspect of Text2Onto and the fact that the system calculates a confidence for each learned object allows to design sophisticated visualizations of the POM. Third, by incorporating strategies for data-driven change discovery , we avoid processing the whole corpus from scratch each time it changes, only selectively updating the POM according to the corpus changes instead. Besides increasing efficiency in this way, it also allows a user to trace the evolution of the ontology with respect to the changes in the underlying corpus.


The objective of this study was to compare different antigen preparations to produce monoclonal antibodies against bovine leukaemia virus gp51SU. The four antigen preparations for immunization of BALB/c mice were: CL: BLV-FLK cell lysate, UF: a fraction of CL (between 30 and 100 kDa), WVP: whole virus particles and SP: with ion exchange chromatography, gp51SU was semipurified. A total of nine successful fusions were performed which resulted in production of 23 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific against gp51SU. The highest ratio of specific hybridoma colonies in each fusion was with SP preparation. Based on the reactivity of the mAbs in Western blotting, mAbs were classified into four groups: anti-gp51SU (23 mAbs), anti-gp30TM (8 mAbs), anti-Pr72 (5 mAbs) and antibodies against other viral proteins (7 mAbs). Some of the anti-gp51SU mAbs reacted with more than one band in Western blotting, suggesting that these colonies recognized not only gp51SU but also its precursors.


In this article, the authors reflect on the past two decades of research on organizational identity, looking to its history and to its future. They do not provide a review of the literature, nor do they promote a particular perspective on the concept. Instead, they advocate pluralism in studying organizational identity while encouraging clarity and transparency in the articulation of definitions and core theoretical suppositions. Believing there is no one best approach to the study of organizational identity, their intent is to establish a reference point that can orient future work on organizational identity. They focus on three questions they feel are critical: What is the nomological net that embeds organizational identity? Is organizational identity "real" (or simply metaphoric)? and How do we define and conceptualize organizational identity? Last, they try to anticipate organizational identity issues on the horizon to suggest future directions for theory and research.


Cell fusion by human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) type 2 or type 3 requires the coexpression of both the fusion (F) and haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoproteins from the same virus type, indicating that promotion of fusion requires a type-specific interaction between F and HN. In this report we have further investigated the interaction of the ectodomains of the F and HN glycoproteins from HPIV2 and HPIV3. We constructed mutants of the HPIV2 F and HPIV3 F proteins (F'-KDEL) lacking a transmembrane anchor and a cytoplasmic tail, and containing a C-terminal signal for retention in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The P12 and P13 F'-KDEL proteins were both found to be retained intracellularly, and neither could induce cell fusion when co-expressed with homotypic HN proteins. Qualitative and quantitative cell-fusion assays also showed that both the P12 F'-KDEL and P13 F'-KDEL proteins have inhibitory effects on P12 F- and HN-induced cell fusion. However, the F-KDEL mutants were found to inhibit cell fusion by two distinct mechanisms. An interaction between P12 F'-KDEL and P12 HN results in intracellular retention of HN, and a block in its transport to the cell surface. In contrast, P13 F'-KDEL was found to suppress the steady-state intracellular expression levels of HPIV2 HN. These results support the conclusion that fusion involves an interaction between the HN and F proteins, and suggest that an association between F and HN may occur in the ER.


The Antwerp COR*-IDS database 2020 is a transformed and harmonized historical demographic database in a cross-nationally comparable format designed to be open and easy to use for international researchers. The database is constructed from the 2010 release of the Antwerp COR*-historical demographic database, which was created using a letter sample of the whole district of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). It has a total sample size of +/- 33,000 residents of Antwerp. The sample spans nearly seven decades. The data is collected from historical records: including population registers and vital registration records covering births, marriages, in/external migrations and deaths. The database covers up to three linked generations (in some cases more), and contains micro-data on individual level life courses, and relationships deriving from addressbased household composition methods. An important characteristic is the sample's large migrant population, including the timings of their demographic events and living arrangements, whilst resident in the district of Antwerp. In addition, the sample also contains a large array of occupational level information. This paper presents the processes, methodologies and documentation regarding the evaluation and development of a pre-existing historical database. This includes the systematic evaluation of the original samples, methodologies for address based reconstructing of households, and the geocoding of a historical database which took place during the current development of this new version of the database.


Purpose of the article: The adverse economic situation in the Czech Republic has elicited a rising number of proposals to commence insolvency proceedings. Insolvency proceedings are resolved by the insolvency act from January 2008. The longer the duration of insolvency proceedings, the higher are their costs, which reduce gained yields.
Methodology/methods: Research is focused on the area of small and medium-sized enterprises. The research was based on a questionnaire survey in which representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic were addressed. The questionnaire contained 18 closed questions.The research results are evaluated and presented through a graphical representation.
Scientific aim: The article aims to gain information from representatives of small and medium firms as to how they settle overdue receivables, how they enforce them, whether they have had experience with an arbitration clause and whether they have been participants in insolvency proceedings.
Findings: Research has demonstrated that small and medium enterprises, for the most part, do not include an arbitration clause in purchase agreements. Small and medium enterprises tend to utilize court enforcement of receivables in exceptional cases and do not ascertain receivables of a subject in insolvency proceedings. They mostly enforce their irrecoverable receivables themselves. The relative amount of transaction costs connected with enforcement of receivables is in the vicinity of 1 to 5%, and only a small part (1 to 5%) of the volume of overdue receivables in insolvency proceedings are truly successfully enforced.
Conclusions: The course of insolvency proceedings can be considered to be an urgent problem in need of a solution, as the longer the duration of insolvency proceedings, the higher the costs for the parties involved and the lower the total amount recovered.


Pedicled flaps from the forehead are very useful for covering defects on the nose. A flap from a lateral or the medial part of the forehead can be designed according to the size and site of the defect on the nose. Flaps may even be used to repair full-thickness defects in the nose by grafting skin on their inner surfaces. Such techniques are briefly described step by step.


The TwinLife panel is the first longitudinal study of twin families in Germany based on a national probability sample. TwinLife has been developed to facilitate genetic sensitive research on social inequalities. The aim of this paper is to assess the usability of the Twin- Life sample for such research. Therefore, first, we analyze if the social background of twins living in Germany is adequately represented in the TwinLife sample; and second, we also investigate if there are socio-demographic differences between twin and other multiplechild households in Germany which would restrict the generalizability of findings based on the TwinLife study. Specifically, we compare the distributions of key socio-demographic indicators in TwinLife with the German Microcensus using a proxy-twin and a multiplechild household sample. Our analyses show that the TwinLife sample covers the full distributions of core social inequality indicators including the lower and upper bounds, enabling researchers to use TwinLife for detailed studies of the gene-environment interplay. Furthermore, we demonstrate that (proxy-)twin and other multiple-child households in Germany are similar regarding most socio-demographic indicators. However, our analyses also indicate that participation in the first wave of the TwinLife panel was slightly selective with respect to parental education and German citizenship, especially in the younger cohorts of the study. We suggest a weighting scheme to address this selectivity.


We extend the speciication language of temporal logic, the corresponding veriication framework, and the underlying computational model to deal with real-time properties of reactive systems. The abstract notion of timed transition systems generalizes traditional transition systems conservatively: qualitative fairness requirements are replaced (and superseded) by quantitative lower-bound and upper-bound timing constraints on transitions. This framework can model real-time systems that communicate either through shared variables or by message passing and real-time issues such as timeouts, process priorities (interrupts), and process scheduling. We exhibit two styles for the speciication of real-time systems. While the rst approach uses time-bounded versions of the temporal operators, the second approach allows explicit references to time through a special clock variable. Corresponding to the two styles of speciication, we present and compare two diierent proof methodologies for the veriication of timing requirements that are expressed in these styles. For the bounded-operator style, we provide a set of proof rules for establishing bounded-invariance and bounded-response properties of timed transition systems. This approach generalizes the standard temporal proof rules for verifying invariance and response properties conservatively. For the explicit-clock style, we exploit the observation that every time-bounded property is a safety property and use the standard temporal proof rules for establishing safety properties.


We report the clinical course of 31 patients suffering from primary tumors or vertebral metastases treated by osteosynthesis with vertebral body implant. Surgical treatment of vertebral tumors aims at eliminating the compression, thus relieving the myelon and the roots as well as the reestablishment of the supporting function of the involved segments. Subjective and objective improvement was found in 64.5 per cent of the 31 patients. The conditions remained the same in 22.5 per cent. New symptoms occurred in 13.0 per cent. After tumor specific evaluation of the over-all survival period, plasmacytoma were found to have a more favourable course of a little more than two years. Patients with vertebral metastases died after an average of 10 months. In nearly all cases with postoperative improvement on the initial symptoms and signs, the symptoms could be improved permanently. We thus regard ventral curettage and parallel stabilisation, may be combined with dorsal stabilisation, as a means of improving the quality of life in these patients. By using the surgical technique employed by us sufficient stabilisation of the vertebral column can be achieved in order to enable quick mobilisation of the patients.


Introduction: laparoscopic treatment of esophageal achalasia provides excellent functional results in the short and long term. In Uruguay the number of patients operated annually is low given demographic reasons and the low prevalence of the condition. Objective: to analyse the results of the surgical treatment of achalasia by means of a video-assisted laparoscopic approach. Method: retrospective, descriptive, observational study of a series of cases consisting of all patients operated at the Surgical Clinic 3 of the Maciel Hospital within a 108 month period (from 2002 through 2010), during which 17 patients underwent surgery (14 women, 3 men, average age: 34 years old), after an average of 24 months with symptoms, meeting the clinical, endoscopic, radiological and manometric criteria to diagnose achalasia and who were treated with esophagectomy associated to an antireflux Toupet procedure. Results: surgical time was 120 minutes. There was no need to turn into laparotomy. One intraoperative mucous membrane perforation took place. Mortality was null. Functional results were excellent. Average follow-up: two years. Conclusions: laparoscopic treatment of achalasia is a safe, effective and comfortable alternative that may be performed in our country with functional results that match the low morbility and no mortality international literature.


The discovery that genetic pathways can be manipulated to extend lifespan has revolutionized our understanding of aging, yet their function within natural populations remains poorly characterized. In particular, evolutionary theories of aging predict tradeoffs in resource investment toward somatic maintenance vs. reproductive output that should impose strong natural selection on genetic components that influence this balance. To explore such selective pressure at the molecular level, we examine population genetic variation in the insulin-like signaling pathway of the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei. We document a recent global selective sweep on the phosphoinositide-3-kinase pathway regulator, age-1, the first life-extension gene to have been identified. In particular, we find that age-1 has 5−20 times less genetic variation than any other insulin-like signaling pathway components and that evolutionary signatures of selection center on the age-1 locus within its genomic environment. These results demonstrate that critical components of aging-related pathways can be subject to shifting patterns of strong selection, as predicted by theory. This highly polymorphic outcrossing species offers high-resolution, population-level analyses of molecular variation as a complement to functional genetic studies within the self-reproducing C. elegans model system.


The base rate neglect effect is a stable phenomenon which can be observed in classification learning and in other contexts of human judgment and decision making. An experiment by M. A. Gluck and G. H. Bower (1988) and their explanation of the base rate neglect effect with the delta rule explanation is described. Their results can also be accounted for by two variants of Bayes' model, the base rate equalizing hypothesis and the single symptom interpretation hypothesis. The current study aimed at comparing the three models regarding their explanatory power of the base rate neglect effect. 60 subjects saw a combination of six symptoms and were asked to predict the correct disease. At the end of the experiment, they estimated the probabilities of each disease in the presence of certain symptoms. The pattern of results are best accounted for by the single symptom interpretation hypothesis and not by the two other models.


This paper presents a comparison of adaptive linear pre-dictors as applied to the area of lossless compression of seismic waveform data. Three methods are explored: the normalize least-mean square (NLMS) algorithm, the gradient adaptive lattice (GAL) algorithm, and the recursive least squares lattice (RLSL) algorithm. When compared to standard linear prediction techniques, all three of these methods require little overhead, are more computation-ally eecient, and can be implemented using oating point techniques. With respect to a standard seismic database, the RLSL lter outperforms the other two methods in nearly all cases tested.


Experiments in sulfide-silicate systems demonstrate that two sulfide phases are stable in the asthenospheric upper mantle: a crystalline osmium-iridiumruthenium–enriched monosulfide and a rhodium-platinum-palladium–enriched sulfide melt. During silicate melt segregation, monosulfide stays in the solid residue, dominating the noble metal spectrum of residual mantle. The sulfide melt is entrained as immiscible droplets in the segregating silicate melt, defining the noble metal inventory of the basaltic component.


During the last decades, copulas have been increasingly used to model the dependence across several
random variables such as the joint modelling of the intensity and the duration of rainfall storms. When the problem
consists in modelling extreme values, i.e., only the tails of the distribution, the extreme value theory tells us that one
should consider max-stable distributions and put some restrictions on the copulas to be used. Although the theory
for multivariate extremes is well established, its foundation is usually introduced outside the copula framework. This
paper tries to unify these two frameworks in a single view. Moreover the latest developments on spatial extremes and
max-stable processes will be introduced. At first glance the use of copulas for spatial problems sounds a bit odd but
since usually stochastic processes are observed at a finite number of locations, the inferential procedure is intrinsically
multivariate. An application on the spatial modelling of extreme temperatures in Switzerland is given. Results show
that the use of non extreme value based models can largely underestimate the spatial dependence and the assumptions
made on the spatial dependence structure should be chosen with care.


Melatonin was first isolated from bovine pineal gland more than half a century ago as an important animal hormone and since then it was proved to be present in almost all forms of life including eukaryotic unicells, prokaryotes, fungi, algae, animals and plants.  In this study, the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment with melatonin on germination and emergence performance of pepper seeds under chilling conditions were investigated. Seeds were immersed in 0, 1, 5, 10 or 25 µM melatonin solutions for 24 hours after which they were dried for one day and subjected to germination and emergence tests at optimum and chilling stress conditions. Exogenous melatonin treatment promoted pepper seed germination and emergence under chilling conditions. Treatment of seeds with melatonin especially in 1 or 5 µM concentrations significantly improved germination and emergence percentage and rate whereas dry seeds and seeds treated with 0 µM melatonin exhibited the lowest germination and emergence performance. Melatonin application also reduced the MDA and H 2 O 2 content and elevated SOD and CAT enzyme activity.  The improvement in germination and emergence performance of pepper under chilling stress conditions following melatonin treatment may therefore be due to reduced lipid peroxidation and elevated activities of antioxidant enzymes.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of sleeping hours of young children as reported by their parents. The subjects were 21 healthy children aged 3 to 4 years. They were asked to attach a small instrument for calculating sleeping hours objectively, over 3 consecutive nights. Parents reported the sleeping hours of their children during the study periods. The mean values were used in the analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficients and paired t-tests were used to evaluate the correlations and differences between the reported and objectively measured sleeping hours. The correlation coefficient and difference between the reported and assumed (objective sleeping hours representing the difference between times for falling asleep and waking) sleeping hours were 0.90 (p<0.001) and 0.79 hours (95% confidence interval: 0.59-0.99), respectively. The correlation coefficient and difference between the reported and actual (the assumed, sleeping hours minus the sum of epochs being scored as awake during the assumed sleep) sleeping hours were 0.90 (p<0.001) and 0.92 hours (0.73-1.10), respectively. Although parents tended to overestimate the sleeping hours of their children, the correlation between the reported and objective sleeping hours is high, which indicates that reported sleeping hours could be used in a survey that requires data on relative differences in sleeping hours amongst a given population.


This paper presents a novel model for multimodal learning based on gated neural networks. The Gated Multimodal Unit (GMU) model is intended to be used as an internal unit in a neural network architecture whose purpose is to find an intermediate representation based on a combination of data from different modalities. The GMU learns to decide how modalities influence the activation of the unit using multiplicative gates. It was evaluated on a multilabel scenario for genre classification of movies using the plot and the poster. The GMU improved the macro f-score performance of single-modality approaches and outperformed other fusion strategies, including mixture of experts models. Along with this work, the MM-IMDb dataset is released which, to the best of our knowledge, is the largest publicly available multimodal dataset for genre prediction on movies.


Abstract The aim of the article is to present the factors which affect the choice of place of recreation, as well as indicate the preferred forms of physical activity taken up there. The authors also discussed the relationship between distance from open areas and frequency of visits. Moreover, they evaluated current knowledge about the role of the natural environment as a physical recreation space. The research was conducted among a group of 305 physically active individuals (students of the Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdańsk), using questionnaires. The respondents defined the role of location in comparison to other motivational factors for a range of physical activities (recreation). They also spoke about their preferred forms of physical activity in the natural environment, compared to the roles of natural and human environments with regard to physical activity. They also provided an answer to the question whether an open area which does not provide respondents with an opportunity to undertake their favoured recreation would remain of interest. The study results demonstrate the unquestionable importance of having access to attractive natural surroundings with respect to physical activity. This allows a relation to be made between leisure in the natural environment and an improvement in the health of the physically active.


Background: Pregnant women experience severe labor pain which is the leading cause of stress and anxiety. The present study compared 0.1% ropivacaine and 0.1% levobupivacaine with 2 μg/ml fentanyl as a patient controlled epidural analgesia. Materials and Methods: 30 labouring parturients were divided into 2 groups of 15 each. Group I patients received 0.1% ropivacaine with 2 μg/ml fentanyl and group II patients received 0.1% levobupivacaine with 2 μg/ml fentanyl as epidural solutions via PCEA pump infusions. Results: Mode of delivery found to be caesarean seen in 5 in group I and 7 in group II, instrument‐assisted vaginal delivery seen 8 in group I and 6 in group II and normal vaginal delivery seen 7 in group I and 7 in group II. The difference was nonsignificant (P> 0.05). Demand boluses per hour was 0.08 in group I and 0.36 in group II, mean total number of manual rescue boluses was 1.02 in group I and 0.61 in group II and first requirement of manual rescue bolus was 3.10 in group I and 2.60 in group II. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Both bupivacaine and ropivacaine produced equivalent analgesia with fentanyl for labor.


The availability of spectrum at Ka-Band frequencies has become a compelling reason for communication satellite operators to develop systems using Ka-band links. A disadvantage is that the required transmit power must overcome significant propagation loss at Ka-band frequencies. Forward Error Correcting (FEC) codes with channel interleaving are essential to higher data rate satellite communication applications, where coding gain is necessary to achieve the desired link performance with limited transmit power. FEC codes selection is a critical decision in satellite communication system design. In this paper, we develop a methodology for evaluating code performance sensitivity to uplink transmit power variation. A typical space-to-ground link budget derives the required Effective Isotropic Radiating Power (EIRP) under the constraints of current high power amplifier and antenna technology. Serial and Parallel Turbo Codes are chosen for the analysis. The trade-offs for performance sensitivity are decoder implementation complexity and decoder power consumption. Simulated performance results are incorporated in the link analysis. A summary of the relative FEC codes sensitivities to Energy-per-Bit to Noise-Density Ratio (Eb/No) variation is provided. From the performance comparison, we have characterized the satellite link operating point sensitivity.


A homomorphism from a graph G to a graph H is a function from V(G) to V(H) that preserves edges. Many combinatorial structures that arise in mathematics and computer science can be represented naturally as graph homomorphisms and as weighted sums of graph homomorphisms. In this paper, we study the complexity of counting homomorphisms modulo 2. The complexity of modular counting was introduced by Papadimitriou and Zachos and it has been pioneered by Valiant who famously introduced a problem for which counting modulo 7 is easy but counting modulo 2 is intractable. Modular counting provides a rich setting in which to study the structure of homomorphism problems. In this case, the structure of the graph H has a big influence on the complexity of the problem. Thus, our approach is graph-theoretic. We give a complete solution for the class of cactus graphs, which are connected graphs in which every edge belongs to at most one cycle. Cactus graphs arise in many applications such as the modelling of wireless sensor networks and the comparison of genomes. We show that, for some cactus graphs H, counting homomorphisms to H modulo 2 can be done in polynomial time. For every other fixed cactus graph H, the problem is complete for the complexity class +P which is a wide complexity class to which every problem in the polynomial hierarchy can be reduced (using randomised reductions). Determining which H lead to tractable problems can be done in polynomial time. Our result builds upon the work of Faben and Jerrum, who gave a dichotomy for the case in which H is a tree.


This article examines Nepal's recently prepared Forestry Sector Strategy (FSS) (as of 2014) in terms of the use of scientific evidence and the quality of stakeholder participation. By reviewing the content and analyzing the context of its development during 2012–2014, we found that the transitional politics and overt influence of international development agencies dominated the process and content of the FSS. Although the FSS was developed through a significant stakeholder engagement, there was limited use of the available scientific evidence. The FSS was narrowly conceived as a deliverable of supporting aid programs, with limited demand for a politically meaningful policy processes. While civil society groups were consulted, they largely failed to present an independent voice due to their dependence on funding agencies. Our assessment calls for rethinking policy development in a way that facilitates assertive and independent participation by a range of actors and make better use of the available research.


ABSTRACT To evaluate the efficiency of an energy density of 0.05mj/mm2 of low intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) on erectile dysfunction (ED) patients.A total of 45 ED patients met the inclusion criteria, including 7 PDE5i responders and 38 nonresponders. All the patients have already been delivered 10000 shockwaves of total seven treatment points twice a week for 4 weeks. Simultaneously, questionnaires of International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function (IIEF-EF), Erectile Hard Score (EHS) and Minimal Clinical Important Differences (MCID) were evaluated for the efficiency and safety at 8th and 16th weeks.The changes in the IIEF-EF score by MCID suggested that Li-ESWT treatment was effective in 22 PDE5i nonresponders patients (58%) at 8th week. Then at 16th week the number of patients who were effectively treated increased to 27 (71%). Among PDE5i responders, 5 patients (71%) were effective base on MCID at 16th week. Among PDE5i nonresponders 22 patients (58%) achieved erection hard enough for vaginal penetration and increased to 27 (71%) patients at 16th week (EHS ≥3). Moreover, even 3 patients achieved EHS 4 in PDE5i nonresponders at 16th week. Among PDE5i responders, 4 of 7 patients reached EHS of 4 from EHS 3 at 16th week. Apart from this, Li-ESWT treatment was also effective in 9 patients (24%) in PDE5i nonresponders without follow-up PDE5i.Energy flux density (EFD) of 0.05 of Li-ESWT could improve the erectile function of ED patients with PDE5i response. In addition, EFD of 0.05 of Li-ESWT treatment could turn PDE5i nonresponders to responders.


There is controversy surrounding the effects of portal hypertension on the level of perfusion to the gastric wall. This study maps the regional distribution of gastric mucosal and muscle blood flow measured using quantitative autoradiography in a carbon tetrachloride-induced rat model of hepatic cirrhosis. There was a significant increase in both corpus mucosal (124.3 +/- 13.8 vs. 84.8 +/- 4.2 ml.100 g-1.min-1) and muscle blood flow (50.9 +/- 3.6 vs. 33.4 +/- 2.3 ml.100 g-1.min-1) in animals with experimental cirrhosis compared with controls. There was no significant difference in the ratio of blood tracer concentration between the basal and luminal aspects of corpus mucosa in cirrhotic and control groups. We conclude that experimental cirrhosis is associated with gastric mucosal hyperperfusion and that "active" rather than "passive" congestion of the stomach wall may be a more appropriate description of the basic hemodynamic change in this model.


Plasma alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is an important modulator of drug disposition, since it binds and transports of a vast array of pharmaceutical agents. The ABC transporter efflux pump, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), also recognizes and binds a broad range of weakly basic and uncharged xenobiotics. Its efflux activity plays a key role in pharmacokinetics of drugs, and overexpression of P-gp in malignant cells confers multidrug resistance (MDR) to anticancer agents. Comparison of ligand specificities of AGP and P-gp revealed high similarity showing that both proteins interact with the same therapeutic classes of drugs (alpha/beta-blockers, anticancer agents, Ca(2+) antagonists, antipsychotics/neuroleptics, HIV protease inhibitors etc.) as well as with additional endo- and exogenous compounds (steroids, dyes, natural substances). A wealth of examples are presented to show the potential use of drug-AGP binding data to predict drug-P-gp interactions and vice versa. In addition, structural and functional similarities between AGP and P-gp have been highlighted. Based on these data, several proposals have been made: 1) AGP and P-gp might act synergistically in protecting cells from harmful xenobiotics; 2) An extensive shared list of their ligands allows prediction of mutual binding interactions; 3) Interaction of drugs and drug candidates, both with AGP and P-gp, should be considered to optimize pharmacotherapy and to delineate the causes of drug-drug interactions; 4) Structures of known AGP binders could be exploited in searching for novel scaffolds of P-gp modulators to overcome cancer MDR and efflux-mediated resistance in microorganisms and parasites; 5) Novel fluorescent probes for studying P-gp structure and function can be pre-selected among AGP binder agents.


A review of fourteen cases of the Empty Sella Syndrome is presented with consideration of the clinical features and radiological changes. The pathogenesis, aetiology and effect on vision are discussed.


This literature review examines previous research that assesses the therapeutic benefits of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in individuals with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). EMDR provides an alternative treatment option for individuals with PTSD, who could experience additional psychological challenges with other treatment methods. This investigation synthesizes the results from previous literature reviews, practitioner reports, case studies, and experimental studies, in order to examine the possible therapeutic benefit of EMDR for clients with PTSD. The individuals mentioned in this study include children who have been exposed to natural disasters or violence, refugees, survivors of sexual assault, combat veterans, and individuals who have been previously diagnosed with another disorder in addition to their diagnosis of PTSD. Ultimately, the goal of this review is to stimulate further investigation into the merits of EMDR for a wide range of individuals who suffer from PTSD.


The results of study of morpho-cytochemical peculiarities, antigenic profile and peripheric blood and/or bone marrow blast cell karyotype of 21 patients with acute myeloid leukemia are presented. Hemopoietic cell immunophenotyping was carried out with the use of cytofluorometer FACScan and chromosome cytogenetic analysis with the use of analyzer "Metascan". It has been shown that in the AML M1 blast cell plasmatic membrane carries pan-myeloid CD33 and CD13 antigens, the last having high density of expression, and the CD38 antigen, which is a myeloid cell-precursor marker. In these patients tetraploidy, being the testimony of karyotype change, has been ascertained. It has been found out that the AML M2 blasts, except pan-myeloid antigens, express the cell proliferation CD71 marker. Blast cell karyotype peculiarities typical for this leukemia sub-variant have been revealed. In patients with the AML M4 in 3 of 6 cases an anomalous karyotype has been found. It has been also shown that the CD14 antigen, and rather its percentage in blast total population, is the differential-diagnostic criterion for the AML M4 and M5.


Anticoagulation therapy was generally used in patients receiving mechanical mitral valve replacement. However, due to the increased risk of bleeding of anticoagulation therapy, it is important to control the International Normalized Ratio (INR) in a lower range to decrease the risk of bleeding. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate to which level the INR should be controlled and explore a suitable intensity of anticoagulation in Chinese Han population after mechanical mitral valve replacement. The experience of low INR anticoagulation using warfarin will also be summarized. We retrospectively recruited 747 patients who underwent mechanical cardiac mitral valve replacement in our institute. All of the patients received oral warfarin anticoagulation therapy with a target INR between 2.0 and 2.5 as the intensity of anticoagulation. Throughout the duration of follow-up, anticoagulation intensity reflected by INR and incidence of complications related to anticoagulation were analysed. The recruited patients were followed up for 6 to 135 months with an overall follow-up rate of 94.1% and a total of 1669.4 patient-years. Ten cases (0.60% patient-years) of cerebral emboli were diagnosed during the follow-up. Haemorrhage secondary to anticoagulation was observed in 39 cases (2.34% patient-years). A low INR oral warfarin anticoagulation therapy achieved satisfactory clinical effects with a low incidence of thromboembolism in Chinese Han population undergone mechanical mitral valve replacement. Thus, there may be room for reducing the intensity of anticoagulation to decrease the incidence of haemorrhagic complications in these patients.