3D printing has gained popularity in almost every field of research, development, and manufacturing due to its ability to fabricate complex three-dimensional prototypes and functional devices with relative ease, which was unimaginable in the past. Herein, different 3D printing techniques have been studied to understand their capabilities and potential to miniaturise and increase the performance of analytical devices. In particular, selective laser melting and PolyJet 3D printing techniques have been used to develop new functional 3D printed miniaturised analytical devices with three-dimensional micro- and milli-fluidic channels.
An initial study was undertaken to assess the ability of selective laser melting technique to fabricate 600 mm long, 0.9 mm I.D. stainless steel (316L) and titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) columns within a footprint of 5 × 30 × 30 mm. The 3D printed stainless steel column was slurry packed with octadecyl silica particles, and it was used for liquid chromatographic separations of small molecules. This study provided a proof of concept for the use of selective laser melting technique to fabricate miniaturised metallic capillary liquid chromatographic columns. However, these 3D printed columns resulted in a channel wall roughness of 20 μm, which limited the chromatographic performance of the slurry packed liquid chromatographic columns. Accordingly, the 3D printed titanium column was functionalised with in-column thermally polymerised poly(butyl methacrylate-\(co\)-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) (BuMA-\(co\)-EDMA) monolith to circumvent the limitation of channel wall roughness. Silanisation of thermally oxidised titanium channel walls allowed a successful covalent wall bonding between the titanium column and the acrylate monolith. The prepared monolithic column was successfully used for reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) separations of intact proteins and peptides. The use of a Peltier thermoelectric module based heating/cooling system allowed the generation of rapid temperature gradients to further improve the RPLC separations of the intact proteins.
The initial study was then extended to explore the ability of 3D printing techniques to design and fabricate geometrically complex 3D column geometries. Three different column geometries were designed and 3D printed in titanium, namely 2D serpentine, 3D spiral, and 3D serpentine. These columns were used to perform an investigation into the effect of 3D column geometry on the liquid chromatographic efficiencies of monolithic columns. All three columns allowed successful in-column thermal polymerisation of mechanically stable and uniform poly(BuMA-\(co\)-EDMA) monoliths. Van Deemter plots indicated higher liquid chromatographic efficiencies of the chromatographic columns with higher aspect ratio turns at higher linear velocities and smaller analysis time as compared to their counterpart columns with lower aspect ratio turns. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of a basic monolithic structure indicated 44%, 90%, 100%, and 118% higher flow through narrow channels in the curved monolithic configuration as compared to the straight monolithic configuration at linear velocities of 1 mms\(^{-1}\), 2.5 mms\(^{-1}\), 5 mms\(^{-1}\), and 10 mms\(^{-1}\), respectively. An improvement in the interaction between wide and narrow channels in high aspect ratio coiled columns offers a possible explanation behind the above-mentioned trends in the Van Deemter plots. Use of the highly convoluted 3D serpentine column at higher flow rates as compared to the less convoluted 3D spiral column allowed 58% reduction in the analysis time and 74% increase in the peak capacity for the isocratic separations of the small molecules and the gradient separations of the proteins, respectively.
In addition to the use of the selective laser melting 3D printing technique to fabricate metallic miniaturised analytical devices, the use of the PolyJet 3D printing technique was also explored to fabricate polymeric miniaturised analytical devices. The PolyJet 3D printing technique was successfully used to fabricate a new transparent polymer radial flow-cell for chemiluminescence detection (CLD). The PolyJet 3D printed radial flow-cell resulted in an increase in both the signal magnitude and duration for CLD of H\(_2\)O\(_2\). The new flow-cell design provided an average increase in the peak height of 63% and 58%, in peak area of 89% and 90%, and in peak base width of 41% and 42%, as compared to its coiled-tubing spiral flow-cell and PolyJet 3D printed spiral flow-cell, respectively. CFD simulations indicated that the higher spatial coverage near the inlet and the lower linear velocities in the radial flow-cell could be contributing towards its higher signal magnitude and higher signal duration, respectively. The PolyJet 3D printed radial flow-cell was applied within a developed selective, sensitive, and reproducible ion chromatography coupled chemiluminescence detection (IC-CLD) assay for the determination of H\(_2\)O\(_2\) (a biomarker) in urine and coffee extract samples.


Increasing ambient ozone (O3) concentrations and resurgent rust diseases are two concomitant limiting factors to wheat production worldwide. Breeding resilient wheat cultivars bearing rust resistance and O3 tolerance while maintaining high yield is critical for global food security. This study aims at identifying ozone tolerance among key rust-susceptible wheat genotypes [Rust near-universal susceptible genotypes (RnUS)], as a first step towards achieving this goal. Tested RnUS included seven bread wheat genotypes (Chinese Spring, Line E, Little Club, LMPG 6, McNair 701, Morocco and Thatcher), and one durum wheat line (Rusty). Plants were treated with five O3 concentrations (CF, 50, 70, 90, and 110 ppb), in two O3 exposure systems [continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and outdoor-plant environment chambers (OPEC)], at 21–23 Zadoks decimal growth stage. Visible injury and biomass accumulation rate were used to assess O3 responses. Visible injury data showed consistent order of genotype sensitivity (Thatcher, LMPG 6 > McNair 701, Rusty > Line E, Morocco, Little Club > Chinese Spring). Additionally, leaves at different orders showed differential O3 responses. Biomass accumulation under O3 stress showed similar results for the bread wheat genotypes. However, the durum wheat line "Rusty" had the most O3-sensitive biomass production, providing a contrasting O3 response to the tolerance reported in durum wheat. Chinese Spring was the most tolerant genotype based on both parameters and could be used as a source for O3 tolerance, while sensitive genotypes could be used as sensitive parents in mapping O3 tolerance in bread wheat. The suitability of visible symptoms and biomass responses in high-throughput screening of wheat for O3 tolerance was discussed. The results presented in this research could assist in developing future approaches to accelerate breeding wheat for O3 tolerance using existing breeding materials.


Background Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polymeric materials, such as polycarbonate plastics, and is found in a variety of consumer products. Recent data show widespread BPA exposure among the U.S. population. Objective Our goal in the present study was to determine the temporal variability and predictors of BPA exposure. Methods We measured urinary concentrations of BPA among male and female patients from the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. Results Between 2004 and 2006, 217 urine samples were collected from 82 subjects: 45 women (145 samples) and 37 men (72 samples). Of these, 24 women and men were partners and contributed 42 pairs of samples collected on the same day. Ten women became pregnant during the follow-up period. Among the 217 urine samples, the median BPA concentration was 1.20 μg/L, ranging from below the limit of detection (0.4 μg/L) to 42.6 μg/L. Age, body mass index, and sex were not significant predictors of urinary BPA concentrations. BPA urinary concentrations among pregnant women were 26% higher (–26%, +115%) than those among the same women when not pregnant (p > 0.05). The urinary BPA concentrations of the female and male partner on the same day were correlated (r = 0.36; p = 0.02). The sensitivity of classifying a subject in the highest tertile using a single urine sample was 0.64. Conclusion We found a nonsignificant increase in urinary BPA concentrations in women while pregnant compared with nonpregnant samples from the same women. Samples collected from partners on the same day were correlated, suggesting shared sources of exposure. Finally, a single urine sample showed moderate sensitivity for predicting a subject's tertile categorization.


Maser emission—the microwave equivalent of laser light—has been observed in interstellar molecules since 1965. Similar maser radiation should be expected from supernova shock waves, but this has been harder to observe. In his Perspective, Fukui discusses images presented in this issue by Yusef-Zadeh et al. (p. 1801) of maser emission from a supernova near the center of our galaxy. Such observations should permit a better understanding of radiative processes in gas under extreme conditions.


Personal conceptions of intelligence seem to make a significant contribution to overcoming a reading deficit, as indicated in our earlier research. The present aim was to assess improvements in reading-decoding following training of children with reading-decoding problems and different conceptions of intelligence (incremental or entity). It was expected that treatment of children with an incremental representation would improve more. Participants were 20 children (10 girls, 10 boys) whose average age was 8.6 yr., who attended Grade 3 of elementary school, and who were selected from 675 pupils. Children were given a multimedia test to measure motivational factors such as conceptions of intelligence, achievement goals, perception of controllability, and causal attributions. The participants took part in a multimedia training. Posttest evaluations showed more improvement in reading-decoding by children holding an incremental theory of intelligence. The importance of treatment programmes in which account is taken of both specificity of deficits and motivational factors should be explored further as the present sample was very small.


Libraries and Archives have long recognized the important role played by audiovisual records in the development of an informed global citizen and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is no exception. Lying on the banks of the Red Sea, KAUST has a state of the art library housing professional library and archives teams committed to the processing of digital audiovisual records created within and outside the University. This commitment, however, sometimes obscures the fundamental divergences unique to the two disciplines on the acquisition, cataloguing, access and long-term preservation of audiovisual records. This dichotomy is not isolated to KAUST but replicates itself in many settings that have employed Librarians and Archivists to manage their audiovisual collections. Using the KAUST audiovisual collections as a case study the authors of this paper will take the reader through the journey of managing KAUST's digital audiovisual collection. Several theoretical and methodological areas of convergence and divergence will be highlighted as well as suggestions on the way forward for the IFLA and ICA working committees on the management of audiovisual records.


Solubility proves to be a major hurdle for the successful development and commercialization of new drug products. Since 40% of the active substances being identified through the new paradigm in high – throughput screening are lipophilic. So, its viability as a potential new drug candidate reduces manifold. Because of this limitation, many pharmacologically active molecules have failed to reach the market. Therefore, Nanosuspensions have emerged as a promising strategy for the efficient delivery of hydrophobic drugs because of their versatile features and unique advantages. Techniques such as media milling and high pressure homogenization have been used commercially for producing nanosuspensions. Recently, the engineering of nanosuspensions employing emulsions and microemulsions as templates has been addressed in the literature. The unique features of nanosuspensions have enabled their use in various dosage forms, including specialized delivery systems such as mucoadhesive hydrogels. Rapid strides have been made in the delivery of nanosuspensions by parenteral, per-oral, ocular and pulmonary routes. Currently, efforts are being directed to extending their applications in site-specific drug delivery. The following work deals with the special features of nanosuspensions, the preparation methods, advantages of such methods, characterization of nanosuspensions, patents, marketed products and their applications for hoping to make easy, the future research in this area.


SUMMARY: The intertidal macroinfauna of fiftheen exposed sandy beaches located in Rio de Janeiro State was studied to determine species richness, density, biomass and zonation. Morphodynamic influence on biological parameters is also evaluated in this paper. Dean's morphodynamic index (Ω) ranged from reflective to intermediate values and mean grain size ranged from fine to coarse sands. A total of 17 species were identified, with the crustaceans Emerita brasiliensis, Excirolana braziliensis and Pseudorchestoidea brasiliensis being the most abundant species. Species richness had a significant positive linear relationship with Ω values, swash period and slope, and a negative relationship with grain size. Significant positive relationships were also observed for total density with the swash period and slope, total biomass with slope, density of Emerita brasiliensis with swash period and slope and biomass of Emerita brasiliensis with slope. Zonation analysis showed that two or three biological zones could be recognised, with the two-zone pattern being observed in most of the beaches. This pattern consisted of a lower zone characterised by Emerita brasiliensis, Donax haleyanus and Hemipodus oliveri; and an upper zone characterised by Excirolana braziliensis, Pseudorchestoidea brasiliensis and Phaleria testacea. The threezone pattern as a disruption of the general two-zone pattern and its formation was attributable to the variation in the distributions of P. brasilensis and E. braziliensis. Our results suggest that beach morphodynamics is the best predictor for the variability of macroinfaunal community composition.


ABSTRACT Responding to widespread concerns about misinformation's impact on democracy, we conducted an experiment in which we exposed German participants to different degrees of misinformation on COVID-19 connected to politicized (immigration) and apolitical (runners) issues (N = 1,490). Our key findings show that partially false information is more credible and persuasive than completely false information, and also more difficult to correct. People with congruent prior attitudes are more likely to perceive misinformation as credible and agree with its positions than people with incongruent prior attitudes. We further show that although fact-checkers can lower the perceived credibility of misinformation on both runners and migrants, corrective messages do not affect attitudes toward migrants. As a key contribution, we show that different degrees of misinformation can have different impacts: more nuanced deviations from facticity may be more harmful as they are difficult to detect and correct while being more credible.


Youth participation is and has been a concept with many considerations, meanings and forms of application, both nationally and internationally. In order to ascertain the evolution of the main structures of youth participation, this article starts with the frames that have motivated this participation in Europe, and then it analyses the evolution of some of the participative youth structures in Catalonia in recent decades: local and municipal youth councils. The article also examines some of the longstanding challenges of youth participation, which aim to overcome the structuring of traditional channels of participation and generate other ways of taking part in everyday community life


This Article merges one of our most ancient technologies for the promotion of welfare — advice — with some of our most recent — artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. This is the first Article to introduce and examine the possibility of AI advice. It critiques and expands upon an explosion of scholarship in the last two years on personalized law. The Article first rejects recent attempts to rehabilitate mandatory disclosures by personalizing them. Ironically, the technological progress required to create effective Big Data disclosures will itself substantially reduce the need for such disclosures. In this future, advice, not disclosure, will be the dominant paradigm. The Article then dissects our everyday practices of advice-giving to unearth a number of powerful features of advice that promote self-efficacy, reduce motivated reasoning, and overall make it more likely that people will hear and heed good advice. The capacity to bundle these features with exceedingly accurate recommendations makes AI advice far superior to its two main regulatory rivals: mandatory disclosure and nudges.


The Wallapai district is in the Cerbat Mountains, an eastward-tilted fault-block composed of Precambrian metamorphic and igneous rocks that have been intruded by granite porphyry of Tertiary (?) age. Small patches of Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic rocks occur along the flanks of the range.Mineralization is believed to have occurred after the close of Tertiary volcanic activity. The first phase consisted of "porphyry copper" mineralization in a strongly shattered portion of a granite porphyry stock. This was succeeded by the formation of veins that contain lead-zinc ores. The veins are superimposed upon and grouped symmetrically around the "porphyry copper" mineralization. Tectonic action is postulated as the fundamental control for the emplacement of the granite porphyry stock and for the two types of sulfide mineralization that are areally associated with the stock. Turquoise deposits have developed by supergene processes in the capping of the "porphyry copper" deposit.A late fault cuts both bedrock and alluvium at the western base of the range. This fault and a surrounding area of the alluvial blanket have been mineralized by chrysocolla to form the Emerald Isle copper deposit. The chrysocolla is believed to be hypogene in this deposit.


1. Adult brown trout ( Salmo trutta L.) of both sea-run (sea trout) and fresh-water stream (brown trout) forms were captured in the vicinity of Aberdeen and acclimatized to full-strength sea water for periods of up to 5 months. 2. Blood serum samples from these fish were analysed for freezing-point depression, chloride, sodium and potassium concentrations. 3. The patterns of regulation of these concentrations are very nearly the same in both forms. Brown trout and sea trout, at least in eastern Scotland, thus appear to be virtually identical in osmotic and ionic regulatory abilities. However, there is a possibility that there is a difference between the two forms with respect to mechanisms controlling blood acid-base balance. 4. The patterns of regulation shown by Scottish fish are the same as those shown by American hatchery fish treated similarly. The different populations of the species seem not to have diverged significantly from one another in this regard after many generations of more or less complete genetic isolation. 5. The species Salmo trutta is strongly homoiosmotic. Internal concentrations are either unchanged or increase by less than 10% above fresh-water levels with long-term acclimatizations to half and full sea water. The brown trout is the first salmonid species known to regulate so well.


The authors study three problems related to the undirected multicut problem. The name " checkpoint problem " is motivated by the aim to minimize the number of ticket checks in public transport such that each path of a given set of paths in a graph is checked at least once. They consider the variant where the maximum number of checks is minimized (MCP) and that where the sum of checks of all paths is minimized (SCP). Furthermore they consider a related problem of finding a path in a graph with forbidden pairs while minimizing the number of violations (PAFP). For MCP, if the graph is a tree and the paths do not connect different subtrees, they show that there is a simple LP that results in an exact solution and they provide an alternative algorithm with better worst-case running time. If arbitrary paths in trees are allowed, they show that the problem becomes hard: they show an approximation lower bound of 2 and they provide an approximation algorithm that computes a solution of at most 2 opt + 1, where opt is the value of an optimal solution. Furthermore they present an approximation algorithm for general graphs. For SCP they show that the problem has the same approximability as the undirected mul-ticut problem. The reduction is straightforward and may be seen as a note for completing the picture. For PAFP they show a linear lower bound on the approximability. The main part of the paper is concerned with the problem MCP. The result that the special case of MCP can be solved in polynomial time is due to a natural LP for the problem and the observation that its matrix is TU. The main contribution of section 2 is an alternative combinatorial proof that leads to a better worst-case running time. Section 3 provides a gap-introducing reduction for MCP in trees that leads to a lower bound on the approximation ratio of 2. The crucial property of MCP that leads to such a high value is that even for large instances the value of an optimal solution can be one, whereas finding a solution with value smaller than two is as hard as solving 1-in-3-SAT. Overall, the paper is well written and rich in results. I recommend an accept for this paper, but there are some minor issues to be clarified, listed in the following discussion. (C1) Section 4: The …


In this study, hydrous ruthenium oxide was deposited on titanium(Ti) and carbon nanotube(CNT) substrate by cathodic deposition method. Combination of amorphous and nanocrystalline structure of hydrous ruthenium oxide was investigated by high resolution electron microscopy. The measured capacitance was found keeping nearly constant through charge/discharge processes for hydrous ruthenium oxide coating on Ti substrate. On the other hand, thin and uniform layer of hydrous ruthenium oxide coating can be deposited on CNT substrate. The thickness of the coating layer was found less than 10nm. Combination of amorphous and nanocrystalline structure of hydrous ruthenium oxide was also investigated on this specimen. The consumption of coating was found very effective for this specimen after 105 charge/discharge cycles which lead to the tremedenously decreasing in the measured capacitance.


Objective: To determine the recommended dose (RD) of gefitinib when combined with concomitant radiotherapy (RT) in a preoperative setting in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Secondary objectives were to evaluate acute toxicities, pathological response rate, progression-free and overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods: 20 patients with cT3-4 or cN+ cM0 tumors were enrolled. The planned RT consisted in 50 Gy given in 2 daily fractions of 1.25 Gy in 4 weeks. During RT, gefitinib was planned to be given orally once daily with 2 successive dose levels: 250 mg and 500 mg. Rectal surgery was scheduled 5 - 6 weeks after completion of RT. The median follow-up for all patients was 57 months. Results: Among the first cohort of 6 patients, 1 patient presented a dose limiting toxicity (DLT) (Grade 3 diarrhea/dehydration). In the second cohort, 2/6 patients presented with the same DLT so that 250 mg was considered as the RD. Main acute toxicities consisted in diarrhea (grade 2 - 3, 63%), and skin reaction (in RT fields grade 2 - 3 in 42%). The 5-year actuarial OS and loco-regional control rates were of 80% and 84% respectively. Conclusion: The concomitant daily administration of 250 mg of gefitinib with 50 Gy preoperative RT is feasible with manageable toxicity. The major pathologic response rate is encouraging, though it needs further confirmation. Distant metastasis still represents a concern and new strategies to overcome this issue are warranted.


Background & Aim : Nowadays hospitals bear with the financial and human costs because of nurses' turnover. Many factors affect nurses' turnover and work-family conflict is one of these variables. Thus, the purpose of this study is determining the relationship between work-family conflict and intention to leave among nurses. Material & Methods : It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. A total of 257 nurses working in Emam Khomeini, Firouzgar, and Day & Hashemi Nejad hospitals in Tehran who were selected by stratified random sampling participated in the study. Data was gathered via Carlson et al. and Tei & Yamazakei standard questionnaires. Data analysis performed by Structural Equation Modeling, Path Analysis, and Independent T-Test via LISREL and SPSS-PC (v.16). Results : Path Analysis showed that work-family conflict had a positive significant relationship β) = 0.9) with intention to leave among nurses (P<0.01). Pearson correlation test showed that there is a positive significant relationship between gender and work-family conflict (P<0.05, r=0.13), Intention to leave and age (P<0.05, r=0.15) and years of work experience (P<0.01, r=0.17). Also we found that work-family conflict in public hospitals was more than private hospitals (P=0.02). However, there was no significant difference between intention to leave in public and private hospitals (P=0.66). Conclusion : Recognition of nurses' work-family conflict can play an important role in reducing the consequences and negative outcomes such intention to leave among nurses and provide an efficient basis to adopt effective strategies for human resource management.


In observational studies, the overall aim when fitting a model for the propensity score is to reduce bias for an estimator of the causal effect. To make the assumption of an unconfounded treatment plausible researchers might include many, possibly correlated, covariates in the propensity score model. In this paper, we study how the asymptotic efficiency of matching and inverse probability weighting estimators for average causal effects change when the covariates are correlated. We investigate the case with multivariate normal covariates, a logistic model for the propensity score and linear models for the potential outcomes and show results under different model assumptions. We show that the correlation can both increase and decrease the large sample variances of the estimators, and that the correlation affects the asymptotic efficiency of the estimators differently, both with regard to direction and magnitude. Moreover, the strength of the confounding towards the outcome and the treatment plays an important role.


Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a debilitating and incurable disease, predominantly develops in women. Estradiol metabolism leads to the production of numerous metabolites with different levels of estrogenic activity and very often opposing biological effects. Dysregulated estradiol metabolism was recently linked to the penetrance, progression, and prognosis of the disease. Ongoing clinical trials are examining the effects of estradiol synthesis/signaling inhibition in patients with PAH. In this chapter, the effects of sex, sex hormones, and estradiol metabolism on the healthy pulmonary circulation and vascular pathobiology are discussed in the light of estradiol metabolism as potential pharmacological target in PAH. The effects of estrogens and their metabolites on vascular pathobiology and disease progression, their involvement in PAH-associated diseases, and the pros and cons for interventions at different levels of estradiol metabolism are discussed. Finally, we propose that 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME), a major non-estrogenic metabolite of estradiol, mediates at least in part the beneficial effects of estradiol and that 2ME exhibits opposing effects to estradiol on several processes relevant to the underlying pathophysiology of PAH, including angiogenesis, metabolic reprograming, inflammation, and immunity. Based on cellular and in vivo effects, 2ME should be viewed as a disease modifier in women with PAH.


Background & Objective: The present research project is based on the common ground in nuclear and medicine science. The purpose is to determine the concentration of radon gas in residential homes in Fasa in 1395 for investigating the effects of its inhalation on the incidence of lung cancer in residents of the home. Material & Methods: Among the residential houses, 10 houses were selected in different parts of the city and 20 samples of radon gas infiltration system were installed in these houses in 1395. In this research, using electrochemical stew method, the detectors were scanned by optical scanners and then images of alpha tracks were prepared in the form of image grey scale. After that, with the help of image processing software and using the passive dosimeter method, the mean concentration of radon was determined during a given period of time. Results: The results of counting and measuring the concentration of radon gas in 20 samples collected in two first and second six-month periods of residential buildings were investigated and evaluated. The results showed that radon gas concentrations in Fasa during the first and second six months of 1395 fluctuated from 141 to 417 Becquerel per cubic meter. Conclusion: In both period north-west parts of the Fasa, concentrations above 150 Becquerel per cubic meter was found to be higher than standard concentrations in residential homes, and residents in these areas were at risk of lung cancer. At the end of the article, there are some strategies to reduce the concentration of radon in homes.


The agrofuel boom has brought about some of the most significant transformations in the world food system in recent decades. A rich and diverse body of agrarian political economy research has emerged that elucidates the conflicts and redistributional shifts engendered by these transformations. However, less attention has been given to differences within agri-food capital. This paper contributes to the existing literature on agrofuels, by showing how one cluster of agri-food corporations and farmers within the US has benefited from soaring ethanol production at the expense of another cluster. More specifically, I delineate and chart the pecuniary trajectories of two corporate-led distributional coalitions that have vied over the course taken by the US ethanol sector: the 'Agro-Trader nexus' and the 'Animal Processor nexus'. My main finding is that the US ethanol boom has been a vector of redistribution: increasing the earnings of the Agro-Trader nexus and corn growers while reducing the earnings of the Animal Processor nexus and livestock farmers. This finding points to the limits and contradictions of agrofuels capitalism and the acute tensions that exist at the heart of the corporate food regime.


Sensitization to foods often occurs in infancy, without a known prior oral exposure, suggesting that alternative exposure routes contribute to food allergy. Here, we tested the hypothesis that peanut proteins activate innate immune pathways in the skin that promote sensitization. We exposed mice to peanut protein extract on undamaged areas of skin and observed that repeated topical exposure to peanut allergens led to sensitization and anaphylaxis upon rechallenge. In mice, this epicutaneous peanut exposure induced sensitization to the peanut components Ara h 1 and Ara h 2, which is also observed in human peanut allergy. Both crude peanut extract and Ara h 2 alone served as adjuvants, as both induced a bystander sensitization that was similar to that induced by the atopic dermatitis-associated staphylococcal enterotoxin B. In cultured human keratinocytes and in murine skin, peanut extract directly induced cytokine expression. Moreover, topical peanut extract application induced an alteration dependent on the IL-33 receptor ST2 in skin-draining DCs, resulting in Th2 cytokine production from T cells. Together, our data support the hypothesis that peanuts are allergenic due to inherent adjuvant activity and suggest that skin exposure to food allergens contributes to sensitization to foods in early life.


We would like to thank Drs. Feldman and Wappler for their thoughtful comments regarding our manuscript published recently in ANESTHESIOLOGY. The use of carbon filters suggested by Dr. Feldman and previous investigators presents an approach to quickly prepare an anesthesia workstation for a malignant hyperthermia (MH)-susceptible patient and facilitate the reduction of anesthetic gases during an MH crisis. We agree carbon filter devices have proven to be effective in reducing the anesthetic gas concentration. However, the Food and Drug Administration has never approved the use of carbon filters specifically for the purposes of reducing or eliminating the risk of anesthetic gas exposure for MH-susceptible patients. The Vapor-Clean filters (Dynasthetics, LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah) are approved by the Food and Drug Administration with a 510(k) clearance as a general-purpose device meant to scavenge volatile anesthetic gases. Therefore, we are hesitant to make a recommendation on this device without clinical studies in at least patients who are not MH susceptible, with the focus directed specifically to validating the filter's ability to reduce and maintain the residual anesthetic gas concentration at or less than the presumed safe concentration of 5 ppm. In addition, we reiterate that making such a recommendation is outside the purview of our review and instead lies with organizations such as the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, European Malignant Hyperthermia Group, or the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS). As mentioned by Dr. Wappler, having a "clean" anesthesia machine in reserve for the sole purpose of caring for MH-susceptible patients was a consideration we shared. However, the additional costs involved in acquiring and maintaining an "extra" anesthesia machine and the time required to exchange the machine were concerning. In fact, MHAUS specifically did not recommend exchanging anesthesia machines or parts of the patient breathing system during a crisis because to do so lacked any benefit and acted as a distraction from patient care. Furthermore, one must question the reliability of the anesthesia machine involved in such a practice. As an example, a colleague had the unfortunate experience of having a machine malfunction between anesthesia cases. He quickly found another anesthesia machine that was infrequently used for patient care but was inspected daily. However, he quickly found that parts had been scavenged and the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. This situation would be unacceptable for an MH-susceptible patient or a patient having an MH crisis. Therefore, although maintaining a clean anesthesia machine in theory represents an overt means to achieve "100% patient safety," in practice this method may pose other serious risks. Lastly, we agree the maximum safe level of exposure to anesthetic gases is unknown. The often-cited cutoff of 5 ppm is derived from experiments in MH-susceptible swine. Unfortunately, the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with MH restricts its study in humans. Therefore, the true safe limit of exposure may never be known. The variability of genetic mutations, incomplete penetrance of these alleles, and the relative potencies of different volatile anesthetic agents to trigger an MH crisis, while serving as a reminder of the heterogeneity of MH, further complicate this issue and underscore the difficulties in both studying MH and recommending changes in general policy. Indeed, the maximum safe level of exposure likely will vary with different RyR1 alleles, and these differences may be further modified by the context unique to each patient's genome as well as the triggering anesthetic agent. In summary, we would like to express our appreciation to Drs. Feldman and Wappler for sharing our interest in MH. The reduced penetrance and variable expressivity of this inherited disorder and lack of a scientifically defined value in humans for the maximum safe limit of exposure to residual anesthetic gases suggests zero tolerance for any exposure to volatile anesthetic agent would be the best practice. However, as noted by Dr. Wappler, there are no reported cases of MH in susceptible patients who were ventilated by anesthesia machines that were decontaminated according to current MHAUS guidelines. Our review of anesthesia machines was limited to published studies and thus did not include all available anesthesia machines. It was evident from our review that MHAUS recommendations need to be updated to include the newer generation of anesthesia machines.* Finally, the lack of published data or clinical experience with carbon filters and malignant hyperthermia caution the use of such devices for MH-susceptible patients as an alternative to machine preparation. We are conducting research to define the best method for standardizing the preparation of anesthesia machines and the role of carbon filters in reducing the risk of an MH crisis.


This dissertation studies and identifies determinants of individual health. The first chapter analyzes how the supply of medical care affects patient treatment and health outcomes, focusing on how hospitals respond to the loss of a profitable service line. This chapter provides strong evidence that hospital spillovers across service lines are empirically important and that hospitals differentiate treatment by patient payer type. Hospitals practice both revenue augmenting and cost-cutting behavior in other lines of care, targeting specific procedures and payers according to their profitability. Specifically, they increase the number of surgical procedures and perform more marginal surgeries. The effects are concentrated in medical specialties where there are more discretionary surgeries and higher profit margins. Furthermore, hospitals cut back on unprofitable treatment by reducing non-elective admissions and uninsured elective care. Hospitals also increase the intensity of treatment among private payers. The second chapter of this dissertation investigates the demand side of health care, analyzing the role that health insurance plays on primary medical care usage by young American adults. I find office-based physician visits and prescription drugs are not affected by insurance, but dental visits are. There is a small increase in out-of-pocket expenditures caused by insurance loss, concentrated heavily at the top of the distribution. No change in health status or ability to afford care is found. The findings shed light on the expected welfare benefits of recent US health care policies targeting young adults. The final chapter of this dissertation analyzes the extent to which the early childhood environment shapes child health and development outcomes and, specifically, whether universal childcare levels the playing field across children. I analyze the introduction of a universal childcare program in Quebec in 1997, testing its impact on the distribution of child health and development outcomes. I find that there is little heterogeneity in the response to the policy across the distributions of child motor skills and cognitive outcomes. I do, however, find evidence that it led to a reduction in child body weight at the upper end of the distribution.


A number of empirical studies have shown that negative abnormal returns often result shortly after a once promising merger is consummated. There are few consistent explanations, however, as to why so many mergers result in such poor performance. This paper sheds light on this issue by examining the effect that structural factors (including market concentration and R&D intensity) have on post-merger abnormal returns. The paper also attempts to assess how differences in valuation among bidders, along with the presence of multiple bidders, influencethe performance of the merged firm. Our findings show that firm value is positively impacted in the first one to three years post merger by acquiring related assets, but that participating in a merger wave in these years has a negative influence. Over longer periods of time these effects are not evident and instead post-merger performance is impacted foremost by intangible asset intensity.


Railcar wheels and axles belong to the most critical components in railway vehicles. The service conditions of railway vehicles have been more severe in recent years due to speed-up. Therefore, a more precise evaluation of railcar wheel life and safety has been requested. Wheel/rail contact fatigue and thermal cracks due to braking are two major mechanisms of the railcar wheel failure. One of the main sources influencing on the contact zone failure is residual stress. The residual stress in wheels formed during heat treatment in manufacturing changes in the process of braking. Thus the fatigue life of railcar wheels should be estimated by considering both thermal stress and rolling contact. Also, the effect of residual stress variation due to manufacturing process and braking process should be included in simulating contact fatigue behavior. In this paper, an evaluation procedure for the contact fatigue life of railcar wheels considering the effects of residual stresses due to heat treatment, braking and repeated contact load is proposed. And the cyclic stressstrain history for fatigue analysis is simulated by finite element analysis for the moving contact load.


ABSTRACT Chaenusa glabra Kula, new species from India and Pakistan is described, and sexual dimorphism is reported and discussed. A diagnosis is provided to differentiate it from all other species of Chaenusa Haliday sensu lato. It was reared from Hydrellia pakistanae Deonier and Hydrellia sarahae laticapsula Deonier infesting Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royale during foreign exploration for natural enemies of H. verticillata, and is in quarantine at the Florida Biological Control Laboratory in Gainesville. It is the first species of Chaenusa described from the Oriental Region and the only species of Chaenusa known to attack species of Hydrellia Robineau-Desvoidy infesting plants from a genus other than Potamogeton L.


Date Presented 04/05/19
 Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a syndrome defined as an intermediate stage between cognitively intact and clinically diagnosed dementia; the age-adjusted prevalence of MCI in Taiwan is approximately 18%. Combination of cognitive training and exercise has been found to be effective for improving cognitive functions. However, it is still unclear which combination method could induce better training effects. This study provides and discusses emerging work from Taiwan's experience.
 Primary Author and Speaker: Ching-yi Wu
 Additional Authors and Speakers: I-Ching Chuang


In this work, we develop practical user scheduling algorithms for downlink bursty traffic with emphasis on user fairness. In contrast to the conventional scheduling algorithms that either equally divides the transmission time slots among users or maximizing some ratios without physcial meanings, we propose to use the 5%-tile user data rate (5TUDR) as the metric to evaluate user fairness. Since it is difficult to directly optimize 5TUDR, we first cast the problem into the stochastic game framework and subsequently propose a Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL)-based algorithm to perform distributed optimization on the resource block group (RBG) allocation. Furthermore, each MARL agent is designed to take information measured by network counters from multiple network layers (e.g. Channel Quality Indicator, Buffer size) as the input states while the RBG allocation as action with a proposed reward function designed to maximize 5TUDR. Extensive simulation is performed to show that the proposed MARL-based scheduler can achieve fair scheduling while maintaining good average network throughput as compared to conventional schedulers.


Milk fever in dairy cows can be prevented by activating Ca homeostasis before calving. Homeostatic adaptation can be achieved by reducing dietary Ca availability. Formaldehyde-treated rice bran was studied to supply rumen protected phytic acid to reduce Ca availability. Twelve multiparous dry cows were used in a 3×3 Latin square change-over design with 5-day periods to test three dietary treatments. Diets consisted of a forage mix (maize silage, grass silage and hay), being 77% of ration dry matter, supplemented with three concentrates: Control (no formaldehyde-treated rice bran), T1 (100% formaldehyde-treated rice bran) and T2 (99.5% formaldehyde-treated rice bran with 0.6% Ca carbonate, to equal Ca content of Control). Dietary treatments did not affect urine pH (8.14, 8.13 and 8.11 for Control, T1 and T2 respectively) or dry matter intake (13.9, 13.7 and 13.8 kg for Control, T1 and T2 respectively). Including formaldehyde-treated rice bran in the diet resulted in lower urinary Ca/creatinine ratio (0.970, 0.457 and 0.618 for Control, T1 and T2 respectively). A sudden increase of urinary Ca excretion took place after withdrawal of T1 and T2 at introduction of Control, peaking on the first day and coming back down progressively in the second and third days. Peak was greatest after T1 and was not observed in transitions between rice bran treatments. This is understood as indirect evidence of activation of intestinal Ca absorption during formaldehyde-treated rice bran feeding, because renal adaptations to changes in blood Ca clearance are immediate and intestinal adaptations delay 2 days. It was concluded that including formaldehyde-treated rice bran in rations before calving may represent a dietary strategy to prevent milk fever without reducing dry matter intake.


OBJECTIVE The clinical effectiveness of parenterally-administered glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimetics to improve glucose control in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes strongly supports discovery pursuits aimed at identifying and developing orally active, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonists. The purpose of these studies was to identify and characterize novel nonpeptide agonists of the GLP-1 receptor. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Screening using cells expressing the GLP-1 receptor and insulin secretion assays with rodent and human islets were used to identify novel molecules. The intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and hyperglycemic clamp characterized the insulinotropic effects of compounds in vivo. RESULTS Novel low molecular weight pyrimidine-based compounds that activate the GLP-1 receptor and stimulate glucose-dependent insulin secretion are described. These molecules induce GLP-1 receptor-mediated cAMP signaling in HEK293 cells expressing the GLP-1 receptor and increase insulin secretion from rodent islets in a dose-dependent manner. The compounds activate GLP-1 receptor signaling, both alone or in an additive fashion when combined with the endogenous GLP-1 peptide; however, these agonists do not compete with radiolabeled GLP-1 in receptor-binding assays. In vivo studies using the IVGTT and the hyperglycemic clamp in Sprague Dawley rats demonstrate increased insulin secretion in compound-treated animals. Further, perifusion assays with human islets isolated from a donor with type 2 diabetes show near-normalization of insulin secretion upon compound treatment. CONCLUSIONS These studies characterize the insulinotropic effects of an early-stage, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist and provide compelling evidence to support pharmaceutical optimization.


Abstract Laboratory measurements of elastic and anelastic parameters of dry and water-saturated sandstones with low (0.7- and 1.1-mD) and high (425-mD) permeability have been conducted at seismic frequencies (0.1 to 120 Hz). The experiments were performed with a laboratory apparatus that measures the stress-strain relationship in the linear regime. The extensional attenuation in water-saturated low-permeability sandstones exhibits prominent peaks in the seismic band, accompanied by considerable dispersion. Variations in attenuation and dispersion in the high-permeability sandstone are below the measurement error, as is the moduli dispersion in all the sandstones in dry condition. The experiments demonstrate that for low-permeability rocks, seismic frequencies do not necessarily correspond to the low-frequency limit (relaxed pore-fluid pressures) of acoustic wave dispersion.


How to define the relationship of human bodies, sound and technological instruments in musical performance? This enquiry investigates the issue through an iterative mode of research. Aesthetic and technical insights on sound and body art performance with new musical instruments combine with analytical views on technological embodiment in philosophy and cultural studies. The focus is on corporeality: the physiological, phenomenological and cultural basis of embodied practices.

The thesis proposes configuration as an analytical device and a blueprint for artistic creation. Configuration defines the relationship of the human being and technology as one where they affect each other's properties through a continuous, situated negotiation. In musical performance, this involves a performer's intuition, cognition, and sensorimotor skills, an instrument's material, musical and computational properties, and sound's vibrational and auditive qualities.

Two particular kinds of configuration feature in this enquiry. One arises from an experiment on the effect of vibration on the sensorimotor system and is fully developed through a subsequent installation for one visitor at a time. The other emerges from a scientific study of gesture expressivity through muscle physiological sensing and is consolidated into an ensuing body art performance for sound and light. Both artworks rely upon intensely intimate sensorial and physical experiences, uses and abuses of the performer's body and bioacoustic sound feedback as a material force.

This work contends that particular configurations in musical performance reinforce, alter or disrupt societal criteria against which human bodies and technologies are assessed. Its contributions are: the notion of configuration, which affords an understanding of human-machine co-dependence and its politics; two sound-based artworks, joining and expanding musical performance and body art; two experiments, and their hardware and software tools, providing insights on physiological computing methods for corporeal human-computer interaction.


We present a review on the genetic and environmental factors implicated in the aetiology of Parkinson's disease. The environmental hypothesis was strongly suggested about 20 years ago after the report of a parkinsonian syndrome in young adults that were intoxicated by a neurotoxin called MPTP which selectively destroys nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Several chemical products used in herbicides and pesticides are similar structurally to MPTP, including paraquat, diquat and rotenone. Epidemiological studies have revealed an increased risk for Parkinson's disease with the use of pesticides and herbicides or the consumption of well water in rural areas of industrialised countries. However, it has not been possible to identify any causative environmental chemical agent in the aetiology of Parkinson's disease despite intensive research. Comparatively, the genetic hypothesis of Parkinson's disease has gained considerable interest during the last decade. Epidemiological studies reveal a family history in 10-25 p. cent Parkinson's disease patients. Several large kindreds with autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease associated with mutations of alpha-synuclein gene (PARK 1) were recently described. alpha-synuclein is a constituant of Lewy bodies, the hallmark of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. However, alpha-synuclein gene mutations are rare as opposed to parkin gene mutations (PARK 2), which are frequently found in autosomal recessive and sporadic young onset Parkinson's disease patients. Other genes or locus are implicated in autosomal dominant familial cases (PARK 3, 4 and 5). Nevertheless, a pure genetic origin can be demonstrated only in a minority of Parkinson's disease patients. Investigation of the possible interaction between genes and environment and of several candidate genes gave contradictory results, notably concerning the association between allelic variants of CYP2D6 gene and the occurrence of Parkinson's disease. In conclusion, the aetiology of Parkinson's disease remains unknown. There are probably several types or causes of Parkinson's disease. In most cases, this heterogeneity could be attributed both to genetic and environmental factors.


Nuclear lamins comprise the nuclear lamina, a scaffold‐like structure that lines the inner nuclear membrane. B‐type lamins are present in almost all cell types, but A‐type lamins are expressed predominantly in differentiated cells, suggesting a role in maintenance of the differentiated state. Previous studies have shown that lamin A/C is not expressed during mouse development before day 9, nor in undifferentiated mouse embryonic carcinoma cells. To further investigate the role of lamins in cell phenotype maintenance and differentiation, we examined lamin expression in undifferentiated mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Wide‐field and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and semiquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that undifferentiated mouse and human ES cells express lamins B1 and B2 but not lamin A/C. Mouse ES cells display high levels of lamins B1 and B2 localized both at the nuclear periphery and throughout the nucleoplasm, but in human ES cells, B1 and B2 expression is dimmer and localized primarily at the nuclear periphery. Lamin A/C expression is activated during human ES cell differentiation before downregulation of the pluripotency marker Oct‐3/4 but not before the downregulation of the pluripotency markers Tra‐1‐60, Tra‐1‐81, and SSEA‐4. Our results identify the absence of A‐type lamin expression as a novel marker for undifferentiated ES cells and further support a role for nuclear lamins in cell maintenance and differentiation.


OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of ocular trauma in different age groups and gender presenting at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. MATERIALS AND METHODS:  In this study, five hundred and twenty-eight patients of both gender and minimum of one year of age with ocular trauma were included. Patients with non-accidental injury (NAI) were excluded. Ocular trauma was defined as any injury affecting the eye or adnexa that required hospital admission and had a principal or secondary discharge. Demographic details from all the patients in terms of age and gender were recorded. RESULTS:  Age range in this study was equal to or more than one year with the mean age of 15.924 ± 11.21 years. Frequency and percentage of patients with ocular trauma according to age groups were 116 (21.97%) in 1-5 years. 106 (20.08%) in 6-10 years, 86 (16.29%) in 11-15 years, 56 (10.61%) in 16-20 years and majority of the patients (164) were from >20 years age group (31.06%). Frequency and percentage of patients according to gender were 366 (69.32%) males and 162 (30.68%) females. CONCLUSION:  Males are more prone to ocular trauma than females and the majority of ocular trauma occurs at home. Eye health awareness programs and strict legislation to use protective devices should be emphasized so that it can help to reduce the occurrence of ocular trauma. KEY WORDS:  Ocular trauma, Ocular injury, Community eye care.


OBJECTIVES
Coeliac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the small intestine caused by the ingestion of gluten, in which musculoskeletal manifestations may occur. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of joint involvement in paediatric patients with CD using musculoskeletal ultrasound (US).

METHODS
Consecutive paediatric CD patients were enrolled and underwent US evaluations at level of knees, hips and ankles. The presence of joint effusion (JE), synovial hypertrophy, power Doppler signal and structural damage lesions (bone irregularities and erosions) was registered. Inflammatory abnormalities were scored on a semi-quantitative scale (0-3), and structural damage lesions on a dichotomous scale (0-1).

RESULTS
Seventy-four CD children (mean age: 7.6 years; range: 1-14.2; M/F 24/50) were enrolled. Thirty-eight were on a gluten-containing diet (GCD) and 36 on a gluten-free diet (GFD). US showed the presence of abnormalities in 23 patients overall (31.1%); JE was the most frequently observed change (23/23). US abnormalities were observed in 19 patients (50.0%) of GCD group and in 4 of GFD group (11.1%, p=0.007). Interestingly, 12/23 (52.2%) patients with US-detected changes were asymptomatic.

CONCLUSIONS
This is the first US study demonstrating joint involvement in children with CD. JE, the most frequent manifestation, was present also in asymptomatic patients and was reduced in those on GFD. These findings may indicate that, also at joint level, an inflammatory response represented by the appearance of JE may be induced by exposure to gluten.


This study presents in-situ EBSP observations of recrystallization in commercial purity aluminum sheets with different concentrations of solutes and different states of precipitation. The in-situ observations demonstrate clearly the behaviors of the nucleation and growth of recrystallized grains, and the movements of grain boundaries at an early stage of recrystallization. The high mobility of grain boundaries neighboring the deformed matrix was generally observed presumably due to strain-induced grain boundaries migration. The grain boundary motion was also found to strongly depend to the solute content level. These in-situ observations provide important evidence to show that the behaviors of grain boundary motion at an early stage of recrystallization leads to the grain size distribution and the curvature of grain boundaries after the primary recrystallization.


A preliminary review of the development of psychosomatic research on fertility disorders during past decades is followed by an outline of those psychological aspects of fertility disorders currently sponsored by the German government as a focus of research. The relationship between experts from the field of reproductive medicine and psychologists or psychosomatic researchers is examined. Finally, existing research deficits and methodological problems arising in the area are discussed.


The automatic transcription of text in handwritten documents has many applications, from automatic document processing, to indexing and document understanding. One of the most popular approaches nowadays consists in scanning the text line image with a sliding window, from which features are extracted, and modeled by Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Associated with neural networks, such as Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) or Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Networks (LSTM-RNNs), and with a language model, these models yield good transcriptions. On the other hand, in many machine learning applications, including speech recognition and computer vision, deep neural networks consisting of several hidden layers recently produced a significant reduction of error rates. In this thesis, we have conducted a thorough study of different aspects of optical models based on deep neural networks in the hybrid neural network / HMM scheme, in order to better understand and evaluate their relative importance. First, we show that deep neural networks produce consistent and significant improvements over networks with one or two hidden layers, independently of the kind of neural network, MLP or RNN, and of input, handcrafted features or pixels. Then, we show that deep neural networks with pixel inputs compete with those using handcrafted features, and that depth plays an important role in the reduction of the performance gap between the two kinds of inputs, supporting the idea that deep neural networks effectively build hierarchical and relevant representations of their inputs, and that features are automatically learnt on the way. Despite the dominance of LSTM-RNNs in the recent literature of handwriting recognition, we show that deep MLPs achieve comparable results. Moreover, we evaluated different training criteria. With sequence-discriminative training, we report similar improvements for MLP/HMMs as those observed in speech recognition. We also show how the Connectionist Temporal Classification framework is especially suited to RNNs. Finally, the novel dropout technique to regularize neural networks was recently applied to LSTM-RNNs. We tested its effect at different positions in LSTM-RNNs, thus extending previous works, and we show that its relative position to the recurrent connections is important. We conducted the experiments on three public databases, representing two languages (English and French) and two epochs, using different kinds of neural network inputs: handcrafted features and pixels. We validated our approach by taking part to the HTRtS contest in 2014. The results of the final systems presented in this thesis, namely MLPs and RNNs, with handcrafted feature or pixel inputs, are comparable to the state-of-the-art on Rimes and IAM. Moreover, the combination of these systems outperformed all published results on the considered databases.


Students on the final year of the Construction Management course at the University of Westminster have always considered the financial implications of decisions taken in the management of construction projects. In addition, consideration has been given to the implications of decisions on pricing and programming made at tender stage by examining the impact of those decisions on the subsequent management of a project.

Clearly such concepts cannot be effectively covered by straightforward delivery of information on the subject. Consequently a case study approach has been the traditional way of tackling these fairly complex areas. However, several years ago it was recognised that even case studies have their limitations. Although they may illustrate the principal issues involved in decision making they do not allow students to participate fully in the process.

It was recognised that a computer-based exercise could potentially overcome these shortcomings but commercially available software packages were considered unsuitable. The University of Westminster therefore developed its own computer-based project simulation exercise geared specifically to the needs of the curriculum.


REFERENCING IN THE TEXT Direct reference, no quote Black feminists such as King (1988), among others, have given primacy to race. lndirect reference, no quote Most prominent is the recognition that these categories reflect binary oppositions (Mohanty, 1988). Direct reference, with quote These arguments are closely linked to what Stanley and Wise (1992:357) call the 'epistemological privilege of the oppressed'. lndirect reference (following direct reference), with quote They call these arguments the 'epistemological privilege of the oppressed' (1992:357). lndirect reference (isolated), with quote These arguments are closely linked to what has been called the 'epistemological privilege of the oppressed' (Stanley and Wise. 1992:357). Author quoted from another work 'Feminism defines itself as a political instance' (De Lauretis, in Mohanty, 1992:357). More than two authors These findings are in line with other findings on role strain of employed mothers (Khaleque et al, 1988). Newspaper or magazine references Married women with high salaries will pay up to 45 percent higher PAYE (Sunday Tribune, July 6, 1986).


The optimal regimen of intravenous deferoxamine for iron overload in high-risk homozygous beta-thalassemia is unknown because only short-term follow-up has been described in small patient groups. We report the outcome over a 16-year period of a continuous 24-hour deferoxamine regimen, with dose adjustment for serum ferritin, delivered via 25 indwelling intravenous lines for 17 patients. Treatment indications were cardiac arrhythmias, left ventricular dysfunction, gross iron overload, and intolerability of subcutaneous deferoxamine. Cardiac arrhythmias were reversed in 6 of 6 patients, and the left ventricular ejection fraction improved in 7 of 9 patients from a mean (+/- SEM) of 36 +/- 2% to 49 +/- 3% (P =.002, n = 9). The serum ferritin fell in a biphasic manner from a pretherapy mean of 6281 +/- 562 microg/L to 3736 +/- 466 microg/L (P =.001), falling rapidly and proportionally to the pretreatment ferritin (r(2) = 0.99) for values >3000 microg/L but falling less rapidly below this value (at 133 +/- 22 microg/L/mo). The principal catheter-related complications were infection and thromboembolism (1. 15 and 0.48 per 1000 catheter days, respectively), rates similar to other patient groups. Only one case of reversible deferoxamine toxicity was observed (retinal) when the therapeutic index was briefly exceeded. An actuarial survival of 61% at 13 years with no treatment-related mortality provides evidence of the value of this protocol. (Blood. 2000;95:1229-1236)


This study of the 1975 US-USSR Grain Agreement negotiations illuminates the parameters and constraints faced by policy makers in a democratic, pluralistic political system. The author investigates the interaction between the formulation and implementation of a policy, suggesting that who is seen as responsible for a policy is often as important as its content. He also shows how the pluralistic nature of the American polity can enable well-organized constituencies to pressure policy makers successfully for precise commitments regarding their future actions, and how this can actually limit the extent of governmental leverage in negotiations.


At present, the oven has become a popular electrical product for home life,and its appearance design is based on a minimalist style, pursuing the purity of appearance and streamlining of functions. However, different users have different perceptions of the simplicity and ease of use of the oven design, which may lead to differences in aesthetic preferences and design requirements, which in turn may lead to varying degrees of use obstacles and poor experience. How to grasp the "degree" of Minimalist Design to meet the differentiated needs of more users? It is the main problem of oven design at this stage. However, the method researches of related Minimalist Design are mostly theoretical reference and lack practical guiding significance. Therefore, this article will focus on the concept of Minimalist Design, combined with multi-level demand theory and Analytic Hierarchy Process, to explore the differences in users' aesthetic preferences for minimalist oven design, construct a multi-level structural model of user needs, obtain the importance of user needs, and summarize differentiated minimalist oven designs methods. First, hot-selling ovens were selected as the research objects; compared the relative simplicity difference of each two products , a difference matrix was obtained; Multi-Dimensional Scaling Analysis, Cluster Analysis, and K-means Clustering were applied, the simplicity of ovens was classified and each category Typical products were obtained as simple prototypes; questionnaire surveys and statistical tests were used, the characteristics of the user groups of each prototype were obtained; based on the concept of Minimalist Design, user interviews and other methods were applied, the simplicity of users on three levels of stable performance, smooth interaction, and minimalist appearance Design demand factors were obtained; finally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was applied, a hierarchical model of simple design factors were constructed, the weight of needs of each user group was obtained, and the differentiated design methods were summarized. As a result, a total of 12 hot-selling ovens were selected; a total of 3 minimalist prototypes ABC were obtained, The user group of prototype A is dominated by young women in higher education, prototype B is dominated by middle-aged women in secondary education, and prototype C is dominated by the elderly; a multi-level structure model of user needs was constructed, and The weight of the needs of the 3 user groups were obtained; based on the importance of the needs of each group, the targeted minimalist oven design methods were proposed. Therefore, the method which is based on the theory of multi-level needs and applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process, to construct a multi-level structure model of user needs can clarify the characteristics and design needs of different user groups, and improve the effectiveness and practical significance of the Minimalist Design of the oven. This method can provide a reference for enterprises and designers.


In this research, obtaining of approximate solution for fractional-order Burgers' equation will be presented in reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS). Some special reproducing kernel spaces are identified according to inner products and norms. Then an iterative approach is constructed by using kernel functions. The convergence of this approach and its error estimates are given. The numerical algorithm of the method is presented. Furthermore, numerical outcomes are shown with tables and graphics for some examples. These outcomes demonstrate that the proposed method is convenient and effective.


The detrimental impacts of agricultural subsurface tile flows and their associated pollutants on water quality is a major environmental issue in the Great Lakes region and many other places globally. A strong understanding of water quality indicators along with the contribution of tile-drained agriculture to water contamination is necessary to assess and reduce a significant source of non-point source pollution. In this study, DRAINMOD, a field-scale hydrology and water quality model, was applied to assess the impact of future climatic change on depth to water table, tile flow and associated nitrate loss from an 8.66 ha agricultural field near Londesborough, in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The closest available climate data from a weather station approximately 10 km from the field site was used by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to generate future predictions of daily precipitation and maximum and minimum air temperatures required to create the weather files for DRAINMOD. Of the 28 models applied by MNRF, three models (CGCM3T47-Run5, GFDLCM2.0, and MIROC3.2hires) were selected based on the frequency of the models recommended for use in Ontario with SRA1B emission scenario. Results suggested that simulated tile flows and evapotranspiration (ET) in the 2071–2100 period are expected to increase by 7% and 14% compared to 1960–1990 period. Results also suggest that under future climates, significant increases in nitrate losses (about 50%) will occur along with the elevated tile flows. This work suggests that climate change will have a significant effect on field hydrology and water quality in tile-drained agricultural regions.


A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Masters of Veterinary Preventive Medicine Degree of Makerere University


APOBEC3 genes encode cytidine deaminases endowed with the ability to inhibit retroviruses and retrotransposons. These genes have been targets of natural selection throughout primate evolutionary history. We analyzed their selection pattern in human populations observing that APOBEC3F and 3G are neutrally evolving. Conversely, nucleotide diversity was extremely high for APOBEC3H, and most tests rejected the hypothesis of selective neutrality in Eurasian populations. Haplotype analysis and the derived intraallelic nucleotide diversity test indicated that positive selection has driven the increase in frequency of one haplotype (Hap I) outside Africa. Consistently, population genetic differentiation between African and non‐African populations was higher than expected under neutrality. A case–control association analysis indicated that Hap I is associated with protection from sexually transmitted HIV‐1 infection. Hap I carries a protein‐destabilizing variant and a residue conferring resistance to Vif‐mediated degradation. Data herein suggest that lower protein stability might have been traded‐off with a higher ability to circumvent Vif‐mediated hijacking. Alternatively, transcription regulatory variants might represent the selection target. Our data represent an example of how the selective pressures exerted by extinct or unknown viral agents can be exploited to provide valuable information on the allelic determinants of susceptibility to modern infections.


Constructing Belisarius: His Life in Context By Jon Holtgrefe The Eastern Roman(Byzantine) General Belisarius(c. 505-565) holds the distinction of being the last man to receive a Roman Triumph and during his military career won victories on three continents, while usually fighting at a disadvantage. Our main source of information concerning Belisarius comes from the writings of his legal secretary, Procopius(c.500-c.565), whose Wars of Justinian recounts many of the deeds of Belisarius' career. It is interesting to note, however, that the image that has become most associated with Belisarius, that of an old man, falsely accused of treason, found guilty, blinded, and made to live as a beggar, appears no where in this work, or in the work of any other contemporary historian. Its first known appearance is in the work of the 12 century Byzantine writer John Tzetzes. Nevertheless, it is this image that various authors and artists in the last 400 years have used to craft stories and images of Belisarius, and it is this image with which modern historians must contend while writing about Belisarius. This brings up the question of characterization, which is the focus of this thesis. Belisarius is the character which appears most frequently within Procopius' Wars but there is almost nothing in the way of clear characterization of the man. There is only one passage, of any notable length, which gives the reader a clear characterization of Belisarius. To delve further into Procopius' characterization of the man one must analyze the actions of Belisarius in order to ascertain them. After the text has been carefully analyzed to determine, as much as is possible, Procopius' intended characterization of Belisarius, this thesis will turn to analyzing Procopius himself, in order to determine why he might have chosen to characterize Belisarius in that way. Finally this thesis will analyze a number of the literary, artistic, and scholarly characterizations of Belisarius in order to get some sense as to how this characterization has changed over time and in what manner the context of each author's life changed that characterization. Thus the purpose of this work is to study the ways in which the context affects characterization. Belisarius therefore serves as an ideal focus for this thesis because the main historical account of his life gives a characterization that is very open to individual interpretation. Not only that, but there is also the fact that so many author's, seemingly with very different life contexts, have used the same apocryphal story to center their different accounts. Despite the similarity these characterizations have certainly changed throughout history, and will likely continue to do so into the next century, as the context of our lives is every changing. This watermark does not appear in the registered version http://www.clicktoconvert.com


A new algorithm which is the average local best position is presented to replace the local best of the traditional velocity update rule. One particle can acquire more messages of the other particles to adjust is movement in this method. Integrating PSO algorithm with PID controller, the three parameters of the PID controller can be optimized, which has the features of simple structure, easy implementation and robust performance. The simulation shows the PID controller integrated with the improved PSO algorithm achieved a good performance.


Some properties are connected in a perspicuous and unproblematic way.  For instance, the possession of shape clearly entails the possession of size (and vice versa ). In other cases the connection is not so perspicuous.  For instance, assuming that the precise rest mass and negative charge of an electron are both among its fundamental intrinsic properties, what links them, given that those properties are inherently separable?  (Their separability is apparent from the fact that other kinds of particle have the same mass as an electron but a different charge, or the same charge but a different mass.)  Given the inherent separability of those properties, what explains their conjunction in this case?  Oderberg (2007, 2011) calls this the "unity problem", and attempts to solve it have issued from assorted schools of thought within both substance ontology and the metaphysics of natural kinds.  One of the more significant of these solutions is proffered by E.J. Lowe as part of his four-category ontology.  Here I explicate his solution, raise a possible objection, and suggest a reply.


Patients with isolated pulmonary embolism (PE) have a distinct clinical profile from those with deep vein thrombosis (DVT)-associated PE, with more pulmonary conditions and atherosclerosis. These findings suggest a distinct molecular pathophysiology and the potential involvement of alternative pathways in isolated PE. To test this hypothesis, data from 532 individuals from the Genotyping and Molecular Phenotyping of Venous ThromboEmbolism (GMP-VTE) Project, a multi-center prospective cohort study with extensive biobanking, were analyzed. Targeted, high-throughput proteomics, machine learning, and bioinformatic methods were applied to contrast the acute-phase plasma proteomes of isolated PE patients (n=96) against those of patients with DVT-associated PE (n=276) or isolated DVT (n=160). This resulted in the identification of shared molecular processes between PE phenotypes, as well as an isolated PE-specific protein signature. Shared processes included upregulation of inflammation, response to oxidative stress, and the loss of pulmonary surfactant. The isolated PE-specific signature consisted of five proteins: interferon-γ (IFNG), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic growth factor (GDNF), polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 3 (GALNT3), peptidyl arginine deiminase type-2 (PADI2) and interleukin-15 receptor subunit α (IL-15Rα). These proteins were orthogonally validated using cis protein quantitative trait loci (cis pQTLs). External replication in an independent population-based cohort (n=5,778) further validated the proteomic results, and showed that they were prognostic for incident primary isolated PE in individuals without history of VTE (median time to event: 2.9 years, interquartile range: 1.6 - 4.2 years), supporting their possible involvement in the early pathogenesis. This study has identified molecular overlaps and differences between VTE phenotypes. In particular, the results implicate non-canonical pathways more commonly associated with respiratory and atherosclerotic disease in the acute pathophysiology of isolated PE.


This is a case study on morphological awareness in reading comprehension ability of a 14:6 year-old Chinese dyslexic adolescent with a reading age of 12:1 years. The purpose of this study is to examine whether awareness of morphological knowledge helps to improve the reading comprehension ability of the ESL dyslexic adolescent. It also examines the effectiveness of a remedial intervention programme that focuses on morphological awareness training. The first objective of the study is to compare the morphological knowledge of the subject before and after the morphological awareness training. The second objective is to compare the reading comprehension ability of the subject before and after the morphological awareness training.
The researcher conducted questionnaires with the subject, his parents and teacher before carrying out the remedial intervention programme (morphological awareness training). Morphological awareness tests were adapted from Carlisle's (2000) and adopted from Stanfa's (2010) studies. Three types of Morphological Awareness Tests were used; the Word Reading Test (WRT), Test of Morphological Structure (TMS) and Dynamic Assessment Task of Morphological Analysis (DATMA). TMS was divided into derivation and decomposition task. The Reading Comprehension Test was adapted from a Form 2 textbook from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. The data collected was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.
The findings indicated that the morphological awareness training affects the morphological knowledge of the ESL dyslexic adolescent. However, the morphological awareness training does not affect the reading comprehension ability of the subject. The lack of effect on the reading comprehension ability could be due to the limitation of the use of taught morphologically complex words in the reading comprehension test. This study recommends that further research on awareness of morphological knowledge could be conducted using bigger sample in Malaysian classrooms. More research can also be done on the use of computer and information technology programs in morphological awareness training.


Alcohol, coffee and milk intakes have been explored in relation to epilepsy risk in observational studies; however, the results were not consistent. We performed a Mendelian randomisation (MR) study to evaluate the causality of these relationships. Genetic variants associated with alcohol, coffee and milk intake were adopted as instrumental variables. We obtained the summary data of epilepsy from the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Consortium (15,212 cases and 29,677 controls) and FinnGen consortium (4588 cases and 144,780 controls). Genetically predicted alcohol intake was associated with a higher risk of epilepsy in the ILAE Consortium (odds ratio (OR): 1.22, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.02–1.45). The association in the FinnGen consortium remained consistent in direction. Combined analysis of ILAE and FinnGen databases further indicated that genetically predicted alcohol intake was associated with a higher risk of epilepsy (OR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06–1.47, p = 0.009). Genetically predicted coffee intake was not related to epilepsy risk, while higher genetically predicted milk intake was related to a lower risk of epilepsy (OR = 0.957; 95% CI, 0.917–0.999, p = 0.044). Our results suggest a detrimental effect of alcohol intake on the risk of epilepsy, while milk intake might be associated with a decreased risk of epilepsy.


The intellectual origins of the global financial crisis (GFC) can be traced back to blind spots emanating from within conventional financial theory. These blind spots are distorted reflections of the perfect market assumptions underpinning the canonical theories of financial economics: modern portfolio theory; the Modigliani and Miller capital structure irrelevancy principle; the capital asset pricing model and, perhaps most importantly, the efficient market hypothesis. In the decades leading up to the GFC, these assumptions were transformed from empirically (con)testable propositions into the central articles of faith of the ideology of modern finance: the foundations of a widely held belief in the self-correcting nature of markets and their consequent optimality as mechanisms for the allocation of society's resources. This ideology, in turn, exerted a profound influence on how we regulate financial markets and institutions. The GFC has exposed the folly of this market fundamentalism as a driver of public policy. It has also exposed conventional financial theory as fundamentally incomplete. Perhaps most glaringly, conventional financial theory failed to adequately account for the complexity of modern financial markets and the nature and pace of financial innovation. Utilizing three case studies drawn from the world of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives – securitization, synthetic exchange-traded funds and collateral swaps – the objective of this paper is thus to start us down the path toward a more robust understanding of complexity, financial innovation and the regulatory challenges flowing from the interaction of these powerful market dynamics. This paper argues that while the embryonic post-crisis regulatory regimes governing OTC derivatives markets in the U.S. and Europe go some distance toward addressing the regulatory challenges stemming from complexity, they effectively disregard those generated by financial innovation.


This thesis investigates two areas of improvement for acid robust piezoresistive pressure sensors for the automotive industry. Such sensors typically rely on a cross-linked encapsulation material, but this has been found to degrade and swell in some harsh acidic environments. Additionally, corrosion resistant conductors are required for the chip. Current designs use a proprietary noble metallization system which requires a specialised manufacturing process. Furthermore, it has been found that the accuracy can be affected due to mechanical stress.

First, a non-crosslinked encapsulation material has been evaluated. It was found that such a material can provide better corrosion protection and it does not swell. Results show that it has potential to meet all the requirements for the sensor and is capable of higher pressure than the current material.

Second, polysilicon has been studied as an alternative conductor for the chip. Layers of boron doped polysilicon and silicon nitride were fabricated on a silicon wafer in a straight-forward manner. The acid robustness has been tested, and the sheet resistance and gold wire bond contact has been characterised with successful results.


A variety of soft-decision decoding metrics for slow frequency-hopped, differential phase shift keyed spread-spectrum systems are studied. The computational cut-off rates in the presence of partial band noise jamming for these metrics are analysed. The usefulness of various degrees of side information, the effectiveness of limiting and quantisation when side information is not available, and the importance of a judicious choice of the quantisation step size are demonstrated. Monte-Carlo type simulations for the system encoded by Odenwalder's (7, 1/2) code are conducted, the resulting BERs reveal that close approximations can be attained by estimations calculated from a known closed-form formula.


The korB gene of Streptomyces lividans plasmid pIJ101 is known to encode an autoregulated protein that also represses transcription of a gene, kilB, implicated in pIJ101 transfer and in spreading of the plasmid along mycelia of the recipient. Earlier work has indicated that the primary gene product of korB is a 10-kDa protein predicted from the gene sequence (D.S. Stein and S.N. Cohen, Mol. Gen. Genet. 222:337-344, 1990; S. Zamen H. Richards, and J. Ward, Nuleic Acids Res. 20:3693-3700, 1992). We report here that the 10-kDa KorB protein product is processed in vivo into a 6-kDa peptide that has a 20-fold-greater binding affinity for its operator-promoter target; in addition, the 6-kDa peptide binds differentially to the regulatory regions of the two genes it controls, showing 50-fold-greater affinity for the kilB sequence. While both the processed and unprocessed forms of KorB were observed in Escherichia coli following korB gene expression under control of the bacteriophage T7 promoter, only the 6-kDa peptide was found in S. lividans containing pIJ101, implying that this peptide is normally the biologically active form of KorB. The footprint resulting from KorB binding to the korB operator sequence overlaps the sti locus, which affects pIJ101 copy number and incompatibility as well as the size of zones of inhibited recipient cell growth ("pocks") that form around donor cells during mating. The observed ability of the korB gene product to interact with both sti sequences and the kilB promoter region suggests that it may have a role in coordinating the replication and intramycelial spread of plasmids during and/or following bacterial mating.


Abstract. Bottom-up scaling of net ecosystem production (NEP) and net biome production (NBP) was used to generate a carbon budget for a large heterogeneous region (the state of Oregon, 2.5×105 km2) in the western United States. Landsat resolution (30 m) remote sensing provided the basis for mapping land cover and disturbance history, thus allowing us to account for all major fire and logging events over the last 30 years. For NEP, a 23-year record (1980–2002) of distributed meteorology (1 km resolution) at the daily time step was used to drive a process-based carbon cycle model (Biome-BGC). For NBP, fire emissions were computed from remote sensing based estimates of area burned and our mapped biomass estimates. Our estimates for the contribution of logging and crop harvest removals to NBP were from the model simulations and were checked against public records of forest and crop harvesting. The predominately forested ecoregions within our study region had the highest NEP sinks, with ecoregion averages up to 197 gC m−2 yr−1. Agricultural ecoregions were also NEP sinks, reflecting the imbalance of NPP and decomposition of crop residues. For the period 1996–2000, mean NEP for the study area was 17.0 TgC yr−1, with strong interannual variation (SD of 10.6). The sum of forest harvest removals, crop removals, and direct fire emissions amounted to 63% of NEP, leaving a mean NBP of 6.1 TgC yr−1. Carbon sequestration was predominantly on public forestland, where the harvest rate has fallen dramatically in the recent years. Comparison of simulation results with estimates of carbon stocks, and changes in carbon stocks, based on forest inventory data showed generally good agreement. The carbon sequestered as NBP, plus accumulation of forest products in slow turnover pools, offset 51% of the annual emissions of fossil fuel CO2 for the state. State-level NBP dropped below zero in 2002 because of the combination of a dry climate year and a large (200 000 ha) fire. These results highlight the strong influence of land management and interannual variation in climate on the terrestrial carbon flux in the temperate zone.


In the field of decision-making under risk, researchers have started to focus on the effect of information acquisition modality on people's decisional pro- cess, by means of a comparison between Decision from Description (DfD) and Decision from Experience (DfE). A literature review on the topic is provided in Chapter 1, which analyzes the determinants of the so-called description- experience gap and its translation into the planning-ongoing gap, according to which people tend to overweight rare events under description (or planning) and underweight them under experience (or ongoing decision-making).
In such a framework, Chapter 2 experimentally investigates delegation in risky choices, in a three-party agency framework. Agents build a portfolio for their principals by selecting among prospects that are either fully described or experienced. Nevertheless, principals are given the opportunity to take over control and build their own portfolio by paying a fee. Principals are more efficient and ambitious than agents. Such a higher quality of principals' portfolios is associated to a higher effort exerted in collecting information on risky options. Principals anticipate this performance difference, but pay a control fee that is generally excessive and negatively impacts on their final earnings.
Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 study tax compliance, by providing a comparison between the two information acquisition modalities. Specifically, Chapter 3 serves as an introduction to Chapter 4, as it reviews the main theoretical and experimental literature on tax compliance, by referring to the role of objec- tive, perceived, and weighted probabilities in compliance decisions. Besides this, it provides a novel methodological analysis that justifies the adoption of laboratory experiments as an externally valid tool if sustained by agent-based simulations in the field of tax compliance. Chapter 4 reports on a laboratory experiment designed to explore the presence of the planning-ongoing gap in taxpayers' behavior, by means of a (self) commitment system for compliance. In line with overweighting of rare events - i.e., fiscal audits-, planning induces the majority of people not only to opt for a commitment to tax compliance, but also to actually comply.


Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic significantly changed the routine and work of medical specialties. We report the case of a patient treated by Plastic Surgery who contracted the Sars-CoV-2 virus. Case report: A 66-year-old man with a complex wound on his ankle was treated with surgical debridement and negative pressure therapy, and subsequently underwent cutaneous wound coverage with a partial skin graft. In the immediate postoperative period, a dry cough started. That same day a positive examination of the new coronavirus was confirmed in another patient who was in the same room. Therefore, we requested PCR testing, which was also positive for the presence of Sars-CoV-2. The patient evolved well, being discharged on the 5th postoperative day, after the removal of Brown's dressing, and returning after the recommended isolation period (14 days). Discussion: The management of patients who need surgical procedures during a viral pandemic must consider the adoption of preventive measures that reduce the possibility of transmission of the virus. As an example, we mention the reduction in hospital stay, the use of therapies that speed up the therapeutic process, the isolation of the patient on confirmed cases, and the use of personal protective equipment. Conclusion: Despite the infection of this patient by Sars-CoV-2, we emphasize that the Plastic Surgery team must act early during the treatment process. Such actions reduce the possibility of spreading the new coronavirus to other patients and the healthcare team. ■ ABSTRACT


Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobe capable of causing disease in humans and many animals. C. perfringens is able to move across surfaces in a manner that is dependent on growth and type IV pili. Type IV pili are filaments that can be extended away from the cell by rapid polymerization, and retracted by depolymerization. Furthering the understanding of the initial and final energetic states of the pilins will reveal insights into possible mechanisms of type IV pilus assembly. Toward that end, a pilin was purified from the Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and incorporated into an artificial membrane. The pilin was probed by a solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) technique that can determine the angle and depth of insertion of a helical peptide, as well as fluorescent and electron microscopy. All type IV pilus systems involve the action of an assembly ATPase to provide energy to polymerize the pilus. One proposed mechanism involves two primary proteins: an ATPase and an integral membrane core protein (IMCP). Other type IV pilus proteins are thought to play supportive roles in aiding the traversal of the cell envelope. In order to evaluate this model, the assembly ATPase PilB2 and IMCP PilC2 from C. perfringens were purified and examined for interactions. The evidence presented here suggest that PilB2 and PilC2 do not interact directly, and cannot function as a core assembly apparatus. The carbonic anhydrase (Cpb) from C. perfringens strain 13 was characterized both biochemically and physiologically. Cpb belongs to the type I subclass of the β class and is the first β class enzyme investigated from a strictly anaerobic bacteria. Kinetic analyses revealed a two-step, pingpong, zinc-hydroxide mechanism of catalysis. Analyses of a cpb deletion mutant of C. perfringens strain HN13 showed that Cpb is strictly required for growth when cultured in semi-defined medium and an atmosphere without CO2. The grew well in nutrient-rich media with or without CO2 in the atmosphere, although elimination of glucose resulted in decreased production of acetate, propionate, and butyrate. The results suggest a role for Cpb in anaplerotic CO2 fixation reactions by supplying bicarbonate to carboxylases. This work received funding from the NSF and NIH


During the last 10 years, applied geophysics techniques have made significant progress in the exploration, quantification, and management of groundwater (GW) through wider applications of classic techniques and their integration. These include resistivity, including resistivity imaging and vertical electric sounding (VES); induced polarization (IP); spontaneous polarization (SP); time- and frequency-domain electromagnetics (TDEM, FDEM); ground-penetrating radar (GPR); very low-frequency EM (VLF); seismic; magnetic; gravity; and gamma-ray spectrometry. During that ten-year interval, however, one technique that stands out as truly new and highly relevant for GW is magnetic resonance sounding (MRS), a field application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).