In this study, we fabricate a nanocomposite photonic crystal (PC) by doping low concentration gold nanoparticles in a one-dimensional slab polymer PC. By coating a ZnS layer, we get a fairly sharp Fano resonance dip with quality factor about 30 in the transmission spectrum of the PC near the surface plasmonic resonance of gold nanoparticles. We show theoretically that in spite of absorption by the gold nanoparticles this nanocomposite PC can be used as a good switch with low pump threshold intensity, high contrast, and high efficiency.


Homomorphic Proxy Re-Encryption (HPRE) is an extension of Proxy Re-Encryption (PRE) which combines the advantages of both Homomorphic Encryption (HE) and PRE. A HPRE scheme allows arbitrary evaluations to be performed on ciphertexts under one (the delegator's) public key and, using a re-encryption key, it transforms the resulting ciphertext to a new ciphertext under another (the delegatee's) public key. Prior HPRE schemes are either CPA-secure or CCA-secure but only support partial homomorphic operations. We propose a generic construction of single-hop HPRE scheme which supports fully homomorphic operations. The proposed scheme is proven secure in our new index-based CCA-HPRE model. Our technique is to give a generic transformation that turns any multi-identity identity-based FHE (IBFHE) scheme with key switching into Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) with key switching from which we can obtain the proposed single-hop HPRE scheme. We also present a concrete instantiation of multi-identity IBFHE with key switching from learning with errors (LWE) in the standard model.


Fine grained and dense dielectric ceramics of the BaO-Nd2O3-TiO2 system have been fabricated by the most advanced Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technology, whose average grain size is about 100nm as determined by SEM. XRD showed that the diffractive peak of the sample was broadened clearly. The nano-ceramic microstructure formed by SPS is due to the high pressure up to 50 MPa, low temperature (1000°C) and fast sintering (1 minute). The BaO-Nd2O3-TiO2 ternary nanoceramic sample, which consists of the main phase Nd2Ti2O7 with perovskite-like layer structure (PLS) and the secondary phase BaNd2Ti4O12(Ba4.5Nd9Ti18O54)with perovskite-like tungsten bronze structure, was prepared for the first time by rapidly sintering nano-particles of the xBaO×(0.35-x)Nd2O3×0.65TiO2 compound. Those two phases are formed in BaO-Nd2O3-TiO2 micron-grained ceramics prepared by normal sintering of the nano-particles at 1300°C, resulting in good dielectric characteristics for microwave ceramics; however, dielectric characteristics are significantly degraded in the SPS-sintered samples probably due to the carbon contamination from the graphite SPS dies.


In our recent book, Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness (Jacobs and Shapiro 2000), we assert that there has been a decline in democratic responsiveness at the very top of American national govemment. The book raises a host of questions about present-day American politics and about presidential behavior in particular, specifically concerning the causal effect (or lack thereof) of public opinion on the policy-making process. Addressing methodological and substantive issues in studying causal relationships, we review what is known about the relationship between public opinion and presidential policy making. While American presidents have paid increasing attention to public opinion with the institutionalization of polling and public opinion analysis in the White House, it should by no means be presumed that policy making has become more responsive to public opinion. Recent political developments have provided presidents and both parties in Congress increasing incentives and opportunity to attempt to lead or manipulate public opinion. Evidence from the Clinton years described in Politicians Don't Pander most strikingly demonstrates this. We are only now beginning to learn about the relationship between presidents and the polling and public opinion analysis that has gone on in presidential administrations since the 1960s. Our working hypothesis is that the Reagan years are pivotal in understanding recent and future developments regarding the relationship between public opinion and presidential behavior. Politicians Don't Pander: The Contemporary Puzzle We begin with a contemporary puzzle: public opinion polls are everywhere. The media report them without stop, and political activists of all kinds--from candidates in election contests to political parties and interest groups--pump millions of dollars into focus groups and polls. The flood of polls has fuelled the nearly unquestioned assumption among observers of American politics that elected officials "pander" to public opinion. Politicians, it is charged, tailor their significant policy decisions to polls and other indicators of public opinion. That politicians succumb to public opinion has been accepted not only by the press and political elites but also by some scholars (Quirk and Hinchliffe 1998; Geer 1996). Although research (including our own) over the years has found substantial evidence of government responsiveness in the United States, perhaps the strongest recent claim that politicians incessantly follow public opinion comes from the work of Stimson, MacKuen, and Erikson (1994, 1995; see also Shapiro and Jacobs 1989, 1999; Jacobs and Shapiro 1994b). They tracked government decisions on domestic policies since the 1950s (e.g., legislation enacted by Congress) and constructed global measures of liberalism and conservatism for each year. The researchers then asked the following: did changes in government policy in a liberal or conservative direction correspond to changes in public support for more or less government? Stimson, MacKuen, and Erikson (1995) report that government policy followed public opinion as it moved in a liberal direction in the 1960s, in a conservative direction around 1980, and then back toward a liberal course in the late 1980s. They concluded that politicians behave "like antelopes in an open field" (p. 559): "When politicians perceive public opinion change, they adapt their behavior to please their constituency" (p. 545). While Stimson, MacKuen, and Erikson (1994, 1995) offer a compelling account, their reliance on global measures has missed the widening gulf between the specific policy decisions of politicians and the preferences of the American people toward individual issues. Recent American politics sports a long list of policies that failed to mirror public opinion: the impeachment of Clinton, campaign finance reform, tobacco legislation, Clinton's proposals in his first budget for an energy levy and a high tax on Social Security benefits (despite his campaign promises to cut middle-class taxes), the North American Free Trade Agreement (at its onset), strict gun control, and congressional Republican proposals after the 1994 elections for a "revolution" in policies toward the environment, education, Medicare, and other issues. …


Abstract. For illustrating estuarine and coastal morphology, UAV has proved its effectiveness in providing accurate and diverse information, but unfortunately, no such application have been undertaken for Nakdong River Estuary for ecosystem-based coastal mapping. In this study an attempt has been made to coastal mapping of Jinu-do in Nakdong River Estuary, and to identify beach volume change and vegetation area migration caused by wave and current from 2017 to 2018 with UAV. Unmanned aerial vehicle used for mapping was M600 hexa-copter drone (DJI, china). To create UAV point clouds a standard digital camera can provide imagery with Sony A7 mirror-less camera. Total 34 Ground Control Points (GCPs) accurately surveyed with a RTK-VRS, network use real-time kinematic solutions to provide high-accuracy. Stereo-matching using Agisoft PhotoScan obtained DEM. Using GCPS the vertical accuracy of the DSMs were found to be 5 cm or better. Using the PhotoScan, the area of Jinu-do orthophotos were calculated and the area of vegetation calculated using QGIS. As a result, the vegetation area was increased about 5 % more than the topography. This study of coastal mapping at Jinu-do demonstrate that the integration of UAV techniques and photogrammetric software and analysis tools can provide new concepts into the estuarine.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant tumor thought to arise from immature precursors of skeletal muscle cells. In children, RMS accounts for approximately 50% of soft tissue sarcomas and 10% of solid tumors. There are two major histologic subtypes, embryonal and alveolar, both of which exhibit metastatic potential. Despite multimodal therapy (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy), the failure-free survival of patients with metastatic RMS is only 25%. Currently there is no molecularly targeted therapy for RMS, but several independent clinical observations point to tamoxifen (a selective estrogen receptor modulator) as a promising drug to explore, including the efficacy of tamoxifen against desmoid tumors (which share a similar ontogeny as RMS) and the tendency of RMS to arise during periods of elevated constitutive estrogen exposure. This led our group to investigate estrogen receptor (ER) signaling in RMS. Previous work in our lab has shown that RMS primary tumors and cell lines express ERβ, and that estrogen stimulates RMS cell growth in vitro. In addition, exposure of RMS cells to 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT), an active metabolite of tamoxifen, leads to decreased cell viability and increased apoptotic signaling, accompanied by MAPK activation. These findings suggest that an active ER pathway play a role in RMS, and demonstrate the antagonistic effect of 4OHT in RMS in vitro. To expand on this work, we conducted studies to: 1) further define the molecular mechanism of 4OHT-induced apoptosis in RMS; and 2) test the efficacy of tamoxifen in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs commonly used to treat RMS (vincristine and actinomycin D). We found that 4OHT (10 μM)-induced apoptosis can be blocked by inhibition of ER and c-Jun N-terminase kinase (JNK). In addition, ER inhibition blocked 4OHT (10 μM)-associated MAPK phosphorylation. Interestingly, long-term treatment (8 weeks) of RMS cells with 4OHT (4 μM) inhibited cell growth as determined by measuring cell population doublings. Using an MTS assay, we found that tamoxifen in combination with vincristine and actinomycin D significantly reduced RMS cell viability compared to vehicle and the drugs alone (p<0.05). These results show that: a) 4OHT-induced apoptosis may be mediated by a signaling sequence from ERs to MAPKs to apoptosis, b) the late growth- inhibitory effect of 4OHT may be caused by both early/transient and late/continuous genes and c) combining tamoxifen with vincristine and actinomycin D is effective against RMS cells in vitro. These findings will guide future gene expression profiling studies, provide a list of specific therapeutic targets that can be tested in vivo, and may find application in clinical protocols in the treatment of RMS.

Citation Format: Zainab A. Motala, Kevin Chen, David Malkin. The role of estrogen receptor signaling in rhabdomyosarcoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5029. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5029


This work draws on insights from the experimental and theoretical literature on bargaining to provide a much-needed comprehensive treatment of the neglected subject of how wars end. In a study of how states simultaneously wage war and negotiate peace settlements, Paul R. Pillar argues that war termination is best understood as a bargaining process.Originally published in 1983.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


The article focuses on the question of working with the semantically devoid elements when adapting spoken discourse into written. The author distinguishes functions with which semantically devoid elements can be endowed in the spoken variant of the memories under research, as well as the reasons of their being preserved in the written text or their elimination in processing. Possible principles were revealed by which an editor is guided upon an encounter with every case of author's usage of semantically devoid elements.


This article suggests that transdisciplinary approaches to social research, which are problem-centered, are necessary for addressing contemporary social problems. The article suggests that there is a social justice undercurrent to transdisciplinarity. Moreover, it is important to teach students how to think and design research in transdisciplinary ways so that they are prepared to meet the challenges of our time. In this regard the article details how transdisciplinary approaches to research can be coupled with problem-based learning (PBL) in order to teach students responsive problem-solving strategies. The article also details how transdisciplinary approaches to PBL can be used to teach qualitative research skills and thus train the next generation of researchers in qualitative practice.


Promising economic growth during the 2000s obfuscates the reality that Latin American countries are facing the acute threat of a middle-income trap. In a review of the literature on the middle-income trap I distinguish two approaches to the middle-income trap: one focuses mainly on the lack of structural change, the driving forces behind it, and the national and global context in which it unfolds; the other stresses growth slowdowns irrespective of time and place. I offer an extension of the structural change approach with an emphasis on the implications of the current globalization process. A productive capabilities-focused analysis reveals serious gaps in social and firm-level capabilities in Latin America economies, though the magnitude differs across indicators and countries. The experiences of China and small latecomers trying to move from the middle to the high-income level (Chile, the Dominican Republic, Jordan, Ireland, and Singapore) suggest that a cohesive productive capabilities-focused development strategy holds out great promise for generating growth-enhancing structural change. I conclude with a discussion of the key challenges Latin American countries have to overcome for the successful implementation of such a strategy to avoid the middle-income trap.


Peer ministry is often a vital component of campus ministry offices at Catholic colleges and universities. In order to determine the effectiveness of peer ministry in contributing to a student's faith development as well as her or his abilities to integrate faith intentionally and refl ectively into everyday life, data were collected from surveys of two sample populations from the 117 peer ministry programs at Catholic colleges in the United States from October 2012 to February 2013. The data revealed (1) features of current programs, (2) the effectiveness of peer ministry in contributing to the faith development of peer ministers and their peers, and (3) areas of concern that underscore the need for an intentional, religious educational plan for peer ministry programs.


The scaffold serves as 3D substrate for the cells adhesion and mechanical support for newly grown tissue by maintaining the 3D structure for the regeneration of tissue and organ. In this paper, we proposed integrated scaffold fabrication system using multi-axis rapid prototyping (RP) technology. It can fabricate various types of scaffolds: arbitrary sculptured shape, primitive shape, and tube shape scaffolds by layered dispensing biocompatible/ biodegradable polymer strands in designated patterns. In order to fabricate the 3D scaffold, we need to generate the plotting path way for the scaffold fabrication system. We design a data processing program ? scaffold plotting software, which can convert the 3D STL file, primitive and tube model images into the NC code for the system. Finally, we fabricated the customized 3D scaffolds with high accuracy using the plotting software and the fabrication system.


To attract and retain more academically qualified students to science and mathematics, we developed a merit-based scholarship program for incoming students with STEM interests. Scholarship recipients participate for the first two years in an interdisciplinary learning community and declare a STEM major by the sophomore year. STEM Learning Community, a year-long course initiated in fall 2009, has become a permanent part of the College curriculum. Content consists of weekly meetings for discussions and presentations on such topics as scientific ethics, relationships between science and technology, the nature and history of science, and the interplay between scientific discovery and societal development. A major component is a group research project conducted during the school year and presented at our annual undergraduate research symposium. In addition, we provide career counseling, visits and presentations by STEM professionals, and internship opportunities. Students report that they are developing such valuable skills as problem solving ability, communication skills, collaboration, and knowledge of the research process. Enrollment and graduation data show that numbers of participants, especially women and minority students, increased during the first four years. The results suggest that scholarships combined with engagement in collaborative undergraduate research are a useful tool for enhancing STEM recruitment and persistence.


Background and Aim: Neonates are more sensitive to pain and more susceptible to long term effects of pain than children and adults. Therefore, pain management has become a crucial part of neonatal care and cure. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of being in mother's hug and routine clinical procedure on neonates' pain during immunization injections in health centers of west Tehran. Material and Method: This randomized controlled trial study was performed on 76 healthy term infants aged between 2-4 month, referred to the health centers of Iran University of Medical Sciences in west of Tehran for DPT immunization. One group were given in their mother's hug, 2 minutes before, during, and 15 seconds after the injection, and the other group were lied on the examining table according to routine of the clinic. Objective changes in appearance of neonates were assessed by Modified Behavioral Pain Scale (MBPS) from 5 second before immunization to 15 second after it. Results: There was statistical significant difference between behavioral pain scores of the groups (P(cid:2)0.0001). Conclusion: Regarding statistical significant difference between behavioral pain responses of the groups, simple and safe practice of hugging infants by their mothers is suggested to reduce pain during immunization and muscular injections, too.


The variation of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spectrum, the so-called cosmic-ray modulation, is caused by the heliospheric environmental change. In the current weak solar cycle 24, it is expected that the flux of GCRs is getting higher than that in the previous solar cycles, leading to the increase in the radiation exposure in the space and atmosphere. In order to quantitatively evaluate the possible solar modulation of GCRs and resultant radiation exposure at flight altitude during the coming solar cycle, we develop the time-dependent and three-dimensional model of the cosmic-ray modulation. We consider physics processes such as the curvature-gradient drift motion of GCRs and therefore our results reproduce the 22-year variation of the cosmic-ray modulation. By modeling the variation of the solar wind velocity, the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field, and its tilt angle, we predict the possible solar modulation of GCRs and resultant radiation exposure at flight altitude. The effects of the drift motion on our results of prediction will be discussed in this presentation. PEM12-23 JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017


Writing in 1991 and 1994, respectively, Donna J. Haraway and Emily Martin argued that in the postwar decades the immune system became a material pedagogy for neoliberal and postmodern thought. In its depiction as a decentralized network of response, the immune system modeled life in late liberalism's dematerialized time-space compressions. Moreover, if the immune system reified life in this radical expansion, its preternatural competency for discrimination between self and other simultaneously availed a means of retaining racial hygiene in this brave new world of empire. Yet curiously neither Haraway nor Martin acknowledged the extent to which the arrival of HIV in the early 1980s constituted a radical desublimation of what Roberto Esposito identified as the immune system's salvational image. This essay posits that the arrival of HIV did not simply constitute a neutralization of the immunological fetishism of the postwar period. Rather, the loss of immunity precipitated a biopolitical melancholia. Having lost access to its privileged topos—the immune system itself—immunological governance in turn proximately cathected the object responsible for its trauma, namely, HIV itself. I understand Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992) and Chuck Hogan's The Blood Artists (1998) to think, in submerged literary form, an incremental embrace of virality as, ironically, the most viable vehicle for conserving the fantasies of both neoliberal competency and racial containment reified initially by immunity itself.


Spatially-varying reflectance and small geometric variations play a vital role in the appearance of real-world surfaces. Consequently, robust, automatic capture of such models is highly desirable; however, current systems require either specialized hardware, long capture times, user intervention, or rely heavily on heuristics. We describe an acquisition setup that utilizes only portable commodity hardware (an LCD display, an SLR camera) and contains no moving parts. In particular, a laptop screen can be used for illumination. Our setup, aided by a carefully constructed image formation model, automatically produces realistic spatially-varying reflectance parameters over a wide range of materials from diffuse to almost mirror-like specular surfaces, while requiring relatively few photographs. We believe our system is the first to offer such generality, while requiring only standard office equipment and no user intervention or parameter tuning. Our results exhibit a good qualitative match to photographs taken under novel viewing and lighting conditions for a range of materials.


1. Intracellular recordings were made from 128 superficial dorsal horn (laminae I and II) neurons in slice preparations of the lumbosacral spinal cord obtained from young hamsters. Stimulation of the segmental dorsal root evoked postsynaptic potentials in all neurons. The average transmembrane resting potential was -61 +/- 1 mV (mean +/- SE; n = 123). The mean action potential amplitude was 75 +/- 1 mV (n = 105) with a duration at half peak of 1.1 +/- 0.1 ms (n = 102). The mean input resistance of these neurons was 72 +/- 4 M omega (n = 125). These values are comparable to those reported in other studies on neurons of this region using penetrating microelectrodes. 2. Bath application of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA; 50 microM) depolarized 67 of 71 (94%) of the tested neurons. Superfusion with the non-NMDA amino acid agonists DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA; 20 microM) and kainate (KA; 50 microM) depolarized all tested neurons by > 10 mV. On the other hand, only 13 of 67 (19%) tested neurons were depolarized > 4 mV by superfusion solutions containing 3 mM L-glutamate (Glu). L-Aspartate at 3 mM depolarized three out of seven neurons by > 4 mV and appeared to be equally as effective as Glu. 3. The non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX; 10 microM) substantially attenuated the AMPA- and KA-induced depolarizations and partially attenuated the NMDA-induced depolarizations. The NMDA antagonist 3 [(+/-)-2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl]-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP; 50 microM) reversibly blocked the NMDA-induced depolarization in all tested neurons. Glu-induced depolarization was unaffected by CNQX but was attenuated by CPP in three of three tested neurons. These observations indicate that some of the Glu-induced depolarization was mediated by NMDA receptors. 4. CNQX reversibly attenuated excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) produced by primary afferent activity in A delta- and C-fibers whereas CPP suppressed only the late EPSP components. Therefore in the neurons sampled, synaptic responses evoked from primary afferent fibers appear to be mediated by both non-NMDA and NMDA receptors. 5. The glutamate uptake inhibitors, L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate (L-trans PDC; 50 microM; n = 6) and threo-3-hydroxy-D-aspartate (1 mM; n = 1) did not have a consistent effect upon Glu action background discharge, RN or Vm in Glu-unresponsive neurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


In a multiprocessor .or distributed real time system, a need t.o kn.ow the
temporal behavi.or .of the system is sometimes .of maj.or c.oncern, mainly in the sense
.of guaranteeing a maximum upper limit Gin delivery times f.or messages sent fr.om
.one endpoint t.o an.other. This project makes a swvey .of current meth.ods f.or time
deterministic delivery .of messages in a multiprocess.or .of distributed hard real-time
environment and c.oncurrently tries t.o ad.opt a suitable architecture f.or an A TM
(Asynchr.on.ous Transfer Made) switch that supports these meth.ods .of
c.ommunicati.on. The switch architecture's must prominent feature is intended t.o be a
l.ow implement cost. In .order t.o build large netw.orks .of c.omputati.onal units, running
distributed applicati.ons, the c.ost .of the total implementati.on can grow very large.
Therefore, a smaller architecture than traditi.onal A TM with will be processed that
still is able t.o relay A TM traffic, in a time dleterministic manner.


The present study showed some histological properties of skeletal muscles in Gymnura micrura belong to the family Dasyatidae, specimens of fish collected from the AL-Fao area in Iraqi territorial waters with assistance from a fisherman. The results declare two types of cartilage that can be distinguished: hyaline cartilage, which constitutes a large percentage of the cartilage mass, in addition to the presence of another type, the elastic cartilage. The results showed that the diameter of red muscle fibers alternated between (22.30 - 37.17 microns), while it alternated between (44.61 – 104.09 microns) of the white muscle fibers diameter in studied fish, this difference possibly attributed to the functional role of white and red muscle fibers and their effect in the mechanics of movement.


Optimization of the exploitation operation is one of the most important issues facing the mining engineers. Since several technical and economic parameters depend on the cut-off grade, optimization of this parameter is of particular importance. The aim of this optimization is to maximize the net present value (NPV). Since the objective function of this problem is non-linear, three methods can be used to solve it: analytical, numerical, and meta-heuristic. In this study, the Golden Section Search (GSS) method and the Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) are used to optimize the cut-off grade in mine No. 1 of the Golgohar iron mine. Then the results obtained are compared. Consecuently, the optimum cut-off grades using both methods are calculated between 40.5% to 47.5%. The NPVs obtained using the GSS method and ICA were 18487 and 18142 billion Rials, respectively. Thus the value for GSS was higher. The annual number of iterations in the GSS method was equal to 18, and that for ICA was less than 18. Also computing and programming the process of golden section search method were easier than those for ICA. Therefore, the GSS method studied in this work is of a higher priority.


Abstract Objectives The brain's cholinergic system occupies a central role in normal cognition and age-related cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study sought to investigate the role of antioxidant defense and cholinergic systems on rutin-induced antiamnesia in mice. Methods Rutin (1, 5, or 50 mg/kg, p.o.) or vehicle (10 ml/kg, p.o.) was administered for three consecutive days. One hour post-treatment on day 3, scopolamine (3 mg/kg, i.p) was given, 5 min post-scopolamine injection, open field, Y-maze, or Morris water maze (MWM) (five days consecutive training sessions) tasks was carried out. The mice were sacrificed on day 7 to assays for biomarkers of oxidative stress and cholinergic system. Results Scopolamine significantly reduced spontaneous alternation behavior in Y-maze and prolonged escape latency in MWM tasks when compared to vehicle-treated control indicative of working memory and spatial learning deficits. However, the pretreatment of mice with rutin (1, 5, or 50 mg/kg) prevented scopolamine-induced working memory and spatial learning impairments without affecting spontaneous locomotor activity. Scopolamine-induced nitrosative/oxidative stress and increased acetylcholinesterase activity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were significantly attenuated by the pretreatment of mice with rutin. Conclusions rutin restored cognitive function in scopolamine-induced amnesia through enhancement of antioxidant defense and cholinergic systems.


With the higher incidences of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in the East compared with the West, Asian centers have made significant contributions to the management of these malignancies. The major risk factor for HCC is hepatitis B infection in Asia in contrast to hepatitis C in Western populations. Barcelona Clinic for Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging that guides the treatment of patients with HCC in the West is considered too conservative by many Asian centers. In Asia, liver resection is widely offered to patients with multifocal, bilobar tumor or tumor invasion to the portal vein. The criteria for liver transplantation for HCC are also often more extended in Asian centers. Asian surgeons pioneered the development of living donor liver transplantation, which plays a major role in the management of early HCC associated with severe cirrhosis in Asia due to shortage of deceased donor graft. Asian centers have also made significant contributions to the modern management of CCA. A more aggressive surgical approach is generally adopted in Asia, including radical lymphadenectomy for intrahepatic CCA and simultaneous hepatic artery and portal vein resection with hepatectomy for hilar CCA. Eastern and Western centers should collaborate in further studies to establish the optimal treatment strategies for hepatobiliary malignancies.


Chronic pancreatitis is a complex disease that involves many factors, both genetic and environmental. Over the past two decades, molecular genetic analysis of five genes that are highly expressed in human pancreatic acinar cells, namely PRSS1, PRSS2, SPINK1, CTRC and CTRB1/CTRB2, has established that a trypsin-dependent pathway plays a key role in the etiology of chronic pancreatitis. Since Ca2+ deregulation can lead to intracellular trypsin activation in experimental acute pancreatitis, we analyzed STIM1 (encoding stromal interaction molecule-1, the main regulator of Ca2+ homeostasis in pancreatic acinar cells) as a candidate modifier gene in French, German and Chinese patients with chronic pancreatitis. The French and German subjects were analyzed by Sanger sequencing whereas the Chinese subjects were analyzed by targeted next-generation sequencing confirmed by Sanger sequencing. A total of 37 rare coding variants (35 missense and 2 nonsense) were identified, which were enriched in patients as compared with controls [2.28% (47/2,057) vs. 0.99% (33/3,322); odds ratio = 2.33, P = 0.0001]. This is the first large case-control study to demonstrate a putative association of rare STIM1 coding variants with chronic pancreatitis. Functional analysis will be required to clarify whether or not the rare STIM1 variants detected predispose to pancreatitis.


Allergic drug reactions occur when a drug, usually a low molecular weight molecule, has the ability to stimulate an immune response. This can be done in one of two ways. The first is by binding covalently to a self-protein, to produce a haptenated molecule that can be processed and presented to the adaptive immune system to induce an immune response. Sometimes the drug itself cannot do this but a reactive breakdown product of the drug is able to bind covalently to the requisite self-protein or peptide. The second way in which drugs can stimulate an immune response is by binding non-covalently to antigen presenting or antigen recognition molecules such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or the T cell receptor. This is known as the p-I or pharmacological interaction hypothesis. The drug binding in this situation is reversible and stimulation of the response may occur on first exposure, not requiring previous sensitization. There is probably a dependence on the presence of certain MHC alleles and T cell receptor structures for this type of reaction to occur.


Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive, inherited neurodegenerative condition, with onset usually in mid-life, affecting motor, cognitive and neuropsychiatric functions. Not surprisingly, studies have suggested that HD has a detrimental effect on the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with the HD gene expansion and also by association their families. The present literature exploring the impact for spouses predominantly investigates the later stages of HD. This study, however, uses clearly defined groups of both premanifest and early-stage symptomatic gene-carriers and their spouse/partners. Methods/techniques Self-report measures of quality of life and neuropsychiatric domains (SF-36; Quality of Life Index; Frontal Systems Behaviour Inventory (FrSBe)), clinical rating of motor function (UHDRS motor), Cognitive measures (Emotion Recognition, Trails-B) and the Short version of Problem Behaviours Assessment for HD (PBA-s) were completed by 86 participants from the TRACK-HD study. This included 23 pre-manifest gene carriers, 20 early, clinical stage 1 and 2, HD patients and 43 gene-negative spouse controls. Between-group differences and relationships between neuropsychiatric and cognitive data from the premanifest and symptomatic participants and QoL for their spouses were examined. Results/outcomes Largest between-group differences were evident between spouses and their partners with early stage disease; and different QoL domains were impacted in the different participant groups. The data presented shows the QoL domains affected in each group; and the impact of specific neuropsychiatric, cognitive and motor symptoms on spouse partners. Identification of the specific domains impacted in spouse/partners at an early stage of disease is crucial for establishing appropriate and long-term support.


Aim: Heavy metal pollution is serious in China, and abscisic acid (ABA) is an important stress hormone. How it regulates plant tolerance to cadmium remains unclear, so we aimed to explore the molecular mechanism responsible for enhanced cadmium resistance in Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant plants and Brassica napus seedlings. Methods: Arabidopsis/B. napus were cultured hydroponically for 28/15 days and then treated with 20/10 μM Cd/Cd+ABA (5 μM) for 3/4 days. Chlorophyll degradation rate, SPAD values, proline, MDA, ABA, NO3−, and Cd concentrations were measured in root vacuoles and protoplasts; root to shoot NO3− and Cd concentration ratios were determined and NRT1.5-, NRT1.8-, BnNRT1.5-, and BnNRT1.8-related gene expression was studied. Results: Cytoplasmic ABA levels in root cells of bglu10 and bglu18 Arabidopsis mutants were significantly lower than those in the wild-type, apparently making the latter more resistant to Cd. NO3− long-distance transporter NRT1.5 responded to ABA signaling by downregulating its own expression, while NRT1.8 did not respond. Concomitantly, proton pump activity in wild-type plants was higher than in the bglu10 and bglu18 mutants; thus, more NO3− and Cd accumulated in the vacuoles of wild-type root cells. ABA application inhibited Cd absorption by B. napus. BnNRT1.5 responded to exogenous ABA signal by downregulating its own expression, while the lack of response by BnNRT1.8 resulted in increased amount of NO3− accumulating in the roots to participate in the anti-cadmium reaction. Conclusion: NRT1.5 responds to the ABA signal to inhibit its own expression, whereas unresponsiveness of NRT1.8 causes accumulation of NO3− in the roots; thus, enhancing Cd resistance. In Arabidopsis, because of proton pump action, more NO3− and Cd accumulate in the vacuoles of Arabidopsis root cells, thereby reducing damage by Cd toxicity. However, in B. napus, the addition of exogenous ABA inhibited Cd absorption. Our data provide a sound basis to the theoretical molecular mechanism involved in hormone signaling during response of plants to heavy metal stress.


This paper presents the first direct comparison of regional CO 2 fluxes estimated by inversion of atmospheric concentration data with fluxes measured by towers and aircraft. All measurements were made in a 300×300km domain in southwest France in 2005. Concentrations were measured on two short towers while fluxes were measured on 5 towers and 27 aircraft transects. The inversion produces a better fit than the prior estimate to the measured fluxes, capturing both the temporal evolution and behaviour of different ecosystems. Additionally, the final estimate is most improved where the theoretical error reduction is highest. Results suggest that atmospheric inversion is a reliable tool for estimating regional CO 2 fluxes provided the components are verified.


INTRODUCTION
Hydrogen (H2) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of oxidative injury, which plays an important role in the process of decompression sickness (DCS). This study was designed to test whether H2-rich saline (saline saturated with molecular hydrogen) protected rats against DCS.

METHODS
Models of DCS were induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-310 g. H2-rich (0.86 mmol x L(-1)) saline was administered intraperitoneally (10 ml x kg(-1)) at 24 h, 12 h, immediately before compression, and right after fast decompression.

RESULTS
H2-rich saline significantly decreased the incidence of DCS from 67.57 to 35.14% and partially counteracted the increases in the total concentration of protein in the bronchoalveolar lavage from 0.33 +/- 0.05 to 0.14 +/- 0.01 mg x ml(-1) (mean +/- SD; P < 0.05), myeloperoxidase activity from 0.86 +/- 0.16 to 0.44 +/- 0.13 U/g, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) from 0.80 +/- 0.10 to 0.48 +/- 0.05 nmol x mg(-1), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine from 253.7 +/- 9.3 to 191.2 +/- 4.8 pg x mg(-1) in the lungs, and MDA level from 1.77 +/- 0.20 to 0.87 +/- 0.23 nmol x mg(-1) in the spinal cord in rat DCS models. The histopathology results also showed that H2-rich saline ameliorated DCS injuries.

DISCUSSION
It is concluded that H2-rich saline may have a protective effect against DCS, possibly due to its antioxidant action.


This article explores transgender aging, drawing from life story interviews with transgender adults aged 62–78. The analysis focuses on 3 themes: intersections of age and gender during the life course, lack of knowledge of transgender issues, and how previous experiences of accessing care and social services matter in later life. It illustrates how older transgendered adults carry physical and mental scars from previously encountered transphobia, which affect various aspects of later life. Implications for social work are discussed and client-centered care, with a biographical approach, is suggested to better meet the needs of transgendered older adults.


Background/Aims: human endogenous retrovirus-H long terminal repeat-associating protein 2 (HHLA2) is highly expressed in multiple solid malignant tumors, making it a potential biomarker for tumorigenesis and invasion. However, the expression and clinical significance of HHLA2 in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC) have not been extensively studied. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between HHLA2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of BUC. Methods: A total of 212 patients pathologically diagnosed with BUC were included in this study. HHLA2 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining and qRT-polymerase chain reaction. Correlations of HHLA2 expression and pathological characteristics, including 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were examined, and the diagnostic value of HHLA2 was estimated by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of HHLA2 was significantly upregulated in BUC tissues compared with normal bladder tissues. In BUC tissues, HHLA2 expression was significantly associated with tumor size, tumor stage, tumor grade, and lymph node metastasis (all p < 0.05). HHLA2 expression was an independent prognostic factor of tumor metastasis (p < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve revealed that high HHLA2 expression was significantly correlated with the poor RFS and OS of BUC patients (both p < 0.05), and the ROC curve showed HHLA2 could be a good diagnostic marker. Conclusions: HHLA2 can independently predict unfavorable prognosis in BUC.


Pediatric patients with serious infections are usually hospitalized for parenteral antibiotic treatment. We studied prospectively 74 pediatric patients with community-acquired serious infections and used once daily intramuscular ceftriaxone. Seventeen patients (23%) were initially hospitalized and 57 (77%) patients were treated entirely as outpatients. An initial intramuscular dose of 75 mg/kg was followed by daily doses of 50 mg/kg (maximum, 1.5 g). Infections treated included periorbital/buccal cellulitis, other cellulitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, mastoiditis, suppurative arthritis and orbital cellulitis. Organisms were recovered from cultures of 37 (50%) patients and 6 (8%) patients were bacteremic. Bacteria included Gram-positive (mostly Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (mostly enteric bacilli and Haemophilus influenzae organisms). No serious side effects were observed. Of 74 patients 72 (97%) were cured and improvement was usually observed within 24 hours. Two patients did not improve: one with chronic Pseudomonas mastoiditis; and one with lung abscess. Based on previous experience it is estimated that 376 hospitalization days were saved. All 72 successfully treated patients and their parents resumed normal activity within 72 hours of starting therapy. Our data suggest that ceftriaxone can be used for outpatient treatment of some infectious diseases.


The last several years have brought sexual harassment in the public and private sector to the forefront of national conversation. This paper addresses the issue of sexual harassment specifically within the Illinois public sector. First, to understand how Illinoisans view sexual harassment, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute conducted statewide polling. This endeavor asked respondents about their perceptions of how well the public understands sexual harassment, how likely people who engage in harassing behavior are to be held accountable, and whether or not the respondents would be likely to vote for a political candidate accused of sexual harassment. This paper outlines best practices on addressing sexual harassment with an in-depth look at how Illinois is currently addressing public sector sexual harassment via policy, legislative action, and training initiatives. This is done in hopes of providing the state of Illinois with some recommendations and future direction on how to be a national leader in combatting sexual harassment.


Legislative and regulatory frameworks for conserving biodiversity often focus on the species as a fundamental unit for protection. In cases where the taxonomic or conservation status of a species is uncertain, the precautionary principle may be invoked in listing suspected but as yet undescribed taxa as vulnerable or endangered. In this paper, we present an evaluation of the taxo- nomic status of what has been regarded as a distinctive but as yet undescribed species of freshwater turtle, declared endangered in the Action Plan for Australian Reptiles and vulnerable in the sched- ules of state and federal conservation acts. Using mitochondrial sequence variation, we show that the Bellinger River turtle is an unremarkable population of a common and widespread species, Emydura macquarii. In addition, we present evidence suggesting that it may have been recently introduced to, or may be a recent invader of, the Bellinger River (New South Wales, Australia) where it may come to compete with Myuchelys georgesi, an endemic found only in the Bellinger River. Our study illus- trates the need to couple fundamental research with on-ground action early in an adaptive manage- ment context, particularly where taxonomic status of the target species is uncertain. Short-term cost savings of failing to do so may come to be greatly exceeded by longer-term opportunity loss where conservation dollars are limited.


Many methods have been developed to remove image noises with wavelet. Here, the combination of those methods is considered to construct a new method that covers more aspects of the problem. Data fusion is chosen for such combination. With two classic existent methods as an example, a data-fusion based wavelet image denoising method is proposed. Experiment results show that the new method can provide better denoising performance thus suggests the potential of such a strategy.


Following their release from Egypt after the 10 Plagues, the Israelites spent some time wandering in the wilderness. They were sustained there by a special food called manna. If we take a literal view of The Bible, we can acknowledge that manna was a physical entity with supernatural origins that fell from the sky. We can assume the accuracy of recall by observers, the accuracy of repetition of the original manna story, and the accuracy of exegesis by scholars who have interpreted the later written accounts over hundreds of years. On the other hand, we could suggest that manna was described inaccurately, that it has been embellished by myth and the mistaken translation of texts. In this essay I will attempt to discuss manna as a natural substance, using the literal Biblical text as my guide.


In this study, the effect of both main and side chain length changes of the admixtures on some properties of cementitious systems were investigated. Three different polycarboxylate‐ether‐based water‐reducing admixtures (WRA) having constant molecular weights and different main and side chain lengths were synthesized. Single type of raw material and carboxylate functional group were used in all WRAs. The molecular weights, free nonionic contents, and anionic/nonionic ratios of the admixtures were kept constant. Test results showed that degree of fluidity was observed in cement paste and mortar mixtures in case the admixture main and side chain length is more or less than a critical value. This negative effect is thought to be due to the weakening of the adsorption ability by the chain length change of the admixtures, the being tendency of polymers to intertwine and the adsorbing of admixture on several cement particles simultaneous. Admixtures having excessive long or short main chain and side chain improved the time‐dependent slump‐flow retention of the mortar mixtures. The admixtures with short main and side chains had insufficient adsorption ability and the admixture with excessive long main and side chains had the interlacing risk of polymers. In both cases, time‐dependent behavior improved because the amount of free admixture in solution increased. The change in the chain lengths of the WRAs affected the 1‐day compressive strength of the mortar mixtures.


In this thesis the clinical results, the periprosthetic bone remodeling and histological analysis of an anatomical designed proximally hydroxyapatite-coated hip prosthesis were investigated to answer several research questions. In our first prospective study the characteristics of the bone remodeling pattern around an uncemented anatomical, proximally coated stem (ABG-I) and its successor (ABG-II) were described using DEXA. ABG-II showed less bone loss proximally, especially in zone 7. However, the difference found for the proximal zone 7 was not significant In our second study, patients were retrospectively matched for preoperative bone quality and gender. Now, a statistically significant difference was found in proximal bone preservation in favor of ABG-II for zone 7. These findings support our conclusion that in comparative bone remodeling studies for prosthetic design using DEXA, patients should be matched for preoperative bone quality and gender to limit the number of patients while maintaining maximum statistical power. Bone remodeling can also be influenced by tightness of stem fit and therefore we assessed the radiological changes five years after implantation of the stem (third study). We investigated if there was a correlation between a tight fit and the bone remodeling pattern. In this study there was no correlation between fit and radiological changes, but there was a correlation between a poor fit and thigh pain for the ABG-II stem. In the fourth study bone remodeling was assessed by histomorphometric analysis of a proximally HA-coated stem (ABG-I). In this study the HA residue was measured histomorphometrically on hip stems of one single design (ABG-I) retrieved at post-mortem, and the long-term performance of the HA coating and the effects of resorption were investigated. HA resorption increased significantly with the time in vivo as measured by the residual HA. Beyond 8 years HA was almost gone. HA resorption was significantly more proximal than distal, an effect which was less strong with bone ongrowth. Bone ongrowth was statistically independent of the time in-vivo. Bone ongrowth was significantly less with older patients. In the fifth and last study periprosthetic fractures around an uncemented proximally coated stem are described. The fracture patterns were analyzed by reviewing the X-rays in detail and the modified Vancouver classification was retrospectively applied for these fractures. An increased number of periprosthetic fractures for the ABG-I stem compared to the cemented stem was shown. The site of the fracture in our series was always localized in an area where an acute bone density gradient in the cortex had developed, between the proximal and the middle Gruen zones. The retrospectively applied Vancouver classification turned out to be a simple, reproducible classification system for the uncemented treatment modality, which will make clinical decision-making easier. All studies performed point in the same direction: proximal bone loss for the ABG stem and less proximal bone loss for the ABG-II stem compared to the ABG-I stem. Despite this proximal bone resorption, clinical follow up shows excellent results after ten years for the ABG-I stem. Its successor (ABG-II) shows less proximal bone resorption, but a relatively high percentage of thigh pain. Long term follow-up studies should provide more information as to whether less proximal bone resorption (ABG-II) will also lead to better clinical performance. Stress shielding is and will remain an important issue in total hip arthroplasty for the long term.


Linear programming is one of the most important classes of optimization problems. These mathematical models have been used by academics and practitioners to solve numerous real world applications. Quickly solving linear programs impacts decision makers from both the public and private sectors. Substantial research has been performed to solve this class of problems faster, and the vast majority of the solution techniques can be categorized as one dimensional search algorithms. That is, these methods successively move from one solution to another solution by solving a one dimensional subspace linear program at each iteration. This dissertation proposes novel algorithms that move between solutions by repeatedly solving a two dimensional subspace linear program. Computational experiments demonstrate the potential of these newly developed algorithms and show an average improvement of nearly 25% in solution time when compared to the corresponding one dimensional search version. This dissertation's research creates the core concept of these two dimensional search algorithms, which is a fast technique to determine an optimal basis and an optimal solution to linear programs with only two variables. This method, called the slope algorithm, compares the slope formed by the objective function with the slope formed by each constraint to determine a pair of constraints that intersect at an optimal basis and an optimal solution. The slope algorithm is implemented within a simplex framework to perform two dimensional searches. This results in the double pivot simplex method. Differently than the well-known simplex method, the double pivot simplex method simultaneously pivots up to two basic variables with two nonbasic variables at each iteration. The theoretical computational complexity of the double pivot simplex method is identical to the simplex method. Computational results show that this new algorithm reduces the number of pivots to solve benchmark instances by approximately 40% when compared to the classical implementation of the simplex method, and 20% when compared to the primal simplex implementation of CPLEX, a high performance mathematical programming solver. Solution times of some random linear programs are also improved by nearly 25% on average. This dissertation also presents a novel technique, called the ratio algorithm, to find an optimal basis and an optimal solution to linear programs with only two constraints. When the ratio algorithm is implemented within a simplex framework to perform two dimensional searches, it results in the double pivot dual simplex method. In this case, the double pivot dual simplex method behaves similarly to the dual simplex method, but two variables are exchanged at every step. Two dimensional searches are also implemented within an interior point framework. This dissertation creates a set of four two dimensional search interior point algorithms derived from primal and dual affine scaling and logarithmic barrier search directions. Each iteration of these techniques quickly solves a two dimensional subspace linear program formed by the intersection of two search directions and the feasible region of the linear program. Search directions are derived by orthogonally partitioning the objective function vector, which allows these novel methods to improve the objective function value at each step by at least as much as the corresponding one dimensional search version. Computational experiments performed on benchmark linear programs demonstrate that these two dimensional search interior point algorithms improve the average solution time by approximately 12% and the average number of iterations by 15%. In conclusion, this dissertation provides a change of paradigm in linear programming optimization algorithms. Implementing two dimensional searches within both a simplex and interior point framework typically reduces the computational time and number of iterations to solve linear programs. Furthermore, this dissertation sets the stage for future research topics in multidimensional search algorithms to solve not only linear programs but also other critical classes of optimization methods. Consequently, this dissertation's research can become one of the first steps to change how commercial and open source mathematical programming software will solve optimization problems. Two dimensional search algorithms for linear programming


In this work, we train three decision-tree based ensemble machine learning algorithms (Random Forest Classifier, Adaptive Boosting and Gradient Boosting Decision Tree respectively) to study quasar selection in the variable source catalog in SDSS Stripe 82. We build training and test samples (both containing 1:1 of quasars and stars) using the spectroscopic confirmed sources in SDSS DR14 (including 8330 quasars and 3966 stars). We find that when trained with variation parameters alone, all three models can select quasars with similarly and remarkably high precision and completeness (∼ 98.5% and 97.5%), even better than trained with SDSS colors alone (∼ 97.2% and 96.5%), consistent with previous studies. By applying the trained models on the variable sources without spectroscopic identifications, we estimate the spectroscopically confirmed quasar sample in Stripe 82 variable source catalog is ∼ 93% complete (95% for mi < 19.0). Using the Random Forest Classifier we derive the relative importance of the observational features utilized for classifications. We further show that even using one- or two-year time domain observations, variability-based quasar selection could still be highly efficient.


This case study grounded in the tradition of practitioner-research (Jarvis, 1999) was carried out from 1994 to 1999 at a major land-grant university in the United States. Specifically, the study aimed to explore the nature of American academic advising in the 21st century using qualitative research techniques. A review of the traditional literature from the academic advising profession, as well as the literature from the more encompassing field of student affairs (Davis and Liddell, 1997; Gordon and Grites, 1998), suggested that much of the research conducted in these areas has been quantitative and insular in nature. Thus, in response to an apparent need for more naturalistic and broadly-based inquiries in these areas (academic advising and student affairs), this study employed a variety of different qualitative research approaches in an attempt to investigate and contextualize the practice of academic advising within the forces shaping contemporary society. The first part of the thesis engaged the researcher in a comprehensive review of literature from a wide variety of disciplines including economics, history, political science, sociology and education that aided in the construction of a prospective model of society. As a result of this exercise, two research questions emerged that were later posed to 36 participants, representing the following classifications within the model of society: students, academic advisors, career services professionals, faculty, university hierarchy, and employers (6 in each classification). The research questions were: what is the nature of American academic advising in the 21st century in light of the forces of information technology and globalized capitalism, and how were these forces of change resisted? Using the general interview guide approach (Patton, 1990) and "qualitatively-based," content analysis interpretation techniques (Holsti, 1969; Krippendorff, 1980; Patton, 1990) these questions were explored and analyzed and the results compiled into a series of reports based on findings. These uniform reports were subsequently turned into separate chapters based on a comprehensive analysis of each of the 6 participant group "perceptions" of the nature of future academic advising practice. In particular, the inquiry aimed to illuminate participants' awareness of the forces shaping contemporary society, how they perceived the practice would change in the 21st century, how the participants thought the practice should be operated, their perceptions of the major causes of change, and how they perceived the forces of change being resisted in the future. Findings suggested that participant's perceived the future of the practice of academic advising to be influenced greatly by information technology, requiring stakeholders, at all levels throughout the academic advising process to humanistically assess to what degree and in what capacities will information technology be utilized within each, unique practice setting. Other findings suggested that participants both perceived and endorsed a more collaborative mode of practice in the future - consolidating other student services together with academic advising. Recommendations to the profession included the adoption of a new core value that would engage the profession, and its members, in more "outwardly" directed practices reaching beyond institutional barriers. Additionally, there is a recommendation that the profession become more politically and strategically-oriented in the next century, employing "relevance-grounded" public relations efforts to secure stability. Future comparative institutional studies, studies using additional participant groups and the development of quantitative national, and possibly international, surveys using this study as a model and its findings for reference, replication, or further illumination are suggested.


Abstract Objective: Hereditary hemochromatosis, or primary hemochromatosis, is a recessive genetic liver disorder caused by iron accumulation in tissues. This study evaluates patients with hereditary hemochromatosis to determine correlations between clinical and laboratory data. Methods: The data analyzed in this study was gathered from the discharge records from 2019 to 2021 of the Gastroenterology Department of the Mures Country Emergency Clinical Hospital. 15 patients with hemochromatosis were sampled during the studied period. Results: Hepatic cirrhosis is present in 67% of the studied group of patients, 40% of patients presented hypertension and 20% of patients showed diabetes mellitus and portal hypertension. Positive correlations were obtained between serum iron and alkaline phosphatase (r=0.8536), between serum iron and lactate dehydrogenase (r=0.7381), and between serum iron and urea (r = 0.79). Positive, strong correlation between ferritin and serum iron (r=0.7719), GOT (r=0.778) and GPT (r=0.6108). total bilirubin and direct bilirubin (r = 0.85), between total bilirubin and GOT (r = 0.68) and GPT (r = 0.82). Conclusions: Excess iron stored is influencing organ function trough reactive oxygen species, the hepatic signs being a main participant in the clinical presentation, while serum iron cause damage to other tissues such as myocardium, pancreas and kidneys. Treatment for hemochromatosis includes phlebotomies, and iron chelation with Deferoxamine.


Abstract. Several paleoclimate records such as from Chinese loess, speleothems or upwelling indicators in marine sediments present large variations of the Asian monsoon system during the last glaciation. Here, we present a new record from the northern Andaman Sea (core MD77-176) which shows the variations of the hydrological cycle of the Bay of Bengal. The high-resolution record of surface water δ18O dominantly reflects salinity changes and displays large millennial-scale oscillations over the period 40 000 to 11 000 yr BP. Their timing and sequence suggests that events of high (resp. low) salinity in the Bay of Bengal, i.e. weak (resp. strong) Indian monsoon, correspond to cold (resp. warm) events in the North Atlantic and Arctic, as documented by the Greenland ice core record. We use the IPSL_CM4 Atmosphere-Ocean coupled General Circulation Model to study the processes that could explain the teleconnection between the Indian monsoon and the North Atlantic climate. We first analyse a numerical experiment in which such a rapid event in the North Atlantic is obtained under glacial conditions by increasing the freshwater flux in the North Atlantic, which results in a reduction of the intensity of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. This freshwater hosing results in a weakening of the Indian monsoon rainfall and circulation. The changes in the continental runoff and local hydrological cycle are responsible for an increase in salinity in the Bay of Bengal. This therefore compares favourably with the new sea water δ18O record presented here and the hypothesis of synchronous cold North Atlantic and weak Indian monsoon events. Additional sensitivity experiments are produced with the LMDZ atmospheric model to analyse the teleconnection mechanisms between the North Atlantic and the Indian monsoon. The changes over the tropical Atlantic are shown to be essential in triggering perturbations of the subtropical jet over Africa and Eurasia, that in turn affect the intensity of the Indian monsoon. These relationships are also found to be valid in additional coupled model simulations in which the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is forced to resume.


The mobile ecosystem consists of a heterogeneous and continuously evolving set of firms that are interconnected through a complex, global network of relationships. However, there is very little theoretical understanding how these networks emerge and evolve and no well-established methodology to study these phenomena. Traditional approaches have primarily utilized alliance data of relatively established firms; however, these approaches ignore the vast number of relevant ecosystem activities that occur at the personal, entrepreneurial, and university level. We argue and empirically illustrate that a data-driven approach, using both alliance and socially-curated datasets, can provide important complementary explanatory insights into the dynamics of the mobile ecosystem. We present our approach through two recently formed mobile ecosystem relationships – the strategic partnership between Nokia and Microsoft and Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Our analysis is complemented using network visualization techniques. The paper concludes with implications and future research opportunities.


Book synopsis: In this collection of interdisciplinary essays, experts from Britain and the United States in the fields of nineteenth-century literature, and social and cultural history explore new directions in the field of Victorian life writing. Chapters examine a varied yet interrelated range of genres, from the biography and autobiography, to the relatively neglected diary, collective biography, and obituary. Reflecting the rich research being conducted in this area, the contributors link life writing to the formation of gendered and class-based identities; the politics of the Victorian family; and the broader professional, political, colonial, and literary structures in which social and kinship relations were implicated. A wide variety of Victorian works are considered, from the diary of the Radical Samuel Bamford, to the diary of the homosexual George Ives; from autobiographies of professional men to collective biographies of eminent women. Embracing figures as diverse as Gandhi, Wilde, and Bradlaugh, the collection explores the way in which narratives contested one another in a society that devoted an abundance of cultural energy to writing about, and reading of, lives.


This study presents an improved finite beam element method developed to calculate lateral displacement of pile subjected to eccentric and inclined loads. The relationships between the moment and shear to the lateral displacements of pile are derived from the mechanical deferential equation of the pile by taking into account the P-Δ effect of the pile due to geometric nonlinearity, and the stiffness of the pile element discretized into the finite beam elements is obtained, followed by solving, lateral displacement of pile is deduced by the improved finite beam element equations. By comparing to results of a model test on piles under eccentric and inclined loads, it is shown that the improved finite beam element method accurately predicts the pile's lateral displacements.


The paper reports on two small collections from the island of Pantelleria and the vicinity of Catania, Sicily. The former locality (mostly surface samples) yielded 52 specimens of 9 species in 9 samples, the latter 190 specimens of 14 species in 11 samples. One species of Nymphon proved to be new to science; it belongs to an uniunguiculate species group with N. longicoxa Hoek, 1881, and N. prolatum Fage, 1942, as nearest relatives. The question of Tanystylum in the Mediterranean is raised again and it is decided that there are two species, T. conirostrum (Dohrn, 1881) and T. orbiculare Wilson, 1878, respectively. The male of Ammothella longioculata Faraggiana, 1940 is figured for the first time in order to compare it with A. longipes (Dohrn, 1881). Precisions about external morphological characters of Ammothella uniunguiculata (Dohrn, 1881) are given, whereas Anoplodactylus angulatus (Dohrn, 1881) is compared with A. virescens (Hodge, 1864).


We present a streaming algorithm for evaluating XPath expressions that use backward axes (parent and ancestor) and forward axes in a single document-order traversal of an XML document. Other streaming XPath processors handle only forward axes. We show through experiments that our algorithm significantly outperforms (by more than a factor of two) a traditional nonstreaming XPath engine. Furthermore, our algorithm scales better because it retains only the relevant portions of the input document in memory. Our engine successfully processes documents over 1GB in size, whereas the traditional XPath engine degrades considerably in performance for documents over 100 MB in size and fails to complete for documents of size over 200 MB.


E Breton EHESP Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France CNRS, UMR CRAPE Centre de Recherches sur l'Action Politique en Europe 6051, France Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com Across Europe, authorities are persistently questioning the capacity of disease prevention and health promotion programmes and policies to bring about positive changes to the population health; a question that has gained much prominence as austerity measures take their toll. Practitioners are therefore required to defend investment in a given intervention against its costs and benefits; a requirement that stands as a major challenge. In this presentation, we look at two contrasting perspectives (i.e. research-based vs practice-based perspective) on what makes an intervention enter the realm of best practice and argue for an alternative vision of programme planning and evaluation to improve the transferability of actions to other populations. The research-based perspective produces knowledge on good practice by applying rigorous methodological techniques that isolate the programme from its external environment to achieve high internal validity. A requirement for a successful transfer of the programme to another setting is to preserve its integrity. However this kind of 'boutique programmes' have in many instances proven disappointing when replicated in other milieu; a situation that has brought a number of scholars to account for other neglected programme components such as context, mechanisms, functions, and to give its lettre de noblesse back to practice-based interventions. Programmes emerging from the field are seen as more amenable to transfer as they are solutions stemming from real-life practice, reflecting actual access to resources and set of constraints. Capturing their specific components would allow for their diffusion. We conclude, by calling for an alternative approach to identification and diffusion of best practice across Europe that includes guiding principles to public health interventions. This is necessary as the current economic crisis and rising social inequities are major threats to the health of the European population. 68 European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 25, Supplement 3, 2015


E-Commerce security issues can be grouped under the categories of system availability, data integrity, and data privacy. System availability means that all necessary components are available to support a given users transmission requirements. Data integrity means that all valid messages that are sent are received, messages are not altered in such as way as to make them invalid, and unauthorized messages are not introduced and transmitted over the network. Data privacy means that transmitted messages contain only 'need to know' information and are seen only by their intended audience. Enterprise network security is typically reactive, and relies heavily on host security. This approach creates complicated interactions between protocols and systems that can cause incorrect behavior and slow response to attacks. Network security at both the e-commerce and customer sites must be constantly reviewed and suitable countermeasures must be planned. The security of a site depends on the security of the internal systems and the security of external networks.


A bivariate probit model was used to examine the relationship between actual and intended purchase of irradiated beef. The likelihood ratio test rejected the equality of parameters affecting actual and intended purchase decisions. Actual purchases were affected by package labels and appearance, while purchase intentions were affected by attitude and demographics.


Upon mutagenesis, a heterothallic alpha-alpha diploit strain mutated to homothallism. The gene confering homothallism is nuclear, recessive, and unlinked to mating type. This gene is not allelic to the HO gene, which is responsible for previously described instances of homothallism in yeast. We have designated this new gene for homothallism as cmt (change of mating type).


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Current practices and available resources for nutrition therapy in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the Asia Pacific-Middle East region are expected to differ from western countries. Existing guidelines for nutrition management in critically ill children may not be directly applicable in this region. This paper outlines consensus statements developed by the Asia Pacific-Middle East Consensus Working Group on Nutrition Therapy in the Paediatric Critical Care Environment. Challenges and recommendations unique to the region are described.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN
Following a systematic literature search from 2004-2014, consensus statements were developed for key areas of nutrient delivery in the PICU. This review focused on evidence applicable to the Asia Pacific-Middle East region. Quality of evidence and strength of recommendations were rated according to the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.

RESULTS
Enteral nutrition (EN) is the preferred mode of nutritional support. Feeding algorithms that optimize EN should be encouraged and must include: assessment and monitoring of nutritional status, selection of feeding route, time to initiate and advance EN, management strategies for EN intolerance and indications for using parenteral nutrition (PN). Despite heterogeneity in nutritional status of patients, availability of resources and diversity of cultures, PICUs in the region should consider involvement of dieticians and/or nutritional support teams.

CONCLUSIONS
Robust evidence for several aspects of optimal nutrition therapy in PICUs is lacking. Nutritional assessment must be implemented to document prevalence and impact of malnutrition. Nutritional support must be given greater priority in PICUs, with particular emphasis in optimizing EN delivery.


Rainfall analysis of important plantation and spices producing districts such as The Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Kodagu (Karnataka) Idukki (Kerala) and Wayanad (Kerala) with 100 years data (1901 to 2000) obtained from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune indicated that mean annual rainfall were 1839.7mm, 2715.7mm, 2979.4mm and 3381.0mm with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 16.0%, 17.0%, 25.8% and 19.6%, respectively. The contribution of southwest monsoon(June-September) to the annual rainfall in these districts were 80.3% (Wayanad), 78.9% (Kodagu),  65.2% (Idukki) and 56.3%  (The Nilgiris) with corresponding CV of 24.1%, 20.6%, 32.5%, and 24.6%, respectively. The declining trend in mean annual rainfall was noticed for Idukki, Wayanad and The Nilgiris, whereas, for Kodagu, it was stable. The change was significant in Wayanad and The Nilgiris. Similar trend was also observed for the southwest monsoon rainfall. The maximum decline in annual and southwest monsoon rainfall was noticed in The Nilgiris followed by Wayanad. Pre and post monsoon rainfall receipts were comparatively less with high inter-annual variations. The pre-monsoon (March-May) receipt and its coefficient of variation (CV) was 252.4mm & 20.6% (Kodagu), 360.9mm & 36.5% (Idukki), 251.7mm & 36.6% (The Nilgiris) and 274.2mm & 54.2% (Wayanad). The post monsoon (October-December) rain was maximum in Idukki 548.1mm (CV 27.9%) followed by The Nilgiris 503.4mm(CV 31.3%), Wayanad, 333.1mm(CV 37.8%) and Kodagu 310.5mm (CV 32.7%). In all these districts there was a declining trend in the pre-monsoon rain with maximum decline in The Nilgiris. Similar declining trend was also observed in post-monsoon rain except for The Nilgiris, where the trend has been increasing. Overall, the study gives an indication that there was a spatial and temporal variation in rainfall amounts.  The maximum decline in annual rainfall and the southwest monsoon was observed in The Nilgiris and Wayanad. July was the rainiest month in all the districts studied. Significant negative trend was asscoaited with The Nilgiris for January, May, June, July and August months. Whereas, in Kodagu, no significant trend was observed for mean monthly rainfall, except for August. In Idukki, significant negative changes were noticed for January, March, October and December rainfall. Monthly rainfall of January, March, April and July monthly rainfall were showed significant negative trend in Wayanad,. These negative trends across important plantation and spices producing districts of the Western Ghats would affect not only the agricultural economy of this sector but also water resources.


Surgical treatment of posterior heel pain caused by insertional (calcific) Achilles tendonitis or retrocalcaneal bursitis includes resection of diseased tendon or exostectomy. Currently, no guidelines exist to determine how much tendon may be excised without risking rupture of the Achilles tendon. Anatomic dissections revealed the average height of the insertion measured 19.8 mm (range, 13–25 mm). Average width at the proximal aspect of the insertion measured 23.8 mm (range, 17–30 mm) and distally measured 31.2 (range, 25–38 mm). To assess the risk of avulsion, the tendon insertion was partially released in 25% increments of its measured height or width by one of the four methods: (1) from superior to inferior, (2) from the central portion outward, (3) from medial to lateral, and (4) from lateral to medial. Repeated cyclic loading of body weight × 3 was applied, and, if the tendon remained intact, the next 25% increment was released. This process was repeated until failure occurred. Failure occurred in all specimens by an oblique intratendonous separation or shear between the intact portion remaining on the calcaneus and the resected fibers remaining in the clamp. Fibers inserting into the bone did not avulse. Superior-to-inferior resection was found to be superior to the other three methods with eight of nine specimens remaining intact after 75% resection. We therefore conclude that superior-to-inferior offers the greatest margin of safety when performing partial resections of the Achilles insertion, and as much as 50% of the tendon may be resected safely.


Purpose: Georgia remains fourth in the nation for new HIV cases. Young African American adults are responsible for 49% of the new cases in Georgia. The purpose of this project was to explore the effectiveness of a nurse led HIV prevention education program on increasing knowledge of HIV prevention and increasing the frequency of condom use among males between the ages of 18-30 years old in Clayton County, Georgia. Methods: This educational intervention was implemented in a primary care clinic. Data on knowledge and condom use as well as sexual health, sexual behavior, sexual communication, and perceptions of risk for HIV infection was collected.  Content from the CDC designated effective program, NIA, a small group-level intervention was used. A twenty-one item pretest was administered to participants. CDC approved fact sheets and electronic quizzes were also administered. Results: Thirty African American male participants were recruited. The mean age of each participant was 24 year old. Most participants reported completing at least one year of college. The project had a 50% response rate. Approximately 26% of African American men believed the highest form of HIV transmission came from saliva and 28% believed blood was the second highest form of HIV transmission. Participants believed feces, mucus and sweat were among the lowest forms of HIV transmission in this cohort. All participants believed condom use prevented transmission of HIV to partners. Conclusion: For the advanced practice nurse, incorporating HIV prevention education into routine visits, may facilitate HIV prevention behaviors in patients. HIV EDUCATION AND PREVENTION 3 Table of


The emergence of a second transmissible tumour in the Tasmanian devil population, devil facial tumour 2 (DFT2), has prompted questions on the origin and evolution of these transmissible tumours. We used a combination of cytogenetic mapping and telomere length measurements to predict the evolutionary trajectory of chromosome rearrangements in DFT2. Gene mapping by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) provided insight into the chromosome rearrangements in DFT2 and identified the evolution of two distinct DFT2 lineages. A comparison of devil facial tumour 1 (DFT1) and DFT2 chromosome rearrangements indicated that both started with the fusion of a chromosome, with potentially critically short telomeres, to chromosome 1 to form dicentric chromosomes. In DFT1, the dicentric chromosome resulted in breakage–fusion–bridge cycles leading to highly rearranged chromosomes. In contrast, the silencing of a centromere on the dicentric chromosome in DFT2 stabilized the chromosome, resulting in a less rearranged karyotype than DFT1. DFT2 retains a bimodal distribution of telomere length dimorphism observed on Tasmanian devil chromosomes, a feature lost in DFT1. Using long term cell culture, we observed homogenization of telomere length over time. We predict a similar homogenization of telomere lengths occurred in DFT1, and that DFT2 is unlikely to undergo further substantial rearrangements due to maintained telomere length.


In biology,a vaccine is a weakened strain of a virus or bacterium that is intentionally injected into the body for the purpose of stimulating antibody production.Inspired by this idea, we propose a packet vaccine mechanism that randomizes address-like strings in packet payloads to carry out fast exploit detection, vulnerability diagnosis and signature generation. An exploit with a randomized jump address behaves like a vaccine: it will likely cause an exception in a vulnerable program's process when attempting to hijack the control flow,and thereby expose itself. Taking that exploit as a template, our signature generator creates a set of new vaccines to probe the program, in an attempt to uncover the necessary conditions for the exploit to happen. A signature is built upon these conditions to shield the underlying vulnerability from further attacks. In this way, packet vaccine detects and fllters exploits in a black-box fashion,i.e., avoiding the expense of tracking the program's execution flow. We present the design of the packet vaccine mechanism and an example of its application. We also describe our proof-of-concept implementation and the evaluation of our technique using real exploits.


OBJECTIVE: Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (CRP) is a compre-hensive program developed specifically for the patients aims to improve functional exercise capacity, quality of life, and psychosocial status. This study aims to investigate the effect of CRP in retrospectively on patients who went through percutaneous coronary interference (PCI) with coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosis and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) history. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 38 patients with CAD diagnosis and 12 patients with CABG history who underwent through PCI were assessed retrospectively. CRP consists of 5 minutes of warm-up, 10 minutes of joint range of motion, a 15 minute-to-ne-up exercise for the greater muscle groups, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise through constant heart rate training program by using bicycle ergometer exercise and 5 minutes of cool-down exercise. A total of 30 sessions were applied. The demographic data of the patients were recorded. 6-minute-walk-test (6-MWT), Short Form- 36 (SF-36), and Beck depression inventory were used respectively to assess the functional exercise capacity, quality of life, and the level of depression of the patients for their before and after the rehabilitation process. RESULTS: Physical function (p<0.001), physical role (p=0.001), emotional role (p=0.01), pain (p=0.03), overall health (p=0.04) of life quality parameters, 6-MWT (p<0.001) and value of Beck depression inventory (p<0.001) showed significant improvement after the rehabilitation process of patients with CAD diagnosis. Furthermore, significant improvement was found in physical role difficulty and emotional role (p=0.001), which are from the quality of life parameters, and 6 MWT (p<0.001) and BDI (p<0.001) after rehabilitation in patients with CABG. CONCLUSIONS: The cardiopulmonary aerobic exercise program that is applied together with cycle ergometer exercise improves the functional exercise capacity and the life quality of the patients with CAD diagnosis and CABG history and helps bring down the depression level of the patients.


ABSTRACT One of the important virulence properties of the pathogen is its ability to travel to a favorable environment, cross the viscous mucus barrier (intestinal barrier for enteric pathogens), and reach the epithelia to initiate pathogenesis with the help of an appendage, like flagella. Nonetheless, flagella can act as an "Achilles heel," revealing the pathogen's presence to the host through the stimulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. We assessed whether curcumin, a dietary polyphenol, could alter the motility of Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen. It reduced the motility of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium by shortening the length of the flagellar filament (from ∼8 μm to ∼5 μm) and decreasing its density (4 or 5 flagella/bacterium instead of 8 or 9 flagella/bacterium). Upon curcumin treatment, the percentage of flagellated bacteria declined from ∼84% to 59%. However, no change was detected in the expression of the flagellin gene and protein. A fluorescence binding assay demonstrated binding of curcumin to the flagellar filament. This might make the filament fragile, breaking it into smaller fragments. Computational analysis predicted the binding of curcumin, its analogues, and its degraded products to a flagellin molecule at an interface between domains D1 and D2. Site-directed mutagenesis and a fluorescence binding assay confirmed the binding of curcumin to flagellin at residues ASN120, ASP123, ASN163, SER164, ASN173, and GLN175. IMPORTANCE This work, to our knowledge the first report of its kind, examines how curcumin targets flagellar density and affects the pathogenesis of bacteria. We found that curcumin does not affect any of the flagellar synthesis genes. Instead, it binds to the flagellum and makes it fragile. It increases the torsional stress on the flagellar filament that then breaks, leaving fewer flagella around the bacteria. Flagella, which are crucial ligands for Toll-like receptor 5, are some of the most important appendages of Salmonella. Curcumin is an important component of turmeric, which is a major spice used in Asian cooking. The loss of flagella can, in turn, change the pathogenesis of bacteria, making them more robust and fit in the host.


A key question in research on empathy is what interpersonal motivations might be activated by empathy. Does empathy promote only a concern with other's outcomes ("altruism"), as well as decreased concern with one's own outcomes ("selflessness"), or an increased concern with equality in outcomes ("egalitarianism")? These interpersonal motivations were assessed with a series of experimental games, and our manipulations of empathy paralleled earlier research on the empathy-altruism model. Participants received a (fictitious) note from another person outlining that he or she is coping with the anticipated loss of his or her father in conditions that emphasized taking the other's perspective or an objective perspective (high and low empathy), whereas another group of participants received no note (no empathy). Consistent with our hypotheses, results revealed that a concern with another's well-being (altruism) was greater in the two empathy conditions than in the no-empathy condition. Further, the authors observed no effect of empathy on selfishness or egalitarianism, two motivations that were substantially present independent of empathy. Thus, the findings suggest that empathy adds altruistic motivation to already existing selfish and egalitarian motivation.


Evaluation of diagnostic performance is critical in many fields including but not limited to diagnostic medicine. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve is the most widely used methodology for describing the intrinsic performance of diagnostic tests, with the area under the curve (AUC) being the most commonly used summary index of overall performance. The partial area under the ROC curve (pAUC), when focused on the range of practical/clinical relevance, is considered a more relevant summary index than the full AUC. However, several conceptual and analytical difficulties frequently prevent the pAUC from being used. First, in many diagnostic setting the relevant range is difficult to determine objectively. Second, in theory, due to potential use of less information, analysis based on the pAUC could lead to the loss of statistical precision and therefore would require larger sample sizes. Through mathematical derivation, extensive simulation studies and practical examples, this work investigates statistical properties when using the pAUC. First, this work demonstrates that in many practical scenarios inferences based on pAUC could be more powerful than inferences based on the full AUC. Thus, the use of the pAUC may lead to not only more clinically relevant but also more conclusive results in analyses of experimental data. Second, this investigation demonstrates that the advantages of pAUC-based inferences depend on the shape of ROC curves. The conventional binormal model does not always adequately describe scenarios where the pAUC is more statistically efficient. The bi-gamma family of concave ROC curves is shown to describe practically reasonable scenarios where either pAUC or full AUC could be advantageous. Programs for sample size estimation based on bi-gamma model are then developed. Finally, this work investigates the properties of pAUC-based inferences in scenarios where diagnostic results have substantial ties (or a "mass") at the lowest diagnostic results. For certain type of the ROC curves the existence of ties could lead to an increase in statistical efficiency. Forcing a diagnostic system to resolve ties could detrimentally affect reliability and conclusiveness of statistical inferences. In conclusion, this work provides investigators with insights into and tools for generating practically relevant conclusions using pAUC. The public health importance of this work stems from the relevance of the ROC analysis at different stages of development and regulatory approval of diagnostic systems in medicine. Enhanced methodology for evaluation of diagnostic accuracy helps in the development of improved diagnostic systems and could accelerate the delivery and clinical adoption of truly beneficial diagnostic technologies and/or clinical practices.


In the 1990s, the idea of xenotransplantation (i.e., the transplantation of bodily tissue across species boundaries) was largely considered an unprecedented threat to both the individual body and human identity itself. Given that this technique was used since the late nineteenth century to cure a wide variety of ailments, interpreting xenotransplantation as an unparalleled violation of the species order turns out to be inconsistent, however. I therefore argue that the sense of violation outlined above is not the result of a radically new technique, but stems from the transformation of the concept of bodily as well as species integrity. Against the backdrop of the evolution of cybernetics, I compare the practices and paradigms of xenotransplantation in the interwar period to those of the millennial period. I demonstrate that in the field of xenotransplantation, the concept of both body and species shifted from stable structures such as hierarchy, division of labour, and localisation to precarious ones such as potentiality, dispersion, networks, and ambiguity. Mankind, having instrumentalized the animal kingdom throughout modernity, increasingly views itself since the end of the twentieth century as a part of a complex arrangement in which nature and culture, body and mind, man and animal are intricately fused.


The Design and Technology National Curriculum has been in place for an academic year. Having tackled familiar subjects, teachers are now looking at how they present contexts unfamiliar to pupils and themselves. The requirement to look at Design and Technology from 'other cultures' (Global Contexts) provides a particular challenge. The Education Office of the international development charity Intermediate Technology has, during the last three years, been working closely with teachers on the development of strategies to present such contexts. The schools involved have included Primary, Middle and Secondary as well as those in the state and independent sectors. The work has proved interesting and highly motivating for pupils and teachers alike.


In patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE), metaplastic columnar mucosa, containing epithelial cells with gastric and intestinal features, replaces esophageal squamous mucosa damaged by gastroesophageal reflux disease. This condition is estimated to affect 5.6% of adults in the United States, and is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Despite the prevalence and importance of BE, its pathogenesis is incompletely understood and there are disagreements over the cells of origin. We review mechanisms of BE pathogenesis, including transdifferentiation and transcommitment, and discuss potential cells of origin including basal cells of the squamous epithelium, cells of esophageal submucosal glands and their ducts, cells of the proximal stomach, and specialized populations of cells at the esophago-gastric junction (residual embryonic cells and transitional basal cells). We discuss the concept of metaplasia as a wound-healing response, and how cardiac mucosa might be the precursor of the intestinal metaplasia of BE. Finally, we discuss shortcomings in current diagnostic criteria for BE that have important clinical implications.


Abstract Stakeholder participation is an increasingly popular ingredient within environmental management and decision-making. While much has been written about its purported benefits, a question that has been largely neglected is whether decision-making informed through stakeholder participation is actually likely to yield decisions that are morally justified in their own right. Using moral methodology as a starting point, we argue that stakeholder participation in environmental decision-making (if adequately designed) may indeed be an appropriate means to produce morally justified decisions, the reason being that such participation may constitute an efficient way to satisfy the standard requirements on moral reasoning and moral justification. This finding also emphasizes the importance of identifying those settings most conducive to allowing different stakeholders to both challenge each other's arguments and to adopt each other's perspectives in order to make effective use of participation in environmental decision-making for the purpose of reaching morally justified decisions.


Background & Aims Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance and seroconversion are regarded as favorable outcomes of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This study aimed to develop artificial neural networks (ANNs) that could accurately predict HBsAg seroclearance or seroconversion on the basis of available serum variables. Methods Data from 203 untreated, HBeAg-negative CHB patients with spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance (63 with HBsAg seroconversion), and 203 age- and sex-matched HBeAg-negative controls were analyzed. ANNs and logistic regression models (LRMs) were built and tested according to HBsAg seroclearance and seroconversion. Predictive accuracy was assessed with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results Serum quantitative HBsAg (qHBsAg) and HBV DNA levels, qHBsAg and HBV DNA reduction were related to HBsAg seroclearance (P<0.001) and were used for ANN/LRM-HBsAg seroclearance building, whereas, qHBsAg reduction was not associated with ANN-HBsAg seroconversion (P = 0.197) and LRM-HBsAg seroconversion was solely based on qHBsAg (P = 0.01). For HBsAg seroclearance, AUROCs of ANN were 0.96, 0.93 and 0.95 for the training, testing and genotype B subgroups respectively. They were significantly higher than those of LRM, qHBsAg and HBV DNA (all P<0.05). Although the performance of ANN-HBsAg seroconversion (AUROC 0.757) was inferior to that for HBsAg seroclearance, it tended to be better than those of LRM, qHBsAg and HBV DNA. Conclusions ANN identifies spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance in HBeAg-negative CHB patients with better accuracy, on the basis of easily available serum data. More useful predictors for HBsAg seroconversion are still needed to be explored in the future.