Group IVA elements (Si, Ge and Sn) are promising candidates for the anode materials of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to their large theoretical specific capacities. However, serious problems of pulverization and capacity degradation resulted from the huge volume changes during charge/discharge operations hindered their successful applications as the anode materials in the LIBs. In this work, diffusion behaviors of Li ions in Si(100) and Si(111) slabs with a piezoelectric field applied perpendicularly to the surfaces were investigated using density functional theory. Results showed that the diffusivity of the Li in Si can be significantly enhanced by applying the electric field generated from the piezoelectric material. This finding can explain well the recent experimental observations in which improved electrochemical performance was obtained using Si/carbon nanotube/BaTiO3 as the anode for the LIBs. New generation of anode composite materials can be designed based on this idea and the piezoelectric material is used not only to accommodate the volume variation of active materials of Si, but also to enhance the charging rate of the LIBs.


Background
The provision of high quality medical and surgical care is predicated by high quality education and training. This enables staff to respond more effectively and flexibly and is crucial when considering the various factors impacting upon the delivery of patient care. The development and training of all healthcare students and staff is an important factor in ensuring patient safety and self satisfaction, and relies on understanding the needs of learners as well as the way in which they learn. This fundamental training and education is no less pertinent in the perioperative environment, where high impact interventions are performed by Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs), and where patient safety and the quality of care must be paramount. This is due to the often difficult and potentially dangerous surgical and anaesthetic interventions on elective, unscheduled or critically ill patients.

Aim
The aim of this programme of research was to investigate the effectiveness of 'traditional' lecture/placement provision in ODP education, resulting in the implementation and evaluation of a revised curriculum that integrates simulation based teaching and learning for this group of allied health professionals at the University of Portsmouth.

Methods
This programme of research used a mixed methods QUAL + quant approach on multiple purposive and convenient samples of ODP students and placement education managers. Drawing on phenomenographic methodology, the interpretivist studies used semi-structured interviews and focus groups to investigate the understanding and perceptions of learning from those with relevant lived experiences. Furthermore, a positivist study was conducted to analyse and further understand the effectiveness of different teaching methods. The results from these studies informed a revision of the traditional ODP curriculum, based upon a nursing conceptual framework that included the integration of simulation-based learning.

Results
A total of five studies were conducted, beginning with individual semi-structured interviews with 12, second year ODP students investigating perceived enablers and barriers to traditional learning using lectures in University and placement learning in the hospital environment. Study Two continued with a positivist study on a cohort of first year ODP students, which investigated the effectiveness of three types of teaching. The results of these first two studies informed a revision of the traditional ODP curriculum to integrate simulation-based learning. The revised curriculum was subsequently evaluated using focus group interviews and follow up interviews, with 30 first year ODP students. Finally, a focus group interview with 12 clinical educators that are responsible for the clinical placement learning for ODPs was conducted to gather their perceptions of the revised curriculum, and the clinical performance of the students. This led to the development of a conceptual framework to inform the integration of simulation-based learning into future ODP courses.

Conclusions
The results of this research demonstrate that simulation-based learning for this professional group of ODP learners showed an encouraging trend in its effectiveness compared to other teaching methods. The revised curriculum encouraged higher order learning and mitigated to some extent the challenges faced by the NHS and placement educators. In addition, revising the ODP curriculum was evaluated positively by participants and clinical educators and tackled challenges such as inequity of learning opportunity and exposure to a diverse range of patient groups, that learners often face when undertaking learning on clinical placement. The conceptual framework designed to inform the curriculum identified specific areas for consideration when integrating simulation-based education into the ODP curriculum. However, further development and comparison of the conceptual framework reported here and a larger cross-university sample is needed to confirm its reliability and validity.


Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous cancer of neuroendocrine cell origin that occurs frequently on the head and neck. With a high incidence of local recurrence and regional and distant metastasis, it carries a poor prognosis. We performed a retrospective study to determine the prognostic implications of parotid gland metastasis in MCC of the head and neck. Our study population was made up of 14 patients-13 men and 1 woman, aged 62 to 87 years (mean: 75.9)-who underwent a parotidectomy for the diagnosis of MCC over a period of 10 years and 9 months. Ten patients had a primary skin lesion of the head and neck and 4 presented with a parotid mass and an unknown primary. In all, 13 of the 14 patients were found to have parotid involvement-either a direct extension of MCC into the gland or a positive intraparotid lymph node; some patients had both. All patients underwent tumor excision, and 10 underwent neck dissection. Eleven patients received adjuvant radiotherapy; none received adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the 10 patients who underwent a neck dissection, 6 were found to have a cervical lymph node metastasis on pathologic examination. Follow-up ranged from 1.3 to 39.2 months (mean: 12.4). Three patients were lost to follow-up shortly after surgery, although some information was available on 2 of them. At the final follow-up, mortality data were available on 12 patients; of these, 11 had died. The lone survivor was the patient without a parotid metastasis. Among those known to have died, survival ranged from 1.6 to 49.2 months (mean: 16.0). We conclude that parotid metastasis in patients with MCC of the head and neck is associated with a dismal survival rate that is even worse than the poor survival associated with cervical node involvement.


Through a Raman analysis, we detected polymorphism at high pressure on mixtures of α-GeO2 microcrystalline powder and water under impact experiments with a single-stage gas gun. The Raman measurements taken from recovered samples show two vibrational modes associated with water-related species. After the impact, the size of the α-GeO2 crystallites was approximately 10 times higher showing molten zones and a lot of porous faces. Raman examination showed some unknown peaks possibly associated with other GeO2 polymorphs detected by X-ray diffraction experiments and perhaps stabilized in the porous of the α-GeO2 crystallites.


Phase noise is one of the most restricted specifications in oscillators, especially ring oscillators. Phase noise will exhibit large fluctuations around its nominal value due to the increased process variation with technology scaling. These fluctuations will cause some fabricated ring oscillators not to meet the phase noise constraint and, hence, result in yield loss. This yield loss is expected to become worse especially for sub-90-nm technology nodes. In this paper, an analytical model for the phase noise variability in ring oscillators is proposed. The proposed model has been verified using Monte Carlo SPICE simulations for an industrial 65-nm CMOS technology and is found in good agreement. The model shows that for the commonly used differential-pair-based ring oscillators, the main contribution in phase noise variability comes from the differential pair tail transistor. It also shows that the phase noise variability is reduced as the supply voltage increases. These results can be used to mitigate the phase noise variability and improve the yield through proper sizing of the tail transistor or higher supply voltage.


High pressure valve always takes several dozens to several hundreds MPa pressure and which was difficulty to form because of its complex internal structure. In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulation was carried out to investigate metal flow behavior during the three-way valve extrusion process. The block shape materials were formed to shell shape three-way components by the level and vertical direction uniform temperature simultaneous extrusion. The simulation results show that the metal flows were influenced by both loading sequence and time of the moving die of two directions. The loading process worked out through dynamic simulation can guide the actual processing.


Black Sigatoka is the main constraint to banana production worldwide, and epidemic outbreaks are continuously causing huge losses. Successful management of diseases requires a profound knowledge of the epidemiological factors that influence disease dynamics. Information regarding alternative hosts of Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the causal agent, is still very scarce. To date, only Heliconia psittacorum has been reported as an alternative plant host, and we hypothesized that other plants can house P. fijiensis. In the present report, ten plant species with suspicious leaf spots were collected inside and around commercial banana crops in Mexico. Diagnostic PCR gave positive amplification for six of these plant species, and DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of the pathogen in four. This is the first report of the presence of P. fijiensis in unrelated plants and it represents a breakthrough in the current knowledge of black Sigatoka. This finding is very important given the polycyclic nature of this disease whose successful management requires the control of initial inoculum to minimize epidemic outbreaks. The results presented herein can be used to introduce innovations in integrated black Sigatoka management programs to reduce initial inoculum, and help the international initiative to reduce the use of fungicides in banana production.


Refrigerator and air conditioners are the most energy consuming home appliances and for this reason many researchers had performed work to enhance performance of the refrigeration systems. Most of the research work done so far deals with an objective of low energy consumption and refrigeration effect enhancement. Thermoelectric refrigeration is one of the techniques used for producing refrigeration effect. Thermoelectric devices are developed based on Peltier and Seeback effect which has experienced a major advances and developments in recent years. The coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric refrigeration is less when it is used alone, hence thermoelectric refrigeration is often used with other methods of refrigeration. This paper presents a review of some work been done on the thermoelectric refrigeration over the years. Some of the research and development work carried out by different researchers on TER system has been thoroughly reviewed in this paper. The study envelopes the various applications of TER system and development of devices. This paper summarizes the advancement in thermoelectric refrigeration, thermoelectric materials, design methodologies, application in domestic appliances and performance enhancement techniques based on the literature.


In this paper, we consider IEEE 802.15.4 based wireless body area sensor networks(WBASN) in the healthcare environment. Connectivity is a critical constraint in the healthcare environment. In particular, disconnection from a sensor hub is a significant problem that leads to sensor node orphaning. To address this, we propose to use a sub hub designed to enhance WBASN connectivity. The sub hub understudies the original (main) sensor hub and acts to resolve the problems associated with disconnection. We also propose two protocols for use in operating the sub hub. Each protocol prevents the sensor nodes from being orphaned, and forwards data from the sensor nodes to the original sensor hub. In addition, we evaluate the connectivity performance of our proposed protocols and analyze the disconnection tolerance and the number of packet drops. To demonstrate the performances of the proposed protocols, we developed an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant system level simulator with an OPNET Modeler. Simulation results show the individual merits and the demerits of each of the protocols in terms of connectivity. In addition, the energy efficiency of our proposed protocol is evaluated.


MI NIZOO database is structured within the standard software package SIRv2 (= Scientific Information Retrieval version 2). This flexible program is installed on the university mainframe (a CYBER 180). The program dBASE II employed on a microcomputer (MICROSOL), can be used for part of data entry and for analysis of smaller sections of data. MINIZOO in SIRv2 is a hierarchical data management system. It is also case oriented. By defining a one case database the possibility is obtained to decode (for retrieval and data entry purposes) the data within the software package. The general purpose of the project MINIZOO is to determine, explain and predict the porulation size of animal skin parasites and other animal organisms damaging vertebrate skin in the BENELUX. The skin is one of the vertebrate organs mostly exposed to the environment and the (smaller) organisms inhabiting it. In dermatological science the infliction parasitic papular urticaria (= pruriso simplex parasitaria) is attributed to a number of these smaller organisms. To incorporate the study of this infliction, host reaction and parasitope are included in the database. MINIZOO will provide a zoogeographical and phenological basis for prevention. therapy and scientific study of this group of skin ailments. Data are accepted from different sources fieldbiologists, parasitologists, dermatologists, veterinarians, amateur biologists, museum collections and the literature. The project could be considered as an offshoot from EIS-Nederland (Leiden) and CIE-Belgique (Gembloux). Conversions among formats of different databases of biological field data are possible with the database MINICON (also prepared in SIRv2). Investigators perform their own data entry and make their own biological or medical retrieval procedures. In addition data are retrieved to inform dermatologists and family doctor as to the common sources of skin trouble to be expected in their region in a given season and biotope. MINIZOO is not fully operational as yet.


Muhamad Solukhi. 14111320116. The Effectiveness of Teaching Reduced Forms on
Students' Listening Ability in Identifying Connected Speech.
Listening comprehension is usually considered as one of the most difficult language
skills to EFL learners due to the unavoidable presence of "reduced forms" in authentic
speech. Students are confusing with connected speech forms that always happen in
listening, due to the rate of delivery by authentic audio (native speaker). Students are
always trapped by different hearing with real text. So, this research was an attempt to
investigate the effect of explicit "reduced forms teaching" instruction on Senior High
School learners' overall listening ability in identifying connected speech.
This research used quantitative approach with experimental method, especially used
quasi experiment. The population took in MAN Cirebon 1 and as the sample are students of
science 3 and 4 of first grade. The technique of collecting data used testing (pre-test and
post-test) for knowing the students' ability before and after treatment conducted. The entire
data (from testing) were parsed in descriptive statistic and SPSS vol.16 helps to count the
elements of pre-test and post-test result before the hypothesis is accepted.
The testing that conducted before treatment result of experiment class that the sum is
1568 and mean is 52,3 then for standard deviation is 11,735. And for the result of control
class pretest that sum is 1638, and mean is 54,6 then standard deviation is 15,956.
Furthermore, the testing result after treatment of experiment class that sum is 2048, and
mean is 68,3 than standard deviation 13,331. And for control class that mean is 18,7 and
mean is 60,2 then standard deviation is 15,956. From the result of t-test is 0,158 is higher
than 0,005.
Furthermore, the both data from experiment and control class approve the
effectiveness of reduced forms teaching, by looking at the last data comparing between
post-test score of experiment class and control class (t-test result). Experimental is higher
than control class in ability of identifying connected speech than it supported by the
hypothesis is accepted. Finally, reduced forms teaching is effective for increasing students'
listening ability in identifying connected speech.
Keywords: connected speech, methodology, research finding, effectiveness


We have found that Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RSM) plays a protective role in ischemic brain injury, which attracted us to investigate the effect of RSM on apoptosis of neurons during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. The apoptotic cells in ischemic brains at different reperfusion intervals were tested with the method of TdT-mediated dUTP-DIG nick end labeling (TUNEL), and the effect of RSM on the apoptosis of neurons was studied in left middle cerebral artery (LMCA) occlusion in rat models (n = 18). The results showed that few scattered apoptotic cells were observed in right cerebral hemisphere after LMCA occlusion and reperfusion, and that a lot of apoptotic cells were found in left ischemic cerebral cortex and caudoputamen at 12 h reperfusion, and they reached peak at 24-48 h reperfusion. However, in rats pretreated with RSM, the number of apoptotic cells in left cortex and caudoputamen reduced significantly and the neuronal damage was much milder at 24 h reperfusion as compared with those of saline-treated rats. From this study, we conclude that administration of RSM can reduce the apoptotic of neurons induced by cerebral ischemia and reperfusion and afford significant cerebroprotection in the model of focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.


OBJECTIVES--To determine whether among people aged 65 and over those who died at advanced old age spent more of their last year of life in hospital than those who died younger, and whether the increase in longevity in the elderly between 1976 and 1985 was accompanied by increased time spent in hospital in the last year of life. DESIGN--Linkage of death records to abstracts of records of hospital inpatient care in the preceding year of patients' lives. SETTING--Six health districts in England covered by the Oxford record linkage study. RESULTS--People who died at advanced ages (85 and over) were less likely than people who died at younger ages (65-84) to have been admitted to hospital in the last year of life. Once admitted the very old tended to spend longer in hospital than others. The mean total time spent in hospital by the elderly in the year before death (based on all deaths including those among people not admitted at all) showed no appreciable change over time. The median time in hospital based on all deaths increased by about three days between 1976 and 1985. During that time there was a gain in life expectancy in the population of about one year from the age of 65. CONCLUSION--The gain in life expectancy in this population was not at the expense of any substantial increase in time spent in hospital in the final year of life.


Gender disparities in small and medium-size enterprise lending exist around the world and impede the growth of millions of women-led firms. This paper examines a potential driver of these disparities: gender-biased loan officers. Officer bias is measured through a novel loan application experiment conducted with 77 loan officers in Turkish banks. The analysis finds that 35 percent of the loan officers are biased against female applicants, with women receiving loan amounts $14,000 lower on average compared with men. Experience in the banking sector can attenuate this bias, with each year of experience reducing gender biased loan allocations by 6 percent. The results suggest that loan officers may use gender bias as a heuristic device given limited information and risk aversion. Helping newly recruited and lesser experienced loan officers to better discern loan application quality may thus improve financing of business loans to women and reduce gender gaps in entrepreneurship.


Up to now, surveillance applications provided by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems have been separated from core Building Automation Systems (BAS). The main reason is that technologies typically used in the field area of BAS provide limited network bandwidth. With the introduction of smart cameras, advanced image and on-the-spot pattern recognition become possible. As a result, it is no longer required to transmit a continuous video stream, since it is sufficient to inform client(s) only in case a suspicious event has happened. Since a simple notification (e.g., an alarm signal or a snapshot of the detected event) needs less network bandwidth, an integration into an existing BAS becomes feasible. Still, current BAS technologies do not provide native support for CCTV applications. For this reason, this paper presents an extension to the ZigBee Home Automation Profile. The feasibility of the proposed concept is underlined by a proof-of-concept implementation.


presenting the first edition of "GMSOphthalmology Cases – An Open Access Journal" (GMS OC) we take the opportunity to reflect on whether it is worthwhile to found yet another case report journal. As for GMS OCOA, it is the open access quality of publishing that is original and pertinent to case reporting. Compared to subscription journals case reports published via "open access" achieve a wider reach, because they are more likely to be located and because they are downloaded more frequently. In subscription journals case reports are usually difficult to publish. Most editors give citation impact priority. Nevertheless, the educational nature of case reports means an important reference library to clinicians and researchers alike. For that reason GMS OC is dedicated to case reports but refined by the feature of barrier-free access. The full text version is readable and downloadable free of charge, including images and even videos. The latter may be especially helpful to illustrate surgical interventions. There is no copyright transfer from the author to the publisher! Costs are an important barrier amongst authors and readers of case reports alike. We are in a situation to avoid publishing fees altogether, at least within the first year of opening. Thereafter a moderate fee will be claimed. The publisher, German Medical Science, exponent and part of the "German National Library of Medicine", is a non-profit organization, dedicated to distribute research results of themedical science worldwide (see: http://www.egms.de/en/terms.htm). Highly secure servers of "German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI)", guarantee a sustained access and referencing of papers and data. GMS OC will be screened by MEDLINE and will collect impact factor credits. A case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence (Wikipedia). Educational case reports provide a brief review of the literature, while the case used to frame the experience may not be new. Far from a "second-class" publication, many original observations are first presented as case reports. Christiaan Barnard, for example, published his first heart transplant as a case report [1]. While case reports are a valuable contribution to the literature, they have certain limitations: Patients may introduce a variety of confounding factors into their lives that may affect the patient's response to care. One may hypothesize patient response, but it can only be tested during experimental trials. May this journal be a platform helping to diagnose, to treat, to comprehend. We look forward to your contributions!


Stool DNA testing has emerged as a sensitive, noninvasive option for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. A multi-target stool DNA test (MT-sDNA) has recently become available in the U.S. as the first FDA-approved molecular-based cancer screening test ("Cologuard" (Exact Sciences)). It is also approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and is incorporated into new screening guidelines by ACS, USPSTF, NCCN, and various other societies. Stool DNA tests target signature genetic and/or epigenetic markers that continuously exfoliate from CRC and its precursors. In early comparison studies (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012;10:272), stool assay of exfoliated molecular markers proved to be more sensitive than DNA testing on paired plasma for detection of colorectal neoplasia, and differences were most striking with early stage CRC and precancers. Such findings suggest that the mechanism of luminal exfoliation into stool may provide a biological advantage in early detection as it appears to occur sooner in the oncologic cascade than does vascular invasion into the circulation. Average-Risk CRC Screening: The performance of the optimized MT-sDNA test (which assays a panel of 2 methylated genes, mutant KRAS, and hemoglobin) has been evaluated in multiple clinical studies. Case-control studies showed that CRC and precancers at greatest risk for progression could be detected with high sensitivity, that detection was unaffected by tumor stage or site within the colon, and that sensitivity for polyps increased in proportion to lesion size (Gastroenterology 2012;142:248, Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2013;11:1313). In subsequent cross-sectional validation studies from the screening setting (NEJM 2014; 370:1287, Mayo Clin Proc 2016;91:61), MT-sDNA achieved sensitivities for CRC of 92-100% at specificities (based on a denominator of patients with normal colonoscopy) of 90-93%; sensitivities for adenomatous or serrated polyps >1cm, >2cm, and >3cm were respectively 42-43%, 60-66%, and 67-82%. Neoplasm detection by MT-sDNA was significantly higher than by fecal blood testing in these studies. Cumulative or "program" performance of MT-sDNA has been modeled. At the recommended testing frequency of every 3 years, MT-sDNA exhibits a higher benefit-to-risk ratio than the other endorsed CRC screening approaches and generates the fewest number of colonoscopies (i.e., highest program specificity) over a screening lifetime (JAMA 2016;315:2564). Furthermore, because polyps are slow-growing, it has been estimated that the program sensitivity of MT-sDNA for a cohort of advanced adenomas may exceed 90% by the 2nd or 3rd screening rounds (Dig Dis Sci 2015;60:623). Thus, over a lifetime of screening, regular use of MT-sDNA every 3 years has the potential to compare favorably with colonoscopy performed every 10 years in the detection of both CRC and those polyps at greatest risk for progression. In the screening setting, effective neoplasm detection is based not only on test sensitivity but on patient compliance and test access as well. The user-friendly features of MT-sDNA have potential to enhance screening participation rates, and these include noninvasiveness, operator-independence, and avoidance of bowel preparation and diet/medication restrictions. Furthermore, unlike with colonoscopy which requires an average of two missed work days, MT-sDNA can be done from home with no missed work and access by mail is virtually unlimited. Early outcomes with MT-sDNA indicate that >40% of patients tested had not undergone CRC screening previously (based on questionnaire reports to Exact Sciences from first 100,000 test users). Further studies are needed to determine the uptake of this new test and its impact on CRC screening participation and long-term outcomes. Dysplasia Surveillance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Patients with IBD are at increased risk for CRC. Although IBD patients are currently advised to undergo surveillance colonoscopy annually or every 2 years, only half comply with this rigorous regime. Complementary approaches are needed. In early case-control studies (APT 2013;37:546, Gastroenterology 2016;150:S48), stool DNA testing targeting a panel of informative methylated gene markers detected 90-100% of CRC and high grade dysplasia in IBD patients using colonoscopy and surgery as reference standards. Modeling suggests that stool DNA testing every 1-2 years followed by chromo-endoscopy if positive is more cost-effective than either chromo-endoscopy or white-light colonoscopy alone (Kisiel et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol (in press)). A multi-center study of stool DNA for IBD surveillance is underway. Extending Detection to Upper GI Neoplasms: Together, upper GI cancers account for roughly twice as many deaths as CRC does. Yet, they remain largely unscreened due, in part, to relatively lower single site prevalence and lack of cost-effective screening tools. Since all mucosal-based GI neoplasms exfoliate contents into a common excretory conduit, molecular stool testing allows the re-imagination of the GI tract as a single screen-able organ. Perceived in this way, it is the aggregate prevalence that counts and the value of a single screening intervention could theoretically be extended beyond the colon. While preliminary data suggest that tumors at all GI tract sites can be detected by stool DNA testing (Gastroenterology 2009; 136:2068), much technical optimization and substantial clinical testing are required to evaluate the feasibility and practicality of this intriguing approach. In summary, stool DNA testing has potential to favorably affect detection accuracy, patient compliance, and access with general CRC screening. Early data suggest that this approach may have value as a complement to colonoscopy in the surveillance of IBD. And, potential future applications of stool DNA testing could include universal GI cancer screening. Citation Format: David A. Ahlquist. Stool DNA detection of colorectal neoplasia. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Colorectal Cancer: From Initiation to Outcomes; 2016 Sep 17-20; Tampa, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(3 Suppl):Abstract nr IA13.


Vigor tests are important tools for verifying the physiological potential of seed lots; however, various aspects can interfere in the consistency of the test results. The search for less subjective procedures has drawn the interest of researchers. The aim of this study was to adapt the methodology of the controlled deterioration test and verify the efficiency of the Seed Vigor Imaging System (SVIS®) to evaluate the vigor of crambe seeds. Initially, seed moisture content was determined and germination and vigor were evaluated in five seed lots. For the controlled deterioration test, the seed moisture content was adjusted to 18%, 20%, and 22%, and the results were interpreted at four and five days after sowing. The controlled deterioration test should be performed with initial adjustment of seed moisture content to 18%, and the germination test should be evaluated on the fifth day after sowing. SVIS® provided information on the vigor index and the length and uniformity of seedling development. Computerized image analysis is effective in evaluating the vigor of crambe seeds, and the uniformity of seedling development parameter offers the most consistent data.


Mixtures of phenols/ketones and urea show eutectic behavior upon gentle heating. These mixtures possess liquid-crystalline-like phases that can be processed. The architecture of phenol/ketone acts as structure-donating motif, while urea serves as melting-point reduction agent. Condensation at elevated temperatures results in nitrogen-containing carbons with remarkably high nitrogen content of mainly pyrazinic nature.


At this writing, the new Medicare capital payment policy has not been set but the Reagan Administration and Congress clearly are committed to ending the current system, under which Medicare pays its share of capital costs without limits. This article summarizes the current debate, the proposals under discussion, and the possible courses of action.


Physicians who provide care for mentally disabled patients are often confronted with perplexing decisions involving sexuality, contraception and marriage. In the face of uncertainty, the physician may take the path of least resistance, which may not be the best solution for the patient. For example, it is not widely known that marriages among mentally retarded individuals can provide stability and considerable satisfaction.


Objectives To characterize sleep and circadian rhythms of a sample population of healthy, dog-owning adults from North Carolina, USA. Methods Actigraphy was used to analyze sleep-wake patterns in forty-two dog owners from the Raleigh area in North Carolina. Sleep quotas, including sleep duration, efficiency, and fragmentation were measured alongside a Non-parametric Circadian Rhythms Analysis (NPCRA) to quantify strength, consistency, and fragmentation of rhythms. Results Compared to females, males demonstrated later sleep onset and sleep end (p<0.01), greater wake after sleep onset and sleep fragmentation (P<0.001), and lower sleep efficiency (p<0.001). The NPCRA revealed comparable relative amplitude (strength) and interdaily stability (consistency), yet less intra-daily variability (fragmentation), than previously reported post-industrial samples. Conclusions This study adds to the current data available on sleep and circadian rhythms in discrete human populations and highlights the need for more research characterizing cross-cultural sleep and circadian rhythmicity.


The presence of pore water in mixtures can cause premature failure of hot-mix asphalt pavements. The processes typically associated with moisture damage are complex and occur over a long period of time in the field. Short of being able to simulate each of the possible mechanisms of moisture damage directly, the ideal laboratory-based conditioning system should accelerate the penetration of moisture through the asphalt film and at the same time minimize complicating effects. This paper presents the results of an experiment conducted to determine whether it was possible to use cyclic pore pressures to induce enough damage to distinguish between mixtures known to be highly resistant from mixtures known to be susceptible to moisture damage. Experimental constraints included requirements that conditioning be accomplished within a reasonable length of time and that typical laboratory equipment be used. Evaluation of the resulting effects of moisture damage included the use of the Superpave® indirect tension test and the energy ratio parameter. Findings show that cyclic pore pressures can be used to accelerate moisture damage enough to distinguish between mixtures known to be strippers and those known to be highly resistant to moisture damage. The use of cyclic pore pressures to accelerate moisture damage in mixtures may minimize the introduction of other confounding damage effects on the mixtures.


LIRIC (Lidar‐Radiometer Inversion Code) is applied to combined lidar and Sun photometer data from Granada station corresponding to different case studies. The main aim of this analysis is to evaluate the stability of LIRIC output volume concentration profiles for different aerosol types, loadings, and vertical distributions of the atmospheric aerosols. For this purpose, in a first part, three case studies corresponding to different atmospheric situations are analyzed to study the influence of the user‐defined input parameters in LIRIC when varied in a reasonable range. Results evidence the capabilities of LIRIC to retrieve vertical profiles of microphysical properties during daytime by the combination of the lidar and the Sun photometer systems in an automatic and self‐consistent way. However, spurious values may be obtained in the lidar incomplete overlap region depending on the structure of the aerosol layers. In a second part, the use of a second Sun photometer located in Cerro Poyos, in the same atmospheric column as Granada but at higher altitude, allowed us to obtain LIRIC retrievals from two different altitudes with independent Sun photometer measurements in order to check the self‐consistency and robustness of the method. Retrievals at both levels are compared, providing a very good agreement (differences below 5 µm3/cm3) in those cases with the same aerosol type in the whole atmospheric column. However, some assumptions such as the height independency of parameters (sphericity, size distribution, or refractive index, among others) need to be carefully reviewed for those cases with the presence of aerosol layers corresponding to different types of atmospheric aerosols.


In this paper, we consider a subclass of the Maiorana-McFarland class used in the design of resilient nonlinear Boolean functions. We show that these functions allow a simple modification so that resilient Boolean functions of maximum algebraic degree may be generated instead of suboptimized degree in the original class. Preserving a high-nonlinearity value immanent to the original construction method, together with the degree optimization gives in many cases functions with cryptographic properties superior to all previously known construction methods. This approach is then used to increase the algebraic degree of functions in the extended Maiorana-McFarland (MM) class (nonlinear resilient functions F:GF(2)n |rarrGF(2)m derived from linear codes). We also show that in the Boolean case, the same subclass seems not to have an optimized algebraic immunity, hence not providing a maximum resistance against algebraic attacks. A theoretical analysis of the algebraic properties of extended Maiorana-McFarland class indicates that this class of functions should be avoided as a filtering function in nonlinear combining generators


This chapter concentrates in the computation of rate constants of elementary chemical reactions with accurate quantum wave packet theories, with special focus on the derivation of the rate constant for nonadiabatic reactive systems from our recently developed nonadiabatic quantum wave packet theories and related computational codes, in parallel with some progresses in electronic structure theory and computational capacity. In nonadiabatic chemical reactions, the strong interaction among multiple electronic states leads to a breakdown of the Born–Oppenheimer approximation in describing quantum reaction dynamics and electronically nonadiabatic transitions contribute to the underlying mechanism. Our developed nonadiabatic wave packet theories can treat the electron-nuclei coupled motion dynamics arising from strong nonadiabatic couplings well, providing an efficient computational tool with which to obtain accurate rate coefficients for nonadiabatic chemical reaction. Illustrations of the quantum wave packet theories, particularly the nonadiabatic ones, in predicting rate constants for tri-atomic, tetra-atomic and polyatomic reactions are shown, in conjunction with our efforts on developing a tetra-atomic diabatic potential matrix. Comparisons are also made to existing experimental and calculation data. This has provided much more information on rate constants and improved our understanding of the adiabatic quantum reaction dynamics and the nonadiabatic quantum reaction dynamics that are quite beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.


Abstract Recent research into the use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) in fitness and strength training environments have revealed great variance in users' approach to AAS use and more specifically their approach to health risks and desired objectives. However, there have only been few attempts to develop theoretical frameworks directed at conceptualising the variance in AAS use. In this paper, we propose a unified framework in the form of a typology, which concerns men's general approach to AAS use. The typology is based on sociologist Max Weber's method on the ideal typology. The work comes out of the authors' own qualitative empirical research on male AAS users in fitness and strength training environments, but is also related to and draws on the international literature on the subject. The suggested typology consists of four ideal types: the Expert type, the Well-being type, the YOLO type and the Athlete type. The four types are developed around two overarching categories, namely users' approach to risk and effectiveness. The typology outlines distinct and characteristic approaches to AAS use and can, thus, be employed by researchers as well as health professionals as a heuristic tool for investigation and explanation.


In this study, TiAlSiN coatings were synthesized by cathodic arc deposition with Ti and Al88Si12 dual cathodes. The as-deposited coatings were following with post-deposition heat treatment in air and nitrogen atmosphere, respectively, at the temperature of 400 oC for 3 hour. The annealing treatment of the TiAlSiN coating has an expected effect on the wear resistance and cutting performance. The TiAlSiN coating subjected to heat treatment in nitrogen atmosphere presented the best oxidation and wear resistance among the tested coatings. The friction coefficient of the TiAlSiN coatings subjected in nitrogen atmosphere at 400oC was decreased due to the effect of the structure modification by increasing hardness. Using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), the result turned out the lowest weight change of TiAlSiN coating after annealing treatment in air if compared to that of all the coatings. The reason my be due to the oxide layer formed on the coating surface acted as a protective layer. Cutting test on the hardened steel with mist oil lubricants, the TiAlSiN-coated WC-Co tool with annealing treatment in nitrogen provides the best wear resistance at the cutting edge.


The choice of materials for vehicle components is dependant on a specific supply and demand process, subject to a stringent set of requirements. Among other things, this includes economic effectiveness, safety, recyclability and lightweight performance. Metals such as steel, aluminium and magnesium are mainly used for elements of the body structure and panels. Plastics are applied for exterior attachments to the body. Cars consist mainly of steel and iron, but it is expected that the amount of steel and iron used is reduced due to the impending use of multimaterial constructions. Materials such as steel will be substituted, in particular by aluminium, magnesium and plastics. Alternatives to the steel unibody are multimaterial unibodies and aluminium space frames. Steel and magnesium space frame concepts for volume applications are still under development. More traditional materials are being replaced by high performance carbon fibre composites for their durability and specific strength/ stiffness.


Background: It is a well-known fact that the parents play a key role in the early intervention program for their deaf and hard of hearing children. Aims: This study aims to focus on issues related to the need for a collaborative, supportive and parent centred early intervention programs and (re)habilitation process for the children with hearing aids or cochlear implants for sustainable health. This study was a retrospective case control study. Subject and Methods: Sixty parents (30 parent educated and 30 non- parent educated) were completed a Profile Questionnaire and a Family Awareness and Knowledge Questionnaire. The first questionnaire was designed to obtain the information related with the demographics of the family and their deaf or hard of hearing children. The latter was used to evaluate the knowledge of parents about their hearing handicapped children. All statistical analyses were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 22.0 software (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Results: The parent awareness and knowledge of children with cochlear implants differed from those of control group who do not receive any family counselling, but not in clinically significant ways. Conclusions: Some of the variability in cochlear implantation outcomes that have protracted periods of development is related to family environment. Because the family environment can be modified and enhanced by therapy or counselling, these preliminary findings hold promise for future work in helping families for sustainability in health.


In this study the structures in the hindleg of the kangaroo which are potentially available for jumping were examined. Specimens of two species, Macropus giganteus and Aepyprymnus rufescens, were examined and are described and compared. The basic pattern of the jump of the two species is similar. This is reflected anatomically by the fact that in both species the extensors of the hip, knee and ankle as a percentage of the total weight of the hindleg are greater than the flexors of the same joints. An additional similarity is that the biceps femoris and adductor magnus have the greatest share in the weight of the hip extensors. Furthermore the estimated total force of the hip, knee and ankle extensors and total moment of the hip and ankle extensors are always greater than the flexors of the same joints. However, the percentage of the hip and knee extensors, the absolute forces and moments of both the extensors and flexors and the range of movement especially of the hip and knee are always greater in M. giganteus than in A. rufescens. As well as these differences, the long tibia and the position of the knee in view of the hip may be important factors for the longer jump achieved by M. giganteus. In comparison A. rufescens has a anatomical construction which seems to be a compromise between walking and jumping.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cooperative learning supported with reflective materials on Turkish teacher canditades' self-regulated learning. Pre-test and post-test experimental design with control group was utilized. Data of the research were collected through the Turkish version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Eighty Turkish teacher candidates (38 girls and 42 boys) participated in this research. The reflection materials were provided for the experimental group only. Both groups were taught by using the principles of cooperative learning. The research has discerned that there is a difference between experimental and control groups on Self-Efficacy for Learning and Performance. However, it has been found that cooperative learning supported with reflection materials affects self-regulated learning more positively.


The results of several experiments reported in the literature indicate that the assumptions of porous media homogeneity and instantaneous sorption are generally invalid for transport of sorbing solute at the field scale. In addition, it is probable that the "nonideal" transport observed is caused by more than one factor. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the ability of a one-dimensional, multifactor nonideality model to represent the nonideal transport of sorbing solutes at the field scale. For this model the two-domain approach is used to represent heterogeneity, and sorption is represented as being essentially instantaneous for a portion of the sorbent and rate limited for the remainder. Data (breakthrough curves) obtained from four field experiments reported in the literature were used to test the performance of the model. With one exception, data from laboratory or field experiments were used to identify values for input parameters; the exception concerned an assumption of a uniform distribution of sorbent between the advective and nonadvective pore water domains. Specification of input parameters independent of the data being simulated allowed the model to be used in a predictive mode. On the basis of the good match between predictions produced with the model and the data, it appears that the model provides a valid representation of sorption dynamics and solute transport for field-scale systems influenced by heterogeneity and rate-limited sorption. The model should be useful in situations where the extensive input data required for more complex models (e.g., stochastic) are not available.


This paper entitled "Smart Bin for Waste Management System" plays a vital role in the waste management system. A healthy domain is essential to a solid and cheerful environment. Clean and hygienic environments are a key need in human habitable environments. Smart bin is to develop a gainful and dynamic waste administration framework. In public places, dustbins are being flooded just as the waste spills out bringing about contamination. This likewise expands number of infections as huge number of bugs to breed on it. In this a smart bin is developed to monitor the level of waste, automatic disposing of waste and rain detection system. The outcome demonstrated that the detecting framework is effective and savvy and can be utilized to robotize any solid waste bin management process.


Today, both resource efficiency in general and the efficient use of natural resources specifically in the building sector are major political issues. Recent studies on resource efficiency have found the "anthropogenic stock" of the building sector to outweigh natural resource stocks. To make the anthropogenic stock accessible, material quantities with their individual composition need to be estimated and extrapolated to regional level. A geographical information system (GIS) is used as tool to handle the building specific data and combine them on regional level to calculate the anthropogenic stock. The resulting resource cadaster reflects the material quantities, divided into sixteen material fractions, of a specific residential district in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area—a typical urban area in Germany. The case study area was weighted in total between 103.5 kt and 93 kt, depending on the dataset. This paper offers a step-by-step description of this approach, whereby a consistent dataset was created throughout the process of data collection and validation. In order to demonstrate the broader application of the resource cadaster, the results were extrapolated to the residential building sector of the entire federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In highly concentrated areas, like the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan area, both area-wide classification of material quantities and their regional localization are necessary to make the anthropogenic stock accessible. Information about toxic substances, however, also needs to be included in the process of data collection. This method of mapping could thus provide the foundation for future (re)uses of this stock. This study offers some concrete steps in the direction of achieving a circular economy.


OBJECTIVE To describe the risk and outcome of women with pretreatment CT-detected hydrometra who were treated by radiation for cancer of the cervix. METHODS Between 1979 and 1995, 27 women with cervical cancer and a pretreatment CT scan of the pelvic cavity underwent definitive radiotherapy (pelvic teleirradiation and intracavitary brachytherapy). We compared the survival and morbidity in women with [n = 12] and without [n = 15] CT-diagnosed hydrometra. RESULTS Only one patient from the group with hydrometra was found to have pyometra. There were no statistical differences between the compared groups with respect to patient age, disease stage or applied total radiation doses. The estimated survival at 3 years was 35 +/- 27% for women with and 56 +/- 26% for patients without CT-detected hydrometra [p > 0.20] the corresponding morbidity rates were 25 +/- 26% and 0% [p < 0.05]. CONCLUSION The presence of hydrometra may heighten the morbidity risk even though pyometra is seldom observed in patients with cervical cancer treated by radiation.


Block-fading is a popular channel model that approximates the behavior of different wireless communication systems. In this paper, a union bound on the error probability of binary-coded systems over block-fading channels is proposed. The bound is based on uniform interleaving of the coded sequence prior to transmission over the channel. The distribution of error bits over the fading blocks is computed. For a specific distribution pattern, the pairwise error probability is derived. Block-fading channels modeled as Rician and Nakagami distributions are studied. We consider coherent receivers with perfect and imperfect channel side information (SI) as well as noncoherent receivers employing square-law combining. Throughout the paper, imperfect SI is obtained using pilot-aided estimation. A lower bound on the performance of iterative receivers that perform joint decoding and channel estimation is obtained assuming the receiver knows the correct data and uses them as pilots. From this, the tradeoff between channel diversity and channel estimation is investigated and the optimal channel memory is approximated analytically. Furthermore, the optimal energy allocation for pilot signals is found for different channel memory lengths.


Background: In line with predictions from dual-process models, accumulating evidence shows that attentional bias modification can reduce unhealthy food intake. An important practical consideration is whether such modification can inoculate people to withstand exposure to real-world food cues (e.g., advertising). To test this, we investigated whether the positive effect of attentional bias modification on unhealthy food intake is resistant to television food advertising.
Methods: In a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design, we used a dot probe paradigm to train 339 women (Mage = 20.13 years; MBMI = 23.24 kg/m2) to direct attention toward ('attend') or away from ('avoid') chocolate pictures. Following one or five training sessions, participants viewed and rated television advertisements of either chocolate or control products. Attentional bias for chocolate was measured before and after training. Chocolate consumption was measured by a taste test and habitual chocolate craving by self-report.
Findings: Attentional bias increased in the 'attend' condition and decreased in the 'avoid' condition; however, the reduction in bias following exposure to chocolate advertisements was statistically significant only after five training sessions. Habitual chocolate craving moderated the effect of attentional bias modification on chocolate consumption, such that individuals with lower levels of chocolate craving ate less chocolate following the training, whereas those with higher levels of craving actually ate more.
Discussion: Attentional bias modification has promise as a technique for helping people to overcome the temptation from real-world appetitive cues. However, more extensive training may be required for individuals with high levels of food craving.


Abstract
 Drepanocladus turgescens is a moss of arctic-alpine distribution, very rare and declining in Central Europe, in the past known in Poland from four relict sites in the small basin area in the central Silesia-Cracow Upland (southern Poland), the only sites of the species in Central Europe outside the Alps. All of them were considered extinct thirty years ago. In May 2011 a new site was discovered in the same upland basin, only a few kilometers from the previous localities. The species occurs quite abundantly in patches of extremely rich-fen (Caricion davallianae alliance) of semi-natural origin, mostly in shallow depressions with slightly flowing, spring calcareous water, occasionally drying out.


Summary Deltaic systems are prominent features of many clastic basin-fill successions throughout the geological record and are also important as sites of fossil fuel reserves. The process-based classification of deltaic systems into fluvial-, wave- and tide-dominated types adopted in recent years remains valid, but requires additional information on, for example, the sediment load of the system, its position in the basin and the extent of synsedimentary deformation in order to be a meaningful characterization of a delta. The range of delta types is further extended by research into ancient deltaic systems which can result in the definition of a non-actualistic delta which differs from modern systems. This is an important trend which should develop in the future as well-constrained ancient systems are characterized to their full extent. A further avenue of future research lies in examining the nature of links of deltaic systems to shelf, slope and submarine-fan systems, with particular reference to depositional analysis of seismic stratigraphic information.


This article looks back at 25 years of achievements of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) from different angles. It covers the design features of the project and the collaboration in a global research network, the contributions GTAP has made to better informed trade policy making, its contributions in the area of environment and climate change and its capacity to absorb theoretical developments in applied modeling. The paper also makes some suggestions about future directions.


One of the most relevant but expensive methods of assessing the quality of fish meal is the physiological digestibility test with minks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether spectroscopic and chemical analyses evaluated with chemometrics can replace minks in digestibility tests. The spectroscopic methods used were the two complementary techniques of fluorescence emission and near-infrared reflectance. The investigation included 54 samples of high-quality fish meal ranging from 89.6 to 93.9 on the mink digestibility index. The investigation also included determination of seven quality parameters in the fish meal to substantiate the spectroscopic models on the mink digestibility. These quality parameters include the content of protein, oil, water, water-soluble protein, ash and the biogenic substance cadaverine as well as the titration value. The study demonstrates that the mink digestibility could be predicted from combining the two reference quality parameters oil and ash with a correlation coefficient of 0.89. The best spectroscopic calibration models on the mink digestibility resulted in a correlation coefficient of 0.94 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the near-infrared spectral ensemble and a correlation coefficient of 0.92 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the fluorescence spectral ensemble. In addition, the seven reference quality parameters could be predicted from the spectroscopic ensembles with good precision.

© 2000 Society of Chemical Industry


Abstract This study investigates how a system of incident harmonic waves affects the interface motion between two materials. To that end diffraction of a system of cylindrical harmonic SH waves by a random interface between two elastic half-spaces is investigated using a direct boundary integral equation approach. In particular, the incident system consists of a primary source of unit amplitude and an arbitrary number of secondary sources placed along an ellipse centered at the primary source. The interface peak amplitude, the number of the secondary sources, and the frequency are assumed to be arbitrary. Response along the random interface is computed for different frequencies and the source configurations. The interface motion is found to strongly depend upon the incident system. Two incident system configurations are identified that produce the interface motion that is considerably amplified or reduced when compared to the corresponding displacements due to a single unit primary source. The two systems share the same geometry and the source amplitudes but have different source amplitude phases.


A method is introduced for using a pair of vertical line transducer arrays (VLAs) to produce time-reversal (TR) foci at any location in a range-independent shallow-ocean waveguide without the need for a probe source. Modal theory suggests that the acoustic response sampled between a pair of VLAs separated by a range R can be repeatedly iterated to estimate the acoustic response at ranges that are integer multiples of R. When combined with the frequency-based variable-range-TR method, the process results in a virtual sampling of the acoustic response over long distances that can be applied to both passive and active shallow-ocean acoustic imaging. Here, the technique is applied to active time-reversal focusing. Array geometry effects are explored and simulation and experimental results are presented.


In cat experiments under conditions of choice between two different strategies of the instrumental behavior (impulsive and self-controlling), functional connectivity of neurons in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and between them was assessed on the basis of the analysis of wide and narrow peaks of cross correlation histograms of several spike series and their number. The functional connectivity of neurons in the above mentioned structures was better expressed in self-controlling cats than in animals with mixed impulsive/self-controlling reactions. On the contrary, the influence of an outer source assessed by the number of the wide peaks of cross correlation histograms was more pronounced in cats with mixed impulsive/self-controlling reactions. A blockade of M-cholinoreceptors impaired the functional connectivity between the neurons in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and in fronto-hippocampal relationships, but increased the influence on them from the outer sources. At the level of hippocampus, M-cholinoreceptor antagonists decreased the functional connectivity of neurons in all the animals, enhanced the effect of outer sources in self-controlling animals and did not change the influence of outer sources in cats with the mixed impulsive/self-controlling reactions. The influence from outer sources was decreased in cats of the first group and increased in second group. The results suggest a decrease in the functional connectivity and association characteristics in the cortical and hippocampal neuronal networks under conditions of cholinergic deficit during solving complex cognitive tasks.


Hypothesis: This study tested the hypotheses that 1) experienced adult cochlear implants (CI) users demonstrate poorer reading efficiency relative to normal-hearing controls, 2) reading efficiency reflects basic, underlying neurocognitive skills, and 3) reading efficiency relates to speech recognition outcomes in CI users. Background: Weak phonological processing skills have been associated with poor speech recognition outcomes in postlingually deaf adult CI users. Phonological processing can be captured in nonauditory measures of reading efficiency, which may have wide use in patients with hearing loss. This study examined reading efficiency in adults CI users, and its relation to speech recognition outcomes. Methods: Forty-eight experienced, postlingually deaf adult CI users (ECIs) and 43 older age-matched peers with age-normal hearing (ONHs) completed the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE-2), which measures word and nonword reading efficiency. Participants also completed a battery of nonauditory neurocognitive measures and auditory sentence recognition tasks. Results: ECIs and ONHs did not differ in word (ECIs: M = 78.2, SD = 11.4; ONHs: M = 83.3, SD = 10.2) or nonword reading efficiency (ECIs: M = 42.0, SD = 11.2; ONHs: M = 43.7, SD = 10.3). For ECIs, both scores were related to untimed word reading with moderate to strong effect sizes (r = 0.43–0.69), but demonstrated differing relations with other nonauditory neurocognitive measures with weak to moderate effect sizes (word: r = 0.11–0.44; nonword: r = (−)0.15 to (−)0.42). Word reading efficiency was moderately related to sentence recognition outcomes in ECIs (r = 0.36–0.40). Conclusion: Findings suggest that postlingually deaf adult CI users demonstrate neither impaired word nor nonword reading efficiency, and these measures reflect different underlying mechanisms involved in language processing. The relation between sentence recognition and word reading efficiency, a measure of lexical access speed, suggests that this measure may be useful for explaining outcome variability in adult CI users.


Islamic financial institutions' (IFIs) core attributes are not limited to merely ensuring that actions of the management are kept in line with the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders, but also to fulfil religious values and Shari'a requirements based on the Quran and sunna. Shari'a Supervisory Boards (SSBs) play critical role to ensure that all business activities are in line with the Shari'a principles. This is in addition to the shareholders who play their statutory role as active participants in the process of decision-making and control. The other stakeholders including the community should also take part in providing feedback to protect business and social interests and to stimulate social wellbeing. All of these processes are integral parts of evolving Islamic corporate governance regime that aims at harmonising private and social goals of business organisations while upholding the principle of distributive justice (Choudury and Hoque, 2004). This article explains the relevance of Three Lines of Defence approach in the context of IFIs. Looking at the broader perspective and objective of corporate governance in IFIs, the conventional governance standards can therefore be paired with Shari'a requirements to create a suitable corporate governance structure. Shari'a compliance assurance adds another dimension to corporate governance in IFIs. Therefore, to add Shari'a compliance assurance as an essential requirement of corporate governance in IFIs, the role and function of SSB must be assigned adequate importance.


The use of multipronged measures, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has greatly increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we found the use of TCM and is positively correlated with the regional cure rate in China (R=0.77, P<10-5). We analyzed 185 commonly administered TCM recipes comprised of 210 herbs nationwide to reveal mechanistic insight. Eight out of the 10 most commonly used herbs showed anti-coronavirus potential by intersecting with COVID-19 targets. Intriguingly, 17 compounds from the 5 most commonly used herbs were revealed to have direct anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential by docking with the two core structures [CoV spike (S) glycoprotein (6SVB) and CoV 3CL hydrolase (6LU7)]. Seven reported COVID-19 drugs served as positive controls; among them, retionavir (-7.828 kcal/mol) and remdesivir (-8.738 kcal/mol) performed best with 6VSB and 6LU7, respectively. The top candidate was madreselvin B (6SVB: -8.588 kcal/mol and 6LU7: -9.017 kcal/mol), an appreciable component of Flos Lonicerae. Eighty-six compounds from 22 unlisted herbs were further identified among 2,042 natural compounds, completing our arsenal for TCM formulations. The mechanisms have been implicated as multifactorial, including activation of immunoregulation (Th2, PPAR and IL10), suppression of acute inflammatory responses (IL-6, IL-1α/β, TNF, COX2/1, etc.), enhancement of antioxidative activity (CAT and SOD1), and modulation of apoptosis (inhibited CASP3). It is of interest to understand the biological mechanisms of TCM recipes. We then analyzed 18 representative remedies based on molecular targets associated with 14 medical conditions over the disease course, e.g., pyrexia, coughing, asthenia, lymphopenia, cytokine storm, etc. The significant level of coherence (SLC) revealed, in part, the potential uses and properties of corresponding TCMs. Thus, herbal plants coordinate to combat COVID-19 in multiple dimensions, casting a light of hope before effective vaccines are developed.


To study the influence of fining temperature on glass qualities, different fining temperatures from 1400°C to 1500°C were used to prepare a series soda-lime-silica glass with identical chemical compositions. Infrared spectroscopy was used to determine the water content of glass, general analyzer of melt physical properties was used to study the viscosity and surface tension change of glass melt, microscope was carried out find glass bubbles, wet chemical analyses were used to determine the Fe2+/(Fe2++Fe3+) ratio. The results show that, generally, with the increase of fining temperature, the glass melt's water content, bubbles number and Fe2+/(Fe2++Fe3+) ratio increase, viscosity decreases. Particularly, when the fining temperature is 1450°C, the glass has lowest water content, bubbles number, Fe2+/(Fe2++Fe3+) ratio, and viscosity, and its surface tension is largest. Among all tested fining temperature, 1450°C is the optimal fining temperature.


The article discusses the activities of the Novorossiysk Committee of the Union of railwaymen in the period of the First russian revolution. There were used as materials the archival documents of central and regional archives: the state archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian state archive of socio-political history, the State archive of the Krasnodar Krai, the Documentation center for modern history of the Krasnodar Krai, the Archive department of the Sochi city administration and the museum of the history of the resort city of Sochi. In conclusion, the authors state that the committee (bureau) of the Union Railway, created in Novorossiysk in October 1905, was aimed at improving the socio-economic condition of railway workers. The social democrats and the socialist revolutionaries of Novorossiysk systematically tried to draw the railroad staff into the revolutionary process, because of this, the resolutions of the railway union committee took a political character, condemned the actions of the autocracy.


EGFR mutation-positive patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) respond well to treatment with EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR–TKI); however, treatment with EGFR–TKIs is not curative, owing to the presence of residual cancer cells with intrinsic or acquired resistance to this class of drugs. Additional treatment targets that may enhance the efficacy of EGFR–TKIs remain elusive. Using a CRISPR/Cas9-based screen, we identified the leucine-rich repeat scaffold protein SHOC2 as a key modulator of sensitivity to EGFR–TKI treatment. On the basis of in vitro assays, we demonstrated that SHOC2 expression levels strongly correlate with the sensitivity to EGFR–TKIs and that SHOC2 affects the sensitivity to EGFR–TKIs in NSCLC cells via SHOC2/MRAS/PP1c and SHOC2/SCRIB signaling. The potential SHOC2 inhibitor celastrol phenocopied SHOC2 depletion. In addition, we confirmed that SHOC2 expression levels were important for the sensitivity to EGFR–TKIs in vivo. Furthermore, IHC showed the accumulation of cancer cells that express high levels of SHOC2 in lung cancer tissues obtained from patients with NSCLC who experienced acquired resistance to EGFR–TKIs. These data indicate that SHOC2 may be a therapeutic target for patients with NSCLC or a biomarker to predict sensitivity to EGFR–TKI therapy in EGFR mutation-positive patients with NSCLC. Our findings may help improve treatment strategies for patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations. Implications: This study showed that SHOC2 works as a modulator of sensitivity to EGFR–TKIs and the expression levels of SHOC2 can be used as a biomarker for sensitivity to EGFR–TKIs.


BACKGROUND
Most reports addressing pulmonary complications (PCs) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients have focused on allogeneics. This study describes the PCs, their risk factors, and the impact on mortality in autologous recipients.

METHODS
We reviewed the medical records of 1,243 adult autologous HSCT recipients. We collected pretransplant and posttransplant data and data on PC after transplant and long-term mortality.

RESULTS
Four hundred eighty-seven PC developed in 343 patients (27.6%): 173 infectious (13.9%), 127 noninfectious (10.2%), and 43 both infectious and noninfectious (3.5%). Bacterial, fungal, and viral pneumonias were the most common infectious complications. The main noninfectious complications were acute pulmonary edema (APE) (59 [4.7%]), diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) (26 [2.1%]), peri-engraftment respiratory distress syndrome (PERDS) (31 [2.5%]), and idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS) (12 [1.0%]). Independent factors associated with PC included diffusing capacity of lung for carbon monoxide and indications for transplant. Factors associated with mortality included sex, history of pulmonary disease, disease status at the time of transplant, FVC, Karnofsky score, and underlying diagnosis. A Cox proportional hazards regression model with separate time-dependent predictors for the first 1 month, 1 to 2 months, 2 to 6 months, and 6 or more months showed an association with mortality at hazard ratios (HRs) of 32.39, 10.13, 4.29, and 0.98, respectively, compared with persons without PC.

CONCLUSIONS
More than 25% of autologous HSCT recipients develop PCs within 1 year of transplant. Most of the complications are infections. The most common noninfectious complications are APE, DAH, PERDS, and IPS. PCs increase the risk of death, with HR as high as 32.


There is no doubt that every country needs funding to foster economic growth and development. However, such funding needs to be at levels deemed sustainable and closely in line with the government's fiscal and monetary policies. To this end, there is an urgent need for policymakers in governments, central banks, and international policy organizations to understand the effects of public debt on economic growth. This study used 50 African countries from 1980 to 2015 to assess the impact of public debt on economic growth. The study employed an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation technique for a static panel regression model and the Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) estimation technique for a dynamic panel regression model for the analysis. The empirical results from both estimation techniques suggest a statistically significant negative relationship between public debt and economic growth. The results also provide evidence that the relationship between public debt and economic growth is non-linear. The study also found that inflation and government consumption expenditure have a statistically significant negative relationship with economic growth whereas capital formulation, population growth and openness of trade have a statistically significant positive relationship with economic growth.


Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) represents the most lethal thyroid cancer sub-type, currently unresponsive to standard treatments. Recently, bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins have emerged as attractive therapeutic targets in several diseases, including cancer. In different cancer models, the anti-neoplastic activity of BET inhibitors such as JQ1, I-BET762 and I-BET151 have already been established, due to both direct and indirect effects. miRNAs are 20-22 nucleotide transcriptional regulators which play important roles in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Hitherto, the relationship between JQ1 and miRNAs has not been explored. The goal of this study was to delineate JQ1-associated miRNA regulation in ATC cells. Two ATC-derived cell lines (SW1736 and 8505c) were treated with either 5 µM JQ1 or vehicle for 48 or 72 h. A non-tumorigenic thyroid cell line (Nthy-ori 3-1) was used as a control. miRNome analysis displayed a JQ1-related dysregulation of several miRNAs, 7 of which turned out to be commonly dysregulated in both cell lines at both time-points. Furthermore, miR-4516 turned out to be downregulated in both ATC cell lines, when compared to the non-tumorigenic ones and notably, JQ1 treatment in both ATC cell lines induced its upregulation, restoring, in some way, its basal expression levels. We, therefore, focused on miR-4516 expression and STAT3 levels, since it was previously predicted to be a putative target of this microRNA. Consistently, phospho-STAT3 and its target p21Waf1/Cip1 turned out to be downregulated and upregulated in both JQ1-treated ATC cell lines, respectively. Thus, our data revealed that modulation of miRNA expression is one of the multiple mechanisms of the effect of JQ1 in thyroid cancer cells.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the clinical, microbial, and inflammatory effects of a diode laser as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) versus SRP alone for the treatment of generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP).

METHODS
Using a split-mouth design, 31 patients with GAgP were enrolled in the study. The maxillary right and left quadrants were randomly assigned to SRP+diode laser or SRP alone. Patients were examined on a regular basis for clinical, microbiological, and inflammatory mediator changes over a 1-year period. Clinical attachment level (CAL) was the primary outcome variable chosen. In addition, subgingival biofilm samples and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) inflammatory mediators were analyzed at each follow-up session.

RESULTS
Compared to baseline, both treatments demonstrated an improvement in periodontal parameters at 1 year. However, SRP+diode laser produced a significant improvement in probing depth (PD; 2.56 ± 0.44 vs. 3.36 ± 0.51 mm, p < 0.05) and CAL (3.47 ± 0.25 vs. 4.11 ± 0.26 mm, p < 0.05) values compared to SRP alone. Similarly, in the SRP+diode laser group, the bacteria of orange complex group were significantly reduced at 30 and 60 days compared to SRP alone. Moreover, SRP+diode laser determined a reduction in mean GCF level of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-1β/IL-10 ratio at 15 and 30 days compared to SRP alone (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
At 1 year, SRP+diode laser yielded a significant reduction in some clinical parameters, while microbial and inflammatory mediator changes were not significantly reduced compared to SRP alone.


Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) and its integration with Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) systems has been well studied. However, most reported methods require multi-step electrode patterning/fabrication processes which in turn leads to difficulty in consistently aligning detection electrodes. These limitations have the potential to compromise analytical performance of the electrodes and increase the time and cost of device production. We have previously demonstrated a simplified approach for C4D electrode integration with poly(dimethylsiloxane) electrophoresis LOC devices by utilizing 'injected' gallium electrodes.1 The developed fabrication process is fast, highly reproducible, and eliminates difficulties with electrode alignment. Using this approach C4D can be readily achieved in any microchip by simply adding extra 'electrode' channels to the microchip design. This design flexibility allows for straightforward optimization of electrode parameters. Here, we present the optimization of physical electrode parameters including orientation, length and distance from separation channel. The suitability of the optimized system for on-chip C4D detection was demonstrated through the excellent intra- and inter-day repeatability (< 4 %RSD) of electrophoretically separated lithium, sodium and potassium ions.


The boundary conditions appropriate to the finite Larmor radius (FLR) wave equations that describe wave propagation in the ion cyclotron and lower hybrid frequency ranges in plasmas have been derived. These equations possess three independent solutions, one more than the Maxwell equations in vacuum; to establish the additional condition at a plasma-boundary interface needed to define unambiguously the causal solution in the plasma, it is shown that HF diamagnetic currents (proportional to the gradients of the equilibrium plasma parameters) remain finite in the limit in which the thickness of the plasma-vacuum transition is assumed to be negligible compared with the perpendicular wavelength of the incident waves. The discontinuity of the compressional component of the wave field due to these HF surface currents can be expressed in terms of the FLR contributions to the coefficients of the wave equations, so that the FLR boundary conditions can be formulated in a fully explicit manner. It is also shown that these conditions guarantee the continuity of the power flux through the plasma surface. These boundary conditions have been used to obtain analytic expressions for the surface impedance matrix of a plasma in the FLR approximation, assuming that the WKB solutions to the wave equations can be used near the plasma edge. These analytic results can be used to check numerical solutions of the wave equations against a known case, and to speed up the solution of antenna coupling problems in large plasmas


Groups of two or three day old pigs were inoculated intravenously with cell culture grown transmissible gastroenteritis virus. A single or a multiple dosage schedule was used. The magnitude of immune response was measured in terms of serum neutralization indices. A single dose of relatively attenuated virus caused mild clinical signs of transmissible gastroenteritis infection in the pigs and induced a low level of antibody in the serum by the seventh day after inoculation. Repeated injections of virus at seven day intervals stimulated little increase in antibody titers. However, high serum antibody titers were obtained for all pigs if the time interval between injections was extended to 15 days. Sera obtained early after exposure to live transmissible gastroenteritis virus contained mainly IgM antibody whereas sera obtained later after exposure contained mainly IgG antibody. Ten plaque purified isolates of transmissible gastroenteritis virus, comprising eight American isolates, one Japanese isolate and one British isolate were indistinguishable by means of reciprocal plaque reduction neutralization tests.


Abstract This paper presents the development, testing and evaluation of a new unguided rocket equipped with a thermobaric warhead. The aim of the research was to design the ammunition to be integrated with an existing multiple launch rocket system. This condition introduced limitations of dimensions, mass and mass distribution. The experimental work consisted also in optimisation of the thermobaric composition and configuration. The resulting ammunition was tested for determination of effective range and precision. The destructive effect was evaluated by live firing against non-armoured vehicles and masonry light structures.


Folate has been hypothesized to protect against aero-digestive cancers although the evidence is not yet conclusive due to possible confounding by other dietary factors. Sequence variants in folate pathway were suggested to be associated with plasma folate levels and are unlikely to be confounded by other lifestyle factors. We therefore investigated the effects of key folate genetic variants on the risk of aero-digestive cancers and their potential effect modification by folate intake in a multicenter study in Central Europe. A total of 2250 lung cases, 811 upper aero-digestive tract cases and 2899 controls were recruited with blood samples. The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T variant was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer with an odds ratio (OR) for homozygote variant of 1.37 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-1.71]. The two MTHFR variants were in strong linkage disequilibrium, and 677T-1298A appeared to be the primary haplotype associated with cancer risk. The risk estimates for MTHFR 677T/677T genotype was more prominent among lung cancer patients with young onset (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.12-3.29). When stratified by dietary intake of folate, the effect of the MTHFR 677T variant was more prominent among subjects with low intake of folate: the ORs for 677T/677T genotype among subjects with the lowest decile were 2.60 (95% CI = 1.39-4.88) and 4.14 (95% CI = 1.47-11.7) for lung and upper aero-digestive tract cancer, respectively. In conclusion, we identified a moderate effect of MTHFR C677T on lung cancer risk and a possible effect modification by folate intake that is consistent with the functional data. These results support an important role of folate in protecting against tobacco-related cancers.


We investigated the influence of heat, wind, and humidity on UVR-induced acute and chronic skin damage of experimental animals housed in environmental chambers and irradiated under controlled conditions. Hairless mice (strain HRS/J) irradiated after an increase of 10 degrees F in skin temperature had more skin damage than irradiated controls. Significantly more Swiss albino mice irradiated for 400 days while maintained at 90 degrees F developed tumors than did those receiving the same amount of UVR but maintained at room temperature. Mice exposed to UVR daily for 4 weeks while kept in wind of 7 mph had greater damage and slower recovery than animals irradiated but protected from wind. Wind also accelerated tumorigenesis in mice than received chronic UVR. Mice kept at 80% relative humidity and given a single dose of UVR had greater skin injury than animals irradiated while at 5% relative humidity. High midity also appears to accelerate skin cancer formation in animals that were exposed to chronic UVR.


BACKGROUND
Although the results of animal studies and cross-cultural comparisons generally support a role for dietary fat in the etiology of breast cancer, results of analytic epidemiology studies are equivocal.

PURPOSE
The association between dietary fat and subsequent breast cancer was examined in a cohort of 34,388 postmenopausal women from Iowa.

METHODS
Dietary habits were assessed by a food-frequency questionnaire mailed in January 1986. Through December 31, 1989, 459 incident cases of breast cancer occurred in this cohort. Proportional hazards regression was used to examine the dietary fat-breast cancer association while adjusting for potential confounders. The effects on this association of four analytic approaches to adjustment for energy intake were also considered.

RESULTS
After adjustment for known determinants of breast cancer, a modest positive association of total fat intake with risk of breast cancer was seen. Polyunsaturated fat intake was also positively associated with breast cancer (relative risk from lowest to highest intake, 1.0, 1.25, 1.31, and 1.49; P for trend = .052). Different approaches to adjustment for energy intake, however, provided different impressions of the dietary fat-breast cancer association. One method, involving categorization of crude fat intake and inclusion of total energy intake in regression analysis, gave relative risk estimates from low to high fat intake of 1.0, 1.17, 1.25, and 1.38 (P for trend = .18). Another method, based on categorization of fat intake residuals in which the variation in fat due to total energy intake was removed, gave corresponding estimates of 1.0, 1.24, 1.30, and 1.16 (P for trend = .29). The former suggests increasing breast cancer risk with increasing fat intake; the latter suggests no association.

CONCLUSIONS
These results are consistent with other cohort studies that have shown a weak association or no association between dietary fat and breast cancer. They are also consistent with studies suggesting that fat intake is a determinant of breast cancer, particularly after accounting for inaccuracies in dietary assessment. The effects of different energy-adjustment methods may account in part for the varying interpretations of four previous cohort studies of dietary fat and breast cancer.

IMPLICATIONS
Further work is needed to clarify not only the nature of the dietary fat-breast cancer association, but also the impact of different analytic methods used in the investigation of diet-disease associations.


A mineralogical, microstructural and geochemical approach was used to trace the postdepositional alteration of molluscs and to quantify the biogenic aragonite to calcite transformation in the Boggy Formation (mid-Desmoinesian) of Oklahoma. The results show that with progressive alteration, primary biogenic aragonite was gradually replaced by diagenetic low-Mg calcite. During the initial phase of alteration, the nacreous tablets of the shell layers fused, and with progressive postdepositional diagenesis, they were replaced by either fine- or coarsegrained calcite. During this diagenetic transformation, no significant changes in chemical concentrations were noted for Ba, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn; whereas Mg, Mn, and Fe increased by factors of about 14 to 25 relative to their depositional concentrations. Concurrently, Na, Sr, δ 18 O, and δ 13 C concentrations decreased by factors ranging from 2.5 to 10. Under similar diagenetic conditions, matrix samples were more altered than were contemporaneous fossils, and it is postulated that grain size/surface area was a major control on the degree of alteration of carbonate grains. The matrix of the Boggy Formation has retained sufficient geochemical information to suggest an original aragonitic limemud precursor of nonmolluscan affinity. With the geochemical methods and quantified trends, the least-altered mollusc samples of the Boggy Formation, consisting of only aragonite, can be identified. Geochemical data of the most-altered samples suggest that the diagenetic fluids which affected Boggy sediments and fossils were similar in composition to meteoric water. Moreover, the dissolving aragonite, through diffusion-controlled dissolution, determined the elemental as well as isotopic chemistry of the diagenetic calcite in the altered shells. It is postulated that similar diagenetic waters and processes affected sedimentary units of the Breathitt (Pennsylvanian, Kentucky), Brush Creek (Pennsylvanian, Pennsylvania-Ohio), Lukow (Jurassic, Poland), Bear Paw-Lea Park (Cretaceous, western Canada), and Nugssuaq (Cretaceous, Greenland) Formations which contain well-preserved aragonitic molluscan faunas.


Perioperative management of hydrocephalus in children with posterior fossa tumors (PFTs) remains challenging. The modified Canadian Preoperative Prediction Rule for Hydrocephalus (mCPPRH) has been previously described as a useful tool in predicting which children are at higher risk for permanent hydrocephalus following PFT resection and can be used in guiding treatment. The aim of this study was to externally validate this predictive model.

A retrospective review of the children treated in a single unit was conducted, recording all of the mCPPRH parameters (age, preoperative radiological diagnosis, presence of moderate/severe hydrocephalus, transependymal edema, and metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis), the need for a CSF diversion procedure at 6 months, time to surgery, and management of hydrocephalus. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted using the mCPPRH, age, Evans index (EI), and frontooccipital horn ratio (FOHR), and an area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. A point-biserial correlation was run to determine the relationship between time to surgery, the insertion of an external ventricular drain (EVD), or initial EVD clamping and the development of postoperative persistent hydrocephalus.

From a total of 75 patients (mean age 6.99 years, 62.7% male) who were included in the study, 8 (10.7%) required permanent CSF diversion following PFT resection. The AUC of the ROC curve was 0.618 for the mCPPRH (p = 0.18, SE 0.088, 95% CI 0.446–0.791), 0.633 for age (p = 0.26, SE 0.119, 95% CI 0.4–0.867), 0.604 for the EI (p = 0.34, SE 0.11, 95% CI 0.389–0.818), and 0.663 for the FOHR (p = 0.17, SE 0.121, 95% CI 0.427–0.9). A significant positive correlation between EVD insertion (r = 0.239, p = 0.03) and insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was found. A negative correlation between the postoperative clamping of the EVD (r = −0.158, p = 0.4) and the time to PFT surgery (r = −0.06, p = 0.6) did not reach statistical significance.

The implementation of the mCPPRH score failed to reliably predict which children would require permanent CSF diversion following PFT resection when applied to this cohort. Clinical judgment remains the mainstay of choosing the perioperative treatment of hydrocephalus.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterised by a loss of motor neurons, leading to paralysis. Several autosomal dominant genes were implicated in ALS pathogenesis, such as SOD1 , with over 180 reported mutations (http://alsod.iop.kcl.ac.uk/), including a p.T137A substitution.1 ,2 Recently, ARHGEF28 , encoding an RNA binding protein involved in the aggregation of light neurofilaments in ALS, was suggested as a novel ALS gene (a heterozygous K280M>fs40X mutation was detected in three patients).3 ,4

Risk of ALS may be modulated by environmental factors, sex and ageing, which could be linked to epigenetic events (eg, DNA methylation). Monozygotic (MZ) twins provide the best opportunity to investigate environmental/epigenetic factors in disease development.5 Hence, we studied ALS-discordant MZ twins, including the evaluation of DNA methylation (DNAm) age, which is an accurate predictor of chronological age across different tissues.6 It is possible that DNAm age better reflects biological age than chronological age does, since age acceleration (DNAm age minus chronological age) was associated with several disorders and mortality.

Participants were recruited from the ALS Clinic at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Genetic and epigenetic analyses were conducted as described in the online supplementary methods, including mutation analysis of SOD1 and C9orf72 , NeuroX array, reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), whole genome DNA methylation array (HumanMethylation450 BeadChip) and bisulfite pyrosequencing.

### Supplementary data

[jnnp-2016-313592supp.pdf]

The MZ twins from a Canadian PED24 family of Italian origin were 52 years old at last examination and ALS-discordant for 17 years, with the second-born twin (9377) diagnosed with ALS at 35 years (figure 1 …


Empirical research to date on state-level administrative procedure acts (SLAPAs) is inconclusive regarding when states will adopt and amend SLAPAs. However, there is reason for optimism that more comprehensive empirical study could shed light on the McNollgast hypothesis and its variations - allowing researchers to better understand the relationship between commitments, politics, and administrative procedure. This will require the assembly of much more exhaustive and comprehensive data than has previously been collected. Once data is assembled, empirical study could shed light on: a) the extent to which administrative procedures are neutral or whether they are likely to have a partisan bias; b) the effects of divided government on the adoption of administrative procedures; c) the influences of the length (or durability) of procedural commitments in SLAPAs; and d) the extent to which model statutes are effective in minimizing partisan influence in the adoption and amendment of SLAPAs. This Essay addresses how the collection and analysis of such data might proceed, and how such analysis could open up possibilities for important future research, including research on the effects of administrative procedure reforms in states. The Essay also argues that there are benefits to having administrative lawyers participate with social scientists in the empirical enterprise of examining SLAPAs.


No uniform international approach for handling the problem of high-level radioactive waste disposal exists. All the while, the volume of these wastes continues to grow. The only viable solution to the disposal problem is a geologic one. Burial of these wastes in solid form for long periods of time in mined cavities in salt or Precambrian crystalline rock formations is technically possible. Several steps in the burial process have already been demonstrated in Germany. The problem becomes more serious as the number of countries committed to the use of nuclear energy grows. If one considers the problems of seismic stability and worldwide distribution of salt deposits, the overwhelming need for an international solution to the waste disposal problem seems obvious.


Light-curing is a crucial step during the application of composite resin restorations. The clinical success of composite depends on the Light-Curing Units (LCU) to deliver adequate light energy to polymerize the resin. However, light-curing usually does not receive the proper awareness it deserves.

 This study aims to evaluate the effect of contamination and debris of the LCU's tip on its light output. Determine the effect of damage to the LCU's tip such as chipping, dents and scratches. Additionally, it evaluates the effect of plastic barrier sleeves.

 Sixty LED LCUs were tested using MARC™ Resin Calibrator (BlueLight Analytic Inc., Halifax, Canada) to measure their irradiance and energy before and after cleaning their tips. They were also tested with and without a clear plastic barrier. Additionally, four damaged LCUs received new tips and were tested again. Kruskal-Wallis H and One-Way ANOVA tests were used for statistical analysis.

 Cleaning the LCUs' tips showed significant improvement, an average increase of 8.2%. However, some units increased by up to 47% in irradiance and energy values. Replacing the damaged tip with a new one significantly improved the output of the LCUs, increasing light energy by up to 73%. The barrier used in this study caused 7% reduction in the energy delivered by the LCUs. The statistical analysis showed that cleaning the LCUs and replacing their damaged tips resulted in a significant increase in energy (p<0.05).

 Unclean or damaged LCUs' tips can drastically reduce the light output of the LCUs, reducing the quality of the composite restorations. Clinicians are strongly recommended to regularly monitor, clean and maintain their curing lights.