This thesis presents the design and performance of the Virtual Palpation Gripper, an early prototype of a remote palpation instrument intended for laparoscopic surgery. Psychophysical experiments related to this prototype are also described.In minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopic surgery, the interventions are performed with instruments inserted into the body through small incisions. This technique has become increasingly popular and is now considered the gold standard for many surgical procedures, such as cholecystectomy. Themain advantages compared to open surgery are smaller scars, reduction in pain and faster recovery. Despite the advantages, laparoscopic surgery introduces many restrictions for the surgeon, such as reduced dexterity, fewer degrees of freedom and awkward positioning of the hands. Additionally, the visual and tactile perception is severely degraded. The aim of the Virtual Palpation Gripper is to compensate for some of the lost perception by feeding tactile information back to the surgeon. The ultimate goal is to make the remote palpation instrument serve as an extension of the surgeon's fingers. This is accomplished by attaching a tactile sensor array to the end effector of a laparoscopic grasper and a tactile display to the handle of the grasper. The sensor array then aids as the tactile sense, and the tactile information is sent to the surgeon's fingers via the tactile display to provide him with a feeling of the shape,hardness, or size of an object grasped with the laparoscopic instrument.Two different sensor arrays are discussed. The first one is based on piezoelectricity and is made from scratch in our laboratory. The second sensor is the custom made TactArray, which is based on a mature capacitive technology. Both sensor arrays are small enough to fit through a 12 mm trocar. Due to crosstalk in the piezoelectric array, the TactArray sensor array is chosen for the prototype of the Virtual Palpation Gripper. The performance and usefulness of the sensor array is tested and documented through an experiment where 15 surgeons with varying experience participate. The main goal is to compare direct palpation (with gloved fingers as in open surgery), palpation with a conventional laparoscopic grasper and palpation with a laparoscopic grasper with visually presented tactile information. Results show that direct palpation is superior to both the laparoscopic graspers, but that the grasper with visual feedback of the tactile image seems to be useful for subjects who fully understand how to use it, especially for hardness discrimination (note that the size of the end effector of the conventional grasper and the quality of the grasper differed from that of the laparoscopic grasper with visual feedback of the tactile image, and this may have affected the results).The tactile shape display consists of small direct-current motors and has a size compatible with conventional laparoscopic instruments. Performance tests of the display are conducted with focus on positioning accuracy, force, bandwidth and stiffness. In addition, an experiment focusing on pin shapes for tactile displays is described. The results show that there is no significant variation in perception with the different pin shapes investigated.Finally, the communication between the tactile sensor and the tactile display is described, and the full system is evaluated by performance tests and a psychophysical experiment. The display can successfully convey useful information about the size, hardness and shape of objects pressed against the tactile sensor array, although there is a definite potential for improving the bandwidth and resolution such that small scale information about texture and sharp edges can be represented. Ten subjects participate in the psychophysical experiments, where the goal is to compare our full remote palpation instrument with tactile feedback with a conventional laparoscopic grasper. The results show that the remote palpation system seems to work somewhat better than conventional laparoscopic instruments for discriminating between and locating different sizes.


We investigated the gut microbiota in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its correlation with fibrosis and steatosis stratified by body mass index, as reflected in the controlled attenuation parameter and transient elastography values. A cross-sectional study was performed on 37 patients with NAFLD at Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital from December 2018 to March 2019. The gut microbiota was investigated in fecal samples with 16S RNA sequencing using the MiSeq next-generation sequencing platform (Illumina). NAFLD was more common in patients with metabolic syndrome. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla. Bacteroides was more dominant than Prevotella, contrary to the results of previous studies on healthy populations in Indonesia. Microbiota dysbiosis was observed in most samples. The gastrointestinal microbiota diversity was significantly decreased in patients with NAFLD, high triglyceride levels, and central obesity. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio correlated with steatosis and obesity, whereas some of the other species in lower taxonomy levels were mostly associated with steatosis and obesity without fibrosis. Proteobacteria was the only phylum strongly correlated with fibrosis in patients with an average body mass index. The gut microbiota diversity was decreased in patients with NAFLD, high triglyceride levels, and central obesity, and certain gut microbes were correlated with fibrosis and steatosis.


Aim: determine the use of the technology associated to the control of strength training in teams of the Spanish roller hockey. The following aspects were examined: physical conditioning coaches profile and the percentage of the teams than utilize an encoder, to measure the displacement time of the bar, and the Optojump system. Methods: A survey was administered to the responsible of the physical conditioning preparation of each team by means of personal interview. The response rate was 83.3%. Results: There were differences between categories in the utilization of the encoder (21.4 vs 12.5%) and of the Optojump (35.7 versus 25.0%). The two vertical jump height tests more used were the countermovement jump (CMJ) (33.9%) and the squat jump (SJ) (20.5%). Due to the variability of practical applications of the Optojump and especially of the encoder, and the difficulty to control numerous parameters by means of another methodologies. Conclusion: the results of this study show, that at least in great part in the teams examined exist absence of scientific control of the strength training. The poor scientific formation of the physical conditioning coaches and various aspects associated to the team sports, requirements of the competition calendar, variability of performance factors and the numbers of players can explain these results.


Trypsin is an enzyme which is important for research as well as for the pharmaceutical industry, medicine and health, which is especially developed as a raw material for digestive enzymes. This study aimed to characterize PST from Lactobacillus plantarum FNCC 0270 that have not been studied as a producer of trypsin. Fermentation for producing PST by L . plantarum FNCC 0270 was performed in the LKB fermentor with working volume of 3.5 liters, at temperature of 37 oC, pH value of 8, agitation rate of 77 rpm and aeration of 0.5 vvm. The media composition were 3.64% baker's yeast, 1.21% glucose, 0.13% skim milk. The fementation resulted in enzyme activities of 0.00129 U/mL and protein content of 0.49 mg/mL. Purification of the PST conducted by ultrafiltration Hollow Fiber Catridge 5 kD, presipitated with ammonium sulfate saturated (30-70%), 30 kD membrane polyesthersulfone, ion exchange column chromatography Q-XL and HiTrap affinity column chromatography. All of system increased purity of the crude PST. SDS-PAGE of PST indicated the molecular weights of 47.35; 38.42;21.40 and 12.96 kD. The PST was stable at pH value of 8 and temperature range of 25-35 oC. It is proved that the same half-life was 693.2 minutes. Km and Vmax values of the PST were 0.231 mM and 0.001 U/mL, respectively using N-α-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide as the substrate. PST was inhibited by EDTA, Ca2+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Mn2+ and specific substrates. Based on the result of characterization of PST from L. plantarum FNCC 0270 can be concluded that the trypsin–like protease (PST) was trypsin.


Background: This study investigated the act of witnessing interparental violence as a girl and its association with experience of intimate partner violence later in life. A higher level of acceptance of violence was tested as an explanatory factor, in the light of learnt behaviour and gender socialisation theories. Methods: This cross-sectional study used structured interviews for data collection. In all, 730 married women, aged 17–60, in rural Vietnam participated, with a response rate of 83%. Bi- and multivariate analyses are presented. Results: 16% reported witnessing interparental violence as a child. Of these, 40% had experienced physical/sexual violence in their intimate relationship over time and 16% in the past year. The risk of lifetime (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.88 to 4.34) and past-year physical and sexual violence (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.31 to 4.1) was significantly higher for those who had witnessed interparental violence during childhood than those with no such experience. Women with experience of interparental violence during childhood reported acceptance of violence within an intimate relationship to a higher extent than those with no such experience. Conclusion: These findings should be understood within the frame of existing theories on social learning, learnt behaviour and the gender socialisation process. The findings further highlight the importance of the intergenerational effect and the need for preventative strategies focused on improving women's autonomy, for gender equity and for effective legislation that stops all kinds of violence against women.


This study explored Ontario early childhood educators' (ECEs) experiences and perceptions about the development of sexuality during early childhood. Sixty-four educators completed an online survey with a mix of closed- and open-ended questions; quantitative data were used to provide descriptive statistics and qualitative data were interpreted using thematic analysis. The findings underscore that ECEs observe children expressing typical sexual behaviours in early learning settings. These behaviours include self-touching, those occurring during bathroom routines and play-time, and behaviours influenced from family experiences. Varying perspectives about the purpose of sexuality education in early childhood emerged; ECEs suggested that knowledge of self, families, and being able to answer children's questions should be key areas on which to focus. Participants also discussed concerns regarding childhood sexual development. Primary concerns included parental involvement, questioning the appropriateness of sexuality education in early childhood, and the need for more professional development. Many factors affected ECEs willingness to address the development of sexuality in their practice. When asked about workplace policies that could provide guidance, one-third of ECEs did not know if a policy existed, and a further 54% stated their workplace had no policy. These findings contribute new data on ECE perceptions about preschool sexuality education in a Canadian context. The development of curriculum and policy are suggested as ways to provide systematic guidance and protocols regarding sexual and gender development. Additional training in the area of childhood sexual development is suggested to increase ECEs' knowledge and skills in guiding the development of sexuality in childhood.


Reducing the operating voltage is one of the most efficient ways to reduce the power dissipation of deep submicron ULSIs. A new bus architecture that reduces the operating power by using a bus signal swing of less than 1 V is proposed. This enables reduction of the bus swing to 1/3 that of the conventional architecture while maintaining a high speed and a low standby current. This architecture provides an efficient way to relieve the constraint of subthreshold leakage on V/sub CC/ scaling and to reduce the operating power of deep submicron ULSIs. Circuit configuration and performance are presented, together with experimental results.<<ETX>>


The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) has extensively invaded the southeastern United States where it may alter biotic communities. We examined the influence of fire ants on native ant community composition and patterns of seed dispersal of elaiosome-bearing plants using pitfall trapping and observation of ant-seed interactions at experimental seed caches. We found that, while species richness varies independently of fire ant density, native ant abundance is negatively correlated with fire ant density. This inverse relationship may be due, in part, to the ability of native ants to limit fire ant invasion or the preference of native and fire ants for differing abiotic conditions. Fire ants were similar to native ants in quality of seed dispersal as measured by distance of dispersal and destination. Additionally, increasing densities of fire ants resulted in increases in overall rates of seed dispersal without a subsequent decline in dispersal


This paper examines development processes of a country when the degree of verifiability is endogenously determined. We characterize the development processes rigorously and show that although the efforts for improving of verifiability are important, the income distribution of a country is crucial for the effectiveness of efforts to the development processes. Moreover, this paper explains the situation where one country shows high growth rates temporally even if the technology of enforcement is poor, but eventually it experiences economic collapses.


Techniques have been devised for studying quantitatively the effects of air ions on microorganisms suspended in small drops. In smog-contaminated atmospheres moderate concentrations of positive and negative air ions exerted a protective effect on staphylococci by delaying the drop in pH customarily observed and by diminishing the rate of evaporation. In clean air higher concentrations of positive and negative air ions accelerated the rate of death of staphylococci apparently by direct action on the cells and by increasing the rate of evaporation. Air ion action in these experiments did not involve cell agglutination or direct radiation from the radioactive isotopes employed.


Agricultural landscapes can be managed to protect biodiversity and maintain ecosystem services. One approach to achieve this is to restore native perennial vegetation within croplands. Where rowcrops have displaced prairie, as in the US Midwest, restoration of native perennial vegetation can align with crops in so called "prairie strips." We tested the effect of prairie strips in addition to other management practices on a variety of taxa and on a suite of ecosystem services. To do so, we worked within a 33-year-old experiment that included treatments that varied methods of agricultural management across a gradient of land use intensity. In the two lowest intensity crop management treatments, we introduced prairie strips that occupied 5% of crop area. We addressed three questions: (1) What are the effects of newly established prairie strips on the spillover of biodiversity and ecosystem services into cropland? (2) How does time since prairie strip establishment affect biodiversity and ecosystem services? (3) What are the tradeoffs and synergies among biodiversity conservation, non-provisioning ecosystem services, and provisioning ecosystem services (crop yield) across a land use intensity gradient (which includes prairie strips)? Within prairie strip treatments, where sampling effort occurred within and at increasing distance from strips, dung beetle abundance, spider abundance and richness, active carbon, decomposition, and pollination decreased with distance from prairie strips, and this effect increased between the first and second year. Across the entire land use intensity gradient, treatments with prairie strips and reduced chemical inputs had higher butterfly abundance, spider abundance, and pollination services. In addition, soil organic carbon, butterfly richness, and spider richness increased with a decrease in land use intensity. Crop yield in one treatment with prairie strips was equal to that of the highest intensity management, even while including the area taken out of production. We found no effects of strips on ant biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions (N2O and CH4). Our results show that, even in early establishment, prairie strips and lower land use intensity can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services without a disproportionate loss of crop yield.


The adoption of the Dolev-Yao model, an abstraction of security protocols that supports symbolic reasoning, is responsible for many successes in protocol analysis. In particular, it has enabled using logic e ectively to reason about protocols. One recent framework for expressing the basic assumptions of the Dolev-Yao model is given by strand spaces, certain directed graphs whose structure re ects causal interactions among protocol participants. We represent strand constructions as relatively simple formulas in rst-order linear logic, a re nement of traditional logic known for an intrinsic and natural accounting of process states, events, and resources. The proposed encoding is shown to be sound and complete. Interestingly, this encoding di ers from the multiset rewriting de nition of the Dolev-Yao model, which is also based on linear logic. This raises the possibility that the multiset rewriting framework may di er from strand spaces in some subtle way, although the two settings are known to agree on the basic secrecy property.


Introduction: Globally, mental illness affects social and occupational functioning. We aimed to highlight the barriers to employment experienced by persons with mental disabilities in Kenya and how they manage to find work against all the odds. Materials and Methods: Using a mixed-method study design, we purposely sampled persons with mental illness through networks of persons with psychosocial disabilities (Users and Survivors of Psychiatry and Africa Mental Health Foundation, Kenya). Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews (n = 14) and four focus group discussions (n = 30), while a researcher-designed questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data (n = 72). Results: We identified five major clusters of barriers to employment: mental illness factors, social exclusion and stigma, work identity crisis, non-accommodative environment, and socioeconomic status. Factors that facilitated employment include self-awareness and acceptance, self-employment, provision of reasonable accommodation, improved health services, addressing discriminatory laws and practices, and social development programs and support. Participants considered psychiatric illness the highest barrier to employment (63.2%), while supportive family/friends were considered the highest facilitator of employment (54.5%). Conclusion: The employment experiences of persons with mental disabilities are influenced by various interrelated factors in their social environment. Proactive social support and affirmative action by government may improve their employment opportunities and quality of life.


This article views rigged re-election as a threat posed to the legitimacy of democratic regimes in Africa by closely looking at the Nigerian scenario. It argues that most African governments perform poorly on public affairs, and yet continue to renew their mandates using power of incumbency and state machinery, including the election bodies. These governments are often declared winners even though the elections were not free and fair. This article takes a look at the issue of re-elections in Africa and the legitimacy of regimes that emerge therefrom, with a specific focus on Nigeria.


OBJECTIVES
A group of short bowel syndrome (SBS) patients developed chronic intestinal inflammation while struggling weaning off parenteral nutrition (PN). They did not respond to standard management of SBS and food allergy. We treated them with glucocorticoids and described the outcome.

METHODS
Our study is a retrospective descriptive study. We reviewed records from the intestinal rehabilitation program from 2006 to 2017. We identified 15 patients whose lab values, pathology results, and clinic notes were reviewed.

RESULTS
We had more patients (n = 10) with diagnosis of gastroschisis, and more female patients (n = 9). Seven patients weaned off PN with median treatment duration of 5 months, five of which remained on budesonide for significant period of time (median: 7.5 months). One of these 7 patients relapsed, as the patient resumed glucocorticoids due to recurrence of chronic intestinal inflammation. Six of 15 children had significant eosinophils in their initial biopsy, 5 of these children weaned off PN while one's GI bleeding stopped. Four patients were not able to decrease PN calorie. Two of these patients'GI bleeding stopped, the other two had normalized histology.

CONCLUSIONS
For SBS children with histologically confirmed chronic intestinal inflammation, glucocorticoids may help promote enteral feeding tolerance. Glucocorticoids regimen should be chosen individually. Patients are more likely to respond if initial histology has significant eosinophilic infiltration. Patients may need to remain on glucocorticoids for over six months.


Introduction: an antineoplastic chemotherapy has become one of de most important and a promising way to combat the cancer however can cause several adverse effects. The knowledge of these effects subsidizes tools for planning nursing care to the patient's necessity and can help on the control of symptoms. Objective: to draw up a treatment protocol to the person undergoing chemotherapy in order to adverse effects of medication; to elaborate affirmative of nursing diagnosis based on adverse effects and developing interventions for patients who undergo chemotherapy. Methodology: an exploratory-descriptive study. A literature review was conducted to identify adverse effects related to chemotherapy. On the basis of adverse effects identified were chosen focus axis in terms of the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) version 2011. The chosen terms guided the construction of affirmative nursing diagnosis and the development of interventions. Those were based on the Supportive-educative System Theory of Dorothea Orem. Results: 20 adverse events in chemotherapy have been indentified by reviewing the literature and the most common being: oral mucositis, infections, nausea, bleeding, vomiting, neutropenia and alopecia respectively. Based on 20 adverse effects identified were chosen 25 terms from focus axis in ICNP that were the basis for the construction of 99 statements of nursing diagnoses/results and 175 interventions for those patients. Conclusion: the application of the nursing process facilitates the development of a care plan and systematize nursing care. The nursing diagnoses built and their respect interventions favors an improved assessment and the care for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The interventions based on educational process can be tools for patients and family become subjects of care with actions aimed at facing with problems resulted from the treatment.


Introduction The goal of this study is to investigate syphilis infection status among partners of syphilis-infected pregnant women, and to analyse the associated factors from the perspective of both pregnant women and their partners. Methods This study was based on Shenzhen Program for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Syphilis. Follow-up survey and contact tracing were conducted among syphilis-infected pregnant women diagnosed from 2008 to 2015. Both toludine red unheated serum test (TRUST) and treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) were applied to partners attending antenatal care clinics. Structural questionnaire was used to collect information. Binary logistic regression model was applied to analyse the factors associated with partners' syphilis infection. Results During the studied years, 6318 pregnant women were identified with syphilis infection and 5351 partners of these women visited the antenatal care clinics and took the serological testing. From the laboratory record and clinical examination results, 1148 partners were diagnosed with syphilis infection. The infection rate decreased from 26.23% in 2008 to 15.07% in 2015. The partners were more likely to have syphilis infection when pregnant women with TRUST titers≥1 8 or at the early syphilis stage. The partners had more risk of syphilis infection when they had multiple sex partners. Conclusion Syphilis infection rate among partners of syphilis-infected pregnant women is high. Pregnant women's levels of TRUST titer and disease stage as well as partners' sexual behaviours were important factors associated with partners' syphilis infection. Partner notification and contact tracing is an important way to identify syphilis patients.


One of the biggest created software is Web browser, today's almost is unique software used to access online for lot off electronic transactions services such as e-mail, e-banking, e-commerce, and e-learning etc... Hackers know that browsers are installed into all computers, smart phones, tablets , soon other devices such TV, Cars and others, they can be used to compromise all this devices, all browsers have enabled or disabled features that define theirs behaviors for executing good material and stopping malicious ones, unfortunately most of users are unwilling to setup this features correctly to enhance theirs safety, because many of them still do not understand even basic security concepts. This paper presents Web Browsers Security Web-Lab where student can practice and test online the real security threat that he was or could be exposed with his browser, we describe a two part for achieving this work, first an application launched at student side that will automatically detect all installed browsers and theirs features setting in his computer and based on the finding prepare to him an online tailored security awareness practicing work program and second Web-Lab platform where he can practice and test all security hole and risk if he browse the web with such enabled or disabled feature in his browser.


Gouging is a frequently encountered rail damage phenomenon and has been observed in several large-bore guns. In this study the size and number of gouges have been determined as a function of position and velocity. Detailed analysis was performed on rails recovered from single shot experiments. Rail hardness and surface and microstructural characteristics of gouges have been determined and analyzed to relate materials properties to gouge formation. We observed hardening and plastic flow of copper beneath a gouge crater. Transmission electron microscope studies showed twinning in copper. We find that gouge sizes are closely related to armature contact size. The gouge is generally shorter than the contact length and no wider than the contact. Our study shows that rail hardness is affected in the vicinity of a gouge. After gouges are formed on a rail, the hardness is no longer uniform and performance of the rail conductor is affected.


Rippling is a method of controlling rewriting of the terms in an induction step of an inductive proof, to ensure that a position is reached whereby the induction hypothesis can be applied.
Rippling was developed primarily by the Mathematical Reasoning Group at the University of Edinburgh. The primary implementations are in the two proof planning systems Clam and Lambda-Clam. An implementation is also available in HOL. In this paper we explain how we plan to implement rippling as a tactic for automatic generation of proofs requiring induction in PVS.
Rippling has mostly been used as part of a larger project for developing high-level proof strategies, but has rarely been applied
to $quot;real-world$quot; examples. Once we have this implementation we intend to assess the utility of this as a tactic by running rippling on the large number of inductive proofs developed by Gottliebsen as part of the PVS Real Analysis library.
By comparing the performance of the automation offered by rippling on these proofs with the original proof, which were proved by a combination
of hand-generation of proofs and by existing PVS strategies, we hope to assess the utility of rippling as a technique for real-world applications.


Twenty-nine tumor specimens were obtained from 24 males with germ cell tumors. All primary sites and histologies were represented. An isochromosome of the short arm of chromosome 12 [i (12p)] was found in 20 specimens obtained from 16 patients, a 46,XY normal karyotype was present in seven specimens, and one specimen was a cytogenetic failure. The i(12p) was found in tumors from all primary sites and in all histologies, including a choriocarcinoma. The presence of three or more additional copies of 12p was associated with a statistically significant greater likelihood of treatment failure. With diagnostic and possibly prognostic importance in germ cell tumors in males, the high frequency of i(12p) in our series of studies and in those of others indicates that it probably occurs as a very early defect in the development of these tumors. Further studies of chromosome 12 in males with these tumors are warranted.


Transitional-composition pillow basalts from the toe of the Hilo Ridge, collected from outcrop by submersible, have yielded the oldest ages known from the Island of Hawaii: 1138 ± 34 to 1159 ± 33 ka. Hilo Ridge has long been interpreted as a submarine rift zone of Mauna Kea, but the new ages validate proposals that it is the distal east rift zone of Kohala, the oldest subaerial volcano on the island. These ages constrain the inception of tholeiitic volcanism at Kohala, provide the first measured duration of tholeiitic shield building (≥870 k.y.) for any Hawaiian volcano, and show that this 125-km-long rift zone developed to near-total length during early growth of Kohala. Long eastern-trending rift zones of Hawaiian volcanoes may follow fractures in oceanic crust activated by arching of the Hawaiian Swell in front of the propagating hotspot.


The more rapid absorption of the cyclosporin A (CyA) microemulsion formulation (Neoral, NEO) compared to Sandimmune (SIM) might bypass intestinal metabolism resulting in differing amounts of CyA metabolites in blood as compared to SIM. If true, then CyA levels obtained with a CyA monoclonal antibody assay (TDx) that has metabolite cross-reactivity might differ depending on the CyA formulation received by the patient, thereby affecting safety and efficacy. Fifty-one NEO vs. 50 SIM treated de novo renal transplant recipients from a multicenter double-blind randomized trial had morning, whole-blood, trough-samples obtained at the ends of weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12 post-transplant assayed for CyA by HPLC and TDx. The slopes (ratio of TDx value to HPLC value) for the regression lines between TDx and HPLC levels as a function of time post-transplant and CyA formulation were determined using a general linear model. For NEO, the slopes at each week (1.21-1.41 x HPLC) did not differ significantly (p = 0.82). For SIM, the week 1 slope (1.2) was significantly (p = 0.006) less than the other weeks (1.4-1.44). The slopes (NEO vs. SIM) were not different at either week 1 (1.21 vs. 1.22, p = 0.82) or at pooled weeks 4, 8, and 12 (1.33 vs. 1.4, p = 0.1). These results indicate that despite the improved absorption, TDx values obtained on NEO are qualitatively similar to those obtained on SIM.


: Two adolescents with a rare mullerian anomaly, uterus unicornis with a noncommunicating rudimentary uterine cavity, are presented because of clinical manifestations characterized by dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain requiring multiple hospitalizations and surgical procedures prior to the correct diagnosis. A high index of suspicion and proper diagnostic evaluation are essential for all adolescent patients presenting with dysmenorrhea associated with menarche and subsequent menstruation. The details of 2 cases and their diagnostic and therapeutic emphasis are presented.


The crystallisation mechanism of glass-ceramic materials from a CMAS group Al0.37B0.34Fe0.01Mg0.02Zn0.29Ca0.05Si0.78O3 was tested under non-isothermal conditions by the DTA method. Glass-ceramic material of two-phase composition with precipitation of crystallites from islet silicates Zn2SiO4 and a crystalline phase from a spinel group, gahnite ZnAl2O4 was obtained in the system under investigation. Activation energy of a crystallization process Ea was determined and a crystal growth morphology parameter n was computed. It was revealed that in the test material from a CMAS group one could obtain the crystalline phase in the form of ghanite as a result of a controlled process of crystallization. The occurrence of a spinel phase caused the obtained glass-ceramic material had higher fracture toughness (KIC) than material from a CMAS group, containing pyroxene crystalline phases typical for this system.


Recent research on the syntax of signed language has revealed that, apart from some modality-specific differences, signed languages are organized according to the same underlying principles as spoken languages. This book addresses the organization and distribution of functional categories in American Sign Language (ASL), focusing on tense, agreement and "wh"-constructions. Signed languages provide illuminating evidence about functional projections of a kind unavailable in the study of spoken languages. Along with manual signing, crucial information is expressed by specific movements of the face and upper body. The authors argue that such nonmanual markings are often direct expressions of abstract syntactic features. The distribution and intensity of these markings provide information about the location of functional heads and the boundaries of functional projections. The authors show how evidence from ASL is useful for evaluating a number of recent theoretical proposals on, among other things, the status of syntactic agreement projections and constraints on phrase structure and the directionality of movement.


Hypothesis: Emergency physician interpretation of prehospital, paramedic-acquired, electrocardiograms (ECG) is accurate judged by comparison urith that of a reference cardiologist. Methods: Twelve-lead ECGs were obtained by paramedics in the field from 150 patients with acute chest pain. The ECGs were transmitted by cellular telephone to a central location. Each ECG was assessed for evidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by: 1) a third-year, emergency medicine resident (EMP-R); 2) a residency-trained, board-certified, emergency physician (EMP-RT); 3) an emergency physician board certified under the practice option (EMP-PT); and 4) a board-certified cardiologist. Agreement between each emergency physician and the cardiologist was assessed by the kappa statistic. Hospital records were reviewed for final diagnosis of each patient. Results: Sixteen of 150 (10.7%) patients received a hospital discharge diagnosis of AMI. Sensitivity of physician interpretation ranged from 0.31 to 0.56. All physicians achieved specificity of 0.99. False-positive rates for the physicians ranged from 0.18-0.29. The mean positive predictive value for the four physicians was 0.77+0.05; the mean negative predictive value was 0.94+0.01. The total agreements between the EMP-R, EMP-RT, and EMP-PT and the cardiologists were 0.97, 0.96, and 0.97, respectively. Kappa values for agreement between the emergency physicians and the cardiologist ranged from 0.65-0.79. Conclusions: Residency-trained or board-certified emergency physician interpretations of prehospital, paramedic-acquired 12-lead ECGs show a high degree of agreement with reference cardiologist interpretations.


Emerging market economies (EMEs) have persistently experienced different waves of commodity terms of trade disturbances, generating macroeconomic instabilities. The adoption of in‡flation targeting (IT) by many emerging market economies has raised the questions about its relative suitability in dealing with these shocks compared with other regimes. This paper tests the robustness of infl‡ation targeting compared to monetary targeting and exchange rate targeting regimes in coping with commodity terms of trade shocks. It uses a panel VAR technique to analyse in a comparative framework, aggregate impulse response functions and variance decompositions of variables to commodity terms of trade shocks. The results show that in general, IT countries respond better to commodity terms of trade shocks especially with respect to infl‡ation and output gap. However, exchange rates are more volatile in IT countries than in exchange rate targeting countries. The results suggest that EMEs countries can reduce the adverse effects of commodity terms of trade fluctuations when they adopt in‡ation targeting, but they also need to pay attention to exchange rate movements.


Seaweed, a popular seafood in South Korea, has abundant dietary fiber and minerals. The toxicity of arsenic compounds is known to be related to their chemical speciation, and inorganic arsenic (iAs) is more detrimental than other species. Due to the different toxicities of the various chemical forms, speciation analysis is important for evaluating arsenic exposure. In this study, total arsenic (tAs) and six arsenic species (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, and arsenocholine) were analyzed in 180 seaweed samples. Although there were differences between seaweed species, the concentration of tAs was detected at levels ranging from 1 to 100 µg/g, and the distribution of six arsenic species differed depending on the seaweed species. No correlation between the concentration of iAs and tAs was found in most seaweed species. Through statistical clustering, hijiki and gulfweed were seen to be the seaweeds with the highest ratios of iAs to tAs. Using the iAs concentration data from the arsenic speciation analysis, a risk assessment of seaweed intake in South Korea was conducted. The margin of exposure values showed no meaningful risk for the general population, but low levels of risk were identified for seaweed consumers, with high intakes of gulfweed and hijiki.


Network engineers and designers need additional tools to generate network traffic in order to test and evaluate application performances or network provisioning for instance. In such a context, traffic characteristics are the very important part of the work. Indeed, it is quite easy to generate traffic but it is more difficult to produce traffic which can exhibit real characteristics such as the ones you can observe in the Internet. With the lack of adequate tools to generate data flows with "realistic behaviors" at the network or transport level, we needed to develop our tool entitled "SourcesOnOff". The emphasis of this article is on presenting this tool, how we implemented it and which methodology it follows to produce traffic with realistic characteristics. To do so, we chose to consider different stochastic processes in order to model the complexity of the different original traffics we wanted to replay. In our approach, we are able to consider several statistical laws and to combine their effects to model accurately the original behavior we analyzed in the real data. We then select the right parameters to consider as inputs for our SourcesOnOff tool. This approach gives really good traffic characteristics and, consequently, the generated traffic is really closed to reality as results presented at this end of this paper demonstrate it.


Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes that can be observed in some bacterial strains, most commonly in Escherichia coli, which are resistant to various antibiotics, specifically beta-lactams. Having the ability to destroy active ingredients of certain antibiotics, the impacts of undesirable utilization of antibiotics increase the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing additional threats to public health. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the pig farm environments as potential reservoirs of ESBL-producing E. coli by its presence in water and soil samples, its gene prevalence, and its negative effects on public health through gathering credible studies from various databases and examining journals that have met the set review standards. Among the isolates from the six included studies, the existence of ESBL-producing E. coli was higher in water samples with 13.63% of isolates. From the four studies discussing the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli genes, the most dominant gene detected in water samples was bla CTX-M (40%), followed by bla TEM (9%), and bla SHV (0%). In soil samples, the bla CTX-M gene (36%) still predominates, then the bla SHV gene (27%), and lastly, the bla TEM gene (5%). Without concern for the sample type, the most dominant gene was the bla CTX-M gene (39%), followed by both bla TEM (8%) and bla SHV genes (8%). The data shows that unsanitary pig farms are potential sources for ESBL-producing E. coli . With its ability to resist antibiotics, the increasing distribution of this bacteria to different environmental matrices increases its risk of infections, thereby also affecting the health of the public.


Parkia biglobosa is an important Agroforestry species, providing many goods and services for sustainable development. In spite of that, its population is decreasing rapidly as a result of over exploitation. In order to promote the propagation of this species for sustainable production, this research investigated the influence of rooting media (top soil, sawdust and river sand) and two different hormones of varied concentrations (Indole-3-Butyric Acid and Indole Acetic Acid at 50, 100 and 150ml/1L concentrations) on the stem cuttings of the species. The data for the study were collected on percentage survival, number of roots, length of longest roots, total root length and number of leaves. Factorial experiment was used in a completely randomized design. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Means were separated with Duncan Multiple Range Tests where there is significant difference (p<0.05). Cuttings that were treated with indole-3-acetic acid at 100ml/1L and planted in sawdust (SD/IAA/100ml/1L) produced highest results with 22.2% survival which was similar to 55.53% (SD/IAA/150), with longest (4.76 cm) length of longest root and total roots length (10.36 cm) formed and as such recommended for vegetative propagation of P. biglobosa.


Combined cycle power plants play an important role in the present energy sector. Combined Cycle plants couple a Brayton cycle with a Rankine cycle. For the combined power plants, the optimization of the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is of particular interest in order to improve the efficiency of the heat recovery from gas turbine exhaust to maximize the power production in the steam cycle. In the present study effect of different operating variables such as exhaust gas flow rate, exhaust gas temperature, pinch point, approach point, steam temperature, steam pressure on the performance of HRSG has been investigated. Triple pressure steam cycle is considered for the bottoming cycle to reduce irreversibilities during heat transfer from gas to water/steam. The cycle is analysed by using energy and exergy analysis. It is observed that in triple pressure cycle selection of IP and LP pressures, and LP pinch are identified as dominant parameters having impact on heat recovery steam generator performance.


The steel strands in posttensioned (PT) concrete systems are typically embedded inside cementitious grout for protection from the environment. However, strands not embedded in grout have been observed in PT systems. The exposed strand is susceptible to corrosion, and particularly the location where the strand protrudes from the grout (i.e., grout-air-steel interface) is more vulnerable to corrosion. Prediction of the tension capacity (CT) of strands with such interfaces under various exposure conditions is necessary for structural assessment. This prediction could be accomplished by using the data from an experimental program that includes the exposure of strands to various corrosive environments and testing to determine the time-variant residual CT of these strands. However, these tests are cumbersome and expensive, especially when it is necessary to maintain very high tensile stress conditions during the exposure period to simulate the in-service stress conditions on the strands in PT systems. Similar investigations of unstressed single wires are simpler and less expensive. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the corrosion-induced losses in the CT of unstressed wires, unstressed strands, and stressed strands. Based on these data, this paper develops probabilistic models to predict the CT of unstressed wires with grout-air-steel interfaces and subjected to various moisture and chloride conditions. By using these models for wires and the experimental data on strands, two probabilistic models are then developed to predict the CT of stressed strands based on the CT of unstressed wires. The developed models can be used to determine the CT of strands with grout-air-steel interfaces subjected to various exposure conditions, provided the CT of corresponding wires under those conditions is estimated.


The paired tubular accessory glands in Haemaphysalis longicornis open at the junction of the cervical and the vestibular parts of vagina via short and narrow ducts. The pseudostratified columnar glandular epithelium covered by the muscle layer consists of both secretory and supporting cells. As feeding proceeds, the secretory cells increase in volume. In ovipositing females, well‐developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi complex, and membranebound granules that are undergoing exocytosis suggest that the secretory cells are involved in protein synthesis. However, in virgin females that fed 10 days, only small dense granules and no secretion activity were observed. The secretions from the tubular accessory gland may be released into the genital tract during the egg passage through the vagina. However, the supporting cells located between the secretory cells become slender during feeding, cohere to each other at the luminal side, and have a very narrow attachment at the basement membrane. Supporting cells probably help maintain secretory cell shape especially during granular discharge into the lumen. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Introduction To know the conditions of life and health, to identify differences between transvestites and MtFs, and to verify the proportion of cases of HIV-AIDS and tuberculosis in these subgroups. Methods A cross-sectional study realised in São Paulo city, Brazil, in 2014, with the application of a KAP questionnaire (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) to a convenience sample of 124 individuals (58 transvestites and 66 MtFs) aged ≥18 years. Comparisons between the percent distributions of the groups were performed using the Pearson chi-square test or Fisher´s exact test, considering a significance level of 5%. Results The mean age of all respondents was 32.2 years (SD=9.9 years). Statistical differences were observed between groups regarding prostitution and passage through prisons (p<0.001). The use of alcohol and drugs was high in both groups, and cocaine and crack were the most commonly reported drugs. All transvestites and 80% of MtFs referred syphilis treatment. About 36% of transvestites and 22.7% of MtFs were HIV+ (p=0.099). They had already performed treatment for tuberculosis, 25.9% of transvestites and 9.1% of MtFs (p=0.096). HIV-AIDS-tuberculosis co-infection was observed in 17.2% of transvestites and 6.1% of MtFs. Conclusion The results indicate that the living and health conditions of this population are marked by their vulnerability to HIV-AIDS and co-infection with tuberculosis. The invisibility of this group in official health data compromises the control of these diseases in this population. Also, the dichotomies observed between transvestites and MtFs should be considered in the planning of preventive actions and future studies.


Pat LaFontaine shares the personal details of his own struggle with depression & physical rehabilitation, as well as those other amazing athletes who were challenged by adversity & won. These are stories that will inspire others with the determination, courage, & winning spirit necessary to break through life's roadblocks & succeed.


Studies on biology basis from human being or other animals have attracted an ever increasing attention in pattern recognition. This paper describe a new model of pattern recognition principles, witch is based on "matter cognition" instead of "matter classification" in traditional statistical pattern recognition. This new model is better closer to the function of human being, rather than traditional statistical pattern recognition using "optimal separating" as its main principle. So the new model of pattern recognition is called the Bionic(or cognitive) Pattern Recognition. In the support of this theory, the pulse coupled neural network (PCNN), an entirely different neural network from traditional artificial ones, is used for image target recognition. Through the contrast of the image, the linking strength of each pixel can be chosen adaptively. After the processing of PCNN with the adaptive linking strength, new fire mapping images are obtained for each image from sensor. The clear objects of each original image are decided by the compare-selection operator with the fire mapping images pixel by pixel and then all of them are merged into a new clear image. As a result, the target which was polluted by noise was recognized correctly.


This article explores some of the critical challenges facing self-regulation and the regulatory environment for digital platforms. We examine several historical examples of firms and industries that attempted self-regulation before the Internet. All dealt with similar challenges involving multiple market actors and potentially harmful content or bias in search results: movies and video games, radio and television advertising, and computerized airline reservation systems. We follow this historical discussion with examples of digital platforms in the Internet era that have proven problematic in similar ways, with growing calls for government intervention through sectoral regulation and content controls. We end with some general guidelines for when and how specific types of platform businesses might self-regulate more effectively. Although our sample is small and exploratory, the research suggests that a combination of self-regulation and credible threats of government regulation may yield the best results. We also note that effective self-regulation need not happen exclusively at the level of the firm. When it is in their collective self-interest, as occurred before the Internet era, coalitions of firms within the same market and with similar business models may agree to abide by a jointly accepted set of rules or codes of conduct.


On the medical images, many of the tissues/lesions may be ambiguous. That is why the medical segmentation is typically annotated by a group of clinical experts to mitigate the personal bias. However, this clinical routine also brings new challenges to the application of machine learning algorithms. Without a definite ground-truth, it will be difficult to train and evaluate the deep learning models. When the annotations are collected from different graders, a common choice is majority vote. However such a strategy ignores the difference between the grader expertness. In this paper, we consider the task of predicting the segmentation with the calibrated inter-observer uncertainty. We note that in clinical practice, the medical image segmentation is usually used to assist the disease diagnosis. Inspired by this observation, we propose diagnosis-first principle, which is to take disease diagnosis as the criterion to calibrate the inter-observer segmentation uncertainty. Following this idea, a framework named Diagnosis First segmentation Framework (DiFF) is proposed to estimate diagnosis-first segmentation from the raw images.Specifically, DiFF will first learn to fuse the multi-rater segmentation labels to a single ground-truth which could maximize the disease diagnosis performance. We dubbed the fused ground-truth as Diagnosis First Ground-truth (DF-GT).Then, we further propose Take and Give Modelto segment DF-GT from the raw image. We verify the effectiveness of DiFF on three different medical segmentation tasks: OD/OC segmentation on fundus images, thyroid nodule segmentation on ultrasound images, and skin lesion segmentation on dermoscopic images. Experimental results show that the proposed DiFF is able to significantly facilitate the corresponding disease diagnosis, which outperforms previous state-of-the-art multi-rater learning methods.


Social media engagement has become a global phenomenon, changed the way of interactions and are attracting attention from companies that aim to build relationships with users. However, practical case experiences emphasize the challenge for companies to effectively cope with the individual requirements of social media channels. Accordingly, we suggest that the current general academic conceptualization of social media 'per se' is too broad for guiding managerial strategies. In fact, a key managerial decision lies in making the right platform choice that fits into an organization's specific social media activity. We use an affordance lens as it emphasizes the individual differences in interpreting technology by users. In this research-in-progress paper, we contribute a first step towards a more systematic consideration of platform differences as well as emerging specific use cultures within a platform by evolving a series of influence factors on managerial selection choice of appropriate social media channels.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) inoculation, which was administered to increase the quality of einkorn wheat in its fatty acid composition, quality and mineral concentration. Wheat grown from AM inoculated seed (AM+) had increased the dry matter (DM), iron (Fe), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), especially oleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid, and cis-5,-8,-11,-14, and cis-17 eicosapentaenoic acid from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (P <0.05), but decreased crude ash (CA), potassium (K), and total saturated fatty acids (UFA), especially myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids, especially cis-palmitoleic acid, cis-10-heptadecenoic acid, cis-11 eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, and linoleic acid (P <0.05) compared with einkorn wheat grown from non-inoculated seed (AM-). Crude protein (CP) content ranged from 10.56% to 10.68%, and ether extract (EE) content varied between 2.03% and 2.41%, neither of which was significantly different between treatments. Significant increases were observed in UFA, and in the ratios of UFA to SFA and PUFA to SFA in AM+ compared with AM-.
Keywords: mycorrhizal inoculation, nutrient composition, Triticum monococcum


Many relevant applications from diverse areas such as marketing, wildlife conservation, and defending critical infrastructure can be modeled as interdiction games. In this work, we introduce interdiction games whose objective is a monotone and submodular set function. Given a ground set of items, the leader interdicts the usage of some of the items of the follower in order to minimize the objective value achievable by the follower, who seeks to maximize a submodular set function over the uninterdicted items subject to knapsack constraints. We propose an exact branch-and-cut algorithm for this kind of interdiction game. The algorithm is based on interdiction cuts, which allow the leader to capture the follower's objective function value for a given interdiction decision of the leader and exploit the submodularity of the objective function. We also present extensions and liftings of these cuts and discuss additional preprocessing procedures. We test our solution framework on the weighted maximal covering interdiction game and the bipartite inference interdiction game. For both applications, the improved variants of our interdiction cut perform significantly better than the basic version. For the weighted maximal covering interdiction game for which a mixed-integer bilevel linear programming (MIBLP) formulation is available, we compare the results with those of a state-of-the-art MIBLP solver. Whereas the MIBLP solver yields a minimum of 54% optimality gap within one hour, our best branch-and-cut setting solves all but four of 108 instances to optimality with a maximum of 3% gap among unsolved ones.


The REO-to-Rental program is particularly intriguing from a fair housing perspective. In January 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) launched its REO-to-Rental program, which converts pools of foreclosed REO properties held by the government-sponsored enterprises into affordable rental properties. Fair housing advocates viewed this program as a new opportunity for affordable rental properties in less-segregated, low-poverty communities—that is, until they discovered that the FHFA and the Department of the Treasury had made no effort to conform the new program to the requirements of the federal Fair Housing Act. This article discusses how the federal agencies responsible for the REO-to-Rental program can take advantage of this opportunity in the future, even if it has so far eluded them.


In this dissertation we aim to perform a multi-wavelength analysis of galaxy clusters. We discuss various methods for clustering in order to determine physical parameters of galaxy clusters required for this type of study. A selection of galaxy clusters was chosen from 4 papers, (Popesso et al. 2007b, Yoon et al. 2008, Loubser et al. 2008, Brownstein & Moffat 2006) and restricted by redshift and galactic latitude to reveal a sample of 40 galaxy clusters with 0.0 < z < 0.15. Data mining using Virtual Observatory (VO) and a literature survey provided some background information about each of the galaxy clusters in our sample with respect to optical, radio and X-ray data. Using the Kayes Mixture Model (KMM) and the Gaussian Mixing Model (GMM), we determine the most likely cluster member candidates for each source in our sample. We compare the results obtained to SIMBADs method of hierarchy. We show that the GMM provides a very robust method to determine member candidates but in order to ensure that the right candidates are chosen we apply a select choice of outlier tests to our sources. We determine a method based on a combination of GMM, the QQ Plot and the Rosner test that provides a robust and consistent method for determining galaxy cluster members. Comparison between calculated physical parameters; velocity dispersion, radius, mass and temperature, and values obtained from literature show that for the majority of our galaxy clusters agree within 3σ range. Inconsistencies are thought to be due to dynamically active clusters that have substructure or are undergoing mergers, making galaxy member identification difficult. Six correlations between different physical parameters in the optical and X-ray wavelength were consistent with published results. Comparing the velocity dispersion with the X-ray temperature, we found a relation of σ ∼ T0.43 as compared to σ ∼ T0.5 obtained from Bird et al. (1995). X-ray luminosity temperature and X-ray luminosity velocity dispersion relations gave the results LX ∼ T2.44 and LX ∼ σ2.40 which lie within the uncertainty of results given by Rozgacheva & Kuvshinova (2010). These results all suggest that our method for determining galaxy cluster members is efficient and application to higher redshift sources can be considered. Further studies on galaxy clusters with substructure must be performed in order to improve this method. In future work, the physical parameters obtained here will be further compared to X-ray and radio properties in order to determine a link between bent radio sources and the galaxy cluster environment.


Endodermal organogenesis requires a precise orchestration of cell fate specification and cell movements, collectively coordinating organ size and shape. In Caenorhabditis elegans, uncoordinated-53 (unc-53) encodes a neural guidance molecule that directs axonal growth. One of the vertebrate homologs of unc-53 is neuron navigator 3 (Nav3). Here, we identified a novel vertebrate neuron navigator 3 isoform in zebrafish, nav3a, and we provide genetic evidence in loss- and gain-of-function experiments showing its functional role in endodermal organogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis. In zebrafish embryos, nav3a expression was initiated at 22 hpf in the gut endoderm and at 40 hpf expanded to the newly formed liver bud. Endodermal nav3a expression was controlled by Wnt2bb signaling and was independent of FGF and BMP signaling. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of nav3a resulted in a significantly reduced liver size, and impaired development of pancreas and swim bladder. In vivo time-lapse imaging of liver development in nav3a morphants revealed a failure of hepatoblast movement out from the gut endoderm during the liver budding stage, with hepatoblasts being retained in the intestinal endoderm. In hepatocytes in vitro, nav3a acts as a positive modulator of actin assembly in lamellipodia and filipodia extensions, allowing cellular movement. Knockdown of nav3a in vitro impeded hepatocyte movement. Endodermal-specific overexpression of nav3a in vivo resulted in additional ectopic endodermal budding beyond the normal liver and pancreatic budding sites. We conclude that nav3a is required for directing endodermal organogenesis involving coordination of endodermal cell behavior.


Background and the purpose of the study Multiparticulates by powder layering process have advantages of the uniform distribution of the binder solution, easy-to-clean pan and the possibility of applying the successive functional film coating using the same equipment. This study relates to a multiparticulate formulation comprising pellets with a multilayer of pectin-ethyl cellulose on non pareil seeds by powder layering technology. The pellets were prepared to target ketoprofen in colon based on the microbial enzyme dependent drug release mechanism. Methods Multiparticulate formulation by powder layering technology was prepared by conventional pan coating process to evaluate the effect of 59% methoxylated pectin and 45 cps ethyl cellulose on coating label. The formulations were tagged with 99mTc-DTPA, a tracer in gamma scintigraphy study to evaluate the transit behavior of drug loaded pellets and compared with uncoated pellets to evaluate its specific release. Results The transit behavior and scintigraphy image clearly indicates that the formulation can delay the drug release prior to colon. In albino rabbit, the coated pellets released drug in the colon indicating that site specificity has been achieved with pectin/ethyl cellulose coating at 1:2 ratio with 20% coating label. Major conclusion Formulation containing pectin and ethyl cellulose with suitable coating label may be suitable as a coating formulation for colon delivery of ketoprofen and can be successfully evaluated by gamma scintigraphy method.


There is a strong need for successors in SMEs in Western innovative economies. This research paper investigates qualitatively if students change their entrepreneurial entry preference if they are presented different kinds of entrepreneurial entry options. We propose that students' preferences are mediated by Threshold Theory: choice options, opportunity costs and psychological income. The qualitative analyses, using 31 case studies, corroborate most of our propositions, also showing that human capital (entrepreneurial and management experience) and traits (perseverance, flexibility, creativity and risk tolerance) and competencies (market awareness, network building) are related towards choice options and opportunity costs. By presenting different modes of entrepreneurial entry we observe a shift in students' preference from start-up entrepreneurship towards franchising. Though students show a clear interest in family succession or firm acquisitions they are held back by financial thresholds (the higher need for financial capital) and a lack of human capital (entrepreneurial or management experience). Franchising could be seen as an intermediary step for succession, since it helps to build entrepreneurial experience and has lower financial threshold


Although bananas grown in almost all developing countries in the world, there is rarely a research on bananas. Though the prospect of bananas in Indonesia is enormous, both for domestic consumption and for export. It is unfortunate that the current area of development of banana cultivation has declined because of the disease, include leaf spot.Until now, information about leaf spot fungus pathogens that cause disease on Rutai banana plants still lacking.This research aims to determine the fungal pathogens of leaf spot on Rutai banana plants.Research conducted in the laboratory of Pests and Diseases of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Widyagama Mahakam Samarinda.The results showed that: (1) leaf spot disease that were found in Rutai banana plants caused by a group of fungi; and (2) identification of pathogenic fungi on the leaf spot was Mycosphaerella musicola and it had potential as leaf spot pathogen on Rutai banana plants.


This study investigated the crack propagation behavior of the graphene-reinforced synthetic rubber matrix nanocomposite materials. Graphene-filled rubber conductive nanocomposites developed within the scope of this study were obtained in two stages using mechanical mixers. The relationship between crack propagation and electrical resistance change was investigated using single-edge notched specimens in a tensile tester. Digital image correlation (DIC) technique was used to observe the crack resistance function depending on the local strain distribution. The results from the tests were evaluated to define the relationship between the crack length, the amount of conductive filler, and the change in electrical resistance. The sharp edges of the graphene nanoplatelets negatively affected the fracture resistance of the samples. In addition, it was observed that even at low strain values, gaps were formed in the areas close to the crack tip. The three-dimensional transmission network formed by graphene nanoplatelets dispersed in the matrix improved the electrical conductivity properties of the nanocomposites, so the relationship between crack propagation and electrical resistance change was determined.


Background Post-translational modifications of histone residue tails are an important component of genome regulation. It is becoming increasingly clear that the combinatorial presence and absence of various modifications define discrete chromatin states which determine the functional properties of a locus. An emerging experimental goal is to track changes in chromatin state maps across different conditions, such as experimental treatments, cell-types or developmental time points. Results Here we present chromstaR, an algorithm for the computational inference of combinatorial chromatin state dynamics across an arbitrary number of conditions. ChromstaR uses a multivariate Hidden Markov Model to determine the number of discrete combinatorial chromatin states using multiple ChIP-seq experiments as input and assigns every genomic region to a state based on the presence/absence of each modification in every condition. We demonstrate the advantages of chromstaR in the context of three common experimental data scenarios. First, we study how different histone modifications combine to form combinatorial chromatin states in a single tissue. Second, we infer genome-wide patterns of combinatorial state differences between two cell types or conditions. Finally, we study the dynamics of combinatorial chromatin states during tissue differentiation involving up to six differentiation points. Our findings reveal a striking sparcity in the combinatorial organization and temporal dynamics of chromatin state maps. Conclusions chromstaR is a versatile computational tool that facilitates a deeper biological understanding of chromatin organization and dynamics. The algorithm is implemented as an R-package and freely available from http://bioconductor.org/packages/chromstaR/.


Current supervised learning can learn spurious correlation during the data-fitting process, imposing issues regarding interpretability, out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization, and robustness. To avoid spurious correlation, we propose a Latent Causal Invariance Model (LaCIM) which pursues causal prediction. Specifically, we introduce latent variables that are separated into (a) output-causative factors and (b) others that are spuriously correlated to the output via confounders, to model the underlying causal factors. We further assume the generating mechanisms from latent space to observed data to be causally invariant. We give the identifiable claim of such invariance, particularly the disentanglement of output-causative factors from others, as a theoretical guarantee for precise inference and avoiding spurious correlation. We propose a Variational-Bayesian-based method for estimation and to optimize over the latent space for prediction. The utility of our approach is verified by improved interpretability, prediction power on various OOD scenarios (including healthcare) and robustness on security.


Summary
The efficiency of transmission by Polymyxa betae of beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) isolates containing different RNA components was compared using sugar-beet seedlings as test plants. Isolate S-4, containing RNA-1 + 2 + 4, was transmitted by P. betae about 100 times more efficiently than isolate S-3 (RNA-1 + 2 + 3) and about 1000 times more efficiently than isolate S-0 (RNA-1 + 2). Isolate S-34 (RNA-1 + 2 + 3 + 4) was transmitted even more efficiently than isolate S-4. Each isolate retained its characteristic RNA composition after transmission by P. betae. The virus content, measured by ELISA, of infected rootlets was S-34 > S-3 > S-4 > S-0. In inoculated leaves of Tetragonia expansa and Beta macrocarpa, isolates S-3 and S-34 multiplied more extensively than did S-4 and S-0. The inefficient transmission of isolate S-3 by P. betae, as compared with S-4, cannot be attributed to a poorer ability to spread in root tissue, but the difference in transmissibility of S-3 and S-0 may be explained in this way. These results show that RNA-4 of BNYVV is essential for efficient transmission by P. betae, and suggest that RNA-3 may influence the ability of the virus to spread in root tissue. RNA-4 and RNA-3 therefore seem to play important, but different, roles in virus survival and spread in nature.


A Review of:
Peterson, G.M. (2013). Characteristics of retracted open access biomedical literature: a bibliographic analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 64(12), 2428-2436. doi: 10.1002/asi.22944

Abstract

Objective – To investigate whether the rate of retracted articles and citation rates post-retraction in the biomedical literature are comparable across open access, free-to-access, or pay-to-access journals.

Design – Citation analysis.

Setting – Biomedical literature.

Subjects – 160 retracted papers published between 1st January 2001 and 31st December 2010.

Methods – For the retracted papers, 100 records were retrieved from the PubMed database and 100 records from the PubMed Central (PMC) open access subset. Records were selected at random, based on the PubMed identifier. Each article was assigned a number based on its accessibility using the specific criteria. Articles published in the PMC open access subset were assigned a 2; articles retrieved from PubMed that were freely accessible, but did not meet the criteria for open access were assigned a 1; and articles retrieved through PubMed which were pay-to-access were assigned a 0. This allowed articles to be grouped and compared by accessibility.

Citation information was collected primarily from the Science Citation Index. Articles for which no citation information was available, and those with a lifetime citation of 0 (or 1 where the citation came from the retraction statement) were excluded, leaving 160 articles for analysis. Information on the impact factor of the journals was retrieved and the analysis was performed twice; first with the entire set, and second after excluding articles published in journals with an impact factor of 10 or above (14% of the total). The average number of citations per month was used to compare citation rates, and the percentage change in citation rate pre- and post-retraction was calculated. Information was also collected on the time between the date the original article was published and the date of retraction, and the availability of information on the reason for the retraction.

Main results – The overall rate of retracted articles in the PMC open access subset compared with the wider PubMed dataset was similar (0.049% and 0.028% respectively). In the group with an accessibility rating of 0, the change in citation rate pre- and post-retraction was -41%. For the group with an accessibility rating of 1, the change was -47% and in those with a rating of 2, the change in citation rate was -59%. Removing articles published in high impact factor journals did not change the results significantly. Retractions were issued more slowly for free access papers compared with open or fee-based articles. The bibliographic records for open access articles disclosed details of the reason for the retraction more frequently than free, non-open papers (91% compared to 53%).

Conclusion – Open access literature is similar in its rate of retraction and the reduction in post-retraction citations to the rest of the biomedical literature, and is actually more reliable at reporting the reason for the retraction.


ECT technology has the advantages of simple structure, fast response, non-invasion, no pollution, and no radiation hazard and so on. Because of these advantages of ECT technology, this technology has been widely used for various applications such as flow measurement in chemical industry and petroleum; visualize the tooth surface using dental ECT, real-time medical imaging, revision total hip replacement etc. The research of ECT technology can be divided into two-dimensional ECT and three-dimensional ECT technology, and the current three-dimensional ECT technology has been widely studied.


We give a complete classification of the error locator polynomials that occur in the Berlekamp decoding of double error correcting (DEC) Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes. We present a new construction showing that all quadratic error locator polynomials produced by received vectors falling in the interstitial region between decoding spheres are illegitimate and have no roots. Furthermore, we show that a small subset of received vectors in the interstitial region produce cubic error locator polynomials that are illegitimate except for the correctable case of a triple error pattern with three equally spaced errors in the cyclic sense.


This paper deals with the question of how we can improve performance management systems in higher education institutions. Performance management systems are defined as configurations of complementary human resource management (HRM) practices that enable organizations to set goals, give feedback and evaluate the efforts of their employees. Higher education institutions have adopted performance management systems to manage their staff more efficiently and effectively against the backdrop of challenges like democratization, marketization and public accountability. However, in higher education institutions, such systems often result in unintended effects on academic employees' well-being and performances. Like burnout, reduced innovation and lower team performances. This particularly applies to non-professorial higher education staff. In response, scholars have started to inquire into the 'success conditions', particular conditions under which the unintended effects of performance management systems can be avoided or reversed. Drawing on four empirical studies, this paper examined how and when performance management systems yield positive outcomes for the well-being and performance of academic employees in higher education institutions. The findings show that performance management systems have positive synergies with both employees' well-being and performances (mutual gains). In addition, leaders are observed to be key supporters of performance management systems. However, they should not be regarded as a panacea, as our findings also seem to suggest a more complex interplay. Such findings contrast with the dysfunctional effects of performance management systems as described in higher education literature. However, it is important to remain critical. The main message is that academic employees' personal perceptions of performance management implementation are a force to be reckoned with in striving for healthy and performant academic employees. Therefore, the subsequent challenge moves to managing those perceptions and building academic leaders.


Purpose: To determine the association between astigmatism and spherical refractive error in a clinical population Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2,000 patients who presented to our optometry clinic were enrolled. All were tested for objective refraction with a Nidek AR-310A auto refractometer, and non-cycloplegic refraction. For those under 15 years of age, cycloplegic refraction was measured as well. Myopia and hyperopia were defined as a spherical power of -0.5 Diopter (D) or less and +0.5 D or greater, respectively. Astigmatism was defined as a cylinder power of ≥-0.5 D; with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism if the steep axis was 0±20°, against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism if the steep 90±20°, and oblique if the axis was in between. Results: The mean age of the participants in this study was 31.52±18.39 years, and 910 (45.5%) were male. The Mean cylinder power of the subjects with high myopia and high hyperopia was 1.92±0.25 and 1.48±0.19 D, respectively. The lowest prevalence of astigmatism was found in subjects with emmetropia (P<0.001). There was an age-related decrease in the prevalence of WTR astigmatism, and an increase in ATR and oblique astigmatism (P<0.001). Mean cylinder error in WTR, ATR, and oblique astigmatism groups was 1.59±1.24, 1.10±0.76, and 1.16±0.04 D, respectively (P<0.001), and absolute mean spherical error was 1.97±2.03, 1.49±1.54, and 1.68±1.71 D, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated an association between astigmatism and spherical refractive error. Higher amounts of astigmatism were seen in subjects with high spherical ametropia. Astigmatism axis was related to the cylinder and spherical powers which were both higher in subjects with WTR than those with ATR and oblique astigmatisms. In those with ATR astigmatism with the refractive status was close to emmetropia.


AbstractThe notions of centrifugal (centripetal) and Coriolis' velocities and accelerations are introduced and considered in spaces with affine connections and metrics [
$$
(\bar L_n ,g)
$$
-spaces] as velocities and accelerations of flows of mass elements (particles) moving in space-time. It is shown that these types of velocities and accelerations are generated by the relative motions between the mass elements. They are closely related to the kinematic characteristics of the relative velocity and relative acceleration. The centrifugal (centripetal) velocity is found to be in connection with the Hubble law. The centrifugal (centripetal) acceleration could be interpreted as gravitational acceleration as has been done in the Einstein theory of gravitation. This fact could be used as a basis for workingout new gravitational theories in spaces with affine connections and metrics.


This research uses restricted microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau's Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics (LEHD) Program, which was partially supported by the following National Science Foundation Grants SES-9978093, SES-0339191 and ITR-0427889; National Institute on Aging Grant AG018854; and grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. All results have been reviewed to ensure that no confidential data are disclosed. All results have been approved by the Disclosure Review Board. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. This research was performed at the Georgetown Federal Statistical Research Data Center under FSRDC Project Number 1812. All errors are our own. We acknowledge the generous financial support from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. We would like to thank George Akerlof, Joe Altonji, Heather Boushey, David Card, Raj Chetty, Larry Kahn, Kory Kroft, Jesse Rothstein, Emmanuel Saez, and Ann Stevens for comments on this paper, and especially Matt Notowidigdo for his thoughtful suggestions and Henry Hyatt for advise on the use of the algorithm to measure AKM and use of LEHD data. Adriana Kugler is the corresponding author. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of their employers nor of the National Bureau of Economic Research. ABSTRACT Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits have a moral hazard effect and a liquidity effect, with both generating increases in unemployment spells but the latter increasing wages due to the ability to find better matches or better jobs. Previous papers, however, find mixed evidence on the impact of UI on wages. In this paper, we re-examine the effect of UI on wages in the U.S. and present novel evidence using LEHD data to examine the channels through which UI increases earnings, including: (1) the quality of the match, (2) positive sorting of employers and employees, and (3) the quality of the employer. We find that the increased UI generosity in the U.S. increased wages by both increasing the quality of the match as well as the quality of the job obtained after the unemployment spell, though there is less evidence of improved sorting. Consistent with improvements in match and employer quality, we also find that the likelihood of remaining on the job increases with UI generosity. Consistent with a liquidity effect on search, we also find that the effects on the quality of the match are larger for those who are more likely to be liquidity constrained, including women, minorities, and the less-educated.


On-chip networks (NoCs) used in multiprocessor systems-on-chips (MPSoCs) pose significant challenges to both on-line (dynamic) and off-line (static) real-time scheduling approaches. They have large numbers of potential contention points, have limited internal buffering capabilities, and network control operates at the scale of small data packets. Therefore, efficient resource allocation requires scalable algorithms working on hardware models with a level of detail that is unprecedented in real-time scheduling. We consider in this thesis a static scheduling approach, and we target massively parallel processor arrays (MPPAs), which are MPSoCs with large numbers (hundreds) of processing cores. We first identify and compare the hardware mechanisms supporting precise timing analysis and efficient resource allocation in existing MPPA platforms. We determine that the NoC should ideally provide the means of enforcing a global communications schedule that is computed off-line (before execution) and which is synchronized with the scheduling of computations on processors. On the software side, we propose a novel allocation and scheduling method capable of synthesizing such global computation and communication schedules covering all the execution, communication, and memory resources in an MPPA. To allow an efficient use of the hardware resources, our method takes into account the specificities of MPPA hardware and implements advanced scheduling techniques such as pre-computed preemption of data transmissions. We evaluate our technique by mapping two signal processing applications, for which we obtain good latency, throughput, and resource use figures.


Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is caused by the deposition of insoluble and toxic amyloid peptides (Abeta) in the brain leading to memory loss and other associated neurodegenerative symptoms. To date there is limited treatment options and strategies for treating AD. Studies have shown that clearance of the amyloid plaques from the brain and thus from the blood could be effective in stopping and or delaying the progression of the disease. Small peptides derived from the Abeta-42 sequence, in particular KLVFF, have shown to be effective binders of Abeta peptides and thus could be useful in delaying progression of the disease. We have taken advantage of this property by generating the retro-inverso (RI) version of this peptide, ffvlk, in different formats. We are presenting a new detox gel system using poly ethylene glycol (PEG), polymerized and cross linked with the RI peptides. We hypothesize that detox gel incorporating RI peptides will act like a 'sink' to capture the Abeta peptides from the surrounding environment. We tested these detox gels for their ability to capture biotinylated Abeta-42 peptides in vitro. The results showed that the detox gels bound Abeta-42 peptides effectively and irreversibly. Gels incorporating the tetramer RI peptide exhibited maximum binding capacity. The detox gel could be a potential candidate for treatment strategies to deplete the brain of toxic amyloid peptides.


Background: During treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with pirfenidone (PFD), gastrointestinal and skin-related adverse drug reactions (ADR) occurred in ∼30% of patients (pts). Temporary dose reductions and interruptions may allow pts to better manage side effects and continue PFD. Objective: To evaluate PFD reductions and interruptions in the Phase 3 CAPACITY and ASCEND trials. Methods: Pts (623 PFD 2403 mg/day, 624 placebo [PBO]) were followed over 52 weeks. Descriptive statistics and a linear slope analysis for annual rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) by dose intensity were performed. Results: Mean daily dose was 2105 mg (median, 2300 mg). Dose reductions and interruptions occurred in 46% and 41% of PFD pts vs 29% and 25% of PBO pts, respectively. Median duration of reductions and interruptions for PFD pts were 28 and 14 days, respectively. Median time from start of PFD to first dose adjustment for common AEs was ∼95 days except for vomiting (28 days). Dose intensity of >90% was observed in 424/623 PFD and 559/624 PBO pts. The mean difference (±SEM) in annual rate of FVC decline between PFD and PBO over 52 weeks was 105.5±18.4 mL for dose intensity >90% (P Conclusions: While PFD dose adjustments may be required to manage ADRs, they tended to occur early and were limited in duration, allowing most pts to maintain efficacy and a high dose intensity.


The interaction of intense few-cycle infrared laser pulses with matter is the fundamental
process at the heart of attosecond science, which is the study of phenomena
with duration below 10−15 seconds. Few-cycle laser pulses, which have durations in
the femtosecond regime, have previously been used to reveal and control the structure
and dynamics of atoms, molecules and solids. The physical interpretation of
such experiments relies on the accurate simulation of the complex, highly nonlinear
material dynamics during the few-cycle laser pulse. The future of attosecond science
thus depends on the correct interpretation of few-cycle laser interactions with matter.
The question of whether the current theoretical models completely capture all
of the significant interaction physics would be answered by an experiment showing
quantitative agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data in the
regime necessary for the study of attosecond science. In this thesis, experimental
data which shows quantitative agreement with theory in this regime is presented.
The ionised photoelectron spectrum from few-cycle above threshold ionisation is directly
compared with theoretical predictions1. The method by which the predictions
are compared to experimental data is presented and it includes detailed simulations
of the electron detection system and takes into account the finite spot size of the
focussed laser beam. The target atomic species is atomic hydrogen (H), the simplest
of all atomic systems, and the only species for which ab initio simulations can
be calculated in this regime. The data show an unprecedented level of quantitative
agreement with the advanced ab initio time dependent Schr¨odinger equation simulation
over an order of magnitude range of electron energies and laser intensities. The
strong-field approximation fails to quantitatively agree with the data which confirms
that this commonly used model is not adequate for experiments requiring significant
agreement between data and predictions. These results mark the first quantitative
experiment in the regime of attosecond science and as such should provide the basis
for future comparisons of experiment and theory.


Abstract Most epidemiological studies examine how risk factors relate to average difference in outcomes (linear regression) or odds of a binary outcome (logistic regression); they do not explicitly examine whether risk factors are associated differentially across the distribution of the health outcome investigated. This paper documents a phenomenon found repeatedly in the minority of epidemiological studies which do this (via quantile regression): associations between a range of established risk factors and body mass index (BMI) are progressively stronger in the upper ends of the BMI distribution. In this paper, we document this finding and provide illustrative evidence of it in the 1958 British birth cohort study. Associations of low childhood socio-economic position, high maternal weight, low childhood general cognition and adult physical inactivity with higher BMI are larger at the upper end of the BMI distribution, on both absolute and relative scales. For example, effect estimates for socio-economic position and childhood cognition were around three times larger at the 90th compared with 10th quantile, while effect estimates for physical inactivity were increasingly larger from the 50th to 90th quantiles, yet null at lower quantiles. We provide potential explanations for these findings and discuss implications. Risk factors may have larger causal effects among those in worse health, and these effects may not be discovered when health is only examined in average terms. In such scenarios, population-based approaches to intervention may have larger benefits than anticipated when assuming equivalent benefit across the population. Further research is needed to understand why effect estimates differ across the BMI outcome distribution and to investigate whether differential effects exist for other physical and mental health outcomes.


The article considers of results of hygienic estimation of the conditions of the labor, gravity and tension of the labor process in the main subdivisions production of railway coaches. The result of analysis is contains the estimation of qualifications of workers places, frequencies of the traumas and diseases of worker. The priority disadvantage production factors for the health risk of worker are determined. Individual professional risk for leading professions in production of railway coaches at periods is evaluated before and after of economical production principle is introducing.


The European railway sector has undergone major transformations over the past two decades. Domestic reforms have been buttressed by European directives aimed at creating a single European railway market. In this new environment roles have been significantly redistributed, leading to new organizational models. A new and dynamic equilibrium is emerging, to which all railway stakeholders are trying to adapt. The paper looks at the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) from the innovation perspective. It argues that the concurrent liberalization of the sector and the technical harmonization (via the introduction of a pan-European signaling technology) have fragmented the railway sector on different levels (e.g. technological and organizational). The difficulties in developing and deploying a pan-European standard attest to the necessity of re-thinking innovation processes in the railway sector, particularly when those relate simultaneously to infrastructure management and operations. Among others, a broad consensus/alignment of the stakeholders on the type of performances aimed for (e.g. social, technical, operational, environmental or financial) need to be explicitly integrated in railway market organization models and by extension in railway innovation models. The article contributes to the analysis of innovation in large technical systems (LTS) by introducing a framework of performance objectives for the governance of innovation in LTS.


As a composer of secular music, Giovanni Maria Nanino seems to have published only three books of madrigals and one of canzonettas, yet he contributed numerous pieces to anthologies, and his madrigals were often reprinted. Scarcely an important anthology appeared in these years without a contribution by him. Indeed in the fifteen years before the death of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 1594, Nanino rivaled him as the most esteemed of Roman composers; in the decade after Palestrina's death, Nanino was the undisputed head of the large and important Roman school. By certain measures Nanino was the most often represented composer in anthologies printed between 1570 and 1620. In this area he surpasses not only Palestrina, but also Luca Marenzio, Philippe de Monte, and Alessandro Striggio.
 Despite Nanino's immense prestige among his contemporaries, in modern histories his secular music is scarcely discussed, with just a passing mention in Alfred Einstein's voluminous The Italian Madrigal. This article establishes Nanino's leadership in defining the new Roman style of madrigal in the late sixteenth century, outlines its musical characteristics, and suggests paths for future research into this as yet little studied school.


Anti-Mac-1 (M1/70), a rat monoclonal antibody that reacts with mouse and human macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), and natural killer cells, selectively inhibited complement receptor-mediated rosetting by murine macrophages and human PMNL. Preincubation of macrophages with anti-Mac-1 inhibited formation of rosettes with sheep erythrocytes bearing IgM antibody and murine C3 fragments. No inhibition was observed when other monoclonal antibodies that react with macrophages (such as anti-Ly5, anti-H-2, or anti-pan-leukocyte) were tested at 10-fold higher concentrations. Anti-Mac-1 did not affect macrophage Fc receptor-mediated rosetting. Erythrocytes bearing homogeneous human C3 fragments C3b (EC3b) or C3bi (EC3bi) were used to test the specificity of the murine macrophage and human PMNL complement receptor inhibited by anti-Mac-1. In both cases, anti-Mac-1 inhibited CR3-mediated rosetting of EC3bi but not CR1-dependent rosetting of EC3b. The results show that Mac-1 is either identical to CR3 or closely associated with CR3 function. This is one of the first cases in which a monoclonal antibody-defined differentiation antigen has been associated with a specific cell surface function.


Abstract Soil samples from the hyper-arid region in the Atacama Desert in Southern Peru (La Joya Desert) were analyzed for total and labile organic carbon (TOC and LOC), phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-fluorescent microscopy, culturable microorganisms, and oxidant activity, to understand the relationship between the presence of organic matter and microorganisms in these types of soils. TOC content levels were similar to the labile pool of carbon suggesting the absence of recalcitrant carbon in these soils. LOC ranged between 2 to 60 µg/g of soil. PLFA analysis indicated a maximum of 2.3 × 105 cell equivalents/g. Culturing of soil extracts yielded 1.1 × 102–3.7 × 103 CFU/g. qRT-PCR showed between 1.0 × 102 and 8 × 103 cells/g; and DAPI fluorescent staining indicated bacteria counts up to 5 × 104 cells/g. Arid and semiarid samples (controls) showed values between 107 and 1011 cells/g with all of the methods used. Importantly, the concentration of microorganisms in hyper-arid soils did not show any correlation with the organic carbon content; however, there was a significant dependence on the oxidant activity present in these soil samples evaluated as the capacity to decompose sodium formate in 10 hours. We suggest that the analysis of oxidant activity could be a useful indicator of the microbial habitability in hyper-arid soils, obviating the need to measure water activity over time. This approach could be useful in astrobiological studies on other worlds.


Despite of the wide use of hydroxyapatite (HA) for bone repair and regeneration, its brittleness has limited clinical application to less stressed body parts. Thus, evaluation of HA mechanical properties has been an important research matter. The aim of this study is to assess the compressive strength of a stoichiometric HA with 1.66 Ca/P molar ratio, synthesized by hydrothermal method. Cylindrical samples were processed by uniaxial compacting, followed by sintering. Compressive strength of cylindrical samples with 2.0 medium diameter/height ratio was measured according to ASTM C 1424. Load to failure divided by the cross-sectional area of the samples were reported and microstructural characterization was made by MEV-EDS. The compression strength results were compared to values reported in the literature.