The small non-coding vault RNA (vtRNA) 1-1 has been shown to confer apoptosis resistance in several malignant cell lines and also to modulate the autophagic flux in hepatocytes, thus highlighting its pro-survival role. Here we describe a new function of vtRNA1-1 in regulating in vitro and in vivo tumor cell proliferation, tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. By activating extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK 1/2), vtRNA1-1 knock-out (KO) inhibits transcription factor EB (TFEB), leading to a downregulation of the coordinated lysosomal expression and regulation (CLEAR) network genes and lysosomal compartment dysfunction. Pro-tumorigenic pathways dysregulation and decreased lysosome functionality potentiate the anticancer effect of conventional targeted cancer drugs in the absence of vtRNA1-1. Finally, vtRNA1-1 KO-reduced lysosomotropism, together with a higher intracellular compound availability, significantly reduced tumor cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. These findings reveal the role of vtRNA1-1 in ensuring intracellular catabolic compartment stability and functionality, suggesting its importance in lysosome-mediated chemotherapy resistance.


Design interviews with stakeholders are an important source of information that engineering designers can use to identify stakeholder needs and develop solutions that meet stakeholder requirements. However, engineering students often struggle to conduct effective design interviews. In this study, we investigated changes in engineering students' interview approaches after engaging with a novel pedagogical intervention known as the Hybrid Learning Block model. We identified specific differences in interviewing behaviors between pre-block and post-block interview tasks with proxy stakeholders. Compared to pre-block interview tasks, participants' post-block interviewing behaviors and approaches aligned more closely with recommended interviewing practices from literature. Participants more frequently exhibited behaviors related to deep exploration of stakeholder perspectives and demonstrated more advanced phrasing of questions. In addition, participants structured their post-block interview tasks in ways that more closely aligned with recommended practices, for instance by including more comprehensive interview introductions and employing a more diverse array of questioning techniques. Our findings also suggest improvements that we might make in future iterations of the hybrid learning blocks, such as including content more specifically tailored to addressing common student interviewing mistakes. Students can benefit from scaffolded, evidence-based ways to improve their design interviewing skills, such as the hybrid learning blocks, that can ultimately support them in developing more appropriate design solutions.


This paper examines the assocations between parental worklessness and the experiences of their offspring making the transition from school to work during a time that included a major economic downturn. The study draws on data collected for the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), a cohort of young people born in 1989/90 completing compulsory education in 2006 – just before the onset of the Great Recession. Data on parental worklessness collected between 2004 and 2006 was linked to information about subsequent employment activities of their offspring, in particular the experience of not being in education, employment or training (NEET) between 2007 and 2010 (ages 16 to 20 years). Parental worklessness was significantly associated with their sons' and daughters' experience of being NEET for longer periods of time (months spent in NEET). However, much of this association was explained by a number of other socio-economic risks facing these young people and their families (e.g. low parental education level, living in rented accommodation and in highly deprived neighbourhoods).  Furthermore, the role of individual agency, in particular educational achievement orientation (EAO) as a potential mediator was examined. Although parental worklessness was associated with lower levels of EAO, especially among young males, the findings also suggest that EAO can serve as a potential resource for young men and women in adverse economic circumstances. The study does not support the assumption of an inter-generational transmission of a 'culture of worklessness' but points to the role of multiple deprivations and lack of local opportunities in shaping the life chances of young people.


This paper presents a two-stage denoising method for hyper-spectral image (HSI) by combining kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and total variation (TV). In the first stage, we use KPCA denoising to reduce spectrally uncorre-lated noise. In the second stage, the information content is largely separated from the remaining noise by means of principal component analysis (PCA). The remaining noise is then efficiently removed by fast primal-dual TV denoising in low-energy PCA channels. Experimental results on simulated and real HSIs are very encouraging.


Air side heat transfer and pressure drop for o9.52 fin-tube heat exchanger with various types of slit and louver fins were measured, and compared with wave-slit fin. Longitudinal and transverse tube spacings of the heat exchangers are 21.65 ㎜ and 25 ㎜ respectively. Actual heat exchanger was tested using water, and the tests were performed for 2 row heat exchangers with 3 different fin spacings, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 ㎜. The overall performance of the enhanced fins was evaluated by comparing heat transfer coefficient with respect to fan power.


The kinetics of denitrification and the causes of nitrite and nitrous oxide accumulation were examined in resting cell suspensions of three denitrifiers. An Alcaligenes species and a Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate characteristically accumulated nitrite when reducing nitrate; a Flavobacterium isolate did not. Nitrate did not inhibit nitrite reduction in cultures grown with tungstate to prevent formation of an active nitrate reductase; rather, accumulation of nitrite seemed to depend on the relative rates of nitrate and nitrite reduction. Each isolate rapidly reduced nitrous oxide even when nitrate or nitrite had been included in the incubation mixture. Nitrate also did not inhibit nitrous oxide reduction in Alcaligenes odorans, an organism incapable of nitrate reduction. Thus, added nitrate or nitrite does not always cause nitrous oxide accumulation, as has often been reported for denitrifying soils. All strains produced small amounts of nitric oxide during denitrification in a pattern suggesting that nitric oxide was also under kinetic control similar to that of nitrite and nitrous oxide. Apparent Km values for nitrate and nitrite reduction were 15 μM or less for each isolate. The Km value for nitrous oxide reduction by Flavobacterium sp. was 0.5 μM. Numerical solutions to a mathematical model of denitrification based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics showed that differences in reduction rates of the nitrogenous compounds were sufficient to account for the observed patterns of nitrite, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide accumulation. Addition of oxygen inhibited gas production from 13NO3− by Alcaligenes sp. and P. fluorescens, but it did not reduce gas production by Flavobacterium sp. However, all three isolates produced higher ratios of nitrous oxide to dinitrogen as the oxygen tension increased. Inclusion of oxygen in the model as a nonspecific inhibitor of each step in denitrification resulted in decreased gas production but increased ratios of nitrous oxide to dinitrogen, as observed experimentally. The simplicity of this kinetic model of denitrification and its ability to unify disparate observations should make the model a useful guide in research on the physiology of denitrifier response to environmental effectors.


Compelling criticisms of statistical significance testing (or Null Hypothesis Significance Testing, NHST) can be found in virtually all areas of the social and life sciences—including economics, sociology, ecology, biology, education and psychology. Because it is the overwhelmingly dominant statistical method in these sciences, criticisms need to be taken seriously. Yet, after half a century of cogent arguments against NHST and calls to adopt alternative practices some disciplines show little sign of change. One obvious question is 'why?' Why are researchers so unwilling to abandon this flawed practice? In this thesis I attempt to answer this question, and compare practice across scientific disciplines.


In this study, weused path analyses to test a theoretical model of influences on quality of life (QOL) for stroke caregivers at 1 and 6 months poststroke. We examined data from two points in time to determine the influence of stroke survivor and caregiver characteristics on QOL for stroke caregivers. Stroke survivor and caregiver characteristics had some direct influence on QOL outcomes for stroke caregivers at both 1 and 6 months poststroke. However, the most influential factor at both time points on each QOL component was sense of coherence (SOC). SOC is a relatively new factor in QOL and caregiver literature and is essentially the ability of caregivers to mobilize their coping resources during periods of stress. Caregivers who were able to mobilize these resources effectively experienced less burden in four QOL components and fewer symptoms of depression.


Background : Weight excess has become a public health problem worldwide, reaching about 200 million children, of whom 40 to 50 million are obese. Obesity in childhood is associated with increased blood pressure (BP), high triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol and abnormal glucose metabolism. Visceral fat is a stronger predictor of metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular risk than total body adiposity. Assessment of neck circumference (NC) is an easy method, which can serve as screening to identify individuals with weight excess. Our study aim was to examine associations between NC with BP values, lipid profile, blood glucose and fasting insulin in obese adolescents and verify the reproducibility of measurements of NC. Methods : 82 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years were included in the study, being 43 (22 boys and 21 girls) with obesity and 39 with normal weight (20 boys and 19 girls). Results : Significant associations were observed between NC and BMI, BP, HDL cholesterol, insulin and HOMA-IR. Disagreement between both observers for NC was observed in 5.2% of the sample, only concerning obese individuals. Conclusion : Our findings strengthen the knowledge about the potential value of NC as a tool for identifying patients at risk for hypertension, insulin resistance, and obesity. However as with the waist circumference it may be flawed in obese individuals.


The accelerating pace of globalization makes the strategic role of human resource management increasingly important for global companies. MNEs as key drivers in the process of globalization are becoming much more differentiated networks. This enables them to source the optimal combination of inputs from the global market. Inpatriates and expatriates are MNE's strategic sources of human capital, through which knowledge is developed, carried, and exchanged within the MNE's network. This essay discusses the ways in which inpatriates and expatriates can provide competitive advantage for MNEs in the food and beverage industry, and how these MNEs should mange these strategic resources in a competitive global market.


In this study, a high performance peristaltic micropump has been developed and investigated. The micropump has three cylinder chambers which are connected through microchannels and two normally closing active membrane valves at inlet/outlet for high pumping pressure performance. A circular shaped miniature LIPCA has been developed and manufactured for actuating diaphragms. In this LIPCA, a 0.1mm thickness PZT ceramic is used as an active layer. As a result, the actuator has shown to produce large out-of-plane deflection and consumed low power. During the design process, a coupled field analysis was conducted to predict the actuating behavior of a diaphragm. The actuator behavior was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. In addition, MEMS technique was used to fabricate the peristaltic micropump. Judging from experimental flow rate and pumping pressure results, the present peristaltic micropump has higher performance than the same kind of micropump developed elsewhere.


PhD trajectories are important to universities, as these contribute to the increase in knowledge and output. Therefore, they aim to decrease the completion time and dropout.This article reports on our survey amongst PhD candidates and supervisors of the Graduate School CAPHRI, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. We investigated interpersonal aspects of coaching and (implicit) assumptions on skills and competences.Both groups consider personality, knowledge, skills, communication and coaching the major factors contributing to a successful PhD trajectory. PhD candidates consider responsiveness and respectful, good-quality feedback by supervisors important and suggest regular assessment of their performance. Supervisors consider flexibility, openness for feedback, taking initiative and being a team-player as good qualities for PhDs. Supervisors indicate struggling with offering support versus independence during different stages of the PhD trajectory.The study shows that a good match between PhDs and supervisors is essential for a successful PhD trajectory, and we advise that both discuss and formally agree upon mutual expectations and responsibilities within the project. We advocate that Graduate Schools foster an open and safe learning environment, organise meetings where supervisors can share experiences to learn from one another, provide contacts for advice and support and involvement of HR during the selection process.


We identify three threats to small group health insurance markets that may result from the 2014 implementation of certain provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First, small employers with predominantly low‐income employees may tend to opt out of small group markets because their employees will be better off with subsidized individual coverage. Second, small employers with employees of heterogeneous income levels will have strong incentives to offer coverage that is either "unaffordable" or fails to provide "minimum value" in order to preserve the availability of government subsidies for their low‐income employees. Finally, small employers that continue to offer group plans will face increased incentives to self‐insure those plans, further contracting small group markets and subjecting them to adverse selection. Collectively, these forces may destabilize small group markets and increase the ACA's fiscal cost. We therefore conclude by offering various reforms aimed at offsetting these risks and preserving the viability of small group markets.


The horticulturist Luther Burbank introduced the European mistletoe (Viscum album L.) to Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California, USA, around 1900 to grow as a Christmas ornament crop and tincture for medicinal use. The mistletoe has since spread from the point of introduction on apple to other hardwood trees, especially non-native hardwoods in yards and farms of the region. Mistletoe surveys were previously conducted in 1971, 1986, and 1991. We re-surveyed the region in 2019, with emphasis on the 1991 perimeter, and documented the current farthest distribution of V. album. This represents a 120-year record of spread. We observed infected trees up to 24.6 km (15.3 miles) from the point of introduction, doubling the farthest distance reported in 1991. The estimated area encompassed by mistletoe-infected hosts increased from 184 km2 (71 miles2) in 1991 to 606 km2 (234 miles2) in 2019. We also updated the host species list including both native and non-native mistletoe hosts. Viscum album spread appears to be limited by available habitat and hosts, but within the survey area it is intensifying, concentrated in urban and semi-urban yards, streets, and farms. However, V. album was also commonly found in riparian areas, which have a large number of native hosts.


According to Leahey, LaRose, Fava, and Wing (2011), nearly half of all young adults are considered overweight or obese. Further, on average, young adults gain between 1 and 2 pounds annually, making them more susceptible to yearly weight gain than any other age group. College students in particular may be vulnerable to continual weight gain over the course of their 4-year education; a review by Hellmich (2008) revealed that many students gain between 6 and 9 pounds during their freshman year alone. Despite the increased risk for weight gain during the young adult years, Leahey and colleagues report that this age group is underrepresented in behavioral weight management programs. Therefore, research must determine the psychosocial factors that are likely to influence young people in their efforts to manage their weight and health. Social support may be such a mechanism; a study by Strong and colleagues (2008) demonstrated that social support was influential in college students' decisions to participate in exercise and avoid sedentary behaviors. However, a scale measuring social support has not been developed for use with college students in regard to general health behaviors. In the current study, a 37-item self-report instrument was developed. This social support measure was administered to 466 Virginia Tech undergraduates, along with a battery of questionnaires assessing other health habits. Results revealed three possible types of social support, and indicated that social support – while unrelated to body mass index – is related to healthy eating behaviors, vigorous exercise, and health choices of significant others.


Enclosed with No. 1271. Hitler to take military action toward East at first favorable opportunity; his final goal domination of Europe and destruction of British Empire; he considers England's appeasement policy sign of weakness and thinks he can win lightning war; military leaves cancelled as of Aug. 1; full military preparation to be completed by Aug. 10; petrol stored along German-Polish frontier; German troops sent to Slovakia and fortifications along Slovak-Polish border being completed; Hitler backed by those profiting from Party machine, chiefly lower middle class, and now by army; Hitler's chief difficulties economic; shortages of raw materials and food stuffs; prices of manufactured goods slowly rising and quality deteriorating in spite of Government efforts to stabilize wages and prices; railway system worn out; entire economic system suffering from over-organization; opposition to Hitler found among Czechs, working men in Austria, miners in Ruhr district and Sudetenland, and most German industrialists, who had originally supported him.


AIMS
To investigate whether health-related functioning mediates the effect of psychological job demands on sickness absence in nurses.

BACKGROUND
Nurses face high job demands that can have adverse health effects resulting in sickness absence.

DESIGN
Prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up.

METHODS
Data for 2964 Norwegian nurses were collected in the period 2008-2010. At baseline, psychological job demands were measured with the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Health-related functioning was assessed by the Mental Composite Score and the Physical Composite Score of the SF-12 Health Survey (2nd version). Sickness absence (no = 0, yes = 1) was self-reported at 1-year follow-up. Interaction and mediation analyses were conducted stratified by tenure (<1-year, 1-2 years, 3-6 years, >6 years) as a registered nurse.

RESULTS
A total of 2180 nurses (74%) with complete data were eligible for analysis. A significant three-way interaction between job demands, control and support was found in newly licensed nurses (tenure <1-year). Baseline psychological job demands were positively associated with sickness absence at 1-year follow-up. This association was substantially weakened when Mental Composite Score and Physical Composite Score were introduced as mediator variables, indicating a partial mediation effect that was particularly pronounced in newly licensed nurses. Psychological job demands did not modify the effect of health-related functioning on sickness absence.

CONCLUSION
Both mental and physical health-related functioning mediated between psychological job demands and sickness absence. Nurse managers should pay attention to health-related functioning, because poor health-related functioning may predict sickness absence, especially in newly licensed nurses.


Decomposition of organic matter combined with density stratification generate a pronounced intermediate water oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the northwest Indian Ocean. This zone currently lies between water depths of 200 and 2000 m and extends approximately 5000 km southeast from the Arabian coast. Based upon benthic foraminiferal assemblage changes, it has been suggested that this OMZ was even more extensive during the late Miocene-early Pliocene (6.5–3.0 Ma), with a maximum volume and/or intensity at approximately 5.0 Ma. While this inference may contribute to an understanding of the history of northwest Indian Ocean upwelling, corroborating geochemical evidence for this interpretation has heretofore been lacking. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 752, 754, and 757 on Broken and Ninetyeast ridges are located within central Indian Ocean intermediate water depths (1086–1650 m) but outside the present lateral dimensions of the Indian Ocean OMZ. High-resolution chemical analyses of sediment from these sites indicate significant reductions in the flux of Mn and normalized Mn concentrations between 6.5 and 3.0 Ma that are most pronounced at approximately 5.0 Ma. Because late Miocene-Pliocene paleodepths for these sites were essentially the same as at present and because extremely low sedimentation rates (0.3–1.3 cm/ky) most likely precluded sedimentary metal oxide diagenesis, we suggest that the observed Mn depletions reflect diminished deposition of reducible Mn oxyhydroxide phases within O2 deficient intermediate waters and that this effect was most intense at approximately 5.0 Ma. This interpretation implies that waters with less than 2.0 mL/L O2 extended at least 1500 km beyond their present limits and is consistent with changes in benthic foraminifera assemblages. We further suggest this expanded Indian Ocean OMZ is related to regionally and/or globally increased biological productivity.


BACKGROUND
Spinal cord stimulation has been utilized with increasing frequency in managing chronic intractable spinal pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in addition to other neuropathic pain states. The literature has shown the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation in managing chronic pain with improvement in quality of life and cost utility. There have not been any reviews performed in the fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare population in reference to utilization and expenditure patterns of spinal cord stimulators.

OBJECTIVES
This investigation was undertaken to assess the utilization and expenditures for spinal cord stimulation in the FFS Medicare population from 2009 to 2018.

STUDY DESIGN
The present study was designed to assess the utilization patterns and expenditures in all settings, for all providers in the FFS Medicare population from 2009 to 2018 in the United States. A standard 5% national sample of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) physician outpatient billing claims data. All the expenditures were presented with allowed costs and adjusted to inflation to 2018 US dollars only trials and implants were included.

RESULTS
Utilization patterns showed that spinal cord stimulation trials increased from 12,680 in 2009 to 36,280 in 2018, a 186% increase with an annual increase of 12.4%. The rate of trials per 100,000 population increased from 28 in 2009 to 61 in 2018 with a 120% increase, or an annual increase of 9.1%. The pulse generator implants increased from 7,640 in 2009 to 22,960 in 2018, an increase of 201%, with an annual increase of 13%. In addition, percutaneous placement with pulse generator implants increased from 4,080 in 2009 to 14,316 in 2018, a 252% increase, or 15% annual increase. In contrast, implantation of neurostimulator electrodes with paddle leads with laminectomy and placement of spinal pulse generator increased from 3,560 in 2009 to 8,600 in 2018, a 142% increase or an annual increase of 10.3%. Analysis of expenditures showed total inflation-adjusted expenditures increased from $292,153,701 in 2009 to $1,142,434,137 in 2018, a 291% increase from 2009 to 2018 and 16.4% annual increase. These expenditures were 125% higher than facet joint interventions and 138% higher than epidural interventions in 2018. In contrast, these expenditures were 55% below the expenditures of facet joint interventions and 66% lower than epidural injections in 2009.Trial to implant ratio improved from 42.5% in 2009 to 63.6% in 2018. An overwhelming majority of trials (90%) were performed by nonsurgical physicians, whereas, 56% of implants were performed by non-surgeons.

LIMITATIONS
This assessment includes only FFS Medicare population, thus eliminating approximately 30% of the population with Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, this study has not taken into consideration various revisions not included in 3 specific codes.

CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of spinal cord stimulators in the FFS Medicare population from 2009 to 2018 showed explosive increases of trials, implants and overall costs.


We conducted a double-blind study on the effects of age and gender on the optimal premedication dose of IM midazolam. We randomly divided 100 male and 100 female patients in each of three age groups: A = 20-39 yr, B = 40-59 yr, and C = 60-79 yr (total 600 patients) into five groups according to midazolam dosage: 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, and 0.12 mg/kg. Midazolam was injected IM with atropine 0.01 mg/kg 15 min before the induction of anesthesia. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), sedation level, tongue root depression, eyelash reflex, and anterograde amnesia were monitored. There were no significant differences between male and female patients in any variables in any age. Decrease of SpO2 and loss of eyelash reflex were seen with midazolam 0.10 mg/kg in Group A, and with 0.08 mg/kg in Group B. In Group C, decreases in BP and SpO2, loss of eyelash reflex, and depression of the tongue root were observed with midazolam 0.06 mg/kg. In conclusion, the optimal doses of IM midazolam administered 15 min before the induction of anesthesia in male or female patients were 0.08, 0.06, and 0.04 mg/kg for Groups A, B, and C, respectively. Implications: Midazolam is the most widely used preoperative anxiolytic drug. Our purpose was to evaluate the optimal dose of IM midazolam that would maximize the desired effects and minimize the side effects in a common clinical setting. Results indicate that age, but not gender, should affect the IM midazolam dose selected for premedication. (Anesth Analg 1998;86:1103-8)


A unit-time scheduling problem with makespan criterion may be interpreted as an optimal coloring of the vertices of a mixed graph, where the number of colors is minimal. We consider an optimal coloring which defines a schedule that minimizes the makespan for a unit-time job-shop problem, present complexity results for some special cases and improve a geometrical algorithm. For the general case, we develop three branch-and-bound algorithms and test them on randomly generated mixed graphs of order $n \leq 200$ for the exact solution and of order $n \leq 900$ for the approximate solution, where $n$ is the number of vertices.


The study was designed to compare the growth promoting and some plasma biochemical indices of moringa leaf powder (MLP) and garlic powder (GP) each at 15.00g/kg; treatments 1 and 2, treatments 3 and 4 contained a combination of 7.50g and 15.00g/kg each of the phytoaddivites respectively and a control diet without additive. These five diets were fed to juveniles of Clarias gariepinus (46.45±0.12g). Relative to the juveniles in control diet, growth and nutrient utilization indices, (except survival percentage) of juveniles in phytoadditive diets increased. Plasma transaminase enzymes reduced significantly (p< 0.05) except for juveniles in treatment 4, likewise there were significant (p<0.05) reduction in ALP activities, except for juveniles in treatments 1 and 3. Also, there was significant (p<0.05) reduction in plasma cholesterol of juveniles in the phytoadditive diets. However, juveniles in treatments 1 and 2 recorded significant (p<0.05) increase in plasma phospholipids and triglycerides concentration compared to juveniles in control diet. Likewise, all juveniles in phytoadditive diets had significant (p<0.05) increase concentration of total protein, creatinine increased in treatment 2 and bilirubin increased in juveniles in treatment 3 as well as an increase in urea concentration with juveniles in treatments 1 and 3. Contrarily, creatinine concentration of juveniles in treatments 1, 3 and 4, albumin of juveniles in treatment 3 and bilirubin of juveniles in treatments 1 and 4 significantly (p<0.05) reduced compared to the values obtained with juveniles fed the control diet. While the bilirubin of juveniles in treatment 3 increased significantly (p<0.05). The results of this study showed improvement in the performance of juveniles fed phytoadditive diets when compared to those in the control diet. However, the inclusion of garlic powder at 15.g/kg produced the best growth, nutrient utilization and improved plasma biochemical indices of Clarias gariepinus juveniles.


This paper describes some of the ways in which mineral rents and their management influence economic growth and other determinants of growth as well as some of the reasons why many mineral-rich countries have not managed very well to divert their resource rents to furthering economic and social development – that is, why natural capital tends to crowd out human, social, financial and real capital. The empirical evidence of these linkages is presented in two rounds. First, we allow World Bank data covering 164 countries in 1960-2000 to speak for themselves through a sequence of bilateral correlations that suggest an inverse relationship between natural resource dependence and growth via human capital. We then repeat the exercise for two aspects of social capital, corruption and democracy, suggesting an additional adverse effect of natural resource dependence via social capital on growth. In the second round, we test for the robustness of natural resource dependence as a determinant of long-run growth by estimating a series of growth regressions for the same 164 countries.


Benzynes produced by the thermal cycloisomerization of tetrayne substrates [i.e., by the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction] react with perylenes to produce novel naphthoperylene derivatives. Cyclic voltammetry and absorption and emission properties of these compounds are described. DFT studies shed additional light on the dearomatization that accompanies the reaction as well as some of the spectroscopic behavior.


The development process in several countries in the Caribbean region has not proceeded at the pace, nor to the extent anticipated by most persons at the policy-making and decisionmaking levels, as well as the level of the ordinary citizen. Until now the discovery of strategies that can effectively bring about growth with equity has eluded these countries . The reasons for this are multiple, and must include factors related to events and circumstances in the global political economy, and policy decisions and behaviours at the local and national levels. The resources human, financial, physical, economic, or otherwise of the society are obviously also critical considerations. Historically, the explanations of the developmental dilemmas and of the possible prescriptions for their solutions have focussed most attention on issues at the macro level. Although most agree that that many of the problems have to do with the capacity and capability of the countries, not a great deal of attention has been given to the more specific deficiencies in the areas of social and cultural capacity, and therefore to the extent to which these could impede and stymie the development process . From time to time, there have been statements about the role of values, cultural orientations, beliefs, and tastes; but there has been very little real or systematic examination of the possible relationship between, for example, specific social institutional arrangements on the one hand, and the actual behaviours and decisions that could take the developmental process forward , on the other. Not only social stability, but also change and movement forward does after all. require some social consensus, or accommodation, and some integrity in the society'S social institutional base. Boxill [1998) also takes a similar view about the debilitating effects of the contlict model that has, up until recently, been popular in certain academic and policy circles in the Caribbean .' These institutions provide glue, framework, support. rationale. and stimulus for any given social activity and/or behaviour; their decay will therefore have inevitable and perhaps predictable consequences.


Here we present basic ideas and algorithms of Power Geometry and give a survey of some of its applications. In Section 2, we consider one generic ordinary differential equation and demonstrate how to find asymptotic forms and asymptotic expansions of its solutions. In Section 3, we demonstrate how to find expansions of solutions to Painlevé equations by this method, and we analyze singularities of plane oscillations of a satellite on an elliptic orbit. In Section 4, we consider the problem of local integrability of a planar ODE system. In Section 5, we expound the spacial generalizations of planar constructions. Power Geometry gives alternatives to some methods of Algebraic Geometry, Differential Algebra, Nonstandard Analysis, Microlocal Analysis, Group Analysis and to other algebraic methods in Dynamical Systems.


It is debatable how strong secularization is in Europe, and how important its consequences are for the European churches. Peter L. Berger has introduced the idea of Europe being the exception to the rule that modernization means more secularization. Berger thinks the only major part of the world in which the old secularization theory continues to be empirically tenable is western and central Europe. The single most interesting question for the sociology of religion today is, according to Berger, 'Is Europe religiously different, and if so why?' I agree with Peter L. Berger that we are experiencing in Europe what could be called a distinctive Euro-secularity that is part and parcel of a cross-national European culture. This Euro-secularity is characterized by a plurality of reasons why people still belong to the Christian church in a situation where they could choose something else. Grace Davie has tried to catch this new situation of the church by suggesting the term, "believing without belonging". Jose Casanova has turned the phrase around and speaks of a situation that he describes as "belonging without believing". Thus, the church is still a privileged institution even though Europeans do not attend church services. Some Europeans look to the church as if to an insurance company, where it is good to be member if at last it will show that Jesus is the way, truth and life. I would call this last perspective "believing in belonging". Alongside the changing attitude to membership of organized religion there is a shift in religious faith. It is becoming much more individualistic, fluid and changeable. The result is that faith becomes part of a personal project of self-realization. In the process, bits and pieces from different religions are mixed in order to help deal with the question of personal identity in a situation where work-related pressures create stress and erupt the old patterns of family life. Globalization changes all aspects of life, including the religious life. As a result of secularization, globalization, and ideological and religious pluralism the ordained ministry has lost its old authority. The pastor is no longer the only religious or educated expert in the local arena or in the public discourse. Media-people have taken over his/her position as an authoritative public voice. The pulpit has lost to television. What is left to the minister is authenticity. In all that he/she does, the pastor is negotiating and legitimizing the Christian gospel as the way of life for post-enlightenment Europeans. The minister's personal faith and authenticity become the primary examples of the content and wisdom of the Christian message because he/she has to accept the rule in the post-modern media society that the media are the message. Many young pastors especially find it difficult to deal with this reality, which is a reality that in my Lutheran tradition and theology is far away from the basic idea of the Lutheran ministry. In post-enlightenment Europe the minister becomes a witness to the gospel and its meaning among people who have a very distanced awareness of Christian faith and tradition. He/she becomes a missionary in a society that is multicultural, multi-religious and a secularized liberal democracy, where modernity pluralizes the worlds of individuals, and undermines all certainties that are taken for granted. In this situation the pastor must know the mechanisms of his/her culture, politics and religions so that he/she is in accordance with the present. However, she/he cannot accommodate herself/himself to culture and society. A critical orientation towards culture and politics must be preserved based on the theological insight that we meet Jesus Christ in the middle of our lives and societies. In this respect, John A. T. Robinson's insights from his books Honest to God and The Hoist to God Debate still remain to be dealt with: My book seems to have touched people at a point where truth really matters to them. …


ABSTRACT Trichoderma-based biofungicides are a reality in agriculture, with more than 50 formulations today available as registered products worldwide. Several strategies have been applied to identify the main genes and compounds involved in this complex, three-way cross-talk between the fungal antagonist, the plant, and microbial pathogens. Proteome and genome analysis have greatly enhanced our ability to conduct holistic and genome-based functional studies. We have identified and determined the role of a variety of novel genes and gene-products, including ABC transporters, enzymes and other proteins that produce or act as novel elicitors of induced resistance, proteins responsible for a gene-for-gene avirulent interaction between Trichoderma spp. and plants, mycoparasitism-related inducers, plant proteins specifically induced by Trichoderma, etc. We have transgenically demonstrated the ability of Trichoderma spp. to transfer heterologous proteins into plant during root colonization, and have used green fluorescent protein and other markers to study the interaction in vivo and in situ between Trichoderma spp. and the fungal pathogen or the plant.


Background: Current evidence that links "healthier" dietary patterns to better measured physical performance is mainly from older populations; little is known about the role of earlier diet. We examined adult diet quality in relation to physical performance at age 60–64 years. Methods: Diet quality was defined using principal component analysis of dietary data collected at age 36, 43, 53, and 60–64. Throughout adulthood, diets of higher quality were characterized by higher consumption of fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain bread. Diet quality scores calculated at each age indicated compliance with this pattern. Physical performance was assessed using chair rise, timed-up-and-go, and standing balance tests at age 60–64. The analysis sample included 969 men and women. Results: In gender-adjusted analyses, higher diet quality at each age was associated with better measured physical performance (all p < .01 for each test), although some associations were attenuated after adjustment for covariates. Diet quality scores were highly correlated in adulthood (0.44 ≤ r ≤ 0.67). However, conditional models showed that higher diet quality at age 60–64 (than expected from scores at younger ages), was associated with faster chair rise speed and with longer standing balance time (adjusted: 0.08 [95% CI: 0.02, 0.15] and 0.07 [0.01, 0.14] SD increase in chair rise speed and balance time, respectively, per SD increase in conditional diet quality; both p < .05). Conclusions: Higher diet quality across adulthood is associated with better physical performance in older age. Current diet quality may be particularly important for physical performance, suggesting potential for improvements in diet in early older age.


This study established the perceptions of senior managers and executives regarding the alignment of IT strategy and the business strategy in a public sector organisation. 140 questionnaires were distributed to senior management from all business units of the organisation and 56 completed questionnaires were received back (40% response rate). Descriptive, multiple regression and Chi square were performed. Results revealed that there is management involvement in the strategy formulation process, alignment of IT and business strategy is important in the organisation, the level of strategy formulation and alignment is good and alignment is achieving the desired results. All the constructs of process, people and organisational factors were found to be important; however only organisational factors were founds to be successfully implemented. Keywords— Information technology, IT Strategy, Business strategy, Strategic alignment


This thesis is concerned with the symphonies of the Swedish composer Allan Pettersson (1911–80). The aim of the thesis is to promote understanding of Pettersson's music and compositional processes, through analyses of a selection of his symphonies. The thesis will also increase understanding of Pettersson's view of music. My analytical point of departure is a reconstructed compositional problem built on Pettersson's view of music; the analysed symphonies are regarded as solutions to the reconstructed compositional problem. Questions related to how these problems are solved in the symphonies are the main focus of the analyses.The analyses in this thesis suggest that Pettersson consciously worked with contrasts between the tonal and non-tonal. This is supported by the composer's descriptions of his music. The contrasts in Pettersson's music between the tonal and non-tonal are in most cases carefully integrated into his symphonies. These contrasts appear as parts of an organic whole and are central in the formation of this whole. The analyses suggest that the contrast non-tonal/tonal functions as tension and relaxation between larger and smaller sections, and between motifs. There are connections between the contrasts on different levels, which seems like a clear structural idea in Pettersson's organic form. The analyses emphasis the multiple functions of tonality in Pettersson's music.The analyses also propose that the contrast between tonal and non-tonal appears as a means of articulating contrasts between different themes and motifs. The analyses further show how Pettersson used carefully constructed systems of great complexity in his music.


In this paper, we address the design of codes which achieve modulation diversity in block fading single-input single-output (SISO) channels with signal quantization at the receiver. With an unquantized receiver, coding based on algebraic rotations is known to achieve maximum modulation coding diversity. On the other hand, with a quantized receiver, algebraic rotations may not guarantee gains in diversity. Through analysis, we propose specific rotations which result in the codewords having equidistant component-wise projections. We show that the proposed coding scheme achieves maximum modulation diversity with a low-complexity minimum distance decoder and perfect channel knowledge. Relaxing the perfect channel knowledge assumption we propose a novel channel training/estimation technique to estimate the channel. We show that our coding/training/estimation scheme and minimum distance decoding achieves an error probability performance similar to that achieved with perfect channel knowledge.


ABSTRACT In this study, (Bi2O3)1−x−y(Sm2O3)x(CeO2)y ternary system was synthesized by using solid-state reaction method. Structural, morphological, thermal and electrical properties of the samples were evaluated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, thermo gravimetry/differential thermal analyzer and four-probe method. The XRD measurement results indicated that the samples (x = 10–15, y = 5–10–15–20) had cubic δ-phase crystallographic structure. The phase stability of the samples was checked by the differential thermal analyzer measurements, which indicates most of the samples have stable δ-Bi2O3 phase. The electrical conductivity measurement results showed that the electrical conductivity increased with mol% CeO2 molar ratio at a fixed molar ratio of Sm2O3. The highest electrical conductivity obtained for the (Bi2O3)0.65(Sm2O3)0.15(CeO2)0.20 system was 1.55 × 10−2 (Ω.cm)−1 at 600 °C. The activation energies were also calculated at low temperature range (350–650 °C) which vary from 1.1325 to 1.4460 eV and at high temperature (above 650 °C) which vary from 0.4813 to 1.1071 eV.


The present study explored the laterality of central nervous thermoregulatory control in anesthetized rats by measuring paw skin vasomotor activity and cold-induced shivering in hind leg muscles during unilateral preoptic area and anterior hypothalamus (POAH) warming and electrical stimulation or during unilateral thermal stimulation of abdominal skin. Unilateral POAH warming produced vasodilation on both sides of the body, but vasodilation on the ipsilateral side always either occurred at a lower threshold hypothalamic temperature or was stronger than on the contralateral side. In a cold environment (5 degrees C), shivering was suppressed simultaneously in both hind legs when one side of the POAH was warmed, and shivering reappeared simultaneously on both sides when POAH warming stopped. These results suggest that different thermoregulatory effectors are regulated in a different way by each side of the POAH. Unilateral thermal stimulation of the abdominal skin, on the other hand, affected vasomotor activity and shivering equally on both sides of the body, as previously reported for its influence on salivary secretion. Skin thermal signals from both sides of the body therefore seem to converge before they act on different thermoregulatory effector systems.


Part of a series which contains short stories, romance, mystery and detective stories, and non-fiction. The language is controlled at each of the four levels, with features such as lexis, cohesion, contextualization and structure taken into account when assessing degrees of difficulty.


In this paper, we have studied the algebraic operations of anti S-fuzzy soft sets to establish their basic properties. We have discussed different algebraic structures of anti S-fuzzy soft sets under the restricted and extended operations of union and intersection in a comprehensive manner. Logical equivalences have also been made in order to give a complete overview of these structures.


Examining a decade of research and practice, this book makes the case for a radical reappraisal of leadership, learning, and their interrelationship in educational policy. Discussing whether policy direction is progressively constraining the professionalism and initiative of teachers and school leaders, it challenges conventional understanding and argues the case for thinking differently about the way to lead learning.

Based on the Leadership for Learning (LfL) Project, the book clarifies, extends, and refines LfL principles and practices, and their contribution to ameliorating some of the difficult conditions encountered in the contemporary educational policy environment. It starts by discussing the direction and influence of current education policy and its subsequent consequences; chapters then move on to explore the framing values informing the LfL Projects, particularly focusing on what they imply for commitments to social justice, children's rights and breadth in student learning, and considering how to create favourable conditions for learning.

Identifying a disconnect between seminal principles and the nature of day-to-day practice, Strengthening the Connections between Leadership and Learning challenges school policy and practice at national and local levels. It is an essential read for postgraduate students, especially those studying leadership in education, as well as for teachers and policymakers in schools.


The aim of the current study was to explore growth performance and carcass traits using ultrasound measurements of calves of different cattle breeds under pasture and concentration feeding system. A total of 25 male cattle calves between the ages of 6 to 7 months with an average body weight of 162.37 ± 7.7 kg were fed two separate fattening trials for seven months (pasture and finishing period). Animals were divided into five groups (five of each breed): Kurdi, Rustaki, Jenoubi, Herford and Friesian crossbred. The average daily weight gain was similar (P > 0.05) for calves of different cattle breeds during growth (pasture) period, while these values were significantly higher in Kurdi, Rustaki and Friesian crossbred calves during finishing period. The body size measurements were similar among calves of different cattle breeds. The highest increase in Longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness was observed in Kurdi, Rustaki and Friesian crossbred calves. In conclusion, In conclusion, Kurdi, Rustaki and Friesian crossbred calves possess the promising potential for beef production under the barn rearing or finishing period.


In the present study, the feasibility of the poly(divinyl-benzene vinylpyrrolidone) as solid-phase extraction (SPE) nanoscale adsorbent prior to LC-MS-MS method for the sensitive and selective determination of eight paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) (GTX1, GTX2, GTX3, GTX4, GTX5, dcGTX2, dcGTX3 and dcNEO-b) toxins in the shellfish was investigated. Various parameters affecting SPE efficiency including the eluent and its volume, and sample volume were studied. The application of the SPE can remove most of the ematrix interference compared with the conventional SPE procedure. By using slected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode in LC-MS-MS analysis, the acquired calibration curves were strictly linear (r2 > 0.996) for the eight targeted analyses. The feasibility of the proposed method was finally validated by quantifing the eight PSPs in the shellfish samples (scallop, Crassostrea gigas and Ruditapes philippinarum) with the satisfitory recoveries of more than 80% with RSDs less than 10%.


With the bleak outlook that 75% of Americans will be overweight or obese in 10 years, it is essential to find efficient help very soon. Knowledge of the powerful and complex neural systems conferring the basic drive to eat is a prerequisite for designing efficient therapies. Recent studies suggest that the cross talk between brain areas involved in cognitive, emotional, and metabolic-regulatory functions may explain why energy homeostasis breaks down for many predisposed individuals in our modern environment.


BACKGROUND
Due to the cross-reactivity between Bet v 1 and proteins present in vegetable foods, birch pollen allergic patients frequently develop allergy to fruits and vegetables, mostly apples. Since many apple cultivars exist some of them might contain sufficiently low amounts of Mal d 1 to be tolerated by most allergic patients.

OBJECTIVE
To assess whether apple cultivars containing low amounts of Mal d 1 are better tolerated by apple-allergic patients.

METHODS
Mal d 1 content was determined in many apple cultivars by ELISA. Selected cultivars containing high (Golden Delicious) or low (Orim, G 198 and Vienna) amounts of Mal d 1 were compared in apple allergic patients both by SPT and oral challenges.

RESULTS
The 3 different apple cultivars induced wheals of similar size in most patients. Upon oral challenges no patient reported the total absence of oral symptoms following the ingestion of either high or low allergenic apples. Golden Delicious and G-198 elicited OAS of similar severity 3/7 cases. The 2 cultivars induced significantly more severe symptoms in 2 cases each.

CONCLUSION
Allergy to Mal d 1 is characterized by significant inter-patient variability. Moreover, marked inter-apple and intra-apple variability exists. As a consequence, the amount of Mal d 1 in apples classified as containing low concentrations of allergen may be sufficient to induce both clinical symptoms and skin reactivity in birch pollen-allergic patients. The search for low allergenic apples therefore should be continued and extended to other germplasm accessions, be it cultivars, breeding lines or wild species.


Formal property rights are integral to contemporary global- and national-scale land transactions, and prerequisite to international institutions' recognition of any state, private, or nonprofit land holdings. We argue that state lands constitute today's frontiers for capitalist expansion. Using cases from Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Indonesia, we show how practices, institutions, and laws that expunge local rights and claims to land and replace them with state rights have been fundamental to the creation of "new" frontiers. We argue that historical formalizations of state land created the enabling conditions for today's large-scale, international, and national acquisitions of land, in ways that were unanticipated at the time of state acquisition.


In India 67.7 million people belonging to "Scheduled Tribes" are generally considered to be 'Adivasis', literally meaning 'indigenous people' or 'original inhabitants'. Out of the 5653 distinct communities in India, 635 are considered to be 'tribes' or 'Adivasis'. The Scheduled Tribe population represents one of the most economically Impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Although Scheduled Tribes are a minority, they constitute about 8.2 % of the total population in India (Census of India, 2001), or 85 million people in absolute number. The Scheduled Tribes are not discriminated against in the same way by the mainstream Hindu population as the Scheduled Caste population in India. While the latter group belongs to the lowest hierarchy of social order and is often considered impure or unclean, the Scheduled Tribes have, for the most part, been socially distanced and living outside the mainstream Hindu society.. About 93% of the tribal people live in rural areas (Census of India, 1981) and are engaged in agricultural pursuits. There are more than 400 tribal groups among the scheduled tribe population, each with their distinct cultures, social practices, religions, dialects, and occupations. Thus, the different tribal groups are highly heterogeneous, and their differences are a function of the environment in which they live, the degree of exposure to the mainstream Hindu population, government involvement in their education, daily lives, their economic status, and past history. The tribes are scattered in all States and Union Territories in India except for the states of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and Chandigarh. The tribes are heavily concentrated in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland although they constitute a small percentage of the total tribal population in India. Literacy and educational attainment are powerful indicators of social and economic development among the backward groups in India. During the British rule there was no organized method to educate the tribal communities except for the work undertaken by Christian missionary organizations in some regions in India. Currently, the tribes lag behind not only the general population but also the Scheduled Caste population in literacy and educational attainment. Education being the most effective instrument of empowering the Socially Disadvantaged Groups, all out efforts should be made to improve the educational status of these groups, especially that of the women and the Girl Child. In fact, the educational backwardness, prevalent amongst these people, necessitates an added thrust on their education, training and skill up gradation, as it will bring forth not only social empowerment but also economic empowerment. In these articles is attempt to expose the status of the educational level among the tribal community in India.


The primary purpose of this research is to determine, as accurately as possible, the illuminance distribution across the retina of the eye resulting from a small image formed at the back of the eye by nearly collimated light incident upon the cornea, with the illuminance distribution specified over a wide range, including angles close to the image proper. The measurements are taken by means of a photomultiplier tube located immediately behind a small aperture at the back of an excised steer eye. It is hoped that the results are generalizable to the living, human eye. Consequently, a variety of control studies were undertaken to support the possibility of such a generalization. These include investigations of post mortem changes (including studies with living eyes), use of "normal" vs Maxwellian view, wavelength, pupil diameter, and the shape of the retinal image. Although most of the work was done with excised steer eyes, some data were also taken with eyes from pigs and sheep. The final distribution is similar to, but not exactly the same as, that inferred from psychophysical investigations.


The adsorption ability of barley husk biomass for removing Cd (II) has been studied using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. A dose of 3 g/L of dried biomass in a solution with an initial pH of 7, an initial Cd(II) concentration of 10 mg/L and a contact time of 90 min resulted in the maximum Cd(II) removal efficiency (95.9%). The effect of temperature on cadmium sorption on barley husk was thoroughly examined. Consistent with an exothermic reaction, an increase in the temperature resulted in decreasing Cd (II) adsorption rate. Thermodynamic parameters (i.e., change in the free energy (ΔGo), the enthalpy (ΔHo), and the entropy (ΔSo)) were also evaluated. The overall adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous in nature. These results suggest that barley husk could be employed as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of cadmium from contaminated water sources.


Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the commonest method for surgical revascularisation and Left Internal Mammary artery (LIMA) is the conduit of choice. However it may develop vasospasm during harvesting. Vasodilators like Papaverine have been proposed to relieve vasospasm and hence increase blood flow. However the optimal method of papaverine application is not clear. In this study we have compared the effects of intraluminal versus topical application of papaverine on LIMA flow. Methods: This was prospective randomized controlled trial of 60 patients. They were divided into two groups: group 1 (n=30; intraluminal papaverine application) and group 2 (n=30; topical papaverine application). LIMA was harvested, divided and the blood flow from distal cut end was measured under controlled hemodynamics, before papaverine application and 5 min after papaverine application. Results: In group 1, the mean blood flow was 61.07±3.1 ml/min before papaverine application and 119.6±3.72 ml/min after intraluminal instillation (p value <0.0001). In group 2, it was 60.4±2.24 ml/min before and 72.13±2.56 ml/min after papaverine topical application. The increase in blood flow observed in group 1 was 95.84% versus 19.42% in group 2. Conclusion: In this trial, while papaverine increased blood flow with both methods, it caused a higher rate of increase of blood flow with intraluminal instillation than with topical application.


A very common issue of adaptive Web-Based systems is the modeling of documents. Such documents represent domain-specific information for a number of purposes. Application areas such as Information Search, Focused Crawling and Content Adaptation (among many others) benefit from several techniques and approaches to model documents effectively. For example, a document usually needs preliminary processing in order to obtain the relevant information in an effective and useful format, so as to be automatically processed by the system. The objective of this chapter is to support other chapters, providing a basic overview of the most common and useful techniques and approaches related with document modeling. This chapter describes high-level techniques to model Web documents, such as the Vector Space Model and a number of AI approaches, such as Semantic Networks, Neural Networks and Bayesian Networks. This chapter is not meant to act as a substitute of more comprehensive discussions about the topics presented. Rather, it provides a brief and informal introduction to the main concepts of document modeling, also focusing on the systems that are presented in the rest of the book as concrete examples of the related concepts.


Kites have been used as weather sensing solutions for over 250 years. The fact that they are simpler to operate and train on than alternative aerial systems, their ability to keep station at a fixed point for a long term, simplified altitude control, and the ease of retrieving their payload attribute to their growing appeal in atmospheric research. NASA, Toyota, and the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Oklahoma State University are active in developing and deploying high-altitude inflatable kite systems for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) research—crucial to advancing the accuracy of weather forecasting. Improvements in kite design, as well as instrumentation and supporting infrastructure, are key to further accelerating the use of kites in atmospheric research. The work underway by these researchers is intended to be a deliberate step in the evolutionary development of these beneficial systems.


The intestinal epithelium plays an essential role in nutrient absorption, hormone release, and barrier function. Maintenance of the epithelium is driven by continuous cell renewal by intestinal epithelial stem cells located in the intestinal crypts. Obesity affects this process and results in changes in the size and function of the tissue. Because both the amount of food intake and the composition of the diet are contributing factors to developing and maintaining obesity, it is necessary to tease apart the separate contributions of obesity versus the type/amount of diet in driving the epithelial changes. C57BL/6J mice were fed a 60% high-fat diet versus a 10% low-fat diet for three months. A pair fed group was included (mice were fed with high-fat diet, but in equal kcal as that eaten by the low-fat diet- fed mice to keep them lean). We investigated the differences in (1) crypt-villus morphology in vivo, (2) the number and function of differentiated epithelial cell types in vivo, and (3) lasting effects on intestinal epithelial stem cell proliferation and growth in vitro. We found that high-fat diet-induced obesity, independent of the high-fat diet, increased crypt depth, villus height, the number of intestinal epithelial stem cells and goblet cells in vivo, and enhanced the size of the enterospheres developed from isolated IESCs in vitro. In addition, there is an interaction of obesity, type of diet, and availability of the diet (pair fed versus ad libitum) on protein and mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase (an enzyme of enterocytes). These results suggest that high-fat diet-induced obesity, independent of the high-fat diet, induces lasting effects on intestinal epithelial stem cell proliferation, and drives the differentiation into goblet cells, but an interaction of obesity and diet drives alterations in the function of the enterocytes. Impact statement This study investigates whether obesity or the type/amount of diet differentially alters the proliferation, differentiation, growth, and function of the intestinal epithelial tissue. Although diet-induced obesity is known to alter the growth and function of the epithelium in vivo and cause lasting effects in intestinal epithelial stem cells (IESCs) in vitro, we are the first to tease apart the separate contributions of obesity versus the type/amount of diet in these processes. We found that high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, independent of the HFD, drives lasting effects on IESC proliferation and differentiation into goblet cells, which may contribute to the growth of the epithelium. In addition, there is an interaction of obesity, type of diet, and availability of the diet (PF versus ad libitum) on the function of enterocytes. Identification of the factors driving the epithelial changes may provide new therapeutic strategies to control altered tissue growth and function associated with obesity.


Numerous microbial species participate in precipitation of carbonates in various natural environments, including soils, geological formations, freshwater biofilms and oceans. Despite the geochemical interest of such a biomineralization process, its molecular mechanisms and adaptive aspects remain poorly known. Many Gram-negative bacteria use cell-to-cell communication systems relying on N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHLs) signal molecules to express certain phenotypic traits in a density-dependent manner, a phenomenon referred as to quorum-sensing (QS). In this work, bacterial isolates collected from cave and rhizosphere soil were analyzed to study the occurrence of the AHL-mediated QS in bacterial calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation. To test the production of AHLs signal molecules, we cross-streaked Gram-negative calcifying strains, selected among the environmental strains studied, with the AHL-negative mutant Chromobacterium subtsugae strain CV026. Only Burkholderia ambifaria LMG 11351 was able to restore violacein production in CV026 among the tested strains. The constructed AHL-negative mutant of B. ambifaria LMG 11351 could not precipitate CaCO3 on B-4 agar. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis on CaCO3 crystals obtained in vitro shows crystals of different morphologies, calcified biofilms and bacteria in close contact with the precipitated crystals. In the inner layers of the bioliths deposited by B. ambifaria LMG 11351, a stream-like organization of the Burkholderia imprints was not detected by SEM. Our data provide preliminary evidence that the activation of AHL-regulated genes may be a prerequisite for in vitro bacterial carbonatogenesis, in some cases, confirming the specific role of bacteria as CaCO3 precipitating agents. We enhance the understanding of bacterial CaCO3 biomineralization and its potential biotechnology implications for QS-based strategies to enhance or decrease CaCO3 precipitation through specific bacterial processes. The AHL-negative mutant of B. ambifaria LMG 11351 (a well-known plant growth-promoting bacterium) could also be used to study plant-bacteria interactions. The adaptive role of bacterial CaCO3 biomineralization was also discussed.


Urban spaces throughout history have played a significant role in the socio-economic life of the inhabitants and have served as the center for communication and transformation in the cities. Study of historical periods and the development of urban space lead to our understanding of human perception toward life in different periods. The historically confluence of sociopolitical and economic changes shapes urban setting. The historical development of Vali Asr Street investigated to examine sociopolitical dynamics in development and transformation of urban space in the center of Tehran metropolitan. This paper contributes in identification of opportunities, threats, weaknesses and strengths in the three approaches for Vali-Asr street that might be used as assessment indicators for future development of urban space.


tangible but important attitudes of the staff. There is a commitment to a community based psychiatry among both the planners and the practitioners that goes far beyond the narrow concerns of closing down an asylum. The most obvious result of a new flexibility among staff is the breaking down of formal barriers between them. In a small community based institution the distinction among doctor, psychologist, nurse, and social worker becomes blurred. At times in the centres in Trieste the distinction between staff and patients becomes blurred. Interestingly, this observation is accepted with pride in Italy but often with howls of derision in this country. The old asylum in Trieste, as elsewhere in Italy, still exists. Instead of being sold off, however, as it surely would be in this country, it now houses work cooperatives, university buildings, and a creche and is the site of weekly discos and film shows. In fact, during the summer the place to be for young Triestinans is the "Ex-OPP" (expsychiatric hospital). The whole community is in effect being brought into the mental health centre as well as the patients being discharged from it. The small mental health centres mentioned in the news item function well as drop in centres, day centres, and outpatient clinics at one and the same time. In addition, the boundary between the mental health centre and the group homes becomes indistinct as the staff move freely between both. Thus nurses are attached to a centre, and how many nurses need to be actually working with patients in the homes is decided daily. In Trieste closure of the hospital has resulted in more and not fewer facilities. There are many deficiencies in Italy. There is no formal rehabilitation service and no occupational therapy. It is surely churlish, however, to concentrate only on what is lacking and to ignore the benefits stimulated by Law 180. In Trieste the psychiatric service sees the need to take the community forward with it. The point is that the professionals as well as the patients have been liberated from the hospital. On close questioning the Italians will admit that it is not that the psychiatric hospitals have closed but that their hold on the patients has been broken (K Jones, personal communication). It is the staff as well as the patients who have been deinstitutionalised.


Abstract Not much is known about how children cope with the task of acquiring the complex, polyfunctional, and often abstract and idiosyncratic system of German verbal prefixes. This paper presents an experimental study on children's knowledge, i.e. their morphological and semantic awareness, of the five verbal prefixes be‑, ent‑, er‑, ver‑, and zer‑ in preschool age and early school age. The experiment combines a decision and a definition task involving canonical and novel prefix verbs, and it examines the influence of context on the recognition of the verbs. The results of the study show that, in general, the knowledge of prefix verbs increases significantly between 6 and 8 years. Preschoolers have preliminary, but still very labile representations of the five verbal prefixes, school children have established much more independent representations, however, the lexical knowledge they have about prefixes and prefixed verbs is still fragmentary. The five prefixes under investigation differ considerably with respect to their morpho-semantic transparency. Higher transparency results in good passive knowledge of the prefixes, even when they are rarely used by the children spontaneously, such as the infrequent, but semantically salient prefix ent- (ent-kommen 'escape'), that is much better known to children than spontaneous speech data would suggest.


Development of resistance to colchicine in the mouse macrophage‐like cell line J774.2 coincides with the expression of a variety of phenotypic traits. A cloned subline (J7/CLC‐20), maintained in 20 μM colchicine, exhibits reduced steady‐state association with drug, increased presence of a 140,000–145,000 dalton (140–145 kD) phosphoglycoprotein associated with the plasma membrane, double minute chromosomes and cross‐resistance to other drugs. While similar phenotypic traits are observed in J774.2 cells resistant to taxol and vinblastine, differences in the electrophoretic mobilities of the resistance‐specific glycoproteins in each of the three sublines suggest that multi‐drug resistant sublines exhibit specificity for individual drugs. In an attempt to elucidate the relationships between the phenotypic traits associated with colchicine resistance, the degree of colchicine resistance in J7/CLC‐20 cells was modulated and the levels of expression of the phenotypic traits were quantitated. In the absence of colchicine in the growth medium, J7/CLC‐20 cells reverted to drug sensitivity within 35 days. A decrease in the level of resistance coincided with coordinate changes in both the quantity of the resistance‐specific glycoprotein and the average number of double minute chromosomes. We propose that the emergence and disappearance of the resistance‐specific glycoprotein and double minute chromosomes may be closely linked. However, J7/CLC‐20 cells which had regained their drug sensitivity after growth in drug‐free medium maintained a reduced level of steady‐state drug association. The persistence of reduced drug association in cells that have reverted to a drug‐sensitive state suggests that this phenomenon, although related to colchicine resistance, need not be the primary or only mechanism of drug resistance.


Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT, Lakoff & Johnson 1980; Lakoff, 1983, 1987, 1993, 2008, 2009), the most prominent cognitive approach to metaphor comprehension, argues that the nature of interconnections within the conceptual system is inherently metaphoric-analogical and that systematic patterns in linguistic metaphor reveal these cognitive interconnections. Relevance Theory (RT, Sperber & Wilson, 1986; Wilson & Sperber, 1993; Sperber & Wilson, 1995; Wilson & Sperber, 2002, 2004) and Graded Salience (GS, Giora, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003; Peleg et al., 2008; Peleg & Giora, 2011) disagree that systematic patterns in linguistic metaphor can be taken as direct evidence of their cognitive representation. A metaphor consists of two concepts, a source and a target concept. The metaphor implies an analogy between the two concepts. To comprehend a metaphor is to infer under which conditions the implied analogy holds. The meaning of the two concepts is pragmatically enriched by these additional assumptions. Metaphor comprehension is an inferential process. The result of this process is the enriched meaning of the metaphor. This meaning can become conventionalised, in which case it often serves as an inferential shortcut: instead of having to consider all conceptually possible interpretations and their plausibility in the context of the analogy, speakers who are familiar with the conventional (i.e. idiomatic) meaning are provided with a default interpretation. According to CMT, the inferential process is a process of interconnecting primary embodied concepts to ever more complex higher-order concepts. On this view, a metaphoric idiomatic meaning is such a complex concept where the conceptual interconnections are conventional. According to RT, the inferential process is a process of inferring a meaning that is in line with the speaker's communicative intent, the discourse context, and interlocutors' expectations of the cognitive relevance of potential inferences. On this view, metaphoric idiomatic meanings are highly salient inferences with a high degree of contextual relevance because speakers' expectations of relevance are conventionalised. According to GS, the inferential process consists of two modules that work in parallel: a module that infers salient meanings based on linguistic knowledge and a module that enriches the meaning by taking non-linguistic knowledge such as conceptual, experiential, perceptual, contextual, and world knowledge into consideration. On this view, metaphoric idiomatic meanings are highly salient inferences because of speakers' knowledge of non-conceptual linguistic conventions. This thesis investigates the claims made by CMT, RT and GS by experimentally testing the cross-linguistic communicability of metaphoric proverbs with idiomatic meanings. Proverbs are selected such that the similarity of metaphors' source and target concepts, expectations of contextual relevance, and the degree of familiarity with proverbs' conventional wording is cross-linguistically maximised. If CMT is correct, then when cross-linguistic conceptual similarity is maximised in this way, monolingual native speakers should find L2 languagespecific metaphors communicable. If RT and GS are correct, then monolingual native speakers should find L2-specific metaphors less communicable than L1-specific and non-languagespecific metaphoric proverbs because they lack knowledge of the necessary non-conceptual linguistic conventions. Cross-linguistic metaphor communicability is measured in three ways in the experiments: (1) through reading/response times, (2) through plausibility judgements, and (3) through a context creation task. Results show that cross-linguistic metaphor communicability of L2-specific metaphors is lowered for monolingual native speakers on all three measures.


Relay node placement in wireless sensor networks for constrained environment is a critical task due to various unavoidable constraints. One of the most important constraints is unpredictable obstacles. Handling obstacles during relay node placement is complicated because of complexity involved to estimate the shape and size of obstacles. This paper presents an Obstacle-resistant relay node placement strategy (ORRNP). The proposed solution not only handles the obstacles but also estimates best locations for relay node placement in the network. It also does not involve any additional hardware (mobile robots) to estimate node locations thus can significantly reduce the deployment costs. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our proposed approach.


Dab
 neeg
 (oral
 storytelling
 of
 Hmong
 folktales,
 myths,
 tales
 and
 legends)
 and paj
 ntaub
 (traditional
 Hmong
 embroidery)
 are
 cultural
 practices
 within
 Hmong culture.
 Hmong
 people
 have
 been
 practicing
 these
 customs
 for
 many
 centuries
 as means
 to
 continue
 cultural
 identity
 and
 heritage.
 Expose
 to
 these
 cultural
 practices at
 a
 young
 age,
 dab
 neeg
 and
 paj
 ntaub
 impact
 gender
 identity
 and
 roles
 differently between
 Hmong
 men
 and
 women. This
 qualitative
 project
 examines
 how
 dab
 neeg
 and
 paj
 ntaub
 shapes
 and influences
 Hmong
 women's
 identities
 and
 gender
 roles
 within
 my
 family.
 I conducted
 in-‐depth
 interviews
 with
 ten
 women
 in
 my
 family.
 Thus,
 I
 argue
 that though
 dab
 neeg
 and
 paj
 ntaub
 are
 cultural
 practices
 that
 perpetuate
 cultural identity,
 value,
 beliefs
 and
 history,
 they
 are
 also
 tools
 for
 'policing'
 and
 reinforcing women's
 identity
 and
 gender
 roles
 reflecting
 the
 expectations
 associated
 with
 the "ideal"
 Hmong
 woman.
 The
 "ideal"
 Hmong
 woman
 is
 the
 'good'
 Hmong
 daughter, daughter-‐in-‐law,
 wife
 and
 eventually
 mother.
 However,
 with
 access
 to
 education and
 influences
 from
 US-‐western
 culture,
 some
 Hmong
 women
 have
 constructed critical
 lenses
 that
 are
 contesting
 this
 notion.
 Consequently,
 subsequent
 formations of
 hybrid
 identities
 have
 provided
 women
 another
 space
 to
 navigate
 values
 and beliefs
 from
 both
 the
 US-‐western
 and
 Hmong
 cultures.


This paper describes a multistep technique that can be applied to improve system structure and to improve performance when necessary. The technique begins with the analysis of system structure via the structured design guidelines of coupling and cohesion. Next, manual system structure improvement transformations are applied. The effect of the transformations on execution time is then determined. Finally, vertical migration is used on the restructured system to improve its performance. Using the results of this paper, system programmers can identify specific cases where both good system structure and good performance are attainable, and others where tradeoffs must be made. The technique is most applicable during the maintenance phase of the software life cycle.


OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and the follow-up in the long run of ventricular septal defect in the neonatal period. MATERIAL AND METHODS 222 patients with ventricular septal defect from a total amount of 30,840 newborns admitted to our Hospital were evaluated between January 1991 and December 1996 (The incidence accounts for 7.19 per 1,000 newborns). 123 of these patients were males (55.4%) and 99 females (44.6%). The mean age at the time of examination was 3.09 +/- 1.67 days (range from 1 to 11 days). Diagnosis was suspected because of a harsh systolic murmur in 207 cases (93.2%), a malformative syndrome in 10 (4.5%) or polypnea in 5 (2.3%). The study was performed with a Sonos 1000 Echocardiograph device. The mean follow-up period ranged from 1 to 72 months. 10 patients underwent cardiac catheterization (4.5%). RESULTS A muscular defect was the common finding in 177 patients (79.7%) whereas 41 patients (18.5%) exhibited a perimembranous defect. The mean size defect was 2.9 +/- 1.2 mm (range 1-10 mm), being smaller in the muscular defects (2.56 +/- 0.68) than in the perimembranous defects (4.33 +/- 1.56) p < 0.001. Spontaneous closure occurred in 176 ventricular septal defects (79.3%), 155 of them corresponding to muscular defects (87.6%) and 18 to perimembranous defects (43.9%). The mean age at the time of spontaneous closure was 9.5 +/- 8.9 months (9.4 +/- 9 months in the muscular defects and 10.3 +/- 4 months in the perimembranous defects). Spontaneous closure occurred by age 6 months in 52% of the patients with ventricular septal defect (54.5% muscular defects, 33.3% perimembranous defects), 12 months in 72.7% (71.2% muscular defects and 83.3% perimembranous defects) and 24 months in 96% (96.1% muscular defects and 94.4% perimembranous defects). 10 patients underwent surgical repair by age 11 +/- 8 months. All of them exhibited perimembranous defects with a mean size 6 +/- 1.5 mm which were tantamount to 24.4% of this group. 3 patients died (1.4%), 2 suffering from trisomy 18 and 1 after cardiac surgical repair. CONCLUSION The most common ventricular septal defects in the neonatal period occur in the region of the muscular septum. The prognosis is favourable. Most of the patients experience spontaneous closure and show a very low mortality rate which is basically related to extracardiac anomalies.


Cytogenetic and DNA studies were performed in 32 cases of
myeloma. In 30 patients, cytogenetic studies were carried out on both
stimulated and unstimulated peripheral blood cultures. In the other
two patients, cytogenetic studies were possible only on direct marrow
preparations. In eight of the patients, cytogenetic studies were )
performed on direct marrow preparations as well as peripheral blood
cultures, and in four of these there were parallel studies on direct
marrow preparations with added PHA.
In the unstimulated peripheral blood preparations, mitoses were
observed in 13 cultures from 12 cases, providing presumptive evidence
for the presence of abnormal cells in the peripheral blood of these
patients. In 19 stimulated cultures from 17 cases, abnormal mitoses
were present, seven of these involving a chromosome of Group 13-15. In
five cases a very large acrocentric chromosome was observed similar to
that previously described in some cases of myeloma. The 10 direct
marrow preparations were unsatisfactory by reason of the poor quality
of the chromosome preparations, and no improvement was found in
preparations with added PHA. Examination of peripheral blood cells
was found to be the more rewarding method. Significant aneuploidy was
not a feature of the chromosome studies. The results have been discussed,
particularly with reference to technical factors influencing the
frequency of demonstrable chromosomal abnormalities, and the relative
merits Of peripheral blood and bone marrow.
DNA studies were performed on marrow and peripheral blood from
24 patients. Twenty-two patients had DNA estimations on peripheral
blood mononuclear cells and 22 had DNA estimations performed on
marrow cells. Twenty patients had DNA studies on both peripheral blood
and marrow cells. These studies were performed because of the technical
difficulties found using standard cytogenetic techniques and the
inability of these methods to detect abnormalities in more than a
small proportion of all the cells present. The DNA studies revealed that
12 patients had a broad scatter of DNA values about the primary mode
in peripheral blood nucleated cells and an additional three patients
had a broad scatter about the primary mode in marrow cells. Three patients
had significant numbers of cells in marrow with marked hypodiploidy.
One patient in the terminal stages of the disease had a major mode
in the tetraploid range, and other modes at the diploid and octoploid
levels. Possible explanations for these patterns are discussed
including mechanisms for their production, the evidence for aneuploidy
in the myeloma cell and the limitations of the method.
The evidence for the presence of abnormal cells in the peripheral
blood in each case of myeloma was considered in the light of the results
of cytogenetic studies, DNA values and Romanowsky-stained buffy-coat
preparations. It was found that chromosomal abnormalities occur
frequently enaagh to provide useful information in the diagnosis of
difficult cases.
An attempt was made to correlate the chromosomal abnormalities
and the DNA values with the other features of the disease, in
particular the protein changes, since these represent a metabolic
aberration of the malignant cell. It was found that in this series of
patients no such correlation exists. Furthermore, there was no
association between the cytogenetic abnormalities and stage of the
disease, clinical state of the patient, the presence of hypermalcaemia
or any previous treatment the patient had received.


The trigemino‐cardiac reflex (TCR) may be classified as a sub‐phenomenon in the group of the so‐called 'oxygen‐conserving reflexes'. Within seconds after the initiation of such a reflex, there is neither a powerful and differentiated activation of the sympathetic system with subsequent elevation in regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) with no changes in the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) or in the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc). Such an increase in regional CBF without a change of CMRO2 or CMRglc provides the brain with oxygen rapidly and efficiently and gives substantial evidence that the TCR is an oxygen‐conserving reflex. This system, which mediates reflex protection projects via currently undefined pathways from the rostral ventrolateral medulla oblongata to the upper brainstem and/or thalamus which finally engage a small population of neurons in the cortex. This cortical centre appears to be dedicated to reflexively transduce a neuronal signal into cerebral vasodilatation and synchronization of electrocortical activity. Sympathetic excitation is mediated by cortical‐spinal projection to spinal pre‐ganglionic sympathetic neurons whereas bradycardia is mediated via projections to cardiovagal motor medullary neurons. The integrated reflex response serves to redistribute blood from viscera to brain in response to a challenge to cerebral metabolism, but seems also to initiate a preconditioning mechanism. Better and more detailed knowledge of the cascades, transmitters and molecules engaged in such endogenous (neuro) protection may provide new insights into novel therapeutic options for a range of disorders characterized by neuronal death and into cortical organization of the brain.


: Intravenous immunoglobulin has been used for hypogammaglobulinaemic conditions treated at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne since 1972. Fifty-four children have been treated. Nineteen have been males with congenital hypogammaglobulinaemia (including 12 with sex-linked agammaglobulinaemia and 5 with hypogammaglobulinaemia with IgM); 8 have had common variable immunodeficiency, and 11 have had severe combined immune deficiency. Intravenous immunoglobulin has also been used for some patients with transient hypogammaglobulinaemia, isolated IgG deficiency, isolated IgA deficiency and isolated IgM deficiency. Infusions are given four weekly at a dose of 5-7.5 ml/kg of a 6% preparation (300-450 mg/kg). At diagnosis, a loading dose is given of 10-15 ml/kg (600-900 mg/kg). Previous studies have demonstrated a half-life of 25 days. The median preinfusion IgG concentration for the 22 children receiving monthly infusions currently is 68 IU/ml. Hospitalisation rates for infective illness have been reduced with the use of intravenous gammaglobulin. No patients are known to have developed hepatitis. Reactions to infusions are experienced by 60% of patients. These have not been reduced significantly by the addition of 10% maltose, but have been lessened considerably by using intravenous methylprednisolone (1 mg/kg) before the commencement of infusion.


Pulses are an important component in crop rotations in southern Saskatchewan. Besides their capability to fix nitrogen, pulse crops establish a strong symbiotic relationship with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which have been shown to increase nutrient and water uptake through hyphal extensions in the soil. Incorporating strongly mycorrhizal crops in a rotation may increase inoculum levels in the soil and benefit the growth of a subsequent crop. The objective of this study was to determine if AMF colonization of a durum crop is significantly affected by cropping history and to assess the impact of pulses in crop rotations on the abundance of AMF communities in the soil. In 2004 and 2005, soil and root samples were taken on durum with preceding crops of chickpea, pea, lentil, canola, and durum. Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization was significantly lower in durum roots following canola in both years. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) was completed to analyse the relative abundance of AMF, saprophytic fungi, and bacteria in the soil. These results demonstrated that although previous crop may play a role in microbial community structure, it is not the only influencing factor.


Platelet stimulation by thrombin or the thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) results in the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase and the production of the novel polyphosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4-P2) and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4,5-P3). We have shown previously that these lipids activate calcium-independent protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in vitro (Toker, A., Meyer, M., Reddy, K. K., Falck, J. R., Aneja, R., Aneja, S., Parra, A., Burns, D. J., Ballas, L. M. and Cantley, L. C.(1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 32358-32367). Activation of platelet PKC in response to TRAP is detected by the phosphorylation of the major PKC substrate in platelets, the p47 phosphoprotein, also known as pleckstrin. Here we provide evidence for two phases of pleckstrin phosphorylation in response to TRAP. A rapid phase of pleckstrin phosphorylation (<1 min) precedes the peak of PtdIns-3,4-P2 production and is unaffected by concentrations of wortmannin (10-100 nM) that block production of this lipid. However prolonged phosphorylation of pleckstrin (>2 min) is inhibited by wortmannin concentrations that block PtdIns-3,4-P2 production. Phorbol ester-mediated pleckstrin phosphorylation was not affected by wortmannin and wortmannin had no effect on purified platelet PKC activity. Phosphorylation of pleckstrin could be induced using permeabilized platelets supplied with exogenous -P[ATP] and synthetic dipalmitoyl PtdIns-3,4,5-P3 and dipalmitoyl PtdIns-3,4-P2 micelles, but not with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate or phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. These results suggest two modes of stimulating pleckstrin phosphorylation: a rapid activation of PKC (via diacylglycerol and calcium) followed by a slower activation of calcium-independent PKCs via PtdIns-3,4-P2.


Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a prominent member in the growing family of two-dimensional materials with potential applications ranging from being an atomically smooth support for other 2D materials to templating growth of molecular layers. We have studied the structure of monolayer h-BN grown by chemical vapour deposition on Ir(111) by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) experiments and state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The lattice-mismatch between the h-BN and Ir(111) surface results in the formation of a moir\'e superstructure with a periodicity of $\sim$29 \AA\ and a corrugation of $\sim$0.4 \AA. By measuring the field emission resonances above the h-BN layer, we find a modulation of the work function within the moir\'e unit cell of $\sim$0.5 eV. DFT simulations for a 13-on-12 h-BN/Ir(111) unit cell confirm our experimental findings and allow us to relate the change in the work function to the subtle changes in the interaction between boron and nitrogen atoms and the underlying substrate atoms within the moir\'e unit cell. Hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111) combines weak topographic corrugation with a strong work function modulation over the moir\'e unit cell. This makes h-BN/Ir(111) a potential substrate for electronically modulated thin film and hetero-sandwich structures.


The presence of air in spinal canal is called as "pneumorrhachis." Nontraumatic, noniatrogenic spontaneous spinal air is an uncommon case. Peripheral alveoli burst due to the increased pressure in alveoli in the case of trauma, asthma, pneumothorax, or pneumomediastinum. Air pass to the mediastinum and then to retropharyngeal space and reaches to epidural space. In this paper, a 44-year-old female patient who has a spontaneous pneumorrhachis in the epidural space in the spinal canal L5-S1 lumbar level has been presented.


Background:The concept of Damage Control Surgery (DCS) consists of a truncated surgical intervention with main focus on hemorrhage and contamination control. Traditionally,DCS involves limiting operating room (OR) time for patients with multiple life-threatening injuries and coagulopathy who are reaching physiologic exhaustion. However, in the modern era of hemostatic resuscitation, there is a paucity of evidence to support a survival benefit with shorter OR times. The objective of this study was to determine the practice habits of trauma surgeons in the modern era of DCS and to determine if operation length affects mortality in trauma patients with abdominal injuries.
Methods:An 8-year retrospective review of consecutive adult patients with DCSfor penetrating abdominal trauma at a Level I trauma center was conducted. Patient demographics, injury severity score (ISS), and penetrating abdominal trauma index (PATI) scores were obtained. Average operating room times for initial DCS were determined. Patient outcomes were analyzed with a t-test for univariate analysis and a Cox proportional hazard ratio modeling was used to predict factors for survival.
Results:A total of 193 patients were included in the study.  The overall patient mortality was 14.0% (n=27/193). Median OR time was 157 minutes (range, 59-573 min). Patients were stratified into short OR group (SHORT, n=95) and long OR group (LORT, n=98) based on the median operative time. Only one patient had an initial DCL less than 60 minutes.  The SHORT group received more blood transfusions (52.6% vs. 35.7%, p=0.02) in the ICU. Average operative room time was almost twice as long in the LORT group (214.6+6.2 vs. 121.4+2.6 minutes, p<0.0001). The average hospital length of stay (22.8+2.3 vs. 31.0+3.5 days, p=0.05) and ICU length of stay (10.6+1.2 vs. 12.6+1.4 days, p=0.28) were both lower in the LORT group compared to the SHORT group. The SHORT group had 22 patients with unplanned return to the OR compared to 3 in the LORT group (p<0.0001). On multivariate analysis, OR time was not an independent risk factor for mortality (OR 1.0, 95% CI 0.98-1.0, p=0.48).
Conclusions: Modern damage control practices should focus on early and effective surgical hemorrhage control in combination with effective intra-op hemostatic resuscitation efforts and not on how time limitations. These findings suggest that OR time restrictions in the era of effective hemostatic resuscitation in combination with DCS does not impact mortality.


This paper describes total ionizing dose (TID) test results performed at JPL. Bipolar and BiCMOS device samples were tested exhibiting significant degradation and failures at different irradiation levels. Linear technology which is susceptible to low-dose dependency (ELDRS) exhibited greater damage for devices tested under zero bias condition.