Background Because of regulations made against smoking, and the rising popularity of a healthy lifestyle there has been a visible change in the smoking habit of the population in the last 15 years. The negative impact on the attitude toward smoking forced the industry to develop new ways to satisfy the consumer's nicotine need. That is how heated tobacco products and a variety of ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System), such as electronic cigarettes) have been invented. Objective This literature review aims to summarise the oral effects of consuming e-cigarettes which have been proven and publicised. Data Sources The main source of the study has been the publications found through PubMed and NBCI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). Study Selection Articles have been selected from the international literature if they had any information on the oral effects of e-cigarettes. Data Extraction The information from the articles has been categorised based on the tissue and the time they last. Data Synthesis Electronic cigarettes cause a change in saliva flow and its composition, a decrease in the blood supply of soft tissues and an immunosuppressed state in the said area, therefore the incidence of some diseases are higher among the users. Components of the e-liquid may cause damage to both soft and hard tissues, such as cancerous lesions, inflammation, chronic periodontitis and neurodegeneration. Nicotine may be absorbed by the surface of the teeth, causing patches, and some ingredients may be beneficial to the bacterial flora of the oral cavity.


Extrapancreatic manifestations can complicate pancreatic disorders. Pancreatic panniculitis, characterized by subcutaneous fat necrosis, develops in 0.3%–3% of patients with pancreatic disorders. Occasionally, pancreatic panniculitis and polyarthritis occur in the same patient with pancreatic diseases, a rare symptomatic triad known as pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthritis (PPP) syndrome. PPP syndrome is primarily caused by acute or chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma. Almost half of the patients with PPP syndrome do not present with gastrointestinal signs, which may lead to a delayed diagnosis of underlying pancreatic disease. The skin and arthritic symptoms may be mistaken for rheumatic diseases. The histological finding of skin lesions is a valuable clue for diagnosing pancreatic diseases. Due to the high mortality rate when PPP syndrome is associated with pancreatic carcinoma, we highlight that the pancreas should be thoroughly examined if a skin biopsy indicates pancreatic panniculitis.


The assumption of a linearly induced magnetisation begins to break down in bodies with moderate to high susceptibilities. These bodies exhibit self-demagnetisation effects which tend to suppress the observed field and rotate the magnetisation vector into the plane of the body. We present a rapid Fourier method to accurately model these effects, including anisotropy of susceptibility and remanence, in a discretised volume. This method is tested for accuracy against the known analytic demagnetising effect of an ellipsoid. The Fourier method performs as well as other real space numerical schemes with a maximum error of better than 5% and 3% for the coarse and fine discretised grids, respectively. The speed of the method also allows us to model multiple bodies in a single volume and investigate the effect of body-body field interactions. Two vertical sheets are modelled where the self-demagnetisation of each sheet individually is found to suppress the field by around 18%, and to rotate the magnetisation vector into the plane of the body. The two bodies are then modelled simultaneously to demonstrate the body-body interaction effects, and this is found to enhance the demagnetising effect of each sheet by around 3%, and to slightly counteract the magnetisation rotation effect.


Abstract : The authors report includes data regarding the effects of propranolol on hemoglobin oxygen affinity and red cell shape studied in vitro and in vivo. The authors also report the effect of hemodialysis on red cell organic phosphates and oxygen binding to hemoglobin. Studies are included on the role of blood pH changes in the elevation of red cell 2,3-DPG of subjects with hypoproliferative anemia. Studies were also conducted on the role of anemia in the alteration of red cell ATP concentration and the interactions of anemia and changes in plasma phosphate on red cell ATP concentration. The possible role of red cell ATP on hemoglobin oxygen binding, and the role of red cell aging on flow in capillary tubes is discussed. (Modified author abstract)


This paper examines the relationship between the Chinese state and Protestantism. It demonstrates that it varies widely from place to place; moreover, the actual relationship between individual churches and the local authorities that are supposed to govern them paints a quite different picture from that implied by the laws and regulations. The paper also argues that the state faces a dilemma: On one hand it feels threatened by the appearance of autonomous organizations such as unregistered churches, while on the other it values the contributions they make to society and recognizes that subjecting them to the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council would require a good deal of force and be very socially disruptive.


Conomurex persicus, one of the tropical conchs, has been introduced to one of the subtropical regions, the northeastern Mediterranean Sea, and invaded sandy bottoms between 1 and 10 m deep. Population dynamics were studied from specimens collected with a standard dredge (60 x 15 cm mouth opening, 0.5 x 0.5 cm eye opening of net). Samples of C persicus were collected monthly along the 5 and 10 m depth contours off Erdemli, Mersin, Turkey, in February and May 2000. Intra-annual density depended on salinity levels, while inter-annual density was correlated with bottom water temperature. Specimens underwent spring emergences and winter burial and sheltering (disappearance). Emergence took place in March when temperatures rose and the disappearance occurred in October-November when temperatures dropped. Adults live at 10 m, juveniles are recruited at a 5 m depth. Recruitment began in April and continued for the next 6 months. In contrast to shell width or shell lip thickness, shell length was not a convenient index for estimation of growth parameters. Annual production and mortality were calculated to be 7.86 g m(-2) and 3.80 g m(-2), respectively, in April-November.


Background The recent introduction of direct acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has dramatically improved treatment options for HCV infected patients. However, in the United States (US) treatment uptake has been low and time to initiation of therapy has been long. We sought to examine provider perspectives of facilitators and barriers to HCV treatment delivery. Methods From June to August 2019, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with medical staff providing HCV care as part of a university medical center in Los Angeles, CA. In order to understand the HCV treatment process, we interviewed key staff members providing care to the majority of HCV patients seeking care at the university medical center, including hepatologists and infectious disease specialists as well as key nursing and pharmacy staff. The interviews focused on workload and activities required for HCV treatment initiation for non-cirrhotic, treatment naïve patients. Results Providers noted that successful HCV treatment delivery was reliant on a care model involving close collaboration between a team of providers, in particular requiring a highly coordinated effort between dedicated nursing and pharmacy staff. The HCV care team overwhelmingly reported that the process of insurance authorization was the greatest obstacle delaying treatment initiation and noted that very few patient level factors served as a barrier to treatment uptake. Conclusions In the US, prior authorization for HCV treatment is a requirement for most public and private insurance plans. In an era with access to therapies that allow for a cure—and until revocation of prior authorization for HCV treatment is a reality—implementing strategies that can expedite authorization to accelerate treatment access are critical. Not only will this benefit patients, but it has the potential to help expand treatment to settings that are otherwise too resource strained to successfully deliver HCV care.


Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of Ocypode cursor were studied on the beaches of Northern Cyprus. The crabs were widely distributed around the north coast of the island, occurring on 68 of the 77 sandy beaches investigated. At the main study beach at Alagadi, crabs occupied a band approximately 12 m wide; starting approximately 3 m horizontally from the edge of the sea (tidal fluctuation was minimal). Most small burrows occurred near to the sea, with the burrows of larger crabs predominating higher up the beach. Burrow numbers varied during the summer which was mainly attributable to variations in the numbers of burrows of juveniles. The sex ratio of emergent crabs also varied during the summer, possibly reflecting burrow oriented behaviour of reproductive females. There were strong correlations between burrow diameters and carapace lengths of the occupant crabs. There was a positive correlation between the presence of crab burrows and the number of people using sections of beach. The crabs were principally nocturnal, benefitting from food discarded by tourists. They also scavenged animal carcasses and were active predators of turtle eggs and hatchlings. Crab burrows usually had a single opening oriented towards the sea and those cast were L- or J-shaped. Burrows did not penetrate to the water table. The water content of the sand at the bottom of burrows was around 14 % by weight. Their burrows in the well-sorted sand provided the crabs with a thermally stable environment.


Background: BDNF is a neuronal growth factor essential for nervous system maintenance. Objective: We have evaluated peripheral neuropathy (PN) and depression in patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus and looked for an association with serum protein levels of BDNF and the BDNF-Val66Met-SNP. Methods: Symptoms of PN were clinically assessed and graded using Total Neuropathy Score (TNSr) scale. Small nerve fiber testing was performed using the Q-sense device. Depression was assessed using PHQ9 questionnaire. BDNF protein levels and Val66Met-SNP were determined with ELISA and Sanger sequencing respectively. Results: 42 patients, 18 non-insulin treated (NIT) and 24 insulin treated (IT) were included. Albeit similar disease duration, the IT group show increased HbA1c and glucose levels as compared to NIT group, suggesting a more aggressive disease in the IT group. Higher TNSr-sensory and autonomic scores and low sensitivity thresholds to cold, warm and hot-pain signals were found in the IT group. Likewise, PHQ9 score was higher in the IT group. Serum BDNF protein levels were lower in the IT group. Met-BDNF proportion among female patients was lower relative to male patients (23.5% vs. 76.5% respectively, Prob>ChiSq=0.01). Of note, Met-BDNF female patients were all in the IT group and show a trend of increased TNSr and PHQ9 score as compared to Val-BDNF female patients. Correlations between patients9 PHQ9 score and TNSr score or Q-sense cold and warm sensitivity thresholds were found only in Met-BDNF carriers, suggesting that PN and depression are coincided in Met-BDNF carriers. Conclusion: A diminished peripheral BDNF resource in our IT patients is associated with uncontrol diabetes and underlined augmented symptoms of PN and depression. The negative effect of Met-BDNF in female patients and the correlation of depression and PN in Met-BDNF should be further studied. Disclosure A. Bashkin: None. A. Safadi: None. B. Gross: None. N.A. Horowitz: None. R. Sharon: None. E. Shaoul: None. M. Nodelman: None. D. Azoulay: None. Funding D-Cure


To examine changes in the uptake of the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 proximity (contact) tracing application ('app') over one year, amongst smartphone users in England and Wales. We conducted a longitudinal survey between October 2020 and September 2021, amongst an online panel representative of smartphone users aged 18–79 and a purposeful sample from six of the largest minority ethnic groups. We fitted pooled logistic regression models to examine factors associated with app installation and a longitudinal logistic regression model to estimate factors associated with installing/uninstalling the app over time. Around 50% of respondents had the app installed at each time point. The majority of installations took place soon after its launch. The key reason for installing at launch was 'civic, public or social responsibility'. Amongst those who installed the app later, it was 'needed to scan NHS QR code'. Uptake was higher amongst individuals who considered themselves vulnerable to COVID-19 or were concerned about the risk COVID-19 posed, were more highly educated, of White ethnicity, and who reported higher levels of trust in government information. Factors associated with installing the app over time included becoming more concerned about the risk COVID-19 poses to the country, or perceiving that the crisis in their local area had worsened. Despite changes in pandemic response and case numbers, app installation in England and Wales remained relatively stable after launch. If governments wish to increase app installation and use rates in future pandemics, they need to highlight those app features that encourage engagement, and take related action to allay privacy concerns and improve trust in government information sharing.


In this paper, the climate change scenarios of A2 and B2 for 2070-2100 time scale (denoted as 2080) for several key locations of India and its impact on rice and wheat crops based on regional climate model (PRECIS) were described. The PRECIS projects an increase in temperature over most parts of India especially in the IGP (Indo-Gangetic Plains), the region that presently experiences relatively low temperatures. Extreme high temperature episodes and rainfall intensity days are projected to become more frequent and the monsoon rainfall is also projected to increase. Rabi (mid Nov-March) season is likely to experience higher increase in temperature which could impact and hence become threat to the crops which really require low temperature for their growth. Climatic variability is also projected to increase in both A2 and B2 scenarios. All these projected changes are likely to reduce the wheat and rice yields in Indo-Gangetic plains of India. It is likely that there will be more number of years with low yields occurs towards the end of the century. Such yield reductions in rice and wheat crops due to climate change are mediated through reduction in crop duration, grain number and grain filling duration. The yield loss will be more in A2 scenario compared to B2. These quantitative estimates still have uncertainties associated with them, largely due to uncertainties in climate change projections, future technology growth, availability of inputs such as water for irrigation, changes in crop management and genotype. These projections nevertheless provide a direction of likely change in crop productivity in future climate change scenarios.


Data are presented on 248 initial mobilization tests performed in an ambulatory setting over an 11-year period. Results demonstrate that there is no single, consistent predictor of body burden of lead, although the higher the blood lead level, the greater the amount of excretable (mobilizable) lead. It is recommended that an appropriate ratio of lead excreted in response to chelant is equal to or greater than 0.5 based on this series of tests. A recommendation is also made to realign the Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta) guidelines for classification of risk. This realignment would coincide with a recommendation that mobilization tests be reserved for children whose blood lead levels ranged from 1.93 to 2.57 mumol/L (40 to 60 micrograms/dL). Those with higher levels would undergo chelation without prior mobilization studies.


This paper puts forward and defends an account of mathematical truth, and in particular an account of the truth of mathematical axioms. The proposal attempts to be completely nonrevisionist. In this connection, it seeks to satisfy simultaneously both horns of Benacerraf's dilemma. The account builds upon Georg Kreisel's work on informal rigour. Kreisel defends the view that axioms are arrived at by a rigorous examination of our informal notions, as opposed to being stipulated or arrived at by trial and error. This view is then supplemented by a Fregean account of the objectivity and our knowledge of abstract objects. It is then argued that the resulting view faces no insurmountable metaphysical or epistemic obstacles.


Hadits, which is on the second hierarchy of Islamic law, always attracts the scholars to conduct the studies and discussions on it. Lacking of aspects in the study of hadits seems to open a vast space to discuss and study on the hadits. Through exploring the scholars' works in the study of hadits, it is necessary to comprehend that the study of hadits has its own kinds and steps. These steps are the procedures that have to be passed through in the study in accordance with their own kinds. The objective of this study is to provide understanding and guidance in the study of hadits at once, in accordance with the kinds of study of the hadits which has to be passed through.


Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become one of the more serious threats to the global health. The emergence of bacteria resistant to antimicrobial substances decreases the potencies of current antibiotics. Consequently, there is an urgent and growing need for the developing of new classes of antibiotics. Three prepared novel iron complexes have a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values ranging from 3.5 to 10 mM and 3.5 to 40 mM against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with antimicrobial resistance phenotype, respectively. Time-kill studies and quantification of the extracellular DNA confirmed the bacteriolytic mode of action of the iron-halide compounds. Additionally, the novel complexes showed significant antibiofilm activity against the tested pathogenic bacterial strains at concentrations lower than the MBC. The cytotoxic effect of the complexes on different mammalian cell lines show sub-cytotoxic values at concentrations lower than the minimum bactericidal concentrations.


Research on the organization of systems industries generally takes the boundaries of platforms to be exogenously-determined artifacts, given by the nature of technology. This paper studies whether platform boundaries are responsive to economic incentives by studying variation in platform boundaries in competing systems in mobile computing. Using detailed descriptive evidence and systematically collected databases of integration patterns, I find that platform boundaries in this industry could be understood as established in response to three primary goals: 1) to consolidate control around assets that conferred the power to regulate production in the system as a whole; 2) to integrate economic activities that risked coordination problems; 3) to open platform boundaries in response to interactions with market competition.


The finance literature suggests that the Veblen effect (i.e. luxury consumption behavior) could be translated into consumers' behavior with other goods and assets. This study is the first to examine the role that the Veblen effect plays in housing market dynamics, with a focus on spatial and temporal variation in this role. It uses a unique dataset that matches the consumers' appetite for non-housing luxury goods from Google Insights for Search to the premium that they pay for high-end houses in US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) during 2004-2011. The results demonstrate that controlling for other MSA demographic and economic characteristics, the Veblen effect has a significant, positive relationship with a premium paid in the housing market. This suggests that high-end houses may have been purchased for the enjoyment of signaling wealth and status and this housing consumption behavior may have partly driven the large deviation of high-end house prices from the median. Housing consumption tends to be motivated more by the Veblen effect in the areas where people pay a steady, higher premium than in other areas with a more volatile, lower premium. In fact, the higher Veblen effect substantially contributes to maintaining the higher level of the premium in these areas even during the bust period.


The implementation of low-molecular-weight-heparine (LMWH) bridging therapy in the standard treatment of patients with nonmassive pulmonary embolism (PE), has led to high interests in the treatment of patients with PE on an outpatient basis. To enable outpatient treatment of these patients, it is of utmost importance to identify patients at low risk for adverse clinical outcome. Therefore, insights in risk stratification were the initial focus of this thesis. We identified risk factors for serious adverse events during the first 10 days of treatment and developed a prognostic model for short term adverse events in patients with PE. We describe a prospective, multicenter management study of 152 low risk patients with acute PE, who were treated as outpatients. Low risk was defined as being hemodynamic stable and having a low N-terminal-pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP level) (<500 pg/ml). No deaths, major bleedings or recurrent venous thromboembolism occurred in the first 10 days of treatment or in the follow-up period of 3 months in these patients. We concluded that outpatient treatment of a selected group of low risk patients with non-massive acute PE and a NT-proBNP level <500 pg/ml appears to be safe. Approximately 45% of the patients with acute PE are candidates for home treatment. Out of hospital therapy is considered to be convenient by the vast majority of the patients and it can contribute to the reduction of health care costs. Next to outpatient treatment early discharge is also conceivable, for example after normalization of the NT-proBNP level during hospitalization. We investigated if early discharge before reaching an adequate international normalized ratio (INR), results in the same quality of treatment compared to patients who are hospitalized until reaching an adequate INR. Our study showed that the development of guidelines for early discharge of a selected group of low risk PE patients is warranted, with focus on intensification of monitoring of INR values to shorten the period of the combination of LMWH and oral anticoagulation therapy. Continuation of the LMWH for at least 5 days after diagnosis of PE remains important as well. In case that the INR drops below the therapeutic range ("under-anticoagulation"), LMWH should be restarted. Finally, outpatient treatment is convenient and will reduce costs of medical care. However, the main focus of the outpatient treatment should remain patient's safety. This thesis gives more insights in the risk stratification in PE-patients and contributes to the implementation of guidelines for outpatient treatment of low risk patients. However, before we are that far, further validation of the results is warranted.


There is only limited information on the epidemiology and outcomes of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients from low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to identify the etiology, short-term outcomes, and determinants of mortality in patients with AKI admitted to multiple medical and surgical Intensive Care Units (ICU's) in a tertiary care center. The study also aims to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of community-acquired AKI (CAAKI) and hospital-acquired AKI (HAAKI). A prospective, observational study was done from June 2013 to October 2015. All patients over 18 years with AKI admitted in various medical and surgical ICU's seeking nephrology referral were included. AKI was defined according to KDIGO criteria. The follow-up period was 30 days. A total of 236 patients were recruited from five medical and nine surgical ICU's. Majority (73.3%) were males. About 53.38% patients had CAAKI, whereas 46.61% had HAAKI. The predominant etiologies for AKI were sepsis (22.4%), trauma due to road traffic accidents (21.18%), acute abdomen (perforation, acute pancreatitis, bowel gangrene, intestinal obstruction and cholangitis) (18.64%), and cardiac diseases (10.59%). Sepsis and acute abdomen were the most common causes of CAAKI, whereas trauma and cardiac causes were the predominant causes of HAAKI (P < 0.05). Patients with HAAKI were younger, admitted in surgical units, had lower SOFA scores, lower serum creatinine, lesser need for dialysis, longer hospital stay, and earlier stages of AKI compared to patients with CAAKI (P < 0.05). The 30-day mortality was 52.54%. The mortality was not different between CAAKI and HAAKI (56.3% vs. 48.18%; relative risk = 0.86: 95% confidence interval 0.67–1.1). The mortality was similar across different stages of AKI.


Use of embedded system demanded more day by day in Automotive Electronics sector for applications in car. Airbags, ABS, ESP, ECU, ESP, climate control & more are the common features of most luxuries cars. Providing full assistance to the driver for the distance from other vehicle and while lane detection is the main use of Intelligent driver assistance system. To detect the white lane and distance between obstacle and car Video Streaming is taken by camera in this system. SD card is used to store streamed video for processing by using Python. Image substraction method used to detect lane detection from the video. Small Robot is used as demo module and one is pilot car it acts as obstacle in all possible direction to design the system. Obstacle detector sensors are used to detect the obstacle in front and rear direction of the system Ultrasonic sensor it acts as the obstacle detector to detect the any obstacle within the range of 4 meters. In Driver assistance system provide the full assistance to the driver by detecting the white lane by processing the video using Python script and obstacle is detect by using Ultrasonic sensor module. Display that consist of TFT screen is used to display video and the distance between obstacle and car in meter. System implemented on the new platform Raspberry Pi Development Board having ARM1176-JFZS core & BCM Audio-Video Codec.


Appropriately structured youth sport programs have been shown to promote participants' physical activity and well-being. When compared to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, newcomers to Canada have lessened access to sport programs due to a multitude of interrelated factors. In the present case study, the authors explored the experiences of one founder/leader who created a sport program to support Canadian newcomer youth and their families. Two semistructured interviews were conducted with the program founder/leader to examine her experiences in intentionally promoting the physical activity and well-being of newcomer youth. Transcripts and program documents were subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis. Findings portray the complex set of factors that the program founder/leader considered to address the realities and needs of newcomer youth and their families. The practical considerations and reflections focus on the importance of designing culturally sensitive, inclusive, and quality programs with newcomers.


Letter of transmittal: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the geology of the island of Nantucket. This report embodies a portion of the work which I have done in connection with the general study of the Atlantic coast line. Although part of a much more extended inquiry, it seems well to publish the results contained in this memoir in advance of my general report for the reason that the region constitutes a distinctly bounded field and also because the problems considered in this report have an important bearing on work which is in the bands of other divisions of the Survey.


Cervical Cancer is a global concern and the most common cancer among women in many less developed countries where there is inadequate access to information and quality screening programmes. In South Africa alone, 6742 infections and 3681 deaths were recorded in 2014. The spiral increase of this disease in low-resourced areas is aggravated by some socio-economic, cultural and structural factors. The study, which explored the knowledge and attitudes of ruralbased women towards cervical cancer, was conducted at Matebeleng village in Limpopo Province. A qualitative exploratory case study was conducted, and self-reported data was collected from 22 women. Two focus groups consisted of seven (7) and eight (8) participants, and six (6) face-face individual interviews were held using a semi-structured interview guide. Data was analysed thematically. The research findings show that the majority of women in Matebeleng village have no knowledge of cervical cancer, and only very few received some information of this disease through radio, health clinic, random women, and consent forms from the school. Participants highlighted some of the risk factors, but some information was incorrect. The findings showed that a few participants had only been screened once, and that the majority have never been tested for cervical cancer. Those who were screened never received feedback from nurses, and their experiences did not motivate re-screening. It is, therefore, recommended that cervical cancer outreach programmes be conducted in rural areas, and that methods of disseminating information to rural women in their distinct contexts be examined. Keywords: Perceptions, attitudes, rural women, cervical cancer


The various approaches proposed to provide communication between CAD systems and process planning systems share the major problem that, due to geometric interactions among features, there may be several equally valid sets of manufacturable features describing the same part, and different sets of features may differ in their manufacturability. Thus, to produce a good process plan-or, in some cases, any plan at ll-it may be necessary to interpret the part as a different set of features than the one initially obtained from the CAD model. This is addressed using an algebra of features. Given a set of features describing a machinable part, other equally valid interpretations of the part can be produced by performing operations in the algebra. This will enable automated process planning systems to examine these interpretations in order to see which one is most appropriate for use in manufacturing. The feature algebra has been implemented for a restricted domain and integrated with the Protosolid solid modeling system and the EFHA process planning system. >


OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to explore the clinicopathological profile of bronchogenic carcinoma in young patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present study was conducted on 799 consecutive histopathologically proven cases of bronchogenic carcinoma that were referred from different parts of Uttar Pradesh.

RESULTS
Out of 799 patients, 73 patients (9.1%; 59 males and 14 females) were < or = 40 years of age and were classified as 'young' patients. The mean ages of the subjects in the younger and older patient groups were 36 and 58 years, respectively. Among the older patients, 590 (81.3%) were smokers, and there were 53 (72.6%) smokers among the younger patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was the commonest histological subtype in both the groups, but squamous cell carcinoma was more frequently diagnosed in older patients than in younger patients.

CONCLUSION
This study suggests that, regardless of age or sex, lung cancer must be ruled out in all patients who have persistent signs of pulmonary disease and a history of heavy smoking.


The invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for nucleic acid amplification has had a major impact on many diverse areas of both basic and clinical research. Since its inception in 1985, reports on a wide variety of applications for PCR have received much attention in scientific and medical literature. This technology has been shown to have wide applicability to the diagnosis of human disease, including such diverse areas as infectious diseases, genetic disorders, and cancer. This article presents a broad overview of the principles of PCR including generic concerns that must be addressed when using or designing PCR-based assays. The application of PCR-based assays for the diagnosis of genetic disorders and for infectious disease testing is also discussed.


The resources of massive parallel architectures can be allocated and used via special-purpose interfaces, but the development phases are generally available via a host machine. The massive parallel architectures and their host systems represent heterogeneous architectures. This paper describes the Meiko Computing Surface, a transputer-based architecture that uses UNIX as host environment, and offers a library called CSTools to help users in expressing process creation and communication. A user can adopt CSTools as a uniform interface to write applications that run on the heterogeneous global architecture: CSTools need to be enhanced to solve the problems of process definition and their dynamic creation in UNIX machines. The extensions described in this paper achieve the portability of CSTools. Following this approach, applications can run firstly in the UNIX distributed (host) environment for a rapid prototype phase, and then on the target massively parallel architecture.<<ETX>>


In the brain, microglia continuously scan the surrounding extracellular space in order to respond to damage or infection by becoming activated and participating in neuroinflammation. When activated, microglia increase the expression of translocator protein (TSPO) 18 kDa, thereby making the TSPO expression a marker for neuroinflammation. We used the radiotracer [ 11 C]DAA1106 (a ligand for TSPO) and positron emission tomography (PET) to determine the effect of smoking on availability of this marker for neuroinflammation. Forty-five participants (30 smokers and 15 non-smokers) completed the study and had usable data. Participants underwent a dynamic PET scanning session with bolus injection of [ 11 C]DAA1106 (with smokers in the satiated state) and blood draws during PET scanning to determine TSPO affinity genotype and plasma nicotine levels. Whole-brain standardized uptake values (SUVs) were determined, and analysis of variance was performed, with group (smoker vs non-smoker) and genotype as factors, thereby controlling for genotype. Smokers and non-smokers differed in whole-brain SUVs ( P = 0.006) owing to smokers having 16.8% lower values than non-smokers. The groups did not differ in injected radiotracer dose or body weight, which were used to calculate SUV. An inverse association was found between whole-brain SUV and reported cigarettes per day ( P o 0.05), but no significant relationship was found for plasma nicotine. Thus, smokers have less [ 11 C]DAA1106 binding globally than non-smokers, indicating less microglial activation. Study findings are consistent with much prior research demonstrating that smokers have impaired inflammatory functioning compared with non-smokers and that constituents of tobacco smoke other than nicotine affect inflammatory processes.


Presents a hybrid analytical-simulation procedure for performance evaluation in M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) digital radio systems in the presence of nonlinear distortions caused by high-power amplifiers (HPAs). The present analysis is carried out considering an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) transmission channel. It is shown that, in the case of an OFDM system with a large number of subcarriers, the distortion on the received symbol caused by the amplifier can be modeled, with good approximation, as a "Gaussian nonlinear noise" added to the received symbol. This important result allows a hybrid analytical-simulation approach to solve the problem of performance evaluation. In practice, the simulation aspect is only used to estimate means and variances of the "nonlinear noise". Such estimated parameters are subsequently used to evaluate analytically the system bit-error rate (BER) using an expression, which takes into account both AWGN and "nonlinear noise" effects. The advantage of the proposed method lies in the strongly reduced computational time. In fact, an accurate estimate of the "nonlinear noise" parameters requires only few iterations when compared with a classical semianalytical approach. This is especially true when low BER values (<10/sup -4/) have to be estimated. The proposed procedure is applied to evaluate M-QAM-OFDM performance in the presence of nonlinear distortions caused by traveling-wave tube (TWT) and solid-state-power (SSP) amplifiers.


The study of endomyocardial biopsy of patients with different noncoranary diseases with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure has been carried out. Hypertrophy of cardiac hystiocyte (CH) with dead mitochondrion, accumulation of lipofuscin, myeline-like mass, vacuoles with remains of organoids and conglomeration of dead mitochondrion was in the all biopsies studied by the light and electron microscopy. The possible mechanism of aging and death of CH could be functional impairment of lysosomal-autophagic and ubiquitin-proteosomal systems of CH and exocytosis. These changes probably are a crucial stage in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure.


Main modern society trends tend to transfer a number of government functions to business structures. Accordingly, discussions about the social dialogue between government and business are being arisen in the scientific community. Therefore, there is the enhanced relevance of the problem of social partnership among government, business, and employees. This requires the development of various versions of the corporate social responsibility concept. The article deals with the problem of an integrated approach to the essence of corporate social responsibility. Enterprises and authorities of territorial communities characterized by conflicting interests are determined to be the economic agents of corporate social responsibility. To reach the consensus between them, a system of corporate social responsibility management is proposed. To determine the impact of business entities on the development of territorial communities of Ukraine in the direction of improving the economic security of the territory as part of the social responsibility of modern business, the main structural activity indicators of business entities in Cherkasy region are analyzed. The results of the analysis revealed many problems in assessing such impacts. These are the absence of unified forms of social non-financial reporting as well as a non-systemic enterprise engagement in the development of the territory. To quantify the impact of business entities, an integrated impact coefficient of social responsibility of an individual business structure on the development of the territorial community is proposed. The coefficient determines the impact of the business structure on the economic growth of the territorial community, the environmental situation in the region, the level and the quality of life.


To improve time to identification of pathogens and detection of resistance genes, we evaluated the BioFire FilmArray Blood Culture Identification Panel (BCID) as compared to: (1) direct MALDI-TOF MS (DM) and (2) standardized culture-based identification (ID) with antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). BCID gave an accurate identification in 102/112 (91 %) of cases (102/103 for on-panel organisms). DM gave an accurate identification in 91/112 (81 %) of cases, with 13/91 (14 %) requiring repeat testing from the residual pellet. The mean time to an identification result was 2.4 and 2.9 h for BCID and DM, respectively. Standardized ID and AST results were available at a mean time of 26.5 and 33 h, respectively. There were 44 BCID/DM results that had an antimicrobial treatment change made based on rapid identification and resistant gene detection of pathogens. Both BCID and DM are accurate and rapid methods for the identification of new positive blood culture pathogens.


The aim of our research is to present how the identity and social responsibility wasstrengthened by a Roma Student College in Higher Education. We rely on the literature ofequality and equity, which is examined in the context of empowerment, resilience andintersectionality (Varga, 2017). Our research sample consists of the community membersof the diverse (Roma, non-Roma, disadvantaged students) Roma Student College of Pécs,Hungary. The sample university students are considered resilient (Masten, 2008), as they haveovercome the hardships of their family background and study now in Higher Education.Our study gives an analysis and highlights of 27 biographical interviews from the perspectiveof their pre-university years and the years spent as Student College members. The summaryof the grant period between 2016 and 2018 will reveal the diverse programs, which wereavailable for students in the Student College and can be divided into three main groups.The positive role of some of these and the Student College community appeared in thenarratives as a strikingly relevant factor.


The electromagnetic induction of voltage across a coil due to the motion of a magnet is among the fundamental problems of physics, and it has a broad range of practical applications. While Maxwell's equations exactly describe this phenomenon, the physical complexity inherent in most realistic situations often prevents the generation of closed-form expressions for the electromagnetic coupling. This paper uses basic principles to develop an approximate analytical expression for the induced voltage in terms of a set of physical parameters, and experimental results demonstrate a high level of validity in the model over the parameter values tested. For oscillatory magnet motion about a point on a coil's axis, it is shown that the induced voltage is an infinite sum of harmonics at integer multiples of the oscillation frequency; the relative amplitudes of these harmonics vary as the magnet's equilibrium position migrates along the coil's axis, causing the odd and even harmonics to vanish, reappear and reach peak values at predictable locations. Several simplifications to the model are considered, and their validity is investigated analytically over a range of parameters.


This section will offer descriptions as well as discussions of data sources that may be of interest to social scientists engaged in empirical research or teaching courses that include empirical investigations performed by students. The purpose is to describe the information in the data source, to give examples of questions tackled with the data and to tell how to access the data for research and teaching. We will start with data from German speaking countries that allow international comparative research. While most of the data will be at the micro level (individuals, households, or firms), more aggregate data and meta data (for regions, industries, or nations) will be included, too. Suggestions for data sources to be described in future columns (or comments on past columns) should be send to: Joachim Wagner, University of Lueneburg, Institute of Economics, Campus 4.210, 21332 Lueneburg, Germany, or e-mailed to email@example.com .


Pharmacologic stimulation of a G protein–coupled receptor preferentially expressed on fibroblasts reverses experimental lung and liver fibrosis. A rewarding treatment for fibrosis Recent data have shown that Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) play an important role in fibroblast activation during fibrosis. Now, Haak et al. developed a therapeutic approach for inhibiting YAP/TAZ specifically in fibroblasts. Using rodent models, the authors found that the dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1) was selectively expressed on fibroblasts and modulated YAP/TAZ activation in the lungs. DRD1 agonists inhibited YAP/TAZ and had therapeutic effects in mouse models of lung and liver fibrosis. In lung samples from patients with pulmonary fibrosis, the enzyme responsible for dopamine synthesis was reduced, suggesting that modulating the dopaminergic pathway might be an effective strategy for treating fibrosis. Tissue fibrosis is characterized by uncontrolled deposition and diminished clearance of fibrous connective tissue proteins, ultimately leading to organ scarring. Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) have recently emerged as pivotal drivers of mesenchymal cell activation in human fibrosis. Therapeutic strategies inhibiting YAP and TAZ have been hindered by the critical role that these proteins play in regeneration and homeostasis in different cell types. Here, we find that the Gαs-coupled dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1) is preferentially expressed in lung and liver mesenchymal cells relative to other resident cells of these organs. Agonism of DRD1 selectively inhibits YAP/TAZ function in mesenchymal cells and shifts their phenotype from profibrotic to fibrosis resolving, reversing in vitro extracellular matrix stiffening and in vivo tissue fibrosis in mouse models. Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase [DOPA decarboxylase (DDC)], the enzyme responsible for the final step in biosynthesis of dopamine, is decreased in the lungs of subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and its expression inversely correlates with disease severity, consistent with an endogenous protective role for dopamine signaling that is lost in pulmonary fibrosis. Together, these findings establish a pharmacologically tractable and cell-selective approach to targeting YAP/TAZ via DRD1 that reverses fibrosis in mice.


The aim of this paper is to evaluate changes in organizational capacity and sport-related health promotion policies and practices among State Sporting Organizations (SSOs) who participated in the Partnership for Health (PfH) scheme. The PfH scheme aimed to support the development and implementation of sport-related health promotion policies and practices at SSO-organized events and within their affiliated sports clubs. SSO representatives completed the Health Promotion and Sport Assessment Tool (HP-SAT) twice. Respondents reported capacities, policies, and practices prior to the scheme (retrospective pre-scheme survey), and current capacities, policies, and practices (post-scheme survey). The mean scores (on standardized scales: 0–100) for all components of organizational capacity for health promotion increased significantly between pre-scheme and post-scheme. Similarly, compliance scores for most sport-related health promotion policies and practices for SSO-organized events and support to clubs increased significantly. However, post-scheme strategic planning for health promotion remained low and scores for policies and practices for clubs were generally lower than for SSO-organized events. No significant differences were found between small and large SSOs regarding capacities, policies, or practices. The PfH scheme had a positive impact on most aspects of health promotion capacities, policies, and practices. However, there was room for further improvement in strategic planning and in support for affiliated clubs. Low levels of strategic planning should be addressed by SSOs, and a more extensive engagement between SSOs and affiliated clubs is required to operationalize health promotion strategies at club level.


Background Videogames and virtual worlds have frequently been studied as learning environments in isolation; that is, scholars have focused on understanding the features of games or virtual worlds as separate from or different than "real world" environments for learning. Although more recently, scholars have explored the teaching and learning that take place around games and virtual worlds, for example, in affinity spaces, these too have been treated as separate and often divorced from other learning experiences. Purpose Our goal in this article is to describe learning from experience, the nature of digital games, and distributed systems of teaching and learning in an integrated way that transcends dichotomies of online and offline activities or spaces. Research Design This article offers a theoretical framework in which to understand some aspects of teaching and learning outside of school today. Drawing on contemporary theories of how the mind works, we identify the central role of embodied experience in human thought and learning. We use videogames as examples of how real and virtual experiences are mediated in similar ways by good tools and social interactions. We argue that videogames and virtual worlds offer opportunities for new types of "conversations" with other people, with virtual worlds, and with the "real" world, conversations that extend humans' abilities to learn from experiences. We then examine how experiences with games and virtual worlds are located and interpreted within broader, dynamic systems of social relations, technologies, practices, teaching, and learning. Conclusions Understanding our experiences with videogames and virtual worlds as distinctive forms of conversations with the world, situated within distributed teaching and learning systems, offers us a new means of understanding their potential significance in people's lives for learning, belonging, and problem solving.


The prognostic scoring system is used to assess the prognosis of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients to get the right treatment strategy. Poor prognosis, treatment resistance, and tumorigenesis have been associated with the overexpression of Myeloid Cell Leukemia-1 (MCL-1), an anti-apoptotic protein in several hematologic malignancies, including CML. Research on the correlation between MCL-1 levels and the scoring system prognostic in patients with CML is still limited. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between MCL-1 levels and the prognostic scoring system in chronic phase CML patients. This research was conducted on chronic phase CML patients who came to the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung, Indonesia. Data is collected from medical records of patients examined for MCL-1 protein levels from previous studies and results of prognostic scoring systems (Sokal, Hasford, and EUTOS. Data were analyzed to evaluate the correlation between the MCL-1 level and the prognostic scoring system. Forty patients had a male-female ratio of 1.5. The average age is 40±11 years, with an age range of 19 to 61 years. The median MCL-1 protein level was 0.27 (min 0.02-max 4.1). Statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between MCL-1 levels and Sokal, Hasford, and EUTOS scores in chronic phase CML patients (p=0.285; p=0.923 and p=0.663, respectively).


The pheA gene encoding the bifunctional P-protein (chorismate mutase:prephenate dehydratase) was cloned from Pseudomonas stutzeri and sequenced. This is the first gene of phenylalanine biosynthesis to be cloned and sequenced from Pseudomonas. The pheA gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, allowing complementation of an E. coli pheA auxotroph. The enzymic and physical properties of the P-protein from a recombinant E. coli auxotroph expressing the pheA gene were identical to those of the native enzyme from P. stutzeri. The nucleotide sequence of the P. stutzeri pheA gene was 1095 base pairs in length, predicting a 365-residue protein product with an Mr of 40,844. Codon usage in the P. stutzeri pheA gene was similar to that of Pseudomonas aeruginosa but unusual in that cytosine and guanine were used at nearly equal frequencies in the third codon position. The deduced P-protein product showed sequence homology with peptide sequences of the E. coli P-protein, the N-terminal portion of the E. coli T-protein (chorismate mutase:prephenate dehydrogenase), and the monofunctional prephenate dehydratases of Bacillus subtilis and Corynebacterium glutamicum. A narrow range of values (26-35%) for amino acid matches revealed by pairwise alignments of monofunctional and bifunctional proteins possessing activity for prephenate dehydratase suggests that extensive divergence has occurred between even the nearest phylogenetic lineages.


In this study, tomograms of bituminous mixtures with a photon energy (E) of 120 kV are taken with a multidetector X-ray scanner. These tomograms are cross-sectional images of the internal structure of specimens in a cutting plane surface. The purpose of taking these tomograms was to find out the main factor/factors causing different fatigue lives for replicated specimens using images of the internal structure of specimens. After taking the tomograms, the fatigue tests were carried out using repeated-loading indirect tensile test equipment. In addition to conventional fatigue model parameters, new parameters, which are acquired from the cross-sectional surface tomograms, are taken into consideration to be able to explain the variations in the fatigue lives of similar specimens. These new models help explain the variations in fatigue lives of similar specimens tested under identical conditions. Hence, tomograms will help us define the fatigue lives of specimens in a nondestructive way.


It is my pleasure to commence spring, the season of growth and renewal, with the introduction to the second issue in 2011 of Journal of Cardiovascular and Disease Research. This issue covers a variety of subject matter ranging from invited reviews on the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway and cardiovascular disease to the three original research articles, three clinical case reportbased studies and a review of a book series on heart development and regeneration. We continue to receive submissions that are diverse and novel and hope that our readers continue to use JCDR as their primary resource for the most up to date information in the field of cardiovascular disease research.


The electrical units of diesel electric locomotives, which were used for over 30 years, were characterized for deterioration evaluation through insulation resistance measurement, degradation testing, and infrared thermography method. Especially, an infrared camera and thermocouples were employed for the evaluation. The thermocouples were attached on high-voltage cables connected to traction motors, for in-situ measurement of abnormal heating during test running. After test running, the thermographic images were obtained for the inspection of high-voltage cables using the infrared camera. The thermographic results were quantitatively analyzed, and compared with temperature changes during running. In this investigation, various analysis techniques for the safety characterization of diesel electric locomotives have been introduced, and the analysis results have been used to provide the deterioration or wear information in current locomotive systems.


This paper presents a performance study of BitTorrent-like P2P systems by modeling, based on extensive measurements and trace analysis. Existing studies on BitTorrent systems are single-torrent based and usually assume the process of request arrivals to a torrent is Poisson-like. However, in reality, most BitTorrent peers participate in multiple torrents and file popularity changes over time. Our study of representative BitTorrent traffic provides insights into the evolution of single-torrent systems and several new findings regarding the limitations of BitTorrent systems: (1) Due to the exponentially decreasing peer arrival rate in a torrent, the service availability of the corresponding file becomes poor quickly, and eventually it is hard to locate and download this file. (2) Client performance in the BitTorrent-like system is unstable, and fluctuates significantly with the changes of the number of online peers. (3) Existing systems could provide unfair services to peers, where a peer with a higher downloading speed tends to download more and upload less. Motivated by the analysis and modeling results, we have further proposed a graph based model to study interactions among multiple torrents. Our model quantitatively demonstrates that inter-torrent collaboration is much more effective than stimulating seeds to serve longer for addressing the service unavailability in BitTorrent systems. An architecture for inter-torrent collaboration under an exchange based instant incentive mechanism is also discussed and evaluated by simulations


The direct hydrogen abstraction reactions of Cl atom with SiH(n)Cl(4-n) (n=1,2,3,4) have been studied systematically using ab initio molecular orbital theory. Geometries have been optimized at the MP2 level with 6-311+G(d) basis set, QCISD(T)/6-311+G(d,p) has been used in the final single point energy calculation. The kinetic calculations of these reactions have been explored using the canonical variational transition (CVT) state theory method with small-curvature tunneling (SCT) effect correction over the temperature range of 200-2000 K. The CVT/SCT rate constants exhibit typical non-Arrhenius behavior and three-parameter rate-temperature formulas have been fitted for the reactions of Cl with SiH4, SiH3Cl, SiH2Cl2, and SiHCl3, respectively (in unit of cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)). The calculated CVT/SCT rate constants are in agreement with the available experimental values.


Yara Glomfjord is the north most production facility of compound fertilizer in the world and produces annually about 500 000 tons NPK and 200 000 tons CN. The general energy system of the process plant utilizes steam as the main energy carrier for the entire production site. Yara Glomfjord has today a general lack of steam, and steam is produced in EGA boilers approximately 75% of operational time to cover all heating tasks. The main objective of this Master thesis is to analyze energy flow in in the factory to identify energy saving potential, and later to suggest improvements for the CN-evaporator system in order to retire the use of EGA boilers and supply excess heat for other heating tasks in the factory. First off analysis was made on general energy flows in the factory. This was done in order to reveal potential for energy savings and to clarify which paths to choose for further heat integration. The result of the analysis shows that latent heat flows are of far greater importance than sensible heat flows to the general steam balance at Yara Glomfjord. It was also identified that the large potential for latent heat recovery lies within the evaporator equipment. Next up this text suggests investment in evaporator equipment in order to integrate latent heat, so that the overall steam consumption goes down. Three different suggestions were presented and analyzed in detail in the document: CN-Evaporator System Design. The most proving suggestions are new equipment coupled in cascade with old evaporators or a new independent MVR evaporator in front of old solution. Both suggestions are found to retire EGA boilers completely and also supply excess heat for other heating tasks. This text recommends one of these two suggestions. To suggest new improvements in the CN-evaporator system Epcon Evaporation Technology AS were involved. Testing at Epcon's facilities in Trondheim indicate a new possibility. For the suggested retrofit cascade evaporation system, submergence of boiling pressure is possible. These findings supports the recommendations from this text to invest in a new evaporator coupled in cascade with the old solution with submergence of boiling pressure. In this way the energy savings in question can be implemented with only a small investment and almost no energy cost in a vacuum pump. As a huge potential for energy savings was found possible at reasonable cost and at a manageable technical level, the findings of this Master thesis hopefully settles the steam issues of the Yara Glomfjord compound fertilizer plant once and for all. In light of the late findings of this project, with the possibility of submergence of boiling pressure a hint is also sent to Yara Porsgrunn. As a great role model for Yara Glomfjord they utilize latent heat, but at the cost of expensive compressor work and not with submergence of boiling pressure which this text clearly states to be the superior technology.


Abstract:As with other countries, Malaysia expresses concern about national sovereignty and issues related to the distribution and balance of power. But Malaysia's foreign policy behaviour has some distinctive features, and these may be explained partly in terms of the heritage of pre-modern thinking. That heritage of non-Western International Relations (IR)—which includes perspectives on the character of the state, the interests of the state and international order (moral as well as political)—differs radically from post-Westphalian thinking. This article seeks to promote a dialogue between IR and Area Studies. It employs a textual analysis approach from the history of ideas in order to uncover concepts and perspectives which informed inter-polity behaviour in the pre-modern Malay world. It examines the consequences of the absence of national sovereignty as a key articulating concept, and also identifies a number of alternative local concepts that shaped Malay thinking about foreign relations, in particular the ideas of kerajaan (the ruler-centred polity) and nama (reputation, status). The article makes preliminary observations about the way pre-modern Malay ideas might be an influence on Malaysia's foreign relations today—for instance, in its China policy and particular approach towards ASEAN regionalism. It is argued that such ideas at the very least have provided reference points in the process of developing Malaysia's foreign policy. Detailed investigation of the Malay heritage, it is argued, is also valuable in advancing the study of non-Western IR.


Though there have been considerable reductions in child mortality and morbidity due to motor vehicle crashes in the past twenty years, road trauma is still a leading cause of death for children in motorised countries and thus an important health and safety issue in Australia. This review identifies key issues of child occupant protection such as the use of age-appropriate child restraints, effects of misuse of restraints, and rear seating of children. Current research findings, with particular emphasis on Australian data, are discussed in relation to avenues that offer potential for enhancing levels of protection


is concerned with the development of prophylaxis and therapy for infectious diseases in the twentieth century, and deals mainly with the sulpha drugs and antibiotics. The third discusses the evolution of knowledge of specific infectious diseases and is the largest part of the book. It is enlivened by accounts of the author's own experiences. The volume ends with an extensive and valuable bibliography. Although this book consists of medical history of medicine, thus providing little information on non-medical aspects, it will be a valuable source of information on the recent history of infectious diseases. Material dealing with earlier periods cannot be relied on for accuracy or interpretation.


Air mobility pilots routinely fly multiple missions spanning several time zones, thereby disrupting their circadian rhythm. As a result, they consistently operate at a sub-optimal performance level. After several fatigue-related accidents, the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Safety Office incorporated the Sleep, Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) model into its Aviation Operational Risk Management (AvORM) program to inform aircrew members of their fatigue levels during critical phases of flight. Further analysis indicated that aircrew members experience higher fatigue levels than predicted, which directly reduces flight safety. This study seeks to improve the underlying assumptions within the sleep model to more accurately predict aircrew member performance during critical phases of flight, thereby improving the predictive power of the mission effectiveness model within AvORM. This is the first study to collect operational data from the United States Air Force (USAF) C-17 pilot community using actigraph watches, self-report daily logs, and objective aircraft data to determine the relationship between fatigue and pilot mission effectiveness. Additionally, this study provides policy recommendations to enable aircrew, squadron leadership, and mission planners to mitigate some factors contributing to aircrew fatigue.


This investigation studies the identity and nature of the manlike figure in Dan 7:13-14 (hereafter referred to as SM). In the first chapter we reviewed the interpretations of the SM in Jewish and Christian literature since the beginning of the second century of our era and noted that with the exception of the seventeenth century study by Carpzov, discussion of the Danielic figure was limited to passing comments. Throughout this period the SM was interpreted mainly messianically or christologically. During the nineteenth century more substantial inquiries attempted to find answers to the identity and nature of the manlike being primarily through philological study. Beginning with the twentieth century, Religionsgeschichte provided SM research with a new direction and the latter sought to elucidate the manlike being through its alleged roots or parallels. It was also within this stream that Nathaniel Schmidt first suggested the identification of the SM with an angel (Michael). Shortly after Religionsgeschichte made its impact upon the study of the Danielic being, literary-critical examinations suggested that Dan 7:9-10, 13 (14) was a fragment from another apocalyptic and had intruded into the vision of the four beasts. Thus it was proposed (later also by traditio-historical research) that the SM was originally an individual figure, which had experienced a more or less complex history of interpretation at the hands of redactors, until he was finally identified with the saints. Currently an array of positions identifies the Danielic figure not only with the saints (on the basis that the SM of the vision [vss. 2-14] is explained by the saints in the interpretation [vss. 15-27]) but also with an angel(s), an incarnation of divine glory, hypostatized wisdom, or some historical human individual. In the second chapter we probed the various alleged origins of and parallels to the manlike being within Babylonian, Egyptian, Iranian, Hellenistic, Gnostic, Ugaritic, and Hebrew literature. We employed the methodology which avoids "punctiliar" comparison by considering individual phenomena in their contextual totality before making comparison with a similar phenomenon. Our methodology demonstrated a basic discontinuity between the alleged roots and correspondences (whether more or less direct). Of the various biblical prototypes Michael seemed to offer the closest longitudinal parallel to the SM, though Daniel nowhere identifies him as the manlike being. In the third chapter we examined the unity and structure of Dan 7 before passing to the specific passages dealing with the Danielic figure. Our inquiry made it apparent that the criteria inherited from Noth and Ginsberg challenging the unity of Dan 7 are based on inadequate data and occidental syllogistic reasoning. This negative evaluation is corroborated positively by the structures and themes within the chapter. It also became evident that the customary chapter division into vision and interpretation needs revision, for Dan 7:15-16, 19-22 consists of prophetic reactions and supplements to the vision. Consequently the saints are envisaged in the vision before the judgment. Within the setting of Dan 7:9-10, 13-14 the SM is an individual, eschatological, celestial being with messianic traits. Though characterized by divine attributes, Dan 7 does not teach a ditheism for the Danielic being assumes a role subordinate to the Ancient of Days. Whereas the manlike figure is a celestial being, he is, nevertheless, set apart from the heavenly creatures referred to in Dan 7:10. While the SM resembles a human being, he is also distinct from the "saints of the Most High" who are human beings with whom he, nevertheless, enjoys a solidarity, for he shares with them throughout perpetuity the kingship given him by the Ancient of Days.


Populations experiencing consistent differences in predation risk and resource availability are expected to follow divergent evolutionary trajectories. For example, live-history theory makes specific predictions for how predation should drive life-history evolution, and according to the Trexler-DeAngelis model for the evolution of matrotrophy, postfertilization maternal provisioning is most likely to evolve in environments with consistent, high levels of resource availability. Using the model system of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabiting blue holes with and without the piscivorous bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor), we provide some of the strongest tests of these predictions to date, as resource availability does not covary with predation regime in this system, and we examine numerous (14) isolated natural populations. We found clear evidence for the expected life-history divergence between predation regimes and empirical support of the Trexler-DeAngelis model. Moreover, based on molecular and lab-rearing data, our study offers strong evidence for convergent evolution of similar life histories in similar predation regimes, largely matching previous phenotypic patterns observed in other poeciliid lineages (Brachyrhaphis spp., Poecilia reticulata), and further supports the notion that matrotrophy is most likely to evolve in stable high-resource environments.


On October 15, 2014, a workshop was held on the use of clinical outcome assessments in clinical trials for high-grade glioma of the brain. This workshop was sponsored by the Jumpstarting Brain Tumor Drug Development Coalition, consisting of the National Brain Tumor Society, the Society for Neuro-Oncology, the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. It was planned and carried out with participation from the US Food and Drug Administration. The workshop also included stakeholders from all aspects of the brain tumor community, including clinicians, researchers, industry, clinical research organizations, patients and patient advocates, and the National Cancer Institute. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions of that workshop and the proposals that emerged to move the field forward and toward greater inclusion of these endpoints in future clinical trials for high-grade gliomas.


Semi-supervised learning is a challenging problem which aims to construct a model by learning from limited labeled examples.
Numerous methods for this task focus on utilizing the predictions of unlabeled instances consistency alone to regularize networks.
However, treating labeled and unlabeled data separately often leads to the discarding of mass prior knowledge learned from the labeled examples.
In this paper, we propose a novel method for semi-supervised semantic segmentation named GuidedMix-Net, by leveraging labeled information to guide the learning of unlabeled instances.
Specifically, GuidedMix-Net employs three operations: 1) interpolation of similar labeled-unlabeled image pairs; 2) transfer of mutual information; 3) generalization of pseudo masks.
It enables segmentation models can learning the higher-quality pseudo masks of unlabeled data by transfer the knowledge from labeled samples to unlabeled data.
Along with supervised learning for labeled data, the prediction of unlabeled data is jointly learned with the generated pseudo masks from the mixed data.
Extensive experiments on PASCAL VOC 2012, and Cityscapes demonstrate the effectiveness of our GuidedMix-Net, which achieves competitive segmentation accuracy and significantly improves the mIoU over 7$\%$ compared to previous approaches.


: Since 1992 when it was described the first laparoscopic adrenalectomy in adults, few references can be found about this technique in children in Literature, and less the number of them that makes reference to neuroblastoma. For that reason we think it is interesting to describe two recent patients operated on by laparoscopy of neuroblastoma, the first in the left side and the second in the right with very good results; being the most interesting fact a 48-hours period of postsurgical stay. As conclusion we think that it is an useful technique in Pediatric Surgery, it gives a very good exposure of the retroperitoneal area, it gives small scars that laparotomy, and it reduces the hospital stay, only we object that must pass more time to be sure that it is a good technique for malignancy.


In real-world network evolution, the aging effect is universal. We propose a microscopic model for aging networks, which suggests that the activity of a vertex is the result of the competition of two factors: pullulation and decrepitude. By incorporating the pullulation factor into previous models of aging networks, both the global and individual aging effect curves in our model are single peaked, which agrees with the empirical data well. This model can generate networks with scale-free degree distribution, large clustering coefficient and small average distance when the decrepitude intensity is small and the network size not very large. The results of our model show that pullulation may be one of the most important factors affecting the structure and function of aging networks and should not be neglected at all.


In this introduction we provide a brief overview over the various periods of the sociological engagement with communism. We argue that the relationship has often been an uneasy, in some cases even a highly questionable one. However, on occasion the discipline also produced some decent research on the subject of communism. We conclude that it is still a long way to a proper sociology of communism worthy of the name.


The fate of key species, such as the barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus, in the course of global change is of particular interest since any change in their abundance and/or performance may entail community-wide effects. In the fluctuating Western Baltic, species typically experience a broad range of environmental conditions, which may preselect them to better cope with climate change. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of two crucial ontogenetic phases (naupliar, cypris) of the barnacle toward a range of temperature (12, 20, and 28°C) and salinity (5, 15, and 30 psu) combinations. Under all salinity treatments, nauplii developed faster at intermediate and high temperatures. Cyprid metamorphosis success, in contrast, was interactively impacted by temperature and salinity. Survival of nauplii decreased with increasing salinity under all temperature treatments. Highest settlement rates occurred at the intermediate temperature and salinity combination, i.e., 20°C and 15 psu. Settlement success of "naive" cyprids, i.e., when nauplii were raised in the absence of stress (20°C/15 psu), was less impacted by stressful temperature/ salinity combinations than that of cyprids with a stress history. Here, settlement success was highest at 30 psu particularly at low and high temperatures. Surprisingly, larval survival was not highest under the conditions typical for the Kiel Fjord at the season of peak settlement (20°C/15 psu). The proportion of nauplii that ultimately transformed to  attached juveniles was, however, "home" conditions. Overall, only highest under particularly these stressful combinations of temperature and salinity substantially reduced larval performance and development. Given more time for adaptation, the relatively smooth climate shifts predicted will probably not dramatically affect this species.


The aim of this investigation is to assess the effect of various additives on
 coalescence of nickel, copper and cobalt from slags generated during nickel
 extraction. The analyzed fluxes were silica and lime while examined
 reductants were pig iron, ferrosilicon and copper-silicon compound. Slag was
 settled at the different holding temperatures for various times in conditions
 that simulated the industrial environment. The newly formed matte and slag
 were characterized by their chemical composition and morphology. Silica flux
 generated higher partition coefficients for nickel and copper than the
 addition of lime. Additives used as reducing agents had higher valuable metal
 recovery rates and corresponding partition coefficients than fluxes.
 Microstructural studies showed that slag formed after adding reductants
 consisted of primarily fayalite, with some minute traces of magnetite as the
 secondary phase. Addition of 5 wt% of pig iron, ferrosilicon and
 copper-silicon alloys favored the formation of a metallized matte which
 increased Cu, Ni and Co recoveries. Addition of copper-silicon alloys with
 low silicon content was efficient in copper recovery but coalescence of the
 other metals was low. Slag treated with the ferrosilicon facilitated the
 highest cobalt recovery while copper-silicon alloys with silicon content
 above 10 wt% resulted in high coalescence of nickel and copper, 87 % and 72 %
 respectively.


Biochemical studies suggest that 17,20-lyase activity, and thus efficient synthesis of androgens by human P450c17, requires both reductase and the accessory protein cytochrome b5. Since the human and primate zona reticularis (ZR) secrete androgens, the expression of these proteins, and of 3beta-HSD, was investigated by immunocytochemistry in the adrenal cortex of the mature rhesus macaque. Cytochrome b5 expression was restricted to the cells of the ZR which appeared deficient in 3beta-HSD. However, both P450c17 and reductase were evident throughout the zona fasciculata. These data provide essential evidence in support of a functional role for cytochrome b5 in the regional control of 17alpha-hydroxylase and 17,20-lyase activities of P450c17 and thereby adrenal C19 steroid secretion by the primate adrenal gland.


Cooperative beamforming and jamming are two efficient schemes to improve the physical-layer security of a wireless relay system in the presence of passive eavesdroppers. However, in most works these two techniques are adopted separately. In this letter, we propose a joint cooperative beamforming and jamming scheme to enhance the security of a cooperative relay network, where a part of intermediate nodes adopt distributed beamforming while others jam the eavesdropper, simultaneously. Since the instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of the eavesdropper may not be known, we propose a cooperative artificial noise transmission based secrecy strategy, subjected to the individual power constraint of each node. The beamformer weights and power allocation can be obtained by solving a second-order convex cone programming (SOCP) together with a linear programming problem. Simulations show the joint scheme greatly improves the security.


This is the second edition of a book first published in 1975. Although the format remains exactly the same, there has been extensive revision of some of the chapters. The author states in the preface that in the four years since his first edition there has been a remarkable expansion of knowledge about diseases of the small intestine. As a consequence, he has felt a need for a new edition to take into account these recent developments. He has succeeded admirably in achieving this goal. The book contains 12 chapters, which can be divided into three general areas. First is a general introduction, which includes a discussion of history, physical examination, and investigative techniques. The middle section concerns itself with specific diseases, which include coeliac disease, protein intolerance, gastroenteritis, sugar malabsorption, parasites, and Crohn's disease. Finally, there are two chapters on surgical disease of the small bowel. The two areas


The study examines relational norms in outsourcing relationships. The study analyzes some factors that determine the use of relational norms, such as outsourcing benefits and the competitive strategy (cost leadership and differentiation). In addition, it analyzes the influence of the use of relational norms on the outsourcing success. Based on a sample of 127 outsourcing relationships in two tourist destinations, a PLS structural model was used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that the outsourcing benefits and competitive strategy determine the use of relational norms. They also show that there is a positive relationship between relational norms and outsourcing success. Some differences were found between the two destinations analyzed.


We introduce a novel bilinear boosting algorithm, which extends the multi-class boosting framework of JointBoost to optimize a bilinear objective function. This allows style parameters to be introduced to aid classification, where style is any factor which the classes vary with systematically, modeled by a vector quantity. The algorithm allows learning to take place across different styles. We apply this Style Parameterized Boosting framework (StyP-Boost) to two object class segmentation tasks: road surface segmentation and general scene parsing. In the former the style parameters represent global surface appearance, and in the latter the probability of belonging to a scene-class. We show how our framework improves on 1) learning without style, and 2) learning independent classifiers within each style. Further, we achieve state-of-the-art results on the Corel database for scene parsing.


OBJECTIVE
To characterize emergency department (ED) patients' knowledge and beliefs about the addictive potential of opioids.

DESIGN
Mixed methods analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial.

SETTING
Urban academic ED (>88,000 visits).

SUBJECTS
One hundred and seventy four discharged ED patients prescribed hydrocodone-acetaminophen for acute pain.

METHODS
The study analyzed data collected from a randomized controlled trial investigating patients' knowledge of opioids. ED patients discharged with hydrocodone-acetaminophen completed an audio-recorded phone interview 4–7 days later. This analysis focuses on responses about addiction. Responses were categorized using content analysis; thematic analysis identified broad themes common across different categories.

RESULTS
Participants' mean age was 45.5 years (SD, 14.8), 58.6% female, 50.6% white, and the majority had an orthopedic diagnosis (24.1% back pain, 52.3% other injuries). Responses were categorized first based on whether the patient believed that opioids could be addictive (categorized as: yes, 58.7%; no, 19.5%; depends, 17.2%; or do not know, 4.6%), and second based on whether or not the patient discussed his/her own experience with the medication (categorized as: personalized, 35.6%; or not personalized, 64.4%). Cohen's Kappa was 0.84 for all categories. Three themes emerged in the thematic analysis: theme 1) patients expect to "feel" addicted if they are addicted, theme 2) patients fear addiction, and theme 3) side effects affected patient views of addiction.

CONCLUSION
In this sample, patients had misconceptions about opioid addiction. Some patients did not know opioids could be addictive, others underestimated their personal risk of addiction, and others overtly feared addiction and, therefore, risked inadequate pain management. Despite limited data, we recommend providers discuss opioid addiction with their patients.


PURPOSE
To determine whether herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) DNA is present in the ciliary ganglion (CG).

METHODS
Fifty CG and 47 trigeminal ganglia (TG) were resected from 63 formalin-fixed cadavers between 56 and 98 years of age that had been embalmed within 12 hours of death. The donors had no known active HSV infection at the time of death. DNA was extracted from all ganglia by proteinase-K digestion (TG) or digestion by a mild lysis buffer (CG). DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction for sequences from human chromosome 18, D18S1259 (positive control), and from the HSV-1 DNA polymerase gene, U(L)30. The amplified DNA was separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, transferred to nylon membranes, and hybridized with the appropriate digoxigenin-labeled probe that was detected by alkaline phosphatase-conjugated monoclonal antibody.

RESULTS
The D18S1259 sequence was amplified from 47 TG and 30 CG samples. Of these samples, 32 (68.0%) of the 47 TG samples and 20 (66.6%) of the 30 CG samples were positive for the UL(30) HSV-1 sequence.

CONCLUSIONS
Using amplification of HSV-1 DNA as a surrogate marker of latency, the finding that the frequency of HSV-1 in the CG was approximately the same as that of the TG suggests that the CG may be an additional site of HSV-1 latency in humans. Active infection in or reactivation of HSV-1 from non-TG sites may explain why this virus is able to infect sites, such as the retina, that have no direct connections to the trigeminal nerve.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Controversy continues over the need to image the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) before endopyelotomy to detect crossing vessels. We evaluated a selective management model for UPJ obstruction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Intraoperative ultrasonography was performed before endopyelotomy in 19 men and 16 women. Patients with large (>4-mm) crossing vessels underwent open or laparoscopic pyeloplasty; the others had ureteroscopic or percutaneous endopyelotomy with electrocautery or the holmium laser.

RESULTS
Crossing vessels were found in 25 of the 35 patients and a high-inserting ureter in 4. The vessels were >4 mm in nine patients, seven of whom had successful pyeloplasty and two of whom were managed expectantly with good results. Endopyelotomy was successful in 94% without a crossing vessel and 70% of those with a crossing vessel. The overall success rate (absence of symptom and resolution of obstruction on renal scintigraphy) was 89%.

CONCLUSION
Selective management of UPJ obstruction, avoiding endopyelotomy in the presence of a large crossing vessel, appears to improve the success rate.


Category 5 Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines in modern times, and introduced the term "storm surge" to the vocabulary of many local residents, who had not heard about such phenomena prior to this event. The storm surge manifested itself on the 8th November 2013 as Haiyan made landfall, devastating large areas in the islands of Leyte and Samar. To attempt to gain an understanding of the level of awareness that local residents had about storm surges the authors conducted structured questionnaires (n = 172) and focus group interviews with local residents, and discussed the results obtained with key informants (government officers and disaster risk managers). One of the key problems identified during the interviews was how people were not able to clearly understand the concept of a storm surge, with many respondents emphasizing how it would have been better for authorities to describe it as a "tsunami". A discussion is also made on the recent evolution in world-wide coastal disaster awareness, comparing it to recent developments in storm surge awareness in the Philippines and other countries in the area, such as Vietnam and Japan. The authors conclude that, in terms of its influence on worldwide disaster awareness, typhoon Haiyan constitutes an event of similar importance to major recent high-impact tsunami events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku events. As a result, the authors will outline a number of lessons learnt from Haiyan, such as the necessity for creating multi-layer safety strategies and improving how information about storm surges is transmitted to local residents.


Comparative mapping between the rat and mouse genomes has shown that some chromosomes are entirely or almost entirely conserved with respect to gene content. Such is the case of rat chromosome 11 (RNO11) and mouse chromosome 16 (MMU16). We determined to what extent such an extensive conservation of synteny is associated with a conserved gene order. Therefore, we regionally localized several genes on RNO11. The comparison of the gene map of RNO11 and MMU16 unambiguously shows that the gene order has not been conserved in the Murinae lineage, thereby implying the occurrence of intrachromosomal evolutionary rearrangements. The transition from one chromosome configuration to the other one can be explained either by two intrachromosomal recombinations or by a single intrachromosomal recombination accompanied by neocentromere emergence.


This work concentrated on being able to predict the resistance properties of Y-shaped branch pipe in gas-solid two phase flow. Y-shaped branch pipeline with one branch angle keeping constant and the other being changeable experimental system was built up. Micro-glass bead and millet with similar particle diameter and different solid density were conveyed in the experimental system. As a result, trends of pressure drop on each branch pipe were expressed to perform resistance properties. It can be concluded that pressure drop of the two materials had similar trend and was significantly affected by the branch angle and gas velocity. Meanwhile, the deposition velocity was defined in this study. The relationship between the solids loading ratio and pressure drop on each branch pipe was given based on experimental data, which agreed the theoretical analysis well.


In this work we describe a new method that adjusts time-delays and the widths of time-windows in artificial neural networks automatically. The input of the units are weighted by a gaussian input-window over time which allows the learning rules for the delays and widths to be derived in the same way as it is used for the weights. Our results on a phoneme classification task compare well with results obtained with the TDNN by Waibel et al., which was manually optimized for the same task.


This work presents a high-resolution (13.2 GHz) channel-blocking optical filter, suitable for use as a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM), which seamlessly supports data rates from 2.5 to 160 Gb/s. The filter consists of a linear array of 64 MEMS micromirrors and a high-dispersion echelle grating. The demonstrated device had an insertion loss of 9 dB, a loss ripple of 1.2 dB, and a group delay ripple of 15 ps. Data transmission through the device with various mixed data rate scenarios ranging from 2.5 to 160 Gb/s showed negligible penalty, except at 40 Gb/s where a maximum penalty of 1.5 dB was observed due to a phase coherence with the blocker filter ripple.


Whereas vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) typically show a promising adsorption behavior at high pressures, carbon nanohorns (CNHs) exhibit superior gas adsorption properties in the low pressure regime due to their inherent microporosity. These adsorption characteristics are further enhanced when both materials are opened at their tips. The so prepared composite material allows one to investigate the effect of physical entrapment of CO2 molecules within the specific adsorption sites of VACNTs composed of opened double walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and in specific adsorption sites created by spherically aggregated opened single walled carbon nanohorns. Combining 50 wt% of tip opened CNTs with tip opened CNHs increases the CO2 adsorption capacity of this material by ∼24% at 30 bar and 298 K compared to opened CNHs alone.


Cystic disease of the spleen is not frequently encountered in surgical practice. It is broadly classified as parasitic and non-parasitic, the latter being a rare entity. In this case report, an epidermoid cyst of spleen led to acute abdomen in young age pregnant woman is presented. A 26-year-old woman with 15 weeks gestational age second pregnancy referred to emergency ward with left upper quadrant pain and tenderness that ultra sonography revealed large cyst (100х110mm) with internal echo in spleen in favor of hydatic cyst or abscess. The patient was managed medically for one week but developed her abdominal pain, epigastric fullness, anorexia and fever. New sonography was done for her and large cyst was detected in spleen (120х110mm). She had severe pain accompanied with anorexia and vomiting. Fetus was normal in sonography. Exploratory laprotomy with splenectomy was performed. Splenomegaly (200х130х90mm) with a cyst without any adhesion and inflammation was detected. Histopathology examination showed epidermoid cyst of spleen. (140х10х90mm). Though splenic epidermoid cyst is an uncommon entity, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of an abdominal mass in a young individual. An attempt should be made to preserve the spleen provided there is adequate parenchyma otherwise splenectomy is the rule.


The author analyzed the mental development of 252 children born by schizophrenic patients. The detected anomalies were considered from the point of view of sex, age of the onset of psychosis and the type of the process in the ill parents. The found personality changes in these children were compared to the premorbid traits of children and adolescents of another group (128 cases) of schizophrenic patients having identical hereditary loading. This gives the bases to conclude that the personality changes in children of schizophrenic parents carry certain prognostical information.


Matters of methodology continue to represent a blind spot in film or cinema studies. Rarely, if ever, do works of film research self-reflexively ponder the manner and means by which they arrive at the arguments or conclusions they propose. Should this be a matter of concern? Do film and cinema studies need to think about method? Considering the glut of published studies out there, it would seem the field has developed perfectly well without any sustained reflection on methodology. Yet in academic research, questions of method are always 'how' questions: how do we study film or cinema?; how do we produce knowledge about the film medium and the institution of cinema?; and how do the ways we research define the types of questions we ask and the answers we arrive at? Questions of method are crucial as they go to the foundations of any field of scholarship, for arriving at a methodology never simply involves finding solutions to problems or issues, but rather actively shapes the nature and direction of the enquiries we address. In pointing to this blind spot, I am not saying methodology is absent from film or cinema scholarship: at the same time as deciding what to research, academics and students are inevitably also making choices about how they will research. Yet without any conscious reflection on method, those decisions can only remain implicit. Bringing together a collection of papers which all in their separate ways reflect upon the manner and means of researching film and cinema history, it is the purpose of this special issue to go some small way towards making matters of method more explicit in film scholarship.


During heat shock, the main strategy of an organism is defense from denatured proteins. This is performed by chaperones that refold and proteases that cut abnormal proteins. In studying the sigma(32) and HrcA regulons in beta- and gamma-proteobacteria, we have found some new potential participants in the heat shock response and proposed the protein disulfide isomerase function for one of them. We describe the connection between the two regulons through cross-regulation of the HrcA repressor and sigma(32) in some beta-proteobacteria. Finally, we predict the binding signal for HrcA in epsilon-proteobacteria.


1-Dimensional silver (1D Ag) nanomaterials with organized structure have shown versatile applications in electronic skin, energy storage and catalysis, etc. However, conventional fabrication methods have usually suffered from various drawbacks, such as not being environment-friendly, having tedious preparation processes, and being time- and energy-consuming. Herein, we propose a simple and green strategy to produce a 1D Ag nanohybrid using cellulose nanocrystals as a template. The templated 1D Ag nanohybrid presented amphiphilic character and excellent water dispersibility, which enabled it to form an organized interconnected conductive network through self-assembly in rubber latex. The obtained composite material showed dramatically enhanced electrical conductivity and a very low percolation threshold. Importantly, this assembled conductive network exhibited extremely high sensitivity under stretching with a gauge factor up to ∼304 and outstanding durability, enduring more than 10 000 cycles of bending. The resulting strain sensor could be used to detect both small- and large-scale human motions, such as facial expressions, coughing, gesture language and limb movements. We anticipate that this templated 1D Ag nanohybrid and its assembled organized network will find applications in flexible strain sensors, electromagnetic shielding materials, artificial muscle actuators and other electronic devices.