Executive Summary. Foreword. Considering the Third Sector: The New Prominence of For-Profit Higher Education. Why Now? Taking Aim. The Target. Organization of the Volume. From the Beginning: Development of For-Profit Higher Education in the United States. Eras of For-Profit Higher Education. The For-Profit Sector Today. Institutional Diversity: Classification of the For-Profit Sector. A New Classification. Elements of the Classification. Types of For-Profit Institutions. Continuing Difficulties with Classification. Shareholder Owners: Defining an Era. History of Shareholder Institutions. Current Owners. Implications of the Wall Street Era. Measure of Success: Students in the For-Profit Sector. Historical Perspectives. National Datasets. Current Trends. Student Outcomes. Student Motivation, Experiences, and Campus Life. Remaining Questions. The Academic Mission: Teaching and Learning in the For-Profit Sector. Curriculum. Faculty. Do Students Learn? External Approval: Accrediting the For-Profit Sector. Background on Accreditation. History. Regional Accreditation. For-Profit Accrediting Agencies. Regional Accreditation of National Institutions. Creating the Playing Field: State and Federal Regulation. State Oversight. Federal Oversight. Diploma Mills. Current Regulatory Issues. Reflections and Future Direction. Research Agenda. Conclusion. Notes. References. Name Index. Subject Index. About the Author.


The inquiry-based approach to learning has proven to be quite effective, since Socrates, but it is difficult to found good questions to induce reasoning.  Many sources explain wrongly some experimental results, which can be used as discrepant events. Some use the breaking of a ruler with a newspaper to "show" that the atmospheric pressure is powerful or "measure" the oxygen in the air using a burning candle or "explain" that electric charge attracts the water because the dipolar properties of the water molecule. Those are seemingly reasonable explanations but they are not true. Those demonstrations can be used to promote discussion and understanding from very simple reasoning.


Regulations restricting investment by pension funds in high-risk and foreign assets may quarantine member accounts from contagious transmissions during financial crises. We analyze contagion from U.S. equity markets to emerging market autarchic assets (Colombian private pension funds) during the recent financial crises. We test for volatility contagion between financial asset returns using a multivariate GARCH (M-GARCH) framework, where the S&P 500 is the source of contagion to the autarchic asset. We find no evidence of volatility contagion during the 2007-9 crises, indicating protection due to regulated portfolio restrictions. However, there is evidence of contagion during the recent sovereign debt crisis.


About 30% of Friend virus (F-MuLV-P)-infected C57BL/6 mice became leukemic more than ten weeks after virus infection. This late leukemia development could not be essentially influenced by drug treatment, such as injection of hydroxyurea (2 X 500 mg/kg), actinomycin D (3 X 120 micrograms/kg), phenylhydrazine (3 X 60 mg/kg), or 30 micrograms endotoxin or by bone marrow transplantation following lethal irradiation. Endotoxin (30 micrograms) given prior to virus caused the loss of resistance to F-MuLV-P, but it had only a slight effect if applied one or three months after virus infection. Leukemia development has never been observed in C57BL/6 mice after splenectomy. In DBA/2 mice, highly susceptible to F-MuLV-P, leukemia development was markedly impaired if the mice were splenectomized. These results clearly indicate that the spleen plays a crucial role in the mechanism of susceptibility or resistance to the Friend virus.


ABSTRACT Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about bats often underlie social support for bat management and intentions to conserve bats. Effective bat conservation and management hinges on understanding these drivers across contexts. Lands classified as wildland-urban interface (WUI) are rapidly expanding in the USA, increasing the likelihood of human-bat interactions from management practices and encroachment on forested landscapes. We surveyed 410 households in one Arizona WUI community to assess residents' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions toward bats, and differences among these variables associated with demographic traits, past encounters with bats, support for bat management, and willingness to place artificial bat roosts on their properties. Greater knowledge and positive attitudes, beliefs, and emotions positively predicted willingness to place roosts 59% to 85% of the time, varying across demographic groups; they did not predict support for bat management. Our findings demonstrated that contexts and demographic traits are important considerations for bat conservation and management.


Background— Diastolic dysfunction is a poorly understood but clinically pervasive syndrome that is characterized by increased diastolic stiffness. Titin is the main determinant of cellular passive stiffness. However, the physiological role that the tandem immunoglobulin (Ig) segment of titin plays in stiffness generation and whether shortening this segment is sufficient to cause diastolic dysfunction need to be established. Methods and Results— We generated a mouse model in which 9 Ig-like domains (Ig3–Ig11) were deleted from the proximal tandem Ig segment of the spring region of titin (IG KO). Exon microarray analysis revealed no adaptations in titin splicing, whereas novel phospho-specific antibodies did not detect changes in titin phosphorylation. Passive myocyte stiffness was increased in the IG KO, and immunoelectron microscopy revealed increased extension of the remaining titin spring segments as the sole likely underlying mechanism. Diastolic stiffness was increased at the tissue and organ levels, with no consistent changes in extracellular matrix composition or extracellular matrix–based passive stiffness, supporting a titin-based mechanism for in vivo diastolic dysfunction. Additionally, IG KO mice have a reduced exercise tolerance, a phenotype often associated with diastolic dysfunction. Conclusions— Increased titin-based passive stiffness is sufficient to cause diastolic dysfunction with exercise intolerance.


Investment in human capital through health could bring about economic growth in Nigeria. Health enhances worker effectiveness and the productivity of an individual through increase in physical and mental capacities which are necessary for economic growth and development. Base on this paradigm, the Nigeria government has devoted huge budgetary allocation to the health sector but this huge heath expenditure fails to translate into better health status of Nigerian and meet World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended budgetary allocation to the health sector. This study empirically examines the determinants of public health expenditure in Nigeria. Using the error correction techniques and time series data from 1986 to 2010 to evaluate the factors that influence public health expenditure in Nigeria, the results show that demand for health in Nigeria is price inelastic. It also shows that that total population of 14 Years of Age and Younger and health expenditure share in gross domestic product (proxy for government developmental policy on health) are the major determinants of health expenditure in Nigeria while gross domestic product per capital, unemployment rate, Population per Physician, consumer price index and political instability are insignificant. To this end, the study recommends that government should put in place adequate spending on health at all level (primary, secondary and tertiary institution).Government Budgetary allocation to health sector should be increased to the prescribe of 15% of its annual budgetary allocation to the health sector. This will make government health expenditure to have a robust effect on Nigerians health status and meet WHO recommended budgetary allocation to the sector. The study also recommended that there is need for government to take cognisance of the growth population of Nigerian 14 Years of Age and Younger in health care expenditure and allocation and government should form synergy with the private sector in providing quality and quantitative health facilities to meet the demand of Nigerians in line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDGS).


This study focuses on the compliance burden of Malaysian corporations from the perspective of tax agents. Two main areas are investigated, namely, suggestions for reducing the tax compliance burden of companies and improving the Malaysian tax system. Based on the qualitative analysis, the following measures are laid out from the perspective of lowering the compliance burden: (i) improve the accountability and transparency in tax administration matters, (ii) simplification of tax incentive requirements, and (iii) convergence of tax law with accounting standards in order to reduce discrepancy and tax adjustments. This study benefits the tax literature and the Malaysian tax practice by providing reliable qualitative research findings for establishing guidelines and policies pertaining to the compliance burden of corporate taxpayers.


The article deals with some aspects of the interrogation of children under 7 years. According to forensic and investigative practice, when deciding whether to prosecute and conviction by the court for committing these crimes, a great influence on the investigators and judges have the testimony of child victims, who are the cornerstone of the prosecution. For using the information received from a minor as an evidence in court, it should only be obtained in the process of interrogation, with a corresponding registration of the protocol. At the same time not only investigator but also child's legal representative, a psychologist and educator have to take part in process of investigative action. The article concludes that the peculiarity of the interrogation of minors is not to premature assess the validity of received information but to help getting the most comprehensive, accurate information by the methods and techniques that consider characteristics of the child. This article discusses the methods that are no so far widespread, although they are based on practical experience, and their effectiveness is confirmed by studies conducted in the investigation of grievous and extremely grievous crimes in the Russian Federation. The main recommendations for the organization of such investigative actions are formulated in accordance with the child's cognitive development. Carrying out monographic studies on this subject would give a hand to employees in the investigative units, prosecutors, investigators, and it would be useful for students, teachers, scientists, representatives of law schools, as well as people who are interested in the issues of criminology and psychology. Taking into consideration that the process of obtaining information from an interrogee is based on objective laws of psychology and criminology, it seems that the findings can be used not only in the practice of Russian law enforcement agencies but also in other countries.


When resecting head and neck tumours, the aim is mostly to strive for en bloc resection with sufficiently large tumour-free margins. If this is not possible, as is frequently the case with transoral laser microsurgery and endonasal endoscopic surgery, multiblock resection can be carried out by cutting through the tumour. With this approach, it is also essential that the final resection margins are tumour-negative. In such cases, surgeon and pathologist together should pay extra attention to tissue orientation and outer resection margins.


We present a new reasoner for RCC-8 constraint networks, called gp-rcc8, that is based on the patchwork property of path-consistent tractable RCC-8 networks and graph partitioning. We compare gp-rcc8 with state of the art reasoners that are based on constraint propagation and backtracking search as well as one that is based on graph partitioning and SAT solving. Our evaluation considers very large real-world RCC-8 networks and medium-sized synthetic ones, and shows that gp-rcc8 outperforms the other reasoners for these networks, while it is less efficient for smaller networks.


We present a method for the production of nanoelectrodes using focussed ion beam techniques (FIB). The electrodes utilise nanometric holes milled in a silicon nitride based pasivation layer, followed by wet etching of a silicon oxide based pasivation layer, to expose an underlying gold electrode. After functionalisation using a surface assembled monolayer and an electrochemically grown polypyrrole, these gold nanoelectrodes have been tested, via cyclic voltammetry, in the detection of [Fe(CN)6]4-/3- ions. The nanoelectrodes will be used to investigate the electrical properties of nanometric biological specimen.


AbstractMulti-year measurements of current velocity, salinity, and temperature from fixed and vessel-mounted sensors quantify Gulf Stream (GS) marine hydrokinetic energy (MHK) resource variability and inform development off Cape Hatteras, NC. Vessel transects across the GS
 demonstrate a jet-like velocity structure with speeds exceeding 2.5 m/s at the surface, persistent horizontal shear throughout the jet, and strongest vertical shears within the cyclonic shear zone. Persistent equatorward flow at the base of the GS associated with the Deep Western Boundary
 Current (DWBC) produces a local maximum in vertical shear where stratification is weak and is postulated to be a site of strong turbulent mixing. Repeated transects at the same location demonstrate that the velocity structure depends upon whether the GS abuts the shelf slope or is offshore.Currents
 from a fixed acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployed on the shoreward side of the GS exceed 1 m/s 64% of the time 40 m below the surface. The 3.75-year time series of currents from the ADCP mooring document large, roughly weekly variations in downstream and cross-stream speed (−0.5
 to 2.5 m/s) and shear (± 0.05 s−1) over the entire water column due to passage of GS meanders and frontal eddies. Current reversals from the mean GS direction occur several times a month, and longer period variations in GS offshore position can result in reduced currents
 for weeks at a time. Unresolved small-scale shear is postulated to contribute significantly to turbulent mixing.


Abstract In this study, the effects of the performance of air nozzles called jetring, which can be connected to a conventional ring spinning machine, over the yarn hairiness values were investigated. To determine the lowest yarn hairiness value, experimental and statistical studies were carried out on various nozzle structural parameters. The response surface methodology was used to optimize the yarn hairiness value. In the experiment, 100% cotton Ne 30/1 yarns were produced. In all jetring yarn productions, the air pressure was kept at 125 kPa (gauge). Hairiness results were analyzed using ANOVA in the Design Expert 11.0 program. Nozzle structural configuration that provided the lowest yarn hairiness according to the statistical model was as follows: twisting chamber diameter Ø2 mm, injector diameter Ø0.5 mm and injector angle 35° as determined. Ne 30/1 100% cotton yarns produced with this nozzle structural configuration, yarn hairiness values were reduced by 12%.


Task transfer, transferring knowledge contained in related tasks, holds the promise of reducing the quantity of labeled data required to fine-tune language models. Dialogue understanding encompasses many diverse tasks, yet task transfer has not been thoroughly studied in conversational AI. This work explores conversational task transfer by introducing FETA: a benchmark for FEw-sample TAsk transfer in open-domain dialogue.FETA contains two underlying sets of conversations upon which there are 10 and 7 tasks annotated, enabling the study of intra-dataset task transfer; task transfer without domain adaptation. We utilize three popular language models and three learning algorithms to analyze the transferability between 132 source-target task pairs and create a baseline for future work.We run experiments in the single- and multi-source settings and report valuable findings, e.g., most performance trends are model-specific, and span extraction and multiple-choice tasks benefit the most from task transfer.In addition to task transfer, FETA can be a valuable resource for future research into the efficiency and generalizability of pre-training datasets and model architectures, as well as for learning settings such as continual and multitask learning.


We investigated the effects of specific light wavelengths from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the growth of the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama, which kills bivalves, and the diatom Skeletonema costatum, which is an important food source for bivalves. Growth of H. circularisquama was obviously inhibited at 590 nm and a photon flux density less than 75 μmol quanta/m2/s. However, growth of S. costatum was not suppressed by irradiance from any LEDs tested from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths at 75 μmol quanta/m2/s. The growth rate of H. circularisquama in an experimental treatment group with irradiance provided by both cool-white fluorescent lamps (12∶12 h L:D cycle) and a 590-nm LED (continuous irradiance) was 0.43/day. In the control group with irradiance provided only by cool-white fluorescent lamps (12∶12 h L:D cycle), the growth rate was 0.63/day, indicating that growth of H. circularisquama was suppressed by 590 nm (less than 75 μmol quanta/m2/s) irradiance from the LED and the continuous irradiance. The use of 590-nm LEDs in bivalve culture at irradiance levels less than 75 μmol quanta/m2/s might encourage the growth of the useful diatom S. costatum without stimulating growth of the harmful dinoflagellate H. circularisquama.


In this letter, a new form of bivariate gamma distribution is proposed from the complex inverse Wishart matrix. We have derived the closed-form expressions for the probability density function and the joint central moments of this bivariate gamma distribution. Finally, the analytical results are used to obtain the outage probability for a multiple-input multiple-output wireless communication systems with two transmit antennas.


Today, there are various ways to manage the memory of computer programs: garbage collectors of all kinds, reference counters, regions, linear types – each with benefits and drawbacks, each fit for specific settings, each appropriate to different problems, each with their own trade-offs. Despite the plethora of techniques available, system programming (device drivers, networking libraries, cryptography applications, etc.) is still mostly done in C, even though memory management in C is notoriously unsafe. As a result, serious bugs are continuously discovered in system software. In this dissertation, we study memory management strategies with an eye out for fitness to system programming. First, we establish a framework to study memory management strategies. Often perceived as distinct categories, we argue that memory management approaches are actually part of a single design space. To this end, we establish a precise and powerful lexicon to describe memory management strategies of any kind. Using our newly established vocabulary, we further argue that this design space has not been exhaustively explored. We argue that one of the unexplored portion of this space, the static-automatic gap, contributes to the persistence of C in system programming. Second, we develop asap: a new memory management technique that fits in the static-automatic gap. Asap is fully automatic (not even annotations are required) and makes heavy use of static analysis. At compile time it inserts, in the original program, code that deallocates memory blocks as they becomes useless. We then show how asap interacts with various, advanced language features. Specifically, we extend asap to support polymorphism and mutability. Third, we compare asap with existing approaches. One of the points of comparison we use is the behavioural suitability to system programming. We also explore how the ideas from asap can be combined with other memory management strategies. We then show how asap handles programs satisfying the linear or region constraints. Finally, we explore the insights gained whilst developing and studying asap.


From earlier research on alcohol use it is known that use varies greatly with age, that initiation is most common during the teenage years and that use rapidly increases until young adulthood. It is also known that certain drinking contexts encourage alcohol use. Situational Action Theory (SAT) proposes that exposure to contexts which encourage substance use will cause alcohol use but only for people who are substance use prone, thus the crucial thing is the interaction between the prone people and the environments which encourage use. If there is a change in alcohol use, the theory proposes that it is likely to be explained by a change in exposure to certain settings and/or change in moral perceptions. The unique longitudinal data from the PADS+ study, linking behaviours directly to specific situations defined by where the act takes place and the people present in those situations, makes it possible to analyse situations rather than people. This paper will explore situations with alcohol use during people's transition from early adolescence (age 13) to young adulthood (age 21) and the stability of the influence of people's propensity, their exposure to settings encouraging substance use, and the interaction between these two.


In the observational sciences, technical advances are often followed by dramatic increases in scientific discoveries and improved theory. Leuwenhoek's microscope and Galileo's telescope gave us a "better look" at the microworld and the cosmos, which led to revolutions of past paradigms. In geomorphology and landscape analysis, similar advances have accompanied new maps and new mapping techniques. The first accurate globes, where the puzzle-piece fit of the southern continents was quickly noticed, were soon followed by the first mention of what would be continental drift. The first topographic maps were accompanied by similar shifts in thinking. For example, accurate topographic maps of the western US brought about the realization that even in arid regions, fluvial erosion can be the dominant landscaping force. Aerial photography provided a similar advance in observation, mapping and understanding. Satellite imagery of the Earth and other planets has dramatically revealed the geomorphic processes operating in inaccessible places, for example meteor impacts, volcanism and the importance of eolian and fluvial processes. Recent observations of Pluto and Mars attest to this fact. Satellite imagery also led to a revolution in glacial geomorphology by providing continent-wide images of features heretofore unnoticed, for example the palimpsest flow indicators of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (Boulton & Clark 1990). In the 90s, the production of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the development of geographic information system (GIS) tools allowed for new highly quantitative analysis of landscapes. The advent of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology is poised to provide a similar rapid advance in observations and the potential for significant advances in geomorphic theory. We see that the ever increasing use of LiDAR technology is creating a similar leap forward in geomorphology, and this issue is dedicated to illustrating this fact for Scandinavia (Fig. 1).


An organisation has a number of business processes that when
carried out achieve its business goals. A business process defines
a specific ordering of activities. It can be modelled using a process
model. The process model is constructed using a modelling language.
In practice, business processes can be complex. They can consist
of dozens of activities with complex ordering dependencies. In this
thesis, we claim that such complexity can be handled by the principle
of separation of concerns. We introduce a concern-based framework
called MIC (Modelling Interactions using Concerns). In the MIC
framework a business process is modelled in a declarative process
model as a set of interrelated concerns. Computational logic is used to
represent and reason about the concerns and relations among them.
It is argued that the declarative process models constructed by the
MIC framework can be understood, maintained and reused.


Objective: to verify and characterize the use of formal and non-formal methods to protect intellectual property by incubated companies that operate in the health sector. Methodology/approach: bibliographic research, research with primary sources, and comparative study of the interaction of organizations with the environment. The incubated companies' primary source information was obtained through face-to-face interviews in field research carried out at the Celta incubator, in Florianópolis/SC, Brazil. Main results: there was an intense use of non-formal methods by the companies studied. The literature adequately predicted non-formal methods adopted by companies. It was also identified that regularity in certifications with Anvisa – Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency, constitutes an important complementary asset for the appropriation of intellectual property (Teece, 1986) for the companies studied. Theoretical/methodological contributions: identification of the use of non-formal methods by companies and their composition of use with formal methods contributes to the advancement of literature and business practice. Relevance/originality: this study emphasized research on the use of non-formal methods to protect intellectual property by incubated companies, a topic little explored in the literature. Social and practical contribution: the use of non-formal methods is of particular interest to small and medium-sized companies because their implementation is under the company's control and, also, because they circumvent the time and costs incurred in the formal registration. It is recommended to expand the understanding concerning the role of complementary assets (Teece, 1986) for technology-based companies.


BACKGROUND
The approval of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radio-ligand therapy [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 represents a shift toward precision medicine-based treatments for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES
This review aims to provide practical advice and clinical considerations for working with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617; particularly, regarding the role of nurses in managing radiation safety, monitoring and reporting of adverse events, and counseling patients receiving this therapy.

METHODS
Clinical data, protocols, and guidelines are summarized alongside real-world insights to provide practical recommendations for nurses caring for patients treated with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617.

FINDINGS
Nurses coordinate safe care for patients receiving [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 by facilitating communication among physicians, managing logistic concerns, monitoring for adverse events related to treatment, providing education, and counseling patients and caregivers throughout treatment.


The recommended dose of omalizumab for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is 300 mg every 4 weeks, but there is no recommendation for patients who do not benefit from this dose. Our aim is to present the experiences on the use of doses of omalizumab higher than those recommended for CSU patients and to propose a protocol for updosing. This was a retrospective analysis of patients treated with omalizumab for CSU from 2 urticaria centers in Istanbul and Barcelona. The weekly urticaria activity score and/or the Urticaria Control Test (UCT) were used to monitor response. In Barcelona, a stepwise updosing regimen was preferred (450 mg first, then increasing to 600 mg), while in Istanbul, direct updosing to 600 mg was chosen. In Istanbul, 81 (88%) patients were treated with 300 mg, while 11 (12%) received 600 mg of omalizumab. In Barcelona, 7 (8.8%), 45 (56.3%), 17 (21.3%), and 11 (13.8%) patients received 150, 300, 450, and 600 mg of omalizumab, respectively. Urticaria control was achieved in 82.6% of the patients with 300 mg and in 8.7% of the patients with 600 mg in Istanbul, while it was achieved with 150 mg in 10%, with 300 mg in 48.8%, with 450 mg in 16.3%, and with 600 mg in 6.3% of the patients in Barcelona. In total, 123 (71.5%) patients responded to 150-300 mg and 26 (15.1%) to 450-600 mg. When responders to 150-300 mg (n = 123) were compared with responders to 450-600 mg (n = 26), BMI was found to be higher, and pre-omalizumab UCT was found to be lower in patients receiving updosed omalizumab (p = 0.029). Baseline data of the patients, especially BMI and pre-oma UCT, might be useful to determine if the patient will require higher doses of omalizumab. We recommend a stepwise approach starting from 450 mg and then updosing to 600 mg in CSU patients who do not respond or partially respond to 300 mg of omalizumab after 3-6 months of treatment.


Economic and social issues were pointed out as Software Engineering (SE) challenges for the next years, since the field needs to treat issues beyond the technical side, which requires observing it in another perspective. In this sense, Software Ecosystems (SECOs) have emerged as an approach to improve software reuse in global software development (GSD) industry considering relations among companies and stakeholders around the world. Companies and organizations have opened up their platforms and artifacts to others, including partners and third-part developers. This scenario changes the traditional software industry and requires mature research in software architecture, component-based software engineering and software product line (SPL) in a global market and business environment. So, GSD requires linking an architectural, a business and a social-based environment in an integrated way, as well as a focus on SECO-based management and engineering. This concern motivated a proposal of a "3+1" framework for SECOs management and engineering called Reuse ECOS. The approach aims at outlining a set of steps that combines those three dimensions and joins different perspectives in SECOs literature from a survey through a research strategy and a solution proposal for GSD with SECO and SPL. It was observed that SECO concepts can be merged in a broader GSD approach in SE industry.


ABSTRACT There are several options and approaches available to practicing psychiatrists for the pharmacologic management of acute psychotic episodes that present in emergency room settings. This article focuses on the first hours and days of such episodes, the goals of treatment, and comparison of the "old favorites," such as combination haloperidol and lorazepam (in liquid, tablet or injectable formulations), with the newer second-generation antipsychotic agents, such as olanzapine, ziprasidone, risperidone, quetiapine, or aripiprazole, which are available in different formulations. The speed of titration to an effective target dose for these newer agents are addressed as well.


Purpose: The purpose of this article is to propose that coupling of timing of interventions with dosing of interventions optimizes plasticity and participation in pediatric neurologic conditions, specifically cerebral palsy. Dosing includes frequency, intensity, time per session, and type of intervention. Interventions focus on body structures and function and activity and participation, and both are explored. Known parameters for promoting bone, muscle, and brain plasticity and evidence supporting critical periods of growth during development are reviewed. Although parameters for dosing participation are not yet established, emerging evidence suggests that participation at high intensities has the potential for change. Participation interventions may provide an additional avenue to promote change through the life span. Recommendations for research and clinical practice are presented to stimulate discussions and innovations in research and practice.


High definition technique is an image processing which is often constructed by using bicubic interpolation. How- ever, such as the bicubic interpolation that is a traditional method has problems. For examples, ringing and jaggies are caused without the high frequency components in image processing. In this paper, we propose a single frame super resolution using reconstruction method. Therefore, in order to reduce their problems, the proposed method consists of four parts: (1) detection of similar structures, (2) data fusion, (3) bilateral filter using local variance, and (4) bilateral back projection using local variance. Finally, we demonstrate experimental results of super resolution for some images. Moreover, we show that the proposed method is more e ff ective in comparison with traditional method.


The present study focuses on the analysis of a series of resources and innovative models created within an European project called "#TV T21 Community# e-Skills, social inclusion and employability" with the objective of understanding their use in learning contexts for young people with disabilities. An analytic description of the different elements developed such as: guides, games, mobile applications, practical models and even workshops will be given. In addition to the research that has been carried out, and its theoretical basis, questionnaires, group dynamics and observation were also implemented. At the end of the research, we can conclude that the present project, known as a strategic partnership for youth, meets the fundamental requirements to apply a set of innovative and necessary resources to meet the criteria of inclusion, equality and digital employability. These aspects are outlined as priorities by the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 and the World Report on Disability.


Background: DNA damage reflects a balance between oxidative stress and DNA repair ability which associates with breast cancer risk. Objective: Assessment of the oxidative DNA damage in women with breast tumors using comet tail length (CTL) and comet tail moment (CTM) to measure the extent of single strand DNA breaks in addition to 8-hydroxy deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) levels and numbers of DNA lesions. Methods: Blood leukocytes and post operative tumor specimens were taken from 40 females with newly diagnosed breast tumors (age 24-75 years) and leukocytes of 40 healthy controls (age range 24-50 years). The cells were subjected to single cell agarose gel electrophoresis and the severity of DNA damage was quantitated by computer image analysis. The level of the 8OHdG was measured by ELISA and numbers of DNA lesions was estimated by special formula. Results: There were highly significant differences(P<0.001) in the mean levels of leukocyte CTL, CTM, serum 8-OHdG and DNA lesion in benign and malignant breast tumor as compared to the control groups with augmented elevations in these analytes in malignant breast tumor tissues as compared to the benign ones. A Significant increase (p<0.001) in the mean tissue 8-OHdG values was reported in the invasive malignant carcinoma as compared with noninvasive subgroup. The leukocyte means of CTL, CTM, 8-OHdG of malignant breast tumor patients with an age ≤ 48 years and BMI >24 were significantly higher than their counterparts (p<0.05, P<0.001, respectively). There were strong positive correlation between both leukocytes ( r=0.71, r=0.83; P<0.001) and tissue (r=0.69, r=0.83; P<0.001) CTL, CTM with the concentration of serum 8-OHdG in total breast tumors. Conclusion: The 8-OHdG and comet assays are useful, sensitive markers for monitoring the severity of DNA modification and damage in breast tumor and could be used to identify persons with increased cancer susceptibility.


Seeking effective and precise control over electromagnetic waves has always been an important focus in optics. Advances in nanofabrication technology have led to designer metasurfaces, which open up new possibilities by allowing almost arbitrary spatial distributions of optical properties to be realized. This study demonstrates a multiplexed meta‐hologram generating different images for different polarizations and different terahertz frequencies. By utilizing C‐shape bar resonators as the basic unit cells, simultaneous binary amplitude modulation and binary phase modulation in each pixel is realized. With polarization and frequency selective independent simultaneous control of amplitude and phase in every pixel, the proposed meta‐hologram makes use of all four fundamental properties of electromagnetic waves. Generation of holographic images of "C," "F," "T," or "W" depending on polarization and frequency is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. This approach, allowing for modulation of all characteristics of electromagnetic waves, paves the way for designing complex metasurfaces and metaholograms with multiplexed functionalities, which may have applications in multichannel communication and data storage.


A distributed network of sensors leverages its performance by aggregating information gathered by individual sensors. This process is referred to as sensor fusion. The primary goal of sensor fusion is to process and progressively refine information from multiple sensors to eventually create situation awareness (SA). Sensor fusion requires sensors to exchange data and information over a network with limited capacity. Consequently, fusing raw sensor data may not be desirable, since transporting large amounts of data from sensor nodes will consume a lot of bandwidth, which is in short supply in a typical wireless sensor network. More importantly, when a network has heterogeneous sensors with widely varying signal characteristics, it may not even be possible to mix sensor data from different sensor modalities. To minimize network bandwidth requirements and to deal with the multiple sensing modalities, we propose an alternative approach in which sensors compute their individual estimates, which are then sent to a fusion center that generates global estimates by optimally aggregating individual estimates. Since sensors do not have any prior knowledge about the value of the parameters to be estimated, each sensor independently computes its maximum likelihood estimates of the unknown parameters, based on the limited sensed data gathered in its local vicinity. These estimates along with their distributions are then communicated to a fusion center. The global estimator computes the final maximum likelihood estimates by maximizing a new likelihood function using the distribution of the individual estimates provide by different sensors. Since the distribution of an estimate typically requires a small number of parameters or moments, the amount of data that a sensor needs to communicate over the network is significantly reduced. The performance of the global estimator is evaluated by computing the Cramer-Rao lower bound of the variance of the estimates.


In this paper, we address the problem of person re-identification problem, i.e., retrieving instances from gallery which are generated by the same person as the given probe image. This is very challenging because the person's appearance usually undergoes significant variations due to changes in illumination, camera angle and view, background clutter, and occlusion over the camera network. In this paper, we assume that the matched gallery images should not only be similar to the probe, but also be similar to each other, under suitable metric. We express this assumption with a fully connected CRF model in which each node corresponds to a gallery and every pair of nodes are connected by an edge. A label variable is associated with each node to indicate whether the corresponding image is from target person. We define unary potential for each node using existing feature calculation and matching techniques, which reflect the similarity between probe and gallery image, and define pairwise potential for each edge in terms of a weighed combination of Gaussian kernels, which encode appearance similarity between pair of gallery images. The specific form of pairwise potential allows us to exploit an efficient inference algorithm to calculate the marginal distribution of each label variable for this dense connected CRF. We show the superiority of our method by applying it to public datasets and comparing with the state of the art.


Although rapid auxin-induced growth of coleoptile sections can persist for at least 18 hours, acid-induced growth lasts for a much shorter period of time. Three theories have been proposed to explain this difference in persistence. To distinguish between these theories, the pH dependence for auxin-induced growth of oat (Avena sativa L.) coleoptiles has been determined early and late in the elongation process. Coleoptile sections from which the outer epidermis was removed to facilitate buffer entry were incubated, with or without 10 micromolar indoleacetic acid, in 20 millimolar buffers at pH 4.5 to 7.0 to maintain a fixed wall pH. During the first 1 to 2 hours after addition of auxin, elongation occurs by acid-induced extension (i.e. the pH optimum is <5 and the elongation varies inversely with the solution pH). Auxin causes no additional elongation because the buffers prevent further changes in wall pH. After 60 to 90 minutes, a second mechanism of auxin-induced growth, whose pH optimum is 5.5 to 6.0, predominates. It is proposed that rapid growth responses to changes in auxin concentration are mediated by auxin-induced changes in wall pH, whereas the prolonged, steady-state growth rate is controlled by a second, auxin-mediated process whose pH optimum is less acidic.


Swedish municipalities are sometimes using wholly owned corporations in order to conduct certain municipal operations. They have, however, been criticised for being passive owners. This paper presents a development of the concept of ownership strategy, with the aim of reconciling the fragmented field of corporate governance. The concept is empirically developed in order to explore the ownership strategies of municipal owners. From data collected through a survey from Swedish municipalities, it is showed that the municipalities to a certain extent act in accordance to rational ownership strategies. * The work this paper represents was funded by The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and performed at Rådet för KommunalEkonomisk Forskning och Utbildning (KEFU) (The Council for Research and Training in Municipal Economics in Lund). Anna Stafsudd assisted with data collection. The paper has been presented at the 6 International Conference: Public and Private Partnerships, 6 9 June, The University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands


Fluvial ecosystem integrity is intimately tied to agricultural intensity in most rural landscapes. Row crop agriculture in particular can elicit a range of deleterious effects on hydrology, surface water quality, and fluvial ecology. Riparian vegetation represents a critical defence of stream systems against environmental perturbations. Vegetation filters surface runoff and encourages infiltration. Furthermore, riparian forests shade streams and are thus able to stabilize in-stream temperature and dissolved oxygen (O). In northwest New Brunswick's potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) growing region, once densely forested riparian corridors now often contain only scattered, irregular patches of residual vegetation, and national water quality standards for streams are regularly exceeded. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether relatively small differences in riparian forest cover are of any significant benefit to stream environments. Specifically, we assessed the capacity of riparian forests to reduce the effects of row crop agriculture on stream flow, water quality, and benthic macroinvertebrate communities of streams draining small subwatersheds near Grand Falls, New Brunswick. The subwatersheds ranged in agricultural intensity from 0.5% to 97% crop cover, which predominantly consisted of potato. Riparian cover and agricultural intensity were highly collinear; hence, riparian forest cover was converted to a binomial categorical predictor (i.e., high and low), with agricultural intensity treated as a continuous covariate. Higher intensity of row-crop agriculture in small subwatersheds corresponded to base flow decline; greater flow pulse frequency; higher dissolved nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), conductivity, pH, and temperature; lower dissolved O; and prevalence of pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa and grazers. With less than 20% increase in riparian forest cover relative to agricultural intensity, we observed reduced severity of summer low flow periods, significantly lower dissolved phosphate (PO4) concentrations, lower temperatures, and higher dissolved O. Macroinvertebrate assemblage structure of the riparian cover categories diverged with increasing agriculture, demonstrating the value of even minor amounts of riparian vegetation to benthic community condition. Our results conclusively show that relatively small increases in riparian forest cover will lead to statistically detectable and ecologically meaningful improvements to stream health.


Transcriptional regulation of gene expression by hypoxia is an important, but yet only marginally characterized mechanism by which organisms adapt to low oxygen concentrations. The human hepatoma cell line HepG2 is a widely used model for studying hypoxic induction of the hematopoietic growth factor erythropoietin. In an attempt to identify additional genes expressed in HepG2 cells during hypoxia, we differentially screened a cDNA library derived from hypoxic (1% O) HepG2 cells using probes isolated from either normoxic (21% O) or hypoxic cells. Two genes were identified, one encoding aldolase, a member of the glycolytic enzymes, and the other encoding α-antitrypsin which belongs to the family of the acute phase (AP) responsive proteins. Whereas hypoxic induction of glycolytic enzymes is well established, oxygen-dependent regulation of AP genes has not been reported so far. AP proteins are liver-derived plasma proteins whose production during inflammation is either up-regulated (positive AP reactants) or down-regulated (negative AP reactants). In the present study, we demonstrate that on the mRNA level hypoxic stimulation of HepG2 cells led to (i) an induction of the positive AP reactants α-antitrypsin, α-antichymotrypsin, complement C3, haptoglobin, and α-acid glycoprotein; (ii) a down-regulation of the negative AP reactant albumin; (iii) an up-regulation of the negative AP reactant transferrin; and (iv) unchanged levels of the positive AP reactants α- and β-fibrinogen as well as hemopexin. Cycloheximide inhibited hypoxic up-regulation of AP mRNAs demonstrating that de novo protein synthesis is required for hypoxic induction. Nuclear run-on assays indicate that the hypoxic increase in AP mRNAs is mainly due to transcriptional regulation. The hypoxic response was compared to AP stimulation by interleukin 6. The results suggest that the adaptive response to hypoxia overlaps with, but is not identical with, the AP response mediated by interleukin 6.


AIM To investigate the role of TGFbeta1 in invasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer by analysing TGFbeta1 correlated with depth of tumor invasion, stage and metastasis. METHODS Serum TGFbeta1 levels were determined in 50 patients with colorectal cancer and 30 healthy volunteers using a TGFbeta1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. TGFbeta1 expression in primary and lymph node metastatic lesions were detected in 98 cases of colorectal cancer by immunohistochemical staining and in situ hybridization. RESULTS Serum levels of TGFbeta1 in patients with colorectal cancer(40+/-18 microg.L(-1)) were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(19+/-8 microg.L(-1)), P<0.05. Elevated levels of serum TGFbeta1 were found in 60 % of patients with colorectal cancer when the mean +2 s was used as the upper limit of the normal range (35.1 microg.L(-1)). Increases in serum TGFbeta1 levels were significantly associated with Duke's stage (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between Duke's stage B patients and Duke's stage C patients. In the cytoplasm of cancer cells, TGFbeta1 was immunostained in 37.8 % (37/98) of colorectal cancer, and this expression was confirmed by in situ hybridization. Among 35 cases of colorectal cancer with lymph node metastatic lesions, TGFbeta1 positive staining was found in 18 (51.4 %) cases of primary tumor, and 25 (71.4 %) cases with lymph node metastatic lesions, respectively. Of 17 cases w ith no staining in the primary lesion, 7 (41.2%) casesshowed TGFbeta1 staining in the metastatic lesion. Serum TGFbeta1 levels and TGFbeta1 expression in colorectal cancer tissues were correlated significantly with depth of tumor invasion, stage and metastasis. Patients in stage C-D,T3-T4 and with metastasis had significantly higher TGFbeta1 levels than patients in stage A-B,T1-T2 and without metastasis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION These results suggest that transforming growth factor-beta1 is closely related to the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer. It increased the invasive and metastatic potential of tumor by altering a tumor microenvironment. TGFbeta1 may be used as a possible biomarker.


A national conference titled "Achieving the sustainable development goals: Transforming public health education and practice" was held at the International Conference Centre in East London, South Africa, September 18_22, 2016. The event was jointly organised by the University of Fort Hare and the Public Health Association of South Africa. There were 300 registrants. They included policymakers, public health academics, students, health professionals, health service managers, non-governmental and community-based health organisations. The conference included 8 workshops, 4 satellite sessions, 4 panel discussions, 106 oral and 58 poster presentations and site visits. The conference focused on transforming public health education and practice in the context of South Africa. It enabled new networks to be established and existing ones consolidated.


BACKGROUND
Few cohort studies have examined longitudinal associations between age-related changes in cognition and physical performance. Further, whether these associations differ for men versus women or can be attributed to differences in physical activity (PA) is unknown.

METHODS
Participants were 2,876 initially well-functioning community-dwelling older adults (aged 70-79 years at baseline; 52% female; 39% black) studied over a 9-year period. Usual gait speed, self-reported PA, and two cognitive measures-Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and Mini-Modified Mental State examination (3MS)-were assessed years 0 (ie, baseline), 4, and 9.

RESULTS
Early decline between years 0 and 4 in gait speed predicted later decline between years 4 and 9 in performance on the 3MS (β = 0.10, p = .004) and on the DSST (β = 0.16, p < .001). In contrast, the associations between early decline in cognition and later decline in gait speed were weaker and were non-significant after correcting for multiple comparisons (β = 0.08, p = .019 for 3MS and β = .06, p = .051 for DSST). All associations were similar for women and men and were unaltered when accounting for PA levels.

CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate declining gait speed as a precursor to declining cognitive functioning, and suggest a weaker reciprocal process among older women and men.


There are currently two ways to vote in India. They are secret ballots and electronic vote machines, but these two processes have some limitations or disadvantages. The current system is also insecure. Many people miss the opportunity to vote simply because they need to go to the polling station and wait for several places to vote. In this paper, we proposed a voting method. In our method, the voting process has three security stages. The first stage is facial recognition, the second stage is Election ID (EID) number verification, and the third stage is One-Time-Password (OTP) verification using the user's mobile phone number registered.


In pursuing our work on the organization of human visual cortex, we wanted to specify more accurately the position of the visual motion area (area V5) in relation to the sulcal and gyral pattern of the cerebral cortex. We also wanted to determine the intersubject variation of area V5 in terms of position and extent of blood flow change in it, in response to the same task. We therefore used positron emission tomography (PET) to determine the foci of relative cerebral blood flow increases produced when subjects viewed a moving checkerboard pattern, compared to viewing the same pattern when it was stationary. We coregistered the PET images from each subject with images of the same brain obtained by magnetic resonance imaging, thus relating the position of V5 in all 24 hemispheres examined to the individual gyral configuration of the same brains. This approach also enabled us to examine the extent to which results obtained by pooling the PET data from a small group of individuals (e.g., six), chosen at random, would be representative of a much larger sample in determining the mean location of V5 after transformation into Talairach coordinates. After stereotaxic transformation of each individual brain, we found that the position of area V5 can vary by as much as 27 mm in the left hemisphere and 18 mm in the right for the pixel with the highest significance for blood flow change. There is also an intersubject variability in blood flow change within it in response to the same visual task. V5 nevertheless bears a consistent relationship, within each brain, to the sulcal pattern of the occipital lobe. It is situated ventrolaterally, just posterior to the meeting point of the ascending limb of the inferior temporal sulcus and the lateral occipital sulcus. In position it corresponds almost precisely with Flechsig's Feld 16, one of the areas that he found to be myelinated at birth.


muscular 29 year old man, was admitted with a high body temperature, tachycardia, and peripheral circulatory failure with a metabolic acidosis. Over the next six hours the metabolic acidosis progressed and he developed widespread haemorrhages in muscle and in mucous membranes and skin. On further inquiry we note he was found to have hypertonicity of muscles and hyperreflexia. Also, just before the terminal cardiac arrest he was severely acidotic with a pH of 7 08 and a base excess of 19 7. The serum lactate concentration at that time was raised at 2 9 mmol/l (26-1 mg/100 ml) (normal 1-8 mmol/l (16 2 mg/100 ml)). We believe that malignant hyperpyrexia could explain the clinical findings. This diagnosis carries an important therapeutic implication, as dantrolene has been shown to be effective in treating this condition.


This paper is about a new efficient method for the implementation of convolvers and correlators using the Fermat Number Transform (FNT) and the inverse (IFNT). The latter present advantages compared to Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT). An efficient state space method for implementing the Inverse FNT (IFNT) over rectangular windows is proposed for the cases where there is a large overlap between the consecutive input signals. This is called Inverse Generalized Sliding Fermat Number Transform (IGSFNT) and is useful for reducing the computational complexity of finite ring convolvers and correlators. This algorithm uses the technique of Generalized Sliding associated to matricial calculation in the Galois Field. The computational complexity of this method is compared with that of standard IFNT.


Wildland fires and resulting effects have increased in recent years. Efforts are under way nationwide to proactively manage vegetative conditions to reduce the threat of wildland fires. Public support is critical to the successful implementation of fuels reduction programs, particularly at the wildland–urban interface. This study examines public acceptance of fuels treatments and influencing factors in five neighbourhoods in Oregon and Utah located adjacent to public lands. Support for treatment use was high across locations. Findings suggest citizen trust in agency managers to successfully implement treatment activities is particularly influential on treatment acceptance. Thus, building and maintaining trust with local citizens is an essential element in the successful implementation of fuel management programs.


Quality of human resources is very important to improve productivity. The worker productivity is correlated with nutritional status and health status. The objective of the research is to analyze physical activity, energy intake, nutritional status, of women workers at Tea Plantation PTPN VIII Bandung, West Java. The cross sectional design was used in this study to elaborate physical activity, nutritional status, and productivity of tea picker's women. The criteria of study sample were tea picker's women at cluster area of Malabar tea plantation of PTPN VIII Bandung, having infant and they were willing to be interviewed. The total number of 92 women sample was chosen randomly. Primary data consisted of physical activity recall (2x24 hours), food consumption recall (2x24 hours), anthropometry data (weight and height), and productivity (passage of tea sprout). Secondary data were included data of PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII Bandung, West Java. The result showed that more than a half of samples having active or moderate physical activity level (PAL). The physical activity level of samples during work day (average PAL=1.87) was higher than holiday (average PAL=1.69) (p<0.05). The physical activity was related to energy expenditure. According to Schofield equation, energy expenditure of sample during workday (average=2362 kcal) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than day off (average=2134 kcal). This result is related to Oxford equation, energy expenditure of sample during workday (average=2223 kcal) was significantly higher than holiday (average=2011 kcal). The related factors of energy expenditure are body weight and age. Energy intake on workday and day off were respectively 2362 kcal and 2134 kcal. The average energy adequacy level during workday and day off according to Schofield and Oxford equation were not significantly different, respectively 97,2% and 103,3%. The majority of samples had normal nutritional status, and 30.4% of the sample was overweight. The energy adequacy level according to Schofield and Oxford equation are related to nutritional status of women workers.


Latvians are one of the most mobile European nations. Latvian migration to Sweden has a long history. After the II World War, more than 4,000 people moved from Latvia to Sweden, fleeing Soviet power. The second wave of immigration to Sweden began with the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991 and continues to this day. Both of these waves of migration are documented in the Latvian National Oral History collection. This article analyzes life-story interviews with expatriates in Sweden after the restoration of independence and explores how the migrants themselves describe their experiences in their new home country, their reflections on Latvians, Latvianness, and the preservation of national identity in emigration.


Background: Ghrelin is a gastrointestinal peptide that promotes a positive energy balance. The enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) esterifies an n-octanoic acid to the peptide, thereby enabling ghrelin to bind and activate the ghrelin receptor. Although ghrelin has previously been implicated in the control and maintenance of body core temperature (BCT), the role that this acylation may play in thermoregulation has not been examined. Aim: We aimed to investigate the endogenous role of ghrelin acylation in thermoregulation. Methods: In this study, we exposed mice lacking the enzyme GOAT as well as wild-type (WT) control mice to cold temperatures under ad libitum and fasting conditions. Additionally, we investigated the role of GOAT in metabolic adaptation to cold temperatures by analyzing BCT and energy metabolism in mice with and without GOAT that were progressively exposed to low ambient temperatures (31-7 C). Results: We find that regardless of nutritional status, mice lacking GOAT maintain a similar BCT as their WT counterparts during an 8 h cold exposure. Furthermore, mice lacking GOAT maintain a similar BCT and metabolic adaptation as WT controls during acclimatization to low ambient temperatures. Conclusions: We conclude that the absence of the enzyme GOAT does not play a significant role in maintenance of BCT or metabolic adaptation during exposure to low external temperatures.


Safety system of the vehicle can be divided into two main categories; passive and active safety system. The purpose of the passive safety system is to protect the occupant during an accident, while active safety system allows the vehicle to be manoeuvred to avoid any collision. Although active safety system can prevent the accident, in a critical situation such as emergency braking, the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle changes abruptly, and the vehicle becomes unstable. The objective of this study is to analyse the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle during emergency braking with and without anti-lock braking system (ABS). In this study, the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle is observed by the simulation model that has been developed in the MATLAB-Simulink. The analysis vehicle model is Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) test car, model Proton Persona. During braking, when ABS control unit detect the wheel is to lock-up, the hydraulic control unit closed the hydraulic valve to release the brake pad on the wheel. This allows the wheel to spin intermittently during braking. From the simulation results, when ABS is not applied to the vehicle, the front tires were lock-up and the vehicle become skidding. However, when ABS is applied, the speed of all tires decreased gradually and the vehicle is not skidding. The simulation results also show that the stopping distance with ABS is improved 28% compared without ABS.


The purpose of this paper is not to inquire into the role of agricultural sector in the economic growth of Taiwan. That has been done by many in the past. Rather, the main purpose of this paper is to review and discuss a few institutional approaches to agricultural and rural development on Taiwan which are considered to have played more significant roles, viz. The Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, the Farmers' Associations, Land Reform Program, Research and Education and the Four Year Economic Plans. An attempt also will be made to identify the effects of these institutions on the socio-economic life of the people in the rural Taiwan. Agricultural and rural development has been a subject for study and discussion among those who have focused their attention and resources for the economic development of the emerging nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. There have been several attempts and approaches to the problem. There is a growing consensus among economists regarding the vital importance of agricultural and rural development in developing countries for the fact that many of these countries are predominantly rural and agricultural. Abundant is the literature dealing with developmental strategies for under-developed countries and the role of agriculture in total economic development. Still there is no satisfactory explanation of why some countries at one time or another have emerged into and sustained the cumulative growth process while others have failed. Japan has been, quite for some time, often quoted as an example of sustained economic growth for which its agricultural development strategy is considered to be a major factor. Another country which is fast approaching the level of Japan is its one-time colony, Taiwan.


Fiscal Management of the Malaysian Economy, with a unique approach, reveals how far the Federal Government of Malaysia has succeeded in managing the growth and development of its fiscal architecture towards macroeconomic balancing and contributing to the country's favourable economic fundamentals in the global settings. The book offers a combination of theoretical underpinnings and empirical analysis in understanding and appreciating the course of fiscal management of the Malaysian economy, in terms of government expenditure, taxation system, fiscal deficits and debt management, over the years since 1990. It draws several inferences for the insights and consideration of policy-makers in developing countries. "Along with its empirical analysis of the fiscal architecture in Malaysia, there is a focus toward augmentation of the policy makers' insight on the fiscal issues and suggesting future course of direction in moulding the design of fiscal architecture in a developing countries", Tan Sri Dr. Nordin Kardi, Vice Chancellor, Universiti Utara Malaysia. The volume caters to the varied needs of policy makers, academicians, students, researchers, business communities as well as general readers interested in the field of Public Finance.


Purpose of reviewI will review evidence that antibodies protect against HIV-1 transmission in a short window of opportunity, involving neutralization, Fc-mediated effector function, or both. Recent findingsThe last decade witnessed a dramatic progress in the understanding of antibody-mediated protection against HIV-1, including active and passive immunization studies in nonhuman primates; association between reduced infection risk and the specificities and function of antibodies in the RV144 clinical trial; identification of potent, broadly neutralizing antibodies; high-resolution structural studies of the HIV-1 envelope trimer; and an increasing appreciation that Fc-mediated effector function is critical to protection against transmission for neutralizing and nonneutralizing antibodies. Less information is known about how antibodies protect in situ, except that they must do in the first 24 h after exposure. New evidence suggests that antibodies protect in an acute innate immune environment involving the NXLRX1 inflammasome and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-&bgr;) that favors infection and rapid dissemination of CCR6+ROR&ggr;+ Th17 cells. SummaryThese recent findings set the stage for understanding how antibodies can prevent the transmission of HIV-1. In this context, antibodies must prevent infection in an innate immune environment that strongly favors transmission. This information is key for the development of a vaccine against HIV-1.


Doppler observations of exoplanet systems have been a very expensive technique, mainly due to the high costs of high-resolution stable spectrographs. Recent advances in instrumentation enable affordable Doppler planet detections with surprisingly small optical telescopes. We investigate the possibility of measuring Doppler reflex motion of planet hosting stars with small-aperture telescopes that have traditionally been neglected for this kind of studies. After thoroughly testing the recently developed and commercially available Shelyak eShel echelle spectrograph, we demonstrated that it is routinely possible to achieve velocity precision at the 100 m s-1 level, reaching down to ¬± 50 m s-1 for the best cases. We describe our off-the-shelf instrumentation, including a new 0.5m RC telescope at the Gothard Astrophysical Observatory of Lorand E&otv&os University equipped with an intermediate resolution fiber-fed echelle spectrograph. We present some follow-up radial velocity measurements of planet hosting stars and point out that updating the orbital solution of Doppler-planets is a very important task that can be fulfilled with sub-meter sized optical telescopes without requesting very expensive telescope times on 2—4 m (or larger) class telescopes.


Purpose: This pediatric phase I study was designed to identify the doses of RG1507, a monoclonal antibody against the Type 1 Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor (IGF1R), that achieves exposures equivalent to those achieved in adults at recommended doses. Experimental Design: Children with relapsed or refractory solid tumors were treated using the same doses and administration schedules of RG1507 (3 and 9 mg/kg/wk, and 16 mg/kg every 3 weeks [q3W]) as those studied in adults. Detailed pharmacokinetic (PK) sampling was performed after the first dose; selected peak and trough levels were subsequently obtained. Target exposures were ≥85% of mean areas under concentration x time curves (AUCs) in adults at doses of 9 mg/kg/wk and 16 mg/kg q3W. A maximum tolerated dose could be identified if dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) occurred. Results: Thirty-one evaluable patients aged 3–17 years were enrolled at 3 mg/kg/wk (n = 3), 9 mg/kg/wk (n = 18), or 16 mg/kg q3W (n = 10). There were no DLTs. At 9 mg/kg/wk the mean AUC0–7d (21,000 μg h/mL) exceeded the target (16,000 μg h/mL). At 16 mg/kg q3W, the mean AUC021d (70,000 μg h/mL) exceeded the target (59,400 μg h/mL). Clearance normalized to body weight was age dependent. There were no objective responses. Seven patients had stable disease for >12 weeks, including two patients with osteosarcoma with stable disease for 52+ and 78+ weeks. Conclusions: The recommended doses of RG1507 in children with solid tumors are 9 mg/kg/wk and 16 mg/kg q3W. This flexible design is well suited for trials of agents associated with limited toxicity. Clin Cancer Res; 17(3); 611–9. ©2010 AACR.


One of the main challenges in implementing wireless sensor networks (WSN) is to minimize power consumption in order to maximize network lifetime. To accomplish this, we derive an upper bound on the average network lifetime. The upper bound was derived for a code division multiple access (CDMA) communication system. The communication procedure that consumes most of the energy is transmission. But, it is possible to reduce energy consumption by increasing the antenna gain of the base station which collects information from the sensors. However, a problem that arises is that the spot size of high gain antenna is smaller than low gain antenna and as a result the base station provides only partial coverage to the network, which is obviously an undesirable situation. Therefore we propose to shape the base-station antenna gain in such a way that maximizes network lifetime, by taking advantage of the spatial nonuniformity distribution of the sensors on the ground.


Environmental catastrophes are increasing in frequency and severity under climate change, and they substantially impact biodiversity. Recovery actions after catastrophes depend on prior benchmarking of biodiversity and that in turn minimally requires critical assessment of taxonomy and species-level diversity. Long-term recovery of species also requires an understanding of within-species diversity. Australia's 2019–2020 bushfires were unprecedented in their extent and severity and impacted large portions of habitats that are not adapted to fire. Assessments of the fires' impacts on vertebrates identified 114 species that were a high priority for management. In response, we compiled explicit information on taxonomic diversity and genetic diversity within fire-impacted vertebrates to provide to government agencies undertaking rapid conservation assessments. Here we discuss what we learned from our effort to benchmark pre-fire taxonomic and genetic diversity after the event. We identified a significant number of candidate species (genetic units that may be undescribed species), particularly in frogs and mammals. Reptiles and mammals also had high levels of intraspecific genetic structure relevant to conservation management. The first challenge was making published genetic data fit for purpose because original publications often focussed on a different question and did not provide raw sequence read data. Gaining access to analytical files and compiling appropriate individual metadata was also time-consuming. For many species, significant unpublished data was held by researchers. Identifying which data existed was challenging. For both published and unpublished data, substantial sampling gaps prevented areas of a species' distribution being assigned to a conservation unit. Summarising sampling gaps across species revealed that many areas were poorly sampled across taxonomic groups. To resolve these issues and prepare responses to future catastrophes, we recommend that researchers embrace open data principles including providing detailed metadata. Governments need to invest in a skilled taxonomic workforce to document and describe biodiversity before an event and to assess its impacts afterward. Natural history collections should also target increasing their DNA collections based on sampling gaps and revise their collection strategies to increasingly take population-scale DNA samples in order to document within-species genetic diversity.


Objective The aim of this study was to determine a relationship among selected listening conditions and amplification schemes that could be provided in a multiple memory hearing aid. Design The study consisted of three laboratory tests: 1) A screening test to select hearing impaired subjects who appeared to benefit from multiple amplification schemes. 2) A category scaling test to rank 16 amplification schemes in 15 listening conditions. The 16 schemes were simulated with a digital master hearing aid and comprised 5 linear systems and 11 compression characteristics. The 15 listening conditions comprised 6 listening environments combined with 2 or 3 response criteria. 3) A paired comparison test in which the two highest ranked amplification schemes were evaluated together with a reference linear frequency response (NAL) in a round-robin test. Results The screening test demonstrated that 21 hearing impaired people out of 25 with mild or moderate, flat or gently sloping hearing losses appeared to benefit from multiple amplification schemes. Age or audiometric factors did not serve to discriminate between those who selected different schemes and those who did not. In general, the NAL-response was preferred or was as good as any other for listening to speech in quiet, speech in reverberation, speech in babble-noise, and for naturalness of all listening environments. The subjects consistently selected an amplification scheme other than the NAL-response for four specific listening conditions. The findings suggest that substantial high-frequency compression is preferred for the ease of understanding multiple talkers, whose voices differ in overall level, in quiet environments. The annoyance of low-frequency background noise can be reduced by low-frequency compression, whereas a frequency response steeper than the NAL-response makes it easier to understand speech in low frequency background noise. Finally, a frequency response flatter than the NAL-response can be used to make a high-frequency background noise sound less annoying. Conclusion Hearing aid users with mild or moderate, flat or gently sloping hearing losses, fitted with equal and sufficient variation in amplification, prefer different amplification schemes depending on the number of talkers, the background noise and the response criterion.


Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are critical for the security, safety and reliability of software systems. Injection attacks, for instance via SQL, succeed due to insufficient input validation and can be avoided if contract-based approaches, such as Design by Contract, are followed in the software development lifecycle of GUIs. This paper proposes a model-based testing approach for detecting GUI data contract violations, which may result in serious failures such as system crash. A contract-based model of GUI data specifications is used to develop test scenarios and to serve as test oracle. The technique introduced uses multi terminal binary decision diagrams, which are designed as an integral part of decision tableaugmented event sequence graphs, to implement a GUI testing process. A case study, which validates the presented approach on a port scanner written in Java programming language, is presented. key words: model-based testing, GUI testing, event sequence graphs, multi terminal binary decision diagrams


Bhaskar lavan churna is a well known ayurvedic formulation containing Piper species (Fruits of piper longum, Piper nigrum and roots of piper longum) asmain ingredients. The aimof present study is to develop finger printing methods for Bhaskar Lavan churna. Three batches of bhaskar lavan churna(BLC) were prepared according to the method given in the ayurvedic formulary and another three different formulations were procured fromthe market. In present study a spectrophotometric method was developed for the estimation of Piperine in laboratory and marketed preparations. The concentration of piperine present in rawmaterial of BLC was found to be 3.49%±0.021w/win piper nigrumfruits, 1.52%±0.18w/winPiper longum fruits and 1.12±0.20w/w in piper longum roots. The content of Piperine in laboratory preparation was found to be(0.18±0.124%) and in different marketed preparations of bhaskar lavan churna was for BLCA( 0.08±0.212%),BLC-B(0.092±0.36%),BLC-C(0.068±0.42%)w/wrespectively. In order to obtain Precision and Accuracy the Recovery study was performed and result obtainedwithmean value 99.49%±0.19,which prove reproducibility of the result. This shows significant Precision of methods at 95%confidence level. The mean of %RSD value was found to be 0.327 with the mean standard error 0.240. A result of statistical analysis show present spectrophotometric method for determination of piperine is simple, precise, accurate and suitable for routine analysis of piperine in bhaskar lavan churna. The developed fingerprints can be used as a standard and piperine can be used as a possible marker compound for fingerprinting of the formulation.


Coding performance is limited not only by Shannon's (1950) bounds but also by the complexity of decoders. Decoder complexity is in turn governed by the need for the different pieces of the machine to communicate with one another. This paper calculates lower limits on the intra-system information flow for the Viterbi decoding of shift-register-based codes, e.g., convolutional codes. These limits provide practical guidance for the construction of decoders for the current generation of convolutional and trellis codes. In particular, these bounds prove that a very specialized decoder family, called graph partition decoders, have an asymptotically optimum communications growth rate. The techniques used in this paper can, moreover, be applied to the design of new (non-shift-register-based) codes which may possibly circumvent the limits derived in the paper and to the design of parallel processors. >


This paper presents the SILAM dispersion modelling system that has been developed for solving various forward and inverse dispersion problems. The current operational version is based on a Lagrangian dispersion model that applies an iterative advection algorithm and a Monte Carlo random-walk diffusion representation. The system can utilize meteorological data from either the HIRLAM or ECMWF numerical weather prediction models. We present an evaluation of SILAM against the data of the European Tracer Experiment (ETEX). The model showed an overall time correlation coefficient of 0.6 (over 150 stations), with specific values for the two ETEX measurement arcs of 0.75 and 0.74, respectively. The number of well-reproduced observation sites are 55, 37, and 40—for a Figure of Merit in Time of40.2, a correlation coefficient of 40.7, and mean observed and modelled values being within a factor of 2, respectively. We have also investigated the sensitivity of the model to the meteorological input data and model setup. The most important factors with regard to the model performance were (i) the selection of the meteorological input data set and (ii) the method used for the atmospheric boundary layer height estimation. The study allowed selection of the optimum setup for the operational model configuration. We also tried to find explanations for the successes and failures of the specific methodologies in order to facilitate broader conclusions on their applicability in emergency dispersion modelling. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


More than 50% of business failures in the United States are because of leaders' inability to manage working capital. This qualitative, multiple case study is grounded in the cash conversion cycle theory. The purpose is to explore the strategies bank leaders have used to improve working capital management in three banks in Kentucky to increase bank profitability and improve financial stability. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with three different banking leaders who have implemented successful working capital strategies. Using methodological triangulation and Yin's five-step data analysis resulted: (a) risk and liquidity, (b) top-down approach, and (c) investment approach. The findings from this study include strategies for improving the use of working capital, leading to business profitability and increases in employment opportunities.


This research is intended to measure hospitalized patients' satisfaction toward dimension of Selasih Hospital service quality. It covers realibility, reponsiveness, assurance, emphaty, and tangibility. The researcher used close questions in collecting the primary data. She collected the data by using non probability sampling through convenience sampling. There were 170 patients taken as samples, they were divided into three classes; I, II and III. The used method of analysis is; the importance performance analysis, it is acknowledged that laboratorium check-up, doctor visit, immediate treatment; accurate and immediate check-up result, ineffective sophisticated equipment are not satisfactory to the customers. To ease these problems, the hospital management is expected to enhance medical staff competence and knowledge. The doctors, nurses and staffs commitment should also be enhanced so that they will always serve the patients well without distiguishing their classes. At last but not least, this hospital is suggested to cooperate with other hospitals which have adequate equipments.


The large- to giant-sized balanids, mass-aggregated in a tempestite of the Lower Pliocene (Zanclean) section at Rafina near Pikermi,Greece, represent a single species, Concavus ( Concavus ) concavus (DARWIN, 1854) [non BRONN, 1831], the taxonomy of which is revised. The peculiarly shaped forms 'raphanoides' and 'scutorum' are ecophenotypes of this species; the same applies to the 'tulipiformis' specimens reported previously fromthis section.Discussed are dynamic events controlling the life and death conditions in the nearshore (offshore) environment of Rafina, where the giant specimens of Concavus ( Concavus ) concavus (DARWIN, 1854) flourished through several successive generations. As opportunistic species they adopted the r-selection reproduction strategy in order to dominate over other biota. The intermittent action of high-energy agents was responsible for the production of balanid-shell hash that involved taphonomic feedback. This enabled further colonization of the biotope and the growth of multiphased (bouquet-like and pyramidal) clusters. The demise of the monospecific balanid communities is ascribed to a heavy storm which stirred-up the whole balanid-bearing sequence, to produce a proximal tempestite. This final burial and subsequent depositional lull in the Rafina environment was favoured by a temporary deepening of the whole Lower Pliocene (Zanclean) basin beyond the bathymetric range in which the balanid population could survive.


Estimating software development effort is frequently based on assessing the effort of one task relative to that of another. The author presents empirical results that show how relative estimation can result in biased assessments of similarity and overly optimistic effort estimates. Specifically, tasks tend to be assessed as more similar than they actually are. Furthermore, the similarity of two tasks depends on the direction of the comparison, and a comparison based on difference in work hours is distinct from one based on a ratio. From these results and other evidence, the author suggests ways to improve the accuracy of relative estimation.


Herein, we report the formation of organized mesoporous silica materials prepared from a novel nonionic gemini surfactant, myristoyl-end-capped Jeffamine, synthesized from a polyoxyalkyleneamine (ED900). The behavior of the modified Jeffamine in water was first investigated. A direct micellar phase (L(1)) and a hexagonal (H(1)) liquid crystal were found. The structure of the micelles was investigated from the SAXS and the analysis by generalized indirect Fourier transformation, which show that the particles are globular of core-shell type. The myristoyl chains, located at the ends of the amphiphile molecule, are assembled to form the core of the micelles and, as a consequence, the molecules are folded over on themselves. Mesoporous materials were then synthesized from the self-assembly mechanism. The recovered materials were characterized by SAXS measurements, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The results clearly evidence that by modifying the synthesis parameters, such as the surfactant/silica precursor molar ratio and the hydrothermal conditions, one can control the size and the nanostructuring of the resulting material. It was observed that, the lower the temperature of the hydrothermal treatment, the better the mesopore ordering.


Capmatinib is an oral, ATP‐competitive, and highly potent, type 1b MET inhibitor. Herein, we report phase 1 dose‐escalation results for capmatinib in advanced MET‐positive solid tumor patients and dose expansion in advanced non‐lung tumors. Capmatinib was well tolerated with a manageable safety profile across all explored doses. Dose‐limiting toxicities (DLT) occurred at 200 mg twice daily (bid), 250 mg bid, and 450 mg bid capsules; however, no DLT were reported at 600 mg bid (capsules). Capmatinib tablets at 400 mg bid had comparable tolerability and exposure to that of 600 mg bid capsules. Maximum tolerated dose was not reached; recommended phase 2 dose was 400 mg bid tablets/600 mg bid capsules; at this dose, Ctrough >EC90 (90% inhibition of c‐MET phosphorylation in animal models) is expected to be achieved and maintained. Among the dose‐expansion patients (N = 38), best overall response across all cohorts was stable disease (gastric cancer 22%, hepatocellular carcinoma 46%, other indications 28%); two other indication patients with gene copy number (GCN) ≥6 achieved substantial tumor reduction. Near‐complete immunohistochemically determined phospho‐MET inhibition (H‐score = 2) was shown following capmatinib 450 mg bid capsule in paired biopsies obtained from one advanced colorectal cancer patient. Incidence of high‐level MET GCN (GCN ≥6) and MET‐overexpressing (immunohistochemistry 3+) tumors in the expansion cohorts was 8% and 13%, respectively; no MET mutations were observed. Thus, the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of capmatinib was 600 mg bid capsule/400 mg bid tablet. Capmatinib was well tolerated and showed antitumor activity and acceptable safety profile at the RP2D.


The spread of infectious disease among and between wild and domesticated animals has become a major problem worldwide. We analyze the socially optimal management of wildlife and livestock, including choices involving environmental habitat variables and on-farm biosecurity controls, when wildlife and livestock can spread an infectious disease to each other. The mo del is applied to the problem of bovine tuberculosis among Michigan white-tailed deer. The optimum is a cycle in which the disease remains endemic in the wildlife, but in which the cattle herd is depleted when the prevalence rate in deer grows too large.


In the last few years, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have become a great tool for massively parallel computing. GPUs are specifically designed for throughput and face several design challenges, specially what is known as the Power and Memory Walls. In these devices, available resources should be used to enhance performance and throughput, as the performance per watt is really high. For massively parallel applications or kernels, using the available silicon resources for power management was unproductive, as the main objective of the unit was to execute the kernel as fast as possible. However, not all the applications that are being currently ported to GPUs can make use of all the available resources, either due to data dependencies, bandwidth requirements, legacy software on new hardware, etc, reducing the performance per watt. This new scenario requires new designs and optimizations to make these GPGPU's more energy efficient. But first comes first, we should begin by analyzing the applications we are running on these processors looking for bottlenecks and opportunities to optimize for energy efficiency. In this paper we analyze some kernels taken from the CUDA SDK2 in order to discover resource underutilization. Results show that this underutilization is present, and resource optimization can increase the energy efficiency of GPU-based computation. We then discuss different strategies and proposals to increase energy efficiency in future GPU designs.


GENOMICS RESEARCH[ Ken Garber ][1] The Feline Genome Project at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) expects to achieve a major milestone this year: a complete map of the cat genome. Because cats and humans share almost 60 inherited diseases, including polycystic kidney disease, diabetes, heart muscle disorders, and certain common immune cell cancers, the map could be a useful guide to human disease genes. Once the cat map is in hand, the NCI group plans to use it to track down the cat disease genes and then mine the comparable regions of the human and mouse genomes for candidates for their human counterparts. If the same genes turn out to be at fault in both species, then cats would also provide good models for the human diseases.

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/280/5371/1841#ken


Definitions of treatment failure and the labelling of patients as non-responsive typically require treatments to have been offered and failed. For pharmacological treatments, treatment quality is relatively easy to define; this is much more difficult with psychological treatments. This study examined patient recollections of previous therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). A Treatment History Questionnaire was administered to a sample of 57 apparently treatment refractory OCD patients from a specialist national OCD treatment unit and a national charity for OCD sufferers. On average, respondents reported an 8$\frac{1}{2}$ year wait between the obsessional symptoms interfering significantly with their lives and being diagnosed. Forty-three percent recalled having received either cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) or behaviour therapy as the first treatment; 31% of the group did not know what type of therapy they had received. The components of therapy that respondents recalled were analysed and contrasted with minimal therapy criteria. These criteria appear not to have been met in most patients who understood that they had received "CBT". The implications of this study for assessment of treatment integrity and the classification of patients as "treatment resistant" are discussed.


Alumina-mullite (AM) refractories are widely used as liners in gas turbines for power production, because of their peculiar properties, appropriate for the thermal insulation of combustion chambers, characterized by turbine inlet temperature around 1400 °C. The typical tiles are made with a mixture of alumina and mullite with different granulometries, including a coarse fraction. In this work the feasibility of recycling of ceramic wastes, which come from other industrial processes, into AM refractories was assessed. The effects of their addition on phase composition, microstructure and thermomechanical properties of AM refractories were investigated. MOR and Young's modulus were determined at room temperature and up to 1500 °C by four point flexural tests; thermal shock resistance was evaluated by MOR measurements after quenching tests. The comparison with a typical AM refractory used as liners shows that thermomechanical properties and thermal shock resistance were not significantly compromised by ceramic waste additions up to 20%, and, on the contrary, were improved.


This paper presents design and characterization of a 60-GHz On-Off Keying (OOK) modulator for low-power ultra-high-speed wireless communications. The circuit operation relies on the active control of the load impedance of a differential pair; in addition, a matched always-off differential pair increases the isolation by cancellation of the off currents. The circuit was implemented in a 0.25-μm SiGe BiCMOS and can deliver up to 20 Gbps over a 60-GHz carrier. The OOK modulator exhibits an insertion loss of 1.1 dB and an isolation of 36 dB, requiring 54.6 mW of DC power from a 2-V supply. To the authors' best knowledge, data rate and isolation are the highest reported for 60-GHz OOK modulators.


Female enrolment in Technical Education in Ghana has been low in recent times. Regardless of this, some females have made a decision to attain Technical Education. The study examined the experiences of the Girl Child in accessing Technical Education in Ghana. The study employed a phenomenological design using a qualitative approach. The study was conducted in one of the Technical Education Institutions in Ghana. The study sampled 8 female students and 2 female coordinators of Women in Technical Education (WITED). The students were conveniently selected whereas the coordinators were purposefully selected. An interview guide was used to collect data from the respondents. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data gathered. It was discovered that the attitudes of family and friends towards Female Technical Education were negative. Also, female students were found to be harassed by male teachers and students. The study found that the institution did not have facilities like a place of convenience for the available female students. It was concluded that even though Technical Education is very important to national development, females are not encouraged by family and friends to enrol in Technical Education programmes. It was recommended that teachers, media, and all stakeholders are encouraged to educate the general public, especially parents, on the need for Female Technical Education. This education should also focus on diluting all misconceptions held by the public.


We have previously described the inhibition of glucocorticoid-dependent transcription from the mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat promoter by products of the H-ras and v-mos oncogenes. We have studied the effects of conditional oncogenes on expression of glucocorticoid-dependent indicator genes. Expression of the glucocorticoid-dependent transcription of the tyrosine aminotransferase gene was monitored in FTO-2B rat hepatoma cells during Mr 21,000 protein (p21) H-ras induction. A strong transcriptional repression of the tyrosine aminotransferase gene followed p21 H-ras expression. The sequences in a glucocorticoid-dependent promoter which are responsible for the oncogene-mediated repression could be localized to the glucocorticoid response element; a construct in which a 15-base pair glucocorticoid response element was inserted 5' of the thymidine kinase promoter exhibited the oncogene-mediated repression of transcription. We observed a strong repression of glucocorticoid-dependent promoters and promoter constructs not only in the presence of p21 H-ras and p37 v-mos but also with p60 v-src. p57 v-myc, however, had no effect. Oncogene expression is not a sufficient prerequisite for an initial repression of glucocorticoid hormone-dependent gene transcription, since even in the presence of constitutively high levels of oncogene product a transient stimulation of glucocorticoid-dependent gene expression was found. Protein synthesis inhibition experiments revealed that no hormonally induced cellular protein is needed for the oncogene-mediated repression. It seemed reasonable that this phenomenon might reflect oncogene effects on the glucocorticoid receptor. We, therefore, made measurements of the glucocorticoid receptor protein. In the presence of glucocorticoid hormone the receptor translocated rapidly from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. In normal NIH 3T3 cells, after 24-h treatments the nuclear receptor levels had declined to about 50% of those determined at 2 h and in the presence of p21 H-ras they declined to 15%. The levels of cytoplasmic receptor were not affected by p21 H-ras expression.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a whole joint disease characterized by an important remodeling of the osteochondral junction. It includes cartilage mineralization due to chondrocyte hypertrophic differentiation and bone sclerosis. Here, we investigated whether gremlin-1 (Grem-1) and its BMP partners could be involved in the remodeling events of the osteochondral junction in OA. We found that Grem-1, BMP-2, and BMP-4 immunostaining was detected in chondrocytes from the deep layer of cartilage and in subchondral bone of knee OA patients, and was positively correlated with cartilage damage. ELISA assays showed that bone released more Grem-1 and BMP-4 than cartilage, which released more BMP-2. In vitro experiments evidenced that compression stimulated the expression and the release of Grem-1 and BMP-4 by osteoblasts. Grem-1 was also overexpressed during the prehypertrophic to hypertrophic differentiation of murine articular chondrocytes. Recombinant Grem-1 stimulated Mmp-3 and Mmp-13 expression in murine chondrocytes and osteoblasts, whereas recombinant BMP-4 stimulated the expression of genes associated with angiogenesis (Angptl4 and osteoclastogenesis (Rankl and Ccl2). In conclusion, Grem-1 and BMP-4, whose expression at the osteochondral junction increased with OA progression, may favor the pathological remodeling of the osteochondral junction by inducing a catabolic and tissue remodeling program in hypertrophic chondrocytes and osteoblasts.