Fractures are common at the spine and hip, but at least half the morbidity and mortality of fractures in the community come from fractures that involve other sites. Over half of all fractures arise in individuals without osteoporosis, whereas the highest risk group for fractures are individuals over 80 years of age. Reducing the burden of fractures should thus include an assessment of drug efficacy against all fractures in a wide range of individuals.For vertebral fractures, in the phase III Spinal Osteoporosis Therapeutic Intervention study of 1649 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, 2 g strontium ranelate a day produced a risk reduction of 49% in the first year and 41% during 3 years. In the TReatment Of Peripheral OSteoporosis study, which was designed to examine the effect of strontium ranelate on non-vertebral fractures, of the 5091 patients, 3640 had spine X-rays. The vertebral fracture risk reduction was 45% at one year and 39% over 3 years. In a preplanned pooling of the above two studies, 1170 patients had vertebral osteopenia. Strontium ranelate reduced the risk of vertebral fracture in 3 years by 40% in these patients. In 409 patients with lumbar or femoral neck osteopenia, strontium ranelate reduced the risk of vertebral fractures by 62% over 3 years. In the pre-planned pooling of data from the two studies, in 1488 women aged between 80 and 100 years (mean age 84 ± 3 years), the risk of vertebral fractures was reduced in one year by 59% and by 32% over 3 years.For non-vertebral fractures, in the TReatment Of Peripheral OSteoporosis study, treatment for 3 years reduced the fracture risk by 16%, and by 19% for major fragility fractures. In a post-hoc analysis of 1977 women at high risk of hip fracture (aged ≥ 74 years and with a femoral neck bone mineral density T-score ≤ −2.4) the hip fracture risk was reduced by 36%. In patients aged 80 and over in the pre-planned pooling of data from the two studies, the risk of an incident non-vertebral fracture was reduced by 41% in the first year and by 31% over 3 years. Strontium ranelate, a new anti-osteoporosis agent, has a broad range of antifracture efficacy.


In this study, naftidrofuryl's action on vascular network regeneration is evaluated after cortical lesion produced by suction. The vascular reaction was analyzed in the region of the damaged cortex and the corresponding contralateral cortex. Comparison of results by variance analysis confirms that the effect of treatment is highly significant (p = 0.008). The results thus obtained show that post-lesion angiogenesis is facilitated and that capacities of post-lesion cerebral function regeneration could also be improved.


The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent the use of L2 in math tests influences bilingual education learners' process of word problem solving in a mandatory secondary education school with Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The reading comprehension level of the students was analysed using a standards-based assessment and the questions used in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests. The word problems were selected according to the students' level of reading-comprehension and mathematical competence. Leaners also had to answer a questionnaire, which was used to analyse if contextual factors were affecting mathematical performance in L2. To this end, the questionnaire included some questions related to the bilingual history of the students and their perception about solving word problems in English. Data were analysed through one-way or two-way ANOVA tests to find out which factors were relevant. Results show that solving word problems is not only affected by the use of L2, but that it also depends on the mathematical difficulty, irrespective of the students' level of language proficiency. The findings, hence, imply that interaction between linguistic difficulty and mathematical complexity is at the centre of the issues affecting word problem solving.


††† ††† Summary In next-generation all-IP based wireless systems, Radio Resource Management (RRM) algorithms are required in order to effectively control resources and maintain the acceptable service quality. RRM algorithms are needed to guarantee the required Quality of Service (QoS), to supply the optimum coverage area and to offer high capacity. Therefore, there is a critical need for RRM to provide efficient utilisation of the air interface resources. A users, with a large range of mobility, will access the network and will be able to seamlessly reconnect to different networks, even within the same session. The core network will enable inter- and intra-access handover. In the next-generation wireless systems coverage/capacity will change dynamically to accommodate changing user patterns. Users will automatically move from congested cell to allow the network to dynamically self-balance. The objective of this research is to propose a handover-based traffic management algorithm in order to adaptively controls the handover initiation time according to the load status of cells. Under the proposed algorithm, the signaling burden is evenly distributed and the regional network boundary is dynamically adjusted according to the up-to-date mobility and handover types for each terminal. A simulation model is developed to investigate the handover performance. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce call drop rate of handoff calls and the use of adaptive value of received signal strength avoids too early or too late initiation of the handover process.


Objective. To investigate the epidemiology of vertigo among the general adult population in Taiwan using the National Health Insurance claims database. Study Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Data were retrieved from the 2006 National Health Insurance claims database. Subjects and Methods. Claims data were retrieved for patients 18 years or older with a diagnosis of vertigo (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes 078.81, 386.XX, or 780.4) from January to December 2006. The authors describe the prevalence and recurrence of vertigo and the medical resource utilization associated with its treatment. Logistic regression models are used to assess the independent effects of age, sex, seasonal variation, institutional level of care, and specialty of care on the risk of vertigo recurrence. Results. A total of 527,807 adult patients (mean ± SD age, 55.1 ± 17.3 years; 1:1.96 ratio of men to women) experienced vertigo in 2006. The prevalence of vertigo was 3.13 cases per 100 adults. Within 1 year of their index vertigo attack, 199,210 patients (37.7%) experienced recurrence. The prevalence and recurrence of vertigo increased significantly with age (P < .001 for both, χ2 test). Age, sex, seasonal variation, institutional level of care, and specialty of care had various effects on the risk of vertigo recurrence. Conclusion. Vertigo is a major health burden among the general adult population and tends to recur, particularly among older women.


The Lower Cretaceous Viking Formation of the Joffre field is characterized by complex reservoir architecture. Deposits of three discrete sequences were delineated using high-resolution sequence stratigraphy. The coarse-grained deposits of sequence 3, lying between BD-2 and an overlying open marine flooding surface, comprise the main reservoir interval within the Viking Formation of the Joffre field. This succession has previously been interpreted as an incised conglomeratic shoreface, stranded in a basinal position during transgression; however, sequence 3 displays characteristics difficult to reconcile with a shoreface interpretation, including an abundance of brackish mudstone interbeds and rip-up clasts, dominance of trough cross-stratification in the coarse clastics, and large-scale interfingering of the coarse clastics with fine-grained marginal-marine deposits. Despite the incised basal contact and brackish-water characteristics of the deposits, the succession does not reflect an estuarine incised valley complex, as conventional sequence stratigraphic wisdom might suggest. The shore-parallel orientation of the deposit, the lack of a convincing valley margin to the northeast, and parasequence orientations lying parallel to the strike of the deposit are inconsistent with an incised valley interpretation. Instead, the succession is interpreted as a broad brackish-water embayment of the shoreline, into which coarse-clastic bayhead delta and distributary channel complexes were deposited during incremental transgression. Such lagoonal or brackish bay complexes are ubiquitous in modern transgressive shorelines, but previously have been recognized only rarely in the ancient record.


Archaea is one of the three domains of life and studies of archaeal biology are important for understanding of life in extreme environments, fundamental biogeochemical processes, the origin of life, the eukaryotic cell and their own, unique biology. This thesis presents four studies of the archaeal cell, using the extremophilic Sulfolobus and ocean living Nitrosopumilus as model systems.Cell division in crenarchaea is shown to be carried out by a previously unknown system named Cdv (cell division). The system shares homology with the eukaryotic ESCRT-III system which is used for membrane reorganization during vesicle formation, viral release and cytokinesis. Organisms of the phylum Thaumarchaeota also use the Cdv system, despite also carrying genes for the euryarchaeal and bacterial cell division system FtsZ.The thaumarchaeal cell cycle is demonstrated to be dominated by the prereplicative and replicative stage, in contrasts to the crenarchaeal cell cycle where the cell at the majority of the time resides in the postreplicative stage. The replication rate is remarkably low and closer to what is measured for eukaryotes than other archaea.The gene organization of Sulfolobus is significantly associated with the three origins of replication. The surrounding regions are dense with genes of high importance for the organisms such as highly transcribed genes, genes with known function in fundamental cellular processes and conserved archaeal genes. The overall gene density is elevated and transposons are underrepresented.The archaeal virus SIRV2 displays a lytic life style where the host cell at the final stage of infection is disrupted for release of new virus particles. The remarkable pyramid-like structure VAP (virus associated pyramids), that is formed independently of the virus particle, is used for cell lysis.The research presented in this thesis describes unique features of the archaeal cell and influences our understanding of the entire tree of life.


Background : Nowadays, people consume herbal remedies made from plants which are believed to be able to relieve certain symptoms and restore normal metabolic functions. Golden apple (Spondias dulcis) leaf has the potential to lower blood glucose. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the anti–hyperglycemic effect of S. dulcisleaves infusion on glucose transport rate through intestinal mucosal membrane of Wistar rats. Methods : An experimental study was conducted from October 2013 to November 2014. Nine male Wistar rats were selected aged 12–16 weeks, weighted 250–400 grams, healthy, actively moving, and had never been used in experiments. The rats were anesthetized, cut open and given three kinds of treatments: three kinds of glucose solutions were flowed through the intestinal tract using in situ perfusion method. Samples obtained from the rat's intestine were measured with a spectrophotometer to obtain glucose rate transported through intestinal membrane from every treatment. The results of condition 1 and 2, and condition 1 and 3 were then compared. Results : The means of glucose transported through rat intestines epithelium cell membrane were 6.43 mg/dl, 9.40 mg/dl and 9.81 mg/dl. Statistic test result showed there was no significant difference on the glucose transported in every treatment. Conclusions : Glucose absorption rate in rat intestine doesnot decrease after they are given S. dulcis leaves infusion. Therefore, this experiment concludes that S. dulcis leaves do not affect the glucose transport rate in rat intestines epithelium cell membrane. [AMJ.2016;3(4):562–5] DOI:  10.15850/amj.v3n4.939


One-hundred and thirty-three clinical studies have been conducted with tenoxicam in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthrosis, extra-articular rheumatism, ankylosing spondylitis and acute gouty arthritis. Its efficacy has been demonstrated in double-blind comparative studies against placebo, and dose-finding studies have found the optimal dose to be 20 mg. Most trials comparing tenoxicam with another NSAID have used piroxicam, an earlier oxicam derivative which also has a long half-life. In general, efficacy was similar in both drugs with a trend in favour of tenoxicam. The tolerability of tenoxicam has also been studied in detail. In short-term studies 11% of patients receiving 20 mg tenoxicam and 18% on 40 mg tenoxicam experienced side-effects (p less than 0.01), as did 20% treated with 20 mg piroxicam (p less than 0.01 against 20 mg tenoxicam). In long-term studies clinical tolerability of 20 mg tenoxicam was found to be superior to that of 20 mg piroxicam. The types of side-effects encountered were mainly gastrointestinal disturbances, followed in frequency by skin rashes. However, all side-effects were generally mild and reversible. The efficacy of tenoxicam is clearly established and its tolerability is acceptable with a 20 mg dose. Tenoxicam thus seems a promising drug and a useful addition to the therapeutic armamentarium.


Upper Cretaceous rocks in southwestern New Mexico crop out in the Cooke's Range, Silver City-Santa Rita area, Little Burro Mountains, Big Burro Mountains, and Virden area. In these areas, marine rocks of late Cenomanian through early Turonian age are included in the Colorado Formation. In the Cooke's Range, the Colorado Formation rests disconformably on the upper Albian and lower Cenomanian Sarten Sandstone. In the rest of the area, the Colorado Formation rests on the Beartooth Quartzite, a resistant unit that has not been dated, but is assumed to be Late Cretaceous.The lower part of the Colorado Formation consists of shale, limestone, siltstone, and sandstone of marine origin, whereas the upper part is chiefly mudrocks and sandstone of nonmarine origin. This report concerns only the marine part and its ammonite faunas. These marine rocks are the age equivalents of most of the Greenhorn Limestone of the Great Plains region. In the Cookes Range, the Colorado Formation is divided into the following units from oldest to youngest: flag member, lower shale member, Bridge Creek Limestone Member, upper shale member, and sandstone and shale member. In the rest of the area, the Colorado is divided into a shale member overlain by a sandstone member. Eight ammonoid zones are recognized in the Colorado Formation. The lower five, of late Cenomanian age, are separated from the upper three, of early Turonian age, by a hiatus that probably represents latest Cenomanian time.The oldest zone, that of Calycoceras canitaurinum, is most fossiliferous in the Cookes Range where it contains 16 kinds of ammonites representing the following nine genera: Borissiakoceras, Moremanoceras, Cunningtoniceras, Calycoceras, Tarrantoceras, Metoicoceras, Hamites, Turrilites, and Neostlingoceras. Moremanoceras costatum and Neostlingoceras bayardense are new species. This zone is found in the flag member in the Cookes Range and in the basal part of the shale member in the Silver City-Santa Rita area, but it is not known farther west.The second zone, that of Metoicoceras mosbyense, is more widely distributed. Fossils of this zone have been found in limestone concretions in the basal part of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member in the Cookes Range and in concretions in the equivalent part of the shale member of the Colorado Formation as far west as the Virden area. Twenty-two species of ammonites are present in this zone and represent the genera Moremanoceras, Placenticeras, Forbesiceras, Cunningtoniceras, Calycoceras, Eucalycoceras, Euomphaloceras, Metoicoceras, Nannometoicoceras, Vascoceras, Hamites, Metaptychoceras, and Neostlingoceras. New species named are Cunnintoniceras novimexicanum, C. cookense, Calycoceras inflatum, Euomphaloceras merewetheri, Hamites salebrosus, Metaptychoceras hidalgoense, Neostlingoceras procerum, and N. virdenense.The third zone is that of Sciponoceras gracile, which lies in the upper part of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member in the Cookes Range and in the equivalent part of the shale member of the Colorado Formation as far west as the Virden area. Ammonoid genera include: Moremanoceras, Placenticeras, Calycoceras, Pseudocalycoceras, Sumitomoceras, Euomphaloceras, Metoicoceras, Vascoceras, Allocrioceras, Neostlingoceras, Sciponoceras, and Worthoceras. Thirteen species are recognized, of which only Neostlingoceras apiculatum is new.The fourth zone, that of Burroceras clydense, represents a very thin zone that is known with certainty only in the Big Burro Mountains, where it contains 10 species of the genera Placenticeras, Burroceras (new), Paraburroceras (new), Vascoceras,Hamites, Scipsnoceras, and Worthoceras. New species or subspecies named are Burroceras clydense, Paraburroceras minutum, Vascoceras baroicense exile, and Hamites pygmaeus. The next zone of Neocardioceras juddii is the highest Cenomanian zone widely recognized in southwestern New Mexico. Fossils of this zone occur at a hiatus horizon at the top of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member in the Cookes Range and in the equivalent part of the shale member of the Colorado Formation farther west to Virden. The extensive ammonoid fauna consists of 23 species of the genera Placenticeras, Neocardioceras, Watinoceras, Euomphaloceras, Burroceras, Pseudaspidoceras, Vascoceras, Fagesia, Rubroceras, Hamites, Anisoceras, Sciponoceras, and Worthoceras. New species named are Neocardioceras woodwardi, Watinoceras odonnelli, Burroceras irregulare, B. transitorium, Rubroceras alatum, R. burroense, R. rotundum, and Anisoceras coloradoense. Hiatuses at the top of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member and in the base of the overlying upper shale member of the Colorado Formation in the Cookes Range and in the equivalent parts of the shale member of the Colorado farther west probably represent latest Cenomanian time-probably the time span of the zone of Nigericeras scotti of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico.The lowest Turonian zone in southwestern New Mexico is that of Pseudapidoceras flexuosum. Fossils, which are scarce and poorly preserved, are found in thin sandy beds in the lower part of the upper shale member of the Colorado Formation in the Cookes range and in the equivalent parts of the shale member farther west. The few ammonites identified include Watinoceras sp., Quimaniceras reaseri, Pseudaspidoceras flexuosum Powell, Vascoceras sp., and Fagesia catinus. A possible Kamerunoceras was also collected.The second lower Turonian zone is that of Vascoceras birchbyi, which is found in the lower part of the sandstone and shale member of the Colorado Formation in the Cookes Range and in the basal part of the sandstone member farther west. Nine species of ammonites of the genera Watinoceras, Nigericeras, Vascoceras, Fagesia, Neoptychites, and Thomasites are known. No new forms are named.The highest ammonite zone in southwestern New Mexico is that of Mammites nodosoides of latest Turonian age. This fauna, which is known only from the east side of the Cookes range, occurs in the youngest sandstone bed of the sandstone and shale member of the Colorado Formation. The sparse ammonoid fauna consists of Watinoceras sp., Mammites nodosoides, Infabricaticeras lunaense gen. et sp. nov., and Thomosites? sp.


The book "Spiritual Medicine"today meaning the moral psychologyis an everlasting work of Abobakr Mohammad ebn Zakaria ebn Yahya Razi, and he introduces it against corpse medicinebody medicine. This text is a free perception of Hakim Mohammad ebn Zakaria Razi's book "Spiritual Medicine", to which some poetry of the moralist, Sadi Shirazi has been added. Razi has begun this book praising intellect and wisdom, suppressing and disobeying carnal desires, and then introduces the kinds of soul and human's defects, and finally speaks about coordination and cooperation among people in civil society, refraining from worldliness, and dread of death. Also, Sadi emphasizes all these features in his poetry. Altogether, Spiritual Medicine is a medicine of morality and refers to that aspect of human which forms his psychological structure, social interactions, and immaterial needs. And if people, beside body medicine, try to achieve it, they will take steps to develop a utopia.


Keane, Robert E.; Rollins, Matthew G.; McNicoll, Cecilia H.; Parsons, Russell A. 2002. Integrating ecosystem sampling, gradient modeling, remote sensing, and ecosystem simulation to create spatially explicit landscape inventories. RMRS-GTR-92. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. De partment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 61 p. Presented is a prototype of the Landscape Ecosystem Inventory System (LEIS), a system for creating maps of important landscape characteristics for natural resource planning. This system uses gradient-based field inventories coupled with gradient modeling remote sensing, ecosystem simulation, and statistical analyses to derive spatial data layers required for ecosystem manage ment. Field data were collected in two large (more than 10,000 km) study areas along important environmental gradients using modified ECODATA methods. A multilevel database was used to derive response variables for predictive landscape mapping from the ECODATA database. Link age of gradient models with remote sensing allows a standardized, flexible, detailed, and compre hensive classification of landscape characteristics. Over 40 spatially explicit variables were de rived for each study area using existing spatial data, satellite imagery, and ecosystem simulation. This spatial database (the LEIS GIS) described landscape-scale indirect, direct, and resource gradients and provided predictor variables for multivariate predictive landscape models. Statistical programs and GIS were used to spatially model several landscape characteristics as a proof of concept for the LEIS. These proof-of-concept products were: (1) basal area, (2) western redcedar habitat, and (3) fuel models. Output maps were between 65 percent and 90 percent accurate when compared to reference data from each study area. Main strengths of the LEIS approach include: (1) a standardized, repeatable approach to sampling and database development for landscape assessment, (2) combining remote sensing, ecosystem simulation, and gradient modeling to cre ate predictive landscape models, (3) flexibility in terms of potential maps generated from LEIS, and (4) the use of direct, resource, and functional gradient analysis for mapping landscape character istics.


Purpose IFNa was the first cytokine to demonstrate anti-tumor activity in advanced melanoma. Despite the ability of high-dose IFNa reducing relapse and mortality by up to 33%, large majority of patients experience side effects and toxicity which outweigh the benefits. The current study attempts to identify genetic markers likely to be associated with benefit from IFN-a2b treatment and predictive for survival. Experimental design We tested the association of variants in FOXP3 microsatellites, CTLA4 SNPs and HLA genotype in 284 melanoma patients and their association with prognosis and survival of melanoma patients who received IFNa adjuvant therapy. Results Univariate survival analysis suggested that patients bearing either the DRB1*15 or HLA-Cw7 allele suffered worse OS while patients bearing either HLA-Cw6 or HLA-B44 enjoyed better OS. DRB1*15 positive patients suffered also worse RFS and conversely HLA-Cw6 positive patients had better RFS. Multivariate analysis revealed that a five-marker genotyping signature was prognostic of OS independent of disease stage. In the multivariate Cox regression model, HLA-B38 (p = 0.021), HLA-C15 (p = 0.025), HLA-C3 (p = 0.014), DRB1*15 (p = 0.005) and CT60*G/G (0.081) were significantly associated with OS with risk ratio of 0.097 (95% CI, 0.013–0.709), 0.387 (95% CI, 0.169–0.889), 0.449 (95% CI, 0.237–0.851), 1.948 (95% CI, 1.221–3.109) and 1.484 (95% IC, 0.953–2.312) respectively. Conclusion These results suggest that gene polymorphisms relevant to a biological occurrence are more likely to be informative when studied in concert to address potential redundant or conflicting functions that may limit each gene individual contribution. The five markers identified here exemplify this concept though prospective validation in independent cohorts is needed.


The photocatalytic decomposition of aqueous acetic acid into molecular hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons employing platinized titania (Pt/TiO2) as a photocatalyst has been studied. In order to investigate the detailed reaction mechanism, isotopic labelling experiments were performed by using solvents (H2O and D2O) and acetic acids (CH3COOH, CD3COOD, and CH3COOD) with different isotopic compositions. The main reaction products resulting from the photocatalytic decomposition of aqueous acetic acid were determined quantitatively in the gas phase via quadrupole mass spectroscopy (QMS). Carbon dioxide, molecular hydrogen, molecular deuterium, and several isotopologues of methane were observed as the main reaction products. The evolution rates of all the main reaction products and their corresponding distribution were found to be strongly influenced by different isotopologues of both acetic acid and water. For instance, the reaction system Pt/TiO2–CD3COOD–D2O yields approximately 2 times higher evolution rates for all main gaseous reaction products in comparison with the reaction system Pt/TiO2–CH3COOH–H2O. Moreover, the data analysis from the isotopic labelling studies illustrates a high proton exchange reaction at both the carboxyl and the methyl group of acetic acid, which is further confirmed by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. For the reaction systems Pt/TiO2–CD3COOD–H2O and Pt/TiO2–CH3COOH–D2O, the NMR spectra demonstrated the transformation of CD3COOD into CD2HCOOD(H) and CH3COOH into CH2DCOOH(D), respectively. This means that during the photocatalytic decomposition of aqueous acetic acid, the protons participating in the formation of molecular hydrogen and methane originate from both acetic acid and water. However, the main source for the molecular hydrogen and methane evolution was found to be the solvent while acetic acid acts as a sacrificial reagent in the overall reaction.


The fan pressurization method is a common practice in many countries for measuring the air leakage of houses. The test results are sensitive to uncertainties in the measured pressures and airflows. In particular, changing wind conditions during a test result in some pressure stations having more or less uncertainty than others. Usually, it is necessary to fit the measured data to the power-law equation. Using the ordinary least square (OLS) fitting method, the pressure exponent and flow coefficient can be determined, and the reported data at high pressures can be extrapolated to small pressures where natural infiltration occurs. However, this fitting method neglects the existing of the uncertainty of these measurements, which may lead to errors in the prediction of flows at low pressures and therefore to unreliable input data for energy simulations. The weighted line of organic correlation (WLOC) takes the uncertainty at each pressure station into account and minimizes the fitting residuals for both pressure and flow. This paper shows the results of a statistical analysis of an extensive data set of over 7.400 fan pressurization test of six houses in 109 different leakage configurations. It was found that in over 90 % of the analyzed cases, WLOC enables a more reliable prediction of pressure exponent and flow coefficient at low pressure compared to OLS and appears to be a better fitting technique.


We study the exciting potential of a smart-grid where large adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) intersects with wide deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). In such a grid, both demand and supply of energy are expected to vary in time, but crucially also in space. This exposes a continuum of policies between displacing demand in space and displacing demand in time, for matching demand and supply. To formally model and analyse such policies, we propose Multi-dimensional Network Calculus (MNC), which extends the classical Network Calculus from a single dimension of time to multiple dimensions. As foundational aspects of MNC, we introduce abstractions of arrival and service surfaces, their properties, and analyses under different policies. As a concrete example, we analyse a smart-grid-enabled highway that is plied by EVs with swappable batteries which are exclusively charged by a set of solar farms stationed along the highway. With real-world traffic and solar output data, we analyse such a setting and demonstrate the application of MNC to design policies and provide bounds on Quality-of-Service (QoS) metrics.


We introduce the Dyck path triangulation of the cartesian product of two simplices $\Delta_{n-1}\times\Delta_{n-1}$. The maximal simplices of this triangulation are given by Dyck paths, and its construction naturally generalizes to produce triangulations of $\Delta_{r\ n-1}\times\Delta_{n-1}$ using rational Dyck paths. Our study of the Dyck path triangulation is motivated by extendability problems of partial triangulations of products of two simplices. We show that whenever$m\geq k>n$, any triangulations of $\Delta_{m-1}^{(k-1)}\times\Delta_{n-1}$ extends to a unique triangulation of $\Delta_{m-1}\times\Delta_{n-1}$. Moreover, with an explicit construction, we prove that the bound $k>n$ is optimal. We also exhibit interpretations of our results in the language of tropical oriented matroids, which are analogous to classical results in oriented matroid theory.


"Machine learning algorithms hold out the promise of making sense of vast quantities of information, detecting patterns, and identifying anomalies better than humans. It seems safe to predict that in the coming decades militaries will rely heavily on predictive algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in many aspects of warfighting. Military operators, programmers, and lawyers will confront difficult challenges as they try to create decision-support algorithms that are sensitive to the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Lawyers will need to understand the capabilities, requirements, and limits of algorithms, while programmers will need to learn the basics of LOAC and how militaries make LOAC-infused decisions under pressure.

This chapter argues that these actors should pursue a three-step process: (1) identifying the applicable law; (2) crafting and training the algorithm around factors that will produce a recommendation relevant to that legal framework; and (3) interpreting the algorithmic predictions through the lens of that law. The goal should be to produce law-sensitive, data-driven algorithmic recommendations that lawyers and operators can act on. Further, the efforts to create legally-sensitive predictive algorithms may alter the kinds of inter-agency processes that states undertake to interpret LOAC rules and stimulate militaries to re-evaluate how they currently undertake their human-only analyses."


Purpose: In order to investigate community structure of the component stocks of SSE (Shanghai Stock Exchange) 180-index, a stock correlation network is built to find the intra-community and inter-community relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The stock correlation network is built taking the vertices as stocks and edges as correlation coefficients of logarithm returns of stock price. It is built as undirected weighted at first. GN algorithm is selected to detect community structure after transferring the network into un-weighted with different thresholds. Findings: The result of the network community structure analysis shows that the stock market has obvious industrial characteristics. Most of the stocks in the same industry or in the same supply chain are assigned to the same community. The correlation of the internal stock prices' fluctuation is closer than in different communities. The result of community structure detection also reflects correlations among different industries. Originality/value: Based on the analysis of the community structure in Shanghai stock market, the result reflects some industrial characteristics, which has reference value to relationship among industries or sub-sectors of listed companies.


. Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic is the global public health emergency concern and had an impact on the day to day life of individuals. Its effect on an individual's mental health is significant to the extent of suicide. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of psychological problems and its associated factor among communities living in Dilla town in response to the pandemic. From Apr 1- Apr 15, 2020, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted using multi-stage sampling techniques. Self-administered the questioner related to Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and logistic regression analysis (95% CI, p-value <0.05) was used. This study included 445 respondents who were living in Dilla town. In total, 34.4% of respondents had a psychological problem (11.4 % mild and 23% moderate level of the psychological problem). Female, Greater secondary level of education, monthly income below 500 ETB, more than three family size, and wearing face mask were variables associated with the outcome variable (p < 0.05). Nearly one-third of the respondents had mild to moderate psychological among communities living in Dilla town. There is a need for mental health support for those identified groups of people to enhance their resilience in response to the pandemic.


Metastatic lesions to the brain occur commonly in oncology patients and portend a very poor outcome, as they often occur in the setting of progressive systemic metastatic disease and can result in neurologic deterioration that may preclude therapy. Therapy of patients with brain metastases requires a combination of measures to achieve local control at the site of metastasis (eg, with surgical resection or radiosurgery) and to reduce the subsequent risk of recurrences elsewhere in the brain (eg, with whole-brain radiation). Successful therapy of extracranial systemic metastases is required for optimal outcomes. Clinical trials are currently underway to define the optimal role of whole-brain radiation and radiosurgery in different subsets of patients. Novel therapies to enhance radiation responsiveness are also under investigation. In the current review, we discuss recent developments in the management of patients with brain metastases.


&NA; Breeder age and broiler strain influence the availability of nutrients and oxygen through yolk size and eggshell conductance, and the effects of these egg characteristics on nutrient metabolism might be influenced by eggshell temperature (EST). This study aims to determine effects of breeder age, strain, and EST on nutrient metabolism of embryos. A study was designed as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement using four batches of in total 4,464 hatching eggs of 2 flock ages at 29 to 30 wk (young) and 54 to 55 wk (old) of Ross 308 and Cobb 500. EST of 37.8 (normal) or 38.9°C (high) was applied from incubation day 7 (E7) until hatching. Wet yolk weight was determined mainly by breeder age (P = 0.043). Energy content in yolk (P = 0.004) and albumen + yolk (P = 0.005) were higher in old flock eggs than in young flock eggs, but did not differ between broiler strains. Eggshell conductance was higher in Ross 308 eggs than in Cobb 500 eggs (P < 0.001). Old flock embryos used more energy (P = 0.046) and accumulated more energy into yolk free body mass (YFBM; P = 0.030) than young flock embryos, whereas heat production (HP), energy lost, and efficiency of converting energy used to YFBM (EYFB) did not differ. Ross 308 embryos used more energy (P = 0.006), had a higher energy lost (P = 0.010), and a higher HP between E15 to E18 (P < 0.05) than Cobb 500 embryos. Energy content in YFBM did not differ between strains and EYFB (P = 0.024) was lower in Ross 308 than in Cobb 500. High EST resulted in higher HP than low EST from E11 to E15 (P < 0.05), but not after E15. Amount of energy used (P = 0.006) and energy accumulated in the YFBM (P < 0.001) was lower for embryos incubated at an EST of 38.9 than that of 37.8°C, whereas EYFB did not differ. In conclusion, breeder age, broiler strain, and EST differentially influence embryonic metabolism and particularly the availability of oxygen could have contributed to these differences.


The structure of natural languages is usually studied from three major different but interconnected points of view: syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. If we consider that the main purpose of natural languages is communication, we should consider another dimension for languages, which deals with the influence of internal states of communicating individuals on meanings. Such a dimension we refer to as internalism. Within this context, internalism cannot be confused with psycholinguistics, in the same way pragmatics cannot be confused with sociolinguistics. In particular, we argue, language is tied to its systematic use. This view leads us to a non-realist perspective on linguistics. We analyze the role of natural languages into dialogues, by comparing our proposal to the dialogical approach to logic, which considers a dialogue as a game. Within our approach, there is no way to guarantee that two parties involved in a dialogue are playing the same game, due to unavoidable (and frequently hidden) differences in their respective internal states. Another contribution of this paper is to argue that semantics plays a more fundamental role than syntax in the cognitive acquisition of languages.


STUDY QUESTION
Does vitamin A (retinol, Rol) prevent round spermatid nuclear damage and increase the production of motile sperm during in vitro maturation of vitrified pre-pubertal mouse testicular tissue?

SUMMARY ANSWER
The supplementation of an in vitro culture of ~0.75 mm3 testicular explants from pre-pubertal mice with Rol enhances spermatogenesis progression during the first spermatogenic wave.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
The production of functional spermatozoa in vitro has only been achieved in the mouse model and remains a rare event. Establishing an efficient culture medium for vitrified pre-pubertal testicular tissue is now a crucial step to improve the spermatic yield obtained in vitro. The role of Rol in promoting the differentiation of spermatogonia and their entry into meiosis is well established; however, it has been postulated that Rol is also required to support their full development into elongated spermatids.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
A total of 60 testes from 6.5 days post-partum (dpp) mice were vitrified/warmed, cut into fragments and cultured for 30 days: 20 testes were used for light microscopy and histological analyses, 20 testes for DNA fragmentation assessment in round spermatids and 20 testes for induced sperm motility assessment. Overall, 16 testes of 6.5 dpp were used as in vitro fresh tissue controls and 12 testes of 36.5 dpp mice as in vivo controls. Testes were vitrified with the optimal solid surface vitrification procedure and cultured with an in vitro organ culture system until Day 30 (D30). Histological analysis, cell death, degenerating round spermatids, DNA fragmentation in round spermatids and induced sperm motility were assessed. Testosterone levels were measured in media throughout the culture by radioimmunoassay.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
At D30, better tissue development together with higher differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells, and higher global cell division ability were observed for vitrified/warmed testicular fragments of ~0.75 mm3 with a culture medium supplemented with Rol compared to controls. During in vitro culture of vitrified pre-pubertal testicular tissue, Rol enhanced and maintained the entry of spermatogonia into meiosis and promoted a higher spermatic yield. Furthermore, decreased round spermatid nuclear alterations and DNA damage combined with induced sperm motility comparable to in vivo highlight the crucial role of Rol in the progression of spermatogenesis during the first wave.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
Despite our promising results, the culture media will have to be further improved and adapted within the context of a human application.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
The results have potential implications for the handling of human pre-pubertal testicular tissues cryopreserved for fertility preservation. However, because some alterations in round spermatids persist after in vitro culture with Rol, the procedure needs to be optimized before human application, bearing in mind that the murine and human spermatogenic processes differ in many respects.

LARGE SCALE DATA
None.

STUDY FUNDING AND COMPETING INTERESTS
This study was supported by a Ph.D. grant from the Normandy University and a financial support from 'la Ligue nationale contre le cancer' (both awarded to L.D.), funding from Rouen University Hospital, Institute for Research and Innovation in Biomedicine (IRIB) and Agence de la Biomédecine. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.


The circumstances in which firms operate have moved towards novel and unknown environments, thereby fundamentally modifying the logic of decision making, rendering planning approaches inadequate. The literature highlights that in these situations companies have to adapt more flexible approaches, to incorporate learning and privilege interactions among projects and corresponding environment. Moreover, sector dynamic influences the choice of strategies under high uncertainty. There are sectors "pushed" by technologies or "pulled" by markets. In the situations of double technology and markets unknowns an interesting solution is highlighted: the design of technological platform that is able to address many emerging markets. Yet it is not self-evident when these strategies are advantageous for the firms that are subject of the environmental dynamics and pursuing double unknown. A simulation study is carried out to clarify the contingent criteria in which the exploration of multiple technologies and markets could lead to platform design. The conducted simulation experiment reveals two main contingent variables: the existence of market signals and the "segregative" or "aggregative" nature of technological systems. The study endeavors to provide an improved theoretical understanding of double unknown management and the corresponding strategies.


African women's rights, in its early expressions, was linked to the critique of particular economic/class systems which disempowered the majority of women in contemporary Africa. However, the discourse was subsequently dominated by a move towards feminist politics as cultural politics. The way gender and class intersect in an African context continues to be an ongoing critical lever of analysis, despite some recent turns in the study of African gender systems that have evaded class as a critical variable.


Background: The city of Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, falls within a global biodiversity hotspot. KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld (KZNSS) is a savanna vegetation type endemic to KZN. KZNSS is endangered; about 90% has been totally modified and 0.1% of the original extent is adequately protected. In response, eThekwini Municipality, Durban's local government authority, has developed approaches to improve the conservation status of KZNSS and other biodiversity. Objectives: To describe eThekwini Municipality's work in contributing to securing and managing KZNSS and other biodiversity. This information will contribute to an increased understanding of local government's role in biodiversity conservation and should be relevant to other local governments as well. Method: Statistics from the municipality's GIS database and work done and insights gained over about 30 years are presented. Results: By 2012, about 54% of Durban's original vegetation was transformed and a further 17% was highly degraded. Combined efforts have resulted in 3.06% of the eThekwini Municipal Area enjoying some form of legal protection for environmental purposes with proclaimed protected areas covering 0.6% of the municipal area. Nearly 8% of areas identified as environmentally significant by the municipality are managed as appropriate. Conclusion: Increased and coordinated implementation efforts with a focus on priorities are needed from all role players if biodiversity is to be adequately conserved in Durban. Local government in South Africa can be an important contributor in biodiversity conservation, especially with regard to tools available in terms of its local planning mandate.


Theologically and biblically speaking, penal substitution refers to God's gift of His Son to undergo the penalty of death as a substitute for fallen humanity, recent efforts to deny that teaching notwithstanding. The OT offers many examples of cases in which divine judicial action resulted in the deaths of offenders who violated God's standards of righteousness. No clear ev idence in the OT that each individual sin required its own sacrifice. In addition, the Levitical system of animal sacrifices required the death of an animal for sin. The Hebrew and the LXX supported by NT citations back up this concept of judicial punishment for sin. Twelve principles governed the offering of OT sacrifices that pertained to the corporate worship of Israel. Several OT texts illustrate penal substitutionary sacrifices in the OT. The first is the Passover of Exodus 12 in which God graciously spared guilty Israelites through the deaths of animals substituted for the firstborn in each household . Another OT text to illustra te penal substitution is Leviticus 16, the institution of the Day of Atonement. The scapegoat symbolized the rem oval of Israel's sin to allow people to enter the presence of a holy God. The Day of Atonement expiated the nation's sins, cleansed the sanctuary from sin's pollution, and removed sins from the community. Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is a third text to illustra te penal substitution. The suffering servant of the LORD in this section clearly anticipates the Messiah's coming substitutionary death as penalty for His people's sins. The OT sacrificial system clearly laid the basis for penal substitution in awaiting Israel's coming Messiah.


Inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes is emerging as an innovative and effective approach for the treatment of cancer. Hundreds of hydroxamic acid derivatives were designed and tested in silico for their interaction with histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzyme. A series of semi/thiocarbazone hydroxamic acid derivatives with moderate to good G-score were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit cell proliferation in cancer cell lines. Many compounds showed encouraging anti-proliferative activity against the cancer cell lines, MCF-7, HCT-15 & Jurkat. Compounds C4 & C10 showed promising activity against all the three cell lines, while compound C6 and C12 showed colon cancer cell specific inhibition.


"A remarkable study, one that I recommend to any reader fascinated by the shaping of culture and the power of the psyche." - The Forward How typical of his generation was T.S. Eliot when he complained that Hitler made an intelligent anti-semitism impossible for a generation? In her new book, Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women, novelist and critic, Andrea Freud Loewenstein examines the persistent anti-semitic tendencies in modernist, British intellectual culture. Pursuing her subject with literary, historical, and psychological analyses, Loewenstein argues that this anti-semitism must be understood in terms of its metaphorical link with misogyny. Situated in the context of the history of Jews in Britain, Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women begins by questioning the widespread belief that the British government was a friend to the Jews in the 30s and 40s. Loewenstein shows that, as evident in the hypocrisy of many British governmental policies prior to and during WWII, Britain actively collaborated in the Jews' destruction. Against the backdrop of this tragic complicity in the Holocaust, Loewenstein evaluates Jewish stereotypes in the works of three representative twentieth-century British thinkers and writers. Her analysis provides a revealing critique of British modernism. In a larger sense, Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Womenexplores the riddle of prejudice. Loewenstein argues that anti-semitism is nurtured in an environment populated by other hatreds --misogyny, homophobia, and racism. To explain the interaction of these prejudices, she develops an investigative model grounded in object relations theory and informed by the works of such theoretically diverse authors as Virginia Woolf, Kate Millett, and Alice Miller. Loewenstein lucidly argues within an autobiographical framework, insisting on the need for critics to ...look within ourselves for 'that terrible other' rather than to complacently assume that we ourselves exist outside the ideology of power. This well-written and readable book will be of interest to many people, ranging students of British history to psychoanalysts, from historians of Jewish culture to anyone interested in feminist and literary theory.


The purpose of this paper is to identify & examine what types of shipping knowledge are critical to surviving in the dynamic business environment, and to investigate how the shipping knowledge affects the organizational performance. It also studies the effect of shipping knowledge and its absorptive capacity on the logistical value creation for customer satisfaction. An online survey was conducted to acquire responses from shipping companies such as freight forwarders, vessel liners, and logistic companies. Multiple regression tests were run to analyze the significance of shipping knowledge and its absorptive capacity for the creation of logistical value to provide end to end solution to the customer. The reliability test was executed, and the findings indicated that a high level of shipping knowledge has a positive impact on the logistical value of shipping companies. This study will enable 3PL firms to stay competitive in the market coping up with the rapid changes and tapping on to the untouched doors of some of the leading brands / customers in Pakistan with a variety of solutions.


Purpose Eribulin is approved for advanced breast cancers refractory to anthracyclines and taxanes. Efficacy according to sensitivity to previous therapies has been poorly explored. Materials and Methods Safety data were collected prospectively and we retrospectively collected efficacy data from the five French centres that participated in the Eribulin E7389-G000-398 expanded access program. Our main objectives were exploration of safety and analysis of eribulin efficacy (progression-free survival [PFS] and overall survival [OS]) according to sensitivity to the last microtubule-inhibiting agent administered. Results Median eribulin treatment duration was 3.3 months for the 250 patients included in this prospective single-arm study. Two hundreds and thirty-nine patients (95.6%) experienced an adverse event (AE) related to treatment including 129 (51.6%) with grade ≥ 3 AEs. The most frequently observed toxicities were cytopenias (59.6% of included patients), gastro-intestinal disorders (59.2%), and asthenia (56.4%). The most frequent grade 3-4 AE was neutropenia (37.2% with 4.8% febrile neutropenia). Median PFS and OS were 4.6 and 11.8 months, respectively. Patients classified as responders to the last microtubule-inhibiting therapy had a longer OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51 to 0.94; p=0.017), and tended to display a better PFS (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.58 to 1.04; p=0.086). OS improvement was still significant in multivariate analysis (adjusted HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.79; p=0.002). Conclusion This work based on a prospective study suggests that identification of patients likely to be more sensitive to eribulin could be based on their previous response to microtubules inhibitors.


Abstract As the threat of irreversible climate change has increased over time, the UK has continued to set increasingly ambitious policies to reduce its carbon emission. An assessment of mitigation progress to date at the local authority level clarifies the factors that have affected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the path to carbon neutrality. This research uses regression analyses between local authorities' GHG emission redcutions and selected explanatory variables (including population density, household income, and manufacturing employment) identified from the literature to explore mitigation performance over time, focusing on GHG emissions changes between 2005 and 2016. Substantial and relatively consistent GHG emissions reductions were achieved in this time frame, with average total reductions across UK local authorities of 31.2%. Population density was moderately-to-strongly correlated with the success of transportation GHG emissions mitigation, though this sector has seen the smallest percentage declines over this period. Local authorities with densities below 25 inhabitants per hectare were generally among the poorest performers in transportation GHG mitigation. This underscores the need to support remote working and electrification of personal transportation in areas where public/active transportation options are not viable alternatives. Furthermore, consideration of population density in conjunction with domestic and urban planning will allow for future emissions reductions to occur across the UK. Fundamentally, GHG emissions reductions to date are largely driven by historic factors (density), shifting economic structures (deindustrialisation), and centralised initiatives (decarbonisation of electricity generation).


Gelation of pectin caused by divalent cations especially calcium ions has been applied to develop an ophthalmic formulation of azithromycin in the present study. Rapid elimination of drug on instillation into cul de sac would be minimal with in situ gelling ophthalmic solution leading to increased precorneal contact time and prolonged drug delivery. In the formulation development studies pectin was used in different concentrations (1-5% w/v) and different proportions of the hydrocolloids hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose of different grades of viscosity were used. The primary criteria for formulation optimization were gelling capacity and rheological behaviour. In addition, formulations were evaluated for pH, and antimicrobial efficacy and drug release. The clarity, pH, gelation in simulated tear fluid and rheological properties of the optimized formulations were satisfactory. The formulations inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus effectively in cup–plate method and were proved to be safe and non irritant on rabbit eyes. The results indicate that pectin based in situ gels can be successfully used to prolong the duration of action of azithromycin.


The Plasma transferred arc welding (PTAW) is widely used for hardfacing components exposed to severe conditions. Without post welding heat treatments, large tensile residual stresses remain in the hardfacing coating, which is detrimental. In this paper, a set of post welding heat treatments was evaluated for the heat-resistant steel substrate – Co-based alloy hardfacing coating system. Microstructural and mechanical properties, including the chemical phases of coating surface, the microstructure of coating surface, the Vickers hardness and the residual welding stress, were investigated before and after the heat treatments. Results revealed that during the heat treatments, some elements reprecipitated and the secondary carbide Cr23C6 was formed. After the treatments, a more regular structure and a higher Vickers hardness were obtained. Moreover, the tensile residual stresses in the coating decreased significantly. Therefore, it can be inferred that the post welding heat treatments employed in this paper were proper for this material system.


In this paper combination of standard and second order sliding mode controller are used and investigated for congestion control problem of differentiated Services (Diff-Serv) networks. Robustness against modeling uncertainties and disturbances are major features of sliding mode controller. Chattering phenomenon affects sliding mode congestion control; to overcome this problem, second order sliding mode control (SOSMC) is proposed as a congestion controller but this controller has slower response to SMC. Combination SMC and SOSMC gives better response. There are three types of traffics in Diff-Serv networks; i.e. three types of queues and based on that, the quality of their services are categorized. Each of these types of traffic has its own congestion control mechanisms. Stability of each controller is proved by Lyapunov stability law. To evaluate the capabilities of our proposed robust control strategy, simulation results are provided for both sliding mode controllers and second order slide mode controllers and their corresponding efficiencies are compared.


Male gonadal metastases from pancreatic carcinomas are extremely rare, with fewer than 20 cases documented in the literature. Herein, we report a man in his 50s who presented at the genitourinary outpatient department with an enlarged scrotum (right side) that had developed progressively over several weeks. He also reported mild upper abdominal discomfort. Scrotal sonography revealed a hydrocele on the right side without testicular lesions. A mass pancreatic tail lesion with invasion of the spleen and left adrenal gland was identified through abdominal CT and MRI. Endoscopic ultrasound fine needle biopsy and right radical orchiectomy were performed. Moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic tail with hematogenous metastasis to the right testis, epididymis and spermatic cord was verified on the basis of the pathology report. Disease progression occurred despite the patient receiving palliative chemoradiation therapy.


We recently demonstrated that short time exposure to hypoxia (15 min) in H9c2 cardiomyocytes protected cells against cell death, and longer exposure to hypoxia induced cell death. To understand the molecular mechanism concerning cell death and survival, it is intriguing to identify survival factors against cell death. Using proteomics analysis, levels of proteins derived from H9c2 cells exposed to hypoxia and normoxia were compared and candidates for survival factor were identified. One of the candidates was a prohibitin. Overexpression of prohibitin inhibited H9c2 cell death induced by hypoxia for longer hours. We further clarified the mechanism of cell death. Overexpression of prohibitin inhibited decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential levels, decrease of Bcl-2 level in mitochondria and cytochrome c release to cytosol from mitochondria induced by hypoxia. The mechanism for survival was that overexpression of prohibitin inhibited cytochrome c release by decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential levels and decrease of Bcl-2 level. Taken together, identified prohibitin may function as a survival factor against hypoxiainduced cell death.


LiHo(x)Y(1-x)F4 is an insulator where the magnetic Ho3+ ions have an Ising character and interact mainly through magnetic dipolar fields. We used the muon spin relaxation technique to study the nature of its ground state for samples with x ≤ 0.25. In contrast with some previous works, we did not find canonical spin glass behavior down to ≈ 15 mK. Instead, below ≈300 mK we observed temperature-independent dynamic magnetism characterized by a single correlation time. The 300 mK energy scale corresponds to the Ho3+ hyperfine interaction strength, suggesting that this interaction may be involved in the dynamic behavior of the system.


Background Initiation and modification of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children depend on viral load and CD4+ T-cell count. However, these surrogates have limitations, and complementary immunological markers to assess therapeutic response are needed. Our aim was to evaluate CD8+ T-cell expression of CD127 as a marker of disease status in HIV-infected children, based on adult data suggesting its usefulness. We hypothesized that CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells is lower in children with more advanced disease. Methods In a cross-sectional evaluation, we used flow cytometry to measure CD127+ expression on CD8+ T-cells in whole blood from HIV-infected children with varying disease status. This was compared with expression of CD38 on this subset, currently used in clinical practice as a marker of disease status. Results 51 HIV-infected children were enrolled. There was a strong positive correlation between CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells and CD4+ T-cell count, and height and weight z-scores, and a strong negative correlation between CD127 expression and viral load. In contrast, we found no association between CD38 expression and these disease status markers. Conclusions CD8+ T-cell CD127 expression is significantly higher in children with better HIV disease control, and may have a role as an immunologic indicator of disease status. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the utility of this marker as a potential indicator of HIV disease progression.


In the present investigation, TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were used for improving the thermal, mechanical and optical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. To prevent the aggregation of TiO2 NPs, surface modification of TiO2 NPs was performed using vitamin B1 as a natural organic molecule with environmentally friendly and inexpensive properties. PVC nanocomposite (NC) films were prepared with different contents of TiO2 NPs via ultrasonic irradiation as a fast method and then the NCs were investigated using various techniques. Transmission electron microscopy images of NC films showed that TiO2 NPs were uniformly placed into the polymer matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis results showed enhancement in thermal stability of all NCs. From mechanical tests it was found that increasing the elongation at break and reducing the Young's modulus lead to increasing toughness of NC films. Water contact angle results indicated that the hydrophobicity of NCs were enhanced with increasing the concentration of TiO2 NPs.


This paper discusses experience of representing work in different ways. In the ongoing discussion about how to make ethnographic findings available for design work on representations has been presented. The paper shows how sequences of work have been used as a way to describe and analyze the work of operators handling emergency calls. Four sequences were identified: Answering (A), Responding (B), Monitoring and updating (C), and Closure (D). Within each of the sequences sub categories was used in order to exemplify and account for how the operators did in each sequence. A motivation of the work reported in this paper has been to explore alternatives or complementary to textual representations of the work. It should be easier to make sense of the flexibility of the sequences if it was visualized in graphics. Layers of representation are discussed as one way to get access to details not available at an overview level of description. When using the sequences in analysis, oral or written presentation the stories may be closely coupled to the figures.


Angiotensin-converting enzyme and other components of the angiotensin system may participate in the regulation of inflammation. We therefore studied the effects of angiotensin II on human mononuclear cell reactivity. 48 hr phytohemagglutinin (5 micrograms/ml)-stimulated cultures of mononuclear cells from 6 subjects revealed thymidine uptake of 84,525 +/- 18,923 cpm (mean +/- se). When cultures contained angiotensin II (10(-7) M), reactivity was decreased to 75,279 +/- 17,727 cpm (p less than 0.05, paired t-test). Depletion of monocytes by nylon wool filtration or Percoll density-gradient centrifugation revealed persistence of the effect. Tetanus toxoid (0.5 LfU/ml)-induced thymidine uptake (86,910 +/- 31,591 cpm) was also reduced by the presence of 10(-6) M angiotensin II (68,094 +/- 25,509 cpm, p less than 0.01, paired t-test) when angiotensin II was added on the fourth day of 5 day cultures. No angiotensin II effects were observed on unstimulated thymidine incorporation. These findings indicate that angiotensin II can inhibit antigen- and mitogen-induced mononuclear cell reactivity and suggest that angiotensin II, the product of angiotensin converting enzyme may be an inhibitor of human lymphocyte function.


As more and more reservoirs are built, concentrated water releasing in the dry season will bring about additional flow compensation and the joint operation of cascade hydro plants is quite important. This paper discusses the water level decline strategy of four cascade hydro plants in the Jinsha River and analyses the relationship between guaranteed output and total power generation. Considering stochastic inflows, an implicit stochastic optimization method is employed and a multi-objective parallel differential evolution algorithm is proposed to extract dispatching rules. Finally, a method which combines discriminant method and dispatching rules is proposed for practical operations and achieves good performance. Compared with routine scheduling, the power generations of the proposed method are improved observably in different typical years. The average power generation increases about 3% with the same cascade minimum output.


ABSTRACT Mediator is the evolutionarily conserved coactivator required for the integration and recruitment of diverse regulatory signals to basal transcription machinery. To elucidate the functions of metazoan Mediator, we isolated Drosophila melanogaster Med6mutants. dMed6 is essential for viability and/or proliferation of most cells. dMed6 mutants failed to pupate and died in the third larval instar with severe proliferation defects in imaginal discs and other larval mitotic cells. cDNA microarray, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and in situ expression analyses of developmentally regulated genes indMed6 mutants showed that transcriptional activation of many, but not all, genes was affected. Among the genes found to be affected were some that play a role in cell proliferation and metabolism. Therefore, dMed6 is required in most cells for transcriptional regulation of many genes important for diverse aspects of Drosophila development.


Introduction. Elective endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has been performed with increasing frequency due to lower 30-day morbidity and mortality compared with open surgical repair(OSR). Similar advantages are reported for ruptured AAAs.
Aim of the study was to report the frequencies of EVAR/OSR in elective and acute setting and 30-day outcomes, in two Italian Vascular Surgery of Emilia-Romagna-Region(VS-ERR).

Methods. All patients undergoing AAA repair in two VS-ERR (2015-2019), were prospectively collected. Pre-operative, procedural and post-operative data were retrospectively analyzed.
Percentage of EVAR/OSR were evaluated for overall, elective and acute patients. Technical-success (TS), intra-operative mortality and procedure-related adverse events (PAE) were assessed. Reinterventions, mortality&morbidity were assessed at 30-day. Results of EVAR and OSR were compared. Reasons of EVAR ineligibility were also investigated and compared.

Results. Overall 878 patients underwent AAA repair, 736 in elective (EVAR/OSR:80.4%/19.6%) and 142 in acute setting (EVAR/OSR:71.1%/28.9%).
Overall TS was 95.8%, PAE were reported in 9.1% of patients. Overall intraoperative mortality was 0.5%. Post-operative medical complications were reported in 21.2% patients. The mean hospitalization was 6.711.08 days. Overall 30-day-reinterventions and mortality were 3.9% and 4.2%, respectively.
In elective-setting, TS was similar between groups(P=.18). OSR had more PAE(P<.001) vs EVAR. There was no difference of intraoperative mortality(P=.62). EVAR had shorter hospitalization(P<.001), less 30-day reintervention(P<.001) and mortality(P<.001) vs OSR.
In acute-setting, no significant differences of TS(P=.56) and PAE(P=.18) between groups were observed. OSR had more perioperative medical complications(P<.001) and higher rate of 30-day mortality(P<.001) vs EVAR.
The main reason of EVAR exclusion was anatomical unsuitability(94.4%) in elective-setting while logistic cause(61%) in acute-setting.

Conclusion. EVAR has progressively increased for elective more than for acute setting. The misalignment of the VS-ERR from literature evidence in acute setting is principally due to logistic reason. According our data, the management of this subgroup of patients, should be improved.


From the 2nd of May to the 30th of June 2016 Oxford Archaeology East undertook an excavation on land from Stratton Farm to Newspring Farm, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire (TL 20534 43643 to TL 21146 40987). A watching brief was also conducted to the north of Edworth Road during November 2016.
A total of five areas were excavated across the site along the proposed pipeline route that ranged in size from 5m to 10m wide and 40m to 180m long. A total of 2396 sherds (weighing 23.85kg) of Late Iron Age and Early Roman pottery was recovered from site as well as post-medieval pottery. Area 1 was located in an area of cropmarks (HER 16157) which included evidence for a trackway. The excavation revealed ditches and pits, including the trackway ditches with a north-east to south-west alignment and was securely dated to the Late Iron Age and Early Roman period. A single cremation was also uncovered in this area although a secure date was not obtained.
The ditches in Area 1 were on a varying alignment to those in Areas 2, 3 and 4. A complex settlement was recorded by cropmarks (HER 16823) immediately south-east of Area 3 and extending into the area. Some of the large enclosures were identified within the excavation although further features comprising ditches, structures and pits were also uncovered. The cropmarks did not show the settlement extending into Area 2 however the excavation identified a single structure, ditches and a large watering hole all thought to be part of this same settlement. The features identified in Area 3 comprised a number of enclosures and structures possibly of both domestic and agricultural use containing Late Iron Age to Early Roman pottery. The majority of features originated in the Late Iron Age with some of the large ditches containing Early Roman pottery solely in their upper fills indicating an element of disuse at some point during the 1st century AD.
According to the HER data this recorded settlement was not expected to continue westwards into Area 4 where a separate settlement had been recorded (HER 16824). A cluster of Late Iron Age to Early Roman features were however identified at the north-east end of this area, on the same alignment as those seen in Area 3 suggesting a continuation of this settlement. A cobbled surface was also identified potentially having an agricultural function. The Late Iron Age to Early Roman settlement clearly didn't continue into Area 5 with a decline of features dating to this period and an increase in post-medieval furrows and ditches which were also seen truncating earlier features in Areas 2 to 4.


ABSTACT This study aims to determine the influence of Brand Origin, Brand Credibility, Self-Image Congruence to Purchase Intention with Brand Knowledge As Moderating On Samsung Android Smartphone In Banda Aceh. The sample of this study consisted of 130 respondents who are familiar with samsung smartphone in Banda Aceh. This research method used questionnaire as research instrument. The sample technique used is non probability sampling. Moderate regression analysis method (MRA) is used to determine the effect of moderation involved. SPSS 22 is used to analyze data. The results show that Brand Origin, Brand Credibility, Self-Image Congruence influence to Purchase Intention, and Brand Knowledge as quasi moderate the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable Keywords: Brand Origin, Brand Credibility, Self-Image Congruence,  Purchase Intention,  Brand Knowledge.


Investigating how the brain may constrain academic achievement is not only relevant to understanding brain structure but also to providing insight into the origins of individual differences in these academic abilities. In this pre-registered study, we investigated whether the variability of sulcal patterns, a qualitative feature of the brain determined in-utero and not affected by brain maturation and learning, accounted for individual differences in reading and mathematics. Participants were 97 typically developing 10-year-olds. We examined (a) the association between the sulcal pattern of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and mathematical ability; (b) the association between the sulcal pattern of the occipitotemporal sulcus (OTS) and reading ability; and (c) the overlap and specificity of sulcal morphology of IPS and OTS and their associations with mathematics and reading. Despite its large sample, the present study was unable to replicate a previously observed relationship between the IPS sulcal pattern and mathematical ability and a previously observed association between the Left posterior OTS sulcal pattern and reading. We found no evidence for a possible overlap or specificity in the effect of sulcal morphology on mathematics and reading. Possible explanations for this absence of an association between sulcal morphology and academic achievement and suggestions for future research are discussed.


A new phenolic glycoside and three known compounds were isolated from the seeds of Cucurbita moschata. The structures of the new compound was elucidated as phenylcarbinyl 5-O-(4-hydroxy)benzoyl-beta-D-apiofuranosyl (1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical evidence. Three known compounds were identified as 1-O-benzyl[5-O-benzoyl-beta-D-apiofuranosyl(1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside 2, cucurbitosides C 3 and A 4, by comparison of the spectral data with reported data. Compound 2 was isolated from this plant for the first time.


ABSTRACT The prograding Holocene mud wedge between the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in the trade wind belt of northeastern South America provides a modern-day example of muds accumulating under moderate wave-energy conditions. Gigantic shore-attached mudbanks (10 km 20 km), composed partly of thixotropic fluid-mud gel, front this coast every 30-60 km to form a buffer to wave attack and a temporary storage for fine-grained sediments. This mesotidal coast (tide range 2.0 m) with gentle offshore slope (0.0006) allows the exposure twice a day of extensive tidal flat deposits, which are backed by mangrove swamps on a well-developed chenier-plain complex. Field experiments were conducted in Surinam du ing 1975 and 1977 to provide new information on process-form relationships in this interesting but unusual muddy environment. Simultaneous measurements of waves, currents, tide elevation, suspended-sediment concentration, and variations in mud density show that soft intertidal and subtidal muds are suspended at both tide and wave frequency. Suspended-sediment concentrations typically exceed 1,000 mg/l at the surface as incoming solitary-like waves partially disperse fluid mud into overlying water on a falling or rising tide. Redeposition of mud may occur near time of high tide. The strong attenuation of shallow-water waves by these muds provides conditions that are favorable for further sedimentation. High concentrations of suspended fluid mud, together with solitary-like waves from the northeast throughout the year, can lead to extraordinarily high net sediment transport rates in the nearshore zone. Calculations based on solitary-wave theory and on data obtained from this study indicate that 15-65 106 m3 of mud can move along shore each year without involving breaking waves, the concept of radiation stress and a nearshore circulation cell, or bedload transport. Farther offshore, outside the zone of wave dominance, wind-driven currents and the Guiana Current combine to transport muds to the northwest, consistent with the observed direction of mudflat migration.


A paucity of studies on mud-rich basin slope successions has resulted in a significant gap in our sedimentological understanding in these settings. Here, macro- and micro-scale analysis of mudstone composition, texture and organic matter was undertaken on a continuous core through a mud-dominated slope succession from the Marl Hill area in the Carboniferous Bowland Basin. Six lithofacies, all dominated by turbidites and debrites, combine into three basin slope facies associations: sediment-starved slope, slope dominated by low-density turbidites and slope dominated by debrites. Variation in slope sedimentation was a function of relative sea-level change, with the sediment-starved slope occurring during maximum flooding of the contemporaneous shelf, and the transition towards a slope dominated by turbidites and then debrites occurring during normal or forced shoreline progradation towards the shelf margin. The sediment-starved slope succession is dominated by Type II kerogen, whereas the slope dominated by low-density turbidites is dominated by Type III kerogen. This study suggests that mud-dominated lower slope settings are largely active depositional sites, with consistent evidence for sediment traction. Additionally, the composition and texture of basin slope mudstones, as well as organic content, vary predictably as a function of shelf processes linked to relative sea-level change.


Highway crashes, along with the property damage, personal injuries, and fatalities that they cause, continue to present one of the most significant and critical transportation problems. At the same time, provision of safe travel is one of the main goals of any transportation system. For this reason, both in transportation research and practice much attention has been given to the analysis and modeling of traffic crashes, including the development of models that can be applied to predict crash occurrence and crash severity. In general, such models assess short-term crash risks at a given highway facility, thus providing intelligence that can be used to identify and implement traffic operations strategies for crash mitigation and prevention. This paper presents several crash risk and injury severity assessment models applied at a highway segment level, considering the input data that is typically collected or readily available to most transportation agencies in real-time and at a regional network scale, which would render them readily applicable in practice. The input data included roadway geometry characteristics, traffic flow characteristics, and weather condition data. The paper develops, tests, and compares the performance of models that employ Random effects Bayesian Logistics Regression, Gaussian Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting Machine methods. The paper applies random oversampling examples (ROSE) method to deal with the problem of data imbalance associated with the injury severity analysis. The models were trained and tested using a dataset of 10,155 crashes that occurred on two interstate highways in New Jersey over a two-year period. The paper also analyzes the potential improvement in the prediction abilities of the tested models by adding reactive data to the analysis. To that end, traffic crashes were classified in multiple classes based on the driver age and the vehicle age to assess the impact of these attributes on driver injury severity outcomes. The results of this analysis are promising, showing that the simultaneous use of reactive and proactive data can improve the prediction performance of the presented models.


Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic poses an enormous challenge to the global health system, and governments have taken active preventive and control measures. The health informatics community in China has actively taken action to leverage health information technologies for epidemic monitoring, detection, early warning, prevention and control, and other tasks. Objective The aim of this study was to develop a technical framework to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic from a health informatics perspective. Methods In this study, we collected health information technology–related information to understand the actions taken by the health informatics community in China during the COVID-19 outbreak and developed a health information technology framework for epidemic response based on health information technology–related measures and methods. Results Based on the framework, we review specific health information technology practices for managing the outbreak in China, describe the highlights of their application in detail, and discuss critical issues to consider when using health information technology. Technologies employed include mobile and web-based services such as Internet hospitals and Wechat, big data analyses (including digital contact tracing through QR codes or epidemic prediction), cloud computing, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence (including the use of drones, robots, and intelligent diagnoses), 5G telemedicine, and clinical information systems to facilitate clinical management for COVID-19. Conclusions Practical experience in China shows that health information technologies play a pivotal role in responding to the COVID-19 epidemic.


The civil war in Algeria shows no sign of imminent resolution. Yet little has been written about the conflict, its various participants, and the opinions of Algerians-indeed, even about what exactly is being fought over. Restrictions on movement within Algeria have severely limited the ability of foreign journalists to analyze these issues, and there has been a paucity of firsthand accounts of how the conflict has played out across Algeria. Now, one of Europe's leading authorities on contemporary Algerian politics has gained the kind of access necessary to present a clear, evenhanded account. The author interviewed residents in places in which few journalists have set foot: the impoverished suburbs of the major cities and the infamous "Triangle of Death"-the stronghold of the Armed Islamic Group and the scene of some of the worst carnage. Rather than presenting a historical account, The Algerian Civil War focuses on the strategies employed by the war's main combatants, seeking to understand the significance of the conflict to all parties embroiled in it.


BACKGROUND
Unilateral intratonsillar abscess (ITA) is an underreported, well-known complication of acute tonsillitis. The prevalence of unilateral ITA compared to peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is 1:14. However, bilateral ITA is an extremely rare entity, with only four cases reported thus far.

OBJECTIVES
To describe past cases and our experience, elaborating the diagnostic challenge and the surgical treatment for bilateral ITA.

METHODS
We conducted a literature search in the PubMed database using the key words intra-tonsillar abscess, tonsillar abscess, bilateral tonsillar abscess, bilateral intra-tonsillar abscess and bilateral peritonsillar abscess. Our search was limited to the years 1980 to 2020.

RESULTS
We found that only four cases of bilateral ITA were previously published. All were characterized by a delay in diagnosis with a median of 10 days (4-14 days), symmetrical oral cavity appearance, enlarged bilateral kissing tonsils, and subsequent treatment by surgical drainage/paracentesis. Respiratory compromise was a concern in most cases. Our patient was treated with bilateral quinsy tonsillectomy and had a prompt recovery.

CONCLUSIONS
Bilateral ITA is a rare, deceiving entity, with a diagnosis delay attributed to the symmetrical oral bulging. We present the fifth case reported and the first ever reported in a pediatric patient. We describe the assumed pathogenesis and the main characteristics among all five patients, emphasizing the important role of a high index of suspicion and appropriate imaging, guiding to proper diagnosis and treatment.


The paper presents results of wettability study of PCBs with immersion Sn, Ni/Au and SnCu coatings before reflow soldering process. Furthermore the solder joints were made in the optimal lead-free reflow soldering conditions using chosen materials with different wettability value of PCBs coatings and their reliability assessment was executed. The results of investigations have shown that exist direct influence PCBs coatings wettability on reliability of solder joints. It was find also that by using special procedure of PCBs coatings wettability assessment it is possible to predict future solder joints reliability.


In this paper we propose an efficient transient test generation method to comprehensively test analog circuits using minimum test time. A divide and conquer strategy is formulated to sequentially synthesize the test stimulus for the entire duration of test. We use a novel measurement procedure to resolve ambiguities in the present measurement sample by using class association information from the previous samples. This sequential formulation of test generation problem enables fault dropping and greatly reduces simulation and optimization effort. Additionally, this method is immune to noise and tests can be easily calibrated for use in hardware testers.


Context. There is general agreement that supernovae Ia correspond to the thermonuclear runaway of a white dwarf that is part of a compact binary, but the details of the progenitor systems are still unknown and much debated. One of the proposed progenitor theories is the single-degenerate channel in which a white dwarf accretes from a companion, grows in mass, reaches a critical mass limit, and is then consumed after thermonuclear runaway sets in. However, there are major disagreements about the theoretical delay time distribution and the corresponding time-integrated supernova Ia rate from this channel. Aims. We investigate whether the differences are due to the uncertainty in the common envelope phase and the fraction of transferred mass that is retained by the white dwarf. This so-called retention efficiency may have a strong influence on the final amount and timing of supernovae Ia. Methods. Using the population synthesis code SeBa, we simulated large numbers of binaries for various assumptions on common envelopes and retention efficiencies. We compare the resulting supernova Ia rates and delay time distributions with each other and with those from the literature, including observational data. Results. For the three assumed retention efficiencies, the integrated rate varies by a factor 3−4 to even more than a factor 100, so in extreme cases, the retention efficiency strongly suppresses the single-degenerate channel. Our different assumptions for the common envelope phase change the integrated rate by a factor 2−3. Although our results do recover the trend in the theoretical predictions from different binary population synthesis codes, they do not fully explain the large disagreement among them.


Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as additives (fillers) exhibit enhanced gas permeabilities and possibly also selectivities when compared to the pure polymer. Polyimides (Matrimid®) and polysulfones are popular polymer matrices for MOF fillers. Presently investigated MOFs for MMMs include [Cu(SiF(6))(4,4'-BIPY)(2)], [Cu(3)(BTC)(2)(H(2)O)(3)] (HKUST-1, Cu-BTC), [Cu(BDC)(DMF)], [Zn(4)O(BDC)(3)] (MOF-5), [Zn(2-methylimidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-8), [Zn(purinate)(2)] (ZIF-20), [Zn(2-carboxyaldehyde imidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-90), Mn(HCOO)(2), [Al(BDC)(μ-OH)] (MIL-53(Al)), [Al(NH(2)-BDC)(μ-OH)] (NH(2)-MIL-53(Al)) and [Cr(3)O(BDC)(3)(F,OH)(H(2)O)(2)] (MIL-101) (4,4'-BIPY = 4,4'-bipyridine, BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, BDC = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate, terephthalate). MOF particle adhesion to polyimide and polysulfone organic polymers does not represent a problem. MOF-polymer MMMs are investigated for the permeability of the single gases H(2), N(2), O(2), CH(4), CO(2) and of the gas mixtures O(2)/N(2), H(2)/CH(4), CO(2)/CH(4), H(2)/CO(2), CH(4)/N(2) and CO(2)/N(2) (preferentially permeating gas named first). Permeability increases can be traced to the MOF porosity. Since the porosity of MOFs can be tuned very precisely, which is not possible with polymeric material, MMMs offer the opportunity of significantly increasing the selectivity compared to the pure polymeric matrix. Additionally in most of the cases the permeability is increased for MMM membranes compared to the pure polymer. Addition of MOFs to polymers in MMMs easily yields performances similar to the best polymer membranes and gives higher selectivities than those reported to date for any pure MOF membrane for the same gas separation. MOF-polymer MMMs allow for easier synthesis and handability compared to pure MOF membranes.


The purpose of this research is to explore the attitude of librarians to service. Previous studies showed that although many librarians identified service as their most important value, librarians were still perceived by many customers as unfriendly and unhelpful. Using Goffman's theory of dramaturgy the study looks at the relationship between the library service ethic and the market driven service ethic attributed to retail, and whether there is conflict between these two models, and if so what affect this is having on the attitudes and behaviour of librarians. This qualitative study uses focus groups to gather data. Focus group participants were all practicing librarians from the Wellington area. The research concludes that there is a conflict between the two service models which is directly affecting the attitude and thus the behaviour of librarians. The marketing model is perceived as a threat to the core functions of libraries because of its 'one size fits all' approach to service. Participants felt this model was a threat to genuine authentic service and personal autonomy.


BACKGROUND
Blood testing is a major concern in sports. Sporting federations have introduced cut-off values for hematological variables to limit blood manipulations. To date, no reference margins have been established to adjust single- or multivariable blood tests to the exercise adapted blood cell system of athletes. We studied hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), blood cell variables and changes in vascular volumes in male and female national team cyclists to evaluate the influence of exercise on these variables and the results of blood tests, and to estimate normal ranges in athletes for blood tests.

METHODS
1628 blood samples of 169 male and 55 female athletes were considered. Samples were analyzed automatically, blood cell indices and vascular volumes were calculated. Overall averages and seasonal differences were estimated.

RESULTS
Hb-average was: 15.4 +/- 0.8 g dL(-1) for male and 13.9 +/- 0.7 g dL(-1) for female cyclists, Hct: 45 +/- 2.9% and 40.7 +/- 2.7%. Blood variables and vascular volumes showed significant seasonal changes. 1-6% of all samples were found above the currently used limits for blood testing. This is in accordance with the data from the normal population. Nevertheless, EPO misuse or blood manipulations cannot totally be excluded.

CONCLUSION
Athletes display seasonal adaptations in their blood profile which should be considered in testing regulations. The presented data might be used as reference values for indirect single- and multivariable blood tests.


Increasing antimicrobial resistance in strains of Escherichia coli is having a major impact on the healthcare industry worldwide. The appearance of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) strains has caused clinicians to worry that these strains might become as deadly as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. It is vital that physicians have resources available to help keep them updated on these bacteria and the potential impact on healthcare. This chapter reviews the major strains of E. coli (intestinal and urinary), along with a review of the virulence factors, main diseases caused, and pertinent pathogenesis. The chapter then discusses antimicrobial therapy, what drugs are effective against these E. coli strains, and the development of resistance to these specific drug classes. Lastly, the molecular aspects of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in this organism are discussed. This information will be especially helpful for physicians in providing them with a concise review of E. coli and an understanding of what is involved in antimicrobial resistance. Hopefully this information can be used to improve the outcomes for patients with E. coli infections.


In a widely discussed article co-authored with Stephen Shute, John Gardner offered a persuasive argument to the effect that the core wrongness of rape is not, as it seems, a function of the harmfulness of rape, but of something else: the rapist's sheer sexual use of the victim, which is potentially harmless. In subsequent writing, partly in response to criticisms, Gardner sought to restate and clarify his view about the role of rape trauma in rape's wrongness. A guiding thought in both his earlier and later work is that the reasonableness of distress and anguish as a response to rape suggests that those reactions respond to and evaluate a prior, harm-independent wrong, thus revealed as the more basic wrong of rape. More strongly, he argued, we must hold that rape trauma is only epiphenomenal to, or derivative of, rape's basic wrongness, if we are to affirm the rationality of rape victims. In this short reappraisal, I focus most attention on this intriguing argument. Drawing on a comparison with the wrong of emotional abuse, I interrogate the argument from reasonable reactions and consider how to soften the choice it presents between affirming the rationality of rape victims and allowing that rape trauma partly grounds the distinctive wrongness of rape.


European political leaders, including the UK prime minister, have put the knowledge economy at the centre of policies for future economic growth. This has become an accepted philosophy for which the property implications need to be addressed since much of this type of development favours areas already under a great deal of pressure from development. This paper examines the outcomes of a policy to develop the biotechnology cluster in Oxfordshire, part of the highly developed south east region of the UK. Space to grown on successful innovative biotech companies many of which have been spun out from Oxford University and are at the second stage of funding, is at a premium. This paper addresses the issues and suggests solutions that require serious policy consideration. Accommodating the industry per se is only one part of growing a local economy successfully. The biotechnology industry attracts a range of supporting companies n the echurn' n who seek locations in close proximity in order to maximise cluster and network advantages. This paper will demonstrate how a holistic approach to understanding a local economy can enhance its expansion by identifying profit maximising property solutions for knowledge based companies. This approach could be applied across the European Union.


Digitised outlines of a serially sectioned K-feldspar grain from a Cordilleran granitoid have been analysed for their fractal dimension. Although the grain boundary outlines are not truly fractal in the sense of Mandlebrot (1982), they do show a self-similarity over a statistically definable range, and can thus be assigned a dimensional value between 1 and 2. Each grain section has fractal dimension (D) > 1, ranging from 1.21-1.30. Scatter within the data sets have been used to define separate (pseudo)fractal elements that further characterise each grain outline. The development of fractal geometries within a particular granitoid can be broadly related to crystallisation within Ab-An-Or-Qz space. For example, Cordilleran «I»-type granitoids that crystallise from An-rich liquids may be expected to show both Euclidean and fractal geometries, while minimum melts and «S»-type granites that crystallise in broadly eutectic proportions will have textures dominated by (pseudo)fractal grain outlines. The non-integer values that describe grain shape may also be useful in estimating the total grain (porosity) volume within the rock


The cell cycle, an essential process leading to the cell division, is stringently controlled by the key cell cycle regulators, cyclin-CDK complexes, whose activity is further regulated by a variety of mechanisms. p27Kip1 is a cyclin-CDK inhibitor that arrests the cell cycle at the G1 phase by blocking the activation of cyclin E-CDK2 complex, preventing the improper entry to the cell cycle. Dysfunction of p27 has been frequently observed in many types of human cancers, resulting from p27 protein degradation and cytoplasmic mislocalization, which are highly regulated by the phosphorylation status of p27. Although the kinases that phosphorylate p27 have been extensively studied, phosphatases that dephosphorylate p27 remain to be elucidated. By using genomic phosphatase screening, we identified a PPM family phosphatase, PPM1G, which could reduce p27 phosphorylation at T198. We further confirmed that PPM1G is a novel p27 phosphatase by demonstrating that PPM1G can interact with and dephosphorylate p27 in cells and in vitro. Functionally, ectopic expression of PPM1G enhanced p27 protein stability and delayed cell cycle progression from G1 to S phase. In accordance, knockdown of PPM1G accelerated p27 degradation during G1 phase and rendered cells resistant to the cell cycle arrest induced by serum deprivation. Mechanistically, PPM1G inhibited the interaction of p27 to 14-3-3θ, a chaperone protein that facilitates p27 nuclear export. Knockdown of PPM1G promoted the cytoplasmic localization of p27. Taken together, our studies identified PPM1G as a novel regulator of p27 that dephosphorylates p27 at T198 site and, together with p27 kinases, PPM1G controls cell cycle progression by maintaining the proper level of p27 protein.