Preliminary analysis and calculation of liquid metal Li17Pb83 magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop in the blanket for the FDS have been presented to evaluate the significance of MHD effects on the thermal-hydraulic design of the blanket. To decrease the liquid metal MHD pressure drop, Al2O3 is applied as an electronically insulated coating onto the inner surface of the ducts. The requirement for the insulated coating to reduce the additional leakage pressure drop caused by coating imperfections has been analyzed. Finally, the total liquid metal MHD pressure drop and magnetic pump power in the FDS blanket have been given.


Sic I was very interested to read the paper of Draycott ef al. (Vol 106, July 1999)'. Although there are probably limitations of computer-aided learning', the authors are surely correct in identifying the potential value of information technology (lT) to postgraduate medical education. The authors state that one aim of their study was to determine the current level of provision of computer facilities for postgraduate education within their deanery. The information presented is valuable, but I believe it gives an incomplete description of the level of IT provision. The numbers and type of machines in the Deanery forms only part of the wider picture of computer availability. The actual number of computers in each unit and even more crucially, the ratio of computers to trainees would give a better indication of levels of provision. Although the computer facilities were located in each unit and comment is made in general terms about the practical problems of access to these facilities, detailed information about location and access is not presented. Furthermore, it is not stated whether any computers are available solely for the use of trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology departments. Although the description of frequently inadequate provision of hardware is informative, consideration of these practical issues is need to describe fully the actual level of computer provision for trainees. As this study rightly notes, doctors need not just to have access to suitable IT facilities but also the skills to use such equipment. The computer skills of doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology have been discussed3, but the method used by the authors to measure such skills appears particularly well constructed. However, it is possible that choosing only to measure the skills of trainees in four non-randomly selected units may have affected the results. It is stated that the chosen hospitals did not differ from others in the region in terms of IT facilities. Yet it is later noted that IT provision in the deanery is patchy and the survey shows that four out of twelve units in the region lack equipment of a suitable standard for computer-aided learning. The test used to measure computer skills in part measures ability to use equipment suitable for computer-aided learning programmes. Presumably then, testing could be done in the selected hospitals precisely because they were amongst those with appropriate computers. Even though trainees rotate around a deanery, it cannot be assumed that all trainees have had similar exposure to good IT facilities. The authors tested 22 out of 46 specialist registrars (48%) in the deanery in just one-third of its hospitals. It seems that the four selected units were amongst the largest and best equipped in the region. This raises questions as to whether the computer skills of doctors in these units might be influenced by the access that they have to good quality equipment. A more reliable methodology to describe accurately the skills of registrars across the deanery would surely have been to study doctors from each hospital in the region.


Incarceration Nation: Investigative Poems of Prison, Hope and Terror is the poetic outcome of the author's nine-year commitment to working in prisons as a teacher. For 12 years he has been writing about prison life and protesting conditions within prisons; he has never given up his hopes for a brighter future for those who are locked up. The poems are the result of his interactions with prisoners and those who have supported his efforts to explore the prisonindustrial-complex, to reveal the ills of the system, and yet not to lose sight of the vision of American poet, Walt WHITMAN, who described "America as the world's best and most radical experiment in democracy" (p.1). Seven major sections organize 33 poetic pieces related to various prison settings, as well as to the author's life on the outside. A rich selection of notes supports the poetry.


The development of sustainable, cost-efficient, and high-performance nanofluids is one of the current research topics within drilling applications. The inclusion of tailorable nanoparticles offers the possibility of formulating water-based fluids with enhanced properties, providing unprecedented opportunities in the energy, oil, gas, water, or infrastructure industries. In this work, the most recent and relevant findings related with the development of customizable nanofluids are discussed, focusing on those based on the incorporation of 2D (two-dimensional) nanoparticles and environmentally friendly precursors. The advantages and drawbacks of using 2D layered nanomaterials including but not limited to silicon nano-glass flakes, graphene, MoS2, disk-shaped Laponite nanoparticles, layered magnesium aluminum silicate nanoparticles, and nanolayered organo-montmorillonite are presented. The current formulation approaches are listed, as well as their physicochemical characterization: rheology, viscoelastic properties, and filtration properties (fluid losses). The most influential factors affecting the drilling fluid performance, such as the pH, temperature, ionic strength interaction, and pressure, are also debated. Finally, an overview about the simulation at the microscale of fluids flux in porous media is presented, aiming to illustrate the approaches that could be taken to supplement the experimental efforts to research the performance of drilling muds. The information discussed shows that the addition of 2D nanolayered structures to drilling fluids promotes a substantial improvement in the rheological, viscoelastic, and filtration properties, additionally contributing to cuttings removal, and wellbore stability and strengthening. This also offers a unique opportunity to modulate and improve the thermal and lubrication properties of the fluids, which is highly appealing during drilling operations.


Adaptive networks consist of a collection of agents with adaptation and learning abilities. The agents interact with each other on a local level and diffuse information across the network through their collaboration. In this work, we consider two types of agents: informed agents and uninformed agents. The former receive new data regularly and perform consultation and in-network processing, while the latter do not collect data and only participate in the consultation tasks. We examine the performance of LMS diffusion strategies for distributed estimation over networks as a function of the proportion of informed agents and their distribution in space. The results reveal some interesting trade-offs between convergence rate and mean-square performance. In particular, among other results, it is shown that the mean-square performance of adaptive networks does not necessarily improve with a larger proportion of informed agents. Instead, it is established that if the set of informed agents is enlarged, the convergence rate of the network becomes faster albeit at the expense of some deterioration in mean-square performance. The results further establish that uninformed agents play an important role in determining the steady-state performance of the network and that it is preferable to keep some of the highly noisy or highly connected agents uninformed. The arguments reveal an important interplay among three factors: the number and distribution of informed agents in the network, the convergence rate of the learning process, and the estimation accuracy in steady-state. Expressions that quantify these relations are derived, and simulations are included to support the theoretical findings. We illustrate application of the results to two network models, namely, the Erdos-Renyi and scale-free models.


The Near East cattle are adapted to different agro-ecological zones including desert areas, mountains habitats, and humid regions along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system. The region was one of the earliest and most significant areas of cattle husbandry. Currently, four main breeds of Iraqi cattle are recognized. Among these, the Jenoubi is found in the southern more humid part of Iraq, while the Rustaqi is found in the middle and drier region of the country. Despite their importance, Iraqi cattle have up to now been poorly characterized at the genome level. Here, we report at a genome-wide level the diversity and signature of positive selection in these two breeds. Thirty-five unrelated Jenoubi cattle, sampled in the Maysan and Basra regions, and 60 Rustaqi cattle, from around Baghdad and Babylon, were genotyped using the Illumina Bovine HD BeadChip (700K). Genetic population structure and diversity level were studied using principal component analysis (PCA), expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and admixture. Signatures of selection were studied using extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH) (iHS and Rsb) and inter-population Wright's Fst. The results of PCA and admixture analysis, including European taurine, Asian indicine, African indicine, and taurine indicate that the two breeds are crossbreed zebu × taurine, with more zebu background in Jenoubi cattle compared with Rustaqi. The Rustaqi has the greatest mean heterozygosity (He = 0.37) among all breeds. iHS and Rsb signatures of selection analyses identify 68 candidate genes under positive selection in the two Iraqi breeds, while Fst analysis identifies 220 candidate genes including genes related to the innate and acquired immunity responses, different environmental selection pressures (e.g., tick resistance and heat stress), and genes of commercial interest (e.g., marbling score).


The modern organisation operates within a sophisticated and evolving security threat landscape that exposes its information infrastructure to a range of security risks. Unsurprisingly, despite the existence of industry 'best-practice' security standards and unprecedented levels of investment in security technology, the rate of incidents continues to escalate. Furthermore, a review of security literature reveals an apparent lack of strategic perspective in the field of information security management (ISM) which results in a number of strategic challenges for ISM function in organisations. The level of sophistication and dynamism of threat requires organisations to develop novel security strategies that draw on creative and lateral thinking approaches. Such a security campaign requires the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to function as a 'strategist'. However, there is little or no evidence in security literature to show that the security leader is required to function as a strategist. In this research, we set out to identify the specific competencies required by CISOs to become effective strategists by performing a systematic literature review of both security and strategic management literature. We thematically analysed and coded the characteristics extracted from strategic management literature into the five dimensions of the strategist. We discuss these macro competencies in the context of ISM, and argue that CISOs with these five dimensions of a strategist will be able to overcome the existing strategic challenges facing ISM in organisations.


A robot's face is its symbolic feature, and its facial expressions are the best method for interacting with people with emotional information. Moreover, a robot's facial expressions play an important role in human-robot emotional interactions. This paper proposes a general rule for the design and realization of expressions when some mascot-type facial robots are developed. Mascot-type facial robots are developed to enable friendly human feelings. The number and type of control points for six basic expressions or emotions were determined through a questionnaire. A linear affect-expression space model is provided to realize continuous and various expressions effectively, and the effects of the proposed method are shown through experiments using a simulator and an actual robot system.


We present a method to address state explosion in timed circuit verification by using abstraction directed by the failure model. This method allows us to decompose the verification problem into a set of subproblems, each of which proves that a specific failure condition does not occur. To each subproblem, abstraction is applied using safe transformations to reduce the complexity of verification. The abstraction preserves all essential behaviors conservatively for the specific failure model in the concrete description. Therefore, no violations of the given failure model are missed when only the abstract description is analyzed. An algorithm is also shown to examine the abstract error trace to either find a concrete error trace or report that it is a false negative. We present results using the proposed failure directed abstractions as applied to two large timed circuit designs.


In actinomycetes, antibiotic production is often associated with a morpho-physiological differentiation program that is regulated by complex molecular and metabolic networks. Many aspects of these regulatory circuits have been already elucidated and many others still deserve further investigations. In this regard, the possible role of many small open reading frames (smORFs) in actinomycete morpho-physiological differentiation is still elusive. In Streptomyces coelicolor, inactivation of the smORF trpM (SCO2038) – whose product modulates L-tryptophan biosynthesis – impairs production of antibiotics and morphological differentiation. Indeed, it was demonstrated that TrpM is able to interact with PepA (SCO2179), a putative cytosol aminopeptidase playing a key role in antibiotic production and sporulation. In this work, a S. coelicolor trpM knock-in (Sco-trpMKI) mutant strain was generated by cloning trpM into overexpressing vector to further investigate the role of trpM in actinomycete growth and morpho-physiological differentiation. Results highlighted that trpM: (i) stimulates growth and actinorhodin (ACT) production; (ii) decreases calcium-dependent antibiotic (CDA) production; (iii) has no effect on undecylprodigiosin production. Metabolic pathways influenced by trpM knock-in were investigated by combining two-difference in gel electrophoresis/nanoliquid chromatography coupled to electrospray linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (2D-DIGE/nanoLC-ESI-LIT-MS/MS) and by LC-ESI-MS/MS procedures, respectively. These analyses demonstrated that over-expression of trpM causes an over-representation of factors involved in protein synthesis and nucleotide metabolism as well as a down-representation of proteins involved in central carbon and amino acid metabolism. At the metabolic level, this corresponded to a differential accumulation pattern of different amino acids – including aromatic ones but tryptophan – and central carbon intermediates. PepA was also down-represented in Sco-trpMKI. The latter was produced as recombinant His-tagged protein and was originally proven having the predicted aminopeptidase activity. Altogether, these results highlight the stimulatory effect of trpM in S. coelicolor growth and ACT biosynthesis, which are elicited through the modulation of various metabolic pathways and PepA representation, further confirming the complexity of regulatory networks that control antibiotic production in actinomycetes.


The Sn–W deposit at Cínovec and Zinnwald (Eastern Krušné hory/Erzgebirge) is associated with a granite cupola of Late Variscan age intruded into the Teplice rhyolite. The 1596 m deep CS-1 drilling was completed in 1961–1963 at Cínovec in the center of the granite cupola. This paper reviews earlier and new petrological and geochemical data revealed by the CS-1 drill core. The drill-log showed that the upper granite zone of the cupola consists of lepidolite–albite granite grading continuously into zinnwaldite granite in fine-grained and medium-grained variants. Below 730 m depth, medium-grained, porphyritic lithian annite granite enclosing small bodies of porphyritic lithian annite microgranite was observed. Chemical analyses of the drill core are discussed in terms of increasing depth, significant textural variations and trace-element concentrations for As, Ba, Be, Bi, Mo, Nb, Rb, Sn, Th, U, Y, W, and Zr. The zinnwaldite/lithian annite transition in the granite profile is well demonstrated by the abrupt changes in Li, Fe and Ti concentrations with depth. High concentrations of Sn, W, and Bi are mainly confined to the greisen zones, associated with both sub-horizontal and steep fissure systems. As a consequence of subsolidus albitization, the pink coloration of lithian annite granite was changed to white-grey in the upper cupola zone above c. 730 m depth. The textural changes are interpreted as modifications of earlier microgranites by the later emplacement of medium-grained granites along sharp contacts. The major effect of subsolidus hydrothermal alteration is manifested by pervasive development of lepidolite and zinnwaldite at the expense of earlier lithian annite and by an intense albitization (Ab ~98 mol. %) reaching a depth of c. 730 m below the surface. The hydrothermal overprinting in the CS-1 drill core is interpreted to be caused by fluids derived from a deep lower crustal source, probably near the boundary with the mantle, as witnessed by the coexistence of lamprophyres and albite-rich granites in several ore districts of the Krušné hory/Erzgebirge with Li, Sn, and W mineralization.


This paper reviews recent findings on the complex field of land degradation (LD) with focus on the Mediterranean Basin and Italy, in particular. The LD definition and assessment methods are examined in the light of the most important natural and human driving forces of the phenomenon, such as land use and climate changes.Various methodological issues are dealt with from multidisciplinary perspective with the aim of providing the ground for the development of integrated approaches: monitoring needs, assessment of costs, development of mitigation strategies, etc. Factors affecting land vulnerability to degradation are classified into bio-physical and socio-economic drivers with some examples of applications in Italy. The role of determinants such as agricultural development, population growth, and urban sprawl is recognised as important but still ambiguous and thus needs further studies. Based on these findings, policy responses aimed at mitigating LD and thus reducing desertification risk are discussed and methodological proposal are presented.


To study whether restoration measures contribute to the conservation and restoration of the fauna species diversity and characteristic raised bog fauna species, macroinvertebrate species assemblages were compared between a variety of water bodies in raised bog remnants in the Netherlands in which either or not restoration measures have been taken and in the intact raised bog system Nigula, Estonia. Previous data analyses showed that restoration of characteristic vegetations does not necessarily result in fauna restoration. The relationship between time elapsed after rewetting and the number of characteristic fauna species was not clear. A considerable number of characteristic and rare fauna species was only found in remnant sites, including sites without characteristic bog vegetation. The present study shows that variation in species assemblage is low in restoration sites, compared to remnant sites and intact raised bog systems. Until now restoration measures result in restoration of a limited part of the species spectrum of pristine raised bogs. Nutrient enrichment may explain part of the differences in species assemblage. Important keys to a successful restoration of raised bog fauna are conservation and restoration of habitat diversity as well as conservation of remnant sites, being important sources for colonisation of rewetted sites, during the restoration process.


PURPOSE
Cyclosporin A (CsA) is widely used in clinical situations to attenuate graft rejection following organ and central nervous system transplantation. Previous studies demonstrated that CsA administration is neuroprotective in models of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, no studies, to date, have evaluated the influence of post-injury CsA administration on behavioral recovery after TBI.

METHODS
Rats (n = 33) were anesthetized and subjected to severe, lateral fluid percussion brain injury. Fifteen minutes thereafter, animals were randomized to receive the first of 28 daily injections of either CsA (10 mg/kg, ip) or saline. Sham-operated animals (n = 14) were anesthetized and surgically prepared without injury and treated daily either with CsA or saline. Motor and sensorimotor functions were assessed at one day before and two days after injury, and weekly thereafter up to 4 wks post-injury. Cognition was assessed at 1 and 4 wks post-injury using a Morris Water Maze test.

RESULTS
Injured animals showed significant impairments in motor, sensorimotor and cognitive function over the 4-week post-injury period. Injured animals treated with CsA showed a significant improvement in motor function assessed using a composite neuroscore (at day 28) and in sensorimotor function assessed using a sticky paper test (at days 2, 14, and 28) (p < 0.05, when compared to vehicle treated, injured animals). No beneficial effects on cognitive function were observed following CSA administration.

CONCLUSION
These data suggest that daily post-injury treatment with CsA improves certain aspects of motor and sensorimotor function following experimental TBI.


This offering for 5.0 contact hours is sponsored by the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Nurses, which has been granted approval of its total program of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. ASPRSN has also been approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, BRN Provider No. 00287, and the Florida Board of Nursing, BRN Provider No. 27F0300. Posttests must be returned within 1 year of publication date.


Calcium ions (Ca2+) are major secondary signalling messengers, controlling many biological processes. Signalling relies on the activity of multiple proteins to bind, sequester, transport, release and respond to Ca2+. Phospholipase C (PLC) catalyses the production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) which stimulates the intracellular release of Ca2+ via IP3 receptor (IP3R). Another primary Ca2+ release channel is the ryanodine receptor (RyR). In response to changes in Ca2+ concentration the Ca2+ sensitive protein calmodulin (CaM) binds to and releases multiple proteins, including PLC and RyR ,altering function and regulating activity. The sperm-specific PLCζ isoform stimulates oocyte activation upon fertilisation by triggering, via IP3, subsequent Ca2+ release events to produce the oscillations in the Ca2+ concentration required for embryogenesis. Dysfunctional PLCζ causes male infertility and subfertility. The structure of PLCζ and the full mechanism of action are unknown. Recently, a novel inhibitory interaction between PLCζ and CaM was observed. The cardiac-specific RyR2 isoform releases Ca2+ in cardiac myocytes during the heartbeat. Dysfunctional RyR2 activity causes life-threatening arrhythmias. CaM binding to RyR2 inhibits Ca2+ release, and dysfunctional CaM binding is arrhythmogenic. Mutations in CaM and the CaM-binding sites of RyR2 cosegregate with arrhythmias. This thesis develops the tools for subsequent investigation of the structure of PLCζ, interaction between PLCζ and CaM, altered characteristics of interaction with RyR2 by arrhythmogenic CaM mutations. Varying fusion partners and expressed amino acid coordinates improved the yield and solubility of recombinant PLCζ. Recombinant CaM protein recapitulated established parameters of CaM and Ca2+ dependent interactions between RyR2 and CaM. Arrhythmia patient mutations of CaM perturbed these divergently without altering protein secondary structure. However, the mutations altered the Ca2+ binding affinity and thermal stability of CaM. Ca2+ dependent binding between CaM and PLCζ occurred between the C-lobe of CaM with contribution from the N-lobe and no Ca2+-free binding was observed.


It has been the Johns Hopkins University's general policy and practice to encourage undergraduates to study abroad and to travel to countries with different cultures in order to learn and discover more about these cultures and the world generally. In the last few years-‐-‐ even before September 11, 2001-‐-‐ there has been increasing concern about the safety and security of travel abroad in many instances, and in particular, concern within the University about having undergraduates study in countries in which there appear to be particular concerns by the government for safety and security. At the present time, the State Department issues Travel Warnings for those countries where avoidance of travel is recommended. In view of the fact that the State Department issues Travel Warnings only for those countries where it recommends people avoid traveling, it is the general policy of The Johns Hopkins University that our undergraduate programs and our support for undergraduates doing research or other activities in foreign countries should not take place in a country for which a Travel Warning has been issued and is in effect. The University also recognizes that, at times, extenuating circumstances exist-‐-‐ either in terms of the country itself or in terms of the situation in a particular country-‐-‐ that may reasonably permit travel to a particular country, or to some portion of a country, for which a Travel Warning has been issued. Therefore, a director of any program or a faculty member intending to lead undergraduate students to a country for which a Travel Warning is in effect, or an undergraduate who wishes to study with or under University support in such a country, may appeal to the Provost for an exception from this policy in order to permit the desired travel. The appeal should set forth the academic justifications for the trip, the duration of the program in that country, and all reasons why the program director, faculty member, or undergraduate student believes that it is reasonably safe to travel to that country, during the time period intended, despite the Travel Warning. Any questions or concerns regarding this policy should be addressed to your division dean or to the Provost's Office.


Epidemiologic studies indicate that high serum levels of chlorinated pollutants such as dioxins or pesticides constitute a risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. This finding has been attributed to the ability of organochlorine compounds to induce the expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, which are thought to increase the burden of genotoxic metabolites. However, it was not clear whether the incriminated pollutants accumulate to sufficiently high levels within the human body to be able to promote significant transcriptional responses. Here, milk samples from nursing mothers were processed by gel permeation chromatography to isolate complex mixtures of residues containing both endogenous hormones and lipophilic contaminants of environmental origin. High-density oligonucleotide microarrays were used to monitor global transcriptional profiles in a human cell line (MCF7) that represents one of the most frequently used model systems to study breast cancer biology.We found that all breast milk extracts were able to reprogram the genome of MCF7 cells by imposing a typically estrogenic expression fingerprint. This estrogenic background was overlapped only by the induction of transcripts coding for CYP1A1 and, to a minor degree, CYP1B1. The magnitude of induction of these metabolic enzymes correlated with the respective organochlorine concentrations. Thus, in support of previous epidemiologic studies, we demonstrate that contaminants released from human adipose tissue trigger a potentially genotoxic pathway in cells from the mammary gland.


Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted from the pineal gland in cases where there is no light and is effective in regulating many biological functions such as sleep, circadian rhythm, immunity and reproduction. Melatonin has a free radical scavenger, immunity-supporting and antioxidant effect. Periodontal disease is a common chronic inflammatory disease. This disease has stages ranging from gingivitis to periodontitis. Supportive tissue destruction due to periodontal disease causes tooth loss. Previously, the existence of an inverse relationship between the amount of antioxidants and LPO products has been demonstrated in periodontal disease. PMNL infiltration plays an important role in periodontal disease. These cells produce large amounts of ROS that cause tissue damage. Determination of oxidative stress parameters and melatonin in the individuals with periodontal disease may provide important information on susceptibility to this disease, prognosis and treatment.


Recently, there has been an increasing interest in looking at urban environment as a complex system. More and more researchers are paying attention to the study of the configuration of urban space as well as human social activities within it. It has been found that correlation exists between the morphological properties of urban street network and observed human social movement patterns. This correlation implies that the influence of urban configurations on human social movements is no longer only revealed from the sense of metric distance, but also revealed from topological and geometrical perspectives. Metric distances, topological relationships and angular changes between streets should be considered when applying space syntax analysis to an urban street network. This thesis is mainly focused on the comparison among metric, topological and angular analyses based on three kinds of urban street representation models: natural streets, axial lines and axial segments. Four study areas (London, Paris, Manhattan and San Francisco) were picked up for empirical study. In the study, space syntax measures were calculated for different combinations of analytical methods and street models. These theoretical space syntax accessibility measures (connectivity, integration and choice) were correlated to the corresponding practical human movement to evaluate the correlations. Then the correlation results were compared in terms of analytical methods and street representation models respectively. In the end, the comparison of results show that (1) natural-street based model is the optimal street model for carrying out space syntax analysis followed by axial lines and axial segments; (2) angular analysis and topological analysis are more advanced than metric analysis; and (3) connectivity, integration and local integration (two-step) are more suitable for predicting human movements in space syntax. Furthermore, it can be hypothesized that topological analysis method with natural-street based model is the best combination for the prediction of human movements in space syntax, for the integration of topological and geometrical thinking.


The unit selection problem is to identify a group of individuals who are most likely to exhibit a desired mode of behavior, for example, selecting individuals who would respond one way if incentivized and a different way if not. The unit selection problem consists of evaluation and search subproblems. Li and Pearl defined the"benefit function"to evaluate the average payoff of selecting a certain individual with given characteristics. The search subproblem is then to design an algorithm to identify the characteristics that maximize the above benefit function. The hardness of the search subproblem arises due to the large number of characteristics available for each individual and the sparsity of the data available in each cell of characteristics. In this paper, we present a machine learning framework that uses the bounds of the benefit function that are estimable from the finite population data to learn the bounds of the benefit function for each cell of characteristics. Therefore, we could easily obtain the characteristics that maximize the benefit function.


Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare potential differences between the perception that COPD patients have of their disease and the perception that physicians have of how the disease affects their patients. Methods: Surveys in COPD patients and physicians caring for COPD patients were conducted in Spain, Italy, and Germany. Online questionnaires mirrored to explore the same domains, were administered to patients and physicians. Physicians were asked to respond to the questionnaire taking a recently seen patient who represents the majority of COPD patients usually managed, as a reference. Patients with COPD completed a survey containing the same questions offered to the physicians (Medical Investigation of Respiratory COPD Perception [MIRROR] survey). Comparisons between the responses of patients and general practitioners (GPs) and between patients and pulmonologists (PULs) were run separately using the chi-square, Fisher's exact, or Student's t -tests. Results: A total of 334 COPD patients, 333 GPs, and 333 PULs participated in the surveys. The typical perception that PULs have of the COPD patient was that of an older man with more severe disease and less likely to be a smoker, than the included COPD patients. COPD was regarded as a major health problem by patients and physicians, but its impact on overall quality of life among more severe patients was less strongly perceived by physicians than by patients. Instead, physicians paid more attention to domains related to clinical features (cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), while underestimating COPD impact on leisure and social activities. The majority of patients stated not being completely frank with their doctors during visits. Both GPs and PULs seemed to recognize this issue but underestimated its extent. Conclusion: To improve the doctor–patient communication, a more frank reporting by the patients of their symptoms and feelings and an increased awareness of physicians about the impact on nonconventional domains that patients perceive as importantly affected by COPD should be encouraged. mild/moderate; sVs, severe/very severe.


Two cases of acquired idiopathic hypogammaglobulinemia associated with splenomegaly and hemolytic anemia due to hypersplenism have been reported. Splenomegaly and hypersplenism appears to be the result of reticulum cell hyperplasia caused by the lack of gamma globulin and resultant repeated infections. Both the cases had splenectomy with marked hematologic improvement.

A review of the literature indicates that this syndrome is relatively common, in comparison to the incidence of total number of acquired hypogammaglobulinemia that has been reported in the literature so far. It also seems very important to recognize it because of the obvious therapeutic implications. Serum gamma globulin level should be determined in cases with unexplained hepatosplenomegaly, hypersplenism and hemolytic anemia.


BACKGROUND
 COVID-19, a viral respiratory disease first reported in December 2019, quickly became a threat to global public health. Further understanding of the epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the risk perception of the community may better inform targeted interventions to reduce the impact and spread of COVID-19.

 OBJECTIVE
 In this study, we aimed to examine the association between chronic diseases and serious outcomes following COVID-19 infection, and to explore its influence on people's self-perception of risk for worse COVID-19 outcomes.

 METHODS
 This study draws data from two databases: (1) the nationwide database of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in Portugal, extracted on April 28, 2020 (n=20,293); and (2) the community-based COVID-19 Barometer survey, which contains data on health status, perceptions, and behaviors during the first wave of COVID-19 (n=171,087). We assessed the association between relevant chronic diseases (ie, respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases; diabetes; and cancer) and death and intensive care unit (ICU) admission following COVID-19 infection. We identified determinants of self-perception of risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes using logistic regression models.

 RESULTS
 Respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases were associated with mortality and ICU admission among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection (odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% CI 1.11-1.98; OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.80-6.40; and OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.66-3.06, respectively). Diabetes and cancer were associated with serious outcomes only when considering the full sample of COVID-19–infected cases in the country (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.03-1.64; and OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.03-1.89, respectively). Older age and male sex were both associated with mortality and ICU admission. The perception of risk for severe COVID-19 disease in the study population was 23.9% (n=40,890). This was markedly higher for older adults (n=5235, 46.4%), those with at least one chronic disease (n=17,647, 51.6%), or those in both of these categories (n=3212, 67.7%). All included diseases were associated with self-perceptions of high risk in this population.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Our results demonstrate the association between some prevalent chronic diseases and increased risk of worse COVID-19 outcomes. It also brings forth a greater understanding of the community's risk perceptions of serious COVID-19 disease. Hence, this study may aid health authorities to better adapt measures to the real needs of the population and to identify vulnerable individuals requiring further education and awareness of preventive measures.


The transient modifier is a type of audio effect that changes the level of the transient parts in a musical signal while leaving the steady-state parts unchanged. This article presents a high-performance algorithm for transient detection and modification, one that is capable of modifying transients in polyphonic or multi-voiced signals, and capable of modifying both hard (percussive) and soft (non-percussive) transients. The detection and modification of transients are performed in the frequency-domain using a sub-band approach. Detection is based on both phase and energy information using an adaptive threshold, and modification is carried out independently at each sub-band. The performance of the proposed sub-band approach was compared with other transient-modification algorithms using subjective listening tests. We show that the sub-band approach with adaptive threshold mostly outperforms other approaches.


To develop an online monitoring and control system for textile dyeing process, an optical fibre sensing system was designed and developed. This paper focused on the measurement of reactive dye concentration in dyebath using the optical fibre sensing system. The optical fibre sensors were proved to be practicable to measure the dye concentration in the dye concentration range during the dyeing process. The measured data was compared with the calculated value, and the linear relation of absorbance to dye concentration was examined. The experiment included single dyes and mixture with double dyes. Dyes concentration measurement accuracy was discussed. The results show that the absorbance is proportional to dye concentration within actual dyeing concentration range. Measured data of dyes concentration well matched the calculated value. The limitations and the approach for improving this optical fibre sensing system were discussed.


In order to investigate the supramolecular assembly and in situ coordination of special amphiphiles with aromatic moieties and without long alkyl chain, a tri-pyridine-based derivative was designed and synthesized. The spreading behaviors of the Langmuir films fabricated from pure water and the subphase containing K2PtCl4 were studied in details. It was found that the compound could form interesting Langmuir films through the interfacial coordination with Pt(II) ions. While well-dispersed nano particles were observed for the films transferred from pure water surface, dense coiled nanofibers could be obtained from Pt(II) subphase, which could be ascribed to the matching direction of coordination and - stacking of aromatic moieties. The transferred LB films were characterized by a series of methods. A rational packing mode was proposed.


ABSTRACT In a Quaternary siliciclastic tidal-bar deposit, crustacean burrows have been selectively dolomitized, giving two distinct zones of cement fabrics. The inner, central part of the burrow has a microdolomite fabric. In contrast, the outer wall shows a variety of coarse dolomites ranging from zoned rhombic or quasi-rhombic crystal fabrics to rounded, spherulitic fabrics comprising concentric layers and radial fibrous crystallites. The latter fabric is derived from other, much simpler arrangements, but evidence of replacive features is lacking. The boundary between the two fabric zones is sharp. All evidence points to a primary origin for the spherulitic dolomite. The composition of the dolomite varies from Ca52 Mg48 to Ca57 Mg43, and both fabric zones in a given burrow show variable dolomite compositions along its length. These observations suggest that the composition of the dolomitizing fluids and the kinetics of crystal growth were not uniform during the growth of these cements. It is surmised that fluid-flow conditions and organic matter (very likely related to bacterial activity) within the burrows were probably significant controls of selective dolomitization and cement fabrics.


Recommender systems constitute the core engine of most social network platforms nowadays, aiming to maximize user satisfaction along with other key business objectives. Twitter is no exception. Despite the fact that Twitter data has been extensively used to understand socioeconomic and political phenomena and user behaviour, the implicit feedback provided by users on Tweets through their engagements on the Home Timeline has only been explored to a limited extent. At the same time, there is a lack of large-scale public social network datasets that would enable the scientific community to both benchmark and build more powerful and comprehensive models that tailor content to user interests. By releasing an original dataset of 160 million Tweets along with engagement information, Twitter aims to address exactly that. During this release, special attention is drawn on maintaining compliance with existing privacy laws. Apart from user privacy, this paper touches on the key challenges faced by researchers and professionals striving to predict user engagements. It further describes the key aspects of the RecSys 2020 Challenge that was organized by ACM RecSys in partnership with Twitter using this dataset.


In this work an estimate of the relativistic phase shift of space body satellite rotation observed from a remote planet is compared with the classical perturbation of the satellite orbit by other space bodies. The calculations are exemplified by Jupiter's satellites. A satellite of the Amalthea group interacting with the Galilean satellites is chosen. The interaction of this satellite with the rest of its group is negligible as compared to that with external satellites, since the mass of any internal satellite is much less than that of external ones. A gravitational interaction of Jupiter's satellite system has been considered within the weak-interaction approximation for inner satellites neglecting Galilean satellites' action on the phase. Jupiter's system is chosen since it has many satellites whose mutual interaction is rather strong due to small distances between them and their large mass, besides Jupiter is rather close to us, so it is possible to observe directly its satellites in a telescope and to check data empirically. A gravitational deviation of the chosen inner satellite is calculated to match against the value obtained from the relativistic phase shift formula. The relativistic shift between real and observable phases is given by a formula obtained by A. P. Yefremov in the framework of Quaternion theory. The formula for correction to the phase is a relativistic effect of time delay. The classical correction is estimated using celestial mechanics. An effect of the Galilean satellites on the inner satellites is considered. The phase correction is compared with the value predicted by Quaternion theory of relativity. In conclusion applicability of this formula has been discussed.


INTRODUCTION. Osteomyelitis is most often a result of hematogenic infection. Any bone can be involved. In children it affects epiphyses, joints, shafts of long bones or it develops as a multifocal process. Clinical signs of osteomyelitis are not specific: pain, impaired mobility, swelling, hyperaemia/rubor. MATERIAL AND METHODS. In X-ray imaging of the bones the destruction and reactive periosteum are visible 7-21 days later than the symptoms. Into the study 24 children were included, the extension of lesions was analized and comparison of the CT vs. MRI scans in few cases were performed. RESULTS. Both MRI and CT techniques allow for a better, more exact imaging of the inflammation and reactive changes in the surrounding tissues. CONCLUSION. In all children the inflammation was histologically confirmed.


Shaft gas injection of reducing gas in the blast furnace is one of favorable ways to greatly decrease CO2 emissions from steel works, and this approach is used for the top gas recycling and oxygen blast furnace processes. In these processes, the penetration effect of the gas injected from the auxiliary tuyeres is important for attaining effective gas reduction or making up the heat balance in the upper part, and so it is useful to analyze the dynamic behavior of the gas injected into the shaft. In the present study, the penetration effect of injected gas was three-dimensionally simulated by a hybrid model of the discrete element method (DEM) and continuum model (CFD). In particular, the CFD model was used to quantitatively analyze the dynamic gas flow and the pressure distribution in the burden layers calculated by DEM. Although the area influenced by the injected gas from the auxiliary tuyeres was restricted to a specific area due to insufficient horizontal inertial force of the gas, the penetration area gradually enlarged as the gas velocity from the auxiliary tuyeres increased. In a small blast furnace, the injected gas can easily reach the center with the higher gas velocity, and it was shown that the relative penetration depth of the injected gas depends on the inner volume of the blast furnace. However, the overall behavior of the injected gas did not show any remarkable change. In conclusion, the penetration area of shaft gas was almost proportional to the ratio of shaft gas and the upward gas from the conventional tuyeres.


Purpose
This study aims to develop a taxonomy of requirements for mobile BIM technologies (MBT), clarify the relating terms and concepts, and identify the interactions between MBT features and the construction management functions on sites.

Design/methodology/approach
A positivist approach with elements of interpretivism is adopted to allow to capture what is perceived as "reality" in relation to individuals' interpretation and experience in the use and implementation of MBT. This is achieved by using a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach that can capture the various understandings of MBT. The research methods included a longitudinal case study over 12 months, two project workshops, expert interviews and an industry survey that together helped to investigate MBT at project, enterprise and industry levels.

Findings
The MBT requirements taxonomy included requirements relating to both project and organisation. Project requirements addressed MBT functionalities for sites and information management, while organisation requirements focused on the integration of MBT solutions with the enterprise from information technology, legal and security perspectives. A detailed matrix showing the interactions between five key MBT features and seven construction management functions was also developed.

Research limitations/implications
The two constructs developed by this study can help researchers to structure their investigation of key uses of MBT applications and their benefits. It can be used by researchers aiming to investigate integrated approaches to the digitalisation of construction sites, such as those enabled by Digital Twins. The interaction matrix can aid researchers in evaluating the intersections between the MBT functionalities and the site construction management functions (e.g. theoretical analysis of interactions from Lean Construction, benefit evaluation perspective). More broadly, the two constructs can support research and practice investigating the development of data-driven approaches on construction sites.

Practical implications
The developed MBT taxonomy can guide construction organisations in selecting suitable MBT for Field BIM for their projects. It can also act as a baseline against which varying MBT solutions can be compared.

Originality/value
Constructs such as taxonomies for MBTs; an understanding of MBT capabilities and use within the industry; and a lack of delineation between related terms, such as Mobile BIM, Field BIM, Site BIM, Cloud BIM and Mobile Apps, were lacking in the literature. This study contributed to addressing this gap.


The representation of combinatorial objects is decisive for the feasibility of several enumerative tasks. In this work, we present a (unique) string representation for (complete) initially-connected deterministic automata (ICDFA's) with n states over an alphabet of k symbols. For these strings we give a regular expression and show how they are adequate for exact and random generation, allow an alternative way for enumeration and lead to an upper bound for the number of ICDFA's. The exact generation algorithm can be used to partition the set of ICDFA's in order to parallelize the counting of minimal automata (and thus of regular languages). A uniform random generator for ICDFA's is presented that uses a table of pre-calculated values. Based on the same table, an optimal coding for ICDFA's is obtained. We also establish an explicit relationship between our method and the one used by Nicaud et al..


We are developing a systematic method for the design and synthesis of rigid macromolecular scaffolds capable of displaying chemical functionality in three dimensional space. These scaffolds will enable the study of structure-function relationships in designed receptors, and to examine factors governing biological catalysis. The scaffolds might also be used as tools for the construction of nanoscale devices. The monomers used to synthesize the oligomeric scaffolds are orthogonally protected bis-amino acids. These heterocyclic monomers are coupled through diketopiperazines to neighboring monomers. The formation of two peptide bonds between adjacent monomers eliminates the rotational flexibility in the scaffold backbone, and results in unique spirocyclic fused ring structures that we have christened bis-peptides.We discuss the synthesis of the four stereoisomers of a bis-amino acid monomer derived from 4-hydroxyproline, as well as the development of procedures for fabricating bis-peptides from these monomers. Combinations of all four pro4 monomers were incorporated into oligomers of different lengths. The solution conformation of six oligomers was determined by analysis of their 2D-NMR spectra and using computational modeling. Based upon the conformational preferences of the monomers, two pentamer scaffold oligomers were designed to form distinguishable shapes: a molecular rod, and a curved shape. We confirmed the design hypothesis by labeling the ends of these scaffolds with dansyl and naphthyl fluorophores; this allowed us to determine the approximate end to end distances by measuring the efficiency of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. This result suggests that we can rationally design the physical properties of bis-peptides based upon the stereochemistry of their constituent monomers.We also discuss progress toward the synthesis of chiral molecular cavities from bis-peptides and from assemblies of bis-peptides. The resulting macrocyclic cavities may ultimately serve as receptors for designed sensors of small chiral organic molecules.


There is a pressing need for governments—especially local governments—to develop and implement effective youth engagement initiatives which can: remediate a growing disconnection of young people from other parts of society, government, and conventional representative democracy; build skills, knowledge, networks, and relationships; support cultural diversity, tolerance, and integration; and provide decisions which are relevant to needs and wants of young people. Despite the increasing levels of rhetoric and action and much speculation about potential costs and benefits of youth engagement by local government, there are substantial gaps in the knowledge about the nature and effect of initiatives in practice. As a reaction to these gaps on our knowledge, this paper presents a case study that interrogates the context, the ends (objectives and outcomes), and the means (structures and processes) of innovative youth engagement initiatives at a Swedish local governments that faces large challenges in economic and community diversity terms. Such an exploration of a relatively new phenomenon can assist in informing practice and further research. The study identifies and describes the context, means and ends of a range of innovative and bold youth engagement projects, and the findings stress the need for local governments to be very clear and explicit when designing and implementing youth engagement, as to how much its role is as a "democracy actor"—seeking better government and better communities—and how much encapsulates being a "service delivery" actor—aiming at better decisions about policies, programs and services.


The organic greenhouse production in the Netherlands is limited with regard to the number of growers, but plays an important role in EU organic greenhouse production. In the high-technology greenhouses a high production level is realized but nitrogen balances of this production system have been questioned. In order to document and improve the nitrogen balance, the production of seven greenhouses was monitored and soils were repeatedly analysed. The model "Bemestingsrichtlijn biologische kasteelten" (Fertilization Guide Organic Greenhouse Production) has been developed to simulate nitrogen availability and to fine-tune manure applications to crop demand. In the course of four years the overall nitrogen surpluses decreased sharply, but due to the observational character of the research no statistical analyses can be made. Part of the high surpluses in the first years can be explained by initial investments in soil organic matter. Calculation of the dynamic balance gives more possibilities to fine-tune farmers' fertilization strategies. Growers that followed the model-based advise for manure application, realized a substantial reduction of nitrogen surpluses.


Toward a successful 3D and textural reconstruction of urban scenes, the use of both single-row based telemetric and photographic data in a same framework has proved to be a powerful technique. A necessary condition to obtain good results is to accurately calibrate the telemetric and photographic sensors together. We present a study of this calibration process and propose an improved extrinsic calibration technique. It is based on an existing technique which consists in scanning a planar pattern in several poses, giving a set of relative position and orientation constraints. The innovation is the use of a more appropriate laser beam distance between telemetric points and the planar target. Moreover, we use robust methods to manage outliers at several steps of the algorithm. Improved results on both theoretical and experimental data are given.


A flexible elastomer ring containing 17 beta-estradiol used for estrogen replacement. Upon vaginal insertion, estradiol vaginal ring releases a consistent low-dose of estrogen which binds to and activates nuclear receptors in estrogen-responsive tissues. By increasing the amount of estradiol locally, symptoms of vaginal dryness or decreased sexual interest may improve. 17 beta-estradiol is the major naturally occurring estrogen produced in the ovaries of premenopausal women. Qeios · Definition, February 7, 2020


Studies of social movement outcomes rarely consider the impact of conflict between groups within movements on the ability of movement actors to achieve their political goals. In this examination of the Texas women's movement from the late 1950s until the early 1970s, we consider the role of within-movement conflict as organized women worked to gain an Equal Legal Rights Amendment. Our analysis reveals that conflict within movements can benefit activists by fueling a radical flank effect and, in the end, helping activists achieve important political goals. Our study also reveals the agency of movement actors as one group distances itself from another to seek political elite support. Such efforts can help activists open largely closed political opportunity structures. We conclude that researchers studying movement political outcomes should consider the potentially beneficial role of within-movement conflict.


: We propose for the first time a set of methods for the determination of sex, face shape, body length and weight for the purpose of forensic medical investigations of fragmented corpses from a mass fatality catastrophe site. The study has demonstrated a high degree of reliability of the assessment of the personality group signs based on a wealth of somatometric data with the use of the multivariate statistic methods. This work has no analogy in forensic medical studies.


Bundling, the practice of jointly selling two or more products at a discount, is a widely used strategy in industry and a well examined concept in academia. Historically, the focus has been on theoretical studies in the context of monopolistic firms and assumed product relationships, e.g., complementarity in usage. We develop a new machine-learning-driven methodology for designing bundles in a large-scale, cross-category retail setting. We leverage historical purchases and consideration sets created from clickstream data to generate dense continuous representations of products called embeddings. We then put minimal structure on these embeddings and develop heuristics for complementarity and substitutability among products. Subsequently, we use the heuristics to create multiple bundles for each product and test their performance using a field experiment with a large retailer. We combine the results from the experiment with product embeddings using a hierarchical model that maps bundle features to their purchase likelihood, as measured by the add-to-cart rate. We find that our embeddings-based heuristics are strong predictors of bundle success, robust across product categories, and generalize well to the retailer's entire assortment.


The aim of the present study was to determine whether occlusal hypofunction and its recovery affected the structure of the Periodontal Ligament (PDL) and expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in mice. Five-week-old C57BL/6J mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor ME, USA) were used and randomly divided into three groups: a Hypofunctional Group (HG), Recovery Group (RG), and Control Group (CG). In HG and RG, appliances were attached to the maxillary and mandibular incisors. These appliances were set for 11 weeks in HG and 7 weeks in RG. Appliances were then removed offer 0, 7, 14, and 28 days. Untreated mice served as CG. Histological sections were prepared and immunohistochemically stained for VEGF. The PDL area and the number of VEGF immunopositive cells in the PDL were evaluated in the 3 groups. The number of VEGF immunopositive cells and PDL area were significantly larger in CG white the RG than in HG, while the PDL area in RG was similar to that in CG. In the recovery process, the PDL area and number of VEGF positive cells in the PDL increased from days 0 to 7 and decreased from days 7 to 28. The results of the present study suggest that occlusal stimuli regulate the PDL area through the expression of VEGF in the mouse PDL. The clinical relevance of occlusal stimuli is their ability to regulate the expression of VEGF in PDL cells and these growth factors may lead to alveolar bone remodeling in the PDL.


Streptococcal diseases, namely, acute glomerulonephritis and acute rheumatic fever, are common features in the aboriginal population of the Northern Territory of Australia. We examined the group A streptococcal M types identified during various surveys conducted since 1987. Streptococci were predominantly isolated from skin infections. A high proportion of the isolates could not be serotyped by conventional means and were designated M nontypeable (MNT). M-specific DNA sequences from the MNT isolates were examined, and sequence types were proposed for the classification of MNTs. This allowed a more precise estimate of the M types present in a population study.


There are many structure models in data network. To optical network, control method is important for different network. Optical fiber is the preferred medium for transmission for data rates larger than a few hundred megabits per second over distances more than tens of meters due to its near-perfect transmission properties, including low attenuation over a multi-terahertz bandwidth window, immunity from interference of most kinds, and requiring no maintenance over a very long life span. To date, no other technology has appeared on the horizon that can compete with these attributes. The transmission mode refers to the number of elementary units of information that can be simultaneously translated by the communications channel.


ABSTRACT Research has shown that professional agency is pivotal for understanding teachers' professional learning in different contexts. However, we lack an elaborated understanding of teachers' professional agency in the context of in-service teacher education aimed at supporting teachers' professional learning. To contribute to this discussion, this study investigated primary school teachers' professional agency during in-service education and the features related to the emergence of their agency. The findings show that teachers enacted professional agency regarding their professional identity and work in various ways, suggesting that the roles of different social scaffoldings for professional agency varied. The teachers viewed pedagogical hands-on practice with colleagues' support as especially meaningful. However, transferring learning to classroom practices depends on the teacher's professional agency in identity renegotiation. Therefore, this study highlights the need for continuous, practice-based scaffolding that supports teachers' agency – and accordingly professional learning – if we wish to enhance the efficiency of in-service education.


Organic photovoltaics (OPV) offer a low-cost and esthetically appealing thin-film alternative to the well-known silicon-based solar panels, opening up new applications and markets. A substantial increase in power conversion efficiency (to over 13%) has been achieved for these organic solar cells over the last decade, largely as a result of intensive research on novel electron donor and acceptor materials, combined in a bulk heterojunction device structure. Nevertheless, it is clear that further progress is required to be competitive with more efficient traditional and other emerging thin-film PV technologies. At this moment, the device performance is (among others) limited by the low dielectric constants (er = ∼3 to 4) of the state of the art photoactive organic materials. Important loss processes inherently connected to the strong coulombic interactions within low-permittivity organic materials can be suppressed through the enhancement of er. High dielectric constant materials show lower exciton binding energies and hence recombination can be reduced, improving the charge carrier extraction efficiency. Despite these promising prospects, limited research has been devoted to the development and OPV integration of high-dielectric organic semiconductors. In here, an overview is provided of the approaches applied so far to enhance er of organic compounds specifically developed for OPV purposes, commenting on the insights obtained and the challenges remaining.


The responses of hepatic delta-aminolaevulinate synthase and microsomal haem oxygenase to inducers were examined in pregnant rats. 2-Allyl-2-isopropylacetamide-mediated induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase was greatly decreased during pregnancy and in the early post-partum period. Administration of allylisopropylacetamide to pseudopregnant rats induced delta-aminolaevulinate synthase normally. Treatment of pregnant rats with cortisol failed to restore the drug-mediated induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase. Microsomal cytochrome P-450 content and the activities of drug-metabolizing enzymes such as aniline hydroxylase and ethylmorphine. N-demethylase were significantly lowered during pregnancy. In contrast with the greatly impaired induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase, the induction of haem oxygenase in response to CoCl2 remained unaltered in pregnant rats. The normal perturbations of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase, consisting of an initial inhibition followed by a rebound increase in the enzyme activity associated with CoCL2 treatment, were observed during pregnancy. These findings indicate that hormones and metabolic factors associated with gestation exert significant but differential controls on the induction patterns of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase and haem oxygenase.


The objective of the present study was to analyze the quality of nasopharyngeal sanation during the treatment of the children presenting with exacerbations of chronic adenoiditis with the use of different methods. Another objective was to estimate the influence of individual methods on the indigenous microflora. The study has revealed the prevailing groups of microflora in the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, and palatine tonsils of 2.228 patients. The clinical examination and comparative analysis of the results of the bacteriological study of nasopharyngeal discharge involved 170 children at the mean age of 5.06±2.6 years presenting with exacerbations of chronic adenoiditis. The patients of group 1 (n=60, control group) underwent nasopharyngeal sanation by means of the low-frequency ultrasound treatment, those of group 2 (n=53) were given an oral antibiotics (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid) at an age-based dose during 7-10 days. The patients of group 3 (n=57) were treated with bacterial lysate OM-85 BV (Broncho-Vaxom) (a 3.5 mg capsule once daily in the morning hours under the fasting condition for 3 months (during 10 days of every month). The amount of anaerobic bacteria in the control cultures from the patients of group 1decreased six-fold and that of pneumococci by 3 times. In the children comprising group 2 all pathogenic species persisted despite the treatment whereas in group 3 the number of those species largely decreased whose lysates were contained in the medication. In the patients treated with Broncho-Vaxom the beneficial results of therapy 1 and 3 months after its onset were more apparent than in the children of two other groups. Moreover, this preparation did not affect the indigenous microflora.


OF DISSERTATION ESSAYS ON CAPITAL CONTROLS AND EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES This dissertation consists of three essays on capital controls and exchange rate regimes. The first essay, under the background of international monetary policy trilemma, empirically investigates the validity of the proposition that holding the degree of exchange rate stability constant, a decrease in capital mobility through imposition of capital controls will enhance monetary independence. Using a panel dataset covering 88 countries for the 1995-2010 period and system GMM estimation, this paper finds that 1) capital controls help improve a country's monetary independence; 2) the effectiveness of capital controls depends on the types of assets and the direction of flows they are imposed; 3) the choice of exchange rate regime has important impact on the effectiveness of capital controls on monetary independence. The second essay examines the role of capital controls on economic growth. Conventional wisdom suggests that allowing international capital flows improves domestic investment and growth by providing extra resources through international capital market, yet the flows can be misallocated to finance speculative or low-quality domestic investments. Using a panel dataset covering 78 countries over 1995-2009, this paper finds that 1) capital control policies promote economic growth after taking into account a country's de facto level of capital flows; 2) controls on capital inflows helps a country's economic growth, but not controls on outflows; 3) restrictions on different asset types affect growth differently. Capital controls on equity type flows are less effective than controls on debt type flows or direct investment. The third examines the role of exchange rate flexibility on current account balances. Global imbalances have become an important issue for economists and policy makers. Greater exchange rate flexibility is often suggested as a means to achieve faster and more efficient adjustment in the current account. However, previous empirical studies show little support for this hypothesis. This essay revisits this issue with a large panel dataset and Threshold VAR model and finds that 1) the speed of the current account adjustment is higher in a regime with greater exchange rate variability; 2) some existing popular exchange rate classifications may not capture actual exchange rate variability as well as expected.


Hybrid improper ferroelectrics (HIFs) have been studied intensively over the past few years to gain an understanding of their temperature-induced phase transitions and ferroelectric switching pathways. Here we report a switching from a first- to a second-order phase transition pathway for HIFs Ca3−xSrxTi2O7, which is driven by the differing entropies of the phases that we identify as being associated with the dynamic motion of octahedral tilts and rotations. A greater understanding of the transition pathways in this class of layered perovskites, which host many physical properties that are coupled to specific symmetries and octahedral rotation and tilt distortions—such as superconductivity, negative thermal expansion, fast ion conductivity, ferroelectricity, among others—is a crucial step in creating novel functional materials by design.


Aberrant specific N-glycosylation, especially the increase in fucosylation on specific peptide sites of serum proteins have been investigated as potential markers for diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related HCC. We have combined a workflow involving broad scale marker discovery in serum followed by targeted marker evaluation of these fucosylated glycopeptides. This workflow involved an LC-Stepped HCD-DDA-MS/MS method coupled with offline peptide fractionation for large-scale identification of N-glycopeptides directly from pooled serum samples (each n=10) as well as differential determination of N-glycosylation changes between disease states. We then evaluated the fucosylation level of the glycoprotein ceruloplasmin among 62 patient samples (35 cirrhosis, 27 early-stage NASH HCC) by LC-Stepped HCD-PRM-MS/MS to quantitatively analyze 18 targeted glycopeptides. Of these targets, we found the ratio of fucosylation of a tri-antennary glycopeptide from site N762, involving N762_ HexNAc(5)Hex(6)Fuc(2)NeuAc(3) (P=0.0486), increased significantly from cirrhosis to early HCC. This fucosylation ratio of a tri-antennary glycopeptide in CERU could be a potential biomarker for further validation in a larger sample set and could be a promising candidate for early detection of NASH HCC.


The cerebellum participates in motor coordination as well as in numerous cerebral processes, including temporal discrimination. Animals can predict daily timing of food availability, as manifested by food-anticipatory activity under restricted feeding. By studying ex vivo clock gene expression by in situ hybridization and recording in vitro Per1-luciferase bioluminescence, we report that the cerebellum contains a circadian oscillator sensitive to feeding cues (i.e., whose clock gene oscillations are shifted in response to restricted feeding). Food-anticipatory activity was markedly reduced in mice injected intracerebroventricularly with an immunotoxin that depletes Purkinje cells (i.e., OX7-saporin). Mice bearing the hotfoot mutation (i.e., Grid2ho/ho) have impaired cerebellar circuitry and mild ataxic phenotype. Grid2ho/ho mice fed ad libitum showed regular behavioral rhythms and day–night variations of clock gene expression in the hypothalamus and cerebellum. When challenged with restricted feeding, however, Grid2ho/ho mice did not show any food-anticipatory rhythms, nor timed feeding-induced changes in cerebellar clock gene expression. In hypothalamic arcuate and dorsomedial nuclei, however, shifts in Per1 expression in response to restricted feeding were similar in cerebellar mutant and wild-type mice. Furthermore, plasma corticosterone and metabolites before mealtime did not differ between cerebellar mutant and wild-type mice. Together, these data define a role for the cerebellum in the circadian timing network and indicate that the cerebellar oscillator is required for anticipation of mealtime.


The researches in the agroecosystem Gușterița started in 2014 with the identification of the fauna on the vegetal substratum, by the method of observation. In the year 2015, the purpose of our researches was to collect and to identify the epigeal fauna of the same agroecosystem. By using the "Barber traps" method, in the period between 04.05.2015 -22.05.2015 the were collected 1,877samples of invertebrates. In the laboratory were identified 12 taxonomical groups; among them, the insects have the biggest number.The research will continue with the identification of invertebrate hill the species level. It will be established the report between the useful and pest fauna in the studied agroecosystem.


The magnetic structure is usually determined by the neutron diffraction measurements. However, in the case of complex multisublattice magnetics, this method fails to give an unambiguous result. Here, on the example of multiferroic ${\mathrm{HoFe}}_{3}{({\mathrm{BO}}_{3})}_{4}$, we show that in the case of rare-earth (RE) compounds the right magnetic structure can be determined by additionally using optical spectroscopy and a theoretical analysis based on spectroscopic data. ${\mathrm{HoFe}}_{3}{({\mathrm{BO}}_{3})}_{4}$ demonstrates a series of phase transitions and interesting magnetic and magnetoelectric properties. The available information on the magnetic structure of the compound, necessary for understanding and utilizing these properties, is contradictory. To resolve the existing ambiguities, we apply a combined approach. The high-resolution spectroscopy data deliver a set of the ${\mathrm{Ho}}^{3+}$ crystal-field (CF) levels in the paramagnetic and both easy-plane and easy-axis magnetic phases. These data are used to determine CF and ${\mathrm{Ho}}^{3+}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ exchange parameters and, then, to calculate the temperature dependencies of the magnetic susceptibility tensor of ${\mathrm{HoFe}}_{3}{({\mathrm{BO}}_{3})}_{4}$. Based on these calculations, we suggest an easy-plane antiferromagnetic structure with a collinear arrangement of the Fe spins along the $a$ axis and induced noncolinear moments of magnetically nonequivalent Ho ions. The suggested structure is further confirmed by single-crystal elastic neutron scattering experiments. We argue that specific features of the magnetic properties of RE iron borates isostructural to ${\mathrm{HoFe}}_{3}{({\mathrm{BO}}_{3})}_{4}$ are governed by the energy patterns and the symmetry properties of the wave functions of the lower CF levels of the RE ground multiplet in the crystal field of the ${C}_{2}$ symmetry.


In this study an extended Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) method for the retrieval of major phytoplankton functional types (PFT) from satellite measurements utilizing hyper spectral instruments like SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography) and GOME-2 (Global Ozone Measurement Experiment 2) is introduced. Phytoplankton consists of different pigment assemblages. Thus light absorption of phytoplankton types depends strongly on the concentration and composition of different pigments. Due to spectral overlapping of phytoplankton pigment absorption the influence of particular pigment is not obvious. Here, measured phytoplankton absorption spectra are decomposed by using a high order derivative method (Aguirre-Gomez et al. 1995). The weightings of the composition of the pigment absorption peaks are correlated with results from taxonomic pigment analysis. This analysis shows the potential of high order derivatives in resolving the spectral absorption features of the component pigments present in different PFTs.By using these weightings in a specialized PhytoDOAS retrieval technique (Bracher et al. 2009), a higher sensitivity to retrieve PFTs is expected. Examples of first retrieval results shows the applicability of these improvements to PhytoDOAS method.


We propose an algorithm for adaptive image segmentation based on human psychovisual phenomena: visual perception-based segmentation. The new method can reliably segment poor quality images with low contrast and low SNRs. Due to its adaptability, it can be applied to a wide range of low quality images with different object sizes. In successful tests with ultrasound and flow field images that are normally difficult to segment, this new method outperforms a conventional texture-based segmentation method as a result of its biological source.


New enabling chemistries have been developed to produce novel well-defined polymeric materials through the additions of small amounts of reactive functional compounds to standard polymers during regular processing steps. We found that carbonyl biscaprolactam and its derivatives couple polymer chains in a strictly linear fashion. The requirements for fast and well-controlled coupling reactions, a prerequisite to apply this modular concept, were met. The breakthrough to produce a wide variety of novel polymers came when we found that many building blocks, provided with functional groups and blocked isocyanate groups, could be made on the basis of this chemistry. Blocked isocyanate groups are very suitable coupling units to fix desired functions onto polymer backbones. In one example, antifouling coatings were prepared by introducing fluorine groups. In another case, blocked isocyanate functional acrylates were built into a polyacrylate to make self-crosslinkable coatings. In another illustration, the concept was demonstrated by a novel route to prepare polyrotaxanes from rotaxane monomers provided with blocked isocyanates as polymerizable stopper groups. These reactive functional compounds gave, in a controlled manner, polymeric materials with substantially improved properties.


Abstract In the West Greenland CFB Province, the early lava compositions were dominated by tholeiitic picrites more depleted in terms of isotopic and trace element characteristics than CFBs from any other province, and comparable to those of present-day Icelandic lavas. Later basalts have similar isotopic and incompatible element ratios. Generally, the West Greenland CFBs show no significant interaction with the lithosphere. In East Greenland, the early picrites and basalts from the Kangerlussuaq area have a very wide range of compositions, which strongly indicate lithospheric interaction. The Scoresby Sund basalts, as well as later basalts in the Kangerlussuaq area, have much less variable compositions, and are similar to the most enriched modern Icelandic picrites. The difference between the early West and East Greenland volcanic rocks is probably related to differences in tectonic setting. In West Greenland continental rifting started before volcanism on the continental margin. The arrival of the proto-Icelandic plume material made primitive picritic magma rise quickly through the already rifted lithosphere. In East Greenland no rifting took place until c. 4 Ma after the arrival of plume material under West Greenland. This allowed small amounts of plume-derived melts to enter and react with the lithosphere and subsequently be incorporated into the CFB magmas at the rifting stage. No thermal doming took place in East Greenland before or during continental break-up, and the East Greenland rifting is considered to have been passive. Very high temperatures and high degrees of melting during picrite generation in East Greenland is a strong indication that the plume was centred under Kangerlugssuaq at the time of rifting. The vigorous interaction between early magmas and lithosphere makes it likely that the plume was centred here also for the 4 Ma prior to rifting.


The work described in this thesis extends studies on the phosphorylation of ribosomal proteins to Krebs Ascites and Baby Hamster Kidney cells. When these cells were incubated with [32P]-orthophosphate, radioactivity became associated with ribosomal proteins, and was shown to be in the form of phosphoproteins by both chemical and enzymic criteria. About 18 phosphoproteins were detected when protein extracted from 80s ribosomes was separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. However, many of these appeared to be non-ribosomal contaminants, for far fewer phosphoproteins were seen with purified ribosomes or ribosomal subunits. Five phosphoproteins were found on ribosomal subunits analysed by electrophoresis in gels containing sodium dodecyl sulphate, and three on gels containing urea at pH 4.5. This difference may have been due to some of the phosphoproteins being relatively acidic (and thus of low mobility at pH 4.5), or alternatively because of the poorer resolving power of the latter system of gel electrophoresis. The number of ribosomal phosphophrotein detected in this work is more than was originally reported for other tissues, but is still much less than has been found by workers who have phosphorylated ribosomes in vitro using protein kinases. The ribosomal subunit on which a pair of phosphoproteins of low molecular weight was located, differed for Ascites and Baby Hamster Kidney cells, the proteins were on the large subunit of Ascites cells, and on the small subunit of Baby Hamster Kidney cells. The most probable explanation of this result is that these proteins are at the interface between the ribosomal subunits. Such a location is consistent with the previously suggested role for these proteins in holding the subunits together as inactive monosomes. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to try to identify unequivocally the ribosomal phosphoproteins. Only one protein was definitely identified by this method; a phosphoprotein of the small subunit of both Ascites and Baby Hamster Kidney cells, which was found to be the protein designated S6 in the standard nomenclature. The radioactivity associated with S6 comigrated with an anodic 'tail' of the protein, which apparently represents a number of increasingly phosphorylated derivatives of S6. This observation meant that it was possible to estimate the extent of phosphorylation of S6 merely by staining the protein of the phosphorylated derivatives, even when these contained no radioactivity. Studies were performed to see whether the functional activity of ribosomes correlated in any way with the phosphorylation of ribosomal proteins (particularly S6). When protein synthesis was inhibited in Ascites cells, there was no change in either the specific radioactivity of the phosphate in the ribosomal protein, the number of phosphorylated proteins resolved by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis, or the visible extent of phosphorylation of S6 in protein analysed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. This result contrasts with studies on the phosphorylation of S6 in other tissues, and may be due to high levels of phosphoprotein phosphatase in Ascites cells. The phosphorylation of S6 was, however, very extensive in growing Baby Hamster Kidney cells, demonstrating that a high level of phosphorylation of S6 under physiological conditions does not require protein synthesis to be inhibited. In studies to investigate the relationship between cyclic AMP had no effect on the phosphorylation of S6 in Ascites cells, a result which again contrasts with those in other tissues. More significantly, the extent of phosphorylation of S6 in Baby Hamster Kidney cells under different growth conditions in vivo did not correlate with the cellular concentration of cyclic AMP, indicating that elevated levels of this nucleotide are not essential for the phosphorylation of S6 in vivo. There was greater phosphorylation of S6 in growing, rather than resting, Baby Hamster Kidney cells, a situation which was not altered when the resting cells were stimulated to grow for short periods b the addition of fresh medium. S6 was also found to be extensively phosphorylated in the livers of young mice, but not in those of adult mice. These results are discussed in relation to a model in which ribosomes are phosphorylated during synthesis and thereafter are normally slowly dephosphorylated. It is suggested that the phosphorylation of S6 may have a role in the assembly or extra-nuclear transport of ribosomes, or in the control of their lifespan in the cytoplasm.


Negative affect plays a critical role in nicotine dependence. Smokers report feeling that negative affect is a primary motivation to keep smoking. This study examined the relationship between individual differences in emotional experience, in particular emotional clarity and differentiation (individuals' ability to understand, describe, and differentiate between emotions), and smoking motivation. We hypothesized that emotional clarity would be related to affect, craving, and smoking satisfaction. A second goal was to test the ability of an emotional-labeling intervention to reduce negative affect and smoking motivation resulting from a negative emotion induction. We also tested whether emotional clarity moderated the effect of the negative affect manipulation upon smoking-related variables. We hypothesized that emotional clarity would moderate the effect of the emotional-labeling manipulation upon affect, craving, and smoking satisfaction. A correlational and two-group between-subjects design was used. Participants (170 participants; 86 males) first completed baseline measures, then received a mood induction (via video). They then were randomized to one of two conditions (emotion labeling and writing control). Results indicate that emotional clarity was related to affect, craving, and smoking satisfaction ratings, such as those higher on emotional clarity reported more positive affect, less cravings, and having experienced aversive effects after smoking. We found no effect of the emotional labeling task. Although we replicated findings from previous studies showing a relationship between emotional clarity and mood, this study is the first to establish such a relationship with craving for a cigarette and aspects of smoking satisfaction.


In this paper, we use data from three districts of Nyanza Province in Kenya to examine gender-role attitudes and reproductive health communication among adolescent females aged 12-19 years. We test for differences in gender-role attitudes between younger (12-15) and older (16-19) adolescents. We explore the possible association between educational attainment and gender-role attitudes by estimating a random effects model. We also examine the association between gender-role attitudes and reproductive health communication via an unordered multinomial logit model. The results show that adolescent females in this setting hold conservative views on decision making within the home and at the same time portray less conservative views concerning marriage and reproductive behaviour. We also find some differences by age regarding gender-role attitudes and reproductive health communication. Our findings further indicate that educational attainment is significantly associated with gender-role attitudes, which in turn are significantly associated with reproductive health communication.


Qajar painting is best known for its large images. These large images have generated most of the scholarly writing on Qajar figurative art. This was a natural outcome of the shift of emphasis from illustrated manuscripts that were the primary channel for the figurative arts of the Safavid era to life size paintings that were initiated by the Qajars. As a result, considerably more research is needed to understand the state of the arts of the book under Qajar rule. This paper focuses on a previously unpublished manuscript of the Divan of Muhammad Khan Dashti dated to the 1270s (1853-1863), which has thirty textual illustrations that can be divided into two distinct groups: the former showing a number of amorous couples, and the latter comprising of images of the Karbala incident. The discussion of the combination of the usual and the idiosyncratic found in these images aims to shed further light on the production and consumption of both manuscripts and figurative art in the Qajar era.


This research reports on a value-based empirical investigation of the adoption of Twitter social media application. A cross-sectional survey-based study conducted through the web site of a North-American university revealed that people familiar with Twitter see more value in the hedonic side and less value in the social side, both in comparison to the utilitarian value of this social media. The study looked with magnifying lens at social factors and found that influence from significant other people and social image of Twitter users favor the adoption, whereas perceived critical mass and perceived social presence do not count statistically in the equation. Overall, the study opens the door for investigating user perceptions on popular social media applications in an effort to understand the unparalleled success of these services in recent years.


Infection is a frequent complication in patients undergoing hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease and is the primary cause of mortality among such patients. Macrophages are important in host defense against infection largely because their Fc gamma receptors recognize antibody-coated bacteria. We therefore studied macrophage Fc gamma-receptor function in vivo and in vitro in 56 patients with end-stage renal disease who were on hemodialysis and in 20 healthy volunteers. The clearance of IgG-coated (sensitized) autologous red cells was decreased in 53 patients. The inhibition of clearance in the 56 patients was 52 +/- 3 percent at 1 hour, 41 +/- 5 percent at 1 1/2 hours, and 29 +/- 5 percent at 2 hours (P less than 0.001). The clearance of unsensitized erythrocytes and heat-altered autologous erythrocytes was normal. The impairment of clearance was not correlated with age, sex, nutritional status, HLA haplotype, or the presence of circulating immune complexes. The recognition of these IgG-sensitized red cells in vitro by Fc gamma RI (an Fc gamma-receptor protein that binds monomeric IgG) on blood monocytes from the patients was also significantly decreased (P less than 0.001) but was partially improved by hemodialysis. Nine patients had severe infections during a two-year follow-up period. The clearance of IgG-coated cells in these patients (half-time, 12.9 +/- 1.7 hours) was significantly impaired, as compared with that in the 47 patients without severe infections (half-time, 4.4 +/- 1.8 hours; P less than 0.001). We conclude that macrophage Fc gamma-receptor function is impaired in patients with end-stage renal disease who are undergoing hemodialysis, and that this impairment probably contributes to the observed immunodepression and high prevalence of infection among such patients.


We studied the effect of vitamin C on fracture healing in the elderly. A total of 80 elderly Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi rats were divided into four groups with different rates of vitamin C intake. A closed bilateral fracture was made in the middle third of the femur of each rat. Five weeks after fracture the femora were analysed by mechanical and histological testing. The groups with the lower vitamin C intake demonstrated a lower mechanical resistance of the healing callus and a lower histological grade. The vitamin C levels in blood during healing correlated with the torque resistance of the callus formed (r = 0.525). Therefore, the supplementary vitamin C improved the mechanical resistance of the fracture callus in elderly rats. If these results are similar in humans, vitamin C supplementation should be recommended during fracture healing in the elderly.


Traditional ASIC design flows have treated logic synthesis and physical design as separate steps in the flow. A recent trend in design automation has been to integrate placement and logic synthesis operations for designs that strive for high performance. The motivation for this is ascribed to achieving timing convergence. These efforts attempt a brute-force combination of techniques from the two fields. We present an architecture for combining synthesis transforms with rough placement. There are three main contributions of this paper. First we present a system architecture that permits a clean separation of placement and synthesis issues and combines the two solutions in an elegant manner. Second, we propose a minor modification to the current ASIC design flow to enable timing convergence. Third, we use design rules for correct circuit operation to drive the placement and the synthesis components of the system. We present results for a set of high performance ASIC designs which demonstrate the practicality of our method.


Bug tacking systems give developers a unique and clear view into user's everyday product experiences. Adding some statistical analysis and software teams can efficiently improve product quality. It's hard to tell precisely how well the error reporting system working, but this seems to be a bug weapon that has landed a permanent spot in microsoft's arsenal. Automated bug tracking, combined with statistical reporting, plays a key role for developers at the Mozilla Foundations, best known for its open source Web browser and email software. The sparse, random sampling approach produces enough data for the team to do what it call "statistical debugging"-bug detection through statistical analysis.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the experience of hope that appears in a parent's blog presenting everyday life while caring for a child with Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome). The author, Rebekah Peterson, began her blog on 17 March 2011 and continues to post information on her son Aaron's care. The analysis of hope in the blog is carried out using a mixed methodology: initial and focused coding using Charmaz's constructed grounded theory and elements of Colaizzi's method. Each aspect of hope is coded through the blog author's statements, from which three main aspects of hope emerge: hope for the longest possible presence of Aaron with his family, hope for control over situations, pain, and symptoms, and existential facets of hope. These various aspects reveal to what extent the experience of hope is unique. Additionally, analyzing the experience of parental hope uncovers the additional problem of inappropriate communication by health care professionals (HCPs) in intensive care units, particularly when discussing the termination of causal treatment. The problem may be solved through proper education for HCPs and serious consideration of parental involvement in order to properly elaborate guidelines on this issue. The three main aspects of parental hope discussed in this paper might expand knowledge on the issue, helping HCPs to better understand the parents' experience of care and to help sustain parental hope in pediatric palliative care.


To date, a number of mannose-binding lectins have been isolated and characterized from plants and fungi. These proteins are composed of different structural scaffold structures which harbor a single or multiple carbohydrate-binding sites involved in the specific recognition of mannose-containing glycans. Generally, the mannose-binding site consists of a small, central, carbohydrate-binding pocket responsible for the "broad sugar-binding specificity" toward a single mannose molecule, surrounded by a more extended binding area responsible for the specific recognition of larger mannose-containing N-glycan chains. Accordingly, the mannose-binding specificity of the so-called mannose-binding lectins towards complex mannose-containing N-glycans depends largely on the topography of their mannose-binding site(s). This structure–function relationship introduces a high degree of specificity in the apparently homogeneous group of mannose-binding lectins, with respect to the specific recognition of high-mannose and complex N-glycans. Because of the high specificity towards mannose these lectins are valuable tools for deciphering and characterizing the complex mannose-containing glycans that decorate both normal and transformed cells, e.g., the altered high-mannose N-glycans that often occur at the surface of various cancer cells.