This book introduces the theoretical and empirical bases for the definition of language learning level in functional 'Can Do' terms for the English Profile Programme, setting out the ambitions of the Programme and presenting emerging findings. The English Profile Programme is an elaboration of the performance level descriptions of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) that is concerned specifically with the English language. The CEFR has become influential in building a shared understanding of performance levels for foreign language learners. However, there is a considerable gap between the broad descriptions of levels provided, which covers a range of languages and learning contexts, and the level of detail required for applications such as syllabus or test design, which this volume addresses. With its combination of theoretical insights and practical advice, this is a useful work for academics, policy-makers, curriculum designers, textbook writers, postgraduate students and examination board staff.


We examine how blockchain technology can be used to combat counterfeiting. Specifically, we consider a market that consists of a manufacturer and a counterfeiter. The manufacturer can either use blockchain or signal through pricing to validate product authenticity. Customers have privacy concerns around blockchain usage. We find that blockchain should be used only when customers have intermediate distrust about products in the market. In markets with relaxed intellectual property regulations against counterfeiting where customers have serious distrust about products, pricing strategy is more effective than blockchain. Further, when the counterfeiter can produce a comparable quality product, the manufacturer could benefit using a pooling strategy. This benefit can be sufficiently large such that the manufacturer may not use blockchain even when the government offers subsidy or even when implementation is free. However, we show that blockchain can be more effective than pricing strategy in eliminating the post-purchase regret and improving social welfare.


Skeletal muscle is a highly organised yet adaptive tissue, capable of changing aspects of fibre phenotype in response to demand. While the external signals mediating these changes, such as patterns of motor neuron activity or hormone signalling, are well studied the manner by which these external stimuli are converted into specific patterns of gene expression is less understood. GATA-2 and NFAT-2 are two transcription factors implicated in this process. In this study, conserved regions of the GATA and NFAT transcription factor families were used to design primers for a homology-based PCR-cloning approach to isolate the porcine orthologues of GATA-2 and NFAT-2. The pig was chosen as the target species for this investigation, given the importance of porcine muscle both as a large animal model for muscle development and as a commercially important meat animal. The long-term goal of the work was to determine what effects these transcription factors might have in the regulation of stage- and isoform-specific gene expression. A porcine orthologue of GATA-2 was cloned, and the sequence submitted to GenBank (Accession N° AY251012). Though only a truncated cDNA clone was obtained from efforts to clone porcine NFAT-2, sufficient sequence data was recovered for the design of isoform-specific primers for quantitative real-time RT-PCR. GATA-2 and NFAT-2 were found to have a wide tissue distribution. A novel finding was that GATA-2 was found to be highly expressed in uterine smooth muscle. This suggests that the segregation of GATA-family members between haemopoietic functions and mesodermal tissues may not be as distinct as was previously thought. In addition to studying trans-acting factors, this study also looked at potential targets for factors modifying fibre phenotype, in particular the isoforms of myosin heavy chain (MyHC). The different MyHC isoforms expressed in a muscle fibre greatly influence aspects of phenotype such as shortening velocity and ATPase activity, and are indicative of fibre type. One such isoform, the embryonic MyHC (emMyHC), was one of the last remaining uncharacterised isoforms in the pig. The first intron and immediate upstream region of the porcine embryonic MyHC were isolated and sequenced, and it was found that the translation start site of the porcine isoform was located on exon 2, something which had not been previously reported in any other isoforms or orthologues of the gene. A GATA-2 binding site was found, 4 kb upstream of the transcriptional start site. Reporter constructs were generated for use in conjunction with the GATA-2 clone. Through in vitro transcription-translation, the GATA-2 clone was found to encode a functional reading frame for a protein of the expected size and was deemed suitable for functional studies. Technical difficulties frustrated the efforts to quantify changes in MyHC expression in porcine primary myoblasts through quantitative real-time RT- PCR. However, a preliminary in vitro study in C2C12 murine myoblasts suggested that emMyHC reporter activity was reduced by GATA-2 overexpression. Together with developmental expression patterns showing an upregulation in GATA-2 coinciding with the developmental downregulation of emMyHC, and the presence of a putative GATA-2 binding site in the 5' UTR, this was taken as evidence of a possible role for GATA-2 in negatively regulating emMyHC. Some possibilities for studies to further explore these findings are discussed.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) reminds us that sudden disease emergence is a permanent part of our world--and should be anticipated in our planning. Historically the emergence of new diseases has had little or no impact beyond a small, localized cluster of infections. However, given just the right conditions, a highly virulent pathogen can suddenly spread across time and space with massive consequences, as has occurred on several occasions in human history. In the wake of the SARS outbreak, we are now forced to confront the unpleasant fact that human activities are increasing the frequency and severity of these kinds of emergences. The idea of more frequent biological "invasions" with economic and societal impacts comparable to SARS, presents stakeholders in and the global economy with unprecedented new risks, challenges and even opportunities. As a major contributor to economic stability, the insurance industry must follow these trends very closely and develop scenarios to anticipate these events.


Objective: To quantify the production of total and reducing sugars, as well as bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum spp.) pretreated with Trametes versicolor and 20 %(W/V) NaOH solution. Design/methodology/approach: An experimental 2 design was used to determine the effect of the volume of inoculant solution added to wild sugarcane bagasse samples (Factor A; 8 and 10 mL), its incubation period (Factor B; 18 and 24 d), and the bagasse weight/volume of 20 %(W/V) NaOH solution (Factor C; 5 and 20 %(W/V), on the production of total and reducing sugars during simple saccharification. ANOVA analysis was used to evaluate the significance of these factors. The production of bioethanol was achieved via simple fermentation using a commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results: It was found that the highest yields of reducing and total sugars were obtained with the use of 10 mL of inoculant solution and with an 18 d incubation period during biological pretreatments. The ANOVA analysis suggests that Factors A and B influence the release of sugars, while Factor C was irrelevant. The bioethanol production registered concentrations of up to 7.3 mg mL for every 5 g of sugarcane bagasse. Limitations/implications: This study focused on how treatments using T. versicolor and NaOH affected the release of sugars. Optimization of bioethanol production needs to be considered subsequently in another study. Findings/conclusions: The results have implications for the use of pretreatments for the production of bioethanol from agro-industrial residues.


Medical visualization refers to the techniques and processes used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science including the study of normal anatomy and physiology. The visualization of medical images data sets is to reconstruct 3D images with the 2D slice images so as to reveal the 3D configuration of organs through human visual system. Visual C++ are used to reconstruct 3D images using the CT slice sequence. The key algorithms and human CT 3D visualization results are given in this paper. The coordinates can be acquired by the mouse clicking in the 3D space, by which to realize the point coordinate acquisition of the 3D medicine images. The visualization of medical images can provide us with more information and means of visual interactive for simulated operations and assistant diagnosis. The technique can realize the real time interaction quantitative measurement of three-dimensional CT image.


The research in this paper is part of wet-sieving concrete technique for building thermal insulated reinforced concrete composite wall. The carbonized depths of fine aggregate concrete and ordinary concrete were measured by the carbonization test method. Based on the test, in standard test environmental conditions, the carbonization changes of fine aggregate concrete rely on its inherent combination changes. The lower carbonized depth takes place in fine aggregate concrete comparing with ordinary concrete, which is resulted from the increasing cement content and the reduction of grain size of coarse aggregate in fine aggregate concrete. Finally, the carbonization of fine aggregate concrete is evaluated according to the relative specification, and the reasonable service life of fine aggregate concrete is precast.


The choline homologue 3-[(trimethylammonio)methyl]catechol (TMC) has been synthesized, and the controllable features of its complex oxidation have been examined spectroscopically and correlated with its toxin binding inactivating reactions with the acetylcholine receptor (AcChR) from Torpedo californica electroplax. Affinity-dependent reactions of early intermediates in the oxidation of TMC are suggested to intercede covalently in this inactivation. At pH 7.4, where the oxidative polymerization of catechols proceeds spontaneously, pyrocatechol produced no effect on the toxin binding function of AcChR, whereas comparable concentrations of TMC led to inactivation of half of all available sites. Lower concentrations of TMC converted via oxidation with ceric salts to an in situ mixture of monohydroxylated catechols were shown to be effective in short-term incubations in inactivating approximately half of the toxin binding sites by covalent labeling of the receptor. Mixtures of dihydroxycatechol intermediates, hydroxy-p-quinones, and polymeric products led to nonspecific toxin binding site inactivation of AcChR in excess of half of all available sites. Collectively, the results suggest that both covalent labeling and oxygen reduction product inactivating mechanisms are operative in these model macromolecular site reactions and that catechol-containing affinity reagents may be useful in elucidating the molecular features of sites to which they are directed.


Imaging the electrical activity of the heart can be achieved with invasive catheterisation. However, the resulting data are sparse and noisy. Mathematical modelling of cardiac electrophysiology can help the analysis but solving the associated mathematical systems can become unfeasible. It is often computationally demanding, for instance when solving for different patient conditions. We present a new framework to model the dynamics of cardiac electrophysiology at lower cost. It is based on the integration of a low-fidelity physical model and a learning component implemented here via neural networks. The latter acts as a complement to the physical part, and handles all quantities and dynamics that the simplified physical model neglects. We demonstrate that this framework allows us to reproduce the complex dynamics of the transmembrane potential and to correctly identify the relevant physical parameters, even when only partial measurements are available. This combined model-based and data-driven approach could improve cardiac electrophysiological imaging and provide predictive tools.


A high-throughput method has been developed using a commercial piezoelectric inkjet printer for synthesis and characterization of mixed-metal oxide photoelectrode materials for water splitting. The printer was used to deposit metal nitrate solutions onto a conductive glass substrate. The deposited metal nitrate solutions were then pyrolyzed to yield mixed-metal oxides that contained up to eight distinct metals. The stoichiometry of the metal oxides was controlled quantitatively, allowing for the creation of vast libraries of novel materials. Automated methods were developed to measure the open-circuit potentials (Eoc), short-circuit photocurrent densities (Jsc), and current density vs. applied potential (J–E) behavior under visible light irradiation. The high-throughput measurement of Eoc is particularly significant because open-circuit potential measurements allow the interfacial energetics to be probed regardless of whether the band edges of the materials of concern are above, close to, or below the values needed to sustain water electrolysis under standard conditions. The Eoc measurements allow high-throughput compilation of a suite of data that can be associated with the composition of the various materials in the library, to thereby aid in the development of additional screens and to form a basis for development of theoretical guidance in the prediction of additional potentially promising photoelectrode compositions.


In micropalaeontology, statistics resulting from counts are rarely reported with error margins or confidence intervals. A short discussion of taxon proportions and of Fisher's α diversity index is augmented with tables and graphs to assist the researcher in calculating confidence intervals. Any results, discussions or further calculations based on counts can then be put on a more secure statistical footing.


Objective: The tropane derivative, TRODAT-1 when labelled with 99mTc has been shown to bind dopamine transporter (DAT) with high affinity and selectivity. In this study, we have modified the in-house formulation of TRODAT-1 cold kit. We investigated if the labeling procedure could be improved by using a block heater and thus be more efficient and consistent than using autoclaving or boiling water-bath methods described elsewhere.
Methods: Briefly, 1mg of TRODAT-1 was dissolved in 100µl of ethanolic-HCl. To this solution 500µg SnCl2, 160mg sodium glucoheptonate, 19mg EDTA were added and mixed. The bulk solution containing TRODAT-1 was aseptically dispensed in 1.0mL aliquots and stored at -80°C. TRODAT-1 was radiolabelled by adding 1.4GBq of 99mTc-pertechneate in 3ml saline and heated for 30min at 100oC using a block heater enclosed with a lid. The radiochemical purity (RCP) was analysed using Instant Thin Layer Chromatography-Silica Gel (ITLC-SG) with 0.9% Sodium Chloride as the solvent and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was performed using 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) / Water (H2O) & Acetonitrile (ACN). As proof of concept, biodistribution of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 was studied in a rabbit model. Animals were injected with 30MBq of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 and images were acquired at 60 min post-injection with a Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), Siemens Symbia camera.
Results: Previous studies have used autoclaving method or a boiling water bath for radiolabeling TRODAT-1 with 99mTc. These methods have some limitation including the evaporating of water during boiling, uncontrollable temperatures, variable yield and increased possibility of contamination. To ensure consistent temperature and eliminate the possibility of contamination we used a block heater. The percentage of RCP of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 by ITLC-SG was >99% and reproducible. The retention time by HPLC for labeled product was 16.18min and for free 99mTc was 2.5min. Animal biodistribution studies showed brain hippocampus uptake of 0.32±0.08 %ID/g at 60min post-injection.
Conclusions: This study describes a simple formulation and method of preparation for 99mTc-TRODAT-1, which is reproducible with radiochemical purity (RCP >99%).The pre-clinical results in rabbits indicated specific binding to dopamine receptors and therefore has the potential for use in DAT imaging in patients.


Poor oral health afflicts many low-income and other vulnerable populations. Lack of access to oral health can lead to unnecessary tooth decay, periodontal disease, pain, and the advancement of oral cancer. The absence of preventive care often leads to unnecessary and expensive visits to hospital-based emergency departments to address the pain of dental disease but not the causal conditions. The consequences on inequitable access to dental care are significant for individuals, families and communities. The OHICAN pilot project looked to address the lack of equitable access to care by creating new points of access, training medical providers to perform oral exams and apply fluoride when indicated, thus increasing the oral health workforce, utilizing technology to bridge clinical practice, education, training and research, educating stakeholders to allow dental hygienists to provide preventive care under general supervision, and creating business models that will assist others who seek to create a dental home for those they serve. Social, political and economic forces all contribute to varying degrees in terms of equity in healthcare. The work of OHICAN was designed to create a blueprint for potential solutions to these issues in order to foster oral health equity. Changes to improve access to dental care can take place in a relatively short period of time when all who care and are impacted by this continued unmet oral health need work together.


Due to increase of fault current, various superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) are researched. We studied a power distribution system with SFCL. Along the way, we knew characteristics of fault current according to a distance from substation to fault point. Fault current is reduced by distance's increase from substation. Also, SFCL's effects are decreased by distance too. Therefore, we analyzed the fault current by a distance from substation to fault point when a SFCL was applied into a power distribution system.


The objectives of this investigation are structural effects in electrolytic copper sheets which are caused by the change of the direction of rolling. Unidirectional, reverse as well as cross-rolling at 90° respectively at 45° to the precedent rolling direction have been applied down to final deformations as low as 80% reduction in thickness. Texture has been determined by ACOM (Automated Crystal Orientation Measurement, "Automated EBSD") in the SEM and by X-ray pole figure measurement. The main benefits of ACOM are a high spatial resolution which enables the investigation of texture gradients from the mid plane to the surface of the sheet, and the visualization of the microstructure by crystal orientation mapping. In addition to local texture, statistical distributions of misorientations across grain boundaries and of S grain boundaries have been derived from the individual grain orientation data. The change of the path of plastic deformation induces a destabilization of the substructure which is formed during the primary step of unidirectional rolling. A distinct change of texture is found depending on the deformation process. In cross rolling, the b fiber changes into the unstable b90 fiber which almost disappears with progressive deformation along the new rolling direction.


We demonstrate a novel optical circuit that has the potential of simultaneous demodulation and all-optical clock-recovery of 40-Gb/s wavelength-division-multiplexing nonreturn-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (NRZ-DPSK) signals. A key device of the circuit is an ad hoc periodic fiber Bragg grating filter that simultaneously demodulates the input signals and seeds a series of clock recovery circuits. We report the complete characterization of the proposed scheme in the whole-band using a tunable transmitter. The DPSK demodulated signals show enhanced resilience to chromatic dispersion with respect to the usual NRZ ON-OFF keying format. On the other hand, the recovered clock signals are very stable and have around 200-fs root-mean-square time jitter.


Although findings from several reports suggest that nonreentrant or focal mechanisms contribute to the genesis of arrhythmias during early ischemia, the contribution of triggered activity arising from early or delayed afterdepolarizations has not been resolved. We have previously demonstrated that beta- but not alpha-adrenergic stimulation induces afterdepolarizations and triggered activity in isolated normoxic myocytes. In the present study, the influence of the extent of cellular derangements as well as increases in [K+]o on alpha- and beta-adrenergic-mediated afterdepolarizations and triggered activity was evaluated. Adult canine myocytes were exposed to one of the following experimental conditions with simultaneous intracellular transmembrane action potential recordings: 1) low PO2 (less than 10 mm Hg, obtained using a specially designed hypoxic chamber) and low (6.8) pH; 2) low PO2, low pH, and high extracellular potassium ([K+]o) (10 mM); or 3) severe metabolic inhibition with cyanide (10(-6) M). Cells from each group were superfused with either the alpha-agonist phenylephrine (10(-5) or 10(-7) M, with 10(-5) M nadolol) or the beta-agonist isoproterenol (10(-6) M). Moderate changes in the action potentials were observed under conditions 1 and 2 (moderate hypoxia), whereas marked but reversible changes were observed with cyanide (severe metabolic inhibition). During moderate hypoxia in normal [K+]o, delayed afterdepolarizations or triggered activity were elicited by both alpha- (12 of 13 cells) and beta-adrenergic (five of five cells) stimulation. Increasing [K+]o during moderate hypoxia completely abolished the afterdepolarizations induced by alpha-adrenergic stimulation and prevented the occurrence of triggered activity. In contrast, the influence of beta-adrenergic stimulation was only attenuated by an increase in [K+]o. Exposure to cyanide completely prevented the induction of afterdepolarizations and triggered activity by both alpha- and beta-adrenergic stimulation. Our findings indicate that moderate hypoxia in normal [K+]o is associated with the development of adrenergic-mediated afterdepolarizations and triggered activity. In contrast, accumulation of [K+]o or severe impairment of cellular metabolism is accompanied by inhibition of adrenergic-mediated afterdepolarizations and triggered activity.


In this study, a new slip-line field model and its associated hodograph for orthogonal cutting with a rounded-edge worn cutting tool are developed using Dewhurst and Collins's matrix technique. The new model considers the existence of dead metal zone in front of the rounded-edge worn cutting tool. The ploughing force and friction force occurred due to flank wear land, chip up-curl radius, chip thickness, primary shear zone thickness and length of bottom side of the dead metal zone are obtained by solving the model depending on the experimental resultant force data. The effects of flank wear rate, cutting edge radius, uncut chip thickness, cutting speed and rake angle on these outputs are specified.


Six new compounds were isolated from the aerial and root parts of S. viridis L. cv. Blue Jeans. Two new triterpenoids, lup-20(29)-ene-2α-acetate-3β-ol, and lup-20(29)-ene-2α-ol-3β-acetate were found in the aerial part together with lup-20(29)-ene-2α-3β-diol, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, β-sitosterol and β-sitosterol glucoside. Three new diterpenoids, 1-oxomicrostegiol, viroxocane, viridoquinone, together with five known diterpenoids, ferruginol, salvinolonyl 12-methyl ether, microstegiol, 7α-acetoxy-14-hydroxy-8,13-abietadiene-11,12-dione and 7α,14-dihydroxy-8,13-abietadiene-11,12-dione were found in roots. 1-Docosyl ferulate, 2'',3''-di-O-acetyl-martynoside and a mixture of 2-(4'-alkoxy-phenyl) ethyl alkanoates were also isolated from roots. Seven caffeic acid derivatives, five flavonoid glycosides, and salidroside were found in the crude aerial fraction. Four caffeic acid derivatives were known phenylpropanoids, i.e. trans-, cis-verbascoside, leucosceptoside A and martynoside, which are now reported in the genus Salvia for the first time. The others were caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid and 6-O-caffeoyl-glucose. A new flavonoid glycoside, luteolin-7-O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-galactopyranoside was also identified in the aerial part with four known flavone glycosides: luteolin-7-O-β-glucopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-β-galactopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-rutinoside and apigenin-7-O-β-glucopyranoside. Verbascoside (acteoside), which is a major component in this plant, showed a significant protective effect against UVA induced damage in a human skin fibroblast model in vitro. It exhibited 1.4 fold protective effect against UVA induced necrosis with 1.4 fold higher in cell survival. 50 μM Verbascoside showed the same protective effect as 100 μM DFO at a high intensity UVA dose (500 kJ/m2). Further determination of organelle specific protection suggested a mechanism of action in mitochondria. Two terpenoids, lup-20(29)-ene-2α-acetate-3β-ol and 7α,14-dihydroxy-8,13-abieta-diene-11,12-dione, exhibited antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis with MIC 50 μM. Microstegiol was also active against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC 50 μM. Ursolic acid, oleanolic acid and ferruginol showed appreciable antibacterial activity against three Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacillus cereus with MIC 12.5-50 μM. The other diterpenoids were active against all three Gram-positive bacteria with MIC 100-200 μM. None of crude fractions was active against three Gram-negative bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, and Escherichia coli.


In an attempt to restore more normal voluntary and involuntary movement to the paralysed face, free revascularised muscle grafts were inserted in 7 patients, all of whom had a non-functioning perioral and lower cheek musculature on one side. This procedure was preceded by a cross facial nerve graft in order to supply the nerve fibres to the graft as soon after its insertion as possible. The clinical and electromyographical results are discussed and together have provided sufficient evidence to indicate that the technique works effectively.


Positive selection has been identified and extensively studied in many human genes. In contrast, positive selection in the closest human relative, chimpanzee, has been largely unstudied until recently. With the complete sequencing of the human and chimpanzee genomes, a comparison of the types and numbers of genes that underwent positive selection in the two species is possible. The types of genes under positive selection in human and chimpanzee are different with regard to gene function, but no particular type accounts for a large part of this difference. However, significantly more genes experienced positive selection in the chimpanzee lineage than in the human lineage.

Keywords:

positive selection;
human;
chimpanzee;
molecular evolution;
population size


The objective of this contribution is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss health care system after the new Law on Health Insurance (LHI) that took effect at the beginning of 1996. The LHI just barely survived a popular referendum. An important argument of the campaign in its favor had been that health insurance premiums would fall thanks to increased competition between the sickness funds (mutual health insurers). At the same time, the federal government hoped that its budget would be less burdened by subsidies earmarked for health insurance. Neither expectation has been fulfilled, not least because Parliament made the list of benefits covered more comprehensive than ever. Thus, the health share in the GDP has continued to grow, from 9.5% in 1996 to some 11% in 2003 (OECD, 2004).


The concentration of circulating insulin oscillates with periods of 3-6 min due to pulsatile release of the hormone from the pancreas. Pulsatile insulin secretion from the individual * cell is driven by slow cycles of Ca2+ elevation due to periodic depolarisation. The Ca2+ oscillations of individual * cells in the islets of Langerhans are entrained into a common rhythm by gap junctional coupling and diffusible factors. Autonomic ganglia coordinate the oscillatory activity of the million islets in the pancreas. ATP binding to purinoceptors causes pronounced Ca2+ spikes that are important for synchronizing the *-cells within and among islets in the pancreas. Inhibition of purinergic P2Y1 receptors selectively abolishes pulsatile insulin release without reducing the average rate of secretion. The insulin oscillations are particularly important for the liver. This organ is also exposed to oscillating levels of glucagon. The latter oscillations are in opposite phase allowing maximal exposure to insulin when the glucagon concentration is at minimum.


Background: Tetrapleura tetraptera has been reported traditionally for the treatments of various ailments, which include convulsion, leprosy, inflammation and rheumatic pains, schistosomiasis, asthma and hypertension. The antiinflammatory activity of the aqueous extract of T. tetraptera fruit in egg albumin-induced paw oedema as well as in vitro anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity had been documented. However, there had been no studies on the antiarthritic properties of the plant.Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate in vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of the methanol extract Tetrapleura tetraptera in carrageenan/kaolin-induced acute monoarthritis in rat.Materials and methods: The acute toxicity of the methanol plant extract was determined using Lorke's method. In vivo carrageenan/kaolin induced arthritis assay was performed on Tetrapleura tetraptera (TtME) extract (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) using albino rats. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) and normal saline were employed as positive and negative controls, respectively. Histological study was performed on the knee joint of the animals after collection of blood for antioxidants analysis.Results: Acute toxicity study showed that TtME is safe by oral administration up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. Oral administration of TtME and indomethacin (10 mg/kg) produced a significant (p < 0.05) time and dose-dependent decrease in joint diameter. There was a decrease in malondialdehyde and increase in glutathione and superoxide dismutase. The histological assessment revealed no major adverse effects on the animals.Conclusion: Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit extract possesses anti-arthritic activity, which may be attributed to its antiinflammatory and antioxidant activity.Keywords: Tetrapleura tetraptera, Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-arthritic activity, Histopathology


Microarchitecture of trabecular bone is a very important component of bone quality in osteoporosis and a determinant of vertebral fracture in men with low bone mineral density (BMD). In contrast to women, male osteoporosis is, in most cases, secondary. The relationships between microarchitecture and different risk factors have never been evaluated in men. About 152 men with low BMD at the lumbar spine or hip (BMD, T‐score < −2.5) were included in this study. Risk factors were: age, BMI, alcohol intake, corticosteroid therapy, hypogonadism, and chronic diseases. Transiliac bone biopsies were obtained and histomorphometry was done on an image analyzer; the following parameters were measured: cortical thickness (Ct.Th), trabecular bone volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), separation (Tb.Sp) and number (Tb.N), interconnectivity Index (ICI), star volume of the bone marrow, and strut analysis with node and free‐end count. The 50 men with two risk factors had a lower BMD, lower Ct.Th and a significant higher star volume than those with one factor or idiopathic osteoporosis. The 26 men with at least three risk factors, had a lower BMD, a reduction of BV/TV and Ct.Th and a marked disorganization of the trabecular network (increased Tb.Sp, ICI, star volume, and free‐end to free‐end struts). The prevalence of vertebral fractures was higher in these patients. When the main risk factor was considered, a marked decrease in trabecular bone connectivity was observed in hypogonadic men. In osteoporotic men, higher the number of risk factors, lower the connectivity of trabecular network and higher the vertebral fracture risk. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Preference for ethyl alcohol was significantly reduced or totally abolished in rats given orally p-chlorophenylalanine, a tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor that selectively depletes brain serotonin. Some aversion to alcohol was observed while p-chlorophenylalanine was administered, but the rats' rejection of alcohol was even more marked after the drug was discontinued. Oral administration of α-methyl-p-tyrosine, a tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor that depletes brain catecholamines, slightly reduced selection of alcohol, but preference returned to normal as soon as α-methyl-p-tyrosine was terminated.


In every economy of the world, the impact of the SME is not taken for granted as for all healthy economy, there must be a healthy SME due to the fact that, their contribution to the production volumes in terms of exports, innovations and the entrepreneur skills is vital for every economy to grow. There is a reasonable level of agreement among policy makers, theorists, economists, and business experts that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are drivers of economic growth. SMEs' access to credit has been a serious subject of debates to policy makers and researchers of both developed and developing economies based on the pivotal and significant role of SMEs' in growing the private sector as well as the global economies as an extension to the nations. Hence, there is a need to  examine the bank lending capacities to the SMEs' in Nigeria and its effects on the Nigerian business environment, the impact of financial crisis in Nigeria on SMEs' access to bank credit, in addition, to determine the impact of SMEs' on the Nigerian economy. The study employed the use of secondary source of data in the relevant literatures and data generated from the Central Bank of Nigeria Bulletin, 2016 on Credit Accessibility to the SME sector in Nigeria from the year 1992-2015. An econometric analysis was used specifically  regression analysis. The result confirmed that Bank lending capacity as one of the factors of financial crisis does affect the SMEs access to credit, and there is a strong and positive relationship between the SMEAC, Foreign Direct Investment, Interest Rate and Inflation while there is a strong and negative relationship between the SMEAC, GDP Total, CBTC and the Money Supplied. However, there is a weak relationship between the SMEAC and the SMEGDP and CBLSME. The result indicates that, as the Interest Rate and Inflation continue to increase it has a negative influence  on  the SMEs access to credit through the commercial banks. It is recommended to the Nigerian government that, economic policies that would favour the establishment of more SMEs with access to flexible credit facilities be made. In addition, the government needs to improve on the commercial bank lending capacities to the SMEs as this when positively managed will positively influence the contribution of the SMEs GDP Keywords : Financial Crisis, credit Accessibility, small and medium enterprises DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-22-09 Publication date: November 30 th 2019


Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is characterized by a loss of ovarian function before the age of 40 and account for one major cause of female infertility. POI relevance is continuously growing because of the increasing number of women desiring conception beyond 30 years of age, when POI prevalence is >1%. POI is highly heterogeneous and can present with ovarian dysgenesis and primary amenorrhea, or with secondary amenorrhea, and it can be associated with other congenital or acquired abnormalities. In most cases POI remains classified as idiopathic. However, the age of menopause is an inheritable trait and POI has a strong genetic component. This is confirmed by the existence of several candidate genes, experimental and natural models. The variable expressivity of POI defect may indicate that, this disease may frequently be considered as a multifactorial or oligogenic defect. The most common genetic contributors to POI are the X chromosome‐linked defects. Here, we review the principal X‐linked and autosomal genes involved in syndromic and non‐syndromic forms of POI with the expectation that this list will soon be upgraded, thus allowing the possibility to predict the risk of an early age at menopause in families with POI.


BACKGROUND Enterogenous cysts are benign embryogenic tumors that developed close to the central nervous system. They are rarely symptomatic in neonates. This report describes such a cyst in a young infant that was discovered because of the discomfort it produced. CASE REPORT A 16 day-old boy suffered from discomfort during bathing followed by deviation of the eyes. He was given diazepam rectally. At admission, he had generalized hypotonia and hyperreflexia. CSF examination showed 1.7 g/l protein. A prolonged apnea with cyanosis and bradycardia required his admission to the intensive care unit, where a spastic quadriparesis with bilateral phrenic nerve paralysis was found. EEG and brain ultrasonography were normal. MR imaging showed an intraspinal cyst, locating from C1 to C3, that was compressing the spinal cord. The cyst was rapidly excised and histological examination confirmed that it was an enterogenous cyst. CONCLUSION This cyst was not associated with vertebral abnormalities but did produce early symptoms. It was diagnosed by MR imaging.


Raw milk microbiota is complex and influenced by many factors that facilitate the introduction of undesirable microorganisms. Milk microbiota is closely related to the safety and quality of dairy products, and it is therefore critical to characterize the variation in the microbial composition of raw milk. In this cross-sectional study, the variation in raw milk microbiota throughout the year (n = 142) from three farms in China was analyzed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, including α and β diversity, microbial composition, and the relationship between microbiota and milk quality parameters. This aimed to characterize the contamination risk of raw milk throughout the year and the changes in quality parameters caused by contamination. Collection month had a significant effect on microbial composition; microbial diversity was higher in raw milk collected in May and June, while milk collected in October and December had the lowest microbial diversity. Microbiota composition differed significantly between milk collected in January–June, July–August, and September–December (p < 0.05). Bacterial communities represented in raw milk at the phylum level mainly included Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidota; Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Streptococcus and Lactobacillus were the most common genera. Redundancy analysis (RDA) found strong correlations between microbial distribution and titratable acidity (TA), fat, and protein. Many genera were significantly correlated with TA, for example Acinetobacter (R = 0.426), Enhydrobacter (R = 0.309), Chryseobacterium (R = 0.352), Lactobacillus (R = −0.326), norank_o__DTU014 (R = −0.697), norank_f__SC-I-84 (R = −0.678), and Subgroup_10 (R = −0.721). Additionally, norank_f__ Muribaculaceae was moderately negatively correlated with fat (R = −0.476) and protein (R = −0.513). These findings provide new information on the ecology of raw milk microbiota at the farm level and contribute to the understanding of the variation in raw milk microbiota in China.


The anti‐proliferative activity of the DNA‐interactive anti‐cancer agent cis‐diamminedichloroplatinum(11) (cDDP) can be modulated by intracellular signaling systems. We have investigated the effects of growth factors on the sensitivity of human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells to cDDP. A 24‐hr pretreatment of HeLa cells with 10 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF) or transforming growth factor‐α increased the anti‐proliferatfve activity of cDDP by 2‐ to 4‐fold. A similar pretreatment of HeLa cells with EGF did not alter cellular sensitivity to doxorubicin or vincristine. A brief exposure (15 min) to growth factors was not sufficient for cDDP sensitization. EGF caused a modest and transient increase in cellular diacylglycerol, the endogenous activator of protein kinase C. Bryostatin I, a partial agonist of protein kinase C, antagonized phorbol ester‐mediated cDDP sensitization but had no effect on EGF‐mediated sensitization to cODP. Both EGF and phorbol 12,13‐dibutyrate (PDBu) enhanced the rate of [195mPt]cDDP uptake but had no effect on the rate of [195mPt]cDDP efflux in HeLa cells. Bryostatin I reversed the increase in [195mPt]cDDP content by PDBu but failed to block EGF‐induced increase in [195mPt]cDDP accumulation. Therefore, although the mechanism of tDDP sensitization by both EGF and phorbol ester appears to involve enhanced drug uptake, they may utilize distinct signal transduction pathways.


Type 1 diabetes results from autoimmune destruction of the insulin producing pancreatic β-cells. The immunoproteasome, a version of the proteasome that collaborates with the 11S/PA28 activator to generate immunogenic peptides for presentation by MHC class I molecules, has long been implicated in the onset of the disease, but little is known about immunoproteasome function and regulation in pancreatic β-cells. Interesting insight into these issues comes from a recent analysis of the immunoproteasome expressed in pancreatic β-cells during early antiviral defenses mediated by interferon β (IFNβ), a type I IFN implicated in the induction of the diabetic state in human and animal models. Using mouse islets and the MIN6 insulinoma cell line, Freudenburg et al. found that IFNβ stimulates expression of the immunoproteasome and the 11S/PA28 activator in a manner fundamentally similar to the classic immuno-inducer IFNγ, with similar timing of mRNA accumulation and decline; similar transcriptional activation mediated primarily by the IRF1 and similar mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, neither IFNβ nor IFNγ altered the expression of regular proteolytic subunits or prevented their incorporation into proteolytic cores. As a result, immunoproteasomes had stochastic combinations of immune and regular proteolytic sites, an arrangement that would likely increase the probability with which unique immunogenic peptides are produced. However, immunoproteasomes were activated by the 11S/PA28 only under conditions of ATP depletion. A mechanism that prevents the activation of immunoproteasome at high ATP levels has not been reported before and could have a major regulatory significance, as it could suppress the generation of immunogenic peptides as cell accumulate immunoproteasome and 11S/PA28, and activate antigen processing only when ATP levels drop. We discuss implications of these new findings on the link between early antiviral response and the onset of type 1 diabetes.


Abstract Tropical coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs have provided food, income and resources to humans for millennia. The first interactions that people had with coral reef ecosystems left little signature or impact, most probably due to the restricted access, as well as the challenges and ephemeral technologies that people used to exploit these important ecosystems. As human populations expanded along tropical coastal areas, however, the influence of coastal people on coral reefs grew rapidly. Deforestation and coastal agriculture reduced coastal water quality, with many fringing coral reefs disappearing as impacts grew. Increasing numbers of fishers with increasingly advanced technologies exploited tropical coastal fisheries so that many marine species declined dramatically. These activities have removed some functional groups to the point where ecological transformations away from coral-dominated communities increasingly occurred. Shipping and marine pollution, as well as ocean warming and acidification from the burning of fossil fuels, have added further stress on tropical marine ecosystems. The latter represents a major threat with even small amounts of change potentially driving the ecological extinction of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems. Given inaction on the core drivers of these changes, the future does not look bright for coral reef ecosystems as we move into the critical phase of the Anthropocene Epoch.


The ability to assess welfare is an important refinement that will ensure the good condition of animals used in experimentation. The present study investigated the impact of invasive procedures on the patterns of movement of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Recordings were made before and after fin clipping, PIT tagging and a standard pain test and these were compared with control and sham handled zebrafish. The fractal dimension (FD) from the 3D trajectories was calculated to determine the effect of these treatments on the complexity of movement patterns. While the FD of zebrafish trajectories did not differ over time in either the control or sham group, the FDs of the treatment groups reduced in complexity. The FD of fish injected with different strengths of acetic acid declined in a dose-dependent manner allowing us to develop an arbitrary scale of severity of the treatments. The 3D trajectory plots from some groups indicated the presence of repetitive swimming patterns akin to stereotypical movements. When administered with lidocaine, which has analgesic properties, the movement complexity of fin clipped fish reverted to a pattern that resembled that of control fish. Fractal analysis of zebrafish locomotion could potentially be adopted as a tool for fish welfare assessment.


Previous studies have shown the antioxidant effects of polyphenols in red wine.1–4 An acute effect of red wine on the coronary microcirculation has been shown in healthy volunteers, although neither white wine nor vodka had an acute effect on coronary microcirculation in that study.5 Thus, we hypothesised that the coronary microcirculation can be improved by a daily intake of red wine polyphenols without alcohol. In addition, this effect may be seen not only in the healthy person but also in the patient with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Recent advances in transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) have enabled non-invasive assessment of coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) in the clinical setting.6,7 This non-invasive technique has made serial assessment of CFVR after daily intake of red wine polyphenols possible even in patients with CAD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short term effect of taking red wine polyphenols on the coronary microcirculation by using TTDE to assess patients with CAD.

Ten male patients with angiographically documented CAD were recruited for this study (mean (SD) age 61 (7) years, body mass index 28.5 (5.2) kg/cm2) in New York, USA and Osaka, Japan from October 2000 to March 2002. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) anterior myocardial infarction (MI); (2) significant stenosis (> 50%) in the left anterior descending coronary artery; (3) recent MI (< 6 months); (4) severely disturbed cardiac function (ejection fraction < 40%); (5) uncontrolled hypertension (systolic …


The fracture toughness and strength of ceramics can be improved with respect to monolithic ceramics by developing graded materials as laminates composed of periodic alternating layers of one material separated by layers of a second material. The second layer must contain residual compressive stresses which are induced during densification because of differential thermal contraction of the layers. The overall residual stresses increase the apparent fracture toughness of the laminate. However, most deleterious natural flaws and most of the damage induced in service by the environment, contact loading, wear, etc, are small cracks on the surface of the outer layer, so that the effect of the laminate residual stresses on these cracks should be rationalised to understand their behaviour. This work presents an analysis of the influence of the gradient residual stresses on the behaviour of surface cracks under bending and indentation in materials with outer layers either with tensile or compressive residual stresses.


This thesis reconstructs American perceptions of the Soviet space programme between the climax of the 1960s Moon Race and the USSR's collapse. Whereas previous scholarship has focused on America's stunned introduction to the Soviet programme with the 1957 Sputnik Crisis, this thesis explores the long-term ramifications of a communist presence in outer space, a place frequently characterised as a rejuvenating terrain that it was America's destiny to explore, prospect and settle. America was never alone on this new frontier: it shared use of outer space with its principal geopolitical rival, a collectivist state that articulated its own prophecy of cosmic destiny. This thesis seeks to recapture American perceptions of the Soviet space programme through government documents, contemporary cultural and media material and the personal papers of prominent space experts. It argues that, long after the Apollo lunar landings, American discussion of the Soviet space programme continued to reflect hopes and fears about the future of the superpowers' relationship. The secrecy that shrouded the Soviet programme nourished a "Shadow Programme" of rumours and speculation about Soviet activities. Duplication and infighting were largely concealed and replaced with images of a frenzied determination to surpass America and seize the space frontier. This image of Soviet determination survived the Moon Race and was only conclusively dispelled with the revelations that emerged from Mikhail Gorbachev's Glasnost transparency campaign. American observers often filled the gaps left by the lack of verifiable information about Soviet space plans with their own prejudices and preconceptions about the USSR. The image of a dedicated and determined Soviet programme was also used by space enthusiasts as a reproach to supposed American inaction and concern about the Soviet space threat intensified during hiatuses in the US crewed spaceflight programme. By illuminating a longer history of American engagement with the communist presence in space, this thesis demonstrates outer space's continued importance as a political terrain. Whether as a decisive battleground for the final confrontation between capitalism and communism, or an optimistic venue for reconciliation and accommodation, outer space continued to play an important role in Cold War rhetoric and strategy.


The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has increased dramatically amongst multiethnic population. However, how gestational diabetes mellitus damages the developing embryo is still unknown. In this study, we used yolk sac membrane (YSM) model to investigate angiogenesis in the developing chick embryo. We determined that in the presence of high glucose, it retarded the growth and extension of the embryonic vascular plexus and it also reduced the density of the vasculature in yolk sac membrane model. Using the same strategy, we used the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) as a model to investigate the influence of high glucose on the vasculature. We established that high glucose inhibited development of the blood vessel plexus and the blood vessels formed had a narrower diameter than control vessels. Concurrent with the abnormal angiogenesis, we also examined how it impacted cardiogenesis. We determined the myocardium in the right ventricle and left atrium were significantly thicker than the control and also there was a reduction in glycogen content in cardiomyocytes. The high glucose also induced excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the cardiomyocytes. We postulated that it was the excess reactive oxygen species that damaged the cardiomyocytes resulting in cardiac hyperplasia.


An engineering case is taken to analyze data of buildings settlement caused by foundation pit excavation. The predicted value was calculated and compared with the measured data to discuss the settlement of buildings nearby foundation pit. It is proved that sedimentation rate and settlement are relative to depth of the foundation pit and distance between buildings and foundation pit. This paper suggests to monitoring variation during construction in order to ensure safety of structural support and surroundings.


Data breaches occur at the rate of over two a day. The aggregate social cost is high. Security experts have long explained how to defend better. So why does society tolerate a significant loss that it has the means to avoid? Current laws are ineffective in providing an adequate incentive to avoid the loss. As Thomas Smedinghoff notes, laws — current and proposed — "obligate companies to establish and maintain 'reasonable' or 'appropriate' security measures, controls, safeguards, or procedures." However, most the laws "simply obligate companies to establish and maintain 'reasonable' or 'appropriate' security measures, controls, safeguards, or procedures, but give no further direction or guidance." We contend that the consequence is that the laws fail to provide an adequate incentive to improve information security. The solution is to provide better guidance about what counts as reasonable security measures. Data breach notification laws may seem like a viable alternative, but we argue they are unlikely to sufficiently improve security.


Problems concerning complete structural characterization of quasicrystals involve locating the atomic positions as well as determining the distribution of elements at each site. Quasicrystalline approximants provide models for potential building units of quasicrystals, but a clear determination of the elemental decorations in such approximants also remains incomplete. We report experimental and theoretical studies of new, quaternary Bergman phases in the Li-MgZn-Al system and a new, quasicrystalline approximant Li10Mg6Zn31Al3 (A16M34-type). A theoretical model using averaged Mulliken populations provides a means to track the segregation of elements (and vacancies) onto different sites as a function of valence electron concentration. As the Li content decreases, vacancies begin to occur at a specific site in the Bergman structure. The new approximant demonstrates how truncated tetrahedra can play an important role in forming clusters with possible fivefold symmetry in quasicrystalline structures.


An experimental study was performed for the combustion-field visualization of the burner which burns the liquid hydrocarbon fuel atomized by an ultrasonic oscillator. Configurations of the flame and combustion-field were caught by both high-speed camera and thermo-graphic camera, and those images were analyzed in detail through a post-processing. As a result, the combustion-field grew and reaction-temperature rose due to the strengthening of combustion reaction with the increasing flow-rate of carrier-gas. In addition, a phenomenon of flame flickering was discussed through the comparative analysis of the variational behaviors between the visible flame and IR (Infrared) flame-field.


Sensor networks are an indispensable part of the Internet of Things (IoT), where sensors perform data acquisition and information processing tasks to obtain the parameters of interest so that IoT-based monitoring, diagnosis and other systems respond quickly to the changing conditions, instantaneous faults, etc. Distributed estimation algorithms are usually employed to estimate the parameters of interest in these IoT-based applications. However, when sensor networks have highly correlated input signals and nonstationary behavior in which the parameters of interest are time-varying, conventional distributed estimation algorithms suffer from severely degraded learning performance due to the large eigenvalue spread in the covariance matrix of the input signals and the random perturbation of the parameters of interest. To address these problems, this paper proposes two diffusion Bayesian subband adaptive filter (DBSAF) algorithms from a Bayesian learning perspective. As the highly-correlated input signal is whitened in a multiband structure and an estimate of the uncertainty in the parameters of interest is obtained by performing Bayesian inference, the proposed DBSAF algorithms are able to achieve better learning performance in comparison with the competing diffusion algorithms. The transient and steady-state mean square error performance of the proposed DBSAF algorithms are analyzed, and are verified by numerical simulations. A lower bound on the time-varying step-size is derived to maintain the optimal steady-state performance in nonstationary scenarios. A new method for the estimation of the noise variance is also proposed. Numerical simulations demonstrate the excellent learning performance of the proposed algorithms in comparison with benchmark algorithms.


Studies on the glucose consumption of the red blood cells showed this to be highly influenced by the C02 tension. Increasing COz tension inhibits the consumption of glucose. The degree of glucose consumption is a function of the donor's age as well as the blood cells' age. The COz production of the red cells does not appear to be influenced by the COZ tension. Red cells from diabetic infants suspended in their own plasma produce glucose, the more the higher the CO2 tension in the system. In acute infectious diseases blood cells from non-diabetic persons show a tendency to a similar reaction. This effect of the C02 tension in the organism should be borne in mind in metabolic studies. It is probably connected also with the other phenomena, especially in foetal life, which have been discussed today.


Introduction:
 White matter (WM) damage is associated with neurological deficits after stroke. Neuroinflammation increases WM damage. The ATP-binding cassette transporter A 1 (ABCA1) mediates the efflux of cholesterol to ApoA-1 and ApoE and is antiinflammatory and promotes axonal remodeling. D-4F is an ApoA-I mimetic peptide. We tested the hypothesis that D-4F treatment of stroke regulates WM damage and improves neurological functional outcome.

 Methods:
 C57BL/6 white type mice were subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) and were orally administered different doses of D-4F (2, 4, 8, 16 or 32mg/kg) starting at 2h after MCAo and daily for 7 days. Functional outcomes, blood biochemistry, BBB leakage, infarct volume, and WM and axonal changes were evaluated.

 Results:
 D-4F treatment did not alter the blood levels of HDL and total cholesterol, infarction volume and BBB leakage compared to control group. Treatment of stroke with D-4F 16mg/kg 1) significant improved neurological functional outcome (mNSS: 5.2±0.9 vs control 3.9±0.6; Left-foot-fault: 26.7±2.5 vs control 21.4±1.6); 2) did not change the number of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) and oligodendrocytes in the ischemic boundary zone (IBZ) of the striatum; 3) significant increased the density of axons (30.1±1.8% vs control: 19.9±1.7%), phosphorelated neurofilament (39.4±3.5 vs control: 25.3±2.7) and myelin (40.4±2.4 vs control: 25.2±3.6) in the WM bundles in the IBZ of the striatum; 4) increased ABCA1 and decreased TNFα expression in the ischemic brain (n=11/group). In vitro, neurite outgrowth in primary cultured neurons (PCNs) derived from brain specific ABCA1 deficient (ABCA1-B/-B) mice were significantly decreased after hypoxic ischemia compared with PCNs derived from floxed-control (ABCA1fl/fl) mice; D-4F (200ng/ml) treatment significantly increased neurite outgrowth in the ABCA1fl/fl-PCNs, but failed in ABCA1-B/-B-PCNs; D-4F treatment did not increase OPC proliferation, but decreased OPC death of cultured OPCs.

 Conclusions:
 D-4F treatment initiated 2h after MCAo decreases WM damage and improves functional outcome after stroke. Increasing ABCA1 expression in the ischemic brain may contribute to D-4F induced WM and axonal protection after stroke.


In budding yeast the Rif1 protein is important for protecting nascent DNA at blocked replication forks, but the mechanism has been unclear. Here we show that budding yeast Rif1 must interact with Protein Phosphatase 1 to protect nascent DNA. In the absence of Rif1, removal of either Dna2 or Sgs1 prevents nascent DNA degradation, implying that Rif1 protects nascent DNA by targeting Protein Phosphatase 1 to oppose degradation by the Sgs1-Dna2 nuclease-helicase complex. This functional role for Rif1 is conserved from yeast to human cells. Yeast Rif1 was previously identified as a target of phosphorylation by the Tel1/Mec1 checkpoint kinases, but the importance of this phosphorylation has been unclear. We find that nascent DNA protection depends on a cluster of Tel1/Mec1 consensus phosphorylation sites in the Rif1 protein sequence, indicating that the intra-S phase checkpoint acts to protect nascent DNA through Rif1 phosphorylation. Our observations uncover the pathway by which budding yeast Rif1 stabilises newly synthesised DNA, highlighting the crucial role Rif1 plays in maintaining genome stability from lower eukaryotes to humans. Author summary Genome instability is a leading factor contributing to cancer. Maintaining efficient error-free replication of the genome is key to preventing genome instability. During DNA replication, replication forks can be stalled by external and intrinsic obstacles, leading to processing of nascent DNA ends to enable replication restart. However, the nascent DNA must be protected from excessive processing to prevent terminal fork arrest, which could potentially lead to more serious consequences including failure to replicate some genome sequences. Using a nascent DNA protection assay we have investigated the role of the budding yeast Rif1 protein at blocked replication forks. We find that Rif1 protects nascent DNA through a mechanism that appears conserved from yeast to humans. We show that budding yeast Rif1 protects nascent DNA by targeting Protein Phosphatase 1 activity to prevent degradation of nascent DNA by the Sgs1-Dna2 helicase-nuclease complex. Furthermore, we find that Rif1 phosphorylation by the checkpoint pathway during replication stress is crucial for this function. Our results indicate that the S phase checkpoint machinery acts by phosphorylating Rif1 to protect nascent DNA, providing important clues concerning the conserved role of Rif1 in regulating events when replication is challenged.


Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been found to exist in all of the cultures where it has been studied, yet the literature provides limited empirical evidence to indicate whether foreign language students and teachers, as the direct stakeholders in the phenomenon, are aware of it. This study investigated the extent to which foreign language students and teachers are aware of the existence of the phenomenon of FLA and their attitudes towards it. Some 419 non-English-major students, who were undertaking various majors in a university in Vietnam, and eight teachers of English as a foreign language participated in the study. Methodological triangulation, which involved collecting data using questionnaires, interviews, and student autobiographies, was adopted. The findings indicate that approximately two thirds of the students suffered from FLA to some degree, yet the teachers did not attribute adequate importance to it. The study suggests that FLA has an impact on the majority of students and that teachers should take this into account in their teaching.


The World Bank has used an income classification to group countries for analytical purposes for many years. Since the present income classification was first introduced 25 years ago there has been significant change in the global economic landscape. As real incomes have risen, the number of countries in the low income group has fallen to 31, while the number of high income countries has risen to 80. As countries have transitioned to middle income status, more people are living below the World Bank's international extreme poverty line in middle income countries than in low income countries. These changes in the world economy, along with a rapid increase in the user base of World Bank data, suggest that a review of the income classification is needed. A key consideration is the views of users, and this paper finds opinions to be mixed: some critics argue the thresholds are dated and set too low; others find merit in continuing to have a fixed benchmark to assess progress over time. On balance, there is still value in the current approach, based on gross national income per capita, to classifying countries into different groups. However, the paper proposes adjustments to the methodology that is used to keep the value of the thresholds for each income group constant over time. Several proposals for changing the current thresholds are also presented, which it is hoped will inform further discussion and any decision to adopt a new approach.


We determine how long a diffusing particle spends in a given spatial range before it dies at an absorbing boundary. In one dimension, for a particle that starts at x0 and is absorbed at x  =  0, the average residence time of the particle in the range is for x  <  x0 and for x  >  x0, where D is the diffusion coefficient. We extend our approach to biased diffusion, to a particle confined to a finite interval, and to general spatial dimensions. We then use the generating function technique to derive parallel results for the average number of times that a one-dimensional symmetric nearest-neighbor random walk visits site x when the walk starts at x0  =  1 and is absorbed at x  =  0. We also determine the distribution of times when the random walk first revisits x  =  1 before being absorbed.


Objective Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) activity and cigarette smoking significantly influence endothelial function. We sought to determine whether cigarette smoking modified the association between NOS3 polymorphisms and risk of coronary heart disease or stroke. Methods All 1085 incident coronary heart disease cases, all 300 incident ischemic stroke cases, and 1065 reference individuals from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study were genotyped for the T-786C and E298D polymorphisms in NOS3. Using a case–cohort design, associations between genotype/haplotype and disease risk were evaluated by multivariable proportional hazards regression. Multiplicative scale interaction testing evaluated the influence of cigarette smoking history at baseline on these associations. Results In Caucasians, association between E298D genotype and risk of coronary heart disease was significantly modified by current smoking status (interaction P=0.013), with the highest risk observed in smokers carrying the variant D298 allele relative to nonsmokers carrying two E298 alleles (adjusted hazard rate ratio 2.07, 95% confidence interval 1.39–3.07). In African-Americans, association between T-786C genotype and risk of ischemic stroke was significantly modified by pack-year smoking history (interaction P=0.037), with the highest risk observed in ≥20 pack-year smokers carrying the variant C-786 allele relative to <20 pack-year smokers carrying two T-786 alleles (adjusted hazard rate ratio 4.03, 95% confidence interval 1.54–10.6). Conclusions An interaction between the E298D and T-786C polymorphisms in NOS3, cigarette smoking, and risk of incident coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke events appears to exist, suggesting a potential complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors and cardiovascular disease risk.


The prefabricated residential buildings have become one of the most dominating construction methods in the modern construction industry. The seismic behavior of prefabricated components is crucial in the limit state design of the precast structure. This paper investigates the seismic behavior of a new type precast concrete column that has clustered steel reinforcement with grouting connection. Quasi-static tests are carried out on three cast-in-situ columns and seven precast columns. Axial compression ratio, lap length and lap space are the main variables considered. The failure process, hysteresis curve, skeleton curve, stiffness degradation, displacement ductility and energy dissipation are elaborated. The experimental results show that the precast columns with cluster reinforcement have similar seismic behavior to the cast-in-situ columns. Reducing the axial pressure can improve the ductility and energy consumption performance of the cluster-reinforced columns and exert its ductility to improve its seismic performance. During the assembly, a moderate increase in lap length can improve the seismic behavior of precast columns, whereas the lap space has an insignificant effect on the seismic behavior which indicates that the lap space is not an important factor during construction. The research outcome can serve as a reference for further development and application of precast structures.


In this paper, considering the material properties of the composite flywheel and the characteristics of the pre-stressed structure, stresses and strains induced by rotor rotation and interference fit were calculated by finite element (FE) method based on the plane stress hypothesis, in the commercial software ANSYS. Based on the given material properties and the main dimension with a certain speed of rotation, three 2D FE-models of hybrid composite flywheel rotors with two-layer rotor structure were built with the unit property of plane stress, axisymmetric and plane strain respectively. Followed, the radial stress, circumferential stress and radial displacement of the rotor were obtained. The three simulation results are almost accordant with the present theoretical results. It shows that the numerical analyses are reliable. It can be shown that is advisable to design and optimize the flywheel rotor.


Background and objectives Organizations involved in disaster response often have a defined operative level of management (command and control) that can take the overall decisions regarding the mobilization and distribution of resources and distribution of casualties. This level of management can be referred to as strategic management. The aim of this pilot study was to show the possibility, in simulation exercises, to relate decisions made regarding resources to patient outcome. Methods The simulation system used measures to determine if lifesaving interventions are performed in time or not in relation to patient outcome. Evaluation was made with sets of performance indicators as templates and all management groups were evaluated not only as to how the decisions were made (management skills), but also how staff work was performed (staff procedure skills). Results Owing to inadequate response and insufficient distribution of patients to hospitals, 11 'patients' died in the simulated incident, a fire at a football stand with subsequent collapse. The strategic level of management received 16 points out of a possible 22 according to a predesigned template of performance indicators. Conclusion The pilot study demonstrated the possibility to, in simulation exercises, relate decisions made regarding resources to patient outcome. This training technique could possibly lead to increased knowledge in what decisions are crucial to make in an early phase to minimize mortality and morbidity.


Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who have virological failure (VF) after treatment containing a nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor have limited retreatment options. MAGELLAN‐1 Part 2 was a randomized, open‐label, phase 3 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ribavirin (RBV)‐free glecaprevir and pibrentasvir (G/P; 300 mg/120 mg) in patients with chronic HCV and past VF on at least one NS3/4A protease and/or NS5A inhibitor‐containing therapy. Patients with compensated liver disease, with or without cirrhosis, and HCV genotype (GT) 1, 4, 5, or 6 were randomized 1:1 to receive 12 or 16 weeks of G/P. The primary endpoint was sustained virological response (SVR) at 12 weeks posttreatment (SVR12). Among 91 patients treated, 87 had GT1 and 4 had GT4 infection. SVR12 was achieved by 89% (39 of 44) and 91% (43 of 47) of patients who received 12 and 16 weeks of G/P, respectively. Virological relapse occurred in 9% (4 of 44) of patients treated with 12 weeks of G/P; there were no relapses with 16 weeks of treatment. Past treatment history with one class of inhibitor (protease or NS5A) had no impact on SVR12, whereas past treatment with both classes of inhibitors was associated with lower SVR12 rate. The most common adverse event (AE) was headache (≥10% of patients), and there were no serious AEs assessed as related to study drugs or AEs leading to discontinuation. Conclusion: Sixteen weeks of G/P treatment achieved a high SVR12 rate in patients with HCV GT1 infection and past failure to regimens containing either NS5A inhibitors or NS3 protease inhibitors. (Hepatology 2018;67:1253‐1260)


HIV and diabetes are both chronic diseases that significantly affect the human lifestyle and their quality of living. When these two diseases coexist, their treatment would be overwhelming for patients. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) became the standard of care in HIV infection. As the treatment for HIV has been developed and the access to therapy has been improved, the incidence of HIV-associated diabetes began to grow. Diabetes can be an important consequence of HAART. This review describes various metabolic complications such as AIDS-related insulin resistance, Glucose Intolerance and Hyperglycemia after HAART and also gives a brief account on the control measures.


Delineation of the load-displacement characteristics of osteoligamentous spinal specimens has become fundamental to the investigation of spinal biomechanics. Traditionally, in-vitro kinetic parameters of the spine have been obtained through flexibility tests employing open or closed loop "load control" methods, or stiffness tests employing "displacement control" methods-each control method having attendant advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, the combination load control and displacement control methods into a new, "hybrid control" method have advantages over load control or displacement control alone. Further, physical evidence such as presence of certain receptors suggests that the human body may employ a type of hybrid control method in the control of spinal movements.In the present study, a robotics-based spine testing system with hybrid control was developed to delineate the in-vitro kinetics of lumbar spine specimens. The testing system was validated experimentally using a physical rigid-body-spring model of a spine specimen, as well as analytically by computer simulations in Matlab. For systematic study, the two components making up a hybrid control algorithm were analyzed separately: the outer "displacement control" loop, and the inner "load control" loop. The outer loop applies a rotation (e.g., flexion/extension) to the specimen, while the inner loop minimizes unwanted coupled forces (e.g., anterior/posterior shear and axial tension/compression).The performance of existing standard hybrid control algorithms was tested in terms of a number of parameters, including peak force, work done to a specimen, and number of iterations. Based on these tests, a number of proposed changes to improve algorithm performance were identified. Updating the user-defined center of rotation (COR) to reflect a specimen's COR was found to improve performance of the displacement control part of the hybrid control algorithm, while using a more completely populated stiffness matrix improved performance of the load control part. The re-combination of the displacement control and load control loops into the fully constituted hybrid control algorithm revealed interesting interactions between these control components that suggest a basis for spinal dysfunction.


A stochastic optimization procedure incorporating a continuum modelling is used to identify the optimal texture (orientation distribution) parameters of ferroelectrics (FEs) for piezoelectric applications. FE polycrystals differ significantly from single crystals because of the presence of variously oriented crystallites. The orientation of FE crystals plays a critical role in the anisotropy of their piezoelectric properties. The set of combination of variables, known as solution space, which dictates the texture of crystallites is unlimited. Crystallographic orientation in FEs is characterised through Euler angles . The macroscopic properties of a ceramic FE, differ significantly from those of single crystals mainly due to the imperfect alignment of the crystallographic axes of the constituent domains or crystallites. This suggests that piezoelectric properties can be tailored by a proper choice of the parameters which control the orientation distribution. Nevertheless, this choice is complicated and it is impossible to analyze all possible combinations of the distribution parameters or the angles themselves. Stochastic optimization combined with a generalized Monte Carlo scheme optimizes the objective functions, the effective piezoelectric coefficients . Objective functions are calculated using the homogenization method at each orientation configuration chosen by the optimization algorithm. A modified simulated annealing is employed to describe the stochastic optimization. Here we have simulated the texture of polycrystals using a simple model with a Gaussian distribution. Optimal design variables that enhance the macroscopic piezoelectricity are identified.


Africa is one of the most economic-integrated continents by a number of regional trade agreements in the continent. There are about 30 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements within the continents so that each African country is a member of at least one regional trade agreement. Trade between African countries, however, barely exceeds 10% of the total trade of Africa, which is much lower than other continents' intra-regional trade share. This discrepancy between many regional trade agreements and small intra-continent trade share tells that regional economic integrations in Africa are very unsuccessful trade liberalization policies to promote trade. This paper examines a reason why trade liberalization policies in Africa fail. In particular, we investigate the impact of trade agreements in Africa on trade conditional on financial market development and political instability. An empirical study finds that Africa countries' poor financial market accessibility and political instability are key barriers to trade integration in the region. These two factors can explain most disadvantage of African countries in their intra-regional trade. In a dynamic regression, the two factors depress the long-run growth of trade due to trade liberalization in the region significantly, while African continent dummy variable that captures other unobserved trade obstacles in the region has much less effect on trade compared to the literature on African regional economic integration.


Sound event detection (SED) and acoustic scene classification (ASC) are important research topics in environmental sound analysis. Many research groups have addressed SED and ASC using neural-network-based methods, such as the convolutional neural network (CNN), recurrent neural network (RNN), and convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN). The conventional methods address SED and ASC separately even though sound events and acoustic scenes are closely related to each other. For example, in the acoustic scene "office," the sound events "mouse clicking" and "keyboard typing" are likely to occur. Therefore, it is expected that information on sound events and acoustic scenes will be of mutual aid for SED and ASC. In this paper, we propose multitask learning for joint analysis of sound events and acoustic scenes, in which the parts of the networks holding information on sound events and acoustic scenes in common are shared. Experimental results obtained using the TUT Sound Events 2016/2017 and TUT Acoustic Scenes 2016 datasets indicate that the proposed method improves the performance of SED and ASC by 1.31 and 1.80 percentage points in terms of the F-score, respectively, compared with the conventional CRNN-based method.


This article focuses on a terracotta mask, which was recently recovered during Camihoyuk rescue excavations within the scope of a dam construction in Cappadocia, Anatolia. The available pieces of the mask matched each other perfectly making it possible to reconstruct the mask's figure to a great extent. The fact that the mask's facial features resemble to those of the Mithras' iconography, points to its association with the Mithras cult. The mask and its association with Mithras and its usage in Mithraic ritual practises will be the main subject of this study. This article aims to contextualize the mask with its origins and functions, and also to set a date for it by comparing its stylistic features to iconographically similar materials.


This paper uses data on both self-reported and true measures of individual Body Mass Index (BMI) to examine the nature of measurement error in self-reported BMI and to look at the consequences of using self-reported measures when estimating the effect of BMI on economic outcomes. In keeping with previous studies we find that self-reported BMI is subject to significant measurement error and this error is negatively correlated with the true measure of BMI. In our analysis this non-classical measurement error causes the traditional approach to overestimate the relationship between BMI and both income and education. Furthermore we show that popular alternatives estimators that have been adopted to address problems of measurement error in BMI, such as the conditional expectation approach and the instrumental variables approach, also exhibit significant biases.


Research on outsourcing governance has focused on two modes: formal governance based on a legally binding contract, and relational governance based on a psychological contract between the vendor's relationship manager and the client's project manager. Some researchers argue that the two forms of governance are substitutes for each other. Others model them as complements. Here, we find empirical support for the complementary model and extend it to explain the sequential relationship between formal and relational governance, with relational governance mediating the effect of formal governance on BPO performance. The formal contract is the initial and necessary platform for the outsourcing relationship. If it is well structured, it shapes a good outsourcing relationship, which then supports high BPO performance. The mediated relationship between formal and relational governance extends theory and prior research, which focused on either a substitutive or a complementary relationship between the two forms of governance.


The aim of the article is to identify significant differences in motivational preferences of employees of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) by comparing their membership to the region and gender. The paper presents the partial outcomes of research on the level of motivation and the preferences of employees in the Czech Republic and the Beijing municipality administration of the People's Republic of China. The survey was carried out in 2017 using a questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed in small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in various areas of business. The sample included the entire territory of the Czech Republic (CR) and the Beijing municipality administration in the People's Republic of China (PRC). A total of 2,673 respondents participated in the survey, of which 899 were respondents in the Beijing municipality administration and 1,774 respondents from the Czech Republic. Descriptive statistics was used to characterize the sampling unit. The other methods used to evaluate data in the article were the Student two-sample t-test, F test, and ANOVA. The differences in motivational preferences of employees revealed by the study can be used as a basis for creating appropriate incentive programs for multinational business teams.


Different tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) screening are commercially available, detecting high‐risk oncogenic HPV types with a pool of genotype‐specific probes. However, it is necessary to establish reliable methods for the identification of individual genotypes. The purpose of this study was to compare three different commercial methods for HPV genotyping: INNO‐LiPA HPV Genotyping v2 (LiPA), Linear Arrays HPV Genotyping Test (LA) and Clinical Arrays Human Papillomavirus (CA). A total of 83 HPV DNA‐positive samples by hybrid capture method were genotyped (82, 78 and 81 by LiPA, LA and CA, respectively). Comparison analysis was limited to the HPV genotypes common to the three assays. There were concordant results (absolute agreement between assays) in 31 samples (39.7%) and compatible results (correspondence for some but not all genotypes) were found in 44 samples (56.4%). Only three samples (3.8%) were considered as discordant (did not show any similarity between the tests). Analyzing kappa values we have a very good agreement (>0.8) for HPV16 and HPV31 and good agreement (0.6–0.8) for HPV types 6, 18, 53 and 66 when all methods are compared. We conclude that all genotyping methods tested are highly comparable and suitable for clinical and epidemiological studies.


Preterm birth (PTB, <37 completed weeks' gestation) is one of the leading obstetrical problems in the United States, affecting approximately one of every nine births. Even more concerning are the persistent racial disparities in PTB, with particularly high rates among African Americans. There are several recognized pathophysiologic pathways to PTB, including infection and/or exaggerated systemic or local inflammation. Intrauterine infection is a causal factor linked to PTB thought to result most commonly from inflammatory processes triggered by microbial invasion of bacteria ascending from the vaginal microbiome. Trials to treat various infections have shown limited efficacy in reducing PTB risk, suggesting that other complex mechanisms, including those associated with inflammation, may be involved in the relationship between microbes, infection, and PTB. The complement system, a key mediator of the inflammatory response, is an innate defense mechanism involved in both normal physiologic processes that occur during pregnancy implantation and processes that promote the elimination of pathogenic microbes. Recent research has demonstrated an association between this system and PTB. The purpose of this article is to present a mechanistic model of inflammation-associated PTB, which hypothesizes a relationship between the microbiome and dysregulation of the complement system. Exploring the relationships between the microbial environment and complement biomarkers may elucidate a potentially modifiable biological pathway to PTB.


At the moment, Arctic is in the interest of many countries, and not only near the Arctic. A high degree of the region promising in the context of undiscovered oil and gas resources is the explanation for it. Russia possessing the most significant share of these reserves has a fairly low rate of investigation of the Arctic shelf. Arctic hydrocarbon resources occupy the important strategic place in the development of the fuel-energy complex of Russia, ensuring its energy security. Hence, the goal of this research is to identify effective model of the offshore fields development in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The Norwegian model of formation of consortia for the development of the offshore fields is analyzed and it is examined in the context of the Russian Arctic. The effectiveness of the introduction of this model in Russia is proved.


Small-scale hybrid stand-alone power systems are becoming popular alternatives in remote and island areas where grid connection is not economically or technically viable. Harnessing the abundant supply of wind and solar energy can play an important role in ensuring an environmentally friendly and clean energy generation for remote and isolated communities. However, renewable energy sources are intermittent in nature, and as a result, power generation from renewable energy sources often may not necessarily match the load demand. Therefore, energy storage is required to ensure reliable power supply.

Hybrid power systems with renewable sources can provide efficiency, reliability and security, while reducing operational costs. However, the main challenge of hybrid power system applications is satisfying the load demand under constraints. Therefore, proper control and coordination of each energy generation unit is vital. It is also important to ensure robustness of the energy management system to avoid system black-outs when power from the renewable energy sources is not adequate to support all loads.

This thesis proposes a novel operation and control strategy for a hybrid power system for a stand-alone operation. The proposed hybrid system consists of a wind turbine, a fuel cell, an electrolyzer, a battery storage unit and a set of loads. The overall control strategy is based on a two-level structure. The top level is the energy management and power regulation system. The main objective of this system is to ensure a proper control and coordination of the system. It also controls load scheduling during wind variability under inadequate energy storage to avoid system black-outs. Depending on wind and load conditions, this system generates reference dynamic operating points to low level individual sub-systems. Based on these operating points, the local controllers manage the wind turbine, fuel cell, electrolyzer and battery storage units. The local controller of wind turbine extracts the reference power from the varying wind by regulating the rotor speed. The fuel cell is controlled by using a hydrogen regulator and boost converter, and the electrolyzer via a buck-converter. A bidirectional dc-dc converter is employed to control charging and discharging of the battery storage system. The proposed control system is implemented with MATLAB Simpower software and tested for various wind and load conditions. Results are presented and discussed.


A common motif in one variety of American Noir crime fiction of the 1940's was the sudden violation of settled existence through some indiscriminate stab of a malign fate, or through the unprompted explosion of violent mayhem into perfectly ordinary lives. Secure domestic heavens disintegrate at one stroke into angst-ridden hells of suspicion and despair, and unremarkable lives are shattered by dark, disruptive forces and transformed into nightmares of paranoid terror. As this particular expression of Noir would have it, we live permanently on the brink of disaster, individual security and identity are illusions, and the boundary separating mundane normality from the threat of chaos and annihilation is eggshell thin--there can indeed be darkness at noon. Some of the most dramatic examples of this version of the zeitgeist appear in novels like Cornell Woolrich's Phantom Lady (1942) and The Black Angel (1943). In both of these, the complacent world of the young suburban middle-class is smashed by murder, treachery, and conspiracy, with the narrative turning on the attempt to restore some semblance of the lost equilibrium by exposing the guilty and exonerating the innocent. According to the standard historical interpretation, the social and imaginative groundings for this very popular theme could be traced to the widespread anxiety and dislocations of the Depression of the 1930's; the deprivations and upheavals of World War II would then ensure its survival into the later 1940's. Contemporaneous with Woolrich, and working in a similar vein, was another crime novelist, John Franklin Bardin, who in a period of only eighteen months produced a remarkable trilogy of novels in The Deadly Percheron (1946), The Last of Philip Banter (1947), and Devil Take the Blue-Tail Fly (1948)--described by Julian Symons as "distinguished by an extraordinary intensity of feeling, and by an absorption in morbid psychology remarkable for the period" (8). (1) It was Bardin's interest in states of psychiatric disorder (particularly schizophrenia, paranoia, and amnesia), and in their roots and manifestations, that differentiated his work from the literary Noir mainstream, which frequently involved mentally imbalanced protagonists, but usually with only passing reference to the clinical aspects (in film, however, we might note that Alfred Hitchcock's movie of 1945, Spellbound, had already involved a psychiatrist protagonist and had also dealt with the theme of amnesia). Woolrich's fiction is a case in point; his characters' aberrant mental states are usually glossed over in superficial terms and generally revolve narrowly around certain very limited and exaggerated emotional responses--the traumatic death of a beloved, for example, and the homicidal obsession with revenge and justice that ensues, as with the psychotic Johnny Marr in Rendezvous in Black (1948). (2) Indeed, Woolrich's Marr stands out as a crudely drawn caricature of mental derangement alongside the schizophrenic concert harpsichordist, Ellen Purcell, the far more convincing protagonist of Bardin's Devil Take the Blue-Tail Fly, which also appeared in 1948 and which remains probably the most effective Noir exploration of insanity and one of the sharpest deconstructions of established psychiatry. That Bardin's contribution to the canon has continued to be so comprehensively overlooked, at a time when Noir (or Neo-Noir) is once again chic, is as puzzling as the enigmas that drive his plots. (3) Like those of Woolrich, his narratives deal with similar themes of personality dislocation, identity shifts, the adoption of the alter ego, and self-distantiation, but in an altogether more subtle and less luridly Gothic format, and always seem more plausibly rooted in a matter-of-fact reality. Woolrich's fiction of the early 1940's had established the Noir mood and mannerisms in broad strokes; Bardin's post-war version presented a more nuanced and informed rendition. …


Mosquito Double Act Peroxidase/dual oxidase (duox) systems act in concert to catalyze the nonspecific formation of dityrosine bonds, which cross-link a variety of proteins. Knowing that these reactions are involved in fine-tuning insect immune responses, Kumar et al. (p. 1644, published online 11 March) investigated how the peroxidase/duox system in malaria-vector mosquitoes protects the gut flora by modulating midgut antibacterial responses. Generating immune reactions resulted in a loss of mosquito egg viability, but modulating host responses allowed malaria parasites to persist among the surviving commensal flora. The peroxidase/duox system appears to promote dityrosine bond formation between proteins across the surface of midgut epithelial cells to form a layer that inhibits immune recognition and mediator release. Interference with the formation of this layer might provide a target for mosquito and malaria control. Bonding between cell-surface proteins forms a physical barrier in mosquito guts to prevent microbe invasion. Extracellular matrices in diverse biological systems are cross-linked by dityrosine covalent bonds catalyzed by the peroxidase/oxidase system. We show that a peroxidase, secreted by the Anopheles gambiae midgut, and dual oxidase form a dityrosine network that decreases gut permeability to immune elicitors. This network protects the microbiota by preventing activation of epithelial immunity. It also provides a suitable environment for malaria parasites to develop within the midgut lumen without inducing nitric oxide synthase expression. Disruption of this barrier results in strong and effective pathogen-specific immune responses.


In this paper, an efficient method for enhancement of blood vein on the forearm is devised with the help of contrast limited adaptive histogram equalisation (CLAHE) and Gabor filtering along other image processing techniques. The image captured in near-infrared region is converted into grey scale and made to undergo CLAHE twice to achieve an amplification limited contrast enhancement of all the objects in the image. Blood-vein textural features are enhanced using the efficient Gabor filtering method and the blood vein is extracted from the image using Otsu's thresholding method. Erosion is performed for better accuracy of vein segments identified, and region of interest (ROI) is identified to increase the efficiency of the blood-vein detection.


New upper bounds for the connective constant of self-avoiding walks in a hypercubic lattice are obtained by automatic generation of nite automata for counting walks with nite memory. The upper bound in dimension two is 2.679192495.


The end-to-end cell discarding behavior of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) telecommunication networks is considered. Cell discarding is performed in priority fashion by a nested threshold mechanism. Extensions to a previous single-queue analysis that allow the calculations of end-to-end discarding probabilities for each priority are presented. A computer tool based on this analysis, called DANTE (for discarding analysis in a network telecommunications environment) is described. It facilitates the calculation of end-to-end discarding probabilities for very general network topologies. This tool is used to generate sample results, illustrating important issues in designing networks to meet cell loss objectives. The computational efficiency of the computer-aided analytical tool is compared with that of simulation techniques. The presence of bursty traffic (not modeled here) is likely to change the cell discarding results quantitatively, but not the design issues identified herein.<<ETX>>