Sirtuin (Sirt), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dependent class III histone deacetylase, plays an important role in cellular processes including DNA repair, apoptosis, cell cycle, aging, and determining lifespan. In previous studies, levels of Sirt1 to Sirt3 mRNA were detected in porcine embryos for the first time and levels are lower in blastocysts relative to matured oocytes. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction and hyperglycemia increases LC3 protein levels and apoptosis in porcine parthenotic embryos and modulation of autophagy also influences apoptosis, mitochondrial contents, abnormal autophagosome formation, and maternal mRNA degradation. However, Sirt-mediated mechanisms have not been examined in in vitro-produced embryos of pig. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between Sirt inhibition and autophagy/mitophagy in porcine pre-implantation embryos. After IVF, embryos were cultured in NCSU-23 media in the presence and absence of 100 μM sirtinol (Sirt inhibitor) until the expended blastocyst stage. As a result, there were no significant differences between the rate of cleavage in control (69.22 ± 1.29) and treated groups (72.66 ± 1.08). However, embryos treated with sirtinol had significantly decreased developmental rates to the morula as well as blastocyst stages. Especially, expanded blastocysts (9.90 ± 1.56 v. 2.92 ± 0.94%) were barely observed in sirtinol-treated group. In the levels of Sirt transcripts, Sirt2 mRNA was significantly lower in sirtinol-treated blastocysts compared with controls (P < 0.05), but the levels of Sirt1 and Sirt3 mRNA were similar in both groups. In addition, we found that sirtinol treatment induced autophagy by increasing the expressions of LC3, Beclin1, and ATG5 in blastocysts. Furthermore, we observed that the abundance of mitochondria stained with mitotracker was lower in sirtinol-treated blastocysts than that of control. Finally, we found that sirtinol treatment resulted in a higher total apoptotic index (6.88 ± 0.84) compared with the control (12.84 ± 0.99) in blastocysts. In summary, our findings in this study demonstrated that Sirt inhibition by sirtinol led to lower levels of Sirt2 transcript in blastocysts, reduced developmental capability and embryo quality with regulation of ATGs, LC3 proteins, apoptosis-related genes, and mitochondrial abundance. Therefore, these results suggest that Sirt2 may play an important role in the pre-implantation development of porcine embryos and their quality through the regulation of autophagy/mitophagy and apoptosis pathways. This research was supported by a Grant from the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program (2015M3A9C7030091) of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Korean government.


Abstract— Asteroid and comet impacts can have a profound influence on the habitats available for lithophytic microorganisms. Using evidence from the Haughton impact structure, Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic, we describe the role of impacts in influencing the nature of the lithophytic ecological niche. Impact‐induced increases in rock porosity and fracturing can result in the formation of cryptoendolithic habitats. In some cases and depending upon the target material, an increase in rock translucence can yield new habitats for photosynthetic cryptoendoliths. Chasmoendolithic habitats are associated with cracks and cavities connected to the surface of the rock and are commonly increased in abundance as a result of impact bulking. Chasmoendolithic habitats require less specific geological conditions than are required for cryptoendolithic habitats, and their formation is likely to be common to most impact events. Impact events are unlikely to have an influence on epilithic and hypolithic habitats except in rare cases, where, for example, the formation of impact glasses might yield new hypolithic habitats. We present a synthetic understanding of the influence of asteroid and comet impacts on the availability and characteristics of rocky habitats for microorganisms.


ABSTRACT For the fast and selective preconcentration-separation of carbaryl from environmental samples, a simple and cheap supramolecular solvent microextraction method (Ss-ME) has been applied with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Various analytical parameters that have a noticeable effect on the extraction of carbaryl by supramolecular liquid phase microextraction were optimised by selecting the peak area as the response. The parameters including pH of solution, type and volume of supramolecular formula, matrix effect and the sample volume were optimised. The quantitative recoveries were obtained between pH 2.0 and 4.0 of sample solution phase by using a supramolecular phase consist of heptanol and tetrahydrofuran. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.03 mg L−1 and 0.09 mg L−1 respectively. The relative standard deviation was 7.11 and the preconcentration factor was 15. The microextraction procedure for trace carbaryl was used for various samples such as fruits, vegetables and water samples with the recovery% range between 90% and 102%.


The Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is an mRNA binding protein that is essential for neural circuit assembly and synaptic plasticity. Loss of functional FMRP leads to Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by sensory dysfunction including abnormal auditory processing. While the central mechanisms of FMRP regulation have been studied in the brain, whether FMRP is expressed in the auditory periphery and how it develops and functions remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of FMRP immunoreactivity in the inner ear of mice, rats, gerbils, and chickens. Across species, FMRP was expressed in hair cells and supporting cells, with a particularly high level in immature hair cells during the prehearing period. Interestingly, the distribution of cytoplasmic FMRP displayed an age‐dependent translocation in hair cells, and this feature was conserved across species. In the auditory ganglion (AG), FMRP immunoreactivity was detected in neuronal cell bodies as well as their peripheral and central processes. Distinct from hair cells, FMRP intensity in AG neurons was high both during development and after maturation. Additionally, FMRP was evident in mature glial cells surrounding AG neurons. Together, these observations demonstrate distinct developmental trajectories across cell types in the auditory periphery. Given the importance of peripheral inputs to the maturation of auditory circuits, these findings implicate involvement of FMRP in inner ear development as well as a potential contribution of periphery FMRP to the generation of auditory dysfunction in FXS.


The political history of developmental education in postsecondary education is as revealing as its intellectual history. With a University system. wide Developmental Studies program initiated in 1974, the State of Georgia was a pioneer in remedial education and open access. Unfortunately, the program became linked in Georgia media, and in Georgia polices, to both athletic programs and forced desegregation efforts. This essay traces the evolution of Developmental Studies, focusing on models in black colleges, early successes, and the effects of the Kemp lawsuit linking violations of academic freedom and due process to pressure from the athlete program. The results were attempts to diminish the scope of the program and public pressure to abolish or relocate the program out of senior institutions, or out of post-secondary education altogether. Introduction Remedial education has been an integral part of the curriculum of the University System of Georgia for at least 40 years. It has always been controversial--with faculty, state media, the Board of Regents, legislators, and taxpayers. The System's most recent adjustment of its admissions criteria was an attempt to finally sound the death knell for such programs at many institutions and in the process deny access to post-secondary education for thousands of Georgia citizens. The irony here is that the remedial/ developmental programs in the University System of Georgia were among the most successful of such programs in the United States, and decision makers knew this to be the case. In 1974, the Regents of the University System of Georgia initiated a statewide developmental studies program and consolidated some existing programs in response to growing numbers of freshmen insufficiently prepared for curricula that demanded or assumed mastery of basic skills. The Special Studies Program was designed to meet these students' needs and to ensure that all graduates of Georgia schools, particularly students who in the past may not have been well served by post-secondary education, would have the maximum chance to succeed in college. The Special Studies Program in Georgia used a unique, statewide evaluation system that proved both effective and simple. No curriculum in the state was more thoroughly evaluated. With the controversy that surrounded placing remedial programs in college--and because the Special Studies Program was mandated by the Regents--over considerable protest from some institutions and faculties, the curriculum, from its beginning, had to prove to its critics that it was a curriculum deserving of state funds. All entering freshmen with low Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores also completed the College Guidance and Placement examination (later the Basic Skills Examination, a competency test in mathematics, English, and reading developed by System faculty). If the CGP or BSE scores indicated a weakness in any of the three areas, the student enrolled in the appropriate course within the Special Studies Department. Students with weaknesses in mathematics could not enroll in freshman courses involving mathematics until they successfully completed all developmental mathematics courses as prescribed by their CGP or BSE scores. Similarly, deficiencies in English or reading had to be addressed before a student could enroll in freshman English or in courses requiring heavy reading. By the end of the freshman year, students had to post improved scores on a re-test (the BSE plus a writing sample, for instance) to remain enrolled. Each institution developed its own test criteria as well as its own curricula. Schools were free to meet the challenge of increasing the success and retention of nontraditional students in their own fashion, as long as the criteria did not fall below statewide minimum scores. The program was administered at the System level by an advisory committee with representation from all state institutions and by a Director of Special Studies whose main duty was evaluation of the developmental curricula (Marion, 26-27; Davis, 2-4, 26). …


With Brexit being an ongoing issue for all of the European Union, one of the key issues in the negotiations is how to treat Northern Ireland, which is still divided on Brexit ideologically, even 20 years after the official peace treaty (the Good Friday Agreement), which – at least legally – put an end to armed conflict in the area. This paper will look at how in 2018, the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the two prevalent opposing nationalisms – unionism and republicanism – are represented in a selection of widely-read newspapers in Northern Ireland. Using Spitzmuller and Warnke's DIMEAN model, the paper will look at how – given the different ideological backgrounds of the newspapers themselves – these publications treat the anniversary and give a voice to the different parties involved (or abstain from doing so) and whether or not they make explicit links to the Brexit negotiations and the question, whether Northern Ireland is to continue as a part of the United Kingdom, the European Union or a separate customs union solution, in order to both keep the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and deal with two broadly different civic realities, brought about by opposing notions of nationalism.


Enterolobium contortisiliquum pods are commonly identified as being the cause of abortions and photosensitivity in cattle. This paper describes the clinical and pathological aspects of a natural outbreak of hepatogenous photosensitization by the pods of E. contortisiliquum in Brazil and the results of experimental poisoning in three bovines. The history of natural poisoning was obtained at the site of the outbreak. Clinical examinations were carried out and hepatic enzymes were analyzed. A post-mortem examination was carried out at the outbreak location on a cow that had died. Several samples were collected from the animal's internal organs to carry out histopathological examinations. E. contortisiliquum pods were given to cows in order to reproduce the disease. The natural poisonings were characterized by photosensitization and aborted young. Enterolobium photosensitization was not experimentally reproduced, but the animals fell sick and recovered after 52 days. Photosensitization, abortion, earpod tree


Speech acts provide good insights into the communicative behavior of tweeters on Twitter. This paper is mainly concerned with speech act recognition in Twitter as a multi-class classification problem, for which we propose a set of word-based and character-based features. Inexpensive, robust and efficient, our method achieves an average F1 score of nearly 0.7 with the existence of much noise in our annotated Twitter data. In view of the deficiency of training data for the task, we experimented extensively with different configurations of training and test data, leading to empirical findings that may provide valuable reference for building benchmark datasets for sustained research on speech act recognition in Twitter.


On May 1, 2002, the Philadelphia Police Department launched Operation Safe Streets, stationing officers at 214 of the highest drug activity locations in the city 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Interrupted time series (AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average) models on weekly data isolated citywide and local program impacts on all violent crimes, murder, and reported drug crimes. Results showed no significant impacts on citywide weekly counts for drug crimes, homicides, or all violent crimes. Geographically focused analyses showed significant localized intervention impacts for both violent and drug crimes. Analyses of high‐drug‐activity non‐intervention sites suggest: the program impacts seen were not an artifact of history or local history; significant spatial diffusion of preventive benefits for violent crime; and probably significant spatial displacement for drug crime. Stationary targeted drug‐enforcement interventions like Operation Safe Streets may differentially affect the locational selection processes behind violent crime versus drug crime.


Background: Clubfoot is one of the most common malformations of children, in which the infant's foot is turned into inner side. The objective of current study is to determine the infants with Clubfoot and associated anomalies in the second and third trimester of gestation by transabdominal sonography. Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the ultrasound examination of 7300 women who referred to our Medical Imaging Center during March 2005-March 2015. All women went under routine anomaly scanning at the second or third trimester of gestation. Results: A total number of 128 cases with Clubfoot were diagnosed during the last decade with an incidence of 2.4:1000, which 67 (52%) of cases were determined with isolated clubfoot and 61 cases (48%) had associated anomaly. 82 (64%) cases were male and 46 (36%) of cases were female. The gestational age at diagnosis period ranged from 14 to 34 weeks. Conclusion: When the clubfoot is identified in sonography, it is vital to determine whether it is bilateral or unilateral, complex or isolated. Amniocentesis should be offered in complex cases and considered in bilaterally isolated cases. Serial sonography in cases with Clubfoot has demonstrated that there is reclassification to the complex group during pregnancy which is important for counseling given the difference in prognosis.


Several techniques have been introduced in the last year to reduce the dose to the patient by minimizing the risk of tumour induced by radiation. In this work the radiological potential of dose reduction in quasi-monochromatic spectra produced via mosaic crystal Bragg diffraction has been evaluated, and a comparison with conventional spectra has been performed for four standard examinations: head, chest, abdomen and lumbar sacral spine. We have simulated quasi-monochromatic x-rays with the Shadow code, and conventional spectra with the Spectrum Processor. By means of the PCXMC software, we have simulated four examinations according to parameters established by the European Guidelines, and calculated absorbed dose for principal organs and the effective dose. Simulations of quasi-monochromatic laminar beams have been performed without anti-scatter grid, because of their inherent scatter geometry, and compared with simulations with conventional beams with anti-scatter grids. Results have shown that the dose reduction due to the introduction of quasi-monochromatic x-rays depends on different parameters related to the quality of the beam, the organ composition and the anti-scatter grid. With parameters chosen in this study a significant dose reduction can be achieved for two out of four kinds of examination.


This paper describes a project to create a novel design and simulation tool for quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA), namely QCADesigner. QCA logic and circuit designers require a rapid and accurate simulation and design layout tool to determine the functionality of QCA circuits. QCADesigner gives the designer the ability to quickly layout a QCA design by providing an extensive set of CAD tools. As well, several simulation engines facilitate rapid and accurate simulation. This tool has already been used to design full-adders, barrel shifters, random-access memories, etc. These verified layouts provide motivation to continue efforts toward a final implementation of QCA circuits.


Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) hold great potential for providing a summary of large volumes of clinical evidence and a related set of practical recommendations. Nurse practitioners should become aware of the range of available CPGs and methods by which they can be evaluated for use. Appropriate evaluation of CPGs should include their overall reliability and validity, as well as their applicability in specific situations. This article provides an overview of an appropriate evaluation method and serves as an introduction to future columns presenting individual CPGs.


Adhesive meniscate burrows (AMB) are common in alluvial paleosols of the Paleogene Willwood Formation, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. AMB are sinuous, variably oriented burrows composed of a nested series of distinct, ellipsoidal packets containing thin, tightly spaced menisci subparallel to the bounding packet. Menisci are non-pelleted and texturally homogeneous with each other and the surrounding matrix. AMB were constructed most likely by burrower bugs (Hemiptera: Cydnidae), cicada nymphs (Hemiptera: Cicadae), and less likely by scarabaeid (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) or carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), based on burrow morphology and comparison to similar structures produced by these organisms in modern soils. Extant burrowing insects excavate backfilled burrows in well-rooted A and upper B horizons of soils generally below field capacity depending on soil type. This study demonstrates that AMB are distinct morphologically from such previously described ichnofossils as Beaconites, Laminites, Scoyenia, Taenidium, and Ancorichnus. Naktodemasis bowni, a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, represents burrows composed of nested ellipsoidal packets backfilled with thin, tightly spaced, menisci subparallel to the bounding packet. The presence of N. bowni indicate periods of subaerial exposure associated with pedogenic modification under moderately to well-drained soil conditions, or during periods of better drainage in imperfectly drained soils. N. bowni, therefore, can differentiate alluvial paleoenvironments from marine and lacustrine paleoenvironments, as well as periods of subaerial exposure of sediments deposited in aquatic settings.


This special bibliography lists 249 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1974.


This study proposes an exact model for timetable recovery after disturbances. Our model is applicable to high frequency services that operate under frequencies of at least 5 trips per hour. The objective of our model is the minimization of the deviation between the actual headways and their planned (target) values - a typical objective in high frequency services that indicates the service regularity. In the formulation of the timetable recovery model, we focus on metro lines with stable dwell times at stations that are not sensitive to changes in passenger demand. The resulting model is nonlinear and non-smooth; thus, it cannot be solved to optimality. To rectify this, we propose a model reformulation using slack variables. The reformulated program is equivalent to the original one and can be solved to global optimality in real time with exact optimization methods for quadratic programming. With our model, we investigate how many upstream trips should be rescheduled to respond to a service disturbance using real data from the red metro line inWashington D.C. Our experiments demonstrate an improvement potential of the service regularity by up to 30% if we reschedule the five upstream trips of a disrupted train.


Availability of tumor and non‐tumor patient‐derived models would promote the development of more effective therapeutics for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRC) methodology demonstrated exceptional potential for the expansion of epithelial cells from patient tissues. However, the possibility to expand patient‐derived lung cancer cells using CRC protocols is controversial. Here, we used CRC approach to expand cells from non‐tumoral and tumor biopsies of patients with primary or metastatic NSCLC as well as pulmonary metastases of colorectal or breast cancers. CRC cultures were obtained from both tumor and non‐malignant tissues with extraordinary high efficiency. Tumor cells were tracked in vitro through tumorigenicity assay, monitoring of tumor‐specific genetic alterations and marker expression. Cultures were composed of EpCAM+ lung epithelial cells lacking tumorigenic potential. NSCLC biopsies‐derived cultures rapidly lost patient‐specific genetic mutations or tumor antigens. Similarly, pulmonary metastases of colon or breast cancer generated CRC cultures of lung epithelial cells. All CRC cultures examined displayed epithelial lung stem cell phenotype and function. In contrast, brain metastatic lung cancer biopsies failed to generate CRC cultures. In conclusion, patient‐derived primary and metastatic lung cancer cells were negatively selected under CRC conditions, limiting the expansion to non‐malignant lung epithelial stem cells from either tumor or non‐tumor tissue sources. Thus, CRC approach cannot be applied for direct therapeutic testing of patient lung tumor cells, as the tumor‐derived CRC cultures are composed of (non‐tumoral) airway basal cells.


Three-dimensional computerized tomography angiography is a fast diagnosis method and low invasive that passed to be used recently in the cases of intracranial aneurysms. This method presents a 100% specificity and can reach 95% of sensibility in the evaluation of the aneurysms in the circle of Willis, substituting the digital angiography but not in all of the cases. We report our experience in evaluation of the three-dimensional angiotomography exams in a period of 2 years between June of 1997 and June of 1999, were accomplished for detection of intracranial aneurysms in 136 patients, being 118 just with three-dimensional angiotomography and in 18 cases they were accomplished besides three-dimensional angiotomography also the conventional digital angiography. The exam of three-dimensional angiotomography possesses low risk being used better in the detection of the aneurysms when possess higher diameter than 3mm, with some limitations as in the very small aneurysms when smaller than 3mm, carotid intern cavarnous aneurysms, posterior circulation aneurysms as well as the non accomplishment of the dynamic exam.


Introduction: Pulmonary sequestration represents 0,15-6% of all pulmonary malformations. The treatment is usually surgical (lobectomy). However, a less invasive approach with percutaneous embolization of the systemic artery can be considered as an alternative option. Methods: Retrospective study of the last 13 years of clinical cases of pulmonary sequestration with percutaneous treatment in a Radiology Department in Lisbon. Results: 4 patients were identified (average age 34, 50% male). Concerning smoking habits, only one patient did not smoke (mean of 10 pack year). Clinically, one patient presented with repeating pneumonias, and the other 3 patients with hemoptysis. In all cases diagnosis was obtained through angio-CT (mass or homogeneous opacity in the lower lobe with identification of an arterial systemic blood supply). Pulmonary malformations were identified in the right lower lobe in 3 patients (75%) and in the left lower lobe in one patient. Treatment consisted of percutaneous embolization of the affected systemic artery with metallic coils of various sizes depending on the vessels diameter (8mm, 5mm and 3mm). On follow-up (lasting from a couple of months to two years), all four patients had significant reduction of abnormal vascularization, resolution of symptoms and progressive reduction of the findings previously visible on angio-CT. There were no complications related to the technique in any case. Conclusion: Treatment with coil embolization should be considered in pulmonary sequestration with predominant vascular component, allowing a quick and safe treatment with low cost, morbidity and mortality.


The present study evaluated changes in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and the pattern of serotypes isolated in Navarre, Spain, after the introduction and increased coverage of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). All cases with isolation of pneumococcus from normally sterile bodily fluids were included. The incidence of IPD in children and adults was compared for the periods 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. By the end of 2002, only 11% of children aged <5 years had received any dose of PCV7, whereas, beginning in 2007, the proportion exceeded 50%. Among the cases of IPD aged <5 years, the percentage of those vaccinated increased from 7% during 2001-2002 to 53% during 2006-2007 (p <0.001). The incidence of IPD from PCV7-serotypes decreased by 85% in children <5 years (p <0.001), by 45% in the population aged 5-64 years (p 0.10) and by 68% in those >or=65 years (p 0.004). By contrast, the incidence of IPD from non-PCV7 serotypes increased by 40% overall (p 0.006). The incidence of IPD from all serotypes did not change significantly in children <5 years (from 83 to 72 per 100 000) or in the total population (from 15.8 to 16.3 per 100 000). The percentage of cases as a result of serotypes 7 and 19A increased significantly in both children and adults. No significant changes were seen in the clinical forms of IPD. The pattern of serotypes causing IPD has changed, in both children and adults, following the increased coverage of PCV7, although the incidence has been reduced only slightly.


Amrinone, a new inotropic agent, was used to treat 24 patients with chronic congestive heart failure who were classified as clinically stable and who were in New York Heart Association's classes II and III. Patients were treated for up to 30 months (mean, 12.5 months). Exercise tolerance improved in 20 patients, but only eight experienced significant improvement in symptoms of fatigue, dyspnea, and orthopnea and only nine tolerated the drug without apparent side effects. Eight were unable to continue amrinone therapy because of limiting side effects. The most significant adverse effects were cardiac arrhythmias, thrombocytopenia, abnormal results of liver function tests, diarrhea, fever, and nausea. Amrinone has a narrow therapeutic-toxic ratio, but a significant proportion (42%) of patients tolerate and benefit from amrinone therapy.


This paper investigates the effects of higher teacher pay for secondary school teachers on their teacher retention decision and enrollment in additional schooling. We exploit variation in teacher pay induced by the introduction of a new remuneration policy. This policy provided schools in an urbanized region with extra funds to place a larger share of teachers in a higher salary scale. We exploit this policy in an IV-setup to estimate the effects of higher teacher pay on our outcomes. The main finding is that we find no effects of higher teacher pay on the probability to stay in the teaching profession. The policy however succeeded in keeping a slightly larger share of teachers in the targeted region. In addition, our findings suggest that the policy increased teachers' enrollment in bachelor or master degree programs from 2.3% to 3.2%. This finding is consistent with the setup of the policy in which one of the criteria for placement in a higher salary scale is that teachers would obtain extra qualifications or gain extra expertise.


We are interested in the problem of map construction of an unknown environment. Even with a complete map, navigation of real autonomous mobile robots is still conducted with imperfect information. This can be caused by various factors, such as imperfect sensors, imperfect mechanical control capabilities, and imperfect road conditions. Computational resource constraints for real time performance may also prevent us from collecting and processing complete information about the environment. A major problem caused by these issues is that accummulated errors in the robot's self-localization may become arbitrarily large as the robot moves on. Therefore, in addition to the map, we would still need a strategy to help robots recognize the environment along the way and to guide movements toward the destination. This is called the guidance problem by Levitt and Lawton (Levitt & Lawton 1990). We discuss an approach for the guidance problem using imprecise data, in the context of world models that are represented by maps with qualitative/topological information for the global environment, and quantitative/geometric information for the local environment, as suggested by Levitt and Lawton (Levitt & Lawton 1990), Kuipers and Levitt (Kuipers & Levitt 1988). We allow the robot to be equipped with a constant number of sensors. We consider three cost measures: mechanical, sensing, and computation in decreasing order of importance. We propose a number of algorithms with their associated cost measures using a veriety of sensor/measurement devices.


Music and mathematics always had a close relationship. Since Pythagoras it is known that tonal harmony is closely related to the numerical relation of the frequencies. In the last years a new field of science and mathematics boomed. Chaos, fractals and self-similarity are topics which caught public interest not at least because of the beautiful pictures which can be generated with them. Hardly anybody does not know the colorful psychedelic pictures of the Mandelbrot-set and even people never heard of complex numbers before bought mathematical books on this topics now. Experiments which tried to extend the beauty of the fractal-art-pictures to the acoustical sense sometimes gave interesting results but usually the sound is quite strange. I think this difficulty arises from the fact that chaos theory usually works with real numbers. But our traditional music is based on discrete frequencies and simple combinations of frequencies, and the mathematical discipline which is employed with the simple numbers is number-theory. Perhaps the most fundamental entities in mathematics are the natural numbers: 1,2,3,4,5... They are something universal: It is a hard thing to imagine a mind which would count in a different way. But the style we write them down can vary: The decimal system based on the digits 0-9 is by no way the only or natural method to present numbers. It has just been arbitrarily chosen some time ago in history. The simplest notation is the binary notation which only uses the digits 0 and 1. Computers always calculate in binary notation because it can be easily mapped to electrical devices: The presence of current means 1 and no current means 0.


So much confusion has arisen between Sphenopteris delicatula, Sternb., Sphenopteris tenella, Brongt., and Sphenopteris quadridactylites, Gutbier, that in dealing with Sphenopteris delicatula, Sternb., it is also necessary to give a list of the synonyms of the two other species, which, in the barren condition, approach it somewhat closely. The small-pinnuled members of the genus Sphenopteris, Brongt., are, under the most favourable circumstances, from the delicate nature of their fronds, extremely difficult to determine. As they usually occur in a very fragmentary condition, and the segmentation of their pinnules varies considerably according to the position held by the pinnæ on the frond (the pinnules of the upper pinnæ being generally more simple than those on the lower pinnæ), the difficulty of discriminating the species is considerably increased. When the specimens have suffered any lengthened maceration, the limb of the pinnules usually disappears entirely, and there is nothing but the veins left. In this state, the specific identification of these delicate Sphenopteroids is very unsatisfactory, if not quite useless. Fortunately the fruit of Sphenopteris delicatula, Sternb., Sphenopteris tenella, Brongt., and Sphenopteris quadridactylites, Gutbier, is known; and though their barren fronds may possess a considerable likeness, their fructification is very distinct; but even the barren fronds, when well preserved, are sufficiently marked to enable one to determine the species with absolute certainty. Zeilleria, nov. gen. Involucres borne at the extremities of the pinnule-segments, which are more or less produced to form a pedicel;in the earlier condition the involucres are globular, but at maturity


Leukemias and lymphomas are genetically characterized by pathogenetically important, disease-specific mutations in the malignant cells. Many of the mutations arise through balanced chromosomal rearrangements, often translocations, that fuse oncogenes with other gene loci. In some instances, this leads to the formation of a qualitatively new hybrid gene encoding a leukemogenic or lymphomogenic protein product, whereas on other occasions the result is deregulation of an otherwise normal gene. The demonstration of such gene rearrangements is of both diagnostic and prognostic value and hence serves as an important supplement to the more traditional phenotype-based investigative techniques. All available methods to detect neoplasia-specific, acquired mutations have both advantages and disadvantages, depending partly on the level of resolution at which they operate (chromosomes, nucleic acids, proteins), but also on the specific characteristics of each individual technique. Ideally, the initial genetic diagnosis of a given tumor should be reached by means of an open-framed screening technique, whereas less labour-intensive, specific techniques may be used during the subsequent follow-up of the patient. The most reliable and complete information is always obtained by combining cytogenetic, molecular cytogenetic, and strictly molecular genetic investigations. However, such an approach may be too cumbersome and expensive to be taken routinely.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a major causative agent of public health problems. Nontuberculous mycobacteria are also increasingly encountered worldwide. Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) staining and culture are conventional methods used for mycobacterial identification. The aim of the study was to compare the performance of the two methods for AFB staining and culture, i.e. The hypertonic saline-sodium hydroxide (HS-SH) technique was compared with the N-acetyl-L-cysteine-sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) method for AFB staining and cultivation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tuberculosis laboratory of the 3rd Office of Disease Prevention and Control, Nakhon Sawan Province, Thailand, during October 2015 to September 2016. Totally, 427 paired samples of sputum were digested and decontaminated by HS-SH and NALC-NaOH methods. After concentration, the processed samples were cultured in Lowenstein–Jensen (LJ) media and Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGITs). The direct smear detection before and after concentration of the sputum by both methods was also examined. To evaluate HS-SH method, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy and kappa were analyzed. The positive rates of AFB smears by both concentration methods were significantly higher than the direct method (P=0.032). The HS-SH method was highly comparable to the traditional NALC-NaOH method for microscopy and culture in LJ media and MGITs (kappa=0.96, 0.59 and 0.45, respectively) with no statistically significant difference. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of the HS-SH method for cultivation was 96.3%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 94.5% and 97.7%, respectively. The conclusion, The HS-SH method demonstrated good sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy similar to NALC-NaOH method for sputum digestion and concentration of both microscopy and culture with low cost and workload.


The extinction of the Neanderthals has not been widely considered in the light of the palaeoecology of other mammals. Therefore, a palaeoecological and historical bioge- ographical analysis of a database of European mammalian fossils for the period covering 60-20 thousand calendar years (approximately OIS 3 and covering the time when Nean- derthals became extinct) has been conducted that shed light on the ecological conditions of this period. Broadly the larger mammals in this database form historical biogeographi- cal categories including extant ubiquitous, extant northern and montane, extant eastern, extinct northern and extinct southern taxa. Neanderthals appear to belong to the extinct southern grouping which highlights the lack of attention they had received from the per- spective of extinct Late Pleistocene Megafaunal elements. The temporal distribution of taxa confirms the decline towards the Last Glacial Maximum of the southern extinct group and further reveals a decrease in the occurrence of many smaller carnivores. The latter may indicate a decrease in carrying capacity as temperatures decreased which is supported by the decrease in occurrence of mammoths on non-archaeological sites and other similar phenomena documented elsewhere. The geographical distribution of the larger mammals of OIS 3 confirms a retreat towards the South and West of Neanderthals similar to that of the straight-tusked elephant Elephas antiquus and Merck's rhino Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, both of which also became extinct towards the Last Gla- cial Maximum. The change in geographical distribution of the European wild ass Equus hydruntinus through OIS 3 may be closest to that of the Neanderthals implying similar tol- erances. The results of the palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical study of Neander- thals prompt a reconsideration of their supposed adaptations.


Grandparents, and in particular grandmothers, are an important source of informal child care for their grandchildren in most developed countries. The literature shows how these informal transfers of care can help promote female labor participation. However, less is known about how working-age grandmothers are combining care with their own labor participation. In this paper, I use data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe and analyze to what extent child care is provided by grandmothers in ten European countries and how grandmothers are combining this task with paid work. I also revisit the question of whether the child care provided by grandmothers is encouraging the labor participation of their offspring. The empirical approach takes into account the simultaneity of labor market decisions and caregiving activities while controlling for grandmother's unobserved heterogeneity on their willingness to provide care to their grandchildren. I find a negative and significant effect of participating in the labor market on the probability of taking care of the grandchildren on a regular basis. I also find evidence that, for some countries, the child care provided by working-age grandmothers has a positive effect on the labor participation of their daughters.


The Autobac I system was used to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The results of the Autobac I were compared with the results of the disk diffusion method. The disk diffusion susceptibility pattern showed resistance to methicillin/oxacillin, penicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, and kanamycin. All isolates were susceptible to cephalothin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and gentamicin. There was at least 96% agreement using the Autobac I system with all antibiotics except methicillin and clindamycin. Seventy percent of 57 isolates were recorded as susceptible to methicillin, whereas 9% had an intermediate susceptibility. With clindamycin, 14% were recorded as susceptible and 7% were recorded as intermediate. Upon prolonged incubation of the Autobac I cuvette, the agreement between the two methods was 44% for methicillin and 93% for clindamycin. Changes in the environmental conditions, such as use of 5% sodium chloride broth and a 32°C incubation temperature, did not increase the detection of methicillin-resistant isolates by the Autobac I system.


Impetigo can present with severe, recurrent skin sores and may be complicated by invasive bacterial infections, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN). Intramuscular benzathine penicillin-G (BPG) is used to treat impetigo, but administration is painful, and Staphylococcus aureus is poorly covered. Co-trimoxazole has traditionally been considered ineffective against Streptococcus pyogenes. In this non-inferiority trial, 508 Indigenous children aged 3 months to 14 years with impetigo were randomized 1:1:1 to receive BPG, twice daily co-trimoxazole for 3 days or once daily co-trimoxazole for 5 days. Treatment success was determined by independent reviewers blinded to treatment allocation based on digital image scoring of sores at day 7. Treatment was successful in 85% of children with no significant difference between treatment groups. S. pyogenes colonisation rates dropped from 90% to 7% in both groups. Clinical improvement was associated with eradication of S. pyogenes but not S. aureus, suggesting a predominant role for S. pyogenes in the pathogenesis of impetigo. Whether or not short-course co-trimoxazole effectively prevents RHD and PSGN is not answered by this study, but given its success in eradicating S. pyogenes, it seems likely that it is a comparable alternative to BPG that is cheap, easy to administer and rarely associated with adverse effects.


The development of smart protective clothing will facilitate the quick detection of injuries from contact sports, traffic collisions and other accidents. To obtain real-time information like spatial and temporal pressure distributions on the clothing, flexible pressure sensor arrays are required. Based on a resistive fabric strain sensor we demonstrate all flexible, resistive pressure sensors with a large workable pressure range (0–8 MPa), a high sensitivity (1 MPa−1) and an excellent repeatability (lowest non-repeatability ±2.4% from 0.8 to 8 MPa) that can be inexpensively fabricated using fabric strain sensors and biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The pressure sensitivity is tunable by using elastomers with different elasticities or by the pre-strain control of fabric strain sensors. Finite element simulation further confirms the sensor design. The simple structure, large workable pressure range, high sensitivity, high flexibility, facile fabrication and low cost of these pressure sensors make them promising candidates for smart protective clothing against impact loading.


Microfluidic systems are usually fabricated with soft materials that deform due to the fluid stresses. Recent experimental and theoretical studies on the steady flow in shallow deformable microchannels have shown that the flow rate is a nonlinear function of the pressure drop due to the deformation of the upper soft wall. Here, we extend the steady theory of Christov et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 841, 2018, pp. 267–286) by considering the start-up flow from rest, both in pressure-controlled and in flow-rate-controlled configurations. The characteristic scales and relevant parameters governing the transient flow are first identified, followed by the development of an unsteady lubrication theory assuming that the inertia of the fluid is negligible, and that the upper wall can be modelled as an elastic plate under pure bending satisfying the Kirchhoff–Love equation. The model is governed by two non-geometrical dimensionless numbers: a compliance parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$, which compares the characteristic displacement of the upper wall with the undeformed channel height, and a parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}$ that compares the inertia of the solid with its flexural rigidity. In the limit of negligible solid inertia, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}\rightarrow 0$, a quasi-steady model is developed, whereby the fluid pressure satisfies a nonlinear diffusion equation, with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ as the only parameter, which admits a self-similar solution under pressure-controlled conditions. This simplified lubrication description is validated with coupled three-dimensional numerical simulations of the Navier equations for the elastic solid and the Navier–Stokes equations for the fluid. The agreement is very good when the hypotheses behind the model are satisfied. Unexpectedly, we find fair agreement even in cases where the solid and liquid inertia cannot be neglected.


GH stimulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of various cellular polypeptides, including the GH receptor itself, in an early part of the intracellular response. Some of these phosphorylations are catalyzed by a GH receptor-associated kinase identified as JAK2, a member of the Janus family of tyrosine kinases. In cultured cells, GH stimulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), IRS-2, and Shc. This study investigated whether GH could cause the tyrosine phosphorylation of IRSs and Shc proteins in fasted rat tissues in vivo. GH was administered to fasted Wistar rats via a portal vein, and extracts of different tissues were immunoprecipitated with specific antibodies. GH increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1, IRS-2, JAK2, and Shc proteins in the liver, heart, kidney, muscle, and adipose tissue of rats. The roles of these substrates as signaling molecules for GH were further demonstrated by the finding that GH stimulated the association of IRS-1/2 with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Grb2, and phosphotyrosine phosphatase and of Shc with Grb2. The correlation between JAK2 tyrosyl phosphorylation and IRS-1 tyrosyl phosphorylation in response to GH together with the results of the in vitro tyrosine kinase assay are consistent with the hypothesis that JAK2 may mediate GH-induced phosphorylation of IRS-1.


This thesis consists of three essays on household finance and banking. The first chapter examines the role of brokers in the UK mortgage market. Mortgage brokers operate as intermediaries between households and lenders, acting as expert advisors for consumers and as distributors for mortgage providers. Using loan-level data from the universe of UK mortgage originations, I study the interactions between households, brokers and lenders. I find that, in this market, brokers often charge fees to households, while at the same time receiving commission payments from lenders for the sale of their products. The data suggest that these commissions can distort brokers' advice, potentially generating an agency problem between households and brokers. However, I also find evidence that brokers can benefit consumers by increasing upstream competition. By facilitating the entry of new, lower-cost mortgage providers, brokers increase competition among lenders, which can result in lower interest rates for households. It is important to understand both the positive and negative effects of having brokers when considering regulation in this market. The second chapter empirically analyzes the effects on welfare and market structure of regulations restricting broker compensation in the UK mortgage market. To study the net effect of these regulations in equilibrium, I estimate a structural model that features households' demand for mortgage products and broker services, lenders' optimal pricing decisions, and broker-lender bilateral bargaining over commission rates. I use the estimates to evaluate the impact of policies restricting brokers' commission payments. I find that a ban on commissions leads to a 25% decrease in consumer welfare, whereas a cap equal to the median commission increases consumer surplus by 10%. The intuition behind this finding is that by introducing a more restrictive cap, we are decreasing broker market power at the expense of increasing lender market power. A tighter cap will increase consumer surplus by aligning the incentives of brokers and households, but it will also decrease consumer surplus by reducing competition among lenders. In this chapter, I quantify both opposing forces to capture the net effect of different policies. The third chapter, co-authored with Nikos Artavanis, Daniel Paravisini, Amit Seru and Margarita Tsoutsoura, develops a new approach to isolate and quantify the extent to which deposit withdrawals are due to liquidity, exposure to policy risk, or expectations about how other depositors will behave. We use high frequency microdata on insured time-deposits from a large Greek bank over a long time period that spans quiet periods as well as events with large policy uncertainty. We use variation induced by maturity expiration of time deposits around the large policy uncertainty events to filter deposit withdrawals due to direct exposure to policy risk from those due to expectations about behavior of other depositors. In response to a policy uncertainty shock that doubled the short-run CDS price of Greek sovereign bonds, the early deposit withdrawal probability quadrupled. About two-thirds of this increase is driven by direct exposure to policy risk with the remainder due to changes in expectations of behavior of other depositors. We quantify these effects in terms of forgone interest rates and changes in short-run CDS prices. Our estimates imply effects that compare well with anecdotes from other recent prominent episodes of depositor withdrawals.


Recent proposal of Wasserstein Index Generation model (WIG) has shown a new direction for automatically generating indices. However, it is challenging in practice to fit large datasets for two reasons. First, the Sinkhorn distance is notoriously expensive to compute and suffers from dimensionality severely. Second, it requires to compute a full N × N matrix to be fit into memory, where N is the dimension of vocabulary. When the dimensionality is too large, it is even impossible to compute at all. I hereby propose a Lasso-based shrinkage method to reduce dimensionality for the vocabulary as a pre-processing step prior to fittig the WIG model. After we get the word embedding from Word2Vec model, we could cluster these high-dimensional vectors by k-means clustering, and pick most frequent tokens within each cluster to form the "base vocabulary". Non-base tokens are then regressed on the vectors of base token to get a transformation weight and we could thus represent the whole vocabulary by only the "base tokens". This variant, called pruned WIG (pWIG), will enable us to shrink vocabulary dimension at will but could still achieve high accuracy. I also provide a wigpy module in Python to carry out computation in both flavor. Application to Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) index is showcased as comparison with existing methods of generating time-series sentiment indices.


The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion and debate around the idea that in order for deep organisational and societal change to occur, leaders need to change and heal themselves by practising sustainability of the self and paying attention to natural cycles. IT presents a review of contemporary leadership models in relation to sustainability and well-being and combines these with an examination of the role of natural and biological cycles in cognition and decision making. The research suggests that there is a relationship between natural and biological cycles and leadership performance suggesting that there is a need for leaders to better understand their own cycles and any corresponding impacts. The paper contributes an understanding as to the influences that natural and biological cycles have on leaders emotions, cognition and performance and offers a model that aligns cycles of leadership with the seasons and cycles of the natural world.


This paper discusses basic valency orientation in Hittite, based on the typology proposed in Nichols et al. (2004). Verb pairs usually employed to test basic valency indicate the clearly transitivizing character of this language; a closer scrutiny of intransitive verbs further reveals the existence of a three-fold distinction featuring two intransitive verbs, a basic stative one (or an adjective), and an overtly marked intransitive change-of-state, in addition to a transitive counterpart overtly marked as causative. The high productivity of causative derivation is shown by the fact that morphologically marked causatives are not only derived from stative verbs, but also from telic intransitives and from transitive verbs. In the case of telic intransitive verbs, a minor pattern is also attested, whereby valency alternation is encoded through voice alternation, with intransitive forms inflected in the middle voice and transitive forms in the active. Since neither voice can be considered to be derived with respect to the other, verbs that display this behavior are indeterminate as to basic valency orientation. In spite of the limited extent to which voice indicates valency alternation, this finding becomes more significant when set into the framework of valency alternation in the early Indo-European languages, and sheds some light (or raises more questions) on the original function of the Hittite and of the Indo-European middle voice, a typologically puzzling category.


The ACTH-cortisol axis was studied in 15 hemodialysis patients. Basal plasma cortisol concentrations were found to be elevated and ACTH to be in the high normal range. Cortisol responded normally to exogenous ACTH, but neither cortisol nor ACTH were suppressed in response to oral dexamethasone. 11-Deoxycortisol and ACTH concentrations did not rise normally in response to either oral or iv metyrapone. We conclude that standard testing of the ACTH-cortisol axis in dialysis patients yields results suggesting Cushing's syndrome.


Data about psychiatric problems among young people are scarce in the Gulf countries. This retrospective review of records describes the pattern of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders among patients consulting 3 child psychiatric clinics in Saudi Arabia during the year 2008. Most patients were referred from the public health sector (92.8%). Psychotropic drugs were prescribed for 86.2% of patients and psychotherapy for 55.2%. Maternal perinatal complications and other psychosocial stressors were noted in almost 45.8% of cases. Family history of psychiatric disorder was reported in 31.5% of patients. Psychiatric comorbidity was noted in 40.5% of cases while physical diseases were noted in 29.9%. The outcome was classified as unstable at the last consultation in 17.9% of cases. In a linear regression analysis the only factors significantly associated with unstable outcome were a higher load of symptoms (OR 2.64) and perinatal complications (OR 2.84).


SIR,-Your recent articles and correspondence'-4 prompt me to take up two points raised by Professor Roy Meadow.' Our current findings confirm completely our previous estimates of the likely prevalence of filicide (eight out of 115 in our last series). The problem now is not its existence but of doing something about it in prevention. But filicide is only one of a number of facets which come under the heading of cot deaths. The diagnosis sudden infant death svndrome was barely justifiable in the first place; has not been proved to be beneficial, certainly towards elucidating the causes of death of children; and is probably harmful in our attempts to prevent some of these deaths. During the past 20 years we have seen a series of hypotheses as "the theory of the month," some of them nonsensical, but others almost certainly applying to a small proportion of such deaths. When any such hypothesis is applied to the total group of deaths, however, answers come out negative. The result has been that vast sums of money have been spent on research that has largely been almost negative. Any hypothesis for unexpected death that is related not to some obscure reflex or chemical but to some aspect of parental care is seen as a threat to all of the parents, and paediatricians and others who have taken on the emotional care of the parents feel called on to defend them. There are probably at least half a dozen distinct entities in what is labelled sudden infant death syndrome. The time is fast arriving when this "dustbin" approach to diagnosis must be abandoned so that the causes of death in children who die unexpectedly can be investigated outside the light of media publicity and without distressing innocent parents unnecessarily. The BMJ has taken some leads in medical publication; could it not start by referring to unexpected infant deaths rather than the sudden infant death syndrome?


This cross sectional study was performed to estimate the prevalence of serological evidence of immunity to Measles in primary school students (age 6-12) that have a history of twice vaccination against measles, on 9 and 15 month old and determining the appropriate age to re-vaccination. Multistage sampling was used to select students to participate in the present study. Immunization status and documentary evidence of immunization was recorded from the Personal Health Record. Measles antibodies were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sufficient blood for antibody testing was obtained from 1665 children, 975 (57%) were girls and 720 (43%) were boys, respectively and mean age was 9.17 +/- 1.53 years. On the whole, 1198 subjects (72%) were seropositive and 467 (28%) were seronegative at all. Among girls and boys, 72 and 71%, were seropositive respectively. These differences were not statistically significant between the two sexes (p = 0.404). Antimeasles antibody titer decreased with increasing age from 6 to 10 years old, (76.5% in 6 years old group vs. 71% in 10 years old group) and then rise to 78% in 11-12 years old group. These differences were not statistically significant between age groups (p = 0.775). the immunity produced by the measles vaccine is not enough. Decrease of protective effect of measles vaccine, suggests the necessary of preschool revaccination.


ABSTRACT The tools currently available for genetic subtyping of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 are laborious or can be used only for the analysis of a limited number of samples and/or subtypes. We developed and evaluated a molecular biology-based method using subtype-specific oligonucleotide probes for env genotyping of subtypes A through G, CRF01_AE, and CRF02_AG. DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA) genotyping is based on nested PCR amplification of the 5′ end of the env gene (proviral DNA), followed by subtype-specific hybridization and immunoenzymatic detection on microplates. DEIA genotyping was validated with a large number of samples (n = 128) collected in Europe (France; n = 47), West-Central Africa (Cameroon; n = 36), and West Africa (Senegal; n = 45). Three different formats, depending on the distribution of subtypes in the three countries, were developed. The results were compared with those obtained by sequencing of the V3-V5 region and phylogenetic analysis or an env heteroduplex mobility assay. Additional sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the DEIA region (the first codon of the env coding sequence to the middle of conserved region C1 of gp120) were performed to investigate the reasons for discrepancies. Intense and highly specific reactions between the oligonucleotide probes and the corresponding samples were observed. Overall, correct identification was achieved for 107 of 128 samples (83.6%). One sample was not amplified, 10 (8%) were nontypeable (NT), and 10 (8%) were misidentified. Six of the 10 discordant samples were further investigated by phylogenetic analysis, which indicated that these samples corresponded to recombinants involving the env 5′ end and the V3 and V5 regions of the two parental clades. Sequencing of NT samples showed numerous differences between sample and probe sequences, resulting in a lack of hybridization, and revealed the limitations of the selected probes in terms of specificity and sensitivity. We demonstrated the feasibility of DEIA genotyping: six subtypes plus the two most prevalent circulating recombinant forms were discriminated by using the 5′ end of the env gene. This method can be adapted to the local situation by including only probes that correspond to the prevalent strains.


A finite mixture model is used to examine whether price asymmetries exist in U.S. fresh strawberry markets. Two distinct pricing regimes are identified. Results show that price asymmetries exist only at 34 percent of the cases and market power has played an important role in generating such asymmetric price relationships.


Consequences of dam-break are affected by many factors, which are of a certain degree of ambiguity. Influencing factors of dam-break consequences are summarized in this paper. At first, weights of influencing factors are determined by means of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), thereafter, the fuzzy hierarchy synthesis evaluation model for dam failure is developed. Finally, Qing Linjing reservoir located in Shenzhen of China is taken as a case. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation for the risk analysis of dam-break and the risk grades of dam-break consequences are obtained. The results indicate that it is reasonable and valuable to evaluate the risk of dam-break by using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation.


The present study intended to examine the impact of trade on energy consumption using data of four oil importing, heavily populated, and developing economies of Asia namely Pakistan, India, China and Bangladesh. The study covers the period of 1972 to 2011. The data was checked for the Cross-sectional Dependency using CD-test, then CIPS panel unit root test, Panel cointegration, and Pooled Mean Group estimates approaches were used. Empirical results confirmed the Long-run relationship between energy consumption and trade openness. This study confirms the influence of trade on energy consumption and that they are positively related. International trade increases the energy demand and economic activities. However, high energy demand causes high energy price which negatively impacts on energy consumption and hence reduces the energy consumption. Therefore, there are many implications for the energy conservation and trade policy makers to consider in all four countries.


Two hundred and thirty five microbial strains isolated from patients with different infections such as chronic nonspecific diseases of the lungs, diseases of the biliary tract, chronic pyelonephritis, osteomyelitis, peritonitis and soft tissue infections were tested for their sensitivity to 15 antibacterial antibiotics. Wide variability of the sensitivity of the isolates to the antibiotics, i.e. 0.24-0.5 to at least 128 micrograms/ml was observed. The gram-positive and gram-negative isolates were highly sensitive to the aminoglycoside antibiotics and first of all to tobramycin and sisomicin. Both the antibiotics preserved their pronounced activity against P. aeruginosa.


Abstract Purpose: The rising issue of opioid use during pregnancy poses an increased risk of fetal exposure to opioids in-utero and the development of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The cessation of exposure to opioids upon birth causes elevated levels of norepinephrine in the circulation enhancing sympathetic arousal. Skin conductance (SC) detects sympathetic-mediated sweating while the Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) depicts facial expressions of stress and pain. We hypothesize that there will be a direct correlation between SC and NFCS scores, such that neonates with prenatal opioid exposure will have higher SC and facial responses to pain/stress as compared with healthy neonates without prenatal opioid exposure. Objective: This study evaluates the utility of SC and the NFCS in the objective assessment of early postnatal pain response in opioid-exposed and non-opioid exposed neonates. Methods: This prospective, single-center, pilot study enrolled opioid-exposed term neonates (>37 weeks) and healthy controls. Subjects were observed within 24–48 hours post-birth (and prior to opioid withdrawal) for pain at baseline, during, and post-heel lance/squeeze (HLS) with simultaneously measured SC and videotaped facial expressions. SC data included electro-dermal responses over time (EDR/second) and the average amplitude of responses (mean of peaks [MP]). Video data were scored using the NFCS by two trained coders with inter-rater agreement >85%. Results: SC and NFCS scores were significantly associated with both groups. The opioid-exposed neonates had significantly higher skin conductance indices, EDR/sec for the HLS phase, and MP for HLS and post phases as compared with controls (p < .05). Opioid-exposed neonates demonstrated higher NFCS at baseline (p = .003). Conclusions: Prenatal opioid exposure was associated with heightened sympathetic arousal during both pain and recovery phases and higher facial expressions of pain/distress at baseline only. A multimodal system of assessment may be useful in understanding the complexity and severity of opioid withdrawal associated with NAS.


Idjtihad for legal and economic studies review is an international journal, double blind peer-reviewed, bi-annual and free of charge, open access journal published by the Faculty of law and political sciences of Tamanrasset university center – Algeria; the journal focuses on the following topics: it focuses on the following topics: law and economics. it provides an academic platform for professionals and researchers to contribute innovative work in the field. The journal carries original and full-length articles that reflect the latest research and developments in practical aspects. The journal is published in both and print versions. The online version is free access and downloadable. All papers around the world are very welcome in our international journal. Manuscripts can be sent at any time for the two issues ( January and June


BACKGROUND
 To avoid misuse of personal protective equipment (PPE), ensure health care workers' safety, and avoid shortages, effective communication of up-to-date infection control guidelines is essential. As prehospital teams are particularly at risk of contamination given their challenging work environment, a specific gamified electronic learning (e-learning) module targeting this audience might provide significant advantages as it requires neither the presence of learners nor the repetitive use of equipment for demonstration.

 OBJECTIVE
 The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a gamified e-learning module could improve the rate of adequate PPE choice by prehospital personnel in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

 METHODS
 This was an individual-level randomized, controlled, quadruple-blind (investigators, participants, outcome assessors, and data analysts) closed web-based trial. All emergency prehospital personnel working in Geneva, Switzerland, were eligible for inclusion, and were invited to participate by email in April 2020. Participants were informed that the study aim was to assess their knowledge regarding PPE, and that they would be presented with both the guidelines and the e-learning module, though they were unaware that there were two different study paths. All participants first answered a preintervention quiz designed to establish their profile and baseline knowledge. The control group then accessed the guidelines before answering a second set of questions, and were then granted access to the e-learning module. The e-learning group was shown the e-learning module right after the guidelines and before answering the second set of questions.

 RESULTS
 Of the 291 randomized participants, 176 (60.5%) completed the trial. There was no significant difference in baseline knowledge between groups. Though the baseline proportion of adequate PPE choice was high (75%, IQR 50%-75%), participants' description of the donning sequence was in most cases incorrect. After either intervention, adequate choice of PPE increased significantly in both groups (P<.001). Though the median of the difference in the proportion of correct answers was slightly higher in the e-learning group (17%, IQR 8%-33% versus 8%, IQR 8%-33%), the difference was not statistically significant (P=.27). Confidence in the ability to use PPE was maintained in the e-learning group (P=.27) but significantly decreased in the control group (P=.04).

 CONCLUSIONS
 Among prehospital personnel with an already relatively high knowledge of and experience with PPE use, both web-based study paths increased the rate of adequate choice of PPE. There was no major added value of the gamified e-learning module apart from preserving participants' confidence in their ability to correctly use PPE.


The jointed rock mass distributed in the nature widely and its mechanical characteristic influenced the stability of the rock engineering badly. The cracks propagated and coalesced each other and macroscopic failure happened. Bolts were a kind of effective reinforcement instrument and they could prevent the cracks from propagating. However, the anchoring mechanism of bolts was not realized clearly and their reinforcement could not be reflected effectively in the numerical simulation yet. Based on the damage mechanics, a constitutive relation and damage equation of anchored jointed rock mass were presented in this paper. With a project application, the model was proved to be feasible one.


The Problem
How to reach concordance and shared treatment decisions between clinicians and patients with OA is undefined and unclear. In order to facilitate such shared agreements, it is important that the clinician has a clear understanding of an individual patient's preference for OA treatment. This process of eliciting individual patient preference can be time consuming, and may be too easily influenced by the clinician's own perspective. An objective method for self assessment of patient preferences without clinician involvement might be a helpful and efficient contribution to shared decision-making in a subsequent consultation.

The approach
Aim: To investigate the practicality and validity of a newly developed Adaptive Choice Based Questionnaire (ACBC) questionnaire to determine OA patients' preference. Pilot: 11 participants who were over 50 years of age and suffering from OA in at least one of their joints were recruited from the Research User Group (RUG) at the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre, Keele University. Participants completed a computerised interactive ACBC questionnaire involving 8 attributes using evidence-based information from published articles about the varying impact and risks of OA medication: medication availability, frequency, route of administration, expected benefit, risk of addiction, risk of stomach side effects, risk of kidney and liver side effects, and risk of heart attacks and strokes. Participants then completed a pen and paper feedback form about the relevance, comprehensibility and practicality of the ACBC questionnaire. The relative importance of each of the 8 attributes, which sum to 100%, was calculated for each patient individually using monotone regression estimation. Finally, patients were shown the results and asked if these represented their preference.

Findings
Although the ACBC monotone regression estimation differed between participants, 10 participants completely agreed and one partially agreed that the predicted results match their preferences. The average time for completing the questionnaire was 23 minutes and none of the participants reported the ACBC questionnaire to be difficult to read, understand or complete. Furthermore, all participants strongly supported the proposal to test the use and usefulness of the ACBC tool in general practitioners' clinics for eliciting patients' preference for OA treatment.

Consequences
The results of this pilot suggest that a computerised questionnaire (ACBC) reveals precise information about individual patient preference. It also suggests that this tool is ready and practical for testing its usefulness in primary care for analysing individual patient preference prior to consultation, without consuming clinicians' time.


Background Little is known about how much Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain is increased by a valgus moment versus an internal axial tibial torque loading during a unipedal jump landing. Objective To test the (null) hypothesis that the anteromedial (AM) bundle ACL relative strain would not be significantly different under a simulated one-foot jump landing imposing an internally-directed tibial torque versus one imposing a valgus knee moment. Design 12 cadaveric knees (mean (SD) age: 65.0 (10.5) years) were tested to study the effect of internally-directed tibial torque on the AM-ACL relative strain. Pretensioned quadriceps, hamstring and gastrocnemius muscle-tendon unit forces maintained an initial knee flexion angle. A compound impulsive test load (2*BW compression, flexion moment and internal tibial torque or valgus knee moment) was applied to the tibia while recording the 3-D knee loads and tibofemoral kinematics. AM-ACL relative strain was measured using a 3 mm DVRT. Each loading condition (ie, 'internal' or 'valgus' loading) was compared against 'baseline' loading condition under compression and flexion moment. Results were compared with those from Withrow et al. (2005) for 11 cadaveric knees of similar age tested on the same apparatus to investigate the effect of valgus knee loading on AM-ACL relative strain. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to test the null hypotheses (p<0.05 being considered significant). Setting A cross-sectional, repeated measures, in vitro laboratory study. Assessment of risk factors Independent variables included the magnitude of the impulsive compressive force, flexion moment, and internal tibial torque or valgus knee moment. Main outcome measurement AM-ACL relative strain. Results Normalised peak AM-ACL relative strain increased 117% under internally-directed tibial torque (17 ± 4 N-m), whereas the corresponding value increased 30% under valgus knee loading (133 ± 29 N-m) (p=0.016). Conclusion Internal axial tibial torque increases AM-ACL relative strain more than a valgus load under a simulated jump landing.


Rhinoplasty is a demanding procedure surrounded by a sequence of events. This array of events is set to be functional in a specific environment, generally acknowledged as settings. The perioperative settings in rhinoplasty constitute the core of a medical unit. They are the working tools in a surgeon's practice, providing support and safety to the patients. The purpose of this article is to identify the updated preoperative and postoperative settings in rhinoplasty, pointing out their role in the perioperative care of the patient.


The human bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori has a highly variable genome, with significant allelic and sequence diversity between isolates and even within well-characterised strains, hampering comparative genomics of H. pylori. In this study, pan-genome analysis has been used to identify lineage-specific genes of H. pylori. A total of 346 H. pylori genomes spanning the hpAfrica1, hpAfrica2, hpAsia2, hpEurope, hspAmerind and hspEAsia multilocus sequence typing (MLST) lineages were searched for genes specifically overrepresented or underrepresented in MLST lineages or associated with the cag pathogenicity island. The only genes overrepresented in cag-positive genomes were the cag pathogenicity island genes themselves. In contrast, a total of 125 genes were either overrepresented or underrepresented in one or more MLST lineages. Of these 125 genes, alcohol/aldehyde-reducing enzymes linked with acid resistance and production of toxic aldehydes were found to be overrepresented in African lineages. Conversely, the FecA2 ferric citrate receptor was missing from hspAmerind genomes, but present in all other lineages. This work shows the applicability of pan-genome analysis for identification of lineage-specific genes of H. pylori, facilitating further investigation to allow linkage of differential distribution of genes with disease outcome or virulence of H. pylori.


Africa is associated with Ubuntu values such as inclusiveness and treating others with fairness and human dignity. Such values align with human rights and social justice principles and are also integral to a social approach to inclusive education. However, there are several contextual and interconnected dynamics—environmental, cultural, and systemic—which impact on education systems and must be acknowledged when considering inclusive and special education. Several global developments have been endorsed and ratified by most African countries, such as the Education for All campaign, the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, the Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of the SDG 4 framework, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Furthermore, due to an African renaissance in the building of human capital since the 19th century, education policies and practices are also transforming to address the specific needs of the African context. Human rights and social justice are sanctioned as basic principles of education by the majority of African countries. Great strides have consequently been made in the development of education policies to address the inclusive education drive. However, the emphasis in these education policies seems to be on integrating students with special needs or disabilities into public education, mainly by placing them in separate units or classes attached to mainstream schools, or in special schools. It is therefore essential that, within the Ubuntu approach of everyone belonging to a greater community, both local communities and wider society make a commitment wherein interactive political, cultural, social, environmental, and systemic dynamics influencing learning, as well as causing learning breakdown, are acknowledged and addressed. A focus on the individual child as a problem to be remediated and segregated from mainstream society and education should therefore be rejected. Consequently, The education community (including governments, education departments, local education offices, schools, teachers, parents, and learners) must regularly come together to reflect and develop in-depth understanding of the philosophy, theory, terminology, and practice of inclusive education within the African context, which should then reflect in specific developed policies and consequent practices.


Ag is considered to be among the most promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media and is suitable for application in various electrochemical energy devices such as metal–air batteries and alkaline fuel cells. In this study, we studied the role of the electronic effects induced by strong metal support interactions in Ag/Mn3O4/C in enhancing the ORR activity in alkaline media. Ag supported on Mn3O4 showed a much higher ORR activity than Ag supported on carbon, and an upshift in the d-band center was observed in the former case, due to charge transfer from Ag to Mn. Further, the strain effect observed by X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, induced an increase in the O–O bond split kinetics due to upshift of the d-band center, resulting in enhanced ORR activity on Ag/Mn3O4/C. In conclusion, we propose that in-depth consideration of electronic effects is essential when designing metal/metal oxide catalysts for the ORR in alkaline media.


Submitted 2020-07-26 | Accepted 2020-09-02 | Available 2020-12-01 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.313-318 The increase of milk production at the farm level requires an accurate balancing of the diet and the nitrogen supply also to minimise the possible environmental pollution deriving from dairy farming. The aim of this study was to evaluate dietary protein utilization at different crude protein (CP) levels and to predict nitrogen content in faeces on the basis of nutritional parameters and milk urea nitrogen content (MUN, mg dL -1 ). The study was conducted on three groups (A, B, C) of lactating dairy cows (8 cows per group, including Latvian Brown and Holstein Black and White breeds) from 10 to 30 days in milk. Total mixed rations containing different levels of CP (approximately 18.0%, 17.5% and 17.0% for A, B and C, respectively) were fed. The amount of feed consumed by each cow was measured and feed samples collected during the trial. Milk yield (kg d-1 -1 ) and faeces amount were recorded, and samples were collected at day 21 of the study for further analysis. Feed samples were analysed for CP, net energy for lactation (NEL, MJ kg -1 ) and other parameters. Milk samples were analysed for fat (%), total protein (%), casein (%) and urea content (mg dL -1 ). The statistical investigation was conducted using ANOVA, and correlation and regression analyses. The results showed that milk yield, fat, total protein, casein, urea, and MUN were not significantly different among groups being not affected by the dietary CP levels. The correlation between faecal nitrogen content and CP content in feed was moderately positive and statistically significant (r=0.44, P=0.03), while the correlation between faecal nitrogen content and MUN was moderately negative and showed tendency towards significance (r=-0.39, P=0.06). The regression analysis showed that feed CP explained approximately 20% of faeces nitrogen content. Keywords: dairy cow, milk urea, faeces nitrogen, feed crude protein References Amanlou, H., Farahani, T. A. and Farsuni, N. E. (2017). Effects of rumen undegradable protein supplementation on productive performance and indicators of protein and energy metabolism in Holstein fresh cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 100, 3628-3640. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11794 J. A. D. R. N., Judy, J. V., Kebreab, E. and Kononoff, P. J. (2016). Prediction of drinking water intake by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 99, 7191–7205. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-10950 Arunvipas, P., VanLeeuwen, J. A., Dohoo, I. R., Keefe, G. P., Burton, S. A. and Lissemore, K. D. (2008). Relationships among milk urea-nitrogen, dietary parameters and fecal nitrogen in commercial dairy herds. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, 72, 449-453. Bijgaart, H. van den. (2003). Urea. New applications of mid-infra-red spectrometry. Bulletin of IDF, 383, 5-15. Broderick, G. and Huhtanen, P. (2020). Application of milk urea nitrogen values. Retrieved on June 30, 2020 from https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/15797/PDF Bucholtz, H., Johnson, T. and Eastridge, M. L. (2007). Use of milk urea nitrogen in herd management. In: Tri–State Dairy Nutrition Conference. Proceedings. Ft. Wayne, Indiana, p. 63-67. Colmenero, J. J. O. and Broderick, G. A. (2006). Effect of dietary crude protein concentration on milk production and nitrogen utilization in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 89, 1704-1712. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72238-X Dijkstra, J., Oenema, O. and Bannink, A. (2011). Dietary strategies to reduce N excretion from cattle: implications for methane emissions. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 3, 414-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2011.07.008 Kalscheur, K. F., Vandersall, J. H., Erdman, R. A., Kohn, R. A. and Russek-Cohen, E. (1999). Effects of dietary crude protein concentration and degradability on milk production responses of early, mid, and late lactation dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 82, 545-554. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(99)75266-5 Kidane, A., Overland, M., Mydland, L. T. and Prestlokken, E. (2018). Interaction between feed use efficiency and level of dietary crude protein on enteric methane emission and apparent nitrogen use efficiency with Norwegian Red dairy cows. Journal of Animal Science, 96, 3967–3982. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky256 LVS. (2004). Soil improvers and growing media - Determination of nitrogen - Part 1: Modified Kjeldahl method. Latvian standard, Riga, Latvia. LVS. (2008). Soil improvers and growing media - Sample preparation for chemical and physical tests, determination of dry matter content, moisture content and laboratory compacted bulk density. Latvian standard, Riga, Latvia. Ng-Kwai-Hang, K. F., Hayes, J. F., Moxley J. E. and Monardes, H. G. (1985). Percentages of protein and nonprotein nitrogen with varying fat and somatic cells in bovine milk. Journal of Dairy Science, 68, 1257-1262. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(85)80954-1 NRC. (2001). Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle: Seventh Revised Edition, 2001. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9825 Powell, J. M. and Rotz, C. A. (2015). Measures of nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen loss from dairy production systems. Journal of Environmental Quality, 44, 336-344. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2014.07.0299 Recktenwald, E. B., Ross, D. A., Fessenden, S. W., Wall, C. J. and Van Amburgh, M. E. (2014). Urea-N recycling in lactating dairy cows fed diets with 2 different levels of dietary crude protein and starch with or without monensin. Journal of Dairy Science, 97, 1611-1622. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-7162 Rotz, C. A., Satter, L. D., Mertens, D. R. and Muck, R. E. (1999). Feeding strategy, nitrogen cycling, and profitability of dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science, 82, 2841-2855. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(99)75542-6 Spiekers, H. and Obermaier, A. (2007). Milchhrnstoffgehalt und N-Aussheidung.L SuB Heft 4-5/07, 2007. S. III-4 bis III-8. Straalen, W. M. (1995). Modelling of nitrogen flow and extraction in dairy cows. PhD thesis. Landbouw Universiteit Wageningen. ISBN 90-5485-475-8.


Temperature-dependent clay-mineral assemblages, vitrinite reflectance, and apatite fission-track data have been used to investigate levels of diagenesis and time of exhumation of the double-verging Sicilide-Antisicilide accretion-ary wedge in Eastern Sicily. The integration of organic and inorganic thermal indicators allowed us to distinguish parts of the accre-tionary wedge with different thermal signature and evolution. We recognize a warmer core made up of the Mount Soro and Troina units and two colder rims (Antisicilide and far-traveled Sicilide units). The Antisicilide unit was thrust back toward the hinterland, and the far-traveled Sicilide units were gravity-driven toward the Hyblean Plateau. In detail, the highest percentages of vitrinite reflectance (VR o ) values (0.60%–0.96%) and percentages of illite layers in illite-smectite (I-S; 60%–85%) are found in the Mount Soro and Troina units. Apatite fission-track data, together with the paleotemperature estimates from vitrinite-reflectance data and clay-mineral–based geothermometers, indicate that fission tracks were partially to totally annealed during wedge accretion and that the subsequent exhumation occurred mainly in Burdigalian times. Low VR o values (0.35%–0.50%) and percentages of illite layers in I-S (30%–60%) occur in early thrust-top deposits (Reitano Flysch) that unconformably overlie the Sicilide Complex, as well as the far-traveled Sicilide and Antisicilide units. Apatite fission-track data for the Antisicilide unit confirm low paleo-temperature values. Thus the far-traveled Sicilide and Antisicilide units were probably at higher structural levels in the original accretionary prism and were remobilized since late Aquitanian–Burdigalian times.


TELETEX is a new international telecommunication service for text communication between terminals capable of data storage and possibly integrated in a information processing system, [l]. The new service is intended to fill the same needs as does business mail. With regard to information security this means that the information handled by the TELETEX system shall not be unintentionally changed or destroyed or lost to an unintended receiver. Measures to prevent this are called information protection. (We prefer to use the terms information security and information protection rather than data security and data protection. The reason is that "data " in the sense of a string of symbol s may be lost without revealing the information represented by the data. This is for example the case when the data consists of encrypted information).One of the most efficient methods for information protection is to use encryption. This means that the information is transmitted using a ''language" which i s not understood by is efficiently protected against loss and in most cases also against undetected change. Cryptological methods can also be used to detect information destruction. In Section 2 of this report we discuss the basic problems involved with the use of encryption in data networks in general.In a separate report we discuss the possible threats to the information security in TELETEX. This leads to suggestions regarding suitable protection methods. Our standpoint is that TELETEX shall offer at least the same level of information security as does the established mail distribution system.


Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Routledge, 1998, £35.00, pp. viii + 136, ISBN 0-415-16513-X) by James C. VanderKam offers an introduction to the calendrical material contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as an assessment of the scholarly discussion. The book falls into two parts. Part One deals with the calendrical information contained in the Hebrew Bible, a number of post-biblical sources, and Rabbinic literature. In Part Two the author


Background/Aims: The use of cyclosporine A (CsA) in the treatment of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome was firstly reported in 1986. On the other hand, many studies have documented the benefit of ketoconazole (keto) administration in renal and cardiac transplant adults treated with CsA, but this co-administration has not been reported in children with minimal change disease (MCD). Thus, deliberate use of keto to reduce the need for cyclosporine is not new, but it is particularly relevant because of the high cost of cyclosporine. Methods: This study included 46 children with MCD who were steroid resistant or dependent and received CsA. Among them, 31 received daily keto therapy (keto group) in a dose of 50 mg with concomitant decrease of the CsA dose by one third while 15 patients received CsA alone (non-keto group). Results: The mean (±SD) duration of CsA treatment was 25.7 ± 13.7 months. The characteristics of both groups were comparable. Co-administration of keto significantly improved the response to CsA therapy (from 60 to 94%) and decreased the frequency of renal impairment (from 27 to 3%). Hepatic function remained within the normal range in both groups. Co-administration of keto significantly reduced mean doses of CsA with overall net cost savings of about 34%. Conclusion: From this study, we may conclude that co-administration of low dose ketoconazole to cyclosporine in children with idiopathic MCD is safe. This combination significantly reduces CsA cost and, moreover, keto may improve the response to cyclosporine and may have a favorable effect on the kidney function.


Carbon nanotube (CNT) can be thought of as a hexagonal network of carbon atoms that has been rolled up to make a seamless cylinder. If they are consisting of one layer, they are termed singled-walled CNTs (SWNTs) while if there are multiple walls, they are called multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs). For most functional devices application, an aligned arrangement of CNTs is desired. Aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been successfully grown by the inclusion of a buffer layer of oxidized Al. An Al2O3 layer has been proven to be an important contributing factor towards obtaining good quality aligned CNTs. In this work, Al is deposited onto the Si wafer using electron beam evaporation and later oxidized by heating in air. A thin layer of iron catalyst is then deposited on top of the oxidized Al layer and annealed at 400oC. The result shows an improvement in the intensity of the graphitization peak (G-band) in the Raman spectra and aligned MWNTs is observed in these samples compared to the ones that have undergone the same process parameter except the Al2O3 layer.


Hospitality executives and managers can compensate employees through voluntary tipping, service charges, or service-inclusive pricing. Rather than take a default position or simply follow local practices, managers should carefully weigh the pros and cons of each policy and should knowingly choose the approach that best suits their circumstances. This Center for Hospitality Research Report is design to facilitate such thoughtful decisions about how to compensate employees. It outlines the business issues surrounding tipping and its alternatives, summarizes what we know about those issues, and identifies questions in need of further research. The principal benefits to hospitality firms of voluntary tipping are that it lowers nominal prices, increases profits through price discrimination, motivates up-selling and service, and lowers FICA tax payments. However, tipping also motivates discrimination in service delivery, gives servers surplus income that could go the firms' bottom line, increases the risk of income-tax audits, and opens firms up to adverseimpact lawsuits. The alternatives to tipping (i.e., service charges and service-inclusive pricing) have their own sets of costs and benefits. Ultimately, no one policy is always necessarily the best. Therefore, the report presents the pros and cons of each policy with respect to nine different considerations.


The case of a 65 year old patient with ulcerative colitis is reported, who had a dysplasia-associated lesion or mass (DALM) in her rectum. Refusing surgery after detection of the lesion and on follow-up, she underwent surgery only 18 years later when frank carcinoma (Dukes C) was detected. Even if DALM may take a variable course, surgical excision is still highly recommended.


Consider a complete bipartite graph of 2n nodes with n nodes on each side. In a round, each node can either send at most one message to a neighbor or receive at most one message from a neighbor. Each node has a preference list that ranks all its neighbors in a strict order from 1 to n. We introduce a non-negative similarity parameter D < n for the preference lists of nodes on one side only. For D = 0, these preference lists are same and for D = n-1, they can be completely arbitrary. There is no restriction on the preference lists of the other side. We show that each node can compute its partner in a stable matching by receiving O(n(D + 1)) messages of size O(log n) each. We also show that this is optimal (up to a logarithmic factor) if D is constant.


DNA microarrays were originally devised and described as a convenient technology for the global analysis of plant gene expression. Over the past decade, their use has expanded enormously to cover all kingdoms of living organisms. At the same time, the scope of applications of microarrays has increased beyond expression analyses, with plant genomics playing a leadership role in the on-going development of this technology. As the field has matured, the rate-limiting step has moved from that of the technical process of data generation to that of data analysis. We currently face major problems in dealing with the accumulating datasets, not simply with respect to how to archive, access, and process the huge amounts of data that have been and are being produced, but also in determining the relative quality of the different datasets. A major recognized concern is the appropriate use of statistical design in microarray experiments, without which the datasets are rendered useless. A vigorous area of current research involves the development of novel statistical tools specifically for microarray experiments. This article describes, in a necessarily selective manner, the types of platforms currently employed in microarray research and provides an overview of recent activities using these platforms in plant biology.