Imprints of racism Cities create challenging environments for many nonhuman species, and the presence of nonhumans in cities influences the health and well-being of the humans with which they share the environment. Distinct urban conditions are created by landscape modification, but the history of this transformation is not equal across urban environments. Schell et al. review how systematic racist practices such as residential segregation, enacted in part through redlining, have led to an unequal distribution of "nature" within cities. These inequities continue to play out in both the ecological processes of cites and the welfare of their residents. Science, this issue p. eaay4497 BACKGROUND Human activity and decisions drive all life in cities. Worldwide, cities are characterized by extensive anthropogenic transformation of the landscape, modification of biogeochemical processes, and alteration of biological communities. Underlying all of these characteristics of urban ecosystems is an extraordinary variability in human agency, culture, power, and identity. Though our understanding of cities as ecological systems with distinctive community assemblages and landscape features has broadened considerably, researchers still rarely consider the full range of social drivers that affect landscape heterogeneity. One of the most characteristic attributes of cities is social inequality—specifically the uneven distribution of resources and wealth primarily underpinned by structural racism and classism. Because structural inequalities form the foundation of city infrastructure, urban development, governance, management, and landscape heterogeneity, inequality among humans defines the ecological setting and evolutionary trajectories for all urban organisms. More broadly, systematic inequities have profound impacts on global biological change and biodiversity loss. Many emergent social inequity patterns are principally driven by systemic racism and white supremacy. Hence, centering racial and economic justice in urban biological research and conservation is imperative. Here, we show how social inequalities shape ecological and evolutionary processes in U.S. cities and highlight the need for research that integrates justice perspectives with ecological and evolutionary dynamics. ADVANCES Although a rich literature demonstrates how historical and contemporary inequities emerge and persist in human systems, a transdisciplinary perspective that integrates social and cultural processes into an urban eco-evolutionary framework remains unexplored. In today's world, humans often shape the ecological conditions that drive patterns of species distribution and evolution. Distinctive urban landscape features—including reduced habitat patch size, novel plant communities, and increased distance among similar patches—affect key ecological processes such as population dynamics, species interactions, and food web structure. Recent research emphasizes that socioeconomic and demographic factors predict within-city variation in diverse environmental conditions. Humans directly control urban plant, animal, and microbe communities. Further, decisions about urban resource management are often dictated by a subset of individuals and institutions with social or economic capital. These decisions can bias the distribution of societal benefits derived from nature. Dominant social groups also enact and enforce policies and societal norms that exacerbate social and environmental inequities. Wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods generally have more green space, more trees, and greater plant diversity than less affluent neighborhoods. In addition, synergies among pollution (e.g., light, noise, chemical), resource distribution, subsidized predators, and non-native species present novel challenges to organisms, which must respond by moving elsewhere, acclimatizing, adapting, or facing local extirpation. These stressors are often stratified according to racial and/or ethnic backgrounds and wealth. Further, intraspecific variation in phenotypic and genotypic traits of urban species may reflect human-induced disturbances. These relationships highlight the potential for both adaptive and neutral evolutionary processes in urban subpopulations to vary across neighborhoods within cities. OUTLOOK Stratification of wealth and property ownership shapes the distribution and management of urban spaces, thus constructing the urban ecosystem. Systemic racism and classism drive urban wealth stratification, emphasizing the need to address inequality-driven environmental heterogeneity in urban ecological and evolutionary studies. Residential segregation and colonial annexation (as well as gentrification and displacement) generate predictable ecological patterns in vegetation, air and water quality, microclimate, soils, and the built environment through the rapid influx of resources to specific areas. Accounting for such processes will allow more accurate estimation of the effect of humans on urban organisms. Deconstructing the complex and nuanced attributes of social inequality in affecting biological phenomena can also inform more equitable and sustainable urban planning solutions that implement anti-racist and justice-centered actions. Racial oppression and economic injustice are jeopardizing urban and global ecosystem health and function. Structural racism and classism are further layered with other inequalities, thus necessitating an intersectional approach to urban ecology. Deeper integration across the natural and social sciences is therefore an urgent priority for advancing our understanding of urban ecosystems and developing applied solutions that promote environmental justice, equity, and sustainability. Residential segregation and systemic racism have substantial impacts on ecological and evolutionary dynamics in cities. Government-sponsored policies stratify neighborhoods on the basis of race and class (e.g., through "redlining" in the United States, represented here by the red circle), which results in restricted access to social services and environmental amenities for racial and/or ethnic minorities and low-income communities (red arrows). Habitat quantity and quality tend to be greater in wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods (green arrows), which leads to variations in ecological and evolutionary processes, underscoring the influence of systemic racism and inequality in driving urban landscape characteristics. Urban areas are dynamic ecological systems defined by interdependent biological, physical, and social components. The emergent structure and heterogeneity of urban landscapes drives biotic outcomes in these areas, and such spatial patterns are often attributed to the unequal stratification of wealth and power in human societies. Despite these patterns, few studies have effectively considered structural inequalities as drivers of ecological and evolutionary outcomes and have instead focused on indicator variables such as neighborhood wealth. In this analysis, we explicitly integrate ecology, evolution, and social processes to emphasize the relationships that bind social inequities—specifically racism—and biological change in urbanized landscapes. We draw on existing research to link racist practices, including residential segregation, to the heterogeneous patterns of flora and fauna observed by urban ecologists. In the future, urban ecology and evolution researchers must consider how systems of racial oppression affect the environmental factors that drive biological change in cities. Conceptual integration of the social and ecological sciences has amassed considerable scholarship in urban ecology over the past few decades, providing a solid foundation for incorporating environmental justice scholarship into urban ecological and evolutionary research. Such an undertaking is necessary to deconstruct urbanization's biophysical patterns and processes, inform equitable and anti-racist initiatives promoting justice in urban conservation, and strengthen community resilience to global environmental change.


Here is a book that examines one aspect of a pervasive American concern. The question of American cultural independence, identity, and maturity has preoccupied writers from Jefferson on. The matter of a dialogue--of mutual, interacting influence--between cultural ambassadors representing the various arts in Europe and in America is a familiar theme in the work of Henry James. James himself was one of the first American artists to have had an impact on the other side of the Atlantic; more than merely gaining recognition and admiration, he exerted a positive "influence" on English letters, as Poe earlier had on French Literature.However, prior to this book, it has been the received judgment that no American influenced European architecture until Frank Lloyd Wright made his massive presence felt around 1910, largely in Germany and the Netherlands. But Eaton argues that both H. H. Richardson and Louis Sullivan profoundly affected architectural practices in the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth throughout Europe--except, interestingly, in the Romance countries.The author authenticates the influence of Richardson and Sullivan on a number of European architects, including Adolf Loos in Austria, Karl Moser in Germany and Switzerland, Eliel Saarinen in Finland, Ferdinand Boberg in Sweden, Hendrik Berlage in the Netherlands, and Sir John James Burnet in England. About 140 illustrations compare the work of these and other European architects with the buildings erected on the other side of the ocean by their two greatest American counterparts during this period.Eaton writes, "More than one author at the end of the century remarked that two decades previously it would have been unthinkable for a European to go to the United States for study, whereas by the late 1890s, it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. American solutions to the problems of the tall office building and the individual dwelling house were particularly admired.... That [European architects] turned to Richardson and Sullivan for inspiration seems sufficient proof that American architecture had come of age in a broad cultural sense by the decade of the nineties."Separate chapters are concerned with American architecture and the problem of cultural maturity (discussing literature, painting, and sculpture as well as architecture); the American strain in British architecture; Karl Moser and the German Richardsonian; Adolf Loos and the Viennese image of America; Richardson and Sullivan in Scandinavia; the Richardsonian phase in Finnish architecture; and the influence of Sullivan on Hendrik Berlage.


A three-dimensional (3D) numerical investigation is carried out to examine the effect of magnetic field (MF) on laminar forced convection of ferrofluids. Laminar flow (Reynolds number (Re) ≤ 100) of ferrofluid is modeled in a square mini-channel of 2 mm hydraulic diameter in the presence of the MF. A magnetic force is induced in ferrofluids because of the applied MF, which accelerates the upstream flow and decelerates the downstream flow with respect to the magnet's location. The acceleration/deceleration of the flow disrupts the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers (BLs), positively affecting the heat transfer. The extent of magnetic influence primarily depends on the Reynolds number and induced magnetic force. At low Re (= 25), where magnetic force dominates over inertial force, the flow of ferrofluid is strongly affected by the MF. This results in a higher augmentation in convective heat transfer. As the Re of the flow is increased to Re = 75, the inertial forces partially overcome the effect of the magnetic force, resulting in a smaller augmentation. The interaction of magnetic and inertia forces is expressed through a dimensionless magnetic Froude number (Frm). The effect of volumetric concentration of nanoparticles, Reynolds number, and the presence of multiple magnets placed along the flow channel on heat transfer is investigated through a parametric study. A correlation has also been proposed to predict the net enhancement in the Nusselt number due to the application of the MF based on the results of the present study.


Downhole monitoring of streaming potential, using electrodes mounted on the outside of insulated casing, is a promising new technology for monitoring water encroachment toward an intelligent well. However, there are still significant uncertainties associated with the interpretation of the measurements, particularly concerning the streaming potential coupling coefficient. This is a key petrophysical property that dictates the magnitude of the streaming potential for a given fluid potential. We present the first measured values of streaming potential coupling coefficient in sandstones saturated with natural and artificial brines relevant to oilfield conditions at higher-than-seawater salinity. We find that the coupling coefficient in quartz-rich sandstones is independent of sample type and brine composition as long as surface electrical conductivity is small. The coupling coefficient is small in magnitude, but still measurable, even when the brine salinity approaches the saturated concentration limit. Consistent results are obtained from two independent experimental setups, using specially designed electrodes and paired pumping experiments to eliminate spurious electrical potentials. We apply the new experimental data in a numerical model to predict the streaming potential signal that would be measured at a well during production. The results suggest that measured signals should be resolvable above background noise in most hydrocarbon reservoirs. Furthermore, water encroaching on a well could be monitored while it is several tens to hundreds of meters away. This contrasts with most other downhole monitoring techniques, which sample only the region immediately adjacent to the wellbore. Our results raise the novel prospect of an oil field in which the wells can detect the approach of water and can respond appropriately.


The literature contains few data on the clinical features and demographics of collagenous colitic patients from the Indian subcontinent. Almost all published articles describe various clinicopathological facets of collagenous colitis in the West, which is now classified as a variant of microscopic colitis, where diagnosis is missed by failure to biopsy the normal or "near normal" looking mucosa at endoscopy for histological examination.

The case notes of 210 patients who underwent colonoscopy at Base Hospital-Panadura (Medical Unit), Sri Lanka (equivalent to a district general hospital in the UK, with a bed strength of 350), for various reasons, from 20 July 1999 to 20 January 2002, were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical features and results of other routine investigations of patients who were histologically diagnosed as having collagenous …


This research adopts the heterogeneous-firm approach to analyze how technical barriers to trade (TBT) imposed by China affect its imports. The empirical analysis is based on a sample covering China's import control measures (e.g. TBT, tariff, license and quota) of all harmonized system (HS) 4-digit products during the period 1998–2006. A modified two-stage gravity model is used to correct for Heckman selection bias and firm heterogeneity bias. This paper finds that, in general, TBT reduce China's import probability with potential trade partners, but raise the import values with existing trade partners. Further evidence shows that the TBT effects on trade value remain quite stable. However, the TBT effects on trade probability vary a great deal across industries and countries in different time periods.


The DNA double helix makes replication easy but creates topological problems. In both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, these problems are solved by enzymes called DNA topoisomerases, many of which relax supercoiling by nicking and resealing the DNA strands. While studying the replication of linear DNAs in the soil-dwelling bacteria Streptomyces, Bao and Cohen discovered a topoisomerase (TopA) with an intriguing new activity. TopA was identified as a component of a protein complex bound to the telomeric region (the ends) of DNA. Like the telomerase enzymes that synthesize the ends of DNA in eukaryotes, Streptomyces TopA exhibits reverse transcriptase (RT) activity; i.e., the ability to make DNA from an RNA template. The RT activity of TopA requires an Asp-Asp doublet that is also a requisite feature of eukaryotic reverse transcriptases.The presence of this sequence motif in other bacterial topoisomerases suggests that this surprising RT activity— whatever its precise role— may not be restricted to the Streptomyces enzyme. — PAK


In event-based social networks, such as Meetup, social groups refer to self-organized communities that consist of users who share the same interests. In many real-world scenarios, users usually have social group preference and join interested social groups to attend events. It is therefore necessary to consider the influence of social groups to improve the event recommendation performance; however, existing event recommendation models generally consider users' individual preferences and neglect the influence of social groups. To this end, we propose a new Bayesian latent factor model SogBmf that combines social group influence and individual preference for event recommendation. Experiments on real-world data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Movements of individual articulators are analyzed to elucidate principles of gestural organization in vowels. Procedures for tracking articulator gestures from x‐ray motion films, and results obtained on coarticulation in Swedish, Bulgarian, and Greenlandic are reported in Wood [J. Phon. 19, 281–292 (1991); Proc. 3rd Congr. I. C. P. L. A. 191–200, Helsinki (1994); Proc. 13th I. C. Ph. Sc. 1, 392–395, Stockholm (1995); J. Phon. 24, 139–164 (1996); Proc. 4th Speech Prod. Seminar 61–64, Grenoble (1996)]. Tongue body movement was organized as predicted from a spectrographic study of Greenlandic vowels in Wood [Working Papers 4, 58–94, Lund (1971)] and according to the principles reported for English and Arabic in Wood [J. Phon. 7, 25–43 (1979)]. Greenlandic has three vowel phonemes, but the allophonic variation means all four tongue body gestures (palatal, velar, uvular, pharyngeal) are utilized. All articulator gestures needed for a vowel converged on a typical configuration, those arriving earlier being held until all were in position. The configuration was held briefly before the articulators were withdrawn. Coarticulation was organized by queuing oncoming gestures that are antagonistic to current gestures, avoiding conflicts.


The clinical outcome for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has improved significantly with the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, their curative potential appears limited, probably as a consequence of TKI-resistant leukemic stem cells (LSCs) that persist as a result of aberrant pathways independent of the well-established oncoprotein Bcr-Abl. One such pathway involves signaling through leukotrienes (LTs), bioactive compounds that have been suggested to play a role in several other malignancies. Cysteinyl LT1 receptor (CysLT1R) has been reported to be overexpressed in a number of solid cancers, and blocking of this receptor with the antagonist montelukast (treatment approved for bronchial asthma) has resulted in the killing of cancer cells. We recently demonstrated that montelukast, alone or in combination with imatinib, can effectively reduce the growth of CML cells, while normal bone marrow cells were left unaffected. Herein, we further investigated the importance of CysLT1R for the survival of CML cells and the mechanisms by which montelukast induces cell death. Knockdown of the CysLT1R of K562 cells with siRNA reduced their growth by 25%. Montelukast had no effect on these cells, while it killed more than 50% of CysLT1R-expressing cells. Growth inhibition exerted by imatinib was unaffected by CysLT1R status. Montelukast-induced killing of K562/JURL-MK1 CML cells was paralleled by Bax overexpression, cytochrome c release, PARP-1 cleavage, and caspase-3 activation, an event further increased in a setting where montelukast was added to imatinib. Wnt/β-catenin signaling was activated by CysLT1R and we observed that montelukast could induce proteins in this pathway, a finding of relevance for LSC survival. Thus, montelukast, employed at in vivo-like concentrations, induces the killing of CML cells through apoptotic pathways and may provide an additional, novel therapeutic possibility in CML.


Although new antidiabetic agents are introduced, alternative medicine with natural compounds such as ginseng offer a potential benefit, as they have a wide margin of safety with no no side-effects. Following informed consent patients with type 2 diabetes (oral medication 80%, insulin therapy 20%) were randomly assigned to receive an extract of Siberian (480 mg/day; n = 27) American (Panax) ginseng (480 mg/day; n = 27), or a placebo preparation over a period of three months. Patients and physician were blinded as to the kind of ginseng being administered. Fasting (BZfast) and postprandial blood glucose level (BZpp), HbA1c, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels were determined each week and at the end of each month. In addition, the degree of peripheral neuropathy was evaluated by an electrical stimulus at 5 Hz determining threshold levels for feeling of sensation and pain at both lower extremities at start and after each month of treatment. Contrary to placebo and Panax ginseng, Siberian ginseng intake resulted in a highly significant decline (p < 0.001) of fasting blood sugar, and postprandial blood sugar level at the end of the three-month period. Also, Siberian ginseng lowered significantly (p < 0.001) HbA1c, TC and TG levels after the 12-week period. Patients taking Siberian ginseng demonstrated some recovery of sensory to an electrical stimulus. Since eleutherosides are only found in Siberian ginseng, they seem to contribute to the observed therapeutic effect, which may be due to their ability to blockade of P-glycoprotein, an ATP-dependent drug efflux pump, which is responsible for an increase in insulin resistance. Since Siberian ginseng induced no adverse side effects, its additional intake is able to fine-tune the pathological glucose metabolism, also reducing symtoms of peripheral polyneuropathy.


The study aims to evaluate the osteogenic potential of human adipose derived stem cell (HADSC) co-culture with human osteoblast (HOB) using selected HADSC/HOB ratio of 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2, respectively. The HADSC/HOB was seeded on Titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated with or without nanofibre substrate. The non-coated TiO2 was used as control. The effects of TiO2 based scaffolds on cell adhesion were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cell viability, differentiation and mineralization were assessed by Alamar Blue, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Alizarin Red assays, respectively. The combination of HADSC/HOB, 2:1 ratio, seeded on nanofibrous-coated TiO2 showed better cell adhesion, viability, differentiation and mineralization than the other groups. This study offers opportunity to assess in vitro cellular development of HADSC through direct cell to cell contact with HOB. This study indicates that the co-cultured HADSC/HOB seeded on TiO2 based scaffolds may serve as a promising approach to facilitate osteogenic differentiation activity.


Through their transfer learning abilities, highly-parameterized large pre-trained language models have dominated the NLP landscape for a multitude of downstream language tasks. Though linguistically proficient, the inability of these models to incorporate the learning of non-linguistic entities (numerals and arithmetic reasoning) limits their usage for tasks that require numeric comprehension or strict mathematical reasoning. However, as we illustrate in this paper, building a general purpose language model that also happens to be proficient in mathematical reasoning is not as straight-forward as training it on a numeric dataset. In this work, we develop a novel framework that enables language models to be mathematically proficient while retaining their linguistic prowess. Specifically, we offer information-theoretic interventions to overcome the catastrophic forgetting of linguistic skills that occurs while injecting non-linguistic skills into language models.


ABSTRACT This article provides a socio-cognitive discourse analysis of Australian news media's use of certain metaphoric concepts to represent maritime asylum seekers (MASs) and discuss how such metaphorical constructions function to shape shared knowledge and legitimise certain immigration policies. The article argues that Australian news media feature a range of figurative language that discursively and consistently depicts MAS as an 'uncontrollable danger'. Two major metaphoric themes are identified: MAS as water or water catastrophe (all italics in this document are my own italics for emphasis, unless otherwise stated), and Australia as an invaded home. These metaphorical constructions appear to have emerged at the expense of earlier concerns regarding assimilation and difference and the metaphorical use of the queue, suggesting a recent shift in the immigration discourse in Australia. We conclude that both the water catastrophe and the home metaphors cognitively concretise and socially amplify the link between boat arrivals and social menace, thereby giving credence to discourses of responsibility and border control. This reproduction of a new discourse contributes to legitimising restrictive government policies and creating further possibilities for anti-immigration measures.


Metastasis, commonly to the lung, is the major cause of mortality from testicular cancer. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a novel nutrient mixture (NM) containing ascorbic acid, amino acids and green tea extract on the inhibition of melanoma growth and metastasis using a model of intratesticular inoculation of B16FO cells into nude mice. Male athymic mice (n=12), 10-12 weeks of age, were inoculated with 5x105 B16FO melanoma cells in 100 μl of PBS into the right testis, while the left testis was left untreated. Following inoculation, the mice were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (n=6) was fed a regular mouse chow diet and the NM 1% group (n=6) the same diet, but supplemented with 1% NM. Four weeks later the mice were sacrificed and the abdominal cavity was opened. Mice in the control group exhibited extensive metastasis in the peritoneal cavity and severely enlarged right testes and necrotic seminiferous tubules. By contrast, in the NM 1% fed group there was no evidence of peritoneal metastasis in 50% of the animals and mild metastasis in the remaining 50%. The right testes were enlarged and seminiferous tubules in the area of invasion showed evidence of degeneration. No metastasis to the liver, kidney or spleen were evident in either group. However, severe lung metastasis was observed in 2 of 6 mice in the control group and mild metastasis in 2 of 6 mice in the NM 1% group. In conclusion, these results confirm earlier studies and verify the anti-metastatic potential of NM.


This paper investigates the effects of macroprudential policies on bank risk through a large panel of banks operating in 61 advanced and emerging market economies. There are three main findings. First, there is evidence suggesting that macroprudential tools have a significant impact on bank risk. Second, the responses to changes in macroprudential tools differ among banks, depending on their specific balance sheet characteristics. In particular, banks that are small, weakly capitalised and with a higher share of wholesale funding react more strongly to changes in macroprudential tools. Third, controlling for bank-specific characteristics, macroprudential policies are more effective in a tightening than in an easing episode. 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


It is now well established that biomembranes show a high degree of lateral organization, with the coexistence of lipid domains showing increased order within a fluid phase. Environment-sensitive fluorescent probes such as Laurdan have played an important role in the study of membrane lipids properties. However, it has been shown that, despite its interesting spectroscopic features, including efficient two-photon excitation in the visible range, Laurdan can be difficult to use for investigating cellular membranes and its capacity to accurately document membrane properties has been challenged. We present here a simple and versatile two-step synthetic scheme that readily leads to Laurdan analogs differing by their polar head. We prepared a small library in order to evaluate the influence of the polar headgroup on the probe's ability to monitor membrane properties. The spectroscopic properties of the probes dissolved in different organic solvents or inserted into liposomes made of synthetic as well as natural phospholipids at different temperatures are described. Comparison of the fluorescence properties of existing Laurdan and C-Laurdan with the newly synthesized fluorescent probes indicates that the structure of the electron-donating amino group is a key parameter for the development of better-performing probes, especially in membranes containing negatively charged phospholipids.


Introduction CT colonography (CTC) is now widely available as the radiological imaging test for the colon, replacing barium enema. It is recommended that regular audit processes should be in place to audit the quality of CTC service provision against internationally agreed standards. This is especially important when considering the national bowel cancer screening programme with reference to FOB positive patients unfit for a colonoscopy and/or with incomplete colonoscopic examinations. The other advantage of CTC is the ability to detect extra colonic lesions at the same time as evaluating the colon. We aimed to audit our CTC practice with reference to endoscopic findings and to determine the value of any extra colonic lesions found on CTC, especially in our 2 week wait and bowel cancer screening patients. Method All patients who had a CTC performed over a period of 13 months were evaluated against the electronic record of endoscopic procedures. Of 264 patients who had a CTC, 78 also had a contemporaneous flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy performed. Results The main indications for an investigation of the colon were altered bowel habit (45%), anaemia (11%), abdominal pain (6.8%) and cancer/ polyp follow up (7.9%). The most common indication for CTC in the 264 patients reviewed was exclusion of synchronous colonic tumours in patients who had an incomplete colonoscopy (112 patients); 140 patients had been deemed unfit to have a colonoscopy and 12 patients declined one. 11 BCSP underwent CTC, 5 due to an incomplete scope and 6 were deemed unfit for colonoscopy. 68% of the CTC and endoscopic findings were in agreement. 19/78 endoscopic abnormalities were not picked up on CTC (24%). No cancers were missed on CTC. The most common positive findings were diverticular disease (24%) and polyps (14%). We found that 37.5% of patients had extra colonic abnormalities. There were no recorded complications. Conclusion It is essential to audit the quality of CTC service provision against standards set by the International CT Colonography Standards Collaboration and the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. In our institution, the correlation of CTC and endoscopic findings was reassuring. In addition, a large number of extra colonic abnormalities were detected using CTC, some of which were significant – this is especially important in the 2 week wait patients. Colonoscopy, however, still remains the gold standard investigation for the detection of colon related pathology. Disclosure of interest None Declared. References Johnson CD, Chen MH, Toledano AY et al. Accuracy of CT colonography for detection of large adenomas and cancer. NEJM. 2008;359:1207–17 Burling D. Effect of Directed training on reader performance for CT colonography: multicenter study. Radiology. 2007;242:152–61 NICE guidelines CT Colonography. http://guidance.nice.org.uk/IPG129;2009


Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop and standardize a new categorical naming test, titled the Categorical Naming Test (CNT), for stroke patients, and to investigate its validity and clinical usefulness for patients with stroke. Materials and methods The CNT was developed based on semantic category, imageability, and psycholinguistic factors such as word frequency and word length. The test materials included two main semantic categories (living objects and artificial objects) comprising 60 items. We standardized the CNT on 221 healthy adults and administered the CNT to 112 stroke patients. Results Internal consistency and concurrent validity of the test were high. The mean total CNT scores varied significantly according to participants' age, sex, and education. Among healthy controls, the scores for naming living objects were significantly higher than those for artificial objects. The analysis of stroke patients showed that the total CNT score revealed a statistically significant difference based on the patients' lesion laterality and presence of aphasia, after controlling for age, sex, and education. However, the categorical scores achieved by comparing the naming scores for living and artificial objects showed no significant differences according to lesion laterality, stroke type, and presence of aphasia. Conclusion The CNT is a newly developed version of an overt naming task with high internal consistency validity for stroke patients in Korea. The newly developed CNT can prove useful in evaluating naming ability in stroke patients.


A software has been developed for the estimation of monthly-mean hourly cooling load for Indian cities by Cooling Load Temperature Difference (CLTD) method prescribed by ASHRA. For this purpose empirical equations for the design temperatures, monthly-mean hourly wind velocities and humidity ratios at the locations are used. The software takes the city, month, wall orientation, building materials and their dimensions, wattage of lighting, number of occupants and occupancy hours and type of window glass with different types of shadings as input. The cooling loads for the month of May thus calculated are compared with those calculated using Solar Heat Gain Factor method. The computed values of cooling loads for eight cities, distributed all over India, are compared with these values are the results plotted to show the difference. The error analysis done for these calculations shows that the relative standard deviation for heat gain, through walls and roof, varies from 6.5% to 15.7% for different wall orientations.


At present, immediate loading of dental implants is of great interest. The key of this issue is how quickly implant can acquire firm fixation in the jaw bone, and how quickly the superstructure can be fabricated. In order to achieve these, it is necessary a large surface area of the implant and to promote early contact of the surrounding bone which can bear the load. In addition to this, anodic oxidization was carried out to prevent ion elution from titanium and titanium alloy in the body. The experiment was conducted with cylindrical Ti alloy test pieces of 4 different surface roughnesses (Ra=1.1μm, 1.2μm, 2.7μm, 4,7μm). These test pieces were treated by sandblasting and anodization, and implanted into the diaphysis of the femur of New Zealand white rabbits. Six weeks later, shear loading tests and histological examination were carried out. Strong interfacial bonding strength and active new bone formation were confirmed in the peripheral area of the test pieces having a surface roughness of Ra=2.7μm and 4,7μm. Judging from the stable fixation against the shear loading in the bone tissue seen in group C(Ra=2.7μm), it was


This study is designed to test the hypothesis "international trade contributes to economic growth through its effects on human capital accumulation and technological diffusion.�To assess the hypothesis empirically we employed the Neo-Classical growth model.The model also reflects some features of the endogenous growth models. We thus ended up with a model in which the change in human capital is sensitive to change in trade policies. Unlike conventional approaches, the model serves to assess and determine the accumulation effects of international trade on human capital and imported capital.The extent to which a country can benefit from international trade is also believed to be sensitive to the country's capacity to absorb international knowledge and technology in its production process.To evaluate the role of the absorption capacity, domestic R&D capital stock has been incorporated into the model.The empirical analysis estimates growth equations by using a panel data approach for a set of 23 developing countries, over the period 1970-2008. The countries considered for the study have been split into four groups.The trade variables exhibit relatively stronger growth elasticities in more open economies (East Asia, and Latin America) compared to less open economies (South Asia, and Africa). However, the overall evidence substantiates the fact that international trade enhances the accumulation of human capital and contributes to economic growth positively through technology diffusion.No convincing evidence, however, has been found in favor of the income convergence in any group of countries


Background This poster describes an audit conducted by the Community Integrated Advance Care Planning Team for St Helens and Knowsley of documentation by patients of their Preferred Priorities for Care and the impact of this on their place of death. Aim For St Helens and Knowsley Community Services advance care planning has been a priority since 2009 when a facilitator came into post to support this. A number of education initiatives across both areas have focused on giving health professionals the skills and confidence to support patients in making decisions about their care and documenting them. A robust audit trail has allowed the team to track the Preferred Priorities for Care (PPC) document that is used locally and collate the data on patient's place of death in comparison to their preference. Results 1007 PPC documents have been completed to date with 659 deaths so far. 1 (0.1%) patient chose hospital as their preferred place of dying. 30 (3%)chose hospice as their first choice 96.9% home or care home (usual place of residence) The audit has shown that 88% of patients who completed a PPC achieved their preference for place of dying which is significantly above the 40% home/care home deaths in the locality. The audit has also provided data on which health professionals and settings are completing PPCs and where training can be targeted for the future. Conclusion Supporting (through education) health professionals to make advance care plans with patients can have a significant impact on a patient's place of care at the end of their life.


Manufacturers have referred to lasers with operating wavelengths longer than 1400 nm (mid to far infrared) as eyesafe. Wavelengths in this region are absorbed in anterior portions of the eye (mainly cornea) and therefore never reach the retina. This is in contrast to the eye- hazardous portion of the optical spectrum of 400 - 1400 nm (visible and near infrared) where the anterior portions of the eye have high transmittance and refractive power. Irradiance levels are typically 5 orders of magnitude greater at the retina than at the cornea for visible and NIR wavelengths. Although wavelengths longer than 1400 nm do not interact with the retina, they can interact with the skin or cornea and cause a thermal injury. Specifiers of laser equipment have required that systems be eyesafe at a particular distance with or without optics. By this they mean that exposure at that distance for the naked eye or optically aided viewing through a specified power of optics should not exceed exposure limits. Some wavelengths in the visible and near IR are more 'eyesafe' than others because the safety factor between the level that would actually produce an injury (ED-50 value) and the exposure limit is greater. For example, the ED-50 value for a single Q-switched laser pulse for the ruby laser wavelength of 694.3 nm is 11.2 (mu) J into the eye and the Accessible Emission Limit (AEL) is 0.19 (mu) J, a factor of 59 between ED-50 and the AEL. The ratio for 1064 nm for a single Q- switched pulse is 99 (mu) J/1.9 (mu) J or 52. So, in a sense, exposure to 694 laser radiation at the AEL, is slightly more 'eyesafe' than exposure to 1064 nm radiation at the AEL. To the laser safety specialist, however, eyesafe, means only one thing, Class 1. Class 1 is a laser hazard classification that means the laser does not exceed specified limits for a reasonable, worst-case combination of distance, exposure duration, and collecting aperture diameter during its intended use. Determining whether a laser is Class 1 is usually a two-step process. The first step is determination of the AEL and the second is determining whether or not the laser in question exceeds this AEL. Exceeding the AEL is determined by calculation or measurement. If the AEL is exceeded under prescribed parameters then the laser is not Class 1. Differences in laser safety standards in both of these classification steps have caused confusion. Differences in exposure limits chosen by laser safety specialists based upon the same criteria have also caused confusion.


On the basis of a considerable number of carefully designed, representative, and controlled studies adjuvant chemotherapy was considered uneffective for patients with colorectal cancer. In the light of the very recently published results obtained with the combination of 5-fluorouracil plus levamisole this option must now be reconsidered. However, the statement of the NCI that all patients with Dukes'C cancer should be offered this combination appears premature.


Knowing how to search for information is the first step in non-fiction narrative writing. Possessing the skills needed to search for primary source information is critical. Below are links to sites that can provide you with that type of data.


We report on a detailed analysis of hyperspectral and multidirectional remote sensing data acquired using the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) mounted onboard the Project for On-Board Autonomy (PROBA) spacecraft. This instrument is capable of sampling reflected radiation over the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region of the solar spectrum at a spatial resolution (approx. 17 m) intermediary between sensors traditionally used in land applications (such as Landsat and Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT), 30 m–50 m) and the latest instruments delivering a nominal resolution of 1 m or less. The spectral anisotropic signature of an Alpine coniferous forest during winter in relation to canopy cover was investigated using the Minnaert-k parameter obtained by inverting the Rahman–Pinty–Verstraete (RPV) model against CHRIS data. Although earlier studies have demonstrated that Minnaert-k can be used to characterize surface heterogeneity at subpixel scale, its spectral dependency has not yet been fully assessed in an imaging spectrometry context. Minnaert-k parameter retrievals across CHRIS bands revealed that a switch from bell-shaped to bowl-shaped anisotropic reflectance patterns occurs when comparing visible to NIR responses. Specifically, the degree of canopy cover and background brightness determine where in the spectral domain this switch in reflectance anisotropy occurs. For a bright snow cover background Minnaert-k values correlated best with canopy cover at the end of the red edge (e.g., around 735 nm). In this spectral region, pixels with medium canopy cover (40%–70%) typically produced bell-shaped anisotropy patterns, while pixels with sparse (<30%) or dense (>70%) canopy covers typically produced bowl-shaped reflectance anisotropy patterns.


ABSTRACT Recent studies identified gendered citation gaps in political science journal articles, with male scholars being less likely to cite work by female scholars in comparison to their female peers. Although journal editors, editorial boards, and political scientists are becoming more aware of implicit biases and adopting strategies to remedy them, we know less about the proper baselines for citations in subfields and research areas of political science. Without information about how many women should be cited in a research field, it is difficult to know whether the distribution is biased. Using the gender distribution of membership in professional political science organizations and article authors in 38 political science journals, we provide scholars with suggested minimum baselines for gender representation in citations. We also show that women represent a larger share of organization members than the authors in sponsoring organizations' journals.


A system to record laser speckle photographs at framing rates in the range of 105 to 106 frames/s has been developed, based on a repetitively Q-switched ruby laser and rotating mirror high-speed camera. The laser and electro-optic modulator are described. The circuit diagram for an inexpensive high-voltage amplifier, capable of switching 2.5 kV at up to 1 MHz with fall and rise times of 100 and 200 ns, respectively, is given. The resulting optical pulse trains have pulse energy fluctuations at half the driving frequency. We show how these may be suppressed by reducing the time the Q-switch is left open. Both the subharmonic component and its suppression are explained from limiting cases of the laser rate equations. Representative pulse trains over a range of repetition rates are given; pulse energies greater than 20 mJ with pulse energy fluctuations of less than plus or minus one-half of a stop are obtained at rates of up to 500 kHz.


Phantom limb pain (PLP) is the condition most often occurs in people who have had a limb amputated and it is may affect their life severely. When the brain sends movement signals to the phantom limb, it returns and causes a pain. Many medical approaches aim to treat the PLP, however the mirror therapy still considered as the base therapy method. The aim of this research is to develop a wearable device that measures the EMG signals from PLP patients to classify movements on the amputated limb. These signals can be used in virtual reality and augmented reality environments to realize the movements in order to reduce pain. A data set was generated with measurements taken from 8 different subjects and the classification accuracy achieved as 90% with Neural Networks method that can be used in cyber therapies. This type of therapy provides strong visuals which make the patient feel he/she really have the limb. The patient will have great therapy session time with comparison to the other classical therapy methods that can be used in home environments.


In this paper, resistance-capacitance (RC) tree networks are modeled in terms of their energy consumption associated with an input transition. This work significantly extends the results that the same authors previously obtained in the specific case of ladder networks with only ramp signals. The proposed approach to model the energy consumption is based on a single-pole approximation, in which an equivalent time constant is analytically derived from an exact analysis for very slow and very fast input transitions. The model is then extended to arbitrary values of the input rise time by exploiting some intrinsic properties of RC tree networks. The approach is completely analytical and leads to closed-form results. Analytical results are explicitly derived for different inputs, such as the ramp and the exponential waveforms which are usually encountered in current VLSI circuits, as well as the saturated sine input. Due to its simplicity, the proposed energy expression is suitable for pencil-and-paper evaluation and allows for an intuitive understanding of the network dissipation. The energy expression proposed is shown to be accurate enough for modeling purposes through comparison with SPICE simulations.


The Internet plays host to many millions of documents and images and is increasing in size all the time. As a result locating web content is becoming increasingly difficult for users, and search traffic from users and spiders is increasing rapidly. A directory of the contents of the emerging cache hierarchy would be more complete than existing tools and avoid the need for spider traffic. However it is also essential to minimise the user traffic. A promising approach is to encourage users to refine their queries through categories. Automatic categorisation of a cache directory is demonstrated, and an adaptive categorisation scheme is proposed.


Science education could be made more accessible to students with visual impairments through collaboration and specific adaptation in both the science classrooms and laboratories. For example, by providing simple adaptations or doing some essential modifications, students can gain experience with measuring, balancing, and weighing a variety of materials. Unfortunately, many concepts in science have been found inaccessible to students with visual impairment because of the use of figures, equations, and graphs. An activity was designed to teach the insulation properties of different materials to students who are blind or visually impaired. The activity uses simple, economical, and easily accessible everyday materials to familiarize students with the concepts of heat transfer and insulating properties and the importance of thermal-insulation materials.


In this study, we investigate the antimicrobial effects of a mixture of a biosurfactant from Bacillus subtilis and an alkaline lipase from Fusarium oxysporum (AL/BS mix) on several types of microorganisms, as well as their abilities to remove Listeria innocua ATCC 33093 biofilm from stainless steel coupons. The AL/BS mix had a surface tension of around 30 mN.m, indicating that the presence of alkaline lipase did not interfere in the surface activity properties of the tensoactive component. The antimicrobial activity of the AL/BS mix was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) micro-assays. Among all the tested organisms, the presence of the mixture only affected the growth of B. subtilis CCT 2576, B. cereus ATCC 10876 and L. innocua. The most sensitive microorganism was B. cereus (MIC 0.013 mg.mL). In addition, the effect of the sanitizer against L. innocua attached to stainless steel coupons was determined by plate count after vortexing. The results showed that the presence of the AL/BS mix improved the removal of adhered cells relative to treatment done without the sanitizer, reducing the count of viable cells by 1.72 log CFU.cm. However, there was no significant difference between the sanitizers tested and an SDS detergent


Pigeons keypecked on a two-key procedure in which their choice ratios during one time period determined the reinforcement rates assigned to each key during the next period (Vaughan, 1981). During each of four phases, which differed in the reinforcement rates they provided for different choice ratios, the duration of these periods was four minutes, duplicating one condition from Vaughan's study. During the other four phases, these periods lasted six seconds. When these periods were long, the results were similar to Vaughan's and appeared compatible with melioration theory. But when these periods were short, the data were consistent with molecular maximizing (see Silberberg & Ziriax, 1982) and were incompatible with melioration, molar maximizing, and matching. In a simulation, stat birds following a molecular-maximizing algorithm responded on the short- and long-period conditions of this experiment. When the time periods lasted four minutes, the results were similar to Vaughan's and to the results of the four-minute conditions of this study; when the time periods lasted six seconds, the choice data were similar to the data from real subjects for the six-second conditions. Thus, a molecular-maximizing response rule generated choice data comparable to those from the short- and long-period conditions of this experiment. These data show that, among extant accounts, choice on the Vaughan procedure is most compatible with molecular maximizing.


Heterogenous information network embedding aims to embed heterogenous information networks (HINs) into low dimensional spaces, in which each vertex is represented as a low-dimensional vector, and both global and local network structures in the original space are preserved. However, most of existing heterogenous information network embedding models adopt the dot product to measure the proximity in the low dimensional space, and thus they can only preserve the first-order proximity and are insufficient to capture the global structure. Compared with homogenous information networks, there are multiple types of links (i.e., multiple relations) in HINs, and the link distribution w.r.t relations is highly skewed. To address the above challenging issues, we propose a novel heterogenous information network embedding model PME based on the metric learning to capture both first-order and second-order proximities in a unified way. To alleviate the potential geometrical inflexibility of existing metric learning approaches, we propose to build object and relation embeddings in separate object space and relation spaces rather than in a common space. Afterwards, we learn embeddings by firstly projecting vertices from object space to corresponding relation space and then calculate the proximity between projected vertices. To overcome the heavy skewness of the link distribution w.r.t relations and avoid "over-sampling'' or "under-sampling'' for each relation, we propose a novel loss-aware adaptive sampling approach for the model optimization. Extensive experiments have been conducted on a large-scale HIN dataset, and the experimental results show superiority of our proposed PME model in terms of prediction accuracy and scalability.


With regard to the drachm there will, moreover, be this strange inconsistency: it will be the eighth part of an ounce avoirdupois, and will therefore be exactly twice as heavy as another weight of the same name, viz., the drachm avoirdupois, which is the sixteenth part of the same ounce. One of the immediate consequences of the proposed change will be, that an entirely new set of brass weights will be required by every general practitioner and druggist in the kingdom; all the old weights will become valueless. Be it observed, that the inconverniences which have thus been pointed out are not the immediate consequence of the praiseworthy aim of the Committee to get rid of the confusion between the two ancient sets of weights-the troy and avoirdupois pounds and ounces; thev are not the necessary consequence of substituting these avoirdupois weights for the corresponding troy weights, but are the consequence of an endeavour to effect the division of the ounce avoirdupois into 480 integral parts. It seems to me that this object is not of so essential an importance as to justify the introducing new elements of confusion into our English system of weights. It may, perhaps, be worth while to point out a plan by which all these inconveniences might be avoided. This may be done simply by ceasing to use the ounce in prescriptions; of course, I mean the ounce in weight, not the fluid-ounce, which is a measure, and with which it is unnecessary to interfere. Let the quantities of solid substances be prescribed in drachms, scruples, and grains, such as are now in daily use. When larger quantities are required, they can be written in drachms; or, if of the largest kind, may be expressed by the pound of 7000 grains, which is an exact multiple of the drachm. Perhaps a still better (and the simplest) plan would be, for all quantities less than a pound, to prescribe in grains alonein standard grainis alonte. The calculations between large and small quantities would always be easy, because the standard pound is a large round number (7000) of grains. We should have weig,hts of 100, 200, 500, and 1000 grains, such as are now occasionally used in scientific investigatiorns. There would be no difficulty in writing our prescriptions. Five hundred grains (gr. D) is as easily written as 5j. Fifty, or a hundred, or a thousand grains, are likewise easily written, either in the ordinary figures, or as gr. L, gr. (, or gr. M. As the grain would not be changed, all the brass weights now in use for dispensing mnight still be used. A single set of the small weights might be made to serve for dispensing any drug not exceeding 250 grains in weight. If any new weights were needed, they would be one of 300 grains, and one of 500 grains; and these would only be required in cases in which ounce weiahts are now used. No otlher weights would be needed for dispensing and compounding on a moderate scale; and if larger weights were needed, they would be the ordinary avoirdupois pound, half-pound, and quarter, which are in common use in every shop and most private houses, and which weigh respectively 7000, 3500, and 1750 grains. As the intentions of the Pharniacopaia Committee have rnot yet been published on authority, my remarks may appear premature. But the intenitions are well known; and to wait for their authoritative publication is to wait until it miaht be difficult or impracticable to have them reconsidered.


The research was designed to study IoT security vulnerabilities and how to better protect IoT communications. By researching the system a Fitbit uses for communications, this research analyzes and reveals security defects in the IoT architecture. The research first uses a man-in the middle (MITM) attack to intercept and analyze the Fitbit system traffic to identify security weakness. Then uses a replay attack to further validate these flaws. Finally, countermeasures against these security threats are proposed. The research findings show the Fitbit's IoT communication architecture has serious information security risks. Firstly, the Fitbit tested does not encrypt the raw data between the mobile app and Fitbit servers. It uses HTTPS to secure communication between the mobile phone and the Fitbit servers. Once HTTPS is broken, all raw data can be read and tampered with. Secondly, Fitbit uses Base64 credentials to associate the Fitbit tracker, and Fitbit app with the Fitbit user account. Base64 can be easily broken on the Internet or using other tools. Attackers can generate fake Base64 credentials to hack a user account. According to the experimental results from the study, the IoT should secure every node in its architecture. It is also necessary to encrypt the raw data and not just rely on HTTPS. It is recommended to replace the Base64 algorithm with AES and hashing.


A 25-nucleotide RNA with the sequence of the trans-activation response (TAR) element of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) was analyzed by biochemical methods and by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. NMR, nuclease probing, and polyacrylamide gel migration rates show that the RNA consists of an A-helical stem capped by two non-Watson-Crick U-G base pairs and a compact four-nucleotide loop. The loop is stabilized by base stacking, with loop nucleotides C12 and C15 stacked upon U11 and G16, respectively. Near the 5' end of the molecule, the stem contains a bulge at nucleotide C2, most likely a result of base pairing between G1 and C25. A method for distinguishing RNA stem-loops from palindromic dimers is described and was used to confirm that the EIAV TAR RNA has a stem-loop structure at conditions used for NMR spectroscopy. RNase A and RNase T1 cleavage patterns are consistent with the structural features derived from the NMR data.


Many women are now enlisting in family planning clinics in a bid to spacing their children, but there are attendant complications often associated with the use. This study evaluated the effects of injectable Depot Medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) contraceptive on some immunological profile in females attending family planning clinic in NAUTH, Nnewi. Fifty female DMPA contraceptive users were recruited into this study and were further subdivided into malaria positive and malaria negative groups before and three months after administration of DMPA. The study was a longitudinal cohort design and simple random sampling technique was used in the recruitment of subjects. Blood samples were collected from the subjects before and 3 months after administration of DMPA, Immunological profile (IgG (μg/ml), IgM (ng/ml) and IFN-γ (pg/ml) were done using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Qualitative and quantitative determination of P. falciparium antigen parasite were done by rapid test device and Giemsa stained thick blood film for microscopic determination respectively. CD4+ T-cells (cell/μl) were analyzed by flow cytometry. The results showed that the mean±SD serum level of IgM (ng/ml) was significantly decreased 3 months after administration of DMPA (213.45±75.64) compared with value before DMPA administration (363.06±5.63) with or without malaria parasite infection (p=0.000).However, there was no significant difference in mean±SD serum levels of IgG, CD4+ T-cell, IFN-γ before and 3 months after administration of DMPA (p>0.05) there was no significant difference in mean±SD serum levels of IgG, IgM, IFN-γ, CD4+ T-cells between malaria positive and malaria negative subjects before and 3 months after administration of DMPA (p>0.05). Thus, the finding of the study suggests that DMPA did affect the IgM response, but no significant changes were observed in immunological parameters studied when malaria is factored.


Purpose To determine the impact of patient positioning and scan orientation on the appearance of air in the nasolacrimal drainage system on computed tomography (CT) imaging, and the repeatability of the observations. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of CT images for 92 patients. Results Air was found to be present more fully in the upright-position group as compared with the supine-position group. Comparing axial and coronal scan orientation, no difference in aeration was found, except for the nasolacrimal duct in the upright-position group. Conclusion Patient position should be accounted for in diagnostic conclusions and treatment decisions based on CT.


Biological adhesion typically occurs through discrete cross bridges between complementary molecules on adjacent membranes. Here we report quantitative measurements of the binding distance between a lipid membrane functionalized with ligands on flexible polymer tether chains and a second membrane bearing complementary receptors using the surface force apparatus technique. The binding distance is shown to increase as a function of polymer tether length. Upon separation, adhesive failure occurs not at the strong ligand-receptor bond but primarily through the mechanical pullout of cross-bridging polymer tethers from the membrane. We summarize these measurements of complementary membrane adhesion dynamics using an energy-state diagram that encompasses the energetics of the polymer tether, ligand-receptor bond strength, and number of cross bridges formed.


Microbial degradation is the main mechanism responsible for the recovery of contaminated sites, where a huge body of investigations is available in which most concentrate on single isolates from soils capable of mineralizing pollutants. The rapid development of molecular techniques in recent years allows immense insights into the processes in situ, including identification of organisms active in target sites, community member interactions and catabolic gene structures. Only a detailed understanding of the functioning and interactions within microbial communities will allow their rational manipulation for the purpose of optimizing bioremediation efforts. We will present the status of the current capabilities to assess and predict catabolic potential of environmental sites by applying gene fingerprinting, catabolome arrays, metagenomics and complementary 'omics' technologies. Collectively, this will allow tracking regulation and evolution within microbial communities ultimately aiming to understand the mechanisms taking place in large scale bioremediation treatments for aromatic decontamination.


This article reviews the linguistic features of some cultivated plants in the Khorezm language and has been thoroughly analyzed. Traditions, traditions, living conditions of Turkic and Mongolian peoples, as well as their similarity in agriculture, have also been reflected in their languages. This is particularly evident in many meetings of Turkish and Mongolian parallels in the field of agriculture and livestock.


Communicating with immigrants in primary care can be a challenge for nurses who must assess language proficiency and decide whether to use an interpreter. The aim of this study was to examine primary care nurses' experiences of assessment and decision-making in relation to the use of interpreters. A qualitative inductive research design was chosen and nurses with experience of professional interpreters were recruited for focus group interviews. The study results showed that primary care nurses respected immigrants as human beings and recognised their right to decline an interpreter in sensitive situations. The purpose of primary care nurses' experiences of assessment and decision-making in relation to the use of interpreters was ensuring patient safety, the importance of reciprocal information and respect for patient autonomy.


Atherosclerosis is the obstruction of blood stream caused by the formation of fatty plaques (stenosis) within human blood vessels. It is one of the most common cardiovascular conditions and the primary cause of death in developed countries. Nowadays stenting is a standard treatment for this disease and has been undergoing a rapid technological development. The aim of this PhD is to simulate the deployment of stents within atherosclerotic arteries in order to understand the mechanical performance of these devices. To this purpose, specific objectives were identified to study: (i) the effects of stent design, material and coating on stent deployment; (ii) the influence of balloon type, arterial constraints and vessel constitutive models in stenting simulation; (iii) the importance of plaque thickness, stenosis asymmetry and vessel curvature during the process of stent deployment; (iv) the necessity of considering vessel anisotropy and post-deployment stresses to assess stents mechanical behaviour; (v) the performance of biodegradable polymeric stents in comparison with metallic stents.
Finite element (FE) analyses were employed to model the deployment of balloon-expandable stents. The balloon-stent-artery system was generated and meshed using finite element package Abaqus. Individual arterial layer and stenosis were modelled using hyperelastic Ogden model, while elastic-plastic behaviour with nonlinear hardening was used to describe the material behaviour of stents. The expansion of the stent was obtained by application of pressure inside the balloon, with hard contacts defined between stent, balloon and artery. The FE model was evaluated by mesh sensitivity study and further validated by comparison with published work.
Comparative study between different commercially available stents (i.e. Palmaz-Schatz, Cypher, Xience and Endeavor stents) showed that open-cell design tends to have easier expansion and higher recoiling than closed-cell design, with lower stress level on the plaque after deployment. Also, stents made of materials with lower yield stress and weaker strain hardening experience higher deformation and recoiling, but less post-deployment stresses. Folded balloon produces sustained stent expansion under a lower pressure when compared to rubber balloon, with also increased stress level on the stent and artery. Simulations with different arterial constraints showed that stress on the plaque-artery system is higher for a free artery as a result of more severe stretch. Study of arterial constitutive models showed that saturation of expansion could not be noticed for models that neglect the second stretch invariant in the strain energy potential.
Stent expansion is highly affected by plaque thickness, and stresses and recoiling increased considerably with the increasing level of stenosis. Asymmetry of the plaque causes non-uniform stent expansion and high levels of vessel wall stresses are developed in the regions covered by thin layer of plaque. Also, a reduction in stent expansion is observed with the increase of artery curvature, accompanied by an elevation of stresses in the plaque and arterial layers. Vessel anisotropic behaviour reduces the system expansion at peak pressure, and also lowers recoiling effect significantly. The post-deployment stresses caused by stent expansion increase the system flexibility during in-plane bending and radial compression. Comparative study of a PLLA stent (Elixir) and a Co-Cr alloy stent (Xience) showed that polymeric stent has a lower expansion rate and a reduction in final expansion than metallic stent.


A conceptual design for the upgrade of the JET tangential gamma-ray spectrometer (TGRS) has been carried out. The main design target for the TGRS upgrade is to maximize the signal-to background ratio at the spectrometer detector, the ratio being defined in terms of the plasma emitted gamma radiation and the gamma-ray background. A complex system of collimators and shields for both the neutron and gamma radiations define the spectrometer field of view. Two tandem collimators determine the field of view through the tokamak plasma. The entrance aperture to the penetration in the JET Torus Hall south wall is defined by a neutron shield. Two gamma-ray shields together with the existing concrete collimator determine the field of view at the bismuth germanate (BGO) gamma-ray detector. One of the gamma-ray shields (with an embedded neutron attenuator) can be remotely moved in and out of the detector line of sight thus providing flexibility in definition of the neutron and gamma-ray fields at the BGO detector. Neutron attenuators using lithium hydride (LiH) with natural isotopic composition (that meets the requirements for gamma-ray transparency) could provide the necessary attenuation factors (approximately 104 for the 2.45 MeV neutrons and 102 for the 14.1 MeV neutrons). A hot pressing technology has been proposed for the construction of the lithium hydride attenuators. The performance of a simplified geometry TGRS has been evaluated by preliminary neutron and photon transport calculations and the results show that the design parameters could be attained.


We present efficient simulation procedures for pricing barrier options when the underlying security price follows a geometric Brownian motion with jumps. Metwally and Atiya [2002] developed a simulation approach for pricing knock-out options in the same setting, but no variance reduction was introduced. We improve upon Metwally and Atiya's method by innovative applications of well-known variance reduction techniques. We also show how to use simulation to price knock-in options. Numerical examples show that our proposed Monte Carlo procedures lead to substantial variance reduction as well as a reduction in computing time.


Failures in mentoring relationships threaten outcomes and can lead to chronic damage to participants. This paper reports on findings from a recent doctoral study to establish how a developmental mentoring model would impact toxicity. Using a case study of a regional public services mentoring scheme operating a developmental mentoring model, findings indicated toxicity may be avoided when a 'distal' model of mentoring is adhered to. The paper explores the significance of a professionally or organisationally distant mentor in the prevention of toxicity.


Renal cancer is one of ten most common cancers in human beings. The laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) becomes the main therapeutic approach in treating renal cancer. Accurate kidney and tumor segmentation in CT images is a prerequisite step in the surgery planning. However, automatic and accurate kidney and renal tumor segmentation in CT images remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose a new method to perform a precise segmentation of kidney and renal tumor in CT angiography images. This method relies on a three-dimensional (3D) fully convolutional network (FCN) which combines a pyramid pooling module (PPM). The proposed network is implemented as an end-to-end learning system directly on 3D volumetric images. It can make use of the 3D spatial contextual information to improve the segmentation of the kidney as well as the tumor lesion. The experiments conducted on 140 patients show that these target structures can be segmented with a high accuracy. The resulting average dice coefficients obtained for kidney and renal tumor are equal to 0.931 and 0.802 respectively. These values are higher than those obtained from the other two neural networks.


There is evidence that the renin-angiotensin system may be involved in the metabolic as well as the cardiovascular features of diabetes and that pressor doses of angiotensin II (ANG II) increase insulin sensitivity in parallel with blood pressure (BP) in healthy subjects, but the effects of ANG II on insulin sensitivity have not been previously reported in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 11 patients with NIDDM attended 3 study days to evaluate the effects of a 3-h infusion of subpressor and pressor doses of ANG II on whole body insulin sensitivity using the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. BP and heart rate were recorded, and blood samples were collected for serum insulin, C-peptide, potassium, catecholamines, plasma renin activity, and plasma ANG II concentrations. Plasma levels of ANG II (means ± SD) were 9 ± 4, 29 ± 9, and 168 ± 47 pmol/ml after placebo, low dose infusion, and high dose infusion, respectively. The higher dose of ANG II was associated with significant increases in BP (e.g., 18 mmHg systolic BP at 150 min) and plasma aldosterone. Whole body insulin sensitivity was 23.8 ± 12.7 mumol glucose.kg−1 · min−1 after placebo and 30.6 ± 12.7 and 27.2 ± 13.3 following low and high dose ANG II infusions, respectively (P < 0.05, analysis of variance). In summary, acute infusion of ANG II, with or without an increase in BP, increases insulin sensitivity in normotensive patients with NIDDM. The dissociation of metabolic and BP effects of ANG II suggests that hemodynamic alterations and redistribution of cardiac output might not be the sole underlying mechanism in patients with NIDDM.


Genetic polymorphism at 10 independent loci (ABO, RH, HP, GC, PI, TF, ACP1, PGM1, GLO1, and PTC) was studied in male patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma. These patients were divided into two groups, depending on their tolerance for surgical intervention and on the postoperative course: (1) patients with an uneventful postoperative period and (2) patients with postoperative complications. The genetic structure of the combined sample at the loci studied did not differ from that of the control group consisting of health people (population control). Genotypic differences might manifest at the postoperative stage rather than at the onset of the disease, and determine the presence of postoperative complications. However, comparative analysis of the two groups of patients revealed their polar divergence in respect to phenotype and gene frequencies at certain loci. Moreover, the genotypic structure of patients in both groups differed from that in the combined sample and in the population control. In the group with postoperative complications, higher frequencies of the alleles GC*1F, ACP1*A, and HP*2 were observed. By contrast, the group of patients with an uneventful postoperative period demonstrated prevalence of the alternative alleles of these loci: GC*2, ACP1*B, and HP*1. The greatest difference in the distribution of informative allele frequencies was observed between the group of patients with postoperative complications and the control group. This is evidence that these groups significantly differ in their genetic structure. Such divergence is largely determined by the polymorphic multifunctional systems of serum proteins.


Private practice clinical experience with the insertion of 3 types of IUDs (Lippes loop, Dalkon shield, Cu 7) is evaluated. Life table analyses indicated similar pregnancy rates for the 3 IUDs. Lower expulsion rates were experienced with the Dalkon shield. Higher removal rates were experienced for pelvic inflammatory disease and pain and/or bleeding with the Cu 7. In part, the higher Cu 7 removal rates reflect a change to more liberal indications for IUD removal.


This paper describes a project to model river basins as complex social-ecological systems. We propose hypotheses about system resilience to water scarcity and climate change that can be examined with an agent-based modeling approach, and outline a methodology integrating hydrology, ecology, economics, engineering and stakeholder inputs to test these hypotheses using the Willamette River Basin (Oregon, USA) as an example system. The response of society to change is often overlooked in studies that focus primarily on the biophysical sciences to develop alternative future scenarios and predict system responses. If the interactions between society and the ecological system are poorly represented or left out of modeling approaches, this will compromise our understanding of feedbacks to the system, and the potential consequences of policy or management actions. Through Stakeholder Learning Action Networks we are gathering project-relevant knowledge in a co-learning environment on water use, management, policies and issues that impact stakeholders, and the types of project outputs desired by stakeholders. This information is useful for understanding the social- ecological system feedbacks, anticipating water scarcity, and informing integrative water systems responses. Modeling tools that can generate and explore alternative outcomes based on different sets of social and ecological conditions and their interaction within the system could also lead to a better understanding of ecosystem resilience and help guide decision making in the face of climate change and potential water scarcity.


Metal oxides with high dielectric constant are extensively studied in the frame of substituting SiO2 as gate dielectric in nanoelectronic devices. Here, high‐k mixed HfO2/Nb2O5 oxides are prepared by a facile electrochemical route starting from sputtering‐deposited Hf–Nb alloys with several compositions. Transmission electron microscopy, grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy are employed to study the oxide structures, disclosing a crystalline–amorphous transition of the electrochemically prepared oxides by increasing the Nb content. Photo‐electrochemical measurements allow the observation of optical transitions ascribed to localized states inside oxide bandgap induced by the presence of oxygen vacancies for Hf‐rich oxides. Impedance measurements, coupled with withstand voltage and leakage current estimates, provide a comprehensive view of the real dielectric properties of the oxides. The highest ε is estimated for the anodic oxide grown on Hf–39 at% Nb (i.e., 45) but thin film grown on Hf–57 at% Nb alloy shows the best dielectric properties, revealing high dielectric constant, high withstand voltage, and low leakage current. Promising equivalent oxide thickness (down to 0.38 nm) is estimated for the oxide thin layers. The electrochemical oxidation represents a valuable and reliable way to prepare high‐k thin oxide films with tailored and controlled dielectric properties.


This paper is devoted to a study of relations between two forms of sensitivity of nonautonomous dynamical system and its induced fuzzy systems. More specially, we study strong sensitivity and mean sensitivity in an original nonautonomous system and its connections with the same ones in its induced system, including set-valued system and fuzzified system.


Settlement is prevalent, and crucial to the functioning of the U.S. judicial system. But the pretrial regulatory framework in the courts is largely discretionary, and its emphasis on management does not fully take into account all the consequences of combining settlement with adjudication. The label "managerial judge" does not differentiate between the functions involved in managing a settlement process and the very different role of serving as a settlement neutral. By introducing this distinction, this Article provides a framework for analyzing settlement that focuses on the conflicts between a judge's role as a neutral in settlement and as a neutral in adjudication.
This Article argues for reform that would prevent judges assigned to a case for pretrial management and trial from serving as the neutral at a settlement conference or judicial mediation. The proposal to separate these roles structurally would address the problems of coercion and partiality that can result from a dual-neutral role, while retaining the contributions of settlement judges. The proposal is informed by the history of judges' involvement in settlement, and by their increasing reliance on mediation techniques. It draws on principles that are already recognized in some local and state ADR rules and rests on modern understandings of cognitive functioning and decisionmaking that should be incorporated into our thinking about frameworks for settlement.


In recent years, tularemia's importance has been reemerging in Turkey. However, the majority of tularemia cases were reported in the northern cities of Turkey. In this study, we report 16 oropharyngeal tularemia patients living in rural areas of the city of Konya, which is located in the southern zone of the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. Materials and methods: Sixteen patients (12 males, 4 females; mean age: 33.7 years, range: 10–73 years) were included in this study. All patients were admitted to our clinic for the evaluation of intractable cervical mass lesions. The diagnosis of tularemia was made after exclusion of other possible causes of the neck masses and the presence of a positive tularemia agglutination test. Each patient was treated with streptomycin and doxycycline for at least 3 weeks. Results: All patients suffered oropharyngeal stiffness. There were neck mass and tonsillitis on the same side in 2 patients, neck mass and acute pharyngitis in 3 patients, and only swelling in the neck region in 11 patients. One of the patients with tonsillitis had common maculopapular skin rashes with fever. Thirteen patients had mass at level 2 zones, 11 patients had mass on the right side of the neck, and 5 patients had mass on the left side of the neck. The right parotid gland was involved in 1 patient. Nine patients were successfully treated with only antimicrobial agents. Lymph node excision was performed in 6 patients, and parotidectomy was performed in 1 patient. Conclusion: This is the second series of tularemia from the city of Konya in Turkey. Tularemia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with intractable neck mass, because early diagnosis and treatment may prevent surgical interventions.


This study investigated the association of copy number variants (CNVs) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and T2D-associated end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in African Americans. Using the Affymetrix 6.0 array, >900,000 CNV probes spanning the genome were interrogated in 965 African Americans with T2D-ESRD and 1029 non-diabetic African American controls. Previously identified and novel CNVs were separately analyzed and were evaluated for insertion/deletion status and then used as predictors in a logistic regression model to test for association. One common CNV insertion on chromosome 1 was significantly associated with T2D-ESRD (p=6.17×10-5, OR=1.63) after multiple comparison correction. This CNV region encompasses the genes AMY2A and AMY2B, which encode amylase isoenzymes produced by the pancreas. Additional common and novel CNVs approaching significance with disease were also detected. These exploratory results require further replication but suggest the involvement of the AMY2A/AMY2B CNV in T2D and/or T2D-ESRD, and indicate that CNVs may contribute to susceptibility for these diseases.


Background: Although stillbirth is a significant health problem worldwide, the definitive cause of death remains elusive in many cases, despite detailed autopsy. In this study of partly explained and unexplained stillbirths, we used next-generation sequencing to examine an extended panel of 35 candidate genes known to be associated with ion channel disorders and sudden cardiac death. Methods and Results: We examined tissue from 242 stillbirths (≥22 weeks), including those where no definite cause of death could be confirmed after a full autopsy. We obtained high-quality DNA from 70 cases, which were then sequenced for a custom panel of 35 genes, 12 for inherited long- and short-QT syndrome genes (LQT1-LQT12 and SQT1-3), and 23 additional candidate genes derived from genome-wide association studies. We examined the functional significance of a selected variant by patch-clamp electrophysiological recording. No predicted damaging variants were identified in KCNQ1 (LQT1) or KCNH2 (LQT2). A rare putative pathogenic variant was found in KCNJ2(LQT7) in 1 case, and several novel variants of uncertain significance were observed. The KCNJ2 variant (p. R40Q), when assessed by whole-cell patch clamp, affected the function of the channel. There was no significant evidence of enrichment of rare predicted damaging variants within any of the candidate genes. Conclusions: Although a causative link is unclear, 1 putative pathogenic and variants of uncertain significance variant resulting in cardiac channelopathies was identified in some cases of otherwise unexplained stillbirth, and these variants may have a role in fetal demise. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01120886.


We prove upper and lower estimates on the measure of an inclusion D in a conductor Ω in terms of one pair of current and potential boundary measurements. The growth rates of such estimates are essentially best possible.


We survey the literature on the efficacy of foreign exchange market intervention in emerging market countries, emphasising the differences with the literature on industrial countries. We then use official statistics on central bank intervention by the Czech National Bank in conjunction with options market data, to study the impact of intervention during 2001-02. We find that central bank intervention had some (weakly) statistically significant impact on the spot rate and the risk reversal but that this impact was small. We do not find evidence that intervention had an influence on short-term exchange rate volatility. We also find that, in our sample period, Czech authorities appeared to intervene mainly in response to an acceleration of the speed of koruna appreciation.


The feasibility of using transrectal ultrasonography for imaging the in situ morphology of the reproductive tract of females of several large nondomestic and endangered species was studied. Two black (Diceros bicornis) and 1 white (Diceros simus) rhinoceros, 2 Asian (Elaphus maximus) and 2 African (Loxodonta africana) elephants, 4 banteng (Bos javanicus), 1 gaur (Bos taurus), 1 giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), and 1 bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) were examined. Real-time ultrasonic images were obtained for the following structures: 1) rhinoceros—corpus luteum, ovarian follicles, uterus, cervix, and early conceptus, 2) elephants—posterior uterus and cervix, 3) banteng and gaur—corpus luteum, ovarian follicles, uterus, cervix, and conceptus, 4) giraffe—posterior uterus, placentomes, and late conceptus, 5) camel—posterior uterus, fetal fluids, and fetal membranes. Individual ovarian follicles were identified and monitored over a 34 day observational period in 1 nontranquilized white rhinoceros. Difficulties and limitations in viewing the ovaries in the elephants were attributed to operator inexperience and to the size, positioning, and demeanor of the animals. Pregnancy was detected in 1 black rhinoceros (27 days), 1 banteng cow (48 days), the giraffe (13 months), and in the bactrian camel (approximately 3½ months). Impending embryonic loss was suspected in the banteng cow because a heartbeat was not detected in the embryo proper; the cow was subsequently diagnosed nonpregnant by transrectal palpation 20 days later. It is concluded that the ability afforded by transrectal ultrasonography to detect and measure ovarian structures and changes in morphology of the tubular genitalia and conceptus provides a research methodology for the elucidation of certain aspects of reproductive biology, and a clinical modality for reproductive management and assisted fertilization programs of large nondomestic species.


A circuit obfuscator is an algorithm that translates logic circuits into functionally-equivalent similarlysized logic circuits that are hard to understand. While ad hoc obfuscators exist, theoretical progress has mainly been limited to no-go results. In this work, we propose a new notion of circuit obfuscation, which we call partial indistinguishability. We then prove that, in contrast to previous definitions of obfuscation, partial indistinguishability obfuscation can be achieved by a polynomial-time algorithm. Specifically, our algorithm re-compiles the given circuit using a gate that satisfies the relations of the braid group, and then reduces to a braid normal form. A variant of our obfuscation algorithm can also be applied to quantum circuits.


BACKGROUND
Dialysis-induced hypotension is an important complication of haemodialysis. Midodrine is an oral alpha-1 agonist that has been used in several small studies to prevent intradialytic hypotension (IDH).

METHODS
The authors searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, ASN conference proceedings, and references of potentially relevant articles, and contacted industry (Shire Pharmaceuticals) for unpublished data. Observational studies, randomized controlled trials, crossover studies and pre- and post-intervention design studies with >/=5 haemodialysis patients were included. Study outcomes assessed were: hypotensive symptoms, changes in systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure, dry weight and length of stay after treatment. Data were abstracted on: study design, patient characteristics, intradialytic changes in blood pressure, nadir blood pressure and symptom improvement with midodrine. Thirty-seven full text articles were retrieved and nine met the selection criteria, in addition to one unpublished study. Midodrine dosing regimens ranged from 2.5 to 10 mg of midodrine given 15-30 min before dialysis.

RESULTS
Post-dialysis systolic blood pressure was higher by 12.4 mmHg [95% confidence interval (CI) 7.5-17.7] and diastolic pressure was higher by 7.3 mmHg (95% CI 3.7-10.9) during midodrine treatment vs control. Likewise, the nadir systolic blood pressure was higher by 13.3 mmHg (95% CI 8.6-18.0), with a difference in nadir diastolic pressure of 5.9 mmHg (95% CI 2.7-9.1). Six of 10 studies report improvement in symptoms of IDH, and there were no reported serious adverse events ascribed to midodrine.

CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review would suggest that midodrine has a role in the therapy of haemodialysis patients experiencing IDH. This conclusion must be viewed with caution, however, given the quality and sample size of the studies included in this review.


For reducing the porosity of single crystal (SX) nickel-based superalloys, Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) is used. High pressures of about 100-170 MPa lead to local deformation, which close the pores. However, since HIP also requires high temperatures (1000-1200°C) it has a pronounced effect on the microstructure and the local distribution of elements. This contribution analyses the effect of different HIP treatments on both the microstructure and the segregation of the SX superalloy LEK94 in the as-precipitation-hardened state. In addition, the effects of rapid or slow cooling are analyzed. To distinguish the effect of pressure from those of temperature, the HIPed samples are compared with specimens annealed at atmospheric pressure.


This study describes the application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes that were nitrogen-doped during their synthesis (N-MWCNTs) in melt-mixed polypropylene (PP) composites. Different types of N-MWCNTs, synthesized using different methods, were used and compared. Four of the five MWCNT grades showed negative Seebeck coefficients (S), indicating n-type charge carrier behavior. All prepared composites (with a concentration between 2 and 7.5 wt% N-MWCNTs) also showed negative S values, which in most cases had a higher negative value than the corresponding nanotubes. The S values achieved were between 1.0 μV/K and −13.8 μV/K for the N-MWCNT buckypapers or powders and between −4.7 μV/K and −22.8 μV/K for the corresponding composites. With a higher content of N-MWCNTs, the increase in electrical conductivity led to increasing values of the power factor (PF) despite the unstable behavior of the Seebeck coefficient. The highest power factor was achieved with 4 wt% N-MWCNT, where a suitable combination of high electrical conductivity and acceptable Seebeck coefficient led to a PF value of 6.1 × 10−3 µW/(m·K2). First experiments have shown that transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) is a useful tool to study the carrier transfer process in CNTs in composites and to correlate it with the Seebeck coefficient.


The spaser nanolaser, which is the nanoplasmonic counterpart of the laser, enables the generation and amplification of coherent surface plasmons (SPs) by means of stimulated emission. Spaser opens up a new era of devices which overcome the speed barriers of electronics and miniaturizing barriers of optics. This research is mainly focused on engineering spaser devices, particulary the guidelines for design optimization, new designs with improved characteristics, and potential applications. First, a general quantum mechanical model is developed considering the degeneracy of localized SP modes supported by a resonator. Density matrix analysis of this system helps to derive an expression for SP generation rate and identify the tunable parameters for design optimization. The developed model is then applied to optimize a simple spaser design, in which a metal nanosphere is resonantly coupled to a quantum dot, by altering their material and geometrical parameters. Next, alternative spaser materials are considered. Although not commonly used in spaser designs, graphene possesses much better plasmonic properties compared to gold or silver and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) display excellent photoluminescence properties. Therefore, a new all-carbon spaser design is proposed where a square shaped graphene nanoflake (GNF) resonator powered by a CNT gain element offering the advantages of tunability, robustness, flexibility, and thermal stability. This design is also analyzed employing the general model to determine the different material and geometric parameters of GNF and CNT influencing the spaser operation. Based on these results, clear spaser design guidelines such as identifying the crucial tuning parameters, fabricating the resonator, choosing the appropriate gain medium and pumping mechanism, and relative placement of the components are also sought. Finally, some new applications of spaser nanolasers are proposed and a spaser powered cancer therapy is discussed in detail. In this setup, a large number of tiny nanolasers penetrate tumors to thermally ablate malignant cancer cells. Hence, this research as a whole contributes towards engineering the spaser and catalyzing the process of its practical use and commercialization.