The objective of this study was the estimation of the exposure over time to heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, and lead) due to shellfish consumption in the Veneto Region, Italy. Shellfish consumption was investigated by a food frequency consumption survey. Altogether, 1949 households, stratified into the five most populated areas of the Veneto Region, were involved in the study. Exposure estimation to heavy metals was carried out taking into account the level of metal measured in samples of Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) and grooved carpet shell (Ruditapes decussatus), collected in the frame of the monitoring activities of mollusk production areas of Veneto Region, between January 2007 and December 2012. A general high contribution of the considered shellfish to the Tolerable Weekly Intake was noticed in the case of cadmium, especially in 2011, when a considerable increase in cadmium intake was estimated. This was probably due to a heavy rainfall event that triggered catastrophic flooding with high impact on shellfish capture areas in November 2010. The results strongly emphasize the importance of dealing with food safety in a holistic way, taking into account the potential impact of extraordinary natural events on food chain contamination, in order to identify food hazards at an early stage, before developing into a real risk for consumers.


Lowering pilot workload is a crucial challenge in general aviation (GA). GA refers to the branch of aviation characterized by non-professional and non-commercial pilot operations. Today's digital technology support in these flight operations is mostly limited to consumer tablets and navigation apps. Researchers and practitioners envision increased pilot support in the near future through mixed-reality applications and additional machine-supported systems. Controlling, filtering, and manipulating this wealth of new digital data introduced in the GA cockpit will require new tangible input and output techniques and devices. While this is especially true in the mostly tight and shaky cockpits of small GA aircraft, we see opportunities for the design of tangibles used in other branches of aviation and even in autonomous or drone operations. To this end, we want to bring together researchers and practitioners concerned with the design of future aviation cockpits and work on a strategy to develop dedicated scientific outlets for HCI and tangible interaction research in (general) aviation.


Background and Objective: Osteoporosis can be defined as a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and micro architectural decline of bone tissue. Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a family of protein that increases up to 1,000-fold in blood during inflammation. In this study, we aimed to study the relationship between SAA1 gene polymorphism (rs12218) and lipid profile and osteoporosis. Methods: The study was performed on the female students of Taibah University in Al Medina, KSA during June 2014 to April 2015. According to BMD; osteoporosis group (138 students) and control group (128 students). All groups were subjected to; BMI, BMD, calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, lipid profile and SAA. Polymerase chain reaction and Real Time were done to determine the distribution of allele and genotype frequency of SAA (rs12218) C/T polymorphism. Results: This study shows that the TT genotype of rs12218 was more frequent in osteoporosis group than control group (P<0.001). Also, TT genotype and T allel was found to be associated with plasma total cholesterol, TG, LDLc, HDLc, Tscore, Zscore and SAA1 level in osteoporosis group (P=0.000, P=0.05, and P=0.000, P=0.000, P=0.01, P=0.02, P=0.000 respectively). The logistic regression analysis with and without lipid disorders in the osteoporosis group also show that the TT genotype of rs12218 still differed significantly between these two groups (P=0.001, OR=1.814, 95% CI: 0.719-4.577). Conclusion: The results of this study shows a significant association between TT genotype of rs12218 and both lipid level and osteoporosis in Saudi female population.


Although the central role of beta2-integrin CD11b / CD18 in neutrophil functions is well recognized, signaling pathway that regulate integrin activation remain to be elucidated. We analyzed the contribution of oxido-reduction mechanisms in this signaling. Exogenously added H(2)O(2) induced CD11b/CD18-dependent neutrophil adhesion and expression of an integrin activation neoepitope recognized by monoclonal antibody (mAb) clone 24. H(2)O(2)-triggered beta2-integrin activation was inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitors and by complexing sulfhydryl groups with phenylarsine oxide (PAO). CD11b/CD18-dependent adhesion and mAb 24 antigen expression triggered by physiological agonists such as TNF-alpha were inhibited by diphenylene iodonium (DPI, an inhibitor of flavoprotein oxidoreductase), by free radical scavengers, by tyrosine kinase inhibitors and by PAO. No inhibition was observed when adhesion was induced by the integrin-activating KIM 185 mAb. Taken together, these results emphasize the importance of an oxidative S-thiolation step(s) in the tyrosine kinase-dependent signaling pathway leading to beta2-integrin activation. H(2)O(2) would directly mediate this oxidative reaction and bypass the initial agonist/receptor pathway to promote integrin-dependent adhesion. The putative oxidase(s) involved in this process is not NADPH oxidase, since adhesion of neutrophils from patients with chronic granulomatous disease was normal and inhibited by scavengers and DPI. These data shed a new light on the regulation of integrin activation required for cell migration into inflamed organs.


New data support a model of a volcanic rifted margin for eastern Laurentia and the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia. Upper Neoproterozoic–lower Cambrian rocks of the Chilhowee Group in the Blue Ridge Province of eastern North America are subdivided into two facies assemblages separated by an unconformity. Historically, the rocks have been correlated as a tripartite division: 1) basal sandstone and conglomerate (Cochran, Unicoi, and Weverton Formations), 2) middle siltstone and shale (Nichols Shale, Hampton Shale, and the Hampton and Harpers Formations), and 3) an upper sandstone and shale (Nebo Quartzite, Murray Shale, Hesse Quartzite, and Helenmode, Erwin, and Antietam Formations). Sedimentary analyses show that boundaries of the newly defined facies assemblages transect the named stratigraphic units. Assemblage A consists of fluvial-lacustrine deposits with interbedded subaerial basalt flows overlain by marine deposits. Fluvial strata formed in anastomosing braided-river channels and are interbedded with mudstones deposited in shallow lacustrine plains. Overlying shallow marine deposits consist of upward-coarsening successions capped by over-thickened sandstones. Shale-rich turbidite deposits characterized by subdued bioturbation and common slump features occur at the top. Assemblage B consists of sandstone and shale deposited on a stable shelf. These upward-coarsening parasequences are stacked to form transgressive-regressive system tracts reflecting long-term sea-level fluctuations.

A working hypothesis is that these rocks are comparable to those present in seismic reflection profiles and drill cores of the volcanic rift margins of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Assemblage A deposits formed during rapid subsidence associated with the formation of seaward-dipping reflectors. Flood basalts within fluvial sandstones are the landward facies of more voluminous basalt flows in the opening basin. Overlying marine deposits of Assemblage A were coeval with basaltic volcanism and deeper-water deposits to the east. Assemblage B unconformably overlies Assemblage A rocks and laps onto much older continental rocks. It was deposited on the craton into the late Cambrian. Much of the lateral lithologic variability and differences in character and thickness of the Chilhowee Group is attributed to the depositional setting that was influenced by the underlying rift architecture. It was further complicated by juxtaposition of rocks telescoped along numerous Paleozoic thrust faults. This model predicts that coeval rocks in outboard thrust sheets are finer-grained, mafic volcanic-rich marine sequences (Assemblage A), overlain by shelf-margin and basin deposits that lack volcanic rocks (Assemblage B). This model provides more refined sedimentary criteria for examination of other volcanic rift margins.


Saliva is a complex fluid composed of secretions from salivary glands and gingival crevicular fluid. The oral cavity is a moist environment; a film of fluid called saliva constantly coats its inner surface and occupies its space between the lining oral mucosa and teeth, whose important role is maintaining the well being of the mouth. Saliva plays a critical role in the maintenance of oral and dental health. Saliva is most valuable oral fluid that is taken for granted. Knowledge of the salivary system and saliva is essential for evaluating prosthodontic problems and for educating patients in what to expect in this phase of denture use.


For the last deglaciation and Termination V (the initiation of MIS 11 at around 430 ka) we report high‐resolution sedimentary nitrogen isotope (δ15N) records from Cariaco Basin in the Caribbean Sea. During both terminations the previously reported interglacial decrease in δ15N clearly lags local changes such as water column anoxia as well as global increases in denitrification by several thousand years. On top of the glacial‐interglacial change, several δ15N peaks were observed during the last deglaciation. The deglacial signal in Cariaco Basin can be best explained as a combination of (1) local variations in suboxia and water column denitrification as the reason for the millennial‐scale peaks, (2) a deglacial maximum in mean ocean nitrate δ15N, and (3) increasing N2 fixation in response to globally increased denitrification causing the overall deglacial δ15N decrease. In the Holocene, much of the decrease in δ15N occurred between 6 and 3 ka, coinciding with an expected precession‐modulated increase in African dust transport to the tropical North Atlantic and the Caribbean. This begs the hypothesis that N2 fixation in this region increased in response to interglacial maxima in denitrification elsewhere but that this response strengthened with increased mid‐Holocene iron input. It remains to be seen whether the data for MIS 11 support this interpretation.


Measurement of elemental ratios (E/Ca) has been performed in two symbiont‐bearing species of high‐Mg calcite benthic foraminifers (hyaline, Baculogypsina sphaerulata and porcelaneous, Amphisorus hemprichii), cultured under five pCO2 levels, representing preindustrial, modern, and three predicted future values. E/Ca ratios were analyzed by Laser Ablation coupled with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA‐ICP‐MS). We measured several E/Ca, such as Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca simultaneously. We observed that high‐Mg calcite benthic foraminifers possess higher E/Ca than low‐Mg calcite foraminifers, irrespective of their calcification mode (hyaline or porcelaneous). In both modes of calcification, Mg, Sr, Ba, U, and B incorporation could be controlled by Rayleigh fractionation. However, more data are needed to validate and quantify the relative importance of this process and closely investigate the presence/absence of other mechanism. Therefore, it highlights the need for a multielemental approach when looking at trace element incorporation. Finally, no significant relationship was observed between the different ratios and the pCO2 of the water, suggesting that none of the Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca is sensitive to bottom water pCO2 or pH for these species.


Soccer is a worldwide sport with fervent fans across the United States, Mexico, and Central America. Recent Hispanic arrivals in the United States find common ground with U.S. American soccer fans, but social and cultural issues are still barriers to better relationships among Hispanics and non-Hispanic residents. Using the concept of "soccer borderzone," I relate the ways in which futbol (soccer) is a mechanism by which immigrants from Latin America can relax and adapt to life in their new communities. This article discusses the underlying issues that bring together and divide soccer fans in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina (Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham). It also illustrates different cultural norms in the organization of league play. I use my eight-year experience as the president of a Hispanic Soccer League, La Liga de Raleigh, to explain the cultural norms of Hispanic participation in league play while feeling the effects of being an outsider in a new community. This article concludes by suggesting that in spite of common ground among soccer fans North and South, the recent spike in anti-immigrant rhetoric accompanied by the sinking of the American economy has slowed the process of integration within the soccer borderzone.


INTRODUCTION
Cisplatin still has a central role in cancer chemotherapy, but is associated with the risk of toxicities, the most common of which is nephrotoxicity. The aim of the present study is evaluation of cisplatin nephrotoxicity in Iranian population of cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
All admitted patients to the oncology service who received cisplatin were included in a prospective study from 2004 to 2010. Clinical and laboratory data including kidney function tests were recorded at baseline and during follow-up visits.

RESULTS
One hundred patients (56% men) were included. Their mean age was 44 years. Common adverse events were nausea (85%) and vomiting (78%), followed by anorexia and fatigue (20%), taste change (10%), hearing loss (8%), cramping abdominal pain (8%), and tinnitus (5%). The most important finding was normal kidney function, except for mild hypomagnesemia (grade 1 toxicity) in 18%, without any symptoms or other electrolyte abnormalities. None of the patients with hypomagnesemia had significant serum electrolyte imbalances, diarrhea, severe allergic reactions, difficulty in walking, or chest pain.

CONCLUSIONS
Cisplatin has the potential to produce both mild and severe side effects. Although the neurologic and gastrointestinal toxicities were observed, renal toxicity (rising blood urea and creatinine or electrolyte abnormality) was not observed, and the only toxicity was grade 1 hypomagnesaemia.


Aim The aim of the study was define the normal values of tympanic and axillary body temperature in healthy children. Methods This observational cross-sectional study was performed in healthy children aged 0 to 17 years who visited the ambulatory general pediatric of Istanbul Medical Faculty. Results Of 1364 children, 651 (47.7%) were girls and 713 were boys, the mean (SD, range) age was 72.5 (53.6, 1–204) months. The mean (SD) axillary body temperature was 36.04°C (0.46°C; minimum, 35.0°C; maximum, 37.6°C). The 95th and 99th percentiles were 36.8°C and 37.0°C, respectively. The mean (SD) tympanic body temperature was 36.91°C (0.46°C; minimum, 35.15°C; maximum, 37.9°C). The 95th and 99th percentiles were 37.6°C and 37.8°C, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between sexes for only tympanic body temperatures. Both axillary and tympanic body temperatures were statistically higher in 0 to 2 months compared with other age groups. For this age group, the 99th percentile was 37.5°C for axillary and 37.85°C for tympanic temperature. Conclusions Axillary and tympanic body temperatures should be considered as fever when they are more than 37.0°C and 37.8°C, respectively. For 0 to 2 months, fever is 37.5°C and 37.85°C in axillary and tympanic temperatures, respectively.


Aim. The article analyses the means of using a new method of storytelling with elements of the poetics of behaviourism, which deeply showed the consequences and impact of the First World War on the lives of civilians in the sphere of hostilities. The heroes of the novel are little children who were running away from the soldiers and found themselves in the dark woods near a fatally wounded mother. The hero of the novel Vasilko, a boy of six or eight years, must fulfil the prayer of a dying mother and save his sister Nastya, who is very young and cannot even speak. The novelty of the author of the novel does not describe Vasylko's inner emotions, but using the poetics of behaviourism, shows only the actions of the boy and his behaviour in these circumstances. The novel is devoid of emotional expressions, conveys the boy's behaviour, his actions caused by external pathogens. The author with great force conveys his attitude to the war and its inhumane nature.


The half-life of deviations from purchasing power parity (PPP) plays a central role in the ongoing debate about the ability of macroeconomic models to account for the time series behavior of the real exchange rate. The main contribution of this paper is a general framework in which alternative priors for the half-life of deviations from PPP can be examined. We show how to incorporate formally the prior views of economists about the half-life. In our empirical analysis we provide two examples of such priors. One example is a consensus prior consistent with widely held views among economists with a professional interest in the PPP debate. The other example is a relatively diffuse prior designed to capture a large degree of uncertainty about the half-life. Our methodology allows us to make explicit probability statements about the half-life and to assess the likelihood that the half-life exceeds a given number of years, without taking a stand on whether or not the data have a unit root. We find only very limited support for the common view in the PPP literature that the half-life is between three and five years.


Exudate, adenopathy, and fever were used to predict clinically whether pharyngitis was streptococcal, nonstreptococcal, or questionable in 466 adults and 234 children. Clinical accuracy was: nonstreptococcal - adults 94.6 percent, children 86.9 percent; streptococcal - adults 44.2 percent, children 53.5 percent. Significance of results was determined by calculating the cost of routine cultures compared to risk of rheumatic fever. The economic justification of cultures was lowest in nonstreptococcal adults, streptococcal adults, and streptococcal children. Therapy of streptococcal patients presented an additional risk: anaphylaxis. The fatality risk after penicillin injection compared to the increased risk of rheumatic fever after oral penicillin is: adults 7.5 percent (clinical diagnosis), 3.3 percent (laboratory diagnosis); children 1.8 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. It is recommended that throat culture be obtained for all questionable patients and clinically nonstreptococcal children. Penicillin should be administered orally in the majority of adults.


Background: Ablation of some myocardial substrates requires catheter-based radiofrequency delivery at the root of a great artery. We studied the safety and efficacy parameters associated with catheter-based radiofrequency delivery at the root of the aorta and pulmonary artery. Methods: Thirty-six pigs underwent in-vivo catheter-based ablation under continuous contact-force and lesion index (power, contact-force, and time) monitoring during 60-s radiofrequency delivery with an open-irrigated tip catheter. Twenty-eight animals were allocated to groups receiving 40 W (n=9), 50 W (n=10), or 60 W (n=9) radiofrequency energy, and acute (n=22) and chronic (n=6) arterial wall damage was quantified by multiphoton microscopy in ex vivo samples. Adjacent myocardial lesions were quantified in parallel samples. The remaining 8 pigs were used to validate safety and efficacy parameters. Results: Acute collagen and elastin alterations were significantly associated with radiofrequency power, although chronic assessment revealed vascular wall recovery in lesions without steam pop. The main parameters associated with steam pops were median peak temperature >42°C and impedance falls >23 ohms. Unlike other parameters, lesion index values of 9.1 units (interquartile range, 8.7–9.8) were associated with the presence of adjacent myocardial lesions in both univariate (P=0.03) and multivariate analyses (P=0.049; odds ratio, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.02–3.98). In the validation group, lesion index values using 40 W over a range of contact-forces correlated with the size of radiofrequency lesions (R2=0.57; P=0.03), with no angiographic or histopathologic signs of coronary artery damage. Conclusions: Lesion index values obtained during 40 W radiofrequency applications reliably monitor safe and effective lesion creation at the root of the great arteries.


tive an female respon Regardless of their origins, mate preferences should, in theory, be shaped by their benefits in a mating context. Here we show that the female preference for carotenoid colouration in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, confirming a key prediction of sexual selection theory. Earlier work indicated that this mate preference is genetically linked to, and may be derived from, a sensory bias that occurs in both sexes: attraction to orange objects. The original function of this sensory bias is unknown, but it may help guppies find orange-coloured fruits in the rainforest streams of Trinidad. We show that the sensory bias also exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, but only in females. The sex-specificity of this reaction norm argues against the hypothesis that it evolved in a foraging context. We infer instead that the sensory bias has been modified as a correlated effect of selection on the mate preference. These results provide a new type of support for the hypothesis that mate preferences for sexual characters evolve in response to the benefits of mate choice—the alternatives being that such preferences evolve entirely in a non-mating context or in response to the costs of mating.


The aging process conveys multiple changes in the organism, as well as changes in individual's surroundings. Such modifications make the appearance of this sufferance, diagnose, and treatment to be complex and different in the rest of the population. The last makes necessary the coordinated work of the multidisciplinary team, in which the diabetic senior, caretaker, or relative most be actively participants. The success of preventive and curative measures relies in increasing knowledge about health and, life conditions (economic, social, community, family, etc.) of each patient and of the senior population in general; as well as facilitating the patient with information about the means to have a better understanding about the disease, and the available resources for its treatment, and to be aware of the importance of achieving the therapeutic objectives. This last part is particularly important for the nutritional treatment for diabetes, since its objective is the change in the habit, and customs of nutrition, and the physical activity that the patient has realized throughout many years.


A 30 mA drift tube linac (DTL) accelerator has been designed using SUPERFISH code in the energy range of 3–55 MeV in the framework of the Turkish Accelerator Center (TAC) project. Optimization criteria in cavity design are effective shunt impedance (ZTT), transit-time factor and electrical breakdown limit. In geometrical optimization we have aimed to increase the energy gain in each RF gap of the DTL cells by maximizing the effective shunt impedance (ZTT) and the transit-time factor. Beam dynamics studies of the DTL accelerator have been performed using beam dynamics simulation codes of PATH and PARMILA. The results of both codes have been compared. In the beam dynamical studies, the rms values of beam emittance have been taken into account and a low emittance growth in both x and y directions has been attempted.


Mucinous lung adenocarcinomas are relatively uncommon and represent 2% to 10% of all lung adenocarcinomas. The 2015 WHO classification of lung tumors essentially adopted the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer proposal for the reclassification of lung adenocarcinomas (1,2). A proposal to reclassify mucinous bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma to invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma was based on the observation that majority, if not all, of formerly known mucinous bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinomas are invasive and show more aggressive behavior when compared to non-mucinous bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma (3). All mucinous adenocarcinomas are currently classified under variants of lung adenocarcinoma and in addition to invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma also include colloid adenocarcinoma, and enteric adenocarcinoma. The classification into separate variants is based on morphology, immunoprofile, genomic and clinical characteristics. An alternative approach to lung adenocarcinoma, classifies mucinous adenocarcinomas as the non-terminal respiratory unit (TRU)-type because of their origin from the bronchial epithelium or submucosal glands and a gastric-mucin phenotype (4).


The paper is intended to present some aspects regarding the safety evaluation methods by determining those defining characteristics of a structural system (behaviour in time through dynamic characteristics evolution). This assessment should first be initiated in the case of buildings with essential functions and which could pose a major threat to public safety in case of collapse or serious damage. Determining, using intelligent wireless sensor networks, used within of a real-time data transmissions system, of some accelerograph data obtained from earthquakes with significant magnitude, will lead to an image of the spatial distribution of peak ground acceleration (PGA). Obtaining additional data over time will highlight some conclusions about acceleration values and directivity of seismic waves in the territory. On the other hand, the determination of the dynamic characteristics of structural systems by non-invasive and non-destructive instrumental measurements, under normal micro-seismic agitation, offers the possibility of obtaining important data in the structural safety assessment process after a major earthquake. Correlation of structural dynamic information, determined in situ and by analytical approaches, is a necessary step in the continuous process of risk exposure in an area with disaster potential. Data about a few study cases are presented.


This paper deals with a numerical modeling of nonlinear magnetic properties of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs). In order to design new magnetic actuators by using the FSMAs, it is necessary to develop an effective engineering modeling, which can represent the nonlinear magnetic properties depending on stress and temperature. This paper presents measured relationship among stress, temperature and magnetic properties of a Fe-based FSMA. On the basis of the measured result, we have developed a numerical modeling with an arc-tangent function. The modeling is applied to analyze a simple example for verification and the calculated results demonstrate its applicability in numerical simulations.


BACKGROUND Rapid population aging and increasing racial/ethnic and immigrant/native diversity make a broad documentation of U.S. health patterns during both mid- and late life particularly important. OBJECTIVE We aim to better understand age- and gender-specific racial/ethnic and nativity differences in physical functioning and disability among adults aged 50 and above. METHODS We aggregate 14 years of data from the National Health Interview Survey and calculate age- and gender-specific proportions of physical functioning and two types of disability for each population subgroup. RESULTS Middle-aged foreign-born individuals in nearly every subgroup exhibit lower proportions of functional limitations and disability than U.S.-born whites. This pattern of immigrant advantage is generally reversed in later life. Moreover, most U.S.-born minority groups have significantly higher levels of functional limitations and disability than U.S.-born whites in both mid- and late life. CONCLUSIONS Higher levels of functional limitations and disability among U.S.-born minority groups and immigrant populations in older adulthood pose serious challenges for health providers and policymakers in a rapidly diversifying and aging population.


This paper deals with the investigation of grain boundary engineering processes in case of AISI 304 type austenitic stainless steel. The effects of the thermo-mechanical treatments for the modification of the grain boundary structure are demonstrated on the special grain boundaries. The proper thermo-mechanical treatments can increase the fraction of the CSL-boundaries. Since the CSL-boundaries are resistant against intergranular degradation processes, materials owning enhanced properties can be developed due to these treatments. The investigation of the grain boundary character distribution is carried out by automated electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements after different thermo-mechanical treatment processes. The effect of the heat treatment duration on the grain boundary structure is examined; the optimal treatment is represented. It is shown by experimental results, that the parameter settings of the evaluation method strongly influence the obtained results.


Groups of rat or mouse islets were isolated and perifused with 20 mM glucose plus 200 microM diazoxide. The further addition of 30 mM K+ resulted in a rapid and sustained biphasic insulin secretory response. The onset of secretion in response to the addition of K+ was comparable in both species, but the magnitude of the response was significantly greater from rat islets. After the labeling of islet phosphoinositide pools with 2-[3H]inositol, the accumulation of labeled inositol phosphates (IP) in response to 30 mM K+ addition in the simultaneous presence of 20 mM glucose plus diazoxide was assessed. The addition of 30 mM K+ significantly increased IP accumulation approximately 300% in rat islets, whereas only an insignificant 25-30% increase was observed in mouse islets. The protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine (50 nM) dramatically reduced the sustained secretory response from rat islets in the presence of 30 mM K+, 20 mM glucose, and diazoxide. Its effect was minimal on mouse islets and a significant inhibitory effect on insulin secretion was observed only during the final 5 min of the perifusion. The further addition of carbachol, an agonist that activates an isozyme of phospholipase C distinct from that activated by glucose, together with K+, 20 mM glucose, plus diazoxide resulted in a sustained amplification of insulin secretion from mouse but not rat islets. K+ (30 mM)-induced insulin secretion in the presence of 3 mM glucose was similar from perifused rat or mouse islets, a finding that would seem to preclude the activation of voltage-regulated Ca2+ channels as the pertinent difference. These results confirm previous observations with these species and document another anomaly that exists between the responses of rat islets compared with mouse islets. The inability to activate a nutrient- and calcium-regulated phospholipase C isozyme in mouse islets to the same extent as in rat islets appears to account, at least in part, for these different insulin secretory responses under these unique conditions.


This paper presents a dynamic multinomial logit model to explain the transitions into and out of self-employment using Dutch micro-panel data, the LISS panel. Based on the estimates we simulate employment paths for benchmark individuals. These are used to illustrate the limitations of the common assumption in wealth and pension income modeling, that individuals remain in their observed labour state until retirement. In particular, we find that although one year transition probabilities out of self-employment are not more than 10%, the chances that individuals who are self-employed remain self-employed for the majority of the next ten years can be much smaller, and vary substantially with individual characteristics such as education level and personality.


Objective Neurofilament light protein (NfL) and chitinase 3–like 1 (CHI3L1) are biomarkers for acute neuroaxonal damage and local inflammation, respectively. Thus, we set out to evaluate how these biomarkers were associated with clinical features of demyelinating diseases in parallel with the expression in brain autopsies from patients with similar disease stages, assuming their comparability. Methods NfL and CHI3L1 in CSF and serum CHI3L1 were assessed retrospectively in a cross-sectional cohort of controls (n = 17) and patients diagnosed with MS (n = 224), relapsing (n = 163) or progressive (n = 61); neuromyelitis optica (NMO, n = 7); and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM, n = 15). Inflammatory activity was evaluated at the time of sampling, and CSF biomarker levels were related to the degree of inflammation in 22 brain autopsy tissues. Results During a clinical attack, the CSF NfL increased in MS, NMO, and ADEM, whereas CHI3L1 was only elevated in patients with NMO and ADEM and in outlier MS patients with extensive radiologic activity. Outside relapses, CHI3L1 levels only remained elevated in patients with progressive MS. CHI3L1 was detected in macrophages and astrocytes, predominantly in areas of active demyelination, and its expression by astrocytes in chronic lesions was independent of lymphocyte infiltrates and associated with active neurodegeneration. Conclusions Both CSF NfL and CHI3L1 augment during acute inflammation in demyelinating diseases. In MS, CHI3L1 may be associated with low-grade nonlymphocytic inflammation and active neurodegeneration and therefore linked to progressive disease. Classification of Evidence This study provides Class III evidence that CSF NfL and CHI3L1 levels increase in inflammatory brain diseases during acute inflammation.


The social health is one of the medical centers in the south district of Dakar. It has a population of 230 000 people, so knowing that people's perception would assist in developing a focused and effective microbicide use in a developing country. From March to June 2008, a cross sectional descriptive survey was carried in the social health institute center in order to establish the community's current knowledge levels, gap, attitudes about microbicides. The study was aimed at establishing baseline information to be used in setting up a programe for educational community. Quantitative data was called through a random house hold survey of 600 women in the 21-59 years age group using a structured questionnaire. Quantitative information was elicited. Epi-info version 2002 was used to analyse date. On knowledge about 98% knew that HIV is transmitted sexually, 55% on contact with infected blood and 28% through mother to child transmitted, only 0, 1% know what microbicide is, 80% mentioned that never heard about microbicide(P<0,001). About 80% felt that it was good for women in order to prevent HIV transmission From the finding we concluded that knowledge on microbicide was low among women. Microbicide as a new product requires a lot of educational community information.


The present study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of in vitro percutaneous absorption techniques to estimate in vivo absorption of polynuclear aromatic (PNA) compounds commonly found in mineral oils. The percutaneous absorption of 14C-labeled anthracene, a three-ring PNA, was compared in a six-day in vivo and in vitro experiment with female Sprague-Dawley rats following a single topical dose (9.3 μg/cm2). In vivo absorption was mea sured by the presence of 14C radioactivity in urine, feces and tissues and in vitro absorption by penetration of radioactivity through excised skin into the receptor fluid of Franz-type diffusion cells. Several modifications of standard diffusion cell techniques were used which are known to enhance the absorption of lipophilic compounds. Anthracene was observed to readily penetrate the skin in both experiments and the total amounts absorbed in vivo and in vivo were seen to gradually coalesce over time. Within six days after application, 52.3 and 55.9% of the administered anthracene was absorbed in vivo and in vitro, respectively.


Treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy is associated with significant gonadal damage in men, and alkylating agents are the most common agents implicated. The vast majority of men receiving procarbazine-containing regimens for the treatment of lymphomas are rendered permanently infertile, whereas treatment with doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adriamycin), bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine appears to have a significant advantage, with a return to normal fertility in the vast majority of patients. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy for testicular cancer results in temporary azoospermia in most men, with a recovery of spermatogenesis in about 50% of the patients after 2 years and 80% after 5 years. The germinal epithelium is very sensitive to radiation-induced damage, with changes to spermatogonia following as little as 0.2 Gy. Testicular doses of less than 0.2 Gy had no significant effect on FSH levels or sperm counts, whereas doses between 0.2 and 0.7 Gy caused a transient dose-dependent increase in FSH and reduction in sperm concentration, with a return to normal values within 12-24 months. No radiation dose threshold has been defined above which permanent azoospermia is inevitable; however, doses of 1.2 Gy and above are likely to be associated with a reduced risk of recovery of spermatogenesis; the time to recovery, if it is to occur, is also likely to be dose dependent.


The recent development of advanced seismograph networks offers us a chance to remotely detect landslide occurrences with high-frequency (>∼1  Hz) components. This study examined a landslide in central Japan that produced clearly detectable seismic signals at multiple seismic stations in a permanent network. Wave packets propagated with a group velocity of 3  km/s from the landslide area. Using a source location determination method with amplitude information from the high-frequency component, the source location of the wave packets was shown to be in the vicinity of the landslide with an error of 5 km. Moreover, seismograms specific to this landslide also contained a distinct impulsive phase with a source located in the vicinity of the landslide. The study demonstrated that seismic waves with a high-frequency component from landslides can be used to estimate their mechanisms as well as their locations when they are recognized by a routine seismic network.


Cr3C2-NiCr coatings are greatly used to protect critical components in corrosive environments and to extend their lifetime and/or improve functional performance. However, the pores formed during spraying restrict the coating's applicability area for many corrosion protection applications. To overcome this technical challenge, bilayer coatings have been developed, in which an additional layer (the so-called "intermediate layer") is deposited on the substrate before spraying the Cr3C2-NiCr coating (the so-called "top layer"). The corrosion behavior of the bilayer coating depends on the composition and microstructure of each layer. In the present work, different single-layer coatings (i.e., Cr3C2-NiCr, Fe- and Ni-based coatings) were initially sprayed by a high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) process. Microstructure analysis, as well as electrochemical tests, for example, open-circuit potential (OCP) and polarization tests, were performed. The potential difference (ΔE) had a great influence on galvanic corrosion between the top and intermediate layers, and thus, the coatings were ranked based on the OCP values (from high to low) as follows: NiCoCrAlY > NiCr > Cr3C2-NiCr > NiAl > Fe-based coatings (alloyed with Cr) > pure Ni. The Ni-based coatings were chosen to be further used as intermediate layers with the Cr3C2-NiCr top layer due to their capabilities to show high OCP. The corrosion resistance (Rp) of the bilayer coatings was ranked (from high to low) as follows: NiCoCrAlY/Cr3C2-NiCr > NiCr/Cr3C2-NiCr > NiAl/Cr3C2-NiCr > Ni/Cr3C2-NiCr. It was shown that splat boundaries and interconnected pores are detrimental for corrosion resistance, however, a sufficient reservoir of protective scale-forming elements (such as Cr or/and Al) in the intermediate layer can significantly improve the corrosion resistance.


Background. A leading concern in teaching and learning is how to increase the degree of student engagement in learning. Within the virtual educational environment, student engagement is a real issue facing instructors and teachers. Students in online classrooms are not able to engage in the same manner as in face-to-face settings.
Purpose. This study aims to explore the impact and reception of online education on student engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom.
Method. This study adopts a mixed-method approach, in order to understand student engagement online. Longitudinal self-report surveys (SRS) filled out by 127 undergraduate students after each class session throughout a four-week period were used to assess their engagement in online language classrooms. Focus-group interview transcriptions were used to triangulate the data and provide further information about student engagement in terms of gender difference, engagement growth over time, and engagement fostering or hindrance factors in virtual learning classrooms.
Results. Analysis showed that students were generally engaged during the weeks with some variances. Cognitive-social learning engagement showed dynamics among students in virtual language classrooms. Factors such as place of engagement and students' choice of device used to access the virtual session were found to influence student engagement in online classroom learning. Male and female students generally showed similar learning engagement in the virtual classes with disparities occurring over the study period.
Conclusion. The study results will be beneficial for researchers, instructors, and policymakers who are interested in understanding student engagement and who seek to improve the teaching experience.


Machine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today ML algorithms accomplish tasks that until recently only expert humans could perform. As it relates to finance, this is the most exciting time to adopt a disruptive technology that will transform how everyone invests for generations.


Novel unsymmetrical organic sensitizers having donor, $\pi $-spacer, and anchoring groups were designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application. The dyes 3-{4-[7-(4-{bis[4-(hexyl)phenyl]amino} phenyl)-11,12-dibutoxy-1,4,5,8-tetrahydrodibenzo [a, c] phenazine-2-yl]phenyl} -2-cyano acrylic acid (KD-148) and 3-{5-[7-(4-{bis[4-(hexyloxy)phenyl]amino} phenyl)-11,12-dibutoxy-1,4,5,8-tetrahydrodibenzo [a, c] phenazine-2-yl]-2-thienyl} -2-cyano acrylic acid (KD-150) were anchored onto TiO$_{2}$ and tested with ionic liquid electrolyte. The monochromatic incident photon-to-current conversion efficiencies (IPCE) of the dyes were 50% and 60% at 420 nm, respectively. The KD-150-sensitized solar cell gave a short-circuit current (I$_{SC})$ of 7.37 mA/cm$^{2}$, an open-circuit voltage (V$_{oc})$ of 560 mV, a fill factor (FF) of 0.56, and overall conversion efficiency ($\eta )$ of 2.32% whereas the standard dye Z-907 dye exhibited 14.51 mA/cm$^{2}$ of I$_{SC}$, 630 mV of V$_{oc}$, 0.45 of FF, and 4.08% of $\eta $ under AM 1.5 illumination with power of 100 mW/cm$^{2}$.


The nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCL/P) is a congenital deformity of multifactorial origin with a relatively high incidence in the oriental population. Various etiologic candidate genes have been reported with conflicting results, according to race and analysis methods. Recently, the ablation of the TGF-beta3 gene function induced cleft palates in experimental animals. Also, polymorphisms in the TGF-beta3 gene have been studied in different races; however, they have not been studied in Koreans. A novel A --> G single nucleotide polymorphism (defined by the endonuclease SfaN1) was identified in intron 5 of TGF-beta3 (IVS5+104 A > G). It resulted in different genotypes, AA, AG, and GG. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the SfaN1 polymorphism in TGF-beta3 and the risk of NSCL/P in the Korean population. The population of this study consisted of 28 NSCL/P patients and 41 healthy controls. The distribution of the SfaN1 genotypes was different between the cases and controls. The frequency of the G allele was significantly associated with the increased risk of NSCL/P [odds ratio (OR) = 15.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 6.3-41.0]. The risk for the disease increased as the G allele numbers increased (GA genotype: OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 0.38-11.68; GG genotype: OR = 110.2, 95% CI = 10.67 - 2783.29) in NSCL/P. A stratified study in patients revealed that the SfaN1 site IVS5+104A > G substitution was strongly associated with an increased risk of NSCL/P in males (p < 0.001), but not in females. In conclusion, the polymorphism of the SfaN1 site in TGF-beta3 was significantly different between the NSCL/P patients and the control. This may be a good screening marker for NSCL/P patients among Koreans.


It is easier and faster for students to learn from knowledgeable students. The speed of information age and evolving educational technology have changed the way of teaching and the level of knowledge acquired during teaching.In this study, we present establishment of educational network among the undergraduate with mobile application. Students will be trained on the mobile application using smart devices which are present in almost every university student today. For this training, firstly the teams will be established and the target group will be reached for the education given by the knowledgeable student.With the mobile application to be prepared, students will be able to enroll in courses that are opened, will be notified about the lessons from the instructors and will be able to access the necessary source documents easily. The application will also be a website at the same time and all the operations performed in the application will also be available on the website.


In this work, crosslinked shape-memory polymer networks were prepared by thermally induced free-radical polymerizations of methacrylate-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and n-butyl acrylate (BA), which integrate thermal-responsive two-way and moisture-responsive one-way shape memory effects (SME). Broad molecular weight distributions of PEG were employed with the aim of tuning the transition temperatures close to that of the human body and achieving a broad transition temperature range. The resultant PEG-2,4,10 kDa and PEG-2,6,10 kDa networks showed good thermal-responsive two-way reversible shape memory effects between the human body temperature and 0 °C, with the two-way recovery ratios of 8.2% and 6.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the crosslinked networks were found to be moisture-responsive and the deformed specimen was nearly recovered to the original shape (98% in the recovery ratio) when exposed to the moist atmosphere. These features, along with the inherent biocompatible properties, have great potential in biomedical applications.


Although multi-way Fisher discriminant analysis (MFDA) has been successfully applied in monitoring and fault diagnosis of batch processes, it has to estimate the future measured data of the batch processes during online monitoring and fault diagnosis. The estimated values not exactly follow the dynamic process behavior and they lead to false detection. In this paper, a novel method of monitoring and diagnosis for batch processes, named as multi-model FDA, is presented. The proposed method not only overcomes the need to estimating or filling up the future unmeasured data from the current time to the end of the batch, but also directly identifies the assignable causes of process abnormalities. Therefore, more accurate diagnostic decisions are made via multi-model FDA for online fault diagnosis. The method is proved to be effective by the application to monitoring and diagnosis of a multi-stage streptomycin fermentation process.


Modern agriculture couples the management of invasive weed species with enhancing crop yields through the intensive use of herbicides. As a result of herbicides being the primary method of weed control in agronomic crops, herbicide resistance has evolved and there has been a vast increase in the occurrence and distribution of herbicide resistant weeds. Many of the most problematic weeds have now evolved multiple herbicide resistance (MHR), which is associated with an enhanced ability to detoxify xenobiotics, enabling the weed to survive herbicide application irrespective of the mode of action. As herbicide resistance is a major limiting factor to food security in global agriculture, effective methods for weed management are sought.
This work focuses on MHR in black grass (Alopecurus myosuroides), one of the most damaging weeds of winter cereals. Previous work by Edwards et al. described that black grass populations showing MHR, exhibit an upregulation in the expression of a specific phi-class glutathione transferase (AmGSTF1), which is thought to have a direct regulatory control on metabolism. The importance of AmGSTF1 in MHR has been confirmed both genetically by transgene experiments and chemically through inhibition experiments. This offers the opportunity to develop potential herbicide synergists, which are active towards AmGSTF1 and restore herbicide control in multiple herbicide resistant black grass. Considering the rapid spread of MHR in grass weeds and the limited development of new herbicides, synergists offer an important alternative strategy in counteracting resistance in the field.
Recently a new class of AmGSTF1 inhibitors, derived from flavonoids, could be identified. Initial efforts focused on the synthesis of a series of flavone analogues, mainly with structural changes of the C-ring and different substituents in the 5-position. A particular emphasis was put on increasing the aqueous solubility and other physicochemical properties of the compounds, in order to increase the bioavailability in the plant.
Although the potency of the initial lead molecule could not be increased in vitro, 5,7-dimethoxy-2-(1',3'-thiazol-2'-yl)-4H-chromen-4-one, with a significantly increased aqueous solubility, showed good results in in vivo studies in black grass and acted as a
synergist to the herbicide pinoxaden. The black grass plants died, when pinoxaden (10μl of a 15 μM solution) was applied to plants, which were pre-treated with the thiazole (10 μl of a 2 mM solution), but survived the herbicide treatment, if no synergist was applied prior.


The demand for bottled water has increased rapidly over the past decade, but bottled water is extremely costly compared to tap water. The convenience of bottled water surely matters to consumers, but are others factors at work? This manuscript examines whether purchases of bottled water are associated with the perceived risk of tap water. All of the past studies on bottled water consumption have used simple scale measures of perceived risk that do not correspond to risk measures used by risk analysts. We elicit a probability‐based measure of risk and find that as perceived risks rise, expenditures for bottled water rise.


Scheduling of sporadic task systems on multiprocessor platforms is an area which has received much attention in the recent past. It is widely believed that finding an optimal scheduler is hard, and therefore most studies have focused on developing algorithms with good utilization bounds. These algorithms can be broadly classified into two categories: partitioned scheduling in which tasks are statically assigned to individual processors, and globalscheduling in which each task is allowed to execute on any processor in the platform. In this paper we consider a third, more general, approach called cluster-based scheduling. In this approach each task is statically assigned to a processor cluster, tasks in each cluster areglobally scheduled among themselves, and clusters in turn are scheduled on the multiprocessor platform. We develop techniques to support such cluster-based scheduling algorithms, and also consider properties that minimize processor utilization of individual clusters. Since neither partitioned nor global strategies dominate over the other, cluster-based scheduling is a natural direction for research towards achieving improved utilization bounds.


Objective: This study aimed to (1) characterize temporal response properties of the auditory nerve in implanted children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), and (2) compare results recorded in implanted children with ANSD with those measured in implanted children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Design: Participants included 28 children with ANSD and 29 children with SNHL. All subjects used cochlear nucleus devices in their test ears. Both ears were tested in 6 children with ANSD and 3 children with SNHL. For all other subjects, only one ear was tested. The electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) was measured in response to each of the 33 pulses in a pulse train (excluding the second pulse) for one apical, one middle-array, and one basal electrode. The pulse train was presented in a monopolar-coupled stimulation mode at 4 pulse rates: 500, 900, 1800, and 2400 pulses per second. Response metrics included the averaged amplitude, latencies of response components and response width, the alternating depth and the amount of neural adaptation. These dependent variables were quantified based on the last six ECAPs or the six ECAPs occurring within a time window centered around 11 to 12 msec. A generalized linear mixed model was used to compare these dependent variables between the 2 subject groups. The slope of the linear fit of the normalized ECAP amplitudes (re. amplitude of the first ECAP response) over the duration of the pulse train was used to quantify the amount of ECAP increment over time for a subgroup of 9 subjects. Results: Pulse train-evoked ECAPs were measured in all but 8 subjects (5 with ANSD and 3 with SNHL). ECAPs measured in children with ANSD had smaller amplitude, longer averaged P2 latency and greater response width than children with SNHL. However, differences in these two groups were only observed for some electrodes. No differences in averaged N1 latency or in the alternating depth were observed between children with ANSD and children with SNHL. Neural adaptation measured in these 2 subject groups was comparable for relatively short durations of stimulation (i.e., 11 to 12 msec). Children with ANSD showed greater neural adaptation than children with SNHL for a longer duration of stimulation. Amplitudes of ECAP responses rapidly declined within the first few milliseconds of stimulation, followed by a gradual decline up to 64 msec after stimulus onset in the majority of subjects. This decline exhibited an alternating pattern at some pulse rates. Further increases in pulse rate diminished this alternating pattern. In contrast, ECAPs recorded from at least one stimulating electrode in six ears with ANSD and three ears with SNHL showed a clear increase in amplitude over the time course of stimulation. The slope of linear regression functions measured in these subjects was significantly greater than zero. Conclusions: Some but not all aspects of temporal response properties of the auditory nerve measured in this study differ between implanted children with ANSD and implanted children with SNHL. These differences are observed for some but not all electrodes. A new neural response pattern is identified. Further studies investigating its underlying mechanism and clinical relevance are warranted.


Stem cells are biological cells found in all multic ellular organisms that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. In our human body, there are many sources from which these stem cells are de rived such as eye, brain, blood from umblical cord, bone marrow, skin and teeth. These stem cells can be derived from embryonic, foetal and adult tissues and cultured to form other different cells for regenerative and therapeutic purpose.


Condensed representations of pattern collections have been recognized to be important building blocks of inductive databases, a promising theoretical framework for data mining, and recently they have been studied actively. However, there has not been much research on how condensed representations should actually be represented. In this paper we study implicit enumeration of patterns, i.e., how to represent pattern collections by listing only the interestingness values of the patterns. The main problem is that the pattern classes are typically huge compared to the collections of interesting patterns in them. We solve this problem by choosing a good ordering of listing the patterns in the class such that the ordering admits effective pruning and prediction of the interestingness values of the patterns. This representation of interestingness values enables us to quantify how surprising a pattern is in the collection. Furthermore, the encoding of the interestingness values reflects our understanding of the pattern collection and thus the size of the encoding can be used to evaluate the correctness of the assumptions.


Many investigators use in vitro models of global ischemia to examine the effects of preconditioning, often with recovery of contractile function as the end-point. Such models are relevant to myocardial protection during cardiac surgery. However, there is still debate as to whether preconditioning preserves ventricular contraction secondary to limitation of infarction or by a direct effect on stunning. Since infarct size is the original end-point against which protection by preconditioning is measured, our aims were, first, to validate global ischemic preconditioning by measuring infarct size after subsequent regional ischemia and, second, to correlate limitation of infarct size with mechanical function. After stabilization, seven isolated buffer perfused rabbit hearts were subjected to 5 minutes of global "no-flow" ischemia followed by 10 minutes of reperfusion ("global preconditioning"). Seven control hearts were allowed to stabilize for an additional 15 minutes at constant flow. Subsequently, regional ischemia was induced in both groups for 45 minutes followed by 2 hours of reperfusion. Left ventricular and coronary perfusion pressures were measured throughout. Myocardial infarct size was measured using triphenyltetrazolium staining and expressed as a percentage of the area at risk outlined with fluorescent microspheres. The ratio of infarct to risk zone was reduced from 47.6 +/- 7.3% in control hearts to 16.4 +/- 5.4% (p = 0.005) in preconditioned hearts, confirming the efficacy of global preconditioning. In addition, preconditioning led to a better preservation of systolic function, which correlated significantly with limitation of infarct size (r = 0.75, p = 0.002). Global preconditioning may account for the successful use of cross-clamp fibrillation during cardiac surgery.


Introduction: Excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1), seems to play a significant role in platinum-DNA adduct repair. Multidrug resistance (MDR1) plays an important role in chemo resistance to many drugs, including platinum derivatives. Although resistance to chemotherapy is caused by multiple genetic factors, DNA repair genes play a key role in platinum derivatives resistance. Aim: The purpose of this study was to estimate and compare the genotype frequencies, and the protein expressions of ERCC1 and MDR1 (exon 26), in a Brazilian sample of NSCLC patients, correlating the results with clinical outcome and response to platinum derivatives. Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA of 79 NSCLC patients were collected, and the ERCC1 C8092A and MDR1 exon 26 polymorphisms were detected by PCR-SSCP, followed by sequencing to confirm the genotyping. The immunohistochemistry for ERCC1 and MDR1 were performed on 70 lung biopsies paraffin blocks; the polymorphism genotyping and the protein expressions results were then correlated with clinical outcome and response of chemotherapy. Results: There was no correlation of clinical outcome with the polymorphism genotypes and expressions of ERCC1 and MDR1.There was no correlation of polymorphism genotype and protein expression with response to chemotherapy. Conclusions: This study suggests that ERCC1 C8092A and MDR1 (exon 26) polymorphism genotypes, and their respective protein expression did not correlated with response to chemotherapy or clinical outcome.


The goods and services tax (GST) will be a game that will reform the reform of the Indian economy by developing a common Indian market and reducing the tax mix of the costs of goods and services. GST is a consumption-based tax levied on the sale, production and consumption of goods and services at the national level. Many taxes and VAT / sales tax, entertainment tax, onto- and import tax, sales tax, premium tax and lottery tax GST, including the central consumption tax, service tax, central tax and tax, are included. The fast moving consumer goods sector (FMCG) in India accounts for more than 50% of the food and beverage industry and covers 30% in the personal and home care sector, particularly in rural and urban areas (Subramanian, 2015). Under the proposed GST regime, particularly in sectors such as the FMCG, a simpler tax system is expected. Currently, the maximum tax costs of the sector amount to approximately 27% (or 12.5% excise duty, 12% to 15% VAT). According to the GST scheme, the level of import neutrality will vary from 16% to 19%, suggesting that it delivers significant benefits for the sector.


This paper in an attempt to give an insight into the Egyptian Uniform Accounting System, which has sought to achieve the Following objectives: 1. To provide the necessary accounting information for planning and control at all levels of the economy 2. To coordinate financial accounting with national accounting in order to facilitate the computation of the gross national product (GNP). This is done through unifying terminology, standards, accounting concepts, and so on.3. To facilitate the tabulation and storage of data by an enterprise so that it would be easy for each enterprise to supply the information needed by the governmental bodies. The paper has highlighted the Egyptian Chart of Accounts and how financial and control accounts have been classified and coded in such a manner that links the micro-accounting with macro-accounting. Finally, an empirical case study has been examined where the Current Operations Account has been prepared in addition to the value Added Statement (VAS). Such a VAS has been prepared on the basis of: 1. The factor income model which is adopted by the Egyptian Uniform accounting System; and 2. The sect oral income model which is to be recommended by the author for some reasons. For instance, it distinguishes between the value added achieved by the company and that available for distribution


Finding optimal or at least good monitoring strategies is an important consideration when designing an agent. We have applied genetic programming to this task, with mixed results. Since the agent control language was kept purposefully general, the set of monitoring strategies constitutes only a small part of the overall space of possible behaviors. Because of this, it was often difficult for the genetic algorithm to evolve them, even though their performance was superior. These results raise questions as to how easy it will be for genetic programming to scale up as the areas it is applied to become more complex.


Fifty consecutive patients having had cardiac catheterisation for coronary artery disease also underwent testing by three non-invasive methods commonly employed for assessment of left ventricular function. These included the first pass radionuclide ejection fraction, fractional shortening of the M-mode echocardiographic left ventricular internal dimension, and pre-ejection period/left ventricular ejection time ratio derived from systolic time intervals (PEP/LVET). Linear correlations of these non-invasive measures with cineangiographic ejection fractions were calculated. The first pass radionuclide ejection fraction correlated best. Echocardiograms and systolic time intervals proved less versatile since 11 of 50 echocardiograms were technically not suitable for measurement and 11 of 50 systolic time intervals could not be used because of left ventricular conduction delays. Overall, radionuclide ventriculography proved to be the most accurate and practical of these non-invasive techniques in evaluating left ventricular function in this group of patients with coronary artery disease.


This study assesses the outcome of two combined treatment strategies for the treatment of feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS). Twenty-one cats with primary or recurrent FISS received 3 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with epirubicin (25 mg m(-2) ), then an anatomical resection of the entire muscle compartment containing the tumour was performed based on the findings of co-axial imaging. Cats then received a further 3 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Follow-up was performed by telephone contact with a median follow-up time of 1072 days. Three cats (14%) developed local tumour recurrence at days 264, 664 and 1573 after surgery. A median survival time could not be calculated as over 80% of the study population remained alive or were censored due to death from other causes. When compared to historical controls, the results of this study demonstrate superior rates of tumour-free survival and disease-free interval.


The challenge of global climate change has attracted recommendations for remediation from a number of professions, including engineering. The possibilities suggested for "geoengineering" the climate generally fall into one of two categories: (1) carbon capture and storage; and (2) solar radiation management. Specific and often controversial proposals include the aerial dispersion of aerosols, launching reflective gratings into orbit around the Earth, and seeding the oceans with iron filings. These proposals share a number of characteristics, including the following: (1) they can often be undertaken within the territorial jurisdiction of a single state or in areas beyond national jurisdiction; (2) they are likely to, and are intended to, have extrajurisdictional – indeed global – effects; and (3) they are largely unregulated at the international level. This article examines the existing international governance structures to address geoengineering and concludes that they are inadequate to the task. After reviewing those modest international measures that have been adopted to regulate climate geoengineering proposals, the piece makes recommendations for structural adaptations in international governance to address the problem.


region (m-bcr). To our knowledge, nine patients who have both Ph chromosome and inv(l6) have been reported in the literature, four CML and five M4Eo patients [ 1-61, Among them, four were studied by molecular biology; two CML had M-bcr breakpoints and two M4Eo had m-bcr breakpoints. Interestingly, Ph translocation detected as change additional to inv( 16) has not shown M-bcr breakpoints so far. On the basis of eight patients reported in the literature and the present case, two types of combination of Ph and inv( 16) are disclosed: 1) CML that has Ph chromosome, inv( 16). and M-BCR+ and 2) M4Eo that has the opposite but is M-BCR-. Regarding our patient, it is not possible to comment on the impact of these conflicting chromosomal abnormalities on prognosis. Although inv(l6) carries a good prognosis in most surveys, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-matched sister war undertaken, because the accompanying Ph chromosome suggests a poor prognosis. All prior patients with M4Eo with inv( 16) and Ph chromosome eventually relapsed. It may follow that the prognosis of M4Eo with inv(l6) is hampered by the accompanying Ph chromosome.


OBJECTIVES To follow up a previous report on the lung function of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS), and describe the findings having followed up this cohort for a median duration of 10 years (range 8–12 years). METHODS 30 patients fulfilling Fox's criteria for definite or probable primary SS were assessed within six months of diagnosis and after a median duration of four and then 10 years by a clinical examination, chest radiograph, and lung function studies (FEV1, FVC, Tlco, and Kco). RESULTS At baseline, symptomatic dyspnoea was a common finding, reported by 13/30 patients, of whom two had evidence of fibrosing alveolitis on plain chest radiograph. Five patients had a carbon monoxide transfer factor (Tlco) more than two standardised residuals below the predicted value. After four years' follow up two further patients developed radiological fibrotic changes and there were significant reductions in Tlco (p<0.02) and transfer coefficient (Kco) (p<0.02) compared with the baseline measurements. At 10 years' follow up four patients had died and four were lost to follow up. One patient with fibrosing alveolitis had died from chest disease. There were no further cases of pulmonary fibrosis identified on plain chest radiograph. The lung function studies showed no further deterioration from the results found at year four with significant improvements in both Tlco (p<0.001) and Kco(p<0.001). Those patients who were anti-Ro antibody positive had significantly lower transfer factors than patients with primary SS without this serological marker (p<0.02). CONCLUSION This long term follow up of lung disease in primary SS is reassuring, and suggests that most patients do not develop progressive lung disease. Pulmonary disease occurs predominantly in anti-Ro antibody positive patients and presents early in the course of the disease.


— The initial effect of the impact force patterns on the object for achieving stably grasping is dependent on starting of the movement of a robot hand by taking an optimal preshape. These impact force patterns generated from the changes of the momenta obtained from the fingers lead to motion tendencies of the object. Determining optimal preshape of hand is closely related with the continuum between the initial position of hand preshape and posture of the hand at the contact points on the object. In this paper, we propose a new model for determining continuity momentum of fingers landing on the object based on the fluid dynamics. The commercial computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software package program, Fluent, is used to simulate the compressible fluid flows. The kinematic model of robot fingers and object geometry is created as a preprocessing of fluent. Various scenarios of simple hand preshaping have been applied to the simulation. The experimental results give an idea about how different preshape hand effects to detect the region of contacts while approaching onto an object.


The purpose in this study was to confirm the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teaching practices in the health and physical education (HPE) curriculum in Taiwan. We used stratified random sampling and cluster sampling methods to select 842 HPE teachers from elementary schools in Taiwan. They completed the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale in HPE and the Teaching Practice Scale in HPE (Pan, 2006, 2007). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the suitability of the hypothetical model. Results indicated that the model had acceptable goodness-of-fit and it was concluded that teachers' self-efficacy has a positive effect on teaching practices in HPE.


By work of Farinati, Solotar, and Taillefer, it is known that the Hopf algebra cohomology of a quasi-triangular Hopf algebra, as a graded Lie algebra under the Gerstenhaber bracket, is abelian. Motivated by the question of whether this holds for nonquasi-triangular Hopf algebras, we show that Gerstenhaber brackets on Hopf algebra cohomology can be expressed via an arbitrary projective resolution using Volkov's homotopy liftings as generalized to some exact monoidal categories. This is a special case of our more general result that a bracket operation on cohomology is preserved under exact monoidal functors—one such functor is an embedding of Hopf algebra cohomology into Hochschild cohomology. As a consequence, we show that this Lie structure on Hopf algebra cohomology is abelian in positive degrees for all quantum elementary abelian groups, most of which are nonquasi-triangular.


Cationized birch xylan was prepared and its use as a papermaking chemical was evaluated. The focus was on studying the effects of cationized birch xylan on the wet and dry strength of fine paper. The results of the laboratory experiments show that the addition of 3 percent of cationized birch xylan to birch kraft pulp improved the initial wet strength of the web by 30 percent compared to base stock at a solids content of 55%. Furthermore, the tensile stiffness of the wet web increased by approximately a third and the dry tensile strength improved by 26%, while the dry elastic modulus was not changed. The improvements in the strength properties were clear when compared to the base stock, but not as high as achieved with conventionally used cationized starch. The difference between the xylan and starch is most likely due to the shorter polymer chain length of the cationized xylan.


We present a systematic geometric framework to study closed quantum systems based on suitably chosen variational families. For the purpose of (A) real time evolution, (B) excitation spectra, (C) spectral functions and (D) imaginary time evolution, we show how the geometric approach highlights the necessity to distinguish between two classes of manifolds: Kahler and non-Kahler. Traditional variational methods typically require the variational family to be a Kahler manifold, where multiplication by the imaginary unit preserves the tangent spaces. This covers the vast majority of cases studied in the literature. However, recently proposed classes of generalized Gaussian states make it necessary to also include the non-Kahler case, which has already been encountered occasionally. We illustrate our approach in detail with a range of concrete examples where the geometric structures of the considered manifolds are particularly relevant. These go from Gaussian states and group theoretic coherent states to generalized Gaussian states.


The paper deals with an analysis of selected equations used for the determination of a stable longwise slope calculation of torrential rivers. Irregularity of the gradient, accompanied by heavy bed-load experiencing abrupt changes of the flow as a result of heavy rainfalls of short duration and high intensity, these are typical features impacting the behaviour and characteristics of torrential rivers. The determination of the stable bottom slope, when the river bed is kept unpaved but still provides resistence against harmfull effects of rapids, becomes an essential objective of the study. Three methods are used to determine the stable slope: the first is based on tangent tension (shear stress theory), the second observes a (critical) non-scouring cross-sectional velocity (critical mean channel velocities), and the third applies the bottom layer velocity, (the critical bed velocities). The mathematical hydraulic model HEC-RAS v. 3.1.3 has been used for the verification of the methods in the Jindřichovický creek case study in the Krusne hory.


Cryptographic algorithms which take into account requirements for varying levels of security and reduced power consumption in embedded devices are now receiving additional attention. The NTRUEncrypt algorithm has been shown to provide certain advantages when designing low power and resource constrained systems, while still providing comparable security levels to higher complexity algorithms. The research presented in this thesis starts with an examination of the general NTRUEncrypt system, followed by a more practical examination with respect to the IEEE 1363.1 draft standard. In contrast to previous research, the focus is shifted away from specific optimizations but rather provides a study of many of the recommended practices and suggested optimizations with particular emphasis on polynomial arithmetic and parameter selection. Various methods are examined for storing, inverting and multiplying polynomials used in the system. Recommendations for algorithm and parameter selection are made regarding implementation in software and hardware with respect to the resources available. Although the underlying mathematical principles have not been significantly questioned, stable recommended practices are still being developed for the NTRUEncrypt system. As a further complication, recommended optimizations have come from various researchers and have been split between hardware and software implementations. In this thesis, a generic VHDL model is presented, based on the IEEE 1363.1 draft standard, which is designed for adaptation to software or hardware implementation while providing flexibility for changes in recommended practices.


Spirulina platensis is a photoautotrophic mesophilic cyanobacterium. Its main sources of nutrients are nitrate, urea, and ammonium salts. Spirulina cultivation requires temperature, light intensity, and nutrient content control. This microalgae has been studied and used commercially due to its therapeutic and antioxidant potential. In addition, several studies have reported its ability to use CO2, its immune activity, and use as an adjuvant nutritive factor in the treatment of obesity. The objective of this study is the production of biomass of S. platensis using different rates of stirring, nitrogen source, amount of micronutrients, and luminosity. A 24 experimental design with the following factors: stirring (120 and 140 RPM), amount of nitrogen (1.5 and 2.5 g/L), amount of micronutrients (0,25 and 0,75 mL/L) (11 and 15 W), and luminosity was used. Fermentation was performed in a 500 mL conical flask with 250 mL of culture medium and 10% inoculum in an incubator with controlled stirring and luminosity. Fermentation was monitored using a spectrophotometer (560 nm), and each fermentation lasted 15 days. Of the parameters studied, luminosity is the one with the highest significance, followed by the amount of nitrogen and the interaction between stirring and micronutrients. Maximum production of biomass for 15 days was 2.70 g/L under the following conditions: luminosity15W; stirring, 120 RPM; source of nitrogen, 1.5 g/L; and micronutrients, 0.75 mL/L.


Abstract This study develops a relational model of institutional work. The past research implies that the nature of relationships between individual actors actually shapes the nature of institutional work the actors engage in. However, the research falls short of an explicit, systematic analysis of different relationships between the actors and their work implications. This study basically argues that the actors' power positions, which might be dominant or subordinate in relation to those of other actors, and their meaning frameworks, which might diverge from or converge with those of other actors, lead the actors to engage in a particular type of relationship with those other actors, and this relationship gives a particular form to the institutional work of the actors in relation. Hence, this study explicitly locates institutional work within the context of the relationships and highlights that institutional work is a relational rather than structural or individual phenomenon.


Instruments have become a central feature of psychological science. Their introduction into a research paradigm is typically framed in terms of their practical utility in offering calibration and precision in the presentation, representation, and recording of phenomena. However, a review of early experimental psychology reveals that instruments have an additional role in terms of the accumulation of domain-specific status, or prestige. The emergence and use of prestige technologies reflects a general feature of social organization wherein group members must compete for the attention of a community. An examination of the introduction of the chronoscope demonstrates that while there was an awareness of its functional limitations, these limits were often not prominent features of later paradigmatic discourse. In contrast to early adopters, later researchers appear to have demonstrated a reduced concern for these limitations suggesting that these instruments were being used as much for their prestige function as their practical utility.


This paper addresses God's existence, according to Hegel. Does God exist? For Hegel, the question does not make sense, because existence (basically the symbolic realm of language and thought - the realm of things) is inadequate to God's concept. People who ask the question, Does God exist? are in search of a proof or a ground in which to assure the questioner that God does or does not exist. Hegel argues, however, that any such ground is by definition finite. What Hegel does is to attack the question Does God exist? on the side of existence. Since existence implies finite things, any adduced ground of God is a finite thing that must waft away, like all other finite things. The paper analysis the middle chapters of essence in Hegel's monumental Science of Logic. It is the fifth nstallment of the author's attempt to explicate this neglected work with a pictographic system that illustrates every logical step Hegel makes in his master work. The middle chapters of essence analyze the nature of things and show them to be finite. The import of Hegel's analysis upon the metaphysics is that any purported ground of God - some specific proof - is itself a thing that is finite and must waft away. Only when the deck is cleared of all finite things can God (in its infinitude) be appreciated in its true notion. The paper defers, however, for a later day, Hegel's ultimate ontological proof of God which exceeds the mediocre realm of mere existence.


The effect of dietary phytase on phytate– P availability was investigated using 800 unsexed Lohman broiler chickens, from 21 to 49 days of age, were assigned randomly to 4 treatments (4 replicates/ 50 chickens/ treatment). Diets were formulated to contain 3 non-phytate P (NPP; 0.368%, 0.262% and 0.128% in diet) and 3 levels of phytase (0, 200 and 400 U phytase/ kg diet). The 4 dietary treatments were: control (NPP=0.368%, NRC, 1994); T1, (NPP= 0.262% + 200 UP/ kg); T2, (NPP= 0.262% + 400 UP/ kg) and T3, (NPP= 0.128% + 400 UP/ kg). Blood, bone, meat from breast and thigh and liver samples were collected for further analysis. At 49 days old, a significantly (P<0.05) higher final body weight and lower Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were found in chickens from the T1 and T2 groups compared with chicken from the control and T3. Calcium (Ca) concentration in blood serum and Ca% in drumstick and thigh bones were significantly (P<0.001) higher in chickens in T1 and T2 compared with the control and T3. Phosphorus percentage in drumstick bones was significantly (p<0.05) higher in T1 and T3 compared with the control and T2, but in thigh bones it was significantly higher in T2 compared with the control and T3. A significantly higher percentage of crude protein (P<0.001) and lower crude fat (P<0.05) in breast and thigh meat were detected in T1 and T2 compared with the other two groups. Moreover, bone strength (kg force) of drumstick and thigh were significantly (P< 0.05) improved by adding phytase enzyme with 0.262% of NPP in diet. In conclusion, this data suggested that adding phytase to broiler finisher diet improved the general performance and meat quality especially when NPP was reduced by 28.8% of the recommended level by NRC.


We present a black-box messaging test approach employed to achieve a level of rigor which improves, if not assures (given no optionality and fully constrained), correct data exchange. In particular, verifying that physiological information derived and communicated via messaging from a source medical device (e.g., an infusion pump) or healthcare information system, to another medical device (e.g., a patient monitor) or healthcare information system which consumes or make use of the data is syntactically and semantically correct. Our approach for developing a test system to validate messages is based on constraining identified and recognized specifications. The test system validation performed uses codified assertions derived from the specifications and constraints placed upon those specifications. To first show conformance which subsequently enables interoperability, these assertions, which are atomic requirements traceable by clause to the base specifications, are employed by our medical device test tools to rigorously enforce standards to facilitate safe and effective plug-and-play information exchange.


Background:
Within the routine practice, specific screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been recommended, in order to facilitate early intervention and improve outcomes. Despite the substantial advantages of this process, it has also presented a variety of challenges, across clinical settings, which have not yet been explored sufficiently. There is little information available to support the introduction of ASD screening in Oman. Research is required to identify the potential facilitators of and barriers to ASD screening in Oman, prior to the implementation of a screening programme, to ensure its successful introduction.

Method:
An exploratory mixed-methods design was adopted, in two sequential phases. Phase 1 involved two focus group discussions, with seven nurses and six GPs, from primary health care (PHC) settings in Oman. The participants were recruited using a purposive and snowballing technique. The discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Framework Analysis was used to identify recurrent themes within and across groups. Data from the focus groups was then used to inform the development of a questionnaire, which was piloted on a sub-sample of volunteers from both groups. Phase two (quantitative phase) comprised of sending the final draft of the questionnaire to a random sample of primary health care providers (PHPs) (n=571) across Oman. The returned data was analysed statistically with the software program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0). The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was then applied to interpret the final data from both phases and to draw conclusions.

Results:
Qualitative data analysis revealed five themes, which voiced the major challenges facing ASD screening in Oman, as well as highlighting a few facilitators. The findings revealed that both nurses and GPs believed that introducing screening for ASD would be a positive step. However, they felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities and believed that their workplaces lacked the necessary infrastructure. Practitioners' awareness of ASD services was identified as poor, as were the essential skills required for undertaking screening. Additionally, limited public awareness of ASD and a strong interest in traditional medicine, as well as the social stigma attributed to ASD, were thought to create barriers to screening. The groups also discussed their preference for a clear, simple, paper-based questionnaire, supported with guidance and researcher availability to reward their willingness to participate.
The findings from the focus group informed the development of a 38-item questionnaire to explore the potential barriers to and facilitators of the introduction of ASD screening in Oman. The questionnaire was short so that it could be completed within 15 minutes.

Five hundred and seventy-one questionnaires were sent to a random sample of PHP providers across Oman. Of those, five hundred and sixteen questionnaires were returned, in phase 2 (response rate 90.37%). The quantitative results of this phase were congruent with the qualitative findings, in that they suggested a deficit in the knowledge of professionals, among both older respondents and nurse respondents. In addition, a lack of resources, time constraints, workload issues and staff shortages were highlighted. The respondents also emphasised the ambiguity surrounding their role and the lack of guidance on protocols to identify or refer suspected cases. This was compounded by a lack of public awareness and knowledge of ASD identification and its potential causes, as well as the attributed social stigma.

Conclusions:
The root challenges and potential facilitators for screening for ASD were examined, through the SEM. Challenges were addressed and resolved across three levels (intrapersonal, organisational, and community). At the intrapersonal level, more training and knowledge regarding ASD is required. Organisations need to implement a clear protocol, to guide the process, with greater coordination and collaboration among services. A country-wide awareness campaign, targeting social issues, may reduce the stigma and improve the uptake of screening.


alpha 2-Adrenergic receptors (alpha 2-ARs) regulate a wide range of physiological functions and are targets for clinically important antihypertensive and anesthetic agents. Three genes encoding alpha 2-AR subtypes have been cloned in humans and mice, but the physiological significance of each subtype has not been completely characterized. The available agonist and antagonist compounds are not sufficiently subtype selective to allow the unambiguous dissection of these receptors in vivo. As an alternative approach, we have used gene targeting in embryonic stem cells to disrupt the Adra2c gene, which encodes the alpha 2c-AR subtype in mice. Adra2c-/Adra2c- animals do not express a functional alpha 2c-AR transcript, as detected by Northern blotting or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. In addition, these mice have markedly reduced [3H]rauwolscine binding in their caudate putamen and in other brain regions normally expressing Adra2c binding sites. Adra2c-/Adra2c- mice, however, are viable and fertile and appear grossly normal. Expression levels of Adra2a and Adra2b mRNA in brain and kidney are not altered by the Adra2c knockout. These data suggest that up-regulation of Adra2a or Adra2b does not compensate for the Adra2c deficiency and that the receptor encoded by Adra2c is not required for normal mouse development or for survival in a laboratory environment.


This study assesses the economic and greenhouse gas emissions impacts of a proposed 400MW wind farm in Hawaii. Due to its island setting, this project is a hybrid between an onshore and offshore wind development. The turbines are planned for the island(s) of Lanai and, potentially, Molokai. The project includes building an undersea cable to bring the power to the population center of Oahu. It is motivated by 1) Hawaii's high electricity rates, which are nearly three times the national average, and 2) its Renewable Portfolio Standard mandating that 40% of electricity sales be met through renewable sources by the year 2030. We use an economy-wide computable general equilibrium model of Hawaii's economy coupled with a detailed dynamic optimization model for the electric sector. We find that the 400MW wind project competes with imported biofuel as a least-cost means of meeting the RPS mandate. As such, the wind project serves as a "hedge" against potentially rising and volatile fuel prices, including biofuel. Though its net positive macroeconomic impacts are small, the estimated reduction by 9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions makes the project a cost-effective approach to GHG reduction. Moreover, variability in imported fuel costs are found to be a much more dominant factor in determining cost-effectiveness than potential cost overruns in the wind project's construction.


Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is a cytokine produced by alveolar macrophages in response to LPS in the lung. Clara cells are bronchiolar epithelial cells that produce a variety of proinflammatory cytokines in response to LPS but not to TNF-alpha. In this study, we examined whether TNF-alpha affects Clara cell cytokine production in the setting of LPS stimulation. Using a transformed murine Clara cell line (C22), we observed that both LPS and TNF-alpha induced production of keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1. We also found that simultaneous LPS and TNF-alpha stimulation is synergistic for KC production, but additive for MCP-1 production. By using a Transwell coculture system of RAW264.7 macrophages and Clara cells isolated from C57Bl/6 mice, we found that macrophages produce a soluble factor that enhances Clara cell KC production in response to LPS. Cocultures of Clara cells from mice deficient in TNF-alpha receptors with RAW264.7 macrophages demonstrated that the effect of macrophages on Clara cells is mediated primarily via TNF-alpha. To determine whether these findings occur in vivo, we treated wild-type and TNF receptor-deficient mice intratracheally with LPS and examined the expression of KC. LPS-treated, TNF receptor-deficient mice showed much less KC mRNA in airway epithelial cells compared with wild-type mice. In contrast, a similar number of KC-expressing cells was seen in the lung periphery. Thus, upregulation of KC by Clara cells in the setting of LPS stimulation is largely dependent on TNF-alpha originating from alveolar macrophages. These findings shed light on macrophage-Clara cell interactions in regulating the pulmonary inflammatory response to LPS.


In this paper we present a waveform relaxation approach for the transient analysis of 3-D electromagnetic problems using the partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) method. Relying on weaker couplings among separated systems, a waveform relaxation scheme is proposed to accelerate the transient analysis of large electromagnetic problems. The results are compared with those obtained using a conventional PEEC formulation. They exhibit a significant speed-up while preserving the solution accuracy.


Background Despite numerous studies indicating the positive effects of exercise and psychological stress reduction in patients with autoimmune disease, these therapeutic modalities are currently underemphasized due to the absence of comprehensive immunological characterization and regimen standardization. Objectives In order to examine the influence on the immune system at the cellular and tissue level, disease pathology was analyzed in the NZM2410 mouse model of lupus nephritis. To translate these results and begin to characterize a consensus treatment regimen, a pilot cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with active disease was enrolled into a daily Tai Chi program, which emphasized moderate exercise levels with meditative breathing to provide daily physical activity and stress reduction. Methods Mice were exercised daily by treadmill walking at moderate intensity. Social disruption stress was induced in mice by disturbing the social order within an established hierarchy. All mice were removed from the study when experimental removal criteria was reached [blood urea nitrogen (BUN)>50 mg/dL; weight loss>20%]. Kidney tissue and serum were collected from mice at experimental endpoint. SLE patients completed daily Tai Chi exercises and data was collected at baseline and throughout the study via questionnaires to access physical activity and stress levels, activity trackers (Fitbit), and serum sample analysis. Results Histopathological analysis of NZM2410 mice demonstrated that psychosocial stress induction significantly exacerbated and daily moderate exercise significantly reduced lupus nephritis disease pathology, as measured by BUN levels, complement component 3 and IgG complex deposition in glomeruli, pathological grading of H&E-stained kidney sections, and renal macrophage infiltration. Furthermore, stressors induced levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β, while exercise suppressed IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, and CXCL1 in mice. Compared to baseline data, questionnaires confirmed a significant reduction in perceived social stress and an increase in combined metabolic equivalent of task (MET) and overall physical activity in SLE patients. Moreover, fitness activity tracker data showed a significant increase in steps, distance, and activity calories with no changes in body mass index or vigorous activity levels. Interestingly, this correlated with an increased average time in bed each night. Analysis of pro-inflammatory serum cytokine expression revealed suppression in the relative fold change of IL-6 by 23%, IL-8 by 30%, TNF-α by 11%, and IFN-γ by 21% with Tai Chi. Conclusions These data suggest that moderate exercise and stress management can have potent immunoregulatory effects on the chronic, systemic inflammation associated with SLE and identify daily Tai Chi exercise as a viable adjunct therapy to compliment current pharmacological interventions. References Wang C, et al. A randomized trial of tai chi for fibromyalgia. The New England journal of medicine 2010, 363(8): 743–754. Acknowledgements Funding: Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and Wexner Medical Center. Disclosure of Interest None declared


We prove that any graph G=(V,E) with n points and m edges has a spanning tree T such that ∑(u,v)∈ E(G)dT(u,v) = O(m log n log log n). Moreover such a tree can be found in time O(m log n log log n). Our result is obtained using a new petal-decomposition approach which guarantees that the radius of each cluster in the tree is at most 4 times the radius of the induced subgraph of the cluster in the original graph.