Introduction: Body image is one of the most important issues in women's mental health and due to its relationship with physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of women's life; it can predict their healthy or unhealthy behaviors. According to some research reports, women's negative or positive body image can affect their marital relationships. Considering the impact of infertility on both body image and marital adjustment and the lack of evidence regarding the relationship of these two variables in infertility, this study aimed to investigate the relationship of body image with marital adjustment in infertile women in 2010 in Mashhad. Methods: This correlational study was carried out on 130 infertile women referred to Montaserie Infertility Research Center in Mashhad who were selected through convenient sampling. Research tools were consisted of valid and reliable demographic questionnaire including personal and infertility-related information, modified Younesi Body Image Questionnaire and Spanier marital adjustment scale (DAS) which were completed by subjects. Data analysis was carried out by SPSS software (version 15/5) using t-tests, one way ANOVA, and Spearman and Pearson correlation test. Results: 93/1% of women reported positive body image and 76/9% had high marital adjustment. There was a direct correlation between the overall score of body image with marital adjustment (P<0/001). There was also a direct correlation between the scores of body image subscales including body in loneliness (P= 0/001), real body (P=0/014), public image of body (P=0/016), spouse image of body (P<0/001) and spouse family image of body (P<0/001) with marital adjustment. However, this relationship was not observed between the subscale of ideal body and marital adjustment. Conclusion: The presence of a direct correlation between body image and marital adjustment could guide developing educational or counseling programs particularly for infertile women who suffer from marital disputes. Keywords: Body image, Marital adjustment, Infertility


The utilization of metallic anodes holds promise for unlocking high gravimetric and volumetric energy densities and is pivotal to the adoption of 'beyond Li' battery chemistries. Much of the promise of magnesium batteries stems from claims regarding their lower predilection for dendrite growth. Whilst considerable effort has been invested in the design of novel electrolytes and cathodes, detailed studies of Mg plating are scarce. Using galvanostatic electrodeposition of metallic Mg from Grignard reagents in symmetric Mg–Mg cells, we establish a phase map characterized by disparate morphologies spanning the range from fractal aggregates of 2D nanoplatelets to highly anisotropic dendrites with singular growth fronts and nanowires entangled in the form of mats. The effects of electrolyte concentration, applied current density, and coordinating ligands have been explored. The study demonstrates a complex range of electrodeposited morphologies including canonical dendrites with shear moduli conducive to penetration through typical polymeric separators. We further demonstrate a strategy for mitigating Mg dendrite formation based on the addition of molecular Lewis bases that promote nanowire growth through selective surface coordination.


with a glass of water and no harm results. One man is reported to have taken one tablet with water four times a day for several weeks without ill effect.1 However, should oesophageal hold-up occur for more than a few seconds, localized thermal and caustic burning occurs as the tablet effervesces. Of 16 cases of Clinitest tablet ingestion reported in the literature, 13 were followed up; strictures developed in 11 of these, five of them in young children. Some were treated by repeated oesophageal bouginage, while others required segmental resection.2 3 To prevent accidental ingestion of Clinitest tablets I suggest that patients should be advised to keep their urine-testing tablets away from medications and out of the reach of children. It is important that the prescriber inform diabetics with poor vision who cannot read identifying labels that a Clinitest bottle is easily recognized by the ridges palpable in its surface. These ridges indicate that the contents are poison.I am, etc., R. J. PAYTEN


The most recent CDC guidelines for treatment of STDs list a number of syndromes for which ceftriaxone is the recommended therapy, including those caused by N. gonorrhoeae and H. ducreyi. The drug has successfully eradicated incubating syphilis. Its use in primary, secondary, and latent syphilis is promising, although adequate data regarding optimal dose and duration of therapy are not yet available. It remains to be seen whether ceftriaxone represents the sun rising on a new era of successful STD treatment or the sun setting on the old penicillin era.


There is a great deal of late bidding on internet second price auctions. We show that this need not result from either common value properties of the objects being sold, or irrational behavior: late bidding can occur at equilibrium even in private value auctions. The reason is that very late bids have a positive probability of not being successfully submitted, and this opens a way for bidders to implicitly collude, and avoid bidding wars, in auctions such as those run by eBay, which have a fixed end time. A natural experiment is available because the auctions on Amazon, while operating under otherwise similar rules, do not have a fixed end time, but continue if necessary past the scheduled end time until ten minutes have passed without a bid. The strategic differences in the auction rules are reflected in the auction data by significantly more late bidding on eBay than on Amazon. Futhermore, more experienced bidders on eBay submit late bids more often than do less experienced bidders, while the effect of experience on Amazon goes in the opposite direction. On eBay, there is also more late bidding for antiques than for computers. We also find scale independence in the distribution over time of bidders' last bids, of a form strikingly similar to the deadline effect' noted in bargaining: last bids are distributed according to a power law. The evidence suggests that multiple causes contribute to late bidding, with strategic issues related to the rules about ending the auction playing an important role.


: The paper analyses the relationship between succession and firm performance. Applying a non-parametric matching approach on a panel of roughly 4,000 Austrian family firms we evaluate the impact of past succession as well as future succession plans on employment growth. Analysing succession plans, we do not find a 'shadow of succession' effect. No significant difference in employment growth is found between firms that plan to transfer the firm in the next ten years and those who do not. In contrast, past succession exerts a significant and positive employment growth effect which becomes stronger over time. Thus, our findings provide support for the existence of a positive employment shadow after a transfer, whereas the shadow of succession hypothesis has to be rejected prior to transition.


ABSTRACT We analyse whether a newspaper's editorial position regarding the European Union is related to its selection decisions in the news section. We ask whether such a synchronization between news and editorials exists, whether it is conditioned by the type of media system and under which conditions it also affects the selection of transnational voices. Our study is based on a quantitative content analysis of the quality press in seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom) in the run-up to the 2014 European Parliament elections. Our results support a synchronization between editorials and news, specifically with regard to the selection of national speakers. With regard to transnational speakers, they are selectively chosen by a medium if its editorial position is not supported at the national level. Furthermore, they are used to put forward a portrayal of a political community in accordance with the editorial line.


Durham University was established in 1832. Since 1969 two attempts were made to computerise its current student records but without adequate preliminary investigation and system design. The record archives since 1932 are therefore a hybrid of manual and computerised arrangements with some periods more readily accessible than others but no single arrangement adequate for user requirements. In this thesis the existing arrangements and users' needs are analysed in the context of their available facilities and a comprehensive student record system is designed. The suitability for this purpose of the recently available SPIRES data base is investigated, trial led and found to meet with user satisfaction.


Communities of microscopic dinoflagellates are omnipresent in aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, their traits drive community processes with profound effects on global biogeochemistry. Species traits are, however, not necessarily static but respond to environmental changes in order to maintain fitness and may differ with cell size that scales physiological rates. Comprehending such trait characteristics is necessary for a mechanistic understanding of plankton community dynamics and resulting biogeochemical impacts. Here, we used information theory to analyze metatranscriptomes of micro- and nano-dinoflagellate communities in three ecosystems. Measures of gene expression variations were set as a proxy to determine conserved and plastic community traits and the environmental influence on trait changes. Using metabarcoding, we further investigated if communities with a more similar taxon composition also express more similar traits. Our results indicate that plastic community traits mainly arise from membrane vesicle associated processes in all the environments we investigated. A specific environmental influence on trait plasticity was observed to arise from nitrogen availability in both size classes. Species interactions also appeared to be responsible for trait plasticity in the smaller-sized dinoflagellates. Additionally, the smaller-sized dinoflagellate communities are characterized by the expression of a large pool of habitat specific genes despite being taxonomically more similar across the habitats, in contrast to the microplanktonic assemblages that adapted to their environments by changing species composition. Our data highlight the functional diversification on the gene level as a signature of smaller sized dinoflagellates, nitrogen availability and species interactions as drivers of trait plasticity, and traits most likely linked to fitness and community performance.


In the face of modernity and a host of social and economic challenges facing our communities, the loss of traditional cultures and ways of life has become an ever increasing concern. This is particularly disturbing in areas characterized by strong oral traditions and unique characteristics largely shaped by their cultural behaviors, such as storytelling, music, and social integration mechanisms. In the current environment of change and cultural loss, we believe that aspects of traditional culture deserve more attention in understanding contemporary community change and positive development. Based on exploratory research and a wide range of key informant interviews conducted throughout Appalachia, we explore the process and significance of creative cultural practices, particularly based on "tradition," as mechanisms for generating community interaction, retaining and communicating collective knowledge, and the implications of such practices on community and social well-being. As such, we present an integrated conceptual model to demonstrate what we see as significant connections and justifications in making the case for endogenous culture and traditions as beneficial to the emergence of "community."


In previous parts of this tutorial series, several data processing techniques have been introduced to benefit members of the Instrumentation and Measurement Society (IMS). These include the Fourier transform [1], the wavelet transform [2], and correlation dimension analysis [3]. The first two techniques have been widely used in various engineering domains, and the underlying principle of those techniques comes from linear system theory. On the other hand, correlation dimension analysis is rooted in non-linear dynamics, and it has been used to interpret signals measured from physical systems where non-linear behaviors exist. With the advance of non-linear dynamics, more and more non-linear statistical parameters have been introduced to characterize physical systems from measured data [4]-[6]. Among these, the complexity measure has been applied to measuring depth of anesthesia for patients [7], detecting human motions [8], identifying image features for compression [9], and assessing machine failures [10]. In this article, we provide an introduction to how the complexity measure is calculated as an indicator for characterizing many of the signals measured during experiments in engineering practice and show its application in the field of bearing degradation measurement.


Background: Endophytes have been identified in various plant species; however, only a few studies have been conducted to explore the endophytic fungi folklore in fruit-bearing plants. The present study was conducted to enumerate the foliar endophytes of Solanum lycopersicum . Materials and Methods: The leaf samples of S. lycopersicum were harvested in four different seasons during the year 2020-2021. Samples were surface sterilized with 0.2% HgCl 2 , inoculated onto potato dextrose agar, amended with 0.12mg/ml chloramphenicol and incubated at 25-32°C with exposure to light and dark cycles. Identification was done by morphological typing. Results: Leaf samples harboured endophytes in all sampling seasons; however, season Sept-Nov which observed higher rainfall, witnessed more endophytes than the other seasons. The diversity of endophyte assemblage identified were hyphomycete and coelomycete species. Geotrichum sp., Phomopsis sp., Trichoderma sp., and Humicola sp. have proven their recurrence. Colletotrichum sp., being the dominant genus with higher colonization frequency, was found to be harboured in all sampling seasons. Conclusion: The study is the first of its kind in exploring the fungal endophytic profile in S. lycopersicum . Hence further studies are warranted to explore if the inherent endophytes of this plant confer any role in the metabolic physiology of the plant or host-pathogen interaction.


Value addition is an important concept in Nigeria's agriculture, including the livestock sub-sector. Its definition is often given with special emphasis on and with respect to agricultural products. However, the general principle in value addition is the process of transforming resources, including human, from its original state to a more valuable state. In the livestock industry, human is a critical resource and adding value to its status should be the arrow head of developing the sub-sector. Most people in the sub-sector are academically sound and technically competent in their respective fields of specialisation but gaps exist in their management skills and acumen. There is the need for value addition to the human managerial skills of Officers managing livestock activities in the country. Governments at all levels should endeavour to provide financial and institutional supports towards the achievement of this goal. This will provide impetus on fully actualising the robust agricultural transformation agenda of the country.


Under a multi-centre study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1511 samples of parboiled rice were collected from rural and urban areas of 11 states representing different geographical regions of India. These samples were analysed for contamination with aflatoxin B1. The presence of aflatoxin B1 at levels ≥ 5 μg kg−1 was found in 38.5% of the total number of samples of the parboiled rice. About 17% of the total samples showed the presence of aflatoxin B1 above the Indian regulatory limit of 30 μg kg−1. No statistically significant difference in percentage of samples contaminated with >30 μg kg−1 was observed between pooled rural (19.4%) and urban (14.5%) data. A median value of 15 μg kg−1 of aflatoxin B1 was observed in samples from Assam, Bihar and Tripura. In all other states surveyed the median value was <5 μg kg−1.


There is increasing evidence suggesting that amyloidogenic proteins might form deposits in non-neuronal tissues in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases. However, the detection of these aggregation-prone proteins within the human skin has been controversial. Using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and mass spectrometry tissue imaging (MALDI-MSI), fresh frozen human skin samples were analyzed for the expression and localization of neurodegenerative disease-related proteins. While α-synuclein was detected throughout the epidermal layer of the auricular samples (IHC and MALDI-MSI), tau and Aβ34 were also localized to the epidermal layer (IHC). In addition to Aβ peptides of varying length (e.g., Aβ40, Aβ42, Aβ34), we also were able to detect inflammatory markers within the same sample sets (e.g., thymosin β-4, psoriasin). While previous literature has described α-synuclein in the nucleus of neurons (e.g., Parkinson's disease), our current detection of α-synuclein in the nucleus of skin cells is novel. Imaging of α-synuclein or tau revealed that their presence was similar between the young and old samples in our present study. Future work may reveal differences relevant for diagnosis between these proteins at the molecular level (e.g., age-dependent post-translational modifications). Our novel detection of Aβ34 in human skin suggests that, just like in the brain, it may represent a stable intermediate of the Aβ40 and Aβ42 degradation pathway.


This article presents an extension of the cohort-component model of population projection (CCMPP) first formulated by Heuveline (2003) that is capable of modeling a population affected by HIV. Heuveline proposes a maximum likelihood approach to estimate the age profile of HIV incidence that produced the HIV epidemics in East Africa during the 1990s. We extend this work by developing the Leslie matrix representation of the CCMPP, which greatly facilitates the implementation of the model for parameter estimation and projection. The Leslie matrix also contains information about the stable tendencies of the corresponding population, such as the stable age distribution and time to stability. Another contribution of this work is that we update the sources of data used to estimate the parameters, and use these data to estimate a modified version of the CCMPP that includes (estimated) parameters governing the survival experience of the infected population. A further application of the model to a small population with high HIV prevalence in rural South Africa is presented as an additional demonstration. This work lays the foundation for development of more robust and flexible Bayesian estimation methods that will greatly enhance the utility of this and similar models.


Variation in gene content among strains of a bacterial species contributes to biomedically relevant differences in phenotypes such as virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes a diverse array of human infections and sequelae, and exhibits a complex pathogenic behavior. To enhance our understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships in this important pathogen, we determined the complete genome sequences of four GAS strains expressing M protein serotypes (M2, M4, and 2 M12) that commonly cause noninvasive and invasive infections. These sequences were compared with eight previously determined GAS genomes and regions of variably present gene content were assessed. Consistent with the previously determined genomes, each of the new genomes is ,1.9 Mb in size, with ,10% of the gene content of each encoded on variably present exogenous genetic elements. Like the other GAS genomes, these four genomes are polylysogenic and prophage encode the majority of the variably present gene content of each. In contrast to most of the previously determined genomes, multiple exogenous integrated conjugative elements (ICEs) with characteristics of conjugative transposons and plasmids are present in these new genomes. Cumulatively, 242 new GAS metagenome genes were identified that were not present in the previously sequenced genomes. Importantly, ICEs accounted for 41% of the new GAS metagenome gene content identified in these four genomes. Two large ICEs, designated 2096-RD.2 (63 kb) and 10750-RD.2 (49 kb), have multiple genes encoding resistance to antimicrobial agents, including tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively. Also resident on these ICEs are three genes encoding inferred extracellular proteins of unknown function, including a predicted cell surface protein that is only present in the genome of the serotype M12 strain cultured from a patient with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. The data provide new information about the GAS metagenome and will assist studies of pathogenesis, antimicrobial resistance, and population genomics.


An approach to improving attenuation cutoffs is proposed to linear phase filters based on the Lagrangean B-filters approximating the ideal low-pass filter. The impulse response of the mth order Lagragean B-filter holds a non-negative even function symmetry, and all its derivatives of order up to (m-1) are continuos. Hence, the B-filters have linear phase properties in nature. The mth order B-filters are connected in parallel in view of more convenient implementations of circuits than conventional cases, and then each peak component of sidelobe spectra standing close by the main lobes of their frequency domains is cancelled out. This can result in sharper attenuation cutoffs than the mth order B-filter. These mth order linear phase filters realized by this method preserve the bandwith and the asymptotic decay rate of the sidelobe envelope in the mth order B-filter. This approach is illustrated by a few numerical examples.


Neural networks have achieved success in a wide array of perceptual tasks, but it is often stated that they are incapable of solving tasks that require higher-level reasoning. Two new task domains, CLEVRER and CATER, have recently been developed to focus on reasoning, as opposed to perception, in the context of spatio-temporal interactions between objects. Initial experiments on these domains found that neuro-symbolic approaches, which couple a logic engine and language parser with a neural perceptual front-end, substantially outperform fully-learned distributed networks, a finding that was taken to support the above thesis. Here, we show on the contrary that a fully-learned neural network with the right inductive biases can perform substantially better than all previous neural-symbolic models on both of these tasks, particularly on questions that most emphasize reasoning over perception. Our model makes critical use of both self-attention and learned "soft" object-centric representations, as well as BERT-style semi-supervised predictive losses. These flexible biases allow our model to surpass the previous neuro-symbolic state-of-the-art using less than 60% of available labelled data. Together, these results refute the neuro-symbolic thesis laid out by previous work involving these datasets, and they provide evidence that neural networks can indeed learn to reason effectively about the causal, dynamic structure of physical events.


Along with the rapid developments of both wireless and mobility technology, as the cellular phones are with extraordinary processing speed and abundant functions, there are creations of various innovative applications of Ubiquitous Computing. In order to improve the traditional product settlement which easily lead to a long waiting line for product checkouts in front of the cash registers of supermarkets for the POS system and one dimension product labeling which is resulted the erasion or identified difficulty, we introduce the QR-Code technique as product information management technology and adopt the locating of GPS as auxiliary marketing tool to help track each customer's shopping paths and personal preference. We utilize of QR-Code Encoding and Decoding functions of the cellular phone, recording quickly of to-buy list inside of cellular phone product purchasing list, as well as offering functions such as product information instant check-up, price comparing and record on file without being limited by time and location, in order to let the consumers be able to enjoy the benefits of instant information with access at any time through mobility network. This is however to make savings on the time for many consumers waiting in line for product to be scanned, and through both on-line price comparing module and customized advertisement functions in the system, to provide the consumers with access at any time on the comparison of product prices.


BACKGROUND
Malignant ascites, a complication often seen in patients with ovarian cancer (OC), is difficult to treat, but hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has a good efficacy.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with HIPEC for controlling malignant ascites from OC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From December 2009 until December 2014, 53 patients with OC and malignant ascites were treated with CRS and HIPEC. Patients in good health condition were treated with CRS followed by HIPEC (CRS + HIPEC), and patients in poor health condition were treated initially with B-mode ultrasound-guided HIPEC followed by delayed CRS upon improvement of their health condition (HIPEC + delayed CRS). Resolution of ascites, complete CRS, overall survival, and disease-free survival were analyzed.

RESULTS
All patients showed ascites regression. The total objective remission rate was 100%, even for patients in the poor condition group before CRS. Complete CRS was successful in 30 (88.23%) of 34 patients in the good condition group, and 17 (89.47%) of 19 patients in the poor condition group (P > 0.05). Median disease-free survival and median overall survival were 21 and 39 months in the good condition group, and 22 and 38 months in the poor condition group, respectively (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy is effective at controlling ascites in patients with OC, even for patients in poor condition before CRS, or when complete CRS is not feasible. Furthermore, the regression of ascites appears not to be dependent on complete resection.


Visual analytics applications (VAApps) rely heavily on visual representations and notations to communicate information and support user interaction. The visual representations themselves are the main communication form used by designers, reflecting their interpretation of what data aspects should be highlighted and how users can explore the data. Ultimately, the combination of representation and interactivity guides the user's data analysis in VAApp. To keep the VAApp development centered in their users, the design team must pay special attention to the visual representations and their underlying interaction mechanisms. Our team is developing HistoryViewer, a VAApp itself for users to explore log data obtained from interactions with other ("source") VAApps (VAAppsrc). During the development of HistoryViewer and the instrumentation of a VAAppsrc, we noticed unanticipated benefits for the development of the VAAppsrc itself. This paper presents our HistoryViewer system, proposes an architecture for VAApps integrated with our log model, discussing some ancillary benefits of such instrumentation. Finally, it reports two empirical studies conducted to gather potential users' opinions about HistoryViewer, which revealed positive attitudes towards the system and pointed to opportunities for improvement.


Abstract. Efficient segmentation editing tools are important components in the segmentation process, as no automatic methods exist that always generate sufficient results. Evaluating segmentation editing algorithms is challenging, because their quality depends on the user's subjective impression. So far, no established methods for an objective, comprehensive evaluation of such tools exist and, particularly, intermediate segmentation results are not taken into account. We discuss the evaluation of editing algorithms in the context of tumor segmentation in computed tomography. We propose a rating scheme to qualitatively measure the accuracy and efficiency of editing tools in user studies. In order to objectively summarize the overall quality, we propose two scores based on the subjective rating and the quantified segmentation quality over time. Finally, a simulation-based evaluation approach is discussed, which allows a more reproducible evaluation without the need for human input. This automated evaluation complements user studies, allowing a more convincing evaluation, particularly during development, where frequent user studies are not possible. The proposed methods have been used to evaluate two dedicated editing algorithms on 131 representative tumor segmentations. We show how the comparison of editing algorithms benefits from the proposed methods. Our results also show the correlation of the suggested quality score with the qualitative ratings.


The title for this thesis "An Economic Analysis of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)" has been selected due to its topicality and its explosiveness. The stimulus to write this paper originates in the wish to get a deeper insight into the topic, which has been treated majorly under exclusion of the public, and to be able to make a clear statement whether to support or to oppose the partnership. In order to answer this final question, it is also tested whether results from former agreements like NAFTA or Mercosur can serve as a guideline to what can be expected of TTIP. Additionally, the paper aims at making a final statement about the implications of the partnership for the future. To do this, the present paper covers two main subjects. First, it provides an overview of the history of free trade, the different forms of agreements, as well as an insight into the experiences made with NAFTA and Mercosur. This first part is concluded with an estimation of the results and motivations of and for free trade agreements, as well as a transition to the second main subject by naming the impacts of the findings for the planned TTIP treaty. Secondly, after providing a broad overview of TTIP by giving an insight into the definition and the process of formation of the partnership, the benefits and concerns of the deal are revealed. This part is followed by a broad study of ten indicators, which outline the real effects of TTIP on the economy, by distinguishing between three different scenarios. The thesis is concluded by presenting the findings from the former analysis. Although NAFTA and Mercosur do not provide applicable experiences, they still serve as points of orientation and suggest that free trade should be supported. Thus, the planned partnership should also be agreed upon in order to go with the pace of time and to stay competitive. If this is the case, TTIP will be a leading example in the future, motivating more nations to either join the partnership or to form ones by themselves.


Visual Abstract Key Points IL-2 and CD107a expression in HIV-specific T cells is enhanced with IC blockade. Combinations of two Abs to LAG-3, CTLA-4, or TIGIT showed the greatest activity. CD8 count and CD4/CD8 ratio correlate with magnitude of response to IC blockade. In people with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), immune dysfunction persists, including elevated expression of immune checkpoint (IC) proteins on total and HIV-specific T cells. Reversing immune exhaustion is one strategy to enhance the elimination of HIV-infected cells that persist in PWH on ART. We aimed to evaluate whether blocking CTL-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), T cell Ig domain and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3), T cell Ig and ITIM domain (TIGIT) and lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) alone or in combination would enhance HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell function ex vivo. Intracellular cytokine staining was performed using human PBMCs from PWH on ART (n = 11) and expression of CD107a, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 was quantified with HIV peptides and Abs to IC. We found the following: 1) IC blockade enhanced the induction of CD107a and IL-2 but not IFN-γ and TNF-α in response to Gag and Nef peptides; 2) the induction of CD107a and IL-2 was greatest with multiple combinations of two Abs; and 3) Abs to LAG-3, CTLA-4, and TIGIT in combinations showed synergistic induction of IL-2 in HIV-specific CD8+ and CD107a and IL-2 production in HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. These results demonstrate that the combination of Abs to LAG-3, CTLA-4, or TIGIT can increase the frequency of cells expressing CD107a and IL-2 that associated with cytotoxicity and survival of HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in PWH on ART. These combinations should be further explored for an HIV cure.


***CASE HAS SPREADSHEET TO GO WITH IT (UVA-S-F-1328)***Dick Mayo, one of the most celebrated value investors in America, is puzzled by the New Economy's continuous bias toward growth-investment strategies. He examines the basics of his philosophy versus that of a growth orientation by evaluating the long-term expected returns of several value and growth stocks. This case can be used to pursue several objectives: (1) to define value and growth investing--where the differences lie and whether one approach is superior to the other or whether both have merit; and (2) to discuss issues concerning the consistency of one's investment philosophy. Should one stay true to one's philosophy even when the market seems to run counter to it for a prolonged period of time? Can value investing deliver value in this New Economy or is it only an Old Economy concept? Students are asked to perform basic valuations of Cisco Systems (a growth company), CVS, R.R. Donnelley, and Manor Care (value companies) and compute their long-term expected returns. The case comes with an Excel spreadsheet containing the data and relevant valuation ratios for the firms. The valuations are straightforward, but they tell an interesting story: the expected returns on glamorous stocks, in reality, may not be so glamorous.


The quad-HIDAC positron camera, designed for laboratory animal imaging, has been evaluated as a potential positron emission mammography system. With a detection efficiency for 511 keV photons of ~1.6% for a centrally placed line source and an intrinsic spatial resolution of 1.25 mm FWHM the camera has many of the attributes needed for PEM. Small spherical 'lesions' with volumes between 0.04ml and 0.46ml were imaged in a small 'breast' phantom filled with 68Ga. Results were compared to those obtained from a similar study carried out previously with the VUBPET system which had an average spatial resolution of ~3.5 mm. The data show that the HIDAC system was able to detect the smallest (4 mm diameter, 0.04 ml) lesion at a tumour to background (T/B) ratio of 5:1. The VUBPET system could just detect the 6 mm diameter lesion at a T/B ratio of 8:1. We conclude that for mammography an MWPC-based detector with high resolution would be fine and could be achieved by reducing the frame thicknesses of the MWPC on the side closest to the chest wall.


George, a 23-year-old Greek student, was referred by a psychiatrist for treatment to a University Counseling Centre in Athens. He was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and specific phobia situational type. He was complaining of panic attacks and severe symptoms of anxiety. These symptoms were triggered when in certain social situations and also when travelling by plane, driving a car and visiting tall buildings or high places. His symptoms lead him to avoid finding himself in such situations, to the point that it had affected his daily life. George was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and with specific phobia, situational type (in this case acrophobia) and was given 20 individual sessions of cognitivebehavior therapy. Following therapy, and follow-up occurring one month post treatment, George no longer met the criteria for social phobia and symptoms leading to acrophobia were reduced. He demonstrated improvements in many areas including driving a car in and out of Athens and visiting tall buildings.


In this study, it was aimed to examine the urinary system and to determine normal ultrasonographic appearance by rectal ultrasonography in Holstein cows. The study material consisted of 20 bladders, 20 urethras, and 20 right and 20 left kidneys, in 20 Holstein cows. A portable ultrasonograph combined with a 6 MHz linear rectal probe (transducer) was used for the examination. Bladder lumen was determined as an anechoic structure in the ventral aspect of the rectum and its wall was hyperechoic. By moving the probe caudally, the anechoic structure of the urethra was monitored. Right and left kidneys were examined after moving the probe cranio-dorsally. The lobular structure of the kidneys was determined in all cows. Cortex, medulla, renal parenchyma, renal sinus and medullar pyramids of kidneys were identified having different echogenic structures. It was concluded that rectal ultrasonographical examination can reliably be used to diagnose urinary system diseases in cows.


We report fluorescence microscopy studies of the formation of aster-like structures emerging from a cellular element-based active system and a novel analysis of the aster condensation. The system consists of rhodamine labeled microtubules which are dynamically coupled by functionalized kinesin motor proteins cross-linked via streptavidin-coated quantum dots (QDs). The aster-shaped objects contain core structures. The cores are aggregates of the QD-motor protein complexes, and result from the dynamic condensation of sub-clusters that are connected to each other randomly. The structural specificity of the aster core reflects a configuration of the initial connectivity between sub-clusters. Detailed image analysis allows us to extract a novel correlation between the condensation speed and the sub-cluster separation. The size of the core is scaled down during the condensation process, following a power law dependence on the distance between sub-clusters. The exponent of the power law is close to two, as expected from a geometric model. This single exponent common to all the contractile lines implies that there exists a time regime during which an isomorphic contraction of the aster core continues during the condensation process. We analyze the observed contraction by using a model system with potential applicability in a wide range of emergent phenomena in randomly coupled active networks, which are prevalent in the cellular environment.


Whole chromosomal instability (CIN), manifested as unequal chromosome distribution during cell division, is a distinguishing feature of most cancer types. CIN is generally considered to drive tumorigenesis, but a threshold level exists whereby further increases in CIN frequency in fact hinder tumor growth. While this attribute is appealing for therapeutic exploitation, drugs that increase CIN beyond this therapeutic threshold are currently limited. In our previous work, we developed a quantitative assay for measuring CIN based on the use of a nonessential human artificial chromosome (HAC) carrying a constitutively expressed EGFP transgene. Here, we used this assay to rank 62 different anticancer drugs with respect to their effects on chromosome transmission fidelity. Drugs with various mechanisms of action, such as antimicrotubule activity, histone deacetylase inhibition, mitotic checkpoint inhibition, and targeting of DNA replication and damage responses, were included in the analysis. Ranking of the drugs based on their ability to induce HAC loss revealed that paclitaxel, gemcitabine, dactylolide, LMP400, talazoparib, olaparib, peloruside A, GW843682, VX-680, and cisplatin were the top 10 drugs demonstrating HAC loss at a high frequency. Therefore, identification of currently used compounds that greatly increase chromosome mis-segregation rates should expedite the development of new therapeutic strategies to target and leverage the CIN phenotype in cancer cells.


We present a maximum likelihood (ML) method for semi-blind estimation of single-input multi-output (SIMO) flat-fading channels in spatially correlated noise having unknown covariance. An expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is utilized to compute the ML estimates of the channel and spatial noise covariance. We derive the Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bound (CRB) matrix for the unknown parameters and present a symbol detector that utilizes the EM channel estimates. Numerical simulations demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.


LACTIMED carried out a diagnosis of the dairy chain in Thessaly to help local authorities and support structures adopt a strategy for promoting the typical dairy products of their territory. This diagnosis report includes an overview of the dairy chain, the analysis of the results of field survey with producers, the identification of typical dairy products with their production specifications and information on the domestic market.


Background: Health literacy and knowledge is the persons' capabilities which allow them to understand basic health information to make their health decisions. Low understanding about the patients own condition is more associated with low medical knowledge and bad disease outcomes. Instructions should be given to patients for recovery to avoid complications. Aim: To evaluate health knowledge of orthopedic trauma patients regarding their own condition in two level 1 Trauma centers in Riyadh, KSA and the association between health knowledge and patients demographics. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 102 participants from 2 level 1 Trauma centers in Riyadh, in the period from the 1st of July 2018 to the 30th of September 2018. A survey was given to participants upon discharge after receiving discharge instruction. Results: 60.8% of the individuals had good knowledge. The mean rank score of males was 53.88, while for females it was 48.71, the highest mean rank was found in the age group 25-30 years old and it was 57.9, the highest mean rank regarding level of education was 56.93 for those with intermediate education and those with monthly income 5000 to 10000 SR had the highest score (64.2). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of health knowledge between orthopedic trauma patients regarding their own condition in Riyadh, KSA. Further multi center studies with a larger population should be conducted in order to asses and improve the health knowledge regarding the patients own condition among orthopedic patients and other specialties.


This paper examines how different unionisation structures affect firms' innovation incentives and industry employment. We distinguish three modes of unionisation with increasing degree of centralisation: (1) 'decentralisation' where wages are determined independently at the firm-level, (2) 'coordination' where one industry union sets individual wages for all firms and (3) 'centralisation' where an industry union sets a uniform wage rate for all firms. While firms' investment incentives are largest under 'centralisation', investment incentives are non-monotone in the degree of centralisation: 'decentralisation' carries higher investment incentives than 'coordination'. Labour market policy can spur innovation by decentralising unionisation structures or through non-discrimination rules. Copyright 2004 Royal Economic Society.


Hybrid quantum mechanics:molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations of absolute deprotonation energies are performed with periodic boundary conditions for Brønsted sites of aluminosilicate bilayers with various Al/Si ratios (two-dimensional zeolite). The supercell method is applied and density functional theory is used. Much lower values are obtained (1042, 1069 and 1091 kJ mol(-1) for Al/Si = 1/63, 1/7 and 1/3, respectively) than those for bulk zeolites (1233 kJ mol(-1) for H-chabazite with Al/Si = 1/11). We ascribe the much lower deprotonation energy to the smaller effective dielectric constant (1.6-1.9) of an ultra-thin dielectric in a vacuum compared to that of the corresponding bulk systems (3.0 for H-chabazite), which leads to a better stabilization of the charge created upon deprotonation.


Power load is significant for the power system load forecasting, system planning, and so on. Because of its subject to weather, climate and the impact of social systems, it shows complex nonlinear characteristics. Especially when the electricity market is established, its nonlinear dynamics is also guided by the market mechanism. Facing to this, a study is done based on the load data of a certain node in Zhejiang Province grid, extracted its Hurst exponent and the box dimension, calculated the maximum Lyapunov exponent and the K entropy. It proves the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of power load under electricity market, and reconstructs its phase space.


Having observed that ferritin levels fluctuate with episodes of inflammation we must establish whether this reflects (a) a nonspecific (iron-independent) stimulation of the inflamed reticuloendothelial cell to produce the protein apoferritin or (b) a genuine redistribution of iron from the serum, red cell, and possibly bone marrow compartments to the reticuloendothelial cell with the subsequent production of apoferritin. Both mechanisms could, of course, operate. Our data, derived from the study of serum, synovial fluid, and synovial membrane apoferritin concentrations, support the suggestion that both mechanisms are operating, but does not provide absolute proof. As we do not know if synovial fluid apoferritin contains iron we would prefer to describe what we measure, the protein, rather than what may or may not be inside this protein. As to our "remarkable" statement that the haemoglobin and red cell indices serve as an index of iron stores in healthy subjects, I am prompted to remind Dr Bentley and his coauthors that "the depletion of haemoglobin iron is the most obvious and easily measurable consequence of iron deficiency. With the diminution of red cell mass a compensatory increase in plasma volume occurs and consequently the haemoglobin of the blood falls."1 The observation that the haemoglobin and red cell indices do not correlate with iron stores in normal, healthy subjects is neither surprising nor important in clinical practice, and is not contradicted by our article. My point is simple. There is no need to measure serum ferritin in a normal individual who is not anaemic, and rarely any need in one who is. There may be a need in patients with inflammation. Lower limits of "normality" established from "normal" populations are not relevant to the rheumatoid population.


Immune responses to the gonococcus after natural infection ordinarily result in little immunity to reinfection, due to antigenic variation of the gonococcus, and redirection or suppression of immune responses. Brinton and colleagues demonstrated that parenteral immunization of male human volunteers with a purified pilus vaccine gave partial protection against infection by the homologous strain. However, the vaccine failed in a clinical trial. Recent vaccine development efforts have focused on the female mouse model of genital gonococcal infection. Here we discuss the state of the field, including our unpublished data regarding efficacy in the mouse model of either viral replicon particle (VRP) vaccines, or outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines. The OMV vaccines failed, despite excellent serum and mucosal antibody responses. Protection after a regimen consisting of a PorB-VRP prime plus recombinant PorB boost was correlated with apparent Th1, but not with antibody, responses. Protection probably was due to powerful adjuvant effects of the VRP vector. New tools including novel transgenic mice expressing human genes required for gonococcal infection should enable future research. Surrogates for immunity are needed. Increasing antimicrobial resistance trends among gonococci makes development of a vaccine more urgent.


Abstract Loturco, I, Grazioli, R, Veeck, F, Nakamura, FY, Inácio, M, Schons, P, Preissler, A, Pinto, RS, Pereira, LA, McGuigan, MR, and Cadore, EL. Effects of a short-term detraining period on the strength deficit and functional performance of highly trained soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 37(10): 2058–2063, 2023—The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a 4-week detraining period on the neuromuscular performance of highly trained soccer players. Pre and post detraining, 18 adult soccer players (age: 27 ± 4.9 years; height: 180.2 ± 7.1 cm; body mass [BM]: 78.9 ± 7.6 kg) performed vertical jumps, 20-m linear sprints, curve sprint and change of direction speed tests, and a progressive loading test in the half-squat exercise with loads corresponding to 50, 100, and 150% of the players' BM to assess the peak-force (PF), mean power (MP), and strength-deficit (SDef). Pre and post differences in the variables of interest were analyzed using paired t-tests and effect sizes (ES). No significant changes were detected for vertical jumping height and sprint times. Higher PF at 50 and 100% BM and lower SDef were shown when comparing pre- and postassessments (ES = 0.66, 0.68, 0.55; p = 0.018, 0.016, and 0.046, respectively). The MP at 50 and 100% BM increased significantly after the detraining phase (ES = 0.56, 0.82; p = 0.049 and 0.007, respectively). The results indicate that these athletes were able to maintain and achieve satisfactory levels of performance after a short period of training cessation. Interestingly, some strength- and power-derived parameters improved significantly after short-term detraining, which may have important implications for training programs aimed at maximizing speed and power performance. It is recommended that coaches test their players not only at the beginning but also at the end of the season, to better evaluate variations in performance and thus create more efficient and tailored training strategies.


A "plant-infection" technique for identification and estimation of populations of Rhizobium is described and compared with petri dish colony counts of the same bacterial populations. Provided that bacterial suspensions are agitated thoroughly, dilutions made at 4 C, and test plants grown on agar, the plant-infection technique is an accurate method of estimating R. trifolii in pure culture or when added to soil. The results are discussed in relation to previous investigations of the subject. Tables are presented which, when applied to the distribution of positive (nodulated) test plants in either fivefold or tenfold dilution series, permit calculation of most probable numbers, and confidence limits are stated.


Estimating the nonrecurring engineering (NRE) design cost constitutes an essential part of the investment-risk assessment and planning phases of new product development. A product's NRE design cost is the number of staff-months required to successfully complete its design. This information is essential in determining the human resources needed to meet a project's time-to-market constraints. For low-complexity development processes that target relatively stable products, relying on experienced managers to produce NRE design cost estimates is reasonable. But microprocessor design and other leading-edge product development processes often involve hundreds of designers, perhaps located at geographically distinct sites, and consist of a formidable number of tasks. These processes require a more systematic way of generating NRE design cost estimates. To that end, the authors have developed an NRE design cost estimation model and implemented it in a tool called NREC. NREC assists managers in making a fine-grained estimate of a project's NRE design costs, from requirements to final layout, as well as in tracking and assessing costs of completed projects. The tool also enables managers to systematically validate and tune the cost model's parameters according to the particular history of a project's design environment.


This paper proposes a human detection method using variational mean field approximation for occlusion reasoning. In the method, parts of human objects are detected individually using template matching. Initial detection hypotheses with spatial layout information are represented in a graphical model and refined through a Bayesian estimation. In this paper, mean field method is employed for such an estimation. The proposed method was evaluated on the popular CAVIAR-INRIA dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is able to detect humans in severe occlusion within reasonable processing time.


Aerosol and water vapour measurements were performed with the lidar system WALES of Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) in October and November 2010 during the first mission with the new German research aircraft G55-HALO. Curtains composed of lidar profiles beneath the aircraft show the vertical and horizontal distribution and variability of water vapour mixing ratio and backscatter ratio above Germany. Two missions on 3 and 4 November 2010 were selected to derive the water vapour mixing ratio inside cirrus clouds from the lidar instrument. A good agreement was found with in situ observations performed on a second research aircraft flying below HALO. ECMWF analysis temperature data are used to derive relative humidity fields with respect to ice (RHi) inside and outside of cirrus clouds from the lidar water vapour observations. The RHi variability is dominated by small-scale fluctuations in the water vapour fields while the temperature variation has a minor impact. The most frequent in-cloud RHi value from lidar observations is 98%. The RHi variance is smaller inside the cirrus than outside of the cloud. 2-D histograms of relative humidity and backscatter ratio show significant differences for in-cloud and out-of-cloud situations for two different cirrus cloud regimes. Combined with accurate temperature measurements, the lidar observations have a great potential for detailed statistical cirrus cloud and related humidity studies.


To reconstruct the missing data of the total electron content(TEC) observations, a new method is proposed, which is based on the empirical orthogonal functions(EOF) decomposition and the value of eigenvalue itself. It is a self-adaptive EOF decomposition without any prior information needed, and the error of reconstructed data can be estimated. The interval quartering algorithm and cross-validation algorithm are used to compute the optimal number of EOFs for reconstruction.The interval quartering algorithm can reduce the computation time. The application of the data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions(DINEOF) method to the real data have demonstrated that the method can reconstruct the TEC map with high accuracy, which can be employed on the real-time system in the future work.


The explosion of light emitting diode (LED) and liquid crystal display (LCD) screens into our lives has had a significant impact not only on the availability and portability of media and information, but also on our relationship with light. This article considers an exploration of the relationship between dancer, designer and light and the question is asked; how is digital light a new voice in performance? From this discussion thepaper proposes an approach to lighting design that acknowledges the voice of digital lighting and its ability to communicate both through luminance and mediatized content. Digital light has the potential to significantly affect spatial and communication experiences for both the viewer and the performer. In its ability to both illuminate other spaces as well as define its own through content, digital lighting speaks to us not only of the spaces it inhabits, but also of spaces it can create. In exploring this duality, the work of Massumi is brought into the discussion. Massumi proposes that tracing the pathway of movement opens up opportunities to re-trace, to take a retrospective journey along the trajectory and that this can create, by feedback, new notions of movement. Through anexploration and retracing of the pathways of digital light, ideas about the nature of its movement and notions of affect on performance are presented.


One of the issues raised since the steel structure was introduced in the construction industry is how to reduce the weight and the cost of the component parts such as girder and beams. Economical design of girders and beams normally requires thin webs. But if the web is extremely slender the problem of plate buckling may arise. Possible ways to reduce this risk are by increasing the thickness of the web plate, adding web stiffeners or strengthening the web by making it corrugated. Recently, by the advances in welding technology, the idea of using beams with corrugated web as an alternative to save cost has been investigated. In the absence of any specific design guide, the British Standard BS5950 can be used as the basis for the design of the corrugated beams and girders. But can we then assume that using the BS5950 for the corrugated web girders would result in an economic design? To develop a new design guide specifically dedicated to trapezoidally corrugated sections, research is being carried out in the Department of Structures and Materials, University Teknologi Malaysia. One of the major scopes is the determination of shear buckling capacity of the web panel. The objective of the research is to study the behaviour of trapezoidally corrugated web plate girder under shear force. A series of laboratory tests have been carried out on the girders with corrugated sections subjected to predominantly shear loading and a series of finite element analyses using LUSAS software is used to study the critical elastic shear buckling of the web of various slenderness ratios. The results of the research are then used for the design calculation of the section properties. An empirical formula to calculate critical shear stress proposed at the end of the study. The shear capacity of the trapezoid web plate girder could be calculated using the proposed formula.


The present study is a survey of a quite restricted number of particular systems called 'Mixed Jurisdictions'. The study opens with a first part which gives an overview of the particularities of the laws in these mixed systems by retracing the origins of their 'mixture', their essential characteristics and finally by selecting and inquiring into some of their problematical aspects. Occasionally, a topic considered in the law of one system is elaborated upon more than in that of another system. This is done deliberately to bring out some relevant details which may be of some (theoretical or academic) interest; and also to avoid an exclusive reference to one particular mixed system. As may be noticed, this first part is essentially a work of synthesis, a macro-comparison which will provide the comparative data for the second part. The second part is, however, a work of research in the scientific sense of the term. It proceeds to describe the legal system of Algeria on the basis of the 'STILLEHERE' or doctrine of style outlined by the German comparatist Zweigert some years ago. The account given of the development and ethos of Algerian law is amplified and exemplified (as proposed by Zweigert) by a study of some legal institutions typical of the Algerian legal style. Different topics are treated in this part to allow for a reappraisal of the law of Algeria with, however, more emphasis on her private law; an area upon which by tradition comparatists generally concentrate their researches. The link between the two parts is indeed a 'big jump', but not an impossible one. While the first part presents a certain type of mixed jurisdiction, the second, taking the law of Algeria as a model, tries to demonstrate the existence of a new and totally different type of mixed system; a trend of a sort which seems continuously increasing amongst some contemporary legal systems. And finally, the purpose pursued through this study in its ensemble is to ascertain, as far as possible, the extent to which these mixed jurisdictions - whether 'traditional' or 'new', work adequately; that is to say avoid any specific problem(s) which may, as a result of the mixed nature of the systems, adversely affect their legislative, jurisdictional or institutional functioning.


ABSTRACT Solubilities of metals in sodium silicate slags have been studied at 1000–1300°C in oxygen pressures of P(O2) = 10−4 to 0.5 atm, in Doré alloy smelting of copper anode slimes. The boundary conditions for the slags were silica saturation, magnesia saturation with about 10 wt% and without BaO. The trace elements studied were copper, gold, palladium, rhodium, and tellurium. The analytical methods used in the phase composition analyses of equilibrated samples, quenched in brine, were electron probe X-ray microanalysis and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Thermodynamic features of the slags, trace element solubilities with the given constraints, and their oxidation mechanisms were determined. The data allow optimizing the anode slime-smelting for the metals' maximum recovery in sodium silicate fluxing.


A technique is presented to compute a scattering amplitude for waves from a pointlike inhomogeneity in an elastic medium with boundary, into interface as well as bulk modes. The particular system considered is a half‐space of fluid overlying a half‐space of a liner elastic solid, with the obstacle placed in the solid very near the boundary. The object of the calculation is to construct a perturbation theory in layered media in which the scattered wave respects the boundary conditions at each perturbative order. This can then be used to estimate and qualitatively analyze the significant features of such scattering, and to produce a well‐defined yet simple algorithm for approximating exact solutions. [Work supported by the U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Research.]


Objective: The influence of microwave sintering time and Homogenization Treatment (HT) on the microstructure, density, phase composition, mechanical properties and phase transformation temperatures of biocompatible Ti-51%Ni Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are determined. Methods/Statistical Analysis: These alloys are fabricated at 900˚C for two different sintering times such as 5 min. and 30 min. Findings: The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) micrographs show microstructure of needle-like morphology except for the sample which sintered at 900˚C for 30 min. without HT. Applications/Improvements: Sample synthesized at 900˚C for 30 min. without HT revealed the highest performance in terms of maximum compressive strength (1376 MPa) at 29% strain, Austenite finish temperature (Af) of 27˚C and Martensite finish temperature (Mf) of 47˚C at 18% porosity. They showed the Af temperature very close to the human body temperature, thus prospective for biomedical applications. During heating, the Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) baseline shows multi-endothermic peaks, while during the cooling process there is only one exothermic peak.


ABSTRACT In the setting of catheter-related bloodstream infections, intraluminal antibiotic lock therapy could be useful for the salvage of vascular catheters. In this in vitro study, we investigated the efficacies of the newer antibiotics daptomycin, linezolid, and tigecycline, in comparison with those of vancomycin, minocycline, and rifampin, against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) embedded in biofilm. We also assessed the emergence of MRSA strains resistant to these antibiotics, alone or in combination with rifampin, after 4-hour daily use for catheter lock therapy. Minocycline, daptomycin, and tigecycline were more efficacious in inhibiting MRSA in biofilm than linezolid, vancomycin, and the negative control (P < 0.001) after the first day of exposure to these antibiotics, with minocycline being the most active, followed by daptomycin and then tigecycline, and with vancomycin and linezolid lacking activity, similar to the negative control. After 3 days of 4-hour daily exposures, daptomycin was the fastest in eradicating MRSA from biofilm, followed by minocycline and tigecycline, which were faster than linezolid, rifampin, and vancomycin (P < 0.001). When rifampin was used alone, it was the least effective in eradicating MRSA from biofilm after 5 days of 4-hour daily exposures, as it was associated with the emergence of rifampin-resistant MRSA. However, when rifampin was used in combination with other antibiotics, the combination was significantly effective in eliminating MRSA colonization in biofilm more rapidly than each of the antibiotics alone. In summary, daptomycin, minocycline, and tigecycline should be considered further for antibiotic lock therapy, and rifampin should be considered for enhanced antistaphylococcal activity but not as a single agent.


The secondary response of young-adult and old BC3F1 mice to DNP was assessed by boosting spleen cells from primed mice with DNP-KLH, propagating them in diffusion chambers implanted into irradiated recipient mice, and by counting the DNP-specific PFC. There was no difference between young-adult and old cells in the antigen dose response and in the kinetics of the immune response. There were marked differences in the magnitude of the peak response. The response of 2-year-old mice was significantly smaller than the response of young-adult mice. Two and one half-year-old mice had the smallest response. In the old mice, there was an inverse correlation between the number of nucleated cells in the spleen and the log of the number of PFC.


A method based on reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was established for detection and identification of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). A set of primers was prepared for amplification of a 510 by nucleotide which encodes a region of IHNV nucleoprotein (N) gene. The PCR product was confirmed as the IHNV specific nucleotide by southern hybridization with an oligonucleotide probe synthesized from the N gene. The PCR was able to amplify the target se quence from five representative strains of IHNV from Japan and North America. There was no PCR product from five other fish rhabdoviruses. Viruses from ovarian fluid of masu salmon collected at Shibetsu River, Ichani River in Hokkaido and kidney tissue of rainbow trout in Aichi Prefecture were isolated and identified using the RT-PCR.


In this note, we review recent works of fibered knots embedded in astandard closed surface of genus 2. In particular, we discuss fiberedness of some class of double torus knots which are band-sum of two torus knots. The problem includes: how to calculate the Alexander polynomials, how to construct minimal genus Seifert surfaces and how to show the constructed candidates are actually fiber surfaces. As an application, we give an easy quick formula for the Alexander polynomials of 2-bridge knots. Detailed proof will be in the forthcoming paper.


The low-friction properties of quasicrystal surfaces suggest their use as coatings on moving machine parts, including those in internal combustion engines. In such applications, additional lubricants are typically used. Since the low-friction properties of quasicrystals are thought to depend on their aperiodic structures, the interactions of lubricants on quasicrystalline surfaces may have an impact on their frictional properties. In this paper, we address the fundamental issues that affect the growth and structural properties of gases on a quasicrystal surface. Studies of the adsorption and growth of rare gases on quasicrystal surfaces are reviewed, and new results are presented for the modeling and simulation of hydrocarbons on quasicrystal surfaces. The calculated interaction parameters are presented for methane adsorption on ten-fold Al–Ni–Co. Methane is found to form aperiodically ordered structures, consistent with the rules established earlier for rare gases on Al–Ni–Co.


The nest environment can have important influences on incubation behavior and nestling development in birds. Nest thermal properties, particularly nest composition and size, can have a major influence on heat loss. To examine the role of nest size and insulation on clutch cooling rates, we collected tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor nests and measured the cooling rate of eggs in a controlled thermal environment. We also examined the thermal benefits of nest feathers by comparing the cooling rates of nests with and without feathers. Nests with more feather insulation and heavier, deeper cupped nests cooled at slower rates. In addition, nests with feathers cooled at much slower rates than did the same nests without feathers. Our results show that nest insulation and size play important roles in nest cooling rates, which may ultimately affect incubation costs and thus reproductive performance.


Abstract We present and discuss a novel dataset on informal collaboration in financial economics, manually collected from more than 5,000 acknowledgement sections of published papers. We find that informal collaboration is the norm in financial economics, while generational differences in informal collaboration exist and reciprocity among collaborators prevails. Female researchers appear less often in acknowledgements than comparable male researchers. Information derived from networks of informal collaboration allows us to predict academic impact of both researchers and papers even better than information from co-author networks. Finally, we study the characteristics of the networks using various measures from network theory and characterize what determines a researcher's position in it. The data presented here may help other researchers to shed light on an under-explored topic.


Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem in developing countries. It is one of the leading cause of deaths due to infectious disease in the world. Drug treatment had been successful with anti tubercular drugs available but multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drugresistant TB (XDR-TB) are serious forms of TB which have emerged as real concern. Bedaquiline (TMC-207 or R207910), is a new anti TB agent been approved as a part of drug regimen therapy in pulmonary MDR-TB. Bedaquiline acts on energy metabolism of the bacteria. It acts as a bactericidal drug. There are two important black box warnings for this drug, firstly prolongation of QT interval and secondly increased risk of death with bedaquiline as compared to placebo treatment.Fast track approval for bedaquiline was based on two phase 2 trials. The FDA has approved bedaquiline on Dec 2012, for the treatment of MDR-TB in adults (>18 years) as part of combination therapy under the fast track designation, priority review and orphan-product designation based on two Phase II trials. Careful use of this drug along with monitoring of the potential adverse effects and drug interactions becomes very important, as this new anti-tubercular drug has being approved after forty years, since last anti tubercular drug was approved.


In zeolites and other rigid solid-state oxides, substrates whose sizes exceed the pore dimensions of the material are rigorously excluded. Now, using a porous 3 nm diameter capsule-like oxomolybdate complex [{Mo(VI)(6)O(21)(H(2)O)(6)}(12){(Mo(V)(2)O(4))(30)(OAc)(21)(H(2)O)(18)}](33-) as a water-soluble analogue of solid-state oxides (e.g., as a soluble analogue of 3 A molecular sieves), we show that carboxylates (RCO(2)(-)) can negotiate passage through flexible Mo(9)O(9) pores in the surface of the capsule and that the rates follow the general trend R = 1 degree >> 2 degrees > 3 degrees >> phenyl (no reaction). Surprisingly, the branched alkanes (R = iso-Pr and tert-Bu) enter the capsule even though they are larger than the crystallographic dimensions of the Mo(9)O(9) pores. Four independent lines of spectroscopic and kinetic evidence demonstrate that these organic guests enter the interior of the capsule through its Mo(9)O(9) apertures and that no irreversible changes in the metal oxide framework are involved. This unexpected phenomenon likely reflects the greater flexibility of molecular versus solid-state structures and represents a sharp departure from traditional models for diffusion through porous solid-state (rigid) oxides.


Recent debates on phenomenal consciousness have focused on the idea that conscious experience includes an experience of the self, whatever else it may present the self with. When a subject has an experience as of a pink cube, she is not just aware of the world as being presented in a certain way (a pinkish, cubic way in this case); she is also aware of the fact that it is presented to her. According to Victor Caston, Aristotle defended an interesting version of this view in De Anima, later developed in different directions by many other philosophers – outside current research in the Analytic tradition, particularly in Phenomenology and the Heidelberg school. My goal in this paper is to locate Aristotle's views, as interpreted by Caston, in the context of the current debate, and to offer some considerations in favor of a view like Aristotle's, also following Caston.


We study a robust monopoly pricing problem where a seller aspires to sell an item to a buyer. We assume that the seller, unaware of the buyer's willingness to pay, ambitiously optimizes over a space of all individual rational and incentive compatible mechanisms with a regret-type objective criterion. Using robust optimization, Ko¸cyi˘git et al. (2021) analytically derived a mechanism that minimizes the worst-case regret. In this paper, we alternatively adopt robust satisficing which minimizes the excess regret that is above the predetermined target level. We analytically show that the optimal mechanism involves the seller offering a menu of lotteries that charges a buyer-dependent participation fee and allocate the item with a buyer-dependent probability. Then, we consider two additional variants of the problem where the seller restricts her attention to a class of only deterministic posted price mechanisms and where the seller is relieved from specifying the target regret in advance. Finally, we determine a randomized posted price mechanism that is readily implementable and equivalent to the optimal mechanism, compute its statistics, and quantify the strength of the entailed randomization. Besides, we compare the proposed mechanism with a robust benchmark and numerically find that the former is predominantly superior to the latter in terms of the expected regret and the expected revenue when the coefficient of variation of the buyer's value is under a hundred percent.


We studied optimal L-asparaginase sequence from GenBank accession number X12746 encoding for L-asparaginase from Erwinia chrysanthemi NCPPB1125. The expression level of recombinant L-asparaginase was determined as 78% of the total proteins. The purified L-asparaginase had a molecular mass of 37 kDa with specific activity of 312.8 U/mg. Kinetic parameters, Km, Vmax, Kcat and Kcat/Km of purified enzyme were found to be 0.5 mM, 500 U/mg, 14.9  103 s-1, and 29.9  103 mM-1s-1, respectively. Temperature and pH optimum were observed at 45oC and pH 7.5, respectively. The enzyme exhibited about 20 and 60% retention of activity following 100 min incubation at 55 or 40°C, respectively. The activity of enzyme was inhibited by EDTA, Hg2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and enhanced by Mg2+. Detergents (Tween 20, Tween 80, Triton X-100, and Triton X-114) decreased enzyme activity. DTT and DMSO at appropriate concentrations enhanced enzyme activity. In vitro anti-cancer activity was performed using different tumor cell lines. Concentration of recombinant L-asparaginase at 50 µg/ml inhibited 45.32, 48.22, 53.68, 51.22% with HL-60, P388, P3X63Ag8, SP2/0-Ag14 cell lines. Recombinant L-asparaginase was expressed successfully in Escherichia coli with high expression level, had a high specific activity and antiproliferative effect on several tumor cell lines.

 Key words: Characterization, Erwinia chrysanthemi, L-asparaginase, purification, tumor cell line.


This paper presents a time history of 12 years of surface deformation in the Belridge Oil Field, California, USA from an InSAR analysis using multiple satellites.The time series reveals deformation rates as high as 80 cm/yr at times with a maximum overall deformation of 3.92 m. The use of multiple satellites and multiple observation modes provided deformation measurements at a frequency as high as every two days from the RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 satellites.The InSAR derived estimates of motion are shown with respect to a pipeline segment that transects the Belridge Oil Field. The use of wide area ground movement monitoring provides both high resolution (3 m on the ground) and high precision (deformation measurements to ± 1 mm).The observed ground motion is validated with collocated measurements from a set of Global Navigation Satellite System units installed for a period in 2012.The long term, validated time series of observations provide a unique data set with which to compare pipeline incidents. The correlation between incidents and ground movement can help estimate the pipeline state as related to stress and strain from ground displacement.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


From
birth to puberty the testis is a dynamic structure, and the knowledge of its
evolution is an important consideration in interpreting biopsies from children.
On the other hand, in the normal adult testis, it is frequent to find several
peculiar structures which might be misinterpreted as anomalies when the
pathologist does not have a good grasp of the subject. It
is also to take into account that the testis shows progressive alterations with
age. Most of them are not specific and should not be but are present in a
variety of pathologies.

 The
present work is the results of several decades studying testicular biopsy and
autopsy specimens by the authors, who have selected the most relevant material
and ordered it to illustrate the evolution of the human testis from birth to
senility. Micrographs were taken in the Service of Pathology of the La Paz
Hospital, Madrid, and the University Clinic of Salamanca, Spain. These pictures
offer many well-known facts and new findings which have not been published
elsewhere.


In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), it is essential to save energy consumption at sensor nodes (SNs). A clustering technique is one of the approaches to save energy consumption, where several neighboring SNs form a cluster and transmit the sensed data to their cluster head (CH), and then the CH sends the aggregated data to a sink node. Under spatial non-uniform traffic environments, the clustering technique causes the non-uniformity in data gathering performance and energy consumption between clusters in WSNs. In this paper, we propose a clustering scheme for the WSNs employing IEEE802.15.4 beacon enabled mode under various non-uniform traffic environments. The proposed scheme distributes network traffic uniformly to the clusters through cluster area control by adjusting beacon transmission power, and thereby achieves uniform and improved data gathering performance. In the clusters with expanded area, however, the performance degradation arises from long distance communications. To solve this problem, the proposed scheme controls transmission power at SNs. In addition, to reduce energy consumption the proposed scheme sets the appropriate active period length in duty cycle operation to the current traffic condition. The performance evaluations by computer simulation show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme for the WSNs under various non-uniform traffic environments.


A novel method to grow silicon dioxide layers for passivating the silicon surface is given more attention. SiO2 was grown by applying a positive voltage across silicon wafers in a nitric acid solution at low temperature. After annealing in N2 media at 900°C for 20min, excellent surface passivation was achieved. The maximum effective lifetime of the silicon arrived at 29.8μs and 29.75μs, which was three times the value of silicon without passivation. The effective lifetime of other types of silicon could be ten times the initial value without the silicon dioxide. A comparison study of the effect of the FGA, annealing at low temperature and annealing in N2 or O2 containing medium at high temperature were investigated.


A winner of the John S. Knight Assignment Sequence Prize, this sequence originates from the Department of History's Hist 100, Gender, Race, Society, and Space: Space History, Science Fiction, and American Society. A "murder board," an aerospace contractor's convention, evaluates the merits of a bid submitted by a design or construction firm for an aerospace component. Adapting the "murder board" form, this sequence ensures that students evaluate evidence, construct arguments, and write collaboratively. The sequence exposes students to different forms of argument-driven writing, including directive memoranda; students engage in collaborative writing and give oral presentations. The role-playing introduces students to the fundamental basis of the discipline of history as it is practiced at a college level. 10 page pdf


The objective of the present numerical study is to investigate the influence of using triangular obstacle on the flow separation, with subsequent reattachment that occurs by sudden expansion. In this study, a numerical analysis is presented on turbulent forced convection flow over the 2D horizontal sudden expansion in order to investigate the performance of using a triangular obstacle with different height ratio. The duct top wall is subjected to heat flux that varied from 400 to 2000 W/m, and the Reynolds number (Re) varied from 9800 to 19000 but the bottom is equipped with triangular obstacle with different height ratio is maintained at (h/di = 0.5, 07, 1.1 and 1.5) and different distance ratio is maintained at (s/di = 1, 2.5 and 3.5). The finite volume method is used to solve the continuity, momentum, and energy equations. The results show an increase in the thermal and hydrodynamic performance by about 35% and 77% respectively, due to the effect of using different height and distance ratios of the triangular obstacle on recirculation cell region size. Generally, the results show that the length of the recirculation reattachment zone is increased with increasing the following parameters of heat flux, ratios of obstacle height and obstacle distance, but it decreases with increasing the (Re). The results show that with increasing the expansion ratio from 2.5 to 3.5, the reattachment length decreased by 10.3 % and the maximum temperature decreased by 1.8 %. Finally, the highest enhancement of Nusselt number (Nu) is about 31.9 % that detected at the obstacle height ratio of (h/di=1.5).


The authors' own clinical observations have shown that a pressure-lowering effect in secondary glaucomas resistant to therapy can be obtained by photocoagulation of the pars plicata of the ciliary body using an argon laser. In order to be able to estimate the damaging effect of photocoagulation and thus to be able to administer it in a sensible dose, the authors applied this technique to four patients with tumorous eyes that had to be enucleated, with a subsequent histological and electron-microscopical scrutiny. The laser energy was varied from 750 to 2000 mW at a constant exposure time of 0.2 s and a dot size of 100 micrograms. With clear-refracting media an energy of 1000 mW brought about coagulative effects without any substantial side-effects. Damage was then generally restricted to the aqueous humorproducing formation, i.e., the ciliary epithelium and the adjacent stromal part.


Super Earths are a class of exoplanets with masses between 1-10M⊕. Comprising nearly 70 % of the discovered planet population, they are largest class of exoplanets known. Super Earths exhibit an interesting variety of compositions, as their densities imply that they range from dense, rocky planets to those with substantial amounts of water. This thesis aims to understand why super Earths form so frequently, and to connect the final compositions of super Earths to the regions where they form in protoplanetary disks. To do this, we combine a model that calculates the physical and chemical conditions within a protoplanetary disk with a core accretion model of planet formation. A key feature of our planet formation model is planet traps that act as barriers to rapid type-I migration. The traps we include in our model are the dead zone, which can be caused by cosmic ray or X-ray ionization, the ice line, and the heat transition. In disks with lifetimes & 4 Myr we find that planet formation in all traps results in Jovian planets. Typically, the X-ray dead zone and heat transition traps produce hot Jupiters orbiting near 0.05 AU while the cosmic ray dead zone and ice line traps produce Jupiters near 1 AU. Super Earths are found to form in disks with short lifetimes . 2 Myr that photoevaporate prior to planets undergoing runaway gas accretion. Additionally, we find that super Earth formation takes place in low-mass disks (. 0.05 M ), where planet formation timescales exceed disk lifetimes inferred through observations. The location of various traps throughout the disk play a key role in allowing super Earths to achieve a range of compositions. Super Earths forming in the ice line or heat transition accrete solids from cold regions of the disk, resulting in planets with large ice contents (up to 50 % by mass). Conversely, super Earths formed in the dead zone trap accrete solids from warm regions of the disk and are therefore composed of mostly rocky materials (less than 5 % ice by mass).


i've often been asked why i chose the equation "Mv–Pt" as my car license plate number. (Missouri doesn't provide for an "equals" sign on the license plate; so, i have a dash instead.) For those not familiar with the monetarist tradition in economics or its impact on central banking, my plates must seem a mystery. But for me, they represent a constant reminder of my duties and responsibilities as a policymaker, not to mention my profession. i'm sure that more than one economist has smiled when seeing this plate out on the road. (others probably think it a cute reminder of a strong marriage between Maggie violet and Peter thomas. nice to be part of the "in" crowd now, isn't it?) Mv=Pt stems from the quantity theory of money. this theory, in turn, is reflected in the well-known description of inflation—too much money chasing too few goods. in past centuries, during which many major countries adhered to a monetary system based on gold, world gold discoveries led to large increases in national money supplies. such increases eventually led to large price increases. several notable economists, including david Hume (writing in the mid-18th century) and Henry thornton (in the early 19th century), developed detailed accounts of the channels through which increases in the money supply are translated into higher price levels. indeed, the basic idea was understood by the ancients. irving Fisher, a u.s. economist writing in the first half of the 20th century, formalized these ideas in the "equation of exchange," Mv=Pt. this equation, probably the most famous in economics, states that the quantity of money (M) times its velocity of circulation (v) equals the price level (P) times the quantity of output or transactions in the economy (t). Fisher argued that v is determined by payments customs and technology, such as how long it takes to clear a check. He also argued that t depends on the total size of the real economy—its stock of physical capital and number of workers. Finally, Fisher argued that v and t would be relatively fixed in the short run. the conclusion was that price level changes—inflation—would be driven by changes in the money stock. in a vigorous revival of interest in monetary economics starting in the 1950s, these basic ideas were greatly refined. the revival was led by the late Milton Friedman, professor at the university of Chicago and nobel Prize winner in 1976. i studied under Friedman, which is an additional reason for me to have Mv–Pt plates. Moreover, although i had the same plates on my car in rhode island before coming to st. louis, the st. louis Fed has long been a leader in research in the monetarist, or Chicago, tradition. it was natural for me to apply for the same plates when i moved to st. louis. so, my Mv–Pt plates represent my graduate training, my profession, my conviction within my profession and my current job. if vanity plates are supposed to say something about a person, what better plates could i have?


Tetrachloroethene reductive dehalogenase (PceA), a corrinoid-containing enzyme from Sulfurospirillum multivorans, is highly active for the sequential reduction of the organohalide tetrachloroethene (PCE) to trichloroethene (TCE), then regiospecifically to cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE). We demonstrate direct electron transfer from graphite and semiconductor electrodes to PceA adsorbed onto the electrode surface. Colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles modified with PceA efficiently carry out the sequence of dehalogenation reactions under UV light irradiation.


A feeding trial of 84 days was carried out to evaluate the effects of olive cake (OC) on growth, feed utilization, digestibility of nutrient, haematological values and some blood chemistry parameters of juvenile hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aereus). Four diets were prepared including OC at levels of 0, 120, 240 and 360 g kg−1. Twenty fish per tank (initial weight 8.58 ± 0.09 g) were randomly distributed into 200-L fibreglass tanks. Final body weight and specific growth rate of fish fed with diets OC12 were not significantly different compared to fish fed with the control diet. The best feed conversion rate and protein efficiency rate were obtained from the fish fed with the control and OC12 diets. Growth performance, feed conversion rate and protein efficiency rate of fish fed diets with OC incorporation levels of more than 12 per cent tended to decrease significantly (P < 0.05) compared to the control and OC12 diet groups. The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with the increase of dietary OC levels, whereas the ADC of protein was not affected by dietary treatment. The ADC of lipid of fish fed with control and OC12 diets were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of fish fed with OC24 and OC36 diets. Mean corpuscular haemoglobin, cholesterol and triglycerides were affected by dietary OC level. The findings of this study show that OC can be incorporated to diets of juvenile hybrid tilapia up to 120 g kg−1 without any adverse effect on fish growth and feed utilization.


This paper presents some of the findings from a global research study on inclusive infrastructure and city design and will focus on inclusive public spaces. Persons with disabilities can experience multi-dimensional exclusion from urban life, including but not limited to physical, attitudinal and social barriers. Public spaces, including recreational and social spaces, are often not prioritised.  Inclusive public spaces are fundamental to participation and inclusive in society. Including persons with disabilities in the design and planning of the built environment supports equal rights and helps identify people's aspirations for inclusive environments. Four city case studies will be discussed in this paper: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Varanasi, India; Surakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya. Research participants and objectives are organised by three stakeholder groups:

People - first-hand experiences of persons with disabilities living in the city and their aspirations for a more inclusive city
Policy - the awareness and understanding of inclusive design among policy-makers
Practice - the awareness and understanding of inclusive design among practitioners including barriers to implementation, opportunities and the relationship with assistive technology

Methods include document reviews, interviews, photo diaries and co-design workshops with participatory and inclusive engagement of persons with disabilities throughout.  Findings on public spaces are discussed in three ways:

The types of public spaces valued by participants in each of the four cities.
The barriers and challenges experienced by persons with disabilities in the public realm.
Aspirations for more inclusive public spaces and opportunities for inclusive design

The paper concludes by discussing how the targeted stakeholder groups of people, policy and practice also help represent three essential dimensions of inclusive city design and forming a framework for successful implementation and delivery and supporting targets set out through the UNCRPD and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Read the full article in accessible html-format here.


Background: Telemetry monitoring is intended to improve patient safety and reduce harm. However, excessive monitor alarms may have the undesired effect of staff ignoring, silencing, or delaying a response due to alarm fatigue. Outlier patients, or those patients who are responsible for generating the most monitor alarms, contribute to excessive monitor alarms. Methods: Daily alarm data reports at a large academic medical center indicated that one or two patient outliers generated the most alarms daily. A technological intervention aimed at reminding registered nurses (RNs) to adjust alarm thresholds for patients who triggered excessive alarms was implemented. The notification was sent to the assigned RN's mobile phone when a patient exceeded the unit's seven-day average of alarms per day by greater than 400%. Results: A reduction in average alarm duration was observed across the four acute care telemetry units (P < 0.001), with an overall decrease of 8.07 seconds in the postintervention versus preintervention period. However, alarm frequency increased significantly (χ23 = 34.83, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Implementing a technological intervention to notify RNs to adjust alarm parameters may reduce alarm duration. Reducing alarm duration may improve RN telemetry management, alarm fatigue, and awareness. More research is needed to support this conclusion, as well as to determine the cause of the observed increase in alarm frequency.


We investigate robust wireless communication in high-scattering propagation environments using multi-element antenna arrays (MEAs) at both transmit and receive sites. A simplified, but highly spectrally efficient space-time communication processing method is presented. The user's bit stream is mapped to a vector of independently modulated equal bit-rate signal components that are simultaneously transmitted in the same band. A detection algorithm similar to multiuser detection is employed to detect the signal components in white Gaussian noise (WGN). For a large number of antennas, a more efficient architecture can offer no more than about 40% more capacity than the simple architecture presented. A testbed that is now being completed operates at 1.9 GHz with up to 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) transmitters and 16 receive antennas. Under ideal operation at 18 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), using 12 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas (even with uncoded communication), the theoretical spectral efficiency is 36 bit/s/Hz, whereas the Shannon capacity is 71.1 bit/s/Hz. The 36 bits per vector symbol, which corresponds to over 200 billion constellation points, assumes a 5% block error rate (BLER) for 100 vector symbol bursts.


The objective of this work was to specify a model for the study of electronic consumption. An exploratory, cross-sectional and psychometric study was conducted with a selection of Internet users, considering their time of use. An associative perceptual structure was found between the usefulness of the technology and the effectiveness of the respondent, although the research design limited the results to the research sample, suggesting the extension of the work towards other cybernetic contexts.


Methotrexate (MTX), an important anticancer and immunosuppressive agent, has been suggested for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. However, the drug's pharmacodynamics and toxicity is dependent on its concentrations in plasma which in turn are directly related to MTX's elimination in the liver and kidney. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes in MTX biliary and renal excretion during either intrahepatic or obstructive cholestasis in rats. The steady state pharmacokinetic parameters of MTX were evaluated in rats one (BDO1) or seven (BDO7) days after bile duct obstruction (BDO) or 18 h after administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In comparison to the respective control groups, biliary and total clearances of MTX were decreased to 12% and 49% in the BDO1 group, to 5% and 56% in the BDO7 animals, and to 42% and 43% in the LPS group, respectively. Renal clearance of MTX was unchanged in BDO groups, but decreased to 23% of controls in the LPS animals. The serum biochemistry and expression of main hepatic MTX transporters (Mrp2, Mrp3, Mrp4, Bcrp, Oatp1a1, Oatp1a4 and Oatp1b2) confirmed the pathological cholestatic changes in the liver and partly elucidated the cause of changes in MTX pharmacokinetic parameters. In conclusion, this study is the first describing marked alteration of MTX hepatic and renal elimination induced by cholestasis in rats. Moreover, the reported changes in MTX pharmacokinetics and respective transporter expression suggest important mechanistic differences between the two widely used cholestatic models.