Each death should be subjected to forensic and statistical analysis

This issue of the BMJ contains two articles on surgical mortality. The first considers the well rehearsed problem of statistical monitoring of surgical performance, whereas the second considers the less researched issue of the impact of surgical death on healthcare providers. Poloniecki et al apply retrospectively seven different statistical tests to compare with a benchmark the death rate in a transplantation programme that was closed because of concerns that the death rate was too high.1 They show that the point at which an alarm would have occurred had a prospective analysis been carried out varied with the choice of method and that the most scientifically appealing method (mortality chart adjusted for cumulative risks) would have detected only a decrease in the death rate early in the series. This paper is an invitation to reflect on the purpose and usefulness of statistical analysis to monitor performance in health care.

Medical audit was introduced by Florence Nightingale in the 19th century as a process of healthcare improvement. As time …


The proportion of guanine (G) or cytosine (C) nucleotide bases in the human genome is approximately 40%. Fluctuating relatively to this averaged G+C content, there are large chromosomal regions with alternatingly high and low local G+C contents. The (G+C)-rich genomic regions are typically gene rich, replicated earlier and higher in recombination activities. Many aspects of the evolution of base composition leading to the local G+C variations in the human genome have been debated, including the origin of the alternating G+C structure, whether (G+C)-rich regions have been vanishing or emerging, what are the main mutational or nonmutational mechanisms driving the G+C content, whether G+C content is determined by neutral evolution or selection or both. A particularly promising scenario for G+C evolution is to consider the open and closed chromatin structures which naturally provide a differential mutational environment for different chromosome regions.

Key Concepts:

Human genome is characterised by alternatingly high and low G+C regions.

Such pattern of alternatingly high and low G+C regions is not unique for the human genome. It is also present in species which diverged from a common ancestor a few hundred millions years ago.

Both mutational and nonmutational mechanisms could be responsible for shaping the G+C content in human. The former creates new alleles with a changed G+C content, the latter biased transmits existing polymorphic alleles towards either higher or lower G+C.

The suggestion of natural selection playing a crucial role in maintaining high G+C regions is based on the observation that high G+C regions are also high in several biological activities (translation, transcription and recombination).

Chromatin structure may provide a differential mutational environment by being accessible (open) or inaccessible (closed) to other protein molecules.

Keywords:

human genome;
base composition;
genome evolution;
DNA;
mutations;
chromatin structure


Photoacoustic imaging is a state-of-the-art technique that combines light excitation with ultrasound generation via the photoacoustic effect. Since sound waves at clinically relevant frequencies undergo minimal perturbation as they pass through the body, photoacoustic imaging is ideal for deep-tissue imaging applications in vivo. Despite its utility in the biomedical field, it is unlikely that undergraduate students will ever experience this technology firsthand in a classroom setting owing to the delicate and expensive nature of the instrumentation. Likewise, students will not be exposed to acoustogenic probes, which are specialized chemicals designed to detect biologically relevant analytes using photoacoustic imaging. With the goal of introducing new chemical analysis and imaging techniques to the undergraduate chemistry curricula, we present a simple and inexpensive setup (all materials were purchased for less than $48 USD) to demonstrate the photoacoustic effect through analyte sensing.


This paper is concerned with the analysis of the observability of the discrete event systems (DES) modeled by interpreted Petri nets (IPN). This paper presents three major contributions on the field of the observability of DES. First, an observability definition for IPN is proposed. This definition is more precise than previous ones because it deals with the possibility of determining the system's initial state, using the knowledge of the system's inputs, outputs, and structure. Later, a novel characterization of the IPN exhibiting the observability property that is based on the IPN structure is presented. Finally, a method for designing asymptotic observers is discussed. The main advantage over other methods is that the observer presented herein is given as an IPN, allowing further analysis of the system-observer pair.


The central aim of this thesis is to theoretically investigate the effects of mixing anisometric colloidal particles with different shapes on their (lyotropic) liquid crystal phase behaviour. Many of the studies to be described in this thesis have been triggered off by recent experimental observations in mixtures of colloids with well-controlled shapes and interactions. In particular, we mention the experimental work of Van der Kooij [F. M. van der Kooij, thesis, Utrecht University, 2000] who investigated a vast number of mixtures which display many interesting phenomena left open for theoretical interpretation. One of our primary goals in this work is to account for these experimental observations by constructing simple, yet realistic, models for the colloidal systems under consideration and by scrutinizing relevant aspects of their phase behaviour.
The first part of this thesis will be devoted to binary mixtures of anisometric particles.
In Chapter 2 a simple model is proposed that allows to qualitatively explain the recently observed isotropic-nematic density inversion in polydisperse systems of colloidal platelets. In the next two chapters we shall be concerned with mixtures of rods and platelets and provide a theoretical underpinning for the low-concentration part of the experimental phase diagram. We also establish the possible stability of the disputed biaxial nematic phase in experimentally realizable mixtures. In Chapter 5 we conclude the first part with an overview on demixing transitions within the isotropic and nematic phases of binary mixtures of particles whose size differs only in one particle dimension. Previously published results for rodlike particles will be combined with new results for platelets to compare phase diagram topologies and demixing mechanisms pertaining to the various mixtures.
In the second part of this thesis we address the more challenging issue of calculating phase equilibria in polydisperse mixtures of anisometric particles. In Chapter 6 we present a study of isotropic-nematic phase coexistence in systems of length-polydisperse hard rods, focussing in particular on fractionation effects and the possibility of a demixing of the nematic phase. Chapter 7 deals with polydisperse systems of thickness-polydisperse platelets. The binary model, introduced in Chapter 2, is extended to a polydisperse one which allows us to provide a more realistic, albeit still qualitative, description of the experimental observations. In Chapter 8 we provide a preliminary calculation on the competition between smectic and columnar ordering in systems of polydisperse hard rods. As a first-order approximation we consider an artificial model system of perfectly aligned cylinders. The possibilities of extending the approach towards a more realistic one will be discussed.
The contents of Chapter 9 of this thesis differ somewhat from the rest because of the introduction of an external field. Inspired by recent experimental observations of a significant sedimentation in dispersions of platelets we illustrate the drastic effect of gravity on the phase behaviour of colloidal mixtures. As an example we consider a system of sedimenting platelets mixed with non-sedimenting ideal polymers, as studied in experiment. Also here, the results of the calculations reveal an improved description of the experimentally observed behaviour.
Finally, in Chapter 10 we present a free-volume theory for a columnar state of hard platelets by combining the traditional cell model with an appropriate fluid description, accounting for the rotational freedom of the particles in the (one-dimensional) direction of the phase. Excellent quantitative agreement is found with recent computer simulation results for various thermodynamic and structural properties of a dense columnar state.


AbstractThe evolution of a toe-protected nourished beach, located at Belvedere Marittimo (Italy), was investigated by means of both a physical model and a numerical morphological approach. Several surveys, including bottom profiles, sedimentology, and wave climate, were available after the nourishment for this site. Results showed that the physical model is in a fairly good agreement with the field surveys regarding localized phenomena such as the scour around the barrier, whereas it lacks in predicting the slope of the beach profile. The results of the morphological model, carried out on the basis of the field data, well reproduce the beach slope. On the other hand, when it is applied with the same parameters of the physical model, it lacks accuracy in predicting the experimental beach profile.


The chief purpose of this study is to verify and understand how the corporateinitiated implementation of knowledge management (KM) and brand equity affect the marketing performance of a Japanese automaker's Taiwanese branch. Data was extracted from the population using convenience sampling to verify the goodness-of-fit of the overall, structural and measurement models by means of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings from this study indicate that 1) KM has a positive and significant influence on marketing performance; 2) Brand equity has a positive and significant influence on marketing performance. Not only do the research results give that particular Japanese car brand's Taiwan subsidiary a sense of how important and beneficial KM implementation is, they also offer other companies helpful information for operations-related decision-making.


The chemically reactive analog of U-G-A, 5'-(4-(Bromo-[2-14C] acetamido) phenylphospho) - uridylyl-(3'-5') - guanylyl-(3'-5') adenosine has a 20 fold lower affinity to 70S ribosomes than the corresponding analog of A-U-G though the U-G-A analog also preferentially reacts with protein S18 of 70S ribosomes. This reaction programs ribosomes for EF-T dependent Trp-tRNATrp-suIII binding. Therefore, it is concluded that this protein is part of the A'-site of the ribosomal codon binding site. Reaction of the U-G-A analog with 30S subunits lead to a predominant crosslinking of U-G-A to proteins S4 and S18. In contrast, a comparable reaction of the A-U-G analog with 30S subunits lead to a predominant crosslinking of A-U-G to proteins S4 and S12 (Pongs, O., Stoffler, G.A., Lanka, E., (1975) J. Mol. Biol. 99, 301). Since protein S12 is located at the 'P' site of the ribosomal codon binding site, it is proposed that the U-G-A analog does not bind at this site.


The molecular components of three giant H II regions (NGC 5461, NGC 5462, and NGC 5471) in the galaxy M101 are investigated with new observations from single-dish telescopes (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the NRAO 12 m) and from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter array. Of the three H II regions, only NGC 5461 had previously been detected in CO emission. We calculate preliminary values for the molecular mass of the GMCs in NGC 5461 by assuming a CO-to-H2 factor (X factor) and then comparing these values with the virial masses. We found that the appropriate X factor is 5 times smaller than the X factor in the Milky Way despite the lower metallicity of M101. We conclude that the data in this paper demonstrate for the first time that the value of X may decrease in regions with intense star formation. The molecular mass for the association of clouds in NGC 5461 is approximately 3 × 107 M☉ and is accompanied by 1-2 times as much atomic mass. The observed CO emission in NGC 5461 is an order of magnitude stronger than in NGC 5462, but it was not possible to detect molecular gas toward NGC 5471 with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. An even larger ratio of atomic to molecular gas in NGC 5471 was observed, which might be attributed to efficient conversion of molecular to atomic gas. The masses of the individual clouds in NGC 5461, which are gravitationally bound, cover a range of (2-8) × 105 M☉, comparable with the masses of Galactic giant molecular clouds. Higher star-forming efficiencies, and not massive clouds, appear to be the prerequisite for the formation of the large number of stars whose radiation is required to produce the giant H II regions in M101.


Despite many competitors, Ethernet became the dominant protocol for local area networking due to its simplicity, robustness, and efficiency in wide variety of conditions and technology. Reflecting on the current frailty of much software, grid and otherwise, we propose that the Ethernet approach to resource sharing is an effective and reliable technique for combining coarse-grained software when failures are common and poorly detailed. This approach involves placing several simple but important responsibilities on client software to acquire shared resources conservatively, to back off during periods of failure, and to inform competing clients when resources are in contention. We present a simple scripting language that simplifies and encourages the Ethernet approach, and demonstrate its use in several grid computing scenarios, including job submission, disk allocation, and data replication. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations of this approach, and describe how it is uniquely suited to high-level programming.


This research paper investigated the competitiveness of the Maldives tourism industry from the perspectives of destination competitiveness for a sustainable tourism industry. Largely exploratory this paper uses a combination of inductive and deductive approaches through a two stages exercise.
Maldives tourism industry now faces some major challenges. First is the sustainable development of the tourism sector. The sharp increases in mass tourism and degrading the country's scarce and fragile natural resources and policy measures are required to protect the fragile eco systems. Weak coastal zone management has created problems in waste disposal. The impact of climate change is eroding the sustainability of the tourism industry. New hotel construction, waste disposal and increased tourist activities are degrading the environment and threaten the fragile ecosystems. Another challenge is the intense competition from its regional rivals such as the Seychelles and Mauritius which share the same customer base which could result in the Maldives losing its market share to them.
The literature review was used to identify two research questions and two research propositions were developed for testing. Qualitative data were collected through a literature review and personal interviews. Quantitative data for the second phase was collected through a questionnaire survey and analyzed by way of descriptive statistics. Finally, the paper offers appropriate recommendations for consideration by both the Government and industry to enhance the destination competitiveness of Maldives for a sustainable tourism industry.


Abstract. Soil water availability deeply affects plant physiology. In viticulture it is considered a major contributor to the "terroir" effect. The assessment of soil water in field conditions is a difficult task, especially over large surfaces. New techniques are therefore required in order to better explore variations of soil water content in space and time with low disturbance and with great precision. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) meets these requirements for applications in plant sciences, agriculture and ecology. In this paper, possible techniques to develop models that allow the use of ERT to spatialise soil water available to plants are reviewed. An application of soil water monitoring using ERT in a grapevine plot in Burgundy (north-east France) during the vintage 2013 is presented. We observed the lateral heterogeneity of ERT-derived fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) variations, and differences in water uptake depend on grapevine water status (leaf water potentials measured both at predawn and at solar noon and contemporary to ERT monitoring). Active zones in soils for water movements were identified. The use of ERT in ecophysiological studies, with parallel monitoring of plant water status, is still rare. These methods are promising because they have the potential to reveal a hidden part of a major function of plant development: the capacity to extract water from the soil.


"Clinging to the Wreckage" is the first part of John Mortimer's acclaimed autobiography. Here he recounts his solitary childhood in the English countryside, with affectionate portraits of his remote parents - an increasingly unconventional barrister father, whose blindness must never be mentioned, battling earwigs in the mutinous garden, and a vague and endlessly patient mother. As a boy dreaming of a tap-dancing career on the stage and forming a one-boy communist cell at boarding school, his father pushes him to pursue the law, where Mortimer embarks on the career that was to inspire his hilarious and immortal literary creations. Told with great humour and touching honesty, this is a magnificent achievement by one of Britain's best-loved writers.


Abstract Concrete cracks in structures such as water tanks and nuclear power stations cause anxiety to owners, contractors and engineers. These cracks may significantly increase the structure's permeability and thus increase leakage, reduce durability, and eventually lead to loss of structural functionality. Therefore it is important to minimize their occurrence and size. To identify effective ways of minimizing cracking in young concrete segments, a parametric study was conducted using the finite element method (FEM). Parameters considered include casting sequence, joint position, wall height, and cooling. The study examined continuous and jumped casting approaches to the casting of a cylindrical reinforced concrete tank for a sewage-treatment plant, with and without the application of the 'kicker' technique in which the lower part of the wall is cast with the slab. The main cause of cracking is thermal change and restraint imposed by adjacent older structures, and the FEM predictions agree well with experimental observations. Continuous casting is most effective at minimizing cracking because it creates only two contact edges between newly cast and existing structures producing the lowest level of restraint. The kicker technique is shown to be very effective for reducing restraint and consider rephasing.


The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an international and national ecological icon. It attracts millions of visitors to Australia every year. Although GBR is recognised as one of the best-managed coral reef systems in the world, climate-related events have already caused significant damage to it. To minimise the extent of damage to the Great Barrier Reef due to climate change, international, federal (Commonwealth) and state (Queensland) laws and institutions provide different tools and control mechanisms to increase the resilience of GBR. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the existing laws, regulations, plans and institutions for the maintenance and conservation of GBR. The paper concludes with some legal and institutional guidelines to improve resilience from the impacts of climate change in GBR.


The expansion of urban areas leads the loss of green spaces causing many environmental and economic problems. The infrastructure has been carried to the rural areas to deal with the needs of populations, reducing the green vegetation. This isolates one habitat area from other habitats and increases the fragmentation. A green corridor can connect fragmented habitats. Thus, this research aims to analyze and provide a green corridor in four different cities of Jordan. Through study some case studies, review of articles, researches, data collection, GIS, observations and maps derived from Jordanian ministries were used for the analysis of a green corridor in four cities in the northwest of Jordan. This research provides a comprehensive planning of the biogeographically areas, ecotourism sites and variety of vegetation in the protected areas of namely, Ajloun Forest Reserve and Dibben Forest Reserve, to link them in the biodiversity and conservation regions of the Al-Salt and north Amman, after identifying these diverse areas of vegetation cover and wildlife in each governorate. In addition, the research discusses ecological, environmental and economic effects of applying a green corridor as a sustainable city approach in Jordan. In other words, the purpose of this study is to suggest a sustainable proposal by analyzing green area zones and green corridor axes to improve the nature and the environment in Jordan. This proposal adapts urban areas with the establishment of green corridor connecting conservation areas in Jerash and Ajloun to Al-Salt and north of Amman. Such a green corridor can lead an increase of local and international tourism which may improve the economic strength and can increase the job opportunities for citizens to live in a more ecological urban environment. Keywords: Environmental sustainability; green corridor; connectivity; planning; Jordan


Background: Based on the Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework, a wide array of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators including but not limited to household income tend to show weaker effects for members of marginalized social groups. Limited knowledge exists on MDRs of household income on children exercise frequency. Aims: Built on the MDRs framework, we tested the hypothesis of whether the effect of household income on exercise frequency differs for Black than White children. We hypothesized that: 1) there is a positive association between household income and exercise frequency for American households. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data came from wave one of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study which included 8027 non-Hispanic Black or White American children between ages 9 and 10 years old. The predictor was household income. The outcome was children exercise frequency. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Results: According to our pooled sample regression, household income was positively associated with children exercise frequency. We found a significant interaction between household income and race, suggesting that the positive association between household income and exercise frequency was weaker for Black than White children. Conclusions: Diminished returns of household income on children's exercise may explain poor health of high SES Black children. That is, a smaller boosting effect of household income on changing health behaviors for Blacks than Whites may be one of many mechanisms that deteriorate health of high SES Black children. Not all racial disparities in health are due to SES but also diminished marginal returns of socioeconomic status indicators such as household income for the members of marginalized and racialized communities. Research should study how the context in which Black families live, play, and work contributes to low exercise frequency of high SES Black children.


BACKGROUND
Low social support has been associated with several disorders. We test the relationship between perceived interpersonal social support (ISS) and aspects of mental and physical health.

METHODS
We used data from National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions in which 34,653 individuals aged 20-99 years were interviewed twice (2001-02 and 2004-05), with the second interview including the interpersonal support evaluation list. The association of perceived ISS with lifetime DSM-IV psychopathology and physical health from the past 12 months was investigated. We also tested whether this association changes as a function of number of traumatic events in accordance with the buffering hypothesis.

RESULTS
Low perceived ISS correlated with increased prevalence of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, social phobia and several physical health problems. There was a strong association between excellent self-perceived physical health and high social support.

CONCLUSIONS
There was evidence for both the main, beneficial effects of high perceived ISS and buffering, whereby increased perceived ISS ameliorated the pathogenic influence of exposure to traumatic life events on psychopathology. Current findings highlight the importance of perceived ISS in individuals' general mental and physical well-being, both in daily life and upon exposure to negative life events.


Abstract Nonlinear effects on the receptivity of cross-flow in the swept Hiemenz boundary layer are investigated. Numerical simulations are generated using a vorticity form of the Navier–Stokes equations. Steady perturbations are established using surface suction and blowing distributed along the spanwise direction as either a periodic strip or a band of small holes. The method of excitation, the size and the location of the prescribed forcing are shown to have a significant influence on the receptivity of the boundary layer. Blowing holes are found to excite perturbations with considerably larger magnitudes than those generated using a periodic suction and blowing strip. A semi-logarithmic relationship is derived that relates the initial amplitude of the linear-only disturbances with the location at which the absolute magnitude of the chordwise primary Fourier harmonic attains a stationary point or a size of approximately one-tenth of the free-stream spanwise velocity. Furthermore, the size of the physical chordwise velocity perturbation about this position can be estimated directly from the linear-only solutions. This would suggest that, for sufficiently small initial amplitudes, the onset of some nonlinear flow development properties can be predicted directly from a linear receptivity analysis.


Management of hypertension in diabetes is critical for reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Dietary approaches for controlling high blood pressure have historically focused on sodium. Thus, many guidelines recommend that patients with type 2 diabetes reduce high sodium intake. Nonetheless, the potential benefits of sodium reduction are debatable. The kidney has a crucial role in glucose filtration and reabsorption in addition to its regulation of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. A key factor linking sodium uptake and glucose transport is the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) in renal proximal tubular cells. In hyperglycemic states, the renal proximal tubule raises its capacity to reabsorb glucose and sodium from the proximal tubule in response to hyperglycemia because of increased SGLT2 activity. Selective SGLT2 inhibitors improve glycemic control and slightly lower blood pressure in diabetic patients.In the past decade, activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) has become a novel effective treatment for cardiometabolic diseases. The kidney differentially expresses all three PPAR subtypes, PPARα, PPARγ and PPARδ. Although PPARγ agonists are widely used to treat type 2 diabetes, sodium and water retention still poses a significant limitation to its clinical application. PPARδ is expressed ubiquitously, including in adipose tissues and the kidney. The activation of PPARδ alleviates dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance in rodents of obesity and diabetes. Importantly, PPARδ activation by its agonists exerts renal protective effects in diabetic mice. Furthermore, the PPARδ agonists increased adipose adiponectin expression, which are shown to exert multiple beneficial effects against cardiometabolic disorders. However, it is unknown whether PPARδ can regulate renal sodium handing and glucose transport. We hypothesized that PPARδ participates in sodium transport and glucose reabsorption in the kidney, resulting in improved sodium and glucose homeostasis. Here, we present ample evidence to reveal that adipose PPARδ activation promotes natriuresis and glycosuria in mice on high salt diet, which is associated with SGLT2 inhibition in the renal proximal tubule. Our evidence confirms that adipose PPARδ-mediated adiponectin plays a crucial role in the inhibition of renal SGLT2. We also revealed that under physiological circumstances, high sodium intake-induced natriuresis is impaired in diabetic mice because of increased SGLT2 activity. We further observe that type 2 diabetic patients with uncontrolled hyperglycemia have reduced natriuresis, and plasma adiponectin level is closely related to natriuresis in diabetic patients. Overall, the PPARδ-mediated adiponectin maintains equilibrium between urinary glucose transport and sodium reabsorption through regulation of SGLT2 in the kidney, however, this mechanism is impaired in diabetes.Diabetes and hypertension are often comorbid in patients. Both clinical trials and experimental studies imply that the excess sodium intake raises cardiometabolic risk. Type 2 diabetic patients are more susceptible to hypertension because of their increased exchangeable sodium and salt sensitivity compared with non-diabetic individuals. High sodium intake leads to insulin resistance and greater glomerular pressure, resulting in high blood pressure and albuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients. Our study shows that high sodium intake reduced body weight and fasting blood glucose level while it increased natriuresis in wild type mice. However, this effect was blunted in adipose-specific PPARδ knockout mice and also in diabetic db/db mice. Furthermore, we demonstrate that long-term high sodium intake specifically stimulates adipose PPARδ expression which is associated with elevating tissue sodium content in mice. These findings suggest that PPARδ participates in the regulation of sodium homeostasis. This effect is strikingly different from that of PPARγ agonists, thiazolidinediones that cause sodium and fluid retention.Adiponectin is a secreted protein in adipose tissue and its production is stimulated by PPARδ activation. Our study shows that high sodium intake also increased plasma adiponectin level, and its expression in both the perirenal fat and renal cortex. We also showed that adiponectin suppresses SGLT2 expression at the transcriptional level. Reducing sodium retention is a critical issue in the management of diabetic patients. Although diuretics are commonly used to reduce sodium retention, long-term diuretic treatment is associated with higher mortality in diabetic patients with hypertension. We show that renal SGLT2 dysfunction was found in diabetic db/db mice and inhibition of SGLT2 by dapagliflozin lowered natriuresis and glycosuria in these mice. Diabetic patients with uncontrolled hyperglycemia reduced natriuresis compared with well-treated patients. Furthermore, natriuresis was largely influenced by blood glucose level in diabetic patients. This finding suggests that well-controlled hyperglycemia may be more effective to alleviate sodium retention in diabetes regardless of their hypoglycemia drugs used. In addition, we reported before that telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), reduced adipogenesis through activation of adipose PPARδ and improved insulin resistance through stimulation of PPARδ in skeletal muscle of mice (He et al., Hypertension, 2010; Li et al., Diabetes, 2013). ARB is also reported to increase plasma adiponectin level and inhibit renal SGLT2 expression in diabetic rats. Therefore, the potential benefit of ARB in the regulation of sodium and glucose homeostasis warrants further investigation.In summary, we reveal a previously unrecognized role of adipose PPARδ activation-induced natriuresis in mice. Our mechanistic study suggests that this renal benefit is associated with adiponectin-mediated inhibition of renal SGLT2. However, this pathway for maintaining appropriate sodium metabolism in response to high sodium intake is impaired in diabetes, and this defect might result in hyperglycemia-induced sodium retention. We also show that maintaining euglycemia status is a critical factor influencing natriuresis. Our findings provide insights into the physiological role of the PPARδ/adiponectin/SGLT2 pathway in the regulation of sodium and glucose homeostasis. Activation of PPARδ through promotion of adiponectin may represent a promising tool in the management of hypertensive diabetic patients who are exposed to high sodium intake.


Do Canadian federal prison-workers have a right to unionize? This key question is investigated in a case study approach to an attempt, by prison-workers, to organize a union in a Canadian federal penitentiary in British Columbia. The authors analyze prisoner-workers penal labour citizenship position via-a-vis the State's conceptualization of prison-workers as non-employees and difficulties in finding the appropriate Canadian jurisdiction to hear their case.


Since China's Economic Reform and its Open Door Policy, China has entered a new era of education (Adamson, 2002; Hu, 2005a). English has gained status as a language for international relations (Graddol, 1997) and international trade (Qu, 2007). Hence, in 2001, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) required universities to offer 5-10% of their course units in English, particularly in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, finance and law (Jen, 2001; MOE, 2001). However, "the upgrading of national English proficiency, then, is predicted largely on the professional competence of the teaching force" (Hu, 2005b, p. 655). For TEFL academics, one component of this competence is the capacity to conduct research (Day, 1991; Shu, 2002). Indeed, research productivity has become essential for university success, and academics' employment and promotional prospects. This study aims to investigate 182 Chinese TEFL academics' research outputs across three Chinese higher education institutions through the research question: What are the research productivity levels of Chinese TEFL academics? A survey instrument was devised to gather TEFL academics' calculations of research productivity and, in particular, the quality and quantity of research outputs over a five-year period (2004-2008). Descriptive statistics through SPSS were used to analyse data across research output fields (e.g., journal articles, conference papers). Academic status varied (n=182; teaching assistants 23.6%, lecturers 47.3%, associate professors 22.5%, and professors 6.6%) as did years of teaching (1-5 years 27.4%, 6-10 years 24.7%, 11-15 18.1%, 16-20 years 13.7%, > 21 years 15.9%). Results (n=182, male=27%, females=73%) indicated 18% had not produced any research in the five-year period. Indeed, more than 70% had produced no research in all categories except non-core journal articles and provincial projects. An overwhelming majority of TEFL academics had zero productivity in 10 of the 12 categories. Nevertheless, there were highly-productive TEFL academics, who had produced five or more pieces of research across the 12 categories. In addition, there was not much difference between sole and co-authored research outputs, except non-core journal articles where sole authored work was 20% higher than co-authored work. China's desire for international competitiveness in education will require measures that facilitate higher levels of research productivity. These measures must include professional development, support and mentoring programs, and employment of personnel who can guide these processes. Research performance is an outcome, hence there is a need to understand Chinese TEFL academics' perceptions about research, and experiences that may hinder and facilitate higher research productivity.


They were applied a multivariate model of health, and a risk factors analysis within an epidemiological model to the financial statements. The sample was composed of the companies in the tourism sector in Colombia, the financial variables of cash flow, profit and loss and equity ownership were used as health indicators. Scores on these indicators were normalized and used for grouping the companies into two groups (healthy and diseased) by a hierarchical cluster. They were also estimated cutoff points in other different variables on the financial statements related to the groups obtained, by optimal binning. Finally, the odds ratio and relative risk, to determine the association between the presence or absence of disease risk and financial health of companies, were obtained. This showed the existence of different variables in the financial statements, which can divide the companies into healthy and diseased, as the risk factors. Keywords— Financial statements, financial health, risk factors, cash flow, profits and loss, ownership equity.


One year before the close of the 19th century it was recognized that intestinal peristalsis was controlled by nerve plexuses in the wall of the gut independent of the central nervous system (CNS). This concept was developed further during the first quarter of the 20th century but was almost forgotten during the next 50 years until it was revived by the early 1970s. It is now recognized that the myenteric and submucous plexuses, referrred to as the enteric nervous system (ENS), contain as many neurons as in the spinal cord. In addition to autonomy from the CNS, the ENS employs not only noradrenaline and acetylcholine but also serotonin (5-HT), ATP, peptides and nitric oxide as neurotransmitters, and controls gut movements, exocrine and endocrine secretions and the microcirculation, thus qualifying for being considered the brain of the gut. Reflexes involving the ENS may be entirely intrinsic such as that controlling peristalsis, between parts of the gut through prevertebral ganglia e.g. the enterogastric reflex, or between the gut and the CNS as examplified by the vago-vagal reflexes. Absent, defective or dysfunctional enteric neurons may result in achalasia, infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, paralytic ileus, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, Hirschsprung's disease or idiopathic chronic constipation. Further, the ENS may be involved in the pathogenesis of secretory diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel disease. More research on the gut brain will deepen our understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the gastrointestinal tract.


A fluorescence method has been developed to detect ethyl centralite in gunshot residues. Residues were recovered from shooters' hands with cotton wool swabs. The swabs were extracted by a syringe elution procedure and the extracts cleared by TLC. The cleaned samples were hydrolyzed in phosphoric acid at 178 °C for 20 min to yield N-ethylaniline. Any N-ethylaniline was dansylated directly on a TLC plate, which was then developed two-dimensionally. The fluorescent dansyl-N-ethylaniline spot was scraped off and extracted for fluorometric determination. The detection limits for ethyl centralite standards and spiked hand samples are 1 ng and 5 ng respectively. Three out of six test firings of a .38 revolver gave extracts that were found to contain ethyl centralite. One of these was swabbed 180 min after firing three rounds of ammunition.


The eubacterial-like RNA polymerase of plastids is composed of organelle-encoded core subunits and nuclear-encoded sigma-factors. Families of sigma-like factors (SLFs) have been identified in several plants, including maize (Zea mays) and Arabidopsis. In vitro import assays determined that at least two of the maize sigma-like proteins have functional chloroplast transit peptides and thus are likely candidates for chloroplast transcriptional regulators. However, the roles of individual SLFs in chloroplast transcription remain to be determined. We have raised antibodies against the unique amino-terminal domains of two maize SLFs, ZmSig1 and ZmSig3, and have used these specific probes to examine the accumulation of each protein in different maize tissues and during chloroplast development. The expression of ZmSig1 is tissue specific and parallels the light-activated chloroplast development program in maize seedling leaves. Its accumulation in mature chloroplasts however, is not affected by subsequent changes in the light regime. It is interesting that the expression profile of ZmSig3 is complementary to that of ZmSig1. It accumulates in non-green tissues, including roots, etiolated seedling leaves, and the basal region of greening seedling leaves. The nonoverlapping expression patterns of these two plastid-localized SLFs suggest that they may direct differential expression of plastid genes during chloroplast development.


In this paper, we present a new analog error correcting coding scheme for real valued signals that are corrupted by impulsive noise. This product code improves Donoho's deterministic construction by using a probabilistic approach. More specifically, our construction corrects more errors than the Donoho matrices by allowing a vanishingly small probability of error (with the increase in block size). The problem of decoding the long block code is decoupled into two sets of parallel Linear Programming problems. This leads to a significant reduction in decoding complexity as compared to one-step Linear Programming decoding.


The new Iron Cove Bridge is part of the recently completed Inner West Busway Project along Victoria Rd in Sydney, which was delivered as an alliance contract by the Bridge to Bay Alliance. The alliance team partners are the RTA, Baulderstone, Hyder Consulting and Manidis Roberts and sub alliance partners Freyssinet. The bridge is a 480m long hybrid structure comprising eight spans of single box girder superstructure, with three approach spans of super-t girders tying into the existing Victoria Rd approaches. The construction methods include incremental launch for the main spans of the new Iron Cove Bridge. This paper outlines the progression from concept to completion for the design and construction solution reached by the team to enable the New Iron Cove Bridge to be incrementally launched in a constrained location and describes the design features for the superstructure and substructure. In particular the paper addresses the unusual launching procedure that had the casting bed located in front of the new abutment, the launch pier in front of the casting bed and the detailing required to control the deflections and rotations during launch for the critical locations of the segment construction joints. Incorporated in the launching sequence was the launch nose that was erected and launched with the first segment from the rear of the launching bed. The launch process was a critical factor in the project program and a cycle time of 6 days was achieved for segment launch through the use of a high early strength concrete mix, concrete maturity testing and prefabrication of reinforcement in a jig adjacent the casting bed. The result of the techniques adopted for the Iron Cove Bridge Design and Construction was that the bridge was completed to a tight program that saw the project opening ahead of schedule.


The advantages of ultra-small manganese–zinc ferrite nanoparticles are manifold and can be exploited in a wide range of applications. Here we show that ultra-small, highly crystalline Mn–Zn ferrite nanoparticles with variable compositions can be obtained by non-aqueous sol–gel synthesis in a facile, scalable process. The growth of Mn0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 nanoparticles has been investigated exemplarily for a series of Mn–Zn ferrites. It is thereby shown that the initially formed ultra-small 2 nm sized particles grow via oriented attachment into shamrock-like shaped particles, and clusters with an ordered structure are formed during synthesis. Throughout the synthesis, the crystallinity of the particles improves until after 24 h of synthesis highly crystalline, monodisperse nanostructures with a size of around 6 nm are obtained. Furthermore, the influence of the chemical as well as physical properties of the ultra-small Mn(1−x)ZnxFe2O4 nanoparticles with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 on their Curie temperature was evaluated. It is shown that by variation of the Mn/Zn ratio the Curie temperature of the particles can be tailored in a broad range from 200 to 400 °C.


Reflecting in the acceleration of the changes in ecological, climatological and generally planetary health, it is critical to employ those energy source as well and those energy used that are of the highest ratio of benefit to effort and deliver the most valuable and impactful, tangible contribution in service of natural commons and common societal good. Such considerations hold for all ocean energy types and especially for ocean wave energy.
Thus, it is not only important to consider the resource that is converted into the standard form of usable energy, that is, in the form of electricity and to deliver to the most prominent marketplace, that is, the continental grid; it is equally important to consider the use, purpose and impact after converted energy.
Reflecting on the entire value chain from marine renewable energy to a) usable energy to b) the actual use and purpose of the energy may lead to highly impactful implementations with more direct delivery of the renewable energy to the valued application. In such more direct paths from resource to impact the extracted energy and the applied energy is a mean to the purpose rather than a means to an end.
Assessments of marine renewable energy markets other than powering the continental grid, such as Powering the Blue Economy, have been investigated and numerous research efforts are underway. However, to fully maximize the achievable impact of ocean wave energy it is critical to extend the consideration from replacing the energy source in existing applications to the enablement of highly impactful applications that are currently not existing or are not operated at the magnitude when powered by ocean waves.
Highest effectiveness is achieved when the uniqueness of the renewable energy form matches the unique needs of the targeted application. For ocean wave energy the uniqueness lies in relative consistency, high degree of forecastability, energy density and the ubiquitous nature across the oceans. These provide a plethora of opportunities to serve markets and purposes that are directly in or based on the oceans.
Technology development progress indicators such as Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and Technology Performance Levels (TPL) are typically used to span up the technology development space and provide a framework and orientation for the desired technology development trajectories. Based on the description of the motivations above the paper and presentation with introduce and describe additional and alternative technology development indicators that directly point and guide the development towards impactful application and purpose as the desired technology development goal.
In order to provide a clear understanding of impact markets and the associated values, thus, their specific currency these are best served in, three impact markets are presented in detail as concrete examples.  These support planetary and ocean health in different ways through carbon capture, acceleration of the deployment of all forms of marine renewable energy types and enabling the implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation. Beyond these, a dozen of others impact markets are listed to provide an overview of impact oriented markets and applications.


This research work emanated from a joint research project between the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany and the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria; as outlined in the Bilateral Agreement of July 21st 1988. 1 The research program is interdisciplinary in nature involving these areas: Archaeology, Geography, Linguistics and Historical Ethnology; all under the general theme of West African Savannah. Considerable research work has already been carried out in these areas by German explorers and scholars dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation. The present paper addresses itself purely to one and very important aspect of an archaeological campaign undertaken in the Chad Region of Nigeria in late 1990/1991 season. In consequence to reconnaissance survey and excavation conducted at a site called Gajiganna, abundant lithic materials were noticed and collected. The crucial question one poses to the site which lacks physical out-crops in and within the precinct of the settlement are, what could have been the source of the raw materials at the site? Were they transported from somewhere to the site? If so, why was it necessary for the materials to be brought to this site? These and other related questions posed a serious commodity problem for most sites in Borno with lithic materials.


From his appointment as a Scientific Officer at the Radio Division of the National Physical Laboratory in 1938, which marked the start of his active collaboration with Sir Edward Appleton, to his death in 1996, Granville Beynon's chosen field of scientific endeavour was the study of the ionosphere, the atmosphere at heights where the concentration of free electrons is sufficient to influence the propagation of radio waves. Through his establishment of research groups at Swansea and Aberystwyth Colleges of the University of Wales, and his tenure of senior offices in appropriate national and international committees, he had a major influence in this area of science. His involvement in university education included a period as Vice–Principal at Aberystwyth, but his interest in education extended beyond the university sector and this was marked by his service as Chairman of the Schools Council Committee for Wales. For his services to science and education he received several honours at both national and international levels. In spite of the many demands on his time, he enjoyed a very happy family life in which music played a central part.


An 8-year-old Hispanic child with no significant medical history presented to our pediatric clinic after 2 episodes of vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Symptoms had begun earlier the same morning; the child and his parents described the vomitus as "yellowish" and diarrhea "watery." There was no associated fever.


The problem of naming is not just any philosophical problem, but rather one that is central to classical ontology, the latter depending on the notion of names (onomata) as latching onto things (pragmata) in their essential being. As such, the name has traditionally been tied to the concept of truth as adequatio or correspondence between knowledge and being, intellect and thing, or proposition and reality. Accordingly, the problem of naming lies at the core of the issues of objectivity (truth) and fiction, as addressed in this issue of Filozofski vestnik. Probing and circumventing the double trap of "transcendentalism" and "new materialism," I propose to cast a side-glance at this massive philosophical problem, approaching it from the singular point of view of smells and their striking relationship to language.


Views on aging are central psychosocial variables in the aging process, but knowledge about their determinants is still fragmental. Thus, the authors investigated the degree to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in various domains of views on aging (wisdom, work, fitness, and family), and whether these variance components vary across ages. They analyzed data from 350 monozygotic and 322 dizygotic twin pairs from the Midlife Development in the U.S. (MIDUS) study, aged 25–74. Individual differences in views on aging were mainly due to individual-specific environmental and genetic effects. However, depending on the domain, genetic and environmental contributions to the variance differed. Furthermore, for some domains, variability was larger for older participants; this was attributable to increases in environmental components. This study extends research on genetic and environmental sources of psychosocial variables and stimulates future studies investigating the etiology of views on aging across the life span.


Conformational rearrangements are critical to a variety of biological processes including protein folding and misfolding, ligand binding, enzyme catalysis, and signal transduction. Viscosity-dependent kinetics measurements can provide crucial insights into the dynamics of protein conformational exchange by highlighting the relative importance of frictional forces derived from either solvent or from internal protein interactions in activating the exchange reaction. Here, we analyze the kinetics of interconversion between the native and intermediate states of the four helix bundle FF domain recorded in solutions containing the viscogens glycerol or bovine serum albumin (BSA), using the viscosity measured from the translational diffusion of probes of different sizes. In the large viscogen BSA, we demonstrate that vastly different internal friction values are obtained using the different viscosity measures, leading to conflicting interpretations of the role of solvent friction in the interconversion. We show that this can be a consequence of the small effective hydrodynamic radius of the protein conformational transition and differences between solution micro- and macroscopic viscosities that are germane in this case. In general, correct values of internal friction can only be obtained by carrying out measurements using small viscogens.


Abstract Gender-based inequality is often regarded as a salient characteristic of Muslim societies, yet few works have systematically compared the status of women in Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Fish (2011) finds a gender gap in structural indicators of inequality in Muslim-majority countries that cannot be explained by levels of economic development, raising questions about whether attitudes favoring inequality are more prominent among Muslims. We investigate the impact of structural-situational factors and religious identification on attitudes toward gender-based inequality using hierarchical-level models. We find that: (1) Muslim self-identification and the size of a country's Muslim population predict attitudes supportive of inequality; (2) an individual's gender has a stronger effect on attitudes than does religious identification; and (3) measures of structural inequality also shape attitudes. The effects of these variables remain strong when we consider other contextual elements, such as gross domestic product per capita, education, age, location in the Middle East, and fuels dependence.


PORTRAITS OF PEDAGOGICAL PROMISE: RENDERING VISIBLE SUCCESSFUL TEACHING PRACTICES FOR LATINO MALE STUDENTS IN ONE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL Kelly Gavin Zuckerman Drawing upon a critical constructivist framework and informed by scholarship on culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining pedagogy (CRRSP) and student voice, this qualitative study utilizes portraiture methodology to render visible successful teaching practices for Latino male secondary students in urban contexts by answering the following two research questions: 1) What are the pedagogical practices of three White male teachers in one New York City public high school that their Latino male secondary students identify as successful in supporting their educational potential?; and 2) How do these three teachers make sense of these identified practices and their success with Latino male secondary students? To achieve these goals, data was collected from four sources: 1) ethnographic observations; 2) semi-structured individual interviews; 3) semi-structured focus group interviews; and 4) written documentation, and was analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. The final products of this work are three pedagogical portraits—written research documents that bridge science and art to lead to new or deeper understandings about teaching and learning. Findings from this study indicate the saliency of pedagogies that authentically care for Latino male students in urban areas, support their academic achievement, and explicitly draw connections between course content and students' interests, lives, and future goals. The resulting portraits also encourage consideration of how attention to the development of Latino male students' cultural and linguistic competence and dexterity as well as their sociopolitical awareness could further support the academic and personal growth of these young men. These findings: 1) contribute to a limited research base on successful teaching practices of Latino male secondary students in urban communities; 2) support more tailored recommendations for educational policy aimed at leveraging the unique potential of Latino young men in our nation's cities; and 3) can inform the professional development of both pre-service and in-service school actors who work with Latino male students. Such contributions are particularly significant given the existing patterns of underachievement and untapped promise of Latino male youth across the country.


The genetic diversity of three wild rice populations of Ethiopia along with three cultivated rice populations were studied using Inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) as a molecular marker. A total of 93 clear and reproducible bands were generated using four dinucleotides and two tetra nucleotides primers. Both UPGMA and neighbor joining trees were constructed for each individual and population using Jaccard's similarity coefficient. The trees and PCO clearly indicated six distinct groups which are based on populations of origin. Oryza glaberrima , Oryza sativa and NERICA-3 clustered as a major group while Oryza barthii and Oryza longistaminata were clustered as the second major group. Such clustering of O. glaberrima with O. sativa and NERICA-3 is considered to be due to genetic admixture of O. glaberrima with O. sativa . The over all gene diversity and percent polymorphisms were found to be higher in wild rice (0.14; 38.3 respectively) than in cultivars (0.11; 28.3 respectively). The Shannon's diversity index also confirmed the existence of higher diversity in wild rice populations than cultivated species. Furthermore, partitioning of the Shannon's diversity showed that the majority of the variations were observed among population (63%). Similarly, AMOVA demonstrate highly significant (P = 0.00) genetic differences among populations (72.9) than within populations (27.1). Key words : Genetic diversity, wild rice populations, cultivated rice, Oryza sativa, Oryza glaberrima, NERICA, ISSR.


In response to AIDS mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, international donors have collaborated with many national governments to provide free antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people with HIV. We explore the impact of this decline in objective mortality risk on subjective perceptions of mortality risk, as well as mental health, and agricultural labor supply and output. Through a difference-indifference identification strategy, we find that ART availability substantially reduces subjective mortality risk and improves mental health in rural Malawi, including among HIV-negative respondents. People allocate significantly more time to subsistence maize cultivation and increase maize output. These results show a novel link between mortality conditions and economic development through the channel of mental health. Findings for the HIV-negative subpopulation also demonstrate that the impact of the AIDS epidemic and ART are broader than previously understood. Abstract In response to AIDS mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, international donors have collaborated with many national governments to provide free antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people with HIV. We explore the impact of this decline in objective mortality risk on subjective perceptions of mortality risk, as well as mental health, and agricultural labor supply and output. Through a difference-indifference identification strategy, we find that ART availability substantially reduces subjective mortality risk and improves mental health in rural Malawi, including among HIV-negative respondents. People allocate significantly more time to subsistence maize cultivation and increase maize output. These results show a novel link between mortality conditions and economic development through the channel of mental health. Findings for the HIV-negative subpopulation also demonstrate that the impact of the AIDS epidemic and ART are broader than previously understood.


Rainbow trout were subjected to burst swimming to exhaustion followed by 4 h aerobic swimming at 80% critical swimming velocity. Severe physiological disturbances, including a marked plasma acidosis caused by the burst swim, were corrected during the 4 h of subsequent aerobic exercise. Erythrocytic pH and arterial oxygen content increased, even though plasma pH was reduced. We suggest that the increase in erythrocytic pH was caused by the action of elevated adrenaline and noradrenaline levels in the blood acting on beta-adrenergic receptors on the trout red blood cell, causing the cell to swell and raising intracellular pH, offsetting any effect of a reduction of plasma pH on erythrocyte pH and haemoglobin-oxygen binding. Propranolol blocked the action of catecholamines on trout erythrocytes. We conclude that catecholamines play an important role in maintaining oxygen transport to aerobic muscles, following burst swimming and the associated acidotic conditions.


The main objective of this article is to analyze the narrative structure of the stories of women subjected to violence. Specifically, we will analyze the stories narrated by these women in a Moroccan TV talk show called "Qesset Ennass" (The story of people). The framework of Critical Discourse Analysis will be adopted in order to understand the elements of discourse being articulated in a Moroccan context. We have mapped the stories onto a six part structure of narrative, which has been an effective tool in locating the way in which the women establish cognitive scripts related to the necessity to take action to make sure that the nasty situations they live in would change. The six parts structure of narrative consists of the abstract, the orientation, the complication, the evaluation, the resolution and the coda. Our purpose within this framework is to scrutinize the structure of the Moroccan discourse about the violence committed against women so as to understand how narration plays a pivotal role in legitimizing/delegitimizing women's discourse. Within this analysis, we will be concerned with answering questions related to the way women represent themselves, their situations, and the general Moroccan context on TV.


This paper considers how patterns in use-wear/residues relate to debates about the nature of the day-to-day lives of the people who created the Lapita Cultural Complex. Changes in subsistence and settlement patterns have often been proposed as being the result of the introduction of new kinds of agriculture to the Bismarck Archipelago by people using Lapita pottery (Green 2002:95-120; Kirch 1997:45-52; Spriggs 1997:67-106). In contrast, several recent use-wear/residue studies of stone tools in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea have reconstructed a complex pattern with a much longer term trend toward the intensification of resource exploitation and a decrease in mobility (Fullagar 1992:135-43; Torrence 1992:11126; Torrence et al. 2000:225-44). To further examine the impact of Lapita on subsistence and settlement patterns, a use-wear/residue study was made of a large number of obsidian artefacts excavated from two test pits at the FAO site on Garua Island. The sample included artefacts dating from both before and during the time of Lapita pottery. My preliminary analyses indicate there were no differences between these periods in terms of the kinds of tool use or the nature of the activities apparent at the site.


CONTEXT
Accessory spleen is a congenital abnormality consisting of normal splenic tissue in ectopic sites that is found in approximately 10-15% of the general population. However, an intrapancreatic accessory spleen has seldom been reported and multiple epithelial cysts in the intrapancreatic accessory spleen are extremely rare.

CASE REPORT
A 37-year-old woman with no clinical manifestations presented with two cystic lesions in the tail of the pancreas. The tumor markers CA 19-9 (251 U/mL) and SPAN-1 (38 U/mL) were increased. Computed tomography showed a multilocular cyst, 40 mm in size, and a unilocular cyst, 20 mm in size, in the tail of the pancreas and gallstones. The cystic component was hypointense on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images and hyperintense on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. A laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy was performed with the presumptive diagnosis of a mucinous cystic neoplasm or an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with gallstones. The pathological examination showed that the walls of the two cysts were covered with non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, surrounded by normal splenic tissue. The final pathological diagnosis was two epithelial cysts originating from an intrapancreatic accessory spleen.

CONCLUSIONS
Even though multiple masses were detected in the pancreatic tail, the possibility of epithelial cysts originating from an accessory spleen should be considered. Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy might be a safe and effective procedure and provide good cosmetic result for a benign or low-grade malignant tumor in the pancreas.


The antigenic relationships of Type A (PR 8, WS) and Type B (Lee) human strains and the Shope and British (Cambridge, North Ireland) swine strains were studied by specific antiserum inhibition of chicken red cell agglutination by the influenza virus. The Cambridge and North Ireland strains were found to be closely related to the Type A strains and differentiated from the Shope virus. The distinctive antigenicity of the Lee strain of Type B was confirmed. Specific antibodies were developed in chickens following single intraperitoneal injections of influenza virus. Inhibition tests yielded results, in the antigenic analysis of the influenza viruses examined, comparable to those obtained with ferret antisera. Specific inhibition of hemagglutination by influenza virus proved an effective method for the study of strain relationships.


Comparing probability distributions is at the crux of many machine learning algorithms. Maximum Mean Discrepancies (MMD) and Wasserstein distances are two classes of distances between probability distributions that have attracted abundant attention in past years. This paper establishes some conditions under which the Wasserstein distance can be controlled by MMD norms. Our work is motivated by the compressive statistical learning (CSL) theory, a general framework for resource-efficient large scale learning in which the training data is summarized in a single vector (called sketch) that captures the information relevant to the considered learning task. Inspired by existing results in CSL, we introduce the H\"older Lower Restricted Isometric Property and show that this property comes with interesting guarantees for compressive statistical learning. Based on the relations between the MMD and the Wasserstein distances, we provide guarantees for compressive statistical learning by introducing and studying the concept of Wasserstein regularity of the learning task, that is when some task-specific metric between probability distributions can be bounded by a Wasserstein distance.


This paper examines the effect of parental divorce during childhood on generalized trust later on in life using Australian HILDA panel data. The dependent variable is composed of answers to the statement: "Generally speaking, most people can be trusted". The main explanatory variables include the occurrence of parental divorce for the whole sample and the age at which parents divorced for the sub-sample. The analysis is conducted using random effects ordered probit, correlated random effects ordered probit and instrumental variables ordered probit models. The results indicate that the level of generalized trust is significantly affected by parental divorce for both men and women. This main result is very robust to alternative specifications. Furthermore, there is a marginally significant effect on the expressed level of generalized trust due to age at which parents divorced for women, but not men.


: The Cantaure Formation (Burdigalian to ?early Langhian) is located in the Falcón Basin, North Western Venezuela, and includes one of the most diverse Neogene teleostean and benthonic invertebrate faunas in Tropical America. The paleoenvironmental preferences of the members of this fauna, as well as published paleogeographic reconstructions, suggest that the Cantaure Formation was deposited in a highly-productive shallow water environment, associated with coastal upwelling. We documented a paleodiversity of 39 shark and ray species, including 15 previously unreported taxa for Venezuela and six for Tropical America. We performed a bathymetric analysis of the fossil assemblage based on the distribution of closely-related extant chondrichthyan relatives of fossil taxa and discuss the ecological role and stratigraphic significance of the latter. Our results support the hypothesis that the Cantaure Formation was deposited in an insular inner-middle shelf environment. The elasmobranch fauna is characterized by a predominance of benthopelagic sharks with piscivorous feeding preferences (e.g., †Paratodus, Galeorhinus, Hemipristis, Rhizoprionodon, Carcharhinus, Isogomphodon, Negaprion, †Physogaleus and Sphyrna) followed by durophagous/cancritrophic feeders (e.g., Heterodontus, Nebrius, Mustelus, Rhynchobatus, Pristis, Dasyatis, cf. Pteroplatytrygon, cf. Taeniurops, Aetobatus, Aetomylaeus and Rhinoptera). Filter (e.g., Mobula and †Plinthicus), eurytrophic/sarcophagous (e.g., †Carcharocles and Galeocerdo) and teuthitrophic (e.g., Alopias) feeder species were also found. Teeth of Carcharocles megalodon found in Burdigalian sediments of the Cantaure Formation support the presence of this species already in the early Miocene. Some taxa (Nebrius, Carcharhinus cf. C. macloti and Rhynchobatus) are absent from the extant Caribbean and Western Atlantic fauna, but were present in the region before the closure of the Central American Seaway. ABSTRACT The Cantaure Formation (Burdigalian to ?early Langhian) is located in the Falcón Basin, North Western Venezuela, and includes one of the most diverse Neogene teleostean and benthonic invertebrate faunas in Tropical America. The paleoenvironmental preferences of the members of this fauna, as well as published paleogeographic reconstructions, suggest that the Cantaure Formation was deposited in a highly-pro-ductive shallow water environment, associated with coastal upwelling. We documented a paleodiversity of 39 shark and ray species, including 15 previously unreported taxa for Venezuela and six for Tropical America. We performed a bathymetric analysis of the fossil assemblage based on the distribution of closely-related extant chondrichthyan relatives of fossil taxa and discuss the ecological role and stratigraphic significance of the latter. Our results support the hypothesis that the Cantaure Formation was deposited in an insular inner-middle shelf environment. The elasmobranch fauna is characterized by a predominance of benthopelagic sharks with piscivorous feeding preferences (e.g., † Paratodus , Galeorhinus , Hemipristis , Rhizoprionodon , Carcharhinus , Isogomphodon , Negaprion , † Physogaleus and Sphyrna ) followed by duropha-gous/cancritrophic feeders (e.g., Heterodontus , Nebrius , Mustelus , Rhynchobatus , Pristis , Dasyatis , cf. Pteroplatytrygon , cf. Taeniurops , Aetobatus , Aetomylaeus and Rhinoptera ). Filter (e.g., Mobula and † Plinthicus ), eurytrophic/sarcophagous (e.g., † Carcharocles and Galeocerdo ) and teuthitrophic (e.g., Alopias ) feeder species were also found. Teeth of Carcharocles megalodon found in Burdigalian sediments of the Cantaure Formation support the presence of this species already in the early Miocene. Some taxa ( Nebrius , Carcharhinus cf. C . macloti and Rhynchobatus ) are absent from the extant Caribbean and Western Atlantic fauna, but were present in the region before the closure of the Central American Seaway.


Savanna vegetation structure parameters are important for assessing the biomes status under various disturbance scenarios. Despite free availability remote sensing data, the use of optical remote sensing data for savanna vegetation structure mapping is limited by sparse and heterogeneous distribution of vegetation canopy. Cloud and aerosol contamination lead to inconsistency in the availability of time series data necessary for continuous vegetation monitoring, especially in the tropics. Long- and medium wavelength microwave data such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR), with their low sensitivity to clouds and atmospheric aerosols, and high temporal and spatial resolution solves these problems. Studies utilising remote sensing data for vegetation monitoring on the other hand, lack quality reference data. This study explores the potential of high-resolution TLS-derived vegetation structure variables as reference to multi-temporal SAR datasets in savanna vegetation monitoring. The overall objectives of this study are: (i) to evaluate the potential of high-resolution TLS-data in extraction of savanna vegetation structure variables; (ii) to estimate landscape-wide aboveground biomass (AGB) and assess changes over four years using multi-temporal L-band SAR within a Lowveld savanna in Kruger National Park; and (iii) to assess interactions between C-band SAR with various savanna vegetation structure variables. Field inventories and TLS campaign were carried out in the wet and dry seasons of 2015 respectively, and provided reference data upon which AGB, CC and cover classes were modelled. L-band SAR modelled AGB was used for change analysis over 4 years, while multitemporal C-band SAR data was used to assess backscatter response to seasonal changes in CC and AGB abundant classes and cover classes. From the AGB change analysis, on average 36 ha of the study area (91 ha) experienced a loss in AGB above 5 t/ha over 4 years. A high backscatter intensity is observed on high abundance AGB, CC classes and large trees as opposed to low CC and AGB abundance classes and small trees. There is high response to all structure variables, with C-band VV showing best polarization in savanna vegetation mapping. Moisture availability in the wet season increases backscatter response from both canopy and background classes.


Even though Richard Routley is known as a proponent of so-called nuclear Meinongianism (in his terminology, noneism), the details of his view in Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond (1980) have not attracted much attention. In this paper, I critically examine two notable but less known features of Meinongianism in Routley (1980) which particularly concern a core claim of nuclear Meinongianism that so-called Characterization Principle (CP) is applicable to nuclear properties (in his terminology, characterizing properties) but not to extranuclear properties (in his terminology, noncharacterizing properties): The first one is his 'double determination' argument for restricting the class of properties to which CP is applicable; and the second is his expansion of the class of nuclear properties in terms of the supposition operator s. Firstly, I will show that the double determination argument fails, since, for some extranuclear properties, the argument fails to justify that CP is not applicable to them, and, moreover, the argument unintendedly shows that CP is not applicable to some nuclear properties. Secondly, based on the idea that the supposition operator, combined with any property f , forms the intensional property of being assumed to have f , I will give a formal treatment of the supposition operator within the framework of world semantics. We will see that this interpretation goes beyond Routley's original nuclear Meinongianism and assimilates his view with modal Meinongianism proposed by Priest (2005, 2016). Australasian Journal of Logic (15:2) 2018, Article no. 2.1


Purpose - This study examined the ability of international graduate students to utilize the Emporia State University library's online Catalog to retrieve information for their research projects. Design/methodology/approach - The data collected through a quantitative method. It consisted of a structured survey questionnaire sent to all graduate students at Emporia State University based at the university during the 2006-2007 academic year. Findings - The majority of the students in this study reported they were successful in finding information for their academic needs in the Emporia State University library and indicated that the online catalog was a "very important" part of the process. Although none of the students believed the online catalog to be unimportant, the majority expressed that it would be easier to utilize if it had search terms and instructions in their own languages. Conclusion - It is the Researchers' hope that the findings of this study will assist the library of ESU in modifying the online catalog search to address the barriers encountered by international graduate students.


The collaborative care management (CCM) model has been demonstrated to be significantly more effective compared to usual care (UC) in depression management although an initial increase in cost measures was seen. In this paper, cost measures as well as clinical response were analyzed on patients with available follow-up data at six months. Records of 219 patients with follow-up data in CCM group and 119 in UC group were reviewed. At six months, there was a statistically significant clinical response rate among patients in CCM compared to UC group (P < 0.0001). Likewise, 65% in CCM group was "symptom-free" at 6 months vs. 31.9% in UC group (P < 0.0001). Among the responders in both groups, there was no statistical difference in cost measures. However, cost measures were significantly higher among non-responders compared to responders within CCM. Between the two models, the non-responders in UC had lower cost measures than the non-responders under CCM.


Gap junctional communication has been implicated in numerous cellular processes. However, the repertoire of specific transjunctional substances which mediate these processes remains relatively unexplored. A few selected secondary messengers have been identified, at least indirectly (e.g., cAMP and IP3) and phenotypic complementation experiments have indicated that gap junctions enable communicating cells to distribute nucleotide pools as a shared resource. The latter would include high energy compounds such as ADP and ATP, allowing cells to share energy resources. We have utilized a nonbiased process to directly capture, identify, and quantify transjunctional compounds from C6 glioma cells, the transformed phenotype of which has been ameliorated by transfection with connexin43 (Cx43). This technique involves the direct isolation, identification, and quantitation of radioactive transjunctional molecules that travel from metabolically labeled "donor" cells to "receiver" cells. This report demonstrates that ADP and/or ATP represents over 6% of the transjunctional material derived from glucose in Cx43-transfected C6 glioma cells. Furthermore, equilibration of these high energy metabolites among first order neighbors is shown to occur in less than 20 min of communication.


Study shows that progressive replacement of some chemical components may have a beneficial effect on semen quality

In an article published in this issue (see page 467) , Luc Multigner and colleagues1 show that male exposure to short-chain glycol ethers has long-lasting negative effects on semen quality. Occupational exposure to chemicals in the workplace and their effects on testicular functions and male fertility is not a novel observation. Over the past few decades, investigations into the professional exposure of men have provided convincing evidence on the association between exposure to particular types of chemicals and male reproductive disorders.2 This study reveals that precautionary measures focused on the progressive replacement of some chemical compounds by others may have a beneficial effect on semen quality.

In contrast to the relative consensus achieved around occupational chemical exposure, strong disagreements have arisen between supporters and opponents of the role of environmental chemicals in the decline in sperm production and quality …


This study analyzed the technical efficiency and identified its determinants in sorghum production. Two-stage sampling technique was used to collect cross-sectional data from 100 smallholder sorghum farmers in Garu district in the upper east region of Ghana using a semi structured questionnaire. The stochastic frontier analysis was used to estimate the level and determinants of technical efficiency while Kendall's coefficient of concordance approach was used to identify and rank the constraints restraining sorghum production. The study revealed that only farm size and fertilizer were found to have a significant influence on the output. Technical efficiency varied widely among sorghum farmers, ranging from 16.14% to 99.11% with a mean technical efficiency of 88.92%. This means that farmers could improve the productivity of sorghum by 11.08% without requiring extra inputs. The main determinants of technical efficiency were age, level of education, association membership, household size, experience, crop variety, and access to extension, access to credit, access to market and distance to market. Major constraints limiting sorghum production were natural disasters, the incidence of pest and diseases, lack of access to credit and high production cost. The study recommends that fertilizer supply at subsidized prices to farmers in the study area should be improved. Also, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture through extension agents should educate farmers on the impact of these farm and farmer specific characteristics on technical efficiency.


Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a non-invasive technique used to treat psychiatric conditions. A high strength low frequency electrical stimulation is delivered through two electrodes. The aim of this work is to develop an ECT finite element human head model to investigate the electric field and the increase in temperature due to the electrical stimulation.

The bio-heat transfer equation combined with Laplace equation and their initial and boundary conditions are used to define the physics of the models. Firstly, finite ele-ment spherical human head models are created in COMSOL Multiphysics and the behaviour of the thermal field due to ECT electrical stimulation is analysed. Hetero-geneity was considered and thermal anisotropy of the skull layer was applied to the finite element models.

Secondly, a realistic human head model is created using magnetic resonance images (MRI). Similar physics is applied to define the thermal and electrical problems, and the anisotropic conductivity of the skull is considered. The realistic models contain anatomical features and realistic tissue conductive properties. Through these models we investigate the role of stimulation parameters such as: electrode montages, strength of stimulation, temperature behaviour, etc. Later on, another realistic human head model with a brain tumor is created and a diffusion tensor image is included. Based on this model the white matter anisotropy is considered and the effect on the electric field is analysed.

The results show that high temperatures only occur on external areas of the head, such as scalp and fat. The thermal conductivity anisotropy is insignificant from a heat-transferring point of view. However, the electrical anisotropy does need to be included in order to get more accurate outcomes. If ECT was applied to a patient
with a brain tumor, then factors such as tumor location, aggressiveness, electrode montage, etc would need to be considered. Further work can be undertaken through computational simulation to make personal ECT treatment feasible in clinical practice.


Professor Emeritus of the Department of Social Anthropology at University of St. Andrews and founding director of the Center for Pacific Studies, Christina Toren has been instrumental in charting the new directions of contemporary anthropology. Her contributions to the study of Fiji and the Pacific, sociality, kinship and ideas of the person, ontogeny as historical process, and epistemology, are remarkable, and have guided profound theoretical reformulations worldwide. We met for this interview at her home in Dundee, Scotland, during the period she supervised a research study that we developed at the University of St. Andrews. Video Interview:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HxAKs2ecb8&t=


This paper proposes an agent communication system, in which many communication system's elements, such as communication services, charging and network operation functions, are expressed as agents and multimedia communication services are offered that multi-agents negotiate with each other. The agent communication system is the third communication system. The first communication model is the circuit communication model for telephone services, and the second communication model is the packet communication model for data communication services. The agent communication model is based on the concept of distributed cooperative agent-oriented networking. First, an agent-oriented software architecture is introduced for supporting multimedia communication services in wide-area networks. Multimedia services are expressed as agents. Next, this paper proposes an agent request broker for multimedia communication services in an agent communication wide-area network. The agent request broker is the platform for multi-agents, which is based on the concept of agent-oriented software. Furthermore, a five-layer agent communication networking architecture is proposed. Finally, personal communication telephone services, video-mail services and video-on-demand services are presented by using the agent communication system's experimental setup of IP-over-ATM.


MaxSAT reasoning is an effective technology used in modern branch-and-bound (BnB) algorithms for the Maximum Weight Clique problem (MWC) to reduce the search space. However, the current MaxSAT reasoning approach for MWC is carried out in a blind manner and is not guided by any relevant strategy. In this paper, we describe a new BnB algorithm for MWC that incorporates a novel two-stage MaxSAT reasoning approach. In each stage, the MaxSAT reasoning is specialised and guided for different tasks. Experiments on an extensive set of graphs show that the new algorithm implementing this approach significantly outperforms relevant exact and heuristic MWC algorithms in both small/medium and massive real-world graphs.


Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) resistant varieties have been used to manage CMD in Uganda. In spite the availability of a number of CMD resistant cultivars, several local landraces are continually grown in Uganda because they possess certain desirable traits, which may not have been fully met by the resistant varieties. Field based trials were setup to evaluate the response to CMD of some landraces that became prominent after the 1990s CMD pandemic. Experiments were located in areas where CMD is reported to have subsided namely, Mukono (Central Uganda) and Bulindi (Western Uganda). Three landraces were evaluated per site along with resistant (Nase 4) and susceptible (Bao) standards. Plots were planted with materials obtained from either diseased or healthy fields. The results showed differences in sensitivity to CMD among varieties tested, with landraces consistently having higher CMD incidences than Nase 4. The landraces tested in Mukono were more susceptible to CMD than even the Bao, while at Bulindi on the other hand, only Sibampale proved to be more resistant than Bao. There were differences in the whitefly populations among the cassava varieties and locations. High whitefly populations characterized all landraces and Nase 4. In most tested varieties, there was a higher infestation of whiteflies on healthy than diseased plants. Low spread of CMD among local landraces was observed in Bulindi as would be expected in areas where CMD has almost subsided (low pressure areas). However, in Mukono, disease spread among landraces was very rapid and high CMD incidences reaching 100% were recorded regardless of whether plots were planted with healthy or diseased cuttings suggesting it to be a CMD hot-spot. Thus, the use of clean planting materials as an effective phytosanitary method can only be employed under low disease pressure while high disease pressure areas need use of resistant varieties. Research Article


Background: Consistency is one of the main traits that define commercial quality and price of tomato paste. Pectins are partially responsible for consistency in tomato paste, therefore enzymatic pectin modification could be used to increase paste consistency. Results: This work reports the effects of a commercial enzymatic preparation of pectin-methyl-esterase (PME) (NovoShape TM ) on tomato paste consistency taking into account variables as enzyme/substrate ratio (0,1% w/w - 1% w/w), reaction time (0 hr - 3 hrs) and reaction temperature (40oC-60oC). The results indicate that NovoShape TM increased consistency when reaction temperature ranged from 40 to 50oC with an enzyme/substrate ratio of 0.5 to 1 (l PME solution/g tomato paste on dry base). On the other hand, enzymatic treatment was not effective at 60oC with an enzyme/substrate ratio of 0.1%. Conclusions: Based on these results, addition of NovoShape TM is a good technological approach to increase tomato paste consistency.


At least one plasmid from each of the incompatibility groups B, C, FIV, H2/S, I alpha, I delta, P, W and X was shown to be capable of transfer from Escherichia coli K12 to Acinetobacter calcoaceticus EBF65/65. Transfer was influenced by the presence of pAV2 (thought to encode a restriction-modification system) in the recipient strain; however, not all plasmids belonging to a particular incompatibility group behaved identically. All plasmids were unstable to varying degrees in A. calcoaceticus EBF65/65, but under suitable conditions were capable of transfer to further strains of EBF65/65 and re-transfer to E. coli K12. Of 40 recently isolated trimethoprim R plasmids 31 transferred successfully from E. coli K12 to A. calcoaceticus EBF65/65, but 17 of these 31 required the introduction of a second mobilizing plasmid for re-transfer to occur.


Worldwide, deaths from cancer exceed those caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Seventy percent of deaths due to cancer occur in low-and middle-income countries, which are often poorly prepared to deal with the growing burden of chronic disease. Over a period of 18 months, the cancer care and control South-South knowledge exchange brought together a group of stakeholders from five countries in Africa - Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia to share experiences, lessons, and good practices through a set of video conferences and a site visit to Zambia. All five countries have demonstrated commitment, initiated various cancer control and cancer screening programs, and expressed interest in sharing their experiences. The knowledge exchange on cancer care and control aimed to raise awareness, increase knowledge of effective strategies, and strengthen regional collaboration in cancer control planning and expanding equitable access to cancer treatment. This paper presents highlights of the country experiences shared, common challenges discussed, and innovative solutions explored during the knowledge exchange. Topics addressed include population-based surveillance and data collection to better document the burden of cancer; strategies for designing and implementing successful national cancer care and control programs; innovative approaches for strengthening cancer prevention efforts such as human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programs; task sharing and other strategies to build capacity and increase access to services; analytical tools for understanding the costs of programs; financing models, including public private partnerships, to increase cancer prevention and care; policy reforms needed to improve access to palliative care; and opportunities for regional collaboration.


Gamma distributions, which contain the exponential as a special case, have a distinguished place in the representation of near-Poisson randomness for statistical processes; typically, they represent distributions of spacings between events or voids among objects. Here we look at the properties of the Shannon entropy function and calculate its corresponding flow curves, relating them to examples of constrained degeneration from ordered processes. We consider also univariate and bivariate gamma, as well as Weibull distributions since these include exponential distributions.


A main factor of competitive advantage of present organizations is knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) is a conscious attempt as a new approach to create, disseminate, and apply knowledge in a way that valuable results were achieved for the organizations. The critical success factors (CSFs) of knowledge management have a considerable effect on the competitive position of the organizations. The aim of this article is to prioritize preeminent manufacturing brands of Isfahan Province based on the critical success factors of knowledge management. 12 critical success factors of knowledge management and their sub-factors were determined with reviewing the literature review. The questionnaire was designed based on these factors. 80 questionnaires were completed by senior managers, middle-level managers, executive managers, and employed supervisors. Data were analyzed with the use of fuzzy TOSIS technique and were prioritized based on the critical factors of organizations. According to the obtained results, Iran smelting company was placed in the first place with the similarity index of 0.5561 and Pars electric company was placed in the second place with the similarity index of 0.5366. Other companies were placed in the next places. Sepahan Cement Company was placed on the last place.


ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of 21-gene recurrence score (RS) and St. Gallen International Expert Consensus on treatment decision and prognosis of patients with invasive breast cancer. We retrospectively analyzed the therapy protocol and outcome of 134 cases based on age, body mass index (BMI), menopause, pathological types, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stages, percentage of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2), Ki-67, molecular subtype, and tumor biomarkers. RS was calculated based on 21-gene assay following traditional (old RS cutoff) and updated (new RS cutoff) National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline. In addition, we also compared treatment protocol of NCCN guidelines with St. Gallen International Expert Consensus. The results showed that BMI, PR, Ki-67, and molecular subtype are critical for the evaluation of risk factors. Based on the new cutoff, low, middle, and high RS were 18%, 66%, and 16%, respectively. In contrast, based on the old cutoff, low, middle, and high RS were 60%, 29%, and 11%, respectively. The agreement rate of NCCN guidelines and St. Gallen International Expert Consensus for adjuvant treatment was 50. However, there is minimal agreement (0.151, 0.071) in kappa coefficient of old and new cutoff. This study revealed that the combination of NCCN guidelines and St. Gallen International Expert Consensus might improve the benefits of adjuvant treatment in patients with early invasive breast cancer.


Nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors that regulate the expression of retinoic acid target genes. Although the importance of RAR phosphorylation in their N-terminal domain is clearly established, the underlying mechanism for the phosphorylation-dependent transcriptional activity of the receptors had not been elucidated yet. Here, using a yeast two-hybrid system, we report the isolation of vinexin β as a new cofactor that interacts with the N-terminal A/B domain of the RARγ isotype. Vinexin β is a multiple SH3 motif-containing protein associated with the cytoskeleton and also present in the nucleus. We demonstrate that vinexin β colocalizes with RARγ in the nucleus and interacts with the non-phosphorylated form of the AF-1 domain of RARγ. We also show that this interaction is prevented upon phosphorylation of the AF-1 domain. Using F9 cells stably overexpressing vinexin β or vinexin knockdown by RNA interference, we demonstrate that vinexin β is an inhibitor of RARγ-mediated transcription. We propose a model in which phosphorylation of the AF-1 domain controls RARγ-mediated transcription through triggering the dissociation of vinexin β.


This paper presents a novel control mechanism for generating adaptive locomotion of a caterpillar-like robot in complex terrain. Inspired by biological findings in studies of the locomotion of the lamprey, we employ sensory feedback integration for online modulation of the control parameters of a new proposed central pattern generator (CPG). This closed-loop control scheme consists of the following stages: First, touch sensor information is processed and transformed into module states. Then, reactive strategies that determine the mapping between module states and sensory inputs are generated according to an analysis of the module states. Finally, by means of a genetic algorithm, adaptive locomotion is achieved by optimising the amount and speed of sensory input that is fed back to the CPG model. Incorporating the closed-loop controller in a caterpillar-like robot, both simulation and real on-site experiments are carried out. The results confirm the effectiveness of the control system, based on which the robot flexibly adapts to, and manages to crawl across the complex terrain.