Parasites are an understudied but ecologically significant component of marine planktonic food webs. Syndinean dinoflagellates that infect tintinnid ciliates and free-living dinoflagellates cause host mortality that can lead to the decline of blooms and promote species succession. Far less is known about the role of parasitism in aloricate ciliates and other protistan groups. Here, we provide data on parasitism of aloricate ciliates for seasonal samples collected from the southern coast of Korea over a 3 yr period. Aloricate ciliates were parasitized by species from 2 syndinean dinoflagellate genera and an unidentified genus of core dinoflagellates (Dinokaryota). Morphological and developmental differences among parasites of different host taxa suggest high parasite diversity. Infections generally peaked in fall, but notable interannual variation was evident within seasons. Parasites were more often encountered in commonly occurring and abundant hosts, but were also detected in occasional and rare host species. Most host taxa were rarely or sporadically parasitized, but Strombidium pollostomum and Strombidium bilobum were infected in 31 and 13% of the samples, respectively, where the species were present. Parasite prevalence in those species reached 22 and 17%, respectively. Overall, 29% of the samples analyzed contained infected aloricate ciliates. Results indicate that parasites of aloricate ciliates are usually a minor source of host mortality in coastal waters of Korea, but may periodically produce high infection levels contributing to top-down control of particular host species.


ABSTRACT As we approach the post-witness era this paper investigates the changing role of the Holocaust and Holocaust survivors in twenty-first century British politics and culture. In the first part, the article discusses the ways in which, through their role in educational initiatives and commemorative culture, survivors have acquired an increased visibility in British understandings of the Holocaust. For a significant period of time, this process was characterized by a tendency to abstract survivors from their Jewish identities to ensure that they could more easily act as mediators of a universalized, yet highly domesticated, Holocaust narrative with meanings for contemporary British society. However, in the second part the article will argue that, starting from the second decade of the twenty-first century, it is also possible to discern an increasing acknowledgement of British Holocaust survivors' 'difference.' It will be suggested that British politicians have attempted to mobilize survivors, the Anglo-Jewish community they are seen to represent, and the Holocaust more in general, in Britain's domestic battle against Islamic extremism and in the pursuit of the rather elusive concept of 'British values.'


The main aim of the research is to investigate the effect of foreign banks upon the Palestinian national banks through six dimensions, besides, investigating the differences through these dimensions. To do so, 50questionnaires were distributed through branches of national and foreign banks, 48 questionnaires were analyzed using (Repeat MANOVA). The result of analysis emphasize the high mean the increasing of banking awareness, where as the least mean the support of Palestinian Monetary Authority for the Palestinian national banks. Upon that it will be recommended of some points that will help Palestinian national banks to be competitive against the foreign ones.


We report on the multi-wavelength identification of the X-ray sources found in the Subaru-XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS) using deep imaging data covering the wavelength range between the far-UV and mid-IR (MIR). We select a primary counterpart of each X-ray source by applying the likelihood ratio method to R-band, 3.6 μm, near-UV, and 24 μm source catalogs as well as matching catalogs of active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates selected in 1.4 GHz radio and i-band variability surveys. Once candidates for Galactic stars, ultra-luminous X-ray sources in a nearby galaxy, and clusters of galaxies are removed there are 896 AGN candidates in the sample. We conduct spectroscopic observations of the primary counterparts with multi-object spectrographs in the optical and NIR; 65% of the X-ray AGN candidates are spectroscopically identified. For the remaining X-ray AGN candidates, we evaluate their photometric redshift with photometric data in 15 bands. Utilizing the multi-wavelength photometric data of the large sample of X-ray-selected AGNs, we evaluate the stellar masses, M, of the host galaxies of the narrow-line AGNs. The distribution of the stellar mass is remarkably constant from z = 0.1 to 4.0. The relation between M and 2-10 keV luminosity can be explained with strong cosmological evolution of the relationship between the black hole mass and M. We also evaluate the scatter of the UV-MIR spectral energy distribution (SED) of the X-ray AGNs as a function of X-ray luminosity and absorption by the nucleus. The scatter is compared with galaxies which have redshift and stellar mass distribution matched with the X-ray AGN. The UV-NIR (near-IR) SEDs of obscured X-ray AGNs are similar to those of the galaxies in the matched sample. In the NIR-MIR range, the median SEDs of X-ray AGNs are redder, but the scatter of the SEDs of the X-ray AGN broadly overlaps that of the galaxies in the matched sample.


Bitcoin's value is highly dependent on the communities that use it. This network effect is true for all new technologies. Today's online communities are so large in population that both the Facebook user and Youtuber populations have surpassed the Chinese population. We take a big data approach using millions of samples of posts from Twitter, Telegram, and Reddit to study how and if social media platforms, the epitome of online communities, affect Bitcoin's price and volume as well as the price and volume of fifteen other top cryptocurrencies. We work in collaboration with Solume, a data centered fin-tech startup, as well as with Sentistrength, an opinion mining tool developed by researchers in the UK, to classify the sentiment of the millions of posts we study. We collected millions of posts related to 16 cryptocurrencies from November 2017 through August 2018 on an hourly basis and explore social media volume sentiment effect on these cryptocurrencies. Findings confirm that volumes of exchanged posts may predict the fluctuations of Bitcoin's price but mainly, they predict volume. We also find that Reddit and Telegram posts have greater impact on Bitcoin volume than Twitter. Results indicate that information about the use of social media platforms can assist in tracking real world behavior and may even predict real financial market trends.


The ability of vortex generators (VG) to reduce the unsteady distortion at the exit Aerodynamic Interface Plane (AIP) of an S-duct is investigated. The 3 components of the velocity at the AIP were measured using a Stereo Particle Velocimetry system with high spatial resolution. This enabled an assessment of the synchronous swirl distortion at the duct exit. A total of nine VG cases have been investigated with a systematic variation of key design variables. Overall the VGs change the duct secondary flows and separation and are able to substantially restructure the flow field at the AIP. The pressure distortion could be reduced up to 50% and a reduction in pressure loss of 30% was achieved for the mean flow field. The VGs have a substantial influence on the unsteadiness of the flow field with a reduction in peak swirl unsteadiness of 61% and an overall reduction of unsteady swirl distortion of 67%. They also suppress the primary unsteady flow switching mechanism of the datum configuration which is associated with the oscillation of bulk and twin swirl regimes. Consequently, extreme events which leads to high swirl intensity are suppressed which lower by 45% the maximum swirl intensity for the VG cases.


Objective This study examines the role of age-disparate partnerships on young women's HIV risk by investigating coital frequency and condom use within age-disparate partnerships involving women aged 15 to 24. Design A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting Participants were randomly selected using a two-stage random sampling method in uMgungundlovu district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, between June 2014 and June 2015. Participants A total of 1306 15–24-year-old women in an ongoing heterosexual partnership were included in the analysis. Participants had to be a resident in the area for 12 months, and able to provide informed consent and speak one of the local languages (Zulu or English). Primary and secondary outcome measures Sexual frequency was assessed by asking participants how many times they had sex with each partner in the past 12 months. The degree of condomless sex within partnerships was assessed in the survey by asking participants how often they used a condom with their partners. Results Age-disparate partnerships were associated with a higher order category (once, 2–5, 6–10, 11–20, >20) of coital frequency (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.32, p<0.05, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.71) and with sex on more than 10 occasions (aOR 1.48, p<0.01, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.96) compared with age-similar partnerships. Age-disparate partnerships were also more likely to involve sex on more than 10 occasions with inconsistent condom use (aOR 1.43, p<0.05, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.96) in the previous 12 months. Conclusion The finding that increased sexual activity is positively associated with age-disparate partnerships adds to the evidence that age-disparate partnerships pose greater HIV risk for young women. Our study results indicate that interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour within age-disparate partnerships remain relevant to reducing the high HIV incidence rates among adolescent girls and young women.


Titanium alloy, especially titanium type Ti-12Cr for biomedical application has been a concern of many researchers recently. This titanium has excellent biocompatibility and controllable mechanical properties. Generally, titanium β type contains many alloying elements that lead to a high price. Therefore, it is interesting to develop β type with only one cheap alloying element such as Ti-12Cr that is designed as a low-cost implant material. Initially, Ti-12Cr has been developed, in particular for spinal fixation. Nowadays, the research of Ti-12Cr emphasizes only on mechanical properties. The corrosion behavior of this alloy has not been understood well yet. Therefore, corrosion characteristics of this alloy in any circumstances are necessary to investigate. This paper reports the corrosion behavior of Ti-12Cr in a salted environment using the weight loss method. Ti-12Cr samples were immersed in a 3% NaCl solution for 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Samples consist of Ti-12Cr (as-received), Ti-12Cr (ST) and Ti-12Cr (AT 30 ks). Weight of samples was measured before and after the immersing process using the digital balance. Microstructure and composition of the sample surfaces were examined by using SEM and EDX, respectively. The lowest corrosion rate after exposure for 6 weeks while the highest one is Ti-12Cr (as-received) is Ti-12Cr (AT 30 ks) that is 0,003 mmpy. The microstructure all of the samples shows black spots in the surfaces indicating corrosion has been started to occur on the samples. It  was found that the corrosion is due to destruction of the chrome-oxide layer in some weak point as a result of a chemical reaction between the metal (Cr) with Cl- ions. Some oxides are formed on the surface of titanium, as indicated by a significant increment of oxygen content is the corrosive sample surface. This study indicates the corrosion resistance of Ti-12Cr (AT 30 ks) is much better than other materials in this research.


Effects of infrastructure development on the natural vegetation and wildlife habitat were studied at the Kali Gandaki 'A'  Hydroelectric Project site, western Nepal. Five major habitats observed in the area were: hill Sal ( Shorea robusta ) forest, mixed hardwood forest, mixed pine forest, Khayer ( Acacia catechu ) forest and open shrub and grassland. Mixed hardwood forest was the dominant forest in the study area whileA. catechu and Ficus semicordata were dominant trees. The prominent impacts observed were vegetation clearance, removal of wood and threatening of rare and endangered species. The vegetation resources and natural habitat at the dam site were found more degraded than at reservoir area. The natural habitat of wildlife was also disturbed in vicinity of the project site. However, most of the impacts were of temporary nature and expected to be reduced after the project completion. There has been reasonable success in the implementation of mitigation measures for minimization of adverse impacts on vegetation and wildlife.


The word ordering in a Sanskrit verse is often not aligned with its corresponding prose order. Conversion of the verse to its corresponding prose helps in better comprehension of the construction. Owing to the resource constraints, we formulate this task as a word ordering (linearisation) task. In doing so, we completely ignore the word arrangement at the verse side. kāvya guru, the approach we propose, essentially consists of a pipeline of two pretraining steps followed by a seq2seq model. The first pretraining step learns task-specific token embeddings from pretrained embeddings. In the next step, we generate multiple possible hypotheses for possible word arrangements of the input %using another pretraining step. We then use them as inputs to a neural seq2seq model for the final prediction. We empirically show that the hypotheses generated by our pretraining step result in predictions that consistently outperform predictions based on the original order in the verse. Overall, kāvya guru outperforms current state of the art models in linearisation for the poetry to prose conversion task in Sanskrit.


Several studies have shown that microwave cooking, if properly used, does not change the nutrient content of foods to a larger extent than conventional heating. In fact, suggests that there is a tendency towards greater retention of many micronutrients with microwaving, probably due to the shorter preparation time. Does not describe non‐thermal effects. The main problem with microwaving is the uneven heating of the food, which has raised concern regarding microbiological safety. Microwaving infant formula and breast milk has become increasingly popular. The content of nutrients and antibacterial factors in milk are maintained unchanged provided the final temperature does not exceed 60°C.


Ostensive-referential communication is argued to be pivotal for learning in infancy (Csibra & Gergely, 2009), and even to have a specific effect on what infants learn about objects. Yoon, Johnson & Csibra (2008) found that after viewing an ostensive pointing scene ('Hey baby', actress pointing to object, occluder covering object, occluder revealing a change), 9-month-olds detected object identity changes more than object location changes. But after viewing a non-ostensive reaching scene, infants detected object location changes more. These results were interpreted as ostension boosting identity encoding. However, the relative contribution of ostensive and referential signals cannot be concluded from this experiment. In experiment 1, we will conduct a direct replication of the previous study, comparing ostensive pointing and non-ostensive reaching. In experiment 2, we will add two new conditions: ostensive reaching and non-ostensive pointing. Infants will see action videos where an actress performs actions towards a novel object. We will use an eye-tracker to investigate change detection (either of object identity or location), as well as where infants are looking during the action scene. Each infant will see six test scenes: two action conditions (ostensive reaching, non-ostensive pointing) and three different outcomes (no change, identity change, location change). If the effect observed in Yoon's study is due to ostension boosting object identity encoding, we will observe both ostensive conditions causing longer looking times for the object's identity change. If the effect is due to referentiality boosting object identity encoding, we will see both pointing conditions causing longer looking times for the identity change. If it is the combination that drives the effect, we will only see longer looking times for the identity change in the ostensive pointing condition. Results from this study will help differentiate the roles of these cues, and how they contribute to infant learning and memory.


Bio-surfactants are amphiphilic biological compounds made extracellular or cell membrane part bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi. Bio-surfactants are made up of a hydrophilic moiety, may be acid, peptide, action, anion, mono, di or polysaccharides and a hydrophobic moiety, which may be unsaturated or saturated hydrocarbon chains or fatty acids. Many advantages for bio-surfactants comprise biodegradability, low toxicity, biocompatibility and digestivity, presence of raw materials and specificity. The bio-surfactant production was known by many methods includes, hemolytic activity, oil displacement test emulsification index, surface tension reduction, blue agar plate or CTAB agar plate method, hydrocarbon overlay agar method. There are many medial applications for bio-surfactant which includes antimicrobial activity. Biosurfactants having capacity to be toxic on cell membrane permeability in similar method to detergent effect, anti-cancer activity, the neuronal differentiation in PC 12 cells induced by MEL and get ready the ground work for the use of microbial extracellular glycolipids as novel reagents for cancer cell treatment, antiviral activity, the sophorolipids surfactants produce by C. bombicola having structural analogues such as the sophorolipiddiacetate ethyl ester which is powerful spermicidal and virucidal agent and its virucidal activity similar to nonoxynol-9 against the human semen. Anti-adhesive agents, bio-surfactants having capability for adhesion residing for pathogenic organisms to solid surfaces or infection site, anti-fungal activity, flocculosin is a glycolipid produced by yeast like fungus P. flocculosa having antifungal activity against pathogenic yeasts and human mycoses. Immunological adjuvants, bacterial lipo-peptides when mix with classic antigens having active nontoxic, nonpyrogenic immunological adjuvants. Gene delivery, the liposomes based on bio-surfactants having increasing efficiency for gene transfection than cationic liposomes trading use.

Microbial compounds that possess pronounced surface and emulsifying activities are categorized as biosurfactants. Biosurfactants include a wide range of chemical structures, such as glycolipids, lipopeptides, polysaccharide–protein complexes, phospholipids, fatty acids and neutral lipids. For instance, Cooper and Goldenberg described different bio emulsifiers produced by two Bacillus species in water-soluble substrates with different emulsifying and surface activities. It is, therefore, reasonable to expect different properties and physiological functions for unique groups of biosurfactants. Moreover, these molecules can be tailor-made to suit different applications by modifying the growth substrate or growth conditions. Although most biosurfactants are regarded to be secondary metabolites, some may play crucial roles for the survival of biosurfactants-producing microorganisms through facilitating nutrient transport or microbe–host interactions or by acting as biocide agents. Biosurfactant roles include increasing the surface area and bioavailability of hydrophobic water-insoluble substrates, heavy metal binding, bacterial pathogenesis, and quorum sensing and biofilm formation. Biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition preferentially at the interface between fluid phases that have different polarity and hydrogen bonding, such as oil and water or air and water interfaces. This property elaborates their wide use in environmental applications. Most work on biosurfactant applications has been focused on their use in environmental applications owing to their diversity, environmentally friendly nature, suitability for large-scale production and selectivity. Despite their potential and biological origin only a few studies have been carried out on applications related to the biomedical field. Some biosurfactants are suitable alternatives to synthetic medicines and antimicrobial agents and may be used as safe and effective therapeutic agents

Synthetic surfactants are becoming increasingly unpopular in many areas and applications due to previously disregarded effects on biological systems and this has led to a new focus on replacing such products with biosurfactants that are biodegradable and created from renewal resources. Microbially derived biosurfactants have been investigated in numerous studies in areas including: increasing feed digestibility in an agricultural context, improving seed protection and fertility, plant pathogen control, antimicrobial activity, ant biofilm activity, wound healing and dermatological care, improved oral cavity care, drug delivery systems and anticancer treatments. The development of the potential of biosurfactants has been stopped somewhat by the myriad of steps taken in their investigations, the focus on pathogens as source species and the costs associated with large�?�scale production. Here, we focus on various microbial sources of biosurfactants and the current trends in terms of agricultural and biomedical applications.


ABSTRACT This article is concerned with masterplan implementation and with exploring, via recourse to case studies, slippages between masterplanning principles, policies, and practices. Framed by a growing body of sustainable urbanism literature we analyse evidence from five masterplanned communities in the UK and Australia to comparatively explore how some key theoretical principles are translated into placemaking in inner urban, suburban, outer urban and semi-rural contexts. We observe varying degrees of disjuncture between masterplanning principles and the urban form envisioned by, and realized through, actual masterplanning proposals and implementation. We postulate that various degrees of slippage at each stage from proposals to practices have occurred which can affect capacity to meet principles of sustainable urbanism. Analysis of the five cases demonstrates where some potential "tripping-up" points lie in the masterplanning process, hinting at broader impediments to delivering masterplanning that is more closely aligned to sustainable urbanism principles in future.


With the popularity of mobile devices with embedded video cameras, real-time video encoding on hand-held devices becomes increasingly popular. Reducing the power consumption during real-time video encoding to suspend the battery life with the same encoding performance is very important to improve the quality of service. Although some workload estimation techniques have been developed for video decoding to reduce power consumption for video playback applications, they present inefficiency in being transferred to video encoding directly because the compressed information cannot be retrieved before encoding and the future input video content is often nondeterministic. In this paper, a workload estimation scheme targeting video encoding applications is proposed. Based on the definition of video encoding workload and the analysis of the features, a Hilbert transform-based workload estimation model is proposed to predict the overall variation trend in the encoding workload to overcome the workload fluctuations and the nondeterministic content variations, e.g., burst motion. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated on two H.264/AVC encoders on PC and an embedded platform by encoding different video contents at different bit-rates. The proposed algorithm provides a negligible deadline missing ratio around 4.8%, which is much lower than the previous solutions, together with platform and content robustness. Compared with the previous solutions, the proposed algorithm provides up to 61.69% power reduction under the same performance constraint.


During movement, there is a transition of activity across the population, such that place-field centers ahead of the rat are sequentially activated in the order that they will be encountered. Although the mechanisms responsible for this sequence updating are unknown, two classes of models can be considered. The first class involves head-direction information for activating neurons in the order that their place fields will be traversed. An alternative model contends that motion and turn-related information from the posterior parietal cortex shift the subset of active hippocampal cells across the population. To explicitly test these two models, rodents were trained to run backward on a linear track, placing movement in opposition with head orientation. Although head-direction did not change between running conditions, place-field activity remapped and there was an increase in place-field size during backward running compared with forward. The population activity, however, could still be used to reconstruct the location of the rat accurately. Moreover, theta phase precession was maintained in both running conditions, indicating preservation of place-field sequences on short-time scales. The observation that sequence encoding persists even when the animal is orientated away from the direction of movement favors the concept that posterior parietal cortical mechanisms may be partially responsible for updating hippocampal activity patterns.


Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) provides the capability to detect surface deformation. Numerous processing approaches have been developed to improve InSAR results and overcome its limitations. Regardless of the processing methodology, however, temporal decorrelation is a major obstacle for all InSAR applications, especially over vegetated areas and dynamic environments, such as Interior Alaska. Temporal coherence is usually modeled as a univariate exponential function of temporal baseline. It has been, however, documented that temporal variations in surface backscattering due to the change in surface parameters, i.e., dielectric constant, roughness, and the geometry of scatterers, can result in gradual, seasonal, or sudden decorrelations and loss of InSAR coherence. The coherence models introduced so far have largely neglected the effect of the temporal change in backscattering on InSAR coherence. Here, we introduce a new temporal decorrelation model that considers changes in surface backscattering by utilizing the relative change in SAR intensity between two images as a proxy for the change in surface scattering parameters. The model also takes into account the decorrelation due to the change in snow depth between two images. Using the L-band Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS-2) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR-2) data, the model has been assessed over forested and shrub landscapes in Delta Junction, Interior Alaska. The model decreases the RMS error of temporal coherence estimation from 0.18 to 0.09 on average. The improvements made by the model have been statistically proved to be significant at the 99% confidence level. Additionally, the model shows that the coherence of forested areas are more prone to changes in backscattering than shrub landscape. The model is based on L-band data and may not be expanded to C-band or X-band InSAR observations.


INTRODUCTION
The diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is suboptimal in many patients, which may impact on morbidity, mortality, use of healthcare resources and patients' overall quality of life.

OBJECTIVES
To describe the management of COPD by respiratory physicians from the French mainland according to severity.

METHODS
Observational cross-sectional survey performed in France in 2006-2007. 515 pulmonologists located throughout the national territory were involved and each of them had to recruit 5 patients with stable COPD.

RESULTS
The study included 2494 patients (mean age 67 years, 78% males), of whom nearly 50% had severe to very severe COPD (GOLD stage III-IV). At inclusion, 93.2% of patients were receiving pharmacological treatment, most often non-nebulised bronchodilators (91.2%) and/or inhaled corticosteroids (73.7%). Pulmonary rehabilitation was scheduled or had been performed within the last 2 years in 26.9% of patients. Investigations and treatments were more frequent when the disease was more severe, but there was considerable overlap between severity grades.

CONCLUSIONS
Differences in decisions about the investigation and treatment of COPD by pulmonologists can not be explained only by the severity of disease. Efforts must be made to identify other patient characteristics associated with these decisions, in order to help developing future recommendations.


Abstract In this paper, we explore critically deinstitutionalisation reform, focusing specifically on the postsocialist region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We argue that deinstitutionalisation in postsocialist CEE has generated re-institutionalising outcomes, including renovation of existing institutions and/or creation of new, smaller settings that have nevertheless reproduced key features of institutional life. To explain these trends, we first consider the historical background of the reform, highlighting the legacy of state socialism and the effects of postsocialist neoliberalisation. We then discuss the impact of 'external' drivers of deinstitutionalisation in CEE, particularly the European Union and its funding, as well as human rights discourses incorporated in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The analysis is supported by looking at the current situation in Hungary and Bulgaria through recent reports by local civil society organisations. In conclusion, we propose some definitional tactics for redirecting existing resources towards genuine community-based services.


An in vitro marrow culture assay designed to measure erythropoietic capability was used to ascertain the presence of an inhibitor in the sera of patients with congenital hypoplastic anemia (CHA). Marrow cells from nine anemic CHA patients responded to the stimulatory effect of exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) by an increase in heme synthesis in the presence of normal serum. The effect on heme synthesis was less than that observed with normal marrow cells. CHA serum inhibited heme synthesis by both normal and CHA marrow cells. It is concluded that an in-inhibitor of erythropoiesis is present in serum from CHA patients. This inhibitor most likely blocks the EPO-sensitive stem cell receptor sites, causing decreased response to the hormone.


In this contribution we device and analyze improved variants of the non-conforming dual approach for trust-region reduced basis (TR-RB) approximation of PDE-constrained parameter optimization that has recently been introduced in [Keil et al.. A non-conforming dual approach for adaptive Trust-Region Reduced Basis approximation of PDE-constrained optimization. arXiv:2006.09297, 2020]. The proposed methods use model order reduction techniques for parametrized PDEs to significantly reduce the computational demand of parameter optimization with PDE constraints in the context of large-scale or multi-scale applications. The adaptive TR approach allows to localize the reduction with respect to the parameter space along the path of optimization without wasting unnecessary resources in an offline phase. The improved variants employ projected Newton methods to solve the local optimization problems within each TR step to benefit from high convergence rates. This implies new strategies in constructing the RB spaces, together with an estimate for the approximation of the hessian. Moreover, we present a new proof of convergence of the TR-RB method based on infinite-dimensional arguments, not restricted to the particular case of an RB approximation and provide an a posteriori error estimate for the approximation of the optimal parameter. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods.


Tissue cultures have been established from stems of Trichocereus spachianus (Riccob.) for the purpose of studying alkaloid biosynthesis in cactus tissue. On a basal inorganic medium supplemented with glucose, coconut milk, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, three distinct types of callus are initiated. One is greenish, compact, and slow-growing; another is firm and yellowish, with a moderate growth rate; the third is very friable and rapid-growing. The growth habit remains constant for a given clone in successive subcultures.


Purba GYS, Haryono E, Sunarto, Manan J, Rumenta L, Purwanto, Becking LE. 2018. Jellyfish Lakes at Misool Islands, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 172-182. Misool Islands, located in southern Raja Ampat in West Papua, has dozens of anchihaline lakes (marine lakes). Three of these lakes, Lenmakana, Karawapop, and Keramat, house populations of jellyfish. This study mapped and described the characteristics of the three 'jellyfish lakes' during field surveys in October 2015 and May 2016. The lakes ranged in area from 0.5−3.2 hectares. All three lakes harbored Mastigias papua, Lenmakana and Keramat lakes also harbored Aurelia sp., and Keramat had a third jellyfish species Cassiopea ornata. However, at Karawapop the jellyfish were not found on the water surface during the first round of field work because of effects associated with the El Nino phenomenon at that time. As a result of the El Nino effect, at Keramat, brown Mastigias became white in May 2016. The three lakes have different tidal delays (30−120 min) and dampened tidal amplitude (62%) compared to the sea. The benthos was found to be dominated by bivalves (Brachidontes sp.), algae (Cladophora sp., or Halimeda sp.) and sponges (predominantly Haliclona spp. and Tethya spp.). In addition, species of the family Synaptidae (Holothuroidea) were abundant and spread over almost all the bottom of Karawapop Lake, while tube-worms of the Polychaeta class were identified in Keramat Lake. Although these lakes are identified as a conservation area, currently there is no management activity in Lenmakana and Karawapop Lakes, despite the fact that the lakes are growing in popularity as a tourist site. Our paper provides the baseline data for future conservation efforts.


We address planning and navigation in challenging 3D video games featuring maps with disconnected regions reachable by agents using special actions. In this setting, classical symbolic planners are not applicable or difficult to adapt. We introduce a hybrid technique combining a low level policy trained with reinforcement learning and a graph based high level classical planner. In addition to providing human-interpretable paths, the approach improves the generalization performance of an end-to-end approach in unseen maps, where it achieves a 20% absolute increase in success rate over a recurrent end-to-end agent on a point to point navigation task in yet unseen large-scale maps of size 1km x 1km. In an in-depth experimental study, we quantify the limitations of end-to-end Deep RL approaches in vast environments and we also introduce"GameRLand3D", a new benchmark and soon to be released environment can generate complex procedural 3D maps for navigation tasks.


This article reports the most recent work of the OMERACT Ultrasound Task Force (post OMERACT 8) and highlights of future research priorities discussed at the OMERACT 9 meeting, Kananaskis, Canada, May 2008. Results of 3 studies were presented: (1) assessing intermachine reliability; (2) applying the scoring system developed in the hand to other joints most commonly affected in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); and (3) assessing interobserver reliability on a deep target joint (shoulder). Results demonstrated good intermachine reliability between multiple examiners, and good applicability of the scoring system for the hand on other joints (including shoulder). Study conclusions were discussed and a future research agenda was generated, notably the further development of a Global OMERACT Sonography Scoring (GLOSS) system in RA, emphasizing the importance of testing feasibility and added value over standard clinical variables. Future disease areas of importance to develop include a scoring system for enthesitis and osteoarthritis.


Abstract Searching for natural materials exhibiting larger electron-electron interactions constitutes a traditional approach to high-temperature superconductivity research. Very recently, we pointed out that the newly developed field of electromagnetic metamaterials deals with the somewhat related task of dielectric response engineering on a sub-100-nm scale. Considerable enhancement of the electron-electron interaction may be expected in such metamaterial scenarios as in epsilon near-zero (ENZ) and hyperbolic metamaterials. In both cases, dielectric function may become small and negative in substantial portions of the relevant four-momentum space, leading to enhancement of the electron pairing interaction. This approach has been verified in experiments with aluminum-based metamaterials. Metamaterial superconductor with Tc=3.9 K have been fabricated, which is three times that of pure aluminum (Tc=1.2 K), which opens up new possibilities to improve the Tc of other simple superconductors considerably. Taking advantage of the demonstrated success of this approach, the critical temperature of hypothetical niobium, MgB2- and H2S-based metamaterial superconductors is evaluated. The MgB2-based metamaterial superconductors are projected to reach the liquid nitrogen temperature range. In the case of an H2S-based metamaterial, the projected Tc appears to reach ~250 K.


Introduction: Non-stress's a method used to test fetal wellbeing before the onset of labor. A prenatal non-stress test functions in overall antepartum surveillance with ultrasound as a part or component of the biophysical profile. Aim: The main aim of this study was to assess knowledge regarding Non stress test and to find association between among staff Nurses. Material/Method: It was a pre experimental study conducted amongst 60 consented nurses of recognized hospital in gurugram. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and provide self-instructional module on knowledge regarding NST.Result: in that 40% had good knowledge score in pre-test which was improved in post-test that is 90%. Knowledge score. The mean of pre-test mean score was 19.33 which was increased in post-test mean score 24.22 . ʽt' value for knowledge 11.13 at the level of significance p<0.05. .No association was found between knowledge and other demographic variables. Conclusion: Self Instructional Module will be effective in improving knowledge regarding Non Stress Test (NST) among Staff Nurses in recognized Hospitals at Gurugram.


Flexible transparent dielectric materials have drawn ever-increasing research interests owing to their essential functions and potentially expansive applications in new generation electronics. In this study, a well-designed fluoride-constructed interfacial structure between poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoro-propylene) P(VDF-HFP) and ultra-small SiO2 nanoparticles was formed for manipulating the crystallization of the semicrystalline polymer. With more induced polar phases, ameliorated matrix/filler interfaces and diminished crystallite sizes, the resulting fluoropolymer-based nanocomposites exhibited a high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss of 27.1 and 0.03 at 1 kHz, respectively, as well as enhanced mechanical strength (Young's modulus of 986.2 MPa), toughness (elongation at break of 208.2%) and light transmittance (88.5% at 760 nm). This strategy is believed to open up a new path for developing high-performance flexible transparent dielectrics.


The issue of raising Pasifika achievement levels in New Zealand has been at the forefront of Pasifika research as early as 1996 in the AIMHI report from the Ministry of Education. Nearly, 20 years on and the goal remains the same as Pasifika still underperform in education. In the last 19 years, there has been countless research in understanding the issue, with numerous identified areas of concern. However, so many areas need addressing that is can serve the purpose of perpetuating the problem by making it too large to solve. The structural, systemic issues still remain, the lack of Pasifika teachers and teachers that understand Pasifika still remain, the gap between home and school life still exist, as well as the lack of real leaders and governance in schools that want to make a difference to the education realties of Pasifika (Chu et al., 2013).  This frustration has led to the rise of "strength based" approached to Pasifika education research in pursuit of solutions. With a focus on appreciating what works for Pasifika and trying to foster that success and replicate it. However, a gap remains, there has been little to no platform for the empowered Pasifika voice on the issue. The Pasifika person that "bucks" the trend and despite the countless education issues were resilient and fought for their educational success.  This thesis provides a platform for this voice. This thesis reveals the stories of eight Pasifika postgraduate students (PPGS) that were deemed academic failures at secondary school. It focuses on their internal and external factors that facilitated their academic progress and resilience. This qualitative study was underpinned by appreciative inquiry as the theoretical framework and a Pacific methodology and method Talanoa. The participants were selected via snowball sampling technique and one on one Talanoa discussions were used to explore their stories. The main finding from the research identified that as the participant's self-concepts changed so did their academic performance. The identified historical and recent education barriers were still present in both their education failure and success. However, through transferable success experiences, deep reflection, visualisation, and goal setting, enabled the participants to see a positive academic result before it eventuated. This helped the participants develop positive self-concepts and attitudes that facilitated their progress and resilience to overcome existing barriers and become successful postgraduate students.


The purpose of this study is to synthesize the widely used theories about co-creation from two main perspectives: co-creation as an innovation process and co-creation as a design process applied to the service concept design in the built environment context. The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry do not have much application of end-user-oriented service design in general, especially with intensive co-creation processes. To facilitate such a process, we are using a living lab environment as a laboratorial model of the real built environment, but with the opportunity to have access to the end-users and different types of stakeholders. Using the KTH Live-in-Lab explorative case study, we were able to discuss the concept of co-creation by distinguishing between co-creation as innovation and co-creation as a design process, facilitating the process of co-creation of service concepts for the proposed built environment including methods from both perspectives: innovation and design, and evaluating the process of service concepts co-creation for the built environment from the point of innovation, knowledge transfer, sustainability, and user experience.


In Britain, and elsewhere, attempts to install a new regime of management in social services have been continued and relentless. Existing modes of professional organising were criticised for being inefficient, self-serving and failing to respond to the needs of clients. Indeed, for many, the personal social services were '…a metaphor for all that was considered to be wrong with the welfare state' (Harris and McDonald, 2000: 57). To deal with this, attention focused initially on cost reduction and then, later on more radical changes in management. Social care organisations, it was argued, needed to adopt both the practices and the priorities of commercial firms. First under the Conservatives and then, after 1997, under a New Labour government (and a slightly different banner of 'modernisation'), the pressures for such change has continued unabated.


This study links results from past in vitro and in vivo experiments, by implementing an in situ experiment in order to determine the relative importance for cadmium (Cd) uptake of different sections of the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) of rainbow trout. Transport of Cd from four sections of the GIT of adult rainbow trout ( 220 g) was individually examined by infusing ligated sections of the GIT in live, free-swimming fish with 50 mM Cd spiked with radiolabelled Cd (0.5 mCi ml ). Fish were exposed for an 8-h period. The percentage of the total injected Cd which was internalized from the different segments was only between 0.1 and 7%, indicating low uptake efficiency. The stomach is the most important GIT segment for Cd transport into the internal compartment of the animal, while the posterior intestine also plays a significant role. The majority of Cd recovered at the end of the flux period was detected within gut material (ranging from 28 to 95%); the portion of Cd which was internalized was largely found in the carcass (32 to 60%). Distribution between the measured organs varied with uptake from the various GIT sections. Our results also confirm that the GIT acts as a protective barrier against Cd uptake from dietary exposure. & 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


This paper summarises the work of a 5-year research programme into the heat transfer within cavities adjacent to the main annulus of a gas turbine. The work has been a collaboration between several gas turbine manufacturers, also involving a number of universities working together. The principal objective of the study has been to develop and
validate computer modelling methods of the cooling flow distribution and heat transfer management, in the environs of multi-stage turbine disc rims and blade fixings, with a
view to maintaining component and sub-system integrity, whilst achieving optimum engine performance and minimising emissions. A fully coupled analysis capability has been developed using combinations of commercially available and in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element (FE) thermo-mechanical modelling codes. The main objective of the methodology is to help decide on optimum cooling configurations for disc temperature, stress and life considerations. The new capability also gives us an effective means of validating the method by direct use of disc temperature measurements, where otherwise, additional and difficult to obtain parameters, such as reliable heat flux measurements, would be considered necessary for validation of the use of CFD for convective heat transfer.
A two-stage turbine test rig has been developed and improved to provide good quality thermal boundary condition data with which to validate the analysis methods. A cooling flow optimisation study has also been performed to support a re-design of the turbine stator well cavity, to maximise the effectiveness of cooling air supplied to the disc rim region. The benefits of this design change have also been demonstrated on the rig. A brief description of the test rig facility will be provided together with some insights into the successful completion of the test programme. Comparisons will be provided of disc rim cooling performance, for a range of cooling flows and geometry configurations. The new elements of this work are the presentation of additional test data and validation of the automatically coupled analysis method applied to a partially cooled stator well cavity, (i.e. including some local gas ingestion); also the extension of the cavity cooling design optimisation study to other new geometries


The Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diode in silicon carbide is a promising candidate for a low-leakage power rectifier for high switching frequencies and elevated temperature operation. It has the advantage of a low forward voltage drop while keeping a low leakage current at high blocking voltage. JBS devices have been fabricated in 4H SiC and 6H SiC and then electrically characterised in comparison with pn and Schottky diodes on the same wafer. The JBS devices reached blocking voltages up to 1.0 kV at a leakage current density of 13 IŒA/cm2 and the forward conduction was limited by an on-resistance close to the theoretical value.


Against the background of the new regulatory framework, this article reviews the varied experiences of selected programmes across the EU – the programmes that are part of the IQ-Net knowledge exchange network - with the fulfilment of the new monitoring requirements. The article is based on secondary source research and fieldwork interviews carried out in all the IQ-Net partner countries and regions with Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies, as well as an interview with the European Commission (DG REGIO). It starts with a review of the new monitoring obligations, and their rationale against the background of changed regulatory provisions. It then goes on to discuss the new monitoring arrangements in IQ-Net partner programmes, including the changes introduced to monitoring indicators and systems, the selection of results indicators, the main issues with the design and operation of the 2014-2020 monitoring systems, the challenges that remain to be addressed, as well as the additional efforts undertaken to supplement monitoring data with administrative and survey data, to better serve the needs of evaluation. Some concluding reflections are provided at the end of this paper.


PAF is a phospholipid formed from the action of phospholipase A2 triggered by immunologic or hypoxic stimuli. PAF does not exist in its active form but rather is present as a storage product within cells, and is synthesized rapidly upon appropriate activation. PAF is a potent lipid mediator which is released by a variety of cell types in mammalian systems. PAF appears to be a particularly important mediator of myocardial ischemia and circulatory shock states in mammalian species. Moreover, since PAF releases other lipid mediators, it may have an "amplifier" role in the propagation of circulatory disease states.


A method is presented by which a geometrical interpretation can be given for boson models without leaving the domain of quantum mechanics. This approach turns out to be particularly useful in symmetry-preserving treatments of deformed boson systems. A U(3) boson model having an SO(2) symmetry, which is to be preserved throughout, is analyzed in detail. For a well-deformed system, rotational and vibrational modes are identified. A procedure is developed by which the parameters of the geometrical description for the deformed case can be calculated in a series expansion controlled by the inverse of the boson number. The method is compared with the corresponding random phase approximation approach.


Otters Lutra lutra were persecuted increasingly in Britain for fishery protection and for sport throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. There are indications of a population recovery occurring during the 1914-1918 war with the temporary cessation of hunting and keepering. Intensive otter hunting with packs of hounds throughout the 1920s and 1930s appears to have stressed the population by altering the age structure. A catastrophic decline occurring simultaneously over England, Wales and southern Scotland, but most severe in the south-east and starting in 1957-1958, appears to have been triggered in this stressed population by a single new factor, pollution of the rivers by organochlorine insecticides. The trough in the decline may have occurred around 1977-- 1979. The first signs of rivers being re-occupied by otters have been seen by the early 1980s and partial recovery seems possible with legal protection and improved water quality.


To quantify the risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) acquisition associated with a first male sex partner and to identify associated risk factors, we analyzed data from women who were enrolled before or within 3 months of first intercourse with a male partner and were censored at the report of a second partner. The 1-year cumulative incidence of first HPV infection was 28.5% (95% confidence interval, 20.6%-38.6%) and increased to almost 50% by 3 years. The risk was increased when the first male partner was sexually experienced. Our results indicate a high risk of HPV infection in young women who have had just 1 male sex partner.


The fouling erect Bryozoa settled on polystyrene test panels immersed half a meter deep in the water of Abu Qir Harbour, the Eastern Harbour and El-Dekheila Harbour were studied. The present study yields 5 species of erect bryozoa. These are Amathia pruvoti , Zoobotryon verticillatum , Bowerbankia gracilis , Bugula neritina and Bugula stolonifera . The first three ones pertain to 3 genera of the family Vesiculariidae belonging to suborder the Stolonifera; while the other two species affiliate to the genus Bugula belonging to the family Bugulidae of suborder Anasca. The present record of Amathia pruvoti is the first from the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. A re-description, supplied with full structural illustrations of the recorded species is given. Moreover, the temporal and spatial distributions of the species recorded are encountered.


The internal audit function is around to help members of organization in improving their activities.But the findings from in‐depth interviews conducted in the middle of 2004 with internal auditors from a total of 40 federal government ministries, departments and agencies in Malaysia have revealed a number of serious shortcomings that far outweigh the few virtues around.That is, many internal audit units have to face with the problem of shortage of staff and audit staff lacking in competency in internal audit.In addition, a majority of the audit units which are mostly operating in the less than advance audit mode has failed to get the right level of support and assistance from the Treasury and other parties.Worse, their effectiveness and efficiency is threatened by the high‐handed conduct of the National Audit Department over the shifting of its cadre staff in and out of the internal audit units.Despite all these problems, the internal auditors are quite optimistic of the audit future.On the other hand, politics of accountability theory, power distance and a Malaysian social context that replete with cases of the lack of transparency and public accountability of its major actors point to the audit's probable bleak future.


We examine the problem of adversarial reinforcement learning for multi-agent domains including a rule-based agent. Rule-based algorithms are required in safety-critical applications for them to work properly in a wide range of situations. Hence, every effort is made to find failure scenarios during the development phase. However, as the software becomes complicated, finding failure cases becomes difficult. Especially in multi-agent domains, such as autonomous driving environments, it is much harder to find useful failure scenarios that help us improve the algorithm. We propose a method for efficiently finding failure scenarios; this method trains the adversarial agents using multi-agent reinforcement learning such that the tested rule-based agent fails. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method using a simple environment and autonomous driving simulator.


THE RELATION BETWEEN MEDIA EXPOSURE AND BODY SATISFACTION: AN EXAMINATION OF MODERATING VARIABLES DERIVED FROM SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY by Shelley R. Strowman University of New Hampshire, May, 1996 The relation between media exposure and body satisfaction was investigated using correlational and experimental approaches. Several variables were examined as potential moderators of this relation (perceived similarity to magazine models, self-relevance of weight, perceived control over weight, tendency to compare to models, and body mass). These variables were derived primarily from past research on Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory. In Study 1, male and female subjects reported the amount of time they spent reading magazines pre-coded as having a body image or non-body image emphasis. Body image magazine exposure was unrelated to body satisfaction and self-esteem when correlations were computed separately by sex of subject. The moderator variables did not play a major role in the exposure-satisfaction relation, but many were directly associated with body satisfaction, particularly for women. In Study 2, female subjects viewed advertisements containing thin, heavier, or no fashion models. Graphics software was used to manipulate the models' weight while xi other factors, such as facial appearance and clothing, were held constant. Body satisfaction and self-esteem changed minimally in response to all three types of advertisements and these changes did not differ significantly across experimental conditions. The thin and heavier model advertisements received similar liking scores suggesting that college-age women may be amenable to seeing models of varying sizes in advertisements. In general, advertisement liking scores and purchase intentions were higher among those concerned with their appearance.


Successful cooperative activities rely on the efficient distribution of sub-tasks between co-actors. Previous research has found that people often forgo individual efficiency in favor of group-level efficiency (i.e., joint cost minimization) when planning a joint action. The present study investigated the cost computations underlying such "co-efficient" decisions: We tested the hypothesis that people compute the joint costs of a shared action sequence by summing the individual costs of their own and their co-actor's actions. We independently manipulated the parameters quantifying individual and joint action costs and tested their effects on decision-making. Participants weighed their own and their partner's costs equally to estimate the joint action costs as the sum of the two individual parameters. The results provide empirical support for computational approaches that formalize cooperation as joint utility maximization based on a sum of individual action costs.


Capitalizing a Cure takes readers into the struggle over a medical breakthrough to investigate the power of finance over business, biomedicine, and public health. When curative treatments for hepatitis C launched in 2013, sticker shock over their prices intensified the global debate over access to new medicines. Weaving historical research with insights from political economy and science and technology studies, Victor Roy demystifies an oft-missed dynamic in this debate: the reach of financialized capitalism into how medicines are made, priced, and valued. Roy's account moves between public and private labs, Wall Street and corporate board rooms, and public health meetings and health centers to trace the ways in which curative medicines became financial assets dominated by strategies of speculation and extraction at the expense of access and care. Provocative and sobering, this book illuminates the harmful impact of allowing financial markets to determine who heals and who suffers and points to the necessary work of building more equitable futures.


The accuracy of respiratory-gated radiation therapy (RGRT) depends on the respiratory regularity because external respiratory signals are used for gating the radiation beam at particular phases. Many studies have applied a respiratory guiding system to improve the respiratory regularity. This study aims to evaluate the effect of an in-house-developed respiratory guiding system to improve the respiratory regularity for RGRT. To verify the effectiveness of this system, we acquired respiratory signals from five volunteers. The improvement in respiratory regularity was analyzed by comparing the standard deviations of the amplitudes and the periods between free and guided breathing. The reduction in residual motion at each phase was analyzed by comparing the standard deviations of sorted data within each corresponding phase bin as obtained from free and guided breathing. The results indicate that the respiratory guiding system improves the respiratory regularity, and that most of the volunteers showed significantly less average residual motion at each phase. The average residual motion measured at phases of 40, 50, and 60%, which showed lower variation than other phases, were, respectively, reduced by 41, 45, and 44% during guided breathing. The results show that the accuracy of RGRT can be improved by using the in-house-developed respiratory guiding system. Furthermore, this system should reduce artifacts caused by respiratory motion in 4D CT imaging.


Natural products, especially those derived from higher plants, have attracted scientists from ancient time because of their potential therapeutic values. Drug development from natural sources showed that natural products or natural product-derived drugs comprised about 28% of all new chemical entities launched to the market. These are originated from terrestrial plants, microbes, marine organisms, etc. However, until recently an insignificant part of the plants has been scientifically evaluated for their medicinal properties. Bangladesh is a rich repository of medicinal plants, many of which are widely used in the Ayurvedic, Unani, herbal and other traditional systems of medicines. In our laboratory, we have extensively investigated over 48 medicinal plants and several microbial strains that have resulted in the isolation and characterization of 133 compounds, including 33 new molecules. Terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides were the major classes of constituents. The crude extractives and several purified molecules demonstrated statistically significant inhibition of growth of microorganisms. On the other hand, usnic acid obtained from the lichen, Parmelia kamtschandalis , demonstrated even better of inhibition of microbial growth as compared to the standard antimicrobial agents, whereas dehydroaltenusin extracted from a Streptomyces sp. exhibited significant HIV-inhibitory activity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5951.2011.01.01.14


Fe-based metal bond has been widely used in fabricating diamond tools recently since the production cost could be greatly reduced for the low price of iron. However, graphitizing elements such as Fe, Co and Ni in the matrix catalyze the transformation of diamond to graphite during high temperature sintering process, which significantly decreases the tool's efficiency and lifetime. In this paper, Si and Ti coating were coated on diamond grits by quasi atomic layer deposition (QALD) and vacuum slow vapor deposition (VSVD) separately not only to protect diamond from erosion but also to promote the adhesion between diamond grits and the bond. Three-point bending experiment was taken to measure the bending strength of Fe-Cu-Sn-Ni based metal bond diamond blade. In comparison with uncoated diamond blade, the bending strength of coated diamond blade improves dramatically. The theoretic calculation shows that the interface bonding strength between diamond and the metal bond increases by 181.68MPa owing to the Si coating. The effect of Si and Ti coating on interface bonding between diamond and the bond under different sintering temperatures was also illuminated.


Peer-victimization is a frequent experience for many children and adolescents. Accurate measurement of peer-victimization is essential for better understanding such experiences and informing intervention work. While many peer-victimization and bullying scales exist, they often lack important psychometric information. The short form of the Personal Experiences Checklist (PECK-SF) provides a brief measure of peer-victimization. Existing psychometric data supports the use of the scale as a measure of peer-victimization. However, there are no reports of invariance testing, limiting our ability to confidently use the scale to compare scores across boys and girls and for use in longitudinal research studies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the PECK-SF for invariance across gender and over time. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study of 11- to 14-year-olds who provided data at two time points 2 months apart (NTime 1 = 744 NTime 2 = 333). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor structure of the PECK-SF. Invariance testing demonstrated strict invariance over time and across gender. The use of the PECK-SF is recommended when examining gender differences, or conducting longitudinal studies, in peer-victimization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Cancer initiating cells (CICs) represent a subpopulation of cancer cells, which are responsible for tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy. Herein, we first used a cell-based aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity assay to identify that YMGKI-2 (also named as Ergone), an active component purified from Antrodia cinnamomea Mycelia extract (ACME), effectively abrogated the ALDH activity and abolished the CICs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells (HNSCCs). Consequently, YMGKI-2 treatment suppressed self-renewal ability and expression of stemness signature genes (Oct-4 and Nanog) of sphere cells with enriched CICs. Moreover, YMGKI-2 treated sphere cells displayed reduction of CICs properties and promotion of cell differentiation, but not significant cytotoxicity. YMGKI-2 treatment also attenuated the tumorigenicity of HNSCC cells in vivo. Mechanistically, treatment of YMGKI-2 resulted in inactivation of STAT3 and Src. Lastly, combinatorial treatments with YMGKI-2 and standard chemotherapeutic drugs (cisplatin or Fluorouracil) restored the chemosensivity on sphere cells and cisplatin-resistant HNSCC cells. Together, we demonstrate that YMGKI-2 treatment effectively induces differentiation and reduces tumorigenicity of CICs. Further, combined treatment of YMGKI-2 and conventional chemotherapy can overcome chemoresistance. These results suggest that YMGKI-2 treatment may be used to improve future clinical responses in head and neck cancer treatment through targeting CICs.


Two of the most ecologically and economically important species in the MidAtlantic Bight are Atlantic menhaden and the Atlantic striped bass. These species are important for human prosecuted fisheries, but these two species are also closely linked through ecosystem dynamics that are influenced by interactions between these species such as through predation. Beyond striped bass and menhaden, there are also other important species that are linked in this ecosystem. The focus of this dissertation is to estimate the trophic interactions among several important fish species in the MidAtlantic Bight, with an emphasis on the interactions between menhaden and striped bass. These species interactions are estimated by developing a multispecies, statistical catch-at-age model of a community of Mid-Atlantic species that explicitly quantifies the mortality due to predation. Manuscript I: A model was developed for five important fish species in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The model includes striped bass (Morone saxatilis), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), and scup (Stenotomus chrysops). The model was fit to commercial and recreational catch, survey, and diet data from 1985-2012. The model generated time and age varying natural mortality estimates, and allowed for the calculation of species-specific consumption estimates. Predation mortality increased on menhaden at all ages through the timeseries, peaking in the early and mid-2000s, and then declined. Predation mortality for scup was most notable on the first age class, peaked in the late 1990s and remained high for the remainder of the timeseries. The MSSCAA model performed close to the existing single-species models used for management and better than the multispecies virtual population analysis previously used for these species. The MSSCAA model provided a different view of some important biological information than did the single-species versions of the population models developed for comparisons, in particular with regard to fishing mortality, which was higher for menhaden. Manuscript II: The model as developed for Manuscript 1 was used to project the five species populations forward under different management scenarios and in both long and medium term time periods. Under all scenarios investigated in the long-term projections, equilibrium levels were achieved by all of the species in the ecosystem. The assumptions going in to the projections were tested and indicated that natural mortality and recruitment are the most important considerations in the suite of assumptions tested. The projections also offer a different view of the population dynamics of the system when factoring in predation mortality. The standard constant natural mortality (M) approach to projections produces more optimistic outcomes than when the time and age-varying M is accounted for in the projection. This finding shows that accounting for additional dynamics in the ecosystem can add value to the current management process by giving managers a better sense of the structural uncertainty that exists around the various assumptions being made. If time and agevarying natural mortality is the correct state of nature, this should be accounted for in the management action being undertaken. Manuscript III: Prey-dependent interactions were investigated through the use of a two-species sub-model and projections. The two species used were menhaden and striped bass. The data indicated there may be a link between decreased consumption of menhaden by striped bass and increased natural mortality in the striped bass population. The investigation was extended to look at the impacts that this dynamic has on the two populations by programming the prey-dependent mortality effect into a multispecies estimation model. The parameters from the estimation model were then used to project the population to examine trade-offs that occur under a set of simple management strategies. The trade-offs were found to be important and indicate that there is an interaction between fishing mortality (F) and natural mortality (M) in both the medium and long-term projections. A main finding was that under a no-menhaden fishing scenario, the management outcomes were better for striped bass. This was true under different F strategies for striped bass, as the decreased natural mortality offset F. It is important to note that these management scenarios were developed to illustrate trade-offs and are not offered as actual management recommendations. Analyses like these can offer important information to managers by way of giving them more information to consider when developing measures that attempt to meet goals, as fishing impacts on one population can affect the attainment of goals on other populations.


To assess the impact of demographic and clinical factors on prognosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we examined survivorship by life-table analysis in 389 patients. There were approximately equal numbers of Caucasian patients and American black patients in this study group. On both univariate and multivariate analyses, we found that both American black race and increasing age at SLE onset independently worsened the probability of survival. Of all the clinical factors we analyzed, thrombocytopenia emerged as the only independent risk factor for a worse prognosis in SLE. In all clinical and demographic groups considered, the leading cause of death was infection.


Bright Lights Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), bright flashes of gamma-ray light, are thought to be associated with the collapse of massive stars. GRB 130427A was detected on 27 April 2013, and it had the longest gamma-ray duration and one of the largest isotropic energy releases observed to date (see the Perspective by Fynbo). Ackermann et al. (p. 42, published online 21 November) report data obtained with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, which reveal a high-energy spectral component that cannot be accounted for by the standard external shock synchrotron radiation model. Vestrand et al. (p. 38, published online 21 November) report the detection of an extremely bright flash of visible light and unexpected similarities between the variations of optical light and the highest-energy gamma rays that indicate a common origin. A detailed analysis of the first pulse of GRB 130427A by Preece et al. (p. 51, published online 21 November) suggests that existing models cannot explain all the observed spectral and temporal behaviors simultaneously. Maselli et al. (p. 48, published online 21 November) present x-ray and optical light curves of the burst's prompt emission as well as of its afterglow as recorded by the Swift satellite and a range of ground-based telescopes. Multiwavelength data from an extremely bright stellar explosion provide details of the physics of these violent events. Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130427A is one of the most energetic GRBs ever observed. The initial pulse up to 2.5 seconds is possibly the brightest well-isolated pulse observed to date. A fine time resolution spectral analysis shows power-law decays of the peak energy from the onset of the pulse, consistent with models of internal synchrotron shock pulses. However, a strongly correlated power-law behavior is observed between the luminosity and the spectral peak energy that is inconsistent with curvature effects arising in the relativistic outflow. It is difficult for any of the existing models to account for all of the observed spectral and temporal behaviors simultaneously.


The recent literature on human capital formation has emphasized the dynamic process of skills formation throughout the lifecycle. In particular, the importance of developing these skills early in life has been widely observed. According to Cunha and Heckman (2010), deficiencies in building these skills early in life make it difficult to catch up in later years. In this article, we evaluate the impact of a building block program on the development of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. Building block programs have been advertised as an investment that boosts intelligence. Using a randomized control trial in Brazil, we find a positive impact of the building block program on cognitive skills in the short run on younger students (seven to eight years old). We did not find any robust effect of the program on older kids(ten to twelve years old). In addition, we find complementaries between socio-emotional skills and the development of cognitives skills. Children that had higher socio-emotional skills beforehand have higher benefits from the investment (building blocks program). This result suggests that the development of socio-emotional skills can increase the window of opportunity in which the program can affect cognitive skills.


Graphene transistors are considered to be the successor's basic element for the next generation of advanced integrated circuits. The graphene suffers from the absence of energy band gap to experience a semiconductor like characteristics. In order to instigate a bandgap, several techniques are used to beak symmetry. The most useful graphene sheet is the Graphene Nanoribbon (GNR). The present paper deals with the investigation on the bandgap engineering approach aiming an increase of the switching characteristics of the graphene transistors. The GNR sheets are synthesized using different techniques yielding controlled electronics and physical characteristics.


In this paper, we focus on different roles in citizen science projects, and their respective relationships. We propose a tripartite model that recognises not only citizens and scientists, but also an important third role, which we call the 'enabler'. In doing so, we acknowledge that additional expertise and skillsets are often present in citizen science projects, but are frequently overlooked in associated literature. We interrogate this model by applying it to three case studies and explore how the success and sustainability of a citizen science project requires all roles to be acknowledged and interacting appropriately. In this era of 'wicked problems', the nature of science and science communication has become more complex. In order to address critical emerging issues, a greater number of stakeholders are engaging in multi-party partnerships and research is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Within this context, explicitly acknowledging the role and motivations of everyone involved can provide a framework for enhanced project transparency, delivery, evaluation and impact. By adapting our understanding of citizen science to better recognise the complexity of the organisational systems within which they operate, we propose an opportunity to strengthen the collaborative delivery of both valuable scientific research and public engagement.


The enchytraeid genus Lumbricillus comprises about 80 described species of clitellate worms, which are up to a few centimetres long, and they mostly inhabit the littoral zone of non‐tropical marine and brackish waters world‐wide. The phylogeny of this genus is poorly studied, but previous work has suggested that Lumbricillus is a non‐monophyletic group. In this study, species boundaries and the phylogeny of this genus is re‐assessed using more than 300 DNA‐barcoded specimens (using COI mtDNA), part of which was also sequenced for two additional mitochondrial and four nuclear molecular markers. Statistical and coalescent based applications were used for the delimitation of a total of 24 species, of which 20 were identified as belonging to 17 described morphospecies; one morphospecies was found to be a complex of four delimited species, and another four delimited species could not be matched with any described species. Furthermore, gene trees, concatenation and multispecies coalescent based species trees were estimated using Bayesian inference. The estimated phylogenies confirm a non‐monophyletic Lumbricillus as L. semifuscus is clearly excluded from the genus. Furthermore, the placement of a monophyletic clade consisting of L. arenarius, L. dubius, and an unidentified species varies between analyses; they are either found as the sister‐group to the genus Grania or as sister‐group to the remaining Lumbricillus, where the latter relationship is supported by the multispecies coalescent, which we consider as the most reliable method.


Armed conflict and displacement pose threats to children's mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. We report on the findings of an evaluation of I-Deal, a life skills intervention aimed at fostering resilience among early adolescent refugees. We used a parallel group randomised controlled trial to compare I-Deal to a structured recreational activity group (SRA). 325 adolescents in Akkar, Lebanon, 74% of them Syrian, were randomised to I-Deal or SRA. The primary outcome was psychosocial wellbeing; secondary outcomes included psychological distress, prosocial behaviour, hope, self-esteem and social connectedness. Assessments were conducted at baseline, endline and 3-month follow-up. Due to low reliabilities, only wellbeing, distress and hope were included in the analyses. These outcomes showed similar results: no statistically significant changes over time, no significant differences between groups and no significant interaction between group and time. Our findings do not support the effectiveness of I-Deal. Several factors are considered that may help explain the lack of effect, including the aspects of the intervention design, possible measurement error suggested by low reliabilities on several instruments and a ceiling effect on our primary outcome. A replication using rigorously piloted instruments, the selection of outcomes more specifically tailored to the intervention and a nonactive control condition could help provide definitive evidence regarding the effectiveness of the I-Deal intervention. Key implications for practice This study contributes to the growing literature on the effectiveness of life skills interventions for refugee adolescents. The lack of any intervention effects in this study raises important questions about the appropriate focus and role of preventive and promotive interventions with refugee adolescents. Methodological issues in the study underscore the vital importance of using validated and well piloted measures of appropriately selected intervention outcomes.


Diaspores of winterfat (Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.) collected from 2 locations in the USA and 1 in Canada were imbibed at 10 degree C and grown to 4 different developmental stages (2, 3, 6, and 14 days of incubation), then subjected to cooling temperatures as low as -30 degree C. Differential thermal analysis was used to detect exotherms associated with ice crystal formation in germinants. The temperature at which exotherms occurred was recorded, and the subsequent growth and mortality of germinants were determined. Only 1 exotherm was observed, and that occurred in the low-temperature exotherm range (usually &-10 degree C). Changes in the freezing tolerance of germinants from seed to seedling was a gradual process as indicated by increases in exothermic temperature and mortality with increasing developmental stage. Whether the exotherm indicated a lethal event depended on the developmental stage of the germinant. Germinant survival was also affected by cooling below the exotherm temperature.


Permineralized fossil plants in coal balls were collected along a kilometer transect through an organic-rich shale in the Springfield Coal in southwestern Indiana. The organic shale is an upper bench of the Springfield Coal in an area where the coal is split into an upper and lower bench by a complex system of clastics that originated as a splay. The clastic wedge, described as the Folsomville Member/Leslie Cemetery paleochannel, is up to 6 km wide and 15 m thick. The transect begins approximately 100 m from the edge of the clastic wedge that splits the coal seam and follows the upper bench of coal over and toward the center of the clastic wedge. The dominant elements of the vegetation were the lycopsid tree Paralycopodites brevifolius and several species of medullosan pteridosperms. This report confirms the ecotonal habitats of this vegetation.


- The development of cyber physical frameworks that must support continuous queries of physical situations through wireless sensor systems has picked up thrust recently. Traditional embedded systems, contains standalone devices that can be replaced with a full-fledged Cyber Physical Systems that is designed as a wireless senor network with interacting elements both at the input and output. The cyber-physical systems use query services at regular time intervals accumulate information from the sensor nodes to a centralized base station. Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA), and Dynamic Conflict-free Query Scheduling (DCQS) etc. which are unsatisfactory for high information rate and continuous application in real time since they give exceedingly variable communication latencies because of their irregular back-off systems and accomplish low throughput under huge load because of intemperate channel discord. Subsequently, for clash free transmission scheduling for constant queries in Wireless Sensor Networks is proposed. The proposed algorithm provides a characteristic tradeoff in the middle of in activity latency and real-time capacity that can adapt its transmission schedule in response to addition, removal and changes in queries dynamically. It provides the ability of adapting to workload changes more efficiently than Time Division Multiple Access with fixed transmissions schedules and it has limited storage requirements which makes it suitable for asset constrained devices. The analysis is validated through NS2 simulations.


Abstract A numerical model of radiation fog was developed in order to test the sensitivity of variables comprising the model, and evaluate its capability for forecasting the onset of fog from standard radiosonde weather data. Four case studies were considered that included both fog and no-fog occurrences. The variables examined–initial surface temperature and moisture conditions, eddy exchange profiles, radiative flux divergence, and dew formation–were all found to influence critically the model's performance. Prediction of fog occurrence and temperature were reasonably encouraging provided a judicious (though somewhat arbitrary) choice of eddy mixing values was made.


Abstract Progesterone and some of its metabolites are neuroactive steroids that affect sleep by increasing melatonin secretion and stimulating GABA-A receptors. The effect of progestogens in hormonal contraceptives on sleep has not been thoroughly investigated. This observational study assessed possible associations in sleep changes induced by estrogen–progestogens in contraceptives in 108 women between the ages of 20 and 50 years. We assessed mean nightly sleep time with a 31-day sleep diary, and subjective sleep quality with the five subjective subscores of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Included women were of childbearing age, healthy, sexually active and had been using a hormonal contraceptive method (pill, intrauterine system (IUS), subcutaneous implant, vaginal ring) for at least six months. Results were compared to a matched control group that did not use hormonal contraceptives. The longest mean nightly sleep time, compared to control (450 min), occurred in women who used progestogen-only oral contraception (510 min), followed by IUS delivery of levonorgestrel 13.5 mg (480 min) and oral ethinylestradiol 0.02/0.03 mg plus gestodene 0.075 mg (475 min). Global subjective sleep quality was influenced most by the administration of etonorgestrel 0.120 mg/ethinylestradiol 0.015 mg via the vaginal route. Our results show that low-doses of progestins affect various aspects of sleep, and that this is influenced by the route of administration.


Pharmacists remain the driving force behind the selection of pharmacy information and automated drug dispensing systems in most hospitals and health systems. But as newer technologies emerge, such as computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and bar-coding, pharmacists are increasingly being left out of the decision-making loop.


This article explores the meaning of volunteering among professional aid workers. While they experience disenchantment in their daytime work, volunteering provides them with benefits lacking in their paid jobs. At the same time, a compensatory model does not capture the complex dimensions of this relationship. One motive behind their professional work – bringing about positive change for others – is also the driving force behind their voluntary practices. Such excess of doing good may be indicative of their overall commitment. If aid workers make sense of their actions within a framework of alienated labour, rendering their waged aid work as a commodity, volunteering emerges as a remedial response. At the same time, their paid and unpaid work is animated by the impulse of giving. Such co-existence implies that gifts and commodities are not mutually exclusive; or indeed that both can be understood, following Parry (1986), as emerging from a highly developed capitalist system.


Visual acuity was assessed in 210 children aged 1 to 4 years using the Acuity card method. Visual acuity is expressed in minutes of arc, indicating the minimal angle for separate perception of two lines. Binocular visual acuity showed a gradual growth from 1.8 to 0.9 min, arc and monocular visual acuity from 1.7 to 1 min. arc during this age period. Adult values of 0.65 min. arc(binocular) and 0.70 (monocular) were not yet reached at 4 years of age. Age norms for visual acuity in children from 1 to 4 years of age were determined. The success rate for binocular visual acuity assessment was 99.5% at all ages and increased for monocular acuity assessment from 50% in the 1 to 2 year old to 100% in the 4 year olds. Acuity assessment was fast (test time 3.3 and 2.0 minutes for assessment of binocular and monocular acuity respectively). The inter-observer reliability of the binocular assessment in the same child was high.


The aim of this paper is to construct generating functions for q-beta polynomials. By using these generating functions, we define the q -beta polynomials and also derive some fundamental properties of these polynomials. We give some functional equations and partial differential equations (PDEs) related to these generating functions. By using these equations, we find some identities related to these polynomials, binomial coefficients, the gamma function and the beta function. We obtain a relation between the q- beta polynomials and the q-Bernstein basis functions. We give relations between the q-Beta polynomials, the Bernoulli polynomials, the Euler polynomials and the Stirling numbers. We also give a probability density function associated with the beta polynomials. By applying the Mellin transform, the Fourier transform and the Laplace transform to the generating functions, we obtain not only interpolation function, but also some series representations for the q-Beta polynomials. Furthermore, by using the p-adic q-Volkenborn integral, we give relations between the q-beta polynomials, the q-Euler numbers and the Carlitz's q-Bernoulli numbers.


The repeated pandemic health scares caused by an avian H5N1 and a new A(H1N1) human influenza virus are part of the culture of fear.1–3 Worst-case thinking replaced balanced risk assessment. Worst-case thinking is motivated by the belief that the danger we face is so overwhelmingly catastrophic that we must act immediately. Rather than wait for information, we need a pre-emptive strike. But if resources buy lives, wasting resources wastes lives. The precautionary stocking of largely useless antivirals and the irrational vaccination policies against an unusually benign H1N1 virus wasted many billions of euros and eroded the trust of the public in health officials.4–6 The pandemic policy was never informed by evidence, but by fear of worst-case scenarios.

In both pandemics of fear, the exaggerated claims of a severe public health threat stemmed primarily from disease advocacy by influenza experts. In the highly competitive market of health governance, the struggle for attention, budgets and grants is fierce. The pharmaceutical industry and the media only reacted to this welcome boon. We therefore need fewer, not more "pandemic preparedness" plans or definitions. Vertical influenza planning in the face of speculative catastrophes is a recipe for repeated waste of resources and health scares, induced by influenza experts with vested interests in exaggeration. There is no reason for expecting any upcoming pandemic to be worse than the mild ones of 1957 or 1968,7 no reason for striking pre-emptively, no reason for believing that a proportional and balanced response would risk lives.

The opposite of pre-emptive strikes against worst-case scenarios are adaptive strategies that respond to emerging diseases of any nature based on the evidence of observed virulence and the effectiveness of control measures. This requires more generic capacity for disease surveillance, problem identification, risk assessment, risk communication and health-care response.1 Such strengthened general capacity can respond to all health emergencies, not just influenza. Resources are scarce and need to be allocated to many competing priorities. Scientific advice on resource allocation is best handled by generalists with a comprehensive view on health. Disease experts wish to capture public attention and sway resource allocation decisions in favour of the disease of their interest. We referred previously to the principles of guidance on health by the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE),2 cited as "We make independent decisions in an open, transparent way, based on the best available evidence and including input from experts and interested parties."8 Support from disease experts is crucial in delivering opinion, scholarly advice and evidence to a team of independent general scientists. But this team should independently propose decisions to policy-makers and be held accountable for them.

The key to responsible policy-making is not bureaucracy but accountability and independence from interest groups. Decisions must be based on adaptive responses to emerging problems, not on definitions. WHO should learn to be NICE: accountable for reasonableness in a process of openness, transparency and dialogue with all the stakeholders, and particularly the public.9


For Majorana dark matter, gauge boson bremsstrahlung plays an important role in enhancing an otherwise helicity-suppressed s-wave annihilation cross-section. This is well known for processes involving a radiated photon or gluon together with a Standard Model fermionantifermion pair, and the case of massive electroweak gauge bosons has also recently been studied. Here we show that internal Higgs bremsstrahlung also lifts helicity suppression and could be the dominant contribution to the annihilation rate in the late Universe for dark matter masses below 1 TeV. Using a toy model of leptophilic dark matter, we calculate the annihilation cross-section into a lepton-antilepton pair with a Higgs boson and investigate the energy spectra of the nal stable particles at the annihilation point.


ePub WU , the institutional repository of the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, is provided by the University Library and the IT-Services. The aim is to enable open access to the scholarly output of the WU.


OBJECTIVE
Identifying biomarkers is a priority in translational chronic pain research. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated form, DHEA-S, are adrenocortical steroids in the blood with neuroprotective properties that also produce sex hormones. They may capture key sex-specific neuroendocrine mechanisms of chronic pain.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

METHODS
Using data from 1,216 community-dwelling adults aged 34-84 from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) cohort, we examined blood DHEA and DHEA-S levels in association with chronic pain in men and women, adjusting for demographics, chronic diseases, medications including opioids, and psychosocial factors. If an association was found, we further explored dose-response relationships by the number of pain locations and the degree of pain interference.

RESULTS
In women, chronic pain was associated with 0.072 lower (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.127 to -0.017) log10 DHEA-S µg/dL, with pain in one to two locations associated with 0.068 lower (95% CI, -0.131 to -0.006) and in three or more locations 0.071 lower (95% CI, -0.148 to 0.007) log10 DHEA-S (P for trend = 0.074). Furthermore for women, low-interference pain was associated with 0.062 lower (95% CI, -0.125 to -0.000), whereas high-interference pain was associated with 0.138 lower (95% CI, -0.233 to -0.043) log10 DHEA-S (P for trend = 0.004). Chronic pain was not associated with DHEA or DHEA-S levels in men or DHEA levels in women.

CONCLUSIONS
Chronic pain and its functional interference correspond to lower blood DHEA-S levels in women.


: Bleeding is the major risk associated with anticoagulation therapy. The gastrointestinal tract is the most common site of bleeding. Anticoagulated patients who present with acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage pose great therapeutic challenges. In patients who experience a life-threatening hemorrhage, difficult decisions must be made regarding reversal of anticoagulation, timing of endoscopy and endoscopic therapy, and when to reinstitute anticoagulation. The current literature on the approach to patients who present with major gastrointestinal bleeding while on anticoagulant therapy is reviewed.


Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in initiating adaptive immune response by presenting antigen to T cells in lymphoid organs. Here, we investigate the potential of quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescent nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo imaging of DCs, and as a particle-based antigen-delivery system to enhance DC-mediated immune responses. We used confocal, two-photon, and electron microscopies to visualize QD uptake into DCs and compared CD69 expression, T cell proliferation, and IFN-γ production by DO11.10 and OT-II T cells in vivo in response to free antigen or antigen-conjugated to QDs. CD11c+ DCs avidly and preferentially endocytosed QDs, initially into small vesicles near the plasma membrane by an actin-dependent mechanism. Within 10 min DCs contained vesicles of varying size, motion, and brightness distributed throughout the cytoplasm. At later times, endocytosed QDs were compartmentalized inside lysosomes. LPS-induced maturation of DCs reduced the rate of endocytosis and the proportion of cells taking up QDs. Following subcutaneous injection of QDs in an adjuvant depot, DCs that had endocytosed QDs were visualized up to 400 µm deep within draining lymph nodes. When antigen-conjugated QDs were used, T cells formed stable clusters in contact with DCs. Antigen-conjugated QDs induced CD69 expression, T cell proliferation, and IFN-γ production in vivo with greater efficiency than equivalent amounts of free antigen. These results establish QDs as a versatile platform for immunoimaging of dendritic cells and as an efficient nanoparticle-based antigen delivery system for priming an immune response.