Killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) sightings are increasing throughout the eastern Canadian Arctic, and residents of Nunavut are concerned about the possible impact of killer whale predation on other marine mammals that are of socio-economic and cultural importance to Inuit. We analyzed the attitudes of Inuit towards killer whales, drawing on 105 semi-directed interviews conducted in 11 eastern Nunavut communities (Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk regions) between 2007 and 2010. Information gathered included interviewees' firsthand knowledge, as well as knowledge they had gained through oral history. Interviews provided data on interactions between Inuit and killer whales, physical descriptions and nature of killer whales in this region, overall opinion of interviewees with respect to killer whales, historical use of the animal, opinions regarding research on killer whales and effects of killer whales on other species, particularly the whales and seals harvested for Inuit subsistence. Interviewees described killer whales as their helpers more often than as their competitors, but also as feared and dangerous. Overall, negative opinions were more common than positive opinions, and some interviewees also had a conflicted attitude towards killer whales. More participants viewed killer whales as smart and fast than as beautiful and playful. Inuit attitudes toward killer whales did not vary significantly with sex, age, hunter status, or experience with killer whales, but did vary somewhat across regions. Inuit knowledge and perspectives play a critical role in wildlife management, especially in a changing Arctic. Conservation and management of species that are important to the Inuit subsistence harvest in Nunavut must take into consideration killer whale predation, Inuit knowledge, and Inuit views and attitudes towards killer whales.


Extreme-size wind turbines face logistical challenges due to their sheer size. A solution, segmentation, is examined for an extreme-scale 50 MW wind turbine with 250 m blades using a systematic approach. Segmentation poses challenges regarding minimizing joint mass, transferring loads between segments and logistics. We investigate the feasibility of segmenting a 250 m blade by developing design methods and analyzing the impact of segmentation on the blade mass and blade frequencies. This investigation considers various variables such as joint types (bolted and bonded), adhesive materials, joint locations, number of joints and taper ratios (ply dropping). Segmentation increases blade mass by 4.1%–62% with bolted joints and by 0.4%–3.6% with bonded joints for taper ratios up to 1:10. Cases with large mass growth significantly reduce blade frequencies potentially challenging the control design. We show that segmentation of an extreme-scale blade is possible but mass reduction is necessary to improve its feasibility.


The usual locations of primary lung cancers and their clinical manifestations have been described in many papers and are today well known. Pancoast (1) recently described an unusual syndrome caused by small cancers at the apex of the lung. It is characterized by pain in the arm and shoulder, Horner9s syndrome, atrophy of the hand muscles, and destruction of bone, usually the adjacent vertebrae and ribs posteriorly. There is a striking absence of intrathoracic metastasis, as shown by roentgenologic studies. No post-mortem studies were made in his series of seven cases. In two cases biopsy specimens showed carcinoma. One is recorded as carcinoma spinocellulare and in the other the type is not given. Pancoast calls these cancers "superior pulmonary sulcus tumors," and suggests that they arise from an embryonic remnant of the fifth branchial pouch. We have studied three cases which seem to belong in this group and from our observations believe that the tumors originated in the lung and that they are a clinically distinct and generally unrecognized type of cancer. Two cases were studied at autopsy; in the other biopsy was done.


Values-based food chains (VBFCs) are gaining recognition as people seek alternatives to the unsustainable environmental and social outcomes of the corporate food system. One example of a VBFC can be found in the Local Organic Food Co-ops (LOFC) Network, a coalition of cooperatives that specialize in locally and sustainably produced food in Ontario, Canada. In just a few years, the LOFC Network has built a values-based food chain comprised of producer coops, worker co-ops, consumer co-ops and multi-stakeholder co-ops. As a VBFC, it combines three complementary sets of values: local, organic and cooperative. Together, they form a tripartite values matrix that clearly differentiates the LOFC Network from conventional food chains, and models an alternative approach to food production, distribution and consumption. This article will present the findings of a pilot study of the LOFC Network and argue that this type of VBFC can contribute to a more sustainable food system.


Cinnamomum camphora is a famous non-wood tree, which can be used to extract camphor, C. camphora oil and its ramification. It is an excellent timber tree and evanescence species with the road. Researches about the chemical composition of C. camphora root wood is very less, this restricts the development and utilization of the root of C. camphora. Therefore, we used Py-GC/MS technology to analyze the high-grade resource recovering approaches of C. camphora root wood. After treated with freeze-drying and smashing, samples were extracted by the acetone extraction. After concentration and refrigeration dry, the comminuted power of C. camphora root wood was pyrolyzed in He atmosphere at 750°C, then the pyrolysis product was analyzed by online linked GC/MS. Relative content of each component was determined by area normalization. The analytical result showed that C. camphora root wood can be used as top value-added materials of biomedicine, and also as the materials of bioenergy, perfume, cosmetic, food, dye and industrial solvent.


Due to effects of, for example, body movements and wetting on clothing heat transfer, measures taken with a standing, static, "dry" manikin are not likely to predict very accurately thermal protection in a real situation.In a proposed European standard (prEN342 Protective clothing against cold), measurement of thermal insulation is made with a "walking" manikin in order to account for some of the dynamic effects. Determination of evaporative resistance with a sweating manikin is still subject to research. In this investigation, five ensembles (one, two and three-layer ensembles) were investigated a) in human wear trials with analysis of heat fluxes, b) by measurements with a dry, standing and walking manikin and c) by measurements with a standing, sweating manikin. Total thermal insulation and evaporative resistance during actual walking was reduced by 20-45 %. Total insulation reduced less with more layers. Subtracting effects on the surface air layer revealed that the wind exerted a lesser effect as the insulation value increased. Wind and "walking" effects were less than 5-10 % for a three layer winter clothing. Evaporation efficiency measured with a sweating manikin provided a similar ranking of ensembles as direct measurements with subjects. Dynamic measurements of heat transfer properties appear to present reliable and realistic values for clothing thermal performance and should be used with prediction models and assesment methods of thermal stress.


A southern brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) population occurs in a remnant of Atlantic Forest located inside an urban area of the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. This population has been heavily anthropogenically impacted by collisions with vehicles, electrocutions on power lines, and falls onto roads. With the aim of reducing these impacts on howler monkeys, we installed four rope bridges in the forest canopy in Fontes do Ipiranga State Park (PEFI). We used mortality data collected within the PEFI to identify areas with high incident rates to place the bridges. The bridges were monitored continuously (24 hours per day) with camera traps for the 12 months following bridge installation (with one exception). The goal of this study was to evaluate the functionality of the bridges in road impact mitigation for the howler monkeys in the PEFI and for other arboreal species. We recorded use of three of the four rope bridges by five of the six arboreal mammal species known to occur in the PEFI with the following frequency: southern brown howler monkey – 60.5% of events, 70.8 events/month; orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine – Coendou spinosus, 26.1% of events, 31 events/month; black-eared opossum – Didelphis aurita, 7.2% of events, 7.3 events/month, bare-tailed woolly opossum – Caluromys philander, 3.4% of events, 4.3 events/month and marmoset – Callithrix sp., 2.7% of events, 3.38 events/month. The time to first use of the bridges by howler monkeys in the two bridges for which there were data was 2 and 77 days, while other species took longer to habituate (113–344 days). Adult howler monkeys used all parts of the bridges to cross while younger howlers and the smaller species used mostly the longitudinal side lines. Given our findings of rope bridge use by five species in the PEFI, we recommend the installation of rope bridges of this design in other areas with similar species composition.


It is widely recognized that synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are a very valuable source of information for the modeling of the interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere. During the last couple of decades, most of the research on the use of SAR data in hydrologic applications has been focused on the retrieval of land and biogeophysical parameters (e.g., soil moisture contents). One relatively unexplored issue consists of the optimization of soil hydraulic model parameters, such as, for example, hydraulic conductivity values, through remote sensing. This is due to the fact that no direct relationships between the remote-sensing observations, more specifically radar backscatter values, and the parameter values can be derived. However, land surface models can provide these relationships. The objective of this paper is to retrieve a number of soil physical model parameters through a combination of remote sensing and land surface modeling. Spatially distributed and multitemporal SAR-based soil moisture maps are the basis of the study. The surface soil moisture values are used in a parameter estimation procedure based on the extended Kalman filter equations. In fact, the land surface model is, thus, used to determine the relationship between the soil physical parameters and the remote-sensing data. An analysis is then performed, relating the retrieved soil parameters to the soil texture data available over the study area. The results of the study show that there is a potential to retrieve soil physical model parameters through a combination of land surface modeling and remote sensing.


Direct Loss Minimization (DLM) has been proposed as a pseudo-Bayesian method motivated as regularized loss minimization. Compared to variational inference, it replaces the loss term in the evidence lower bound (ELBO) with the predictive log loss, which is the same loss function used in evaluation. A number of theoretical and empirical results in prior work suggest that DLM can significantly improve over ELBO optimization for some models. However, as we point out in this paper, this is not the case for Bayesian neural networks (BNNs). The paper explores the practical performance of DLM for BNN, the reasons for its failure and its relationship to optimizing the ELBO, uncovering some interesting facts about both algorithms.


A retrospective and prospective analysis of cerebral arteriograms in 28 patients with intracerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) was undertaken to identify those parameters that predict the efficacy of small silicone particle embolization as a method of treatment. It was noted that when the number and caliber of the arterial feeding vessels were greater than the number and caliber of the draining veins the embolization was successful (15 of 16 patients). On the contrary, when the number and caliber of the draining veins exceeded that of the arteries the embolization failed (seven of seven patients). In four of five patients with nearly equal ratios, the embolization reduced the flow but not the size of the malformation.


Background: There are many anatomical changes during pregnancy that could potentially lead to substantial alterations in gait. Gait deviations may contribute to a variety of musculoskeletal overuse conditions associated with pregnancy, such as low-back, hip, and calf pain. Because we are aware of little research on this topic, the purpose of this study was to objectively analyze gait during pregnancy. Methods: Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed on fifteen women during the second half of the last trimester of pregnancy and again one year post partum. Selected kinematic and kinetic parameters for the pregnancy and one-year postpartum conditions were compared with use of paired t tests (95 percent significance level). Results: Overall, gait kinematics were remarkably unchanged during pregnancy. No evidence of a so-called waddling gait during pregnancy was found. Maximum anterior pelvic tilt during gait increased a mean of 4 degrees during pregnancy, although individual subject-to-subject variation (range, an increase of 13 degrees to a decrease of 10 degrees) was observed. Significant increases in hip and ankle kinetic gait parameters, however, were observed during pregnancy (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Significant increases in kinetic gait parameters during pregnancy (p < 0.05) explain how gait motion remained relatively unchanged despite increases in body mass and width as well as changes in mass distribution about the trunk. This finding indicates that during pregnancy there may be an increased demand placed on hip abductor, hip extensor, and ankle plantar flexor muscles during walking. Clinical Relevance: Many of the common musculoskeletal problems associated with pregnancy may be due, in part, to musculoskeletal overuse injuries incurred as a consequence of secondary gait deviations that compensate for changes in body mass and distribution. Physicians caring for pregnant women with musculoskeletal problems should emphasize the value of exercise and conditioning during pregnancy for both preventative and rehabilitative management.


Abstract Twenty cross-sectional grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) samples were used to explore the utility of using dendrochronological techniques to verify and reliably estimate vine age, and to determine the level of annual growth variability among vines for potential viticultural adoption. The annual xylem-growth rings from the study-site samples were easily discernable, and cross-sectional growth patterns were significantly associated among the samples. Samples from the site also revealed distinct pointer years, indicating a homogeneous environmental growth response. The impetus for the adoption of dendrochronological-based vineyard measurements is to increase the understanding of the relationships between climate and environmental variability on vine growth, and the associated effects on crop yields, to ultimately improve vineyard management methods and yields, and therefore enhance profitability.


Malaria remains a major health problem of our time. The disease plagues human society and impacts obnoxious and immeasurable burden on human population. Since children particularly are the worse affected, it is pertinent to examine some of the demographic factors connections in malaria incidence. This paper is aimed at modeling length of stay using covariates from hospital register and also assessing interaction effects. Covariates were assessed through morbidity and mortality register at the Tamale Teaching hospital. The results showed that expected length of stay per day at hospital was influenced by covariates such as outcome on admission, referral status, distance, treatment, season and sex of children administered as malaria patients at the Tamale Teaching hospital. Also, there was sufficient evidence to show that there is interaction effect between; outcome on admission and referral status, sex and referral status and treatment and the season in which patients were admitted as malaria patients.


BACKGROUND
Neighborhood-level environmental features have been associated with adult physical activity and weight status, but this link has not been established for adolescents.

METHODS
Community design and access to recreational facilities variables were derived using geographic information systems (GIS) for 799 adolescents (age 11 to 15 y, mean = 12.8 y, 53% girls, 43% ethnic minority). Environment variables were calculated for a 1-mile buffer around each participant's residence. Accelerometers measured min/d of physical activity.

RESULTS
Number of nearby recreation facilities and number of nearby parks correlated positively with girls' physical activity, and intersection density inversely related to girls' physical activity. Retail floor area ratio correlated positively with boys' physical activity. No community design or access to recreation variables were related to BMI-percentile.

CONCLUSIONS
There was limited evidence that both community design and access to recreation facilities variables were associated with adolescent physical activity, but additional built environment variables need to be studied that have particular relevance for youth.


The customer lifetime value combines into one construct the transaction timing, spending and dropout processes that characterize the purchase behavior of customers. Recently, the potential relationship between these processes, either at the individual customer level (i.e. intra-customer correlation) or between customers (i.e. inter-customer correlation), has received more attention. In this paper, we propose to jointly unveil the direction and intensity of these correlations using copulas. We investigate the presence of these correlations in four distinct product categories, namely online music albums sales, securities transactions, and utilitarian and hedonic fast-moving consumer good retail sales. For all product categories, we find a substantial amount of inter- and intra-customer correlation. At the inter-customer level, on average frequent buyers tend to spend more per transaction than the other customers. In addition, on average, large buyers have a longer lifetime. At the intra-customer level, we find that the existence and intensity of compensating purchase behaviors vary across product categories and across customers. From a managerial viewpoint, our approach improves the forecasts of the firm's future cash flows, especially for the product categories and customers where the correlations are the strongest. Moreover, the correlation parameters also provide additional insights to traditional customer valuation analysis on the magnitude, durability and volatility of the cash flows that each customer generates. We conclude by discussing how these insights can be used to improve customer portfolio decisions.


Numerical investigation of the combustion of syngas fuel mixture in gas turbine can combustor is presented in this paper. The objective is to understand the impact of the variability in the alternative fuel composition and heating value on combustion performance and emissions. The gas turbine can combustor is designed to burn the fuel efficiently, reduce the emissions, and lower the wall temperature. Syngas mixtures with different fuel compositions are produced through different coal and biomass gasification process technologies. The composition of the fuel burned in can combustor was changed from natural gas (methane) to syngas fuel with hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2/CO) volume ratio ranging from 0.63 to 2.36. The mathematical models used for syngas fuel combustion consist of the k-ε model for turbulent flow, mixture fractions/PDF model for nonpremixed gas combustion, and P-1 radiation model. The effect of syngas fuel composition and lower heating value on the flame shape, gas temperature, mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) per unit of energy generation is presented in this paper. The results obtained in this study show the change in gas turbine can combustor performance with the same power generation when natural gas or methane fuel is replaced by syngas fuels.


Innovation in textiles and clothing has embodied various combinations of new and existing materials to meet conventional needs of comfort and fashion. Interactive and intelligent textiles are emerging as many new textile materials are being used to form sensors in garments to intimately interact with the human form. Interactive textiles typically contain sensors located within a garment to detect physiological functions that are wirelessly connected to digital infrastructure and application specific software. These devices can be realised in conventional garments and have scope for application in diverse fields including entertainment, education, sport, military and medicine. Position and Motion Sensing devices will be discussed for each application, in terms of the value proposition, performance requirements, regulations, and existing technology. A case study of an entertainment device that uses limb motion to achieve an imaginary instrument, the Wearable Instrument Shirt (WIS) will be discussed in this context. The WIS combines a wearable sensor interface with software to map gestures and audio data files to form an easy-to-use gesture driven instrument that allows real-time interactive musical performances without any need for significant instrument or computer skills.


This letter reports the highly efficient three-stage inverted Doherty power amplifier (IDPA) using 30 W and 50 W Si LDMOSFETs. The characteristic impedances of the output combiner are derived to achieve high efficiency at a large back-off power (BOP). The output matching networks and offset lines of the carrier and peaking cells are used to modulate the load impedance. The transmission line in the input path of the carrier cell is inserted to adjust the delay among the carrier and peaking cells. The drain efficiency (DE) of 40.3% with a gain of 9 dB is achieved at output power of 42 dBm (8.5 dB BOP) and the DE above 40% is maintained in wide output range for a 2.14 GHz continuous wave signal. For a one-carrier WCDMA signal at an output power of 40 dBm (10.5 dB BOP), the DE of 35% with the gain of 9.2 dB is achieved.


Automated methods are important for automatically detecting mesoscale eddies in large volumes of altimeter data. While many algorithms have been proposed in the past, this paper presents a new method, called hybrid detection (HD), to enhance the eddy detection accuracy and the capability of recognizing eddy multi-core structures from maps of sea level anomaly (SLA). The HD method has integrated the criteria of the Okubo-Weiss (OW) method and the sea surface height-based (SSH-based) method, two commonly used eddy detection algorithms. Evaluation of the detection accuracy shows that the successful detection rate of HD is similar to 96.6% and the excessive detection rate is similar to 14.2%, which outperforms the OW and those methods using SLA extrema to identify eddies. The capability of recognizing multi-core structures and its significance in tracking eddy splitting or merging events have been illustrated by comparing with the detection results of different algorithms and observations in previous literature.


This study discuss the dynamic stiffness of guideways of a ultra-precision machine tools.V-V roller guideways have been employed in ultra-precision machine tools, as they can provide very smooth motion and good straightness. Recently, general linear ball guideways are also employed in ultra-precision machine tools. In the design of the machines, it is necessary to obtain the stiffness of these guideways. Therefore an identification method of the guideway stiffness is verified in this paper. In this method, the guideway stiffness is identified from the natural frequency of the moving body. First, the impact test is carried out for an ultra-precision machine tool to obtain the vibration mode of its moving body. Next, a simple vibration model is developed based on the obtained vibration mode to identify the equivalent stiffness of the guideways. Then, the static stiffness of the guideways is measured for the verification of the identified equivalent stiffness. For further verification, natural frequencies of the moving body are calculated by FEM with the identified equivalent stiffness and compared with the measured natural frequencies. The identified equivalent stiffness agreed well with the measured static stiffness. Furthermore, the natural frequencies were calculated almost correctly with the identified equivalent stiffness.


Yersinia enterocolitica is an enteropathogen that has recently and rapidly expanded over the world. There is a close correlation between the biotypes, serotypes, and phage types of the strains, making it virtually impossible to distinguish isolates of the same serotype with the classical phenotypic markers. In the present study, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to compare the NotI genomic profile (i.e., pulsotype) of 20 strains each of serotypes O:3, O:9, and O:5. Eleven, 12, and 18 different pulsotypes were obtained, respectively, indicating that this technique is very efficient for subtyping pathogenic isolates of Y. enterocolitica. Within strains of serotype O:5, PFGE differentiated two subgroups that corresponded to two biotypes (biotypes 1A and 3). Comparison of the pulsotypes of three strains of biotype 3 and serotype O:3 (referred to as 3/O:3) with those of strains 4/O:3 and 3/O:5 suggested that the pulsotype is closer to the biotype than to the serotype. The pulsotypes of five pairs of strains isolated from the same patient or siblings were also analyzed. In four pairs, the two strains displayed identical pulsotypes, indicating that PFGE might be a powerful epidemiological tool. In the fifth pair, one restriction fragment differed, suggesting that genomic polymorphism may occur in vivo in Y. enterocolitica. Finally, the in vitro genomic stabilities of one strain each of Y. enterocolitica O:3, O:9, and O:5 were investigated. The pulsotypes of 10 isolated colonies were identical within each strain, indicating that in vitro, the genome of Y. enterocolitica is much more stable than that of Y. pestis.


As an extensive body of research demonstrates, Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices can have a significant impact on student achievement in the schooling sector and over the last decade these practices have gained currency in higher education settings. Digital technologies are increasingly being embedded into university programmes, therefore it is important that the issue of quality learning as socio-political engagement in online higher education settings be carefully examined. In this article the authors, a group of pre-service teacher educators who work with students undertaking initial teacher training, explore key discourses that underpin the application of AfL in higher education digital contexts – eAfL (e-Assessment for Learning). In particular, we critique discourses of 'learnification', 'responsibilisation' and 'performativity' in relation to eAfL. We pose possibilities to be considered for the development of robust practices that promote agency and engage with students' funds of knowledge, as the socially and culturally located knowledge, skills and dispositions that learners bring to higher education contexts.Charteris et al. e-Assessment for Learning (eAfL) in higher education: is it a wolf in sheep's clothing?


Background: The distribution of ABO and rhesus (Rh) blood groups has been reported to be different in several world populations. There have been few studies about blood groups among Libyan population. Aims: The study aims to determine the distribution and frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups among Libyan population in Bani Waleed city. Subjects and Methods: The study group had included 344 participants of both genders aged between 15 and 80 years. Blood samples were collected for ABO and Rh blood group analysis from September to December 2018. Results: The percentage of male participants was 55.8% and 48.2% were female. The highest percentage (30.2%) were among the age group of 23–32 years. O blood group was the most common (43.6%), followed by A (31.7%), B (17.7%), and finally, AB blood group (7.0%). The percentage of Rh positive (Rh+) was 72.2% and of Rh negative (Rh−) was 23.8%. Moreover, the prevalence of ABO with Rh+ was 33.4%, 27.6%, 11.3%, and 4.7% for O+, A+, B+, and AB+, respectively. The prevalence of ABO with Rh− was 9.9%, 6.11%, 4.1%, and 2.6% for O−, B−, A−, and AB−, respectively. Conclusion: The distribution of ABO blood group in the present study is ordered of O > A> B > AB with majority of Rh+ and higher frequencies of Rh−. The findings of this study will contribute in health services and use them as database to know detailed information of blood types such as for blood bank and blood transfusion and also to be used in population studies.


Platelet factor 4 (PF-4), a member of the CXC-subfamily of chemokines, is secreted in high amounts by activated platelets. In previous studies, we found that PF-4 specifically binds to human polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN), but requires tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) as a costimulus for the induction of effector functions in suspended cells. In the present study, we have examined PF-4 in comparison with interleukin-8 (IL-8) for its ability to promote interaction of PMN with cultured endothelial cells (EC). We show here for the first time that PF-4 dose-dependently induces PMN to undergo extremely firm adhesion to EC as well as to exocytose secondary granule contents in the presence of these cells. Interestingly, costimulation by TNF-a was not required, indicating that EC could provide a corresponding signal(s). As evident from antibody blocking experiments, PF-4–induced adhesion involved PMN-expressed L-selectin as well as leukocyte function-associated molecule-1 (LFA-1), whereas IL-8 involved MAC-1. Because blocking antibodies to LFA-1 but not to L-selectin or MAC-1 abrogated PF-4– dependent marker exocytosis from PMN, the costimulatory signal provided by EC appears to be elicited through cell-cell contact via LFA-1. IL-8, inducing the upregulation of MAC-1, did not elicit marker exocytosis in contact with EC. Our results suggest a role for PF-4 in the promotion of PMN-EC interaction that is virtually different from that exhibited by other CXC-chemokines such as IL-8. r 1999 by The American Society of Hematology.


Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) affect cancer progression and therapy. Ovarian carcinoma often metastasizes to the peritoneal cavity. Here, we found 2 peritoneal macrophage subsets in mice bearing ID8 ovarian cancer based on T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain containing 4 (Tim-4) expression. Tim-4+ TAMs were embryonically originated and locally sustained while Tim-4– TAMs were replenished from circulating monocytes. Tim-4+ TAMs, but not Tim-4– TAMs, promoted tumor growth in vivo. Relative to Tim-4– TAMs, Tim-4+ TAMs manifested high oxidative phosphorylation and adapted mitophagy to alleviate oxidative stress. High levels of arginase-1 in Tim-4+ TAMs contributed to potent mitophagy activities via weakened mTORC1 activation due to low arginine resultant from arginase-1–mediated metabolism. Furthermore, genetic deficiency of autophagy element FAK family-interacting protein of 200 kDa resulted in Tim-4+ TAM loss via ROS-mediated apoptosis and elevated T cell immunity and ID8 tumor inhibition in vivo. Moreover, human ovarian cancer–associated macrophages positive for complement receptor of the immunoglobulin superfamily (CRIg) were transcriptionally, metabolically, and functionally similar to murine Tim-4+ TAMs. Thus, targeting CRIg+ (Tim-4+) TAMs may potentially treat patients with ovarian cancer with peritoneal metastasis.


Glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6-diphosphatase activity per 100 gm. body weight was shown to be markedly increased in the liver cells of rats bearing two strains of leukemia (J and 302) when compared with normal animals. No differences in liver succinic acid dehydrogenase activity could be demonstrated between normal, J, and 302 leukemic animals. Leukemic animals failed to give an additional glucose-6-phosphatase response to a 50 per cent sucrose diet, whereas normal animals gave a marked response. The white blood cells infiltrating the leukemic livers were excluded as a source of the increased glucose-6-phosphatase or fructose 1,6-diphosphatase activity. A marked decrease in liver glycogen and blood glucose were noted in both strains, whereas the blood lactic acid values were elevated fourfold.


There are currently no effective therapies for metastatic prostate cancer because the molecular mechanisms that underlie the metastatic spread of primary prostate cancer are unclear. Transcription factor Stat3 is constitutively active in malignant prostate epithelium, and its activation is associated with high histological grade and advanced cancer stage. In this work, we hypothesized that Stat3 stimulates metastatic progression of prostate cancer. We show that Stat3 is active in 77% of lymph node and 67% of bone metastases of clinical human prostate cancers. Importantly, adenoviral gene delivery of wild-type Stat3 (AdWTStat3) to DU145 human prostate cancer cells increased the number of lung metastases by 33-fold in an experimental metastasis assay compared with controls. Using various methods to inhibit Stat3, we demonstrated that Stat3 promotes human prostate cancer cell migration. Stat3 induced the formation of lamellipodia in both DU145 and PC-3 cells, further supporting the concept that Stat3 promotes a migratory phenotype of human prostate cancer cells. Moreover, Stat3 caused the rearrangement of cytoplasmic actin stress fibers and microtubules in both DU145 and PC-3 cells. Finally, inhibition of the Jak2 tyrosine kinase decreased both activation of Stat3 and prostate cancer cell motility. Collectively, these data indicate that transcription factor Stat3 is involved in metastatic behavior of human prostate cancer cells and may provide a therapeutic target to prevent metastatic spread of primary prostate cancer.


DOI: 10.7764/RDLC.16.3.507 Abstract In the study of prismatic bars subjected to bending forces, the authors of Strength of Materials generally assume the Navier-Bernoulli simplifying hypothesis which states that flat cross sections (CS) normal to their axes before deformation remain flat and normal to their axes. A more detailed study in terms of Elasticity , however, shows how approximate this hypothesis can be for some basic prismatic bar problems in which displacements can readily be obtained. When or whether the surface remains flat, absolutely flat, or not is a point of debate among engineers and architects alike and even for structural specialists, who look deeper into this kind of issues. This paper proposes a detailed study of said problems and clarifies them. Contrary to what should be expected according to well-established literature, the CS of any bar subjected to pure bending forces does not remain flat after deformation. Our analysis revisits accepted displacement solutions for tension, bending and torque and will hopefully remove the misunderstanding leading to a flat geometry for the deformed CS. It also includes the correct interpretation of the warped geometry from the exact equations we obtain in this paper, which we illustrate with results from finite elastic models.


Purpose of reviewIt is often hypothesized that increasing the volume of physical activity in the American lifestyle will slow and possibly even reverse the epidemic of obesity. Herein, we review the evidence pertaining to the role of physical activity in weight control from interventions performed in adults. Recent findingsEvidence exists both for and against the role of physical activity in weight control. High levels of physical activity and successful maintenance of body weight may be a result of better coupling between energy intake and energy expenditure, potentially mediated by physiological changes in appetite, albeit in the presence of large interindividual variability. Prospective studies, however, find little evidence of the more physically active members of a population gaining less excess weight than those who are the least physically active. SummaryWhen considering the impact of physical activity on body weight regulation, it is important to keep in mind that there are multiple hormones that acutely suppress (or stimulate) food intake and that the integration of these signals influence overall energy balance in a manner that is not yet fully understood. Moreover, cognitive and social influences may override these signals. Even though the impact of physical activity for weight control is still controversial, little doubt exists that increasing regular physical activity, particularly energy expended during structured exercise, is important for improving physical fitness and cardiovascular health.


Soil bacteria play a key role in the ecological and evolutionary responses of agricultural ecosystems. Domestic herbivore grazing is known to influence soil bacterial community. However, the effects of grazing and its major driving factors on soil bacterial community remain unknown for different plant community compositions under increasing grazing intensity. Thus, to investigate soil bacterial community diversity under five plant community compositions (Grass; Leymus chinensis; Forb; L. chinensis & Forb; and Legume), we performed a four-year field experiment with different grazing intensity treatments (no grazing; light grazing, 4 sheep·ha−1; and heavy grazing, 6 sheep·ha−1) in a grassland in China. Total DNA was obtained from soil samples collected from the plots in August, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting were used to investigate soil bacterial community. The results showed that light grazing significantly increased indices of soil bacterial community diversity for the Forb and Legume groups but not the Grass and L. chinensis groups. Heavy grazing significantly reduced these soil bacterial diversity indices, except for the Pielou evenness index in the Legume group. Further analyses revealed that the soil N/P ratio, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (TN) and pH were the major environmental factors affecting the soil bacterial community. Our study suggests that the soil bacterial community diversity was influenced by grazing intensity and plant community composition in a meadow steppe. The present study provides a baseline assessment of the soil bacterial community diversity in a temperate meadow steppe.


Hyperglycemia causes long-term health complications when left untreated, especially in persons with diabetes. Managing the level of blood sugar is an important aspect of its treatment. Pito-pito is a multi-component herbal formula that may provide bioactivities to prevent elevated blood sugar levels. This study presents Pito-pito extracts' antihyperglycemic and anti-inflammatory activities that may reveal their potential medicinal value in managing blood sugar levels. The extracts of Pito-pito and its plant ingredients water extract were screened for antihyperglycemic activity by inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes and effect on the glucose uptake in yeast cells. NO inhibition determined the anti-inflammatory activity. The results showed that the ethanolic extracts exhibited the highest inhibition in α-amylase, while the aqueous extract was inactive. Four of the 7 ingredients in the aqueous extract were inactive, and the 3 exhibited low inhibition activity. All extracts exhibited high inhibition in α-glucosidase relative to acarbose by several folds. It was shown that L. speciosa, P. guajava, and M. indica greatly contributed to its activity. The water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, dichloromethane, and hexane extracts of Pito-pito increased glucose uptake in yeast cells. Water, methanol, and hexane extracts inhibited nitric oxide by 88.83 ± 1.40 and 91.10 ± 2.05%, respectively. Pito-pito extracts possess antihyperglycemic and anti-inflammatory activities. The water extract of Pito-pito exhibited no inhibitory activity on α-amylase but exhibited promising activity on inhibiting α-glucosidase, increased glucose uptake in yeast cells, and promising NO inhibition activity.


ABSTRACT

 The objective of the study is to know whether or not Sight Words Recognition Practices improve students' reading comprehension. It is based on the problems in learning English in the fifth grade of SD Negeri Begajah 01 that there are only few techniques of teaching new words to the children. This study is also aimed at finding out to what extent Sight Words Recognition Practices improve the children's reading comprehension.
 In the study, the writer conducts a classroom action research. The techniques employed in this research are Sight Words Recognition Practices. They are Framed-Words, Words in Context, and Paper-Clip Picture Practices. The procedure of the research consists of identifying the problems, planning the action, implementing the action, observing or monitoring the action, reflecting the result of the observation, and revising the plan for the following steps. The research is conducted in two cycles. Cycle 1 consists of three meetings, while cycle 2 consists of two meetings. In collecting the data, the writer uses qualitative method. The qualitative data come from observation, field notes, interviews, questionnaires, and photographs. The data is analyzed by using qualitative data analysis. In this action research, the writer is the teacher and observer as well.
 The results of this research show that Sight Words Recognition Practices can effectively improve students' reading comprehension. It can be seen that the students got improvement in the reading tests scores. The techniques are also suited to the children's characteristics of language learning, so that the students feel enjoyable and motivated when studying new words by doing the Sight Words Recognition Practices.
 At the end of the research, the writer gives three suggestions for the English teacher. The first is that various and suitable techniques such as Sight Words Recognition Practices should be adopted in teaching new words for children. The second is that the teacher should be creative in teaching Sight Words Recognition Practices so that the techniques work effectively. And the last is that the teacher should motivate the students to read by creating enjoyable and regular reading situation to help them keep the sight words they have learned.


This note considers the problem of determining optimal switching times at which mode transitions should occur in multimodal, hybrid systems. It derives a simple formula for the gradient of the cost functional with respect to the switching times, and uses it in a gradient-descent algorithm. Much of the analysis is carried out in the setting of optimization problems involving fixed switching-mode sequences, but a possible extension is pointed out for the case where the switching-mode sequence is a part of the variable. Numerical examples testify to the viability of the proposed approach.


With growing developments in marine tidal energy, coupled with high densities of marine species in suitable installation locations, there is concern about marine wildlife colliding with underwater devices. Methods are needed to predict such collisions when assessing environmental impacts of underwater turbines.
Agent-Based Models (ABMs) in the field of ecology: simulate interactions between organisms; assess how they live (i.e. grow, reproduce, function, adapt) and die in a dynamic physical environment; consider a population from the point of view of the individuals, or agents with population level behaviours emerging from the behaviour of the individuals; have individual within a system that are defined by traits
(e.g. size, age or sensitivity to a stressor) and behaviours
they can perform (e.g. migration or avoidance).
To better predict collisions with underwater devices, HR Wallingford has developed an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to predict the probability of marine animals colliding with an underwater device.


Literature on relationships between wildfires and vegetation in Mediterranean areas indicates high resilience ability for most ecosystems on calcareous soils, but data are scarce for acidic soils. The resilience ability of a "fire-driven" ecosystem is expected to depend both on the characteristics of the ecosystem and on the fire recurrence. We investigated the vegetation according to fire recurrence in a site with ecological and patrimonial stakes (the Maures massif, Provence, South Eastern France), in order to determine which ecosystems are more resilient and why. We sampled different modalities of fire recurrence (frequency of fires and interval of time between fires), and we investigated vegetation resilience to fire through different components such as composition, richness, diversity and structure. The sites corresponded to five modalities of increasing fire recurrence since 1959: control plots which had not burned since 1959, plots burned by a major and intense wildfire in 1990 (= reference fire), other plots burned twice or thrice before the 1990 fire and plots burned several times then and in 2003. The results confirmed that our Mediterranean ecosystems on acidic soils are mainly auto-successional, as vegetation composition remained rather constant after fire. Significant differences of composition existed between the control plots and the plots lastly affected by the 2003 fire. In contrast, significant differences of functional diversity (i.e. plant traits) existed among the five modalities, in particular an increase of ruderal species and a decrease of competitive taxa with increasing fire recurrence. Moreover, some types of vegetation were identified according to fire recurrence modalities. A variation partitioning procedure (partial CCA) indicated that the environmental data set explained better the plant distribution than the fire recurrence data set. The final objective of the study is to improve the understanding of the interrelationships between fires and the dynamics of vegetation, for a sustainable management of these Mediterranean ecosystems.


Background: Residual kidney function (RKF) is an important factor influencing both technique and patient survival in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is considered a marker of cardio-renal syndrome. The relationship between BNP and RKF in PD patients remains unclear. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 89 patients who had started and continued PD for 6 months or more in Kyushu University Hospital between June 2006 and September 2015. Participants were divided into low BNP (≤ 102.1 ng/L) and high BNP (> 102.1 ng/L) groups according to median plasma BNP level at PD initiation. The primary outcome was RKF loss, defined as 24-hour urine volume less than 100 mL. We estimated the association between BNP and RKF loss using a Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model and compared the rate of RKF decline between the 2 groups. To evaluate the consistency of the association, we performed subgroup analysis stratified by baseline characteristics. Results: During the median follow-up of 30 months, 30 patients lost RKF. Participants in the high BNP group had a 5.87-fold increased risk for RKF loss compared with the low BNP group after adjustment for clinical and cardiac parameters. A high plasma BNP level was more clearly associated with RKF loss in younger participants compared with older participants in subgroup analysis. Conclusions: B-type natriuretic peptide may be a useful risk marker for RKF loss in PD patients. The clinical importance of plasma BNP level as a marker of RKF loss might be affected by age.


Patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) commonly experience psychological distress post-implantation, but physiological stress and differences by implant strategy remain unstudied. This study describes indicators of physiological (salivary cortisol, C-reactive protein, sleep quality) and psychological (perceived stress, depression, and fatigue) stress by implant strategy and examines relationships between stress and outcomes (quality of life [QOL] and functional status). Prospective, cross-sectional data were collected from patients ≥3 months post-LVAD implantation (n = 44), and descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used. The study sample was average age 57.7 ± 13 years, mostly male (73%), married (70.5%), and racially diverse. Median LVAD support was 18.2 months. Most had normal cortisol awakening response and fair sleep quality, with moderate psychological stress. There were no differences in stress by implant strategy. Normal cortisol awakening response was correlated with low depressive symptoms. Sleep quality and psychological stress were associated with QOL, whereas cortisol and C-reactive protein levels were associated with functional status. This is the first report of salivary biomarkers and stress in LVAD outpatients. Future research should examine physiological and psychological stress and consider potential clinical implications for stress measurement for tailored approaches to stress management in this population.


A subgraph is a data structure that can represent various real-world problems. We propose Subgraph-To-Node (S2N) translation, which is a novel formulation to efficiently learn representations of subgraphs. Specifically, given a set of subgraphs in the global graph, we construct a new graph by coarsely transforming subgraphs into nodes. We perform subgraph-level tasks as node-level tasks through this translation. By doing so, we can significantly reduce the memory and computational costs in both training and inference. We conduct experiments on four real-world datasets to evaluate performance and efficiency. Our experiments demonstrate that models with S2N translation are more efficient than state-of-the-art models without substantial performance decrease.


Biological membrane function, in part, depends upon the local regulation of lipid composition. The spatial heterogeneity of membrane lipids has been extensively explored in the context of cholesterol and phospholipid acyl-chain-dependent domain formation, but the effects of lipid head groups and soluble factors in lateral lipid organization are less clear. In this contribution, the effects of divalent calcium ions on domain formation in monolayers containing phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a polyanionic, multifunctional lipid of the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma bilayer, are reported. In binary monolayers of PIP2 mixed with zwitterionic lipids, calcium induced a rapid, PIP2-dependent surface pressure drop, with the concomitant formation of laterally segregated, PIP2-rich domains. The effect was dependent upon head-group multivalency, because lowered pH suppressed the surface-pressure effect and domain formation. In accordance with previous observations, inclusion of cholesterol in lipid mixtures induced coexistence of two liquid phases. Phase separation strongly segregated PIP2 to the cholesterol-poor phase, suggesting a role for cholesterol-dependent lipid demixing in regulating PIP2 localization and local concentration. Similar to binary mixtures, subphase calcium induced contraction of ternary cholesterol-containing monolayers; however, in these mixtures, calcium induced an unexpected, PIP2- and multivalency-dependent decrease in the miscibility phase transition surface pressure, resulting in rapid dissolution of the domains. This result emphasizes the likely critical role of subphase factors and lipid head-group specificity in the formation and stability of cholesterol-dependent domains in cellular plasma membranes.


An acoustic confidence measure for acceptance/rejection of recognition hypotheses for continuous speech utterances is proposed. This measure is useful for rejecting utterances that are out of domain, or contain out-of-vocabulary words or speech disfluencies. A phone-based approach is implemented so that a single global threshold can be applied to hypothesis rejection for any word sequence. Phone confidence is computed for each frame of speech as the posterior phone probability given the acoustic observation. Word sequence confidence is evaluated as the average phone confidence, either by weighting all frames equally or by normalizing by phone duration. The confidence measure is tested on a database of spoken company names. When normalized by phone duration, it achieves, in some cases with less computational expense, rejection performance comparable to a baseline system implementing a common filler-model approach. When all frames are equally weighted, performance is substantially poorer.


Phantom limb pain develops in the majority of amputees. The underlying mechanisms are not yet com- pletely understood and thus, no treatment is fully effective. Based on recent studies with electrical stimu- lation, we hypothesize that electrical stimulation of afferent nerves with a sufficiently high spatial resolu- tion might alleviate phantom limb pain by giving sensory input to the patient. We present our system con- cepts in general and focus here on a novel electrode concept to selectively interface small nerve fiber ensembles on the fascicular level over the complete cross section of a peripheral nerve: the transversal intrafascicular multichannel nerve electrode (TIME). Electrodes have been developed supported by elec- trical and mechanical simulations of the interface and evaluated with respect to their functional selectivity on peripheral nerves in two animal models.


The language of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the three postexilic prophets, has been relatively unstudied with regard to its contribution to a diachronic understanding of Late Biblical Hebrew. Recent scholarship argues that the entire biblical corpus was written in the literary Hebrew of the Persian and Hellenistic periods with no clear-cut dichotomy between Standard Biblical Hebrew and Late Biblical Hebrew. This view posits that Early Biblical Hebrew and Late Biblical Hebrew coexisted, places the Hebrew of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi at the center of the controversy, and claims that these postexilic prophetic books contain primarily Early Biblical Hebrew with very few Late Biblical Hebrew elements. Through discussion of selected items in morphology, phraseology, semantics, and orthography, this study shows that, contrary to the prevailing view, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi make considerable use of Late Biblical Hebrew.


The theme of divine anger is not peripheral to YHWH' 's revelation of himself but central to it (cf. inter alia Exod 34,6-7). When the instances of YHWH's anger in the OT, particularly in the writing prophets and the Psalms are compared with instances of the anger of the gods in the ancient Near East, four categories can be distinguished: a) the anger that seeks to destroy mankind; b) the anger that intervenes in the destiny of peoples; c) the anger that destroys temple cities with their sanctuaries; d) the anger that plunges the individual into danger of death. The OT speaks of YHWH's anger on many different levels, which demands a portrayal that is much more nuanced than has been the case up to now and represents a continuing challenge, not least for the reflection of biblical theology.


Scouring, occurring when the water flow erodes the bed materials around the bridge pier structure, is a serious safety assessment problem for which there are many equations and models in the literature to estimate the approximate scour depth. This research is aimed to study how surrogate models estimate the scour depth around circular piers and compare the results with those of the empirical formulations. To this end, the pier scour depth was estimated in non-cohesive soils based on a subcritical flow and live bed conditions using the artificial neural networks (ANN), group method of data handling (GMDH), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) and Gaussian process models (Kriging). A database containing 246 lab data gathered from various studies was formed and the data were divided into three random parts: 1) training, 2) validation and 3) testing to build the surrogate models. The statistical error criteria such as the coefficient of determination (R2), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and absolute maximum percentage error (MPE) of the surrogate models were then found and compared with those of the popular empirical formulations. Results revealed that the surrogate models' test data estimations were more accurate than those of the empirical equations; Kriging has had better estimations than other models. In addition, sensitivity analyses of all surrogate models showed that the pier width's dimensionless expression (b/y) had a greater effect on estimating the normalized scour depth (Ds/y).


Only a few mechanisms have been proposed for the design of fault-tolerant software. One of these is the conversation, which, though it has some drawbacks, is a potentially promising structure. One of the problems with conversations is that they must be defined and verified by the user. In this short note, a systematic method for generating the boundaries of conversations directly from the specification is proposed. This method can also be used to verify conversations selected by the user. The specification is described by a high-level modified Petri net which can easily be transformed into a state model called an action-ordered tree. The conversation boundaries are then determined from this tree. It is proved that the method proposed is complete in the sense that all of the possible boundaries can be determined, and it has the merit of simplicity. A robot arm control system is used to illustrate the idea. The proposed method can serve as the basis of a tool to assist in conversation designs. >


In the last few decades, advances in data acquisition technology have contributed to generation of huge volumes of data in diverse application areas, creating new research challenges in knowledge discovery. The analysis of these data has become an important task in several domains such as sensor networks, web-logs, financial transactions and climate change monitoring. In this article, we propose the Spatio-Temporal Behavior Meter (STB-meter) method to identify spatio-temporal patterns in multidimensional evolving data streams. Our approach combines a multi-resolution hierarchical structure to deal with spatial information with fractal-based analysis to monitor non spatial information of the multidimensional data stream. Experimental evaluation on real climate data shows that our method allows finding relevant spatio-temporal patterns in evolving data at different spatial and temporal resolutions and therefore it can be a useful tool to assist domain specialists in climate change researches.


: Prostaglandin analogs are very frequently used as first-line therapy in the treatment of glaucoma. In some cases, they may be ineffective or insufficient or they may induce side effects. The absence of an ocular pressure-lowering effect of a prostaglandin is in general a class effect. Thus a switch to another prostaglandin will probably not be more effective. In such cases, it may be better to use another therapeutic class. On the other hand, the side effects of prostaglandin are more often directly related to the chemical structure of the drug used and may not occur with another prostaglandin. Consequently, considering the dramatic effect of prostaglandin on ocular pressure compared to other drugs, when one prostaglandin causes side effects, it may be useful to try another one before changing the drug family.


Background: The world health organization (WHO) estimates that about a 1.1billion people drink unsafe water globally, and over 1.7 million deaths occur annually due to the consumption of water that is of faecal origin. Water in sachets is readily available and affordable but there is no concern about its safety. The purpose of this study was to assess the occurrence of Escherichia coli in packaged drinking water distributed in the Katabi sub country using the membrane filtration technique, isolation of organisms, and subjecting them to biochemical tests. The study was conducted in 2017. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was used where Rwenzori, Riham water, Nevana, Highland, Blue wave, and sachet water were purposively selected in the main trading center within the Wakiso district. A total of 5 bottled water and 10 sachets of water were used. Duplicate sample (2) bottles of water from each were used. Therefore 30 samples of packaged water were used in this study. The bacteria were grown on media and confirmed using biochemical tests. Results: Sachet water contained pink lactose fermenting colonies on MacConkey culture media. Bottled water had no growth. The pink colonies were positive with Kligler iron agar (KIA), triple sugar iron agar (TSI), and sulphur and indole motility (SIM) positive. Conclusion and recommendation The majority of sachet water was contaminated with Escherichia coli an indicator of faecal contamination; and therefore, unsuitable for human consumption. The government of Uganda should carry out surveillance activities to enforce strict hygienic measures on sachet water producers and distributors.


In this paper, the Pade approximant and analytic solution in the neighborhood of the initial value are introduced into the process of constructing the Shilnikov type homoclinic trajectories in three-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems. The PID controller system with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, the simplified solar-wind-driven-magnetosphere-ionosphere system, and the human DNA sequence system are considered. With the aid of presenting a new condition, the solutions of solving the boundary-value problems which are formulated for the trajectory and evaluating the initial amplitude values become available. At the same time, the value of the bifurcation parameter is obtained directly, which is almost consistent with the numerical result.


Many American policy analysts point to Denmark as a model welfare state with low levels of income inequality and high levels of income mobility across generations. It has in place many social policies now advocated for adoption in the U.S. Despite generous Danish social policies, family influence on important child outcomes in Denmark is about as strong as it is in the United States. More advantaged families are better able to access, utilize, and influence universally available programs. Purposive sorting by levels of family advantage create neighborhood effects. Powerful forces not easily mitigated by Danish-style welfare state programs operate in both countries.


The seasonal variations of the content and composition of soil carbohydrates, a labile pool of the soil organic matter, were studied in a Humic Cambisol located within the Atlantic temperate-humid zone (Galicia, N.W. of Spain) and developed over basic schists and under different type of vegetation: Quercus robur (climax forest), Pinus pinaster and Eucalyptus globulus. Soil samples from the A horizon (0-15 cm depth) of the three different forests were collected in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The carbohydrate content was estimated by colorimetry after their extraction by a sequential two-step acid hydrolysis method and further purification of the hydrolysates (first hydrolysis fraction, FA, non-cellulosic polysaccharides; second hydrolysis fraction, FB, cellulosic polysaccharides). The total amount of neutral sugars (hexoses and pentoses) from the three forests was in the range of 2.9-27.4 g kg-1 d.w., and represented between 5 and 12 % of the total organic C. The carbohydrate content was much higher in the FA fraction than that in the FB fraction, hexoses predominating over pentoses in both fractions. Seasonal variations of hexoses and pentoses exhibited the same behaviour pattern, showing that for FA and FB fractions higher concentrations of both neutral sugars were found in spring and winter (mean values: 12 and 14 g total neutral sugars kg-1 d.w., respectively) than in summer and autumn (7 and 8 g total neutral sugars kg-1 d.w., respectively). Likewise, for each year's season, the total content of both hexoses and pentoses in both fractions varied in the order: Quercus (16 g neutral sugars kg-1 d.w.) > Pinus (9 g neutral sugars kg-1 d.w.) > Eucalyptus (5 g neutral sugars kg-1 d.w.) forests. Vegetation type clearly affected soil organic carbon, carbohydrate content and aggregate stability, while the ratio neutral sugar C / total organic C was mostly affected by season. Compared to the climax oak forest, the pine and eucalyptus stands exhibited a significant reduction in the content of carbohydrates, total organic C, total N and in aggregate stability, showinga decrease in soil quality.


Can the adult brain assimilate a novel, topographically organized, sensory modality into its perceptual repertoire? To test this, we implemented a microstimulation-based neuroprosthesis that rats used to discriminate among infrared (IR) light sources. This system continuously relayed information from four IR sensors that were distributed to provide a panoramic view of IR sources, into primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Rats learned to discriminate the location of IR sources in <4 d. Animals in which IR information was delivered in spatial register with whisker topography learned the task more quickly. Further, in animals that had learned to use the prosthesis, altering the topographic mapping from IR sensor to stimulating electrode had immediate deleterious effects on discrimination performance. Multielectrode recordings revealed that S1 neurons had multimodal (tactile/IR) receptive fields, with clear preferences for those stimuli most likely to be delivered during the task. Neuronal populations predicted, with high accuracy, which stimulation pattern was present in small (75 ms) time windows. Surprisingly, when identical microstimulation patterns were delivered during an unrelated task, cortical activity in S1 was strongly suppressed. Overall, these results show that the adult mammalian neocortex can readily absorb completely new information sources into its representational repertoire, and use this information in the production of adaptive behaviors. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding the potential for plasticity in the adult brain is a key goal for basic neuroscience and modern rehabilitative medicine. Our study examines one dimension of this challenge: how malleable is sensory processing in adult mammals? We implemented a panoramic infrared (IR) sensory prosthetic system in rats; it consisted of four IR sensors equally spaced around the circumference of the head of the rat. Each sensor was coupled to a microstimulating electrode placed in the somatosensory cortex of the rat. Within days, rats learned to use the prosthesis to track down items associated with IR light in their environment. This is quite promising clinically, as the largest demand for sensory prosthetic devices is in adults whose brains are already fully developed.


The peroneal artery (also termed the fibular artery) is the posterior lateral branch of the tibial-peroneal trunk in the lower extremity just distal to the popliteal fossa. The peroneal artery (along with the anterior tibial artery) is the vascular supply to the lateral compartment of the lower leg. The three arteries of the lower leg are the peroneal artery, anterior tibial artery, and posterior tibial artery (the proximal aspect of the posterior artery is also know as the tibial-peroneal trunk).


Galeolaria caespitosa Lamarck, 1818 is an endemic, gregarious serpulid annelid, ubiquitous along the intertidal zone of southern Australia, occurring from Queensland to Western Australia. We sampled specimens across this range and utilised morphological features and sequences of mitochondrial (cytochrome-b) and nuclear (ITS2) markers to assess the taxonomic status of this morphospecies. No taxonomically significant morphological differences were observed across the range of G. caespitosa. However, the molecular data revealed the existence of the following two well supported clades that were also geographically concordant for the two markers: an eastern clade, consisting of New South Wales and southern Queensland samples, and a south-western group that encompassed samples from the rest of its range. The minimum pairwise distance between members of the two groups was more than 24% for cytochrome-b, with a maximum of 1% within-group variation. In addition, analysis of molecular variation showed a high proportion (97%) of the total variation distributed among the two groups, indicative of long-term isolation of the two clades. These results suggest that G. caespitosa comprises at least two cryptic species. Here, we discuss the merits of naming new Galeolaria species, given there were no consistent morphological differences detectable and the absence of details on the type locality for G. caespitosa. We conclude that a new species of Galeolaria is warranted and describe it here as G. gemineoa.


This note explores how a bank's balance sheet responds to a capital shock in a simple model of the banking firm where both loan demand and deposits are sensitive to a bank's capital position relative to its competitors. An unconstrained bank shrinks its deposit base in the wake of a capital loss if loan demand is very sensitive to the bank's relative capital position. The deposits of an unconstrained bank expand only if both deposit and loan demands are fairly immune to a bank's relative capital position. In a simple model with reserves we show that in the wake of a capital loss the adjustment of loans and reserves under a binding constraint depends on the parameters of the model while the adjustment of total assets and liabilities does not. Loans decrease by the size of the capital loss plus the increase in reserves. If the constraint is not binding then loans generally decrease by more than the increase in reserves. Keywords: deposits, loans, reserves, capital-asset ratio, balance sheet JEL Code: E51, G2


OBJECTIVE
This study was prospectively designed to evaluate the relationship between the mitral A wave acceleration slope (AWA-slope) and the left atrial ejection fraction (LA-EF) after the restoration of sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and also to evaluate the change in the AWA-slope between the sequent second day and first month.

METHODS
Twenty-nine patients (16 female, mean age 56 ± 13 years) with unknown cause of AF (except for age) converted to sinus rhythm within the first 48 hours were included into the study. A transthoracic echocardiography was performed in all patients on the second day and the first month after restoration of the sinus rhythm. The paired Student's t test was used in comparisons of the continuous variables. The simple and multiple correlations of the LA-EF were evaluated by the simple and multiple linear regression analyses, respectively.

RESULTS
Left atrial ejection fraction (42 ± 17 vs 51 ± 19%, p=0.03) and AWA-slope (950 ± 337 vs 1087 ± 351 cm/sec2, p=0.021) obtained after the first month were greater than on the second day. A significant correlation between LA-EF and AWA-slope was observed both on the second day (r=0.76, p=0.001) and at the end of the first month (r=0.71, p=0.001). In addition, there were the correlations between LA-EF and mitral A wave peak velocity (r=0.42, p=0.025) or mitral E/A ratio (r=-0.39, p=0.040) at the end of the first month. On multiple linear regression analysis, only AWA-slope was found to be related to LA-EF (y=9.35+0.04 (AWA-slope), the overall R2=0.51, beta =0.71; 95% CI 0.02-0.05; p=0.001).

CONCLUSION
Mitral A wave acceleration slope is a simple, reliable and non-invasive method that can be used to evaluate left atrial contractile function. It can also be used in monitoring of atrial stunning period in patients with sinus rhythm converted from AF.


The management of human and physical resources of a university is a complex additive activity because in many cases the number of variables to be considered are many, which produces errors of the decision maker. Deciding in which classrooms the courses should be taught seems a simple task but in reality, it is complicated by a large number of courses that occur during a period in the university, the availability of personnel and the limited physical infrastructure. In this paper, we propose an integer programming model that avoids the problems of overlapping courses, beside sensuring that courses can be given in the appropriate classrooms. The model shown here was used for the planning of the 2019 courses at the Faculty of Engineering of the Autonomous University of Queretaro. An improvement in the planning time was obtained, which went from approximately 20 days manually to only a half hour as mentioned by the authorities of the University. The decision maker reports that even with the last minute changes the whole process takes no more than two days.


This study analyzed the effect of teacher-student relationships on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) math scores for grades six and seven. Data were studied to determine if an increase in student achievement was related to the often-overlooked interpersonal human relationships between teachers and students. The researcher expected to find a correlation between positive teacher-student relationships and an increase in standardized test scores. The researcher analyzed the data of student scores in rural middle school mathematics' class and teacher characteristics to determine if a relation existed between student achievement and positive teacher-student relationships. The American version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) was used to collect information on teacher-student relationships from the student point of view and was correlated to end-ofyear math SOL test scores. The participants were sixth and seventh grade students who answered questions about the mathematics teacher. The results of the survey were then compared to the year-end Standards of Learning Mathematics Test. The survey answers were compiled using a pre-set number organization that grouped the answers into the eight different teacher characteristic categories. In review of the overall percentages, it appeared that the students found the teachers in this mathematics-teaching group to have strong skills in leadership, helpfulness, dissatisfaction, and uncertainty. In the teacher categories, leadership, helpfulness, dissatisfaction, and uncertainty, there was a significant correlation between the Virginia Standards of Learning passing test scores and teacher categories.


Net farm income is affected by changes in final demand, in marketing charges, and in production costs. BAE publishes data relating to each of these three sets of factors. This article attempts a new combination of these data for a recent year, with agriculture divided into nine major commodity groups. Although the tentative and preliminary nature of the data must be emphasized, information of this kind is needed for several purposes, including estimation of the effect of changes in specific marketing and production cost items upon net income from different commodities. The success of newer approaches to the study of relationships between agriculture and the general economy also depends upon the development of accurate and detailed information of this kind.


The development and performance of buildings and building components can be improved through better use of technology. However, identifying appropriate technologies can become more difficult as more options become available. Detailed descriptions of alternative technologies can be difficult to compare with each other. Yet, more superficial descriptions can be misleading and result in unnecessarily limited adoption of technologies. In other industries, simple diagrammatic tools such as matrices have proven to be an effective method of indicating the utility of technologies. These show the relevance of specific technologies to different types of products and product components. This paper proposes a matrix to indicate the relevance of technologies to different types of buildings and building components. First, the purpose of the technology matrix (TM) is defined. Then, the conceptual framework of the TM is explained. Next, factors to be considered when assessing the utility of technologies are described. Having introduced the TM, some illustrative examples are provided. These show that there are few technologies that can improve the development and performance of all buildings and building components. In many cases, there are barriers to feasibility, viability and/or practicability that need to be represented. In conclusion, guidelines for successful introduction of the TM are discussed.


Abstract The paper seeks to address issues that arise during the drilling and fixation of bones in orthopedic, orthodontic and implant surgeries. Thermal necrosis is one of the widespread problems that occurs during bone/tooth drilling and which can lead to implant failures. The highest registered temperature during drilling is 86°C. However, when the temperature is increased beyond 47° C during the drilling process, it can often lead to osteonecrosis. The possibility of thermal necrosis can be minimized by controlling the drilling parameters. However, optimal parameter values identified by various researchers have not been complied so far, primarily because of the effects of multifactorial constraints. Overall, the drilling bore speed and the feed rate are found to be the most influential parameters in triggering thermal injuries in the course of time. The drilling speed is also more important to the feed rate. In addition, osteological location also increases the probability of necrosis by multiple means in terms of anatomy. A thermocouple is used to evaluate in vivo temperature conditions during the drilling process. However, given the uncertainty and the practical errors that occur during the experimental measurements, the finite-element analysis (FEA) is proposed in most studies. This paper explores the existing state of literature and summarizes various drilling methods and assess the related parameters using FEA. It also describes the impact of various constraints in detail to explore the optimum drilling parameters in order to minimize the danger of thermal necrosis.


The doctrine of Kriegsraison, and its argument that 'necessity knows no law', is generally considered to have been laid to rest with the creation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. However, this article asserts that Kriegsraison is resurrected and wholly alive in the USAs' targeted killing programme. The targeted killing programme, now in existence for more than 15 years, remains one of the most problematic aspects of US anti-terror policy and continues to raise numerous legal questions. The article argues that treatment of the various legal frameworks relevant to targeted killing by the USA is suffused with Kriegsraison to such an extent that necessity, in its varying iterations, has become the primary guiding principle for US uses of force, and assessments as to their legality. This argument is predicated on an examination of the USAs' expansive interpretation of jus ad bellum principles, its a-la-carte approach in recognising the applicability of jus in bello rules, and the designation of regions in which it uses force as lying 'outside the area of active hostilities'. Throughout this assessment, parallels are drawn between the conduct of the USA today and between that of WWI-era Germany, which was characterised by Kriegsraison's pervasive influence. Finally, the article contends that the use of armed drones as the primary tool for carrying out the targeted killing programme must be scrutinised, as this is vital to understanding the practical implementation of the Kriegsraison doctrine.


Introduction Approximately 35% of colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is attributable to heritable factors, with known hereditary syndromes accounting for 6% of the total. The remainder may be largely due to lower penetrance genetic risk factors in genes including those, which control DNA replication and repair. Complex evolutionary conserved DNA repair pathways include Base Excision Repair (BER), Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER), Mismatch Repair (MMR), Direct Reversal Repair (DRR) and Double-Strand Break (DSB) repair. These pathways are critical in carcinogenesis. Repair and replication gene mutations occur in over 58% of cancer cell lines and germline mutations in these DNA repair genes are associated with known high penetrance CRC syndromes including Lynch syndrome and many polyposis syndromes. However, the association of low penetrance polymorphisms of DNA repair genes with CRC risk is unclear. Method A systematic literature review of PubMed and HuGENet databases was conducted. Studies were included/excluded based on pre-specified criteria. Per-allele, pooled odds ratio calculations disclosed the risk attributed to each individual variant. Heterogeneity was investigated by subgroup analyses for ethnicity and tumour location; funnel plots and Egger's test assessed any publication bias. Abstract PWE-002 Figure 1 Results Sixty-one polymorphisms in 26 different DNA repair genes were identified. Meta-analyses for 22 of these polymorphisms in 17 genes, with 1706 to 9682 CRC cases per polymorphism, revealed 6 polymorphisms were significantly associated with CRC risk within BER (APE1, PARP1), NER (ERCC5, XPC), DSB (RAD18), and DRR (MGMT), but none within the MMR pathway. Subgroup analyses revealed significant association of OGG1 rs1052133 with rectal cancer risk. Egger's test revealed publication bias was not a source of heterogeneity. Conclusion Low penetrance polymorphisms in highly conserved DNA repair genes alter susceptibility to CRC. Knowledge of which DNA repair gene polymorphisms are associated with CRC risk may allow a better understanding of global risk and facilitate personalised CRC risk assessment. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


In a smart grid, effective distributed control algorithms could be embedded in distributed controllers to properly allocate electrical power among connected buses autonomously. By selecting the incremental cost of each generation unit as the consensus variable, the Incremental Cost Consensus (ICC) algorithm is able to solve the conventional centralized economic dispatch problem in a distributed manner. The mathematical formulation of the algorithm is presented in this paper. The results of several case studies are also presented to show that the difference between network topologies will influence the convergence rate of the ICC algorithm.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes toward and contact with people with disabilities among health care professional, lay persons, and disabled persons. Method: Using 270 subjects (141 health care professionals, 79 lay persons, and 50 disabled persons), the self report or face-to-face interview were conducted from April to October in 2007. Attitudes and contacts were assessed respectively using the Attitude Towards Disabled Person scale and the Contact with Disabled Persons. Result: Overall attitude scores of the subjects in groups of health care professionals, lay persons, and disabled persons were lower than those of individuals in the corresponding groups in other countries (F=3.232, p=.031). Health care professionals and lay persons had more negative attitudes towards disabled persons than those of disabled persons. Scores of the Contact with Disabled Persons were also lower in all three groups, as compared to those of the corresponding groups from other countries. Disabled persons had significantly more contact experiences with disabled persons than individuals in other two groups. Conclusion: Health care professionals as well as lay persons and disabled persons have negative attitudes toward people with disabilities. It is needed that the modification of educational curriculums in nursing school for promoting more positive attitudes toward people with disabilities.


In October 2012, Stewart Milne Homes commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to carry out an archaeological desk-based assessment of land situated on the south-eastern fringe of Nantwich, Cheshire (centred at NGR 366245, 352125). The assessment was required to inform the planning process for a proposed redevelopment of the site, in accordance with current government policy. The assessment was intended to provide an informed basis regarding the significance of any archaeological heritage assets within the site, and the impact of the proposed development upon their significance.
Three heritage assets of archaeological interest have been identified from documentary sources. The Scheme Area was agricultural land and seemingly
undeveloped until the mid-nineteenth century, when Laurel Grove farm (Site 01) was erected. However, the only identified structure associated with the farm that lay
within the boundary of the Scheme Area was the site of a greenhouse, and is of negligible importance. The sites of two demolished nineteenth-century field barns (Sites 03 and 04) were also identified within the proposed Scheme Area, and are also of negligible importance. The Regent's Theological College complex (Site 02), which is still standing, is a locally listed building and lies immediately beyond the boundary of the Scheme Area.


Many biological processes involve the collective generation and transmission of mechanical stresses across cell monolayers. In these processes, the monolayer undergoes lateral deformation and bending due to the tangential and normal components of the cell-generated stresses. Monolayer Stress Microscopy (MSM) methods have been developed to measure the intracellular stress distribution in cell monolayers. However, current methods assume plane monolayer geometry and neglect the contribution of bending to the intracellular stresses. This work introduces a three-dimensional (3D) MSM method that calculates monolayer stress from measurements of the 3D traction stresses exerted by the cells on a flexible substrate. The calculation is carried out by imposing equilibrium of forces and moments in the monolayer, subject to external loads given by the 3D traction stresses. The equilibrium equations are solved numerically, and the algorithm is validated for synthetic loads with known analytical solutions. We present 3D-MSM measurements of monolayer stress in micropatterned islands of endothelial cells of different sizes and shapes. These data indicate that intracellular stresses caused by lateral deformation emerge collectively over long distances; they increase with the distance from the island edge until they reach a constant value that is independent of island size. On the other hand, bending-induced intracellular stresses are more concentrated spatially and remain confined to within 1-2 cell lengths of bending sites. The magnitude of these bending stresses is highest at the edges of the cell islands, where they can exceed the intracellular stresses caused by lateral deformations. Our data from non-patterned monolayers suggests that biomechanical perturbations far away from monolayer edges also cause significant localized alterations in bending tension. The localized effect of bending-induced stresses may be important in processes like cellular extravasation, which are accompanied by significant normal deflections of a cell monolayer (i.e. the endothelium), and which require localized changes in monolayer permeability.


Introduction Atrial Fibrillation (AF) management may include rate- or rhythm-control, and stroke prevention using anticoagulants. Restoration of sinus rhythm (SR) may be achieved by direct current cardioversion (DCCV). Safe DCCV requires at least 4 weeks of therapeutic anticoagulation before and after the procedure to minimise the risk of embolic stroke.. Warfarin has been the oral anticoagulant of choice for many years, but warfarin effects are unpredictable and there is a narrow therapeutic window, hence the need to monitor patient's blood using INR testing. As a result patients may attend for DCCV without an adequate anticoagulation history. This leads to procedure cancellations and treatment delay, lengthening of the DCCV waiting list at an increased cost to the hospital.It is also inconvenient for the patient and potentially could cause adverse atrial and ventricular remodelling as a result of prolonged time in AF. Aims To determine the frequency and cost of DCCV cancellations due to inadequate anticoagulation. Method We performed a retrospective analysis of the outpatient DCCV service in this hospital from August 2012 to August 2013. Results 138 patients were listed for DCCV from August 2012 to August 2013. There were 40 (29%) cancellations.Of the cancelled patients, 22 (55%) were due to sub-therapeutic INR and 2 patients (5%) were not yet started on warfarin when they attended the pre-assessment clinic.All 24 were relisted.In addition 6 patients (15%) were back in SR prior to DCCV, 3 patients (7.5%) declined the procedure, 2 patients (5%) were deferred because of gastrointestinal bleeding, 1 patient was cancelled due to poorly controlled hypertension requiring hospital admission. 2 patients had bradycardia, of which 1 was listed for permanent pacemaker implantation.1 patient was done privately, and 1 patient was cancelled due to unspecified reason. The calculated local cost for DCCV listing is £202 per patient. The total cost of the 40 cancellations was therefore £8080, of which the cost of the 24 cancellations due to warfarin-related issues was £4848.It would cost £151.20 to anticoagulate 1 patient with dabigatran for 1 month either side of DCCV and this would have avoided 24 cancellations.This would translate into a saving of £1117 during the study period. Furthermore, a prolonged period of AF due to cancellation related to anticoagulation issues potentially has an adverse impact on cardiac function and patient outcome. Conclusions The cancellation rate of DCCV in this hospital is high and is costly. 29% of the procedures were cancelled during the study period, of which more than two thirds were related to anticoagulation problems, which may be preventable. Replacing warfarin with a novel oral anticoagulant such as dabigatran with a predictable anticoagulation effect appears to be useful and cost effective.


"By exploring different approaches to the study of labour law, this book re-evaluates how it is conceived, analysed, and criticized in current legislation and policy. In particular, it assesses whether so-called 'old ways' of thinking about the subject, such as the idea of the labour constitution, developed by Hugo Sinzheimer in the early years of the Weimar Republic, and the principle of collective laissez-faire, elaborated by Otto Kahn-Freund in the 1950s, are in fact outdated. It asks whether, and how, these ideas could be abstracted from the political, economic, and social contexts within which they were developed so that they might still usefully be applied to the study of labour law. Dukes argues that the labour constitution can provide an 'enduring idea of labour law', and an alternative to modern arguments which favour reorienting labour law to align more closely with the functioning of labour markets. Unlike the 'law of the labour market', the labour constitution highlights the inherently political nature of labour laws and institutions, as well as their economic functions. It constructs a framework for analysing labour laws, labour markets, and institutions, to allow scholars to critique the current policy climate and, in light of the ongoing expansion of the global labour market, assess the impact of the narrowing and disappearance of spaces for democratic deliberation and democratic decision-making on workers' rights."


Our goal is to develop a compositional real-time scheduling framework so that global (system-level) timing properties can be established by composing independently (specified and) analyzed local (component-level) timing properties. The two essential problems in developing such a framework are: (1) to abstract the collective real-time requirements of a component as a single real-time requirement and (2) to compose the component demand abstraction results into the system-level real-time requirement. In our earlier work, we addressed the problems using the Liu and Layland periodic model. In this paper, we address the problems using another well-known model, a bounded-delay resource partition model, as a solution model to the problems. To extend our framework to this model, we develop an exact feasibility condition for a set of bounded-delay tasks over a bounded-delay resource partition. In addition, we present simulation results to evaluate the overheads that the component demand abstraction results incur in terms of utilization increase. We also present utilization bound results on a bounded-delay resource model.


Quantum dot of copper (Cu) and nanoparticles of copper and copper oxide (Cu2O, 6CuOCu2O, Cu3O4) were synthesized by electrochemical route using the tri-sodium citrate (TSC) and ascorbic acid as a capping and reducing agent. The synthesis was done at 3.2 V, 311 K and 15 V, 373 K using copper rod as a working electrode and platinum wire as a reference electrode. The electrochemical set up was kept under inert nitrogen-purged conditions. Cu nanoparticles were synthesized in large-scale for the first time by direct dissolution of Cu into the solution of capping agent from copper electrode in the electrochemical cell. Nanoparticles were characterized by using UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. High resolution TEM pictures showed the formation of different shapes of nanostructures such as spherical, dendrites and leaf-shape respectively. The copper nanoparticles in presence of 200 mM of ascorbic acid were obtained with sizes of 2.10 4.81 nm in spherical shape and 24.5 49.4 nm with 2.88 mM of ascorbic acid. At lower concentration, the particles were also obtained in leaf-shape with ascorbic acid. The leaf shape was also obtained with 250 mM of TSC. This new kind of synthesis method shows the excellent stability compared with that of another chemical method of copper nanoparticles. These particles were used for degradation of methyl orange. The kinetic study of methyl orange with leaf shape particle capping via TSC shows complete degradation of methyl orange in 120 min. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press.


30-years-old Egyptian male presented with 2 weeks history of dizziness and generalized fatigue. No significant past medical history. On examination, he was hypotensive with tachycardia, GCS was 15/15 with no neurological deficit but he was pale. Lab exam revealed low hemoglobin with increased reticulocyte counts. Peripheral smear showed normochromic normocytic anemia. Antinuclear Ab and Anti CTD titers were positive. Patient showed improvement with methylprednisolone, heparin and IV immunoglobulin (Figures 1-3). Multiple focal areas of diffusion restriction are noted at bilateral centrum semiovale and corona radiata regions, right frontal subcortical, left occipital cortical, head of right caudate nucleus and splenium of the corpus callosum consistent with recent ischaemic changes.


Amyloid beta-protein, the principal constituent of amyloid fibrils found in senile plaques and blood vessels in Alzheimer's disease, is constitutively produced and released into medium of cultured cells. Amyloid beta-protein is derived by proteolysis of the beta-amyloid precursor protein by unclear mechanisms. Beta-amyloid precursor protein is a transmembrane protein which can be processed to release a large secretory product or processed in the endosomal/lysosomal pathway without secretion. Previous studies have shown that from the cell surface, beta-amyloid precursor protein may be released after cleavage or internalized without cleavage, the latter in a pathway that both produces amyloid beta-protein and also targets some molecules to the lysosomal compartment. Analysis of beta-amyloid precursor protein trafficking is confounded by the concomitant secretion and internalization of molecules from the cell surface. To address this issue, we developed an assay, based on the binding of radioiodinated monoclonal antibody, to measure the release and internalization of cell surface beta-amyloid precursor protein in transfected cells. With this approach, we showed that surface beta-amyloid precursor protein is either rapidly released or internalized, such that the duration at the cell surface is very short. Approximately 30% of cell surface beta-amyloid precursor protein molecules are released. Following internalization, a fraction of molecules are recycled while the majority of molecules are rapidly sorted to the lysosomal compartment for degradation When the C terminus of beta-amyloid precursor protein is deleted, secretion is increased by approximately 2.5-fold as compared to wild-type molecules. There is concomitant decrease in internalization in these mutant molecules as well as prolongation of the resident time on the cell surface. This observation is consistent with recent evidence that signals within the cytoplasmic domain mediate beta-amyloid precursor protein internalization.


Two identical visual targets moving across each other can be perceived either to bounce off or to stream through each other. A brief sound at the moment the targets coincide biases perception toward bouncing. We found that this bounce-inducing effect was attenuated when other identical sounds (auditory flankers) were presented 300 ms before and after the simultaneous sound. The attenuation occurred only when the simultaneous sound and auditory flankers had similar acoustic characteristics and the simultaneous sound was not salient. These results suggest that there is an aspect of auditory-grouping (saliency-assigning) processes that is context-sensitive and can be utilized by the visual system for solving ambiguity. Further-more, control experiments revealed that such auditory context did not affect the perceptual qualities of the simultaneous sound. Because the attenuation effect is not manifest in the perception of acoustic characteristics of individual sound elements, we conclude that it is a genuine cross-modal effect.