LPS binding protein (LBP) is a glycoprotein present in normal serum that becomes markedly elevated during acute phase responses. LBP has been reported to greatly potentiate host responses to endotoxin or LPS. Therefore, LBP may play a critical role in the body's response to injury and infection. Little is known about the factors regulating production of LBP. To investigate the regulation of LBP expression, we have cloned the full-length cDNA for rat LBP. The deduced amino acid sequence of rat LBP was highly homologous with that reported for rabbit and human LBP. The sequence of rat LBP further refines the conserved regions found within the family of proteins that bind LPS; this family is comprised of bactericidal permeability-increasing protein and LBP from multiple species. Use of the rat LBP cDNA clone for Northern blot analysis reveals that LBP mRNA levels are markedly up-regulated in liver during acute phase responses. However, in contrast to previous reports, we also find evidence of extrahepatic expression of LBP under these induced conditions. The presence of LBP mRNA in activated tissues other than liver suggests that LBP may play a larger role in local tissue responses to LPS than previously appreciated.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of selected indicators of energy, hormonal profile, body condition score (BCS) and their relationships in dairy cows of the Slovak Pied Cattle from 3 weeks before parturition to 9 weeks after. Significant differences were found in the mean values of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) (P < 0.001) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) (P < 0.05). According to BCS results, the dry cows were overweight (4.42 ± 0.75 points). After calving the cows lost weight significantly, as the BCS was 3.25 ± 0.30 points at 9 weeks post partum (P < 0.001). The highest concentration of leptin was recorded before calving (26.80 ± 11.47 ng/ml). The concentrations of insulin and ghrelin did not change significantly (an increase in insulin concentrations from 580.8 ± 66.30 IU/ml to 625.50 ± 174.90 IU/ml and a decrease in ghrelin concentrations from 29.25 ± 4.82 pg/ml to 26.57 ± 5.35 pg/ml were found comparing 3 weeks to 1 week before parturition, respectively). Relationships between the hormones showed positive correlation between insulin and leptin (r = 0.220, P < 0.05), BCS and leptin (r = 0.360, P < 0.001), BCS and insulin (r = 0.232, P < 0.05) and negative correlation between leptin and ghrelin (r = -0.235, P < 0.05), BCS and ghrelin (r = -0.257, P < 0.05). These data provide evidence that the variations in the concentrations of leptin, ghrelin, and insulin are related to variations in the BCS. Negative correlation between leptin and ghrelin contributes to the argument that leptin negatively regulates ghrelin. Body condition score, leptin, ghrelin, insulin, cows, periparturient period


This article deals with the investigation of the existence of postcolonial discourse in Coogler's Black Panther (2018). The study aims to reveal and examine the existence of social issues related to Bhabha's notion of postcolonialism represented through visual and linguistic elements in the movie. Fairclough's (1989,2001, 2010) Critical Discourse Analysis , Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) Reading Images , Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics (2004) and Bhabha's (1994) Postcolonialism are used to conduct this research. The result of the study shows that postcolonial discourse is proved represented in the movie. The findings imply that the post colonialism affects the characters in term of how they see and reflect themselves towards the dominance. They are also identified as possessing hybrid identity, ambivalence, and mimicry. It seems that the result of the research opposes the director's intention to bring the theme of the movie. Theoretically, it is proved that the social irregularities representing black supremacy and exploitation of the citizen of Africa, Wakanda, is depicted in the movie. Empirically, the existence of nondemocratic social practices in black citizens is also seen in the movie.


Abstract This paper analyses the historical genesis of Aleksandr Bogdanov's conception of proletarian culture. In particular, the author deals with Bogdanov's activity during his exile in Vologda, his organization of the Vpered group, and the debates over cultural politics amongst Russian Marxism in emigration. The systematic focus of the paper is on the concept of culture as based on the material and non-material capacities of the comprehension and the working and living conditions of the worker. The role of art in a system of culture is another important systematic focus of this analysis.


Analyses of ephemeral granitic drainages of <5 km2 at South Mountain metamorphic core complex, central Arizona, reveal a previously undocumented process of bedrock strath formation in this setting. Granitic channel banks experience a higher degree of mineral decay than that of granitic channel floors. Electron microscope observations show that grussification along the granitic channel banks occurs through abiotic processes of biotite oxidation and biotic processes associated with mycorrhizal fungi and roots of plants preferentially growing along channel banks. Digital image processing of backscattered electron microscope (BSE) images measured: (a) an enhancement of porosity along channel banks 2× to 5× greater than mid-channel positions; and (b) the gradual separation of grains over a 13-year period caused by the roots of Paloverde (Parkinsonia microphylla) trees. Ongoing mineral decay along banks facilitates differential erosion similar to Montgomery's (2004) hypothesis. Ephemeral washes migrate laterally into the decayed granite of their banks and erode the distal end of bounding pediments, expanding beveled bedrock straths. Direct observations of strath widening in six drainages during three distinct flash floods reveal a range from 4 to 23 millimeters of lateral bank erosion and <1 mm of channel bed abrasion. The widening of straths is likely limited by long-term rates of in situ physical separation of granitic minerals.


Major non-coding region of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (1122 bp) was assessed using the method of complexity analysis of genomes. The ACT, TCA, AGT and TGA motifs (AST-repeats) were shown to form short repeats as well as more complex block structures. These motifs are intrinsic for regulatory sequences of DNA of procaryotic and eucaryotic genes. ACT-repeats based blocks happen to be the most variable parts of the region studied too. Each inherited type of mtDNA is proposed to be a pattern of short repeats arranged with the regard to their symmetry, complementarity and alternativeness thus forming block DNA structures. The existence of similar structures may be possible due to the variability of nucleotide sequences more pronounced in the blocks of repeats of major non-coding region of human mtDNA.


In this Letter, an investigation is performed on the utilization of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cells in the design of leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) radiation in order to dynamically control its beam scanning capability at a single frequency. A NLC compound is sandwiched between two single-sided copper-plated substrates allowing a traveling wave to be guided through a substrate-integrated waveguide. The tuning capabilities of the structure, based on the use of K15 or GT7-29001 as the middle layer, were evaluated for different biasing conditions demonstrating the associated dynamic scanning of the main beam. A quasi-periodic LWA was designed to operate in the 5G mm-wave band, thus supporting a fast-wave propagation with tunable phase constant and dynamic beam steering at a single frequency. The simulated results clearly illustrate a dynamic beam scanning range of 45° through the use of an external bias voltage ranging between 0 and 40 V. These results are quite promising creating a fertile ground for the utilization of NLCs in the design and fabrication of LWAs for 5G wireless communication networks.


The increasing integration between protein engineering and machine learning has led to many interesting results. A problem still to solve is to evaluate the likelihood that a sequence will fold into a target structure. This problem can be also viewed as sequence prediction from a known structure.In the current work, we propose improvements in the recent architecture of Geometric Vector Perceptrons [1] in order to optimize the sampling of sequences from a known backbone structure. The proposed model differs from the original in that there is: (i) no updating in the vectorial embedding, only in the scalar one, (ii) only one layer of decoding. The first aspect improves the accuracy of the model and reduces the use of memory, the second allows for training of the model with several tasks without incurring data leakage.We treat the trained classifier as an Energy-Based Model and sample sequences by sampling amino acids in a non-autoreggresive manner in the empty positions of the sequence using energy-guided criteria and followed by Monte Carlo optimization. We improve the median identity of samples from 40.2% to 44.7%.An additional question worth investigating is whether sampled and original sequences fold into similar structures independent of their identity. We chose proteins in our test set whose sampled sequences show low identity (under 30%) but for which our model predicted favorable energies. We used trRosetta server [2] and observed that the predicted structures for sampled sequences highly resemble the predicted structures for original sequences, with an average TM score of 0.848.


This document was developed by the ASCLA Standards Review Subcommittee not only to endorse librarians in their efforts to establish very detailed crisis management procedures for their workplaces, but also to endorse librarians' efforts to develop the expertise to avert crises and arrive at successful library experiences for people with mental illnesses. Although public and school libraries are more likely to provide daily service to individuals who have mental illnesses, all librarians should be aware of the information needs of these patrons and be prepared to meet them.


Corporate income tax is a mandatory thing to pay. awareness of paying is still minimal, Islam is more familiar with the term 'zakat' than tax (Awareness in paying zakat is very high for Muslims), raising awareness begins with the planning process, so the obstacles in every plan to pay taxes need to be known. The possibility of taxpayers already knowing their obligations, but the meaning is like "double-edged knife", the existence of a trend positivein paying taxes is still to be studied, whether based on the tax amnesty and / or tax planning that starts to run, the negative side of tax amnesty is the fact that Our taxes are categorized as "stubborn" in their discipline of paying taxes. With the existence of tax planning (tax planning) , the taxpayer can save tax that actually exceeds its obligations, and on the other hand help taxpayers in making decisions relating to investment plans in the future. Given the limitations of researchers both in terms of theoretical and technical matters, so that the discussion is clearer, directed and this research does not deviate from the existing problems, the research focus is on the scope of Tax Planning with Law No. 36 of 2008 concerning Income Tax and Tax Regulations other companies in all Commander Companies (CV) in Lubuklinggau City and Bengkulu City.by using qualitative analysis, to analyze tax planning (tax planning) for corporate income tax. then consider the actions that should be taken in streamlining the 2015 owed Corporate Income Tax under Law No. 36 of 2008 article 9 paragraph (1) and Law No. 36 of 2006 article 9 paragraph (1) letter e, activities can be carried out as follows: (1) Provision of health benefits for employees; (2) Providing HR development and education for employees; (3) Provision of bonuses for employee performance; (4) Provision of vehicles for transportation; and (5) giving uniforms to employees. The results of the study show that (1) the Tax Planning of the PPH of the Agency in accordance with the Tax Regulations the majority of the CVs are not implemented and (2) In the financial management of CVs both in Lubuklinggau City and Bengkulu City have not been able to make efficient PPH payments


The paper discusses the modeling techniques used in open Systems Interconnection standardization. There is a need for sudivision of the standardization work in order to allow orderly management of development, and the means of achieving this modularity by use of the concepts of service and protocol is explained. The conventions used in defining services are set out, so as to form an introduction to the detailed description in later papers. Various extension to the basic concepts of service and protocol are presented, and the relation of the models established to the real world are discussed.


To support multimedia applications, it is desirable that an ad hoc network has a provision of Quality of Service (QoS). However, the provision of QoS in a mobile ad hoc network is a challenging task. In this paper, we present a review of the current research related to the provision of QoS in an ad hoc environment. We examine issues and challenges involved in providing QoS in an ad hoc network. We discuss methods of QoS provisioning at different levels including those at the levels of routing, Medium Access Control (MAC), and cross layer. Also, we discuss schemes for admission control and scheduling that are proposed in the literature for the provision of QoS. We compare salient features of various solutions and approaches and point out directions for future work.


INTRODUCTION Transportation safety is an issue of interest to both the transportation industry and the public at large. Over its history, the U.S. government has issued numerous transportation safety related regulations and laws to both protect transportation workers, as well as the motoring public. While transportation safety today is at its highest levels, there is always room for improvement. Beyond safety for societal protection, transportation carriers understand the benefit to the bottom line of improved safety. Much of the impetus for improved safety programs comes from within, in the form of increased profitability through loss mitigation, rather than from external government directives. Over the past 20 years a shift has begun regarding the nature of workplace safety programs in general (Johnston and Hayes, 2005) and transportation safety programs in particular (Melton and Van Dyke, 2004; Olson and Austin, 2001; Ludwig and Geller, 2000). The shift has been away from being primarily regulation and rules-based programs, toward more judgment and Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) programs. The BBS approach encompasses many different themes and principles (Geller, 2001, 2005; Johnson, 2003; Wirth and Sigurdsson, 2008 among others), organized around the importance of the role of the individual human decision maker as being key to improving safety performance. A key difference between the traditional programs and the newer BBS programs is the balance between the role of "rules" vs. the role of human "judgment" in safety processes. It is this issue that is the focus of the current research effort. Rules based programs are typically compliance oriented, rewarding safety targets achieved (Atkinson, 2000) and focusing on monitoring and controlling the activities that are deemed critical to ensuring safe operations. Judgment based programs are behaviorally oriented, focusing on training and education of employees to aid them in making safety sensitive decisions, and rewarding safe behaviors themselves rather than safety target achievement (Atkinson 2000). An implied tradeoff exists between the psychosocial or human factors (behavioral) elements, and the rules that provide a substitute for those elements. While any successful program generally includes both rule-based and judgment-based components, the relative emphasis changes over time and context. This research examines this change in transportation safety programs from a single case perspective and assesses whether there is evidence that judgment-based programs lead to safer performance than rules-based programs. While no integrated safety program will consist of purely rules or judgment alone, the balance or relative emphasis between the two components is investigated here. The perspective taken in this research report is that the term "judgment based safety programs" refer to that subset of the Behavior Based Safety philosophy that emphasizes the role of judgment in the decision making process (in contrast to a focus on rules as a substitute for judgment). Background The transportation industry has a long history of striving to establish the safe movement of people and cargo. The primary way the transportation industry has sought to reduce transportation mishaps is by the employment of various transportation safety programs. In general, these programs can be classified as belonging to one of two program types; rules-based programs, and behavioral or judgment-based programs. Transportation safety analysts have recognized several factors correlated with accidents. From a basic framework of carrier behavior (carrier actions and culture), societal norms (embodied in safety regulations), and situational factors (largely uncontrollable factors present in the physical environment), Mejza et al. (2003) note that "... most studies focus on the direct relationship between carrier behavior and transportation safety or on the indirect relationship between societal norms and transportation safety. …


The authors performed 1389 laparoscopic surgeries in one-day hospital of outpatient clinic. The majority of surgeries were carried out for cholelithiasis and inguinal hernia. Conditions for laparoscopic surgeries in outpatient clinics, indications and contraindications for this procedures were developed. Combination of laparoscopic technologies with non-hospital forms of surgical care organization permitted to achieve medical, social and economic effects.


The three-layer version of the contour dynamics/surgery method is used to study the interaction mechanisms of a large-scale surface vortex with a smaller vortex/vortices of the middle layer (prototypes of intrathermocline vortices in the ocean) belonging to the middle layer of a three-layer rotating fluid. The lower layer is assumed to be dynamically passive. The piecewise constant vertical density distribution approximates the average long-term profile for the North Atlantic, where intrathermocline eddies are observed most often at depths of 300–1600 m. Numerical experiments were carried out with different initial configurations of vortices, to evaluate several effects. Firstly, the stability of the vortex compound was evaluated. Most often, it remains compact, but when unstable, it can break as vertically coupled vortex dipoles (called hetons). Secondly, we studied the interaction between a vertically tilted cyclone and lenses. Then, the lenses first undergo anticlockwise rotation determined by the surface cyclone. The lenses can induce alignment or coupling with cyclonic vorticity above them. Only very weak lenses are destroyed by the shear stress exerted by the surface cyclone. Thirdly, under the influence of lens dipoles, the surface cyclone can be torn apart. In particular, the shedding of rapidly moving vortex pairs at the surface reflects the presence of lens dipoles below. More slowly moving small eddies can also be torn away from the main surface cyclone. In this case, they do not appear to be coupled with middle layer vortices. They are the result of large shear-induced deformation. Common and differing features of the vortex interaction, modeled in the framework of the theory of point and finite-core vortices, are noted.


The purpose of this study was to examine if the application of custom-made porous titanium membranes combined with bone graft materials promotes exophytic bone formation in rabbit calvaria. For this purpose, round decorticated calvaria sites were created using a round carbide bur. In the control group, rectangular parallelepiped-shaped porous titanium membranes (RPTMs) were placed on the decorticated sites and fixed with metal pins. In the experimental groups, RPTMs were filled with one of the following bone graft materials prior to fixing with metal pins: bovine bone mineral (BBM), demineralized freeze-dried human cortical bone (DFDB) or freeze-dried human cancellous bone (FDB). Animals were sacrificed at 8 and 12 weeks after surgery, and new bone formation was assessed by histomorphometric as well as statistical analysis. The results indicate that at 8 and 12 weeks, all the experimental groups demonstrated exophytic bone formation. At 12 weeks, DFDB group revealed the most new bone formation (p<0.05) and resorption of grafted materials (p<0.05). On the basis of these findings, we conclude that RPTMs may be used as an augmentation membrane for guided bone regeneration and DFDB as an effective bone-inducing graft material.


: Although a great deal of information is available concerning cardiovascular responsitivity to sensory stimuli, little is known regarding the pragmatic application of cardiac response measures to the problems of audiological assessment. Some relationships between arousal systems and cardiovascular function have begun to emerge, and the assessment of communicative behavior using HR response measures has become a more realistic goal, but the clinician who desires to utilize these techniques for audiological evaluation faces serious difficulties until further basic research has been conducted. Eisenberg (9) observed that instrumentation for measuring HR changes to auditory stimuli was research oriented and that measurement of HR data, although holding promise for the future, could not be realistically viewed as a clinical tool for audiological evaluation. Indeed, Eisenberg challenged audiologists to suspend the clinical application of these procedures until sufficient basic research evidence has accumulated to operationally define the problems at hand. Until that challenge is met, cardiotachometry will remain only a potentially rewarding procedure for assessment of the auditory system.


-In modern submicrometer transistors, the influence of the internal base and emitter series resistances, on both the I-V characteristics and the LF noise at higher bias currents, becomes important. In this paper expressions are presented for the LF noise in transistors, where the influence of the series resistances has been taken into account. The expressions have been compared with recent experimental results from the literature obtained from modern submicrometer (heterojunction) bipolar transistors. At low forward currents the LF noise in such transistors is determined by spontaneous fluctuations in the base and collector currents. In most transistors at higher forward currents, the parasitic series resistances and their noise become important.


Land use/land cover and vegetation in upper Huai river basin are considered to be highly susceptible to climate change. However, there is less indication of the change trends in both climate and land cover/land use in the study basin. Thus less understanding of the watershed sensitivity and adaptability to climate change. Here we identified the spatial and temporal patterns of changes in climate (from 1960 to 2016), land cover/land use and vegetation (from 2000 to 2014) in the upper Huai river basin using land using the Mann- Kendall test estimator, land use transfer-matrix and NDVI for the four-year time interval. During the past 56 years, there was a slightly decreasing trend in precipitation while air temperature has increased by 1.2 C. During the past 15 years, land cover has changed significantly. Herein residence construction land, artificial water and, artificial vegetation with a discrete distribution, increased and wetland and artificial water bodies showed a diminishing trend in the study period. On the other hand, natural vegetation coverage does not show obvious changes. Land use/cover change impact was gradually increased by human intervention on various land use types Our findings have implications for predicting the safety of water resources and water eco-environment in the Huai river basin under global change.


This paper reviews several critical issues facing signal processing for brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) and suggests several recent approaches that should be further examined. The topics were selected based on discussions held during the 4th International BCI Meeting at a workshop organized to review and evaluate the current state of, and issues relevant to, feature extraction and translation of field potentials for BCIs. The topics presented in this paper include the relationship between electroencephalography and electrocorticography, novel features for performance prediction, time-embedded signal representations, phase information, signal non-stationarity, and unsupervised adaptation.


Throughout the last two decades, numerous disciplines across the natural and social sciences have witnessed the increasing influence of an emerging set of contemporary theoretical trends that delve into the entanglements between the human and its material milieu (see Haraway, 2016; Latour, 2005). Beyond rigid attributed labels, including new materialisms, Actor-Network theory, speculative realisms and object-oriented ontology, amongst others, the genealogy of these theoretical movements arguably traces back to the confluence of two mutually reinforcing processes. On the one hand, the current unprecedented techno-scientific progress in areas such as Earth System Sciences and Science and Technology Studies has led to compelling narratives on unsettling events, including the potential effects of global warming as well as the uncertain future implications of developments in fields as, for instance, Artificial Intelligence. As a result of these challenges and speculations, the hypothetical finitude of the human being on the planet, far from abstract apocalyptic discourses, has become a strikingly perceptible experience. In other words, the stories about the distinctive, superior and masterful character of the human on Earth increasingly seem to fade, and its future seems unquestionably inextricable from broader beyond-the-human phenomena (see Tsing, 2015). The present age in which the human has compromised its own existence, or at least its position of dominance, to anthropogenic processes that surpass the sphere of human control has been defined by many scholars as the Anthropocene (see Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000). On the other hand, the tenets of this growing theoretical rubric claim the exhaustion and incapacity of the post-positivist paradigm, arguably the dominant register within critical theory over the last forty years, as unable to provide analytical tools that enhance the comprehensive understanding of the repositioning of the human in the Anthropocene era (see Bryant, Srnicek & Harman, 2011). To be precise, the limits of textual, discursive and semiotic methodological techniques are exposed as insufficient to capture and examine how Anthropocenic processes of transformation are reconfiguring the role of the human on the planet, let alone the relations with its environment.


The Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type I is known as the etiologic agent of Adult T-Cell Leukemia. The HTLV-I is also related to a chronic myelopathy, which includes (auto) immunemediated inflammatory injury in its pathogenesis. Other autoimmune syndromes such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjögren's Syndrome are reported in infected patients. In those patients, these clinical conditions seem to be the result of the interaction between the virus as an environmental agent and host susceptibility, leading to an aberrant functioning of immunomodulatory mechanisms, cellular proliferation and inflammation. The study of clinical and immunological aspects of the HTLV-I-associated rheumatic manifestations may contribute to the better understanding of the auto-immune diseases.


Objective: The aims of this study were to develop a culturally adapted version of the Fatigue Severity Scale in Persian (FSS–P) and to evaluate the reliability of the FSS–P in a sample of Iranians with Multiple Sclerosis. Materials & Methods: In this non experimental and descriptive study which was done methodologically by validity testing method, "fatigue severity scale–Persian version" was developed following a forward – backward translation procedure and cultural adaptation based on guidelines. A sample of 20 patients with Multiple Sclerosis were selected conveniently. The participants were recruited from Sina rehabilitation clinic in Tehran between 2001 to 2007. The participants were asked to answer FSS item and VAS. The FSS and VAS were readministered 3 weeks after the first visit. Test–retest reliability and internal consistency were assessed, using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), Pearson's Correlation Coefficient and Cronbach's alpha, respectively Results: All the participants found the FSS–P item to be clear and unambiguous in a pilot testing. The ICC was reported 0.93 for the total score that showed high repeatability of (FSS) and the Cronbach's alpha was reported 0.96. Conclusion: The Persian version of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) is a culturally adapted and reliable instrument to assess fatigue in Iranian persons with Multiple Sclerosis.


SummaryMany studies are being conducted to define the role of growth factors in cutaneous physiology in order to add cytokines in a timely fashion for optimal tissue engineering of skin. This study is aimed at developing a multistep approach for the production of bioengineered skin substitutes, taking into account the effects of various growth factors according to the culture time. The use of a serum-supplemented medium throughout the whole culture period of skin substitutes was compared to the sequential use of specific additives at defined culture steps. Histological analysis revealed that serum was necessary for keratinocyte proliferation and migration on dermal substitutes during the first 2 d after their seeding. However, the serum-free medium presented some advantages when supplemented with different additives at specific culture steps. Interestingly, ascorbic acid added to the dermal substitutes before and after keratinocyte seeding maintained their cuboïdal morphology in the basal epidermal layer. In the absence of serum, collagen matrix degradation slowed down, and a better multilayered epidermal organization was obtained, notably with retinoic acid. Stratum corneum formation was also enhanced by fatty acids. Thus, sequential addition of exogenous factors to the medium used to produce skin substitutes can improve their structural features and functional properties in vitro.


Genome sequencing of mutants is one of the most widely used techniques to identify genes that control traits of interest including human diseases. Traditionally, variants are called against reference genomes and various filtering techniques are applied to reduce the number of candidate mutations. However, if the genetic background of the mutant is different from the reference genome, the number of background variants may exceed the number of true mutations by several orders of magnitude resulting in candidate lists that cannot be effectively reduced. We introduce the problem of differential variant calling in mutants from diverse genetic backgrounds. In the example of a mutant strain of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, where the genetic background is not identical to the reference genome (≈1% genome-wide divergence), we show that simple intersection filtering does not effectively reduce the list of candidate mutations due to the combined effect of high number of background mutations, missing coverage in the wildtype sample, and problematic regions in the genome assembly. Although restriction to sites with coverage in mutant and wildtype sample greatly reduced the number of candidate sites, we further improved this candidate set by implementing a customized variant calling procedure. This takes the mutant sample and the control sample of same genetic background as input and calls variants exhibiting strong discriminative signals across the two samples. Intersecting the candidate mutations with an interval identfied from mapping by RAD-seq revealed a likely splice-site mutation in the P. pacificus dpy-1 gene, which has been previously shown to cause the associated morphological phenotype. Our study shows that combined analysis of mutant and wildtype samples drastically increases the potential to find true mutations. We hope that these results may be helpful for other model systems, where the identification of candidate mutants is complicated by assembly errors, lab-derived mutations, or different genetic backgrounds.


Dialogue systems, also called chatbots, are now used in a wide range of applications. However, they still have some major weaknesses. One key weakness is that they are typically trained from manually-labeled data and/or written with handcrafted rules, and their knowledge bases (KBs) are also compiled by human experts. Due to the huge amount of manual effort involved, they are difficult to scale and also tend to produce many errors ought to their limited ability to understand natural language and the limited knowledge in their KBs. Thus, the level of user satisfactory is often low. In this paper, we propose to dramatically improve the situation by endowing the chatbots the ability to continually learn (1) new world knowledge, (2) new language expressions to ground them to actions, and (3) new conversational skills, during conversation by themselves so that as they chat more and more with users, they become more and more knowledgeable and are better and better able to understand diverse natural language expressions and to improve their conversational skills.


Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages stood at a crossroads of trade and crusading routes and fell within the spheres of influence of both the Byzantine Orthodox Church and Latin Christendom. This authoritative survey draws on historical and archaeological sources in the narration of 750 years of the history of the region, including Romania, southern Ukraine, southern Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania and Greece. Exploring the social, political and economic changes marking the transition from late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages, this book addresses important themes such as the rise of medieval states, the conversion to Christianity, the monastic movement inspired by developments in Western Europe and in Byzantium, and the role of material culture (architecture, the arts and objects of daily life) in the representation of power.


The mathematical model «radiotechnical facilities – control system» is proposed and studied in this article, which determined connection between auditor and serving for control systems. The analysis of exciting methods of the development mathematical models for monitoring the technical state of complex systems is carried out, and their chief shortcoming is determined the dependence on two independent models. Appliance of Petri net model to the development result of arithmetic model «radiotechnical facilities – control system» is the analysis of these findings. Model structure «radiotechnical facilities – control system» is suggested and represented as a graphical chart of Petri net. Arithmetic model is developed on the base of this graphic chart. Arithmetic model is checked against limitedness, reliability, storageability and coverability. The validity results of represented model are displayed in the article.


Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EC O157) is an important cause of foodborne disease. Cattle are reservoirs for the bacteria and are implicated in transmission to humans. Prevalence data in prefeedlot calves are limited. With the use of sensitive methods, a cohort of weaned beef calves (n = 408) was sampled before and after preconditioning to estimate fecal point prevalence and describe changes in EC O157 fecal shedding. EC O157 isolates were confirmed and characterized by PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Calves from 29 cow-calf farms were commingled at three preconditioning sites and placed on a transition ration containing oxytetracycline (200 g/ton) for 45 days. Initial animal-level fecal point prevalence was 2.5% (95% confidence interval, 1 to 5) with a herd-level prevalence of 17.2% (95% confidence interval, 6 to 36). Point prevalence following the preconditioning feeding period was 0%. An unexpected finding in our study was EC O157 isolates that were Shiga toxin-deficient. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis subtypes of EC O157 were unique in epidemiologically unlinked herds, except one herd that had two unique subtypes. We expected, but observed, neither increased fecal shedding in the cohort nor horizontal transmission of unique EC O157 subtypes. The absence of fecal shedding following the 45-day feeding period might be attributable to seasonal influences, inhibitory concentrations of oxytetracycline in the transition ration, or transient colonization that ended before sampling. EC O157 is apparently widely dispersed at low prevalence in U.S. prefeedlot, weaned calves.


Although studies generally support a positive association between alcohol consumption and lungcancer risk, the relationship between specific alcoholic beverages and lung-cancer risk has been inconsistent. We examined recent and past alcoholic beverage intake among 261 incident cases and 615 population controls enrolled in a lung-cancer case-control study of African Americans and Caucasians in Los Angeles County between 1991 and 1994. An in-person interview elicited information about past alcohol intake from ages 30 to 40 y, smoking, other lung-cancer risk factors, as well as recent intake of alcohol, and recent dietary intake. An association was observed between recent hard-liquor consumption and lung-cancer risk. The odds ratio (OR) for 1 or more drinks (1.5 oz or 0.051 mL) per day of hard liquor compared with infrequent liquor drinking (0–3 drinks per month), adjusted for smoking, the matching factors, saturated fat and other alcoholic beverages was 1.87 [95% confidence interval (CI) Å 1.02–3.42]. No appreciable association was observed for total alcohol, whereas small inverse associations were observed for beer and wine, although confidence intervals were wide. An elevated lung-cancer risk was also observed for past liquor consumption (between ages 30 and 40 y). The adjusted OR for 1 or more drinks per day of liquor compared with infrequent drinkers was 1.83 (95% CI Å 1.06–3.15). Confounding of the association between alcohol and lung cancer by smoking was apparent. Although we devoted considerable efforts to adjusting for smoking in our analyses, residual confounding is still possible because smoking and alcohol are closely associated. In addition, case-control studies including this study should be viewed with caution because of possible selection bias. An increased risk of lung cancer might occur with moderate drinking of hard liquor but confirmation is required in larger studies. J. Nutr. 128: 694–700, 1998.


The marine fisheries sector is one of the most important income sectors in South Africa and plays an important role in food security for small-scale and subsistence fishers. Climate-driven impacts have resulted in distribution shifts and declines in abundance of important fisheries targets, with negative consequences to the users dependent on these resources. The sustainability of the sector depends on its readiness to adapt to climate change. The inclusion of climate change impacts and adaptation in fisheries management documents in South Africa is essential to ensure adequate climate adaptation responses are implemented at the short- and long-term. This study aims to 1) determine if the relevant fisheries national management documents address climate change and adaptation, 2) determine if the relevant national climate change documents address climate change and adaptation in the fisheries sector and 3) evaluate the extent to which fisheries management documents address climate change and adaptation. A content analysis of fisheries management and climate change documents was carried out to determine if they incorporated information on climate change impacts and adaptation and marine fisheries respectively. Fisheries management documents were then screened against nine pre-determined criteria (or themes) based on climate change adaptation to determine the level of inclusion of best practice for climate change adaptation. Results indicate that climate change impacts and adaptation are rarely incorporated in the main fisheries management documents, except for the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan for the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors. However, this document is still waiting to be adopted. The only direct reference identified in all the fisheries documents that supports climate change adaptation was 'conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity'. With regards to indirect references to climate change adaptation, 'equity,' 'participatory management,' and 'capacity building' were most frequently incorporated in fisheries management documents. There is a need to explicitly incorporate information on climate change impacts and adaptation in South African fisheries management documents and increase the human and financial capacity at national institutions to ensure that the fisheries sector can adequately adapt to climate change.


Light quality affects plant growth and the functional component accumulation of fruits. However, there is little knowledge of the effects of light quality based on multiomics profiles. This study combined transcriptomic, ionomic, and metabolomic analyses to elucidate the effects of light quality on metabolism and gene expression in tomato fruit. Micro-Tom plants were grown under blue or red light-emitting diode light for 16 h daily after anthesis. White fluorescent light was used as a reference. The metabolite and element concentrations and the expression of genes markedly changed in response to blue and red light. Based on the metabolomic analysis, amino acid metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis were active in blue light treatment. According to transcriptomic analysis, differentially expressed genes in blue and red light treatments were enriched in the pathways of secondary metabolite biosynthesis, carbon fixation, and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, supporting the results of the metabolomic analysis. Ionomic analysis indicated that the element levels in fruits were more susceptible to changes in light quality than in leaves. The concentration of some ions containing Fe in fruits increased under red light compared to under blue light. The altered expression level of genes encoding metal ion-binding proteins, metal tolerance proteins, and metal transporters in response to blue and red light in the transcriptomic analysis contributes to changes in the ionomic profiles of tomato fruit.


This series inspires students to write compelling essays on great authors and their works by encouraging their academic inquisitiveness and sharpening their critical-thinking skills.


Pseudomonas putida grown suspendedly can cometabolize 4-chlorophenol (4-CP)in the presence of phenol (growth substrate). However, cometabolization process cannot be maintained due to the high toxicity of phenol and 4-CP to cells when the initial concentrations of phenol and 4-CP were 120 mg/L and 600 mg/L, respectively. Cells can degrade phenol and 4-CP at high concentrations after immobilization in hollow fiber membrane bioreactors. Even when the initial concentrations of phenol and 4-CP were 200 mg/L and 1000 mg/L, the substrates were completely biotransformed with in 34 hours. Different from free suspension cells, immobilized cells were protected by the hollow fiber membranes due to mass transfer limitation in the membranes. The cells can grow and degraded high concentration substrates.


In this paper we examine three geographic crowdsourcing models, namely: volunteered geographic information (VGI), citizen science (CS) and participatory mapping (PM) (Goodchild, 2007; Audubon Society, 1900; and Peluso, 1995). We argue that these geographic knowledge producing practices can be adopted by governments to keep databases up to date (Budhathoki et al., 2008), to gain insight about natural resources (Conrad and Hilchey, 2011), to better understand the socio-economy of the people it governs (Johnston and Sieber, 2013) and as a form of data-based public engagement. The paper will be useful to governments and public agencies considering using geographic crowdsourcing in the future. We begin by defining VGI, CS, PM and crowdsourcing. Two typologies are then offered as methods to conceptualize these practices and the Kitchin (2014) data assemblage framework is proposed as a method by which state actors can critically examine their data infrastructures. A selection of exemplary VGI, CS and PM from Canada and the Republic of Ireland are discussed and the paper concludes with some high level recommendations for administrations considering a geographic approach to crowdsourcing.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Early experience with laparoscopic nephrectomy for xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) was associated with high conversion and complication rates. We describe our institution's experience with this procedure compared with a contemporary cohort of patients with XGP treated by open nephrectomy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Retrospective review of surgical pathology reports from radical nephrectomies at our institution between 1995 and 2005 yielded a diagnosis of XGP in 12 patients, 6 of whom had undergone laparoscopic surgery. Each patient's medical records were reviewed, with intraoperative and postoperative parameters, including complications, being recorded.

RESULTS
Transperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy was successful in five patients (83%). Hand-assist ports were utilized in two patients because of failure to progress. The operative times were 301 +/- 106 minutes and 167 +/- 40 minutes in the laparoscopic and open-surgery groups, respectively (P = 0.03). There was no statistical difference with regard to estimated blood loss, transfusion rate, or parenteral analgesic requirements, but there was a trend toward a shorter stay for the laparoscopic group. Complications were noted in three and two patients in the laparoscopic and open-surgery groups, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The outcomes of nephrectomy for XGP were similar regardless of surgical approach. The results in patients with XGP were similar to initial reports in the literature and may be dependent on surgeon experience. We believe that in experienced hands, laparoscopic nephrectomy may be offered to patients with XGP.


The characterisation of foaming in plant cell cultures was investigated using Monnda citnfoha, as a test organism Suspensions were cultivated in 250 ml shake flasks, over the course of 21 day batch growth cycles, and were characterised in terms of biomass concentration, conductivity, morphology, pH and metabolite production (extracellular proteins and extracellular polysaccharides (ECP)). The Theological and surface tension profiles of the cell-free broths were assessed, with a view to understanding the influence o f these characteristics on foaming behaviour. A bubble column, to investigate the foaming potential of cell-free broths, was designed and validated. A preliminary study was performed, to monitor the ability of a silicone antifoam to suppress foaming and to investigate its influence on culture growth and productivity.

Image analysis-based morphological studies showed that the distributions of chains and cells m these suspensions are log-normal. A linear relationship was identified between conductivity and biomass concentration, expressed in terms of fresh weight and cell number, however, this relationship was only apparent up to the stationary phase, for dry weight measurements Metabolite production was strongly growth-associated. The viscosity of the broth was found to increase with culture age and was successfully correlated with ECP production Surface tension was observed to reach a minimum during the early stages of the growth cycle and to remain relatively stable for the remainder of the growth cycle. These variations were attributed to extracellular proteins.

Foammess characterisation studies in both cell-free broths and in model systems (using BSA and xanthan gum) revealed that foammess was greatly influenced by proteins, polysaccharides and nature of the suspending fluid. Foammess in medium-based solutions was significantly greater than in comparable aqueous-based solutions. The antifoam employed was compatible with this suspension culture, when cultivated in shake flasks and was effective in suppressing foam formation during foaming experiments in the bubble column.


We describe CALITAS, a CRISPR-Cas-aware aligner and integrated off-target search algorithm. CALITAS uses a modified and CRISPR-tuned version of the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm. It supports an unlimited number of mismatches and gaps and allows protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) mismatches or PAMless searches. CALITAS also includes an exhaustive search routine to scan genomes and genome variants provided with a standard Variant Call Format file. By default, CALITAS returns a single best alignment for a given off-target site, which is a significant improvement compared to other off-target algorithms, and it enables off-targets to be referenced directly using alignment coordinates. We validate and compare CALITAS using a selected set of target sites, as well as experimentally derived specificity data sets. In summary, CALITAS is a new tool for precise and relevant alignments and identification of candidate off-target sites across a genome. We believe it is the state of the art for CRISPR-Cas specificity assessments.


In this paper, Plate Frame Interaction (PFI) developed by other researches for modeling Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) is applied for designing a half-scale, single bay and one story SPSW. After designing of SPSW, one specimen is constructed accordingly. In order to determine the mechanical properties of steel, coupon test is performed; and then again theoretical relations based on PFI is re-checked. In this study, gravity loads are neglected and only seismic resistance of SPSW is considered. With cyclic lateral loading as quasi-static load, according to Acceptance Criteria for Cyclic Racking Shear Tests For Metal-Sheathed Shear Walls with Steel Framing (AC154) and obtaining its hysteretic loops, force displacement diagram of the specimen is determined. Comparison of theoretical and experimental results shows that ultimate strength of SPSW based on theoretical analysis is lower than that of experimental analysis. By the way, due to large deformation of beam during the applied loading, it is proposed that plastic moment of beam be get higher, rather than that of proposed quantity. However, through increasing of beam and column rigidity and attention to weak girder- strong column theory, it is estimated that ultimate strength, ductility and energy dissipation of steel shear wall will significantly improve.


Minutes of the 66-2 meeting of the Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee's Phreatophyte Subcommittee. Held June 20-21, 1966, at Salt Lake City, Utah


Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (NASH-HCC) is a malignancy whose incidents are rapidly increasing. However, the mechanisms that drive development of HCC in a steatotic microenvironment remain unknown. Here we report that the obesity-associated protein JCAD is expressed at significantly higher levels in human NASH-HCC specimens compared with pericarcinoma specimens. High JCAD expression was verified in multiple hepatoma cell lines. Forced overexpression of JCAD in hepatoma cells promoted tumor growth and proliferation, whereas JCAD silencing yielded opposite effects. JCAD interacted with the kinase domain of the tumor suppressor kinase LATS2, a core component of the Hippo signaling pathway. JCAD overexpression inhibited the ability of LATS2 to phosphorylate YAP in this pathway, in turn upregulating CCND1 and GLI2 to promote hepatoma cell proliferation. JCAD was induced by fatty acid overload in hepatic cells and was highly expressed in a mouse model of NASH-precarcinoma lesions, where the ratio of phospho-YAP to YAP was decreased. In human NASH-HCC specimens, JCAD expression and YAP phosphorylation patterns paralleled with the mouse model. Our findings illuminate a new role for JCAD and its critical interplay in the Hippo signaling cascade during the transition of NASH to HCC, with potential implications for therapeutic development in this setting. Cancer Res; 77(19); 5287-300. ©2017 AACR.


Background
Studies disagree as to whether intakes of folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism nutrients are associated with endometrial cancer.

Methods
Using data from the large, prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, we used Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate endometrial cancer risk associated with calorie-adjusted dietary intake of several B vitamins and methionine. All models accounted for age, race, body mass index (BMI), smoking, oral-contraceptive use, menopausal hormone therapy use and caloric intake. We estimated associations by time from baseline (≤3 or >3 years) and stratified models by BMI (<25 or ≥25 kg/m2). During 16 years of follow-up, we identified 2329 endometrial cancer cases among 114 414 participants.

Results
After adjustment for confounding, we observed increased risk for endometrial cancer with greater consumption of dietary total folate, natural folate, B2, B6 and B12 [hazard ratios (HRs) ranging from 1.14 to 1.24 for the highest quintile (Q5) vs the lowest (Q1)]. Higher intakes of total folate, natural folate, B6 and B12 continued to be associated with increased risk when limiting follow-up to >3 years from baseline. We observed risks for the highest intakes of B2 [Q5 vs Q1: HR 1.27 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.50], B12 (Q5 vs Q1: HR 1.38 CI 1.17-1.63) and methionine (Q5 vs Q1: HR 1.26 CI 1.07-1.48) among women who were overweight/obese, but not among normal/underweight women.

Conclusions
Our findings indicate that one-carbon metabolism plays a role in endometrial carcinogenesis and exploration of this role in tissue and cellular biology studies is warranted.


Sixty-three patients with dermatopolymyositis were evaluated from the clinical, laboratory and therapeutical aspects during a period of 15 years: 39 are women and 24 men. The mean age was 36.8 +/- 15.6 years. No correlation was observed between clinical and isolated therapeutics employed; when corticosteroids and cytolytic drugs were used simultaneously, the clinical response was satisfactory. No special fact was seen that can predict the therapeutical response.


"White" (often "forgetting" colonialist and racist crimes…; hostile to ordinary white folks) idiom. In addition, we will discuss the revolution from below in China - rarely considered with dispassion or even sympathetically, though Theda Skocpol and William Hinton do - as well as the oppression/ethnic cleansing of minorities in China,


DNA is a crucial component of all known life. It encodes in genes the structure of the proteins necessary to perform many of the functions in a cell. Proteins are biological polymers consisting of a chain of amino acids. The specific sequence of the amino acids determines the structure and therefore function of the protein. The sequence of the amino acids of a protein is coded in DNA via triplets of the nucleotide bases known as codons, which each can represent only one amino acid. However, an amino acid can be represented by more than one codon, so there are many combinations of DNA that can code for any given protein. The efficiency of expressing a protein from a gene can be affected by the DNA sequence, so to optimize protein production, we want an optimal sequence of DNA. Particularly, we would like to be able to design ab initio, optimized genes that code for protein-based materials for biological applications. We are working to develop a computer program to generate DNA code from an amino acid sequence. The ultimate goal is to optimize the sequence by using codons in an efficient way and removing unwanted patterns in the gene.


This paper sheds light on the value of a three-day excursion for South African student teachers in their first year of study. The rationale for the excursion should be considered from two perspectives: the unfortunate history of the country that divided people along racial lines, and the poor quality of teaching and learning that characterizes many South African school classrooms. This context dictates innovative interventions in pre-service teacher education, in order to ensure that South Africa has teachers who are inclusive and who enhance social justice on the one hand, and on the other hand who are well educated in making use of learner-centred and inquiry learning approaches. South Africa is a young democracy, and the legacy of the apartheid regime is still seen in a society that is not completely integrated. The North-West University (NWU) has three campuses, and whereas the Mafikeng Campus hosts predominantly Black students, the Potchefstroom Campus again has mainly White students. When student teachers board the buses to take them to the venue where the excursion is held, they also enter a different epistemological learning space, where they will reflect on their journeys of becoming teachers in socially diverse groups. While navigating the learning space as homo ludens (the playing human), engaging in a pedagogy of play, student teachers are confronted with their own biases and naive understandings of teaching and the profession. The excursion also creates the opportunity for potential conflict and tension, which Veresov refers to as ?dramatical collisions?. Such social discomfort or disequilibrium acts as a good catalyst in the journey of becoming truly inclusive practitioners. However, the excursion, in contrast to a ?real? classroom, provides a low-risk setting (laboratory) for such learning. The pedagogy of play that characterizes the excursion, furthermore provides the student-teachers with an alternative approach to the ?chalk-and-talk?, transmission-mode teaching and learning approaches, which a large percentage of them experienced when they themselves were school learners. In this paper, the authors disseminate findings that emerged from a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of almost 1700 NWU student-teachers who participated in the 2019 excursions. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, focus group interviews, and studying artefacts.


Sediments are depositional areas where particles sink from water columns, but they are also microbial hotspots that play an important role in biogeochemical cycles. Unfortunately, the importance of both processes in structuring microbial community composition has not been assessed. We surveyed all organismic signals of the last ca. 170 years of sediment by metabarcoding, identifying global trends for eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea, and monitored 40 sediment parameters. We linked the microbial community structure to ongoing and historical environmental parameters and defined three distinct sediment horizons. This not only expands our knowledge of freshwater sediments, but also has profound implications for understanding the microbial community structure and function of sediment communities in relation to future, present, and past environmental changes.


The inventories which depict the pharmacies stocks are documents of a high value for the History of Pharmacy. In this essay we report on the find of one of these stock lists, dated in the eighteenth century, in the collection of the Historical Archive of the Illustrious Notarial Association of Granada and we try to carry out a concise analysis of it.


This paper treats the round-trip location problem proposed by Chan and Hearn. The object of the problem is to find the facility location that minimizes the maximum weighted round-trip distance between the facility and N pairs of demand points. The algorithm proposed here is based on the numerical solution of differential equations. Unlike the Chan and Hearn algorithm, which is based on linear programming and is applicable only to rectangular distances, this method is equally applicable to Euclidean and general ( l p ) distances.


Background: Controlled ankle movement (CAM) walker boots may cause gait alterations and leg-length discrepancy. This study evaluates secondary site pain relating to immobilization in a CAM walker boot. Methods: Patients wearing a CAM walker boot were prospectively enrolled and evaluated for new or worsened secondary site pain. Surveys at four time points were completed to evaluate secondary site pain severity and its effect on function. Results: The study included 46 patients (mean age, 49 years). At transition out of the boot (mean, 4.2 weeks), 31 patients (67%) reported pain which was new or worse than at baseline. The sites most susceptible to pain were lower back, contralateral hip, and ipsilateral knee. Most pains (84%) began within the first 2 weeks of boot wear. Secondary site pain was less common after transition out of the boot: 18 patients (39%) at 1 month and 15 patients (33%) at 3 months. Conclusion: Secondary site pain after CAM walker boot wear is common. The frequency and severity of pain lessened after transition out of the boot. Yet, one-third of patients still had new or worsened secondary site pain 3 months after cessation of boot wear.


Cancer is the fastest growing disease and leading cause of death in the world. Several drugs are available for the treatment of cancer with their merits and demerits, but not a single molecule is available which claims to cure cancer completely. Plumbagin (PL) is a napthoquinone derivative which is obtained as secondary metabolite from plumbago plant family, plumbaginaceae. Plambago plants are the flowering plants naturally occurring in Asia, Plumbago zeylanica specially found in India. Previously it was known as "chitraka" (in Ayurveda) whose root extracts were used for the treatment of dyspepsias, piles and diarrhoea. PL found to arrest the cell proliferation, metastasis and growth in various in-vitro and in-vivo studies Several researchers showed that PL modulates cytokines like interleukins, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), reactive oxygen species (ROS), phosphatidyl-inositol 3 kinase (PI3K) & p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), DNA degradation, jun n-terminal kinase (JNK), protien kinase-C (PKc), mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) which are key player in the growth and development of normal cell at molecular level. PL found to arrest rapidly dividing cells, due to these features and activities, PL can be used in treatment of different kinds of cancers. This article provides an overview on the anti-cancer mechanism and speciality of a single agent PL, as a multi-target molecule obtained from plumbaginous plant in treatment of various types of cancer.

Keywords: Plumbagin, Multi-target, Anticancer, Apoptosis.


Introduction Dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR) deficiency is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder where the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is affected. BH4 is an essential co-factor for the hydroxylation of the aromatic amino acids; phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. A deficiency of BH4 results in hyperphenylalaninaemia, and a lowered synthesis of dopamine and serotonin and therefore low levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurotransmitters cause the clinical symptoms. Patients with DHPR deficiency may present with hypotonia, abnormal movements, poor temperature control, irritability, seizures, progressive developmental delay and microcephaly. Long term amine replacement with 5-hydroxytryptophan and levodopa, the respective precursors to serotonin and dopamine, is the main treatment to supplement CSF neurotransmitters, and diet restriction of phenylalanine. Folinic acid is also given to prevent CNS folate deficiency. Case report This patient was born by caesarean section at 39 weeks and detected through newborn screening with an elevated phenylalanine level of 634 micromol/l and later a confirmatory repeat level was 850 micromol at the age of 12 days. Subsequent tests confirmed a defect in biopterin recycling due to DHPR deficiency. The patient did not show any symptoms and looked well but the guidelines are to commence treatment and regular monitoring of the treatment. The doses started were levodopa as co-beneldopa dispersible tablets (benserazide 12.5 mg and levodopa 50 mg) initially 1 mg/kg in 4 divided doses, 5-hydroxytrptophan 1–2 mg/kg in 4 divided doses, calcium folinate 15 mg OD and a low phenylalanine diet. Doses were adjusted in response to the lumber puncture CSF results. During this time the patient was developing but was a little behind on some milestones especially speech development, some challenging behaviour and during this period of time the parents reported that the child was unsteady on his feet, and kept falling over. Results The measurement of the CSF neurotransmitter metabolites homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) are essential to the diagnosis of these patients and also to monitor amine replacement with 5-hydroxytryptophan and levodopa. When the levels were checked in this patient at the time of the symptoms being reported it was found that both the HVA and 5-HIAA CSF concentrations, and were well below the reference ranges. They were the lowest seen in this patient HVA 86 nmol/L (154–867) and 5-HIAA 34 nmol/L (89–367). The methyltetrahydrofolate level was in range 97 nmol/L (52–178) and the phenylalanine levels were in the desired range. Conclusion Doses had always been adjusted according to the patient's weight and the CSF results, so the compliance of the medication could have been an issue. The pharmacist checked with the parents how they were administering the drug. The capsules for the 5-hydroxytrptophan were being opened dispersed in water and the volume for the dose to be given taken, a similar method was used for the co-beneldopa tablets. The 5-hydroxytrptophan capsules were an imported food supplement formulation and the contents did not disperse well and uniformly in water. A new pharmaceutical grade formulation was ordered in and the subsequent CSF levels showed a steady increase back into the ranges for HVA and 5-HIAA.


The current study investigated the influence of selection for increased egg production on external and internal egg quality traits over five generations in Japanese quail. A total of 4325 fresh eggs from 1326 females were collected each week during the egg-laying period to estimate heritability, genetic and phenotypic correlations, and correlated response of external and internal egg quality traits to selection for egg number (EN). The direct response to selection indicated an increase of 7.7 ± 0.27 eggs produced during the 90 days following production of the first egg. The correlated responses to selection indicated that selection for higher EN can be expected to increase EW and increase egg quality. Estimates of heritability ranged from 0. 11 to 0.35 for external egg quality traits and from 0.08 to 0.32 for internal egg quality traits. Estimates of the genetic correlations of EN with external and internal traits were positive, ranging from 0.09 to 0.25 and from 0.02 to 0.27, respectively. These estimates indicated few if any genetic antagonisms that would adversely affect selection response. However, eggshell thickness would not be expected to change as a result of selection for EN. Thus, the external and internal quality of Japanese quail eggs could be improved by selection for high egg production.


Objectives To update the EULAR recommendations for the use of imaging modalities in primary large vessel vasculitis (LVV). Methods A systematic literature review update was performed to retrieve new evidence on ultrasound, MRI, CT and [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) for diagnosis, monitoring and outcome prediction in LVV. The task force consisted of 24 physicians, health professionals and patients from 14 countries. The recommendations were updated based on evidence and expert opinion, iterating until voting indicated consensus. The level of agreement was determined by anonymous votes. Results Three overarching principles and eight recommendations were agreed. Compared to the 2018 version, ultrasound is now recommended as first-line imaging test in all patients with suspected giant cell arteritis, and axillary arteries should be included in the standard examination. As an alternative to ultrasound, cranial and extracranial arteries can be examined by FDG-PET or MRI. For Takayasu arteritis, MRI is the preferred imaging modality; FDG-PET, CT or ultrasound are alternatives. Although imaging is not routinely recommended for follow-up, ultrasound, FDG-PET or MRI may be used for assessing vessel abnormalities in LVV patients with suspected relapse, particularly when laboratory markers of inflammation are unreliable. MR-angiography, CT-angiography or ultrasound may be used for long-term monitoring of structural damage, particularly at sites of preceding vascular inflammation. Conclusions The 2023 EULAR recommendations provide up-to-date guidance for the role of imaging in the diagnosis and assessment of patients with LVV.


Hypoplastic aortoiliac syndrome (HAIS) is a unique disorder that occurs almost exclusively in women. Because reports in the literature are scant, we reviewed our own experience. The criteria for definition were high bifurcation of the abdominal aorta, straight course of the iliac arteries without the normal characteristic bowing, acute angle of the aortic bifurcation, aortic diameter of 14 mm or less, and iliac artery diameter of 7 mm or less. Nineteen patients with HAIS were identified in a 14-year period. All 19 patients were heavy smokers. Most had significant associated arterial disease, and all were women. Fifteen patients were selected as candidates for operation. Two were treated conservatively, one refused surgery, and one died of a myocardial infarction before operation. Reconstruction was performed by aortoiliac thromboendarterectomy with vein patch for segmental disease (four patients) and Dacron bifurcating graft for diffuse disease (11 patients). There were no deaths during operation. Four patients required reoperations for graft failure and three patients eventually required amputations. The four patients who underwent reconstructions by thromboendarterectomy with vein patch had uniformly good results. From this experience, the following approach and management are recommended: conservative nonoperative exercise program with close follow-up if symptoms are tolerable, aortoiliac thromboendartectomy and vein patch if disease is segmental, aortofemoral bifurcating graft for patients with diffuse disease with graft size closely approximating vessel size, and concomitant femoral-to-popliteal graft to ensure adequate runoff and graft patency if there is significant femoral disease. The etiology of HAIS remains obscure. Early onset of symptoms seems to be due to small vessels with superimposed atherosclerotic plaques. Addiction to smoking in these women is extreme (paralleling that seen in Buerger's disease) and may be of etiologic significance.


Author(s): Kim, Do Hyoung | Advisor(s): Adams, Michael E | Abstract: At the end of each developmental stage, insects undergo dramatic changes to shed old cuticle, a process called ecdysis. Ecdysis triggering hormone (ETH) released from epitracheal gland Inka cells is a master controller of events during ecdysis through its direct action on the central nervous system (CNS). ETH receptor neurons in the CNS comprise a peptide signaling cascade that initiates and schedules physiological and behavioral changes during the ecdysis sequence. Among the physiological events regulated by ETH during ecdysis is tracheal inflation, which is the first visible change that occurs following release of ETH. I investigated the role of kinin neurons in the ecdysis sequence and found that impairment of ETH, kinin, or kinin receptor signaling elicits defects in tracheal inflation. Ablation of kinin neurons produced larvae exhibiting the buttoned-up phenotype and inability to remove residual fragments of old trachea during ecdysis These findings suggest that kinin signaling is involved in both tracheal inflation and ecdysis behavior. In order to analyze further the signaling cascade involving ETHR peptidergic ensembles in the ecdysis behavioral sequence, I investigated changes in pupal ecdysis behaviors of transgenic flies with targeted ablations of specific ETHR-A neurons. Varying degrees of behavioral defects were detected following ablation of ETHR neurons expressing eclosion hormone (EH), FMRFamide, kinin, crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP), myoinhibitory peptide (MIP), burs and bursicon. I determined that kinin neurons are critical regulators of pre-ecdysis and also discovered that bursicon neurons likely are involved in regulation of both ecdysis and post-ecdysis. To verify a previous sequential activation model for ecdysis regulation, I monitored calcium dynamics in two ETHR ensembles (kinin and bursicon) in the same animal elicited by ETH exposure. I found that kinin and bursicon neurons have distinct activation patterns and that they are activated sequentially. To explain the sequential activation of these ETHR ensembles, I tested a differential sensitivity model by analyzing changes in ecdysis scheduling following modification of ETH receptor density. Over-expression or suppression of ETH receptors in targeted neurons resulted in changes in onset timing during pupal ecdysis, supporting the hypothesis that differential sensitivity of ETHR ensembles to their sequential activation by ETH. In summary, my data demonstrates that differential sensitivity of ETHR peptidergic ensembles can explain how the master hormone ETH schedules changes in physiology and behavior during the ecdysis sequence.


He presented two recent sets of supporting evidence. There were two distinct patterns of liking for sweetness in foods a sweet tooth for drinks and foods common in snacks and desserts and a liking for sweeter fruit and vegetables; this suggests that many people become 'addicted' to socially accepted habits that could have dire consequences for those vulnerable to weight gain. Secondly, in retrospective reports, success at losing weight and particularly at keeping it off was associated with the avoidance specifically between meals offood items and drinks containing fats and other energy. To conclude the afternoon, the chairman, Professor Philip James (Director of the Rowett Research


The theory of a relation between the cerebrovascular system and the lesions of multiple sclerosis has been advanced by many workers. The first of many to assign a primary role to vascular lesions was Rindfleisch.1Ribbert2early maintained that the demyelinated areas were related to a primary disseminated thrombosis. He described a congested central vessel in all the sclerotic patches. In two small patches cut in serial section he found white blood cells in the lumen of the vessel, partly adherent to the vessel wall and partly filling the vessel as an embolus. He stated that these changes in the vessel were multiple thrombi and expressed the belief that they had an important causative role in multiple sclerosis. The most recent adherents to the idea that vascular lesions play a primary role in the pathogenesis of the lesions of multiple sclerosis have been Putnam and his collaborators.3


Non-uniformity of the asphalt pavement is one of most important reason for early disease, control of non-uniformity in the production process of asphalt pavement is an important measure to ensure that quality and service life of pavement. Nuclear density gauge (PQI) can be non-destructive, rapid detection of asphalt pavement density. This paper give a research and application on the PQI calibration, testing frequency, the control parameters and evaluation index, and proposes a control method of non-uniformity in asphalt pavement construction with PQI. Asphalt pavement quality control in construction process can use this method. It is important to improve the stability of asphalt pavement quality and reduce the incidence of disease, and also has a certain reference value for establishing the quality control and quality assurance systems.


Background Systematic reviews of treatment interventions in stable or chronic conditions often require the synthesis of clinical trials with a cross-over design. Previous work has indicated that methodology for analysing cross-over data is inadequate in trial reports and in systematic reviews assessing trials with this design. Objective We assessed systematic review methodology for synthesising cross-over trials among Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group reviews published to July 2015, and assessed the quality of reporting among the cross-over trials included in these reviews. Methodology We performed data extraction of methodology and reporting in reviews, trials identified and trials included within reviews. Principal Findings We reviewed a total of 142 Cochrane systematic reviews including 53 reviews which synthesised evidence from 218 cross-over trials. Thirty-three (63%) Cochrane reviews described a clear and appropriate method for the inclusion of cross-over data, and of these 19 (56%) used the same method to analyse results. 145 cross-over trials were described narratively or treated as parallel trials in reviews but in 30 (21%) of these trials data existed in the trial reports to account for the cross-over design. At the trial level, the analysis and presentation of results were often inappropriate or unclear, with only 69 (32%) trials presenting results that could be included in meta-analysis. Conclusions Despite development of accessible, technical guidance and training for Cochrane systematic reviewers, statistical analysis and reporting of cross-over data is inadequate at both the systematic review and the trial level. Plain language and practical guidance for the inclusion of cross-over data in meta-analysis would benefit systematic reviewers, who come from a wide range of health specialties. Minimum reporting standards for cross-over trials are needed.


This paper introduces a method for detecting joint angles by using piezoresistive strain sensitive materials, as carbon loaded rubbers are. Materials used can be screen-printed onto fabrics to provide garments with a sensing apparatus able to reconstruct human postures and gestures. The main differences between this approach and the previous ones, and the core of this work, is the rigorous proof that for small local curvatures of the layers the constituting electrogoniometers, the resistance depends only on the total curvature of the layers and not on the particular form that the sensor keeps in adherence with the human body. In this paper, we show that the hypothesis of small local curvature does not severely restrict the set of angles which can be detected.


Abstract Background Chelerythrine (CHE) is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid that is a potent, selective, and cell-permeable protein kinase C inhibitor. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of CHE on intestinal recovery and enterocyte turnover after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in rats. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four experimental groups: (1) sham rats underwent laparotomy, (2) sham-CHE rats underwent laparotomy and were treated with intraperitoneal CHE; (3) IR-rats underwent occlusion of both superior mesenteric artery and portal vein for 30 minutes followed by 48 hours of reperfusion, and (4) IR-CHE rats underwent IR and were treated with intraperitoneal CHE immediately before abdominal closure. Intestinal structural changes, Park injury score, enterocyte proliferation, and enterocyte apoptosis were determined 24 hours following IR. The expression of Bax, Bcl-2, p-ERK, and caspase-3 in the intestinal mucosa was determined using real Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Results Treatment with CHE resulted in a significant decrease in Park injury score in jejunum (threefold decrease) and ileum (twofold decrease), and parallel increase in mucosal weight in jejunum and ileum, villus height in jejunum and ileum, and crypt depth in ileum compared with IR animals. IR-CHE rats also experienced a significantly lower apoptotic index in jejunum and ileum, which was accompanied by a lower Bax/Bcl2 ratio compared with IR animals. Conclusions Treatment with CHE inhibits programmed cell death and prevents intestinal mucosal damage following intestinal IR in a rat.


Nowadays the CFM56 engine is one of the most widely used engine models in the aviation industry. With this work it is intended to analyse several turbulence models during the combustion, allowing a better understanding of some problems and their possible resolution. It was used a STL file of the combustion chamber digitization, from the work of Oliveira. In the numerical case only a quarter of the combustion chamber is used due to its symmetry allowing a less computational effort during the simulations and the fuel used in combustion is Jet-A. The mesh used was designed in Helyx OS software and numerical simulations were performed in ANSYS Fluent 16.2. The models k-


Abstract Background and aims: Patients with ulcerative colitis have reduced health-related quality of life compared to the general population. Current treatment strategy aims to reduce patients' symptoms and increase health-related quality of life. We investigated which symptoms of ulcerative colitis correlate to decreased health-related quality of life. Methods: Among 743 patients with moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis receiving biological therapy in a cross-sectional national study, we determined which disease-related symptoms, as measured by the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index, worsened health-related quality of life scores across the Short Health Scale dimensions, while adjusting for treatment, age, and clinical manifestation, and stratifying for sex, by means of multiple linear regression. Results: Patients with active disease had decreased health-related quality of life compared to those with inactive disease (median 5.8 (range 4.5–7.5) vs. 2 (0.8–3.3)). Both sexes had decreased health-related quality of life in all dimensions for the symptoms: bowel frequency during daytime (0.37–0.86 and 0.46–0.84), urgency of defecation (0.54–0.79 and 0.49–0.65) and blood in stool (0.50–0.75 and 0.36–0.54) for men and women respectively. Women were more often negatively affected by bowel frequency during night-time (4 domains vs. 1) and arthritis (5 domains vs. 3). In non-stratified analysis female sex is an independent predictor of lower health-related quality of life for 3 domains (0.38–0.53). Conclusions: Health-related quality of life was most prominently associated with bowel frequency during daytime, urgency of defecation, and blood in stool. Other symptoms associated for some health-related quality of life dimensions, and appear to vary between the sexes.


We follow Brouwer and Ericsson (1998) approach in order to estimate a mark-up model of price over unit costs in Morocco from 1997q1 to 2013q2. This kind of models assumes that the equilibrium price level is set as a markup on some combination of input prices. Therefore, by estimating the short-run and long-run price elasticities with respect to unit labor costs and import prices, it's possible to calculate the impact of supply shocks related to production costs. This treatment of price dynamics is at the heart of the modern approach to modelling inflation, both for forecasting and for policy analysis. The mark-up model identified in this paper highlight the fact that unit labor costs and import prices are key factors in the price setting strategy of the Moroccan firms.


Abstract To investigate the diagnostic value of electrocardiographic (ECG) ST-segment in acute inferior myocardial infarction (AIMI) caused by the left circumflex branch (LCX). A total of 240 clinical cases with AIMI in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. All of them had received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 12 hours after symptom onset. The clinical features, ECG manifestations, and coronary artery lesion characteristics of the patients were collected. The right coronary artery (RCA) was shown to be the infarct-related artery (IRA) in 177 patients, while LCX was responsible for AIMI in 63 cases. There was no significant difference in the risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) (P > .05 for all) between the 2 groups. ST-segment elevation in lead II, III, and AVF could be found in all patients. Moreover, ST-segment depression in lead I (STD I), ST-segment elevation in lead III (STE III), STE III-STE II, STE AVF, STD AVL, STD AVL-STD I and STE v6 lead ST-segment deviation exhibited significant difference in 2 groups (P < .05 for all). The changes of STD I, STE III < STEII, STD AVL < STD I could discriminate between LCX and RCA in AIMI patients with high sensitivity and specificity. ECG may be an effective tool to predict the IRA in patient with AIMI.


Due to the rapid growth of wireless multimedia service, new features such as improved spectral efficiency, latency and increased peak throughput are standardized in the current GSM/EDGE system. Higher order modulations and symbol rates are defined in Enhanced General Packet Radio Service phase 2 (EGPRS2) to achieve better throughput. However, the computational complexity in the traditional receiver can be very high when increased modulation orders are applied; additionally, the system becomes more sensitive to the impairments at an increased symbol rate. It is therefore desirable to have a less complex and more robust demodulator. Recently, a new study item which introduces the multi-carrier technique was proposed in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardization. Based on the channel partitioning using the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), a simple equalizer can be used, which greatly reduces the computational complexity on receiver, meanwhile achieves good throughput and robustness against impairments. In this thesis, another channel partitioning method by means of the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is studied. Transmitter and receiver algorithms are developed, including a pre-filter designed at the receiver to facilitate the channel diagonalization. The link level performance is evaluated by means of simulations, under different test scenarios. The system's robustness against impairments and peak-to-average ratio (PAR) reduction are also evaluated, and compared with a system based on the DFT pre-coding. From the simulations, the conclusions can be drawn that in this implementation, the DFT precoded EGPRS2 outperforms the DCT pre-coded EGPRS2 in all scenarios. The DCT pre-coded system also shows worse robustness against impairments and higher peak-to-average ratio reduction loss in throughput. The impact of pre-filter design on the DCT pre-coded system has also been analyzed, and it shows that there is a tradeoff between achieving good symmetrization, and preserving channel information in the frequency domain.


For some time the mass media have been proclaiming that we are living in the pos tfeminist era. More recently, they have been glibly dismissing "political correctness" and so t rying to discredit the widening view that education and culture, like all social institutions, are sites where ideological struggles are played out. But feminism is alive and well, thank you , and as necessary a force for social justice as ever. And the growing impact of postmod ern thought has shaken educational and cultural practices out of their liberal torpor by disclos ing the multiplicity of modernism's hegemonies.Henry Giroux's current contribution to that disclosure, published as part o f the SUNY Press series on Teacher Empowerment and School Reform, is a collection of eight essays , five of which have appeared elsewhere, as has Giroux's rather lengthy introduction. Alt hough the introduction attempts to demystify the context of postmodernism and discuss its relation to modernism, the essays are not equally accessible. Those that take up theoretica l concerns of postmodernisms/feminisms seem to me to require some prior knowledge of those dis courses.The introduction is certainly thorough and, when taken with Giroux's conclu ding essay, establishes both a theoretical basis and a compelling pedagogical program of tra nsformative education. Yet Giroux's work is not without problems. Nowhere, for example, do es he interrogate democracy, radical or otherwise. And despite his insistence on inco rporating Others' discourses in the classroom, the refusal of which, he argues, enables their colo nization (pp. 39, 251), the architectonics of the book disclose the book nicely balances theoretic al and experiential essays, Giroux's own two pieces occupy over a third of the book's space and, wit h the essay by Peter McLaren, Giroux's co - editor of the SUNY series, only half the book is av ailable for Others' voices.Both McLaren's often - difficult essay, "Schooling the Postmodern Body: Cri tical Pedagogy and the Politics of Enfleshment," and the other theoretical essay in the collect ion, Sharon Welch's "An Ethic of Solidarity and Difference," contain reservations about post modernism. But while McLaren reinscribes some of the failures of modernism in the name of resis tance to cultural hegemony, Welch consistently situates herself in a postmodernist femini nist discourse and urges us to seek solidarity among diverse cultures as a communicative ethic that grounds transformative politics and that will not subtend (political) differences with l iberalism. One of the essay's major strengths lies in the ease with which the theory's applicabili ty in a classroom situation reveals itself.The essays, which explore lived experience from within postmodernist/femini st perspectives, are, in general, stronger. Grounded in analyzed experiences from which the auth ors theorize, they enact much postmodern and feminist thinking. For example, Marianne Whately 's study of male sexuality, "Raging Hormones and Powerful Cars," begins with Whately positio ning herself as a woman using a feminist critique of sex education texts and practices. …


The position and velocity of a band of double‐stranded, linear DNA from bacteriophage G were measured during 120° pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis, using a video micrometer. Both the x and y coordinates were determined simultaneously in the plane of a 1% agarose gel; x is the mean drift direction. For pulse durations T greater than the tube renewal time T*, the path traced by the band of 670 kb DNA in the xy plane was in remarkably good accord with that predicted by Southern's ratchet model. However, the measured instantaneous velocity vx showed a sharp backward spike each time the field changed direction, with amplitude about twice the mean drift velocity. This spike is not consistent with models which assume a constant curvilinear velocity of DNA in a tube, nor with the biased reptation model without fluctuations. The corresponding measurements of vy showed a sharp positive spike with amplitude more than 3 times the plateau velocity in the y direction; neither model predicted this. The sharp velocity spikes are consistent with the idea that, for T> T*, a large fraction of the DNA chains are stretched into U‐shaped or herniated configurations. When the field changes direction, the arms of the U's and the hernias recoil rapidly in response to intramolecular DNA chain tension. Because the base of a U or hernia is fixed by gel fibers, the center of mass of the chain recoils backward every time the field changes direction.


The Gateway WA Perth Airport and Freight Access Project is a major road improvement project to relieve traffic congestion by providing grade separated interchanges. It includes 11 road bridges, 7 underpasses, 1 footbridge and various other structures of interest. This paper describes the types of structures involved and the more interesting aspects of the structural design. These include the use of bath structures to exclude groundwater from lowered roads in the main free-flow interchange where there were severe height restrictions due to the proximity to major aircraft flight path navigation systems. The project includes extensive use of MSE (mechanically stabilised earth) walls, 7.0 km of noise and screen walls with high level of urban design, and various types of precast concrete superstructures for bridges with varying architectural treatments and complexities of geometry such as SPUI (single point urban interchange) arrangements. CFA (continuous flight auger) piles were used in top-down construction for one of the SPUI bridges. The project was delivered under an alliance involving Main Roads Western Australia, Leighton Contractors, Georgiou, AECOM, BG&E and GHD with a high level of co-operation among alliance participants achieved by working in project-oriented teams.


Whereas methodological discussions of scientific publication frequently occur in an institutional vacuum, in the sense that they take little account of the process whereby scientific contributions are published, this symposium illuminates the urgency of focusing on the increased dominance of commercial considerations in scientific publication in particular and science in general. It stresses the importance of embarking upon a multi-disciplinary evaluation that starts from a contextual perspective, looks at developments in sciences other than just economics, and goes beyond attributing everything to technological changes.


The existence and the kind of asymmetry that characterize the relationships between shipping-point and retail prices are investigated for two major French fresh vegetables: tomatoes and chicory. Weekly data allow considering these relationships at very detailed levels such as region or supermarket chain. Moreover, the methodology proposes an implicit treatment of asymmetries in price transmission by using recently developed threshold cointegration methods. Our results do not give evidence to the widespread assertion that shipping-point price increases are completely and rapidly passed by middlemen on to consumers while there is a slower and less complete transmission of shipping-point price declines. As already emphasized in the literature, these results may be linked to the perishable nature of the two considered fresh vegetables.


This article focuses on the implementation of telemedicine services in the healthcare sector. The objective of the study is to assess patients' attitudes towards home health care services using telemedicine tools. The cross sectional survey of 279 patients, aged 40–76 years and registered in Vilniaus Seskines polyclinic, was performed in September – November, 2013. Based on the results, patients are not sufficiently informed about the implementation of e-health, including telemedicine services in the health care system. Although patients tend to use home health care services using telemedicine tools, however, indirect communication with a doctor remains unacceptable for patients; therefore, they are less likely to use telemedicine services related to diagnostics, treatment and health monitoring. Moreover, patients are concerned about the positive changes in health care access and its quality, health information security, medical mistakes, discomfort with telemedicine tools and lack skills to use them, individual finance investment in telemedicine tools.


Introduction: Latent HIV reservoirs are rapidly established in lymphoid tissues during acute HIV infection (AHI). Sampling these tissues provides important information about HIV pathogenesis. This period is associated with viral replication and immune activation that may affect procedure-related adverse events (AEs). We examined the safety and tolerability of inguinal lymph node (LN) biopsy in research participants with AHI in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods: Between 2013 and 2016, 67 AHI participants in the RV254/SEARCH010 study underwent at least one optional inguinal LN biopsy during AHI at the baseline visit and/or after antiretroviral therapy (median 48 weeks after antiretroviral therapy). Biopsy-related AEs were graded according to NIH Division of AIDS guidelines. Poisson regression was used to calculate incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals to evaluate associations of demographic and HIV characteristics, procedure timing, and repetition with AE incidence. Results: Of the 67 participants, 97% were male with a median age of 26. Among 78 LN biopsies (39 at baseline and 39 at follow-up), 10 (12.8%) AEs were reported: 6 (7.7%) grade 1 and 4 (5.1%) grade 2. The AEs were biopsy-site discomfort (n = 8, 10.2%) and hematoma (n = 2, 2.6%). No factors were significantly associated with AE incidence. All biopsy-related AEs were transient and self-limited. Conclusions: Inguinal LN biopsies were safe and well tolerated in mostly Thai men with AHI. As LN biopsies become an integral part of HIV research, this study provides information to participants, researchers, and institutional review boards that these samples can be safely obtained.