Environmental pressure, land utilization, and economic
feasibility have resulted in the development of alternatives to treatment fish
farm wastewater. We examined the influence of two water treatment systems—a constructed
wetland (CW) and a soil filter system (SF)—on the constitution of the
phytoplankton community analyzed through the functional grouping of species and
nutrients removal of aquaculture farm. The CW provided high removal efficiency:
82.9% for ammonia, 87.0% for nitrate, 96.9% for nitrite, 85.5% for total
phosphorus, 88.5% for SRP and 71.6% for BOD. Removal efficiency of SF was lower
than CW, removing 82.1% of ammonia, 7.2% of total phosphorus, 45.9% of SRP and
39.4% of nitrite, but was satisfactory. The functional group F, made up of
Chlorophyceae Dictyosphaerium pulchellum and Kirchneriella lunaris, was the
most representative in both systems, followed by functional group P and constituted by Zygnemaphyceae Melosira sp. The number of functional groups decreased in the outlet of the two
treatment systems, where S1, H1 and W1, characteristic of eutrophic
environment, were retained. Data show that CW and the SF system are potentially
applicable to the fish farm wastewater treatment and ensure an improvement in
water quality.


This article provides a review of the history of marketing education. Some of the pioneers who developed concepts and pedagogical material used in teaching marketing are identified and some schools of thought are reviewed, namely, the commodity, institutional, and functional schools, as well as marketing management. During the early part of the 20th century, a number of scholars contributed seminal ideas that laid the foundation of marketing thought. Their published texts influenced what was taught in the classroom. What we teach today reflects what previous thought leaders and textbook authors considered to be important for the dissemination of marketing knowledge to students. Educators need a historical background about the concepts they teach and the textbooks they use. This background will help put what we teach today in perspective. This overview should provide an opportunity to think critically about the challenges that marketing educators face in selecting and presenting content in the classroom.


Amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer's disease mainly consist of 40- and 42-mer β-amyloid peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) that exhibit aggregative ability and neurotoxicity. Although the aggregates of Aβ peptides are rich in intermolecular β-sheet, the precise secondary structure of Aβ in the aggregates remains unclear. To identify the amino acid residues involved in the β-sheet formation, 34 proline-substituted mutants of Aβ42 were synthesized and their aggregative ability and neurotoxicity on PC12 cells were examined. Prolines are rarely present in β-sheet, whereas they are easily accommodated in β-turn as a Pro-X corner. Among the mutants at positions 15-32, only E22P-Aβ42 extensively aggregated with stronger neurotoxicity than wild-type Aβ42, suggesting that the residues at positions 15-21 and 24-32 are involved in the β-sheet and that the turn at positions 22 and 23 plays a crucial role in the aggregation and neurotoxicity of Aβ42. The C-terminal proline mutants (A42P-, I41P-, and V40P-Aβ42) hardly aggregated with extremely weak cytotoxicity, whereas the C-terminal threonine mutants (A42T- and I41T-Aβ42) aggregated potently with significant cytotoxicity. These results indicate that the hydrophobicity of the C-terminal two residues of Aβ42 is not related to its aggregative ability and neurotoxicity, rather the C-terminal three residues adopt the β-sheet. These results demonstrate well the large difference in aggregative ability and neurotoxicity between Aβ42 and Aβ40. In contrast, the proline mutants at the N-terminal 13 residues showed potent aggregative ability and neurotoxicity similar to those of wild-type Aβ42. The identification of the β-sheet region of Aβ42 is a basis for designing new aggregation inhibitors of Aβ peptides.


In this paper the authors deal with the problem of the information exchange between processes in extended FieldBus system. As is known, although most of the traffic in these systems is within a single bus, there is always a certain amount transiting from one FieldBus to another, often covering a certain distance. There is therefore the problem of finding ways to interconnect the various Fieldbuses in such a way as to meet the time constraints imposed by the applications. The paper proposes and then assesses a way of interconnecting even a large number of Fieldbuses, introducing delays which are compatible with process control requirements.


This dissertation deals with the ministerial career of Patrick Hogan, who was Minister for Agriculture in the first governments of independent Ireland His ten years in office spanned the creation and consolidation of the new state, and he set his mark upon the development of the country's largest industry, agriculture.

The dissertation analyses Hogan's career in terms of his role in national politics, his influence on agricultural policy and his relations with his civil servants, his contribution to the general business of the Cosgrave governments, firstly as an extern minister and after 1927 as a member of the executive council, and his activities in matters including the quality control of agricultural produce, land ownership, rationalisation of the dairy industry, and the development of the first sugar factory. It also discusses the gradual shift towards a policy of protection. Finally, it casts some light on the political style of the Cumann na nGaedhael party.

The dissertation is based principally upon research in the records of the Department of Agriculture, and in the surviving papers of ministers of the time.


This paper presents a formulation and an algorithm for the winner determination problem in auction-based scheduling. Without imposing a time line discretization, the proposed approach allows bidders to bid for the processing of a set of jobs using a requirement-based bidding language, which naturally represents scheduling constraints. The proposed winner determination algorithm uses a depth first branch and bound search. The search branches on bids, and a constraint-directed scheduling procedure is used at each node to verify the feasibility of the temporary schedule. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm is on average more than an order of magnitude faster than a commercial optimization package, CPLEX 10.0.


Monitoring and prediction of changes in the human cognitive states, such as alertness and drowsiness, using physiological signals are very important for driver's safety. Typically, physiological studies on real-time detection of drowsiness usually use the same model for all subjects. However, the relatively large individual variability in EEG dynamics relating to loss of alertness implies that for many subjects, group statistics may not be useful to accurately predict changes in cognitive states. Researchers have attempted to build subject-dependent models based on his/her pilot data to account for individual variability. Such approaches cannot account for the cross-session variability in EEG dynamics, which may cause problems due to various reasons including electrode displacements, environmental noises, and skin-electrode impedance. Hence, we propose an unsupervised subject- and session-independent approach for detection departure from alertness in this study. Experimental results showed that the EEG power in the alpha-band (as well as in the theta-band) is highly correlated with changes in the subject's cognitive state with respect to drowsiness as reflected through his driving performance. This approach being an unsupervised and session-independent one could be used to develop a useful system for noninvasive monitoring of the cognitive state of human operators in attention-critical settings.


To download this paper, please, click here . This paper analyses the process of constructing the national identity in the Soviet Georgian science fiction. Using the postcolonial approach, I argue that the genre provided Georgian writes with the unique possibility to imagine the future of Georgia, independent from the Russian oppression. The article concentrates on three strategies that serve this very goal: the first strategy entails placing Georgia in the centre of the future communist society; the second strategy entails transforming the historical rival of Russia, Western Europe and the United States of America, into Georgia's arch-enemy; while the third strategy concentrates on the critique of the imperialist worldview. In all three cases, the narratives containing nationalistic sentiments still manage to stay within the borders of socialist realism.


The $\alp-\alp$ interaction potential is obtained within the double folding model with density-dependent Gogny effective interactions as input. The one nucleon knock-on exchange kernel including recoil effects is localized using the Perey-Saxon prescription at zero energy. The Pauli forbidden states are removed thanks to successive supersymmetric transformations. Low energy experimental phase shifts, calculated from the variable phase approach, as well as the energy and width of the first $0^+$ resonance in $^8$Be are reproduced with high accuracy.


Objectives: Urban malaria is on the rise in Cotonou due to rapid urbanization and development activities. However, malaria transmission depends on several factors. Hydrology is a key factor that influences the presence of suitable habitats for the development of Anopheles larvae, thereby affecting survival of the malaria vector. For a long time, clean water bodies were thought to be the favorite Anopheles gambiae s.l. breeding sites. Nowadays, Anopheles gambiae s.l. is found in polluted waters, which used to be only favorable for the development of Culex quinquefaciatus. The current study was designed to assess both the water quality of Anopheles breeding sites and the ability of Anopheles larvae to develop in polluted water bodies. Methods: Larvae were collected in four districts in the city of Cotonou. All open water bodies were considered as potential breeding sites and investigated. Most of the breeding sites were shallow, exposed to sunlight and contained different qualities of water. Four breeding sites containing Anopheles larvae were identified and sampled. Two water samples were taken from each breeding site, in 1.5 L and 10 L containers for the measurement of physicochemical parameters and the monitoring of larval development, respectively. Results: Fourteen physicochemical parameters were measured, and all four breeding sites sampled had a very high level of pollution with high values of temperature, color, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, turbidity, total phosphors and suspended particles. Laboratory breeding of A. coluzzii larvae collected from field using polluted water samples, has yielded a high pupae rate (90%) which was significantly different from that observed with a laboratory strain of A. gambiae Kisumu (78,67%). Conclusion: These results indicate that the adaptation of A. coluzzii to polluted waters in Cotonou is quite alarming especially for urban malaria control.


Friction and wear remain the primary modes for energy dissipation in moving mechanical components. Superlubricity is highly desirable for energy saving and environmental benefits. Macroscale superlubricity was previously performed under special environments or on curved nanoscale surfaces. Nevertheless, macroscale superlubricity has not yet been demonstrated under ambient conditions on macroscale surfaces, except in humid air produced by purging water vapor into a tribometer chamber. In this study, a new tribological system was fabricated using a graphene coated plate (GCP), graphene coated microsphere (GCS) and graphene coated ball (GCB). The friction coefficient of 0.006 was achieved in air under 35 mN at a sliding speed of 0.2 mm/s for 1200 s in the developed GCB/GCS/GCP system. We, to the best of our knowledge, firstly report the macroscale superlubricity on macroscale surfaces under ambient conditions. The mechanism of macroscale superlubricity is due to the combination among of exfoliated graphene flakes and the swinging and sliding of the GCS, which is demonstrated by the experimental measurements, ab initio and molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings help to bridge macroscale superlubricity to real world applications, potentially dramatically contributing to energy savings and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide to the environment.


Libraries have always been a major focus for all kinds of learning, formal and informal. The library is at the heart of the traditional university or college, providing access to collections, specialist help and support, use of technology and a place to study alone or with fellow students. For institutions serving learners at a distance library services are more of a challenge. In the last 10-15 years, libraries in distance teaching universities worldwide have been exploring different approaches to supporting their students. The development of network technology has provided new opportunities to deliver content and services online but for many countries there are still economic, technical and educational barriers to overcome. Librarians have risen to this challenge and millions of students are now benefiting from library resources and services to enhance their learning experience. This panel session will present case studies from Africa, India and Sri Lanka describing highly innovative approaches by libraries to meet the needs of their staff and students. The presentations will provide the focus for what we hope will be a wide ranging discussion on the topic.


Although it is recognized that strategic planning (SP), when evaluated according to predefined goals and objectives, has a low execution rate, it has value as a complex, participatory and mobilizing procedure  in all quarters of society. Strategic health planning (SHP) has begun to emerge since the 1990s, strongly driven by the Global Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000 (WHO, 1981) and more recently by the Health 21 - Health for All in the 21st Century (WHO, 1998).The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (RGB), one of the poorest countries in the world, presents a context of fragility and deficiencies in health and functioning of its health system, which does not respond to the health needs of the country. It is, however, a State that over the years has made the exercise of SHP. The strategic management of the RGB´s health system was, until March 2017, guided by a National Health Policy adopted and approved in 1993. It has, over time, framed various thematic policies and guided the preparation of two National Health Development Plans (NHDP). The extension of the first NHDP was framed by the first National Strategy Document on Poverty Reduction (DENARP I 2004-2007) and the second NHDP by the DENARP II (2011-2015). The third NHDP, in preparation, will be guided by the National Health Policy adopted in March 2017, by the Strategic and Operational Plan of the Government Terra Ranka (2015-2025) and by the recommendations that emerged in October 2014 from the 1st National Health Conference.The SHP process in RGB also incorporates and feeds other planning processes by partners, services and civil society bodies, giving rise to a web of guiding documents - policies, plans, programs, projects.The management of this complexity should have been taken over by the NHDP Management Office, which has not happened. This is partly due to the lack of staff in the Office, and also to the fact that the SP is seen not as an element of dynamic strategic management, but as a self-contained process that allows mobilizing funds from donors and guides other thematic planning cycles, not always articulated with the NHDP´s time horizon.The present article makes a review trip to the SHP processes in RGB in three moments, each associated with a NHDP: 1998-2002 (extension of 2003-2007); 2008-2017; 2018-2020. In a narrative that intends to keep a memory of these processes, the article reports either to the personal experiences of the authors, or follows a methodology of analysis of documents, mostly unpublished, obtained from key informants in the course of several works in which Authors were involved as directors or consultants of the Ministry of Public Health of RGB.


Ventricular tachycardia in patients with remote myocardial infarction is thought to be due to reentry. To improve the efficacy of catheter ablation, we sought to identify electrograms identifying essential components of the reentrant circuit. In this study we compared the efficacy of shocks delivered at sites of early ventricular activation during tachycardia (presumably exit sites from the reentrant circuit) with that of shocks delivered at sites recording mid-diastolic potentials that were not continuous with the main ventricular potential recorded during the QRS complex, but that always remained associated with the tachycardia during initiation, termination, and resetting with extrastimuli (presumably activation of a segment of the slowly conducting region of the reentrant circuit). A total of 20 attempts was made to ablate 14 monomorphic ventricular tachycardias in 10 patients with remote myocardial infarction with use of one to five shocks of 50 to 370 J (200 J in 70%). All seven tachycardias in which isolated mid-diastolic potentials were targeted were successfully ablated, although one required a second attempt. Twelve attempts were made to ablate seven tachycardias by delivering shocks at sites of early activation during tachycardia when mid-diastolic potentials were not identified. Only three attempts (25%) were successful. Activation preceded the QRS complex by 60, 85, and 120 msec in the three successful attempts and by 20 to 110 msec (median 55 msec) in the nine unsuccessful attempts. For the total 20 attempts, there was no significant difference between successful and nonsuccessful ablation in the number of shocks or total energy delivered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The objectives of this paper are to formulate mathematical model for the tape drive system (TDS) by designing velocity tracking controller using physical laws. A Matlab function script and Simulink model were developed in Matlab and Simulink environment. The result of the study revealed that 7.07, 8 and 10 of k oln values met the design goal and also resulted in optimal control performance with the following characteristics 7.31%,7.71% , 9.41% overshoot,1.07,1.08, 1.09 sec peak time , 0.385,0.346,0.281sec settling time,149,168 and 210 proportional gain, and 67.2,65.6, 62.3 phase margin respectively. While the responses at other values of k oln resulted in an unsatisfactory performance. Based on simulation results and observations, it is evident that prediction of the performance of the controller depends on numerical value of k oln .More so, larger values of k oln lead to substantial increase in velocity variation resulting into worst prediction of the controller parameters.


With over 200 million infections and up to one million deaths every year, malaria remains one of the most devastating infectious diseases affecting humans. Over the last few years, complete genome sequences of both human and non-human malaria parasite species have become available, adding comparative genomics to the toolbox of molecular biologists to study the genetic basis of human virulence. In this thesis, I computationally compared the published genomes of seven malaria parasite species with the aim to gain new insights into genes underlying human virulence. This comparison was performed using two complementary approaches. In the first approach, I used whole-genome synteny analysis to find genes present in human but not non-human malaria parasites. In the second approach, I first clustered virulence-associated genes into gene families and then examined these gene families for species-specific differences. Both comparisons resulted in interesting gene lists. Synteny analysis identified three key enzymes of the thiamine (vitamin B1) biosynthesis pathway to be present in human but not rodent malaria parasites, indicating that these two groups of parasites differ in their ability to synthesize vitamin B1 de novo. My gene family classification exposed within the largest and highly divergent surface antigen gene family pir a group of unusually well conserved orthologs, which should be considered as high-priority targets for experimental characterization and vaccine development. In conclusion, this thesis highlights genes and pathways that are different between human and non-human malaria parasites and therefore could play important roles in human virulence. Experimental studies can now be initiated to confirm virulence-associated functions and to explore their potential value for drug and vaccine development.


A set of multivalent polyhydroxylated acetamidoazepanes based on ethylene glycol, glucoside, or cyclodextrin scaffolds was prepared. The compounds were assessed against plant, mammalian, and therapeutically relevant hexosaminidases. Multimerization was shown to improve the inhibitory potency with synergy, and to fine tune the selectivity profile between related hexosaminidases.


Several members of the Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) family of proteins are transporters of metals that are bound to the metal chelator nicotianamine or the related set of mugineic acid family chelators known as phytosiderophores. Here, we examine the physiological functions of three closely related Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) YSL family members, AtYSL1, AtYSL2, and AtYSL3, to elucidate their role(s) in the allocation of metals into various organs of Arabidopsis. We show that AtYSL3 and AtYSL1 are localized to the plasma membrane and function as iron transporters in yeast functional complementation assays. By using inflorescence grafting, we show that AtYSL1 and AtYSL3 have dual roles in reproduction: their activity in the leaves is required for normal fertility and normal seed development, while activity in the inflorescences themselves is required for proper loading of metals into the seeds. We further demonstrate that the AtYSL1 and AtYSL2 proteins, when expressed from the AtYSL3 promoter, can only partially rescue the phenotypes of a ysl1ysl3 double mutant, suggesting that although these three YSL transporters are closely related and have similar patterns of expression, they have distinct activities in planta. In particular, neither AtYSL1 nor AtYSL2 is able to functionally complement the reproductive defects exhibited by ysl1ysl3 double mutant plants.


Follow this and additional works at: https://knowledgecommons.popcouncil.org/ departments_sbsr-hiv Part of the Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Health Policy Commons, Immune System Diseases Commons, International Public Health Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Virus Diseases Commons, and the Women's Health Commons


Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and development of Pakistan providing food to consumers, raw materials to industries, and a market for industrial goods. Unfortunately, agricultural production is stagnant due to several barriers including a fixed cropping pattern, reliance on a few major crops, a narrow genetic pool, poor seed quality, and a changing climate. In addition, the high cost of production, weak phytosanitary compliance mechanisms, and a lack of cold chain facilities makes Pakistan agriculturally uncompetitive in export markets. Despite all these issues, agriculture is the primary industry in Pakistan and small farmers continue to dominate the business. Small farmers grow crops for subsistence under a fixed cropping pattern and a holistic approach is required to develop agriculture to improve the livelihoods of the rural populace. This book presents an exhaustive look at agriculture in Pakistan. Chapters provide critical analyses of present trends, inadequacies in agriculture, strategic planning, improvement programs and policies while keeping in view the natural resources, plantand animal-related agricultural production technologies, input supplies, population planning, migration and poverty, and balanced policies on finance, credit, marketing, and trade.


After sunrise Horned Screamer Anhima cornuta pairs give territorial declaration calls in response to the calls of neighbouring pairs. The buff-colour wing patches, normally hidden by the long contour feathers, were exposed and the head was thrown upward in a bobbing motion. These calls and displays were performed at greater intensity when a conspecific approached or entered the territory. Body postures were made conspicuous during aggressive attacks; the body was turned parallel to the opponent, buff-coloured patches on the wings and shoulders were exposed, and wings were held to the side of the body displaying the wing-spurs. Several appeasement behaviours have developed. A non-aggressive stance, head pointed upward, was held while bill-clicking. Wing-shuffling and preening behaviours covered the buff wing patches and hid the wing-spurs. Our findings support the hypothesis that coverable coloured patches have evolved as signals of threat if exposed and submissiveness if covered. Pair bond behaviours were closely associated with the 'ugh' call emitted from subcutaneous air sacs on the neck. The behaviours included mock-preening, allopreening, and head-arching directed toward the mate. The copulatory sequence entailed precopulatory calling, nest building movements, a short flight to the nest site, a side by side walk, and a crouch. While the male stood on the female's back he nibbled her neck, trod and shuffled his tail. We observed no post-copulatory display.


This thesis investigates the formation of subjective understandings of justice in relation to law. Liberal theories of justice and legal theory have frequently addressed this question on a macro scale, respectively approaching justice as a given balance between freedom and equality or focusing their attention on the kind of political and legal reforms that would be necessary in order to provide citizens with higher levels of justice. However, the role of the particular subject who demands justice has not received as much attention as the law-maker or the judge in these studies. Using a psychosocial approach that puts emphasis on the relation between the political and psychic life of the subject, this research aims to fill such lacuna by looking at the way in which particular subjects come to develop diverging understandings of justice as a result of their interactions with the law.
This dissertation is organised in five chapters. The first chapter reviews the work done by four different schools of legal thought, locating the particular subject who seeks justice as a common blind-spot to all of them and also as the departing point for this research. Building on this, the second chapter considers normativity and generality as the two basic features that define the relation between law and the subject; pointing to subjectivity, contingency, and justice as the three constituent limits of the law that become visible in the light of the abovementioned features; and positing contingency, desire, and temporality as the three basic dimensions in the study of the emergence of subjective understandings of justice. Focusing on the first of these dimensions, the third chapter focuses the role played by contingency in the law and in the subject's own narrative of justice, considering Walter Benjamin's notions of "fate" and "character" as opposite ways of articulating it. The fourth chapter investigates the role of "desire" and "jouissance" in the production of such narratives and how, in turn, they appear as two possible and diverging ways of understanding justice in view of the shortcomings of the law. Finally, the fifth chapter centres its attention on the temporality of law and justice, considering Heidegger's notions of "expectation" and "anticipation" as opposite ways of conceiving the temporality of the latter.
In summary, this research offers a new approach to the study of justice by focusing on the way in which this term comes to be used and understood by particular subjects in their interactions with the law. It addresses the relation between three dimensions in the process of formation of subjective understandings of justice, also suggesting that these processes appear as a response to a structural failure of the law to provide justice.


Objectives Extreme endurance exercise is known to be associated with an enlargement of the left ventricular (LV) chamber, whereas inactivity results in inverse changes. It is unknown if these dimensional relationships exist in patients. Methods We analyzed the relationship of exercise capacity and LV dimension in a cohort of sequential patients with a normal ejection fraction undergoing stress echocardiography. In a total of 137 studies the following questions were addressed: (a) is there a difference in LV dimensions of patients with an excellent exercise capacity versus patients with a poor exercise capacity, (b) how is LV dimension and exercise capacity affected by LV wall thickness and (c) how do LV dimensions of patients who are unable to walk on a treadmill compare to the above groups. Results Patients with a poor exercise capacity or who are unable to physically exercise have a 34 percent smaller LV cavity size when compared to patients with an excellent exercise capacity (p<0.001). This reduction in LV chamber size is associated with concentric LV hypertrophy and a reciprocal increase in resting heart rate. In addition, cardiac output reserve is further blunted by chronotropic incompetence and a tachycardia-induced LV volume reduction. In conclusion the relationship of exercise capacity and cardiac dimensions described in extreme athletes also applies to patients. Our exploratory analysis suggests that patients who cannot sufficiently exercise have small LV cavities.


Phase change materials have been widely used in optical and electronic storage due to rapid and reversible phase transition between amorphous and crystalline states with remarkable resistivity and optical contrasts. More recently these materials have been identified as suitable candidates for phase change random access memory (PCRAM) applications due to their potential for high scalability, low power and fast speed operation. Despite these superior properties and enormous potential, high reset currents necessitating high power consumption have been attributed to existing PCMs. Nitrogen doping has been proposed as a solution to these problems according to Caravati, et al., (2011). In this work, Nitrogen doped SnxSey phase change materials have been synthesized and characterized for optical, electrical and structural properties. The films were deposited by evaporation technique using Edwards Auto 306 Magnetron sputtering and evaporation system. Transmittance and reflectance data in the range 300-1700 nm were measured and calculated using Shimadzu 3700 DUV spectrophotometer for all the thin film samples. The optical measurements were simulated and analyzed using Scout software. Band gap values in the range 0.97 eV 3.63 ± 0.005 eV were determined for SnSe thin films after doping with 0-5 sccm Nitrogen. Nitrogen doping was shown to increase the band gap in amorphous films with large increase seen between 0 sccm N2 and 1 sccm N2. X-ray diffraction (XRD) using XpertPro Panalytic XRD machine revealed the as-deposited films to be amorphous. The annealed films were found to be polycrystalline in nature with the number and height of peaks in the XRD scan increasing with increase in N2 doping. Sheet resistivity that was determined using Keithley source meter and a four-point probe set-up, was in the range 1150-1250±1 Ω-cm and 9.30.3±0.05 Ω-cm for the amorphous and crystalline states respectively. Lowest sheet resistivity was observed at 3sccm N2 in amorphous SnSe films while crystalline resistivity gradually decreased as N2 doping was increased. The large change in resistivity of order 10 5 confirmed the phase change nature of the films. Nitrogen doping lowered the crystallization temperature from 107.8 ± 0.05 o C at 0 sccm N2 to a minimum of 72.8±0.05 0 C at 3sccm N2. From the I-V characteristics of the fabricated PCRAM cell, a threshold switching voltage, Vth of 4.47 V at a current 1.04 mA was obtained.


AIMS
Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), a leading cause of age-related corneal edema requiring transplantation, is characterized by rosette formation of corneal endothelium with ensuing apoptosis. We sought to determine whether excess of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species leads to chronic accumulation of oxidative DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, instigating cell death.

RESULTS
We modeled the pathognomonic rosette formation of postmitotic corneal cells by increasing endogenous cellular oxidative stress with menadione (MN) and performed a temporal analysis of its effect in normal (HCEnC, HCECi) and FECD (FECDi) cells and ex vivo specimens. FECDi and FECD ex vivo specimens exhibited extensive mtDNA and nDNA damage as detected by quantitative PCR. Exposure to MN triggered an increase in mitochondrial superoxide levels and led to mtDNA and nDNA damage, while DNA amplification was restored with NAC pretreatment. Furthermore, MN exposure led to a decrease in ΔΨm and adenosine triphosphate levels in normal cells, while FECDi exhibited mitochondrial dysfunction at baseline. Mitochondrial fragmentation and cytochrome c release were detected in FECD tissue and after MN treatment of HCEnCs. Furthermore, cleavage of caspase-9 and caspase-3 followed MN-induced cytochrome c release in HCEnCs.

INNOVATION
This study provides the first line of evidence that accumulation of oxidative DNA damage leads to rosette formation, loss of functionally intact mitochondria via fragmentation, and subsequent cell death during postmitotic cell degeneration of ocular tissue.

CONCLUSION
MN induced rosette formation, along with mtDNA and nDNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fragmentation, leading to activation of the intrinsic apoptosis via caspase cleavage and cytochrome c release. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 24, 1072-1083.


This paper proposes an atomic force microscope (AFM) based force controller to push nanoparticles on the substrates since it is tedious for human. A block phase correlation-based algorithm is embedded into the controller for compensating the thermal drift during nanomanipulation. Further, a neural network (NN) is employed to approximate the unknown nanoparticle and substrate contact dynamics including the roughness effects. Using the NN-based adaptive force controller the task of pushing nanoparticles is demonstrated. Finally, using the Lyapunov-based stability analysis, the uniform ultimately boundedness (UUB) of the closed-loop signals is demonstrated


Syncope is a common medical problem, with a frequency between 15% and 39%. In the general population, the annual number episodes are 18.1–39.7 per 1000 patients, with similar incidence between genders. The first report of the incidence of syncope is 6.2 per 1000 person-years. However, there is a significant increase in the incidence of syncope after 70 years of age with rate annual 19.5 per thousand individuals after 80 years. It presents a recurrence rate of 35% and 29% of physical injury. Among the causes of syncope, the mediated neural reflex, known as neurocardiogenic or vasovagal syncope, is the most frequent. The others are of cardiac origin, orthostatic hypotension, carotid sinus hypersensitivity, neurological and endocrinological causes and psychiatric disorders. The diagnosis of syncope can be made by clinical method associated with the electrocardiogram in up 50% of patients. Its prognosis is determined by the underlying etiology specifically the presence and severity of cardiac disease. The annual mortality can reach between 18 and 33% if cardiac cause, and between 0 and 12% if the non-cardiac cause. Thus, it is imperative to identify its cause and risk stratification for positive impact in reducing morbidity and mortality.


fNIRS is a functional neuroimaging technology that measures activations according to the oxygenation and deoxygenation of neural activities. A technique still little used within design, but that can contribute in neurodesign and affective, for example. Although emotions are universal, their way of perceiving and feeling is individual. The emotion design has some gaps, namely the lack of mastery of techniques and knowledge of human responses to emotions. In total, 44 articles were analyzed in a non-systematic way, with the aim to find the advantages and disadvantage of using fNIRS. As conclusion, it was possible to perceive that the fNIRS is a promising neuroimaging technique with 20 advantages points and 13 disadvantages points. The stimuli can be sensorial, cognitive and motor, handled in laboratory, in social environments or in real situations. fNIRS is already used in studies of emotions and can help to investigate the brain activations in the face of emotion processing and the affective design, enabling the possibility to design better experiences, products, services or environments focused on this affective parameter in front of neurocognition. fNIRS is an emerging and promising technique, which can help to understand some gaps in human beings as promote pleasure and well-being.


in the assessment of uterine malformations and its contribution to operative management. Methods: Forty-four pre-menopausal patients with suspected uterine anomalies on 2D TVS were evaluated by 3D TVS, hysteroscopy, and if necessary by laparoscopy or MRI. Ultrasound volume of the uterus was obtained by free hand rotation of the probe on the longitudinal axis of the uterus. Three perpendicular planes were simultaneously shown on the screen and classification of the type of anomalies was effected on the coronal view of the uterus based on the outer shape and the angle of the fundal identation. This 3D TVS diagnosis was compared with the hysteroscopic and/or laparoscopic classification. Results: We correctly classified by 3D TVS 20 arcuate, 12 septate and 6 bicornuate uteri (concordance rate 86%). Using 3D ultrasound 4 septate uteri were classified by hysteroscopy as arcuate and 2 arcuate uteri as septate. Sensitivity for bicornuate uteri was 100%. Conclusions: 3D TVS allows accurate differentiation between uterine anomalies and is useful for a preoperative surgical planing.


The purpose of this essay is to reflect on the problem of moral justification and its relation to the idea of justice. It is argued that, as a predicate of moral judgments, the idea of justice involves two ethical requirements articulated among themselves: the first indicates the aspiration to guarantee a non-arbitrary meaning for the norms that we ought to obey; the second reflects an emphasis on the doubly consensual character and universalizability of these norms. Finally, it is concluded that the challenge of reciprocal consent, a condition for normative consensus, is linked to a constructive sense of morality, around which the notion of justice can assume an equally pedagogical value for moral agents.


We use data from six ship-based cetacean and ecosystem assessment surveys in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) to update habitat-based density models for 11 species and one small-beaked-whale guild. We previously had modeled cetacean density as a function of oceanic variables for the same 12 species/guild using data collected during four line-transect ship surveys conducted in the CCE in summer and fall of 1991, 1993, 1996, and 2001. An independent set of survey data collected in the summer and fall of 2005 was used to validate the models. These estimates were incorporated into a web-based system that allows users to estimate cetacean density within any user-defined region within the CCE study area. In this study, data from an additional line-transect survey conducted in 2008 were pooled with the 19912005 data and used to re-build the habitat-based density models. We also refit the 1991-2008 data to the previous "best" models to compare model performance. The additional year of data provided increased sample sizes and a greater range of oceanic conditions for robust model development. Predicted densities for each year were smoothed and then averaged to produce a composite grid that represents our best estimate of CCE cetacean density over the past 20 years. The final model predictions were used to update the web-based system and also provided to the U.S. Navy to help assess potential impacts from their at-sea training and testing activities.


This research examines the effect of the Public Accountant Firm (KAP) culture in audit team communication. The samples used in this study is accountant publics ever or joining in audit team for certain duty with working experience between three up to five years in the KAP audit division. The samples consist of 118 accountant publics from 50 KAP in 8 cities at Java Island and Bali. The proxies for KAP culture are bureaucracy, inovatif and suportif culture. The result indicate that bureaucracy and suportif culture significantly influence the audit team communication. The  result have implication to KAP about how to create the right culture to support the success of audit team communication in resulting a quality audit opinion.


An energetic description of the electric transport urban system ASTRAIK 415T is proposed according to a specific formalism. This is used to simulate the trolleybus system, equipped with a chopper and a direct current series motor. DC series motor is still used for trolleybus and metro, driven by a GTO or IGBT chopper µC-controlled, which allows the implementation of command algorithms. From this synthetically representation a complete model of the electromechanical system was implemented using the Matlab-Simulink simulation environment. A control structure was deduced through model inversion. This will allow the study of the transient phenomena and the implementation of different command laws taking into account the minimum energy losses.


Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare cancer a long latency period (up to 40 years) between asbestos exposure and disease presentation. The mechanisms coupling asbestos to recurrent somatic alterations are poorly defined. Gene-fusions arising through genomic instability may create novel drivers during early MPM evolution. We explored the gene fusions that occurred early in the evolutionary history. We conducted multiregional whole exome sequencing (WES) of 106 samples from 20 patients undergoing pleurectomy decortication and identified 24 clonal non-recurrent fusions, three of which were novel (FMO9P-OR2W5, GBA3 and SP9). The number of early gene fusion events detected varied from zero to eight per tumour, and presence of gene fusions was associated with clonal SCNAs involving the Hippo pathway genes and homologous recombination DNA repair genes. Fusions involved known tumour suppressors BAP1, MTAP, and LRP1B, and a clonal oncogenic fusion involving CACNA1D-ERC2, PARD3B-NT5DC2 and STAB2-NT5DC2 fusions were also identified as clonal fusions. Gene fusions events occur early during MPM evolution. Individual fusions are rare as no recurrent truncal fusions event were found. This suggests the importance of early disruption of these pathways in generating genomic rearrangements resulting in potentially oncogenic gene fusions.


D. W. Griffith (1875-1948) is one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture. As director of The Birth of a Nation, he is also one of the most controversial. He raised the cinema to a new level of art, entertainment, and innovation, and at the same time he illustrated, for the first time, its potential to influence an audience and propagandize a cause. Collected together here are virtually all of the "interviews" given by D. W. Griffith from the first in 1914 to the last in 1948. Some of the interviews concentrate on specific films, including The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, and, most substantially, Hearts of the World, while others provide the director with an opportunity to expound on topics of personal interest, including the importance of proper exhibition of his and other's films, and his search for truth and beauty on screen. The interviews are taken from many sources, including leading newspapers, trade papers, and fan magazines. They are often marked by humor and by a desire to please the interviewer and thus the reader. Griffith may not have been particularly enthusiastic about giving interviews, but he seems always determined to put on a good show. Ultimately, D. W. Griffith: Interviews provides the reader with a unique insight into the mind and filmmaking techniques of a director whose work and philosophy is as relevant today as it was when he was at the height of his fame in the 1910s and 1920s.


BACKGROUND
Spasticity may affect stroke survivors by contributing to activity limitations, caregiver burden, pain and reduced quality of life (QoL). Spasticity management guidelines recommend multidisciplinary (MD) rehabilitation programmes following botulinum toxin (BoNT) treatment for post-stroke spasticity. However, the evidence base for the effectiveness of MD rehabilitation is unclear.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effectiveness of MD rehabilitation, following BoNT and other focal intramuscular treatments such as phenol, in improving activity limitations and other outcomes in adults and children with post-stroke spasticity. To explore what settings, types and intensities of rehabilitation programmes are effective.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (February 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 12), MEDLINE (1948 to December 2011), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012), CINAHL (1982 to January 2012), AMED (1985 to January 2012), LILACS (1982 to September 2012), PEDro, REHABDATA and OpenGrey (September 2012). In an effort to identify further published, unpublished and ongoing trials we searched trials registries and reference lists, handsearched journals and contacted authors.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared MD rehabilitation (delivered by two or more disciplines in conjunction with medical input) following BoNT and other focal intramuscular treatments for post-stroke spasticity with placebo, routinely available local services, or lower levels of intervention; or studies that compared MD rehabilitation in different settings, of different types, or at different levels of intensity. We excluded RCTs that assessed the effectiveness of unidisciplinary therapy (for example physiotherapy only) or a single modality (for example stretching, casting, electrical stimulation or splinting only). The primary outcomes were validated measures of activity level (active and passive function) according to the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Secondary outcomes included measures of symptoms, impairments, participation, QoL, impact on caregivers and adverse events.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We independently selected the trials, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Due to the limited number of included studies, with clinical, methodological and statistical heterogeneity, quantitative meta-analysis was not possible. Therefore, GRADE provided qualitative synthesis of 'best evidence'.

MAIN RESULTS
We included three RCTs involving 91 participants. All three studies scored 'low quality' on the methodological quality assessment, implying high risk of bias. All studies investigated various types and intensities of outpatient rehabilitation programmes following BoNT for upper limb spasticity in adults with chronic stroke. Rehabilitation programmes included: modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) compared with a neurodevelopmental therapy programme; task practice therapy with cyclic functional electrical stimulation (FES) compared with task practice therapy only; and occupational, manual therapy with dynamic elbow extension splinting compared with occupational therapy only. There was 'low quality' evidence for mCIMT improving upper limb motor function and spasticity in chronic stroke survivors with residual voluntary upper limb activity, up to six months, and 'very low quality' evidence for dynamic elbow splinting and occupational therapy reducing elbow range of movement at 14 weeks. Task practice therapy with cyclic FES did not improve upper limb function more than task practice therapy alone, only at 12 weeks. No studies addressed interventions in children and those with lower limb spasticity, or after other focal intramuscular treatments for spasticity.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
At best there was 'low level' evidence for the effectiveness of outpatient MD rehabilitation in improving active function and impairments following BoNT for upper limb spasticity in adults with chronic stroke. No trials explored the effect of MD rehabilitation on 'passive function' (caring for the affected limb), caregiver burden, or the individual's priority goals for treatment. The optimal types (modalities, therapy approaches, settings) and intensities of therapy for improving activity (active and passive function) in adults and children with post-stroke spasticity, in the short and longer term, are unclear. Further research is required to build evidence in this area.


The literature on food security has mainly been focused on causes, effects, and/or the nature of the crisis. However, there have been only a few attempts to understand how the discourse on the subject matter was shaped and is still being shaped at present. Food security is at the intersection of many disciplines, and the factors perpetuating the crisis are largely diverse—population, social inequalities, nutrition and health, power monopolies in the international stage, and giant market drivers, among others. The paper aims at shedding light as to how nations really become food insecure to begin with. The discussion traces the globalization of food security as a product of discursive processes. By putting together and analyzing the factors like world politics, the entry of globalization, shifting trade patterns and even culture—through the years—a better understanding of why the problem came to exist and what it is all about is provided. JEL Q17, P48, N90


We examine the impact of Medicare Part D on mortality for the population over the age of 65. We identify the effects of the reform using variation in drug coverage across counties before the reform was implemented. Studying mortality rates immediately before and after the reform, we find that cardiovascular-related mortality drops significantly in those counties most affected by Part D. Estimates suggest that up to 26,000 more individuals were alive in mid-2007 because of the Part D implementation in 2006. We estimate the welfare benefit from lives saved to range from $1.5 to $4.8 billion.


Chord progession: 4 – 5 – 1 G C D G There comes a time when we heed a certain call C D G When the world must come together as one Em There are people dying D C D And it's time to lend a hand to live, The greatest gift of all G C D G We can't go on pretending day by day C D G That someone, somewhere will soon make a change Em D We are all a part of God's great big family C D And the truth, you know, Love is all we need Chorus: C D G We are the World, we are the children C D G We are the ones who make a brighter day so lets start giving Em D There's a choice we're making, We're saving our own lives C D G It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me G C D G Send them your heart so they'll know that someone cares C D G And their lives will be stronger and free Em D As God has shown us by turning stones to bread C D So we all must lend a helping hand Repeat Chorus: Cm D G When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all Cm D G But if your just believe there's no way we can fall Em D Let us realize that a change can only come C D When we stand together as one Repeat Chorus


The modes of transmission of schistosomiasis are considered. The transmission model is developed with an aim of establishing possible endemic equilibria within the community. Analysis of the model reveals that if the recovery rate β of human infectives and the death rate of snails δ are increased and if at the same time the contact rate κ of the human hosts with infested water is reduced, the disease gets eradicated from the community. Otherwise, the disease becomes endemic within the community which is a very much undesirable condition for the human population because of the debilitating nature of schistosomiasis. It is found out that this endemic state becomes stable if both the recovery rate β of human infectives and the death rate δ of snails are reduced. It can be made unstable by de-worming the human infectives and killing snails by use of molluscicides. Educating the community about the modes of transmission of the disease helps in reducing the contact rate with infested waters and hence disease prevention.


Compact, medium size, white to creamy cauliflower curds were packed into different packaging techniques like i. without packaging (control); ii. packed in low density polyethylene (LDPE) bag with 1% perforation; iii. wrapped with polyethylene (PE) cling film and iv. newspaper (locally used). Half of each treatment was kept at (6±1°C and 50±5% RH) and the other half was kept at ambient conditions (25±3°C and 60±5% RH).  LDPE bag or PE cling film has a great effect to retain firmness and reduce weight loss of cauliflower in both storage conditions. Respiration rate, rot incidence and changes of colour values (lightness and hue angle) was reduced significantly for the cauliflowers packed in LDPE bag or wrapped with PE cling film stored in a refrigerator than that of control (without packaging) and all packaging techniques stored at ambient condition throughout the storage period. Initially, acidity, TSS and ascorbic acid content were 0.26%, 4.7° Brix and 58.7 mg 100g-1, respectively. Ascorbic acid content was reduced severely in the cauliflower stored in ambient conditions than that stored in a refrigerator. Cauliflower wrapped with PE cling film and packed in an LDPE bag (1% perforation) stored in a refrigerator (6±1°C and 50±5% RH) could retain white colour, good sensory quality, firm and fresh curds with minimum loss in weight, texture and disease incidence up to 18 days and 16 days, respectively.
Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 12(2): 155-163, December 2022


quently, von Graff migrated to America and worked for a time with Whitridge Williams. Indeed, Whitridge Williams had undertaken to write an introduction to the Second Edition of von Graff's Gcburtshilfe des prak tischen Arztes, but his sudden death from a perforated ulcer prevented this plan from being put into operation. von Graff has now settled in New York and has produced this third edition of his book, still in German, from a New York address. It is dedicated to Christian Kjelland, perhaps the most famous pupil of the old Second Frauenklinik. Von Graff's book is an excellent compressed description of practical midwifery designed for the use of general practitioners. The illustrations are derived very largely from Stoeckel, and the book contains an appendix of questions on the practical problems of clinical midwifery with suitable answers. The book should be regarded as an excellent specimen of its kind, and obviously it has a wide appeal in Germany. Much of the modern advance in therapy is included, and there is little criticism to be made of the subject matter. Perhaps the diagnosis and treatment of uterine inertia might have been given more attention. The publication has been made from Switzerland. WILFRW SHAW


We investigate the effects of atmospheric circulation on the chemistry of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b. We use a simplified dynamical model and a robust chemical network, as opposed to previous studies which have used a three dimensional circulation model coupled to a simple chemical kinetics scheme. The temperature structure and distribution of the main atmospheric constituents are calculated in the limit of an atmosphere that rotates as a solid body with an equatorial rotation rate of 1 km/s. Such motion mimics a uniform zonal wind which resembles the equatorial superrotation structure found by three dimensional circulation models. The uneven heating of this tidally locked planet causes, even in the presence of such a strong zonal wind, large temperature contrasts between the dayside and nightside, of up to 800 K. This would result in important longitudinal variations of some molecular abundances if the atmosphere were at chemical equilibrium. The zonal wind, however, acts as a powerful disequilibrium process. We identify the existence of a pressure level of transition between two regimes, which may be located between 100 and 0.1 mbar depending on the molecule. Below this transition layer, chemical equilibrium holds, while above it, the zonal wind tends to homogenize the chemical composition of the atmosphere, bringing molecular abundances in the limb and nightside regions close to chemical equilibrium values characteristic of the dayside, i.e. producing an horizontal quenching effect in the abundances. Reasoning based on timescales arguments indicates that horizontal and vertical mixing are likely to compete in HD 209458b's atmosphere, producing a complex distribution where molecular abundances are quenched horizontally to dayside values and vertically to chemical equilibrium values characteristic of deep layers.


Duet function hypotheses have been mostly studied in bird species that produce duets with male and female solo songs. However, in order to understand if patterns of duet function are similar across all duetting species, it is highly necessary to test the duet function hypotheses in species that produce duets with vocalizations other than solo songs.

 We studied the responses of territorial pairs to each sex's individual duet contribution and complete duets in a species that produces duets with a vocalization other than male and female solo songs.

 We conducted a playback experiment where we presented duet contributions of each sex to three populations of White-eared Ground-sparrows (Melozone leucotis) in Costa Rica, during this species' breeding season in 2016.

 The responses to complete duets were stronger than those to each sex's duet contribution, suggesting that complete duets and each sex's duet contribution have different functions. Complete duets are used to protect resources from intruders (supporting the resource defense hypothesis), and to prevent the partner from being usurped by intruders (supporting the mate-guarding hypothesis). Males used solo songs in response to female duet contributions, and this may work to attract intruder females (increasing the probability of extra-pair copulation). Males also use solo songs in response to male duet contributions, which may work as a signal to repel intruder males and guard their female. In this case, where mate attraction occurs with a completely different type of vocalization than used for duetting, we found a clear pattern of a double agenda for males when a territorial intrusion occurs.

 This study provides strong support for the dual function hypothesis in duets and reveals conflicting selective pressures between pair members relative to each hypothesis.


The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a ubiquitous and central player in Ca2+ signaling that is best known for its functions in the brain. In particular, the α isoform of CaMKII has been the subject of intense research and it has been established as a central regulator of neuronal plasticity. In contrast, little attention has been paid to CaMKIIβ, the other predominant brain isoform that interacts directly with the actin cytoskeleton, and the functions of CaMKIIβ in this organ remain largely unexplored. However, recently, the perturbation of CaMKIIβ expression has been associated with multiple neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases, highlighting CAMK2B as a gene of interest. Herein, after highlighting the main structural and expression differences between the α and β isoforms, we will review the specific functions of CaMKIIβ, as described so far, in neuronal development and plasticity, as well as its potential implication in brain diseases.


Abstract The lower–middle Cambrian transitional interval of Scania is largely represented by condensed limestone beds, lithostratigraphically grouped in the Gislöv Formation (1–5.7 m thick), and the Forsemölla and Exsulans Limestone beds (lower part of the Alum Shale Formation, up to 4 m thick). The strata display a combination of skeletal carbonate productivity, episodic nucleation of phosphate hardground nodules, and polyphase reworking recorded on a platform bordering the NW corner of Baltica. The shell accumulations can be subdivided into three deepening-upward parasequences, separated by distinct erosive unconformities. The parasequences correspond biostratigraphically to the Holmia kjerulfi, Ornamentaspis? linnarssoni and Ptychagnostus gibbus zones, the latter two generally being separated by a stratigraphic gap that includes the middle Cambrian Acadoparadoxides oelandicus Superzone. Except for the Exsulans Limestone, the carbonates reflect development of a prolific epibenthic biota, dominated by filter-feeding nonreefal chancelloriid–echinoderm–sponge meadows, rich in trilobites and brachiopods, and which were subjected to high-energy conditions. The absence of microbial mats or veneers encrusting the erosive surfaces of these event-concentration low-relief shoal complexes may be related to long hiatal episodes resulting in microboring proliferation. High levels of nutrient supply resulted in high primary productivity, eutrophic conditions, glauconite precipitation, phosphogenesis (in some case microbially mediated) and microendolithic infestation. An early-diagenetic mildly reducing environment is suggested by the presence of authigenic (subsequently reworked) pyrite, which contrasts with the syndepositional normal oxygenated conditions reflected by macroburrowing and the abundance of benthic fossils.


OBJECTIVE
Although growth factor therapy could be an attractive method for stimulating the repair of damaged cartilage matrix, there is evidence that with aging and/or with the development of osteoarthritis (OA), articular chondrocytes may become unresponsive to growth factor stimulation. The aim of the current study was to compare the ability of insulin-like growth factor+(IGF-1) and osteogenic protein+(OP-1), alone and in combination, to stimulate human normal and OA chondrocytes in culture.

METHODS
Chondrocytes isolated by enzymatic digestion of cartilage obtained from subjects undergoing knee replacement for OA (n = 6) or from normal ankle joints of tissue donors (n = 7) were cultured in alginate beads in serum-free medium and treated for 21 days with 100 ng/ml IGF-1, 100 ng/ml OP-1, or both. Controls were treated with vehicle alone. The cultures were evaluated for cell survival, cell number by DNA analysis, matrix production by particle exclusion assay, and level of accumulated proteoglycan by dimethylmethylene blue assay.

RESULTS
After 21 days in serum-free alginate culture, survival of cells from OA cartilage was 65 +/- 2% (mean +/- SEM), while survival of cells from normal cartilage was significantly greater (82 +/- 3%). Treatment with either IGF-1 or OP-1 alone minimally improved survival, while the combination IGF +OP significantly improved survival, to 87 +/- 2% for OA cells and 95+/-1% for normal cells. Cell proliferation was noted only in the IGF+OP group; this was significant for both normal and OA cells ( approximately 2-fold increase in DNA levels). Matrix production, assessed by particle exclusion and by proteoglycan accumulation, was greatest in the cells treated with IGF + OP in both normal and OA cultures. When proteoglycan levels were corrected for cell numbers (mg proteoglycan/ng DNA), a significant increase over control was noted with OP-1 alone and IGF IGF-1 alone, in both normal and OA cultures, with the greatest levels in the combination group (3-fold increase over control).

CONCLUSION
OP-1 was more potent than IGF-1 in stimulating proteoglycan production in both normal and OA cells. However, the best results were obtained with the combination, suggesting that combined therapy with IGF-1 and OP-1 may be an effective strategy for treating OA cartilage damage.


Purpose: We performed a matched-pair analysis to compare our institution's experience in treating locally advanced prostate cancer with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) alone to EBRT in combination with conformal interstitial high‐dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy boosts (EBRT 1 HDR). Materials and Methods: From 1991 to 1998, 161 patients with locally advanced prostate cancer were prospectively treated with EBRT 1 HDR at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan. Patients with any of the following characteristics were eligible for study entry: pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of > 10.0 ng/mL, Gleason score > 7, or clinical stage T2b to T3c. Pelvic EBRT (46.0 Gy) was supplemented with three (1991 through 1995) or two (1995 through 1998) ultrasound-guided transperineal interstitial iridium-192 HDR implants. The brachytherapy dose was escalated from 5.50 to 10.50 Gy per implant. Each of the 161 EBRT 1 HDR patients was randomly matched with a unique EBRT-alone patient. Patients were matched according to PSA level, Gleason score, T stage, and follow-up duration. The median PSA follow-up was 2.5 years for both EBRT 1 HDR and EBRT alone. Results: EBRT 1 HDR patients demonstrated significantly lower PSA nadir levels (median, 0.4 ng/mL) compared with those receiving EBRT alone (median, 1.1 ng/mL). The 5-year biochemical control rates for EBRT 1 HDR versus EBRT-alone patients were 67% versus 44%, respectively (P < .001). On multivariate analyses, pretreatment PSA, Gleason score, T stage, and the use of EBRT alone were significantly associated with biochemical failure. Those patients in both treatment groups who experienced biochemical failure had a lower 5-year cause-specific survival rate than patients who were biochemically controlled (84% v 100%; P < .001). Conclusion: Locally advanced prostate cancer patients treated with EBRT 1 HDR demonstrate improved biochemical control compared with those who are treated with conventional doses of EBRT alone. J Clin Oncol 18:2869-2880. © 2000 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.


P-TEFb, a heterodimer of the kinase Cdk9 and cyclin T, was isolated as a factor that stimulates formation of productive transcription elongation complexes in vitro. Here, we show that P-TEFb is located at >200 distinct sites on Drosophila polytene chromosomes. Upon heat shock, P-TEFb, like the regulatory factor HSF, is rapidly recruited to heat shock loci, and this recruitment is blocked in an HSF mutant. Yet, HSF binding to DNA is not sufficient to recruit P-TEFb in vivo, and HSF and P-TEFb immunostainings within a heat shock locus are not coincident. Insight to the function of P-TEFb is offered by experiments showing that the direct recruitment of a Gal4-binding domain P-TEFb hybrid to an hsp70 promoter in Drosophila cells is sufficient to activate transcription in the absence of heat shock. Analyses of point mutants show this P-TEFb stimulation is dependent on Cdk9 kinase activity and on Cdk9's interaction with cyclin T. These results, coupled with the frequent colocalization of P-TEFb and the hypophosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) found at promoter-pause sites, support a model in which P-TEFb acts to stimulate promoter-paused Pol II to enter into productive elongation.


This website gathers together a series of analyses and commentaries carried out using the Tonalities software, and forms part
of the Tonalities website at the University of Nottingham. The analyses give new insights into the music of Musorgsky, Bartok
and Ravel, while posing challenging problems for the software. Its success in dealing with them is evaluated. The Musorgsky
analyses in particular demonstrate how the data sets for each piece/song examined help define subtle changes in musical
language.


There are two isoforms of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2. BCL-2α (wild-type) is well characterised and is known predominantly for its role in apoptosis, BCL-2β lacks the C-terminal transmembrane (TM) domain and its function has not yet been characterised. The aim of this study was to quantify and determine the biological role of the BCL-2β isoform in melanoma. BCL-2α and BCL-2β isoforms were quantified at the mRNA and protein level in a cohort of 141 FFPE melanoma tumours using qPCR and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) tandem mass spectrometry and compared to clinical parameters including age at diagnosis, gender, solar elastosis, BRAF/NRAS mutation, Breslow thickness, disease free survival and overall survival. The role of the BCL-2α and BCL-2β isoforms in apoptosis were investigated by quantifying transcript expression and apoptosis before and up to 72 hours after UVB irradiation (650J/m2) and cisplatin treatment (10ug/mL). siRNA knockdown targeted to each individual isoform transcript was used to verify the apoptotic response. Expression of the BCL-2β isoform in tumours was significantly associated with increased overall survival (686.4 weeks, 95% CI 462.5-910.3). BCL-2α response to UVB and cisplatin (i.e. downregulation prior to apoptosis) was the same in melanocyte and melanoma cell lines. However, BCL-2β response was varied across the melanoma cell lines, but was similar to that of BCL-2α in melanocytes. siRNA knock-down of BCL-2α resulted in increased apoptosis and cell death in melanoma cell lines, but knock-down of BCL-2β delayed onset of apoptosis, suggesting the BCL-2β is pro-apoptotic. Our current understanding of the role of BCL-2β is based on the concept that it lack the C-terminal transmembrane domain, and is incapable of localising to target organelles. It is currently thought that the isoform is of null function. However, these observations are based on studies of non-representative synthetic versions of BCL-2β. This is the first time the naturally transcribed version of the rare isoform has been studied. We have demonstrated herein that BCL-2β performs an apoptotic role, and that its regulation in melanoma may be a biomarker of better overall survival. Citation Format: Chloe Warren, Ricardo E. Vilain, Katie A. Ashton, Juhura G. Almazi, Stephen Braye, Pablo Moscato, Nikola A. Bowden. The rare BCL-2 isoform BCL-2β is associated with melanoma survival and the apoptotic response to UV and cisplatin. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3559.


The electrochemical sensing applications of a series of water-stable 2D metal–organic framework (MOF)-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) are reported. The MOF materials in this study are [M(bipy)(C4O4)(H2O)2]·3H2O, in which bipy = 4,4′-bipyridine and M = Mn, Fe, Co and Zn. The MOF materials are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), showing that the MOFs have a layer-by-layer rod structure with a smooth surface. We use the nitrofurazone molecule as a probe to investigate the influence of the metal ions of MOFs on electrochemical sensing ability. Cyclic voltammetry demonstrated that the Mn-MOF electrode of interest delivered stronger signals than that of other electrodes. Through first-principles calculations, we also revealed that the change in the spin polarization of divalent metal ions passing from the free ion state to the MOF environment appeared to be significantly correlated with the enhancement in the peak response current. The theoretical and experimental results consistently indicate that Mn-MOF has the smallest bandgap and good sensitivity among these MOF materials. Accordingly, we proposed a simple model to illustrate this observation and disclosed the importance of the electron configuration of the transition metal constructing the MOF materials used in improving electrochemical sensing applications.


A texture model for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is presented. Specifically, a sea surface in satellite images is modeled using the two-dimensional (2-D) fractionally integrated autoregressive-moving average (FARIMA) process with a non-Gaussian white driving sequence. The FARIMA process is an ARMA type model which is asymptotically self-similar. It captures the long-range as well as short-range spatial dependence structure of an image with a small number of parameters. To estimate these parameters, an efficient estimation procedure based on a spectral fit is presented. Real-life ocean surveillance radar images collected by the RADARSAT sensor are used to evaluate the practicality of this FARIMA approach. Using the radial power spectral density, the new model is shown to provide a more accurate description of the SAR images than the conventional moving-average (MA), autoregressive (AR), and fractionally differenced (FD) models.


Sleep is the important phenomenon in human's life. About third time of human is spent on sleeping in which many important physical course happen and develop so that the research of sleep EEG gets more and more regards. The beginning of sleep research often starts from right partition by stages. Different sleep stages correspond with different brain states so that the sleep partition by stages has important meaning for the research of the sleep EEG. In this paper, a method is given for sleep segmentation using Lempel-Ziv complexity. From the result of the simulation, it can be drawn that the complexity measure can helpful distinguish the sleep stages so it plays an active role to find a reliable guideline for the automatic partition of sleep stages in sleeping periods in time.


Based on field research in Athens, Greece, this essay considers graffiti as a mode of political response to the material and symbolic violences of neoliberal governmentality. In 2010, the Greek state declared sovereign debt crisis and began to implement an aggressive austerity program in exchange for economic aid from a troika of international lenders. This resulted in the dismantling of public services, tax increases, salary and pension reductions, layoffs, and, generally, the impoverishment of the middle and lower classes. In this work I consider a crew of three young graffiti writers, both before and during the years of the crisis, as they came to realize a fear of becoming integrated into an economized social mainstream and responded by creating street art intended to bolster critical reasoning among Athenians. I argue that fear of abjection and the experience of being at the social margins served as a stimulus of critical agency, and that the crew's intervention can be considered indirect activism: a mode of resistance whose critical agents attempt to bring about their ambitions and visions by activating other groups to undertake resistance of their own. I show how my interlocutors made political possibility by creating art that lessened the capacity of neoliberal governmentality to manufacture consent, thereby contributing to a thriving ecology of resistance action in Athens.


Metformin is a generic drug, used for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metformin is known to lower the gluconeogenesis in lover cells and improves the insulin signalling in some target cells, thus exhibiting the anti-hyperglycemic activity. At the molecular level the Metformin affects the AMPK pathway and thus the energy level of the cells. Apart from its main action, it is also known to inhibit the activity of complex I of mitochondrial respiratory chain, though with unknown mechanism. This effect of Metformin on the cellular bioenergetics may be associated with its side effects on different tissues mainly skeletal muscle and other associated complaints such as indigestion, lactic acidosis associated heart failure and renal failure etc. Though on one side, the effect of metformin on complex I activity can be associated with the mentioned-above conditions of a diabetic patients but the similar effect of metformin can be harvested for its use as an anticancerous drug. As Metformin is a drug that is suggested to do more good than harm, so this drug has been proposed as a useful agent in a wide variety of metabolic conditions, including cancer.  A good number of epidemiological studies suggested a strong protective effect of metformin against a number of cancers by targeting the cellular bioenergetics of tumor cells. The current review focuses upon the importance of metformin as a future anticancerous drug.


Reinforced soil walls (RSW) are the cost effective soil retaining walls and are gaining popularity now a days. The factors influencing the use of these walls includes economical, simple and fast construction techniques, better seismic performance. The use of GRS walls as bridge abutment is an alternative to the conventional use of deep foundation systems to support the bridge abutment. These effectively reduce the differential settlement arising between the bridge abutment and the approach roadway and this is called as the 'bump at the bridge problem'. To check the stability of these structures the Limit equilibrium methods are commonly used because of its simplicity. Mostly these methods are empirical in nature and they don't consider actual soil reinforcement interaction. Finite element method (FEM) and limit analysis (LA) methods are effective in finding the stability of a structure. The present study, discusses the numerical analysis of a full scale reinforced soil wall using commercially available software's PLAXIS 2D and LimitState:GEO. The deformation and safety analysis has been carried out for the RSW by considering a surcharge on it which can be simulated as a bridge abutment. The effect of different parameters such as unit weight and the angle of internal friction of the; length of the reinforcement; the number of reinforcement; and interface coefficient between backfill and reinforcement on the performance of the GRS wall has been studied. The surcharge is applied on the wall with a certain setback distance (D) in terms of the height of the wall (H). From the analysis it is found that the friction angle of the backfill has the maximum contribution in increasing the factor of safety (FOS) of the wall. Two different case studies have been taken for the analysis and the results obtained from numerical study are in comparison with that of the measured values.


Hunger and food insecurity have held prominent positions in the framing of both the Millennium Development Goals and the succeeding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper argues, however, that the food goal proposed within the SDGs is flawed in its approach towards achieving food security through its neglect of the urbanization of food insecurity in Africa and of the nutrition transition. The paper argues that these misalignments reflect a limited appreciation of the nature of food and nutrition insecurity in Africa and one that serves the interest of particular sets of development agendas.


Coral reef degradation increases coral interactions with filamentous turf algae (FTA) and macroalgae, which may result in chronic stress for the corals. We evaluated the effects of short (2.5 month) and long (10 month) periods of FTA removal on tissue thickness (TT), zooxanthellae density (ZD), mitotic index (MI), and concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl a) in Montastraea annularis at the beginning and end of gametogenesis. Ramets (individual lobes within a colony) consistently surrounded by FTA and ramets surrounded by crustose coralline algae (CCA) were used as controls. FTA removal reduced coral stress, indicated by increased TT and ZD and lower MI. The measured effects were similar in magnitude for the short and long periods of algal removal. Ramets were more stressed at the end of gametogenesis compared with the beginning, with lower ZD and Chl a cm−2, and higher MI. However, it was not possible to distinguish the stress caused by the presence of FTA from that caused by seasonal changes in seawater temperature. Ramets surrounded by CCA showed less stress in comparison with ramets surrounded by FTA: with higher TT, Chl a cm−2 and ZD, and lower MI values. Coral responses indicated that ramets with FTA suffered the most deleterious effects and contrasted with those measured in ramets surrounded by CCA. According to published studies and our observations, there could be at least six mechanisms associated to FTA in the stress caused to M. annularis by FTA. Owing to the high cover of FTA (in contrast to macroalgae and CCA) in the Caribbean, the chronic stress, the overgrowth and mortality that this functional algal group can cause on M. annularis species complex, a further decline of this important reef-building coral in the Caribbean is expected.


* See Last Page for Key 2015 Review Roth Page 1 Reference Study Type Patients/ Events Study Objective (Purpose of Study) Study Results Study Quality 1. Young WB. The clinical diagnosis of myelopathy. Semin Ultrasound CT MR. 1994;15(3):250-254. Review/OtherDx N/A A clinical review of myelopathy. General examination may point to systemic disease associated with myelopathy. Neurological examination excludes cerebral disease. Motor and sensory examination may define the level of the lesion. Physical examination localizes not only the level of the spinal cord lesion but the anatomic distribution of the lesion within a given level. When tumor or paraspinal infections are diagnostic possibilities, emergent imaging of the spine is required. 4


Background: Gulf War Illness is a multi-symptom condition affecting veterans of the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War, which often presents with comorbid hypertension. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the low glutamate diet, as well as an acute challenge of monosodium glutamate (MSG)/placebo, on resting heart rate, blood oxygenation level, and blood pressure (BP) in this population. Methods: These data were measured at 4 time points: baseline, after 1 month on the low glutamate diet, and during each challenge week, where subjects were randomized into a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover challenge with MSG/placebo over 3 days each week. Pre-post diet changes were analyzed using paired t tests, change in the percentage of veterans meeting the criteria for hypertension was compared using chi-square or Fisher exact tests, and crossover challenge results were analyzed using general linear modeling in SAS ® 9.4. Results: There was a significant reduction in systolic BP (sitting and recumbent; both P < .001) and diastolic BP (sitting; P = .02) after 1 month on the diet. The percentage meeting the criteria for hypertension was also significantly reduced ( P < .05). Challenge with MSG/placebo did not demonstrate an acute effect of glutamate on blood pressure. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that the low glutamate diet may be an effective treatment for lowering blood pressure in veterans with Gulf War Illness. This dietary effect does not appear to be driven by reduced consumption of free glutamate, but rather, by an increase in consumption of non-processed foods.


™™ ™ SASB's Industry Research Brief provides evidence for the material sustainability issues in the industry. The brief opens with a summary of the industry, including relevant legislative and regulatory trends and sustainability risks and opportunities. Following this, evidence for each material sustainability issue (in the categories of Environment, Social Capital, Human Capital, Business Model and Innovation, and Leadership and Governance) is presented. SASB's Industry Brief can be used to understand the research and data underlying SASB Sustainability Accounting Standards. For accounting metrics and disclosure guidance, please see SASB's Sustainability Accounting Standards. For information about the legal basis for SASB and SASB's standards development process, please see the Conceptual Framework.


Underwater noise is a severe annoyance and danger to marine life. The innovative HSD (hydro sound damper) leads to an effective general method to reduce underwater noise. HSD was developed and patented between 2007 and 2010 by the author to reduce general marine noise and especially offshore piling noise. The theory and the acoustical background of the new noise mitigation method will be presented. HSD systems use nets with gas filled elastic balloons and special PE-foam elements with high dissipative effects to reduce continuous and impact noise. The resonance frequency of the HSD-elements, the optimum damping rate for impact noise, the distribution and the effective frequency range can be fully controlled. Offshore tests and serial applications in offshore wind farms in Germany and Great Britain demonstrate this new effective way to reduce the very high offshore piling noise. HSD systems are very small systems and easy to handle. They are independent of external air supply, not influenced by tidal currents, not expensive and easy adaptable to different applications. Underwater noise reductions by HSD systems and bubble curtains are measured by an independent acoustics institute when using the biggest hammers in the world. Achieved results between 14 dB (decibels) (SEL—sound exposure level) and more than 27 dB (SEL) are presented and discussed.


A pseudorandom, velocity-insensitive, volumetric k-space sampling trajectory is designed for use with balanced steady-state magnetic resonance imaging. Individual arcs are designed independently and do not fit together in the way that multishot spiral, radial or echo-planar trajectories do. Previously, it was shown that second-order cone optimization problems can be defined for each arc independent of the others, that nulling of zeroth and higher moments can be encoded as constraints, and that individual arcs can be optimized in seconds. For use in steady-state imaging, sampling duty cycles are predicted to exceed 95 percent. Using such pseudorandom trajectories, aliasing caused by under-sampling manifests itself as incoherent noise. In this paper, a genetic algorithm (GA) is formulated and numerically evaluated. A large set of arcs is designed using previous methods, and the GA choses particular fit subsets of a given size, corresponding to a desired acquisition time. Numerical simulations of 1 second acquisitions show good detail and acceptable noise for large-volume imaging with 32 coils.


Introduction: In China, the estimated number of stroke survivors is 22.5 million, of which 78% need home care. It has been indicated that culture could play a major role on the stroke caregiving experiences. Understanding stroke caregivers' coping and adaptation within Chinese culture is needed. Objective: To explore how Chinese culture influences the coping and adaptation to stroke caregiving among stroke caregivers. Methods: In this qualitative descriptive study, 25 stroke caregivers (age 52±15.6, 60% female, 58% children-caregivers, 40% spouse-caregivers) were recruited from an 1800-bed regional hospital in China. Data were collected through individual, semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was performed. Member checking, triangulation of the data and peer debriefing were used to achieve trustworthiness. Results: Three themes emerged from the interviews reflecting the influence of Chinese culture on stroke caregiving: (1) Caregiving role adaptation. Confucianism, which emphasizes duties and responsibilities profoundly influences Chinese world views. Chinese caregivers accepted caregiving for the sick family member as an expected part of life and caregiving is a culturally prescribed obligation. (2) Emotional coping strategies. The emotional coping strategies adopted by caregivers including relying on religion and discussing their feeling with families. Fatalistic appraisal has been described as an emotional coping strategy and Chinese caregivers reported cognitive appraisal of belief system involving ' Ming ' (fate) to help them adapt the caregiving reality. (3) Passive help seeking attitude and behaviors. Chinese caregivers identified self-tolerance and traditional belief of ' Ren '(tolerance)as a negative coping. Chinese caregivers did not actively seek professional/ community help and reluctant to turn to their families and friends for support even though they felt very helpless and isolated. Conclusions: An underlying coping and adaptation of undertaking stroke caregiving within Chinese culture is highlighted in our findings. Researchers and health care professionals who plan to develop a support intervention for Chinese stroke caregivers need to put culture in context.


Introduction: This study evaluated the effects of pretreatments with melatonin (MT), and Alpha Lipoic acid (ALA) on lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) -induced serum levels of creatinine (Cr), urea (U), uric acid (Ua) and kidney levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) in male albino rats. Effects of treatments with MT and ALA were also evaluated on baseline levels of the above parameters. Materials and Methods: Adult male albino rats were orally administered MT (10mg/kg), ALA (10mg/kg) and LPV/r (22.9/5.71, 45.6/11.4 and 91.4/22.9mg/kg) for 60 days. At the end of drug treatment animals were sacrificed, serum was extracted and evaluated for Cr, U, and Ua. Kidney was harvested and evaluated for MDA, SOD, CAT and GSH. Results: Treatment with MT and ALA significantly (p<0.05) decreased baseline serum levels of Cr, U, Ua and kidney MDA level while kidney levels of SOD, CAT and GSH were increased when compared to the control. On the contrary, treatment with LPV/r significantly (p<0.05) and dose -dependently increased serum Cr, U, Ua levels and kidney MDA level while kidney levels of SOD, CAT and GSH were decreased when compared to the control. But pretreatments with MT and ALA mitigated LPV/r induced changes in all evaluated parameters. Pronounced mitigation was observed with pretreatment using a combination of MT and ALA. Conclusion: Observations in this study may be due to the oxidant effect of LPV/r and the antioxidant effects of MT and ALA. This study, therefore recommends MT and ALA as treatment or prevention for LPV/r induced renal toxicity. Conclusion: Observations in this study may be due to the oxidant effect of LPV/r and the antioxidant effects of MT and ALA. This study, therefore recommends MT and ALA as treatment or prevention for LPV/r induced renal toxicity.


In this biographically reflective essay, the author identifies two themes that have informed his public history work in communities with historical secrets, in civil rights history, and on the architecture of racial segregation: the importance of acknowledging and remembering the "dark past" and of asking questions from the perspective of place. His projects have taught him to look for the pukas or gaps, to cast down his bucket and engage nearby history, to think ecologically by hitching case studies to broad patterns of meaning, and to accept that the impact of projects may be catalytic rather than conclusive. He argues that the interpretive fluidity of history is a mystery to the general public and suggests that sites and museums teach what history is, as well as what history happened at a property. He offers a way to do this by "telling the whole story" through recognizing the history of site management and exhibiting the process of site interpretation.


Motivated by recent progress in the experimental manipulation of cold atoms in optical lattices, we study three different protocols for non-adiabatic quantum state preparation and state transport in chains of Rydberg atoms. The protocols we discuss are based on the blockade mechanism between atoms which, when excited to a Rydberg state, interact through a van der Waals potential, and rely on single-site addressing. Specifically, we discuss protocols for efficient creation of an antiferromagnetic GHZ state, a class of matrix product states including a so-called Rydberg crystal and for the state transport of a single-qubit quantum state between two ends of a chain of atoms. We identify system parameters allowing for the operation of the protocols on timescales shorter than the lifetime of the Rydberg states while yielding high fidelity output states. We discuss the effect of positional disorder on the resulting states and comment on limitations due to other sources of noise such as radiative decay of the Rydberg states. The proposed protocols provide a testbed for benchmarking the performance of quantum information processing platforms based on Rydberg atoms.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this FT-Raman study was to investigate laser-induced compositional changes in enamel after therapy with a low-level infrared diode laser and a photoabsorbing cream, in order to intensify the superficial light absorption before and after cariogenic challenge.

BACKGROUND DATA
Dental caries remains the most prevalent disease during childhood and adolescence. Preventive modalities include the use of fluoride, reduction of dietary cariogenic refined carbohydrates, plaque removal and oral hygiene techniques, and antimicrobial prescriptions. A relatively simple and noninvasive caries preventive regimen is treating tooth enamel with laser irradiation, either alone or in combination with topical fluoride treatment, resulting in reduced enamel solubility and dissolution rates. Due to their high cost, high-powered lasers are still not widely employed in private practice in developing countries. Thus, low-power red and near-infrared lasers appear to be an appealing alternative.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-four extracted or exfoliated caries-free deciduous molars were divided into six groups: control group (no treatment; n = 8); infrared laser treatment (L; n = 8) (810 nm at 100 mW/cm(2) for 90 sec); infrared diode laser irradiation (810 nm at 100 mW/cm(2) for 90 sec) and photoabsorbing cream (IVL; n = 8); photoabsorbing cream alone (IV; n = 8); infrared diode laser irradiation (810 nm at 100 mW/cm(2) for 90 sec) and fluorinated photoabsorbing agent (IVLF; n = 8); and fluorinated photoabsorbing agent alone (IVF; n = 8). Samples were analyzed using FT-Raman spectroscopy before and after pH cycling cariogenic challenge.

RESULTS
There was a significant laser-induced reduction and possible modification of the organic matrix content in enamel treated with the low-level diode laser (the L, IVL, and IVFL groups).

CONCLUSION
The FT-Raman technique may be suitable for detecting compositional and structural changes occurring in mineral phases and organic phases of lased enamel under cariogenic challenge.


One of the objectives of any surveillance activity is to monitor trends in infections. The international surveillance network for human enteric infections, Enter-net, has been collecting and reporting data on laboratory-confirmed human salmonella infections since 1993. The number of cases identified rose in the mid-1990s, with the peak being in 1997. This paper describes the subsequent decline in salmonella serotypes being reported by the national reference laboratories participating in the Enter-net surveillance network between 1998-2003. The total number of human cases of salmonellosis reported by the Enter-net participating countries has fallen from 22,698 to 142,891 during this period. Even at these reported levels salmonellosis remains a major cause of morbidity in humans.


Safety instrument system is composed of sensor, logic solver and final actuator. It is widely used in process industry, such as oil and gas industry, chemical industry, metallurgy and electric power industry. It is an important measure to ensure the safety of production, which can effectively avoid the potential danger to people, equipment and the environment. However, when it breaks down, the consequences can be expected to be extremely serious. Therefore, HIPPS requires low risk, so it is necessary to quantitatively evaluate the dynamic performance of HIPPS to ensure the high safety of HIPPS during the design life cycle.
 In this paper, a Bayesian network based method is proposed to evaluate the dynamic performance of HIPPS. The effects of different detection methods and maintenance methods on the dynamic performance of HIPPS were analyzed quantitatively. The results show that the performance of the system has been improved obviously after maintenance. Compared with the traditional method, the performance of HIPPS is improved by introducing partial stroke test. The sensitivity analysis shows that the failure rate has a great influence on the risk of HIPPS valve. Increased coverage of PST may improve the performance of HIPPS.


This paper aims to investigate the workgroup-based manpower planning for multi-type staff collaboration. For customization-based equipment making companies, multiple types of staffs which have different working efficiencies often exist. This situation is even complicated by the working groups which have master-apprentice constraints. Due to the complexity of the problem, this paper not only considers the staffs' salaries and employment/unemployment costs, but also takes the technique inheriting and employee stableness into consideration. Through establishing the dynamic planning model which reflects staffs' employing and working types, the configuration results of human resource are obtained and recommended to this kind of companies.