Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a rapidly evolving cancer treatment method in which concepts and techniques previously developed for brain tumor radiosurgery are adapted to eradicate tumors elsewhere in the body. The spatial accuracy, conformality, and steep radiation dose gradients of radiosurgery, which have been critical to its success in the treatment of intracranial tumors, are applied in SBRT to treat a variety of extracranial tumors. Early results demonstrate excellent response rates and low toxicity with a variety of hypofractionated dose regimens and localization/immobilization techniques. This article provides an overview of the rationale and results of SBRT for specific indications, descriptions of some methods of treatment delivery, and discussion of potential areas of future investigation.


Irradiation embrittlement rate as well as the re-embrittlement rate after annealing of pressure vessel steels can in general be described by the copper, phosphorus and nickel contents of the materials. In the current study embrittlement and re-embrittlement rate of 32 different model alloys were measured using sub-size CH-V specimens of dimensions 3 × 4 × 27 mm. The impurity and alloy elements of the model alloys were varied within the limits Cu: 0−1.0 wt-%, P = 0−0.040 wt-% and Ni: 0−2.0 wt-% relatively evenly. The specimens were originally irradiated in the high flux reactor in Petten into a neutron fluence of 0.3×1019n/cm2, E >1 MeV and re-irradiated after the annealing treatment in the Loviisa power reactor into a fluence of 1.0 × 1019n/cm2, E > 1 MeV. In the paper the irradiation and re-irradiation embrittlement rate has been modeled based on the Cu, P and Ni contents of the alloys. Re-irradiation rate was found to be clearly lower than the original irradiation rate except for small corner in the element space, i.e., no nickel, low copper and high phosphorus alloys. Phosphorus coefficient in the re-irradiation shift function is relatively two times higher than in the original irradiation shift function. Many of the alloys in the IAI-condition show intergranular type fracture (IGF). However, the effect of the change of the fracture mode from cleavage to IGF on transition temperature shift remains open. The dependence of irradiation embrittlement, annealing and re-embrittlement behavior on the copper, phosphorus and nickel contents is still not solved, one reason being the relatively limited variation of the key elements in the materials. Model alloys offer a good variation matrix of the elements even, if the measured data cannot be directly applied to real steels.


Title: Midwifery and the context of care: Is it impossible to be 'woman centred'? Dr Moira Williamson, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia, ph. +61 2 4221 3381, email: firstname.lastname@example.com Dr Lindsey Harrison, School of Health Sciences, University of Wollongong Background: Findings from a qualitative study show that the context of care can inhibit midwives' provision of woman centred care; especially impacted is their ability to provide culturally appropriate care. Aim of the Study: The aims of the study were to gain an understanding of midwives' concepts of culture and to explore their strategies to incorporate cultural sensitivity into professional practice, especially in relation to Indigenous women. The study also explored factors that impact on the provision of culturally appropriate care. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty two midwives in three different geographical locations within New South Wales, Australia. A modified grounded theory approach was used for the data collection and preliminary analysis. Emerging findings were explored with and compared to relevant theoretical perspectives, particularly those of Foucault. Findings: The context of practice has a direct impact upon midwives' approach to care. A womancentred approach is often lost when midwives are working within busy hospital settings, where they lack power and control and are usually time poor. Woman-centred care is replaced by the midwives' need to anticipate care provision and there is a tendency to take a generic or 'recipe' approach to care as a result. This is less likely to occur in community settings, where midwives have more time and control shifts to the woman. In hospitals, bureaucratic procedures are emphasised over the individual decisions of midwives and the woman. Conclusions and Implications: A focus on practice alone is insufficient. The context of care needs to be examined before woman-centred care can be realised. It takes courage to challenge the 'system', however where there is resistance, there is possibility for change for the benefit of women and their families.


OBJECTIVE
The intent of this inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of dental hygienists who provide restorative patient care.

METHODS
Phenomenology was the qualitative approach used. Purposive sampling ensured participants had relevant experiences. An interview guide was emailed 1 week prior to the interview to help participants prepare responses. Informed consent included selecting a pseudonym, which was used throughout the interview and on the written transcript to protect the participants' identities. One-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded on Zoom. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously. Verbatim transcription accuracy was verified. Data were initially coded and then focused coding created themes. Demographic data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS
After eight interviews, data saturation was achieved. Seven females and one male participated. All participants experienced a restorative curriculum in their entry-level program and most felt well-prepared. The motivation for becoming a restorative dental hygienist included having positive restorative experiences during the entry-level program, wanting to keep restorative skills current after graduation, and having an opportunity to provide restorative care. Challenges experienced included the dentists' negative attitudes, hygienists' not valuing restorative abilities and not having a qualified dental assistant. Personal benefits were related to career fulfilment. Benefits to patients involved improving access, efficiency, and convenience. The benefit to the office was increased production. Differences between restorative and preventive care involved demands of care and patient care flow.

CONCLUSION
The findings provide insight into the unique experiences of dental hygienists who provided restorative patient care and a foundation for future research.


As Mongolia moves to a market economy and begins to encourage land ownership and the creation of private land and housing markets, it will need to revise its approach to the spatial planning and control of land uses and development by individuals and businesses. Designed for a regime of exclusive state ownership of land, the existing "target use" restrictions for individual parcels as shown in the detailed Master Plans hinders the exercise of market-driven choices by individuals and businesses wishing to put land and infrastructure to their most productive uses. (Nature and Science 2010;8(2):90-97). (ISSN: 1545-0740)


Hydatid disease is caused by Echinococcus granulosus–a parasitic infestation commonly affecting the liver. Disseminated intra-abdominal hydatid disease may occur following the rupture of the hydatid cyst into the peritoneal cavity causing secondary echinococcosis. We report a very rare case of disseminated hydatidosis involving various abdominal and pelvic organs and causing intestinal obstruction in a female patient. This unusual presentation produced a diagnostic dilemma.


The Pulayas of Kerala were a depressed caste, subject to acute discrimination and humiliation. This article traces the initial stirrings among the Pulayas' leaders in the princely states of Travancore and Cochin, and the response of the upper castes and of the administrations of the states, prior to 1947 by which time the Communists began to acquire ascendancy over the lower-caste movement.


The authors investigate the sources of recent changes in the performance of U.S. banks using concepts and techniques borrowed from the cross-section efficiency literature. Their most striking result is that during 1991-1997, cost productivity worsened while profit productivity improved substantially, particularly for banks engaging in mergers. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that banks tried to maximize profits by raising revenues as well as reducing costs, and that banks provided additional services or higher service quality that raised costs but also raised revenues by more than the cost increases. The results suggest that methods that exclude revenues may be misleading.


Written with Lian Jian. Prior theory and empirical work emphasize the enormous free-riding problem facing peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing networks. Nonetheless, many P2P networks thrive. We explore two possible explanations: private provision of public goods and generalized reciprocity. We investigate a particular form of private incentives to share content: redistributing traffic in the network to the advantage of the sharing peer. Our preliminary model suggests that this incentive is likely insufficient to motivate equilibrium content sharing in large networks. We then approach P2P networks as a graph-theoretic problem and derive sufficient conditions for sharing and free-riding to co-exist in the absence of direct sharing benefits or an explicit incentive mechanism.


Recent work on predicting patient outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has focused heavily on the physiological time series data, largely ignoring sparse data such as diagnoses and medications. When they are included, they are usually concatenated in the late stages of a model, which may struggle to learn from rarer disease patterns. Instead, we propose a strategy to exploit diagnoses as relational information by connecting similar patients in a graph. To this end, we propose LSTM-GNN for patient outcome prediction tasks: a hybrid model combining Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTMs) for extracting temporal features and Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for extracting the patient neighbourhood information. We demonstrate that LSTM-GNNs outperform the LSTM-only baseline on length of stay prediction tasks on the eICU database. More generally, our results indicate that exploiting information from neighbouring patient cases using graph neural networks is a promising research direction, yielding tangible returns in supervised learning performance on Electronic Health Records.


We are entering a legacy era for the offshore oil and gas industry. As operations ramp down, could scientific evidence hold the key to reducing economic cost and environmental impact of full decommissioning?This Policy Brief assesses the role of marine science in reducing the environmental impact of decommissioning and highlights the scientific questions that now need to be answered to settle the debate on what should be done with these structures. Recent estimates suggest that there are currently around 1,350 oil and gas installations in the North Sea and North Atlantic regions and 1,800 offshore wind turbines in North Sea region alone. And this number is rising. The total cost of full decommissioning of oil and gas installations in the North Sea alone for the period 2015 to 2040 is estimated at between US$70 and US$82 billion. The numbers of installations requiring decommissioning is also set to increase dramatically as renewable energy devices begin reaching the end of their operational life, and as plans for exploiting renewable energy sources in the near future grow. Globally, industry and governments are embracing different decommissioning approaches, from full removal to the production of artificial reefs. The question of what is best for the environment is still to be answered.The INSITE programme, highlighted in this Policy Brief as novel model which could be implemented more widely, is a unique collaboration between leading energy companies and research. It is already funding research which is exploring the influence of man-made structures on the marine ecosystem in order to provide a solid scientific basis for future decision-making.Ultimately, appropriate decisions need to be made in the very near future regarding the decommissioning of oil and gas and renewable energy structures. At present, there remains a need for more scientific research to better inform the decision-making process regarding their fate.


Advection-controlled and diffusion-controlled oscillatory chemical reactions appear in various areas of life sciences, hydrogeological systems, and contaminant transport. In this conference paper, we analyze whether the existing numerical formulations and commercial packages provide physically meaningful values for concentration of the chemical species for two popular oscillatory chemical kinetic schemes. The first one corresponds to the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction while the second one is a simplified version of Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction of a non-linear chemical oscillator. The governing equations for species balance are presented based on the theory of interacting continua. This results in a set of coupled non-linear partial differential equations. Obtaining analytical solutions is not practically viable. Moreover, it is well-known in literature that if the local dynamics becomes complex, the range of possible dynamic behavior in the presence of diffusion and advection becomes practically unlimited. We resort to numerical solutions, which are obtained using two popular stabilized formulations: Streamline Upwind/Petrov Galerkin and Galerkin/Least Squares. In order to make the computational analysis tractable, an estimate on the range of system-dependent parameters is obtained based on model reduction performed on the strong-form of the governing equations. Finally, we quantify the errors in satisfying the local and global species balance for various realistic benchmark problems. Through these representative numerical examples, we shall demonstrate the need and importance of developing locally conservative non-negative numerical formulations for chaotic and oscillatory chemically reacting systems.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Abstract We study the operational semantics of an extension of Girard's System Fω with two control operators: an abort operation that abandons the current control context, and a callcc operation that captures the current control context. Two classes of operational semantics are considered, each with a call-by-value and a call-by-name variant, differing in their treatment of polymorphic abstraction and instantiation. Under the standard semantics, polymorphic abstractions are values and polymorphic instantiation is a significant computation step; under the ML-like semantics evaluation proceeds beneath polymorphic abstractions and polymorphic instantiation is computationally insignificant. Compositional, type-preserving continuation-passing style (cps) transformation algorithms are given for the standard semantics, resulting in terms on which all four evaluation strategies coincide. This has as a corollary the soundness and termination of well-typed programs under the standard evaluation strategies. In contrast, such results are obtained for the call-by-value ML-like strategy only for a restricted sub-language in which constructor abstractions are limited to values. The ML-like call-by-name semantics is indistinguishable from the standard call-by-name semantics when attention is limited to complete programs.


This volume provides new historical and literary insights into the Harlem Renaissance, returning attention to it not only as a broad expression of artistic work but also as a movement that found catharsis in art and hope in resistance. By examining such major figures of the era as Jessie Fauset, Paul Robeson, and Zora Neale Hurston, the contributors reframe our understanding of the interplay of art, politics, culture, and society in 1920s Harlem. The fourteen essays explore the meaning and power of Harlem theater, literature, and art during the period; probe how understanding of racial, provincial, and gender identities originated and evolved; and reexamine the sociopolitical contexts of this extraordinary black creative class. Delving into these topics anew, The Harlem Renaissance Revisited reconsiders the national and international connections of the movement and how it challenged cliched interpretations of sexuality, gender, race, and class. The contributors show how those who played an integral role in shattering stereotypes about black creativity pointed the way toward real freedom in the United States, in turn sowing some of the seeds of the Black Power movement. A fascinating chapter in the history of the African American experience and New York City, the cultural flowering of the Harlem Renaissance reverberates today. This thought-provoking combination of social history and intellectual art criticism opens this powerful moment in history to renewed and dynamic interpretation and sharper discussion.


An RF telemetry system for powering and control of microminiature integrated transducers packaged in a hermetically sealed custom-made glass capsule is described. A class-E power amplifier is utilized to energize and control a single-channel microstimulator for neuromuscular applications. The transmitter can deliver 1.5 W of power through a solenoid antenna using a 12-V rechargeable battery, while achieving efficiencies greater than 90%. The microstimulator antenna is a 1.5-mm-diameter, 4-5-mm-long ferrite-cored solenoid coil which can generate peak voltages of up to 50 V, and up to 50 mW of power. A custom-made glass capsule electrostatically bonded to the microstimulator's silicon carrier provides a hermetic package for the implant. Lead transfer into the sealed chamber is achieved using thin films of iridium insulated with low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) thin films. Helium leak tests on these structures show leak rates below 10/sup -9/ cm/sup 3//s.<<ETX>>


Fever is a symptom mostly happen with all diseases which condition shows elevated body temperature above normal (38 ◦C) that are common among toddler. Handling fever using antipyretics should be considered related to the rationale of its use. Rationality aspect which include indication accuracy, precision of medicine, patient accuracy, dosage accuracy and precision of administration, and as well as alert to side effects. Handling fever in toddlers is very dependent on the role of parents especially mother. Different maternal education, knowledge, and economics will result in the rationale of the use of different antipyretic drugs. This study aimed to investigate whether there is relation among education, knowledge, and economics of mother toward antipyretic drug usage for toddler in Kangkung Village OKUT SUMSEL 2017 by using cross sectional design. The sample was collected using simple random sampling to get 47 samples which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data were collected by interview based on questionnaire and analyzed by Chi-Square test using SPSS version 23.0. The data presented descriptively showed most of the respondents were highly educated (66%), high knowledge (61.7%), and low economic level (93.6%) and the rational use of antipyretic for toddler were 100% for appropriate drug indication, precision of medicine, patient appropriateness, and alert for side effects, as well as 31.9% dosage precision and mode of administration. The result of Chi-Square test showed that the p value for education level (p > 0.05) and economic level (p > 0.05) had no significant correlation, meanwhile the knowledge level (p < 0.05) showed significant different to the rational use of antipyretic for toddler. It can be concluded that the knowledge toward of mother affect the rational use of antipyretic for toddler in Kangkung village OKUT regency SUMSEL 2017.


ABSTRACT Infection by retroviruses as HIV-1 requires the stable integration of their genome into the host cells. This process needs the formation of integrase (IN)-viral DNA complexes, called intasomes, and their interaction with the target DNA wrapped around nucleosomes within cell chromatin. To provide new tools to analyze this association and select drugs, we applied the AlphaLISA technology to the complex formed between the prototype foamy virus (PFV) intasome and nucleosome reconstituted on 601 Widom sequence. This system allowed us to monitor the association between both partners and select small molecules that could modulate the intasome/nucleosome association. Using this approach, drugs acting either on the DNA topology within the nucleosome or on the IN/histone tail interactions have been selected. Within these compounds, doxorubicin and histone binders calixarenes were characterized using biochemical, in silico molecular simulations and cellular approaches. These drugs were shown to inhibit both PFV and HIV-1 integration in vitro. Treatment of HIV-1-infected PBMCs with the selected molecules induces a decrease in viral infectivity and blocks the integration process. Thus, in addition to providing new information about intasome-nucleosome interaction determinants, our work also paves the way for further unedited antiviral strategies that target the final step of intasome/chromatin anchoring. IMPORTANCE In this work, we report the first monitoring of retroviral intasome/nucleosome interaction by AlphaLISA. This is the first description of the AlphaLISA application for large nucleoprotein complexes (>200 kDa) proving that this technology is suitable for molecular characterization and bimolecular inhibitor screening assays using such large complexes. Using this system, we have identified new drugs disrupting or preventing the intasome/nucleosome complex and inhibiting HIV-1 integration both in vitro and in infected cells. This first monitoring of the retroviral/intasome complex should allow the development of multiple applications including the analyses of the influence of cellular partners, the study of additional retroviral intasomes, and the determination of specific interfaces. Our work also provides the technical bases for the screening of larger libraries of drugs targeting specifically these functional nucleoprotein complexes, or additional nucleosome-partner complexes, as well as for their characterization. In this work, we report the first monitoring of retroviral intasome/nucleosome interaction by AlphaLISA. This is the first description of the AlphaLISA application for large nucleoprotein complexes (>200 kDa) proving that this technology is suitable for molecular characterization and bimolecular inhibitor screening assays using such large complexes. Using this system, we have identified new drugs disrupting or preventing the intasome/nucleosome complex and inhibiting HIV-1 integration both in vitro and in infected cells. This first monitoring of the retroviral/intasome complex should allow the development of multiple applications including the analyses of the influence of cellular partners, the study of additional retroviral intasomes, and the determination of specific interfaces. Our work also provides the technical bases for the screening of larger libraries of drugs targeting specifically these functional nucleoprotein complexes, or additional nucleosome-partner complexes, as well as for their characterization.


There have been several attempts to integrate Web 2.0 technologies including podcasts, weblogs, wikis, and virtual 3D communities into language education thus far. Second Life, a virtual 3D community, might create unique opportunities for language learners specifically in the following ways: As a source of authentic interaction with target language speakers, a venue for language classes, and an autonomous study opportunity for learners. In this context, this study reports Second Life experiences of American students learning Turkish as a foreign language in the University of Florida, the USA and of Turkish students learning English as a foreign language at Gazi University, Turkey. The interviews demonstrated that both groups of students regarded Second Life as a contribution to authentic interaction with native language. Furthermore, the experiences indicated Second Life served as a good bridge for cultural competence and an inevitable tool to foster less threatened learning experiences despite challenges encountered on the way.


The illegal practice of cyanide fishing continues throughout the Indo-Pacific. To combat this destructive fishing method, a reliable test to detect whether a fish has been captured using cyanide (CN) is needed. We report on the toxicokinetics of acute, pulsed CN exposure and chronic thiocyanate (SCN) exposure, the major metabolite of CN, in the clownfish species, Amphiprion clarkii. Fish were pulse exposed to 50 ppm CN for 20 or 45 s or chronically exposed to 100 ppm SCN for 12 days and blood plasma levels of SCN were measured. SCN blood plasma levels reached a maximum concentration (301–468 ppb) 0.13–0.17 days after exposure to CN and had a 0.1 to 1.2 day half-life. The half-life of blood plasma SCN after chronic exposure to SCN was found to be 0.13 days. Interestingly, we observed that when a fish, with no previous CN or SCN exposure, was placed in holding water spiked to 20 ppb SCN, there was a steady decrease in the SCN concentration in the holding water until it could no longer be detected at 24 hrs. Under chronic exposure conditions (100 ppm, 12 days), trace levels of SCN (∼40 ppb) were detected in the holding water during depuration but decreased to below detection within the first 24 hrs. Our holding water experiments demonstrate that low levels of SCN in the holding water of A. clarkii will not persist, but rather will quickly and steadily decrease to below detection limits refuting several publications. After CN exposure, A. clarkii exhibits a classic two compartment model where SCN is eliminated from the blood plasma and is likely distributed throughout the body. Similar studies of other species must be examined to continue to develop our understanding of CN metabolism in marine fish before a reliable cyanide detection test can be developed.


Total hip replacement is a frequently practised operation. Depending on age, circumstances and individual assessment, cemented, non-cemented and hybrid forms are used. Apart from general risks, such as vascular and/or neural injuries, thrombosis and infections, there are specific risks, depending on the surgical technique. If cemented systems are used, the anesthesiologist must be on the alert in respect of a possible multi-causal cardiopulmonary depression during the implantation of the prosthesis. Incidents may be reduced or moderated by measures such as reduction of pressure from the femoral cavity or anesthetic measures such as avoidance of N2O during or after cementation, use of anti-histamines, etc., but there is no absolute protection from severe reactions by the cardiopulmonary system. In these cases it is imperative to recognise and treat hypoxic conditions immediately, whatever the cause, such as cardiac or pulmonary depression. If a non-cemented hip replacement is used or a revision is necessary the main problem is usually a higher blood loss. Especially in such cases it is necessary to apply a well-organised sequence of blood-saving methods to protect patients from the general risks of homologous blood transfusion. Even though the main concern of the public is the possibility of contamination of donor blood with the AIDS virus, transmission of hepatitis C virus is a much more common problem. Depending on the diagnostic methods the occurrence of thrombosis after total hip replacement has been reported to be as much as 55%. To minimise this high incidence, sufficient prophylaxis, adequate fluid therapy, suitable anesthetic techniques and cutting down on the duration of the operation should be taken into account. The use of low molecular weight heparins has certain advantages. If deep vein thrombosis has occurred, therapy consists of anticoagulation with intravenous heparin and immobilisation. A rare but severe complication is a deep hip prosthetic infection. More than 50% of infections are caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci and anaerobic bacteria. To avoid sepsis it is imperative to employ adequate high-dosage antibiotics, revisional surgery and, if necessary, even excision arthroplasty. There is no "ideal" anesthesiological method for total hip replacement. Regional techniques as well as general anesthesia have their specific pros and cons which are controversially discussed in respect of their priority. To achieve early diagnosis of embolism, especially in the case of high risk patients, the exigency of extensive haemodynamic monitoring as well as Doppler-ultrasound is discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


This edited volume asks how the arrival of migrants at one time influences the decisions of those considering migration later. Through a set of case studies of migration in twelve 'corridors', it shows how different forms of feedback by different actors and through different channels contribute to our understanding of diverging migration flows.


From the introduction] In a few sentences, my artist statement is that my religious faith is an important part of who I am as a person and as an artist. I believe God created order, love, light and life which are my favorite things that I try to incorporate into my art. My goal is to make a lasting legacy as a gift to try to make the world a better place and show its beauty. [...] The overall composition of my body of art can be described as a multi-studio artist with a focus on spiritual positive encouraging works. As an older student I have had formal training in Art, history drawing, design, and stain glass sculpting, sculpting glass, and painting glass on glass. For my career here at Pacific University I concentrated my focus on photography. I began seeing beauty in photographing nature in my own backyard beauty in seeing art in the landscapes. It began out of coping with and separate the destruction left on the land by capturing lighter beautiful living subjects. It helped that I had some past photographic relationships on the land where I live. Photographing wilderness landscapes and portraits were something entirely new to me. So I studied the subject and my mentors shared their knowledge. I was willing to learn from making mistakes in once-in-a-lifetime shots. Eventually I accumulated enough experience to begin to express my own creative voice that I hope my images represent. Document Type Capstone Project Degree Name Bachelor of Arts


By repeating names across her novels, Jane Austen draws connections between seemingly unrelated characters that can then be studied further through their etymology, as well as their Biblical and historical connotations. Austen fundamentally warps her readers' impressions of similarly named characters by modifying their situations in life as well as her use of narrative voice. Austen's subtle connections across her texts display her power to warp her readers' impressions of her characters, using her narrative voice to completely shift their perspective, and thus challenging her readers to go beyond fixed character interpretation. Elizabeth Elliot and Elizabeth Bennet seem to possess completely different temperaments, yet their family situations and sense of pride reveal they are very similar. Elizabeths are associated with strength and power, but also with the failure to fulfill the role of an older sister. Mary Bennet, Mary Musgrove and Mary Crawford are forced to surrender their own best interests so that they can each assume a woman's proper place in society. Austen uses Marys to critique gender expectations, arguing that society's pressure can negatively influence a woman's goals for her life. Catherine Morland and Catherine Bennet hold vastly different senses of morality. However, they are both curious and impressionable, and they both tend to hold an overly romanticized view of the world. A Catherine is moldable, and is therefore drastically affected by the level of parental guidance she receives. Jane Bennet and Jane Fairfax are very similar characters; both are patient, caring and beautiful, and both are ultimately rewarded for their kindness. In the eyes of the narrator, Austen's Janes appear flawless. Austen's name choices have been noted by others; however, the name-parallel analysis I undertake has not previously been studied in such depth.


Polystyrene is dispersed into a polyol via a mechanical dispersion process. A stabilizer is present to stabilize the dispersed polymer particles. The stabilizer includes a copolymer of (1) from 10 to 70% by weight of a branched polyol which has a molecular weight of from 4000 to 20,000, from 0.2 to about 1.2 polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated groups per molecule and from about 3 to about 8 hydroxyl groups per molecule with (2) from 30 to 90% by weight of styrene or a mixture of styrene and one or more other low molecular weight monomers.


Change in climate variables, especially air temperature, can substantially impact water availability, use, management, allocation, and projections for rural and urban applications. This study presents analyses for detecting summer air temperature change by investigating trends of two separate climate-periods in the USA High Plains. Two trend periods, the reference period (1895–1930) and the warming period (1971–2006), were investigated using parametric and nonparametric methods. During the reference period, minimum air temperature (Tmin) was statistically stationary at a nonsignificant increasing rate of 0.02°C/year. However, from early 1970s, Tmin increased at a significant rate of 0.02°C/ year. The maximum air temperature (Tmax) had a weaker warming signal than Tmin during the reference period. During the warming period, Tmax had a cooling trend at a nonsignificant rate of −0.004°C/year. About 22% of the High Plains had significant warming trends before 1930. Compared to the summers before 1930, the summer temperatures of the High Palins since the 1970s increased, on average, by 0.86°C. Overall, parametric methods lead to the conclusion that 50% of the study area experienced a significant warming trend in Tmin. In comparison, nonparametric methods indicated that 94% of the study area experienced a warming trend. Overall, in recent decades, summer average temperatures in the High Plains have been warming as compared to the early twentieth-century decades, and the warming is most likely driven primarily by increasing nighttime Tmin.


Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) are among the most spectacular and well‐known Lepidoptera in the European fauna, but their systematics is not fully elucidated. A notable case is that of Iphiclides feisthamelii which, after more than 180 years since description, still has a debated status, being often considered as a subspecies of Iphiclides podalirius. To elucidate the relationship between the two taxa and the evolutionary processes that led to their separation, we combine mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (mtDNA and nDNA) data, Wolbachia screening, genitalia morphology and wing UV reflectance. Our results show that the two taxa clearly differ in male and female genital morphology, male wing UV reflectance and nDNA. Two Wolbachia strains were found to widely infect the studied samples, apparently explaining the phylogeographic pattern displayed by mtDNA. The available data point towards a historical Wolbachia infection that spread from I. podalirius to I. feisthamelii and produced a mitochondrial introgression. Currently, a new Wolbachia strain is spreading across mainland populations of I. podalirius, mediating once more a mitochondrial genetic sweep, which has already infected and introgressed I. feisthamelii populations in south‐eastern France. We conclude that, given the marked differences in morphology and nDNA between the two taxa, and the apparent restriction of hybridization to a narrow contact area where non‐hybrid specimens are common, the taxon feisthamelii should be considered as a separate species. Within this species, two well‐differentiated nDNA lineages that represent European and Maghrebian populations are documented, here proposed as subspecies. The case of, presumably, two consecutive Wolbachia‐mediated mitochondrial introgression events, further supports the view that infection by this endosymbiont may be frequently related to mito‐nuclear discordance in insects.


For evaluating theoretical reduction limit of carbon dioxide emission from a conventional carbon-based ironmaking, a new methodology of system analysis is proposed based on thermodynamics theory, together with implementation. In this method, we first define the ironmaking system by several fundamental reactions, then focus overall changes of enthalpy and exergy in the total system in order to obey first and second laws of thermodynamics, and finally derive carbon requirement and minimum exergy loss clearly. The results suggest the possibility of energy saving by indicating an ultimate goal for reducing CO 2 emission and difference between operating data and it. Significantly, this method is also applicable to all other metallurgical or chemical systems for studying possibility and limitation of energy saving.


BACKGROUND
Nitrates have been an integral part of the therapy of ischaemic heart disease for more than 130 years. <

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We have studied the relevant literature on the benefits of therapy with nitrates in acute myocardial infarction.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
During an acute myocardial infarction, intravenous nitroglycerine therapy has demonstrated favourable haemodynamic properties, and some studies have shown that nitrates reduce infarct size. Whether this could improve prognosis is uncertain. A meta-analysis from 1988 showed reduced mortality (35 %) of early intravenous nitrate therapy. Newer and larger studies have not documented a positive effect. A reason for this discrepancy may be the fact that in these studies about half of the control/placebo patients, having a low mortality, were treated with nitroglycerine. In addition, most of these patients were given thrombolytic and antiplatelet therapy. Nitroglycerine administered intravenously is, according to present knowledge, recommended during the first 24 hours after an acute myocardial infarction. In addition, patients with recurrent ischaemia, uncontrolled hypertension and heart failure should also be given nitroglycerine.


Pregnancy is accompanied by maternal physiological adaptations including metabolic, endocrine, immune, cardiovascular, skeletomuscular and neurological modifications that facilitate fetal and placental growth and development. Emerging evidence suggests that the maternal intestinal microbiota is modified over the course of healthy pregnancy. We have recently identified a maternal intestinal microbial shift within hours of conception; a shift that continued with advancing gestation. It is possible that maternal gut bacterial profiles might be associated with the known endocrine changes that accompany the female reproductive (estrous) cycle. Methods: To determine whether the estrous cycle influenced the shifts in the maternal intestinal microbiota, time-matched fecal pellets were collected daily for 3 consecutive estrous cycles from individually housed, non-pregnant female C57BL/6J mice (n = 10) fed a control diet. Estrous stage was identified by cell type predominance in vaginal cytological samples. The corresponding fecal pellets for each estrous stage were processed for bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing of the variable 3 (V3) region. Results: Estrous cycle stage accounted for a very small and not statistically significant proportion of the variation in the fecal microbiota according to PERMANOVA testing performed on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity scores. These values displayed no significant clustering of fecal microbial communities by estrous stage. Conclusion: The estrous cycle does not result in any significant shift in the intestinal microbial community in the reproductively mature, regularly cycling female mouse.


We present an incidence analysis of forensic medical examinations at the Afrânio Peixoto Institute of Forensic Medicine in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from January to July 2000. A sample of 124 cases of suspected sexual abuse was selected, both male and female, aged 0 to 17 years. Minors from 0 to 14 years of age represented 81.45% of the sample, coinciding with rates from a former study spanning the first quarter of 2000. Other than vaginal rape, young male subjects prevailed in cases of suspected anal, oral, or other forms of sexual violence and comprised 20.97% of the total sample, with no such cases, either male or female, in the 15-17-year group. Most cases of alleged vaginal sexual abuse were detected in the 10-17-year group. 44.36% of the alleged aggressors were related to the victims; non-related aggressors represented 13.71% of the study group. 30.65% of all cases lacked information about the aggressor. Most police complaints were recorded in the North and East Sides of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The present study did not analyze the victims' social, economic, or cultural characteristics.


Interaction with large touch surfaces is still a relatively infant domain, particularly when looking at the accessibility solutions offered to blind users. Their smaller mobile counterparts are shipped with built-in accessibility features, enabling non-visual exploration of linearized screen content. However, it is unknown how well these solutions perform in large interactive surfaces that use more complex spatial content layouts. We report on a user study with 14 blind participants performing common touchscreen interactions using one and two-hand exploration. We investigate the exploration strategies applied by blind users when interacting with a tabletop. We identified six basic strategies that were commonly adopted and should be considered in future designs. We finish with implications for the design of accessible large touch interfaces.


A Susceptible tobacco variety infected with a mosaic-inducing strain
of tobacco mosaic Virus displayed certain alterations in normal growth
patterns. This work confirmed that such plants, as a result of infection,
were reduced in plant height, internode length and leaf size. Infected
plants also had reduced root systems. The rate of leaf growth., that is
the time taken for leaves to reach full expansion size, was similar for
infected and virus-free plants although the number of leaves formed over
a 6 week period following inoculation was slightly greater for virus
infected plants. Infection of young plants delayed both flower initiation
and the appearance of inflorescences. A reduced rate of cell division
in sub-apical regions appeared to be the major factor in reducing plant
size.
The survival of plant supporting virus synthesis appeared to be related
to certain metabolic changes. Specific enzymes associated with photorespiration
and "dark" respiration had lower activities in Virus infected
plants.
Enzymes indirectly associated with chloroplasts and photosynthetic
pigments were also reduced in virus-containing tissues. To some extent,
the reduced potential of carbon fixation by photosynthesis was offset by
a reduced cellular demand from carbon utilized in photorespiration and
"dark" respiration, this enabling cells to support a level of virus synthesis.
Normal activity of an enzyme associated with the Embden-Mbyerhofparnas
pathway of carbohydrate metabolism higher activity of an enzyme
associated with the pentose phosphate pathway and reduced activity of
an enzyme associated with "dark" respiration suggested that most carbohydrates
moving through the major pathways of metabolism are channelled
towards virus synthesis through conversion to amino acids. The high activity
of hydrolytic enzymes in virus-containing tissues suggested a high
rate of metabolism of carbohydrates and nucleic acids that would be expected
of cells supporting both virus synthesis and cellular metabolism. Two features of virus infected plants ensure their survival: delayed onset of leaf senescence and the presence of virus-free tissues with leaf
mosaics. Biochemical and ultrastructural studies revealed that over-mature
leaves on virus-infected plants were metabolically active and composed
of cells containing intact membrane systems. Most enzymes studied
in similarly aged leaves from uninoculated plants had greatly reduced
activities and cells in these tissues contained membrane components that
showed signs of deterioration and disorganization. Virus-free areas of
mosaic diseased leaves, referred to as dark green island tissues, were
Metabolically more active than comparably aged tissues from uninfected
plants. Enzymes associated with photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism
and photosynthetic pigments were at greatest levels in these tissues.
Of the three tissue types compared, virus -containing and virus-free tissues
from infected plants and leaf tissues from uninfected plants, dark
green island tissues had the greatest potential for photosynthesis and
Carbohydrate metabolism.
Growth patterns of virus-infected plants, delayed flower initiation
and onset of leaf senescence, the altered activities of enzymes associated
with chloroplasts and carbohydrate metabolism and the stimulated activities
of enzymes in dark green island tissues suggested that basic responses
of plants to infection occurred through shifts in endogenous
growth regulator levels. Bioassays of the major growth regulators revealec that although a gibberellin A3-like compound was unaffected by infection,
cytokinin-Iike compounds and an indole acetic acid-like compound
were at higher levels in infected tissues and an abscisic acid-like compound
was at a reduced level. The altered balance of the major growth
stimulating and growth retarding hormones is sufficient to account for
most of the measured and observed changes in diseased plants.


In this paper, a comprehensive survey of authentication protocols for Internet of Things (IoT) is presented. Specifically more than forty authentication protocols developed for or applied in the context of the IoT are selected and examined in detail. These protocols are categorized based on the target environment: (1) Machine to Machine Communications (M2M), (2) Internet of Vehicles (IoV), (3) Internet of Energy (IoE), and (4) Internet of Sensors (IoS). Threat models, countermeasures, and formal security verification techniques used in authentication protocols for the IoT are presented. In addition a taxonomy and comparison of authentication protocols that are developed for the IoT in terms of network model, specific security goals, main processes, computation complexity, and communication overhead are provided. Based on the current survey, open issues are identified and future research directions are proposed.


A comparative assessment of variation in the flow rate of oil production wells was performed taking into account increasing of perforated area of the productive part of the rocks, as well as recover of reservoir rocks permeability due to their unloading by creating slotted channels with the method of oriented slotted hydro-sandblast perforation. Different orientation directions and slotting intervals were analyzed, taking into account water encroachment of individual interlayers and azimuth direction of the majority of remaining reserves in separate blocks of the examined formation.
In order to estimate development efficiency of terrigenous oil-saturated porous-type reservoirs by means of oriented slotted hydro-sandblast perforation, calculations were performed on a full-scale geological and hydrodynamic model of an oil field in the Perm Region. The object of modeling was a Visean terrigenous productive formation.
The modeling of implementing oriented slotted hydro-sandblast perforation was carried out on a 3D filtration model for fourteen marginal wells, located in the zone with excessive density of remaining recoverable reserves and heterogeneous reserve recovery along the section. An optimal layout of slotted channels along the depth of the productive part of the well section was developed. Selective formation of 24 slotted channels was carried out considering the intervals of increased oil saturation. Comparative analysis of estimated flow rate of the wells was performed for cumulative perforation of the examined productive formation and the developed method of slotted perforation. As a result of modeling, an increase in the oil average flow rate of 2.25 t/day was obtained. With oriented slotted hydro-sandblast perforation, incremental cumulative production for two years of prediction calculations per one well reached 0.5 thousand t.


The extent of freezing damage of the photosynthetic apparatus of isolated thylakoid membranes, control and after modification of their membrane fatty acid acyl chain order by cholesterol and benzyl alcohol, was studied. The photochemical activity of photosystems I and II and the energy transfer between the main pigment protein complexes had been determined. Cholesterol-treated membranes are less susceptible to freezing damage, expressed by minor changes of the photochemical activity and retaining the 77K fluorescent characteristics. Benzyl alcohol incorporation enhanced the degree of freezing damage. The photochemical activity of both photosystems was severely decreased (by 80%) and considerable changes in the fluorescent properties were observed, mainly in the pigment pool associated with Photosystem I. The effects of different freezing media (artificial stroma medium, trehalose, glycine betaine and NaCl) were compared in respect to the maintaining of the activity of photosynthetic apparatus.


Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) films for transparent electrode applications in dye-sensitized solar cells and thin film solar cells were fabricated and characterized. In order to investigate the effect of crystallinity of the ZnO:Al films to the morphology and optical properties of the etched surface, the ZnO:Al films were deposited with varying substrate temperature by rf magnetron sputtering system and then films' surface was etched in diluted hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. Surface morphology of the amorphous ZnO:Al film deposited at room temperature was controllable to have large surface area, but it was not appropriate for transparent electrode layers due to high electrical resistivity. However, the resistivities of the ZnO:Al films deposited at the substrate temperatures of 150 and 300 oC were as low as 1.50×10-3 cm. In addition, the surface morphologies of the films deposited at 150 and 300 oC showed larger surface area for dye-sensitized cells and crater shape for light diffusion through the films, respectively. The surface morphologies and optical properties of the etched ZnO:Al films are attributed to the crystallinity of the as-fabricated films.


The effect of Ag, Ni and Cu cyanides on gold adsorption on activated coconut carbon in cyanide leach solutions was investigated by synthetic cyanide leach solutions containing gold and other metal cyanides. According to the adsorption tests Ag remarkably reduces the gold adsorption on activated carbon by competing with gold to adsorption sites. When the Ag concentration in solution increases up to 200 ppm the carbon adsorption method for gold recovery becomes inapplicable. Ni has an effect on gold adsorption on activated carbon, however even at as high concentrations of Ni as 250 ppm residual Au in solution is still below 1 ppm. Cu addition up to 300 ppm does not affect the gold loading significantly. According to the adsorption test studies, it is concluded that the metal-cyanides diminish the gold adsorption on activated carbon by adsorbing themselves and competing with gold. When the metals are present in the leach solution all together with gold, they also prevent adsorption of themselves as well as gold. Thus, when Au, Ag, Ni and Cu are present in solution simultaneously, the adsorption of all these metals decreases. The adsorption results were modeled by Fleming k,n adsorption kinetic model.


Intercomprehension (IC) can be defined as the process of co-constructing meaning in intercultural/interlinguistic contexts. The latest developments of this notion locate the communicative processes in the context of plurilingual interactions, both in written hybrid forms of communication at distance (chats and forums) and in face-to-face oral conversations (cf. ARAUJO E SA, DE CARLO, & MELO-PFEIFER, 2011; BALBONI, 2010, among others). Further research in Applied Linguistics is required so as to support the emergent pedagogical practices aimed at developing the competences of individuals who are now seen simultaneously as IC learners and IC immediate users. This research should be grounded on a multidimensional analysis model of authentic corpora of oral plurilingual interactions in order to provide the analyst with a list of communication strategies and a detailed description of interactional processes that will allow IC specialists to assess the results of actual learning in the context of IC projects and to structure IC learning activities. In this paper, we will present the analysis of an extract from the Bucharest-Cinco corpus that will allow us to identify the strategies developed in the process of co-construction of meaning in multilingual contexts through a close examination of verbal and non-verbal features.


Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and bronchospastic airway disease frequently coexist in older patients. There are substantial data suggesting reduced mortality with the use of beta-adrenergic blocking drugs in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease, especially patients who have postmyocardial infarction and/or severe coronary artery disease associated with left ventricular dysfunction. Conversely, the use of beta-adrenergic blocking drugs (even selective beta(1)-adrenergic blocking drugs) has the potential of exacerbating bronchospasm. This prospective registry evaluates the safety of use of selective beta(1)-adrenergic blocking drugs in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease and bronchospastic airway disease. A total of 835 consecutive patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease were prospectively evaluated for coexisting coronary and bronchospastic airway disease. Of these, 30 patients (mean age: 61 +/- 14 years) met the qualifying inclusion criteria. All these study patients except 1 (29/30 [96%]) reached therapeutic beta-blockade (resting heart rate <70 beats per minute). The 1 patient who discontinued use of beta-adrenergic blocking drugs as a result of lifestyle-limiting bronchospasm had no serious adverse outcome. No hospitalizations were required because of worsening bronchospasm. Ten percent of patients reported increased requirement of inhaled beta(2)-agonist use. The patients were followed for 15 +/- 9 months. One patient died of stroke at 22 weeks of follow-up. In conclusion, use of selective beta(1)-adrenergic blocking drugs at a therapeutic dose is safe (as long as careful clinical follow-up is available) and should be considered in all patients with coexisting symptomatic coronary artery disease and bronchospastic airway disease.


In this day and age when 3D cinema is ever increasing in popularity and 3D television sets on the verge of becoming a reality in our homes, the media production companies are interested in looking at how they can start producing stereoscopic format media for this exciting medium. This thesis proposes a solution to parts of the stereoscopic production pipeline by examining and proposing the extent of the requirements of a plug-in to aid in the setting up and rendering of stereo pairs and ultimately proposing such a plug-in and modifying it to suit the proposed requirements. With a high emphasis on ensuring that the plug-in is capable of producing enjoyable stereoscopic content, the plug-in is tested by rendering a demanding scene previously used in factual production work. The findings of these tests ultimately lead to the evaluation of the plug-ins usefulness as a tool for not only the production studio involved but for anyone interested in generating material for this exciting medium.


Cellular aging is often associated with an increase in protein carbonyl groups arising from oxidationand glycation-related phenomena and suppressed proteasome activity. These "aged" polypeptides may either be degraded by 20S proteasomes or cross-link to form structures intractable to proteolysis and inhibitory to proteasome activity. Carnosine ( -alanyl-L-histidine) is present at surprisingly high levels (up to 20 mM) in muscle and nervous tissues in many animals, especially long-lived species. Carnosine can delay senescence in cultured human fibroblasts and reverse the senescent phenotype, restoring a more juvenile appearance. As better antioxidants/free-radical scavengers than carnosine do not demonstrate these antisenescent effects, additional properties of carnosine must contribute to its antisenescent activity. Having shown that carnosine can react with protein carbonyls, thereby generating "carnosinylated" polypeptides using model systems, we propose that similar adducts are generated in senescent cells exposed to carnosine. Polypeptide-carnosine adducts have been recently detected in beef products that are relatively rich in carnosine, and carnosine's reaction with carbonyl functions generated during amino acid deamidation has also been described. Growth of cultured human fibroblasts with carnosine stimulated proteolysis of long-labeled proteins as the cells approached their "Hayflick limit," consistent with the idea that carnosine ameliorates the senescence-associated proteolytic decline. We also find that carnosine suppresses induction of heme-oxygenase-1 activity following exposure of human endothelial cells to a glycated protein. The antisenescent activity of the spin-trap agent -phenyl-N-t-butylnitrone (PBN) towards cultured human fibroblasts resides in N-t-butyl-hydroxylamine, its hydrolysis product. As hydroxylamines are reactive towards aldehydes and ketones, the antisenescent activity of N-t-butyl-hydroxylamine and other hydroxylamines may be mediated, at least in part, by reactivity towards macromolecular carbonyls, analogous to that proposed for carnosine.


The paper examines the nuclear arms race in South Asia. The security competition between India and Pakistan has been characterised by an action-reaction spiral. The paper traces the nuclear arms competition between the two South Asian rivals and argues that this relationship is a classic case of a security dilemma whereby one state's actions cause insecurity to the other, and the other state's efforts to augment its security make the first one insecure. The paper, thus, develops a theoretical explanation for the incessant arms race between India and Pakistan. India decided to take the nuclear weapons route, Pakistan followed; India developed sophisticated ballistic and cruise missiles, Pakistan followed; India adopted an aggressive doctrine, the Cold Start, Pakistan responded by developing tactical nuclear weapons; India is developing ballistic missile defence and Pakistan is sure to respond by adjusting its nuclear force posture. It is thus not the individual weapons systems but the security dilemma that is the cause of instability in highly volatile South Asia.


This paper summarizes the design principles underlying the WISCO Database of Occupations for the measurement of occupations in multi-country web-surveys by means of selfidentification. It is discussed why the Database has been designed, and its source list, search tree and translations. The Database holds almost 1,600 occupational titles. Using a wide variety of sources, the list of occupational titles has been compiled as part of the FP6 funded EurOccupations project. It is explained how the Database deals with issues such as skill levels, corporate hierarchies, job ladders, managerial and supervisory occupations, craft versus manufacturing occupations, composite occupations and the methods used for translations. Finally, the paper sketches briefly how the database is used in the worldwide WageIndicator web-survey. For more information see www.euroccupations.org or www.wageindicator.org


Since 2001, China has warily watched the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and associated footprint in Central Asia. In 2014, Beijing grew alarmed that a U.S. exit would prompt a resurgence of violence and Islamic radicalism in Afghanistan that could spill over into neighboring states, including China.


The larynx is part of the upper respiratory tract and is responsible for phonation. It allows air to pass between the pharynx and the trachea, but prevents food from entering the airways. Laryngeal neoplasms, including rhabdomyosarcomas, are uncommon in dogs. However, these tumors can trigger numerous progressive clinical signs related to respiratory difficulty and altered phonation. The diagnosis of laryngeal cancer should be made based on the history and symptoms of the patient, combined with complementary tests. The treatment of choice is surgical excision, combined or not with chemotherapy. In view of the low incidence of laryngeal cancer, the objective of the present work was to describe a case of laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma detected during necropsy of an adult dog and diagnosed by histopathology, in addition to raising awareness about the importance of the diagnosis and early therapy for the quality of life and survival of affected patients. The results showed that the location of the tumor impaired its early diagnosis. Although malignant, the animal did not develop metastases as has been described in the literature.


Cognitive impairment caused by chemotherapy, referred to as "chemobrain," is observed in approximately 70% of cancer survivors. However, it is not completely understood how chemotherapy induces cognitive dysfunction, and clinical treatment strategies for this problem are lacking. Metformin, used as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus, is reported to reduce the effects of chemobrain. Recently, several studies have examined the effect of metformin in rescuing chemobrain. This review discusses recent clinical/preclinical studies that addressed some mechanisms of chemobrain and evaluates the effect of metformin in rescuing chemobrain and its potential mechanisms of action.


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate cardiovascular factors, quality of life (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and the living environment health) and body composition in physically active and sedentary elderly women.

Methods: In this quasi-experimental, applied research, the study population included 724 elderly women aged 65-75 years old at a day rehabilitation center affiliated to the Welfare Organization of Shiraz. A total of 173 women assigned to two groups [active (n: 75) and sedentary (n: 98) participated voluntarily in this study.Inclusion criteria were regular participation in the sports program of the center for at least three years for the active group and lack of performing exercise of any type for sedentary group. Quality of life was investigated through the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire, body mass index (BMI) calculated by the formula body weight (kg) divided by the square of the body height (m), and homocysteine level by hematologic measurements.Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. The significance level (P) was considered <0.05.

Results: There was a significant difference in the values of physical health (P≤0.001), psychological health (P≤0.001), social relationships (P≤0.001), life environment health (P≤0.001), quality of life (P≤0.001), homocysteine level (P≤0.001) and BMI (P≤0.001) between the two groups. Homocysteine level and BMI were significantly, inversely correlated with quality of life in active women(P≤0.05), but homocysteine level and BMI were insignificantly and inversely correlated with quality of life in sedentary women(P>0.05).


Author(s): Le, Anne | Abstract: Gender has been an extremely lively area of research for decades, and this is especially true in medieval studies. Recently, medievalists have directed efforts to understanding cross-cultural and cross-religious contacts. However, these two research directions-- gender and cross-cultural encounters-- have yet to merge in a sustained exploration. My project aims to investigate the link between religious difference and gendering in a study of Le Conte de Floire et Blanchefleur. This romance crafts a narrative that suggests that there is a correlation, if not causation, between religious status and gender presentation. Floire is a pagan (though presumably Muslim) prince who falls in love with Blanchefleur, who is the daughter of aChristian servant. The young prince voyages to the East to save his beloved from the clutches of an emir. However, what is curious is the process of religious conversion he undergoes and the resulting changes in his appearance as his journey progresses. His travels and the people heencounters apper to function to underscore Floire's various attributes. One can trace how Floire's physical appearance changes from something feminine to masculine as he assumes a Christian identity through his rescue quest and conversion.Floire's metamorphosis is compelling in that is it an inversion of the later medieval paradigm of Saracen women falling in love with Christian men. I plan to examine the significance of Floire's inversion and conversion toward Christianity and masculinity. The text offers one of the earliest examples of gendering discourse in the romance genre, and it is distinct from the later conversion tales that involve Saracen women. The project will thus examine the topos of converted Saracen women in other medieval texts that deal with issues of gender and religious difference in order to understand how potentially transgressive Floire's transformation is. This comparative investigation would elucidate if Floire et Blanchefleur is unique in how it treats gender and religion in a multicultural context. The romance offers a glimpse into some medieval French notions of the Other through this lens of travel, which uncovers attitudes toward gender and religion.


Endothelial cell function and angiogenesis are modulated by aging. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we show that in telomerase-deficient mice Terc / , short telomeres result in a sharp decrease in angiogenesis in both Matrigel implants and murine melanoma grafts. In the latter model, decreased microvessel counts in late generation Terc / mice led to diminished tumor cell proliferation and increased tumor cell apoptosis, resulting in a lower tumor growth rate. Our results indicate that telomere length is a key molecular determinant of angiogenic potential in vivo and that telomere length modifiers and telomerase inhibitors could be useful antiangiogenic agents.


Abstract. Peroxy radicals were measured by a PeRCA (Peroxy Radical Chemical Amplifier) instrument in the boundary layer during the DOMINO (Diel Oxidant Mechanisms In relation to Nitrogen Oxides) campaign at a coastal, forested site influenced by urban-industrial emissions in southern Spain in late autumn. Total peroxy radicals (RO 2 * = HO 2 + ΣRO 2 ) generally showed a daylight maximum between 10 and 50 pptv at 13:00 UTC, with an average of 18 pptv over the 15 days of measurements. Emissions from the industrial area of Huelva often impacted the measurement site at night during the campaign. The processing of significant levels of anthropogenic organics leads to an intense nocturnal radical chemistry accompanied by formation of organic peroxy radicals at comparable levels to those of summer photochemical conditions with peak events up to 60–80 pptv. The RO 2 production initiated by reactions of NO 3 with organic trace gases was estimated to be significant, but not sufficient to account for the concentrations of RO 2 * observed in air masses carrying high pollutant loading. The nocturnal production of peroxy radicals in those periods seems therefore to be dominated by ozonolysis of volatile organic compounds, in particular alkenes of industrial petrochemical origin. RO 2 * diurnal variations were consistent with HO 2 measurements available at the site. HO 2 /RO 2 * ratios generally varied between 0.3 and 0.6, though on some occasions this ratio was likely to have been affected by instrumental artifacts (overestimated HO 2 ) associated with high RO 2 loads.


Estimating the direction of arrival of sound in three-dimensional space is typically performed by generalized time-delay processing on a set of signals from a fixed array of omnidirectional microphones. This requires specialized multichannel A/D hardware, and careful arrangement of the microphones into an array. This work is motivated by the desire to instead only use standard two-channel audio A/D hardware and portable equipment. To estimate direction of arrival of persistent sound, the position of the microphones is made variable by mounting them on one or more computer-controlled pan-and-tilt units. In this paper, we describe the signal processing and control algorithm of a device with two omnidirectional microphones on a fixed baseline and two rotational degrees of freedom. Experimental results with real data are reported with both impulsive and speech sounds in an untreated, normally reverberant indoor environment.


Structural Differences and Asymmetric Shocks between the Czech Economy and the Euro Area 12 The goal of this paper is to determine whether there exist asymmetric shocks and structural differences between the Czech economy and the Euro Area 12. A New Keynesian DSGE model of a small open economy is used for this purpose. Asymmetric shocks and structural differences are examined in two ways. At first, I examine asymmetry of shocks and sources of structural differences, using model comparison based on the Bayes factor. I do not find substantial evidence in favor of heterogeneity in household preferences. I find slight differences in price and wage formation and substantial difference in interest rate smoothing. However, the main differences are in timing, persistence and volatility of structural shocks. I also investigate impact of structural differences and differences in persistence and volatility of structural shocks on the behavior of both economies, using analysis of impulse-response functions. I find no substantial differences in responses of the main variables to preference shocks. On the other hand, I find much larger volatility and persistence of domestic technology shocks. This contributes to the fact that responses of domestic variables to technology shocks are much larger, and display more gradual and hump-shaped pattern than responses of foreign variables. I also find that responses of foreign variables to labour supply shocks are much more gradual and sluggish than responses of domestic variables. As regards monetary shocks, I find that there is almost no response of foreign inflation to foreign monetary shock while response of domestic inflation to domestic monetary shock displays substantial decline followed by gradual recovery. Responses of foreign variables to cost-push shocks are larger and more volatile than responses of domestic variables.


Recently, the study of fine grain steels aimed at achieving into high strength has become active. Welding is one of the most effective methods for connecting the structural components. For those cases, the negative influence of any residual tensile stress induced during the welding process must be considered. It has been proved that shot-peening can effectively solve this problem. However, the influence of the Shot-Peening process on fine grain steels after welding has only been briefly reported up to now. In this study, fine grain steels were used, and specimens were obtained after heat treatment. Residual stress distributions near the surface of the fine grain steel after shot-peening were measured by X-ray diffraction technology. Moreover, the effect of hardness on distributions near the shot-peened surface was also estimated.


The Research in Librarianship – Impact Evaluation Project (RiLIES – pronounced "realise") completed in August 2011 explored the extent to which funded librarianship research projects influence library practice in the UK. Of particular interest in the findings are the factors that increase or hinder the impact of project outcomes on practice. This presentation relates the main findings of the project related to: the relationship between the library and information science research and practitioner communities; how researchers can improve the impact of their research with careful attention to how projects are planned, conceived, implemented and reported; organisational factors that support the development of a receptive audience for research output.


Development of transportation in the city of Surabaya is very dependent on the implementation of public policies carried out by the Surabaya City government, because improper implementation will not get the support of the citizens or be rejected by the citizens. The implementation of transportation policy was once rejected by residents, namely when the city government wanted to make the city center toll, because according to the government the city center toll would solve the transportation problem. For this reason with the advice of consultants, the city government transferred the city center toll program to Midle East Ring Road (MERR) and Frontage Road. With these two infrastructure development programs, it is expected that transportation development can be accepted by the citizens of Surabaya City. The construction and development of this infrastructure is a long-term development or sustainable development, thus involving regulations from the central government, the East Java provincial government and the Surabaya City government.

Keywords: Surabaya City, Transportation, Implementation of Public Policy, Sustainable Development


We present the first direct comparison and calibration of a down-core foraminiferal Mg/Ca record to historical instrumental sea surface temperature (SST). Mg/Ca measured on the planktic foraminifer Globigerina bulloides from a Cariaco Basin sediment core strongly correlate with spring (March-May) instrumental SSTs between AD 1870 and 1990. A Mg/Ca-SST equation is derived and a paleo-SST record is presented spanning the last eight centuries, an interval that includes the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. The longterm record displays a surprising amount of variability. The temperature swings are not necessarily related to local upwelling variability, but instead represent wider conditions in the Caribbean and western tropical Atlantic. The Mg/Ca-SST record also captures the decadal and multidecadal variability global land and sea surface temperature anomalies and Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane frequency over the late-19 and 20 centuries. A divergence between the SST proxy record and Atlantic storm frequency around 1970 appears to reflect a fundamental change in Atlantic hurricane behavior noted in historical data. On average, 20th century temperatures are not the warmest in the entire record, but they do show the largest increase in magnitude and fastest rate of SST change over the last eight hundred years. 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49


This study addresses the problem of combining radar information and gauge measurements. Gauge measurements are the best available source of absolute rainfall intensity albeit their spatial availability is limited. Precipitation information obtained by radar mimics well the spatial patterns but is biased for their absolute values. In this study copula models are used to describe the dependence structure between gauge observations and rainfall derived from radar reflectivity at the corresponding grid cells. After appropriate time series transformation to generate "iid" variates, only the positive pairs (radar >0, gauge >0) of the residuals are considered. As not each grid cell can be assigned to one gauge, the integration of point information, i.e. gauge rainfall intensities, is achieved by considering the structure and the strength of dependence between the radar pixels and all the gauges within the radar image. Two different approaches, namely Maximum Theta and Multiple Theta , are presented. They finally allow for generating precipitation fields that mimic the spatial patterns of the radar fields and correct them for biases in their absolute rainfall intensities. The performance of the approach, which can be seen as a bias-correction for radar fields, is demonstrated for the Bavarian Alps. The bias-corrected rainfall fields are compared to a field of interpolated gauge values (ordinary kriging) and are validated with available gauge measurements. The simulated precipitation fields are compared to an operationally corrected radar precipitation field (RADOLAN). The copula-based approach performs similarly well as indicated by different validation measures and successfully corrects for errors in the radar precipitation.


Recommender systems assist users in the daunting task of sifting through large amounts of data in order to select relevant information or items. Common examples include consumer products and services, such as for songs, books, articles, etc. Unfortunately, such systems may be subject to attack by malicious users who want to manipulate the system's recommendations to suit their needs: to promote their own (or demote a competitor's) product/service, or to cause disruption in the recommender system. Attacks can cause the recommender system to become unreliable and untrustworthy, resulting in user dissatisfaction. Developers already face tradeoffs in system efficiency and accuracy, and designing for robustness adds an additional dimension for consideration. In this paper, we show how the underlying implementation choices for item-based and user-based Collaborative Filtering recommender systems can affect the accuracy and robustness of recommender systems. We also show how accuracy and robustness can change over a system's lifetime by analyzing a set of temporal snapshots from system usage over time. Results provide insight into some of the tradeoffs between robustness and accuracy that operators may need to consider in development and evaluation.


Most thermal models of subduction zones assume no advection of heat by fluid flow because slow flow through underthrusting sediment, the decollement, and wedge likely transports only a minor amount of heat. We model coupled fluid and heat transport in a subduction zone and show that hydrothermal circulation in subducting basaltic basement rocks can have a great influence on subduction zone temperatures. Fractured basaltic basement has permeability several orders of magnitude higher than a typical decollement, allowing fluid circulation to redistribute and extract heat from a subduction zone. We simulate systems with upper basaltic basement permeability ranging from 10−13 to 10−10 m2. In addition, we incorporate the effect of permeability reduction within the basaltic basement as it is subducted. The models with fluid transport show suppressed temperatures along the subducting slab relative to models with no fluid transport. With continuous sediment cover, heat is extracted from under the margin wedge to the trench. In models where faulted ocean crust exposes high-permeability basement to the ocean floor, cooling from ocean bottom water results in highly suppressed heat flow relative to conductive models. Hydrothermally cooled ocean crust also acts to slow thermally controlled diagenetic reaction progress within subducting sediment.


Abstract The cognitive dimensions framework is a broad-brush evaluation technique for interactive devices and for non-interactive notations. It sets out a small vocabulary of terms designed to capture the cognitively-relevant aspects of structure, and shows how they can be traded off against each other. The purpose of this paper is to propose the framework as an evaluation technique for visual programming environments. We apply it to two commercially-available dataflow languages (with further examples from other systems) and conclude that it is effective and insightful; other HCI-based evaluation techniques focus on different aspects and would make good complements. Insofar as the examples we used are representative, current VPLs are successful in achieving a good 'closeness of match', but designers need to consider the 'viscosity ' (resistance to local change) and the 'secondary notation' (possibility of conveying extra meaning by choice of layout, colour, etc.).


We proposed counter doping into a heavily and uniformly doped channel region of SOI MOSFETs. This enabled us to suppress the short channel effects with proper threshold voltage V/sub th/ and to eliminate parasitic edge or back gate transistors. We derived a model for V/sub th/ as a function of the projected range, Rp and dose, /spl Phi//sub D/, of the counter doping, and showed that V/sub th/ is invariable even when the as-implanted counter doping profile redistributes. Using this technology, we demonstrated a V/sub th/ roll-off free 0.075 /spl mu/m-L/sub Geff/ nMOSFET with low off-state current.


Wind power is an energy source that is becoming increasingly popular in Sweden and around the world. The establishment of large wind farms supply and contributes to energy production within grid in search of a more sustainable energy production. Wind power is becoming more popular and opens up new areas of implementation. More cities are starting to use small-scale urban wind power, everything from full-scale work for a little less work adapted to the villas. Sweden has high goals regarding the production of green electricity and the work which deals with the conditions Sweden plays in achieving those goals. Reason for wind power is most effective in landscapes with low surface roughness because the wind does not have any obstacles and therefore gain much speed, resulting in more energy. Wind conditions in the urban environment are more complicated. Construction and major changes to the landscape affect the wind profile and complex calculations are required. As this is a more and more attractive energy source different types of software and wind mapping has been developed which facilitates the implementation of urban wind.More barriers than technical aspects come into play when wind power is moving into the city. A wind turbine can affect the urban landscape, depending on where and how it is established. In urban areas, the large field directly attractive areas because out of its favorable wind conditions. Depending on how the wind turbine is placed it can effect the overall interpetation of the landscape.Hydrological aspects must be evaluated when the channels to pipes must be buried. The local flora and biodiversity may be affected if this was not investigated thoroughly. Birds and bats have a habit of colliding with the rotor blades and within species where population is sparse effects of deceased individuals may be serious. These are some of the aspects that should be evaluated.When the wind is placed in proximity to locations within urban areas where people have leisure activities it may have a negative impact on public perception of the natural image. J‰rvaf‰ltet discussed in this report is full of recreational activities monuments and cultural values. It is important to properly evaluate sam strategic placement of establishment of wind on a minimal impact on the social and cultural life in an area.The report summarizes the main aspects related urban wind power implementation in J‰rvaf‰ltet, just north of Stockholm city. Benefits are highlighted in a report through literature studies and interviews with key people . A part of the report presents general information about wind, wind energy, wind turbines, etc. The runner remainder highlights a current situation where urban wind power was being established and discusses the conditions for Sweden to become a producer of green energy.


Convolutional sparse coding (CSC) is a promising direction for unsupervised learning in computer vision. In contrast to recent supervised methods, CSC allows for convolutional image representations to be learned that are equally useful for high-level vision tasks and low-level image reconstruction and can be applied to a wide range of tasks without problem-specific retraining. Due to their extreme memory requirements, however, existing CSC solvers have so far been limited to low-dimensional problems and datasets using a handful of low-resolution example images at a time. In this paper, we propose a new approach to solving CSC as a consensus optimization problem, which lifts these limitations. By learning CSC features from large-scale image datasets for the first time, we achieve significant quality improvements in a number of imaging tasks. Moreover, the proposed method enables new applications in high-dimensional feature learning that has been intractable using existing CSC methods. This is demonstrated for a variety of reconstruction problems across diverse problem domains, including 3D multispectral demosaicing and 4D light field view synthesis.


Recently, biofuel processing has produced a large amount of biofuel coproducts. However, to date, there is little information on the metabolic characteristics of proteins and energy in biofuel coproduct-based rations. The objective of this study was to study the metabolic characteristics of proteins and energy in biofuel coproduct-based rations in terms of (1) chemical and nutrient profiles, (2) protein and carbohydrate subfraction associated with various degradation rate, (3) rumen and intestinal degradation and digestion kinetics, and (4) metabolic characteristics of proteins. Two sources of grain corn were mixed with two sources of biofuel coproducts (wheat-based dried distillers grains with solubles, wDDGS) in ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75%. The study revealed that increasing the biofuel coproduct inclusion level increased most of the nutritional components linearly (P < 0.05) except starch, which linearly decreased. With increasing biofuel coproduct inclusion level, the rumen degradation rate and the effective degradability of organic matter were not affected (P > 0.05), but the effective degradability of starch was decreased (P < 0.05). Effective degradation of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber as well as predicted truly absorbed protein supply in the small intestine and degraded protein balance were increased (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the inclusion of the biofuel coproduct up to 25-50% in rations improved potential nitrogen and energy synchronization for microbial growth and improved truly absorbable protein supply to the small intestine, without altering energy value.


A cross-sectional study, a follow-up study, and an intervention trial were carried out to investigate the association between mild vitamin A deficiency and the occurrence of diarrhea and respiratory diseases. Cross-sectional analysis was performed among 1,772 children, aged 1-8 years, in the Sakon Nakhon province of northeastern Thailand. Children with a history of diarrhea or respiratory disease had lower levels of serum retinol and retinol-binding protein. Adjusted for age, sex, nutritional status, and level of urbanization, logistic regression using data for 877 children showed a negative association between serum retinol and both diarrhea and respiratory diseases. A follow-up three months later (n = 146 children) showed that children with deficient serum retinol (less than 0.35 mumol/liter) had a fourfold greater risk of respiratory disease (p less than 0.01). No relation was found for diarrhea. An intervention trial (n = 166 children aged 1-5 years) showed that, during 2 months of follow-up after administration of oral vitamin A (200,000 IU), the control group (aged 3-5 years) had a higher incidence of respiratory disease (2.9 times) as well as diarrhea (3.1 times). Between 2 and 4 months, a significantly (p less than 0.025) higher incidence of respiratory diseases (2.5 times) could be observed in children aged 1-2 years. This study supports earlier reports on a greater risk of respiratory diseases and of diarrhea in mild vitamin A deficiency. Supplementation reduced the incidence of both diarrhea and respiratory disease for a period of at least 2 months.


This paper, after exploring the importance and relevance of learning transfer to the development of and research into games for learning, presents a reconceptualisation of learning transfer as "preparation for future learning" (Bransford & Swartz 1999) and goes on to describe efforts to develop a web-based space game to facilitate learning transfer in this sense to a series of novel learning tasks presented as part of an innovative interactive astronomy exhibit for children. Discussion is offered with regard to the game design and development process – the latter based on the Adobe Flash CS3 environment – and with regard to results of the pilot of a "proof of concept" game prototype with a group of 26 boys aged 10-12. Some initial conclusions are drawn with regard to necessary improvements to both game design and research design; issues such as frequency of practice and cognitive fidelity are proposed in closing as important conditions for game-based preparation for future learning.


In Australia, the number of female graduates in some science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is as low as 15%. With the Australian Government recently announcing a decadal plan for women in STEM, efforts to close this gender gap are a priority for policy makers and researchers. Yet, in Australia little research exists on the gendered experiences of undergraduate STEM students. As a female STEM graduate, my experiences have driven my passion for my current PhD research on gender diversity in science. In this talk, I will discuss the stories of undergraduate women in STEM through three lenses: previous Australian research, experiences of females in the 'gender-balanced' STEM disciplines and my own experience as a woman in STEM. A systematic review exploring the gender issues for undergraduate science students was undertaken in 2018, followed by a pilot study on biology and chemistry students at Monash University, Australia. Findings showed that females still experienced discrimination, regardless of increased gender representation in the classroom, but paradoxically believed that issues of gender were restricted to other science disciplines. Australian science educators must be aware of the gendered experience of their undergraduate science students to help improve female retention in this pipeline.


This review adds the bilin-binding phytochromes to the Chemical Reviews thematic issue "Optogenetics and Photopharmacology". The work is structured into two parts. We first outline the photochemistry of the covalently bound tetrapyrrole chromophore and summarize relevant spectroscopic, kinetic, biochemical, and physiological properties of the different families of phytochromes. Based on this knowledge, we then describe the engineering of phytochromes to further improve these chromoproteins as photoswitches and review their employment in an ever-growing number of different optogenetic applications. Most applications rely on the light-controlled complex formation between the plant photoreceptor PhyB and phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) or C-terminal light-regulated domains with enzymatic functions present in many bacterial and algal phytochromes. Phytochrome-based optogenetic tools are currently implemented in bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals to achieve light control of a wide range of biological activities. These cover the regulation of gene expression, protein transport into cell organelles, and the recruitment of phytochrome- or PIF-tagged proteins to membranes and other cellular compartments. This compilation illustrates the intrinsic advantages of phytochromes compared to other photoreceptor classes, e.g., their bidirectional dual-wavelength control enabling instant ON and OFF regulation. In particular, the long wavelength range of absorption and fluorescence within the "transparent window" makes phytochromes attractive for complex applications requiring deep tissue penetration or dual-wavelength control in combination with blue and UV light-sensing photoreceptors. In addition to the wide variability of applications employing natural and engineered phytochromes, we also discuss recent progress in the development of bilin-based fluorescent proteins.


INTRODUCTION
The appendectomy is a common emergent surgical procedure in the pediatric population. The aim of this study was to examine our institution's experience and outcomes in the appendectomy in the pediatric population early in our transition from open surgery to a predominantly laparoscopic approach.

METHODS
We retrospectively studied all pediatric patients (age 20 years) that underwent an appendectomy at a tertiary care center over 2 years. The data collected included patient demographics, comorbidities, operative details, outcomes, and complications.

RESULTS
Two hundred twenty-three consecutive patients, with a mean age of 9.5 (3.9) years, were included in the study. Forty-four laparoscopic and 179 open appendectomies were performed. Two of the laparoscopic cases were converted to open appendectomies. Significant differences were seen between the two groups, with longer operative times (P < 0.0001) and lower estimated blood loss (P = 0.007) in the laparoscopic group. Operative times improved significantly for the laparoscopic group as the surgeons became more experienced (P = 0.03). The laparoscopic group used intravenous pain medication for a shorter time (0.8 vs. 1.9 days; P = 0.0003) and had a shorter postoperative hospital length of stay (2.2 vs. 3.4 days; P = 0.004). The laparoscopic group had fewer wound infections (2.3% vs. 6.2%; P = 0.3), intra-abdominal abscesses (4.5% vs. 5.6%; P = 0.8), and postoperative ileus (0% vs. 2.2%; P = 0.3), although these differences did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSION
The laparoscopic appendectomy procedure is a safe alternative to open appendectomy in pediatric patients and results in shorter hospital stays with less postoperative pain.


This Article presents the history of the adoption assistance programs of the United States and analyzes state Medicaid practice related to the federal statutory provisions that established the benefit and the Constitutional guarantees of the freedom of travel. It argues that the state practice of denying Medicaid to a child based on the state from which the child is adopted clashes with the Supreme Court's decision in Saenz v. Roe which held that the Equal Protection Clause "does not tolerate a hierarchy of 45 subclasses of similarly situated citizens based on the location of their prior residence." This Article posits that children adopted with special needs who have been found to be Medicaid eligible remain Medicaid eligible regardless of the state from which they were adopted and the state in which they presently reside.


The photofragmentation dynamics of H2O molecules following vacuum ultraviolet laser excitation at wavelengths within the B1A1–X1A1 absorption band have been investigated using a novel from of photofragment translational spectroscopy. Analysis of the nascent H atom time-of-flight spectra confirms the importance of the dissociation channel leading to ground-state H + OH products. In addition, it reveals that the OH(X) fragments are formed predominantly in their zero-point vibrational level with a highly excited, inverted rotational-state population distribution. A consideration of the topology of the various potential-energy surfaces sampled by the H2O molecules during this electronically non-adiabatic dissociation process suggests a likely explanation for this observed pattern of energy disposal.


Nanomaterials have great potential to offer effective treatment against devastating diseases by providing sustained release of high concentrations of therapeutic agents locally, especially when the route of administration allows for direct access to the diseased tissues. Biodegradable polyphosphoester-based polymeric micelles and shell cross-linked knedel-like nanoparticles (SCKs) have been designed from amphiphilic block-graft terpolymers, PEBP-b-PBYP-g-PEG, which effectively incorporate high concentrations of paclitaxel (PTX). Well-dispersed nanoparticles physically loaded with PTX were prepared, exhibiting desirable physiochemical characteristics. Encapsulation of 10 wt% PTX, into either micelles or SCKs, allowed for aqueous suspension of PTX at concentrations up to 4.8 mg/mL, as compared to <2.0 μg/mL for the aqueous solubility of the drug alone. Drug release studies indicated that PTX released from these nanostructures was defined through a structure-function relationship, whereby the half-life of sustained PTX release was doubled through cross-linking of the micellar structure to form SCKs. In vitro, physically loaded micellar and SCK nanotherapeutics demonstrated IC50 values against osteosarcoma cell lines, known to metastasize to the lungs (CCH-OS-O and SJSA), similar to the pharmaceutical Taxol formulation. Evaluation of these materials in vivo has provided an understanding of the effects of nanoparticle structure-function relationships on intratracheal delivery and related biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. Overall, we have demonstrated the potential of these novel nanotherapeutics toward future sustained release treatments via administration directly to the sites of lung metastases of osteosarcoma.