False discovery rate (FDR) controlling procedures provide important statistical guarantees for replicability in signal identification based on multiple hypotheses testing. In many fields of study, FDR controlling procedures are used in high-dimensional (HD) analyses to discover features that are truly associated with the outcome. In some recent applications, data on the same set of candidate features are independently collected in multiple different studies. For example, gene expression data are collected at different facilities and with different cohorts, to identify the genetic biomarkers of multiple types of cancers. These studies provide us with opportunities to identify signals by considering information from different sources (with potential heterogeneity) jointly. This paper is about how to provide FDR control guarantees for the tests of union null hypotheses of conditional independence. We present a knockoff-based variable selection method (Simultaneous knockoffs) to identify mutual signals from multiple independent data sets, providing exact FDR control guarantees under finite sample settings. This method can work with very general model settings and test statistics. We demonstrate the performance of this method with extensive numerical studies and two real data examples. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The declaration of a new constitution of Kenya on 31st August 2010 successfully made two levels of government; the national and county governments. Establishment of health services is one of the tasks that were devolved to the county. Devolution of health functions was meant to enhance access to more-fair and top-notch health services to the Kenyan citizens. This study sought to analyze the effect of devolution on human resource performance in healthcare sector in Kenya with special focus on Garissa County. The study specific objectives included to; examine how devolution has affected recruitment of health care staff in Garissa County; to analyze how devolution has affected training of health care staff in Garissa County. The study was guided by new public management theory. The study employed a descriptive research design to examine the effect of devolution on human resource performance in healthcare sector in Kenya. The target population was the healthcare workers with management portfolios and the sample population was 184 respondents which were arrived at using stratified sampling method.  Both primary and secondary data were accessed. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Descriptive proportions of the respondents and their cadres were derived. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically, while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The findings were presented using tables and charts. The study found out that devolution has affected human resource performance in healthcare sector in Garissa County. The study established that lack of proper methods of recruitment of health care staff; lack of training of health care staff and application of ineffective methods of procurement of medical facilities hindered the performance of health care staff in the County. The study drew conclusion that the major effect of devolution on human resource performance in healthcare sector in Kenya; a case of Garissa County includes; recruitment of health care staff; training of health care staff and procurement of medical facilities. The study recommended that the County government should employ effective employee recruitment methods by hiring staff with technical expertise in health services delivery; the County government should also allocate and efficiently distribute enough financial resources to fund the recruitment exercise; the recruited staff should be better remunerated in order to improve their level of motivation and job satisfaction. The study further recommended that the County government should implement an effective and continuous employee training and development programmes on health care services delivery in the County. The County government should source and hire qualified doctors; employ enough and qualified nurses; hire enough and qualified support staff and give emphasis on hiring very experienced medical staff as lead trainers on health care services delivery in the County. The County government should adhere to all public procurement regulations in Kenya like public procurement and disposal act. The procurement methods should ensure that there is availability of medical facilities; there is a sufficient medical facility and there is high reliability of procured medical facilities in all regions in the County.


Mouse fibroblast cells overexpressing phosphatidylinositol transfer protein alpha [PI-TPalpha; sense PI-TPalpha (SPIalpha) cells] show a significantly increased rate of proliferation and an extreme resistance toward ultraviolet- or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis. The fact that the conditioned medium (CM) from SPIalpha cells demonstrates an increased mitogenic and anti-apoptotic activity compared with CM from wild-type NIH3T3 (wtNIH3T3) cells, shows that PI-TPalpha is involved in the production and secretion of bio-active eicosanoids, the production of which is cyclooxygenase 2 dependent. The PI-TPalpha-dependent anti-apoptotic factors act via activation of G protein-coupled receptor, most probably a cannabinoid 1-like receptor. Upon receptor activation, both the anti-apoptotic ERK/MAP kinase and the Akt/PKB pathway are activated. The ensuing activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB is in line with the increased resistance towards UV-induced apoptosis. On the other hand, receptor activation by CM from SPIalpha cells was not linked to phospholipase C. Characterization of the CM showed that CM from SPIalpha cells contains more than one anti-apoptotic factor, with the bulk of the anti-apoptotic factors displaying very hydrophobic properties. The fact that a large number of COX-2-dependent differences between CM from SPIalpha cells and CM from wtNIH3T3 cells have hydrophobic properties and masses similar to arachidonic acid, 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2AG) and anandamide (AEA) and that the anti-apoptotic activity present in CM from SPI? cells can be inhibited by a specific antagonist for the CB1 receptor, strongly suggests that the some of the anti-apoptotic factors secreted by SPIalpha cells belong to the family of endocannabinoids. On the other hand, the involvement of endocannabinoids 2AG and AEA was excluded. In contrast to SPIalpha cells, mouse fibroblast cells overexpressing PI-TPbeta (SPIbeta cells) demonstrate a low rate of proliferation and a high sensitivity towards UV-induced apoptosis compared with wtNIH3T3 cells. SPIbetaS262A cells overexpressing a mutant PI-TPbeta that lacks the protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation site Ser-262, demonstrate a phenotype comparable to wtNIH3T3 cells. This suggests that the sensitivity towards apoptosis is related to the phosphorylation of Ser-262 in PI-TPbeta. CM from SPIbeta cells lacks the anti-apoptotic activity demonstrated by CM from SPIalpha cells and to a lesser extent by CM from wtNIH3T3 cells. However, after heat denaturation CM from SPIbeta cells regains a protective activity comparable to that of CM from wtNIH3T3 cells. This indicates that CM from SPIbeta cells contains an antagonistic factor interfering with the anti-apoptotic activity present. SPIbetaS262A cells do not produce the antagonist suggesting that phosphorylation of Ser-262 is required. Since PI-TPalpha is involved in the production and secretion of mitogenic and anti-apoptotic arachidonic acid metabolites, we investigated the effect of prostaglandin (PG)E2 and PGF2alpha on cell survival. These prostaglandins, which are prominently present in CM from SPIalpha, were found to protect wtNIH3T3 and SPIbetaS262A cells against UV-induced apoptosis but failed to rescue SPIbeta cells. Concomitantly, upon incubation with PGE2 and PGF2alpha, an increased expression of COX-2 and activation of p42/p44 MAP kinase were observed in wtNIH3T3 and SPIbetaS262A cells but not in SPIbeta cells. Hence, it appears that specific mechanisms of cell survival are impaired in SPIbeta cells.


This article discusses the evolution of the nurse practitioner (NP) role from its inception 30 years ago to its changing status today. The history of educational programs for NPs is discussed, including the current controversy to combine the NP and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) roles at the master's level. Certification, practice opportunities, and salary ranges for NPs are examined in an effort to determine how far the NP role has really evolved.


Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are commonly considered as the main source of pharmaceuticals in surface waters. Here, however, we show that an open-air festival, attracting approximately 10,000 visitors per year at the shores of River Fyris upstream of Uppsala WWTP, can temporarily result in a higher pharmaceutical input into the river water than the WWTP. Studying the influence of Uppsala Reggae festival on the occurrence of ten commonly used acidic and basic pharmaceuticals upstream, in the effluent, and downstream of the Uppsala WWTP, we found that occasional heavy rainfalls during the festival in 2008 severely increased the mass flows of all pharmaceuticals at the WWTP upstream site. Also, strong increases in ammonium (210-fold), nitrate (21-fold), and total nitrogen (21-fold) mass flows were observed. The pharmaceutical mass flows at the upstream site were up to 3.4 times higher than those observed in the WWTP effluent. In contrast, in 2009, the festival was not accompanied with rainfalls and no major additional input of pharmaceuticals and nitrogen was observed. The findings of this study give new insights into risk assessments and are relevant for monitoring programmes.


What can governments do to encourage nonprofit hospitals to provide greater benefits to their communities? Recent efforts by the federal and state governments seek to hold hospitals accountable for community health, in part by incentivizing charity care provision. Laws that set benchmarks for charity care spending are increasingly used, but their efficacy is uncertain. In this study, we examine the extent to which Illinois' minimum charity care provision (MCCP) law increases nonprofit hospital charity care. Importantly, we differentiate between responses for hospitals required to provide minimal charitable spending (nonprofits) and those that are not (for-profit and public). We use detailed panel (2009-2015) data from Illinois' Annual Hospital Questionnaire and county-level data from the American Community Survey. We exploit a discrete change in charitable care requirements for nonprofit hospitals to identify the effect of the MCCP law on charity care, controlling for hospital characteristics, county demographics, and year and county (or hospital) fixed effects. Employing a differences-in-differences model, we find no evidence that the MCCP law increases charity care on average. Instead, we find some evidence that the law's effects vary by how much charity care hospitals provided previously – charity care increases for those providing lower levels at baseline, narrowing the gap in charity care provision with those that provide high levels at baseline. The results suggest that setting low benchmarks does not create sufficient incentives for nonprofit hospitals to provide greater charity care on average, but instead may narrow the gap between high and low charity care hospitals. JEL No.: I18, I11, H71


Prior research in both education and cognitive science has identified analogy making as a powerful tool for explanation as well as a fundamental mechanism for facilitating an individual's construction of knowledge. While a considerable body of research exists focusing on the role analogy plays in learning science concepts, relatively little is known about how instruction in the use of analogies might influence the teaching performance of preservice teachers. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between pedagogical analogy use and pedagogical reasoning ability in a sample of preservice elementary teachers (PTs), a group that has been identified for their particular difficulties in teaching science. The study utilized a treatment/contrast group design in which the treatment group was provided instruction that guided them in the generation of analogies to aid in the explanation phase of learning cycle lessons. A relationship between analogy use and positive indicants of teaching performance was observed and a case study of a low performing preservice teacher who drastically improved teaching performance using analogy-based pedagogy is presented. A notable effect on conceptual understanding of Newton's Third Law as a result of two brief analogy-based demonstration lessons was also observed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 565–585, 2007.


The publication date of the first edition is not stated, but the new edition is apparently considerably revised and expanded. It was written to serve as a multi-purpose text at the senior or graduate level and as a reference for the practicing scientist or engineer. Readers should have a math backgr


Severe burn injury results in profound metabolic derangements. Recently, we have shown that vitamin D metabolism is disturbed after burn injury. Vitamin D is essential for calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and skeletal bone integrity. The role of vitamin D on magnesium homeostasis is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of vitamin D deficiency on serum electrolytes. Forty-one pediatric burn patients with a mean (+/- SEM) total body surface area burn of 53.1 +/- 2.9% and full-thickness injury of 44.2 +/- 4.1% were studied from July 1996 to December 2000. The mean age of the patients was 6.5 +/- 0.8 years. Patients were studied for 6 weeks after admission to the hospital. Blood samples were obtained weekly for serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25D), 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25D), and daily for calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Total intravenous (IV) replacement of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus was also quantitated retrospectively. Bivariate and multivariate correlational analysis was used for statistical comparison. For the study duration, multivariate analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between 25D and serum calcium (r =.47, P <.05) and 1,25D and calcium (r =.27, P <.05). Overall, calcium had a positive correlation with phosphorus and a negative correlation with IV calcium replacement (ie, patients with lower calcium received more IV replacement). During the initial week of hospitalization (week 0), decreased 25D (mean 11.6 ng/ml; normal range 15-57 ng/ml) and 1,25D (mean 13.9 pg/ml; normal range 15-75 pg/ml) did not correlate with any other measured variable. In week 1, 1,25D (mean 15.2 ng/ml) had a positive correlation (r =.410, P <.05) with calcium (mean 7.70 mg/dl). Hypovitaminosis D observed in burn injury correlates with serum calcium and phosphorus abnormalities. Early after injury (<1 week) there was no observed correlation between vitamin D and other variables possibly because of the effects of burn shock. After 1 week, vitamin D appears to significantly effect phosphorus homeostasis. The relationship between vitamin D and magnesium is not well established. These results may indicate a role for vitamin D replacement therapy during the initial phase of burn resuscitation.


In this manuscript, we report the synthesis and X-ray characterization of three N6-aminoacid/peptide–adenine-derivatives; the zwitterion N6GlyAde·0.5H2O (1), its corresponding protonated form N6GlyAde·2HCl·H2O (2) and N6GlyGlyAde·H2O (3). In the zwitterion complex (1), the adenine is protonated at N(3) and the anionic carboxylate interacts with the imidazole ring of the neighbouring purine molecule. It also interacts with the water molecule that connects it to another adenine ring through N(7)–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The hydrochloride (compound 2) crystallizes forming a laminar structure and exhibits double protonation in the adenine ring (at N1 and N7). Moreover, energetically strong anion–π interactions are important for constructing the final solid state architecture in 2. Finally, compound 3, which presents a neutral adenine ring, crystallizes in a chiral point group and forms CH⋯O and CH⋯N H-bonding interactions in the solid state. We have also studied the noncovalent interactions energetically using DFT calculations and rationalized the interactions using Molecular Electrostatic Potential surfaces and Bader's theory of "Atoms-in-Molecules".


Capitale sociale e performance economica: un'applicazione al sistema di produzione dell'olio extra-vergine di oliva biologico della provincia di Bari - Social capital and economic firm performances: an application to the organic extravirgin olive oil net-chain in the province of Bari The supply chains of niche market goods like organic products are rapidly evolving. Compared to the conventional supply chains, these are more risky andmarket oriented. Therefore, to build stable networks along and among the chains is becoming an increasingly valuable as a competitive factor. The firms use these networks to exchange tangible and intangible assets. Structural social capital embedded in business networks could influence the firms' competitiveness. In this perspective it can be worthwhile for the possible normative suggestion for policy makers to consider the control over strategic resources spread in the environment out of the firm, as a competitive advantage source, together with the firm's internal resources. The external environment is characterized by a net of inter-firms relationships, which pertain to trade exchange, information exchange, shared norms and resources' association. The strategic resources inside the network, especially information, constitute an asset that companies need to improve their competitive advantage. The structure of relationships enabling the access to those resources, constitute the social capital (sc) which is revealed in the modalities with which firms place themselves in the net: higher the sc, the higher the economic performance. This study aims to show the significance of structural sc in influencing the firms' economic performances in agribusiness. We will try to test this hypothesis by analyzing the organic olive oil production system in the Province of Bari. In this study we refer to the form of sc linked to the firm's position inside the net-chain and to the idea of structural holes. Specifically, we decided to measure sc in terms of network constraints - a more constrained entrepreneurial activity implies less structural holes and therefore less sc. As for the firm performance measures, there are several indexes that could be appropriate: from the well known roi (Return on Investment) and ros (Return on Sale), to revenue. Actually, we selected the last one (revenue). It in fact the results are easier to find, and the productive structure of the firms involved in the organic olive oil processing can be considered quite homogeneous. To measure the structure of the relational web we adopt the Social Network Analysis (sna), a method based on the analysis of the actors (individuals, firms, and institutions) involved in a particular context and on the relationships between them. The subject of the analysis is the extra-virgin organic olive oil net-chain in the province of Bari. A set of economic institutions and organizations both located in this province and out of this territory but involved in processing and in trading the extravirgin organic olive oil. The results obtained, show that also in agribusiness netchains, as the organic olive oil, firms gain a higher competitive advantage if the are able to be central in the network of relationships, both horizontal and vertical, assuming an intermediary role in the transactional and informational flows. Further studies are still necessary, since the analysis completely disregards some key factors of competitiveness (although recognizing their relevance), which are not directly connected to the structure of relationships of the netchain as the relational social capital (e.g. trust, norms and expectations) and cognitive social capital (e.g. shared view, common language). JEL Code: L14 Key words: social capital, network analysis, netchain, economic performance, organic olive oil


In this article we focus on the presentation of the inner structure of the database for the content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system containing house images. The part devoted to image processing is signalled to the extent necessary for further database (DB) structure explanations to the reader. In this paper standard DB project methods in the Oracle 10 g system have been used to generate a database for storage and retrieval of house images. The main body of the article covers the DB description and explanation of the information flow between Oracle and Matlab. For our system, Matlab is applied in image preprocessing as well as retrieval of images, which are answers to user's queries.


We conducted a population-based survey in 2013 in Kampala, Uganda, to examine violence and mental health outcomes among self-settled male refugees from the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Male DRC refugees aged 18+ years were sampled through respondent-driven sampling. Key interview domains included demographics, experiences of sexual and nonsexual violence, social support, PTSD, depression and suicide ideation. Data analysis was weighted to generate population-level estimates. We sampled 718 men (mean age: 33 years), most of whom had lived in North or South Kivu. Nonsexual violence, such as beatings (79.4%) and torture (63.8%), was frequent. A quarter (26.2%) had been raped; 49.9% of rape victims had been raped on multiple occasions, and 75.7% of rape victims had been gang raped. We estimated 52.8% had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 44.4% reported suicidal ideation. Numerous traumas were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with PTSD such as rape (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.82), war-related injuries (aOR = 2.90) or having been exposed to >15 traumas (compared to ≤10; aOR = 6.89). Traumata are frequent experiences in this self-settled male refugee population and are often accompanied by adverse mental health outcomes. Screening for trauma and adverse mental health outcomes and providing targeted services are paramount to improve these refugees' lives.


Summary The sedimentary and evaporative environment that has prevailed on the southern shores of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf region, has produced salt encrusted flat areas known as 'sabkha', along the coast and in some nearby depressions. In this paper the morphology, development, mineralogy and hydrology of coastal sabkhas have been briefly reviewed. Geotechnical properties and problems associated with sabkha deposits have been described. The authors' general view of sabkha as cemented and uncemented layers of varying thickness and properties has been confirmed by a limited field study in terms of pits and boreholes carried out near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Calcium carbonate and more recent diagenetic minerals such as gyp-sum serve as the primary cementing agents. Laboratory experiments aimed at simulating the development of cementation in sabkha material, by chemically precipitating calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate within pluviated sand samples, have shown that marked increase in static penetration resistance is exhibited with the addition of 2-5% precipitate (by weight of sand) as compared to uncemented sands. The results also demonstrate the potential advantages of using static cone pentrometers in the field to assess the strength and layering of sabkha.


This thesis charts the trajectory of a strand of film-theoretical optimism in texts by Walter Benjamin (1882-1940), Siegfried Kracauer (1889-1966) and Alexander Kluge (1932–) from different moments in the twentieth century; the empirical corpus looks to post-reunification German and Austrian cinema to find evidence of this theoretical optimism in contemporary filmmaking practices. The thinkers advocate the leftist-political potential of film to stimulate a critical mode of spectatorship, and are to varying degrees influenced by Brecht and the neo- Marxist politics of the \({Frankfurter Institut fur Sozialforschung}\). The objective of this thesis is thus twofold. First, it illustrates the continuing relevance of the following principal strands in the film-theoretical texts of Benjamin, Kracauer and Kluge: the representation of the figure of the worker in the \(Arbeiterfilm\) genre; the possibilities and limits of capturing reality using different modes of realism; the imperative of challenging viewers in order to transform them from 'consumers' into collaborators; and, following on from this, notions of shock and distraction, focusing on Benjamin's concept of the 'Schockwirkung'. Second, it shows how this diachronic, neo-Marxist approach can continue to illuminate facets of the political in contemporary cinema by German-speaking directors in an age of advanced capitalism and digital reproducibility.


ABSTRACT The authors in this article argue that the Francisco Maestas et al vs. George H. Shone et al (1914) case is one of the earliest Mexican American challenges to school segregation in the United States. Unidentified for over a century, the lawsuit took place in southern Colorado, a region of the nation where Mexican Americans have deep historical roots. This case was unique because the racial background and linguistic needs of Mexican American children were contested. First, plaintiffs (Mexican Americans) argued their children were racially distinct as Mexicans and used the Colorado Constitution to challenge segregation because the state prohibited public schools from classifying and distinguishing children based on color and race. Defendants (school board members and the superintendent) countered that Mexican American children were Caucasian and claimed they were no different from other White children in the school district. Second, school district officials maintained that non-English speaking Mexican American children were placed in a separate school in order to serve their linguistic needs. The district court judge discovered that school officials had created a policy that sent all Mexican American children to the separate school. To the extent that many Mexican American children were English speaking, the district court judge ruled in favor of Francisco Maestas on the grounds that school officials could not prevent English-speaking Mexican American children from attending schools of their choice in general and schools that were closer to their homes in particular.


Polymer-induced liquid precursor (PILP) phases of calcium carbonate have attracted significant interest due to possible applications in materials synthesis, and their resemblance to intermediates seen in biogenic mineralisation processes. Further, these PILP phases have been formed in vitro using polyelectrolytes such as poly(aspartic acid) which bears many structural parallels to the highly acidic biomacromolecules that are associated with biogenic calcium carbonate. This article describes experiments which investigate how the composition of acidic polypeptides determines their ability to form PILP phases of CaCO3, and therefore whether it is feasible that the acidic biomacromolecules extracted from CaCO3 biominerals could also function in this way. A series of random copoly(amino acid)s constructed from 80–20%, 50–50% and 20–80% aspartic acid and serine residues were synthesised and their effect on CaCO3 precipitation was determined. A strong correlation between the composition and function of the polypeptide was observed. Only the polypeptide containing 80% aspartic acid residues (Asp80%–Ser20%) induced the formation of continuous CaCO3 films, which provide a fingerprint of an intermediary PILP phase, while addition of Mg2+ also facilitated the formation of expanded film-like structures with the polypeptide Asp50%–Ser50%. In contrast, the weakly-acidic polypeptide Asp20%–Ser80% had only a minor effect on the crystal morphologies and also failed to aid infiltration of CaCO3 into small pores. These results therefore demonstrate that counter-ion induced phase separation of highly acidic biomacromolecules proteins appears to be entirely feasible based upon their composition, but that evidence for the operation of this mineralisation mechanism in vivo is still required.


Study Design Compute tomography scans of the dens were performed on patients who had no atlantoaxial pathology. Objectives To determine whether one or two screws is optimal for fracture fixation and whether two screws can always negotiate the intramedullary odontoid cavity. Summary of Background Data. Fixation of Type Ii dens fractures traditionally has used C1-C2 posterior wiring and fusion. Two screws placed across an odontoid fracture as a method of rigid internal fixation also has been described. However, it is not known whether two screws can always negotiate the odontoid canal. Methods Ninety-two consecutive computerized tomography scans of the dens were performed on adults who had no atiantoaxial pathology. Measurements were taken from the scan and compared with the cross-sectional diameter of two odontoid screws. Results The critical diameter for the placement of two 3.5-mm cortical screws with tapping was 9.0 mm. This dimension was present in 95% of the patients studied. Conclusions Correct orientation of the computerized tomography scanner is critical for accurate measurements. Two 3.5-mm screws can be used in internal fixation of Type II dens fractures in 95% of the patients if the inner cortex is tapped.


This paper presents a model for assessing the quality of primary dental care and tests its applicability in municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The model features two components: Management of Oral Health and Provision of Primary Oral Health Care. The first consists of the sub-components Inter-Sector Practice, Community Participation, Human Resources, and Infrastructure. The second includes the sub-components Promotion/Prevention and Diagnosis and Treatment throughout the life cycle (childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age). Forty indicators were developed in workshops with a group of experts. 207 municipalities participated in the evaluation, yielding a response rate of 70.6%. The model proved to be applicable and highly beneficial to municipalities of different sizes, allowing the identification of areas in which municipal managers need to improve their oral health practices. Another important contribution relates to managers' awareness of the need to improve data recording.


Abstract:  Thymus‐ and activation‐regulated chemokine (TARC)/CCL17 and cutaneous T cell‐attracting chemokine (CTACK)/CCL27 are both pivotal mediators of the inflammatory reaction of atopic dermatitis (AD). TARC attracts CCR4 positive T cells known to be mainly of Th2 subtype whereas CTACK attracts skin‐homing T cells of both Th1 and Th2 subtype that express CCR10. We found that CTACK can be induced in cultured human keratinocytes by tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), but not by TARC alone. However, if the keratinocytes were preincubated with TNF‐a for 6 h, TARC was able to augment the CTACK‐inducing effect of TNF‐a. Performing immunohistochemical stainings, reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), and Western blotting, we found that TNF‐a‐induced CCR4 mRNA production, but that stimulated as well as non‐stimulated keratinocytes expressed CCR4. In order to see if these results had any clinical relevance, we investigated the plasma concentrations of TARC and CTACK from 48 patients suffering from AD. This revealed that TARC and CTACK concentrations in plasma correlate with each other. Surprisingly, p‐CTACK correlated inversely with SCORAD scores of the patients, which most likely is due to the treatment the patients received. Our results suggest that the primary Th2‐dominated inflammatory reaction in AD induced by TARC leads to an augmented skin‐specific inflammatory reaction through CTACK.


Through several thousands years of clinical research and theoretical thoughts, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has accumulated rich experiences on cirrhosis. However, the usage of Chinese herbal medicines in formulae are flexible in TCM clinical practice according to pattern differentiation. So, it is important to get the composition rules of Chinese herbal medicines through literatures. Based on the keyword list of Chinese herbal medicine, pattern, and symptoms, through the keyword filtering skill, we got the lists of Chinese herbal medicines. However, for Chinese herbal medicines, they are not only mentioned in the plain format of herb names, but also densely described in the form of formulae (also called Chu-Fang, Yao-Fang or Tang-Yao in Chinese). As formulae are composed by Chinese herbal medicines according the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, so, it is necessary to filtering them out and de-compose them back into specified Chinese herbal medicines. In this study, take cirrhosis for example, we explored the composition-rules of Chinese herbal medicines and the network of TCM pattern with them. By doing this, we might get a deeper understanding of composition-rules of Chinese herbal medicines in clinical practice which might be a better reference for both clinical practise and medical research.


Using Izmir, Turkey as a case study the risk factors leading children to work in the streets were identified. Participants in the study were 226 children working in the streets, average age 10.35±2.21 who worked 6.8±2.11 hours per day. The great majority of the children were boys (90.2%), 77.9% were of primary school age; two-thirds of the children were working to provide an economic contribution to the family; 86.6% were from a large family; 78.8% were from a family that migrated to a big city. Almost all did not find working in the street safe; and nearly half were not hopeful about the future. It was established that frequent problems in the children's families include poverty, unemployment, poor education, having a large family, poor family functioning, migration, limited possibilities of shelter, and domestic violence, including the beating of wives and children. Although nearly all the children still lived with their families, a small percentage of the children (5.8%) had begun living permanently on the streets and then cut ties with their families. A significant relationship was found between living on the streets and the age of the child, the father's education, and the father's use of alcohol.


A fab-wide, wafer position tracking (WPT) system, along with advanced methods for data analysis, has been developed and implemented at AMD's Submicron Development Center (SDC). This system partitions the manufacturing flow into segments to efficiently monitor the entire process without adversely affecting cycle time or defectivity. A fully automated system of data analysis detects systematic relationships between wafer processing order and yield and/or parametric data. The system can detect linear, alternating, end-wafer, and other non-random trends. In addition, a spatial analysis technique has been incorporated for added sensitivity to small, localized phenomena. The modular nature of the WPT system allows it to be used with other wafer-level, data-gathering tools such as an in-situ particle monitor (ISPM). The analysis of wafer-to-wafer yield variation using this system has led to tightening of the wafer-level yield distribution and resulted in increased overall yield.


The purpose of this research is to examine how race has played a role in the selection of the jury and further discover its relevance today in addition to explanations for the findings. This is also done through the analysis of state selection laws and how they affect the jury pool, thereby affecting the outcome of jury selection. The study uses implicit bias as a basis on which to build possible reasons why race is or is not an influencing factor in jury selection. Previous studies have shown various opinions and findings on the issue, but this research comes to the conclusion that race does affect the demographics of the jury due primarily to implicit bias and selection methods, and race is still a concern in its influence in the use of the peremptory challenge. In order to combat this problem and create a fairer justice system, it is most important to start at the structural level in movements such as changing state jury selection laws and introducing proper training for lawyers on avoiding implicit bias. RACE IN JURY SELECTION AND STATE SELECTION LAWS 3


We treated two patients with laceration of the liver that was precipitated by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and recognized antemortem. Both patients had myocardial infarctions and had received heparin sodium therapy. They had excruciating abdominal pain and bled massively, resulting in hypovolemic shock. When severe abdominal pain associated with hypovolemic shock occurs in a patient who has received CPR, hepatic laceration, hematoma, or both should be considered. This is even more imperative to recognize in the patient who has received anticoagulation therapy.


Problem statement: The effect of extracts from Neem (Azadirachta indica), Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) with added copper sulfate, on female Boer goats infected with gastrointestinal parasites (GIN) was evaluated. Approach: Following initial screening for infection, animals were artificially infected with a mix containing approximately 80% Haemonchus contortus and 20% Trichostrongylus spp. After 21 days, fecal samples were collected to determine the fecal egg count. Plant extracts (200 mg kg-1 body weight) in sterile distilled water were administered on day 28. Treatment I was a control without anthelmintic (distilled water); treatment II received Neem leaf extracts; treatment III received an extract prepared from Wormwood leaves, flowers and roots; treatment IV received Tobacco leaf extracts with copper sulphate. Body Weight (BW), Fecal Egg Count (FEC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Total White Blood Cell Counts (TWBCC) and White Blood Cell Differential Counts (WBCDC) were determined in goats once a week, for a 4-week period. Results: There was no difference in FEC among the groups. The results showed that the plant extracts at the tested concentration were not effective anthelmintics; The PCV of the control group was significantly higher than all treatment groups (p≤0.05). Groups treated with Wormwood and Tobacco copper sulphate had dramatic decreases in PCV which may be an indicator of toxicity from these treatments. Significant differences in BW were observed between the control group and that of the Tobacco-copper sulphate group (p≤0.05). Low concentrations of Tobacco-copper sulphate treatment enhanced body weight. The extracts tested were not effective in reducing the levels of TWBCC. Circulating eosinophil counts, TWBCC and FEC, were negatively correlated with PCV in goats in this study. Conclusion: Aqueous extracts containing water soluble proteins from Neem, wormwood and tobacco are not effective anthelmintics in goats. Further investigation on efficacy and toxicity of copper supplementation on animal health and performance in goats for use by producers is recommended. Genetic variability among goats may influence the response to plant extracts. These studies support the observation that the efficacy of plant based anthelmintics is influenced by the method of extraction and host genetics in goats.


Osteoporotic and age-related fractures are a significant public health problem. One of the most common osteoporotic fracture sites in the aging population is distal radius. There is evidence in the literature that distal radius fractures (Colles' fracture) are an indicative of increased risk of future spine and hip fractures [1]. Therefore, developing new methods for accurate evaluation of human radius fracture risk is necessary. The previous studies showed that geometrical properties of the radius correlate with its fracture load [2]. However, the combined effect of geometrical and material properties on fracture load has not been studied.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


Abstract Microalgae are a varied group of organisms with considerable commercial potential as sources of various biochemicals, storage molecules and metabolites such as lipids, sugars, amino acids, pigments and toxins. Algal lipids can be processed to bio-oils and biodiesel. The conventional method to estimate algal lipids is based on extraction using solvents and quantification by gravimetry or chromatography. Such methods are time consuming, use hazardous chemicals and are labor intensive. For rapid screening of prospective algae or for management decisions (e.g. decision on timing of harvest), a rapid, high throughput, reliable, accurate, cost effective and preferably nondestructive analytical technique is desirable. This manuscript reviews the application of fluorescent lipid soluble dyes (Nile Red and BODIPY 505/515), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the assessment of lipids in microalgae.


Samples of water were taken from Lake Magadi, a soda lake in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Bacteriophage lysate was prepared and stored in the dark at -4°C. Bacteria isolated using media for haloalkaliphiles and Aiba and Ogawa medium for marine cyanobacteria were cultured by spread plate technique to form lawns which were tested for plaque formation with phage lysate. Growth rate of the bacteria with and without phage infection was measured using optical density. Genomic DNA was extracted from the bacteria and PCR product obtained using 16S primers. The sequences obtained were aligned to sequences in the NCBI database and phylogenetic analysis done. One of the isolates had over 99% similarity to Idiomarina sp , a member of the Gammaproteobacteria while one had 99% similarity to Rhodobacter sp.of the class Alphaproteobacteria. Phylogenetic analysis showed close clustering of each isolates to members of their respective classes but separated from one another.


Introduction Reported prevalence of AF in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) on ibrutinib is approximately 5-10%. Management of AF in ibrutinib treated patients represents a multidisciplinary and challenging clinical need. Despite therapeutic advances, substantial morbidity and mortality still remain, and preventive or therapeutic strategies need to be implemented. Older age, male gender, arterial hypertension (AH) and valvular heart disease have recently been recognized as strong predictors of AF on ibrutinib. A clear relationship exists between an enlarged left atrium (LA), assessed by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), and incidence of AF. LA dysfunction at ibrutinib start has been suggested as a predictor of AF: it helps identifying a selected cohort of patients who may benefit from strict follow-up and preventive strategies to reduce incidence of AF and associated complications. To date no prospective clinical trials have been conducted. Aim To analyse cardiovascular predictors and incidence of AF in a monocentric population of CLL patients on ibrutinib and in regular cardio-oncologic follow-up. Methods From June 2014 to June 2017 we prospectively evaluated CLL patients requiring ibrutinib treatment at our Institution. Before starting therapy a full cardiovascular evaluation including accurate history, clinical examination and assessment of concomitant cardiovascular risk factors and cardioactive therapy were performed by an expert cardio-oncologist. All patients underwent non-invasive instrumental investigations performed by the same clinician: baseline electrocardiography (ECG) was used for rhythm documentation and TTE was focused on studying LA size and function. In a selected group of patients a 24 hours ECG monitoring was performed. Results Fourty-three patients on ibrutinib were evaluated for a median of 12 months (range 1-37). Male/female ratio was 2.07 (M/F 29/14) and median age was 71 years (range 54-86). AF occurred in 7 patients (16.3%) after a median period of 6 months from the beginning of ibrutinib. Before starting therapy 30 patients (69.8%) had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, with 23 (53.5%) suffering from AH and 27 (62.8%) having more than one cardiovascular comorbidity. Twenty-three patients (53.5%) were regularly taking at least one cardioactive drug. We observed male gender and AH (p=0.009) to be significantly related to incidence of AF (p=0.04). One or more pre-existent cardiovascular comorbidity was found to be a strong predictive factor for AF (p=0.03). Concomitant cardioactive therapy and incidence of AF failed to show a significant correlation. Analysing TTE data, a strong predictive value of increased LA linear dimensions (p 0.02) and area (p 0.03) clearly emerged. Sixteen patients (37.2%) were evaluated through prolonged ECG-monitoring. We observed a trend to significance (p=0.07) of a higher maximal heart rate (HR) (109,5±0,7) reached in AF patients compared to those in stable sinus rhythm (73,35±30,6): higher HR, uncovering an increased sympathetic tone, is known to be a risk factor for AF. No significant correlation emerged between occurrence of AF and atrial conduction abnormalities recorded by baseline ECG. Conclusions Due to the widespread use of ibrutinib in CLL population prompt recognition of AF high risk patients represents an emerging issue.As reported in literature, male sex and AH significantly correlate with AF development. LA enlargement represents a strong predictive factor for AF and TTE can reliably be used as a non-invasive exam to detect early signs of atrial dysfunction. In our cohort AF has occurred in a slightly higher percentage of patients treated with Ibrutinib than in literature. This finding, especially if validated in a larger CLL cohort, can suggest that silent, undetected AF is a common and a often underdiagnosed event in older patients with multiple risk factors. These initial results support a systematic cardiologic monitoring and AF screening program. Proper cardiological evaluation aims to identify patients at higher risk of AF. Educating patients to early recognize adverse events and behave accordingly to clinician9s instructions allow to avoid unnecessary drug suspension. Comorbidity control and implementation of cardioactive therapy by an expert cardio-oncologist, preventing LA dilation and dysfunction, could be pursued as a means of reducing AF on ibrutinib. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This paper presents incremental network quantization (INQ), a novel method, targeting to efficiently convert any pre-trained full-precision convolutional neural network (CNN) model into a low-precision version whose weights are constrained to be either powers of two or zero. Unlike existing methods which are struggled in noticeable accuracy loss, our INQ has the potential to resolve this issue, as benefiting from two innovations. On one hand, we introduce three interdependent operations, namely weight partition, group-wise quantization and re-training. A well-proven measure is employed to divide the weights in each layer of a pre-trained CNN model into two disjoint groups. The weights in the first group are responsible to form a low-precision base, thus they are quantized by a variable-length encoding method. The weights in the other group are responsible to compensate for the accuracy loss from the quantization, thus they are the ones to be re-trained. On the other hand, these three operations are repeated on the latest re-trained group in an iterative manner until all the weights are converted into low-precision ones, acting as an incremental network quantization and accuracy enhancement procedure. Extensive experiments on the ImageNet classification task using almost all known deep CNN architectures including AlexNet, VGG-16, GoogleNet and ResNets well testify the efficacy of the proposed method. Specifically, at 5-bit quantization, our models have improved accuracy than the 32-bit floating-point references. Taking ResNet-18 as an example, we further show that our quantized models with 4-bit, 3-bit and 2-bit ternary weights have improved or very similar accuracy against its 32-bit floating-point baseline. Besides, impressive results with the combination of network pruning and INQ are also reported. The code is available at this https URL.


This paper outlines the application of multiple linear regression and three different data-driven modeling techniques to river level forecasting for the river Ouse catchment in northern England. Lead times of 6 and 24 hours ahead were modelled. The results show that the data driven approaches generally outperformed the statistical approach and that M5 model trees have great potential for the development of transparent river level forecasting models.


In Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man, comedy plays an important yet convoluted role. In his own rendering of the Blues Aesthetic, Ellison is able to present laughter and humor as a healthy and natural reaction to painful and distressing events. The significance of this technique, which builds upon double consciousness , is evident in Ellison's many essays, where he suggests that laughter may be the only way for America to accept the crude reality of its foundations and move forward. In my thesis, I differentiate between four general types of comedy found in Invisible Man. These can be summarized as irony, outright hilarity or puns, laughter as relief from discomfort, and 'comic deformity' or self-shattering imagery. Finally, I show how laughter and a sense of humor is not just the reaction of Invisible Man's unnamed protagonist but an element of modernist American ideology that was crucial to Ellison and is perhaps best detected in improvisational jazz or the techniques some of the major figures in jazz, namely Louis Armstrong. This type of self-referential comedy is troubling, for it can be seen as building upon offensive and antiquated stereotypes, such as the Sambo image, perhaps reinforcing or even validating them. However, Ellison's comedic aesthetic as well as Armstrong's endemic smile and voice are inevitabilities of their artistic essence. Ellison himself saw humor as the only way to negotiate the violent underbelly of American life, "for when American's can no longer laugh at each other, they have to fight one another" (Ellison, taken from Address to the Harvard College Alumni, Class of 1949).


IoT –internet of things has become a buzzword nowadays. There are many IoT based researches but researches on garbage management system based on IoT are not sufficient. Insufficient and inefficient garbage management system causes severe environmental problem. It also makes the air toxic. This problem has become a common problem in the world especially in Bangladesh. Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh lacks well organized and efficient garbage management system. Maximum roads of Dhaka city are surrounded by garbage. The bad smell of garbage affects people's mental health, inhaling toxic causes many diseases. Lack of dustbins, throwing of garbage here and there, misuse of dustbins are making city life very unhealthy and also causes a threat to environment. The dustbins are being stolen or damaged which is also a great problem. In this paper, we proposed about an efficient garbage management system based on IoT. This research works aims to provide a minimal solution to this problem using the IoT technology. We propose for a smart garbage system, which consists of sensors, RFID, IR sensors, admin and user website, Wi-Fi module etc. These smart bins will monitor the level of garbage when it will reach 75% of its capacity, it will give notification to the admin website, so the authority concerned can collect the garbage from the bins timely and there will be no overflow of garbage as the authority will get notified earlier. There will be a feature in user website that will let the user know about the nearest smart garbage bins current condition, so if there is any condition that the garbage bin of their place is full they can use the nearest bin. This research work also aims to have secured smart garbage bins, as there is chance the bins to be stolen and damaged so in this research we talk about security of the sensors and the bins will have cement body. So this research is for implementing an efficient garbage management system which will reduce expense on this sector, misuse of bins. Making a clean country, pollution free environment with an efficient and well organized garbage management system can bring a new era. It is expected that the proposed garbage management system will reduce financial cost in this sector as well as reduce problems related to waste management.


We incorporate innovations from the <bigwig> project into the Java language to provide high-level features for Web service programming. The resulting language, JWIG, contains an advanced session model and a flexible mechanism for dynamic construction of XML documents, in particular XHTML. To support program development we provide a suite of program analyses that at compile time verify for a given program that no runtime errors can occur while building documents or receiving form input, and that all documents being shown are valid according to the document type definition for XHTML 1.0.We compare JWIG with Servlets and JSP which are widely used Web service development platforms. Our implementation and evaluation of JWIG indicate that the language extensions can simplify the program structure and that the analyses are sufficiently fast and precise to be practically useful.


—'Games with a purpose' is a paradigm where games are designed to computationally capture the essence of the underlying collective human conscience or commonsense that plays a major role in decision-making. This human computing method ensures spontaneous participation of players who, as a byproduct of playing, provide useful data that is impossible to generate computationally and extremely difficult to collect through extensive surveys. In this paper we describe a game that allows us to collect data on human perception of character body shapes. The paper describes the experimental setup, related game design constraints, art creation, and data analysis. In our interactive role-playing detective game titled Villain Ville, players are asked to characterize different versions of full-body color portraits of three villain characters. They are later supposed to correctly match their character-trait ratings to a set of characters represented only with outlines of primitive vector shapes. By transferring human intelligence tasks into core game-play mechanics, we have successfully managed to collect motivated data. Preliminary analysis on game data generated by 50 secondary school students shows a convergence to some common perception associations between role, physicality and personality. We hope to harness this game to discover perception for a wide variety of body-shapes to build up an intelligent shape-trait-role model, with application in tutored drawing, procedural character geometry creation and intelligent retrieval.


Determination of free energy of double helix formation from two single-stranded polynucleotides and estimation of energetics of different low-molecular compounds binding to nucleic acids provide valuable tools for understanding of mechanisms that govern noncovalent binding of ligands to their receptor targets. In order to completely understand the molecular forces that drive and stabilize double helix formation and its complexes with ligands, thermodynamic studies are needed to complement the structural data. Structural characterization of a number of DNA-ligand complexes by X-ray and high-resolution NMR method provides key insight relating to the properties of complex formation, but structural data alone, even when coupled with the most sophisticated current computational methods, cannot fully define the driving forces for binding interactions (or interac-tions) or even accurately predict their binding affinities. Thermodynamics provides quantitative data of use in elucidating these driving forces and for evaluating and understanding at a deeper level the effects of substituent changes on binding affinity.


Stereotypes are frequently used in real life to classify students according to their performance in class. In literature, we can find many references to weaker students, fast learners, struggling students, etc. Given the lack of detailed data about students, these or other kinds of stereotypes could be potentially used for user modeling and personalization in the educational context. Recent research in MOOC context demonstrated that data-driven learner stereotypes could work well for detecting and preventing student dropouts. In this paper, we are exploring the application of stereotype-based modeling to a more challenging task -- predicting student problem-solving and learning in two programming courses and two MOOCs. We explore traditional stereotypes based on readily available factors like gender or education level as well as some advanced data-driven approaches to group students based on their problem-solving behavior. Each of the approaches to form student stereotype cohorts is validated by comparing models of student learning: do students in different groups learn differently? In the search for the stereotypes that could be used for adaptation, the paper examines ten approaches. We compare the performance of these approaches and draw conclusions for future research.


Abstract We use ground-based spectroscopic remote sensing measurements of the stratospheric trace gases O3, HCl, ClO, BrO, HNO3, NO2, OClO, ClONO2, N2O and HF, along with radiosonde profiles of temperature to track the springtime development of the 2019 ozone hole over Arrival Heights (77.8°S, 166.7°E, AHTS), Antarctica, during, and after, the 2019 stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) event. Both measurements and model simulations show that the 2019 SSW caused an extraordinarily warm stratosphere within the polar vortex, resulting in record low ozone depletion over AHTS. We also contrast the evolution of the 2019 ozone hole to that in 2002, which also had a major springtime SSW event. The SSW event started around 28th August. By ∼17th September, stratospheric temperatures inside the polar vortex over AHTS were ∼45 K higher than the climatological average. The SSW did not cause an en masse displacement of mid-latitude air over AHTS as in the 2002 SSW event. However, the increased temperatures did cause an unusually early reduction in polar stratospheric clouds, halting the denitrification early and leading to increased gas-phase HNO3 and record high levels of NO2 ('renoxification'). This caused the earliest observed deactivation of chlorine, returning all active chlorine into the chlorine reservoir species, HCl and ClONO2. The deactivation rate into HCl remained relatively unaffected by the SSW, whilst there was a dramatic increase in ClONO2 formation. This chlorine deactivation pathway via ClONO2 is typical of the Arctic and atypical for the Antarctic. At AHTS, record high levels of springtime ozone were observed. The measured ozone total column did not drop below 220 DU. Record high stratospheric temperatures persisted until 7th October over AHTS. By 22nd October, AHTS was not beneath the polar vortex. The polar vortex break-up date on 9th November was one of the earliest observed.


The misuse of prescription drugs is a pressing public health crisis in the United States that is fueled by high-risk prescribing. We show that high-risk prescribing comprises two distinct practices: (1) routinely overprescribing to patients whose prescription-fill patterns are consistent with misuse or abuse, which conforms to the definition of deviance in sociology, and (2) routinely overprescribing to patients whose prescription-fill patterns are within possible bounds of medical use, which does not. We call the second practice "liminal prescribing," a term that indicates it is legally and morally ambiguous. Using 213.9 million prescriptions to construct a four-year panel of the patient-sharing networks of 500,472 physicians, we find that deviant and liminal prescribers have starkly different social network structures and social influence processes; larger and more cohesive networks among prescribers are associated with more deviance but less liminality. Physicians' ties to liminal prescribers increase liminal prescribing but do not increase deviance. Our results suggest that liminal prescribing is distinct from deviant prescribing and is not a milder form of deviant prescribing. Liminal prescribing is far more prevalent than deviance and accounts for most of the oversupplied benzodiazepines in our dataset (55.8 versus 8.7 percent, respectively). Our study highlights that the social structures supporting liminal practices differ from those that support either rule-abiding practices or deviance.


As a genetic platform, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) benefits from rich germplasm collections and ease of cultivation and transformation that enable the analysis of biological processes impossible to investigate in other model species. To facilitate the assembly of an open genetic toolbox designed to study Solanaceae, we initiated a joint collection of publicly available gene manipulation tools. We focused on the characterization of promoters expressed at defined time windows during fruit development, for the regulated expression or silencing of genes of interest. Five promoter sequences were captured as entry clones compatible with the versatile MultiSite Gateway format: PPC2, PG, TPRP, and IMA from tomato and CRC from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Corresponding transcriptional fusions were made with the GUS gene, a nuclear-localized GUS-GFP reporter, and the chimeric LhG4 transcription factor. The activity of the promoters during fruit development and in fruit tissues was confirmed in transgenic tomato lines. Novel Gateway destination vectors were generated for the transcription of artificial microRNA (amiRNA) precursors and hairpin RNAs under the control of these promoters, with schemes only involving Gateway BP and LR Clonase reactions. Efficient silencing of the endogenous phytoene desaturase gene was demonstrated in transgenic tomato lines producing a matching amiRNA under the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S or PPC2 promoter. Lastly, taking advantage of the pOP/LhG4 two-component system, we found that well-characterized flower-specific Arabidopsis promoters drive the expression of reporters in patterns generally compatible with heterologous expression. Tomato lines and plasmids will be distributed through a new Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre service unit dedicated to Solanaceae resources.


In this paper, the distribution of mass and kinetic energy in the cold region of the thermal neutron induced fission of U 233, U 235 and Pu 239, respectively, is interpreted in terms of nucleon pair-breaking and the Coulomb interaction energy between complementary fragments (Coulomb effect). In order to avoid the erosive consequences of neutron emission, one studies the cold fission regions, corresponding to total kinetic energy (TE) close to the maximum available energy of the reaction (Q). Contrary to expected, in cold fission is not observed high odd-even effect in mass number distribution. Nevertheless, the measured values are compatible with higher odd-even effects on proton or neutron number distribution, respectively. In addition, in cold fission, the minimal total excitation energy (X) is correlated with the Coulomb energy excess, which is defined as the difference between C (the electrostatic interaction energy between complementary fragments taken as spherical in scission configuration) and Q. These Coulomb effects increase with the asymmetry of the charge fragmentations. In sum, the experimental data on cold fission suggest that scission configurations explore all the possibilities permitted by the available energy for fission.


Orf is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by parapoxvirus. Orf lesions are typically seen on the hand, but they have rarely been reported on the nose. Herein, the authors report a rare patient of an orf lesion on the nose of a 52-year-old man after the Muslim celebration of the feast of the sacrifice. The lesion spontaneously recovered 8 weeks after the initial appearance and showed no evidence of recurrence after 1 year of follow-up. Orf virus infections may occur more often after the celebration of the feast of the sacrifice in Muslim countries.


Activity related to the Spanish language in England (translation, publication of grammars, dictionaries and literary pieces) go back to the 16th and 17th centuries with the works of political and religious dissenters in exile who found in these activities a way to mitigate their nostalgia by maintaining links with their own culture, and to express their national identity while easing their feelings as outsiders as well as their financial situation in the country that gave them refuge.

A large number of Spanish constitutional emigres in England and more specifically in London in the XIX century followed this trend. Spanish Liberals, such as Jose M. Blanco White and Antonio Alcala Galiano, who belonged to the intellectual elite of Spanish liberalism, embraced the concept of language as the essence of national identity and the Volkgeist, as portrayed by the Romantic Movement at the time. The linguistic nationalism which impregnates the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was at the essence of the nation-building process as language was considered the vehicle of culture and glory.

However, the Spanish liberals were not a cohesive group and on the subject of national and linguistic identity, differences can be found in the interpretation of the concept of the role of language as according to individual ideologies. What is relevant to all of them is the enrichment brought by their contact during exile with socio-political, religious and philosophical ideologies prevailing in England in the first decades of the 19th century, essentially the ideology of the Romantic Movement and the nationalistic trends associated to it. This combination of factors undoubtedly had an impact on their linguistic and literary work which became an expression of their nationalism and their identity.


The Authors deal with a rare case of 'meta-metachronous' carcinoma of the colon. A seventy years old man was admitted to ward after being diagnosed an adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon. The anamnestic data pointed out that the patient had already been operated twice for the colon carcinoma, which had been diagnosed in the left colon and in the cecum respectively seven and two years before. A colonoscopy performed sixteen months before did not show any lesion of the residual colon. It is likely that tiny lesions, which were still in the adenoma phase, were not diagnosed by the endoscopy; it is also possible that the adenoma-carcinoma sequence was extremely fast. On the basis of this experience the Authors recommend that patients with metachronus carcinoma undergo either frequent controls or a preventive subtotal colectomy.


N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification in eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNAs). M6A RNA methylation plays a role in all stages of RNA life cycle, from RNA processing, nuclear output, translation regulation to RNA degradation, indicating that m6A has various functions that affect RNA metabolism. Reading proteins play an important role in regulating the translation and stability of m6A mRNA. Recent studies have provided a further understanding of the molecular mechanism of the YTH domain protein family and enriched our understanding of the modification function of m6A. In this paper, the specific functions, mechanisms and interactions of the YTH domain protein family are reviewed, and the future research directions are prospected, which is expected to provide new ideas for clinical diagnosis and targeted therapy of cancer.


The uptakes of all essential amino acids, vitamins (except riboflavin), glucose and serum during growth of human diploid cells (MRC-5) were determined. The amino acid uptakes varied considerably with the conditions of culture. The glucose requirement is several times greater than that for mouse LS or human HeLa cells. These analytical results were used to modify the medium so as to ensure that an excess of all defined medium constituents was present and pH was not limiting during study of the serum requirements. It was then found that maximum cell populations were directly proportional to the serum concentration. Hence the growth was limited by the supply of an unknown growth factor in serum. The serum growth factor was not replaced by a mixture of over 60 vitamins, co-enzymes, hormones and other organic and inorganic compounds considered to be possible growth factors, although this mixture did not lower the growth rate and somewhat (22%) increased the yield from the serum growth factor. The unit of serum growth factor is precisely defined in terms of the amount in a standard batch of calf serum. This standard contains 10 units/ml whereas the other batch of serum used contained only 5 units/ml.


Background: Several anatomical and functional changes are observed in individuals with cleft lip and palate, including structural abnormalities of the oropharyngeal muscles, which can cause loss of velopharyngeal function and other functions such as sucking, swallowing, and speaking. The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of weak intraoral air pressure in the speech of individuals with cleft palate who underwent primary palatoplasty at the appropriate time or at a late stage and assess whether surgical timing may lead to a higher occurrence of the disorder. We hypothesized that individuals who undergo belated primary palatoplasty show a higher occurrence of weak intraoral air pressure compared to those who undergo primary palatoplasty at the appropriate time. Methods: This study included 37 patients of both sexes with a diagnosis of cleft palate, with or without cleft lip, who were divided into 2 groups: 1) early group (GP), consisting of 22 patients who underwent primary palatoplasty during the second year of life, and 2) the late group (GT), comprising 15 patients who underwent primary palatoplasty at a later stage, after acquiring speech sounds. All participants underwent routine clinical assessment with an interval of at least 3 months after surgery. Among the parameters evaluated, weak intraoral air pressure was an important variable considered in this study. Results: Data analysis revealed a higher frequency of weak intraoral air pressure in the GT group (33%) as compared to the GP group (18%). However, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.44). Conclusions: The study hypothesis was rejected. The presence of weak intraoral air pressure was observed in the speech of both groups, and the study findings showed that the timing at which primary palatoplasty was performed is not an influencing factor.


A three-dimensional analysis of an 8s1p (8 series and 1 parallexl batteries in a stage) lithium-ion battery module consisting of 8 prismatic batteries is performed using a multi-domain modeling framework. The well-known Newman, Tiedemann, Gu, and Kim (NTGK) model is used for modelling. A thermal management system based on liquid cooling via cold plates utilizing glycol aqueous solution (GAS) is proposed. Cooling simulations of the battery module are carried out at different GAS volume concentrations and flow velocities. The temperature evolutions at different volume concentrations and inlet flow velocities are determined, and the results are found to be in good agreement with the experiments. Strategies for modifying the properties of GAS to release the heat generated by the battery module are proposed. It is found that, the cell temperature and temperature gradients were maintained at a tolerable level at a suitable inlet flow velocity and volume concentration of GAS, even at a 5C discharge rate. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the temperature difference between the 8 battery cells reaches the minimum when the volume concentration of GAS is 70%, which means that the optimum cooling uniformity of the battery module can be reached at this volume concentration.


Microplastics as plastic pieces of ≤5 mm in size, are found in most ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic. Many of the microplastics find their way into the environment through the wastewater. For this reason, a knowledge of the microplastic retainment performance of wastewater treatment plants of various design is important. In this regard, several wastewater treatment processes have been studied, including new methods that are still at the development stage. This manuscript reviews the literature on such wastewater treatment methods and their ability to retain microplastics.


Developmental research suggests that young children tend to value dominant individuals over subordinates. This research, however, has nearly exclusively been carried out in Western cultures, and cross-cultural research among adults has revealed cultural differences in the valuing of dominance. In particular, it seems that Japanese culture, relative to many Western cultures, values dominance less. We conducted two experiments to test whether this difference would be observed in preschoolers. In Experiment 1, preschoolers in France and in Japan were asked to identify with either a dominant or a subordinate. French preschoolers identified with the dominant, but Japanese preschoolers were at chance. Experiment 2 revealed that Japanese preschoolers were more likely to believe a subordinate than a dominant individual, both compared to chance and compared to previous findings among French preschoolers. The convergent results from both experiments thus reveal an early emerging cross-cultural difference in the valuing of dominance.


SnO2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized with either the presence (PS) or absence (NPS) of the Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent Pulp as the dispersant by the precipitation coupling with the thermal decomposition methods using tin tetrachloride pentahydrate (Sn4Cl.5H2O) and ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) as the starting material and precipitant respectively. The pulp was soaked in SnCl4 solution and NH4OH was slowly added dropwise. The white gelable precipitate of Sn(OH)4 was obtained. Afterward, the white precipitate was filtered and washed until it was free from chloride. The white precipitate was then dried at 80°C for 24h and calcined for 1h at 600°C, 650°C, and 700°C respectively. The synthesized products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurement of specific surface area. The crystallite sizes of SnO2 nanoparticles with the presence and absence of the pulp were found to be ranging from 5-15 nm and 5-30 nm respectively. The specific surface areas (SSABET) were 62.53 m2/g and 26.60 m2/g for PS and NPS samples respectively. SnO2 nanoparticles were doped with palladium in the range from 0.25-1.00 mol% by the impregnation method. The photocatalytic activity of SnO2 and Pd-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were investigated for the degradation of sucrose and glucose under UVA-light irradiation. The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of Pd-doped SnO2 was higher than pure SnO2 and the best photocatalytic activity for the degradation of sucrose and glucose were obtained in the case of Pd-doped SnO2 nanoparticles with 0.5 mol % and 1.0 mol % Pd loading respectively.


Peptides DEDTQAMPFR (DR-10), MLGATSL (ML-7), SLSFASR (SR-7), and MSYSAGF (MF-7) derived from simulated gastrointestinal digestion of preserved egg white (SGD-PEW) exerted anti-inflammatory effects on Caco-2 cells. Here, we aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of these peptides derived from SGD-PEW in a mouse model of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. The results showed that DR-10, ML-7, SR-7 and MF-7 significantly ameliorated the clinical symptoms of DSS-induced mice colitis, such as weight loss, disease activity index (DAI), colon shortening, spleen hypertrophy and histological scores. Treatment with DR-10, ML-7, SR-7 and MF-7 also significantly inhibited the local secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 and markedly decreased the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17, IL-1β, IFN-γ and MCP-1, in DSS-induced mice colitis. Overall, MF-7 showed the best effect of alleviating DSS-induced colitis among the four peptides. These results suggested that MF-7, DR-10, ML-7 and SR-7 may be a potential promising candidate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).


Human rights and fundamental freedoms such as economic, political, and press freedoms vary widely from country to country. It creates opportunity and risk in investment decisions. Thus, this study is carried out to examine if the explanatory power of the model for capital asset pricing could be improved when these human rights movement indices are included in the model. The sample for this study comprises of 495 stocks listed in Bursa Malaysia, covering the sampling period from 2003 to 2013. The model applied in this study employed the pooled ordinary least square regression estimation. In addition, the robustness of the model is tested by using firm size as a controlled variable. The findings show that market beta as well as the economic and press freedom indices could explain the cross-sectional stock returns of the Malaysian stock market. By controlling the firm size, it adds marginally to the explanation of the extended CAP model which incorporated economic, political, and press freedom indices


This paper examines the interactions among immigrants, inbound FDI, and imports in the U.S. In testing the patterns of international movements of factors of production, most existing analyses have omitted the role of international trade. On the other hand, research on the relationship between FDI and international trade has neglected the importance of international labor movements. This study uses a vector error correction model to consider all three variables. Using U.S. annual data from 1969 to 2000, I find that labor and FDI move in the same direction and labor movements cause FDI movements. In addition, I also find that inbound FDI and imports are substitutes.


This paper analyses the main contributions dealing with the integration of uncertainty in the pure theory of international trade. We examine the question of whether theorems which play a very important role in the certainty models, in particular the central propositions of the Ricardian and the Heckscher-Ohlin models, fails to hold in the presence of randomness. The aim of the article is to show that the attempts to demonstrate the harmfulness of free trade under some kinds of uncertainty, although interesting progress have been made, have not come yet to unanimous conclusions susceptible of a general interpretation.


Abstract : The cosmogenic radionuclide (10)Be is a unique tracer of shallow sediment subduction in volcanic arcs. The range in (10)Be enrichment in the Central American Volcanic Arc between Guatemala and Costa Rica is not controlled by variations in (10)Be concentrations in subducting sediment seaward of the Middle America Trench. Grain size is the principal control on the sedimentary (10)Be concentrations. (10)Be in fine-grained, terrigenous sediments is diluted by larger grained volcanogenic material. The sharp decrease in (10)Be enrichment in the Central American Volcanic Arc between southeastern Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica correlates with fault structure in the subducting Cocos plate. Offshore of Nicaragua, extensional faults associated with plate bending have throw equal to or greater than the overlying subducting sediment thickness. These faults enable efficient subduction of the entire sediment package by preventing relocation of the decollement within the downgoing sediments. Offshore of Costa Rica, the reduction of fault relief results in basement faults that do not penetrate the overlying sediment. A conceptual model is proposed in which the absence of significant basement roughness allows the decollement to descend into the subducting sediment column, leading to subsequent underplating and therefore removal of the bulk of the sediment layer that contains (10)Be.


The paper analyses the difference between the behaviour of private firms and producer cooperatives in a matched sample of the two organisational types from Northern Italy, the region with the largest concentration of cooperatives in the world. It therefore offers for the first time reliable and detailed comparative information on key issues such as investment, productivity, wages, employment and industrial relations. Among the more interesting findings are the absence of significant differences with regard to investment horizons and criteria for finance, despite theoretical assertions to the contrary. However, it would appear that cooperatives substitutes labour effort for capital, and achieve higher productivity and better industrial relations, as well as significantly narrower wage differentials.


The declining value of the dollar and the evolving shape of the economy are affecting the value and availability of the funds that support the development and commercialization of novel cancer technologies. This conservatism goes against the forward advance of translational science, which is beginning to show its greatest promise for the pursuit of innovation and the dissemination of emerging technologies. Cancer technology development is nearing a tipping point in which these countering trends may result in a decline of the United States' ability to encourage and foster innovation. The National Cancer Institute's Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) program is attempting to address this rapidly changing environment to ensure that innovation is not stifled. Discussed is an overview of the IMAT program, identified bottlenecks for innovation, and a proposed strategy for engaging new partners to strengthen the pipeline for innovative cancer technologies.


Pathologists study tissue morphology in order to correctly diagnose diseases such as colorectal cancer. This task can be very time consuming, and automated systems can greatly improve the precision and speed with which a diagnosis is established. Explainable algorithms and results are key to successful implementation of these methods into routine diagnostics in the medical field. In this paper, we propose a graphbased approach for intestinal gland classification. It leverages the high representational power of graphs for describing geometrical and topological properties of the glands. A novel, publicly available image and graph dataset is introduced based on cell segmentation of healthy and dysplastic H&E stained intestinal glands from pT1 colorectal cancer. The graphs are compared using an approximate graph edit distance and are classified using the k-nearest neighbours algorithm. With this method, we achieve a classification accuracy of 83.3%.


I evaluate the degree to which South Korea's FTAs have affected trade between South Korea and its FTA partner countries and trade of 11 industrial sectors of South Korea. I use both a fixed effects regression model and a Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood fixed effects model, in order to deal with biases from country-pair fixed effects and zero-trade values. For the country-level analysis, I utilize 1990–2011 trade data of 95 countries from the IMF's Direction of Trade Statistics and find that the South Korea–Chile and South Korea–India FTAs have had positive effects on trade, but the effect of the South Korea–EFTA FTA has no statistical significance. The South Korea–ASEAN FTA has had a wide spectrum of trade effects among the 10 ASEAN countries. Additionally, I try to estimate the differential effects of South Korea's FTAs on its exports from 11 industrial sectors using HS 4-digit–level export data for South Korea to 33 countries. Korean FTAs have considerably increased South Korea's textile, food, paper, and chemical exports. However, Korean FTAs have not brought any positive effects on electronics and motor industry exports in South Korea.


Organic farming is a holistic and sustainable food production system which can be considered as an alternative to conventional agriculture in Iran. Each policy to diffusion of organic farming leads to demands on knowledge of agricultural professionals. This is therefore important to understand professionals' knowledge on organic farming and to identify the key factors influencing it. The main purpose of this research was to investigate factors influencing agricultural professionals' knowledge on organic farming. A survey was conducted among agricultural professionals in the Jihad-eKeshavarzi Organization of two southern provinces in Iran (Khuzestan and Fars), using stratified random sampling for selection of sample. The results showed that age and access to information on agriculture and environment were two important variables that had a positive and direct effect on the organic knowledge. Other variables such as social norms about organic farming via health attitude, nutrient attitude and general attitude towards environment have weak indirect effects on knowledge of organic farming.


One principal goal of the grant was to model and analyze the dynamics of spatially extended chaotic systems. One of the principal tools used in the analysis was KLTOOL, a computer package developed by the principal investigators for Karhunen-Loeve analysis. The package was used to analyze video data from a laboratory experiment on cellular flames. A second goal of the project was to analyze complex time series whose underlying dynamics may be low dimensionally chaotic. Particular emphasis was placed on systems of possible relevance to energy production and distribution. The work attempted to characterize low-dimensional aspects of the dynamics of a fluidized bed, in particular, a transition from periodic to irregular behavior. Finally, collaborators worked on aspects of targeting in chaotic dynamical systems. This work showed that it is possible to switch a moderately high-dimensional chaotic process rapidly between prespecified periodic saddle orbits embedding within the attractor. Additional work extended previously-developed algorithms for the highly accurate computation of stable manifolds of periodic saddle orbits, which is essential to the successful application of targeting algorithms.


Aims Fluid shear stress (SS) is known to regulate endothelial cell (EC) function. Most of the studies, however, focused on the effects of cell-free fluid-generated wall SS on ECs. The objective of this study was to investigate how changes in blood flow altered EC signalling and endothelial function directly through wall SS and indirectly through SS effects on red blood cells (RBCs). Methods and results Experiments were conducted in individually perfused rat venules. We experimentally induced changes in SS that were quantified by measured flow velocity and fluid viscosity. The concomitant changes in EC [Ca2+]i and nitric oxide (NO) were measured with fluorescent markers, and EC barrier function was assessed by fluorescent microsphere accumulation at EC junctions using confocal imaging. EC eNOS activation was evaluated by immunostaining. In response to changes in SS, increases in EC [Ca2+]i and gap formation occurred only in blood or RBC solution perfused vessels, whereas SS-dependent NO production and eNOS-Ser1177 phosphorylation occurred in both plasma and blood perfused vessels. A bioluminescent assay detected SS-dependent ATP release from RBCs. Pharmacological inhibition and genetic modification of pannexin-1 channels on RBCs abolished SS-dependent ATP release and SS-induced increases in EC [Ca2+]i and gap formation. Conclusions SS-induced EC NO production occurs in both cell free fluid and blood perfused vessels, whereas SS-induced increases in EC [Ca2+]i and EC gap formation require the presence of RBCs, attributing to SS-induced pannexin-1 channel dependent release of ATP from RBCs. Thus, changes in blood flow alter vascular EC function through both wall SS and SS exerted on RBCs, and RBC released ATP contributes to SS-induced changes in EC barrier function.


Bloom's Guides - successor to the acclaimed Bloom's Notes and Bloom's Reviews Comprehensive reading and study guides with a selection of critical excerpts providing a scholarly overview of each work Each book includes a biographical sketch of the author, a descriptive list of characters, an extensive summary and analysis, plus an annotated bibliography


New lower bounds on the unknotting number of a knot are constructed from the classical knot signature function. These bounds can be twice as strong as previously known signature bounds. They can also be stronger than known bounds arising from Heegaard Floer and Khovanov homology. Results include new bounds on the Gordian distance between knots and information about four-dimensional knot invariants. By considering a related non-balanced signature function, bounds on the unknotting number of slice knots are constructed; these are related to the property of double-sliceness.


Mechanisms underlying the retention of fuel species in tokamaks with carbon plasma-facing components are presented, together with estimates for the corresponding retention of tritium in ITER. The consequential requirement for new and improved schemes to reduce the tritium inventory is highlighted and the results of ongoing studies into a range of techniques are presented, together with estimates of the tritium removal rate in ITER in each case. Finally, an approach involving the integration of many tritium removal techniques into the ITER operational schedule is proposed as a means to extend the period of operations before major intervention is required.


For two hundred years after the French Revolution, the Republican tradition celebrated the execution of princes and aristocrats, defending the Terror that the Revolution inflicted upon on its enemies. But recent decades have brought a marked change in sensibility. The Revolution is no longer judged in terms of historical necessity but rather by "timeless" standards of morality. In this succinct essay, Sophie Wahnich explains how, contrary to prevailing interpretations, the institution of Terror sought to put a brake on legitimate popular violence - in Danton's words, to "be terrible so as to spare the people the need to be so" - and was subsequently subsumed in a logic of war. The Terror was "a process welded to a regime of popular sovereignty, the only alternatives being to defeat tyranny or die for liberty."


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Clinical research nurses and non-licensed study coordinators observed variation in procedures for reconciliation and disposal of oral investigational medications across the institution. An academic medical center implemented a quality improvement project to standardize the process of reconciliation and disposal of oral investigational medications. An interprofessional collaborative workgroup was formed, which led to multiple interventions to standardize practice, including revision of three policies and procedures, redesign of specific work areas to establish drug-counting rooms, review of personal protective equipment requirements, revision of educational training, and regular cleaning of potentially contaminated workstations.


The rapid advances in understanding the genetic and biochemical bases of human hereditary diseases have led to very practical benefits. Increasing numbers of hereditary defects are proving to be responsive to rational management. In addition, the identification of the biochemical or cytogenetic defect in cells cultured from the patient, including fetal cells from amniotic fluid, permits definitive diagnoses to be made on patients even at great distances. This development allows a preventive program for control of about 50 serious genetic diseases through prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion of affected fetuses. High-risk groups for consideration of prenatal diagnosis include parents who have produced a child affected with any one of the above serious hereditary biochemical or chromosomal defects, families carrying X-linked disorders, Ashkenazi Jews with their high frequency of one carrier of the gene for Tay-Sachs disease per 30 individuals, and pregnant women over 40 years of age who produce only


The paper develops a systematic framework for designing a stochastic location detection system with associated performance guarantees using a wireless sensor network. To detect the location of a mobile sensor, the system relies on RF-characteristics of the signal transmitted by the mobile sensor, as it is received by stationary sensors (clusterheads). Location detection is posed as a hypothesis testing problem over a discretized space. Large deviations results enable the characterization of the probability of error leading to a placement problem that maximizes an information-theoretic distance (Chernoff distance) among all pairs of probability distributions of observations conditional on the sensor locations. The placement problem is shown to be NP-hard and is formulated as a linear integer programming problem; yet, large instances can be solved efficiently by leveraging special-purpose algorithms from the theory of discrete facility location. The resultant optimal placement is shown to provide asymptotic guarantees on the probability of error in location detection under quite general conditions by minimizing an upper bound of the error-exponent. Numerical results show that the proposed framework is computationally feasible and the resultant clusterhead placement performs near-optimal even with a small number of observation samples in a simulation environment.


The myoepithelium of developing, lactating, and involuting mammary gland of the mouse exhibits a high alkaline phosphatase activity. The content of the alveoli and the apical plasma membrane of gland cells histochemically show enzyme activity before and after lactation but not during milk secretion. In the course of involution the alveoli shrink in size and the reaction of alkaline phosphatase becomes stronger in the gland tissue. In whole breast tissue the enzyme activity decreases, because in this time a great part of the alveoli are degraded and replaced by connective tissue and fat. As measured by a scanning microdensitometer the activity of some oxydoreductases (3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, and succinate dehydrogenase) increase in proceeding development of the mammary gland and reach their highest level at the time of lactation. Already 12 h after the start of involution the oxydoreductases loose 30 to 50% of their activity and undergo a further reduction 3 to 4 days later. On the other side the activity of lysosomal enzymes increase during involution. beta-Glucuronidase and leucine aminopeptidase have their highest activity in the early stage of involution, whereas acid phosphatase predominate in the late period of gland degradation.


MANY ATTEMPTS have been made to set up experimental models to study staphylococcal infections. Often the route of challenge determines the disease produced. Mastitis results from inoculation into the mammary glands of mice and rabbits (Chandler, 1970; Adlam et al., 1976), osteomyelitis from injection into the bone marrow of rabbits (Norden, 1970), and endocarditis from intravenous injection in rabbits and rats (Nickerson et al,. 1969; Santoro and Levison, 1978). In respect of subcutaneous infection, except for a few important studies of experimental infection in man (Elek and Conen, 1957; Maibach, 1965; Marples and Kligman, 1976), most work has been performed on mice. As in most other experimental models of staphylococcal infection, large challenge doses are needed to produce subcutaneous lesions in adult mice, though these can be avoided if the organisms are injected with plugs of cotton dust (Noble, 1965). To assess the virulence of strains of staphylococci in terms of mortality, LD50 measurements have been made after intraperitoneal injections in mice (Chesbro, Wamola and Bartley, 1969), intracerebral injections in newborn mice (Namavar et al., 1976 and 1978) and intra-allantoic injections in chick embryos (McCabe, 1964). Recently, McKay and Arbuthnott (1979) showed that newborn mice are more susceptible than adult mice to subcutaneous challenge with staphylococci and compared the virulence of strains by assessing mortality and lesion formation. We have now made a more detailed investigation of this mouse model in an attempt to devise criteria other than mortality for assessing the virulence of staphylococci.


ABSTRACT Interference ripple marks form during floods along many ephemeral streams. Cuspate (linguoid) ripples Form first when flood water in the channel is deep enough to flow over marginal and channel sand bars. As the water level falls, downstream currents are refracted shoreward over the marginal sand bars and linear ripple sets are formed on the tops and flanks of the bars. The linear ripples are oriented at right angles to the cuspate ripples and commonly form interference sets with them. Refracted waves and changing water level over the irregular bottom can complicate further the patterns of asymmetric ripple marks and other directional structures. On the basis of study of modern ephemeral streams, we conclude that paleocurrent patterns of fluvial deposits are probably more complex than has been generally recognized. Still, the distribution of directional structures in modern streams is, in general, unimodal and the dominant inclinations of foreset laminae are downstream.