OBJECTIVE
To compare yields of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies in the diagnosis of tuberculosis meningitis (TBM).

DESIGN
Prospective laboratory study, Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya.

STUDY POPULATION
Consecutive patients with 1) headache, neck stiffness and altered consciousness for more than 14 days, 2) above features plus evidence of tuberculosis elsewhere in the body, and 3) on standard antimeningitic drugs for one week without response, were included. Those with contraindications to lumbar puncture, confirmed causes of meningitis (except TB) and on anti-tuberculosis treatment were excluded.

METHODS
CSF cell counts, glucose and protein were assayed. CSF was stained on ZN, cultured on LJ and BACTEC and subjected to PCR and LCR for Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA sequences. Positive tests for M. tuberculosis were classified as definite and the rest as probable TBM.

RESULTS
Fifty-eight patients with a mean age of 33.0 years were recruited. Mean CSF cell count was 71/microl and CSF lymphocyte count up 67%. Mean CFS protein and glucose were 2.10 g/l and 2.05 mmol/l, respectively. BACTEC was positive in 20 cases, LJ 12, LCR eight, and PCR and ZN one each. Twenty-six patients had definite and 32 probable TBM. Patients with definite TBM had significantly higher CSF protein, lower CSF glucose, higher CSF cell count and lower CSF lymphocytes.

CONCLUSION
TBM can be confirmed in half of clinically suspected cases. More sensitive tests for confirmation of TBM are required.


This vehicle-controlled study assessed the sleep effects of the naturally occurring neuroactive steroid 3&agr;,5&agr;-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (3&agr;,5&agr;-THDOC; 7.5 and 15 mg/kg), administered i.p. to rats, and compared them with those of another neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone (15 mg/kg). 3&agr;,5&agr;-THDOC shortened sleep latency, selectively promoted pre-REMS (a transitional state between non-REMS and REMS) and lengthened the non-REMS episodes dose-dependently. Spectral analysis of the EEG within non-REMS found significant attenuations of low-frequency activity and elevations in the spindle and higher frequency bands. The effects of 3&agr;,5&agr;-THDOC closely match those of allopregnanolone, indicating a common mechanism of action. Since the sleep changes produced by these steroids resemble the sleep profile of benzodiazepine hypnotics, they are probably caused by a positive allosteric modulation of GABAA receptor function.


Self-control refers to the capacity to override or alter a predominant response tendency. The current experiment tested the hypothesis that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, as revealed by patterns of electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex. Participants completed a writing task that did vs did not require them to exercise self-control. Then they viewed pictures known to evoke positive, negative or neutral affect. We assessed electroencephalographic (EEG) activity while participants viewed the pictures, and participants reported their trait levels of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity at the end of the study. We found that exercising (vs not exercising) self-control increased relative left frontal cortical activity during picture viewing, particularly among individuals with relatively higher BAS than BIS, and particularly during positive picture viewing. A similar but weaker pattern emerged during negative picture viewing. The results suggest that exercising self-control temporarily increases approach motivation, which may help to explain the aftereffects of self-control (i.e. ego depletion).


To protect circumstance and improve of structure durability of Cao'e River floodgate, high volume industrial residue concrete (HVIRC) was prepared, and its mechanical property and durability were studied systematically. 10% of fly ash and 40% of ground granulated blast-furnace slag was used to replace 50% of cement in HVIRC. HVIRC had better anti-carking ability with larger tensile strength, larger ultimate tensile strain, larger tensile-compressive strength ratio and smaller elastic modulus-to-strength ratio. Dry shrinkage rate of HVIRC was similar with that of ordinary Portland concrete (OPC). HVIRC had higher compactness with smaller gas diffusion coefficient and relative permeability coefficient. Expansion caused by alkali-silica reaction reduced greatly by using high volume industrial residue and alkali-silica reaction was controlled markedly. HVIRC had better property of chloride ion penetration resistance with low effective diffusion coefficient. HVIRC could protect steel-bar from premature corrosions. Properties of sulfate resistance and frost resistance of HVIRC were also favorable. It's proved that high volume industrial residue can enhance greatly mechanical property and durability of concrete and HVIRC can be used in Cao'e River floodgate.


Background/Aims Clinical practice systems are an important component of a high functioning Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Here, the relationships between PCMH clinical practice systems and healthcare costs and utilization are examined using a retrospectively constructed longitudinal cohort receiving consistent primary care from the same medical group over a 5-year period. Methods A 2005 survey of medical group directors measuredclinicalpracticesystemsusingthePhysicianPracticeConnections®-Research Survey™ (PPC®-RS). Medical group PPC®-RS scores were compared to the annual medical costs and utilization of a cohort of 58,391 persons attributed across 22 medical groups over a 5-year period (2005–2009). Four outcomes adjusted to 2005 dollars were considered: total annualized cost, total annualized outpatient cost, total annualized inpatient cost, and annualized emergency department visits (ED). Multivariate, multilevel regressions adjusting for patient demographics, health status and autoregressive errors estimated the relationship between PPC®-RS and study outcomes. Cohort-wide associations with PPC®-RS scores as well as specific effects within three sub-cohorts (medication count: 0–2[N=29,657], 2–6[N=19,505], 7+[ N=9,229]) were considered. Results The only consistent, cohort-wide relationship was with ED use. A 10% (71.13 to 78.24) increase in PPC®-RS scores was associated with 3.9 (medication count: 0–2), 6 (medication count: 3–6), and 11.6 (medication count: 7+) fewer ED visits/1000 in 2005; and 5.1, 7.6, and 13.6 fewer visits/1000 in 2009. The same 10% increase in PPC®-RS scores had little impact upon the least complex (medication count: 0–2) with no significant change in total (−$22/person in 2005; $184/person in 2009), outpatient(−$11/person in 2005; $42/person in 2009), and inpatient ($26/person in 2005; $29/person in 2009) costs. For medically complex patients (medication count: 7+), the story was different. The 10% increase in PPS-RS scores was associated with significantly decreased total ($446/person in 2005; $184/person in 2009) and outpatient ($241/person in 2005; $54/person in 2009) costs, but no significant change in inpatient costs ($43/person in 2005; $46/person in 2009). Discussion Improved PCMH clinical practice systems appear associated with a sustained reduced reliance upon emergency care, and their association with costs appears limited to the most medically complex who would most benefit from improved management of complex disease.


Following the advances in structural applications, composite structures are being used commonly in transducer applications to improve acoustic, mechanical and electrical performance of piezoelectric devices. Functional composite transducers for sensors and actuators generally consist of ceramics and polymers, the disadvantage of the brittleness nature of the piezoelectric ceramics can be overcome and the structures especially good for sensing can be allowed for building up. Propagation behavior of horizontally polarized shear waves (SH-waves) in piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites with 2-2 connectivity is taken into account. The multilayer structures are consisted of piezoelectric thin films bonded perfectly with polymeric thin films alternately. The phase velocity equations of SH-waves propagation in the piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites with 2-2 connectivity are obtained for the cases of wave propagation in the direction perpendicular to the layering and along the layering, respectively. Filter effect of this kind of structure and the effect of volume fraction and shear modulus ratio of piezoelectric layer to polymer layer on the phase velocity are discussed in detail, respectively. One practical combination of piezoelectric thin film-polymer thin film multilayer system is chosen to carry out the numerical simulation, some basic properties of SH-waves propagation in above multilayered structures are revealed.


Growth hormone variant (GH-V) is expressed in the human placenta. Placental GH-V
is not produced in rodents, but pituitary GH production is increased in pregnancy. In
both cases, pulsatile GH secretion is replaced by a more continuous GH pattern. The
placenta also expresses GH receptors, so it itself could represent a target tissue for
direct GH action. GH effects are mediated in part via the JAK/Stat5b pathway, and
detection of phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of Stat5b can be used to
identify cells responding directly to GH in vivo. I have now tested whether the rodent
placenta shows Stat5b responses to GH in vivo. This has been studied under basal
conditions, following continuous GH replacement, and during fasting, with or without
insulin injection. Following a single iv injection of recombinant bovine GH (bGH) in
female dwarf rats or GHRH-M2 GH-deficient mice, tissues were processed for
phospho-Stat5 (pYStat5) immunocytochemistry. As expected, both non-pregnant and
pregnant animals showed marked hepatic pYStat5 responses. Notably, pYStat5
responses were also seen in placental syncytiotrophoblast cells in response to
injections of GH but not saline. GH exposure during pregnancy is continuous, and it
has previously been shown in male dwarf rats that continuous GH exposure is much
less effective in inducing hepatic Stat5 phosphorylation, and blunts the pYStat5
response to a GH pulse. Pregnant rats receiving continuous bGH, showed an increased
cellular pYStat5 staining compared to saline controls. However, like in the male rats,
the response to GH was blunted following continuous exposure. Fasting is known to
impair GH effects, with lower pYStat5 responses in target tissues. GH-induced
pYStat5 responses were reduced in fasted animals, a single injection of insulin was
able to restore the response to GH during the continuing state of fasting, however, this
was variable depending on the extent of endogenous GH. GH deficiency was also associated with reduced litter size, average pup and placental weights. A preliminary
microarray analysis was carried to identify potential GH target genes in the placenta.
A few well known GH target genes or placental genes containing potential Stat5b
response elements showed no change in response to GH or a change in secretory
pattern. However, some novel genes were identified as GH-responsive and might be
important in growth during pregnancy. In conclusion, my results show that the
placenta is a direct target for GH, but what role this plays in placental function or fetal
growth remains to be determined.


A number of packaging configurations were explored as possible candidates for use with quad 1300-nm laser arrays operating at aggregate multi-Gb data rates. The packaging arrangements considered were with InP/GaInAsP-based double heterostructure ridge lasers. Quad laser arrays on single chips were packaged both junction up and junction down. Packages included simple CMSH submounts in 9-mm headers and custom wired silicon carriers on multilayered high-speed packages. Electrical and thermal measurements confirmed that T0 can technology will not meet the requirements needed for multi-Gb/s data links. A package that would surpass the requirements would include optimized wire-bond lengths, wire-bond orientation, and sufficient heat-sinking for the laser array and its associated electronics. A packaging arrangement was investigated which included the optimized conditions mentioned above and a custom wired silicon submount. Electrical crosstalk noise was reduced to -37 dB. Thermal effects were reduced to a point where lasers were able to operate at over 110 degrees C. This package surpassed the thermal and electrical crosstalk noise requirements demanded for multi-Gb/s data communication links.<<ETX>>


This paper examines monetary policy implementation in a sticky price model. The central bank's plan under discretionary optimization is entirely forward-looking and exhibits multiple equilibrium solutions if transactions frictions are not negligibly small. The central bank can then implement stable history dependent equilibrium sequences that are consistent with its plan by inertial interest rate adjustments or by money injections. These equilibria are associated with lower welfare losses than a forward-looking solution implemented by interest rate adjustments. The welfare gain from a history dependent implementation is found to rise with the strength of transactions frictions and the degree of price flexibility. It is further shown that the central bank's plan can uniquely be implemented in a history dependent way by money injections, whereas inertial interest rate adjustments cannot avoid equilibrium multiplicity.


Use of computational haemodynamics technology is well described for a number of diverse conditions in medicine including predicting flows in the Circle of Willis, risk of rupture of aneurysms,and optimum endovascular stent placement in the management of vascular pathology. Saphenous vein or radial artery interposition grafts are often used for high flow extracranial intracranial bypass procedures. These bypasses have the potential to supply a considerable volume of cerebral blood flow to the brain. However, longterm patency for specific graft types remains unknown.

This is a computation haemodynamic analysis of consecutive interposition bypass cases. The bypasses are between the common carotid artery (CCA) and intracranial Internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA). Emerging evidence supports a pathogenic role of abnormal wall shear stress (WSS) and pressure turbulence flow as
important factors in the development of early graft failure at the anastomotic site. This study aimed to develop a com
putational fluid dynamics simulator for assessing flow in
cerebral high flow revascularisation bypass graftsand
to study the impact of variations in the anastomosis angle
and pressure gradient across bypass Also the optimum mean arterial pressure required for maintaining the graft flow was investigated.


Employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and ethnicity has long plagued America's workforce. Congress passed Title VII to address this concern, which outlawed both intentional and pretextual discrimination — referred to as disparate treatment and disparate impact, respectively. But what happens when two different racial groups bring competing disparate treatment and disparate impact claims seeking to compel an employer to take mutually exclusive actions — one threatening to sue if an employer takes a given action and the other threatening to sue if the employer does not take that same action? Should one claim trump the other? The Supreme Court in Ricci v. DeStefano, carved out a limited defense against a disparate treatment claim where there was a "strong basis in evidence" to believe that not taking the intentionally discriminatory action would result in a disparate impact claim. In NAACP v. North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue the Third Circuit used a novel temporal distinction to restrict the Ricci defense to its facts. This Casebrief argues that the Third Circuit's decision reinforced the court's commitment to upholding Title VII's purpose of eliminating discrimination by narrowly interpreting the available defenses to liability. After all, two wrongs don't make a right.


Soft-tissue problems associated with fractures of the calcaneus are common and can present many pitfalls. A classification of soft-tissue problems has been devised to facilitate treatment: Type 1, closed fractures treated by open reduction and internal fixation with an inability to close the skin. Type 2, wound break down after open reduction. Type 3, open fractures of the calcaneus with traumatic large soft-tissue loss but with adequate bone stock. Type 4, traumatic loss of soft tissue and bone. Type 5, calcaneal osteomyelitis. Type 6, chronic unstable soft tissue over the calcaneus. There are various surgical options of skin graft, rotational flaps, and free-tissue transfers that best reconstruct each of these individual problems


BACKGROUND: Congenital vaginal agenesis, with a prevalence of 1 in 4000 or 5000 females, occurs mainly as a feature of the Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. The management of this patient includes psychological support and the creation of a neovagina. OBJECTIVE: To present and evaluate the pudendal thigh flap for the creation of a neovagina in eight young women with MRKH syndrome. METHODS: Eight young women with MRKH syndrome had a neovagina created by using the bilateral pudendal thigh fasciocutaneous flap procedure, Singapore flap. The patients' follow-up ranged between 6 months and 3 years. RESULTS: A functional vagina of at least 10cm in depth and 5cm in width was created in al cases. Although the patients reported moderated local pain after the procedure, they were satisfied with the results. In addition, normal sexual life was possible after 40 days and none of them reported bleeding or pain during sexual relation. Three patients presented hair in the vaginal lining. CONCLUSION: Bilateral fasciocutaneous pudendal thigh flap permits vaginal reconstruction with some advantages such as postoperative dilatation is not necessary, sensation is maintained and the resulting scars are inconspicuous.


In Japan, Hirschmanniella diversa is an important pest in lotus cultivation in paddy fields and only lime nitrogen is registered for its control. Therefore, additional nematicides are required to control the nematode. The objective of this study was to screen for an effective nematicide. Fourth-stage juveniles and adults of H. diversa sampled from a lotus field were tested in in vitro solution experiments against 37 pesticides that are registered for the pest control of crops in Japan. Carbamate-based benfuracarb, organophosphate-based fenthion, nereistoxin-based cartap hydrochloride and cyanamide showed nematicidal effects against H. diversa. Benfuracarb at 1 μg/mL showed a nematostatic effect on H. diversa in an agar plate assay. Further, H. diversa treated with benfuracarb did not resume activity 7 days post nematicide treatment when transferred to distilled water. Benfuracarb was tested in micro-field experiments, in which H. diversa density and lotus tuber damage levels were monitored. Results showed that benfuracarb reduced H. diversa densities in the roots during the cultivation period in 2012 and consistently reduced damage levels during a five year study period. Thus, benfuracarb is recommended as an effective nematicide to be used for H. diversa control in lotus cultivation.


We present a method for explaining predictions for individual instances. The presented approach is general and can be used with all classification models that output probabilities. It is based on the decomposition of a model's predictions on individual contributions of each attribute. Our method works for the so-called black box models such as support vector machines, neural networks, and nearest neighbor algorithms, as well as for ensemble methods such as boosting and random forests. We demonstrate that the generated explanations closely follow the learned models and present a visualization technique that shows the utility of our approach and enables the comparison of different prediction methods.


In foundry technology the modeling of heat transfer in materials containing exothermic components must take into consideration the presence of heat sources in the Fourier–Kirchhoff equation. The aim of this investigation was the identification of real and effective thermophysical parameters of the insulating and insulating –exothermic materials used as riser sleeves containing these exothermic heat sources. The experiments of liquid steel or cast iron pouring into the mould, containing different insulating and exothermic sleeves were carried out, using thermocouples meas-urement systems (thermal analysis of casting–mould system). Then the thermo-physical coefficients of these materials were calculated using inverse problem solution. The numerical system Calcosoft and its Inverse Solution procedure were applied.


The battery cells are an important part of electric and hybrid vehicles and their deterioration due to aging directly affects the life cycle and performance of the whole battery system. Therefore an early aging detection of the battery cell is an important task and its correct solution could significantly improve the whole vehicle performance. This paper presents a computational strategy for battery aging detection, based on available data chunks from real operation of the vehicle. The first step is to aggregate (reduce) the original large amount of data by much smaller number of cluster centers. This is done by a newly proposed sequential clustering algorithm that arranges the clusters in decreasing order of their volumes. The next step is the proposed fuzzy inference procedure for weighed approximation of the cluster centers that creates comparable one dimensional fuzzy model for each available data set. Finally, the detection of the aged battery is treated as a similarity analysis problem, in which the pair distances between all battery cells are estimated by analyzing the predicted values from the respective fuzzy models. All these three steps of the computational procedure are explained in the paper and applied to real experimental data for battery aging detection. The results are positive and suggestions for further improvements are made in the conclusions.


In the present work, an improved approach for the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was proposed. The MIPs were prepared based on terpolymer copolymerization under acidic environmental conditions at room temperature and with a solvent eluting template, using ephedrine as the template, and melamine–urea–formaldehyde (MUF) as the terpolymer and also as a functional monomer. In this preparation protocol, the cross-linker was not added. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to evaluate the adsorption properties and recognition mechanism of the ephedrine molecularly imprinted co-polymer (EMIP). The recognition property of EMIPs for ephedrine was investigated in depth with both static and dynamic methods using pseudo-ephedrine, another enantiomer of ephedrine, as the comparison compound. The EMIP's ability to bind ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine was examined. Results showed that the EMIP had good recognition selectivity and binding affinity towards ephedrine, whereas its ability to bind pseudo-ephedrine was poor. The selectivity coefficient of EMIP for ephedrine with respect to pseudo-ephedrine is over seven. It indicated that it had a separation ability at the molecular configuration level. The solid-phase extraction (SPE) experiment showed that the EMIP was able to rebind and enrich ephedrine from the herb ephedra when used as the solid sorbent. The extraction results were compared with those of the liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), showing that the EMIP had a specific adsorption capacity for ephedrine. The amount of ephedrine extracted using SPE was 1.3 times higher than that using LLE.


We propose an adaptable and efficient model-based reinforcement learning approach well suited for continuous domains with sparse samples, a setting often encountered when learning from demonstrations. The flexibility of our method originates from the approximate transition models, estimated from data, and the online replanning approach proposed. Together, these components allow for immediate adaptation to a new task, given in the form of a reward function. The efficiency of our method comes from two approximations. First, rather than representing a complete distribution over the results of taking an action, which is difficult in continuous state spaces, it learns a linear model of the expected transition for each action. Second, it uses a novel strategy for compressing these linear action models, which significantly reduces space and time for learning models, and supports efficient online generation of open-loop plans. The effectiveness of these methods is demonstrated in a simulated driving domain with a 20-dimensional continuous input space.


BACKGROUND
Early enteral feeding practices are potentially modifiable risk factors for necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Observational studies suggest that conservative feeding regimens that include slowly advancing enteral feed volumes reduce the risk of necrotising enterocolitis. However, slow feed advancement may delay establishment of full enteral feeding and be associated with metabolic and infectious morbidities secondary to prolonged exposure to parenteral nutrition.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the effect of slow rates of enteral feed advancement on the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis, mortality and other morbidities in very preterm or VLBW infants.

SEARCH METHODS
We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 12), MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL (to December 2012), conference proceedings, and previous reviews.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that assessed the effect of slow (up to 24 ml/kg/day) versus faster rates of advancement of enteral feed volumes upon the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or VLBW infants.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data collection and analysis was performed using the standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group.

MAIN RESULTS
We identified five randomised controlled trials in which a total of 588 infants participated. Few participants were extremely preterm, extremely low birth weight or growth restricted. The trials defined slow advancement as daily increments of 15 to 20 ml/kg and faster advancement as 30 to 35 ml/kg. Meta-analyses did not detect statistically significant effects on the risk of necrotising enterocolitis (typical risk ratio (RR) 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54 to 1.74) or all-cause mortality (RR 1.41, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.74). Infants who had slow advancement took significantly longer to regain birth weight (reported median differences two to six days) and to establish full enteral feeding (two to five days).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The available trial data suggest that advancing enteral feed volumes at slow rather than faster rates does not reduce the risk of necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or VLBW infants. Advancing the volume of enteral feeds at slow rates results in several days delay in regaining birth weight and establishing full enteral feeds but the long term clinical importance of these effects is unclear. The applicability of these findings to extremely preterm, extremely low birth weight or growth restricted infants is limited. Further randomised controlled trials in these populations may be warranted to resolve this uncertainty.


In response to the call of curriculum reforms at the international, national, and local levels, we conceptualize an eco-mentorship program and envision a learning garden alternative practica. We aim to advance a framework enabling the innovation of Indigenous environmental studies, eco-justice education, and Western scientific environmental knowledge as part of a larger eco-literacy and environmental leadership curriculum in Ontario. We explore the application of a framework for environmental learning that involves eco-hermeneutic practices, making historical and etymological connections between land and language through the development of relationships with place. As gathering and gardening practices have taken place in Indigenous cultures since time immemorial, we investigate how earth, water, food, and plants can be explored through an inter-generational knowledge model. Resume


Antje Wiener examines the involvement of local actors in conflicts over global norms such as fundamental rights and the prohibition of torture and sexual violence. Providing accounts of local interventions made on behalf of those affected by breaches of norms, she identifies the constraints and opportunities for stakeholder participation in a fragmented global society. The book also considers cultural and institutional diversity with regard to the co-constitution of norm change. Proposing a clear framework to operationalize research on contested norms, and illustrating it through three recent cases, this book contributes to the project of global international relations by offering an agency-centred approach. It will interest scholars and advanced students of international relations, international political theory, and international law seeking a principled approach to practice that overcomes the practice-norm gap.


Nine consecutive multichorionic multiple gestations with early second-trimester (< or =20 weeks) preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) of the lower gestational sac were managed expectantly. Mean gestational age at PPROM was 17.5 weeks (13-20 weeks), and the mean PPROM delivery time interval was 6.2 weeks (0-11 weeks). A fetal loss of 63% (12 of 19), and a subsequent neonatal loss of 57% (4 of 7) were observed. Of the four pregnancies evolving beyond 25 weeks, three delivered before 30 weeks. The baby take-home rate was 16% (3 of 19). Histologic evidence of chorioamnionitis was present in 5 of 7 (71%) investigated pregnancies. Three other consecutive twin pregnancies were complicated by PPROM of the precervical gestational sac at 13 to 16 weeks of gestation (mean: 15 weeks). In the absence of clinical chorioamnionitis and amniotic fluid, selective feticide with potassium chloride was performed. Pregnancy was successfully prolonged beyond 33 weeks in two cases. The overall PPROM delivery time interval was 21 weeks (20-22 weeks). No neonatal losses were encountered. The baby take-home rate was 66% (2 of 3). Selective feticide of the fetus with early midtrimester PROM in the absence of maternal signs of infection may improve the former unfavorable pregnancy outcome.


During mechanical ventilation, the humidification of the dry air delivered by the mechanical ventilator is recommended. Among several solutions, heated wire humidifiers (HWHs) have gained large acceptance to be used in this field. The aim of this work is to fabricate a measuring system based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for the simultaneous monitoring of gas relative humidity (RH) and temperature, intended to be used for providing feedback to the HWHs' control. This solution can be implemented using an array of two FBGs having a different center wavelength. Regarding RH monitoring, three sensors have been fabricated by coating an FBG with two different moisture-sensitive and biocompatible materials: the first two sensors were fabricated by coating the grating with a 3 mm × 3 mm layer of agar and agarose; to investigate the influence of the coating thickness to the sensor response, a third sensor was developed with a 5 mm × 5 mm layer of agar. The sensors have been assessed in a wide range of RH (up to 95%) during both an ascending and a subsequent descending phase. Only the response of the 3 mm × 3 mm-coated sensors were fast enough to follow the RH changes, showing a mean sensitivity of about 0.14 nm/% (agar-coated) and 0.12 nm/% (agarose-coated). The hysteresis error was about <10% in the two sensors. The contribution of temperature changes on these RH sensors was negligible. The temperature measurement was performed by a commercial FBG insensitive to RH changes. The small size of these FBG-based sensors, the use of biocompatible polymers, and the possibility to measure both temperature and RH by using the same fiber optic embedding an array of two FBGs make intriguing the use of this solution for application in the control of HWHs.


In this paper we study L(S)-tuples of matrices, a class of /v-tuples that includes as special cases the L-pairs studied by Motzkin and Taussky, and the Z-pairs defined by Taussky for complex elements and diagonable first matrix. Some light on these concepts and a few relevant results are produced by linking them to properties of algebraic hypersurfaces and especially curves with respect to an exterior point.


The objective of the final plenary session of the 8th European Mentoring Conference was to establish a new understanding of mentoring through a collaborative approach to creating patterns of meaning about the subject. We wanted to use participants' insights from the sessions they attended. Each insight could then be seen as an "ingredient" or as a "particle", "cell" or "molecule" of meaning that, when seen in relation to other such "molecules", would evoke a deeper insight into what we already recognise as a complex mentoring process. Clearly phrases such as "molecules of meaning" are relevant to approaching the science of making patterns of meaning and chosen because such expressions are not part of our everyday vocabulary. They have us stretch our attention and imagination, and are helpful in the stages of a methodology suggested to participants. This paper is an account of what participants did leading up to the final plenary, what we as facilitators did in preparation for this session, what happened during the plenary and what emerged as a result of collaborative sense making.


Twenty-four Holstein cows, including four primiparous and four ruminally cannulated, were in replicated 4 x 4 Latin squares with 21-d periods to determine the effects of feeding level of whole roasted soybeans on lactation performance and rumen function. Cows were fed rations containing a 50:50 forage:concentrate ratio with 0, 12, 18, or 24% of diet DM as whole roasted soybeans. Rations contained 16.8, 16.9, 18.6, and 19.7% CP and 1.68, 1.71, 1.72, and 1.74 Mcal NEL/kg DM, respectively. Milk production and milk fat percentages for diets containing 0, 12, 18, or 24% whole roasted soybeans were 34.9, 37.5, 38.5, and 38.8 kg/d and 3.23, 3.20, 3.32, and 3.37%, respectively. Milk protein percentage was depressed at all levels of whole roasted soybeans. Ruminal pH, VFA molar percentages except valerate, and DM disappearance of forage from dacron bags did not differ among treatments. Responses were similar among primiparous and multiparous cows. Results suggest benefit from feeding whole roasted soybeans at levels up to 18% of ration DM without adversely affecting DMI, milk fat, or rumen fermentation.


Medicare's recently announced changes to its Part D drug-reimbursement program are sure to have a major impact on pharmacists and pharmacies. The key modifications concern the way in which long-term care (LTC) pharmacies will be serving nursing homes and which nursing-home patients should receive expanded medication therapy management (MTM) services. LTC pharmacies such as Omnicare, PharMerica, Inc., and Managed Health Care Associates, Inc., currently control about 90% of the market.

The big change entails what nursing homes can demand of LTC pharmacies; this in turn affects the pharmacies' distributors, namely companies such as McKesson, AmeriSource Bergen, and Cardinal. For years, Medicare directors were concerned that their health insurance program was being billed by nursing homes for drugs that their residents never used. To fix this financial and environmental problem, specifically the improper disposal of unused toxic drugs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) late last year proposed that LTC pharmacies provide prescriptions for medications in amounts of no more than seven days' duration to all nursing-home patients served by Part D. That idea didn't go over well with anyone—not the Part D plans, the nursing homes, or the LTC pharmacies.

In the final CMS rule, issued on April 15, 2011, the agency made several concessions. It postponed the deadline for implementing the provisions from January 1, 2012, to January 1, 2013. Instead of calling for Part D plans to require their nursing-home pharmacy suppliers to provide all brand-name drugs in quantities of seven days' use or less, the CMS decided to require a 14-day supply or less. Typically, LTC pharmacies deliver 30-day drug supplies to nursing-home residents.

The final rule also allows nursing homes to dictate to their pharmacy suppliers how the pharmacy must provide drug supplies of 14 days or less to residents. The LTC facility may choose to have one dispensing method for brand-name Part D drugs, another technique for generic Part D drugs, and a third procedure for drugs dispensed to non-Part D enrollees (Part A participants). The facility, not the Part D sponsor (who actually contracts with the pharmacy provider), chooses the method. Clearly, the CMS would like to see nursing homes move toward automated dose dispensing as a way to reduce medication errors as well as drug waste, but the final rule does not mandate the use of that procedure.

The CMS also backed off from its proposal requiring nursing homes to send all unused drugs back to the pharmacy from whence they came. Instead, nursing homes will have to communicate to their Part D plans which drugs and how many drugs went unused. The CMS will use that information to fine-tune these new requirements at some future time.

In the end, the one-year delay of the 14-day supply of brand-name drugs effectively erases most LTC pharmacy concerns, as several major brand-name drugs are set to go off patent soon. According to Bill Daniel, Executive Director of the Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance, his members are reporting that about 4% of their drug sales to nursing homes will be affected by the 14-day supply rule.

The changes to MTM requirements apply to all Medicare recipients in Part D plans, both within and outside of nursing homes. These changes are a bit less radical than those having to do with nursing-home patients, in part because the CMS has already implemented a number of administrative changes. In April 2010, the CMS requested that Part D plans perform a quarterly assessment of all "at-risk" individuals who were not already enrolled in an MTM program, to establish opt-out enrollment procedures for MTM, and to offer MTM services to targeted beneficiaries. These services must include, at a minimum, an annual comprehensive patient medication review that could be conducted person-to-person or via telehealth technologies. These evaluations may result in the creation of a recommended medication action plan, and the patient would receive a written or printed summary of the results.

For pharmacists in general, the most objectionable point about the April final rule is this: The CMS says that Part D plans do not have to use only pharmacists to perform the annual comprehensive drug review; "any qualified provider" can do the review. However, the CMS indicated that it might establish qualifications for health care providers in the future and "welcomes" input in that regard.

Consultant pharmacists working at nursing homes have a separate concern. Medicare had initially said that nursing-home residents who currently receive monthly drug regimen reviews from consultant pharmacists under nursing-home rules should also receive MTM services that Part D plans are required to offer most Medicare patients, regardless of the patients' place of residence. However, the CMS believes that the full range of MTM services is not being provided to some of these location. As a result, Part D plans would have to develop contracts with consulting pharmacists to provide the full panoply of MTM services to qualified residents.

Lynne Batshon, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, says some nursing-home patients would benefit from additional MTM services, but she adds that the patient population should be identified first—which Medicare agreed to do in the final rule. The fly in the ointment, not surprisingly, will be figuring out how Medicare will pay for those additional MTM services.


Perforin mutations have been demonstrated in a proportion of patients diagnosed with the familial form of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In the present study, we evaluated whether some patients with lymphoma sharing clinical characteristics with HLH might harbor mutations of the perforin gene. We analyzed 29 patients and found that 4 patients, who developed either Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, had biallelic mutations of the perforin gene. One of these 4 patients, a 19-year-old female with T-cell lymphoma, had a brother carrying the same mutations who developed HLH. In 2 of the 4 patients with biallelic mutations of the perforin gene, we evaluated perforin expression by flow cytometry and natural killer (NK) activity and both were found to be absent. Moreover, we documented the presence of monoallelic mutations of the perforin gene in 4 more patients. One of these 4 latter patients also carried a mutation of the Fas gene. These data indicate that perforin deficiency, either alone or in combination with other mutations of genes involved in lymphocyte survival or functional activity, may be present in patients with lymphoma. These findings suggest that perforin also plays a key role in the mechanisms of immune surveillance that prevent tumor growth and/or development.


Abstract. The Z-Scan (ZS) technique in the thermal regime has been used to measure the nonlinear optical response of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The ZS technique is carried out in LDL from 40 patients with chronic periodontitis before and after three, six, and 12 months of periodontal treatment. Clinical parameters such as probing depths, bleeding on probing, total and differential white blood cells counts, lipid profiles, cytokine levels, and antibodies against oxidized LDL are also determined and compared over time. Before the treatment, the ZS experimental results reveal that the LDL particles of these patients are heavily modified. Only after 12 months of the periodontal treatment, the ZS results obtained reveal behavioral characteristics of healthy particles. This conclusion is also supported by complementary laboratorial analysis showing that the periodontal treatment induces systemic changes in several inflammatory markers.


Courts in recent years have increasingly made blunt use of their equitable powers in trademark cases. Rather than limiting the scope of injunctive relief so as to protect the interests of a mark owner while respecting the legitimate interests of third parties and of consumers, courts in most cases have viewed injunctive relief in binary terms. This is unfortunate, because greater willingness to tailor injunctive relief could go a long way to mitigating some of the most pernicious effects of trademark law's modern expansion. This Essay urges courts to reverse this trend towards crude injunctive relief, and to re-embrace their equitable discretion as a means of achieving greater balance in the trademark system.


Martin Crimp's open texts (writerly texts - Barthes) Attempts on her Life, Face to the Wall and Fewer Emergencies have posed theatrical challenges to both theatre makers and spectators alike over the last eight years. The texts blur the division between fictionality and reality: onstage personas aggressively contradict each others' descriptions (to the audience) of the central yet absent main protagonist (Attempts on her Life); a performer is unsure of the sequence of events he is supposed to be relating and is corrected by another, who is absent from the frame of the first performer's theatrical world (Face to the Wall); there are no fictional characters present on stage, only opinions and unreliable narrators.

Implicit in these texts is the need for a working relationship to be developed between the performance and the audience that goes beyond that expected by spectators of dramatic theatre; the audience are complicit in the event because their presence seems to them to have altered the rules of the performance.

Crimp has encoded in his writerly texts the notion that one theatrical form will not be enough to realise the totality of the information contained therein. The need for diverse performance modes means that the final performance can never be totally removed from the reality of its attempt to manufacture itself onstage.

In this paper I will explore Crimp's methods of creating his fictional/real performance dimension and look at performances of his work as case studies, with reference to Marco de Marinis' definition of and questioning of the 'openness' of text and the concept of the 'Model Spectator'.


On the basis of the complex variable moving least-square (CVMLS) approximation, a complex variable meshless local Petrov—Galerkin (CVMLPG) method is presented for transient heat conduction problems. The method is developed based on the CVMLS approximation for constructing shape functions at scattered points, and the Heaviside step function is used as a test function in each sub-domain to avoid the need for a domain integral in symmetric weak form. In the construction of the well-performed shape function, the trial function of a two-dimensional (2D) problem is formed with a one-dimensional (1D) basis function, thus improving computational efficiency. The numerical results are compared with the exact solutions of the problems and the finite element method (FEM). This comparison illustrates the accuracy as well as the capability of the CVMLPG method.


Owing to its non-corrosive characteristics, Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) reinforcement can be a promising alternative to conventional steel reinforcement in structural elements exposed to severe environments, such as in bridge girders. However, the use of FRPs in such elements is limited, as their shear behaviour is still very little understood. In fact, only limited number of studies have focused on size effect, which is associated with a reduction of shear strength in larger elements, and how this affects the relative shear contributions of concrete and FRP shear reinforcement. Many design recommendations adopted size effect provisions developed for steel RC beams without investigating the validity of these models in great depth or accounting for the unique mechanical properties of FRP and their effect on overall structural behaviour (e.g. wider cracks and larger strain).
This study aims to advance the understanding of the influence of beam's depth on the shear behaviour and development of shear resisting mechanisms in FRP RC beams, so as to develop more refined and reliable shear predicting models, especially for larger elements.
Based on detailed experimental measurements obtained from three point bending tests carried out on fifteen FRP RC beams with and without external FRP shear links, a decomposition of the basic shear resisting mechanisms is performed to estimate the individual contributions of concrete and shear reinforcement.
The results confirm a considerable size effect for members without shear reinforcement (up to 40 % reduction for larger elements), and indicate that this is strongly related to the maximum strain that can be attained in the flexural reinforcement. The analysis shows that both contributions of concrete and shear reinforcement are variable, and change with increasing strain in the flexural and shear reinforcement. However, even when relatively large strain values are mobilised in the reinforcement, the additive nature of these shear resisting components can be effectively maintained, as long as the individual contributions offered by concrete and shear reinforcement are sufficiently accounted for.
Based on the experimental observations, a unified design model for FRP and steel RC beams is proposed. The model accounts for size effect, increases the safety margins for larger RC beams and reduces the COV in shear predictions by up to 25%.


The "antigonadal" potential of the neurohypophysial hormones, previously demonstrated in vitro, was evaluated in vivo using hypophysectomized male rats. This approach minimizes the likelihood that the in vivo "antigonadal" effect of the neurohypophysial hormones may be due to their ability to attenuate the release of pituitary gonadotropins. Given that the identity of the putative endogenous occupant of testicular pressor-selective neurohypophysial receptors remains uncertain, use was made of a substitute probe, arginine vasotocin (AVT), the utility of which has been demonstrated in vitro. Concurrent in vivo treatment of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; 5 micrograms/rat/day)-maintained immature hypophysectomized rats with increasing doses of AVT (0.25-25 microgram/rat/day) produced significant (P less than 0.05) dose-dependent inhibition of the testicular luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin (LH/hCG) receptor binding capacity (but not affinity; Kd = 1.8 X 10(-10) M) from 8.8 +/- (standard error; SE) 0.4 ng/testis to a level (3.2 +/- 0.2 ng/testis) lower than that of controls (64% reduction). This AVT-induced decrease in the testicular LH/hCG receptor content of FSH-maintained immature hypophysectomized rats was associated with significant (P less than 0.05) decrements in the hCG- and N6, 2'-O-dibutyryladeosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate [( Bu]2cAMP)-stimulated accumulation of 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-17-one (androsterone; 52% and 42% inhibition, respectively), with virtual elimination (98% inhibition) of the forskolin-stimulated accumulation of extracellular cAMP by testicular incubates in vitro, as well as with profound suppression of spermatogenesis. Taken together, these observations indicate that the "antigonadal" effect of the neurohypophysial hormones previously demonstrated in vitro, can be fully reproduced in vivo, and that the "antigonadal" activity of the neurohypophysial hormones may be accounted for, in large part, by decreased testicular LH/hCG binding capacity, stimulable adenylate cyclase activity, and cAMP-supported androgen biosynthesis.


While postneoliberalism is often interpreted as a societal reaction against the deleterious effects of marketization in Latin America, this paper develops a finer-grained Polanyian institutional analysis to gain better analytical purchase on the ambivalent outcomes of postneoliberal reforms. Drawing on recent insights in economic geography, and in dialogue with the Latin American structuralist tradition, we elaborate our framework through a case study of the Argentinian soy boom of the 2000s, identifying forms of market extension, redistribution, reciprocity and householding that facilitated this process. We argue for a multi-scalar approach that balances attention to national and extra-local dynamics shaping the combination of these forms, identified through the lens of the "fictitious commodities" of the soy boom: money (credit, currency and cross-border capital flows), land (in the agricultural heartland and frontier regions), labor (transformed and excluded in a "farming without farmers" model) and, we add, knowledge (biotech). Our analysis identifies internal tensions as well as overt resistance and "overflow" that ultimately led to the collapse of postneoliberal regulation of the soy complex, ushering in a wider, market-radical counter-movement. Refracting double-movement-type dynamics through the prism of heterodox institutional forms, we argue, allows for a better grasp of processes that underlie institutional recalibrations of progressive and regressive kinds.


A crucial point on the successful deployment of multicast services is the enhanced reliability by means of advanced error control schemes. To this direction Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has standardized exclusively for Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services (MBMS) the use of a Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism on the application layer based on Raptor codes. Since the standardized systematic, fountain Raptor code is now considered obsolete, the emergence of a new variant of Raptor codes, named RaptorQ, provides enhanced capabilities for mobile multicast services. In this paper, we provide a performance comparison of the standardized Raptor Application Layer FEC (AL-FEC) scheme with the very promising RaptorQ FEC code. We examine the enhancements that RaptorQ introduces on the AL-FEC protection robustness, providing a thorough performance analysis in comparison with the current Raptor FEC scheme. Furthermore, in order to verify the improved performance of RaptorQ, we provide several simulation results utilizing the ns-3 environment, considering the application of both the examined AL-FEC schemes over multicast services for next generation mobile networks.


In order to verify the reliability of a calibration mechanism including a motion component used in the satellite, the dynamic analysis for this mechanism is conducted with modal coordinate reduction method. Firstly, FEM software ABAQUS is employed to calculate the eigenfrequency and mode shapes of this mechanism. Then, the transfer function at some key points can be acquired by coordinate transformation from its original format in modal coordinate. Finally, the power spectral density at the key points are obtained and compared with the results of random vibration experiments to prove the dynamics analytical validity.


Abstract. Floods are the most common and destructive disasters around the globe, which becomes more challenging in coastal areas due to higher population density and catchment areas relative to floods in an inland area. For effective coastal flood management to reduce flood adverse impacts it is necessary to investigate the flooding processes and their joint interaction in a coastal area. This paper selected the Brisbane River Estuary, Australia as an example, and the MIKE 21 model is applied to investigate the effects of mesh resolution on the flood discharge and to explores compound flooding by computing variances in coastal flood assessments resulting from a separation of tidal and riverine processes. The statistical results showed that the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient, E of water level are varied from 0.84 to 0.95 and the model simulated the 2011 flood extent results agreed with 90 % accuracy with the observed flood extent. Five mesh resolutions cases were analyzed and the result found that the finer mesh resolution Case 5 was more appropriate for calculating the peak discharge with 2.7 % with estimated discharge. Compound flood event simulation results emphasized that not considering the interaction of various flooding drivers caused 0.62 m and 0.12 m reduction in the flood levels at Jindalee and Brisbane city gauges, and uncertainties in flood extent. Simulated results of flood at Brisbane city gauge, showed that 2011 and 2013 floods with storm surge scenario 4 demonstrate, the increase in flood level to be 12 % and 34 % respectively. The results recommend flooding assessment by using mesh convergence with joint probability of compound flood under future storm surge for planning and management of coastal projects.


One hundred and sixty-two children suffering from chronic protracted diarrhea were randomly divided into two groups and observed clinically. In the Chinese herbal medicine group (HM group), Xiang Cheng San was externally applied to the umbilicus of patients, while in the western medicine group (WM group), western drugs were routinely given. The results showed that the therapeutic effects were markedly better in the HM than in the WM group. Animal experiments showed that external application of Xiang Cheng San may inhib-it hyperperistalsis of the intestine in mice, suppress peristalsis of the isolated smooth muscles in rabbits, and dilate micro-vessels and thus improve micro-circulation of the mesentery in rats.


The effect of an informational intervention that provided objective descriptions, in concrete terms, of the usual experiences during the various phases of radiation therapy was tested in a random clinical trial. The patients had Stage A, B, or C prostatic cancer. Forty‐two control patients received the information routinely provided to all patients in the treatment setting. Forty‐two experimental patients received, in addition, four informational messages during the course of radiation therapy. The first message described the experience of treatment planning; the second described the experience of receiving a radiation treatment; the third described side effects that usually occur, their onset, their characteristics, and activities to lessen their impact; and the fourth described the usual experiences during the months following radiation treatments. The experimental group of patients, compared with those in the control group, reported significantly less disruption in usual activities during and following radiation therapy. The amount of emotional disturbance was low and did not differ by study group. The results of this study, with respect to the interventions' effect on radiation therapy patients' quality of life, were consistent with prior research in other health care situations.


Polythiophene derivatives are amongst the most technologically promising conducting polymers both for their high stability in both their doped and undoped states, and for their processability. For these reasons polythiophene derivatives are excellent candidates for use as electrochromic conducting polymers.
It is well known that the inclusion of metal moieties in conducting polymer structures can alter the polymer's properties. In order to explore this phenomenon, polythiophene derivatives with pendant transition metal sulfonate groups were synthesised from the ammonium salt. These polymers were then studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and their key electro chromic properties were examined. The colour change produced upon doping was measured, as were the kinetics of this colour change and the stability of the doped state. The different metal ions caused small changes in the colour of the undoped and doped polymer. The interband absorption peaks of the more ionic metal salts were red-shifted relative to the more covalent ones. In addition, salts of metals good at complexing were insoluble in water, unlike the salts of metals that are not. The complex also correlated with the stability of the doped state, the better complexing metal salts being more stable. The switching times were a few seconds for most of the polymers, although the chromium, copper and tin salts were significantly slower.
Poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (P3AT) are of great commercial and scientific interest because of electrical conductivity, stability in air and processability. The most cost effective method of their synthesis is oxidative polymerisation using iron (III) chloride. It has been found that this can be enhanced by small amounts of nickel and cobalt chloride used during polymer synthesis. In order to understand this phenomenon, the mechanism of the oxidative polymerisation of 3-hexylthiophene (3HT) and the effects of reaction modifiers on the resulting polymer properties were investigated. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), UV-visible spectroscopy and proton NMR spectroscopy were employed to investigate the effects of specific organic inhibitors and of cobalt chloride catalyst. The mechanism of polymerisation was identified using inhibitors that each affected one specific reaction pathway. Polymerisation was observed to proceed by two' different mechanisms, one of which was greatly inhibited by cobalt chloride whilst the other was enhanced. Cobalt chloride was found to increase the molecular weight of the polymer and to make it more regioregular. As a result, the conductivity of the iodine-doped polymer was strongly enhanced.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection causing coronavirus 18 disease 2019 has spread worldwide. Whether antibodies are important for the adaptive 19 immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 infection needs to be determined. Here, 26 20 cases of COVID-19 in Jinan, China, were examined and shown to be mild or with 21 common clinical symptoms and no cases of severe symptoms were found among 22 these patients. A striking feature of some patients is that SARS-CoV-2 could exist in 23 patients who have virus-specific IgG antibodies for a very long period, with one case 24 for up to 36 days. One COVID-19 patient who did not produce any 25 SARS-CoV-2-bound IgG successfully cleared SARS-CoV-2 after 46 days of illness, 26 revealing that without antibody-mediated adaptive immunity, innate immunity may 27 still be powerful enough to eliminate SARS-CoV-2. Overall, this report may provide a 28 basis for further analysis of both innate and adaptive immunity in SARS-CoV-2 29 clearance, especially in non-severe cases. This study also has implications for 30 understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2. 31 patients, and we could not determine on which day the SARS-CoV-2 bound IgG antibodies generated. Thus, we could not observe the dynamic changes in IgG antibodies during illness and recovery. Third, we lack severe patients as controls; therefore, we do not know whether the adaptive immunity of severe patients can respond earlier because of their strong immune response and whether they can clear the virus faster after antibodies are produced. Despite that, our study provided several novel pieces of information about the innate and adaptive immune response against SARS-CoV-2: IgG antibodies can be generated as early as 7 days post illness but can coexist with SARS-CoV-2 in patients long-term; without IgG antibodies, innate immunity can also successfully clear SARS-CoV-2.


because of the different capacity of farmers to overcome various constraints. Understanding these differences is crucial for speeding up the adoption by farmers of improved seed varieties. Although researchers have identified certain factors that explain regional demand differences in Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about which of those factors apply to Nigeria, and how empirical research can fill the knowledge gap. This brief summarizes key characteristics of the demand for seed among rice, cowpea and maize producers in Nigeria. It also recommends improvements to Nigeria's seed distribution system that might help farmers obtain improved varieties on a timely basis.


Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of an existential threat, we conducted a nationwide survey in March 2020 asking 445 Americans about their hopes and fears, their opinions about the coronavirus pandemic, and their attitudes for getting through the public health crisis. In the present research, we examine the coronavirus pandemic as a complex problem and explore its effects on respondents' levels of optimism to resolve the public health crisis. While much existing research examines the influence of risk perception on optimism, we specifically measure how respondents' levels of empathy and trust affect social resilience and relate to hopes and fears for their personal health and public health in the United States. Specifically, we examine respondents' levels of trust in government and their neighbors as well as their levels of empathy, alienation, and social isolation. Our research confirmed the importance of empathy to counter the spread of the virus while preventing economic collapse. In addition, we found that relational factors such as alienation and trust affect individuals' levels of optimism or pessimism for getting through the public health crisis.


The aim of this work is to study the influence of macroeconomic volatility on physical capital accumulation in Sub-Saharan economies. To do this, we relied on a panel of 18 countries in the region, covering the period 1980-2010. In addition, our measures of volatility are obtained after estimating a GARCH (Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity) model on four macroeconomics indicators that are the terms of trade, the real effective exchange rate, the GDP's growth and the inflation rate. After using the LSDV estimator (least square dummy variables), we obtain the following results: (1) a one unit increase in the conditional standard deviation of the real effective exchange rate leads to a decrease of 0.011 percentage point of growth in the stock of physical capital per capita; However, greater trade and financial integration may cancel this effect. (2) With respect to GDP growth, one more unit in his standard deviation raises the growth of physical capital stock per capita of 0.0002 percentage point. And (3), there is no significant effect from the volatility of terms of trade and inflation rate, although with negative signs. Therefore, Governments should implement policies to enhance economic diversification and so, reduce vulnerability and volatility; we also need to promote the establishment of mitigation measures by financial and trade integration.


The aim of this study is to investigate how interactivity with E-learning influence learners' consideration to use based on Malaysian settings and the effect relating to the learners' experiences in using e-learning over a period of time. This study uses a multiple regression for data analysis across a sample of 204 respondents. Based on the analysis, the interactivity factor such as two-way communication has significantly affected among Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Enjoyment (PE) while controllability and personalization affect towards PU and responsiveness on PEOU. Moreover, PE has directly affect the usage intention of e-learning system over time with increased usage experiences. The results could assist schools or universities enhancing the contents of e-learning system in order to encourage learners to strongly engage in utilizing the education materials that is provided, as well as improving the interactivity factors on the system.


3D US did not markedly improve information from 2D US, however it allowed fast and easy CNS evaluation in 3 orthogonal planes. Associated anomalies were found in none case of septal agenesis and in almost all ACC cases. Conclusions: There was substantial disagreement in diagnosis between referral US and our combined imaging, while both MRI and US performed similar in our hands. Thus if to compare MR and US, they should be performed by a specialized operator. We found high incidence of associated anomalies in ACC case with, many of them being diagnosed only by MRI. Therefore we would recommend MRI to be performed in all midline brain anomaly cases. Supported by the grant MZOFNM2005.


Disparities in pediatric health care quality are well described in the literature, yet practical approaches to decreasing them remain elusive. Quality improvement (QI) approaches are appealing for addressing disparities because they offer a set of strategies by which to target modifiable aspects of care delivery and a method for tailoring or changing an intervention over time based on data monitoring. However, few examples in the literature exist of QI interventions successfully decreasing disparities, particularly in pediatrics, due to well-described challenges in developing, implementing, and studying QI with vulnerable populations or in underresourced settings. In addition, QI interventions aimed at improving quality overall may not improve disparities, and in some cases, may worsen them if there is greater uptake or effectiveness of the intervention among the population with better outcomes at baseline. In this article, the authors review some of the challenges faced by researchers and frontline clinicians seeking to use QI to address health disparities and propose an agenda for moving the field forward. Specifically, they propose that those designing and implementing disparities-focused QI interventions reconsider comparator groups, use more rigorous evaluation methods, carefully consider the evidence for particular interventions and the context in which they were developed, directly engage the social determinants of health, and leverage community resources to build collaborative networks and engage community members. Ultimately, new partnerships between communities, providers serving vulnerable populations, and QI researchers will be required for QI interventions to achieve their potential related to health care disparity reduction.


Toponyms (place names) represent language units denoting elements of topographic environment. The relevance of the study is caused by the need to develop the theory of toponymy and to systematize all the existing toponymic classifications. Place names have a complicated (multidimensional) nature, which should be taken into account while classifying them. This research is an attempt to highlight various principles according to which it is possible to group the place names. The research is based on 15000 British and 17000 American toponyms, received from toponymic dictionaries, reference books and electronic toponymic search systems GNIS (Geographic Names Information System) and Get-a-map. Toponyms can be classified according to the following principles: 1) parametric characteristics of an object, 2) ontological characteristics of an object, 3) type of toponymic basis, 4) etymological characteristics of place names, 5) motivational characteristics of place names, 6) chronological characteristics of place names, 7) structural characteristics of toponyms, 8) toponymic polysemy, 9) degree of toponymic nomination, 10) variety of toponymic nomination, 11) localization of an object. It is obvious that it is impossible to create a unified classification of place names, which would reflect the entire multidimensional nature of the toponymic vocabulary. Classifying toponymic nominations, one must consider the multifaceted (intraand extra-linguistic) principles of allocation of toponymic units.


This paper proposes an integrated model for the prediction of the pass-by-pass evolution of the austenite grain size of the ribbed steel bar hot rolling. The integrated model consists of a strain model, a temperature model, a microstructure evolution model of austenite grain size and a flow stress model. Hot rod rolling experiments are conducted to examine the proposed analytical models. The integrated model is employed to examine the effects of modifications of the refined austenite grain size of the 500MPa ribbed steel bar. Refinement of ferrite could be realized by refining the austenite grain size at the final pass.


In this paper, we present an adaptive and predictive control framework which improves the lateral stability and the tracking performance of an autonomous vehicle operating in various road conditions. We particularly focus on the modeling errors caused by simplifications while deriving a steering model employed in predictive controller. Such simplifications could degrade the control performance. In order to enhance the prediction accuracy, we propose to use a data-driven model of the steering system where the parameters are identified online by a recursive least squares algorithm. The proposed model is simple (no mathematical derivation) and does not depend on tire forces which is usually approximated by linear models. We first validate the system identification algorithm by applying a test signal sequence to the steering actuator of our test vehicle. Then, the performance of the proposed control framework is evaluated in simulations where we compare the results of two predictive control frameworks in a automated lane change scenario with different road conditions. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in handling the modeling mismatch and the control performance is improved under various road conditions.


This short article discusses recent trans health-care zines that have emerged from collectives rooted in radical care practices and mutual aid in the United Kingdom and Europe. This includes the publications Dysphoria, Power Makes us Sick, Radical Transfeminism, and Wages for Transition. It considers the embodied politics that emerge through the manifestos, writing, illustrations, and poems included within these zines, and the forms of bodily being they elaborate. In the context of the second half of a decade defined by fiscal austerity in Europe and the ongoing underresourcing of trans-specific health-care services in the United Kingdom, it details the practices and imaginaries of trans social reproduction, autonomy, and liberation that have emerged through these publications.


The useful functional life of a power transformer is determined by the life of the paper insulation. Therefore researches on cellulosic paper degradation in power transformers are primarily directed towards the development of a mathematical model to estimate the age of the cellulose paper insulation based on the concentration of dissolved gases and furanic compounds. In this research work, a utility field study has been carried out on selected transmission power transformers with a wide range of ages. Samples of oil collected from the identified transformers were tested for concentration levels of CO and CO/sub 2/ and furan derivatives 2-furfural. The results of the concentration of the above mentioned parameters clearly show that there is a dependence on age. Therefore, in this paper an attempt has been made to model the age(T) of the cellulose paper insulation in terms of the concentration of CO, CO/sub 2/ and 2-furfural that T=f (CO, CO/sub 2/, 2-furfural). The present modelling has been done using Artificial Neural Network(ANN). The estimated results using the proposed ANN model are further compared with the measured data collected during the field study and has shown a good correlation.


Are interactions with unrelated and even unknown individuals a by-product of modern life in megacities? Here we argue instead that social ties among non-kin are a crucial human adaptation. By deploying a new portable wireless sensing technology (motes), we mapped social networks in Agta and BaYaka hunter-gatherers in unprecedented detail. We show that strong friendships with non-kin optimize the global efficiency of their social networks thereby facilitating cultural exchange, and that the adaptation for forming friendship ties appears early in development. The ability to extend networks and form strong non-kin ties may explain some human distinctive characteristics such as hypersociality and cumulative culture, and the tendency to exchange ideas with unrelated and unknown individuals in megacities and online social networks. One Sentence Summary Social networks of two hunter-gatherer groups in Congo and the Philippines reveal that friendships are an ancestral adaptation for the exchange of information and culture.


Economic backgrounds of students whom demand the higher education service can become a significant criterion regarding accessibility and continuity of the service. Higher education student costs consisting of tuition and living costs can be redeemed by some education aids provided either by governments or private sector for students from a low income group and/or that are successful. In this paper, an empirical study on the effects of economic status of higher education student on bearing their living costs and its results are evaluated. According to the results obtained by testing the model, increase in family income, which is an independent variable, decreases the possibility of difficulty in bearing living costs, while the other independent variables, which are increase in economic independence in housing method of the student and increase in difficulty in covering tuition fees, increase the possibility of difficulty in bearing living costs.


Over the last decade, the renaissance of Web technologies has transformed the online world into an application (App) driven society. While the abundant Apps have provided great convenience, their sheer number also leads to severe information overload, making it difficult for users to identify desired Apps. To alleviate the information overloading issue, recommender systems have been proposed and deployed for the App domain. However, existing work on App recommendation has largely focused on one single platform (e.g., smartphones), while it ignores the rich data of other relevant platforms (e.g., tablets and computers). In this article, we tackle the problem of cross-platform App recommendation, aiming at leveraging users' and Apps' data on multiple platforms to enhance the recommendation accuracy. The key advantage of our proposal is that by leveraging multiplatform data, the perpetual issues in personalized recommender systems—data sparsity and cold-start—can be largely alleviated. To this end, we propose a hybrid solution, STAR (short for "croSs-plaTform App Recommendation") that integrates both numerical ratings and textual content from multiple platforms. In STAR, we innovatively represent an App as an aggregation of common features across platforms (e.g., App's functionalities) and specific features that are dependent on the resided platform. In light of this, STAR can discriminate a user's preference on an App by separating the user's interest into two parts (either in the App's inherent factors or platform-aware features). To evaluate our proposal, we construct two real-world datasets that are crawled from the App stores of iPhone, iPad, and iMac. Through extensive experiments, we show that our STAR method consistently outperforms highly competitive recommendation methods, justifying the rationality of our cross-platform App recommendation proposal and the effectiveness of our solution.


PURPOSE: To demonstrate the relationship between of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) expression and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: The basilar arteries from a "double-hemorrhage" rabbit model of SAH were used to investigate the relation between S1P expression and SAH. Various symptoms, including blood clots, basilar artery cross-sectional area, and S1P phosphatase expression were measured at day 3, 5, 7, 9. RESULTS: The expression of S1P was enhanced in the cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage in the rabbits. And S1P expression was consistent with the basilar artery cross-sectional area changes at day 3, 5, 7, 9. CONCLUSION: Sphingosine-1-phosphate expression in the cerebral arterial may be a new indicator in the development of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage and provide a new therapeutic method for SAH.


The Giants of the 1960's: In this class, emphasis will be placed on those fine, performing, and literary artists who excelled in the 1960s. The concentration will be largely on American and Western European social, cultural, and political history; however


The interpretation of in vivo spectral reflectance measurements of the ocular fundus requires an accurate model of radiation transport within the eye. As well as considering the scattering and absorption processes, it is also necessary to account for appropriate histological variation. This variation results in experimentally measured spectra which vary, both with position in the eye, and between individuals. In this paper the results of a Monte Carlo simulation are presented. Three histological variables are considered: the RPE melanin concentration, the choriodal haemoglobin concentration and the choroidal melanin concentration. By considering these three variables, it is possible to generate model spectra which agree well with in vivo experimental measurements of the nasal fundus. The model has implications for the problem of extracting histological parameters from spectral reflectance measurements. These implications are discussed and a novel approach to interpretation of images of the ocular fundus suggested.


This research thesis investigates how Davanloo's metapsychology of the unconscious can contribute to the current psychodynamic understanding of psychosis. It demonstrates that Davanloo's metapsychology proposes a psychodynamic theory, which is in accordance with current findings in emotion and attachment research. It is furthermore established that attachment and emotions become specifically connected with unconscious conflict through Davanloo's use of the triangle of conflict, which places unconscious conflict linked to painful emotions about early attachment trauma at the core of the unconscious conflict. It has been found that Davanloo's metapsychology of the unconscious offers a unique contribution to the current psychodynamic understanding of psychosis by equally considering the role of unconscious conflict and providing an explicit theoretical account of the role of emotions in psychosis.


Many biological systems employ allosteric regulatory mechanisms, which offer a powerful means of directly linking a specific binding event to a wide spectrum of molecular functionalities. There is considerable interest in generating synthetic allosteric regulators that can perform useful molecular functions for applications in diagnostics, imaging and targeted therapies, but generating such molecules through either rational design or directed evolution has proven exceptionally challenging. To address this need, we present an in vitro selection strategy for generating conformation-switching DNA nanostructures that selectively release a small-molecule payload in response to binding of a specific trigger molecule. As an exemplar, we have generated a DNA nanostructure that hybridizes with a separate 'cargo strand' containing an abasic site. This abasic site stably sequesters a fluorescent cargo molecule in an inactive state until the DNA nanostructure encounters an ATP trigger molecule. This ATP trigger causes the nanostructure to release the cargo strand, thereby liberating the fluorescent payload and generating a detectable fluorescent readout. Our DNA nanostructure is highly sensitive, with an EC50 of 30 μM, and highly specific, releasing its payload in response to ATP but not to other chemically similar nucleotide triphosphates. We believe that this selection approach could be generalized to generate synthetic nanostructures capable of selective and controlled release of other small-molecule cargos in response to a variety of triggers, for both research and clinical applications.


Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Hispanic/Latina women. Common metabolic conditions prevalent in American Hispanics include diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity and have been associated with poor overall survival. The association of such coexisting conditions with breast cancer risk, treatment and breast cancer characteristics in this population is largely understudied. In this study, we sought to explore the prevalence of one or combination of these comorbid conditions with breast cancer and possible association with breast cancer characteristics and subtypes in a predominantly Hispanic patient population.
Methods: After IRB approval, we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of consecutive breast cancer patients treated in a University based tertiary medical center in the large border city of El Paso, TX. We evaluated the prevalence of 4 common metabolic conditions in a Hispanic patient population using the breast cancer center database of patients treated between 2005 and 2014. Adjusted association analyses were carried out using multiple Poisson regression analyses and results were presented with prevalence ratio (PR) and p-value.


For Leo's Code I used HTML code that I found on a random web site and improvised with it while reading the site's scripts and text fragments. Later, I edited the piece in a way that emphasizes its broken flow of words and content, creating an image of an emotionalized female turtle robot that desperately needs a restart because it has gotten lost in the code. I created a minimal soundtrack based on two tones, just as computers are based on two tones—1s and 0s. I used a microphone, a pre-amp, an Apple PowerBook, a VX Pocket audio card, Logic, GRM (Group de Recherches Musicales de l'Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) plug-ins, a digital synthesizer and a mouse and a brain for editing.


Effective Hamiltonian engineering is a powerful technique that utilises time-dependent perturbation theory to suppress or enhance certain effects that arise from otherwise weak Hamiltonian terms, when an experimenter attempts to control the evolution of a quantum system. With this thesis we conduct theoretical, numerical and experimental explorations of two somewhat different kinds of effective Hamiltonian engineering in magnetic resonance, aimed at elongating spin coherence times and increasing spin polarization. First, we provide a general framework for computing arbitrary time-dependent perturbation theory terms relevant for effective Hamiltonian engineering, as well as their gradients with respect to control variations, that immediately enables the use of gradient methods for optimizing these terms. We demonstrate the method in various numerical control engineering examples, including decoupling, recoupling, and robustness to control errors and stochastic errors. We then utilize the method in high-resolution nanoscale magnetic resonance experiments that use high-sensitivity silicon nanowire based force detection. With our numerically engineered control sequences, that are optimized to suppress spin decoherence under dipolar and chemical shift Hamiltonians, we achieve an increase by a factor of 500 in the proton spin coherence time for low-temperature, (50-nm) polystyrene sample. We harness the enhanced spin coherence times for magnetic resonance imaging experiments on the nanoscale, and achieve one-dimensional imaging resolution below 2 nm on the same sample. Secondly, we study low-temperature, high magnetic field nuclear hyperpolarization of phosphorus donor nuclei in isotopically enriched 28-silicon crystal irradiated with nonresonant above band gap laser light. We demonstrate hyperpolarization with a time constant of 51.5 s, and introduce a phonon-mediated effective Hamiltonian model detailing the process. We verify our model by designing and conducting a series of magnetic resonance experiments.


Consideration is given to the properties expected for inertial systems, that is, objects which are not subject to unbalanced external forces. Isaacson points out correctly that Einstein based his version of relativity theory on the motion of such inertial systems. It is overlooked, however, in both his discussion and also the original work of Einstein himself that, consistent with Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia), the rates of inertial clocks must remain constant so long as no unbalanced force is applied to them. As a consequence, it can be safely concluded that the ratio of any two such rates must also be constant. This in turn leads to a prediction about the relationship between elapsed times measured by two inertial clocks (Newtonian Simultaneity), namely they must always occur in strict proportion to one another (Δt=QΔt'). The latter result is shown to stand in direct contradiction to the predictions of the Lorentz transformation derived by Einstein in his famous 1905 paper, namely the occurrence of space-time mixing and remote non-simultaneity (RNS). It is furthermore pointed out that the frequency of sound waves is independent of the state of motion of the source because, as Einstein argued in a 1907 paper in which he derived the gravitational red shift, the number of wave crests emitted by the source per unit time is not changed thereby. This fact has a definite bearing on Einstein's postulate of relativity according to which he assumed that the speed of light in free space is independent of the state of motion of both the observer and the source. It indicates instead that the postulate must be reformulated to state that the speed of light relative to its source is always the same in free space, a version that Einstein also carefully considered, as clearly mentioned in Isaacson's narrative. Accordingly, it becomes clear that Einstein was incorrect in his claim that the classical (Galilean velocity transformation) is not applicable to light. His relativistic velocity transformation only has validity for specific cases in which the speed of light is measured under different circumstances by a single observer, such as in the famous Fresnel/Fizeau light-drag experiment in which the motion of light waves in refractive media is investigated. The failure of the Lorentz transformation necessitates a rethinking of some of its well-known predictions such as time dilation and Lorentz-FitzGerald length contraction. Experimental evidence is presented which indicates instead that the slowing down of clocks upon acceleration is accompanied by isotropic length expansion. The applicability of these theoretical developments for  the Global Positioning System of navigation is discussed. Opportunities for carrying out new experiments on this basis are also outlined in the present critique.


Two yeast strains representing a novel species in the basidiomycetous yeast genus Naganishia were isolated from flowers of Sorbaria sorbifolia collected in Beijing Olympic Forest Park, PR China. Results of multi-gene phylogenetic analysis indicated that the two strains were closely related to the type strains of Naganishia bhutanensis (CBS 6294T) and Naganishia antarctica (CBS 7687T). However, the new isolates differed from N. bhutanensis CBS 6294T by 1.79 % sequence divergence in the D1/D2 domain (11 nt substitutions and three indels), and 2.42 % (15 nt differences and one indel) to N. antarctica CBS 7687T. In the ITS region, the new isolates showed 1.15 % divergence (7 nt substitutions and one indel) to N. bhutanensis CBS 6294T and 0.92 % divergence (5 nt substitutions and no indels) to N. antarctica CBS 7687T. A phylogenetic analysis employing the sequences of six genes (D1/D2 domain of large subunit rDNA, ITS, small subunit rDNA, two subunits of the RNA polymerase II and elongation factor-1α) indicated that the novel species belonged to the genus Naganishia and formed a well-supported clade with N. bhutanensis, N. antarctica and N. indica. Moreover, the two strains differed from their closest relatives by the ability to grow on distinct carbon and nitrogen sources and ability to grow at 30 °C. On the basis of these findings, we propose a novel species in the genus Naganishia (Filobasidiales), Naganishia floricola sp. nov. (holotype CGMCC 2.5856).


In the Hellenic legal order is forecasted legally the institution of vessels departure prohibition if do not keep concrete conditions that are forecasted by the Hellenic legislation. These conditions are related with the keeping of concrete conditions for safety navigation or with the ensuring of public or private interests and are related mainly with their economic demands. Between these two categories, obviously the most important is the case of not keeping safety navigation conditions as this phenomenon can influence the safety of passengers, crew, load and vessels. However beyond this category of vessels departure prohibition also deserves to be analyzed critically and the case of vessels departure prohibition as is forecasted in the Hellenic legal order, in order to be ensured public and private interests (individual or legal entities). The particular category includes enough cases where can be enforced the right of vessels departure prohibition from those who have legal interest. Besides consequences exist also for State employees who impose the administrative prohibition meter of vessels departure and for that reason are controlled for penal, disciplinary and civil responsibilities.


The present study investigates the growth of elastic-plastic front in rotating solid disks of non-uniform thickness having exponential and parabolic geometry variation. The problem is solved through an extension of a variational method in elastoplastic regime. The formulation is based on von-Mises yield criterion and linear strain hardening material behavior. Assuming a series expression of the unknown variable, the solution of the governing equation is obtained using Galerkin's principle. The approximate solution further needs an iterative method to locate the growth in the yield front. The paper reports von-Mises stress distribution in the disk at various load steps starting from the initiation of yielding till the attainment of fully plastic state. Effect of geometry parameters on the stress state of the disk is studied and the relevant results are reported in dimensionless form.

 Keywords: Variational method, von-Mises stress, Yield front, Limit angular speed.


While the objective of peacemaking efforts is the institution of a self-sustaining peace, the international community has not been able to accomplish this important goal in many war-torn societies around the world. Thus, the challenge to peacemakers is not necessarily the negotiation of a peace agreement, but its implementation in order to re-integrate a divided society and allow former combatants to address contentious issues non-violently. In light of this reality, this doctoral thesis argues that contemporary peace initiatives have not established conditions of self-sustaining peace because the majority of peacemakers have conceive their efforts according to the tenets of the strategic approach to peacemaking. The strategic approach strongly believes that a self-sustaining peace can be achieved through state-building practices. Hence the international community has devoted much of its time and resources to strengthen state structures, strongly arguing that a strong state can integrate society and make negotiated peace agreements self-sustaining. Influenced by Habermasian critical theory, this thesis presents the theoretical foundations of the communicative approach to peacemaking. The communicative approach argues that state-building projects will not integrate society, at least in the short term, but foster more conflicts between contending groups. It places a higher premium on reconciliation efforts, civil society movements, and deliberative forms of democracy. Using the Dayton peace initiative as a case study, the thesis shows the reasons why the Office of the High Representative and other international agencies in Bosnia have been unable to establish a self-sustaining peace. It also critically reviews different 'bottom-up', society-centred peacebuilding programmes practiced in Bosnia since the signing of the peace agreement, exposing both its limitations and potentials. As a result, this doctoral thesis concludes by showing that new peacebuilding strategies must incorporate aspects of both approaches to peacemaking to make peace in Bosnia self-sustaining.


Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial illness that occurs in areas of North America, Europe, and Asia. Early infection typically presents as generalized symptoms with an erythema migrans (EM) skin lesion. Dissemination of the pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi can result in multiple EM skin lesions or in extracutaneous manifestations such as Lyme neuroborreliosis. Metabolic biosignatures of patients with early Lyme disease can potentially provide diagnostic targets, as well as highlight metabolic pathways that contribute to pathogenesis. Sera from well-characterized patients diagnosed with either early localized Lyme disease (ELL) or early disseminated Lyme disease (EDL), plus healthy individuals (HC), from the United States were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Comparative analyses were performed between ELL, or EDL, or ELL combined with EDL, and the HC to develop biosignatures present in early Lyme disease. A direct comparison between ELL and EDL was also performed to develop a biosignature for stages of early Lyme disease. Metabolic pathway analysis and chemical identification of metabolites with LC-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) demonstrated alterations of eicosanoid, bile acid, sphingolipid, glycerophospholipid, and acylcarnitine metabolic pathways during early Lyme disease. These metabolic alterations were confirmed using a separate set of serum samples for validation. The findings demonstrated that infection of humans with B. burgdorferi alters defined metabolic pathways that are associated with inflammatory responses, liver function, lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function. Additionally, the data provide evidence that metabolic pathways can be used to mark the progression of early Lyme disease.


Monosaccharide characterization study can give valuable information on newly discovered intact mucopolysaccharide. The compound fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (FuCS) is a unique mucopolysaccharide having various bioactive properties reported only in targeted holothurians species. The monosaccharide composition of FuCS from a sea cucumber, Holothuria arenicola was studied by comparing a modified and conventional 1-phenyl- 3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) derivatization method where tributylamine addition was found to improve the chromatographic conditions. The monosaccharide proportion of FuCS from H. arenicola was determined to be 1:1:0.44 for glucuronic acid: N-acetylgalactosamine: fucose, respectively. Thus, the FuCS monosaccharide ratio of H. arenicola was first reported and this method is more useful for structurally similar compound analysis.


Talus deposit is often seen in the hydropower projects in the southwest of China. Its mechanical properties are so complex that microstructure study is often used to reveal the essence of deformation and damage. The digital image processing technology (DIPT) is introduced to the simulation of talus deposits. Based on the study of DIPT, a Photo-To-Flac3D (PTF) auto-modeling program is developed. It is able to realize the whole process: analyzing and processing the digital image, acquiring the information and establishing the micro-model files. A new modeling method is developed for the mechanical behavior simulation of talus deposit. As an example, some talus deposit data of Gushui hydropower station is used, the micro-model of talus deposit can be established fast and correctly by the PTF from the digital photo on-site. The mechanical properties are studied by the numerical simulation of triaxial test. The results show that the talus deposit has the feature of bully in deformation while that of Unicom band under force.