The transient occurrence during the summer of 1982 of "Planctomyces gracilis" Hortobagyi 1965, originally described as a planktonic fungus, in two eutrophic man-made ponds in Tempe, Ariz., provided the first recorded sightings of this unusual organism in the United States. A comparison of phase-contrast micrographs prepared from Arizona material with archival descriptions and sketches showed agreement in all respects. Transmission electron microscopy suggested that "P. gracilis" is a bacterium rather than a fungus. Notable differences in several traits serve to exclude "P. gracilis" from the Blastocaulis-Planctomyces group of budding and nonprosthecately appendaged bacteria. There was no evidence of multifibrillar appendages or crateriform surface structures in "P. gracilis"; these are major defining characteristics of the Blastocaulis-Planctomyces group. "P. gracilis" is a filamentous and rosette-forming bacterium of unknown taxonomic position.


Indirect immunofluorescence using α-tubulin antibodies applied to sections of maize roots prepared using low melting point wax was found to give excellent visualisation of both cortical and endoplasmic microtubule (MT) arrays. This allows, for the first time, these arrays to be investigated in cells of the different tissues at various stages of their growth and development. Many cells in the zone between the mcristem and the cell elongation region develop a highly ordered transversal bundling of cortical MTs, which we suggest is related to vacuolation of the cytoplasm and which may also be indispensable for the ensuing rapid cell elongation. On the other hand, there are subtle differences between the cells of the individual tissues regarding the arrangement of thencortical MTs in this zone. The possible physiological significance of these tissue-specific MT arrays is discussed. Endoplasmic MTs were seen to encircle and to connect the nucleus with the cortical MT arrays in both dividing and elongating cells. Even the G1 phase nuclei of the slowly dividing cells of the quiescent centre were encircled by endoplasmic MTs. The continuity of the two MT systems may provide the cell with an important signalling system whereby mechanical and physiological information is relayed from the exterior of the cell to the nucleus.


South Africa is currently looking at its Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a source of job creation and there is renewed interest in the sector as indicated in the new macro-economic policy, better known as the New Growth Path. While growth in some SSE Organisations is disappointing, some of the world's best social enterprises can be found in South Africa – a developing country facing many challenges with the creativity that comes along with resilience in the face of adversity and poverty. In fact, South Africa is one of the first countries in the world to introduce a social stock exchange which has, since its inception raised R14.65million for 73 projects designed to benefit a total of 78,268 individuals. Government policies are directed to a more inclusive economy and focus on previously disadvantaged individuals. While policies for the SSEO are there, the problems that occur are on the implementation level. The NPO sector is emerging as a major employer – in particular of women and black people. Yet, access to finance remains a burning issue and some protective workshops find it hard to cope with the minimum wages laid down by the different bargaining councils. The decent work agenda may have to be compromised in terms of compliance with the minimum wage and health and safety regulations. Cooperatives have tremendous potential for job creation in South Africa and Government Departments are pushing for a higher success rate for these community-based organisations in the SSE. Social enterprises are emerging as an alternative to cash-strapped charities, but the rise of social enterprises is not supported by legislation and it is expected that South Africa will move in the direction of something similar to the "community interest companies" in the UK. A body that can comprehensively represent all the different stakeholders within the SSE still needs to emerge. While South Africa has enabling policies and adequate consultation with stakeholders in constructing policies, there is a lack of "policy enablers" to ensure success at the implementation level. Should government be able to put "policy enablers" in place together with a system of thorough monitoring and evaluation, the anticipated jobs will be created.


This study aims to analyse the effects of personality traits as antecedents of panic buying. In extraordinary periods, certain behavioural changes could be observed in individuals, and panic buying behaviour could occur for specific products or product groups. The theoretical framework of the concept of panic buying comprises various theories, including individual and socio-psychological backgrounds. In line with the main objective of this study, the concept of panic buying is addressed in the light of theories that elaborate on individual factors. Even though there are many factors affecting panic buying, there is a limited number of studies discussing the subject within the context of personality traits, which are among the individual factors. In this study, data were acquired from 852 participants in Turkey by applying the questionnaire technique as a quantitative research method. The Big Five Personality Traits, one of the significant theories in measuring personality traits, are selected as the baseline. This study used the «The Big Five Inventor» scale. On the other hand, the «Panic Buying Scale» was applied in the measurement of panic buying. Data analysis was conducted through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Upon evaluating the findings, it was concluded that agreeableness (one of the five major personality traits) has a statistically significant and negative impact on panic buying. In contrast, neuroticism has a significant and positive effect. The more individuals have high agreeableness personality traits, the more panic buying decreases. Besides, the trait of high neuroticism causes an increase in panic buying. No significant effect of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness personality traits on panic buying was determined. The findings indicate the effects of personality traits on the individual causes of panic buying behaviour. It is anticipated that this study will fill the relevant gap in the literature concerning considering personality traits as an antecedent of panic buying in the context of Turkish participants and examining both individual characteristics and cultural effects. Understanding the basic motivations of individuals regarding panic buying behaviour is of utmost importance for correctly managing the processes for similar extraordinary periods that may occur again in the future and for taking the necessary precautions.


The negative priming (NP) effect refers to the observed increase in identification time for a current target stimulus or stimulus feature (the probe) that has been employed as a distractor stimulus or stimulus feature on the previous trial (the prime), representing strong evidence that ignored information is actively processed to a high level by selective attention systems. However, theoretical accounts of NP differ in whether they attribute the effect to processes of selective inhibition or episodic memory retrieval. Here we derived neurophysiological predictions from the rival selective inhibition and episodic retrieval models of NP, and employed event-related fMRI in a color-naming Stroop task to assess neural responses to probe trials that were subject to either no priming or negative priming. Compared to no-priming probe trials, NP resulted in increased activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, in a region which has been closely linked with episodic memory retrieval functions. NP was also accompanied by activation of the right thalamus, particularly the mediodorsal nucleus, which has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a condition associated with diminished NP effects. Our results support the proposal that ignored stimulus information is fully encoded in memory, and that episodic retrieval, not selective inhibition, of such information affects selective attention performance on subsequent trials.


Objectives A recent study investigating the top 10 100-km ultra-marathoners by nationality showed that Japanese runners were the fastest worldwide. This selection to top athletes may lead to a selection bias and the aim of this study was to investigate from where the fastest 100-km ultra-marathoners originate by considering all finishers in 100-km ultra-marathons since 1959. Methods We analysed data from 150,710 athletes who finished a 100-km ultra-marathon between 1959 and 2016. To get precise estimates and stable density plots we selected only those nationalities with 900 and more finishes resulting in 24 nationalities. Histograms and density plots were performed to study the distribution of race time. Crude mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile range (IQR), mode, skewness and excess of time for each nationality were computed. A linear regression analysis adjusted by sex, age and year was performed to study the race time between the nationalities. Histograms, density and scatter plots showed that some races seemed to have a time limit of 14 hours. From the complete dataset the finishes with more than 14 hours were removed (truncated dataset) and the same descriptive plots and analysis as for the complete dataset were performed again. In addition to the linear regression a truncated regression was performed with the truncated dataset to allow conclusion for the whole sample. To study a potential difference between races at home and races abroad, an interaction term race site home/abroad with nationality was included in the model. Results Most of the finishes were achieved by runners from Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and USA with more than 260'000 (85%) finishes. Runners from Russia and Hungary were the fastest and runners from Hong Kong and China were the slowest finishers. Conclusion In contrast to existing findings investigating the top 10 by nationality, this analysis showed that ultra-marathoners from Russia, not Japan, were the fastest 100-km ultra-marathoners worldwide when considering all races held since 1959.


Ordered nanostructure materials have received attention due to their unique physical properties and potential applications in electronics, mechanics and optical devices. To actualize most of the proposed applications, it is quite important to obtain highly ordered nanostructure arrays. The well-aligned nanostructure can be achieved by synthesizing nanostructure material in the highly ordered template. In this paper, Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) templates were fabricated using a two-step anodization process with pretreatment such as electropolishing and annealing. To reduce process time and get well-aligned pore array, rapid thermal anneal by an IR lamp was employed in vacuum state at 500oC for 2 hours. The pore array is comparable to a template annealed in vacuum furnace at 500oC for 30 hours. The well-fabricated AAO template has a mean pore diameter of 70 nm and the interpore distance of 100nm. The pore density can be as high as 1.2×1010cm-2.


Few American physicians think of Sir William Osier as a pediatrician. While he might have been the first to deny this, nevertheless his contributions to the new specialty of his time were significant. As a medical leader his influence in the organizational aspects of pediatrics, as we now know it, were likewise great. In perusing Osler's bibliography with its roughly 1,200 titles, it occurred to us to search for pediatric content. Almost 100 articles dealing with this field of medicine are noted. When we discovered that he had been the fourth president of the American Pediatric Society, we knew that we must look at the "Father of American Medicine" through pediatric glasses. It has been a rewarding experience. The magnificent flowing descriptive ability and clinical acuity of an old master is a trait which seems now to be fading from medicine with the advent of technical advances. Harvey Cushing's award


In this paper, we will propose a new solution method for SAT (Satisfiability Problems) using FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) and logic synthesis system. This method is distinctive in that a logic circuit specialized to solve each problem instance is configured on FPGA. This approach has become possible due to the progress in reconfigurable computing technology in recent years and opens a new possibility in design principle of algorithms. SAT is a kind of constraint satisfaction problem and is a general framework which can represent many application problems. In this paper, we will propose various algorithms which are suitable for implementation on hardware. Among these algorithms, the one which has the highest performance has a performance equal to the Davis–Putman algorithm which introduced the heuristic with dynamic ordering of variables. From the evaluation results using simulation, we show that by the method proposed herein, the solution of a 3-SAT problem instance with 400 variables generated in a very hard random can be obtained in 1.6 minutes when the circuit is operated at a machine cycle of 10 MHz. Moreover, a very hard problem instance with 128 variables and 256 clauses was packaged on FPGAs and its operation was confirmed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 86(3): 35–46, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.10134


This entrancing collection of seven classic fairytales is organized around the theme of the fairytale princess. Each fairytale is illustrated by photographs of intricate paper sculptures cut from the pages of one of seven books, one for each of the fairytales in the collection. Su Blackwells beautifully photographed paper sculptures summon up a magical world of beauty and mischief, while Wendy Joness retellings of these favourite stories are fresh and lyrical. Each fairytale has its own particular visual flavour: for example, the story of "Sleeping Beauty" is blue and dreamy, while "The Princess and the Pea" is green and summery.


Self-determination theory (SDT) posits universality without cross-cultural uniformity of the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) which have been associated with desirable job outcomes. Yet these promising directions in theory and research have not been extended to Indigenous samples and different occupational types. This is unfortunate as Indigenous peoples globally remain the most disadvantaged on all socio-economic indicators, including employment. This study adopted a strengths-based approach to investigating associations between SDT's need satisfaction and job outcomes in Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous professionals and non-professionals. Participants included 1146 Indigenous (48.8%) and nonIndigenous Australians (39.1% men), aged 18-81 years (Mage=43.54). Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that autonomy and competence need satisfaction were associated with multiple positive work outcomes and less job ambiguity, whereas satisfaction of the need for relatedness was associated with increased job satisfaction and greater resilience in the workplace. Moderation by Indigenous status and occupation type revealed few differences in the direction and strength of the associations between need satisfaction and job outcomes. However, non-professionals reported significantly lower satisfaction of all three needs, and Indigenous participants reported significantly lower levels of autonomy need satisfaction. As need satisfaction was shown to be equally beneficial for all workers regardless of culture or occupation type, these findings highlight the need for employers to invest more in cultivating the need satisfaction of their Indigenous and nonprofessional staff. Overall, the results extend upon previous research by demonstrating that SDT is generalizable to an Australian Indigenous population and that workplace need satisfaction is important for Indigenous and non-professional employee outcomes.


All metal ions, whether essential or nonessential, are toxic when present in excess. Metabolic disorders in which metal ion overload is a key contributing factor include hemochromatosis, β-thalassemia, Wilson's disease, Menkes syndrome, and Friedreich's ataxia. For some metal ions, overload conditions may come about as a result of excess oral, inhalation, or dermal exposure. In order to correct a metal ion overload condition, an appropriate ligand choice may speed up the elimination or safely sequester the excess metal ion, and may be the treatment of choice. A number of effective chelating agents are discussed, including desferrioxamine, deferiprone, d-penicillamine, and copper– histidine chelate. Marginal overload conditions may lead to marginal deficiency of another metal ion, a result, paradoxically, from single metal ion supplementation. An example would be marginal iron overload, resulting from iron supplement use in excess of need, which leads to marginal manganese deficiency. Such effects are due to metal ion interaction effects in vivo.

Keywords:

metal ion overload hemochromatosis;
Wilson's disease;
Menkes syndrome;
Friedreich's ataxia;
β-thalassemia;
Desferal™;
hydroxypyridinone;
selenosis;
marginal overload


In this study, the chemical components of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822), which is distributed in Aksu Stream in the Antalya region of Turkey, and their suitable utilization methods were investigated. 68% fish flesh yield, 16.58% protein, 75.44% moisture, 5.38% fat and 1.21% crude ash were established. Different processing methods, hot smoking boiling and roasting were applied. As a result of these applications, from the point of view of consumption, the most suitable product was determined to be the hot smoked one. The colour, smell, texture and taste of the product obtained with hot smoking were found to be optimum.


OBJECTIVE
To compare cardiovascular (CV) and other safety and efficacy parameters of etoricoxib 60 and 90 mg, and diclofenac 150 mg.

METHODS
This double-blind study randomized OA patients to etoricoxib 90 mg, then to 60 mg once daily vs diclofenac 75 mg twice daily; RA patients were randomized to etoricoxib 90 mg once daily or diclofenac 75 mg twice daily. The primary endpoint was non-inferiority of etoricoxib vs diclofenac for thrombotic CV events (95% CI upper bound of hazard ratio <1.30). Other safety and efficacy parameters were evaluated in cohorts of patients based on etoricoxib dose and disease.

RESULTS
A total of 23 504 patients were randomized with mean treatment duration from 19.4 to 20.8 months. The thrombotic CV risk hazard ratio (HR) (etoricoxib to diclofenac) was 0.96 (95% CI 0.81, 1.15), consistent with non-inferiority of etoricoxib to diclofenac. The cumulative gastrointestinal (GI)/liver adverse events (AEs) discontinuation rate was significantly lower for etoricoxib than diclofenac in each patient cohort; HR (95% CI) of 0.46 (0.39, 0.54), 0.52 (0.42, 0.63) and 0.49 (0.39, 0.62) for the 60 mg OA, 90 mg OA and RA cohorts. The maximum average change in systolic blood pressure (BP) with etoricoxib was 3.4-3.6 mmHg (diastolic BP: 1.0-1.5 mmHg), while diclofenac produced a maximum average change of 0.9-1.9 mmHg (diastolic BP: 0.0-0.5 mmHg). Both agents resulted in similar efficacy regardless of etoricoxib dose.

CONCLUSION
Long-term etoricoxib use is associated with a risk of thrombotic CV events comparable with that of diclofenac. Compared with diclofenac, etoricoxib demonstrated a greater risk of renovascular AEs, but a more favourable GI/liver tolerability profile.


By analyzing individual-level data on the alcohol consumption of Russian males, this paper finds evidence for a longstanding persistence of habits towards certain type of habit-forming goods. Males who grew up in the USSR are accustomed to vodka – the most popular liquor during the Soviet era – whereas those who entered their twenties in the post-Soviet period after the beer industry expanded prefer beer. This finding emphasizes the importance of policy towards young people when they form their habits. The second finding of this paper is that habits and substitution effects outweigh "stepping stone" effect, in both short and long run periods. Policy simulation shows that a 50% subsidy on beer and 30% tax on vodka will decrease male mortality from 1.41% to 0.95% in 10 years, halving the gap between Russian and western-European mortality rates.


Many researchers investigating the maintenance and loss of non-English languages in the U.S. base their work on fairly homogeneous language groups, those who have immigrated here during a relatively restricted period of time. The European-origin migrations during the early decades of the twentieth century represent these types of language communities. However, Spanish is not strictly an immigrant language when compared to other non-English, non-indigenous languages. It shares in common with indigenous languages the fact that it was spoken in what is now the U.S. before the arrival of English speakers. However, it is unlike indigenous languages in that it continues to be reinforced by the arrival of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Given the complexities of this bilingual population, the purpose of the present article is to examine the variables that set apart the Spanish-speaking populations of the U.S., and particularly of the Southwest, in order to provide a revised model for language maintenance and shift that goes beyond the limitations of classic intergenerational models.


Several reports describe enhancing the efficacy of laser or resectoscopic endometrial ablation procedures by preparing the endometrium with danazol or progestin therapy. Because gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists have been found to inhibit the thickness and development of the endometrial lining, preparation of the endometrium for resectoscopic ablation was attempted on eight women using a single injection of 7.5 mg of leuprolide acetate depot. When the ablation was performed, one month after the injection of the medication, which had occurred on day 20-24 of the prior menstrual cycle, the endometrium was thinned in all the patients, with inactive glands, reduced vascularity and atrophic stroma.


Most relation extraction methods, especially in the domain of biology, rely on machine learning methods to classify a cooccurring pair of entities in a sentence to be related or not. Such an approach requires a training corpus, which involves expert annotation and is tedious, timeconsuming, and expensive. We overcome this problem by the use of existing knowledge in structured databases to automatically generate a training corpus for protein-protein interactions. An extensive evaluation of different instance selection strategies is performed to maximize robustness on this presumably noisy resource. Successful strategies to consistently improve performance include a majority voting ensemble of classifiers trained on subsets of the training corpus and the use of knowledge bases consisting of proven non-interactions. Our best configured model built without manually annotated data shows very competitive results on several publicly available benchmark corpora.


In this paper, we provide an explanation of why privatization may attract foreign investors willing to enter a regional market. Privatization turns the formerly-public firm into a less aggressive competitor since profit-maximizing output is lower than the welfaremaximizing one. The drawback is that social welfare generally decreases. We also investigate tax/subsidy competition for FDI and put forward its potentially positive role. On the one hand, it may reduce the negative impact on welfare of an FDI-attracting privatization. On the other hand, it may prevent a welfare-reducing investment by the foreign firm. This sheds light on the substitute/complementary relationship between the two policies and the two objectives of governments.


Nine unacclimatized university sportsmen performed a prolonged, intermittent, high-intensity shuttle running test in hot (HT) (33 degrees C, dry bulb temperature, approximately 28 %, relative humidity) and moderate (MT) (17 degrees C, 63 %) environmental conditions. Subjects performed 60 m of walking, a 15-m sprint, 60 m of cruising ( approximately 85 % V.O (2max)), and 60 m of jogging ( approximately 45 %V.O (2max)) for 14.8 +/- 0.1 min followed by a 3-min rest, repeated until volitional exhaustion. The hot trial was performed first followed, 14 days later, by the moderate trial. During exercise subjects drank water ad libitum. Subjects ran almost twice as far in the moderate as in the hot trial (HT 11216 +/- 1411, MT 21644 +/- 1629, m, p < 0.01), and the decline in average 15-m sprint performance was greater in the heat (HT, 0.17 +/- 0.05, MT, 0.09 +/- 0.03, s, p < 0.05). Average heart rates, blood lactate and glucose, and plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations were greater in the HT (main effect trial, p < 0.01), as were serum cortisol concentration (main effect trial p < 0.05, n = 5) and muscle temperature (HT exhaustion vs. same time point in MT, 40.2 +/- 0.3 vs. 39.3 +/- 0.2, degrees C, p < 0.01). Peak torque during knee flexion and extension was not different pre-and post-exercise in the HT. Muscle glycogen utilization tended to be greater in the heat (HT 193.2 +/- 19.5, MT 143.8 +/- 23.9, mmol . kg dry wt (-1), p = 0.055, n = 8). In 7 out of the 8 subjects the increase in utilization was between 19 and just over 200 % greater in the HT. Glycogen remaining in the muscle at exhaustion was greater in the hot than moderate trial (HT 207.4 +/- 34.3, MT 126.5 +/- 46.8, mmol . kg dry wt (-1), p < 0.01, n = 8). Rectal temperature (T (rec)) was higher in the HT at exhaustion than at the same point in time in the moderate trial (HT, 39.60 +/- 0.15 vs. MT 38.75 +/- 0.10, degrees C, interaction trial-time, p < 0.01). There was a very strong negative relationship between rate of rise in T (rec) and distance completed in the HT (HT r = - 0.90, p < 0.01, MT r = - 0.76, p < 0.05). Thus, the earlier onset of exhaustion during prolonged intermittent shuttle running in the heat is associated with hyperthermia. However, while muscle glycogen utilization may be elevated by heat stress, low whole muscle glycogen concentrations would not seem to be the cause of this earlier exhaustion.


Self-harm is a significant social and healthcare problem, with substantial morbidity and healthcare costs. It has strong links to further self-harm and to suicide. The current review is one of three that investigate interventions in preventing recurrence of self-harm, and it focuses on pharmacological treatment. The conclusions are limited by the small number and size of trials identified, and the low quality of evidence. No benefit on recurrence of self-harm was detected in three small trials of antidepressants, but the types studied are ones that are now less commonly used. A small trial of flupentixol suggested a possible benefit on repetition, but this has not been replicated. One small trial of lithium showed no benefit, but this was in contrast to a recent large meta-analysis showing a significant anti-suicidal effect of lithium when used to treat mood disorder. The review highlights important areas for further research.


ABSTRACT Eye tracking is widely used in developmental research to measure infants' looking behavior before, during, or after particular events and can provide a measure of real-time processing. However, the dynamic time course of infants' looking behaviors is rarely analyzed. Instead, eye tracking data is often averaged within a large window or is restricted to certain predictive or reactive looks before or after an event, which could conceal interesting looking patterns. In this article, we discuss an alternative approach using spline models – an approachable and informative method for analyzing how the trajectory of infants' looking behaviors changes at discrete time points. We illustrate the benefits of spline models by demonstrating how to prepare, estimate, and interpret the results of a spline model in R and SAS, and we compare the results with an analysis of averaged looking times within a time window. We show that spline models can reveal patterns in the trajectory of participants' looking that can be obscured by averaged looking times. Finally, we use a sensitivity analysis to show that spline models are reliable with small samples typical of developmental studies. Spline models can be useful to developmental researchers for analyzing the time course of event-based changes in eye tracking data.


OBJECTIVE
To identify isolated peripheral enthesitis and/or dactylitis as a subset of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and to define the clinical characteristics of these patients.

METHODS
We examined 401 unselected patients with PsA seen in 3 Italian rheumatological centers over a 6 month period. The diagnosis of PsA was based upon the clinical experience of a rheumatologist. The clinical features of patients with PsA were assessed by clinical examination and review of the patients' charts, evaluating the presence of peripheral arthritis, spinal involvement, dactylitis, and enthesitis. A series of 483 rheumatological patients without psoriasis and spondyloarthropathy (European Spondylarthropathy Study Group criteria) seen consecutively in a one month period constituted the control group.

RESULTS
14 patients (3.5%) presented isolated episodes of peripheral enthesitis and/or dactylitis. No patient developed peripheral arthritis and/or axial involvement during the followup period (median 30 mo; range 3-72 mo). 10/14 patients (71%) presented at least one episode of finger and/or toe dactylitis. 5 of these 10 patients (50%) had additional episodes of peripheral enthesitis (Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, and posterior tibial tendinitis). Episodes of Achilles tendinitis and/or plantar fasciitis were present in 8/14 patients (57%). 3 of these 8 patients (37%) had associated peripheral enthesitis in other sites as well: lateral epicondyle, insertion of the patella tendon into the inferior pole of the patella, femoral quadriceps, and posterior tibial tendons. An additional case had posterior tibial tendinitis and 2 episodes of toe dactylitis. None of these 14 cases presented radiological evidence of sacroiliitis and only one of the 13 typed was HLA-B27 positive. 12 patients (2.4%) of the control group had episodes of peripheral enthesitis (11 plantar fasciitis and one Achilles tendinitis). No patient had episodes of dactylitis. The frequency of isolated Achilles tendinitis and/or dactylitis was significantly higher in patients with PsA compared to controls (3.5 vs 0.2%; p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION
In some patients PsA can occur only with peripheral enthesitis, particularly Achilles tendinitis, and/or dactylitis. These patients may represent a subset of PsA, not defined by Moll and Wright and spondyloarthritis classification criteria, and poorly recognized in the studies on PsA.


"Indispensable insights into creating and maintaining a good corporate reputation. The writing is straightforward and refreshingly free of jargon, and the company examples are timely, relevant, and revealing." (Paul Danos, Dean, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth). "Every executive will benefit from reading this expertly written guide." (Ronald Sargent, President and CEO, Staples, Inc.). "A unique combination of expert journalistic insight and knowledge gained from quantitative research into how people perceive corporations." (Joy Marie Sever, Senior VP, The Reputation Practice at Harris Interactive). In this topical and up-to-date book, "Wall Street Journal" news editor Ron Alsop provides 18 lessons based on years of experience covering every aspect of corporate reputation. He shows the benefits of a good reputation, the consequences of a bad one, how to measure reputation and nurture a good one. There's advice on how to identify the most likely dangers to a company's reputation, how to use the Internet to control perception of an organization, and how to present good deeds in the right way. Punchy and informative, it draws on real life examples from major corporations, including FedEx, BP, McDonalds, DuPont, Calvin Klein, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss and Co. and Enron.


Two series of luminescent conjugated polymers based on rhenium(I) or ruthenium(II) dipyridophenazine complexes have been synthesized by the palladium catalyzed coupling reaction using divinylbenzene and aromatic dibromides as the monomers. From the photoluminescence spectra, an energy transfer process between the conjugated backbone and the metal complexes is proposed. The ruthenium containing polymers were fabricated into light emitting devices because of their better film forming qualities. The electroluminescence (EL) of the polymers originated from the emission due to the π*-π or π*-d transitions. Depending on the metal complex content, the polymers exhibit different absorption and EL spectra. The devices exhibit a turn-on voltage of 10 V and external quantum efficiency of 0.6%. From the cyclic voltammetry results, an additional oxidation couple was observed after the incorporation of the ruthenium complex which may contribute to the charge transport process. This was further supported by the charge mobilities measurement in which the electron and hole mobilities of the polymers are enhanced by the metal complex and are of the order of 10
 –4
 cm
 2
 V
 –1
 s
 –1
.


Aim: Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) dramatically increases the sensitivity of bone scanning for detection of spinal abnormalities. However, the level of specificity obtained by SPECT remains controversial and increased diagnostic confidence can be obtained with new imaging modalities such as fused PET/CT and SPECT/CT. Patients and Methods: Between 7/2005 and 7/2007 ninety one patients with different malignant primary tumors were in- vestigated. Following injection of 555 MBq 99m Tc - MDP planar and SPECT images were performed in all patients. Re- sults: Out of a total of 145 spinal lesions was confirmed by radiography, SPECT detected 133 (91%). In contrast, planar scintigraphy detected only 99/145 (68%) lesions. SPECT uptake pattern including the vertebral body and an adjacent pedicle was seen in 9/28 (32%) of metastatic lesions and in 1/2 (50%) cases of spondylitis. SPECT uptake pattern includ- ing the pedicle alone was seen in 45/115 (39%) of degenerative alterations. Focal lesions limited to the lateral part of the vertebral body, especially to the pars interarticularis (n=8), facet joints (n=14) and costotransversal joints (n=6), were cor- rectly diagnosed as spondylarthrosis and costotransversalarthrosis in all cases. Furthermore, SPECT uptake pattern of spondylitis was biconcave, whereas metastatic lesions showed focal or linear uptakes. Conclusion: SPECT without image fusion still gives sufficient diagnostic confidence for the differentiation of benign and malignant spine lesions. Uptake pat- terns localized at the facet joints or localized at the pedicles are indicative for benign lesions, whereas continuous uptake patterns of the vertebral body and adjacent pedicle remain suspicious for malignancy.


The principle of 'mission command' is founded on the clear expression of intent by commanders and the freedom of subordinates to act to achieve that intent.4 The concept is hierarchical but decentralised: people are briefed on the intentions of their commanders two levels higher in the hierarchy. Subordinates are told what to achieve, not what to do. Such a mode of working is not alien to the NHS. Clinical teams are naturally hierarchical, but great responsibility is delegated to even very junior medical staff. Good leaders will act to 'flatten the hierarchy', preventing it from being a barrier to initiative or open communication.5 When in doubt, military and medical staff can fall back on the more-or-less implicit intent of their superiors. However, this approach is much less familiar in non-clinical aspects of NHS leadership. It is common for authority to be tightly held, for decisions to require ratification at high level and for budgets to be centralised. This approach may be appropriate when the pace of institutional change is slow, the appetite for risk is small and the control of money is paramount. We no longer live in that environment. Is it time to emphasise a mission command approach to NHS leadership?


PURPOSE
To evaluate the feasibility and safety of adenovirus-mediated gene therapy as a treatment for tumor seeds in the vitreous of children with retinoblastoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
An Institutional Biosafety Committee-, Institutional Review Board-, Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee-, and US Food and Drug Administration-approved phase I study used intrapatient dose escalation of adenoviral vector containing a herpes simplex thymidine kinase gene (AdV-TK) followed by systemic administration of ganciclovir to treat bilateral retinoblastoma with vitreous tumor seeding refractory to standard therapies. Vitreous tumor seeds were treated by intravitreous injection of AdV-TK adjacent to disease sites. Each injection was followed by ganciclovir delivered intravenously every 12 hours for 7 days.

RESULTS
Eight patients with vitreous tumor seeds were enrolled. One patient who was treated with 10(8) viral particles (vp) had resolution of the tumor seeds around the injection site. The seven patients who were treated with doses > or = 10(10) vp had resolution of their vitreous tumor seeds documented by fundoscopy. Toxicity included mild inflammation at 10(10) vp and moderate inflammation, corneal edema, and increased intraocular pressure at 10(11) vp. One patient was free of active vitreous tumor seeds 38 months after therapy. There has been no evidence of extraocular spread of tumor along the needle tract in any patient.

CONCLUSION
AdV-TK followed by ganciclovir can be administered safely to children with retinoblastoma. Suicide gene therapy may contribute to the treatment of children with retinoblastoma tumor seeds in the vitreous, a resistant complication of retinoblastoma.


The paper presents the interrogative and negative constructions in Israeli Sign Language (ISL). Both manual and nonmanual components of these constructions are described, revealing a complex and rich system. In addition to the basic lexical terms, ISL uses various morphological devices to expand its basic question and negation vocabulary, such as compounding and suffixation. The nonmanual component consists of specific facial expressions, head and body posture, and mouthing. The use of mouthing is especially interesting, as ISL seems to use it extensively, both as a word formation device and as a grammatical marker for negation. Interrogative and negative constructions interact in with other grammatical categories in the language; i.e., the distribution of various negation words is determined by the lexical category of the negated word. Thus, the distribution of negation words provides evidence for the existence of Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives as formal categories in the language. Finally, a diachronic comparison between present day ISL and earlier stages of the language reveals interesting traits in the development of these systems.


A well established belief both in the game-theoretic IO and in policy debates is that market concentration facilitates collusion. We show that this piece of conventional wisdom relies upon the assumption of profit-seeking behaviour, for it may be reversed when firms pursue other plausible goals. To illustrate our intuition, we investigate the incentives to tacit collusion in an industry formed by labour-managed (LM) enterprises. We characterise the perfect equilibrium of a supergame in which LM firms play an infinitely repeated Cournot game under grim trigger strategies. We show that the critical threshold of the discount factor above which collusion is stable (i) is lower in the LM industry than in the capitalistic one; (ii) monotonically decreases with the number of firms.


We report on the development of a large-area few-layer graphene (FLG)—based transparent conductive electrode as a current spreading layer for GaN-based ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Large-area FLG was deposited on Cu using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and subsequently transferred to the surface of the UV LED. UV light at a peak of 372 nm was emitted through the FLG-based transparent conductive electrode. The current spreading effects of FLG were clearly evident in both the optical images of electroluminescence (EL) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. Degradation of the FLG-based transparent conductive electrode could be induced by high power operation. Our results indicate that a large-area FLG-based electrode on GaN offers excellent current spreading and ultra-violet transparency properties when compared to the standard optoelectronic indium tin oxide (ITO) contact layer.


Objective: To test the hypothesis that, in lifetime captopril-treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the sympathetic nervous system contributes importantly to the hypertensive effect of dietary sodium chloride supplementation. Methods: Male SHR (aged 6 weeks) that had been treated from conception onward with either captopril or vehicle remained on a basal sodium chloride diet or were fed a high sodium chloride diet. After 2 weeks, the rats were subjected to ganglionic blockade and 2 days later, an infusion of clonidine. Results: Lifetime captopril treatment significantly lowered mean arterial pressure in both groups. Intravenous infusion of the ganglionic blocker hexamethonium resulted in a rapid decline in MAP that eliminated the dietary sodium chloride-induced increase in MAP in both groups. Infusion of the central nervous system α2-adrenergic receptor agonist clonidine also resulted in a greater reduction in MAP in both groups of SHR that were fed the high (compared with the basal) sodium chloride diet. Conclusions: In both lifetime captopril-treated and control SHR, the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the pressor effects of a high sodium chloride diet.


for established left ventricular failure or given in the late afternoon to prevent paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea. The need for potassium supplements is governed by many factors, such as the potassium content of the diet, the presence or absence of primary or more commonly secondary hyperaldosteronism. It must be remembered that severe sodium restriction is a powerful stimulant to aldosterone secretion; therefore, if dietary sodium is restricted, potassium supplements are likely to be needed. Finally, Dr. Susan Cotton and IP did not report occasional evidence of mild liver dysfunction in patients treated with guanoxan, but five cases of frank hepatitis with jaundice, one of them fatal, in addition to laboratory evidence suggestive of hepatic dysfunction in a third of the first 100 treated patients.I am, etc., E. MONTUSCHU. Whittington Hospital, London N.19. REFERENCE


Family members play a crucial role in the health of Asian American communities, and their involvement in health interventions can be pivotal in optimizing impact and implementation. To explore how family members can be effectively involved in Asian American health interventions and develop a conceptual framework of methods of involvement at the stages of intervention development, process, and evaluation, this scoping review documented the role of Asian American family members in interventions (across any health objective). Of the 7175 studies identified through database and manual searches, we included 48 studies in the final analysis. Many studies focused on Chinese (54%) or Vietnamese (21%) populations, were conducted in California (44%), and involved spouses (35%) or parents/children (39%). We observed involvement across 3 stages: (1) intervention development (formative research, review process, material development), (2) intervention process (recruitment, receiving the intervention together, receiving a parallel intervention, enlisting support to achieve goals, voluntary intervention support, agent of family-wide change, and participation gatekeepers), and (3) intervention evaluation (received evaluation together, indirect impact evaluation, and feedback during intervention). Impact of family member involvement was both positive (as sources of encouragement, insight, accountability, comfort, and passion) and negative (sources of hindrance, backlash, stigma, obligation, and negative influence). Suggestions for future research interventions include (1) exploring family involvement in South Asian or young adult interventions, (2) diversifying types of family members involved (eg, extended family), and (3) diversifying methods of involvement (eg, family members as implementation agents).


The blastocystic trophoblast cells consist of different types of cells according to their structural architecture and their functional specialisation: a) supporting, preventing and feeding functions; b) signalization, polarisation, and depolarisation functions between blastocyst and uterine; c) immunological acceptance or rejection and secreting functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the ultrastructure of cellular interaction between mural trophoblast/trophectoderm cells of blastocyst and uterine epithelium in rat. Tissue samples obtained from rats on day 5 of pregnancy were studied ultarstructurally. In contrast to the polar trophoblast cells exhibiting degeneration according to implantataion progress, some mural trophoblast cells play an important role in the cellular interaction taking place between the uterine epithelium and blastocyst. The ultrastructural evidence, that structural diversification in blastocystic ring change according to the implantation period and these ultrastructural properties, suggests that the functional diversification is very important for implantation.


Xenopus tropicalis is an increasingly important animal model in a variety of biological research fields. In many countries legislation exists to promote and increase welfare wherever possible, including the ability to view animals during daily husbandry with minimal stress to the animal. X. tropicalis (n = 16) refuge use was investigated, it was found that they significantly preferred black opaque overhead cover to open-ended pipes or closed off ceramic plants pots in refuge choice experiments. This experiment was repeated by replacing the opaque black overhead cover with red filters. A significant preference for overhead cover was seen for the red translucent cover, compared to other available refuges suggesting that X. tropicalis may adopt translucent refuges due to their visual inabilities. The incapability of frogs to see certain wavelengths of light may allow staff to view them whilst simultaneously providing the refuge of choice.


The primigravida's experience of childbirth is influenced by the knowledge and expectations she has of childbirth. Her expectations of childbirth are based on the information she got from the antenatal clinic, the nursing staff, her mother, friends and family. The purpose of this research was to determine the knowledge and expectations the primigravida has of childbirth. An exploratory, descriptive design was used within the context of an academic hospital in Johanneburg. The survey method was used. The method of research firstly consisted of a literature study of the primigravida's knowledge and expectations of childbirth. This was done in order to put the problem in perspective and also to serve as a theoretical framework for the study. Secondly, a structured questionnaire was used to make a survey of the primigravida's knowledge and expectations of childbirth. From this research it is clear that the respondents had insufficient knowledge of childbirth and the handling of pain during childbirth. This insufficient knowledge can mainly be attributed to the poor attendance of antenatal preparation classes, inadequate professional counselling and the mother of the primigravida as the primary source of information on childbirth. The respondents, however, had realistic expectations with regard to their handling of labour, as well as of the role of the midwife and the doctor. From this research it is clear that a large gap exists in the primigravida's preparation for childbirth. The group participating in this research is therefore not adequately prepared for childbirth to have realistic expectations. The group must rely on the support of the midwife in the labour ward.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Our paper offers a computational model of the semantic recoverability of verb arguments, tested in particular on direct objects and Instruments. Our fully distributional model is intended to improve on older taxonomy-based models, which require a lexicon in addition to the training corpus. We computed the selectional preferences of 99 transitive verbs and 173 Instrument verbs as the mean value of the pairwise cosines between their arguments (a weighted mean between all the arguments, or an unweighted mean with the topmost k arguments). Results show that our model can predict the recoverability of objects and Instruments, providing a similar result to that of taxonomy-based models but at a much cheaper computational cost.


The axiological features of the teacher's image are determined by the fact that a teacher is traditionally considered a dominant value element in the education system. The study of the verbalization of the teacher image in journalistic and popular scientific texts in the late 19 th — early 20 th century promotes better understanding of the role and place of a teacher, the attitude of others to a teacher, and the axiological features of the teachers who played a role in the enlightenment of Russia. In addition, it is of interest to see the evolution of the standard ideas about teachers and the value-based attitude to a teacher during different historical periods. This research paper aims at finding characteristic lexemes of the axiological aspect of the teacher image and determining the semantic features of the axiological aspect of the teacher image. In order to distinguish the axiological features of the predicative and attributive characteristics of the subject, lexical means of characterization, including metaphorical means have to be found first. The next stage is to find the standard characteristics based on the evaluative and metaphorical characteristics verbalized by different means. The standard characteristics and the phrases with clear evaluative meaning together form the value-based attitude to the teacher in the didactic texts of the end of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th century. From the point of view of the authors of the popular scientific and journalistic texts about the state of affairs in education, a teacher plays an important social role and, as a result, has a higher status. The most important teacher merits associated with the traditional values include The Verbalization Axiological Features of the Teacher's Image ... competence in the broad sense of the word, wisdom, conscientiousness, friendliness, love for children, and the knowledge of their psychology, patience paired with strictness, true grit, determination, and fairness. The axiological features of standard characteristics consist in the ability to create a model or a reference point for organizing pedagogical activity in accordance with the societal expectations.


The paper presents a new logical speciication language, called Propositional Stabilisation Theory (PST), to capture the stabilisation behaviour of combinational input-output systems. PST is an intuitionistic propositional modal logic interpreted over sets of waveforms. The language is more economic than conventional speciication formalisms such as timed Boolean functions, temporal logic, or predicate logic in that it separates function from time and only introduces as much syntax as is necessary to deal with stabilisation behaviour. It is a purely propositional system but has second-order expressiveness. One and the same Boolean function can be represented in various ways as a PST formula, giving rise to diierent timing models which associate diierent stabilisation delays with diierent parts of the functionality and adjust the granularity of the data-dependency of delays within wide margins. We show how several standard timing analyses can be characterised as algorithms computing correct and exact stabilisation bounds for particular PST timing models. Speciically, the existence of a PST speciication style for static sensitization solves the open exactness problem for this type of analysis. By choosing other timing models we can characterise timing analyses for which no algorithms so far exist. Translations between diierent timing models are the semantic basis for combining timing analyses. This work puts forward an application of intuitionistic modal logic that exploits the model-theoretic strength of the constructive approach. It contrasts with the traditional point of view that focuses on the proof-theoretic aspects of intuitionistic logic.


Cutaneous mucormycosis is an uncommon fungal infection, occurring mainly in immunosuppressed and diabetic patients, leading to mortality if adequate treatment is delayed. It could also happen in normal health person after localized trauma. Here we report a case of cutaneous mucormycosis manifesting as a painful erythematous papule, rapidly progressing to necrotic ulcer with eschar formation. Treatment was initiated with extensive surgical debridement, intravenous amphotericin B, and oral itraconazole. No recurrence was found at 7 months follow-up.


As a new type of material, Glass Fiber Polymer-Soil nailing (GFP-SN) can replace the steel to be applied in the slope support, excavation support and other civil engineering. It was being concerned by more and more engineers. GFP-SN anchorage mechanism need be analysized and studied deeply to be used well. In this paper, numerical simulation software FLAC3D was used to simulate the pullout tests of GFP-SN. The results show that the diameter of GFP-SN, the embedded length of GFP-SN and the maximum pull force had great influence on the drawing force, the pull force is proportional with them. Besides, it is obvious that the embedded mode of GFP-SN has a certain influence on bar's drawing force property.


Current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are based on double entry bookkeeping. This technique has several disadvantages concerning application neutral financial data storage. Therefore, the Resource Event Agent (REA) ontology was introduced to negotiate the current drawbacks. It describes concepts and its relationships semantically. Nevertheless, there exist a set of different REA models that reveal several lacks in context of formalization and specification. Although several REA approaches use formalized languages like the Unified Modeling Language (UML), they are too general to fulfill the Guidelines of Modeling . Due to these reasons, the paper adapts the SEMantic- based Planning Approach (SEMPA) for a formalized REA modeling. By annotating process activities semantically, the approach emphasizes on business control. Furthermore, process activities are linked together representing all valid solutions of a process flow representing behavioral aspects of REA. The goal is to present a formalized approach that enables the integration of diverse REA models.


The effects of reducing external Na+ ([Na+]o) and increasing internal Na+ ([Na+]i) on evoked tension in arterial rings were correlated with intracellular Ca2+ transients evoked in cultured A7r5 cells. Contractions were elicited in rings of rat aorta and a small mesenteric artery branch by serotonin (5-HT), arginine vasopressin (AVP), or a high K+ concentration ([K+]o). Contractions were augmented by reduction of [Na+]o (replaced by Li+ or N-methylglucamine) or inhibition of the Na+ pump (to raise [Na+]i). These effects were dependent on external Ca2+. Ca2+ transients were measured by digital imaging of fura-2/AM-loaded A7r5 cells. The apparent free Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]app) in eight unstimulated cells was 110 +/- 10 nM in the peripheral cytoplasm. Activation of A7r5 cells by 5-HT, AVP, or high [K+]o evoked transient increases in [Ca2+]app. Lowering [Na+]o or raising [Na+]i elevated [Ca2+]app significantly in unstimulated cells and increased the amplitude and duration of the Ca2+ transients. These effects required external Ca2+. Caffeine (5-10 mM) reduced [Ca2+]app in resting cells and attenuated the vasoconstrictor-evoked Ca2+ transients in low [Na+]o. The data imply that Na+ gradient reduction promotes Ca2+ entry and slows Ca2+ extrusion via Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange. This increases cytosolic free Ca2+ and the intracellular Ca2+ stores so that more Ca2+ is delivered to the contractile apparatus during cell activation. Such augmented Ca2+ transients could induce the amplified vasoconstrictor-evoked contractions observed in arterial rings under reduced Na+ gradient conditions.


We develop a theory of low-frequency movements in inflation expectations, and use it to interpret joint dynamics of inflation and inflation expectations for the United States and other countries over the postwar period. In our theory, long-run inflation expectations are endogenous. They are driven by short-run inflation surprises, in a way that depends on recent forecasting performance and monetary policy. This distinguishes our theory from common explanations of low-frequency properties of inflation. The model, estimated using only inflation and short-term forecasts from professional surveys, accurately predicts observed measures of long-term inflation expectations and identifies episodes of unanchored expectations. (JEL D83, D84, E12, E23, E31, E37, E52)


The effect of thermal motion of charged particles in the filamentation of a nonrelativistic current-driven plasma in the diffusion frequency region is investigated. The period and the establishment time of the filamentation structure and the threshold for instability development are obtained.


We study the optimal transmission strategy of a single-user multiple-input/multiple-output communication system with covariance feedback. We consider the situation with correlated receive and correlated transmit antennas in Rayleigh flat fading. Furthermore, we assume that the receiver has perfect channel state information, while the transmitter knows only the transmit correlation matrix and the receive correlation matrix. We show that transmitting in the direction of the eigenvectors of the transmit correlation matrix is the optimal transmission strategy. In addition to this, the optimal power allocation is studied and a necessary and sufficient condition for optimality of beamforming is derived. All theoretical results are illustrated by numerical simulations.


As technology scales, the protection of Finite State Machines' (FSMs) states against single event upset (SEU) and multiple bit upsets (MBUs) becomes more difficult. In this paper, a self-checking approach to enhance the SEU/MBUs immunity of FSMs' states by replicating One-Hot code times for state encoding is presented. This approach can correct less than bit-flip faults in the state register per cycle. Bit-flips are treated as random events and modeled by applying Poisson distribution. Two characteristics of this approach are obtained through probability analysis: first, this approach performs better with the increase of , whereas worse when an FSM contains more states; second, this approach can offer more enhanced reliability than Binary or One-Hot state encoding with Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR). The former characteristic leads to the further improvement of this approach which is called state-reforming. The reliabilities of this proposed approach and its state-reformed solutions, as well as are all evaluated through simulations of fault injections.


—High functioning autistic people can exhibit excep- tional skills with numbers, eidetic imagery and recall of concrete detail, as brought to popular attention in the film Rain Man. However, it now transpires that these skills are to some extent latent within all of us. We do not have access under normal circumstances to this concrete detail, because it is dynamically inhibited by higher level concepts. Brain stimulation using Trans Cranial Magnetic Stimulation or Direct Current Stimulation, which blocks this inhibition, releases savant-like skills in non- savants. This paper proposes that one of the reasons for this lies in the brain's need to conserve energy. Computer simulations using a spiking neural network support this hypothesis. A spiking neural network was set up with a number of feature detectors feeding an output unit, which in turn generates inhibition of the input neurons. This reduces the spike activity of the input, and thus overall energy usage. We introduce a theoretical analysis for the gains, which might be made. Thus, we demonstrate that energy conservation is a possible cause of inhibition of sensory detail by high level concepts.


In contrast to the numerous research works that integrate a niching scheme with an existing single-objective evolutionary algorithm to perform multimodal optimization, a few approaches have recently been taken to recast multimodal optimization as a multiobjective optimization problem to be solved by modified multiobjective evolutionary algorithms. Following this promising avenue of research, we propose a novel biobjective formulation of the multimodal optimization problem and use differential evolution (DE) with nondominated sorting followed by hypervolume measure-based sorting to finally detect a set of solutions corresponding to multiple global and local optima of the function under test. Unlike the two earlier multiobjective approaches (biobjective multipopulation genetic algorithm and niching-based nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II), the proposed multimodal optimization with biobjective DE (MOBiDE) algorithm does not require the actual or estimated gradient of the multimodal function to form its second objective. Performance of MOBiDE is compared with eight state-of-the-art single-objective niching algorithms and two recently developed biobjective niching algorithms using a test suite of 14 basic and 15 composite multimodal problems. Experimental results supported by nonparametric statistical tests suggest that MOBiDE is able to provide better and more consistent performance over the existing well-known multimodal algorithms for majority of the test problems without incurring any serious computational burden.


The World Health Organization reports that 235 million people are currently affected by asthma. This disease is associated with an imbalance of Th1 and Th2 cells, which results in the upregulation of cytokines that promote chronic inflammation of the respiratory system. The inflammatory response causes airway obstruction and can ultimately result in death. In this study we evaluated the effect of 1′-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) isolated from Alpinia galanga rhizomes in a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma. To generate the mouse model, BALB/c mice were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of OVA and then challenged with OVA inhalation for 5 days. Mice in the vehicle control group were sensitized with OVA but not challenged with OVA. Treatment groups received dexamethasone, 25 mg/kg/day ACA, or 50 mg/kg/day ACA for 5 days. Asthma-related inflammation was assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell counts and histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of lung tissues. Our results showed that ACA reduced the infiltration of white blood cells (especially eosinophils) and the level of IgE in the lungs of mice challenged with OVA and suppressed histopathological changes such as airway remodeling, goblet-cell hyperplasia, eosinophil infiltration, and glycoprotein secretion. In addition, ACA inhibited expression of the Th2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, and Th1 cytokines IL-12α and interferon-γ. Because asthmatic reactions are mediated by diverse immune and inflammatory pathways, ACA shows promise as an antiasthmatic drug candidate.


Experimental results of Ti-6-2-4-2S, Ti-6-4 and Ti-5-5-5-1-1 are detailed in this paper with conventional surface grinding using SiC abrasive under dry conditions. Measurements of grinding forces, surface topography and metallurgical structure of ground surface were taken to investigate the grinding mechanism of these materials. The results showed grinding force ratios to these materials were between 1.35 to 2.25 at all material remove rates, but the specific energy to Ti-5-5-5-1-1 and Ti-6-2-4-2S were little higher than Ti-6-4. Evaluation of ground surface topography indicated they were visually free of crack and burn. At the same grinding parameters, Ti-5-5-5-1-1 had the maximum depth of heat-affected zone because of its poor high temperature properties.


The reduction in fiber length during injection molding of two commercial glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) granules was studied. The first containing 20 percent by weight (wt%) of shortglass-fibers with the average fiber length around 350 ∝m and the other filled with 40 wt% of relatively much longer fibers mostly around 7,000 mm. The fiber length distribution (FLD) was measured along the screw channels and after the molten composite was injected through a nozzle of an injection unit. The results indicated that the FLD moved to shorter fiber lengths along the screw channels further from the hopper. In both cases, fiber attrition occurred predominately in the feed and the compression zones, particularly in long-glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene. More severe fiber attrition in this finding can be assumed due to higher fiber concentration and longer fiber length which result in a higher degree of


We examined the prospective association between cognitive ability in early adulthood and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, a marker of inflammation, in middle age. Participants were 4256 male Vietnam era US veterans. Data on cognitive ability, assessed by the Army General Technical Test, ethnicity, and place of service were extracted from enlistment files. Smoking behaviour, alcohol consumption, basic sociodemographics, and whether participants suffered from a physician diagnosed chronic disease were determined by telephone interview in middle-age in 1985. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, cholesterol, blood pressure, height, and weight were measured at a 3day medical examination in 1986. In linear regression models that adjusted for age and then additionally for circumstantial, socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health factors, poor cognitive ability in early adulthood was associated with greater erythrocyte sedimentation rate in middle age, β = -.09. Thus, it would appear that not only does systemic inflammation affect cognition, but also that poor cognitive ability earlier in life increases the risk of developing inflammation.


In a model where biased judges can distort contract enforcement, we uncover positive feedback e¤ects between the use of innovative contracts and legal evolution that improve veri…ability and contracting over time. We …nd, however, that the cost of judicial bias also grows over time because the unpredictable application of precedents becomes costlier as the law matures. Contract standardization avoids this cost, statically improving enforcement; but it crowds out innovative contracts, hindering legal evolution. We shed light on the large-scale commercial codi…cation undertaken in the nineteenth century in many common-law countries during a period of booming long-distance trade.


Genomic data clustering is receiving growing attention. However, finding the biological meaning of the clusters is still manual work, which becomes very difficult as the amount of data grows. In this paper, the authors present a few experiments applying text mining and machine learning techniques to help associate meaning to gene clusters. These experiments were applied to paper abstracts and interaction database data related to Saccaromyces cerevisiae genes both for identifying text content and for explaining the biological meaning of the gene clusters found. The results were compared to information published by experts in molecular biology and a number of relevant equivalences were found.


TiO2 and HA thin film double coating has been proposed. The TiO2/HA thin film was coated on the glass by a Radio Frequency magnetron sputtering, and the characteristic of the thin film has been studied. The absorption of Formaldehyde (HCHO) gas in the TiO2/HA thin film was detected by gas chromatography, and the sterilization of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was evaluated in the antibacterial test. In the deodorization test, HCHO gas remained 0[%], 11[%] and 85[%] for TiO2/HA thin film, TIO2 thin film and thin film respectively. The sterilization result shows that E. coli for TiO2/HA thin film and HA thin film decreased 89[%] and 75[%] respectively.


4 6 4 J O U R N A L C O M P I L A T I O N © 2 0 0 7 B J U I N T E R N A T I O N A L | 9 9 , 4 6 4 – 4 6 6 | doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2007.06746.x and almost half of patients were aged > 65 years. Poor renal function has been a contraindication for platinum-based combination chemotherapy and thus these patients were obviously not included. (iv) There is no information on toxicity. How high is the price to pay? How much is lost in terms of quality of life and toxicity? The toxicity data were reported in the separate trials, e.g. "There was no unexpected morbidity and no mortality related to chemotherapy administration" in our second trial. Qualityof-life issues were not commonly analysed in trials at that time. (v) Are the results with single-agent cisplatin relevant, as combined therapy is superior and considered as standard; I agree that the latter is standard, but as single-agent administration had been evaluated in several trials it was of interest to also show these results. (iv) Newer chemotherapeutic agents are not included; I do not understand how they could be evaluated when these drugs were not available when the trials began.


This study estimated the possible surge in demand for primary care among the low-income population in Houston/Harris County under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and related it to existing supply by safety-net providers. A model of the demand for primary care visits was developed based on California Health Interview Survey data and applied to the Houston/Harris County population. The current supply of primary care visits by safety-net providers was determined by a local survey. Comparisons indicate that safety-net providers in Houston/Harris County are currently meeting about 30% of the demand for primary care visits by the low-income population, and the rest are either met by private practice physicians or are unmet. Demand for primary care by this population is projected to increase by 30% under health reform leading to a drop in demand met by safety-net providers to less than 25%.


OBJECTIVES: identify and analyze anemia knowledge and practices of daycare center providers. METHODS: study performed in a public daycare center for low income families living in the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo. The majority of the children was seen in the health clinic of the daycare center for over six months and came from low income families. All 15 care providers were high school graduates. The interviews were taped, transcribed and submitted to content analysis. RESULTS: care providers'knowledge and practices stemmed from common sense and day to day experience. Many had wrong concepts with potential harm in terms of care provision. Their perception was that anemia control and prevention depended on "parents education", a perspective that could interfere with the care providers/parents relationship in a sense that the problems are of a social nature and do not depend exclusively on family care. Some identified anemic children and attempted to help but the majority transferred the responsibility to healthcare professionals and did not feel they were related to care giving practices and conditions. CONCLUSIONS: there is a need to educate care providers on anemia and the care of this condition, not only in initial training programs as well as in ongoing training programs.


Model identification and measurement acquisition is always to some degree uncertain. Therefore, a framework for nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) is proposed that explicitly considers the noise influence on nonlinear dynamic systems with continuous state spaces and a finite set of control inputs in order to significantly increase the control quality. Integral parts of NMPC are the prediction of system states over a finite horizon as well as the problem specific modeling of reward functions. For achieving an efficient and also accurate state prediction, the introduced framework uses transition densities approximated by means of axis-aligned Gaussian mixtures. The representation power of Gaussian mixtures is also used to model versatile reward functions. Thus, together with the prediction technique a closed-form calculation of the optimization problems arising from NMPC is possible. Additionally, an efficient algorithm for calculating an approximate value function of the corresponding optimal control problem employing dynamic programming is presented. Thus, the value function can be calculated off-line, which reduces the on-line computational burden significantly and also permits the use of long optimization horizons. The capabilities of the framework and especially the benefits that can be gained by incorporating the noise in the controller are illustrated by the example of a two-wheeled differential-drive mobile robot following a given path.


The increased production of natural gas harvested from unconventional sources, such as shale, has led to fluctuations in the species composition of natural gas moving through pipelines. These variations alter the chemical properties of the bulk gas mixture and, consequently, affect the operation of pipeline compressor engines which use the gas as fuel. Among several possible ramifications of these variations is that of unacceptably high engine-out NOx emissions. Therefore, engine controller enhancements which can account for fuel variability are necessary for maintaining emissions compliance. Having the means to predict NOx emissions from a field engine can inform the development of such control schemes.
 There are several types of compressor engines; however, this study considers a large bore, lean-burn, two-stroke, integral compressor engine. This class of engine has unique operating conditions which make the formation of engine-out NOx different from typical automotive spark-ignited engines. For this reason, automotive-based methods for predicting NOx emissions are not sufficiently accurate. In this study, an investigation is performed on the possible NO and NO2 formation pathways which could be contributing to exhaust emissions. Additionally, a modeling method is proposed to predict engine-out NOx emissions using a 0-D/1-D model of a Cooper-Bessemer GMWH-10C compressor engine. Predictions are achieved with GRI-Mech3.0, a natural gas combustion mechanism, which allows for simulated formation of NOx species. The implemented technique is tuned using experimental data from a field engine to better predict emissions over a range of engine operating conditions. Tuning the model led to acceptable agreement across operating points varying in both load and trapped equivalence ratio.


Interactions among the 20-kDa protein gene and the cytA and cryIVD genes located in a 9.4-kb HindIII fragment were studied. A series of plasmids containing a combination of these different genes was constructed by using the Escherichia coli/Bacillus thuringiensis shuttle vector pHT3101. The plasmids were then used to transform an acrystalliferous strain, cryB, derived from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. The results from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analyses suggest that although the 20-kDa protein is required for the efficient CytA protein production in E. coli, it is not required in B. thuringiensis. With or without the truncated 20-kDa protein gene, the CtyA and/or CryIVD proteins are produced and form parasporal inclusions in B. thuringiensis cells. However, more-efficient expression is obtained when a second protein, probably acting as a chaperonin, is present. In addition, the time course studies show that the CytA and CryIVD proteins are coordinately produced. Both the crude B. thuringiensis culture and purified inclusions from each recombinant B. thuringiensis strain are toxic to Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. The parasporal inclusions formed in B. thuringiensis cells are mosquitocidal, with CytA synergizing CryIVD toxicity.


Background The objectives of this study were to compare the incidence, onset, duration and pain scores of transient neurologic symptoms (TNS) with 1%versus 5% hyperbaric lidocaine in spinal anesthesia for short urological procedures in a large prospective study. This study would also evaluate patient satisfaction, and impact of TNS on functional recovery to assess the clinical significance of TNS. Methods This was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Four hundred fifty-three patients undergoing short transurethral procedures were randomized to receive 1% or 5% hyperbaric lidocaine. Eighty milligrams of 1% or 5% hyperbaric lidocaine was administered. During the first 3 days after surgery, the presence of TNS, its intensity and duration, and patient functional level were recorded. An intention-to-treat analysis was used. Results There was no difference in the incidence of TNS (21%vs. 18%) between 1%versus 5% lidocaine. Patients with TNS had significantly higher pain scores (5.3 ± 3 vs. 2.3 ± 3) than patients without TNS during the first 24 h. This difference in pain scores persisted until 72 h postoperatively. There was a significant difference in the daily activities functional scores (2.2 ± 1 vs. 1.4 ± 0.8) of TNS versus non-TNS patients during the first 24 h postoperatively. Conclusions There was no difference in the incidence of TNS between the 1%versus 5% spinal lidocaine groups. Pain scores were higher in patients with TNS than those who did not have TNS. During the first 48 h postop, a small proportion of patients who had TNS experienced functional impairment of walking, sitting, and sleeping.


A variable-coefficient fixed-length coding scheme is proposed for wavelet-based image transmission over noisy channels. Multiple subband coefficients are grouped into an extended source symbol and coded as a fixed-length code word such that the extended source symbols have almost the same probabilities. Part of the codebook is fixed based on the observation of the coefficient spatial distribution patterns in each subband to alleviate the transmission of the codebook. The remaining code positions within the fixed-length codebook can be utilized to combat channel errors by carefully arranging the code positions or be filled with other frequently appearing coefficient sequences to achieve higher compression ratio.


One of the limitations of economic development - with its emphasis on unlimited growth - is that it is pursued without any considerations as to its implications on ecosystems. The prevailing economic theories treat the economic process from a purely mechanistic standpoint. Different ways exist, however, to deal with the choices that humans have to make with respect to the allocation of resources, the distribution of its returns and the fulfilment of purposes of material progress. Indigenous, aboriginal or native ecological knowledge certainly is one of those ways, although `primitive' peoples are considered brute, ignorant, having nothing to offer modern society in terms of its achieving its economic goals. To understand how `primitive' societies solve their economic problems in a sustainable fashion is a serious challenge in this context. To that effect, the instruments of economics could should somehow be employed together with the approaches learned from economic anthropology, like those based on Mauss's gift theory. But a better grasp of this issue could possibly be accomplished with the use of what the late anthropologist Darrell Posey, with whom the author was developing the concept, called ethnoeconomics or ethnoecological economics.


A fundamental fact about bounded-degree graph expanders is that three notions of expansion -- vertex expansion, edge expansion, and spectral expansion -- are all equivalent. In this paper, we study to what extent such a statement is true for linear-algebraic notions of expansion. There are two well-studied notions of linear-algebraic expansion, namely dimension expansion (defined in analogy to graph vertex expansion) and quantum expansion (defined in analogy to graph spectral expansion). Lubotzky and Zelmanov proved that the latter implies the former. We prove that the converse is false: there are dimension expanders which are not quantum expanders. Moreover, this asymmetry is explained by the fact that there are two distinct linear-algebraic analogues of graph edge expansion. The first of these is quantum edge expansion, which was introduced by Hastings, and which he proved to be equivalent to quantum expansion. We introduce a new notion, termed dimension edge expansion, which we prove is equivalent to dimension expansion and which is implied by quantum edge expansion. Thus, the separation above is implied by a finer one: dimension edge expansion is strictly weaker than quantum edge expansion. This new notion also leads to a new, more modular proof of the Lubotzky--Zelmanov result that quantum expanders are dimension expanders.


Membranes with both high permeability and selectivity are desirable for practical separation. In this work, three hyperbranched polyesters (HPEs) with different numbers of hydroxyl-terminated groups and molecular structures were, respectively, incorporated into a polyamide film formed by the interfacial reaction between the mixtures of HPE/piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on PVC hollow fiber substrates to endow the corresponding thin film composite (TFC) membranes with different permselectivity performances. The successful incorporation of HPEs into the cross-linked polyamide matrix and their gradient distribution in the corresponding selective layer were confirmed by ATR-FTIR and XPS analyses. Moreover, the permeation experiments for the fabricated TFC membranes revealed that HPEs most likely existed within the network or/and aggregate pores of the polyamide matrix due to their nanometer sizes and flexible molecular structures. Both the changes in the pore structures and the increase in the hydrophilicity of the polyamide matrix with the introduction of abundant hydroxyl groups pending in the HPE molecules led to the permeate flux of the TFC membrane increasing significantly. Importantly, nearly spherical H40 HPEs with intramolecular cavities could act as a molecular sieve to endow the selective layer with a high rejection capability. Meanwhile, the H40/PIP selective layer with a more negatively charged surface exhibited a higher rejection for SO42− ions while maintaining a low rejection for Cl− ions. These findings encourage further exploration of a new alternative material with such structures like HPE by interfacial polymerization to construct an ultrathin barrier film with high permselectivity performance.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mean glandular dose (MGD) and compressed breast thickness (CBT) by using the data collected from a patient survey and the experiment results. Exposure parameters of 360 mammographic procedure that using AEC (automatic exposure control) mode were recorded and incident air kerma ( K ) were measured using a QA dosimeter then MGDs were calculated by using Dance's formula. The data were categorized to four brands groups and analyze respectively. The results of the study showed that the CBT population ranged from 13 to 75 mm with a nominal distribution and mean thickness was 42 mm with standard deviation of 12 mm. MGD showed a positive correlation with CBT and incident air kerma ( K ). MGD in 2 of the 4 brand groups had a positive relation with CBT while other two groups did not show a similar trend. In a range of 20 to 60 mm, MGD showed a positive correlation with CBT. The results of the present study indicated that CBT could influence the MGD through multiple pathways and these pathways represent different mechanisms.


The flexible pipe is a vital part of a floating production system. The lifetime of a flexible riser system is crucial for the Health Safety and Environment (HSE) management. As a result of this, it is very necessary to carry out research on the lifetime of flexible pipe. In this thesis we formalized analysis on flexible pipes, utilizing the finite element analysis software BFLEX 2010, developed by MARINTEK. Chapter 1 describes basic knowledge about flexible pipe and relevant facilities. Chapter 2 gives more information about failure mode of flexible pipe and flexible pipe system. The design criteria and design flow chart is included in this part. Chapter 3 demonstrates the concepts in BFLEX 2010 and its basic principles. For BFLEX 2010, different modeling methods are available for the flexible pipes. In Chapter 4, the basic properties about the flexible pipe which is used in this thesis are introduced. The BFLEX model in this thesis is included in this chapter, too. In Chapter 5, two specified load cases are analyzed by BFLEX 2010 with different bending formulations for tendons. Fatigue damage on tensile armour layers and longitudinal stress in pressure armour is given. The fatigue damage is given in the form of Miner Sum. The comparison between different bending formulations is made. In Chapter 6, Comparison between calculation results and testing data is made. At the same time, correlation study about fatigue damage on tensile armour layer is finished. This thesis focuses on the effect of gap between flexible pipe and bending stiffener, and the influence of the E-modulus of bending stiffener.


The macro-trends revolving around urbanisation call for revising current approaches to urban development. In this context, the concept of resilience, originally developed in system ecology, has been deemed as a useful framework to address to these challenges and as an explanatory method to describe the complex dynamics regulating urban systems. However, while resilience science has gained importance in the academic debate in vulnerability and risk management, urban planning and governance, it is only superficially investigated in the field of urban design. This paper aims at bridging the gap between urban design and socio-ecological resilience, advocating a resilience-based approach to the design of urban systems. Currently, existing literature addressing the relationship between urban design and resilience focuses on two main issues: 1) the need for a common ground upon which to build the bridge between socio-ecological resilience and urban design; 2) the need for a clear and solid conceptual framework for urban designers to foster resilience in the built environment. The paper formulates suggestions on how these issues could be addressed. These are: 1) the definition of urban morphology as the common ground upon which the bridge between resilience in system ecology and in urban design should be built, and 2), on this common ground, the definition of a research route to link approach to sustainable urban design to socio-ecological resilience. The paper concludes by presenting possible future research steps.


The herbicidally active aryloxyphenoxypropionates diclofop acid, haloxyfop acid, and fluazifop acid and the cyclohexanedione sethoxydim depolarized membranes in coleoptiles of eight biotypes of herbicide-susceptible and herbicide-resistant annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). Membrane polarity was reduced from -100 millivolts to -30 to -50 millivolts. Membranes repolarized after removal of the compounds only in biotypes with resistance to the compound added. Repolarization was not observed in herbicide-susceptible L. rigidum, nor was it observed in biotypes resistant to triazine, triazole, triazinone, phenylurea, or sulfonylurea herbicides but not resistant to aryloxyphenoxypropionates and cyclohexanediones. Chlorsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide, at a saturating concentration of 1 micromolar, reduced membrane polarity in all biotypes studied by only 15 millivolts. The recovery of membrane potential following the removal of chlorsulfuron was restricted to chlorsulfuron-susceptible and -resistant biotypes that did not exhibit diclofop resistance. These differences in membrane responses are correlated with resistance to dicloflop rather than with resistance to chlorsulfuron. It is suggested that the differences may reflect altered membrane properties of diclofop-resistant biotypes. Further circumstantial evidence for dissimilarity of properties of membranes from diclofop-resistant and diclofop-susceptible ryegrass is provided by observations that K(+)/Na(+) ratios were significantly higher in coleoptiles from diclofop-resistant biotypes than in coleoptiles from susceptible plants. Intact and excised roots from susceptible biotypes were capable of acidifying the external medium, whereas roots from resistant biotypes were unable to do so. The ineluctable conclusion is that in L. rigidum the phenomena of membrane repolarization and resistance to aryloxyphenoxypropionate and cyclohexanedione herbicides are correlated.


Transmission characteristics at terahertz (THz) frequencies are numerically analyzed for elliptical dielectric-coated metallic hollow fiber (DMHF). Attenuation constants, group velocity, modal birefringence, and modal power fraction in the air core are presented. Optimization of the fiber geometry is investigated to reduce the attenuation and to increase the birefringence simultaneously. Modal birefringence of 3.3 × 10 -2 and attenuation of 2.4 dB/m are expected. It is found that a desirable ellipticity of the air core is around 3. And both the modal birefringence and the attenuation constant are inversely proportional to the cube of the core size. Multiple dielectric layers significantly reduce the attenuation and meanwhile have little influence on the modal birefringence.


In this study, the temperature distribution of Jeju Island with coastal ocean and its impact for forest and vegetation in Jeju Island, Korea were carried out based on the thermal band of Landsat 7/ETM+ remote sensing data. For the computation of the temperature of the island on the thermal band, we used NASA method which is the 8 bit Digital Number (DN) converted into spectral radiance. The computed results showed that the land temperature variations were from 0 to 12 Celsius degrees, and a good agreement with the observation ones based on the method. However, the ocean surface temperature was not much changed around 15 degree since the water was well mixed between the coastal and the offshore ocean. The interest results were that the temperature distributions of the southern part (Seogwipo City) of Jeju Island were higher than those of the north one (Jeju City) by more than 2 Celsius degree at the same height although the distance between the Jeju and the Seogwipo is only about 35 km in winter season. Based on the different temperature of the island, we checked the tree and vegetation distributions in island. From the check, we found that at the same height, the coniferous forest are mostly distributed in north part although the deciduous are in south part. As the deciduous are relatively living in warm area comparing to the coniferous, the impact of temperature was important role of distributions of forest and vegetation in the island. However, we cannot definitively explain to detect a temperature effect related to forest growth which is usually related with soil nutrition and precipitation.


Reports on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are abundant in pediatric and geriatric populations but not many in healthy adults, and particularly, those which demonstrated the illness throughout its time course are rare. We report two otherwise-healthy adult cases, showing a number of evidence essential for confirmation of exclusive infections with RSV, and document their clinical features from the onset of the disease to recovery, including secondary sinusitis with magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) images. The infection was proven by isolating RSV belonging to subgroup B and by observing elevated anti-RSV antibody titer in the paired sera. Possible contribution of other pathogens including almost all respiratory viruses and representative bacteria, was excluded by negative results in multiplex PCR examination. In the first case, illness initiated with pharyngeal pain, followed by symptoms of sneezing, severe rhinorrhea and coughing, which peaked at approximately 5-7 days and persisted for 12 days. The patient experienced a slight chill, but the body temperature did not exceed 37 °C during illness. The patient showed no significant finding but only a slight increase in serum C-reactive protein level in the routine clinical laboratory examinations. On the 9th day of illness, a dull headache started persisting for at least a week after which it gradually waned. Sinusitis was found by chance on MR images of maxillary sinus 8 days after the headache started, and the finding disappeared on CT images taken after 6 months. In the second case, the symptoms included severe rhinorrhea and dull facial pain around the upper nose; the pain also occurred on the 9th day of illness and the symptom was clinically diagnosed to be acute sinusitis during a visit to a physician.


Abstract Combination therapy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and rituximab showed a good transplant rate in highly sensitized wait-listed patients for deceased donor kidney transplantation (DDKT), but carried the risk of antibody-mediated rejection. The authors investigated the impact of a new combination therapy of bortezomib, IVIG, and rituximab on transplantation rate. This study was a prospective, open-labeled clinical trial. The desensitization regimen consisted of 2 doses of IVIG (2 g/kg), a single dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2), and 4 doses of bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2). The transplant rate was analyzed. Anti-Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB antibodies were determined by a Luminex solid-phase bead assay at baseline and after 2, 3, and 6 months in the desensitized patients. There were 19 highly sensitized patients who received desensitization and 17 patients in the control group. Baseline values of class I and II panel reactive antibody (%, peak mean fluorescence intensity) were 83 ± 16.0 (14952 ± 5820) and 63 ± 36.0 (10321 ± 7421), respectively. Deceased donor kidney transplantation was successfully performed in 8 patients (42.1%) in the desensitization group versus 4 (23.5%) in the control group. Multivariate time-varying covariate Cox regression analysis showed that desensitization increased the probability of DDKT (hazard ratio, 46.895; 95% confidence interval, 3.468–634.132; P = 0.004). Desensitization decreased mean fluorescence intensity values of class I panel reactive antibody by 15.5% (20.8%) at 2 months. In addition, a liberal mismatch strategy in post hoc analysis increased the benefit of desensitization in donor-specific antibody reduction. Desensitization was well tolerated, and acute rejection occurred only in the control group. In conclusion, a desensitization protocol using bortezomib, high-dose IVIG, and rituximab increased the DDKT rate in highly sensitized, wait-listed patients.


Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a mediator of innate immunity that influences the risk of infection in a range of clinical settings. We previously reported associations between MBL2 genotype and infection in a retrospective study of myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, other studies have been inconclusive, and the role of MBL in reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) transplants is unknown. Here we report a prospective study examining MBL2 genotype, MBL levels and risk of major infection following HLA-matched sibling myeloablative (N=83) and RIC (n=59) HCT. Baseline MBL levels were higher in recipients than donors (P<0.0001), and recipient MBL levels increased during the peri-transplant period (P=0.0002), most notably in MBL2 wild-type individuals receiving myeloablative total body irradiation (mTBI). MBL2 coding mutations were associated with major infection in recipients receiving mTBI. The cumulative incidence of major infection in recipient harboring an MBL2 mutation receiving mTBI was 70.6%, compared with 31.1% of those without mutations not receiving mTBI. (P=0.01). MBL status was not associated with infection in RIC transplants. These results confirm the association of MBL status with risk of infection in myeloablative, TBI-conditioned transplants. Studies examining the role of MBL replacement therapy to prevent infection in this setting should be considered. For personal use only. by guest on June 2, 2013. bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org From


"Climb!" is a musical composition that combines the ideas of a classical virtuoso piece and a computer game. We present a case study of the composition process and realization of "Climb!", written for Disklavier and a digital interactive engine, which was co-developed together with the musical score. Specifically, the engine combines a system for recognising and responding to musical trigger phrases along with a dynamic digital score renderer. This tool chain allows for the composer's original scoring to include notational elements such as trigger phrases to be automatically extracted to auto-configure the engine for live performance. We reflect holistically on the development process to date and highlight the emerging challenges and opportunities. For example, this includes the potential for further developing the workflow around the scoring process and the ways in which support for musical triggers has shaped the compositional approach.